#Simple Anarchy Oops

[burnt-scone]

Tiktok brainwashed me

I used an anti AI filter, which is why it looks blurry/pixelated

[megaderping]

Monday afternoon led Akechi up to the top of the hill with Theodore, but it wasn't just to bask in the sunlight or to watch the clouds roll by. No, when the two reached their destination, they arrived to the sight of young children running rampant, chasing each other, hiding behind trees, wrestling, and all around anarchy, with Yu caught in the eye of the storm. An ordinary person might have stepped forward with concern.

But Theodore wasn't ordinary, and he instead clasped his hands together, beaming at the sight. "What spirited children! Oh, to be so full of joy, embracing the simple pleasures in life without a care in the world…" He looked to Akechi. "Do you think that Lavenza would enjoy interacting with humans closer to her age?"

Akechi watched as the kids zipped and zigzagged about. One boy held up his Featherman mecha figure, while three other children came closer to investigate. Then one of the kids grabbed the mecha's arm and tried tugging it away. "Children can be quite ruthless…"

Case in point, the two kids both started tugging at the mecha figure, and Yu dashed over to intervene. "Whoa, time out! If you want to play with it, you should ask first."

"But I wanna play with it! It's not fair!"

"But it's my toy!"

"No, it's mine!" The other kid ripped it out of his hands.

As the fighting escalated, a deep frown cut across Theodore's face and, to Akechi's surprise, he wandered over. "Excuse me! Could I be of some assistance?" Previous Chapter | Full Chapter | Read from the Beginning Oops... I haven't posted fic updates in a while! But, hey! TCCAM finally hit the start of Iwatodai! :D Ken and Goro have met. Shenanigans await...

[aimeelouart]

So I see you produce a lot of stuff (fics and art and ideas). Do you consume as well? Can you tell us some of your favourite fics or link to favourite fanarts etc?

That I do! I actually have something of an encyclopedic knowledge of the current body of FF7 fics on Ao3 because that’s...pretty much all I read over the summer (that’s a lie--FF7 fics were the ONLY thing I read over the summer). I’ll focus on FF7 here because it’s my current obsession but feel free to ask about other fandoms I post/write/have bookmarks for.

Top Fics that I would die for

1) The Best Laid Plans by Loralei_Dawson I cannot stress this enough. I would die for this fic. Cloud goes back in time but the process kind of scrambles his brain like an egg. He’s semi-aware of how absolutely insane he is, but also thinks he’s being perfectly rational while all the outside POVs are like “good god what the hell is going on with this child” as he unceremoniously installs himself in the Tower and repeatedly attempts to assassinate a baffled and concerned Sephiroth. Features Genesis the certified Cloud wrangler. I love it so much that I even made art for it

2) Terrorism and Anarchy by VarianN Cloud Strife is a badass motherfucker and this fic exemplifies that. He goes back in time to his cadet days and promptly yeets himself into the slums, much to Zack’s concern. He then proceeds to play a very amusing game of cat-and-mouse with the Turks and SOLDIERs by keeping them guessing about whether or not he’s the mysterious “CS Delivery” who’s exploding reactors left and right.

3) The Fifth Act by Sinnatious Cloud goes back in time (are you noticing a theme here?) and heals Genesis, but is unable to heal anyone else. He gets cornered into joining SOLDIER and kind of...wanders around in a vague haze completing missions and being forcibly befriended by the SOLDIERs? This poor boy needs a serious nap.

4) Angel in the Rafters by skadren (finally, an author who exists on Tumblr! ...that I can’t tag. Well then.) This one is in my bookmarks as “the one where Sephiroth is a possessive dumbass.” Cloud is also a dumbass. Everyone else is just along for the ride. Anyway, Cloud goes back, has wings, is around bby!Seph for a little while before getting slam-dunked back into his corporeal bby!Cloud body. A whole lot of shenanigans goes on as Cloud runs around avoiding Shinra and exploding reactors. Gen content is typically where my heart lives, but this one is Seph/Cloud (after they stop being MASSIVE DUMBASSES ABOUT IT >:I)

5) Son by @sheseesinthedark Am I biased toward this because she-sees is one of my co-authors on Saving Subject C? Surprisingly, no. She-sees is just massively talented at spinning up complexly interwoven narratives. Vincent goes back to rescue bby!Seph from the labs and raise him and OOF it is BEAUTIFUL. Things just keep escalating as what seems on the surface to be a relatively straightforward and simple narrative slowly becomes as complex and beautiful as a tapestry, all building toward a suspenseful zenith.

6) just be still with me by @rainbowcarousels

Excuse me how does this not have like 3,000 kudos??? ASGZC which started out as a cute and funny sort of get-together fic and then MORPHED into a masterful plot-driven fic. The characterization is just so delicious! I even made art for it.

7) N7 SOLDIER by @screamingvikings Actually you know what just go read literally everything by ScreamingVikings. She writes like (and is, iirc) a published author. N7 SOLDIER is, you guessed it, a crossover of Mass Effect and FF7 where Shepard ends up on Gaia post-ME3. Her Shep is delightful and I very much enjoyed watching that lady get really fucking offended at how Shinra runs its military.

8) Cadet Strife’s Adventures in the Big City by Munchkin47 Seph/Cloud soulmate AU that made me laugh so hard I literally injured myself. Cloud tries very hard to ignore Sephiroth after the revelation of their matching soul marks, but Sephiroth refuses to be ignored and recruits his friends into helping him seduce his hilariously avoidant soulmate.

9) The World that Never Will Be by @tocasia Kingdom Hearts/FF7 crossover (does that even count as a crossover considering Nomura’s fuckery? Whatever) that totally makes me ship Aqua/Sephiroth. They meet in the Realm of Darkness and everyone makes questionable decisions all over the place, honestly. But it’s so ridiculously well written and deserves WAY more love than it’s gotten so far.

10) Draw With Me by XpaperplaneX Cloud is in the labs with Seph and they basically adopt each other and become inseparable to the point that Cloud is with Seph in the OG plot while Zack is the protagonist. It’s really fucking cute okay. And also sad. But I love me some gen content.

11) Stick ‘em with the pointy end by @tyrantchimera All of AVALANCHE goes back in time...as tonberries. I think that’s all I really need to say to get you to go give this the amount of love it DESERVES. Prepare to laugh until you throw up.

12) Another Day, a New Dawn by MollyPollyKinz Zack is the one to go back in time here and he’s trying SO HARD but Angeal and the others cotton on pretty much immediately and are like “??? is he okay???” Spoilers: no. He’s not okay. I especially love Angeal in this one.

Ok I’ll stop myself at 12 recs. If you want more recs look at my bookmarks list! On Ao3! Most of them use my own tag system and have short summaries/commentary in the descriptions (except the ones I need to catch up on, oops!)

[poguesofthebau]

Idea to write for OBX!!!! The pogues just having a good evening together, like playing truth or dare like 16 year olds before the events of the show take place!!

heyo all, writing is hard for me recently so i decided that i would do something based off what real life is like right now with a lil inspo from this request tossed in :) hope you like it!! (naturally, reader is dating jj in this bc i can’t help myself hehe oops)

summary: jj, y/n, and the rest of the pogues (including sarah) live in the world we’re all currently living in: quarantine. so what happens when the craziest friend group in the obx are trapped inside the Chateau for weeks at a time without any authority figures or outsiders? to put it simply, anarchy happens. (alternate summary: what i wish i was doing during this stupid quarantine instead of sitting in my room to avoid my parents’ hovering.) (alternate, simple summary: a hot ass day in quarantine with the pogues.) word count: 2101

sticky. why the hell were you sticky?

you opened your eyes with a deep groan, peeling yourself from jj with a disgusted look on your face. “jj, get off of me.” you’d both been laying on your stomachs as you slept, but the boy had somehow wound up directly on top of you. it would’ve been kind of endearing, cute almost, to wake up so close to jj, if it wasn’t so fucking hot.

someone across the room laughed lightly, and you slipped out from under jj and flipped onto your back, sitting up and squinting to see who it was. when you saw sarah, kie, and pope staring at you from the table a few feet away from the pull-out couch, you let out an annoyed puff of air, raking a hand through your bedhead to slightly calm it. leaning back on your hands, you glanced back down at your boyfriend. his nose was scrunched up, and his hand started rustling around the sheets until it made contact with your right calf. satisfied, his face relaxed again. before you could look back to your friends, pope was speaking. “i don’t know how the two of you managed to sleep like that all night. with those body temperatures combined, i’m pretty sure you should’ve burst into flames by like, 2am.”

“c’mon, pope,” sarah smirked. “they’re in love. their feelings for each other, they’re hotter than anything. like, hotter than--”

“hotter than the flames in hell!” kie interrupted proudly. “and the obx may feel like it’s hotter than that already, but--”

“nothing compares to their sacred, burning love.” sarah and kie both smiled smugly at their own ability to finish each other’s sentences, fist bumping as pope shook his head. “that was good. i love us.” the girls giggled again, and you couldn’t help but laugh a bit too.

“can you corny fucks shut the hell up? a guy can never get a wink of sleep around here, shit.” with that, jj was rolling over, too, a very unimpressed look plastered on his face as he scolded his friends. not as eager to be awake as you had been, jj groaned as he stretched, flopping into your lap on his back when he was finally done waking himself up. your hands naturally found their way to his hair, scratching at his scalp subconsciously as you looked around at the mess of the Chateau. “where’s jb at? and why is it so fucking hot in here?”

“you can’t really complain about body temps when you’re curled up in your girlfriend’s lap like a cat, bro,” pope pointed out. jj rolled his eyes as pope continued. “but since you asked so nicely, it’s the first heat wave of the year-- you’d know that if you ever listened to anything i say throughout the day. john b’s out trying to get food and water and stuff before it’s all gone.”

jj muttered something under his breath about wishing pope had gone out with their other friend as his eyes closed again at the feeling of your fingertips on his hairline. “you know what we should do today?”

“make out? at least let me brush my teeth first, you animal,” jj interjected. you flicked his nose, ignoring the comment otherwise. “oh, so you don’t wanna make out? alright, y/n, but just remember, it’s your rule!”

“jj, why does everything always have to be about you?”

“i have needs, kie!”

“okay, okay, okay, i think y/n had an idea. let the woman speak!” sarah quickly redirected.

“thank you,” you smiled pointedly at sarah. “i think-- and tell me if there are any objections-- i think, maybe, we should day-drink.”

as soon as the words left your mouth, the door beside you was swinging open with a creak, john b bursting into the room. “did someone say-- DAY-DRINK?” he held up a six pack of beer in each hand, that bright and proud john b grin plastered on his face. the entire group cheered, jumping up to help him bring in the groceries he’d gotten his hands on. “thanks to mr. c’s non-existent credit card limit, we are now loaded. thanks kie!” he tossed her dad’s card back on the table, the curly haired girl laughing at his words. kiara had somehow convinced her parents that spending her quarantine with the pogues at john b’s house was an acceptable idea, and they had even given her an emergency credit line for necessities and necessities only.

beer was an absolute need for the pogues, to be fair.

----

a few hours later, everyone was pretty day-drunk, so to speak.

sarah was currently engaged in a deep conversation with pope about why, exactly, he wanted to be a coroner so badly. you were in the middle of an arm-wrestling tournament against john b, with jj and kie passing the group’s second blunt of the afternoon back and forth. “y/n, your hand is fucking slippery!”

“fuck you, john b! it’s sweaty! haven’t you noticed that it’s a million damn degrees in this place?”

the arm wrestling tourney came to a close soon after, and the group went back to sweating, smoking, and throwing back beers. your feet wound up in jj’s lap as you tried to fan yourself with an empty, folded up cardboard box that one of the six-packs had come in. “hey kie, do you think your dad would mind if we used his credit card to buy a decent air conditioning system for this shithole? no offense, john b.”

“actually, y/n, i kind of take offense to that. just a little, you know?” you stuck your tongue out at your friend, throwing your piece of cardboard at him.

“you know, guys,” sarah spoke up. “me and my sister used to play this game--”

“oh, sarah, please tell me it’s not truth or dare with no dare.” john b’s face twisted into disapproval, and it was sarah’s turn to stick her tongue out at him.

“it is truth or dare with no dare, and i don’t hear any better ideas from anyone else, so we’re playing.”

jj’s hand came down on your ankle as he sat up and looked at the other blonde of the group. “actually, i’m thinking me and y/n will just roll another blunt and go hide in the guest room. that would be a better idea, i think.”

“no way, dumbass! if we have to do it, you two are sticking around for it too. pogues never abandon pogues, remember?” kie and her rules. “so, who starts?”

“well usually when i’ve played before it’s only been two people, so maybe i’ll ask the first question and we can all go around and answer?” jj groaned at this new development, causing you to smile. you flopped around on the futon a bit until your side was pressed against his, and he threw his arm around your shoulders once you’d settled. “okay, first question. um, let’s see... i don’t know. what’s the weirdest dream you’ve ever had?”

----

“weirdest place you’ve ever had sex. three, two, one, go!” jj pointed to john b, and the entire group erupted into laughter. john b was clearly struggling to think of an answer, and jj, who had become strangely invested in hour-long game, was running out of patience. “c’mon, man!”

“jesus christ, jj, i don’t know!” john b choked out through his laughs. “a bell tower, i guess?”

“great! sarah? where’ve ya done it, kook princess?” that one earned a smack on the arm from you, and jj quickly rephrased. “sorry! i meant, uh, where’ve ya-- i don’t know. just-- what’s your answer?”

sarah glanced between john b and jj, hesitating before she answered. “conveniently enough, my answer is also... a bell tower.”

with the ruckus that answer caused, you weren’t expecting the game to end any time soon.

----

“oh, my god. i finally don’t feel like i’m burning alive anymore.” pope threw his arms victoriously above his head as he made the statement, kie smiling at him and wrapping an arm around his waist.

“that’s how fucked the weather’s gonna be forever if humans don’t start taking care of the planet, pope. isn’t that crazy?” pope looked at her and nodded with a slightly terrified look in his eye, not finding the person kie became when drunk completely trustworthy to not flip out on him for his history of littering and excessive plastic use.

“you know, guys,” john b called out, quickly changing the subject. “this is kind of insane.”

“what do you mean, johnny boy? what’s so insane about a heat wave?” your head was pretty much buried in jj’s chest as you spoke, with his hands slowly tracing big circles in your back. the last blunt of the night had just been smoked, and it was hitting you both a little harder than the others had. for the past few minutes, you’d been thinking about you and jj finally making your way to the guest room for the more intimate one-on-one time that the weed had made you crave. as soon as he’d put the roach down, you’d crawled into his lap. the temperature had dropped reasonably, and the sticky feeling you’d experienced that morning was now completely out of the picture. your left hand was wrapped around jj’s neck, your right just hidden under his shirt as your thumb stroked back and forth just above his hip. jj had watched you nuzzle into that position through hooded red eyes with a little amused smile playing his lips, before returning the physical affection by sliding one hand reassuringly onto the back of your neck and letting the other draw shapes into your back.

by the time john b had finished gazing around lovingly at the group before answering, you had almost forgotten about having asked a question to begin with. “not the heat wave, y/n.” his correction reminded you of what the conversation had been, and your tilted your head up to make eye contact with jj. when you locked eyes, you knew jj was thinking the same thing as you: john b’s about to get corny and emotional. and you were both right. “seriously, look at us. isn’t this crazy?” you and jj smiled at each other, and you placed a loving kiss on his jawline before refocusing your sight on john b. “how did we all end up together? i mean, three losers who met in elementary school,” john b listed, looking to you and jj with a bright smile as you felt jj squeeze your neck lightly. “a weird kid who, for some reason, is totally obsessed with dead bodies and shit,” pope looked a john b awkwardly as kie giggled, slipping her hand into pope’s. “and a couple of fucking kooks.” sarah hummed from her spot next to john b, kie sarcastically saluting with her free hand. “you guys, somehow, we all got together, all found each other. what are the odds of that? what are the odds that we found this totally perfect, totally dysfunctional but perfect little family?”

before you could stop yourself, you felt the first tear slip down your face. “fuck you, john b,” you muttered quietly, taking your hand out from under jj’s shirt to swipe at the wetness on your face. scrubbing away the rest of the tears in your eyes before they could escape, you put your hand back down on jj’s arm this time.

“yeah, fuck you, john b. why you makin’ my girl cry, bro?” everyone chuckled softly, admiring each other in the moment. “alright, though, really. since she’s already crying, i guess i should say it now.” your head lifted back up to look at jj, and he looked back down at you as he continued. “i love you.” as you both broke into smiles, he looked back to your friends. “i love all of you guys. you’re all annoying as fuck, and i know i live for giving you all a hard time and stuff. but seriously. this is my family. pogues forever.”

“shit,” kie muttered this time, her thumb swiping under her own eyes as pope looked down at her adoringly. “pogues forever, guys. thank you for taking in us stupid kooks and letting us be who we are. pogues for-fucking-ever.”

“as corny as it sounds, i feel like we’re kind of required to group hug now,” pope added. “everybody up! i love you sickos and psychos, criminal records and all!”

and then, you all hugged the shit out of each other. pogue style.

[beesandtreesblr]

The Wildwood Tarot

My first deck, I bought the Wildwood Tarot of Mark Ryan and John Matthews illustrated by Will Worthington in 2017.

No, you don't have to have your first tarot deck gifted. What a load of gate keepy bullshit. Come to tarot as you are. There's no shame in store bought.

This deck has served me well. It's incredibly responsive to my thoughts. I receive a coherent, meaningful spread 9/10 times I use it. With this deck I've come to identify myself with a few of the cards and know when I pull them they're meant to represent myself.

The art is impeccable for fantasy lovers and those with a penchant for western anachronism. It's based off of lore of the UK including Arthurian legend and other historical English folk lore with a heavy bent toward occultism and wicca. It's not completely true to the rider-waite deck but parallels it heavily for many aspects. (Which of course means it's appropriative of Jewish Kabalah)

I'm searching lightly for a new tarot or oracle deck these days. I've long since left wicca behind as my primary influence for my practice and cosmology. This deck still speaks to me when I use it, even if I don't hold it's influences so dear.

What have I done to make a good relationship with this deck? So that some 4 years later it's still my only one and responsive as ever?

Well, I certainly haven't cleansed it. Maybe to some this is essential practice. I don't find it's made a difference I dislike to have not waved burning herbs over it or left it in the moonlight. I also have not only used it on sacred mat or with pure intention.

I get a responsive reading from this deck even when distracted.

The big pay off of this post is that I don't find tarot to be particularly magical on its own. The mind makes the meaning. The cards themselves show up as they will from chaos and our own intentions. Well, I guess that is what I consider magic. The mutualism of ourself and the other making autonomous choices.

And for sure, my deck is its own being. It's certainly not directly a part of me. It has its own sulfur, salt, and mercury. I just interact with it.

Perhaps it is precisely that I've never told it it needed to be cleansed to be good.

I don't pretend to know better.

And really, I don't ask too many questions of its wisdom. I find that if I ask the same question in too short a time the deck gives a muddled answer. If I ask but don't care about the answer it gives me sass. It likes when I know the questions I have and the placement of aspects before we start. It's ornery if I ask a simple question and pull many cards for answer.

If I come to this deck as a friend, it gives me plenty to ponder with deep chaotic symmetry, showing me the same cards for years in a row so that I know which cards represent myself and what aspects of the cycle I struggle to inhabit.

I don't need to force this deck with my own magical gymnastics. I trust it, give it its autonomy, and so it reads me.

I think it's a part of why I haven't needed or wanted to buy a new deck in about 4 years. It's why even if I get a new one I'd return to this one often.

Oops, how relationship anarchy enters into my relationships with my belongings, my beloveds.

[oohh-honey-honey]

All’s well that ends well- Chapter One: In which Eden has no plans, nor ever will

Summary: “Without a ruler,” Eden had once said, “The word turns to anarchy.” What he failed to mention, is what happens if the rulers are the cause. 

Ao3

The story in which everyone dies, a revolution fails, and it all turns out okay. 

Ships: Eventual roceit, background moxiety

Chapter warnings: Mentions of being eaten alive, mentions of murder, general fear of the king, falling off high structures, mention of shooting someone, anger at the main character, accidental misgendering, a character is picked up without consent but he’s alright with it

Word Count: 2076

~~

@wingedsoulmatedreamer

~~

They all die in the end- though we cant say if it was their true demise. Not by sword fights, hungry land whales, the unfortunate number of tall structures people seem to fall off of, or the tyrant king's guards. No, all in this story are united and destroyed by one factor alone, and nothing else; The idiocy of Eden Viper Anwir. This is, of course, how Eden survives it all.

Many scholars debate exactly when people began using bovine as a somewhat more polite synonym for stupid, though it's widely agreed that it was within the years of Eden Viper Anwir's life. Before that, they might have used dense, simple minded, dull, but it was when the shepherds son fell out his window that the population really began to relate those of small minds to cattle. Ironic, considering Eden did fall into a heard of cattle. Or, perhaps, where cattle had been. A truer statement would be he fell into a herd of cattle dropping. This was not recorded, though the way a passerby cackled and shouted, "Look at that idiot! Bovine and dumb, 'e must be!" was (It was one of the most reference accounts  in determining the time frame of the word). To which they received a rather rude gesture from Eden. He stood, brushing off the manure and looking cruelly up to the window (that seemed to stare just as cruelly back) at which he had just fallen out of. Eden was acutely aware he could have used the door of his house, though that small thought was diminished as he remembered his father working at his desk, who would surely have seen him leaving had he not gone out the window. 

Of course next time he might want a better way to get back in. Future-Eden would likely love to shoot Past-Eden for the trouble. Although guns did not exist yet, nor did Future-Eden. (Scholars often reported the invention of guns was in the 10th century in China, although it had actually been in the lost city of Atlantis roughly ten years prior. However, it was exactly then which the city sank and thus their invention was never brought to light.)

The bar was a hole-in-the wall place in every sense of the word, to the point that the only way to enter is was to quite literally climb through a hole in where the old food cellar had once been. It still would be a cellar, had the owners not been taken and murdered by the king. No one had taken the offer to buy it, so the building was covered and ignored until Patton Arrows had found it. Soon enough, it became a safe haven for anyone in need. The homeless, the cursed, fugitives of the crown. It was a nice spot, if you knew where to look. Not many did. 

All the patrons glanced over warily as Eden entered. There was always a worry of the kings guard finding the bar. There was a collective sigh as they all returned to what they had been doing. Or, should I say, all but one. A person made of fire who stormed over, lighting at their feet as they faced Eden, "You bastard!" "Lovely to see you, too, Virgil," Eden dried off his coat, hanging it on the back of an unoccupied chair. He stepped over to the counter and jumped to the other side. Grabbing a bottle and leaving a few coins, he turned back to the fuming Virgil. 

"You bovine, unbearable, bastard!" Perhaps a bit more than fuming, "Where were you the past four nights? We've been worried sick!"

"I see you've found a thesaurus," Eden took a sip from the bottle, savoring the bitter taste for a moment. The person across from him placed their head into their hands. There was no time to question it before arms were picking Eden up in a hug,

"Eden! We've missed you!" Patton's joyful voice boomed from behind. The hug squeezed him tighter than seemed altogether necessary, sending him into a coughing fit, 

"Binder, Patton, let go" Eden sputtered out. He was quickly dropped by Patton, who stepped back meekly, 

"Oop! Sorry, kiddo! Forgot about that little thing," He still smiled just as bright, helping Eden to his feet. Patton 'tsk'ed at the bottle Eden had been holding, swiping it away from him before he could grab it again. Eden hissed and grabbed for it to no avail. Patton towered over him, anyway. 

Patton poured a glass for himself and Eden and got water for Virgil, who didn't drink despite spending the better part of their days in a bar. He sat back onto a stool. Eden's eyes flickered with curiosity,

"How do you both feel about murder?"

Virgil quirked an eyebrow, "As in, would we like to commit it or die from it?" they paused, "Yes to both, why?"

"No!" Patton grabbed Virgil reflexively, "If you die, I will, too."

"If?"

"Yes."

Eden coughed to bring back their attention, "I mean to kill the king,"

The group all stopped. Virgil and Patton glanced between each other. Eden's eyebrows twitched, curious to their hesitance.

"You don't think we should? He's been less a monarch and more a tyrant over this land for--"

"Yeah, yeah, save your lecture. I agree just... Do you have a plan?" Virgil questioned,"

"Well I--"

"Any means to get into the castle?"

"Maybe I-"

"Anyone else in on this?"

"That's exactly it!" Eden spoke through clenched teeth. "I need your help! Come on, Patton?"

The bartender stepped back, "Well, I- uh... Y'know, I think it's a good idea!" He curled into himself, "But I think it's just that: an idea."

The world froze for Eden. He glanced with ice in his veins to the two in front of him,

"You're kidding." There was no answer, which only helped to raise the goosebumps on his arms, "You have to be kidding! You can't- So, what, you plan to just-" Air thawed around him as Eden huffed and grabbed his jacket. He began to storm out, "Fine! If you want to live complacent with this life, be my guest!" If there was a door he would have slammed it.

A fair was going on. Something was always going on. A fair, a festival, a parade. It was a good distraction to the public, albeit an annoyance to those not as pleased with the sounds and lights. Eden found himself biting at ravens wings, leaning passive-aggressively against a withered tree,

"Do you plan to lean passive-aggressively against that tree, or socialize like a normal person?" A sultry voice asked beside him. Eden moved the hood of his cloak just enough to see a handsome stranger just at his left. He stared with amber eyes into Eden with a strange sort of purpose. The man seemed to be looking into him, opposed to the more common way of simply looking at a person. It unnerved him,

"Oh! How could I have been so foolish?" Eden faked a gasp, "Because of course I like to busy myself with the events of a normal person," 

The stranger offered a hand to shake but not a name,

"Well then, could you at least give me something to call you?"

Eden didn't shake it, "I like to keep it for myself, actually."

They laughed, "Oh, I just might like you, sir no-name," 

"But is that feeling mutual, Mr...?" 

"Mx. Roman, actually," 

Eden smiled. Now the handsome stranger had a name, he turned ever so slightly to face them, "No last name?"

"I can hardly guarantee you a first," They grinned, clapping their hands together, "Now! You finally decided to look at me," 

Eden scoffed, "Trust me, Roman, I've seen you this whole time. With a face like that, you're hard to ignore." 

Romans face reddened, hidden by the orange firelight, "Oh," they chuckled a bit, "You jest, of course." 

Eden sighed, "If that's how you would like to take it, then sure."

"Do you ever say something without an aura of vague-ness, lies and dolls?" 

(Scholars were long confused by this, before remembering the age-old fairytale of pies and dolls, popular in the 1360's.)

"That truly depends on who you ask,"

Roman sighed, "I'll assume a no."

Without much hesitation, Roman pulled Eden from the ground into his arms bridal-style (Although, scholars might say that style of carry was made much later. Humans, however, are well aware that style of carry has long existed prior to the dates given. Hence why scholars are often wrong.) much to the man's surprise. He jumped, hanging on to Roman's neck and squirming,

"Have anywhere to be, tonight?" they never let go. 

"Yes, Of course I--"

Roman saw through the lie, "Like the man who decided socializing was too good for him has many plans." They hummed, all together too happy, "So unless the king has a bounty on you, I'm taking you to Thomas'."

He couldn't argue. The only place Eden would have to go is back home, and current-Eden regretfully remembered past-Eden deciding to leave the problem of getting inside up to him. He would shoot that guy, if he could. There was no choice but to let Roman do as they pleased. 

No that he particularly disliked the idea. 

As it turned out, "Thomas'" Was an animal sanctuary. That "take in creatures unfit for the wild and give them a home!" the brochure said in a far to happy tone. 

"Thomas and I go way back- He was a castle guard when I was just a kid, y'know." Roman explained, "But later he decided to open this sanctuary." 

Eden nodded, taking in the sight of the place. It wasn't in the worst of shape by any means, although it wasn't in the best, either. Eden traced his hand over the cracks in the plaster, grimacing at the dust that settle on the tips of his fingers, "Definitely seems to follow health codes,"

Roman laughed without humor, "Yeah, well, the king doesn't seem to think this place deserves funding," They held bitterness in their voice, beginning to lead Eden through, "Doesn't stop people from doing what they can to keep this place going. Gosh, don't know where they'd go. All the animals, I mean. The wolves and land whales and dragons and all--"

"Whales?" (Although it was never acknowledged by scholars, Eden's phobia of whales existed at age seven and well into adulthood. The scholars deemed this an unimportant, and this is why you do not trust scholars.)

Roman nodded, seemingly confused at the reaction. Eden, who suddenly decided he didn't particularly fancy being around such horrid creatures as land whales, pulled back. Roman looked oddly to him, stepping towards Eden. They held up his hands, "You won't even see them, fibber on the roof." Their voice assured, "And, trust me, you're going to want to come with me." 

"Because you think I fancy being fed to the whales?" Eden hissed in response. He stepped back again. Roman sighed, 

"Just trust me." 

Ah, yeah, trust a person he just met and was abducted by. sounds great.

A door behind them opened. Someone stepped out, lighting up seeing the pair,

"Roman!" He grinned, "And who's this?"

There was a beat of silence. Roman probably expected Eden to introduce himself. 

He didn't.

"A... friend! He's a friend of mine,"

"Oh!" There was a strained sort of hesitance in the mans voice, "Are you sure he... Oh, well I mean does he support...?"

He gestured vaguely. Roman nodded, 

"I'm quite sure he does! And have I ever brought an untrustworthy friend before?"

"Seven times, Roman," The man deadpanned. His smile returned, opening his door wider and beckoning them both inside the room.

It was dark. No windows, the only source or light being a fair few candles set on a table. It was small. Seven people could fit, though only five stood there now, including Eden and Roman. The table held papers covered in illegible notes and scribbles and unsightly doodles at the corners. If you took more than a look at the place, it would bring a vague feeling of fear that Eden had long ago grown accustomed to. 

He briefly wondered exactly what he was doing here with a crowd of strangers. The man seemed to read his mind. He stuck out a hand for Eden to shake,

"I'm Thomas Sanders!" He grinned,

"We're planning a revolution."

[vegetacide]

Whump●tober- Shackled

Veg-notables:  So this one was a bit of a trip…a sober one at that and not my usual fare. Seems I was in a mood last night.. Oops… and since I put the effort into it, I have to see it through in all its ….oddness. 

@gumnut-logic  .::hugs cause she knows why::

::Strikes a He-man pose:: “ By the power of Thunderhead ….” Wait..?  what?  That doesn’t sound right..” ::goes back to the drawing board::: 

Obligatory whumptober stuff: @whumptober2019 @la-vie-en-whump

Blanket warning:  Existential float through nothingness ...

Characters:  The Vegetable

Whumptober - TaG’verse

Previous post can be found HERE

9. Shackled 

Enjoy…

oOo

He was trapped in a void of white and nothingness.  Floating in an abyss of never-ending brightness that stung his eyes even closed.   

His brows were drawn tight,  pinched at the apex of his nose with his frown of confusion.  A bafflement almost viscous in its density, clouded his thoughts.  Coloured his mind in turbulent muddy hues slashed with angry shades of puce   Murky browns and grisly grays swirled and menaced but outside that everything was blank.  

Shifting, mists of effervescence swirled on senseless air currents from unimagined, unseen sources. Lost to the brume that concealed everything  

His physical being floundered, stupefied and cloaked in a shroud of numbness that left him deadened to the vacuum that encompassed all 

He was shackled to the knowledge that this could be it,  his new everything.  Apart from the place he had been before but he couldn’t reconcile why it differed from his current existence. 

He tethered himself to the fluttering thread of memories.   Tried to grasp the ragged, tattered remains of them and piece them back together into some form of cohesion.  

A wisp of rich ebony, a sun kissed swirl of ginger, a smattering of ocher peppered with abalone and a cacophony of lively shades of blonde.

They danced and skittered around the periphery, ever out of his reach. Eluding his blundering attempts to tamped them into place. 

Frustration swelled, brimmed over and erupted but to no avail. The teasing of his memories would not abate and coalesce.    

There was a ticking just on the cusp of his hearing that carried a warning, a foreboding sense of dread that this time and place though vast, was not limitless. 

And in that finiteness he knew without a shadow of a doubt he would be forever barred from the before place.  

The cruelty of that ending stoked the tinder of his  fury and with a powerful surge; a last ditch effort, he latched on to a tendril.  

Contact brought with it a warmth that suffused him. Overwhelmed in its intensity, his will refused to let go.  

A breath of sound, breezed by his ear.  Tickled his nap and shuddered down his spine. 

A whisper of fingers ghosted across his flesh and a quacking of something wanton reverberated  in his chest. 

All in the blink of an eye.   

It then shifted and warped. Sparks of other things filtered through. 

The quiver of a worried voice, the anger of another.  

Heat, cold, passion, fire, anger, and pain.  It was now everywhere and it played like in a chaotic torrent of sound and light but ever just out of reach

Arresting his questing mind, assaulting his perceptions.   

The void was still there hovering just beyond and it beckoned.  

Turning, he looked  back from the maelstrom. The peace and solitude welcoming him.  The nothingness inviting him to a place free of the ornery nature of mankind and it was tempting. 

Hesitantly he stepped towards it, reached out with a quivering hand and his fingertips brushed against the shimmering portal.  

A flash of electricity tingle up his limb and culminated in the center of his chest with an icy burst. The well of gravity abruptly shifted and a chilled grasp took hold,  pulled him.   

He bulked,  unsure if he should go forward and back, up or down.  One hand braced against the frigid circumference.that framed the portal.

One way lay peace and the emptiness of death, the other chaos and the robustness of life. The forever silence or the orchestra of being.  

The choice was simple. Bolstered, he pushed off.  

Unshackled by the heft  of his decision, he  plunged back into the anarchy.

oOo

Additional note: This one might leave you with some questions.. If so, fire away.. I am happy to answer. 

Next post can be found HERE

The Master List of prompts can be found HERE

[honestsycrets]

A Mad Christmas

❝ i just wanted to propose. ❞

↳ modern au

Author’s Notes | the first in my proposal series with Mads. mads’s engagement ring here.

❛ pairing | mads larsen/reader

❛ word count | 1511

❛ genre | fluffy one shot.

❛ summary | he has it all planned out. if only you’ll slow down and enjoy it with him.

❛ warnings | fluff and babies, nothing especially triggering.

Being from a poor upbringing, Mads never had the good life. He recalled distantly getting handidowns and going to soup kitchens for food, yeah. He never really remembered having the good life. That was why this… this was important to him.

For men like Tom the price of getting into Tivoli wasn’t that much. God, it was only a hundred and fifty a piece to get in-- but his real treat would have been getting the ticket for five hundred and thirty five. Both of which were pretty pennies that he did not have.

Not when he was saving up for this. The small box still burned a hole in his pocket. He knew that you insisted, insisted you didn’t need a ring. Somewhere in the back of his head though; his mind was buzzing with the ache to get you that ring you wanted. It... it was too much. So he bought a simple band with a lovely diamond. Then they would tell you how you would need a man with a bigger wallet like Tom and all over again he would feel like the greatest piece of shit in Copenhagen.

“(Y/N), I’ve got the tickets, hurry!” He ran ahead of you, jauntily surging forward.

“I’m coming!” You call after him.

Mads hops back over to you, ignoring the way that his ring burned a hole in the pocket of his pitch black hoodie which matched his lazy black jeans stuffed into black boots. You’re the picture perfect opposite of him in a bright red and matching white scarf. Mads always feels the heat when people look at you. An innocent thing all wrapped up with a no good thug like him. Exchanging the tickets along a high lit up arch and entering Tivoli’s red brick floors, its unreal. Though the sun is beginning to set, he knows that you’re looking at the green and white-- or rose gold ornaments hanging over head.

“What are you thinking about?” You lean up on your tippy toes, kissing the blotchy tattoo across his neck. His cheeks heat-- caught.

“Uh.” He looks down, “No nothing-- just… didn’t you want to see the gardens?”

You tilt your head, skeptical clearly. He hopes you’re not onto him. This isn’t your first Christmas together but certainly Mads has been much more mushy than his usual! Mads runs his pale pink tongue over his lips hoping that you’ll be none the wiser to his antics.

“And Brink Nordic for an ornament for baby’s first Christmas.” You tap your flat stomach. Mads gives a small laugh, looking over to your flat stomach.

“Right I-- I forgot I’m going to be a far.” Mads rubs the back of his neck as if to say oops. “Condoms shouldn’t break so easy!”

You bop him when you realize that an older woman glances over to Mads’ egregious statement. “That’s why you get one that fits!” You exclaim while seeing him off to another area. A stall selling Churros was your main choice. When Mads was hungry-- he talked stupid.

Man.

He wished he could just throw this ring at you and blurt out just what he wanted to say. You’re beautiful, I love you, please marry me! Mads stands awkwardly as you look through the ornaments. The front counter woman had a hawkeye on him the whole time as she probably should have anyway.

“Do you think it’ll be a boy?” You hold up some gender conforming blue-- blue-- blue ornament. Then a pinkish one. “Or a girl?”

He looks between the two rather boredly. Then with a shrug he looks to a red one. Mads might not always be the so deemed brightest by his family, but he also wasn’t stupid. Why buy something if you didn’t know if it would work?

“Why not the middle?” He motions to a cute silver and red bell. There was an area to personalize the bell on the front as well. If he could get someone to engrave it after they figured out what to call the baby.

“Hm.” You pause. “I guess you’re right.”

Great. Now that it was out of the way all Mads wanted to do was to rush you to the gardens and propose in the only way he knew how-- awkwardly. The sight alone would make any woman day dreamy. You certainly were when you stepped out of that little stall, taking a spin in the middle of the street with a flutter of your bright red top.

“Oh, there is a symphony Mads!”

No! He wants to say. There was no way that he was having this opportunity ripped out of his fingers but there he went. The symphony was a large one playing Yul tunes that he grew up hearing on the radio. Even some like Tchaikovsky or whatever that made him nod off more than once. Only to leap back awake when you smacked him on his thigh, feigning that yes, of course! He was awake the whole time. How could you doubt him?

“Uh… you want to maybe go to the gardens now?” He suggests with a small, meek smile on his lips. This could be the best opportunity! He would take you to the gardens, get on one knee with the sun beginning to set and--

“I’m hungry!” You whine so that he almost hears his own stomach whining too. “Your baby is hungry too.”

There went that.

“We can take our food by the gardens.” He suggests while you both step out of the symphony area. For such a pregnant woman-- you were terribly fast. There was no winning with you.

“But it’ll be cold.” You say.

The high today was a stunning one degrees celsius and it felt even colder than that. Mads stops just short of the newest place to eat, lips puffing out into a frown. It was beginning to seem like e really wouldn’t be able to propose the way he wanted!

“Mads?” You turn about, rubbing your stomach while looking to him curiously. He always wanted to eat. “Why don’t you want to eat?”

“I... just wanted…” He sighs, giving up the jig entirely and lowering himself onto one knee in the middle of the brick road. Mads digs into his pocket, seeking out the box with a modest ring that say inside. It wasn’t much-- because Mads had little to speak for. He could only promise you so much. He never wanted to promise more than he could offer.

Just the thought that one day… maybe he could offer more.

“I just wanted to propose.”

Above him, he expects some sobbing but in place of that, you boop him over the head with your knuckles as if to motion him to get up.Mads had always been the one to say that he was too poor for marriage or laugh at how would he even be able to afford the license. Maybe in some ways he was just saying that so you wouldn’t get your hopes up.

“Mads, quit messing around.” You flush softly, tugging on his honey coloured bun. “It’s not nice to tease that way.”

“But I’m not!” Magnus says, popping open the box. A sole skinny band of something probably plated with rose gold stabilizes a man made diamond that sits in the middle. The thought strikes him that maybe you didn’t thought it wasn’t worth it to marry him with this dinky thing. He wouldn’t blame you either.

“You’re serious?” You choke out. The realization that he was quite serious seems to set in and he clears his throat.

“I don’t have much...” Mads clears his throat gently, trying to shove down the ball that was lodged in his throat. This wasn’t coming at all like what he had on paper. “But if… if you say yes, I can give you all my heart and… I can cook?”

Oh god, someone shut him up. His cheeks burn hotly with those gathered around staring at the couple. You were going to say no and he was going to be so embarrassed! His eyes prick with tears, anxiously looking to you.

“Of course I’ll marry you!” You shrill past tears that mirror his suddenly.

“Yes?” Mads shrills.

“Yes!”

Mads hops up, bounding in place excitedly. He hears ‘congratulations!’ and ‘yay!’ to the side as he bounces about, winding his arms around your waist to twirl you in the cool air. Over and over again until you have to slap his shoulder to make him stop. He plops you back on the ground, bounding excitedly as he shows you the ring.

“It’s beautiful Mads.” You take it from him, slipping it on before a thought hits you. You shove it back at him, wiggling your fingers for incentive so that he would do it. He looks confused, eyes widening like a lost puppy.

“You’re my fiance! You’re supposed to put it on!”

“I am?” He stops. “Shit, I am!”

@lif3snotouttogetyou, @mblaqgi @lisinfleur @michaeliskindahot @queen-see-ya-in-valhalla @therealcalicali @arses21434, @lol-haha-joke @grungyblonde, @smokealone @anarchy-is-coming, @thisisparadisemylove @thevikingsheaux, @therealcalicali

[mvadowes]

DORCAS CLEMENTINA MEADOWES is 26 years old and works as a DRAGON RESCUER/SPY and is loyal to THE OOTP. she was a RAVENCLAW and is a MUGGLEBORN. SHE looks like DIANE GUERRERO. ( and it’s cami, bitch !! )

dorcas was born into a rather large working-class family in leeds, and quickly stood out ( some would say, for all the wrong reasons ). the meadowes were quite proud of the respectable reputation they’d earned inside their social circles over the years, and expected their children to be models of just that - quiet, obedient, polite, soft edges.

she was different from them all long before she knew magic ran in her veins

the mere concept of reputation always felt absurd to her, even as a little girl who dared to look in the eyes those who’d even consider glancing at her. her parents thought her daredevil and somewhat cynical behaviour would tire itself out and she’d eventually copy her siblings, but they were wrong.

something fiery in her was intensified by the weird occurances she couldn’t explain, and when her tongue grew sharper, more imaginative, she was uncontrollable. sometimes even to herself. dorcas meadowes was born a wild card.

the very muggle meadowes didn’t take lightly the news that their odd girl was a witch, and that aversion never really went away. inside the household, the reactions would always range from complete disinterest in anything magical to terror of what she could TECHNICALLY do. she’d accidentally won the power struggle in the family. she simultaneously held it all and none. the double edge sword of her status made it so that no one even tried controlling her anymore, but also left her lonely and lacking affection, regardless of how much she insisted she did not need it.

ravenclaw, home of the curious, imaginative, individualistic sharp-witted. dorcas fit right in, although that didn’t stop her from being in all other common rooms at all times. hogwarts was the biggest playground she could have asked for - somewhere new where no one knew who she was; somewhere magical where her curiosity could be fulfilled; somewhere where suspension of disbelief was common; a bubble she could experiment with. of course she’d tried lies back at home ( how many times had her mother bitterly called her a liar anyway ? ) but this was storytelling. dorcas sharpened her lying skills like one sharpens a weapon, and after some trial and error she found her tricks. after that, the options were limitless. she was a social butterfly, telling 10 different life stories in the same day, carrying them over for months. once she fooled a single hufflepuff into thinking for 4 weeks that she was in his house and year. even got a hufflepuff tie.

despire hogwarts being where she truly learned how to lie and how to put up fortresses around her, it was also when she was at her most internally chaotic. her identity was still shaky and between her crisis and her offputting ways, she truly opened herself up, more than before and certainly more than after. she holds dear to her heart the friendships she’s made back at hogwarts, with a special place dedicated to the so-called d squad, or dick squad. she’s made up so many stories about they all met that she now can’t pinpoint how exactly they all came together, but the four wild cards that are dorcas meadowes, daisy hookum, mundungus “dung” fletcher and caradoc “doc” dearborn eventually united and brought terror upon hogwarts. marauders who? golden trio who? the dick squad was chaos and friendship and family - she cares for all of them very specially and very individually, and to this day they’re the ones she always goes to.

hogwarts was also where she found her love for magical creatures. growing up, she’d bring home bugs and lizards, tried to take in stray cats, wanted to be a vet. magic opened up a new world of animals and her personal favourite - dragons. giant flying lizards that burned down entire fields? y e s.

after a few summer internships, she graduated with a job at a dragon reserve, but it wasn’t fulfilling. not just yet. after falling victims to too many of her lies, her superiors realised where she’d be able to put those skills to use, and as such she became a dragon rescuer. with no real experience, she was tasked with giving herself a cover, a way into a dragon smuggling ring, get vital evidence and then let the authorities tear it down. she succeeded. it was addictive.

soon she built up her little network of other spies, ID forgers, crime connections - dorcas is represented in every seedy corner, hears talks in every dark bar, has covers to pick and choose from. the latter, the criminal world is one she dips her feet in far too often, honestly just for the thrill of it. a lot of what she does can be justified with that.

the order too knew how to use her skills. when she isn’t on dragon missions or visiting a reserve to help out, she’s spying for the order. once again, contacts everywhere, dorcas meadowes is always listening.

is she way in over her head? yes. dorcas is young, reckless, only has SIX years of experience in spying and is honestly just making it up as she goes. does she see that?absolutely not. that’s her mortal flaw; she can’t see mortality. even in a war, surrounded by death, the concept is foreign. it’s a mix of her bravado and her detachment from reality what causes it. it’s this what gets her killed in a year.

activist to her very core. can always be seen arguing about something, especially animal rights. has been arrested for trying to free the gringott dragon. will keep on being arrested.

openly anti-government. anti-capitalism. anti-separated muggle and magical worlds. long live the anarchy.

part of her misses being a full-time dragon carer. even though most of her missions are animal traffic and animal cruelty related, she doesn’t spend quite as much time with the dragons as she used to. 

loves the punk rock underground scene and all of her muggle friends are from it. catch her going to weird secret bars and rocking out to ‘noise’.

she has very few things grounding her, since for the most part dorcas is like a ghost. she has no home, living off a backpack and couch surfing, has no telephone, no fireplace, very few photographs. disappears for missions or just to satisfy a need to not be stuck in the same place far too often. dorcas meadowes will come into your life after two weeks of radio silence, with two dragon eggs and a simple ‘i’m staying with you this week’.

gets in trouble far too often. always did like to hang around the wilder more out fringe groups of society, and can also usually be found in the company of aurors. has a need for danger and excitement. would light up a car just to see how that happens. doesn’t lead the healthiest life, far too much alcohol and party drugs but hey at least she always sleeps a lot ??

she does have a fascination with fire. lieks to watch things burn, gets lost in the beauty of flames !!

lowkey just needs to learn how to be more emotionally honest and how to accept the rawness that comes with it, and to not run away every time something arises. lowkey needs to learn how to emote and live like other people. lowkey never will.

basically ??? she’s an irresponsible couch surfing slightly pyromanic compulsive liar anarchist, with a passion for animal rights and especially the breathing fire type, and an intense lack of emotional abilities

character parallels: gina linetti, eleanor shellstrop, cristina yang, elektra natchios, doug judy, veronica mars, natasha romanoff, malia tate, daisy johnson, heather davis, mazikeen, jason mendonza, gilderoy lockhart, peter quill, ilana wexler, jo wilson, titus andromedon, daenerys targaryen

some wanted connections:

- hogwarts enemies: dorcas got in everyone’s business all the time and also spread lots of fake rumors just for the fun of it. she’s bound to have upset someone.

- post hogwarts enemies: the exact same thing from the first one IHFBGJSHDBV

- a different life: people who know dorcas but as someone totally different. different name, story, maybe even looks due to polyjuice. oops.

- the name is bond: SPY PALS. people dorcas has worked with or against, who happened to meet through their missions or their contacts and understand each other, the way they live in lies...

- hot: someone please fuck dorcas. she loves fun so yall can’t tell me she isn’t boning at least one person. no feelings needed, just screw her.

- okay but someone love dorcas please

click here for a bad pinterest board and hmu for dorcas to come ruin ur life

[massielandnetwork]

Thriving in an Economic Bubble during Anarchy

5. The Christian Succession – Are the DM Wheels Beginning to Wobble?

Most Americans across our country celebrated Independence Day last weekend. We traveled to Florida for a family event and returned by car on Sunday afternoon. Thinking traffic would be bad we had planned to break the return trip into two legs. But on Sunday traffic was light so we drove all the way through. It was interesting that every time I stopped for gas, when the pump was supposed to print my receipt, all of them were out of paper. America had been on the road.

The Demented Marxists (DM) had a bad week. It was interesting to watch. Here are four questions:

1. The New York City (NYC) Mayor election saw 1 Million voters cast their ballots but the DM’s ended up with more than 1.1M ballots. Oops. The DM’s had to publicly acknowledge that they do not know who won the first round and it will be a few weeks before they can figure it out. Election fraud? Can the DMs get the Republican Senate in Arizona to audit the NYC Mayor election?

2. I have lost count, is the non-infrastructure Infrastructure Deal on or off. Neither Biden knows, but for different reasons. Perhaps Obama has not told them yet. More stimulus into an economy already operating at capacity will simply increase the rate of inflation from high to rampant. Is rampant inflation the DM economic plan?

3. The Momma Bears have the CRT idiots on the run including some of the founders of the CRT movement. As that culture war continues, the DMs have sent in their reserves, the National Education Association (NEA), which voted to (1) resist going back to the classrooms until all students are vaccinated despite the lack of an approval of the vaccines for anyone under the age of 18, and (2) insist on teaching CRT in every public classroom in America. Are we witnessing the end of public education?

4. Remember the Democrats running around yelling about the Republicans’ War on Women? Since Democrats support transgenders winning women’s athletic events and women’s beauty contests – does that qualify as a war on women?

Give our Lord and Savior the credit for the great awakening that is happening as Christians stand firm when Satan is being exposed. Hallelujah. Amen. Here are just a few recent examples:

1. Trump held his second rally, this time in Sarasota, Florida. Another sellout crowd. Biden’s July 4th message received views equal to 25% of the attendees at Trump’s rally. Yet we are supposed to believe that Biden got the most votes in the history of the USA.

2. More governors are sending either police or troops to the USA southern border. My guess is it is a different group of states than sent troops to DC in January – March. Both events highlight failure on the part of the DM’s and displays that states are increasingly acting independent of the Federal government.

3. One of Arizona’s State Senators has called for a national movement to audit all elections in all states. Every nonprofit organization has an annual audit, publicly traded companies get audited, how come it is not standard procedure to audit our elections? Virginia’s Republicans must be hiding under their blankies because they are not discussing an audit.

I highly recommend that you read the book “Unsettled” by Steven E. Koonin. It is the most thorough analysis of Climate Change I have found. Pure FACTS not opinions wrapped in spin. Mr. Koonin is candid in his disdain for the media’s distortion of the facts that have been and are issued on the topic of Climate Change. It is easy to see that the media types are either clueless about science or severely slanted in their view (or both) because they never let the facts stand in the way of making up a good story.

Speaking of Climate Change, watch for rolling electrical brownouts in California and Texas. Is Virginia next to experience a highest cost and lowest reliability electric grid dependent on solar panels and bird slicers called windmills. Perhaps the DM’s think brownouts are a way of fighting their imagined climate change. To me, brownouts mean a lousy government.

Melissa MacKenzie, the Publisher of American Spectator, wrote a personal blog article last week and described her movement away from the “dying social media platforms” to the new ones – Rumble, Signal, Telegram, Speakeasy, Gab, and Parler. She has marked a trend. Join it.

In the economy, here are some critical data points:

1. Two homebuilders have now shared with me that their sales pace has declined each month for the last three months in a row. If you have been reading this blog, you know that in February we forecasted that trend would occur and explained the reason why it is happening – higher mortgage rates.

2. Thanks to the Biden the USA is no longer energy independent but again subject to the whims of OPEC which has raised the price of oil to more than $75 per barrel and headed to $100 a barrel. Get ready for $4 gas. That adds a higher cost of energy into the DMs economic toxic mix. Higher interest rates, higher energy prices, higher inflation, capped off with higher taxes … anyone one of them equals a recession.

3. The report of 850,000 jobs in June reflects the states that stopped paying folks not to work so they found jobs. While that is significant, the real significance is its impact on The Fed. The Fed meets the end of this month and then the end of September. By the end of September, the pressure on the Fed to reduce stimulus will be so high they will at least announce when they will begin to taper their Quantitative Easing (QE), the term for The Fed buying 10-year Treasuries and mortgages to reduce mortgage interest rates to stimulate the real estate market. When The Fed announces that they will begin to taper QE, the 10-year Treasuries and therefore mortgage interest rates will both increase and burst the real estate bubble.

4. Biden fired the CEO of FNMA, the quasi-government mortgage entity. Biden stated that he will appoint someone who will lower the standards for mortgage loans so that more folks can buy homes. If making bad loans on houses sounds familiar, Billy Clinton did the same in 1998 and the result was the financial crisis that created The Great Recession. Why do the DM’s want another financial crisis?

The Fed now owns such a large percentage of the Treasury market that it causes mixed signals in those markets. Do not be fooled. As The Fed tapers QE, interest rates will rise and the economy will slow. The higher interest rates will impact a matrix of forces but the result is simple to forecast - the ripple effects cause a brutal recession.

Counting the one that is coming in 2022, during my career I will have been through seven recessions caused by one of the following – (1) increased energy prices, (2) interest rates being raised to combat inflation, and (3) increased taxes. The recession coming next year will be the result of a combination of all three of those forces in combination with stagflation. Ugly.

177 days into the DM’s Coup, eventually, we will know all the facts. Pray for the patriot attorney in Antrim County, Michigan who called for the Secretary of State to resign or be impeached and the election to be De-Certified. Another county in Michigan has voted to audit its election. Interesting that the Michigan GOP is reported to have issued a statement that no fraud occurred in the election. The data suggest the opposite is correct, so one has to wonder who is owned by whom.

Keep watching the Arizona Audit. The Secretary of State in Georgia decided to investigate the chain of custody of some of the mail in ballots to CYA. As the election audits spread and the terabytes of information from Mr. Dong bubble, you can smell the fear of the DMs.

A great piece of land remains The Best investment long term. Capitalism builds wealth, Marxism/Socialism consumes it in self destruction. Pray for a return to honest and audited elections in the USA. God is in control. Men make plans, but God ALWAYS wins.

“And not only that, but we boast of our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”

(Romans 5:3-5) New Revised Standard Version, Oxford University Press)

Stay healthy,

Ned

July 8, 2021

Copyright Massie Land Network. All rights Reserved.

[burnt-scone]

Celebrating his life

I'm gonna miss him. 😔

[fanficgalore]

Viktuuri #61

Feel like a quote out of context [Fluff/Angst] In which Yuuri accidentally insults Viktor Nikiforov in front of a crowd of reporters, only to discover that apparently being called a 'talentless hack' is what turns Viktor on.

This is not how Yuuri envisioned meeting Viktor going, but hey. He'll take it.

Sonnet 116 [Fluff] “Canst thou, o cruel! Say I love thee not,” Victor says with a deep, resigned sigh. “Do I not think on thee, when I forgot am of myself, all tyrant, for thy sake?” “You are one of the biggest pushovers for this boy I have ever seen,” Mila comments from her seat next to him without even looking up from her clipboard.

Or:

In which the principal actor of the Shakespearean Cabaret theater troupe is ridiculously head-over-heels in love with their oblivious new cast member and everyone schemes to make his life hell.

an ever-fixed mark [Fluff] Yuuri is absolutely gorgeous. Viktor could write poems about the soft pink that paints his cheeks and nose. He could pen lyrics about the slope of Yuuri’s smile and the way he bites his lip to try to keep the laughter inside. The sparkle in Yuuri’s eyes would be enough to give hope to even the most lovelorn soul. The warmth of Yuuri’s body pressed against his and the bubbling heat of the feelings he induces in Viktor would be more than enough protection from even the harshest of Russian winters.

Yuuri laughs again and ducks his head, embarrassed, and Viktor covers his mouth with his hand because he thinks he may have said some of that out loud. Oops.

tfw viktor starts yelling at you in russian [Fluff] Sixteen-year-old Chihoko Sato is at Four Continents almost by accident, so the fact that Victor Nikiforov is headed straight towards her is probably also an accident, right?

Petal steps [Fluff/Angst] Everyone in the Katsuki family has a magical talent. Mari’s origami comes to life, their mother’s cooking brings up good memories of home, and Yuuri… When he moves, flowers grow. Viktor hasn’t believed in magic in a long time, despite his late mother’s claims that the Nikiforov family is cursed…

Yuuri Katsuki’s dragon husband [Fluff] Yuuri walked over to the door and opened it. He saw the large head of a dragon with eyes as blue as the sky and scales as white as snow. Yuuri closed the door.

“Haha,” he said. “I’m still dreaming!” He pinched himself and opened the door once again to see an incredibly gorgeous and tall man with pale skin, silver hair and a heart-shaped smile standing at the other side of his door. He was wearing nothing at all.

Yuuri closed the door.

Empty spaces between the stars [Fluff/Angst] Victor gets just as drunk as Yuuri at the Sochi Banquet, and they disappear together after the dance-offs. They wake up the morning after with rings on their fingers, and pictures of them kissing after getting married the night before are all over the tabloids... but neither of them remembers a thing. They decide to stay married for a while for the sake of Victor's sponsorships, and in exchange, Victor coaches Yuuri through nationals...

anarchy for sale! t-shirts only ten dollars [Fluff] Because the universe is somehow both cruel and indifferent, Yuuri sees Victor again two days later in the lobby of his ballet studio. He’s just finished his advanced pointe workshop. His hair is plastered to his forehead with sweat, he's painted with a full body flush, and he's wearing a shirt Phichit custom ordered that says “Tastier Than Katsudon” in screaming neon orange.“Hi Yuuri!” Victor’s beaming and blocking his only exit. ____________

A falling-in-love story told through questionable t-shirts.

Fragile, handle with care [Fluff/Angst] It started as a simple letter, an assignment for his intermediate Russian class. "Dear Victor", he wrote to his pen pal. He never thought it would end with "Love, Yuuri".

Or; the Pen Pal AU where Victor and Yuuri are pen pals but neither know who the other person really is that no one ever asked for.

Something so wholesome about you [Fluff] It was supposed to be his year. He was supposed to-Celestino stops talking and squeezes his shoulder. Yuuri looks up at him, opens his mouth to say something when someone says his name.

He freezes, holds his breath for a full second against the painfully familiar voice, not daring to hope. Then, very slowly, he turns towards the source, eyes going wide with disbelieve.

“Mari?”

(Or: in which Vicchan lives, Yuuri doesn't quite fail and doesn't quite get drunk, but manages to accidentally woo Victor Nikiforov anyway.)

When the world was ours [Fluff/Angst] “You know, if you watch the sunset from this hill for fifty-one days in a row, your love will be reciprocated,” Viktor says suddenly, his voice ringing out bright and clear.

Yuuri gives him a wry smile. “Who is it this time?”

“It’s a secret.”

- At sixteen, it seems everyone has secrets. Yuuri wanting to kiss Viktor every time he so much as blinks is one. The matter of Viktor's new love interest is another. As to whether or not the dumb old hill will grant Viktor's wish, well, they'll just have to wait to find out.

Beautiful [Fluff] Yuuri Katsuki lives in the same apartment building as The Most Beautiful Man in the World, but somehow he only manages to run into him when he's a complete mess.

AU where they're not ice skaters, basically just a story of Yuuri and Viktor falling in love.

Vanity plate [Fluff] Victor turns, frowns at the license plate, and murmurs,“maybe I went too subtle.”

But he rallies and looks at Yuuri, so smug that Yuuri wants to kiss it off his face, “and you said," Victor affects a voice that sounds like Yuuri’s second cousin who’s eaten too many chili peppers, “‘Vitya, you’ve never been subtle in your life.’”Yuuri crosses his arms in front of his chest, unimpressed, “there’s subtle and then there’s incomprehensibly cryptic.”Victor is undeterred, “Yurio will get it. He uses Instagram.”

//

“What the fuck does that say?” Yurio growls.

Victor pouts, "does no one appreciate genius anymore?"

“No one appreciates you, there’s a difference.”

______________

Or: 

No one understands Victor's new license plate.

[lycanrocdaily]

{{ You use SAI? oh man! So do i but our outcomes are very different. Could you pretty please share with us your lineart brush settings and/or tips ;w;? }}

Sure!! Despite Sai being a simple program at first, it has a lot of tricks to it! I learn something new about it all the time! 

Anyways, my lineart brush!

I’m constantly changing how I do lineart. Before I was using an oil/water brush, which had soft lines. Looked nice with multiply but was horrible to color in, even with Sai’s amazing select. This brush here is my main lineart brush- it’s sharp and solid which I really like. Unforgiving with selects/gaps but overall gives a nice clean look. Always at 4.0 size, as my canvas is always at LEAST 900 pixels in either direction- and usually more than that.

My sketch tool:

A soft, fluid tool that I’ve been using forever. I used to use this for lineart but it’s a little too soft for that and doesn’t handle transparency well

HOW TO MAKE A CIRCLE IN SAI

Using any pen, but you can also use the lineart pen tool I just gave you, increase the pen size to like… 250 px. Using your mouse or track pad, click in place a few times so that it gives you one single solid circle without line pressure

Select your magic wand (my best friend tool) and select the outside of the circle:

Hop up to Selection (that’s up there on the banner toolbar between Layer and Filter)

And select Increment. This will expand your selection by one (1) pixel. All around. Awesome!

Now head back to selection…

And hit invert!

This INVERTS your selection! Let me tell you, with this little skill you can do a lot of stuff that I’d be happy to outline (most being lazy with coloring).

Now hit the D key to delete.

And CONTROL D to deselect

And you have a perfect circle! USE THIS IN SKETCHING! I recently realized that a perfect circle in sketching is amazing…. it helps a lot. If the circle is too thick you can head back to your magic wand…. Select outside the circle…

And hit D to delete!

Boom. Thinner!

HOW TO LOCK YOUR LAYERS AND WHY YOU WOULD WANT TO LOCK THEM

I have this lineart, but it’s boring in all black. I also have to color this don’t I… Here’s what I do.

Grab your magic wand. Magic wand is now your best friend.

Select outside Lycan, as so:

Now, remember how to Invert a Selection? Head to Selection up on the banner (between Layer and Filter, remember) and select it. There’s also…

This button here! Which does the same thing. Invert your layer!

Nice! Now we’re cooking!! Now make a new layer. Name it if you want to but I never do. Make sure this layer is under the lineart…

Now, hit CONTROL F. That’s a wide fill. You could use the bucket but we’re PROS MY FRIEND

SWEET. Now remember to hit CONTROL D to deselect all that stuff.

GOOD! You’re getting the idea! Look at that fill. So easy. So pure. I can hear you. You’re saying “Lycanroc is currently yellow and I’m 20% sure that is incorrect.” And you’d be right.

But oh no! I made you deselect! So you can CONTROL F without filling the whole layer!!! Now… you could just do the previous steps… which is tried and true. OR… You can head to your layer properties… oveerrrrr

here. Let’s take a closer look shall we?

Today we’ll be talking about Preserve Opacity and Clipping group. But for now we’re gonna talk to your lord and savior… Preserve Opacity. This is also known as Locking your Layer. 

Now… lets say we don’t click that. Here’s what happens when you draw on your layer

Anarchy! Chaos! And if you hit CONTROL F (your wide fill)

Say goodbye to that lovely yellow color selection, huh? This simply will not do. 

Do the right thing.

Lock your layer.

Layer locked. Good job!

Now watch what happens when you try to draw on this layer...

WHAT IS THIS MAGIC. WITCHCRAFT. I KNOW... it’s great!

Now when you hit CONTROL F...

It’ll fill only that. That and only that. Whoa. Use this new power wisely. 

Lemme change our pup to the right color now, and...

Let’s get to work! For tutorial’s sake, lets make a new layer, above this blue one. This will be Lycanroc’s white layer.

Grab your magic wand (remember, this is your new best friend)... and hop over to your lineart layer!

And get selecting...! 

Hmm...

We have some stubborn bits that won’t select. We could either raise our transparency difference of the Magic Wand or... we could try out another tool that is Cactus’ best friend.

Look right. Grab your SELECT PEN tool:

To call the Magic Wand and Select Pen a couple would be underplaying their devotion to each other. They work in perfect tandem, and I’ll show you why. 

Hop to a new canvas. Draw a circle with the select pen.

(You suddenly realize why cactus needed the circle tutorial)

Now. Control F and then Control D. This will fill that selection and then deselect your selection.

Cool, right? Now you have this... lumpy circle. Now draw an incomplete circle, as so:

(calling that a circle is an insult to circles)

... now obviously, if you try to select the outside of the circle...

This happens. Useless!

You could just fix your lines, or... you could grab your select pen...

Close it using the select pen... and now grab your wand and select outside the circle. 

Inverse, control F on a new layer and you have...

A filled circle with broken lineart. Pretty cool, right???

Anyways, back to Lycanroc!

Grab your select pen... and fill that stuff in! All those little unselected bits!

Nice!

Now hop back to your new layer (poopie 2). Select your new color (white) and control F. 

Control D to deselect...!

Oops. I missed a spot. But what if I don’t want to use the select pen for some stupid reason? Why don’t I turn the white layer into a CLIPPING LAYER?

CLIPPING LAYERS

Make a new canvas. Draw a star and fill it in.

(Should you really be taking art advice from this person?)

Make a new layer. Now... if you were to draw on this layer....

You’d get this. Which is cool, I guess, but not what we want. No... we’re gonna clip this layer.

Now try scribbling on that star again.

See? It’ll only draw on the bottom, unclipped layer (the green star layer). 

You’re asking me “why would you want to do this?” Well, my friend... this is awesome because you can also LOCK YOUR CLIPPED LAYERS YO. Why is that so amazing? Well lock that clipped layer!!!

Now scribble with a new color!

Star 1

Star 2

What does this mean...? Just watch! Back to doggo!

I went ahead and made each color a clipped layer. That’s 4 colors (blue,white, gray, red), 1 base layer (blue) and 3 clipped layers (white, gray, red). Lock all your layers.

I wonder what the white layer would look like with some shading...

I want some stripes on the gray layer....

Perfect.

Now let’s shade that ugly lineart. I want it to be blue... So I’ll go to my lineart layer, lock it and control F with my new color.

Hmmm... but I want some bits of the lineart to be red! Let me grab my pen...

So beautiful. But now I want some airbrush in pink on top of everything...! I guess I’ll make a new clipping layer on top of the other three.

AMAZING. Is there anything more perfect than this?????

Anyways, that’s about it for my mini not so mini tutorial. I’ve given you guys some of the tricks and tools I use for this blog! If you guys have any questions though feel free to hit me up. 

Also, I’ll upload this Lycan lineart so you can try the tutorial yourself!

[seenashwrite]

The Nail: June 2017

The Nail isn't about perfection. It isn't about award-level contenders. It's about seeing focus and effort and hard work radiate off of the screen. 

The Nail's purpose isn't to highlight genres of fics or specific ships written during a certain time frame - the sole focus is quality.

Character dimension. Writing with clever readers in mind. Solid world-building. Tension through boundaries. Crazy crisp dialogue. Incredibly tight plotting. Big emotion.

And though yours truly - nice to meet you, new folks, I’m Nash! - is editor of the list, the goal is for YOU to curate the content. 

Read more about how all this came to be, find past editions, see what factors are considered when constructing the list, and learn how to get your recommendations in HERE.

Now - on to the stories!

For your reblogging convenience, here’s The Nail Master Post of Editions!

* ~ * ALL FROM THE WORLD OF "SUPERNATURAL" UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED * ~ *

Stand-a-lone stories with moderate-to-heavy sexual content will have 😳 beside them; series with such must have this either clearly noted in the overall info and/or clearly note it in the chapters/parts which contain such, so you'll need to check those on your own.

SPEED READS [from scene do-overs to gif-inspired one-shots to dripping drabbles, all less than 500 words]  

These won't be reviewed separately in Nash's usual three-point manner à la #Nash Gives [Feed]back due to their length, excepting those cases where the author pulled off a fleshed-out plot/character or had a unique take that was well-covered in the short amount of space. If there is no title provided by the author, Nash/the curator will pick one for them.

A HORRIFYING CONCEPT  - @ozonecologne

A visitor to the bunker offers Dean a chance for closure that empty bottles can't provide.

.

MAKING IT WEIRD - @helvonasche

This is the tale of that time Cas discovered porn, and with your help, he’s actually going to get some answers this time around.

.

12x21: A SCENE RE-WRITE - @prettymessedupsituation​

In script format, a better way of handling an incident that hit a sour note in the fandom is proposed that is logical, loving, and legitimately canon-worthy.

.

HOW THAT 'DUE DATE' TALK SHOULD'VE GONE - @tippitv

Dean and Sam discuss what just might be panning out to be more pattern than coincidence... after twelve years.

.

CLEAN-UP CREW - @senselesssamii

We all need help cleaning sometimes, that’s the simple truth. And some of us will need, shall we say, more specialized cleaners than others - get ready to giggle through the gross.

POEMS & POETICAL PROSE [mostly quick reads, these are actual poems of any structure/length, as well as short prose that sings like a songbird]

These also won't be reviewed separately in Nash's usual three-point manner à la #Nash Gives [Feed]back due to the typically short lengths & structure. An excerpted line is used in lieu of summary. If there is no title provided by the author, Nash/the curator will pick one for them.

WHAT IF - @saminzat

"Because once you’ve crossed the event horizon there is no going back."

.

MAMA TRIED -  @ariannnawinchester

“Dean is the boy your Mama warns you about.”

.

AN ANGEL'S PROMISE - @webcricket

"I promised you forever, and forever doesn’t end."

.

THE VALIANT - @littlegreenplasticsoldier 

"A valiant brother took the weight, the fall; The valiant’s brother took a throne, and guilt.”

* Nominated by @butiaintgonnaloveem, who said: “A poem from Dean's point of view that made my heart ache for him, from the way the guilt settles deep within him and how he contemplates his situation."

.

CASTIEL'S FALL - @vintagesam

"I fell at 60 miles per hour, on a back road in the middle of nowhere."

ON THE SHORT SIDE [500-ish to 1.5K]

STRATEGIC MOTHERING - @butiaintgonnaloveem    

A look at how Mary Winchester, in the words of the author, "deal[s] with trying to control her hunter’s instincts while living the civilian life", and the pros-and-cons that come along with them.

.

BREATH(E) - @withthedemonblood    

A well-written, thoughtfully played-out vignette on brotherly bonds that captures both sides of a stressful situation.

.

SO WHAT - YOU LIKE HIM BETTER, OR SOMETHING? - @atwistoffate

It's a simple question, and it should be a simple answer, but when dealing with the Winchesters - can it ever be?

.

FOR CAS - @jhoomwrites / @casbakespie 

A stunning coda to the season twelve finale, looking into a focused, driven, yet serene Dean’s response after he rose from his knees.

.

THE LITTLE THINGS - @melissaj616

A nice little piece showcasing Dean's observations of a hunter colleague who could be more, but there's no rush on either of their parts.

.

GOOD BOYS - @defilerwyrm

A poignant look into an alternative history wherein John Winchester chooses to allow Dean and Sam to be adopted into a nurturing home, far from the supernatural - to say more would spoil, though rest assured: the ending will take your breath away.

MIDDLE-OF-THE-ROAD [around 1.5K - 2K]

SPRING BREAK - @winchester-family-business

Fun, witty, easy read of a story about that time the Winchesters showed up on the author's doorstep... and proceeded to drag her along for a helluva ride.

.

SHOCK HORROR - @lipstickandwhiskey

After Dean is dealt a blow by a witch on a case, his closest friend offers support and stays by his side, carefully navigating over, around, and through the initial stages of shock.

.

HALLOWEEN HIJINKS -  @roxy-davenport

This is a tale of what it's like for Crowley to date a younger [and in a centuries-year-old demon's case - *much* younger] woman, one who still gets excited for the supernatural crowd's least favorite holiday: Halloween.  

LONGER [2K to  3K-ish]

IMPERFECT - @zepppie

Lives weave together, then pull apart, happens every day - this is the story of a hunter looking back on the portion of her life spent with Dean, told with such fluidity your heart will be ached and be soothed, all at the same time.

DEEP DIVES [3K and beyond, including completed multi-parters with lengthy chapters]

😳  NOT EMPTY NOW - @sp-oops 

This is a heart-grabber, one that will make you think and laugh and sigh, the story of the evolving dynamic between a hunter and an archangel, featuring a pristinely characterized Gabriel from beginning to end - and it's a damn fine ending.  

.

😳  5, 6, GRAB YOUR CRUCIFIX - @butiaintgonnaloveem

A story rife with sexual tension built around a bartender's most recent entanglement with Dean - now with his inner demon in full effect -  written with a slow build that doesn’t limit its evocative nature to just the bedroom.

.

A HAUNTED LIFE  -  @idontneedasymbol

Deferring to the author's on-point, pitch-perfect summation: "Some hauntings require salt and fire. Others aren't that easy. Dean runs into someone he knows, and Sam tries to make things right."  What I call in my own works a "Behind-the-scenes canon compliant", this is a piece that fits that bill, as it rings absolutely true/plausible, and all characterizations feel real/accurate. 

.

A LESSON IN INTERNATIONAL ETIQUETTE [Part Two] - @imagines-oneshots-blog

A certain Mr. Ketch may very well have met his match in an experienced, no-nonsense hunter who can go toe-to-toe with him, be it in attitude, in wit - or in killing.

SERIES SPOTLIGHT : SUPERNATURAL & SPN CROSS-OVERS [works that are ongoing series with at least 3 parts already published / completed series]

Due to time constraints, series are not read in full. They are given a cursory once-over for the quality basics, most importantly that the author has put maximum effort into world-building. 

The first chapter / first handful of chapters / first third of the first chapter - depending on length - are read to ensure there are no gross grammar / spelling errors, as well as ensuring the story's premise is made clear.

Thorough summations of the overall series, brief summaries of each individual chapter, and master indexes are highly preferred. Descriptors below are taken directly from the author/the story, edited only for length/clarity if needed. Same applies to series from other fandoms featured on the list.

THE PERFECT CRIME  - @mysaintsasinner

"Another storm is on the horizon, a war unlike any New York has seen before, and [Detective Sam Winchester] is about to find himself smack bang in the middle of it. Secrets will be revealed, bonds will be tested, and the perfect image Sam held of his parents will be distorted forever."

.

HUNTERS ON THE HELLMOUTH - @whatdoyouthinkmyjobis

[Supernatural + Buffy the Vampire Slayer]

"After a last-minute rescue from the clutches of Lucifer lands them in Sunnydale, California, the Winchesters run into an unusual hunter."

* Nominated for inclusion by @impandagrl , who said: "This exceptionally-written crossover series manages to believably blend the worlds of two of my favorite series while somehow nailing each of the many characters and treating them with equal care. It always leaves me anxiously awaiting the next chapter and is packed with all the action, humor, snark, drama - and occasional smut - that fans of either series should expect." 

.

CELEBRATE ME HOME - @callmesweetheartifyoumeanit       

"If you took a moment to ask her how long she’s been driving, she’d tell you she doesn’t know. Not because she doesn’t remember or because she doesn’t know where she started, but because after a while, all the roads just sort of blend together..."

.

SONS OF LAWRENCE  -  @mrs-squirrel-chester

[Supernatural + Sons of Anarchy]

"The Winchesters run the most notorious biker gang in Lawrence. They traffic illegal drugs, weapons, and anything else that makes them money and keeps them on top."

RANDOM FANDOMS  [all types, all lengths, all the things that aren't SPN but are still pretty dang super]

5/4/17, 18:00  -  @buckykingofmemes [Mod: @hellenhighwater ]

[FANDOM: Marvel - Avengers]

In which Friday kindly provides the transcript of a conversation between Bucky and Steve, so that a question may be answered with accuracy.

.

WHO'S STEVE? - @bjorkshirepudding

[FANDOM: Marvel - Thor I & II / Avengers + HIMYM]

Have you heard the one about Steve Rogers walking into MacLaren’s Pub and running into Jane Foster’s research assistant Darcy Lewis, who’s sitting in a booth with Barney Stinson and the rest of the “How I Met Your Mother” gang… including that gal who bears a striking resemblance to Maria Hill?

* Unfortunately, this author has left Tumblr as of June 16th & the links have been removed so as not to cause confusion, however you can still find their [extensive!] body of work HERE at AO3, should you desire. - Nash *

.

BECAUSE I COULD NOT STOP FOR DEATH - @withstarryeyes

[FANDOM: Marvel - Avengers]

A short vignette taking a look at a moment in Bucky Barnes' life, how it feels for him to just be, to simply stand amongst the living.  

.

THE PART THAT COUNTS  (in-progress series, parts 1 -5 reviewed as of this writing) - @youre-on-a-starship

[FANDOM: Star Trek (current cinematic)]

"Two weeks after waking up with no recollection of the people and ship around you, you take your future in your hands and try to piece together your past and the events that lead up to you losing your memory of the last five years."

ORIGINAL WORK [anything from haiku to novella]

HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE MONSTERS - @rainygalaxynerd

A short pop of a gut punch to the senses, wherein the author drops you into the middle of a conversation - a situation - with no real bearings of which way is up, no way of knowing whose side we should be on, and then starts dropping revelations as fast as you can pick them up. It is bare, it is dark, it is gritty, it is unapologetic, it is chilling, and it reads like a scene straight out of a Scorsese flick.  

Happy reading & see you in July!

* ~ * Shameless Self-Promotion * ~ * 

[itsbenedict]

Quick question! :D What are you making your wizard game in?

LÖVE, a pretty simple framework for making games with Lua. I picked it mainly because Telltale had some Lua openings that I was looking at when I started, but it’s been a pretty mess-free way of doing things.

Lua is kind of an insane language, in that everything is just a table that can be indexed with any value- and in which numerical indices start at 1, for some insane reason. It’s got weird magic variable name binding that lets you just instantiate local variables (which you have to do explicitly- default scope is global for some reason and requires no keyword, so a line can be “newVariable = value” and that’s just in global scope forever, whoops) and then use them in a function defined in the same scope, even if that function’s passed to be called later when that variable would ordinarily disappear. There are no increment/decrement/self-assignment operators, supposedly because “simplicity” but actually because Lua has a weird single-pass compiler that may or may not actually be able to do it. Semicolons are optional, brackets are verboten (it uses “end” as a keyword for defining blocks), and there is no integer data type (all Numbers are floats). 

That said, I’ve gotten pretty comfortable working with it, and I’ll be honest- I think working with this totally raw anarchy do-what-you-want scripting language has helped me appreciate what saner languages bring to the table. My school taught its intro programming courses in Java, which got me real confused about what programming was- all kinds of things I assumed were rules were just made up to encourage you to not do completely crazy things, and instead do completely different completely crazy things because WOOOOO, OOP IS ALWAYS THE RIGHT TOOL FOR EVERY JOB.

also this game is small enough i don’t need to like, worry about low-level performance at all, so why NOT do everything in a scripting language

[burnt-scone]

CLOWNIN'