#i put some more effort into world building this one folks
Note
Political Thriller AUs..... where the Arranged Marriages are more lethal than the cyanide-laced donuts. How are you feeling around this AU?
10/10
Arranged Marriage AUs or Betrothal AUs are sort of a weakness of mine particularly when the author is wise enough to include more of the political reasons behind the union rather than "force my idiots to fall in love" which is the common path a lot of these AUs take. It's not a BAD direction and I do sometimes want to see End Game of my idiots falling in love but that's not necessarily what's important.
It's the why, what is this world, what are the stakes, what's going to be broken if one, or both REFUSE, do they have other people they want to marry etc.
There's a lot you can do with these AUs other than "teehee they had no choice but to fall in love"
As for who I would do this to I have a Konbart one pingponging in my head that the concept is Krypton never was destroyed, Tomar-Re managed to stabilize the planet and save them all, but Jor El sent Clark to Earth anyway because he was certain it was going to happen, and the fallout afterwards was a lot of political upheaval and he was caught in the crossfire and was murdered (possibly by Dru). Things unfold more or less identically except Clark finds out where he is from, that they are all alive, has his own adventures there as a adopted child meeting the bio fam and their culture some 25 years later, meets his mom who did manage to survive the post-near-apocalyptic event. He has a lot of inner struggles of 'what is home' and knows in his heart it is with the Kents and his mom knows this too.
Eventually Kon comes along, but he's created on Krypton, not on Earth, as a sort of co-opt project between planets. Krypton wanted a way to try to genetically engineer Kryptonians to be able to have their powers AND live in any environment regardless if they have a red sun. Earth was needed because Krypton does not have as advanced of knowledge on genetic manipulation as Earth does, and use with the Earth Metagene was something even their own geneticists were curious about. The only way they were able to do this was cooperation between planetary governments. Kon was a secret side project that when exposed blew up because 1.) they used Kal's dna 2.) they were successful and 3.) they have a fucking clone running around and Krypton had actively BANNED cloning due to the last time they dabbled it and it ended badly.
Clark finds out about this clone and storms there like WTF - It's a mess. There's back and forth bs on what to do with him - some politicians are just 'kill it' but most are 'well no hold up, he actually has some intriguing abilities, we can use this!' Meanwhile Clark is just - 'sort this out, now, or I'm taking him to Earth.'
So they agree, he is an El, so he is released to Lara to protect and raise. Lara by now has high status (for now) and power under her so while critics might grumble, there is nothing they can do less they be shot off to the Phantom Zone.
Things settle down, but only so much.
Earth starts becoming a bigger presence in the interstellar community, Krypton is ever paranoid that Kal on Earth with an endless supply of Metas is a threat to them and so tensions begin to rise.
Some of the more warmongering Kryptonians want to conquer Earth, its conditions are ripe for them to be as their ancestors should have been under a young sun, and humans are soft and need help from aliens and only a spare few of their own kind are even worthy their grace as something approximating equal (metas, Amazons etc).
Clark knows if he just evacs Kon and Lara from the growing tensions on Krypton it would send a message to various Kryptonian politicians that Earth just may be that shady after all and Clark really is plotting against them so he works with his mother to try to find a solution. What would make the tension lesson so diplomacy talks could go positively.
Lara suggests an arranged marriage, because nothing makes Kryptonian's more excited than the prospect of legally bound by blood and law cooperation.
Clark says no before he even hears who or why. Lara persists and explains that while he, who was raised among people that do not partake in arranged marriages, and he who has a very singular mindset of what a marriage should be, arranged marriages are common among Krypton and nothing will show the wide majority of their people that Earth is willing to be neighbors and allies than by participating in one of their most time honored traditions.
Clark relents, and asks who. It is Kon. He has to think about it because that's his little brother. After much self reflection and dismantling his initial responses to the suggestion he relents that it is not a bad idea.
The hard part is deciding who would be a good match for Kon - but the fact that any gender is open for consideration makes things easier. After weighing all the options they have, and getting a lot of "wtf no!" Bart is suggested partly as a joke by [redacted].
Fucking Bartimus. At first he is written off as absolutely NOT eligible due to his more or less canon impulses but out of all the suggestions between metas and Amazons and Atlanteans Bart is the one who is in a position best suited to protect himself against literally everything. No one can touch him unless he wants to be touched. He's also from prominent Hero Family and has a name for himself on Earth as Impulse so it's not as if he's really ineligible.
So they agree.
Bart's not happy about this AT ALL and he thinks they chose him just to get rid of him because this takes place just little while after Max vanishes and he's feeling like he's being yanked around (he is 18 though, he just had longer with Max) and he's had so little control of his life this is just one other thing he has to deal with. Wally tries to explain but he does it badly so he pisses him off even more. Iris explains and he's beyond listening at this point. It takes Helen letting him rant at her and talking through things for him to come down that maybe they really don't HATE HIM.
So he shows up and lets Clark explain it and he, after thinking about it for 2 seconds (for Bart he was going back and forth for about 20 minutes though) agrees that this will be interesting and might just be the right thing to do - and because no one else will I guess it should be him.
Kon meanwhile wasn't taking the whole thing seriously enough because he didn't honestly think it would happen.
He was wrong when Lara told him they found him a husband. Cue record scratch, glass shatters and a cat yowls sound effect. Cue panic. Cue the last 5 years of being totally out of control of his life and being yanked around by anyone and everyone as a political pawn exploding.
It takes a long time for Lara to calm him down but she has a tough job because everything that Kon is freaked out about is TRUE. She reminds him that this good for him and their people, that she too was from an arranged marriage, and that the match they secured for him was a good one and it is for the good of everyone and, dickishly, what would Kal do?
So Kon is sort of guilt bullied into it even though he agreed to it in the first place (very quickly and was just like 'hey just so long as they're hot!') and knew it was happening but he didn't think it would actually happen.
Seeing Bart's picture does dispel some of his anxiety, he is cute, he's attracted to him, he has a nice bod, super speed sound pretty neat and he knows Clark wouldn't choose someone who was creepy.
Little does he know Clark didn't even choose Bart at all at first and Bart wasn't even an option until everyone said NO.
So there they are, both initially GRRRRRR about the whole thing not because of the other but because of the situation. Kon feels like he just a tool to be used, and Bart feels like everyone just wants him gone even if everyone has done everything to explain that's not the case and they believe in him. Bart's older and wiser to know that if they really did believe in him, he would have been up for consideration at the start instead of [redacted].
Overall the stakes are pretty basic - get married just to open the door to start a meaningful conversation. Not even to STOP a conflict, just to hopefully get communication better. If either Kon or Bart balk on it it has the potential to exacerbate tensions between Earth and Krypton though Earth has more to lose.
In the end Kon and Bart do find love.
And that's what I have for this Arranged Marriage AU on my spreadsheet that MAY or may not ever be written, and as always some details may just change entirely.
Send me a fanfic/media trope or theme and I'll rate and tell you what I might do with it or something.
#konbart#bartkon#arranged marriage au#kon el#bart allen#long post#i put some more effort into world building this one folks
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10 Things I Love About Only Boo!
*kicks down the door* I'm a few weeks late but I have arrived and I am here to yell about this fucking adorable show. Have you heard that it's the cutest shit you've ever seen in a fresh new package of all your favorite silly old romance tropes? Besties, this is truly the Sunday Serotonin we need. Here are the top 10 things I love about it:
The main romance is between a confident sunshine protagonist and a kind older boy working through his grief and an artistic block. Mok (Moo) and Kang are such nice boys, two cinnamon rolls too sweet and pure for this world, and I loved them instantly. They have a nice crackly chemistry between them and really solid communication right from the start.
The setting is rural and refreshing. Moo moves to Nakhom Pathom to attend school for a semester because his mom wants him to focus on his studies before she will allow him to pursue a career as an idol. Little did she know she was delivering him to a cute boy who would become the new distraction.
The crushing and flirting starts immediately, and it's mutual. They just like each other, man. Kang is (slightly) older and trying to be responsible about keeping Moo focused on his studies so he's putting up some token resistance, but it's very very token. They both find excuses to keep seeing each other after they meet.
There's a side couple with a long-term pining friends to lovers arc. The way I squealed when they revealed that photo wall. I support you, Payos, you will get your boo. These two also have a lovely, easy chemistry and seem so comfortable around each other. Their characterization also gets a fun twist in the beginning of the story.
The writing is strong and assured. This was written by the same screenwriting team as Cooking Crush, aka the best written original Thai bl of last season. These folks know their way around a smart romcom. They know how to deploy classic tropes so they feel fresh, build authentic character arcs, and make all the beats of the story feel confident. We are in good hands and don't need to worry about any out of left field conflicts or weird plot turns with this one.
A fresh new cast brings a ton of energy. I really love all four of the main actors for this show. They're young and bright and breathing some new life into an old formula. And both pairs have solid chemistry and seem comfortable in their scenes together.
Some of our old favorites are here too. They've made the smart decision to bolster the young main cast by surrounding them with more experienced seniors like our lady Milk, here playing Kang's friend and neighbor who is all up in his crush on Moo. Louis and Book are also going to show up at some point.
The show incorporates music and dancing in such a charming way. Moo is one of those kids who just has to dance, and the show mines a lot of comedy around his efforts to stifle the impulse as his mom ordered. I don't think he'll hold out for long, though, because Payos and Tae are on him to train with them. And of course the music supervisor is having a great time working in some classic GMMTV music gags (yes, Love Score and Too Cute To Handle both make memorable appearances).
It's a high school story brimming with youthful energy without being mired in immaturity. The tone of this show reminds me of My School President in the best way, in that it has all the sweetness and innocence of a high school romance without making the characters so immature and bad at communication that it's annoying to watch. As expected from the CC writers, these characters may be inexperienced but they are going to talk to each other and honesty will prevail every time.
We are only three episodes in and the romance is already well underway. This is the kind of show where we will see the main pair flirt and date and face obstacles together. The swoony moments started immediately and Moo is already throwing around the faen title. We know from the synopsis that the core conflict will come when Moo is forced to choose between his relationship with Kang and his dream of being an idol, and I expect he will be finding a way around that choice. I'll be strapped in for the ride because I already believe in these two.
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Demi Demon || Alastor x Reader, A2 part 4
Synopsis: It’s been over a year since we were brought under Alastor’s watchful eye. We’ve unlocked our Demonic powers, discovered our own talents, and began building the Safe Haven with Charlie and co. Alastor seems increasingly interested in the power we hold as one and intends to use it properly.
Previous part
Part 4: forever tied
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Whispers filled my ears. They turned into moans, morphed into wails, and pierced my eardrums with screams. The terrified faces circled me and their cloudy claws passed through my body. I couldn't breathe and my entire body was frozen in place. I couldn't move.
Striker's yellow eyes popped open. His smile emerged and glinted in the light. He wrapped his claws around my throat and a horrible collection of wails escaped his open jaws as they came down on my face.
I shot up with a yell. I clutched my chest as my eyes scanned the dim room. Everything was so still that I could see the dust drifting to the floor. There was nothing and no one here. My heart was still pounding in my ears as I stretched out my magic sense. Alastor was already downstairs but it had felt like he had been in my room only moments ago.
I let out a sigh and fell back into my bed. I had been having a ski load nightmare every now and then. It was making me concerned that I was having repeated dreams now.
I stretched in an effort to release the adrenaline. That's when I noticed a plate on the bedside table with three small cubes of meat. My mouth immediately started to water but I hesitated. He had been in my room. Why did he leave them, though? What was in them? Another mind drug of some kind? Something else?
I couldn't resist though and, sitting up, I ate one of the cubes and got myself ready for the day. When nothing happened, aside from the satisfying feeling of my cravings disappearing, I ate the other two. I found Husker in the kitchen and asked about the plate. He shrugged and also found it odd that Alastor had left them for me.
It took only two days for me to realize Alastor was putting distance between us. Training sessions stopped and he wouldn't try to touch me. It actually became rare for us to be in the same room. Had I worn him out? Was something about to happen? Was he keeping his distance to see if I would chase after him for that rush of energy when we touched?
Regardless of his reasons, I was happy to have a break from him. My chest felt lighter and I found myself spending more and more time in the Safe Haven. I would help where I could but most of the time I just watched everything and everyone. Vivian, our teacher, had a schedule for the children that allowed them time inside learning and outside playing. When we spoke, she had mentioned how surprised she was that she needed to teach them social skills and basic things about our world. I reminded her that most of them could only remember being trapped in cages and only allowed out when they had to fight. Manners weren't a thing.
Fights were still a common thing among the young children. The teenagers were able to ignore that instinct, for the most part, but the younger ones were not used to settling their problems with words rather than fists. When I first began watching the lessons, I thought Vivian would need help stopping these fights. Though it took only seconds for her to pull them apart and sit them back in their seats. She was a kind, quiet woman but she didn't play around when it came to these petty fights. As good as I was at stopping the older folks fight, she was fantastic at preventing most of them before they happened.
Althea was much like me in the observing and watching aspect. She sat on the steps to her hut and watched the construction. We had been fortunate enough that most injuries were minor but every now and then someone would get sick and a few others would follow. She was able to keep the sickness from spreading and made them feel better by the next day. I noticed her hair was turning a bright green at her roots, telling me that she had a different hair color hiding underneath the black dye.
The Safe Haven was now called the Hazbin Haven, serving as a tribute and show of respect for Charlie's hotel. The princess was all over the place, seemingly never still or resting. I caught Vaggie having to forcefully pull her away from a project to make her sleep.
Alastor brought the journalist, Spencer, to the haven to take a picture of what had been built already. The man kept himself as small as possible as he walked beside Alastor. It wasn't until a few minutes after they had been talking that Spencer seemed to stand taller and had a genuine smile on his face. What were they talking about?
It wasn't until Spencer started taking pictures with an old camera that I finally figured out why Alastor was talking to him so much. They had a common interest - old technology. Alastor brought him back to his old print shop once he had finished. From how long he was taking, I could guess he was making sure everything in the article was perfect.
As the days went on, I found myself spending more and more time with Althea and Vivian. I ate dinner with everyone in the grand hall but usually sat with the two women instead of Charlie's group. Husker made it a point to have breakfast with me every morning after my comment awhile back. It felt good to spend time with just him again.
A meeting with Charlie revealed that we had far more humans than Demons at the haven. She failed at recruiting more of the overpopulated Demons from Hell. No one wanted anything to do with the Radio Demon. It didn't make sense, though, considering that they were more likely to be murdered if they didn't belong to the haven that the princess of Hell was running.
So Charlie started paying close attention to social media and the news. She would listen for the scheduled executions for Demons and ask me to go with her to save them. These publicized executions had disappeared on this side of the continent but was still a wide practice elsewhere.
I should've known our luck would run out soon.
Charlie teleported us just outside a city. We scouted the buildings to find where the Demons were being held until their execution. It was well past midnight and very dark with a new moon. They were scheduled to die in four hours.
I waited on the roof with Charlie as Vaggie and a few others went into the jailhouse. My senses were on high alert and something in the air felt off. For a big city, it was awfully quiet. Usually cities this big had officers walking through the streets.
"Something's wrong," I said to Charlie. I stretched out my magic sense to Husker and the others but they seemed fine. They were still moving around and no fear was emitting from anyone.
Husker opened the door and a collection of officers had the entrance circled in an instant. Their guns cocked and the tips pointed right at his chest. Half the group was already outside but not a single gun went off yet.
I wasn't going to let it. I ran across the roof and glided into the center of the circle. I casted a huge gust of wind right as I landed, throwing everyone off their feet. I whipped my wings up and back so the dust dispersed faster. I looked and felt bigger, my shadow covering the bewildered faces. I noticed a few of them escaped down the closest street.
"Fire!" the captain yelled. I curled my claws inward and the tips of their rifles bent upwards. Some of them backfired painfully. The group began to disperse as the captain screamed and ordered them to stand their ground.
I slowly paced towards the captain. He dropped his rifle and pulled a smaller one from his hip. I casted it out of his grip with a flick of my fingers. I needed only to take a few more steps before he ran down a street after his men.
I noticed onlookers from the surrounding buildings. Many of them had their phones out recording me. I really hoped this wouldn't do more damage than good.
When I turned on my heels to face the group, I noticed a look of awe on some of their faces. There was a mix of various horns, tails, feathers, fur, and more. I stayed in my Demon form as I approached the group. Husker and I touched claws before he took the lead down the street. I brought up the rear, helping an injured mother carrying a newborn baby. Was this city really going to kill a baby?
Charlie was ecstatic about having more Demons around. Althea had her hands full healing pressing injuries from when they had been forcefully taken and imprisoned.
I kept my distance and watched from afar, content on the flat roof of one of the new buildings. Some of the current residents had woken up from the commotion and came out to see what was happening. Many of the current Demons came to meet the newcomers, happy to have more people like themselves.
My ear twitched at the sound of Alastor's shadow work. I remained in my sitting position and listened to the tap of his boots and cane. His presence was around my shields but not up against it like usual.
"Something on your mind?" His radio filter buzzed in my ear.
"Just thinking." I pulled one leg up to rest my chin on it.
"About?"
I was silent for a moment. "We're trying to help people but it's our fault for them needing it in the first place."
"What do you mean?" I heard him shift his feet to look at me completely.
"If we hadn't made a broadcast about Demon-kind, they might still be okay to live their life without fear."
"They would have to hide their true nature their entire life. What life is that to live?"
"Better than being hunted by everyone and forced to live somewhere else." I scratched at a spot near my foot.
"You ought to spend more time with Charlie," he said, "She talks endlessly about how happy some folks are. You seem to always be involved in the disputes."
I stretched my hearing to listen to the conversations. The mother I had been helping was thanking Charlie repeatedly. The others were talking to current residents about believing they would never see the light of day again. They were actually happy?
"You seem to be distant lately," I ventured, changing the subject. I kept my eyes focused on the group instead of his sharp smile.
"Does that bother you?" He cocked his head to the side.
"It's out of character for you. Is there a reason?"
"Not in particular." He rubbed his claws together. "Rosie has been asking of you. She wants to see you again."
"That would be nice." I heard little whispers and tilted my head to look up at him.
"Hm?" He caught my quick turn.
"Nothing. Thought I heard something." I continued to watch the group from afar. It took me a minute before I realized Alastor was in my head again. I hadn't felt him push through my shields. He was just a cool presence almost blending with mine.
Surprising myself, I let my own presence become more mailable and smaller, allowing him to cover entirely and meld with me. I followed his magic trail and wound my way into his own mindscape. Well, it wasn't his mindscape—more like his memories.
I could see him and Spencer bent over the first article. Then I could see him watching me and Husker from the upstairs window. It faded to him and Rosie talking in her store. I could hear this conversation plain as day, as if he was also visiting it and letting it play out.
I felt my heart drop in my stomach. He did have a reason for keeping his distance. He had started his plan to 'treat me nicely' so I would actually care about him. It jumped to previous conversations with Rosie and if my mouth was working, it was hanging open.
He was trying to strengthen our connection so he could test out its abilities and limits. He didn't actually want to have a connection, he just wanted me to be at his level enough to make it strong. It was all a trick, all manipulation. I wasn't hurt or surprised. I knew he was a manipulative freak but it made me angry.
My distaste wobbled the connection. I was harshly thrown back to my own mind and the back of my head hit the edge of the roof.
"Don't ever do that again!" he snapped. He was bent forward and his knees locked. His antlers had stretched out as his eyes darkened to the red dials.
As he stood up I shoved him back with my legs. He stumbled and his tentacles came up to pin my legs to the roof. He dusted off his chest where I had pushed him and stalked towards me.
"You won't succeed!" I yelled, making him pause. "I'll make sure you never taste the feeling of our power. I'm not a tool to be used."
"You are a headache," he hissed, curling a red claw near my face.
"I'm not the one manipulating someone for my own benefit."
"If you actually worked with me this would be easier for both of us."
I sliced my claws through his tentacles and they faded into shadows. We both stood up simultaneously. "Have you forgotten how you started this? How you kidnapped me, how you treated me, how you drugged me." I was expecting him to take a step back as I advanced but he didn't. I let myself grow slightly bigger so I was almost at his eye level. "You invade my personal space and my mind. Why would I want to work with you?"
His smile didn't fade, his eyes narrowing and his presence wrapping around me. This one felt hot and heavy, dangerously claustrophobic. He said, "I have been incredibly patient and kind with you." I scoffed, taking a step back to put distance again. "I could have you back in a cage in a dark basement. No one would ever know where you were and no one would ever come looking. You'd be trapped down there for eternity. Yet I have not done that. I have provided you with a bed, clothes, food, and recently an incredible amount of freedom. If our fates were not tied, you would not be alive."
"But we are." I used my Human form and slowly stepped toward him. "Our souls are forever tied. We may even be powerful together, but unless you can treat me with even just the basic amount of respect, nothing will come of it." My legs were dangersouly close to visibly shaking and my palms were wet with sweat. I felt like I was dangling myself over the jaws of a bear trap, not sure when or if I will fall into it.
My airways started to close. I fought against his magic to reopen them but he was much stronger. I collapsed to my knees as the lack of oxygen took all my energy. I tried so hard to just breathe. He couldn't kill me but this was dangerous.
"Your lack of respect towards me does not warrant more on my end." He stepped close so his boots almost touched my hands. I fell onto my elbows and eventually my back. The corners of my vision were getting darker, zoning in on his terrifying face. "I'm the one in control. Until you've reached my level, which I expect to take centuries, that fact will always remain."
My airways opened up just enough for me to get a little more oxygen. I rolled onto my elbows in an effort to stand, though it was in vain. He bent down and pulled my chin up so I was forced to look him in the eyes.
"You are mine for eternity." The venom in his voice wasn't as sharp but the threat was still there. "This will work in my favor one way or another. I'm gracing you with the opportunity to choose how in which that happens." He let go of my face and my airways opened. I sucked in the sweet, cold air as he disappeared into the shadows.
I thought I had this handled.
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Author's Note:
Ooooooh to have Alastor say 'you are mine for eternity' :P
#alastor x reader#alastor the radio demon#hazbin alastor#hazbin hotel#soulmate au#soulmates#hazbin husk#reqs open#hazbin hotel husk#demi demon
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🦌 Fawn and Hunter - Part 10 🦌
"Anaira"
Content: Conspiracies, noncon kissing, feisty whumpee (but if you made it all the way to part 10 you already know that lol)
1,800 Words
Hey hey, It's part 10! We're a whole 1/3 of the way done! Who's ready to meet a new character? 👀
This chapter is a big turning point for the series, which will be fully in swing by part 14! I had to fistfight my writer's block to finish this, pls appreciate my efforts 🙏
Also! I just wanted to let y'all know that Fawn's real name is revealed in this part, and while it may be traditionally masculine, they are still ambiguous and you can picture them as whatever you want. As a genderqueer person who's name is Lillian and doesn't want to change it, I'm all about erasing gendered names and turning them neutral. Just wanted to put that out there. Thanks!
Enjoy! 🦇
Going into town wasn’t something Hunter enjoyed doing. They hated being around other people, not to mention it was quite a long journey to get out of the woods. Their foot was pressed hard against the gas, the old truck’s engine roaring loud as it struggled to keep up. At least the sound somewhat distracted the thoughts in their head.
Hunter didn’t have much experience driving, and especially didn’t have a license, but they knew enough to get them by. Besides, their driving skills were the least of their worries, their heart still beating from the adrenaline of nearly being what they could only assume to be a cult sacrifice. They tried to shake the thoughts away, but something like that isn’t just easily forgotten.
The snow fell through the quickly darkening sky, hitting against the windshield, swirling around it, almost dizzying. A blur. A whirling whirlpool. Hunter pulled into the first parking lot they saw, a gas station.
Outside the building stood a group of Christians, holding signs as they yelled about the upcoming rapture, yelling at the air to repent before it was too late. Not an uncommon sight to see in a small town like this, but usually it was in front of certain buildings and protesting gay people, or something. Also it was usually much earlier in the day, not at the brink of dusk in the middle of winter so close to Christmas.
What on Earth was going on? Yelling about the upcoming rapture is usually something done by old folks on facebook, not in real life. Still, Hunter gave the group nothing more than that simple passing thought as they entered the decrepit store.
The floors were made of lazily placed tiles, some missing, or mismatched. The lighting was yellow, buzzing, and some even blinking, barely holding on. A moth flew around them, flapping its tiny wings while a cockroach skittered across the floor. A nacho station stood in the open. Ahh, yes, the best gas station nachos around. To eat those you’d have to have a death wish. The air smelt more of musty mold than it did nacho cheese.
Hunter turned their head to a corkboard full of posters. Missing people's posters that Hunter was no stranger to. They took their time reading them, until one in particular caught their eye. One with a photo of Fawn.
MISSING
Rudolph Meyer
DOB: December 18th, 2003
19 years old
Height 5 feet 3 inches
Light brown hair
Green eyes
Glasses
Freckles
Rudolph was reported missing October 12th, 2023 by their coworker after repeatedly failing to turn up for work or answer calls. They could have gone missing days or weeks prior.
If you have any details on Rudolph's whereabouts or disappearance please contact the Woodmar Police Department at 110-100-1000.
Hunter looked at Fawn's phone again. They did have many missed calls from the same number. They must've missed it when snooping through it. Though they also noticed they picked the perfect day to wander into town.
Today was their birthday.
Hunter smiled to themself as they looked at the date. Without a care in the world they took the poster from the wall and folded it up into their coat pocket. They took a quick look around the store, walking down aisles. Looking at the drinks, they took a moment of contemplation before taking a bottle of alcohol.
They noticed there was only one other person in the whole store. The only employee, a tired looking woman with dark circles under the eyes, wearing a face mask. Hunter approached her.
“Hey.” They said.
“Hello. Can I help you with anything?”
“If you can answer some questions, yeah. Do you know anything about that one missing person? Rudolph? They went missing rather recently, it seems.”
"Yeah, little Rudy, as I called them." She said, "I was the one who reported them. It was very unlike them to miss a shift, and not answer calls. I hope they're okay, I know they didn't come here from a very good place."
“Sorry to hear that. It’s pretty scary.”
"Oh, tell me about it. Scary, stressful, and saddening. I’ve been a mess ever since they disappeared. A mess with worry, overworking, I don’t think I’ve had a single peaceful day of sleep. Even worse because I'm on the night shift, and little Rudy was working daylight. It was really only us two keeping this place up and running. Our boss has had to fill in for them. Poor woman's already busy enough as it is. Oh, I’m so sorry, I’m venting.”
“Hey, I’m the one who asked.” They dismissed the apology with a shrug, “What about those crazies out front?"
"Oh, yeah, those guys have been there for a while. Ever since those crop circles were found last week, people have been going nuts. I've seen folks walking around with tinfoil hats." She laughed. "It's probably just something in the drinking water. Or maybe just the nature of humans. They lose it so easily."
“They’ve been preaching about the rapture all week?”
"Oh, they've been preaching about everything. The zombie apocalypse, an alien invasion, a plague, vampires, werewolves, demons, UFOs, government conspiracies, the second coming of Christ. It's like everyone's gone completely looney."
Hunter wanted to agree and dismiss it, but they could only think about everything else that happened. Fawn's dreams, that cult in the woods, the giant skeleton… were they going crazy, too?
"Cold gettin’ to you?" She asked.
“Yeah, I guess. I’ve had quite a day.” They sighed, looked around, and placed the bottle on the counter, “I’m just here for the drink, I guess.” They flashed their ID and paid.
“Thanks,” They said, and turned to leave.
“Oh, and, uh, hey!” She called out as the front doors dinged, “Um… Let me know if you find anything out about Rudy, will you?”
Hunter paused in the doorway, the cold wind whipping in past their face. They turned and said, “I’ll be sure to let you know.” then left.
When Hunter returned home, it was pitch dark outside, they were gone all day. There was a pile of dust in the snow on the front porch. Going inside, Fawn was curled up, asleep on the couch with the broom resting against the wall. They walked over to them, and nudged them awake, nudging their shoulder. Fawn slowly blinked their eyes open.
"So," Hunter said, "were you going to tell me today was your 20th birthday, Rudolph?"
The use of their real name made Fawn's heart drop into their stomach, jolting them wide awake. "How- how do you know that?"
"I just so happened to find this while out in town today." They said, showing off the poster. "It seems your coworker is pretty worried about you. Anaira, was it? Very nice lady."
Fawn could only stare up at the poster with wide eyes as Hunter smirked down at them. The use of Anaira's name just made their heart drop even more. They had a conversation? She had no idea she was talking to their captor…
"It's a good thing I've got this poster. Afterall, I need to start building up my collection again after you destroyed it."
“So you wanna kidnap more people? I ain’t enough? You want more after me? What're you gonna do with me then, huh? Kill me? Let me go?” They antagonized.
“I think you think too much. Don’t read into it.”
“I fucking hate you.”
“Thanks! I don’t try to be liked. Especially not by people who act like bratty teenagers. Though I suppose it's no wonder why you do, you still are one!"
"Not anymore. I'm 20. I'm not a teen, I'm not a kid, and I'm not being a brat. Why would I be anything but cynical to the person who's holding me captive?"
Hunter ignored the last part, "It doesn't matter if you're 20 years old or 200 years old. Act like a teen and you might as well be one, eh?" They picked up on the fact Fawn did not appreciate being infantilized in the slightest.
"I am not that young." Fawn mumbled, bitterly.
"Well, you're certainly younger than I thought you were. Can't even drink yet, how cute is that? It's too bad we can’t share this.” Hunter said, holding up the bottle.
"Oh, great, now you can smell like cigarettes AND alcohol."
“Mmm, you’ll go nose blind, eventually. I go through a lot to steal these cigarettes, you know? Of course you don't, you're too good, despite being such an unruly badmouth."
“What the hell do you want from me? Stop mocking me. I cleaned your stupid fucking house, I should at least get a thank you but ohhhh, no, I probably don't even deserve that, right?”
“You want a thank you? I can give you a thank you.”
Alarm bells immediately started going off in Fawn's head. They way they said it and their tone didn't sound too nice, almost more of a threat. Much to their dismay and horror, Hunter kissed them on the lips.
Fawn froze up and their eyes widened, then squeezed shut as Hunter held the kiss. When they pulled away, Fawn scrunched their face in disgust, wiping their lips with the back of their hand.
"Oh, relax, it's just a kiss.”
“A gross and dirty kiss from your gross and dirty lips is what it was! What the fuck! Blahk!” They continued wiping their lips, which now tasted like cigarettes, shaking their head and shivering in disgust.
"You'll survive." Hunter said, dismissing their revulsion, "But as for me, I've had quite the unfortunate day, and I need my sleep."
"Oh no, I don't give a shit."
Hunter didn't respond, simply they just picked them up by the back of their shirt collar and pulled them through the cabin. Fawn cursed, kicked, and hit but it didn't do anything at all. They entered the bedroom and Hunter threw Fawn onto the floor, holding them down with a knee on their back as they tied their hands together.
"I'm going to sleep. You're going to lay on the floor and shut your mouth."
"Fuck you and fuck your—! Mmph!" Fawn spat, getting a cloth shoved into their mouth, with another being tied around their head to secure it.
"There. Now stay quiet." Hunter threatened, pushing Fawn's face into the floor as they stood up, hitting their nose off the hardwood. Fawn let out a growl in response.
HERE'S A THOUGHT! IF YOU WANT QUIET YOU CAN JUST LET ME GO! PEACE AND QUIET, ALL ALONE FOREVER, EVERYBODY WINS!! Fawn screamed in their head as they fought the restraints, mumbled nonsense coming from their mouth.
As Fawn calmed down and was left to their thoughts, they didn't care that they had to sleep on the floor. They didn't care that they were treated like a pet. They only cared about how everything they fought so hard for was ruined.
They were going to celebrate their 20th birthday as a way to say that they managed to survive so long. That they finally escaped their childhood home. Now they were here, held captive, and back where they started.
And to make it all worse, they would now have to forever remember that as their first kiss.
You'll be seeing a lot more of Anaira in the near future, as well as a few more new characters! Lemme tell you, once chapter 14 hits this'll be like a completely different thing than what it started as. Shit's about to get crazy and hit the fan.
Also, surprise! This part has art attached. I was originally not gonna give them designs, and just leave them to the interpretation of the reader, but I'm slowly becoming attached to them and couldn't help myself. I just had to draw them! You can still picture them however you want.
Also I'm curious how old you think Hunter is? 🤔 the answer may surprise you (and Fawn, too).
Taglist: @parasitebunny @whumpy-wyrms @fruitypinapple00
If you want added or removed, lmk in the comments !
Thanks for reading ! 💕🦌
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Reflecting on some of the posts that I have made and seen in the last couple of weeks, both here on Tumblr and on TikTok, I am increasingly suspicious of anybody that insists that voting is a useless or misdirected effort of energy. Not only have I seen innumerable cases in my state where this is simply not the case, entire sections of the federal government are effectively locked into right-wing positions because Trump won his election. He has entire sections of the appeals system and federal government more broadly aligned with him precisely because of how many nominations he's successfully put forward. Now, this does not mean that Biden or even the Democratic party more generally is going to ride to the rescue, however it speaks to the power that voting results wield.
Not voting is not an effective protest. All you are doing by not voting is saying hey someone else make this decision for me. By not voting you are not actually saying to the system "Hey I'm protesting against you!" At that point you have given the government system cart blanche to fucking ignore you.
I don't know who told you that not voting was anything other than giving up what little power you have to influence your government and therefore how your tax money and society operates on an everyday level. They lied to you. After a certain point there's no nice way to put this.
If you choose not to vote, that is a choice. I view it as an incredibly poor one. I also look at voting third party outside of elections where you know the candidate has no honest to the Gods shot to be a waste of time. You can vote however you want. If you want your vote to be effective then you're going to have to play with the system we've got until we can make a better one. These things take time. If we are being realistic, it is likely more than a few election cycles.
Another thing I have found intensely distasteful this entire election cycle has been from some leftists to sneer at harm reduction, as though opposing Republicans with Democratic candidates is just caving to fascism. Democrats and my State backed up unions and secured a woman's right to choose and secured bodily autonomy not only for women but forLGBTQIA+ folks. Republicans have fought against that.
"Oh but Manchin-" "Oh, but Sinema-"
Are not the whole of the Democratic Party. They were conservative holdouts in a largely center to center right coalition party whose younger constituents are far more left that the old guard. They fucked up some excellent legislation (or at least excellent opportunities) to put us in far better positions through helping to kill the Democrats' Build Back Better Plan and similar legislation.
Trying to punish the Democrats retroactively for not pushing Roe v Wade into law or not fulfilling all their campaign promises, by withholding your vote come the elections is short sighted, retrograde, and ultimately, harmful. It hands power to the Republicans without a fight, and allows them to set the boards for zoning, schools, city council, and so much more. It actively shoots your fellow citizens in the foot so you can feel moral superiority.
It reminds me of folks saying "Well I'm not filing because I am not gonna pay my taxes!" Unless your income is entirely under the table or illegal, or you intentionally changed your contributions, chances are that you were paying taxes this entire time and the only thing you're doing by not filing is potentially fucking yourself.
I get being angry, desperate, and despairing at the state of things, whether the political system, the world more broadly, or whatever issue you hold most dear to your heart. I'm not saying don't be angry, sad, depressed, or raging. I'm saying use it well. If you cannot summon up the give-a-shit on your own case, do it for those around you. Every bit we can do helps, and voting can make a lot of difference in our neighborhoods, and from there, the greater world.
Whether you are reading the missives from various pulpits or you're looking at project 2025, Christofascism is here. Folks have been warning about this for quite a long time, and it is here and it is in full swing. We cannot afford for the Republicans to take over. Heathens, Pagans, magical folks, none of us can afford a Republican victory at this point. Republicans have shown a deep willingness to use the apparatus of the state to harm queer and non-Christian people. They have shown a disdain for the separation of church and state. If you are on the right in this country you should be concerned if you're in any marginalized group. You will not be spared because you're "one of the good ones ".
Did you not see how they treated the Log Cabin Republicans? Did you not see that? Voting red will not save you, it will not make you more palatable. If the Republicans take power and get what they really want through their Christofascism and Project 2025, it does not matter how long you've been a Republican; if you are queer or Pagan you may as well not exist.
Believe me, I am not for a moment stating that Democrats are our saviors. They are a coalition center right political party that we can influence through our lobbying and votes. We can influence them through a variety of other means, including direct action is some have done. Some of you have failed to notice that your direct actions actually were useful! Kamala Harris came right out and said that they were pushing for a ceasefire, after so long of just leaving it off the table entirely. It is not that the narrative cannot be pushed, it is not that we cannot be heard, but you all need to recognize when you are heard and act accordingly without moving the fucking goal posts.
You demanded the administration work on a ceasefire and now they are. That is a victory! However, the Democrats cannot make the Israeli government and the Palestinian government come to a ceasefire. There is also only so much that we can do given the treaties and the alliances that we have. Yes, I know that America has a history of breaking it's treaties and why couldn't we just break this one? Well, because we're just not going to because it's been policy for almost the last 80 years. I just fervently wish the left more generally understood the political process better than it does and realize that we are doing quite a lot to move things along from where they could have been.
If you think for a second that Trump presidency would be better on any of these things you're wrong. That there are some leftists want to sink this project of American democracy simply because they didn't get what they want reminds me a lot of screaming fucking children who want a toy and are going to scream and shout when they don't get it. There's a sincere lack of understanding of the political process that I am seeing right now, especially given what I saw during the primary elections, and is sincere lack of understanding the political process with regards to our position with Israel. Again, I am not saying for a fucking moment don't be angry and don't do everything that you can't tell lobby for the Palestinian people. Engage in whatever diversity of tactics appeals the most to you. Part of having a diversity of tactics is including voting and on the ground diplomatic work. It isn't fun, it isn't sexy, but it's absolutely necessary in the meantime to get us to a place where we can be more effective. I would rather be more effective than being morally pure. I would rather be more effective and do what is possible than see everything around me fucking burn because it isn't just right.
I really do not hold with deontology. As a heathen my ethics are more centered in consequentialism. I care about how the tapestry looks after it's been woven, more than I care about how it has been woven. I will take an imperfect way of getting to the end of a tapestry then the tapestry never getting finished or being finished poor due to constantly unraveling it. There is no way that burning everything down is going to be helpful or effective for most folks. In any case, burning everything down with nothing to replace it leaves folks like me who rely on regular medications like insulin completely fucked. To be sure, the system fucks me and those in my position. It fucks the poor, the disabled, the marginalized. However, not having anything to replace it and just burning everything down, having no complex systems in place to slot into place will do immense, untold amounts of damage. Reforms are not sexy, and but they are how we can continue to live while we do the work needed to make things more equitable, more fair, more just.
I want change. We need to change as a society to become more just, equitable, fair, and to survive in the face of the challenges that we are facing. However, stepping away from the system as a whole, as though you're not going to be wrapped up in it as things go forward, that, to me, is giving up. It's not revolutionary. I would far rather see leftists and left-leaning Heathens and Pagans to flex their vote and their activism locally, to make the changes on the ground that we can where we live, how we live, with the Ginnreginn we live alongside.
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‘God, for reasons best known to yourself, you have chosen to put a lot of bad people in the world. People who would rather steal a thing than make it. Who would rather break a thing than grow it. People who will set fire to a thing just to watch it burn. I know. I’ve run across a few of them. I’ve ridden with them. I suppose I’ve been one of them. Perhaps they seem like monsters, these people. But the truth is, it takes no sorcery to make a man do bad things. Bad company. Bad choices. Bad luck. A no more than average level of cowardice. But gathered here today, humbly seeking your blessing, you see a different kind of people. Not perfect, surely. Each with their faults. Some uncharitable. Some prone to drink. Some just a little on the grasping side. But every one of these people came out here to make something! Every one of them chose to take the hard way! The right way! To brave the perils of the wilderness so they could build new lives with their hands and their sweat and their righteous effort! These are the good people, God! Your children, ranged before you, hopeful and persevering! Shield them from the storm! Guide them through the trials of this day, and every day!’
— Red Country by Joe Abercrombie
‘A prayer from an unbelieving preacher to an unbelieving congregation from a score of nations where they all disbelieve in different things.’
Shy shrugged. ‘We’re in the Far Country now. Guess folk need something new to doubt.’ Then, to the rest, ‘He’ll say the best damn prayer you ever heard! His name’s Temple, ain’t it? How religious can you get?’
#red country#joe abercrombie#the first law#temple#it's temple appreciation hours#i'm replaying rdr2 and that + rereading the first law is making me want to reread red country
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Welcome welcome, one and all, back to my ridiculously futile effort to figure out where every card in Outlaws of Thunder Junction came from. Now, by this point in time the 30 new Alchemy cards have been released, and like with the Vault cards we'll be hitting those after the regular set and Commander cards.
So without further ado... we've dealt with red, and the others, so now it is onto...
GREEN
We open on a pretty important one! Say hello to the cactus-folk of Thunder Junction, the actual honest-to-god genuine native people of the plane, here before even the Atiin for as much as that matters.
The scant few bits of lore we've received on these guys tells us that they started waking up to sentient and sapience when the Atiin showed up, but given real world cacti's entire deal is that they're long-lasting, endurant vegetation that can grow for a long time, the question really is how truthful that is. Especially given they've adopted the idea of clothing and gear pretty well from the Atiin and others.
I'll probably open the can of worms that is Thunder Junction's questionable-at-best decisions when it comes to the world building another day, but for now... lets just make like a thumbleweed and roll on. Cacti are from Thunder Junction. Also I do love this play of like, a very nice and gentle warlock who heals you with vapor rube.
This is good advice! Boots are shady places, typically made of leather that is treated to not take in the heat that much, and are as such nice and shady places for creatures like this to live in.
Native to the plane, like most animals.
While there are arguments that there are other planes this person could be from, the nature of the bond with beasts- plus the fact that this guy clearly dresses like his beast, whereas most Outcasters are more of a wild-man of the wilderness vibe- feels like it is very much meant to elude to the bonders of Ikoria.
Fun story stuff: the betrayal did not actually work out this way, with Vraska and Oko staying allied basically right until the last moment where Vraska immediately went for the kill shot with her petrification stare. It does definitely resemble how Kellan and Oko split ways though. Also, hilariously, while it was obvious the gang would backstab each other... in the end it was actually very surprising HOW it happened. Not very likely at all!
Anyway, naming where this is from is a hard one. Given the mixture of who betrayed who and the sheer webbed nature of it all, I'm kinda forced to give it to Thunder Junction itself.
As befits the native plant-life of Thunder Junction, there is animal-plants as well! Look at this delightful critter!
I'll admit, to my detriment I actually care more about the real history of the Old West than the mythology of the frontier folk, so I don't really know if Bristly Bill here is meant to be an allusion to Pecos Bill or Johnny Appleseed. The former seems more likely based on name, but the actions of cultivating the land (but in a non toxic way like ole John) seems to lean more in that direction.
Anyway, he's a cactus, so native to the plane.
Perhaps one of the most horrifying cards ever put to print. I love it. Native to Thunder Junction.
One of my favorite parts of magic sets is seeing how various worlds take classic Magic creatures and incorporating their unique elements into it. A rattlesnake this big, this destructive, is incredible.
Just remember however: rattlers have a rattle to warn away predators.
Characterizing tumbleweeds as actual living creatures, like a strange dead-alive elemental, is beautiful and I love it. Native to Thunder Junction.
A big ol' bear that is going half-cactus because of some Thunder induced mutations! Native to Thunder Junction, again!
This one actually requires some thought! Yay! I feel based on his build that this centaur is from Theros and not say, Ravnica- the city of guilds has more modern war-horses, whereas this feels more like a wild horse design.
The Freestriders are the faction that get the least amount of lore presented about them. They aren't people who live out in the wilderness, but are people who go exploring and adventuring all the same.
After some deliberations, looking at art, and trying to source the design of that tattoo we see, I think I've gotta say this fine fellow is from the Atiin home plane.
This unmitigated disaster is from Kaladesh!
STEP ON THE GAS. STEP ON THE GAS. NO! HIT THE BREAKS!
Some people got mildly upset at this card, but I'm here to tell all you fine folk that despite what your instincts tell you, beaver DO exist in the great prairies of the old west. They're not as common because there's less water about for them to do their do, but these critters exist there too!
So this gold is gold found natively on Thunder Junction, so it goes on the list for that one, but you may be asking yourself: Zodi, where does this weirdo come from? He's not an Azra cause he doesn't have purple skin, he's not a Satyr since his horns are tiny baby idiot horns for babies, and he looks like a regular dude despite having pointed ears like an elf so surely he's not elven right?
Well, you'd be forgiven for not remembering it since it only shows up on like three or four cards, but this is actually just what elves look like on New Capenna. They have tiny little idiot baby horns and look more like humans than other elves do, it's just how things go.
Once upon a time, Order of the Stick made a joke about overburdening a hydra's regeneration so that you could turn it into a successful food stall. This feels like a less comedic version of that.
Native to Thunder Junction, which is fascinating. This is likely a thunder mutation since I don't imagine hydras are just naturally made of gold here.
Another wonderful cactus-folk, ready to defend his folk from any interlopers, one sawblade at a time.
Fun fact: if you want to play as a cactus-folk in DND, use the Thri-Kreen from Darksun.
This giant chimkin is clearly native to the plane... but isn't the actual subject of the art. Instead it's this weird paladin-ass looking guy with a big sword. Based on the flavor text I'm going to say he's Benalian, so from Dominaria.
Cards like this are a nice reminder that Magic definitely did try to approach this plane with good faith and an understanding of native perspectives, they just kinda fumbled it. More on that later.
... where does this guy come from? Well he's ridiculous strong and a nomad so I'm gonna say he's from Tarkir.
Combining the tumbleweed concept with Brushwaggs is a really fun idea, though I do wonder how these little armadillo faced idiots fair against the REAL tumbleweed elementals.
Native to the plane, obviously.
I'm honestly baffled this guy isn't an elf, considering everything. The most mention of the idea of "greenX" being a thing is from Zendikar, so this cactus-covered cultivator is from that plane. His big machete honestly fits it, too.
I've noticed a subtle mechanical theme in green about caring about Ferocious, and honestly I kinda like it. The last one of those was from Ikoria, and had similar vibes and a clear bond with a beast, so I think I'll say the same here.
This card is, by the flavor text, directly an Atiin person, and thus is from their home plane.
Also given the way Thunder Junction works, its time frame, and all that... how many worlds HAVE the Atiin visited before Thunder Junction? We know they're nomadic, and we know that they got to Thunder Junction basically immediately after the paths opened, so... presumably all the worlds they've visited past TJ are where the majority of the wandering folk still are. Hell, for all we know this card takes place on another plane, given she doesn't even have a HAT.
As much as I'd love to say this guy is one of the Alaran Rhox, I think it's far more likely he's from New Capenna.
The horseshoe chain-multiflail is one of my favorite weapons in the set.
Blep.
Native to Thunder Junction.
Play it again, Sam! Cactus means Thunder Junction!
I knew a piano player once. Having multiple limbs would make you such a good pianist.
Flavor fail no one has a gun in this art <sarcasm>
I do kinda wish we got to see more of the Cactus Folk Rage Forms though, that would have been cool.
Varmints are specifically called out as being a unique sort of pest from Thunder Junction, and that's what they are!
Still think they're convergent evolution of gremlins though.
Those Akroan bastards have ONE TRICK but damn if it doesn't work when they make use of it. This is of course from Theros. It is also probably my favorite card in the set.
Rattlewurms are native to the plane, so this magical curtain of molted snake-skin is too.
And that's it for post one. Tune in to like a couple minutes from now for part two!
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Modern Loneliness And Parasocial Relationships
With the entire drama going on with Baldur's Gate 3 and people harassing the voice actors - especially Neil Nowbon - I cannot help but think about parasocial relationships and how they happen.
I was always super anxious about this. Like, literally. Even as a little kid, before I ever knew this word, I was super anxious about not wanting to fall into this. I did not really understand the dangers of it, but I knew that this kinda feeling was going to be somehow dangerous for me.
And yeah, unpopular opinion, but I think parasocial relationships with real people (opposed to fictional characters - because yeah, you and me, we both have parasocial relationships with our favorite blorbos that never can be anything but parasocial given that the blorbos are not real and can hence never know you) can be actually dangerous to people. Because they are going to mess with your head. And if you are in a bad headspace to begin with, that can be dangerous.
Because what happens if you go fullon parasocial relationship with a person is that you kinda think of them as a friend. While they of course do not know that you exist. Yet, there are moments when they act accordingly (like you do not exist) that are going to be hurtful to you for one reason or another. And depending on your emotional control this might lead you to act demanding - because you feel like you are owed that attention.
I really think that right now there is a big issue going on with how a lot of us are lonely in real life. Modern society for so many reasons fosters loneliness, because we are lacking Third Spaces, aka community spaces, where we can go and meet people. Where we can hang out with other real people from our actual real world surrounding. Like, some people have real world friends - but a lot of people have not.
I think that hit espcially hard for the people who started university or another new phase in life just as COVID and the lockdowns hit. Because not only did they not get third spaces to meet people - but often then lacked the second places (work, university) too, while just having moved out of a family home and suddenly being all alone.
So a lot of our social interactions moved online. I mean, I will not exclude myself from this either. Most of my friends I know from online spaces. As someone who has been bullied for most of his school life, this always has been true. But of course the big difference is, that those people know I exist - and in a lot of cases I might have even met them in real life, or might even spend the holidays with them and their family.
But social media had already blurred the lines a lot before. By making celebrities very accessible to the average media consumer. You could suddenly just interact with them (or let's face it, their social media team) fairly easy on twitter or facebook. And maybe they (or their social media team) would even answer you.
The thing of course is that most celebrities (even those celebs who are more like youtube or twitch famous) have a very curated online appearance. Like, all of their posts basically are PR approved. Or at least they put some effort into deciding what someone else gets to see of their lives. Technically they are just playing a character. Because... Well, they do want to have a life outside of their celeb status.
And, you know. There were always groopies, who would build those parasocial relationships with their favorite stars and starlets. But I think internet and social media has intensified this. And the pandemic did, too.
But folks really need to understand that celebrities and creators are not their trained monkey to reply to any interaction that folks want from them in a specific way that is expected. They are people, who have their own lives. Who often enough have families and partners and all of that. And their fans do not have a right to be somehow part of that.
This is also why I have never and will never condone real person fiction of living people (and those who still have people living that have known them). Because no matter whether it is fiction or whether what you write about them is more like a role of the public facing persona they inhabit... It is just crossing a line for me to publish scenarios (especially sexual or very violent and traumatic scenarios) involving real people, who might in one way or another find out about this. And be it just because some asshole talkshow host thinks it would be funny to make the celebs read those fanfics live on air in front of an audience.
Most of all: Celebrities and creators are people first and foremost. And if you would not think something appropriate to do to a person you know in real life then, no, it also is not appropriate to do to a celeb.
If you want to keep yourself from falling into the parasocial relationship trap, I have one tip for you, that works rather well for me: Speak of them with their last name or their full name, whenever you do. It does not matter that they might use only their first name or some nickname for online accounts. If you know their full name, use it. It helps your mind put some distance between you and them. To remind you that yeah, in fact, you do not know that person and they ae not your friend. They are if anything just someone you look up to a lot.
#parasocial relationships#covid#lockdowns#lonliness#celebrities#celebrity worship#fan culture#fandom#baldurs gate 3#bg3
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So, a whole two people had an interest in my thoughts on cathar in Star Wars and purring, which I guess is enough to prompt me to try and put some of them into proper words. I do want to preface this by saying my own personal thoughts and feelings on these matters are very much my own personal thoughts and feelings, coming from my particular areas of interest and professional knowledge, and have absolutely no bearing on how much I enjoy other people's takes/characters, or how willing I am to interact or depict other people's takes/characters! Everyone approaches these things differently and frankly I have no interest in nor take any pleasure from raining on other folks' parade or telling them how to write/design/depict their own characters. Mostly, I want to reassure people that it is in fact completely okay to have completely different ideas to the more popular fandom headcanons, it is absolutely fine to disagree, and it is very not cool to try and force a single way as the 'best' or 'most correct'. I also, personally, have way more respect for people who will readily admit that they imagine a character/species a certain way purely because it viscerally appeals to them- they dig the aesthetic, they just think it's cool/cute/neat, etc- rather than those who dream up a feature and use ham fisted imperfect science to try and justify it.
If you like your cathar to purr simply because you think it's lovely, you go and do you, I love and respect you for it, and my words going forward here and now are simply not for you. I'm not here to fight or argue or try to convince you otherwise, I have no interest in discourse! There are just facets of world building and character design that I know I feel differently about than most people and I'm making myself vulnerable here by sharing some of them.
(I am also going to talk about a little more than purring.)
So! A little bit of background on me and where I'm coming from.
Animals are my life, I have studied them academically and work with them professionally and have lived and breathed animals since my very earliest memories. I am fascinated by form and function, by taxonomy and natural selection and adaptation to environments, by behaviour and cognition, and I am deeply committed to conservation efforts. All of these interests are what inform and guide the way I think about fiction, they are what I enjoy about made-up species, sometimes I think long and deep, and sometimes I just have gut responses. (Also, most of you here wouldn't know me from a bar of soap and I don't expect you to believe anything I say simply because 'I said so'. I could be lying about my life experience! If any of my talking points are of genuine interest to you I encourage you, I implore you to research further on your own!)
Now!
Cathar!
Cathar are just one of many many many 'space cat people' that hang out in Star Wars land. I was first introduced to the greater Star Wars universe through a tabletop RPG and I found myself RAVENOUS for lore, to know what was out there, to help expand and flesh out our character's adventures with as much delicious and beautiful variety as possible. I love this stuff. I dig the obscure aliens, I love the nonhumans, and because of my interest in real world animals, yes, the animal-analogue aliens have always been particular favourites.
Star Wars has lots, and lots, and lots of cat people, and visually they vary from very-animal (fluffy, four-limbed Cor) to basically-human (hi, Cathar, hi, new-canon Zygerrians), with a bunch of in-betweens at varying levels of cattyness and a few novel features here and there. To me, applying every variation of 'earth felid' to every species of 'sapient feline' in the Star Wars universe is just kind of boring and scientifically improbable in a way that (personally) irks me. If Cathar are the only space-cats you think of and utilise in your corner of fandom, I can see why you might enjoy making them as wonderfully varied as all the wild and domestic cats we have around us, but I just don't feel the need. I am far more interested in seeing some-features-here, some-features-there. These guys more like tigers. These more like domestic turkish vans. These ones more like lynx but WHAT IF theyr'e from an ocean world?? I have fun with that. I don't need a tiger-cathar and a siamese-cathar and a lynx-cathar and a margay-cathar. I have way more space cats to play with, and where canon/legends falls short, I'll make my own thank you very much.
So, coming from this angle alone, I actively don't want to stuff my cathar full of every variant of earth-cat behaviours and abilities. I have literally no need to make cathar, arguably one of the most humanoid cat-people Star Wars has to offer, capable of purring. To me, they're physiologically pretty much human with some mild, superficial feline facial features and fuzzy bodies. Human mouths, lips, tongues, throat, speech capability. I don't think they meow or prrp or hiss or purr (at least, no better or with any different reason than a human might mimic these sounds), I even struggle to visualise them 'perking' their ears, and if I want a character that I can write with those more catlike tendencies, I'll pick something that isn't a cathar! (And if I want a tail, I'll write them as a farghul or something. I don't need my cathar to have tails, and the function and variety of tails is another thing vastly misunderstood and misrepresented in popular fiction, but that's a whole other essay.)
We've also got the whole thing where roaring and purring are mutually exclusive sounds. No cat species can both roar and purr, and it is a distinction in the hyoid bone (that supports the tongue/larynx) that makes a cat capable of one or the other. Some big cats might have little rumbles/growls that can sound a bit like a purr, but it's really not the same thing. Hollywood messes this up all the time, look at every cartoon lion and tiger out there, and while it's totally within your right to headcanon some cathar-specific vocal apparatus that allows for both, I simply prefer neither, because the unique position of this bone in humans is apparently the foundation of our ability to speak. I look at a human-proportioned head, and I imagine human equivalent vocal abilities (so yes, I'd imagine the same for zabraks, @gran-maul-seizure ). I might write a togorian capable of roaring, or a trianii capable of purring, as both are significantly more alien than a cathar in my eyes.
Splitting cathar up into different subspecies with different abilities doesn't really work for me either (a lot of fandom intra-species variation doesn't really work for me) because there are a lot of very widespread, fundamental misunderstandings of how natural selection operates, and what leads to different species in the first place, and even what makes a species at all.
If these points don't matter to you, again, I re-iterate, that's fine. Go ham. If all you want to do is make a thousand creative variations, if you want to make a cathar for every cat-look under the sun and that's what's fun for you, please go right ahead! But these points matter to me a great deal, and so I take great enjoyment out of including them in my world building and character thoughts.
[Why do these things matter to me? Because I want to see life on our actual, real world home planet earth preserved. I believe understanding the vast variety of life is essential to fostering greater appreciation and ultimately care of our natural world. Biodiversity is essential and so poorly understood/acknowledged by the general public and it is one of my genuine missions in life to increase and improve understanding in whatever avenues I have available! Not every rabbit is created equal. You can't replace one lemur species with another and expect it to fulfil the same role in the environment, they are fundamentally different creatures. One lizard is not the same as the next, one skink is not equal to the next! People stroll down the beach and cast their eyes over a dozen different shorebirds at once and yet all they see is 'seagull' despite so so many different processes and niches and roles operating right before their eyes! If people can't recognise a sandpiper from a curlew from a crake, let alone a wood sandpiper from a marsh sandpiper from a terek sandpiper, how can they learn, how can they understand that each individual species is doing something different in the environment? That when one species goes extinct, something is irrevocably lost? Helping people understand that one species can not simply be replaced with another, no matter how superficially similar, is truly important to me. Important enough to me that it matters in my fiction as well! That I get more joy out of seeing exploration of earth felids represented across multiple unique space cat species, rather than a one-size-fits-all-cat-man!]
So, back to the space cats. To me, personally, it is most believable to imagine that cathar evolved to a certain level of intelligence, sapience, technological advancement, within a single environment, and then these abilities allowed them to expand further into more extreme environments, cross oceans, survive in hostile climates, etc. A single, distinct species, with certainly some physical variation (just like humans) but within very specific parameters (just like humans - our skin colours and body shapes vary, yes, but across predictable spectrums; we don't have spider-monkey humans and chimp humans and mandrill humans and capuchin humans and snub nosed monkey humans and pygmy marmoset humans). I imagine that when the early cathar population spread, say, from a lightly forested landscape into the snow, they did not need to evolve a fluffy coat with snow leopard patterns because it was their ability to make heavy coats out of wildlife pelts and construct shelters and build fires that allowed them to move into the snow in the first place. They didn't need to develop camouflage appropriate to the environment because they could find colours to wear, they could dye or bleach their fur, their intelligence took over and allowed them to adapt much faster than natural selection ever would. Once they hit a certain point in their species' evolution, they did not need to continue to change physiologically to adapt to environmental pressures.
Could you look at it the other way? That the cathar-predecessor spread across their home planet and adapted into various environmental niches, developed new coat colours and vocal systems before actually becoming the intelligent and self-aware spacefaring cat people we know and love? Sure! But I would argue that it is deeply, profoundly improbable that what you would wind up with is a single species! I would argue that it's profoundly improbable that each one of these environmental variants would develop to the same level of sapience at all, let alone wind up able to produce offspring together, but y'know, the idea of multiple dominant species from a common ancestor is cool and fun too. The key, here, for my own personal believability, is multiple species. If you don't care about any of this in your fiction, fine! Do what's ultimately more creatively fun for you, but own that creativity rather than misrepresent science! And if you actually do like to consider species variation and evolution from a more real-world biology perspective, I encourage you to read and think a little more deeply, go beyond the rule of cool and get to understand the sheer, magnificent, overwhelming variety and beauty of our own home a little better.
My cathar don't purr, because biodiversity matters to me.
Footnote: Slightly more sideways thoughts, I guess, but I also kind of find the trend of giving animal-esque species cutesy animal-esque tendencies to be a little rude, and it's something I prefer to write into Imperial xenophobia rather than make fact for alien species. I don't find it especially fun to consider Aric Jorgan getting distracted with a ball of yarn or being placated with a saucer of milk or grooming himself with his tongue, and especially not any implications that the behaviours might be involuntary. I imagine it's a very tiresome, disrespectful gag for human Imperial agents to give a bowl of milk to their cathar colleague, and I imagine a Republic trooper wouldn't dream of insulting their cathar counterpart in the same way.
#no idea if I actually made any of my points cohesively#Also can't believe this is what I dedicated my whole night to#But hey#there it is#just a big old wall of text about imaginary cat people
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I just feel like rambling because I need a distraction 🤔
Here's some D&D/Larp talk!
So as I often reference, I did a lot of Larp and used to be a Story Director for a short time before health and life got real tough. But oh I love love love the things I learned there!
One of those things was referred to as Seeding Plot. I'm sure it's referred to as different things in the writing world, but that's just the larp terminology for how I learned it hands-on. It's very similar to how you'd deliver story in a TTRPG like D&D.
Let's say I have an overarching story where a cult is sacrificing people to a creature which they regard as God (iykyk). Now, most of that is a mystery to my players: I want them to work together to unearth this mystery, because that's the fun of the game. I don't want to simply send out a single module (an interactive scene) in which the cult monologues about their full intentions. Maybe that's useful for a different story, but certainly not for one where that topic is the crux of the mystery.
So I build slowly around and to it instead. I start with the context-less effects before the cause. Maybe there's a neighboring town which is experiencing disappearances 🌱. Well, that's intriguing! That's an urgent emergency that can get players to go "oh, let's help those folks out!" Then along the way, perhaps they discover more enticing pieces of information: disappearances are occurring around only a certain area 🌱 and time🌱, maybe they're only occurring to a certain type of person🌱. So naturally, the players can proceed with further questions and theories, until, a-ha! A small breakthrough! Maybe they've found a religious item 🌿 left at the scene, or a surviving witness 🌿 who caught a glimpse of their captors. The players become invested in seeing this through after experiencing the effects firsthand. Over time, they continue following this line and encountering more, until they learn about the cult's full intentions 🌳 through their own efforts.
All those tiny bits and pieces are the plot seeds, the breadcrumbs, the hints, etc. On their own they can seem inconsequential, but later down the line they can be put together to mean something bigger. The small seeds picked up on now grow into a fuller forest. This can give players a sense of achievement and cooperation for having put it together over time.
But it takes a lot longer than that single monologue, doesn't it? That would be one scene (in which you tell) vs planning multiple sessions of smaller scenes (in which you show).
In the former, sure, now the players know what's happening...and technically you've achieved the goal of delivering the plot, right? But in the latter, they've found all of the evidence on their own, gotten emotionally invested in the characters being kidnapped, and maybe even gotten some things wrong and ended up with improvised dramatic consequences. Early portions of the example section above may take up an entire session without even mentioning the word cult. But there's more player motivation in it because you took the time to make it personal, you took them on a more memorable journey instead of reading a list of informational bullet points. Cool, huh? : D
I don't know where I'm going with this tbh, I just love the crunchy thoughts of mechanics for delivering a story. Those mechanics might be obvious to some folks, but I like fiddling with the innards of such things to break them down like this. And if you're a GM/DM for a TTRPG, or you're working on Larp stories, I hope those are fun thoughts to mull over as well!
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@themckaytriarchy asked;
“No, I know why you worry about people finding out." Tess flexes her own hand with an unpleasant crackle of bone and joints, pain spasming across her face as her own hand twists into something clawed and chitinous. "Believe me." She studies him through the gaps between her armored fingers. "But you're not a monster, Miguel. You're just a man. One who operates a little differently than he used to." [customized/paraphrased/combined from the inhuman meme]
Her words reach him from a distance, in spite of their close proximity, firm truths that arose from a unique place of understanding. In not great shape to begin with, when Tess stopped by to pay a visit, he had remained remarkably quiet, the upper set of his fangs putting in an unwanted appearance by protruding over his bottom lip, too tired to hide them. To conceal any of the aspects that gradually grew in strength and influence the more he tried to reject them.
"Some would probably disagree." As weary in expression as he was in tone, he had refrained from using any manner of voice that'd draw attention, summon forth the legions of Spider-folk that had looked to him for guidance, caught up in the choppy seas of the multiverse and its ever unfolding span. In turn, noise had proven crucial, a new plea for distance muttered weakly beneath a drawing of breathe as he stepped forward, the lowering of his head accentuating the curving breadth of his back.
"But yeah... That's putting it mildly." His protest came across as subdued, unable to stop himself from flinching at the panned term his mind had become fixated upon. Perhaps that had been his issue all along, acting like a creature that had clung desperately to the paltry efforts of a man who still believed he could effect goodness in such an unkind world; when he was neither good nor much of a man anymore.
To that extent, crimson hues track the manifestation of armoured claws, gaze as hard as glass despite its shorn edges. Here he was again, in real time, building up a feigned front, but again the effort flops and flails, a use of time and energy wasted against someone he had already come to know for her stubbornness alone.
"No matter what I'm called, it's all the same to me." Still burdened by self-imposed responsibilities, prioritising them over genuine concerns levelled towards his physical condition. "I play by my own set of rules."
#themckaytriarchy#verse; trasnaigh an rubaicón#bleughhh i mangled the ending of this 😶#but have... a thing... at least!
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Re: CW tags, I’m not sure if you’re in their Discord, but there’s a lot of people praising their CWs and I can’t help but feel that the mods and folks are hearing too much from a more…. Innocent? Younger? Naive to the point of a vice? voices — literally folks posting in the Dirty Laundry channel about how uncomfortable drinking/drunk people make them.
I'm in the Discord but literally only use it for alerts. I've heard though that the Neverafter/d20 channels had people saying "hey, these warnings are weird and not terribly useful."
I think this ask will be all I have left to say about content warnings - I get that this is a tough topic but also I know for a fact I'm really not the right person to facilitate a good discussion about this. But yeah, I do think that there is a shift among a subset younger people from "hey, it would be good if we flagged certain commonly upsetting topics so that people could make informed choices on whether to engage" to "This makes me uncomfortable and it's important everyone around me know that and I expect others to accomodate me at all times without having to take responsibility." On some level it's like...look, I do like casual drinking, but I respect if you don't and there are plenty of reasons not to want to engage with media where people are drinking, but also, like...I used to live in an apartment building that had a bar next door. The fastest way to my old apartment from my train stop was past a brewpub that during the pandemic put in extensive outdoor seating. The goal of content warnings should be to let people know if they need to avoid a work or at least come into it prepared, but any reasonable therapy for PTSD includes how to cope with common things that most people wouldn't consider triggering (like casual drinking) if you encounter it in the world, because you will.
I'm also though on the cynical side here, which is tough because it makes me sound like some kind of conservative and I am most assuredly not that, but like...about a year and a half ago I posted about how I find a lot of safety tools in TTRPGs are really limited and I would personally rather just...talk with my players, and make it clear that you can just say "stop", and I got some unhinged responses from people who could not fucking comprehend that this worked better for me than some elaborate colored card system, and were either very self-absorbed, or deeply unpleasant and insulting about it. I think a lot of the loudest voices when it comes to things like content warnings and ensuring people are unfortunately some of the least empathetic or thoughtful voices, even though there are many empathetic and thoughtful people around.
I guess I'll leave on this note, which is that I was in a club in college and we often said it was a safe space, and finally, one of my closest friends, who had joined a year later having first come with her then-partner, who broke up with her shortly after but remained a member as well, fucking snapped and said something to the effect of "I like it here, but my ex is always here too, so this is, inherently, not a space where I always feel comfortable and it's obnoxious and alienating to insist it is or that it should be." And it was really eye-opening, and it's something I've always kept in mind. If you try to guarantee a safe space you are doomed to fail and your efforts might make it worse. If you try to make a space where you are open about what can be expected, what shouldn't be expected, and hold room for dialogue, respectful dissent, and permit people to leave, that is far kinder and more effective. Which in the context of content warnings does mean calling out common triggers, perhaps offering, if you can, open, separate places for people to ask specific questions that pertain to them, but also assuming a certain degree of genre awareness.
#answered#Anonymous#ngl though i do get that some people are uncomfortable with drinking but like...I have beer out on my counter rn#like you cannot avoid alcohol as a concept in most modern western societies#you can certainly ask it not be brought to your own spaces! you can seek out non-alcoholic spaces!#but like. drinking responsibly is very fun for many people
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Spire Teleportation Mishaps
Figured I'd put together a list of some of the more common potential causes as inspiration for future use! It's an easy trope for tossing folk into your setting and having them be Actually Stranded for at least a little while, and can serve as fodder for additional complications besides.
(This is mostly for my own reference, but feel free to DM me if any of these capture your imagination and you want me to put together a starter. ^_^)
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Vector wyrms:
These are creatures that are drawn to the energy of connections between planes and try to eat anything traveling through. The Spire has had one or two infestations over the years.
Most of the folk who can enact interdimensional travel from the Spire can react in time to avoid getting eaten, but this often involves reaching for the metaphysically "closest" destination, and can also involve arriving with quite a bit of speed. (Or, rather, a lack of necessary motion; a failure to completely sync up with the motion of a given planetary body.)
Injuries from the landing are pretty common, and the emergency spellwork during the save itself usually isn’t gentle, either.
This can be just the messed up teleportation, or the wyrm could get pulled through into the new setting as well and everyone would have to deal with a cranky void critter!
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Minor disruptions:
On a less extreme front than the vector wyrms, sometimes Shit Happens and there’s a magic surge, or one of the Spire’s less scrupulous inhabitants decides to mess with folk, or the target destination is protected with a redirection spell, or somebody disrupts the casting at the last moment, etc.
Due to his epilepsy, Diamond builds most of his teleportation spells with a strict pass/fail structure. Either he completely finishes casting the spell and successfully enacts the final instantaneous 'trigger', or he doesn't trigger it and the spell fizzles harmlessly.
But other less cautious mages can be more susceptible to this, and it doesn't protect against active outside redirection and such.
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Plain old mistakes:
If Diamond (or other teleporting party) doesn’t have a pre-made anchor to target, the spell can literally just misfire.
This is pretty rare – otherwise teleportation wouldn't be trusted as a frequent mode of travel! But it does happen.
In Diamond's case, it's more likely if he’s rushed (e.g. fleeing from something), unwell, or burnt out from too much casting.
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Spire connections:
In much the same way that the Spire itself sometimes draws in (seemingly) random people from random worlds, it does sometimes send its inhabitants to places, too.
This one is literally, in-universely narratively convenient. It absolutely tends to involve showing up in some moment when the arrival will help or disrupt something significant.
People being trapped, in danger, or feeling like they’re short on options or don't have a safe place to go are pretty common triggers.
The other direction of “the Spire needs something these people or this world could theoretically provide” happens, too!
On the other end of the intensity spectrum, sometimes literally all that prompts it is dramatic irony
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Banishment:
Cueing off the D&D spell: Some enemy caster (or Clemcy in a bad mood sdlghdf) decides to planeshift someone to get them out of the way.
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Losing a tail:
During certain plot events, Spire casters might be forced to hop through a fairly rapid sequence of teleportations to different realms in an effort to keep someone from tracking directly back to the Spire.
Needless to say it’s a bit draining, and can result in mistakes -- or in the caster simply running out of energy and being forced to rest before they'd intended!
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Malfunctioning equipment:
Some of the Spire’s engineers are a little, uh, reckless. Sometimes folk get caught in the crossfire. :')
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Others to be added as I think of them!
#queue#wishlist#plot bunnies#wishlist: general#starter call#plotting#details#details: the Spire#details: Diamond#the spire#Diamond
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'is this the taco truck au again-' yes its the taco truck au again its mostly just more world building
Festivals/holidays in the city-
The Nomai have a harvest festival for batatas (similar to a sweet potato)(Overall this au has the same food as the real world but I'm porting over some of my fanfic foods I like) that’s in mid/late fall. It’s more of a dessert type thing than sweet potato is. It's, just a fair, focused around the food, and there's people selling the Highlighted Food and people selling Random Other Things Like Kitchen Knives and probably whatever the local school's ag programs have competitions.
I’m gonna say there’s at least two big harvest festival things per year- the other one is probably in spring but I haven't decided the other major crop.
The fair is in the summer. That's, maybe unsafe carnival rides and lots of unhealthy food and people selling stuff and all that jazz. The taco truck will switch up its menu to reflect the harvest festival it's at (travelers taco (the dessert one) changes especially) but it’s standard menu for the fair.
Hearthians have big potlucks sometime in the first week of chera (shellfish, think between a lobster and crawdad for size) harvest. It's not really a big thing- it's always more Hearthians doing it than Nomai or Owlk participating. And it's pretty much a Make Sure The Hatchlings/Recently Not Hatchlings And The Older Folk Eat type of thing, which, is most of the Hearthian holidays.
So the owlk have holidays on equinoxs and solstices. The Owlk's solstice festivals are the bigger holidays in the city- it’s been adopted by everyone more or less- they’re not huge gift giving occasions, the winter solstice is usually a get together with friends/family and play games inside (…and a new year thing; I’m putting the calendar so the winter solstice is the last day of the year). Summer solstice is a get together and do outdoors things- games, hiking, skate park, so on. Generally almost everything's closed those two days- pack food, prepare before hand, because a lot of people will be at home with friends and family and not. Working. Unless they have to be.
There is. A Halloween equivalent. It’s still a dress up and get candy but also a drive out the bad spirits type of thing. Slate always turns the (safe) part of their shop into a big haunted house; the truck crew doesn’t all go to help, Slate pulls in other acquaintances. You go through the haunted car shop, and you get full sized candy bars on the other end. Feldspar, Esker, and (now)Mica usually help (Mica is worryingly enthusiastic). Slate keeps the layout/plans pretty quiet so it’s a surprise each year. Despite all the effort put into it, Slate usually has some variation of the same costume- hockey mask and overalls splattered with fake blood with a wrench or tire iron. (whoever is helping has themed costumes inside, I do think everyone dresses up to some degree.)
#poisonhemloc's rambles#outer wilds taco truck au#not everyone in the crew stops by Slate's for that- Riebeck Will Not but their roommates including Solanum will
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Source: the Santa Cruz Sentinel, 17 November 1989
WHERE were you in 1822? Not Paris I hope. Talk about inconveniences; pastry prices were sky high and you couldn't turn a corner without fear of running into ranting anarchists or soldiers' bayonets. [where do I begin....]
Now, with the advent of hightech stage wizardry, France's turbulent in-between-revolutionary era can be taken in much more comfortably. With some effort, one can secure a seat at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco, (8 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays, 3 p.m. matinees Saturdays and Sundays), and see "Les Miserables," the blockbuster musical hit based on Victor Hugo's epic novel.
Who would have ever guessed that Hugo's 1200 page tale of vallantry [sic], combat, love, hate, and suffering would wind up a hit musical? Alain Boublil (author) and Claude-Michel Schonberg (composer), that's who. There's no denying that the story of "Les Miserables" has all the makings of grand theatre, but its long-windedness makes it no breeze for stage adaptation; kind of like setting the Bible.
Boulil and Schonberg scaled the work down to fit into 3VJ hours running time, and though various omissions and truncations might rattle purists, the musical stands on its own, matching at least the novel's grandeur. Directors and adapters John Caird and Travor [sic] Nunn put theatrical means to exhaustive and imaginative ends in this multi-tiered spectacle.
In terms of the grand sweep and nuances also, production values are on target. The novel's ideologies are tucked smoothly into context and character, their themes developed skillfully within the confines of the musical's somewhat synoptic form.
Surprisingly, the show's most oft used and effective technology is dirt simple. With a large rotating disc planted midstage, time and Paris' dank back streets whisk by seamlessly. The highlighted hide n' seek saga between protagonist Jean Valjean and his nemesis Inspector Javert is just one strata of Hugo's bigger-than-life story that make the rounds. Other plots and subplots unwind upon the lazy-susan treadmill, eclipsing each other from scene to scene as if in planetary orbits.
Though the story is broken down to essentials, it remains far more engrossing and elaborate than the greater bulk of Broadway fare. Jean Valjean has just served 20 years on the chain gang for stealing a loaf of bread, and his return to the free world is painstakingly encumbered by his inmate markings, (evinced by a yellow ID card). After thwarted attempts at making a straight-laced go of it, he assumes a new identity and destroys his card. He then pops up in scene two as mayor of the town and a successful businessman, but alas, Javert is hot on the trail, and before long he is forced to give up his respected station. The chase snakes through city and countryside, touching on a panoramic assortment of societal ranks. Jean Valjean's encounters with street people and malcontent students adds breadth to the political context, keeps the audience abreast of the situation as unrest foments to rebellion.
Schonberg's apt and catchy song settings with John Cameron's glitzy orchestral packaging are ingeniously woven into the show's dramatic and technical pacing. Schonberg supplies a dynamic spectrum of musical atmospheres that correspond effectively with the story's dramatic scheme; a trove of memorable songs beginning to end. The simple, folk/rock flavored ballads "I Dreamed a Dream" and "On My Own" have already gained signature status, and underline a good deal of the show's progress via assorted retreadings. Noble and forthright, the stately chaconne accompaniment of the former tune echos the visionary strength of France's downtrodden, while "On My Own" intimates vulnerability and longing, sounding not too unlike "Shall We Gather at the River." The action scenes and larger music builds are more the work of Cameron's instrumental episodes, which are at times intriguingly shaded by acoustic/synthetic mixes.
A toast to Herbert Kretzmer's irresistable lyrics. The serious songs touch both persona feelings and greater concerns, and there's no shortage of laughs, either. Ribald rhymes and ruthless punning make "Master of the House" (later "Beggars at the Feast") and "Dog Eats Dog" hilarious foils to the story's grimmer moments. The songs are sung by M. & Mme. Thenardier (Gary Beach and Gina Ferrall), shameless skalleywags whose pure wretchedness give the show a breath of fresh air.
You couldn't hope for a better cast ... for the most part. Rich Herbert gives an unusually winning portrayal of the ever-valiant Jean Valjean. Playing a saint is no picnic and Herbert wears his halo credibly. His physical presence is a given asset for the role, but he also brings dynamic acting ability and beautifully voiced arias. Richard Kinsey poses a menacing presence as Javert, Jean Valjean's pursuer; a real swine. With a booming bass voice that shoots up the spine like an aftershock, Kinsey looms relentlessly on the heels of our hero from beginning to near-end. Javert's final withdrawal from the chase, (we're talking terminal) features one of the show's most ingenious technical displays, a stunt that is perfectly suited to the character's formidable stature.
With all the pieces artfully made and fit in place, there remains something to be desired in "Les Miserables." By virtue of the sheer magnitude of spectacle, gadgetry overwhelms humanity. Guts and glory are mere ingredients of the multi-tiered phenomena rather than the meat of it all wedged in between hardware and software like the ewoks in "Star Wars." The musical's emotional resonance is strategically planted into the scheme of things, designed so neatly and predictably that the stitches show.
For tickets call (415) 474-3800
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Ok, now that I've had a bit of time to get used to how Tumblr works again, I'm going to do a take 2 on my introduction, if no one minds too much. (mostly for clarification)
About Me
Name: Jade
Pronouns: she/her
ID: Pan Cis F (wife, mama, and storyteller)
Age: 30-something
Loves: music, stories, caffeine, warm carbs, alone time, cuddles, puns, crochet, folk lore, Minecraft, languages, and anthropology, in general
Currently learning: Spanish, my Instant Pot, healthy goal setting, and which style of outline can I actually stick to
Polarizing opinion: fan fiction is a useful tool for helping new writers develop their confidence and writing voice while also connecting with others about a topic(s) they are passionate about
My Street Cred
I love running and playing table top rpg's, especially D&D, World of Darkness, and Savage Worlds. I have LARPed, mostly WoD Vampire, but I haven't run one myself. I haven't run any games in a good while, but I mostly ran Fantasy and Modern Supernatural. My specialty was horror in either genre.
I grew up reading fantasy and science fiction and The Dark Tower by Stephen King (bc that series jumps all over the place, genre wise). I love Neil Gaiman, I've read up to book 30 something of the Animorphs (yes, the side-books, too), and, currently, my favorite book I've read as a "grown up" is Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, by Patrick Süskind. (it's also my favorite book-ti-film adaptation). My favorite scary movie is Paranormal Activity (I love a story that's not afraid to take it's time building suspense), but my favorite romance movie is still The Princess Bride.
The last time I was on Tumblr I was heavily involved in fandoms, (The Hobbit, Harry Potter, Sherlock, Overwatch) and I posted fanfiction... I can't say regularly (I'm very undisciplined), but I did post stories multiple times.
Undisciplined is a good word for my previous writing style. I would write when inspiration struck me, and I lived to world build, but I never outlined or put any effort into prewritting. It was common for me to abandon a current WIP when I found inspiration for a new story.
Currently
My WIP spans a novella (30k words) and 5 novels. (I know, ambitious, but this time I actually have a plan in place) They'll all be romance novels with secondary action story arcs and the paranormal premise is that a recent global event has resulted in some of the population becoming werewolves! I have an evil mega-corporation who will, of course, be using doing shady and dastardly things, but I'm still not sure how the couples of each book will be connected. Right now, I'm outlining everything and the novella is giving me the most trouble (I've never tried to tell a whole story with so few words!)
If this series does well, I think I'd like to do another series in the same world, but with Vampires (romance/power exchange/politics?) or Fae (romance/horror). (No supernatural creatures will ever scare me more than the Fae)
I have an idea for a smaller series? It would still be paranormal romance, but polyamorous, and each book would be the MC falling in love with a new person, while also navigating how to keep her relationships with her other lovers healthy and strong. It's mostly strong vibes, right now, though.
Tumblr
Like I said in my first introduction, I'm here to get my writing passion back and be a part of a community (friend me and I'll send you all the platonic love and support you can handle!). I'll have an author website some day, and possibly start an email list before that, but this is where I can be me and where I can connect with like-minded folks. That being said, inconsistency is a bitch of a habit to break, so I'm thinking I'll have a posting schedule where I'll post on a different topic each day of the week, and then I'll re log and react to posts whenever I can.
Right now, this is what I have in mind:
Monday-- Inspiration (music, pics, ideas)
Tuesday-- Updates (me, my WIP)
Wednesday-- Self Care (bc we all need it)
Thursday-- Recommendations (tools, hacks, and sites)
Friday-- Story/book reviews (that I'm reading)
I have a lot of family and family-in-law that lives nearby, so weekends get crazy sometimes, but weekdays I can do.
All this being said, inconsistency is in my nature, so don't be surprised if things change from time to time.
And so on
Feel free to message me or ask me questions! I'd love to hear about your current WIP, whether it's OC or not, or talk about world building. If you have a published story you think I might like, Is love to hear about that, too!
Thanks for being patient with me!
I'll post again tomorrow, so you take care of yourself.
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