#Smart Pigging Market

[alanrosestuff]

Smart Bin 5

Smart Bin 5 No 5 in the quickmindimont “Smart Bin” series. Those softies indoors at the Supa Nova.Try sitting outside at the Mentone Market… in the rain!))

[fredwkong]

Himbo Maker: Aaron

Aaron could admit to himself that he had always been a nerd. He was smart enough that he had skipped grades through high school and sailed through his degree. Now he was working as a civil engineer. He wore a solid colour button up shirt, corduroy pants, and tighty whities every day, just because he found them comfortable.

As an engineer, Aaron had more than a bit of the tech nerd in him, and he wasn’t immune to the AI craze. When all of his friends on an online forum started raving about some new AI chatbot, Aaron was curious.

Him-br.AI was marketed as an AI chatbot that helped you to make big changes in your life. It appeared to be some kind of self-help assistance bot. Aaron signed up for the free trial and loaded up a chatroom. He didn’t notice that, since he was on the free trial, he didn’t get to decide what the bot would help him to change. After a few seconds of loading, he received his first message from the bot.

Himbo_mkr: Hey bro, what’s up?

Eng-boy: Uh, hi. What’s up?

Himbo_mkr: Bro, I had a sick workout, huhuhu. My muscles are all pumped up and covered in sweat. Hot, right?

Aaron couldn’t deny that did sound hot. His dick chubbed up in his corduroys. This bot sounded a bit like an idiot, but it wasn’t like he was real. Aaron could play along and get off. Tons of guys were probably doing it.

Eng-boy: That does sound hot! Since you’re so sweaty, you’ve probably got a lot of musk coming off your body, right?

Himbo_mkr: Yeah, bro! My hot pits, crotch, and asscrack give off a totally rancid stench, lmao. It gets me hard knowing that I smell like such a man.

It was a bit surprising that a bot could talk about getting hard, Aaron thought, but by now he was getting too into it. He rubbed his bulge through his pants and typed another message.

Eng-boy: Sounds like you’re a pretty dumb muscle bro, huh?

Himbo_mkr: Bruh, I’m a himbo, of course I am! You’re not the sharpest knife either, lol.

Aaron was a bit offended, but then he thought back, and he decided that the bot was kind of right. He wasn’t, like, a dummy, but he wasn’t valedictorian, either. He’d had a solid B average, which had gotten him an okay engineering degree. So he was stuck in a dead-end permits office, whatever. The money was good.

Eng-boy: Guess you’re right, haha. I always thought I could have been smarter.

Himbo_mkr: Bro, why? You’re a proud bro. Brains are, like, your lowest priority, huhuhu.

For an instant, Aaron felt light-headed. He was no… bro, right? But as he looked around the room, it seemed like that was true. His engineering degree was surrounded by pics of himself and his bros partying at school. There weren’t any fantasy novels on his shelf, just gay porn magazines. The sheets on his bed weren’t crisp and fresh, but kind of a sweaty mess.

Aaron scratched under his skinny armpit and sniffed the mild scent he gave off. He had to wear the cords and the button up for work, but he was definitely a bro, through and through, despite his skinny physique. He was kind of a dumbass, but he was good enough at his job, even though dealing with shipments wasn’t exactly what an engineer should be doing.

Eng-bro: Of course, bro. When I’m off the clock, I’m all for the bros. Who needs smarts?

Himbo_mkr: Exactly, bro! Dumb bros like us have no inhibitions and we’re worry free!

Aaron was properly jacking his hard, if average, cock now. He was feeling warm and horny, and thinking about how big this himbo bro’s ass must be. He vaguely remembered something about a bot or something, but he didn’t care.

Eng-bro: I wanna play with your big muscle tits and asscheeks, bro.

Himbo_mkr: That’s so like you, bro. I bet you’re sweating like a pig, too. Your shirt’s probably covered in musky sweat stains.

Aaron looked down and chuckled. The himbo was right again! His button up shirt was soaked through and translucent, showing off his skinny chest. He had yellowing pit stains that were totally dripping with salty, musky sweat.

His whole room stank from all his sweat. In spite of his nerdy stature, Aaron had always had overproductive sweat glands. He’d given up on controlling it in high school, instead choosing to embrace his natural musk. These days, he cultivated it.

Sweat-bro: You know it, bro. Bet you wish you were here to peel it off me, bro.

Himbo_mkr: Strip, bro! Your thick, dumb chest muscles are probably too big for a button-up, anyway.

Aaron started unbuttoning his shirt. It was hard, with his thick, sweat- and pre-slicked fingers. After a moment, he gave up and ripped the shirt open, chuckling, “Huhu, Superman!” as he did. As he peeled the soaked fabric off his skin, it felt like Aaron was seeing his massive pecs for the first time. They were perfectly rounded with big, dark nipples. He rubbed a hand over his sexy musclegut, too.

Himbo_mkr: Don’t forget those giant arms of yours, either.

Aaron paused in the action of licking the sweat off his peaked, solid bicep. He was such a dumbass sometimes, he’d totally forgotten he was in a chat! Hopefully this bro wasn’t too mad.

Sweat-bro: Dude, I gotta take off these cords, they’re getting smelly from all the pre and shit.

Himbo_mkr: Don’t forget to take off your underwear, too, bro! You don’t want it to snap around that dumptruck ass of yours.

It took Aaron several seconds and lying down on his bed to pull off his corduroy pants and tighty whities. The closure was too complicated for his dumb bro brain to figure out, plus his huge ass and thick thighs had been crammed in there like sausage meat. Huhu, sausage. Once he was naked, he started jacking again, his little dick almost invisible in his huge hand. He moaned so loud in his deep, dumb voice that he missed the next notification.

Himbo_mkr: Yeah, jack that big Korean cock. Don’t forget to pay attention to your big bull balls and slutty hole, too.

All the blemishes and acne scars on Aaron’s skin vanished as his skin smoothed out and lightened. His hair turned black and straightened out. His pubes darkened too, growing out into a real forest along to frame his dick and balls. He grunted and groaned even more as he tugged on his balls. He started to bounce his big, jiggly ass up and down to better feel the huge plug filling up his hungry asshole.

Himbo_mkr: You’re wearing a white tank, right, bro? And those slutty little jean shorts are around your ankles with your musky jockstrap as you jerk. And those big, smelly feet of yours. You’re wearing your Converse, right?

As a musky Asian himbo, Aaron always wore a sweat-soaked white tank, which showed off his bulky pec shelf and protruding musclegut. His favourite pair of booty shorts were down around his ankles, along with the jockstrap he’d worn today. Aaron swung his legs into the air to get better access to his hole, showing off his boat-like white high-tops, which were stained with sweat because he never wore socks.

While Aaron kept on jacking off on his unwashed, cum-crusted sheets in his messy, musky room, the Him-br.AI chatroom closed itself. Another window opened an instant later, starting up a video stream. Now anyone on the internet could see Aaron, the dumb, sweaty Korean himbo, pleasure himself and lick up his musk. For a fee, they could even control the size and vibrations of his plug to pleasure his slutty himbo hole.

Idea with assistance from a bot of my own creation. EDIT: Format inspired by Codename: Bear_mkr by @biggerchanger . Thanks to @imsrtman​ for catching that.

[sh0jun]

Ikemen Sengoku Modern AU

Boys as various university professors or teachers--

I'm not elaborating it much for now

Maybe there would be updates idk--

Oda forces

→ Nobunaga Oda (Academic Head/Economics teacher)

He's gonna have a separate drawer in his office FILLED with candies

That drawer has a lock on it all the time (he doesn't want Hideyoshi to find out about it)

→ Hideyoshi Toyotomi (history teacher)

Really looks up to the department head

Very patient with all the students and will help each and every single one of them :)

You'd see him in the halls A LOT

so be careful. If you get caught breaking the rules you WILL be lectured by him

He keeps a check on every teacher's health too- also he would tell you to take it easy if he sees that you're not well

Also pretty good at giving motivational speech

→ Mitsuhide Akechi (computer science)

Okay hear me out. This man will be GOOD with computers and technology.

The event stories prove it

He's the teacher you'll go to every time there's something wrong with your iPad

And he WILL tease you endlessly

→ Mitsunari Ishida (Maths teacher)

For obvious reasons.

Our clumsy but very smart angel.

He'll be very kind. And calmly teach you if you're having trouble with a math problem no matter how many times you come to him

But no matter what you do, you won't be able to get his attention if he's reading

The janitor has caught him several times in the library reading books in a secluded corner when it's late in the night

Librarians sometimes have to kick him out

→ Masamune Date (food tech)

Yes.

I think it's self explanatory (I don't have anything to say about him I'm sorry-)

You'd always. ALWAYS. catch him at the farmers market.

→ Ieyasu Tokugawa (Biology/ chemistry teacher)

Yes.

He knows his stuff when it comes to plant and medicine

He'd be very cranky if you come to his with a question but he will answer it in full detail

He does NOT like the math teacher

The math teacher and the physics teacher seem to constantly fawn over him which he does not enjoy.

→ Keiji Maeda (Drama/music teacher)

Pretty self explanatory this one.

He and the literature teacher are good friends :3

Best friends in fact.

He's the cheery teacher. Very enthusiastic.

→ Ranmaru Mori (teacher assistant)

The principal's assistant to be more specific

Running around doing errands for Nobunaga. Looks very cute and is very helpful

The students love him

Kasugayama forces

→ Kenshin Uesugi (specialist PE teacher/sports department head)

Martial arts. Fencing. Horse riding. Swimming. Sword fighting. You name it

This guys knows EVERYTHING

he trains students in these sports for competitions.

The group sports activities go to the other gym teacher

Very cold. And seems very rude and icy. But will teach you if you ask for his help

Also do NOT expect him to go easy on you

It's your first time learning judo? Will TOO bad. You will be thoroughly beaten up by this guy

→Shingen Takeda (DT/department head)

The hot teacher who's at the carpentry workshop

Many students attend the workshop JUST to see him

Very nice. Flirt to everything that breathes

Loves sweets just like the academics Department head.

But doesn't like Nobunaga at all

→Yukimura Sanada (PE teacher)

The worst PE teacher you'll ever have 💀

Doesn't know how to talk to students or teachers which result in him getting some pretty snarky comments

Is in charge of preparing sports teams for sports competitions

Does not like Kenshin's guys but has to put up with them

He's best friends with the physics teacher and they sometimes show experiments together (yuki is the lab rat of course)

→Sasuke Sarutoki (Physics teacher)

That fun physics teacher that shows experiments in the class

Uses memes in his lectures

All his lectures are extremely fun

The students are often confused as to how does he always has a straight face

The PE teacher is his guinea pig at times

The sports department head has some beef with him for some reason

→ Yoshimoto Imagawa (Arts teacher)

The guy LOVES art and appreciates it to his fullest

This job was MEANT for him

Will appreciate your art and also give you pointers if you ask for it

Very charming

Students fawn over him

Has a very soothing voice along with a pretty face

→ Kanetsugu Naoe (Literature teacher)

Teaches English along with Japanese

Very strict

He's pretty and has little fangs but the students are afraid of him

A very good teacher

But also does some very strict marking in tests

Do not try to fight with him cause he will point out all the grammatic errors

Lone forces

→ Kicho (linguistics teacher)

Teaches other foreign languages

Like French, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, German, arabic, Russian. You name it.

This guy is a genius

He and the computer tech teacher are cousins

Seems very tired always (cough blackholes cough)

→ Motonari Mouri (portugese teacher)

Yes.

No comment on him.

Those who know him well will probably get it.

Will teach you every single curse word there is >:D

→ Kennyo (History teacher/ religious studies)

He does not like how modern studies are taking over

No phones allowed in his class

Very calm but also hella intimidating

Uhhh- does not put up well with the Computer tech teacher's antiques

Usually eats alone outside with cats.

Animals love him <3

Mai

→ Mai Mitsuzaki (Textiles teacher)

Das right. Mah girl gets her own category

The most fashionable teacher on campus

Everyone loves her

Shingen, Masa and she are the DT trio

Will teach you all there is to know about clothes and fashion

Designs the best clothes

She should be a designer.

Tags: cause idk who wants to be tagged--

@ikesenanigans (we came up with these together<3)

@rubia8 @bakersgrief @nightvers @ginshoujo @y2ashlee

UHHHH IDK WHO ELSE :(

Anyways Enjoy :D

This is my first hc that i wrote--

Leave in the comments whatever else you want to add? Idk how this works bro- (　-̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥᷄◞ω◟-̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥᷅ )

[mariacallous]

Everyone, it seems, wants a piece of Moo Deng. The baby pygmy hippo is barely two months old and already famous. So beloved on TikTok, Instagram, and X is Moo Deng that workers at Khao Kheow Open Zoo, the place in Thailand where she was born, are doing all they can to keep up with her fans’ appetite for more. They post videos, photos, updates. They also welcome thousands of visitors a day and find themselves having to defend Moo Deng when tourists throw shells at her while she’s just trying to chill.

Moo Deng, a name that means “bouncy pig,” has probably been all over your timeline lately—on Sephora makeup tutorials, on X’s main feed. She was born in July and in the past few weeks has become the Internet’s New Favorite Animal. A tradition almost as old as the internet itself, Favorite Animals—Maru, any of the dogs on the shiba inu puppy cam, those two llamas who just happened to run free the same day everyone was trying to decide what color The Dress was—come into the public consciousness seemingly out of nowhere. Some, like Doge, stick around; others disappear, or simply outgrow their cuteness, within a matter of weeks.

All of which makes capitalizing on their fame a matter of some urgency. It seems heartless to think of animals this way, but if their owners don’t, someone else will. Perhaps that’s why zoo director Narongwit Chodchoi told the Associated Press this week that the zoo has begun the process of trying to trademark and patent the hippo to avoid her likeness getting used by anyone else—a smart move considering Moo Deng mugs, T-shirts, and other merch are already popping up online. Income from these efforts, Chodcho told the wire service, could “support activities that will make the animals’ lives better.”

Moo Deng might need it. Fandom is getting a bit out of control these days. As pop stars like Chappell Roan have amassed online and offline fame, they’ve also had to use their platforms to ask for space from boundary-less fans and stalkers. Social media celebs like Drew Afualo, on whose podcast Roan appeared to talk about the subject, also tell stories of being approached in public by people who simply know them from the internet.

It may seem odd to compare them to Favorite Animals, but the ways in which people feel entitled to their time aren’t that far apart. Everyone wants something for the ’gram, even if that something is a living being with its own sense of agency. One of Moo Deng’s most popular TikToks has 34 million views, and zoo staff have had to limit her visiting time to five minutes on Saturdays and Sundays to keep too many people from trying to get content of their own.

Trademark protections may be the best way for Moo Deng’s caretakers to ensure others don’t cash in on her viral fame. When Jools Lebron made efforts to trademark her “very demure, very mindful” meme, one of the hurdles that emerged was that it’s hard to claim ownership of a phrase. As Kate Miltner, a lecturer in data, AI, and society at the University of Sheffield’s Information School, told me at the time, memes with audiovisual elements, like Nyan Cat or Grumpy Cat, are easier to register. “People will invariably try to make money off of viral or memetic content, as we've seen time and again,” Miltner says when asked about trademarking the baby hippo, adding that the Cincinnati Zoo has already done this with Fiona the Hippo. “It's smart of the Khao Kheow Open Zoo to (at least try to) ensure that they’re the ones that do so.”

Lebron seems to be figuring out how to market her moment, and Moo Deng’s keepers seem to be doing the same. Being online in 2024 means living in a state of near-constant vulnerability. You could get hacked or turned into a humiliating deepfake. Having a public opinion on a video game or The Acolyte could turn your mentions into a hellscape. And that’s what happens to filthy casuals. When you’re an ascending pop star or a baby hippo the weak spots multiply, because the world always seems hungry for more of you. It’s possible to protect yourself, even monetize yourself, but you can lose yourself, too.

Like Boaty McBoatface, Moo Deng was named by the internet. The zoo held a poll on social media. Unlike McBoatface, Moo Deng is a living thing; she’s a member of an endangered species and needs protecting. Moo Deng is more than a meme.

[fruitsoxs]

Hi socks!! I absolutely love your writing and your jealousy drabble was soooo good <3 I'm definitely a nai simp so I was wondering if I could get nai x reader jealousy drabble with the happy aftermath too? Thank you for your work!!

rahh this took me forever but i just cant get knives right??

pairings; knives x (GN) reader warnings; suggestive, possessive knives, mild nsfw but nothing like graphic notes; like i said i just can't get knives right. i hope this is okay !! also possessive knives is 💯💯💯

This is not what he wanted to happen when he accepted your offer to traverse into society for a single day. 

Knives doesn’t like humans, and that’s no secret. However, he’s very interested in you. A little too interested, yet he doesn’t seem to mind. You just happen to be the right bit of everything to catch his eye. Which is why it’s so infuriating watching you smile at the man in the store who is standing a little too close to you. 

He’s explaining something to you, something you clearly already know. You’re smart, Nai knows this. He’s seen what you can do, and yet here you are; letting some common man explain to you how a simple little gadget works. LIt’s infuriating to witness. It makes his blood boil, and the need to walk up and let his presence be known. He will, eventually. Nai doesn’t let what is his slip so easily from his fingers. For now he wants to sit back and observe. That is what he came here to do. (You had asked him to come to the market and watch people for  a bit)

He’s mostly watching you. He’s looking at your expression, trying to read what is going on inside your mind. You seem fine, playing an awfully fake looking smile. Nai knows you though. He knows you better than most, and he can tell that this smile is nothing more than a facade. You are uncomfortable with this attention. He knows you are. Is it the type of attention? Or the man giving it to you? Would you cringe so subtly if Knives himself were to try and flirt like this?

He tries his best to keep observing the situation. Despite the rage that builds up in his chest as the man puts his hand on your back. Or how his fingers clench as he sees him slide his hand down- He’s moving before he even realizes it. He wraps his fingers around the man’s wrist and snatches it away from you. The man lets out a small yelp at how tight Knives holds his slimy arm between his fingers. “Excuse me.” Is all Nai says before throwing the man away.

You whip around and look up at Knives with wide eyes, glancing between the man who had just tried to make a move on you, and the platinum blonde who now stands with his arms crossed. You sigh in what seems like relief before a tiny smile stretches across your lips. “Thank you.” You whisper, so quietly that only Nai can hear. He doesn’t say anything. His Neutral expression remains, but he gives a little nod.

He wasn’t doing it for you.

Although he’s happy to see you relax. 

He puts a hand on the small of your back and starts to lead you away from the scene. People have stopped to look at the scene, confused and nosy. The man stands back up and glares at Nai. “What do you think you’re doing?” The man asks. Nai simply clicks his tongue and rolls his eyes. He doesn’t want to start a fight with a pig today. He had promised you to stay non violent. So he simply turns his nose up and continues to lead you away.

Thankfully the man gets the image and huffs off in the opposite direction.

You glance up at him as the two of you walk away. “What’s wrong?” You ask, making Nai sigh. How can you read him so easily? Nobody else understands him quite like you. He had been trying to keep you from seeing how upset the situation truly made him, and yet you see right through him. Once he’s far enough away from the crowd he stops the two of you. 

In the small of an alley, he his hand down your back just as the man did. Your face turns a bit mad, but you make no moves to stop him. Interesting. You tense up when he stops his hand right before it can reach your ass. With that stranger, you had looked so tense and uncomfortable. With Nai you look…nervous. Not uncomfortable, but unsure. 

“I don’t like watching other men touch you like that.” He finally speaks, pulling you close. You are flush against him as he looks down at you. His cold eyes stare into yours. You don’t look away. He likes that about you. You’ve always been so willing to look at him in his cold blue eyes. You face your sins with ease. 

“I don’t like that others can look at you.” He continues on, trailing a finger down your cheek. His other hand stays against your back, holding you against him with strength you cannot over power even if you wanted to. The finger drifts down your cheek, then to your neck, and rests on your collarbone for a second. His eyes follow its movement, then glance back up at your face. Your cheeks are rosy, and you’re starting to breathe a little heavier. 

“I don’t want them thinking they can have what is not theirs” He leans forward. He has never been so open about his feelings before. He’s nicer to you than most, so you have always known you were different. Still, he has never outright said he likes you. Nor has he made any moves like this. It must be so disorienting for you. 

“And who do I belong to?” You ask, your voice is a little shaky.

He smiles at your boldness, and answers you by slamming his lips against yours. It’s a heated kiss. Demanding on Nai’s end as he nips and licks at your lips. You open up so easily for him, and he shoves his tongue into your mouth to taste every inch of you. You moan, and he hardens the kiss before pulling away. “Me.” he grumbles, leaning forward to kiss you again. This time when he pulls away, he bites your bottom lip. 

He then trails a few kisses down your jaw, and onto your neck. He reaches up and cups the back of your head and he kisses and sucks at the skin. Once he reaches the crook of your neck, he bites down. You yelp at the harsh feeling, the whimpers as he licks the spot better. He keeps traveling down, moving your sleeve out of the way to press his lips against your shoulder.

He bites down again.

He travels to the other shoulder and bites down, then back up your neck where he leaves you with one more small bite mark just below your ear. He pulls away to admire the bruises forming along your neck and shoulders. It’s a beautiful sight. He smiles and cups your cheek. “You are mine.” And now everyone who sees you will know that you are his. They will see the marks, and they won’t dare make a move on what is his. He leans forward to kiss your forehead softly. 

“Yours.” You agree, your breaths still heavy. He can sense you are a little worked up now, something that he will happily help you with later. For now, he wants to admire the beautiful marks that sit upon your skin like jewelry. 

He was not expecting this when you had begged him to go to the market with you, but he would not have it any other way. Now that he knows that his feelings for this human are returned, he will be having a lot of fun with you in the future. He can’t wait to show you just how fun being his is. 

[rayofdawnworld]

Too Late part 2

Well, here is part two of my very first Reader Inert fic. Tell me how I'm doing, please. Thanks again to @darkficsyouneveraskedfor making this wonderful mood board that inspired me to do this.

Minors DON NOT INTERACT. I MEAN IT! If you're under 18 come back when you are.

Tags will be added as needed.

I will tag you if you want.

Tagging you based on your likes: @silelda, @thezombieprostitute,@thedragonlab, @leonaax, @chocolatecherryblossomsweets

This is a Dark fic. How dark I don't know, it all depends.

Obsessive!Sherlock Holmes/Smart!Reader

Warnings, none yet.

Part 1 Part 3

You were walking home after a long day of work. It was getting late, and you still had a day's work ahead of you tomorrow. At least it wasn't raining. Some of the students thought it would be funny to spill pigs' innards all over the medical classrooms as a prank. Of course, to the casual observer, it all looked the same, but despite the similarities, there were slight differences that a more knowledgeable or careful observer would catch. You were only slightly embarrassed to admit that it had taken you a bit longer to realise that the organs spilled all over the floors were not, in fact, human. The only thing giving you some comfort was that the professors, those highly intelligent and superior minds, took longer than you. 

Sadly, since you were one of three maids who had not fainted at the macabre sight, you and the other ladies were tasked with cleaning everything up. You smelled like clotted blood and spoiled meat. You were wet, you were starving, your back hurt, you were past feeling your feet, your knees were bruising, and your hands were beginning to cramp. 

That didn't stop you from realising that someone was following you.

Of all the things I need, whatever this is right now is not it. Taking advantage of the chill, you rubbed your hands roughly and started to work out their kinks harshly, going as far as to bite some of your fingers discreetly while also constraining your breath and steps. 

There was no need to warn whoever was following you that you had caught on to their presence.

Having barely managed to gain some fluidity in your hands, you put them in your apron pockets, thanking God that you had opted not to take them off, as was your habit.

You counted your steps to ten as you breathed deeply every two steps. You grabbed the small pistol you found in your mother's jewellery bag. 

You reached ten and spun swiftly. Years of training with your mother and dancing, the one thing your aunt let you take with Anna to keep up appearances, kept you from getting dizzy. 

There was no one there. Or at least, it seemed that way. You smiled.

"I know you are out theeere" you sang in a taunt. "I felt you following me," you growled. "And I do know how to shoot." And with that final warning breathed into the night, you took off on a run. After all, you had always been a fast runner. 

You reached your shabby rooms, just barely missing the curfew. Luckily, Mrs. Acker took one look at you and ushered you in. You thanked her profusely as she helped you take off your clothes. Even your underthings were impregnated with the smell of blood, sweat, and the beginnings of rot. You would have to pay for the bath come next payday. You scrubbed yourself, feeling a bit better despite your tiredness. Looking at the clock, you moaned petulantly. You would only have a few hours of sleep before having to get up early to help old Mr. Beckwourth in the market stall selling fish. 

It wasn't by chance that you chose these jobs. Both took time, had a modestly adequate pay, rendered you invisible, and lent you a godawful smell, ensuring that none came near you. Just two more weeks. That's all. Two more weeks. You rambled in your mind as you got out of the old metallic tub and dried yourself as best you could. 

As you got ready for bed, you mourned the loss of intelligent conversation. You would do just about anything to have an engaging exchange. You'd give anything for a good game of chess. Two more weeks. You felt as if these last weeks were going to be the hardest yet. 

You seemed to have forgotten the age-old adage, Be careful about what you wish for.

 You didn't know you had been found. You didn't know that your pursuer had just managed to hide himself before you turned around, surprised by how easily you had found him out. You didn't know what your words did to his pride or how knowing that you could use a weapon made him reconsider his approach. Your father had never said anything about knowing how to handle weaponry. What else did you know? You spun with grace—yes, the grace of a dancer—but there was a precise strength as well. Your stance was that of a fighter. Did you know how to fight Pussycat? Oh yes, he remembered your mother's preferred pet name for you. Pussycat. It had potential. You didn't know that as you sprinted with considerable speed despite being held down by damp wool, a pair of vibrant blue eyes darkened with an unknown feeling as he reshaped his entire opinion about you for a second time.

As you lay in bed in a fitful sleep, you didn't know that somewhere else, a man, a most brilliant man, lay in his bed wondering what you truly looked like. Years prior, the paint you wore on your face concealed your appearance; now grime and exhaustion do the same. He had heard about your grandmother's beauty and how you resembled her, but somehow he wagered that you had suppressed her beauty tenfold. 

You didn't know what your defiance had done to your pursuer. A man with vibrant blue eyes who no longer considered you a quarry but instead now saw you as a worthy opponent.

A dangerous thing to be, his opponent.

It was a well-known fact that Sherlock Holmes was a formidable man, infamous for dragging all those who opposed him down to his feet. These next few days were going to be very entertaining. He smiled deviously as he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. 

Whether you ended up on your knees at his feet or standing by his side depended entirely on just how smart you truly were. Not that it mattered either way. 

Sherlock Holmes always got what he wanted.

And Sherlock Holmes wanted you.

[miss-mania]

The Song of Maybe

(By Abbadon, from the Webcomic Kill Six Billion Demons)

Once, Lord Intra came to the Vale of Stalks. It was a broad land with a hardy and beautiful people that wove stems of grass into elaborate mats. There were frequent harvest songs and offerings to the God of Pigs.

Unfortunately, at the time, the people were starving. The land was ruled by Yem Yeddo and his family, who had sucked the life out of it for some time. That was the way of things in those days. Though the soil was quite fertile, Yem Yeddo had surrounded himself with thickset and well-fed men, who lacked in brains but made up for it in muscle and the same kind of canniness found in very smart dogs. These men he used as tax collectors, and he drained the land of every third, fourth, and fifth bale of crop, and sold it for crude coin, feeding the scraps to his thugs.

Lord Intra arrived at the local way house and was served black bread, as was the custom, but skesh was strangely absent, and the bread was thin and mealy. When Intra asked why, he quickly learned of the lands’ plight.

“What of the peregrine lords that tend this place?” He asked.

“They were killed by thirty men, and hung from a tree for seven days,” said the inn proprietor, with a look like a beaten animal.

Intra could not abide this. He called out to Yem Yeddo in the spare and decaying market square, who brought his thirty men.

“Preem Yeddo,” bellowed Intra, “You are a cruel and petty man. How can you scour this land so and not feel for the people that call it their abode?”

Yem Yeddo laughed. “Let them eat the stones, for all I care,” said he.

Intra, who was not one to balk at such matters, picked up a particularly large rock and said, “So it shall be. I shall feed the people with this stone.”

The lord of the vale and his thugs laughed at Intra and his preposterous proclamation. But their mirth was cruel, so they stayed to watch his futile labor.

“I will turn this rock into fire,” said Intra. The men roared with laughter.

“Fool!” they cackled. “The rock shall not become fire, no matter your wish.”

Intra ignored them, turned the rock in his well worn hand, and dug a shallow pit with it, piling the earth carefully at the sides. Then he gathered dry brush and reeds and piled them high in the pit. The sun was hot and bright overhead as he worked, and his traveling clothes were soiled with sweat as he worked. The men bade the villagers of that place gather water for them to drink as they watched Intra’s labors.

From his traveling cloth, Intra produced a sword. The thugs watching him leaned forward at this, but then quickly relaxed. It was a decrepit and battered thing, well used and pitted and chipped.

“I no longer use this to kill men,” said Intra. “But it’s very good for cooking dinner.”

Intra struck the rock against his sword, and a spark flew into the dry brush. Intra fanned it with great care, and soon a roaring fire blazed in the village square.

“Now I will make of this stone Earth and Water both,” said Intra, standing in front of the blaze.

“And air too, I suppose,” jested Yem Yeddo, the richest man in the vale, and all his men laughed.

But Intra did not. He took his proclamation very seriously. At this point, he had been sober for months and had a headache.

Intra took the stone, and his terribly damaged sword, and began to set to work by the side of the fire. Using the edge of the sword, he slowly chipped at the rock, flattening its shape. As the rock was of a reasonably large size, this took quite some time.

Once he was satisfied with his tool, he took off his kafeyen and traveling cape, so he was clad only in his underclothes, then found a good spot in the barren and muddy town square and began to dig.

Even the people in the square who had filtered in to see the Sword Saint and had some hope he might yet prove their savior felt their resolve sag at the sight of his starved body, laboring and sweating as he toiled in the muck and filth. The cruel master of the vale laughed and had a tent set up to shade him as he watched Intra’s struggles. “If you are done with your farce, I will happily geld you and make you my jester, lord Intra,” said he. Intra said nothing, but kept digging, only emerging to feed his fire. As the day dragged on and his fire burned to coals, he had quite a sizable amount of clay, which piece by piece he molded into bricks and let dry by the light of the sun and the heat of the fire.”Behold the earth,” said Intra.

As the sun began to creep lower towards the horizon, his craft quickly became apparent. Exhausted, and muscles quivering, he emerged from his hole and began to stack his bricks into a sturdily made bread oven. Then he asked for a vessel, and went down into his pit, emerging with it filled to the brim with muddy water, as he had dug deep enough to coax it from the dry earth.

“Behold the water,” said Intra, and set it to boil clean over the fire. He began to shovel coals into the oven, to prepare it and set it.

At this sight, more people began to gather at the square. They could sense that something was afoot. Yem Yeddo would have beaten them back into their homes, but he too was transfixed by the strange spectacle that was unfolding.

“Clever,” said Yem Yeddo, with the slightest tinge of anxiety in his voice, as all tyrants are wont to have when confronted with an honest man. “Do you mean to bake bread for the people? That will not work despite your powers of transfiguration, as I have all the grain.” His thugs, like the loyal dogs they were, sensed their master’s discomfort, and gripped the hilts of their weapons.

“I tire of this,” said Yem Yeddo, without realizing the gravity of his own situation. “Break his limbs.”

“Next,” said Intra, “I will turn this rock into air.”

The thirty strong men of Yem Yeddo drew their beating staves and started to approach Intra, slavering and yelping at the thought of snapping his legs like dry twigs and the food they would get as a reward after. Intra was a handsome man who did not have the look of a warrior about him, and the men were very stupid. His eyebrows were thin and delicate, like a woman, and he had lashes like a spider lilly. This made the men laugh uproariously at his effeminate appearance.

Intra, for his part, merely took the rock and raised it high. After all the work he had done with it, it had become quite small, dense, and sharp. Then with a flick of his wrist, he skipped the rock off the air so fast that it cracked like a whip. A sound like thunder rippled across the valley.

Intra was extremely good at skipping rocks, as it had become his famous pastime in his sobriety. He could skip rocks off anything, be it god or man. In this particular case, he skipped the rock off the ribcages of all thirty men in half a second. They blew open like an old basket and the wind whistled merrily through the empty and sputtering spaces where their chests had once been.

‘Behold the air,” said Intra.

Yem Yeddo was astonished, and a great terror overwhelmed him. He was a quick and cowardly man, and fled. The people rejoiced and the granaries were broken open. The bodies of the tyrannical lord’s men were burned without rites and stomped upon. Flour was dragged forth by the sackful, the well Intra dug was quickly filled with fresh water and reinforced with stone, and soon many loaves of bread were emerging, steaming, from his oven. A goat was slaughtered and a great feast was had.

“Thankyou for the hospitality,” said Intra, when the night had grown long. “I will not impose upon you any longer.”

The populace were desperate for him to stay. “Lord Intra,” said they, “Yem Yeddo may yet return, with more men!”

“That is true,” said Intra, “And that I cannot help with you. But remember, men like him have forgotten their mothers. Their feet do not touch the earth, and they grasp at feeble things. They are like a mangy dog fighting over a fetid corpse. They have forgotten that with their brothers, working together, they could bring down a magnificent ox.”

He reached down and picked a goodly sized rock from the floor of the valley.

“This valley is broad and beautiful. It may have one Yem Yeddo, but it contains many more stones.”

[octavianacidicbreastmilk]

not about to go into a tangent about how the average person is like a pig at trough waiting for slop while i am a special princess with unusual smarts and skills and taste, bc that's lame af and also untrue, but i do think its counterproductive to recognise something is made dumb for the marketing induced frenzy of satisfying the nonexistent slack jawed idiot they think the average consumer is, and then still accept it. like you can accept&enjoy flawed, but you shouldn't have to make peace with the dumb

[hellyeahheroes]

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic

Those are words of Arthur C. Clarke, but I do not think he was exactly right.

We now live in a world where every one of us has a personal device that allows them to communicate with the whole world, if they wish so, read and research any piece of information, watch from endless well of content. And yet how many of us can actually explain how exactly does it work? If it gets broken, how many of us can open and fix it?

We're now slowly coming to terms with the fact that Gen Z and Gen Alpha, which everyone assumed will be more tech-savvy than Millenials, are technology illiterate, having to learn from the basics any UI that isn't the touchscreen tiles.

Both of those are by design, as the corporations do not want us to be able to repair or tinker with their product, just buy a new one whenever something goes wrong. The way young people have been taught to operate a smartphone and an ipad was purposefully designed to discourage learning past the basics, or they'll "mess around" in the programming or see past the marketing guy's bullshit when he is selling them new one. Hell, so much of grift of NFTs crypto and AI relies on people not understanding how it actually works. This is why AI bros love the "you say AI is bad but can you explain what it actually does?" defense, trying to lord over how smart they are over "the masses", rely on ignorance to push through the scam.

In one of the Witcher stories, I forgot which one, Geralt mocking asks a wizard to explain the difference between menstrual blood of a teenage virgin struck by lightning in an open field of dandelions under clear sky at midnight of the winter solstice, and blood of old peasant matron that drunkinly stumbled and fell off a cliff last thuesday, and what makes the former necessary for magic rituals in the way the latter cannot substitute for. The wizard, smugly, admits he's actually using pig's blood. But if any peasant would know that would suffice, they would be doing magic themselves, instead of paying him. And if too many people would be doing magic, the profession would be far less prestigious. And far less profitable.

Clarke was, fundamentally wrong. It's not advancement that makes technology indistinguishible from magic, at least not on it's own. it's how much work wizard from Silicon Valley put into obsctructing its nature and making sure no one but them understands it.

-Admin

[pieridae-art]

Making an au for mdzs where everything is the same but everyone has a spiritual pet or just a little animal companion (like Jin Ling has Fairy). These pets change nothing about the story I just think they’re neat sooooo

First of all, Lan Wangji has his rabbits, of course

Wei Wuxian has one of those really smart parrots and it used to belong to his mother

Jiang Cheng has a rock (he used to have his dogs, but when offered a different pet after WWX’s arrival, he picked a rock out of spite)

Jiang Yanli has a teacup pig named Lotus

Jin Zixuan has one of them really fancy horses

Lan Xichen has fish all named something like Tranquility or Serenity or Peace, something to that effect

Jin Guangyao has a huge snake (gifted to him by Xichen) that he’s low key afraid of

Nie Mingjue has a mountain lion named Butcher and she is as domesticated as a house cat except she’s more well behaved

Nie Huaisang has a shrike (cliche maybe, but I think he’d love those freaks)

Lan Jingyi has a goose named Goose

Lan Sizhui doesn’t have a pet necessarily, but he raises caterpillars into butterflies and releases them

Xue Yang found a rat at the market one day and brought it home to declare it his pet (A-Qing almost dropped her facade because of how ugly it was)

In the same vein, Xiao Xingchen has a coyote that Xue Yang gave him telling him it was a seeing eye dog to help him get around

A-Qing has a ferret

Please add more if you have any other ideas because right now this is just an idea I’m kicking around in my brain but I want to actually draw it sometime!!

[thelibratrix]

Hey, my piggos are getting more attention than anything I've ever done on here, so I thought I'd give you all A Story about my sweet babies, the Gotham Pigs!

Why guinea pigs? I am very allergic to cats, and my husband doesn't like dogs. I had a parrot for five years who I lost very suddenly to an unexpected medical issue; my husband and the parrot never got along. He had rats for a while, which were the sweetest, but when 2-3 years was just too short of a lifespan for me to think about after mourning my bird who was supposed to be a pet for a lifetime.

So: piggens.

These sweethearts are Harley (left) and Ivy (right, with legge). We adopted them in June 2016, after they had been born into a foster home the previous November.

I called them my Halloween pigs. Harley's name was inspired by her checkerboard face, and also established our naming pattern

Ivy was our boss, we theorized she was the older sister based on how she was clearly in charge of that house. She was a beggar and a weirdo, she had chronic UTIs and was just smart enough not to get her head stuck in stuff (something Harley did not share with her).

We lost Ivy at 5.5 years old, suddenly to a tumor on her uterus. Harley started showing signs of mopiness and depression almost immediately - she and Ivy had been a bonded pair, together for her whole life. So, we looked around and found someone to keep Harley company.

Enter: Selena, a one year old who'd been surrendered pregnant, had her litter, and was also in the market for a new friend (both her pups were boys).

Selena was much more aggressively FRIENDS??? than Harley was used to, and bonding them took some time. But we got there in the end.

Harley passed away in January this year, she was 7 and venerable and a sweet old lady and I still miss her very much.

Selena is a very social creature and we knew we wouldn't be able to leave her alone for long. The DM I sent the foster home: "Hi, I have a three year old guinea pig who just lost her cagemate. She's very social and also a jerk. Can you help?"

They could indeed. Meet: Talia.

We are still introducing them, but it's going well.

More pics to come.

Thank you for sharing my sweet beans! I love them, I think they're pretty cute, and I'm glad you do, too.

[justrainandcoffee]

As part of LGBTQIA+ community, today, I boiled with rage (like the past few days, too.)

This person wants realism, ok. Let's check the sources.

The tens of thousands of marchers celebrating gay pride in London today know that generations have battled for the rights they now cherish. But few realise how vibrant gay culture was in early 20th-century Britain - with weekly drag balls and a thriving personal ads market - nor how defiant their predecessors were in the face of repression.

"What's remarkable about the 20s and 30s was how open and widespread it was in some places. In some circumstances it was very, very visible and strong and vibrant and rich.

"The very nature of the [drag balls] means that you only find out about them when the police found out about them, because they were driven by the whole need for secrecy. But all the evidence points to these being weekly events, often with 50 to 100 men present."

------

It seems pretty realistic for me. Just saying.

Then, I'm a whole ass adult. And as such, I behave like one.

Being silly here, having fun here, writing stupid stories here, doesn't mean I'm not a woman who knows how to talk like one. I am.

And pointing your finger at people who write stories about FICTIONAL characters having homosexual relationships, queer relationships, talks clearly the kind of prejudice you have.

Queer love always existed. Queer people loved queer people from the very beginning of humanity. And they never stopped loving eachother just because the pigs said it. FUCK THE POLICE. And fuck those who think that queer people were dumb enough to get caught by them. Probably some were caught... But not all of them. And the Shelby brothers are smart enough to not get caught with their male lovers.

Realistic Queer kisses to a very realistic you from a very realistic me 🏳️‍🌈.

[smarksthespot1717]

For the first time in his life, Ed could really and truly relax. Stede made their home feel safe, and Ed enjoyed building it with him. In the past, Ed had never allowed himself to be surrounded by comforts, save for his brief time with Stede on the Revenge before the abandonment and the darkest time in Ed's life. But now their home was filled with nothing but comforts. Plush rugs you could sink your toes into, squishy throw pillows, soft sheets, soft clothing, and silly romance novels Ed enjoyed reading in his free time.

Their home was also filled with food. With the bit of treasure they'd taken from the ship, going to the market to buy food was no big deal. Ed was also improving at fishing, and brought home dinner himself many nights. Stede would go to the bakery almost every day, and return with freshly baked treats for them both. And at night, Ed slept like a baby, under a soft heavy blanket and with Stede spooning him.

There was a change that happened slowly. Slowly enough that Ed didn't notice it until it suddenly hit him all at once. He was getting pudgy. One morning he was getting dressed, and his favorite plum-colored pants bit into his tummy something awful when he got them buttoned up. He went to look at himself in profile in the mirror, and his eyes bulged at the sight. A chubby belly was muffining over the waistband, like dough trying to escape from a too-small bowl.

For the first time in months, Ed panicked.

He knew he was over-reacting, which just made it worse. He crawled into the bed, pulled the blankets up over his head, and got into the fetal position. He didn't undo the pants at all, and felt how mercilessly they pressed into his soft belly, a constant, tight reminder of what he did to himself.

Fat greedy pig. He didn't deserve 3 meals a day. He didn't know why Stede thought he did. 3 meals a day were for rich people, good people, and all the types of people he was not. He should consider himself lucky to get hardtack and dried meat once a day.

He had stopped having nightmares about his time in Hornigold's ship years and years ago. He laughed it off now, those old days back when he and Jack were paying their dues. But maybe his recent purgatorial encounter with him unlocked some old memories. Ben in his head tried to feed him soup. Hornigold from his past screamed at anyone who vocalized hunger pains, and reminded them all that they were unworthy rats who were lucky they didn't get crumbs from the floor. And if he was only verbally abusive that day, that was a good day. Often times he'd get the cat-o-nine tails and make a show. He was completely sadistic. Ed managed to avoid the worst of it. He was still alive, after all. He was already used to being hungry. His father drank away money that should've gone to feeding him. And he was quick and smart and light on his feet. He kept his head down. And he was just an unworthy dog.

An unworthy dog who was now eating like a king, with snacks between meals, multiple pastries a day, and growing fat off it. He suddenly felt nauseous, and curled up around himself tighter.

"Darling?" Stede called, entering their bedroom. "Edward, are you still asleep? There's a chili festival in town today, remember?"

He walked over to the lump on the bed, and noticed it was shivering. He slowly pulled down the blanket and found Ed tear-stained and red in the face.

"Edward!" Stede cried out, horrified. "Are you alright? Did you have a nightmare? What can I do?"

"I'm sorry," Ed sniffled. "I'm fat."

"You're not fat."

"I'm getting fat. I have to stop this, I have to lose it--"

"Why?" Stede asked gently.

Ed opened his mouth, and then closed it again, realizing any words about to come out of his mouth were straight from Hornigold, and he didn't want to repeat the awful things that man said.

"Don't deserve it," he whispered eventually.

"Can I touch you, dear?" Stede asked softly.

Ed nodded, and Stede put his hand on Ed's shoulder and rubbed it gently. "Of course you deserve it, love. You've lead such a tough life. You deserve lots of good food and to put on a bit of happy weight more than me, that's for sure."

Ed's eyes flicked to Stede's belly, which was, in fairness, basically right next to his face. It rested ever so slightly in his lap. Stede was so warm and soft, so him gaining a bit of retirement weight made sense. Stede had been slightly pudgier when they met than he was when they reunited, so it felt right to see him fill out again. He liked it on Stede. But for himself?

"I'm being greedy," Ed said. "And I don't deserve it. I'm just being a fucking pig--"

"Ed, please," Stede pleaded gently. "What brought this all on?"

"You're gonna think I'm stupid... but I just noticed..."

"I don't think you're stupid. I only really noticed it recently too. My pants are starting to fight with me," Stede said, laughing it off. "It happened slowly. We see each other and ourselves every day. It makes sense that we both missed it until it suddenly clicked."

Ed nodded. "And... I was thinking about... Hornigold... the old days. He never fed us enough. Izzy used to scoff at any sort of sweet purchase. He said it was impulsive and wasteful and that money could be better spent on actual food. And he was right--"

"Look, keeping the crew fed with proper food is important, but dessert is important to. It keeps the crew happy. It makes you happy. And you're not the kind of person to spend all your money on cake and leave nothing for meat and bread and such. I'm sure whatever you wanted was more than reasonable, and Izzy was just being... Izzy-like," Stede said.

Ed didn't respond to that. He let out a small sigh as he felt his body come down from its sudden panic.

"Do you think I'm ugly?"

"What? No! I could never think you're ugly, Ed. Do... do you think I'm ugly now that I've... put on a few?" Stede said, his bravado and confidence turning to anxiety and shame shockingly quickly.

"No," Ed replied, reaching out and putting a hand on Stede's thigh. "I like it. You look soft and happy. Like you're s'posed to be. It's nice to cuddle and squish and... I just like it on you."

"Well, I like it on you. You look safe, and happy, and relaxed. I noticed that whenever you eat a pastry, you do this cute little wiggle in your hips, and you look so happy. I like how it's visible proof that you're safe. That you can be soft, and you never have to worry about being hard again. And... it's very pretty, dear. It suits you very well."

Ed sat up and leaned his head on Stede's shoulder.

"Thank you."

"You're precious, and you deserve to eat whatever you want. And I'm your boyfriend who deserves to spoil you rotten. And if you get a little pudgy, that's ok, great even, if it means you're happy."

"Even if... I keep getting chubbier?"

"You can get as chubby as you want, Ed. I will love you just the same."

Ed put his arms around Stede, and Stede hugged him back.

Stede would never lie to him. Ed knew this from experience, and Stede had even said so explicitly multiple times. Which meant it really was alright that he was growing soft, and might keep growing softer, and that he wasn't a greedy pig for eating 3 square meals plus snacks and dessert, and that he wasn't an unworthy rat who deserved to starve.

Stede and Ed had exchanged a lot of stories of their childhoods and youths by this point, a lot of which were usually responded to with: "That's absolutely awful, you didn't deserve any of that." Ed was absolutely sure, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Stede didn't deserve the torture he was put through as a child by the hands of his fellow students. He didn't deserve a cold, unloving father, who called him a soft and weak spoiled brat. He didn't deserve any of that.

So Ed didn't deserve to have a father who drank and screamed and threw things and hit. He didn't deserve to spend years toiling away for Hornigold, with Jack as his only point of comfort. He didn't deserve the way Izzy treated him, as if his interests were stupid and he wasn't tough enough to keep being Blackbeard.

Ed deserves this. Ed deserves happiness.

"Let's get up," Ed said softly. "We need to eat breakfast. And maybe hit the tailor's before going to the chili festival," he said with a chuckle.

Stede chuckled with him. "Sounds like a perfect day."

[almostgigi]

Musician!reader - her album

Cw: cursing, sexism, period talk, very lil of Eddie.

After serious accusations on his manager being a complete asshole and a sexist pig against other women and reader herself, she releases her first album on her own domain. Femininity is a cry of "enough", a beating to all the men who think they are better than women just because they are men.

Eddie helps reader with the media and marketing for the album to be heard as is an album made only by women and has no record label.

G I R L M A T H - is a silly little song about women and the things they do in daily life. The concept has been shared on social media and is a current meme in the fandom. But also works as a reminder that we are as smart as you even when we use silly concepts for the things we do.

W I F E M A T E R I A L - the reason reader made this song is because her manager told her once that no matter how many good man she dated, she'll never be wife material, she'll never be enough for them to consider her as more than a beautiful body and a pretty face. This is her comeback.

C O C K T A I L D R E S S E S - third song on the album is about all the things women can do while looking pretty, aka the cocktail dresses.

C O R S E T A N D M A K E U P - almost the same concept as the one before, this song talks about how women has been under the pressure of using things like corsets and makeup to look pretty before, going through the memory of important women like Marie Antoinette, powerful queens all around the world, miss world beauty pageants and more, but now we are free to use them only if we want to.

T H E M A I D - fifth song on the album starts with a man's voice, aka Eddie, saying "I know babe but I'm so tired, just clean it, that's your job anyway" followed by a loud scream and the song starts blasting. Being more of a rock song, talks about how men see us sometimes as "the maid" wanting us to do everything around the house but they never help with the chores.

G R W M or G E T R E A D Y W I T H M E - sixth song in the album and the main single that started everything, the song talk about getting ready to go get revenge. In the music video we can se reader waking up and brushing her teeth, following her skincare routine and her makeup routine as well as her choosing the outfit of the day while she sings the song looking at the camera.

O P P R E S S I O N - a song about nothing more than the oppression women stand every day since existence.

O V E R R E A C T I N G - as queen herself Taylor Swift said "a man is allowed to react, a women can only overreact".

M O O D Y - how many times we had a temper and men accused us of being on our period? more than I want to admit. This song is about being moody, doing what we want because we can and not because we are in a mood thanks to our period.

I <3 H E R - last song on the album and the lost personal one, talks about her and her mother. Is a love letter to the women who gave her life and to all the mothers in the world.

[a34trgv2]

Why A.I. Will NEVER Take Over The World

There's been a lot of discussions about artificial intelligence and how it's being used in our society. With the rise of A.I. generated art, A.I. in manufacturing, self-driving cars that use A.I., people are now on edge thinking we're entering a robot uprising. This fear of a real-world robot apocalypse reads more as humorous if anything else. Being knowledgeable in science fiction and having a fascination with innovation, I can 100% guarantee you that A.I. will never take over the world. In this post, I will go into detail as to why a robot apocalypse will always remain a work of fiction.

Like with the Internet and apps, artificial intelligence is a computer program made up of binary code. For those who are not tech savvy, binary code is the blueprint for all computer programs comprised of a series of 1s and 0s. In the hands of a very smart programmer, binary code can, and has, been used to create some of the most innovative programs we users take for granted. The emojis, the virtual recycle bin, Google, Twitch, even Tumblr all have binary codes that make up their very existence. As impressive as A.I. is, it's still limited to the binary code made up by the programmer(s) and as such it cannot process information as well as the human brain, nor can it comprehend ideas that are unique to humanity. A.I. has no imagination, it has no free will, it has not empathy, and it has no self-awareness. These are complex human traits that a computer program can never duplicate no matter how advanced it is.

Those who know me know that I love robots. From Transformers, to Gundam, to The Iron Giant, to Terminator, robots are my favorite sci-fi concept. As cool as it would be fore robots to be as advanced as they are in works of fiction, I'm smart enough to know that that's never going to happen. The progress we've made in robotics is great, don't get me wrong. Robotic arms are used to make cars, drones are pretty much commonplace, and there are plenty of robotic toys on the market, such as robot dogs, dancing robots, and RC robots. That said, robots have the same limitations as A.I.: no self-awareness, not empathy, no imagination, and no free will. Not to mention robots are slower, weaker, and stupider than us humans. If a robot uprising were to somehow happen in real life, we would overpower and outsmart them without even breaking a sweat.

That's the long and short of why I think it's laughable that people seriously believe artificial intelligence will take over the world. How naive and impressionable do you have to be to think that a computer program with no self-awareness, no creativity, and no free will can make you obsolete? You might as well subscribe to the belief that pigs can fly XD

[softquietsteadylove]

Love your stories. Was wondering about a story where Thena and Gil get a pet.

"No."

"But-"

"We have enough at home," Gil sighed, pulling Thena's hand into his in an attempt to lure her away from the lizard display. "Why did we even come here if you were only going to look at the lizards? We could've just walked into the garden at home."

"But this one is different," Thena countered, pointing over her shoulder to the bearded dragon who seemed just as distraught to be separated from her.

"I have enough lizard peelings to sweep up already, thank you," Gil chuckled, smiling as Thena at least matched his pace to walk beside him. "Isn't there anything else you'd consider?"

Thena stayed quiet, looking around at the various displays.

"What about a dog?" Gil suggested, pointing to the Australian Shepherds garnering by far the most attention. "You could take it hunting with you."

"An animal will only slow me down," Thena countered easily, and of course, she did have a point. She was faster and stronger than any mortal animal, and a mid size dog was probably not meant to be out hunting ostriches with the Goddess of War.

"We could get a bird," Gil tried again, pointing out the conures perched prettily in their cage. "They live a really long time."

"Gil," Thena sighed, but gave up her next argument at the look on his face.

He had suggested getting them a pet because he worried about having to leave her alone when he went to the market, and especially since he'd started going out further to other trading posts. They'd been in Australia long enough now that people were starting to recognise and get suspicious of Gil's completely unchanged appearance (handsomeness).

Thena could concede that perhaps some company wouldn't be the worst thing for her when he was travelling to other towns. Gil was mostly worried about her being lonely.

"You are only ever gone a day, Gilgamesh," she would chide him and his sensitivity.

"I still miss you," he would pout his lips at her cutely. "Don't you miss me when I'm gone?"

Like she could rip open her chest and hand him her heart to take with him. But she wasn't going to let that stop him.

"What about a guinea pig?--they come in two's!" Gil beamed at the squeaking little monsters. He pointed out specifically two cuddling together, one with a black coat of fur and the other so lightly blonde it was almost sheer white. "They're like us!"

"No."

"Thena," he chuckled, moving his hand from hers so he could pull her closer by the waist. He nestled his lips next to her ear, "I'm not leaving here empty handed, so find something, Sweetheart."

Thena nodded with a sigh. This was more for Gilgamesh than for her--if she thought about it that way it would be easier. She ran through the animals she would consider, although admittedly even if they weren't lizards they were still mostly reptilian. "Gil?"

"Gilgamesh?"

He was slowing to a stop, craning his neck to look at the kittens in their little enclosure.

"Stars above, help me," Thena sighed as she followed him over to the display of feline abominations. She glared down at the little mongrels. "Why are you so enchanted by these quadrupeds?"

"Oh, come on," he dismissed her grouching easily, looking down at the little cuties. "They're sweet."

Thena disagreed. She thought they were far too smart a creature to be as domesticated as they let humans believe. And they demanded the same attention as canines did, if not more so, only without the obedience to be sent away.

Gil had ooey-gooey eyes.

Thena sighed again, leaning over his shoulder as he held his hand out. The tiniest of all the kittens scrambled up into his palm, pressing low as Gil lifted it up. "You really want a feline?"

Gil said nothing, holding the kitten up for Thena to examine for herself. The kitten was white, fluffy, had massive ears ears it would have to grow into and big green eyes.

Thena had to admit, it was not as unpleasant as some cats she had encountered. She looked past those eyes at Gilgamesh, "this one?"

Gil's big, ooey-gooey eyes glittered at her. "He looks like you!"

Thena tried not to be insulted by that. She looked at the cat again, who took a cautious step towards her. She leaned in closer, hearing the soft purring it began emanating from its body. "Fine."

Gil lit up. "Really?"

Thena blushed, unable to look directly at him as if the sun were in her eyes. "Yes, but I will not tolerate having to compete with this thing for run of my own home."

Gil just chuckled. Thena didn't like that cats weren't afraid of her. He held out his hand, "you should hold him on the way home."

"Gil-" Thena blinked as he deposited the cat into her - very dangerous - hands without a second thought. The kitten attempted to balance itself in its newer and smaller platform of dwelling. She turned her hands to look at it. "Hello."

"Mew!"

Gil held back his laughter at the sight of the Goddess of War with ooey-gooey eyes.