#em for 2.5 seconds

[autism-corner]

man cleaning your room is such a fucking big thing wth. the entire back of my head is drenched, as if i just came out of the shower. wth.

[mrsmarlasinger]

Oh? My fucking god??

THIS WAS THE CONTROLLER FOR THE SUBMARINE THAT WENT MISSING???

The Logitech F710??

Like, okay, apparently the U.S. military* uses Xbox 360 controllers. I get that. It's cheap. It's technology already familiar to many young adults. I get it, I do.

*(fuck 'em)

But still. STILL.

I don't know anything about gamepads, but I do know the Logitech F710 came out thirteen years ago. I just found it on Ebay for $16 including shipping.

But surely that means that through the test of time, the Logitech F710 has proven itself to be the best around, right? A work of video game engineering so flawless, even a relatively sane individual might agree to trust it with their life....right?

Oh. Oh. Jesus Horatio Christ.

Imagine your joystick drifts and your buttons get stuck and your controller lags...while you're steering a submarine...13,000 FEET UNDERWATER.

(That's about 4,000 meters, or just under 2.5 miles. And yes, I know it's actually a submersible, not a submarine.)

Oh my god. Oh my god.

For context, according to Naval Post:

A submarine specifically built to rescue people from subs sunk deep in the sea has a maximum depth of 7,500 to 10,000 feet (2,250 to 3,000 meters). But no, with the Titan, we're talking 13,000 FEET.

So if the pressure at approximately that depth is 5,775 psi, which means 5,775 lbs (2,619 kg)—or ALMOST THREE TONS—per square inch...

...and the atmospheric pressure where I live is sitting at 14.5 psi today...

That means the sheer pressure of the ocean at that depth is, like, 400 times that of the air we breathe. So if your fucking 13-year-old video game controller drifts you into the wreckage of the goddamn Titanic, the moment your hull sustains a little damage, even the tiniest leak, you're gonezo. The sub implodes and you're pulverized. Instantly.

(Plus I hear the compression rate is so extreme, the molecules so fast-moving, that everything heats to combustion in the split second before the water puts it out. So really, you'd be incinerated before you'd be crushed. Ain't that a treat?)

But hey, maybe the pressure hull remains intact and you just lose power. Or get entangled in the wreckage of, again, THE GODDAMN TITANIC.

Then it's just you and your four rich buddies crammed into a metal tube, waiting for your 96 hours of oxygen to run out.

Navigational computers on the fucking floor. No backrests. No seats. No padding. Nothing. Just one small toilet sat in front of one tiny window.

So when the power dies and the lights go out, it's just a claustrophic sardine tin of the wealthy, alone in the suffocating pitch-dark at the bottom of the ocean, choking on the smell of their own shit.

All this, for a quarter of a million dollars per head.

Which they paid even though Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate himself, said that SAFETY IS A WASTE. OH MY FUCKING—

A sadly unshocking thing to hear from the CEO of a company that's engendered safety concerns! For! YEARS!

Also unshocking: the waiver apparently mentions death three times on the first page.

You know.

In case it didn't get through to you after the first two times. Or after reading that the sub is experimental and hasn't been approved or regulated in any remotely meaningful way.

But it's okay if the MacGyvered fucking submarine crumbles like a Saltine cracker, because IT DOESN'T MATTER IF EVERYTHING FAILS! AS LONG AS THE PRESSURE HULL'S INTACT, IT'S OKAY IF YOU'RE STUCK 13,000 FEET UNDER THE SEA WITH A RAPIDLY DWINDLING SUPPLY OF OXYGEN! THE CEO OF OCEANGATE SAID SO!!!

HAHA! HA! YES, THE TOTALLY SUCCESSFUL MACGYVERED SUB WITH A COMPLETELY INTACT PRESSURE HULL!!!!

Oh my god. Oh my GOOOOOOOOD.

But hey! Remember! :) If the Juulpod-sized, Atari-run hunk of hubris doesn't literally fucking implode with you inside it, it's okay that there are 18 bolts locking you in that can't be undone without external assistance! Because Stockton Rush said you're safe as long as the (definitely pristine) hull is still intact!

So if you're bobbing on the surface of the ocean, watching seagulls cross blue sky through your single tiny porthole, listening to the pulse of white-crested waves ruffled by the cool sea breeze, drowning above water because you can't escape the slow ceaseless hourglass that is your stagnant air supply without a rescue crew—a rescue crew that can't even find you because you're mired in a vast expanse of savage ocean and oh, by the way, your communications going down is what started all this in the FIRST PLACE...

...well, don't worry! Titan's many, many, MANY successful past voyages should give you comfort! :)

But, on the very off chance this could be a dangerous and likely deadly situation, tell me: which would be the worst way to go?

Incinerating in the abrupt birth of a terrible, crushing singularity?

Asphyxiating in the lightless abyss that lurks like some arcane hell at the bottom of the ocean?

Or suffocating just as slowly above the water, with air so close you can see the misty breeze yet still...just...out...of reach?

God, I hope we save these dumbass idiots. Especially since one of them's just a 19-year-old kid. I don't even care how rich and stupid they are. I just can't imagine dying like that.

[lilveeblog]

pizza and forts

regressed jj and unofficial caregiver emily

for trix and lia

2.5 k words

“Em,” JJ whimpered, coming over to Emily on the jet.

“Yes love?” Emily replied, looking up at her girlfriend whose arms were crossed. She had a large frown on her face and her eyes were turned down. Emily couldn’t help but smile. “What's the matter sweet girl?” Emily stood up and unfolded JJ’s arms, taking her hands.

“Emmyyyy,” JJ cried and put her head on her shoulder. Emily smiled and wrapped her arms around JJ, holding her close. She rubbed her back and knew she was regressing again, she wondered what caused it.

“Shall we go sit down somewhere else?” Emily asked, holding JJ at arms length. JJ didn’t reply. She avoided eye contact. “Come on,” Emily said. She took JJ’s hand and took her to the back of the jet.

“My blanket Em,” JJ whimpered, pulling at her arm.

“What about it?”

“Where it?” JJ asked. Emily stopped and looked around.

“You don’t know?” Emily asked. “You had it in the car.” JJ nodded and felt her eyes tear up. She left her blanket in the car and now they were on the jet.

“Hey it’s okay, let me go look for it- sit down,” Emily said and sat JJ down quickly, to try and avoid more tears in front of the team. They couldn’t go home without her blanket. JJ pulled her knees to her chest and buried her head in them. She didn’t want to be seen being so silly but her blanket was everything. Emily rubbed her back quickly and headed down the jet, looking for her girl’s blanket.

This all started with the blanket. The blue, cotton blanket that JJ had everywhere with her. No one took much notice of it mostly but the first time JJ lost it, it caused an entire meltdown and JJ couldn’t hold it together, she broke down, regressed, in Emily’s arms, sobbing for her comfort item. Then came the colouring books with the crayons not pens. And then the softer, timid toddler talk. Emily bought her a few dolls, let her watch cartoons, cut her food up into funny shapes. No one said anything as they watched JJ occasionally become younger in front of them because they didn’t mind. It was obviously JJ’s own way of healing a childhood she refused to speak about.

But now she was on the brink of another breakdown because her blanket was lost again.

“Have you seen JJ’s blanket?” Emily asked Morgan.

“The blue one? No. Has she lost it?” He sent the blonde, in the corner, a quick look and sighed. Her shoulders were shaking.

“I think it’s in the car,” Emily sighed, knowing this would be hard without her blanket - harder if she was in this way.

“I saw it,” Spencer perked up, seeing his friends in distress.

“Where?”

“It got shoved in a bag-” Spencer stood up and headed towards where the bags were stored on the jet. A second later, he emerged with the blue blanket in his hand.

“Oh thank god!” Emily said loudly. “You are the best!” She hit Spencer on the shoulder as a thank you and took the blanket over to JJ. She hadn’t lifted her head or even noticed the blanket was found.

“Jay,” Emily whispered, bending down in front of her girl, “Look what I found.”

JJ lifted her head and sniffled. She saw the blanket and smiled widely, taking it. She rubbed the corner against her face and fell even younger.

“That’s it, wipe the tears,” Emily whispered.

“I- I sorry,” JJ choked out. She hated this happening with the team. She just wanted to be alone with Emily at their house, away from people watching her.

“No need to apologise, sweetheart,” Emily told her. “Do you want to cuddle?” JJ nodded and slid from her chair and straight into Emily, making the older woman laugh.

“Let’s sit in a chair, hm,” Emily said. She stood up and sat down across the sofa and pulled JJ into her arms. JJ settled instantly in her girlfriend’s arms, feeling safe. Safer than ever. Emily grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around JJ as much as she could.

“Try nap yeah?”

“No nap,” JJ replied.

“No nap? Why no nap?”

“No naaaap,” JJ whined and flicked her feet, kicking Emily in the process.

“Okay- okay, why though?”

“No tired!”

“No tired? I think you are.”

“I not.” JJ shook her head.

“No? Them little bags under your eyes say otherwise,” Emily said. She lifted a hand and tickled JJ’s eyes making her giggle.

“I not tired,” JJ confirmed and tried to hold back a yawn.

“Ohhh, she’s not tired, okay,” Emily said. “That’s just fine.”

“Jus fine,” JJ giggled and snuggled into Emily more.

It wasn’t even five minutes before JJ was sleeping softly in the curve of Emily’s side.

They got home and JJ stumbled in the door sleepily. She had her blue blanket wrapped over her shoulders and Emily carried the bags in behind her.

“Emmmmy,” JJ whined loudly as she flopped against the sofa, banging her head on a stuffed toy left there from before they went to work. Emily laughed, knowing she had a whiny girl.

“Yes Jay?”

“It messy,” JJ said, looking around the room. Her toys were sprawled across the floor, a blanket and some cushions from her interrupted picnic.

“Oh yeah?” Emily couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of her girl and her mess.

“Mhm, think you gotta clean it.” JJ shot Emily her cheeky grin.

“I think I need to take a shower and I think you should clean up your mess,” Emily replied, watching her.

“Noooooo,” JJ whined and rolled across the sofa, her feet falling onto the floor.

“Well it's not my mess, Jay!” Emily said.

“Well it not mine,” JJ giggled and hid her face.

“Oh isn’t it? Some little monster must have snuck into our house and done it all!” Emily laughed and snuck up behind JJ. She attacked her in tickles suddenly and JJ let out loud laughs, wiggling against the sofa.

“Emmy!” She screeched, wiggling.

“Are you going to clean up your mess?” Emily asked, giving JJ a moment to breathe.

“Not my mess!”

“It is indeed. Go on, clean it up please,” Emily said, more seriously this time.

JJ let out an all mighty groan and buried her head deep in the sofa.

“Then we can build a fort and make pizza.” Emily added and JJ perked up.

“Really?”

“Only if you clean up your mess.”

“I gonna do it right now!” She jumped up and headed towards the mess. She was quick to sort it whilst Emily headed upstairs to sort out their go bags - refresh the clothes and put the others in the wash.

JJ was done in record time and shouted upstairs. “I done Emmy!” She headed up them, taking it two steps at a time, super excited to see Emily and build their fort and make their pizza.

“Two minutes, baby,” Emily said to her as JJ crashed into their bedroom.

“But I done. I done. I done, come seeee,” JJ grabbed Emily’s sleeve in an attempt to drag her away from the washing.

“Jay.” Emily warned and JJ let go in a huff. “Give me two minutes to finish this and then I can come see.” JJ huffed and crossed her arms, sitting on her bed angrily.

Emily got on with her task then turned around to see angry Jj and couldn’t help but smile. Her little girl was a right sight when angry like this.

“Turn that frown upside down, come on. You can show me now,” Emily said and held out a hand.

“No wan to.” JJ kicked the carpet and huffed again.

“Well guess we can’t make the fort or pizza then!” Emily said in an exaggerated tone.

“Noooo, noo. We gotta!”

“Then go show me what you cleaned up then silly head,” Emily teased. JJ huffed but got up and stomped out the room. Emily laughed, chased after JJ and picked her up by the waist.

“And turn that frown upside down!” She laughed. JJ let out big giggles as she was raised into the air and back down again.

JJ got a gold star on her chart for listening and cleaning up her mess and they both washed their hands ready to make pizza. They had the dough already so they only had to put on the toppings.

“I gon make you,” JJ giggled and pointed at Emily. Emily got out the toppings and put them in small bowls across the counter, making it easier for JJ who was in the younger headspace. JJ stood by the counter, rocking on the balls of her feet and swaying from front to back. She was so excited, she couldn't contain it.

“I’m going to make you too,” Emily laughed and put JJ’s rolled out dough in front of her.

“You want to do the sauce or me do the sauce?” Emily asked, picking up the spoon.

“Hmm,” JJ thought and put a finger on her chin. “Jay do it.” She grabbed the spoon from Emily and carefully began spreading it across the pizza. Emily watched, making sure to catch any mess. The blonde was still rocking rhythmically but Emily was used to her stims.

“Well done princess!” Emily cheered once all the sauce was on. JJ giggled and clapped before turning to high five Emily.

“I sticker?” She asked, beaming from ear to ear.

“You don't’ get a sticker on your chart for putting sauce on your pizza silly,” Emily laughed.

“Oh,” JJ huffed and lowered her head.

“Maybe if you’re super good girl for the rest of the night, we can put one on before bed - okay?”

“Okay Emmy!” JJ cheered.

“Good girl,” she kissed the side of JJ’s head, “Cheese time.” Emily grabbed a handful of grated and put it in her mouth, making JJ gasp.

“EMMY! It mean go on pizza not in you mouth!”

“Is it? Oooooh,” Emily brushed her hair from her face and laughed.

“Silly Emmy,” JJ muttered and put the cheese onto the pizza, spreading it nicely.

“You’re so precious with it baby,” Emily told her, putting her own sauce and cheese on in the time JJ was spreading out hers.

“Got be perfect cus cus I making you Emmy,” JJ whispered. “An you perfect.”

“Jayyy,” Emily cooed and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend. “You’re pretty perfect yourself munchkin.”

JJ shook her head and pointed to Emilly’s pizza, “that messy.”

“Yeah well you are messy,” Email teased and JJ huffed.

They got the pizzas in the oven and began making the fort. JJ grabbed the blankets and pillows whilst Emily worked on the structure using the dining room chairs and cushions from the sofa.

“Emmy can we sleep here night?” JJ asked, rubbing her eyes.

“Oh is my princess getting tired?” Emily asked, wrapping her arms around JJ.

“Nu uh, can we just though?”

“We’ll see, are you ready to put the pillows in?” Emily replied. She stroked JJ’s hair and kissed her temple. JJ nodded softly and crawled under the large blanket resting on top, acting as the roof.

“There we go,” Emily smiled as JJ began setting up the pillows. Emily had made it big enough for them to sit up in and eat in but not really sleep in and Emily knew, with JJ already getting tired, it’d only be a matter of time until a tantrum happened.

The pizza’s were done just as JJ put the fairy lights on the fort. She really went all out, Emily sat and watched as her girl worked and got more and more tired but did it anyway.

“Let me grab the food baby, you get cosy and all ready for me, okay?” Emily suggested. JJ nodded and crawled into the fort.

JJ set up the movie tangled on the laptop in the fort. Then, she laid down for a second whilst she waited and yawned. She loved her forts, they made her feel safe and protected and so so special. She loved that Emily made them with her too. Emilly made her feel safe.

“Knock, knock, pizza delivery,” Emily said from outside. JJ giggled and opened the ‘door’ to the tent, letting Emily in.

“Pizzzza,” JJ cheered. Emily had put a side of cheetos on her plate as well as some salad to make it a more substantial meal. JJ loved salad so didn’t mind, she instantly began crunching the lettuce.

Once pizza was finished, they had their ice cream and cuddled in the fort. Emily sat with JJ between her legs as the credits of Rapunzel rolled on their laptop screen.

“I tired Emmy,” JJ whispered, rubbing her eyes.

“Let’s go to bed then baby, we gotta get you changed and teeth brushed and wash your face,” Emily listed and JJ whined shaking her head.

“Yeah, we have to baby,” Emily pouted.

“Nooo, no wan to,” JJ whined. Emily knew she was just overtired.

“Sweetheart, we have to go get ready for bed.”

“Wan sleep here!” JJ stropped.

“Okay, let’s make a deal,” Emily said and held JJ’s hands. “We go get ready, all nicely now and be good and then come back down and sleep in the fort?” Emily knew she could sacrifice her sleep for one night to make JJ happy.

“Pomise Emmy?”

“I promise princess, let’s go.”

Twenty minutes later, both women were washed and ready for bed. JJ was practically asleep walking down the stairs back to the fort. Emily grabbed a few more extra pillows to keep them comfier and JJ just snuggled straight into Emily when she laid down - using her as a pillow.

“Emmy,” JJ whispered, looking up at her gently.

“One second baby girl,” Emily whispered, knowing JJ wanted to nurse.

“Emmmy,” JJ whined again, nudging Emily’s boob.

“I know, I know,” Emily chuckled and moved so she could free her boob for JJ. Almost instantly the smaller girl took her nipple in her mouth to suckle on it like a pacifier. This was JJ’s favourite thing in the whole world - nursing. She’d never stop if she could but she got embarrassed at the thought outside the younger headspace so kept it to then, when she was super tired and needed that comfort. And right now, being so tired, it was all she needed.

Emily stroked the blonde's hair and kissed the top of her head as she nursed from her chest. Emily loved the feeling too, the sweet, nonsexual, intimate moment with her little girl who just deserved all the love in the world. It was the most special to her.

JJ was asleep in minutes and Emily wasn’t long after. It had been a sweet night for them both, one filled with healing and love and laughter, like most days and nights JJ was in this headspace. It was what the younger woman needed, what the younger woman craved and Emily was there to love her through it all.

[half-heart-comic]

2.5

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Chapter Directory

[ID:

A ten paneled comic page in grey scale. The first panel shows Marion looking up at Em, unamused and confused. A question mark floats above their head.

The second panel shows Em backing away from Marion, eyes wide and hand over her mouth as she points at them in accusation. She shouts, "Are you an alien planning to take over humanity?!" Marion still looks unamused.

The third panel shows Marion beginning to stand. They have calmed down and look at Em with one eyebrow raised. They say, "No? I'm a human too."

The fourth panel shows Em looking down at Marion, her eyebrow raised as well. She says, "I've never seen a human with purple eyes before."

The fifth panel shows Em looking down, rubbing the back of her head. She says, "I mean- I've never met one."

The sixth panel shows Marion, fully standing now and looking down at Em. Their eyebrows are furrowed in confusion.

The seventh panel shows Marion saying, "You haven't?"

The eighth panel shows Em with her arms crossed, eyebrows furrowed. She says, "Nope. Because humans only have white eyes."

The ninth panel shows Marion looking offended. They say, "Excuse me??

The tenth panel shows Em sweeping her arm out to the side, eyebrows still cocked downwards. She says, "Humans from earth do, at least!" End ID]

[tchallasbabymama]

I have a question for BLACK WOMEN ONLY under the cut (I deadass don’t want to hear ANY other opinions)

Aight, so boom…

Imagine that class solidarity actually happens, and the revolution comes tomorrow. In the event that we actually get to guillotine the billionaires, the following three are the only ones I would try to convince to give up their wealth and join the rest of us. Nobody else gets the option, the rest of em gotta go. Just these three.

And they are Oprah, Beyoncé, and Rihanna.

Now, my question is this:

Which one do you think would actually do it?

Here’s my line of thought.

Oprah gave the world Dr. Phil, so as much as I love auntie, I don’t trust her… guillotine.

I’m still mad at Ri for giving Talcum X’s known-scammer ass that award a couple years ago, AND her putting J*hnny D*pp in the Fenty show (and giving him a spotlight whereas Winston was in it for 2.5 seconds but that’s neither here nor there.) Also, her babydaddy isn’t a billionaire, so the kids will still have a parent… guillotine.

So that leaves Beyoncé. Her man’s gotta go, and the babies need a parent 🤷🏽‍♀️

[itsevanffs]

a lot of tag games

i'm just gonna combine them into one post because otherwise i think the next like 10 posts you see are all gonna be my tag games. below the cut etc etc

so, first and foremost, @aglassroseneverfades tagged me in a get to know tag game:

Relationship status: proud cat owner. i'm committed

Favorite color: probably the colour of alana's eyes. or her nose. or her beans. but cardinal red is a close contender

Song stuck in my head: nothing in particular, but i've been listening to all of cam ostrom's stuff on repeat recently. also bought his first EP the second i found him haha

Favorite food: broccoli and camembert pie (quiche?) with cashews

Last song I listened to: another familiar window by cam ostrom

Dream trip: home

Last thing I googled: tumblr

@raehb336 and @toast-ranger-to-a-stranger tagged me in a wip tag game:

post all the names of the files in your wip folder, no matter how obscure or ridiculous. ok. it says to tag someone for every wip but i don't think i can tag like 80 people and i honestly don't want to. i have these in alphabetical order based on fandom btw

FS: rewrite

GF: cat eyes

HP: 2.5

HP: a/b/o fic canon adjacent

HP: a/b/o fic sacred nests

HP: a/b/o fic teacher/student

HP: a/b/o incest for monsieur

HP: a/b/o incest scarves

HP: a/b/o laundry au

HP: a learning experience

HP: at the expense of the world

HP: audio fic

HP: blood in your mouth

HP: blood relations 6

HP: boogeyman au

HP: chav au

HP: childhood pictures

HP: cnpg

HP: crash & burn

HP: curfew

HP: DNP

HP: DNA

HP: doll au

HP: egg creature fic

HP: emd fic of fic

HP: enamoured

HP: eton au

HP: fae au

HP: favours

HP: forced fem au

HP: forcedpreg kidnapping au

HP: futuristic ABO au

HP: hold me down (fuck me up)

HP: hooker au

HP: icarus au

HP: incest au 20

HP: incest inf nc

HP: in the dark rewrite

HP: junkie au

HP: lucifer au

HP: maid au

HP: mamma mia au

HP: mirror au

HP: monastery au

HP: monastery au 2

HP: new politics

HP: oedipus fic

HP: oviparous

HP: ovipos intersex

HP: priest incest au

HP: priest au n

HP: rage, rage

HP: red riding hood au

HP: reverse a/b/o au

HP: robot au

HP: romeo & juliet au

HP: smart move

HP: snow white au

HP: songbird au

HP: stalker au

HP: storm & silence au

HP: swan lake au

HP: tentacles

HP: the darker the weather

HP: the mark upon your heart rewrite

HP: therapy au

HP: tomcest bar sex

HP: tomcest sr 6

HP: vampire au

HP: vee pov genfic

HP: vespertine rewrite

HP: violent resurrection fic

HP: vol de lys

HP: zombie a/b/o au

RG: lecture

SS: swallowing smoke

SV: cnc

SV: eggs

SV: final exam

SV: god's just sleeping

SV: jumper au

SV: slowly

SV: sugar

SV: the worst

SN: demon

and no, these aren't all my fics, they're literally just the ones marked wip. my total fic count reaches 169, because i keep track.

@aglassroseneverfades tagged me in a picrew/uquiz combination, so that's going here:

i don't know if i 100% agree with the quiz but i do like taking care of people, up to a point. beyond that you're on your own, though i can help take care of some of the cleanup.

@toast-ranger-to-a-stranger tagged me in seven sentence sunday, which is good timing on my part because it is in fact sunday:

Mr O’Hara hums. “You like the rain?” “I don’t like-like it,” Miles begins, then changes his mind. “Well, I like it when I’m inside. Not when I’m stuck in a downpour in the middle of nowhere.” “I don’t think Brooklyn counts as the middle of nowhere.” “I live outside the boundaries of human norms.”

that's seven, right?

@aspengray tagged me in a 'get to know' tag game:

3 ships you like: miguel o'hara/miles morales, tomarrymort, and uhh the christian grey/anna steele dynamic i invented in my head. they're cute i like em

first ship ever: god. uh. that depends because it's either bella/edward from twilight, or it's... wait no it is just bella and edward, winx... wait no i watched it in dutchl. so yeah either bella/edward or bloom and that teacher guy from season 2 or three. jesus christ what was his deal. he was hot though

last song you heard: i see you by cam ostrom (it changed because i have spent like an hour on this already)

favourite childhood book: twilight

currently reading: the witcher blood of elves by andrzej sapkowski

currently watching: i don't watch series or tv but i'm always in the mood for a rewatch of spider-man across the spiderverse

currently consuming: water with syrup

currently craving: nothing. i just ate soup

@moontearpensfic, @atredys and @goldenzingy46 tagged me in 10 characters, 10 fandoms, 10 tags, to which i have no context but i just assume you pick your favourite of each fandom:

voldemort - harry potter

miguel o'hara - spider-man: across the spiderverse

rikkard ambrose - storm & silence

john winchester - supernatural

bill cipher - gravity falls

rosalie cullen - twilight

geralt - the witcher

sans - undertale

jim - the jrasl original fiction universe

me - irl

in no particular order. i ran out of actual fandoms i like about 5 entries in so forgive me for cheating. link to jrasl for context though, jim is actually a fictional character and i want him to crack me like a glowstick

@alittlebitofharrypotterinmylife tagged me with yet another get to know tag game, but a different one from the previous two:

last song: crossing the bridge by ólafur arnalds

favourite colour: prussian blue

currently reading: sources on extra virgin olive oil

sweet/savoury/spicy: spicy all the way tbh. i have been craving the burn

relationship status: single

current obsession: miguel o'hara's scrumptious tits. have you SEEN his chest. apparently we were deprived of additional ass which is a travesty but he's still so big that i had to seriously reevaluate my previous love for twinks the second i saw him

erm yeah. sources for the images used as text breaks are all me. moi. follow me on @itsevansart or whatever, do what you want. i am so glad i am caught up. i think. maybe i missed a few but we'll see <3

thanks for the tags though! this year has been brutal but i'm so glad it'll be december soon and we can all get a well deserved break. what do you mean check the calendar? what's a calendar?

[hihopelessromantics]

Through the Wall Chapter 2.5

A nanatsu no taizai fanfiction

hehehe I forgot to post this here. I hope whoever was reading this back in March sees this and knows that oops I am totally invested in writing things for this fandom now.

This one gets dark. Trigger warning for child/ infant abuse (ft the Demon King) and suicidal ideation (poor Meliodas, there's no way that specific issue didn't come up sometime before the curse)

Without further ado, here's this au's take on Meliodas meeting his brother for the first time.

~~

150 years ago. 

“So, the Demon King will have a second son?”

“If he’s strong enough, yes.” 

“Don’t come out until I call for you. Or until your sense your father’s return.”

With his breathy whisper fading into the air, Chandler stepped back, and clicked the door shut. His young pupil slumped over the moment he was out of sight, relinquishing a facade of stoic, unwavering strength. The boy wept, grateful for his first moment of true solitude in what felt like his whole life, and the chance to maybe do something about this worthless state of existence. He scrambled further back into the dark crawlspace of the, literally, godforsaken tower in what was comically his least favorite patch of rocky cliffs in the entire Demon Realm, which Chandler promptly told him five minutes ago was Meliodas’s own birthplace. How fitting. 

Retrieving a small knife from his boot and trying to shake the numbness of his mind, Meliodas kept crawling until he felt the floor drop out from under him. He launched themself down there, landing softly on all fours. The stench of flesh blood told him this was the place Chandler indicated - and the more unsettling stench of old blood, which he hadn’t mentioned, sparked a hint of an emotion Meliodas thought was dead. Curiosity. Cursing in his mind, he breathed in more deeply and actually took in his surroundings, but couldn’t find either any hint as to what could have happened here or an actual reason to investigate. Just old stonework and scattered cloth blankets. It’s not like he had any energy left to care. He had just enough to thank that old tutor of his for those cryptic, vague suggestions that meant Chandler probably wouldn’t be surprised if this little adventure ended up killing Meliodas if he did something wrong. Typical Chandler, he thought. But for once it suited him. Meliodas was tired of being a puppet with no chance to grow a connection to anyone or anything besides killing. He doubted his father’s other pawns minded much when he wasn’t around, and frankly couldn’t care less if the Demon Realm’s government couldn’t pull it together without him. If they had to work themselves to exhaustion, well, serves them right for putting it all on the shoulders of one child who wasn’t even allowed to feel. Oh yeah, and for calling him weak when he told them sometimes he wished he could join the ranks of the dead already. Fuck em. Still, he didn’t want his death propaganda-ized to the Celestial Realm and back, so he’d put the thought off. 

This was good. 

He breathed deeply, the scent of nearby blood as familiar to him as his own reflection. Damnnit, he wasn’t sure just how long he’d have to be alone down here, had no reason to believe it would be more than fifteen minutes, even, but he still wasn’t eager to stick a knife into his neck. I hate my life, Meliodas thought, and sank onto his back. I don’t even want to sleep. 

A garbled sound answered him. Meliodas hit his head on the top of the crawlspace with how quickly he sat up. The blankets were making sounds. He berated himself as he crawled toward the sounds: stupid, stupid, please, please you CAN’T . . . honestly. . . if it just one little sound gets your hearts racing like this, you won’t die OR be able to survive. 

He couldn’t have foreseen what he would encounter there in that crawlspace. The gurgling sounds, and the fresh blood, belonged to a baby who was staring up at the ceiling with a reasonable amount of annoyance. The expression on its little face changed drastically as it took in Meliodas’s stunned face. He didn’t know what to say to the poor thing except, “Must have been scary here all alone here, huh? You okay? You scared?” 

It gaggled as a response and smiled an ecstatic, toothless grin. Without any more hesitation, Meliodas tore off his shirt and jacket, using the former to clean off the baby as best he could before holding the little one snugly against him. He didn’t understand how the infant hadn’t died of insanity or whatnot after being down here god knows how long. Well, as long as he was here, at least one of them would be happy - he could ensure that much, considering all the stolen moments he had spent in the capital’s nursery. 

He didn’t know how long he was down there.

“You’re a sweet little one, aren’t you?” He teased, as the baby happily chomped on one of his fingers. Judging by its body temperature and willingness to play and interact with him, it seemed to be in decent health. 

“Ah. We should burn this, huh?” Meliodas looked to his now blood-crusted shirt. “Hey. . . wanna see something cool? Hellblaze.” The prince summoned the faintest hint of the fire inherent to his kind, gently and gradually increasing it as his new friend stared and cooed with the utmost excitement at the dark purple flame. The delight in those sparkling green eyes was divine. Meliodas was sorely tempted to teach the little one how to make his own flame, but it was so clearly and stunningly younger than the children he was used to. He couldn’t remember anything the castle staff or nurses said about that which they called infants, the youngest demons. But he remembered the sting of hellfire well enough to withdraw the idea almost immediately. 

“Ah - no, don’t eat it! Ssh, no, I’m not upset, I’m sorry I raised my voice, I’m sorry. It’s just, magic isn’t the safest thing, okay? You’ll learn when you get your own. It should be… ah… I don’t know, a couple of years? Decades? I only know I’m an exception, being a god’s son and all. So I’m not sure.” 

The baby settled back down into Mel’s arms like it belonged there, grabbing firmly for his hands again. “Let me protect you, okay?” He murmured, pressing their foreheads together. The baby gave a deep, rumbling purr. Reassured, Meliodas mimicked the sound as best he could, having, usually, no reason to make such a sound. 

“I wonder why you appeared in such a place. You have any idea? Nah, of course not. Not like it matters right? Mooooore importantly, do you know what I’m saying?” 

The baby only smiled. 

Playing, occasionally whispering stories to amuse himself with the little one’s reactions. Told him how lonely he was. He forgot it probably couldn’t understand language yet. The part of his mind he was willing to spare toward THINKING with any level of strenuousness occupied itself with the aches and pains and restlessness that made themselves known now that he was truly relaxed.

Eventually, Meliodas gave into the urge and summoned his darkness. It radiated off his body from under his skin, burning away any chill and curling around his limbs in a comforting manner. For some reason, in this moment, it felt more like a living being, like a friend, than ever before, and he felt so earnestly compelled to acknowledge it as such - despite being ordered not to by his father - that he did so. It was a shock to feel some sort of sensory pleasure spike through his body as soon as he had the thought, and he felt his darkness spread through his body on a deep exhale, melting into his cells instead of returning back to the box he’d been accustomed to forcing it into. This didn’t feel unsafe. It felt safer, like a defense mechanism or a bone returning to its proper place. Keeping his magic strangled like that did more than tire him out, he realized. 

He allowed himself a couple of minutes to stretch and adjust before settling back down to check on the little one. It was less content in the pile of blankets than in his arms, so he scooped it up again and tried lacing their fingers together. Still too small. Giddy at a sudden idea, he extended a tendril of darkness forward and curled it around his little friend’s tiny wrist. It shouted in delight, then went about touching and manipulating  Mel’s darkness however it could. Meliodas couldn’t stop smiling at how fascinated the baby was - and how gentle, too. As if the darkness was just another part of Mel’s body and it understood it could hurt him somehow. Not likely, but Mel had gone from being fascinated with what could be going on in the young demon’s mind, to being (oddly) certain of its feelings and intentions. Like it wasn’t difficult anymore. A couple of times it poked Mel’s hand or chest or cheek, even attempting to hold his wrist the way Meliodas always did to check his pulse. 

“I have seven hearts,” the demon prince informed an infant with no knowledge of what a heart was. “I think you have seven too. Oh, don’t be disappointed. You’re plenty special. Hm, see - your eyes are so much more lively and beautiful than mine, even though they’re the same green. ‘No two beings are entirely the same.’ Nurse Grequiene explained it to me once.” 

He went through about 90 or so names before finding one that felt right. He apologized for not knowing any proper infant names as, according to one of his nannies, it was traditional and had been a big deal when the crown prince himself wasn’t given one to begin with.  Meliodas relayed as much of that conversation as he could remember: ‘There wouldn’t have been any of this fuss had you been given the chance to pick one out like all the other kids,’ he’d said, dabbing away at a stain on his bedroom floor. ‘We haven’t respected your father much since, as you know. The castle staff is nonexistent to him. As long as we stay out of the upper floors of the castle we’re never fired, just shuffled around or - well I shou- I won’t burden you with the details now, just know that what you say to us we will keep in confidence. That controlling bastard can only go so far. Remember that. Might have had to go drastic with that nasty rumor to get your sire to let you pick your name like all the other demon kids, but we did it, didn’t we?’

“Naturally, I pestered them for ages about what the rumor was. And it was more wild than I could have hoped for. Turns out! There were demons who dedicated that the goddess queen must have helped to create me after my father refused to let me be community-raised or to pick my own name after I was old enough to understand what that involved. They said I must not be a full demon, because if I was, why would he need to exert so much control over me and discard generations of tradition? Yeah. My father wasn’t pleased with that rumor. He couldn’t find the source, though. By the time he noticed it was just “everywhere,” supposedly, and he opted to pretend the whole situation never happened.” 

The baby listened with interest. The fingers playing with Mel’s golden locks yanked, and he leaned down to accommodate the little one’s stimming. 

“You know what else is interesting?” Inquisitive green eyes stared back at his, and despite its young age the babe looked very much as if eager to share in some conspiracy Mel was about to engage in. Even though it was just words, it could not be more delighted with them, and that was a power Meliodas reveled in. 

“I like you. I like you a lot. Even though I barely know you - I feel like I’m learning, don’t get me wrong. But it’s not like I just trust - or like - people on sight. This is . . . a new thing for me. Oh, and, thank you. I’m a little sleepy right now and can’t recall why, but I feel like I should be thanking you.” 

Let’s go to sleep now, okay? Sweet dreams! 

He didn’t know how many times he’d said that -

Before the thump of a hurried landing reverberated throughout the crawlspace. 

Hm?

Ah. That voice sounded familiar but he didn’t want to hear it. Babe in his arms, he retreated backward, sensing the presence was right about him. Sensing him.

“Hm? No, you’re safe! Come out, come here to me, I -”

“No. Go. Go away.”

“What? No - curses - Young Master!”

Meliodas hissed threateningly and stabbed at the hand reaching out for him with his darkness.

“He’s gone delusional . . . here, here -” 

Suddenly there was air moving freely around him and then he was landing, hard, on the wooden floor of the tower - not occurring to him that there was a trapdoor, he stared dumbfounded up at the familiar face that was rather completely ruining his nice evening.

“Ah - Young Master, put that back.”

“Wha…?”

Pointing at the precious babe in his arms. 

“Put that back, we need to go.”

“No, no, I’m not going anywhere. And there’s no way I’m leaving “that” here!”

Chandler looked at him as if he hadn’t heard or understood. “Young Master, you have to come with me. We must leave shortly.”

“No.”

“You have to. Now,” he repeated, looking downright frightened, but Meliodas only looked down at the precious bundle in his arms and shook his head wildly. The older man’s darkness locked tighter, tighter around Meliodas’s arms, the firm grip reminding Mel of his own hold on the child he’d just met, and he looked up, taking in his tutor’s face for the first time. Pleading. With all of his heart. 

“Please. I like it here.”

“Now is not the time for jokes. Darkness below, you . . .” The older man measured Meliodas’s face once more and, seeming to come to a conclusion, sighed. “Alright.”

His face split apart into a smile. “Thank you, Ch -”

And his vison went black. 

When he woke up, he woke up alone in his bedroom.

Yes, the training was a massive success, he proved quite sturdy. 

He did not move or attempt to get up. He was alone once more, that he knew, and in that moment, that was all he needed to know. 

I promised to protect . . .

I promised. I promised.

You put your hands on me. It wasn’t even training and you hurt me.

He had been out for quite some time, attended to by some very concerned staff at all times. He couldn’t find it in himself to be grateful, though he smiled and thanked them all the same when he finally regained the strength to do so. 

After all,

We have doomed a life to death.

“Meliodas?” 

The voice was tentative. Chandler - no, the old man - had done well in giving him his space, as Meliodas did not know himself if Chandler’s blood would not have stained the floor, should he have come close. 

He missed the fact he was called by name.

“Meliodas, I have some good news I know you’ll love.”

No, I’ll never love anything, ever again. 

And I’ll soon be dead. I refuse to live.

“Come to the throne room. Your father has promised a lovely surprise. Yes, I know it makes you anxious, but you have to go now. And I’m sure you’ll love it.”

He didn’t answer. Just silently dressed himself and walked out, the perfect picture of the poised, proper prince, all the way to the throne room. This would be the first of his father’s surprises to truly surprise him. Which is exactly how his father expected it. Everything would be how his father expected it. 

Again.

“You have a brother,” announced the Demon King. 

That jolted Meliodas right out of his thoughts fast enough that he almost made a facial expression. The Demon King laughed heartily. 

“He has passed the test, as you have, and I am proud to welcome him into the royal family. He has no name and nothing to call his own yet. You shall look after him from this point forward.” 

“I will do as you will. The task - it pleases me.” The response was somehow spoken in a steady tone despite the whirlwind of emotions making him want to sink to his knees and melt into a puddle of blessedly free liquid. “I’ve never had a brother before,” he tacked on, not really knowing how his father knew his brother was a brother and oh yeah, he didn’t care much for being considerate, did he? Oh fucking well. 

“I imagine so!” laughed his father. “Come here, child.”

Meliodas did so, and his father with his great statue plucked up a small bundle of cloths from the ground and placed it with insufficient caution in his sons (not waiting) arms. To his own horror, Meliodas caught the babe swiftly and in but a moment had it secure . . . cradling gently . . . just as he had with his little friend who at this very moment was surely dead and quite heartbroken. Hearts protesting this state of existence, and probably the fact he had forgotten air as a necessity, he sucked in air and practically choked on it.

His father laughed, genuinely amused at his carefully crafted son’s loss of composure. “What is the matter, son? Is he not to your liking? Ah! You haven’t even seen him yet. Yes, yes, let me take - that - off and let you see.” 

He peeled the blankets away and revealed a very annoyed-looking infant with striking green eyes. “The audacity . . .” Those eyes seemed to say. “What the fuck are you trying to do, kill me?” 

Meliodas took another deep breath.

“Fantastic, isn’t it?”

He said nothing, very much preferring to say nothing to that man and not caring if he couldn’t get away with it this time. The babe - his brother, though he should laugh at the thought. How could THAT possibly be? - had reached up to pull a strand of golden hair into his mouth. 

“His name is Zeldoris.” 

Those were the first words he had willingly spoken since regaining consciousness. 

And it was the first time he dared to smile in front of his father. It was an angry kind of smile. Something the Demon King deserved well and good. It spoke every bit of both Meliodas’s and Zeldris’s wrath toward being put in their situation. And it was gone as quickly as it came.

“Very good,” replied his father, who for god knows what reason seemed pleased his firstborn child was furious, and was definitely - as Mel decided later - oblivious to the real cause. “The servants will show you the appropriate room to put him in.”

~~

“Why is Meliodas refusing to speak to you?”

“I do not know, Master, but I imagine he is irritated as of late. His temper is quite something, and he sure knows how to direct his frustration.”

“Well, that is no worry at all. It’s not as if Zeldoris is getting older any faster, ha. Still. I didn’t assign him to you for you to be meek and docile and his personal punching bag. You better keep him in line, you hear? Don’t let me catch you making a fool out of that boy.”

“Yes, I know, Master. And your boy is no fool. I’m quite proud of him, actually.  He takes no insult sitting down. The soldiers shall fear his wrath and crave his - and yours by natural extension - approval.”

“Good. That is how it should be. And, if he does continue to treat you with such disrespect - or refuse to talk to you for any extended period of time -  tell me at once.”

“As you will, Master.”

~~

Meliodas’s resolve to never speak warmly to Chandler held firm. And Chandler did not say a word about it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Special thanks to @7-ratsinatrenchcoat for helping me figure out how I want to approach writing the wacky old man that is canon Chandler and special thanks to @zorria for previewing this for me to make sure it makes sense and is fit for Reader Consumption.

Let me know if you want me to clarify any of the plot for this one!

[bamgeut]

calli's every month of 2023 🌙

i was tagged by @facethesuns — thank you for tagging me em!!! i'm rlly flattered to have you as a mutual and i love seeing you on my dash hehe 💜

rules: link your favorite and/or most popular post from each month this year (totally fine to skip months) and tag some CCs you love!

p.s.: i started this blog in april!

tbh all of the most popular ones are also my faves so i'm just gonna mention a second favorite under them ok let's go

APRIL:

most popular: choi line being a mess (still need to make a part 2 for that 😭)

my favorite: grape taehyun <3

MAY:

most popular: gbgb beomgyu (as he SHOULD)

my favorite: yeonbin on vlive bc they're cute (i should actually work on that series one day lmaoo)

JUNE:

most popular: flirty/shy/happy yeonjun

my favorite: beomgyu in yellow bc i genuinely wanna scream every time i see that gifset

JULY:

most popular: soobin filming do it like that aka the #1 reason for my downfall

my favorite: dilt beomgyu bc i think i did a good job at giffing his 2.5 seconds of screen time!

AUGUST:

literally only posted 1 (one) gifset so that one i guess??

SEPTEMBER:

most popular: back for more yeonjun

my favorite: this taehyun gifset bc he's cute (lmao i only posted these two in september)

OCTOBER:

most popular: CUTE SOOBIN!!! AS HE FUCKING SHOULD!!! I LOVE HIM IN CASE YOU DIDN'T KNOW

my favorite: beomgyu x dust brush solely bc it took me hours to finish it lol

NOVEMBER:

most popular: wet puppy beomgyu in a leather jacket and a choker. literally never got so many notes on kpopblr and honestly i can see why it was so popular. i get it.

my favorite: this. he's cute. whatever.

DECEMBER:

most popular: mubank festival soobin

my favorite: choi line x growing pain bc even though it's not THEEE best thing in the world i'm proud of the way it turned out considering it was my first time ever playing around with blending and typography stuff <3

tagging: @yeonbins @seungkwan-s @tmpttion @soobrownie @seokmingming @heeseunq @seonghwasblr @bandzboy @ninqz @emoremix @hueningkai @allrelativefiction @jeonwonwoo and whoever else might wanna do this <3 (no pressure though!!! and feel free to do it on a different blog if you want, since most of you have more than one! 💜 i just didn't wanna mention every single url of yours bc i didn't wanna be annoying lmao)

[lex1nat0r]

The Danse Mechabre: White Elephant

AAR #01

Ran the first session in what is hopefully going to be a full Lancer campaign over the weekend. Gonna be posting these after-action reports from the GM perspective in case it's useful to anyone (and it turns out there are a couple of things I need to make sure I remember). No spoilers because at least half of the players are on the tumbles (eye see you).

Characters (LL 0):

Raiju (Hacker/Ace/Centimane) - GMS Everest - Delta

Sunshine (Grease Monkey/Technophile/Leader) - GMS Everest - Exchange of Affection

Rook (Walking Armory/Stormbringer/Brutal) - GMS Everest - Not Fun By Myself

Daylight (Technophile/Crack Shot/Infiltrator) - GMS Everest - Hits Different

Magpie (Hacker/Technophile/Centimane) - GMS Everest - General Protection Fault

You will notice right away that there are three - count 'em, three -characters with the Technophile talent. That means there are three bonus NHPs in the party. And the first thing I neglected to do is prompt for more interactions with the bonus NHPs. The only one that got characterization in this session was Molotov, Sunshine's little buddy.The reason I didn't prompt for more interaction is mostly because this group is used to 2.5-3 hour sessions and I am trying to hit one combat per session, which does not leave a lot of time for roleplay outside of combat. The schedule will need to be adjusted somewhat.

So in the year 4570u the PCs depart as crewmembers (and one stowaway) from the secret KRAKEN facility on the highly experimental blinkship Eye of the Tiger. The crew of the Eye of the Tiger had secretly been replaced with revolutionaries, planning to use its blink carver to quickly head towards the core worlds and help overthrow Union's Second Committee. They go into stasis, trigger the ship's blink carver and wake up to a variety of alarms blaring. It eventually turns out the year is now 5016u and the blink carver may have moved them in space as well as time. Or something. They fix up the ship a little and realize that they're near a planet that is putting out a distress call. When they also get the opposing force's broadcast about returning the planet to 'traditional Cradle values' they decide the situation requires mechanized intervention. Important note: I'm very happy with my players for not immediately deciding they need to intervene on the side of the people putting out the distress call and that maybe they need more information before getting stuck in. Keep hold of that instinct, just because you didn't need it this time doesn't mean you won't in the future.

So while the Eye of the Tiger engages the enemy fleet in orbit, the lancers drop right in to protect an urban area.

Combat 1.1: We get to be the Cavalry for Once

Sitrep: Control

OPFOR:

Pyro x2

Priest Vehicle x2

Hive x2

Grunt Breacher Vehicle x6

Outcome: PC victory, 11 - 8

No PC structure or stress damage, though Hits Different and Not Fun By Myself both used a Repair. The only mech to not get hit was Delta, which secured the lower left control zone and blasted away with its howitzer (whoever put the howitzer on the default Hacker loadout in COMP/CON is a real joker).

Here's the aftermath of the battle after I invoked the mercy rule when it became clear the NPCs couldn't take enough control zones some time around the middle of the last round (not pictured: the Hives' Razor Swarms that were still in 3/4 control zones).

(Tokens by Retrograde Minis (on the basic blank 1-hex tokens that come with Lancer so they show up well), map by Interpoint Station's pixel art assets, they released their new mapmaking tool like the day before we played. VTT is Roll20)

Most of the civilians had already been evacuated from the area with two exceptions: the blue building just above the lower left control zone (some kind of cultural building maybe, there were a lot of civilians around it), and the orange building to the left of the lower right control zone (an IPS-N showroom/liaison office). Those were both intact at the end of the combat, which will be relevant next session.

The enemy comp is very short-ranged which ended up working because the PCs had to get at them to get into their control zones. It also features a lot of burn which I ended up not using correctly (see below). I maybe went a bit hard on Strikers with that many Breachers, but I knew it would be fine because Breachers can only hit something once in a blue moon (Hits Different was the only one to get tagged by a Breacher shotgun). A lot of vehicles because I like combined arms in my mecha (I think I get this from my exposure to Battletech). No optionals on any of the enemies to reduce cognitive load on me, and even then there was plenty I forgot (see below).

I was worried about cover and LoS going into this because it doesn't feel like the Lancer rules have enough detail on that but it was easy enough to adjudicate in practice. Also shout out to one of the best rules in Lancer: the PC that went last nominates the PC to go next. That helped speed things up a lot.

Overall for a first combat with 5 PCs, getting through it in ~2.5 hours is pretty impressive! HOWEVER:

Things I Definitely Forgot About:

Tech attacks ignore cover!

Engagement gives +1 diff on ranged attacks!

Pyros deal double burn to anyone who already has burn!

Pyros can put out their FIREBREAK shield at the end of each of their turns!

Breacher's shotguns have a threat of 3!

All the PC talents!

Thankfully this can kind of be written off in fiction as the OPFOR being kind of bozos and the PCs not being fully familiar with their mechs (maybe some residual grogginess from stasis and the fact that mech warfare was still pretty new to them).

So definitely some things to keep in mind for next time - I'll have to come up with a format of NPC stat blocks that works for me because just using their stats in the core book clearly means some things get overlooked.

Next Time: Straight into the Wall?

INDULGE ME:

Campaign notebook is a Maruman Mnemosyne N195A, 7mm lined. A month ago I swore I would only use binders for campaigns going forward but Lancer seems constrained enough (note I did not say 'on rails') that I can get away with not doing that (as opposed to, say, a hexcrawling sandbox) that I can get away with it. Plus this notebook was only holding a half-done campaign idea that is unlikely to see the light of day so I figured I'd use the rest of the pages up. I've found the paper is very good at taking fountain pen ink, though I'm not using a fountain pen for these notes. I've settled on a Zebra Sarasa Clip 0.5mm gel pen as working best, and I do like that pen (it's what I used to finish out my #Dungeon23 notes).

[archaeojones-archive]

Opinions on australopithecus?

"Okay but...which one? Like dude there are so many australopithecines! You gotta narrow it down for me! An' some of these are debated. Like there are 'lumpers' that put all new taxa under already established ones, and then there are others that make the new taxa and let them stand...I'm gonna be the latter here for a minute...

"There's Australopithecus anamensis from 4.2 million years ago in Kenya and Australopithecus afarensis from 3.1-3.7 million years ago, from the Afar region and the Laetoli. That second species is who AL 288-1, or 'Lucy,' belongs to! And then there's Aus. africanus out of South Africa, such as the Taung child from 3.2 million years ago. Oh geez, then there's Aus. deyiremeda from 3.5 million years ago, coming out of Woranso-Mille, Ethiopia. Hmmm...uhhh Aus. platyops, which used to be under the genus Kenyanthropus, from Lake Turkana, Kenya, about 3.5 million years ago. Now we've got Aus. bahrelgahzali from Koro Toro in Chad, about 2.5 million years ago, though this one is probably part of Aus. afarensis...and Aus. garhi from Bouri in the Middle Awash Region of Ethiopia, 2.5 million years old. Oh! Oh, and also from 2.5 million years ago is Australopithecus prometheus, found in Makapansgat and Sterkfontein in South Africa. Last one I can remember - and I think that's all of 'em - is Australopithecus sediba from Malapa, South Africa, about 2 million years ago.

"Aw nuts, I'm sorry y'all. Rambling again- I mean I can't help it! These are my jam! And thankfully you didn't ask me about early Homo or like the paranthropoids and the ardipithecines. Or we could talk about relatively cryptic taxa like Orrorin or Sahelanthropus. Oh, man there's just so many! So many species to know and to love and to learn about. Fuck, I'mma go look at my phylogeny charts again. I feel the need."

[crustydavestrider]

tl;dr i want video essays to watch in my ask box / messages tldr existing on tumblr because this is a long ass post and i know you guys have varying attention spans

been dead for a minute my bad yall ive been bored and in and outta socializing but im back for a little while and i am addressing You today at this fine 7:20 morning in the am

im bored. i need video essays to consume. ive been watching SHOCKINGLY little video media as of late and honestly have only been listening to music and running my yapper elsewhere than tumblr. so you, dear reader of this post, if you consume visual media (shows and movies and shit are fine too but are less prioritized at the moment) and specifically like video essays, id like You to send me stuff in my ask box (or messages if you prefer i dont really care whatever floats your rocks bro) for me to watch

not really any rules. i dont care what it is. send me your blorbos. send me your speci - break from typing for a second just to say that the dogs have come in here to bother me and i fed them this fuckass meat that i have sitting on my bed because its cooked well done and it sucks ass even WITH barbeque sauce and theyre going crazy thought you might like to know. back to regularly scheduled post - al interests. send me your hyperfixations

only specific things i have to say are that i like horror and animals and documentaries and true crime (not tcc, a lotta yall weirdos) and i dont usually get to finish a video thats over 2.5 hours long unless im INVESTED in it. so like general guidelines i guess? if you wanna call em that. i also will watch series (what the fuck is the plural of series) (oh its the same thing. neat) essays depending on the topic

send them and say if you want me to rate them or not (if you dont specify ill just leave it under a cut or something dont be scared of sending me shit cause you dont want a dogwater rating pls i need content so bad) and ill give you some crazy shit probably. go ham go crazy go stupid go wild go nuts go other stuff that is synonymous with those things

i also just got done watching one about if light mode or dark mode is better before writing this post so if youre wondering what sparked this its that

[rsbigbang]

I can’t join the fest this year (hopefully next year!!) but I’m following along anyway and I’m really excited! I was listening to the second podcast episode and I’m wondering if you could share the names of those grammar books Em mentioned. Thank you xx

hi anon! em here :) always happy to share my grammar books!

ok so i have the ap style book, but i have beef with the ap style book bc they're anti-oxford comma and i'm pro-oxford comma (VERY. PRO.) but this is the standard for american newspapers! and i should probably get a new one bc i've had mine since college and i think they update every 2 years or so.

and then i also have my blue grammar book, which is called elements of eloquence. i purchased this one for its cute name! and it's a bit more fun than the ap style book. heads up that it's from 2013 and a little out-of-date on things like pronouns.

i have a third just-for-fun grammar book that i CANNOT FIND but i've moved house like, 5 times in the past 2.5 years, so it's migrated from my nightstand to uhhhhh in a box somewhere? i THINK it's got the word syntax in the title and a white and pink cover, but if i can find/confirm i'll update here!

ANYWAY this got long but i love grammar i love style i love words and my DMs are ALWAYS open to talk about these things :)

xoxo em

[reddtea]

Lonnie Machin, Anarky

I think this character has been done pretty dirty, though starting off he didn't really have a great impact or was all that endearing. He was really just an excuse for Alan Grant to go off about Anarchy philosophy so this character just went off with these massive walls of text in his speech bubbles at Batman while Batman is trying to fight him, usual hero villain fare. Which I'd imagine didn't make him a particularly approachable character when it comes to writing. It would probably be a good idea to do a bit of research to figure out what the anarchism philosophy is before you're trying to write a character that's supposed to be very intelligent and knowledgable about the political school of thought he's supposedly driven by. From a panel I've attended about comic book writing I don't get the impression that writers are given a ton of time to really think and stew on their idea for long running stories that a character like this would seriously benefit from, to you know avoid word vomiting all over a single given comic issue.

So to keep the character a bit more concise and to not think to much on a character that isn't notable enough to be anything more than a one off beat em up and move on you get a Lonnie who's a loser joker wannabe (as if we don't have enough of joker) or an Anarky that's espousing a straw man version of whatever the author hates about the opposing political party to their own (making the work kind of feel empty and dated). I get it investing in making a nobody character is probably not worth the limited time and issues available when it's not an immediate Cashcow that you know Joker to be. --- I get it I get it. However as a person with their own canon version of characters. This part is gonna be about my Lonnie... First off I needed to trim off some aspects of Red hood simply because of the certain events I want to happen to him that just make others not viable for that character anymore. because of that Lonnie is Jason's best friend basically a brother from the very beginning and to the very end. Additional reasons is that Jason should have friends in his formative years as Robin and I think I've heard of something saying that Lonnie was considered as a possible Robin number 3. So here I want him to be kind of a Robin 2.5 so he's not really a Robin but can still technically cover for him but he mostly watches over Jason as a pre killing joke Oracle before Barbara gets paralyze and actually gets to become Oracle. I also think it could be a fun source of a rumor that Robin 2 is ginger because a thug saw Lonnie covering as Robin, lose his black wig for a moment and just assumed that Robin is actually a ginger kid pretending to have black hair.

Second Lonnie can be a counter weight to Jason's gung ho attitude towards being Robin letting himself get really invested and excited about taking on the role and responsibility. Letting Jason do anything to make Bruce and Dick proud as Lonnie approaches the Batman business with a lot of wariness never really being 100% on board with Batman's brand of justice. Partly I was thinking that Lonnie's mother is an overworked single parent, who works as a unit clerk at a ER desk. So she sees and complains to Lonnie about all the injuries that come in of which she can tell are from Batman or some other nonsense. Sometimes discussing her frustrations with higher ups (sometimes Bruce Wayne) that don't understand how the hospital really operates constantly trying to make her job harder. So Lonnie never really likes Bruce or Batman that much.

Third someone to mourn Jason. Lonnie doesn't actually go off the deep end and want to ruin Bruce for just the loss of his best friend. While he blames him for Jason's death, he comes to accept that there's not much else to be done in the end but to pay respects and remember him in his heart. That doesn't mean that Lonnie handles grief well, deciding to cut himself off from Bruce not providing tech support and getting drunk by himself. Lonnie resents Batman but understands what's done is done. He's never going to see his brother by bond again. Fourth Lonnie becomes Anarky when he catches wind that Batman has the nerve to get a new Robin working for him. Anarky is ready to rally and tear down Batman because this Robin is just some asshole rich kid with some tech skills, blind loyalty and holier than thou attitude about Batman's justice. Going on and on about how Batman NEEDS a Robin. Jason his best friend has been replaced by an annoying new Robin who thinks he's better than him, looks down at Park row (crime alley) and calls Jason an unfortunate accident and "batman's greatest failure". Lonnie loses it and goes on the warpath against Batman. Fifth this Lonnie is the one to make Redhood a name on the streets. The sort of name that means sanctuary for the denizens of Crime Alley cutting it out as special section of the city that looks out for it's own and doesn't welcome cops or Batman and Robin into it. The only problem with Anarky trying to cut out his own little turf of Gotham is that he doesn't really have the strength or the guts to enforce and protect Park Row to make it what he wants. So he's sort of stuck striking deals and cowtowing to some mobs that he doesn't like too much (black mask) . It's not until he runs into Jason that they're able to rule over Park Row as they dreamed as kids even if Jason doesn't completely remember what that is. Sixth I'm not totally sure about this one tbh, but I was considering the idea of Lonnie's mother's name being Jenny. Changing her name from Jeanie and running away, when she caught on that her husband was going to do work with the Redhood gang...yeah, with Lonnie not ever knowing who his real dad is. Having Joker mess with him calling him son because Lonnie is conflated with the Red hood moniker and enjoying the thought of screwing with the kid who calls himself Anarky, as the crown prince of chaos. All the while not knowing that the Robin he murdered and Anarky were best friends basically brothers and that Lonnie, Joker's actual biological son with the only woman he's ever cared about, absolutely HATES his guts. This is my Lonnie. I don't think I've ever really expanded much on what his character was so this is kind of the plan going forward with this character in my version of Batman.

here's a few drawings

[meowstix]

RATING EVERY BEYBLADE DRAGON

IT'S APPRECIATE A DRAGON DAY AND OF COURSE, I AM ALWAYS APPRECIATING DRAGONS BUT TODAY I'M GONNA DO IT EVEN MORE! and well. beyblade sure does have many dragons! so i looked through em all (or atleast, as many as i have good pics of) and i am going to rate All Of Them. i'm also gonna be rating these out of 5 stars because i'm really bad at rating things out of 10

unfortunately, because i cannot find any high quality pictures of many bit chip-exclusive designs, some of them will not be mentioned. trust me i wish i had pics of em all

dragoon/seiryu: the azure dragon, the absolute og. i mean not THE original but i don't have any good images of ultimate dragoon or whatever it's called's bit chip. 5/5 it's fucking seiryu

cyber dragoon: i've literally been insane about the digital sacred beasts plotline for MONTHS now. not quiiiite five stars but almost.

dark dragoon: i only ever got halfway through the movie i'm gonna be real. nothing Bad about this one but if i want a seiryu recolor i'd definitely go for cyber dragoon instead, 3 stars

gaia dragoon/koryu: this is probably the closest bsb has to an average western dragon, not too much of note although the colors.. do not look very threatening to be honest. 3 stars, gets one taken off because i swear i had a render of it and i'm genuinely pretty bummed i couldn't find it

dark gaia dragoon: as i said before i never finished the movie so i have no idea how this thing is in that. looks sick as fuck in the concept art though, 5/5 stars

amphilyon/amphisbaena: yeah so for some fucking reason this is the only sacred beast besides the main 5 to have a name other than that of its corresponding bey. not sure what's up with that but honestly this thing looked way cooler when we saw it in season 1 than it is in full color. 3 and a half stars, i'd put it at 2 and a half but giancarlo is neat

DRAGOON VARIANT LIGHTNING ROUND

ice: it sure is dragoon and it sure is ice. not much of note here, 3 stars master: i'm not fond of any of the master variants but this is probably the second best one behind master draciel. 1 and a half stars spark: if the fact that i went and drew it once didn't tip you off i think this one goes fucking hard. 5 stars, wish we saw it in the anime death: i don't have anything to say other than yeah that's sick. 8/10 rock: it barely resembles seiryu but it DOES remind me of dire miralis from monster hunter so that's a plus, 3 stars metal: is it me or do the metal variants look slightly fucked up. i'm gonna be real i kind of wish these designs were used for the digital sacred beasts though ig that defeats the point of those being copies. anyway gonna give this one 3 and a half stars knight: this thing looks so generic it's insane i would see this in a set of fantasy-themed stock art. zero stars it's not even fucking blue kids: weird little freak. 2.5 stars

that completes bakuten shoot, leading into metal fight. i know almost none of these and if i missed any, it's because i'm mainly going off the ones listed in @mach-speed-spin's post on dragon beyblades.

L-drago: like the ONLY cool creature design i saw in mfb before i dropped it. 4/5 i don't care if it's evil i think it's Neat

orochi: this is just a skylander you can't trick me. it would make a damn good one though, 2.5 stars

leviathan: yeah this one goes pretty hard. 4 stars

i'm gonna be real mfb didn't have a lot in the first place but i hit the image limit so dragooon (three Os) and behemoth aren't here sorry to any fans of those

finally is burst, which i keep hearing has too many dragons, and to that i say fuck you there's no such thing as too many dragons. for the record because of how many variations some of these have across the seasons i'm only gonna be rating their original designs.

wyvern: that's a wyvern alright! 4/5

quetzalcoatl: i wasn't sure whether to count this one as a dragon but wikipedia says quetzalcoatl is a dragon so i'll take their word on this. 2 out of 5, it's fine i guess.

longinus: banger design but i would punt lui without hesitation given the opportunity. goes from a 5/5 to a 3/5 because of that.

fafnir: almost a pretty solid dragon design but idk man the beak is really throwing me off here. 2.5 stars.

bahamut: oh this is ABSOLUTELY a banger, and associated with a character who deserved more screentime. 5/5

kukulcan: another one that's apparently a dragon according to wikipedia. kurt's actual character is neat but his design made me go "wait this guy looks kinda like ghasem" and his avatar made me go "wait this looks kinda like quetzalcoatl". 2.5 stars

salamander: the only dragon introduced in cho-z and honestly i don't even have anything to say here just look at it. that thing's fucking awesome, 5 and a half stars

dragon: that's a dragon babe! 5/5

diabolos: this thing looks like it wouldn't be out of place in a hot sauce ad. decent design but the pattern on it's front kinda throws me off, solid 3 stars

genesis: I'VE HEARD THIS THING IS A DRAGON ENOUGH THAT I GUESS IT GOES HERE BUT LOOKING AT IT I'M NOT SO SURE ABOUT THAT. THAT'S A FUCKED UP MAN. 1.5 stars, i don't know yugioh much but this thing looks like it would probably be pretty at home there

apocalypse: it doesn't really feel like what i'd expect an apocalypse dragon to look like which holds it back, but i do prefer it over genesis. 3.5 stars

happy appreciate a dragon day, and remember to appreciate your local dragon, everyone!

i wanted to put a gif of seiryu here but since as i said i hit image limit here's a link to it instead

[orangesunsets12]

Letters for the Lonely and Broken (part 3)

Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 2.5 // Part 3 below // Part 4

A03 Link

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Dear Steve,

I’m writing this after realizing that you didn’t give me a return address on your previous letter. I was mad at first, but now I feel like I understand you even more now. I don’t know if you can’t receive letters because of the army and all, or if you’re not ready yet. If it’s the last option, I get it. 

It’s been months since I woke up from my coma. Everyone tells me that they’re there for me, that I can talk to them, that they’re always around to support me. Yet, some sick part of me tells me that I don’t deserve it. I know that might be Vecna’s voice still ringing in my head, asking me if I was ready to die, making me face the guilt that I had buried for so long…but does it really matter? I don’t feel ready to talk to anyone, to accept help, and now I’m thinking that you might feel the same way, too. So, I really don’t blame you.

My mom suggested that I still write to you, as a therapy for me, I guess, and I thought that I would give it a go. So…yeah. 

She’s been doing better. Mom’s stopped drinking for the most part, she’s home more often, and she’s started to cook again. It feels weird getting a home cooked meal from her again, most of the time I ate microwave meals or your food when you would invite me over.

You’re a really good cook. Have I ever told you that? I know that you probably can’t cook in the army, but if you could you would shock all of your army buddies, buddies that I’m sure that you have now. 

Anyways, I am getting better, I think. I’m still struggling to walk for long periods of time and use my arms, but I can hold things really well now. Lucas has been trying to get me to play DnD again, saying that all I really need to use are my fingers, but I don’t think that I ever will. It’s not really my thing, you know? I’d much rather hang out with El. 

Did you happen to see her, before you left? Well, she’s back. Her hair was shaved again, but it looks pretty cool. I know that you would agree with me, you never had anything negative to say about her. About any of us, usually. You did do love teasing us, but we all know that you don’t mean it. You’re like a brother like that, all bark, no bite…it’s nice. 

I’m going back to school in the fall. I’m a bit scared, if I’m being honest. I’m scared at how people will treat me when I’m using my crutches, and will word get out that I was nearly one of the victims of the murders? 

I just have so many worries, so many questions, no answers.

I try to think about what you would say, if I told you this right to your face. You would probably say something stereotypical like “take it one day at a time” or “I believe in you.” Stereotypical as it is, it means a lot. When I walk with my crutches into that school on the first day, I’ll try and remember what you would say. You’ve always been able to help me, so I don’t see any reason that you couldn’t help me then. 

Again, I hope that you’re doing okay. I can imagine that being in the army can be rough, but I know that you’ll do well. You’ve always been so good at saving strangers, I can’t imagine the amazing help you’re going to be to others. You’re a hero, Steve. Don’t let anyone tell yourself otherwise, including yourself. 

Until next time,

Max</em>

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

Steve’s second letter arrived at her trailer three weeks after the first day of school. Max didn’t hesitate to grab it as she hobbled up the stairs to her trailer. She rushed to her room as soon as she had the letter in her grasp, flopping down onto her bed and opening it carefully, wanting to read it as soon as she could but not wanting to damage the paper. 

She smiled when the words <em>Dear Max</em> entered her vision, and she began reading eagerly. 

Dear Max,

I’m writing this to you while I’m on my way to the first war I’m going to face. I guess it’s a war, no one’s really told me what the difference is between “war” and “series of battles”.  I won’t get into the details of it, but it reminds me of when we were all riding in the Winnebago, when we were driving to the Creel house, ready to set the plan in motion. I remember the uneasy tension that I felt, the silence, the eagerness to go and get it over with yet the desire to stay…and now I sort of feel the same way. There’s just that…waiting. Waiting for the battle, waiting for the impending doom that lurked around the corner, waiting for the death that may come. 

But, right now? I don’t feel like I’m going to die. I think that I’ll make it. Years of fighting monsters has prepared me for this, I guess. 

That’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you about; the fighting. I feel like I can’t stop. After the junkyard and the monsters we faced there, I couldn’t stop waiting for another fight. I had my bat in my hand nearly every night, waiting for the snarls, the signs that I would be back up and swinging again. Even after our adventures with the Creels, I just couldn’t stop waiting for a fight. I think that I’m so used to fighting that life without it seems…impossible. I don’t know, it’s hard to explain.

I feel like that peace is impossible now. That’s how I know that something’s probably wrong with me. Hopefully it’ll get fixed, but I really don’t know how it will be. 

I just hope that everyone at home, in Hawkins, including you, can finally take a break from the fighting. You deserve a break. You deserve to live your life to the fullest, go to college, find your soulmate, platonic or not (and, if I can be honest, I think Lucas might be yours), get married…live your life in peace. Without worrying about the next monster, the next fight, the next battle that may come. 

I don’t know when I’ll get to be in that place, or if I ever will. But a part of me feels like I’ll like that peace along with you, even if I’m not there. Is that silly? Maybe it is, but it’s just how I feel. 

Oh, did you know that they cut my hair? Now it looks super weird, short at the sides, a bit longer at the top…I don’t think that I’ll ever get used to it. I’m still pretty upset about that, but I guess that it’ll grow back. But, now I have more muscle, so maybe it’s an equal exchange? My hair for more muscles?

We both know I can’t fool you. I’m devastated by this. I’ll move on from it, though. I always do. 

I hope that you’ll get a chance to read this, Max. Good luck with your future, I hope that I’ll be able to write to you again soon.

From, 

Steve

Max didn’t even know she was crying until she pulled her eyes away from the letter, wiping the tears away from her cheeks. She couldn’t help but smile, happy to hear from him, for him to tell her jokes even from so far away. Yet, she was still scared for him. War was a big deal, would he even make it to the next day? Would she ever see him again?

As she thought this, she noticed a small piece of paper hiding in the envelope. She picked it up, letting out a surprised burst of laughter, relief flooding her whole body like a breath of fresh air. 

I made it out alive, just thought that I would let you know. it read, followed by a quick smiley face, so random but meaning so much. Max knew that he knew that she would be worried about him, and that in itself was enough to make her smile once again. 

She read the letter again, reading about his confused feelings, his worries, and she hoped that he would get better. Steve sounded like he was really struggling, and it hurt her to know that she couldn’t really help him. 

“Stay strong for me, Steve.” She whispered, closing her eyes and clutching the letter tightly, “Please stay strong.”

Part 4

[cammy-mcspammy]

ur art is kiling me. Not cuz its bad or anything its jusy i cant get enough and now im a nutrionless starved little skinny 1800s london working class british boy shining shoes for a living

LMAO I'll give you breadcrumbs so you can feed your 30 siblings each while living on the sidewalk🙏🙏

😭😭 my art style changes every 2.5 seconds so I'm surprised some ppl can recognize it cuz my ass is too lazy to even put my @ on em