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#and other things I make up wholesale
bumblingbabooshka · 1 year
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Tuvok & T’Pel at their Koon-ut-la: May peace and bliss follow them forever.
Based on this picture I found:
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Love how T’Pau is sitting down for this. Tuvok & T’Pel’s ceremony was presided over by a local but well-respected priestess because not everyone has the sway to get a stateswoman. Also, I count this more as an approximation of engagement than marriage since they’re established to have a whole marriage-or-challenge thing as adults later on. After the ceremony Tuvok and T’Pel were each given a seed and instructed to plant them side by side in the temple’s garden. When they returned to the temple for their marriage proper whatever they’d planted there that day would be in full bloom.  After that they played- uh...I mean...bonded with one another until their parents had to drag them away kicking and screaming. A fact which neither pair of parental units will ever let them quite forget much to their joint embarrassment.
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july-19th-club · 9 months
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how to make a character who sucks so bad and nobody likes him but he is genuinely a good protagonist (good as in interesting, maybe on a rare day good as in decent but also, just like, an incredible jackass) . i need to make him worse i need to make him MEANER!
#i think the key to getting this kind of character right is that he can't try to be anybody's boss#that's not the fun and engaging kind of jackass that's just reminding the reader of all the bosses they've hated in their time#the engaging and likeable Guy Who Sucks So Bad is a loner who might CLAIM that he will take over the group or whatever and lead#but never actually has any intentions of doing so because part of the things he sucks re: is responsibility of any kind#he does however know that leaders dont like other people horning in on their territory so he will say things like#i'm gonna wreck your shit and then all your lackeys will follow ME! ouahahahahaha . despite having zero plans to follow up with that#the ideal engaging asshole protagonist is a rebel without a good cause: maybe he has a sad backstory; maybe he's just a dick#but if there's one thing about him you can count on it's that he is Opposed To Shit. doesnt matter what it is his primary entertainment#is picking a fight with it for no reason and then saying what the fuck ever i didn't care about it anyway (he didn't)#ideally this is all done in such a way that he is SEXY . but you'd never want to hang with him because he is deeply obnoxious#he is not bossy. he is not controlling. he is maybe even a bit of a wife guy except he hates everyone else and wants to make their day wors#because making someone else's day worse makes HIS day better . the ideal wife for him is the one from ordinary day with peanuts#by shirley jackson#and i have GOT to figure out a way to engineer this guy without copying examples of my favorite versions of him wholesale#i have the scaffolding. but because of my own confrontation-averse tendencies#im terribly concerned that i will never be able to actually make him the asshole he was born to be#q
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girlscience · 3 months
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i genuinely think fanfic might be ruining my life
#when i say all i do all day is read fic it's not a joke and i'm starting to think it is actually bad for me#it gets in the way of quite literally everything else in my life#it is what i use to deal with any emotion outside of generally happy or vague nothingness#i read it first thing when i wake up i read until the last second i have to get out of bed#i read all day at work and then read all night until my eyes hurt and i have to go to sleep#it makes up 90% of what i think about every single day#it is a huge chunk of what i talk about with other people cause it's all my thoughts#i can't make myself stop reading it#like i actually start going through withdraw or something#it gets hard to think and i can't focus and i can't sit still and i feel so so bored#and it feels like nothing else matters#i used to read science magazines for fun and now i can't even get through one article without feeling like i'm dying#there is some crazy good fic out there but most of what i read is like... the tik tok of stories#it's like the short form version of a book#it is taking over my life (i say that like this hasn't been true for probably a decade at this point)#but i literally don't know how to fix it#i can delete my ao3 but you can read without an account#i guess i could go wholesale and delete the internet off my phone#but i need that for so many other things#i straight up don't know what to do#i might actually need help. like i think i might be addicted the way some people are to social media
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mildmayfoxe · 10 months
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my boss subscribes to my patreon (gag) (i appreciate the support but also leave me alone) (why are you inserting yourself into my personal life) (she also joined my patreon discord last week (double gag)) and the other day when i brought her in her stickers she was like "you're so organized!!" (no shit) (compared to her) "you actually send rewards out every month!!" (of course i do. that's my job) "so many people i back on patreon don't even manage to send out their rewards, haha" (what the fuck. no wonder you're so lackadaisical with the store patreon) "you're like patreon goals!!!" (condescending) (are you for real. maybe you should follow my lead with your own business. imo.) (i could give you feedback if you were will CAPABLE of hearing feedback and not flipping out if anyone tells you anything remotely negative) (but you dont pay me for that and you dont ask and its not my job)
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moregraceful · 1 year
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kasper do you have any thoughts on the seattle kraken. matty beniers/shane wright specifically can i sell you on a narrative that's not fully there but basically cool calm collected future captain and his train wreck future A motivated by spite
oh i love the seattle kraken, my hockey in laws! any team that gives jared mccann his forever home and allows him to thrive has my whole heart. also love whatever the fuck is going on with chris driedger and philipp grubauer, particularly in that video where they are shirtless on a boat. i do not pay attention to team umich and do not care to beyond what my friends tell me, however i do feel very fond of matty benier, like a cool rock you find on a beach and take home to put on your shelf. and i think shane wright's angst is very funny but wish to see him under a better coach (hakstol 🔪🔪). i am following their developing narrative with great interest and i think in a couple of seasons we're gonna have something good! future fic abt them would be delicious 🧐
also i am sure you have read this but to everyone else reading this, i recommend bropunzling's "one-two punch". it is a good slice of horny dev camp with absolutely perfect tension and a great shane pov!
#ofc my recommendation is as always to just wholesale make shit up if the narrative is not there#gimme that love in the time of climate change arena future fix u know#i have a lace seattle kraken christmas tree ornament#one of two corporate franchise inspired ornaments allowed on my tree!#(the other is cookie monster)#tl;dr yes. love the krakene. wish to see them have much success and happiness#ALSO I THINK. now that i'm on a roll. there's a great story to be told in jordan eberle watching shane and matty and being like#damn i should call taylor maybe. these guys kinda remind me of us :( and then he doesn't bc that time of his life is over#there's a lot of interesting things you can do with the vets in that room and the ways their rookies are developing around them#i find it a very interesting locker room bc it's a bunch of guys that everyone kinda counted out last year + plus andre burakovsky#and then their rotating cast of rookies and guys percolating in the ahl (hello joey daccord i love u joey daccord)#i think there's a lot you can do with that idea of- we're creating a future for this team. we're the start but our work is to set the stage#for guys like matty and shane and joey but also like kole lind and ville petman and all their dozens of draft picks#there's a lot there about creating a future#a lot abt setting these kids up for success by creating a strong locker room and good relationships with the fanbase and a strong identity#with the city#and i think a lot of their older guys are really aware of that#anyway. yes. love those squids#cage replies#anon#another banner day in the kasper birdcage tags i see
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panvani · 1 year
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Gil apology scene will always be one of my all time most favorite scenes of anything ever
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lyfeward · 1 year
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final thought and I will shut up — also deeply amused that Amis can count on his hands how many people he's killed in his 100+ years of existence, yet he ends up companion to the HoF and Inquisitor who kill so many fucking people just in a day. like, this man only fights when forced to defend himself or others, endeavors not to lethally wound his opponent, and heals them afterward. and he gets attached to two murder machines. buck wild.
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askshivanulegacy · 26 days
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Hey this isn't like me yelling-callout-post-NOW or anything but I was scrolling through replies on the trolley-problem-palestine post and I do want to say that I have to unfortunately be invested in US Politics as a non-US citizen because of the way these elections affect the rest of the world, culturally and politically. The US is one of the richest and most influential countries in the world and the way it decides to interact with the rest of us, where it sends money and military to, and the conversations people in the US are having even about domestic issues end up shaping the conversations that happen outside of it (trans and immigration issues for example). It's horribly unfair and I'm fuming about it always why can y'all veto shit ❤️ but uh yeah, just a minor nitpick with the influence of the elections on everyone else. I could be entirely wrong in my perception of the way things are but that's how it seems to me rn.
That post was a long time ago, so I can't remember specifically what I said about it, but I don't disagree with your ask.
My big beef (and what I typically rant about) with most of the chatter about the US elections and Palestine isn't that the elections influence other countries. They definitely do.
My beef is that all the US tumblrites are making Palestine into the one single issue ever, in the world and in the US, and they're putting on blinders to everything else.
Palestine isn't even CLOSE to being the single issue or even the most major issue. It simply is not.
And in a US election, Americans NEED to take a look at OUR issues. The issues that affect everyday life. Affordable and accessible education, housing, healthcare, LGBTQ+ issues, rights to bodily autonomy, etc., etc.
In a US election, those are the things that are the most important. In a lot of ways, those are the only issues that functionally exist, within the context of the election bubble. Yes, you can and should consider foreign policy as a factor, but it should NEVER be the only factor ... not when there are so many raw and bleeding gaps at home, and clear, obvious, and impending threats to the very lives of the people these sjw tumblrites claim to care about.
I'm saying that election time is the time for Americans to focus on America for just a minute. And when all I hear is Palestine to the exclusion of all else - all rational thought, all sense - with the conclusion being "punish Biden because he happened to be president when Israel was being a little shit," then that's when I say none of that matters.
Because the US election is not about Palestine or any other country. It's about the US.
People desperately need to remember that.
No, I don't want to put America first, and I care a lot about how we interact in the world. But by God, you don't put your own country LAST in the election that is specifically for your country and will determine how you survive ... and IF you survive. You don't throw your country and everyone in it under the bus.
We have the right to be a little selfish for our election. Not Trump-selfish, but selfish enough to have some sense for the things happening here. It's time to set Palestine on the shelf for a while - at least long enough to realize that "punishing Biden" is idiocy.
Also that Biden is not only America's best strategic option, but he ALSO happens to be Palestine's and the rest of the world's.
Honestly, I've seen more of that perspective from non-Americans, and I hugely appreciate it. I just need the actual Americans in the room to realize that 1) they need to take off their fucking blinders, and 2) their stupid little short-sighted Biden-punishment stunt will not only harm themselves but also all the other countries they seem to care about more than their own.
And I want them to start giving a fuck about the country they currently live in.
#asks#answers#sorry if i took your ask as an excuse to rant a bit#i hope everyone can recognize what I'm trying to say: the election is a multi-dimensional issue#many things can be important and true at the same time#if all you think about is Palestine you're wrong#it's terrible and we should help AND we need to make good strategic choices for the future of the US that are based on issues in the US#AND those good strategic choices ALSO happen to align with the most helpful choice for Palestine and everyone else#for people worried about their 'conscience' and 'morality'#FUCK your conscience and FUCK your morality#i don't give a DAMN#about your little whiny baby feelings#i DO give a damn about logical and strategic choices in this election chess game#that is the only thing that matters#go make a strong strategic vote and then go cry into your pillow about it. if you must.#i don't care so long as you vote very deliberately FOR someone and not merely weakly and ineffectually AGAINST someone#because you have the character of a wet noodle#buck up#go vote!#i know somebody is going to read this and think I'm saying 'Palestine doesn't matter'#if you do I'm sorry for you#this whole thing is about the context of the US election and ONLY about that#Americans are sometimes the worst honestly#like they're SO PERFORMATIVE and APOLOGETIC about being American but at the same time they have zero concept about identifying as a citizen#OF THE WORLD#their whole identity is to reject America wholesale but they don't ascend to any other identity and they fail to use their very real ties#to America to actually act in a beneficial strategic fashion#you can be a citizen of the world but you also have a responsibility to steer your country#Americans don't even realize what America HAS#do you even realize what a gd GEM this country is. it's imperfect but there's so so so much potential.
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ryo-maybe · 2 years
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can u explain why AI art is bad without fearmongering, moralizing or bootlicking lol
I'm going to answer in good faith, even though the tone you're using sounds like you're harboring anything but. The issue with AI art isn't specifically inherent to the tools used to produce it, because, ultimately, a tool is merely that: something devoid of will which, in the hands of a human, can produce a specific outcome. It's the human element that taints what we could otherwise enjoy for the unquestioningly fascinating topic that is AI art and, by extension, AI software as a whole.
Now, the problem isn't people, period, but the kind of people that are responsible for giving AI the bad rep it's been getting, along with the intent that goes into both the development of AI tools and the things produced by dint of said tools. I'm talking about the tech bros happily rubbing their hands, waiting to provide business moguls with a brand new means to commodify and mass-produce what artists stake their entire livelihoods upon, because when you have enough zeroes lined up in your bank account, your eyes are utterly blinded to the soul and personality that human beings put into their handiwork, and which a machine won't ever be able to reproduce no matter how much stolen art you feed it. Oh yeah, by the way, that's how AI art tools have been making the rounds: by chewing on thousands upon thousands of stolen pictures made by actual people so that they may learn how to ape someone's style and spit out absolutely soulless derivatives, while the original authors don't see a lick of recognition or monetary retribution for any of it. Do I need to tell you why stealing and parading someone else's art as your own is a terrible, vile thing to do?
But sure, you did ask me to refrain from "fearmongering, moralizing or bootlicking", which I guess I've already done. So since you'd rather I skipped straight to the point in a concise manner, lemme offer some quick examples of why the culture surrounding AI art has already developed into one of the most abysmally disappointing displays of how greed and an utter lack of human decency can ruin something objectively brimming with possibilities:
Less than a week after the sudden death of Korean artist Kim Jung-gi, someone trained an AI model to mimic his artstyle, having the audacity of asking for credits if anyone wished to use it. I sincerely hope I don't have to explain to you why this is a ghoulish example of the kind of tone-deafness sported by tech bros who buy wholesale into the AI art craze.
A piece of AI art was submitted to an art contest and won. The "artist"'s work amounted to little more than picking a series of prompts and letting the machine do the work. It's as much art as googling a smattering of terms and making a collage of pictures taken from Pinterest (and even then, you would have put more work into it than this person did). That they won at all says a whole damn lot about how abysmal the respect given to artists - real artists - nowadays is.
There are a multitude of people out there already selling prints of AI-generated art. I could link some of them here, but honestly, type "ai art prints" on a search engine and you'll get inundated by them. I've seen and personally know artists who have had to undersell their works because commissions were the only thin, frayed string they could hang on in hopes of making it through the week without fucking starving themselves, but here we are: any random asshole can now yell "MASSIVE BREASTS, THIN WAIST, COCKTAIL DRESS, HUGE BADONGAS" at a computer, let it mash together a trillion of other people's hard work, and print it for easy bucks that the actual authors of the basic ingredients of their insipid soup will never, ever see a dime of.
It really bothers me that you mentioned "no bootlicking". Whose fucking boots is this side of the debate supposedly tasting? That of the artists who post every day about how angry, sad and terrified they are by the prospects of what the development of AI art will entail for their livelihood and passion? What kind of gall did your mother birth you with that you have the spiteful spunk to type that word, when you've got shit like an artist who had their sketch stolen while they were drawing it on stream, then fed to an AI and posted by someone passing it off as their own art? How does that not ignite your indignation? "Bootlicking". Like anyone's tongues have been tasting leather but those of the same tech bro chodes who kept trying oh so hard to convince us NFTs were the future while ruining the environment to make the absolute stupidest point ever made in the history of humanity.
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inkdrinkerworld · 3 months
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Dealer!remus and autistic!reader’s relationship starts off so rocky guys let me tell you!!! Angst to fluff
Remus doesn’t fully get that he can’t just say things- like he’s got to be deliberate and conscious of the words he uses and his tone.
He’s never had to do that before so it’s weird and it’s hard to learn and he slips up sometimes.
One of your biggest arguments happens when he’s frustrated and you’re just trying to help.
You’d seen him so sullen and moody on James’ story so you decided to do for him, what you do for yourself.
You baked.
But then you realized you’re not at the stage where you know his absolute favourite type of cookie so you go a little all out.
You bake chocolate chip biscoff cookies. Chocolate chip toffee cookies, regular chocolate chip and brown butter chocolate chip.
You set them in a cute box and you text Remus that you’re coming to see him. You’re thinking everything’s going to go well, you’re gonna drop the cookies off for him, maybe he’s going to tell you what’s bugging him- maybe not; either way he won’t be alone.
Except you get there and immediately you feel like you’re inconveniencing him.
Try as you might not to take it personally, it’s really hard because he seems particularly peeved at you.
“Why are you here?” His tone is sharp and jagged and it winds you a little.
“I brought you cookies to cheer you up. Saw that you weren’t yourself on James’ story,” you keep your tone even, light- a practiced thing from your days of dealing with people that didn’t quite get you.
“Why would that cheer me up?” At this point everything’s going downhill fast and you try to salvage what little is left of your deflated cheeriness and open up the box to display the array of cookies.
Remus at the same time waves his hand and the box goes pitching across his living room floor and he explodes.
You can’t remember the last time someone had yelled at you like that and honestly, it hurt more coming from Remus who was so normally relaxed and chilled.
You don’t even tell him goodbye, you just clean up all the mess while he’s cursing and yelling and then leave.
What’s twists the bloodied blade in the wound is that he doesn’t even try to stop you or reach out to you for three days.
By which point you’ve already gone mostly nonverbal and you’re in no mood to entertain or fake a personality for the sake of your friends when you do see them.
Remus stops at your house after you ignore three invitations to his place.
“Dove, I know you’re at home. Can you open the door please?” His voice is muffled through the hard wood of the door and you have half a kind to leave it shut- he’d been mean, he’d said things that were very hurtful now that you’ve actually processed what he’s said fully.
You don’t know if you can stand to see him. Then he knocks again, “I want to look at you when I apologise, sweet girl. Please open the door.” And the wholesale remorse in his tone shakes your core and you cave.
He steps inside with a box and three tulips. “I figured I’d have had to do it face to face for it to really mean anything and because I realized I was an absolute prick to you when you just came over to help.”
You don’t even hum. Usually, when he was nice Remus- as you’ve differentiated in your head - you’d be able to look him in the eyes every couple of words, but right now you just look over his shoulder.
“I shouldn’t have yelled or sworn at you like that. It wasn’t cool and I never want to speak to you like that- ever. I was an idiot and I just want to make up for it.”
There’s about a minute where Remus thinks he’s just fucked every single bit of progress you’ve both made with each other and then you let out a big breath.
“You can’t say things that you don’t mean just because you’re upset. What you said really hurt my feelings and I don’t like feeling the way you made me feel when you were that angry. If we continue to be friends you can’t do that because it makes it hard for me to trust you and find what you’re saying believable.”
Your voice is hoarse and crackly from lack of use and Remus feels even worse. “I’ll do better, I swear. It wasn’t my intention to hurt you- it’ll never be, but I am sorry that I did.”
You nod once, succinct and definitive. Remus holds out the box to you, showing a puzzle you’d been eyeing for a while.
“Can we build it together?” He asks softly, an ebb of vulnerability given away as you catch his eyes.
“Okay, but we have to do corners first, then work our way in.” Remus nods, his other hand holding the flowers for you. The tulips are a pristine white.
“The lady at the shop said they’re good for conveying apologies.”
You smile a little, “These ones are also for condolences.” Remus shakes his head,
“Not this time,” he watches you put them in a vase of water. “Also, ‘if we continue to be friends’, thought we were a little closer than friends, sweet girl?”
He relishes in the way you bite your lip to hide your grin as you take the puzzle box from him and set it up on your coffee table.
“Well I wasn’t sure if you wanted to acknowledge it or not.”
Remus says very seriously as he sits opposite you at the coffee table, ducking down so he can catch your eyes as you take out the numbered bags. “I’m always acknowledging it, we’re more than friends dove. When everything’s not so fucked, I’ll take you out and do it with pink and red lilies.”
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sgiandubh · 4 days
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The door faces North
This has been, by far, one of the most complex investigations I have ever done in this fandom, and I am truly sorry for the long wait I had to inflict on many of you & for the uncharacteristic radio silence in DMs and comments. During this peculiar journey, I checked, double-checked and cross-checked as many details as I could and I carefully considered at least two different theories, of which I still think they do not exclude each other. I am now confident enough to make not only an educated guess, but also a daring bet on SRH's next whisky move.
Also, sorry for the length of this post. Truly sorry - think of the completely pulverized night sleep I had to give up, in order to bring this to you.
But first, a word on Marple's obvious PR tip on the Hopetoun Estate refurbishment and distillery old/new project. I am fair game enough to tell you the obvious: her overall recounting of the principals is roughly correct, spare perhaps one or two minor details. Correct, but dry - she limits herself to the technical documentation submitted by Golden Decanters and The Hopetoun Estates Trust to the West Lothian Council for approval. She correctly points out that S is not a visible part of the deal, at this point in time and she does a decent summing up of a very, very, VERY plethoric amount of bureaucratic information. She concludes, and I think she is partially right, that he might be interested in becoming an investor (I am taking things a bit further, though). But in doing so, she focuses on the development phase of the project only: the possible connections with SRH and his own spirits business are less, if at all, obvious.
I am going to give you my view of all this charade and, if I am going to mention (and probably repeat) some things already found by her, I am going to focus on the people: this is where the whole story starts to become remarkably interesting, at least to me. After all, I remember promising you some more clarity. Here's an honest, fair play take.
Little did I know, when I started to write about that (now defunct) company, Midhope Castle Distillery, Ltd (https://www.tumblr.com/sgiandubh/748597198794670080/the-info-provided-above-is-correct-but-outdated?source=share), that my investigation would turn to this:
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... for it was to be just an almost random layer of a juggernaut matryoshka of defunct or still active companies, featuring roughly the same people and no less than 6 different name combinations centered around Midhope, Hopetoun, etc.
The following pics will give you an idea - feel free to open them in a separate tab, for clarity . I preferred this synthetic approach, because otherwise you will curse the shite out of me. But it had to be done, with or without Depon, Advil's Greek cousin (and before you ask a graphologist, this is my handwriting, and nobody else's 🙃):
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The only explanation for the whole almost frantic Midhope/Hopetoun crisscross/hopscotch (LOL) combos I can think of is two people trying to secure one (several?) credit lines or to attract significant investors for their project and ultimately failing to do so. But I might be wrong (although I doubt that, thank you). Out of this entire maze ( I swear I now have a migraine), there are only two active companies remaining: Golden Decanters Ltd (renamed GD Spirits Ltd, in April 2022) and Midhope Ltd (renamed Skosk Ltd, in July 2023). It is on them I am going to focus my gaze.
GD Spirits Ltd was incorporated in Berwick-upon-Tweed, England (just across the Scottish border), probably for tax reasons, on March 11, 2015, the nature of its business being listed as 'wholesale of wine, beer, spirits, etc.'. It started with a team of two women: Julia Mackenzie-Gillanders and Ann Medlock, whose names we are going to see over and over again in all the eight corporate avatars. Later down the timeline (LOL for three decades and a half), on January 30, 2018, they were briefly (until July 19, 2018) joined by two very interesting professionals: Mrs. Margaret Boswell, an attorney at the very prestigious international law firm Gide Loyrette Nouel (Paris and London offices)...
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...and Ken Robertson, former Corporate Affairs Director at Diageo Whisky, a subsidiary of the international Diageo group, one of the major players on the world spirits' market:
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The second company, Skosk Ltd, was incorporated in August 2021, in Perth, Scotland, its nature of business being listed as 'distilling, rectifying and blending of spirits', with the clear intention to align with the exacting criteria prescribed by the 2009 Scotch Whisky Regulations:
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[ Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotch_whisky - sorry, I don't have time to wax lyrical on this, and neither do you]
This time, we only meet again the two distillerettes, Gillanders and Medwick. Up until now, at least, nobody else (attorney, former sales executive, whisky expert) has joined the platoon - TBC? I would not speculate and leave all options open.
There is little to 0 transparency on Skosk's financial situation, at the moment and to be honest, it looks very much like S's co-star (hehe)'s Irish business venture...
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... but I was a bit more lucky, and the numbers more chatty, as far as GD Spirits was concerned:
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Paging all shipper chartered accountants out there, but to me, it doesn't look great, at the moment. Cash is ridiculous, the net worth is hemorrhaging and the current assets are negligible, compared to 2020, when I think they managed to secure one or two credit lines, but not nearly enough for what they needed. Just enough to pay themselves and their external consultants and cover the operating costs, if you ask me.
The revised Planning Statement, of 8 February 2024, posted first by Marple, echoes my initial guess (COVID blew it up, see link to the first post) and the above assessment:
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Mark this: 'Discussions are now proceeding with investors and there is a realistic prospect that work will begin in the near future (2024/2025) to implement the permission.' Given that they will start with the road and parking rehabilitation and upgrading, probably overlapping with the distillery building, it would make sense to begin this autumn at the earliest, with the most urgent: access to the site itself.
The initial Planning Statement, dated 9 July 2020 and re-posted on March 21st, 2024, tells a more detailed story. This is part and parcel of the current project as well, since the revision is just pointing out the changes operated, not the entire rest, which remains unchanged. You be the judge:
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Also keep in mind this tiny, tiny thing: the Business Plan is 'submitted (...) under Private and Confidential Cover'. See where I am looking?
The initial plan was (and still is) for GD Spirits to produce their own booze, using Midhope's own barley (this is very important for the rest of my theory!). They even offer an overview of the real impact of their project on the local economy:
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20 to 38 initial new job creations for a £ 15 to 30 million investment is not 'huge', madam Marple. Cumbernauld is huge. This? This is rather modest, if you ask me. But hey, what do I know about the labor market, right?
That initial Statement tells also the story they want to tell about the genesis of their idea, the scouting for the right location and a couple of other interesting details:
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So they are telling us they started to look for the perfect location in 2018 and oh, hello, they found the Hopetoun Estate rather quickly, already starting the pre-planning application consultations as early as July 2019 (don't get me started, please):
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If so, then why did they incorporate not one, but two different companies clearly linking them to the Estate (Hopetoun Estate Distillery Ltd and Hopetoun Estate Whiskies Ltd) the same day and as early as May 23rd 2017 (and both dissolved in December 2022), as my above penciled timeline (LOOOOOL) shows? Who is really behind this project and why this entire ballet? It's like me pre-emptively looking for rental properties in (let's randomly guess) Lisbon, when it's just wishful thinking, heavily projecting and with 0 guarantees I will be posted there, right? I mean, I adore and deeply know Lisbon and I would be thrilled to go there. But I am not currently looking for any rental property, just like that, because that would be a #silly, rookie mistake. In their case, I think there's a different situation - again, you be the judge.
A first answer, as to who is really behind that project, was given by the UK media, back in 2020:
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How odd, when we know that both Mrs. Boswell, the well-traveled attorney and Mr. Robertson resigned from GD Spirits in July 2018. Do they still say hi to the two distillerettes? Do they quietly keep an eye on the project? Are they silent partners? Business angels? Shareholders? Time to remind you that under UK law, there is 0 visibility on the shareholder's structure of a company. You just see the officers (Director, Secretary, etc), on the Company House website. On an umpteenth, last- second cross-check, it became apparent that Mr. Robertson remained involved in another company of the distillerettes, Hopetoun Estate Whiskies Ltd (yes, the one mentioned above), until its voluntary strike-off, in December 2022.
Their best laid plans do mention OL, and how could it be otherwise? But all this £ 15 to 30 million hullaballoo for 20.000 people only (who counted them and how?), on a seasonal basis?
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High-end restaurant, luxury B&B, event spaces, you name it. Interesting, to say the least.
And, for the people in the back, who still think SRH has a 100 years lease at Midhope (Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ, the stupidity!):
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This is why he commented as a 'member of the public'. At face value, there is no public involvement into that project. Yet. But it is my belief there is a vested interest in all this, justifying the comment, the visit, those papers rolled in his fist, etc. At first, I thought that was a visit to Lallybroch by the Exec Producer of OL's Season 8, to discuss technicalities - and shared that privately with a wonderful friend only. I mean, why not and still perfectly possible. But then, as I could not sleep tonight and felt guilty to have you all waiting, I started to connect some tiny dots.
Like this one, for a start:
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Yes, I know, Marple told you that FIRST, I would not dare say otherwise, because if I did there would be a transcontinental screech. That trademark application was filed at the US Patent and Trade Office in September 2023 and I thought (and still partially do) it was a potential rebranding solution to The Sassenach's EUIPO nightmare (much exaggerated by the fandom's toothbrush experts):
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But you also know I am an idiot and I always check people's CVs, when I follow a thread. This morning, the one Distillerette I am particularly interested in is Mrs. Julia Hall-Mackenzie-Gillanders (née Scales) and not like *urv would be.
Her LinkedIn profile is exceptionally talkative, too:
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... and a BA (with Honors) in Fashion Design, class of 2005, at the Northumbria University.
The Financial Times article 'From packing boxes to wine deals worth millions', you can read on her LinkedIn page, tells a very interesting story. It is the story of a shy underdog (lots of temple bells clinging, at the moment), who made it by sheer persistence. It starts like this:
'When a painfully shy young woman contacted a fine wine merchant and said ' I have no qualifications- can I help?', she got the job and today is signing deals worth millions of pounds.'
It obviously did ring a bell and if SRH knows she exists (she is married, *urv!), and I dare to speculate he does, it must have struck a deep chord. Would I do business with her? I wouldn't speculate, although I am not very sure. Would he? He'd probably listen very carefully to what she has to pitch, for a start.
And what she has to pitch is also very interesting, in his world. A brief look at the Golden Decanters' website shows a first high-end single malt sourced collection of 4 exceptional expressions already sold out:
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And when they mean high-end, they mean gold leaf labelling and all the tralala:
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And, some last minute news, too:
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Remind me, because I am an old woman, after this white night: wasn't The Sassenach (no comment, we agree to disagree and I am very skeptical), a blend?
We have these dots, then:
Bold Underdog ->spirits business->high-end collection of single malts sold out->business partnership with owners of Midhope Castle, fictional Lallybroch in OL, including a distillery and whisky production with Midhope/Lallybroch barley -> visit by the male lead and spirits entrepreneur (also the fictional Lallybroch laird) to Midhope/Lallybroch and vested interest in the estate's most recent business project....
What if The Sassenach would be included, for a start, in that new Blended Collection? And could it really be fanfic to imagine a future high-end, limited edition, Lallybroch whisky produced at Midhope, with Midhope/Lallybroch barley? It wouldn't be the first time, would it: after all, they did it with that limited tequila batch.
As I said, because I am (remember Someone? LOL) a 'silly cow', I was hoping he wouldn't do it. But my guess is he might very well do exactly that, with those people and under that label.
It's half past eight AM, local time and I need a strong, black coffee.
I rest my case (and I am bracing myself for the screeching). I will answer Anons later, after I come back from the hairdresser's. Appointments must be kept at all costs. Thank you all for your patience.
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klausysworld · 9 months
Note
Firstly I wanna say your stories are amazing, thank u very much for posting ♡♡♡ Well I ve been thinking about a smut with klaus
Reader and him have been dating for long time but they never had sex and she is virgin and really innocent and fears she won't be enough for him, she just guess it would be rough and painful but but he surprises her with so much tenderness
And then maybe a good aftercare if u want to?
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Ready
Y/n was beyond nervous.
She knew Klaus, she knew he wouldn’t purposefully harm her or force her into anything but she also knew he was rough by nature.
She knew he had been with thousands of other women and she knew she wouldn’t compare to those of his past.
She didn’t know how to do all the things he probably wanted to do but she also didn’t want to disappoint him.
That was one of her flaws, she never wanted to disappoint anyone and especially not Klaus. He loved her more than she had ever been loved and he had killed for her, protected her wholesale and provided for her like no other. She couldn’t imagine taking this away from him, and she didn’t want him to get bored and find someone else.
Last time they were going to have sex, she panicked at the last second and couldn’t do it. Not that it upset him, he was so very understanding and that almost made it worse because she didn’t know why she was so scared. If not of his disappointment then what?
So she tried to force herself to do it, she figuratively and literally threw herself at him. Eyes closed as she pulled her top off and kissed down his neck while he groaned softly and touched her hair. But the smell of worry rolled off her in waves and he ended up with her curled to his side while he kissed her forehead and put on a movie.
Klaus could see straight through her, she was like glass and he knew it. He knew how easy it would be to break her, scare her and hurt her. But for once in his immortal life, he had no desire to make someone’s life a misery, not her.
So he stopped her going through with something he so desperately wanted, because he knew she wasn’t ready and he wanted her to be comfortable and safe when he took her purity away.
Not that she would ever be anything less than perfect in his eyes, an innocent doe, his angel.
His siblings had made many jokes to him about his lack of sex life, he kept his love away from his family. She knew he was a hybrid and that he had done some truly awful things but he didn’t want them to share the details, he didn’t want to haunt her or terrify her sweet mind. He didn’t want to ruin her positive outlook on the world. But he also wouldn’t take anyone saying a bad word about her so when Kol made a joke that he would warm her up before Klaus could have her, well Kol ended up on the other side of the country. Rebekah asked if this girl was a nun, to which Klaus snapped back at and Elijah brought out the stronger alcohol.
If y/n wanted to wait till marriage then perhaps he would marry her. Yes, after a thousand years settling down with someone as pristine as her would be a dream come true for even the darkest of hearts.
And he told her that, which made her cry but not in disparity of sadness, in disbelief and love. It wasn’t hard for him to decide that she would never see an ounce of pain in her life.
But deep down she didn’t want to wait anymore. She didn’t want to wait until after marriage. What if she was no good for him and he was stuck with her forever? What if he didn’t want to teach her and instead wanted rid of her existence?
She loved him, she knew that. And she knew that he loved her. That should be enough, right? Love is a very powerful emotion and it’s enough to drive a person to do almost anything.
So she told him he was ready, and although he was skeptical, seeing her determined face, he wanted to make her happy. Even if she decided she couldn’t do it again and he was left with a painfully hard cock which he would sort out later.
—————————————��—————————
Klaus could feel how tense show was beneath him, his mouth was on hers moving quickly as she roughened the kiss. He knew she didn’t really want to kiss him like that but felt she had to, so he pulled away a moment and just cupped her face. Her legs were around his waist as she lay back and he had one hand helping to keep him just above her.
He could feel her shifting against him, her hands pulling him down but not in the need that he wanted her to have.
“Love, it’s okay if you’re not ready” he told her gently but she shook her head
“I am, I promise” she smiled faintly and he sighed softly
“Okay…okay just close your eyes” he instructed and she did.
He pressed his lips to her softly, stopping her from trying to rush it and instead barely moving his mouth against hers. His lips parted and so did hers, their movements getting a little bigger before his tongue slowly slid into her mouth. His hand brushed over her cheek lightly and her hands held onto his neck as she wrapped her tongue around his. Wet sounds filled the air between them as they moved their head more to taste as much of each other as they could.
He kept their faces attached as he began to roll his hips to hers slowly, happy to hear a genuine moan out of her and feel her breathe him in. He pushed her dress up a little so it wasn’t in the way and rubbed himself at her panties, careful not to overwhelm her too soon.
Klaus pulled back from her mouth a moment just to look at her eyes, checking for that fear that usually rest within them. It was still their but much less than normal, lust covering it and love overpowering them both. A soft kiss was given to her again as she moaned for him once more.
He moved backwards a little to look down where he was moving against, pleased with the growing wet patch along her panties which rubbed onto his sweatpants easily.
“See? Feel nice love?” He asked quietly and she nodded with a whine. “Good girl…you just keep relaxing, I’ll take care of you” he murmured softly. He kissed her lips lightly before trailing his way down her neck and back up again. His hands gently pushed her legs back down and had them lay open for him to rest between.
His mouth went back to hers as he tore her panties off of her in one swift movement. She barely noticed the material missing as she eagerly welcomed his tongue back into her mouth, enjoying the dominance he had over her movements. She assumed it was his crotch rubbing against her again when his fingers slipped along her now soaking pussy. He groaned softly into her mouth at the feel of it and couldn’t help but get a finger inside her to feel how tight she would be on his cock.
Klaus wasn’t sure how he would be able to do this without hurting her, but he would sure as he’ll try.
He had only dreamed of her being this tight, her silky walls had such a good hold on his finger as he slowly moved it back and forth. Her back arched and her mouth left his as she moaned out and ground her hips to his hand.
Klaus often wondered what she did usually after they got this far. Did you have to finish herself off like he did? He wasn’t sure anything had been inside her, not even her own fingers, based off of how much she was squeezing him as he pushed another one inside. A little whimper leaving her as her face scrunched at the stretch sting that rippled through her for a moment.
His thumb pressed to her clit and he rubbed slowly, matching the pace with the thrusts of his fingers and watching her cunt tighten around him. The amount of wetness that was dripping from his hand was ridiculous, the sounds produced when he sped up his actions was more than pornographic and her moans only added to it.
He groaned to himself as he took notice of her clit swelling as he rubbed quicker, listening as she called his name and her hands gripped the sheets harshly.
His fingers curled and the cry she let out told him everything he needed to know before he continued the action over and over until she was trembling and shaking with need. A burst of fluid was squirt up at him as she moaned so loud that her throat went sore. His lips pulled into a smirk and and he didn’t hesitate in licking his fingers clean. His eyes rolling closed as he leaned down to press his open mouth to her wetness.
Her hips jolted and legs clamped around his head making him grunt and bury between her thighs in determination. Her hands were straight in his hair, pulling and tugging as his tongue rolled against her and inside her.
“Nik!” She cried over and over making him smirk and suck at her harder, she had only ever called him Klaus so hearing her moan his name which was reserved for certain people made him all that more happier and sure that she was in fact ready.
Her hips ground desperately to his face, her fingers clinging to his curls and tears in her eyes as he devoured her within seconds.
It barely took another minute before her taste was exploding all over his tongue again and he was moaning with her as she filled his every sense.
“Nik” she panted, barely able to focus on anything as he continued to hold her thighs tightly and pull her puffy clit into his hot mouth. Her hands couldn’t let go of his hair, she couldn’t help but keep pulling him closer. No matter how sensitive she felt, how many nerves he was playing with, god she just needed more, “more! Oh more!” She cried and he would never deny her of this, never. He would beg for this to be his last meal, and he treated her as though it was.
After leaving her hanging on the edge of her fifth orgasm, he finally pulled away. Both of them breathing heavily and still moaning or groaning softly.
He crawled back up her now sweaty body and had his lips on hers, tongue fucking her mouth and sharing her delightful taste. At some point during his feast klaus had managed to shred her dress into pieces and had to get his own clothes off to stop them feeling so tight against his poor, aching cock.
He moaned outright when it felt the wet lips of her pussy and his hips moved to rub between them. Her breathing grew more erratic as she grabbed the back of his hair and pulled him back down, kissing him with need.
“I’m ready, please Klaus, I’m ready” she whispered and he let out a breath
“Nik” he uttered “you call me Nik” he ordered and she nodded
“Please Nik” she moaned and he thrust himself along her, his dick sliding over her clit many times over.
He had to stabilise his breathing and thoughts before he did this. He knew she had been so worried, so scared before and nothing could ruin this, not now. He couldn’t let her slip through his fingers now. He would be the softest, most gentle man on the planet if she would let him fill her with his cock, let him pump her full of his seed.
Fuck. The thought alone had him rubbing against her faster, but shit, he needed to be slow. Come on Klaus, slow.
He took a long breath before taking his heavy cock into his hand and pressing his tip to her dripping cunt. Her heart sped and he glanced up to find her watching his tip with anticipation, teeth on her bottom lip and a moan threatening to leave any second. It was all the confirmation he needed before finally, at last, getting inside her.
Klaus was 90% sure he was louder than she was when her soft, soaked walls sucked him inside. Just his tip to begin with, he slid it in and out of her carefully, lightly tapping it against her clit a couple more times before going further. He got a couple inches in before she made a whine of discomfort and he stopped, his hand found hers and he held it firmly but gently while his other kept a hold of his cock as though if he didn’t then it would do as it pleased and fuck her into oblivion.
“It’s okay my love” he whispered, his hand squeezing hers lightly in reassurance. “You don’t have to take it all” he told her as she shut her eyes so he couldn’t see the twinge of pain inside them.
He let the first few inches thrust in and out of her, allowing her tightly wound body to stretch at its own pace. When her hips moved by themselves against him and her mouth involuntarily opened, he knew she could take more. And more he gave her, a good two thirds in and his breathing so ragged that he wasn’t sure how he wasn’t passing out.
Her pleas were getting more common now and he obliged to every one, keeping each movement calculated and soft. His thrusts, although relatively slow, still reached all those places inside her which she had only dreamed about and she couldn’t have asked for anything better.
She had always worried he would treat her like she were a toy or a slut but he touched her like she was glass, like she were his priceless diamond and she adored it. Craved it.
He was perfect.
Any doubts were chucked out the window as he checked on how she felt time and time again, even though her constant call of his name told everyone in a 5 mile radius that he was giving her the time of her life.
“Nik-“ she moaned and he grunted, his face just above hers and a little further forward as she was leaving kisses and disappearing marks in his neck. He placed a wet kiss to her forehead and struggled to keep his pace steady. “Can- oh- can you go faster Nik?!” She pleaded and he nodded without an ounce of control. Completely following what she needed, his mind was locked on hers and he just wanted her to feel as good as he did.
His body moved to hers faster but still not roughly, not bruisingly or harshly. Just quicker to rub against her spongey spot, to have her back curved off the bed and legs shaking.
His body faltered above her as he felt his balls go tight, the same balls that had repeatedly slapped against her and were ready to empty inside her.
“Y/n” he panted and she moaned. “Gonna- cum- inside- you-“ he panted and she cried out pleasantly
“Please Nik, please please” she begged and he held her hand so tightly, he feared he’d broken it as she screamed and cried.
The sound registered minutes later, him having already overfilled her three times over with the amount of cum he had for her.
His head shot up and he grabbed ahold of her face with his hands
“Love? Did I hurt you? Oh god-“ he started but her hand cupped the side of his neck and she smiled weakly
“God no Nik, no you were- wonderful, unbelievable” she whispered breathlessly and he sighed in relief, his head drooping to kiss her cheek softly.
“Are you tired love?” He asked and she laughed
“Yeah, I’m tired. Are..are you? Do you need more or-“
“I would love as much as you could let me have but for tonight, believe me when I promise you that I am beyond satisfied. You were…” he leaned down to her ear and nipped the lobe gently, “quite frankly, the best I’ve ever had” he whispered and she blushed darkly
“Over a thousand years I do doubt that-“
“You have the softest, hottest, wettest, tightest little pussy I have ever had, the most delicious, most beautiful-“
“Nik” she cut him off, embarrassment colouring her red as she looked up at him shyly.
“Believe me sweetheart, I would never lie to you” he told her softly as he leaned back down to kiss her lips. “The best” he whispered again and she let out a happy breath before a yawn forced through her and he smiled
“Tell me if anything hurts okay? I’m gonna clean you up, I’ll be gentle” he murmured as he pulled out of her and lifted her off of the ruined sheets. She groaned at the empty feeling and held onto his hand with her own as he brought her to the bathroom. “Bath?” He questioned and she shook her head.
“Sleep” she mumbled and he nodded. He grabbed the wipes and got her as clean as he could before doing himself, not once putting her down.
He paused at the state of his bed and instead carried her to the guest room next door. He kept her right against his bare chest as he laid with her beneath the covers and kissed her head so much his lips hurt.
Her eyes had closed earlier than he realised as he held her dearly and whispered to her resting body. Just sweet nothings and true promises. Things she would hear many times over and experience in the future.
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zmediaoutlet · 2 months
Note
Hey Liz! Have you ready any good spn fic lately? :)
I have, and in fact I've been spite-reading. Have a curated wincest rec list you could share with anyone you like:
Bad Blood by astolat
Rating: E Word Count: 3,718 Summary: "Fuck me or I'm going to die isn't the world's best pickup line."  // "I've heard worse," Dean said. // "You've used worse," Sam said.
Original post date, 02/22/2007
Reccing because: No wincest primer would be complete without an astolat rec. You probably get fined by the Wincest FCC, otherwise. The flaw in astolat’s wincest, if we’re allowed to say such things about our saint and founder, is that Sam and Dean would sometimes fall into the whole thing super easily — this fic dispenses with that problem with a good ol’ classic dose of evil sex pollen, and if magic makes them do it then it could be a hell of a lot worse than how delightfully they do it here. I’m laughing out loud just remembering one of the scenes. Joys.
Coast On Through by philalethia
Rating: NC-17 Word Count: 7,857 Summary: A post-first-time fic. With a lot of sex.
Original post date, 12/22/2007
Reccing because: This is a true all-timer wincest fic. Though the characterization is of its 2007 time, the Winchesters still feel like themselves, and more important feel like adults who are trying to navigate their very odd circumstances. A real classic of the brothers-with-benefits genre.
Keep Our Minds on the Sum of Each Other by lazy_daze
Rating: E Word Count: 9,593 Summary: N/A; provided tags are Bodyswap
Original post date, 12/26/2007
Reccing because: What a cheerful fuckin’ fic this is, for a fic about incestuous fuckin’. This takes the apocalyptic stakes and reels them back to a just deeply entertaining romp. Not too worried about the plot and much more worried about how hot these two are when they slam together, it’s a refreshingly non-angsty take on what it means that you just want to slurp on your brother wholesale.
Filthy Mind by rivkat
Rating: E Word Count: 26,384 Summary: Dean acquires unwelcome nightly visitors. Set post-Hell, without details as to how that happens.
Original post date, 10/07/2008
Reccing because: RivkaT is perhaps the all-time understander of the Weird Affect of Dean Winchester (As Played By Jensen Ackles) and the entirely destabilizing effect that affect has on the world. A real reality-warper. This fic deals with non-con and dub-con and who-knows-what-con and everything in between in a way that is more thoughtful than tawdry (although you can certainly enjoy the tawdriness as presented and the fic does not judge you for that). It also, thrillingly, deals with Sam’s alarm about the whole thing in a way which is fairly unflinching: he wants and does not want to want and also just really, really desperately wants-- Fans of Sheila’s analysis will probably enjoy this one. 
seeing double by candle_beck
Rating: PG-13 Word Count: 5,127 Summary: Dean has a concussion and his better senses come and go.
Original post date, 04/24/2009
Reccing because: I know there are more famous and more favored c_b fics, but this one is such a supremely perfect scene that it should be at the top of all c_b rec lists. It isn’t the catastrophic misery or assholery or intensity of some of the other big hitters but this just has this searingly true and singular experience coursing through it: to wit, that Dean is hurt and Sam is upset and then sorry and then in love. Which isn’t a half-bad summary of Supernatural itself, really. 
The incestuous courtship of the antichrist’s bride by fleshflutter
Rating: NC-17 Word Count: 48,000 Summary: Sam is trying to become the Antichrist in order to save the world. He has a small army of angels and demons, he has an adoring cult, he has a work of prophecy by Jack Kerouac, and he has Dean. Things are going pretty well until he accidentally signs Dean up as his Beloved Consort, a role that requires sex with the Antichrist on an altar. And that's when things stop going pretty well. Also, the soundtrack to the Apocalypse sucks.
Original post date, 06/08/2009
Reccing because: It is so, so rare to find crack fics that work. This is crack treated like crack and also taken entirely seriously, which is a rare balance to find. When it needs to be horror it works, when it needs to be ridiculous it works, when it needs to be hot as fuck it works, and never has the phrase ‘apocalyptic cock’ been so appropriate and so wonderful in context. 
I’ve Got A Hand For You by Edwardina
Rating: E Word Count: 14,938 Summary: Sam's inexperience is showing, and Dean helps the best way he knows how.
Original post date, 03/12/2010
Reccing because: This is underage par excellence, as wonderfully weird and vaguely creepy and hot and alarming as it should always be. Dean’s 19 and Sam’s 14 and they should not but they are, and if that isn’t just a summary of Supernatural as a whole I don’t know what is. On the face of it this is a vaguely gnasty first time fic, but what sets this one apart is how earnestly real it is — the grimy-but-not-OTT reality of the details, Sam’s goofy kiddishness being complicated by the reality of what hormones are and do, Dean’s too-cool-ness alleviated by the fact that he’s nineteen and therefore still an idiot, trying earnestly to help and getting it wrong and getting it very right, all at the same time. The attention to detail here just knocks me over with a feather. Gorgeous work.
Two Part Invention by De_Nugis
Rating: T Word Count: 6,938 Summary: Dean settles down, Sam finds him, they settle some things.
Original post date, 12/25/2010
Reccing because: I very much appreciate a fic that, on the face of it, seems like an OOC premise, and then as soon as you think about it for fifteen seconds you realize — oh, of course, of course that’s how it should be and how it would go. This fic delivers on that feeling in spades. There’s a deep appreciation here for how complicated Sam Winchester is and how strange and hard it would be to have his life, and zero judgment, really, for what he and Dean have to do to make that life tenable. I appreciate the subtlety here so much.
Top This by leonidaslion
Rating: E Word Count: 4,076 Summary: Dean's sure he's a top. Only problem is, Sam's pretty sure that's his job …
Original post date, 04/10/2011
Reccing because: Is this crack? It surely is. Is it PWP? You bet. Is it in character? To be honest it hardly matters, but despite the context and conceit it does manage, somehow, to kinda feel like Sam and Dean Winchester from the canon of the show Supernatural, and that is a trick that earns it a spot on this list. Especially the way Sam goes slightly smug there at the end. Delights.
It’s the Blueprint of Your Life by queenklu
Rating: E Word Count: 38,400 Summary: Sam jerks awake in the middle of the night and everything goes to hell. Well, not literally, though Dean is staring down the barrel of less than a year before his deal comes due. In the midst of dealing (or not dealing) with his impending death, a killer ghost ship, and Bela showing up out of the blue, Dean also has to figure out what’s going on in Sam’s head to make him so twitchy, why he’s suddenly breezing through this case while writing endless notes in a notebook he won’t let Dean see. Damn it, Dean thinks, This is gonna take a lot of chickflick moments.
Original post date, 10/09/2011
Reccing because: Time travel fic is fun as hell, and time travel fic that just soaks you in dramatic irony is even more fun, and more importantly time travel fic where the time traveler doesn’t have all the answers is best of all. Very little is better than Dean being somewhat at sea and Sam loving him fiercely and this fic delivers that in spades. I could only wish it were a little longer, which is a very, very rare statement from me.
The Fall Will Probably Kill You by killabeez
Rating: M Word Count: 6,773 Summary: Set between 7.04 and the aftermath of 7.07. Dean is not as okay as he'd like you to think. Neither is Sam.
Original post date, 11/06/2011
Reccing because: This fic is thoroughly in and of and intensely about season 7, which I adored and which doesn’t get enough credit from the fandom. It deals with the Sam’s Insanity arc in a way that’s angstier and ficcier than the show itself but it does so in this stupendous and murderously flat way. Dean is at his wit’s end and Sam is, too, but Sam’s finding a way to deal with it, and Sam will not compromise on what dealing with it means, and we’re all just forced to live with it. Fantastic reading experience, especially for the almost literal jumpscare you get about 2/3s through.
The Hunter Games by theproblematique
Rating: NC-17 Word Count: 92,601 Summary: When the infamous Winchester bad luck strikes twice in quick succession Sam and Dean are forced to compete in the most brutal reality TV show ever created. It’s impossible to escape the battlefield, hiding can only be temporary, and alliances inside those dark, bloodstained woods last about as long as it takes for the other Hunter to figure out how to use your weapons. And then kill you with them.
Original post date, 06/22/2012
Reccing because: This is a true all-timer wincest AU fic. We’re mostly all familiar with the source material, but this work blends the universe of the Hunger Games with the characterization & destiny of the Winchester boys in a way that’s extremely satisfying. The author’s other works are recced more often, but this piece is more deserving of a place as One Of Those Reclist Fics.
Kevin Tran for President by glovered
Rating: T Word Count: 11,714 Summary: Dean comes back from Purgatory to find Sam working as a barista at a coffee shop near Princeton, watching over Kevin Tran.
Original post date, 10/04/2012
Reccing because: Sometimes you just need a post-Purgatory fic that isn’t brutal. This story’s a light-hearted trip-along froth like most of glovered’s work, but there’s something in specific about this unfraught coming-together that makes it incredibly readable. Dean and Sam aren’t entirely on the same page but the relief of reunion makes everything else fade a little into the distance, and the charming little job they find themselves on here gives enough of an excuse for them to figure some things out. Also probably the best Cas & Meg side characters in a fic, so there’s that too.
Clear and simple and plain by Trojie
Rating: E Word Count: 1,893 Summary: After Sam gives up the Trials, things start getting better.
Original post date, 10/26/2013
Reccing because: This is a post-Trials fic where things don’t go incredibly wrong, which is a nice AU to sit in for a while. What’s impressive about this story, written in the time it was, is that it manages to presage the ~s11 era marriage very well indeed, in tone and vibe and even some content. They’re in the bunker and things aren’t perfect, but they’re together, and that’s a kind of perfection of its own. It isn’t sugary but it’s the kind of adult complex sweetness that makes one feel better, anyway.
hello by allwellandgood (formerly askance)
Rating: T Word Count: 4,128 Summary: There's a woman at the grocery store named Evelyn who always rings him up on the days he ventures out for food and she knows him, or likes to think she does. I hope you're not too lonely, she'll say. He chooses not to tell her that his dead brother sleeps at his feet every night. He'd rather not be the cause of her inevitable heart attack.
Original post date, 08/11/2014
Reccing because: So Dean’s dead. Everyone dies at some point. This fic is a beautifully soft and tender and bitterly kind way to deal with that. You feel Sam’s loss deep in your chest but it’s okay, because this is the world of Supernatural and there are options, and the relief he gets pours over like cool water. Not enough, and it’s not fixed, but it’s not as much of a misery as it was.
The Time Traveler’s Brother by amypond45
Rating: R Word Count: 55,458 Summary: Dean's life is turned upside down the night his mother dies. But that's also the night a mysterious grown-up version of Dean's brother first appears in his life. While Dean grows up, "Old Sam" is often there, especially when Dean's father isn't, and as Dean learns what the future holds, he begins to question everything his father has taught him about who he is and what he is supposed to become. Can Dean find a way to save his little brother from his own future? This pre-series AU follows Dean from age four to eighteen.
Original post date, 02/26/2015
Reccing because: It’s rare to have an AU so thoroughly engage with what the alternate universe it constructs means for characterization and plot. This does something outstanding with the Sam and Dean (and Deans) created by the conceit, but also uses that conceit to do something entirely new with the canon plot that just flips me over every time I remember it. There are some fantastic character insights here, both complimentary and not, but I’ll never be over the specific scene of young!Dean looking up at older!Dean and being disappointed. That’s him, that’s our little angst machine.
The King of Imperfections Takes Back the Prince of Mistakes: a fairy tale by britomart_is
Rating: E Word Count: 4,822 Summary: And they lived happily ever after.
Original post date, 06/06/2016
Reccing because: The summary is pretty much the summary and that’s such a relief, sometimes. They’re awful and stupid and they’re in love and love isn’t enough except it is, and they’re so friggin’ MARRIED in the most wonderful and dorky way. They have good-bad sex and they have idiot arguments and they’ve made it. Back in 2016 this seemed like the best possible option. Reading this story feels like reading 4800 words of relief.
Raw Food Diet by themegalosaurus
Rating: E Word Count: 2,959 Summary: Sam has one more meeting today. This one isn’t in his diary; not the public calendar everyone at the firm can access, nor the private one on his cell.
Original post date, 02/14/2019
Reccing because: If you were looking for depressing and almost revolting Lebanon AU, you’re in luck. This is serial killer!Dean at his worst and Sam Jobs at his (still slightly martyred) almost-worst and it’s the frankly gross and logical conclusion to: what would it mean, if those two horrible shitheads were still together, somehow or some way? It’s always almost a relief when fic manages to do a not-happy ending and this definitely does that. Refreshing, in its way, though you might want a shower after.
Ions in the Ether by nigeltde
Rating: E Word Count: 10,860 Summary: When was the last time you trusted happy.
Original post date, 03/12/2019
Reccing because: For any s2 obsessives as our author here is, this is a deep and alarming and inside-out dive into the obsession with a brother and with monstrousness and with what’s true and what’s not and also can you tell the difference, after all. A murky swirl through a shithole town, this fic picks and pries at wincest-as-concept in a way that’s somewhat achy and alarming and is overall delightful, if you’re willing to take the time to think about it. Plus Sam’s hot, which is of course a bonus.
there will be better days by deadlybride
Rating: E Word Count: 9,430 Summary: Sam and Dean settle into their heaven.
Original post date, 11/24/2020
Reccing because: I’m crass. But also I can’t think of another fic that feels as much like heaven as this one and I wanted heaven on the list.
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ponett · 4 months
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It's been a few weeks, so... how did you feel about the new Hbomberguy video?
it was a really good video. i know a lot of people will write it off as "youtuber drama," but if video essayists are going to be held up as a major source of information for people under 35 then video essayists need to be held accountable when they do things like plagiarize other writers or make shit up wholesale. i also think the video did a good job explaining what the actual problems with plagiarism are and why people do it, while also bringing some attention to the people james plagiarized, so that it wasn't just ripping on some shitty youtubers for the fun of it. (though it is a funny video)
honestly though, the whole time i was thinking about how my writing about archie sonic - particularly my two articles on penders - have been plagiarized in the past. i know there's at least one CBR article that's just paraphrasing me, and with how frequently my blog's used as a source i would not be surprised at all if there were some youtube videos out there just ripping off my thoughts from tkp without credit
so i was like... man, if people are just gonna parrot me, i might as well cut out the middle man and make my own video essay about penders, expanding on my previous points while also trying to clear up the misconceptions about the lawsuits. and then hbomb literally encouraged me to do so lmao. so uh. that might be a thing i do next year. we'll see
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mysterycitrus · 6 months
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hi! i' m really loving persephone but i was a little confused about how you're writing jason (and roy). i read through the author's note but i havent read a tonne of earlier comics yet so i just wanted to ask about your characterisation of him? its really different from other fic ibe read
hello! firstly, thank u for the question. i included that chunky list of comics at the beginning of persephone cause i knew how i was writing some of the characters (SPECIFICALLY jason and roy lmao) would be pretty different from popular mainstream interpretations of them. even if most people can acknowledge rhato 2011 was a bad comic these days, it's still (unfortunately) a foundational comic for a lot of jason fans.
the long answer is jason is a very popular character, but because he hasn't had an actual good comic since 2005 a lot has to be filled in to make him a "consistant" character. if u actually analyse any of his modern comics with knowledge of other characters, u would probably notice that: a) 99% of his relationships are stolen from dick grayson wholesale, with no development, b) 99% of what makes him popular was stolen wholesale from characters like selina kyle, helena bertinelli, and stephanie brown, and c) that everything politically interesting about his concept has been watered down to like... a sometimes angry dude who doesn't even use guns anymore.
roy is a separate issue - i truly dont believe most people who identify as royandjason fans have read anything preboot about roy, cause otherwise they'd understand that he would not do any of the things he does in rhato, and he definately wouldn't be besties with his best friends thirteen year old brother.
jason as he exists in fan spaces is a guy who is devoid of nuance, and is basically a reskinned 90s dick grayson stand in. that's not interesting to me. his original conception - the fact that he's from park row, he struggles with violence, he was a fundamentally kind person who isn't anymore because of things outside his control..... that's someone who could engage with batman's legacy in a cool way! a guy with his own moral values who does terrible things but still believes in the inherent value of his personal crusade! when i was writing him, it was important that yes, he can be quippy and fun, but he's also a person who's done a lot of fucked up things, and people aren't going to just roll over and think he's the coolest guy ever cause the writer treats him like a self insert.
the short answer is that im a roy harper fan and i haven't known peace since 2011.
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pretty-weird-ideas · 1 month
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If you cannot make a cognizant sentence about racism, you cannot make a cognizant sentence about anything else in this fandom.
Once you admit that you aren’t consuming IWTV’s textual elements in good faith i don’t trust any analysis you could possibly have.
I just saw a post telling fans to stop reading into race in this show, and I shit you not, that the show should be read in a colorblind lens. You know, the narrative about interracial relationships and power dynamics in the 1920s south with a Black MC who is oppressed on screen and verbally describes said thing happening consistently.
“It’s okay to not understand the basic readings of the text” is an insane take when these same people are known for chasing after black fans with a baseball bat over their own theories not being taken seriously.
Anyone who sits up there and agrees with “watching IWTV colorblindly” can go ahead and stop posting their analysis or block me because I don’t trust analysis from people who don’t understand the basic reading of the narrative.
If someone tells me the sky is green… I won’t trust them saying the Earth is flat either. If you believe that race is negligible in a show that centers RACISM as a prevalent theme, you cannot make me believe you understand ANY of the show.
I can’t believe people are proudly saying that they’re intentionally media illiterate and are handing out “passes” to other fans to join them in flagrant misunderstanding of the narrative. Mostly just as a grift to explain why black fans who they disagree with should be ignored wholesale if they tell enough people that it’s hip and trendy to be ignorant of the DIRECTLY STATED THEMES.
Fellas, is it trendy and cool to be intentionally dense and uncritical to win an internet argument against black critics and analysts who have more understanding than you do?
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