#hopefully i edited it for tumblr properly...

[cae-ruleam]

time's a ticking

rated G - basically a character study of immortal Danny word count: 4405 AO3 link

Danny's seen many loved ones come and go, and he has almost been beaten down countless times. But life goes on, and through the years, Danny's learned to live with that by making new memories to remember, and rekindling old ones.

“Mr. Leverton, it’s already past seven! I’ll be heading out in a moment, you can close up shop soon,” Danny heard a young voice call from the second floor of an old mechanics shop. He took off his gloves and wiped his forehead before mumbling, “Is it really that late already?” to himself. But it seemed that his apprentice still heard him once he started strolling down the wooden stairs.

“Yes, really! Now, please don’t continue working on that and just go home to rest, will ya?” Sawyer chastised the older man with slight exasperation; knowing that if he did not hound Danny, the man may stay holed up here all night and not even realize it until Sawyer returned the next morning.

It’s happened before. Several times too many, in fact. Danny chuckled, “Who’s in charge of who here?” he joked with a roll of his eyes. But he still did as told and started to put all his tools in their right places.

“Har har, you know you’ll get too invested otherwise if you weren’t already, Mr. Leverton,” the young man reiterated once more. He then went and shrugged on his winter coat before saying goodbye and walking out of the shop with a skip. Danny waved at him as he did so, of course.

“Well, he’s not wrong,” Mr. ‘Leverton’ said as he pushed himself up from his stool and cracked his neck.

It’s been a long time since Danny’s gone by the last name ‘Fenton’; it’s been roughly 170 years, in fact. After all, he didn’t have any family when he was a kid, besides his parents, sister, and aunt Alicia, of course. But Jazz and her wife never had any kids of their own, despite fostering many others. Aunt Alicia never remarried after her divorce, plenty satisfied to live her life ‘till the end on her own.

That left Danny, but given the … circumstances of his existence, he quickly shot down any idea of having kids, biological or adopted.

So the Fenton Family’s lineage ended with Jazz and him, some 350 years ago when Jazz passed. He’d faked his death for the public long before then. You could only claim you’re an exceptionally young-looking 40-year-old for so long, after all.

That was until he decided to bring it back briefly, about 200 years ago, for another run and go. He didn’t like the idea of disconnecting himself from his first identity forever, entirely. Even if he had to use a different first name that time.

The second name he’d decided to use was Nightingale. In a hilarious turn of fate, during that 30-year period, there seemed to have been a resurgence in interest in witchcraft.

A lot has changed in the over 400-year period he’s wandered the Earth, yet, not so much has changed at all. And that was why Danny nowadays preferred to keep himself under the radar, and people at an arm’s length.

While he technically retired himself from the superhero business several centuries ago, what, with the amount of his rogues mellowing out and there being less need for Phantom to be able to show up at any moment; he would still help out whenever necessary. Such as, when there were catastrophes from space threatening the entire globe and its attached afterlife, something he’d done before but no one remembers nowadays. Or, when the wrong people got a hold of the rapidly developed technology and weapons of warfare, ones so strong and destructive the humans themselves do not even have any preventive measures for. But that was neither here nor there.

He preferred it this way. He was getting old – albeit not physically, he definitely was mentally – and he’d never been too fond of being part of the superhero business in general. He was merely thrust into it at a ripe fourteen years of age due to a stupid mistake stupid kids made. He was thankful he could mostly part ways with that life, nowadays. Jazz also said that it had made him happier.

“Speaking of…” it’s been a while since he’s visited his sister. The only one from his immediate circle that became a ghost. His parents likely would’ve rather been burned to death than become ghosts in the afterlife, and Sam and Tucker … Danny supposed they’d lived a fulfilling enough life to not return.

He was happy for them, for that fact; even if it had hurt at first when he realized. Even when it still hurt, over 300 years later to know they’d moved on from him. But perhaps love was never meant to be, for a being such as himself.

Jazz, on the other hand, said that she would never be able to leave her baby brother to fend for himself, especially if this baby brother was some immortal semi-godlike being who’s made more than a few bad decisions in his then-normal-lifespan. Danny had laughed at that proclamation at first. Until she really came back to haunt him forever in the afterlife that is.

Danny went ahead and locked up the door of his mechanics’ shop before heading up the stairs to the second floor, personal belongings in tow. He’d rather not open a portal and disappear through it, right in front of the large windows the first floor had.

The halfa took a gentle breath and dipped into a bit of concentration before tearing a hole through reality – its veil was rather thin, all things considered. After all these years and so much experience, creating portals was like child’s play to him – hell, even creating duplicates was.

He then let his familiar transformation wash over him before flying through the portal and closing it off again with a wave of his gloved hand once he was on the other side.

Danny found himself in a familiar area of the Ghost Zone – some small spectral village that was built roughly 700 years ago, if he remembered his history correctly. He shouldn’t let Clockwork know that he’s already forgotten the lessons he gave him; he’d be so disappointed.

Danny looked around in the air briefly before slowly floating down toward the paved roads, and just when he came to a halt, a few inches off the floor, a shrill voice caught his attention.

“Phantom!” it happily called out, loudly – and before Danny was able to turn around he was tackled into a hug by some familiar weight. Once his eyes landed on his assailant, everything made sense. “Hi there to you too, Brianne,” he greeted kindly. The ghost child giggled and kicked her feet before she looked up at him again. “Aunt Jazz has been worried sick!” she continued.

Danny’s eyes widened momentarily, and he quickly tried to hide his shock again. “And why would she be?” he asked as he patted the girl’s head, even though he had several guesses for why Jazz could be worried to the point others would know about it.

“She’s been muttering to herself about how it’s been too long since you visited…” Brianne answered with a scrunched expression, as if deep in thought and racking her brain to remember the details. “Also something about … afraid that frostbite would get to you? Or not get to you? I don’t know why she would be though! You have an ice core,” she continued on.

Danny chuckled and patted her head once more, “She’s probably worried that Mr. Frostbite, chief of the Far Frozen-” “Wouldn’t be able to find this reckless uncle of yours when he inevitably forgot his check-ups again,” Jazz added.

“Jazz!” Danny remarked surprised, but also excited, “Did you really have to put it like that?” he asked sheepishly.

“It wouldn’t be the first time, now would it? It’s a valid concern; you haven’t visited me in two years!” she chided her brother, her always younger baby brother – no matter how old or powerful he’s gotten.

Danny’s expression became slightly pained. He huffed and motioned his head to the side briefly as if to tell his sister, ‘Let’s continue this at your place,’ and it seemed that Jazz agreed. His sister looked down at the girl standing confused between the two of them and quietly told her something or another – Danny didn’t quite catch it – and she immediately went on her merry way.

Jazz started walking once Brianne had gone off, and Danny made it a point to close the distance he had with the ground and walk alongside her. Despite being able to fly, as the skill was part of any ghost’s basic repertoire, Jazz was one of the few ghostly inhabitants of the ‘Zone who had always preferred to feel her feet planted on the ground, even after death. He saw no need to mention it and was always happy to join her; gently grabbing her hand as he did so.

“I’m sorry that it’s been so long,” he started after a moment of not-so-uncomfortable quiet, “It’s just … After all these years-” “Time catches up to you, and you lose track of it instead,” Jazz finished his sentence for him once more. She exhaled, revealing no emotion with that action, not really. “I know, we’ve been through this plenty of times before, I got that by the time you turned 320 well enough,” she continued.

“But that doesn’t mean I can’t still point it out. Who knows what would happen otherwise?” she added after a beat of silence. “What? You’re afraid I’ll forget to visit you for decades at a time, or something?” Danny asked with a chuckle, rhetorically, mostly.

Jazz halted in her steps, forcing Danny to a stop too, and making him turn to see her raising an unimpressed eyebrow at him. “Heh, maybe you’re right,” he said with a sigh.

“You’re the one who said you lose track of time, after all. And I don’t think it’ll ever really get better,” she said, her tone devoid of judgment.

When they continued walking, but Danny didn’t respond for a few moments too long, Jazz spoke again. “You know I don’t blame you, right? It’s not unnatural – it’s just – I don’t want to lose you also,” she said quietly.

“You don’t have to! Isn’t that why you became a ghost in the first place? So we’d never lose each other,” Danny responded.

Jazz sighed and nodded. “Yes, but when you don’t contact me for so long, it’s … hard to not get scared. And before you say anything about me joining you – you know very well that I can’t sustain myself outside the Ghost Zone for long like you can, now that you move around the globe instead of staying put in Amity. Not that you should ever feel compelled to do that, of course.”

Once they’d arrived at Jazz’s doorstep, she removed her hand from Danny’s to find her keys and unlock the door, before opening it and letting Danny through. Doors in the ‘Zone were very much Ghost-proof, after all. But not so much human proof. Danny quickly dropped himself on the sofa with a satisfied “Humph”, making Jazz shake her head at him as she locked the door again.

“Do you want something to drink?” she asked, already making her way to the kitchen.

“Some ecto-jasmine will do,” Danny responded.

“Do I even want to know if that’s a poor attempt at a joke, or not?”

“Why not both? And hey! It is not poor,” a beat went by, “Okay, maybe it is.”

Danny sighed as he watched his sister work, shaking his head, “But no, you’re … right. I should probably be putting more effort into this … relationships thing. At least for others, even if not myself.”

“Oh?” Jazz responded curiously from the kitchen across.

Danny noted long ago how her home in the Ghost Zone – her Keep manifested from herself – resembled the different houses she’s lived in in her human life. That’s nothing strange, not at all. Many ghosts’ Keeps reflected parts of themselves, or their mortal lives. What was notable however was just how akin to the Fenton house in Amity Park Jazz’s was. Despite everything, it meant that her memories tied to it were comfortable and strong enough to manifest like this.

Contrary, Danny’s Keep – besides the one previously belonging to Pariah – was a weird amalgamation of their childhood home from before they moved to Amity, his many houses since then, and hell – it even saw a bit of Sam’s home! And it still changed to this day, as every new house he inhabited for a longer period of time would shift it again, even if it had been happening less frequently or substantially than before. One thing stayed consistent, however, and that was that there was a distinct lack of their home in Amity Park.

Jazz had mentioned before that it likely meant Danny had separated himself entirely from that aspect of his life, and that that was okay. That it was a form of healing as well.

But Danny couldn’t help but feel like it meant he was running away from it. His life and experiences there were what made him into the man he is today, after all. But that was neither here nor there.

Danny nodded, even though he knew Jazz wouldn’t be able to see it, and responded, “Yeah … for you. For Brianne,” a child taken too soon. A young ghost Danny found wandering around, lost in the Ghost Zone, shortly after her death. Now in the care of the community here, “And I’ve … taken on a human apprentice.” Danny finally bit the bullet and admitted it.

Danny then heard some ceramic shatter.

He jumped up from the couch alarmed, “Is everything alright?” he asked hastily.

Jazz sucked in a breath of air through gritted teeth before responding, “Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry.”

She then grabbed a new cup, poured the tea in it, and returned with two of them in hand to the living room. As she set them down, she continued talking, “I was just caught off guard. I mean, you? Of all people taking in a human apprentice? When your only answer to me goading you into establishing more relationships with people again was ‘Nah.’ for the longest time? Sue me for not believing it immediately,” she said sarcastically.

“Very funny, Jazz. But I really can’t blame ya,” Danny responded, accepting defeat.

Jazz’s expression turned softer as she pinned her brother down and sighed, “Of course you can’t. Anyway, care to elaborate?” she asked as she raised her cup of tea to her mouth, taking a gentle sip of the hot beverage.

Danny closed his eyes and shook his head as he picked up his tea as well, responding, “It’s not like you’ll let me out of here until I do so,” he said. “You know me well, little brother,” she teased.

“What caused this change in heart?” Or resurfacing perhaps, that’d be a more accurate description.

Danny pouted in thought for a moment. “I just met this kid, Sawyer’s his name, a few months ago. He has a talent for engineering, but I found out soon after that his family probably wouldn’t be able to send him to college for that. Even after so long, the world hasn’t really become more fair. If it hasn’t gotten worse, that is,” he explained.

Jazz sighed, disappointed but not surprised, “That doesn’t shock me in the slightest. Anyway, so you thought you’d teach him the ropes?” The halfa nodded, “Basically; and maybe he’ll be able to get a scholarship after that, if he wants to, anyway.”

“You saw a part of yourself in him, didn’t you?” Jazz said, seemingly out of nowhere.

Danny huffed, just barely amused, “What made you think that?” he asked with suspicion.

“A young boy with uncultivated talents, really, Danny?” his sister asked in return, unimpressed.

Danny quieted at that. He’s been a lot quieter in general, especially compared to his youth, Jazz noted.

It wasn’t a surprise to anyone, and not a secret for anyone, that Danny changed a lot when his loved ones started passing one by one, while he stayed young and living forever. Jazz wasn’t exempt from that either, as the only one who continued to stay by his side, even if that meant continuing without her wife and dear friends who happily moved on.

The two of them always knew it would come to this, and they’d both made peace with it now. But it didn’t take a genius to realize that Danny’s solution to not experiencing this heartbreak again, was to distance himself from humankind. He stayed close, residing more in the human realm than the ghostly one, but he detached himself from relationships just enough for them to not get too close. For him to not get hurt too bad once he’d inevitably see them for a last time.

Unfortunately, in doing so, Danny separated himself from both communities that he was a part of.

Now, Jazz felt that for the first time in over a century, she saw the care he once carried all around him, emerge once more. This Sawyer kid, no doubt has been a huge part of that.

She saw the need to point it out as such, “I think this change has been good for you, little brother.” At Danny’s puzzled face, she continued, “You seem more energetic, more comfortable in your own body,” she said with a smile.

She set her cup down on the lounge table and walked over to Danny who was on the opposite side, kneeling down and holding her hand on top of his knee. “It must’ve hurt, keeping a part of yourself buried for so long,” she whispered quietly, but without another sound nearby it was louder than clear.

It was this comment that broke Danny’s defenses down, an attack so gentle it wouldn’t even have left a scratch. First came one tear, and then another, before they were followed by many more soon enough until her little brother was sobbing uncontrollably. Jazz didn’t think twice before embracing him in a tight hug.

He hugged back just as tightly, if not tighter. If Jazz were still human, she would’ve had to beg for air soon enough. So it was a good thing she didn’t have to.

The siblings just sat there, crying into each other’s shoulders for Ancients know how long.

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

On a clear spring day, Sawyer was prepared to head into Daniel Leverton’s shop early in the morning as he’s done many times before, half expecting he may have to wake up his teacher again; an occurrence that had become quite familiar to him as of late.

Instead, he was met with a decked-out first floor, a cake at his workbench, and a very awake Mr. Leverton.

“Happy birthday, I hope you’ll like your gift!” the raven-haired man had exclaimed.

Sawyer barked a laugh at that. “I honestly didn’t expect you to have remembered,” he said. His tone wasn’t rude, not in the slightest. He was merely stating a fact.

“I didn’t either, but hey, seems like old-timers still run alright once in a while,” he said with a wink.

And that had always been a peculiarity to Sawyer. He knew that Mr. Leverton was older than he looked. Even if he didn’t always act it, he had way too much experience for that not to be the case. But other times he would sound like any of his slightly older friends. Yet on occasion, he sounded like so much more. Even his grandparents wouldn’t have compared when they’d been alive.

Sawyer pushed those silly musings out of his head before accepting his gift – some tools that he may or may not have been drooling over while he was out with Mr. Leverton gathering supplies a few weeks ago, as well as some chocolates he vaguely remembered noting he enjoyed once, offhandedly.

For someone so air-headed – or perhaps, appearing to be on another plane entirely, the elder was attentive like no other.

Daniel Leverton was a curious man, and he continued to surprise the young mechanic.

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

It was on a different spring morning, several springs after that birthday, that Sawyer received an important email.

It was an email of acceptance into college – one dictating that he’d be the recipient of a scholarship, no less.

Mr. Leverton was the first person he’d tell about this news. Instead of the immediate excitement that he’d expected of the man, he received a pondering expression.

“Y’know, I was about to ask if you were interested in taking over the shop,” he’d said after he left Sawyer to wander about in his own confusion for a while.

Before he could respond, however, Leverton continued, “I’m proud of you, you should definitely go for it, I know how much it means for you. Just know you’ll always have a place to return to.”

“What are you going to do then?” he responded.

Mr. Leverton hummed with his trademark smirk and grinned, “I was thinking of taking an early pension and traveling the world for a bit. I still have a lot of inheritance left from my too-rich godfather, too. And I’ll keep the building for now, but clients will have to find a new favorite mechanic. Oh, I just know how much it’ll pain them to not find me again though, truly tragic,” he explained dramatically.

“You know, Mr. Leverton, sometimes it really doesn’t feel like you’re the older one of the two of us anymore,” Sawyer teased.

“Oh, but I can assure you I am,” the other said with a wink, “But feel free to call me Danny. Seeing you call me Mr. Leverton to this day really does make me feel so old,” he continued, placing a hand on his heart with a pained expression.

“Heh, okay, Danny,” Sawyer tested the name on his tongue. “I’ll let you know about the shop when I get close to graduating, yeah?”

“We have a deal!” Danny responded as he theatrically shook his hand. “Those stuck-up academics won’t know what’ll hit them.”

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

Danny didn’t actually travel the world like he’d told Sawyer; he’d done that plenty of times before. Going on two world-round trips within a century sounded kinda overkill, even to him.

No, what he did in actuality was that he decided to reside in the Infinite Realms for a little longer again – while still returning to Earth on occasion to let the systems know that he had not, in fact, died yet. He didn’t plan on doing that for a few years yet.

Well, that wasn’t entirely true. Danny’s been planning on his new identity for a bit now. Or, well, old identity.

“Do you think the world is ready for the return of Danny Fenton?” he’d mused to Jazz on a seemingly random day.

“I don’t see why not,” she responded. “What brought you to this decision?”

“I just think it would be nice to revisit some old memories, friends, and places.”

Jazz smiled serenely at that. “I think that’s a great idea, Danny.”

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

“Heard anything from Sawyer recently?” Jazz asked him one day, a different random day. Danny shook his head.

“Nah, seems like he’s been living a good life. He hasn’t been updating me as frequently lately, but I like to see that as him broadening his circles,” he responded fondly. But then, his mortal phone rang – techniques to make them compatible with ghost-tech and the ‘Zone courtesy to Tucker, of course – and he laughed. “Speak of the devil.” He transformed into his human form before picking up the call.

“Hey there, Sawyer. How’s school been?”

“It’s … been very great, actually, Danny. I have met someone very great, in fact. But uhm – more on that later. Remember what you said about the shop?”

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

Danny returned to his cozy little shop for the first time in roughly four years, not so long after he’d attended Sawyer’s graduation ceremony. He picked up a few of his belongings he couldn’t miss, and threw them inside his pocket dimension for safekeeping.

It was as he did this, that Sawyer entered, and caught him in the act. He’d been planning for this to happen, really.

The young man looked a bit confused but didn’t see any need to press further. If anything, Danny figured this would answer some questions in the long run, once the other thought about it.

“Heh, that’s not something you see any day,” was the boy’s first comment.

“Really? I see it happen plenty of times,” Danny snarked back.

“Man, I’d so want to punt you if I didn’t know for sure I stood no chance.”

Danny hummed, “I think you’ll have to stand back in the line for that.”

Neither man said another thing for a while after that, until Danny’s eyes landed on a small ecto-ornament he’d put on his table when he left for the Ghost Zone those years ago. He picked it up and held it out to Sawyer.

“Here, keep this. If you’ll ever be gone for a while, put this out in the open and it’ll put the area into stasis. Nothing will age for the worse, and it’ll serve as a protective charm against burglaries,” Danny said in a light tone at the end, though he wasn’t joking. Attempted burglars will wake up more than a little dazed if they so much as dare touch upon the shop.

“I … Honestly, I’m not even gonna question that. I just saw you tear a hole in reality,” Sawyer responded.

“That’s probably for the best,” Danny said with a gentle nod of his head before putting the ornament into the young man’s hands.

“Anyway, I’ve got everything I need. You can keep the rest, or throw it out – whatever floats your boat. This place is yours now. I left my key and the spares on my workbench,” Danny explained with a tilt of his head.

“What are you going to do this time?”

“That’s a secret,” Danny replied. “But do come find me again, as a man named Daniel Fenton.”

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

Years pass by, with Sawyer finding no such man.

Until one day, into his later years, when his children had already taken over the shop, he heard a familiar voice he’d not heard in decades, but could never forget.

“Hey there, Sawyer,” Danny Fenton said, in the flesh; not looking a day older than their last meeting all those years ago.

…

“I’m proud of you.” And I of you.

[nulll-n-voiid]

Just pick whichever option you did most!

Tell me about your minecraft memories in the notes! /nf

[hershelchocolateart]

A collection of illustrations I've done for the winners over at Featured Character!

Characters are in order-

Cascade by EdgyCatWolf Claire by IlludensParadoxa Scarlett by SketchyCC Nashirah by novadreamer648

Patreon / Commissions

[mccncutter]

.

[finnlongman]

Dear Tumblr, I have been desperately wanting to share this news with you since May last year and now I finally can: Gollancz is publishing not one, not two, but THREE of my queer medieval retellings over the next few years! You'll have seen me posting little bits about these books in the past, but I'm so excited to get to share them with you properly.

First up in 2025: The Wolf and His King, a queer retelling of Bisclavret that uses werewolfism as a metaphor to explore chronic pain and illness. It's also very much about gay yearning, fealty, and the mortifying ordeal of being known. Partially in second person and partially in verse, you can see my previous posts about it under the tag the wolf and his king or, for the really early ones, werewolves and gay yearning.

In 2026, I'm bringing you The Animals We Became [working title], which is a queertrans retelling of the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, looking at gender, compulsory heterosexuality, and trauma, via nonconsensual shapeshifting. Lotta trans vibes, lotta trauma; I wrote a first draft of this last year because I got carried away writing the sample chapters for my proposal and I'm excited to get deeper into it in edits. Aka t4t shapeshifting and trauma; generally tagged as also owls are transmasculine now.

And finally, in 2027, which is the one I've honestly been most excited to tell you guys about, it's To Run With The Hound [working title]. If you've been following me for a while, you'll know that I wrote a book with this title way back in 2018… well, the one I've sold isn't exactly that book, it's a proposal for how I intend to completely rewrite that book from the ground up, but yes, this is it: my Cú Chulainn novel, my queer medieval Irish book, my (hopefully) magnum opus. Haven't written it yet, but the plan is to use a nonlinear narrative to explore why Táin Bó Cúailnge is a tragedy, featuring a great many feelings about Fer Diad, Láeg, and Cú Chulainn himself.

There's a bit more detail and some FAQs on my website right now, but the most important thing is QUEER MEDIEVAL BOOKS WRITTEN BY SOMEBODY WITH MULTIPLE DEGREES IN MEDIEVAL LITERATURE. If that sounds like your jam, stick around.

[detailtilted]

Comic-Con 2008 - Enhanced Edition of Supernatural Panel

Direct link. Warning: Some of the special content I added has big spoilers for season 4 beyond the original videos.

This video features Jared, Jensen, Eric Kripke, Sera Gamble, and Ben Edlund. If you've already seen the original videos and you're wondering why you'd want to watch this, see the details about the enhancements below. For other enhanced videos, check my YouTube channel or my Tumblr index post.

Video Improvements - Upscaled, fixed bad aspect ratios, improved colors

I received a great deal of help from @sensitivehandsomeactionman on the color correcting. They gave me tips on how to achieve better colors and they even took a screen shot from my video and corrected the colors on it with their own software to provide me with an example of what was possible. Having that example to reference was invaluable for me, because I'm not good with colors.

Without that help, Jared and Jensen would have looked like they were in training to become the world's tallest Oompa Loompas. Any remaining color wonkiness (Wonka-iness?) is due to my own failure to apply what I was taught and my failure to see the colors properly. But look at that difference! I was pretty excited about this.

Combined Videos to Cover Entire Event

As with my other enhanced videos, I combined multiple videos to create as seamless a video of the event as possible, from beginning to end. For my earlier videos, that meant combining maybe 5 videos. For this one, I used a total of 19 videos from 3 different sources. A lot of those were used for the talking head bubbles, explained further below.

None of the videos are my own. My video description on YouTube has links to the original videos I used.

Good, Color-Coded Subtitles

As with my other enhanced videos, I attempted to provide accurate and as-complete-as-possible subtitles. They're color-coded to make it easier to tell who's speaking. This is especially helpful when people are speaking at the same time, or when the speaker is off camera.

Since there were so very many people talking in this video, I doubled up on a couple colors if I thought I could do so without it being too confusing. Here's the complete color key:

Red = Jared Blue = Jensen Brown = Eric Kripke Pink = Sera Gamble Purple = Ben Edlund Green = General audience Yellow = The person asking the questions. In the first half this is the moderator, Alynda Wheat. In the second half, this is the fan at the mic. White = Mostly the publicist (Holly Ollis), but a couple times it's used for people off camera who I believe were Comic-Con staff. Two shades of orange = surprise guests

Additional Clarifying Content

As with my other enhanced videos, I've added some images to help add clarity to the references used by the speakers. I added images of characters and scenes referenced from the show, images to explain various pop culture references, as well as some explanatory text to help add details or clarity when I thought it might be useful.

I mostly kept this extra content to the sides so that, if it doesn't interest you, you can hopefully ignore it and focus on the main part of the video. Unlike my previous videos, sometimes this is on the left side and sometimes it's on the right side. The margins shift depending on where the talking head bubbles are.

Talking Head Bubbles - Jared and Jensen front and center, but other speakers visible too

This "enhancement" isn't anywhere close to perfect, but it sure as heck isn't from a lack of effort. This represented at least half if not two-thirds of the time I spent working on this video.

I always find the Comic-Con videos frustrating to watch. When the camera moves to other people who are talking, I want to see Jared and Jensen instead. I like to see their reactions and sometimes they do funny things that get missed. But when the camera is steadfastly focused on Jared and Jensen, I also get frustrated because I can’t see the people who are talking. Nope, you can’t win with me! I want to see everything.

I attempted to mitigate this frustration by adding talking head bubbles. The main source videos I used were the ones with the most constant and stable focus on Jared and Jensen. However, if one of the other source videos had a decent focus on another guest, I inserted a small window into that other video as seen below. Eric shows up on the left, because that's where he was seated relative to Jared. Sera and Ben show up on the right, because they were on the other side of Jensen.

Like I said, it's not anywhere close to perfect. Trying to make the bubbles look stable was an enormous challenge for me. Behind the scenes the person in the bubble was bobbing and weaving all over the original video frame, so I had to constantly adjust the position of the secondary video to keep the subject centered in the bubble. They also aren't always bubbles. The people taking the videos often had the writers on the edge of the frame because they wanted to capture Jared or Jensen too, so the bubbles start to collapse when they get too close to the edge because there isn't enough video surrounding them to form a circle.

I haven't decided if the end result was worth how much effort I put into these darn "bubbles", so I'd welcome any feedback -- good or bad.

[soundbluster]

I have discovered the joys of reprolabels/toyhax stickers.

Edit: Fixing the formatting / order of paragraphs because Tumblr completely screwed up the post between me finishing it and pressing submit!

Other rambling below the cut.

Due to local shortages, I've been without my antidepressants/anxiety meds for a fortnight, which has rather impacted on my ability to concentrate or create anything. (It's partly why, along with a busy work schedule, I haven't been able to draw anything/ new sgprime pages for a fortnight now, I'm so sorry for keeping you all waiting). Finally got some sorted though, so hopefully will be able to get back on track!

These little stickers are great, as they're pretty rote to put on properly but do keep your mind engaged, and they've given me something simple to do to take my mind off things late at night when things tend to be at it's worst. While Megs and Twitch probably didn't need them (though I do hope hoyhax does other Earthspark figures in future), they've made a huge improvement to Strongarm and Ratchet who were severely lacking in paint.

I've already Put in an order for more! XD

[zukoisgayforsokka]

what do you find compelling about the idea of yue wearing a hijab?

The origin of Yue wearing a headscarf didn't actually properly originate with me. I read it in a short first chapter of a discontinued fic from almost 2 years ago that has since been deleted, and the author has moved on to the star wars fandom. But the idea stuck with me, and so I created the tag on AO3, and whenever I write her, or commission artists, she is wearing a white headscarf, so the idea in popularity originates from me

Yue's white hair is a spirit blessing. I have tried to do a lot of research to write this as respectfully as possible: a lot of cultures worldwide wear hair coverings as a link to their religion or spirituality, so Yue covering her hair shows a different interpretation of her spirituality, in modern setting or context where she gives back the spirit blessing but stays alive.

Here is where I made a mistake.

In my writing I always make sure to say "headscarf", because "hijab" is a Muslim-specific word, and is not just the hair covering but a way of being spiritual directly linked to Islam. And I mistakenly used the tag "hijabi Yue" before I had fully realised this was not how I should be tagging her.

I am now making efforts to correct this, creating a new AO3 tag "Yue wears a headscarf" that will hopefully be canonised, and I will be editing tumblr posts where possible to change the language and tagging used. It was not my word to use, and although creating content for a minority I am not a part of originated with good intentions, the resulting tag should not have been used, and I apologise for using it. I am not Muslim (nor do I wear a headscarf and I'm not part of a community that does), and I have not been writing Yue as Muslim, so I should not have been using the term hijabi.

I encourage others who create content of Yue wearing a headscarf and are not Muslim, to not tag with the word "hijab", but instead "Yue wears a headscarf".

My intention is always to create content to uplift and celebrate others, and I want to do so as respectfully and thoughtfully as possible

[layalu]

this or that

got tagged by @shivunin :]

indoor plants or gardens // cloud-watching or star-gazing (i canNot choose im sorry) // water or fire // paperback or hardcover // running or hiking // sleeping with socks or without socks (ironically im otherwise a socks-at-all-times person lol) // fruit or vegetables (really depends though...) // hanging plants or succulents (MEAN. i love both :( ) // dark wood or light wood // handwritten or typed (love handwritten but often its way harder to read </3) // instagram or pinterest (dont like either but hate insta more) // braids or pigtails // dc or marvel (dont know/care much abt either tho) // books or movies // oceans or meadows (love the ocean but. from a respectful distance hlfsdgf) // forests or fields // sweet or salty (depends but rn sweet) // ice cream or chocolate (again. depends djflsjdsd)// hoodies or sweaters // long hair or short hair (i mean. its relative lol) // piercings or tattoos (i only have pierced ears tho) // summer or winter (summer too hot </3) // boots or sneakers // cars or motorcycles // curls or straight hair (i miss mine 😔) // castles or cottages ('tis europe... we have loads of em xdd) // sunny days or storms (both! but storms my beloved (it's stormy rn :) )) // reptiles or birds (both but. birdwatcher brain go brr)// disney or nickelodeon // strawberries or watermelon // essay or posters // phones or laptops // glass or stone (both though.....) // dark or light // photos or painting (both.) // circuses or theaters // reading or writing // dogs or cats // poetry or novels // monsters or ghosts (tough one! love ghosts thematically tho) // thrift shops or libraries (like flea markets more than thrift stores tbh) // fiction or non-fiction (both are good...)

can you tell. i am bad at making choices flsdjfdskdlf. Also some of these were kind of. what Vibe do i like more vs what applies more to me (e.g. boots are way cooler than sneakers but i rarely wear any) lol.

tagging in turn (as always of course with no pressure), @greypetrel, @ndostairlyrium, @daggerbean, @herearedragons, @a-drama-addict, @brainwormterrarium, @feyfiendish, @beelzebard, @bearsizedant, @nebulouswinds, @wonderofthemoon, @goofsoup, @exotic-inquiry, @creativegoblin, @superboyconner, and anyone else who wants to :)

edit: bruh what happened to the formatting?? why is everything randomly bolded :( Aight let's see if if works better now. ARGH. tumblr work properly for once challenge (impossible). 3rd times the charm. hopefully.

[captainhysunstuff]

The Chain’s Master List’s Links Have Been Updated

It has been brought to my attention that some links in the Master List of my fancomic “The Chain” weren’t working properly, particularly entries 43 to 45. They have been updated to work so that they open without leaving the Tumblr phone app, and they should function on a computer hopefully. Same with the transcripts. Unfortunately, I can’t edit links within the posts themselves from my phone, so the “Next” and “Transcript” links may not work there, but they do open from the Master List, which should be reachable from every entry in addition to being pinned on my blog. Once I access my laptop, I’ll get to work on updating those links, too.

[mothwithapencil]

These stupid pics to get your attention

Rambling about Vega, his various mental issues and gay problems, featuring vegaryuken. Copied from a discord dm, edited in my notes app, pasted here to tumblr dot com for all the vegaheads and like, 2 other enjoyers of the ship to see. And hopefully tumblr won't ruin the formatting and scramble the entire post again. Enjoy

I think Vega has trouble correctly identifying his emotions. Like they get jumbled together and it's hard for him to recognize just what it is when he's feeling a bunch of things at once. And because he's Vega it all just gets translated into I Need To Fucking Kill You

Because of their 87 gay tension encounters Vega very obviously desires Ken biblically. But he also wants attention from him and when he doesn't get it he's Upset. And he gets jealous and angry at everyone Ken does give attention to (Eliza, Chun-Li, probably Ryu but we'll get to that later). So he tries to fight Ken to "win their affections" even though it's really just Ken that he wants. Intricate rituals just so another man will touch him etc etc. So there's too many emotions at play and it all gets blended into one mess. He wants Ken to give him attention and he's jealous of people close to him and hates them because he's not them and he hates Ken for not reciprocating and he's angry at himself for having feelings and caring about someone as stupid and ugly and beautiful as Ken Masters. Well. What can a Vega do with these overwhelming feelings but claw everyone to death about it. After all he does love killing and maiming and licking blood from his claw as a way to bring peace to his mind (← canon info)

Tldr he's angry and touch starved and wants to be loved and is a little bit of a whore. And he never was allowed to properly feel and regulate his emotions so he can't tell the difference.

He probably goes after Ryu too once he realizes ken is in love with him. But Ryu, big sweetheart that he is, is at one with his heart and emotions and is able to be like "Hey. Lets talk about this. What's troubling you so much. Lets sit down and breathe :)" and eventually gets him to be very very pathetic and spill everything. Its okay Vega it's not your fault

[juuls]

Humans Are Weird Compilation

HEY FOLKS! I finally did it! (Yes, with permission.)

So until Tumblr made changes to their browser interface, I was having a heck of a lot of trouble with how to get all 100,000+ words of this thread into a cohesive whole, at least easily. For once, Tumblr staff pulled through with an 'upgrade' that actually helped, though there is one issue that cropped up.

While the Notes section is from oldest to newest (I placed this section at the top), the next section of 'comment only' reblogs has no such filter for ascending or descending order.

So yeah, all the fun reblog stuff and additions have to be read from the bottom of the document and up, bottom to top.

Since Google Docs decided there were way too many words to function properly, I'll be hosting a Word Document file in my Google Drive, which I'll link to (you can view it even if you don't have Word). I will be editing out extraneous comments that literally have nothing to add (i.e. "I FOUND IT!") and then maybe eventually I'll start another document where I paste everything by hand in the proper old to new order. And try to add in new comments when I can. (This will take forever, honestly.)

This is a b*tch of a project, honestly, so I'm happy enough with how it turned out, even if it's not perfect. It isn't in the same format like you would read one of this thread's reblog chain, but I feel like the gist is there, and really there are just so many reblog chains it's insane.

I'll make a new, separate post stating this same thing, as well as reblog onto one of the thread's chains, and I hope you enjoy this and all the wonderful creativity of all involved. This has become a favourite reading topic of mine. <3

So for now, current to July 4th, 2022, here is the link to the ridiculously huge document I spent like 12 hours on, and it's still not perfect. It's on Google Drive but it's a very large file and Drive doesn't react well to large files -- I will work on separating things into different files to help with that.)

Humans Are Weird: A Compilation by @arcticfoxbear & The Cool People of Tumblr, patched together by @juuls

I'm also including a direct link to the (again, for now, single -- I'm getting on that ASAP) document on my Dropbox, as well as a link to the folder it's in because I like to compile some of r/HFY (Humanity F*ck Yeah)'s stories into easily readable format. I add those every so often.

Humans Are Weird (.docx version) on Dropbox. (It'll possibly say 'something went wrong' but if you go up to the top and open it in 'Word For Web' it worked pretty easily for me.)

Humans Are Weird .doc version.

r/HFY folder on Dropbox.

Humans Are Weird .pdf version. I've been told this is the quickest, easiest version to open, thank you!

Do enjoy!!!! And consider reblogging (with or without additions!) the original post found here: HUMANS ARE WEIRD. Because it's awesome.

Oh and here's a link to my Mediafire hosting of the .docx file while we're at it! Just in case. As well as the .pdf version of the file.

>~<

Again! I will be dividing this into smaller sections, as well as trying to put things in oldest to newest order. Be patient, please, but hopefully some of these options work for you! If not I can try emailing you a copy. :)

[crystalcanis]

Teaser for 2024!! Chapter 1 might have ended but the horrors continue.

Where to read my comic! LINK (coming to tumblr sometime this year hopefully)

I'm going to put some personal thoughts regarding chapter 1 below, it's there if you want context on how I see this story, but it can be ignored if you don't want to read a wall of text! I hope the teaser looks nice and spikes interest! I think this next chapter is going to be a fun one.

Arc 1 Chapter 1 was written when I was still in highschool, I have graduated college by now :' ) So needless to say, I am very excited to be jumping into the second arc of this story and be done and over with the stuff my teenage self wrote. 

I scripted Arc 2 Chapter 2 relatively recently (almost done scripting Arc 2 Chapter 3 too), so it has my current writing style and pacing! I'm really proud of it personally, I think its fun but I guess there is that underlying fear of people maybe not liking my current approach to the characters. Specially because I know this comic seems to be the favorite amongst my current two because of how long it's been around! Even if I made little edits on the way, Chapter 1 was basically the same script my teenage self wrote... I had to follow the planned pacing and events, and oh gosh there are so many scenes I would write differently (all the ones before we meet Noriel, basically.)

My biggest personal complain with chapter 1 is that I don't think I was clear enough with the theme of the story nor did I give it much justice : ( and that in part goes with my younger self just, not having enough experience writing heavier topics at the time. This story is based on my personal experiences with xenophobia, it's about xenophobia, back when I scripted chapter 1 I knew how it FELT like, but now as an adult I have been able to go deeper and analize why I feel that way, why people treat me the way they do, and much more that I plan to properly explore going forward. This doesn't mean that other people connecting with this story through other forms of bigotry like racism, transphobia, homophobia etc is wrong, though! I have seen your explanations for why and it's sooo so fair, I don't mind this story reasonating with how general bigotry feels like at all, intersectionality is a thing for a reason. But I wish to explore xenophobia as it was intended :]! It's personal to me. And the world of Ales is so HUGE! Chapter 1 did not give the worldbuilding justice either! There is so much to explore and I'm excited! I can't believe my younger self wanted to end the story here, man. Insane.

The only thing that's closest to my current writing style in chapter 1 is actually the flashback with Noriel and Kana we saw this year! That wasn't part of the original script, and I added it in preemptively, knowing I would need it for context in the new chapters but that I wouldnt have space for it later, it needed to happen Now or never. So I guess that's a good reference for what to expect! But fear not, just because chapter 2 and onward is technically an updated approach to things, that doesn't mean what happened in chapter 1 wont affect anything! Quite the contrary oh boy! What happened in chapter 1 is a big catalyst for so many things that happen in this story, and why Noriel and Kana act the way they do. I think it's going to be great and I can't wait to share it, I just hope other people like it as much as I do!

[sports-psych]

Oldies Arent Always Goodies

January 26-27, 2024

Please excuse any typos, im tired and my computer doesnt have spellcheck that is compatable with tumblr.

Connor Berdard was the first overall pick of the 23-24 NHL Draft. Hes the youngest on the Chicago Blackhawks. Amongst hockey fans the blackhawks are known as an "old team". And not in the way that the team is one of the original 6, established in 1926. But the players are older. The average age of the team is only 26.66, but this is old considering most players retire between the ages of 26-30.

Connor Berdard is only 18 years old. It was assumed he would have a hard time adjusting, working with people so much older than him. It seemed to not actually be an issue, especially since there is one of his teammates that acts a father figure towads him (Nick Foligno I believe).

But my point is focused around Corey Perry. Perry was terminated from the Blackhawks earlier this season. At first it wasnt know why because though it may not be unheard of, it is uncommon that players are removed from a team in the middle of a season. Rumors sparked that the was an incident on the Chicago Blackhaws Mothers trip. Im sure you can guess from the name but NHL teams have parent/mentor trips. The respected parents or mentor will accompany the team on a series of away games. During the blackhawsa mothers trip it was rumord that Corey Perry and Connor Bedard's mother, Melanie Berdard, had sexual relations. That rumor was solid for about a week or 2 befor connor stated that it was rediculous and the Blackhawks managment stated that Perry's departure and the rumor had no relation. Infact his departure was related to him making a pass at an NBC employee. Hes married by the way.... Perry admitted what he had done was wrong and then began to get help for his Mental Health and Alcohol Abuse.

Perry has sighned a 1 year contract with the Edmonton Oilers and claims he's really changed in the last 2 months and has had time to properly reflect on his actions. I personally feel 2 months isnt really enough time to change yourself if you have outstanding mental and substance abuse issues. But hey, I'm still learning.

Many athletes develope some sort of addiction over the years to help them deal with their stress. If Perry had been able to work on his addiction problem before then all of this may have been avoided. The Chicago Blackhawkes actually have a Mental Performance staff. 2 mental performance coaches and a performance psychologist. I want to know how his problems seemed to have just bypassed the 3 people whos job it is to help him. Maybe he was just too far gone.

As for Connor Berdard, as accepting as his team maybe at times, I still feel he coud do better on a younger team. Other than a 19 year old, the closests player in age is still 21. And there is a big diffrence between 18 and 21. Older men are prone to be... know it alls. Itt hasnt been reported but im sure there have been times when the older players treated Bedard like a child. That could mess with his confidence.

I didnt really explain my points in detail. Hopefully I got it across tho. Young and old athletes can experince issues that can affect them. (ill probably edit this tomorrow when im not burnt out from research papers.)

-AshX

January 28, 2024 edit

So I've been thinking about this all morning. Something doesnt seem to be adding up. Corey Perry blamed his actions on his mental health issues and his alcohol abuse. Thats understandable but what baffles me is the team has staff to help him. I mentioned that he may have been so far gone that they couldnt do much. But why was he still playing. Sports/Performance psychologist have to code to follow that shoud cause them to pull him due to mental health issues. Why wasnt he?

[fallensunrises]

hello hello!

welcome to my side blog that will hopefully allow me to create a safe space for myself. i am unable to speak to friends about the topics that will be posted here, and i am unable to vent to them as well out of fear that they will label me as a ‘bad jew’. i haven't really used tumblr in years, but i was relieved to find a community of people on here that i can be apart of.

it would be wonderful to make friends and create connections. i figured i’d give a bit of an introduction about myself.

i'm mav, and i use they/she pronouns. i'm 24 years old, and a burnt out dog groomer. (i still love my job though.)

i am an ashkenazi jew who is working on learning more about judaism. i have always had a complicated relationship with religion and i still struggle everyday, but i'm working hard on taking to steps to overcome that. i come from a family of holocaust survivors, and i am proud of my history and proud to be jewish. i was raised in an interfaith household with my dad's side being jewish. i have always felt a closer connection to judaism, but because of how i was raised, i never had the chance to truly explore what that meant. i have a lot to learn, and i may make mistakes so please be patient with me. i am 100% open to others giving me information, and correcting me if necessary. i know with my mom not being jewish, i will have to work to properly convert to judaism.

aside from that, i have several interests and hobbies, and would love to meet people that share them!

i love animated movies/shows, cozy video games, and have a big interest in wildlife biology & zoology. i enjoy drawing, but it doesn't happen frequently since my job takes up a lot of my time and energy.

i have a lot of strong opinions regarding animals, and if you get me to start talking about dogs you won't be able to get me to shut up. (i am so sorry)

i hope to make some friends here!

and in case i ever make it onto a certain side of tumblr, i have no interest in engaging in arguments, and won't tolerate any hate and antisemitism. you will be blocked.

edit: reminder that this is a side blog so likes and follows will be coming from my main!

[bellaxgiornata]

hi!! i really hope i don’t stress you out AT ALL with this (i know you have a lot of fics and new ones coming out) but i was just wondering if your older matt fics have been discontinued? i know you are still actively working on ATY and FFTD so i am truly just curious as to whether or not to look out for new updates on any others! i love your work and i hope you have an amazing day!!

Hi friend! You're not stressing me out at all! Thank you for the question!

Are you meaning the Matt Murdock x OFC fics I have? If so, those are not discontinued, they're just on a very long hiatus 😅 And there's more chapters for both than what I have posted on tumblr at the moment. Caught in the Undertow was about finished when I sort of hit a really difficult situation that made it hard for me to continue that story (it's the only long fic I have that's a bit close to home for me) and Life Worth Living has two chapters written that I need to edit, but honestly that one is SO in depth with little hints and details hidden in there that I need to sort of reread some of that story myself to be able to properly edit and share those other chapters and to continue working on it. Which I keep meaning to do, but I'll be honest, I go where the obvious interest is for fics. When y'all get excited about updates, I get excited to keep working on that fic. That's probably true for most if not all writers. So if it feels like the interest is on other things (usually Reader fics and not OCs), then that's what I'll be working on. Without the feedback I just assume y'all just aren't as interested so I focus my time elsewhere unfortunately.

As for Keep Coming Back to You, I, ironically enough, keep intending to come back to it 🤣 The next chapter for that was almost written but I started ATY shortly after and that one got way more interest so I focused my attention on that series. The feedback truly does let me know what y'all want to read--though sometimes I'm just feeling a particular story and can't stop writing it 😅

Hopefully that answered your question! I always intend to come back to those others, LWL and KCBTY for sure. Especially KCBTY when I hit the angst because I'm craving angst lately 🤣But I'm so glad you enjoy my writing so much!! Honestly, I've been in my head about my writing this week and reading that definitely gave me the warm fuzzies, so thank you! And I hope you have an amazing day as well! ❤