#which is fair and I wanna respect that. it’s about $7 for anyone interested

[irregularbillcipher]

thinking about the flatland tabletop rpg again

[ecreip]

Yu-Gi-Oh! Custom Ideas: Touhou Project

I have Many Thoughts about both of these series and last year I decided to mash them together by creating a full YGO archetype based on Touhou. Recently, I got the urge to refine them further. To satisfy my desire to ramble, I will be sharing them here.

Fair Warning: I will be writing with the assumption that anyone reading this has an approximate working knowledge of the modern Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG/OCG. Explaining the reasoning behind every word/phrase used (as exact wording is very important for YGO effects) would bog down card breakdowns and this is already gonna be a very wordy post. Most explaining will be how the effects work, some strategies therein, and how they relate to the characters/lore they're based on. This will include amateur proxies I made so if you wanna jump ahead and read those, be my guest.

To the Touhou fans stumbling upon this without much YGO knowledge, if you decide to read, I hope the theming gets across well.

To begin with a broad overview, there are two major categories of Main Deck monster: -Two Level 4s: "Bordered Shrine Maiden" (Reimu) and "Bordered Magician" (Marisa) -Three Level 5s: "Bordered Maid" (Sakuya), "Bordered Gardener" (Youmu), and "Bordered Priestess" (Sanae)

These five characters are the predominant recurring protagonists of the series (specifically the Windows Canon, starting at Touhou 6). Reimu, the primary protagonist, has been playable in every mainline game; Marisa debuted as a boss in Touhou 2 and became playable starting in 3. The latter group's members all weave in and out of the protag slot. Said members also all debuted as Stage 5 Bosses (Sakuya in 6, Youmu in 7, Sanae in 10), hence their Levels. Reimu and Marisa, when they've been Bosses in a traditional Touhou game, were in Stage 4, lining up well with YGO's cutoff for monsters that can Normal Summoned without Tribute.

Both groups are both further supported by one other Main Deck monster each: -Level 8: "Bordered Sage" (Yukari, Okina, Kasen) -Level 6: "Bordered Master" (Remilia, Yuyuko, Kanako)

For "Bordered Master": Touhou games usually have six Stages and one Extra Stage, for a total of seven Stages/Bosses. The characters represented by "Bordered Master" are all the Stage 6 Bosses of their respective games, immediately after their subordinates who comprise the Level 5 monsters.

For "Bordered Sage": -Yukari - the first and most commonly seen Sage in Touhou - is the Phantasm Stage Boss of her debut game (Touhou 7), effectively a Stage 8 and the only one of its kind, which is the primary reason for the card's Level. -Okina is the Boss of both Stage 6 and the Extra Stage in her game (Touhou 16), a distinction currently unmatched. It's a similar kind of prestige to Yukari, I'd argue. -Kasen has never been in a traditional entry, but is the protagonist of one of the official manga (which began roughly halfway between Touhou 12 and 13's release dates and ran for ten years) and has been playable in the two of the official fighting games. For her, I view the card's ATK/DEF stats as a better representation of her involvement (which I'll get to later). All three of them have taken an active interest in Reimu and Marisa to varying degrees (more so the former), with all three of them but mainly Yukari assisting with resolving incidents throughout the series.

After that preamble, time to finally get to brass tacks: CARDS, BABY!

I'll start with woman of all time herself, Reimu Hakurei aka "Bordered Shrine Maiden", and the Field Spell that makes the deck tick, "Danmaku Battle" (the character in the image is Aya Shameimaru and that will be her only reference). To give background, in Touhou, (nearly) all battles are fought using a set of in-universe rules, often referred to as the Spell Card Rules. These enforce non-lethal combat that utilize "danmaku" - basically any projectiles, magical or otherwise, the characters want/are able to use - so that the ludicrously powerful characters in the setting don't destroy the world or kill each other, which also allows characters less powerful in the traditional sense to battle those stronger than them on even footing.

Reimu Hakurei is NOT one of those less powerful individuals but - despite what she or the village she relies on for donations might tell you - she actually prefers not to kill her enemies. She'll make a show of "exterminating" them (effectively a slap on the wrist) and has done what she must for the handful that have crossed the line in the past (see the manga Forbidden Scrollery), but she's very much a peaceful (albeit lazy) soul. Here's a pertinent excerpt from one of the many quality official print works, Symposium of Post-Mysticism:

The character saying the first line has an ability that's somewhat adjacent to mind reading, creating the obvious implication that Reimu is lying about wanting to exterminate youkai. Other works before and after also make it clear where her feelings lie, but the long and short is that Reimu doesn't desire violence despite her status as Gensokyo's protector (Gensokyo being the name of Touhou's setting for those unaware).

As such, she was a key part of creating the Spell Card Rules that allow for everyone to survive and, with her own power, can easily enforce them. This ties into her second effect (yes I'm actually getting to the cards now)! When she's summoned by any method, she can place the Field Spell on the field from the Deck, which is a very strong kind of effect due since it can't be negated by YGO staple "Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring". "Danmaku Battle" itself massively benefits from her being on the field by becoming unaffected; this is my way of saying that the rules will be enforced while Reimu's around. Reimu's first effect lets her Special Summon herself from the hand or GY, a generally solid effect that deserves a hard once per turn (hereafter abbreviated as HOPT). The effect to grab the Field Spell isn't once per turn (hereafter OPT), though, since I want it to be as accessible as possible for both the archetype's gameplan and the thematic flavor. Her third and final effect is my take on the games' Life system. Basically, if you get hit, you lose a life. Run out of lives, you game over and have to start from the beginning (Continues exist but they're effectively extra lives that reset your score). "Bordered Shrine Maiden" can save itself twice for an effective three lives. Some variant of this effect is on all monsters in this archetype except for "Bordered Sage" and "Bordered Master"; Reimu just does it the best because She's Her (she's canonically the overall most skilled danmaku user by virtue of having beaten nearly every combatant in the setting at least once).

While Reimu's effects are pretty self-explanatory, the Field Spell is where the wider ideas of the archetype become apparent. First, as mentioned, it's unaffected while its user controls "Bordered Shrine Maiden". The second effect lets the the Level 5s be Normal Summoned without Tribute to symbolize how they became protagonists after their debuts; it also works for Extra Deck (hereafter ED) plays that I'll get into later, but just know this gives the Level 5s a lot more flexibility. Once the user performs a given ED (or Ritual) Summon, this gets into the Continuous cards that gives the gameplan a bit more teeth (again, more details later). Finally, and this is the most important effect in the deck, any on-field effect that requires discarding a "Border" card while you control "Bordered Shrine Maiden" can send from deck instead. This is what I'll refer to as a replacement effect. Looking at the monsters in this deck in a vacuum, they very much seem to minus the user if you want to keep them around. But by having the Field Spell up, the conflicts they go through suddenly become less life-threatening; this all goes back to the core idea of the Spell Card Rules keeping everyone alive. In summary, by following the rules, the characters can easily survive most things with little risk. While characters regularly engage in these battles even when Reimu isn't around, I want to enforce "Bordered Shrine Maiden" being on field for card design purposes. I think it's a fair compromise.

Next is the Ordinary, or should I say "Border-nary", Magician, Marisa Kirisame!

At this time I will make clear that yes, all five protagonists have upgraded variants tied to a given Summoning Mechanic (my condolences to Pendulum - a mechanic I like a lot - but what I have made is already a ton for one archetype, though I do have some ideas I might actualize later down the road). Reimu's have effects that are reliant on the others so they will be covered last.

That aside, Marisa is Reimu's rival in the kiss-on-the-mouth-with-tongue sense who always wants to resolve incidents before her; this means she'll almost certainly arrive on the scene if Reimu's there already, hence the first (non-OPT!!!) effect. She's one of Gensokyo's fastest and won't fall behind. Beyond that, the two are basically inseparable in the various manga; you can expect them to see them together, another reason for the first effect. She also has an on-and-off joke of introducing herself as Reimu and sometimes other characters, which is the idea behind her second effect. This lets her act as Reimu and the others for summoning purposes, again adding more flexibility. Lastly, she has the standard replacement effect. "Bordered Magician" is great extender for milling names and summoning the deck's various monsters while also being a starter since you can mill "Bordered Shrine Maiden" and summon her from GY.

Next is her upgraded form, "Border-nary Magician". This card, and all other upgrades, require the original to make and are treated as the original on field or in the GY. Marisa famously has stolen, or been inspired by, other characters' Spell Cards when making her own, including her signature Master Spark. This has been downplayed as the series goes on but I felt it made for a fun basis when making the second effect. This effect's ATK increase is permanent, which is somewhat rare among YGO effects, but this is in service to the third effect: the non-OPT destruction effect that permanently lowers her ATK. Marisa, in contrast to Reimu's slow and defensive fighting/play style, is all about speed and power. She has more ATK but less DEF and will blow the opponent away. The first two turns (yours and then the opponent's) she's out, the user can pretty effectively leverage the larger ATK and/or destruction effect's Quick Effect clause depending on who went first in the Duel. She'll run out of steam if you detach her base version and keep destroying, though. But at that point, you're likely in a winning position if the card has stayed on field. If not, well, a later Reimu card can help with that. To jump the gun a bit, I consider this to be the deck's most powerful disruption effect relative to how accessible it is (there are many ways to access "Bordered Magician" and I would consider the effects of "Border-nary Magician" to be pretty strong). But, like the base version, it requires another monster on field to get the most out of it.

Now we'll go over "Bordered Sage" and "Bordered Master" to put a cap on the last two sections and lead into the next few.

As anyone can likely tell, I wanted these proxies to visually mirror each other. They're extremely amateurish but hopefully get the idea across that they don't represent any single character; rather, any Sage or Master-esque figure (the latter of which numerous in Touhou) could be depicted here. The former has silhouettes of the three currently known Sages previously discussed: Yukari Yakumo (bottom middle), Kasen Ibaraki (top right), and Okina Matara (top left). The latter depicts the superiors of the three Level 5s: Remilia Scarlet (from Touhou 6, bottom left), Yuyuko Saigyouji (from Touhou 7, bottom right), and Kanako Yasaka (from Touhou 10, top middle). In a world where I made more cards and added more Level 5s, I could easily make an alt art with equivalent characters. Conversely, if for some reason I made other Level 4s, Sage could support them. That's the idea I'm going for. I generally like to future proof cards.

"Bordered Sage", probably more than any other card in this archetype, is designed to be good. Not to say I made the other cards bad or anything, but this is something I think anyone familiar with the game would read and immediately say seems good, if that makes sense. Put another way, I approached it like I was designing broken legacy support. I want it to be a card that would be an instant 3-of in any decklist. This is partially because it's not a piece of the end board on its own, it's entirely a starter and combo piece.

Breaking it down, being able to summon from Deck as a Quick Effect is insanely strong. That's why it gives an archetypal lock. That said, the lock only applies to the current turn; using this when your opponent is going first means the lock's a non-issue. This might be too strong! But the way I see it, going second is (generally speaking) much less ideal in YGO. I honestly think it's balanced in that way since the best case scenario there is summoning "Bordered Shrine Maiden" and setting up "Danmaku Battle", which alone don't equate to any interruptions. Plus controlling a card turns off the user's ability to activate cards like "Infinite Impermanence" while making something like "Nibiru, the Primal Being" trickier to use effectively. You absolutely can hold this effect for the End Phase after you've used up any other potential handtraps, but then your opponent very well could have a negate set-up. Or they couldn't and you get it for free! It depends and I want this effect to encourage this kind of planning both in deckbuilding and in-game decision making. I'm a big fan of recent cards like "Tearlaments Havnis" and "Rescue-ACE Impulse" in how they similarly can be leveraged as going second handtraps. Those cards represent more actual interaction in comparison to "Bordered Sage", though. That's why I think it being a free Quick Effect to fire whenever is largely fine (and being honest, the two examples I listed only have the activation condition of the opponent activating a monster effect on the field, which is hardly a high bar). Otherwise, going second, it's basically an archetypal "Emergency Teleport" with upside since it does more after the summon. Speaking of, it provides blanket protection for all "Border" cards on the field as an Equip by summoning itself, which is meant to show how the Sages will sometimes step in to help with preserving Gensokyo since they are the ones who created it. Finally, as an Equip, it can be used as Link or Xyz Material (yes Reimu's upgrades are Links, more later), effectively making it a one-card "Border-nary Magician". The stipulation it can be treated as Level 4 doesn't apply when it's properly treated as a monster, though, so be mindful (I imagine this wouldn't come up super often, though). There are currently three Sages, but Kasen specifically is much less antagonistic in her interactions so I thought that was a fun justification for 2050 ATK but 3050 DEF (two are more proactive but all three can be reactive). The extra 50 on both ends is because they always seem to know more than the others (though in actuality these characters are extremely fallible and have made many mistakes, often using mysteriousness as a way to obfuscate how they sometimes fly by the seat of their pants, especially Yukari). Alternatively, it could be viewed as their pride not allowing them to settle for less.

That was very long but so are those women's rap sheets. For slightly shorter rap sheets, look no further than your average Touhou final boss! "Bordered Master", in contrast to the background role the Sages often like to occupy, represents those ones who start incidents and cause problems though the Sages definitely can be guilty of this. The first effect lets it summon itself because these folks are here to become an issue. The second effect lets them search an important card for the Level 5s should you summon one such monster while you control this card (more later). Finally, if this card is in the GY for whatever reason, having said important card and controlling a Level 5 will let you summon it back for basically free. This is a strong effect so it provides the other archetypal lock of the deck and acts as another fun foil to how "Bordered Sage" works. This card would also probably be a 3-of by virtue of being a free body on top of how important it is for the next slew of cards. Not much else to say, though a quick note on the stats: 2300 (the DEF) is 600 + 700 + 1000, representing the three games used as the main inspiration. The ATK will be explained later.

Coming straight from the Scarlet Devil Mansion, the absolute master of Time and Space as well as the ultimate maid, Sakuya Izayoi!

The maid will come at her master's call, resulting in "Bordered Maid" having a Quick Effect to self-summon from the hand provided you control said master. All the Level 5s have a variant of this effect. OPT, she can send from Deck to GY either a Level 6 or 9 "Border" monster, which currently is just "Bordered Master" (facilitating its revival effect if you already have the Quick-Play Spell) or "Bordered Paradox", Sakuya's upgraded form. This lets you unrespondably freeze a Spell/Trap on the field, which potentially includes "Danmaku Battle" (a card that's ideally unaffected provided you control a version of Reimu, meaning it's a free target). This is, admittedly, an effect whose real appeal comes from the cost you pay. Since costs can't be negated, there's no stopping this from going through even if the effect - or, much more likely, the card wholesale via a "Skill Drain" style effect - is somehow negated. There are mixed opinions out there about cards like this where the cost is the main draw, but I think it works for a time/space master who is, and I'm quoting a piece of Forbidden Scrollery narration here, "faster than the speed of light". By making it unrespondable it's not a huge deal regardless imo. That being said, unrespondable effects are another rare but obscenely powerful category of YGO effect, so I was very careful in how I went about designing these cards (more on that in a minute). The actual act of freezing the card in place is an analogy for her stopping time or, alternatively, literally pinning the card with a knife since that's her signature weapon. Lastly it has the replacement effect as is the protag standard (won't bother mentioning this again going forward unless it's relevant, just know every protag besides Reimu gets it OPT at base and twice per turn in the upgrade).

Before I go over the upgrade, this is a good time to break the pattern and briefly touch on the Quick-Play Spell that "Bordered Master" searches:

The design of this card takes heavy inspiration from "Secrets of Dark Magic", an existing Quick-Play Spell that also modulates between acting as a Ritual or Fusion Spell. This card makes both halves better than that card, though. For the former, it can Ritual Summon from the GY (ala the "Vendread" archetype, among others) but requires "Bordered Maid" to be a Tribute, while the latter can banish materials from GY (a type of Fusion Summon first pioneered by "Miracle Fusion" that's been very popular since then for good reason). Finally, it resets if you control "Bordered Master" to encourage having the eponymous Master and Servant together, at least long enough that you can go for the other effect. Notably it resets by being Set on the field, meaning that as soon as you commit to using it, you can't leverage the revival effect of "Bordered Master". Gotta plan things out properly or otherwise pick and choose what's more valuable to a given turn. Currently this is the only Quick-Play Spell in the archetype, but as always I like to keep future options open with wording. As a related aside, I actually didn't want it to specify "Bordered Maid" when designing how the effect could enforce using the base version. Other variants that tried to use wording related to names didn't come out well so I went with this, but I very well might change it in the future out a future-proofing principle.

Going back to Sakuya now that the full context is available, her upgrade gets to be the Ritual. This is always a tricky design space when attempting to join it with the ED gang. The thing with ED card types is that they're always accessible in-and-of themselves; the only stipulation is their listed materials. Rituals, meanwhile, (usually) need to be in your hand. That being said, many cards over the years have bent this rule beyond recognition and "Border Between Master and Student" certainly takes inspiration from them, primarily by having the utility of being a Quick-Play that can summon Rituals from the GY. It's still not that ridiculous as far as attempts the game has made to make Rituals playable, though. That's why the unique effects of "Bordered Paradox" are as cracked as they are. To start with, it can discard itself (since it's in the hand that means you can't get around this with the replacement effect of "Danmaku Battle") to grab any "Border" monster in the GY. Originally I had it just be "Bordered Master" but that didn't feel good enough to offset a Ritual's potential to brick your hand, so I just said screw it and made the effect much better. I want people to run the card (and all the others!) in this hypothetical, basically. The second and much more eyebrow raising effect is what it does on Ritual Summon. The Level 5s' upgraded versions all have an "If this card is [Mechanic] Summoned: You can banish 1 "Bordered [Base Version]" from the GY; (...)" effect, and this one freezes the opponent's board until the End Phase. This reads pretty strong, and it is, but let me get ahead of the allegations by saying I despise floodgate effects. I wanted to design this card such that it depicts an absolute time stop, hence stopping cards and effects from being activated outright as opposed to negating them. This is an important distinction since any Continuous or otherwise non-activated effects the opponent might have still work. However it also means they can't pay costs into a negated effect like you could under something like "Skill Drain". I want there to be blind spots but still have it be powerful both going first if you can get it off into an established board or going second by using the Quick-Play on the opponent's turn after they establish some cards you might want to stop. However, this effect is awkward to time since it requires being proactive; it could very easily trade for just one or two cards like the ignition effect of an opponent's Field Spell. It outright can't do anything to stop effects that trigger on summon, which is extremely common. Plus it still lets them fire effects in the End Phase compared to the base version freezing the Spell/Trap for the whole turn. Also, while "Border Paradox" is unrespondable, the Quick-Play notably isn't. That means it's a good negate target if your opponent knows what you're up to. All of this said, I think it's an effect that's much better into established boards than as an interruption, which I think reflects the in-universe limitations these characters put themselves under. Sakuya can stop time indefinitely without issue, she just has it on a time limit for the purposes of a fair fight. That in mind, I actually think this card's best effect is the discard-to-add-from-GY one.

To address the naming scheme of Sakuya's versions, the first is obvious in that she's a maid, while the second is a play on time paradoxes. The user or the opponent might see "Bordered Paradox" before "Bordered Maid" depending on your opening hand and/or how you play it, despite it being a later version. In-universe, Sakuya even weaponizes a similar idea in how she multiplies her throwing knife danmaku. She'll throw some and then user her ability to compress time such that their immediate past and future versions also appear, effectively tripling how many there are. It's very cool. The only big thing she can't do with space-time is outright reverse or otherwise go back in time. There's a lot more nuance to how her ability's been depicted over the years but that's beyond the scope of this already very long post.

ALRIGHT that's a lot covered but things should speed up from here now that more context has been established. So now we move on to the half-human, half-phantom, half-baked gardener of the Netherworld's Hakugyoukurou: Youmu Konpaku.

Youmu is notable in being the only major recurring protagonist to not be fully human. Her phantom half floats around her like a wisp but can perform its own attacks and take on the form of her human body as a translucent afterimage that mimics her attacks (they hit just as hard as the physical body). She's extremely cool and also a goofball who's afraid of ghosts and all sorts of scary things. Unlike "Bordered Maid", "Bordered Gardener" can summon itself twice per turn to but only once per Phase to represent that afterimage technique. She has two swords so of course she can attack twice as is the way of the universe, obviously. All the Level 5s support "Bordered Master" in a different way. Since Sakuya works for Remilia, a vampire, it makes that vampire would symbolically rise from the dead (the GY to which she's sent). They have a mutual respect that goes beyond words and Sakuya largely has free reign in managing the mansion and its inhabitants. Youmu more directly looks up to Yuyuko - they're the sole residents of their home and Youmu was born into a family sworn to serve Yuyuko - so she's willing to quickly defer to the latter despite often being exasperated by her shenanigans (note: Yuyuko is a ghost i.e. she died in the past; ghosts and phantoms are distinct beings in Touhou and Youmu's species specifically is something she was born as). They're a goofy pair and Youmu acts as her general right hand, though her official jobs are being their manor's gardener and Yuyuko's swordsmanship instructor. That's another inspiration for her tagging out for Yuyuko; she shows her something and then immediately has to go back out there because Yuyuko doesn't seem to care much about actually learning. This makes her good for getting damage in since you can summon her in Main Phase 1 (MP1), attack, tag out for "Bordered Master", then attack with that before summoning and attacking with "Bordered Gardener" again. More specifically, if you used "Bordered Master" as material for something, this lets you reborn it. Otherwise you could bring Gardener out the first time via Normal Summon if you have the Field Spell out. There are options! Battle Phase effects are often looked down on for good reason so I wanted the summon effects on this card to make it as worth using as possible.

Youmu's two blades are named Roukanken and Hakurouken. To quote her on the former: "The things that cannot be cut by my Roukanken, forged by youkai, are next to none!" It's a strong sword, plain and simple. As such, Youmu gets the highest ATK of the base protags and the highest ATK in the archetype for her upgrade (barring one card later). She may be goofy and naive but her focus is so strong that her perception of time - as well as the perceptions of those around her - slows down when she locks in. She does not have any time related abilities. In a series with characters who can "destroy anything" or "manipulate death" (this is Yuyuko), her stated ability is "handling sword techniques". She's just that good at it. Marisa is fast with her magic, Sakuya is fast with her ability; Youmu is just fast. The former two can edge her out in speed when using their abilities to their fullest extent, but Youmu is just always fast, always strong, and always skilled. In a series where battles are done via long range projectiles, she uses swords as her primary weapon. These are the other major reasons for her ATK stat and ability to attack twice. Her second blade, Hakurouken, is an ancestral sword that can only be wielded by a Konpaku. It has the ability to "cut through confusion", which has the stated effect on humans (though it causes discomfort and still can hurt them like an actual sword) but, when used on spirits such as ghosts or phantoms, will send them straight to nirvana. Think of it as instantly dispelling any lingering thoughts or regrets that prevents them from passing on. Hence, when "Bordered Swordmaster" is Fusion Summoned, it will obliterate the cards lingering in the GY and send them to a higher place (the place people usually put banished cards is physically above the GY after all). It specifically banishes face-down to make the effect stronger and tie into that theming of it being a definitive send-off. The +1 is to further emphasize how much the cards involve doing things twice. Personally I think this is actually better as an effect to use on the opponent's turn compared to "Bordered Paradox", though it similarly still requires being proactive. Beyond that, if she battles, even if she doesn't have the higher ATK, the opponent's monster isn't long for the realm. Again, wanna make Battle Phase effects good.

Last bit of flavor talk: she's the only one to change Attribute and Type between versions. I wanted to highlight her association with death considering where and with whom she lives (DARK/Zombie) while also showing how she's an accomplished combatant who can dispel lingering spirits (LIGHT/Warrior). Youmu is very cool I like her a lot.

And now we reach the final protagonist, the deified wind priestess of Moriya Shrine which sits at the apex of Youkai Mountain, Sanae Kochiya!

"Frogs go mlem mlem. Snakes go pbbppbpthpbthppth. Thanks for comign folks." -Sanae Kochiya (real) (not clickbait)

Someone who's a kind of shrine maiden but not in the same way as Reimu, Sanae is the descendant of Suwako Moriya, the deity who created her shrine (and still hangs out there with the one who dethroned her - the aforementioned Kanako - since they actually get along well and are married). She is fully human but is also a living god capable of creating miracles provided she has faith. Though even if she didn't, she could still survive as a human (unlike her patrons who are fully reliant on faith for survival). Here, her miracle working manifests in "Bordered Priestess" as Level manipulation since she is THE TUNER and this allows for some much appreciated flexibility on "Bordered Master". This is primarily to facilitate her upgraded form, which is Level 9 (you might notice that 6 + 5 =/= 9 and I want every Master/Subordinate duo to be able to make their respective upgrades), though it also makes "Border-nary Magician" easier to summon, which is good cause I want that card to be the easiest upgrade to bring out. It can reduce by 1 or 2 for gameplay reasons but Sanae works under two gods (Kanako and Suwako), both of whom provide her powers she can channel. I like to think of her using one or both as needed. I designed both Level modulation effects to account for different circumstances. If you're Normal Summoning this card, then that likely means you have Field Spell access but not "Bordered Master". But the standard Level 5 effect to summon itself can be used if you have "Bordered Master" but not the Field Spell. And if you don't have the Field Spell, then that just means it's time for an even greater miracle.

"Bordered Incarnation" can, on Synchro Summon, search any card in the archetype provided you don't already control it. That effect, combined with not needing the Quick-Play to be summoned, makes this card a great early enabler and negate magnet that can get the ball rolling should you need it. There are a few other search effects later, but this is the only one that can fetch any card in the archetype, full-stop. It's strong, use it well. For one last miracle, every Standby Phase, you gain 500 LP for every differently named "Border"- oh, I'm just receiving word that's time in the round! End the current Phase and whoever has more LP left wins. Look, it's dirty business, but an important aspect of viability is being able to win in time. Making "Bordered Incarnation" Turn 1 in Game 3 and passing right before time is called is a good way of doing that. Besides that, this effect can genuinely add up fast if you manage to make a full board. LP gain effects aren't amazing outside of time limits, but don't undervalue them too much or you'll start missing lethal. "Miracle" can mean many things and Touhou does talk about what means for Sanae's ability. Primarily she uses it to summon certain weather conditions, think of stuff like granting rain to an area stricken by drought, but that doesn't mean she can't do other things. The way the power works in the setting is basically the manipulation of odds. Miracles are not necessarily tied to fortune and one doesn't need to be "good" or "bad". Simpler stuff she can do with a word while super huge and unlikely occurrences can require multiple days of prep time. Here, nudging Levels a bit is simple, but searching a card from the deck requires she take the time to Synchro Summon. From there, she can restore her patron's strength (the user and their LP) by gathering faith (controlling more "Border" monsters). Overall I'm quite happy with the theming here.

Alright, you've seen the others, now it's time to remember who the ultimate protagonist is.

Reimu is awesome so she gets two upgrades. The first, "Bordered Resolver", is a Link-3 that requires exactly that many "Border" monsters, which is partially why the effects of "Bordered Sage" work the way they do. The way this deck works, three monsters can be a big ask, so I want to make summoning this easier while still feeling worth the effort. It points down-right, down-middle, and middle-right. This lets it easily point at two monsters for one of its effects while still letting it do something if it somehow winds up in a Main Monster Zone. OPT as a Quick Effect, it can destroy a "Border" monster it points to (Reimu beats them up, as she does) then summon from GY or banishment a monster with the same name but different ATK/DEF (she befriends them after beating them up, as she does though often to her own chagrin). This lets you recycle the base versions after they get banished for their upgrades' effects, while also letting you tag out for upgrades if the situation allows. The latter situation specifically gets an extra clause for "Border-nary Magician" since Marisa is Reimu's wife closest friend and I want them to have that extra synergy (plus having the base version as material is important for that card's full utility). To cap it off, she gets the fabled THRICE per turn on the protection effect. Love how this card came together both in flavor and as a piece of the archetype's end board.

And finally we have her final form, the Link-5 "Bordered Eternal". 3+ materials including the name are needed, meaning the Link-3 plus two more bodies does it, similar to the last one. Arrows are the same but with the addition of Middle-Left and Bottom-Right. This card is meant to be flashy and not necessarily something you'd always wanna go into, but if it does come down, you're in an extremely good position. Outright indestructible by battle since Reimu's ultimate move allows her to "float away from reality" and become "undefeatable by any method". The only reason she doesn't automatically win every fight with it is because she doesn't always choose to use it and, even when she does, enforces a time limit similar to what Sakuya does with her time stop to make things fair. Anything else that could get her off the field, she can use the protection effect to say no indefinitely. Provided the Field Spell is up, the only way you're beating this card besides with a "Kaiju" is to deck out the opponent, and they have to deal with non-targeting banishes all the while (the banish part specifically is the strongest part of the card and might need an OPT clause). In Touhou, one victory condition in danmaku battles is literally waiting out all your opponent's Spell Cards instead of depleting their health. Certain Spell Cards force the player to time them out. By summoning this, the user is making their opponent do that. But it doesn't stop there. If a Rank 4 or Level 9 "Border" monster (all non-Reimu upgrades) uses its own protection effect, then you can further plus by retrieving cards from the GY/banishment. This extends your time limit. Admittedly it isn't an effect I imagine would come up very often and is there largely for flavor (Reimu will protect Gensokyo and, despite her outward temperament, cares for those around her), but man it's fun. I hope that spirit came across in this.

Since we've covered them all now, an aspect of the upgrades I've neglected to mention is all of them have the final clause of being summoned by their procedure OPT. Going back to "Danmaku Battle", recall that summoning any of the upgrades is what allows you to place a Continous Spell/Trap from Deck. This means you can't spam just one of them if you want more than that. And yes, that finally means...

We're gonna go over a card that isn't a Continuous Spell/Trap!

Jokes aside, this is the deck's mandated archetypal searcher. It works in an off-beat way to show someone causing a problem (the Stage 5/6 Bosses) and the core duo going out to deal with them once they catch wind of it the following turn. The second effect is currently the only other way to place the fabled Continuous cards (and unlike Danmaku Battle can place one from GY). Not the simplest search Spell in the world but it's still just a search Spell so not much else to say. Run what you need for consistency, gets the ball rolling pretty well.

The first Continuous card, "Border Sign - Card Bomb". It follows the naming scheme most Spell Cards in Touhou use ([Category] Sign - [Name]) but "Card Bomb" is not my most inspired thought and imo it has the worst image of all the Spell/Trap proxies in terms of communicating the idea but we'll put that aside for now. The effects are where it's at and they're quite important to this deck's win con. First, when placed on the field by a "Border" card's effect, you can add from a "Border" monster from Deck or GY to hand. A generally solid search and recovery effect. Even if you draw into it and can't place it down with an effect, though, you can still activate it normally and use the other effect: Bombs. Spell Cards, specifically when used by the player in the traditional entries, are referred to as Bombs in the menus and are just big attacks that usually clear the screen of projectiles and heavily damages enemies (every playable character has their own spin and a few options therein). Standard shmup/bullet hell stuff, basically. The effect varies depending on the monster battling but the long and short is that the protags and their upgrades gain ATK/DEF while the other two and "Bordered Eternal" can non-target destroy something. Bear in mind that while the search effect is HOPT, the battle effect isn't. So you can stack multiple copies of this card if desired. I think this is fun since Reimu has canonically bomb spammed certain annoying opponents.

The big ticket monsters outright destroying is self-explanatory (notably none of the base protags can get over the DEF of "Bordered Sage" even with one boost), but now I'd like to take the time to discuss the reasoning for the ATK/DEF stats chosen for the protags as a whole.

Sakuya, from Touhou 6, has 1200 DEF (600x2). Youmu, from Touhou 7, has 1400 DEF (700x2). Sanae, from Touhou 10, has 2000 DEF (1000x2), plus it lets her mirror Reimu's DEF as an added bonus since their positions are similar. In all cases, gaining ATK/DEF equal to half their original DEF is how the stats for the upgrades were made. I knew I wanted Youmu's upgrade to have 3000 ATK which meant her base would have 2300. I wanted Sakuya to be close but still noticeably lower when upgraded so I landed on 2800 since that still ties with many monsters in the game. This makes her base 2200. Sanae's base ATK is 500 since she is (or rather was, when her game came out) the least experienced of the group, plus she gains the most from upgrading, and it mirrors the LP gain effect on her upgrade. This is still the one I'd consider changing the most, maybe to 1000 and 2000 for her two versions, respectively.

Reimu is more defensive but still powerful while Marisa cares more about power so I knew the former should have high DEF and average ATK while the latter would have low DEF and but more ATK than Reimu. 2000 felt right for Reimu's base DEF (she certainly wouldn't have less than Sanae and I wanted it higher than Marisa's ATK) and I wanted Marisa to have the lowest DEF overall so I went with 1100, 100 less than Sakuya. From there, it was a variety of factors that determined Reimu having 1600 ATK. Reimu and Marisa share a role as the variable Stage 4 Boss of Touhou 8, and 800x2 is 1600. But I also just liked the idea of Reimu having 2400 ATK for her upgrade since it felt right (helps that 24 is my favorite number). From there it's simple to add another 800 for the final version's 3200 ATK. Also, 2400 for Reimu's upgrade is why "Bordered Master" has 2500 ATK; it barely edges Reimu out until she decides to let loose.

This is just a game feel thing but YGO has somewhat loose stat tiers it tends to follow pretty well. 3000 ATK is usually the threshold for BIG things and anything beyond that isn't as common ("Blue-Eyes White Dragon" is still the strongest Normal Monster in the game, for example). Similarly, while there are many cards that freely summon themselves such this doesn't matter too much, Level 4 monsters (i.e. ones you can freely Normal Summon) don't usually go past 2000 ATK. Much of this is a relic from how the game was designed in its inception but there's something I appreciate about it still being true to this day. Basically, YGO power creep (outside of the really early days when Normal Monsters were still the predominant force) goes wider, not taller. Extending this to the language of Rank 4s, there aren't many with more than 2500 ATK (only 16 of the current 181), and those that go beyond near exclusively have more specific materials or need three monsters instead of two. Marisa's upgrade falls in the former camp. I didn't want her upgrade to have equal/more ATK than any of the Level 9s at base either (in this case, 2800 is the lowest Level 9) to accentuate the boost she gets from her effect. Marisa is about power, but it's power she earned through countless nights and years of study and practice. She works extremely hard to fight alongside the likes of Reimu, but hides that fact very well. None of this comes naturally. It's a really endearing part of her.

To boil this down: I knew Marisa would share Reimu's stat boosts to A) maintain the idea that the boost is related to the games where these characters are bosses and B) make the related card effects simpler. I couldn't go past 2700 for the upgrade since I didn't want a 50 in there and Sakuya's is 2800. Reimu is locked in at 1600 and I want Marisa's base noticeably higher. This left me with two options for Marisa's ATK: 1800 (to 2600) or 1900 (to 2700). Decided on the former since, going back to YGO's number language, you'll often see 2500 ATK paired with 2000 DEF. Take 100 of the latter and add it to the former? You get Marisa's upgraded stats.

That was a long-winded tangent but I do care about maintaining even the subtler parts of YGO's design principles when making customs. As such, I thought a lot about how to best do that while keeping theming in the stats. Wanted to share that process.

While the last one might've been aesthetically uninspired, I had a lot of fun with the name of this one and doing a silly edit.

Effects that destroy cards in inappropriate contexts, such as in the Deck/ED or to use them as material, are extremely comical to me (shoutouts to the "Nephthys" archetype and "Rapid Trigger" among others). Massive fan. I think the idea of the characters getting into a silly fight (which happens many times in this series) is a fun pretense for a card. This lets you mill whatever you need and recycle something else. Simple, has utility. The second effect requires you control a core protag and a tertiary one, and it will end with one of them being destroyed (or more likely protected by their own effect) in what is effectively this deck's only negate. It doesn't say negate, but it's basically a negate. That means it's a card worth considering for your end board.

The second effect falls into a category called "Quick-like Effects", basically Quick Effects i.e. things that can be activated at Spell Speed 2. While I've largely avoided talking effect logistics up to now, I want to highlight this since, normally, Spell Cards that aren't Quick-Play never get something like this. Effect replacements like this aren't unknown, you'll seem them sometimes on Monsters or Traps (this wording is taken nearly whole sale from "Generaider Boss Room"), plus there are Field/Continuous Spells that have a Continuous-like effect that's usually mandatory that do something similar. I nearly had to bite the bullet and make this effect worse out of deference to precedent, but then I found the single non-Quick Play Spell that has a Quick-like Effect: "Ancient City - Rainbow Ruins". I think it's fitting that my custom archetype based on a series of gay women had assistance from YGO's preeminent gay archetype.

We've arrived at the final card (for now) and the sole Trap in the line-up: "Border of Life". Named for and depicting a scene from the final boss of Touhou 7, this is the revival card. I don't think I need to explain much here even to those unfamiliar with Touhou. The final boss is a ghost, and after you think you win, she resurrects one final time while the theme "Border of Life" blares. You can't attack her; you simply survive until the barrage subsides. Considering the name I went for with this archetype (which I've yet to mention is for the Great Hakurei Barrier that surrounds Gensokyo and insulates it from the outside world), it was too perfect not to use.

The effect summons a "Border" monster from your GY (but ensures you aren't doubling up) when placed on the field; it literally jump scares you like the scene in question. From there, you can give your monster extra protection that mirrors how the opponent must simply survive your monster until it falls on its own. That's why you later must banish the monster you give the protection to. But, just like the character fought in the scene, she isn't gone for good. On the other side of the Border of Life, you can recycle cards thought lost to the banishment. Dropping theatrics for a moment, this is probably the best card to mill for all the protections effects you've seen up to now. Strong recycling and sometimes you might go for its on-field effects. I think it's a fun card and I enjoyed making it a lot.

While I didn't post everything in Set ID order, I did give all these cards their own IDs for organizational purposes (main deck monsters -> Ritual/ED monsters -> the two most important Spells -> the sole Normal Spell -> the Continuous Spells -> the single Continuous Trap). I skipped "TOHO - EN019" since I want to make a third Continuous Spell at some point at least. Also, there are currently nineteen mainline Touhou entries (though there are numerous official spinoffs) so making that many cards felt fitting.

And that's it! Thank you so much if you've read everything up to now, I didn't realize it would get this long when I started writing yesterday. This is something I've worked on for a while and I wanted to share the fruits of that, as I said at the start. It's been very fun and I'll almost certainly make more adjustments in the future, but as is I'm happy with how this ended up. It's an archetype based on the idea of these cards outlasting the opponent before going over the top with the effects of the upgrades and Continuous Spells. I knew I wanted Spell Cards to be a part of the win con for the series that has its own version of Spell Cards play such an important role. Both YGO and Touhou occupy a large part of my brain space and I hope some of that enjoyment came through here. Once again, thank you for reading.

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All proxies were created using the following site: https://lauqerm.github.io/ygocarder/ All art and assets used in the images of the proxies are from various official Touhou media, including: Touhou 6 - Embodiment of Scarlet Devil Touhou 7 - Perfect Cherry Blossom Touhou 7.5 - Immaterial and Missing Power Touhou 10 - Mountain of Faith Touhou 10.5 - Scarlet Weather Rhapsody Touhou 12.3 - Hisoutensoku Touhou 13.5 - Hopeless Masquerade Touhou 14.5 - Urban Legend in Limbo Touhou 15.5 - Antinomy of Common Flowers Touhou 16 - Hidden Star in Four Seasons The Grimoire of Marisa Touhou Bunkachou - Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red Touhou Suzunaan - Forbidden Scrollery

[sendme-2hell]

Rating the Books I read after Gideon the Ninth (in order) by how well they made me forget my Gideon the Ninth angst

I starred the ones that I actually recommend if you want something similar to gtn.

I was bored so I made this. Mostly just so I can look back at this and laugh at myself in a few months and remember what I’ve read. 

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

**Harrow the Ninth -Tamsyn Muir 

Summary: A depressed girl has to navigate murder attempts by both the mom and the dad of her dead ex-girlfriend who she can’t remember. She tries to make soup and writes fanfic to cope. 

How well it helped me forget: -100/10 but also 10/10 

Rating explanation: This one gets a 10/10 because it did make me feel better about a *particular* GTN plotpoint which I was very angsty about, but tragically it did make me more feral. After reading it I reread both books so I don’t think it helped me forget my angst. 

Similar themes to GTN: all of it, plus more memes 

I Want to Be Where The Normal People Are - Rachel Bloom 

Summary: Rachel Bloom who wrote the world’s most relatable song: “You Stupid Bitch,” and starred/created in Crazy Ex Girlfriend, writes about having anxiety, feeling like she’s not normal, and Harry Potter fanfic.

How well it helped me forget: 8/10

Rating explanation: For a few minutes I actually did forget about my griddlehark angst while I learned more about Bloom’s life and laughed at the painful relatability of it all. 

Similar themes to TLT: ummm depression, feeling very out of place, memes

Fingersmith - Sarah Waters

Summary: The book The Handmaiden was based on. A girl is sent to become a Lady’s handmaiden to con her out of some money. She falls in love. Many plot twists. 

How well it helped me forget: 5/10

Rating explanation: I was sadly still thinking about TLT the whole time I read this. I liked it but I actually like the Handmaiden better because the women spend more time together. Like in this book, I wish that Harrow and Gideon could spend more time together. 

Similar themes: wlw enemies to lovers, at some point you realize the main character’s love interest understands what’s going on way more than the main character

Kindred - Octavia Butler 

Summary: Very dark book about slave narratives. I cannot make a joke here, but this book is excellent. 

How well it helped me forget: 10/10 

Rating explanation: Again, I can’t make a joke. But Octavia Butler is amazing. 

Ash - Malinda Lo 

Summary: A wlw retelling of Cinderella with fairies and an emphasis on stories 

How well it helped me forget:7/10

Rating explanation: This was really quick and fun and I definitely was rooting for the lesbians. Also it was nice it had a happy ending! If you liked Crier’s War (which I did), this was clearly an influence for Nina Varela. 

Similar themes: wlw, the magic one + the fighting one dynamic

Station Eleven - Emily St. John Mandel

Summary: A deadly pandemic wipes out so many people that the world spins into chaos and no one can figure out how to use electricity apparently? But the book is really about fame and wanting to be remembered. Go figure.

How well it helped me forget: -10/10 

Rating explanation: Ok that’s not fair. It helped me forget about Gideon and Harrow but it did NOT help me forget about Corona. It was technically good and a lot of people I respect love it, but either because I was still thinking about TLT or because it was about a pandemic, I couldn’t really enjoy it. 

Similar themes: post-apocalyptic 

Red, White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston 

Summary: The Prince of England and The son of the president of the US are enemies. They are definitely enemies.

How well it helped me forget: 6/10

Rating explanation: This was such a fun read that it almost distracted me! Tragically I was in such TLT headspace that I kept pausing to read fanfics where Gideon and Harrow switch eyes. 

Similar themes: Enemies to lovers, queer

Troubling Love - Elena Ferrante 

Summary: In true Elena Ferrante fashion, an event spurs an Italian woman to do a lot of internal processing and have some flashbacks. 

How well it helped me forget: 7/10

Rating explanation: This book was a bit disturbing so it distracted me in that way. Plus I love Elena Ferrante’s writing so much that it felt like coming home to an old friend. Unfortunately for me, this is Elena Ferrante’s least queer book. I know because I have now read them all. Her most queer book, The Lying Life of Adults, would have distracted me better. Also just using this space to tell anyone who’s still reading this (probably no one) to go read My Brilliant Friend (and the corresponding Neopolitan Novels). They are not similar to TLT except they are vaguely queer and about competitive friendships where the girls are obsessed with each other in maybe an unhealthy way. Ok so a bit similar. Genuinely my favorite books ever. 

Similar themes: mommy issues, daddy issues, childhood trauma

On This Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous -Ocean Vuong

Summary: A Vietnamese immigrant reflects on his mother, grandmother, and his own life experience in the US. It is poetic and beautiful and will make you cry. 

How well it helped me forget: 10/10

Rating explanation: This book is beautiful. It really changes how you think about the US. Plus really interesting stuff about the western way of telling stories. Cannot recommend it enough, though very little to do with TLT. 

Similar themes: queer, stuff about language, childhood trauma, you will cry

**The Priory of the Orange Tree - Samantha Shannon 

Summary: OK sorry none of those were good suggestions for what to read after GTN. THIS is what you should read after GTN. It is an incredibly slow burn wlw enemies to lovers. There are dragons, there is magic, there are very cool female characters who I am in love with. This is like Game of Thrones but if it was good, queer, and only one 800 page book. 

How well it helped me forget: 10/10

Rating explanation: Enemies to lovers!!!! What more do I have to say? Also very cool world-building, interesting religious themes. 

Similar themes: wlw enemies to lovers, religious themes, magic, very old wizard milfs, also mlm

*The Traitor Baru Cormorant 

Summary: Baru is a very smart girl in a colonized island. She decides she will play the game of the colonizers, rise up in their society, and destroy them from within. How is that going, Baru? 

How well it helped me forget: 100/10

Rating explanation: This DID make me forget TLT. The only book to truly make me. It made me forget so badly that I wanted my Griddlehark angst BACK. GIVE ME IT BACK I don’t wanna feel sad about Baru anymore. I cannot recommend it more, it is so good, but it did make me ugly cry. It also made me majorly depressed about colonization and the state of the world. 

Similar themes: wlw enemies to lovers, ending will make you cry

*The Monster Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson 

Summary: Baru is depressed, has brain damage, throws up a lot, is sad about (redacted), does some things without remembering them because there’s something going on in her brain. Sound familiar? It’s kinda like Harrow the Ninth but more depressing. Oh also a lot of new characters are introduced, old characters come back, a lot of setup for the next book. Euler’s identity shows up out of nowhere?! 

How well it helped me forget: 10/10

Rating explanation: Again, it made me forget but only because I was so engrossed in this story. Also kinda depressed. This book is kinda depressing. But Baru is very fun to be around, and there are some other great characters. Marry me, Yawa. 

Similar themes: again, this is just harrow the ninth on steroids, I am in love with every single woman in this series

*The Tyrant Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson 

Summary: Baru makes a new bestie, reunites with an old bestie, and discovers a dead bestie in her brain!

How well it helped me forget: 1000/10

Rating explanation: I loved this book. There were a few scenes I reread >four times. This book makes the other books in the series worth it. 

Similar themes: please see my venn diagram comparing tlt, baru, and A memory called empire for more information

*The Ninth House - Leigh Bardugo 

Summary: A girl has seen ghosts her whole life and because of that, gets accepted at Yale even though she didn’t finish high school. Yale is like a hotspot for ghosts I guess. It’s dark academia, the girl has a secret, the narrator is pretty funny.

How well it helped me forget: 6/10

Rating explanation: I was trying to get distracted from TLT (and Baru at this point), but it’s hard to forget about Harrow and Gideon in a book called The Ninth House (hello?). It was enjoyable and there was some good humor. I’m curious about the next book in the series when it comes out. It is not wlw unless you squint (which I do). 

Similar themes: debatably wlw body posession, nine houses, the ninth one being important, nerd boy who reminds me of pal, woman is revealed to be MUCH older than I originally thought, soul eating, revenants, tombs, necromancy, character named Mercy

The Bone Season - Samantha Shannon 

Summary: It’s the future and London is a hotspot for clairvoyants. Paige is a woman who has a special gift and can jump into people’s bodies and possess them briefly (among other things, this is a terrible explanation). Because of this, she is sent to a secret part of the city where clairvoyants are trained to be monster fighters (but also like, kept there in captivity against their will). Unlike every other book on this list I honestly wouldn’t recommend. I know there are other books in the series. If you’ve read on and it gets better let me know. (I know no one has gotten this far reading this but still)

How well it helped me forget: 4/10

Rating explanation: This one was disappointing because I loved Priory of the Orange Tree so much. This book did not distract me from my griddlehark or barhu feels. There’s also a character named Warden so I thought about SexPal a lot. 

Similar themes: enemies to lovers, ghosts, possession, queer but only background characters 

****The Unspoken Name - A.K. Larkwood 

Summary: A girl is in an isolated cult that wants her to die as a sacrifice (sound familiar?). A definitely not evil wizard helps her escape. She meets a cute necromancer who’s also kinda from a cult. She goes on some gay adventures, gets the help of a morally grey older necromancer (who I’m in love with), and fights with her frenemy. 

How well it helped me forget: 10/10

Rating explanation: This is the most similar to TLT on this list. Gideon and Csorwe would be friends. Seriously I recommend this! And the second book comes out soon! And it’s not sad like TLT or Baru! 

Similar themes: sword lesbian + necromancer dynamic, wlw enemies to lovers, cults, tombs, necromancy, character named “the sleeper”, also mlm

The Invisible Life of Addie Larue - V. E. Schwab 

Summary: Adeline Larue made a deal with a demon in 1714 France, because she wanted to see the world and stuff. It backfires of course. She is immortal but no one remembers her. This causes all sorts of problems and makes her very angsty. The narrative flashes between her going through the years, and her falling in love with the only person who will remember her. 

How well it helped me forget: 2/10

Rating explanation: I know people loved this book but I did not. I liked the last 50 pages, I’ll give it that. I wish it was more queer (it was a little queer). 

Similar themes: as I said, a little wlw, immortality, demons, I guess falling in love with someone and them not remembering you now that I think about it 

Sula - Toni Morrison 

Summary: A story about two black women in the 1920’s-1960’s in an Ohio town. It is really great and interesting. It is a book about complicated female friendships (among so many other things that better writers not writing a list no one will read about their TLT feels have outlined) which I love. I was told I should read this after the Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante and it did not disappoint. Same vibes. 

How well it helped me forget: 10/10

Rating explanation: This was just a great book. Has really nothing to do with TLT

Similar themes: debatably queer 

*Murderbot Diaries: All Systems Red, Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol, Exit Strategy, Network Effect,  - Martha Wells

Summary: Muderbot is an artificial construct who just wants to be left alone to watch tv, damnit! It doesn’t want to interact with humans, and it definitely does not want to talk about feelings. Too bad some humans want to become friends with it.

How well it helped me forget: 10/10

Rating explanation: These books were so good. They did help me forget! The books are really about having anxiety, making friends, and letting yourself have feelings. Also they are SO FUNNY. Highly recommend. In the way that I love Gideon’s POV, I love Murderbot’s POV

Similar themes: funny narrator, queer characters, space, people who don’t want to deal with their feelings being forced to deal with their feelings

*A Memory Called Empire - Arkady Martine 

Summary: Mahit is sent a dangerous, evil empire to be an ambassador. Lots of beautiful writing about colonialism, assimilation, language, and culture.There is gay angst and funny characters. I am once again in love with a morally grey older woman character. 

How well it helped me forget: 10/10

Rating explanation: Yes this book is great and did distract me from gtn (mostly. I did end up reading a great fanfic about wake, g1deon, and pyrrah in the middle but otherwise...). It is part of my holy trilogy of wlw books (this, baru, tlt) that I just read recently. The next book comes out on March 2nd so it will be a good distraction from waiting for Alecto. Like Baru, it made me feel like shit about colonialism but unlike the other two books in my trilogy (redacted but if you’ve read those books you know) didn’t happen. It had a not too sad ending. 

Similar themes: see my venn diagram, but seriously what is going on with brain surgery in these books...

*The Luminous Dead - Cailtin Starling 9/10

Summary: A woman needs money and to get the money she goes on a risky cave dive. It turns out the only contact she has with the rest of the world is a woman who’s kinda a dick. It’s 400 pages of creepy cave diving and these two women talking to each other. It’s creepy and uncomfortable and I loved it. I did spend the whole book thinking it would be such a good story podcast.

How well it helped me forget: 10/10

Rating explanation: It did make me forget about tlt! There are some kinda boring parts but it pays off. The relationship between the two main characters is very interesting (though a bit fucked up). 

Similar themes: wlw enemies to lovers, traumatised characters, shitty moms

[goodlucktkachuk]

Frantic -- Matthew Tkachuk (Pt.4)

a/n: finally here with part 4!! it’s been a busy few days but I hope you guys enjoy! i think ths story has two or three parts left in it.

Part One   Part Two   Part Three

“Y/N hurry up! We’re gonna be late!” Emily screamed across the apartment as you were frantically throwing whatever clean clothes you could find into your open suitcase. It was creeping up to 8am and you guys were supposed to leave at 7:45 for your 10am flight. You weren’t completely unprepared, you had packed a few jerseys and a less than innocent red set to live underneath them but the past few days had been so busy you forgot to pack the rest.

The team was back on the road but this time to the west coast. Fortunately, you and Emily had just started your reading weeks so it only made sense you finally got to join the boys on at least part of their trip. Emily had never gotten to see Alberta before so it was the perfect opportunity to do some exploring. You were meeting the boys in Calgary for their day off and the Flames game then when they were off to Edmonton the two of you were off to explore. Mitch offered all the time to fly you guys wherever they were but you never wanted to impose. He was pleasantly surprised when you finally asked him for two plane tickets.

Barging into your room extremely pissed off, a look of horror crossed your roommate's face as she watched you scramble. She sighed loudly as she grabbed your hips and placed you in a chair in the corner of your room. She made quick work of your messy packing skills and threw in an extra hoodie and jeans in addition to socks which you had forgotten about entirely. You went to thank her but she pressed her finger to your lips, shushing you.

“The Ubers waiting lets, go.” If looks could kill you would’ve been a goner twenty minutes ago.

The drive to the airport was quiet. Emily had her head in her phone texting Nick while you stared at the city flashing past you. The past few weeks had been crazy. School was in full swing and was taking most of your energy. Spending ten hours a day in the studio left you little time to see anyone let alone keep up with what was going on outside of your bubble. You felt bad because you hadn’t been giving Matt as much attention lately. The two of you called and facetimed when you could but it didn’t feel like enough. He knew you were busy and was more than supportive but the guilt still pang in your chest and the thought of him losing interest ran wild through your mind. This trip couldn't have came at a better time, you figured surprising him was the best way to make up for the distance between you two lately.

Emily, still mad at your last minute lifestyle, kept to herself for the wait in the airport and most of the flight but she started to gush the closer you two got to your destination. You were so used to traveling growing up that it was sweet getting to see someone get so excited.

After collecting your bags it was a short drive back to the hotel. As you guys approached the entrance you noticed a group of girls probably about 15 or 16 in Leafs jerseys. When you walked past they got quiet and you could hear the whispers.

“Oh my god is that Mitch’s sister?” “That's definitely Nick's girlfriend!” “Ugh! This isn’t fair! She’s not even pretty enough for him!”

You reached and squeezed Emily’s hand as you kept walking. Just like the guys, you knew better then to respond to people because in the long run it hurts their career and relationships. It was nothing she hadn’t heard from others or hadn’t seen on social media but you knew it still hurt her just a little.

Dropping your bags with a thud, you hurled yourself at the nearest bed and let out a massive sigh of relief as you let the softness envelop your body. Emily’s laughter filled the room as she placed her bags down next to your and sat on the edge of your bed. You let out a small grunt as she shook your leg, trying to get you to sit up.

“Mini!” her voice was more stern then usually. “Come on, we didn’t come all this way for you to lay in bed. Let's do something!”

“But bed.” You pouted into the sheets.

She aggressively grabbed your arm, pulled you up and headed for the door. You wanted to protest but you knew it wasn’t worth it. It was a cold day so you both agreed that shopping was the best way to fill your time before you had to go meet the boys for dinner.

Matthew checked his phone a lot more these days. He was never really one to care if people had answered him or to be obsessed with social media but since you entered his life he was constantly looking. At first Johnny and Noah were really digging into him but they soon realized how important this girl was to Matt. She was known as the Rat Queen through the locker room because Tkachuk refused to reveal her identity but wanted to gush about how talented she was. Noah was the only one who knew who you were.

He supported Matt but he reminded his friend on multiple occasions that he has to be careful. Between tight inner circles and the looming presence of fans and press. You could never be too careful.

It was killing Matt just a little bit that he hadn’t seen you in so long but he knew you needed to be in Toronto. He dragged Noah with him CrossIron Mills to help pick out things to send to you in a care package. He had gotten the idea from his brothers girlfriend because she had sent Brady one while they were home for the summer in St. Louis. Back in his apartment he had a box with a few snacks and some of his old T-shirts and sweaters. All sprayed with his cologne.

He was on the hunt today for something special but he wasn’t quite sure what that was. The two boys had wandered into a record store and were just mindlessly looking to see if anything would catch their eye.

You were still empty handed after a few hours of walking around and you were ready to call it quits but Emily pulled you into Sunshine Records for one last stop. You parted ways and you made your way to the back of the store. Once again not paying attention to where you were going you smacked into someones back.

“I am so sor-” You looked up and were met with the same piercing blue eyes from a few weeks ago but this time he looked a lot happier to be crashed into. Picking you up, he spun you around and placed a soft kiss on your lips. Fireworks exploded in your stomach but before you could react it was over.

“What are you doing here?!” He exclaimed as he set you down, keeping his arms wrapped around your neck.

“I’m looking for the new Niall Horan vinyl babe.” You giggled.

“Not in the store Y/N! Why are you HERE?” He lets go of you and starts waving in hand in every direction, “In Calgary!”

“Ohh right. I was going to surprise you at your game tomorrow.”

“Well as much as that’s sweet I’m glad you ruined the surprise.” He pulled you in for another sweet kiss, making you melt even further. You both heard a cough and turned to see Emily and Noah standing a few feet away. The two of you pulled away and returned to your respective best friend. Noah extended his hand to you and the grip of his handshake is firm but welcoming.

“So you’re the famous Y/N that Chucky never stops talking about.” That comment earned Noah a swift smack to the back of the head from Matt.

You laughed slightly as you responded, “That's me. I hope it's all good things Chucky.” You sent him a teasing glance while you spoke.

“Oh trust me he is, you really got him wrapped around your finger. There was this one time-” Noah was forcefully cut off by Matt.

“Ah Ah Ah, that’s enough! I am so sorry to cut this story short but we have a team dinner to get ready for.” He started pushing Noah towards the exit as you and Emily followed.

“Calm down buddy.” His phone went off in his hand and said “It was lovely to meet you guys.” before rushing away to answer. Emily stepped away at the same time for the same reason leaving you and Matt alone.

He pulled you into another hug and he smiled as he felt you relax completely into his arms. He looked down at you and marveled at your face before he spoke.

“So if you’re coming to my game does that mean your finally gonna finally wear my jersey babe?”

“Awh sorry love, accidentally brought my Talbot jersey. Maybe next time.” A smirk covering your face. He frowned at you.

“You’re a monster.” Joking tone in his voice.

You pushed up on your toes and planted another kiss on his lips.

“Yeah but I’m your monster.”

“Yes, yes you are.”  you both stared aimlessly into eachothers eyes. Your moment was cut short by Emily’s return.

“Hey Y/n… That was my mom, I have to head home after the game tomorrow. There’s some family stuff I have to be there for. I’m really sorry.”

You pulled away from Matt and gave her a hug, tracing small circles on her spine to calm her down.

“It’s okay. Do you want me to come back with you?”

“No, no it’s okay, Nicks gonna come with me.” Her eyes were full of disappointment.

“Okay hun. Tonight we’ll reschedule all our hotels and come back out in May. How does that sound?”

“Sounds good but what are you going to do the rest of the week then?”

Piping up from behind them, Matt enthusiastically said “Come stay with me.”

“That’s very sweet of you Matts but I don’t wanna impose and how would I explain that to Mitch?” You knew Mitch would understand if you told him about you and Matt but you weren’t ready to take that step yet. Especially becuase you guys weren’t anything offical yet.

“We play Ottawa later this week so the family’s coming down to see it. Just tell him you're staying in town to see Taryn.” You thought about it for a minute because he had a good point. You hadn’t seen Taryn in about two years plus it technically wouldn’t be lying to Mitch.

“Fine.”

“Yay!”  Matthew mauled you with a quick hug and kissed your forehead. He gave you a quick goodbye and headed off to find his teammate. You and Emily finished shopping and headed back to the hotel to get ready for your night. 

Even though the mall was pretty empty there's always someone around to see things. You guess someone saw you and Matt together today and tweeted about seeing the two of you. Adding insult to injury, Matt liked the tweet sending twitter into a tailspin of rumours. He really was a pest on and off the ice.

[ruby-whistler]

Are you normal or do u sometimes go "IVE BEEN SCARED OF SLEEPING WITH THE LIGHTS ON(off? Idk its hard to decipher)"/lyrics -curious anon

me: oh boy, can't wait to try and make a tumblr blog! Before i do i should research it- *what in the hecking heck is an xkit*

djskdjsk i had no idea what an xkit was until yesterday and when i got it i got too confused and uninstalled it - dw curious anon i don’t use it either i just vibe and do whatever i guess. if you tag correctly and make good posts things should work out, can’t wait to see your acc around!

I got some sad-ist merch :DDD!!

yooo!! that’s so pog for you! it’s probably pretty comfy :D

me standing ominously in your askbox waiting to rec my fav fics:

fjsjdjsk i literally just finished passerine i still have 80 more (some of which are like 300k words long) on my to-read but uh if they have c!dream mischaracterized i’ll not be reading them anyways so it’s very hit-or-miss, will probably get through some of them quicker-

After many moons spent under the dsmp, seeing discourse and analysis alike, i have come to the conclusion i simply do not have the energy to care about any lore outside of c!tubbo and c!tommy's and will only defend them. And that is ok. It is ok to not watch or care about all dsmp or want to discourse about them or analyze. Idk man was thinking deep thoughts today

it’s ok to watch entertainment and enjoy it the way you want to! it’s great to want to enjoy or talk about your fav character!

the problems come up when you attack other people for their perspectives on the medium or spread misinformation about different characters based on only watching the perspective you like, but you know - if you’re not doing analysis, you really don’t need to look that deep into it.

it’s ok to just chill. your feelings about characters are valid! :D so yeah i agree with you! let people with different opinions exist if they’re also being respectful (e. g. tagging correctly).

Hey ik u worked with animgician's newest vid and i found a not-crit (i rlly think) little thought on it if u wanna see it

yoo feel free to send it in!!

No one: me: *shuffles around* wanna hear about my cool warden c!tommy au?

may i interest u in a little bit of my writing? If not that is ok i just wanna see if my writing is any good before working on a fic lol

Anyways if i am not in the askbox for a little it is because i am now writing a proper fic thing out. Wish me luck o7 -curious anon (i have three different lyrics i am going to be incorporating and a little analysis and just a smidgen of projection)

Ruby do u wanna read a little something i wrote? *does the little fingers thing* its really short just a headcanon with a little prose

i sure do! that sounds rlly cool - are you sure you don't wanna make a post about that on your own account though? i don't mind seeing it at all but i think the c!tommy tag would be able to appreciate that au better than my followers. you've gotta find the right target audience, y'know? /lh

though of course i'd love to see your writing, i'm sure it's great! looking forward to it :]

Ayo i remembered u talking about how punitive punishment doesn't work the other day so i want to discuss. What would u consider to be a fitting "punishment" for c!dream's canonic killing of mexican dream?/gen

i mean... we're not trying to - being against punitive justice is about the fact punishment is wrong, not just certain types of it. asking me what a "fitting punishment" would be is sort of very not getting the point.

hurting people further is not going to teach them anything and it’s not going to help anyone, why is it necessary?

so the answer is: none. he shouldn’t be punished, actually! he should learn on his own that what he did wasn’t right, and that’s about it. that’s the thing about transformative justice. him becoming a better person who Wouldn’t Do That again because it goes against who he is.

however, there’s also restorative justice, which is working to “make it up” to the victims. to which i propose; dream has the revival book and could literally bring him back once he is out of the prison. give him some powder maybe. md would probably be chill w/ that.

Yknow. In all my time in dsmpblr i can confidently say that the main differnece between c!dream apologist/enthusiants and c!wilbur/sam ones is that the c!wilbur/c!sam ones want their fav to have a breakdown and c!dream ones want theirs to get positive reinforcement /hj /lh

i’m pretty sure the sam and wil ones also want them to get better/get redeemed, at least deep down, but i get what you mean! you’re *glances at the 🟩⛏ gc where all we do 24/7 is write angst about c!dream being terribly hurt and then we cry about it* 100% correct. no angsters who like the pain here *nervously laughs* we all just want him to heal and be happy for the rest of his life with no heart-shattering breakdowns whatsoever! /s /lh

Hope ur having a great day m8 :]] -curious anon (also i have a new canon fact i wanna share. In quackity's alt lore stream yesterday he said (to the best of my memory) that "no law/juridsiction exists on the dream smp to prevent one from building anywhere" so i guess that clears up the big debate on wheather or not c!dream had a right to enforce rules (or basically the arguement that he owned the server by divine rule)

no i’m - i’m pretty sure that’s just how it works. dream still owns the smp, but he himself has said wayy back at the beginning “everyone can build and go wherever they want” and that was that. it was one of his rules on the smp, it was his main problem with l’manberg. being able to build anywhere were the rules that he “had the right” to enforce. and he did, not because he was a god, but because it was his smp, his home that he claimed for his friends. wouldn’t call it a big debate, it’s really that simple.

.AGONY. HURT EVEN. THIS IS HOW IT IS FOR CURIOUS ANON. I LAUGH, I CRY, I FIND AN ANIMATED GIF ON TWITTER THAT SQUEEZES MY C!TOMMY ENJOYER HEART INTO OBLIVION. (i am being dramatic btw for the funnies just so ya know) I AM NOT GOING TO FINANICALLY RECOVER FROM THIS. AAAAAAAAAAA UEEEEEEE

OK THAT FREAKING

O U C H-

also for the old phil ask. Hes a bad dad because of how he treated ghostbur. I will elaborate if u want

didn’t ghostbur just say “i’m not wilbur” and philza said “you’re not my son” and they went on with their day? weren’t they actually in agreement that he wasn’t the same as wil when he was alive? i don’t remember him really treating him badly tbh other than disowning him which seems fair to me, because ghostbur was a literal stranger to phil at that point?

wish you a nice day, curious anon! (i’ll be back on my essays and answering other asks now, so i might not reply right away :])

[brooklynboysficrecs]

Ria’s Top 10 Shrinkyclinks Fics

I will admit this isn’t my preferred AU -- I won’t immediately jump on a fic just because it’s pre-serum Steve and WS Bucky. I gotta like the plot, or the premise, or be really, really intrigued by the tags, but to be fair, that’s how I am with everything that isn’t Modern Bucky and Cap Steve, so. That being said, I have read some truly fantastic shrinkyclinks stories, and I do very much love Steven “Fight Me” Rogers at his scrappiest. And these fics also tend to feature protective!Bucky which is another personal favorite of mine. Oh, but also: shrinkyclinks generally refers to pre-serum Steve with actual Winter Soldier Bucky, but a lot of people use the tag just to imply body types, and when they say WS Bucky they mean he’s all huge and muscled and sometimes has a metal arm, though that isn’t required. That’s the definition I’m going with as well, so hopefully nothing’s confusing!

1. If Wishing Made It So by leveragehunters. Before I get into anything about the actual fic, let me say this: leveragehunters is probably my favorite stucky writer. Like, hands-down, I read almost everything they write, and they’re big into fantasy stories, which is a great bonus for me personally. So, so, so many good shrinkyclinks fics by them (Even Underneath the Waves, a mermaid AU that features equal amounts of pre- and post-serum Steve, and A-mage-ing Grace with mage Steve are two of my other favorites, and they would’ve been on the list, but I try not to put more than one story per author, ya know? And IWMIS kinda wins out above the others for me, so). This story features jinn!Bucky who finds himself in the baffled hands of Steve Rogers, who is perfectly prickly and stubborn and good. Bucky’s got a terrible past with humans in general (and Hydra in particular, what a shocker) that he and Steve have to overcome as their relationship progresses, but that progression is frankly beautiful to watch unfold. I come back to this story time and time again because of how much I love these versions of Steve and Bucky getting to know one another, learning to trust each other, supporting each other through the worst the world has to throw at them. Plus, there’s a few more stories in this series if you get as hooked as I am, which is always great!!

2. Roots Have Grown by AustinB. I remember reading this and just... completely feeling what Bucky is going through. Not everything -- he’s an agoraphobic veteran, and I can’t relate to either of those, really, but he’s so... awkward about his crush on Steve. And that’s -- that’s relatable to me. But it’s precious, really, how he tries to help Steve even though he’s afraid to actually meet him initially; he becomes Steve’s sort of... anonymous benefactor? Guardian angel with money? Like, it’s definitely a sugar daddy type deal originally but I doubt Bucky would describe it like that. I don’t know, it’s cute, though, and I loved seeing Bucky opening up to Steve as they became closer. 

3. Through The Woods by VenusMonstrosa, alby_mangroves. Okay, hear me out: werewolves. I fucking love werewolves in fiction; I mean, not really the romance novels you’ll see in the grocery store, but. Werewolf mythology is one of my favorite things, so seeing it in fanfiction almost always manages to lure me in. And I was so not disappointed with this story! Steve’s living alone in a cabin in the woods, which of course sounds like the opening to a horror movie, but here it leads to love. Werewolf Bucky is both charming and terrifying, to a degree, he’s a wolf, but he and Steve are fantastic together. This is another story that goes in on the trust aspect of their relationship and I for one am a big fan of that. There’s some violence, minor character death and the like, but it’s definitely not undeserved so. If you can handle that (and the sex, because there is sex in this) then I highly recommend this one!

4. The Joy of Little Things by obsessivereader, Sealcat. And so we move from werewolves to dragons. Yup. Dragons. Another of my beloved mythical creatures that I obsessed over when I was kid. Bucky’s capable of shifting into a human in this, but primarily he’s a big ol’ dragon that surprisingly doesn’t want to eat the scrawny sacrifice from the local village. Steve ends up working for Bucky, instead, and from there hilarity ensues. Steve’s obviously wary of Bucky, but Bucky isn’t at all what he’d been expecting, and they grow closer the longer Steve’s staying in Bucky’s caves. There are a couple of stories with Dragon!Bucky, but this is my personal favorite; it’s cute and heart-warming and, well. I just really like it. 

5. I Just Want to Love You in My Own Language by agetwellcard, inediblesushi. So this one has Cap!Bucky (Bucky!Cap?) but again, sometimes it’s more about how Bucky looks rather than his role as the Winter Soldier. Anyway, I remember my biggest take away from this story was how adorable Bucky was in his quest to win the affections of sassy Nurse Steve, who patches him up after missions and is probably playing hard to get. Bucky uses terrible pick-up lines, absolutely awful, and he is completely unashamed of that fact. Which is, as I said, adorable. Steve, initially, does not agree with my assessment, but he gets there eventually. After some requisite drama, of course.

6. Tint & Shade by forestofbabel. Oh, god, this one hurt me, I remember that pretty clearly. Bucky is the Winter Soldier in this, and Steve is a 21st century art therapist who just so happens to resemble his late grandfather, Captain Joseph Rogers, who fought in -- you guessed it -- WWII. Like I said in the intro, if I really like the premise of something I’ll usually read it regardless of the configuration of pre-/post-serum Steve and pre-serum/WS Bucky, and this was definitely one of the fics I got into for that reason. Having actual WS Bucky interact with a modern pre-serum Steve is always interesting, given how much they don’t have in common, generally (there isn’t even really the veteran status that modern Bucky sometimes has in fics), and it’s a journey to see how and why they connect. Having Steve resemble his WWII era grandfather caught my attention, and the fic itself made me grateful that I decided to go for it in the first place. This is another one where is trust is key to their relationship, considering the mental/emotional state Bucky is in at the beginning. Very good story overall!

7. Fourth Floor by dirtybinary, mithborien, picoalloe. So dirtybinary has written some amazing stucky fics, which is why I was so excited when I saw this being posted initially (a few years ago, but still). There’s magic! Mystery! Suspense! Some NatSharon! Looking this over, I’m wondering if I should’ve saved it for the Urban Fantasy list I wanna do (and If Wishing Made It So, if I’m being honest) but I do like it for the shrinkyclinks list. The writing is great, the characterization of Steve and Bucky is great, and like, they live in what is essentially a magical apartment complex, so what’s better than that? 

8. my heart tells me you are lonely, too by FanGirling. Alright, so I read this one as it was being published, and the slow burn about killed me. You know, in a good way, though. Bucky lives in Steve and his mother’s apartment building, trying to figure out where to go with his life now that he’s broken free of Hydra and gotten his autonomy back. He’s obviously wary, skittish, but he takes a liking to Sarah Rogers when she reaches out to befriend him, surprised anyone wants to be near him let alone take the time to get to know him. Steve... is not so easily sold on Bucky. And I’m not gonna spoil anything here, but the shit these two go through is intense, and I cried a lot during this fic, sometimes out of frustration because they’re both ridiculous about their feelings (of course Bucky’s fears are valid, the man has been through literal hell, but also I was internally screaming a little as Bucky continually talked himself out of getting closer to Steve.) I wanted to wrap the both of them in about thirty blankets for pretty much the entire length of the fic. God. They’re just -- they’re so incredibly sweet in this one, once they work past their issues (Bucky and Steve are both more than a little messed up from their respective circumstances, but they make it work). Mind the tags on this one, also, especially because there is a chapter that deals with attempted sexual assault against Steve (obviously not with Bucky!), but Bucky handles the situation before anything truly nasty happens, that I can promise. 

9. Local Raccoon Befriends Angry Chihuahua by charlesdk. This is yet another author I really love; they have a fantastic farmer!Steve/Modern!WS!Bucky story that I love to bits, as well as other great fics. But anyway, this one. The title sold me the second I saw it, honestly, I can’t even pretend that wasn’t the deciding factor in me reading this. I don’t think I can really do any better than the summary in explaining why I recommend it; feisty tiny Steve and lovestruck grumpy Bucky are a winning combination in my book. This one does feature the boys dealing with homophobia and ableism, though I can’t recall how severe it is. So I’d just mind the tags, and if you’re alright with them, thoroughly enjoy this story. 

10. The Road to Hell is Paved with Tony’s Good Intentions by pinlilli. Bucky as a mail-order Russian bride. That’s the detail that pretty much demanded I click on this fic, and oh my god, it was even better than I ever could’ve expected. Tony, in a bid to help Steve get over his awful ex-boyfriend (fuck Brock Rumlow in every universe, honestly), literally orders him a husband -- in the form of beefy James Barnes, who is a fucking gem and I will not hear one bad word against him. He does chores, it’s lovely and adorable, and you will definitely fall just as hard as Steve does. There’s some canon-typical violence in this one that relates to James’ past, but nothing super graphic as far as I remember. Again, Rumlow is a dick and should be treated as such, but he’s hardly the most important part of this fic and I urge everyone to take a look at it if they’re as intrigued by Bucky being a mail-order husband as I was. 

[fantastic-rambles]

Ahhh yaknow what you’re right. I just went back and looked over some of the rod, and I didn’t see Langa explicitly agree to not to skate with Adam. He promised that he wouldn’t quit skating with Reki, but he only acknowledged Reki’s warning to not be reckless. It actually makes a bunch of sense why Langa would be confused by the distancing and argument. I see now why you were upset with Reki’s behavior. It feels kind of like a ‘secret contract’ sorta thing where Reki got upset over a broken rule Langa never realized he was supposed to abide by. And not only is that unfair like you said, but it flipped the situation as if Langa was being untrustworthy to his word when really Reki didn’t trust Langa not to quit skating with him just because of danger/injury. And especially since I’ve seen people make solid arguments for Langa being neurodivergent or neurodivergent-coded, it’s really not a stretch at all for him to see the situation like you did. Langa most likely saw the issue as solely reckless behavior leading to quitting. But clearly Reki’s own jealousy/insecurities added Langa preferring better skaters as potentially leading to them not skating together without ever discussing it until Langa was blindsided during the argument. I would’ve looked a better apology from Reki where he fully explained why he was upset when they were making up. It’s human for his feelings on the issue to change, but that should’ve been better expressed to Langa. Although Langa did a great job of accurately smoothing over what was bothering Reki without that. Maybe that’ll be rectified if he apologizes to Miya. I think Miya deserves one especially since Reki physically shoved him after he opened up about why his actions were such a sore spot for him. I actually thought Miya’s words would help Reki see the other side of things so seeing Miya get pushed was like a “Bro wtf??” moment for me. Again it’s understandable that people act out when they’re angry and Reki was obviously already struggling with his emotions, but it should be acknowledged again how wrong that was. Boy are you opening my eyes to a lot of problematic stuff lol.

Also, I’m very curious as to why you hate Shadow. For me, it’s because I can’t move past that comment in ep 1. I know ppl brush it off as just an (unnecessarily misogynistic) act for his persona, but that woman literally didn’t say anything to him and he insulted her for no reason by using her body as trophy to be defaced if he won. Ew. And just because he’s super nice to the flower shop lady, he does not get a pass. If he’s only respectful to women he’s attracted to and jumps at any other the opportunity to degrade women, he’s still a misogynist. And I’m pretty sure that he already new flower shop lady when the series started, so I don’t think you can argue that his character developed to be better towards women as a whole because of her or that he wouldn’t do something like that again at this point in the story. Especially since the goal of proving yourself as a “strong man” has not historically worked out to men being compassionate with women. (Tho within a vacuum devoid of his other actions, I can appreciate his commitment to a makeup routine)

Oh! And I would totally wanna read that fanfic if you write it!! I’m not even as gung-ho about Adam going to jail as most fans and Adam-haters tbh. Mainly because it’d probably be for political corruption via money bribes which is already kinda common and I don’t think the show has stated him to be doing anything particularly bad with it I don’t think so?? Like it seems to be mainly for the purpose of keeping S secret which is indeed a waste of money and effort when he could just buy it, but on the other hand, there doesn’t seem to be any ill consequences on the citizens the politician represents. So yea, it’s illegal so the jail time is technically deserved. But also like... no harm no foul🤷‍♀️ If he would be getting charged for assaulting other skaters than I definitely think that’s fair, but I doubt that’ll happen in the show just because I feel like no one will actually say anything when the time comes partially due to the shock of his arrest if they’re even involved. And I mean, Cherry was pissed at Adam for getting skaters hurt but still rolled out the hospital and joked like he was fine, so I just don’t particularly see anyone calling him out on it to the point of it being apart of his sentencing. The end of ep 11 with Cherry and Joe arguing about one of them going against Adam just doesn’t sound like condemning him to battery charges to me XD

But yaknow I’ve been loving hurt/comfort type fics lately, so I’d be really interested in seeing Adam truly work and change himself for some type of redemption in that setting. I can see hitting rock bottom as being really good for him given it may provide a reprieve from having to manage his image. Adam is underrated in complexity so it’s always cool when people try to flesh him out more and dive into his inner world. And of course Tadashi is kind of my fave (if you couldn’t tell) so I love anything healing for him as well :)

Yep, I was majorly pissed at Reki for how he treated Langa and Miya. His behavior is absolutely problematic. Not as bad as Adam, obviously, but with everything I’ve said and you’ve realized... yeah. I’m glad he made up with Langa and will probably make up with Miya, but it doesn’t invalidate everything he’s done before. Yes, he’s still an immature teenager, but I don’t think he realizes how messed up his behavior was, even after making up with Langa (the resolution seems to be based on him accepting that he’s not an ace skater, rather than recognizing how toxic his behavior was), so I’m still not satisfied. But hey, it’s probably just me being hyperfixated on trivial details that nobody else even cares about. /shrug

(I’m glad to know that I wasn’t misinterpreting the “promise,” or lack thereof, though!)

And I have two major problems with Shadow. My first--and biggest--problem is, as you’ve pointed out, that he’s an enormous misogynist. At “S,” people have the freedom to be exactly who they are beneath the facades that they show to the world. For example, Adam is someone desperately searching for someone who can understand him, not the perfectly put-together politician Shindo Ainosuke. Cherry and Joe are more true to their “real life” selves, but there are differences in their behavior on the track and off. And then there’s Shadow, the overcompensating “strong man” who threatens to make a guy tattoo “Dumpster Slut” over his girl’s name. So I 100% agree with everything you said about Shadow. He’s a chauvinistic pig.

The second problem is that I honestly think his actions when he’s racing are worse than Adam’s, and the only reason it’s not made out as such is because he’s the buttmonkey rather than the villain. I believe that, as problematic as Adam’s antics are, he does not intend to cause severe physical harm to his opponents. I’ve discussed this idea in more detail in other posts, but in short, even in the most extreme case--Cherry’s--his injuries were far lighter than they would have been if Adam had seriously wanted to hurt him. Death, coma, etc. were all highly probable outcomes of that situation, so the only reason they didn’t happen was because Adam was holding back. Or anime logic. But even anime logic can only stretch so far. And against lesser opponents like Reki, he generally holds onto them to ensure that they don’t accidentally hurt themselves when they’re panicking.

Of course, Shadow doesn’t intend to cause severe physical harm to his opponents either, but he does not exert any control over the situation after he throws fireworks at his opponent or shines a laser in their eyes. We’ve twice seen his opponents fall off the course as a direct result of his actions: Reki in the first race, Harry in the quarterfinals. They could have just as easily fallen off the cliff or slammed into a wall (at full speed) and been badly injured. If Shadow were an actual villain, I fully believe that he would have an actual body count of people who died racing against him (as opposed to Adam’s trail of injured opponents). So it bothers me that people shrug off what Shadow does while screaming for Adam’s death.

As for the scandal subplot... I’m *pretty* sure it’s a lot more serious than Adam bribing the police to leave “S” alone. I think he’s actually involved in some majorly shady/illegal activities politically. Like, in Episode 7, when the other Diet member gets pulled over, arrested, and has his house searched... there’s no way that has anything to do with “S.” At the very least, the two of them were collaborating on something really bad, something serious that Adam lied about under oath, and that’s enough for Adam’s staff to worry about what’s going to happen, especially Tadashi. We don’t know what it is specifically, but it’s definitely a lot more than just passing out bribes to hide “S.”

Lol, I’ll have to see how it goes. Probably won’t start it until after the anime finishes at the very least so I can see how it turns out for Adam and Tadashi, plus I have another half dozen WIPs at the moment and nowhere near enough time to work on them all. xD

[ofmythsandmadness]

prompts & requests.

SO...I never meant to delay this for so long, I’m so sorry for this, but I’m excited to rejuvenate this page -- I’m quite bad with tumblr, but I just hit 350 followers and I figured I’d put in a second dime for trying to make this little account work. People seem to like my little writings (which surprises me tbh, but I appreciate the love) and I’ve gotten a lot of questions about requests, so here’s the masterpost of all that for here!

PLEASE NOTE: I don’t use Tumblr too regularly, I’m trying to be more active but because of life & stuff, I’m not always active to write. Plus, just because you request something, doesn’t mean I will automatically be able to give that! It takes time, inspiration, and often the ability to form a sentence, which weirdly I struggle with. Way too often.

ALSO! please feel free to check out the kofi link in my bio (can’t link it here bc tumblr doesn’t like links and this won’t show up at all) and buy me a coffee if you feel like it! please don’t if you can’t and i’m not trying to force, guilt or forcibly nudge anyone to do it, it’s just if you can and want to support me, that’d be real sweet. :)

WHO I WRITE FOR...most people look at this acc for tua writings, which i’ve got an abundance of! I’m quite fine with any requests of any characters, except for five (unless like it’s some aged up version of him; I don’t feel comfy writing about him and I just don’t care to). I also will write for a lot of other fandoms if you ask for them: those including marvel, stranger things (those of age, i’m not writing stories about minors), harry potter and a couple others. Just ask me, I’ll let you know if I write for the fandom & we can move from there, darling. :)

HOW TO REQUEST...I prefer not too many details in a request, just so I still feel inspired to write the piece. So, if you’re asking based on a prompt below, tell me the number(s), the character you’re looking for, and any details you feel necessary to add! Remember, nothing too specific, like don’t give me the entire plot but things like genre, atmosphere, details on the reader are okay. I usually write either genderless or female reader (I try to stick with the former to be accommodating) but you can ask for a specifically gender-neutral or female/male reader too. This also applies to fics you want garnered to a specific section of the LGBTQIA+ community (for example, if you wanted a lesbian reader with Vanya Hargreeves). I try not to add any details to appearance to the story so that everyone can enjoy the fic, but again you can ask for any specific and I will try my best to accomodate for you lovelies.

REQUEST EXAMPLE - “Can you write something with prompt number 3 and 17? Preferably with a gender-neutral reader, and with Allison Hargreeves? I’d like it to be a happy fic, please, and for the reader to not have any powers. Also, they’re a cat person! Thanks!”

Obviously, I know most people know what’s up and are respectful. But just in case you wanted an example, there you go. :)

PROMPTS LIST

(these were made by me and to my knowledge, they’re not used elsewhere, only some were taken off my last requests list. also, feel free to mix + match and ask for as many as you want)

Quote Based Prompts:

1. ‘I think I’m falling for you,’ clumsy character. 2. ‘C’mon, this is definitely safe!’ 3. ‘Do you believe in ghosts?’ + ‘Why, is there something you want to tell me?’ 4. ‘Shut up about your black coffee aesthetic and try my (insert here) drink.’ 5. ‘I’m only asking for a hug because I forgot my coat and you’re like a human furnace...don’t get any ideas.’ 6. ‘Just five more minutes.’ 7. ‘And you’re sure this isn’t illegal?’ 8. ‘Wanna go get married?’ 9. ‘I love you” “don’t lie to me’ 10. ‘I hate you’ + ‘no, you don’t.’ 11. ‘let’s dance to taylor swift and forget about reality for a moment, please.’ 12. ‘why don’t you trust me?’ 13. ‘promise me, we’ll make it out of this alive.’ 14. ‘we can’t just pushing each other away and expecting things are going to change.’ 15. ‘why are you helping me?’ 16. ‘tell me a secret.’ 17. ‘you can’t friend-zone me, we’re married!’ 18. ‘is this the end?’ 19. ‘I let you win.’ 20. ‘go away’ + ‘no, not until I know you’re okay’ 21. ‘we were supposed to be forever.’ 22. ‘nothing’s fair in love and war.’ 23. ‘I want to be here for the good and the bad.’ 24. ‘So...what happened this time?’ 25. ‘I just really wanted to see you.’ 26. ‘Uh, that’s the whole point?!’ 27. ‘You cut your hair?’ + ‘I just needed a change.’ 28. ‘I can’t lose you too, dammit!’ 29. ‘Don’t lie, you’re a hopeless romantic at heart.’ 30. ‘Can we keep it?!’ 31. ‘Why can’t this happen like it does in the movies?!’ 32. ‘Can you come with me? It’s just to get gum, but I don’t want to be alone.’ 33. ‘I made muffins!’ + ‘You can bake?!’ 34. ‘I can’t sleep.’ + ‘We can share.’ 35. ‘It used to be so simple...’ 36. ‘STOP SINGING THAT SONG OR-’ + ‘-or what?’ 37. ‘I just wanted to tell you...you look really nice tonight.’ 38. ‘Ooh, show me, show me!’ 39. ‘I really wish I could paint, because you’re the perfect muse right now.’ 40. ‘Where’d you learn how to do that?’ 41. ‘Hey, it’s okay...you’re safe now.’ 42. ‘Am I in heaven?’ + ‘Aw, you think I’m your idea of heaven?’ 43. ‘I’m not crying!’ + ‘Oh, so it’s normal for your eyes to leak like that?’ 44. ‘Why wouldn’t you tell me that sooner?!’ 45. ‘What do you think of kids?’ 46. ‘Do you think I’m a good person?’ 47. ‘Don’t look down.’ + ‘You’re only telling me that now?!’ 48. ‘It’s okay...it’s going to be okay...’ 49. ‘I didn’t think it would hurt so much to do this.’ 50. ‘Nerd.’ + ‘Loser.’ 51. ‘Wait, you actually came?’ 52. ‘You didn’t notice the one bed before?!’ + ‘It didn’t say on the website!’ 53. ‘I’m in the hospital, but don’t worry--’ + ‘Don’t worry?!’ 54. ‘Yeah, I was jealous. So what?’ 55. ‘Did you know you talk when you sleep?’ 56. ‘Of course I kept it. Why wouldn’t I?’ 57. ‘I can’t get you out of my head...’ 58. ‘I made you it because I love you, duh.’ 59. ‘I trust you.’ 60. ‘How am I supposed to trust you?!’ 61. ‘You have to start getting better excuses.’ 62. ‘I think they like you!’ 63. ‘I swear if you sing baby it’s cold outside ONE MORE TIME--’ 64. ‘You’re telling me you don’t know all the words to Promiscuous? Who are you?!’ 65. ‘I only went along with it for your sake, you know I hate (insert here).’ 66. ‘Hold my hand but only so we don’t get lost. I don’t need you getting any ideas about us.’ 67. ‘Loosen up, jackass, and give in to evil a little more!’ 68. ‘You didn’t respond to any of my texts, so I assumed you were either dying or crying. I brought answers to both situations.’ 69. ‘That’s it. I’m officially convinced that you’re actually three years old.’

Situation Based Prompts: 1. Person A refuses to dress for the cold and gets sick; Person B is stuck taking care of them afterwards. 2. Person A finds a stray and wants to take it home, but Person B isn’t so interested. 3. Coffee Shop AU; Person A shows up every Saturday to work, and Person B becomes infatuated with the mysterious person. 4. Person A wants to watch a scary movie. Person B accepts, too chicken to admit they’re terrified of horror movies. 5. Person A falls asleep, and Person B plays with their hair. 6. Person A and B wake up hungover and realise that they got married last night. 7. ‘Oh...you love them’, where Person A realises that their real feelings for Person B. 8. Person A is a Christmas enthusiast, but Person B hates the holiday season. 9. (School Based Prompt); Person A doesn’t know how to talk to Person B, and decides to pretend to need help in a subject they definitely don’t need help with. 10. Person A decides to confess their feelings to Person B through a series of anonymous gifts...only they aren’t who B suspects behind it all... 11. Person A and B have a Catwoman/Batman type relationship, dancing around one another and ignoring their obvious feelings. 12. Younger!Person A and B shared their first kiss with each other -- not because of feelings, JUST to get it over with. It never meant anything, right? 13. There’s only a little bit of time left for Person A...will they make it to B, in time? 14. (Flower Shop AU) Person A comes in every day to purchase the same single flower every time, and Person B has no clue why. 15. (Villain/Hero AU) Person A goes home to find B in their bed, bleeding and fast asleep. 16. Person A has a fear of driving. Person B finally asks why. 17. (School Based AU) Person A and B get paired together to complete a project worth a lot of their grade. The only problem? They hate each other. 18. (Coffee Shop AU) Person A comes in every day with a different name and sunglasses on, ordering the same thing every time. And Person B is obsessed. 19. Person A has a hard day at work. Person B doesn’t know what they should do to help. 20. Person A finally finds out about Person B’s big secret -- only, it doesn’t come from Person B. 21. Person A is the most oblivious person in the world. Person B is slowly losing their mind over it. 22. Everyone thinks that Person A and C are meant to be together, and it’s only A and B who really, really don’t see it. 23. And they were roommates (oh my god, they were roommates...) 24. Person A’s roommate’s boyfriend is over again, and they escape to Person B’s for peace of mind. 25. Person A finds a random bag and is determined to return it to the owner -- only, all the clues she has for who the person really is, is in the contents of the bag. 26. (Party Based Prompt) Person A and B really, really didn’t want to go to the party. But maybe meeting one another makes it worth it. 27. Person A and B go laser-tagging for some stress relief. 28. There’s a Halloween party and neither A or B knows who the other is going as. But the (insert costume) standing in the corner is looking rather suspicious... 29. (Apocalypse AU) Person A and B have been struggling for months alone, and finally reach something that gives them hope.  30. Person A and B both head to the roof for some escape. They definitely didn’t expect to see someone in their special place... 31. Person A works really late shifts downtown; Person B always makes sure they’re there to give them a ride, no matter how inconvenient it is. 32. Person A forgets about changing their emergency contact, and this backfires when they end up in the hospital... 33. (Soulmate AU) In a world where people don’t age past 21 until they meet their soulmate, Person A is surprised to learn that the partner they’ve been with for four years hasn’t aged a day -- but they have. 34. (Airport AU) Everything shuts down in a last-minute snowstorm, leaving two strangers stranded. 35. (School AU) Everyone ships Teacher A and B together, and scheme to finally set them up. 36. Person A and B ride the train together every day. 37. (Doctor AU) Person A has to take Person C to the doctors. Much to both surprise, Person A falls quickly for the Doctor who comes in (Person B) -- and Person C takes it upon themselves to let B know. 38. (Neighbours AU) Person A is tired of hearing Person B being so loud so late at night -- especially when they have to get up super early. They finally decide to confront them on it. 39. (Soulmate AU) Everyone has the same cuts, bruises and scars as their soulmate, which really freaks out Person A, who becomes determined to find their soulmate to make them stop getting hurt. 40. Person A and B are hiding their relationship from everyone. They’re not very good at it. 41. Person A finally trusts Person B to meet their (insert here); the last step in their relationship. 42. Person A sends their text to the LAST person they wanted to send it to: Person B. 43. (Delivery Person AU) Person A somehow always manages to be the one to sign for the office packages...does Person B have anything to do with it? (Also, why does A keep buying so much stuff?!) 44. (Arranged Marriage) Person A is being forced into a marriage to Person C neither they or Person B wants. But B might just have a plan out... 45. (Bodyguard AU) Person A always knew that Person C was rich, but never rich enough to need a legit bodyguard. But when C’s father’s company is threatened, they call in the big dogs -- and they’re cute, too. Aka...A makes a point to catch the attention of Person B at any time possible, much to their upset. 46. (University AU) Person A needs a model. Person B needs a way to occupy their afternoon. Thus, a deal is struck. 47. Person A is a private detective hired to work the case on a mysterious murder (that strangely, Person C doesn’t want getting out). Person B is C’s lead suspect, but A can’t help but feel like they’re not the real culprit... 48. Person A drags Person B along onto a roadtrip across the country to go visit their oddball grandparents. But things go south quickly. 49. Person A gets robbed, and has no one to call when they can’t shake the nightmares but Person B. 50. Person A can manipulate time, but only by an hour. Person B doesn’t know this, but gets suspicious when they see A do something very, very weird... (you can supply more details for this one) 51. (Neighbours AU) Person A and B have the thinnest walls ever, which would suck, but they both oddly have the exact same taste in music. It’s nice; if only they got to meet. 52. (Store AU) Person A and B get locked into their work’s freezer for the night. 53. (Coffee Shop AU) Person B has never met Person A; they always miss them by only a minute. They do, however, manage to sit at the exact same table every day and pick up the piece of art they leave for the next customer. 54. Person A has loved Person B their entire life. Too bad they’ll never get to tell them. 55. (Diner AU) Person A meets Person B at three in the morning when they stumble in soaked. They’re surprised, when they show up again...and again...at the exact same time. 56. (5+1) Five times Person A told Person B they loved them, and the one time Person B finally said it back. 57. (5+1) The five times Person A surprises Person B, and the one time Person B surprises A. 58. (5+1) The five times Person A broke Person B’s heart, and the one time they didn’t.  59. (5+1) The five times Person A saved Person B...and the one time Person B couldn’t save A. 60. (5+1) The five times A and B almost meet, and the first time they finally do. 61. (5+1) The five times Person A lies to Person B, and the one time they finally tell the truth. 62. Person B is like, super allergic to dogs. But Person A doesn’t need to know that. 63. Person A has no clue how to tell Person B how they feel. So, they make a playlist. 64. Person A and B accidentally switch luggage at the airport.

Happy requesting, darlings.

[torispn15]

Warning long post ahead:

I have heard a lot from the news and from articles today. It can drive you crazy. So, I´m channeling my energy into explaining a couple of things about our (the US) political and economic system. It´s not perfect, as I put more emotion into this post than just straight logic. I have taken a politics 101 course and did a lot of studying and I am using basic common sense and empathy. At first I am talking about the Capitol incident and then it expands into more detail. If you don´t want to read, that´s cool. (I am not really gonna branch out into other countries on this topic. The main focus is the US) Anyways, here it is:

"A political philosophy and movement that is sceptical of authority and rejects all involuntary, coercive forms of hierarchy. Anarchism calls for the abolition of the state, which it holds to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful."

Does this sound like the behavior of the people that stormed the Capitol? No. It sounds like the opposite of what they want. I´ve seen a lot of news networks such as NBC, call the fascists, anarchists. That, above, is the description of anarchism.

Anarchists reject any hierarchy. They, the fascists, want government and they want Trump. So, calling them anarchists is very very not accurate.

"A form of far-right, authoritarian ultranationalism characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition and strong regimentation of society and of the economy. They believe that liberal democracy is obsolete and regard the complete mobilization of society under a totalitarian one-party state as necessary to prepare a nation for armed conflict and to respond effectively to economic difficulties."

Does this sound more like the behavior of the people that stormed the Capitol? Yes. It does. That is the description of fascism.

"A fascist state is led by a strong leader such as a dictator and a martial law government composed of the members of the governing fascist party to forge national unity and maintain a stable and orderly society."

Remind you of anything??

Now, read this:

"Advocates the abolition of the state, capitalism, wage labour, social hierarchies and private property (while retaining respect for personal property, along with collectively-owned items, goods and services) in favor of common ownership of the means of production and direct democracy as well as a horizontal network of workers' councils with production and consumption based on the guiding principle "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs"."

This sounds way better than the first two, right? This is the description of anarcho-communism. Which is what I, personally, align with most.

What about this:

"An economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics include capital accumulation, competitive markets, a price system, private property and the recognition of property rights, voluntary exchange and wage labor. In this market economy, decision-making and investments are determined by every owner of wealth, property or production ability in capital and financial markets whereas prices and the distribution of goods and services are mainly determined by competition in goods and services markets."

This is the description of capitalism, which is what we have now. But, what you have to understand is that capitalism usually leads to fascism. Late-stage capitalism is fascism. One core idea of fascism is capitalism. Which is one of many reasons why it´s terrible. Also, you live here. You know how bad capitalism is. It´s why you can´t afford to buy medicine or go to the doctors. It´s why people die of starvation. It´s not because people don´t work hard enough. There are people who work three jobs who are still low-income individuals and families. It´s because of capitalism. It doesn´t give you any freedom. It is the opposite of freedom. In the "land of the free" we have a political and economic system that enslaves us. Think about that. Think about how much freedom you actually have.

When all of this is put into frame, what are your thoughts? What sounds like a place you want to live in?

The way we are now, the reason why most of the garbage in this country happens, you can connect that to capitalism. You can trace what happened at the Capitol today to fascism and capitalism (Which are basically the same thing).

A lot of Americans work minimum wage jobs. Minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, on average in the US. Assuming you work 40 hours a week, that equals 2,080 hours in a year. Your hourly wage of 7 dollars would end up being about $14,560 per year in salary. Even if you got $15 an hour, working 37.5 hours a week, you would still only make $29,250 a year. $15 an hour isn't enough to secure affordable housing in most US states. Nationally, someone would need to make $17.90 an hour to rent a one-bedroom apartment or $22.10 an hour to cover a two-bedroom home. In order to live comfortably, you´d have to get extra hours or a better job. Extra hours, is just slaving more of your life away to the point where it won´t matter how much money you earn. And it is very hard to get a job. Even if you go to college, you aren´t owed or guaranteed a job. You slave you life away. And none of this takes into consideration family members. None of this takes into consideration any children or people living in the household. You have to struggle all the time under capitalism.

You are in the top 1.8% of americans if you make more than 400k a year. So, no, not everyone or anyone can be rich or live nicely here. America loves to brand itself as a free country and the land of opportunity but, it has shown that is anything but. 30 million people in America, do not have health insurance. Do you know how much medical care costs without insurance? No one should struggle for basic medical care. Every human being deserves the basic necessities to stay alive. Every single one of us shouldn´t have to pay for food or water. We shouldn´t struggle to afford putting food on the table working two jobs while the millionaires and billionaires who sit on a yacht all day, who don´t earn a single cent, never have to worry about that. You wanna know how they make that money, you wanna know who gives them that money? You do. Your hard work and nights away from your family, earns them that money. That is your money. The system is set up for people like that to succeed and keep succeeding. The rich keep getting richer while you stay the same or even lose money. Does that sound fair or just to you? Life isn´t fair, no, but this isn´t life. This is a man-made system that we can fix. We built this and we can tear it down.

So stop being a bootlicker and sucking off capitalism just because there´s a small chance that, maybe, you will get rich. If you´re black in America, you have a 15.1% lower chance of becoming a millionaire than a white person in America. If you are white or asian with a college education, you have around a 20% chance of being a millionaire. But, if you can´t afford college, and you only have a high school diploma, your chances drop to a 2% chance. And most people who are rich in this country didn´t start out with a start-up company and worked hard. No. No. The majority of millionaires and billionaires did either one of these things or all of them:

⬤ Got lucky. By means of gambling, lottery, ⋆cough⋆ making a sex tape and it getting traction ⋆cough⋆...... things like that.

⬤ Scamming someone. By means of ponzi scheme, pyramid scheme, advance-fee scam, credit fraud, identity theft... things of that nature.

⬤ Other illegal shit. By means of embezzlement, hacking, robbing, selling counterfit goods (which can also fall into the scamming someone section), etc... you get the point.

And that doesn´t include being born into money and not paying any taxes as well. It usually doesn´t have shit to do with working hard. If working hard made you a millionaire, a hell of a lot more people would be rich af.

There´s also a lot more factors and circumstances to take into account. Even if I had time to explain, I probably couldn´t because, well, frankly, it´s impossible to go into every factor or circumstance especially since, I couldn´t possibly know every single one. This is a very basic and general post and I tried my best to explain some stuff. (some of the figures and percentages might be off by a percent ot two but, that´s easily searchable)

I do encourage researching, actual research. Because I, nor, anyone on this app are the authority for any topic. Never take anyone´s word for anything, especially not on this app of of all places. Please study and research. When you research, it is very important to check out the websites and sources for too much bias and make sure to fact check, such as comparing it to other websites and sources. Or maybe you could read different books about economics or politics and things of that nature. But, even for books, always fact check and check for too much bias. You can easily fall into traps if you don´t. I just started listening to an audio book titled: Anarchism and Other Essays by Emma Goldman. I am trying to learn more about anarchism and other political philosophies as well. I am most certaintly not a "political person" but, I do love to learn and I do love human beings and believe that human beings deserve basic rights which makes me interested in learning about different ways to improve our way of life.

So... that´s it.... I hope y´all have a goodnight/evening/morning! 💛

[fmdrohan]

hello, hi ! 👋🏽  i hope this introduction post finds everyone well. ♡ i’m no one new to these parts, but for those of you who don’t know me, you can call me alé. i’m 21+, use he/him pronouns, and i’m the current typist for aria’s main vocalist, nina seo, & now, i’m bringing you all yet another muse. so, without further delay, i’d love to introduce you to brand-new creation of mine called 𝖞𝖔𝖔 𝖗𝖔𝖍𝖆𝖓. he is knight’s main dancer, sub vocalist, and rapper, as well as their currently marketed “sexy” member. outside of his career, he’s honestly just one big douche-bag skater kid that seeks cheap thrills, and who wants to do nothing more than put a smile on your face... even if causes him trouble sometimes. more info about him is below the cut, so please like this to plot ! ♡ tumblr im’s or discord by request.✨ 

𝖍𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖔𝖗𝖞.

born in seoul, south korea, to a working class, christian family.

mom was a manager at a local restaurant, dad worked at a law firm.

both of them were busy all the time; they lived paycheck-to-paycheck.

he didn’t get much attention at home, so he sought it out at school.

there, he was known as a a huge “class clown” or “class daredevil.”

all he wanted was to put smiles on people’s faces and push limits.

did he end up in the principal’s office a lot? YES, that was his “brand.”

as he got older, his class clownery turned to pranks and thrill-seeking.

he also became HELLA interested in skateboarding and parkour lmao.

rohan felt as if he wasn’t living if he wasn’t on constantly on the edge.

he’s broken a few bones, endured tons of scrapes, but never gives in

this, obviously, didn’t please his mother and father... they were just busy.

too busy to reprimand him and care—rohan got away with a loooot of shit.

he didn’t start receiving discipline until he was scouted by bc entertainment.

despite his messy hair, distinct style, and overall vibe, he fit the bill somehow.

the two years he spent in practice changed him a little as a person; for better.

he found a new love in dancing, and he was naturally pretty great at it tbh.

his background made him extremely coordinated, flexible, and really strong.

his fearlessness made him bold enough to try out new moves or stunts.

two years later, he débuted as a main dancer and kept his impulses at bay.

this isn’t exactly what he saw himself doing in life, but he wasn’t mad at it.

over time, his image began to shift into sexier and “stud-lier” territory.

his outfits became more revealing and he was treated differently in public.

this... fucks him up a lot because it’s the exact opposite of how he is.

he’s just some skater / parkour punk that gives off dumb big bro vibes.

how on earth do they expect him to be portray and convey sexy 24/7?

as this is more of a “job” to him than passion, he does what they tell him to.

so long as his checks get signed and he accumulates wealth, he’s good.

𝖕𝖊𝖗𝖘𝖔𝖓𝖆𝖑𝖎𝖙𝖞.

as mentioned above, rohan gives off very douchey “big brother” vibes.

he’ll pick on you, tease you, pull pranks on you, etc. all in the name of fun.

he’ll go too far sometimes, and he’ll feel bad, but has “no regrets.” 😎  lol.

lowkey loooves anime and draws his own bad sketches; also into sci-fi.

underneath the dumb, douchebag exterior is just a big ol’ nerd, that’s all.

if you’re a cute guy, he’ll DEFINITELY flirt with you—taken or not taken lol.

he’s someone that hasn’t really let being an idol ruin his personal life tbh??

he still does whatever the fuck he wants within the constraints of his contract.

though, whenever he gets “bored,” he does things he’s not supposed to.

bc entertainment’s warned him of being careful not to injure himself, but...

i don’t really think he cares at this point in his career; he likes more freedom.

little random, but he loooves underground / indie rock music and rap, too.

one of those assholes that doesn’t really listen to any other idol music lmao.

to be fair though, he’s not really a massive fan of knight’s music either. 😁

he just sings or raps whatever they tell him to and rolls with the punches.

lowkey wants to take up tattooing and graffiti at some point, he’s that guy.

loooves to talk and meet new people, even if they find him a li’l annoying.

whenever he’s stressed, angry, upset, hungry... he shows it with aggression.

it’s never gotten intense much, but he’s not much of a sensitive “crier” yk.

there’s more of him for me to discover as time goes on, so that’s it for rn!

𝖕𝖑𝖔𝖙-𝖑𝖎𝖓𝖊𝖘.

no plots page yet, sry :/// i’ve been a little busy this week rip.

some ideas will be below though so lmk if they appeal to you!

one, he’s definitely known to ghost people, so... maybe your muse is one of ‘em? like, this would be locked to males in the lgbt community, but you know. give him some really awkward encounters to make him feel like shit for ditching you after tons of sweet talk. sad thing is, he’s aware of it, and it’s mostly because of his schedule, but also ??? he’s just having fun, you know. he doesn’t wanna get tied down to anything right now.

two, maybe that ONE GIRL he tried to fuck with at the beginning of his career. while he knows he’s always been attracted to men, i think he would’ve convinced himself to at least try it out with a woman to make sure he wasn’t also interested in them, too. he’s a MASSIVE flirt and sweet talker, definitely made her feel special, but like... it never really went anywhere because... he just wasn’t into it, but didn’t wanna make her mad lmao. clearly ended up in a break-up and it could be both an ugly or pretty ending imo idk.

three, i’d DIE if other muses in famed were super into skating, or anime, or really any of his interests, too, and they’ve formed a “club” of sorts? just your local band o’ dirtbags who get together and fuck shit up a little bit here and there. i feel like this could be open to anyone who shares any of his interests tbh ??? maybe closer to his age is preferred, but honestly, i’m here to discuss whatever! i’m all for compromises and shit tbh.

four, maybe someone’s he’s lowkey seeing ( male, male-presenting lock ) that he’s really vibing with, but he just can’t... feasibly reason why he should have a bf right now. he’s got a lot going on, so he’s kind of a flake, but at the same time, he doesn’t intend to be an asshole to them. they’re maybe one of the only people he’s “softer” with. can end up romantic or platonic depending on how they handle it together, me thinks!

five, a dance partner or two would be pretty cool tbh! he’s not a dancer first, so he likes to dance with other people who are passionate about it to learn from ‘em. he can handle his own with choreography, but doesn’t have his own distinct style, so he’d really appreciate all the help he can get in becoming better ig? all in the name of work!

six, maybe a person who fucking HAAAATES him because they find him really annoying and super douchey, so they just... avoid him at all costs. however, he kinda picks up on the fact that they avoid him, so he pesters them even worse, which doesn’t end well... ever. this is definitely more open to anyone tbh and we can plan as we go!

seven, flipside where it’s someone that he CAN’T stand because he finds them really persnickety, snobby, and rude as fuck. if there’s one thing he hates A LOT, it’s bratty rich kids with silver spoons in their mouths. like, if this was a “the outsiders” verse, he’d be a greaser 1000000%, not a soc. lmao. he’d butt-heads with this person a fuck-ton.

eight, however many guys wanna piece of him, he’s happy to have a catalogue of fwb’s he calls on. he’s definitely not someone who says no to a good time, and he can act like a perfect boyfriend if that’s what you want. sadly, this’ll always be a temporary game. any of these fwb’s can go in many directions and can be plotted out individually!

nine, the age old question... “who’s your ideal type?” under pressure, he said you as a joke ( because of this, it could be male or female ) and now, fans of your respective groups ship you two together all the time. it’s a little awkward, and you two haven’t really talked about it much, but here you are... at a shared event sitting next to each other. how do you handle it? what do you do? is it awkward or all in good fun?

ten, someone who kinda hates that he doesn’t really take being an “idol” all the serious. he’s got a lot of shit on his bucket list he wants to do and he doesn’t let fame fuck with that, so he’s careless. he didn’t go into this business because of passion, it’s just where he ended up. your muse doesn’t like that, and thinks people like him are lazy as fuck.

[echoisfailing]

Robin Story Part 4

(A/N) super off topic but i have seen this episode of criminal minds a billion times but it still makes me cry when the little boy named his protector army guy the masc name of his mom cuz subconsciously he remembered. Ahhhh I’m actually crying. I feel kinda bad making Scarlet a bad person but that was always the plan actually thats a lie i didn't mean for this story to get so long and once it did thats when i decided. This is going to be second to last part cuz if i don't end it now it'll be like 20 parts. Also in my head the kitchen is closed off so v sorry if anybody else who imagines the house different.

Word count: 1214 Date: 8/23/2020

I decided to head towards the record store once I got to the mall. When I passed by Scoops Ahoy! I heard my name being called. I turned and saw Robin behind the counter. “Hey, I just wanted to say thank you about earlier . It saved me from a lot of embarrassment.” She said. “Its not a problem. I’d do it for anyone. And gotta say nice outfit.” I joked. She chuckled. “Yeah, I started training today it was supposed to be on just the weekends and start after school but ‘scheduling issues’.” She said moving her fingers up and down. “Well I think I should get out of the way. You have to work.” I said mostly awkwardly and turned to leave. I headed once again to the record store and apparently today is not my day because when I got there it was closed. Who closes a store at 5 o’clock? I started to walk through the mall not buying anything. At about 7 I went back to the food court. “Hey (Y/N)!” I heard Robin yell. “I know I probably look like a stalker but I just got off and want to know if you wanna hang out? Maybe?” She asked. “Yeah sure. But, uh why?” I said chuckling at the end. “You seem really nice and I’m sure helping me made you lose a friend or two.” She reasoned. “Well yeah but it's not like you were that outcasted before that. In fact I think you talking to me is going to set you off more than me.” I said. “Oh well come on let's go to my house, I don't want to be in this mall any longer than I have to be.” She said leading the way. We got on our bikes and went to her house. We got there and she headed to her room. It was basic, a full bed in the middle of the room, a closet, and desk. I sat on the desk chair. We talked for hours about everything. It was easy talking to her, like I could literally tell her all my secrets and not feel weird about it. We agreed on a lot.  Her mom and dad let me eat there but I had to leave after. The food was good but my stomach turned and I got nauseous when I remembered what awaited me when I got home. I got on my bike but took as much time as I could. To my surprise they all just ignored me and I went to my room where I saw they took off my door. Goodie. I took a shower, brushed my teeth. And layed down in my bed. Honestly, I thought hanging out with her would make me lose interest in her but I guess that was wishful thinking because this is the most I have been into her since 8th grade. The week went normal except Scarlet hates me so i had to move tables at lunch and in 2 classes. On the bright side Robin let me hang with her in the band room during lunch. Me and her have been getting a lot closer. But the week ends and Saturday comes a lot faster then it seems. I was in my room Saturday morning when there was a knock at the door. “Hi. Yes come in. You’ll have to excuse the house but I had work all week and we expected you much later.” My mom said two things why does everyone say that its annoying like no one cares and it's a lie, she doesn’t even have a place to work in Hawkins. “Can i see all the kids. I’ll need to speak to them all separately. If you refuse we will have to have them removed from the home.” I heard Hopper say. She called our names and we all went to the living room. “I’d like to talk to (Y/N) first.” Hopper said we walked into the kitchen with some lady while another officer stayed with my parents. “So this is the social worker that will be asking the questions.” Hopper informed me. She asked me basic questions like if i’m happy, if my parents are gone a lot, how they treat me, who watches my brother, and other questions where I had to lie for the answer. Once they were done with me they took in Michelle then Eric. It took about an hour and a half for all three of us and after they were done they talked for another 30 minutes. “So here's what think happened you two are gone for most if not all of every year and for whatever reason your kids are fine with it because the children's answers are all acceptable. You know what isn’t? Their body language doesn’t match but we cannot take them based on just that so congrats you neglectful pieces of shit. I’ll be on your asses for another month just to make sure you didn't show up just for the interview and if when I come either of you aren’t home your children will be taken. Do you understand?” Hopper explained bitchily. “Thats not fair I can’t happen to go get groceries without worrying if you are gonna show up and take my kids?” My mom argued. “Well then send on of the two oldest like you always do. I have run into Michelle at the grocery store more times than I can count. The children aren’t the ones with the case against them ma’am. Now you all have a good day. See you next week.” He said leaving. “You see what you did. Do you really think we deserve that?” My mom started as soon as they had shut the door. My dad has been basically silent this entire day. “Do you really think I deserved having to watch an 11 and 4 year old at 12?” I replied my dad popped up from his seat really fast and towered over me. “Never talk to your mother like that again! You are so ungrateful! We put you on this earth everything we do for or to you is a gift so show us some respect!” He shouted in my face shoving me towards the end. I kept my mouth shut going to my room. I just went on with my week like it was normal and i finally got a call back from the record store and i start on the 5th and they put me on day shift so i don't have to be with them all day. And true to my father's word they left with Eric the day he got back from camp. I was watching the news before i went to work which was good today because apparently it caught on fire last night. I called Robin to see if she knew. “Did you hear about StarCourt?” I asked her and she chuckled. “Yeah. Thats sucks right?” She said and i could hear the smile on her face. “Two people died how is that funny?” I asked not serious. “Its not i just me dealing you know hey you should come over.” She said changing the subject. “Okay sure.” I said hanging up and heading out.

[sheismyteacher]

hi loves,

im pretty sure ive alr done all old monthly challenges that used to be on here in 2017/2018 including my own lol but @baeby-tc made a new one and its once again 2am and im missing her so heres summ facts u might not know yet!!!

1. describe your tc’s physical appearance.

shes about my height so 5'7, she has a blonde pixie cut and bright blue eyes, n freckles!! and shes super skinny

2. what was the first thing you’ve ever said to your tc?

probably hi?? i honestly dont remember much from our first class

3. is your tc single or taken? or are you unsure? and are you single or taken?

single!! and im taken lol ive been dating my gf for a year n 11 months

4. is your tc more of the athletic type, the nerdy type or the artsy type?

nerdy looool

5. if you and your tc were in high school together, do you think you’d be friends?

honestly idk? we very well could have been because we were both kinda alt (me leaning towards goth, her leaning towards punk) but also both insanely private introverts lmfsjshhd so we might not even have approached each other

6. name one song that reminds you of your tc and explain why that song reminds you of them.

savannah by lp hehee we're both lp stans but she got me into her music and the first song we talked abt was savannah

7. is your tc fashionable or are they more of the simple type? what is one outfit you’d love to see them wear?

oh girl... 💀💀 i love her w my whole heart but if i see one more silver glimmery cardigan i might lose my mind. id love to see her in jeans and a crop top but shed Never so honestly i'll take anything that's not... horrible

8. would you be willing to become a teacher and teach your tc’s subject if it meant you two could be together?

haha funny cause... that's literally what im doing... going into my second year of uni... going to do my internship with her this year... ummmmmm.....

9. does your tc drink or smoke?

no!!!

10. name one item that is always on your tc’s desk.

her planner loool shes super organized

11. has your tc ever done anything that has either thrown you off, annoyed you, angered you or bothered you in any way? if so, what did they do?

yea i think I've only been pissed at her once?? i was really struggling with a situation and usually when i rant to her she fucks around and makes jokes n all and im fine with it i dont take myself that seriously but this time i was genuinely rly upset and she didnt rly notice i guess although i alr lowkey told her to stop n she kept making dumbass jokes so i was like "this is genuinely not funny like im being serious for once" and she did apologize which i appreciate but i genuinely think that's the only time ive been upset with her! and shes said things before that other people would see as shocking but has always apologised even when not necessary shes super respectful

12. does your tc have any past jobs that you know of, before becoming a teacher?

no actually!! she probably had a job in hs/uni??? but weve never talked abt that wow mayb i should ask her sometime

13. does your tc have kids or siblings? if so, how many?

both! she has one younger sister and two sons!

14. are you taking your tc’s class next year?

as i said ive graduated but im acc gonna b an english teacher as well now and imma do my 2nd yr internship w her!!!

15. has your tc ever met your parents? if you were there, what was the meeting like?

yes PLSJSJDJDJD at my school musical... and it was lowkey awkward cause i told her all abt how my father is lowkey terrifying so she was cautious as hell 😭😭

16. has your tc ever given you detention? if so, what was it like?

naw i never have her a reason to

17. has your tc ever failed you? if so, how did you react? if not, how would you react?

noo english has always been my best subject so she never had to.. but if she did i probably messed it up!! shes fair

18. what are your tc’s hobbies/interests? are they similar to yours?

help shes a dancer and i hate dancing w my entire heart so umm.. no

19. have you ever spoken on the phone with your tc? what did you talk about?

never actually!! we've texted so often but never called?? except if u count the time she (or her son?) called me on accident for about 6 seconds jdjdhd ion think she even knows that happened, i hung up and forgot to mention it again)

20. if you had your tc’s class during quarantine, what were your zoom calls like? if not, have you spoken to your tc since quarantine?

we've texted, but not as much as we used to and it's making me SAD but i feel like we just dont have a lot to say to each other

21. if you had the chance to go anywhere in the world with your tc, where would you go? what would you do?

she loves switzerland so let's go

22. does your tc have any nicknames for you?

she shortens my name sometimes heheh i loooove when people do that

23. have you ever cried in front of your tc? why? how did they react?

no, i don't cry that often, and ESPECIALLY not in public

24. have you ever walked/drove to/from school with your tc?

yeah we cycled together a few times! but usually were off on different times

25. do you know which teachers your tc is friends with at school? if so, do you like those teachers?

yea theres a couple she likes but shes not rlly *friends* with anyone, but we have the same opinions on most teachers

26. what does your tc’s voice sound like?

it's very soft, and not in volume but in vibes? and she has pretty sharp t's and her r's roll a little hehe

27. do you like your tc as a teacher? are they a good teacher?

oh yes 100%

28. does your tc prefer books, shows or movies?

im gonna go ahead and assume books, but she does have netflix as well

29. is your tc stern or easy going, in class?

pretty stern? i know a couple of people are lowkey scared of her but like shes not awful she just makes sure the class gets shit done

30. how would you describe you and your tc’s relationship?

like a friendship! i asked her abt it once (ages ago) and she said that she was tryna figure out how she felt abt me when it came to labels like 'friend' cause im also her ex student etc so she didn't rly wanna call me that yet?? but i think if we keep talking we'll get there. we trust each other immensely

31. do you address your tc by their first or last name?

firsttt since march 27th 2017 😌

[enthusiasticmusicalquotes]

QUESTION OF THE DAY #12: What is your opinion on theatre bootlegs? Spill as much or as little tea as you want.

MY ANSWER: it would be incredibly hypocritical of me to say there’s nothing good about them. i discovered a couple of my all time favorite shows through bootlegs, and when i was a high school/college-aged theatre nerd stuck in the midwest (which i still am, just a bit older now), they brought me a lot of comfort that i could relive my favorite shows again. that said, i can understand POVs re: they weren’t filmed with consent from the actors. however, actors who are speaking out against them need to realize that mainstream theatre needs to be made more accessible in one way or another for poor, disabled, and international theatre fans. tldr: bootlegs aren’t going to go away if celebrities disavow them, but theatre might be able to become more accessible if more of them talk on THAT instead of how evil bootlegs are.

SUMMARY OF ANSWERS: out of 41 responses: 21 were an enthusiastic heck yeah, 13 weren’t as enthusiastic but still along the lines of yeah i support them, 3 answers were like eh i can see both sides i guess/leaning towards no, and 4 people outright said nah bootlegs are not the answer. All the answers under the cut!

if you wanna fight or agree with anyone, refer to the # and send in an ask or reply to this.  

also: while i agree with much of what was said under the cut, i will not come out and say which ones i agree with and what i don’t. my opinion is above and that’s all you need to know about what i think. i do not necessarily condone or agree with anything below. okay, enjoy reading.

1. Anonymous said: I may not be the biggest fan, but I totally get why they exist and have watched a few when they pop up

2.  Anonymous said: for the qotd: bootlegs are godsends

3. Anonymous said: oh god i literally just went on a tangent on twitter just now but bootlegs good!!!! people willingly watch blurry footage of a show bcs they want to know what the show is like, want to experience it live. bway shows arent accessable for everyone (due to prices and distance) but ppl still want to know what its like performed on stage. bootlegs literally dont harm the community. ive seen poto boots, proshots and the tour yet id willingly pay 2 watch again. boots make theatre more accessable imo !!

4. Anonymous said: Boots are good to get a glimpse of different productions? Like even despite Proshots existing of certain musicals, I'd still be curious regarding other interpretations of it! And also besides this it definitely helps make shows accessable to people who physically cannot watch the show!

5. galactic-greens said: I truly see no harm in bootlegs as long as they are treated respectfully. While the creation and consumption is technically a crime, it by no means whatsoever makes you a bad person. It's essentially documenting theatre, and ensuring generations to come will be able to experience what could have been so fleeting. They maintain a community, and as long as NFT dates, masters, and general spread of bootlegs are respected then there really can be no problem. It's just a way to immortalize the art!

6. Anonymous said: On bootlegs: oftentimes they’re the only way someone could be able to see a show, because not everyone can afford the tickets or even the cost to just go to New York for a show. However, it should be acknowledged that filming obviously in the actors’ faces is pretty rude, but at the same time bootlegs at least give a chance for people like me to see shows I might never get to see otherwise.

7. Anonymous said: I love bootlegs because I don’t have the means to be able to travel to see shows or afford tickets, i also do theater and i feel like the point of the art is to share it as much as I can

8. Anonymous said: i've never seen a large-scale live show bc they are not accessible to me. bootlegs are amazing. truly glorious.

9.  Anonymous said: i understand that this is a rather unique experience, but i live in nyc, so bootlegs never measure up to the real thing for me. i know that this isn't something everyone can be lucky enough to say, but live theatre could never be captured in the form of a bootleg-- i don't even like released proshots as much as the real thing

10. Anonymous said: for me bootlegs are fine for those who can't see it live because of the price and they are living from another country though i know there are a lot of actors disagrees about it

11. Anonymous said: as someone who can't afford to go to a professional production of anything, absolutely gimme a bootleg. obviously I wouold prefer, like, a proshot of a show and I really hope that becomes more of the norm (I watched the Newsies proshot on Disney+ and had the happy wiggles for hours afterwards, and I can't wait for the Hamilton one to come out) but until that starts happening I'll take a bootleg any day.

12. Anonymous said: I like that it helps people get into fandoms/musicals that they wouldn’t’ve otherwise but I would prefer if theatres professionally films them.

13. maycombhoney said: they will be a part of theatre culture until live theatre is made accessible for more people

14. Anonymous said: bootlegs are great and until the theater community decides to produce pro-shots i’m all for them

15. zoueriemandzijnopmars said: I would personally feel kinda bad for watching bootlegs, because it won’t directly bring money to the people who worked on the show. I don’t judge people who do watch bootlegs though, because let’s face it, bootlegs are not a replacement for actually going to the theatre and it’s not gonna lose the creators actually money. It might even make them money, because people will listen to the album/buy tickets anyway when they can. I’d just personally be more comfortable watching a proshot

16. Anonymous said: I don't pretend bootlegs aren't stealing but whatever harm they do is abstract enough - and my decisions are drop-in-the-bucket enough - that I do it anyway

17. Anonymous said: I’m totally fine with bootlegs. I’ve watched so many of them that it wouldn’t be fair if I wasn’t. The fact is most people just aren’t able to see shows. Either they live too far away or they can’t afford it, and if this is the only way someone can experience a show, it’s better than never seeing it at all

18. Anonymous said: i think bootlegs are important for accessibility but i really wish more theatres would release proshots. i wouldn't even mind if it were after the broadway run or after the original cast is switched out, but i think it's valuable to have those recordings out during the run of the show to get more people interested and actually wanting to go out and see it. plus, if they're worried about money, they wouldn't *have* to be free. just cheaper than tickets and travel.

19. Anonymous said: about the question of the day, honestly i think bootlegs are fine as long as they're done respectfully and the filmers aren't distracting with it

20. locke-writes said: For the question of the day: If there’s absolutely no way I can see the show live or from a professional recording then I’m going to watch a bootleg. Theater should be more accessible and sometimes a bootleg is my only way to access a show. Having been part of film crews who have shot live theater I think a lot of the lack of pro recordings is the idea which that theater is difficult to record. It isn’t. Give me a pro shot show over a bootleg anyday but I’ll take what I can get

21. Anonymous said: My opinion on bootlegs is I prefer professional recordings ONLY because bootleg quality is terrible for my auditory processing problems and I hate the washed out quality. But since professional recordings are rare (unless you are, interestingly enough, Sight & Sound Theatre); for everyone else: BRING ON THE BOOTLEG! ~ Stripe Conlon

22. Anonymous said: Bootlegs are complicated! As a fan/consumer I think they’re okay, especially considering how inaccessible theatre is for people living in other countries, people who can’t afford to experience shows live, and disabled folks. But as someone who also performs, i understand that it can be distracting and legally complicated for actors who are trying to do their best and did not consent to being filmed that night. I just hope that pro shots will become more common.

23. penguinated said: Bootlegs are fine. They don't cost Broadway a thing since people will literally never not pay to see live shows (except during covid of course). and for many people, seeing a certain show with a certain cast will NEVER be possible, so what's the harm in watching the bootleg? The bootlegs aren't the problem, it's the inaccessibility of live theater, ESPECIALLY Broadway shows. If more things were available to stream (i.e. BroadwayHD) there wouldn't be a need for bootlegs. Bootleg away, imo.

24. Anonymous said: until theatre is made accessible to everyone and there is a proshot released for every show, bootlegs are absolutely necessary for the prosperity of theatre

25. Anonymous said: It's so sad that people think bootlegs are necessary! and it's even sadder that in a way they are. however, too many people use them as an excuse to not pursue alternate affordable alternatives for theatre (such as broadway hd, pursuing local shows including high school and college theatre, and utilizing legally free shows online). In addition, bootlegs absolutely CAN be unethically sourced- recordings of locally produced shows can get theaters in trouble and bankrupt them with legal fees. and if you're recording something from Broadway (which is fine imo usually), if you're actually making people PAY for your illegal recording, that's profiting off the work of others and is both very unethical and exploiting the very people many bootleggers claim to work for the benefit of. When it comes to bootlegs, it's one thing to pass around shows that have finished their runs on Broadway for free- but there's too much unethical and even HARMFUL bootleg behavior and it needs to stop.

26. Anonymous said: since Broadway is too rich and doesn't wanna spend money(for some reason) streaming their shows, then bootlegs are the only option.

27. Anonymous said: Theater is so inaccessible that bootlegs are necessary for a lot of people because with a lot of shows you can’t get a good idea of the show just from the soundtrack but people that share nft boots are assholes

28. Anonymous said: Bootlegs do more good than harm. Those against bootlegs are elitist and don't understand some people cant afford hundreds of dollars in theatre and plane tickets. Bootlegs make people crave the live experience more, a dark and shaky video with shit audio doesn't satiate the desire to see a show live. And if the show is closed all the more reason to watch a bootleg!

29. lynntjeeee said: Theatre bootlegs are amazing and are why there are fans. I live in a country with no musical theater (except the occasional sucky original production with a local celeb who can't sing) so if it not for bootlegs I wouldn't be able to watch any shows and wouldn't be a fan (thus not spending money on cast recordings, etc). People need to realise this, bootlegs do not harm the theater, in fact it only helps it. If there were official recordings, there would be many more fans (and thus more profit!)

30. Anonymous said: Opinion on bootlegs: They wouldn't be necessary if the theater industry would get with the times and release professional shots of their shows on streaming services/cable.

31. Anonymous said: I think that people are really overreacting about bootlegs. ESPECIALLY bootlegs if shows that have already closed- you may never get a chance to see that show! Ever! Now there’s an affordable and accessible way to see shows that people would kill and die for. It isn’t losing Broadway money, in fact it is bringing more people into the medium. Maybe if full proshots were more common I would feel differently, but since there is literally no other way, boots are fine.

32. Anonymous said: Bootleg opinion: just go absolutely hog wild. Fuck it. Be gay do crime.

33. Anonymous said: Bootlegs are one of the few things that are keeping me sane right now, plus the fact that not everyone has dat cash money to see the shows live, so yeah they're good stuff (as long as they are available online w/ at least vaguely good sound quality anyway 😆)

34. Anonymous said: I see it both ways. I can understand why those in the profession are against it; it’s their hard work that’s getting pirated. But I’m also poor. I have no access to theatre outside of cast albums and bootlegs. I don’t watch bootlegs because I personally feel guilty, but I will not and do not judge others if they do.

35. whatdoscissorsdo said: I think broadway bootlegs r okay?? eat the rich amirite

36. Anonymous said: I trade and watch bootlegs and don't plan on stopping, but I've recently realized that it must be super uncomfortable for actors to be filmed without their knowledge or consent, or just to have to have on their minds that they might be being recorded at any time in a performance. Like, I've happily watched Many™ Spring Awakening videos in the past year, but I doubt Alexandra Socha is that thrilled knowing there are videos up on YouTube of featuring her nude at age nineteen.

37. i-am-having-an-emotion said: they will remain a necessary evil until theater is more accessible to the masses. seeing real live theater is always better than a boot but literally like 95% of people can’t access live theater, especially at a broadway caliber, so like..... do The Poors not *deserve* theater??? what are we supposed to do BUT make bootlegs?

38. ope-okay said: bootlegs are blessings from heaven and no one can convince me otherwise

39. Anonymous said: I think it can really hype up the want for the musical. And a really good boot release can bring new creations to an otherwise small fandom. Personally I’m more interested in seeing the musicals I’ve seen boots of than the musicals I haven’t

40. Anonymous said: On the topic of bootlegs, I think they’re great but like especially for people who do not have the means to go see the shows during their runs, I feel like if you do have the means to go see the show you should do that instead

41. Anonymous said: I have a REALLY hard time with bootlegs. Because artists deserve to be paid for their work, and there are a whole host of copywriter issues that come with the mass production of a show. In addition though, I understand the anger you feel at not getting to see a show live, however there are so many resources available to help people get the idea of their favorite show even if they never see it. Honestly Wikipedia is my favorite resource, as often that has a full synopsis of the show. I’ll read that and then listen to the recording a bunch so I can understand the story and imagine what it may look like. A lot of shows put clips on YouTube, the Macy’s parade, the Tony Awards, NBC does a whole broadway week, there are so many ways that you can get glimpses into these shows without resorting to bootlegs (which at this point are still illegal) I’m not a supporter of the “theater must be seen live” idea. While I LOVE live theater (and as a performer I like feeding off an audience) but I’ve see shows with just proshots or just the movie version and they are still just as good. Unfortunately I think the only way we’re are going to make theater more accessible to audiences is through time. Bootlegs I think only make people less inclined to record shows and mass produce them. There are a whole lot of legal things that go into that as well. What I can say is what I’ve done. Read up on the show, watch all the clips you can, sometimes scripts are posted online maybe read those, listen to the album, look at pictures. It SUCKS that theater is exclusive, but bootlegs are not the solution.

let me repeat: if you wanna fight or agree with anyone, refer to the # and send in an ask or reply to this post.

[blackhakumen]

Mini Fanfic #432: Ace Pop-Offs (Phoenix Wright)

Apollo Justice

Theme of Voltron Plays.......

Apollo: (Cheers Triumphantly from his Seat) YEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAHH!!!!! I am Apollo Justice, The Champion of MARIO PARTYYYY!!!

Ema: (Rolled her Eyes) Calm down, Justice. It's just a video game.

Apollo: (Begins to Blush a Little Once He Finally Starts Calming Himself Down) Right..... (Chuckles Awkwardly) Sorry about that...

Klavier: (Chuckles Lightly) Goodness, Herr Forehead. I had no idea you had all of this much energy of excitement in you.

Wocky: Yeah, man. You alright?

Apollo: Yeah... It's just that....This is literally the first time I've ever beaten anyone in an actual Mario Party game that aren't the CPUs.

Ema: (Starts Smirking) Did you kept getting into Last Place or something?

Apollo: ('Scoffs') No! I got in Last Place only one time.

Ema: (Raised An Eyebrow)

Apollo: ('Sigh') Okay, fine. Maybe I got it four to five times....But I mostly get Second!

Klavier: (Chuckles Once More) Well, either way, I, for one, am happy for victory, Herr Forehead.

Wocky: Yeah. Even if your Pop-Off Theme is kind of Trash.

Apollo: "Trash"? Dude, this is the Theme of Voltron!

Ema: A Nerdy choice of a song if you ask me. We can think of a better Pop-Off Song than that.

Apollo: (Crosses his Arm) Yeah? Well, whenever either of you three win a game of Mario Party, you can try picking one of your own.

Ema: (Gives Apollo a Competitive Smirk) You're on, Justice.

Klavier Gavin

Guilty Love (Klavier's Theme) Plays......

Klavier: (Playing his Guitar A Little More Victoriously)

Apollo: (Unamused) Okay. Who idea was it to let Klavier play his own theme song as his Pop-Off Song?

Wocky: Better question is who let this man play the guitar in the house?

Ema: C'mon, you babies. It ain't that bad.

Apollo: (Raised an Eyebrow Towards Ema) You know, I'm surprised you're actually taking a liking to this, Ema.

Ema: (Shrugged) Hey. When you're dating a Prosecutor/Rockstar 24/7, you tend find "some" appreciation from his work.

Klavier: (Smiles Brightly) Well, Well, Well, my beautiful losers! How are you liking the performance so far?

Apollo: (Rolled His Eyes) It's Half Decent....

Wocky: (Annoyed) That shit been playing everywhere I go! It's already starting to get old, Gavin!!

Klavier: (Chuckles Lightly) Oof. What a tough crowd, indeed.

Ema: Eh don't worry about them, Fop. (Smiles Very Lightly) You're.... doing great so far.

Klavier: (Smiles Softly as he Gently Holds Ema's Hand) I humbly thank you for your undying support, Fräulein Skyes~ (Kiss the top of Ema's Hand)

Ema: (Blushes Heavily While Turning Her Hand and Herself Away from her Boyfriend) J-J-Just Finish your Pop-Off already, you stupid Fop!....

Klavier: (Chuckles Lightly at How Adorable His Girlfriend is Being Right Now) As you wish, my dear~ (Continues Rocking Out to his Theme Song)

Ema Skyes

"All I Do Is Win!" By DJ. Khalid Plays.....

Ema: (Relaxingly and Triumphantly Bop Her Head to Her Pop-Off Theme)

T-Pain: All I Do Is Win Win Win No Matter What! Got Money on My......

Apollo: (Rolled his Eyes, Unamused) You know, this might be the most inaccurate song about you I've ever heard. You only won one game of-

Ema: (Have One Finger Towards Apollo) Shhhhhhhhhhhh......

Apollo: ('Sighs Heavily') .....Mario Party.....

Ema: Apollo.

Apollo: What?

Ema: Don't take offense or anything, but....You guys lost. (Gives Apollo a Smug Smirk on Her Face) And Losers don't complain.

Wocky: (Shrugged) She has a point, man. Won't do any good if we complain.

Apollo: ('Sighs in Defeat') Fiiiiine....

Klavier: (Chuckles Lightly) Oh, don't be like that, Herr Forehead. Ema won the game fair and square. The least we can do is let her enjoy her little victory for now.

Ema: .......Hey, Fop.

Klavier: Hm?

Ema: (Got up From her Chair and Made her way to Klavier) There's something I need to tell you.

Klavier: Oh really? Well, what ever could it be Fra-

Before he can even finish his own sentence, Klavier gets pulled into a Quick Passionate Kiss from his Girlfriend, Ema Skye's, before she starts pulling away.

Ema: (Took a Deep Breath) There....Now we're even.

Klavier: (Chuckles Once More) Honestly....You never seize to amaze me, my dear.

Ema: (Look Away from Klavier While Blushing) Whatever......

Wocky Kitaki

Apache by the Sugarhill Gang Plays.....

Apollo: Are we seriously doing this right now?

Wocky: (Got into Position to Dance for his Pop-Off Song with Everyone Unhappily Joining in) We are going to dance into the entire song! My Pop-Off, My Rules!

And just like that, once they start shaking their hips six times, the gang starts dancing around to the music. (Except for Ema, who starts doing a pretty lazy Robot Dance)

Wocky: Happier! I wanna see you dance with a smile on all of your faces!! Smiles!!

Klavier: You know, I'm not sure if the Sugarhill Gang really sang that song-

Wocky: Are you still talking, Gavin?!

Klavier: Well I mean-

Wocky: You lost, remember? Losers don't complain! All they do is dance!!

Klavier: (Chuckles Lightly While Rolling His Eyes) Okay, Herr Kitaki.

Apollo: (Whispers to Ema) You know, I have no idea Wocky would be that interested in dancing.

Ema: (Whispers Back to Apollo) I'm surprised he even knows how to dance at all...

Wocky: Less Talking, More Dancing, 'Losas!!!

???????

Rainbow by Songbird Plays......

Trucy: (Cheers Triumphantly From Her Chair) WOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Trucy Wright. is. The CHAMPION!!!! Woohoo! YEAH!!!

Wocky: Damn.... She's even louder than you are, Justice.

Apollo: ('Sigh') She is my sister after all...

Ema: Can't believe your own sister beats us in Mario Party....

Klavier: (Smiles Sheepishly) Come now, you guys. Fräulein Wright won fair and square. Might as well let her have her moment.

Ema: (Glares Lightly at Klavier) You're only saying that because you didn't have to play.

Klavier: (Chuckles Lightly) I mean.... You're not entirely wrong on.

Trucy: 'Thena!

Athena: (Pops Up from the Kitchen) What's up?

Trucy: I Won!

Athena: ('GASPS') (Made her way to Trucy) Oh my God... Seriously?!

Trucy: (Excitedly Nodding Her Head) I'm the SUPERSTAR!!!

Athena: Holy Crap, Trucy!! (Gives Trucy a Big Hug) Congratulations!!

Trucy: (Giggles Softly) Thank you!

*Door Opens*

Maya: Hey, kiddos.

Pearl: Ummm.... What's going on here?

Athena: (Turns to Maya and Pearl) You guys, our girl Trucy just won a game of Mario Party!!

Maya: ('GASPS') NO WAY!!!

Pearl: (Smiles Excitedly) Is this really true?!!

Trucy: It's the Truth, Pearly! I, Trucy Wright, has become the SUPERSTAR!!!

Maya and Pearl excitedly make their way towards the duo and join in on the triumphant Group Hug while Squealing in Pure Joy.

Ema: (Getting Irritated by the Ladies' Squeals) God, this is worst than trying to dance to Apache.....

Wocky: (Glares at Ema) Hey! That song is a legend! It's deserve the respect it earns!!

Apollo: (Facepalms while Sighing) This can't get any worse than this......

Trucy: Oh, Polllllly!~

Apollo: (Slowly Turn his Head up to a Smirking Trucy) Yes, Trucy? What's wrong?

Trucy: Oh nothing~ I was just wondering if you still remember our deal or not.

Ema/Wocky: Deal?

Klavier: What is she talking about, Here Forehead?

Apollo: Uhh.... Nothing! It's nothing. Really. I mean.... (Chuckles Awkwardly) I don't even know what she's talking about here, ya know?

Athena: (Raised an Eyebrow Towards Apollo with a Playful Smirk on her Face) Pollo~ Come on now~ Don't try worming your way out of this one, 'hon~

Apollo: (Starts Sweating Bullets) Uh you know? (Got up from his Seat) Maybe it's time for us to get some snacks don'tcha-

Ema: (Grabs Apollo's Arm with a Smirk on her Face) Hold on there, Justice. I wanna hear what they're talking about here.

Wocky: Yeah! Us too!

Klavier: (Simply Nodded in Agreement)

Maya: Welllllllllll, you see.... Yesterday, all of us here made a bet to see which one of these two kiddos would win in Mario Party.

Ema Really now? And what, pray tell, did you guys beat on?

Pearl: (Giggles Softly) It was simple really. For you see, if Polly were to lose the game, he would get........

Trucy: A nighttime of Snuggles and Cuddles with his Loving Family!!!

Athena: Us!!

*Silence*

Wocky: (Burst Out Laughing) Pfft HAHAHAHA!!!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Ema: (Snickering) Holy Shit, Apollo Justice. What the hell did you gotten yourself into?

Apollo: (Blushes Bright Red) I don't know, okay?! I-I mean....I didn't know Trucy would actually win the game!!!

Klavier: (Smiles Sheepishly at his Friendly Rival) Maybe. But you do realize that anything can happen in Mario Party, right?

Apollo: (Facepalms while Groaning Once More) Now you tell me.....

Maya: ('Sigh') Polly, I don't even know why you're starting to get embarrssed now.

Trucy: (Pouts at her Big Brother) Yeah! You love our Cuddle Time, remember?!

Pearl: (Rapidly Nodded her Head while Pouting at Apollo as Well)

Wocky/Ema: Pftt AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Klavier: (Chuckles Lightly) Herr Forehead! I had no idea you were a fan of Cuddles.

Apollo: Y-Yeah? Well....I like it, okay?! It's nice! I-It's Comforting and Relaxing! P-Plus, I get to do it with the people I love! So honestly, it's technically a win-win for me!!! S-So, Suck it!!

Trucy/Maya/Pearl: (Starts Giggling at How Adorable Apollo is Being Right Now)

Ema: (Smirks at Apollo) Spoken like a true Cuddler, Justice!

Wocky: (Snickering) Uh-Huh!

Apollo: (Groans Once More in Annoyance)

Athena: (Pulls Apollo into a Loving Hug) Ignore them, 'hon. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Cuddling with the ones you love, Pollo. (Gives Apollo a Loving Kiiss on a Cheek) I promise~

Apollo: ('Sigh') Yeah.... I know. Just.... Trying not to let it bother me too much, you know? (Smiles Softly towards Trucy) But in all seriousness though, Congratulations on winning, Truce.

Ema: (Nodded While Smiling) Yeah.

Wocky: (Smiles Brightly) Nice one!

Klavier: You did a wonderful job winning , Fräulein Wright.

Trucy: (Smiles Brightly) Thanks, you guys. NOW LET THE CUDDLING COMMENCE!!!

After Game Night was over with, The Everything's Wright Family begins to watch a movie while forming a Cuddle Pile with one another. And even though he lost a game of Mario Party earlier today, Apollo is still admittedly enjoying every moment of it with the people he knows and love.

@apollo-justice-for-all

@keyenuta

@cyber-wildcat

@26shann

@albion-93

[bespectacled-panda]

after seeing dumpywoof’s post I was inspired to do a tier list of my own!!! and boy howdy do I have some hot takes of the century it turns out,,,

the seasons are more or less organized in descending order within the same row as well (e.g. MC 4 > MC 5). also, shamefully copying dumpywoof & putting a detailed & overly verbose explanation for each season:

S Tier

Terraria 3: For me, absolutely nothing compares to Terraria 3. No other season combines such perfect participant dynamics with such heart-wrenching drama—not to mention the existence of Team New Kids who make me cry on a daily basis, or the incredible fake twist ending. It would be a sin to put this season anywhere but alone at the very top. Also props for being the only (1 of 2) post-show that actually includes all of the cast.

 A Tier

Minecraft 4: This is the best season for shenanigans alone, hands-down. It’s largely just the participants shooting the shit together, especially in the latter half of the season when it gets down to just the four of them. & I have a huge soft spot for men being wholesomely foolish together I suppose, so here it goes fhdhfhd.

Minecraft 5: To be honest, I have not seen this season since it released, which is a crime, I know, I’m sorry :orb: But I remember it being very very good, & I cannot imagine my taste will have changed that dramatically in just a few years, so. in truth, this one might be actually better than MC 4, but as I have not seen it in many years I can’t say that for certain. Either way, though, it’s definitely one of the best seasons out there.

MineZ 1: To me, MineZ 1 is the reverse of MC 4: low on shenanigans & high on drama. It’s pre-Todd era, but the editing in this one is honestly Todd-level, I would say. It’s so incredibly tense, especially the scene with McJones & PBG trying to escape the caves, and I feel like the sheer stress of it all brought out a new side of a lot of the participants, most notably Dean—who sounded genuinely agonized at times. A very very quality season all around, IMO.

Terraria 2: This season probably objectively deserves to be B tier, but I am it giving A tier for personal bias. I just,,, love the dynamics okay. Jeff & McJones especially made for a killer duo. It was a rare instance of McJones being the funny man himself rather than being the straight man to someone else’s funny man; he was super uncharacteristically goofy & almost borderline flirtatious at times, it really made for some good moments fhdhfjd. Plus then you got McJones solo commentary at the end which I greatly enjoyed. Just,, a very enjoyable season, very mid-HC era, very light & easy to watch, all that good stuff.

Diablo II: Man,,,,this absolutely 100% does not deserve A tier, I know, I’m sorry, but I just can’t bring myself to put it lower. I have A tier love for it :orb: Admittedly, the game is horrendously ugly and confusing to watch, but the shenanigans + the cast dynamics win me over in the end. Paul especially was great in this, & I hope he makes a return someday. Loving fathers Paul & Jirard with their sorceress son McJones making their way through the end-game just cannot be beaten. (Anti-shoutouts to Ross though, I don’t know anything about him, I am sure he is a lovely man, but GOD. WHY DID HE KEEP RUNNING OFF ON HIS OWN & GETTING LOST BUT THEN FORCEFULLY REFUSING HELP,,, ROSS YOU ARE THE WORST DHDHFJDJD)

 B Tier

Minecraft 7: Boy,,, this is going to be a controversial take fhhfjdjf. I just don’t know how to explain it, but something about MC7 felt,,,, Very off. I don’t know what it was, just something about the season seemed very,,, almost like you could tell things were falling apart behind the scenes, & they were trying to pull it back together but weren’t quite succeeding. It’s not a bad season in any regards, of course, I just,, don’t enjoy it nearly as much as a lot of others,, it’s missing that crucial spark of life in my opinion,, also Dean leaving to go to work was kind of strange,, I get it, it’s probably difficult to work around his real-life job,, but it felt strange,, he got like temporary immunity. Nothing like that had ever happened before I don’t think. And also they never even explained why Dean wasn’t there for like three episodes fjdjfjhd,,

Minecraft 3: God I feel like I just keep digging myself into a deeper & deeper hole here fhsjfjd,,, but man, I did like MC3 to be honest. It wasn’t the best season, it kind of went nowhere, but I liked the cast & there was a lot of good funnymoments. Smooth & Shane were very good guests who I feel like really rounded out the season, & Jontron did not come off as terribly overbearing as I believe that he has in other seasons. Overall, pretty decent, I’d say.

 C Tier

Minecraft 2: MC 2 & MC 3 are very similar, but I think MC 2 is slightly worse, both in terms of entertainment & cast. NCS & Kyrak did not hit like Smooth & Shane did,,, and I feel like just everything that happened in this one was fairly forgettable. I was torn as to whether this should be a B or a C, but I put it here in the end just to drive home that I really don’t like it as much as MC 3, I don’t believe.

Minecraft 6: Oh lord, this is a nuclear take fhdjfjd. Again, this isn’t a bad season at all, it has its good moments, especially Chad & Dodger, they are angels & I love them & want them back. But boy,,, just. Many things went wrong here. None of the twists panned out like,, at all, which I know isn’t necessarily anyone’s fault, the concept of this twist & of twists in general is very good. But it fell so flat here, especially with the revival. There was,, no debate at all about what to do. They hyped it up like they had this big decision to make, but then nobody made any effort to dramatize it at all. It was basically just Dean deciding by himself and everyone just sitting back & letting him. For the record, I have no qualms with the fact that Dodger was revived, I fully agree that she deserved it over McJones, but it was not played well at all IMO,,,      I do have to admit, though, with a fair amount of sheepishness, that the thing that most sullies this season for me is McJones’s death. Just,,, his horrible, so so avoidable, insanely early death, coupled with his retirement shortly thereafter & him becoming so jaded with hc that he expressed borderline hostility & hatred towards it just,,, hurts. I kinda don’t wanna see the events of MC 6 now knowing the aftermath. I understand fully that this particular point is not something most people care about to say the least dhfhdjd, but,,, in all honesty, I really don’t have any desire to rewatch this one, as objectively good as it might be. It was a win but it felt like a loss, if that makes sense. Also the post-show lacked all three people I actually wanted to hear from fhdjfjd neither the two people who could’ve been revived nor the actual person who did the reviving were there to share their insight & perspectives on it :pensive: 

 D Tier

Starbound: man,,, starbound. This is a very mixed bag for me. On one hand, I disagree with people who say that it was boring or that nothing happened, I found it very tense, Todd’s editing had me on edge throughout every episode. But on the other hand,,, man. Very few memorable moments, what even happened in this one,, also I feel like the game mechanics/plot weren’t explained very well, I feel like I remember being vaguely confused all the time as to what was happening. Probably will not ever rewatch either.

 Have Not Seen

DayZ: I will not ever be watching this season both because I do not know anything about DayZ & because from what I’ve heard it was an absolute disaster, I’m just not interested in getting involved in that fhdhfjdk

Terraria 1: There’s not really a reason I haven’t watched this one. Just,, I haven’t made my way down to the earliest seasons yet. Although as mentioned before, I have seen a few clips of this season, & Jontron seems to be pretty obnoxious in this one, so I don’t how much I’ll enjoy the parts with him in it, but I definitely do want to watch it someday.

Minecraft 1: The same as Terraria 1, I just happen to not have seen this one by chance. But unlike T1, I am much more looking forward to actually watching it, it seems really good, I want to experience that legendary very first season at last dhdhfjd

MineZ 2: Man,,, many things about the behind-the-scenes of this season make me sort of uncomfortable honestly. Just,,, the visceral second-hand shame & embarrassment of someone in the hc fandom being so rude & bothersome to the cast,, somehow it makes me feel personally responsible even though I didn’t do anything fhdjfj,,, Also,, once again continuing with the trend of me being saddened by McJones expressing dislike for seasons fhdjfjd,, I do recall him saying, regarding this season, something like “I think it would’ve been better if we just never did this,” which,,, ow. That doesn’t make me particularly enthused to watch it fhdjfjd. I probably will end up watching this season someday to be honest, but I’m not looking forward to feeling the cast’s frustration & unhappiness with the situation,, (EDIT: I want to be clear that there is no actual drama surrounding minez 2!!! it is a perfectly fine season, there is nothing wrong with it, it just happens that I personally am bothered by the fact that there was a lot of like,,, frustration coming from the participants regarding the player who was stalking them. this in no way means that minez 2 is an objectively bad or problematic season!! if minez 2 is your favorite season I completely respect you, there is nothing wrong with that!! there is a lot to like about the season as a whole!!! I just personally care too much about mcjones having a bad time in seasons bc it’s what ultimately led to his retirement, & that makes me sad fjdhfjdjd. but it has come to my attention that my wording made it sound like there was drama about minez 2, which there never actually was, I am very very sorry for my unintentional yet poor choice of words.)

[yamithediaperdork]

Trails of a bully (A malcore story)

The following story while being about malcore, is not the malcore from silly little god nor Malcore's lost bet. there's a multiverse of Malcore's out there folks, and it's best not to over think it. Malcore was a bully, A true blue grade 8 and 14 year old bully and he loved every second of it. He was one of the shortest kids at axmaina jr high but made up with it with a willingness to fight dirty, a nasty streak a mile wide, a friend who was a green belt in karate, and a big for his age friend. anytime malcore did find himself at risk of getting beat up he was quick to holler for a teacher and could cry at the drop of the dime, making him more then just a little loathed around the school, and made sure anyone who stuck around the school during lunch hour tried to avoid him and his friends. Today's target was a sixth grader who was about the same size as malcore and named Justin, and who had actually called malcore out for a showdown. Malcore wasn't worried though as he showed up, with Josh and his karate skills to the left of him and Jacob and his freakish power to the right. They had made it a goal to make every sixth grade boy cry at least ONCE this year and Justin was the last hold out and malcore was looking forward to settling this once and for all. with his dirty blond hair and green eyes Justin had a look most of the girls called handsome, as opposed to malcore who brown hair and brown eyes and MAYBE a hint of baby fat got him called 'cute' or 'adorable'..hardly things you wanted to hear in grade nine. the stupid blond smirked as malcore strolled up with his crew and it made Malcore hate his stupid handsome face even more. "About time you showed up. I was starting to think you got scared and wet yourself." Justin teased. Malcore stopped and glared at that insult, a blush coming to his cheeks. 'does..does he know..no it's just stupid banter' The bully thought and growled. "Awfully big words coming from a dead twerp." Malcore said, trying to sound tough but his voice came out as more of a squeak. The gathered kids from the other assorted grades laughed and Malcore's cheeks were burning now. "Awww did I touch a nerve there? or does baby need his diapies changed?" Justin asked in a mocking baby tone. "Oh that is IT! I'm gonna fucking enjoy this!" Malcore growled and rushed over tackling Justin down to the ground and started to wail away on the little shit as hard as he could. Josh and Jacob cheered him on as he bloodied the nose of the little shit but then Justin caught Malcore's next punch and held it with ease. "You have you're fun diaper baby? every dog gets one bite and that was yours." Justin said before grabbing malcore but the front of his red shirt tossing him off of him with seeming ease. Malcore yelped as he landed face first into a pile of dirt and got up spit the resulting mud out of his mouth and wiping his mouth on his sleeve. "You think you're hot shit!?" Malcore practically screamed, though in his rage his voice had gone even higher and he sounded like a toddler having a fit, as least in tone. "Your in for it now! Jacob! Josh! FUCK THIS BITCH UP!" As soon as he called for them his trusty sidekick started towards Justin, Jacob glaring at the other students daring any of them to get involved. Justin didn't look worried however and actually just tsked and took out his smart phone and smiled at Malcore. "Call them off baby Malcore, or I press play." Justin said. Malcore tilted his head to the side and squinted to make out the video, then his eyes went wide as he recognized the location and the woman in the video. "J-Josh! Jacob! Hold off!" He quickly cried out. The two lackey's paused and exchanged confused looked, but the pair shrugged and halted. "That's better." Justin said and laughed, wiping his nose on his sleeve. "wouldn't want everyone to see what IIIII saw last night at walmart would you Malcore?" "Fucking just delete that video and I'll leave you alone." Malcore said, teeth clenched but he had panic in his eyes. "what the fuck is on that video?" Josh asked malcore, confused now. there were a few cries from the crowd, they wanted to know as well and Justin smirked and wagged his eyebrows. "I dunno.. Mayyybe I'll play it for everyone..but only if Jacob and Josh promise not to lay a finger on me." Justin said and turned to the only two real threats. "G-Guys!! W-who's side are you on? Mine or this little dipshits!" Malcore yelped. "...well Justin wasn't the one who ate all my snack cakes.." josh said and turned to Jacob. "and Justin hasn't borrowed any video games from me and still not returned them 4 months later." Jacob added. "I-I'll Get you all the snack cakes you want and I'll even give you one of my games!" Malcore pleaded, dropping to his knees now, both hands together as he begged. "Jesus, what the hell is in that video?" Josh asked with a smirk. "I-I'll tell you both later, just Pleasssse I need you now!" seeing the big fearsome bully begging on his knees and looking ready to cry had the rest of the gathered crowd laughing and malcore knew he was done as a bully as they took pictures, but it STILL wouldn't be as bad as it could be if that little shit head played that video. "Jeeeze..I don't wanna listen to a toddler have a tantrum.. I'll delete the video from my phone malcore..but i have it on my home computer still. I'll Let you off the hook for now, But you'll be getting a special e-mail from me tonight..so be paying attention crybaby." Justin said and true to his word the video was gone. After the noon hour display, Jacob and Josh had only loosely hung around Malcore, who told them he'd tell them about what was on the video after school at his his house. Still the fear and semi respect Malcore had held was gone and he had a new nickname before the day was out of 'crybaby' and was powerless to do anything about it but whine to the teachers. (which he had only done once, and his english teacher, with malcore standing by him at the front of the class had scolded the class for making fun of someone just because his small size meant he might cry a little easier and told malcore he was free to cry if he felt the need.) Finally with the day over malcore was walking home with his best buddies and trying to put it all behind him. "So I'm thinking, we sneak into the little pukes house and just make him delete that shit off his computer. you guys with me?" Malcore asked, while they were stopped at a 7 11 picking up the snack cakes he had promised Josh and getting them all drinks. "yeahhh no. that shit is illegal you dork." Josh said. "and remember to get the small Slurpee, you end up having to piss every five minutes when you get the big gulp." Jacob reminded him. Grumbling and huffing the squirt payed for the snacks and the drinks and sucked on his in moody silence for the rest of the walk towards his house. Seeing his mom's car in the driveway Malcore signed in relief, there was NO way she'd let Jacob and Josh stay too long since she always insisted on spending at least a hour of mommy-son time with malcore when she got off early from work and if he delayed long enough he wouldn't have to tell his buds just what had been on the video. "Hey mom, I'm home!" Malcore called out to her as the three came in but before he could follow up with that his friend were with him her voice rang out from the kitchen. "Oh good! I went back to the store today sweetie and made sure to get you the princess diapers that you wanted, after that fit you threw last night when all they had were the spaceman ones. I know how much you like being a little princess before bed." his mom called out. She came around the corner and saw Malcore just standing there, Mouth hung open and cheeks burning red and then noticed Josh and Jacob ALSO standing there. "M-Mom!" Malcore squeaked out finally as she gave a sheepish chuckle. "ahhh..whoops." she said and rubbed the back of her head. "Princess." Jacob said, grinning ear to ear. "Diapers!?" Josh finished and then both started to laugh. "You boys stop that this instant!" Malcore's mom scolded the boys, who tried, they really did try to stop laughing. "It's not Malcore's fault he's started bed wetting again and if he wants to be a cute little sissy butt at night!" she added. "MOM! NOT HELPING!" Malcore shrieked as his friends started laughing again and then to make matted worse there was a hissing sound then Malcore's crotch felt warm and.. "oh dear..You boys made him so upset he wet himself! get out of here, both of you and don't think I won't be calling your parents!" Malcore's mom scolded them and then other two boys left, having more then a fair idea of what the video would of been. It had been 7:30ish the night before, when Justin saw Malcore as the little bully made his way into Walmart tugging and pulling on his mom's arm and telling her to hurry up. he'd been there to go and get a new game and was on his way out, but the sight of malcore acting like a little kid eager to get a new toy interested him, and if nothing else the footage would be funny to show off as he took out his smart phone and started to record. "Settle down malcore, it's not like there wouldn't be any left!" His mom was scolding him, but with a chuckle in her voice. "That's what you said lassst time and you were suppose to get them on your way home from work! then you made me do homework and I had to let you kick my butt in video games for a hour before we could come so hurry uppp!" the bully whined. Anyone who'd of heard him would of thought it was a toddler whining but clearly Malcore's mother was just amused by the fit and let him drag her as fast as he could. "oh you let me kick your butt huh? I'll have to remember that and try EXTRA hard next mommy and son time." she teased but they got to the aisle that malcore wanted and as Justin panned the phone up, he realized it was the incontinence aisle. "oh, this is gonna be good." Justin said for the benefit of the video. sneaking up to film them from a little bit of a distance, Justin was still able to catch Malcore breaking away from his mother and running down to a spot  in the aisle looking excited..then looking on disbelief. "I TOLD YOU WE SHOULD OF COME SOONER!" the pint sized bully screamed and started to have a royal fit, screaming and plopping onto his butt, kicking and pounding his fists on the floor as his mother rushed over. "Oh dear, they're out of the princess diapers -again-?" She asked, knelled down and trying to sooth the brat. "YES! A-AND I TOLD YOU THIS WOULD HAPPEN AND NOW I CAN'T BE A PRETTY PRINCESS AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULTTTT!" Malcore screamed then -actually- broke down in tears and started to sob. The icing on the cake was when Malcore's mother took a large -pink- pacifier out of her purse and popped it in the sobbing boys mouth and he started to suckle on it. Justin got one last shot of Malcore's mom picking him up and patting his back as the big baby whimpered before ducking away to hide. After his friends had left and Mommy had gotten malcore all cleaned up and into one of his thick pink diapers (with little crowns and scepters and the word PRINCESS in white cursive on the butt) he still seemed to be caught between his usual happy little sissy self and totally miserable. "You don't understand mommy!" he whined as she helped him into his high chair for some milk and cookies. "They're gonna tell everyone!" "well if they do that then their not very good friends! You just have your snack princess and Mommy will make a few phone calls." She said and walked off, leaving Malcore to think about just HOW doomed he was, and he STILL had whatever his stupid little e-mail thing from Justin was gonna be to put up with. "This can not get ANY worse!" the little dork whined softly before chowing down on his cookies. 

Part 2

Malcore finished off the last of his cookies and squirmed in the high chair. something that normally brought the little shorty so much pleasure and fun was gonna ruin him tomorrow and it was giving him a icky tummy. when mommy came back from making her calls and saw him, looking grumpy with chocolate smears on his face and his chin resting on his hand, she came over and gave her special little guy a hug. "it's gonna be OK Malcore, I made sure to call your friends parents, and let them know what a couple of bullies they are! I'm not sure I want you to hang out with them anymore either if their gonna be so rude to my little princess." she added. Malcore gulped, this was NOT good news like his mommy hoped it would be. If Jacob and Josh got in trouble over him then there was NO way they'd have his back tomorrow, and if mom started to ban them from hanging out with him.. "B-But Mommmm!" Malcore started, doing his best whinny sissy voice. "They're still my friends! I'm sure we can work this out! S-so you should call their parents back and-" His mom smiled and cut him off with a big hug as she lifted him out of his highchair. "You're just SUCH a sweetheart! more worried about your friends then yourself even after they made you cry! That's why I spoil you so much!" she coo'ed.   Malcore gave a weak smile back, and decided that since he was so totally doomed he might as well enjoy tonight before he became a super duper laughing stock. Waiting for his mom to wipe his face clean with a washcloth, Malcore finally spoke up. "Ummm can we do a super duper extended Mommy son time t'day? Pleassssse?" He asked, having been sat on the counter as she washed his face and now giving her Bambi eyes. "heh, of course Princess. you know I can't say no to that face!" As Josh walked in the door of his house his dad was waiting for him, and looking mad. "What's this I hear about you bullying your poor little friend Malcore and making him wet his pants?!" His dad asked, looking pissed. Josh gulped, if there was ONE thing his father hated above anything else, it was a bully and Josh knew he'd been risking a lot with helping out Malcore all this time, but the rush of power and the rewards had been just too sweet to pass up. "W-Well see, It's not exactly like tha-" Josh tried to explain, but found himself getting grabbed by the ear and getting lead over to a corner of the room that Josh hadn't had to visit in a few years now, that his little brother ended up in at least once a week, the spanking corner. "Dad NO! Wait! I can explain!" Josh yelped, the though of his old man tanning his cheeks making the green belt  weak in the knees and ironically his own bladder was awfully full. "I talked with Malcore's mother, and she told me how you drove her poor boy to tears after he had a accident, and you made fun of him for needing bedtime diapers!" Josh's dad said. The tone in his voice made it clear that for him that was good enough and he took a seat on the spanking stool and pulled josh over his lap. Ignoring Josh's pleas for mercy he tugged down the poor boys pants and undies just as Josh's little brother Jet walked into the room, drinking from a juice box and with a puzzled look on his face. that turned into delight as he realized that Joshie was gonna be the one getting a tanning, not his 8 year old butt for a change. "uh-oh. what did Joshie do daddy?" the little brat asked, a BIG grin on his face. Josh had after all watched HIM get spanked with a huge smirk on his face lots of times so fair was fair! "He was the one thing I told you boys NEVER to be, a Bully!" Dad said and then brought his hand down on Josh's backside. As Josh howled in pain and begged for mercy, he only made it about 5 spanks in before he lost control of his bladder and drenched his fathers lap which ended the spanking, but didn't do him any favors. "Maye Malcore isn't the only one who needs diapers." His dad said while Jet giggled like crazy. "DADDY NO!" Josh whimpered, turning pale. As Jacob entered his house his grandmother was waiting for him, and the semi giant gulped having a good idea what this was about. "Do you know I just got a call from Malcore's mother?" She asked, looking less then pleased. "I...may of heard something about her threatening to call, yes." Jacob said and gulped nervously. "And so you know what she told me?" "I..May have a vague idea about what may of been said." Jacob said, trying to hedge his bets. His grandmother raised a eyebrow, then took a seat in her laz-y-boy chair and motioned for him to plop his butt on the footstool in front of her. "well let me hear YOUR version of what went down, I'll compare it with what I was told, and we'll go on from there." she said. Jacob gulped and took the seat. "well Ok. Soo we got back to Malcore's after stopping at sev for slurpee's and snacks an-" "who paid for the slurpees and snacks?" His grandmother asked, cutting him off. "I know for a fact you don't have any money right now after getting a advance on your allowance till next month." "Er..well..Malcore treated us." Jacob said and had a sinking feeling as he watched her frown a little.  "A-Anyways.. as we got back to Malcore's place, well..OK.. it turned he wears diapers to bed grandma! and not just diapers, but princess ones, and he apparently had a HUGE fit over not being able to get them the night before! Like, how was I NOT suppose to laugh! I'm only human!" "And then malcore wet himself, and you and Josh laughed even more at the poor pint sized friend who had treated you to slurppes and snacks." Grandma said. "...Well when you put it like that I'm kind of a dick." Jacob said. "Quite right. so now that we agree that you were a dick, guess who's going to be going and getting all dressed up for the rest of the day, and will be coming straight home after school for the next two weeks to be my little grand daughter Jenny?" Jacob whimpered and groaned, his grandmother didn't bother trying to spank him since he had such a high pain tolerance but knew what a macho image of himself he had. So instead of a spanking she liked to invoke what she called petticoat punishment which mean she dressed Jacob up in pretty dresses and panties, and put bows in his hair and made the giant squirm like crazy. "M-Me grandma." Jacob whimpered, looking ready to cry. "Awww, it's ok Jenny. if you wanna cry, go ahead. better now then when I get your makeup on." and with that the giant did start to sob but let himself be lead upstairs. Justin was on cloud nine as he finished up making the special audio trance files and putting them to the video he still had of Malcore's little fit.   there was just NO WAY that the little sissy would be able to fight the effects of this hypnotic video and tomorrow he was gonna go from being known as crybaby malcore to a much more humiliating nick name. such was the power of the video that Justin himself had made sure to wear ear plugs AND headphones (not plugged in of course) with the sound turned off on his computer just to make sure he didn't end up programing himself. He should do ONE final check on the program, but he had already watched the video enough and checked the markers to be sure and popped it onto YouTube as a private video, only available via linkage and then e-mailed Malcore the link and a message. "Ok Princess, Your gonna watch this movie 10 times with the volume on max, while sucking on your pacifier then go to bed. I'll be able to keep track of the views and I'll know if you watched it less then 10. but if you wanna watch it MORE then that, heh, go ahead. If you've been a good little baby butt then I'll let this all go away tomorrow, if not, I make the video public. YOUR choice diaper baby." With the message sent Justin closed his browser and despite it being only 6ish, he felt oddly tired. Blaming it on staring at the screen for too long he went over to his bed and laid down for a quick power nap, when his parents came in to check on him, to see if he wanted to go out for ice cream half a hour later, they both had to chuckle, their so called big boy was sucking on his thumb and hugging one of his pillows to his chest, drooling up a storm. After playing video games with mommy for as long as he could get away with, and having pizza and pop for supper, Malcore had his by then soggy diapers changed and had taken a bubble bath then was re-diapered and went off to his room to do his homework before his 9 pm bedtime. Malcore was in his favorite princess PJ top and tried to calm himself, already having his paci in his mouth as he crinkled away in his chair as he logged onto his e-mail account. true to his word, there was the e-mail from Justin and Malcore whimpered then opened the e-mail. As he read the message and opened the link malcore smiled behind his paci, if this was all that stupid head Justin could come up with then malcore was mostly in the home free, at least on THAT end of things. 'I'll hafa suck up to Josh and Jacob tomorrow and try and make up for getting them in trouble...but man, just watch a video ten times? piece of cake!' Malcore thought with a giggle. The little sissy started to bounce up and down in his chair, his diapers crinkling big time and bobbing his head from side to side as he got his headphones plugged and and clicked on the video to start it. It was just his little fit at the mall with some weird music in the back round, and some flashy stuff popping up in the video that made him feel a little silly. refreshing the link, he watched it again and felt himself feeling a little, weird. like, he was SUPER getting into the video to the extent he wasn't noticing his tummy was making weird noises. By the fourth watch his tummy was cramping but that was OK, Malcore could wait out his tummy troubles, he was a good little sissy who wanted to watch his new favorite video. As he watched it for the sixth time he was rocking back and forth, trying not to make oopise poopises in his diapies, but he was also wonder if Justin would be super nice and leave this totally awesome video up, Malcore super de duper loved it! As he started the video for the tenth time malcore slid out of his chair and pushed it back, and braced himself on the computer desk as he started to video. He suckled his paci in time to the music and with a dopey smile behind his pacifier grunted and unloaded into the set of his pretty princess diapers like a good little sissy. it was just so silly now to widdle Malcore that he had only been wearing his princess diapies and just wetting them when they were clearly made for him to be a stinky little princess! he'd hafa give Justin a big smooch on the cheek for helping him understand all of that even as his poor diapers drooped down and the room filled up with a stinky smell. as the video finished, Malcore giggled and took his head phones off and closed the tab, then waddled over to bed with his smelly load making him have to do the cowboy walk and crawled into bed, snuggling into his tiger stuffie and going strait to sleep. After soaking his dad's lap Josh had been forced to stand in the corner, his nose on a target on the wall with his pants and undies around his ankles. Jet had been told to watch him and make sure he stayed in the corner while daddy went to the store to pick up something and Josh had a sinking feeling in his gut he knew exactly what it was. "Geez 'big brother'..you know I get spanked lots but I don't wet myself!" Jet smirked, clearly loving ever second of his brothers torment and knowing that Josh couldn't do a damn thing without making it worse. "I..I had a full bladder ok!?" Josh grumbled, almost glad to have a excuse not to have to look at his gloating little brother. "You know if you had told dad you had to pee, he'd of stopped and let you use the bathroom right? he just adds three swats." Jet laughed. Josh SHOULD of known that but in his blind panic he'd forgotten all about that rule and groaned. "whatever, just means -I- get to be the big brother tonight." Jet giggled but hushed up. the little brat knew better then to tease Joshie without permission from daddy and risk being labeled a bully. "Alright Joshie. I've had time to think about it, and I've worked out the rest of your punishment." Daddy said as he came in, carrying two bags from the drug store. "you can pull away from the punishment corner now." he added. As Josh pulled away he had to fight back a sob, there in daddies hands was TWO packs of diapers, and a baby bottle and a pacifier. "I think going to bed every night till these diapers run out like your friend has to will teach you not to make fun of those with potty issues, since clearly your not immune to a wetting accident yourself. for today, you'll be spending the rest of the day diapered, and be making use of the pacifier and the baby bottles. with the amount of diapers I brought you should be outta of them in about a month or so, but if I think you need more time in diapers you WILL be padded after school and I'll be buying anther pack. do I make myself clear?" Daddy asked. Josh sniffled and fresh tears flowed down his cheeks, but he nodded. "and Jet, before you think about picking on your new baby brother, just remember they have diapers in your size too little man." "Y-yes daddy!" After that Josh had been diapered and denied any pants, with a pacifier popped in his mouth (and a warning not to remove it without permission from Daddy or Jet) He then had to go and clean up his accident out of the naughty corner. After that it was homework time for the boys, with Jet as normal finishing first and going off to claim the tv. Josh naturally found it had to focus on his homework given his attire but Daddy was understanding and helped him a little. With his homework done he was allowed to go and watch cartoons with Jet, but was handed a baby bottle loaded with apple juice to drink while Jet was sipping on a coke. Thirsty as he was Josh suckled from the bottle, cheeks burning red but Jet wisely didn't say anything. At suppertime Josh's food had been cut up for him, and he was given a baby fork to use, though he was thankfully too big to fit in Jet's old highchair so daddy hadn't even bothered. Daddy was nice in that he didn't make Josh USE the diaper, all he had to do was tug on his or jet's arm and get permission. went it came time for bed daddy decided the old diaper looked a little beat up, but still was good so just taped anther diaper over the current one and tucked Josh into bed, a full hour before Jet. As the green belt laid there, diapered, sucking on a pacifier, and mortified.. he swore to himself he was gonna take this out on Malcore the next day before finally drifting off to sleep. About 15 minutes after he conked out though Jet would sneak into his room, with a bowl of warm water.. Jacob whined loudly as he looked at himself in the mirror. He was wearing a pair of white knee high socks and a pair of pink panties, not that you could even see the panties (thank god!) Because he was in a light yellow sundress with a white flower print that came down to just above his knees. He had a yellow bow pinned in his hair and was wearing a black pair of Mary Jane's, and his grandmother was waiting for him to get the last of his tears out before she put on his makeup. "You know Jacob, I almost wish you'd misbehave a little more often. you just look so CUTE as Jenny!" the old lady teased and smirked, dabbing at his cheeks with a Kleenex. "P-Please no Make up grandma." 'Jenny' pleaded, sniffling. "I-It's too much already!" the poor bully whimpered. "Well I'll let you decide." His grandmother said and Jacob gulped at the evil smile on her face. There was no doubt where Jacob got his evil creative ideas when it came to making a target whimper. "You can let me get the make up on you and then we can go and watch some tv.. OR you can go make up free and then go and mow the lawn, the grass IS getting a little long." Jacob whined big time at that, he had just mowed the lawn on Sunday and there was no way it needed anther go already! Still given his choices the not so little sissy forced a smile on his face. "M-Make me cute grandma." he said in his best girl voice, all while vowing vengeance on Malcore tomorrow.