#like within the next 6 months ish

[psychhound]

how early is too early to start talking about a game youre developing? like if im working on a Big Project that is years away from an ashcan do i gotta keep that to myself for a while or can i stop chewing all my furniture and constantly bothering my loved ones

[badomensgoodomens]

BAD DECISIONS

CHAPTER 3

Noah Sebastian x Reader

CW: really random smut. soz. not proofread! really random. definitely for the plot moment.

i hope you guys eat this up like you did with the teaser.

taglist at the bottom

It was nearing the end of the US tour, and honestly, my bones ached. We were all drained, even Jolly, who always kept a calm-ish composure, was antsy. It was our one day off, Matt dragged us to some shopping plaza. 

It was lowkey chill, just sitting in the food court talking about some post tour plans. I swear I saw a flash of red hair, it made me sit up a little straighter. But when I turned to look, there was nobody. God, I was so exhausted I was seeing shit now. Nick was chatting about how apparently a pretty girl moved in next door to the house he shared with his brother. About the time that kid got a girlfriend. 

Nicholas invited me to spend the break at his parents' ranch, which felt like home to me too—they were practically my second family. That was the bond Nicholas and I shared. Ruffilo had always been my best bud, Nick and Jolly coming in at a close second. I took Natasha there once, to meet my makeshift family. She didn’t show up. 

It was embarrassing on my behalf, I had boasted about her to Nicholas mom countless of times. She was excited for me, my career restricted my love life, yet there I was, hooking up with girls. 

I swear I saw her red hair again, the same red hair that we’d get into arguments about. Stupid arguments really, her hair kept staining my pillows, wondering how many other guys' pillows she stained. 

“Dude- are you even listening?” Matt leaned forward, waving his hand in my face. I rubbed my eyes with my palms. “I’m fucking wrecked.” I grumbled, taking a sip of the coke in front of me. Matt hummed, flicking through his work diary. “Got 6 months break, back on for 6 months, and off again.” I just nod, too exhausted to absorb any information. 

Back at the venue, I immediately seek refuge in between the grey sheets of my bunk, my mind a million words per minute. I fumbled with the cover of my notebook, scrambling down some notes. 

Why’s  this always gotta happen to me?

I should have known. 

I never fail to learn from mistakes, still throwing stones.

Blah blah blah….

I feel my focus fading away, i had high hopes

Running from the man I used to be, but I'm too slow. 

It was honestly the roughest of rough drafts, but I was itching to get back in the studio. Ideas were just piling up, emotions weaved within poem-like structures, they were all.. rough, and definitely needed fine tuning, but they were beginning to represent an album. 

Songwriting is not something that can be forced, it's an intricate, spread of emotion with an equally as unique and specific composition in the background. It was never good enough. Never, ever good enough. 

I had watched time and time again how the scrunched up failed drafts piled up, nothing ever feeling raw enough, or not too the fans liking. It didn’t help that Sumerian were so fucking picky on albums, or that ever since we released that song with poppy, we were obligated to tour with her. The rumours were digging my head in. 

Is this really what I want for my career? I ponder on that question too much. I should bring it up in therapy with Dr Tomson. Fuck. I was getting off track. Literally. Sumerian’s requirements for this album was a track that would hit the charts, and a minimum of 12 songs. Part of me regrets signing with them, but would I be this successful had I not? 

I was exhausted, physically and emotionally. Matt had pointed that out when I woke up the next morning. I just hummed, brain on autopilot. “You know, we need an artist for the new album’s cover, considering booking times that's something we need to plan months in advance.” Matt spoke, flicking through his diary. Nick stood in the kitchen in grey sweats, brewing coffee. “I could find somebody,” he said, handing me a cup. 

I nodded, sitting on the bar stool. “Is Jolly up yet?” I asked, flicking through the pages of my notebook, briefly going over some of my rough, rough drafts. Nick shook his head, “Him and Nicholas got back late that night, something wrong with the wires and shit.” 

NEUTRAL POV

She was scribbling in her journal as the sun went down, propped up on her windowsill, once  again. Writing a poem about the bitterness and scars of her childhood, it always stuck out to her how Nevada was so quick to dance around what actually happened, yet she had no problem shouting it to the world. Whether it be from art, or journaling, it was easier to keep a manuscript, a direct display on what shaped her to be who she is today. 

It felt like all her knowledge and skills of painting were slipping through her fingers, but it hurt too much to resume again. Emotionally, and financially. Maybe this was just something she’d have to come to terms with, she couldn’t dwell on her past quite like this anymore, she wasn’t old enough to do that quite yet. 

“Let’s go out.” She said, her words rushed, standing in the doorway of Nevada's room. Nevada’s eyes were wide, she had begun to worry about her, and now she’s just popped up saying she wants to go out? 

Choose your battles I guess

Nevada and Y/n got ready together, something they used to do as rebellious teens. Good vibes and pregame drinks, music blasting through the house. All dolled up in sparkly dresses, with dawn the hype man, the two set off into the city. The city was illuminated with a series of advertisements and bustling nightclubs, everyone with the same objective; to get absolutely shit-faced. 

And so those two did, Dawn snuck Nevada away  to do.. stuff.. In the car, while she was grinding up against a particularly tall blonde boy. His voice was fuckin hot, like musky and sexy and every single adjective you could use to describe a man. And god, he smelt good, and his touch just made her melt. 

She hadn’t expected to run into her cousin and her husband, and his bandmates. But when she laid her eyes on that fine ass man standing- no. looming over the group of british boys. He introduced himself as Vessel, quite an uh- unique- name, but who was she to judge? She was horny, and there was a tall metal vocalist right in her grip. 

Everything about him was enticing, his defined, gorgeous abs, his absolute killers of canine teeth, and his voice. It made her unbelievably wet, she needed something. She’d gone without for so long, having thrown her vibrator out when she met noah. 

They snuck down the side alleyway, the booming stereo filtering through the constant revolving door around the corner. She was a fit of giggles as he hiked up her sparkly dress. Compliments rolling off his tongue, as he traced the curves of her ass. 

His fingers ran along the waistband of her panties, soft, dainty pink ones. “Yeah..? you want me to touch you?” She smiled up at him, her pearly whites making his jeans tighten. With a soft tug of the hips, she had her back to him as he fumbled with the button of his jeans. 

“Fuck… so wet.. already?” he groaned out, lining himself up. She let out a strangled moan as she sank down on his cock, overwhelmed at the size. Her fingers grasped around his wrists as he began to move, holding on for dear life. 

It was a quickie in a back alley way, but it didn’t stop the shame when she woke up in his bed the next morning. 

“I’m so fucking sorry oh my god my cousin is going to kill me-” she spouted off, pacing around this poor guys island bench. He sat at the barstool, eating bacon and eggs. 

“Stop stressing.” he huffed gruffly, a sleepy look on his face. 

“Dude- like.. Respectfully, youre a fucking stranger, i’m in your house, you’re in an anonymous band bro!!” She shouted, a little bit more than panicked. 

“It was a quickie, nothing more. We can be friends if you’re so worried about it.” he mumbled, eating his food. 

“Ugh…” she sat down on the barstool next to him, stealing his coffee cup. “So… what’s it like being a rockstar?” 

“Busy. Why do you ask?” he questioned, turning to face her. 

“Well… I dated- sorry, hooked up with a rockstar and never really asked him about it.” she shrugged, not caring if it was an overshare. 

“How come?’ he asked, a curious tone in his voice. 

“Didn’t necessarily stick around for me to ask. Was more of a ‘pump and dump’ guy.” she responded, toying with the keychains of her car keys.  

“Don’t ever say that again.” He cringed, resuming eating. “So why’d you hook up with him in the first place?” 

“He was hot.” 

“No shit Sherlock, other qualities.”

She sat for a moment, really questioning everything. Why. why, why? 

“He was carefree, wasn’t afraid to be himself, but was a bit afraid of commitment.” was the answer she scrounged up. He just hummed, “So who was it?”

She grimaced, awaiting this question. “I'd rather die than tell you because I think you guys at least have connections.”

“How’d you meet this douche anyways?” 

“I was studying art and design at a local uni, he was studying design briefly.” 

“You do graphic design?” Vessel asked, looking down at her quizzically. 

“Mostly art, but I want to turn it digital.” she responded, pulling out her phone to show him pictures. He studied each unique piece intricately, his face lighting up. A man who could appreciate real art. 

“How much would I have to pay you to design an album cover?” he asked, putting the phone down. She looked up at him with wide eyes.

 “What?” 

“I like your style, I'm offering you a chance to work with me.” he states bluntly, staring at her. “What the fu-” he cut her off, “we can get you head of the design team, i liked your work and i’m willing to pay however much.” 

“Don’t you have like.. bandmates to discuss this with?” 

“bandmate, others are tour personnel.” 

“Interesting- anyways, are you sure?” 

“Yes, Being on the design team also means you’re in charge of designing different things like merch, billboards and visuals. It sounds stressful, but the pay is good and you’ll have a chance to come on tour with us.” 

“Fuck man- take a girl out to dinner before telling her this” 

He chuckles, grabbing out a notepad. 

“I’ll write my details down, I can get you employed asap, if you want to do this.” 

“Do I have time?” she asked, rubbing her thighs anxiously. He nodded, Her phone rang and she fumbled to answer it, bringing the nearly dead phone to her ear. 

“Dude where the fuck are you-” 

It was her sister. 

“Hi, first off! I'm 23. I can be wherever I please, but can you please come pick me up?”

“Only you’d get a job opportunity out of hooking up with someone.” Nevada laughed, driving a ridiculously hungover Y/n home to their shared townhouse. “Hey- we are cool now! He’s a friend, and he said I could go on tour with him.” she retorts back.

“Are you trying to seek vengeance for noah?” Nevada asked, sipping shitty iced coffee. “Most definitely. That fucker thinks he can act like he didn’t tell me he loved me mid sex, he can suck it when im touring with his favourite band.” 

“Absolutely cold,” Nevada laughed, the hood was down of Dawn's convertible, the wind blowing through her wavy highlights. The air smelt of sea salt, the beach not being far from their house. She felt a little more free now, ultimately deciding to take up Vessel's offer, on both the album cover and design position. Although she would be leaving Nevada to manage the cafe on her own, Nevada knew she needed this. A push in the right direction, to make some new friends, and perhaps run into some old ones. 

Noahs POV 

Holy fucking shit maybe i wasn’t hallucinating. 

In the sea of fans you couldn’t miss her unmistakable red hair and plump lips. It seems as though she’s gotten even more botox from the last time he saw her. Why was she even here? What could she benefit from even being here? I had to peel my eyes away from her, trying to maintain the energy of the crowd. 

She was by herself, in a tight skirt and a bikini top. I saw her towards the back, but as I progressed through the store I noticed she was nowhere to be found. It was relieving and terrifying all at the same time.

We finished our set, sweat-drenched and exhausted, but riding the high of the music. Weaving between crew members, I entered the dressing room, boys in tow. 

“Hi” 

I jumped, turning around to face whoever was standing by the door. 

You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me. 

“What the fuck are you doing here?” I growled, stepping back as she stood forward. “Natasha, how did you get through?” Jolly stated, stepping closer to her. “I’m just here to see noah!” she smiled, veneers on full display, a coy smile across her red lips. “I don’t want to see you,” I sneered, arms crossed. 

“Come onnn noah! Lighten up!” A smile flashing over her face, she stepped forward, reaching for me. An all too familiar feeling pooling in my stomach. 

“Don’t.” Jolly said firmly, stepping between us. Anger rippled through me, not wanting to swing on a woman. My palms were sweaty, why does she want to talk? Nicholas appeared at the door. “Hey do you guys want to go- what the fuck?” 

Natasha stood between us, twirling strands of red hair. Nick fumbled with his phone to contact security, visibly looking stressed, I shot a look at Nicholas. “You know, I really miss you, Noah bear.” She smiles, her annoying voice hanging heavy in the air. “What the fu- Tash you fuckin cheated on him?” Nick piped up, putting his phone in his back pocket. I cringe at the nickname, rubbing a hand over my face. The tension was palpable, silence echoing through the corridor.

“Get out of here..” I grumble, thoroughly embarrassed. Her face feigns offence, “Noah, we were made for eachother!” Nicholas tensed in the doorway, each member uncomfortable with the old yet new presence.  “Get the fuck out of here Natasha.” He calls out, leaning against the doorframe, a pure look of disdain displayed on his face. 

“Boo! You guys all suck. Noah bear loves me, and he’ll come visit me at the Inn tonight!” she exclaimed, clapping her hands excitedly. Beaming with some profound pride. “I don’t fuckin like you-” “stop denying it my love!!” she shouted, in the same moment, security burst through the door, grabbing her elbow roughly. 

She wriggled and shouted at them, her body thrashing about, not keen on being forcefully escorted out. I just sighed loudly, embarrassed. My tired body collapses down onto the leather couch. The commotion catches the attention of a few crew members, specifically matt. 

“What the fuck is going on here?” he demanded, his voice cutting through the silence. 

 “I still think she’s a porn star.”

TAGLIST: @emluvsuxo @lilcrazy011 @collisionofyourkissmakesitsohard @briefpersonenemy @lma1986 @cheyyyyr @niicolelynn @looney-goose @sister-sebastian @dominuslunae @supersquirrel1996

The next chapters are so not going to make sense. pray for me.

[genderqueerdykes]

do you and/or anyone else know how long it takes for your period to start again after going off T? if it makes a difference, i'm on gel and i've been off it for nearly a week and there's not a guarantee of when i'll get it back (because of insurance bull), although hopefully it'll be within the next few weeks-ish. i just want to know just like. Just In Case

it'll depend on how your body reacts to it, and how much testosterone it naturally produces on its own. i have had to go off of my T a lot of times due to insurance reasons, homelessness, moving, etc. so i definitely get where the concern comes from. sorry that you deal with that as well

it'll greatly depend, so i'd like some feedback from other people who have dealt with this. for me it can take a few months. sometimes it might even last 6 months or so but it really depends. also my body is just prone to making less estrogen than testosterone by default. i also have PCOS so that does add a layer of complication there as my periods have always been irregular. sometimes i could go months at a time without one naturally.

i hope things go well for you, it will greatly depend on your own body chemistry. hopefully it will not be too bad for you. take care for now, let us know if you have any more questions

[bluedilute]

So, the Venture community has been going crazy since the season 12 trailer, and pretty rightfully so. I've been very vocal about how upset I've been with all of this, but I'm trying to still remain positive (which is pretty hard to do in general because of all the negativity in the world) and I want what's best for everyone

With that, I wanted to talk about why I think Venture is gonna be okay and will be getting a lot more content than they have now in the future.

I have a LOT of thoughts about the topic (this post has like 20 paragraphs), so if you have the patience, please read below the cut!

Starting with the most important point,

Advocacy

There has been a lot of talk about Ventures' lack of content as of recent, especially on Twitter. We're all very loud about our love for Venture. We literally put them on a billboard in times square– twice– to show how much we love them.

All this talk and everyone asking for more content for Venture got to the point where Aaron Keller himself made a post addressing the buzz, saying they have a "really exciting skin" for season 14.

Obviously that's pretty far away, and everyone is really upset about having to wait that long for one skin, but it's at least something, and it's better than not knowing when they're getting their next skin.

As well as that, it takes about 4-6 months to make a skin, so at least they're getting to it fast(ish)

Advocating for our respective hero(es) can go a long way, and that's been shown recently. If we keep at it and be loud, we can get more of what we deserve.

It's of course unfair that they're only getting a skin then, and they should have had some already made. But there's an explanation for this,

Ventures' release & layoffs

Venture was created/released during the time when the layoffs were effecting the team the most, and they're currently still recovering from it. The team doesn't have the final say on what goes into the game, and the higher ups have made increasingly more cash-grab decisions since their release.

I also think the decision to have them release with barely anything was because they were deemed as 'controversial', being trans and non-binary, and they had to focus on heroes they knew would make more money. Despite that, I don't think it is directly rooted in transphobia within blizzard. If it was, and word got out, i'm sure they would be fired fast (blizzard has had to fire a lot of awful people through the years).

Overall, Venture got very unlucky with their release, and therefore got nothing when s10 went live. As of now, things seem to be getting better, and the team is trying their best to make better things for everyone, which brings me to my next point:

Other neglected heroes

It's no question that a lot of heroes have been swept aside as of recent, namely Illari, Ramattra, Lifeweaver, and Baptiste. Kiriko has also gotten a lot of skins, and everyone is sick of it.

But, in the last two seasons, these heroes have gotten more content. Such as Weaver getting a lifeguard skin, Illari and Ramattra getting new skins in the transformers collab, and the s12 battle pass with Illaris' thoth skin, Ramattras Poseidon recolor (it's at least something) and Baptiste getting a mummy skin in the battle pass. (I want to note that Bap getting a mummy skin doesn't mean Venture can't get one too!)

All of these heroes, and I think a couple more (Lúcio being one) getting more content leads me to believe that Venture will also be getting more stuff in the future. But about what's out now:

All-time cosmetics

This is where I get into stuff that might be a bit of a stretch. There isn't too much to say here either, but just hear me out for a second.

Firstly, Venture has gotten new interactions all 3 seasons they've been in the game, even in s12, while Valeria Rodriguez (their voice actor) has been on strike, which he is very vocal about participating in. They've also gotten a voice line in the battle bass every season, and this season they have 2 new sprays to come out soon (I think it's 2, might just be 1)

Second, the rework for their default victory pose. It's a small change, but actually looks a lot better than the old pose. Their stance looks more relaxed, yet confident. The old one just looks stiff and awkward. It looks like more care was put into the new pose, plus I don’t think they rework victory poses that often, especially the defaults.

As mentioned, they were developed when the layoffs happened, so they were probably rushed out a bit too. Hence the stiff pose.

They're not fully being forgotten about, and they get at least a little more stuff every season since their debut. With that I expect the number to go up more every time.

Junos' cinematic

Now I know it's really frustrating that Juno got a cinematic while Venture hasn't even gotten a real origin story, but I think this is actually a good thing!

There hasn't been a proper cinematic for overwatch in a while from what I know, and one being made could be a light in a dark tunnel. This is the game breathing again, and it could mean a brighter future for Venture, and other new/neglected heroes.

Conclusion

Overall, Venture has had a rough start with their debut, and with a lack of content for them, it makes people feel like they were just made for LGBTQ brownie points to be swept under the rug for the next Kiriko skin (which is unfortunately probably true in some way). But their fans and mains are very vocal, and with people who main other heroes, even 'popular' ones, speaking out about how unfair it is to us, it seems to be serving us well.

I implore you to keep your voices heard, and advocate for a better game, and better treatment of your heroes. And we can help (at least start) to make overwatch a better game

As a treat, here's some Venture pics I've gathered the last few months

Bonus section if you wanna read it

If not, have a great day or night!

Final thoughts

I genuinely wish I didn't care about this game as much as I do, I feel like a sweaty looser defending it all for one character.

I've seen games, great games, time and time again become cash-grabs and drags as the people who make them become blinded by stardom. This happened with FNAF, fall guys, Hello neighbor (that game has always sucked, but the stardom blindness is there) and so many others. Weirdly enough I've had dreams about games completely changing, all in one patch. Seeing it happen in real time is disheartening.

Overwatch is a pretty special game. It has great lore, amazing art direction, and one of the most diverse casts I've ever seen, especially for a AAA game.

I only kinda played after being recommended the game by a friend, and i never really clicked with any of the characters I tried (I just stuck with Cassidy cause he's a cowboy and I thought it was funny)

Venture is the first character I played and immediately clicked with, and they're incredibly relatable to me on top of that. They're a huge nerd who's extremely passionate about their craft, they're goofy and optimistic, and being trans myself, learning they were trans too made me feel seen.

Them being treated like this while also being the only trans hero feels really disrespectful, and blizzard shouldn't get away with that. As of now, I'm glad we're all very vocal about it not being fair to any of us.

I'm an aspiring game designer, and I have a dream to make my own game one day. This whole situation has inspired me to get my shit together so I can go to college and get my game design degree. I hope to be able to save games like this, and give them a better chance. It's a big dream, but I believe I can do it with help from the right people

I genuinely want what's best for the world of overwatch, and especially all the characters who've been neglected over the years. There are always gonna be people who are fans of every hero they make for the game, and if they keep making more, they should know at this point to make content for that character. Playing favorites does nothing but harm the game, and most often makes the mains of the favored heroes arrogant and self-important (at least in my experience, specifically with kiriko mains)

Anyways, with all my thoughts out there for the internet to see, thank you for reading this really long rant! It took me a long time to write this, lol. I'm very passionate about game design, and Venture has definitely fueled that fire. Have a great day or night!

[damagedcoda6669]

when do you think seth's deadly sin will come out? or has it? im def going to check it out in 6-ish months when i turn 18 :0

it isnt out yet, and im not entirely sure when it will be!!! i finished writing chapter one but as of rn i havent even had time 2 work out bgs and character designs yet ^^; chapter one should be out sometime within the next few months i think!!! dw u'll know becuz ill advertise it like crazy >:3

[usmsgutterson]

Okay, five hours ago I was like "tim gutterson timeline where?? me make one" and now. we have this. a timeline is in the post but it's rough, and this is more of a post that has a lot of information and headcanons in a rambled out format because whenever something gets stuck in my head, I write how I talk and I don't feel like editing this to make it shorter, so. yeah.

OKAY SO!! Going off of the assumption that's part canon and part headcanon that Tim would've joined the military at least within the year he graduated, you can't just join the army ranger snipers on a whim. You usually start in a differing unit (typically something like infantry, as far as what google said) and then you join the rangers and then you have to either volunteer or be recommended for sniper school, and it is a whole fuckin process that I have so much in my little head about. this is 20 gallons of information in a 10 gallon head and I feel like I'm going to explode.

OKAY, SO!! I have this little thing in my brain that's telling me Tim would've worked for at least three or four years in infantry before completing the ranger assessment and selection program, then he'd spend at least another three or four years working in the rangers before getting himself into the army ranger sniper school in one way or the next. As for length of schooling I've seen anywhere from 4-8 weeks.

for deployments I've seen varying lengths, but commonly I've seen around 3-6 months with the max being twelve. Leave is also pretty short for army ranger snipers (2-4 weeks) for I'm assuming mental reasons--they're trained to keep sharp all the time and short amounts of time for leave before they're back in combat keep their minds as sharp as possible.

Doing the math on that so far, if Tim joined the military at 18-19 years old, he would've been working in infantry until he was 21-23, then went from infantry to working in the rangers and worked with them until he was 25-27 before going through the sniper training and becoming a sniper around the same age as he was when he would've been recommended for sniper school.

Say he leaves the military entirely after his three total tours as a sniper, he would've been discharged when he was around 26-29 and in the military for around a decade. My math might be wrong (I have a brain that likes to go weeeeeee every time something kicks my interest up so. often times my head moves faster than my fingers can type and math has never really been my strongest suit) but even then, even if it's wrong, I feel like the latest he would've left the military would've been around 30 years old.

Okay, so to put years and dates and shit to this timeline, here we have the roughened out timeline of Tim Gutterson:

1980: we'll say around 1980 for a birth year bc Jacob Pitts was born in late 1979 so 1980 isn't that far off. I feel in my chest that Tim was born somewhere between September and December because I know people born in between September and December (with the only exception being october, I do not know anyone with an october birthdate) and the ones born in September, particularly, are the same breed of sarcastic Tim turns into after he leaves the military, a.k.a the one we see in the show.

1998: tim graduates high school yay!! He takes the ASVAB and goes about the whole of the military recruitment process, joins infantry to start.

2002: okay so going with the four year thing, Tim would work in infantry until around 2002-ish, at which point he takes the RASP and joins the rangers.

2006: after working in the rangers for four years, he gets recommended to join the snipers yay!! yay for timothy!! he's around 26 at this point and after sniper school he joins the 75th ranger regiment.

also 2006: let's say his first deployment occurs in the same year as when he becomes a sniper. It lasts six months and he gets about a months worth of leave in the aftermath. for ease of purpose and also ease of math, let's say that this deployment begins in June of 2006, ends in December, and the leave takes him from december to january.

2007: he gets deployed again in late january, and the deployment lasts until around the middle to late middle of July. It's his second and final deployment to Afghanistan, and after two weeks of leave, he's deployed again in August.

2008: after being on deployment through his 27th birthday, he comes home in february of 2008.

The timeline for military stuff ends right there if you're following the loose canon that exists (I say loose because the wikipedia states that Art only indicated a t l e a s t three tours total as an army ranger sniper. At least is not an exact number but instead the absolute minimum number of tours he did as a sniper.) but for me?? personally, I don't. I feel like he'd have at least another tour or two under his belt because he seems the stubbornly dedicated type and he knows that leaving means going back home when there's not really a home to go back to I feel like he'd prolong it at least a little bit.

If you follow the shows canon, Tim kind of just fucks around a little bit until he goes to Glynco when he's around 33-34 years old. It's said in the show in the first season that Tim is the office newbie who's been there less than a year when Raylan comes in, but I subscribe to the headcanon that Tim would've worked for six or so months, if not a full year, in an office down in georgia before he was transfered to Kentucky.

OKAY, TIMELINE ASIDE, tim would've seen a lot of shit in the like, decade or so he worked in the military. I've been reading on reddit a little bit and the bond we see in season four during Tims scenes with Mark makes a lot of sense--it was a common theme in what I did read that the army ranger snipers had a lot of cameraderie with each other and from what the reading I did told me, a lot of them went on to miss it after they left.

I need to stop rambling now so I can focus on the fic i'm trying to write but like,, if anyone wants to blab at me about this, blabbing is encouraged because tim gutterson is not leaving my head until I go to sleep, and I'm not going to go to sleep for at least a little while yet.

[transfemme-shelterdog]

just kind of need to get this out somewhere but cant post it myself because i do Not want to risk terfs jumping on my ass and being like "see!! shes really a brainwashed girl!!" I will end myself violent style. Anyway.

Ive been on t for like 3-ish years now though not consecutively. I was on it for almost 2 years then off for 1 then on it again for a year. Still on it right now. But literally the one issue i have at all with t is my hair. I always had super thick super curly hair and t has thinned it to a point where its all stringy and doesnt curl right anymore and it just looks all greasy and knotted and nasty no matter how often i wash it or how well i take care of it. This is one of few reasons i went off t originally and within like 6-8 months my hair had basically completely fixed itself and grew back which was super nice

Well it started falling out in clumps again like 3 months back on t, i mean just falling out by the handful, my dermatologist was absolutely baffled. So ive been on a dht blocker since because we knew the t was to blame. And its been about 7 months on it at max dose and while hair loss did slow and i do see some regrowth, the regrowth is so slow that it looks like what the rest of my hair could do in 2 months. Maybe less. At 7 months it should be way longer.

And i know a lot of people like bald or balding men, i know some people say to embrace it or that it should be gender euphoric, but im only 20. I dont pass with a bald head (i shaved it once) because i have nothing to help hide my face shape and i love my curls. Its the one feature i got from my mom. Losing them literally makes me wanna off myself. So ive been considering going off t again. But i barely pass as is, honestly i doubt id ever 100% pass until like 5+ consecutive years on t, so my options are kill myself (lost curls) or kill myself (misgendered).

i have no idea what im supposed to do. I feel how thin my hair has gotten and it ruins my mood for the next 12-17 hours. I also have no idea how im supposed to sit my doctor down and tell her that im going off t to save my hair if thats what i decide to do. i already suspect shes iffy on me actually being trans since im gay and have no problem using my front hole, and ive talked about wanting to still have the ability to have kids if thats something i decide i want in the future.

it just fucking sucks i think is my point. My mom means a ton to me and ive always wanted to look like her. losing the one trait of hers ive got isnt dysphoric but it is still distressing. i wish shit wasnt so complicated

Im hoping top surgery (this month!) will help me pass more but im just so fucking tired. like bone-weary tired. I know how i want to look and i know its both possible and achievable but theres like a 75%+ chance ill still always be read as female because for some fuck ass reason people see curly hair on a white person and assume woman. Im also like 5 ft 2 or 3 and tiny as fuck.

Fuck my stupid baka life /ref

I'm really sorry to hear that Anon, and I appreciate you opening up to me, it means a lot <3

I know you've mentioned your doctor prescribing meds, if I may offer some additional advice?

I watch a lot of Magic the Gathering youtubers, and one common sponsor I see a lot is for a company called Keeps. They're a telehealth company that offers proven treatment for hair loss in men. They're able to prescribe meds to you, that is (apparently) proven to reverse hair loss. It might be worth it to check them out, as the progress pics I've seen from them in the sponsored ads look promising.

Unfortunately, I can't offer much advice beyond that as I've always had a very full head of hair, and have never had issues with balding, so I have no personal experience in this.

I really do hope that things start working out for you soon, and you don't need to stop T to get back the hair that means so much to you.

Sending lots of love, support, and hugs your way Anon <3

[mistyhollowcottage]

Saving Money as a Homemaker 🧺

I’ve posted before that we’re anxiously awaiting and preparing for our second baby and with that we’re focusing heavily on saving money! We have high hopes of buying first cars, paying for college, etc etc for both of our girls and despite the fact one is 18 months old and the other is still in utero, we know that the saving and preparing starts now. I do not bring in an income in our home but I do help manage the money my husband brings in and I work hard at making every dollar go as far as possible, so here are some things that make our money go further:

1. Eating at home - everyone gives this advice and it’s because it’s 100% true. You are literally throwing away money eating out and more and more the food that you buy at restaurants isn’t even that good. An easy way to make the switch is by making crockpot meals. Many are “dump and go” meals that require no skill and 9/10 you’ll even have leftovers for lunch the next day. Plus a crock pot is like $20-25 and they last forever.

2. Pay off existing debt - I’m not talking just your monthly minimums. If you have an extra $100 without a job in your monthly budget, it should go towards debt. Any extra you pay on your principal now is money you don’t have to pay in interest later. If you need more motivation for paying off your debt early, pull up a debt calculator and see how much in interest you’ll be paying before it’s all said and done. I promise you’ll get motivated real quick.

3. Create a budget!!! - if you are just floating through life, spending money willy nilly, I promise you don’t even realize how much money you’re just throwing away every month. I remember after I graduated from college and met my husband, we sat down to look at my finances together and I was legitimately embarrassed to see how much money I spent just getting coffee. I was spending a car payments worth on coffee every month and I literally was a barista. I could make that ish at home!! side note - "fun money" is a category you should have in your budget. You are bound to stumble if you aren't ever allowed to spend any money on yourself.

4. Determine what’s worth investing in and what’s not - for us this is list is pretty short. We invest in food and “clean” products. We eat and feel good on a high protein diet so we prioritize meat within our budget. Yes, there are plenty of cheaper plant protein sources, but that is not how we choose to fuel our bodies and it’s not how we feel best. But, more than just choosing to prioritize this financially, we prioritize the time it takes for my husband to go hunting to help save money on this as well. As far as “clean” products, I’m talking fragrance/toxin free shampoos, conditioners, cleaning supplies, etc. We’ll shop sales if one becomes available but we will not skimp with a $1 bottle of shampoo that will irritate my husbands skin or leave me with a migraine. This list will and should look different for every family but if you have your priorities clearly laid out there’s no room for convincing yourself that something not on this list is worth spending extra money on.

5. If you can make it at home, you should make it at home - cleaning products, food, gifts, home decor, all of it.

6. Thrift! But not as a hobby - I love thrifting and there’s a heck of a thrill in finding a beautiful ceramic mug or stumbling upon a cute sweater, but you’re not saving money like that. You should thrift for the things you need first and make sure to have a clear idea of what you’re looking for before going in. The thrift store should ideally be your first stop when looking to buy, but if you can’t find it after a bit of time looking, you’re not less than for having to buy new.

7. Borrow borrow borrow - sure, it’s kinda annoying to borrow other peoples stuff, but there’s really no reason to buy something you only need once or twice.

8. Learn to sew- I’ve had so many pieces of clothing rip at a seam and if I didn’t know how to stitch that back together, I’d have to throw it away and probably replace it (I’m looking you pockets on jackets). Instead, a five minute YouTube video has saved me, idk, probably at least $100.

9. Order your groceries online - this is probably very dependent on which grocers you have close to you, but ours still has online coupons and sales and it is an excellent way to make sure that you're sticking to your list. Plus, it's a godsend with little kids.

10. Finally, identify yours and your spouse's strengths and weaknesses - by this I mean, can you not help yourself from buying something if you go "just to look around" at your favorite shop? Does your husband add 47 unnecessary items to the grocery order anytime it's his turn to do the shopping? Whatever your individual money spending weakness are, identify those and help keep each other accountable or hand off the things that the other excels in so the temptation is just never there.

Happy money saving!

[dlamp-dictator]

Quick Thoughts on 7.5

Okay, finished 7.5 a few days ago, took some time to get my thoughts together, here are some of my thoughts and opinions. Story-wise I liked it a lot, but gameplay-wise... I'm a bit nervous about the future as well.

Gameplay

Words cannot describe the panic attack I nearly had when the first stage was against the Envy Peccatulum. I let out the ugliest gasp when I saw that purple aura and only calmed down when I realized it was the underpowered Liu team, but let that be a sign of things to come.

Overall, most of the stages where doable and I got through them on the first try. Some I failed because I... didn't realize I hadn't uptie-3'd Full-Stop!Hong Lu (oops), some I failed because the 7.5 only doled out burn EGO gifts for my sink-bleed team and had to take a day to grind out a burn team (I'm sharding Faust next week).

Unbreakable coins are going to be annoying in the future. The chip damage and extra bleed of Canto 7 is now about to be unavoidable ailment affliction and actual real damage since most unbreakable had some pretty high base floors of around 14-16.

The remnant dungeon enemies that gained coin power for being targeted in an unfocused fight was straight up cancer and this is a game that already gives enemies some rather bullshit passive in the late game (looking at you Dead Rabbits and Butlers).

The dungeon straight up needing burn team to get through the boss in a timely manner honestly sucks, but since I just had to spend a day getting that team together I'll tolerate it for now.

Overall, the game's gonna' make unbreakable coins very annoying to deal with and we're probably going to need a competent team of 9 sinners instead of 6 like usual, but... we'll see how I'm feeling during the next event in a few months.

Story

Story I'm a little mixed on. Overall I liked what I read, but I'm also curious about where things are going to go from here. The idea of the Sinner's essentially having downtime and getting some minor lore reveals is nice, but the lack of any real meat in terms of plot development feels... off. We learned a bit about Don, a bit about how Limbus Company works as... well, a company, a bit about some of the Sinners and their interactions with one another, but nothing really groundbreaking. We've got a whole other Intervallo before the next Canto, but... yeah, this felt a little weak overall.

I heard some folks complaining about how out-of-character the Sinners felt given they were a lot more sarcastic and snippy towards each other, but I'm in the group that's fine with this. The Sinners have always picked and prodded at each other, that's just how they are. The big difference between the first 3-ish Cantos and now is that they finally have downtime to kid around with each other. Despite all the found family themes within the story they're still living in The City, a place known for creating emotionally distant and antisocial people at heart, and they're all coworkers first, and allies second.

All that said, there were some out of character moments and some character stagnation I agree with. Gregor needs a little more to do than be the general friendly Sinner and more-or-less everyman of the team, Outis's shtick of being a bossy bootlicker is getting tiring, and as we're closing in on the second half of our Sinners we need a little more development from the quieter ones like Ryoshu and Meursault.

In terms of the now in-universe tierlist I gotta' say it feels weird that Hong Lu is the gatekeeper of the upper tiers. Not so much story-wise, as even his little sister was level 50 and a decent rupture unit, but just... due to his nature. I guess we'll learn more in Canto 8. Ish being on the lower end feels weird given her worldly knowledge and adaptability, but speaking in terms of fighting prowess it makes sense. Gregor being a weird outlier feels... wrong, but like I said, we haven't had much Gregor (story) content lately, so this might be setting seeds for later events.

Might have to take a second look at things to be sure about all that, but story-wise I do feel a little disappointed. Hopefully the next Intervallo does something interesting to get us all hyped for Canto 8.

[remidyal]

Bad Ideas of the Day Part 6 - Can't Stop Won't Stop

The monthly-ish roundup of bad ideas of the day! If you haven't seen these, I often put a bad idea of the day into the ideas channel in the fic discord; this is a monthly-ish roundup of them. The prior month's is here and then links further and futher back go.

As always, if anyone does something with one of these lemme know, I wanna see! This month's list is a little bit shorter than normal with fifteen prompts; I've been busy with holidays and all.

Bad idea of the day, you are what you eat edition: After the first day of school, Adaine is shocked to find out that an ancient bylaw of the school states that any student who kills a member of staff automatically inherits their position, and so she is in fact now the lunch lady, sworn to somehow provide quasi-edible meals to the students by the fourth bell of the day.

Bad idea of the day, strength in numbers edition: Fig turns up at the start of junior year claiming to now be a mathemagician, someone who wins in battle through the power of math, profoundly annoying Adaine who knows that's not how that works at all right up until the point in their first battle of the year where she yells out a complex equation, then stabs the person in the face while they're trying to work out what the hell she's doing.

Bad idea of the day, important life lessons edition: Worried that they're going to end up malnourished as adults, or at a minimum living on whatever they can pull from an interdimensional city within a magical jacket, Sandra Lynn, Jawbone, and Lydia start trying to teach the various children of Mordred Manor how to cook, mostly directed at Adaine and Aelwyn (who have 0 knowledge or skill in it) but expanding out to showing Kristen the wonders of various non-corn based cuisine, Fig how to use spice in a slightly more restrained way when cooking for others, and also the three of them going to a great deal of effort to learn the magic needed to cook ghost food so they can teach it to Zayn. (Ragh attends but is already a good cook.)

Bad idea of the day, hearts and crafts edition: Learning that it's a tradition among the devils of the hells to bring any romantic interest they might wish to pursue a trophy of their enemy, Fig drags the rest of her friends into a quest to cut out the heart of Ayda's greatest foe, the ancient pirate treasurer in charge of Leviathan's budget.

Bad idea of the day, winter wonderland edition: A fic covering the first snow day in Mordred Manor, up to and including all-out magical snowball fights, one of the ghosts possessing and bringing to life the snowman that gets made, and Ayda feeling kind of left out because she can't really play in the snow without it melting until, Rudolph-like, that becomes very useful when they really need to shovel the driveway but nobody wants to. (remember, kids, it's fine to make fun of someone for their differences unless that difference has a utility to society (???))

Bad idea of the day, It's 3 AM in a werehouse edition: The month after Tracker has a bad full moon and starts chewing on the walls, the denizens of Mordred manor are extremely alarmed to discover in the middle of the next full moon that a) their house is sentient and b) their house is now a werewolf and they need to go.

Bad idea of the day, class swap edition: Fabian Seacaster arrives at Aguefort hoping to turn around his family fortunes after his father was driven penniless out of Leviathan and off the seas, and is lucky enough to quickly find himself in a party that seems destined for finanical greatness. After all, other than the refugee high elf girl, his party consists of the heir to an invention empire, a girl who has been part of the leadership of a megachurch since she was a small child, a princess of Hell, and Riz Gukgak, son of THE Pok and Sklonda Gukgak.

Bad idea of the day, movie magic edition: The Dream Team has to deal with a sudden sequence of threats from movies coming to life, which is particularly not great for New York which now must deal with threats like King Kong, the alien ships from Independence Day, climate change, and an ungodly number of bad sequels like Home Alone 2 or Friday the 13th part 8

Bad idea of the day, hell is other parents edition: A fic that's just a meeting of the Aguefort PTA

Bad idea of the day, true art is petty edition: Driven by a need to out-do Lucienne's alleged fiancée, Margaret devotes herself to becoming a universe-renowned artist and poet, culminating in her spending the entire duration of the battle of the brands painting scenes inspired by the fight while ducking bullets and plinth mental blasts on-camera.

Bad idea of the day, rat race edition: Learning that New York is planning on putting forth a bid for the Olympics that will include plans to 'clean up' the city by further displacing the homeless without actually helping them, Kugrash decides to be the rat in the soup that will blow up the bid during the olympic committee's tour and presentation of the city. Can he be gross enough to derail it, or will New York City end up with a bunch of white elephant buildings and debt for a brief party at the people of New York's expense?

Bad idea of the day, oh now you've done it edition: Freshman year, Adaine speed runs getting kicked out of her house in one of the fastest ways possible: She befriends Zayn and becomes a goth.

Bad idea of the day, it's im-portent edition: Sometime during the time between freshman and sophomore year, Fabian catches on that his party's wizard is using her limited control over the very nature of fate itself to try to make him successfully meet cute with anyone - ANYONE - who isn't her sister.

Bad idea of the day, the easiest way to elevate your fantasy setting is to make something weird happen to the moon edition: Convinced that Galicaea is behind the eldritch monsters suddenly attacking Solace since Cassandra took up residence there, Kristen talks the rest of the Bad Kids into her plan: Get Gorgug's parents to make a Hangrocket so they can go to the moon and blow it up, shattering both the moon itself and Fallinel's faith in Galicaea to reduce her power enough to make the monsters stop.

Bad idea of the day, I'm Getting Fantasy High Ones Out Here While I Can edition: In a fit of paranoia, Riz decides that his friends are in terrible danger of being assassinated by Fallinel/the Helioic church/Hell/Whitclaw's children/Sam Nightingale and that he needs to keep an eye on them at all times, resulting in everyone else getting annoyed by him doing things like hiding in the secret passages of Mordred Manor

[jasper-book-stash]

February 2024 Reading Wrap Up

I finished off my reading challenge with time to spare! So let's talk about the books I've read this month. I'm making this up before the end of the month, because I don't foresee myself finishing up my current book in the next few days.

Religious Text

None applicable.

1/10 - Why Did They Publish This?

A Book of Pagan Prayer | Ceisiwr Serith

This book sucked ass. Fucking Robert Graves in the bibliography, treating any "non-Abrahamic" (meaning not Christian, Catholic, or Jewish in this context) as Pagan-with-a-capital-P, a baffling usage of Zoroastrianism, using "Indian" instead of "Indigenous"/"Native American", misusing "shaman", the baffling choice to have a prayer that you need to use to prepare yourself to pray, sloppy editing, self-contradiction without realizing the author did that, and, dare I say, an overly-Wiccan syncretic approach.

I genuinely have no idea how it got published.

Hands-On Chaos Magic: Reality Manipulation through the Ovayki Current | Andrieh Vitimus

I damn near threw this one across the room within the first nine pages. Why are you citing a WHITE WOMAN when talking about hoodoo? Why is J K Rowling's Harry Potter book in the bibliography? Why does the bibliography suck overall?

2/10 - Trash

None applicable.

3/10 - Meh

None applicable.

4 to 6/10 - Mid-Tier

Witchcraft For Everyone: A No-Nonstense Guide to Creating Your Own Magical Practice | Sam Wise

I wrote my thoughts on this one in a separate post.

7 to 8/10 - Good With Caveats

From Sanctity to Sorcery: An Author’s Guide to Building Belief Structures and Magic Systems | Angeline Trevena

This is a perfectly passable book talking about religion and magic systems. But I still prefer Timothy Hickson's "On Writing and Worldbuilding" books and YouTube series (under the YouTuber name Hello Future Me).

Zendikar: In The Teeth Of Akoum | Robert Wintermute [reading challenge]

I'll admit, this one was a dredge to get through. I much prefer the short-and-sweet version of the story found through the WOTC website (or, even better, MTGLore.com). But hey, Nissa at least gets time to shine! She deserves something nice.

Memories & Memoirs: Essays, Poems, Stories, Letters by Contemporary Missouri Authors | Sharon Kinney-Hanson

This wasn't for a reading challenge, but rather, it was my book club book for this month (our theme was "biography"). I chose memoirs instead of an actual biography because I genuinely don't care about a lot of people who have biographies written about them.

But there was something...nice about this. It was nice, reading stuff by people like you in the place you live (admittedly 24 years ago). It's an experience I don't often get - not a lot of people set their stories in Missouri, and even less are from Missouri themselves. The best we usually get is traveling characters stopping to appreciate the St Louis Arch. So it was nice to be...seen.

Diadem: Worlds of Magic: Book of Names | John Peel [reading challenge]

This book has been on my TBR list for ten years, and I've finally read it. And it's pretty good! You can definitely tell that it's made for a particularly young audience (probably preteen at most, as the main protagonists are 12-ish) and is a product of its time (the mid-1990s). Baby (cough, preteen) Jasper would have gone hogwild over this, if they had bothered actually reading it when they got it. But to Current Jasper, it doesn't hit how they would have liked.

9/10 - Very Very Good

Snow White with the Red Hair, volumes 13-20 | Sorata Akiduki

Volumes 13 to 19 were 9/10, and volume 20 hit 10/10, but I'll just bundle them all together here. Snow White with the Red Hair is an ongoing manga series about a romance in a fantasy world (though notably, one that doesn't seem to actually have magic, merely fantastical creatures and plants). The main romance is a woman on the run from her home kingdom after her prince became obsessed with her due to her red hair, and the second prince of the neighboring kingdom, though neither really know each other when they meet. At this point in the story, they're fairly dedicated to seeing each other despite the woman working hard to be a proper royal herbalist (following her dreams) and the prince dealing with the politics of his older brother (who recently became king) and his land along with a dedicated loyalty to the woman.

It's surprisingly sappy and adorable, despite the fact that I don't typically read romance. These two characters and their friends have wormed their way into my heart.

Hide | Kiersten White [reading challenge]

Kiersten White is an author I recently started reading, and I absolutely adore her writing. In Hide, she captures the exact feeling of being a broke queer person in a conservative small-town and the danger that comes with it. Along with a more supernatural danger.

Can't Spell Treason Without Tea | Rebecca Thorne [reading challenge]

This is a damn fine story with damn fine characters, a loving and already-established relationship (where there's no "will they break up" drama), and a fascinating set of magic systems. My only real complaint here is that the stakes are much higher than what I expected from something marketed as "cozy fantasy". The settings and vibes often were more cozy, but there were higher stakes than what I expected, what with the dragons and the queen and- Well, it was a good book. It was inspired by Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree, but don't expect the two to be the same.

10/10 - Unironically Recommend To Everyone

Well, everyone who's into the genre these fall under, at least.

Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe | John Boswell

This is an incredibly in-depth look at exactly what it says it is - same-sex unions in premodern Europe (stretching back to ancient Greece and Rome) with comparisons to opposite-sex unions of the times. If you're interested in one or both sides of those, pick it up. Just be ready for the long haul; this book is 464 pages long and has multiple appendices.

[am0o5]

Since it's Pride month in the United States and my town (which is already in the 100s Fahrenheit) does Pride stuff like the parade in Sept I think it is, but the city 30 min away does events in June, when does your area do Pride events or do they not do them? Have you ever been to a Pride event, how did you like it if yes? Do you want to go to a Pride event? Do you plan to go to one? What's stopping you from going?

My spouse and I have been to one parade and we loved it but haven't been able to make it again. We are really hoping to make it this year but will have to see how hot it's going to be.

*Asks are for fun no pressure.

I only came out like 3 ish years ago but since then I’ve gone to I think 6 parades all within an hour of my area, (uk so travelling is usually a must), my friends and partner all intend to go to a fairly big one next month and then there’s a fair type pride parade a month after that which we usually attend as well. It’s usually never in June weirdly enough, in fact I’ve never attended a pride event within pride month it’s all usually within July or August but we vibe with the community all the same. The only thing that’s ever really stopped me from going is just the timing of the event, or in 2021 it was Covid so couldn’t exactly attend a big event lol

[imaginemyreality03]

🐉⚡️The only way you win a fight is to know you’re going to be hit and survive⚡️🐉

🛑🙉SPOILERS AHEAD🙉🛑

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Read: February 14 -> February 18, 2024

BRA Score: 98/100

Favorite Quote: “ ‘I can’t kill an unconscious man.’ ‘He would kill you if given the same chance.’ ‘That’s a statement of his character, not mine.’”- Violet & Tairn, Pg 167

~~~~~~~~

Book Gist: Violet is forced by her mother to join the most deadly speciality in Basgaith War College: Dragon Riding. For the sake of her general mother or her chronically ill body, almost every other rider wants her dead. She just wants to survive. So imagine when she bonds with not one but BOTH of the most powerful dragons in the year (and in the nation) which leaves her permanently tethered to the guy who should most want her dead.

Tags: Fantasy, Enemies to Lovers, Dragonriders, Smut, Violence 😏, Cliffhanger-ish.

~~~~~~~~

Overall review:

Plot:

Whores on dragons. Also, I had like, 98% accuracy for every major plot point, and knowing about Brennan (that I spoiled myself of when I was checking the page count before I started) didn’t inform any of it. Because, when is an insurrection just an insurrection?

Cast:

I feel very protective of the Marked Ones for many reasons but I wish they had someone who had the capacity to be emotional with them, because their “big siblings” have so much on their plate just trying to keep them alive, there isn’t much space for dealing with that stuff. This is probably also why I know Xaden was not capable of the things everyone else assumed of him. Also, for the same reason Dain brushed me the wrong way.

Basgiath really fucks these kids up, in every horrible way. In a brain-washing kind of way. This was always gonna be emotionally hard to read, but it really does read like the most complex 2010s-era dystopia and I am in fact a glutton for punishment.

And I do say my idea of Melgren being a venin still isn’t wrong because he’s protecting them, that’s what he’s doing, but doing nothing. That still counts for me.

Violet:

AND the key to this whole entire thing is actually hinging on the fact that Violet is a Scribe who became a rider. It’s the one thing that’s never happened before, the one thing that can challenge the power of the riders is the history that defines them, the proof of their corruption.

End Note:

Amended 3-27-24: I’ve read 70% of Iron Flame, but I am in a very precarious place of being somewhat content and not afraid of what happens next in the place I’ve paused, and I have a bad feeling that this book with end in a cliffhanger, and I need to be within 3 months of release of book 3 before I subject myself to torture. Seeing as being in a 3 month range of Onyx Storm won’t be until November, I will be over in the corner trying my fam nest to forget everything I know so that I’m no tempted to read more and hurt myself with 10 MONTHS OF WAITING LEFT!!!!! I don’t know how you publish the first two books with 6 months of each other, then wait 4 months to even confirm that a third book exists, and then wait 10 more months to release it.

Additional End Note: Bohdi is my baby love and I will kill for him and die for him, so we all best be sure he isn’t dead by the end of Onyx Storm or I’ll riot.

[claudiajcregg]

S5 Pregnancy AU - I’d love to hear about!

Welp, this is embarrassing – mostly because this has been sitting in my inbox for almost two weeks, and I kept saying “I need to write something up!” and then… I didn't. (Or rather, I did, then I forgot to post it.) Sorry for the wait, Lil! Thank you for asking <3 (I'll divide this up because I keep writing about the process and how it came to be, instead of any actual, interesting facts.)

I have talked about this one in the past though I don't have a tag for it. The gist is what it says… (Early) S5 but CJ is pregnant. I had this idea over a year ago when I hit mid/late S4 in my rewatch. I thought it'd be interesting to explore some of her disappointment at that time if you added an unexpected pregnancy to it, even if I had the idea before even getting there, lol. Think, the ending-ish of Han, or parts of Disaster Relief. (Both of which do feature! I surprisingly focus a lot on Disaster Relief.)

The thing with S5 is that the timeline is so weird, and I feel I've also created one that isn't entirely realistic but I think it works within the story. (IIRC, the season starts in “May” but also July, then the Shutdown is in November, lmao. A few of the episodes are sneaky two-parters that flow into each other… See 5-6, 7-8.) I've finally gotten out of the no-man's-land I wrote myself into and the next chapter or two, knowing myself, will deal with 7-8! There are a couple of scenes that should be fun to write! (There are so many details I want to mention that are technically spoilers for early twists…)

Every time I had the urge to write it, I'd edit whatever outline I was working in, and though I kept some details… my muse decided to make a big change early on that completely changed the fic's direction. That, and my inability to write anything succinctly. No reason why this story will cross the 100k barrier in a couple of chapters, tops. (It's sitting at 85k across 12 chapters. I think it'll be less than 20 chapters total. Hopefully.)

This might be too long to share snippets, but I've shared some either on the server or here, a couple of months ago.

For more irrelevant details on the “process”…

As I hinted at, I wrote an outline or two around this time last year, because I couldn't stop thinking about it. When I say outlines, it's a general path for the story to follow – ideas, suggestions of dialogue and/or scenes I write to myself; all focused around some sort of chapter structure. I find it much easier to write if I write down where a chapter might go, even if it's just a few lines saying “This happens → then this → finally this;” otherwise, it takes me months. Some would say that I should post it and get encouragement that way but… I hate being dependent on something I can control even less than my muse? That's not for me, thank you. Mad respect for those who work like that.

It was meant to be short – 1-2 ��long” chapters per trimester, more if needed, but then interludes in between trimesters. It's not that. Most chapters currently cover 1-2 weeks, but there is not really a pattern. I was afraid of having a fic that would take over my life like the WOWO did three years ago… And it has, but I've also taken breaks and not felt too guilty about them. I definitely don't want this one to sit in my drive and have me wondering what to do with it.

(The novel, aka WOWO, aka IM AU (2021): 150k written in a little over five months, even with extended breaks over the summer. Still hits, even with all its crazy decisions, maybe because of them, but it's also been too long, and it will always remind me of someone who kinda hurt me. Attempts to replace those memories by sharing the story with others, trying to gather whether it's worth posting, have failed, lmao. One day! Maybe!)

But yeah. Uuuuuhhhh. As I've said… Twelve chapters in ten months, 85k words… It's still not done. In fact, I've repeatedly said I am unsure of how to end it (beyond the obvious), but I'd estimate it to be under 20 chapters. I'm not posting it anywhere yet because I want to be able to edit it as a whole and try to make it more consistent; to add little details as I come up with them. There's also the fact that I am not skilled enough to write a compelling story that mixes politics and emotion into something remotely engaging. As a result, the story's politics are very surface-level, and probably repetitive at points, but it's also true I've always been more interested and focused on the emotional journey and the relationship(s) at its center. (Which should surprise exactly no one who's ever read one of my stories.)

But, as critical as I might sound of myself here, I am having fun writing this and I'm committed to seeing it through. I just keep having ideas for stories down the line, putting actual show events through a 'but she also has a kid' perspective.

[jadeile-writes]

Fanfic Progress Update 161

So, Hazbin Hotel was effing NOICE :D Didn't inspire me to write so far, but we'll see how this brainrot progresses. Currently I'm at the stage where I watch the musical parts 15 million times a day, the next stage is usually reading fanfics written by others, and the next one is writing if I fail to find what I'm looking for or just feel like it. Again, we'll see. On other news, stay tuned for the last sneak-peek for A Sign that you're important at the bottom of this post!

Current WIPs:

A Sign that you're important

Fandom: Sonic the Hedgehog, movieverse

Summary: One month upon his assigment as Doctor Robotnik's assitant, Agent Stone is told to learn sign language. He doesn't know why, and isn't suicidal enough to ask, so he simply rolls with it. Turns out, it's not just a whimsy of the eccentric doctor, even though that doesn't stop the doctor from utilizing it like one.

Progress: Chapter 5 was posted on 18th of January. The last chapter will be posted on 25th of January aka the next Thursday. Chapter 6 is a bit over halfway written, so cutting it a little close here, but I'll get it done in time. The biggest problem will be the chapter title tbh. I have a placeholder title (the old title for chapter 5 actually), but it's not perfect, so I'll need to brainstorm at some point, which is hopefully not on Thursday right as I'm posting it XD;

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Labor with a side of lattes (formerly known as "Life at the laboratory". Now the title isn't as boring and also vibes properly with the title of next part of the series)

Fandom: Sonic the Hedgehog, movieverse

Summary:

"Wanted: a yesman who is capable of operating an espresso machine, has at least a higher IQ than your average amoeba, and is willing to put work before having a personal life, or indeed a life, period. The extra in your pathetic paycheck is good, but the strain in your psyche will make up for the positives. Forfeit your basic human rights and apply today if this sounds like you." 

Maybe it said something about Agent Stone - and probably not good things - that the poster in the cafeteria's pin board piqued his interest more than any of his official assignments had for a good long while. 

Dr. Robotnik, huh?

Progress: This one will be part one of a two-parter longfic, the first part probably... 10-ish chapters? It's a bit hard to estimate at this point, so the number is subject to change - will probably end up being increased tbh. My weekly writing hour (as in, a specific hour when I sit down and write, no excuses [other than not being home]) is devoted to this fic.

I have the first five chapters done. Chapter 6 is 1/3 written.

I also have two halfway written chapters that don't yet know their exact placement within the fic (they're scenes that will be slotted in to wherever they feel natural, once the fic is ready for them.)

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Other WIPs I’m not currently working on but intend to get back to Someday™:

PoE Drabbles (Pillars of Eternity)

DC Drabbles (Justice League)

Diaphanous Relations (Forgotten Realms, R.A. Salvatore’s books)

Rolling with it (Zelda: BotW)

Hah, our afterlife is the most hilarious bushwa, dearest! (Hazbin Hotel)

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That’s it for the WIPs! Here’s the promised sneak-peek into A Sign that you're important (Note: the text may end up slightly different in the fic itself due to more editing happening before publishing). Enjoy!

Maybe it would have been better if he had never been able to talk with Knuckles. He could have just dropped the renegade red rascal at the hedgehog’s home to do whatever it was he had assumed Knuckles wanted – he had assumed punching, ripping some quills, and moving on, if he had had to hazard a guess when he had been unable to hear – and been none the wiser about the Master Emerald. He could have been content about the hedgehog getting some much deserved use as a punching bag and moved on with his own plans. Getting to Stone, kissing him silly, freshening up, eating actual food, getting a good night’s sleep in an actual bed (preferably with Stone in it), getting acquaintanced with the cafe lab, and making plans for further actions in the morning. Plans that likely would have involved checking up on the hedgehog to see if there was anything left to salvage in the wreck for science, and whether further revenge was necessary. Getting to his secret lab. Considering negotiations for his re-employment with the government – he had done nothing wrong, he had been acting on their orders to find out what had caused the blackout and he had been given the leave to deal with it in any way he deemed necessary.

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That’s it this time. See you next Saturday!

Links:

My AO3   My FFnet   My Ko-fi    Radiohusk Discord Server

[stephaniedola]

oldass ask meme that i have been answering at different periods over the course of 15ish years

feel free to ignore but im posting it so i can find it again later

1.This survey gets a little personal; can you handle it? I sure hope so by now.

2. If you married the last person you texted, what would your last name be? withnocrown–– I'm sure that's its actual last name, right?

3. Were you happy when you woke up today? I woke up a lil achey and queasy but then I rolled over and listened to a voice memo from my friend and his GF and they were cute and asking me over for dinner sometime so now I'm happy

4. When were you on the phone last? And with who? Ummm I think it was my friend Evan asking me if I could pick him up at the mall on the 26th, but I was going the wrong way

5. What are you excited for? New Year's Eve! And my birthday (the 1st) I guess but mostly NYE.

6. What were you doing yesterday? Errands + resting + recovering from earth shattering sex (12 year old me would be so shocked to read how far I've come)

7. Honestly, who was the last person to tell you they love you! My friend in aforementioned voice memo

8. What's the last thing you put in your mouth? Water.

9. Have a best friend? Yup, he's my platonic husband. He's also pretty much always been my answer to this question :3

10. Are you scared to fall in love? I have spent the last few years building up an immunity to love powder.

11. Do you think teenagers can be in love? Honestly, yes, but I feel like it's extreeeeemely unlikely that teen relationships actually last. But they do sometimes!

12. Last person you wanted to punch in the face? God, I can't even recall. How did I get through 3 different family Christmasses without wanting to punch anybody?

13. What time is it right this second? 05:09

14. What do you want right now? More tgirl dick

15. Who was the last person you took a picture with? My mommy <3

16. Are you single/taken/heartbroken/or confused? Single, aromantic, poly, and for the first time not at all confused. Also, let the record show my original answer to this question in 2010 was: "Taken! O_o Don't ask! :/"

17. When was the last time you cried? Uhhh within the last week I think? but idk when

18. Do you have a good relationship with your parents? That's a fantastic question! Yes and no

19. Do you find it hard to trust others? Extremely

20. How fast does your mind change? To quote 12-year-old me, "Fast. :3"

21. I bet you miss somebody right now. Every day.

22. Can you honestly say you're okay right now? Yeah, I can.

23. Why do you think so many people cheat? Because love is cursed by monogamy

24. Tell me what's on your mind? Kinky t4t sex

25. What are you looking forward to in the next three months? NYE, my birthday, catching up with people in the new year, my senior year of university.

26. Have you ever worn the opposite sex's clothing? I'm gonna choose the asshole answer to this question which is, um, I'm intersex 🙄 but strictly speaking, yes, obviously I have

27. When did you last talk to your number 1 top friend? Yesterday

28. When is your next road trip? Honestly? Ideally within the month to Montreal. More realistically over the spring or summer (Bro I'm screaming I've also been reading along with my 2017 answers and I had written "No idea honestly. Hopefully soon-ish to Montreal." I have not changed at all)

29. Do you have someone of the opposite sex you can tell anything to? Anything is a strong term.

30. How's your heart? Still beating.

31. Have you ever felt like you weren't important? Yes, but not any more. (Keeping this answer as long as I believe it)

32. Do you think somebody's in love with you? Oh, for sure, baby~!

33. What are you planning on doing after this? Getting ready to go to my cousin's surprise birthday party and then stay with family for a couple days.

34. Next time you will kiss someone? Nonzero chance it is on NYE.

35. Have you told anybody you loved them today? Yes <3 Always

36. Who do you not get along with? Really, only people who actively disrespect the people I love.

37. What does your 3rd recent text say? "ahh yeah how could i forget ov"

38. What are you wearing right now? Nothing, darling~

39. You're locked in a room with the person you last kissed, how is it? I imagine we would engage in similar sexual escapades to the last time we kissed

40. When's the last time you had a grilled cheese? A couple weeks ago

41. What's your favorite boy and girl name right now? Feminine: Meredith Masculine: Lewis Neuter: Avery

42. How did you feel when you woke up? "Queasy and achey"

43. Do you wish someone would call or text you right now? Nah, I'm popular

44. Do you crack your knuckles? It's one of the few joints I don't crack tbh.

45. What were you doing yesterday at midnight? YESTERDAY at midnight or TODAY at midnight? The answer to both is sleeping.

46. What are your LEGAL initials? All I shall say is that it spells the name of an animal.

47. Who's the first B in your contacts? Some dude in Florida named Bailey

48. When was the last time you laughed really hard? I think it must have been on the 22nd with my friend we had a lot of fun and were stoned as hell so

49. Your number 1 top friend walks out of your life, do you go after them? Been there, done that, and I would.

50. Explain your last awkward moment? I feel like I said something awkward to my cousin that I thought his current gf had said but it was actually his ex fsajgkhls

51. Are you afraid of the dark? More and more every year

52. Do you have good vision? Yea, particularly in the dark actually lol

53. Have you ever tripped someone? Yes and he sucked and it was hilarious and I regret nothing.

54. Have you ever slapped someone? Yea

55. Are you Irish? Like 50%

56. Do you use chap stick? Mmmhm

57. Do you have any scars? Soooo many. Newest one is growing on my finger.

58. Is there someone you will never forgive? Never? Surely not

59. Are you dating the person you last held hands with? God no they're insane

60. Name the last person to text you. Prinxë

61. Would you marry someone 8 years older than you? I would barely even marry my husband aside from for legal maneuvering

62. Can you go in public looking like you do? I would get arrested so no

63. Have you ever kissed someone whose name started with a A? Yeah,,,, my hot TA last semester

64. What side of the bed do you sleep on? Da middle

65. What's the first thing you'll do on your wedding day? Cry and be like why did I spend so much money on a wedding

66. Do you fall for people easily? P much on sight yea

67. Has anyone put their arms around you in the past 5 days? Yeeeees

68. Do you miss the way things used to be? Of course. Who doesn't?

69. Song you're thinking of right now? Talk – Coldplay

70. Want someone back in your life? Yep. So bad. Soooososososo bad. If he texted me it would make my day in a heartbeat. I also want her back, but I'd like to think if she texted me I wouldn't respond.

71. Will tomorrow be better than today? It's n ew years eve baby I sure hope so

72. What's the color of the shirt you are wearing? Beige flesh

73. Who was the first friend that you had? Lindsey

74. Does it bother you when someone lies to you? Yes I cannot decipher your neurotypical nonsense

75. Is there anyone who understands your relationship status? There are, yeah, but it's a pretty damn select few

76. Are you a naturally happy person? Or is your happiness forced? I have bipolar disorder

77. Is there anyone you wish would fall in love with you? Everyone all the time

78. What do you wear when you sleep? Same thing I'm wearing right now

79. Are you obsessed with something right now? SEX

80. The first person you loved is? Terry

81. Something terrible happened with you? My stepdad died slowly of dementia, so

82. You are locked up with someone you love, what happens? Again, the deranged sex

83. If you could wish something, what would it be? For more deranged sex. Ideally in Montreal.

84. Ever forced someone to do something? Like it's hard?

85. When you are alone, what do you think about? SEX

86. How was your first kiss? Romantic and sweet. We're still friends.

87. What's your favorite music genre? Alt rock, that'll never change

88. Are you going to tag people to do this? Me in the future