#and I should probably establish it sooner rather than later

[freelancearsonist]

so scarlet, it was...

➔ post-outbreak Joel Miller x afab!Reader - series masterlist

➔ 1.3k words

➔ “Go ahead, yell your fucking head off. That’ll make everything okay, won’t it?”

➔ Rated MA for dark fic kinda, a/b/o themes (alpha joel, omega reader), established... situationship? i guess, pregnancy/contemplation of termination, contemplation of self harm, reader is not in a good headspace. one instance of vomiting, joel is not very nice, this fic in general is not very nice. takes place three years post outbreak. [please let me know if i missed any warnings so i can add them in :)]

➔ thank you so much to my darling @bitchwitch1981 for the prompt, i'm so sorry this is probably very much not what you wanted 🤣 extra special thank you to @perotovar for making this wonderful joel gif for me, if ur reading this ily <3

You’ve never actually used one of these things before. You’ve only read about them in books or seen them in movies from years ago, and they’ve only ever been an object of abject horror.

You understand why now, looking down at those two little lines on the stick cradled in your hand. You’ve never been quite so terrified in your life.

You never should’ve pocketed this test when you found it in that miraculously untouched drug store. You could’ve stayed blissfully unaware. Better yet, you should’ve been more careful. Three years of living like this has been more than enough to make you firm in your decision to never bring life into this broken world. This isn’t a place for a child, this is barely even a place for you. Every day is a fight, every waking moment is a nightmare. But you’ve been so careless with him and now it’s all crashing down, this blissful bubble where you can pretend that everything might be okay because you have the pack and, more importantly, him. 

You won’t have him for much longer when he finds out about this.

You wonder what it’ll take to right this wrong before he finds out about it. It must be pretty early, so maybe it won’t take much to reverse it. Maybe all you’ll have to do is bump into something just right, or trip over the right log.

The thought makes you sick–more stomach bile than anything else coming up because you’ve hardly had more to eat than stale beef jerky and some precarious berries in the past few days. Resources have been so slim; another reason this can’t be happening. You hardly have enough to tide you over, much less a child. And it’ll be even worse once the pack abandons you.

You bury yourself into the haphazard nest of blankets and his worn clothes, letting the heavy, musky scent of him soothe your wracking sobs. 

Maybe you should just accept your fate now, sacrifice yourself for the good of the pack. Everyone is going to die eventually, after all–sooner rather than later in this world. You’ve only been postponing the inevitable. They never have to know why you do it, and it’ll be one less mouth to feed. Two, technically, but they’ll never have to know that. He won’t even really miss you, it’ll be one less burden on his hands. On all of their hands.

You don’t hear them return early from scavenging–maybe because the volume of your own sobs drowns out any other noise. Or maybe because he can sense something is wrong as he enters the run-down little shack you’ve been holed up in for the past few weeks, and he softens his approach because of it.

Joel has never been quite as tender as he is when he takes you into his arms, pulling your face out of the pile of fabric to wipe at your tear-streaked cheeks.

“My omega, shhhh, I’m here. It’s okay,” he murmurs, wrapping you into his big, strong, safe arms. He doesn’t know. Maybe he thinks you had a nightmare, or you just missed him, or a million other things except the truth. But he doesn’t know, and you know he doesn’t know because you feel the moment he connects the dots. His eyes drop to the little white stick clutched tightly in your fist and his entire body stiffens like a board. Suddenly there’s no more warmth or comfort to his touch, nothing soothing about the pheromones drifting from him. He pulls away like you’re infected, and maybe you are. Maybe the thing that’s taken root in you is worse than cordyceps could ever hope to be.

You’ve never been terrified of him before. Joel is dark and brooding and imposing, but he’s only ever fought to protect you. His omega, who wormed their way under his skin despite him fighting it every step of the way. His omega, who’s been the only source of anything remotely close to comfort he’s had since outbreak day. His omega, who’s given him purpose in this dark world.

His omega, who’s betrayed him in such an unforgivable way.

“What the fuck.” There’s nothing but venom in his tone–he looks at you with pure disgust and your resolve crumbles.

Maybe there was a little, tiny, miniscule part of you that hoped it would be different. That he would be excited to be a father, or at least be understanding. But that hope dies so suddenly when you look up into his scowling face. He towers over you, dark eyes flashing with anger, and for the first time since you met him two long years ago you’re scared.

“You were supposed to be careful.” His voice rises further and further with each syllable, as if this isn’t partially his fault too. As if he wasn’t the one in such an uncontrollable rut last month that he kept you in bed all week, losing the willpower required to pull out with each powerful thrust of his hips. As if it isn’t his seed blooming in your womb as you speak.

“What do we do now, huh?” He growls, eyes darkening, fists clenching at his sides. “I’ve fucking marked you, I can’t turn you loose! And we barely make it by as we are! How the fuck are we supposed to handle this?”

He rants for what seems like hours and you flinch with every booming word, curling tighter around yourself in a desperate attempt to simply disappear; to not have to deal with this any more because your heart shatters with each irreversible word he throws at you. You shrink and shrink and shrink in hopes of vanishing because this is undoable. No matter what happens, nothing will ever go back to the way it was and that’s the knowledge that crushes you completely.

Your voice is so small when he finally quiets enough for you to speak. “Go ahead, yell your fucking head off. That’ll make everything okay, won’t it?”

Joel stops in his tracks, white knuckles unclenching for the first time in minutes. He sees the fear and regret in your eyes, and he almost lets it soften him. He loathes himself for this look on your face–for making you scared of him.

His omega. So small and fragile, curled in a pile of his clothes because his scent brings you comfort. He’s dedicated two years of his time and effort to keeping you safe and comfortable, if not happy. He’s supposed to protect you, not hurt you. He’s supposed to give you children and raise them with you, be a family with you. That’s what being your alpha means, and he has so sorely failed you. 

But he knows he can never do that again. That’s never what this was supposed to be. He didn’t mark you out of anything but necessity–if he had let your uncontrolled scent waft every time you went into heat, every alpha in the country would be targeting your little pack of four. You’re his omega out of biological necessity–a warm hole to fill when his rut threatens to tear already strenuous ties with his brother and Tess. That’s what he tells himself because the alternative is so startlingly incomprehensible that he won’t allow himself to even consider the fact that he might care about you; that the urge to care for you and protect you is more than primal, biological instinct; that you mean more to him than anyone ever has.

Not just his omega now, but his mate. His unborn child is growing and growing and growing with each passing second inside your womb and he’s powerless to stop it.

“We’re thirty-seven miles from the Boston QZ,” he growls from somewhere deep in his chest. “We leave at first light.”

You don’t get a chance to argue or plead your case before the door slams shut behind him. 

➔ beta: @beskarandblasters and @fhatbhabie

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[skyeblue8]

𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐎𝐥𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐬 𝐯𝐬. 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐯𝐚 𝐁𝐨𝐬𝐬 (𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬)

Whether or not you're all familiar with the Webcomic, Lore Olympus is an award-winning comic created by Rachel Smythe that's essentially about a modern retelling of the Hades and Persephone myth with various other Gods and references in it, and what not. And, assuming you have a critical eye when it comes to writing, it's has become wildly disliked and even hated by a lot of critics and former fans due to the butchering of myths and gods (and a religion), unlikeable characters, poor character design, poorer handling of sensitive topics like SA and racism, and overall the author's inability to listen and take critism that would've helped her improve.

The reason I bring this up at all is because I have the nagging fear that Helluva Boss and, by extension, Hazbin Hotel, are going to be doomed to fall into the same pit of failure as Lore Olympus is, mainly due to a nagging pattern that I've noticed between the two:

The Writers. The two are relatively close in age and, in my opinion, immaturity in writing as evidenced by the various plot inconsistencies, character treatment and development, and poor world-building established in both media. On top of that, however, both have a significantly bad reception to criticism of their work in any way, shape, or form. We've seen this before in how Viv herself states that she's been told that she can't take criticism well since she was 17.

Now, it's one thing to have these claims as a teenager, it's another to have them as a fully grown adult and not learn to mature past this issue by now. The number one issue with ignoring criticism for so long, especially in your very popular work, is that eventually, it's going to show. Sooner or later, many of your fans, regardless of how they felt about your work prior, are gonna notice small flaws that gradually become bigger and more glaring the longer they are ignored.

Time and time again, this issue has arisen in Rachel Smythe's work, both in design:

As well as writing...

Speaking of which, I'm beginning to see a similarity in their writing issues in the fact that, evidently, neither creator had/has any set plan for how their stories are gonna be told. Readers of LO have seen that from the frequent additions of various, random plots with the previously established plots having not been concluded in a meaningful or tactful way, and we see this with Vivzie and Season 2.

Going off this, both Vivzie and Smythe show blatant favoritism towards their main characters or love interests that prevent other characters from having their own development (i.e., Millie), as well as keeps the main couple from having any sort of flaws that the audience would perceive as truly bad, thus removing any nuance to them.

We see this in Persephone and her character:

And we see the same with Stolas and Blitzo, mainly in regards to Stolas' past and situation with Stella, as well as Blitzø's own past as we're made to constantly feel bad for him despite him not being the victim. It's made worse since we've yet to know what he did to every single person he's wronged, but, for that, I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt until we see more of Season 2.

Lastly, and probably the most glaring thing for me, both Smythe and Vivize take inspiration from real-world religions (RS –> Greek Polytheism; Vivzie –> Christianity/Demonology). These religions are both widespread in their popularity and, thus, are important to millions around the world. Because of this, both should surely have a sense of obligation to not bastardize the stories and characters they referenced in their work and/or should make their likeness relatively similar to their original works so others who know of it are familiar with the characters.

Both creators have failed to do so at some point in time and have gone so far as to push the blame on their audience rather than admit fault and work to improve.

Viv with Beelezbub

And Smythe with Persephone and the other gods/Goddesses:

Worst yet, both use social media as a means of weaponizing their fanbase against those who have a few critiques about each work of media. Now, what I can say for Viv is that the severity of these issues hasn't fully hit her yet, whereas Smythe, despite her awards, is feeling the brunt of her poor writing choices from former fans and readers. While Helluva Boss is more new and doesn't hold as much overwhelming significance to me, I've been with Hazbin Hotel since the beginning before the pilot even aired.

It's because of this that my greatest concern is that if Viv doesn't start seeing through these issues within Helluva Boss and, really, herself, then both shows may be doomed to fail, without Hazbin airing in its entirety. Worse yet, it would be a major blow for fellow indie creators who look up to her as an inspiration, so I really hope she doesn't reach RS's level of infamy in her work. 🙏

*PS: For a better Lore Olympus's viewing experience, I recommend this:

[clearancecreedwatersurvival]

Saw someone say that the wheel of time show has nothing in common with the books and this is. So not correct.

If you want to see what a show looks like when it has nothing to do with the source material, watch Netflix’s take on the witcher. That’s what happens when not only do the people adapting it not care about the source material but the showrunner actually has stated on record that she dislikes the source material. The witcher on Netflix fucked it up so bad that the lead actor, a huge fan of the source material, walked after three seasons. (I have been informed he actually left due to onset conflicts and instances of being misogynistic to his coworkers. Still a bad adaptation but I rescind this point) Pretty sure the entire country of Poland has disavowed this adaptation and the author wants Nothing to do with it.

The wheel of time is the total opposite. It is Extremely clear that the people working on it and the showrunner love the source material.

This production is running off a shoestring budget. Amazon put most of their high fantasy money into the rings of power (and the effects for the volcano eruption). And rather than being given enough seasons to adapt the entire book series, they’ve been given 8. To adapt 14 Extremely long and complicated books. How many named characters are there in the wheel of time?? Over 3000.

They are being given a very short time frame to accomplish a LOT of plot. Of course they’re going to cut stuff. Of course they’re going to combine characters. Season 2 is covering both books II and III! But they are focusing on the arcs of all the major characters and making sure they are set up for all their major character beats, and setting up the power players and institutions that matter in the larger geopolitical conflicts of randland. Sometimes that means making one character have later parts of their own plots sooner than it takes in the books (Moiraine and Mat in particular so far).

There are a lot of people saying it’s a bad adaptation mostly because a. They’ve made any changes from the books at all and b. Too many characters are gay now. Admittedly most of the people complaining about the adaptation having too many gay characters and nonwhite actors are on Reddit, but still. Both of these are of course nonsense. Of course you have to make changes in making Any adaptation of any book but trying to do the wheel of time in 8 seasons is a Herculean task. That’s why RJ made it 14 books, he tried to do it in less and failed cause he was an adhd king.

Rafe and the other writers have their own particular interpretations of characters but they Are interpreting the original work in a way that holds all the core themes. This season in particular is doing a great job so far of establishing the threat of the seanchan and the trauma of when channelers are cut off from the one power, both of which will of course be central focuses of the rest of the narrative for all of our main characters. I’m Really looking forward to the introduction of the Aiel this season as well.

Also if you’re mad there’s so many queer characters Come The Fuck On. Siuaraine is book canon, go reread New Spring. And I think making the polycule an actual polycule instead of a Mormon sisterwife situation is a fucking Brilliant choice. Making polyamory overtly present in the world already with Alanna and her warders is so good! And given they’re already coding Min as bi I have high hopes for Aviendha and Elayne as well (and also Mat, Mat should join the polycule I am crossing my fingers and toes like I know he’s probably gonna marry Tuon still but Come On he deserves to be in the polycule). If there is one thing I trust Rafe and co. to do well with this adaptation it’s the queer stuff.

Like I get it I’m also sad Uno had to die to make the Seanchan look more badass (r.i.p. my favorite foul mouthed bastard). But they have to make changes in the course of adaptation and if your criticism is just ‘they changed something,’ then please look at the holistic context of the changes, and accept that every adaptation of every book will make changes in order to translate the story to film.

[vlion]

please please write a jealous jake lockley fic where he’s either jealous of always being in the shadow while marc and steven get reader’s attention or maybe he’s jealous of someone from her work (sfw or nsfw if you want). TY IN ADVANCE!!

Damsel in Distress (Moon Knight Boys/Female Reader)

Author’s Note: I hope you enjoy this fic! I kinda tried to combine both of the things requested and I hope you like the direction I took! This was super fun to write as well as to dust off my smut writing skills! I could definitely see myself writing a part 2 to this so let me know if that's something y'all are interested in.

Link to AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/39540033

Content Warnings/General Themes: ⚠ 18+ content: by reading this you affirm you are over the age of 18 years or over the age of maturity as stated in your regional or local guidelines. jealousy, unwanted advances, lots of swearing (mainly from Jake because he’s Jake), Marc/Steven/Jake all making appearances, established relationships, violence (pretty minor, only one instance), one mention of blood, allusions to prior sexual actvities, oh boy here comes the good stuff, semi-public sexual activities, museum sex, spit kink (like A LOT, I’m sorry), mouth spitting, handjob, oral (m recieving), face-fucking, hair-pulling, degradation (including use of demeaning terms), praise kink, facial, “Sir” kink, allusions to Dom/Sub relationship dynamic, mentions of choking, Jake having a filthy mouth (as he should).

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 4,071

“Absolutely not.” 

Your boyfriend’s voice drew your attention away from the mirror you had been anxiously eyeing yourself in. You had been getting ready for what felt like hours, doing everything you could to pass the time rather than anxiously pacing around your shared apartment. You had been invited to a fancy gala at the museum you and Steven worked at together, and much to his and Marcs’ dismay–apparently–you had chosen one of your more revealing cocktail dresses for the occasion. 

You turned to your boyfriend, with a mock frown on your face. “What, you don’t like it?” 

He rolled his eyes after not so subtly taking your form in. “Baby…I already have to stay on the back burner tonight…and now you’re going to be wearing that all night? Are you trying to kill me?”

“Maybe not kill you, just make you suffer internally for a bit,” you said, with a cheeky wink. “And I am definitely wearing this dress, no ifs, ands, or buts about it, Marc.” You had already been hyped up by your friends and coworkers to wear this particular outfit, as well as by yourself, and there was no way you were going to change because of how one of your boyfriends was feeling about it.

It wasn’t like Marc was dressed particularly conservative either–the way his tailored suit and perfectly styled hair looked together had you weak at the knees. You wished that you could take him as your plus one, but you and Steven had specifically been invited, and people would surely be raising some eyebrows if he suddenly started speaking with an American accent. Not to mention the completely different manner in which Marc carried himself, and the fact that he worked for a mummified bird for a living. That probably wouldn’t fly well around the historians and archeologists and whoever the hell else attended these types of things.

“You’re a little brat, you know that?” Marc said in response to you. He also took the opportunity to kiss you on the cheek and pull you in by the hips, which made you practically melt in place. 

“Yeah…but I’m your brat,” you practically whined out, trying to look as innocent as possible. You could tell Marc knew you were just fucking with him, but you had to admit it was fun to push his buttons every once in a while.

You could sense a shift within the man in front of you.

“Surely you mean our brat right, love?” he asked, nose crinkling as he enunciated each word with his distinct accent. 

You knew Steven was going to make an appearance sooner rather than later, as he could be a bit of a control freak when the two of you had a place to be. You honestly preferred it at times though, especially when compared to Marc’s tendency to spontaneously propose things for the two of you to do. You asked Marc on one of your heat-of-the-moment dates why he wasn’t a fan of making plans ahead of time, and he simply responded by telling you he had a lot he wanted to make up for in a relatively short amount of time, so he wanted to make the most of it. You couldn’t help but feel a twinge of pain in your heart at his confession, knowing about his past and the very reason for Steven’s existence. From that moment on, the love you felt for Marc–and Steven–increased exponentially, and you vowed to love each of them for who they are–even if that involves having to rush out the door for one of the escapades Marc took you on. 

As if he could hear your thoughts, Steven glanced at his–or rather, Marc’s– watch, and reached for your hand. “I don’t mean to rush you, love, but we should really get going if we want to make it on time. Or, we could be fashionably late, but I don’t know if we are cool enough to pull that off.” 

You couldn't help but giggle at that. If there’s one thing you could count on with Steven, it’s him making light of what would have certainly been a source of anxiety for you. You dreaded going to these work events, having to get all dolled up just to meet a bunch of stuck-up rich people who you would forget about the moment you step out of the event. Your boss, Donna, wanted the two of you there to ‘represent the museum’–which basically meant to stand there and look pretty while the rich folk had the night to gawk at the various artifacts and collections that you and Steven had so tirelessly fussed over. But hey, at least you were getting paid for showing up to this thing. 

You had to nearly fight Donna to get her to allow Steven to venture out of the gift shop and work in other positions at the museum, which then resulted in the two of you rotating between working the shop as well as in the various exhibit halls. For some reason, Donna had taken a liking to you from the moment you first started working at the museum. Whether it was because you were generally pretty productive, or if she was simply happy to see more women working in this industry, you didn’t know, but you were certainly glad that you didn’t have her constantly breathing down your neck whenever something went wrong. You wished that you could say the same for Steven, but you liked to think that your presence did something to soften her up around him, especially when you were both on the same schedule. 

You pulled yourself back to reality and glanced at the time yourself, realizing that Steven was indeed right in hurrying you along. You looked back in the mirror one more time, swiping your chosen lipstick across your lips once more, and upon interlocking Steven’s outstretched hand with your own, the two of you were off.

~

You were about two hours into the event when you started to get…fussy. That was the best way you could describe how you were feeling after hours of mingling and chowing on whatever appetizers were floating around in the various exhibit halls. Thankfully, you and Steven technically didn’t have to work, but it certainly felt like you each had become some type of designated spokesperson for the museum with the interactions you were having with the guests. You had attended some of these events in the past, and you were required to wear your nametag for security and identification purposes, so it seemed that any time someone had a question about literally anything you and Steven were the ones to come to. You didn’t mind the various questions about the artifacts or historical figures represented in the exhibits, but you were getting seriously tired of telling one person after another where the nearest restroom was. 

You had taken a bit of a break from the event, finding an unoccupied table away from others where you could sit and eat some ‘real food’ that had been offered buffet-style in addition to the hors d'oeuvres going around. You could see Steven from where you were sitting, who upon glancing at the lack of vegan options, decided he would opt for a bite to eat later at the flat. He was currently telling an elderly couple about the history of gods know what. You couldn’t help but admire how passionate he was about the things he was interested in, and how he could articulate information in such a succinct manner. You found it to be incredibly attractive, especially when he was going down on–

“Hey there, gorgeous,” a voice said, drawing you out of your thoughts. You look up to see your coworker, J.B., with a cocky smirk on his face. 

You rolled your eyes and tried to visibly ignore him by angling yourself away from him, making it clear that you weren’t interested. Like, at all. J.B. had been nothing but a dick to both you and Steven the entire time you had collectively worked at the museum, and his crude remarks and tasteless flirtations were usually easy to brush off, especially after a long day at work. Now, however, you had zero tolerance for this kind of behavior.

But still, he somehow found a way to see through that. 

“C’mon sweetheart. You wanna get out of here? Or are you too busy gawking over that freak over there?” 

You immediately snapped your head back towards him. “Excuse me?! You, of all people, don’t get to call him that.” Upon seeing him roll his eyes, you continued on. “You wish you could ever mean as much to me as he does.” You knew you didn’t have to add the last part in order to get a rise out of him, but sometimes you just loved to see the world burn.

And make entitled pricks angry.

J.B. made a show of slapping the table in front of you out of anger at your statement, luckily not gaining the attention of anyone in your immediate area. You tried to glance around him to send Steven a look of ‘what-in-the-actual-hell-is-this-dude-doing-right-now,’ but he was too obscured by the stupidity that was unfolding in front of you. 

Speaking of just that, J.B. reached his hand out and gestured for yours, clearly desperate. “I’m not gonna ask again.” He said, and you almost humored him and leaned in his direction to give him a piece of your mind, but after hearing distinct footsteps coming your way from behind him, you refrained.

“That’s enough.” The voice from behind J.B sounded familiar to you yet also…off. He certainly sounded like Steven, and was presenting himself as such, but you couldn’t help but think that one of your other boyfriends may be making an appearance. Well, rather, faking a British accent and attempting to act like Steven–if you could call that an appearance. You’ve dealt with enough of their shenanigans in the past to know when something was up; and to also know that Steven is pretty much the complete opposite of the confrontational type, further leading you to believe that he wasn’t who you were seeing right now.

J.B. turned around–dramatically of course–giving Steven(?) a death stare. “Here comes the freak to save the day. I knew she was that patheti-” 

J.B. was promptly cut off by your boyfriend’s fist colliding with his face, as well as your shameless chuckle when J.B. looked between the two of you with wide eyes. “Donna’s gonna have a fucking field day with this, you’ll see,” he said, wiping some blood from his nostril.

It was you who spoke next. “Yeah, she would love to hear about how you tried to harass her star-worker. Oh, and that you made my boyfriend–who she already isn’t quite fond of–get into more trouble. Yeah, I’m sure that would go over well.” 

J.B. was once again taken aback, clearly frustrated but attempting to keep his rage at bay out of the fear of being put in his place again. He opened his mouth to say something, but upon making eye contact with you and the other man once more decided just to smack the table again and walk away. What a fucking man-baby.

You turned your attention to the man in front of you, whose hand came up to cradle your cheek. “You know, as much as I hate the trope of the guy swooping in and saving the damsel in distress, I have to say, I’m grateful that my boyfriend knows how to throw a punch.” 

The cocky smirk on your boyfriend's face completely gave him away, and you were soothed by the velvety voice that accompanied his relaxed demeanor. “Princesa, we both know that you would be the one rescuing me in that scenario, no?” A visibly exuberated Jake said, likely feeling the effects of adrenaline from the tussle he had gotten himself into. Well, actually, Steven into– technically. You’d seen each of the boys’ reactions after a fight before, and while Steven and Marc were able to keep the rush from the fight in their pants, Jake was…different. The first time you saw him get like this you were nearly scared of him, but more dumbfounded by how excited someone could get after literally fighting people only seconds ago. 

You smiled at his words, nodding your head to agree with him. He swiped his thumb over your lips, before looking around to judge if the other party-goers were winding down for the night or not. He didn’t particularly care how people would react to the two of you slipping out early or not, but he knew you certainly would; which is why he was pleased to see that no one seemed in dire need of hearing the history of whatever ancient civilization was of interest to them, or to know when dessert would be served.

“Let’s get out of here, eh? Mi amor?” He asked, a twinkle in his eyes. He reached his arm out for you to take, and he was quick to give you a kiss on the back of your hand and then tuck your arm into his elbow when you reached your hand out. Sure, Jake could be a bit unhinged at times, but at least he was a gentleman. Usually.

You glanced around to ensure no one was watching as the two of you made your way towards the exit, and you let out a squeak of surprise as you were pulled into a small room that you and Steven generally took inventory in. There were shelves full of museum merchandise, as well as a few seasonal posters and displays. 

“Jake, what the hell?” You asked, honestly just wanting to get back home to your comfy bed. 

“Sorry, cariño, I couldn’t help myself,” he said, his hands going straight to your curves. “From the moment I saw you in this dress and saw what that fucking cabrón was trying to do…I just…I wanted you so bad .” 

You chuckled at how possessive he was being. For such a big, bad mercenary, you would expect the man to have at least some restraint but alas, Jake was simply built different. 

“Aww, Jakey, don’t worry. The feeling is mutual,” you said, in a rather teasing manner. 

Jake rolled his eyes at the nickname. “Open your mouth,” he said, nearly out of the blue, looking at you through hooded eyes. 

You obeyed, not trying to dig yourself an even deeper hole. He made a show of reaching his hand up and pressing it against your throat, tilting your head back so he could angle himself above you. You closed your eyes, knowing what was to come, and nearly moaned when he spit into your mouth. 

He used his index finger to collect some of the spit that had hit your outer lip and cheek, and brought it back to your tongue. “Swallow” he commanded, a devious look in his eyes. You obeyed him again, clenching your thighs together as you swallowed nice and slowly, his hand still resting on your throat. 

“Good girl. Now get on your knees and show me what a good fucking slut you are for me, hmm?” He said, and if you weren’t already so willing to comply, his words alone would have made your knees weak anyways. 

You sunk down to your knees, making your dress ride up in the process. There was no way you were going to let it get ripped in this new position after seeing what it did to each of your boys, so you didn’t care to straighten it out or fix it. You looked up innocently at Jake, and you weren’t surprised that he was looking exactly where you had just been thinking of. You went to pull the material down out of the fear that he may make you cover up, but you stopped your actions when his hands gripped your shoulders. 

“Keep it like that, princesa. Reminds me how filthy you can be for me. For us .” He exaggerated the last word with a knowing smirk, recalling back to the occasions when he would watch in on the things you would do with the other two men he shared a body with. He mentally reminded himself to thank you for the floor length mirror you brought home to the flat one day, telling Steven that it was just for you to ‘give yourself a once-over before venturing out’, but that certainly didn’t explain why it had only ever rested against the wall directly next to the bed. 

“Take my cock out,” Jake said, and you felt your pussy clench at his words. You forgot how unfiltered he could be when he got like this–you loved it. 

“Yes Sir,” you replied, smirking as you used the title. Ever since you jokingly used the word to refer to him after a joyride in his limo one day, you had become aware of the effect it had on him. You used it a couple other times to tease him, all of which lead to some intense lovemaking (if you could even call it that after some of the sinful things you’ve let him do to you). 

You made quick work of removing his belt and unbuttoning his pants, slowly drawing the zipper down. Once the material was opened, and you had a clear view of his hard cock in his boxers, you took the liberty of lightly stroking your fingers up his easily distinguishable shaft. 

Jake inhaled sharply at that, and grabbed your wrist to stop your actions. “I gave you an order, baby. Now’s not the time to tease.” He released pressure on your wrist, tucking your hair that had fallen forward behind your ear before leaning down to it. “Do I need to remind you that we are still in public? Huh?” 

“No.” 

“No, what?” He asked, a shit eating grin forming on his lips.

“No, Sir,” you replied, looking up at him through your lashes. 

“Good girl,” he praised, loving the sound of the title on your lips. “Now make me cum like a good little whore.”

You clenched your thighs together at that, sure that you were soaking through your underwear at this point. The vulnerability and filthiness of it all should’ve turned you off, but the chokehold that Jake had on you–sometimes literally–was no doubt the cause of many feelings you had yet to fully dissect. But hey, ignorance is bliss.

Not wanting to stall any longer, for both his and your sake, you reached into his boxers and took his cock into your hands. You used your dominant hand to stroke up and down the shaft, using the pre-cum that had already begun collecting there as slick to aid your actions. Your other hand went to his full balls that were surely aching from the lack of contact.

Just as you found yourself getting into a good rhythm, you were shocked to feel Jake removing your non-dominant hand and angling it up towards his face. He leant down slightly, looking directly into your eyes, and then spit twice into your palm. “Use both hands up here, cariño,” he said, gesturing to his shaft. “I want to see how they look on my cock.” 

You obeyed, gliding the hand with his spit in it along the entire length before bringing both hands up to the shaft and jerking him off. Your hands could barely fit around the girth of his dick, adding to the sinfulness of it all. That, combined with the wet sounds that the action made, seemed to be only amplified by the fact that you were in a relatively confined room at your place of work. You tried to focus on pleasuring Jake with your hands, but you couldn’t think straight with the swollen tip of his cock barely an inch from your face. 

In other situations, you may have been a bit more hesitant about acting without permission, but you could tell that Jake was nearing his peak as you kept stroking. You knew how much he loved your mouth on him, so you closed the distance between your mouth and his cock, swirling your tongue around what you could fit in your mouth. You were immediately met with a moan from the man above you, who had to bite down on his knuckles to stifle any other noises. From the way he was breathing, you could tell he was definitely trying to hold back, both physically and vocally, so as not to reveal your location to the others outside the door. You were honestly beyond the point of caring, so you picked up the pace a bit, removing your tongue from the equation and settling to suck hard on his tip. 

That seemed to really do something to Jake, provoking him to reach up and grab your hair in his fists. 

“Fuck! Such a good girl for me,” he praised, allowing his hips to thrust in order to match your tempo. You could feel his balls hardening as they came in contact with your skin, and you knew he was close. 

“Does my pretty princess wanna make me cum? Hmm?” He asked. “Right here, while your coworkers are in the other room?” He added, raising his eyebrow at your eagerness.

You nodded as a response, removing one of your hands to play with his balls once again and to allow him deeper into your mouth. The combination of your willingness to take him, as well as his eager thrusts caused him to nearly hit the back of your throat. 

With a few more deep thrusts, Jake was removing his hands from your hair, and using them to angle your face towards him how he wanted. You removed your hands out of instinct, opting to place them on either side of his hips instead. 

“Stick out your tongue,” he demanded, furiously stroking his length in front of you. 

“I want your cum so bad, Jake” you said, before doing what he asked. 

At that, he leaned down one last time and spit in your mouth again and you smiled with your mouth open, knowing he couldn’t resist.

“Ready for it, baby?” He asked, bringing his cock back to your open mouth.

You nodded frantically, closing your eyes when you could tell he was about to orgasm. You felt his cum hit your tongue and lips, the warm liquid tasting salty and distinctly like Jake. You nearly came with him at the sensation, as well as when he cupped your chin with one of his large hands to admire his work. 

When he released you, you made a show of swallowing the liquid and licking off what didn’t make it inside with your tongue. You made eye contact with Jake while doing so, who you could tell was in a state of complete bliss. You leaned forward to lick up any of the cum left on his tip, then tucked him into his boxers and pants. He offered you a hand to help you stand up, letting you get used to being bipedal once more as he replaced his belt. 

“Maybe I should play the role of damsel in distress more often, huh?” You asked, giving Jake a quick kiss as he adjusted his clothes and hair. You figured you should probably do the same, hiking your skirt back down and running a hand through your own hair. 

“And maybe I should take you out of here and fuck you in the back of my limo to remind you who you belong to?” He responded, clearly still jazzed from everything that had gone on over the course of the night. 

“Jakey, you know me so well!” You took his hand in yours, linking arms and allowing him to guide you out of the room and building with a hand on the small of your back.

As the two of you walked out together, you could’ve sworn you saw J.B. staring at you with wide eyes before looking between you and the security camera terminal. 

Maybe you shouldn’t have insisted on them being installed in the storage room.

~

taglist: @verexi

[cross-my-heartt]

Three Act Structure of TBB

(Part Two: Season Two aka Act Two)

Part One here

Here we are finally discussing season two. This one was more difficult to write for a few reasons, namely that:

Act two generally has the least defined internal structure of all three acts

Season two doesn’t have the same clear cut internal three act structure as season one

The midpoint, the most commonly found element of act two, is harder to pinpoint here

All of this isn’t to say that season two is a bad season. Like I said, a vague internal structure is characteristic of the second act and season two acts more as a transitional season than one that could potentially stand on its own (like, say, season one).

How does season two hold up as a second act though? In my opinion, pretty well.

Act 2: The Middle (Complications)

To quote my reference material:

"Moving into ‘Act 2’, the protagonist is working toward their goal. As such, they are learning new things, testing what they learn, making mistakes, and probably meeting new people. […]

The bulk of the middle of your story will be a series of obstacles, challenges, tests, trials, etc., known collectively as The Road of Trials. This is where your protagonist comes face-to-face with antagonism. In many stories, the protagonist will use newfound knowledge and skills to get past these obstacles, or they’ll experience setbacks. If nothing else, these challenges can show that the protagonist is learning from their mistakes and growing (or not)."

This is all stuff that is present in season two. We have many examples of Omega learning new things (from the batch, from Phee, from Riyo, etc.) as well as the batch still learning to adapt to life with her and any new circumstances they’re faced with.

On a more thematic level the batch is applying what Omega helped teach them: the value of helping others, the values of family/community, of doing the right thing.

As for challenges and obstacles, each mini arc has its own while also sometimes putting the group face to face with the main antagonist: the Empire (Spoils of War, Tribe, Clone Conspiracy, Metamorphosis). And we can’t deny that we get our fair share of character growth (Hunter’s shifting priorities, Tech’s development as Omega’s brother, Omega applying her new skills, Echo resolving to stay with Rex, etc.)

(Don’t worry, I am purposefully omitting Crosshair for the time being.)

These mini stories don’t only serve to build character but also contribute to the development of important subplots. For example, the episodes where we learn more about Phee and Pabu set up the question of ‘should the batch settle down?’

Mistakes are made (losing the Marauder), new relationships formed (meeting Phee) and overall there's a good variety of mini arcs.

So tldr, season two is doing a great job in this regard. What about the midpoint then? Well, for starters, what is the midpoint.

The midpoint is found in most three act structure models. It could be a mid-act climax or a twist but most importantly:

"[...] your protagonist has a moment of clarity or revelation about something. They might learn something new that allows them to see their journey differently. Perhaps they’ve learned something that makes them view The Other World differently."

Knowing this, we have two candidates (or at least I’d argue we do).

One is the more obvious one, ie the two episodes smack dab in the middle of the season that deal with a big revelation, as well as a smaller twist that affects our protagonists. I’m of course talking about The Clone Conspiracy and Truth and Consequences.

My only issue here is that the events of these episodes are more closely related to the show’s subplots rather than its main plot.

Is the fate of the clones important? Yes. However this arc establishes something that's been foreshadowed from the very beginning: that the clones are being phased out. The fact that Palpatine achieves this sooner rather than later ups the stakes while also giving Echo the final push in making the decision to stay with Rex (the revelation that changes his course as a character).

And I’d argue that this… doesn’t really affect the main plot as much. Clone prisoners are still being transferred to Tantiss. Rex’s operation is still functioning. And Echo’s departure, while significant, sets up the theme of ‘settle down’ vs ‘continue the fight’ and the batch having to deal with his absence, both of which are subplots.

The thing that sets the act’s climax in motion – the batch’s attempt to save Crosshair – could still happen even if Echo had stayed with them. (yes, Echo was pivotal to getting the data but it’s really not that hard to rewrite those events without him).

So what’s the other possible candidate for a midpoint?

Well, here is where my biased self comes out and suggests that (you guessed it) it’s actually a Crosshair episode. The Crosshair episode of the season.

Although it’s positioned further on down the line, The Outpost accomplishes several things at once: there's a revelation, a twist, a character changing their viewpoint and the whole thing plays a huge role in the events to follow.

It's an episode where Crosshair not only manages to regain his status as protagonist, but also does it while having his very own mini hero’s journey, with classic elements like meeting a mentor (Mayday) who later dies tragically to push the protagonist’s story forward.

These events serve as the catalyst for the coming climax: Crosshair’s imprisonment and subsequent actions lead to a rescue attempt and that’s where everything starts to go wrong.

In a way you could say that Crosshair hijacked the midpoint of the whole act… and I love that for him.

After this we get a few more mini arcs such as Pabu and Tipping Point until we eventually reach the act two climax. The rock bottom, the crisis, the big change that leaves our heroes devastated and hopeless.

This could either be The Summit and Plan 99 or just the final episode, depending on what you define as the beginning of the crisis.

And here we are. A dire hopeless situation (Tech seemingly dead, Omega captured, Crosshair still imprisoned) that awaits its resolution in the form of act three.

That's where the protagonists rally before the final act three climax, followed by a deescalation of the action as the remainder of the story’s subplots are tied up (more of my thoughts on that here). Unless it's an open ending of course... but I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Either way, the odds of a happy ending are in no way low. I promise.

(Thank you for reading this far if you did! I hope you enjoyed and dropping my little tag list here: @lightwise @kixs-husband @ladykagewaki @intellectualfairy @arcadianmoonshadowjedi @tigerthespahget)

[aita-blorbos]

wibta for continuing to refuse to tell my dad about my existence for over a year?

so i (24nb) was raised in new york by my mom with my 3 half-siblings, and spent a lot of my early life wondering about my dad (who i’d never met, and my mom didn’t know much about, lol) long story short some shit happened, i got disowned by my mom and still have a relationship with my older half-brother (jury’s still out on my younger half-siblings but i dont expect them to talk to me anytime soon lol) and so i was basically… drifting for several years until i found myself in california and settled down, went to college, and then for… complicated reasons the city i was in basically became an active warzone. my (now) fiancee (27f) saved me and i finished college and started a business as a pi. funnily enough, even though i wasn’t still actively looking for info anymore, i have a pretty distinctive appearance, and based on that and some timeline clues i was able to figure out who my dad is. i was unsure whether to pursue a relationship with that side of my family or whatever bc i already had a pretty established life outside of my family and being on my own has been kinda. a staple of my life since i was 15, but it didn’t matter as much bc he and his sibling were missing, so the only member of that family i had access to was my cousin.

which is where we get to him

so my cousin (27m) grew up thinking he was an orphan in some cult, i think he thought his parents were dead or didnt want him or something? anyways, when he was about 19 he met my dad (now 46m, at the time 38). he didn’t know my dad was his uncle at the time, but evidently my dad figured out who my cousin was pretty quick. my dad then made the decision to continue working with my cousin to fight, uh, some bad people, but did not tell the cousin about them being related. for about 6 years.

eventually my cousin’s parent (46???) resurfaces (they all thought he was dead lol) and a lot of shit happened (including that uh… whole city-being-a-warzone thing i mentioned) and it basically came out that my cousin’s parent was, well, my cousin’s parent. and then immediately after both his parent and my dad disappeared on an… extended business trip and went missing. three years later, my fiancee is dying of cancer, and decides to go on a trip to look for some experimental treatments to get rid of the cancer. after a few months of her gone, my dad and his sibling return, and two months after that, my fiancee returns (apparently she found them and got them brought back?)

a week before this, a friend of my fiancee’s (23f) went missing, and i started a search for her, but i realized there was a lot more going on than i bargained for, so after my fiancee went back, we made the decision to seek outside help. this help happened to come in the form of my dad, and his company. so basically i had to talk to my dad whether i was ready to or not, and since i definitely wasn’t, i made the decision to keep certain things from him. like the fact that he’s my dad.

so we’ve been working together for a while (we found the friend, he just also enlists my help as a pi for other cases sometimes) and i just… haven’t told him yet. here’s the fun part.

so my dad has a habit of picking on his twin for not knowing he had a kid for 25 years. my dad thinks this is hilarious, his twin and my cousin, less so. i happen to turn 25 in a few months, so i thought it’d be hilarious to wait until i’m at least 25 to drop this on him. my cousin doesn’t know, but he’d think it’s HILARIOUS, but my fiancee thinks i should tell him bc from what we’ve gathered it sounds like he’s had a good bit of tragedy surrounding his family, and my fiancee knows what thats like. one of my dads coworkers who pieced things together thinks its funny, but agrees that i should probably tell him sooner rather than later. wibta for waiting, if only for the sake of being able to turn his own joke on him and make fun of *him* for also not knowing he had a kid for 25 years, and definitely not because i’m irrationally mad at him for not knowing i exist for that long?

the reason he doesn’t know who i am already is because i make it a point to hide the distinctive features that are pretty inherent to his side of the family, not because i’m trying that hard to hide who i am from him, but because i have certain people who i don’t want to be able to identify me.

also, i realize i may have made it sound like my dad is a cop or a vigilante. he’s not a cop, i’d want nothing to do with him if he was, and vigilante isn’t exactly accurate either. mercenary might be a better term here.

[paxesoterica]

Some Thoughts on Episode 13 (Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury)

(spoilers & long)

*Most of the new footage included in the Season 2 trailer seems to have been taken from this episode, so you could think of the trailer as effectively a preview.

*There’s a few ways in which this episode hearkens back to Ep. 01, the first being an establishing shot of Asticassia from a descending elevator; Elan Ceres (aka No. 5) then starts narrating about Suletta fighting a serial duel, due to the special arrangements Shaddiq had previously made to delay challengers to Suletta’s title while Aerial was being repaired.

*Due to Guel's disappearance, Lauda's promotion to CEO, and Shaddiq's father forbidding him from being involved with dueling, there's a new Dueling Committee roster:

“Elan Ceres” (Enhanced Person No.5) - Peil House

Sabina Fardin - Grassley House

Renee Costa - Grassley House

Felsi Rollo - Jeturk House

Secelia Dote - Burion House

Rouji Chante - Burion House

*For those not familiar with Revolutionary Girl Utena, there was a similar shakeup of the Student Council from the first arc, with a couple members absent, and a new member declaring herself the next president, so this was a development I was anticipating and am pretty happy with since it looks like it will highlight some of the supporting cast.

*I am curious if Renee and Felsi are estranged half-siblings or cousins, or if they just happen to be two people with similar appearances and mannerisms who despise each other as a running gag; either way, between them and No. 5′s jaunty manner, the new Committee is shaping up to be a lively bunch.

*We learn from Rouji’s Haro that there is a rule that ”the Holder must accept a duel once every two weeks”, which is probably something that should have been mentioned earlier but does add a bit of nuance to two past events.

There was a brief exchange between Lauda and Guel in Ep. 01, when Lauda questioned why Guel accepted Suletta’s challenge, since he could have ignored her for 2 weeks at that point. However, given the Holder rule and Guel’s impulsive nature, it makes sense that he would rather deal with an annoyance now than be challenged again later (coupled with the loss of face in front of his flunkies and the fact that Suletta likely seemed to be a new ally for Miorine to use against him).

There was also the convoluted way that No. 4 challenged Suletta, which likely means that Ep. 5 took place less than 2 weeks after Ep. 3, or else No. 4 could have simply challenged her directly, and she wouldn’t have been allowed to refuse.

*Another thing that hearkens back to Ep. 01 is that Suletta absolutely thrashes her 5 consecutive opponents without breaking a sweat; at least two of them seemed to be girls, which means we have another low-key queer moment, which I always appreciate.

* We have a new opening, set to “Slash” by Yama. There’s a lot of shots of major characters, peppered with symbolism and foreshadowing that I’m going to wait on analyzing until a few more episodes are out, with two exceptions:

1) There’s an opening shot with Suletta and Miorine staring at the sky, at a distance from each other; there are ruins on Suletta’s side and trees on Miorine’s side. Towards the end, Suletta runs toward Miorine, who smiles at her (Suletta continues to be the source of 90% of Miorine’s smiles), and the two stand together looking toward the sky. This seems likely to be foreshadowing that Suletta will abandon the dark path her mother is trying to set her on, and instead rejoin Miorine (hopefully sooner rather than later).

2) Aside from Miorine and a group picture of the Earth House kids, nobody else (except Sophie Pulone) is smiling in the opening, which is understandable for Guel in particular, but is odd for Shaddiq and No. 5, since, presumably their plans are going well, so this is likely foreshadowing future troubles for them.

*Despite the smiles above, Earth House has been having a rough time since Plant Quetta, with several visibly flinching while watching Suletta’s duels. The Benerit Group has issued a cover-up, declaring what happened at the Plant to be an accident and threatening expulsion to any student who says otherwise, which effectively means none of them can talk about their experience with professional therapists (assuming any are even available). Chuchu is pissed off, especially with the terrorists (which greatly undermines any theories that she’d ever consider joining Dawn of Fold), Nika is quietly withdrawn due to guilt, and Ojelo and Lilique are huddled on the ground, seeming to be the most visibly distressed. I sigh once again at my inability to offer fictional characters hot cocoa, headpats, and therapist recommendations. Suletta, at least, seems in oddly high spirits (which is remarked upon by others) and tries to be encouraging.

*Fortunately, there’s an upcoming open campus event which might help distract Earth House, which also technically makes this a school festival episode (but with giant robots and, as we’ll see, attempted murder, since this is Gundam).

*There’s a short scene with Miorine, who is absent from school and at the Benerit Front, looking after her father during his recovery. She’s wearing a dark business dress and apparently hasn’t been sleeping properly, poor girl.

*Meanwhile the Benerit Group is investigating the Plant Quetta incident, with Sarius and Shaddiq seemingly in charge, because of course they are. They’re avoiding outright war (for now), and instead sending a small fleet to Earth to punish any terrorists (real or otherwise) they can find. Of course, anybody familiar with the real world history of the U.S.’s so-called War on Terror is likely horrified right now at the potential atrocities that are likely to occur, made worse by the fact that Benerit’s media blackout will ensure most Earthians don’t even know *why* they’re being punished. 

*”I wouldn’t lie to you, Father,” lies Shaddiq.

*Shaddiq seems intent on continuing to cause chaos for the Benerit Group, summoning Sophie & Norea to infiltrate Asticassia as students.

*Suletta wonders if she did the right thing at Plant Quetta and her mom reassures her that she was right. Prospera continues to be a very effective manipulator, since she cleaves to technicalities; she’s *technically* correct that Miorine and Delling could have been killed, and realistically, killing the terrorist was probably the best way to protect them, but acting like killing at all is unambiguously good, instead of a necessary evil, and the fact that Prospera coerced her daughter into that position in the first place, instead of using her own piloting skills to help people, undermines any claims Prospera makes to being morally justified.

*Curiously, Prospera seems to be investigating the source of something that’s not explicitly stated; the only current possibility that comes to mind is that Prospera doesn’t know where Lfrith Thorn and Ur came from, and since there was previously speculation that Prospera herself was the source, if true, it raises some interesting questions.

*Suletta to Nika: “You’re a precious friend to me”, aww. While Suletta and Miorine are unquestionably my favorite characters, I also enjoy seeing their friendships with the other characters; Nika in particular, is the second person Suletta met at Asticassia, and since then has helped Suletta join Earth House, and led the mechaincs who have repaired Aerial several times. Recent events have prevented them from interacting much, so it’s great to see them have a friendship moment.

*Suletta describes her mother as “a gentle magician”, which is accurate, but I kind of hate it.

*Sophie and Norea arrive, and join Earth House.

*Sophie and Norea are *tiny* compared to Suletta, on par with Miorine.

*Big Sister Suletta!

*There’s was zero need for me to include the picture above, I just think Suletta’s facial expression is hilarious and adorable (also it somehow matched my expression with the return of this show).

*To anyone who, somehow, thinks Suletta’s bond with Miorine is ‘sisterly’, this episode is an excellent example of how Suletta interacts with someone she explicitly regards as a sister; it is notably not even slightly the same.

*Nika is less than pleased at the latest additions to Earth House, since she knows too well who they really are. She questions Norea in private, who threatens Nika with a knife (yup, just like the trailer) and tells her not to expose them. We also learn that Nika has long wanted to act as bridge between Earthians and Spacians, which is probably why she put her father in contact with Shaddiq, only to find out later that this was a terrible idea, and has been regretting it since; if Nika survives everything, hopefully she can pursue her original dream with the help of Suletta and Miorine.

*There’s a montage of Sophie and Suletta having fun at the open campus festival, with Sophie acting like a little gremlin all the while. Despite being on an undercover mission, Sophie genuinely seems to enjoy spending time with Suletta, though how much of that is genuine affection and how much is excitement with someone new and shiny (until she gets bored), is currently anybody’s guess.

*Hey, No. 5? Stop trying to take advantage of Suletta’s inexperience with sexual harrassment (due to her isolated upbringing) and pressuring her into dating you, go jump out the nearest airlock instead, kthnxdie.

*Fortunately Sophie rescues Suletta, and instead Elan encounters Norea, who has some bleak drawings, says vaguely sinister things, and steals No. 5′s datapad. No. 5 seems intrigued by her, and on the one hand, an alliance between the two would be a match made in hell and probably terrible for anyone around them, but on the other hand, it might get him to stop creeping on Suletta, so, possibly worth it.

*In another nod to the earlier episodes, Felsi & Petra get a scene! They bluster and threaten to take Suletta down during the Rumble Ring, a mobile suit mock-battle royale held at the end of the open campus event, which the Holder is required to participate in. So it looks like we’ll finally see Felsi get to pilot a suit, and might see the return of some or all of the Grassley girls as pilots, and hopefully Chuchu as well. Poor Suletta, girl does not get a break (and yes, despite her recent confidence boost, Suletta still hides behind other people sometimes).

*This is such a small, but sweet, character moment. Ojelo usually gets comedy bits, which is fine I guess, and here he’s seemingly back to his normal self, talking about money, but then makes it clear he’s doing his best to act normal to try cheer up Lilique, whom you’ll recall was displaying distress similar to Ojelo at the start of the episode, and I just...I did not expect to get attached to Earth House kids like I have, but they’re such a good-hearted bunch, who, despite the occasional disagreement, try their best to care for each other, even now after one of the scariest situations they’ve been involved in, and this is yet another example of that. I truly hope they all manage to survive the series, but I also worry.

*Speaking of worry, I legitimately thought that Nika was going to die when she confronted Norea & Sophie while they were trying to steal the Pharact. It’d be shocking for a character death like hers so soon, but the endings of Ep. 06 & 12 made it very clear that it’s a possibility, and it’s actually something I really like from a craft of writing perspective, even though it makes me squirm, about Witch from Mercury’s precise, surgical use of violence in its narrative thus far; having many, relatively light-hearted moments occasionally and unexpectedly punctuated by violence creates tension and dread at the first sign of possible conflict that constant and continual depictions of violence could never achieve.

*But Suletta arrives to save the day, speeding on a scooter, and then using its momentum to kick off into a powerslide, grabbing Nika just before the Pharact stepped on her, and then princess-carrying her to safety.

*Suletta Mercury is a character with a lot of nuance: she’s an anxious mess, an adorkable goofball, and a terrifying killer. But beside all that, one should never forget (despite the fact that it hasn’t been directly mentioned in the show, unfortunately) that she is someone who trained since her pre-teens as a rescue pilot in one of the most hostile environments in the entire solar system; to many, despite everything, she is a hero, and I 100% agree with this post that refers to her as ‘strong and gallant’.

*Before Norea guns her down, Suletta quietly apologizes to Miorine in absentia, and challenges Norea & Sophie to a duel; Sophie accepts, disagrees with Suletta’s belief that GUND technology’s purpose is to save lives, and promises to prove to Suletta that Gundams are nothing more than killing machines.

*I’ve seen some folks concerned over Suletta losing this next duel, and while possible, I don’t think it will be in a way that would cause her to lose Holder status. Consider the following:

The nature of duels in The Witch from Mercury are largely inspired by the duels from Utena, in which they were actual fights, yes, but also character studies of the participants, something that Witch has continued, using them to flesh out Guel, Elan, Shaddiq, and now Norea & Sophie as well. In this sense, the threat of loss is mostly unnecessary, with the protagonist of Utena losing only 2 of the 23 duels she fought during the TV series and movie combined. In other words, it’s not the threat of failure that makes the duels interesting, it’s what we learn about Suletta and her opponents.

...

There’s also the matter of the technical stakes versus the actual stakes of the upcoming duel. If Suletta loses the duel conventionally, then Nika would likely be killed, which I doubt will happen next episode since if she was going to die soon, it would have been this episode, and either Sophie or Norea (or both?) would end up as the new Holder and Miorine’s groom(s), which would make for a funny omake but doesn’t really feel like it would mesh with the story’s current direction. Aside from that, it also ignores the actual stakes: the clashing ideologies of Gundams as life-saving vs. Gundams as killing machines, and Norea & Sophie don’t need to technically win to achieve the victory they desire; all they need to do is put Suletta in a position where she is either forced to kill someone or let them kill someone. This is complicated by the fact that, despite Suletta’s stated beliefs, she has killed, and I suspect this duel may act as a catalyst that forces her to actually think about her actions at Plant Quetta, and just how far she’s willing to go to protect people she cares about, which may lead to the first step for Suletta in a painful but necessary journey to reconsider her mother’s role in her life, and that’s a far more interesting outcome than her losing Holder status.

*I also appreciate the parallel between Suletta squishing a man to death with her Gundam last episode, and now being on the opposite end and saving Nika from a similar fate; it’s another reason why I expect her duel with Norea & Sophie to have an impact on her character development. The Earth Witches are also shaping up to be interesting foils to Suletta, and I kinda hope they survive the conflict to see where that goes.

*There’s a new outro, featuring the song “Red:birthmark” by Aina the End, and I am currently obsessed with it.

*UTENA!

*Ahem. Witch from Mercury continues to show off its Revolutionary Girl Utena influences, while putting its own spin on them, and it’s great, and I love it. The scene above is a visual reference to one of the characters magically pulling a sword out of another’s chest for the latter to use, and given the imagery that follows, it seems to be an allegory for Aerial pulling Suletta free of Prospera’s influence and allowing her to transform into her own person.

*You should honestly just watch the video, but Suletta looks very stylish with her hair down, both as a witch in a black dress dancing with her GUND-bits, and as a dancing partner for Miorine.

*Miorine looks a bit uncertain about Suletta, but ultimately follows her lead, and it makes sense that she’s nervous since it’s a perspective of Suletta she’s never seen before (although, I personally think there’s also a tiny bit of Miorine feeling really, really gay while looking at Suletta).

*Speaking of Miorine, there’s an after-credits scene featuring her and Prospera.

*While it seems Miorine hasn’t been answering Suletta’s e-mails, she’s definitely been contemplating that dorky keychain Suletta got her.

*Miorine’s already figured out that Prospera manipulated Suletta, and Prospera responds with her typical gaslight/gatekeep/girlboss routine, pointing out that Suletta did it to save Miorine, admitting that Suletta went too far (which is very much *not* what Prospera said to Suletta), and then correctly guessing that Miorine wasn’t planning on abandoning Suletta despite this (while Prospera phrases it as ‘remaining friends’, I’ve heard this was an inaccuracy of the sub, similar to another one back in Ep. 10 that incorrectly inserted the word ‘friends’, so I’m going to trust that Prospera wasn’t being homophobic here and that the dub will be more accurate).

*Prospera then mentions to Miorine that, with Delling inactive, she wants Miorine to help her with the Quiet Zero project, which will supposedly create a world without war.

*And so the battle of wits between Miorine and Prospera begins; Miorine knows Prospera can’t be trusted, and in normal circumstances, I’m sure she would turn her down. But Miorine also knows that Prospera has some sort of influence on Suletta, and is clearly plotting something, and unfortunately the best way to find out and save her groom will involve walking straight into the spider’s parlor and accepting the offer. Miorine has repeatedly demonstrated she’s one of the smartest characters in the show, but so has Prospera, and despite being suspicious of Prospera, Miorine is also vulnerable due to her recent trauma, and her worries over both her groom and her father. If she loses, Prospera will likely either kill her or worse, but Miorine has little choice if she wants to be with Suletta (and the show makes it pretty clear that she does).

*Whew! What a way to come back from hiatus; thanks for reading, and I hope you’re enjoying the show as much as I am.

[benkyoutobentou]

31 Days of Productivity Reading: Day Two

Before: Alright, I think I should show you my manga tracking sheet. I don't actually have any organization for my unread Japanese novels, but I have a tbr shelf for my English novels and the aforementioned Sheet for my manga. Also, I should be going to pick up (guess what) (take a guess) (yeah okay you guessed it) more books today! I should have a package at the post office today, if I don't I'll cry because it should have been sitting there for a few days and that's way too much manga to lose in the mail. Yes you will be getting a haul photo. And how much did I spend on it total? Less than ten USD. I only paid shipping! The internet is a very wonderful place with many wonderful people.

I usually don’t have a whole lot of time to read on Saturdays because I’m running errands all day, but I’m hoping to finish another chapter of No. 6 (I did finish a chapter last night!). This next chapter is shorter than usual for this series (about thirty pages as opposed to around fifty) so hopefully I will be able to get some manga reading in today as well. I’m fully expecting to keep saying that and not reading any manga until I finish this book.

After: As expected and as usual, my reading time was pretty condensed today and have only read for a total of one hour and eight minutes. Like yesterday, though, I'm planning on reading for around another hour before bed to finish up this chapter. I'm about halfway through, so that puts me on track for that timeline.

As you saw, my manga did come in today! It’s the two stacks on their sides. Where you see them is where they’re staying. I planned to go to Ikea today to get height extensions for my bookcases, but they were out of stock. :') They were in stock last weekend and last time I bought a bookcase, I had to wait probably three weeks for it to come in. I love how the only Ikea in my area never stocks anything. Anyways, my new manga tracking sheet is so ridiculous, now you see why I need this challenge. If you see any favorites on the list that I should get to sooner rather than later, feel free to bully me into reading it :3c

I also had another package that was less expected; my Notebook Therapy notebook came in! I've been waiting on this for two weeks now, and I can finally start studying ASL now that I have it! Unfortunately, I doubt I actually will, because this upcoming week for me is going to be insanely busy.

The day’s final update: I didn’t end up finishing the chapter, but at this point I’d rather sleep. The next chapter is also on the shorter side so hopefully it won’t be too much of an issue to fit these extra pages in there. Also, as an established No. 6 fan, I know that this chapter is going to end with a hugely important revelation for Shion, so I’m a bit disappointed that I didn’t have the time to finish it. But it’s something to look forward to for tomorrow!

For today’s totals, I read twenty pages in an hour and twenty seven minutes. That’s 4.3 minutes per page, which is pretty much exactly what I clocked yesterday as well. At least I’m consistent!

[chaotic-archaeologist]

Asking for advice: i am seeing someone who is having a really bad mental health time, i have a fear of closeness and they tend to overshare. I really don’t mind them telling me stuff, but os intense and it makes me feel helpless because i don’t know them well enough to really know how to offer support. This makes me feel more distant from them. I know relationships are harder if someone is struggling with mental illness, but i do want this and i would hate for that to come between this

Healthy boundaries are part of any relationship. I hear that you want to be with this person, but I think that if you don't address this issue sooner rather than later, it could ruin the relationship.

Ultimately, whether you choose to bring this up with them is up to you. If you do decide to have this talk, you need to be prepared for the fact that they may not take it well. That is a symptom of their mental illness, and it is 1) not your responsibility to be the sole support for their mental health, and 2) not a reflection on you needing to assert your own boundaries.

All of that being said, I am an advocate for open communication in any kind of relationship. This person cannot read your mind, and it may very well be that they have no idea how this is making you feel. They probably don't want to be making you feel this way, and they will never know unless you tell them.

Honestly and kindly, I would tell them essentially what you've just told me: you care for them and want to be in this relationship, but right now the amount of help they are asking you for is overwhelming. This is negatively impacting you, and while you want to support them, you need to put some boundaries in place for your own well-being. Reiterate that you care very much for them and want to work through this by establishing some ground rules for both of you.

A romantic partner is not a therapist. Some sharing is good and healthy, but you should not be expected to bear the brunt of their processing. If this person does not already have a mental health professional, they should get one. If they're already seeing someone, then that is the appropriate venue for some of these conversations.

In the even that the cabin loses air pressure, put on your own oxygen mask before helping others. You cannot support other people if you don't take care of yourself first.

-Reid

[anonymousbeefriendfanfics]

Heya, friends!

Just a small update on what's to come~

I've decided I'm going to start using the queue. I won't be using it for my own content - that's still going to get posted the second I finish it, because I'm too excited to share it! But I will be using it to reblog cool fandom content for you all! Probably at a rate of 1 per day or so, or whatever works best.

I now officially have a Chief OC for Path to Nowhere, and I still have my Main OC to unveil, so those should be coming sometime in the next month!

Speaking of which: I know I've basically been posting nothing but PtN content, but that's just because I'm trying to establish myself in the fandom and all that, and because I'm feeding my friend and I's obsession. I'll still be writing for all the old fandoms too!

I have updated my tag list to include the new fandoms, and also introducing some new options to be tagged in anything I write and the upcoming OC stuff! This only applies to my actual fandom/oc works, of course, queued posts and things like this won't be tagged.

I've also got a ton of prompt lists saved, so hopefully I'll get around to updating my prompt masterlist sooner rather than later... I need to update my theme, too.

And as always, requests are still open! Feel free to spam me <3

[leqclerc]

I disagree of the vettel part, I think it was about time for him and ferrari to move on. I don't think he could have been a kimi to Charles but also Charles wouldn't play kimi too. They are too similar.

Carlos is a good choice, if you think of the field and the other options. Daniel is underperforming massively, gasly is mistake prone and doesn't have solid experience in a decent midfield car in order to get promoted in a top team straight away, Perez actually seems the best of the rest, but he was dropped of last minute from racing point.

My issue isn't exactly with Carlos. He is a prick and he is overestimating himself, basically like half the grid.

My issue is with ferrari. They should have already establish roles and boundaries. They aren't fighting for a p3 like last year where even if things were heating up, it would be harmless cause no championship battle was involved. They are a solid top team this year. And they have a generational talend with them.

They could also pull a bottas on him and only extend his contract year by year, to keep him in pressure. It would be mentally challenging but effective.

All in all, Ferrari is being again Ferrari's biggest enemy. The whole "we maximize points, we do not favour anyone" is actively ruining the their hopes for a good result ( mercedes is catching up in constructors) but also ruin the relationship between the drivers and the pitwall. Carlos disobeying orders in monaco and Silverstone got him a podium and a win. How long do you think it will take for Charles to start doing that? Although I am a sucker for demon Charles, if you want to win championships you need to trust your team that they will tell you what's best for your race. After Silverstone and after today's hard battle with Carlos, I feel like Charles knows that he is on his own and for the first time, he doesn't have the team's full support.

Yeah, I pretty much agree with you on that analysis of Ferrari's current predicament. They shot themselves in the foot by doing what no other team in a title fight would do and not prioritising the clearly faster, more reliable driver at the start of the year when one proved himself and the other was in the gravel. Now they’re doubling down on what is very obviously a self-destructive, nonsensical policy, and everyone seems to know it will end in utter disaster sooner rather than later. I wonder who they’ll blame then, because I don’t expect any accountability from the team management.

Although I disagree in that I think Carlos is the problem, at least partially. On paper he seemed like a great choice, and I even remember McLaren fans telling me Ferrari’s gaining a strong, solid, reliable team player. Which...lol. They thought they were getting a Valtteri (or what Checo proved to be for Max) but nope. I think he spent some time testing boundaries, much like a child would, seeing how far he can go before he’s told off. Turns out he’s been given a lot of leeway to do as he pleases and behave the way he’s behaving, putting his own interests first, without Ferrari stepping in and firmly establishing order (which people were expecting them to do), because apparently management doesn’t have a backbone, which makes them look weak and makes them easy to manipulate and exploit from the inside.

Imo the seeds for this sort of thing were there even last year (flashes of arrogance, questionable comments, dodgy team radios, etc.) they’re just blossoming and becoming more apparent now because there’s more at stake and he’s in a more secure position within the team (Santander backing, 2 year contract, probably used last year’s standings as leverage as well.) Which, honestly, if it had been a 1+1 I think that would help at least somewhat. It’s what I was expecting he’d get, as did a lot of other people, mainly because the negotiations seemed to go on forever, which implied a conflict of interest (perhaps him wanting more than Ferrari was willing to give), especially since many figured they’d be ready for Mick by 2024.

And yes, trust is important and it goes a long way. It’s not as easy as “hey just don’t listen to the pit wall!” because where does it end? If you had 20 drivers from 10 teams doing whatever the fuck they wanted there would be chaos. And if he made a risky decision and it backfired then he’d be attacked for getting it wrong and unnecessarily turning his back on the team. Hell, it’s not even like he’s making the wrong calls - he’s often right, it’s just that the pit wall either doesn’t trust him, or they somehow only listen when it’s Car*** making the call. That’s what’s frustrating about it. Sochi 2021 he can’t pit for inters when he wants to because his teammate’s already in the pits; Monaco ‘22 he knew slicks were the right choice but not right now, and Silverstone again he kept asking if they could still pit, to which he was told a stern no. When data proved they had time to reconsider, they just really, really didn’t want him to pit for some reason.

As for Seb and Charles...the simplest answer is we’ll never know. Yes, they had their moments, but overall I think they have a lot of respect and affection for each other, which allowed them to make amends and bounce back even after their lowest points. The circumstances were a bit different - it was their first year together as teammates so they had to figure each other out and establish some kind of dynamic, and also it was Charles’s first year at Ferrari, and he wanted to prove to the team and all the many detractors that they weren’t wrong to give him a chance. Also, it quickly became apparent that in 2019 they weren’t going to be championship contenders as Mercedes was just too strong and the best they could do was be runners up. In their first race together Ferrari were quick to pull team orders even when it wasn’t strictly necessary (4th and 5th) and also openly criticised them for their insubordination when it did come to that. Neither of them were afforded the leeway that Car*** has been enjoying despite his mistakes and generally subpar pace. By the end of his time at Ferrari Seb was gracious in acknowledging Charles’s talent and future position in the team - he admitted that Charles “beat him fair and square” and even that he’s the most talented driver he’s met in 15 years. That’s... huge. So, if they were in this year’s situation and Charles had a chance to win his first WDC and they potentially had a shot at bringing the WCC back to Maranello together... I would like to believe they’d make the best of it. Would they? Again we’ll never know. 😔

[lilithbaeastro]

Can you please do my personal reading

Name: Aditi Dubey

Timing: 8:25 am

Birthday:22 feb2002

I love your birth date 😩🥰

02/02/02

CHARACTER

Your outstanding character is that of sympathy, mingled with hospitality. You have a great urge to make others a little happier for having met you. No higher quality could be possessed than this but it is one that may be carried to excess. You spend lot of time and money for the sake of others.Your tastes are of a cultured order and, at heart, you have a love for literary and artistic work of a high grade, though the commercial existence, which you must probably follow, may force them out of sight.Regarding money, you have peculiar views. At times you deny yourself legitimate necessaries and at others, you spend somewhat recklessly. You will always give in response to the call of charity. On some occasions, you put yourself to considerable trouble in order to save a few rupees on the price of an article you desire to purchase.Your chief weakness is that you are somewhat easily impressed. In fact, you believe too much of what you hear. Unscrupulous people are quick to notice this defect in you and they are certain to trade it sooner or later. Therefore, be on your guard and avoid being victimised by someone who may come to you in the guise of a friend.

LIFE STYLE

You are motivated to enhance your sex life. If other factors make you feel that material possessions are a requirement, you are motivated to gain much money. Whatever your goals, however, sex is the motivating factor. Recognise this, and rather than fight it, use it to best advantage.

CAREER (suggestion)

Your career should be such that you have constant public contact. You have a persuasive and magnetic personality. Thus, to use it to great potential, you should involve yourself in areas where persuasion reaps the greatest rewards.

HOBBIES

Reading, painting, the drama, and such pastimes as require artistic and literary feeling will occupy your mind. It would not be surprising to find that you suddenly developed and interest in Spiritualism or things relating to the supernatural.

Advice as for

{ May 16, 2022 - July 13, 2022}

The outlook however will remain average mostly throughout the period. You should work on developing your profession rather than focusing on gains. During this period there could be personal issues & minor health issues which could create hurdles for work. There would be challenges and new choices which should be taken carefully. New projects should be totally avoided. This period will experience hurdles due to your un-adjusting nature as well as competition in work environment. Purchase of land and machinery should be postponed for some time.

Some highlight points 🤏

benefit from business and the native will always have steady source of income

Sorry but you would have prb with education or mother's health/life🥲

Happiness will ⬆️ after marriage 💞

Someone in ur family belongs to medical side.

Okay!!! I already said I'm not pro but seeing things in ur chart, it's..... Not a very good one but if you devote yourself more towards spirituality & meditation 🥰😩 that will be a good thing.❤️

Your spouse will act like a shield for you🗿😳 (but will have a lil health prb too)

Money 💰 will come easily to you(not that a million$ something but you won't get broke ever)

Relationship with father would be delayed.

Generous you❤️🧿

More about you💗(not by me)

🔥uranus-ascendant- Electricity personified. Are fucking sexy. Individualistic. Usually have something unique about their appearance- tattoos🥵 piercings👀 dyed hair, ripped clothing etc. They aren’t afraid to express themselves. Can sometimes be purposefully blunt and provoking when expressing themselves sexually😂. This could be with their clothing or what they say. I love this. Anti-establishment. A few hours after meeting them they’re like ‘’what do you think about capitalism?’’. Umm bestie….i’m just trying to eat my lunch💀 They usually have issues with their phones too. Broken phones or phones that always have issues😂. These people are so sexy to me. They don’t give a fuck. The type to say ‘’okay and?’’.💀They’ll dismiss you if you piss them off. They’re magnetic. They attract people so easily. People wish to be free like them. They possess this unleashed energy and this can allow other people to open up.

🔥12th house sun. Wow. I don’t know where to begin. These people are heavily under appreciated. Like hello? These people are fucking amazing. They have this depth. Their waters run so deep, you could never reach them. They’re introverted. But once they let you in. Once they show you that side of them. Oh my gosh. These people have an intangible aura. Ethereal. You can’t quite grasp who they are. Their identity is so hidden. They have this deep understanding of existence, yet they sometimes can’t understand themselves. I love this constant journey of self discovery they embark on their whole lives. Their depth is sexy. They look at you and they see you, beyond your facade.Their mindset is sexy. Their perspectives are so fucking attractive. Their ideologies, their views. SEXY. They’re so mysterious. They’re like a locked door and you wanna get inside. You want to find out who they really are, because they are truly special.

🌼Cancer Saturn: Reliable, discreet and very loyal. Affectionate and attentive to the needs of those they love. Lots of emotional maturity. Consideration for the neighbor. Ability to remain calm in tense situations, give a sense of stability to other people. Takes bonds really seriously. Caring and protective. Introspective and self-aware.

🔥pluto 10th house. Fuck me. Literally. These people are fucking powerful. They’re so intimidating. I love it though👀. I’m like 🥺💀. Their presence demands respect. Their aura is so intense, you can’t ignore these people. They either like to dominate or be submissive. But when it comes to their work. Domination is the only option. They need to succeed. And usually they do get recognised in the workplace.

Lemme tell you one thing

Whatever ups and downs you will have they will paas by. Considering how strong/dominant your Mars & Saturn(scorpion,Pluto, Aquarius (ur rising) Capricorn) is I can bet you, NO ONE COULD BE AS STRONG AS YOU. sometimes you might not feel this for yourself with the amount of overwhelming feelings one could get with all these placements but you are my love 💗

One more thing, try to trust more on yourself than anyone else. You have strong 12th house placements-which also represents enemies,so ofc karma will be your side but getting hurt is never an option.

They say putting efforts in the planet with lowest degree is must and as for you it's MERCURY, which represents education and all so as i already said education will come hard too you🥲🤓

Lowest degree also represents our future partner-😊so they must be having mercury/Gemini characteristics.(must be mature or simply older)

You must do good in business, property related (inheritance from family).

You family wealth history or condition might also drive you for passion to work more💞

You may like control 😃

YOU ARE HOT TOO 🔥🥵🌶️

I've alot of stuffs that i could myself write abou you🧁🤌 but ig this much would be enough 😂(I've exams too)

So hope all this resonates and maybe a lil helpful to you to know more about you.

Have a great day 🙋😊

[usafphantom2]

Ronnie Bell Following

Gloster Javelin XA571.

The Gloster Javelin was an "all-weather" interceptor aircraft that served with Britain's Royal Air Force in the late 1950s and most of the 1960s. It was a T-tailed delta-wing aircraft designed for night and all-weather operations and was the last aircraft to bear the Gloster name.

The Javelin began with a 1947 Air Ministry requirement for a high-performance night fighter that led to orders for prototypes under specification F.44/46 of two of the competing designs, the Gloster GA.5 and the de Havilland DH.110 which was also under consideration for the Royal Navy. When it appeared that the Gloster design would be ready sooner and would be simpler and cheaper to build, the de Havilland submission was rejected; though the company was to continue development of the DH.110 as a private venture that eventually resulted in the naval Sea Vixen. The Gloster design had a distinctive appearance, its broad delta wings surmounted by a large-finned T-tail. The F.44/46 specification subsequently became F.4/48 related to the "Operational Requirement" OR.227.

Gloster Javelin, probably a flight test aircraft, at Farnborough.The GA.5 first flew on 26 November 1951 flown by test pilot Bill Waterton (two months after the prototype DH 110 took to the air), with protracted flight testing taking place until 1956, when the first 14 production machines were delivered, designated F(AW) Mk 1. On one test flight, the elevator surfaces detached. Rather than abandon the aircraft, Bill Waterton landed it despite the lack of control surfaces. He was awarded the George Medal for his action in retrieving flight data from the burning aircraft. The second prototype (WD808) received a modified wing in 1953. After initial testing by Waterton, it was passed to another Gloster test pilot Peter Lawrence for his opinion. On 11 June 1953, the aircraft crashed. Lawrence had ejected, but too late (at about 400 ft (120 m)), and was killed. The Javelin had experienced a "deep stall", the wing acting like an airbrake had killed forward motion and at the same time stopped airflow over the elevators, leaving them useless. Without elevator control, Lawrence would not have been able to regain control and the aircraft dropped from the sky.[3] The third prototype (WT827), and the first to be fitted with radar flew on 7 March 1953. The fourth WT827 was passed to the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) for trials and the fifth prototype, WT836, made its first flight in July 1954.

On 14 October 1954, a pilot attached to Gloster from RAE Farnborough was killed in a Mk I Javelin XA546 after entering a spin. On 8 December 1955, a service test pilot S/L Dick was testing XA561 for the A&AEE. During manoeuvres, it entered a flat spin which the anti-spin parachute could not stop, and he ejected. Following this, a stall-warning device was developed for the Javelin.

During the course of testing development and improvements continued, leading to small production runs of different models of the aircraft throughout the years.

By the end of 1956, the Javelin was up to a FAW 7 variant, which was the first to actually meet the specifications of the original Air Ministry requirement, and which was to become the definitive version of the aircraft (most of which were later altered to the FAW 9 standard). Indeed, the Javelin was evolving so quickly that deliveries of the FAW 8 began before FAW 7 production had ended. As a result, the final 80 FAW 7 aircraft went straight from the factory into storage, eventually flying after being re-manufactured as FAW 9s. A total of 427 Javelins were produced in all variants, plus seven prototypes

The Javelin entered service with the RAF in 1956 with 46 Squadron based at RAF Odiham, England Even when entering service, there were strict limitations as to the extent of manoeuvres that should be attempted.

At its peak (in the years 1959 to 1962), the Javelin equipped 14 squadrons. After 1962, numbers dropped rapidly and, by 1964, only four squadrons were flying the type.

The closest that the RAF's Javelins came to combat was during the Malaysian Confrontation with Indonesia from September 1963 until August 1966. Javelins of 60 Squadron, later joined by 64 Squadron operated out of RAF Tengah, Singapore flying combat patrols over the jungles of Malaysia. In 1964, an Indonesian Air Force Lockheed C-130 Hercules crashed while trying to evade interception by a Javelin FAW.9 of 60 Squadron. During June 1967, following the disbandment of 64 Squadron, 60 Squadron were deployed to Kai Tak, Hong Kong because of unrest in the colony during China's Cultural Revolution. Javelins were also deployed to Zambia during the early stages of Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence, to protect Zambia from any action by the Rhodesian Air Force.

The last of the type was withdrawn from service in 1968 with the disbandment of 60 Squadron at RAF Tengah at the end of April 1968. One aircraft remained flying with the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment at Boscombe Down until 24 January 1975.

Via Flickr

[blacjaq1]

Hey comic fans! Mike here! Something I never thought would happen has come to pass. Marvel has finally regained the license to reprint their ROM: SPACEKNIGHT series from the ‘70s and ‘80s. For years, the only way to read those comics, which included 75 regular issues, 4 annuals, and a handful of appearances in other Marvel titles, was to track down the actual back issues. It could be an arduous and relatively pricey endeavor, to be sure. Rom was originally created as an action figure and sold by Parker Brothers, a company known for its board games. With Rom, they dipped their toes into the action figure market and pretty much failed miserably. I mean, as a young kid reading Rom comics in the early ‘80s, I had no idea it was based on a toy! I even sent a letter to Marvel begging them to make a Rom figure, going so far as to include crude schematic drawings for how the toy should look and operate. Unsurprisingly, they rejected my proposal. In any case, to say that the comic far outshined the toy is an understatement. The Spaceknight’s adventures were penned by Bill Mantlo and graced with art by both Sal Buscema and Steve Ditko. Rom felt fully integrated into the Marvel universe proper, often meeting up with well-established heroes and villains, alike. This would cause some problems after the license expired since, along with his own series, his appearances in other books also could not be reprinted. So, if you’ve read some collections of certain titles from that original era, like MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE for example, you’ve probably noticed some gaps in the storyline. Obviously, that’s an irritating prospect for completionist comic fans. The wait is over, though! The first omnibus, ROM: THE ORIGINAL MARVEL YEARS, is out now. It collects ROM: SPACEKNIGHT issues 1 through 29 and POWER MAN AND IRON FIST issue 73. It includes all of the letter columns and covers and even has a little bit of back matter like sketches and vintage house ads. It’s a hardcover book and clocks in at over 700 pages, a beefy tome no matter how you cut it. Now, it’s not cheap at $125, but if you’re like me and you’ve been waiting for something like this for a few decades, then you’ll probably jump at the chance. So, I don’t believe the particulars of Marvel’s deal with Hasbro (they absorbed Parker Brothers some years ago) have been made public. I don’t know if cheaper collections are on the way, although Marvel did recently publish a reprint of the first issue and a one-shot that reprinted Rom’s two-issue team-up with the X-Men as well. My hope is that Marvel will be able to publish new material with the character, but my guess is that is unlikely to happen unless these omnibuses sell well. As an aside, Marvel will also soon be releasing omnibuses for their MICRONAUTS and GODZILLA series which have been in the same boat as ROM: SPACEKNIGHT with regards to their unavailability. If you’re interested in these books, I’d let the shop know sooner than later, as Marvel tends to let things go out of print rather quickly and the licensed aspect makes their availability even more tenuous. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a certain space faring cyborg to catch up with!

[mildkleptomania]

one of the things i'm going to Have to do sooner rather than later is write up a dossier or something about my main cat people species

establishing things before you post about them a whole bunch is probably the wise decision, or at least it's the decision i always try to make when i have things i want to post about a whole bunch the issue here being i have STUFF i need to make in addition to all the writing parts because i don't have the benefits of a bunch of preestablished lore nonsense being right there in the DMs of the person i'm talking to, and also it's been a while since i've done a speciesref and i probably should make a new one

[comfortgaragedoors]

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