#not help each other at all costs'.] is from and can tell me what version specifically and possibly provide a screenshot i will send you €10

[nyerus]

🎧A Guide to the TGCF Audio Drama🎭

With the release of the new season of the fabulous TGCF audio drama, I wanted to make an updated guide on how to make an account, purchase, and listen (with English subs) to it! Hopefully, this will help more people enjoy it and join in on the fun!

As a quick reminder, the audio drama is based on the revised version of the novel! It's a very faithful adaptation, but if you're a new fan, that might throw you for a loop! If you need an overview of the different versions of TGCF, check out this post first!

Part One: Making an Account & Purchasing

The process is a lot easier than you may expect! The site where the audio drama is hosted is "missevan.com," also known as "MaoerFM." They are one and the same!

Check out these infographics to create an account and buy the audio drama. (Due to tumblr compression, they may be difficult to read. If this is the case, please view these images in full-screen and preferably on a web browser for best quality!)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

General Info:

It costs 319 diamonds for the first season, and 359 diamonds for the second season of the TGCF audio drama. This was less than $5 USD, for each season. Future seasons will likely be similarly priced.

Episodes typically release weekly. Mini-episodes/bonus content releases intermittently, and often continues after the main season "ends."

This guide will work for any other audio dramas you want to purchase and support (such as MDZS)! They obviously have different costs, but the process of buying is pretty much the same.

Account/Registration Info:

If you do not see your country/region code listed when making an account, it is unfortunately unavailable there. I do not know any workarounds at the moment, apart from asking a friend/relative in a different country to help you out! If anyone does know other options, please let me know!

Step One of the guide is technically optional, as logging in on the app for the first time will automatically create a new account, if there’s not already one associated with your mobile phone number. I recommend doing that step anyway, as it will ensure that you have a password linked to your account. Several people in the past have reported that they sometimes cannot receive the verification code to log in. (Especially from South America and SEA for some reason.) Having a password bypasses this, if it happens to you.

Unfortunately, it seems that you MUST register with a mobile number to begin with.

Otherwise, you can use an existing Bilibili/QQ/WeChat/Weibo account if you have it. They all require a number for registration too, as far as I know, so you may run into the same problem. They may still be worth trying if you have no other options! Once again, if anyone is aware of other workarounds, do let me know.

Additionally, it’s possible to link your account to an email AFTER you register with a mobile number. (There’s no escaping that, from what I can tell.) You can then use that to log in.

It seems useful to have your email and a password associated with your account, especially in case your country code gets nixed from availability -- which has been known to happen without warning in the past.

The mobile browser seems to prefer you log in with a number/email and a password, rather than a verification code.

LINKING AN E-MAIL TO YOUR ACCOUNT (Optional)

This must be done via web browser, or with your mobile browser set to desktop mode. It’s VERY easy if you use a browser with an auto-translate feature like Google Chrome:

(These images are the MTL translated versions!)

Unfortunately yes, you will need to receive a verification code via mobile number to enable this. The second verification code gets sent to your email, though! (Try not to lose your password, because I'm pretty sure you'll still have to use your phone to verify and change it.) Don't forget to check your spam folder if you don't see it. It will be from "猫耳FM."

Once again, this is optional! I just wanted to include it as an extra avenue for people who may struggle with the verification codes, as they can be finicky. And it happened to me while I was making this section, so I knew I had to....

Part Two: How to Enable English Subtitles

First things first: there are no official English subs for the TGCF Audio Drama. Though I'm fairly sure this applies to all dramas on MaoerFM.

However, there are Chinese (Simplified) subs for each episode.

OPTION ONE: MTL

The main method that non-Chinese speakers have been using to understand the Audio Drama is via MTL (machine translation) on those subs! Browsers like Google Chrome not only have auto-translate, but it works in real time as you watch/listen to the episode.

Make sure that it's turned on and that you've selected English -- or your preferred output language!

Be aware there are TWO types of subtitles on MaoerFM. There are the official subs, and the temporary subs.

At the bottom of the audio player, there is a button labelled "字幕," which is circled in purple in the image below. If it is there, it means that episode has official subs available, and you can toggle them on/off. Meanwhile, the "弹" that the green arrow is pointing to is known as the "barrage." That's the scrolling text that you will see filling the screen. It's other fans screaming and crying in chat. You can turn it off if it feels overwhelming!

New episodes may take anywhere from a few hours to a day or two to be officially subtitled. (The bonus episodes don't have official subs for whatever reason.) In the meantime, there will be subtitlers working on adding temporary subs! I'd advise waiting a little while before listening to a new episode so they have more time to work, and you'll have better coverage!

While official subs are entirely separate, the temporary subs are part of the barrage. So you will have to keep the barrage turned on. (Notice how there is no "字幕" button next to it yet!) Unlike the rest of the barrage, the subs will be stationary, color-coded, and at the very bottom of the window -- so they're easy to differentiate.

However, since the barrage can be a lot if you aren't used to it, there is a way around it.

Hit the settings menu (blue circle) and block the scrolling comments. You can also turn off the top ones, but just make sure not to turn off the bottom ones -- because those are the subs!

DO NOTE that this all works best on desktop! If everything's gone correctly, you should have something like these:

Right -- regular view, temporary subs Left -- full-screen, official subs

It's possible to get this to work on mobile if you enable desktop mode in your Chrome app. You will probably need to refresh a few times after that, or open the page in a new tab to have it work properly. Then it's the same steps as above!

You should have something like these:

Right -- landscape mode Left -- portrait mode

The scaling on mobile can be troublesome, and I have noticed that the auto-translate is slower than on desktop. It seems to take an extra second or two to work on each line -- whereas on desktop it's pretty instant -- and that can get annoying, especially in fast-paced scenes.

Additional Info:

This does not work for the mobile app! It is for the website ONLY!

If the translation stops working, refreshing usually fixes it.

There are potentially other options to using Chrome. Any browser that has an auto-translate will work, assuming it's as quick as Chrome's. If anyone has tried other browsers and seen success, please leave a reply!

OPTION TWO: FANSUBS

TreasureChestSubs here on tumblr have been doing high-quality fansubs for several audio dramas, including TGCF as of recently! However, at the time of making this guide, their TGCF translations currently only cover the first few episodes of season one. You will need to request an invite to their Discord server via the form in their posts. Please do check them out if you're interested.

I don't personally know of any other fansubbers who are actively working on the audio drama right now. But I do want to mention that Xyra_Rei on twitter has a Discord server where they share some translated snippets from various episodes. There are other great resources by fellow fans, too. Links and more info about the server can be found in the pinned post on their profile!

Part Three: Enjoy!!!

I hope this updated guide helps more people experience the wonder that is the TGCF audio drama (or really, any audio drama)! I cannot overstate how good it is in every aspect, and I think every TGCF fan deserves to be able to hear it for themselves! 💖

[every-yumichika]

[princesssarisa]

In the past I've shared other people's musings about the different interpretations of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Namely, why Orpheus looks back at Eurydice, even though he knows it means he'll lose her forever. So many people seem to think they've found the one true explanation of the myth. But to me, the beauty of myths is that they have many possible meanings.

So I thought I would share a list of every interpretation I know, from every serious adaptation of the story and every analysis I've ever heard or read, of why Orpheus looks back.

One interpretation – advocated by Monteverdi's opera, for example – is that the backward glance represents excessive passion and a fatal lack of self-control. Orpheus loves Eurydice to such excess that he tries to defy the laws of nature by bringing her back from the dead, yet that very same passion dooms his quest fo fail, because he can't resist the temptation to look back at her.

He can also be seen as succumbing to that classic "tragic flaw" of hubris, excessive pride. Because his music and his love conquer the Underworld, it might be that he makes the mistake of thinking he's entirely above divine law, and fatally allows himself to break the one rule that Hades and Persephone set for him.

Then there are the versions where his flaw is his lack of faith, because he looks back out of doubt that Eurydice is really there. I think there are three possible interpretations of this scenario, which can each work alone or else co-exist with each other. From what I've read about Hadestown, it sounds as if it combines all three.

In one interpretation, he doubts Hades and Persephone's promise. Will they really give Eurydice back to him, or is it all a cruel trick? In this case, the message seems to be a warning to trust in the gods; if you doubt their blessings, you might lose them.

Another perspective is that he doubts Eurydice. Does she love him enough to follow him? In this case, the warning is that romantic love can't survive unless the lovers trust each other. I'm thinking of Moulin Rouge!, which is ostensibly based on the Orpheus myth, and which uses Christian's jealousy as its equivalent of Orpheus's fatal doubt and explicitly states "Where there is no trust, there is no love."

The third variation is that he doubts himself. Could his music really have the power to sway the Underworld? The message in this version would be that self-doubt can sabotage all our best efforts.

But all of the above interpretations revolve around the concept that Orpheus looks back because of a tragic flaw, which wasn't necessarily the view of Virgil, the earliest known recorder of the myth. Virgil wrote that Orpheus's backward glance was "A pardonable offense, if the spirits knew how to pardon."

In some versions, when the upper world comes into Orpheus's view, he thinks his journey is over. In this moment, he's so ecstatic and so eager to finally see Eurydice that he unthinkingly turns around an instant too soon, either just before he reaches the threshold or when he's already crossed it but Eurydice is still a few steps behind him. In this scenario, it isn't a personal flaw that makes him look back, but just a moment of passion-fueled carelessness, and the fact that it costs him Eurydice shows the pitilessness of the Underworld.

In other versions, concern for Eurydice makes him look back. Sometimes he looks back because the upward path is steep and rocky, and Eurydice is still limping from her snakebite, so he knows she must be struggling, in some versions he even hears her stumble, and he finally can't resist turning around to help her. Or more cruelly, in other versions – for example, in Gluck's opera – Eurydice doesn't know that Orpheus is forbidden to look back at her, and Orpheus is also forbidden to tell her. So she's distraught that her husband seems to be coldly ignoring her and begs him to look at her until he can't bear her anguish anymore.

These versions highlight the harshness of the Underworld's law, and Orpheus's failure to comply with it seems natural and even inevitable. The message here seems to be that death is pitiless and irreversible: a demigod hero might come close to conquering it, but through little or no fault of his own, he's bound to fail in the end.

Another interpretation I've read is that Orpheus's backward glance represents the nature of grief. We can't help but look back on our memories of our dead loved ones, even though it means feeling the pain of loss all over again.

Then there's the interpretation that Orpheus chooses his memory of Eurydice, represented by the backward glance, rather than a future with a living Eurydice. "The poet's choice," as Portrait of a Lady on Fire puts it. In this reading, Orpheus looks back because he realizes he would rather preserve his memory of their youthful, blissful love, just as it was when she died, than face a future of growing older, the difficulties of married life, and the possibility that their love will fade. That's the slightly more sympathetic version. In the version that makes Orpheus more egotistical, he prefers the idealized memory to the real woman because the memory is entirely his possession, in a way that a living wife with her own will could never be, and will never distract him from his music, but can only inspire it.

Then there are the modern feminist interpretations, also alluded to in Portrait of a Lady on Fire but seen in several female-authored adaptations of the myth too, where Eurydice provokes Orpheus into looking back because she wants to stay in the Underworld. The viewpoint kinder to Orpheus is that Eurydice also wants to preserve their love just as it was, youthful, passionate, and blissful, rather than subject it to the ravages of time and the hardships of life. The variation less sympathetic to Orpheus is that Euyridice was at peace in death, in some versions she drank from the river Lethe and doesn't even remember Orpheus, his attempt to take her back is selfish, and she prefers to be her own free woman than be bound to him forever and literally only live for his sake.

With that interpretation in mind, I'm surprised I've never read yet another variation. I can imagine a version where, as Orpheus walks up the path toward the living world, he realizes he's being selfish: Eurydice was happy and at peace in the Elysian Fields, she doesn't even remember him because she drank from Lethe, and she's only following him now because Hades and Persephone have forced her to do so. So he finally looks back out of selfless love, to let her go. Maybe I should write this retelling myself.

Are any of these interpretations – or any others – the "true" or "definitive" reason why Orpheus looks back? I don't think so at all. The fact that they all exist and can all ring true says something valuable about the nature of mythology.

[literalgrill]

Do NOT Support Hard Drive On Patreon

You might see friends today suggesting you support Hard Drive on Patreon today. You know, the funny video games version of The Onion? As a journalist, I will firmly tell you DO NOT GIVE THEM A DIME.

The CEO has pushed out all former staff that have built the site up to its current greatness and has been pushing the use of AI. The staff begged to have a Patreon before basically all being pushed out, but the idea was refused until now, when it will only line the pockets of a single person instead of hard working writers.

I know they might have provided laughs before, but Hard Drive is a shell of what it was once. Let it die and support the people who actually made those moments of joy possible. Don't believe me? Check out what former employees are saying below:

Kevin Podas: Okay you know what, I would feel bad saying nothing about this, so here goes:🚨SAVE YOUR MONEY🚨

We passionately advocated for a Patreon at Hard Drive & were aggressively shot down. The talent & people who built the site were pushed out. To see this now is beyond upsetting. For the past few years or so I put a lot of myself into this website. I pitched a ton of jokes, got over 120 articles published, & met a lot of great people. I'm sure if you've been following me for some time you could easily see this.

However, there is a lot of misinformation. I was eventually promoted to Managing Editor of the site & was ecstatic. Grateful for the opportunity. Felt like all of my hard work in the comedy mines was finally paying off. But things took a turn for the worst, & each day there were new surprises that affected our livelihoods. These were all very avoidable surprises, mind you.

A patreon was going to be our hail mary, but alas, for some reason, the power that be did not want it. Causing us to leave a dream job behind. "At least we did all we could," we consoled ourselves afterwards. I put a lot of myself into this project. I pitched all sorts of ideas that could have helped-- we all did. Merch collaborations, Patreon-integrated YouTube content, so much more. And most of them were shot down out of sheer stubbornness and nothing more. To see lie after lie spread, and multiple big publications and YouTubers that I am a fan of promote this Patreon under these pretenses is incredibly upsetting. There are so many receipts.

Please share this and consider pulling out if you've already put money into this. On Hard Drive using AI, also from Kevin Podas: I can't personally confirm that part aside from some of the recent header images for articles on both Hard Drive and Hard Times are being made with AI. As far as writing, it's been mentioned in the past, but I personally do not know. Maybe others do, maybe not. MORE From Kevin Podas suggesting the owner denying a Patreon being set up earlier cost an artist a job that was replaced by AI: We had a social media person who was awesome! He made the images until this AI implementation. He had to leave because ad revenue was low and a Patreon was aggressively refused.

Luca Fisher: at the risk of burning some bridges, i have to back up kevin here. i've only been part-time, in-and-out of hard drive since i got in last year, but i can corroborate that management doubled and tripled down about not hosting a patreon/crowdfunding and that many other suggestions and ideas, including mine (and ones much smarter than mine!), were shot down in really long, apocalyptic threads of everyone left on deck desperately trying to come up with ways to keep the lights on. managerially it has been messy and sad

i've written for multiple publications that have long since died, ones that were in the process of dying, and ones that, in this case, are soon to be put in the ground. it is sad and sucks every time. i don't know what could have been done differently, but i do know that a lot of great writers and content creators were left shorthanded and unhappy by the way things have gone. and it is sort of puzzling to see the sudden championing of patreon after we were all told plenty of times that it couldn't work and we should move on also, just to add my own personal two cents here, i was really disappointed by the shuttering of many different article sections on the site over the past 6-8 months. i understand cutting corners in a deficit, and i know it had to be done. that said…

all in all, i'm really sad to see this all happen. i don't fault anyone, if only because i don't really know enough about how this all can happen to make sense of it. games journalism is in a sad, sorry state, and will likely no longer be a thing in the next decade

VideoSealMan: I'm gonna say this because I think I deserve to. For months, MONTHS on end I was bugging Hard Drive management about a Patreon. Often I got ignored for a week+, but when I actually got a response I was encouraged to - of all things, write up a Google Doc pitching the concept I did it regardless. I wasn't the only one trying to sway management on a Patreon, but so fiercely was I fighting for it that last night, I was accused of making this comment directly by the CEO! With no evidence whatsoever! After I'd been gone for over a month.

I vouched so hard for Patreon because I wanted all the writers and creatives working with Hard Drive including myself to get paid better. When I actually got a response, the idea was often shut down. Eventually due to the state of my company, my pay was cut for a second time I confronted management alongside a couple other important figureheads at the org and told them that if we couldn't do a Patreon - I could no longer financially justify staying there. The answer was still no, so I left. Baffled at the decision, but whatever.

It is unendingly frustrating to know that myself and many other people who put their soul into Hard Drive LEFT because of management's absolute refusal to compromise on a Patreon, to then see them launch one anyway a month later and get over 1000 people pledging money. I'm seeing a lot of things float around about greed and people being fired. No one was fired. Everyone who left, left because they were sick of management's decision-making. And honestly, management is a lot of things but I would not call them greedy. (From my experience.) They did genuinely make an effort to pay people as much as possible. I found the pay very fair for a while. I am not disputing that I was paid what I was owed - yet management frequently feels the need to remind critics of that. Lmao, yes. I was paid what I was owed. No one is disputing payment. You did the bare minimum a business owner should do and paid everyone their due, very well done. I make no allegations of greed, cheating or foul play. I make allegations of poor management and incompetence that has fucked over other people.

Basically the only people left at Hard Drive have been there for about 2 months. They will reap the rewards of this successful Patreon I and so many others passionately fought for for so long. We will not see a dime.

I do not know the new people at Hard Drive, But I feel bad for them. They were haphazardly thrust into Hard Drive's workplace with little to no explanation on how anything works, or given any context on the state of the place. Even now managements feeds them half-truths and misinformation about other people's grievances. I am broke and have been for a while. I had to move out of my flat in Reading and back with my family because of how little money I was making. This has basically doomed my flatmate to moving back in with abusive parents, which is something I feel guilty about every day. If we had gone with the Patreon I worked myself hoarse over back then, this could have been avoided. Some of my other good pals could also not have been fucked over.

It was a bad judgment call, but it's not a crime. It's just management getting it wrong.

So should you give to the Hard Drive Patreon? I don't know! I don't think any of the new people working there to patch up the holes left by the recent mass exodus have any bad intentions. Maybe they deserve it! But it is not the same site you knew a year ago, or even a month ago. Myself and many people who were there far longer than me and did far more for it than I did are all gone now because we could not deal with management's terrible decision-making and dogass communication any longer. That's what you should know, imo

I had an agreement in place with management that I would receive the next 8 months of revenue from the Hard Drive YT channel from my leaving in November. This was a deal I appreciated, and thought was very fair on management's behalf. So far, the deal has been honoured for 2 months. However as of last night I was removed from the Hard Drive Slack without warning, and as an editor for the YouTube channel. This means I no longer have any way of verifying how much I am owed, I just have to take their word for it. I'm sure management will make their own statements full of half-truths and weird language on the many cases being brought against them - I'd take everything they say with a pinch of salt if some of the screenshots I've seen of them talking about me are any indication lol

To management; I do not want to talk to you. I want you to DM me a screenshot of how much I'm owed every month and then send me the money per our agreement until June, then we can go our separate ways. Do that and admit to your mistakes, and maybe you can recover your reputation! That's it from me, lol. If they pull out of the deal and fuck me over I'll have more to say, but most of what I know is other people's stories of incompetence and poor decision-making, lol. I genuinely get no pleasure out of doing this; I do not think management is evil - I just think they're really bad at what they do and it's cost other, more talented people, lol. You should believe the writers imo

One last thing I wanna say btw, management did often stress that no one should try to make Hard Drive a full time thing. They were transparent about that, and that is fair. I was working on it because at a few points, I was lead to believe we actually were doing a Patreon. Many other ppl have similar stories of being strung along by management changing their minds and stop-starting shit every 2 weeks. We all made the fatal mistake of overestimating our manager - who would tell you one thing one day and something totally opposite the next week lol

Hunter R. Thompson:

I'm not your dad, but speaking as a Hard Drive writer, I don't know that funding Hard Drive on Patreon is worth it

The driving talent on the back end—behind the kickass site I joined in 2019—have peaced out over the years as the site's been (in our view) increasingly mismanaged. Mismanagement like, not setting up crowdfunding before the ship sank and all its best crew failed; or publishing a screenshot of Andy Ngo pedojacketing a trans writer, complete with her deadname; or a disgruntled ex-writer getting falsely accused of shit-talk, by actual staff. I'm grateful for the writing I've gotten to produce for HD (and will forever be kicking myself for not writing even more, in the four years I've had to do it!! i'm a dumbass!!!) but it is very much no longer the site I signed up for.

I don't want to resign as a contributor altogether, because I'm open to the idea of the site recovering and bad practices being retired as finances level out-- it would just be dishonest for potential backers to not be Aware Of The Circumstances, I think.

Jeremy Kaplowitz: i truly don't want to start shit, but feel compelled to say: i want to see Hard Drive succeed w/o resorting to throwing former writers & editors, myself included, under the bus. surely there's a way to save the site without building it over the corpses of those who left. my $0.02 i don't blame anyone who wants to sign up for the HD patreon and i support the website, but that includes those who worked on it for years, have complaints, and don't deserve to be treated like bitter assholes like this kind of stuff is just objectively true, meanwhile there's these new writers who joined the site after i left (meaning, in the last ~3 months) claiming people are liars. decide for yourself if you care, but this is what happened! [Quotes this Tweet]

Seth Finkelstein: Writing for Hard Drive has been a privilege the past few years, and it makes me so angry to see people I looked up to get jerked around behind the scenes. The amount of grenades the editors jumped on our behalf is immense, and I don't think the way they're being treated is right.

Other Bits On AI: We do know for sure however that AI art has been used by the site. Its fucking owner confirms it here:https://twitter.com/MattSaincome/status/1743040541603123622. Seems the owner pushed AI written articles as well! TayFabe: My vaguetweet is making the rounds & these made me apoplectic. - owner regularly lobbied using ai. Once he tested it & said ai was writing better satire than 25% of the HT/HD writers. - ai images were used on the site & socials w/o consulting the team or disclosing it publicly I found the ai bit relevant to include bc 1) it illuminates a stark change in HD's current direction & leadership, 2) ai images have previously been used on the site and (since deleted) ig posts, 3) ai content fucking sucks, and repeatedly pushing to use it is a telling quality The "handful of writers who chose to leave" includes 2 editors-in-chief (both cofounders who wrote a combined total of >1,000 articles & defined the voice of HD), & at least 3 other editors. These guys put in WORK since 2017, so cool to be corrected by ppl who joined in Nov 2023 [Link to mentioned vague tweet from post.] More from TayFabe: owner continuously lobbied for using ai in every possible way. No one else wanted to do it, but he kept on, saying ai was writing better satire than 25% of the HT/HD writers. Also, ai images were used on the site & socials without public disclosure or consulting the team.

The owner has responded now multiple times in a private discord... Thank you for people sharing screenshots! First Screenshot:

Kevin's Response: He banned me from the server for speaking out, so no, I didn't see it. And he gave no indication of a timeline, it was just "we'll do one when *I* say so" and gave every inclination he was totally against it. It bred an environment that pushed our hands to have to leave. Screenshot Round Two:

Kevin's Response: "Starting one in 3 months" is an absolute lie. He denied it, I have screenshots and others who can confirm. No timeline was given. Just "this is what it is now" and like, I couldn't live off of that. I wanted to do more but he was allergic to good ideas from others around him.

Matt, owner of Hard Drive, responds publicly on Twitter.

Matt: Kevin, the patreon launch was delayed because I didn't think it would work. Everyone is happy that it did work. Everyone who left the site because we didn't have money to pay for creative content which didn't revenue is welcome to return home. But unclear why the hostility.

Hard Drive paid out literally every dollar it had, then a bunch more, to creative people who worked on the site. When we ran out of money, we couldn't pay anymore. We did our best.

Kevin: Right, and my point of this thread was that it was completely and totally avoidable. This is reasonable to be upset about. How could I have been any more clear?

Matt: If we knew with 100% certainly that the community would have supported us via patreon, we would have done that. We didn't know. We had tried 4 years ago and got no support. We were wrong this time. We did our best to figure it out. We paid all the money we could.

Kevin: So you knew with 100% certainty this time? Or you took a leap of faith?

Matt: It was a last gasp panic effort after ad rates got cut in half on january 1st due to seasonal spending changes. We didn't know it would work. We were embarrassed to ask for support. We wanted to figure it out.

Kevin: Every site has a Patreon. Every YouTuber, comedy group, etc. But you insisted that nobody cared about Hard Drive. Which is wildly untrue. I know you see that now, but again, I think you can see why I and many others are pretty upset. A last ditch panic effort was long overdue. A couple more things from Matt:

It was about the size of the hole we needed plugged budget wise, the time I had left of personal resources, and the past data I had about us trying a patreon (which turned out to be a bad indicator). I didn't think the Patreon would help us fast enough. I made a bad estimation

aka "if we make $1000 more dollars a month via patreon, which would be 10x what we got last time, we will not solve any of our problems. If instead we try to plow down path B, we might make it out in time." That was the thinking. I chose the wrong path, but didn't mean to Kevin also retweeted this comment from the user Matt was responding to: So you're saying that you're bad at running the business, didn't listen to any of your employees until after they were forced to leave their jobs, and now you're going to get more of the money from the Patreon that was their idea in the first place? Matt's Response: Respectfully, I made a mistake delaying the patreon decision. But keeping a comedy site alive for 9 years is not easy, there are lots of potential ideas, and think overall we've done a good and honorable job. Will leave this thread in peace now to allow people their space.

Sorry for linking to Elon's hellsite (derogatory), but sources need links so...

[dutchess-of-fear]

Jonathan Crane with S/O who has ADHD

A/N: I've decided to write a little thing of Jonathan Crane with someone with ADHD, which is quite simple from me cause I have ADHD, I am doing this one for the Nolanverse Crane but you can Imagine it with any other version of Jonathan Crane if you want

Warning : Fluffy, depiction of Depression,

Masterlist

You and him are very different from each other, Jonathan is calm and collective while you are basically all over the place but he understands that

I mean Jonathan is a psychologist (if I am correct😅 and if its Gotham scarecrow then he's not a psychologist)

He knows you can have great trouble of remembering certain things that don't peak your interest but if you are interested in his work, and he appreciate your detections to remember his work, he honestly doesn't mind repeating himself to you

You are not the best at keep schedule but you know Jonathan always helps to keep schedule and to always take the medication that you need for your ADHD

Jonathan always simplify what he is saying to you, as at times you don't know what's he talking about when he talks with such complicated words

But despite you being the most hyped up and bubbly person around, you tend to stay quiet and try to not make to much noises when in public

But Jonathan always reassures you by holding you hand as you walk around in public

Talking to strangers can be a hard thing for you to do, so Jonathan does the talking for you.

You also have a very hard time choosing what you want to have or what you want to do, but Jonathan always there to help what you want or what you rather do for the day.

Jonathan loves to listen to you talk about your interest, even if your interest is Disney or video games, or horror movies, he just loves seeing your face light up whenever you talk about your favourite things

If your like me, you can have moments where you felt like you hit rock bottom and just that dark cloud goes around your head, he is always making time to be with you and to make sure your alright, and he even would watch your favourite movies with you

But always the next day your back to your normal bubbly happy hype self again

When your too hype and you begin to just stutter at every word (cause your brain couldn't keep up) he finds it so cute and adorable, but you do get angry when you can get the words out of your mouth.

But Jonathan is always there to help out by either say the word you were about to say or always tell you to take a deep breath, calm down and then say what you wanted to say

You are basically the only person to make Jonathan laugh and smile, like he cannot keep a straight face when you begin a pillow fight at 8:30 in the morning

You can be a hassle at times to handle but Jonathan always still loves you for how you are and wouldn't have it any other way

You just bring colour in his life, and he wants to protect you at all cost

[orionhere]

Behold

The Holee Trinity

Also spoiler from his affection story:

Note that I can only read a little of chinese & with help of translator lol, so I'm so sorry if there's some mistranslation😥😥😥

There's something wrong with his M.I.N.D that causing his consciousness overlap with each other (?) So in chapter one his memory is back when he was 9 years old. Ofc with the memory of 9 years old, he doesn't know us at that time, so yeah, he's kind of wary to us, Liv, and Lucia

"I'm 9 and a half years old" Lee bantering with Asimov lmao

"Fragment of his childhood consciousness currently take over his frame. The age stage of specifics consciousness.... I'd say about 9 years old at most?"

"9 and a half years old, thank you." LMAOOOO

"I can understand what you're saying here, but it's impossible. I am standing here right now, how could this all just a fragment of my consciousness?"

"This is the truth, Mr. 9-and-a-half-years-old." ASIMOV 🤣

Hey, Mr. eye with dark circles, can I touch this?

No.

I know how it works, so you don't need to worry I'd break it.

No.

ALSO HE'S SULKING WHEN HE'S BEEN TOLD 'NO' TWICE BY ASIMOV LMAOOOO

Skk gave him milk, hence the blushing face.

The next day, it's the consciousness from his time as an assassin. (During when he desperately need money for Murray's treatment) He misunderstood he was being taken captive and asking where the exit route is as he hold Skk hostage. Lucia restrained him.

Long story short, after Skk explaining the problem, he tells us about his job as an assassin to required money fast. Also he keeps asking about Murray's wellbeing (awwwww).

The next day, he and Skk go outside (under the assumption that Skk has a task for Lee). They went to Cerberus base, asking if Murray is there at that time, but he's not there. (But Vera appeared instead lol. Don't want Vera to know what's going on with Lee, they ran XD)

ICE CREAM DATE

So yeah, basically Skk buy him ice cream.

"It's... Sweet..." I'm gonna combust

During these consciousness problem, he would take notes on his notebook (Skk called it diary lol) to keep record.

Hence the childish-style writings from his 9-years-old version. "I accidentally grazed Skk's ear with my gun." "The infected is a monster, it's terrifying."

"Skk fell asleep on the desk with all of many reports and document about specialized frame around. Skk also been working very hard lately. Let's leave something as a thank you, maybe a gift." LEE😭😭

Skk, Lucia and Liv kind of prepare a party (?) for him in the end. During this, Lee's consciousness problem almost solve. Before that, Lee ask Skk what we would want as a sorry/thank you gift for all this problem. Skk want the "diary" that Lee used to keep record of his difference memories from before.

ALSO LEE SAYING THE "HEAT-REGULATION SYSTEM FAILURE" WHEN HE BLUSH AGAIN, I SWEAR TO GOD

Lee give Skk a chip that contain projection from his past consciousness (From childhood, Kurono era, early Gray Raven (Palefire frame) and Entropy frame era) as a thank you gift.

"Thank you for the milk... Skk. The future me is really lucky to have met an excellent commandant." (Kid Morian)

"I'm sorry again, Skk. I.... The ice-cream...it was delicious." (Kurono era)

Palefire just telling you that you have grown and all that stuff lol

"Even if the road ahead is dark, it's alright to shine side-by-side with a star like you in the night sky." (Entropy)

"I will always be "Lee from Gray Raven", and I will stand by your side." JESUS CHRIST THIS GUY IS BAD FOR MY HEART

Anyway, that's what I got from rough translation lol. Sorry if there's some mistranslation or I didn't convey the deeper meaning good enough (also bc I don't fluent in English so my vocab is limited 😥)

In conclusion, PROTECT LEE AT ALL COST

I'd say sorry to Chrome bc Lee just took your 1st place in my heart again😭😭

[pedrito-friskito]

strawberry wine - joel miller x ofc!liv stone/fem!reader

after - part twenty-two

series masterlist | main masterlist | read on ao3

you agree to something...unexpected.

a/n: we're in the SHOW PLOT BABIESSSSS ugh I'm having so much fun with this 🤍

word count: 5.1k

warnings: canon-typical violence, you know the drill.

✨@friskito-library for updates on new parts/works✨

“I don’t know where he is, Liv, I swear.”

You sigh, leaning back in your chair, and dig in your pocket. You produce two ration cards, the highest value kind, and slide them across the table. “Now, you and I both know that’s a load of bullshit, Ted. So why don’t you stop wasting my time and tell me where Robert is?”

Ted’s a good kid. A little screwed up, sure, but so is every other kid that was born on the edge of the outbreak. He’s helped you out with a few jobs here and there, but lately, he’s been running shit for Robert, which made him the obvious first choice to find out where your least favourite smuggler had run off to.

You watch Ted’s eyes dart between the ration cards on the table between you and over your shoulder to where Joel and Tess are standing. Joel’s stance is wide, his hands shoved in his pockets, his brow hard. His eyes are glued to you, and you follow Ted’s eyes, glancing back at your husband and your friend.

“Don’t worry about them,” you tell the kid. “Look at me.”

“I told you, Liv, I don’t know where—”

“You don’t know where he is, yep, I heard you the first time. But I know it’s bullshit, because I know for a fact you were running a job for Robert three days ago, before my ass ended up in lock-up. And I also know that I saw you just outside the warehouse district, and ten minutes later, I have FEDRA all over me. You screwed me, so give me this, and I won’t let Joel break your jaw.”

The kid whimpers. 

You reach into your pocket, pull out another card. “Now, Ted. Or I walk.”

His throat bobs, but he reaches for the cards. Bingo. “T-there’s a red-tagged building, Stillman and Cross. He said he was taking the battery there, that he had someone else who would pay triple what Tess offered.”

You stare him down for a moment. “You know what happens if I find out you’re lying, don’t you?”

His eyes shift from your face back to Joel over your shoulder. “I do.”

“Broken jaws take a long time to heal,” you say almost casually, and Ted nods. You slide out of your seat. “See you around, kid.”

As soon as you’re close enough, Joel and Tess start to walk, and you fall into step with them, fitting yourself between them both. “Well?” Joel prompts, his hand finding the small of your back.

“Cost me three cards,” you tell them, “but he told me. Red-tagged building at Stillman and Cross.”

Joel’s brow lifts. “Wasn’t that a Firefly building, back when Tommy joined?”

Tess nods. “It was. Then they emptied out, and Miguel took over.” Her eyes shift to you, and she clears her throat. “It was empty again, last I heard.”

You shake a memory away. “I have a thought. We take the subway tunnel under Haymarket, that gets us into the building from below, and we can take him by surprise. He’ll never see us coming, and if all three of us go, he doesn’t stand a chance.”

“Pay this fucker back,” Joel says, and you can’t help your grin.

+

You go back to the apartment. Tess heads up to her place to get her bag, and the moment you’re through the door, you beeline for the wardrobe, digging out your guns, your knives, the bat. Joel had reluctantly put everything away after you’d convinced him not to go straight after Robert. You needed to be smart about it, to get the battery, and once the plan was more fleshed out, when you realized Ted would know where Robert was and you had a place to start, he softened slightly.

Only slightly.

Time has made Joel harder. It’s made you both harder, both new versions of yourselves you hadn’t anticipated turning into. The last decade has pushed you both to your limits, in every goddamn sense, but still, your love for each other? That’s never so much as wavered. Never.

It’s mostly weapons, in your bags. Ration cards, emergency supplies on the off-chance you need to make a quick getaway after you confront Robert. Bolt cutters. Ideally, you’ll go, scare the shit out of him, get the battery, then come back home. You’ll plan a real route, get the truck from Lee, and off you go.

It’s pouring rain, by the time you meet Tess in the lobby and step back out into the streets. Joel keeps a tight grip on your hand as you head towards the subway, and all three of you are soaked to the bone when you reach Haymarket, you and Tess standing in front, trying to look casual while Joel clips the chain on the door with the bolt cutters.

You all step through, crouching to fish flashlights out of your packs. The bat is tucked between your shoulders, mostly hidden by your bag, but you go for your gun instead. “Ready?” Tess asks, and you both nod, heading down the stairs.

The flashlight beams light the way, revealing mouldy walls, cracks in the ceiling letting rainwater drip down over you. Joel shoves his hand through his hair, wet strands slicking back across his scalp, and you can’t stop yourself from thinking idly that he looks good.

The steps down were at least partially lit between your flashlights and the diffused daylight coming through the windows, but as you descend into the subway tunnel itself, it’s nearly pitch black. Not a shock — you used to meet people down here all the time to trade — but it still makes your gut twist. A few years back, you’d heard rumours about a swarm of Infected that had stumbled in through the opposite end, which fed out into the open city. No more subway drops for you.

There are multiple doorways that lead up from the tunnels, the few you’ve used over the years to get out of the QZ proper, others that have helped when you almost got caught out after curfew. There are a few offices, maintenance rooms and supply bunkers that have served in a pinch.

“That’s the one,” Tess says, pointing to one of the little staircases that lead up from the subway rail itself. She goes first, and you follow, Joel close behind, his hand bumping your leg as you walk up the few steps. Tess opens the door, stepping inside, and you go to follow again, but Joel hooks his fingers into your back pocket, stalling you.

There’s no noise, at first, and you move toward the doorway. When Tess’s shouted oh fuck! echoes through the tunnel, you bolt forward, gun raised, with Joel a half-step behind you. “What?”

Then you see it. The far wall of the office. You can just barely make out the body within the fungus, nothing human left, just cordyceps spreading across the tile. The face open in a silent roar, fungi sprouting from the mouth, the eyes, the ears. Frozen in place, creeping in every direction. Taking over, even buried beneath the earth.

“This one’s done,” Joel declares, shining his light on what used to be the person’s face. That’s one thing you’ve learned about the Infected, over the years: nothing lasts forever. The infection can only push the human body so far, and it gets to the point where there’s nothing left for the infection to puppet.

Beside you, Tess exhales sharply, a hand pressed to her chest. “Yeah, I know, I just…I wasn’t expecting it.”

Joel glances at you. “That wasn’t down here last time?” 

You shake your head. “Nothing was. But when was the last time we were here, Tess? A year? Two?”

“More than that,” she answers, sweeping her flashlight beam over the body. “You think he came down after he was infected?”

Joel sighs, and his words send a prickle through you. “Maybe down here is where he was infected.”

Tess stares at the body for a moment before she turns away. You clear your throat, tap your flashlight to Joel’s. “Let’s keep moving.”

The office leads into a narrow hallway, a series of ladders that have been tied and strapped together leaned against the wall. Probably not up to code, but it’ll do. Tess slides her flashlight into the strap of her bag, and you and Joel do the same, both peering up as Tess grips the ladder and starts moving up. “It’s like they reframed the whole structure,” Joel says, tapping your ass as you move to follow Tess. “Probably in the eighties. Everyone was cutting down on apartment sizes to sell more condos.”

Tess pauses, shooting you a look over her shoulder. “This has been Construction Corner with Joel Miller.”

You sputter out a laugh, the ladder wobbling in your grip, and when you look behind you, Joel looks less than impressed. “Hey, I’d watch it.”

“Sure you would,” he grunts, swatting your ankle. “Keep goin’.”

A few more rungs before you call out to Tess. “How far up we gonna go?”

“Uh,” she pauses, swinging her boot off the rung and onto what looks like solid floor, “this far.”

You all shuffle off the ladder one by one, Joel grabbing your hand when you offer it, while Tess pushes on the makeshift door cut into the drywall from the inside. It’s been a long time since you and her came in this way. “This opens into the hallway,” she says, more for Joel’s benefit than your own. “What the fuck? Someone put a piano in front of this?”

Joel sweeps his flashlight over the ceiling, catching on old pieces of insulation and cracked drywall. As Tess pushes on the door again, something hits your nose and you wince, the telltale tang of wasted ammunition curling at the back of your throat. “Wait,” you whisper, grabbing her forearm, stopping her from moving the door again. “You smell that?”

“Gunpowder,” Joel answers, and the beam of his flashlight traces the door, down to the bottom, where you see a thin drip of blood seeping through the bottom crack, pooling on the floor. “Shit.”

Both you and Joel draw your guns, and you push forward, Joel calling your name as you shove your shoulder into the door, sliding it open. The body that was leaned against it slumps over as you step through, peering around, something in you twisting when you see the dead man’s face.

Robert.

“Fuck,” you murmur, stepping through the door completely, your gun still raised. Joel’s right behind you, his brow furrowed, Tess a step behind him. Both their flashlights rake over Robert’s body, and over the car battery on the ground beside him. Tess steps towards the battery, inspecting it closer, while you turn to Joel, seeing the displeasure on his face. “The fuck happened here?”

He just shakes his head, jaw set, mouth a firm line.

“Well, the battery’s no good,” Tess informs you, nudging it with her boot. “And he still tried to sell it. Twice.”

“You’re shocked?” you scoff, glancing up the hall. There are more Fireflies, all of them riddled with bullets, bodies propped against the wall. “Doesn’t surprise me one bit. Greedy fuck.”

Someone lets out a pained groan, somewhere nearby, and you all jump on the defence, guns raised. Joel steps in front of you as you move down to where the hallway crosses with another, and you move to his right side. There’s mumbled conversation, words you can’t make out as Joel presses himself to the wall, inching towards the corner.

“Shit…Oh god, just…fuck!”

Joel turns the corner, and you’re quick to follow, both of you with your guns raised, steps silent as you creep closer towards the two women toward the end of the hall, one helping the other to her feet.

Suddenly, the door you’re barely in front of swings inward, a young girl shouting as she surges forward, a knife raised. Joel moves quicker than you, blocking the blow and sending her to the floor with a grunted fuck. The knife hits the floor, and Joel swings his gun towards the girl. She looks up at him with an almost feral look in her dark eyes, baring her teeth at him. 

She looks young, maybe thirteen or fourteen. Dark hair, dark eyes, pale. She’s got dark-coloured Converse on her feet, and for some reason, it makes you smile.

The sound of guns cocking rips your eyes from the young girl, and you turn to see the two women at the end of the hallway both with pistols pointed in your direction. “Liv?”

“Marlene?” you reply, officially confused as shit.

She stares at you for a long moment, her face pinched in pain before her eyes drop to the girl. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” the girl replies, her eyes still glued to Joel.

She goes for the knife, but Joel puts his boot over the blade before she can grab it. She bares her teeth again. “Ellie,” Marlene calls, assumedly the girl’s name, but she’s too busy sneering at Joel. “Ellie.”

Ellie whips her head in Marlene’s direction, and instantly, you see the fear that works across the young girl’s face. “Oh, shit!” she gasps.

Marlene loosens her grip on the gun, tilted the barrel of it away from your head. “No, it’s okay. I’ll be all right.” You see her face fall slightly. “You can’t be stupid like this.”

Yep, you’re fucking confused.

Tess, who you’d left inspecting the battery, rounds the corner. “So this is who Robert screwed us over with?” she asks, moving up to stand beside you. “The Che Guevara of Boston?”

You scoff, jutting your chin at Marlene. “War must be goin’ pretty shitty for you to be buying from scumbags like him. I know we screwed you once or twice, but at least you didn’t end up with a bullet in your gut.”

“Yeah, it’s been a fucking stretch,” Marlene asks, sagging against the wall slightly. “The merch was bad, and he obviously didn’t take fuck off for an answer.”

You squint at Marlene, but your ears prick when you hear Ellie mutter, “Give me my knife.”

“What do you need a car battery for?” Joel asks, ignoring the girl at his feet. Ellie reaches forward, and both you and Joel swing your guns at her. “Don’t.”

“Not at her,” Marlene nearly shouts, both her and the woman standing beside her lifting their guns again, pointing at you both. Tess lifts hers, aiming for Marlene. “Point it at me.”

Joel gives you a look before glancing down at Ellie, who’s pressed herself against the wall, her hands raised in surrender. She looks fucking terrified. “Joel,” you murmur, pointing your gun away from the girl, toward Marlene and her friend. He follows suit, and you hear Ellie’s relieved exhale.

“To answer your question,” Marlene says, “I need it for a better reason than you do. No offence, but Tommy’s just one man.”

“What the…” Joel mutters, but you reach out with the hand not holding your gun, touch his chest.

“Who told you we’re going after Tommy?”

Marlene almost laughs. “It’s our business to know things. You of all people should know that, Liv.”

“To know things,” Joel repeats, and you can see the anger creeping up his spine, feel it in the heavy beat against your palm. “You’re the cause of it. You turned my own brother against me.”

“Okay, Joel,” Marlene mumbles, nearly rolling her eyes. Your own anger spikes.

“That was a lot of gunfire,” Marlene’s partner says. You don’t know her name. “FEDRA’s gonna be on their way.”

“I know,” she answers, and she stares at the kid at your feet for a long moment before speaking again, her voice louder. “We were gonna move Ellie outta the zone tonight.” Joel’s eyes flick down to the girl, and you watch him for a moment before your eyes move back to Marlene. “But we won’t make it anywhere like this. Not for a while, anyway. So now I’m thinkin’, you’re gonna do it.”

You squint at the woman. What…

Behind you, Tess: “Why the fuck would we do that?”

At the same time, Joel: “The hell we are.”

And Ellie: “I’m not going with them!”

You can’t read the expression on Marlene’s face. She’s in pain, clearly, but there’s something more to it. Something you’re certainly not used to seeing on the Queen of the Fireflies. But then it clicks.

She’s desperate.

“Liv,” Joel says, tearing your focus from Marlene, his gun still pointed at her, “we don’t have time for this.”

You meet his eyes for a sec before your gaze moves back to the Fireflies at the end of the hall. “Oh, you don’t have time?” Marlene calls, and she’s not even hiding the desperation anymore. You can hear it clear as day in her voice.

“Who is she?” you ask, narrowing your eyes, tilting your head towards the kid on the ground.

“To you?” Marlene shoots back. “She’s cargo.”

“We don’t smuggle people,” Joel nearly shouts, and you put your hand on his arm.

“I can do it,” the woman beside Marlene says, and the Queen snaps.

“Kim, you don’t have a fuckin’ ear on your fuckin’ head, could you please!” It’s only then that you realize that Marlene’s friend — Kim — has clearly taken a shot to the head, because most of her ear is missing, blood smeared down her neck. Marlene keeps talking, staring you down. “There’s a team of Fireflies waiting for her at the old State House.” Behind you, Tess scoffs. “I know what’s out there. We were going with an entire squadron for that very reason.”

“An entire squadron,” you repeat, “and you want the three of us to do it?”

“I don’t have a truck, I don’t have a squadron,” Marlene says, “FEDRA’s five minutes away. What I do have is you. And I know what you’re all capable of. For better or worse.” Her eyes slide from you to Joel, and you inhale sharply.

At your feet, Ellie looks at you all warily. “What are they capable of?”

Marlene just keeps on talking. “You get her there safely, and they’ll get you what you need. Not just a battery, but the whole thing. Fuelled-up truck, guns, supplies, all of it. I swear.” Joel’s head turns to you, his jaw set. Somehow, this has become your call. “I swear,” Marlene says again.

Joel slides his boot across the ground, Ellie’s knife spinning out of reach. “Asshole!” she shouts, and as the three of you step away to deliberate, you stoop to the floor, scooping the thing up. It’s a simple thing, short blade, wooden handle with a metal switch. You slide your finger across the wood, feeling the weight of it in your palm, turning it over as you step back.

There are initials carved into the bottom, right along the edge of the wood. ASW.

“You trust her?” Tess asks you as you move away, Joel’s hand settling against your hip.

Joel shakes his head. “Me either,” you agree, giving a slight nod, “but she seems desperate.”

When Joel speaks, you don’t miss the thread of hope in his voice. “Firefly vehicle usually means repurposed FEDRA stuff,” he says, “so better-than-decent chance of makin’ it to Tommy in one of those.” He looks at you. “Get us to Lincoln too.”

You nod.

“The second we hand this kid over—” Tess starts, but Marlene’s voice cuts her off.

“Ya’ll talk it through, but please remember that I’m bleeding out.”

Joel reaches out and grabs your wrist, the hand holding the knife. His eyes are hard as you meet them, but he lifts his chin, and you nod.

“Okay, here’s the deal,” you call to Marlene, turning on your heel. “We take the kid to the State House, but we don’t hand her over until we get everything that we want. Everything. Guns, truck, ammo, whatever we ask for. Anyone so much as pauses, we kill her. Then and there.”

You’ve barely gotten the words out before Marlene agrees. “Deal.”

“Really?” Ellie quips, almost exasperated. “That fast?”

Marlene looks at her, that same desperation still laced in her voice. “You are all that matters. My team will not jeopardize that. Remember what I told you?” Ellie glances up at you, and you try to school your face neutral. “Now go get your bag. Now, Ellie.”

With a huff, the kid gets to her feet and stalks into the room she’d leapt out of. You all just stare each other down until she returns, a green and blue backpack in her hands. She stares at Marlene, and Tess turns on her heel, heading back down the hallway. Joel touches your arm, nodding his head in the direction Tess went. “Let’s go.”

Ellie stares Marlene down until she nods, and then spins, shoving Joel with her shoulder as she goes, plucking her knife out of your hand before pushing past you as well. Joel gives you a look, and you just shake your head.

“Miller,” Marlene calls, and both of you turn to look at her. “Don’t fuck this up. Please.”

+

Thunder rumbles, the moment you step foot back outside. It’s still early, nowhere near curfew, but you’re all quick to move through the city, circling back to the apartments. You need to regroup, gather more supplies, if you’re gonna make it to the State House.

What the fuck did you just agree to?

Tess leads the pack as you stride through the rain, Ellie behind her, you behind Ellie, Joel behind you. You don’t miss the way the kid pulls her hood over her face every time you pass a FEDRA soldier, flinches every time one of those big FEDRA trucks rolls past on the street.

Somewhere between the Firefly building and your apartment, Joel grabs your hand, pulls you back into step with him. “I don’t like this,” he says softly, his tone rough.

You lace your fingers with his. “I don’t either. Doing Marlene a favour wasn’t exactly high on my list of things to do. But if they pull through and get us what we need, then it’s worth it, right?”

The furrow in his brow deepens, but he squeezes your hand, gives a slight nod. “Right.”

It’s not long before you’re inside the building, climbing the stairs up to your floor. Ellie’s foot slips on one of the steps, nearly sending her tumbling back. Out of instinct, you grab her by the arm, pushing her back upright. She shoots you a look over her shoulder, her eyes wide. “Thanks.”

You just nod.

Joel holds his hand out for the keys as you approach the apartment, unlocking the door after you toss them to him. You push the door open, stepping aside for Ellie to enter after Joel gestures for her to step forward. “Give us a minute,” you say, stepping back out into the hall, pulling the door shut. It earns you a shouted what the fuck! from the kid, but you ignore it.

“So, what’s the plan?” Tess asks, hands braced on her hips.

You breathe out a sigh, leaning back against the door. “When’s the last time we even made it near the State House?”

Joel pushes his hand through his hair. “Long way or short way.”

“We took the short way last time,” Tess says, glancing at you. “Nearly got ourselves killed.”

You chew your thumb. “So we take the long way? If things go bad, we’ll figure something out. Drop whatever we have to, head for Bill and Frank’s.”

“And what, leave the kid there?”

“If shit hits the fan, Lincoln first. We check on them, we resupply, and we head for Wyoming. Simple. There are more than enough cities between here and Wyoming with Firefly groups. Chances are we can find another one to drop her at.”

“Nothin’s ever fuckin’ simple, Liv,” Joel grunts, and you shoot him a glare. “Lee had the decency to warn me to stay off the streets tonight. Apparently, the Fireflies freaked FEDRA out, few guys got shot. This is risky.”

“Every single fucking thing we do is risky, Joel. If we wait this out any longer, someone’s gonna come snooping, or Marlene’s gonna rat us out and we’re gonna lose our window. You wanna get to Tommy, this is what we have to do.”

He just glares back.

“I’ll go check out the spot under Lancaster,” Tess offers, and you nod, your eyes stuck on Joel’s.

“Yeah, that’ll work,” you say. “I’ll come with you, keep an eye out. We should leave after dark.” You take a step away from your husband, your eyes still glued to his. “Stay with the kid.”

You start walking away before he can convince you otherwise, but you still hear his protests as you and Tess head back toward the stairs. “Wait. Why do I have to…Liv! Olivia!”

“You’re gonna pay for that one,” Tess mumbles as your feet hit the top step, both of your knees creaking as you make your way back down to the lobby. “He’s right, though. This is risky.”

“It’s all risky. Walking around in broad daylight is risky, these days.”

“You got me there.”

“I knew, you know,” you tell her, gripping the stair rail, “that eventually we’d leave Boston. Just never thought we’d be doing Marlene any fucking favours in the process.”

You reach the lobby, push back out onto the street. It’s still raining, but you weren’t inside long enough to feel dry, and your boots seem to find every puddle as you head toward Lancaster. It was one of the first spots you used, when you first started smuggling. A just-wide-enough storm drain that got hit in the bombings before the QZ walls went up, the tunnel under that opened up on the other side, a large slab of asphalt hiding the exit. More than once, FEDRA’s posted themselves in front of the entrance, close enough to the QZ wall that it gives them a good vantage point.

Today, not a soldier in sight.

“Good,” you mutter, glancing over your shoulder as you and Tess round the corner, trying to look as casual as possible. “We should head back through the market. Pick up some supplies. In case anyone’s tailing us.”

“You know, you’re just as paranoid as your husband, sometimes.”

“Oh, shut it.”

You only make it about ten feet before someone calls Tess’s name. You both freeze, and you haven’t seen Tess go that pale since the last time you ran into a Clicker.

Robin. 

You turn slow, spotting Tess’s ex-girlfriend on the opposite side of the street. She’s dressed in full FEDRA gear, gun at her hip. Last you heard, she was still teaching at the school; what subject, you didn’t know, but clearly something that warranted her carrying a weapon. Maybe teaching the next generation of soldiers how to become shittier shots than the current ones.

Robin’s ponytail swings as she crosses the road to where you’re stood, her dark hair made darker by the rain. “Tess,” she says again, something unreadable in her voice. You don’t know her well enough to get a clear read on her. “Can we talk?”

Tess is rigid as hell at your side, and you turn to look at her. “Tess?”

“Yeah,” she says finally, returning your glance. “Give us a sec.”

With a nod, you wander a few steps back. You’re right at the edge of the market, and you busy yourself trading a couple ration cards for new bootlaces, glancing over at Tess and Robin every few moments. Tess looks exasperated, and when Robin reaches for her, your hand automatically wanders toward the gun tucked in the back of your waistband, hidden beneath your shirt. Tess grabs Robin’s wrist, her expression going hard as she drops her hand forcefully, making Robin stumble back a step.

Without another word, Tess stalks towards you, her face a hard mask. Behind her, Robin lingers in the street for a moment, staring after Tess, before her shoulders slump and she turns away, disappearing around the corner.

“What was that about?”

“Let’s go.”

You wander around the city another hour or so, waiting for the sky to darken, making sure no one’s following you. There are a few people that owe you favours, and you collect on a few, returning to the apartment shortly after curfew with a few extra boxes of ammunition, some dried beef, rolls of bandages.

When you push open the door of your apartment again, they’re both in the living room. Ellie’s perched on the chair by the window, a smug grin on her face, and Joel’s stood in front of the couch, like he just got up, hands braced on his hips. A familiar stance.

He doesn’t say anything as you and Tess step through the door, Tess shutting it behind you. Joel looks at you, then at Ellie, then back at you, his face expectant. “Lancaster looks good,” you say, pulling your coat and Joel’s off the hooks by the doors. Tess swings her back from her shoulders, pulls her own out. “Ellie, you got a jacket in your bag?”

“Yeah,” she answers, a streak of fear in her eyes as she looks at you. 

“Okay,” you nod, “get it. It’s time to go.”

Joel walks over to you, taking his coat when you hold it out to him. He steps close to you, one hand finding a home on your bicep and squeezing. “You good?”

“Fine,” you say, glancing over your shoulder at where Tess is shrugging into her jacket. “We ran into Robin.”

Joel’s brow goes hard. “She…?”

“Tess didn’t tell me,” you reply, reaching up to brush an errant strand of hair from his forehead. “I don’t think she was suspicious. We were in the market, nothing out of the ordinary.” You incline your head toward Ellie. “How’s the kid?”

“Smart ass,” Joel grunts, and you have to stifle your laugh. “Seems scared though. Was askin’ me how many times we’ve done this, if we’d be okay.”

You nod. “We will be.”

“We going or what?” Tess calls, and you tug on Joel’s hand, all of you heading toward the door.

“Wait,” you say, and head for the bookshelf, reaching for the copy of Moby Dick that you’d cut the middle of out. You flip it open, pull out the portable radio Bill had given you. “Just in case.”

Joel just nods to you as you swing your bag from your shoulders, sliding the radio into one of the pockets. “We’ll see them soon,” he reassures you, and you just nod as you all step out of the apartment, pulling the door shut behind you.

You take one last glance around as the door swings closed. Who knows the next time you’ll see this place again.

PREV | NEXT

[be-the-glenn-to-my-maggie]

Your daily dose of Nocorro angst, good eats:

I'm not putting in @spicymiilk 's ideas in case he uses them, but dear god I would pay real money for my accidentally mated au to be written thank u.

-Part of me thinks there should be a fucking medieval au type thing where Neteyam is the next prince to take over the kingdom passed down via Neytiri's line. I just love the idea of Spider as a fucking Theon Greyjoy type son of the enemy raised by the family, and that’s why Neytiri doesn’t trust him or some shit it’s so juicy. Can't you all see it now it's so good, the star crossed horror of it all.

-The additional Neytiri/Neteyam parallel that comes out in nocorro. They both have forbidden alien romances, and yet Neytiri wouldn't respect or understand Neteyam's without a lot of work. THE SYMBOLIC T R A G E D Y. We could have a moment of Mo'at being like, "Get it together, I accepted your freak. I even like him better than you now sometimes."

-I am currently deeply obsessed with the bonds Na'vi form with their mates. Every author has played with bonds differently, but I feel like a lot of fics have mentioned this concept of being able to feel each others emotions. The fact that the bond is like, more raw and important in the beginning. So Spider and Neteyam keeping their relationship hidden, being separate and secret would be like almost painful. I am so so invested in that idea I want to know More. Like they Have to be near each other, like touch and shit is essential for a healthy bond at first and they’re just like fucking it up. I want to explore Na'vi bond concepts so bad, with some lovely hurt comfort of nocorro being forced apart at the worst time.

-I even like the concept of them being in a healthy, normal relationship, right? They are newly bonded, and everyone loved and supported them from the beginning or what not. They wanted to get mated before the train raid just in case, and then Spider gets fucking taken lol. Tragedy, they AREN'T SUPPOSED TO BE APART, the drama of it all.

-I made that soulmate au post where I did all the different types of soulmate aus I could think of and with the one where they can feel and take each others pain I WENT STRAIGHT TO NOCORRO RIGHT AWAY. There’s something so funny and horrifying about spider getting taken and Jake being like “alright go learn an entire new culture” and Neteyam's like on the ground half dead like “but dad I feel like I’m being brain tortured”.

-Neteyam would be so fucking angsty and reckless at Awa'atlu in this au. He feels all of Spider's pain, so he's terrified and scared BUT ALSO CRANKY. He’s saying slightly rude things to his parents and he’s beating the shit out of Ao’nung before Lo’ak can even try. Man is testy. And he's shit at learning to breathe, he is not feeling calm or patient.

-The soulmate au where you can take the others wounds, imagine Spider taking the bullet wound even after they have a (spider inflicted cause he gets hurt more often) pact to not take each others wounds and pain. Horrifying. I have been wondering about the logistics tho, because Spider's body is proportionally different than Neteyam's, would the wound appear somewhere else on his body that would help him possibly survive? I can't decide.

-Oh my god also a version where they hadn't realized yet they were soulmates. Neteyam's all of a sudden devastated and horrified that he's alive at the cost of his soulmate, one he never got to meet, only to look over and notice Spider keeling over. TRAGEDY. pLS I need comfort fics too.

-There’s enough torture porn in this fandom I’m waiting for my Spider romcom. I want to be surprised by how right things start going for my boy, it's never surprising when all the things go bad all the time for him. I want that fucking fast food nocorro au I got so into. I want my soulmate au but they notice from the beginning so they accept him and raise him or something.

-Speaking of a little modern nocorro romcom (still with plenty of angst tho) I’m telling you I’m right Neteyam is P E A K I can fix him. He clocks Spider and is like “now there’s a boy I can fix (sexual).” His sexuality is will my dick cure him? Yes.

-Spider like, coughs once and Neteyam's like that sickly little loser of a man is Mine now, wow. Wow I am going to Save him and it'll be so satisfying. The man has a savior complex you can't convince me otherwise. That meme like "if I had a lame ass boyfriend I would hype him up so hard," that's Neteyam.

-I've always thought that Neteyam and Spider's problems and fights would always be over Neteyam trying to fix all of Spider's problems. Like Spider is just venting about his dad and Neteyam is like "so I'm on the phone with CPS and we're filing a report" and Spider's like "oh my fucking god I just wanted you to listen??" And Neteyam's like but babe I can fix it.

-Neteyam's GROWTH is him like learning to grit his teeth and literally sit on his hands as he forces himself to let Spider have his own problem instead of Babygirl-ifying him. He's literally Too Pure Too Good For This World in the most annoying way possible, he thinks everything can be fixed but maybe Spider's just gotta be broke, we can't superglue this one back together.

-Then Spider's like what if he won't like me if I'm not broken anyway? And it's a whole other complex and a whole other set of issues.

I hope you've enjoyed this word vomit of terrible angst, I need help and I need fluff.

[astarionfreak]

Gireoowoeofivjvnwkkskdkfjcvdbs based on your fiction of dying tav how would astarion react to this:

As she starts feeling that she is starting to lose consciousness, she uses the last strength she has to hug Astarion tightly and whispers “part of me is relieved.. I know you were just pretending and this is the most I can get to be with the one I love, part of me is relieved that I helped you ascend so after my death you will remain safe, I won’t be there to protect you but you won’t need me to.”

She’d start speaking slower, fighting to let out the words “I will tell you something funny. I am getting jealous of whoever you will end up with after I die. I wish it was me that would get to know every corner of your soul but I hope you find happiness..” after a few quiet moments she says her last thing “if reincarnation is real, I hope I never get reincarnated if I don’t get to see him again..”

Ahhhh! Okay. Hmm. Lemme see.

Original fic: You'll hate me (make love)

cw; major character death, sad vibes

Tav rested in Astarion's lap, her arms curled around him, her face pressed against the curve of his neck. How long they had been like this? Astarion did not know. He wasn't counting the seconds. He was listening to the drumming of her heart -- and with each passing moment the beats grew further apart.

Her heart. The very thing that kept her here, with him, that pumped her blood through her veins -- it had been steadily growing weaker for some time now. It wouldn't be long before her mortal form betrayed her. Before her soul was plucked like a ripened cherry in the summer heat.

So, he listened, completely silent, not even daring to breathe, as she spoke her final words. Her voice, weak, as though each word was a struggle. Astarion wished he could ease her pain, but death would soothe her soon enough.

Astarion was quiet, listening to the sounds of her failing body for a moment longer before he spoke.

"Yes, little love, it is funny that you believe there will be anyone after you," Astarion whispered. "There is no being, not in my past, nor in my future that could possibly bring me the happiness you offered in our short time together."

She was too weak to respond, falling limp, fading in his arms. He knew this feeling well. Countless others had died at his hand, but it wasn't like this -- it didn't hurt like this. Their lives were meaningless. She was -- gods, she was everything.

And it stung, knowing that she did not truly love him. Not in the way she used to. That she yearned for a version of him who was long dead. The version of him that had been so weak, so pathetic --

He loathed the old him. But he pretended, for her. His reasons, for all of this, they were his own. He would not speak them aloud. He would not even allow himself to think on it.

"I'll find you again, he'll find you, I swear it," Astarion whispered. "There is nothing that could keep us apart, my love, not even the promise of oblivion."

He would do almost anything to freeze this moment. To keep her here, his, forever. But she hadn't given him enough time. Part of him resented her for that -- it was easier to hate her than to blame himself for his shortcomings.

What good was all this power if he couldn't have her? If the only one he'd ever truly cared for could still be taken from him?

He lost her the day she walked away. He let her go. He should have stopped her -- he should have turned her then. She would have forgiven him in time, surely. No --

No, the cost would have been too high. They were both so strong willed. He would have destroyed her love. She would have ruined him in return.

This was better. This, this ending, it would mean that what they had was real -- and would remain that way, in his memory, for as long as he lived.

A/N: Okay, so, he almost seems too well adjusted here and I swear he's not. Lol. He's actually a mess.

[ficks-of-fancy2]

Am I the only one who wanted more out of Bayonetta 3. Like, fuck the side chapters and the Jeanne spy segments. I wanted the complete Demon roster from all the Bayonetta games with masquerades to match, give me a Diomedes masquerade thats just a sword unicorn centaur. Give me a Bayonetta or Viola variant that was contracted to Alraune, maybe they went crazy and killed their family. Give me a castle defense Deadly Sin ritual segment between Bayonetta and French Rosa, the clock tower could have become the demonic city Pandemonium and Alraune could have become a queen in a giant Raffelsia palace. Demon Slave is so underutilized maybe make a segment where you have to utilize Alraune's ability to control plants to make paths for progression or segments that are easier with the clock tower's witch time ability. Give me Rodin stopping Bayonetta before the final fight and telling her that he will help her for the final fight and just giving her his weapon and then she summons him along with a Jeanne and Rosa variant who had lived instead of Bayonetta during the witch hunts and they all dance together attacking Singularly at the same time. Give me Alternate Bayonettas with compelling stories, making their deaths all the more tragic. Fuck the heteronomative ending give me Jeanne and Bayonetta hugging after all is said and done and just when you think they aren't going to they kiss and tell each other that after everything they've been through that it will take more than some AI with a God complex to keep them apart. Fuck the prequel, just give us a chapter where Viola is wandering through the Avalon Forest herself with an adult version of the Origins Bayonetta (who could be married to Lukaon) maybe she has to Deadly Sin Cheshire. Give Singularly actual motives and make them a looming threat, instead of just "I'm going to kill all the Bayonettas!" "Why?" "BECAUSE I FUCKING CAN!" Give me a Deadly Sin fight between Kraken (Maybe called Cassiopia) and Queen Butterfly. Give all the demons that she summons a Deadly Sin form or variation. Give me a final summon where all the variants (maybe some are Lumen Sages) come together, rip out their hearts, and summon Hecate as a sort of embodiment of magic and it's ultimately chaotic nature within the trinity. And she just fucking removes Singularly from reality instantly erasing the damage they did, but all the Bayonettas remember what happened and Viola can't return home so she's just adopted by Bayo and Jeanne. Just give us more than a half baked story with no passion in it. Give me emotion and passion, not a story that has some decent concepts and macanics. Basically Bayonetta 3 wasn't worth the $60 it cost and it should have been more than a half baked concept.

[superblysubpar]

I hope this isn’t too personal but would you tell us how your screenwriting process was? I saw that you submitted WCIL as a screenplay and as someone whos scared to stop I’d love to know how you did it

Um this not too personal AT ALL. I really wanna chat about things with you all, whether that's dumb stuff or serious stuff or whatever. My inbox is open 💛 Also, I am SO sorry this is so fucking long 💀

My #1 piece of advice is to decide to take the leap. Which, I get, is easier said than done. I had dreams of doing things for the movies one day since I was little, I just let society and myself convince me that dreams like that don't pan out -- except how would I know if I never try?? And it's scary. I have a degree I'm proud of that took me a long time to get for a job I am not pursuing and don't really want to again. It's scary to change directions and take a leap into unknown territory, especially one that's centered around the arts - often looked down on by other people with "real jobs". It's taken a very long time to get here, this community is largely to thank for the chance at this dream, as well as people I've met through this Fandom. I would have never taken the leap without the encouragement of people in this fandom, especially @loveshotzz & @sweetsweetjellybean . But ultimately, I had and have to be the one who has faith in myself.

#2, follow some accounts on Instagram, where ever, listen to some podcasts, etc. A ton of how I found out about these contests is just from listening to The Screen Writer's Life podcast and hearing them mention contsests. Then I googled contests, and found their accounts on Instagram which led me to more, I'll post a few pictures below of some beneficial ones - pay special attention to rules of contests and also the validity of an account - who else follows them, what info can you find about them on Google, can you submit material that's submitted to other contests etc.

#3 - in terms of the actual screenwriting process, I will say I am largely winging it 💛 but here's a few things that may help:

I have this book I'm reading (picture below) which turned out to be a pretty standard for the industry? People like Tina Fey have talked about reading this book and then just doing the damn thing in interviews.

I had a few film studies courses over the years, so this helped me understand a little bit of the language used when critiquing film and studying screenplays - but I don't think this is necessary. There's a ton of lower cost online courses, masterclass, free YouTube videos and more if you Google.

Reading other screenplays. Do you have a genre you want to write specifically? Or how about your favorite movies? While there is a sort of standard way to write a screenplay, it's amazing how when reading a variety of scripts, you can see each screenplay Writer's individual voice and vision. Many are free online to read just by googling, at least a version of the script potentially in its early draft stages.

I used the software, free version, Celtx to write WCIL. It was very user friendly and easy to pick up, and I think gives you a great gateway into how to write a screenplay. However, the free version was pretty glitchy, and now that I know I want to do this more, I'll be investing in Final Draft (pretty standard in the film industry from what I can tell). Aside from this sort of teaching me the layout, Google and interest and like I said, reading other scripts, got me into the flow of how to write one.

I had a pretty clear vision of WCIL because of already writing the fanfic. For me, having the clear outline helped immensely. And then, for me, it helped to do the straight dialogue from beginning to end, with no action or scene headings, THEN I went back and filled these pieces in. From all my research (and that book I'm reading) dialogue is the most important part of your screenplay. As the writer of a movie, it is not your job to descibe the setting and the emotions and the costumes in immense detail. Your job is the story, and it's everyone else's job to bring it to life. So that leads to - just letting things go - realizing "hey as much as I love this scene, is it important to the story? Why or why not. What needs to be cut for it to fit? Do I need this piece of action or is the dialogue enough Etc."

Lastly, honestly just googling questions I had - anything from page numbers (a page typically equals about a minute for example, which is why the standard maximum page number usually is 120) to how to show an interruption in dialogue, to what should be capitalized and what shouldn't  - Google is your friend. The screenplays of other movies are your friend. The more resources you read the more you learn and absorb.

I really hope any of this helps!! If I can do it, you can do it! Good luck 💛💛💛

Highly beneficial accounts to follow to start off with. But there's so much more!

The podcast I listen to:

The book 💛

[biscuitbakerbecca]

Jared Kleinman for the character asks :)

Favorite Thing About Them

Jared is so bad at communicating he reminds me a lot of myself. I have ODD so it’s a little different, but the man is an asshole in the best way possible. He is petty and gives off angry cat energy in both fandom aspects and canon. Also I appreciate that he never acted against Evan even when he had the opportunity and reason to do so, he threatened it but he kept his mouth shut. Real friend right there <3 (I could tell everyone everything! Okay great! You go ahead! Do that! Tell everyone how you helped write emails pretending to be a kid who killed himself! Fuck you Evan!)

Least Favorite Thing About Them

He doesn’t have enough screen time/show time. People mischaracterize him because his entire character is shoved into as little time as possible. I know I just said that I love how he’s an asshole but he’s more than an asshole. He’s so clearly lonely and more than just an angry kid. At least in the book they made him “hot” in the end but the show and movie pretty much get rid of him come act two

Favorite Line

Kinky!

Just kidding

Asshole!

Okay okay for real this time

Yeah I hate to tell you this Evan, but you may have already perjured yourself.

Isn’t that only when you’re under oath? Like in a courtroom?

Well weren’t you under oath? In a way?

No.

Or from the movie (since I view them as different canons)

Connor took a letter from me. It was an assignment for my therapist.

Ew.

(I’d offer a different line but Jared doesn’t have that many)

BROTP

Jared and Zoe friendship!!! They hate each other they’re best friends they get drunk and cry together!!

Another excerpt of my own writing that explains this. Again my writing quality has gone up since this but oh well:

Connor rolled his eyes, "I'm saying that Evan will always be there, okay? You are so fucking stubborn, and I'm trying to be nice and make you feel better, just say thank you like a decent human being."

"You just made me feel shitty."

Connor threw his hands up, "Fuck! You're impossible!"

Zoe's voice screeched from below, "FUCK OFF! HE IS MY BEST FRIEND!"

— I don’t know what I want, but I need you. Chapter 12

OTP

Either kleinsen or kleinphy. They both have potential. All my kleinsen fics are really fluffy (soulmates, hurt/comfort, etc) and my kleinphy fics are like…rough and angsty (teen parenthood, child abuse, etc) I like both equally, but what I want to read depends on the content I’m looking for as shown by my own writing style

NOTP

Nothing icky like the parents being involved obviously, otherwise Jared/Zoe fics just don’t feel right. Jared is gay. Like he has to be. The book tried telling me he liked boobs and I know Val Emmich lied. Evan was simping at the end for a reason. Jared doesn’t even have to like Evan the man is still gay. Best part of the movie but dear god at what cost? (I did like the movie I swear)

Random Headcannon

Jared has two moms, or his mother is bisexual. I tried writing him with straight parents and every single time it feels kind of wrong

Also he has a cat. Her name is Mayonnaise. Mayo for short.

Unpopular Opinion

Idk if this is unpopular or not but I’m glad they cut Goin’ Viral. It only pushes the he’s an asshole idea and even though I love the song it wouldn’t have helped his characterization. I would have liked for them to properly record the song when they released the deluxe album but apparently Disappear Pt. 2: the duet version was more important.

Also Jared Goldsmith was my favorite Jared actor other than Will Roland. Nothing can beat the Will Roland vibes

Book Jared shouldn’t have ditched his glasses and got buff, they made him too powerful. Evan couldn’t help but fall for him. Let him stay as he is don’t make him conventionally attractive!

Song I Associate With Them

Jared is such a complicated guy. His feelings are deep. He’s cringy but free. I haven’t thought about this in a while hang on…

I imagine that Jared is a pop girlie and this gives the desperate for attention vibes that I usually associate with him

And as for his inherently cringey vibes that I usually give him…

I’m not sorry

Favorite Picture Of Them

Again, we have options…

[charmixpower]

Issue 3: The Boys from Red Fountain

STELLA WHAT THE FUCK GIRL

no hesitation, no mercy

How did Tecna not immediately kill him for this

Also the fact that Tecna is offended that Timmy didn't have a good pick up line for her

You're going to quickly realize that Tecna of the comics is a VERY different person than Tecna of the show

Everyone's face when Tecna didn't slap the shit out of him and actually helped him find the battery is amazing

The comics have removed Musa's pick me energy but they made her a worse I can fix him girl so it balances out

Also Riven hanging out outside because he's an introvert we love it

All Riven says to Muss is "hi" btw before going on with his business

Stella basically calls Riven an asshole, which is very funny because she continues to say, you should find someone else if you want to get anywhere

Which implies her problem isn't that he's an asshole, but that he's an emotionally unavailable asshole. Amazing

HELL YEAH WE ACTUALLY GET TO SEE PEOPLE TRYING TO ASSASSINATE SKY MAKING THE SWAP ACTUALLY TOLERABLE IN THIS VERSION

This is so adorable and YESSS an explanation for where Winx came from. We love love love it!!

I love that the comics tell you where the fuck trolls come from and live. One of my major questions from the show XD

Omg not Stella manipulating Musa's desire to have close friends right after they made a group name 😭😭 girlll whyyy

Sky, in a world where most of the girls he's around are magical "He'll have to take care of everything himself! It's not like Stella fought off a troll by herself" shut up Sky

Anyways I'm sorry I offended you" comics Sky is somehow worse than 4kids Sky

Which is actually kinda impressive, it gets worse from here

I love that the Trix have more minions than just Knut, adds flavor

Musa defending Stella's dumb decisions is so fucking weird when I'm so used to her always being the first to drag her filth

I wish more spells had a strong negative effect on the users. Like Bloom should not be able to summon god with no physical consequences, I do not care, she shouldn't be able too

It would also be a good way to get certain Winx out of the game and raise the stakes of a battle. They use a super powerful spell and now have a migraine. The tide of battle has changed but we're down a member. It's very cost benefit analysis

Stella is being stopped from transforming bc her ring is bent I love it

The comics made me so annoyed that the show brought up this idea and then ignored it for most of the first season!!! Like it's not all that interesting of a concept but the different ways Stella gets stuck is super interesting

Stella said I'd do it again and now they're beating her with pillows I love the comic girlies so much they're so silly with each other

[typingtess]

As he was thinking about calling it a night, Rosa walked into the living room.  “Hey, I thought you went to bed about an hour ago.”

“Not really tired,” Rosa sat down next to him on the couch.  “Kensi went to bed early and I thought it was a good idea.”

“Until you weren’t that tired.”

“Until I wasn’t that tired.  What are you doing?”

“Reviewing material for the Continuing Legal Education class I’m taking at USC Saturday.  I have to take it by the end of the year or I’ll have issues with the Bar.”

“But you finished law school.”

“A lifetime ago.  But laws change all the time so the Bar makes lawyers take classes every year.  Did the winter class, I missed the spring class, we were on vacation during the summer class so I’m signed up for the last class of the year Saturday.”

“Is it fun?”

Lifting an eyebrow, he told her, “Eight hours in a classroom with 45 other attorneys.  It’s the lawyers version of a Taylor Swift concert.”

Rosa laughed.  “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“Why did Kensi seem unhappy at dinner?  Was it the gift?”

Deeks sighed.  Julia’s early Christmas gift was a Sunday dinner surprise.  It was generous, wonderful and exactly not what Kensi wanted.  “Julia loves Kensi, she loves you, she surprisingly loves my Mom – didn’t see that one coming.”

“She also loves you,” Rosa assured Deeks.

“Yes, I’ve made it into the Julia Feldman circle of trust.”

“But…”

“But…Kensi and I were talking about going to Las Vegas with you during your holiday break, getting the Adele tickets and starting the New Year off right.  Julia must have heard about you wanting to go from a little birdie or a regular-sized Bertie and suddenly we’re booked into adjoining suites to Julia and my Mom with New Year’s Eve tickets to see Adele.”  Deeks already saw how much three Adele tickets were going to cost the night before New Year’s Eve – more than the cost of his first two cars – he could only imagine what Julia paid for five New Year’s Eve tickets.  And that doesn’t even include the hotel rooms.

“You don’t want to go?”

“I want to go.  I want to go with you, with Kensi, with Julia and God help me, with my Mom.  I want to do Christmas and New Year’s and every other holiday with the four best women in my life because the four of you are the family I always wanted, the family Kensi always wanted.”  And that Kensi deserved.

“But…”

“Between you and me – don’t tell Kensi, Julia and my Mom, promise.”

“Promise.”

“Julia should have checked with Kensi.  We wouldn’t have said no,” Deeks assured Rosa, though there would have been some negotiations about who was paying for what and the size of the hotel rooms.

“The best Christmas gifts are supposed to be surprises.”

“They’re usually surprises like a bike or a new phone.  Kensi just wants her Mom to understand that we want everything good for you.  Kensi and I just want to know it’s coming.  And yes, we’re still going.  And we want to go.  And we’re going to have a great time.”

“Kensi told me that she and her Mom didn’t talk for a long time.”

“True.  Kensi’s parents split up and Kensi stayed with her Dad and then with an aunt.”  Deeks would let Kensi tell her full story.  “But they’ve been talking for a long time and really love each other.”  

“She’s very nice.”

“She is.  And she is thrilled you’re part of our family.”  

“I’m excited about everything that’s coming up.”

“We all are.  But none of that fun starts until you finish your classes and I sit with a bunch of lawyers learning about the changes in California’s criminal code,” Deeks stifled a yawn.  “I think we probably should call it a night.”

Standing, Rosa asked “Can I go with you to USC Saturday?  Take a look at the campus.”

“Of course.  We can drive out and you can get an Uber home.  Are you interested in USC?”

“Some of my friend are talking about colleges.  I want to see what USC looks like.”

“Sounds like a plan,” he gave her a kiss on the forehead as she walked to her room.

Good lord, Deeks thought as he started turning off the living room lights, they were going to be on the college tour really soon.  

[princesssarisa]

Character ask: Esmeralda (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)

This answer is for the Disney version, not for the original novel character, whom I'm not really familiar with.

Favorite thing about them: She's one of my favorite Disney heroines. She's tough, witty, and smart, yet kind, selfless, and idealistic, she's lively and full of fire, yet dignified too, she knows when to be fierce, when to be gentle, and when to be funny, and she's a brave, outspoken champion of the underdog.

I also like that she's sensual and sexy yet never slut-shamed by the narrative, just by the villainous Frollo (though I'll admit that portraying a Romani woman that way does have unfortunate implications; see below), and that she's allowed to not return Quasimodo's romantic feelings without being portrayed as clueless or ungrateful to him.

Least favorite thing about them: That in some ways she's a stereotype of a Romani woman. I wish that the filmmakers had taken more pains to portray the culture accurately, and not sexualized Esmeralda quite so much.

Though I appreciate that in-universe, "sexy Romani dancer" is a role she plays because it earns money (she tells Quasimodo that she wouldn't be a street dancer if she had his talent as a woodcarver). And I'm glad that at least she is a sympathetic, heroic Romani character, unlike in the original novel where she's a white girl who was kidnapped by the Romani as a baby. (Ugh!)

Three things I have in common with them:

*I have dark hair.

*I care very much about social justice and standing up for outcasts.

*I like to wear purple.

Three things I don't have in common with them:

*I'm not stunningly beautiful and desired by multiple men.

*I doubt I could survive on the streets or as a fugitive from the law.

*I'm not Romani.

Favorite line:

During her duel with Phoebus in the cathedral, when he compliments her for fighting "almost as well as a man":

"Funny, I was going to say the same thing about you!"

And the opening lines of "God Help the Outcasts," sung to a statue of Mary and baby Jesus:

"I don't know if you can hear me,

Or if you're even there.

I don't know if you would listen

To a g***y's prayer.

Yes, I know I'm just an outcast,

I shouldn't speak to you.

Still, I see your face and wonder,

Were you once an outcast too?

brOTP: Quasimodo, Clopin, her goat Djali.

In crossover fics, I also enjoy seeing her interact with other heroines from '90s animated film, especially Belle, Megara, and Anastasia. They all have a lot in common, but striking differences too that could make them interesting foils for each other.

OTP: Phoebus.

nOTP: Frollo.

Random headcanon: Her parents were killed when she was very young, and Clopin has effectively been her father figure ever since.

Unpopular opinion: I don't think her lack of romantic interest in Quasimodo is because he idolizes her too much. She just doesn't have romantic feelings for him, and it's nobody's fault. She loves him as a friend, but Phoebus – whose maturity, humor, rugged edge, and fighting spirit more closely match her own – is the type of man she wants as a romantic partner. I agree that she and Quasi wouldn't have been right for each other even if she had been interested, in part because he idolizes her too much, but also because she pities him too much. (Why does the fandom criticize him for calling her an "angel" but not her for calling him "this poor creature"?) But I don't think that's the reason why she chooses Phoebus instead.

Also, contrary to what Disney Wiki says, I don't think she and Phoebus are about to kiss in the cathedral when Frollo bursts in to have her arrested. Staring into each other's eyes and feeling drawn to each other doesn't always mean "about to kiss." I think it's important that her feelings for Phoebus don't fully cross from wary attraction into love until he proves that he's a true ally, by (a) saving her with the lie to Frollo that she claimed sanctuary, and (b) rescuing the miller's family at the cost of his career and potentially his life.

Song I associate with them:

"God Help the Outcasts"

"Someday" (this is my favorite cover version of it, sung by the late Broadway star Laurie Beechman)

Favorite picture of them:

[veryflirtytransportalate]

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"I'm calling it right here. This world can officially bite my ass." - Sizz'el the Lone Survivor, a nickname she did not get to pick

Throwback to a punch-up I got into a little while ago - you can tell because I hadn't yet trusted a random settler at Starlight Drive-In to laser the tattoo off my eye yet. I loved that tattoo, glad it's gone. You can't imagine how much easier my self image cultivation has become since building all those little towns in the Commonwealth! Preston thinks we're a civil defense oriented militia, meanwhile I had to send back the first test print of t-shirts for "Sexy Sizz'el's Pure Water & Mutfruit Emporium". Every so often they have a chore for me, but when that isn't the case and my knuckles need dusting, I don't usually have to wait long.

On this particular day I'd bopped down to Concord to go shoot some photos at the old museum when what do I spy with my little eyes but a whole bunch of guys just waiting to die. So, I changed into the Silver Shroud outfit I've been lugging around and did a couple kinds of shooting. I don't understand why raiders attack on site - I've mowed down hundreds of them by now. Who's doing their intel? I know they hang out as raider groups but how?! Even when I look just like them I get a laser hello. I look better in this fit though, which is good, because I have tried to throw it away like two dozen times. Piper insists I don't throw out this old nasty costume. I literally can't even fit my head in the hat, but she insists, "It's priceless, it's an heirloom, there's a radio show about it," which, that show is... not good. I literally can't put it down. Someone help me.

The museum is apparently some kind of hotspot, but ever since I took the power armor (shout out to my Atom Cats, meow you wild sons of kittens) and the minigun it's like... for what? Tacky outfits and rotten wood? But, what do I know. I'm just the single most brilliant business woman and devastating bombshell this wasteland has seen since... I'd... like to... rephrase, that last thought.

(Outfit credits, my thoughts, and a few more shots below the cut.)

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I'm pretty sure Sizz'el is wearing crimsomrider's 1950's Feminine Outfits (opens in new tab), Silver Shroud with stockings. The large caliber rifle is the Modular Simonov PTRS-41 by kazumamqi (opens in new tab), and the laser on the bottom is the CROSS_BreakActionLaser by Niero (opens in new tab). Phew, that was a lot of 'um this time, jeez.

I wander into Concord from time to time, whenever I want to just relax and kick back with the combat side of the game. A couple of Brotherhood of Steel dudes plopped in at the end and cleaned up, which was fine, I guess. We're not hostile with each other... I wanna say "yet", but, to be decided.

I like the feeling of combat in Fallout 4, but as you can imagine, I've made a number of major modifications. First, which I've shared before, I've completely rebalanced damage (and have to continuously to make it stay balanced): I, the player, deal a 3x more damage than normal. Everyone else deals 5x more. I love the feeling of games like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Far Cry 2 (with that one mod) - when the time between seeing someone and being dead is a breath.

With that in place, I also made two major mechanical changes: first and less impactful is the removal of an AP cost to sprinting, thanks to Unlimited Sprint by TroyIrving (opens in new tab). Sprinting is already an inherent tactical decision, costing precious time, and removing your ability to reload or fire. When the game was slower and more about draining health pools, it made sense to limit this to a gauge... maaaaybe? I think AP draining sprinting is a funking dumb choice in basically any version of this game, but, I'm not a professional game developer so, what do I know.

Second, and this is the big one... bullet time. I use V.A.F.S. Redux by Itzal713 (opens in new tab). I love bullet time. I love it so much. Stranglehold is actually a childhood favorite of mine. I think it's so cool to dip and dodge and do cool stuff like jump over a table and then fire on someone, and it also makes taking pictures in the middle of a fire fight way easier. It's not balanced. It's just fun.

So it's easy to die, bullet time, added some big weapons... I never thought of it before but I've kind of turned Fallout 4 into F.E.A.R. 1. And everybody loves the combat in that game, so... win for me. I rule. Go me.

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