#I CARE ABOUT THE SUBJECT!!! I AM HERE FOR THIS CLASS!! BUT YOU SUCK!!

[aromanticannibal]

I don't pay attention to class. I tune in. "it's called incest," my gothic literature teacher says condescendingly. I go to sleep.

[strawbeerossi]

A Helping Hand

Pairing: Gender Neutral!Reader x Spencer Reid

Description: You have an issue with staring at your professors hands.

Content/Warnings: Course language, Reader has some perverted thoughts, hand kink, finger sucking, sexual tension, fade to black sex.

Word Count: 0.9K

Kinktober Day Sixteen: Quirofilia

Navigation || Kinktober Masterlist || AO3

Spencer Reid had sexy hands. That was a given. The prominent veins in his hands made you drool, wanting nothing more than to suck on his fingers or have that same hand wrapped tight around your throat. 

It was easy to discreetly stare, mainly telling your professor you tended to zone out quite a lot. It wasn;t exactly a lie, yet you didn’t describe the fantasies of having him shove two fingers in your mouth to keep you quiet while brutally assaulting your sex in his office after class. The vivid thoughts of feeling those large hands gripping your hips or bringing it to cover your mouth had you in a spiral.

You didn’t ever expect to feel these feelings towards a man who was old enough to be your father, however you weren’t going to complain. He was an attractive man and he knew that, carrying himself with a form of confidence that didn’t make him arrogant but made him self aware as to why so many people audited his class over the thousands of others that were probably more aligned with their interests.

You liked how patient he was, even despite his time in prison. He always had a smile on his face when discussing lesson plans, talking with his hands and it was truly the cutest thing you’d seen. He always enjoyed when he was rambling during his lectures, dumping every ounce of information on the subject with everyone else. 

Today was no different, Dr. Reid going into the intricacies of triggers in budding unsubs as well as what could be a trigger and what wouldn’t be. It was admittedly a boring lesson but thankfully, he was excited about the topic to ramble for the full hour of the lecture.

You’d been ‘zoning out’ the whole lesson, practically drooling over the sight of his hands as he did many gestures for his talking points. You could only imagine the trigger it would take to have those hands gripping your body, pulling you flush against him in the front of the empty classroom while he wandered your body with care, wanting to feel every dip and curve.

You were staying after class today, mainly to discuss a research paper that he’d given at the beginning of the week. As soon as the class was being wrapped up and you got the opportunity to catch your sexy professor alone, you jumped to it. “Dr. Reid,” 

Most of the girls in the class looked at you with annoyance, having similar ideas to you in order to have a fraction of the man’s attention.

“I was wondering if I could discuss my paper with you, I’m struggling to differentiate between triggers and stressors.” You didn’t really have trouble with it but he didn’t have to know that. With his million dollar smile, Spencer was gesturing for the page in your hand, which was essentially just a layout. “I can help you with that, you know, I figured you would have no trouble with the assignment. You know you are one of my best students.” He spoke as he was letting his eyes glance over the handwritten notes you’d had.

His eyebrow raised, looking back up at you. “You’re confused? These notes are perfect and you have a clear layout for your paper. Why would you pretend like you had no idea what you were doing?” 

Fuck. You handed him the wrong paper, it was supposed to be the one filled with mixed information.

“O-oh, I..” You paused while looking over in his direction while your cheeks were heating up from embarrassment. Spencer seemed to catch on though, chuckling. “You know you could’ve just asked to speak to me. I would’ve accepted it. Now, why are you really here?” 

“I, uh, well I wanted to just talk to you about the assignment.” You let your shoulders sink.

“You are a horrible liar. Let’s not forget that I am a profiler. Seriously, is everything okay?” The paper in his hand was being handed back to you, a soft squeak leaving your lips as his hand brushed against yours. “It’s nothing! I should go!” You panicked, ready to run out of the lecture hall before Spencer was grounding you by wrapping his hand around your wrist. “I notice the way you stare at me. Was this just an excuse to talk to me?” Instead of seeming uncomfortable, he looked intrigued. “Come here. Please.” He spoke while letting go of you.

Now you could run, however his voice was luring you closer, now standing on the other side of his desk. Your gaze trailed to his hands briefly, making your professor lift his hands up, almost as if he was giving you a better look at the large, veiny hands. “Quirofilia, or the attraction to hands, is actually fairly common in terms of attraction.” He caught you. Fuck.

“I-is it?” You asked, the male nodding as he offered a smile and brought his hand up to cup your cheek. “Very. Some people like being scratched, others like being caressed, sucking fingers is also another very popular method.” He listed off his facts, his thumb running alongside your jaw. This wasn’t real, was it? No, it couldn’t be. It sure as hell felt real, especially when the pad of his thumb was swiping over your lower lip.

You didn’t see a point in denying such an open invitation, your lips closing around his thumb once you’d taken it into your mouth. “You’re a finger sucker.” Spencer concluded, chuckling as your cheeks hollowed as you sucked and swirled your tongue around his thumb. “And a very eager one at that. Come here.” He murmured, now pushing the things on his desk out of his way, gesturing for you to perch your body on the desk as he was moving to run his hands over your clothed thighs.

“Let’s explore this kink together, shall we?”

[wolfjackle-creates]

Bring Me Home Arc 2 Part 8

Time for another WIP Wednesday! Hope you enjoy.

Story Summary: Tim and Danny are both neglected by parents who care more about their work than their families. They deal with this by spending too much time online and find each other playing MMORPGs. They keep up their friendship as Tim becomes Robin and Danny becomes Phantom and don't bother keeping secrets from each other.

First, Previous

Word Count: 1.3k

-----

Bart grinned. “Well, we’ll just have to take those odds! So, now that we’ve got the basics down, we’re going out there to help, right?”

Sam snorted. “Not like we could keep Danny out of it if we tried. But you guys don’t have to. You can just go to bed.”

Danny sighed. “School tomorrow is gonna suck.”

Tim shook his head. “Aren’t you gonna call out?”

“No?” replied Danny. “How could I? Mom and Dad would never let me call out just because of some ghosts and they won’t know I’ll have been out all night.”

“Would they even notice if you call yourself out? Or ask Jazz to do it?”

Danny snorted. “School is about the only thing they notice. Look, I’ll be fine. I’ll fall asleep in English. Probably get another detention. I’ve A plusses in algebra and chemistry, so those teachers don’t care when I fall asleep. I’m a known slacker in gym. History is after lunch, so I’ll be able to stay awake for that. I’ve got this. It’ll be fine.”

“Danny…” And here Tim had thought his schooling was a disaster.

“Don’t, Tim. Now,” Danny forced his voice to be more cheerful as he changed the subject, “if you’re all joining me, we’ve got three thermoses. I get one. The rest of you can fight over the other two.”

Tim waved his hand. “I want one!”

Tucker sat down on the floor. “I’m out. Unlike someone, I need to sleep before class in—” he checked his PDA “—seven hours.”

Sam let out a yawn. “Yeah, I’m with Tuck on this one. We’re taking your bed, Danny. When was the last time you changed your sheets?”

Danny shrugged. “Dunno. I think Jazz got to them last week. Or was that the week before?”

“Right. We know where the spares are. Come on, Tuck.”

“Wait, if you’re staying here," said Danny, "any chance you can fix up Cassie, Bart, and Conner’s phone before you go to bed?”

Tucker shrugged. “Sure. Should be able to do at least two of them. You haven’t moved any of the tools, have you?”

“Left some of them out on the desk, but they’re there.”

“All right. Everyone! Pass me your phones. I’ll get at least two of them working tonight.”

Conner passed his over, but said, “Focus on Cassie’s and Bart’s. They’ve more people who will be worried about them and I’ve no doubt Bruce told Clark where I am and he has Tim’s number.”

“Will do!”

Bart handed his over. “Thanks, dude. You really don’t have to if it’s too much trouble.”

“Nah. After how much Danny and I messed with ecto-contaminating electronics, I could do this in my sleep.”

Sam snorted. “Well, if you don’t get started, you’ll be putting that claim to the test. Come on, tech boy. Let’s get going.”

“Sleep well!” Cassie called out after them.

“Don’t let the ghosts bite,” added Danny.

Sam huffed a laugh in a way that told Tim she’d heard the joke more than a few times before. Tucker didn’t even react and just kept walking.

“So…” started Conner once they were alone, “should we suit up?”

Danny hesitated. “If you do, Sam and Tuck will know your identities.”

Everyone looked to Tim. He chewed his lip. On the one hand, Sam and Tucker had known and kept Danny’s secret for months. But they did tend to get in arguments and make problems worse based on storied Danny had shared. But his friends had bonded rather quickly with the Amity trio and Conner, at least, definitely needed more friends their age.

“Our goals for tonight are evacuation and limiting property damage. Ambulances still can’t get into the downtown area and victims can’t escape. They’ll trust us more if we’re in costume. And at the end of the day, people’s safety is the most important. Danny, can you promise me Sam and Tucker can keep our secrets.”

“I promise, Tim. They’ll keep it as well, no better, than mine.”

Tim really hoped he was making the right choice even as he nodded. “Then let’s suit up. Where can we do that unseen?”

“Oh, that part’s easy!” said Danny. “You can change in the spare bedroom and I’ll just fly you all out invisibly and drop you off downtown.”

“Can you carry all of us?” asked Tim. “Have you ever tested your super strength?”

“Kon and I can fly ourselves,” added Cassie. “What do you need to transfer your invisibility?”

“Indirect contact should be fine. So I can carry Tim and Bart and if you each hold hands with one of them, it should work.”

“I don’t like ‘shoulds,’” said Tim. “Let’s test it.”

“Fair enough.” Danny moved until he was standing between Tim and Bart and wrapped an arm around each of them before lifting them into the air.

“Holy shit,” whispered Bart.

Tim couldn’t help but agree. He’d flown many times with Conner or Cassie or even Clark. But it never felt like this. The pull of gravity was always present and something he could feel. Yet with Danny? There was no gravity. Being in the air felt as normal as being on the ground. And Danny’s arm around his chest was warm and solid.

“What?” asked Danny. “Haven’t you flown with one of your teammates before?”

Tim couldn’t hold back a laugh. This was amazing. “Their flight doesn’t entirely cancel out gravity like yours does. Can we go out for fun before we leave? This is beyond anything I’ve ever experienced.”

“Sure thing, Secrets. Whatever you want.”

“Thanks, Polaris.” The news report still playing on the computer brought him back to the present. “But that’s a discussion for later. Sorry for getting distracted. Kon? Cassie? Grab our hands. Let’s see if this works.”

Turned out that not only could Danny make them all invisible and intangible, but his anti-gravity style flight would apply to everyone as well. Apparently flight wasn’t something that required super strength and Tim was definitely updating Danny’s power profile because this was unbelievable. He wanted to run so many tests.

It took five minutes to strip out of their protective gear and turn off the computer, then another ten to change into costume. Most of their bags had been stored in the guest room already.

During that time, Bart claimed the last thermos and they split into teams of two. Robin and Superboy would help ambulances and emergency vehicles get in and out of downtown safely and Impulse and Wonder Girl would help evacuation downtown. Phantom would stay downtown and try to figure out if the portals could be closed preventing more ghosts from crossing over.

Danny went back to his room to grab earpieces that could be used as communicators and ask Sam to turn the ghost shield back on in five minutes, then they were flying back to the scene of the attack.

It felt so much better to be back in costume and ready to do something. Though he was definitely going to have to ask Danny for the specs to the ghost weapons. Next time he came to visit, they’d be in Robin’s colors.

The chaos in the downtown area had gotten much worse in the time they’d been gone sorting out weaponry and plans. Most businesses sported broken windows and cars were overturned on the street. Half the people appeared to be overshadowed and the other half were cowering and hiding.

Danny set them down carefully and Bart immediately disappeared to find those who were trapped.

“I’ll go check out the portal and let you know what I find.”

“Very good, Phantom. We’ll do what we can on the ground. If you see something that needs our attention, let us know.”

Danny gave him a salute. “Will do, Robin.”

“All right, you two ready?”

“Always,” said Conner.

“We’ve faced worse odds,” added Cassie.

“Then let’s get going.” This was going to be a very long night.

-----

Next

Hope you enjoyed! The plot is moving forward slowly but surely. We're still only in the first, like, 3 minutes of the DP episode, so yeah. I may have to speed some things up. I'm just bad at that.

This will be the last week I tag people for updates to this story. There's three reasons for that. Tumblr is making it more difficult to tag users and splitting the list over two posts is kinda a pain. Many people I tag don't seem to interact with the post and I don't know if everyone is still interested in following this story. And I'm nervous about being shadow banned since that's happened to at least one writer in this fandom as I'm sure we all know by now.

So! I've set up a subscription post. Follow the link and set up notifications and I'll make a comment every time I update. That way only those who still want notifications will get them and you can change your mind whenever you want.

Tag List Part 1

@gremlin-bot @bonebrokebuddy @britcision @lady-time-lord- @welcometosasakiworld @akikkobara @phoenixdemonqueen @dolfay @skulld3mort-1fan @we-ezer @markus209 @sjrose1216 @onyxlightdragon @dragonsrequiem @jesus-camp-the-sequel @spidey29phangirl @kyrianclawraith @evilminji @introvert-even-on-the-internet @emergentpanda-blog @lexdamo @v-inari @idontgetpaidenoughforthisshit @longlivethefallen @undead-essence @xye-chan @liandrin @seraphinedemort @kisatamao @schalensitzbucket @caelestisdreamer @runfromthemedic @nutcase8691 @channajen @tonicmii @ambiguouslyominous @vythika96 @addie-lover-of-stories @ironicvixen @violetfox2 @pickleking8 @mysticalcomputerdetective @ark12 @mygood-bitch99 @squirrel-wolf @satisfactionbroughtmeback @sometimesthingsfallapart @automaticsoulharmony @d4ydr34min9 @revnantdpxdclover @midigeria @raginblastocyst @feral-bunny31 @lunaria618 @ghostreblogging @ace-aro-as-shit

[helenstudies]

I've seen a lot of "gifted kid burnout" posts and also a few "where do we go to post studyblr stuff when we're bad students and don't get good grades" so I'm here to talk about my own experience of "I've never been a gifted kid and I've never been a good student".

I'm not a gifted kid. In fact, there was no "gifted kid" system in my country at all. And instead of multiple choice questions or true or false questions, we had to memorize pages and pages of our textbook and write them down during three hour exams. You can't get "a" and "the" wrong or you lose points, that's how much memorization we had to do. We didn't get electives until our last two years of high school and the electives were "biology or economics?" Yeah, those were the only two. Even at my university, I didn't get to choose my own electives. Everything came in a neat little box that you can never escape. And we never, EVER get full marks in Burmese or English. 80 out of 100 is considered phenomenal and no one's ever gotten more than 82 in either subject. So our matriculation exam's full mark is 600 but the most you can get is 550.

Suffice to say, the education system sucked and I don't like memorization so my grades were 50% at most. I failed my math and physic classes with 28 marks out of 100 for a whole two years, only barely passing on midterms and end of year exams. For my matriculation exam I got 340 out of 600, which is SUBPAR. That's 2.0 GPA btw. I never thought of myself as educated or a good student and I still don't.

But I love languages and I realize that while languages seem hard to learn and have strict rules, they actually don't. You can move them around and learn them however you like. So as an avid reader, I started learning languages so that I will be able to read books in those languages and I found studying liberating. Why not? I'm no longer memorizing 600 pages of text book and writing them down.

I realize that I love learning and studying when I get to choose what I learn. So I stopped caring about grades and started learning things that I love. Hey, do you know what's the biggest side effect of learning things that you love and not caring about grades? It's that you actually start to learn and your grades start to come up. I realize I perform badly when I am stressing out about my grades. This is why you're seeing all my 100% grade and 80% grade all over my walls. It's not because I'm a good student. It's because I've let go of the notion that I HAVE to be a good student.

I can talk about my bad grades as freely as I can talk about my good grades. I can tell you that I've been learning Japanese for ten seven years and I'm only JLPT N3 level. Honestly, you know what? As a generation, we're due to appreciate our process and progress instead of our achievements. It's fine if you're a bad student. It's fine if you are a gifted kid who fell off the wagon. It's fine if you've never been a gifted kid or a bad student. What matters is you're here studying and learning and appreciating yourself for doing all that.

So post your good grades, post your bad grades. Post your good stuff and bad stuff and messy notes. Post about your good days and your bad days. Talk about your productive days and talk about your rest days. Keep going and keep learning!

[nikoisme]

thank you so much! what was the first step on your art journey, to get to the point where you are now? i’ve been drawing for a while now, in the beginning i just drew whatever i wanted in that moment, but then i got swallowed by the youtube art classes and all those terms, studies, art fundamentals, learn this and that to be an artist, i think it kinda “ruined” (not completely tho) drawing for me, because now all i think is that i HAVE to learn how to draw a box from every angle or else i’m not allowed to draw characters (something i did all the time back in the beginning, even if it didn’t look exactly right)

this is probably very silly and the answer is just ���draw whatever you want who cares” but i really hope to hear your thoughts on that, thank you again and i hope i’m not being annoying or anything lmao

Huh! While i've been drawing all my life (albeit I had the drawing habits of a 7 year old, you know), I only decided to take it more seriously in 2020. So my first step would be REALLY getting into something, which in my case were animals. I think finding something that really inspires you and makes you want to draw is SO important. And take time to really just,,, draw. Figure things out, get comfortable with what you're doing and familiar with what you want to do. Experiment, look at other artists etc.

Now I'll be completely honest here anon, I only started learning the fundamentals a few months ago. And this opinion might be weird, but it worked for me (and still does): don't learn the fundamentals right away. And I don't mean "don't know them at all". Know they exist, and be aware of them. It can get really easy to sucked into all these fundamentals and theory and stuff right away. You can know it all - all the fundamentals - but you won't know why you need it, or where they are applicable. You will only get overwhelmed by all these seemingly necessary rules. As my math professor really liked to say, "you can learn it all, but it's nothing if you don't know it and understand it".

You need to realize why you need them - and that will only come from experience. Which is why I'd recommend to just draw whatever you want for a while, yes! I did it for almost 4 full years. And start tackling the fundamentals after you feel like you want or need to. For example, I've been drawing faces for a long time. But I had no idea what i was doing, aka I never learned the fundamentals for that. But I was familiar with the subject. So after a while I noticed that I need to understand what I am drawing, and that came from the fact that I wanted more of my art. One time i drew a face and I was so repulsed by it that it made me look up planes of the face right away. I had the experience, but not the knowledge. Ans that's when I started learning the planes of the face, the angles, the skull, and then drawing faces from reference. It made learning those fundamentals so much easier.

So really I'd say learn fundamentals as you start to need them, at your own pace. And you don't need to master them right away! As long as you understand why and what you're studying, then you're good to go. Imagine you have two little bars: one for experience and one for knowledge. You can have lots of knowledge, but without experience, you won't know what to do with it. You can master drawing boxes from every angle, but if you don't know why you did that, or how to apply that knowledge in your art, it won't do much. So you need to boost up your experience to match your knowledge - so just draw! Draw whatever! Whatever you like and whatever inspires you. And vice versa. You can have lots of experience, but after a while you'll feel like you lack something, and that something is knowledge. So you can start learning the fundamentals that you feel like you need. If you notice something is off about perspective, then start studying perspective. If something is off about your shading and colors, then study those. Don't jump at every fundamental immediately. Do them one by one, get comfortable with one before learning the other.

So yeah! I'd say throw the fundamentals out of the window until YOU as an artist feel like you need them. Until YOU start wanting more of your art. So if you feel overwhelmed by the fundamentals right away, I'd say to try and just draw for yourself. Let it be bad. After you start noticing exactly what you need, and understand what you're drawing/want to draw - then go for the fundamentals. Those are just my thoughts, and what personally worked for me

[companionjones]

Touron

Pairing: John B x Reader

Fandom: Outer Banks (Netflix)

Summary: John B meets you at a beach party. Are you a Pogue or a Kook? *spoilers* The title gives it away ;)

Warnings: Cursing, one slight reference to smut

*******

"Alright, you can't understand the Outer Banks without understanding the boneyard. It's kinda like a three-layer burrito. There's us and our friends, the working-class derelicts from the Cut. Then, there are the Kooks, the rich second-homers. They're mostly from pouncy-ass boarding schools, just rich trustafarian posers. Our natural enemies. And then, there are the Tourons. Totally clueless. Here for a week on vacation with their families. Chum for the sharks."

"Hey," you smiled at the first person to look at you at a party you found on the beach. "I'm new around here. Is this party for something?"

John B didn't know what to make of you when he first saw you. He couldn't figure out if you were a Pogue or a Kook. He answered you with a shake of his head. "Nah, nah. We're all just hanging out. Do you, uh...want a beer?"

"Sure, thanks." You took the beer from him and started taking in your surroundings. You realized there was no one there you could talk to.

"What's your name?" John B suddenly asked.

You gave your name, and John B gave his full name in return.

"Well Y/n, you seem a little lost. You want to hang with me for a bit?"

Relief flooded your features. "That would be great. Thank you."

John B smiled. "No problem. Where on the island are you coming from?"

"The corner of Mankhurst and Shelley."

John B made note of that. That part of town was nicer, but it was still technically part of the Cut. He just hadn't known that the Bartons were selling their place.

So, you were a Pogue. It gave John B peace that he could put you into one of the categories. It comforted him even more that the category was his own.

After John B figured that out, he was much more at ease around you. Or maybe it was your conversation skills causing him to feel that way? Either way, John B talked to you for a couple hours. He loved getting to know you. He learned where you were born, what kind of music you listened to, even your favorite color.

John B also got to telling you about his life. "Yeah, my dad set out to look for a shipwreck 9 months ago, and that was the last time I saw him. I know he's still out there, though. He'll find his way back home eventually."

You just sat there, listening intently.

He went on, "And now CPS is on my tail. They say I have to go into foster care if I can't prove I have a guardian."

"Man, that really sucks," you replied, "I wish I turned tail and ran the first time CPS found me," you revealed, taking another sip of your drink.

That took John B off guard. "Wait. You were in the system?"

"I am in the system. My foster family think they're being nice by inviting me on this trip, but I know it's just because they can't find someone to watch me for two weeks."

John B was still catching up. "Two weeks...but that would make you a..."

"Tourist, I know that."

He cringed. "Well, that's not exactly what we'd call you here..."

"And what would that be?" you wondered.

John B leaned away from you in anticipation of your reaction. "...A tour-on."

Your eyes went wide. "As in, moron?!"

John be started laughing as he nodded.

"Oh my god! You people are mean around here," you pointed out.

"Well, what if I said it doesn't apply to you?" John B offered.

"Still mean...but I'll take it." You took another sip.

John B changed the subject. "So, you're in the system?"

"Have been since I was 11. I'm 16 now."

"Damn, for five years? Is it really as bad as some people say it is?"

You sighed, "Well, they take you away from your home, make you live in places that shouldn't be homes, and you're moving around all the time...," you trailed off, looking at the ocean.

John B apologized, "I'm sorry to bring it up--"

"No, no. It's okay. I'm sorry you're being threatened with it," you returned. "The family I'm with now isn't so bad. I mean, they're not good either, but they don't really care if I go out on my own, which is a plus...and a minus, I guess..."

"...So they wouldn't care if you didn't come home tonight?"

You laughed, "They wouldn't care if I didn't show up 'til they were pulling out of town."

"You should come stay with me, then," John B offered, and only then did he realize the implication of his request. "I mean, not like that. I mean, unless you want it to be like that, in which case, I wouldn't be opposed to--"

"Just stop talking, before you dig your hole any deeper." You smiled, "But sure, I'll come stay with you. Maybe that way this vacation will actually be a vacation." You offered a toast to John B, almost like a handshake to seal the agreement between you two.

John B lightly tapped his red solo cup against yours, and the two of you took a drink.

*******

Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading! Fill up that heart and reblog if you liked it. I would also really appreciate a comment, if you have the time. If you would like to read more, check out my masterlist. Have a nice day, night, or whatever time it is for you! <3 <3 <3

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

OC interview

Thanks @mk-writes-stuff here!

Rules: answer the following questions in the POV of an OC!

How have I not done Robbie, Noelle, or Kelsey?? I'll do Robbie so he's next to Akash.

Are you named after anyone?

“Nope. [Pause] Wait, I actually don't know.... ... Hold on.” *pulls out his phone and immediately texts his mom "hey mutti did you know anyone named robert in alium and did you name me after him"*

When was the last time you cried?

“Inside Out 2. I think I'm justified.”

Do you have kids?

*bursts out laughing* “Dude, how old do ya think I AM?!”

Do you use sarcasm a lot?

“Wait, hold on, I have to think about this. [Pause] mmm... Nah, I think my humor is more random and silly. And a bit of sass.”

What’s the first thing you notice about people?

“Dude, do you think I'm paying that much attention?? I have no idea. Maybe like...three things about them. Like three traits. Hair, clothes, skin tone... Maybe glasses. Or another defining feature. I dunno, it just depends on the person. This is a weird question. Who thinks about these things?!”

What’s your eye colour?

“Brown but everyone says they're black. I think that's scientifically impossible, but Alii are odd creatures. Maybe my eyes are black! Who knows?!”

Scary movies or happy endings?

“... What? That doesn't make sense.” (he's thinking that these are not opposites and his brain short circuited)

Any special talents?

“Uh...well, I guess I'm, like, witty. I think I'm funny. I'm good in school if I can focus. Uh... I can act! Yeah that's cool. I'm awesome at the improv warmup games.”

Where were you born?

“Hold on.” *texts his mom "oh btw i also need to know where i was born like was it here or in alium"

Do you have any pets?

“I'm too irresponsible for a pet. Akash would have to take care of them.”

What sort of sports do you play?

“Hahahahaha, good one. Seriously, though, my depth perception and hand-eye coordination actually sucks. Please, for everyone's safety, don't put me in sports.”

How tall are you?

“Five-foot-six. Which is a perfectly acceptable yet kinda boring height to be. Been this tall since, like, fifth grade, though, so it is rather annoying. I was easily the tallest in the class, including my teacher, but then my body decided, 'y'know what? You're done!' and Akash is taller than me now; it sucks.”

What was your favourite subject in school?

“I like the robotics class a lot, but I gotta say theater. I have wayyy too much fun in that class! I'll never forget the time I had to wear a sweater vest for a duo performance I did where I played a reflection.”

What is your dream job?

“Ahhhh too many things to choose from! Robotics is super cool, but do I want to do that for the rest of my life?! I don't think so, as a career. What about theater?! Acting would be awesome. I'd like to have my own YouTube channel, too, and just make bank playing Fortnite. Man, this is hard.”

Other Interviews: Wade, Jazlyn, Gwen, Lexi, Carla, Carmen, Maddie, Liam, Ash, Rose, Akash

✨Robbie intro✨

Tagging @inkednotebook @museandquill @paeliae-occasionally @buffythevampirelover @cataclysmic-writer

+ ANYONE ELSE

Blanks below the cut

Are you named after anyone? When was the last time you cried? Do you have kids? Do you use sarcasm a lot? What’s the first thing you notice about people? What’s your eye colour? Scary movies or happy endings? Any special talents? Where were you born? Do you have any pets? What sort of sports do you play? How tall are you? What was your favourite subject in school? What is your dream job?

[obsidiaspell]

Chapter 3: The Bitter Truth

Yes I am continuing this, yes it is because of the one person who liked all my MoL posts. @lady-without-name this is for you

Here we go again, insert meme.

Warding honestly sounds like such an interesting subject, I relate to having a teacher that sucks at teaching though, discrete mathematics my beloved. Syrokian highlands - yes the government wants you to know how to work here, wink wink. Oh what I would not give for just a novel of Zach and Zorian being a part of an expedition meant to establish an outpost in the Northern Forest.

ah once again we are foreshadowing Zach being a time-traveller. You know I remember reading this the first time, I was unfortunately a bit spoiled because it literally said in the description of the book there is a timelooper present. I wonder if I would have figured it out myself.

Yeah he still can't do female voices. I am really dunking on the narrator a lot aren't I? I would switch to just reading it, but and audiobook is so convenient tho.

Zorian searching for a word throuple lmao. At least he knows when to stay in his own lane, I like that about him. "He did nothing to me, I am not going to get him into trouble."

No, he could detect no disapproval in posture, and he was pretty sure she’d be rather annoyed if she sensed his plans. explain to me once again Mister Kazinski how you absolutely cannot be an empath?

You want them to learn 10 dances in one week? I barely learned 10 dances when I had my dancing lessons in several months?

I can relate to not wanting to have a relationship with a classmate because the rest of the class would make it unbearable, god I am remembering high school now. "I am nobody! A third son of a minor merchant family from the middle of nowhere." - muahahaha, oh the sweet power of hindsight

Yeah, Zach is a prime protagonist hero material, but he is gonna need you, isn't he?

OK this right here was a moment Ilsa lost me, I hate, hate I tell you, when a child (he is fifteen, it counts) tells you something is bothering them, they have a problem with something you listen. Even if he didn't have empathy headache and it was just some plain old social anxiety this approach vexes me so much! I get headaches too blah blah blah. Her getting Akoja to go with him, is problematic at best. I know she has a crush, but still if he says he doesn't want a day why force him?

and of course, the wise ones know this is not at all Benisek's fault, but our time traveler pulling the strings

Aah fortov comes on the scene. I am kind of curious how that really went down, you know the whole purple creeper patch thing. But we are about to see Kael, our first time loop ally.

This chapter does a good job of setting up some things for later and how Zorian feels about his place in society and the greater world, as in he does not want the world to care about him at all.

[nickgerlich]

The Shape Of Things

I have a lot of fun during “blogging season” each semester. For 12 weeks I take deep dives each and every day to find relevant topics ripe for discussion, with the added challenge of somehow finding a common thread to share to all of my classes. Most of the time I am able to do that.

And then there are times like today in which the subject has marketing legs of its own, but offers a few chuckles too. Because why not? We all need to laugh a bit.Like when I read recently that socialite Kim Kardashian was expanding her line of Skims shapewear to include products for men. Feel free to chuckle if you like.

Now men’s underwear is a funny subject. It has long been said that women buy the majority of men’s underwear to begin with, and that men only buy their own underwear for a small portion of their years on earth, leaving that duty to Mom and then wives and girlfriends. We’re bad like that. Lazy. Trying to get every ounce of value possible from them.

And why not? No one sees them.

Men’s underwear has long been a non-starter when it comes to fashion and all that. The pilot episode of Breaking Bad showed Walter White in his signature tighy-whities out in the desert, he being the archetype of suburban middle-class manhood. We expected it.

But shapewear? Isn’t that newspeak for a girdle? Sara Blakely made her billions by reimagining the girdle, as well as its predecessor the corset, as shapewear. They all achieve the same thing, and ladies bought Spanx by the armful to help conceal bulging realities. I bet there isn’t a woman alive who doesn’t one or more of them tucked away in the dresser.

I know. It’s a cultural ideal point. Our culture chides women into fits of guilt if they don’t maintain the appearance of their girlish youth. Guys, though, are cut a lot of slack, with even the “Dad bod” being popular. You know. Love handles and the inability to see one’s belt buckle (and maybe their toes as well).

Kardashian is not the first to try to break into the men’s market, because Spanx has had men’s items for several years now. I saw them once at the local Dillards, gathering dust. I don’t know a single guy who would wear a man girdle.

I do, however, confess to having several base layer long-sleeve shirts that effectively accomplish the same thing. All of my cycling jerseys fit much the same way too. If you accidentally get the wrong size, you wind up feeling like a sausage.

While Kardashian is hoping that men buy her new undies, I’m guessing that it will be women buying them for the men in their life. “Here, honey. Try these on. Your old ones are starting to look a little ragged anyway.”

Then again, maybe Kardashian can usher in a new era of underwear-buying men, guys who care as much about their undies and overall appearance as women do. Instead of having to hold it in whenever trying to impress the ladies, you can just stand there confidently knowing that your stretchy skivvies are doing it all for you.

I do think that the advertising for products like these needs to change, though. They always show studly male models wearing them, but they are guys who don’t need them in the first place. You know, like those Peloton ads showing fit and trim models pounding the pedals.

They need to show before-and-after pics of rather plump men all of a sudden looking pretty good, like they just graduated from basic training. That might sell more boxers and briefs. I for one don’t want to look at a pro athlete sporting these duds. He gets paid to be fit. I get paid to teach. I don’t have to be ripped to stand in front of a classroom, or type blogs.

Sorry, Kim. I’m good over here. Like most men, I’ve probably got a few good years left in what I own. But if someone wants to gift me some new drawers, I’ll gladly accept them.

Dr “Suck It In” Gerlich

Audio Blog

[yanderelovlies]

✨Galaxy Anon ✨ here!

Haha you forget viví? Friends also have to tease each other until they scream for mercy hehehe suffer pfft. Let me think about it….No.

But I still feel bad viví! Just talking with you is enough for me! It shows you care that you even respond to me and call me a friend! I probably wouldn’t take it until I really want something, I will feel bad and hate spending others money unless it was for food…then spend that money since I love food lol. Well at least you have lots of guts but I know I would feel embarrassed still since my stuff can either be normal to my god what the hell why do you like that?! Not to mention alot of stuff I’m into I really have no one to talk to about most of it since usually they aren’t into it or I’m afraid they judge me. Mostly the latter. So I’m grateful you even care about me so thanks for that.

It does I mean I get whey we use it but damn does it suck. Oh makes sense so like a discount basically. Yeah I get that I mean it’s already stressful keeping your grades up in class but having the pressure so you have a easier way to college? Nerve wracking and stress inducing.

At least you care since unfortunately a lot of siblings don’t care enough or put down there siblings. I think your doing a lot now since you worrying about that and even some parents don’t give two shits about it or claim it’s too hard to understand now. I’m sure you are, more than you think. Your amazing seeing how sweet you are viví.

Yes unfortunately especially now it can cost your life being a Good Samaritan on the road if someone needs help and they can rob or even worse kill you. And all people you wanted to be a good person.

Yeah I knew I made a good call. I maybe would’ve have either freaked out or get very aggressive then, mostly the latter if I wasn’t emotional more prepared than how I first started out when first working there. And for sure I don’t want to also get aggressive to some other customers for one lady attitude and they had nothing to do with it. I have done it before and I’m not proud of it since they shouldn’t have gotten my anger.

Pppfffttt moving on! This isn't bully vi hours for their questionable tastes.

IM THE SAME WAY AND IT DRIVES MY FAMILY WILD. I'm always getting them things and when they go "Hey want something?" I just tell them nah I'm good. Then I get asked, "how come you don't let me get things for you." Because I feel bad taking other people's hard-earned money!!!

Not to be too straightforward, but I would love to hear about your fandoms. It's one of my favorite subjects, and who knows we might have some in common! (Lowkey I miss the hoodie ugh I keep looking at the picture).

It really is though, and the fact that I have to take harder math classes lowkey scares me. I am having a blast with Philosophy, sociology, and psychology. I was having fun with composition until this professor. My last one was cool and even sent pictures of his dogs with every assignment.

Aww making my blush

I'm just trying my best. I even had a little evening outing with them. Did some gift card shopping then just rode around and sang our hearts out.

God going for a walk or jog could get you unalived these days. Which always scares the shit out of me since it's in my exercise routine. So I never go alone or without pepper spray. I also trust no one. I'm polite I say good morning, but I'm always keeping am ear open.

Hey at least you learned from that and made yourself better! Might I also add I have so much respect for you for being able to handle that on the daily. People are just getting meaner for no reason, and you don't deserve it.

[baconlettucetomatoeggs]

so, in the process of transferring schools, one is tasked to fill upp all their requisite subjects on their form, with number of units and the grade you had on that subject. in turn this will be checked against the college's program with equivalent number of units and grade as well.

seriously, i would recommend writing all your grades and uniits in a piece of paper every semester, gives you a look over the prsent, past, and future. also it was really humbling.

and you know? i fucking hate humility. humility is just hiding your own power level. i just realised it just now.

what's worse is the fact that it reminded me of the trope that i had in my life: that reality's gaslighting me. that it doesnt matter what things really happen to you, only its outcome

this is also why i recommend it as well: it shows you where you are in life, putting you in the place where you actually are

sure you can be laughed at by your professor after receiving a 3.0 (in a "they really didnt know you" sense) but you still have that 3.0

sure you can have a 1.00 in that subject, but that's because one of your classmates did something bad and the professor took that as a consolation

sure you can have stories of people asking you and you teaching them like it was nothing. sure you can have those stories that you worked in your professor's company being handpicked as one of the rare students in his arsenal

but you still are a transferee student, who failed the last 1 semester of their life.

and what fight do you have in mind? your grades are littered with barely passes? doesnt matter if you went to a medical break or something. what matters the most is that you failed a subject, and that's how people would see you.

...and this is why i dont like talking about programming anymore. it's just painful. sure i have stories that i made programs and projects like this and that, but if you cant answer a simple mathematical algorithm puzzle, then you do fail.

doesnt matter if this is one of your favorite things to do. doesnt matter if you spent your whole high school obsessing about it. it's not enough to land you in footing. if you suck, you suck.

you have delusions of grandeur. that's what. even if things point to the contrary, papers said so. might as well believe that

and idk, when i wrote that transfer papers, all i can see is "wait, is that all i am? a dirt, grime, some stain here and there?" and it's not humbling, it's infuriating. it's stupid.

at by your professor after receiving a 3.0 (in a "they really didnt know you" sense) but you still have that 3.0

sure you can have a 1.00 in that subject, but that's because one of your classmates did something bad and the professor took that as a consolation (3.00 is barely passing and 1.00 is aceing a class)

hell i have intrusive thoughts while chatting my friend on my phone because it was that bad.

but who cares? i live in a relatively fine situation. could've been worse. all people would see is the fact i'm more capable than anyone.

people would only care if you're on paper said you need to be taken care of. even you dont. and vice versa, people wouldnt care about you if you dont show signs of anything.

...my BFF jokingly calling me a failure with a reference to my failed attempts in life. and, idk? it hurts. even now i still think about it. i wonder if he thought of it too.

on the flip side, i kinda find peace being the stupid one: at least expectations of you were as stable as it gets. no one's gonna ask why i dont know thngs even if i should. no one's gonna know. peace and quiet.

[downafter]

My school was a little bit similar to jail

I was In Carmel Convent School in a small city called as Neemuch in Madhya Pradesh. I know this this title seems a bit exaggerated and by all means it is but the school I had gone to does have a little bit resemblance to jail. Our school was the most prominent school in my city; it has acres and acres of land and Neemuch is a really small city, it does not have many schools. So, most of the parents in our city send their kids to our school and it is kind of a proud thing for them to say that ‘our children are going to Convent school’. Our school had over 5000 students and almost over 100 teachers, I studied in my school from the Age of 3 years to 18 years and I am not going to say that our school was like jail because in all fairness it was not. I am going to talk about my school and how some of the rules felt like jail. So, let me tell go through a day In school, I go to school at 7:00 AM and you have to be in the school by 7 sometimes 7:05 but not more time than that you can’t enter the school, that’s fine though because the school is teaching us punctuality and I agree with school on this part. Then I enter the school and go to my classroom. Then after that it is time for our daily assembly and we have to make lines out of our classes to go to the assembly and form our class to the ground you shouldn’t break the line because it somehow teaches you discipline. After the assembly we have to go to our classes in the same straight line and as we go to our classes everything on our body Is checked you should have a tie, you should have your collar button buttoned, you shouldn’t have long hairs, you should have school socks that is just insane thing who cares that I don’t have school socks you can’t even see them and I got caught so many times for wearing the wrong socks and for girls you should have tightly braided hairs, you can’t have nail polish on your hands, I remember our school changed the uniform of girls from skirts to a uniform that covers every single part of their bodies and at that time I didn’t think of it as anything but it was obviously to revealing for the school. This is all done in the name of Discipline. In the classes we get taught different subjects like math, science, social studies, etc. also the fear that exams are coming so we have to work hard and score good grades in the exam. In the classroom we can’t talk to our classmates, can’t go to washroom without permission and some teachers have the rule to that you should ask teacher before drinking water. For most of our time in school girls and boys shouldn’t interact we sit in different rows in our class, we sit in different side of the ground for lunch so that girls and boys do not interact and this just shows the backwardness of our school. Our school was only for future doctors, engineers, accountants and businessperson, they never taught us the vast options we can choose for our future and in this you can’t fully blame our school it is our Indian education system which only gives its preference to these 4 or 5 career options. But our school still could have taught us, it’s like for 14 or 15 years in your schools you get sucked all your creativity and imagination out of your body and only who are strong gets to keep their creativity go out of our schools and be whatever they want to be.  The rest goes out in the world to become whatever our system decides we should be. Many schools have the same experience as our school or worse so now I think who is to blame here the students who don’t really understand many things, the controlling schools or the Education system.   

[outoftheirdifferences]

🌈🐏🐰💀🦥 (All for Lauren)

'rping for dummies' inspired meme

🌈 Describe an ideal fantasy of your muse's. You can do it IC, or talk about it ooc. Does it match your own? If so, speak both sides elaborately about that. What about it is appealing to either of you?

In Lauren's mind, her ideal fantasy is pretty simple: to get away from the city where she's grown up, to travel with a very close friend or two to the furthest reaches of the natural world. To find somewhere for them to settle far away from the rest of civilisation: she's picturing a remote mountainside cabin with unspoiled snow-covered vistas right outside her door, but really she isn't picky about the specifics. She just hates city life, loves impressive natural views, and wants to be able to share that with her few close friends.

For myself ooc, I can definitely see the appeal there; I'm very much not a big city person either, and there is a part of me that would love to see natural wonders and such. But I also have mixed feelings about travelling, and I wouldn't want to be as removed from civilisation as all that; a small-medium town with some nice nature walks around it would be more my speed... which Lauren would definitely accept as an improvement from her current accommodation, but wouldn't hit quite what she was dreaming of.

🐏 If you're comfortable, describe something personal/IRL that affects your writing; things you want to do cathartically, things to avoid because xyz, moods you may be in.

I'm not sure I have a definitive answer to this question: I feel like if I did, I'd be a quicker writer than I am currently! That said, for one thing I know that time of day often affects my writing: I often find it flows more naturally in the evening than at other times of the day. Having some sort of relaxing ambient music playing in the background can often help too, especially if it's from one of those YouTube videos that shows views of nature at the same time; it helps to keep my mind in the right place, and if I start to get stuck in a mental rut I can just glance over to the video and take in the scenery for a few moments until I can move on. Otherwise... I confess I'm still figuring it out so far!

(I hope this was the right question: I notice there were two on the meme that used the same sheep symbol, so I guessed that it was the one that came after the previous question, but feel free to correct me if I answered the wrong one ^^)

🐰 What're you laughing or smiling at?! You've been caught! Care to share with the class what's got you so jolly?

Most of all at present, the fact that my long-distance girlfriend has been able to spend a few weeks over here with me; and the way we've been thinking about the future together! <3

💀 The last time you said nuh-uh, nope. Not feeling it. Maybe you didn't reblog that meme. Maybe there's just a topic you're not feeling. Maybe your memory sucks and the moment passed.

Hm. You know, made me think a little for this one. I generally try to be on board with my RP partners' ideas and at least give them a try unless it's a subject that I'm really not willing to touch.

I guess the most recent time was... not on tumblr, but in a Discord RP group I'm part of. There was opportunity for one of my muses to get involved in an in-character event, but I wasn't sure I fully grasped how the mechanics of that particular thread would play out since they looked a little different to what I was used to; I decided instead to sit it out for that time to watch those who did participate, so that I'd be better prepared for subsequent opportunities that used the same approach.

🦥 Give us the mood for the day. Or maybe hour or month.

A bit of a mixture right now, to be honest. Happy and thankful for the time I've had with my girlfriend; apprehensive about parting ways again in a few days; a bit of nervous and a lot of excited for where the future's going to take us; still lingering distant sadness from a recent loss in the family... it feels like a bit of everything right now! xD

In-character for Lauren is an easier answer: she's actually feeling relaxed for once. Summer break just started last week in the UK (or UK-adjacent country in the AU of reality that her story takes place in!), so she's looking forward to like a month of not having to deal with school things at all, chilling in the wooded area of the local park with her writing and / or her best friend, and just pretending that she's not in the middle of the city for a while.

[weirdthoughtsandideas]

You’d think arts was my favorite subject in school, but when I think about it, it kinda wasn’t?

- First of all, my class was NOT artsy at all, and they spent most class not knowing what to do. This lead to them always asking for more time on our projects, one extra lesson or something. And I, who completed our assignments early, had nothing to do!

- My art is a lot more unrealistic and simple, and we focused a lot on drawing realism. I felt like I was really bad at that, also that my own personal art was ugly and undetailed in comparison.

- I just sat there and drew most of the time, and while it was a bit soothing to not care so much, it also felt like… what am I doing here? Can’t I be more ambitious?

- In high school, arts was an optional class, which means everyone that took it was actual art kids. Only that this made me compare myself to everyone else and feel like I could NOT do the same nice art as them.

At the same time, I DID learn things in arts class

- We learned how to make a comic strip, including how to make stylesheets. THIS has been really useful.

- All the ”drawing our surroundings” drawings, while I always felt like I sucked at them because I felt like I made everything in the wrong proportions and made it too undetailed, has also helped me.

- I learned a LITTLE bit of animation!! I’m too lazy to make a lot of animation but I’ve at least done some attempts at it. Not to mention we once had an assignment in high school to make a stop motion film. Here is my masterpiece called ”Overrun Barbie” in which Barbie gets hit by a car but survived.

- Our HS art teacher asked us to take pictures of every artwork and progress we made and I didn’t really see the point at first (the point was that we were graded on how well we reported the progress, since you can’t really grade a student for their art abilities as it’s so personal, so you grade them on their reports + participation in class). But, in retrospect, it’s so fun looking back at it. I still laugh so much about this drawing of the ”shapes” of objects in front of me.

I have NEVER drawn such a thick butt again ever.

- THIS DRAWING that I thought was so bad when I did it?? IS ACTUALLY KINDA GOOD FOR ME BEING 16-17 AT THE TIME SEE SARA YOU CAN DO SHADES YOU JUST NEED THE CORRECT TOOLS

- Art does take time! I can sometimes cringe over drawings I uploaded over 4 years ago, but like !! I’m evolving all the time! And that was the best I could do then. It just means I have gotten better now, and the more I draw the better I’ll get in the future.

So, I guess what I can conclude here is, art does bring me joy, and sometimes it was fun in school. But art in a school environment also gets you a lot more pressure and insecurities. Now you can’t really be allowed to be as personal, because they want you to follow a certain type of art. And you get graded on your performance, too. It just brings stress. And art teachers have been the ones I’ve felt the most annoyed with out of all teachers. Cause art just does get so personal with me, and so it crashes when I’m in an environment where the art is supposed to be in a certain way, be documented in a certain way and made in a certain way, and I also get graded on it.

And I have learned a lot from arts class afterwards. But it was not always the most fun when you were in it.

[mrtsar]

Paul-Alex Chaperone: The Post-Post-Post Modern Intellectual

Paul-Alex Chaperone: The Post-Post-Post-Modern Intellectual

            I write to you now, my disciples, in total dismay. This day, I’ve suffered a true injustice from the ignorance of neo-liberal institutionalists, or whatever he was. Yes, your humble writer, who serenades this torrential website among the cacophony of idiotic portrayals of moderation, was slighted and made a fool out of on the street, among the dreadful students of empathy.

            To those fans of mine who are yet unaware of my ideology, you need not look further for enlightenment than here, as I would like to amend it with this cruel story. Before this day of septic self-reflection, I need to clarify my thought process before the amendment. Unlike the folly of Modernist thought, which seeks to distinguish between absolute right and wrong, the indecisive pageantry of ignorance of the Post-Modernists, who seek to muddy the water with relativist drivel, and the Post-Post-Modernists that have only made up their minds to some degree, I have ascended past the need for morals. This is the very reason I began writing to you, after all: to make more sane intellectuals in my new Post-Post-Post-Modern crusade.

            With simplicity, it is the rejection of any wants or desires beyond the scope of your moral self. It is cruel to yourself and others to abridge your instincts and wants with any kind of restraint or consideration. While many of you droogs try and attribute lesser writers and faux-philosophers to my theory, I would prefer to for you not to associate me with lesser writers like Nietchze, Rand or especially morons like Descartes. Oh Descartes . . . I truly loathe that coward of indecision, as well as any existentialist drivel that passes itself off as truth. If they really wanted to answer every question to life, why stick with a philosophy that prides itself on knowing little to nothing at all. I am digressing, however. If you would care to know more of my distaste for philosophy that caters not to my rational palette, I encourage you to read my dissertations on the subject, was well as donating to my cause in the link below this story.

            Continuing on to the story for us who actually care about what is right in the world. Actually, the amount of unintelligible nonsense from cultural relativists on a regular basis on my various social media is near deafening. Can they not see that, by actively seeing their acts of critique and whining as moral, as well as the fact that they want to see me imprisoned for crimes against the neoliberal establishment, the masses of blind institutionalists only prove my point. My actions cannot ever be immoral, because I am authentic. And if I am authentic, then I am doing as I wish to, truly. Therefore, I am the most moral and intelligent of all you pointless embryos.

            If you, my enlightened public would like to support my cause against the soulless on my social media, it is imperative to follow my accounts and refute them as you see fit, to preserve your moral character.

            I had stepped onto the grounds of my university after class to take my regular Friday notes regarding the inferior minds that attend this echo-chamber, collated a stunning satire about the idiocy of my professors who think that active research counters my observation, and was busy disliking the posts of armchair charlatans. It was here, at the center of the lawn, I encountered, much like the Buddha, two sights which continue to intellectually stimulate me.

            First of all, two men, who appeared to be quite close, walked together, talking loudly about nothing. Now, what was actually peculiar about them, were the pins on both of their sweaters. On my right side, he possessed the words “Socialism Sucks,” emboldened like a scarlet letter. On the left, a “Feel the Bern 2016” mark stained his front.

            Now, I have long echoed your sentiments regarding these two compromising ideologies, with regard to the half-assed-ness of mild socialism and pseudo-illiberalism possessed by these two. However, I did not take umbrage with these pins, as I have detailed in other treatises of mine which you may now purchase digitally on any electronic book site. To summarize, I have no problem inherently with an ideology as long as they hold an unabridged hatred of others and are fearful and unwilling to compromise. As our society is filled to the brim with haphazard attempts to reconcile differences, I hold it moral to just push what one knows to be true without regard for the safety of others. To reiterate, you can purchase any of my books at any distribution service or on this website. 

            The main problem with these two inauthentic swine is how they so casually talk to one another despite their incompatibility. With moral impulsion, I said “Stay true to yourselves and kick him out of your life and prepare your trenches!” They may have pretended not to hear me, didn’t look at me, nor acknowledge my existence in any way, but I am sure their relationship ended that night due to my words of guidance.

            The second sight is one which you should brace yourselves before delving into. A normal-looking colleague (I grow sick of calling these inaudibly dumb armchairs my “colleagues”) walked passed with the charisma of a dogfish. Now, to this day, I know not what compelled me to confront this individual. Perhaps it was due to his inauthentic walk? His focus on avoiding other people while walking instead of trying to move them out of his way? It remains unclear. Whatever the reason, I started with “You, walking with inauthenticity and the charisma of a dogfish, may I enlighten you for a moment?”

            As this intolerable dolt chose to exchange with me for longer than anyone else so far, I will detail this lecture verbatim, as to demonstrate to you, my disciples, how to interact with unenlightened ones.

            “Sorry?” he said. Already he showed signs of his weak rhetorical presence.

            “Now that I have your attention, I would like to correct you on your moronic way of carrying yourself. Firstly—”

            “Are you serious? Are you a preacher, like, or something?”

            “Oh please! Do I look like someone trying to preach something invisible? No, I need to inform you of my authentic ideology!”

            “Can you not? I have class in a bit.” Already, he tried to dodge and hide his annoyance through petty academic obligation. However, I had to march on in my triumph.

            “Do you not know that it is moral to do as you please? Now, not in a hippy Antifa manner of ‘live and let live,’ nor the capitalist focus of philosophers such as Ayn Rand or Friedrich Nietzsche, but I’m speaking from the perspective of myself, our greatest judge in –

            “Do you give this spiel to everyone, or just people you don’t like?”

            “Oh no, my humble readers care to listen in on my internal chats on a daily basis, all 400 of them.”

            “Oh, wonderful.” Yes, he honestly thought he could deceive me with sarcasm, the way for post-materialist cowards to try and dodge conversation that may make them angry. But now, unlike the other instances of this I have detailed extensively on www.postpostpostmodernmenofthefuture.com, I could not allow such ignorance to leave untaught. Besides, his annoyance gave him promise; perhaps he would listen to me after some coaxing.

I continued: “Have you ever wondered why armchairs like you remain that way. . .”

            “Oh, that’s not a rhetorical question. Um, no.”

            “Have you ever wondered why social contract theory came about?”

            “Are you not going to answer the first question?”

            “Have you ever wondered—”

            “The answer’s going to be a solid ‘no’ from me, chief.”

I know what you are thinking dear reader. And the answer is “yes”: he did just attempt to flatter me despite his obvious disliking of me. Thankfully, I hit back with some breathtaking rhetorical wit that the Romans would marvel at. “Did you just attempt to flatter me despite your obvious disliking of me?”

“I . . . think I did. And while yes, I think you’re a pretentious pile of garbage with more chips on his shoulder than a rich kid playing poker with his father’s money, that doesn’t necessarily mean I should actively swear at you in public, nor would I want to.”

“Of course you want to! My ideology of Post-Post-Post-Modernism allows you to act upon your desires as you wish. So if, for example, if you wanted an A on your next exam, it would be moral for you to cheat, as you getting what you what is inherently right and just.”

“. . . Have you read Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky?”

Of course he goes back to the comfort and safety of people who do the thinking for him. “Why would I engage with foreign fiction if I wish not to, and it is moral to do as I please?”

His mouth collapses agape with an expression not dissimilar to the floodgates of his mind, allowing my streams of enlightenment to flow through. In fact, he is unable to form words for the next several moments.

“Okay,” he said, “I assume you read Nietzsche, correct? After all, you just mentioned it.”

“Why should I engage with philosophy that is not my own and I do not agree with? His work is an echo-chamber of German nationalism anyway.”

“Cool. Do you know what an ‘ubermensch’ is?” (I apologize if I could barely jot-down this poor excuse for common English. Does he not even engage in the regular parlance?)

“I’m sorry, I only speak English. I do not want to discuss in any language that fails to convey my meaning, like this one.”

“Turning Nietzsche’s idea of the ‘ubermensch’ on its head, Dostoyevsky uses the character of Rodion Raskolnikov to try and explain how this idea of how certain people should act above any kind of convention only leads to criminal and immoral attitude, hence the first word of the title, ‘Crime.” My lord, I never believed he would stop lecturing me about his nonsense.

I straightened myself: “Oh look at you, using your fake degree to lecture people on the street.” I’ve no reason as to why, but this comment stirred him, as if he was looking into my clear eyes at his reflection, realizing that he is truly the one he’s complaining of. How can these people who love to flaunt their fields of study continue to persist in their mire of hypocrisy? “What ideology do you subscribe to, perchance?”

“I don’t know right now. What do you hate above everything else?” Despite what I have described him as, I am thankful he has adapted my cult of ideological clarity over the course of our discourse.

I responded with full enthusiasm: “Any ideology which advocates compromise or the coming together of likeminded individuals away from the nature of authenticity is one that I advocate vehemently against in my writings. If you would like to engage with my disciples, you can go to www.postpostpostmodernmenofthefuture.com and donate to my cause.”

I do not believe he responded kindly to my authentic commercialized speech. “Firstly, thank you for responding to my question in around 40 syllables too many. Secondly, thank you for not actually answering my damn question! And finally, thank you for trying to sell me an ethos built on the authenticity of man, while selling your soul to the wills of your alt-right fanbase.”

“I am not alt-right. I am just someone who likes to take a neutral stance against all other ideologies.”

“Now here I thought you didn’t like any kind of compromise.”

Now at this point I understand clearly, and I am aware many of you share this sentiment. You see, hypocrisy cannot exist in a Post-Post-Post-Modern framework. This is due to the fact that it is built on short-term wants and the execution of them. Therefore, if what you want is different from what you wanted before, even pertaining to what sources I use and what is fundamental to the ideology, you are still being authentic, as who you are in the present is inherently more important and real than your past and future. Therefore, as long as you constantly tell the truth as you see it in the now, you can never contradict yourself, even if you lied in retrospect.

“I don’t see how my ideology needs to be consistent to be correct,” I said.

“Oh yes sir, we’ve always been at war with Eurasia,” he said with a smug expression.

“You realize that Eurasia isn’t even a country, correct? You and other armchairs online seem to believe it is when I tell them this part of Post-Post-Post-Modernism.”

“. . . I’ve honestly never met someone as stupid as you.”

“You dastardly tosspot!”

“What are you, British? Because you know, I don’t approve of cultural appropriation.”

“Oh, you damned cultural relativist!”

“Going on, who are you trying to fool? Are you really trying to convince me of your cult?”

“My Post-Post-Post-Modern principles are more than the religion of a cult; it’s an ideology.”

“Yeah, okay. So, if I were to, say, punch you in the face and kick you in the ribs with no remorse, would it be moral, provided I wanted to do it?”

And so, he learned the tenants of our movement. “Finally, you’re actually seeing the truth. The answer is ‘yes.’ Follow your desires and—”

He could have beaten me enough to give out three black eyes if he wanted to (if I subscribe to tacky Eastern philosophy). However, as I sat there, as my new tenant kicked me, pulled out my teeth, forced my blood to kiss the ground, took a good and powerful spit on my corpse-like fetal position and walked away, I knew that I had won this rhetorical war. After getting up and covering my wounds, I gave a smile, albeit obfuscated underneath my panting and crying.

And so, I now write here, directing 401 of my noble sheep in the ways of my ideology. However, I mentioned earlier of my attempt to amend this ideology. While I did believe I won the battle of conversion at the time, as I patched myself into a functioning human being, I realized something that will stick with me for the rest of my days. I do not like pain. Therefore, it is not moral to feel pain.

Furthermore, as I cannot feel the physical pain of individuals, it is not necessarily immoral to deliver pain unto others. However, any kind of consequence for my actions is undesirable to me. Additionally, as others know that I feel pain from their abuse of me, they are immoral for attacking me. In other words, if I feel pain, it is due to the immorality of others, while my perceived transgressions are merely expressions of my will, as I am infallible in my own experience.

Once again, I have to sincerely thank and respect the individual who gave me these scars, as he allowed me to come upon my final ideology. This Post-Post-Post-Post-Modernist idea will center around me specifically, as I am the only one who can know that pain inflicted on me is immoral. I am aware that this will not exactly prove to be marketable; I will still support those of you who continue my previous crusade. However, for those who would like to remain behind me after this final revelation, please send your generous donations to the link above to pay for money to heal my pains. This does not exactly pertain to first-aid either. As alcohol, marijuana, and other substances alter my ability to feel pain, your contribution will go to those as well. Not to mention, the addictive properties of some of these drugs will fuel an addiction, which will only put my authenticity to the test, as I will have to resist the urges of restraint and indulge truthfully.

I hope my individual mission will inspire you to do similar and not inflict pain upon me, while living authentically. Truly, I am the modern intellectual.

[fae-morrigan]

Hey! This post sucks ass. It ignores the reality of racism and homophobia impacting character reception in this fandom, as well as a toxic refusal to accept ships outside of people's fanon OTPs, which are pretty clearly the main reasons people don't like them if you have eyes that work and can read.

Anyways, because it sucks ass, it is now MY post. Welcome to my post everybody!

Today we're going to be talking about character design, and why I think Jay's character design is really good.

(I won't be covering Bernard... uh... down, sure thats his name, here because I am not really one of his stans, but if any of my bernie mutuals wanna hop on and take a crack at breaking down his character design too, feel free to!)

Let's take a look!

First of all, it is important to establish something. Contrary to what fandom will tell you, 'good character design' isn't really about making a character the audience wants to fuck. Its about making a design that conveys character, both subtle and unsubtle. Character designs, especially in a visual medium like comics, are part of storytelling.

So what does Jay's design tell you about him?

He's in bright, clashing colors. Orange, green, pink, the only neutrals spotted here. This conveys a certain confidence in himself- It takes guts to wear an outfit that gaudy. This is someone who knows who he is, and doesn't feel the need to advertise himself differently. From his very first meeting, it becomes apparent he does not care much about what other people think of him (with the exception of Jon... but we'll get there.)

Yet, look at the actual clothing: He wears a mask. More than that, when he first appears to us, he's got his hoodie hood up, something that is often used in character designs to convey being closed off. Despite his openness with the world about who he is, there's something he's still hiding from. He's not a complete open book, even if he is honest.

Now, let's have a chat about the hair.

Ahhh. Jay's hair. The endless subject of ire, for reasons that completely escape me. I've seen people call it a 'stereotype', which, gay people dyeing their hair PINK? HUGE if true! C'mon, guys. Let's be so real with ourselves: Basically every gay person I know including myself has gone pink at least once. If its a stereotype, its an accurate one!

And yeah, Jay's hair being such a vibrant pink definitely is there to make him intentionally and visibly queer. Something that contrasts him from Jon, who is more muted, and far less confident in his sexuality being known by others.

Buuuuut that's actually not the part of Jay's hair I wanted to discuss. Let's talk about the actual style, yeah?

Look at this shit. This is... dawg, who is your barber?

And part of me really wants to chock it up to the fact that Timms really does just not know how to draw straight hair at all. Look, he even fucks Galaxy's shit up:

GIRL.

Except.... Look at it. Look at Jay's hair. Doesn't it kind of look like he cut it himself? Like, just kind of went at it with scissors? It's messy, and none of it is neat, compared to Jon who has a nice undercut going on a lot of the time or Clark's perfectly combed and gelled curls. Even compared to later Jay drawings where his hair has grown out and is much more curated and fluffy and healthy.

Pair that with the fact he picked his couch up off the street...

Here's the unspoken thing Jay's initial design communicates: He's poor. At the very least, he's frugal. This man is making due with what he has.

Everything about Jay's design is there to remind you that this is a man who does not have the privilege Jon has as a white middle class American. He is the oppressed that Jon is championing in this book.

(This all also later puts him in contrast with Nia, who way later in the story actively uses her privilege against him.)

All of this is conveyed wordlessly. And I haven't even gotten to his suit.

White and teal, making him look almost like a ghost. The hood remains, with the same meaning as before. Overall, the design is sleep and reminiscent of streetwear, something Jay wears earlier in the series when sneaking in to STAR labs. His pants, baggy and not-form fitting, are traditional in a lot of asian cultures (generally, they are called harem pants in the fashion world): These specifically seem to be based off Japanese shichibu or tobi pants, baggy and loose and used specifically in manual labor like construction. He's got these tassles that trail behind him, drawing attention to and highlighting the movements of his body: Necessary considering Jay's main skill outside of reporting is parkour! He's also got a matching belt to Jon's, but his is offset from the center, the jewel instead being on the side of his waist rather than centered.

(Sidenote: Cian Tormey once promised me he'd post the concept art for this costume and then he FORGOT. Guess I need to ask again, lmfao)

A good character design shouldn't just tell you about the character, but also, characters around them, too! It is characterizing that Jon took one look at this Bird of Paradise and was like, "oh, yeah, i wanna make out with THIS guy". That tells you something about him and what he values in people (namely, that aforementioned confidence in himself, something Jon lacks during most of Son of Kal El.)

But also, let's take this sneak peak preview of Super Son real quick:

Despite both of them being in bright, highly visible colors, Jon LITERALLY being in primary colors, Jay somehow makes Jon look almost dark by comparison. Jon's ordinarily eye-catching colors look muted next to his boyfriend. Their hair is opposite tones as well, Jon having black hair and Jay having light hair, and of course Jay is visibly more tan (making Jon look pale as a ghost).

No matter how visible he is as Superman, he will never be as visible as well... The Truth. There is visual deference here, as well as contrast. Opposites, despite their color schemes not actually being direct opposites.

All of this is conveyed through just looking at Jay's design. It tells you a lot about his character without saying anything, AND it's unique: I've not seen many characters who look like Jay, especially not in western comics. It enriches the text, and in my professional opinion, is way better than if Jay was just a generic black haired blue eyed boy like so many people seem to want.

I think that one reason why Bernard Down and Jay Nakamura are not as appealing as a partners for Tim and Jon, aside from their personalities or lack thereof, is because of their character design.

There is something about it, especially their hair style, that makes them immediately unlikable. Maybe with another hairstyle and outfits people would be more accepting of both of them