#everyone's saying they're going to quarantine us all again

[leohatter]

Hiya Leo! Can I request a angst/fluffy au for Jungkook x male reader with situation prompt 2. "He walks behind you when you're in online class" where after Jungkook walks past reader(they're in a secret relationship), readers classmates try to befriend him just so they can meet Jungkook. After class reader feels sad that they only want to be friends just because of Jungkook and Jungkook comforts reader and they cuddle in bed.? Have a good morning, day, night <33

online saddness | jjk

pairing: jungkook x male!reader

genre: fluff, angst

warnings: none

word count: 920

a/n: i'm so sorry this took so long but school has been beating my ass 😭 in the weekend i'm probably post something so 👀

you hated online classes. the interrupted sound and the pixelated images, having to wake up earlier than usual for some classes and all the connection problems. the only thing that was keeping you sane through all of this was your boyfriend - jungkook.

when covid hit, you both decided to quarantine yourself together at his house, wanting to spend all the free time together. you yawn for the nth time before looking at yourself in the corner of your boyfriends monitor. a figure walking behind you catches your eye and you quickly turn around to see your boyfriend looking shocked at you, a worried and regretful look on his face.

he quickly gazes at the monitor, making sure you were muted before his wide eyes look back into yours "shit. i'm so sorry my love, i didn't realise your camera was on" he whispers. your gaze softens at the sight of his worried face "it's okay koo, don't worry" you whisper back. you turn to your lecture again to see some of your classmates' eyes wide, shock evident on their faces "shit" you silently curse. you forgot that some of them were ARMYs.

you look at jungkook, who was in the kitchen, before looking back at your notes. as the teacher announces the homework, signalling the end of the class, you hear your phone buzz. "let's hang out in the meet after the teacher leaves" one of your classmates' texts in the class group chat. you notice some classmates sending in thumbs-ups, so you do too "i should socialise with other people rather than only koo and bam" you chuckle.

like he was reading your mind, the doberman walks over and plops down by your feet, his head resting on the fluffy blanket that laid in your lap - one that your boyfriend made sure you weren't missing, muttering something about the coldness in his house and you wearing shorts. you pet bam's head as you watch your teacher leave the meeting after bidding everyone goodbye.

turning back to jungkook, you watch him for a few as he makes lunch for the both of you "hey koo, i'm gonna stay with my classmates for a few more minutes, just tell me when lunch is ready, okay? " you smile when he nods, his cute pout making you giggle.

you put your headphones back on and turn on your mic, saying a quick greeting before one of the girls in your class interrupts you, a fake smile on her face "hey y/n! how are you? "she asks, but before you can answer she interrupted you again "why did you never tell us that you knew jungkookie oppa? is he as hot as everyone says?" she giggles and some of the others join her "you know, when all this online thing finishes we should all go out sometime, you should bring him too." someone else exclaims before the rest of your classmates join in to agree.

you feel tears well up in your eyes. how come they never even really talked to you until now? before anyone can say anything else you exit the call, trying to stop the tears from flowing down your cheeks. you close the computer and hurry to the bedroom, trying to suppress a cry. closing the door, you sit down on the bed and finally let the tears fall.

you couldn't understand why you were feeling like this. shouldn't you be happy that they want to hang out with you? shouldn't you be happy that jungkook gets recognised? your thoughts get interrupted by a knock on the door and jungkook pocking his head with a frown evident on his face. "baby? what happened ?" he rushes to you when he sees the tears on your face.

kneeling down in front of you, he cradles your face in his hands and wipes the tears off your red cheeks. you shake your head, embarrassed to tell him you're crying over something so stupid. seeing the frown on his face you sigh, looking down at your lap "some of my classmates who never even talked to me before suddenly wanted to hang out after they saw you.

i don't know, it just made me feel bad. i'm sorry, i know it's childish-" he cuts you off before you could even finish, lifting your head so you could look him in the eyes again "first of all, it's not childish, and second, don't you dare apologise. it's not your fault. just ignore them okay?" he whispers as he gets up and pulls you in bed with him, throwing your favourite fluffy blanket on your bodies.

his warm hands wipe the new tears from your face before he presses a sweet kiss on the tip of your nose. "they don't deserve your tears" he smiles, wrapping his arms around you to protect you from the chilly air in his house. he pulls the blanket further on your shoulder and starts tracing thoughtless patterns on your waist.

his free hand pushes your head further into the crook of his neck before playing with your hair. your bodies were like puzzle pieces, fitted perfectly together under the fluffy blanket.

he presses short and sweet kisses all over your face, before pressing a final one on your lips "i love you" he whispers. you smile softly and nuzzle further in his chest "i love you too bunny" you mutter before the both of you fall into a slumber, lunch long forgotten on the kitchen counter.

[haveyouseenthisskeleton]

for funsies because i got covid AGAIN

quarantine is back because y/n got COVID. skeleton house chaos ensues. what happens in those 7 days?

Undertale Sans - He's the guardian of the main door lol. No one has the right to enter, except if they make him laugh with a very good knock-knock joke. Everyone failed. They're doomed to stay outside. No one really knows it's because you have Covid because Sans forgot to mention it lol. You are so confused when one of your best friends calls you to ask you if you're sequestrated by Sans.

Undertale Papyrus - He watched some video of the first confinement and assumed buying a lot of toilet paper was the thing to do. He got a bit confused but went to the store to buy their entire stock of toilet paper. Since he didn't know where to put it, he built a toilet paper fortress in the middle of your living room. You won't have to buy toilet paper ever again you think.

Underswap Sans - He caught it too, but has no symptoms, like most monsters. He is now going crazy inside his own home crawling on the floor because he can't stop thinking about going out. After a week, your house is a war field as Blue had to find new ways to make himself busy. He tried to cook, which he failed, he painted the walls again, but ran out of paint and screamed when he realized he couldn't go out to buy more, he took a soup bath just because he could... Yeah, never again.

Underswap Papyrus - He would not say he's glad you caught it, but look at that, you're stuck home for an entire week with him! He's going to cuddle with you on the couch all day. He doesn't care if he gets ill, at least that will give him another week with you. He's having the time of his life and he wants to live like this forever, watching Disney movies while hugging his S/O in the couch, with a big plaid and hot chocolate.

Underfell Sans - With the fever and you sleeping 20 hours a day, Red isn't sure you're still alive sometimes. So randomly during the days, he's going to poke your ribs with a broom to make sure you're not dead lol. You better show you're alive quick though or he's panicking and calling rescue services. It happened twice already lol. You woke up so confused to rescuers trying to prove your boyfriend you're actually ok.

Underfell Papyrus - You told him no one has to enter the house and it took it a bit too literally. He trapped the garden and the main road leading to your house to make sure no one got close. He caused three car accidents already and a Karen screamed at him because her kid stayed three hours hanging upside down to a branch of his tree. Edge doesn't care, he's protecting. No one will get in.

Horrortale Sans - He's embracing the golden retriever kind of life, following you everywhere in the house, sleeping at the back of your bed, staring into your soul when it's time to eat to make sure you're eating... You barely manage to keep him out of the bathroom lol. Yeah, Oak is a bit anxious about it and kinda thinks you're going to die or something. You keep telling him you're fine but he's not convinced.

Horrortale Papyrus - Your food tastes like hand sanitizer because he's washing everything with it, food included. You feel even more sick now. You're begging him to stop but he keeps telling you it's for your own good. Man... You just want McDonald's right now...

Swapfell Sans - He's using you as an excuse to not go to work with Toriel and he's so proud of him. You swear he's trying to make the quarantine longer because he really doesn't want to go again. He's a bit paranoid about you though. When you're coughing more than 5 seconds, he's running to make sure you're okay.

Swapfell Papyrus - He will call you nothing but "mutant pangolin" for the entire week and will call all your friends and family to tell them you have started your mutation and won't be able to join them for a week. You're going to have a lot of calls asking what the hell is happening to you. Your mother even thinks you're pregnant. Thanks Rus.

Fellswap Gold Sans - He's sleeping in a tent in the garden and refuses to get close to the house lol. You told him wearing an anti-radiation suit was too extreme, but he doesn't want you to contaminate him so he won't listen to you. Wine is maybe a bit paranoid about human viruses.

Fellswap Gold Papyrus - You told him you will sadly not be able to cuddle him all week. He gives you the ultimate offended hurt kicked puppy look. He could never forgive you. He's sulking in his room for three days before daring to get down for food.

[paulgadzikowski]

When I arrived at the rest home to visit today Mom started complaining of a sore throat and a headache. I know it only started then because as soon as the nurse assistant heard it she went for the nurse, and as soon as the nurse heard it she went for a test swab; if Mom'd been complaining before that, they'd've reacted this way then.

Mom tested positive for COVID. I tested negative. No one else in the wing is testing positive, verified by new tests this afternoon. The nurse gave me a pack of four tests to take home with me. (I've been ordering tests from the post office every time they're offered and used hardly any, but I've lost track of which ones are the oldest and which are the freshest.)

Mom asked me to stop visiting till she tests negative again which I wrote down and posted for her bad memory days in all the usual reminder places. She asked me how long before they'll know whether she's going to die, and I had to tell her it's different for everyone. She asked me to update my siblings.

The nurse gave her Tylenol for the headache and sore throat, and an antiviral that the nurse practitioner suggested. Fortunately today I had brought updated pages for the answers binder with the revisions Mom has asked for in the time since I first brought it to her Tuesday, which I printed this afternoon at FedEx because the driver for my new printer won't install on my computers though the scanner driver does. I told the nurse I'm planning to test myself daily, for at least two days (the box of four tests the nurse gave me says use two tests if you're asymptomatic), and to check in on Mom with the nurses every other day, and to not need anything I can't get by delivery or drive through.

Lately I've been visiting Mom for a couple of hours a day five or so days a week, with an hour round trip, since she entered the rest home at the end of December, and before that she was in the hospital for a week. I'm wondering whether I'll have trouble keeping myself occupied while I'm quarantining.

[crownedclownprince]

Happy Birthday!

There is a parade marching down the center of Gotham City, with music loud enough to rattle windows an startle car alarms into screeching wakefulness.

The media clamor is vicious and immediate, with the GCPD racing to quarantine the event as fast as possible.

Every channel is overtaken by frantic news casters urging everyone to get inside and stay inside until it's safe.

But really, is there such a thing as "safety" in Gotham city?

The parade marches on through bullets and barricades, leaving bloody smears across asphalt and concrete. The music swells, the pulsating downbeat in rhythm with the boom and thump of confetti cannons that spray the streets with pretty little paper stars. The wind blows most of them away, sure, but a horrible amount ends up stuck in the puddles of gore that used to be policemen making a mockery of their deaths in a way only the Joker knows best.

Speaking of... where is he?

At the head of the parade are several Clowns dressed in their best holding back feral beasts on massive chains. Hyenas with brightly painted faces yip and yowl, lunging at the ends of their leashes with maws splattered red red red. White tigers lope ever onwards with heavy saddles on their backs, and smaller Clowns astride them throwing candy here and there. There are lions too, lips pulled back into unnaturally smiles full of flat human teeth, their eyes brightly glowing green to match their fluffy manes

There's a fellow dressed like Beethoven sitting at an American Fotoplayer on a float dragged by two tremendous Strong Men playing the silliest tune known to man.

A great many other Clowns follow behind, marching in a band, handing out balloons or candy or shirts to any unlucky passerby commemorating this momentous occasion. There are jugglers, tumblers, a moving trapeze and high wire act.

Several troupes of Chuckle Scouts march with them, handing out free boxes of cookies and proudly displaying sashes full of brightly colored badges.

There are onlookers, lined up along the parade route with guns to their backs and tears in their eyes. They take the gifts they're offered, they smile for the cameras, they laugh when performers take prat falls or slip on banana peels. This is a jovial jubilous occasion and people must witness it, or else.

At the tail of the parade is a cake at least a story or two high covered in exactly 85 candles and gratuitous amounts of icing. When the parade stops at the end of its route, the music shifts from manic madcap whimsy to an almost wholesome rendition of 'happy birthday'. The cake and the parade are surrounded by the surviving members of the GCPD pointing guns at everyone that isn't a civilian. The Clowns seem unbothered by this and sing along to the music, pulling wrapped gifts out of nowhere in particular and offering them to the towering confection the way worshipers leave sacrifices at an altar.

The top of the cake trembles and wiggles and writhes before exploding into icing, the Clowns clap and cheer as their God appears at the top of the cake with his famous grin across his face. He's wearing a crown, holding a scepter, and wearing a sash that reads 'BIRTHDAY BOY' in big cursive letters. One of the cops fires on the Joker without hesitation, he gets his head blown off with a confetti cannon. The Joker doesn't seem to notice this disturbance and takes a bow, drinking in the attention of his audience.

"Thank you! Thank you! Y'know it's not every day I turn 85, so I plan to make tonight the best birthday bash I've ever had." Says Joker, dabbing at a tearful eye with a brightly colored hankie. The Clowns applaud him again. "This parade was a great start, but I have so much more in store for all of Gotham, and that lowlife cape wearing deadbeat who missed this whole thing." He looks dead into the nearest camera, eyes angry and wild his smile strained and sharp.

"Anywhoozles! I better wrap this up, this cake isn't going to eat itself after all and I have a gift for a certain someone that needs to be delivered."

The Clowns turn on cue to face the audience and the GCPD, the each take their gifts in one hand and pull the ribbons off with the other. The boxes explode into smoke and confetti that completely obscures the parade in a cloud of purple and green laughing gas that brings anyone not wearing a mask to their knees.

And when the smoke clears, the parade is gone.

[nightingaletrash]

I love the Last Flight so much tho, the way it truly encapsulates the horror of the Blight. How a single day of dawdling was enough for Antiva's royals to doom their people. The soul-rending endlessness of it, and how even the biggest victories are only temporary unless they can get you to the Archdemon.

It also shows how, by this point, the Grey Wardens have come to be so respected that its detrimental. When they say that a Blight is here, they're listened to and people react accordingly, but Antiva's royals really believed that the Wardens could save their city - its why they sent for them, they believed they could turn the tide of the entire horde and were shocked when the Wardens said 'we can't save your city, the best we can do is help to evacuate you and your people before it's too late.' And then that belief keeps them from listening to the Wardens when they say that they can't perform a miracle. And it costs them everything.

Then there's Isseya's blood magic, and how the novel shows us that while she never used it for malignant purposes, there was a huge cost for her... but it wasn't entirely her fault. The first time her blood magic had a horrible cost - when her altered Joining practically destroyed a griffon's mind and filled him with hatred - she swore off of using the spell ever again. It's not until the First Warden orders her to do it over and over again does the magic take its toll by accelerating the Taint in her blood. And when her spell proves to have created a blight disease unique to griffons, the fault lies largely with the First Warden as he failed to enact quarantines and he kept using the griffons as messengers. If Isseya had had her way, Shrike would have been the only griffon to have been changed, but the pressure from Garahel and the First Warden and Lisme and everyone else that insisted that the joined griffons were a solution made it so that she couldn't say no.

There's just a lot going on in the Last Flight that really communicates things better than the games do without diving into codexes. Origins doesn't really show just how soul-grinding and all-consuming a Blight is supposed to be because this is the weird one that only lasted a year. DA2 only shows the consequences of blood magic via the reactions to it as opposed to the real consequences of the magic itself. And Inquisition's attempt to portray the Wardens as flawed and sometimes misguided comes off as dismissive of the order itself.

The Last Flight describes how the Blight changes the landscape as it spreads and shows our characters changing and ageing as it goes on, with the protagonists going from a couple of fresh-faced recruits to aged veterans over the span of a decade. We see a real, tangible consequence of blood magic beside the societal reactions to it. And we see the Wardens at their best and at their most flawed; from evacuating and saving as many people as they can from the Darkspawn, to recklessly forcing blood magic on their griffons and failing to enact proper quarantines when the first signs of the problem began to appear. Its such a damn good book and I love it so much 💜

[vixletserenity]

Although Celeste had made it obvious that she would be shifting her focus onto the upcoming exam for her music course, that wasn't the only thing on her mind.

Perhaps this John man knew, she wouldn't entirely know.

She had called her representative for the Paldean Parliament about addressing them all in the next session; which ironically or coincidentally was right after getting out of her quarantine.

The woman had told her that part of the discussions would be about the Crater; to which she somehow was able to squeeze Celeste having time on the floor.

When that time arrived, Celeste was dressed in the usual dress suit she had worn when sitting in these sessions. She walked up to the speaking podium, her body language being bitter as her mouth opened to speak.

"I would like to announce that I will be stepping down from the position given to me as the expert and top researcher of Area Zero."

There were voices all over the room from all the adults in the room. Some were panicking at this and telling off at her before Celeste put her hand up to continue speaking.

She only had a certain amount of time on the floor, and she was not going to waste it by this backtalking.

"I will no longer be your pawn in order to gain power in the international fields. And I no longer tolerate the pathetic attempt to make me; one of the few initial people who knew of Professor Turo's passing, into Paldea's Regional Professor by force.

The Academy here promotes the students to choose whatever path they want; to find their own Treasure. And yet, the adults here in this very room are so selfish and power hungry that they want to steal that away from one who moved to this region after her family was given enough sympathy by the isolationist government to give refugee status during the Great Freeze years ago."

There were more voices of protest. They're growing. Saying how disrespectful she was being until Celeste slammed her hands the hardest she could on the podium.

"I'M NOT FINISHED YET! BE SILENT AND STOP INTERUPTTING THE TIME I HAVE BEEN GIVEN TO SPEAK TO ANY OF YOU!" She yelled; her voice echoing across the chambers and quieting almost everyone in an instant.

"My childhood was robbed from me by a person who should be there to protect me, yet he chose to hurt me for selfish and petty reasons. And now that's happening all over again by the people who should've known how damaging to the mind it is to see and experience what I have!

I refuse to let that happen ever again! Even if I have very little time to still be considered a child in some people's eyes, I choose to take that and finally live for myself! Just as what the teachers and Director have wished for students like myself!

You know enough about the Crater through everything I've done and the clearance you've given Ms. Briar at Blueberry Academy. There's nothing more you need to know about down there! Leave it alone and pay attention to the people that you should be serving as public servants!

To the youth you've abandoned for so long to the point that they've had to take the pain they've felt into their own hands because the literal adults in the room failed them in multiple and severe degrees!

It is time to bring this era of conquesting the Great Crater much like the ancient emperor whose kingdom came to a demise for his own greedy desires and keeping it secret from the public to an end! The people of Paldea and the rest of the world deserves to know what this oh so sacred and all knowing governing body has been doing while the region's systems were degrading beyond recognition."

She took a deep breath in and out as the timer started to indicate that there wasn't much time left for her.

"As my parting words...I will say this. Think more about the consequences of what you all have done in the perspective of fifty years; even a century from now looking back at these events in hindsight!

The mysteries have been solved; it's futile now to only think about them. Use what time we have on this planet to think on how all this will impact those yet to come and people like me who will have to live and fix what problems you create.

For the future will not always be in fully your hands to control; whether you like it or not."

Without another comment, Celeste got off the podium and walked out of the chambers quietly and calmly. She's done what she needed to do.

And is now in full control of what she wants her future to be.

[oldhabitsdiescrming]

prefacing this with saying i haven't listened to the leaks. let's go.

every single time taylor releases an album, people who love critiquing leaks say it's the worst one yet.

this isn't new. i call it the eminem complex - every time a new album drops, everyone is all over it because they need it to be the worst thing in the world. they need it to be awful. they need it to be trash. they need it to be whatever they're saying it is because they cannot STAND certain people staying on top. a woman, a poc, an lgbtq+ artist, that doesn't matter. it happened to beyonce. it happened to eminem ("every CD, critics give it a three/then three years later go back and re-rate it.", "i guess enough time just ain't passed yet/a couple more years, that shit'll be illmatic."). pretty sure it happened to lil nas x. doja. megan thee stallion. i could go on, but you get the point. this has been a thing forever, but i'm focusing on strictly recent examples.

if you're on top, some fans/critics are gonna hate it. they want their indie artist. they want their underground. they wanna go against the mainstream and be seen as someone cutting corners with this critique of this high-end artist, and in taylor's case, they're gonna cling to when she hit a new peak: quarantine.

they want another folkmore situation so bad that it's almost tragic, but at the same time, how dare her albums sound similar? they want their sad indie girl who sings about heartbreak while staring out her window, donning her cardigan and sipping on white wine. they want their girl who felt like she was gonna fade from relevancy until she didn't.

because we all noticed that, didn't we? people want the pheonix after it burns itself down. who wants what it becomes when the ash rebuilds? we want tragedy because tragedy is relatability. we crave heartbreak from a woman fading out of mind because we feel like we're in on something the rest of the world isn't. we suffered with her back then. when midnights came out, hundreds of new fans claimed it to be her worst work yet without understanding that taylor swift isn't a one trick pony. notice how it's grown on seemingly everyone since the announcement of ttpd? notice how critics are going back and re-rating, re-evaluating because now it's old news. now it's not got everyone's eyes on it. now there's this new shiny toy to chip away at until the next one is announced.

because if it sounds similar to midnights, it's a copycat. if it's entirely different then it's a joke. if it's too cunty then it's her being a bad person, if it's too sad then she's a whiny bitch once again. because being on top means one thing: people want to bring you down.

veteran swifties are used to this. i've loved her since the original fearless era, i've seen this film before (sorry). we've all been here, done that, but i've only been on tumblr since late november/maybe early december, and the amount of people i'm seeing who are fans until they're not?

give it two years, they'll be calling this underappreciated and misunderstood while the cycle repeats itself.

happy ttpd release day 🖋️

[bugsbenefit]

i'm so curious about people's different takes with the school in s5, because there being a time jump and so on was already pretty clear since last year. but how exactly school will be impacted is SO divisive here. because it'll have to be either:

school is in session as normal in s5/at the start of s5. the rifts opening for the spores to rain through in the last seconds of s4 won't have immediate apocalyptic consequences (or it will, but will be at least semi contained for the time jump). which would mean Nancy's monsters everywhere vision would only come true after over a year of time skip

school is regularly in session but under extraordinary circumstances. giving the local kids an education IS a priority and the consequences of the rifts opening are not severe enough to limit going outside. it's at least not live threatening to do so and you're not at an immediate risk of getting swooped off your feet by a demobat. the spores and rifts are still a noticeable/dangerous presence in town and acknowledged by people to some degree (depending on what the spores even do) but kids being in the school building (especially with military in town now) is deemed save enough

school is not regularly in session. it's still a setting we see, similarly to how it's used by the end of s4, with it being a shelter and clothing/food distribution site. which would only become more needed with a progressing apocalypse underway and houses being destroyed by the rifts merging. the opening rifts in the last minutes of s4 trigger an immediate start of an apocalyptic scenario. which could either play out as Demogorgon In Melvads General Store Right Now, OR the military trying to regulate things and people still living semi normally/not fully aware of the extent of shit they're in

and all of these (technically 4) versions can also include varying levels of what things like the spores actually do. Hawkins could realistically be deemed a quarantine/containment zone which would require anyone in town by the end of s4 to stay put even with an apocalypse underway. the spores could also be a health hazard, radiation, link things/people to the UDs hivemind, and so on. we only see the rifts open, the actual effect of the spores isn't something we were allowed to see yet, major teaser

there's just a lot of directions they could take it in, i'm not even sure which one i would prefer most honestly

i only know i don't really like option 1, of everything being totally normal. because the dead/missing people, military, anti hellfire club, and so on are There now, they're not just going away and aren't easy to ignore during a "regular schoolday" either

i think going the full apocalypse route right away could feel a bit fast with the vibe ST generally has. but ST has had escalating conflicts, we're pretty far away from the small town horror and well into the sci fi horror by now imo. and since s5 IS very much a continuation of s4 plot wise, as the writers kept saying and s4 set up, things getting apocalyptic quick Would work significantly better than if it was a stand alone season

i also can't really see an easy way for them to backpedal to a relatively "normal" setting with how they ended s4. there's gate rifts all over town, the earthquake caused damage, people are leaving town, and in the last seconds of the season the rifts open letting spores and lighting from the UD pass over. like, that's bad full stop

them just closing the gates again for a time skip, only for them to open Again would be unnecessarily repetitive to me. they spent all of s4 getting to the point of the UD splitting Hawkins, i don't know if them pulling a sike and prolonging it more, only to do it later on, is something that would work well

so if they actually wanted to include the kids going to school in s5 i'd personally hope it's under unusual circumstances. just moving from everyone fleeing, dozens of people being dead and missing, religious fear movement over demons, everyone watching weird spores rain from the sky, back to a reality where people go grocery shopping to school and to work and hang out at the park would be a let down to me

(also i think there's something interesting about the concept of people pretending everything is still semi okay. even with it being very evident that it isn't really. would be very fitting both for the general closed off small town trope but also the theme of facades and pretending they went so hard on in s4)

i just want to know what they're going to go for tbh. i'd personally lean towards school but under fucked up and unusual circumstances based on how the writing has looked up until now (or no school if they want to be Really drastic about the apocalypse thing and lean fully into it ig)

[sizzlingpatrolfox]

I could never work so close to someone I had feelings for / was in a relationship with after it doesn’t work out (so many actors and actresses leave a sitcom after a relationship fallout with a co star too) but that could just be me. I wonder how involved Jikook was for them to be able to still work closely together after. And was like crazy and face off a “break up / falling out” song then??

The thing is... they aren't working together. They haven't been working together for like two years already. Jungkook won't even do a freaking tiktok dance together with Jimin, or any member for that matter simply because he doesn't want to. They can choose when and if to hang out because they aren't contractually obligated to see each other for schedules anymore.

Besides, nobody really knows what kind of relationship they had, if they had one. I personally never ever believed they were sooo married and together the way most shippers believed. So to me it wasn't really a thing of "they were so together and now they're not", it was more of a realization that it was even less serious and committed than what I had thought it was. And at some point the way their interactions came across, it reached such a low level of seriousness and commitment that it just couldn't be a romantic relationship at all.

I'm friends with everyone I've dated. I've also kissed my friends -even straight girls- and our friendship wasn't ruined for that. So for me nothing is impossible. And I don't necessarily believe "being friends" means you have to hang out everyday or regularly even, just being on good terms with someone and still being somehow updated about their lives. There's one girl that hurt me a lot so I don't really keep in touch with her because I feel like I never got closure, but I also don't have anything bad to say about her and if I see her on the street, I say hi. I genuinely still think she's a good person and I even believe that if we were to link up again, I would probably fall for her again. After we broke up, she kept sending me happy birthday wishes for like 5 years.

I had a girlfriend with whom I broke up many years ago, and then a couple passed and we reconnected. I spent all of 2020 and 2021 with her, she was literally the only person I hung out with during quarantine; her boyfriend at the time lived really close to my house and she was staying at his house almost permanently, so every afternoon I would bike over there and pick her up and we'd go biking together for a couple of hours. It was quarantine, there weren't many cars on the street so it was just us on our bikes. Sometimes we'd stop for ice cream, sometimes we'd do errands together. There's never been any bad blood between us at all.

So maybe it's me and what probably many would consider a sort of liberal attitude towards relationships and all the different kinds of relationships I've had in my life, but almost anything is possible, really. Like 80% of the people I know date without labeling their relationships. There's a reason "situationship" is even a word currently. One thing I don't believe is that either Jimin or Jungkook are cheaters.

As for Jimin's songs, I've talked about them before and I've always been open to the possibility that like crazy was about a break up.

[hextechmaturgy]

my thoughts on pathologic classic

finally finished the game all the way through, so here are my (not at all concise) thoughts

beware of spoilers and A LOT OF TEXT

NOTE: I do know quite a bit about pathologic 2, but seeing as I haven't played that game yet, I'll try to keep my ideas here separate and only focus on what I got from playing the classic version

Bachelor:

By far my favorite character, and if you say I'm biased cause we have similar degrees, you are absolutely right, but that's not why I love him. I got into pathologic by watching all the video essays I think everyone else watches, so coming into it I had a very specific idea of what Daniil would be like - rude, condescending, heartless, "the prickly prick who will bury us all" - and while I can definitely see where some of those are coming from sort of, after 80+ hours of playing this goddamn game I can safely say: Daniil is a good person who does good things and the hate he gets is largely undeserved. I'm a Daniil Dankovsky TRUTHER.

He's kind! He's surprisingly good with kids; when he does snap at them and threaten to put them in timeout or to call their parents, it's usually because they're breaking his quarantine rules and that's a REALLY BAD IDEA (after 2020, I feel we can all relate to that frustration). In one instance, Capella asks him to look for a kid in an infected district and, upon finding him, Daniil tells him to run off and leave testing the disease to him, earning a shmowder from the kid but also getting the plague. This is a side quest, it's up to you to decide if getting infected is worth the shmowder or not, but the fact of the matter is, Daniil doesn't have to care about this kid, he doesn't have to do this quest, but (at least in my save) he does. Forgetting about the kids though, Daniil is just a genuinely helpful guy. He's a fucking lifesaver when you're playing as the Haruspex, he clears your name completely on day 1 when he really doesn't have to. The two go on to collaborate pretty much until the end. When Daniil's solution begins to diverge from Artemy's, he explains that no, killing the polyhedron won't help Artemy actually, it's the only way to ensure Aglaya is sacrificed, which is the only way Artemy will be accepted by the kin, which he knows is important to him, it's his inheritance! Time and time again, Daniil gives it his all to protect the people of the town. He talks Peter down from suicide, he can try to do the same with Rubin, he kills a bunch of men to protect Andrey, at some point he has a mission to reunite a daughter with her father and he only fails that mission because Artemy kills her (because you asked him for an infected heart and Artemy chose hers). His best efforts are constantly thwarted or misunderstood. I'm not saying he's a saint, he still has plenty of awful dialogue lines to choose from, but? MAN, I've been a health professional during a pandemic, I understand frustration, the pure fucking rage felt at the people who don't quarantine or believe vaccines will help, the hatred that rises in your gut when you watch as politicians take advantage of the situation. I was only a student back then! Imagine being 1 out of FOUR (4!!) people who can do something!

Daniil's condescension is another one of those things where... I see it, but I don't. Yes, his latin is tacky and he does have lines calling people dumb as shit compared to him, a genius mastermind, but one thing that we have to take into account is that Daniil is, by all accounts, a genius mastermind. The mysticism of the town goes completely over his head (it's SO fucking funny to me that Daniil has 0 knowledge that the Rat Prophet even exists), but this is because it's not something one can easily prove 1) it exists and 2) can be repeated and reproduced, both of which are VERY important in scientific experimentation. Meanwhile, in the Capital, Daniil is a famous scientist known for his experiments surrounding death; he's so good he's earned himself a following, and if the rumors on the street are to be believed, Daniil has even successfully brought someone back from the dead! I think he gets to flex his smarts, maybe. He doesn't need to be rude about it, sure, but it's not like the people would respect him if he didn't flex it. He's told from the start that he just doesn't get it, will never get it, "you're smart but you're not" type of conversation time and time again, since he's not attuned to ~miracles~ like some of the others are. Again, as an atheist myself, I can see why that would get frustrating. There is also an instance where Daniil "mansplains" antibodies to Artemy? Artemy, a fellow doctor sort of, can reply with something along the lines of "don't make fun of me" and Daniil's response is a genuine "i wasn't making fun of you, i was only explaining a concept". To the fellow mentally ill person reading this, ain't that the most relatable thing ever? Talking about something you're passionate about with a person that you like, wanting to make sure they understand the concept because you love it and understand it, but just coming off as obnoxious?

Daniil is GAY AS HELL. Those videos don't prepare you for how gay this man is. I started getting into the fandom telling myself "wow people ship these two huh, I can't imagine why" and then I played the fucking thing and you can't not ship them. It's not even subtext at this point, this is how Daniil introduces himself to Artemy:

He has two women thirsting over him (I don't know if Maria's feelings are genuine of if the Mistress magic within her just recognizes that he's her path to victory) and he barely reacts to them inviting him to their bed or saying "I love you" to his face. He can flirt back, but I feel like Daniil is just a charming guy as it is, he's from the Capital, he was friends with Andrey so you KNOW he did drugs in university and he has to know about the orgies already. He does care about Eva, but who wouldn't? In the runs you don't control him he often refers to her as "my Eva", but I always read it as platonic I'll be honest. Her death hits him hard, she's a sweetheart who only ever tried to help him, she housed him barely knowing who he was for fuck's sake, and Daniil's last conversation with her in the Cathedral shows he feels awful because he thinks she did it for him. I like to think that Daniil took a liking to Eva's kind and free spirit and often looked to her for comfort. Do I think he was in love with her? Absolutely not <3

Finally, let's talk about his ending, shall we? I feel like this is often used to demonstrate just how heartless Daniil is, and I will admit that, to me, his ending felt weirdly cruel and sudden while I was playing him. Hilariously, though, when I was playing as Artemy and spoke to Daniil about his solution, I thought Daniil had way better reasons to keep the polyhedron when I wasn't controlling him, and he explains his views better too. Daniil sees that the town is basically destroyed already, so many have died, so many more are infected and will soon die, they have a panacea but lack the materials with which to make enough to go around. The tower is aseptic, children have managed to live in it for the entirety of the plague without getting sick; it would be the perfect isolation ward for the survivors, a controlled space where they would be able to be vaccinated and monitored. Daniil does show frustration with the town, I think he even has some less than kind lines calling it backwards and doomed, but when his mind is clear and he's just talking about his plan, he says that he wouldn't mind saving the town, but he knows Block has to shoot something, and the polyhedron is worth preserving. I feel like his reasons are mostly empirical, a real science man's choice, but I'm also not one of those people who believes that Daniil represents hard, cold logic. The only reason he's searching for a way to defeat death is because he wants humans to die on their own terms, at peace. He follows facts but he interprets them with the mind of a bright eyed idealist. He writes the most dramatic letters in the world. He wears his heart of his sleeve! By the end of the game, he has seen evidence that the Kains are as magical as they claim to be. Maria's prophecies have come true, and he's literally spoken to the spirits of Nina and Simon. He sees the marvel of architecture that his twin friends managed to build, he admires it for what it is even without the mysticism on top, but then he actually learns that the mysticism is real, and he's naturally enthralled by it. Going into the polyhedron, hearing that music and seeing those lights, watching the kids play without a worry or care in the world. The future could be immortality and comfort, peace equal to that of a child who doesn't know pain, wouldn't that be wonderful? Adding to the mix the fact that he feels used by Aglaya (gonna be real here chief, either she played me super well or I was just not paying enough attention cause no matter which protagonist I was, I only ever loved Aglaya, this one is on him xoxo), while knowing she will die only if the town falls + knowing Artemy needs her dead or his prophecy won't be realized and his people won't accept him....... When talking to Clara about her ending, all she says is that she can't explain her miracle, a miracle requires faith, and yeah! If you were to meet God and he told you exactly how or why he stayed silent and hidden from you all your life, believing God exists and has power over the world would become fact, not a belief. There are too many "what ifs" in Clara's ending, at the cost of blood sacrifice one might add. Idk, I hate to see the town die and I do still think this ending is a bit cruel, but I get it. Daniil would think keeping the Polyhedron alive is the best choice, I can't fault him for it.

Side note, I would like to add that, although Daniil doesn't understand magic, as I've mentioned, he is the first person to defend it when he finds proof for it, and this doesn't just apply to the Kains. He admits he was wrong about the people and practices of the Steppe; they do work, he doesn't know how, but they are very much real and they do absolutely work, Artemy even gives him a panacea, a cure for the epidemic made from ancient, sacred blood. How can he go on claiming they're dumb superstitions? When you play as the Changeling, Daniil doesn't believe what he's heard about you at first, good or bad, but then he witness one of your miracles and from that point forth he's on your side. He defends her from Aglaya, once again rectifying the reputation of a perceived scoundrel simply because he can and he thinks they deserve it.

Haruspex:

This man makes me feral, I want to hug him so bad. His casual playfulness gets to me, the fact that his bound are children means that he often has to deal with them, and he really is good with them. A lot is said about his first mission being a testament to how hard the game and, indeed, his whole run is: one of your bound, a kid, asks you to kill another kid for betraying him or whatever. The reward is a shmowder, a cure to the plague, but you obviously lose reputation for going through with it. And see, if making this decision really was as crucial as some people make it out to be, I would get it, but it's really not. Letting the kid leave with his life means you don't get a shmowder, sure, but that doesn't matter cause you're playing the guy who invents the fucking cure. Notkin, the kid who "hired" you, thanks you for letting him live because he no longer felt so angry he wanted him dead once you left his hideout. TO ADD EVEN MORE REASONS TO WHY YOU SHOULD BE A DECENT HUMAN BEING, that kid you let escape comes back on day 9 and helps you get the Bachelor out of prison, no questions asked. Saving that kid and getting rep for it is so much more important than getting a single cure, especially because, if you're role-playing as Artemy in that moment, he probably doesn't even know what the shmowders do. Don't make your life harder. Play Artemy as the nice, moral man he is, protect the kid, protect all the children of the town, and you'll be rewarded with their friendship and all the things they can do for you. Murky alone provides the ingredients you need to make 2 fucking cures, and the price you pay for that is "go on a nice stroll through the steppe looking for her missing doll".

Related to my last point, Artemy will only really be hunted down by the masses for his crimes if he goes around town killing innocent people for no reason. You don't need to do that!!! If you must kill (and I do understand you kinda do in order to make your awesome potions), killing criminals at night raises reputation and, surprise bro, they also have organs: steal 'em, cook 'em, thrive. Artemy is portrayed as a brutish, scary man who will spill blood, and just like how it is with Daniil, this is all true in places. Despite what his model in 2 might suggest, I always envision him as a tall, large and imposing figure, the giant with the heart of gold archetype and all. People in the streets see that man, they hear about his crimes and his alleged crimes and they think the worst of him. I do believe part of the confusion also comes from the racist views of the people of the town, who go on and on about how freaky the worms and the brides are. Artemy's prophecy that he will spill blood is true for his ending, that's how he gains access to the ingredients he needs to make the cures, but it's also just a part of his occupation. Not to be a filthy solasmancer on main, but there's a character I really like in dragon age who says "the healer has the bloodiest hands" and to me that's Artemy in a nutshell. Daniil is more scientist than doctor imo, he deals with antigens and antibodies, proteins seen only through a microscope, a modern invention. He injects his solution with aseptic, hypodermic needles, and it seems to me that he mostly dealt with corpses in his previous job. Artemy's role in his society requires him to get his hands dirty to make sure that whoever is still living but hurting can recuperate and go on living. I think both positions are admirable and, to me, Artemy's is downright beautiful. As the devs have said, his story is about love!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HIS ENDING FUCKED ME UP, MAN. I really spent the entire game thinking I would go for his designated solution no matter what. Nothing else made sense to me, I was looking forward to seeing how Daniil would explain his side to convince Artemy into choosing ANYTHING over the town, his town. Then I found out about Oyun who told me about Aglaya, Daniil told me that, if Artemy destroyed the polyhedron, the ancient blood would indeed flow, but the kin would not allow him to use it because, by choosing to not take his sacrifice when he needed to, he would not be accepted by them. Aglaya x Artemy is the only romance with the protagonists that I'm willing to believe, besides Daniil x Artemy ofc. Aglaya is enamored by Artemy (or possibly manipulating him because) she sees how he lives his life independent of the Powers That Bed. So what if my decisions are preordained? They're helping the ones I love. She's hoping his independence will rub off on her, and indeed his ending is the only way she lives. If you care about Aglaya, which I certainly do, choosing an ending as Artemy is torture.

I wish Artemy had stronger ties to the town. His father is dead when the game starts and all of the kids he's put in charge of are strangers. He does have an old friend there, Rubin, but he mostly contacts him through letters telling him he's out to kill him, and if I'm remembering correctly, later they meet once so Rubin can apologize and then he never comes back? My memory is bad, but that feels right. Anyway, the kin do seem to remember him, they do certainly recognize his name if not, but they don't respect him until Artemy proves himself to them. I won't get into pathologic 2, I said I wouldn't, but I know this alienation was tweaked in that game and I'm glad for him. Having Grief and Lara as extra childhood friends only adds to Artemy's connection with the town and the people living in it. Wanting to keep his childhood friends safe, who are all bound to Clara, would give him even more reasons to agonize over his ending. Imagine if, after falling down Oyun's hole (oops!) and speaking to the Changeling, Artemy had to choose one of those three women to die knowing one of his oldest friends was among them! Delicious drama, I say.

Oh yeah, Artemy is also gay as shit. I'm sorry, but if a stranger from the big city came to me and asked me for a still beating infected heart which I might have to lose reputation to get, I would at least think to tell them "maybe" if not "go fuck yourself". I won't go into this ship again, but the way they're both always so willing to help each other, even though it would be easier not to.........

Changeling:

Getting into this game, I had quite a bit of information on Daniil and Artemy, but very little on Clara. I knew the basics: she's the plague, but she isn't! She has a twin but she doesn't! How is that possible? Fuck you! That being said, I was probably looking forward to her route the most because I felt like this was the character I had the most to learn about, and I was right. Clara deserves more love, her character is truly incredible. But.... where to start, oh my god................

Okay, so Clara is the personification of the plague, we learn this super early on; in the Haruspex route, she asks Artemy to talk to the Rat Prophet about who she is and what her purpose is. Artemy can be nice and tell her she's a holy healer who can only do good, or he can tell her the truth, which terrifies her. She is spit by the Earth (wakes up in a hole with no memories) and arrives in town on the day the plague starts. While Daniil and Artemy have to pay everyday for updated maps showing the different infected districts, Clara sees her "twin" in dreams who tells her where she'll go next, so she always just Knows where the plague's spreading. She has to convince her mirror self to leave an infected district to prevent it from staying infected until the end of the game. It's obvious that she holds power over the plague, the how is what gets most people. How can she both have and not have a twin? How is she a deadly disease but also a holy healer? The answer, in the end, is quite simple. Clara is the personification of the plague, but she is also a bright 13 year old girl with an imagination. In this world we're invited to play in, which is actually the invention of two very traumatized children and, beyond that, a group of indie game developers with a passion for what they do, having an avid imagination is what makes Clara unique, it's the source of all her magic and goodness, even if it cannot completely erase her wickedness. Clara believes she can heal people and find a solution that doesn't require Block to shoot anything, and in doing so, those options become real. When Clara said she had a twin sister, she spoke another Clara into being. It's truly fascinating and also tragic, I think, to tell the story of a young girl who believes she can cure all of Humanity's ailments, not realizing (or perhaps living in denial of the fact) she's the reason those ailments exist in the first place.

I'm gonna break the mold a bit and talk about her ending already, because I feel like it flows well coming from that last point. Clara's ending, the miracle that keeps both the polyhedron and the town, can only be achieved by keeping her bound alive and healthy until the end of the game, which is harder as Clara than it is as the other two. With Daniil and Artemy, if you manage your time correctly, you will keep all your bound healthy, but Clara's daily missions require her to meet her bound and learn how awful they are (well, some of them) and then she has to lie about their true nature to those who could punish them for it, just as Clara lies about herself. She detests trickery, but if we ourselves are to suffer deception, our hands are no longer tied. When you know the truth about something, you are compelled to form a just opinion on it, but if you are lied to or deceived in some way, any decision you make may yet be forgiven because you just didn't know all the facts. Clara lives in make believe land in the most figurative but also literal sense possible. The sins of her bound don't hit her as hard because they have been deceived into believing they're real people, so she's inclined to forgive them, especially cause she's certain they can still be useful to her. In many ways, Clara is lying to herself about her true nature so she can navigate the world without concerns. Lying to her dad about the "goodness" of her bound and taking the reputation loss because of it is kind of poetic; her dad made the wrong choice by believing her and not arresting those people, but he's been freed from his crimes by her lies. Later, when Clara turns to her bound and asks them to make the ultimate sacrifice to power the miracle, they go in peace. Most say they're glad they get to die like "a real human" with a blood like Simon's.

Clara's route is really fun, but later on it does get as repetitive as everyone says, you can tell she was rushed. The missions "find your sister and banish her" and "find the bachelor and the haruspex so they won't kill each other" do get annoying, especially because they don't even have different dialogue prompts and every time you get into one of those houses to talk to them you just get the shit beat out of you, or you get the plague. There's also like... NO mention of Eva's death in her route? She's alive in the Haruspex's so I though she would be too in the Changeling's or, if she did die, I thought there would be a really cool conversation between them, seeing as the Changeling sends Daniil a letter taunting him with Eva's suicide. But no, Eva just stops showing up at her house and that's it. Huge waste of potential there. I also don't get why some of her bound are those people? Anna Angel, Bad Grief and Aspity are the fucking most in this game, so those I get. Oyun is out to kill the Burakhs, so yeah I read him on the bad vibes scale too. Katerina is a failed Mistress who only ever gave me bad instructions, so I GUESS she counts, and Alexander is a cop so fuck him too. I could make a case for Rubin? Kind of? But for Lara and Yulia, I am truly out of ideas. Clara's bound is made up of all these complex liars and cheats, corrupt politicians and the like, and then there's the lady who's too nice to shoot even her father's murderer and the math lesbian who....????? I'm gonna be real here, I never know what the fuck Yulia is talking about, I could not tell you if I like her or not because I simply do not understand what her purpose is. She's a fatalist who believes in the predetermination of fate and, as far as I can tell, that's it. Cool look, though.

I love that she gets to meet the Powers That Be twice and that they're spooked she got to them earlier than the other two. I also like the detail that this whole Clara dichotomy exists because the kids can't decide between one another if she should save or kill everyone.

One thing I forgot to say in the section about her ending: I love the implication that her ending will only reach peak effectiveness if the healers learn to work together. Clara will transform the blood of those who volunteer to die "like Simon"; this blood is what will allow Artemy to make the cures to all of those who get infected; this blood is also what allowed Daniil and Rubin to make a vaccine that can prevent the disease from coming back for as long as they can. Note: Awesome world building detail, adding in that Simon's blood was old and that was why it could only be used to make vaccines, not panaceas. It makes me think about how older folk tend to hold wisdom of past generations that allow the younger ones to avoid unnecessary pain (Daniil is older than the other two healers, not by a lot but still....... curious). This suggest that, when catastrophe does hit, the younger folks can return the favor by protecting them to the best of their ability, and then, when the bad days pass, we can look to the children and recognize that the future we build afterwards is for them. Allowing humans to exist within a loving community is Clara's miracle. It's so fucking nice to be alive, you guys.

anyway play pathologic, it's not as hard as it seems, and if it is just cheat, i won't tell anyone

[soulsxng]

The Corruption, as told by Creation to the masses

So, during the gathering of leaders/rulers/deities/powerful and influential beings throughout the realms, Creation is going to explain the Corruption. This is so that they'll have a (hopefully) easier time controlling the spread of it, as well as tracking it. However, telling people that another Creationary being (or beings, potentially) from another existence entirely separate from this one are trying to break in and take control from the Creationary Trio...would cause a lot of panic, a lot of confusion, and probably a lot of chaos when some people try to take advantage of the situation during an already strenuous time.

Because of this, they've decided to...well, to lie. So long as people know what the Corruption's symptoms are (which can be seen here, btw!), and generally what it's doing to people, as well as how it spreads...the rest doesn't necessarily need to be truthful. Especially if that means avoiding a whole shitstorm of other issues on top of the Corruption.

They'll be telling everyone that, due to a mass of energy that was forced through the Void some couple days prior, the Well of Creation was damaged. As many beings with a connection to the Void will have felt said burst from when Irazor triggered it with his death by Darrow's hands, that won't be too farfetched to prove.

Some people might get the idea of trying something similar again, but because the Well isn't actually damaged, and even a burst of energy that large wouldn't have done anything if it hadn't already been targeting a weak point in the veil. A weak point that nobody aside from other Creationary beings/those that Creation has allowed to use/see the raw energy that they use, are even able to perceive.

Meaning, the worst that would happen is that Lerato gets some extra energy to eat. Not a huge deal, unless they manage to get lucky and hit that one little spot in the entirety of the Void.

From there, they'll go on to explain that because of this damage, there's more raw creationary energy spreading throughout the realms than there should be. This, they'll say, is what is causing the Corruption (and technically, they're not entirely wrong, as raw creationary energy is the issue...just not the Trio's energy.), as an excess of this energy can essentially, well...corrupt what the energy turns into when used to make something, like another being, or a realm, or whatever else.

Cue laying out the symptoms and how it's spread, making sure people keep away from anyone or anything exhibiting those symptoms, and having plans laid out for where/how to quarantine people and things that are Corrupted. This will also include an introduction to one of "Our newest creations", Siffo. (possibly the biggest lie in the whole thing) Siffo, JJ, Tiariia, and Ber will be sent to places with larger outbreaks to help quarantine those effected, since "they can't be corrupted by normal means".

There's one big question that Ippuru in particular would answer before it's even asked, and that would be "Why can't Creation just fix it? Can't You take the energy back, and that's that?"

This would be explained away by saying that they can only hold so much energy within themselves at any given time...hence why there was a need for the Well in the first place. Though they could spend their time collecting all of the energy, they'd still have to put it back into the damaged Well. Essentially, it would slow down the problem, but wouldn't make any progress towards actually fixing it. Their focus needs to primarily go into fixing the Well (or, in reality, dealing with that other Creationary Being trying to get in), or the problem is going to persist.

Another small side note is that I think instead of mentioning voices specifically (especially since that would mean talking about the whole One True Voice thing), they'll say that one of the later symptoms is severe auditory hallucinations. That way, by the time people start thinking "Huh...it's a little weird that all of the later stage Corrupted are talking about the same thing...", they won't really be able to question Creation about it. Since...yknow. Most people can't contact them normally, let alone actually get to them.

Unless, of course, it's one of their "favorites", in which case Creation is likely to let them in on what's really happening, if they were to make contact, or go to see the Trio later on and asked.

This got kind of ramble-y, so tl'dr: Creation is going to lie and tell the people attending their announcement that the Corruption is being caused by the Well or Creation being damaged by a blast of energy that Irazor sent through the Void. The raw energy leaking out into existence is what's causing the problems. Symptoms and spread were discussed. Siffo was introduced to everyone. People were told the plans for quarantine of the individuals and other Corrupted things, and how to report it so that Siffo, JJ, Tiariia, and Ber can come and...essentially help to deal with it.

[izzy-b-hands]

Day Two: Fuckery Or Tavern

A nice, quiet date night at Spanish Jackie's, full of booze and... mostly just that, actually. And the three of them being very relaxed and silly.

Hint of Rizzy at the end, bc i couldn't help myself lol.

TW for drunkness/alcohol and emetophobia (they go a bit too hard and pay the price for it lol)

---

"What's that face for?" Stede chuckles. "Olu, are you worried about us?"

"You, yes," Olu scoffs. "With respect, the last time you went into Spanish Jackie's-"

"Things are different now! Ed said he wrote her ages ago that we'd be in the next time we got close to the Republic, and-"

"Right, you told us all about that, but that doesn't change the fact that if she has a chance to kill you, she will. Just because."

"Just because? Seems a poor reason to kill someone," Stede's nose wrinkles. "Well, then I will win her affections with this visit, and she'll never want to kill me again!"

Olu nods. "So, I told Izzy if shit goes down that we'll be ready to leave at a moment's notice. Everyone is on board with that, and they don't mind hanging close to the ship for it."

"You worry too much!" Stede pats his shoulder and gestures to his outfit. "Good? Piratey and sexy, yeah?"

"For a plain black shirt and tr-" Olu pauses. "That's Izzy's shirt. If you're wearing that, what is he-"

"We're done!" Ed makes his way out of the secret passageway, Izzy behind him. "Olu, good! Give us all a once-over before we head out for date night, make sure we look-"

"Sexy, yeah," Olu says. "Are you just going out with Izzy's vest as your top?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Ed motions to it. "Soft and comfy and worn in, and I get to show off a little. And Izzy-"

He moves aside and gently pushes Izzy forward. "As you can see, has borrowed from both of us."

The trousers are clearly Stede's (black silk and tight), the shirt one of Ed's (a black crop top), but everything else is still Izzy's, including the cravat and ring that hasn't been loosened even an inch.

"If I saw you guys in a tavern-" Olu starts, only to turn at the room door flying open.

"He'd fuck you all in a heartbeat," Jim finishes. "Come on, I need help convincing Buttons and the Swede not to host a knife catching contest."

"Did you offer to be in said contest?" Olu smiles.

"That's assistant first mate to crew confidentiality," Jim replies. "If you aren't gonna stop us, then Roach at least wants another pair of hands ready for stitching people up."

"We'll be fine," Olu says. "No one is going to be too horribly stabbed on my watch."

"My ear!" is the shout from outside that sends Olu and Jim hurrying off, and leaves the three of them to head ashore.

--

"Do you think Jim meant that?" Stede asks. "Not that I fancy Olu like that, would be inappropriate in the workplace-"

"He'd have to wait his turn anyway," Ed interrupts. "You look so good. Izzy's shirt, my extra trousers, which you should really wear more often-"

"They're so much work to get on! Otherwise, I might consider it," Stede sighs. "Oh no."

"Jackie," Izzy strides towards the door of the tavern. "You are not in quarantine. This lie might have worked on Jack, but that's only because he doesn't care where he drinks in the end."

Her head pops out as the door opens. "Would you shut up?! Ed and Stede will hear y-oh."

She slips all the way outside with a grimace. "Ed, Stede, hey! So, as you can see, y'all are gonna have to go elsewhere tonight-"

"Is this because of me and Jack?" Ed asks. "Because we were young, and stupid-"

"It was three years ago," Jackie interjects.

"I've learned a lot in those three years, and Jack is dead! We've all grown as people."

"If I let you in," Jackie sighs deeply. "And that is an if, you promise that fucker is under your control at all times. Or I'll cut off more than his nose."

Stede scoffs loudly. "Are you referring to me?"

"Sure as fuck ain't referring to Izzy," she says. "Worst he does is fall asleep after a few drinks."

"Come on," Izzy mutters.

"You do! It's okay, not a bad thing!"

"Is it just wine that does it? He claims it's just wine," Stede says.

"Fuck no, it's everything. Cute too, he lays his lil head down by his cup, gets all snuggly," Jackie giggles. "Shit is adorable."

"Adorable," Izzy grumbles. "Are we allowed in or not?"

"He needs the sleep, grumpy little fucker," Jackie opens the door and motions them in. "Hurry up before I change my mind."

They pile into a fairly empty tavern; the quarantine signs had been up long enough to keep most people away, apparently.

"Shots?" Ed asks.

"Already?" Izzy mutters, but he takes the offered tray of them to a table as soon as Jackie's latest barkeep hands it over.

"Can I ask what exactly happened with Jack here?" Stede murmurs as they settle into their seats at the corner table. "Or do I not want to know?"

"You've seen Jack drunk," Ed starts.

"Who hasn't," Izzy snorts under his breath.

"Iz!"

"He's right," Stede says. "But anyway."

"Anyway, he can get a bit wild, and he sort of got offended when no one would dance with him-"

"Important to know, there wasn't a band in for the night," Izzy interrupts. "There was nothing to dance to except his own version of shanties he barely remembered."

"You could have sang," Ed says. "He did ask you if you would."

"You sing?" Stede's eyes light up, and Izzy downs a shot.

"Yes. I'm not doing so here tonight, and that's that."

"So Jack got up and started dancing alone," Ed continues. "And when no one would join in he got... well..."

"He cost us the biggest sum of money I've ever spent in bribes to make something go away," Izzy scoffs. "Literally, everything we had on us and a few of the extra rings we wore that night. And I'm sure Jackie was still in the red with all the damage he did. Somehow didn't break the nose jar though."

"Because he thought it was haunted," Ed supplies before down a shot himself. "Why, I'll never know."

"Might be all the noses and the presumption that they're likely dead if they lost their nose," Stede notes. "Not that I think the soul resides in the nose or anything."

"Maybe it's in the liver," Ed giggles, and they burst out into rapidly softened laughter at Jackie's glare.

"See?" Stede grins. "She's worrying for nothing. We'll have a nice couple of hours here, drink until we're stumbling, then go back home."

--

"She's got the stomach for it," Stede's drink sloshes over the rim of his glass. "But Doug doesn't. He's very nice, don't get me wrong. Pretty eyes. But he could never be a pirate."

"Okay, okay, okay," Izzy says. "But I didn't think you could hack it either, and you've surprised me. Who could say that Doug couldn't do the same?"

"Who would watch the children then?" Stede protests. "They can't be alone yet, not old enough..."

"I could watch them," Ed says. "They sound like good kids."

"Alma once spent a day setting the drapes on fire to see what would happen," Stede sighs. "We only found out after the fifteenth one, because she couldn't put that one out on her own."

"Right, she's your kid, we know that already," Izzy chuckles.

"I don't like setting things on fire!"

"Dickfuck, yes you do!" Ed laughs. "You set stuff on fire all the time! The party alone, you set on fire so many guys!"

"Technically!" Stede protests. "Hm. There was the island after that. And the last four ships we raided... it's just so pretty! All the colours and the warmth of it..."

"Does the little one set fires yet?" Izzy asks.

"Louis? No, no...he..." Stede frowns. "He doesn't do much of anything yet. Follows his sister around and joins in whatever mischief she's doing. Though, it's been a bit now...he probably does have actual hobbies now, doesn't he?"

"I shouldn't have asked," Izzy pats Stede's back. "You're drunk enough to be weepy."

"You are," Stede sniffles. "Oh, they're better off without me. Good for them. Hopefully they won't burn the house down."

"A toast to not burning down houses!" Ed cheers, and the whole, now much more full, tavern raises glasses with them.

"I hope we didn't just jinx them," Stede mumbles.

"Doug may not be a pirate, but surely he can keep children from setting fires," Izzy sighs. "Are his eyes really that pretty?"

"It's insane," Ed interjects. "He's described them to me, and I'm mad I'll never look the man in the eyes myself, and I hate eye contact most of the time."

"Tell me," Izzy grins, and Stede slides onto his lap as he goes into his lecture about Doug's eyes.

--

"Jackie," Stede mumbles. "I love you."

"I should have told Olu to come with and drag you guys back," Jackie pats Stede's back, and gently but forcefully ends their hug. "Be safe getting back, alright? I won't be happy if I find out you dumbasses drowned trying to get to the ship."

"We're fine," Izzy says from his seat on the cobblestones. "Just a bit spinny, all of it."

"All of what?" Ed asks.

"Yeah."

"Oh god," Jackie sighs as she shuts the tavern door, and they struggle out into the night.

"I will sing for you sometime," Izzy nudges Stede as they huddle together. "If you'd like."

"I would love! Can I choose the song? Wait, no, I bet you have something you know by heart; I want to hear that!"

"Pretty man with a pretty voice," Ed coos. "Stede, pass this kiss to him, hm?"

He kisses Stede's cheek, and Stede dutifully kisses Izzy's in turn.

"What was Olu even worrying about," Stede says as he leans on Ed. "We're so good."

"So good," Ed agrees. "Can you move your feet before I vomit on them?"

He does, but only just in time.

"I told you both to eat more," Izzy sighs and switches sides, putting Ed in between himself and Stede as they help him along. "No one ever listens to me."

"Maybe if you sang it?" Ed suggests as he wipes off his mouth. "No singing tomorrow though. I can already feel the headache."

"No, tomorrow we nap and Roach will bring us water and something gentle to eat," Stede says happily. "I bet he's already got water waiting in our room."

Izzy nods. "Speaking of, we're at, the ladder is here."

He points upwards, only to gag. "Don't look up. Too much spinning, up."

"Do you maybe have vertigo?" Stede suggests as he gently pushes Ed up the ladder. "Oh, the water is deep here, hm? Nearly knocked me down. But really, based on everything I've heard, it's not anything wrong with you, with the spewing and all-"

As if on cue, Izzy vomits into the water.

"Right, that, like yes, you're drunk but also dizzy, so maybe-"

"Please get up the ladder before we drown, love," Izzy sighs.

"You've done it with that; you know I can't say no when you use pet names on me," Stede grins. "Can you help me?"

They manage to drag each other up, with Olu and Roach helping them the rest of the way with hands held out.

"You three had fun," Roach teases. "Who's gonna feel horrible tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Ed mumbles, leaning against the mast. "What time is it anyway?"

"Later than you said you'd be back by," Olu replies. "Hours later. The sun's due to be up soon, let's get you into your quarters before that happens."

"Like a vampire, but because of booze," Stede says, in the tone of someone giving an academic lecture.

"Sure," Roach motions them towards their quarters. "We're not carrying any of you, so-"

"But Izzy's dizzy," Stede says pathetically.

"I'm fine," Izzy stands from the deck, only to go pale and immediately flop back down.

"His crush on you is only gonna get worse," Ed grins as Roach helps Izzy up, letting him lean against him. "Remember Iz, Stede and I don't mind sharing now and again."

"Ignore him; he's drunk," Izzy protests, but his eyes linger on Roach's lips.

"So are you," Roach chuckles as they make their way finally into the room. "Bed, water, clean clothes for now, and tomorrow we can talk about who is sharing who with who as much as you want."

"Your eyes are even prettier than Doug's," Izzy mumbles softly.

"Is that a good thing?" Roach asks.

"It's a compliment you can't even imagine," Stede sighs and flops onto the bed. "Are there-"

"Buckets, yes," Olu interjects. "And water, and some hardtack, and extra blankets because we guessed Ed might want-"

"Blanket fort!" Ed stumbles forward, reaching for the nearest one. "We'll build and sleep in one tonight. Give me five minutes."

"I'll give you ten," Olu shakes his head. "We'll leave you three to it, and check on you in a bit, yeah?"

"Thank you for watching the ship and everyone, Olu," Stede replies. "You're the Doug of our ship: responsible and gorgeous."

"Thought you didn't fancy him like that?" Ed teases.

"I can appreciate and look without wanting to get in Jim's way," Stede huffs. "I don't think I can sit up again."

Olu bites back a giggle. "You're welcome, and thank you? I think. Please get some sleep."

His and Roach's footsteps trail out, the door gently shutting behind them.

"Ed, shall I help with the fort?" Izzy mutters, leaning against the wall where Roach left him.

But Ed is silent, snuggling on the floor with the blanket he'd grabbed, already lightly dozing.

"Stede," Izzy stumbles his way to the bed. "May I lay with you?"

"You can even be sick on me if you must," Stede pats his chest. "I'd rather you not, of course, but if you can't help it-"

They both grunt as Izzy drops onto the bed.

"Will Ed tell us when the fort is done?" Stede yawns.

Izzy nods, and snuggles up next to him. "Might be a while."

"Good things are worth being patient for. Like this."

"Like what?"

"Like us, the three of us, together," Stede continues. "And blanket forts."

Izzy nods again, already half asleep.

"Morning," Ed sighs, suddenly up again, only to crash down on Stede's free side. "I'll finish it in the morning."

"It's morning now," Stede mumbles, but he doesn't protest when Ed nuzzles against him, and there's no thought of wanting to move from where they are.

The eventual blanket fort, he decides in his last conscious moment, will be where they recover later, when they can stay awake long enough to stand.

[mansplainmanipulatemalewife]

a compelling argument for why your fave would never top or bottom

the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

the character everyone gets wrong

for whichever fandom u wanna rant abt 😃👍 HTDJDJCJF

There's a couple questions and I have a lot of opinions so I'ma stick it under a the read more to avoid clogging everyone's dashes also I'll probably repurpose my whole ramble about Trant into an actual post with citations at some point its what he would want

A compelling argument for why your fave would never top or bottom

This one is kind of tricky on account of everyone deserves the opportunity to switch and also like I don't want to push the misconception that bottoming = submission however:

very insistent that the body he's in needs to put things up his ass

clearly insecure and overcompensating

prefers to rely on rules and codes of honour instead of his own agency

becomes stressed when people behave unpredictably

Largely involved with understanding power dynamics, not dominating them (that would be Half-Light)

seemed pretty enthusiastic about Kim outclassing him

In conclusion: Authority is a bottom and a sub, someone get him some nice easy-to-follow instructions so he can feel useful without having to think and a consistently applied reward/discipline system that maybe includes whatever passes for bottoming when you're not a human person. You can't expect him to take the lead here he'll get too stressed about it.

The unpopular character you like and why more people should like them

Again, Authority. He's my silly little guy and if you don't love him I'm going to explode you with my mind.

Common fandom opinion everyone is wrong about

Idk if it counts as an opinion but. Jean's scars. Mostly people say they're from pox or acne but like. Jean would have been born in like '17-ish (depending when his birthday is) so his childhood would line up with the measles outbreak we were told occurred in the '20s. While that doesn't typically scar in itself, as a child who would have probably been minimally supervised in quarantine, it's not unlikely that they would have been self-inflicted as a result of scratching at the rash. That would also be compounded if he does in fact have dermatillomania, as I've seen a few people suggest. They look more like patches of severe discolouration than anything with any real texture in his art so it makes sense.

Character everyone is wrong about

Trant! He's not a moralist! A lot of the people who critisise him assume that he is, but there's nothing really supporting that idea. I think most likely he's just a very bland kind of upper/middle-class liberal - willing to acknowledge that the system isn't great but with a comfortable enough life to not be particularly invested in changing it.

Evidence:

while Jean does strike me as center-right (though disillusioned with the MI), he's probably not far enough along the spectrum to consider an actual centrist a lefty dink

While he doesn't consider himself a "traditional leftist", in a system that doesn't skew right like it does in the US that's pretty standard for liberals - in my experience they generally consider themselves pretty apolitical

Trant's involvement in the moralist questline is probably related to the fact that having a lot of information and passing it on to cops is his literal job it would be weird if he didn't agree to give you that information when asked

he declines to actually give an opinion on the MI and appears uncomfortable with being asked about it, so probably doesn't actually like them all that much

Trant has a history of inter-isolary travel, a young son, and no particular attachment to the Revacholian identity - when Le Retour comes the fact he won't stand with the people doesn't inherently mean he'll stand against the people, he's more likely to simply emigrate before the violence starts

That being said, many of the other criticisms of his character (especially in terms of how he reacts to other people's suffering) are very much valid and I do like seeing people engage with him as a morally complex character.

Speaking of which, especially in fic, there can be a tendency to portray him as just a happy, supportive, well-read guy with no real depth. Even in fics that do show him as having actual emotional needs there seems to be a lack of complexity, especially moral complexity, so it feels like he's just there as a narrative device rather than like... an actual character people care about and want to explore. It's just sad. Why is he always either a throwaway background character or flattened into bland wish-fulfillment to fit into tropes. It feels like barely anyone actually cares about him even when they're writing fic specifically about him.

[wildissylupus]

I really love all your analyses!! tbh i think in overwatch but especially in blackwatch cassidy was seen as "low maintenance" when it came to physical and mental care because he was so used to having to fend for himself that everyone just assumed so

Couldn't put it into better words myself. But it isn't just the fact that he's always had to fend for himself, yes it started that way for everyone else but with Cassidy he was always responsible for someone else. In the Crisis he wasn't able to let himself feel, he needed to survive, that was the goal, in Deadlock he was responsible for Ashe, Julian and Frankie, making sure they didn't get caught, injured or kidnapped. In Blackwatch he was responsible for Genji, he also became the "big brother", the role model to a lot of the younger characters, specifically Tracer and Pharah. At that point he wasn't allowed to feel, to mess up, to make mistakes or fully let himself relax because people were counting on him, looking up to him. And then no one listened to him when he told people the things happening with Blackwatch, with Reyes, with Moira.

Then Gerard died, Ana died, Mina died, Mei and Sigma went missing, Echo was put into quarantine, and he was everyone else's shoulder to cry on. He most likely comforted Reyes when Gerard, Ana and Mina died, he comforted Pharah when Ana died, comforted Mercy when Mei and Sigma disappeared and he most likely only let himself feel anger when Echo was put into quarantine. Everyone else around him was falling apart so he needed to stay strong, after all he could take care of himself, right? He was low maintenance. He was surrounded by death and betrayal his entire life, he could handle it.

Then the Swiss Base incident happened and he spiraled. I've gone into some details about this but it's heavily implied that Cassidy is a functional alcoholic (getting blackout drunk at various bars, a lot of his interactions/voice lines involving alcohol), it's also somewhat implied that Cassidy has relapsed back into smoking (his old voice line with Mercy and his behavior around Ana). He was taken away from every support system he had and now that he finally needed one it was gone. He was a wanted criminal with a 60 million bounty on his head, he couldn't talk to anyone, he didn't want to put them in danger.

I think the only people who know and understand what Cassidy has gone through are Angela, Ana and Sombra.

Angela is very similar to Cassidy in that people view her as low maintenance, she's the golden child, the medical prodigy, she's the support for everyone around her, a golden light of hope for the future. It's why you will always see me say that Angela and Cassidy are each others comfort person. They've known each other for 20 years, have been in Overwatch for the same amount of time, they were used and lied to by the people they thought they could trust. There's a reason Ana had to talk both of them into joining Overwatch again.

Ana has only recently realized how everything affected Cassidy, and there is now doubt in my mind that she feels responsible for what he's gone through. She's the only one out of the Old Soldiers Trio who doesn't glorify Cassidy's time in Blackwatch, whereas both Reaper and Solider have voice/elimination lines that indicate they don't grasp the fact that Cassidy was more negatively impacted by his time in Blackwatch.

Then there's Sombra, we don't see much of they're dynamic in cannon but the fact that Sombra has seen Cassidy blackout drunk at a bar, has seen his search history (listen, I know it's a joke but she defiantly saw some concerning stuff in that search history), and is the character with the most similar backstory to him. Orphaned survivor of the crisis joins a gang then ends up working for a big organization.

I defiantly think that Cassidy is on his last footing, which makes me worried for when he finds out about Reaper. Cause either Angela is going to tell him or he's going to figure it out on his own. And as much as I'm of the opinion Cassidy isn't going to be merciful towards Reaper, I don't think he's going to have a healthy reaction.

Hopefully the New Blood crew will help him when he starts to spiral, because they are all very similar to him.

Sorry for the rant and thank you for enjoying my analyses!! There are defiantly more to come.

[ahelpfulpeach]

cat introduction (and reintroduction(and re-reintroduction...)) help???

SO I'm throwing out some feelers here because my partner (Jay) and I are a little... at a loss. This is gonna be long in order to explain everything under the cut, but the tl;dr is:

We have 4 cats(all spayed/neutered): Thomas(M almost 7), Corvo(M 5.5), Juno(F almost 3), and Jester (F 1.5)

Thomas and Corvo were living with me (and for a few months, my dad, while Jay and I got a new apartment where everyone would fit), Juno and Jester were living with Jay

We moved everyone in together into the new apartment just before Halloween 2022

Introductions were going fairly smoothly (doing the whole quarantine and slowly edging up to hanging out together thing over a couple weeks), but Corvo needed to be shaved because he was very matted

Thomas had BAD nonrecognition aggression which we think triggered fear with the girls.

He has since gotten back to normal with Corvo, but continues to be fearful of the girls despite reintroducing everyone

We've already tried/are already trying: Feliway, Gabapentin (prescribed by vet), vet visit, door feeding, treats together, playing together, fun things that only happen when they're together, brushing them with the same brushes, using Corvo as a scent conduit, swapping rooms, catnip, endless interactive toys, puzzle treat toys, so many litter boxes and water bowls and hidey-holes and cat towers and pathways, etc etc etc

So. Help?

Details under the cut

Okay so, the longer version with anything I can possibly think of that might be useful.

Thomas and Corvo:

I got Thomas in college in mid 2016 as a kitten. He lived with me, my roommates, and one of my roommate's cats (Toni, 2ish year old male). He had no issues with any of this. He also had to spend breaks with either my family and my childhood cat (Angel, older female) and dog (Taylor, older female), or my roommate's family and HIS childhood cat (Pablo, older male).

I got Corvo after moving in late 2017, also as a kitten, and he and Thomas were introduced well and got along just fine. Again, they had to spend some breaks at my family's home and spent some time with Angel and Taylor. No real issues beyond some discomfort of being moved around and having to deal with new places.

Moved again 2018 and my new roomie had a dog and a cat (Male, roughly their age?). No real issues with either.

Another move in 2019, no new animals.

Another move to live with my dad 2020-2022. Taylor and Angel were back in the picture. I lived with them full time through 2020, then spent a lot of my time going between my dad's home and Jay's (who lived in another state) up until I moved in with her full time in April/May of 2022

Basically all this to say that both Thomas and Corvo have moved several times and had to be introduced to new people, new cats, and new animals in general over and over and have always been able to handle it with minimal issues. Corvo was always a little more willing to buddy up with other critters, but Thomas was never fearful or aggressive. Generally just acknowledged their existence.

Thomas has in the past had some issues with non-recognition aggression after vet visits for him and Corvo, but it never lasted more than a few hours.

Thomas has always shown a little more anxiety about changes, but again, nothing so bad as right now. That said, he's settled into the apartment itself fine at this point. He's confident and curious and wants to be with people... so long as the girls are not involved.

Juno and Jester:

Jay got Juno back at the end of 2020, when she was about 8 months old.

Aside from coming to her parents' for Xmas and being in the general proximity of her childhood cat(Female, scaredy cat) and dog (male, 3ish?), Juno didn't interact with other animals until we got Jester in summer of 2021

Juno took a little while to get adjusted to Jester, but the two of them are now wonderfully bonded.

Juno had an autoimmune issue that caused us to have to remove all of her teeth in early/mid October of 2022. Not exactly ideal timing, as we had already planned a move for later that month.

Both of

The initial situation:

We got a new apartment to move into at the end of October 2022. Two bedrooms so we could handle quarantining the cats better. Ahead of time we put in Feliway spray and diffusers for a solid week.

I had to drive Thomas and Corvo down from my dad's home for a full day, but the cats were essentially introduced to the new environment at the same time. There were more objects with the girls' scents on them as most of the furniture was Jay's, but I brought all the boy's beds and towers and scratchers and toys to get their scent in the new place too.

Everyone got set up with their home bases and we got to work introducing everyone. Feeding on opposite sides of the doors, more Feliway, swapping objects, swapping rooms, rubbing everyone with a towel and brushes to get scents mixed, sniffing and playing under the doors or through cracked doorways, etc. Slowly ramping things up

Juno was the most grumpy about the situation at first, which is more or less what we expected, given that she'd just had surgery and had had the most time as a single cat. She was standoffish and hissy and slappy, but would still exist in the room with everyone. Everyone else seemed to have gotten to the point of acceptance with one another.

The Haircut and Reintroduction:

As mentioned, Corvo needed his mats shaved out because my father is old and did not keep up with his grooming. This wound up happening mid November 2022.

We knew to expect some issues with everyone not recognizing him at first, since he'd smell weird and look weird, but by golly the poor little guy was OSTRACIZED.

Thomas reacted the most violently, chasing him down and attacking him upon first seeing him, and not wanting to be anywhere near him. The girls were less upset but still untrusting.

However, at this same time, Juno decided she was done playing hard-to-get with Thomas, and wanted to be buddies. Thomas, who was already freaked out, did not like this, and responded with hissing, slapping, and running away.

While we were busy reintroducing Corvo to the crew, the girls (and later Corvo once he was interacting in person again) decided Thomas' running away was just a great game and continuously chased him. Everyone seemed pretty into the idea of chasing Thomas every time he made an appearance, which did not help his fear.

Despite our best efforts, no amount of playing everyone out ahead of being together seemed to really detract from their interest in chasing him. At least the girls and Corvo were getting along once again.

Finally though, we got to a point where Thomas and Corvo could be together and play and chase each other like normal. This took pretty much the entire rest of November and into December, however.

Re-re-introduction (ongoing):

So, that brings us to the status quo we've been living in since early December.

We completely separated Thomas and the girls again in late November to restart the introduction process. Door feeding, swapping rooms, etc. Corvo is able to be out and about all the time because he's the only valid child he gets along with everyone.

The only times the girls and Thomas are together are during entirely supervised and guided play times. We have to be very involved to keep the girls from trying to pounce on Thomas. Any time that that has happened, Thomas has gotten very upset and run away and hidden.

We can't really feed them together because the boys eat slowly and the girls are gluttons who inhale their food instantly.

But yes we have multiple daily play times together with every distraction we can think of.

Yes we have Feliway. No, I have no idea if it's doing anything.

Outside of those interactions, we have either the girls or Thomas out in the main area of the apartment with us and Corvo, and the other in the bedroom or office.

In December both Jay and I were sick for most of the month, so unfortunately we were not as consistent with our playtimes with the cats during that month.

Also in December we got Thomas over to our vet to be checked out. He got a clean bill of health and a prescription of Gabapentin to chill him out.

The gabapentin helps (he's able to exist in the girls' proximity and even play with toys or approach them to sniff them), but he's still clearly uncomfortable. Even while drugged, he hides at the slightest provocation, hisses and slaps at the girls when the approach him (usually), or walk past him, or move slightly too close to him, or react to him sticking his entire nose in their anus. You get it.

So at this point, a solid month and a half into our more intensive re-introduction and two and a half months into the reintroduction at all, and 3 and half months into them all living together, we're... struggling. It seems like we've hit a plateau with what we can accomplish. We can't have the cats out together without strict supervision, which is taxing on us, because the girls want to pounce on Thomas, and Thomas is still reacting to their general EXISTENCE with fear. He's not at a point where he could tolerate them trying to play with him like that, and we don't want what minor progress we've been able to make taken away.

That said, we're pretty sure the more realistic thing is to desensitize Thomas to the girls than to try to get the girls to ignore him completely. But we just. Don't know how to do that, as what we've already been doing doesn't seem to be creating any more progress.

We have Feliway dispensers in every single room in the multicat flavor. I want to emphasize we live in a two bedroom apartment. This is MORE than enough for coverage.

We have cat trees in every room. And scratchers. And hidey holes. And beds. And water bowls. And toys. And windows. And litter boxes. There is no shortage of resources for these guys. And we've done our best to create multiple pathways for everyone wherever we can. It's not always possible, there's not always room, but we try.

We have specific meal times. We can't feed them together because the girls will finish first and try to eat the boys' food cuz they are empty pits, but everyone is fed at the same time and they eat on opposite sides of the doors.

We play with them all together at least twice a day for at least 20 minutes or so a pop, which is sometimes all we can manage since we both work full time and it's a two person job to handle all four at once. We can't get them out together while we're both gone, it's just not possible, and we also need time to do the other general household things we need to do and REST.

I dunno. We're just at a bit of a loss. Please feel free to reply or message with any questions, I know this is a jumbled mess.

[theteasetwrites]

Why do you hate carol?

Omg so many reasons. I'll start with the more "reasonable" or justifiable reasons:

Ok well first of all, she killed two innocent people who were part of her group because they coughed a little bit. Like what kind of person murders two people just because they're sick? I know her "reasoning" was that she wanted to stop the spread of the disease in the prison, but like WHY MURDER??? JUST QUARANTINE THEM??? Also IT DIDN'T EVEN WORK because of course it didn't, the sickness had already started spreading anyway. I think Carol just wanted to murder someone tbh. Rick had every right to send her away, and from that point on I thought her morals were fucked up and she kind of continued to get worse for me.

She was HORRIBLE to those kids, Micah and Lizzie, especially Micah (or whichever one was the one that wasn't homicidal lmao). She straight up told her that she was weak and that she was going to die if she didn't start killing people, even though she was the one who actually was fine with killing walkers (you know, the important thing to kill). She was just so hard on her and for what? They were literally children, they had a right to be scared. That being said, I don't think she was in the wrong to kill Lizzie, because she kind of didn't really have a choice I mean what else was she supposed to do in that situation? But the point remains (and this is one of my biggest problems with Carol) is that she hates people who she perceives as "weak," even though in the beginning of the apocalypse, she would've been considered weak too. I just think she has no fucking compassion and it's really annoying.

Speaking of kids and emotionally abusing them, um SAM??? She scared that kid shitless even when she knew he was already receiving abuse at home from his dad. I thought Carol was supposed to be an abuse survivor? And yet she can't have compassion or be kind to other people in a similar situation? Carol was so awful to Sam and I can't remember the exact words but basically she told him he was weak and that he was going to get eaten alive by walkers which is a fucked up thing to say to anybody (even if it did end up actually happening).

Her constant leaving and peacing out when things get difficult. She is a coward, and she'll say she's leaving to protect everyone else, but really? It's just because she's selfish. I mean who would do that? I don't buy that she's a "lone wolf." Daryl is a lone wolf who still looks out for his friends but leaves when he feels he needs to. He left Alexandria not because he wanted to but because he wanted to find Rick (aka, he was being selfless). Carol leaves because she's scared or just doesn't feel like dealing with shit that she helped cause.

I generally don't like the way she treats Ezekiel. The guy clearly loves her and cares about her and she's so frigid towards him. I actually think they would be cute together if she would pay him an ounce of the respect he has for her.

Literally everything she did in season 10. I mean this is obvious. Again, I understand that her son died and that's horrible and no one should have to go through that, and her wanting revenge is absolutely understandable, but the way she did it? Manipulating, lying, hurting people, putting everyone's lives in danger, starting an all-out war and getting so many people killed by extension... (Daryl isn't innocent here either. He enables her bad behavior, which I do think is systemic from his past abuse and I would almost go as far as to say Daryl is used to being manipulated and lied to by people like Carol, but I won't get into that because it's a whole thing and it contributes to the more serious reason as to why I don't think Carol and Daryl are a good match). She did so much shit in season 10 I don't even know where to start, but basically it all led up to the cave incident, which completely happened because she was reckless and not thinking about the lives of other people. And then that scene where she tugged on Daryl's arm, crying and screaming at him begging him to "just say it"... I don't know that didn't sit right with me. He doesn't owe you anything. You just got people he cared about killed. Daryl was right to be mad at her, and I kinda like to think he's still mad at her lmao. At least he should be.

There's definitely more but those are some of the main plot-driven reasons as to why I don't like her.

By the way, I totally realize that Daryl, Rick, and every single character in this show have done shitty, immoral things, but Carol, in my opinion, is the worst and has done so much bad shit that gets dismissed as her being a "girlboss" like??? She's not a girlboss she's borderline sociopathic. She perpetuates abuse and doesn't care about anyone but herself. She's a poorly written character, and the writers don't even know what to do with her anymore. They've spent so long framing her as this girlboss badass but she's just an asshole.

Okay now let's get into some petty shit:

Her wig is garbage pls someone rip that thing off it would be camp and iconic

She gives me major pick-me/not like other girls vibes (actually I am pretty sure this is canon lmao she would absolutely bully me for liking the color pink and wearing dresses)

She would definitely yell at a customer service/retail employee (trust me I know)

Her stupid beet cookies fuck off with them shits

The way she "acts" when she's trying to be all sweet and shit and how it always works and no one sees through it. Girl that act is fake as shit and you're telling me no one would see through that??

Her pairing with Daryl is mediocre at best like I don't think they have any romantic chemistry, but even as friends they're boring together sORRY

Um ok yeah that's basically it. Also please don't hate me that's just my opinion and if you disagree that's ok lol