#Learning factory switch

[skyedancer-system]

Going into Poppy Playtime Chap. 4 I was not expecting to get halfway decent plural rep but here we are????

Spoilers for the new chapter under the cut, and also cw for all the general Poppy Playtime stuff (child death + experimentation, body horror, if you know the game you get the gist)

SO THIS GUY HUH

Doey the Doughman, the surprise character revealed just days before the chapter dropped and who finally answered the question of the red/orange/yellow hand imagery we’ve been getting teased with for so long

In the chapter himself he’s pretty important to the plot and is an ally to the player, Poppy, and Kissy for (most of) the chapter, and he’s a pretty nice guy just with a bit of a temper, and very overwhelmed by having to keep the Safe Haven together and protected in Poppy’s absence.

But his personal story? How he was created via Playtime Co.’s Bigger Bodies Initiative? Oh god it’s honestly one of the most messed up ones yet other than Yarnaby (and that’s saying something considering this is child experimentation we’re talking about, and Yarnaby lost his entire self and was treated like a straight up animal, isolated so he would love and obey Harley and only Harley)

Where most of the living toys were made from one child, Doey was made from three. Jack, a visitor to the factory that got caught in a freak accident and was taken into Playtime’s care for his medical recovery. Kevin, a problem child in the Playcare known for his anger issues. And Matthew, an extremely kind boy who tried to keep hopes up among all the orphans in the Playcare, and was a sort of leader to them.

And all three of them are still present in some form; at various points in the game you see them switch, speaking and thinking differently, with varying opinions on everything happening. And from the tape of the Jack’s parents seeing what Playtime did to their son, we see that the three have separate memories as well, at least they did when they were first put together.

And this plurality that was forced onto them isn’t played for scary points like you’d expect from a mascot horror game. Yes it is part of Doey’s monstrous design once they get upset, but them being upset is because everything they had worked to protect was destroyed by the Prototype. All of the other kids turned toys that had kept their consciousness and relied on Doey for protection, mercilessly killed. Anybody would be horrifically upset in that situation. And one of the three boys - Kevin - lashes out at the player, the other two trying to calm him down only for all of them to fall into anger and emotion.

You can clearly see the three kids; one angry, two sad, all of their emotions coming together into a grief induced rage, with physical pain only compounding it. And when you eventually have to kill them and put them out of their misery, their last words?

“I’m sorry.”

They were just kids; three kids forced into a horrible situation and having to learn to live with it. And for a long time it seems that they did, working together rather peacefully until their lives were upheaved by the arrival of the player and Poppy’s reappearance.

Kevin’s anger at everyone and the world is completely justified; I mean he and the other two were experimented on and then kept caged like animals, being practically forced to kill! He wanted to protect them; to avenge the countless others that had been killed by the Playtime scientists and the Prototype! And considering things only went to shit after the player and Poppy showed up? Well it’s no wonder that anger got directed at them

It it a super good depiction of plurality? No, not by a long shot. But it’s definitely way better than I would expect from a game like Poppy Playtime.

I was not expecting this post to get this long whoops fbsnbdns; if anyone else has anything they want to add though we’d love to hear it!

[cheeseatlantic]

hi baby bells, or cheese factory tourists… ive come to feed you animal knowledge in the form of tooth-rotting ghost x reader fluff, today are PRARIE VOLESSSSS

Tipsy activities with Simon would include making out, celebrity gossip where you would blab about and he would listen or drunkenly make food which tasted either really bad or really good, no in between. But today you unlocked a new tipsy activity, watching animal documentaries together.

You were curled up next to Simon, wearing one of his old shirts and a random pair of underwear, a blanket wrapped tightly around you with a bowl of chips in your lap. Simon nursed a whiskey, oddly enough but it was 10 PM, reasonable time. Whatever. You were stressed out the entire fucking day, hence why you had a few drinks.

His mask was left forgotten on the coffee table as the both of you stared at the television, the star of the episode today were prairie voles, you’d learned now thanks to National Geographic that prairie voles are extremely affectionate animals. They sense when their partner is stressed then shower them in affection, just like you and Simon.

The scene switched to two voles grooming each other and you giggled and elbowed Simon in his side gently to get his attention, when you felt his eyes on you, you grinned. “That’s literally us.” You spoke, jutting your chin to the screen as he looked at the screen and chuckled. “Aye, that’s us.” He spoke. “Let’s recreate that scene, hm?” He added.

He snatched the bowl of popcorn off your lap and put it on the coffee table next to his mask as he pulled you onto his lap and wrapped his arms around your waist, his touch gentle. He leaned in and started peppering kisses all over your face, neck, and shoulders as you giggled. “Simon!” You playfully scolded, trying to squirm away but his hold on you tightened.

“Hm?” He hummed, smiling away as you grinned like an idiot, continuing his affection shower. Alcohol made him a lot more affectionate than usual, sober Simon was affectionate of course but tipsy Simon was so much more lovey with you. He was like a big lovebird, you debated at least weekly to get him drunk so that he’d shower you with love.

“You’re so stupid.” You slurred as he snorted and kept kissing you, and not an inch of skin was left unloved, and it never would be as long as you had him. Somehow a big muscle wall of a soldier could transform into your own big stupid prairie vole, only for you.

guys i love animals :)3)3)36364)):632)&4!:$2

[maladaptivewritings]

HeadLock

Summary: Simon just returned from deployment, to realize he has a new neighbor. His paranoia soon leads to obsession as he dives into a cycle of charismatic stalking.

Tw: stalking, smoking, general Simon behaviors.

Y/N: She/They pronouns, has tattoos, library associate, mid-late 20'

word count: 900

Pt 2

The clock read 4:38 A.M as the rain beat down on the windshield. A so-called simple task that was meant for a month at maximum, turned into a four month escapade; Johnny had been getting antsy towards the end, "He had promised to be home before his niece was born."

Simon scoffed at the thought as he sat at the red light, thunder cracks as he waits. He hated the city, a common thought as the second the light switched green, the lone car he shared the road with blared their horn. He put out the cigarette, letting it fly out his window as he picked up the pace. The flat was a few hundred meters away, despite the near vacant halls it was a comfort.

The flat was funded through Price and Laswell, though unorthodox it was the least they could do, seeing at prior he was practically living in his office. The factory turned, flat lacked parking that would protect him from the storm. He made his way up from the street, drenched from the downpour and reeking of dried blood, liquor and lead.

The 11th floor, came sooner than he thought as he turned down the hall. Unlike his routine would normally have it, he was not alone in the desolate hall. There stood a meek younger woman, who like himself was drenched as they hastily tried to unlock her door to know avail. Groceries slowly slip from her reach, Simon sloped forward picking up a bag of crisps that had already slipped.

"Y'need help." His voice like gravel hit you like a bus, he was a hulk of a man. You looked up at the strange figure you shared the hall with, he observed you squirm trying to keep hold of your bag of curious items.

"Oh uh, um yeah please." The stranger was an American. What a great surprise, especially after his head was nearly blown off by one. She continued on trying explain why at this hour she was up. Simon grabbed the bag that you held in your left hand. He scanned what was in the bag as you finally unlocked the door.

"Ya' new to the area." He spoke once more, what would normally sound so comforting unnerved you for a moment. You nodded, smiling politely like you were taught to do so, tired eyes showing the lie. As you slipped inside your apartment, once you retrieved your other bag.

Simon sat in the hall, he watched as your form went to hide. The damp shirt sticking to the skin of your arm as you waved goodbye. His mind going to the worst scenarios, he locked himself in his flat.

The computer read now 6:45 A.M, passed out at a desk within his hospital-esque bedroom. Within the time he had gotten home he had learned your name, date of birth and education; hours of internet stalking had him cross-referencing to what tattoos you had and if they had any meaning to Graves and his men. Luckily they didn't, but as the storm subsided mentally he was too enthralled by who you were to stop searching.

Why did you move here? Why this building? Were you an undercover spy?

The questions that ran rampant throughout his mind became like a cruel game. His exhausted body hunched over his desk awoke with someone knocking on his door. The little American with muffins.

He stared down at you, eyes like obsidian and peering at you incessantly despite how much you tried to make him focus on the muffins.

"So, I made some for everyone else in the hall but I'm Y/n and I move here like a few weeks back..." Your words fluttered as you attempt to reintroduce yourself. Concerned with looking rude you hand over the cheap Tupperware. "It's Blueberry by the way.."

He already knew your name, where you went to University and where you were going to be working. Despite this of course, he nodded pretending to take in the information as if new to him.

"Thanks, sorry for not welcomin' ya been busy." His voice fills the hall. He leaned against his doorframe, determined to figure you out. Relaxing his body, as best as he could, he made glances at your form. If you were a spy, you were one of the better looking ones.

"Oh no you're fine, It gave me more time to unpack." You said brushing your hair out of your face. You had hastily woken up and realized you needed to redo this introduction to your incredibly hot, intimidating neighbor. You smiled up at him, you had even made sure to wear the nice Pj's for this and not the raggedy old college merch.

"Well.. speaking of that I need to get back to my place. Good to meet you.." You said pausing for his introduction.

"Simon," He said as you made your way into the apartment. You piqued his interest and he needed more. This was for security reasons of course, nothing more. He would start repeating this more and more. As he returned to his flat he stared at his computer, multiple tabs opened like a map of you.

This was not normal, he understood this as a fact but he had to determine if you were a threat, and if not how he can he create a way to pass the the time before he disappears once more.

[z0mbbiegvrl]

kenny x fem/gen reader

dating headcanons

✮⋆˙ KENNY MCCORMICK DATING HEADCANNONS

↳ pairings: kenny mccormick x reader (can be read for fem/gen)

↳ an: hope you enjoy this! kenny is my fav so it's cool i have a lot of requests for him!!

↳ cw: some suggestive ideas, but this is fluff

↳ mlist

It didn’t take long for Kenny to admit he liked you a lot. He noticed how different it was, realizing he didn’t like you in the way he just wanted to have sex with you, then move on, but he wanted to see you more, hug you, kiss you, see you smile, and take you on dates. (definitely still wants to sleep with you, but this time there’s no time frame)

Kenny is the type to act like the playboy of the school and has the reputation of one. Kenny usually goes for the girls who he knows have the same mindset as him, or he’s heard things about them, COUGH the ring episode COUGH. But when it comes to you, he doesn’t try to hook up; he instead goes back to his flirty ways.

When his flirting attempts work, he’s taken aback for sure, which flips a switch in his brain, and that whole playboy attitude is GONE. That’s when you’ll see him stutter, go red in the face, or go completely silent until he finally gathers up the courage to ask you out.

A BIG supporter of whatever you do, will spend his free time following you to practices if it’s that type of deal, go to your shows, games, whatever you’re doing he’s there without a fight. sometimes will just show up even if you forgot to tell him!

He works a lot, so expect a lot of late-night visits, but he never turns up empty-handed. If he’s working at a restaurant, expect him to bring you leftovers from the kitchen to share while watching movies. 

PDA CRAZED, but he will be blushing the moment you do anything back to him. Hand in your back pocket, hand holding his, arm around your shoulder, literally anything he can do to display you to the world, he’s doing it. But the moment you kiss his cheek before going your separate ways to class, he will blush and walk into the wall as he leaves. Practically factory resets him for a second.

To Kenny, there is no such thing as moving too fast in life; by your second date, he’s already planning for the long run. Breaking up isn’t even a thought in his mind (not in the Yandere way) when he plans out the future. His friends bully him for it, he just knows you’re it for him, even if something did happen, he’d always want you in his life because he cares about you a lot. 

LOVES LOVES loves, adventurous dates. The more fear-inducing of being kicked out, the better.

He’s super protective of you, no matter how late you two are out, expect him to walk you home each time. No ifs, ands, or buts.

weirdly super good at doing hair; learned from having a little sister. If you have a different type of hair texture, style, trust he will spend the time to learn how to do hairstyles to try on you! He just likes quality time.

He’s very attentive; he can figure out something is wrong with you with a glance and immediately pulls you into a hug, rubbing your back. Or if that’s not what you like, he will find a way to calm down how you feel, and give you that silence you need, but he will insist on holding your hand. 

Obsessed with kissing you- I mean, it’s Kenny. He’ll lean in for a quick peck on the lips, see you smile, and go right back in for a much longer kiss. He’d be a sloppy kisser, though, not in the gross way, but he just tends to lazily kiss you if you two are lying together.

He’s very crafty with gifts. We know Kenny doesn’t have a lot of money, but he doesn’t use that as an excuse not to give you things. Most of his gifts are flowers he picked or stole from places- all have little love letters attached. Kenny isn’t at all afraid to sound cringe in those letters. 

Right away, he introduces you to Karen, and without any struggles, she loves you right away. If you go to Kenny’s house, she drags you away from Kenny to show you her new doll that Kenny had gotten her. Kenny doesn’t mind this; in fact, he is so content with it. His two favorite people are getting along. Though sometimes, he’ll pretend to feel lonely and pout until you give him attention, too. 

He’s a good cuddler. Yeah, he might smell like smoke all the time, but if you don’t mind, then cuddling is very peaceful for both of you. He unzips his parka for you to lie against his shirt before zipping it up again, making you stuck against his chest. 

Overall, Kenny is an amazing boyfriend!!

[emidescent]

A Terrans Purpose.

A HDG Microfic, Featuring dollification.

It wasn't easy, switching from living under the accord to the compact.

At least beforehand I got to show up to work, get given my list of tasks to complete and complete them well.

If I was lucky my boss would even email me a picture of a pizza slice to let me know i'd done well.

But since the compact took over I no longer had that.

I tried to fill in my days attending the events and classes the Affini were propping up everywhere.

But dragging myself out of bed each day to find new things to do was so tiring.

The events were fun, don't get me wrong. But having to find and choose one is so draining.

I even tried to join a forum to get ideas for things to do.

But all the passive language just failed to compel me.

"For anyone who wants to join, we're learning to draw on Saturdays in Whisperleaf Park"

Well now I just don't want to make the effort to join y'know?

I brought it up to my therapist, she seemed a little concerned, but she had some ideas at least.

The first one was a bust, apparently factories are replaced largely by compilers.

The second was interesting for a while.

They installed a program called helper on my computer.

And when I opened it I received messages from sophonts requesting I assist in doing simple things for them.

Edit a document. Proofread a story. Offer my thoughts on a painting.

Unfortunately I realised they were coming from the same Affini who was tasked with giving me stuff to do.

I kinda lost the drive after that, I needed purpose.

The third idea she came up with...

Well it was certainly interesting.

I was to help Miss Hevershade, 7th bloom and her florets with odd jobs around the ship.

Apparently she lends her florets out to assist with events and to fill vacancies in floret positions in cafes and such.

(I thought they just closed down for the day if the florets were indisposed but apparently some Affini and Florets really need the routine, so they hire backup if they can)

And I won't lie. It was fun.

On my first two days Miss Hevershade picked me up with her florets on the way to staff a few cafes. And it was nice.

I got shown how to make coffee, and I picked it up pretty quickly.

Her florets surprised me, I was used to seeing them stumbling around, high off their asses, giggling at everything.

But these ones were elegant, refined. Perfect to a fault.

It surprised me when one grabbed my hand to guide me more effectively. Her hands were like mahogany wood carved into a purpose. Like mine, but smooth and hard. I don't know how, but her joints were like a dolls. It was....fascinating.

And made me extremely conscious of my own squishy hands in hers.

The other florets were the same, but with skin like ivory, ochre, or patterned like old world porcelain.

I asked Miss Hevershade later that night.

She called them her dolls, her little terrans who needed purpose. Who wanted to help. Who needed to help.

I didn't even last a minute in the silence that followed before asking my next question.

"Can I be a doll too?"

She smiled brightly and warmly.

She asked me lots of questions, pertaining to the transformation.

I wanted skin like the first dolls. Skin like mine.

I wanted the ball joints.

I wanted it all.

And now, with my brothers and sisters.

This one has it.

This one clicks slightly when she moves.

And this one loves it.

This one ticks when she's still.

And this one loves it.

This one gets to help people all day.

And this one loves it.

This one got a Mistress who loves her for who this one is.

And this one loves her.

Today we're assisting in a nightclub that's hosting a dance party.

Let this one pour you a drink?

[lyjen]

North West Corner | Part 2

Summary: After the reveal of (y/n)’s pregnancy, she gets put on light duties. A few shifts after the factory fire, Evan gets shot on duty. Can (Y/n) herself and her body handle the amount of stress it gives her?

Request

Taglist: @oliviah-25 @shauna-carsley

<< previous chapter | 9-1-1 Masterlist

__________________

A smile was spread across Evan’s face, even his eyes were smiling, he had this kind of sparkle in his eyes that made him look like a little boy in a toy shop. His eyes were locked onto his girlfriend, who was just arriving on scene in the ambulance.

Since the factory fire and the incident happened on the scene, Bobby had made the choice to put (Y/n) on light duties. Not only because she had a heart attack that day, but also because she was pregnant. And with light duties they meant: (Y/n) would switch places with Chimney.

Chimney usually would be Hen’s partner, helping her with victims and treating them. But now that she couldn’t risk doing heavy lifting, and running into burning buildings, they had no other choice but to switch.

She would be further away from the action, the work she loved the most and she may only know the basics, but she would learn during the process. But at least she could still work and make herself helpful on scene.

“If it isn’t my favorite temporary paramedic” (Y/n) could hear the oh so familiar voice say as it came closer with every word. She smiled and shut the passenger door with a bang. She turned around and walked towards the back of the ambulance, as her eyes slowly wandered from the ground to Evan walking towards her.

“Really? You just had to put that word in front of it, did you?” she laughed as she felt his arm slowly being placed onto her shoulder.

“What? I meant it in the way that you’re coming back to truck, eventually.” He said. But when he didn’t receive an answer he tried to talk it right, again. “I mean after you give birth to our mini (Y/n) of course.” he continued, and pressed a small, but warm kiss onto the side of her head.

(Y/n) opened the backdoors of the ambulance and she broke free from Evan’s arm around her shoulder, and stepped inside of the ambulance. “How are you so sure that we’re getting a daughter anyways? Maybe it’s a mini Buck” (Y/n) said as she got a pair of blue gloves out of a box.

“I googled for signs you’re having a girl. And a lot of those things they said are things you have or had.” Evan says as he quickly slipped out his phone and started scrolling and showing (Y/n) the website. In the meanwhile (Y/n) was busy putting everything she needed on the gurney.

“Like here, you suffered morning sickness during the first twelve weeks. You had that. And oh here, you’re craving more sweets..” he was rattled. He was so enthusiastic, he couldn’t hear her. “Buck..” she said in a warning tone. “And another one is, You’re more moody.” But suddenly he stopped, he saw the way (Y/n) looked at him and shook her head.

“I’m sorry.. It’s just.. I just know we’re getting a girl! I can feel it.” Evan says with a smile on his face, it looked like he just won the lottery. He felt a little guilty for calling her moody, but those were just the facts. But that wasn’t the reason she called his name with that tone.

“You know what I can feel? You, being up on that aerial in a minute.” Bobby’s voice spoke, the lottery winning expression on his face disappeared within less than one second as he could hear his captain's voice in his ears.

Evan closed his eyes for a second as he let his lips form a thin line.

Busted.

”What are you chit chatting for? There’s a building on fire and a man stuck on his balcony. Let’s go!” Bobby said as he clapped his hands together.

He collected all his confidence and turned around. “On it cap!” Buck said as he started to jog towards the truck. But stopped as soon as he took two steps, and turned on his heels again. He ran back towards the rig and he stepped in the ambulance. “I forgot something” he said and pressed a kiss onto her cheek as she placed another medic bag on the gurney.

His lips disconnected from her cheek as he now, carefully stepped out of the back of the ambulance and ran towards the truck. The aerial was already being sent up towards the right balcony where the man was waving.

“What did he need?” Hen said as soon as she appeared in the opening of the ambulance. “Oh you know, he keeps telling me we’re having a girl” she said as she shrugged her shoulders. It was something she was used to now. From the moment she told him she was pregnant, he told her he was sure she was having a girl.

“He’s holding on to that huh?” Hen laughed. (Y/n) nodded, as they rolled out the gurney. Hen pushed the button to make the legs of the gurney extend and to touch the ground. “You have no idea” (Y/n) spoke and hopped out of the ambulance.

Hen started to wheel the gurney towards the triage as (Y/n) quickly closed the back doors, and jogged to catch up with Hen.

“I’m here and ready to go!” Evan said as soon as his legs stopped moving and he grabbed his helmet out of the compartment. “Are you sure? I can go up too.” Eddie said.

“Nah you went last time, and I’m pretty sure Cap will kill me if I’m not on that ladder in a few seconds.” Evan said with a laugh. Eddie nodded at his answer, and made a gesture with his arm to tell him that it’s all his.

Evan placed his helmet onto his head and patted it. He made his way up the roof of the truck and he started to climb up the aerial. After a few steps he gestured towards Eddie, who was at the panel to move the aerial if he needed to, to move the aerial a little more up. “A little higher Eddie” he spoke through the radio as he made the gesture. “Copy that, raising the aerial” Eddie copied through his radio.

He held onto the two railings to the side as Eddie moved the aerial a little higher. He made a fist, as soon as it was the same height as the balcony of the man. “That’s good Eddie, going to the victim now” Evan spoke into his radio and let go of the speak button.

“LAFD, hold on sir. I’m coming to you.” he said as loud as he could, to make himself audible for the man on the balcony. He holds his hand out, with a flat hand, trying to gesture to the man to tell him to keep calm.

The man on the balcony couldn’t get out by the rescue squad since the hallway of his level was completely on fire. There was no getting through, so they sent the aerial up, including Evan.

He was a few steps from helping the man on the balcony as he heard a loud bang echoing through the skies.

(Y/n) gets pushed down by her shoulder as soon as she hears the bang through the air. “Firefighter down! I repeat, firefighter down!” her brother’s voice roared through the radio. Her stomach turned as she heard Eddie’s voice ringing through her ears. His voice was full with agony, terrified.

“Buck..” she mumbled as she locked eyes on the aerial and saw him lying flat onto the ladder. Without thinking, she stood up straight and wanted to make her way towards the truck. But after not even three steps, an arm stopped her in her tracks. “Are you insane! You’re staying here!” Bobby said as he held an arm in front of her body. Telling her not to go any further.

“With all due respect, the father of my baby is up there. Injured. You can’t just expect me to stand here and do nothing.” (Y/n) hissed back at Bobby.

Evan’s vision was blurry, a force sent him forward, causing him to slip and slide a few steps down. But his hand was right now holding one of the steps. A torturing pain was burning in Evan’s chest, but the adrenaline made the pain bearable.

He was lying flat onto the aerial, holding on as his feet were blindly searching for steps to give his chest some rest. As soon as his feet found one of the steps of the ladder, he looked up to the balcony, which was now further away than he was a few seconds ago.

His eyes locked with the man’s eyes who was standing on the balcony. But not even two seconds later, Evan saw a bullet flying through the man’s head. Causing him to fall.

A man was shot through his head, right in front of his eyes.

His ears were ringing, he could hear his own heart beating like it was trying to break free from his chest and his breathing was zooming through his ears. Everything around him sounded dull. As if he was wearing headphones without any music.

He could hear muffled screams, people telling others what to do, just pure panic.

Evan wanted to move from the aerial. But he couldn’t move. The only thing he could do was lie flat onto the aerial ladder and watch at the now empty space where the man was just a few seconds ago. He was zoned out, gawking. He needed his mind and body to catch up with whatever was going on.

“Come on.. Come on..” (Y/n) murmured as she watched her brother climbing the ladder, trying to assist Buck down. When she sees Eddie reaching the top of the ladder truck, pushes past Bobby, whose arm was down again, not blocking her way anymore.

She quickly runs towards a gurney which was not being used, and runs towards the side of the truck where other firefighters were helping Eddie to escort Buck down to the ground.

He carefully gets put onto the gurney, as she quickly grabs his hand and squeezes it. His eyes were closed. She was praying, please don't make her do chest compressions on him. “Buck, can you hear me?” she sounded as Hen carried a medic bag and got out the scissors, to cut open the fabric that was covering his chest. “Buck!” her voice was trembling, filled with adrenaline and fear.

But then his eyes started to flutter open. “Are…are you hurt?” he stumbled in a whisper. He was fighting to keep his eyes open. “What? No.. No.. I’m fine” she answered, he got hurt and this is the first thing he’d ask her? (Y/n) brought his hand closer to her and pressed her lips on the top of his hand. Telling him she was there, with him.

She could see Evan’s eyes rolling. “I know you’re tired. But I need you to hold on. Stay with me!” She said as she placed his hand next to his body onto the gurney. “No exit wound, the bullet is still in there.” She concluded as she pushed him up a little. Hen reached out and passed (Y/n) gauze, to keep pressure on the wound.

Hen put the medic bag onto the gurney between Evan’s legs. (Y/n) stepped onto a metal beam from the gurney, to be steady enough to keep pressure on the GSW. They rushed the gurney towards the ambulance as (Y/n) kept the pressure firmly on the wound.

The gauze she was holding onto the wound was becoming soaking wet with his blood. With one hand she kept the pressure on as she found a new package of gauze. With her mouth she ripped off the top of the package and got out the new piece. She was sure she let the package fly somewhere on scene. But that didn’t matter right now.

She felt Evan’s hand touching her arm, slightly. His grip went looser, and looser. Until his hand wasn’t holding her arm any more and started to fall down onto the gurney again. “Buck?” She called out his name. She noticed his eyes rolling to the back of his head. “He’s losing too much blood! We’re losing him!” She said, or actually kind of screamed.

(Y/n) pressed her fingers against his neck, as she tried to find a pulse. She felt a lump in her throat. Her heart was beating so fast, it was like she ran a marathon and it was getting harder for her to breathe. “I can’t feel a pulse!” She yelled. “Hen, I need you to keep pressure on the wound” she ordered.

Just as those words fell off her lips, they stopped at the back of the ambulance. (Y/n) didn’t even think for a slight second, she just threw her leg onto the gurney as she sat on top of him. She intertwined her left and right hand over one another, and started chest compressions.

She knew she shouldn’t be treating Evan. She was too close to the firefighter, but so were the rest of the team…And sure they could argue with her, but they already knew she was going to tell them the exact same thing. You’re family too.

The gurney got wheeled into the ambulance as (Y/n) was pressing the palm of her hand against her boyfriend's chest, trying to get his heartbeat back. “Come on, don't leave me like this!” she cried as she pushed with every bit of energy she had left in her arms.

It looked like an addiction, giving him chest compressions. She wanted him to come back so badly, she didn’t see what was happening to herself. She was losing herself.

“You’re not leaving, you hear me?” she sobbed as she felt the tears falling off her cheeks, down onto his revealed chest. ”You’re meeting your baby girl which you’re so convinced we’re having.” she continued. With every push she felt the energy being sucked out of her arms. But she needed to keep on going. She wasn’t stopping until he was back.

“She needs her father!” She cried out.

After dozens, maybe hundreds of chest compressions, the longest five minutes of her life came to an end. The ambulance pulled to a stop, as (Y/n) kept on going. She didn’t even feel them wheeling the gurney out of the ambulance. She was too focussed, too desperate to get him back.

“(Y/n)” Eddie said as he touched her arm, which she yanked away. “Diaz” Bobby said with a warning tone. But it was like no one was getting through. Like she had turned off her hearing. Like she was in her own world.

“Eddie take the otherside” Bobby ordered (Y/n)'s brother. He didn’t have a choice. Bobby’s hands and Eddie’s curled around her upper arm as they pulled (y/n) from the gurney. It was the only way..

“No!” she screamed on the top of her lungs, like she was being murdered. “I need to save him!” She sobbed. She didn’t even have the energy to stand on her own two legs, she had put all her energy into chest compressions. It was like she turned into some kind of monster.

All she wanted was to save him, like he saved her, countless times. And now it was time for her to save him.

(Y/n)’s body bungled in between Bobby and Eddie. When her knees touched the ground of the hospital ER, she fully broke down. She felt like she failed him. Why wouldn’t his heartbeat come back?

-

With her arms curled around her knees, she was sitting in the waiting room, on one of those shitty hospital chairs. She may be sitting there physically, but if you looked at her, it was almost like you were looking at a ghost. She was broken. She had lost her spark. Which is not really that weird after seeing your boyfriend being shot, and you tried for minutes to get him back to the world of the living.

(Y/n) was looking outside, seeing countless ambulances stopping and dropping off patients while the rain ticked against the glass window. Her stomach was hurting, probably because she didn’t eat for hours now. It would go away eventually, she figured. And her lower back was killing her, probably because of the way she was sitting for an hour straight. But it was the only position that was kinda comfortable.

“Here” her captain’s voice filled her ears. Her eyes followed his voice and found Bobby who was holding a cup of water. Since she was pregnant she couldn’t drink more than one cup of coffee, or rather no coffee at all.

She turned her head away from Bobby and continued to look outside of the window. “I’m not thirsty” she said coldly. She could hear Bobby let out a small sigh, as he took place in the chair next to her and placed the cup of water on the small table in front of them.

“You went all out there, didn’t you?” Bobby said as he gave her a few seconds of silence. She slightly shook her head, leaving a silence. “And yet…” she started, biting her upper lip to try and suppress her cry. ”I still have the feeling I failed.” she continued as her eyes began to water again.

“I couldn’t get him back Bobby, I tried. Maybe if I-” (Y/n) couldn’t finish her sentence or Bobby interrupted her. “Don’t do that. Don’t think about the things you could’ve done differently or didn’t do.” he said, as he looked to the side, trying to catch her eye. “What I do know is: that you kept him alive until we wheeled him in here.” he continued as he saw her press the palm of her hand onto her forehead.

“But that’s-” she stumbled, as she realized the words Bobby just said. “Wait. Did you just say.. Is he..” Bobby stayed silent as he slightly nodded his head. “Alive” he finished her sentence for her. “He’s getting prepped for the OR” he continued.

She pressed her eyes closed as she let out a relieved sigh. A tear escaped through the corner of her eye as she just tried to catch her breath. (Y/n) felt a warm touch on her knee. A small huffled breath broke free from her mouth as she tried to keep it together.

Bobby let her cry, for a few minutes, giving her the time she needed to let this news land. Until his voice broke the silence. “Listen.. why don’t you go home, and try to get some sleep. So you’ll be here when he wakes up from surgery” He suggests. She wanted to tell him no. She wanted to tell Bobby that she wasn’t able to sleep anyway. But her body was exhausted, and staying here would only give her more pain. Her body was telling her to take a break, there was this annoying pain creeping in on her lower back and her stomach was starting to scream even more.

“I don’t even have a car Bobby” she tried to use as an excuse. She didn’t care if she was in pain, she needed Evan to be fine. And the only way to know as one of the first persons if he was okay, was by staying here. In the hospital waiting room. “The ambulance is out of service, I can ask Eddie to bring you home.” her captain suggests. He looked her in the eye for a response, which was a small nod. “That would be nice.” she whispered. Bobby’s lips pressed into a thin line as he tried to send her some kind of smile. “Okay, I’ll be back in a minute.” he continued as he received her answer.

Secretly she hoped that the ambulance wouldn’t be here anymore, or that somehow they runned out of gas. But she knew that would be a long shot. (Y/n) let her eyes follow the raindrop on the window, trying to kill time. As she could hear the ribs of Evan snap in the back of her mind, bringing her thoughts back to the part where she was doing CPR.

“I can’t feel a pulse!”

“Come on! Come on! Don’t leave me like this!”

“You’re not leaving!”

“She needs her father!”

Her body flinched at the sudden touch on her shoulder, she yanked her head to her side to see who was touching her shoulder. “Sorry, I didn’t want to startle you” her brother’s voice said. She quickly wiped her tears away with the sleeve of her shirt. “It’s okay” she said, which sounded more like a whisper. “You ready?” he asked her, as he held out a hand in front of her. She looked at his hand as if she didn’t know what to do with it for a second, but nodded. “Yes” her voice spoke softly. She loosened her arms around her knees, which were still against her chest.

She accepted Eddie’s hand, and stood up from her chair. Her brother grabbed her turnout coat from the chair she was sitting on, and led her towards the exit of the ER.

She hated it. It felt like a walk of shame, even though she knew it wasn’t. Every single person in the room was watching her. It made her feel so little.

(Y/n) stopped in her tracks towards the exit, as she spotted Bobby with his cup of coffee in his hand. “Please, promise me you will call me. I don’t care if it’s in the middle of the night or while I'm on the damn toilet. You call me, okay?” she told her captain. He placed his hand on her upper arm and gave it a slight squeeze. “I promise.” he said, “Take care of yourself okay?” he continued. She tried to send him a smile, but it’s hard to smile if you can’t find anything positive in the moment. She turned away from her captain and followed her brother outside to the ambulance.

______

The car ride was silent.

She didn’t feel like talking. She was just staring deadly out of the passenger's side window most of the ride. (Y/n) could feel Eddie’s gaze, burning into the side of her head. Constantly checking in on her.

“He’s going to be fine (y/n). I mean it’s Buck.. He pulls these kinds of stunts all the time.” Eddie’s soothing voice filled her ears. She turned her head towards her brother while she leaned her head back against the headrest of the seat. “I know.. But this time it just feels.. different” she stumbles.

“You’re scared to lose him, I get it.” Eddie said.

“You know, I always make up those kinds of scenarios.” She started as her fingers were beginning to pick the dead skin off her fingers.

“What could happen on a call... I always imagined he could die because he’s surrounded by a fire and can’t get out, or he runs out of air in his oxygen tank or hell he falls through a roof while venting a building. Thousands of scenarios in my head, but none of them involved him getting shot on scene.” her voice continued as she looked down at her fingers.

Eddie doesn’t have the words to answer that. So he decides that it’s best for him to stay silent, and give her the time to express herself as he drives to her apartment.

“So yes, I am scared of losing him. I’ve always been scared to lose him. But this time it feels different because I’m pregnant. And he would not only be leaving me. But also…” she reaches out to her lower part of her belly. “this tiny human” she sighs as she lightly touches her stomach.

A silence took over the room. Eddie was already relieved that his sister was actually talking. Something she didn’t do for hours in that waiting room. He noticed her looking outside most of the time. But he figured it would be best for her there and then to have some alone time.

Her hands wandered back to her lap. “God, he wants to be a dad so badly..” she sniffed as a small smile appeared on her face. “This morning before this.. everything. He told me he knew for sure that we were having a girl.” She continued. She could see his perfect smile and the enthusiasm taking over.

She stopped talking as she noticed how she was starting to rattle. She looked in front of her, as she evaluated what happened in this moment. “I’m sorry. I don’t even know why I’m telling you all of this..” she sighs as she shakes her head.

“No, don't be (y/n). Look, a lot has happened today and you just needed to vent. And that’s okay.” Eddie says as he turns the steering wheel, as he drives into her street. “You’re my sister, and I want you to feel safe, to feel like you can tell me everything.” He continued as he quickly looked at her and his head went back to the road.

A moment of silence fell, but Eddie decided to break the short silence, to try and make the conversation a little lighter. “To be honest, Buck already has a lot of practice with parenting since he adores Chris. So you don’t have anything to worry about.” He says as he glanced a smile at her.

A small smile and grin fell off her lips, as the ambulance pulled to a stop. “Your destination ma’am” he smiled as he put the handbrake on.

“Thanks Eds” she stumbled as she looked out of her window to the door of the apartment building. Her hand was placed on the door handle, ready to pull it.

But then she let go of the handle and quickly turned her body around.

Her arms locked themselves around Eddie's neck, pulling her brother close to her body. He was surprised by the sudden hug by his sister but he didn’t pull back.

She squeezed her eyes closed as she felt Eddie’s arms lock around her back and his hand calmly stroke over the back of her head. This is what she needed after this entire day. A hug.

After she stepped into the dark, empty apartment she let out a sigh.

Everything in here was just another reminder of Evan. She could go anywhere and somehow everything leads back to him.

She shook off her thoughts that wandered back to her significant other, and she flicked on the light switch next to the front door.

Just before she got out of the car, Eddie reminded her to drink and eat something. She told him she was going to be okay, but her thoughts were anywhere but food.

Her boyfriend was in the hospital fighting for his life, and she was back in their apartment trying to get some sleep she knew she wouldn’t and couldn’t get.

(Y/n) walked towards the fridge, but suddenly stopped as the annoying pain began to feel like a sudden stab in the stomach. “What the hell?” She mumbled, as she pressed the palm of her hand onto the core where the pain came from. With her body slightly hanging forward, she remained in the position for a few seconds. Waiting for the pain to stop.

She let out a shallow breath, slowly, emptying her lungs completely. Just as she wanted to continue her steps, she abruptly stopped again as she tried to hum away the pain she felt.

What was happening to her?

(Y/n) groaned at the pain she felt over and over again. It felt like the kind of pain she felt during her period, only ten times worse. As if some kind of war between her intestines was taking place in her abdomen.

With every few minutes, the pain was becoming worse and worse. She decided maybe it was for the best if she lied down on bed. Sometimes it would ease the pain if she was on her period, and since this pain felt the closest to that, she figured maybe that would help.

Every body movement she made, she felt like she was going to break. Not emotionally, but her body. It felt so tense and heavy, and she didn’t want to make it worse. So it took her longer than normally to make it up to the loft where the bed was placed.

She threw her phone on the bed as she laid down onto her side, curling her knees and legs as close to her stomach to try and get rid of the stabbing pain inside. Her arms were locked around her knees and legs, and with every shot of pain she pulled her arms tighter and tighter to try and relieve the pain.

She closed her eyes, trying to keep herself calm as the pain went on and on.

(Y/n)’s eyes shot open as an unbearable shocking pain went through her body. She was in pain, she was scared, she didn’t know what was happening to her, she was scared of the unknown. Tears were creating themselves in her eyes as the stabbing pain was becoming only worse and worse.

She huffed away a lot of the pains, trying to stay calm. But she couldn’t stay calm. She was all alone, while she waited for the torture to come to an end. Which felt like it never would.

Her eyes fell onto the phone on the other side of the bed. She really didn’t want to call her colleagues. They had enough on their mind. Even though they told her to call if something was wrong or she needed someone to talk to.

A sob left her mouth as her hand reached out for her phone, as soon as she got a hold of her phone, her finger hovered over the contacts. Who was she calling? She needed medical advice.

Eddie. Her brother. He was a medic too. He didn’t know as much as Hen or Chimney, but It’ll do.

Her hand tapped onto the contact of her brother, as she laid the phone next to her head. But just as the phone was ringing Eddie, another shock hit her body. She tightened the muscles in her abdomen to get rid of the pain as she turned her head towards her shoulder, trying to suppress the pain.

“(Y/n)? What’s wrong?” Eddie’s calm voice sounded through the speaker of the phone as he picked up the phone. She couldn’t talk, the pain was too much to handle.

Another shallow breath left her lips as she tried to breath away the pain, which resolved in a soft cry out of the pain. “Eddie” she sobbed softly through the phone, hoping he could hear her voice. “Something is wrong” she continued as another cry escaped her lips.

“I’m coming your way okay? Just, hang on.” Eddie says, you could just hear the fear in his voice. “Hurry” she cried out. And with that, the call gets cut off.

Eddie always had a spare key of (Y/n) and Buck’s apartment on him in case of an emergency. He never had to use it, until today.

“(Y/n)?” Eddie’s concerned voice filled the apartment. (Y/n) could hear his quick footsteps tapping over the floor downstairs. She wanted to call out, but didn’t have the energy for it. The only thing she could do is breathe the pain away, and find the most comfortable position (if that was possible).

Multiple times her name fell off Eddie’s lips. The footsteps went up the stairs, as his eyes locked on his sister. Lying in bed, as little as possible. “(Y/n)! Que pasó?” he asks, as he got on his knees next to the other side of the bed, trying to make eye contact with his sister.

The way she squeezed her eyes and the tears streaming down her face told him enough.

“Can you describe the pain you’re experiencing? ” he asks, as he places his hand onto her arm, trying to hush and give her some kind of comfort.

“It’s like someone is stabbing my intestines with a knife and just keeps twisting and pushing it” she groaned at the pain. It took her a while to get through that sentence. “Okay, and is this pain constantly?” He asks her calmly as he takes some time to think.

She shook her head before he could finish his sentence. “Waves” she stumbled as another shock of pain hit her stomach.

“I… I just… I-” she stumbled. “Feel like.. I’m going to die” she tried to finish her sentence while she pushed her arms tighter against her stomach, trying to get rid of the pain.

Eddie’s eyes grew slightly wider as he puzzled the pieces together and realized which way this was going. “(Y/n).. how long have you been experiencing these pains?” He calmly asks, trying to keep himself together. “Since this after-” she stopped mid sentence as she squeezed her eyes closed. “noon” she let out a breath.

“At dios mío… (Y/n).. why didn’t you tell me this sooner?” Eddie sighed. “I didn’t think anything of it” she said as she pressed her arms tighter around her stomach again. Another heavy breath left her lips, as she tried catching her breath. “I figured it was just because of the situation.” she continued.

Eddie collected all his courage. ”(Y/n).. I think you know what’s happening to you.” He says as he just looked at her. Their eyes connected, as she waited for his answer with a spark of hope in her eyes. “You’re having a miscarriage, (Y/n)”

The words she didn’t want to hear, were actually spoken.

She thought about it, but she didn’t want to believe it. Secretly, deep down, she hoped Eddie would tell her there was something else wrong, that her appendix was about to burst or that somehow she had extremely bad food poisoning.

“You see, the pain you’re describing and feeling are contractions.” He explained.

Her eyes grew wide as the diagnosis fell off his lips. Her eyes wandered from her brother, to the empty space next to him. Everything around her was sounding dull as if every sound was filtered out. “No..” she mumbled, as a tear escaped from the corner of her eye. “I’m so sorry (Y/n)” Eddie’s voice echoed in the back of her mind, as he placed his hand onto her upper arm.

Eddie reached out and touched her upper arm with his hand, her gaze slowly wandered back to his. He couldn’t handle seeing her like this. “C’me here” he murmured, trying to keep himself strong. He got on the bed and pulled her in an embrace, locking his arms around her.

Quiet sobs were being released from (Y/n)’s mouth against his shoulder. There she was, rolled together as a ball, being comforted by her brother because she’s about to lose her baby.

This was Evan’s reason to make it back home. Their little family. Which he was so excited about. And she’s about to lose it. Their child. Their son. Their daughter.

______

(Y/n) peeked around the doorframe of the hospital room she was in. She had given birth to the miscarriage, but just to be sure there was nothing else going on Eddie had brought her to the ER.

Since she was a lower priority, she had been sitting there for minutes which felt like a lifetime. It felt like there wasn't an end to this day. Her eyes were heavy, she wanted to sleep so badly, but after everything that happened in these past hours she just couldn’t.

She was a mess, and looked like a walking corpse, as if she came right out of a scene of the walking dead. But with a hospital gown on.

(Y/n) figured it would take a few more minutes or hours for the obstetrician to come back. So since she was in the hospital, she could maybe make the best of it and make a visit to her boyfriend.

Her eyes scanned the hallway if the obstetrician came back or not.

Clear.

She stepped out of the room and grabbed with her right hand tightly the rail on the side of the wall. Her legs were feeling like they could cave in literally any moment, but she needed to find Buck. She didn’t care if she even had to crawl her way back to him. She was going to find him.

After taking multiple random choices of routes, and following signs, she found Eddie in front of a window. Looking like some kind of lost boy, staring into the window.

(Y/n)’s feet trembled as she took place next to Eddie, following his gaze. But as soon as Eddie sensed someone standing next to him, he looked to his side. “What are you doing here? I thought you had an appointment with your obstetrician?” He said confused.

“She had a higher priority call. It could take her minutes, maybe hours to come back.” she said as she just looked at Buck through the window.

He was just lying there, completely still, connected to a thousand different wires and machines.

Eddie’s eyes wandered back to Buck’s body on the hospital bed. The two siblings just stood there, staring in silence for a moment.

“Has he woken up yet?” She broke the silence. Eddie sighed “Uh.. no not yet. They’re waiting for him to wake up from the anesthesia, which could be any moment now." He answered her question.

Another silence hit the conversation.

“I’m sorry” Eddie says. (Y/n) send him a confused look, “For what?” She reacted, she could sense Eddie was having a hard time with his next sentence. “I should’ve gone up that ladder” he said.

She was lost, what is Eddie talking about? “What?” The four letter word fell off her lips before her head caught up with her mouth. “I was ready to go up that ladder. But Buck.. he insisted.” He stumbled, as he pressed his lips into a thin line, trying to suppress the tears that were fighting their way out of his eyes.

“Eddie..” she sighed. “No. It should’ve been me. That way, this all wouldn’t have happened to you.” he said as he pressed the palms of both his hands down onto the railing (y/n)’s hands were resting on.

“No Eddie.” She started as he placed her left hand onto his right shoulder. ”What I did and felt for Buck when he got shot, it wouldn’t be any different if it was you on that ladder. I would’ve done exactly the same.” she continued. “And if it makes you feel better, I started spotting last week. So all of this would’ve happened anyway. It wouldn’t make a difference if it was you or Buck. So stop blaming yourself.” she ended and squeezed his shoulder.

Eddie quickly wiped away his tears as his eyes wandered back to his sisters. She gave him a small but reassuring smile, telling him it was okay. It felt so easy, talking to her brother about her loss. But she feared that if she walked into that room and talked to Evan, she would shatter into a thousand pieces.

“You gonna be okay?” She asked him quietly. Eddie looked through the window again, and back to (Y/n). He gave her a small nod. (Y/n) let her hand slide off his shoulder as she made her way towards the entrance of the room.

She felt a lump in their throat as she stood in the doorway of the room Buck was in. This was the first time she saw him again, after she got pulled off the gurney she was performing CPR on him. She could just hear her own scream echoing in the back of her mind.

Carefully she let her legs walk her towards the bed as she swallowed, trying to get rid of the lump in her throat.

She took place in the chair which was standing next to the hospital bed. With her bum she sat on the edge of the chair, so she could reach out to his hand.

With her trembling hand she placed her hand on his, carefully touching his IV. She sighed at the sight in front of her. She let her eyes scan his entire body. “Buck?” She whispered quietly, “I need you.” she said, as her voice broke with the last word.

The tear ducts were open once again. Not even a word could get out of her mouth as she sobbed. She placed her left elbow onto the mattress, as she held her hand in front of her eyes. She wanted to hide, to disappear.

She shed so many tears that her head was starting to create a headache behind her eyes. “Just wake up for me..” she mumbled through her sobs.

A soft groan sounded through the room. (Y/n)’s gaze went back to Evan’s face. His eyes were having trouble adjusting to the light, but rolled his head to his left, to get a better look.

“Hi” he whispered as he opened his eyes wider and wider. A smile appeared on her face, through the tears. “Hi” she gasped.

“Do you remember what happened?” She asks him. As she placed both her hands on his. He swallowed loudly, “Got shot.. ” he stumbled as he weakly brought his free hand to his shoulder and touched the packed wound. He hissed at the pain that went through his body as wanted to place his hand on the wound. “Don’t touch it” she warned him as she grabbed his other hand too and placed it where it was.

Another groan fell off his lips. “Are you hurt?” He asks as he weakly points at the hospital gown she was wearing. She followed his finger. “No.. I’m fine” she sighed. “Doesn’t… explain.. hospital gown” he stumbled.

It was like suddenly she didn’t know how to speak anymore. “I’ve got a.. appointment. With the obstetrician.” she said with pain and effort. “I don’t remember.. we had that planned” he whispered. “No, we didn't have it planned.” she sighed as she looked down to the hospital floor.

“So why.. are you seeing the obstetrician?”

“Because I..-” she barely couldn’t get the words out of her mouth. It made her sick. It made her want to scream. To cry.

She was struggling and Evan could see it. He may have just woken up, and gotten shot, but he didn’t forget how to read his girlfriend.

There was no easy way of saying it. She bit her lower lip, as she gathered all her courage. Her hands were starting to sweat and tremble. A sigh left her mouth.

“I’ve… lost the baby Buck.” and just like that, tears were streaming down her face. “I’m sorry” she cries.

“Oh baby…” he sighed. He wanted to reel her in his arms, to kiss her. But he couldn’t. He didn’t have the energy for it, not yet.

A feeling of guilt creeped in Evan. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you” he whispered, as he motioned at her to come closer. She stood up from the chair she was still seated in.

Evan moved to the side, as he made room on the hospital bed. He patted on the side of the bed, as (Y/n) got on the bed, lying on her side, curled up as a ball again. She placed her head on his chest, as Evan pulled a strand of hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear.

He pressed his lips on the top of her head. And murmured, “It’s going to be okay.”

[teaboot]

What are "transmasc" and "genderqueer"?

I just woke up so bear with me, but like

Western society has invented this idea of "man" and "woman", right? And we SAY it's actually real, and based on tangible things like sex characteristics- primary, like dicks n' hoo-has- and secondary, like tiddies an facial hair an cellulite.

Well, it turns out that those things ain't divided "correctly" into the man and woman categories all the time.

People with dicks sometimes get tiddies, people without dicks sometimes grow beards and chest hair, beauty standards like "woman thin and hairless and short with small nose and tiny feet" and "man tall and muscular with a beard and broad shoulders" aren't appearing in nature the way we say they should.

(These gendered standards also change over time, but that's a different post.)

What's more, some people have multiple primary characteristics, and it's not even super rare! (Again, worth a different post, and not one I'm really in a position to make.)

So, we say that we didn't just "invent" two exclusive boxes to sort a wide variety and spectrum of characteristics into by pure brute force, but evidence says otherwise. So do we change the rules of our society to fit that evidence?

No, we pick something else to support our beliefs.

Learning about genes and DNA and chromosomes came much later in the game, so most people's grasp of it is this: Men have XY chromosomes, women have XX chromosomes, and no matter what your body is shaped like, that determines which box you go in. Whatever you look like should be padded or amputated or shaved away until you fit in your box.

Except.... we now know that people who outwardly appear to be the perfect ideal poster children of "man" and "woman" are living full, natural, healthy and unbothered lives totally unaware that they have the "wrong" chromosomes. No visibly "mixed" characteristics at all. So there goes that idea out the window.

Unless we say that no, our invention which is fact still holds up- there's just a few mutants and freaks and dysfunctional anomalies that just sort of happen sometimes, like factory flaws that wouldn't exist if things were running as they should.

So what do we do with factory flaws? We "fix" them. Or pressure them to fix themselves. Or, if they can "pass" one way or another, shove them into that box and tell them to shut up about it. Don't fit into either? Then pick one, and make yourself fit.

But... then, if we can pick... if hairy women with flat chests and small hips can shave themselves down and throw on some padding and powder her face to be accepted.... why can't anyone else?

Or, if that same "woman" went, fuck it, cut his hair short and embraced all the "man" characteristics, went by different pronouns and stepped into the "man" box... wouldn't that be okay, too?

And, he'll, what if they changed nothing about themselves and decided to opt out? We've proven that these "universal facts" don't *actually* exist and exceptions are everywhere, so fuck it, right? "Man" and "woman" don't really mean anything tangible anyways, so why not do what makes you happy?

And since, again, evidence shows that "man" and "women" aren't perfect binary boxes with perfect binary traits- why bother living up to those traits at all? Why can't someone assigned to the "woman" box live in the "man" box with long hair and heels on? If I makes him happy, what's the harm?

We don't like this, though, because when you build two boxes that contain the whole world, and people start escaping, or slipping out to live in the one they like more, or switching, or building their own, people begin to wonder why they're living in boxes at all. If we even need boxes.

And the people who maintain the boxes tell us, it's because the boxes are safe, and the boxes are natural, and the boxes have been here exactly as they are since the beginning of time anyways, and NO, they aren't just terrified of life outside the shelter of the box, you're the weird one.

Meanwhile, if we really looked into it, I imagine we'd find more people who don't fit their box criteria, or don't even like their box, at least as often as we find people who do.

Transgender means "someone who isn't in their assigned box".

Genderqueer means, "someone who isn't in their assigned box", but in a the same broad way that "transgender" is- Maybe a him, maybe a her, maybe both, maybe a they, perhaps a xey, and sometimes some of us move around.

I say I'm genderqueer, 'cause that fits me, but "Transmasc" to me personally means, "I know I'm not a woman, and I'm closer to the "man" box, but I'm happier wandering outside the "man" box than I am stepping fully inside. (Dysphoria is part of that, but again, in my opinion it's not vital to the experience.)

And I'm not one for destroying those two boxes entirely- they bring joy to a lot of people.

Just, you know. Maybe making more, different boxes. And maybe little camps out between them. And not treating people who roam the wilderness instead like rabid animals. Is the thing.

Long answer

[sleepy-sheepy-is-very-eepy]

PPt AU Character Design Concepts Pt.1

I still don’t know what to call this AU, but the basic premise of it is that, instead of children being used for the toy experiments, only adults were used. However, that meant that Playtime Co would use employees & even kidnap any adults that visit the factory with their children, they’ll then place the newly orphaned child into playcare. Though in this AU, the orphans are actually taken cared & eventually adopted.

This AU could go into 2 directions:

Game Events: This AU could follow the same path & events as the game, but with some minor changes. Mainly the behavior of the BBI Toys. I could see where they will try to urge the player to leave, or help them safely navigate the factory. However, there would be moments where they become more feral or animalistic & try to attack the player due to severe starvation. They would switch between friend & foe.

Office Sitcom/Slice-Of-Life: Another direction, & one that’s more lighthearted, is that even after becoming giant living toys, they still continue doing their jobs while taking care of the orphans. Mainly see how the characters learn to control their new bodies & deal with new problems that come with said new bodies. Obviously they can’t leave the factory, so they would stay in work dormitories that were made for them & the other employees. I might use this version for asks or making comics.

Anyway below are the design concepts for 4 characters:

Doebert “Doey”

This version of Doey or “Doebert” was created from Susan & George Ayers, & Samuel Barnes. They’re more serious & somewhat pessimistic compared to the original Doey, but tries to be more playful around the orphans. They are considered to be more emotional, still grieving & angry about what happened to them. They still get to see their sons Jack & Kevin in Playcare, but can’t tell them who they are. It absolutely crushes them when the boys ask why their parents “abandoned” them.

Yarnley “Yarnaby”

This version of Yarnaby or “Yarnley” was created from Dr. Harley Sawyer. Don’t let his face fool you, he’s the opposite of cute & cuddly, probably scheming of a hundred ways to tear apart & stitch up again for certain individuals. He’s very egotistical & will hesitate to prove your wrong over the simplest mistake. He likes to stalk or “observe” his prey, only attacking when he grows bored or extremely agitated. He still works as neurosurgeon, but mainly just guides the other scientists since he doesn’t have functioning fingers anymore. He usually stays away from the orphans, but there is one certain child that won’t leave him alone.

Mr. Squeezey “Huggy Wuggy”

This version of Huggy Wuggy or “Mr. Squeezey” was created from Leith Pierre. Despite his new appearance, he still does business has usual, however his new arms have proven to be challenging to control. He & Harley can usually be seen arguing with each other, though their fights are a bit more comical due to their new appearances, also Leith has a harder time controlling his limbs when extremely upset. He’s not the greatest with kids & is usually very awkward & stiff around them. Stella tries to help him out to the best of her ability.

Ms. Kissy “Kissy Missy”

This version of Kissy Missy or “Ms. Kissy” was created from Stella Greyber. She feels incredibly guilty for what happened to her colleagues & the many families that were broken apart, she’s willing to do anything to make amends. Of all the BBI Toys, she’s one of the most welcoming & comforting towards the children. She’ll often assist the other BBI Toys if they’re having trouble taking care of the orphans, or are feeling overwhelmed by everything that has happened to them, or in some cases will break arguments between 2 certain colleagues. She can usually be found with Leith, trying to comfort him & help him relax around the children.

The next characters I’m going to be working on next are Mommy Long Legs, Poppy, Boxy Boo, & maybe some Smiling Critters.

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Hi! It's been a long time! The real life it's exhausting, I missed tumblr and your thoughts and theories. Thank goodness I'm already on vacation, hahaha.

By the way, I wanted to ask what are your thoughts about the wands. The magic, how they change the loyalty, how they seems to be "almost" a living being.

Two scenarios I'm really interested are: the one when Harry steals Draco's wand and why Harry has a good compatibility with it but not with Hermione's; and the fact that the Elder Wand doesn't respond well to Voldemort bc is actually Draco's wand and then Harry's. (I think it was like that). I hope it's not too much to analyze.

I'm looking forward to your thoughts! Take care and Happy Holidays! 😊🎉💕

Hi, and thank you so much! 💕 I hope life would get better for you this year!

Now, wands are somewhat alive in the way a lot of magic seems to be. Brooms can sense a wizard's fear, the RoR changes according to one's will, and even the Ford Angelica and the Whomping Willow have a personality. Magical artifacts just have a certain level of sentience and I talked about this a bit already here & here.

Wands just tend to be more sentient than most magical artifacts. I talked about wands a lot before in my Wandlore tag if you're interested. And how each wand has its own personality and how it effects how it chooses its master.

As for Draco's and Hermione’s wands' compatibility with Harry — it's more or less the same. Draco's wand isn't more compatible with him than Hermione's. He remarks it works at least as well:

Harry looked down at the hawthorn wand that had once belonged to Draco Malfoy. He had been surprised, but pleased to discover that it worked for him at least as well as Hermione’s had done.

(DH, Ch26)

This means it might be a little better, but not noticeably so.

Now, Harry's wand is Holly and Phoenix Feather, 11 inches and Supple Flexibility.

Hermione’s is Vine and Dragon Heartstrings, 10 3/4 inches. My guess to the flexibility is "solid".

Draco's wand is Hawthorn and Unicorn hair, 10 inches. My guess for the flexibility is "reasonably supple".

Now, both Hermione’s and Draco's wands are bad picks for Harry. Vinewood is for wizards/witches with ambition, it's attracted to visionaries who see themselves as having a greater purpose. This fits Hermione (who's idealistic when it comes to the wizarding world and elf rights, for example), but not Harry. Dragon Heartstrings tend to be more flamboyant and very obedient, which is kinda the opposite of a Phoenix feather that has a certain detachment to it and is fiercely independent. (Not to mention all the symbolism with death and rebirth that is appropriate to Harry).

Draco's wand is an even worse match for Harry in terms of its stats. Hawthorn is meant for someone who's questioning themselves and their lives in a state of internal conflict. It's a wand of paradoxes and contradictions. It fits Draco of the last two books perfectly, but that's not Harry. Unicorn hair is known as an incredibly loyal wand core. Unicorn hair wands don't just switch hands willy-nilly. Unicorn wands tend to die with their owner, it would not work for another. They also tend to be more emotional but very consistent in their magic — very different than the more temperamental phoenix feather wand.

Actually, blackthorn, as a wand wood, would suit Harry better than either vine or hawthorn. It's a wand wood suited for a warrior, it's said to work best for an owner who it passes with through hardship. That, like the bush it comes from "that it produces its sweetest berries after the hardest frosts". All of which should've worked for Harry well enough — but it didn't.

The reason for that is that wands don't remain in their "factory settings" they adapt to the master's personality and style, as Ollivanders says:

 Moreover, each wand, from the moment it finds its ideal owner, will begin to learn from and teach its human partner. Therefore, the following must be seen as general notes on each of the wood types I like to work with best, and ought not to be taken to describe any individual wand.

(Pottermore)

And even gives some examples:

Hornbeam wands adapt more quickly than almost any other to their owner’s style of magic, and will become so personalised, so quickly, that other people will find them extremely difficult to use even for the most simple of spells.  [...] Pine wands enjoy being used creatively, and unlike some others, will adapt unprotestingly to new methods and spells.

(Pottermore)

They absorb some of their owners into them and vice versa. There's a reason wizards feel like their wands are an extension of themselves:

Without realizing it, he was digging his fingers into his arms as if he were trying to resist physical pain. He had spilled his own blood more times than he could count; he had lost all the bones in his right arm once; this journey had already given him scars to his chest and forearm to join those on his hand and forehead, but never, until this moment, had he felt himself to be fatally weakened, vulnerable, and naked, as though the best part of his magical power had been torn from him.

(DH, Ch18)

Becouse, in a way, they are. They are alive, and they adapt and learn and change to match their master. There is a relationship between the wizard and the wand. The wand adopts the wizard's personality, becoming an extension of them:

“I hate that thing,” she said in a low voice. “I really hate it. It feels all wrong, it doesn’t work properly for me . . . It’s like a bit of her.”

(DH, Ch26)

The blackthorn wand hates Harry and fights him because its master hated Harry, not because it wasn't won properly. My guess is Ron couldn't make it work any better. This is why family wands tend to work when passed down. Family members usually want you to succeed. And sure, sometimes it isn't a perfect fit, since the wand still has its own personality, but family wands would try to work with the owner to the best of their ability.

(Neville's situation is pretty unique, my guess is his father’s wand has a lot of personality and doesn't like to be handled timidly. And there are woods like that, like Spruce wands which are "ill-matched with cautious or nervous natures, and become positively dangerous in fumbling fingers". But I digress)

Hermione's wand works for Harry becouse they are good friends and her wand likes Harry the way she does. Now, why Draco's wand works for Harry so well is a little telling on Draco, I'd say. I'm not a Drarry shipper, it's not my cup of tea, but this is real Drarry fodder if you want to use it. Draco's wand working for Harry implies Draco wants it to. It works with Draco's conflicted nature in this book, that he does one thing, but his wand, which reveals the truth, tells another thing. And that is that regardless of what Draco says or does he wants Harry to succeed.

Now, the Elder Wand is a special case. It's more sentient than most, but I don't think it chooses masters the way we are told. I think it not working for Voldemort as well as it could had nothing to do with Draco being its master. I don't think Draco was its master nor do I think the Elder Wand treated Voldemort any different than it treated most of its other "masters".

Like Hermione says, a Wand usually doesn't matter as much as the wizard:

“Harry, you keep talking about what your wand did,” said Hermione, “but you made it happen! Why are you so determined not to take responsibility for your own power?”

(DH, Ch12)

Wands, generally, don't really cast magic on their own. It's always the wizard's own magic channeled through the wand. Every wand which is a good match to the wizard should perform about the same level of magic. And Voldemort says the magic he is capable of with the Elder Wand is the same extraordinary magic he is always capable of:

“My—my lord?” said Snape blankly. “I do not understand. You—you have performed extraordinary magic with that wand.” “No,” said Voldemort. “I have performed my usual magic. I am extraordinary, but this wand. . . no. It has not revealed the wonders it has promised. I feel no difference between this wand and the one I procured from Ollivander all those years ago.”

(DH, Ch32)

The wand isn't fighting him the way the blackthorn wand fought Harry. The Elder Wand doesn't really care and would perform for any wizard it considers capable enough, but it saves its own magic and aid only for its real master. Which wasn't Dumbledore or Voldemort or Draco, but Harry — I think it's been Harry since the wand sensed him in the same room because I think he was always the master of death.

This isn't the explanation the books outright give, but it's ambiguous enough that there is some space left to theorize. And that's how I see it.

[hypothermiatapes]

Tom opens his eyes to the wail of sirens, annoyance sparking in his chest. He knows there’s likely to be no bombs since there’s barely been any in approximately two years save for the occasional one or two. He still gets up and climbs down from his bunk to follow the muggles to the underground nearby.

It’s a slow process and Tom can already feel chills begin to slip down his spine. No, it’s not cold but Tom’s godforsaken body doesn’t care and decides it’s the middle of winter. Once inside he immediately finds a place to sit against the wall, people crowding around him. There goes any hope he had of getting sleep.

He listens as people talk, some people setting up records and playing music. It’s then that the familiar itch begins in his fingers, the urge to run skin over ivory keys overwhelming. It’s another reason why he hates London, no longer does he have Wool’s piano to play, now he must hunt for one if he wishes to create music. Hogwarts has one but he could hardly steal it just for his pleasure over the summers, though that would be fun.

He closes his eyes and listens closely as the music fills the tube, trying to figure out what song it is. It’s a jazz song, one he’s heard before, the artist clearly Louis Armstrong. It doesn’t take him long to figure out it’s Jeepers Creepers, released three years previous. It’s a good song and he can appreciate the muggle for having some taste.

Silently he begins to tap his foot in beat with the music, mouthing the words or humming the tune quietly to himself. He wonders if he could transcribe just from sound alone a piano part, but his diary is currently in his trunk that’s tucked away in his pocket. There’s also a small part of him that desperately wants to pick up a trumpet and learn that part instead, though he’s never played one before.

The song switches to another one of Louis Armstrongs songs, and Tom continues guessing before tapping his foot along. He’s so focused on the music he almost doesn’t notice when someone sits next to him. He looks over as if in a trance, not really thinking.

Besides him sits a boy with golden brown skin and messy raven hair pulled back into a half bun, a shadow on his chin from not shaving recently. He wears round wire frame glasses, a grey utility shirt, light blue overalls and work boots. The overalls are pulled off his shoulders and just hang off his waist, shirt sleeves rolled up to reveal scarred forearms, top two buttons undone. He notices a scar cutting through the boys lips.

The boy immediately strikes Tom as odd, nobody dresses like this unless they’re drunk and even then their hair would be cut and gelled. No man, unless magical, would ever have their hair tied up, and in the magical world they only do it once it’s past their shoulders. This boys hair only reaches his jaw.

Tom can already tell he’s a factory worker from the overalls. Most likely something that has to do with engineering from the soot that is smeared over his cheek. He sits with one leg pulled to his chest, the other positioned for sitting cross legged. He rests an arm on the bent leg and has his head against the wall, head tilted upward, eyes closed.

Tom ignores the boy and turns his gaze away to continue tapping his foot to the music. Though something deep in his chest whispers for him to look to the side again and talk to the boy.

The night passes without the two boys ever interacting.

A little excerpt from a fic in progress, it’s not posted yet since it’s undergoing a lot of editing.

[loving-family-poll]

Highly recommend botting. Everyone cheering for me in the tags was highly invigorating. I ran my script 1-5 times concurrently throughout most of the day. Every half hour or so (~7 minutes with 5 threads) I used a VPN to switch my IP address when Tumblr got mad at me. I became quite attached to my bots in the process! At one point I caught myself thinking, "why can't you be more like your sister" at my slowest daughter who was throwing up errors like her life depended on it and then I felt kind of bad because that's?? Also my daughter? And she deserves better. But yeah I was watching the numbers go up on my dual monitors like a real hacker with no company aside from my command line. I am very much an amateur and would recommend my script to absolutely no one because it is a beast and it sucks, but it got the job done (so far, at least)! My fastest voting speed was ~15 votes per minute across 5 bots (3 votes/bot/minute). Pretty sweet! High maintenance though, and it gave my laptop quite a workout. I'd have one bot working perfectly, three working pretty well but throwing up errors consistently, and one really struggling...

It started to feel like factory sim after a while. Or a family. I daydreamed a lot while I worked to the point where I felt guilty shutting down my girls for the day. I'm so proud of them. My five beautiful daughters who I gave birth to in VScode 🥹

Lovely poll, thanks for pushing me to code a bot for the first time, it was a lot of fun! Gcest is life and I listened to "Guess God Thinks I'm Abel" 112 times while I worked. I've tried Selenium before, but I had given up in the past, so I really appreciate the chance to learn a new skill. Biblical! I hope I can inspire others to commit fraud while I'm at it ✌️

Love,

- Botting for Gcest

UR THE #1 FRAUDSTER HERO!!!!!!! MWAH MWAH ILY!!!!!!!

[awkwardgamergirl]

Best games for mental health&relax?

As someone who deals with anxiety and depression when I want to relax or am just feeling low and drained I’ll usually choose what others would consider “cozy games” because I don’t want any stress from shooters, strategy games, or anything that has a lot of stakes. I’ll do switch games for now since it’s my main console but I do have a 3ds, psvita, and my computer so I’ll make a list of those games later 💕

So my favorite games to relax to are:

~ stardew valley~ (you already knew this was coming) it’s just a really cute game with lots of options on how you can spend your time. You can farm, fish, forage, travel the mines, talk to the towns people, interact with love interests. There is just a lot to do in it and it has a really cozy small town cottagecore vibe that a lot of people find relaxing. Amazing replay value. I have like four different lives just so I can choose different farms, partners, things like that.

~ animal crossing~ (second most obvious answer) we all know animal crossing is a chill low stakes game that has a lot of similar elements I listed for stardew valley. You get to interact with cute little animals, decorate your house and character, forage, fish, find fossils, shop. It’s just a relaxing and positive game and is very popular for a reason. Idk about replay value because I really couldn’t imagine deleting my island tbh.

~ fashion dreamer~ if you like cute dress up type games this one is a decent lil game. It’s got lots of different styles for whatever your lil fashion heart desires and you basically walk around dressing up characters and they rate your outfits. It’s from the creators of style savvy and while it’s super cute I would wait for it to go on sale because it’s a bit overpriced imo. Style savvy is definitely the way to go if you have a ds/3ds. Still cute though. Don’t know about replay value because I’m fairly new to the game and haven’t come close to finishing or restarting anything.

~ unpacking~ this one is pretty cute and definitely a game that helps with anxiety. It’s a relaxed little puzzle game that unlocks parts of the story as you go along organizing each room to your home. You can try to solve the puzzles or you can just organize the furniture to your liking. Either way you want to play it’s super cute and relaxing and has some decent replay value after you complete it.

~calico~ super cute game where you run a cat cafe in a magical town with unique characters, little missions, and lots of cats you can pet and play with. There is magic, desserts, and you can ride giant cats like horses. Super soothing game. Character customization and decorating your cafe. The only drawback is it can get a bit glitchy but for the cuteness and the price I have no complaints. The music is really cute too. Not sure about replay value because my cafe is so cute I wouldn’t want to start over.

~coffee talk~ you run a coffee shop in the future and talk to all the incoming guests and learn their stories as you give them their coffee. This one is super relaxing and how I like to spend my evenings before bed if I want that extra cozy time to destress and relax. Cute art as well with different species and how they interact. I haven’t restarted yet but I’m sure there will be replay value with just how cozy and in depth the story is.

~rune factory 4 remastered~ this was originally a 3ds game they remastered for the switch and it’s so amazing that they did. One of my favorite 3ds games that is an offshoot of the harvest moon series with very pretty art, farming, cooking and crafting, romance, monster fighting, and just really fantastic story telling. Very cozy and hard not to get sucked into. Such a gorgeous game imo. Fantastic replay value.

~good pizza, great pizza~ you run a lil pizza shop and upgrade it to get better ingredients and equipment. Super cute chill game to pass the time and hard not to spend hours mindlessly making pizzas. Haven’t replayed it because I haven’t completed it but I imaging replaying it would be fun because you’re just making pizza and unlocking different ingredients. Relaxing game with cute art.

~monster prom~ cute game where you have to convince one of the monsters to go to prom with you. Funny writing, pretty art, and the ability to romance any gender while choosing your pronouns. It’s funny, the game play is question based, and it’s like little rounds of 15 mins and either you get them to go to prom or you get rejected. Then you get to try again. Replay value is obviously strong because I keep playing it no matter how often I’m rejected 🥲 being real though this game is funny, unique, and worth the price. I just have to beat the first one so I can try the second.

~what comes after~ you play as a character on a train of ghosts and you process the grief of passing to the afterlife and try to learn and console the other ghosts on the train who are passing. Pretty game that is mostly story based and worth a try. I haven’t finished this game so I’m not to sure on the replay value.

~little mouse’s encyclopedia~ a cute little game where you play as a little mouse exploring the outside and the dirt and you spend your time finding other little animals and bugs and plants and you read about them and what they are. Cute little educational game I purchased because I loved the art that ended up being super cute in the long run.

Honorable mentions:

- speed dating for ghosts (cute funny little game where you go on dates with ghosts. Short, sweet, and to the point. Decently priced for how quick you get through the game)

- cattails (you play as a cat that travels through its little territory you that you share with your other cat group. You gather little things, complete missions, scrap with rival cat gangs, and just walk around as a cat. Cute but a bit slow for my tastes.)

-rune factory 5 (don’t get me wrong, I love the fourth one and I’m sure the more I play this one I’ll learn to love it to. The gameplay is just set up a bit different and is a bit more similar to the harvest moon style than the fourth rune factory. The art is gorgeous though I was just hoping for more rune factory and less harvest moon when it came to the actual playing)

Games I’ve wanted and heard amazing things about:

The only reason I haven’t purchased and played these games yet is because games aren’t cheap and I need to finish the ones I’ve already purchased. That being said I’ve been looking at a lot of these for a long time and they are definitely going to make this list. I’m sure some of them would be ranked very high in the favorite games category as soon as I actually start playing them. Here’s the list:

* Spiritfairer

*Bear and breakfast

*Creepy tale

*Cozy grove

*Witchy life story

*Potion permit

*Hoa

*Littlewood

*Potion craft

*Gris

*When the past was around

*strange horticulture

*Lemon cake

*Wytchwood

*How to say goodbye

*Dreamlight valley

*Storyteller

*Cult of the lamb

*Little misfortune

*Night in the woods

* Sally face

And that’s it 🎉 sorry for such a long list but I wanted to include a bit of everything so you had lots to choose from. These are the games I play when I need a comfy happy place to go when life gets to be a bit too much to handle. I enjoyed making this list to be honest so there will most likely be more lists in the future. Maybe I’ll make a list of favorite otome games, anime/manga, kpop groups. Things like that. Anyway, hope you enjoy reading the list as I enjoyed making it 💖

[writers-potion]

Using Description and Setting Meaningfully

The setting, and a writer's description of it, is an essential part of any story. A good writer would use that setting for more than just a place for things to happen.

Use setting to emphasize other aspects of the story, such as:

Magnify the theme

Convey the general mood

Enlarge conflict

Magnifying Some Theme Through Description

Here's the thing about theme: modern readers aren't looking to be reformed. They wish to be entertained.

So, let description carry the burden of conveying the theme rather than you having to say it!

Side note: Theme is NOT a few haughty ideas you learn in lit class (like pride, beauty, everlasting love) but anything that you are trying to convey in a particular scene (like, trying to get a date). You can have several themes instead of one lofty philiosophical theme. That's fine.

The key here is to pick and choose the kind of details that contributes to the theme. A few examples:

Theme = oppression and manipulation of workers.

Aim = highlight deariness and tension

Setting: a break room in a factory

Details: slow ticking of a clock, raspy gurgling of a coffeemaker, completely utilitarian carpet and walls

Theme = teenager scheming a scam that his father already knows about

Aim = establish stealthy tension

Setting: the breakfast table

Details: toaster loudly launching two slices of bread at exactly the same moment that the teenager realizes his plan is ruined, catlike movements of the "stealthy"teen

Theme = a character's life is about to be transformed

Aim = show that change is imminent

Setting = train platform

Details: the darkness falling, colors of distant hills and the sky changining, the last train rolling in, workers happliy switching from "work mode" to "weekend mood" as the character waits for his train

Conveying Mood and Tone

The mood of a character determines how the story progresses.

If your main character is depressed, the plot will crawl on and take on a brooding, ominous tone. If he is determined, passionate and happy, the plot will speed up into loud, blowing action.

Often, the prevailing mood doesn't come from the character, but from the setting itself.

Again, let's explain by example:

Mood = Gloomy, baleful

Details: Sulphurous smoke, thick fog, horses' hoofs on cobbled streets, vendor's cries, unseen organ creaking out a sinister tune, sounds being muffled

Word choice is important. If you're conveying gloom, using strong verbs like creak, screech and adjectives like sinister and eerie.

Use sensory description: visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory and gustatory.

Another way is to describe simple actions:

Mood = irritation, aggression

Details: mashing the end of a cigarette in his plate, one draught of the coffee in his cup, wiping lips with his napkin - crumpling and dropping in on the table, standing up from the table, staring at the other person.

Mood = Giddiness

Details: flicking water from his glass on a lunch companion, twisting his napkin, playing with food without eating

Once you've established a prevailing mood, you've pretty much set the course of your story. No reader will expect the main character to party all night with loud rock music after a sinister description of his way back home.

Enlarging Conflict

Think of the things or actions that will eventually build up to the main conflict. Then, choose a setting that will naturally bring out such an action/ though from the characters in it.

Conflict = Woman hasn't spoken to her son for a decade and now, she has to confront him

Setting: House where she raised her son, among things that he hasn't seen in all that time, working bits of backstory into objects in the house (tie in a sofa, picture on the wall), mannerisms of the characters as they greet each other at the door.

Allow the setting to provide the little sparks that will blow up eventually. This way, you can effectively cut out that slow middle and jump into action without much effort.

Description is a matter of wordsmithing, of selecting preciosuly the right words to create certain meanings. Make every word and sentence count.

If you like my blog, buy me a coffee☕ and find me on instagram! 📸

[storiesbyjes2g]

3.249 The Talk™

Desi's eyebrows shot up, but she didn't look horrified like most teens. She honestly just looked surprised, like she expected a different conversation. She is still quite young, however, so maybe her mind isn't there yet. If that's true, I'm grateful we caught her before the hormones work her over.

"Before we start," Sophia began, "I just want to say nothing is wrong and we're not accusing you of anything. We just love you a lot and want to give you some things to think about before you start making big decisions, okay?"

"O-kay," Desiree said hesitantly.

I loved Sophia's tone. It was light yet steely. Calm, steady, and full of purpose. That woman always amazed me when she got serious like that. Watching her in action was like flicking on the power switch in a big factory. One moment, everything is silent and black, then the next moment there're lights, movement, and the loud whirring of heavy machinery. The girl is BAD. She surprised me when she changed seats and sat next to me. I thought it might be better for both of us to be near Desi, but maybe she needed to borrow some of my energy.

"Woohoo isn't bad," she continued. "It's really great, actually."

She threw me a quick, flirty side-glance before getting back on task. She better quit playing. I will clear this table and give the kid a live demo, ha!

"It's not just physical. It's emotional and mental. Sometimes, it's even spiritual. You have to be prepared for all the ways it could affect you."

I finally found the courage to speak, so I jumped back in.

"And your readiness is your own personal journey that is not related to anyone else's timetable."

"Oh, that's good, babe," she said, with her hand on my shoulder.

Desi remained quiet, but she was locked in. Her eyes never left Sophia once. What was she more intrigued by? Getting the inside scoop ahead of all her friends, or how amazing her mother was because I could totally relate to being in complete awe of this woman.

"There are a lot of pressures out there," she continued. "Some of it is obvious, but most of it sneaks up and tries to catch you off guard. Peer pressure is the worst. Your friends, classmates...the Internet... People will tell you that you're weird or behind if you're not dating or haven't woohoo'd yet. It's hard to hear people say not nice things about you, but you can't let those voices pressure you into doing something you don't want to do or aren't ready for. You're not weird or behind-"

"I didn't start dating until I was midway through my young adult days," I interrupted.

"See? Me, on the other hand, I started way too early."

Desi's eyes widened, and I knew exactly what went through her head. I too remember the moment I learned my parents were just flawed sims like everyone else and not the superheroes I thought they were.

"I couldn't handle the pressure, and I caved so many times. No one took the time to talk to me like we're talking with you. I just want you to understand—really know—you are allowed to go at your own pace. You don't owe anyone your time, attention-"

"Or your body!!"

I couldn't resist. Sophia bursted out laughing, and Desi tried to hide a grin. I think we all needed a little break, anyway.

"Or your body," Sophia said.

As she took a moment, I couldn't help but admire her. She didn't just lead the discussion; she COOKED! I loved watching her in her bag—at least I hope she's finally realized this is her bag. She shoots threes mid-court every time.

"Like we said before," she continued, "dating is not required. If you'd rather wait and focus on school, that is perfectly fine."

"I personally would prefer that option," I threw in there.

"Luca, stop!"

Desi giggled at us. I'm glad she's enjoying this and not finding it embarrassing or whatever.

"But if you do decide to date, and if woohoo should ever be an option, make sure you are safe," she warned. "Being safe is more than making sure he has protection and you're not in any danger. Being safe is also about honesty. It means the person you're with respects your boundaries, and you respect his. Communication is everything."

"It sure is," I said. "And those boundaries... If someone keeps pushing you, that is NOT okay. Anyone who can't handle a simple 'no' doesn't deserve even a second of your time."

"Ten thousand percent," Sophia said. "And that includes emotional pressure, too. Like, if someone tries to make you feel guilty, or they say stuff like, 'if you really like me, you'll...' that's a huuuuge red flag. Love doesn't ask you to compromise yourself. Real love makes you feel more like yourself."

Desi shifted in her seat as she finally spoke.

"So, like...I understand what you're saying about woohoo, but ... Well, how do you know when someone is worth the time?"

Sophia smirked, shooting me a cheeky glance, and I knew I was in for it.

"Well, first, they don't talk to three other girls while they're talking to you."

I closed my eyes and let out a stern, quick breath. Airing my laundry in front of my daughter to teach her about woohoo was not the illustration I had in mind.

"Sophia..."

She giggled.

Desi's mouth gaped at our little exchange. Even though I wished Sophia would one day finally let that go, I kinda enjoyed Desi getting to see that side of us. Maybe it'll make her more comfortable coming to us about these things...in the future.

"Second, they grow," she said, still looking at me. "And they love you better every day."

"Daddy, you had three girlfriends when you and Mommy were dating??"

"NO, I did not! First of all, me and Mommy were NOT dating, second, two of the girls were just friends, and the third girl just kind of happened and it was ONE time!"

Sophia was still over there, giggling.

"Desi, baby, things don't just happen," she said.

"Will you knock it off?? You're making me look bad!"

Her laughter escalated, and she couldn't even sit up straight. Even Desi got a laugh in.

"A more practical way to tell is to start as friends," I said, trying to get back on task and give the child something real to chew on. "If they make you feel safe, make you laugh"-I glanced at Sophia-"If they care about who you are and not just how you look, I'd say that's a good sign. If they only ever pay attention when it's convenient for them, run."

Sophia winced and sucked air through her teeth.

"Ooof. I had to learn that one the hard way."

Desi piped up just a little.

"Wh-what happened?"

"Uhhh...I dated this guy... He made me feel special when we were alone, but acted like he didn't know me in public. When I wanted to hang out or needed help, he was too busy. But if he was bored or lonely? Oh, suddenly I was the best thing ever. That's convenience, not love."

Noting the time, and Desi's silence, I said, "We've done all the talking tonight, but I want to make sure you understand that whenever you need to talk, we're here to listen. You can come to us about anything. We won't get mad or judge or anything. Do you have any questions for us?"

"Not right now, but can I say something?"

"Of course, sweetie," Sophia said. "You can tell us anything."

"I don't think you should hide from that story, Daddy. It's part of you."

"Well, that's a mighty mature thing for you to say. You're right."

And just like that, my little girl wasn't my little girl anymore.

"Let me say one more thing," Sophia said. "I know it's late. You're already so confident; you get that from your dad. I don't see you struggling with this, but in case you do, I want you to know it is totally okay for you to believe in yourself. It's not vanity to know you are gorgeous—and you are insanely gorgeous. You're not stuck up for knowing how intelligent you are. And kindness? That’s not weakness; it’s a superpower. Understanding your value is so necessary because, if you don't know your worth, some douche will be more than glad to define you himself."

"You did that, Sophia."

"Why, thank you," she said sheepishly.

Desi shook her head at us and got up from the table.

"Okay, I'm going to bed now."

"Okay, sweet potato."

"We love you."

"I know."

[satoshi-mochida]

MADO MONOGATARI: Fia and the Wondrous Academy launches July 29 in the west - Gematsu

Dungeon crawling RPG MADO MONOGATARI: Fia and the Wondrous Academy will launch for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Switch on July 29 in the west, publisher Idea Factory International announced. It will feature English and French subtitles with Japanese voice-overs.

MADO MONOGATARI: Fia and the Wondrous Academy first launched for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Switch on November 28, 2024 in Japan.

In the west, the game will be available both physically and digitally. In addition to the standard edition, a $92.99 limited edition will also be available, which includes the following content:

A copy of the game

64-page art book

27-track official soundtrack

Mini Shikishi board

Reversible cover sleeve

Exclusive trading card

Idea Factory International Online Store bonus: Fia and Carbunkle’s mini curry spoon

Here is an overview of the game, via Idea Factory International:

About

The Ancient Magic Academy.​ An academy with a long, storied past, known as the place where The Great Mage learned and graduated. Students study here to become Mages themselves. A girl named Fia, wanting to enroll in the Academy, makes a long arduous journey from her hometown, and manages to get in through her own luck. She now tries her best to get through the many challenges of schoolwork, strict professors, and mysterious happenings, all in pursuit of her goal to become a Great Mage herself, while also making friends with other students in her class. Embark on an adventure with Fia and her classmates as they explore the mysteries of the Ancient Magic Academy and uncover the legends of The Great Mage.

Key Features

Conquer Dynamic Dungeons and Help Fia Become A Great Mage! – Crawl through randomly generated dungeons and engage in real-time, turn-based battles to help Fia level up. Use Magic Artes and collect Elemental Orbs to fill up your gauge and unleash Great Magic Artes. Manage your inventory and stats as you traverse floor after floor of wondrous treasures and magical monsters—including Puyo, Skeleton T, and others!

Keep your Grimoire Handy! – Keep track of unlocked abilities with the Grimoire, which logs Fia’s Magic Artes. Complete Assignments, Help Quests, and earn Learning Points that can be used to unlock nodes in the Grimoire for Fia to learn new Magic Artes.

Fia is Mad About Town! – Take a break from dungeon crawling and explore the school grounds where Fia can check out the Bulletin Board for unlocked mini-games, interact with classmates, grow ingredients, cook curry for in-dungeon boosts, and more! Find out what other goings on await Fia along her journey!

Swords, Shields, and Shiny Armor with Synthesis in the Storage Room – In the Storage Room of the school grounds, use items found in dungeons to synthesize into new equipment for Fia. Better synthesis items can later be unlocked via the Grimoire.

Watch the announcement trailer below. View a new set of images at the gallery.

[There's no trailer yet]

[ranchstoryblog]

Piczle Cross: Rune Factory Announced!

If you enjoyed the Story of Seasons Piczle Cross game, get ready for some Rune Factory flavored puzzles coming to Steam and Nintendo Switch in 2025! The official website lists:

300 nonogram puzzles with both classic and color variations!

20 collage puzzles, made up of many smaller puzzles, both in classic and color variations!

Fight and capture monsters!

Uncover villagers and bachelors!

Customise your farm, pick your spouse and choose your weapons!

Unlock entries in the in-game Compendium and learn about the characters in Rune Factory!

Unlock entries in the in-game Bestiary and learn more about the beasts of Rigbarth!

The most feature-rich nonogram experience available!

Dozens of Quality of Life features, as well as aides for newcomers and a challenge mode for experts

Challenge yourself, ...or don't! There is no wrong way to play!