#was DEFINITELY the OMG BLOOD!!!! factor

[dhmis-autism]

happy night fellas!

anyways rewatching and i am continually haunted by the visual of Ducks corpse lying on the kitchen floor, his head crushed by a TV and the footage on TV being of him waving at the camera.

Which is not a thing I think he’s done? I’ve tried to line it up with other similar shots and either I am stupid (very possible) or he straight up does not do this from what we see in the show and THAT SPOOKS ME OUT FOR REAL.

[erinwantstowrite]

Let me just quickly say, cross-overs can sometimes get REALLY difficult to map out and write in a cohesive way but you have absolutely NAILED IT!! I absolutely ADORE LoF!!! I usually don’t even bother reading fics with the ‘Richard Grayson is Richard Parker’ premise cause I felt like they were super confusing and overcomplicated but this fic?? SUPERB. ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. OH MY GOD I ADORE IT. Everyone’s characterizations are so nice and wonderful aaaaaaah!!!! <33333

Ok ok I did actually have a question as well: would you be willing to share what your writing process looks like in terms of a chapter you’ve already posted? I was just wondering since I’m also currently working on my own fic (it’s been a few years but I managed to get fixated on an idea and it grew legs lol) and I’m currently fighting the organization of it haha.

How do you keep track of the plot points and/or foreshadowing you want to get a ‘lightbulb!’ moment for later? Do you have any tips?

Thank you so much! I absolutely adore your writing AND your art is so gorgeous omg it adds so much to the incredible story :DDD I hope you have a good day!!

I have a secret: I actually didn't like "Richard Grayson is Richard Parker' tag for a while for the same reason. Sometimes they felt like they missed the mark or it's just. A thing that's there? I almost didn't include it for LoF, but I'm glad I did because it changed the direction in such a big way.

Another secret: this made me incredibly happy because I have read so many wikis and scoured the internet to make sure that I had enough info on both fandoms so LoF could make sense to anyone who's reading it, whether they know Spider-Man, Batfam, or neither at all. Sometimes I worry a lot before I post that I'll miss a mark and will confuse people.

As for the question: I definitely am willing to share what my writing process looks like!

Be prepared for under the cut, I love to yap. It's in my blood to yap. And that's why it took a minute to get to this ask haha

(Spoilers for Leap of Faith!! Everything mentioned has already been published ((Chapters 1-11))

I had to go and find out which chapter I wanted to use as an example and I think we're gonna go with Chapter 5 for the most part :)

My writing process is, as described by alighterwood:

I think the description fits because while I'm all over the place, I have to be very detail oriented and I store everything in one spot.

Starting with the overall process, what I find is most helpful for me, when organizing, is having a notebook rather than doing it all digitally. I've been using a 70 sheet notebook that I had lying around waiting to be used, and as of yesterday, I officially filled the entire thing front to back. It's been an incredible help, for a lot of reasons, but mostly because it's a lot easier to remember something I physically wrote down than it is to remember something I typed. I'm now on to my second notebook for LoF, and I might even have to get a third.

In another ask, startupkat asked me this:

And I shared a little about my outline process there, but I'll try to go into a little more depth here. Emphasis on little because this is so long.

I write a truly insane amount of outlines in this notebook.

This is just what I can show you, but a good chunk of the notebook is just outlines. Over and over and over again. That's because they're always changing/adapting based on so many different factors. Sometimes I get to a chapter I thought I had fully planned out and then realize it just doesn't work anymore. Other times, I get to the chapter and realize I don't want to write that anymore/isn't as interesting as I thought it would be. A few times I got halfway through a POV of a scene I was struggling on and decided to switch POV's, which will change up the outline for a chapter every now and then.

Which is why I don't write incredibly detailed outlines and try to keep it vague until I actually get to that chapter. It's a lot less daunting to rewrite a chapter outline than it is to rewrite the entire outline.

Fic outlines and Chapter outlines look a lot alike.

This is what I said in the other ask, but I didn't elaborate on it all the way.

I make a list just like that, and then I try to put it in chronological order/in an order that makes sense. I keep the Fic outline vague by writing down "Goals" for a chapter rather than scenes. But I also keep notes to myself if I really think something is important. The more important I think a scene needs to be, the more details I write down to make sure my future self recalls what I had in mind when I thought it up.

Really simple example:

Chap 1 Goal: Peter gets to Gotham and meets Babs while running around. Meet Nightwing too? Get shelter.

Chapter 2 Goal: Bats are like "???" about Peter. Batfam dynamic important... Peter stalking Batfam back? Peter meet Batman >:)

When I get to a chapter, that's when I make a far more detailed list of wants/needs/goals. It's the Step 2 from the Step 1. Here are some examples from Chapter 5:

Needed to have:

More POV's from universe 1299 (Peter's home universe)

Tony's POV more specifically, how he's doing/feeling, what he's figured out

What they've figured out on 1299 side vs what's going on in 1300 (Gotham)

Explaining more about Peter's trauma/his past

Dick learning more about Peter, and vise versa

Wanted to have:

Ned being a more central character

Natasha :)

Loki being a little shit

Tony and Cap bickering

Peter talking to Nightwing again

The last name Grayson

Gymnastics!!

(This is the shortened list, because the chapters are so long)

When I looked at this list before writing my outline, I had to figure out how I could incorporate everything. If I needed more 1299 POV's, and I wanted Ned, Natasha, and Loki, there's one scene accounted for. I had to get their side of things and wanted that trio together. I needed a Tony POV, and I wanted Tony and Cap bickering, so those went together, plus I got 1299's POV of Ohnn and his plans explained.

I needed to have Peter explaining more about his trauma, and Dick and Peter to talk/get closer. I wanted a Nightwing POV, to have Peter say his last name, and them doing gymnastics. I knew Peter wouldn't willingly talk about that, so I had him have a nightmare. Not only did it give readers perspective but it made Peter more susceptible to talking to Nightwing because he was more emotionally vulnerable/lonely, and that's how that scene came together.

That's when I would write down the chronological order of these events by writing out "Scene Blocks." (This is what I wrote down but my handwriting was so bad I can't subject y'all to it):

scene 1- Ned talking to Loki. Natasha should be nearby and observing Loki's behavior. They are not on friendly terms. Ned is more worried about Peter than he is as to what Loki could be up to, so Natasha takes on that role.

scene 2- Tony is freaking out about Peter being in an alt dimension. He should attack Ohnn when he's not prepared for it. Beat his ass? Beat his ass. Cap there too.

scene 3- Peter's nightmare. "Ben, where do you go when you die?" "Where do you think?" "With you. Where you went."

scene 4- Nightwing and Peter.

Of course, things come to attention when writing. Like originally, Tony and Cap were arguing in the Tower. But it was a little too much like his and Natasha's argument, and I kept in mind that Tony is smart. Sometimes I forget that the characters are smarter than I am, so I have to account for what they would figure out. So Tony would have picked up the puzzle pieces and come to more conclusions than I originally thought about, and I figured he'd be way more proactive about it than just. Being in the Tower and waiting.

Which means that that scene ended up being as listed above: having a squabble with Cap, learning more about Peter's dynamic with the Avengers in this universe, and seeing how Tony is reacting to it by throwing himself head first into trying to capture Ohnn.

I'll realize I need something else to be mentioned or put in and I'll have to shimmy things around, but that's basically how it goes.

As for other forms of organization:

Keeping a timeline is so important because it tells you a lot about the environment your characters are in. It's also important to remember what a character has on them, what money they've spent, who they've met/who you have mentioned, every alias that is being used, to read your work and write down edits you want to make before you make them, to write down ideas beforehand of situations you can use, and, most importantly: MAKE A MAP!! This has saved me so many times. Sometimes your brain WILL trick you or make it harder on you to envision a scene. Make a map of where your characters are physically!! It will save you too!!

As for foreshadowing and plot points, I'll let you in on yet another secret:

Your subconscious is doing a lot more than you think it is.

Sometimes when I foreshadow something, I didn't even know I was until I got to it. I very often go back to read chapters that came before this to see what I've mentioned and what I haven't, and when I do, I'll see something and go "I have to bring this back" or "I almost forgot about that!"

Other times, I am very aware of what I'm foreshadowing, and that's because I follow a mystery plot formula. You have to keep in mind everyone's intentions, all the time. How are they feeling? What are their motivations? And: what are they doing right now, while this character is doing this?

Like Beck and Ohnn. From the very beginning, I knew I had to make sure that it was obvious Ohnn wasn't working alone. From there, I had to weave through the story and slowly build him up as someone who's working behind the scenes. Even from Ned's first POV, I made sure to mention that this person knows Tony and is tech savvy.

My biggest tip is to make sure you reread your work or at least skip through it, because sometimes you don't even know that you placed something there.

And sometimes, it's very purposeful. :)

I hope this helped! I really tried to keep it short but I am insane and the process is sooooo long. It sounds complicated but it really is simple when you're actually doing it I swear

[merakiui]

Just finished PYM and im foaming at the mouth wanting to know what Professor darling was thinking in the aftermath 😭 Like her favorite student murdered another student she was seeing discreetly on the side because of her (the dramaaaaa). Such a good read we are so back

WE ARE SO BACK INDEED (with another semi-W but also definitely an L) FOR RIDDLE!!!! 🎉 hehe thank you for reading!!!!

Omg wouldn’t it be so ironic if, years later, Riddle’s case is the subject for a true crime podcast episode!!! T_T but in the current day I can only imagine the shock and the horror from professor darling, perhaps even more so when they dig up his diary entries and eventually release them to the public and now you’re just shocked. You had no idea he felt so strongly about you. You keep repeating the phrase “promising young man” because Riddle is the embodiment of one, yet he murdered another student in cold, angry blood.

And maybe it was for no reason. Maybe you weren’t in a secret relationship with your student. Or maybe you were. :) there are so many ways it could go depending on that factor!!!

As for Riddle and Azul, their paths are very much linear. ^^;;; Azul’s in the grave and Riddle’s on his way to a lengthy trial (and then prison).

[another-lost-mc]

karasu is on the borrowing clothes side of the spectrum ?! omg that is so cute i'm actually gna cry is it bcs of his crow tendencies? does it have anything to do with nesting or something similar? <33

scent marking + nesting

featuring: azra, karasu, zekhan (others very briefly mentioned)

cw: nsfw/mdni content is below the read more. includes scenting as a possessive/mating behaviour; sharing/borrowing clothes and sharing a bed; references to non-explicit sexual activity (masturbation, cum marking/eating; tw: slightly dubious behaviour and blood mentioned briefly mentioned).

a/n: the nsfw behaviours described are slightly darker and more indulgent. they may appear in headcanons or one-shot fics for them but won't be present/prominent in their "official" canon stories.

Being a crow is definitely part of it! It drives a lot of Karasu's impulses to give MC things and he's honoured if MC gives him things too. His nest used to be bland, cold and almost sterile, but over time it slowly fills with more colourful items and luxurious fabrics and comfortable furniture.

In terms of general world building, scent is important for all the other demons too (or that's how I like to write them).

Karasu and Zee are more attuned to scenting behaviour because they’re “born” demons with animalistic demon forms. (Demons like Diavolo, Barbatos and Mephisto would fall into this category as well.)

Azra and the demon brothers use scenting behaviors too, but for fallen angels the instinct and urges are usually less intense. (Satan is an exception due to his unique circumstances, his are quite strong compared to his brothers.)

There’s a bit of nuance to show the subtle differences between them when it comes to borrowing/sharing clothes with MC as a way of sharing their scents:

Azra and Zee want you to smell like them. They lend you their clothes or scent you somehow whenever they see you. They also want their clothes and bed/linens to smell like you.

Karasu technically borrows your clothes but he also doesn't want to inconvenience you. He buys you some oversized shirts or sweaters or pajamas to wear at the nest. When you’re not there, he wears them himself until the smell fades away.

Nesting is a factor too. All three are very protective of their homes and they don't like visitors. Karasu has the strongest nesting urges. He fills his nest with things you like and the gifts you give him. He buys things for your room at the House of Lamentation and leaves his feathers there. Azra and Zee are both motivated to make their homes comfortable and safe for you to stay (because in a perfect world you'd never want to leave).

Speaking of scenting and marking...(nsfw portion below)

All three of them want to mark you with their cum—inside if you'll let them, but your skin and clothes are perfectly fine alternatives.

Your scent also helps them get off if they're a bit desperate or lonely without you.

Azra is the most "tame" of the three. He's content to lay on your side of the bed and breathe deep while he jerks himself off.

Karasu is a bit more needy. He'll put your clothing on his pillow and bury his face in it while he ruts against his mattress. He'll hold something up to his nose (or just drape it over his face) if he's on his side or back.

Zee is similar to Karasu, but he has a higher predatory instinct. Sometimes he has the extra impulse to lick or suck on fabric that might be freshly stained with your slick or cum or blood.

(They might do these things privately in early stages of your relationship, but they'll stop if you don't want them to continue doing so once you're in a relationship. They'd rather fuck you than jerk off alone anyway.)

read more: oc masterlist

[destinygoldenstar]

☀️Everyone In The Final Four Has Cold Blood☀️ - Total Drama Viewer Reacts to Disventure Camp Season 1 Episode 12 “Trials & Trip-ulations ”

Heyo!

Y'all probably thought I dropped the show after last episode.

No. I was just busy with life. That's why this took awhile to come out.

Final Four. Home Stretch.

I think I only like one of the four. XD

But that's usually how it is with Total Drama. That's why I'm never really bothered with none of my favs being here. The only time I was actually bothered with it was in Total Drama Action, but like, the reason there was because Harold and Lindsay genuinely would've made for well written finalists, while all the other options were ASS. Beth was a very unlikeable floater who did nothing all season, Courtney was a ruthless villain so it was obvious she wouldn't win, Owen was a finalist last season and was only there to be a mole, and Duncan was... well, Duncan. I like Duncan as a character, but not as a finalist. At least with how it was handled in that season.

So I fully expect the villains of these things to make it far, and the messy characters to make it far because... it's Total DRAMA. It's not Total FRIENDSHIP. This ain't My Little Pony.

I CAME HERE FOR DRAMA, DAMMIT.

As long as I can understand what the writers are going for with their Final Fours, I don't really care about Elimination Order. That's not a factor of 'bad writing', at least for me. I only hate it when it's blatantly obvious the writers didn't know what they were doing with their choices.

I don't think that's the case here. I called Ellie. I called Fiore. I predicted that. Alec and Miriam are a SHOCK. I thought Alec was gonna be an early boot. And Miriam completely went under my radar. But I DEFINITELY do not hate that she's still here.

So yeah, I think Elimination Order is a pretty overrated criticism for Total Drama. That’s just my opinion.

So yeah... let's see what happens in this Penultimate Episode.

WAIT.

OMG.

LOOK.

THERE'S A HEART CARVING ON THE WALL❤️😭

Guys.

Guys.

Episode 10 is not canon. Okay? That was some leftover recycled content from the Beta that OddNations accidentally put in that playlist. That's Beta content. The remake is canon. That episode is not canon. It is not official. Tom and Jake are FINE. They're FINE. THEY WORKED THINGS OUT. THEY'RE OKAY. THEY'RE HAPPY TOGETHER AND WORKING THROUGH THEIR ISSUES TOGETHER. NOTHING HAPPENED BETWEEN THEM. THEY'RE AT THE MOTEL RIGHT NOW CUDDLING AND BEING HAPPY AND ORDERING CHINESE FOOD.

THEY ARE FINE. NOTHING HAPPENED. ALRIGHT?!?!?!?!

Goddammit, they're not even here anymore. What am I even saying?

But I swear to god, whether it's this season or Season 3. It better end with Jake and Tom getting that Chinese Date.

I will FLIP OUT if that's actually what happens.

"Is it food?"

"No, better, it's letters from home!"

"Oh. Eh."

XD

Honestly, I'm not surprised she had that reaction.

Whoever Fiore's parents are, um... they should be in jail. That's all I'll say.

MIRIAM IS A CAT PERSON?!

10/10. Best character. She better win.

Its probably not plausible, but you know, I can hope.

Oh...

Oh that's sad...

Her son has a pride pin. Wow. No wonder her and Jake got along.

"I got a letter from my dad saying how proud he is. And... three unpaid bills. If my father's letter didn't motivate me to win, this definitely will."

GIRL.

You ALMOST make me feel bad for you.

ALMOST. I'm still mad about the death threat you gave Jake.

"Wow. You're faster than I thought."

"I mostly skimmed it. Don't act like you don't do it too when you find a book boring."

Damn.

Her family life is THAT bad.

"You really hate them, don't you?"

"No, I'm just not interested. I'm sure it's from my parents, blaming themselves for my behaviors like there's really something wrong with me. Anyway, I don't care. In a few days I'll be a millionaire and I'll have several slaves to do whatever I want."

UM-

Um... I don't want to be THAT person Fiore, but...

There IS something wrong with you.

I'm sorry, but age doesn't convince me of anything. You are an awful, psychopathic human being, and you should be put behind bars.

"She opened her feelings about us... it turns out that maybe, by trying so many times to stay together, I've only been hurting her."

"I hate to say I told you so."

I mean that was always gonna happen, right?

I mean Alec isn't a character that interests ME personally, and that's a complete me thing. But from what we've heard, he MIGHT be a shit family guy.

Not as bad as Peter Griffin, but you know what I mean.

"Regardless of whether I win or not, I'll move when I get back. Away from my wife. I now realize that the love in our marriage was lost a long time ago."

That's probably a good idea.

I mean, I'm a lot younger than this man. I'm not married. And my current relationship is actually WONDERFUL THANK YOU VERY MUCH. So, I can't really comment on this cause I can't relate to it.

Good for him though... I guess...

"You know, if you want to pay those bills, we have to vote Alec out."

THANK YOU.

HOW MANY EPISODES DID THAT TAKE FOR YOU TO REALIZE THAT ALEC CAN'T BE TRUSTED?!

"Don't worry, no matter what, I'm not voting for you tonight."

That's gotta be a lie.

Miriam, you gotta avenge Tom and Jake. You can't spare her.

"We can try to flip Fiore to our side."

HOW 'BOUT NO?!

I JUST REALIZED MIRIAM'S THE ONLY TEAL TEAM CHARACTER LEFT.

The Merge started with, what, FIVE of them, and now in the Final Four there's only ONE?! THAT'S CRAZY

I mean Ellie swapped to Teal that one episode, but you know what I mean. She originated from Purple, so whether or not she counts is debatable.

"Today's challenge will be played in pairs."

Oh how lovely.

Miriam is screwed.

"The teams will be random."

Oh boy. Here we go.

WELL DAMN. MIRIAM IS SCREWED.

Goodbye to all the nice characters. Nice knowing all of ya.

A villain is winning this season.

"I'm stuck working with Alec... again."

At least you're FORCED to this time. I can accept that.

"You guys gotta cliff dive into the area below!"

TOTAL DRAMA REFERENCE.

THE MOST ICONIC FIRST CHALLENGE OF THAT SHOW EVER.

*Gets a... suggestive ad*

Okay. YouTube. Why? I-I can't even talk about that without getting flagged. Stop it.

An ad like that is allowed on YouTube, and yet people get demonetized for saying the F word.

Aaaaaaaannnnnnddd you both are gonna feel that in the morning.

Not as bad as what happened to Harold though.

AIN'T NO WAY

OH MY GOD

AIN'T NO WAY

That's awesome.

10/10 reference. Love that.

Oh come on Miriam. I thought you had good aim.

Imagine if there were sharks here like in the Total Drama one.

"This is the only time in my life I will gladly commit child murder."

I DID give Miriam slay pass, so you know, she's just using it.

Blame ME for the child abuse in this episode. I'm the one who gave her the slay pass.

Technically I gave it to Jake, but he's not here anymore and HE gave it to Miriam, so...

"UGH, how I hate that *BLEEP*"

Oh god...

I WILL say, the swearing is inconsistent in this show.

In Total Drama, ALL swearing is censored.

With the exception of the 'uncensored' version of the show, the version I watch, where they can say 'shut up' or 'crap' or 'boobies', which I would argue are not even that bad. ALL severe swearing of Total Drama is censored.

In this show, it's NOT all censored. They've said stuff like 'asshole' 'shit' 'goddamn' 'bitch' and even 'fuck' a couple times. Very casually mind you. And like, anyone who's been in middle school can get used to that language so it doesn't mind me. (I actually don't use that language out loud in real life, it's just text that I have no problem using it.) But then you have Grett's F bomb censored in her elimination, and you have this being censored.

I get it, YouTube, pain in the ass regulations. But it's because of that a moment like this does not hit NEARLY as hard as, say, Lindsay cussing out Heather.

Yes her swearing is censored, but that's also what makes it catch you off guard, it's funnier, and it's EASILY one of the most iconic moments of the entire show.

I'm just saying, if you're gonna swear, SWEAR.

If you're not gonna swear, at least make the censorship consistent.

(Digital Circus is a WONDERFUL example of how to do this right)

OH GOD THAT WAS A HEAD SLAM

I want to say I feel bad for the six year old getting abused, but...

I don't.

"I'm not saying I called it, but Trevor, you owe me five dollars."

That's ANOTHER Total Drama reference.

In their penultimate episode of the first season, Chris and Chef made a bet on who would barf first from the dares the campers were doing.

That's a smaller detail people probably don't remember. But I DID.

I'm not a Total Drama expert. I don't know everything about this show. BUT. I DARE YOU to tell me with a straight face, brutally honest, that you legit found THIS reference to TD on your first viewing of this episode.

YOU PROBABLY DIDN'T.

I AM AN ACE AT THE TOTAL DRAMA KNOWLEDGE TEST.

YES I AM CURRENTLY BRAGGING, WHAT'RE YOU GONNA DO ABOUT IT?!

*Patreons*

We're not even halfway through the episode, holy shit we are in for it with this one.

Oh the cafeteria is built! Wow!

They're definitely using this in Season 2.

(You guys want me to watch Season 2? Cause I can do that)

"Do you think she could be persuaded?"

Uh, how do I put that? You betrayed her, say, THREE TIMES?

That's a no.

"Of course. It'd be easier to beat a little girl like you than Miriam in the finale."

"TCH. THANKS DUDE. THAT REALLY MAKES ME FEEL GOOD ABOUT MYSELF."

Fiore, you're worse than an old lady, how does that feel?

"Ellie, you have to stop winning these challenges."

"Uh... thanks, I'll just throw I guess."

"If you win, you'll go straight to the final with Alec. Think about your chances of winning against him versus with me or Fiore."

Yeah, that's a really good point...

Miriam's still gonna beat your ass in the finale, but still.

She's gonna slay Ellie SO HARD and it's gonna be SO EMBARASSING.

"I don't think she wants to go to the final with Alec knowing that she will lose."

Yeah.

I'm telling you, Fiore does not give a SHIT about Alec. She'll ditch him in a heartbeat.

I say that like I didn't see last episode...

Maybe she does care. But she'll still ditch him.

"I promise."

*Oreo ad*

I guess they're sharing Oreos with this promise.

W-what?

What am I watching right now??

"No Trevor that's not dancing you're having a seizure."

XD

"But dancing is a great way to relieve some stress and to have some fun, according to my horoscope it's the best way to express your feelings!"

Honestly, facts, as someone who uses Just Dance to workout.

That won Trevor some points for me.

"We spent years trying to have our own reality show and now our dream is finally a-a reality haha, see what I did there?"

Is this trying to make me care about these hosts?

It's too little too late, but I'll take it.

"No more wildlife so we can film in different areas without the activists getting all up in a bunch."

YOU ARE MURDERERS. I DO NOT FORGIVE YOU.

Even CHIRS MCLEAN, THE FATHER OF ALL SOCIOPATHIC HOSTS, ISN'T A MURDERER.

Though he has attempted multiple times.

"Dude, we've already lost three cameramen to the grizzly bears alone."

Is there REALLY no other solution to your problem?

FENCES? ZOOS? Anything??

"WE don't need to do it. Jensen will."

OH THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE.

Oh fire making. That's a Survivor thing, right?

I'm surprised Total Drama didn't do this.

I guess this sabotage is allowed. Okay.

I've seen worse cases in Total Drama, I guess.

Fiore just keeps getting SLAMMED.

And I do not feel bad for her AT ALL.

SHE JUST THROWS THE CHILD XD

Miriam, you are AWESOME.

"That hurt!"

"We won!"

Miriam is cold blooded, OMG

EVERYONE in this Final Four is cold blooded.

Oh it's that sound effect...

Should I put the 'Keep Reading' label here then????

I'm gonna do it.

"You and I can also work together to become the final two after that."

GODDAMN. MIRIAM, YOU'RE COLD.

Okay, this is DEFINATELY a Survivor thing.

"You cannot grab the top with your hands and your feet must be on the line."

Oh. Okay. I was gonna say 'just wrap your feet around the pole' but you can't do that.

"Sounds easy."

"For you, yes, cause you're small."

But she's a child, wouldn't that make her less capable of endurance than Ellie and Alec?

How are you already slipping? We just started!

I say that like I would do better. I probably wouldn't.

NO MIRIAM

"You're much lighter than me. Do you think you can last longer?"

Oh you're not slipping and trusting Ellie, are you?

You're a dumbass.

"But unfortunately, I can't have us winning this."

YOU DUMBASS.

Does Ellie have my forgiveness for this???

Um...

That's a debate. First you apologize for the death threat. THEN we'll talk.

"What if they can't agree?"

"In that case, you and Ellie would go to one last challenge to decide who gets eliminated."

Oh really?

Is that what we're gonna do?

...or is Fiore gonna ditch Alec's ass? Did I call it?

"I choose Ellie. And I won't change my mind."

Okay.

"Well... I..."

Moment of truth.

She's gonna ditch him.

"Alec... I really liked you, and that's dangerous, because feelings are for weak people."

OH.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHH.

"I vote to take Ellie to the final."

I. FUCKING. CALLED IT.

😂

GET FUCKED, ALEC!!!!! GET! FUCKED!!!!!

"But after all I've done?! I protected you this whole game! I helped you win the zombie apocalypse challenge, saved your life in the cave, covered up your plans so no one would suspect you're a PSYCHOPATH, and you STILL eliminate me?!"

THAT'S ON YOU, YOU DUMBASS.

WHY WOULD YOU TRUST HER?!?! SHE'S A PSYCHOPATH! YOU KNEW THIS. YOU SHOULD'VE SEEN IT COMING.

"Yes, thanks for all that, but I don't need you anymore."

👏😂👏

SHE DON'T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT YOU.

WHAT DID I SAY?!

Yeah, she cares about literally nobody.

She WILL ditch these guys on the bus the moment she has the chance.

And she's gonna show no remorse doing it.

And when that happens I'm gonna be HOWLING.

WELL HERE I AM.

SHE DITCHED HIM, NO REMORSE, AND I AM HOWLING.

AWOOOOOOOOOOOO

I CALLED THIS.

"Oh come on Alec, out of everybody, you're the last one who should be talking about feeling betrayed."

GET. HIS. ASS.

"This doesn't concern you. Keep it to yourself, Ellie."

You betrayed her three times. She DOES get a right to say that!

See, THIS is a good moment of Ellie ROASTING someone who fucking DESERVES IT.

"Your parents were right about you. You are a mistake."

"Oh. I know. And I don't care. Oh, and I bet you'd know a lot about making mistakes."

AWOOOOOOOOOOOO

I do not feel bad for Alec at all. Let's be real. HE DESERVED THIS.

YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE PUT YOUR FATE IN THE HANDS OF THIS PSYCHOPATHIC CHILD. THAT IS ON YOU.

GOODBYE, SIR.

🎉FINAL THREE!!!🎉

We're really going the TD Reboot route with this, huh?

It's an ALL WOMEN finale, too! That is a TREAT.

Total Drama never had an all women finale. They had ONE finale with both finalists being boys, i.e Revenge of the Island. But NO all women finale.

Okay, that was the episode.

GOOD LORD, THAT ENDING FELT GOOD.

I'm sorry, but after FOUR eliminations with three of them being my favs and the previous two eliminations BREAKING ME and DEPRESSING ME respectively, I NEEDED THIS.

I NEEDED A BOOT THAT WAS STRAIGHT UP SATISFYING.

I don't hate Alec or anything, he's just not one of my favs. I feel like I've reacted to his scenes the least of the Merge characters.

I think my take on his is Objective vs Subjective.

Objective he's a good character with a somewhat compelling character motive of his family, and a nice dynamic with Fiore. Plus he's one of the few characters to not be so overdramatic. So I can see how that would appeal to some people. (Idk how many Alec Stans there are)

Subjectively I just don't find him as interesting as some of the others. One reason being I can't relate to his story and struggles, which is completely personal as I've never been through any of that. Second, I'm just personally more invested in characters with more emotional range to them. In Total Drama, I expect characters to be, well, full of drama. So the messier more dramatic characters catch my eye more than someone who stays away from a lot of the drama.

But I can also see how people who hate the drama would like Alec. (Why you watching Total DRAMA if you hate drama then? Not shaming, just asking)

He's a nice character. But for me, he's a dirty backstabber, he's an assistant to a psychopath, he's implied to be horrible to his family, so yeah, FUCK HIM, GOODBYE.

Next episode is the finale, so we're almost done with the season! Yay!

Ellie and Fiore, I called as finalists since the Merge.

Fiore's the villain, so of course she'd be a threat in the finale.

I would maybe have considered the idea of her being fourth like what the TD Reboot did. BUT the TD Reboot had another character that was willing to play dirty in Julia's place, and Alec's got NOTHING on Bowie, sorry not sorry. (Bowie's my favorite TD Reboot character)

Ellie, I called since the Merge. Compelling motive to want to win. She had Gwen energy. Well, Gwen energy but much dirtier with some of her tactics. Some tactics I hate, but that's subjective. I can see her winning, honestly. I said this before. She screams 'winner' energy.

Miriam is a SHOCK. I... WOW.

I never hated Miriam, but she definitely grew on me after Episode 5. I see Ellie winning but I'm personally on Miriam's side. She's just a sweet, sassy, capable, and wholesome lady with some great dynamics with other characters.

Idk why, but Miriam never screamed 'finalist' for me. She was always under my radar in terms of the thought of 'who could win this'.

BUT, I will say, I DEFINATELY DO NOT HATE THIS.

Miriam is a good finalist choice.

Anyway, idk if this will get any attention because of the Season 3 finale, but hey, I can continue these if you guys seem interested and entertained by them.

[tangledinink]

MY CHILDHOOD LOVE, WARRIOR CATS MY ONE AND ONLY

I MADE MY FIRST OC'S, SELF INSERTS, AND PERSONAS FOR THAT SERIES

WE WARRIOR'S FANS STAND TOGETHER IN OUR SEA OF BLOOD AND PILE OF BONE

oh BIG MOOD. i was obSESSED with warrior cats for AGES. like. lowkey baby's first true hyperfixation. i deVOURED those books. they were typically too expensive for my family to buy (esp coz there were SOO many of them) so every time a new one would come out i'd beg my mom to bring me to the bookstore and then i'd straight up just sit in the aisle and read the entire thing then and there.

warrior cats is definitely, like, a huge part of what truly got me into drawing/writing/storytelling. i used to dedicate hours to illustrating scenes from those books. i had four HUGE handmade posters up on my wall as a tween with each and every cat from each and every clan that i'd update as the allegiances changed in the books. i used to design 'warriorsonas' for each and every one of my classmates because i was a super normal child. warriors is how i got into roleplaying, which was definitely a huge influence on my writing-- i read in an interview when i was, like, 11 that the erins sometimes got inspiration for warrior names from roleplay sites, and i was like!!!!! omg i have to start roleplaying on roleplay sites so that one of my warrior names get into the books!!!!

(they never did lol)

but i still obSESSIVELY roleplayed online for YEARS, i'd draw all my characters and draw my friends' characters, too, and scenes from the rps. we'd all write PARAGRAPHS upon paragraphs with, like, proper grammar and everything (because at that age and in those circles, roleplaying *with actions in asteriks* and stuff was CRINGE and everyone KNEW that the LONGER you wrote the BETTER your writing was, obvs, and that was the only factor--) i spent, like, every waking moment on this massive chatroom-based site called kugyay that had, like, hundreds and thousands of users in its heyday. granted, like, most people had more than one account (so you could have a custom profile for each character, obvi) but i remember everyone freaked out when we hit more than 10,000 accounts.

i could talk about my experience with warrior cats and all my various ocs for... like.... ages. also like. this is random and won't mean anything to most people, esp coz i only posted, like, a few pages about it, but i also want y'all to know that this graphic novel that i desperately want to bring to life and do justice someday and that i've dedicated SOOO much time thinking about is... like....... 1000% inspired by/based on warrior cats lowkey. like. i am infected. forever and ever.

[alyssacat013]

I’ve now watched the first episode of Season 2 of Twin Peaks and omg that ending scene is one of the scariest things I’ve seen in a bit. I definitely feel like they’re ramping up the creep factor for this season. Like I see now why some people said this show scared them. Like so now we know for sure that the grey, long-haired man is Laura’s killer and I’m curious who this man is. Is he this “Bob” guy that James said Laura was talking about in her song or no. Like I’m assuming he’s supernatural of some kind and not entirely human or maybe not idk.

Speaking of supernatural, we’ve now got this strange tall man who’s helping Agent Cooper solve this crime. Also, the beginning scene of this season is peak comedy and stress, haha. Like the casualness of the old man and Cooper’s conversation while he’s lying there bleeding was great. I also just love how polite Cooper is even when he’s literally bleeding to death.

Also, this season we have a few new mysteries to solve like the three riddles from the tall man: the man in a smiling bag, the owls aren’t what they seem, and without chemicals he points. We already had the first one happen so we’ll see what the next two mean. Also, there seems to be something going on at the hospital with the food, like it’s poisoned or something. Also, we had the one-armed man come back where he acted weird and had a strange interaction with Lucy. Then, we have the strange vision that Laura’s cousin had of blood on the carpet and Leland’s hair seems to have have gone completely white overnight in response to him killing Jacques I guess.

Another big thing I noticed is that Donna had a huge personality change overnight and now she’s acting kinda like Laura or something. Like does this mean she’s being influenced by some outside force, does this mean that she’s going to be “Bob’s” next victim.

Also, poor Audrey is being held hostage at one-eyed jacks without anybody knowing where she is. I really hope Agent Cooper finds her note soon and comes to save her. Her praying and begging to him to come find her was so sad, and I don’t know why that tall man couldn’t have just told Cooper that Audrey needed his help instead of being vague and saying you forgot something.

Lastly, Ronette is now awake and I’m worried about her, I’m scared someone is going to try and kill her to stop her from saying what happened.

Anyway, this first episode got off to a very exciting start and I’m excited to see what comes next.

[fefuckability]

look ik polls are always gonna end up as popularity polls but SOME of y'all need to remember the question is: "who is more fuckable" not "who's the better character" frfr.

Cuz I'm reading these comments like: "omg this character may be hot but they've got no personality-" LOOK. Usually, I would 100% agree, even in a who'd you date or like, have a one night stand with, but this isn't that. It's pure, raw, hott.

I do think personality can factor in for some people. Personally, you could be the hottest mfer on the planet but if I found out you kick puppies and drink the blood of unicorns for funzies then my legs would prolly cross so tight there would be no chastity belt required

For some people tho yes, pure hottie can definitely overcome that

[salvatoreren]

Okay, now that this season is over, in fact, i'm glad it was over because I did not feel that it was a season at all, i hate that they basically did not change the opening because it seemed to portray them as lazy or whatnot. The animation always teetered to okay to oh that's not, as I mentioned the obvious and tacky animation of them running to the character, so much for building up the suspense or surprise, in a span of 13 episodes, there are only few that I actually remember, not exactly since Tenjiku is such a scarring arc but Naoto's death, Taiju's fight scene and that Shinichiro flashback scene, like that's the scenes where I was actually impressed, I basically kept skipping the episode because of how lazy and ugly they appeared.

Like, I forgot Tenjiku was supposed to be a heartwrenching arc when all I felt was disappointment, sure, that's on me, I cared about the quality much more than the fact we see the characters animated, but I just wished for proper execution, like a girl can dream and set expectations, you know? Again I don't wish for MAPPA quality animation, I want season 1's animation because that was one of the factors that skyrocketed Tokyo Revengers, why it had the fanbase it had today, the visuals, the openings and the animation was everything, visually appealing, may have been done before but it showed a promising start and that's what gets people going when they start a series or anime especially since black and white characters are coming to life.

I liked the added scenes but the unnecessary ones like again, episode 1, there was no need to take away Smiley's spotlight, since it is the arc in which he is very prominent, Takemichi will have his own spotlight but nah, just give him a win that's from the manga later on which is important because that win was supposed to build up the hype we'd feel for him as he punches Kakucho because we've seen his POV which details all his sufferings, what he went through, what had him go on. Like did they forget Takemichi actually had some wins, very important ones: Kisaki vs TakemichI?

I swear Lidensfilm lost their copy and couldn't tell Wakui or go online to read it and tried their best to remember.

And the unnecessary censorship, like sure, blood, guts but not skulls or tattoos come onnn, why did Disney + have access to this series, give it back to netflix and crunchyroll.

In all the animes I watched the third season has always been peak; MHA, Haikyuu, AOT and I've always loved and cherished them but yeah, this one definitely at the bottom of my rankings unless the upcoming seasons wish to disappoint then well, I'm just sad I won't be able to do my edits. And it didn't even feel like a season, like yes it's a continuation of season 2 so it would be stupid for me to say that but seasons in anime have their own identity? You know?

I just hope now that it's over, Lidenfilms actually slows down and takes their time for the next season especially the upcoming season because it's the BONTEN ARC and everyone loves the Bonten Arc, trust me, Lidenfilms wouldn't want to fumble this arc, this arc changed lives like seriously omg, mine included. So they better straighten the fuck up or i swear to god, i'm actually going to cry

But yeah regardless, since it's tokrev and i have a soft spot for it forever, so i did enjoy it somehow.

[hidingoutbackstage]

omg ok i tried to watch all hallows eve once bc it was the first movie to have art the clown in it and i just. could not finish it bc something about it felt very very misogynistic and uncomfortable to me 😭😭

AND YOU WERE RIGHT TO DO THAT. I HOPE YOU STOPPED BEFORE THE END OF THE FIRST SHORT FILM AND IF YOU DIDN’T THEN I REALLY REALLY REALLY HOPE YOU STOPPED BEFORE THE END OF THE FINAL SHORT FILM BECAUSE OH MY GD IF Y’ALL THOUGHT THE BIFURCATION OF A WOMAN STARTING WITH HER VAGINA WHILE SHE DANGLED COMPLETELY NAKED AND TIED UP IN THE FIRST TERRIFIER WAS BAD. DUDE.

Okay I’m gonna take a sec to gather my thought but holy fuck. This movie is so bad and it tried to make up for it in shock factor but it didn’t work AT all. You’re right about the misogyny. Jesus christ. Gimme a sec to put it all down

Okay so like I said this movie fucking SCREAMS “baby’s first feature length movie” because it rlly is just that amateur. Leone wrote, directed, and edited this movie, and it shows. The whole thing is incredibly formulaic, it feels like every slasher ever, beat by beat. I could predict literally every scare, even when moments were the “nothing happens and that’s the jumpscare” jumpscare lol. Nothing in this surprised me except the ending of the third short film and that’s just because I didn’t expect them to go as far as they did but everything else was so painfully un-special. Sound effects were overused SO much, there was a lot of blending of shots that very noticeably did not directly lead from one to the other even though that was the intention (things like characters having noticeably different body language and expressions between cuts) the framing was often off, like the shot was cropped when editing and not meant to be framed that way, nothing interesting was ever done with the camera, the score was way overplayed, and the fact that Leone just straight up put his short films, mostly unedited, right into his feature length movie just felt fucking lazy.

The writing was also atrocious. Character dialogue that was awful and not even delivered in a fun or clever way (but I mean what else to expect from Damien Leone) and actions that were just done to create creepy moments or service the plot, all feeling disingenuous. The setup for an anthology was flimsy and ridiculous. The “plot” was a jumbled mess. And so on and so forth. I didn’t like it.

Also watching this movie after watching the Terrifier movies just makes me realize how much Leone was just taking literally every Art the Clown moment from his previous work and making it feature length with the Terrifier series. Moments like Art getting kicked out of [place] for shitting on the wall and leaving in a huff only to come back and cut the guy’s head off, or sitting across from a woman in a public place and creeping her out/harassing her, stalking women in creepy corridors, tearing a woman’s face off, appearing in a man’s dreams so he’ll paint him, attacking and attempting to kill children, being immortal despite something that should’ve killed him, and VICIOUS torture against kidnapped women, it’s all just taken blatantly from this movie.

And when it comes to the misogyny, yes. Definitely. Absolutely. The first short film that the kids watch has women being harassed, kidnapped killed, tortured, and has a pregnant woman’s baby cut out of her belly and a cup placed below her…y’know, so her blood can drip into it, and then the woman who watched that happen is then raped by the devil. And somehow that first film isn’t even the worst offender, but don’t worry we’ll get to that.

Anyway, the rest all follow the slasher formula of “a woman is being chased by a man so we just see a woman in pain/peril for the majority of the runtime” and that formula itself is misogynistic (sorry I’ve been finishing up Men Women and Chain Saws lol) and it just feels very gratuitous and exploitative. I get that this subgenre of horror movies that Leone is imitating all follow that formula, but jfc don’t try to follow it THAT closely.

Also Leone is clearly a horror fan, but that means any average horror fan is sick of this nonsense. The kid’s mother is named Barbara. They’re watching Night of the Living Dead on the tv. Another character mentions how dangerous it is to babysit kids on Halloween. The little girl blatantly says that the clown being a human under the costume makes him scarier than a monster. We fucking get it, Leone, you are preaching to the choir.

Okay and the by far worst misogyny, I am not going to include an image, because I genuinely gasped out loud seeing this, so I’ll simply describe it. So the main girl who’s been getting harassed all night by Art is finally kidnapped and wakes up on some table surrounded by bloody medical equipment. Immediately I notice that she’s shirtless despite the camera not showing below her collar bone, and I start to get nervous. Finally, after a lot of teasing us, the camera shows what happened to her body. Art has cut off all four of her limbs and sewed the stumps back up, he has cut off her boobs (including the nipples) and stitched them back up, and carved the words “pig” “bitch” “slut” and “cunt” into her skin, and they’re still bleeding. Also the girl (who doesn’t have a name, the credits call her “costume designer” bc her character mentions that that’s her job) is completely naked, and yes. Her vagina is fully out. That must’ve been really important for Leone to include. For normal reasons, I’m sure. I’m sure it was just because that’s scary and no other reason

And I cannot emphasize enough, the movie is fucking BAD. Don’t watch it. It isn’t worth it even to see the origins of Art the Clown, who, speaking of, looks fucking dumb in this movie. I’ll just leave you with that

[crippleprophet]

Hi there! I found your google doc about AS and found I relate to a lot of the symptoms. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia about a year ago (after 3+ years of backpain and over a year of fatigue and widespread pain amongst a whole list of other symptoms). This diagnosis never sat right with me. All the reumatologist did was order some basic blood tests (all came back negative) and poke at my body for twenty minutes before going "you have fibromyalgia, here's a pamphlet, try reducing stress". I'm currently on the waiting list for a rehab center to "learn to live with it". I have pain all over, but it's always concentrated along my spine and in my hips. Especially the 'alternating buttocks pain' feels very specific to my experience. I guess I'm not quite qure why I'm writing this. Mostly to say thank you for making that Google doc. I'm gonna scrape together the courage to go back to my doctor. I'm also just really curious if it's weird that I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia without ever having any scans done? I don't even know if you would have an answer to this, but I saw fibro mentioned in the doc so I thought maybe you'd know. I've tried googling it, but I can't find anything. It just has always seemed really weird to me. Shouldn't doctors have ruled out more things before jumping to fibromyalgia? You don't have to reply to this, mostly just wanted to thank you for the Google doc and your blog in general <3

omg thank you so much, genuinely when people tell me my posts (especially long info ones i put a lot of work into like that) were helpful for them it makes me feel like my life has meaning, there’s a lot i can’t do because of illness but this shit is my passion & even if it’s slow going, responses like this make it so worth it <33

with the usual disclaimer that i’m just Some Guy on the internet who reads a lot and has experienced a lot of medical neglect, my understanding of fibromyalgia is:

people diagnosed with fibro are definitely experiencing real, serious symptoms

many people get misdiagnosed with fibro when doctors discriminate against them (treating it as a modern equivalent of hysteria) and/or do not perform proper testing or data interpretation to reach the real diagnosis (often, but obviously not always, small fiber neuropathy)

some people diagnosed with fibro probably do have the same condition, separate from other existing diagnoses, but the data about what’s going on is 1) very limited to begin with, 2) inaccurate due to widespread misdiagnosis, & 3) often centered on patient psychology in really ableist ways, so it’s basically useless

any doctor whose first-line response to illness, even those genuinely exacerbated by stress like most chronic illnesses, is to reduce stress is an unrealistic, unhelpful asshole who i will one day run over with my mobility scooter on a tour of fury

i think it’s ludicrous that your rheumatologist ruled out AS, especially considering AS (especially nonradiographic AS) often involves neuropathic pain and enthesitis (inflammation of the entheses, where tendons or ligaments connect to bone) sites often overlap with fibromyalgia tender points.

it is unfortunately really hard to find a rheumatologist who will diagnose a condition that is both seronegative (doesn’t show up on bloodwork) and nonradiographic (doesn’t show up on imaging), but depending on what blood tests were done you might not even know if you’re seronegative, and you don’t know if you’re nonradiographic because you haven’t had imaging. for an idea of the standard of care, after my first rheumatology appointment with similar symptoms to those you listed, i was tested for:

complete blood count (CBC) with differential/platelet

comprehensive metabolic panel

routine urinalysis

antibodies SS-A and SS-B for sjögren’s syndrome

rheumatoid factor (RF) for rheumatoid arthritis

IgG/IgA antibodies for rheumatoid arthritis

vitamin D

thyroid secreting hormone (TSH) for hypothyroidism

Smith/RNP antibodies

anti-dsDNA antibodies

antinuclear antibodies (ANA) for lupus

C-reactive protein (CRP) which can indicate inflammation

Westergren erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) which can indicate inflammation

HLA-B27

those were probably like… 6 or 7? vials of blood and a urine sample, and i had an x-ray and MRI. given that there are no disease-modifying drugs for fibromyalgia, i think it’s absolutely neglectful to diagnose anyone with fibromyalgia without ruling out all other possible options, and i think it is definitely medical neglect that you received no scans after discussing disabling back pain.

i totally understand that this may not be possible depending on your circumstances, but if it’s an option i think it could be a good idea for you to get a second opinion rather than revisit the first doctor. but that’s your call and i hope it goes well for you no matter what you end up pursuing! i’m so sorry you’re dealing with this, please let me know if there’s anything i can do to help 🖤🖤

[monstersinthecosmos]

you mentioned how many of Armand's traits have been given to Louis, but I think when I really started to give up on getting even a loose book interpretation of Armand was when I saw the first Claudia trailer. Cause if you already have one character stuck in perpetual teenagerhood, are you that motivated to introduce a 2nd one? I mean, I personally would, because I think it'd be that much funnier to see two teenagers plotting against each other in S2, but my fear is these writers will just figure they've got teen angst and identity covered, and all they need Armand for is to pop up and be a non-threatening love interest while Lestat is otherwise engaged.

I'm still not sold on the Rashid theories, mostly because no matter how ooc one gets, I'm not sure I can believe they'd position Armand as totally subservient to Louis. And I LIKE Rashid. But as Armand? No, please no.

So like. I’ve been really cautious about talking about Claudia because I’m like, mega skeptical about this character change and I don’t like it 😊

As much as I’m willing to give AMC!Claudia a chance as an individual OC, I’ve gotten some red flags about the way the team has talked about women & girls and I’m just. Like. How are you going to remove the main feminist drive of the story to replace it with potentially sexist tropes about teenage girls?

I wrote about this a while back so I won’t go deep on this right now, but I think it’s really suspicious that RJ & them don’t think aging L&L up to their 30s matters when like, they’re saying being 14 somehow is an existential crisis. Does age matter or does it not? Why do they keep commenting on girls’ hormones? Do these vampires even HAVE hormones?! Bro she’s dead lol. I mean I guess they have sex now so whatever it’s a whole new world.

But like the thing about VC characters is that their age has more to do with their relationship to humanity imo; we’ve talked in circles about whether or not the Blood fixes your brain where it is and I think that’s a really cool conversation to have but there’s not a definitive answer bc Anne wasn’t writing with it in mind. Their life experiences are more significant than their brains.

Like, Armand has never been a teen angst figure. Even when I first read them as a teen I wasn’t like OMG HE’S LIKE ME.  VC isn’t a coming of age story and isn’t YA. Armand is 500 years old lmfao and his mortal age is a stigma to always remind us what happened to him. His visual age creates a set of external factors related to the way people treat him, and same with Book!Claudia. Claudia was not a child, either, and the tragedy of her story (aside from the internal body horror) is that people will treat her like a child forever.

So having AMC!Claudia as a teenage girl can still feature this same topic; the horror of her story has potential to tap into those same themes, even if they’re very different. There’s a difference in that she CAN be independent even if her journey getting there is different. This tragedy is less internal than the book, less dramatically anyway; I think the horror here will be more external. People are still probably going to talk down to her and treat her poorly and not allow her agency in certain situations. In a universe where she can have & wants to have sex, she’s always going to have to navigate potential child predators. But she isn’t locked to an adult the way Book!Claudia is. And I think this has a lot of potential and like, even accepting the change as a logistical workaround for shooting, I think care has to be taken to tell that rich story, and I’d like to see it. I would hate for us to swap out Claudia’s story for vampire soap opera teen girl tropes, especially knowing how personal the character was to Anne and how it started the entire series.

So having said that, like. There’s two ways to look at this:

If Armand is still a teen, after watching Episode 4 I really worry about the petty changes they’d make to him if there’s like TEENAGER LORE in this universe. Armand isn’t Like That because he’s a dumb teenager, he’s Like That because he’s been repeatedly traumatized for centuries. Even as a mortal he wasn’t a typical teenager. WHAT DID MARIUS CALL HIM, A WIZENED FUNERAL SPIRIT OR SOMETHING LMAO. And like if the show posits that Teenage Girl = Whiny Boy Crazy Annoying Drama Queen, like, what is the trope they’ll lean into for Teenage Boy? How does this lore about being hormonal fit into the way they’ll portray him?

And like, WHILE YOU’RE RIGHT THAT NOW WE ALREADY HAVE A TEEN CHARACTER it makes me wonder if Armand’s role would change and how this could change the way he antagonizes Claudia. COULD THEY EVEN BE A COUPLE????? Imagine she leaves with Armand instead of Madeleine?

Cause I’m thinking like, if they stuck to the main Paris story, this Claudia doesn’t really have a NEED for Madeleine at all, does she? They’re setting her up that she’s interested in romance so I think it might be that she wants a romantic partner. (Of course Madeleine might have been romantic too once she turned but meaning that it was framed as a parental figure because Claudia was always going to need a visible adult.)

But if the show isn’t afraid of talking about teenage sexuality, he could still show up as a love interest. Like the shallowest read of TVA would tell us that he’s like Ricean Sex Addict Teen and I wonder in the hands of this team if that translates to him being hypersexual in trying to seduce Louis. We sure rushed through to Claudia’s 18th birthday, so! Lol Maybe they’re not afraid to go there. (Also how old were Louis and Jonah??????????????????????????????????????????? Louis might not mind lol.)

But you’re also right that if there’s only room for one teen, and Armand ISN’T a teen, like. It’s just not the same, yall!!!!!!!!!! It’s just not the same character. And even seeing the way age is handled/discussed in this universe (plus the way they’ve handled Daniel & Night Island) just screams to me that they don’t care about Armand the way I do LMAO. To each his own, man, but it’s like. As a VC fan, like, when you strip so much of what I enjoy about VC from an adaptation, what’s left?   

[susandsnell]

Coco ilu PLEASE drop the queer reading of Bunnicula essay 😭 hope ur having a good day, i am dying at the thought of (chester??) the cat looking at that tiny bunny sucking the red off an apple like 'i know what u are..'

!!!! I love you too, anon, omg, thank you so much for sending me such a delightful question! Had a surprisingly decent day as well, so I hope you had a great one too!

Thanks so much for asking me about Bunnicula - I read it in about second grade, after my 'introduction' to Dracula beyond pop culture was Dead and Loving It the year prior (and seeing Bela Lugosi clips on the old movies channels here and there), and this was a much more digestible, less terrifying experience of vampires for baby Coco.

First off, the "I know what you are" memes are funny, but genuinely, I think Chester the cat and Harold the dog were such an old married couple. They're not quite as acrid as Statler and Waldorf or as affectionate as Timon and Pumbaa, but the way they snark at each other, affectionately disparage one another's literary tastes, and tease about various neuroses, as well as playing Holmes and Watson for the mystery of the story speaks for itself! That Chester is the one who needs to overcome his prejudice of outsiders is an interesting wrinkle to this, but he's working on it through therapy and, literally, as the text says, "finding himself". I mean, if this isn't a gay cat unpacking his internalized issues and respectability politics with the help of the zanier Bunnicula and the more self-assured Harold, I don't know what is.

Next, there's Bunnicula himself; an homage to tropes of both classic vampire films and the trashy television fare of the mid-20th century, which is already historically very popular with queer people for many reasons - camp factor, the affinity many of the LGBTQ+ community towards horror, and especially how easily identifiable the vampire in particular is as a queer figure. The core message of the story is that of accepting and celebrating the differences of others; Bunnicula is indeed a vampire, but, being a vampire rabbit, only sucks the life out of vegetables and is therefore harmless - it's Chester's judgment of him making him an outsider that's the issue. (Sidenote that the concept is cute + funny + kid-friendly enough that it sidesteps the usual lame cop-out that is the vegetarian vampire.) The vampire as an outsider - and hence queer - is an age-old reading. Further, while there's definitely space for queer narratives of feeling like a monster and/or imperfect/toxic stories aimed at teenagers and adults, the vampire as specifically oppressed and in a work aimed at kids works uniquely well in this context since Bunnicula's harmlessness allows him to sidestep the usual conundrums of monster-posing-genuine-threat-as-stand-in-for-oppressed group (looking at you, Zootopia.). (Added addendum that while I mentioned narratives for kids having to exist in a simpler moral universe here, this 1:1 is an issue I have with many 'vampire as a stand-in for queer people' narratives -- True Blood/Southern Vampire Mysteries ran into it frequently, although otoh I found the latest Interview With The Vampire TV show to handle it with better nuance. It's tricky territory, to say the least)

The meta-narrative to this can't be ignored. The author, James Howe, came out as gay decades after writing this with his late first wife, Debbie, and has expressed many times that though he was closeted/uncertain at the time of writing the original novel, he on reflection must have subconsciously imbued it with themes of being a horror-loving, artistic, bullied outsider that reflected his own childhood experiences. Likewise, he's noted that Debbie, who was Jewish and had similar tastes and experiences, was probably doing the same. Since coming out, James Howe has engaged in extensive anti-bullying and equality-focused advocacy work, and has since made his priority incorporating themes of compassion towards the outsider in all his writings for kids - his later works have even featured canon gay characters. From what I've read, these themes have persisted through the rest of the Bunnicula series (though I think I only ever read the first book).

All this to say: Chester and Harold are married, Bunnicula is their flamboyant housemate.

[jodilin65]

My blood pressure is back up (especially the systolic in the 140s). As Tom reminded me, they do give you medicine for a reason, LOL. The stuff definitely works! But my nose is slightly clearer… I think. I’m still snoring a bit and a bit stuffy as well. The snoring is definitely from my nose and not originating in my throat. I’ll give it a few more days before deciding whether or not to resume the losartan.

Looks can be deceiving and sometimes it’s in a good way. We’re usually our own worst critic but even I agree that I always look younger than my age and lighter than my weight. I look late forties instead of late 50s and about 140 lbs instead of the 161 I usually wake up at. I still have good muscle tone visible in my shoulders, upper arms, upper abs, and calves. But to be honest, I don’t think I’m going to be able to lose weight. I just don’t have a fast enough metabolism for it. The best I can do is just eat as sensibly as I can and be glad I’m not that big.

Yesterday I got fresh salmon fillets and it was the best damn salmon I ever had! I made it their way and instead of heating up a skillet with oil first and simply seasoning the fish, they said to heat it up empty for a few minutes which I did, then add oil, then pat the fish dry, then season it and sear it on both sides for a few minutes. I added a little plant-based butter that I’m trying and OMG, it was so good! So much so that I later had a second piece and ended up feeling nauseous for hours because of all the grease. Better take a day off from fish lest I acquire mercury poisoning, LOL.

So I was doing some deep thinking (I often do) and usually, when masses of people think, feel, do, or believe a certain thing, it’s for a reason. Right? Well, that’s what they say anyway. So when I think of all the people out there who believe in God, who hate gays, and the growing number of anti-abortion people, could Tom and I be the only sane ones in the world who have it right while the rest of the world is just plain crazy?

I have tried and tried to see things from their perspective but I just can’t. I don’t see how the fetus suffers during abortion, especially early on. Even if it could, there are ways to get around that and prevent suffering.

As for the gays, I still don’t see how anyone can assume that an unseen and unproven entity has decided that two consenting adults who love each other is wrong just because they share the same body parts.

So yeah, I think we’re okay and it’s the rest of the world that’s crazy. Scary to think that we could be living in a world surrounded by so many delusional people but that’s the way it at least seems to me.

Starting to wish someone would do something about these dogs but of course they won’t. That’s another thing I don’t get is how people can live with such maddening barking on and off all through the night. They’ve never been this loud and I really think they’re running around loose. I swear they sound like they’re in the field and back at times. It’s like they’re running around the area barking at everything and anything. Dogs don’t only bark on their own property. Dogs used to come barking onto our land in Arizona.

Ah, Arizona. I would never want to live there again but I sure miss the atmosphere that was present when I was there. You know how we feel different things and different ways at different times of our lives regardless of what may be going on at the moment? Well, Arizona had the best atmosphere in the apartments and houses I lived in, even if life wasn’t always great there.

They say that the atmosphere of different places and times in our lives is influenced by a combination of factors such as our experiences, emotions, surroundings, and the people we are with. These elements create unique and irreplicable moments that become intertwined with our memories. As we move forward in life, our perspectives, circumstances, and surroundings change, making it difficult to fully recreate the atmosphere of past moments. Additionally, nostalgia often colors our memories, enhancing the perceived uniqueness of those moments. So I’m sure that if we were there all over again it wouldn’t be the same just like it wouldn’t be the same if we moved here 20 or 30 years ago.

For once I got to have fun dreams involving an older but hot Italian woman. My only concern was how I would sleep when on nights with all the people and activities around me. I was in some kind of camp in which there were all kinds of fun activities indoors and outdoors. I was really enjoying myself and the times I would meet with this woman who worked there. One time I was focused on something in particular that I was reading and she asked what kind of music I wanted to hear. I told her nothing appealed to me at that moment.

I later went back into that same room and sat down in a plush chair with my phone where I was playing some kind of game and was delighted to realize I won $500. Then I turned around and saw a huge entertainment center with a TV that was playing quietly and a jukebox. I realized that was why the Italian woman asked what I wanted to hear earlier.

[1d1195]

That’s so real, loving them but not liking them lol I LITERALLY JUST SAID THAT today to my mom today about one of my cousins who I have found memories growing up but I don’t really want to have a relationship with tbh and it goes for the majority of them bc some of them ARE INSANE!! Especially from my mom’s side HAHA why did I think you had a brother?! I feel like you would be such a good big sister for a brother tbh and i obviously have no doubt your amazing for your sister! TELL ME WHY I ALSO THINK MY BROTHER IS MORE OUTGOING THAN ME!! We really are so similar it’s crazy but I love that for us! And you’re so kind Sam😭 my brother is definitely more social and can vibe with people easier and if he feels comfortable with people I would consider him to be more extroverted than I am at least! He’s kinda funny but somethings he says is kinda out of pocket but idk I blame it on him being a teen lol he’s also so musically gifted and definitely more talented than me HAHA BUT overall I think he’s a good kid, of course he has his moments and traits where I simply cannot understand lol

I feel like doing an Ancestry test would give you the answers you may want! I’ve personally never done any but I gifted my dad a 23 and me! The results were kinda wild considering I thought he would have more European blood bc colonization lol but he’s actually like 80% indigenous?!? Which I thought was SO cool!

BESTIE YOU SHOUDL DO IT!! I WOULD READ IF YOU EVER WANT OTHERS TO READ IT!! I genuinely think you’re like cool and I don’t think you give yourself enough credit for that! Also were you a flower crown girly when they were really popular?! Bc I definitely was and I was also a galaxy legging girl which was solely driven for my love for space lol also I love a good deal, so TJMaxx is fave to browse! bet you looked so pretty with it on!!

I love it too, and seeing it in Spanish is just so heartbreakingly beautiful! Idk it may be a controversial opinion or not but i definitely do think if you ever decide into venturing participating in it , you totally could. As long as you do it in a way where you genuinely want to learn the culture and respect it, there’s no harm in it. Respect is probably the most important thing!

Saw my TA today and god I am so down bad😔

Omg it’s crazy we have the same book?! I was so close to picking a fantasy one and idk I felt drawn to it!

I reread the original one shot today and it still hits! I think it was very clear that he was so in love with her by his actions and just the way he talks with her!

Oh bestie I have never been in love so we are in the same boat lol I’m pretty sure it has to due with my own self sabotage tendencies, self esteem, and vulnerability issues lol and you’re not weird at all for feeling like that!

We all deserve the love that we desire and while I think people advocate that what the media or literature present is a “fantasy”, I don’t think it’s un achievable! It just looks different for everyone because we all have different definitions and examples of what love is and can be. So many factors go into it, but i remember reading something where the author explained that we all have multiple people in which can love us romantically and platonically yet they all have different “levels” of love. And since there’s so many people/souls And paths that you can take, some achieve platonic love that romantic and vice versa. But all that love was meant for you to experience through multiple lives. IDK if any of that made sense but it’s probably my delusional self trying to find some way of viewing love lol and I think that writting that about the MC was so well done, it felt very therapeutic for the character but I’m glad that it works for you too💗

And you know I’ll be here for you! I love you and love chatting with you! Hope that you have the loveliest weekend!-💜

I think I would have THRIVED with a brother. But my sister is pretty cool. She's very artistic (double it and give it to the next one again) and she helps me with my clothes and makeup almost every time I need it. I'm sure your brother looks up to you and teens are DUMB (I mean that kindly given I spend most of my time with teens) so I'm sure his moments will get better with time 💕 You sound like you really adore him so he'll be fine :)

WOW that's so cool that your dad got results that were different than you expected! You should look into the results more (if you haven't already) it sounds cool! It would probs be really bad but I think i want a dramatic story about my extended family... 👀 probs antagonistic of me but as you can see I love them but don't like them HAHAHAHA I have some suspicions about my dad's siblings and I would LOVE to put some puzzle pieces into place 🕵️‍♀️

I would live in TJMaxx if I could 😂 I was neither a flower crown nor galaxy pants. I was too self-conscious to do either (still am) but I def would have been a flower crown girly FOR SURE.

Part of the problem is I am very emotional and people around me just ARE NOT. I enjoy watching all the TikTok posts about how love is this big romantic thing for a lot of people or maybe just in general and I feel really close to those kinds of posts. Let me see if I can find one... (it's probs going to make it into a story I'll write one day).

I appreciate the love I get but I think I often hold back how much I love people because I'd be viewed as weird. I like to believe I love the way that little picture shows. I feel like I really SEE people and I don't think I've ever been seen (hence the fanfic writing). I love my family, my friends, and my students so much. It's a little exhausting sometimes hahaha You made perfect sense 💕 I don't think you're delusional at all! You're still very young and you've got a great head on your shoulders and heart in your chest. You want to be in love with the right person and there's nothing wrong with that. Your "self-sabotaging" is probs saving you from a heartache that you don't know about. Just make sure that if you think it can go somewhere you try--even if it's like a date or two. I bet you have a good gut instinct and you'll know immediately 💕

HAVE A WONDERFUL RELAXING WEEKEND! Hope you do something fun or get to read your new book! 😊

xoxo

[heraspeacocks]

Content warning: scary medical stuff. Keep scrolling if this isn't something you can/should read.

So...I spent the wee hours of Wednesday morning in an out-of-town ER (because holiday travel). Thankfully, I was in a large city and managed to be a 15 minute drive from a pretty good, not super crowded hospital. Also, before I go further, I should say I am out of the hospital and slowly on the mend.

Okay, now the story. Tuesday morning/afternoon, I had a slight cough. You know, those little ones us allergic people get when we travel to a different city, a front blows in, etc. Tuesday night around 8:30, I got home from an event and was pretty soon hacking up a lung. Still thinking "Hella bad allergies," I took a Benadryl, two puffs of my inhaler, and went to bed

Woke up at 11:30pm, decidedly worse. Another puff of the inhaler. Hot shower, hot tea, tried sitting up for a while, literally every trick I had. Sometime around 1, I start Googling my way to a hospital in my network which is good because sometime in the next 45 minutes I realized my throat was starting to try to close.

1:54am Wednesday, I am driving myself to the ER. (Note: I was safe to drive and it was the fastest way to get help). My mom is on the phone with me, keeping me steady. I couldn't speak two words at a time I was so put of breath. She could barely understand me and she is used to my asthma symptoms.

Around 8am, I was released by the ER. Between arrival and then I had: an EKG (routine upon ER arrival here), 2 blood tests for I know not what, Covid/flu test, chest x-ray, blood clotting factor test, 1 Nebulizer treatment, one big old injection of methylprednisone, and a CAT scan (which we had to run twice).

I was fortunate to get someone very thorough. I have been traveling a lot in the last month and while this wasn't a pulmonary embolism, that option was definitely on the table given my symptoms and she (doctor) recognized that.

I'm now on more oral steroids and one inhaled steroid. Oh, and I drove the 4 hours to my parents' house the morning after ER time so I am somewhere I can safely recover.

Here's my question to anyone who reads this that has experience with anaphylaxis: Does this sound familiar? My one friend with these problems (that I know of) says yes. Definitely making an allergist appointment when I get home because this was terrifying, but I want to know if this sounds familiar. (Also, I will answer probably question put to me re: this, especially through a message).

Side note: OMG my aunt is so peeved I didn't call her to take me to the ER, but she was around the corner, it takes her 10 minutes to get out the door when she's "ready," and she's not exactly good in an emergency.