#like once you start changing some things you have to account for ripple effects which sometimes you don't necessarily want

[bitcofunblog]

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on social media platforms, but then gained enormous popularity in 2015 for its huge market gains that led it to be among the world's most valuable cryptocurrencies in less than a year.END OF ARTICLEDogecoin is one of the cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and was created as a joke about a shiba inu dog, but later went on to become one of the largest coins in the sector. It can be used to bet on esports tournaments and bets with online bookmakers such as Betway, which decided to add Dogecoin as a payment method accepted by its customers.

[bloggrgirl]

There are quite a few good dnf fics but finding them in the thousands of works under the dnf tag on ao3 is a struggle, ngl...

SADF was... definitely one of the better fics in terms of writing quality but it was way too long and stretched out. I felt like the plot could be resolved in half the word count and it would improve the pacing.

Anyway, are you taking any more recommendations and do you have any good fics you managed to find and would share?

kay i'll check it out but keep that in mind. i'd definitely be open to recommendations, tho i might not get to them anytime soon bc i tend to just read whatever sounds good to me atm rather than going in any kind of order. i really only have one dnf fic i feel like didn't make me cringe in some way but i still felt like it was kinda out of character so i don't really wanna recommend it (i need to protect my brand lol).

[hotwings0203]

I JUST SAW FIGHT CLUB AND HOOOLLYYY-

Bro could you IMAGINE FightClub!Bakugo?

Tw:noncon, language, harassment

Okay okay get this: you’re down in the basement listening to the usual men holler and punch each other around while you do your job as their cute little “accountant”. While many of them have good jobs and a real life, the actual members don’t have time or the intellect to juggle the numbers and money around as fast as you can. You’ve been coming here for a while now, and you’re used to the jeers and wolf-whistles coming your way since you’re basically one of the few or only women who dare to come down here.

But there’s one fighter who just can’t seem to take no for an answer.

Bakugo fucking Katsuki.

The man is ruthless, he’s relentless, he’s a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. You swear he’s had to have taken a shitload of steroids in his youth, otherwise how else could he have built up that much muscle? There’s no way an average gym-goer has that kinda build.

He’s always the first and the last one out in the rink, swaying back and forth with his fists up, a twisted grin on his face that was so reminiscent of a wolf before it lunges for its prey.

It usually took more than two men to pull him off the unconscious bodies that he had just beaten to a pulp, effectively breaking one of Fight Clubs Rules: get up when someone is down.

But he’s too good to let go, no one has the balls to tell him to take his money somewhere else since they’re all scared shitless of him.

Which leads him to believing that he’s practically a god down here, that he can conquer anything: including you.

No one really calls it harassment because no one really cares. What’s so wrong in a guy having a little crush? What, you came down here seeing all this testosterone but you can’t deal with it yourself? Don’t be a prudish bitch.

“Bakugo, I’m at work right now, I don’t want to.”

“C’mon toots, this ain’t even real work, you’re just fumblin’ my hard earned cash.” He grins slyly and crosses his bulging muscular arms, leaning against the doorway of the little office you’re given to work your magic.

You turn in your rickety seat and glare at him, ignoring the way he licks his lips and lets his eyes roam all over your body. “If I’m so shit at my work then go somewhere else and stop bothering me.”

He chuckles in his baritone voice and shakes his head at you. “Naw, can’t do that sweets. If I did then I’d never be able to see your pretty face again now, could I?” Bakugo leers at you and you turn your face in disgust.

“I don’t wanna go out for lunch, or ever with you. Now get out before I have to call someone in here.”

“Oh, is that so?” He uncrosses his arms and steps through the threshold, his body growing larger and more menacing as he slowly draws closer to you. Luckily a fight had broken out near the office months ago so there was no more door from the aftereffects, but that didn’t mean you felt safe even with open space.

“G-get out. I’m serious, Bakugo-“

“-Call me Katsuki, angel. And you don’t really mean that, do you? Look at you, you can barely look me in the eye when you say such mean things.” His voice drops an octave as he comes to stand in front of your seated form, towering above your wide eyes, clenched fists and trembling figure.

He leans down and you flinch and gasp as his breath ghosts over your face. He places both arms on either side of your chair so you have nowhere to look but him.

“You’re such a nice breath of fresh hair down here, through all the blood and violence. You’re like a flower...” he tucks a stray hair behind your ear and breaths out a laugh when you turn your head and squeeze your eyes shut.

“A flower, so fragile...a flower that smells so fucking good...” you feel like you can’t properly breathe as he leans in next to your ear and inhales deeply.

“A flower waiting to be deflowered herself.”

“What’s going on here?” A lanky body in the doorway appears.

Bakugo pulls back and turns his head ever so slightly towards the dude, growling under his breath at the interruption.

“We’re in the middle of something here, so you can just get the fuck ou-“

“-Well, it doesn’t really look like she’s into whatever you’re doing,” the man scoffs and takes in your pale face and shaking hands.

Bakugo stands to his fullest height, almost neck and neck with the man at the door.

“Yeah? I didn’t hear a complaint from her.” He cocks his head and stretches, allowing his muscles to ripple with each movement, something that didn’t go unseen by your much skinnier savior.

But he doesn’t back down. He only swallows and rubs the back of his neck.

“Well, we’re all being called out to put our bets in for the next match anyways, so you better come out before we get our asses kicked.”

The blond grumbles about weak men and no balls, then casts a dark look at your frozen figure before shouldering past the man at the door, almost knocking him down.

As soon as he’s out of your line of vision, you exhale and relax into your seat.

“You okay?” The fallen soldier scrambles back up and cautiously approaches you, looking over your body in a way that didn’t remind you of Bakugo undressing you with his eyes...rather, it was a protective, and worried once-over.

“Yeah, he’s just...a lot to handle sometimes. Doesn’t know when to quit.” You laugh shakily and run a hand through your hair.

“No wonder the dude’s a menace. He’s used to getting what he wants, I guess.” The man acknowledges this grimly, and for the first time you’re relieved that finally someone hasn’t turned a blind eye to your harassment.

“Are they really calling us down for bets?”

“No, I just said that to get him off your ass. Didn’t seem like you liked whatever he was doing.”

You give him a wobbly smile and he returns it.

“Sooo we should probably run before he comes back up here, right?”

“Oh most definitely,” you actually giggle before leaping out of your seat and joining the man to bound up the steps two at a time to freedom.

You both end up bonding pretty well over the weeks, even going out for coffee and lunch dates here and there. You’ve come to really like him, his shyer demeanor more than a majority of the ragtag men down in the basements, his chivalry refreshing to you amongst the blood and foul language thrown around the ring.

You feel like a woman with him, not some piece of ass like you were used to.

Bakugo noticed all this, of course. You started avidly avoiding him, ducking your head down and hiding behind your new ally before he could open his coarse mouth and stalk towards you. He couldn’t find you in your dingy office anymore either, because your savior was up in a cafe doing the calculations with you, laughing away about the latest matches.

That has to change. Effective immediately.

“Yo, newbie. How you been? Haven’t seen you fightin’ here for a while,” Bakugo claps his meaty hand on the scrawny guy’s back, nearing sending him toppling over.

“Yeah, y’know, just haven’t been feeling it lately.” He rubs the stinging feeling away from his sore shoulders and side eyes the blond suspiciously. He had seen firsthand just how bad-news of a guy he was, and he didn’t wanna get caught up in all that.

But Katsuki wasn’t just all brawn. He had some brains, too.

“Look, I know I prolly gave off a weird first impression with Y/N back then. But it’s all in good health, ‘was just messin’ around like I always do.”

“Yeah, sure...”

“How ‘bout we get some coffee or somethin’? You seem like a solid dude, plus we got shit in common to talk about.”

Like fucking around with my bitch.

“Uh, you sure? I kinda’ wanted to see the last fight,” he trails off unsuredly, scratching his jaw as Katsuki steers him away from the growing crowd.

“There’ll always be fights, man. I wanna show you that I’m a nice guy.”

Bakugo Katsuki was not a nice guy.

And everyone knew that too, which is why when some shifted to give the duo a curious glance he met them with a death glare. Any gazes locked on Katsuki’s hand wrapped around the lanky guy’s shoulders were immediately casted down.

You didn’t see your savior for a while.

It had been two weeks since he mysteriously disappeared from his usual place in the outskirts of the crowd, because unbeknownst to you, a certain fighter was keeping him away from you and convincing him to have a friendly brawl over lunch.

You only found out about it on a Friday night, when a crowd much bigger than before was gathered in the dim basement, voices hushed and whispering.

“What’s going on? Why’s everyone so quiet?” You whisper to one of the usuals.

“‘Heard Bakugo’s fighting some dude that was handpicked by himself. He somehow managed to convince the poor bastard to have some kinda’ match with him.”

You felt your heart sinking.

“Who did he pick?”

“‘Dunno, some skinny guy, a newbie I think. Hasn’t been around for too long so I guess he doesn’t know how big of a monster he’s gonna be beaten by.” The groupie shrugged, and you felt the blood drain from your face.

Without saying another word, you spun around and started running around all over the place looking for either of the two.

You end up stumbling into the men’s bathroom, desperate beyond salvation to stop this bloodbath.

He’s there, he’s at the urinal and he yelps when he hears you barge in. You avert your eyes and let his adjust himself as he sputters indignantly.

“Y/N? What’re you doing in here? This is a men’s-“

“Don’t fight him.”

“What?”

“Don’t fight Bakugo, please, he’s gonna kill you, I know he is-“

“-Calm down, what’re you so worked up about? C’mon, I would’ve thought you’d had a little bit more faith in me to be able to stand my ground.” He teases you but you don’t find it funny, on the contrary you’re terrified out of your mind for his life.

“Did he put you up to this? How could you fight him, you’ve seen what he does to the other guys in the ring!”

“Well yeah, but he knows not to go that hard on me. Actually, he’s not that bad of a guy, we’ve gotten some drinks for the past two weeks and I was wrong about him.”

You gape at him. “Wrong? You saw how he cornered me that one day!”

He shrugs, not put off by the distant memory. “The guy just came back from a fight, he still had testosterone going through him. You can’t blame him for wanting to let a bit of it out, right? You should really give him a chance y’know, he talks about you all the t-“

But you can’t hear anymore, this is madness, there’s barely 10 minutes left until they’re going to call the two down for their death match. You need to find the source of this problem firsthand.

And somehow, a little voice inside your head tells you exactly where you know he is.

You round the corner to your office and there he is in all his glory, seated like a king on your chair, leaned back with his knees spread, carelessly looking through your bank statements and bet papers.

He barely looks at you as he says, “Oh there you are, I was starting to think you’d miss the show.”

You sink to your knees.

He looks up at that.

With a tight chest and burning eyes, your dry throat barely permits you to choke out, “Bak-Katsuki, please, please don’t do this. Please don’t fight him.”

He cracks his neck and leans forward, regarding you with dark vermilion eyes. He looks your position over appreciatively before speaking.

“Why not? He’s so good and great isn’t he? I’m just trying to show you how right you were, after all. I’m sure he’s got a fair chance of beating me.”

You shake your head vigorously, knowing what he’s playing at.

“No, no, you’re better, please. I was wrong about him, I shouldn’t have been friends with him, please don’t fight him Katsuki I’ll do anything-“

“-Oh you’ll do anything I say regardless of if I beat him to a bloody pulp or not. You wanna know why?”

You can barely contain a whimper as he stands and walks over right in front of you, his bulging crotch mere inches away from your face.

He suddenly grabs your hair and you cry out before he yanks your head up to meet his cold eyes.

“Because no one in here is gonna say shit to me. I run things here, toots. And if you want your little boy toy to live through today, you’re gonna watch every blow I give to him, and you’re gonna kiss the fucking knuckles I beat his face with. Got that?”

You sob as he grinds his clothed erection against your tear-streaked face, sniffling when he moans loudly and bucks into your open mouth.

A loud knock on the bare hinges stops Bakugo from pulling the front of his shorts down.

You both turn your heads and see a red-faced side-liner looking down and mumbling something about the match starting.

“‘Be there in a minute. Tell the guys to give my girl here a special front-row seat to this match, she’s gonna wanna see her man win, after all.”

The runner scampers off, leaving you both alone.

He bares his teeth down at you and you cower under his painful hold, the roots of your hair ripping from their strands.

He eventually tosses your head to the side after a few seconds of staring you down, and the second he does you clutch your sore cranium.

“I better see you down there in a minute sweet thing. You gotta get used to it anyways, since you’re gonna be getting accustomed to my rituals before and after matches.”

[chuchiotaku]

Ok, first of all

HOW DARE YOU MAKING ME THINK I HAD TO WAIT UNTIL JANUARY FOR THE NEW CHAPTER!? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF THE HEART ATTACK I HAD THIS MORNING WHEN I SAW THE UPDATE!?!?

Ok, now that, ehm... I'm calmed down, let me gush on your art piece once again.

I loved everything. I said last time that I wanted some shocking dose of angst, but I didn't knew how heart clenching would have been seeing Ron saying goodbye to... his friends, again, and for the last time. How many things not said, how many plans that will never see the light, how many... apologies, never to be make...

I'm happy that the mirror made him see (and hear) what his loved one truly thought of him, but I'm still bitter for the fact that he had to DIE before he actually got some vocal recognition.

But moving on from depressing topics, I loved seeing the sibling so tight with each other and Harry! I felt almost as if you anticipated Harry's second year summer, and now they get to see Sirius too? Original Harry would be terribly proud of his Ron and terribly jealous of that little Harry...

I really liked Pettigrew's breakdown at the end of the process. And I loved (and hated too, of course) his threats: making 'regret to be born' the same guy that fought and gained the upper hand on Bellatrix? Twice!? Ok buddy, whatever makes you feel better... But if in order to hurt Ron you target one of his brothers or Ginny... well, it has never been a pleasure meet you.

And it's also good seeing Pandora alive! Another Truespartan's Fateverse character added in the rooster, I can't wait to see her in action!

And at least this time Albus is actually ackwnoledging Ron, wonder if he's already planning a role for him in his chessplay againts Tom. I hope he will grow to love him as he'll love Harry.

And I know tastes are subjective but... I think the anon was just short sighted, Ron is totally the person that for his loved ones is ready to move mountains and seas (Buckbeak's trial proved it. How he started searching for past trials in his free time is proof how much is ready to invest himself if it means to help his friend) and I don't expect that everything is going to be all fine and dandy the whole time. Peter's threats scream 'FORESHADOWING' for an ipotetical plot in the third year (way less traumatazing regarding what happened with him in Fate... brrr). Ron is just... trying to sow the best he can, and only at the reaping time we'll see what he did right or wrong.

Keep it going! You are an increadible writer! See you next time, and happy new year!

(And give me some Daphne showtime damn it!!)

First off, anon, happy New Year! 🎉🎉🎉

Ahaha, sorry about the mini-heart attack.  I was aiming to post chapters 14 and 15 relatively close together because they’re initially planned to be one chapter but I hit some snags so yeah, chapter 15 got delayed.  But at least it’s up now, right?  :)

[Warning: Long response ahead. ]

I said last time that I wanted some shocking dose of angst, but I didn't knew how heart clenching would have been seeing Ron saying goodbye to... his friends, again, and for the last time. 

That part at the mirror was very relatable, I think.  There are things we will always want, but deep down, we know they can never be.  In order for Ron to move forward, he had to acknowledge that and let go, something he learned he had to do after that Owlery scene with Harry.  

Not that he entirely has, mind you.  But it’s a good step forward.

I'm happy that the mirror made him see (and hear) what his loved one truly thought of him

It’s a comforting interpretation, but I feel the need to remind my readers that the Mirror of Erised shows only the deepest desires of its viewer. The scene where the new life versions of Ron’s loved ones take over the older ones, telling Ron that they accept and love him, is Ron’s true deepest desire now that he time travelled. Not that it is what’s real.  That’s why Ron broke down, because he knows deep down it’s just a fantasy.  Weell, we know that’s not entirely true, but to him it is.  

(The Deluminator souvenir from Death and its visions, on the other hand...)

but I'm still bitter for the fact that he had to DIE before he actually got some vocal recognition.

You know what they say: you don’t know what you have until it’s gone.  :shrugs: Honestly, Ron is such a taken-for-granted character both in the books and in the fandom, it’s so frustrating...

Anyway, getting off the angst train!

I loved seeing the sibling so tight with each other and Harry! I felt almost as if you anticipated Harry's second year summer, and now they get to see Sirius too? 

I wanted to show the tight knit Weasley dynamic JK claims they have but never really showed because we are limited to Harry’s narrative (which is understandable).  And as what I have planned for second year summer: safe to say, it will start off like what happened in the books before it veers off canon course.  Because Sirius and Remus are there, and Ron knows it. :)

Original Harry would be terribly proud of his Ron and terribly jealous of that little Harry... 

But of course!  I’d like to think that Ron is one of the, if not THE, characters in his age group that Harry holds such high regard for.  

And who’s to say jealous Harry won’t make an appearance? When Ron’s making more friends outside the Gryffindor house, and a certain someone may get close enough to threaten the best friend position?  😉😉😉

I really liked Pettigrew's breakdown at the end of the process. And I loved (and hated too, of course) his threats: making 'regret to be born' the same guy that fought and gained the upper hand on Bellatrix? Twice!? Ok buddy, whatever makes you feel better... 

Pettigrew doesn’t know who he’s messing with, but Ron too is underestimating the rat a little too much.  Good thing that won’t cause him any problems in the future. 😒

But if in order to hurt Ron you target one of his brothers or Ginny... well, it has never been a pleasure meet you. 

Now that would make Pettigrew wish he was never born.  Haha!

And it's also good seeing Pandora alive! Another Truespartan's Fateverse character added in the rooster, I can't wait to see her in action!

Pandora is Luna’s mother’s canon name, but yes I did get the inspiration from Fate, as well as The Red Knight.  But she won’t be around until Book 2.  Don’t worry, it will come.  I hope.  :sweatdrop:

And at least this time Albus is actually ackwnoledging Ron, wonder if he's already planning a role for him in his chessplay againts Tom. 

Of course Albus will notice a smart and wise beyond his years eleven year old who became best friends with Harry Potter, managed to take on a troll then get involved in the reveal and arrest of a mass murderer who may have something more in common with him than he originally thought (coughmirroroferisedcough).  How Ron will benefit from this attention (if he ever will) or how he’ll deal with this new complication will be part of the story’s fun.  And we’re just getting started.

I hope he will grow to love him as he'll love Harry.

I think many can already tell where I’m planning to go with Albus and Ron’s relationship.  The specifics, however, are the ones I can leave you guys guessing.  It will be good!  Hopefully! 🤞

And I know tastes are subjective but... I think the anon was just short sighted, Ron is totally the person that for his loved ones is ready to move mountains and seas (Buckbeak's trial proved it. How he started searching for past trials in his free time is proof how much is ready to invest himself if it means to help his friend)

I saw it as Guest being too fixated at what happened in the books that they didn’t take into account that the second I changed something in the fic, the butterfly effect is bound to occur.  In fact, Ron’s very presence in a world that isn’t what he left behind is already creating many ripples.  I honestly also saw it as them underestimating Ron a bit.  He’s a typical boy during most of the books: lazy with his studies because he is unmotivated.  Give him purpose and you’ll get to see him really shine, exactly like what you said about the Buckbeak thing.

It’s canon that Ron is smarter than he appears.  I mean, can a normal eleven year old remember the exact names of the laws on dragons, even if their brother is a dragon tamer?  

(It’s also another good basis on how much Ron admires Charlie that he can remember that much! Sorry, Solstice Muse turned me into a Charlie/Ron bro fluff fangirl after Ickle Ronniekins)

I don't expect that everything is going to be all fine and dandy the whole time. Peter's threats scream 'FORESHADOWING' for an ipotetical plot in the third year (way less traumatazing regarding what happened with him in Fate... brrr). 

Fate is a very heavy read, combining some of my favorite Ron-centric tropes while taking their fic to a newer, darker spin.  Truespartan has done a wonderful with it so far (I haven’t finished it yet,).  But as most of you can already tell, my story will be fart different from theirs.

That doesn’t mean there won’t be some dark moments in TBA.  And I’m so thrilled that you got the idea behind Pettigrew’s threats.  They ARE foreshadowing what is to come starting Year 3.  But what exactly?  Care to take a guess?  

Ron is just... trying to sow the best he can, and only at the reaping time we'll see what he did right or wrong.

Very true.  Although to me, it’s not a matter of whether it’s just “right or wrong”, and more of “can Ron deal with the consequences of the changes he made, and whether those consequences are worth the changes?”

Example: from a strictly moral standpoint, revealing Pettigrew and clearing Sirius’ name is the best good and what Ron should do from that thematic perspective.  However, these actions will cause some events to change from what he knew, and even cause entirely new ones (i.e. the plot of Year 3).  Is it worth the possibility of rendering Ron’s future knowledge almost useless?  Who knows? 

Keep it going! You are an increadible writer! See you next time, and happy new year!

Thank you so much for your kind words!  You guys are the reason TBA is still running even after all these years and me taking long breaks.  I hope to finish TBA Year 1 within 2021 so please be patient with me.  I’ll do my best!

(And give me some Daphne showtime damn it!!)

Oh, trust me, I have big plans for Daphne and Astoria.  Might get flak for it in the future, but for this, I’ll have to stick with my guns.  Oh dear...

💖 Happy New Year to you too, anon! And thanks for the ask. 💖

[ceescedasticity]

another sneak preview

Or actually this may or may not be the entire interlude chapter, but I haven’t decided yet, and I’m fishing for feedback because today has been terrible.

Interlude: Hypatia

Wakaba was never going to get used to accessing cognitive space — the Metaverse — with a phone app. It did not make sense.

(Accessing it using the rift generator in the lab had been bad enough. Yes, it had supposedly been thoroughly tested, and Wakaba herself had programmed in failsafes in the power supply to shut it down if it ever started using more energy than was necessary for a strictly local distortion — but it was based on tech that almost took out a city.)

(…Or, actually, tech that some experimenters almost took out a city with, and wasn't that just the problem.)

(Sometimes she wondered if she would have pursued cognitive psience if she'd realized how very un-theoretical it could get.)

(But the point remained, Metaverse access from a phone app did not make sense, and further investigation had only led to the unavoidable conclusion that it wasn't a phone app, not really, but neither she nor Futaba were ready to say what it was. Futaba had elected not to mention it to the others. Sadly, investigating the source and purpose of a suspicious not-actually-a-phone-app was rather far down their to-do list, since they could at least be confident it had nothing to do with Project Styx.)

She probably was going to get used to the way Mementos felt just that little bit more wrong than the museum, and yet simultaneously less… less… she'd find the words. Hopefully before she got used to it.

She'd come early with Futaba, Wakaba wanting to take some readings (the sensors were all piled in the wheelchair), but they still weren't the first to arrive — there was a black silhouette sitting cross-legged on the floor as Mementos solidified around them, though she quickly bounced to her feet. "Oracle, Archive, good morning."

"Shade?" Futaba said, surprised. "What are you doing here already?"

"I wasn't sure if it would be a good idea to hang around the station for a long time, in the real world," Shade said. "For… conspiracy reasons?"

"No, I think that's probably fine?" Futaba said, and looked at Wakaba for confirmation.

"It should be," Wakaba agreed. "We don't think they know there's anything special about the location. Why?"

Shade was Hifumi Togo — a year older than Futaba and not a time traveler, so not even in high school quite yet. Wakaba felt reasonably well-acquainted with her and her Persona from the museum Palace excursions, on top of their brief meeting in Wakaba's Palace, and Futaba's somewhat disjointed account of the events since regaining her memory and more disjointed account of their interactions with Hifumi in the future. Hifumi liked shogi, science fiction books, and pointing out aspects of the museum that made Madarame look particularly bad, because—

"Apparently I can't be in the house without fighting with my mother this morning," Hifumi said, clearly trying for light but not really succeeding. "I thought she'd accepted the argument that I was focusing on high school for now, but apparently not."

"Oh," Futaba said. "Ugh. Well… hanging around the station is fine, probably. But since you're here, want to help us with these sensors?"

Evidently they were not discussing the Togo household at this time. Wakaba refrained from pushing.

For the moment.

It took <em>extensive</em> modification to get any kind of audiovisual recording working in the Metaverse, and Wakaba was still trying to recreate what the lab had managed. But the barometer, Geiger counter, and accelerometer all operated, sort of, and observations could be recorded manually. Barometric readings were just slightly higher than you'd expect for Tokyo's elevation, but lower than either of the Palaces she'd gotten measurements from. The accelerometer thought they were in free fall — in the Palaces the gravitational offset had been lower than it should have been. The Geiger counter reported negligible radiation, but who knew what that meant. Wakaba wanted to set up a seismograph — she'd gotten some interesting readings in the Palaces and wanted to compare — but that would have to wait until they weren't on a mission.

They were just packing the equipment away when reality rippled, and they were joined by both Queen — Makoto Niijima, two years older than Futaba, might or might not have time-traveled but definitely didn't remember it — and Fox — Yusuke Kitagawa, one year older than Futaba but definitely time-traveled. She knew Yusuke the best, of Futaba's new friends. He'd been in the temple, been present for every museum Palace excursion, she'd met his senpai, and as far as she could tell he wasn't trying to withhold any significant information about his background or home life from her, so he was more forthcoming than some of the others.

He was withholding information about the now-defunct future, but Wakaba was fairly sure that was at Futaba's instigation.

"Great, Inari's on time," Futaba said. "Do you know if…?"

"According to the group chat they're both in Shibuya Station already," Makoto said. "They should be along any— There they are."

And here was the interesting part.

Once Wakaba was out of the hospital and safely in Sojiro's house where they could speak freely, Futaba had gone into more detail about the last timeline, and told them about the friends/comrades she was in contact with — about most of them, that was. Two of them, as per agreement, she was vague on.

Noir — two years older than Futaba, a classmate of Makoto's, and definite time traveler. And Crow — two years older than Futaba, a classmate of Makoto's though he hadn't been in the original timeline, and definitely not a time traveler. Both, Futaba had explained back in February, would probably happier to trust a Shadow than an adult, so it was only to be expected that they did not join any of the experimental trips to the museum Palace while Wakaba was there.

Noir reportedly had a rich and powerful father who'd been awful to her and awful to his employees — Noir would say the employees had it worse but in Futaba's opinion it was debatable — and in the original timeline he'd gotten involved in Shido's conspiracy and ultimately gotten murdered over it. Noir, Crow, and Makoto had prevented this, this time, with a "change of heart" before he could get involved.

(Wakaba had asked Makoto, as casually as possible, if Noir was satisfied with the effects of the cognitive interference. Makoto had said Noir was very happy not to have her father involved with Shido or dead, and everyone was happy Noir's father wasn't trying to make her marry anybody, from which Wakaba concluded there were undesirable side effects but the kids had decided the upsides were worth it.)

Noir, according to Futaba, didn't have any problem believing that Wakaba and Sojiro wouldn't hurt them, were on their side against Shido. She just, according to Futaba, had trouble accepting that adults could be useful in the Metaverse.

When the subject had come up again during a museum trip, Hifumi had remarked that she thought Noir was finally in a position where there weren't any adults casually rearranging her life, and she didn't want to jeopardize that, before Makoto gave her a pointed look and she shut up.

Wakaba had a guess which answer was closer to the truth.

Crow was a different situation entirely. Futaba had, as per agreement, not revealed his name or any information that would reveal his identity — but that didn't exclude revealing his actions in the future timeline: he'd pretended to join them, then betrayed them, then died, and he'd been the cognitive assassin "Black Mask".

(Which meant that original-timeline Wakaba had been murdered by a first-year high school student, which was… she didn't have the words for that. Shido was odious.)

"He's not working for Shido this time, because Noir found him first," Futaba had said finally. "He's a part of the team. Noir and Makoto know basically what's going on with him — he listens to them — and I trust their judgment. And really I don't have any more justification to be nervous than Noir, and she brought him along to fight her dad's Shadow when he definitely murdered her dad by killing his Shadow last time. It's just… hard."

She'd softened a fair amount since then. Wakaba hadn't understood why — it seemed faster than familiarity alone would account for — until the Kana situation came out, and then it made sense that Crow having a lot to say about social services and holding strong opinions on adults who exploited children would make Futaba better disposed towards him.

(Speaking of things she didn't have words for.) (Futaba had been reticent in large part out of respect for Kana's wishes — but might she have said something, last year, if Wakaba hadn't been so very preoccupied with work?)

"Hello, Archive," Noir said politely.

"Noir, Crow, pleased to meet you," Wakaba replied.

"The same," Noir said.

"Looking forward to seeing 'hyperbola' in action," said Crow, which was probably even true.

"Well," said Futaba in the awkward pause that followed. "Shall we?"

***

[Hmmmm, yeah, I think I want to add some more impressions of what Futaba isn’t saying about the future actually. Still needs work.]

[mwolf0epsilon]

B lea se, pblea se give us a full continuation of the Cameraman comic I beg 😔🙏

Summary: After accidentally growing to the size of a giant, Cameraman makes some poor decisions that lead him into colossal trouble.

A written continuation of my one page Cameraman comic!

---

[[MORE]]

     It wasn't uncommon for the Society for the Shellacking of Souper Boris's HQ to suffer considerable damage on occasion, especially since there were three villains living there. Plotting their next big hit with varying degrees of ingenuity and force, which often left things quite the mess in general.

But nothing that the big burly wolf with the volatile temper, or even the twisted demoness with sharp tongue and coiled arms ever did, could come so close as to compare with the absolute madness of Cameraman's more, shall we say, cinematic plots…

It was true that he was the least aggressive and troublesome of the trio when working with them in causing mischief. More often than not he even opted for the easier things in their plans, like petty thievery and slight vandalism, while the Brute and Miss Twisted handled the flashier things that really got the cops angry with them. 

When he did things solo however… Well he'd wanted to make it big as a movie director once, and it showed.

His one-man plans were convoluted and honestly quite ambitious.

They also ended with him wrecking the base with whatever invention he came up with that week.

Never on purpose really! He was just a little clumsy.

Although, at this very moment, he was anything but little...

     By his reasoning, the plan would have been flawless. Finish calibrating his shrink ray that took him weeks to construct, use one of the Society's inconspicuous vehicles to cart it all the way to the city, and then use it to shrink Steven Spigberg's annoyance of a studio all the way down to miniature size. Knock it down to its actual level, since it did nothing but hash out the same stale unnecessary sequel plots over and over again.

A spectacular lesson in humility, or at least Cameraman had envisioned it as such.

He hadn't accounted for accidentally bumping and reversing the controls, causing his machine to zap him instead of the test subject he'd been placing upon a little pedestal (just to see if he didn't accidentally disintegrate his target), and ending up in a completely avoidable colossal sized mishap instead.

But then he supposed he could still make part of the plan work. After all, the idea was that he'd be able to fit the studio in his hand… 

  "Oof… My head…" he could really do without the aches, but then again he'd just grown a whole lot in mere seconds. The fact he hadn't simply exploded should be more than reason to overlook the growing pains. Patting his own head carefully to check if he hadn't cracked his casing, he felt his pinky brush against something odd and that should be there. "Hm?"

Feeling over it with his index finger, Cameraman carefully searched for some manner of grip before carefully pinching the unknown object between two fingers and bringing it over to his lens to inspect it.

To his great surprise it was the Society's base. Mostly intact, although missing a large part of the bottom from him outgrowing it. The upper floor looked intact enough, albeit the horn fixture he was holding onto was now bent from him gripping it.

  "My goodness it's so small… or rather, I'm the one who's quite big…" he squinted, shutter zooming in on the damaged windows. He could sort of see his two roommates staring out at him with expressions he couldn't quite make out. "Oh! Hello there, sorry for the state of the base. Things took quite the unexpected turn as you can see..."

Rather than get a reply, both of his partners in crime seemed to huddle up in a corner and cower.

That was odd… Missy and Brute weren't the type to be intimidated. Especially not by him. Maybe it was the heights.

  "Right… I'll set you down now. I've much to do still, even if not everything has gone according to plan." He carefully set the damaged base back onto the swamp grounds, being mindful of the shallows so his two friends didn't end up sinking and drowning. "It's as they say. The show must go on!"

Once the base was safely on the ground, Cameraman began standing up. He was surprised by the sensation of vertigo as he did, groaning as nausea hit him.

He felt… Heavy. Stumbled a bit as he righted himself, and nearly toppled all over again. Had gravity increased on him? Probably… his feet were sinking into the marshy ground as well, so his new height and weight were not any easier to handle on such unstable terrain.

  "Walk it off, it'll be fine you worrywart… Just a matter of getting used to this." he shook his head and took a few tentative steps forward. His shutters clicked in annoyance as he kicked up the murky water as he moved. "My poor socks are going to be soaked through… I hope to dry up once I've reached the city. It wouldn't do to enact revenge while drenched… I might catch a cold."

He kept on walking, finding it steadily easier to move as long as he kept himself going. Just a matter of getting used to it as he'd thought.

Luckily his growth hadn't just brought unpleasant side effects. It had greatly improved his perspective as well!

He could just about see the big city in the distance and he was quite excited to look it over up close.

The once-little camera toon had seen the rooftops plenty of times (mostly from being either thrown by his partners in crime or from being carried by that no-show lupine interloper, and then a chowder enthusiast of an angel), but never at this scale. He assumed it would likely be like looking down at an impressive maquette, a much more detailed one than the miniatures he'd whittled out for the base's planning room (which had been reduced to rubble he was sure). More detailed. More deserving of more than a slight glance.

Wouldn't hurt to take a few photos before he took what he wanted.

-

     Bouillonburg wasn't the largest of the cities in the country, but it was still considered a major location in of itself. It was home to several hundreds of toons, had multiple quaint businesses, and at least two very nice parks to fill in the picturesque idea of an urban zone. 

The perfect place for a myriad of Pluto's youngest legions to prove their worth through acts of both evil and mischief.

Today however, trouble presented itself not in a grinning imp with a head shaped like a half-moon, but in something tremendously massive lumbering towards the unsuspecting city at a slow but long-reaching pace.

The first warning was a slight tremor spaced out like rhythmic thumping. The kind that caused liquids to ripple in their containers. 

Then the intensity of the shaking gradually climbed, and people began to grow nervous when objects began to fall off shelves, or when the glass windows began to creak and shake against their frames.

When the shadow of what could only be considered a colossal sized monster fell upon the city, that's when folks really started to panic.

Crowd dispersal went as you'd usually see on a disaster flick, with lots of screaming and running as several hundreds of toons attempted to flee the giant's humongous steps. Not that Cameraman noticed this. 

He was much too distracted staring at all the buildings he was so used to look up at, rather than examining from up and above.

  "This is all so very adorable!" He marveled as he peered into an office building, squinting at the many workers in their little cubicles. "I wish I could make miniatures as detailed as the real deal…"

He reached over to poke one of the windows, and winced when his finger went through.

  "Oops…" he withdrew his finger and stared down at the many shards of glass embedded in it. It didn't hurt, the fabric had kept it from piercing skin, but it had still startled him. He was so focused on it he didn't see the toons inside running for the stairs and elevators in pure terror. "That's a lot more fragile than I thought… I should refrain from touching glass."

     Shaking off the shock, Cameraman's gaze went downwards and his attention was caught by a phone booth. 

Crouching down he peered at it with his curious lens.

At his regular size he needed his portable step ladder to reach the phone (yes he was quite short, so what?), but at this height he was more than capable of reaching over the rooftops of the tallest buildings.

  "Well it's not like I need to make a call right now either way… But it sure looks charming." He focused on it and took a picture. His flash went off with a loud crackle, all around him more toons fled from the noise and bright light that hurt their eyes.

With more effort than should be necessary, Cameraman got back onto his feet and carried on his merry way. He stopped on occasion to take more photos of the many buildings and tiny structures.

Completely oblivious to the damage he was causing as he trekked forward.

His footsteps caused the ground to quake violently, the sound of his reverberating voice made glass crack and ears ring, and his weight was splitting concrete apart as if it were made of styrofoam.

To him this was all in good fun. Good harmless fun, because he wasn't antagonizing anyone. 

Just seeing the sights and appreciating his new perspective on life.

This quickly changed when he reached his destination.

  "Right… There it is." The object-headed toon rubbed his hands together eagerly as he caught sight of his target. Steven Spigberg's studio. That fat swine's precious little cash grab factory was about to get literally uprooted by the very toon that horrid film director scoffed at and turned away. "Let's see who's insignificant when I'm the one owning your precious little studio…"

Sights set Cameraman walked on, not once looking where he was treading and his thick shoes making quick work of benches and parked cars (and really anything else) that were unfortunately in his path. It didn't occur to him that he should be watching his step.

     The studio was nestled between another office building and a coffee shop that also serviced object and object-head toons (a rarity since most others disliked non-food based smells near their pastries and beverages of choice). It had the best hydroquinone and nicest rolls of film he'd ever had, so it was a shame such a blight ruined it for him.

He wondered briefly what they'd build on the soon to be vacant spot. Hopefully a book store to compliment the aesthetic of the coffee shop.

  "Let's see… there's going to be pipework in there, so best to go down and up, like carefully picking a flower, roots and all." He rested the back of his hand on the ground and pressed his fingers against the very bottom of the studio and then, in one swift motion, he dug his fingers under and pulled up. He expected the building to just pop out of the ground with ease, not for his hand to pass through like it was made of sand. "O-oh!"

Startled by the destruction of the building he'd planned to steal, Cameraman pulled his arm back abruptly. Swinging it to the right and crashing right through a section of the office building.

Yelping in fright he moved back, his left foot coming down on top of the coffee shop and crushing it as if he'd stepped on a cardboard box. Bringing his hands up in horror Cameraman stepped back once more in a panic. He stared down at the rubble in dismay.

  "Oh goodness… I… I didn't mean to do that!" He knelt down hoping to find a way to correct his mistake, but as soon as he grabbed hold of any solid looking debris they crumbled in his grasp into fine dust. "F-fiddlesticks…"

He was too big to fix what he broke.

Looking back at the slightly damaged office building, Cameraman stood back onto his feet and peered inside. The stairs and elevators were blocked by rubble and there were several people trying to unblock the way out.

  "Oh… wait I can help you down!" He reached in, hoping that helping these people would compensate for ruining their workspace but, as soon as the toons saw his hand they began scrambling away, their high pitched shrieks barely registering in his audio receptors. The fear in their movements however… "You don't need to be afraid. That was an accident I swear!"

He tried to reach the group, leaning forward just a little bit more. Then gravity caught up with him and the camera toon's shutter widened as he realized too late that his balance was way off. He tumbled forward, taking out the rest of the building with him.

  "AUGH!!!" He hit his head hard on the ground, a sharp pain in his shoulder causing him to instinctively prime his laser and blast the nearest "threat".

Except there wasn't a threatening foe causing him any harm. Just the helpless cityscape.

Taking a second to sit up and shake his aching head Cameraman looked down at his shoulder, wincing when he saw a long metal bean stabbing through it.

His gaze then locked on with the damage he'd caused up ahead.

There was fire, a lot of it, and just now he could make out the terrified city folk scrambling all around like scared ants.

Glancing around at the path he'd taken, the object-headed toon noticed all the destruction he'd caused while having his silly little fun.

  "Oh no…" he was a villain, that much he accepted. But he'd never really done something so terrible that it hurt several hundred people on such a scale.

He'd never killed anyone before, or dreamt of doing such a thing.

Looking down at the three buildings he'd crushed, and the ones currently ablaze, he doubted that was true anymore. "This wasn't what I wanted…"

He needed to get out of the city, before he destroyed something or hurt anyone else.

Looking around once more however… well easier said than done.

     The path ahead was on fire, the way back was already in quite the state, and the only other exit he could see looked a little narrow. Still it was worth risking considering all the people heading towards where he'd come from in the hopes of escaping. Escaping, as if he were doing this on purpose…

Narrow streets it is. He'd just have to suck in his belly and keep his arms up for however long it took to get past this new hurdle. Hopefully his arms wouldn't tire before he was clear.

Taking a deep breath, Cameraman stepped forward, now very aware of just how cramped the tiny sidewalks and roads were.

  "Oof…" he winced as his heel just about crushed the front of a parked car "I hope that was insured…" 

His knee caught the side of a tree, snapping it like a twig, and he pulled his hand away from the way of a power line as he tried to maneuver through the streets.

Sideways should do the trick…He sucked in his gut and began side-stepping through the cramped pathway he'd picked.

What was it with apartment complexes and tiny balconies that faced alleyways?

The escape ladders he could understand, but why the balconies?

The camera toon groaned as his chest and back got poked and scratched by hard edges and sharp rails.

His aching shoulder was already bothering him enough.

  "Just stay calm and you'll be through in no time…" he told himself as he kept on moving. And then he gulped nervously as he felt the alley narrow further. "... Oh this is a problem."

Against his better judgement he continued… And immediately stopped as he felt his hips jammed against two buildings.

Trying to push or pull away made both buildings shake dangerously.

  "... Come on…" his arms were starting to tire. He needed to figure out how to get away without breaking anything else. Glancing down to see if there was a safer way to unwedge himself, his shutters fell upon one of the balconies of the building ahead of him. He focused on a tiny lady surrounded by several flowers that was staring up at him with wide eyes. "... Uh… hello?"

The lady shrieked and immediately started throwing her potted plants at him.

He winced and kept his lens well away from her range. Impressive that she thought a few hits with a few vases would save her from something more than twice her own size, but also quite annoying.

  "Please stop." If he tried anything he might just hurt her, and honestly that wasn't really his style. Taking punishment like this was also not his style. "If I could I'd be out of your hair already."

He leaned back from another hit and yelped as he felt his back bump against the other building. The pressure suddenly giving away and sending him tumbling back like a house of cards falling in on itself. Kicking up dust and debris up into the air around him.

Once the cloud settled he sighed. 

Great, at this rate he'd be known as Klutzzilla, destroyer of private property...

Blinking his shutters he looked back up at the lady with a glare. She seemed to get the hint and fled back inside of her apartment.

  "Right…" he went back to the laborious chore of getting back on his feet. He was really starting to get tired of this repetitive charade.

If it weren't the guilt keeping him from bashing through the city to get back home he would have already done it. "No, no that's not the correct way to do this, don't let this get to your head… the Society only needs one big brute…"

He wondered what his two friends might be doing. Likely fixing up the base and waiting to chew him out for making a mess of things.

They might want to wait for him to tell them how to rebuild his shrink ray so that he'll be easier to scold, rather than both yelling up at him.

     Back up and at it again, Cameraman left what remained of the alleyway and began to tiptoe over the various urban obstacles. Phone booths, more parked cars, benches, the occasional straggler running by and performing an impressive Wilhelm impression, and even a kiosk or two (the first one he couldn't help snap a picture of, despite the circumstances everything still looked gosh darned cute to him!). It was a little like being a child all over again, playing hopscotch. 

Only someone had strewn legos and other toys all over the rectangles.

He was also not particularly good at hopscotch, and jumping around with an injured shoulder was really not a good experience.

The people and infrastructures were also not liking the impact of each jump.

Cameraman winced when several clothes lines and other miscellaneous objects began to fall from the sides of buildings.

  "And they say misfortune only doubles on Friday the 13th, the moment I gained a few feet I've been nothing if not plagued by bad luck!" He poked the metal bean protruding from his shoulder and fought back the urge to scream. "I hope this doesn't get infected. I'd be very upset with myself if that happened… or worse, what if I get tetanus?! My shots aren't due until Thursday!"

Well if the clinic he frequented hadn't yet given out and collapsed from all his mucking around that is…

  "Ok Cameraman, don't freak yourself out like this... Think of home." Yes, home, away from this poor city. Back with his friends who'd no doubt take pity on him as soon as they saw him hurt.

Villains or not, they weren't heartless spawns of evil… err, well at least two of them. But even Missy had a heart. They weren't monsters. "Yes home. Home…. The swamp is that way, just avoid stepping on anyone."

Renewed vigor carried him forward, only stopping to make sure fleeing citizens weren't accidentally crushed underfoot. 

He really did not want murder to be added to his criminal records.

Although he was pretty sure involuntary manslaughter would end up there somewhere after this ordeal was dealt with.

  "There we go, nice and easy. No more tomfoolery." He was pleased with how the streets were opening up. The smoke back there was getting pretty thick in the air though... Was the wind blowing his way or was he imagining it?

It was irritating his ventilation system for sure. Irritating it quite a bit actually.

  "Gosh darn soothy smoke!" He scrubbed at the discrete vents irritably, almost like someone scratching their nose.

He shook his head vigorously, finding it difficult to see now that his shutter and lens were welling up with lubricant, trying to dislodge the sooth filtering in through the seams. "Oh it itches!"

Helplessly scrubbing at both the leaking lens and his ventilation system, Cameraman was suddenly overcome by the enormous need to sneeze.

Uh-oh.

  "Do not sneeze, you know what happens when you sneeze!" His desperate scrubbing and scratching increased in intensity as he tried to prevent the inevitable. The moment the mechanism to prime his laser sight clicked on, he immediately looked up as a way to prevent further devastation. "A-ah… Aah...AACHOO!!!!"

The laser shot out of his lens as he stumbled back, zooming upwards at high speed and hitting a previously unnoticed news blimp that had been flying overhead. The object-headed toon said nothing as he watched the darn thing fall out of the sky like a swatted fly, and collide with another building further away before bursting into flames.

He covered his face and groaned in frustration. Was there anything in this city he hadn't broken yet?!

  "Dang it…" If not take pity on his physical injuries, then surely Missy and Brute would take pity on his bruised ego instead.

-

It took far too long to get out of the (ruined) city. No matter how careful he'd tried to be, Cameraman had simply brought tremendous devastation with each tentative step towards being home free.

If he stopped to think about it, it made perfectly logical sense.

He was used to his actual stature and weight, so suddenly becoming some sort of titan had completely tipped the scales for him.

His regular clumsiness cranked up tenfold as he tried to navigate a world that was suddenly more fragile than he was accustomed to.

Of course in his current state he didn't really have the time to sit around for a moment of introspection, nor to contemplate on the fact he'd been an idiot and gone through with an idea that was doomed from the start.

From the moment he'd bumped the controls to this very moment in time, where he was tiredly stumbling back to the Society's HQ.

The metal beam stuck in his shoulder yet to be pulled out, since every instinct told him that doing that right now wouldn't be good for him. He needed to be sure he had help to deal with that.

And, as that thought entered his mind, something slowly clicked.

Stopping in his tracks Cameraman looked around in confusion.

Where… where was the base?

He was sure as all heck that he'd placed it in the shallows, and that was right there, next to that rotten log wedged by that one rock that looked like a hippo.

"Where…?" He scratched his flash's connection point in confusion as he glanced around. "I could have sworn I placed it here…"

He squinted, focusing on the murky water before crouching down to try to look for the distinct devil shaped building.

He even went so far as turning on his light, but it didn't pierce deep into the filthy water's depths.

Racking his memory to be sure he wasn't mistaken, he recalled placing the base right there and leaving.

He'd stumbled a bit, but he hadn't moved anywhere near the base, just splashed up a little water over his boots and… and…

His building sized boots…

Horror struck him as it suddenly dawned on him that what he'd perceived as little splashes were likely waves several feet in height, with the crashing force of a freightliner colliding with a steam boat…

"Oh no…" he carefully placed his hands in the water and began to feel around for the base, dragging himself forward and searching desperately not just for home, but for his friends as well. "Please be ok!! Please be ok!!!"

All that came up was random junk people had carelessly thrown in the swamp. The SSSB's base was nowhere to be found, and neither were Cameraman's only two friends for the matter… likely washed out into the deepest part of the swamp.

Likely… likely dead, from being trapped in a sinking base, because their friend was an incompetent fool.

"Oh goodness… no, I… I didn't…" the combination of the pain on his shoulder and exhaustion made him stop his fruitless search. As realization sunk in deeper, grief took hold. "I didn't mean to…"

Sniffling loudly, the camera toon hid his leaking lens in his hands and began to cry.

He'd ruined everything because of some stupid vendetta against a film studio! And now he'd be stuck as a klutz of a giant, alone and cold forever!

Sobbing loudly into his hands, Cameraman didn't notice the sounds of even splashes as someone rowed towards him, and was too caught up in his own sadness to register something beginning to tap against his knee.

He thought it was probably just flotsam that he'd loosened during his desperate rummaging.

When the tapping was replaced with a sharp jab, however, he did pull his hands away and rub at his lens to clear up the tears.

Staring up at him looking a complete tired mess, were Miss Twisted and Brute, both standing atop their base which they'd strapped to some sort of bizarre makeshift raft they'd fashioned up of logs, branches and whatever they could find that could make it as buoyant as possible.

The rows they'd improvised were also just several sticks tied together, and Missy had used the gripping end of hers to poke him to get his attention.

He was so dumbstruck he didn't say anything, which seemed to annoy the demoness.

"CAM YOU BETTER BE READY FOR A WALLOPING BECAUSE ONCE WE FIX UP THIS MESS I'M GONNA BEAT YOU SO HARD OVER THE HEAD YOU'LL BECOME AN INSTANT CAMERA INSTEAD!" He could just barely make out her high pitched screeching, but lord if it wasn't the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard! Shutters welling up all over again, the object-headed toon carefully scooped up the base from beneath the water and carefully brought it closer.

"HEY PUT US DOWN! WE'RE NOT A TOY YOU BIG… Big… Cammy are you crying?" The embers of Miss Twisted's ire were quickly extinguished by concern as she caught sight of the big fat tears dripping out of his lens.

"I THOUGHT YOU WERE BOTH DEAD!" He cried out, choking back another sob as he watched them both flinch and grab at their ears in pain. "P-pardon my outburst… I'm just so relieved I… I thought I'd drowned you both accidentally!"

"No, but that almost happened! Cam what were you thinking, making yourself into some big behemoth? How's that gonna help you at all?!" She tapped her foot impatiently. "Take it from a demon pal, the bigger they are, the harder they fall! I've seen archdemons topple like dominoes because they thought bigger was better… it's a stupid macho sentiment that ends in tears and humiliation."

"This wasn't what I was going for, believe me… I err… I merely miscalculated the calibration of my machine and this sort of… Ended up being the result." He looked as sheepish as one could without an actual face.

"You messed up and tried to save face uh?" She deadpanned as she dropped her arms again at her sides. Brute merely watching the exchange.

"Yes…" he admitted hesitantly as he glanced back towards the city. He could still see the smoke. "In hindsight, I should have realized that was foolish of me… Where's the fun in being a villain if there's no city left to practice villainy upon?"

"Cameraman destroy whole city?!" Brute gawked up at him in dismay.

"Not ALL of it… just err… 75%?" An explosion in the distance made him flinch. "Make that 95%..."

"I'll say… there's also something frigging stuck to your arm!" Missy pointed out, grimacing at the sight of the embedded metal beam currently still on his person.

"I know… I didn't want to touch it until I knew for sure I could have it looked at… which I can't right now." He also didn't want to touch it again. It really did hurt quite a bit when he poked it!

"Uh… how do fix Cameraman?" Brute asked. "Me no think lab ok…"

"No, no it's not. Cammy crushed it with his big fat butt." Missy groaned. "Please tell me you know how to rebuild your machine so we can revert this…"

"I do recall how to recreate it, yes. However, at this size I can't do so myself…" he carefully set down the base onto his knees so that he could rest his arm a bit. Making sure to stabilize it, he brought his knees closer to himself and leaned his head down so that now his lens was overing close to his two friends.

His shutter clicked shut as both reached up to pat the rim lightly in an attempt to comfort him. "I know you've likely gone through an ordeal already due to my carelessness… but could you perhaps build it for me? I really don't think it'd be wise for me to ruin any of the building materials."

"So needy, you big dumbo…" the demoness chuckled "Fine, we'll clean up your mess. But you're so doing our chores for the next month."

"And help with Brute's and Miss's plans!" The beefy wolf added.

"Deal." He held out his pinky so they could shake on it. Once both the smaller toons grabbed it with their little (cute) mitts, he carefully raised it up and down.

"Right! Off to work we go!"

-

It ended up being more of a one girl job to build a replica of the ray gun that Cameraman had created, so while Miss Twisted busied herself with that particular task, Brute had gone ahead and repaired the base. He was used to doing it by now, with just how often it got wrecked.

It was only natural he was picking up a few tricks on how to fix it up nice and quickly, without sacrificing stability and comfort.

He thought it was nice to have a home for a change, rather than some dingy alleyway or a prison cell, so he made sure to maintain it when needed. He was sure his two friends appreciated that tender act on his part. His way of showing a softer less thuggish side while still getting to show off his impressive musculature.

Call him a meathead all you wanted, he liked showing off what got him somewhere in life (through his own effort).

Once done, Brute nodded to himself in satisfaction before going to check in on the others. He came out just in time to see the metal beam once piercing through his friend's shoulder crashing down into the water, and then the femme fatale of the group firing a well aimed energy beam at the wounded object-head looming over her.

Brute covered his one eye to avoid looking at the bright light, and then uncovered it once the world dimmed back to its normal lighting. Not that there was that much sunlight left anymore, the sun was setting pretty quick as it was late in the afternoon.

Still he could just about make out a familiar tiny figure just hovering up in the air for a few brief seconds, before gravity caught up and brought him back down and crashing into the freezing water.

"10 points for that spectacular belly flop! What's your score, big guy?" Missy grinned impishly as she watched their friend resurface and splutter a bit from the shock of getting drenched by the swamp's murky embrace.

"Meh… Brute gives it an 8. Brute has seen better." The lumbering wolf shrugged as he moved over to pick up the trembling toon that was barely able to lift his arm. The wound looked very nasty and needed to be disinfected asap now that it had come into contact with a direct source of filth and bacteria "Cameraman need nurse Brute now. Fix up arm real good!"

"T-thank you big fella… I do f-feel a little woozy…"

"You boys go on ahead, I'm getting rid of this hunk of metal… More trouble than it's worth." She pointed at the ray gun "From now on, no mucking around with sizes!"

"Yes ma'am" both replied at the same time before Brute carried the injured Cameraman inside.

Missy watched them go before simply reaching over to the main panel and ripping out the wiring, disabling the miserable piece of mechanical junk for good. Once that was done, she simply kicked the ray gun into the water and dusted herself.

Satisfied with the deed, she briefly glanced towards the thick smoke in the distance and shook her head.

"What a shame... But hey, at least Cammy brought some scrap metal back…" she glanced at the half submerged beam. It was stained by whatever chemicals the little guy had to pass for blood, but it was an easy enough thing to clean off "Should get to stripping that before it gets too rusty…"

She went inside looking for that one big saw she'd gotten as a reward from Papa Pluto, for ruining some rich snob's party by dumping laxatives into the punch.

That had been a fun night, and that saw could cut through almost everything including solid metal.

On her way back out, she peered into the Society's shared bedroom and nodded at Brute who had just walked out holding the first aid kit.

"How's that shoulder of his?" She asked.

"Cameraman will live. Him asleep now, like little baby." He stepped aside to show her this and, sure enough, there was the shorter of the three curled up in his drawer bed. Tucked in and capped lens tucked under his uninjured arm. It was kind of cute watching him sleep so peacefully after such a rough day.

"Aww… poor little guy tuckered himself out. Must have had a pretty long day playing in the city."

"Ah-yuh." Brute nodded in agreement as he set the kit aside. He looked back at her almost curiously "What do Brute and Missy do now?"

"Well I was gonna strip that beam for scrap, but that'll be noisy… Cammy needs his rest, so why don't we go to the city and loot some goodies while everyone is too busy to stop us?"

"Me like plan!"

"Knew you would, big guy! Come along then!" She made sure to carefully close the bedroom door, but not before looking at the sleeping camera toon one more time. Yeah, he'd earned his rest. "Sweet dreams, you little weirdo…"

And with that done, off they went to cause some more trouble.

All the while their friend dreamt of the simpler things in life, like causing minor mischief with his two (and only) greatest pals in the whole world.

No more dreaming too big, he'd stick with the small-fry stuff thank you very much!

[silviakundera]

META THOUGHTS READING MDZS

so I've started to read the Mo Dao Zu Shi novel The Untamed is based on. I'm fully aware that some of the characterizations and relationship dynamics are quite different and I consider the 2 works to be basically their own separate thing (just as Clueless is its own separate romcom from Emma).

I was prepared for that but... it's frustrating that I can tell that the Chinese novel is likely quite good. The amateur translators are doing their best but what is missing in the pages feels glaring. My instinct is that what we have to engage with in this translation is a thin ghost of the story. Like one of those rolled up posters of a painting you can frame and hang on your apartment wall. It's still nice for the room but it's not the same as it felt like to see the original canvas you saw displayed in the museam.

aw well! Anyway, my initial thoughts: I've read about 1/4th of the novel so far. My impression is that the tv series adaption made 2 key changes that had a huge ripple effect: the choice to do 1 long flashback that tells the whole arc of Wei Wuxian's path to his death and the (forced) choice to remove any explicit homosexuality. Once the viewer cannot have direct verbal and physical cues to communicate the romance arc, the series must build a stronger and more blatant unspoken bond. Also, spending so long in only the past...

In a tv show, the viewers will not have the patience/tolerance for a long, drawn out misunderstanding of intentions. Unlike reading the book, this is THIRTY HOURS of time spent. The viewer CANNOT wait that long to enjoy Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji working together as a team and being emotionally close. So the writers allow Lan Wangji to be a bit more transparent in his positive feelings towards Wei Wuxian and they add a certain earnestness to Wei Wuxian's interactions with him. WWX in The Untamed generally goes through all the events believing he and Lan Wangji have a special bond, except for perhaps the initial weeks of the acquaintance and the day of his death. (and even verging upon his death, he trusts LWJ implicitly to help in the rush to his sister) The "secret" is no longer that LWJ likes & appreciates him as a person. The "secret" the audience knows but he does not is how deep and complex the feelings are -- that LWJ is quietly, desperately in love with him. That unspoken love becomes the dramatic tension, while the plot is propelled by their devotion to each other.

These choices impact the tone of the present, because this resurrected WWX has no character reasons to do anything but trust LWJ and no reason to stir up trouble. Just having that close emotional bond resume... it's a huge stabilizing factor for him. He's quite subdued compared to pre-death WWX, but it makes complete sense because all the frantic hopeless desperation is gone. His chosen soulmate found him almost immediately and tells him he believes in him. He's not alone in the world and seeing everyone as a threat.

But in the novel, the flashbacks are more spread out. I've only read the teenage months at school so far. And the time it takes to consume them is quick. Because of this, the author doesn't have to make young Wei Wuxian as likeable. The medium allows Wei Wuxian to be less sympathetic, ruder, even more self-involved. And because the center of the narrative is the present timeline, it's possible to make their past interactions more antagonistic without alienating the "audience" ... because we don't have to wait to see them work smoothly together.

There is also forced choice #2 - since gay people can exist in novel canon, Wei Wuxian (an irrepressible troll in any universe) finding himself possessing the body of person publically known (and reviled for) being gay of course immediately uses period-typical homophobia to purposely screw with people and manipulate them to distract them & underestimate him. (This WWX is still alienated & isolated, trying to divert and escape.) He himself clearly has some internalized homophobia to work through, which is unsurprising as the novel sets this up as typical for their cultivation culture. This adds further "gray" to the character's introduction. The reader is "in on the joke" and knows he's intentionally screwing with homophobe straights...but the fact that he thinks of himself as Not That Way makes it uncomfortable to see him using it as a weapon (even if others deserve to be victims of their prejudice).

As different as Wei Wuxian comes across, so far Lan Wangji feels pretty much like the Untamed character, as do Lan Sizhui and Jin Ling. Present Day Jiang Cheng is even more unpleasant... Man, I forgot this from the tv show, how FOR YEARS he has been taking people who he just SUSPECTS practice any demonic cultivation and just brutally torturing them (to death???!!) and the sect world all knows about it but shrugs their shoulders all, whateva. wtffffffff is WRONG w this guy and why does no one EVER hold him accountable for completely lacking empathy and respect for human lives ????????????

(I mean, it's 100% believable because we see that the cultivators actually in general care don't about the lives of the common people at all. And I liked that this cynical observation about cultivator culture was called out explicitly in the novel. Just, man, it's so! screwed! up!)

I will say that because I watched the tv series first, I definitely picture that actor's portrayal of Lan Wangji when I read him in scenes. And it fits well. Resurrected WWX is only described physically once, and it was pretty vague... Jin looking 20-something youth or some such. That makes it too easy to keep accidentally slipping into picturing the Untamed actor. I suppose I should probably instead be picturing a cross between Jin Ling and Evil Hat Boi. (idk I'm super not a visual person, so mentally picturing what a book character looks like is hard for me in general.)

So far I'm enjoying the novel. Some of the plot stuff is more coherent than the TV show and I'm interested to see how the novel will intermingle present/past as the story progresses.

[bigskydreaming]

One trope in particular that’s always been a Batfandom fave is the de-aging trope, where various Batcharacters are de-aged to certain points in childhood and the others interact with them that way while trying to change them back. There’s a couple out there that use Dick as the one de-aged and younger him is surprisingly more angsty than his siblings were expecting but there’s one take that I’ve never ever seen done and that like, I would kill to read a fic of.

So like, I’ve mentioned before that one thing I particularly like about the juvie origin for Dick and part of why I always default to it, is because of how it specifically has Dick encounter Bruce as Batman BEFORE Bruce takes him in. That one scene of Dick barefoot on the rooftops just after escaping from juvie and then Batman’s just there, looming over him....

That’s always stuck out and resonated with me as just this amazing and largely untapped facet of the entire Batfamily and their dynamics.

Because see, when they meet on the rooftops, Batman tells Dick to go back to juvie before anyone notices he’s gone, and he’ll make sure he gets out in a way that he’ll be able to help bring in Zucco. He won’t be able to help if he’s a fugitive himself, Batman tells him.

Dick complies.....but not because he believes him. He has no idea who’s under the cowl, no idea that Bruce is planning on showing up the next day and making sure he gets out of there now that he knows that’s where they sent Dick.

And he has no reason to believe him either.

After all, for the past month, every adult Dick’s interacted with has basically just told him he belongs in juvie, he’s supposed to be there. In the place that everyone there acknowledges as ‘where they send the bad kids.’ As far as Dick’s concerned, every single person he’s interacted with since his parents died (with Dick still blaming himself for not telling anyone he saw Zucco threaten Haly before the show, thus probably feeling on some level that this is the reason he was sent there)...but point is, everyone he’s met has in all likelihood just taken it on face value, no matter what Dick says or does, that if someone put Dick in juvie he’s supposed to be there, and him saying otherwise is just what everyone says of course.

So Dick has absolutely no reason whatsoever to assume that Batman doesn’t look at him on the roof that night and just see a criminal kid escaping from juvie. That he wasn’t just trying to get Dick to go back peacefully, and with Dick resentfully thinking the only reason he goes back is because he figures if he doesn’t, Batman will just drag him back anyway.

Point being.....Dick’s first view of Batman there isn’t seeing him as a hero, a protector. Someone who will be on his side and help and protect him.

Any and all respect and appreciation he developed for Batman came AFTER he got to know him.

Much like Jason...who reacted to Batman confronting him about his tires by attacking...because Batman was literally catching him in the act of committing a crime, technically. Jason has no reason not to assume Batman’s going to view him as anything other than a bad kid to be carted off to juvie, when he hits him with his tire iron and tries to run away.

Now, back to Dick, in the juvie origin, once Bruce gets him out of juvie and brings him to Wayne Manor, they don’t bond instantly or anything. In fact Dick is mostly just left alone and is miserable for the first few weeks...because he doesn’t get why Bruce did that, as Bruce is still keeping his identity a secret and thus keeping up his Brucie persona even at home, around Dick. It isn’t until Dick sneaks out to go after Zucco and Batman saves him from two of Zucco’s henchmen, that Dick figures out that Bruce is Batman and Bruce starts acting like himself around him and they really start getting to know each other.

But just like Jason, who had Bruce reveal his identity to him basically as soon as he decided to take Jason in after the Ma Gunn thing played out.....

The importance of this, to me, is that for both Dick and Jason....Batman was initially the enemy to be wary of, the bogeyman for them as much as the criminals Bruce crafts his reputation to scare specifically. I don’t think its ever really occurred to Bruce that Batman isn’t universally regarded as a source of comfort and likely protection by all children...that two of his own children were just as wary of him in that way as any criminal...because even though they knew they were just trying to survive, they didn’t trust that he would view it and them that way...and had no reason to.

So the thing is....as much as Bruce always valued his time with both Dick and Jason when they were in costume at his side as Robin....I think there’s a strong case to be made that he’s never fully understood that even though they enjoyed that a lot of the time....the time they spent together in costume wasn’t the same as the time when it was just them and Bruce in the Manor.

Because Bruce Wayne was their hero, before they came to view Batman that way. They only grew to trust and value Batman for what Bruce tried to do in that guise BECAUSE he eventually won their trust as BRUCE, first.

And this is, again quite interestingly to me....the exact opposite of say, Tim and Damian. Who sought Bruce out BECAUSE of Batman, BECAUSE they were seeking the hero, the legend, first and foremost. They both came and stayed for Batman first....and then grew to value their non-costumed interactions with Bruce just as much. Whereas Dick and Jason stayed for Bruce Wayne, the man under the cowl, and only later extended that to him in the cowl.

Which if you think about it, can account for SO MUCH of the disconnect in the various Batfamily member’s interactions and miscommunications....because the mantles sometimes get in the way. They didn’t all come into the family for the same reasons, and not just with different views....but completely contradictory views.

And this has never fully been acknowledged, and thus never reconciled.

So for instance, Dick and Jason both began pulling away from Bruce more and more....due to friction between he and them as Batman and his Robins, conflicts in costume. Differing ideologies. A lot of people forget that Dick and Bruce were having a lot of fights even before the encounter with the Joker that was Dick’s last real time as Robin at Bruce’s side. They were disagreeing more and more about their approaches to criminals....Dick thought Bruce was being too violent with criminals, and not differentiating enough between petty crimes and more violent offenders, brutal interrogation methods, that sort of thing. Ironic, given that it was Bruce who was critical of Jason being too violent, etc, in their conflicts there.

But the point being, their conflicts with him BEGAN in costume. And leaked over to their civilian lives from there...because Bruce has never really made a distinction between the two. He’s always viewed himself as...he IS Batman. Batman IS him. There’s no reason their argument in costume would be any different out of it......but for Dick and Jason, because of growing to trust Bruce first, THEN Batman.....there was more of a marked distinction. And slowly, conflicts that in their eyes began with Batman just...not understanding them and their point of view...with this not being totally surprising to them because they’d always be much more cognizant of where they came from and how they first viewed him...would have thus started to ‘infect’ their interactions with Bruce...their father...the one they’d ACTUALLY stayed for and trusted....but who was increasingly becoming less of a safe refuge...because of Batman, and his inability or unwillingness to understand where they were coming from and their priorities.

Whereas Tim and Damian....being in costume at Batman’s side WAS the refuge. The stable, comfortable environment, the familiar thing that was the reason they were here in the first place. It was as their civilian alter egos that they were always uncertain where they stood with Bruce, and unsure how to interact with him at times. When they were having personal disagreements, it was easier to shelve that away and refocus their attention for the moment on the larger than life figure of Batman and what he represented to them and had even before they knew him personally.

So of course you’re going to have a total mess of conflicts and misunderstandings when you have fundamentally opposing views on what even makes you a family in the first place.

Batman and Robin were the reason Dick and Jason started to no longer feel comfortable and secure in Wayne Manor...as Dick and Jason. In stark contrast to how for Damian and Tim, being at a Batman’s side as Robin was what AFFIRMED their feeling comfortable and secure in their place in the manor or the family.

I have thoughts on Cass and Duke and Steph all here too, but this is already getting long as fuck and those four are the most clear cut examples.

But anyway, this is why I would kill for a de-aging fic that regresses Dick to back just when he and Bruce are starting to get to know each other for real, when Bruce was actively working to win his trust. When Dick had found out that Bruce was Batman and in on the whole secret, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t still a long way to go before reaching that ultimate camaraderie...and it all stemming from that still fairly fresh trauma of not just the loss of Dick’s parents, but the removal of all sense of stability in Dick’s world, where people locked him up for no real reason and adults weren’t trustworthy, etc.

Regressing Dick to this specific age and state of mind allows for several things, with ripple effects that have the potential to help with not just his own interactions with the various family members, but even the rest of theirs with each others’:

First, it vividly brings Bruce back to those earliest days with Dick and what it was like, and how hard he had to work to gain his trust...as well as all his reasons for doing it, and being glad he did. It forces Bruce to start taking a hard look at the road their relationship took since then, and acknowledge where he started taking Dick for granted as being ‘fixed or healed’ enough that he didn’t have to work as hard at keeping his trust, or mistakenly assuming that due to living with him long enough, Dick had started to become more like him to the extent that Bruce no longer had to put as much effort into trying to understand where he was coming from or bridge the gap in their life experiences AND world views.

At the same time, bringing things back to the start, so to speak, forces the other Batkids to see their eldest brother, that they’ve always had a ton of misconceptions about, in an entirely new light, unveiling for the first time entire sides of him and his past that have never really been talked about in their presence in all likelihood, for a number of reasons.

BUT. Given Dick’s overall loyalty to Batman over the years, even as much as they clash and disagree on all manner of things....

The BIGGEST shock to the system would IMO inevitably be the revelation that.....Dick didn’t trust Batman at first. Was wary of him. That Dick Grayson of all people, hadn’t always implicitly viewed the Batman as a protector.

And this opens the doors to so many of the conversations this family desperately needs to have.

Because see, Jason would understand exactly where this version of Dick is coming from, and would be able to speak to his mindset here, when their other siblings are still reeling and somewhat baffled by this very notion and Dick’s not in a hurry to explain himself further to even more costumed strangers who insist they’re not time travelers, he’s just fifteen years younger than he’s supposed to be right now.

And with Jason spelling that out for the members of the family who didn’t come into it from that perspective, you’d have Tim able to clearly speak to how that’s nothing like how he had viewed things and his place in the family and as Robin....connecting the dots at the same time to so many of his own issues with Dick AND Damian....as this helps to clarify for him that with them all approaching things from such radically different POVs...of course there would have been a large degree of disconnect between Dick and Tim over the Robin situation, because to Dick, always innately valuing their civilian connections over their costumed ones, it never really fully hit him just how not being Robin anymore threatened Tim’s sense of security as to where he stood with the family. 

While at the same time being an eye-opener to Tim and likely Damian as well, that they had such a huge source of common ground between them that they didn’t share at all with the brothers they considered themselves closer to....because its Tim and Damian who most definitively associated their being Robin with their reason for being a part of the family at all....which is why the two of them in particular were so reactionary and defensive to attempts to change their status as Robin.

And then of course, once you have them all accepting that Batman was never what forged the strongest connection with Dick....its a straight shot from there to the understanding that similarly, their own costumed relationships with Dick were never what he valued most...and weren’t going to win this younger, more untrusting version of him over now, while they still had no idea how long he was going to stay this way.

Which means just like Bruce now retracing his earlier footsteps in forging a bond with Dick as Bruce Wayne, and bringing back all those memories and associated feelings for him.....each of the other Batkids realize that if they want to forge any kind of bond with this version of Dick, who might stay that way for all they know....it was going to have to be as themselves. His brothers and sister and...Steph.

And just like it hadn’t been for Bruce the first time around....it wouldn’t be easy. Dick at this age had lots of reasons for being wary and prickly and the strangeness of this situation isn’t helping there. BUT, rather than easily falling into defensive frames of mind like they would when interacting with a prickly or angry adult Dick Grayson, their elder brother....its hard to react so defensively to the kid version of him who has very clear reasons for being that way and far less experience covering up his true feelings. It would highlight all the ways Dick is a lot more like each of them in various ways...and always had been....AND, from THAT, its easy to have them each be confronted with memories of their own earliest interactions with Dick....and how none of them had been the easiest to bond with, because of their own varied and understandable trust issues and prickliness...thus forcing them to acknowledge at last how much effort Dick had actually put into making those bonds with each of them in the first place....and how many of them had taken that for granted in different ways at different times.

Thus, now with the shoe being on the other foot, it can finally be a two way street with them now each in the position where its on them to be the one to make the effort and not be dissuaded.

And then you have Dick re-aged and still retaining the memories from while he was a kid again....and you have him with fresh reminders of what it was like when Bruce was putting in the work to win him over and be what he needed....and with Bruce recommitted to not taking him for granted as he’d been. While at the same time, finally having definitive proof of each of his siblings willing to put in the effort to bond with him and be there for him, like he’s done for each of them at times without always being sure whether it was actually reciprocated.

And all of them, by virtue of it having been the family’s eldest kid and the start of the legacy so many of them have fought over, and the first person at Batman’s side as well as to leave it....

Are all then equally in a position to make the most of this new awareness of how each of them view the family dynamics and their places within the family...and how that’s led to massive misunderstandings and miscommunications in the past, and how to avoid that in the future.

Or I mean.

Y’know. Whatever.

Something like that, I guess. Idk, I haven’t really put that much thought into it. Was just an idea. *shrugs*

sfhilakhlkaghlakg

[mittensmorgul]

I hope I’m not the only one still wondering about the “cosmic” consequences of Cas killing Billie?? Was it cas' death?? Mary’s death?? Both?? Something to do with jack?? They’ve obviously all had all manor of “cosmic” bs happen to them since that night, but I figured the consequences billie warned them about would be a little bit more.... clearly linked?

I think it was everything… but especially Billie becoming Death.

That’s the thing with “cosmic” events, that Supernatural itself has hung a lampshade on. There isn’t necessarily a straight line between cause and effect. No “oh no this terrible consequence is clearly a directly linked result of that cause.”

Remember what Billie’s deal had been? back before she’d had the power of Death to back her up and unbind her hands a bit? When she was “just a regular old reaper” who was constrained by that role to perform her function? One Winchester dead. That’s what had to happen. But Cas, the wild card, had stepped in and said NO. And Billie died BUT she was brought back with far more power AND insight into the bigger picture of the universe. And far more ability to manipulate events in her own right.

I’ve been writing about Death in Supernatural for years. Death is the ultimate game-changer going all the way back to s5. Death was the one horseman they didn’t have to “kill.” He handed Dean his ring and explained how to use them. He brought back Sam’s soul from the cage after teaching Dean his first real lesson on Cosmic Consequences (6.11). The results of his actions may not have had a clear, direct line back to his action, but we saw a simplified version of those events in that episode.

It’s also interesting to me that in retrospect now, that’s also what Death demanded of the Winchesters in 10.23… one must die. Dean rejected that and killed Death instead, making way for Billie to rise to the mantle in Dabb era.

Interesting, yes?

Her very first appearance in 11.02, she employs the threat of the Empty, making it out to be a terrible place of nothingness, but that’s not what we’ve seen there since… in 13.04 it was horrible thinking of Cas there, sleeping forever, how is that really different from Heaven? Souls locked in their little cubby reliving the past for eternity, in what’s been likened to a dream since the first time we got a glimpse of Heaven (in 5.16, thanks Dabb!). The only difference is the Empty lacks the bureaucracy of Heaven and the fancy hallways, oh, and Chuck has no power there.

(no, I don’t think Chuck actually resurrected Lilith from the Empty in 15.05. We just got a good look at his “writing process” there.)

But the show has subtly tried to tell us how cosmic consequences work, for a really long time. All actions have consequences, you know? Sometimes small things, sometimes world-altering things. We might not always know which are which.

For example, in 13.05, what was Billie really saying here:

Billie: Since I got this… new job, I stand witness to a much larger picture. Do you know what I see? You. And your brother. You’re important.Dean: Why?Billie: You have work to do. That’s all you need to know. And trust me, having my eyes opened to the necessity of any humans, especially Winchesters, is not a thrill. So… you wanna die, but I say… keep living.

What’s this “much larger picture” she’s seeing? Back when we first met her, she had a job that was clear-cut and had simple rules. What dies stays dead, and all that, and the Winchesters were meddlers, an affront to the natural order, in her eyes. But now that *we* know the extent of the larger picture, that takes on a whole new weight.

That episode also introduced the concept of her books of fates, recording everyone’s eventual death. We know those fates can be rewritten, the books can change but also that some people have more than one book to start with. 

WHY?!

It’s never explained to us, but it begs us to ask more questions. Who is writing these books? Who is changing these stories of people’s lives? I think that’s what Billie bore witness to– the depth of Chuck’s meddling in creation. The story became the story. And despite her not having the power to really do anything directly to stop that meddling, she finally understood the power of the Winchesters (meaning all of them, including Cas, and including Jack). I think she realized the game at play, and began outlining her own plot and doing what Death has always done with his knowledge and power.

Back during original Death’s tenure, he interfered just enough to nudge the story into an attempt at stability (teaching Dean about the consequences of his actions, about the power of human souls, helping to realign and maintain the balance of the natural order). But Billie… Chuck can’t stand her because she is a meddler, he said. She’s playing a bigger game, and it’s taken her this long to gently nudge the pieces around the board to where we are now– ready to face down Chuck directly and get his grubby hands off creation once and for all. It’s hard to do all that within the rules (i.e. the cosmic limitations of Death’s power). She’s still bound by Chuck’s ever-shifting rules, and revealing her hand too soon would’ve tipped Chuck off. So instead, she’s apparently been working WITH the Shadow entity in the Empty, and finally succeeded at getting ALL of Jack there for the conference Chuck couldn’t overhear.

(y’all have NO IDEA how curious I am about their talk…)

I think the clearest example we have of direct cosmic consequences came from Jessica the Reaper in 13.19 (with apologies for the huge block quote):

Jessica: Rowena’s changing people’s fates. She’s killing them before their time and when a reaper shows…Sam: She torches them too.Jessica: Yes.Dean: Why?Jessica: You’ll have to ask her when you stop her because if she keeps this up she is going to throw off fate. The whole greater machinery of death.Sam: That means?Jessica: Have you ever heard of the butterfly effect?Dean Ashton’s second best movie!Sam {looks at Dean, incredulous}: Yeah, of course… one small mistake can cause all kinds of bad. What about it?Jessica: If just one person dies before their time a lot of things that were supposed to happen…don’t. The ripple effect from just one early death can affect hundreds of lives and changing their fates changes even more fates until things just become sincerely unfortunate and we have to hit the reset button.Sam: What does that mean?Jessica: Usually? A mass kill off, like the Black Plague or a mid sized war… Something to wipe the board clean. So… your help in avoiding that would be greatly appreciated by everyone.Dean: If it’s so bad, why don’t you stop her?Jessica: You’ve met Billie, right? She’s got rules. Clean hands… no interference… no direct interference, anyway. We can’t stop her, but you can. {she looks directly at Sam}Sam: What… Me?Jessica: Death keeps notebooks of all the ways a person might die depending on their choices. Dean’s seen his.Dean: I gotta whole shelf.Jessica: But in Rowena McLeod’s notebook her death is always the same. She’s killed Sam Winchester… By you!

These “ripple effects” from things outside the natural order affecting the bigger picture? Gosh in retrospect don’t they sound like the sort of plotting Chuck has been arranging this entire time? I mean, taking this result of cosmic consequences into account, is it any wonder why Chuck’s endings so closely resemble Jessica’s description of “hitting the reset button?” A mass kill off, or like, you know, an apocalypse?

I’m… side-eyeing EVERYTHING Chuck has ever done to manipulate the story, to manipulate the universe into setting up his story, and the imbalances that have resulted. Once upon a time, Billie had blamed all of that on the Winchesters, but I think now she sees it’s been Chuck all along. And she’s a real stickler for the rules, even when it’s Chuck breaking the rules or making the rules, rewriting creation in real time to force his own story onto it instead of letting it happen on its own. Billie… is not a fan. :’D

(one last aside here to point out that Dean’s got a whole shelf of books, but Rowena is implied to only have the one… one that never changes… but this was before she actively decided to try and change her own fate… I wonder if her book changed with that choice… or if there might be another book now…)

[escapingpost]

The Heartbreak Club (Chapter 4)

Chapter 4: Non-antagonistic Antagonist

previous: chapter 3

The antagonist is just as important to the story as the main lead characters. Not only do they add suspense and an opposing force, they can make or break the story. Sometimes, their mistakes cause a ripple effect to every other character in the story. When you take out the antagonist, what happens to the plot?

More importantly, when the motivation is gone and the secrets are forgotten, what is their end goal?

In the end, you were barely able to convince Seungwoo not to walk you back to the dorms. You dig through your memory to remember the next plot point in the drama:

Devoured by pride from the night of the gathering, Kim Hana, the real one, decides her first phase of creating chaos. Unfortunately, blinded by her rage, she seeks out the wrong person.

Kim Wooseok.

With a sculptured face and eyes like a deer, Kim Wooseok was type of character that attracted with just one minute on screen. He has only had eyes for one girl ever since he met her. Kim Wooseok was the second male lead that would pin for the girl until the very end. In “The Heartbreak Club”, the difference in the main lead and the second lead was not timing. The Wooseok on the inside was different from what you saw on the outside.

You enter the office for your major and sign in to see a counselor to help with your current situation. You are in deep thought of how to tell them you needed to leave the major you were currently in until you feel a light push on your forehead.

“You’ll get wrinkles faster if you always look like your in pain.” Wooseok took a seat next to you and comfortably stretched out his legs.

You look at him in surprised and hold your forehead, “Oh, I was just thinking about something.”

“I’m assuming you got home safely yesterday?” Wooseok asks.

You nod.

Wooseok looks down at you, “Why are you here?”

You shake your head, “I want to change my major.”

Wooseok has a small look of surprise for a few seconds and slowly nods. He glances at you, “Can I ask you why?”

“I want to go for something that I can enjoy. I’m just not cut out for engineering.”

Wooseok mockingly laughs, “Are you being modest or just fishing for compliments? You’re one of the best students in your year.”

And again, you are reminded that you were still Kim Hana. “I might be, but I don’t want to do it anymore.”

Wooseok looks down at his lap and then back at you, “Where do you want to change to?”

“When I lived in the hospital, all I did was sketch for a hobby. I want” You pause your sentence and come to a realization.

“You lived at the hospital?” The features on Woosek’s face gets softer as if he was releasing all tension in his expression. 

“It wasn’t for very long.” You quickly answer. “Why are you here, Wooseok-sunbae?”

“For personal reasons." Wooseok answers. His stare lingers on you for a few more seconds until he looks down at his phone.

Talking to a counselor about changing your major with grades like Hana’s was an interesting conversation, but in the end, you could not change your major mid-semester. You agree to stick out in the major, but will comeback towards the end of the semester to change it.

Just like that, a normal week passed. That is, if normal was being completely lost in class and facing an identity crisis.

You slowly change Hana’s dull room into something more lively. Her bare beige walls now had fairy lights illuminating the darkness of the night. You also bought a medium-sized pin board to post up pictures. So far, you only had one picture of a cat that hung around your dorm’s building.

The gray bed sheets and comforters were now changed into a lilac purple, your favorite color. The color gave you a feeling of assurance and warmth.

Throughout the week you noticed Hana’s source of finances came from a joint bank account with her father. Feeling uncomfortable in using her father’s money, you started looking for a part time job.

Speaking of her father, you remember his supporting role in the drama. He was what you would call “a fool for his daughter”. He was Hana’s pillar, her weakness. It seemed like every time she talked to her father, her words were rough, but was filled worry.

He had only sent you one text message ever since you became Kim Hana.

To which, you did not reply to him. You felt uncomfortable fooling Hana’s father. But that same night he sent the message, you turned off your fairy lights in your room and let the moonlight become your source of light. He reminded you of your real mother. And you wished you treated her just a little better.

“Do you want to check it out? Its free.”

You turn around to the source of the angelic and cheerful voice. A petite girl stood behind you carrying a huge canvas. 

Her crescent shaped eyes when she smiled finally revealed who she was, Kim Chaewon. 

This was the thing about “The Heartbreak Club”. It was not only the main lead’s story, but the college life of several students. Kim Chaewon was a supporting female character. She had befriended Kim Minju because birds of the same feather flock together. Automatically, she was the spunky small bean who would go on to cheer for Minju’s plight for Han Seungwoo. Naturally, Kim Chaewon was pulled in her own small love triangle with two other male supporting leads.

When you did not answer, she smiled, “Don’t just stand outside, the fourth years made some really great pieces for this exhibit.”

Walking down the campus, you had found yourself going inside the Art’s Building for the first time.

You slowly nod, “Do you need some help?”

Chaewon shakes her head, “I look scrawny, but the canvas isn’t that heavy.” she giggles.

“Hey, small fry!” A male voice calls out.

You turn your attention to the person running over, ‘Seungyoun?’

“Hana? What are you doing here?” Seungyoun stands next to Chaewon, grabbing the canvas from her.

“She came to see the exhibit, right?” Chaewon gives you a cheeky smile and locks arms with you, pulling you through the doors of the exhibition room.

As soon as your enter, your mouth gapes open at all of the paintings fitted into the room. Your eyes light up at all the wonderful colors and unique art expressions.

Chaewon has a proud smile on her face and grabs the canvas from Seungyoun, “I’ll be right back.”

You slowly make your way to a particular painting. It was a watercolor painting of a bouquet of lilacs. You stare at the painting and a memory of your mother placing lilacs on your bed side table flashes through your mind.

Aren’t these great?

I guess.

This girl, you’re never going to see the brighter things in life if you choose to gray scale your vision.

I like them a lot. Thank you.

You close your eyes and almost hear your mom say your real name.

You turn your body away from Seungyoun when you feel a drop fall down your cheek, “Wow, these paintings are great.”

However, Seungyoun’s already seen the lone tear that escaped.

Cho Seungyoun was probably one of the very few characters with a more normal backstory. Wearing a heart on his sleeve, he is set to pursue his dream to become a music producer. However, he did not expect it when he slowly became interested in a small girl that was always carrying too much art supplies and that his music take form in the shape of his newly found interest, Kim Chaewon.

“Are you crying?” Just like the straight-forward character that he was, he does not miss a beat to ask you.

“I think its just the fresh paint fumes.” you quickly wipe the tear and sniffle.

“Right.”

“I have to go.” You give him a weak wave and start to leave.

“Hey! Come back again.” Chaewon says from across the room.

You look at Seungyoun, then at Chaewon and nod.

Everything was catching up with you at a fast pace. You wonder what happened to your old life. If this was your second chance, then does this mean you do not exist in your past life?

All the questions floating in your head frustrated you, but you kept calm. Other than completing your bucket list, was this going to last forever? You were in someone else’s life, living their reality.

Another part perplexed you. You knew the background stories of all, if not most, of all the people around you. Were they actually part of your reality?

Deep inside, you were just a weak and sick ridden person with little to no knowledge of life outside your hospital bedroom.

But, little did you know, the story that you once knew was slowly changing its course.

A month passes by as if nothing happened. You were still having trouble in your computer classes, while you were barely surviving general education classes. You got a part time job near your school at a cafe.

You also kept your distance from all the characters you knew about. Yohan was the hardest to keep away from because of his interest toward Kim Hana, but you successfully avoided him. It was the best for them to follow the path they were destined to follow.

Syntax error

You let out deep sigh and lightly slam your fingers on the keyboard. You see a shadow creeping up behind you and you jump in surprise.

Hangyul looked at the screen on your computer and scrolled through the code using the keyboard. “You forgot to define this. It won’t work if you randomly insert it with no formula or integer.”

Opposite of Cho Seungyoun, Lee Hangyul was a student of secrets. Not much was known other than the fact that he was adopted. He was just Cho Seungyoun’s best friend. The love triangle between Seungyoun, Chaewon, and Hangyul was an obvious endgame. If Kim Wooseok’s pain did not cause second male lead syndrome, Lee Hangyul’s did. 

You watch him type something and successfully run the program. “Thanks.”

Hangyul takes the computer next to you and leans on the table of the computer, “Don’t take this to offense, but are you sick?”

Wary of his suspicion, you give him a confused expression, “What are you talking about?”

“That day of our midterm, I carried you to the health office.”

You point at him, “It was you?”

“After that happened, you changed.” Hangyul says quietly. “I was just gonna ignore it because we’re not close or anything.”

You wait for him to continue.

“But, I can’t.”

“Why not?”

Hangyul pauses, “Because a situation changed.”

The Heartbreak Club Episode 7

“I don’t need this from you, Hana.” Wooseok got up from the chair.

“You like Kim Minju. I know you do.” Hana slowly makes her way closer to him. “I’m just saying we should work together.”

Wooseok scoffed, “You’re a real work of art, you know that?”

“What are you guys doing here?” Seungyoun’s raises his eyebrows.

“We’re on a date.” Hana states. She looks at the petite girl next to Seungyoun.

Chaewon slowly raises her hand, “Hey, I’m Chaewon.”

Seungyoun looks at Wooseok in confusion.

“Lets go, Hana.” Wooseok grabs Hana’s wrist and pulls her out of the exhibit room.

“Chaewon is one of Minju’s closest friends. It won’t be long until she tells her.” Hana tells Wooseok as he pulls her farther from the building.

Wooseok finally stops in his tracks, “So?”

“I’ve known Minju for years and she won’t stand anyone else getting attention other than her.”

Wooseok shakes his head, “That’s what you think.”

[alexsfictionaddiction]

Alex Recommends: May and June Books

I must apologise for the late arrival of this post. It should have been up days ago but I’ve been struggling to read much for the last month or so. My head has been very foggy and dark with all of the confusion, anxiety and hate that has been filling my news feeds and I’ve been filled with a desire to combat it. Before this month, I’d have run in the opposite direction from any kind of confrontation but recent events have given me the kick up the butt to actively do better. I’ve been calling out bigotry when I come across it and I’ve noticed that some people, notably my older relatives, haven’t necessarily reacted favorably to the changed, more outspoken Alex. It has been pretty daunting and I’ve worked myself up into fits of rage and tears several times over the last couple of months.

A lot of things have changed for me since my last Alex Recommends post. I’m currently temporarily living in Staffordshire with my boyfriend because my depression got too bad for me to stay at home for much longer. I missed him unbelievably much and I knew that spending some prolonged time with him would help -and it has. Both him and I have spent 12 weeks religiously following all of the rules, so we’re both extremely low-risk for catching and spreading COVID-19 and being together was something that we simply really needed to do. Please don’t hate me for it! In other news, I have also started writing again, which feels amazing. I’m now a few thousand words into a queer Rapunzel retelling that I have lots of ideas for. Maybe I’ll even post an extract or two, when I feel it’s ready to show you.

In the centre of the renewed energy of Black Lives Matter and the undeniable exposure of the horrors that is police brutality, the book blogging and BookTube worlds vowed to uplift Black voices. I wrote a very long, in-depth blog post full of Black-written books and Black book influencers. Please check it out to diversify your TBR and educate yourself on Black issues, which is what every white person should be doing now and always.

June was Pride Month and I tried my best to compile a series of recommendation posts in honour of it. These included gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, non-binary, ace, pansexual and intersex lists. I’ve had some great feedback on this, so I hope you find some fantastic new reads. It felt especially poignant to put them together the same year that one of my childhood heroes came out as an ignorant trans-exclusive feminist. As a lifelong Harry Potter superfan and someone who has repeatedly publicly supported Rowling in the past, I feel the need to clarify where I now stand. I do not support or agree with a single thing that she has said in recent times with regard to transgender people. I’ve never felt my own status as a cisgender female threatened by trans people wanting more rights or believed that children or women were at risk due to their existence. 

I read her words more than once and struggled to find any semblance of the woman who wrote the books that have most defined my life. I’m hesitant to say that we can always successfully separate the art from the artist but I will say that it makes sense to me that the Rowling of 2020 is not the same Rowling that wrote Harry Potter. She was a destitute single mother when Philosopher’s Stone was published in 1997 and of course, she is now a million worlds away from that lifestyle. It breaks my heart but it makes sense to me that she has changed beyond belief because her life has changed beyond belief. I’m not and never would make any excuses for her recent behaviour and I have stopped supporting her personally but I will not be getting rid of my Harry Potter books and I will undoubtedly re-read them several more times. However, I am now hugely reluctant to buy any more merchandise or special editions of the books, which saddens me but at the moment, it feels right. There is no coming back for her from this and I will make a conscious effort to keep Harry Potter and Rowling away from my future content. It can be really tough to admit that the people you once really admired aren’t great humans but it’s something that we all have to acknowledge in this case, in order to move forward with our own quests to become our best selves.

It didn’t feel right to post my May recommendations last month as I didn’t feel comfortable promoting my own content in the midst of boosting Black voices. So today I’m bringing you a bumper edition of Alex Recommends. Here are 10 books that I’ve enjoyed since the start of May that I’d love to share with you. Enjoy! -Love, Alex x

FICTION: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Set in the affluent neighbourhood of Shaker Heights, Ohio in the 1990s, two families are brought together and pulled apart by the most intense, devastating circumstances. Dealing with issues of race, class, coming-of-age, motherhood and the dangers of perfection, Little Fires Everywhere is highly addictive and effecting. With characters who are so heartbreakingly real and a story that weaves its way to your very core, I couldn’t put it down and I’m still thinking about it over a month after finishing it. 

FICTION: Get A Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

When coding nerd Chloe Brown almost dies, she makes a list of goals and vows to finally Get A Life. So she enlists tattooed redhead handyman and biker Red to teach her how. Cute, funny and ultimately life-affirming, this enemies-to-lovers rom-com was exactly the brand of light relief that I needed this month. The follow-up Take A Hint, Dani Brown focuses on a fake-dating situation with Chloe’s over-achieving academic sister and I can’t wait to get my hands on that.

FICTION: The Rearranged Life of Oona Lockhart by Margarita Montimore

Just before her 19th birthday at midnight on New Year’s Eve 1983, Oona Lockhart finds herself inexplicably in 2015 inside her 51-year-old body. She soon learns that every year on New Year’s Day, she will now find herself inside a random year of her life and she has no control over it. Seeing her through relationships, friendships and extreme wealth, this strange novel has echoes of Back To The Future and 13 Going On 30 with a final revelation that I certainly never saw coming.

NON-FICTION: The Five by Hallie Rubenhold

Atmospheric and engaging, The Five details the previously untold stories of Polly, Annie, Elisabeth, Kate and Mary-Jane -the women who lost their lives at the hands of Jack the Ripper. Full of fascinating research and heartbreaking accounts of what these women’s lives may have been like, Rubenhold paints a dark immersive portrait of Victorian London and gives voice to these tragic silenced lives. Although we can’t know for certain if these accounts are entirely accurate, they feel very plausible and in some ways, The Five exposes how little time has moved on, when it comes to the public portrayal of single, troubled women.

NON-FICTION: Unicorn by Amrou Al-Kadhi

From a childhood crush on Macaulay Culkin to how a teenage obsession with marine biology helped them realise their non-binary identity, Unicorn tells the story of how the obsessive perfectionist son of a strict Muslim Iraqi family became the gorgeous drag queen Glamrou. Packed full of humour, honesty and heart, this book will give you the strength and inspiration to harness what you were born with and be who you were always meant to be.

MIDDLE-GRADE: The Super Miraculous Journey of Freddie Yates by Jenny Pearson

When fact-obsessed Freddie’s grandmother dies, he discovers that the father he has never met may actually be alive and living in Wales. So he has no choice but to grab his best friends Ben and Charlie, leave his home in Andover and go to find his dad! I laughed so many times during this madcap adventure and I know the slapstick crazy humour will hit the middle-grade target audience just right. It’s also a wonderful depiction of small town Britain with a focus on the true meaning of family.

MIDDLE-GRADE: A Kind Of Spark by Elle McNicoll

When Addie learns about her hometown’s history of witch trials, she campaigns tirelessly to get a memorial for the women who lost their lives through it. This wonderfully beautiful novel gives a unique insight into the mind of an 11-year-old autistic girl with a huge heart. Busting myths about neurodiversity while tackling typical pre-teen drama, you’ll laugh, you’ll cry but most of all, you’ll close the book with a huge smile on your face. 

HISTORICAL FICTION: Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

In 16th century Warwickshire, Agnes is a woman with a unique gift whose relationship with a young Latin tutor produces three children and a legacy that lasts for centuries. This enchanting, all-consuming account of the tragic story of Shakespeare’s lost son, the effects that rippled through the family and the play that was born from their pain will send a bullet straight through your heart. Wonderfully researched and beautifully written, Hamnet is worth all of the hype.

HISTORICAL FICTION: The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

When a vicious storm kills most of the men of Vardø, Norway, it’s up to the women to keep things going but a man with a murderous past is about to come down with an iron fist. At the heart of this dark tale of witch trials, grief and feminism, two women find something they’ve each been searching for within each other. Gorgeously written with a fantastically slow-burning queer romance, Kiran Millwood Hargrave’s first adult novel is an addictive, atmospheric read with a poignant, tearjerker of an ending.

SCI-FI: Q by Christina Dalcher

When one of Elena’s daughters manages to drop below the country’s desired Q number, she is sent away to one of the new state schools and Elena is about to find out something she’d really rather not know about the new system. Packed full of real social commentary and critique of life as we know it while painting a picture of how things could be even worse (yes, really!), this pulse-racing, horrifying sci-fi dystopian gripped me from the first page and refused to let me go. 

[the-nagakenny-archives]

Dr. Jim Meets Kenny

((OOC: This is from an RP I did a looooong time ago with Dr. Jim’s creator. Enjoy! :D))

Jim couldn’t help but over the data in his head as he traipsed through the jungle scenery, following a district trail in the forest floor. There had been rumours of course, locals recounting tales of a half man half snake, one that would do no harm to his 'victims' other than leaving them rather forgetful and merry once they had been deposited back to civilisation. But then there was one account from a visiting doctor that caught his interest, it told in great detail of one of the tourists he visited with, disappearing and then returning just as the locals had described. 

The patient had come back perfectly healthy and unharmed, yet exhibited drowsiness, a cheerful and relaxed disposition and a dotted memory of what happened to them. The only thing the subject remembered vaguely was encountering a 'friendly guy', one which looked at them in the eyes before they found themselves lost in a sea of rippling colours. 

Jim was more than eager to entertain his mind as he worked in the research camp with counter theories, perhaps this myth was a hallucination linked to the flora they had been gathering to examine, as they had found that some of the samples contained a few different hallucinogens. But why such a specific, recurring vision? There must have been some logical explanation. Yet another thing to keep his busied mind up at night. That was until... he saw it. Or rather, him.

It was by complete and total change, but when Dr. Jim was preparing some of the samples to be placed under the microscope, he saw him. At first he saw something moving through the underbrush, the tail of a large snake, then as he was backing away in fright to give the creature a wide berth, he looked up and saw what exactly that serpent tail was connected to. The initial shock had rendered him silent and still with his breath caught in his throat, which worked to his advantage, as the figure didn't seem to notice him staring. The bloody thing was moving at a considerable rate, so he didn't have the time to absorb the details, but he was certain. He had just witnessed the snake man of the stories slither by, making some very noticeable tracks in the grasses and decaying leaves coating the forest floor.

Was there a chance of catching up? Very unlikely, but what if he did? What if he found the creature exhibiting the ability the witnesses described, or at the very least, demonstrating whatever characteristic that would result such amazing stories? What if he caught just another glimpse to confirm he saw it in the first place? Now, he promised himself he wouldn't wander too far from the camp, and he would not go doddering off unprepared. He double checked and found he had already taken the necessary precautions against the jungle pests, and ever since he's edge-running days he's never even thought of leaving the house without some form of protection. In this case it was his nomad pistol hidden away under his coat, but he'd never even consider harming another person or creature unless in the name of self defence. 

So many questions, the curiosity was intoxicating enough to quell his gripes and fears of being in such a wild and untouched place. However, the heat was becoming exhausting to bare and he'd forgotten how long he'd been walking. Perhaps it was time to start to turn back?

Then suddenly, in no direction he could pinpoint accurately, he heard it.

Jim stopped for a moment, his face lighting up in confusion as he began to look around for the source. Was that humming? Well, that was certainly a development. He doubted it was any of his travel companions, following the trail he had put quite a distance behind him and the camp. That and if he were honest, whether they were engrossed in their work or just... to be frank, acting rather stuffy, he really didn't seem them as the 'whistle while they work' sort of fellows.

"O-Oh my word..." He murmured quietly to himself, not sure whether to be excited or terrified.

Either this humming was an anonymous third or the snake in question. After listening for a moment he noticed the sound was travelling away from him, prompting him to continue following. He out on his best effort to be stealthy, but even living on the fringes of the City could only teach a lemon so much to be like a peach. He would on occasion still not see the odd branch and produce a slight noise while stepping on it or sometimes stumble slightly, producing a not so silent curse from the doctor.

He pushed aside a few leaves, wiggled under a mossy log leaned against a tree and then found himself at a smallish clearing. He took a moment to look around while also producing a handkerchief to lightly tab away some of the perspiration forming on his brow, taking in the sights, sounds and smells as he did so. He could hear the faint rumble of a waterfall or river somewhere close by, the foliage in this place was particularly splendid as a result, not to mention the abundance of fruit. There was still a faint impression of the trail to follow, but it seems to peeter out and disappear.

What now? He wondered.

Meanwhile, resting well out of sight was the snake man in question. Kenny had sensed that there were humans in the jungle nearby, he could pick up their scent quite easily. He couldn't tell if they were dangerous as of yet, however; they smelled completely unlike the usual way tourists did, but also not like poachers or trappers at all. It was not a concerning scent, really, but Kenny had thought it best to maybe keep his distance for a little while before investigating further.

That was until he discovered that one of them was following him. He was pretending not to notice, going along his merry way and even humming to himself. He had also left an obvious trail for this person to follow, luring them a little farther away from where the majority of the humans seemed to be. When the time was right, he would shake things up a little and get an up close and personal with his pursuer. He so liked humans, and it would be nice to make another friend....and possibly snuggle a little as well. 

He had stealthily climbed up one of the trees, effectively eradicating his trail, and began doubling back a little bit through the treetop canopy, ceasing his humming--though he afforded himself a small, satisfied chuckle. He heard the human down below noisily making their way through the underbrush as they followed his trail to its end, and when he peered down he could just make them out: a male human with a tangle of dark wavy hair, wearing a long white coat with some necessary travel gear, looking very harried and uncomfortable too. He grinned to himself, and had climbed his way back down to the ground behind the hapless traveler, creeping his way through the jungle foliage without a sound--at first. When he got close enough, he playfully rustled a few leaves here and there to try to make his presence known, but kept himself hidden.

Jim noticeability tensed with a sharp gasp and spun around, but saw nothing just as Kenny anticipated. Feeling increasingly uncomfortable he backed away from the noise, only to hear another rustle not a few degrees away from where he was backing up.

"Oh Christ, oh no no no...!" He whined, sensing he could have very well lead himself into danger, he agreed with his earlier fears he couldn't help but feel thrust into a mild panic, falling back into the habit of biting the side of his hand to relieve the tension. But instead, he stood, he took a breath and tried to relax for a moment. He currently saw three options at this time: reach for his gun and shoot it off into the air to scare it away, back away from the scene slowly and abandon his quest.. or...

He opened his eyes and began looking about again.".....Hello?" He called quietly, looking for some hint of the subjects presence "I-I'm urm... I-I em... mean. No... harm?" He assured the empty space.

Kenny couldn't help chuckling again. Aw, poor guy was scared out of his shoes. He didn't want to spook him any more than he already was, so he switched tactics. "Oh, really?" Kenny piped up cheerfully from his hiding spot, a few feet away. "I was hoping that." 

Once again the small man visibly shrank at the sound of the voice behind him. His hand gripped the folds of his lab coat tightly, to the point of his knuckles turning a lighter shade, just not as pale as the shade his face was turning.

Kenny’s shaggy red-haired head had poked up out of the bushes somewhat, his brown eyes examining his quarry with innocent curiosity. "You some kind of doctor?" he asked him with a tilt of his head. He thought he recognized the kind of coat he was wearing. He started coming a little closer, slowly revealing the rest of him as he reared up from the ground; a strong, very muscular torso, completely naked, which would only be slightly alarming if he were human. However, in the place of legs, his body became thick, powerful snake coils, which were undulating lazily behind him in S-shapes as he slithered closer.

Jim turned around to see Kenny's approach. Now if the look on his face would be rather worrisome if it wasn't somewhat hilarious behold. Never had a face look so confused at whether it should exhibit silent awe or total abject terror. 

"YEs-??" He croaked, if he weren't clearly in his late 30's he'd sound like a teenager fighting his breaking tone. He cleared his voice and nodded quickly and fiddled with his hands "I-I mean -mean yes! I mean, I am. I MEAN! I-I am, a doctor and I mean yes I mean no harm--!" he sputtered pathetically as he backed up a step, it wasn't so much a case of sensing his fear but rather tasting it.

Well, this guy was kind of adorable. Kenny's eyes sparkled with good humor and just a hint of mischief. "Well, that's good," he remarked. "But you seem a little worked up, doc. I'm not going to hurt you. Try to relax a little, huh?" He chuckled pleasantly. "Here, I can help you." 

"A-Ah, I beg your pardon?" Jim muttered, then glanced down to his feet.

Kenny's tail had began to coil itself around Jim's legs, starting down near his shoes and slowly working its way upwards. Kenny himself loomed close, close enough for Dr. Jim to be almost able to smell his strange but pleasant parfum de snake-man, which consisted of cinnamon-y tree bark, earthy moss, and just a faint hint of masculine natural musk. "Yeah, just relax," Kenny repeated in a softer, slightly more soothing tone of voice.

“GzzZT!!" Jim hissed in fright at the sensation, he would have jumped a good few feet in the air if his boots hadn't been pinned. Trying to pull his leg up only resulted in him losing his balance. "W-Whh!" he wailed, wobbling and waving his arms to try and regain some centre.

"Whoa, careful there!" Kenny said with a grin. "You might fall over!" His coils firmly secured themselves around Dr. Jim's waist. "Really now, you're acting like I want to eat you or something!" he chirped cheerfully. It wasn't an unfounded fear, he supposed; there were a lot of snake-people who did eat humans, and he had the unfortunate pleasure of knowing a couple of them. He sure wished those jerks would stop. It really wasn't doing anything to help his ability to make friends.

Jim panted as he recovered from his near fall, his hands clutching onto the coil loop around his waist, only because there was little else to grab for stability. He noticeably shuddered at the notion of being eaten, looking back up to Kenny as he tried to politely push the coil off of his body.

"Well if that’s the case then y-you wouldn't mind letting go would you?" He queried, visibly distressed. "Be a friend and please let me go??" He gulped, grinning nervously. “Because honestly it’s wonderful you don’t see me as a threat or food but y-you’re getting a bit close for c-comfort--”

"Mmm, sure… in a second," Kenny lilted a bit slyly, his coil moving back into place around Dr. Jim's body. 

That mischievous twinkle was still present in his eyes. His body swayed lazily first to the left and then to the right as he looked Dr. Jim over.

"I just couldn't help but notice you're looking a little haggard, doc. Not getting enough sleep? I can usually tell if that's the case...

At the mention of sleep deprivation, Jim simply sighed and adopted a mildly peeved look. it wasn't the first time someone had taken note of the wear and tear he exhibited as a result of his sleep troubles, nor would it be the last he suspected. He went to speak but found himself interrupted again. “Well I--”

'Cuz I'm an expert on that subject, dontcha know." His tail tip playfully poked him on the nose. "Look at those bags under your eyes." 

The doctor’s face flinched at the poke, pursed his lips and shook his head. "I'm sure you have, if rumours are to believed, however I am fine--” 

Kenny simply tsked under his breath in mock disapproval. "Terrible, juuuuust terrible. Well, luckily, I've got just the thing to fix that."

Jim reflexibly closed his eyes with a sigh and tried to reorganise his thoughts. This was the most awkward situation imaginable. He’d just discovered a new lifeform, one that brought the very foundation of evolution into question, and only a minute in it was already critiquing his weary looks. What could he say to change the subject?

“Look- I'm sorting out my sleep pattern one space at a time, and I don’t see how that’s your business.”

Kenny took the opportunity and leaned forward into Dr. Jim's face, so close their noses almost touched (which wasn't surprising, considering the impressive length of Kenny's proboscis), and looked him straight towards the doctors eyes. A peculiar thing began to happen then; Kenny's eyes, which were a rich, dark brown color, changed suddenly into rippling whirlpools of bright, jaunty colors--orange, yellow, green and blue--that filled his entire eye and flowed in a continuous, hypnotic rhythm.

“Mind you it's not my fault if the creative hour seems to arrive long past--" Jim continued before he opened his eyes, which soon widened with surprise after finding his gaze met with two, beautiful, glowing orbs of spinning colours, only vaguely realising they apart of Kenny's face. "--Middd..... niiiight?......" He uttered, his voice becoming quiet.

Oh god. It was happening. Not only was it happening, he was getting a first hand experience.

".....O-Oh ...oh no....." Jim managed to utter desperately, already feeling drawn in after being taken completely by surprise.

Kenny's lips spread into a slow grin, his swirling eyes widening imperceptibly so that Dr. Jim could get the full span of them. "Oh yes," Kenny purred softly. "Don't be afraid. Juuuuust relax, doc." As his coils continued their way up, curling around Dr. Jim's shoulders, he began to croon in a slight sing-song voice, his eyes pulsing and whirling with a lazy, hypnotizing speed that matched his voice. 

"I just want to help yoooooou doc....with my special remed-eeeee....just face the facts, it's nice to relax....don't you think you can agreeeeee~?" Poor Jim was feeling lost, his eyes tried to follow one pulsing ring of colour, only for it to fade and be replaced with another. What on earth was happening? How was he capable of doing this? And... why was it so hard to look away? He tried but, he simply wouldn't move, he couldn't even blink long enough to stop it. He just stood still allowing the weight of Kenny's coils to secure his shoulders, his face frozen in confused surprise.

He just couldn't help it because it felt oddly ... good, so comforting to stare. It was then that his own eyes started to mirror the same effect. His own dark blue eyes shrank away and started to bloom into the same patterned rings, matching the pace of Kenny's own. 

"...H-how do you... do... this?" He uttered slowly, his efforts not helped by the fact that he secretly enjoyed a lovely singing voice, male or female.

Kenny chuckled softly and continued to sing in his almost lullaby-like lilt. "It's maaaaagic," he crooned, "Snake magic I learned as a laaaaad....it helps people sleep, so restful and deep....the best sleep that you've ever haaaaad~"

Kenny's tail slyly undid the knot in the doctor's tie and let it hang loosely, and then it slipped underneath the folds of his shirt collar, curling comfortably around his neck. All this talk of sleep was making his lids started to bob and flutter, if he were not being held in place he'd be teetering again. Kenny's coils gently squeezed him as their journey up Jim's body slowed. The slight squeeze made Jim’s eyes open fully again, the spirals whirling in his eyes picking up the pace. He quietly grunted at the gentle pressure applied to his body before he sank back down again. It was taking a good long moment for Jim to process what Kenny was implying, his thoughts were slowing and disappearing at a rate he could scarcely keep up with. If at all. The coils around him provided a perfect cradle for his body as it kept slackening and losing all stored tension. The spirals did most of the work but the soft crooning was certainly helping him, making him sigh as his head gently started to tilt to one side.

However a thought did manage to surface in his slurried mind. ".....mmaagic?.... h-hang on...." He mumbled softly, then suppressed a small yawn. "Ooh. Scuz me..." He sighed, his sight drawn effortlessly back up to Kenny and his spiralling eyes, his mouth forming a small smile or contentment... yet also amusement. "Idun thinkso… I-I think..." He whispered, now completely unaware of the fact that he was losing his mind.

"Hmm? What's that?" Kenny said with playful slyness. He cocked his head slightly as though he was trying to listen better. "You think....it's working? Oh, I think so, too. Yessssss, indeed." He chuckled deep in his throat. The tip of Kenny's tail slipped underneath Jim's dark bangs and petted his hair gently. 

The wavering doctor closed his eyes briefly at the sensation of Kenny's tail coiling around his head, his scaly skin was smooth and cool, providing some relief from the humid jungle air he had been contending with all day.

"Gosh, you're kind of a cute fella, doc," he purred, his voice low and cunning. "I like hugging you." 

"Oh, than' youu…” Jim barely replied, his mannerisms compelling him to reply to Kenny's complements. 

"But you should go to sleep now. Close your eyes.....go to sleep." His voice dropped down to a soft, sultry whisper, the colorful vortexes of his eyes dominating Jim's vision. 

A dull moan escaped Jim, Kenny's echoing words had brought him past sleepy and straight into downright sluggish. There was barely any space left between his lids to even see his swirling vision, they were just so heavy. It was as if every sleepless night he ever had was returning to him now, demanding compensation.

His coils gave Jim another comfortably tight squeeze. "Ssssleeeeeep...."

Then after that one last dominating squeeze, and one more whispering word, he was done. He didn't so much as drift off as he did pass out, his eyes slowly rolling back before his whole being slumped down completely in Kenny's coils, his head flopping down as he sank into darkness.

Kenny sighed happily at a job well done, the ripples in his eyes retreating and returning to their normal friendly brown color. For a moment, he contemplated what had just transpired between them; the doctor's questions had sort of gotten the gears turning in his mind. How was he able to do what he could do? He just always assumed it was magic of some kind. He was never really taught by the members of his old clan where his powers came from; they were just something all snake-people had and accepted. The doctor guy's comments, sluggish and somewhat slurred as they were, seemed to doubt this claim, though. Could he know something else about them? 

Kenny was deeply intrigued, but for now he would settle for some cuddles up in the cool, shady canopy with his new friend. With a low chuckle he climbed the nearest tree, carefully taking the coiled Dr. Jim with him, and snuggled up next to him. And Kenny heard no complaints from the doctor. There was not so much as a murmur when he was moved about, neither a moan when he was brought into the canopy shade and subjected to a cuddle. To be out of the warmth and into the shade was actually a great relief, and as soon as the two had settled down for the afternoon, it wasn't long until Kenny's guest began to snore softly, indicating that he was well and truly fast asleep.

[tinkeringwithcannabis]

Tinkering with Cannabis: The First 90 Minutes Episode 54

Product: Granddaddy Purple Full Spectrum Booster

Company: Sira Naturals

Location: Somerville, Ma

Cannabis Connoisseur: Anthony K.

Website: www.siranaturals.org

 

Hello again to all my cannabis loving and canna-curious friends, and welcome back to another episode of The First 90 Minutes! Today we will be toking and talking about an amazing new product by Sira Naturals, which I picked up from my friend Anthony K. at the Somerville, Ma location, the Granddaddy Purple (GDP) Full Spectrum Booster! To start, Sira has been selling these boosters for a while now, but they were not strain specific. Due to the number of inquiries regarding the strains used for these products, Sira decided to take this product line one step forward and began manufacturing strain specific full spectrum boosters, this being the very first one I have tried thus far. Before I get into the breakdown of what the strain does, I want to talk a little about the versatility of this product. Full spectrum boosters can be infused into edibles, vaped via dab rig or concentrate pen, or slathered onto a joint or on top of a bowl. After double checking with the Sira staff, I have confirmed that it is NOT recommended that this be used in vape cartridges. This is because this concentrate is already activated and the heat from the vape cartridge batteries does not tend to get as hot as that of a dab rig, a joint, bowl, concentrate pen (as this is specifically designed to hit higher temperatures), or oven. So, it would not be advisable to go out and purchase empty vape cartridges and fill them with this booster. You will not gain the full benefits of this product if you utilize it in this manner. If you want a portable device that would make your dabbing experience similar to that of a vape pen, look for a low-cost concentrate pen if you are looking for a similar experience to the vape pen. I have tried the G-Pen LXE, and I have heard amazing reviews about the Kuli, with both costing around $60 if purchased in a brick and mortar shop.

Jumping into the strain background, Granddaddy Purple is an herbal, peppery, piney strain with THC levels measuring up to 17% for flower, but where this is a concentrate, the TAC (total cannabinoids) measure at 79.5%. This product contains 35 mg of cannabis derived terpenes, with the top terpenes being myrcene, caryophyllene, and pinene. Myrcene is the most common terpene found in cannabis, is known for its earthy scent, and has been found to be effective as a pain reliever, anti-inflammatory, and a sedative. Caryophyllene is a spicy, peppery terpene, which has been found to have major benefits as an anti-inflammatory, anti-anxiety, anti-depressant, as well as has been found to be beneficial in targeting pain and as a sleep aid. Pinene is a pine scented terpene, which has been found to benefit those with Asthma, as it is an amazing bronchodilator, and it has also been shown to improve energy and focus. With these being the top terpenes for this product, it comes at no surprise that this strain has been found effective in treating stress disorders, pain, anxiety, insomnia, and depression. Patients who have utilized this strain have reported feeling relaxed, sleepy, happy, euphoric, and hungry, with some experiencing potential negatives of dry mouth, dry eyes, dizziness, paranoia, and headaches.

Today I will be using the GDP Full Spectrum Booster in an attempt to elevate my mood, promote physical and mental relaxation, and to decrease my stress and anxiety.  This medication session is beginning at 7:57 pm with two hits from my G-Pen LXE concentrate pen on green (medium heat 3.6v). I definitely am tasting and smelling strong pine and peppery/spicy profiles, but there is some herbal aroma to this product. This is especially true upon opening the syringe containing the concentrate. I got a pretty strong “traditional weed” scent, but once heated up, the strong profiles made themselves known. By 8:03 pm I feel my mood beginning to lift slightly, and my anxiety seems to be decreasing. Although there are no significant changes yet, I do feel my thoughts slowing a bit and my body starting to feel subtle waves of relaxation ripple throughout my muscles. At 8:07 p.m. the mood uplift has changed my low mood to more of a neutral, less depressed place. My anxiety has continued to decrease, and my thoughts have slowed down. I feel like my creative thoughts are clear, and I’m feeling an overwheliming calmness and sense of overall relaxation. I feel focused, but I can only focus my attention on one thing at a time. Multi-tasking has already begun to prove to be an issue, and I feel the tension in my neck and back muscles melting, which feels really good right now, as I have been pretty tense. The stress also seems to be melting away, as I am no longer experiencing my worries overrunning my mind.

At 8:27 p.m., I am in the zone on my writing. My body is calm and so is my mind. Although there are other things going on around me, I feel very narrowed in on what I’m doing and I am finding it easy to block out everything else going on around me. As I am writing, I do not feel a lag in my thought process. Despite the fact that my mind and body are easily calm enough that I could lay down and go to sleep, I do not feel sleepy. Just relaxed and able to breath and think clearly. My thoughts are not racing, my anxiety is gone, the stress has melted away, and although I do not feel happy, I do feel more uplifted and even. I am not experiencing any negatives so far. I am able to function without an issue. At 8:57 p.m., I am finding myself continuing to be in an amazing place in my writing. It’s really unbelievable. I can only pinpoint this to the intense mental relaxation and anxiety relief I’m experiencing, as it has really allowed me to clear my head and find a higher level of clarity. I don’t feel my thoughts racing about 900 different things, I am just focused on my writing, and other projects related to my writing. I honestly wish I did not have work tomorrow because I could just stay in this zone all night long and I would get so much writing done! I feel really calm, and I do feel my mood has lifted a bit more toward happy, but not excessively. I’d actually say peaceful and content are better adjectives to describe how I currently feel. My body is very relaxed and tension-free and I have yet to experience any negative.

Rounding the corner to our 90-minute mark at 9:27 p.m, the cerebral effects have greatly mellowed, but they are still subtly present. I still feel very calm, clear, relaxed, and uplifted, but each is to a slightly lesser degree than before. The bodily relaxation is still about the same, as no tension has returned, but the mental stress and anxiety have begun to creep their way back in with minuscule, periodic thoughts of things that have been plaguing my mind and brining me down. Although I have not quite dropped back down to a low level, I am finding that my mood seems to be descending from that happy place, and I am considering medicating again soon before the effects completely wear off just to prevent the extreme low from returning. As far as writing, I am still able to remain in a creative zone, but I am struggling a bit to continue to block out any external noise and/or distractions. I have still not experienced any negatives, and I do feel that the two hits on medium heat provided the best dosage possible for my needs.

Personally, I loved this product. I have tried this strain before and have always found it to be a great fit, but fast acting relief brought on by the extreme potency of the concentrated version was amazing. I did not experience any negatives, I felt very relaxed, happy, calm, and I was more productive than I expected. As a matter of fact, I was extremely productive and it really helped me relax enough to be able to think clearly and get a lot of work done. The bodily relaxation was amazing, so I would definitely say this would be a great option to try out for those who experience bodily pain, especially muscle-related pain. For those of you with anxiety, depression, and extreme stress, I would absolutely say give this a try. I found this to be a true mind and body strain, and it is absolutely something I will be keeping on hand for future use! Sira, congrats on another amazing product! I give the GDP Full Spectrum Boost 5 stars ⭐️! Keep up the amazing work!

If you are a patient, or adult above the age of 21 in Massachusetts, check out the following link for where you can purchase this product:

https://www.siranaturals.org/where-to-buy-cannabis-massachusetts

Well my friends, we have reached the end of this review. Thank you for joining me and stay tuned for more product reviews!

 

Disclaimer:

****Please remember, this blog is an account of my personal experience with this product. Not everyone has the same experience with every product and that is okay. I always recommend starting out with one or two hits to see if that is enough, and you can always increase your dose from there.*****

[fulcrumahsokaamidala]

Saturday Spectacular #12

Happy Saturday!!! So this is me thanking awesome fanfic writers for their amazing work and all the time they put into their fics. ♥️ I want to recommend spectacular fanfic stories I read this week! ♥️ They are posted in the order I read them. All posts will be tagged #saturday spectacular fic rec

When Did It All Go Wrong by @wrldtravler | Arrow | WIP

Summary: After a mission with A.R.G.U.S. goes south, agent Oliver Queen learns something he shouldn’t about Director Amanda Waller. Sent on the run when A.R.G.U.S. turns against him, he’s forced to seek out the one person that never wanted to see him again but whom he trusts with his life: his ex, Felicity Smoak. Putting their past behind them, the estranged pair come together along with John Diggle and Lyla Michaels to stop the looming threat. However, the past never stays buried for long. With their renewed connection comes great strength. But where there is strength, there is also great weakness – one that may cost them everything they worked to prevent.

“Time for a story” Drabble Series by @smkkbert | Arrow | WIP

Summary: This fic shows Olicity and their life as a (married) couple with family. Although Olicity (and their kids) are the protagonists, other characters of Arrow and Flash make appearances. It started as a drabble series, but developed more and more into a full domestic AU.

Providence by @so-caffeinated | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Will Queen has struggled in silence in the year since he was shot. But when a shadowy crime lord known as Domino targets the only woman Will’s ever truly loved, fate forces him to confront his demons in ways he never could have imagined… Whether he wants to or not. Amelia Prescott has fought to take control of her life since learning two years ago that her personal and professional worlds were manipulated by others. But nothing can prepare her for just how hard she’ll have to fight to set her own course, especially when her heart belongs to a damaged man and a crime lord threatens her every professional move… And her life. Destiny brings them together, but as chaos reigns and personal demons haunt Will and Amelia both, it may also threaten to tear them apart.

(i want to) save that light by @callistawolf | Arrow | WIP

Summary: What if one little thing changed in the history of Arrow? What if, instead of going to Laurel’s apartment after discovering the extent of Merlyn’s plans for the Glades, Oliver stayed at the foundry and talked to Felicity instead? This series of short vignettes explores some of the ripple-effect changes that could take place throughout the next season as a result of this one, fortuitous change.

Semper Fidelis by @oliversmuse | Arrow | Completed

Summary: Oliver Queen is a member of the Bravo Squad, a team that specializes in search and rescue, covert infantry and translating foreign documents. He is known as one of the best and even though he is one of the youngest recruits he advances quickly. While serving he meets Lance Corporal Felicity Smoak, a young woman with skills in hand to hand combat. Despite the fact they butt heads they fall in love and soon start to talk about a future together. However, when her plane disappears on a mission in China and she is presumed dead, Bravo Squad searches frantically for her, only to find her plane and her bloody dog tags. Five years later Oliver runs into “Megan” at a coffee shop near that gym he has been running with his friends. She has lost her memory from the plane accident but has had dreams of Oliver and the Bravo Squad. With the help of his friends and team mates, can he help her reclaim her past and fall for him once again?

grade 2 right shoulder subscapularis strain by @alexiablackbriar13 | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Oliver Queen is an Olympic archer with a shoulder injury who hates sports therapy with a passion. Dr Felicity Smoak is his new physiotherapist. Sparks fly. Perhaps Felicity can change Oliver's mind.

Aftermath by @realityisoverrated-fic | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Malcolm Merlyn has laid waste to the Glades. Laurel Lance is dead. Moira Queen is in jail. Thea is hiding away in her brother's nightclub. Oliver is licking his wounds, who knows where. Tommy would like nothing more than leave town and never look back, but someone needs to stick around and be accountable for his father's murderous undertaking.

Mothers know best by @smkkbert​ | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Since they have been kids, they have been best friends. Since they have been friends, their mothers wanted them to be together. After coming back from the east coast, Felicity takes over a position at Queen Consolidated, the company her best friend will soon take over from his father. Their mothers still push for them to be together, and they seem closer to that goal than ever because wedding bells are ringing. The only problem is that they both plan to get married to someone else.

Alpha by @oliversmuse | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Oliver Queen was a powerful vampire that was captured by a group experimenting on hybrids. Turned into a hybrid that is half vampire and half wolf he is strong, fast and deadly. While in captivity he meets Dr. Felicity Smoak a hermatologist who is called in to monitor his feedings. All Oliver wants is to be free, away from the experiments and being in a cage, and strangely he feels he can trust Dr. Smoak. There is also an unspoken attraction between them that is forbidden. Can he convince her to set him free or will her attraction to him tempt her to keep him close?

Artemis by @laxit21 | Arrow | WIP

Summary: When the Queen’s Gambit sank, two people were stranded on Lian Yu. Five years later, four came back.

Daughter of the Demon by @laxit21 | Arrow | WIP

Summary: What if in 1988 while traveling through Las Vegas Ra’s al Ghul bumps into a nice waitress named Donna Smoak and they have one-night stand together? A little bundle of joy named Felicity Smoak is the result. In 2014, the Demon Head becomes aware of his youngest daughter’s existence.

The Ravager by @laxit21 | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Slade Wilson’s plan for revenge against Oliver took time, money and no shortage of lives to pull together. His plan didn’t anticipate Felicity Smoak. How will his plan change now that his lost-lost daughter is working with the very man he’s trying to destroy?

Felicity of Themiscyra by @laxit21 | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Years ago, Donna Smoak left the island of Themiscyra and her sister Queen Hippolyta behind to live in man’s world. She never told Felicity the truth about where she came from. As a result of the Undertaking, Felicity discovers some of her Amazonian abilities and makes an interesting new friend: Diana Prince.

The Daughter That Was Left by @laxit21 | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Before the Gambit, Oliver Queen met QC intern Felicity Smoak. When he boarded the Gambit, he left something behind. Now, five long years later someone is waiting for him.

I Scream But No Sound Comes out by @laxit21 | Arrow | WIP

Summary: When Oliver returns from Lian Yu after five years, he comes back different. What happened there damaged more than just his body. How will his friends and family deal with this new Oliver?

| ONE | (Oliver The Footballer) by @someonesaidcake | Arrow | Completed

Summary: Felicity Smoak had a plan; to save enough money to kick her monotonous job and start up the company of her dreams. She made good plans, solid plans, attainable plans. He was never part of her plan. His name was Oliver Queen, the reclusive Brazilian football star with a broken smile and a story to tell He’d never planned on her either.

Did I Forget to Mention That My Dad is a Supervillain? by @laxit21 | Arrow | WIP

Summary: When Felicity told Oliver about her father, she wasn’t lying per se. She wasn’t completely honest either. It’s just that ‘my dad left us’ sounded better than the truth.

Or: A Series of one shots in which Felicity’s dad is a supervillain and we see how Oliver and the team finds out.

little wonders (twists and turns of fate) by @alexiablackbriar13 | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Oliver and Felicity's drunken mistake of a hook-up in the bunker comes with unexpected consequences in the form of a... souvenir. Deciding to remain romantically uninvolved, the two of them will have to battle all the trials and tribulations of maintaining a platonic relationship while Felicity is pregnant and the two of them are living together, coping with all the emotional baggage that they both bring to the table - and dealing with the fact that they are still very much in love with each other, but scarred by the events that broke them apart in the first place.

Winds of Change by Nerdofmanytalents | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Tommy finds an unexpected visitor hiding under the bar. [This segment takes place before the events of "Whats the Matter, Baby."]

The Road Not Taken by @oneofthosecrazygirls-fics​ | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Canon divergence/fix-it AU. Everything that happened in the series up through 4x11 happens as it did in the show and this fic diverges from there.Direct sequel to “Swear This One You’ll Save” and “Have Your Cake (And Eat It Too)” so make sure you read those first before reading this one.This fic is part of the What Should’ve Been ‘verse.

A Hidden Life by @realityisoverrated-fic | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: It's Oliver, Felicity, and Tommy's first Thanksgiving together. Their plans for a shared meal are upended by the unexpected arrival of Donna Smoak.

The Cat, the Canary, and the Dinosaur by stick2theplan | Arrow | Completed

Summary: Nyssa and Sara are visiting Oliver and co for the week. Of course, this means they'll at least have to endure a semi-awkward pseudo-family brunch. Fighting bad guys is easy compared to answering awkward questions from Oliver's too-perceptive son.

ink stains and dumbbells by inlovewithimpossibility | Arrow | WIP

Summary: "Hey Dynasties, Oliver here coming at you with another video!"

"Hi guys, welcome back to Ghost Fox Goddess, I am Felicity Smoak."

When one half of YouTube duo, Queen-Merlyn Dynasty, lands himself in hot water with Principal Wilson due to failing grades, Oliver knows that he needs to step up his game. The principal recommends a tutor but little does Oliver know that she's also a successful YouTuber. The two of them set out on filming a collab but neither anticipates how popular their videos will be or the insane reaction the sight of the two of them on screen together will gain from the fans.

[leadpaintrose]

Ok, So How Do We Want To Do This

A Critical Role (Vox Machina) ficlet. Look, this is a really stupid, self-indulgent piece of fic, but I’m also really pleased with it and I’m trying to at least put stuff up here, so there you go. All of it under the cut. 

Inspiration 

 At the beginning of the most recent episode I watched (Episode 22, I think), Matthew Mercer made a comment about how the Critters were slowly “turning us into our characters”, and I just had to run with it. I had recently found their second intro video, albeit one that was quite a few episodes in the future of where I was up to, but it immediately inspired me as well.  

 So, How Do We Want to Do This? 

 The darkness rang with their groans well before any light blossomed. They called out to each other, seeking reassurance that they weren’t alone. Those who had been sitting together reached out, grabbing hands and shoulders and sighing with relief. Matthew, alone at the DM’s table as he had been, spoke loudly.  

 “Everyone still here? All accounted for?” he asked, hopeful and afraid. One by one, they all responded, everyone relieved to hear to each distinct voice, though most of them were tinged with some pain from the unceremonious fall.  

 “Where the hell are we?” Travis asked the room at large.  

 “I don’t know,” Liam responded, “But, more importantly, how do we get out of here?” 

 “So many would be delighted to be where you find yourself.” 

 A voice sounded in the darkness, the direction from which it spoke impossible to follow. It wasn’t coming from everywhere, it wasn’t surrounding them, but each direction seemed just as likely as the others. Sam spoke into the darkness, clinging to Marisha’s hand.  

 “Well, we aren’t them. We’d like to leave. Can you help us?” 

 “Though, I suppose,” the voice continued, ignoring his question, “so many would also be terrified to be brought to this place.” 

 The room suddenly filled with light, and the group closed their eyes against the sharp brightness. The warm glow of tallow candles shone around them, though they couldn’t spot any individual candlesticks. The walls were a rich wood, and the room they stood in was almost perfectly circular. It was totally devoid of any furniture, and the roof rose high overhead, but no-one spared a glance upwards. All eight of them stared at the figure in the centre of the room, a mix of fear, confusion, and some intrigue in their face.  

 The figure – a woman, tall, fiercely red-headed and pale – smiled at them, her hands folded neatly in front of her. She slowly turned as she spoke, taking them all in, and meeting each of their eyes.  

 “Welcome. No doubt you have many questions. As do I.” 

 Working from instincts he did not know he had, Liam pulled a blade from his belt and threw it at the woman standing in the center of the circle. She casually turned to face him, plucking the blade out of the air as it sped towards her. A quick movement of her fingers sent it shooting back, flying an inch to the left of his face to embed itself into the wood behind him. He swore, flinching away from the blade, speaking in a language he had not taught his tongue. The confusion and blossoming realization in his eyes were matched by the shocked understanding on Laura and Marisha’s faces, as all three realized he had sworn in Elvish.  

 “That was the very height of rudeness, Vax’ildan. I would have expected at least some of your upbringing to force better habits into your instincts. Though, half-elves always were a tricky breed to predict, hm?” 

 Small blue sparks flickered around Sam’s fingertips, coalescing into a writhing ball of bluish-purple lightning. He opened his palm, throwing a bolt of thick lightning at her back. She held her hand up behind her, and the energy fizzled into nothingness inches from her palm. She turned to him, blue lightning now crackling from her eyes. He took an involuntary step back, holding his hands up in a placating gesture.  

 “Anyone else want to try attacking me?” she asked the room at large, turning to look square at Travis, holding a large axe comfortably across one shoulder. He shook his head, calmness in his stance betrayed by wildly darting eyes and a twitching vein in his forehead. Seeming to finally realize the weight on his shoulder, he looked at the axe in shock.  “Good. Glad to see you all learn eventually.  

 “I see you, Rogue!” the woman declared, turning back to Vax, a conjured gust of wind throwing back his hood as he attempted to sneak around her. “Do not presume to be able to surprise me.” 

 “What is going on?” Ashley asked, falteringly. The woman snarled at Liam, forcing him back into his spot, before turning to smile, almost gently, at Ashely. “A good start, young Cleric. Not the best question, but often important to at least try.” 

 “Who are you?” Laura spoke, “And why do you talk to us like we are our characters?” The woman looked at her, clearly amused.  

 “Why, simply because you are them. In form, in skills, in memories, in actions. They are you, just as you are them. You chose them, you created them, did you not?” 

 “But, they aren’t who we really are!” Marisha shouted in desperate panic, releasing all her nervous energy at once. The woman turned her gaze on Marisha, and the she shied back from the blazing fire in the strange woman's eyes.  

 “Aren’t they? Then why, Druid, were you able to so effectively cast Grasping Vine on me?” she asked, pointing slowly to the ground, and cocking her head to one side. A small ring of vines had burst from the ground at the woman’s feet, and had woven themselves around her ankles and up her legs. A bright flash, and the tendrils were burning, writhing away to fall in charred piles on the floor. Marisha clutched her head as the pained cries of the plants echoed in her mind– she seemingly the only one who could hear them.  

 “Those are characters – they aren’t our names, or what we are!” Taliesin interjected angrily, though with no little fear.  

 The woman stepped closer to him, moving with slightly unnatural grace. “And yet, gunslinger” she said, almost seeming to spit the word, “you all wear the robes of those of Vox Machina.” 

 Almost as one, the eight of them turned their gazes first downwards, and then outwards to their friends. Indeed, all of them were wearing the clothes that they had worn in the introduction video they had shot for the game. But these felt different. Each outfit was perfectly tailored to them, fitting with clean lines and a sense of real belonging. A magical electricity pulsed through the items that they knew to be magical, though they had been simple props in their world.  

 “And you,” the woman said suddenly, spinning and taking quick steps towards Matthew. He was wearing the Dungeon Master robes he had been in the introduction video, but there was a shimmering quality to them. Parts of them faded in and out of existence slowly, sometimes changing to look completely different. “He of the Pretty Face, and Many, Many Voices. You lead these all so well.” 

 “No,” he said, swallowing down the fear. “I am not the leader here.” 

 “Yeah,” Sam piped up nervously, unable to stop himself, “we all do our own thing. Just together.” 

 The woman did not move her gaze, seemingly completely ignoring Sam, though a shock of electricity through his body caused him to sink to one knee, crying out in pain. Ashley hurried next to him, clutching the holy symbol around her neck, closing her eyes, and laying a hand on him. They looked at each other in shock as light spilled from between her fingers, and his pain faded.   

 “No. You don’t lead, do you? No, you...you control them. You are their Master. You create, and they step so willingly into what you create for them to face. Without fear, yes, but without much choice either. How quickly you could destroy them all, rob them of everything, of their lives. Of other things far, far more important. 

 “What would you be in this?” 

 Matthew swallowed again, panting faintly, unable to break the lock she held on his gaze. “Whatever is needed.”  

 She paused, then broke out into silvery laughter, peals of it rising and falling delicately. The laughter quickly turned scornful and mocking.  

 “Just a good answer. So honourable and helpful and disgustingly honest. We shall see what you really are. Although....” she paused, considering. She cocked her head again, seeming to gaze at his soul itself. “The cloth still ripples, even now. Perhaps that really is who you are...” 

 She flipped a hand, and the tension left Matthew’s body, causing him to sag slightly, and pant heavily. “No matter. We will find out soon enough.” 

 “Now,” she said, clasping hands together, and slowly turning to look at each of them, “Ask your questions.” 

 “What are you?” Liam asked. The woman turned delighted eyes on him. 

 “Ah, finally. A good question. So much better than “Who?” You always were my favourite.” 

 She settled into a relaxed pose. “I am... a guide, of sorts.” she answered. “Here to assist through what is to come – as much as I am able to, of course. I am, perhaps, the only friendly face you will see here.” 

 “Friendly?!” Travis asked, incredulously, “Dumping us all here, attacking us, demanding questions – you call that friendly?!” 

 Laura put a hand on Travis’ arm. “What are we doing here?” she asked.  

 “What indeed?” the woman responded, face a careful study of neutrality.  

 “Why did you bring us here?” Sam asked. 

 She shook her head. “I did not bring you here, Bard. Those Who Watch brought you here. I am merely their servant.” 

 Ashley gasped softly, the sharp intake of air drawing the woman’s eyes.  “Then you are the One Who Knows. The Keeper.” 

 The woman inclined her head towards Ashley. “A keen mind, young Gnome. Sarenrae teaches her Clerics well.”  

 Marisha's eyes widened at the woman’s titles, hands moving in the first motions of a spell, a few leaves gathering against her feet. The loud click of Taliesin’s gun cocking echoed in the still air. The woman, The Keeper, looked at both of them with disapproval, as the rest of their friends looked at them with shocked concern, those with weapons quickly finding their hilts and handles.  

 “If you know my name, you know that it will take a lot to kill me.” the woman cautioned. “If you even can. Are you really willing to take that fight, and lose any chance of my assistance and kindness?”  

 Marisha released a soft growl, but the magical energy pulsing between her palms dissipated. Taliesin did not lower his gun, keeping it firmly trained on the woman’s chest. She once again inclined her head, acknowledging his right to the gesture.  

 She turned suddenly, grabbing Liam’s arm as it pushed a dagger dripping black poison towards her neck. The colour fled from his face as she glared at him from inches away. “Even your advantage cannot impact me, little half-elf.” His fingers twitched as she tightened her fingers around his wrist.  

 “But with his other hand, while she was distracted, Vax slid his dagger of life-stealing into the creature’s side.” Matthew’s words ran out through the room, a sense of power behind them. Liam’s hand moved of its own accord, driving the dagger towards her waist. He cried out in pain as the dagger dropped to the ground from suddenly loose fingers, a soft thud on the dirt floor before the dagger reappeared on his belt. Still staring into his eyes, she released her grip, and Liam dropped to the ground as well. He scrabbled away from her, rubbing his wrists and working his fingers.  

 “Excellent attempt, sir,” she acknowledged, looking at Matthew, who stooped over, grimacing and rubbing massaging fingers into his temples. “Unfortunately, this is not your game. You are not the Master here.” 

 Ashley approached Liam, pausing for a second, checking that The Keeper would not stop her. When the woman did not look at her, Ashley knelt down beside Liam, grasping his hand and her holy symbol, pouring healing energy through him. He gasped as the cold washed over him. The effort drained her far less than she expected.   

 “Well then. If there are no more questions.” the Keeper said, clasping her hands, completely ignoring the few who tried to speak, “it is time that you began.” The shape of a door suddenly burned itself into the wood behind Matthew, swinging open silently as the ornately carved door sprung into existence. The Keeper pointed towards it. “That way lies your quest. I look forward to seeing how you succeed.” She grinned, teeth perfectly white and straight. “As I’m sure you all will.” 

 With a final inclination of her head, she was gone.  

[pickledchickenetti]

So I’ve had something on my mind for the last week or two that I’ve been trying to figure out how to best start a post about and coming up short. We all know that I have a tendency to be long-winded, and some of this post is going to be stream of consciousness, at least moreso than my usual longer posts, which I usually wait to start until I have a pretty solid idea of what I want to say and how I want to say it. I may go back and edit this some at the end, I may not, probably depends on how it comes out. (Edited at the end to add: I’m not editing anything. It’s long and I’m not expecting anyone to force themselves through it, but thanks to those who do!) Since this is partially me using my blog as a place to ruminate on some things, I’m going to put it under a read more for those who don’t want to have it clogging up their dashboard. 

Lately I’ve had a lot of mixed feelings regarding social media and what voices and mindsets I allow to be a part of my everyday life. I put a lot of effort into carefully treading the line between taking unnecessary negativity out of my social media feeds and creating an echo chamber where I only see people who agree with me. Most of the time, the decision comes down to the tone and intent. If someone is consistently rude, angry, or condescending, with very little useful contribution to any conversation I unfollow them. This applies to people on Facebook who constantly use slurs, post hateful things about people with opposing beliefs or political stances (even if I generally agree with that person’s beliefs or stances) with little attention to facts, and it also applies to people here are just needlessly rude with no real contributions to the overall conversation. 

The older I get, the more I find choosing kindness to be a priority in my life. I’m not perfect; I fully admit there are still times when I’m rude or condescending. Sometimes this is an accident, and unfortunately sometimes it isn’t. I don’t like this, and I try especially hard not to be intentionally condescending. Kindness is a choice, and progress takes time. 

As I’m sure most of you know, I am often very critical of @kristagay‘s posts. I still stand by many, possibly even most, of the opinions I’ve shared. Kindness is important to me, but it’s also important to me to not let other people’s hurtful words or actions go unchecked when I have the ability to say/do something. (This applies to everyone in my radar, not just Krista.) I have very strong opinions on a number of subjects, but it’s especially important to me to speak up in defense of others in the LGBTQA community as that’s a community I belong to and those struggles are more personal to me. 

A little while back, I got a string of anons (many were answered, some were deleted) that made it seem like someone was trying to create some sort of feud between me and Krista. As I said in one of the posts at that time, I was under no illusion that Krista was reading any of my posts that didn’t tag her directly, and had no interest in any sort of feud. Krista does not follow me, and in general does not seem to interact much on Tumblr beyond asks to her and posts she is directly tagged in (or reblogs/comments on her posts of course). I would likely be the same way if I stumbled onto a community of people discussing every little detail of people I was friends with in real life. I would want to set the record straight and defend my friends while also respecting their privacy, and as a result I doubt I’d interact much anyway. I respect her choice to not discuss them at all, even the things seen on TV, and hope she will continue to make that choice no matter how annoying people asking her for info might get. (And to Pickles and anyone else who has crossed the line and sent her intentionally inflammatory messages/questions about the Duggars or hate for the sake of hate, please kindly delete your accounts and learn how to interact with actual humans in a respectful way.) 

When I got the string of anons asking me about Krista, I took a step back and tried to objectively examine why I followed Krista, why I continued to devote energy in responding to her posts, and if it was worth my time and emotional energy to continue doing so. The difference I found between Krista’s posts, which do often frustrate me, and posts from others who I have chosen to unfollow and/or block is the intent and context behind the posts. 

At the end of the day, Krista and I are very similar. We were both raised in very conservative families/churches, who had different plans for us than the lives we’ve chosen to pursue. We’ve both come to believe differently about God than the churches we were raised in. And we both know what it’s like to have to keep up appearances, especially online, in order to not destroy (or majorly hurt) relationships with people in our lives offline who it’s still important to maintain a relationship with. 

There are a couple big differences between us. First of all, I’m gay. I came to believe differently than the church I was raised in largely because I’ve had to just to be who I am and not feel depressed and suicidal all the time. When you grow up gay in a conservative family, life gives you two choices: shut off who you are and spend your life convincing yourself you are who you were told you were supposed to be or do major amounts of soul-searching to figure out who you are and how to accept yourself. When you’re already evaluating one major aspect of who you are and what you believe it becomes nearly impossible to not do that same evaluation on the other beliefs you were raised in. Because of this process, I’ve come to see a lot of hypocrisy and downright lies in the belief system I was raised in. This has pushed me into developing a pretty strong set of opinions, beliefs, and political stances that stand in stark contrast to my family and lifelong family friends. 

As a cisgendered straight woman, Krista did not have this huge thing forcing her to do major soul-searching. Despite this, she has done soul-searching, and seems to still be doing it. (It’s really a lifelong process, after all.) She has stepped out into a world that she likely didn’t consider being able to live in as a little girl. She’s pursued an educational and career path that’s impressive for even women who were raised being encouraged to focus on education, so for someone in her church and belief system to get to where she is is monumental, and for that I applaud her. So while I definitely disagree with her beliefs on a number of subjects, and will continue to say so (with thoughtful responses, not just complaints) when I feel her posts call for it, I am doing my best to remember that no one was born perfect, and she is still learning just as much as the rest of us are. I’ve said many times that I really do believe her intentions are good, and I stand by that belief. She’s learning. She’s trying. She may be one of the more conservative voices in our tumblr community, but many of us have admitted we used to be worse than we are now, and she’s come a long way from who she once was too. 

The other big difference between us, at least as far as tumblr goes, is that she has chosen to attach her name and face to her posts on here, and I have not. Many of you know who I am, follow me elsewhere, etc. That doesn’t change the fact that publicly, all you see is a food-based username and (currently) a photo of Jana Duggar on a boat. I share my first name, my age, and my general location. While someone who knew me offline could likely piece together my identity if they paid enough attention, I am careful to not overly-identify myself. This relative anonymity grants me the privilege of speaking freely online without worrying about offline consequences. Krista has not granted herself that same anonymity. I’m honestly a little embarrassed that I had never considered before the fact that she likely does not feel she can speak freely on Tumblr. I am very careful what I post on my other social media platforms. When my name and face are attached, I pretty much never mention LGBTQA issues for fear of outing myself and losing family members I’m not ready to lose. I don’t post about the abuses found in many Baptist churches or the lasting harmful effects I feel from my overly-religious childhood. This is partially to avoid a can of worms with a widespread ripple effect and partially out of respect for my parents and their desire to not have to defend me for believing things they don’t even agree with themselves. For Krista, the things she says here can and likely do affect her life offline, and it’s something that’s important to keep in mind when reading her posts. 

I don’t say all of this to say that Krista gets a pass for hurtful things she says. We all are still accountable for the things we say, and she has chosen to put herself in the position of having to choose between saying things that will hurt her offline life, censoring herself, or staying silent. There are topics I still wish she would just address openly or not at all. But at the end of the day, she has the same right to censor herself here as I do elsewhere, and I will be trying to keep that in mind going forward. When interacting with her privately, she’s only ever proven herself to be kind and open to hearing what I have to say. In the future, I may give her the same respect I often give my offline friends where I just send her a DM to clarify her intent of a seemingly rude or hateful post instead of just calling her out publicly. We’re all learning, Krista included. 

Social media, especially Tumblr, has given in to a dangerous mindset that’s often referred to as “cancel culture”. There are times when it is absolutely the right choice to “cancel” someone. Like I said at the beginning of my post, we have the right to choose what voices to allow into our feeds. We should all take advantage of that right and do what’s best for our mental health. I just think we should also be more mindful of context and intent when deciding whether or not to “cancel” someone. We all say we want young girls (and boys) in fundie communities to get out of that lifestyle and find better beliefs, but getting out doesn’t happen overnight. Many of us have the benefit of getting here after shedding many of our toxic beliefs. For those who aren’t there yet, I hope we will just remember to choose kindness and respect and do our best to be open to educating them without being hateful or derogatory.