#( okay but please may i have ...
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Product Recommendation: Surviving the Respiratory Crud Edition
Various unpleasant viruses and stuff are going around, and I think I got the mild version - it's not COVID and in my case didn't even include a fever, just a ton of congestion and a nagging cough. It's been a week and I'm on the recovery upswing but still not there yet. The good news is I can forget, for hours at a time, that I'm ill, thanks to taking these products on the scheduled doses. And Robitussin wasn't lying when they said their raspberry is 'better tasting': it still tastes like cold medicine, but is strikingly palatable and minimally cloying (identical taste in both this and the longer-lasting nighttime formula). I can also attest it got me through my bought of COVID last year.
The Throat Coat sweet ginger fennel, meanwhile, is like candy. Naturally mentholated candy, which might feel a bit weird but in a very good way when it's simultaneous numbing your throat and cold-steaming open your sinuses (that's how it feels to me, anyway). Throat Coat does a tea that I'm enjoying, too, which doesn't taste like medicine at all but just a soothing, not-too-sweet but not-at-all-bitter herbal tea.
Anyway, this is a recommendation if you have the time and means to stock up before the crud gets you, and because it was a nice surprise to find cold medicine that's not only quickly effective but also tastes fine.
#YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY I AM NOT A DOCTOR PLEASE DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH IF YOU HAVE ALLERGIES OR MEDICATIONS THAT WLD INTERACT#THIS POST DOES NOT CONSTITUTE MEDICAL ADVICE okay that's enough disclaimers I hope#if I described raspberry Robitussin in more detail it would sound like I disliked it#I don't know if I'd drink it for fun outside of cold season. But the taste isn't a negative I'm actively suffering#Throat Coat is actively delicious especially the tea#I first came across it as a recommendation for audiobook readers to drink while recording#(as advertised it keeps your throat clear and slick)#...that sounds kinda gross but I think you get what I mean. You won't dry out and cough while reading aloud#so I'd also recommend it for anyone to drink before public speaking
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"Trans" is merely one of the many adjectives that describe me but in the eyes of so many people so many things I do will immediately be tied to that adjective.
So many things I feel weird talking about because everyone assumes I am like this because of my transness.
Me being openly very sexual in nature while being a woman? Well, I am a trans woman, need to remember that!
And the thing is so many people don't do this maliciously. So many people have simply internalized the misogynistic idea that women have to be one certain way and when they see a woman who isn't that way... well, if she's cis, she's a weirdo, but if she's trans... well of course, that explains everything doesn't it!
And the people who are seen as cis women in this equation also suffer please don't get me wrong. They get shunned and talked about with intrigue and wonder like they're some sort of mythical beast.
But to the people who are seen as trans women then a part of the observer so often will go "makes sense" as if they discovered the one single key to read humanity.
I am also curious how other people under the trans umbrella feel to this stuff. My idea is that we probably have similar but different relations to having the adjective "trans" heavily influence how people see us, and I would like hearing them out.
Also absolutely necessary disclaimer that it's great if to you personally the adjective is so important that it defines parts of your personality! I won't yuck someone's yum and stuff. I'm just tired personally of feeling like so many people will immediately think of me as trans before they think of me as anything else, but I get the idea of that being something someone could like.
#transmisogyny#transfem#please please please don't read this in any weird way i just woke up#no im not self hating no im not saying everyone does this#and again im not saying that if you like that youre bad or making us look bad or whatever#im mostly just venting about my experiences in a broad way that other people may relate to#i have not asked every trans person how they feel before making this post and I'm sure many will have different experiences#and in fact if you do i would love for you to add yours!#okay that's it i juzt woke up please be normal abt this everyone
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a gentle push and a little bit of patience.
#artwork#undertale#gaster#wd gaster#fallen humans#okay fine i may have gotten super impatient with the huge drafts#bravery soul#patience soul#or rather!! for future searches in my blog!!#the laser siblings#i just wanted to draw a little soft#please bear with me as i am still writing the SOUL CATALOGUE#and perhaps show a little more of wingdings proportions#because his legs are usually covered and im :(#which like. me too honestly#cloak wearer 💍 long skirt wearer
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i didn’t do it, i didn’t do it for love; what did i do it for?
[sequel piece to kill the sparrow]
#sleep token#sleep token art#sleep token vessel#sleep token ii#sleep token fanart#bygone art#blood#blood tw#death#death tw#ask to tag#<- idk what warnings are appropriate for this exactly#but yeah. please please please read the fic it has more context#for those who did:#at the end of the day in this timeline the cycle doesn't end. not with them#vessel ends up on the other end of the blade. he knew he would. he has known from the beginning#and it still hurts#not getting his throat slit; he has come to terms with that. it's who's holding the dagger to his neck#the one before was a stranger to him; still not easy to kill but easier when you feel nothing for them#ii is a friend. a bandmate. the closest person in vessel's whole life and he has to die by his hands#it isn't easy to let go. for either of them. but holy duty stands above any feelings they may have.#there's no vessel now; just a lifeless body that housed sleep once and never will again#there is no ii either. a new vessel now stands reborn#he is without a name but his new purpose is grander than he'll ever be#his demise laid out right in front of him#slumped at his feet#okay enough writing in the tags alex i hope you shit yourself (very affectionate)#sparrowverse#bygone lore
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#request#just as a note please understand that this specific wording was requested by someone#it is the term that makes them most comfortable#I understand that this may not be considered “proper” or that it could maybe(?) be offensive to some.#to be honest I do not know that horribly much about the DID community T-T so pls let me know#I did try to poke around & see if this was something that people deemed as NOT OKAY but I couldn't find much info on the phrasing either wa#also I mean no hate or judgement to people who do like this term or use it by asking if its like okay or not I just genuinely i have no ide#but I think it is important to note that everyone has terms that make them most comfortable#okay disclaimer over thank you guys#userbox#jiraiblr#landmineblr
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cassandra & helen — beauty, terrible beauty ! deathless goddess, so she strikes our eyes. edited with florida!!! by taylor swift.
#ancient greek mythology#homer#helen of sparta#cassandra of troy#trojan war#the iliad#taylor swift#sapphic#wlw#lesbianism#headcanon#helen may have launched 1000 ships but the only ship i ship is helen/cassandra#i am not okay#please#troy 2004#my edits#heleniad.txt
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once again i am asking tumblr to hold public polls for users to vote on potential changes. imagine if you were the 'respect our users opinion website'. like that could be us but apparently not.
#not dogs#tumblr#not all change is bad but i think the new desktop changes are actually terrible?#i want less clutter not more#staff SAYS they want to give us options#okay so develop some options and have us vote for them before release#as an actual real life election official i want this#bc i think most physical changes to websites are entirely useless and redundant#also why would you copy a social media site that is FAILING#@staff you made polls. please fucking use them#and release the results publicaly i swear to fuck#like if you want users to spend money on this website you kinda need to uh. listen to them?#i also think TELLING people they are testing a new feature that may or may not be permanent would be good#so that people don't come in to change they think is potentially permanent#not that i think the desktop stuff isn't going to be#tumblr has shown time and time again that they value only new users coming in from twitter
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turned in my psychology essay with the adrenaline levels of a recently retired racing greyhound who just accidentally ingested a bathtub of black coffee but its okay I survived. thank god I don't have unmedicated adhd or anything like that which would cause me to have this experience every single time I have to complete work. wouldn't that be funny. it would be funny. it would. be so funny if that was the case I'm so relieved that its not the case
#GRIPPING MY HEAAAAAAD#yayy yayyyyyyy I love being slapped with a bullshit label for children that is completely nondescript of any specific symptom or disorder#'your diagnosis is twice exceptional!!' how about I kill you twice with my exceptionally sharp sword#god. search up twice exceptional if you're not clear on it#every single infographic says “2e kids” and “twice exceptional students'#as well as '2e kids MAY have adhd or autism or ocd or dyslexia' OKAY!!!! ^_^ CAN YOU GIVE ME AT LEAST A HINT PLEASE#its infuriating the diagnosis gives me Nothing that can improve my situation#anyway. thanks for following me you get ? funny posts sometimes and then This#adhd#FUUUCK#rant#listen to my gibberish boy#IM SO GLAD I FINISHED IT IN TIME BUT GOD THAT WAS AWFUL#eeeeevery tiiiiime no matter how hard I try
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once again focusing in on dragon-surgeons with laserlike aim. we have several thoughts on this passage, which are as follows:
one: how does one dissect a dragon. what are they doing it with. are there attendants here with those massive two-person saws for this purpose, with the doctors spectating and directing? are the surgeons the guys with the massive saws? the dragons are So big compared to the people, are they crawling around in there? do they have students in attendance as they might at a human dissection?
two: 'dissection' is such a particular choice of word here. if you are taking apart your Coworker after their death that is an Autopsy. if you are taking apart an animal for food after their death that is Butchering, and if you are taking it apart for science that is a Necropsy. it is, what, 1806? dissection is scientific and not really for people you are regarding as People right about now. this is such a Way of pointing out the Strange Social Position of dragons in temeraireverse.
three: again I ask. how does one Become a dragon-surgeon. keynes seems to be equally adept at human medicine, and on his various adventures up to this point laurence hasn't been provided with an additional surgeon for his crew as well as for his dragon. what kind of medical school operations are going on in england and scotland to allow this guy Training. are medical students from edinburgh being funneled out to the covert at (iirc fictional) loch laggan to study dragons? what is the Draconic opinion on post-mortem disassembly for scientific purposes?
#em is posting about temeraire#temeraire#<- long-ish post so I'll maintag. and I COULD GO FARTHER WITH THIS I TELL YOU.#if I was going to go farther it Would be that I need to have Thoughts on the interconnection of dragons and religion#are dragons considered sentient enough by the c of e to get resurrected at the end of days?#depending on the view of that is it christian-morally Okay to dissect a dragon? ARE DRAGONS CONSIDERED TO HAVE SOULS?#I MAY BE OVERTHINKING IT. HELP.#for maximum Recursive Overcomplication of Thoughts please imagine the wretched gamechanger song looping as you read this post.#it is Stuck in my Head and I am not helping the situation by Playing it on loop as well.
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My brain likes to do this cruel thing where it’s like “hey, don’t think about patroclus waiting for achilles in elysium and not knowing what happened to him” and then I start sobbing internally because I start thinking about that exact thing
#the way it’s more painful to lose him a second time#what ghe fuck#they better be okay by the end of all of this#supergiant please#I may have made a post about this again but I won’t stop thinking about it#just… sigh……#hades game#hades 2#achilles hades#patroclus hades#patrochilles#LET THEM LIVEEEEEEE#or be dead rather
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*Rassilon is lounging alone, enjoying the suns streaming through his windows. Lost in thought. His diary is open in front of him; memories of his husband. All he's got left. Banthony's disappeared, Borusa's being cagey... All he had left was 'Lin. He had to make sure she stayed. Quietly, he put the book away, then tapped a buzzer.*
Az, can you bring 'Lin in?
@eternalgoblinfiend
#got a LOT happening so may not reply quickly but wanted to start it before I forgot!!#please dm me if it's been like a week and I still haven't said anything after u respond#also btw I haven't heard from Banthony in a while - have you? do you know if he's okay?
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Thinking about the Don Suave scene and what it means in terms of LGBTQ+ representation because my brain does nothing if not torment me with random topics to ramble about on the regular.
Anyway, I just wanted to ramble about why I like the scene but to get it out of the way - the scene can very easily be interpreted in so many different ways, and all of them are valid. I personally see it as Leo having at least some attraction to a man. And the following is an explanation of my own interpretation and thoughts on it and what it means especially for Leo’s portrayal in the grand scheme of things.
Long-winded interpretation under the cut!
Now, to start with, it’s important to me that in the scene Leo looks at Don Suave in the very beginning and then for the entirety of the rest of the time the man is on screen, Leo’s eyes are closed. Yet, in the end, he is still visibly enamored with Don Suave, happily cuddling up to him as he’s being carried away.
You can very easily interpret this as Leo being spellbound and that’s honestly super valid and I believe he likely was at least somewhat in the beginning, but considering how fast he looked away and how he never looked again, I personally think it makes more sense to read it as Leo just finding the man attractive, at least somewhat. (For the record, I personally headcanon Rise Leo as bisexual with a heavy preference for men, but I want to be blunt when I say that any interpretation is valid. Literally any. Ace, pan, gay, bi, none of the above or a mixture of something new literally all of it is more than okay and fair. Hell you could even interpret this entire scene as more romantic attraction than physical and it would still work. Anything goes!! Don’t bother people, guys, really.)
The main reason I take this scene to be at the very least LGBTQ+ adjacent isn’t just because of how it’s portrayed, but because of who Leonardo is. Not in terms of Rise of the TMNT, but in terms of the entire Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles™️ franchise.
Leo’s a character who, while changing with each iteration, has still at his core been around for decades upon decades as “the blue one”. One fourth of the team. He’s the one most are going to look at as the Leader, and oftentimes he is the one closest to having the title of Main Character. Not to say the others aren’t just as important, but Leo’s presence in the A plots of basically all TMNT media is often something very main character-esque.
And that’s very, very important to note. Here we have a Main Character of a prolific and decades long-running franchise distributed by a children’s television network. You can play around with his and his brothers’ characters all you like, but there is always going to be challenges to dodge around, especially since this was still in 2018-2019.
For example, you can play around with their designs so long as they’re color coded turtles, but their sexualities? Now that’s tricky.
“But what about Hypno and Warren?” Not main characters and also they’re Rise originals. They have a lot more room to play around with than a character like Leo does. But even talking about main characters in the franchise, you could arguably have an easier time playing around with Donnie or Mikey’s sexualities than Leo or even Raph, as (unfortunately) the former two tend to get more B plots, so they’d likely have had a little more leeway (still not a lot though.)
So, where does this leave us?
It leaves us in a place where outright stating and/or showing undeniable proof of Leo’s attraction to men is very, very difficult. So, workarounds!
Workarounds like the entire Don Suave situation.
To be honest, as left up to interpretation and lowkey and deniable as it is, this whole scene means a lot to me because of who Leo is as a character. It’s just nice when we get so see even the bare bones of representation with characters that have been such a large part of pop culture for decades, y’know? Even if more would be so much nicer, this is better than I thought we’d ever get for these boys.
And, again, literally nothing I’ve said is the only way to interpret it, I’m more than happy when people interpret media on their own honestly, it’s just something I’ve been thinking of lately and I was wondering if others felt the same way.
Whatever you think when you interpret this scene or Rise Leo as a whole, I just thought this would be interesting to think about, even if it was ramble-y, haha.
#rottmnt#rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles#rottmnt headcanons#rottmnt leo#rise leo#rise don suave#rottmnt don suave#I lied I’m back to ramble because I’m just#so bad at keeping my mouth shut#or uh#not typing word vomit#anyway- yeah this is my personal interpretation#I believe Leo was legitimately mesmerized by Don Suave’s powers…in the beginning#but even the series’ creator says it was ‘at least PART of what was going on with Leo’ so#idk it’s something that’s been on my mind and I was wondering if anyone else felt the same??#may delete this later who knowssss#pleaaaase feel free to disagree I just like to talk lol#but yeah sometimes I look around at how much media has LGBTQ+ rep in it now and it honestly makes me emotional??#(we always always ALWAYS could use more but)#we did not have even a crumb of this as kids#but also like most of that rep is new properties#and I just was thinking about what that could mean#idk man idk#once again please don’t take this as facts it is VERY MUCH NOT#man I was looking around for good images to use and found jack all#anyway tho did you know Donnie often has bi colors around him and Leo is often dressed in the colors of the trans flag-#okay anyway back to the caves I go this comic won’t draw itself#I gotta spray myself with water any time I go to type long winded essays because they’re not great for the mental health fr
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Something that’s been bothering me, in Cyberverse Season 1 we hear about the Decepticon cause being made because Megatron wanted to fight against and change the corruption on Cybertron
But like, we never actually saw any of that in the flashbacks. Best you can say is Starscream having a high opinion of himself due to being a jet (or at least that’s what I think was going on? It was something about Starscream and being a jet), but you can also assume Starscream’s just being an ass, not that this is a systemic issue on Cybertron. Outside of that, everyone seems to have been doing fine, they got along and everyone was vibing and having fun, going to Cube games and chilling at Maccadam’s, going out to do some racing on a vacation to Velocitron
I do suppose we were limited to only seeing things that Bee witnessed himself, but he was there for other important events before war was declared, we could have seen some more evidence that things were bad on Cybertron before the war and why Megatron and Optimus were so intent on changing things
As it is, it feels more like telling and not showing, and I don’t really understand why the Decepticon cause was needed in the first place. Well I mean I do, but that’s because I know the story in other continuities, not because Cyberverse told me
And if I can pivot slightly, I feel like this is an issue in other shows as well. Earthspark barely went into the backstory of the war at all, only making vague allusions like the “lower-class” remark and Orion Pax getting the Matrix (which honestly I don’t remember why he got at all and if it was related to the war). And yes, Earthspark was about moving forward after the war, but also the show wanted to portray Decepticons in a more neutral light, allowing them their second chances to do better after the war. Not to mention Megatron switching sides due to realizing how far he’d strayed from his original cause. I don’t feel like telling the Terrans the original causes of the war would be out of question, it makes all the sense. Also if we’re trying to portray the Decepticons as not being pure evil, explaining the horrible conditions that drove them to starting it would do wonders. Megatron is here, he can tell the Terrans with all the correct info if the Autobots can’t
Prime also has this problem, but I’m willing to give it a lot more leeway because it was part of the Aligned continuity, which was made up of more than just this one show, and Transformers Exodus I’m told went into this backstory a lot more. So okay, it’s explained somewhere. Though personally, I wish we went into this backstory a bit more in the actual show, because all I know from it was that Megatron was a gladiator fighting for change, Orion Pax met him and agreed, then they proposed their ideas for change to the Senate and it caused them to split. I don’t actually know why they were fighting for change. Again, I know Exodus did and it was around at the same time as the show, but we don’t all have access to Exodus. And honestly it might be the reason the other shows don’t go into it much either, despite it being the only one with an excuse
Like I think this annoys me because it feels like the shows expect you to know the general backstory so we don’t have to go into it. But you’re supposed to tell us this, especially when this isn’t like Batman or Superman’s origins where everyone knows the backstory of the war
I know what the backstory is, but not because these shows told me. It’s because Emperor Kumquat told me in a YouTube video where he was explaining the Aligned backstory from Exodus, while making the point that people who only watched Prime wouldn’t know all of this. How was I supposed to know this information if I hadn’t?
And to go back to Cyberverse, I can make excuses for Prime and Earthspark; both were set long after the war started and Prime especially didn’t have much reason to go into it outside of what it did. But not only did Cyberverse have the means to show us corrupt pre-war Cybertron vis Bumblebee’s flashbacks in Season 1, it had at least a little leaning to making the Decepticons more sympathetic. They are still for the most part antagonistic, but it did make the point that Optimus originally agreed with Megatron, we had bots on both sides getting along during peace talks and Windblade being angry at Slipstream’s killer, had most of the main threats not be Megatron’s forces that had the two sides forced to team up, and by the latter half of Season 3, had Megatron be more heroic, with him saving the day from the Quintessons and wielding his own Matrix of Leadership, and working to stop the other him that he knows is coming to reclaim his Matrix. They aren’t at Earthspark Season 1’s level, but they weren’t making the Decepticons pure evil either. So I feel like we should really see what it is they were fighting for originally
#admittedly I may have strayed a little from my original point by the time I start talking about other shows#but you get what I’m talking about#or at least I hope you do#and that I know what I’m talking about#can we please stop just alluding to corrupt pre-war Cybertron with assumption we already know#and just show us the corruption?#I think this is one of the reasons I want the backstory to change#because they refuse to properly use this one and explain it to us#TF One actually does this so it doesn’t have this problem#while also changing things but keeping to a lot of the general plot points#I get more of an understanding of the corruption and the Decepticon side of things from fanfiction#and yeah okay fanfics may want them to be more sympathetic than they actually are#but most of these things in the fics are true in continuities where we do know the backstory#or at least I’m pretty sure parts of it are#so can we just see more of this in the actual shows? Please?#I’m worrying that I’ve strayed too far from my original point again#probably should have stopped before I went into Earthspark and Prime#but they’re relevant and I don’t think would stand on their own post without it being too similar#also I think I’ve made some of these points before but I’m highlighting them again#transformers#transformers cyberverse#megatron#decepticons#transformers earthspark#transformers prime
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Me trying so hard to stick to my “extend kindness to women around you, even the annoying dumbass ones” mentality when the fujoshi girl is going on and on about her gay ships in the middle of a goddamn college class
#like honey PLEASE shut up. i promise you the fictional men in your phone are not this important#we are so old to be talking about Destiel……….#I may be chronically online but at least I don’t inflict it on everyone else lmao#okay I’m done. i refuse to be mean to her in person so I have to get it out on tumblr#radblr#radical feminism#radfeminism#radical feminist safe#radical feminist community
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hey first time posting my art i’m very proud of how i coloured his skin because i did NOT touch the blending tool :) hope you like it if you do please reblog? i dont want to have accidentally sold my soul to the devil for nothing :(
Original Picture
#okay so#i feel much more comfortable yapping in the tags#i actually really really really enjoy the way this turned out#like this is my effort of getting back into the art#you are looking at the first piece i did on procreate ever.#i have like 5 more images that i may or may not post. theyre all landonnorris#you cant tell which driver is my fav :)#please do yap at me if you enjoy it!!!!#any validation is welcome B)#cant believe lando norris is what got me out of 3 year art hibernation#(my hubbys art played a big role as well. thanks babe love you so so so much)#(<- he has no idea i just wrote that. giggling at him in my head rn)#kickling. even.#procreate#digital art#my art#lando norris#ln4#f1 fanart#f1#lai thinks#lai draws
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Eyes on me – an interactive whump story. Part 5.
Previous part. Masterpost.
Content: institutionalized slavery, imprisonment, dehumanizing language, it/its for an inhuman whumpee, pet whump, whipping, blood, physical abuse, withholding of food, training, torture, intimate whumper, carewhumper, mentioned pet death, tell me if i missed something
Lord Teelo didn’t strike.
He lowered his arm, eyes never straying from holding the creature’s terrified gaze. The room reeked of blood, now streaming down the lord’s fingers in a warm waterfall. He worked hard on pushing his fury back, taking it under control as many times before. He was in control. He would show it, careful and persistent and levelheaded. He would make sure it remembered the lesson forever. The crop was not meant for punishments, it was too short, too soft – he hadn’t meant to punish it. He was going to be a kind and gracious owner. It had left him no choice!
He opened the door, finding the redheaded guard still in the corridor.
“Get a proper whip,” he ordered. “More chains – gods damned handcuffs, whichever idiot thought of leaving it like this?! And a knife, scissors – or whatever, something to file its atrocious claws.”
The guard stared at him, not in the face – at his arm. Lord Teelo felt it – the consistent drip-drip-drip of his blood. He didn’t feel the ache yet. Nothing but the quiet, cold fury he couldn’t wait to unleash at the world. Haltingly, the guard started, “Should I bring someone to take a look at–”
“I have told you what you should do,” his voice came out as a hiss.
“Yes, my lord,” the guard saluted and hesitated only a moment before running down the corridor.
Lord Teelo closed the door with a loud crash. He paced inside, steps echoing around the room, as the pain slowly started to radiate out. He hated it. Oh how he wished he could slice the thing’s skin just this moment, not waiting for anything and anyone. He picked up the crop once more, stoped before the creature – it cowered to the very corner between the wall and its cage, never letting its eyes away from him. Oh, now it was looking. It dared to look!
“You think yourself smart?” the lord hissed. “Think you did something good for yourself? Oh, no, you’re gonna regret this. You’re gonna regret this so much.”
The pain seeped into his consciousness with every heartbeat, radiant and nauseatingly familiar. He held a handkerchief to the cuts until it filled with deep red. He threw it away – it landed in a wet disgusting lump on the table, by the bowl of wet disgusting meat. Oh how the lord had tried to be a nice host, how he had tried to accommodate this, this–
“Damned, ungrateful, hateful beast!” Lord Teelo roared. The glass of the bowl nearly slipped from his bloodied fingers when he grabbed it, and then shattered to thousands pieces to the side of the creature’s head. Its dinner fell onto the floor, useless. Oh, it wouldn’t get any, it would have to work, to beg for any crumb from then on – it would regret, regret it so much!..
The door slid open soundlessly after a short knock, letting in the heavy footsteps and the clanging of metal. The lord turned on his heels, facing the guard. “And why in the world have you not brought a damned healer!” he hissed. “Can’t you see I’m bleeding out!”
The guard blinked. “But you have–”
“YOU DARE ARGUE WITH ME?!”
He was struggling to breathe, chest heaving with effort. The blood was still warm down his arm, still bright on the broken glass and light wood of his floors. How could the idiot not understand!
There were chains in the guard’s arms and a leathery length of the whip. Lord Teelo snatched it and demanded, “Chain it up!” The guard hesitated, opened his mouth. “NOW!”
He did. The lord watched as he came to the beast, careful with his steps, cautious of it. It squeezed itself deeper into the corner. Lord Teelo could see it shaking. He was delighted to see it shaking. The guard reached out, the first cuff prepared, and Lord Teelo watched from a step away as it lifted its hands up, close to its chest. Its teeth were bared, pupils wide and eyes wider. It tried saying something, but what came out was only a mess of sounds with no meaning.
The guard squeezed its arm even as it tried to avoid it. It whined and fought back, tried getting out of the grasp, tried pushing him away, tried and fought and struggled as he cursed under his nose. Its claws went through the skin of his palm ripping out a sharp hiss. It managed to raise its hind leg as the cuff clicked around its wrist, its claws scratching against the metal in an effort that only delayed the inevitable.
Lord Teelo had little patience left. He stepped forward, connecting his heel with the middle of the creature’s tail. It yelped, flinched backwards – its head connected with the wall, and before it could regroup the second handcuff was in place. After that, restraining its legs was only a matter of time.
“Turn it around,” the lord ordered. Chains clang as it fought in an ever increasing panic. “To the wall, yes… yes, just like that.” The locks rattled, forced closed. The guard let the key fall onto the ground, forcing the creature to kneel. It hid its tail between its legs, whining as its head was pressed into the wall. “Is the chain short enough? Will it be able to move?”
“I don’t think so, my lord,” the guard answered.
Lord Teelo played with the whip, trying it out. “Good. Go fetch the healer– wait. I need – something sharp, something – to secure on its tail. See how it hides it? I need something it can’t hide from.”
The guard looked puzzled. He eased his hold in a test, and the creature threw its whole weight backwards, fighting the chains. They held. Kneeling, with its tail hidden and only back visible, it looked strikingly like a human. “Perhaps clothespins, my lord?” It wasn’t what he had in mind. What he wanted – it wasn’t that. Not this easy, tame solution.
“It would work,” he drew out. He would go to the smith when he had time. He had an idea, oh, that would be a genius idea. “Just this once."
He flexed his left arm and rubbed his right. It hurt as all deaths, but it had stopped bleeding. He failed to crack the whip the first time but managed it the second, inches from the creature’s back. The guard bowed, taking it as a sign to leave.
The creature mumbled and mumbled more, sounds a meaningless mush falling from its tongue. If Lord Teelo was generous, he could see it as an apology; he would not even entertain the possibility of giving in to it, of course.
The second crack was right by its ear. It flinched and curled up further but couldn't hide.
It wailed when the whip connected with its back – so loud, so quickly, taken by surprise. Lord Teelo bared his teeth in a smile and struck again, violent purple already flowering on the gray of its skin, and struck again without waiting – three, four, six, twelve hits in a row, as it flinched and writhed and cried out.
He paused afterwards, and saw as it tensed, first, its whole body shaking with the effort of breathing, hiccupping in what sounded almost like sobs. He waited, watching how it trembled more and more. He let it marinate in the anticipation, the fear coiling and coiling with no release, the stinging of its sore back growing as its patience ran thin.
When it raised its head, just barely, as if to look, the whip snapped through the air again.
It screamed out. He didn’t give it time to recover.
The lord hit it with no pattern, pausing and continuing at his leisure, until his arm grew heavy with pain and the creature nearly silent. Lord Teelo could only hear its labored breathing, air forced out of its body with every strike. Its back bloomed with purple that gave way to red when the skin opened, the new lines covering the rainbow pattern in an unstructured, repulsive mess.
Oh, he nearly pitied it, trembling pathetically in the corner. Then he rubbed his arm and the sharp pain was enough to remember why he didn’t.
He struck for the last time, lazily, with his left, and then a few more for a good measure. When a polite knock announced the guard’s return, he felt pleasantly tired, like after a good work out. He called out for the man to enter.
The guard did and the healer, an old woman the lord knew for most of his life, followed in. She looked the room over with stony, unreadable expression, and Lord Teelo met her gaze with a nice enough smile. “You’ve got your toy,” she stated and that was all the attention the creature got from her.
She made a quick enough work of the wounds: cleaned and bandaged them up after applying that miraculous numbing cream the lord appreciated since early childhood. The creature would appreciate it even more, he thought, glancing at the pathetic thing. It had shifted at some point, stretching its legs just a bit but keeping its head hidden. Its body shook violently, trembling so much it in itself looked tiring.
“Should I look it over?” the healer suggested, all business.
The lord huffed, “What would the point of a punishment be then?”
The woman looked him over with that annoying, unreadable gaze. “Call me whenever you change your mind,” she bowed and left when he dismissed her.
Lord Teelo tried the clothespins with interest, forcing the spring to coil and then letting it go softly around his finger, just a tad, until it started hurting. “Good enough,” he concluded finally and got up.
The creature flinched when his boots stopped by its form but didn’t try anything. “Poor thing,” he drew out and crouched, ran his fingers along its back lightly, brushing fingertips over the painful ridges of future bruises. Its breaths hitched, but it didn’t make a sound. “And all you needed was to not act like a brainless brat to avoid all this. You have no one but yourself to blame, silly thing,” he told it. It didn’t answer, shivering under his touch but not attempting anything stupid.
“But maybe you can learn,” he hummed and moved his hand down to where its tail started. It tensed even further, if it was possible at all. “Let’s just make sure the lesson sticks, huh?” It curled up even further as he tagged on its tail, releasing from under the creature’s body. He flickered it back and forth and rubbed between his fingers and was satisfied when it sobbed and shuddered but remained motionless otherwise.
“Like this, yes,” he muttered. With the softest touch of his second hand, he stoked its head. “But look at me now. Eyes on me,” It didn’t understand. He caught a fistful of its fur and tagged. “Eyes on me.”
Too drained to resist, it lifted its head as he guided it. “Eyes on me,” he demanded again, and it either guessed or truly learned – its gaze settled on him, focusing to the best of its ability – and, oh, what a pathetic mess it looked, eyes bloodshot and wet in ways he’d thought only a human's could be, dark lines from where it pressed into the floorboards marking its cheeks. There was something red around its mouth – did it bite itself, the poor thing?
Lord Teelo clicked his tongue, smiled softly and released its fur. It settled back instantly, curling up again. Its tail remained in his hands.
He picked up the first pin.
It must have assumed at first that he was just playing like he had been, – at least, it didn’t seem to tense up too much, nor expect the sharp pain when he released the spring around its tail. It shuddered, head whipping up, staring at him once again. He smiled. Picked up the second clothespin.
It tried to get its tail free – oh, it tried as much as it could without hurting him, but he tightened the grasp and played with the pins as it couldn’t help a new whimper, and hushed it and urged it to sit still. “That’s for you to remember the lesson better,” he told it pleasantly. It must have cried, body shaking again, and tried to kick just once, the movement stopped halfway through by a short chain.
Lord Teelo wondered how many pins would be good for it – should he go with the whole set the guard had brought? He settled on five, at the end, a nice even number not even halfway through what he had. He was feeling rather merciful and forgiving, and it sounded just so pathetic.
He called the guard in to urge it into the cage when it was done. It didn’t even try fighting, following the man's tagging and pushing until it was inside, drawing its limbs close and curling up to fully fit. Nearly immediately, its fingers itched towards the pins, human-like thumbs ready to work on the problem. Lord Teelo snapped his fingers to get its attention.
“No,” he said, words dripping with finality. He reached through the bars and tagged its tail outside. “The clothespins stay here for the night,” he told it. It probably didn’t understand – there was so little thought in its eyes. He let go of it hoped for its sake it understood what he meant. He didn’t want to have to punish it so soon for their lack of common language.
When he went to sleep, the shaky breaths and the rare clanging when it tried to settle more comfortable sounded like a lullaby to his ears.
In the morning, his arm stung mercilessly and unendingly, and no melodies of birds and gentle sunrays could make his mood better. He turned lazily, letting his eyes fall onto the cage. The creature was curled inside of it, eyes shut tight and ears flickering restlessly. Its tail fluttered too, freed at some point from the pins, one of its hands curling around it protectively.
Lord Teelo felt stuck between endearment and irritation. He moved and the cuts on his arm ached, and irritation won.
“Hey… you,” he called and realized he hadn’t come up with a name. He should think about it as some point, he decided grimly, and banished the thought of the last pet he’d named, back in childhood. That was a just a cat, a stupid spoilt creature with too much attitude. The lord remembered the way it looked, painted red and unmoving, after crossing one too many lines.
The creature didn’t move at his call, either. He picked up an extinguished candle from his bedside table and threw it towards the cage. “Hey!”
There was no reaction. With an undignified groan, he forced himself on his feet and towards the cage. He rattled the key across the bars, the way that always seemed to get the creature’s attention.
It didn’t react. It was outright ignoring him!
Had it learned nothing?!
He reached through the bars and tagged on its tail, finally getting some response in return – it flinched weakly and grimaced. Slowly, its eyes fluttered open, but didn’t settle on the lord. They looked as if through him, unfocused and dizzy, and a pang of worry cut through the just rage when they closed back and its chest heaved, struggling for breath.
Something was wrong.
He reached through the bars and towards its forehead, forgetting for a second it wasn’t a human. The skin under his fingers was blasting hot and sickly wet. It moved closer to his fingers, all but nuzzling against him.
Something was terribly, terribly wrong.
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#okay that was rather long. I hope it's fun and worth the read!#“he was planning to be kind” yeah no keep telling yourself that#hes kinda pathetic in a way i find really entertaining to write#hes just having a full on tantrum over getting his arm scratched. the creature's paying for this tho!#I would like to talk to you about consequences btw! the creature is resistant but not immortal. it takes a lot to kill it but you just migh#i think its more fun if you know that you can push it far enough for it to outright die. so ill have options leading to this possibility :>#see how much misery it can take before its body gives out :>#...but also: please dont kill it im having fun#we need a name for it btw. please tell me what you think it should be called. well get to a naming poll eventually but ill need ideas first#also sorry for the delay! the writing wasnt writing. i would swear its an exception but no. its normal for me. it will happen again. sorry!#btw if some of you thinks (and finds the idea interesting) that the lords tantrum kinda sounds out of proportion and like the reason for it#goes deeper than a few scratches. yeah. yeah it does. i may have given him some trauma. and i might explore it#if you think its a fun thing to explore. tell me if you do!#whump#whump writing#writing#interactive whump#interactive writing#choose your own adventure#pet whump#slavery whump#nonhuman whumpee#intimate whumper#carewhumper
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