#oops this got long

[sugarcoated-lame]

ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT! KRICKET! LOOK AT THE SIZE OF HIS FUCKIN’ ARMS 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

thinking hard. thinking so so so fucking hard about jackson, dilf joel, manhandling you in your cosy little home 🤤

(also i love u so much and i hope ur all okay my love! 🥹🥰💗)

*this contains smut, 18+ minors dni!

@sebsxphia Seb!!! 💗💗💗 omg I am the worst, I just realized this has been sitting in my inbox now for over a week 🙈 I’m so sorry it’s taken me so long to get around to answering this, my love 😭 BUT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT LETS GO!!!

First, I still haven’t recovered from these pictures yet 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫 those ARMS, the long hair, the tattoos !!! good lord

and Jackson era dilf joel manhandling you in your cosy little home????!?

hhhhhngnrjgjrkg sign me the fuck up!!!

I feel like this would happen most often when Joel finds you doing something so simple and domestic— especially after everything he’s been through, now that you’re safe and settled in Jackson, Joel can’t help but take time to admire the simple things— like you cleaning up around the house, or just making your bed, or standing at the stove cooking dinner, and it quickly becomes one of Joel’s — and your — favorite things to have him interrupt your tidying up to bend you over the back of the couch, or have his body press yours deep into the sheets and messing up the bed you just made, or to lift you up onto the kitchen counter to have his way with you.

Joel comes home to find you the kitchen, your back to him, quietly humming to yourself as you stir something on the stove, the quiet melody and gentle sway of your hips luring him in like a siren.

You don’t know that’s he’s come home until you feel a pair of strong arms wrapping around you from behind, drawing a little startled yelp from your lips as he pulls you in closer by your waist. Instantly melting into his hold as his chin hooks over your shoulder, graying beard scratching lightly against your skin as he nuzzles into your neck and leaves a kiss there.

“Smells delicious, sweetheart.” He murmurs into the soft skin of your neck, and sure, he’s talking about the dinner you’re cooking on the stove, but he’s also just talking about you.

Joel lets you continue on cooking for a few minutes, still pressed flush against your back, his big hands now roaming your sides, from your hips up to your rib cage, fingers stopping just short at the underside of your breasts every time before trailing back down again. His lips littering a trail of kisses along the column of your neck where he can hear your breath hitch in your throat, feel your pulse growing faster.

Then, it’s not long before Joel’s reaching around you to turn off the stove, rough hands turning you around to face him so he can drag your lips to his in a bruising kiss. His lips press firmly against yours, tongue begging for entrance that you immediately grant him, your arms wrapping around his neck and tangling into his longer strands. His own arms reach down to wrap around the backs of your thighs and lift you up into his strong hold, your legs wrapping seamlessly around his hips as Joel continues to kiss you breathless.

He only pulls back to look for a clear space on the countertop and once he finds one, those big arms are manhandling you onto the hard surface, pushing your upper half back so that you’re leaned up against the cabinets behind you and positioning you just how he wants you, Joel’s broad body situated between your spread thighs.

Then it’s a mad scramble of hot kisses and frantically removing clothing, Joel’s rough hands tugging down your jeans and underwear in one foul swoop, letting out a deep groan when he sees just how wet you are for him already, before he’s pulling down his own jeans just far enough to free his aching length. And there’s a collective sigh shared between the two of you, your breath mingling with Joel’s against your lips as he pushes into you, filling you up completely with one quick thrust of his hips.

“So good for me, darlin’. Takin’ me s-so well.”

Whewwww I need to go lie down 🫠 thank you so much for sending me this delicious thot, I’m so sorry again for taking so long to answer this, but I hope you enjoy it my lovely!!! <3 and I’m doing okay, thank you Seb 🥹🫶🏼 I hope you’re doing okay as well, and you know I love you so, so much!!! 🥰💐❤️💕💗💕💜💕🧡💕

[ohmyo]

Tipsy Hold Challenge

We were out at the bar with some friends and after a few drinks we came home. I went to the bathroom pretty soon after getting home and when I got out I was handed another beer. I was ready to keep the buzz going and not long after he decided to make us some cocktails.

After my beer and just as I was finishing my cocktail I started to squirm. I was definitely a little drunk now and didn’t realize until now I really needed to pee. I don’t know if the seal is real or not, but if it is I had already broken it when we got back from the bar.

He noticed I was squirming and asked if I needed to use the potty again. I didn’t want to get up since things were starting to get fuzzy and the couch was so comfy. I whined that I didn’t want to pee and he said Good because you don’t get to. You went already, now you’re going to hold it. You’ve only had two drinks since you peed last your brain is just tricking you. You’re going to be good and hold it for me right?

I squirmed so much more hearing him say that. but I nodded. He told me that I should go make is another drink and so I went hoping the urges would pass as he said, it had only been a couple of drinks.

When I got back he had put on the show we had been watching and I got comfy. By the end of my drink I was feeling pretty good and I didn’t even question where the water bottle my boyfriend was handing me came from. I started to get up not thinking anything of it with my brain being so fuzzy, where are you going baby?

Then it hit me, he said I can’t use the bathroom. “I was going to pee, but I, um can I please go use the bathroom now? It’s been four drinks now and um a couple hours. I don’t know how well I’ll be able to hold all drunky”

You were going to the bathroom after I specifically told you no? Oh my! I thought you were going to get us more drinks. I don’t think I should let it slide that you weren’t following my instructions. Being drunk is hardly a good excuse for not listening to one simple request. I think you need to go get yourself two drinks for the next episode.

I was whining and rubbing my legs together as he talked. I wanted to be good so I went and got three drinks as he requested. I was feeling so full and I didn’t know how I would manage two more. I tried to get lost in our show, but my bladder was heavy on my mind. I was squirming while trying to drink my drinks wanting to be good. After a while I managed to get invested and relaxed and “AH”

Everything okay? “I um I think I may have leaked a little bit. It was getting a little hazy and” Oh no baby let me take a look, get up. There was a tiny little spot that you wouldn’t notice if you didn’t know, but embarrassing regardless. With the leak taking me out of the drunk haze I was now very aware of how full my bladder was. Instinctively my hand flew down to help me hold as I was standing there helpless. “please can I go use the bathroom? I’ll do anything please”

Anything? I nodded aggressively not considering how this could get any harder. Hm well that is interesting. Maybe we should play a little game for your bathroom privileges. “a game?” Yes, I think that seems fair. We’ll make it an even game too. Let’s flip a coin, actually that’s boring let’s flip twice. Double heads you get to pee. Mixed we’ll wait 10 minutes and flip again. Double tails, hm, you’ll get on your knees and let me drain my bladder.

I let out a whimper both from being a little turned on by his dirty game and from thinking about the challenges in taking in any more fluid. “Thank you, let me go grab a quarter.” “tails, fuck” “no! again? what are the odds! please let’s flip again that was just a trail run”

The game has rules for a reason, sorry you lost, but not sorry enough. Come on get on your knees, I could really use a release.

“Yes sir” I got down as he pulled down his pants. His stream started fast causing me to moan and grab myself. This was making me need to go even more and I was starting to feel unsure if I would make it.

Mmmm much better thank you baby. Maybe you’ll be more lucky in 10 more minutes. I let out a big whine doing a very obvious potty dance at this point. Every minute felt like forever no matter how I tried to distract myself. The kissing might have helped a little, it did get me a little turned on when he used my mouth.

Tails I let out a little sob. Heads 10 more minutes beautiful. I did not know what to do with myself. I don’t know if I can make it. It has been a few hours, 6 drinks, his pee and I’m desperate.

Why don’t we move to the bedroom. Maybe laying down will be a bit easier for you. As soon as we got into bed the kissing started up again. With how drunk we were things started moving pretty fast and before I knew it all of our clothes were off. I wasn’t thinking about anything other than how much I wanted him inside me, but as soon as he pushed in I felt an immense pressure. Feelings of pleasure and discomfort coursed through my body. We were messy, sloppy, and I’m glad no one was near to hear us. It did not last long, but it felt amazing.

“I can’t believe my bladder didn’t surrender. That was so crazy.” You’ve been so good for me let’s flip again, hopefully you’ll be lucky this time. “Heads!” Heads! Go baby! Just hearing that I get relief made my bladder weaken. I ran as fast as I could to the bathroom feeling the first few drops fall before I could even sit down. Finally.

[arizonaconservativegal]

Oh, I should clarify that there's nothing wrong with watching certain shows, but in some ways I do think the media you consume influences your worldview if you're really sheltered or if you don't get out much. Many of these online activists don't have experience with actual real life political activism so they approach politics the way they approach their shows. I know we should "let people enjoy things" but it's concerning

Kids these days need their worldview spoonfed to them and I think that's a combination of a) iPad parenting, b) schools that teach you to cite sources but not think for yourself, and c) a lack of organized religion. No one ever taught them how to map out their own values and form their own moral compass and work through questions that aren't black and white. Pop culture has become their only guide for these things and the problem there is that pop culture only tells you one answer - not how to think through the question and arrive at that answer yourself, much less with room to arrive at a different answer. They are told X is good and Y is bad but they have no idea why X is good or what is so bad about Y.

And they think that by interacting with media that says X is good, they are supporting the idea that X is good. If you interact with media that doesn't say X is good, it is obviously supporting Y. Since Y is bad, they can only interact with things that support X or explicitly condemn Y. Media consumption becomes activism and if you interact with the wrong thing, people will think you support Y and therefore you are On The Wrong Side and should be condemned.

When someone presents them with option Z, they have no idea what to do with it. They can only assume that if X is good, anything that isn't X must be bad like Y is bad. Because if Z was good, it would just be part of X.

And forget asking them about nuance. They panic when they see it because they truly don't know know to think about something more complex than an either/or. There isn't one right answer they can learn from some tv show. Nuance requires you to think about exceptions to the rule. If you don't have the skills to evaluate Z on your own, then you certainly won't be able to parse out when Z might apply instead of X.

Like I said at the top, this is a problem with how we teach kids. It's not the fault of the media they interact with. Watching some dumb lefty show will not make you a lefty. But if you've never been taught how to form your own conclusions, watching only dumb lefty shows will leave you parroting what they say. Playing a violent video game will not make you become a murderer but if you've never been taught that murder is bad or why you shouldn't hurt other people and all you know is that your game encourages you to kill people in it, you would think that is normal behavior. Most of us at least were taught enough to recognize that the violent video game is not a good place to learn your morals so we can play them as intended everything is fine but not everyone was taught how to think about political or moral philosophy.

So anyway, yeah it's fine to watch a silly show where everyone is either good or irredeemably evil - sometimes that can be relaxing because it doesn't ask you to think much and we all need that from time to time - but it's not meant to teach you how the world works because that's not how the world works. And it's fine to watch a show that has an agenda. It's even fine to decide you agree with what they're saying and adopt that into your own worldview - but you should be the one making that decision. The tv should not be doing it for you. If you don't understand why what they're saying makes sense to you, then you don't actually agree, you're just repeating the last thing you heard. Sometimes things just instinctively feel right and that's cool but then you need to challenge that idea and refine it. You should be able to identify the underlying principles driving that idea and use it to extrapolate next steps and figure out where the boundaries are or if its application is conditional on anything else and it should hold up against opposing information. If you don't know how to do that, people will manipulate you for their own purposes with ease.

[maingh0st]

@belabellissima's tags on this post deserve a post of their own, i—

[incognito-lionbeast]

@cum-villain​​

Binghe is distraught tbh. Not inconsolably, mind! He does realise that his darling husband has already spent some time trying to make up for those unfair assumptions; hell, their relationship was built on Shen Qingqiu realising his mistakes. Accepting him. All this information does is add yet another layer of context... and it does truly explain A Lot. Yet, that doesn’t make it sting less.

If anything, it also kinda-sorta solidifies how much Binghe hates Bingge, too. Because Binghe needs to blame someone and uh.. y’know, internalised self-hatred vs the doppelganger “responsible” for why his Shizun genuinely thought Binghe would want to kill him. There are a lot of layers to this situation that Binghe doesn’t want to unpack right now. It’s so much easier concentrating his effort on being angry at Bingge, even if it’s only really his “fault” indirectly. If he can really be blamed at all!

‘Coz despite all of Bingge’s shortcomings, til he actually met SY!SQQ & Bingmei? He hadn’t done anything to them other than simply Exist. Yet, Binghe does not care to dwell on the tragic irony of this. That, in some ways, he’s doing to Bingge what others have done to them both.

Regardless, mad at him not shizun. As I mentioned in the other post, though, this does not stop Binghe from being a dramatic mess to Shen Qingqiu later. He’s hurt! Need comfy! And Shen Qingqiu, for his part, is so SO grateful that this is the worst of Binghe’s reaction to finding out, because he couldn’t help worrying that Binghe would reject him if he wasn’t... well, Binghe is an enigma on occasion. He thought it’d matter more one way or another. They can both be dramatic & have some self-doubt issues as a treat.

So, their stay at Cang Qiong mountain ends up being a bit longer than usual, if partially because Binghe monopolises Shen Qingqiu for a while after the confrontation. And Shen Qingqiu just lets him! There’s a lot to talk about and they both need the reassurance. And, yes, to fuck nasty in the Bamboo House. That’s part of the reassurance. Absolutely necessary.

--as for Binghe’s feelings toward Shen Jiu, his former shizun & the original owner of his husband’s body? Frankly, Shen Qingqiu is a little shocked at how easily Binghe separates the two of them. When--especially in the beginning!--he’d thought them the same person. Yet, Binghe has no trouble at all making a Distinction between them now, even when he’d already rationalised away / forgiven Shen [Yuan] Qingqiu for the OG’s past sins before.

Sort of the opposite of Liu Qingge’s reaction to Shen Jiu, really. Binghe absolutely does not let biases regarding Shen Yuan affect his feelings toward Shen Jiu. There’s even a bit of smug satisfaction in claiming Shen Qingqiu--physically and otherwise--seeing how much Shen Jiu still detests him.

Shen Qingqiu paps him a bit for this. Not that Binghe’s negativity toward Shen Jiu is undeserved, but Binghe please... let’s not start anything, okay? You have him now. Isn’t that enough?

[taihua]

omg can you please talk about beefleaf as a ship, dynamic, friendship.

oh also what are your thoughts on that scene in last arc - when he xuan diguised as hua cheng comes to help them out for a bit and gives back sqx's fan - and when he sees sqx being himself still, his talking way and brag?, his laugh/antiques. he snorts/ humphs/ scoffs. honestly to me i loved that seen i just don't know how to explain my thoughts on hx reaction to that but i loved it.

thank you<33 [i love your blog sm]

*english isn't my first lang so forgive me for the grammar and wrong words that i might have used ig..

Sorry for taking so long to answer, this landed while I was on my way to Boston and I wanted to wait until I was back on my laptop to answer!

I also really like the scene where He Xuan gives back the fan because of how subtle it is--it's the kind of thing that you can miss if you're not paying attention. I think I probably missed it the first time I read the book and had to go back to verify. Doing it undercover is such a He Xuan way to handle it, too. He spends most of the book in disguise so it feels right that a big gesture like this would also be done in disguise.

My thoughts on them as a ship are mostly that I don't like the fanon focus on them as cute silly girlfriends. From what I've seen in fandom, their female forms are kind of just taken as representation for its own sake, but I think what it's doing as a metaphor is showing how both He Xuan and Qingxuan are not who they say they are. It's almost like a fun game to Qingxuan to flit around in pretty dresses and act like the arbiter of justice, but he's not even supposed to be there and the fact that he is there is actually the ultimate injustice. (Compared to Ling Wen, meanwhile, who is forced to present as male to even be taken seriously, Qingxuan just seems frivolously out of touch.) And He Xuan is obviously pretending to be Ming Yi, so there it's just like... a double reveal about "she's not who we thought she was." It's all disguises to He Xuan anyway, so why not throw some gender on there too.

Anyway, Shuangxuan aren't really that interesting to me as a ship until Qingxuan is being held prisoner in the creepy underwater prison--to me, they're a darkship that I would compare to Xuexiao in MDZS. I guess that's like... the moment that they're honest with each other? He Xuan reveals who and what he really is, and Qingxuan comes to the understanding that he didn't ascend on his own merit. That's when it's interesting to ask "so what if they're attracted to each other?" because now they have to contend with the issues.

The thing is that both of them care about each other, which is important to me for a ship (and also something that I think tends to be dismissed by people who don't ship it). Qingxuan clearly feels remorse and understands that he stole something irreplacable from He Xuan (who he genuinely saw as a friend while he was Ming Yi), but He Xuan doesn't blame Qingxuan and doesn't go out of his way to hurt him even when he had the opportunity to. It's not really enough for them to reconcile, but it sure is enough to play around with a doomed and toxic post-canon relationship.

Lastly... ghosts in TGCF can disperse if they give up on whatever's tying them to the world. I think Xuan Ji gives up her resentment for Pei Ming and is able to disperse and move on since that was what kept her there as a fierce ghost. He Xuan's revenge is supposed to be what keeps him around, but he doesn't disperse even after enacting his perfect revenge plot. His story is deliberately left unfulfilled because it's supposed to show that revenge is unfulfilling, but that also leaves a really nice opening for He Xuan to rediscover what it means to love instead of hate.

Also, Qingxuan definitely ascends for real sometime post-canon so they have time to work it out. MXTX herself told me so in a dream

[myaoiboy]

Hi I saw that you answered an ask* the other day and I wanted to know if you continued with your analysis or if you could continue. I was really interested and curious to know more about it. I really wanted to know what you had to say, seriously, I could read a bible of Death Stranding reviews!

*https://www.tumblr.com/myaoiboy/739740134244794368/death-stranding-gender-talk-you-say-count-me-in?source=share

Hi! I totally can keep talking about Death Stranding forever (I know it's a very divisive game but imo on the whole the writing is like a well-oiled machine in ways that MGS just barely started to scrape askdjfh)

For the most part I haven't talked a *ton* about it at length because the series is just getting started and I feel weird making assertions that are likely to be fully subverted within a year or two. MGS has like. well, now, 25 years of shit going on. Sequels, prequels, fanon, etc., that Death Stranding...hasn't really had time to grow into yet.

I also tend to intentionally only post for dead series because the fandoms tend to be chiller lmao

Plus the fact that I got into DS right around the time that DS2 was announced, so I'm sitting here twiddling my thumbs knowing that there's about to be more content and context that I just don't have access to yet. I already feel like there's a lot more to be learned about the first game, just from the latest trailer drop.

Honestly I think the thing that really gets me with DS is that despite the borderline insanity of the setting, to me, there's a lot of dramatic irony and meta knowledge that makes DS pretty easy to follow compared to, like, any single MGS game. Maybe I'm just the exact target audience that the writing was intended for, but most of the big reveals felt less like a sucker punch and more of a dramatic swell.

Some reasons for this (please be gentle i am taking cutscene SCs from youtube videos, they're gonna look like shit):

First of all, this is basically frame 1 of being formally introduced to Amelie, we see...this lens flare. Look familiar?

...how about now?

We are introduced to her instantly with a sign of danger. A pretty one, but a sign of danger nonetheless. The fact that it's an inverted rainbow is important! It shows up around timefall because of chiral air disturbance. We don't know that yet in-game, but if you know about how light works you know that there's something Wrong(tm) about this.

A regular lens flare shouldn't be causing an inverted rainbow if it's causing one at all. I think in this cutscene Amelie's presence is causing that inverted rainbow. Throughout the game, people come up with various theories of their own to excuse her connection to the beach. Little do they know at the time how right they are...

She's also heavily backlit, which hides her features in an unsettling manner. In fact, I really can't think of anyone else that this happens to throughout the game (if anyone knows of another example PLEASE let me know!!!)

She gets pretty damn close before that rainbow disappears, but this is where I very quickly lost my initial trust in her (as the player).

I jokingly called called this her "Fox News reporter look," but it's very much constructed in a way that made me suspicious.

Let's talk about that red dress.

I've said it before, I'll say it again: Kojima fucking LOVES using color language, especially red, blue, and gold. It's been super obvious and explicit since like 2012.

The fact that we meet her wearing a red dress is not a coincidence!!! It's a great big flashing warning sign! It says "hey, this person is going to betray you! Do Not Fucking Trust!!!"

Compare Amelie's name card to Paz's from Peace Walker:

The art styles are different, but there are a couple of main throughlines. Namely, both have an emphasis on the color red, both are young (looking) women who are lying about their identities in order to ask the main character a favor. Characters vouch for them, from trusted advisors, to the main character himself in DS. And then they try to bring about armageddon.

Basically what I'm saying is that they're both the embodiment of white woman tears a wolf in sheep's clothing, if the sheep's clothing was still dripping in blood. We (characters, and maybe the players) believe that she's on our side because we want to believe she's on our side, and because other people that we ostensibly trust tell us she's on our side, while the extremely dissonant narrative and imagery of the scene are SHAKING US BY THE SHOULDERS TELLING US TO SNAP OUT OF IT.

Add to that the fact that we kind of vaguely, through that intro cutscene post-central knot explosion, know that the beach is connected to dying somehow, and that amelie seems to be on it, doing very stereotypical little girl in horror things there, like singing nursery rhymes slowly while walking into the ocean.

So we've basically been told that Amelie is Not Good, but we have to spend the game piecing together what kind of Not Good she is. The first hint is (surprise!) also in this cutscene!

I don't recall off the top of my head if I knew at the time how heavily egyptian mythology plays into DS, but I do remember this cutscene giving me a bad gut feeling about the concept of the West.

Very few Big Concepts in these games (the West, strand(s/ing), patriotism/nationalism, etc) are only symbolic of one thing. That's also true across the board in basically all art, but I feel the need to point that out in public posts because I don't want someone to eg, think that I say something means one thing, and then back that up, and then people think that means it can't mean something else! It can (and often does) mean both! and sometimes that additional meaning is super important!

Anyways, Die Hardman refers to Amelie going West. We don't really use that phrasing much, so it stuck out to me as euphemistic. Especially since we saw her after we died, and there's so much euphemism going on from the bridges team anyways. I mean, cufflinks "symbolize our connection?" Girl, you locked me to my bed with them. You drain my blood with them to turn into weapons. Call 'em what they are.

You'll even notice in the same cutscene that Amelie says "we made it to Edge Knot City" and Sam replies with "all the way to the Pacific?" Not "all the way to the west coast," or even a single question about why she was on the/his beach.

If you know anything about egyptian mythology, you might know that west is considered the direction of death and the underworld. ancient egyptians buried dead people on the west side of the nile river. Osiris, god of death and mummification, and king of the underworld, is referred to as "foremost of the westerners" among his epithets.

So the vibe that I got instantly was "Amelie is already dead, she led her team to die, and they are basically sending Sam on a suicide mission" though I didn't realize exactly how I was right at the time.

The other big thing I recall setting off my alarm bells as the game went on was the fact that nobody you meet has ever met Amelie in person. It's a very slow reveal, especially since most people seem to see online meeting and in person meeting to be mostly the same, and we're told that she set out with bridges one. That she went west. Turns out that...also wasn't literal.

I don't remember exactly when I started wondering if *sam* had ever even met her outside of the beach, but I do remember thinking that there was something off. For a little bit my guess was that she was entirely fictional, some sort of AI (pretty influenced by all the "dead person brought back by AI/hypno bullshit ngl), or maybe that Higgs could somehow disguise himself in the Beach in ways i didn't understand yet.

But I didn't feel *worse* for being able to figure things out ahead of time, I felt clever that I could piece together all the little hints and have a good idea of what was going on. It made death stranding feel more like a coherent sci fi narrative rather than a cheesy action story that's expected to follow certain strict genre conventions.

Not that I'm saying mgs or action in general are bad, but rather that imo Death Stranding feels...more mature and confident in some ways (and also isn't bogged down by 20 years of previous work. which. i don't even like my own shit from a year ago half the time, i cannot imagine having to write within the constraints you created TWO DECADES prior kjhksjfh). Maybe it's that it feels like less of a genre subversion and has more genre utilization? dunno. Now I'm thinking too much like an english major lkajshdf

But yeah anybody who wants to talk about anything totally feel free. Or if you want to give me prompts to write about. I will always be willing to talk about things for way too long on the internet. I just don't always reply quickly because I start rambling....Like This.

[sapphireclaw]

hello hello hello!!! i fell in LOVE with ur spirit au and i,,, have a question,,

does Ingo ever come across akari/dawn before she was thrown into the past? and in addition, did he stumble upon/find her when everyone is in their correct times?

(Yea I’ve been reading your tags omg. Thank youuuuu)

Hmmmm I haven’t actually thought about that! It’s very possible. Ingo basically adopted her in Hisui, so he’d probably have a connection to her soul like he does with Emmet’s. He’d be able to know where she is and if she’s feeling strong emotions. But does that apply to before she gets sent to Hisui? Would he have that connection to her regardless of her having met him yet? Ingo’s connection with Emmet manifested the moment he (and also himself lol) was born (meaning one day while beboppin’ around, Ingo just suddenly knew that Emmet Exists Now™) so maybe it would work the same for Akari/Dawn.

One day while reading in some library in Kanto, Ingo feels a little flicker like a heartbeat brush the edge of his consciousness.

“Omg!! my daughter!!! She’s here!!!!”

I think Ingo wouldn’t be as reluctant to interact with Dawn during the Before as he is Emmet. After all, who knows what would happen if he were to come into contact with his own living self??? A paradox???? With Dawn, however, he’d probably involve himself in her life somehow. Maybe during her Pokémon journey he just so happens to find himself in Sinnoh. Dawn comes across him on a route and they have a nice friendly battle. Ingo is sure to giver her lots of battling tips!! She’s gonna grow up into a powerful trainer, after all.

As for the other thing, do you mean whether or not he sees her after she got un-eebied? If so, then absolutely. While he came back to Unova a month after his living self got eebied, Dawn was missing for over a year before she returns. Ingo kept an eye on the news after he learned that Akari was actually the Sinnoh champion! He knew that she’d go missing. And that she would return, of course. So once he learns that the Sinnoh Champion has been found, he finds a way to contact her.

Dawn is ecstatic to hear from him, and flies to Unova as soon as possible for HER very much deserved reunion hug. Especially after she learned who he was once she got back. And researched what happened to Warden Ingo and learned he died. She felt horrible, and blamed herself. If she’d been more insistent he come back to the future with her, he would still be alive... Then she gets a call like “AKARI, MY DEAREST DAUGHTER!! HELLO!!!” And all is good in the world.

Edit: uh oh now I wanna write about Akari learning about Ingo’s fate and then receiving a very LOUD phone call.

[amorhedera6]

i’m giving everyone lore bc i can’t help myself sorry not sorry.

(ruth’s tragic backstory under the cut)

ruth joleigh flemming is the second born child of five. her older brother, nathaniel, is two years older than her. he is the family golden child that does no wrong, he got all the good genes, attractive, taller. he played baseball and was popular in high school. in the hallways he would pretend not to see her, refused to acknowledge her, made her walk home when he drove his friends so he wouldn’t be associated with her. he’s their parents favorite and can do nothing wrong.

ruth on the other hand is only useful of invisible. she is given the most chores, is asked to watch her younger siblings constantly, expected to follow a curfew nathaniel never had. her parents marriage follows traditional gender roles, roles they push fiercely into their children, and ruth is put to work the most. she’s not allowed to drive her parents car when nathaniel was, etc.

her next sibling, henry, is three years younger than her. he is kinder than nathaniel, also often invisible to their parents, for he is more academic than his older brother. he likes science and is always holed up in his room working on smothering or other. he loves animals and learning about them, wants to be a vet. he and ruth walk home with richie every day (bc richie lives a few houses down). he’s quiet, mostly keeps to himself.

after henry is melanie, who’s only a year younger. she also has a lot of expectations on her to be a good girl, good wife, etc. all that sexist, 50s house wife bullshit. ruth tries to shield her from it by doing most of the work, but melanie is a better, less sarcastic help in the kitchen, so she often had to help their mom with the food. she does gymnastics, is really good at too, but her parents write it off as just a hobby. she could do really well professionally if her parents took it seriously.

the youngest is harvey, who’s two years younger than melanie. he does a lot of sports, but all of them in the kid way where he doesn’t really do anything. he likes soccer the best, and wants to continue that when he gets older. he’s a boy scout and plays a lot of video games. he’s the stereotype of the youngest sibling, he gets whatever he wants and doesn’t realize it.

ruth was put in dance at 4 because her mother danced as a kid, and she absolutely loved it. ballet and tap, but she wasn’t graceful enough for ballet. tap she stuck with for a long time. she had this class with peter, who she became friends with at like 12ish. she was expected to be a dancer because it was feminine and quiet and all that shit, so she became insecure about her loudness and lonely. she quit dance in her freshman year when she was picked for a dance solo and had a panic attack on stage.

she fell in love with theatre and joined the tech booth. she wanted to perform, but couldn’t get herself back on stage after what happened. she watched the shows from the back of the auditorium with jealousy.

she knew she was bi watching shake it up bc she fell in love w zendaya at 8. she never told her parents bc she knew it wasn’t worth the hassle. she knows they won’t believe her, will think it’s a phase, and thinks it’s better to just leave it all alone. it’s not like she’s ever getting a girlfriend anyways.

she hates wearing skirts, but if she goes like two weeks wearing just pants her mom sits her down and talks to her about being a proper lady. she’d rather just wear them then hear any of it. she wears a skirt every other thursday and it’s enough that her parents only give her looks instead of actually talking to her.

she likes star wars, absolutely hated the choices made in the new ones but watches them anyway bc the people are all hot. she has star wars merch and shit in her room but not too much bc it’s a “boyish” interest.

she had long dark curls her whole life, hates them. hates managing them, hates the curl routine, hates having such long hair, so in a fit of rage had richie and pete chop it all off in the middle of the night her sophomore year. she got it touched up by her moms hairdresser, but refuses to let it grow any more.

she got her headgear the summer before eighth grade, when she was 13, and has had it ever since. she despises it, but refuses to admit it to anyone but richie and peter. she owns it, matches her clothes to it, acts like she doesn’t give a shit when people call her metalhead or something equally uncreative.

she inherited her fathers anger issues. she keeps a lot of it inside bc she hates social interaction if she isn’t close to a person, but it makes her have a lot of hate for people who annoy her. like trevor, who always mixes up his cue lines and makes her look bad. or caitlin, who likes to spend her breaks annoying ruth in the tech booth.

(caitlin actually has a crush on ruth and has for years, but ruth’s so annoyed with someone pose being in her safe space that she can’t tell she’s being flirted with.)

her parents don’t want her to work, so she can spend time at the house looking after her siblings, cleaning, and all that, so she doesn’t have a job. her parents also don’t want her to go to college, since they think it’s unnecessary. she still applied to schools all over the country to get the fuck out of hatchetfield. she’s marked her major down as math, since she’s okay at it, but she has no interest in doing it with her life. she has no idea what she wants to do. (that’s not true. she wants to act. dance. perform. but she has absolutely no faith in herself, her talent, her ability to overcome her anxiety, so. math it is.)

she’s never told anyone this, she’s ignoring it and pretending she didn’t, but she did send a self tape to a drama school in california. she hasn’t heard back, though.

her favorite color is red, which is why she picked it for her headgear when they made her chose. she likes it because she can get away with wearing it in masculine ways since it’s close enough to pink, but it also represents fire, anger. she thinks color theory is super interesting. she had to learn it when her mom made her learn about flowers, and the flowers part bored her to death, but she loves colors.

her father is named walter, he’s a business executive about thirty years older than her mother. her mother, doreen, wants desperately to be a stay at home mom, but they can’t afford it, so she works at a flower shop. she says that if you must work in life, it might as well be a position for a lady. she still makes dinner every night. she only wears dresses and heels. sometimes ruth thinks her mother was brainwashed or something.

because ruth’s sanctuary is her grandparents. her mothers parents are not at all the stereotypical housewife/working husband couple. they are fiercely strong and interesting people with interesting stories to tell. from their stories, her mom used to be the same way, at one point. she went to college for prelaw, and dropped out her sophomore year after meeting walter. they say she changed a lot, but they don’t talk about it enough for ruth to get real details. she can only pull them by their teeth if they have a lot to drink, which they don’t often do. it’s a mystery shes piecing together slowly.

she knows her parents don’t care about her much. they don’t give a shit about her grades, never go to parent teacher conference night, stopped going to her dance recitals when she was ten, never came to one of the shows she worked on with the school. she was only ever scolded but never really treated like their daughter, more like a misbehaving help they need to set right.

they never hit her, but she’s well aware she’ll be fucked up forever. she is counting down the days until she gets to college and she can get a tattoo and burn her skirts and go to therapy. she loves her friends, and her siblings (most of the time), but she despises hatchetfield and her parents.

she can’t wait to get out.

(she never gets out.)

[frizzy-frizz-frizz]

Not Kevin related but what do you think of Haareya as Jerejean song!! Dgsvdttsgccsvxf

...oh. OH. ASFJSHDHJSH YOUR BRAIN!!

okay admittedly I don't exactly have jerejean brainrot. I adore them however I have not done a deepdive into their relationship in a long time

BUT, this fits them so well??

jean....lowkey hasnt been in close quaters with someone he doesnt have history with since he first got to the nest. and jeremy knox was so...loving in ways the ravens decidedly werent. this man doesnt know him, doesnt owe him anything, has no reason to be anything to him. they have no history and yet jeremy keeps asking to spend time with jean, to stay close, for no reason except that jeremy simply likes spending time with him.

and jean who at this point in his life, guards his privacy viciously, who clumsily, firmly, learns to make a space for himself makes, egst to have his space be his alone....and yet, he keeps every little trinket jeremy gives him. he keeping brining this man into his space. he keeps giving jeremy his time, his space, his heart.

listen to me, jean is here slowly, clumsily giving his heart to jeremy okay but poor jeremy is on the other end of this, freaking the fuck out. he sees jean fucking moreau in the same room as him and self combusts. man is too gay for this shit. he is suddently unsure of how to express affection and keep getting jean little trinkets and souvenirs. jeremy is the kind of man who's used to giving. his time, his words, his heart. he doesn't know how to function when jean gives him back MORE. when jean gives him pet names. when jean holds him as gently as its possible for him to hold anyone.

jeremy has known life and joy and beauty but he's never known Jean Moreau....

jean hasnt dared to dream of a future in a long time, but now that he can, his dreams almost always feature jeremy knox as a part of it.

[zakariyamallisters]

who: @iona-tully where: riverrun, the kingdom of the riverlands

the mallisters return to the seat of the kingdom of rivers itself was not a movement that was rushed or hurried, considering the proud family had ensured to consolidate the defences of their own first and foremost before moving further inland toward the very seat of the king. the choices that had been taken by zakariya mallister, notably increasing the cost in usage of mallister vessels and continuing to disallow mallister trading in terms of vessel building in the rivermarket, had caused a ripple across the kingdom there was no doubt - something he was entirely willing to hear and listen to, should they be able to prove how he were wrong.

only, it were difficult to persuade zakariya mallister that he was not right when it came to matters such as politics or economics; personal matters, were far more easy to discuss with the lord rather than decisions that could impact his own people.

the king had been injured, and in that short amount of time of fear and instability, one could not help but notice the fact the heirship was granted to the boy of dubious parentage rather than the eldest daughter of house tully. her being a woman, for some reason, was enough to cite her claim as inconsistent against the claim of a baby, whose parentage remained questionable depending on who one spoke to. the legitimisation of a king did wonders in regards to political agency, and yet it did nothing for what truly continued to be thought of in the minds of men and women up and down the continent. his presence within riverrun had found him conversing with a multitude of individuals, each time citing his refusal for engaging in trade within the rivermarket.

for it were too far from the control of the mallisters, with too many riverlanders having a stake within it, let alone international funding that meant the coin of kings were present within the market too. as good as it is for the commerce of the region, there was no need for the mallisters to hurry into joining the trade: ships, would always be of need. their ability to sell them, as well as build them from scratch for the perfect price with the perfect resources, would never drop in demand. and so, should any need it, all discussions could be had within seagard, where mallister representatives will ensure all is being done smoothly and cleanly.

"your highness." zakariya spoke, towards the princess who had requested for a meeting. the last time the pair of them had spoken this closely, he had shared his opinion regarding her stance of being the ambassador of the riverlands. he did not think it made sense, and even now, he held the same belief. her duty was for marriage, in which she would be expected to adjust to the realm she married into - impossible, if she were a royal of another realm, to continue only representing the riverlands.

it would cause a clash, regarding loyalty and the stance she would take. he stood by his decision. and yet still, when her request to meet came through, he knew not what she wished to speak to him about, not for certain, but there was a slight suspicion that it was the very same as what the others wished to speak of. the market. the prices he had increased. "upon hearing of your invitation for an audience, i ensured at minimum, the next hour is free. should this take longer, please let me know." he bowed before her presence, before rising to his full height. "how may i be of use to you?"

[sibillascribbles08]

Finally got past this point in the main fic so have some more What If. This is going to be much more upsetting than it is in the OG storyline aslkdjf

@thelamebat

Everything moved way too fast.

Donatello couldn’t get a grip. Not on his surroundings, his vision, his hearing, or even his sense of smell. Images and sounds flashed by him so fast. In a weird way he could comprehend it, and in others it made him feel sick. He wanted to puke. Maybe he did.

He could tell he wasn’t actually anchored in anything that was happening, but still couldn’t see beyond it.

His father. His siblings. The first car he built. His first laptop. The time they snuck out of the lair. The time they met April. Their first lair games that cemented his fear of beach balls.

The first trip to the Hidden City. Going out night after night trying to be heroes. Dark Armor. Shredder. Draxum.

The Kraang.

He felt the scream that tore from his throat as he felt the sensation of being ripped out of the ship. Then--

“Leo.” He shouted. “Leo. Leo!”

“Donnie, I’m here.” A voice interrupted. Just where was it coming from? “I’m right here.”

Someone held his face. The familiar sensation finally ripped away the images rushing through his vision, but he still couldn’t see clearly. Everything seemed blurry, faint, like looking in a dream.

Still, he recognized that shade of blue, the red underneath it.

“Leo?” He kept blinking, trying to get his vision to focus but the memories started rushing in again. That’s what they were, right? “What’s going on?”

“Just breathe, Donnie.” Mikey spoke from... somewhere. “Your memories are trying to catch up.”

Of course they were. But why?

He’d probably know the answer to that soon enough.

Big Mama. The Battle Nexus. Becoming Champion. Keeping secrets.

Holly Blue.

The business proposal. The Lab. The tech. The threat letters. His dart gun. His accusation.

Her hand gently patting him on the head.

Varii.

Remembering the eel’s name snapped the final pieces into place.

He sat up straight, his vision finally shifting back to normal. Leo still sat in front of him with the rest of his siblings and father nearby. They were all on the floor inside some kind of... well he couldn’t figure out what it was. A lab? It looked like they built it out in the middle of the woods.

Closer to the door was Draxum, with April and both Casey’s by his side.

Donatello glanced at all their faces before looking down at his hands, then his arms, then his shoulders. It looked just like how he remembered it. But...

“I got de-mutated.” He mumbled.

“Y-yeah.” Raph kept pressing his fingers together. “B-but it’s fine. We got you back. You do uh, remember everything, right?”

Donatello nodded, but even with the rush of memories gone he still felt numb, lost, trying to pick through all the information he’d been hit with. “Is... is Varii still in my lab? How long have I even been gone?”

“Two weeks.” Draxum stated flatly. “Just about. There’s a lot to catch up on.”

Still, he didn’t continue that statement. Donatello took a second to do some math. If Varii attacked them then, then today’s date was--

“Oh.” Donatello looked directly at Leo, who was failing to keep the tears from spilling out of his eyes. “Leo I’m--”

His twin suddenly hugged him, tighter than he had in years. “Don’t. Don’t apologize. It wasn’t your fault.”

“But... our birthday--”

“It’s fine.” Leo leaned back to show off his half forced smile. “It’s fine because you’re back now. We can celebrate it later. Okay?”

Donatello was barely convinced that it was “fine,” as his brother put it, but he nodded anyway. Leo pulled him back into a hug, and within seconds the rest of his family joined in. He still felt pretty overwhelmed, and now a bit suffocated, but he let it happen. For their sakes.

He let his mind wander while he was buried under all the contact. His first thought was about his mask. Then his goggles. Then what this sorry excuse for a lab was.

Then--

“Wait,” he spoke loud enough to be heard through the pile his family created. “Where’s Holly Blue?”

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

Holly Blue hadn’t gone to the lab.

She stayed in the cabin, in the spare room, staring out the window.

For one, she wasn’t sure she could stomach seeing what happened to Donatello last time, just in reverse, all over again.

For another, his entire family insisted on at least being nearby, so no doubt the room would be crowded enough as is assuming everything worked.

If everything worked...

No. She couldn’t think on it. It would be what it would be, nothing more and nothing less. And if it turned out they couldn’t get Donatello back then she would just--

A set of footsteps rushed through the hall. Her antenna twitched, unable to pick up a specific scent among the smoke she left in the air. She should have opened the window.

Then someone appeared in the doorway. At first she didn’t even recognize him. Without his goggles, purple mask, or his father’s eyebrows his face looked completely different. The blanket wrapped around his shoulders hid his markings as well.

But, after a few seconds of staring, she recognized the expression on his face.

“Donatello.” She wanted to rush over to him, cradle his face in her hands and whisper a thousand apologies, but she didn’t move. The direct contact would just upset him anyway. “It’s good to see you again.” A far too simple way of putting it, but it was all she could manage.

His shocked expression shifted to confusion. He stepped into the room, slowly, clutching his blanket tighter. “Yeah...” He kept walking forward, only stopping when he stood a few feet away. “You... weren’t in the lab.”

Her antenna twitched. “No. With the rest of your family there I thought it’d be too crowded.”

He continued to stare, eyes moving only ever so slightly as he studied her face. “Tell me the real reason.”

Holly hated herself for flinching. “I... don’t know what you mean.”

“They already caught me up on everything.” Donatello shifted the blanket further up on his shoulders. “About my lab, Varii, Shelldon, the drones, the city, and how you avoid them as much as possible.”

“Things have been tense since you...” She reached up to run her hand along her antenna, trying to rid herself of the phantom smell of acid. “I did not wish to make things more awkward.”

“Did they blame you for this?”

“Some did. They tried to apologize for it later, but there was no need.” She scoffed and let go of her antenna. “They were right.”

Now Donatello looked flat out horrified, his eyes shifting between shock and anger. “No. It’s not your fault. How could it possibly be your fault?”

Holly rolled her eyes. Was she really going to have this conversation all over again? “Varii was my client. I let him right into your lab not once but twice. In all my experience in the city, I should have been more cautious about what clients I brought to you.”

“He was lying to both of us. There’s no way you could have--”

“I should have been more cautious.” She emphasized, raising her wings. “Especially when I was receiving threat letters. I should have... I should have made you leave the city.”

“What?”

“Of course you would have been a target. It was naive of me to think that just because I was the only one getting threats that they wouldn’t go after you. You’re a scientist. You’re the one best equipped to counter them. I should have realized you’d be their number one target. When I showed you what I know I should have told you to leave.”

“No.” Donatello glared at her. “No. I told you back then that you’re my friend. I wouldn’t have just left you there to deal with that by yourself.”

“And what good did staying do? Varii kept all the suspicion off him. Investigating didn’t give us a single clue and, I assume, lead to your dart gun being discovered and stolen.” He never actually had the chance to tell her how that all happened, but it was an easy assumption to make when Varii pulled it out. “If you hadn’t been there Varii couldn’t have gotten that tech from you. His plans would have been delayed, at worst, or put to a halt at best.”

“Stop.”

She wouldn’t. She was sick of all the arguments about this. “You would have been better off staying on the surface until--”

“Stop!” Donatello shouted at her, at a volume she’d never heard before. “Stop. Just stop. I’m not--” His voice sputtered, tears forming in his eyes. “I’m not a liability.”

Holly Blue flinched, her wings going down. What? No. That wasn’t what she was trying to say.

“I’m not...” His gaze darted around before it settled on the floor, his shoulders dropping. “No, maybe you’re right. I spent all that time standing at the top of the Battle Nexus only to get taken out in a matter of minutes by a stupid eel and some stupid lightning. My tech was useless. My magic was useless. I lost Shelldon and then failed to block a single dart.”

No. That wasn’t what she meant. “Donatello.”

“But,” his gaze moved back to her, a tear finally rolling down his cheek. “Even if that’s the case, I still couldn’t have just left you there. Even if I was worthless, I couldn’t--”

“You’re not worthless.” Holly Blue snapped. “That wasn’t what I meant. It’s the exact opposite. You’re too important. You should have been somewhere safer.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Your magic.” She pointed to him. “Is the only thing that could eventually counter Varii’s. Your ability to hack tech could develop to be the perfect way to fight back. You... I should have been faster. I should have taken that hit.”

“Don’t say that!” He was shouting all over again. “As if that would have been any better.”

“If I had gone down instead, you and your siblings could have easily stopped Varii by now. Instead there’s a whole invasion happening in New York.”

“So what? You still would have been...”

“And why does that matter?”

Donatello flinched before he glared. “Because I care about you!”

Holly Blue opened her mandibles, but failed to think of something to say in response to that. In some ways the statement was so obvious, but it still took her off guard.

“I hate this.” He muttered, finally wiping at his eyes. “Why are we even arguing?”

Why were they? Because she was so desperate to take on the blame for this whole mess and Donatello wouldn’t let her? She’d call it foolish, but here she was scolding him for trying to do the same thing. Hypocritical, at the very least.

“We can’t change what happened.” His voice slipped back to his monotone. “All we can do is reconfigure and find a way to stop Varii. Does it even matter who’s fault it is? It’s his fault.” He narrowed his eyes. “He’s the one causing all of this.”

Holly Blue sighed, crossing both pairs of her arms. “You’re right.”

“And after we stop him don’t...” He kept trying to meet her gaze, only to turn away. “Please don’t kick me out for some dumb reason like trying to keep me safe. I don’t care how dangerous it is.” Finally he focused his stare on her. “I don’t want to give up the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Her wings fluttered but she forced them to go still. “Donatello, if you wanted to keep making tech for the hidden city you could easily--”

He groaned. “No. Not that. You.”

Holly Blue couldn’t disguise the confusion on her face. “I don’t...”

“Don’t act like you don’t know what I mean.” He was glaring, but his expression looked far more akin to a childish pout. “Even if I could make it selling tech down there by myself I wouldn’t want to. Working with you is what makes it fun, and I’m not giving it up. And if you kick me out I’ll just come back.”

Holly Blue sighed, her eyes squinting just a bit into a smile.

So stubborn. Just like his father.

“True, you would, wouldn’t you.” She held up her cigarette holder, tapping it against her mandibles. “I can picture you now, trying to climb through one of the windows like a cockroach.”

He made a disgusted face at her. “Is that supposed to be a joke?”

“Yes, perhaps I have bad timing.” She reached out to pat him on the head, but went still when she remembered he wasn’t wearing her mask. Maybe she should go for his shoulder instead?

Didn’t matter. To her surprise, Donatello reached up to grab her hovering hand and press it to his cheek. His eyes squinted shut, clearly not enjoying the sensation, but he refused to let go.

“Donatello, you don’t have to--”

“It’s fine.”

“I know the sensation bothers you.”

“So what if it does?” He opened one eye to look at her. “Sometimes there’s more important things.”

Her wings fluttered again as she hummed. “It’s appreciated, but don’t overdo it.”

At least he listened to that, letting go of her hand so she could pull it back. She watched him rub his face a few times with both hands.

“Where is your mask?” She asked. “You look so strange without your father’s eyebrows.”

His eyes went wide. “Huh?”

“Am I wrong? The ones you draw on your mask look so much like Lou Jitsu’s.”

“I mean, they were inspired by him.” His voice shifted to a mumble. “But I didn’t think it was that recognizable.”

“To be fair, he’s one of the few humans I interacted with, so I don’t have a lot of reference material.” She considered it a bad idea, but still reached out to tap him on the nose. “Just one of your many shared traits I suppose.”

“Shared what now?” He narrowed his eyes at her. “I’m nothing like my dad.”

Holly Blue snorted before covering her mouth and smothering her laughter. “You think so?”

“What possible shared traits?”

“You should go find your mask.”

“Holly...”

“Go on.”

“No. No no no.” He kept holding the blanket as he waved his arms up and down, making it flap like a pair of wings. “You are not escaping this conversation.”

She couldn’t manage to hide her laughter this time. Once again, she wished she had the ability to cry, even if this time it was for more of a joyful reason.

She was so glad to have him back.

[bluevaractyl]

you write!!!

Ah! Yeah, sort of! I've been writing since I was ten, actually, but I have never finished anything. For a long time I decided that every good idea had already been written and there was nothing more I could possibly contribute. Then my little sister found my old notebooks and decided to pick up where I'd left off, and I decided maybe it was okay if it wasn't original, because it was fun.

Discovering this site really changed my whole perspective by letting me see how fanfic gets written. Before, all I encountered were fantastic finished works and works that appeared abandoned, never to be completed to a satisfactory end. I dreaded the second and took the first for granted. Now, I've seen authors and creators release their in-progress works into the world, muse and agonize over the direction a story should take next, seek feedback and explore possibilities together, apologize for the wait and share pieces of their own lives, and laugh and cry on each other's virtual shoulders. I've learned to love the journey. It doesn't bother me that many of the new worlds I've been introduced to on here may never be marked "complete" because the characters have become like old friends, and every little snippet, however out of order, a hint of their lives. It's strange and unexpected and wonderful.

Paradoxically, this has also given me renewed desire to turn my assortment of out of order snippets and contradictory notes into something coherent and shareable. My original work doesn't have the main benefit of fanfic: you don't know my characters or my world, yet, and you haven't decided yet whether you like them. But I have grown to love them, and I want to be able to share them someday, and maybe make the world a little brighter while I'm at it.

I also want to try fanfic again. I think my last (and probably first, too) attempt was seven years ago, and I gave up the second I realized I was unconsciously borrowing someone else's plot. But now I really want to write the Linked Universe boys. The main barriers: college, and the fact that I don't own a single Zelda game😅 I've watched playthroughs, but I know I'm missing so many details and potential plot devices. It's an intimidating problem.

[arizonaconservativegal]

As you work in government, and think the government should be dramatically reduced, I was wondering where you think such cuts ought to start and how would you get enough people to agree with you? From where I stand, as someone who gained political consciousness in 2018(?) and has been leaning right libertarian ever since, it seems no one can agree even though we all see the same issue.

Well if I were dictator for a day, I'd eliminate the federal Department of Education because they pretty much do nothing of value.

But the real answer is that I wouldn't start by cutting any programs at all.

Sure I'm a libertarian who has a philosophical problem with pretty much every government program, and if I were building the system from the ground up, I wouldn't ever include most of what we ended up with, but since it's already there, that's not an option.

Besides, even as bloated as they are, most government offices/agencies/departments do have a handful of very necessary positions and good employees in them. They just also have an awful lot of jobs that no one would ever miss and a lot of employees who do nothing but take up space. You need to go through all of them with a fine tooth comb to figure out which ones should be kept, what can be consolidated, and what can be eliminated with no impact on services. And then you'd need to hang around long enough to figure out which individual people to keep (either in their existing roles or reassign them to more useful positions) and which ones are just dedicated to being useless.

The problem is that doing that properly takes a tremendous amount of time and you really can't leave it up to the bureaucrats within the departments. If you tell them to just cut staffing levels by a certain percentage, half of them will just go by last hired, first fired and the other half will deliberately cut critical and public facing positions to create political demand for their funding to be restored.

If I were really going to go through all that, I'd start by identifying the positions to cut and then let attrition do its thing. Useless positions do not need to be replaced when vacated. Not actually firing anyone gets you around civil service protections and if you do your targeting well, the only people who will really squawk will be union bosses upset about dwindling membership numbers. The two tricks here are a) you still have to replace the positions that are necessary and start consolidating responsibilities so you can't skip that first step of figuring out what those are and b) you cannot let politics determine which positions are cut. All services levels must be maintained, even in programs that we disagree with politically.

The next thing I would do - which would be much harder - is reform those civil service and union protections. We need to be able to fire people who do not do their jobs adequately or who are no longer needed. Right now that's pretty much impossible so instead of firing them, we shuffle them off to another position - and usually that comes with a promotion and raise so they can't claim they're being treated unfairly. Or we just hire a second person to do the job the first one won't or can't do but instead of replacing the first person with the second person, we just pay two people to do one job at the same time.

The trade I would make is to eliminate or drastically increase pay caps for high performing employees and for positions that we have trouble hiring/retaining qualified employees. Too often we lose highly effective employees because the only thing we can do to reward them is to promote them out of their area of skill. And we simply cannot hire a talented lawyer or tech worker for $75k when they could be making two or three or ten times that in the private sector. Sorry, I know no one wants to pay government employees more but when we have a team of ten shitty employees getting paid $50k each, that's a lot more expensive than getting one good one who will actually do the job for $200k.

(If I could, I'd also put new employees on a 401k style retirement plan - I'd even offer a very generous match - and never put them in the pension system. It would save us a ton of money and frankly, those employees would be better off in the long run for having control of their retirement funds. But that's a separate issue and possibly a bigger hurdle than cutting jobs.)

Only when all that was done, and after several years had gone by so the public would see that the reductions in workforce really didn't hamper the service they received, that's when I'd think about starting to cut actual programs.

And then I would start with the Department of Education.

[plumawolf]

The Fallout Who Regenerated mod adds so much more to the story of Fallout 4 than I first thought.

For context, I haven’t played much of the game myself. I dabbled in it a bit a few years ago, didn’t progress all that much, but I know the story because of playthrough and general curiosity. But recently I’ve had major Doctor Who brainrot again, and only just found out about Fallout Who Regenerated. I thought “A mod for a game I already have where you can repair and fly your own TARDIS? Sign me the fuck up!”

Yes, flying the TARDIS is cool. The new Doctor Who themed tracks added are just *chef's kiss.* Go look them up on youtube.

But holy shit.

The premise of this game is already so angsty. But here’s a bit of how I imagine my character’s experience from her pov went when I started a new game with the mod installed. Beware: this part is long and will contain spoilers for both Fallout 4 and Fallout Who Regenerated.

My husband has been murdered, my son kidnapped. I’ve been frozen for who knows how long. I get out of the vault, desperate to see my baby again. Right away, I see Codsworth, still trying to clean a house that’s been abandoned for what he tells me has been two centuries, and he gives me a holodisk from my husband. I don’t listen to it immediately. I'm too desperate to find at least one other person in this desolate hellscape. But I pop it into my Pip-Boy anyway, for later.

I find a stray dog, the first friendly face I've seen in this place that isn't made of metal. I find the Minutemen not long after when I follow the sound of gunshots. I help them out with the raiders, defend against the Deathclaw attracted by the gunfire. The old lady with them says she’s psychic and that my son is alive, and I’ve never been much of a believer in that kind of thing, but I’ll take anything at this point. We all head back to Sanctuary, a not-so-merry band of survivors armed only with pistols and a rifle scraped together out of junk.

We arrive back at Sanctuary and set up camp. It's not much, but the little life returning to my old neighborhood gives me some comfort. I am not alone.

I'm cleaning out the root cellar of another wrecked house, searching for anything that could be scrapped and repurposed, because we still need a way to purify water. And that is when I hear it. Whispers, in a language that I don't understand, but I get such a familiar feeling. Something compels me to look down at the shelf I just searched, really look at it. And there, glinting in the dim lamplight, is a golden pocket watch, and a silver key.

Curiosity overwhelms me. The key looks rather unassuming, but the pocket watch is decorated with many circular designs, overlapping and intertwining in intricate patterns. It feels familiar in my hand, and is surprisingly warm to the touch. The whispers grow louder, and it's almost as if they're inside my mind itself...

The moment I open the pocket watch, it's as if I'd been looking through a pinhole my entire life, but someone has just ripped it wide open. And I remember everything.

I am a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey, in the constellation of Kasterborous. I came to this planet to hide, hide so well that I would forget my true identity. It takes a few moments to recover from the sheer flood of memories and information, but when I am, it's like I've been reborn. And the first thing I must do is find my TARDIS.

It's not hard to hook up the TARDIS key to my Pip-Boy so I can create a homing signal to its location. Anticipation clogs my throat, my hearts beat faster as the signal gets stronger. I rush past the other settlers, ignoring their worry and questions. And I see it. I see it.

The Chameleon Circuit is completely busted, judging by the exterior, which has reverted to the generic silver cylinder shape. But when I open the door for the first time in centuries, I can feel her in my mind. She hums, pleased to see me again after so long. As I check on her systems and assess the damage (and there is quite a lot), I find myself smiling again. In fact, as I step into the TARDIS depths to look for the instruction and repair manuals (I always lose the damned things... an infinite ship with infinite possibilities, but I'd never thought to use any filing cabinets...), I feel almost giddy. I trail my hands along the walls, passing by rooms I haven't visited in years.

Finally, I reach the library. It's much more bare than it used to be - the TARDIS had to clear quite a lot of space to preserve her systems while I was away, mostly due to the damage she sustained upon landing. When I approach the writing desk in the middle of the room, I see that the TARDIS has already taken the liberty of presenting the instruction manual, in holodisk form for my convenience. I smile and thank her for it. She hums jovially in return.

However, when I open my Pip-Boy, there is already a holodisk inside. My stomach sinks when I remember that it is the one that Nate, my human self's husband, intended to give to me. Against my better judgement, I play it. When it is over, Nate's "We love you" and the last of Shaun's gurgles leave me feeling hollow. I feel the vastness of the TARDIS. Vast, but so very, very empty.

Even after I repair my TARDIS, I cannot leave. I will not, not yet. Because even though I am my true self again, that human version of me still grieves so deeply for her murdered husband, and cares so fiercely for the son that she lost. Even though I am not his mother anymore, I still feel the love that she felt for him. I cannot run away from this. I must find Shaun again.

[uglytheater]

I'm very curious to know more about Telly and his knowledge and the depression that stems from it, in whatever form things may take!

So a little tl;dr regarding this: Back in 'pre-history' the roster of active characters (in Telly's Universe) was being shuffled around a lot in the form of 'mass extinctions', but the only one who stayed around since the beginning was Telly.

Now in what we would consider 'modern times', another mass extinction event has occurred, one that wiped out every single living being in Telly's universe...except for him of course.

As mentioned before, Caido disappeared, he left, abandoned his post for a good long while (which has to do with the 'rot' that's happening now), which left room for someone else to take his place. This someone else is the Mad King (who...boy howdy...is a whole other story) who has taken on the task of straightening out Caido's universes for his own reasons.

Part of the Mad King's restructuring of the First Universe (which is Telly's universe) was reawakening Telly from a stasis like state that he had entered once the First Universe fell into irrelevance (aka: stopped developing.)

The First Universe is in such a state that it would be far simpler to just destroy it all and start anew, but as the First Universe, its existence is vital to everything else (other Universes, Caido, the Others, the Nth Dimension itself...etc.) so it must be restored. This is tricky business, as the entire thing is so unstable any attempts to restabilize it could easily come undone at any moment.

This is where Telly comes in. Telly, across all timelines that happened in that Universe, was the lone survivor of and witness to most of history. His existence and knowledge has a solid explanation. If the Mad King simply created a new entity like Telly, it would be another point of instability that could risk his efforts to restore the First Universe, as that entity would not have as solid of an existence as Telly has. Telly is established, Telly is consistent...and was among one of the few entities in the First Universe with a good head on his (non-existent) shoulders. That's why it had to be Telly, and that's why he's been given a new role by the Mad King: Lead the protagonist towards the right path. The path that will reveal the true ending of the First Universe once and for all.

But as I said before...Telly has been the lone survivor of many horrible events. He's been uprooted from comfort and consistency time and time again. Now, everyone and everything he knew is gone, and he faces an uncertain future where he may as well just have to continue going through that horrible cycle all over again, surrounded by doppelgangers of entities that were his enemies, and knowing that he'll never see the people he considered friends ever again...all against his will, and all because a bunch of beings who are supposed to be 'gods' couldn't get their act together.

To top it all off, he's still a TV! He was supposed to regain his body. He was a man before...he thinks...he's sure...almost positive...wasn't he?