#ok medical nerd stuff time

[strawbebehmod]

Ok I've had enough of this "Alastor doesn't know about gay stuff" I keep seeing around. As a history nerd I honestly can't take it anymore.

Kiddos it's time to learn you a few things. First of all, compared to subsequent decades,

The 1920s were incredibly gay

Was it still illegal to perform homosexual acts, yes. Were gay people still abused and lost jobs for being gay, and were even socially excluded from cishet white society? Oh absolutely. Did most individuals have to stay closeted? Duh. But you know what wasn't a wide spread thing yet? The medicalization of homosexuality. Conversion therapy wasn't fully approved of by psychiatrists until the 40's. Crossdressing wasn't considered mental illness, scandalous, yes, but not mental illness. The haze codes were not implemented yet, and the combination of prohibition, the two decades prior of progressivism, and the horrors of world war one left the youngest generation with a rebellious spirit and a desire for breaking the law. And if you lived in a big city, being LGBT in the twenties was often better than being LGBT in the 30s, 40s, or even 50s.

Young rich kids would seek out queer cruising spots in cities as a form of tourism. Harlem was famous for it's yearly drag balls, and many of the most famous black artists at the time were infact lgbt. Broadway and Hollywood were full of individuals who people knew were not entirely straight. Hell, jazz was born in red light districts home to black queer people. In places like New York there were people famous for being openly gay and despite sodomy laws police would not care in the slightest about them.

And though the South was as fucked as it ever was with Jim Crow Laws and the race riots, New Orleans has always been one of the more progressive cities in the South and has always had a very large gay community. Between the inherit campiness and debauchery of Mardi gras to being the birth place of jazz, to new Orleans being the easiest place to get away with breaking prohibition laws in the south, Alastor as a mixed race black radio host playing jazz in New Orleans in the 20s ABSOLUTELY is familiar with the LGBT community of the time.

The thing is, the language used by the community at the time was so fundamentally different that alastor would not know what you are talking about if you spoke to him about modern LGBT issues. The pride flag did not even exist yet. Gay still meant happy to him in his age. "Bisexual" at the time was more akin to the term "trans" than being attracted to multiple genders, and transgender didn't exist yet as a word. But if you called yourself "a confirmed bachelor" he would understand you were a man who liked men. If you called yourself a "fairy" he would know you weren't cis. If you were a woman and told him you liked sapho or Peter pan, he'd know you liked women. And if you were wearing lavender, or a green carnation, a red bowtie, a violet (if you were a woman), or were a man with a peacock feather in your ensemble he would give you a knowing nod. He's not ignorant of the lgbtq. He's a man out of his time. He speaks a different language entirely to modern gay slang, so it seem he doesn't know anything about it. But he does. Gay and trans people have always been a thing and as a radio host, literally being on the forefront of mass media at it's beginnings, in arguably the best decade to be gay in the 20th century before the 60s, in a city so comfortable with what was considered debauchery that it gave birth to "devil music" and embraced it before anyone else, yes he knows what they are. He just doesn't have the modern language to express it.

[cy-cyborg]

What kind of worldbuilding would you expect from a world where amputation is really common? (NOT a cyberpunk thing. The technology is somewhere between Bronze Age and Middle Ages, which I know is really broad but I’m indecisive). Also the most common cause of amputation is disease, not war or anything like that, in case it makes a difference. So far all I’ve come up with is that assistive technology isn’t limited to more urban/populated areas, and people treat amputations as commonplace. Sorry if this is too random

Ok, so my answer to this will depend of what kind of tone you want. Do you want it to be normalised in a more idealist/optimistic way, or do you want to do worldbuilding around the new problems that would likely arise and take a more pessimistic approach? Either way there's a lot you can do with a setting like that and I absolutely love world building stuff like this! I was actually working on another post kind of similar to what you're asking for, so I have a lot prepared lol. apologies for the long post in advance.

Here are some questions/suggestions I would consider:

What are the views around Amputation in this setting? Do any stereotypes or beliefs appear around it?

Just because a disability is common, doesn't always mean it's accepted, or accepted unconditionally, nor does it mean people won't make odd assumptions about it. Obviously, if you want something more optimistic, you'll want to go with "it's just a normal part of life, most folks don't really think about it much" but in that case, even accepted disabilities get weird assumptions, stereotypes or even religious beliefs surrounding them. The best example of this in the real world is people who wear glasses. Most folks wouldn't even consider it a disability because it's just so normalised, but it is - glasses are a type of accessibility device. But what comes to mind when you think of someone who wears glasses? Chances are, it's someone smart, maybe a nerd? Glasses have nothing to do with intelligence but we associate people who wear them with it anyway. From what I found, that association formed in the middle ages, as monks and priests wore them to read, and those were people who studied religious texts and passed that information to the public. the common folk saw these people as a source of information and wisdom, forming the idea that glasses were worn by intelligent or wise people. If amputation is common and/or accepted, this kind of thing will probably happen with it too. If amputations are more common in some lines of work than others (either because that job leads to more amputations, or because a lot of people go into that line of work after their amputation) people will start to associate qualities needed for that job with amputees. For example, If the most common reason for amputation is illness, and if that illness is contagious, you might actually end up with a similar belief, that amputation is a sign of intelligence because doctors/healers, who people view as intelligent, are more likely to catch the illness, resulting in more amputations among doctors.

On the flip side, a lot of cultures have disabilities at the heart of many of their beliefs. For example, they idea of the fey replacing children with other fey, is thought to have been people's way of explaining neurodivergence like autism, ADHD and personality disorders before we had words for those disabilities.

Likewise, some European Christians believed people born with disabilities (including limb differences) could be explained by their mothers participating in witchcraft or deals with the devil. These disabilities were pretty common at the time due to malnutrition and a general lack of understanding about how to be safe while pregnant, but they lacked the medical knowledge to be able to explain it, and so superstition took over. If your setting has a similar level of medical knowledge/understanding, something similar might occur. Not every example of this is negative btw. It's thought that early ancient Egyptians believed disabilities such as blindness, especially if it was from birth, were the result of the gods calling them to speak for them. Similar lack of understanding about where the disability came from but this time it has a much more positive outcome.

Also, consider that if it's so normalised, people are going to be much less likely to be afraid of becoming amputees. This can be a positive thing, but it could have run on effects, both in the sense that people are less likely to care to take precautions to avoid things that could result in amputation, and that people may underestimate the impact it will have. Even in the real world, as being an amputee has become less stigmatised (though we are still far from normalised), some people have started underestimating how it will impact you. My prosthetist says the hardest part of his job is watching the realisation that a prosthetic won't be a magic cure hit his patients in real-time. this isn't to say being an amputee is always a terrible and awful and all the other things people think about disability, but it is a BIG adjustment that a lot of folks are unprepared for. In a setting where it's even more common, this is even more likely. It's also more likely that non-amputees will underestimate this impact, and say things like "but I know someone with the same amputation and they're fine!" when someone tries to say they can't/struggle to do something because of their amputation - something that also already happens to me irl lol. People are going to take to being amputees differently, they'll have different limits and different capabilities, how well does your society as a whole understand this?

Finally, think about if there are certain types of amputations that are more accepted/normalised/understood than others. In the real world, leg amputees tend to be more accepted than arm amputees in my experience, and larger amputations/multi-limb amputations carry more stigma and have a lot more bizarre misinformation and stereotypes about them. Is this the same for your world?

What is the general populations view of other disabilities?

Just because one disability is more common or accepted, doesn't mean they all are. This is especially important to consider for comorbid disabilities (disabilities that are connected to, are caused by having, or are usually seen alongside being an amputee). For example, a lot of leg amputees choose wheelchairs over prosthetics, but the degree of acceptance for that in your world will depend on people's view of wheelchair users as a whole. In real life, it's an unfortunate reality that the use of a wheelchair is looked down on and there are a lot of negative stereotypes about wheelchair users which deters a lot of leg amputees from using a wheelchair, even when they really need one. When leg amputees specifically use wheelchairs, we are often said to be giving up or even lazy for not "pushing through" or "trying hard enough" - I have another post here talking about that. This has resulted in a lot of amputee-specific spaces being completely inaccessible wheelchair users. An example of this would be a camp I used to attend specifically for amputees being held in a non-wheelchair accessible location until recently, or amputee clinics (where you go to see doctors who specialise in treating/rehabilitating amputees) having equipment needed for taking measurements essential for getting quality prosthetics, being unusable to people who can't stand up. If they do accept other related disabilities though, there's more stuff to think about (which I'll come back to in the next few points)

Of course, how your world views unrelated disabilities is important to consider too, because chances are there's someone out there with both. How does the general view of disability affect those people? Are people more or less likely to accept that having this other disability means they won't be able to things other amputees can? I'm autistic for example and find it nearly impossible to wear my prosthetic when I'm in burnout, both because it's a lot of energy I don't really have, but also because when I'm in burnout, I'm very sensitive to certain textures, and the feeling of wearing my prosthetics when I'm like that is unbearably uncomfortable.

What has the acceptance/normalisation of amputees done to influence beauty standards?

You see this a lot in cyberpunk but it's worth considering for other settings too. Amputation can be a very visible disability if you want it to be, but in the real world, there is a big emphasis on "looking normal" because beauty standards. This isn't just a modern thing either, there are many stories of real-life knights who lost arms during battle and had armour made for them that hid their missing limb. They were functionally useless (except for maybe backhanding people lol) but the desire to look "normal" outweighed the need for functionality to many.

If amputation is common though, this might not be the case in your setting. This might mean people are freer to explore prosthetics that put function over aesthetics, meaning they might have more advanced prosthetics than you'd typically expect to see in that time period. Alternatively, it might go the other way and you could end up with people who still favour aesthetics over function, but they try to make it look as outlandish and unique as possible.

Beyond how it effects amputees though, if prosthetics are seen as fashionable, do non-amputees try to mimic the look of prosthetics in their outfits? Consider the first point I mentioned here too. If there are certain desirable characteristics associated with amputees, would people trying to present themselves a certain way try to make it look like they're an amputee, even when they are not? Kind of like how people wear fake glasses to look smart or just as an accessory. Alternatively, how dose being an amputee play other beauty standards and expectations? Another real-world example, is that there is a lot of fatphobia in amputee circles, to the point where most teenaged amputees I know have/had eating disorders. Part of it comes from the general fatphobia in the wider population, but its amplified by the fact that many prosthetic components have weight limits on them, and many prosthetic companies refuse to make components for bigger people, not because they can't/it's too hard, but because they say there's no demand for it. So Doctors push the importance of staying below a certain weight so their patents can have access to better tech and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. If there are a lot more amputees though, this might be different, but it's worth considering.

How will it impact architecture?

When we think of medieval or even older structures, "accessible" isn't the word we usually think of. Most buildings had stairs, and the needs of people with different bodies was rarely, if ever considered. But if amputation is more common, this might not be the case, especially if things like wheelchair use are also common/accepted (told you I'd come back to that). Buildings will be more likely to use ramps, lifts (even in ancient times - this could be achieved via pullies or something similar, though it would need to be usable to arm amputees too) or forgo multiple levels entirely where possible. Roads would probably be paved or at least smoothed to allow for easier travel via wheels and cities would be laid out in way that would make traversing them from a wheelchair easier. This would likely have a run-on effect and lead to cities being more accessible to people with horse-drawn carts, wagons, carriages etc too. things would be made with the idea that someone lower to the ground, or someone who needs to use their feet to grab things (and therefore can't reach as high) needs to be able to access the thing too, and a lot more. Even small things, like the way doors are opened might be altered to make it easier to use for someone missing an arm/who's arms are occupied with pushing a wheelchair. Making spaces more accessible in these ways also has run-on effects. I already mentioned the carriages in cities, but it also means you might start seeing small changes to the world, like chairs being made to be more comfortable, or single-handed versions of tools/weapons being more common.

What type of illness is the most common cause? How do people view it? Is it understood?

You mentioned illness is the most common cause of amputation in this setting. In that case, consider what kind of illness is usually the cause. Is it a single disease? if so, is it contagious? How high is the mortality rate? Who does it mostly impact? I lost my own legs to an illness, one that is well-known where I live, but poorly understood - most people just know it's contagious and acts kind of like the flu. This has resulted in some very bizarre interactions with non-disabled people when they find out how I lost my legs. There was a rumour about me in school that I still had the illness, and so because of that my amputations were contagious. It wasn't just children who believed it either lmao. Now as the public has been better educated, those ideas are less common, but weird stuff still comes up occasionally, like the lady who thought my illness was a government conspiracy theory made up to control people and scare them into getting vaccinated, apparently my amputations were unnecessary and all a part of the plot lol. I don't know if I talked about that on this account yet but I think it's probably my favourite weird interaction lmao.

You can also look at how people reacted to COVID for ideas about how people react to wide-spread illnesses that have a high chance of disabling you. Diabetes is another good example too, while it's one of the most common causes for amputation in the real world, people are still very weird about it and a lot of people insist it either doesn't exist or can be treated without medicine (insulin). Does the disease in your world have a lot of untrue information about it too? are there people peddling fake "cures" to take advantage of people who are more at risk?

How has this impacted Medicine as a whole

In medicine, advancements in one field are rarely isolated. When advancements are made in one area, other areas usually follow or are at least influenced. As much as the modern medical industry structure likes to pretend otherwise, it's all connected. In the real world, amputees were a lot rarer (not unheard of mind you, but rarer) because well, bronze-age understandings of things like infection and disease in general wasn't great. people would often die from the side effects of the amputation or the surgery itself (e.g. infections, going into shock because the surgery was preformed while the person was awake, blood loss during surgery, a general lack of understanding of how important hygiene is post-op/a lack of access to proper hygiene etc). So if amputees are more common, that would imply their understanding of medicine is at least a little better than real-life bronze age folks. This won't just stop an amputees though, like i said, it's all connected. Having a better understanding of, say, how infection happens in an amputee, means they will probably have a better understanding of infection in general, which could stop a lot of deaths in other ways. Likewise, sewing a stump closed in a way that won't cause immense amounts of nerve and phantom pain implies a decent understanding of the nervous system in general, which will have run on effects in how a lot of other conditions can be viewed and maybe even treated.

Conclusion

There's a lot more you could consider, but I hope this gave you some additional stuff to think about (sorry for the long response, but like I said, I was already working on a nearly identical post so this was perfect timing lol). Let me know if you need more help, I love this kind of worldbuilding stuff! Also, just to be clear as well, as long as you aren't just ignoring the fact so much of your world is disabled or being super ableist about it, there's no right or wrong answers here. You can have more positive answers to these questions than what I've given as examples, you can go darker, you can have a mix of both, whatever you like. Depending on the tone you want, you don't even have to answer every question if you don't want to. If you have a rather light-hearted setting for example, you probably don't need to know how all your amputees are surviving infections and unmedicated amputation surgery lol, but if its a darker tone where the illness you mentioned is a central focus, then it's probably a good thing to think about at least. At the end of the day, just ensure your answers aren't based on stereotypes or misinformation and you're all good for the most part!

[snapghoul]

Holy fuck Johnshi history nerds scratches my brain so damn much i NEED to hear what types of history they delve into

I unfortunately don't know too much about Kenshi but my guy just gives the vibes of knowing the historical events and people that coincide with the Heroes and The Last Stand album by Sabaton (like the Battle of Shiroyama, Bull Allen, all that lovely stuff)

Johnny however is definitely a movie nerd. Whether it comes to the movies plots, how they're made, the special effects, actors or any of that it feels like he's research them to hell and just ramble to Kenshi while the two were watching said movies (especially if they're watching a movie that Johnny himself is in)

And I will gladly tell you. These two have so much information in their brains, they rival a library. And Johnny will 100% research every bit he could on a film just to tell Kenshi. They end up not even watching, just Johnny spewing facts.

Ok now what nerds they are:

☯︎ Johnny does have extensive knowledge on films, he has so many books of film history. He knows the evolution of the camera and how each works, the different eras (German expressionism, Solviet Montage, French cinema), about matte paintings, the introduction of horror. He loves film history.

He also loves cultural history, such as Sento and the Taira Clan. He loves reading into different counties and digging into bits of historical records that most don’t know about. He loves ancient Asia, loves reading about the origins of martial arts, about wars and weapons. But also clothing, food, entertainment, social status.

Johnny lives for art history.

☯︎ Kenshi is a psychohistory nerd. He loves to ask “why” likes to try and figure out what caused this action or behavior in history. Such as why WW1 veterans where treated as if they were crazy instead of being provided help with the ptsd.

He also knows a little too much about medicine history. He unsettles himself with the knowledge that he has. But he eats it up. History of the Lobotomy, disturbing, but that doesn’t stop him. One that he finds funny is “female hysteria cures” because how did some write this down with a straight face? Especially the ancient Greeks and their belief that the womb was a separate being and it would kill a woman if she didn’t have children.

Kenshi’s secret history is fashion and the evolution in each country. Japan is obviously his favorite.

☯︎ Before Kenshi was blinded he’s read everything, owned so many books. Now, he can read with Sento, but last time he did that his ancestors smacked up side the head with their spirit form. He had a very colorful conversation with them about it when he meditated.

Now that he’s with Johnny, he has the actor read to him. Hands him a book that he know he likes and Johnny will read it without hesitation. Although the medical history books make his question things, which in turn makes Kenshi smile when he hears Johnny’s little “what the fuck?”s And “huh?”s.

[outcastpack]

TW:potentually abusive parent, medication

I'm spiralling again because I was thinking about Liam and his IED storyline and remembered Liam said he takes Risperidone which in reality is the wrong meds for him to even be taking since that is used for schizophrenia and other things where those with IED are usually prescribed with meds that are used for those with Bipolar disorder like Fluoxetine, Phenytoin, Lithium, Oxcarbazepine, and Carbamazepine.

We should hqve seen Liam in therapy which is something they have those with IED do to realistically do it right and explore it more instead of having us constantly watch him be forced to fight his IED like Scott and Stiles forcing him under the shower to "cool off" during the scene we discovered his IED and from things I've read up on that is not advised for trying to calm down a person with IED when they are having an episode(yeah ok they didn't know about the IED at the time). Also seeing Stiles judging Liam for not taking his meds since it makes him feel drained and tired for Lacrosse when he shouldn't even be on the stuff, they introduced us to his step dad as a doctor so as a doctor why wouldn't he know his step sons being prescribed with meds that will not realistically HELP him.

ALSO looking at some of the potential causes for IED being these

Like we know Liam has a step father in David Geyer, but is the reason Bio dad's not in picture is due to these. Was he abusive to Liam and his mother and lash out causing Liam to develop IED as he grew up due to the trauma of it all. Did bio dad have IED himself and pass it on to Liam as its said it can be hereditary. It would be a cop out in the writers and jeffs part to decide to make the reason for it being Liams male(Also wouldn't surprise me though)

Liams a complex character in the long run and I wish we learned more about him and his family life, even though he really is more than the IED like he's my lil history nerd jock and as much as I love Theo it feels like they should have chose more than JUST him to help him with it in S6 and so on, since going back to S5 Theo is the one to manipulate liams anger and potentially cause one of his biggest episodes when he tried to kill scott(his other id say being the result of Brett and Co's locking him and beating him at the zoo and trashing the coachs car) so at the same time Theo may of been the perfect character to spend a half a season being the one trying to stop Liam giving into the anger and an episode with Nolan etc after manipulating it the season before, it feels like we should of seen Mason, Scott etc trying too in it.

[sn4pozu]

my headcanons of Eddie Gluskin if he had a twitter :

he'd repost those RETVRN incel trad memes where its like a woman doing house chores & man doing job stuff

would get into arguments with a woman and subscribe to her onlyfans at the same time (gets mad when blocked)

tries to be professional and a know-it-all but also his entire likes tab is porn (he doesnt know it shows publicly)

calls someone a whore & drops a bible verse in the same thread arguing with them

idk if he'd be delighted with minion memes or viscerally hate them

USES DISNEY REACTION GIFS WITH NO SHAME , USES A CRYING STITCH GIF AT A DODO VIDEO OF A DOG DYING

If twitter bans his account mid argument he'd flip the fuck out and make 3 gmails & alts at the same hour

100% posts creepy comments under peoples post and gets upset if it gets hidden

flirts so much you'd think hes a bot but no he's just sending random women his number (does he care if they're married or not is completely dependant on his mood)

uses the nice guy card whenever shit starts going south

he gets doxxed he goes like "that's not me" (lies, is scared)

either that or he lashes out and start sending them death threats who knows

menace with the twitter Voice Note feature

not even a mutual KYS no hes going to write out his whole murder fantasy in a person's DMs and blocks them before they could respond

gets IP banned on twitter like, weekly, he just figures out VPN apps and finds a way to harrass people constantly

media tab is his breakfast and someones mutilated genitals, bi-weekly photo updates maybe

im not saying he would complain about hairloss but he would complain about hairloss

"i got declined by the pharmacist for asthma medication, fucking bitch *insert something mysogonistic*"

thinks bitcoin is stupid and not a real "manly job" so he dogs on them pretty horribly

thinks tech jobs are for NERDS and says it outloud whenever them NFT bros are commenting under his shit attacking him for calling them nerds

Cracked phone screen with blood in the cracks (he tried to clean it with soapy water on a towel but it just ruined the lcd now its forever stained yellow) ((free bluescreen eye protector mode ?)) (((also has to violently tap the home button because its already broken & that part of the screen died))) ((((has an odd smell))))

he wishes he'd have glasses for the phone screen but all he does is squint

would post dress updates though <3 maybe retweets sewing patterns and videos of old women knitting and go "my grandmother used to do that pattern, ❤️ Wow."

goes back to shitting on women

*posts black coffee with 2 fruitflies in it* "A Good Way To Start A Morning ☕"

posts half eaten food and the dirty plate and would be like "Delicious food today 😋 i almost forgot to pots." -- deletes & reposts because of the typo. PEOPLE CANNOT THINK HE'S WEAK.

His vest would 100% be posted on those gimmick accounts and gets picked on for it being crusty & grody 😔

DMs like multiple women at the same time and either gets immediately blocked or ghosted after a face reveal

he Has cried because of twitter comments before, never again......

has twitter warning threads made of him and has tried to draw a stupid fucking wojack on paper with pencil & pen because he doesnt know how to edit photos but he still wants to own the haters

posts gore to own the haters as well and then got mass reported to death when people found 0 similar images of the gore he posted

'A Thread On @/Eddie287367927 TW: Gore, Mutilation, Harassment, Transphobia, Misogyny'

probably had a youtube documentary made about his twitter acc and all the drama he got himself into (either by accident or for fun)

ok this idea kinda came up to me after i saw a trad meme come up on my tl and i just HAD to dump this all out somewhere

[tessa-quayle]

FanFiction Recommendations

before I disclose my favorite Pedro Pascal character-related fan fiction here, a few caveats and disclosed biases: I’m a woman of a certain age.  I was your average English lit major.  I’m the dork who - upon listening to Jewel’s debut album and hearing the lyric “you can be Henry Miller and I’ll be Anais Nin” in the mid 1990s  - legit hauled my ass to the local public library and looked up Anais Nin - using the Dewey Decimal system - to read her elevated smut.  Right now I’m a content but exhausted, ragey American woman in a mid-life crisis.  I hate bullshit, I have an ok attention span, I scroll/read after the family’s gone to bed.  

if you look at my semi-neglected Tumblr page, you’ll see I’m relatively new to the Pedro fandom.  What a privilege to dive into really superb writing.  This is clearly not an exhaustive list and reflects my tastes (and to each her/his/their own)!  But if you’re an exhausted parent in a mid-life crisis and have no time, this may be for you! 

in no particular order...

@fuckyeahdindjarin - masterlist - Cee describes herself as a writer who pens romantic comedies - and she does a stellar job with them - but she sells herself short and fails to mention the sex scenes she writes are hot.  especially love the consent series (dieter bravo), the grays 2-part series (frankie morales), and of course, the ongoing joel miller/pin series.  a delightful mix of angst, sweetness, spice.  and a thoughtful writer with an inclusive mindset. 

@absurdthirst - masterlist - if you told me Keri has a few stories published in several “best of erotica” anthologies, I’d believe you.  good smut is fucking hard to write.  this is great smut.  this is smut you read and then take a cold shower afterwards or do whatever it is you like to do to get yourself off.  it’s smut that even as a non-smoker and knowing all the terrible health risks you may think goddamn I need a cigarette.  I'm partial to a few Javier Pena and Agent Whiskey pieces, but you’d be satisfied reading any of her stories.

@something-tofightfor - masterlist - Rachael should give a master class on how to write the best slow burn.  Her Joel Miller stories stand out for several reasons including - 1) she thoughtfully incorporates elements of the original canon/game into her fanfic which is uncommon in the PP fandom (from what I’ve seen/read at least), 2) every Joel story/chapter is compelling and well imagined.  Her current series on Tim Rockford has me on the edge of my seat and I'm eagerly awaiting the next installment.  And judging from the titles of her stories, we have similar music tastes (ha!). 

@disgruntledspacedad - this writer hasn’t updated in several months, but their Javier Pena multi-chapter fic (and folks, there are MANY out there) called Better Love is the one that kept me going and going and wanting to read more (see mention of short attention span in a tired mama above).  being in the healthcare field, I also arch my eyebrows out of curiosity when someone weaves medical stuff into their writing and wonder what line of work they do.  (yes I'm a terribly biased nerd, I’m a sucker for when someone puts a f!physician reader into their PP-character related drabble).

@jomiddlemarch - she is a great friend and a gifted, amazing writer who always makes me wonder “how does she do this and how does she do this so well and so quickly while the rest of us plebes are just getting through our day.”  she writes for MULTIPLE fandoms (and judging from the notes on her posts, I think her readership is more into those than Pedro and the Last of Us but it’s ok!), and started writing Joel Miller and an OFC (she created!) named Grace Yang (NOT ME - but maybe there’s a chance she created this OFC to shut me up since I’ve been rambling on and on about how besotted I am with Pedro 😂).  If you’re into OFCs, read her stuff.  Check out the (ongoing) entire series on her AO3 here.  Here’s one story that you can find on her Tumblr.  Two of the five stories are Ted Lasso crossovers - all her stories are written so richly and so layered - she’s the star in your writing workshop who’s showing and not telling - I’m still thinking about how there’s so much to unpack in the latest one. :) 

[vampirewalterskinner]

Ok for the poly nsfw alphabet, C, D (walter in lingerie pleaseeeeeeeee) N, and U🥰🥰

This one is tricky to me only because I immediately want to say Dana is the one who sends nudes but I also know she would never take the risk because she KNOWS what happens to women in the workplace (or in general) who have their nudes exposed. But since this is Walter and Fox, I feel like she would jump at the opportunity to tease them and would feel very safe doing so. She likes watching them squirm and get wired up over a measly little photo. It’s always a lovely boost to her ego when they trip over themselves to get her attention and please her 🥰 Fox feels like the type of person who often fantasizes about swapping nudes and gets off to the thought of it, but in reality is too scared/shy to actually start anything. Even after Dana sends something first 😂 Walter under no circumstances would EVER send a nude photo of himself or any part of his body to anyone ever. Except for one time when Dana and Fox were giving him so much fuel in the middle of the night he couldn’t help but show them how it affected him. It’s the only picture he’s ever sent but Dana and Fox still talk about it.

As for a sex tape, I think Fox would have managed to convince his partners to go for it. They know of his dirty little obsession and it gives them a little thrill to please him by making a tape—that they make sure is 100% untouchable to anyone else. (Tbh Fox probably pulled the whole “it’s my birthday 🥺” card to get it even tho he doesn’t celebrate his birthday lmao)

They all love to see it on each other, but Fox and Walter are very nervous about wearing it 😂 First off, anything they get fits Fox like a glove and it embarrasses the hell out of him. But they have to get the cheap stuff for him. Dana and Walter destroy everything he wears with their greedy hands 🥰 For Walter, it’s impossible for them to find anything in his size. He’s just so huge. Walter is actually upset by it, especially when everything he wears is too tight and more often than not he rips them. It takes Fox and Dana a bit to get him to understand that in itself is fucking sexy. Dana has a closet full of lingerie. (Girl wears silk pjs to bed you KNOW she’s stacked on outfits and equipment lol) Each set nicer and more expensive than the last. The boys don’t destroy her lingerie because of that—and the fact that she’s a goddess and they treat her as such. Grovel at her feet and everything 🥰

Trigger warning for rape

I personally think they would be into everything 😂 But I think there are some triggering things they avoid. I know everyone likes for Dana to let loose and be dominated even in canon but…frankly, I hate when she’s placed in a submissive role. I personally think she’s a dom anyway, but with how much trauma she went through in the show with medical rape and multiple men hitting on her, touching her, and fucking dressing her without her consent—fuck no. Even if it’s her boys, I think she would be uncomfortable not being able to control a sexual situation. They make her feel safe but she has limits. Bondage and dubcon/cnc are still on the table, she just can’t be on the receiving end.

Fox would be into everything but I think somedays would be hard for him to handle degradation.

I don’t think Walter has much of a limit either (except I don’t really see him enjoying being into roughing up women even if they want it) but I think he would be a little uncomfortable sharing a bed with a partner overnight after the Avatar episode.

I’m not sure they would really roleplay (aside from Fox being a nerd and wanting some Star Trek scenario complete with uniforms lmfao) but I honestly think that because they already have a golden roleplay lineup involved: two agents fucking their superior. They might ham it up at home, though 🤔 and I’m sure at some point Fox and Dana would love to see Walter in his old military uniform if that would even fit him 😂 Young Walter was a twunk compared to the hunk we know and love lol

[kittycole]

thought about random au ideas for Spinaraki. It's a vampire/monster au or monster au whichever one.

Spinner:

•He is a lizard mutant but also can shapeshifter into human form but not that long.

•He works at night shift as a nurse.

•He has his pet lizard just to make sure in case his guest doesn't know he has all the lizard stuff care for himself.

•He goes to the arcade on his days off and some time with Shigaraki. •He has learned combat from his caretaker. In case he is in danger.

•He is a gamer nerd

Shigaraki:

•He is a vampire

•He usually works at a bar with Kurogiri but his job is to collect blood bags.

•He is a leader in vampire groups.

•He mostly has free time to stay inside and play video games and sleep. But mostly now spend a lot of time with spinners.

•He learns about being a vampire from his master.

•He loves dogs a lot.

Story about:

Shuichi was working late at night at his usual job. When Suddenly looked ahead, he saw a nurse and a doctor rushing with a patient, who had been seriously injured. The doctor asks for his assistance in obtaining emergency kits for patients. When he returns, he notices the nurse attempting to calm down the patients while the doctor attempts to give the patients a shot. Shuichi told the nurse that he would calm down and go help the doctor. Shuichi was trying to think of a way to calm down the patients but ended up asking stupid questions like "Uh um, do you like video games?" The patient looked at him, confused but he replied, "Yes."' Shuichi kept the conversation going until the doctor was finally able to give him a shot, and the patient will have him falling asleep while the doctor begins to treat his wound. Shuichi went to work the next day and wanted to see the patient from the night before. He wasn't worried, but he wanted to check on him because he seemed to dislike the hospital and was effectively in pain. He approached the nurse but was surprised. The nurse says he was released early in the morning and gave him a note to go to the pharmacy to get his medication. Shuichi thought it was insane to let patients go after such an injury, but he reasoned that the patient was probably scared to stay in the hospital and didn't want to pay bills. Shuichi simply lets it go and goes about his usual activities. After a few weeks, he was about to clock out in the waiting rooms. Shuichi saw the same patient from a few weeks ago and asked if he was here for a check-up because he showed up pale. He said yes as if he was either uncomfortable or scared to answer, and he was simply requesting to have one of his wounds on his arms fixed up again. Shuichi decided to assist him and informed him that he called a doctor. However, he requested his assistance because he felt more at ease with him than with the doctor and nurse the previous time. Shuichi decided to do it if it was only his arm, and while he was stitching up his wound, he asked him if he was ok. The patients say he was fine, but his arm needed to heal for a few more weeks. Patients thank him for calming him down in the emergency room, which Shuichi was correct about because he dislikes hospitals. He also asked about his name, which Shuichi has shared. Shuichi asks his name as well, so he won't forget him if he returns. Shuichi now knew the patient's name was Shigarak, which he thought was a lovely name. Shuichi was nearly finished wrapping his wound when Shigaraki asked if he wasn't lying about playing video games. Shuichi confirmed that he also enjoys video games. Shuichi had no idea what had happened that crazy night, but seeing him again made him happy for a change. He made friends and his life was about to change for the better, but he was also trying to hide his true self because he didn't want his friends to find out he was a lizard mutant.

[perfectlyvalid49]

Ok, look.

This is a tiny blog. I joined tumblr in 2022 because there were like four people who had tumblrs that I was checking daily to see if they had posted anything, and it was pointed out to me that if I just joined tumblr and followed them my life would be a lot easier.

Over the course of my first year on tumblr I decided I liked it here. I followed some more people, which lead to following some more people. I mostly reblogged lots of different things – sometimes fandom stuff, sometimes interesting facts, sometimes stuff about Judaism and frequently politics (and there’s a big overlap between the last two.) As of October 1st, 2023, I had about 15 followers, two of whom are friends in real life.

In the last two months my follower count has almost tripled, and like 8 of you have shown up in the last 24 hours (what the hell did I post? This feels weird). Given that the focus of this blog has taken a decidedly Jewish turn in that time, I’m assuming that’s what you guys are here for? To anyone who was here before that, I’m sorry if you were here for the other stuff and I’m just flooding your dash with stuff about antisemitism. My hope is that a year from now this blog will be back to griping about antisemitism only occasionally as opposed to multiple times a day.

Anyway, for anyone who is new around here, here’s a little about me: I live in Minnesota, I have two young kids, and my profile pic is my dog. I’m Jewish, and a Zionist (depending on your definition). Politically I’m too far left to be liberal and not left enough to be a true leftist, and I’m fine with that. I like nerd stuff – fantasy and sci fi, Star Trek and Star Wars. I currently work in the medical tech industry, but before that I worked in publishing, and before that I worked in manufacturing and before that I worked in fast food. My educational background is in linguistics and the history of the English language, but it’s been a while, so don’t quote me. My ask box is open, and I’ll reply to just about anything that seems in good faith. I want a better world, I’m just not sure who is going to help me get there anymore.

[bubba-draws]

For the OC asks meme!

👪 – Venezuelan

🚆 – Ruk & Tari

🎭 – Uris

🎀 &🌪 for all the Starhunters if that's ok!

– Disembodied voice anon

Anon I love u (/platonic) but I want u to know that I went on a laughing fit bc I thought u thought I named my moth Venezuelan HAKDHSKFHSKFJDJFJ

👪 FAMILY - what is their family like? what is your ocs relationship to them? does your oc have any siblings?

Pre- Starhunters Veni used to live in a kingdom far away from Hallownest! They had a big family, mostly consistent of cousins and close uncles/aunts. He also had a twin brother, they loved each other very much! Practically glued to each other growing up.

He lost all of them after his kingdom was attacked and burned to the ground.

With the Starhunters she's like everyone's grandparent! Even with the oldest ones, a very loved leader

🚆 TRAIN - what is their answer to the trolley problem?

Uh, they don't care tbh HWKDHWKFNDNFN For Tari is get rid of just one person while Ruk is like "whichever ends up in more carnage" (he's on his edgy teen phase)

🎭 MASKS - do they act differently around certain people? what's different between the way they act around friends, family, strangers, etc.?

Oh Vris is like, very asshole- ish, especially with people who doesn't know him, always looking intimidating and not fearful of raising his voice. With the gang though? A total loser lmao, he's like your annoying older brother who will put you on a chokehold but also beat the hell out of anyone that annoys you

With his partners is a complete different change of attitude though! In the story I'm writing about my ocs they're not officially dating yet but he ends up in a relationship with Tigo (Tiger beetle) and Laki (damselfy), and while he's still a bit of his annoying self he's also such a sap, cheesy mf in private (he's also dating my friend's oc Oren @frolicinq in another timeline (?)) (pspspsps if someone wants to ship ocs pls do tell me I'm a sucker for oc ships)

🎀 RIBBON - how would they fit into other worlds / aus? what aus would you like to try out? what fictional world would they fit / not fit into?

I wanna play Bug Fables just for the fact I wanna make an au of them in that game too! As for other worlds/aus I haven't given it much thought, but in a human set au they would be like a gang of motorcyclists that set down in a community and are like, very intimidating to whoever dare threaten their friends/neighbors

📎 PAPERCLIP - a random fact.

Kram: Looks up to Vris a lot! Thinks he's the coolest guy ever (totally self adopts and turns Vris into his dad(?))

Sheepi: She's a blacksmith! Mostly focuses on weapon repairs, a big nerd about weapons and stuff!

Veni: Uses any pronouns! I mostly exchange they/he/she with them but anyone can use anything to refer to them. They wear charms, (Twin Soul) A reflection of the sibling they loved so much, a memory of their fighting abilities. It creates a sort of physical manifestation of soul that looks similar to a younger Veni, it fights alongside him. (Pleads of Hope) A charm born out of the bugs that died in the war that took Veni's kingdom, waiting for their Queen to save them, it grants them more energy when they're close to being defeated.

Minos: The gang's medic! Despite his intimidating looks he's not much of a fighter! A peaceful kind of guy

Tigo: They used to be more beastly before getting a mask, still got beast traits as they still hunt for food and annihilates them with their mandibles

Hachi: Is dating Ignis

Ignis: Is dating Hachi

Vris: Covers the tip of his tail because he doesn't want to accidentally poison anyone, doesn't even use it in battle unless it's a life or death situation

Ruk: Tries to act older than what he is, kinda sounds goofy when he does

Tari: She was a Stag from Hallownest, though her time outside the kingdom messed up with her memories so she cannot recall much of that time (when she goes back her memory starts to slowly coming back)

Laki: She was royalty in her youth, but hated his family and ended up escaping with a mercenary group (was dating the leader back then) but also started to hate that lifestyle (mostly cause his ex's ideals were getting more corrupt with time), joined Veni's gang later

Cymo: Grumpy old man! Veni's closest friend and confidant (and maybe something more?) He's quite the artist too!

Dusa: I have the personal headcanon that jellyfish aren't... Well, they don't really have much going on there (they're just a jelly bag of nerves) but she was given a mask by someone a long time ago (she forgot about them) and gained focus because of it (I also think something similar happened with Monomon, but it's a personal headcanon so don't @ me)

Thanks for asking btw <3 it means a lot to me

| OC ask meme |

[survivor-trinidad-and-tobago]

Episode 3: "I put my entire calypsussy into this challenge"—Zee

In this round: A twist splits the two tribes into three; Kolby and Champ sow the seeds to gaslight Alex at merge; Drea is medically evacuated in the middle of the challenge, leaving Raffy to take on the editing role for the Movie Trailer challenge; Nick shows up the day before the challenge is due with an entirely new, AI-generated script for consideration, then gets sick and doesn't submit any footage for the challenge; Kathryn offers herself up for tribute when Maracas inevitably loses; and Colin finds an idol—hope they make good use of it later!

Soca Confessionals

Alex

Well, my game just changed by a fucking lot. I just lost my entire alliance AND Champ. I at least have Steven, who kind of got me into this mess, and Kaleigh but I haven't talked game with her at all. I've gotta assume Steven has been talking with her through the screen cap challenge so I hope we can stick together. They're at least both strong in challenges. But Champ let me know that Raffy is here to play and that he plays WELL, so I've either gotta go for him first or figure out what I can do to get on his good side. I've at least got an extra vote, and I'm gonna be "transparent" about my shot in the dark because in a 3 v 3 at tribal I have to assume they'd think it be reckless and selfish to ever use. Okay. I can do this.

Michael

I really like Alex and Kaleigh. My biggest allies were Drea and Raffy, but drea had to leave so that kind of messed some things up. I don't feel super secure. Probably going to have to flip and go Raffy when it comes to it. The other 3 seem too tight. Raffy is my biggest threat since we are the only 2 Calypso left on this tribe. We're both targets. My path to the end is going to be paved with friendship and challenge wins. Will hunt when I have time!

Kaleigh

what a wild ride it’s been!! okay we swapped groups and now my tribe is me, steven, alex, michael, and raffy. i’ve learned (thru steven who learned from taffy) that zee is siblings w aj which blew my mind. INFORMATION! ummm alex and steven and i have a little original soca 3 alliance, still have not been to tribal, andddd I MISS ZEE!!!! their lil wes anderson video was so cuteeeee.

last night i was up late and was (i think) the first person to see that we have another boat excursion. my thinking was, OH, YAY, I’VE NEVER BEEN AROUND WHEN A BOAT CAME ! bc the two other times we’ve had a boat come the first person to respond and be like “i’ll go!” ended up going. so i was like, ok, i’m not gonna say i wanna go cuz i kinda don’t, and steven’s already been on an excursion, and i do nottttt want any kind of advantage to be outside of my soca alliance, so i’m just gonna respond and vote for alex and then everyone else will and we’ll all be good. NOPE! in the morning raffy responds and is like “i kinda wanted to go” LMAO BABE? WHAT? SORRY, NO. so alex and steven both msg me and are like uhhh what are u doing LMFAOOOOO LIKE ALEX DEFINITELY DID NOT WANT TO GO AND STEVEN WAS LIKE ?????? DOES ALEX WANT TO GO?????? oopsies. anyway so i told them both i was just up late and eager to not let michael or raffy get an advantage. steven was like ok makes sense , but alex was sooooooo resistant bc he did the hero challenge and got a shot in the dark, like he even suggested that he vote for raffy in the hopes of doing a split? absolutely not! anyway this was my first time feeling like a messy bitch in the game cuz i clearly pissed off or at least ruffled the feathers of my soca alliance with my 2am decision to throw Alex’s name out there and vote for him for the excursion.

okay what else… i like michael, he seems chill and we talked a little about tv stuff. i get the distinct feeling that raffy has zero interest in working with me. steven and alex have both mentioned talking to him privately about the game and i’m like bro he rly isn’t talking to me LMAO like his bio is like “i’m a book nerd!” so i messaged him day 1 and was like omg me too, u reading anything good? and he was like no i’ve been busy. and the convo died right there LMAO which like, sure ok, ur busy… but i’ve never met a book nerd who didn’t like LEAAAPPPPPPP on a chance to talk to another book person about their favs or what they’ve been reading or whatever. so yeah that feels a little sticky bc it seems like raffy is talking about the game with evvvvveryone in my tribe except me. BUT i feel good about my alliance with steven and alex and hopefully zee and champ toooooooooooooo if i make it to the mergey merge.

also i found a dog thanks to zee, NOW WE HAVE A DOG! the vote for keeping it or not hasn’t concluded but hopefully the dog will stay? like who’s gonna vote no for the dog? come on. anyway strongest allies rn are steven and alex and hopefully zee - if i HAD to target someone it would be raffy only bc it *rly* feels like he doesn’t want to work w me, but i’m def not targeting him rn bc i know he’s allied w steven and possibly alex too and their numbers are my numbers rn ((i think)).

let’s see, who are the biggest threats… zee, i’m starting to think steven, and also maybe alex… why am i just naming my literal closest allies LMFAOOOOOOOJFKDLSAJFDKLSFJDKLAS i didn’t even mean to do that. i guess i’m just seeing UP CLOSE more of their game play than anyone else’s so i’m like OH UR RLY PAYING ATTN!! you know i will say that the idea of voting off someone i'm close w sends a chill down my spine. like i literally don't think i could vote for steven or zee at this point. okay well there’s my update

Raffy

Ok I have a lot to say. So from this tribe swap, I actually didn’t mind how I got swapped. Steven was with me and Andrea was with me. I didn’t feel swap screwed and felt that I was in a good position to survive till either merge or the next swap. However, then Andrea had to leave game. Now I kind of feel all alone. Sure there’s Michael but I don’t really know where I stand with him. And Steven does have some connections with Kaleigh and Alex from original tribes. I’m definitely worried about next tribal.

I did find like 4 advantages though! One challenge advantage, one transparent advantage, one advantage to talk to someone on another tribe, and an idol! So I’m swimming in riches at this point. I feel much more confident with these tools by my side.

During the challenge, my tribe was a little annoying with getting good clips that weren’t bad. Also not Kaleigh just outright refusing to send me b-roll lol. That rubbed me the wrong way. And I wish I pushed more for not doing vertical cause it did look bad and had to use some BS excuse on the judges so they wouldn’t dock too many points. Right now my tribe rankings goes as follows from best to “I wanna vote out first”: Steven, Alex, Michael, Kaleigh. I put Kaleigh in the bottom because early in the morning she locked in her vote for Alex to go on the excursion without discussing it with anyone! Like that’s shady and lets me know they might be working together. Well now I wanna go on excursion so that duo doesn’t get their way.

Steven

--

--

Calypso Confessionals

Champ

Omg where do I start… Steven and Astyn go on an excursion and then the tribe splits and STEVEN DOESNT PICK ME? NAHHH omg I got stuck on the inactive tribe lmfao but I’m so glad tribes split evenly and I got Zee on my tribe cuz the girl is putting in the mother fucking work, the Marcas tribe or whatever’s video was so bad that it should’ve been a comedy, I was laughing so hard(sorry that’s kinda mean but I mean it with love). Anywayyys Kolby and I planned to spread lies to our tribes in hopes of making things less boring lol. Jacks cool, Colin’s cool, Zee’s cool, Lexi’s cool, Astyn doesn’t talk lmfao and the clip of the white wall when Zee wanted an esthetic background had me DEAD

Lexi

Okay the movie challenge was so cool. Zee once again took the lead in a way that I so appreciated, she really made the whole challenge so easy for everyone else. I feel like I’ll always feel confident if I’m in the same tribe as Zee.

Zee

I put my entire calypsussy into this challenge, and it paid off 😎

Astyn

Colin

I FOUND AN IDOLLLL

i'm so EXCITED. right before a swap, this is perfect timing. it's gonna be so hard for me but I'm gonna try my best to not say anything about it to anyone.

--

I was feelin really nervous for this challenge because it seemed like Zee was literally doing all the work. but sis came THROUGH. the trailer turned out so so cool and WE WON!!

first round i don't have to go to tribal!! i'm gonna enjoy my lil break hehe

Jack

--

Maracas Confessionals

Kolby

Eman

Things what happened to me today 1 - A bird flew into our picture window and died 2 - My crutches fell and knocked over my tumbler of cold brew 3 - I dumped the very last of my loose powder all over the bathroom floor 4 - I tore one of my two remaining pair of jeans 5 - My favorite necklace broke 6 - I got ripped from the clutches of my tribe

1 and 6 upset me the most. Though 5 has me pretty unhappy as well.

As I write this I don't even know where I've landed yet.

--

Seriously - that's what I feel like this morning. Everyone's favorite ACE auntie eman is having a very rough time being positive this morning, but that doesn't mean I'll stop trying.

But if something doesn't give soon the carrot may have to give way for the stick because I can only try the same thing so many times before I question whether I'm giving way to insanity.

Anyway . . . TONY and I are getting on very well. And I've had a few good one-on-one conversations with Kolby(!) (who is probably too young to know why the exclamation point after his name makes me giggle with memories of a failed presidential run from a former governor of Florida) and I wish he would engage as actively in the primary chat.

Tanner also started a chat with me and then ghosted after I replied. I've called Kathryn out in the primary but I might try something with her privately today--bonding over the shared "mom" role or something cuz I refuse to just give up. Yeah, I'm kinda bummed at being abandoned (although I did tell Steven I would accept his decision regardless, and part of me maybe wonders if he let me go because he knew I would fare well on my own and could then come back, so it just means Astyn didn't do their homework and/or Steven persuaded them not to pick me--and/or based on my bio I was unappealing . . . there's a lot of ways I could read this, and--like I said, I'm trying to stay positive and keep fighting). Now to go back to trying to be the fluffer and puffer upper . . .

--

So, after my confession yesterday morning, I was so excited to suddenly hear from Kathryn (and she seems super-fun, just getting that out there).

And then . . . more crickets. I keep ping-ponging between hopeful and hopeless. But we've got 36 hours to hammer this out, so I'm not gonna give up. And if I have to pull this together with stock footage, team photos and my own narration I will. And we've got somewhere between a 20% and a 35% advantage so that's gotta count for something.

But seriously folks - stop expecting me to do your emotional labor; it's sexist and lazy. So when I ask how you want to participate, don't turn it back on me to find a role for you. I expect me to tell you how you want to participate, what're you good at? What are you comfortable with? HOW DO YOU WANT TO PARTICIPATE.

But no - I gotta make a good impression and get along and get the thing done, and these people are virtual (and virtual) strangers, so I'll do your emotional labor, but I'm gonna remember that you're making me do it (Tanner, Nick, and even you Kolby).

(I will neither confirm nor deny that this might also be the order in which I'm targeting folks should we wind up going to tribal)

--

I don't normally do these, but since i had my phone out for other reasons... get a view of my backyard, a glamour shot of my damned foot, and my rambling opinion about everything.

Tanner

I need to make my new tribe feel connected to me

Tony

We just finished the movie trailer challenge and that was a doozy. I feel like we tried our best but didn’t get the full support/assistance from the tribe. This will be our first tribal council so hopefully I’m still here to write my next confessional

Nick

I hate throwing up. It's my least favorite activity.

Eman

HAHAHAHAH!!

The best laid plans.

I was fully ready to cast a vote for either Tanner or Nick, and then Kathryn, delightful Kathryn, had to go and volunteer to get voted off.

And with regret, I'm going to accept the offer - because why waste capital (and my extra vote) trying to change a sure thing.

And even if I think Kathryn at her perceived uselessness will still be more useful than Nick or Tanner, I am not going to tell someone else they're wrong, nor am I going to have them resent me by going against their own wishes.

At least I'm still alive. With an extra vote and a 10% advantage going into the next challenge.

I'm also bizarrely optimistic about my chances of surviving on this non-participatory tribe and making the merge . . . and then who knows!

Kathryn

So, this was a chaotic time. We swapped around tribes a couple times and then got set with a "challenging challenge" with a very short time limit (ಥ⌣ಥ). I can't believe we managed to get a movie trailer made in just a couple days, and everyone actually helped out in making it! Color me surprised ( ﾟДﾟ). But I'm really happy with the tribe members I ended up with, they're all pretty awesome! ( ᐛ ) Everyone worked really hard on the trailer, and I still can't believe we had such a master of acting on our team ( Tony, you're a savant ( ˘ ³˘)♥ ). And Emily got everything so quickly edited, managing to work with the rest of us giving her clips last minute (especially me!), I think they really carried the team in this round. It was a ton of fun making the trailer, and everyone really put themselves out there. I believe I'll be the one getting voted off this round, but it's all good since I'll be moving on to greater things, like long plane rides, and babysitting. So I wish the remainders luck now while I still can! Good luck guys, you can definitely reach the final rounds! (•̀ᴗ•́)و ̑̑

Tribal

Tribal Council was non-live. Answers to questions are here:

Votes:

Kathryn: Tony (Ain’t nobody voting for Tony, so if I vote for him, he can’t possibly get voted off. I wanted to vote for myself here, but the host gods refuse me my spoils. Sorry Tony, I hope this doesn’t affect you!)

eman: Kathryn (I respect you, which makes this both hard and easy. Easy because I respect you enough to not second-guess what you've clearly communicated you want. Hard, because I respect you enough that I would've preferred to keep you around.)

Tanner: Kathryn (I’m doing this since you asked to get voted out)

Tony: Kathryn (sorry you couldn’t have stuck around longer but I respect your wishes)

Kolby: Kathryn (i actually liked you and if i got to pick, you TOTALLY wouldn’t have been the one i wanted to go but you offered yourself up and i love an easy vote. especially pre merge!)

Nick: Self-Vote

[onceuponanaromantic]

I have rewatched the anti-hero video so many times istg to try and situate my discussion of the fatphobia more accurately within a) the music video b) midnights and the TS evolution and c) within the larger context of pop culture. And actually I realise that actually the cultural response and backlash and the backlash to that backlash can be tied to like how we talk about bodies + body policing, feminism in the pop culture (and music) scene, and like the cultural reception of TS and fatphobia as a systemic issue.

(syl’s nerd stuff under the cut)

Ok so actually it required a lot of breaking down fiske’s theories of domination and the celebratory effects of pop culture, and like how pop culture is mobilised to circulate dominant ideologies. (And I was trying to apply the dialectic approach to intercultural communication but it didn’t work because actually the cultural-individual dialectic and the contextual-individual dialectic don’t really work even though I was trying very hard to make it work HAHAHA.) But yeah, I think a big part of the problem is specifically TS’ situation on the pop culture and music scene and like the ‘renaissance’ through both the Taylor’s version series and as an artist through folklore, evermore and now midnights. I think esp because midnights comes and is marketed as a discussion of her insecurities and a response to self-loathing (which is never fun! Even if it can be cathartic!) that added layer of vulnerability invokes the strong parasocial r/s that TS is very very good at playing on and is very creative in, esp in social media. And that heightens the sensation that any criticism, even sensitive and gentle criticism, is going to come as an attack.

the next thing that stands out to me is the way the word ‘fat’ specifically is used and why it holds such tension. I argued that it’s really the polysemic nature that leads to a lot of the conflict around it, precisely because body policing and its ties to specifically femininity but also other gender presentation is so fraught. And that’s a very understated way of putting it, but the issue is that a lot of people’s personal discomforts with body policing and dysphoria and body shaming in general are tied to the perception of being fat, and the link of being fat with fearing the loss of desire and the loss of safety (of many forms) that’s tied to that. At the same time though, actual fat people and activists are naming these specific harms they experience because of systemic fatphobia and the very real harms and violence they experience by being fat (through food policing, denial of medical care, dehumanisation, higher rates of abuse, etc). And they are specifically identifying that the perception of being fat and fearing the loss of that safety as a thin person is vastly different from the actual stigma and harm that fat people experience, and the use of the word in the way that TS did contributes to the stigma. And they’re right to do so, because TS has a massive platform and so any harm she does will be amplified by that. And TS is def not the only pop culture artist who has been criticised right (see also: Lizzo being criticised for the word ‘spaz’ being ableist in her song) but because of TS’ position contextually, people are very sensitive to any criticism of her and anything that might even be perceived as an attempt to damage her reputation. And because culturally, TS has built herself up as a feminist (or at least feminist in her authorship) and a source of resistance against sexism, and the way she interacts is very much to build a sense of investment in her writing (paratextual strategies yay), this does amplify the magnitude and intensity of the harassment directed at anyone who speaks up about the harm TS has done/is doing.

yeah so in conclusion, stan culture is a logically extension of the media environment and like, current PR strategies of engagement, and also very specifically in this case, TS’ persona and the way ppl engage with it.

[ask-miraculous-hokkaido]

Hana, are you alright?!

“The akuma I fought was made of hot candle wax which spilled over me when she grabbed me. I’ve been trying to read first aid stuff online…I’m too scared to go to a hospital”

[lepusrufus]

I adore your art! Do you have any Cassandra/Tobias headcanons (can be for your Werewolf AU or for canon)? Your fanart of their younger selves with Cassandra complaining about her mom has single handedly made me ship them.

Oho I haven't done hcs in a while and I just love me some wholesome emotional support brits, so here goes (these are mostly just hcs that I have in my own fics or stuff I kinda gathered by being a nerd and watching their scenes too much) (also buckle up cause you opened the floodgates for all the feelsies I have on them):

They met relatively young because similarly to Jayce, Tobias was backed by the Kirammans

Tobias drinks his respect women juice and Cassandra looked at that adorable face and went yeah that one

They used to go on hunting trips together quite a bit, which is when Cassandra got injured that one time

He never lets her live it down

Cassandra’s mom is an asshole in every universe and she absolutely did not approve of Tobias, which gained her the biggest fuck you of the century from Cassandra

I feel like Cassandra may not have cared that much about marrying with someone with a really high position or smt (watch s2 disprove me on this lmao). I mean she already has a guaranteed seat among Piltover’s leaders and is the head of one of the richest families there, what else can you want.

Going against the general consensus here and saying Tobias is not a doctor, BUT he has medical training

Tbh the only piece of canon we have about his job is the lol lore that says he's an artificer, so I'm going with that.

Specifically he likes to tinker with weapons and he's the one that made and designed Caitlyn's rifle

Also Caitlyn’s grandma did not approve of her love for shooting in the slightest which actually made Cassandra double down and go "here sweetie have a rifle", to Tobias' utter delight

(It came to bite her in the ass later on but oh well)

Ik a lot of ppl ship them (galaxy brain tbh) but I really like the idea that Grayson was always a good friend of theirs, so despite it all, part of them is happy that she ended up someone their daughter looked up to

Tobias calls Cassandra "Cassie" I take no criticism

Ik I mentioned this, but each Kiramman has their own hunting dog, named after firearms in true nerd fashion. Sniper and Revolver are Caitlyn and Cassandra’s and are the same breed, while Shottie is Tobias' baby and is more of a retriever for hunting waterfowl

They are not homophobic I will take this hc and rip it with my teet- mmmmm everyone is entitled to their hcs everyone is entitled to their hcs everyone is-

I feel like ppl exaggerate the "fun dad strict mom" dynamic a little. I mean if you remember Tobias was the first to want to drop Jayce after the lab blew up while Cassandra was actually more lenient. What I'm saying is, they're probably on the same page a lot more than we think.

They're pretty classist tho let's not gloss over that. *taps watch* fix that. Have you guys seen your future daughter in law??

Speaking of which, after some initial bumps the Kirammans would absolutely adore Vi and you can take this from my cold dead hands

Tobias and Vi would just vibe while their respective wives are bickering about whatever competitive shit they got into. "Should we uh... intervene?" "Oh no darling I quite enjoy living."

Apparently Tobias smokes

Tobias and Caitlyn have matching silly top hats

Vi's first mistake was letting their tailor get her measurements. The Kirammans really like their fancy clothes and their daughter's partner has to match.

Also the Kirammans like to take some family pictures every time they go to the winter estate for hunting season

The first time Vi was with them she was all "aight imma let you to it" to which Cassandra responded rather miffed that they didn't bring along like five of her suits just for her not to be in the photos, now go on and get changed

Caitlyn was both endeared and trying not to laugh her ass off

Ok this got a little long but thanks for opening pandora's box nonnie. I could do a part 2 of the Paranormal AU version if you guys are curious (while jumping through fifty loops to avoid spoilers lol)

[winterspiderpurrs]

Ok in a mix up of timeliness and wiggling around. Let's say before Peter got bit by the Spider he was a very sickly kid. Not just a glasses wearing skinny nerd, but constantly going to the hospital sick. And fiddle with the time line.

Newly de-iced Steve visiting sick kids at the hospital. Cause even as far as medication has gotten, it's still so shitty kids gotta go through stuff still. So maybe one of the days he visits a young Peter Parker.

And let's say... pre knowing Bucky as alive, Steve wrote him letters( part of his therapy) and telling him everything. And let's say one of them is about Peter.

" And Bucky this kid was the smartest thing. He could be the newest Stark. He had manners which is different in this time. Was just as small as I was pre-serum. His name is Peter, I hope he gets better. I bet your wondering why I'm going on about this kid. Well as I was leaving he asked me if it was worth it? I thought he was talking about getting the serum, becoming a hero. And then he said in all seriousness for such a young fella " was it worth crashing the plane knowing that I wouldn't see Peggy again" and Buck if you could have seen the look on his face. Felt like I got shot again like that time outside of Abruzzo( don't think that's correct but ) And I told him, it was worth it, my happiness is worth so little compared to all the lives I would be saving. I wish I could have saved you too Bucky. I miss you so much. And I also told him if I could go back I would as long as it wouldn't hurt anyone. New York in the 2000s is odd. There are so many people, way more than before if you can believe but it still feels lonely. I miss you Buck. " [ or something along these lines]

Maybe there is a drawing Peter did attached with the letter, a photo of Steve posing next to a kid in an Iron Man shirt.

And let's say maybe after everyone returned from the blip, NWH happened with Peter. That's when Bucky is going through Steve's old apartment and finds all the letters. And he is struck by the letter about this Peter kid. Decides to see if he can find out if the kid ever got better. Maybe has Sam run a facial recognition software to track the kid who now is an adult in college now.

[wish-i-wasnt-a-coward]

Family Cuddle Pile

a/n: I actually wrote this a while ago but it was perfect for the request. Theirs like, no content for this ship an I love it so much! Thank you for reading :) @arodynamic-enby

Pairings: romantic Anxceitmus and kid!Patton also super background Logince

Warnings: tattoos, less than ideal parent mentions, food mention, and light cursing

Word count: 1,844 

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

Remus flopped out of bed, throwing his body carelessly across the room. He hastily threw on his clothes. Short shorts, ripped fishnets, a vest that was more patches than original material, really big clunky shoes, and a ripped up band-t. He also hooked his favorite bone earrings in his tattered earlobes. 

He stomped into his apartment’s kitchen. He grabbed a stale piece of bread he soaked it in coffee. Yawned and grabbed his bag, racing out the door. 

His brother was waiting for him at the tattoo shop, sketching a new idea. Unlike him, Roman only had a few tattoos, including not one, not two, not three… but three Disney quotes, a frog on a mushroom, a rose on his arm, and a constellation. Most of his tattoos were covered by tasteful burgundy overalls and a white button-down shirt.

Remus’ tattoos were also mostly covered by his clothes. But he had a tattoo sleeve depicting the garden of Eden, a matching frog on a mushroom, a quote from one of Roman’s books, medically accurate bone structures on his hand, a realistic spider on his neck, and a snake wrapping around his non-sleeved arm. And those were just the visible ones. 

Suffice to say, the twins were very different. 

Remus threw his bag onto the floor in the backroom, “Ro, when’s the first appointment!!” he yelled. “Your’s? At 11. FYI, Jan n’ Pat are coming over at 12, for motivation” Remus smiled, fuckin’ superb. 

He busied himself in collecting the ink and preparing the tattoo gun. The client wanted a fucking orange on their wrist, it should only take an hour or two but Remus was not excited to do a frickin’ orange circle. 

The prissy orange bitch came in and Remus got to work. They didn’t move much and only cried a little bit when the needle started jabbing at their skin. Remus liked this part of the process, stabbing people consensually was his favorite thing ever… also the art part but stabbing people!

Almost exactly an hour later the door jingled open. “Dada!!” a tiny voice called back into the store. “I’ll be there in a minute patty-cake” Remus called from his spot hunched over the client's arm.

He added the final touches to the fruit and helped the orange bitch off the chair. Roman swept the client away, Remus practically ran to greet his partner and son.

Janus wore a leather corset over a black collared shirt and baggy pants, their long platinum hair framed their face under their signature hat. They were holding hands with a toddler wearing mostly pink and blue, his blond hair (that matched Janus’) was a mop of curls barely held together by a few butterfly clips. 

“Dada, Dada!!! I got you a flower” the little boy cried, letting go of Janus’ hand and stumbling towards the tall man who scooped him up. Patton giggled and held out a sweaty flower clenched in his chubby fist. 

Remus accepted the flower with a gasp, ”this is really for me?” he said joyfully. Adjusting the small boy in his arms Remus turned towards Janus who was looking at the pair with a disgustingly sappy expression. 

“What are you lookin’ at hot stuff?” Remus teased. “Shut it you,” Janus said, pressing a kiss to Remus’ check. Patton made a noise, “icky” he said pushing Janus away. They laughed, “yes darling, we’re very icky”. 

“When’s verge-“

“he’ll be home at 4” 

“Dope”

“Stop by the Sleepy Café before you bring Pat to the apartment?”

“Can do scootal-lo!” 

Remus turned back to the little boy in his arms, “looks like you're stuck with me squirt”. Patton beamed and snuggled into Remus’ chest. Janus smiled again, “I’ll see you, boys, at dinner,” they said, ruffling Pat's hair and peaking Remus on the lips quickly so as to not upset the toddler. “Bye-bye Janny!!” Patton called after Janus as they left for work. 

“Righty-o,” Remus said, carrying Patton into the back room. “I know Ro’s got a couple coloring books, wanna do those for a bit?” Patton nodded and reached towards the ground to be put down. Remus plopped Patton on the couch and pulled out the book and pens as well as a sketchbook off his own. They sat together coloring and drawing until Roman came back to hug Patton. 

“Ah, my favorite nephew!” Roman said, scooping up the little boy. Patton laughed and pulled Roman’s hair. “Roro, can I color your arm pictures??” he asked, pointing to Roman’s rose tattoo. Roman plopped the toddler back down on the couch and handed him a pen. 

Patton went to work on the rose, scribbling reds and pinks and greens across his arm. Roman gave him complements each time Patton paused, and each time Patton shushed him and went back to work. Remus finished up his sketch, adding it to the pile of tattoo ideas they were eventually going to put up-front, and sat next to the toddler. 

“That’s really good pat-” 

“Shhhhhhhh”

Remus nodded and mimed zipping his lips. He liked spending time with the kid. They weren’t biologically related but who gives a fuck about blood, unless it’s outside of your body, then it’s fun. 

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

“I don’ wanna” Patton wined his dad sighed “I know bubbles but we gotta go home to Papa and Janny, isn’t that fun” Patton considered this, “but Roro’s pretty arm picture” he argued. Remus scratched the back of his neck, “Pffffff- Ummm, how about this, we go home now and I’ll take you back to the shop tomorrow after pre-school” 

Patton brightened considerably, “ok” he chirped. “up please” the toddler’s chubby hands reached towards Remus who obediently scooped him up with a coo. After all who was he to say no to uppy hands. 

“See ya tomorrow, have fun on your date with the nerd” Remus sang as he snatched his bag juggling the still fussy Patton in his other arm. “Fu- Frick off Re. Say hi to your partners for me,” Romans said affectionately and waved as his twin left the building. 

Remus happily trotted out into the road. The tattoo shop was located on a quaint little street in the more commercial segment of their town only a short walk from Janus’ job. 

A light drizzle floated around them and the air was warm and comforting. Patton squealed as a large drop of water hit him in the head, prompting a laugh from Remus.

A jingle sounded through the peaceful cafe, the brown room was illuminated by those cool old fashion lights and a lovely array of pastries made the air smell of chocolate and blueberry scones. But the scones, as delicious as they were, weren’t the snack Remus was here for

“Hey babe- Remus why are you soaking wet”

“Puddle” Patton screeched. 

“Kid’s right, Puddle.”

Janus pinched their eyebrows, “ya know what, I’m not even surprised anymore. Just make sure Patton doesn’t catch a cold” they scolded. 

Remus nodded and saluted in mock seriousness, “yes captain” he said and pressed a kiss to Janus’ face over the cash register, “I’ll see ya in a bit” Remus grinned and led Patton back out of the cafe. 

Janus sighed lovingly as they watched their boyfriend and son turn to cross the street, Patton’s hand clasped around Remus’ happily. “Stop looking so happy, you're scaring the customers” Remy teased from across the counter. “Ha, Ha,” Janus glared and went back to work” 

Janus’ apartment was a cute two-bedroom space on the fourth floor of the building. The furniture was an interesting combo of vintage and things from the side of the road. The vintage parts came from their parent’s house, their father had died two years after Janus’ had run away and hadn’t thought to write them out of the will. 

The three of them had made a date out of customizing the few pieces that Janus wanted to keep. The customization mainly included darkening everything and adding more gothic touches. Virgil had done the fabrics, Remus the painting, and Janus moral support/ director. 

The three partners had also painted the kitchen/dining room/living room black with one yellow wall. Janus and Virgil’s room was dark purple instead of black with highlights in the same yellow. Patton’s room was the only one that didn’t  look marginally like a cave. 

The walls were a cream-yellow that lit up in the morning sunlight. After Janus announced that they were going to have a baby Remus had spent three hours painting the grey ceiling with white fluffy clouds. It was one of his favorite projects. 

Patton of course had no regard for the work put into the entirety of his home and was the usual menace of a toddler. And today a toddler with cheerios, truly a sight even god would tremble before. 

Remus plopped down next to Patton who was pushing cheerios around his highchair tray with an intense focus. He smiled at the little boy and flicked on the tv, “got any requests pip-squeak?” Remus asked. Patton looked thoughtful, “dead lady!!” he cried excitedly hitting the tray with his fists, cheerios flew everywhere. Remus nodded, understanding, “Corpse bride coming up!” he picked a few cheerios from the couch “you really are Verge’s kid” 

When Janus got home Patton was curled up on Remus’s chest. Both slept soundly despite the dead folk on the screen in front of them singing about the wedding. 

Janus smiled, their family was fucking adorable. They slipped off their shoes and snuggled up into Remus who hummed happily and pulled Janus into the hug still asleep. 

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

Three hours later Virgil trudged up the four flights of stairs huffing indignantly with each step. Of course, he could take the elevator… but it might break down and he would be stuck for hours. Or someone could get into the elevator with him and he would have to interact with a stranger. So stairs it was. 

He rummaged around his baggy hoodie, running his fingers through his dark purple hair in annoyance when he couldn’t find the key. Once he found it Virgil carefully (as he did everything) opened the apartment door. His combat books clunked satisfyingly against the hardwood floors as he entered his house. Virgil felt the tension leave his muscles, he was home. He glanced across the room, looking for his family. 

Virgil’s face lit up like a god damned Christmas tree. 

Across the room, both his partners and his son were curled up sleeping happily. Drool covered Remus’ face and Janus was snoring, they were the most precious thing Virgil had seen all freakin day. 

The three of them woke as Virgil wrapped his arms around them, Patton squealed in excitement. “Hello, darling” Janus mumbled sleepily into Virgil’s arm. Remus just groaned and nestled into the hug. The toddler wriggled between his dads squealing profusely. “Shhh, s’ sleepy time” Remus mumbled, rolling deeper into the cuddle pile and shutting Patton up. 

Virgil smiled and pressed a kiss to his partner’s cheek. “Mmm, love you” they purred. “Love you too Jan,” Virgil said, nestling his face in their neck. Virgil knew he would have to start dinner soon but that could wait, for now, cuddles.