#we weren't afraid of being terrible authors

[raccoon-smiles]

I have officially logged into Wattpad for the first time in 3 years, and it is so nostalgic. 15 year old me was so sad and mopey, but they had an excellent group of friends on there. Rereading all the messages posted to my account by friends is so sweet. I don't talk to anyone from back then anymore, but I truly believe they were the first and honestly probably last real community I had online. Yeah we were dumb teens writing soulmate aus and honestly turning characters into our own ocs at point, but we were having fun. AND WE ACTUALLY TALKED TO EACH OTHER! We inspired each other and saw that inspiration come to fruition. I'm gonna go reread some of the stuff we wrote because I need to feel that love again.

[deancaspinefest]

Given to Fly

Author: MittenWraith (mittensmorgul) | Artist: seidenapfel

Posting on Sunday April 14

It only upsets Dean's comfortable routine a little bit when Claire's illustrious uncle moves down to Norfolk to run his airfield. That is, until he meets his new boss face to face and can barely make words happen. Cas isn't doing much better, even if he knows exactly what he'd say to Dean if only he weren't Dean's commanding officer... Test pilot instructor Cas (who's afraid of boats) ran from his Air Force family to join the Navy, Dean ran from his Marine Corps father to work on airplanes for the Navy-- just as long as he doesn't have to fly in one, he's fine. They've met in the middle, but also in an impossible circumstance. It seems as if the one thing they want is something they can't have. Unless solving one impossible mystery could free them...

Keep reading for a sneak preview!

Dean arrived at work bright and early the next morning, expecting to have a little time to get ready before Captain Castiel Novak was expected to make a general inspection with Rufus in advance of handing over the reins to him. Unfortunately for Dean, he was a little too late for that. He walked into his office to find Rufus sitting in his chair, having a cup of his coffee. That in itself wasn’t surprising, but the fact he was sharing a cup while having a chat with the illustrious and storied Captain Novak was. He was so entirely caught off guard he almost forgot to salute as Rufus got to his feet.

“Chief Winchester, we weren’t expecting you in for another half hour or so,” Rufus said as Captain Novak stood up and turned around to be introduced and saluted. Dean was grateful to Rufus for babbling on for a bit before getting to business, because the second Dean saw the man’s face he lost the power of speech. “Captain Novak wanted to know where to get the best cup of coffee on base, so of course I led him straight to your office. Captain Castiel Novak, this is Chief Petty Officer Dean Winchester, mechanic extraordinaire and keeper of primo coffee beans.”

Dean managed another salute, which Novak returned.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Chief Winchester,” Castiel said, looking just as knocked off balance as he shook himself off as Dean felt. “I understand we’ll be working closely together.”

Since Dean was standing there rather dumbly nodding back at him, Rufus broke the tension by clearing his throat and sitting back down at Dean’s desk.

“Captain Novak will be shadowing me for the next few days, and then taking over full time by the end of next week,” Rufus said. “Though I’m sure you don’t need me teaching you the ropes on how an airfield runs.”

Novak let out a little huff of a laugh at that. “Hopefully not. Though it is a new working environment, and the transition can be difficult for everyone involved. It’s well known you’re a beloved leader to your crew, and filling those shoes is never easy. Though the excellent coffee doesn’t hurt,” he added, taking his seat and toasting Dean with his cup.

Dean just stood there looking at Novak’s shoes before finally shaking himself off and noticing the apologetic smile on his new boss’s face falter just a little. Novak glanced at Rufus before looking back at Dean.

“I hope we haven’t overstepped, invading your space like this…”

“No, sir. My door is always open for anyone who needs it,” Dean finally managed, starting to feel like a human being and not a walking x-ray scan. Novak was still staring at him, though, and he knew he must be making a terrible impression. He pulled himself together and stood up a little straighter. “Even if they just need a decent cup of joe.”

“Well, Winchester, since you’re here, would you mind going through morning inspection with the Captain?” Rufus asked, after it was clear that Dean and Cas would otherwise just continue to stare at each other if left to their own devices.

Dean was doubly grateful that he’d already stopped for breakfast on his way in and hadn’t brought it with him to eat at his desk. He dropped his gear bag beside his desk and grabbed the inspection roster off the shelf beside the door.

“Ready when you are, Captain. One fifty cent tour, coming right up.”

(continue reading on Ao3 on Sunday April 14)

[moonesaiky]

⠀⠀⠀OK I think Venom War deserves a react from me, I need to talk about it. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀SO LET'S DO IT.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 💀 𝕍𝕖𝕟𝕠𝕞 𝕎𝕒𝕣 𝟙 🕷️

(SPOILER ALERT AFTER THAT LINE)

⠀⠀First, this post will make more sense to those who read it, so go read it, it's a VERY GOOD issue ( •̀ ω •́ )✧

⠀⠀⠀⠀Okay, I'll break it down into parts, ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀let's start with the Symbiote, shall we?

⠀⠀⠀⠀It all starts with The Other's vision showing its view of things, perhaps a little modified by the feeling of guilt, but still, its feelings about situations that we didn't have a clear view of. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀One interesting thing that was highlighted is that the Other was born in war, lived through war and has always been in some kind of war, never had the opportunity to live a normal life, a calm life, a life without thinking that it will die at any moment. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀This is often said about people who were also born in such situations, they are more aggressive or disturbed, and this applies to the Symbiote as well, with the attempt to make its feelings similar to human ideals.

⠀⠀⠀⠀Thus showing its vision of Peter, what it knew before him was war, injustice, pain, and seeing, being with a person who wants good and avoid war, despite still being in a war, made the symbiote's mind assimilate Peter Parker as a saint (as it says itself), someone pure and with good intentions. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀An Angel.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀This part touched me, because this is something that happens in real life. ⠀⠀⠀A person who never received external love, or was treated as a good thing, being accepted and praised made the symbiote feel loved, when it was not loved, but rather what it gave to Peter, but its innocence about love made the Other feel that Peter loved and accepted it. ⠀⠀⠀⠀And in this, the Symbiote became obsessed, wanted to give everything to Peter and did everything for him, because the least that Peter gave made the Symbiote feel loved, but it was all an illusion of its mind.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Friends, ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀this is a metaphor for a toxic relationship. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀This is something that happens in real life.

⠀⠀(I confess, I think what was put in Cates' Run, where the symbiote ⠀⠀manipulates Eddie, is terrible. For me, it would never be done, but ⠀⠀since they made it canon, what can we do?) ⠀⠀Anyway, still, seeing this idea, the Symbiote regrets this act, it tried to ease it at the same time it tried to increase Eddie's pain, it was bad, terrible. (I still think it would never do that)

⠀⠀This is again proof that the Symbiote wanted to take care of Eddie, to save him, perhaps because of what it did to Peter? Perhaps because of its own guilt? ⠀⠀⠀⠀The important thing is, this was first, and Spider-Man was after.

⠀⠀⠀⠀Now this part is not clear, or is it? The symbiote did everything so that neither side be bad, Peter alive, Eddie alive, both, both of its loves alive.

⠀⠀But everything leads to blame, many actions done by the authors that the Symbiote now needs to take as its guilt, the villainization, not even the author (Ewing) knows how to explain these actions other than "I tried to save, but I wasn't enough."

⠀⠀So many years of being called bad, parasite, monster made it become that unintentionally, all those frustrating situations caused purely by human ignorance transformed the symbiote into what they were afraid it would be. ⠀⠀But still, the Other's Compassion is greater than all that, and now it only knows how to blame itself for everything, blames itself for things that weren't even its, it doesn't see the good it did. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀It only sees its mistakes.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀and now, ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀all it wants is to not hurt the ones it loves anymore, ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀all it wants is to die.

(​🇵​​🇦​​🇷​​🇹​ ​🇴​​🇳​​🇪​ ​🇪​​🇳​​🇩​​🇪​​🇩​.)

[unfortunatetheorist]

*Joint Theory 4: @unfortunatetheorist with @snicketstrange* :

Liar, Liar? Quag's on Fire? - (BCT & NCT)

We're back! This time, to discuss the apparent contradiction surrounding the Quagmire fire:

How did Duncan and Isadora get out of the Orphans Shack if their parents were already dead when they got there?

But perhaps, more importantly, When did the Quagmire fire occur?

Well, there are some key excerpts that further our understanding:

The letter to the editor found in TAA indicates that the Baudelaires stayed a half-term (half-semester) at Prufrock-Prep.

According to Nero, for a child to live in the good apartments of Prufrock-Prep, a signature from a parent or guardian would be required. It could not be Mr. Poe, who was in charge of their inheritance.

TAA - Chapter 3: "My sister and I went through the experience of a terrible fire, and we know what it's like. Did your father die in the fire?" "Our parents also died in a fire. It's horrible to miss your parents, isn't it?" "For a long time," Duncan confessed, "I was afraid of any kind of fire. I didn't even like to look at heaters or fireplaces." "Duncan and I had to live there for three terms because we needed a father or mother or a guardian to sign our authorization pass, and we had no one."

According to Quigley's account in TSS, the fire occurred after the events in TRR.

Brett Helquist's Letter to Lemony from Ch 11 of LSTUA:

Note: There was a Quagmire case that Lemony Snicket was accused of being involved in that PRECEDED the Baudelaire mansion fire. (Mr. Helquist arrived at the mansion while it was still on fire, and made the drawing that can be found in TBB).

Quigley's speech from Ch 8 of TSS:

You can verify that the Quagmire fire, according to Quigley, happened after the events described in TRR, that is, after the Baudelaire mansion was destroyed.

And all the main events described from TBB until Ch 13 of The End, take place within a MAXIMUM of 1 year. We know this because Violet and Klaus start the story at 14 and 12 years old, respectively, and have birthdays during the story: Klaus in TVV and Violet in TGG, and when they arrive on the island they are 15 and 13 years old respectively.

Actually, this is something the showrunners of the Netflix series picked up on - and SOLVED:

THEORY: The Quagmire parents faked their deaths. This means the children would've been sent to the Orphans' Shack before the revelation of Mr & Mrs Quagmire being alive allowed Isadora and Duncan to live in the apartment section of Prufrock Prep - they would've been alive to sign the necessary paperwork, and thus get out of the Shack. Then they died for REAL, meaning that the two triplets went back to Prufrock, but they STAYED at the dormitory because the papers had already been signed.

Netflix clears a lot of it up [hence 'BCT & NCT'], answering the questions we posed earlier:

Q: How did Duncan and Isadora get out of the Orphans Shack if their parents were already dead when they got there?

A: They were sent to the Orphans' Shack during the time when their parents' deaths were faked. The problem was that they didn't have someone to sign the paperwork. The Orphans' Shack is a temporary location until the parents can sign the paperwork. They only managed to get out of there, because their parents weren't really dead, and they signed the papers. When their parents actually died, they had already signed the papers.

Q: When did the Quagmire fire occur?

A: As Netflix states it, during the events of TMM.

¬ Th3r3534rch1ngr4ph & @snicketstrange,

Unfortunate Theorists/Snicketologists

[softquietsteadylove]

Let's turn the tables!

Sersi and Dane have the eternal/human relationship. What if Thena and Gilgamesh have this relationship? They've been married for a long time and live their lives together. But through an incident, Gilgamesh learns of Thena's true identity as an Eternal.

"So," Gil started as he took a seat next to her, among the other civilians who were caught up in the 'alien incident' and being treated by the first responders.

Thena inhaled and immediately sighed, budging over with her shock blanket over her shoulders. He took a seat beside her. She pulled the blanket tighter around her, "so."

He was used to having to guide the conversation between the two of them. Even if he'd gotten some pretty new information in the last hour. "So...you're not a wizard?"

Thena let out a faint kind of laugh, although her throat was tight. "I'm afraid not."

Gil nodded, looking down at his feet. He turned to her, looking at her hands tucked away inside the blanket. "Can you show me again?"

Thena pulled out her hand, and even regardless of the general masses mulling around, she furrowed her brows. But all that happened was a faint golden spark, fizzling as soon as it appeared. "I shouldn't have been able to do it at all."

Gil waited, as he always did, patiently biding his time as she sorted her words out the way she wanted. He was owed the explanation, of course, after witnessing her pull up her shield into her hand after hundreds of years of her powers being dormant.

"We're called Eternals, from the planet Olympia," she began. "We came here 7000 years ago on the Domo, our starship, to protect humans from the Deviants."

"Deviants," he nodded, looking around. The carcass of the beast in question was already being covered up and transported by the authorities. "That's what that thing is?"

Thena also looked over to the beast's body. "We thought they were extinct. I killed my last one over four hundred years ago, before my family parted ways."

Gil looked at her.

She fidgeted with the blanket again, "my, um, siblings."

"Okay," he said aloud more than in response to anything. It was his way of trying to talk through what he was feeling. It sounded just the same as when she would tell him she threw out his terrible smelling sourdough starter. Or when she had asked about getting a pet but only if it was reptilian. "So, you and your siblings fought these things...hundreds of years ago."

She nodded.

"So," he blinked, making a face. He was uncomfortable. "Why did you stay on earth?"

Thena looked down at her lap--at her useless, powerless hands. "We weren't called home, so we remained on the planet. But with the Deviants defeated, there was no reason to stay together for some of us."

"Some of you?" Gil asked with a frown. He had at least some of the story. He knew that she had favourites among her siblings, to say the least.

"There was something else." That was quite an understatement, even for her. She held out her hand again, still unable to get more than a few sparks. "There is a sickness you can develop as an Eternal. It's called Mahd Wy'ry."

Gil's face showed a mix of things, but she knew he wasn't entirely happy when he said, "does it give you migraines?"

Thena winced, but she knew that he wasn't saying it to worsen what was happening, or hurt her in any way. He had a right to feel deceived. Their entire marriage probably seemed deceptive given what he was learning.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, slipping his hand into the blanket to close against hers, even pressing her little fizzles of Cosmic Energy between their palms. "I'm just trying to understand all this."

She couldn't blame him, really. She squeezed his hand, their fingers woven together, as they often were. "Mahd Wy'ry degrades the powers over time. It slowly affects the ability to call upon the Cosmic Energy an Eternal possesses until they are all but estranged from it."

Gil squeezed her hand again. "You had a shield in your hand. It was gold and it looked like it was both clear and-"

Thena shook her head. "Gil, I haven't been able to do that in centuries. I don't know how I did it then."

Gilgamesh sighed, though. He pulled her hand towards him, out from the blanket until he could kiss her wedding ring. "You saved my life, hon."

That was how. Thena looked at the man - the human man - she loved, feeling as if her heart could weep. This sweet, gentle human man who had given her his whole heart was still here with her. Upon hearing she was ageless, that she was an alien and that she had powers lying dormant within her.

Thena leaned up and in, tipping her head up for a kiss. Once, years ago, this movement was completely foreign to her. But now, she was practised in it. And her husband granted her request, pressing his lips to hers.

"Hey," he whispered, pressing his forehead to hers and holding her cheek. The simple word brought tears to her eyes. "Look, this is a lot to absorb. But...you're still Thena, right?"

She nodded, too teary to speak quite yet.

"Okay then," he resolved with another kiss. He pulled back enough to look at her. "So, what else do I need to know?"

Thena sighed again. Oh, her sweet, sweet Gilgamesh. Always so ready to face whatever came his way. Even the positively poisonous dinner she cooked for him on their second wedding anniversary in an honest attempt to be romantic.

"Sersi really is a humanitarian, and she helped me adjust to living as a human for the first few decades when I was on my own. And she did go north to make it work with Ikaris, but instead of being stationed in Alaska, he just...flew off, one day. None of us knew why."

Gil made a face but kept silent. He knew how they felt about Ikaris.

"Druig was most worried about my illness," she smiled at the thought of her brother. "He offered to stay with me, make sure I was safe. But in the end he agreed that I should find a way to live my own life."

Gil nodded and kissed her hand again. He was a big believer in living life the way one wanted without regrets.

"After I managed to go a few years without questions about my 'oddness' or my skin routine, I figured it was safe to venture further. I travelled some, taught languages to cover for my knowledge of things," she smiled. She always did value those years. And she could see why Sersi fell so in love with the planet at first sight.

"How did you end up here?"

"I travelled with Kingo some. I liked the heat of the eastern continents and eventually I determined Australia was a good fit for me," she concluded, looking around them. There was damage, certainly, but Sydney as a whole would recover.

Gil squeezed her hand again, "will they come? If these things were supposed to be dead, I mean."

Thena nodded. She could imagine her siblings with the same issues, at least some of them. There was no telling what it meant for them if Deviants were indeed roaming the earth again. And for them to find her here, even without her powers, they could surely find Druig in his remote commune or Sprite buried in her illusions.

"Well," Gil cleared his throat and shifted his posture. He gave her his most encouraging smile, like when he was trying to tell her that just stirring what he had on the stove would not make it explode. "Think they'll like me?"

Thena pulled him in to kiss her again. In all honesty, she didn't know what they would think of her human husband. Even the siblings with whom she was closest wouldn't call her one to share details of herself. But she held his cheek as she told him, "I love you, so they will have to as well."

[nayruwu]

I feel same way about ons as you :') I got into it because of gureshin it's been long since I already lost interest alas. I was wondering what do you think of characters like guren shinoa mika & krul? I really liked them back then but now I'm really disappointed with how author wrote them since past few years & weirdly fandom still tries to act as if nothing wrong with them but "people didn't read correctly"

hello!! :D

i'm sorry that so many others seem to be suffering the same way i am, but it's also a little reassuring. at least we're not alone in our misery.

and i think answering your question will be quite fun!

well guren, obviously i love guren. he's so sad and pathetic and tired and broken he's like a wet cat. the way he loves, the way he does terrible things and hates himself for it but does it anyway because he knows he has no other choice, it's so intriguing and painful. i love it. there's aspects that bother me when reading the novels, like when i cannot for the life of me grasp why he is doing what he's doing, or when he's being an arrogant asshole. but then i read the paragraphs my friends have written about him and love him with my whole heart again. i think they called it blorbo-in-law, that fits it quite well.

but i feel like i need to mention, i totally get why people got so mad with him recently. the way it was handled with the kids just immediately forgiving him again after one word was just... not good. i wasn't kidding when i said i wanted him to be more evil. it was a lot more exciting when him and mahiru first started that "let's betray everyone" stizzle and we weren't sure if he was actually going to harm anyone. it was serious, oh the suspense! now he's just our friend guren again. let him go batshit insane. please. he's not a saint, and he doesn't need to be.

at this point the only one i can trust to truly judge and be mad at him for more than half a panel is shinya. and that's a little odd. also he's currently in eeby deeby.

ohh shinoa! i used to like her a lot. it's only natural, i guess, since she is so similar to shinya. i always thought her to be a less extreme version of him - shinoa was also trained to be numb and hide herself behind jokes and smiles, but she seems to retain more of her emotions than he does. she's scared of dying, she's not much of a killing machine, and she is very much capable of developing actual romantic feelings for someone. wow, shinoa!

now, the problem is the toxic view of love that mahiru drilled into her head, and how the story will adress that, if at all. i don't mind her crush on yuu, it's her proof of not being dead inside or worthless or meant to be alone. but the way she acts on it is quite selfish. she's taking after her sister a little too much for my liking lately. "i will get yuu back, even if i have to kill mikaela to do it", alright miss mini mahiru. chill.

i would very much like someone to drill some sense into her head.

as for mika, he was my favourite for quite some time. i'm afraid i can't speak on him anymore, though, since he's kinda wiggled himself out of my field of interest. younger me would be going insane over his angel self... but now, i actually don't have anything to say about him. he exists. he's a massive scapegoat. i wish we could have seen him bond with shinoa squad.

krul is great solely because she's somehow the only female character who doesn't have a crush on some guy. hooray for vampirism! i don't have that many thoughts on her either, but i do adore her. she treated mika fairly well, she acted against vampire laws, she was more trustworthy than others. and god, that chapter where she was turned into a vampire was so awful, i loved it. more of an ashera-perspective probably, but still! as i've mentioned, i'm not a fan of her and all the black demons having been angels before, so i can't bring myself to look forward to their reunion as much as i used to. but i'd still like to see it.

[animaniacsxposed]

Im someone that was in saneytwt around the time A! first came out in 2020 and let me tell you I've NEVER seen so many people cry "you better not ship the Warners!" or "ThEyRe mInOrS U cAnT sImP for ThEM" by SO many people who claim they can't stand that stuff just for them to do it!

There was a massive saneytwt block list going around and the people thay were added weren't even genuinely shipping it but the person was going through the warnercest tag to look at warnercest art to get the names of people thay were leaving likes. Do you see how NUTS of an exscuse that is?! The list got long enough to about 100+ people until OP realized she was getting nowhere with this and deleted it because everyone used it to follow each other.

Then there was a popular yakwak author we kicked IMMEDIATELY once it came out he brought a child into a nsfw server and groomed them into being their bf. The moment that happened saneytwt notified each other and he was exiles and kicked out of the fandom entirely.

Then the funniest thing to happen so far was one die hard anti was trolling a few authors accounts because they wrote yakdot fics and to counter that, she wrote a disgustingly gorey fic about the warners canabalizing a saneytwt fan (but you know the saying 'dont like dont look' and nobidy looked lmao!) The die hard anti also went undercover to "infiltrate saneytwt" I swear to God! They were so into their "role" that they drew tons of yakwak and shipped it hard. Then the day came where she admitted she was the anti harassing the authors in the beginning for the same thing she likes.

And then a big gimmick account with 100K following told their following of minors about warnercest and made them flood the #Warnercest with spam and hateful messages telling people to kill themselves etc etc...the evidence is all still there if you ever wonder why you see a bunch of brainwashed piss babies spamming the tag.

That's just the tip of the iceberg. As someone who's experienced ALL of this first hand from zanytwt and much from most of the people mentioned below, I want to thank you so much for exposing these losers and creeps. No one would listen to us for years and people have bothered us for no reason for years, the only exscuse they had for harassing us was because we shipped, wrote and drew warnercest, as if there isn't bigger problems in the world like people dying, uneducated kids and real child abuse going on around them everyday. Fuck all of these guys they're getting exactly what they deserve.

Good lord I cannot imagine being this uptight about cartoons. I am terribly sorry to hear all you guys have gone through anon and I hope this blog can bring some sort of closure or peace if it has deeply effected you. These guys are just depraved and jealous that that you are not afraid to say the things you love out loud and they are afraid because they build their following on hating the thing they really like. Then it all comes crashing down when they can't keep up the facade or have no one to talk to about the thing they really like.

[mcalhenwrites]

It took me far too long to realize that all the hard work had paid off and continued to do so, in regards to my writing. In the past, when I'd feel proud of a story or a scene, I'd immediately scramble back to, "Well, someone will read it, and they'll find the flaws, and they'll know I'm an imposter."

Every single person who writes - even those who've done it 50, 60 years - doesn't do it perfectly. That's impossible.

The definition of what makes "good" writing also varies per person. I personally love it when the writing style is a bit more poetic (you can see that influence slowly infiltrating my own work) and we hear details about the characters that give us more depth about their background and personality. Meanwhile, some people want that to be kept vague and for the story to cut to the chase.

I though my writing was too simple/basic, and I've been told my writing wasn't good enough for anyone to read in writing circles. I've been told my characters all fall into the same category. There's more history with this, but people read my fics and my original works and still liked them. I know these things weren't true then and they're especially not true now, but I was so insecure and afraid that I believed the negative commentary most.

I don't think being hard on myself was all that helpful, either. So none of that improved me. My methods of going about improvement did, but I might have done better at this stage in life if I hadn't let terrible people confirm my negative feelings.

(This isn't about criticism, either. I like concrit! But insulting someone's work or tearing it down in a public space for your friends to have a go just makes you a shitty person. It doesn't make you helpful whatsoever.)

I've also not been able to trust writing circles for years, which sucks. I have some friends who also write, but I'm typically pretty careful and don't do well integrating into new writing circles. Not really fair to the writers in them, so I've finally dipped out of trying to get involved in any until I figure out how to socialize without fearing that I'll end up the butt of all jokes.

And getting over that is hard, I tell you. Even now, I hesitate. "My writing might actually be all those things, and I'm defying reason by saying it's good." Only to then realize that if I wrote exactly like those people's favorite authors, but they knew it was me, it wouldn't matter how good it was. They were out to make fun. Maybe that stems from jealousy or just their own general insecurity that makes them need to drag down others with them. I'm sure some were not into whatever I was writing, but it's improtant to learn how to handle that without being cruel to the author and their work.

All I can really do about it is make sure that's the type of writer I never become. That's the best I can do: support writers by buying books, leaving genuine commentary on AO3, and enjoying my own writing journey.

I love writing. The joy of creating characters and worlds, of weaving them into words... I love that entire process so much. I told myself a year ago - when I took down all my writing from the public eye and locked my works in a private AO3 collection - that I wanted to focus on that for a while. It helped me so much to take a step back for about three months. I also don't mind that most of that stuff is still private.

I did leave up a couple of anon works, but only because I didn't want them to disappear at the same time that all my other writing did. (And those are still anon, and people don't know I've written them.)

These days, I still worry that even the writing I've set aside for publication will never take off, and that I won't have my writing career, but... that's never going to stop me from writing any of it. At this point, I don't think anything beyond a life-altering severe health issue or death is capable of stopping me.

This doesn't mean I doubt my writing quality! I think that the book industry isn't particularly great to begin with, and self-publication is complicated when you have to be your own PR person. What I write is also not for everyone. It's a little weird to say it's niche, as if that makes it special, but I just mean that it might only ever appeal to a small group of people.

I have to keep writing what's in my heart. But after all this time, I'm glad I'm still here, that I have always and will always write what I need to, for myself.

And it's also okay if I want to monetize some of it and share some of it for free, if I want to post or publish it because I think it's good enough to share. Libraries and book stores exist because people do that. We now have the internet to share our writing, whether it be original or fic, and I think that's a beautiful thing. (Side note that fic is just as valuable as original, and I don't condone saying one is better than the other. That's needlessly cruel to people who work hard on their writing writing, regardless of what they write. The publishing industry has its messes, but fics/fandoms do too, and you just have to find the writers who deliver what you like. If you exclusively prefer fic to original or original to fic, that's fine, just don't make your personal tastes a reason to insult millions of writers whose works you've never read. As an author of both and as a fan of authors who write both... I have a wider pool of writing to enjoy!) Anyway, I suppose I'll always fight some imposter syndrome, but... it's nice to also recognize my own skill level. It's nice to have others recognize it, too. I do think that helps a little. We all need some support and encouragement. We shouldn't forget our roots, but it's not necessary to take the journey through writing alone unless that's what we prefer. :)

[gxlden-angels]

Shiny Happy People Thoughts: Episode 3

TW: The Duggars Family

- This one focuses more on the actual abuse and some of the victims that came forward to speak

- Part of it is about how the show allowed things to continue and was used as a source of control

- Part of it is about how Gothard and IBLP as a whole allowed for abuse to run rampant in these circles

- I'm so glad I didn't have to deal with courtships and arranged marriages. I was not very interested in dating through middle/high school, so most of my conversations surrounding relationships for me were hypotheticals and "Do you have a bf yet? A crush? A guy we can question and screen first?" and not "Do you want to be in a courtship with this other teen we selected then get married a year later?"

- I have family that still gets shit on for having kids out of wedlock or getting divorced

- I can't imagine having to deal with that *and* having it broadcasted on national TV for thousands to watch you awkwardly agree to get married

- Chaperones luckily also weren't a thing for my family after a certain age. You're assumed responsible for yourself and if you don't obey ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ guess you'll have to answer to god

- HOLY SHIT SHE HAD A BABY IN THE BATHROOM?

- This episode is called Under Authority

- My dad did expect me to be under his authority until I was 18. He did expect me to do what he said, but he was reasonable and honestly took feedback more than other adults in my family

- I did have uncles that insisted I was under my father, then husband's authority and I shouldn't have left my dad's house until I was married or living with other family that could watch me. One uncle even said SA victims are at fault for not being under their father's watch.

- I was never a part of IBLP or their groups. We had groups, trainings, VBS and ministries, but never anything as intense of these. I mostly remember the youth teacher who said if your parents threaten to beat the hell out of you that's a good thing because they're beating a demonic spirit out of you and the girls' group pastor who told us oral causes acne

- HOLY SHIT THE TAMPONS THING

- I didn't have the exact same experience but was told I couldn't even use the extra small teen tampons because I "wasn't ready yet" and I was too scared to ever try. It's wild how little things like that stay rooted in your brain

- "So they took my devil sticks"

- "Shame was a tool that really kept all of us in line"

- The IBLP training centers remind me a lot of the stories from troubled youth camps. Abused children often lash out. They can feel that this stuff is wrong, but they get punished for reacting and that's how all of this stuff functions. It's all "breaking their will"

- You do a bad thing so you get spanked and you cry or try to defend yourself and that just leads to more spankings or worse

- David Fucking Green. I should've known he was connected to them.

- I knew a lot of cops grew up with these ideas, but didn't realize they literally went to police academies and prisons and places like that. They insist that the voice of authority itself should lead to compliance when that's not how things work.

- A kid will cry when spanked. They are afraid. A person will struggle if you hold them down. They are afraid. A person will panic when threatened with violence. They are afraid

- It's essentially training a person to be in a constant state of freeze or fawn. I used to stay in a constant state of flight or fawn. I either hid or fawned to authority

- I understand that appealing to their rigid authority means the show can keep going and TLC keeps making money, but holy shit did TLC enable serious financial abuse

- I know this isn't the first time, but I didn't realize Jill never saw a cent. I assumed they were given a small allowance or just enough money for what they needed like children

- This episode explains Gothard and his brother's widespread and rampant sexual abuse. If you do watch the series, this section is terrible to sit through

- I talked before about keeping drama in the family, but this episode really goes into it and how both IBLP and TLC did that.

- The victims got to speak about it and the line of thinking that lead to this. It's a cult. It's all brainwashing and these parents are convinced it's the easiest way to keep their kids safe. They're convinced the world is after them as christians and they will be killed for it if you don't raise them this way

- "Blonde girls get picked" reminded me of just how little autonomy I and a lot of these girls had even over our hair. When I got my first haircut, it was by a lady who went to our church and she called my dad to make sure he approved before she'd touch my hair because she didn't believe me when I said he said I was old enough to be in charge of my own hair now

- The women were not allowed to speak out and even if they did, they had no words to do it. You don't have autonomy, you're an extension of your father. I've heard horror stories of my aunts and great aunts thinking hold hands would get you pregnant or that they were dying when they had their period

- I fortunately never experienced any overt sexual abuse like in this documentary

- I'd also seen the law of crying out mentioned by others, but never explicitly heard/saw it myself. It was implied by the idea that you're under your father's authority and watch so if you're where you're supposed to be, you'd cry out and he'd rescue you, but never said explicitly

- The entire section about Recovering Grace is hard to say anything about. It also talks about the parallel between Bil Gothard and Josh Duggar as a large and small scale version of each other. It is why there is a trigger warning

- "It's been shined up and put on TLC"

- Families like the Duggars are everywhere in the US, they just aren't on TV

- This episode introduces Josh's more recent crimes and more current fundamentalist influencers like Paul and Morgan

- The next episode is apparently behind a paywall >:( what da fuck

[lokisprettygirl]

Chapter 19 was so adorable and good🥰

Our lovebirds are the cutest couple and I can barely stand their sweetness 💕 I really love the adorable intimacy between them. I like that Loki told her some more details about his family background...but yes, it's still too soon to tell her everything.

Loki is so conflicted and I really feel for him...as I said before, for now it's a lose-lose situation.

He still wants to see his mother and his brother but he also wants to be with y/n all the time...and the longer his punishment gets. But what a man...he wants to go through all of this no matter what, y/n is his absolute priority 🥺💚❤️...he loves her more and more...

It's absolutely understandable that he doesn't want to be alone for the rest of his still long life and he doesn't want to ask y/n to stay with him...he's afraid to ask her and of course it would be a big sacrifice that y/n would have to make.

But she loves him, she has fallen for him more and more... She will never leave this horrible island again so wouldn't it be better to live with him, in seclusion? And we will see what life still have to offer them...there's not only black or white in life, there are also many shades of grey...maybe Loki's people grant him forgiveness...please there must be a way 🥺

Oh and I like their conversion 😁

...he adored the quizzical look on your face.

A literal Prince? He reminded you of those Disney princes with their long shiny flowers hair and angelic looks

"But you're magical and you're still so kind and soft, can't imagine a human being that way with such authority in hand, they'll destroy everthing and everyone "

"Hmmm that is true, that's why humans are not blessed with such powers" And you were thankful for that. Humans didn't deserve it either.

"They must be very lucky to have you"

"...Why did you say to me that your people are not your people anymore"...

"Something happened, I did something I wasn't supposed to do"

"Something bad?"

"For them, yes. It wasn't bad for me, it was the purest thing I have ever done in my life"

You couldn't help but wonder if it had anything to do with you but then your mind told you that you'd never be that important for anyone, let alone a mighty being from other realm, a perfect Prince, a god.

If only she knew how close she was finding out the truth🥺

"They'll forgive you someday..how could they not..you're the kindest sweetest man I have ever known...especially when you are with a woman"...He loved the praises especially when it was you who praised him...

"I wasn't always like this" "How were you like?" You giggled as you got on top of him, he made a mental nite to make you giggle more often...he was a vision beneath you and it was getting harder for you to keep your hands to yourself.

I love how she slowly opens up more and more, she really feels safe with him.

" I was promiscuous, very careless around women and extremely naughty"....that posh accent didn't help.

I hope we get to see his naughty side, when y/n is ready for it 😏😏

The longing for each other and the tension between them is the best and I like how I can feel it while reading.

Marjorie and Bruce are terrible persons and I hate them. And then there is Steve. Y/n has my deepest respect for how she tries to make Steve falling for her and try to convince him that she's truly interested in a relationship with him, I can literally feel her disgust. Fortunately Loki is always around her because if he were not I think she couldn't do it with such a persuasive power.

And if there's one thing I find adorable and sweet than it's jealous Loki...

He saw you flirting with Steve, he didn't know what your intentions were but he definitely could tell that you weren't flirting with him because you liked him... He knew everything but still he was jealous, he was furious when you put your hands on him...

No that awful mortal shouldn't dare address you by that petname, you're not anyone's sweetheart. You were his.

In moments like this all he wanted to do was be selfish and take you far away from this place...he just wanted you to belong to him...but he couldn't be couldn't be that man, it won't be fair to you, you deserved to choose your path...

I really need to know what it is with Nat. Can we trust her? I'm so confused. She seems to be a tool . What is it that forces her to manipulate y/n's food? Why did they need y/n alive? I had a horrible theory: do they require women from the mainland to bear their babies? Nat is pregnant. And like a pyramid system Nat has to convince the next woman to make a man from the island fall for her, a woman the committee chose before? And if Nat fails could it be that there will be deadly consequences for her after giving birth? Why is she so eager for y/n to keep Steve happy? And the woman from the ferry came back to my mind. She was a person who recognised or knew that people disappeared and never came back from the island (one way ticket) aahh it's all so mysterious .

Y/n's dream...she dreamt about something that kept her mind busy the whole day (and the days before) : Loki.... and I'm happy for her that it wasn't a nightmare this time ☺️... a further step forward ...she really wants him and '...you wanted him to be the one to push you off the edge but did he want that?' I would say yessss. But I get her insecurities about it, and Loki's as well.

'...his anger wasn't even righteous, you're not his lover, you don't belong to him....but his heart said otherwise, it felt hurt and saddened to see you with another man, you didn't even call him yesterday...'

The misunderstanding between them🥺🥺 but I also love the little battle between them 😅😉

"...Steve is coming for dinner tomorrow "...you were trying to get a reaction.

"I know that very well..I saw the flirtations that occurred between you two, darling "

"Ohh you did? " A small smile crept on your face, was he jealous? His tone suggested that.

"Yes because even when you were with another man, you were only thinking about me...sweetheart "

I'm so glad that they could clear the misunderstanding and what then followed was the top of the tops in this chapter.

You wouldn't mind him being here all the time, you wouldn't mind belonging to him or have him to come home to 👀👀

"Do you miss me when we're apart?" "...I yearn for you even when we're together, I'm missing you this very moment because you're not close enough to me darling "

Aaaaahhhhhhh THIS IS THE CUTEST PART....I can't, I'm on my knees.

I love how his control weakened for a moment and I love how much y/n cares about Loki

Now you felt bad about not calling him yesterday, you didn't even know where he went or whenever he disappeared, was he even eating? Or taking care of himself?

How they fall for each other more and more, I appreciate every little progress y/n makes, ...and I love the imagination of Loki sprawled out on the bed in all his half naked tall glory 😏🤭🥵

I agree with Loki, it would be easy for him to tell y/n what has happened in the past but she's still vulnerable and in the healing process, she's not ready to get to know everything by now. The assurance and the reassurance, it's so fluffy like the fluffy blanket Loki conjured for them.

The night screamed at the slumber Island but you couldn't hear it tonight, his heartbeat drowned any other noises that could have disrupted your sleep and when the morning came around you didn't wake up alone this time.

You had him by your side.

(Weren't the screams hers? Is it really because only of Loki's heartbeat that she didn't hear them? I have no theory at this point but...hmmm 🤔👀)

This chapter had me on my knees, you killed my with the cuteness and the longing, my Queen 👑

I can't get enough of this story, I need more, I want more. ILYSM ❤️

He got abandoned by his own people and for what? For saving a life? :( He's conflicted because ofcourse he can't just give up on his family but are those people thinking about him too?

Nobody would like to wander around aimlessly for eons and he's not wrong to think about that possibility, however he also knows that his love for her is growing deeper everyday and if given a chance he'd choose her but then it's not upto him, it's upt her. She will have to make the sacrifice.

Steve is desperate and it's working against him, they think they are fooling her but they're so wrong 🤣

Natasha is being very sus but she still haven't told anyone about her regaining her memories so that's good . Weather or not your theory is correct..we will see 👀

Do remember that y/n has already gotten off the island once before soooooooooo

Those screams are hers and we will see why

Love you my dearest 🥰💚😚

[maple-seed]

Thrown - Chapter 4: A New Perspective

Summary: You bump into the godly brothers while running errands. During the following conversation you reveal something that you didn't realize was hidden.

Word Count: 2,413

Author’s Notes: Angst for a moment. Possibly the briefest angst you've ever seen.

Masterlist

It was a lazy sort of Wednesday. You were sprawled on the couch, idly browsing on your phone. There wasn't a lot on your plate today, most of the chores around the house had been finished early. You had a couple packages to drop off at the post office but aside from that your day was wide open. You were craving chocolate chip cookies. Maybe you would make some later.

You checked the clock. If cookies were on the docket you should probably head to the post office now. You hopped up off the couch, gathered the packages under your arm, and opened the front door, clicking to Ash, who happily jumped up from where he was napping in his bed and trotted outside, with you following after.

It was a pleasant enough day for a walk. The sky was overcast but it didn't look like rain. Ash was padding just ahead of you, occasionally looking back to make sure you were following.

Town wasn't terribly busy, maybe this was a lazy day for everyone. You were nearing the post office when you noticed your two favorite Asgardians up ahead. Thor was talking to his brother and smiling, occasionally waving to or greeting a passer-by. Loki, on the other hand, looked stiff and uncomfortable, as usual. You couldn't blame him. You doubted that he received a warm welcome anywhere. You couldn't help but smile, seeing the pair of them. So wildly different but still undeniably brothers.

You waved and called out to them. "Hey boys!" Thor looked up and called your name with a wide smile. You couldn't tell if Loki flinched but he was certainly wearing his I'm-annoyed-but-obligated-to-be-polite face as they met you on the sidewalk. You countered with a friendly smile. "Running errands today?" "We were," Thor answered, "we've just finished with our business in town, we were starting our journey back." "Oh, I have to drop these packages off inside, but it'll only take a minute. Maybe I could walk with you?" "My lady, that would be a delight." "Great! I'll be right back." You were about to ask Ash to stay outside but he was already focused on receiving Thor's attention. You made your way into the post office.

You weren't entirely sure what you were doing with the godly brothers. There wasn't a grand plan and maybe you were fumbling it a bit. You only knew they were hurting, and you wanted to help. Thor had told you a little of what they'd gone through, and even that was unimaginable, but you got the feeling that there was more being left unsaid. Thor seemed to cope by throwing himself into this work he was doing for his people. Loki seemed to take the opposite route, naturally, and receded into himself. Both of them needed a friend and you were determined to be one. You were sure Loki would fight you every step of the way but you weren't afraid of the challenge. Everyone needs a hobby.

When you returned outside you caught the tail end of a disagreement between the brothers. You couldn't hear what it was about, but if you had to guess it was probably regarding Thor's definition of the word "delight." You pretended you didn't see it and gave a smile. "Shall we be off?" Thor returned the smile and gestured in the direction of home. "After you."

The three of you started off down the sidewalk with Ash at your heels. Thor was easy to make conversation with. The two of you touched on most of your usual topics; things you were up to lately, the progress of New Asgard, people you'd recently met from one another's communities. Loki didn't participate for the most part but you weren't going to try to rope him in today, you were worried you might have pushed him too far with Shakespeare. Then again, he had accepted the book from you, hadn't he?

Regardless of whatever it was that you were trying to accomplish with the brothers, you did genuinely enjoy their company. You were a little disappointed when home was in sight. You briefly considered inviting them over for cookies but that would probably be a bit excessive, even for you.

"Have you seen New Asgard yet?" Thor asked. "Not yet." You said regretfully. "I haven't had any specific reason to be there and I didn't think the Æsir would appreciate a human coming down just to wander aimlessly in their streets." "You would be welcome, I'm sure. We'll have to arrange a tour." You nodded. "That would be great." "And dinner! We still need to have you at our hearth to repay your kindness." You laughed. "There's nothing to repay but I certainly won't turn you down." "Excellent." Thor beamed.

The three of you were now approaching the front of your cottage. He turned to you with a more serious expression. "Forgive me if this is intrusive. Are you alright living here alone? Are you safe?" You smiled at his concern. "I'm not alone, I've got Ash." He looked unconvinced, you continued. "Really, I'm fine. There's not any trouble out here to speak of. And if there ever is, I'm capable of taking care of it." Now he gave a slight smile. "Is that so?" You smiled back, leaning against the post of your front porch. "Sure. I may not be an Avenger but I can handle myself in a fight if need be."

Thor had a look of surprise. Loki's expression was one of surprise as well, mixed with something else you couldn't quite read as he stepped forward. "What did you say?" "I said I can hold my own in a fight. I'd rather it didn't-" "You know he's an Avenger? You know who we are?" He seemed... angry? "Well, yeah, of course. I live on a farm, not under a rock." You laughed a little, hoping to relieve the sudden tension. "Why the pretense?" You were confused. Had you said something wrong? "I don't know wh-" "When we met. You acted as if you didn't know us." His gaze was intense. "What is this game?" You shook your head. "No game, I-" He raised his voice and pointed an accusing finger. "What are you playing at?" He didn't seem to notice as Ash placed himself between the two of you. Thor laid a calming hand on his shoulder "Loki-" Loki shrugged it off and stepped back. "You have too much trust in these mortals, brother." He turned and started off down the road. "Duplicitous worms." You and Thor quietly watched the dark-haired god storm off. Thor turned to you apologetically. "I'm sorry. My brother-" You placed a sympathetic hand on his arm and shook your head. "It's alright, Thor. It's alright." You looked back down the road at the retreating prince

You had enough experience with ceramic to recognize the outburst for what it was: the sharp edge of something broken.

****

Loki lay in his bedroom, staring at the ceiling, fuming. The tempad was in his hand, if the battery hadn't been dead he might have actually left. He briefly considered finding a power source but the urge to flee had passed. He sat up on the edge of the bed, his elbows resting on his knees, looking at the floor, decompressing.

He wasn't sure why he'd reacted that way, or why he'd reacted so strongly. When he realized you were aware of his past he'd suddenly felt exposed, vulnerable. It was as if he'd thought he was hidden behind cover only to discover the enemy had flanked him. His reactions after that had been automatic. Beyond his control. Irrational. As the anger subsided it was gradually replaced with shame, a feeling he was all too familiar with.

He'd made some assumptions, and when they turned out to be false he immediately suspected some deception or nefarious plot. That was his instinct. Perhaps because that's what he would have done. He scoffed aloud to himself. How very Loki. It was all so foolish, it felt so ridiculous now but in the moment he had been completely blinded. He tried not to think of the look of worry on your face when he accused you.

He heard the front door open and close and someone making their way up the stairs. He waved a hand and the tempad vanished. Thor came into view, quietly leaning against the doorway. Loki waited to be admonished. When he looked up he saw a face of patience instead. This Thor was so different from the one he knew.

Loki looked away. "I overreacted." Thor nodded thoughtfully. "Yes." "I... don't know why. I simply reacted." Thor nodded again. "That happens." There was a silent pause. Loki looked up again. "What now?" "Generally, this is the part where the person at fault apologizes." "I'm sorry." Thor gave him a look. "I know, I know." Loki relented, falling back onto the bed again with a groan. "I've never apologized to a mortal." "I'm sure you'll excel at it." "I'm not certain it's truly necessary." Thor smirked slightly. "I'll see to it that you have no peace until it's done." He sighed. "I just need to gather my strength first." Thor chuckled. "Take your time."

**

Loki found himself walking back down the road to your cottage, alone. Thor offered to come but that would have felt too much like a chaperone watching to make sure Loki did it properly. As it was, he felt like he was slinking back with his tail between his legs. As if he needed to prostrate himself before you, a mortal. It would be easier without his brother there.

He wondered for a moment if he could just skip the whole thing. Tell Thor he'd apologized without having to actually go through the humiliation. You probably wouldn't ever bring it up, but if Thor were to ask you about it he'd likely be found out and that scenario would certainly not be worth it. At any rate, there was something like guilt hanging over him for how he'd behaved. Better to to just get it over with.

He hesitated as he stood before your door, wondering how he had come to this. He took a breath and knocked.

There was a single deep bark in response, then he heard your voice call out. "Come in!"

He opened the door and stepped inside, immediately met with the sweet scent of baked goods. You were in the kitchen, taking something out the oven and putting something else in its place. When you looked up at him you smiled. "Oh perfect, you're just in time." You motioned him over and he obliged, crossing the room into the kitchen to stand by the table. The black dog was laying on his bed against the wall. He sat up to watch Loki. You were lifting your baked sweets off a tray with a spatula and placing them onto a large plate. "Cookies are best when they're still warm from the oven."

You were acting as if nothing had happened. You pulled a smaller plate from a cabinet and placed one of the cookies on it, then set it in front of Loki, waiting expectantly. "Oh, wait a second." You opened the fridge and poured two small mugs of milk, setting one in front of him as well. You were clearly waiting for him to sample this confection. Loki picked up the cookie and took a bite. It was warm and sweet and the morsels of melted chocolate were perfectly balanced. You were watching him, waiting for his response. "Well? How are they?" Loki took a sip of the milk before answering. "Decadent." You gave a bright and genuine laugh. "That's a bit excessive, I'm sure." You picked up a cookie and took a bite, immediately following it with a sip from your mug. Loki stood uncertain beside the table for a moment, then cleared his throat. "I owe you an apology." "Apology accepted." He paused. It couldn't be that easy. "Are you always so quick to forgive transgressions?" "No." You said firmly. "But I like to think I know when to cut someone some slack." He wasn't sure how to respond, and just gave a grateful nod before taking another bite.

You leaned back against the counter, taking a bite of cookie and subsequent swig of milk. "Did you have cookies on Asgard?" Loki smiled slightly. "We had something similar to this. We called them biscuits." "Ah, biscuits. Of course." You looked at the timer on the oven. "When this next batch comes out I'll plate some for you to share with Thor." He chuckled. "My brother will be extremely grateful." You gave him a smile and picked up another cookie.

And that was that. You didn't press him for conversation or to prolong his stay. When the next batch was ready you put them on a plate, covered it with foil, and sent him on his way. As he walked he thought back over his previous interactions with you, now painted in a new light by the knowledge that you had known about New York the entire time. It made him feel... humble. Which was unsettling. Loki had previously had humbling experiences. The most recent and certainly not the least of which being the entire ordeal with the TVA. However, it was one thing to be humbled in the face of a seemingly unstoppable cosmic power operating on an unfathomable scale. It was something else entirely to be humbled by a human woman who makes cookies. It was disorienting, like the ground was shifting beneath this feet. It felt like it had been years now since he felt that he truly knew where he stood.

He arrived home to find Thor sitting at the kitchen table, doing some sort of work with a Stark Industries laptop. He looked up at Loki as he entered. "How did it go?" "Fences have been mended." Loki set the plate on the table beside Thor. "She sends these with her regards."

Thor opened the foil, lifted a cookie, and folded the entire thing into his mouth. He hummed in approval as he chewed. It didn't appear that he was going to ask for details, to Loki's relief. Thor swallowed and looked up at Loki. "I believe," he said as he picked up a second cookie, "that you owe me a dagger."

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[gyldenglor]

Humans are Space Orcs - Sadness

They thought they had heard a human scream.

They thought they had seen a human express sadness.

They thought they had seen humans come together to support one of their pack.

They had experienced nothing.

The light in the ship was dim, indicating that many of the 50 crew were close to ending their sleep cycles.

It was silent in the usually busy halls of the relatively small ship. The ship was big enough to comfortably house the crew and equipment, but small enough to ensure that, outside of each crew members' individual quarters (a luxury that set this ship apart from most), privacy was quite a commodity.

Only a few crew members wandered throughout the ship, either performing the odd maintenance, stopping by the restroom, or perhaps simply taking an early morning stroll - a calm morning, for which many of the life forms were relieved.

With ten humans aboard that can alter their sleep cycles at will - and apparently, not at will - a calm morning was something to treasure indeed.

Any pretenses of calm were shattered, however, by something the likes of which the 40 non-human crew members had never heard - a wail of unwavering strength, one that threatened to deafen the more sensitive inhuman life forms.

Within moments, every single one of the crew were awake, puzzled and afraid.

The wail split through the air again - all life forms rushed from wherever they were to the small meeting room, fear evident on their varied features.

Even the stoic captain, a logical and precise specimen of the Kral, seemed nervous.

They all exchanged clueless stares, wondering who on their ship could possibly make such a noise.

The wail came again, and all the crew flinched - all except the humans.

The humans exchanged glances, and immediately took off, practically sprinting to the source of the cry. Immediately the non human crew began to panic.

"Was it a war cry!?" One demanded. "It sounded so…aggressive." Many of the others follow suit with their own worries as the captain struggled to maintain control.

One human, hearing the dissent, turned back to explain the scream.

"I think that was Sophie - she's REALLY upset," the anxious human explained. "It sounds like she might be hurt - Xraxis, come on, we may need you!"

Startled by the demand, but relieved that it's not a sign of aggression, the Erqal medical officer spread their insectoid wings, the rapid beats lifting their diminutive form up and propelling them forwards much faster than they could run, and at a speed that could match that of the humans' sprinting.

A handful of crew, including the captain, rushed to follow, concerned both that a fellow crew member may be injured, and that the ship may be damaged in some way.

When they finally arrived, what they saw was not at all what they expected. The human Sophie was on her knees, her eyes leaking excess water, her body shaking with heaving breaths and wails, but she seemed unharmed.

Oddly, she was holding something in her arms, but it was obscured from view by the other humans that had crowded around her, each of them seemingly mimicking her behavior, but to lesser degrees.

"Sophie - are you hurt?" Xlaxis immediately inquired, bringing up a holographic diagnostic display, tapping into the ships' myriad of medical scanners to quickly check the status of the heaving human.

"N-No," Sophie managed to choke out, burying her face into the thing she was holding, sobbing harder and harder with each passing second.

Xlaxis, the crew that had come to investigate, and the captain all hesitated to ask what, exactly, was wrong - they had never seen a human act this way, let alone humans surround another human and mimic them.

Suddenly, one of the humans stood, and sprinted right at the crew watching!

"Move - fucking move!" The human shouted. The crew assembled in the doorway were quick to comply, watching in abject horror as the human barely made it to the bathroom before violently regurgitating.

Klaxons sounded immediately, and some of the crew rushed to get full biohazard containment suits on - when humans did this, the horrifically acidic contents of their stomach could eat right through some of the less armored crew, and possibly even the ship itself!

Xlaxis moved to check on the human that had regurgitated, considering enforcing a quarantine, in case it was contagious. However, he was distracted by a glimpse of what Sophie was holding.

Now that the human had left the huddle, Xlaxis could clearly see that Sophie was holding the body of a deceased predator - something the humans called a "dog". The medical officer was familiar with this specimen - Sophie cohabitated with it in a terrifying display of human dominance.

Xlaxis rushed over. "Human, you can't be near a corpse! It could carry infection!" They reached out to take the beast away from her, but recoiled when the human absolutely SCREAMED at them.

Xlaxis stepped back, barely able to understand what the human was saying beyond the sheer volume of the exclamation. She hugged it closer, and stood, turning away from the huddle and seemingly… Talking to it?

One of the humans gave Xlaxis a terrible glare, one that led them to believe they would die within a moment.

One of the humans shoved the one glaring at Xlaxis - Xlaxis knew this one, his name was Peter - he was part of the engineering crew, and frequently came in with various inexplicable injuries. "Don't give him that look - he doesn't know what's going on." Peter stood and began gently talking to Sophie. The other human quickly apologized to Xlaxis.

After accepting the apology per human customs, Xlaxis walked over to hear what was being said. They needed to know what was going on - how else could they do their job as medical officer?

"Sophie, he's gone. And look, Xlaxis is right, you can't hold onto him like this - look, just, give him to me, okay?" Sophie violently wretched herself away from the other human. "It's okay, it's okay - I'm just gonna him on his bed, make him comfortable, put a blanket over him - see?"

All that could be seen of the dog now was the lump under the blanket, and a little bit of tail.

Weary of angering Sophie again, Xlaxis tugged on Peter's sleeve, and informed him that they should bring Sophie to the medical ward immediately, to check for infection from the body.

"Yeah - we need to get her out of here, and it'd be good for her to be alone for a bit." Peter wrapped an arm around Sophie. "Come on, let's get you to the medical bay, okay? You can lay down there and be alone for a bit - let's just let Spot be alone for a bit, okay?"

Peter silently excused himself past the aliens in the doorway. Xlaxis spread his wings again, quickly following after the humans, his tail lightly dragging on the floor.

The other humans slowly filed out, closing the door behind them to ensure the body remained undisturbed. A member of the biohazard team that had just finished cleaning the stomach acid protested when he heard what was in there.

"Look, I know, it's a biohazard - we can put him in the morgue, okay? But we can't just dispose of him."

Confused, but relieved that they could remove the hazard from the area, they quickly assisted the human with moving the corpse to the morgue of the ship - a small room, betraying the hope of the designers that it would remain a safe ship.

When Sophie, Peter, and Xlaxis arrived in the medical ward, Peter gave Sophie some water and a blanket, then calmly explained everything to Xlaxis.

"That thing was a...pet?" Xlaxis asked in hushed tones, attempting to avoid offending Sophie.

"Yeah, and she loved him - a whole lot." Tears glistened in Peter's eyes, and his lips began to quiver. "I loved him, too - he was a good boy."

With that, Peter, who had tried so hard to keep it together for the sake of his friends and the crew, started to break down, immediately hugging Sophie as they cried together. Xlaxis sat there, dumbfounded by the turn of events.

After a moment, Xlaxis felt that they had nothing to offer, so they left - and immediately went to their quarters to update the Human Guide.

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

Entry #2,532,127

Author - Xlaxis

Race - Erqal

Chief Medical Officer serving under Captain Ky'Veen

Subject: Pack Bonding and Sadness

BEGIN REPORT

Firstly, it turns out humans cohabitate with "dogs" out of desire to do so for happiness, not to display dominance due to being able to contain a vicious predator. Clearly, it is another instance if their bizarre "pack bonding".

Furthermore, when humans pack bond with something, this emotional and illogical bond does not stop at death. In fact, one can truly observe its strength in death.

A human crew member aboard my ship had one of these dogs as a companion. It died today, and the human was screaming as if she, herself, had been killed.

All the other humans gathered immediately, and even though some of them did not have much of a connection to the animal, they all shared in the sadness.

I don't believe sadness is accurate. This was something… More. Something… Horrible. I wish to never experience the profound depths of misery my crew mate experienced today.

Despite the animal being deceased, the human treated it with such reverence and care, so much so that one would think it could die again if she weren't careful.

Truly, pack bonding is an amazing phenomena - and if a human pack bonds with you, you can be rest assured that they will, in fact, remain loyal to you beyond your death - and at this rate, possibly even their own.

END REPORT

Thank you so much for reading! This is loosely based upon my own experience, in which I found my own dog of seventeen years passed away while home on my own.

It really is an absolutely horrible experience, and I realized after reading a lot of the humans are space orcs stories that aliens would be very, very confused by the behavior - after all, everything stops with death, so surely pack bonding must as well?

[otome-miss]

Family Ties (Part 1/5)

Title: Family Ties (Part 1/5) Author: @otome-miss Fandom: Mystic Messenger Characters: Saeran Choi, MC/Reader, Saeyoung Choi (mentioned) Ship: SaeranXMC (unrequited) SaeyoungXMc (secondary) Genre: Angst/Family Life Warnings/Rating: PG13 Mentions of Abuse, Abandonment, Mental Illness, Drugging (all mentioned in retrospect) Word Count: 1,307 Summary: Saeran is attempting to deal with unrequited feelings for you after your marriage to Saeyoung. You are carrying around a secret that needs to be revealed. 

Note: This is set after 707′s secret ending. Its also an ongoing series. I’ll add links as the parts come out. Aiming for one chapter a week. 

Part 2

AO3 Link

He had worked so hard to get himself straightened out. After everything he'd been through- his childhood, Saeyoung 's disappearance, Rika's abuse, the drugs he'd been fed by her under the guise of 'salvation,' Saeyoung's reappearance, the hospital stays, the hours of therapy, and eventually even some medication that FUCKING DID WHAT IT WAS SUPPOSED TO DO. Saeran felt like he was finally starting to experience some of that life Saeyoung had promised him was possible.

He so badly wanted you to be part of these new possibilities and, in a sense you were, but not as he had hoped. You were his brother's wife now. His sister-in-law for a year and still every time he rounded the corner to the kitchen and found you standing there with a cup of coffee in hand his heart felt like it would explode in his chest. You were the brightest, gentlest person he'd ever known and you were family now. His family-even though he knew his feelings weren't really of a familial nature. Before, he wouldn't have cared that his brother was in love with you. If he wanted you- you could damn well bet- he would've done everything in his power to have you. However, now when things had become so stable and so foreign and…good. He couldn't bring himself to act on these feelings. Anytime he even thought of you in a way he shouldn't Saeyoung's tear stained face screaming at him to come home again appeared in his minds eye. Your smiling face as you'd visited him during his recovery with such pure intentions would haunt the edges of the thoughts he shouldn't have about you. He couldn't destroy this. This home. His home. Your home.

He had two emotional outlets for these feelings. The first: he was fiercely protective of you, going even farther than your own husband at times. Which meant any insignificant fight between you and Saeyoung and he was on your side, much to Saeyoung's annoyance. Even when debating things like a takeout menu, Saeran's answer always seemed to match up to yours. He knew Saeyoung had caught onto that by now but, he hoped it just got interpreted as him trying to piss his older twin off, rather than being indicative of deeper feelings. The second outlet was something much more immature and he was aware of it but, he still couldn't seem to control it. He was a surly and had a bad attitude towards you at times, especially when the unrequited feelings were really stinging him. You never seemed to take it to heart though. He wished you would because then it would've been easier to keep up that act. As it stood, this method was becoming less and less affective for dealing with these things.

 When he awoke one morning to the sound of you vomiting in the bathroom inside the bedroom you and Saeyoung shared- he dove out of his bedroom, scrambling down the hall- just barely managing to drag his sweatpants on before reaching the bedroom door. Saeyoung wouldn't be home until tonight because of a business trip. He cursed his brother half heartedly. Saeyoung should be the one coming to aid you, not him. "MC…" He started, hovering outside the locked bathroom door. A gurgle and more retching were his only reply. "MC!? Its Saeran…" Of course it is you idiot. What a useless thing to say. "C-can I help?" What the hell could he do? What did you do for someone puking their guts out so violently? Especially someone as gentle and, in his eyes, fragile as you were. What if something was seriously wrong? What if you couldn't reply? This was going to give him a heart attack. When you still hadn't answered Saeran banged his fist on the door. "MC? I'm coming in." Still his hand hesitated over the handle of the door. What if you weren't…clothed or in one of those silky little nightgowns? Dear god the last thing he wanted to do was be having those thoughts when you might seriously need him. A whimper from the other side of the door silenced all thoughts and Saeran slammed himself unnecessarily hard through the door.

 He found you curled up in a fetal position forehead pressed to the cool tile floor (clothed, thank god), sick still lingering in the toilet bowl. "S-Saeran…I'm okay…" You managed to croak out. “I just got so nauseated all of a sudden after waking up." Your eyes were squeezed close and he picked his way closer to you, hands clenching and unclenching. He was not good at this sort of thing. "Fuck. MC…you look terrible….I mean…" He panicked knowing how harsh he could sound. You cracked open one eye and gave him an exasperated look. "It's fine. But since I look so horrible can you try helping me up?"

Finally something he could do without words fucking up his intentions. He came closer trying not to notice that you were dressed only in one of Saeyoungs shirts with a pair of his pajama pants on. You must be missing him. That knowledge caused his chest to pulse with a twisting jealous pain. The red head ignored it and wrapped his arms firmly under yours, hoisting you up slowly. You felt so soft against him it was driving him insane. You managed to get your legs under you and he helped you to the edge of the bed. He returned to the bathroom and flushed. Then he grabbed the cup you kept for water off the bathroom sink and fumbled with the tap until it ran cold. He carried you back the cup and held it out to you. "D-do you think you've got the flu or something?" You shook your head and he could feel his anxiety rising. How could you know? You were just puking your guts out in there. "W-well you can't know that for sure! You were just. We need to get you to a doctor right now. I'll drive so just-" He was getting flustered, fingers dragging through his tangled mess of hair. The only skills he had at taking care of someone sick had come from the countless times you and Saeyoung had cared for him. Whether he was sick from anxiety attacks, flashbacks, or something physical the pair of you always found the right way.

He felt a gentle hand on his arm making his building frustration halt. His cool gaze swung to yours- confused. "Saeran calm down. I already know what's going on with me. It's normal. Not fun but, normal. I didn't want to say anything until Saeyoung got home tonight but I know you're worried. I'm just…not sure how well this is going to go over with your brother…or maybe even you…" You worried your bottom lip between your teeth. Saeran hated the feeling building in the pit of his stomach. All the things his mind were conjuring in response to your words were a thousand possibilities-none of them ending well for you. "Just spit it out already. I can always lock myself in my room until Saeyoung gets home if you're that worried for your own safety…" Despite himself venom had managed to creep its way into his words. There was a bitterness to remembering you might be afraid of him endangering you. Did you still see him as he was two years ago? Dangerous and willing to strike at the slightest bit of conflict or discomfort?

"Saeran." Your voice was so firm it surprised him. "I am not afraid of you. I am afraid of hurting you because…what I say is going to change things. Not everything…but things have been so good for you and Saeyoung." He looked at you, too confused for horror. "I'm…pregnant."  

[whimsically-ominously-auspice]

As you see the icons are all WHITE.

Every person even the two birds are white.

I have finally established full ownership of all Congra brands (excluding stock holders and bla bla bla)

Congra was established as a CONGlomoRAate between unlawful invading aliens and myself. CON like conman and G-RAated as in grating my fucking teeth at feeling forced to due to my kindness.

There's a bit more Brian can post for you. Im excited to tell you the what i consider to be

GOOD NEWS!!!

the name Congra will be established as the past and history that will never again occur in the future thus the name is eradicated as is allowing alien life to enter our universe's atmosphere.

The name will become

The Niggers' Foods.

The back label will say "The Niggers' Foods" as opposed to Congra and the stock number will change to NGR

All recipes will state "brought to you by "The Niggers' Foods"

Our country. Our world was all black. All African. We all lived in Africa since we allowed Venus to inhabit the Earth for protection.

We used the word Nigger to mean teacher.

Duncan Hienz Wil change the spelling to the Spanish DUOcan Heinz

But no other changes will occur.

The icons will remain white.

In the commercials and advertisements it will become biracial.

Please understand from white to black includes tan.

And those also will be included in the background but the main advertising will be DUO.

Bi racial.

Cause we always look for a great slam dunk.

It can still be pronounced Duncan and likely will but the spelling will change as the fore runner for our overall change

This will occur late next year.

When the world is safer.

Not because im afraid people will not purchase our foods but because until then we will still be accompanied by racists in Our world and they are not worthy of our food.

This was a request of George Floyd because he saw how I always picked on Snoop for saying niggha day in and day out. He said "why don't you honor him like you will us with the torches?"

I said "because he won't say the R. He's afraid to. And when I push him to say it he always blushes"

"So then here's what you do...." George Floyd told me.

He is also from Venus and he will be ghosted back to life in a firm and stout physical body. More on that later.

And so while I'm "just a lil ole white girl" in the midst of tragedy after tragedy. This comes from a completely different economic and political reason than several companies.

Of course y'all know me. And you know i wouldn't politicalize on economic gain.

And in fact due to him mentioning the torches and I had to stand to argue that he can't base one on the other when one removes all economical growth

And he interrupted "just make it cheaper then" as he looked into the McDonald's bag presented to him for lunch. Said Thank you then chewed on a fry and said "you know what I mean?"

So our costs to the customer will cut on average 75%

Packages will change to reflect this price change. Instead of a cake mix coming in a box and a bag it will come in one, likely a cotton sac that can be reused.

"How does that cut cost tho?! Sounds like it would be more expensive" said George Floyd "unless you use like a dispenser in the store to dispense the cake mix into the reusable bag"

"Sounds unsanitary. We will just have the machines make them. But I like you George Floyd! You're real industrial!"

"No one's ever told me that before. That I'm smart, just that you can't read" and he couldn't. But he learned he began the next day. And he could read a bit more than he thought he could. Just from signs and labels. He finished a whole comic book in 2 and a half days with help.

He had looked shocked because I had said that then I had continued. "I really like that though. I was all for it until I thought sanitary then i thought just put the bags next to the dispenser but then there's no point to make them reusable .. So I thought paper? Then I realized your question was in relation to the economy and so i went back to that and i thought cotton gin and instead of making people sew just have the machines do it all! We will still have to employ people for machines safefy but not that many and we can afford it especially since cotton is grown just as trees and then we have two factories running progress on the packaging. Now its just one and therefore economical. If you will excuse me my kid isn't eating and I have to tell her to or she acts like it's positioned or something and i don't want her food to get cold"

While i finished eating I thought about how he said he couldn't read. They say that about my Uncle and even Blackfeet but I knew they could. They just took slower and then I had an opportunity that is rare.

"George Floyd. I'm going to write to what we just discovered with Dunking to Duo" and i did. And i said it out loud I told him to verify our discussion.

And then i slid the laptop to look at him "now explain to me why you can't read"

It took some convincing ... "Now what's that word right here"

"Principle and just in case you need me to tell you it goes with the word economic before it"

"Well why didn't you just write economy?!"

"And that George Floyd is how they got the black man ineligible to vote. They taught one word then used the same meaning of two other words or vice versa and failed them all... They weren't... They weren't... They were terrible Niggers, George Floyd. Just terrible"

And so that's how we got George Floyd on his determination to read and write better.

And he did.

So we're very proud of him, he had his girlfriend fly down and and see he wasnt lying that he had learned.

And he learned a lot by listening then reading what i typed and he even got some of the others who didn't read or write well to look it over as well.

"Well we already knows what it says" he told them "now we just have to find the hidden words so we can vote" he understood it was a long ago thing back in slave days but it was the importance of reading it together.

So eventually we had it printed and we did "find the mistake" so it was the same passage from what i typed during our meeting copy and pasted to add in spelling and grammar errors they could find

Rayshard Brooks actually requested that. And he earned him a torch.

So these criminals .... Reading and writing was their issue. And they knew it had some bearing on their skin color and where they went to school as to why their education wasn't good enough.

So i ask that schools don't reconvene.

We have hooked on phonics and so on.

Yes. I do want schools. But until racism is over if schools can skip the school year so to speak, we can fast track a lot better

We have a new program based on this learning concept where kids and adults speak into a microphone. And it is typed.

Different levels will change the words in a thesaurus manner.

Then the grammar and spelling difference.

And even it will take simple words like "the cat" and change it to "dog" to see that the author can catch that extreme meaning change.

And tree has and will offer to pay for learning in this manner.

Michael Jordan had interest in the software being developed and it was his idea

And we named it Torches' (for Reading) and he and his father developed Torches' Publishing for the recently illiterate to publish their own books with help of editors to show them what a fluently reading human can read and catch what the computer reading can't. And to publish has differentiating fees. Ebooks cost $15 to publish with professional editing of 25 different people and different races and ages.

$150 to $250 for paperback to hardback books.

And it says in the fine print, "brought to you by nighas" in honor of Snoop which is why this fine existence of these 3 companies came to be.

.... .... ....

We have a special medal award system

You've heard of the Caldacott medal.

We have an Independence Parks Medal. For those that are illiterate previously as adults and write books of historocal truths

You will want to seek that award medal. Tree gives them.

So you may wanna order those books into paper authors, nothing feels better than an embossed medal which Will actually be printed with a special ink of crushed diamonds and iron.