#a lot of it was still there just with a lower budget

[orbiting-star]

No coz i did not expect to hear the old OEC sound in the song why the fuck does it slap so hard i’m actually so happy what the FAWK

[arolesbianism]

hello gamers minor life update I have been doing Real bad lately so I will likely continue to be very inactive, but hey on the bright side I have been fleshing out some eternal gales lore I reworked a while back and I can happily say that Dodie no longer completely contradicts the very nature of reality in eternal gales and the fog tower™ officially has a real reason to exist again so hell yeah to that

[avoicebehindthestars]

About bootlegging Good Omens...

I don't have the ranges to reach a lot of people, but I'm going to say this nonetheless.

If you feel like you can't bare anything that NG has ever created, you don't want to hear about Good Omens, Sandman, Coraline etc. ever again, that's perfectly fine and a decision to be respected. Quite frankly, I've found myself feeling uneasy while I tried to read Sandman recently because I can't stop perceiving it through what I found out about the author. Hell, even the sex scene in Stardust doesn't sit right with me anymore...

BUT

If you are still a fan of any of Neil's ongoing franchise (GO, Sandman, DBD, Anansi Boys) and choosing to bootleg them just to "punish" him - think again. Neil's current net worth is $18M. Even if he doesn't ever earn another penny, he can spend up to $0.5M a year and live to be nearly a hundred without a care in the world.

What you'll actually be doing is informing the streaming networks (Prime and Netflix) that Neil's franchise isn't worth investing in anymore. And, as a result, you guessed it - the shows you still love WILL get CANCELLED. Make no mistake, just because Prime has greenlit Good Omens s3 doesn't mean that can't pull out on a whim.

Neil hates showrunning, he said as much himself. He's only persevering on Good Omens because he'd made a promise to Pratchett. So let me say it again: by bootlegging, you won't be punishing Neil. You'll be punishing YOURSELVES by literally telling the networks to cancel the show, because they won't get any money out of it. Or, if not cancel - limit the investment, as they did with GO s2, which will result in shorter episodes (in case of GO right now we're looking at 6x45m... would you rather get 6x30m instead?), fewer extras, lower budget on CGI and sets, and overall poorer quality.

In other words - you'll be cutting multiple artists' income. I'm not talking about top-tier actors like MS or DT - they'll do all right either way (although MS will mostly likely be heartbroken, as we know how much he loves Good Omens). I'm talking about all the extras and less known actors who perform minor roles! I'm talking about everyone involved in the production - in making of the sets, in creating the special effects, hell, in carrying equipment and pouring coffee! Those are the people you'll be punishing.

Seriously, aside from his promise to Terry, I'm convinced Neil couldn't care less. Otherwise why would he be so adamant about wrapping it up in just 3 seasons when it's winning distinction after distinction?

Last but not least, watching Good Omens legally and buying franchise doesn't harm the victims. If Neil really committed the atrocities he's accussed of, he'll be punished by the court! Punishing Neil isn't your responsibility!

So before you make a decision, please remember:

if the show you bootleg is cancelled as a result, you will have punished: yourself, the fandom, all the artists and people involved in the production

punishing Neil is NOT your responsibility

wanting the networks to continue the franchise you like doesn't harm the victims

[ilovetoxicfictionalmen]

YOUNG AGAIN

Pairing - Cillian Murphy x fem!reader

Summary - You’re about to be working alongside Cillian Murphy. He wants to show you what costars do behind the scenes.

Warnings - Noncon, dubcon, p in v, rough sex, oral (f! receiving), manipulation, blackmailing, dark smut.

Word count - 1.3k +

Notes - Every time I try to do a drabble it goes over 1k grrr. also i love pathetic men that whine.

The lights were still on, large windows showcasing the beauty of the city at night, the late night budget soap opera running on the television show, your clothes ripped on you. The air was pressed out of your lungs like a deflated ball by the way his body laid on top of yours. 

“Cill…” you begged pathetically, your mouth half pressed into the fabric of the sheets. 

He was kissing your neck, his front pressed against your back as your legs dangled off the end of the bed. Your ass was perfectly rested at the edge of the mattress, his hips planted directly against yours. You could feel his erection hump against your core, you whined and thrashed your body against him, but you were helpless in this drunken state. 

“Shush…” He hummed loudly, his teeth nipping at your skin. 

A few hours ago, Cillian was a perfect gentleman. He had asked you to meet up for dinner since you’d be costaring in an indie film together. You could say it was going to be your big break, you’ve gotten a lot of recognition recently but this was going to be your first big role. Not to mention the first time working directly alongside an A-list actor. 

You were both in London, so you decided to meet up at a secluded restaurant, which started with a simple dinner, but ended up with continuous rounds of drinks. The venue was dimmed, low in guests and seductive from the jazz music playing. 

It wasn’t until your fourth drink when Cillian started getting a bit more handsy. You must have been giving him the wrong impression, Cillian was known to be a good guy. So you called in for the night early because you didn’t know what else to do to deescalate the situation. Which led to Cillian trying to convince you otherwise, a bit too desperately, to keep the night going. 

However, he caved in and said he’d take you back to your hotel. You didn’t expect him to come into your room however. Here you were now, crushed underneath him as you struggled to find air. 

“We’re going to fuck” Cillian grunted as his hands struggled to undo his belt. 

You shook your head underneath him. Everytime you’d plant your hands on the mattress for some grounding, he’d shove your elbows back down. This is not how the night was meant to go, this wasn’t the man Cillian was meant to be. 

“You should be grateful… I’m going to teach you a lot, you know?” Cillian laughed softly as he successfully freed his belt and his trousers gradually fell to his knees. 

“Cillian no please!” You begged for mercy before his hand viciously shoved your head into the mattress

“You’ll take what I give you if you want to keep your job…” He spat as he freed his throbbing length. “You’d hate for me to ruin your career that’s hardly started, wouldn’t you?” He toyed as he lifted his upper body, a wicked grin on his lips. 

You sobbed silently underneath him as he yanked up your short ripped dress to your hips. His hands caressed your soft skin on your ass, gently smacking both cheeks just to watch them jiggle. As he stroked himself, his hand rested on your lower back, skeptical that you’d try something stupid. 

“Stay down, okay? That’s an order” Cillian commanded sternly as he slowly dropped to his knees. 

He pulled your thong down with two fingers, grinning at the damp patch on the fabric. You mewled when he stroked his fingers against your lips. Slowly, his digits ran up and down your entrance, your hips gently squirmed around, but picked up when he entered a digit inside of you. His coated finger slipped out of your tight canal and he brought his finger to his nose and inhaled deeply. 

“You smell so fucking sweet… You taste just as good?” Cillian smirked before he sucked his finger whole. He moaned in his mouth like he was at Christmas lunch. “Fuuuck baby, you always taste this devine?” Cillian asked with a cocked eyebrow. 

You didn’t reply, you couldn’t reply, your body was in shock as you laid stiff on the soft bed, staring at the television to distract yourself, which he only turned on to drown out your cries. He quickly took his shirt off of his heated pale body. “I need a better taste” he groaned as his hands gripped onto your thighs. 

Cillian ate you like a starved lion. His teeth nipped at your sensitive flesh whilst his cold tongue rolled over your nerves. The shock of pleasure made your hands grip into the sheets as if you were holding on for dear life. Cillian lapped your sweetness out for ages, as you moaned into the bed, too humiliated to let him hear your sweet sounds. When your eyes unexpectedly rolled back, head snapped back and back arched, you saw stars as you came hard. You couldn’t hide your screams of pleasure anymore. Cillian moaned into your cunt as he ate out every drop that shamefully dripped from you. 

Slowly, Cillian climbed back on top of you and lined his member to your gushing entrance. His lower face was damp and sticky with your fluids. To which he shamelessly pressed against the side of your heated face. 

“See, this will be fun. We’ll be able to relief our exhausted bodies every day. Destress each other whenever we need to. A lot of costars are fuck buddies, you clearly haven’t been in the industry for long” Cillian explained as he slowly thrusted in his size. 

Your breath was stuck in your throat as you clenched around him. He couldn’t help but to moan out dramatically at the sensation. 

“I need you to understand that this is normal… You don’t need to be so overwhelmed darling, do you hear me?” His head tilted and eyebrow cocked at you. His cock was twitching inside of you, desperate to plummet in and out of you. 

“Yes Cillian” you answered timidly, he sighed in satisfaction and patted your rear. 

“Who knows, try your luck and maybe we could take this further…” He chuckled as he nuzzled your face. Because that’s exactly what you wanted, a relationship with a man old enough to be your father. 

You whined out again, his cock stretched your walls painfully. It has been a long time since you’ve had sex. That or he was a lot bigger than you’d ever experienced. 

“Tell me you want to do this, that you want me…” Cillian exhaled, you weren’t sure if he was begging or ordering you to do so. His tone was a mixture of both. 

“I want you” you gasped as he fully buried his length inside of you.

“Fucking knew you were a dirty whore wanting my cock” he mumbled, his hands firmly on your hips as he lifted himself up. 

He grounded his feet to the carpet and mercilessly began to pound himself into you. He pulled your hips up, your knees now rested on the bed. So you were face down, ass up. Cillian grunted, his eyes squeezed shut and his jaw clenched so badly that he could chip a tooth. He could feel his cock twitch like vibrations, he couldn’t remember the last time he felt a cunt this good. 

“Your cunt is squeezing me so tight, I won’t fucking last a minute” Cillian whined, pathetically. 

He stood true to his words. By the time the clock ticked over to the next minute, Cillian’s chest fell forward and hips locked as his ropes of semen shot deep inside of you. You were panting out, drooling onto the bed as he groaned out loudly. The both of you fell onto the bed together. 

Quickly he pulled you onto his chest as you were still mindless. He gasped out for air and said the first thing on his mind, “you make me feel young again.”

Cillian hummed and tilted his head to kiss you, slowly, passionately, romantically. Ironically, it was the first time he kissed you on the lips. You laid there, exhausted, confused and frightened. He brushed your knotted hair to the side and smiled softly to you. 

“By the way… I’m staying the night” Cillian spoke, his voice still breathless but stern on the idea.

[stealthetrees]

So this is more of an AU of the fandom AU where the Coruscant Guard live in a shitty run down building that’s falling apart. But Commander Fox finds this unacceptable so he clears out a warehouse used for storage and builds a shiny new headquarters. The original building they fix up, but only the lobby, a couple offices, and the med bay so troopers on senate duty can stay there due to its proximity to the senate building. Their new building they can go nuts with, adding all sorts of stuff that they arnt allowed to have.

An entire room is filled with tv monitors so they can slice into security cameras around the planet and see everything. They get a nice rec room, an area for the engineers to play around with ideas, even an office for the medics to make you talk about your feelings. A server room is dedicated solely to storing and orgonizing blackmail collected on pretty much everyone worth mentioning on Coruscant.

But after one secret building, what’s another? Areas of strategic importance are carefully chosen and a new headquarters is established nearby. They are each given code names. The original building is still Headquarters, the new main building is the Barracks. The Office is where they run intelligence and investigations from. IT Department is next to the industrial district. The Kennals are much lower than some of their other buildings, a small station set up to monitor the rancor infestation (Thorn moves down there to become a cowboy after he “dies” on Scipio). The Lobby is set in the lower civilian levels as a way to help the people who arnt rich enough to bribe politicians into getting what they want. The Med Bay started as just somewhere for big surgeries, physical therapy and prosthetics, but which the “generous donations” they acquire it grows into a hospital for civilians as well, completely free, and they start hiring nat born doctors, surgeons and nurses while paying them well and proving a great work environment. Adding a therapist office helped a lot of troopers as well.

The system takes a long time to build and works perfectly. Until Fox figures out Palpatine is a Sith. It’s not actually world shattering news, but it does give him a panic attack after realizing Palpatine though Fox already knew, because he had threatened the chancellor with a slug thrower instead of a blaster. Through questions to his batch mates with Jedi generals he learns that Sith can influence people’s minds and decides that in order for the clone rights bill to pass Palpatine needs to die.

And die he does. The rest of the conservative senators are swayed by a mix of blackmail, bribes, and bomb threats. The bill does pass, and most of them are instantly arrested for sentient rights violations, assault, and various other crimes because government property can’t serve as a witness in a civilian court of law.

The timing of all this could not be worse, as two of Fox’s batch mates where on planet, Cody and Wolffe, and they loved to stick their noses in his business. Which means when a lot of Corries are injured in the fight with the senate guards and private security while trying to make arrests, Cody and Wolffe help get them back to Headquarters, because it’s much closer than the Barracks. But Headquarters has a very small med bay because so few troopers use it. So they are over crowded and run out of bacta.

Also Cody gets turned around in the hallway and discovers how bad the rest of the building is. So Fox has a choice to make. He grabs Cody and Wolffe and drags them outside and back to the GAR barracks while texting Thire and telling him he has an hour and a half to make Headquarters look lived in. Then Fox opens a one way comm line with every Corrie so they can keep the story straight as he answers his brothers questions.

Fox commits to the bit so hard they believe the Guard is suffering horribly from abuse and budget cuts while in reality they just steal money from what ever rich person they have the freshest blackmail from. He could just tell them all the illegal things he’s been up to, but Fox would rather die than tell someone more than they needed to know.

[buckys-little-belle]

Im scared to but my first Barbie, but I really want one! Sooooo bad. Can you maybe write Steve and Bucky meeting a she/her reader in the Barbie spot in a store and being nice to her? Maybe buying her a Barbie and some clothes? And they are just nice?

Barbie Aisle Buddies

Stucky x Shy!Little!Reader (She/Her Pronouns Used)

Warnings - The reader is generally a worry wart so she has a bit of 'panic' and worry during this fic, it gets resolved by the end and fluff ensues after her worry.

Notes - I honestly pulled inspiration from a fic I had written a while ago about a shy reader in a toy aisle, so I hope it's okay that I made the ready shy. This is also pretty short! But also so cute!!! Also I know it can be scary going to a store and buying toys but I promise you it's okay! I have bought so many Barbies and Barbie toys like clothes, and I described a Barbie I own in this story! Don't let worry eat you up, go buy the Barbie! Trust me when I tell you it's worth the worry, having fun dolls that I get to play with and dress up is so fun and I don't regret getting them! You only live once bubba, don't let the worry get you down for too long! I hope you get a Barbie soon!!! <3

SFW - Keep all interactions with the post, and this blog, SFW!

. ☾ . ☆ . ☽ . ☆ . ☾ . ☆ . ☽ . ☆ . ☾ . ☆ . ☽ .

Y/n had been hyping herself up for a month now. Twenty dollars in her pocket, and a determined state of mind were all she had as she walked up and down the Barbie aisle of her local grocery store. It was a small selection of dolls, yet so overwhelming at the same time.

Some dolls had different jobs, chef, doctor, fashion designer. Others had fancy outfits or animal sidekicks. It was hard to pick just one doll, but seeing as she only had enough money for one doll, she knew she had to pick just one.

"Hello." A man's voice broke through her overthinking, a man stood just a few feet away, dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, some worn out sneakers on his feet. He looked familiar, though Y/n couldn't place just where she had seen him before. "I'm Steve." He smiled, turning to look at the same shelf she had her eyes on previously. "It's hard to pick one, isn't it?"

"Um." Y/n panicked, trying to remember the excuse she had made up regarding why she was in this aisle. Did she land on 'getting a toy for a friend's kid' or 'I have a birthday party to attend'?

"Steve!" Another man's voice called out. This time a man dressed all in black, combat boots and gloves included, planted himself a few feet away. "Hi there, Doll." He smiled, Y/n couldn't help but smile back, the man's charm winning her over. "Which one do you have your eye on?" He asked as he scanned the shelves, hands crossed over his chest, looking at the plethora of choices like he too was thinking about getting one.

"Oh, I'm not, I'm just, you know, a, I don't, I." Y/n began stuttering, trying to get out an excuse, any excuse, to make them believe she wasn't buying a Barbie doll for herself.

"Dolls don't have an age, Doll." The man without a name chuckled. "If you're looking for a Barbie to play with I would suggest one that comes with a few items." He began pointing to a few sets she had looked at, but sets that were over her budget.

"I like this one." Y/n quickly grabbed a doll she had her eye on. She was a chef and came with a pan and what looked to be a fried egg. She had a chefs hat and coat, and looked fun enough, but the biggest pull was it was the only doll with accessories that was in her price range.

"She'll need some everyday clothes." Steve squatted down to a lower shelf, rummaging through some small containers for a set of clothes.

"I can't, I just. This is all I can get." Y/n smiled with a hint of self conciseness. Admitting you didn't have a lot of Barbie money to strangers wasn't the end all be all, but at the same time it still felt extremely venerable.

"Well, Doll." The unnamed man with a smile full of charm spoke again. "It's your lucky day then." He pulled the cart Steve must have brought closer to the shelf. "Pick whatever you want."

"What?" Y/n shook her head taking a step back, confused as to what he meant.

Steve was the one to speak up this time. "You don't know who we are, I'm guessing." His smile was softer, more gentle. "I was formally known as Captain America." The truth felt like a weight had been lifted off Y/n's shoulders, her happy to know that she wasn't crazy for thinking he looked familiar.

"And I'm his sidekick, Bucky Barnes, formally known as The Winter Soldier." Mr Unnamed added on.

"Oh." Y/n nodded her head, taking in the two men, even more confused as to why they were wasting their time in a local stores Barbie aisle with her. "Sorry for bothering you."

Y/n was ready to dash with her doll, worried that the super soldiers she just met would grow tired of her quiet demeanor. "Doll." Bucky called out, his voice commanding yet it still had a joking tone to it. "Come back here and pick at least four things."

"Buck." Steve whispered loudly.

"Steve." Bucky said back, his tone condescending. "Doll, please let us but you some dolls. It would make our day." She still hadn't turned around and had half a heart to run, yet for some reason she turned around and took a good look at the shelf.

There really were some sets she'd love to have, like the farmers market stand and a little dog set, and Steve was right, her doll needed everyday clothes. "You won't make fun of me?" She asked, worry surrounding each word.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Steve put his hand over his heart, an action that made her giggle.

"I'm Y/n." She finally gave them her name, a small smile breaking past her worried expression.

"It's nice to meet you, Y/n." Bucky and Steve said at the same time, the three of them laughing.

"Which outfit do you think your doll would look best in?" Steve held out a few options, letting Y/n ponder over them as Bucky tried to convince her to pick the Barbie camper as one of her choices, as if she had a spot for such a big play set.

"I like this one." She pointed to a package that help a blue dress, pick shirt, and jean skirt. The shoes were cute too, and she got excited at the idea of dressing her doll in the outfit.

So there they all stood, Steve and Bucky trying to convince Y/n to get super expensive things, and Y/n trying to figure out how she got so lucky to have two super soldiers worrying over her new doll collection.

[sirfrogsworth]

Froggie's Guide to Budget Headphones

@nimrella I am more well versed in traditional audio and home theater with big honking speakers, so I don't have much personal experience with headphones and headphone accessories. But I can tell you what I've learned from other people who are in the headphone world. And since you are starting more within the "budget" range I think I am somewhat qualified to guide you at this level.

You have three paths to choose from...

Wireless, low impedance wired (no amplification required), and high impedance wired (amplification required).

Basically... easy, medium, and hard.

But also... good, better, best.

Wireless Headphones

Wireless headphones have come a long way. Audiophiles used to scoff at them but now there are options that really do sound fantastic and the Bluetooth data rates are good enough to deliver high resolution audio. They also have noise cancellation options which may be desirable. If you do not have a quiet, dedicated space for listening to music you might find high end noise cancellation a godsend. People love them especially for planes, trains, and automobiles.

I don't know if everyone knows how noise cancellation works or not, but basically the headphones have microphones that listen to the world around you. They measure the incoming sound and then generate an opposite sound that just about kills ambient noise. If you play the same sound 180 degrees out of phase it basically nullifies those sound waves. The tech works best between 50 Hz and 1000 Hz. For reference we hear between 20 Hz and 20,000 Hz (lower if you are old). So anything super high or super low pitched can still get through.

In any case, if that sounds appealing, wireless headphones should be a consideration.

The other advantage of wireless headphones would be the ease of use. They pair to your phone, your laptop, your TV. They have controls to help you pause and skip songs and change volume. Some allow you to take phone calls.

But the big downside is the sound quality takes a bit of a hit. As I said, the bluetooth standards have actually gotten very very good. (Though there are audiophiles who will swear it still sounds like a 1990s MP3.) So streaming the actual media files are not really an issue. But trying to cram all of that tech into lightweight headphones you can wear around town all day requires compromises and added expense. Not to mention the battery has a limited lifespan. You may have more limited or inconsistent frequency response, poor dynamic range, distortion problems, weak output, and a high noise floor. Wireless options still can't match wired headphone systems in the same price range. And the wireless options that come close are quite spendy.

Wireless Headphones Suggestions

In your price range the two wireless options that I hear mentioned over and over again are the Sony WH-1000 series and the Bose QuietComfort. They are both well regarded for having a good mix of sound quality and noise cancellation while also being a decent value. You might be able to visit a Best Buy and demo them to see if you prefer the sound and comfort of one over the other.

The Apple AirPods Max are said to work really well within the Apple ecosystem. They have some interesting spatial sound modes and very good audio quality. I've heard the noise cancellation is some of the best currently available. But they seem too expensive and a lot of people feel they are too heavy. I also suspect they are due for an update. That said, if you wait for the new ones to come out and buy used, they could come into your price range. I'd really only suggest these if you have multiple Apple products that you will be streaming sound from.

Before we move into wired headphones, let's go over some terms that you might see pop up when doing research and reading reviews.

Froggie's Glossary of Audiophile Terminology

Driver A speaker is made up of drivers. Some speakers have a woofer, a midrange, and a tweeter. Each individual thing is a driver. And with headphones you will often hear "headphone driver" instead of speaker because it is more specific. Headphones typically have an all-in-one driver that does all frequencies. A woofymidteet.

That's not a thing.

I made that up.

Frequency Response This is the range of frequencies produced by the drivers from low to high. You want to make sure your headphones have good, deep bass. That will make more of a difference than anything else. It's the foundation of all sound and what is sorely lacking in devices with small/cheap speakers.

Music typically doesn't go much below 40 Hz in the bass range. So if you are only interested in music listening, that is plenty deep. Movies can go down to 20 Hz, but this isn't necessary for a good immersive experience unless you have giant subwoofers. So if you find something that can play ~40 Hz with decent output, you should be all good. Every speaker has a frequency response curve. It looks something like this.

The X-axis represents the frequency and the Y-axis represents the volume in decibels. We are most concerned with the 40 to 10K Hz section, as most sound happens there.

I'm not going to go super in-depth and overwhelm everyone, but typically you want this graph to look fairly flat in that range. A flat-ish line will give you a "neutral" response.

The above graph gets a little bumpy in the high frequencies. That means those frequencies will have a higher volume than the lower frequencies. If a higher frequency has a big peak, that could make your sound seem too bright or tinny.

Or you could have the opposite problem. You could have a null in the bass where the output dips below everything else. This can make your sound a bit anemic and lacking punch.

Whereas a more flat speaker will output all frequencies at about the same volume and sound much more balanced and smooth.

Equalization or EQ A flat response is good because it will accept EQ well. Equalization is where you add peaks and dips in volume deliberately to taste.

This can be as simple as 3 knobs.

Or it can be a more complicated parametric EQ.

A lot of digital EQ methods have presets to help get you started. I promise it isn't as intimidating as it looks.

Some people like to buy speakers/headphones that are EQ'd how they prefer out of the box. (Or if you get Beats by Dre they just turn the bass all the way up and say "Fuck them other frequencies!") But this is often a bit of a crapshoot because it is hard to EQ a speaker that sounds good in every room or every environment or just to varying individual preferences.

By making the speaker more neutral, it can be much easier to equalize specifically to your needs and enjoyment.

So if you like the bass a little bassier and the mids a little quieter, you have the power to dial that in with great specificity on a neutral speaker. You can apply any EQ you wish and you won't be fighting the speaker's predetermined response.

Basically if you are reading reviews and the headphones are described as "flat" or "neutral" that's a good thing (in my opinion). Just remember nothing is going to be perfectly flat. We're shooting for flat-ish.

If you do decide to get a neutral sounding pair of headphones you may find them a little bland out of the box. Do not panic. You just need to learn a bit about how to apply EQ, but thankfully YouTube is plentiful with tutorials.

The Harman Curve was researched to be most liked by the most people, so you might start there. (Also, SoundSource is a very popular EQ app for Mac.)

Dynamic Range This is the spectrum of how quiet to loud something can get. If you have speakers that can render both a pin drop and a big explosion with great fidelity and proper intensity, you will be in audio heaven. There is so much emotion and drama that can be expressed by expansive dynamic range and most cheap speakers compress it to an inch of its life. When the soft and the loud sounds are the same you miss out on so much audio information intended by the composer.

Distortion This is just how loud a speaker can go without breaking up. Low distortion is good. While every driver distorts at some point, usually that is at a much higher volume than you will use. This typically only plagues cheap, tiny drivers.

Sound Pressure Level (SPL) This is a measurement of how loud a speaker can get. While you don't want to listen to anything louder than a sustained average decibel level of 80 to 85, you do want peaks over 100, especially in the bass. Bass is less damaging to ears and hearing damage is all about sustained volume rather than quick peaks here and there. Most headphones can comfortably do an SPL between 90 and 110 dB. The ability to go louder is good, but only because that expands headroom, not because you should actually listen to them that loud. So if the headphones can get super loud, that means they will have a much easier time delivering normal levels.

Noise Floor Every sound system has background noise. You know that static you hear when you turn a radio up really loud when there is no sound playing? That is your noise floor. You want that to be as quiet as possible because if you turn up the volume, you don't just turn up the volume of the sounds you want to hear, you also turn up the volume of that background noise.

If you can find a headphone system with a decent low noise floor and you can also find a very quiet space to listen in, you could have a religious experience. I don't think people realize how much the room you are in matters, even when listening to headphones. When you are in a quiet room, you can play at lower volumes. And that can mitigate a lot of the problems associated with cranking the volume. You won't damage your ears for one thing. But the speakers won't have to work as hard so you'll have less distortion and better clarity.

Noise mostly comes from the amplifier, which I will talk about later on.

Froggie Pro Tip: If you want cheap speakers to perform better, go to a quiet room and move them as close as possible. This allows you to play them at a lower output while maintaining your desired perceived volume.

Okay, now we can finally talk about...

Wired Headphones

You have open back and closed back styles.

Open back tends to have a more natural sound and feels more comfortable. Like listening to regular speakers. People generally feel they are able to listen to them longer because they don't create a seal and cause pressure on your ear drum. However, if sound can get out, it can also get in. So with open back headphones people nearby will be able to hear what you are listening to. And if you are not in a quiet room, all of that sound will leak in. Meaning you have to increase the volume and the noise floor and the distortion.

Closed back seals off your ears and gives you a quiet and immersive experience. You can be in a noisier room without having to crank the volume as much. Some prefer this style just because it helps them feel like they are going into their own personal dimension of sound. These are great for ASMR too. But ear fatigue can become an issue and you may need to take little breaks to let your ears breathe and your ear drums rest.

And the last thing we need to discuss is impedance.

The impedance of headphones mostly determines how hard they are to amplify. Impedance is measured in ohms which is this little horseshoe symbol... Ω.

Lower ohms means less electrical resistance and easier to amplify.

Higher ohms means more electrical resistance and difficult to amplify.

If you get headphones rated below 100 ohms, they can typically be driven by smartphones and laptops just by plugging into a standard headphone jack. Though depending on the device, 100 may sound a little quiet so you may want to go lower. 30 ohms is fairly typical if you plan to drive your headphones with everyday electronics.

Above 100 ohms you are going to need some sort of amplification—usually a DAC with a headphone amplifier. (There are DACs without amplification so be sure to check that.)

A DAC, or digital-to-analog converter, is already built into your phone and laptop. But those are very small, don't have a lot of power, and might have a higher noise floor due to interference from other components and heat and just a lot of electrical signals nearby.

By getting an external DAC w/amplifier you separate out the components, make them larger and more powerful, and typically improve the sound quality. Because it is more isolated, the amplification can be much quieter despite being more powerful.

If you plan to stay in a static location and you have high impedance headphones, you can get a little box DAC that sits on your desk. It works like an external sound card for your computer. If you record music or stream, a digital audio interface works great as well (remember to check the Ω).

But if you need to be more mobile with your headphones you can get a little USB dongle DAC, though you will probably not get the same sound quality and power.

Both will be superior to the internal DAC built into your computing devices.

So, low impedance headphones are easier if you need to move around.

High impedance headphones are better for staying put in a single location unless you get a dongle DAC.

Just remember, high and low impedance doesn't necessarily indicate quality. It's just that in order to drive high impedance headphones you need the larger amplifier with the nicer components and, by necessity, you automatically get that quality bump.

You can get very good low impedance headphones. However, if you power them *only* with a smartphone, you may not use them to their full potential. Which is why getting an external DAC is a good idea regardless.

But the nice thing about low impedance is you can get the headphones and still use them until you save up for the DAC. Or you can use them as normal while out and about and have a special listening spot at home with the DAC.

To review...

Low impedance and high impedance can both be high quality.

Low impedance (less than 100 ohms) works with anything.

High impedance (more than 100 ohms) requires amplification.

Both will be used to their full potential with a DAC/headphone amplifier of some kind.

Wired Headphones Suggestions

Again, I have not personally listened to any of these. I am just relaying what experts I trust have mentioned as being nice quality in your price range.

The beyerdynamic DT 770 headphones are some of the most well-regarded budget headphones I've heard of. They come in low and high impedance versions.

The Sennheiser HD 560 high impedance headphones are also praised for their value and performance.

If you can go a little pricier...

The HIFIMAN Sundara headphones have low impedance and can be driven easily by all your devices.

And the HIFIMAN Edition XS are even lower impedance and about the same price.

And if you want to try a DAC, I've heard good things about both Fosi and Schiit (yes, like the poopies), though there are many different brands. Just make sure the DAC has a headphone amplifier rated for the ohms you need.

The FOSI K5 Pro is a cheap "beginner" DAC that will power anything up to 300 ohms. This is the kind that sits on your desk.

And if you want a more portable dongle DAC, you can get something like the iFi Go Link.

I've also heard good things about the AudioQuest Dragonfly, though I hate recommending AudioQuest products due to them claiming they can do magical things. They use scientific gobbledygook to scam customers most of the time. That said, the DragonFly might be their only valid product.

Note from Future Froggie: AudioQuest just can't help themselves. While the Dragonfly itself is a good product and not a scam, they developed the "DragonTail", which is a scam.

It's just a USB A to C Adapter for the Dragonfly. But they have to find a way to justify 30 fucking dollars so they came up with this bullshit.

Definitely need to stabilize my geometry. If I have unstable geometry that could lead to quixotic trigonometry. And we all know that could introduce vertices into dodecahedrons. Which leads straight to accelerated cosmotic entropy catalyzing the heat death of the universe.

Fucking AudioQuest.

ANYWAY...

An inexpensive DAC may be all you ever need but DACs can get crazy expensive—just like headphones. And if you are really fancy you can get a DAC and a headphone amplifier as separate items. Audiophiles claim when you simplify components to a singular function you increase quality. While I think there is some small truth to that, I suspect they just think the tubes look neat.

Froggie's Disclaimer: I am not telling you to get these specific things, but I do think you'll probably be happy with anything I've suggested. But sound is a subjective experience and it is always best to test things out before you buy them, if possible. Or make sure there is a return policy. You might see if there is a brick-and-mortar store nearby that allows you to demo headphones. Remember that comfort can be just as crucial as sound quality for long listening sessions.

Final Thoughts

Good sound has been life changing for me. And I am excited when anyone goes down this journey. While the stuff mentioned is considered "budget" by audiophiles, this can give you a good starting point if you want to upgrade down the road. You'll get to know your preferences and get a better understanding of how this all works and choose your own adventure from there.

Though it is very possible you'll be quite content with "budget" and the sound quality is more than enough.

Personally, while I am very happy with my current home theater setup, I am hopeful one day I can upgrade one budget tier above where I currently am and that will be my endgame. I've heard $10,000 speakers and it is mostly a land of diminishing returns once you reach that level.

I'm fine in "budget" land.

Further Research

I didn't mention the different types of headphone drivers because I didn't want to put too much data in everyone's head. But if you want to do additional research you can learn about the 4 main types... dynamic, planar magnetic, electrostatic, and balanced armature.

[startrekprodigyfan]

Incoming Rant.

I feel weird as a Star Trek fan because right now there’s more Star Trek than even when I was growing up… and yet… so much of it doesn’t feel like Star Trek to me.

Picard was awful all the way through. It’s bleak, it’s depressing, it’s inconsistent tonally, and it’s just flat out boring. It doesn’t add anything new to the universe and instead just mercilessly kills off many beloved characters for no reason. From Icheb, to Hue, to Q, and even to Bruce Maddox.

Section 31 is an interesting idea. A rogue mission impossible style agency within the federation doing covert missions? That’s fun… but this whole mirror universe Terran empire stuff has no appeal to me and the show looks nothing like Star Trek.

Discovery keeps doing the universe is in danger and spent so much time with the main character that we never got to know anyone else in the show. Then it just randomly jumps forward several hundreds of centuries. It’s so far removed from the Star Trek content I like, in both directions.

I’ve been wanting a Starfleet Academy show since I was a kid. Having a series follow cadets as they learn each week about different starship dynamics and regulations and protocols? That’s fun. I like that. But I do not want it set in the Discovery universe so far into the future. I always felt Starfleet Academy should be around the Wrath of Kahn era in between the old and the new Trek series.

Strange New Worlds is the closest we have to monster-of-the-week style classic Trek storytelling.. but due to streaming’s limited number of episodes we’ve barely surpassed Season 2 of TNG in terms of episode numbers after 3 years and a lot of the times the writing feels to just fall short of being good.

Both Prodigy and Lower Decks which both feel the most like Star Trek and focus the most on the ideals of classic Trek were cancelled and brought to an end far too soon. There’s so much more we can do with either series but the big-wigs don’t seem to care.

I’m convinced more than ever now that Star Trek flourishes when it’s animated and aimed at kids. I think the media landscape for adult oriented TV shows has moved so far into darkness and shocking content that doing Trek now doesn’t feel the same. The sense of joy and wonder at exploring space and sci-fi concepts is gone.

Everything has to be a universe ending storyline.

Everything has to be grim dark and depressing.

There’s no time to spend with any of the characters because we’ve gotta keep moving the plot forward because we only have 10 episodes to tell everything in.

Bigger budgets allow different looking tech and scenery, but they still want to be nostalgic for the past while not giving us the stuff we want.

I feel like getting Star Trek isn’t hard. Yet it’s weird how many of the people in charge don’t seem to get it at all.

[mncxbe]

i'm such a sucker for the one bed trope I blushed so hard😳 hope u like it nonnie♡

°☆○

oh no... there's only one bed♡

𝑫𝒂𝒛𝒂𝒊, 𝑪𝒉𝒖𝒖𝒚𝒂, 𝑨𝒌𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒘𝒂 𝒙 𝒇𝒆𝒎!𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓

𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒓𝒆: smut♡/ fluff // tw? rougher sex in aku's part also briefly proofread

𝑫𝒂𝒛𝒂𝒊

Due to Ada's limited budget the two of you had to share a room during a mission in another town. When you opened the door and see the king size bed in the middle of the room your heart sunk.

"My, my guess we have to share a bed bella" he commented, playfully nudging your arm and you can barely contain a desperate sigh.

Dazai knew you had a crush on him and was dead set on making you confess your feelings first. After all, his pride didn't allow him to just cave in.

That's how you ended up like that: his fingers knuckle deep inside you and your face buried in the crook of his neck. Your little pants and muffled moans bounced off the thin walls of the room as he slowly worked you open, the tips of his index and middle finger brushing against your sweet spot with each skillful curl.

"Keep it down, bella. I believe president Fukuzawa and Ranpo are in the room next to us. You wouldn't want them to hear how needy you are, right?" he teased, pressing his thumb against your neglected clit and you had to bite down on his shirt to drown your lewd moans.

The feeling was intoxicating; the exhaustion brought on by your mission that day paired with the glass of wine you had for dinner made your brain fuzzy. You limbs felt heavy as if you were melting into him and the way he curled his fingers into you was just delicious.

When you finally took a deep breath in his musky scent reached your nose, making your mushy walls flutter around his fingers as you let out a helpless whimper.

"So, wanna admit you like me now? I'll let you cum if you do" he pressed, hot breath dripping all over your cheeks and you nodded.

"Yea, I like you a lot please don't stop now"

"I knew it 'donna. No woman can resist my charm"

His comment only aggravated you further; yes, you did like him, but that attitude of his was starting to get on your nerves. Hooking a fingers under the wristband of his slacks you dipped your hand lower and ran your fingertips along his throbbing erection, making him shudder.

A satisfied hum rolled past your lips upon witnessing his reaction and you started trailing wet, open mouth kisses along the expanse of his neck "Seems like you can't resist me either, Dazai"

𝑪𝒉𝒖𝒖𝒚𝒂

Chuuya glanced at the clock on the nightstand; its thin, fluorescent hands angled slightly to the right. 2.10 a.m and he was still as restless as he was four hours ago when he went to bed with you.

The events that took place that day kept bugging him, replaying on and on in his mind like scenes from an old picture movie. After a most bothersome trip to the hotel the two of you made it to the event on time- some meeting he was supposed to attend in the name of the Port Mafia; with you as his plus one.

Making it through dinner would've been easier if you hadn't been there to distract him from every conversation he tried to engage in. You, all dolled up in your prettiest dress with that picture perfect smile that made his heart swell.

Even now as you laid in bed next to him, tucked snugly under the covers, Chuuya couldn't shake off the overwhelming feeling that took over him. Despite the late hour he was alert, your mere presence acting like a shot of espresso. He tried his best not to touch you in any way but you seemed to instinctively drift closer to him in your sleep.

Your warm, cherry wine breath fanned over his cheeks; your bodies so close he could make out the tiny little pieces of mascara that dusted your cheekbones. He gently swiped his thumb along your cheek tracing the outline of your face and you hummed softly. His breath stuck in his throat when you leaned into his touch, leaving him paralysed.

As if sensing the shift in his attitude you slowly woke up, peering at him through half-lidded eyes. "Chuu what time is it?" you mumbled in a low, sleepy voice that snapped him out of his trance.

"Around 2 a.m. You can go back to sleep" he said plainly, hastly removing his hand from your cheek; his fingertips aching at the loss of your touch.

You yawned, shifting impossibly closer to him "Why're you still up? Had a bad dream?". Chuuya only hummed in response, trying to ignore the growing tension in his muscles.

"Yea, something like that, but don't worry your pretty head about it". Mumbling a sleepy mkay you closed your eyes again as your fingers found his under the duvet. At first he tried to shake you off but you seemed drawn to him by some sort of magnetism, your fingertips sliding up his arm to the edge of his tshirt then back down, raising goosebumps in their way, your bare leg making its way between his.

Even in your half asleep state you were seeking out his closeness, his warmth and he couldn't deny you. Chuuya wrapped an arm around your waist pulling you closer to him. A satisfied hum left your throat and he felt his body slowly relaxing. The effect you had on him never ceased to amaze him, one moment you were making his blood rush the other you acted like a sedative, a sweet narcotic numbing his mind, soothing his soul.

Chuuya knew he wouldn't be able to keep his feelings hidden for too long. Not anymore. But the way you so eagerly leaned into his touch as you whispered a sweet goodnight Chuu made him realize that maybe he didn't have to; because in the end you liked him too.

𝑨𝒌𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒘𝒂

Akutagawa has had enough of your sly, teasing attitude. You taunted him all evening with suggestive looks, swaying your hips as you sauntered around the room in your pretty little shorts and tank top, deliberately pressing yourself against him when the two of you eventually went to bed.

"'m sorry Akutagawa it's just really cold in here" you justified but he knew what you were trying to do.

You were both aware of each other's feelings and for a while you waited for him to make the first move. But of course, the waiting was in vain, so you decided to... persuade him a little.

What you didn't expect was for him to suddenly push your face down into the cushy sheets and climb on top of you, his chest almost entirely pressed against your arched back as he pinned you down.

"This 's what you want, hm?" he scoffed, pulling your flimsy underwear to the side to reveal your soaked cunt. "Shit, you're dripping. You really are shameless aren't ya?" His fingers slid briefly along your slick folds before dipping inside you.

You gasped at the sudden intrusion and instinctively circled your hips, trying to gain some sort of friction "Ryuu fhuk~" you babbled out, biting down on your finger but he wouldn't have it.

A harsh slap landed on your ass and you cried out a choked moan. "What a slut you are..." he spat, hot breath dripping onto your neck and cheeks. Coating his tip with your slick, he hastly lined himself up to your entrance before slamming inside you.

The stretch was borderline painful; Akutagawa left you little to no time to adjust to his length and immediately began thrusting inside you at a brutal pace. Lewd sounds of skin slapping against skin filled the cramped room, the air growing hotter with each passing minute.

Akutagawa was on cloud nine, completely lost in the feeling of your pretty little cunt sucking him in. "Shit sweetheart you're so tight". Hooking a arm under your hip he flipped you over in one swift motion, his hands coming to rest on each side of your head as he panted heavily.

For a moment you held his cold gaze, watching it slowly melt into something sweet, a mixture of need and adoration. Little drops of sweat began to trickly down his charcoal strands and drip onto your chest as he resumed his punishing rhythm.

Your eyes rolled further back in your skull with each of his thrusts, the tip of his cock effortlessly kissing your sweet spot- and you smiled lewdly, a fucked out grin that almost made him cum on the spot.

"Ya know pretty girl I didn't know you were such a dumb slut when I fell for ya" he chuckled, his thrusts growing sloppier "It doesn't change a thing though I love you and this little cunt of yours". He pressed down on your clit lightly, causing your back to arch.

"There you go sweetie just cum need you gushing all over me" he panted, lowering his forehead against yours. Through batting lashes you could see the way he nipped at his bottom lip with each little moan and sigh, how his nose scrunched as the vicious coil in his loins snapped and he spurted his cum deep inside you.

With a choked whine you came too, velvety walls clamping down around him, milking him dry. His arms finally gave in and he collapsed beside you, breathing heavily.

It took you a while to fully process what just happened; the man you've had a crush on for years just gave you the best orgasm of your life. "So... I guess this means you like me, right?" you asked in a weak voice, earning a chuckle from him. Akutagawa's fingers laced with your damp hair, pulling you closer to place a chaste kiss to your forehead. "You bet I do"

[sapphic-agent]

Undeniable proof that the other MHA subreddits are better than the main one.

But for real, let's talk about this.

One of my main issues with the ending is Izuku losing OFA. Not because he necessarily needed it to be a hero, but because it was something he earned. Him being given OFA was a reflection of who he was as a person. Losing it in the end feels like the story is totally disregarding this.

If the whole story was leading up to Izuku being able to be a hero no matter what, Horikoshi should have started out the story that way. But the narrative of MHA panders to power just as much as the society attempts to call out. Doing it now at the end is just laziness.

Especially because a) the big battle is already over and b) he needs a fucking Iron-Man suit to do it.

He could have at the very least made Izuku more Nightwing-esque (I say Nightwing because Dick's personality matches Izuku more than Bruce's does and Dick did it with a much lower budget). Giving him these high artillery weapons defeats the point of Izuku being able to be a hero without a quirk because it's literally replacing a quirk. Whereas copying the Bat Clan relies more on the skill and intelligence of the person. Sure, they have gadgets and tech for support, but again, nothing like Iron-Man does.

It's still sending the message that Izuku can't be a hero without a quirk or something similar to a quirk. Why is it hard to understand why some of us might be upset about this?

I will say, the one thing I do like about the ending is Izuku being a teacher. He's so caring and patient with kids that it makes sense. But that's immediately undermined by Class 1A just leaving him behind for eight years.

I've seen people say that they didn't stop talking to him or abandon him. And while I'm sure they didn't drop communication completely, it says a LOT about them that they only come back into the picture when Izuku's suit is finished. Like, huh?? What conclusions are we supposed to draw from that?

I'm usually all for an author ending a story how they want, but this ending doesn't even make sense narratively. I will criticize it into the ground idc

[henrioo]

°•*⁀➷ THE BIG CROCO BROTHER: CROCODILE

꒰ SYNOPSIS ꒱ : "Being a father was not easy, imposing limits was necessary and no matter how cute his face was, that of the Crocodile's only son, he couldn't allow you to do whatever you wanted... Especially when you're running around with three deadly wild animals."

꒰ WARNINGS ꒱ : PLATONIC RELATIONSHIP! NON ROMANCE, Father and Son! Male reader! Child reader! Soft dad Crocodile! Cross guild! Savage animals (bananawani), the reader has a powerful man in his control (his own dad)

꒰ WC ꒱ : 1k

꒰ NOTES ꒱ : And here I'm again, trying to post again and idk, nothing much to say today, my mood is horrible and my life sucks, but here some family fluffy to see if that motivates me to write again. Also the names of the wani are terrible because my discord friends choose them lol hahahah blank/no pronouns/fem=block

Crocodile was listening to Mihawk talking about the latest news he had gotten on his last trip, Buggy was looking at some maps that his henchmen had given him and the lizard himself was looking at the management papers of that entire alliance. At least now it was working a little better and giving more profit than headaches, but Crocodile still refused to accept that a circus really had so many needs and needed such a big budget just for those pathetic shows... that clown was probably deceiving.

“FUCK!” Buggy shouted, making the dark-haired man snap out of his reverie and try to figure out what the shouting was about.

It was then that he saw a peculiar scene that had curiously been repeated a lot in the last few days. One of the baby bananawani was biting Buggy's leg, another seemed to be eager to eat the clown's colorful papers and the third and last was trying... no, he was begging for a lap to the strongest swordsman in the world who simply stared at him without reaction.

You see, being a parent is extremely difficult. Being a father and being a pirate with a young son and with Crocodile's current situation is even more so, he wouldn't want that to be the case but he really managed to be quite absent, he tried to make up for it by spoiling you and the problem was that he spoiled you a bit too much. You weren't a bad or rude child, but you simply faithfully believed that you could have the world at your feet if you asked your father nicely. Of course you could, but it wasn't good for your ego to be completely sure of it.

So, in a way of trying to teach you some good values like responsibility and any other nonsense, he left you in charge of taking care of three bananawani babies. You needed to feed them, take them out of the water tank, clean the tank, all the normal activities of a normal pet. With the difference that your pets were deadly creatures even as babies and were more than ready to rip off some arms for your protection.

“(Y/n), what did we talk about getting them out of the tank?” Crocodile sighed, this wasn't the first time the babies had wandered around the ship instead of being safe in their water tanks. He can still hear the cries of the henchmen who received unexpected bites because their pets were out of control.

“I’m sorry daddy” you said entering the room, you quickly went to the baby in Mihawk and picked him up. Not completely up since that single bananawani baby must have been heavier than you, so you just held him the best you could with his entire lower part dragging on the floor.

Buggy whimpered trying to pull the baby off his leg which only made him bite harder, causing the clown to scream again. Crocodile sighed and got up to help you deal with the mess.

“They’re still too young to wander around alone, they’ll just create trouble” he tried to convince you again.

“But... Miss Banana Split was sad” you said worriedly as you looked at the lizard in your arms who was smiling happily like a baby in his parents arms. Crocodile could feel Mihawk's eyes on him from the animal's name but he decided to ignore it.

“They are sweet animals, they don’t get sad” he tried to convince you, ruffling your hair.

“Of course they stay! Mr. Banana even whines!” You said with a huge hurt pout, heavens you really loved those animals...

“Look at feelings, I don’t know, but this pest is really hungry and is about to swallow my leg, so if you can have a father-son moment another time, I’d appreciate it!” Buggy screamed desperately, shaking his leg again, trying to free the animal, but in vain.

“Sorry, Mr. Buggy… Drake is eating too much these days…” you said, releasing the one in your arms and going to take the other one off the clown’s leg. Luckily the animal was happy to be picked up by you and easily released its prey.

“Drake?” Buffy looked at you perplexed, was that the fucking name you chose?

“Don’t you dare” Crocodile growled at him as if he could read his thoughts. It was a clear message, make my son ashamed of the names he chose and you will become real bananawani food.

“They like being close to you daddy” you said petting Drake who was rubbing against you, the other two cubs at Crocodile’s feet.

“Of course they do, I was there when they were born, that doesn't mean you can let them loose like that” he crouched down to your height “They're still cubs and without training, you won't find it fun if they actually eat someone's leg would you?” Crocodile would find it hilarious, but you were a good-hearted child so you just shook your head “See? So for now let’s keep them in the tank and teach them some tricks, if they can behave you can spend more time with them, okay?”

"Okay!" You smiled happily at the possibility of continuing the walk with your animals, without waiting any longer you picked up Drake and dragged him out of the room, followed by the other two animals.

Crocodile sighed, satisfied that you would obey him for now, at least this way he would stop hearing the clown crying.

“Drake? Seriously? What the fuck is that name? For a bananawani!” Buffy said shocked once you were far enough away, he wasn't even paying attention to the ruined maps.

“Shut up…” your father would also love to know where you got that name from but that was an answer that not even you had.

“I actually found Miss Banana Split quite charming” Mihawk said with a cocky grin at Crocodile who just snorted, getting annoyed. He didn't mind having a son as his weakness, but having that weakness exposed and made fun of was something he hadn't gotten used to yet.

“Go back to work” he said irritably, just wanting to pretend that none of that had happened.

[darkseraphscorner]

Money still controls how the series goes. If there's a strong fan base but weak revenue from the views. It's still not going to work. The new company is still in control of the IP. Kerry can say one thing today and be silent tomorrow. If her work is unprofitable. They would have the need to replace her with new blood or have her be under a different writer. If the series really was that strong. Then why the company went under. Surely the fan backlash and whatever action should have been enough to fix it. Even a bit. It was being talked about without any action or enough action to back it up. Monty oum's death is part of it. But more importantly. It is a business. What I said. Money still talks and have the biggest voice in the room. The company needs to assess the situation on the most cost effective solution. Say whatever you want to me. Ignore what I'm saying. But remember. Everything around the world is a business. From the device you use to the food you eat.

And besides. It's Monty's passion and love of his passion is the reason why you got RWBY. A lot of people went away because of his death. Some went away because of worsening story writing. Even more went away because of the controversies. There's more factors why WB closed down RT. Thus ending RWBY. In the end. It's still just a business. I'm telling you how business works. Whether you like it or not. It is what it is.

To make it easier for you to understand: Declining viewership → Reduced revenue → Budget cuts/Layoffs → Employee departures → Loss of talent and experience → Lower production quality → Less engaging content → Further decline in viewership.

Blinks.

Wow, you are still on this?

Look, I am happy, you are not.

You will not change this, you can not change this.

They have hired on most of CRWBY, so that says they are shoving money into this project.... And if it was as bad as you said... Why would such a big named company buy it?

And no, Monty is not shy I got into RWBY, I got into it because I really liked the look of Yang.

But if you want to keep trying to tell me I am wrong, then go for it, I will just point and say No.

[13thdoctorposts]

At some point 13 fans needs to actually put the numbers to paper on the era's audience numbers, because my recollection is that they're perfectly on par and at times even better than Capaldi's and several of the latest specials. I'm tired of haters whining about 'everyone hated it' when they mean misogynists targeted it and boycotted it from the very instance of a rumour that 13 would be a woman.

Peter Nolan from Blogtor Who did a post on the numbers after the airing of Power of the Doctor, in one section of the post he compares the Whittaker and Capaldi eras…

“It’s remarkable then, that the Whittaker era of Doctor Who is overall on course not only to retain the audience it was given, but actually very slightly grow it. The average Thirteenth Doctor was watched by 4.67m viewers, up 0.12m (2.6%) on the 4.55m average of the Twelfth Doctor. It’s median viewing figure of 4.21m, meanwhile, is 0.34m (7.4%) lower than Capaldi’s, representing the boost Whittaker’s average is given by the large audiences for her first series. But overall, we haven’t seen Doctor Who just do a respectable job all things considered. Rather, it actually got ratings that would be good a decade ago.”

You can check out the whole article here https://www.blogtorwho.com/doctor-who-power-of-the-doctor-viewing-figures/?amp=1

As you can see the Whittier era did quite well especially when considering it had to fight to get through the Pandemic, which people seem to like to act like isn’t a big deal with their revisionist history of how difficult that time actually was. Not only were millions dying and getting sick, people were losing their jobs and lock downs were keeping people at home and a number of parents learnt how hard it was to home school your child even with a teacher on zoom, some while also having to work full time at home. This isn’t to mention the ridiculous amount of restrictions on how they could make the show and keep everyone safe. Sadly they also just didn’t have budget, it was why they needed Disney to come in. In the Who Corner to Corner podcast Chibs talks about how he wanted to do a new years special after Flux but was told there was no budget and he couldn’t do it but he wanted there to be a new year special so he ask if he used monster from the cupboard (a couple daleks they had sitting there) a warehouse and only 2 guest stars could he do it and they still told him they didn’t think so but he told them they were doing it and then we got Eve of the Daleks, one of my fav episodes of the run.

This goes to show the show was struggling to afford to make episodes it had no real money for marketing. If series 12 and Flux got the marketing series 11 did of course we would have seen even bigger numbers but Chibs stated in his Radio Free Skaro podcast from Gally One in 2023 that the only marketing budget they had after series 11 was marketing that could be done on the BBC that’s extremely limiting. They also didn’t have a brand manager unlike all previous eras. If you can afford a brand manager you’re not going to choose to not have one and having one probably would have also help quite a bit.

It’s not 2008 anymore, even Tennent couldn’t pull his 2008 numbers and that was with the big Disney budget to make the show and market the show, and they had a year to market the show and the most well known Doctor, so considering that vs what Chibs had to work with the Whittaker era is a solid era of Doctor Who. It just came at a time when the Budget was struggling, and the TV landscape was changing along with a campaign to try and destroy it before it began simply because they chose a Woman to be the Doctor, as demonstrated by the fact the BBC had to release a press statement backing Whittakers casting and the change to a Female Doctor. And that did have a snow ball effect of people picking everything apart to an insane level they do not do with any of the episodes from the male Doctors episodes a lot of which could be seen as far more problematic.

All this to say could the numbers had been better? Yes, if they had budget to market the show the way it needs to be marketed in a landscape with a million competing shows on far more streaming services than there were regular channels back in the day. But did the show do well with the limited resources it had. Also Yes.

[vodika-vibes]

Do It For Me

Summary: You are a Forensic Scientist who has been put in charge of the lab for Coruscant in spite of your youth and your relative inexperience. Due to budget cuts and the fact that there's so much crime on Coruscant, you are severely overworked. Hound takes an issue with that.

Pairing: Pre-ARF Trooper Hound x F!Reader

Word Count: 1837

Warnings: None

Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni

A/N: I was writing a Fives fic and it was turning into hot garbage, so I wrote something else instead. And I'm in a Hound mood for some reason. AND I made a new divider for this story specifically.

You are severely overworked. 

You know this. You’ve known this for years. And yet no one seems all that interested in making it better.

You thought, hoped, prayed, that the creation of the Coruscant Guard was going to lessen your workload.

It didn’t. In fact, it just made you busier.

Now there are a lot more men out there investigating crimes, and sending their evidence to your lab, and the same number of techs trying to analyze the evidence.

The turnover rate at your lab is, frankly, embarrassing. 

You’re the employee who’s been here the longest, and you’ve only been here for two years. The fact that you’re now in charge of the lab, at barely 24 years old, is horrifying.

But none of the people who trained you were willing to stay.

And you can’t even keep new hires around for longer than a couple of months.

In fact, you once had a recent graduate that you interviewed and hired, who took one look at her to-do stack, and resigned. She worked less than an hour. You hadn’t even had time to finish filing her paperwork before she resigned.

It was impressive. 

But as impressive as it was, it didn’t help with the fact that you’re one person doing the job of five.

You haven’t seen your apartment in a week.

You haven’t had a vacation since you were hired.

You haven’t slept more than 6 hours a night in over six months.

And still, still, the work keeps piling up.

At this point, every time you close your eyes, you see blood splatter and blaster round trajectory and dead bodies. Every night for the last week, you’ve had nightmares about the morgue-

You need a break.

Desperately. 

But, in the end, it doesn’t matter what you need. Because crimes keep happening, people keep dying, and the evidence keeps piling up, and there aren’t enough employees for anyone to even take a day off, let alone a vacation.

You push your fingers through your hair, pulling it out of the tail only long enough to use your fingers as a brush, and then you pull your hair into a messy knot, and focus your exhausted eyes back on the file in front of you.

30 year old Nautolan Male, found murdered in the lower level. Coroner's report indicates that he was executed, two bolts to the back of the head. Victim was a known member of the Justic-

The words start blurring on the page, and you sigh and press the palms of your hands over your eyes.

You are so kriffing tired.

There’s a sharp knock on your door, and you lift your head as someone clad in gray and white armor walks in. The locations of the colors indicate that he’s a member of the Coruscant Guard, and the colors themselves indicate that he’s an ARF Trooper.

Not for the first time, you curse the fact that the Guard doesn’t allow for more unique body armor paint.

You squint at him for a moment, waiting for your eyes to agree with you so you can focus better on the man standing in front of you. “What’s wrong, Sen’ika, can’t recognize me?”

You recognize the light tone, and familiar nickname, before you recognize the man, and you send up a silent prayer of thanks that the clones only have identical faces, and not identical personalities.

“Hound,” You even sound tired to your own ears, and as he comes closer to you, you see a concerned expression on his face, “Ah, sorry. Sergeant.” You correct hastily.

“You don’t have to use my rank, Sen’ika.” He crouches next to your desk, his sharp eyes taking in the bags under your eyes, the way your hands are trembling, and the blanket and pillow on your couch. “When was the last time you went home and slept?” He asks, his voice gentle.

“Does it look like I have time for that?” You ask as you rub your tired eyes, “I dunno, it’s been a week, I think.”

“Sen’ika,” Hound frowns at you, “This isn’t healthy.”

“It’s not like crime stops because I need to sleep,” You grouch, “And the evidence keeps piling up, and I can’t get anyone to stay longer than a few months and-” You trail off, “And you have another case for me, don’t you?” Your voice becomes dull and almost lifeless.

Hound stares at you for a moment, and then he flashes a small smile. “I don’t, actually. I just wanted to come and see you.”

You squint at him, “Come and see me? Why?”

“Do I need a reason?”

“...I guess not?” You ask, bewildered.

“Exactly!” Hound smoothly slides something onto your desk while you watching him, bewildered, and then he takes your hands and lightly pulls you to your feet, “We’re taking a trip.”

“I can’t! I have-”

“You have a legal requirement to take an hour break every 6 hours.” Hound interrupts, “How many hours have you been working? More than 6 I’m guessing.”

“...Yeah, maybe.” You don’t fight him as he draps an arm over your shoulder and he guides you out of your office, and down the hall, and then outside, to where Grizzer is waiting.

The large massiff immediately bounces around your feet, and you duck slightly to give her a scratch. You’re a familiar person to her, likely because of how often you bump into Hound at various crime scenes.

“You never did tell me where we’re going.” You say to Hound once you straighten back up.

“Trust me.” Hound offers as he takes Grizzer’s leash and then tugs you against his side.

You’re a little confused at the way he’s being so comfortable with touching you, but you’re also not too bothered. Hound is Hound, after all. He’s always been safe.

So, as he leads you down the street, you don’t offer any complaint outside of a very weak argument that you needed your purse and your comm. And, with a laugh, Hound disagrees.

Hound doesn’t have an office, per se, but he does have his own space where he’s able to do his own paperwork, and where he can take Grizzer when she gets overwhelmed.

And apparently, where he brings overworked and underpaid civil servants who are working themselves to death.

His sen’ika is sitting on the old, worn couch he got from somewhere, her arms draped over Grizzer who is asleep on her lap. She looks exhausted. The kind of exhausted that he’s only seen on Fox before.

In a word, he’s worried.

“Sen’ika,” He coos the familiar nickname, and she lifts her gaze to look at him through hazy and exhausted eyes, and even then she’s the most stunning woman he’s ever met, “You can lay down and take a nap, I won’t judge you.”

She’s already shaking her head, “I have to get back eventually.”

“But if you get up, you’ll disturb Grizzer.” Hound points out.

She looks down at Grizzer, and she must be more tired than he thought because she just looks puzzled, like she can’t quite figure out the best way to get free. His worry increases.

“Just a short nap, sen’ika.” Hound encourages, “You’re not going to be able to finish your work with how fuzzy you are right now.”

For a moment she looks like she’s about to agree, but then she presses her lips into a thin line, “I have to get back, Hound.”

Hound leans back in his seat, his mind racing. He can’t let her go back. Not in this state. And using Grizzer as an excuse isn’t going to work anymore, he already knows.

“Alright,” He says slowly, thoughtfully. 

He gets to his feet and carefully moves Grizzer, and then helps his sen’ika to her feet. Hound isn’t the least bit surprised when she stumbles into him, though he is glad that he thought ahead and removed the majority of his armor.

“...m’sorry.” She says quietly.

Hound closes his eyes for a moment and then, very gently presses his hand against the back of her neck, holding her against him. “You haven’t done anything wrong.” His voice is soft, soothing.

Her hands come up to press against his chest, and for a moment, Hound thinks she’s going to push away, worries that he pushed too hard. But, instead, she curls her fingers into the thin material of his blacks. “I’m so tired,” She whispers, and her voice cracks.

And that’s what Hound was waiting for.

His free arm wraps firmly around her, holding her tight, “You don’t have to go back to work. You need to take a break.”

He feels her tears soaking into his top and Hound turns his head to press a light kiss to the side of her head, “Someone has to do it-” She whispers, her voice thick with tears.

“That someone doesn’t have to be you.” Hound murmurs in reply as he slowly, and carefully, walks her back towards the couch. He readjusts her, and then sits on the couch, while holding her close. “We can reach out to the Jedi, they can help you.”

“The Senate-”

“Kriff the senate,” Hound’s voice holds no heat as he gently offers what comfort he can, “You’re working yourself to death, and I’m not going to tolerate it anymore.”

She pulls away from his shoulder and looks up at him through miserable, watery eyes, “Why do you care?”

“Because you’re my friend. Because I care about you.” Hound brushes his fingers against her cheek, “because I love you more than anything in this galaxy. Take your pick.”

She blinks at him, and then drops her head on his shoulder. She doesn’t say anything positive, but she also doesn’t say anything negative, which is good enough for now.

It’s not fair to spring love on her when she’s so exhausted. The fact that she’s not running away is good enough for now.

“Will you stay here and take a nap?” Hound asks as he strokes her back lovingly, “For me?”

“Every time I try to sleep, I have nightmares,” She admits quietly.

“Then you can sleep on me. I’ll wake you if you look like you’re having a nightmare. I promise.” Hound offers. “What do you think?”

She sighs, soft and quiet, “I suppose I can agree to that.” His sen’ika’s eyes drift shut, and Hound carefully adjusts her so that she’s leaning against him comfortably. 

Fox is going to blow a gasket, but if he words his request properly, maybe then the Guard and the Forensics unit can get Jedi oversight. That can only help with his poor Sen’ika’s problem, and it’ll keep Fox from working himself to death.

Hound glances at the woman in his lap, and his gaze softens, before he presses a light kiss to the top of her head. That’s a problem for later, for now, he has the love of his life asleep in his arms, and he’s going to just enjoy it while he can.

[redheadspark]

hello i wanted to ask wether i could request number 3 with Azriel? <3 thank u!

A/N - Awww so sweet for Azriel! Thanks for requesting this, anon!

Tedious

Summary - Azriel brings you company for your tedious work

Warnings -Just some fluff

“Have you seen my wife?”

“Out in the garden, Az.”

“I thought she had paperwork to do today?”

“I think she wanted to do it outside.”

Elaine was right on that last part: you wanted to work out on the mini garden that was attached to the Townhouse.  The house actually summoned a small desk under the cherry blossom tree, along with a desk and a large cold glass of herbal.  You thanked the house in your own way, though you knew that the house already knew you were thankful enough as the paperwork was going by a bit quicker now.  You were now down to the last few pieces of documents that needed a look over and then your signature.  It was a blessing and a cure being High Lord’ Rhysand’s personal treasurer and Keeper of the Books. 

The cherry blossom tree giving you enough shade to hide from the blistering sun, the cool winds from the nearby mountains gave you some relief but not a while lot.  You could tell the sweat pooling at the back of your neck and trickling down to your lower back, wearing no shoes to have your toes dig into the grass beneath you to almost feel grounded. 

The back doors opened behind you, along with the sounds of heavy footsteps along the freshly cut grass was heard from your ears as you signed the document swiftly.  You moved to the next one on the untouched pile, the stack that was completely was kept tidy thanks to the magic of the townhouse.  A very soft touch of a scarred hand was on the back of your neck, you knowing that touch organically and you smiling as you kept reading the paperwork and circled where the change was needed.

“Must I speak to Rhysand in making you work on such a lovely day?” The dark yet soothing voice asked behind me as the hand was massaging your neck and the top of your spine.  You chuckled, circling some more errors with the red pen in hand.

“I don’t think so, my love. These are merely simple documents, he only wants me to look over them with my signature as an approval before he signs then finally,” You explained, “Nothing I can’t handle,”

“Still, you should be relaxing under the sun, not working,” He voiced as you finally paused as you placed the pen down and looked up at your husband and mate.  You saw the grin he had on his face and how his hand never left the back of your neck, still sporting his leather and his wings tucked away to not hit the branches of the Cherry Blossom Tree. 

Azriel.

“And you shouldn’t be out on missions,” You replied back, seeing him roll his eyes playfully as you pointed to his leathers he was still wearing, “Take that off before you get a heatstroke out here.  Come sit and join me,” 

Azriel chuckled as he listening to you, unzipping the top of the leathers to let the jacket slip off his body and the wings. Be he  tucked it behind your chair, another chair magically appeared out of nowhere next to your own.  You both laughed from the sudden appearance while you tugged the chair a bit closer to you.

“Apparently the townhouse knows for you to join me,” You teased as he sat down in the new chair, leaning back a bit and looking over the new paperwork that you finished editing. He took a couple, humming through and reading some of them as you watching with a smile.  Azriel knew your job was different than his, he had more of a dangerous job whereas you were simply making sure Rhysand was minding his P’s and Q’s with his budget and editing skills. To Azriel, it would have been tedious and torture to be sitting in one spot for far too long, and you wouldn’t dare to be a spy for more than an other. 

However, you two complimented each other so well outside of the working hours.  It seemed like you two were odd souls, not wishing to go out at night or go on crazy adventures.  Azriel would rather have a quiet night with you, curled up in front of a roaring fire if it was cool, simply enjoying each other’s company and letting the rest of the world slip away.  He had no need for a fast or intense life, nor did you.  

Just like now, sitting together under the shade of a tree and simply being together as one.

“Hmm, some of these seem to be negotiations,” Azriel hummed as you snatched the one document he was reading out of his grasp.

“You know reading classified documents is considered a crime?” You asked in a teasing tone as Azriel grinned widely, “Even for the Spymaster of Night Court?”

“What will Rhsyand to do me that he hasn’t tried to do before then, hhmmm?” Azriel asked coyly as you were looking over the last document.

“Those stories you told me were enough to know that he is harmless with you, Az,” You reassured him as he leaned back a bit in his chair, “I take it things are well at camp today?”

“More than well, the soldiers are finally getting back into shape thanks to Cassian.  I only needed to make a small audience with him and a couple of the captains to make sure things were accounted for.  I have the next few days off, you know,”

“Ah, imagine my surprise that I too have a few days off.  Perhaps we can head to the mountains for the weekend, we’ve been needing to for weeks,” You suggested as your eyes were proofreading and making the right edits with your pen.

“I think that will be perfect,” Azriel agreed, you then signing the bottom quickly before you let your pen unceremoniously drop on the table.  As the paper then fell onto the complete pile and you took a long drink from the tea to cool your throat.  Azriel hummed happily, seeing you drink lost of your tea down as he then took your hand in his and helped you up from the chair.

“Now that you’re done with that tedious task,” He replied, you laughing as you grabbed the pile to place under your arm, “Shall we cool off with a shower?”

“You’re such a brute, you know that?” You asked, though you meant nothing behind it as you two walked towards the backdoors to go back into the townhouse again.

“I’m your brute, happily and always,” He replied as he leaned over to give you a passionate kiss before you both disappeared into the Townhouse.  

The End.

[ellesthots]

Fateful Beginnings

XXIV. “natural curiosity”

parts: previous / next

plot: under extreme pressure to perform, you prepare for your first and final interview with Bruce Wayne. Batman learns intriguing info on the gruesome murder of John Doe.

pairing: battinson!bruce wayne x fem!reader

cw: 18+, mental illness, anxiety

words: 3.2k

a/n: this brings me to the end of my back-posting! we are now up to date across tumblr, ao3, and wattpad 🥳 excited to keep writing more soooon 👀

Was this some kind of cruel punishment?

If it hadn't been for Dr. Vry's unfortunately logical and desperate plea, you wouldn't have said yes—now you were left flying back for half a week. With enrollment for freshmen starting the first day of September, you had to have this in to Bridgit the morning after meeting with him. Thinking of all the belongings you'd just bought for the apartment you thought you'd be living in, you decided against a flight and booked a U-haul for that weekend instead. You'd see if Mar wanted to drive back with you in it, and if not you'd buckle down and do it yourself.

Your parents came back not an hour later. After a few minutes of hugs and chitchat they put themselves to bed, exhausted. Your mom didn't appear critically ill or markedly different in any way (besides a darker tan), so you let yourself relax for the evening out on the couch. A rerun was on the television, the air was stale, and the setting sun stabbed your eyes. You grappled with feelings of guilt as the minutes turned into hours of nothing. You loved them, but was this all you had to look forward to?

Bruce busied himself with monotonous tasks the rest of the day. The panic attack had wiped him out physically, but his mind was wired. A still-relevant yet menial task he felt he could get into a rhythm with involved stealing the giant stack of newspapers Alfred kept by his fireplace in his office for kindling. He flipped through pages and pages of decades-old Gazette publishings, refusing to indulge his curiosity as he passed the months directly preceding or proceeding his parent's murder. It felt like an impossible feat as he discarded them to his left, forcing his eyes to remain tethered to the current moment. Eventually he found clippings from the past few years, and he nestled into the corner chair to pore over their contents. Why was the Gazette failing? Why was the journalism department going to shut down? He distinctly remembered his parents reading the Gazette together every Sunday before church. On the walk to church, he remembered people sitting on park benches reading it. He only paid attention to the comic strip curated by the art majors, but even as a young kid he knew the paper was influential.

As he skimmed through the recent few years of publishing he couldn't discern why sales were lower. It was putting out relevant information that was decent to read... He stood up and walked down the hall to Alfred's room, and found him buttoning his cuffs. "Master Wayne, what's wrong?"

Bruce shook his head. "You read the Gazette, right? Do you know how many people read it?"

Alfred finished the last button and shook out his sleeves to straighten them. He shrugged. "I don't know precisely, but in concept it seems to be doing rather well. On my grocery trips I see lots of people reading it."

Bruce nodded and made some small talk for a moment about dinner ("I've been craving some sausage and cabbage soup, would you mind that, boy?") before making his way back to Alfred's office. He logged onto the computer and looked up sales for the Gazette. While there had been a decline, it had been slow and not enough to completely shut down a department. After looking into Gotham's budget, he realized there was enough budget and in fact, the majority of the Gotham finances were allocated between GCPD and GU. Looking into the school attendance rate there was still a good amount of students applying to the university; less people going into journalism, sure, but still enough to warrant continuing the major. Was Vry a particularly attentive and anxious president, or was it manipulation to get him to agree to be interviewed?

Alfred forced him away by physically walking upstairs to bring Bruce down, and they ate the soup in silence. It was warm, and soothed him enough to take the edge off his guttural sense of impending doom.

The next day he got a call from Gordon. A quick change into the suit and a back exit getaway later, Bruce found himself at the police station. The guards stiffened their spines and glared at him as he walked up; usually it didn't bother him, but after being discovered he felt every eye on him was an x-ray. He walked down a dingy, slim hallway to Gordon's office and knocked on the door. Gordon invited him in, appearing visibly stressed. "In the office on a Saturday?"

"Hey. I don't know what to tell you, but the results came in inconclusive."

Bruce narrowed his eyes. "No idea what the metal is?"

"That's not exactly the problem." He reached into the desk and pulled out a plastic EVIDENCE bag smattered with pokes from the sharp metal inside. It landed on the table with a sharp rap. "We know what it is, but we are lost as to its function."

Bruce swirled the bag so the shrapnel tilted and moved about its cage. Gordon continued. "We brought in a few dentists, even one doctor, to clarify why this might be used as a filling but no one had heard of it before." He quickly continued. "Well, one guy did. Said he used to be a chemist. He'd heard of the metal, but said it was bordering on corrosive. He couldn't make head nor tail of why it would be used in a man's mouth."

"What is it?"

"The man said 'Electrum'. I made him repeat it because it sounded made up." Gordon rolled his eyes and bit his lip, lost in thought. His tone was biting. "I just want to find these punks. Can't have someone causing crime scenes like that running loose."

He'd never heard of Electrum. He opened his mouth to speak but Gordon continued again. He's talkative today. "The man said its properties are that of a 'spark to light up the wire'. Something about conductivity. I think it's just some man who got an under-the-table dental. Probably cracked open a soda can and peeled off a clip to tuck into his gums." By the end he was mumbling, and quickly stood up.

"They were certain it's Electrum?"

Gordon nodded. "He said it was clear. Bet his life on it." And with that he left, motioning to be followed out.

Electrum. Nothing could be found on the web about it. Alfred didn't know, and there had never been a mention about it in any newspaper since 1800 (any further back he couldn't find). By this point he was exhausted, and hadn't even realized he'd pulled a whole weekend staying wide awake. He physically pored over every newspaper article himself pre-1900, his smart engine struggling and misreading the small, fuzzied print. There was nothing that could even be vaguely related to Electrum. Fuck. He dragged his feet up to bed and crashed early Sunday evening.

Had it really only been a strange, foreign filling? Usually this would be his favorite type of thing to sleuth out, something no one could find but he could; he would read the small print from an article in 1806 and solve the mystery, following its crumb trail to an ultimate victory. It was the perfect catharsis, but he was too in his head. All Monday afternoon he twiddled his thumbs and waited for evening, but when evening came he couldn't bring himself to put on his suit. That one scrap metal felt like it was lodged in his tooth, giving him an emotional toothache. He slipped into bed and laid on his back with his arms behind his head. He gazed up at the ceiling, drawing a mental map of the situation. The John Doe couldn't be traced back. Dentist, former chemist, clarified it was Electrum. Electrum can't be found anywhere. No trace of it. Testing was inconclusive. Bordering on corrosive. Man was stabbed repeatedly and hung by the blades. Owls were etched into hilt. Owls were etched into pins and rings of the Gotham University president... Bruce squinted. How could he gain more information on Dr. Vry? His first thought was a Batman interrogation, second idea stalking her in his car for a week to see what she was up to. Both options, especially the latter, caused an internal cringe. Much like he couldn't shake his suspicion about Electrum, he couldn't shake the thought you embedded in him that he was too invasive.

Being invasive to criminals isn't bad. Often, it's the only way to catch them. Your voice came into his mind. And you're assuming she's a criminal. What happened to probable cause?

Her jewelry insignias perfectly match those on the weapon in an unsolved murder.

Perfectly, huh?

Almost.

Almost, yeah.

Even imaginary you mocked him. He continued having a conversation with himself until Alfred knocked on his door. He bristled and sat upright in bed. The old man leaned against the doorframe and gazed at him, spectacled. "Wanted to check in. Social battery ran out, I assume?"

Bruce stared down at his sheets. "Unsolved murder. Can't find any clues."

"Peculiar. Not much stumps you these days."

He struggled not to receive it sarcastically given how vigilant Alfred had been about his mental wellbeing the past few months. He hoped this wasn't another request for him to meet with his therapist, but his hopes were quickly dashed. "I called New Discoveries, they have a few openings this week and next."

Bruce bit back a retort. "If I ever need her, I'll give her a call."

"Bruce,"

"Stop, please. I've got enough to deal with right now."

He leaned in and raised his eyebrows at the boy. "Your analyst could help with that."

"I don't need someone to tell me my parents died."

Alfred heaved a deep sigh. "I'm worried about you."

"I'm not talking about this." This was the push he needed to get out and into his suit. He jumped out of bed and strode firmly past him, ignoring Alfred's calls to get him to 'just make a phone call'. He was surprisingly swift getting into the suit and out on the town. Guilt plagued him at abandoning Alfred, but this was about the tenth time they'd had that conversation since June and it was making him ill. He wouldn't mind seeing his therapist again, he'd liked going after the murder, but he didn't think he could handle being forced to reckon with his mortality at this point in his progression. He still wasn't sure it existed, and until he tied up all the loose ends about the owls, or his symptoms got significantly worse, he was going to ride this last high as long as it let him.

The next few days with your parents went smoothly. It was almost like before your mom had gotten sick, plus Walter. Walter was ecstatic to see your parents back, and you no longer sobbed in the shower out of lonely desperation. You were able to distract effectively through various arts and crafts with your mom, and by the time you were starting to need 'me' time she would tire. You spent some time with your dad fixing the back deck and pulling some weeds out of the raised flower beds. You tended to the pumpkins your parents had planted in June, and harvested some bell peppers and blueberries.

You avoided thinking about Gotham until you were in Gotham; you hadn't even mentioned to your parents you'd been fired/quit, and figured they'd know when a U-Haul ended up at their house with you and Mar inside. The quiet neighborhood was relaxing when your family was around, but that desperate feeling of loneliness was pinned to your chest. The town felt more desolate after being in the city, the quiet felt heavier when they were gone, and knowing how fragile her health was you figured you'd spend more of your life without her than with her. The combination threatened to consume you, and you spent every lull in conversation and every night lying in bed unable to sleep from worry about finding your purpose in life. What interested you? What motivated you? What were your values? How could all of the above be translated into a livable life?

Where did you belong? Did you belong here, in the sleepy town with wide open skies? Did you belong in a city with skyscrapers and sardine-squishing sidewalks? You liked the access the city afforded you. When you'd first moved there, you'd been enthralled by the hundreds of restaurants and stores within a mile's radius. You'd maxed out a small credit card being silly and young, trying cuisines you'd never even heard of. You found cute themed shops that were abhorrently overpriced but nonetheless aesthetically pleasing to visit. But the city moved so fast, and just in time for you to settle into a routine with a favorite restaurant they'd be closing shop. It was cutthroat and intimidating, and you felt softer. Too soft. Life here was too slow as to be entirely, aggravatingly boring. There were only a handful of restaurants in town and they were all dying fast food chains strung out amongst various struggling mom and pop shops that wouldn't dare invite in a health inspector. But the nature was beautiful, and sometimes you loved the quiet breeze of it all. You had no friends besides Mar who you could never see leaving the city, a degree that was worthless in the current economy, and your extended family lived in south Florida for some unknown reason. You only saw them once a year at a family reunion that was usually in July, but had been postponed to Christmas. Ugh.

On Monday you set off for Gotham. You'd arrived on time a few days earlier to ensure you could properly pack your stuff. Day one was filled with throwing out the perishable groceries and giving yourself a moment to breathe outside of your childhood home. The food tasted bland, your favorite shows had lost their spark, and your bed was lumpy and hard. The floors were cement and made your feet ache with every slapping step. The water took ages to heat up compared to home, and you kept watching your step for Walter who never showed. The flight had been frustrating. Your head pounded. You felt like screaming into an empty field, creating a dust storm from pounding your hands into the dirt until you were bruised.

Day two after arriving back to Gotham, you sat down at your small desk in the corner to think up some questions. It was impossible to focus, but you kept yourself to task by repeating you'd be out of here permanently, genuinely, so, so soon. As you stared at the blank page, anxiety sprouted. It hadn't before occurred to you that everyone would be reading this; in fact, everyone would likely be seeking this out so much it would be translated to different languages hours after being published. For a moment you couldn't wrap your head around why this time felt so much more high-stakes, and then you remembered the fate of an entire university department rested on how marketable and quality this interview was... and remembered how obscenely rich and powerful the subject was. You twiddled your fingers just slightly above the keyboard, nervous to even begin to dive into it.

The first thing you did was peruse Scypher, especially their forum sections.

SEARCH: Bruce Wayne

SEARCH: Mr. Wayne

SEARCH: Bruce

SEARCH: billionaire

SEARCH: Gotham

SEARCH: Gotham City

SEARCH: Gotham and Bruce

SEARCH: Gotham and Bruce Wayne

You sifted through hundreds—if not thousands—of posts thirsting after him. There were pap photos, one-shots written daydreaming about him, some tweets hating on how rich he was (you liked those), but the vast majority were simply pining after him in a public arena. You got a small sense of what people wanted to see from him, but not enough to create a substantial question.

You went onto Google and searched the same things. A handful of articles from major news outlets were titled similarly: What We Know About Bruce Wayne, the Orphaned Billionaire. People generally knew about the circumstances of his parent's murder, that he lived at home with his maids and butlers (was there more than one Alfred?) and everything that he'd announced at Gotham University graduation. There was logistical data on his Wikipedia page such as his height, birth date, current age, and where he went to school growing up. Information for the past decade was slim, the only bits being where he attended college, his date of graduation, and his major. It appeared the only times since his parent's death he peeked out into the public eye were school-related.

No one knew anything about his personal life, and you worked yourself into a tizzy brainstorming ways to persuade him into talking about himself. Where was the line between too benign of a question and too invasive of one? What was relevant information to someone high-profile's first interview? You'd spent hours digging into the first interviews of now-major celebrities, but they all happened before they rocketed into fame. This was different: he was born famous, and now at age 30 he was finally speaking to someone. After a certain point in your research you feared you would need to be the blueprint for this kind of thing; even nepo babies had been interviewed as children, asked questions such as their favorite musicians, movies, books, and colors. How did you show the public he was normal, personable, even? Did you even want to make him appear normal, because he didn't seem it. He was an enigma. Someone you couldn't quite peg.

You took a deep breath and closed your eyes. What's my goal with this? No one else's, mine? What do I want to learn about him? What are my natural curiosities? This led to an immediate rush of creative energy, questions popping up left and right; you didn't care about how invasive or off-kilter they might seem. After the brainstorming, you gathered the questions into three categories: COMFORTABLE - DEEPER - DANGEROUS.

The first contained questions that were more basic, and likely wouldn't elicit an emotional response in any way to the interviewee. The second probed a bit more, considered more thorough and juicy. At this point an interviewee might be more choosy with their phrasing, or pause to think about it. The final category was fully questions of your own mind, questions you didn't think you'd ever ask but wanted to be put to paper. These were so juicy as to be intimate, so personal as to be disorienting.

When else would a woman have the leverage to ask such a dizzyingly powerful man anything she wanted?