#Point is it's a difficult balance

[astro-b-o-y-d]

It's a difficult balance to figure out whether or not Bill would actually think before he does something, because on the one hand he IS a trillion years old and is known for being a master manipulator, so I highly doubt he ALWAYS jumps into things before thinking. He has to possess SOME level of intelligence and patience if he was willing to try and make a plan work for, what? Millions of years at this point? When was Weirdmageddon prophesized? ...Okay a BILLION years ago. So I truly don't think that he just jumps headfirst into EVERYTHING without thinking about it first.

On the other hand, he's a fucking idiot with a hair-trigger temper and throws tantrums like he's still five years old so maybe he just has all the luck in the Multiverse that somehow allows him to just get through his immortal life by the seat of his pants. Also 'Looks like Mr. Brainiac finally got smart!'. Dude.

[odetojupiter]

uhhh so the number four is associated with death in certain cultures, including japanese, which is fitting for the butcher’s son, yes but just remember neil was supposed to be number three and jean was supposed to be number four ,and in every draft but one jean dies. he is symbolically saved from that fate by dodging the number four (being given, instead, the number three which represents REBIRTH of all things - i made a whole post about that if ur curious) because it means he was never marked for death. so in this draft, where he’s number three, but was supposed to be number four, he comes so close to death - to the point where renee doesn’t know how he’s still alive - because he was supposed to die, doomed by the narrative, but that number three saves him. that number three represents resurrection, and so he doesn’t die like he was supposed to. because he’s not number four, he’s number three. he comes back. he transforms, he heals. he becomes number 29 (i will eventually make a post about jean and the 29)

neil, though, was marked for death. he had the number four tattooed on him, and he goes through his own narrative believing he will die by the end of it. his survival, however, is foreshadowed in the very moment neil thinks he’s about to die - when he is kidnapped. lola burns the number four - the signifier of death - off his face, leaving him scarred, yes, but not marked for death anymore. and so he lives. and guess what: the number 10 represents the start of a new chapter, that one cycle is coming to an end and a new life is starting, one that you’ve worked hard for. so for the number four to be burned off of neil, that tells us neil is going to live. and when neil becomes neil legally, he settles into the number 10 properly. and his new life begins.

[undead-moth]

I know I've been on about this for a while now and I'm being a hater but you're telling me SydCarmy was "always meant to be platonic" even though there are two seasons of writing making use of tried-and-true explicitly romantic tropes, themes and writing signals, and SydLuca is going to be romantic because...he was nice to her on screen for a few minutes?

I don't even care if people ship SydLuca, or if they just prefer it, but you can't honestly tell me that you believe Carmy was always meant to be a friend but Luca is an obvious love interest.

Just because Syd and Carmy haven't kissed or confessed their love to each other doesn't mean that isn't very obviously the direction this show is going. The Bear has already shown you who is endgame. It has shown you every episode of the show so far.

Honestly I really don't think The Bear fanbase understands this show or cares about these characters or the story being told here, which is unfortunate because this show is shockingly well-written in comparison to most shows right now, and we should be so grateful for it but all we're doing is complaining that the writers led us on by not making a ship canon fast enough. It's just. Sad.

[thepringlesofblood]

me, starting to read the suffering game graphic novel: i wonder how much of the next lunar interlude they're going to include?

*the boys escape wonderland and we're only halfway through the book*

me: heh. i'm in danger.

[mariocki]

New Scotland Yard: Point of Impact (1.1, LWT, 1972)

"I thought they'd lumber you with it."

"Did you, why?"

"It's a touchy one, isn't it?"

"There's a policeman involved."

"Yeah, unpleasant."

"Always."

"You were bound to get it."

"Thank you."

"Would've never happened at all if it hadn't been for that blasted Law and Order Brigade turning up on the scene, bloody reactionaries."

"Look, spare me the catchphrases, will you? I don't understand what half of them mean, I don't suppose the people who bandy them about do either."

"Well, I happen to know what a reactionary is."

"Good. You must explain it to me in great detail. Some other time."

[real-reulbbr-band]

I headcanon Victoria to be a cat without claws, a trait that shaped her personality and interactions with others from a young age. Instead of feeling disadvantaged, compared to her peers, She felt an innate sense of apprehension whenever confronted with situations that hinted at potential physical conflict. 

Unlike other kittens who engaged in play fights, Victoria couldn't bring herself to participate. Instead, such scenarios only heightened her sense of caution, making her interactions more hesitant and reserved. Which led her more into hobbies like dance, and maintaining a peaceful demeanor, especially around kittens her age she encountered. Dancing didn’t require touch, at least when Victoria started, it was her escape, her expression, and she could Share it with others without touch. It wasn’t easy without the common stability of claws, but when she found her balance she achieved a grace like no one else. 

Her grace gave her an approachable aura, drawing others to her like a magnet, they were captivated by her sense of wonder and inherent softness. This same magnetic presence was evident when she crossed paths with the young Plato, who bore a harsh appearance, a stark contrast to her own gentleness. Despite his exterior, he often cast glances her way, though he remained silent, his curiosity was still palpable.

She had never seen anyone quite like him before. Jenny had brought him in, claiming she had discovered him lurking in a paper bag. Malnourished, wet, and frightened.

He had only been at the junkyard for a week, keeping mostly to himself, and finding solace in the company of the older cats rather than interacting much with those of his own age. When Victoria first noticed him, she couldn't help but feel a sense of compassion. Despite his withdrawn exterior, he appeared only slightly older than her, and his demeanor hinted at a past devoid of love, perhaps even lacking a home altogether. This was evident in his reluctance to forge connections with others, a hesitance Victoria couldn’t help but feel pitiful for. 

One afternoon, when Plato was waiting for Jennyanydots to return from patrol outside the car boot she approached him. For a moment, they just stared at one another, not exchanging a word, he didn’t seem all that bothered so Victoria moved closer. 

Despite her initial hesitation, Victoria extended her paw to Plato in a gesture of trust and understanding. It was a small act, but one that carried profound significance for both of them. Plato, unused to such displays of kindness, was initially confused but ultimately accepted Victoria's offer, gently holding her paw in his own, wrapping his claws around the area where her claws should be.

Though they came from different backgrounds, Victoria and Plato found solace in each other's company, as they grew up together, their paw-holding was like a secret touch between the two, Plato felt like the piece Victoria had been missing, her dance partner hiding in plain sight and she in turn brought a softness back to his soul that he believed was long gone. 

Thank you @seeking-chrysalism for beta reading <3

[jessamine-rose]

*squeezes aine this time*

Read my Yandere! Dottore fics first (⁎⁍̴̆Ɛ⁍̴̆⁎)

Chemistry ๑ Magnum Opus

So @ainescribe decided to surprise me with more Darling fan art, this time of Dottore’s Assistant!! *sobs* I love it so much ｡ﾟ(ﾟ´ω`ﾟ)ﾟ｡

Once again, feedback will be in the tags. Thank you so much for enjoying my writing, Aine <3

[elftwink]

been learning to play ironsworn (gritty fantasy ttrpg which you can play with a gm but is mostly suited for solo or small group co-op gmless play) after having the rulebook pdf for several years (stars finally aligned to remove invisible thing blocking me from reading it idk) because i'm on another solo ttrpg kick & i don't know what took me so long to get around to this game because it genuinely is exactly what i was looking for. years ago when i was playing through solo 5e modules i should have just been playing ironsworn (believe it or not, 5e isn't very suited to solo play and is extremely clunky when you try lol).

also though i have dabbled in some other solo ttrpgs, a considerable amount of them are journaling games which is fun but imo considerably more work (usually by the time i'm a quarter of the way through the journal entry, i know how to entire scene played out and i want to move on to the next gameplay thing, so i get frustrated and bored quickly. it feels like when you solve a level in a video game but don't have the coordination to pull off the necessary move so you have to spend 20 extra minutes doing something you already figured out), so i really appreciate like not needing to write something for the game to progress (ive been taking notes for my own record since im playing solo and thus am not really out loud roleplaying the way you do in a group, but i definitely could do that instead and not take notes and the game would still function perfectly)

& ive been playing by myself but also in the past ive played a lot of ttrpgs in very small groups which has been other games but is mostly dnd and like. we also should have been playing ironsworn so that having a gm was not necessary. have definitely played games where we had to adapt the rules soooo much to do something that is just base game included in ironsworn. plus it's rules-light enough to do pretty complex moves that pose difficulties in bulkier games (ever introduced someone to dnd and they tell you they want to do a sick backflip and catch something and then attack and you have to tell them that will require several different consecutive rolls and some creative liberties with how the rules are 'supposed' to let you move? you can just Do That in ironsworn. use the strike move and describe it. done!)

the one thing is that although it's rules-light enough to theoretically play any setting or genre (some with more difficulty than others), ive found so far that like... the grittiness and sense of threat is very built into the mechanics so that would be sort of difficult to work around or change (but i think it's great from a game design perspective). what i mean is like, okay: you start with 5 max hp. there isn't really a way to raise this max hp, you just slowly gain abilities (assets) that make you less likely to have to lose the hp in the first place, or that make it easier to recover. when you encounter foes, you rank them on a scale of 1 -5, and enemies on the lowest side of this scale do one harm to you, while enemies on the highest side do five harm to you. so even though encountering an epic enemy won't always be deadly due to the assets you have, they are ALWAYS capable of taking you down to 0 hp with one good hit. so the feeling of threat is much more present compared to games where your character starts to be able to just tank and push through a failure or huge threat.

admittedly also i'm playing solo, im still learning how to balance combat, and also i built a character who has NO combat talents and iron (the close quarters fighting stat) is one of my lowest stats so i personally am under much more threat than if you built a character who knew how to fight or who could do deadly harm. but also the other thing about combat is it's extremely difficult to maintain control of the fight; you have to score a strong hit to do it on basically all moves, and there's a really limited pool of moves available when you don't have the initiative, and obviously none of them really favour you. i don't know that this makes combat genuinely more difficult, but it does make you feel like the fight is always about to spiral out of your control. every second you let it drag without decisive action feels like it brings you closer to dying. like i said, this is a feature of the game design and not a problem in any way. just thinking about it because when i was initially learning i was going to try to supplant it into a homebrew fantasy world of my own but the tone just wouldn't be right. and that it is somewhat difficult to replicate the kind of worlds that i typically play or run for dnd, which tend to lean somewhat sillier and definitely much higher fantasy

but i like to try new things and tbh especially in dnd i find that i very rarely feel that sense of threat and when i do feel it, it has nothing at all to do with the actual mechanics and reality of the combat and everything to do with how well the dm sells it to me and makes it sound and feel scary and dangerous. which is a testament to what a good gm can do for you but i do appreciate the threat feeling more built-in and also being actually real.

[martyrbat]

hm hm hm i feel like this will be really interesting to read with the knowledge of korra and how that effected her instead.... because korra (from my limited knowledge so i could be talking out my ass here) knew she was the avatar at an early age and DID get that community. she had katara and her parents, she had her mentors, she was isolated from the real world during so and perfected the elements other than air (which i kinda recall her struggling with and how its the opposite element of earth so im excited to see if those kinda play out :3) and she was more eager to be the avatar and the excitement and significance it brought (which was a bit clouded by her being sheltered but also would have been expected more before the war impacted things)

i also remember matty saying kyoshi struggled with earth bending (which im super excited to get to and see/see her journey and how it will differ) but!!! i just think its really fun how theyre kinda off the bat setting up this expectation and new grounding for readers who have a past grasp of the avatar universe. even as someone who isnt super familiar with the lore, i know enough to recognize that oh! thats something new!! so just kudos to the writer(s?) for just setting this up to be something very different and in a natural way :3

[steamypits]

it's incredibly not shocking and extremely cool that you're into pits and musk and girlstink and such

anyways, thoughts on piss?

LMAO not shocking huh. 👽 hell yeah homie

it may come as a shock (not) that piss stuff is well within my wheelhouse (and many needy anons have been begging me to draw it for a hot minute lmao) but i've yet to come up with a good idea or composition that i'd want to draw it in. plus i have to figure out how to actually draw the stuff lmao

[soupy-sez]

[hearttodevour]

the puppet is lying in a heap when the marionettist takes hold of its control.

the wires straighten as she pulls, running up to pulleys in the ceiling and back down. with fluid, almost human movements, the puppet stands up, hands clasped in front of it, facing its mistress.

"hello, pretty thing," she purrs. the puppet curtsies as the marionettist's deft fingers play its strings. it is a pretty thing, painted and lacquered wood in a short, frilly dress. its flawless face is fixed into the image of a serene expression.

"I'm feeling lonely. wouldn't you keep me company?" she steps closer to the puppet, and lifts up its chin with her free hand. she places a kiss on its cool lips.

the question is a jest, the answer predetermined. the puppet is hers, wholly and utterly and it would do as just as she wished.

the puppet follows the marionettist in a few waltzing spins across the cluttered room, ending with her on the edge of the bed. the puppet kneels, impassive eyes watching its mistress strip one-handed. she spreads her legs to it, running her hand up her thigh.

the puppet leans in, hands on her inner thighs, and runs its segmented tongue between the marionettist's lips, flicking at the clit in rhythm to the minute twitches of the control. her deep, lingering breaths sound out in the quiet room.

"slower," the marionettist breathes, and without delay the puppet slows, with long licks and gentle circles. it's a nimble thing, precise in its servitude. the marionettist leans her head back.

"my pretty little toy," she says, biting her lip, then twitches with a sharp moan. "there," she says, and the puppet's tongue replicates its motion, growing faster with each flick. Soon its mistress lacks the breath for orders, but strings yank it to right where it is needed, force its tongue deeper inside her. the pretense falters and the puppet is reduced to an instrument of her pleasure, her fingers blurring in furious motion.

she orgasms and the puppet shudders and twitches and writhes in an echo of its mistress's thrashing. finally it falls limp on the floor. the marionettist pants, exhausted and euphoric. after some long moments, she reaches for the control, swaying from the ceiling. the puppet rises and goes to lie down next to her.

she wraps her arms around it, pulls it against her, and strokes its hair, smiling all the while.

[harocat]

I'm by no means an Ilia hater. He's a fantastic athlete. I'm not big on his programs this year specifically (short is a bit boring and the free feels more like an exhibition), but I've enjoyed the ones he had the past two seasons before (Succession and Malagueña were particularly strong).

But, and I will not deny this at this point, damn does watching him make me miss Nathan so much.

[tuesdayisfordancing]

I am conceptually quite into hanahaki but I think there’s been like three actual hanahaki fics ever that I liked.

[rearranging-deck-chairs]

anyway so im rewriting the specials to get yaz in there right and you kinda need her out of the way for wild blue yonder so im keeping her in the tardis to do the manual part of the repairs i guess but just the idea of yaz being There but Just out of sight but very much like,,,,Present, as an agent in the story, while this interaction happens:

which is then Immediately followed by the tardis with her inside Disappearing, just lends a whole lot of fuckin,,,,,,,depth of flavour that you really dont even need to do anything for

[stillfruit]

the most difficult part about group projects is not doing everything yourself