#and glaze just so happens to have the same concept

[ratzhatz14]

I didn't feel like finishing this so

Wow guys it's Glaze but as a human!! And he's having a breakdown trying to figure out if he's useless or not!!1! What a lovely situation

[lev1hei1chou]

Physics Class

Dad!Gojo x reader Genre: Fluff Synopsis: Gojo teaches physics to his child, and it doesn't go the way they want it to. Masterlist

It was a typical evening in the Gojo household, or so it seemed. Satoru Gojo was seated at the dining table with his teenage child and a pile of physics textbooks. His usual demeanor was replaced with a look of sheer desperation as he attempted to explain the intricacies of quantum mechanics.

"Okay, so imagine this," Gojo began, summoning his Infinity to illustrate his point. "You have a particle, and it can be in multiple places at once..."

Haru, stared blankly at his father, eyes glazed over with confusion. "But Dad, I still don't get it. How can something be in two places at the same time?"

Gojo rubbed his temples, mentally cursing the day he decided to take on the role of tutor. "Well, you see, it's like... umm... Hollow Purple!" With a flourish of his hand, he conjured the swirling vortex of energy, hoping it would somehow make the concept clearer.

Haru's expression didn't change. "It just looks like purple fog to me, Dad."

Gojo sighed dramatically. "This is harder than fighting curses," he muttered under his breath.

Suddenly, a light bulb seemed to go off in Gojo's head. "I know! Let's try a practical demonstration." Within seconds, he summoned a small rubber ball and a series of miniature black holes using his powers.

Haru's eyes widened in alarm. "Dad, are you sure this is safe?"

But before he could protest further, Gojo released the ball into the gravitational field of the black holes. Chaos ensued as the ball disappeared and reappeared in seemingly random locations.

"Dad, I think you just broke the laws of physics," Haru exclaimed, a mix of awe and terror in his voice.

Gojo chuckled nervously. "Well, umm... let's just say it's a... creative interpretation."

Despite the chaotic lesson, Haru couldn't help but smile at their father's antics. "Thanks, Dad. I still don't understand quantum mechanics, but at least I had fun trying."

Gojo grinned proudly, tousling his hair affectionately. "That's my kid. Now, let's tackle the next chapter: Kinetic Energy!"

As Gojo delved deeper into the world of teaching normal subjects, he realized that traditional methods simply weren't cutting it. So, he decided to incorporate his sorcery skills into the curriculum, much to the dismay of his teenager.

Satoru decided to demonstrate the concept of kinetic energy using his Infinity. He summoned a couple of marbles and set them rolling on the table, intending to show how their speed affected their energy.

"See, Haru, the faster the marble moves, the more energy it has," Gojo explained, trying to sound as convincing as possible.

His son nodded along, trying to follow his father's logic. But when Gojo decided to ramp up the demonstration by using his powers to increase the speed of the marbles to near-supersonic levels, chaos ensued.

The marbles careened off the table, ricocheting around the room like tiny bullets. Furniture was overturned, vases shattered, and Gojo found himself ducking for cover behind the sofa.

"Dad, I think we should stick to the textbook," Haru yelled over the chaos, dodging a marble that whizzed past his head.

Gojo emerged from his hiding spot, looking sheepish. "Right, maybe that was a bit much."

The sun dipped below the horizon, casting a warm glow over the Gojo household. The door swung open, and you walked in. You were greeted not by the usual calm ambiance of home, but by a scene of utter chaos.

"Baby, what on earth happened here?" you exclaimed, taking in the overturned furniture, cracked decorations and the faint scent of burnt rubber lingering in the air.

Your husband looked up from his haphazard pile of textbooks, relief washing over his exhausted features at the sight of his wife. "Oh, thank goodness you're here. We've had a bit of a... situation."

Your son sat at the table with tears glistening in his eyes, surrounded by scattered papers and half-hearted attempts at calculations. He looked up at his mother with a mixture of frustration and defeat.

"Mom, I just don't understand any of this. We tried so much and nothing worked," he confessed, his voice trembling with emotion.

Your heart broke at the sight of your son's distress. You crossed the room in a few quick strides, wrapping him in a comforting hug. "It's okay, sweetheart. We'll figure this out together."

Turning to Gojo, you found her husband in a state of near-panic, his usual smirk replaced by a look of sheer desperation. "Love, what's going on? Why is everything in shambles?"

Gojo ran a hand through his disheveled hair, his frustration palpable. "I've been trying to help Haru study for his physics exam, but nothing seems to be sinking in. I've tried every trick in the book, and then some my personal tricks. It didn't do much though."

You couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of your usually unflappable husband on the brink of a meltdown. "Well, why don't we take a break, and then try some different approach?."

[markantonys]

Was talking with a moot and they were saying how they don't feel like the show is doing a good job of explaining the lore. How right now we don't know what being the Dragon actually means, what ta'veren are, what the Dark One even is, what does he want, why does the Dragon fight him, how all of these mythologies are built into the worldbuilding in the books but aren't as clear in the show/feels disconnected. Idk I feel like the show is just introducing these things at a slower pace than the books did and that's not necessarily a bad thing

i just don't get these arguments because most of these lore points literally have been explained in the show???? do these book fans just miss it when lore is incorporated via natural dialogue or via Showing Not Telling instead of via somebody sitting us down to do an infodumping monologue for 5 minutes? i swear to god so many readers just don't pay attention to the show and then whine that it's missing stuff it did in fact include.

dragon stuff: this has been abundantly explained in both seasons, meanwhile in the books the concept of TDR wasn't even introduced until book 2. we will get more specifics at the same time rand does in upcoming seasons, just like in the books. at this early stage we don't need to know any more than "the dragon is a chosen one figure whose purpose is to fight the dark one and lead the last battle."

what the dark one is: a bad guy (duh) but otherwise left intentionally vague to build up mystery, just like the books did. we don't have the slightest conception of what TDO actually is until his first onscreen "appearance" in book SIX.

what does he want: to break the wheel and end existence. ishy's literal entire season 2 storyline was about this, and it went into way more detail than books 1-3 did. i'm not sure we got much of this stuff in the books until moridin came on the scene.

ta'veren is the only one i'd agree the show hasn't gone into much (though it DID explain the concept in 1x08), but, again, do we need to know that much about it right now? we know that our EF5 are Special, and that's enough if you ask me.

(i also wonder if the show might go a bit lighter on ta'veren than the books. idk, some of the stronger Main Character Energy stuff like plot armor and convenient coincidences and people blurting out secrets around them might come off a bit silly, and as for the stuff relating to the pattern controlling ta'veren's paths, it's interesting but it's pretty deep lore and the story doesn't really change whether or not we're explicitly aware that the events that happen to our gang are predestined. like, we'll obviously get plenty of predestination stuff with rand's dragon prophecies and min's viewings and likely the finn, so how necessary is it to also go into great detail on ta'veren predestination?)

having watched both seasons with my show-only non-fantasy-literate mom, i can attest that there is SO MUCH information for newcomers to wrap their heads around and i think her brain would have exploded if these seasons had tried to squeeze in any more than they did. she made me take down notes she could review between episodes! you should've seen her poor eyes glazing over at all the lore & worldbuilding stuff getting thrown at her in 2x05! this also goes for stuff like the whining about the show not yet using the words saidar & saidin - if they'd been throwing those around constantly since day 1, my mom would've had no fucking clue what they were talking about because she really struggles with remembering fantasy jargon, whereas consistently referring to it as "the male/female half of the source" in these early seasons is way more intuitive and way more effective at teaching her how this magic system works.

at the end of the day, the show simply is not ever going to flesh out the lore and mythology as deeply as the books do due to limitations of this different medium, and people need to accept that. it will explain as much lore as is necessary to understand the story and not much more than that, and that's absolutely fine. show-onlys are understanding the story just fine with the information the show is choosing to include, and lore nerds can knock themselves out rereading the books anytime they want.

[v1smokewife]

my roommate is fucking slut! *gone wrong* *romantic edition* - series

Encounter One: Scream For Me (Kink: cnc)

Summary: Sanji and Zoro are two of five in a flatshare. On the outside, they look like frienemies that bickered. However, there was much more beyond closed doors.

or

Sanji and Zoro are in a BDSM freeuse situationship. Each chapter is a different encounter. Eventually, feelings will start to get in the way.

So I kinda vaguely wrote about this idea on Tumblr a long time ago. The concept is as it says in the summary. I am WILLING to take requests for kinks or scenarios for them to try. I don’t have much rules regarding requests (no beastiality or underage characters). I won’t take non-con PURELY because it doesn’t fit the story. I’ll write most kinks, even if I don’t personally enjoy them.

I am also writing Sanji as FTM Trans. I’ve never written him as anything other than cis but I’ve been interested in writing him as that.

Content warning: CNC. Knife play and humiliation

It was one of those nights where Sanji was at home alone. His apartment, which was a flat share with his friends, was mostly empty. There were others in the flat, but they were all in their own rooms or out for the night. The five of them and most of them were out for the night but not Sanji. No, tonight was going to be a home cooked meal to himself and a movie before going to bed tonight. A horror movie. Although he wasn’t one usually for horror films, tonight felt like the kind of night for a horror film. Something equivalent to Scream. That kind of teenage horror film. Not normally something he was interested in but tonight felt like the kind of night for a horror film.

Well, it was…that was until his phone rang. He was in the middle of boiling vegetables for his meal when his phone on the counter next to him started to ring. The number came up unknown; but Sanji went to pick it up. It could be one of his flatmates; it wouldn’t be the first time that one of his flatmates called from an unknown number.

He picked the phone up and placed it to his ear.

“Hello,” Sanji said, balancing his phone on his shoulder as he stirred the vegetables.

“Hello?” There was a voice on the other end of the phone, “Who is this?”

Sanji’s eyebrows knotted together, “Who are you trying to reach?”

“What number is this?” The voice spoke which confused Sanji more. They phoned him.

“I think you have the wrong number…’ Sanji moved the vegetables off of the stove and turned the oven off at the wall.

“Do i?”

‘You must do…” He moved to take his phone in his hand, “It happens. Take it easy,” and that was when Sanji put the phone down. He moved into the living room, he went and sat on the sofa but not more than two seconds after he was sat down, the phone ran again. It was the same unknown number. Sanji rolled his eyes before picking up the phone.

“Hello?”

“I guess I must have the wrong number,” It was the same man.

“Why did you dial again?” Sanji narrowed his eyes. It didn’t feel like a very good excuse to him.

“To apologise,”

“You don’t need to apologise,” A roll of the eyes again. Sanji was about to hang up until the voice replied.

“Please don’t hang up,” There seemed to be a small amount of urgency in his voice, “I want to talk to you for a second,”

“I’m busy,” Sanji replied.

“What’s your name,” Completely ignoring the fact that Sanji just said he was busy.

“Why do you want to know my name?” Sanji slowly got up as he spoke.

“You have a pretty voice. I wanna know who I’m talking to,”

The weirdest compliment he’s ever received over the phone but okay.

“I’m away to have my dinner and watch a movie. I don’t have time for this,” Sanji’s voice was a little bit firmer than before.

“A movie? What kind of movie?” The voice only sounded more and more persistent to talk to him. Sanji rolled his eyes and moved back into the kitchen. Out of uneasiness, his hand glazed over the kitchen knives. Surely this wasn’t a creep. It was just a guy wanting to talk to him. Perhaps he was lonely.

‘A scary one,”

“Do you like horror films?” The voice asks and Sanji shrugs out of indifference.

“Not really. My roommate is coming over for dinner…we’re watching a movie,”

“Oh? So, you have a girlfriend?”

What the hell is this? Twenty questions, “No I don’t,”

“A boyfriend?”

Sanji hesitates for a second before answering, “Not really. We’re just friends. Do you wanna ask me out or something?”

“Maybe. You didn’t tell me your name though,”

“Why do you want to know my name?”Sanji leans against one of the counters making sure everything is turned off in the kitchen, but he wasn’t prepared for what he was about to say.

“I want to know who I’m looking at…”

Silence.

Sanji looked around his apartment. Nothing. There was nothing. No sign of life that wasn’t him. This could be one of his flatmates playing a prank on him but…

“I have to go,”

“Don’t go,”

Sanji hanged up the phone and placed it in his pocket. He moved to the hallway that was between the kitchen and the living room. There was no sound of anyone in the hallway. He looked at the door that led to his bedroom and…nothing. There was no one there too. All he was left in was the silence. The silence that sat with him like an uncomfortable present.

He was fine with that, but he jumped out of his skin when heard the phone’s ringtone pierce through the silence with its unwanted presence. He debated not answering it but curiosity got the better of him and he had no choice but to pick it up.

“Listen here asshole,”

“Listen here, you bitch. Hang up on me again and I’ll skin you,”

This time, the voice was angrier and more threatening. Sanji stopped in his tracks as he felt like the wind had been knocked out of him by that alone.

“What the fuck do you want from me?” Sanji growled, making his way to the other hand of the hallway on the opposite side, looking the front door.

“To see what you look like when I fuck you like a little bitch,”

Sanji felt his body shiver at that, so he immediately hanged up. He didn’t know where to go. He didn’t know if he should go back into the living room or investigate further into the house. He didn’t even know if any of his flat mates were in their areas, so he just went back inside to go more towards his bedroom. Every step making him feel as if he was hearing things that were going on in the house. Once he got to the front of his bedroom, he pushed the door open only to go inside.

His bedroom was tidy as it normally was. The only mess that was inside was the usual mess. The books that were strewn around the place were cookbooks he had been studying but other than that, there was no sign of a break in. Sanji went inside and stood in the middle of the room. He looked around. He couldn’t help but feel like he was being watched right now.

That was when the phone rang again.

“Shit…” Sanji breathed out, looking around before answering it, “Look asshole…this isn’t funny anymore…”

No answer. Sanji looked around growing more and more frustrated.

“Fuck you. Stop fucking with me and-“

Wrong move. Sanji turned his back away from the wardrobe and that was a fatal error. Bursting out of it was a tall man in a creepy Halloween style mask and a robe, similar to the kind Ghost face would have worn. By the time Sanji was able to react, it was over. Sanji was grabbed and pushed onto the bed that he was standing inches away from. A knife appeared in the man’s hand as the emotionless eyes peered at him.

Fight or flight kicked in. When Sanji realised what was going on, he kicked his legs out hoping to catch him but the man grabbed his foot and twisted it. Not enough to break anything but enough that it’s a warning. He grabbed his leg and pulled him closer by force.

“Fuck…fuck!”

Sanji continued to kick his feet like a toddler having a tantrum, but the man expertly dodged each attempt of kicking his face. Grabbing his leg, he grabbed his knife once again from his belt and placed it against Sanji’s neck who froze for a second. Words didn’t need to be said. One wrong move and Sanji was going to be a bloody mess on his own bed. This caused him to gulp. The knife teasing his throat when he did.

Moving down, the knife moved down his body and onto his chest. As it did, he made sure to slice each of the buttons on his shirt, so they came popping out. His shirt fell open and his pale chest was on display. If Sanji moved, he swore the man would stab him. The tip of the knife was drawing very light patterns down his chest. He moved the knife to gaze against one of his nipples which was standing on its edge. Sensitive. Sanji groaned at the cold feeling of the knife which brought a chuckle out of the man as his leather gloved hand reached forward to tease it roughly. Pulling and nipping it lightly which caused Sanji to cry out.

As much as Sanji hated it, the nips and pulling went straight between his legs which caused his thighs to press together. He had hoped the man didn’t notice but he did, and he could only laugh more.

“Pathetic.”

The first word he’d heard from him. Familiar sounding. Like he knew the voice. He’d heard it before. However, his thoughts were taken out when the man stopped toying with him nipple and moved it down his stomach and then…the front of his pants. He pressed the blunt end against him. Sanji knew how wet he must be getting. Even more so with the blade pressing hard against his clit.

“Please…not there…”

The man did the exact opposite and dropped the knife to the side for a moment only to pull his pants off. Which much a struggle though because Sanji started to kick and punch all over again but he could only laugh as he managed to get Sanji’s pants off, boxers and all. Right in front of the man’s eyes was a soaking wet hole for him to enjoy.

“Slut.”

Sanji’s eyes widened with anger, but it wasn’t for long when a couple of leather cladded finger pressed against his pussy. More importantly, rubbing against his clit. It was embarrassing how soaked he was getting as he felt the fingers rub his clit in circular motions, slowly. It took everything in Sanji to stop himself from moaning or pushing his hips against him for more. The man’s other hand reached to unbutton his trousers to let his cock spring out. Sanji’s eyes widened at the look of it. So big, thick with prominent veins. How was it going to fit inside of him?

Wait, it wasn’t going inside of him??? Was it???

“Don’t you dare…don-“

The now free hand shot up and grabbed Sanji’s neck, pressing down harshly. As the hand stroking his clit stopped touching him, he grabbed his own cock. The man’s eyes could have watched the sight of his cock being engulfed by Sanji’s beautifully tight pussy but inside, he wanted to watch his eyes. He wanted to watch them widen in despair as he sinks his cock deep inside of him. He pressed his head against the warm, inviting hole and watched Sanji’s face morph with embarrassment and pain as he sinks his cock in.

Inch by inch.

Sanji was tight. Maybe he should have prepared him beforehand. Oh well. There was nothing that could be done about it. For Sanji, this was so wrong. He felt his cunt being stretched so tightly around the large thick cock inside of him. Sanji was about to beg him to stop…to pull out now but he could barely get a word out when his hips were grabbed by the hand that wasn’t gripping his neck and started to thrust into him. Not caring to let him stretch out or anything. Sanji might as well not be there and instead a toy or a doll with a realistic pussy because that’s what Sanji felt like.

Sanji tried everything not to moan and groan. It was hard when t felt so good though. He couldn’t deny it and it was embarrassingly awful for him to think that. He couldn’t admit that. He could never admit it to anyone.

“My little pet...”

The man was a man of very few words as he continued to fuck Sanji on his cock like this. At one point he stopped and pulled out which Sanji was delighted about but that was only for him to let go of his neck and then manhandle him onto his hands and knees. Instead of holding his neck, he was gripping handfuls of long hair and pushing his cock back inside of him. His hips were bouncing off of Sanji’s ass. A hand came down and smacked him, hard which caused a groan to come out of Sanji whose resolve was breaking from the sounds of the moaning and groaning.

“I’m going to cum inside you…fuck…get you pregnant…”

“W-Wait…” Sanji was about to protest till he felt a hand reach down and begin to rapidly stoke his cit again. Clearly, he was waiting for Sanji to cum on his cock first before he filled up his womb.

“Hmm…you’d look good pregnant…” The voice was cracking. Sanji felt overwhelmed with it all that it took himself no time at all before he was tightening around his cock. Sanji arched his back, pushing himself down further on the man’s cock as he felt him continue to plow him. Pleasure erupted through out his body and his walls fluttered around the large cock inside of him, squeezing him.

“That’s it… gonna.. give you a baby...” The man’s voice cracked through completely. He pushed himself in entirely before emptying himself entirely in Sanji’s cunt, rutting his hips against him. He continued to fuck Sanji until their orgasms had been ridden out. Them, he pulled out. He watched the cum and juices seep out of Sanji’s cunt as Sanji fell against the bed. His leather clad finger reached out and scooped some of the cum and pushed it back inside Sanji who groaned, now laying on the bed.

There was a beat of silence before…a rustling of fabric. Sanji didn’t turn around.

“The mask is ridiculous…where did you get it…?”

There was a scoff before the sound of something falling to the store, “You didn’t give me much chance to buy something. Halloween was a week ago…why didn’t you want this then?”

Sanji rolled over to look over at the man in the room. He was no longer a stranger to him as he saw that messy green hair and the handsome face with the scar on his eye. This was Zoro. Zoro was one of his roommates. Zoro and he had a…special relationship.

“I don’t know. I just didn’t think to do this a week ago. The phone was kinda cheesy too…this isn’t the 80s,”

Zoro gave him a scowl, “Did you enjoy anything about tonight?”

Sanji’s face looked like it was thinking although he was exaggerating to annoy Zoro purposely, “Everything else was fine… I guess…”

“You’re such a spoiled brat..do you know that?” Zoro sat on the bed next to Sanji. Sanji moved closer to Zoro and lay his head on his knee.

“You’re such a rude bastard,” He stuck his tongue out. They sat there for a few moments. Zoro didn’t say anything before speaking again.

“Did you really not enjoy this?”

“Zoro I’m kidding. It was good…” Sanji moved to roll on his back, “Your costume was cheesy though. I do mean that. But…I forgot it was you at points and…I’ve never felt more aroused in my life,”

A bit more happier with that answer. Zoro moved to lay next to him, “Do you still want to watch a movie?”

“If you don’t have anywhere else to be…” Sanji rolled his eyes, “You better not because I made dinner for both of us,”

“Where else would I have to be?” Zoro answered watching him,”I’ll even watch shitty horror films with you…if you want,”

[fictionyoubelieve]

excellent critique, thank you!!

couple quibbles:

Completely agree it’s silly to consider Glaze/Nightshade a grift in the sense of a moneymaking scheme, because it very obviously isn’t doing that. But it’s also true that academics are incentivized in other ways to overstate the practical use of their research, and the label grifter still makes sense in egregious cases. And even if the team is not overstepping there (I don’t have a firsthand impression of this either way), it’s always sensible to take the team’s claims with a grain of salt and look for independent attempts to replicate their results.

Eh, while the outputs from upscaling and denoising are still noisy, they don’t seem that far off from what you get after applying Glaze in the first place, which is arguably still imitating the style! But this is probably subjective, and the figures in the pdf are very small, so maybe it is still worse than that.

Overall: the research IS very cool, and I’m glad they’re doing it! But I think the OP is essentially correct that most tumblr artists concerned about this would be better off just taking the good ol’ watermark approach (particularly since I don’t think I’ve actually seen anyone applying Glaze yet anyway—people seem to be more excited about the concept than they are motivated to actually install and run it).

And by the same token, I think we are going to have a paradigm shift around this eventually, the same way we did after the original transition to sharing art on the web—online artists have already been dealing with people outright stealing their art by screenshotting or cropping/editing the source out and re-uploading this entire time. Even with reverse image search, it happens too much to meaningfully fight. Most artists still don’t use a watermark, and the communities that share art place a high cultural value on properly crediting artists. I don’t think that will go away with the advent of AI art.

I particularly agree with this:

sharing art means letting go of the fear of being copied. Nothing is truly original.

The sooner that artists embrace AI as a tool to extend their ability, the less they have to fear from it in the first place. AI art thieves can’t out-compete you if you’re using the same tools they are, with your unique skill on top of it. And if you stop making and sharing art, that’s going to tank your career much more assuredly than AI mimicry can, as well as leaving the world that much the poorer.

the darling Glaze “anti-ai” watermarking system is a grift that stole code/violated GPL license (that the creator admits to). It uses the same exact technology as Stable Diffusion. It’s not going to protect you from LORAs (smaller models that imitate a certain style, character, or concept)

An invisible watermark is never going to work. “De-glazing” training images is as easy as running it through a denoising upscaler. If someone really wanted to make a LORA of your art, Glaze and Nightshade are not going to stop them.

If you really want to protect your art from being used as positive training data, use a proper, obnoxious watermark, with your username/website, with “do not use” plastered everywhere. Then, at the very least, it’ll be used as a negative training image instead (telling the model “don’t imitate this”).

There is never a guarantee your art hasn’t been scraped and used to train a model. Training sets aren’t commonly public. Once you share your art online, you don’t know every person who has seen it, saved it, or drawn inspiration from it. Similarly, you can’t name every influence and inspiration that has affected your art.

I suggest that anti-AI art people get used to the fact that sharing art means letting go of the fear of being copied. Nothing is truly original. Artists have always copied each other, and now programmers copy artists.

Capitalists, meanwhile, are excited that they can pay less for “less labor”. Automation and technology is an excuse to undermine and cheapen human labor—if you work in the entertainment industry, it’s adapt AI, quicken your workflow, or lose your job because you’re less productive. This is not a new phenomenon.

You should be mad at management. You should unionize and demand that your labor is compensated fairly.

[from-dre]

The Feature Presentation

As vital a moment as it was, the last-minute coughing fits and readjusting of strange bodies in creaky seats would still happen, every time, without fail. The lights would dim, our minds as well. Automated unseen machines roped in the cheap velour curtains to the sides of the now-wider screen. Though it had every last pair of eyes in the theater glued to it like cement—mine included—I now retrospectively wonder to myself, how of all the inanimate objects in the known universe; the immeasurable amount of toys, towels, shoes, and large plastic Starbucks straws, how among the zillions of products one’s mind can imagine, the simple concept of the screen deserves humanization more than any other.

Personifying a screen—more specifically, a theater screen—should be easier than it sounds, and make more sense than it does. Had it only known how many different pairs of strangers’ eyes it’d attract over its lonely lifetime, maybe it would’ve fought harder. To be fair, it did fight. Unknowingly, it fought incredibly hard for its well-deserved attention, many times. A canvas, however, has no say in what color its artist chooses to splatter across its blank slate. It must sit there with a silent smile and accept the work at hand, regardless of personal taste or opinion. Realistically, a giant roll of white vinyl offers up no critique whatsoever, so our own are then perhaps, projected onto its face, shoving for space between mindless dialogue and senseless explosions. The screen—assuming it could—would probably try to hear your thoughts, most likely agree with you that, “Yes, the original was much better.” Though, it cannot and will never possess that humanistic trait, to cease communicating others’ thoughts and ideas and begin belting out its own logic, love stories, and musings. Heart-wrenchingly, the mere ability to possess a skill doesn’t promise it ever being put to good use. A million human beings are thinking the exact same thing right at this very second, and because they know this very fact, will continue to do so, simply because a million different independent minds can’t be wrong. However, how many of them are projecting organic ideas and not merely playing the quiet canvas, sitting idly by, allowing and even encouraging some artist to splotch away at their unique mental-prints. How many of them don’t realize they can be their own artist?

What you aggressively allow no other person to see, the screen takes all in. It devours the tiny details that may have never crossed your own mind. The boy’s shaking arm slowly reaching around the back of the girl’s seat but stopping just short of full-contact, palm-to-foreign-shoulder. The man who’s been fidgeting since he sat down, one moment a ring on his finger, the next, after reaching into his coat pocket, gone. The woman in the next seat over seems to be enjoying herself, as well as having a bare finger all night, not noticing the man’s inability to decide whether he should be here at all.

I’m no different. It’s looked back at me many times before. It’s peered into my wistful eyes, themselves peering at a seemingly safe object. Through them, it’s seen my soul and read every line in my subconscious library of secrets and regrets. I imagine some of the more bold-faced phrases included such gems as: “Do I really love her?”

Its method is absolutely genius. There are lovers embracing on its widened-face, having just gone through an experience that nearly killed off any possible future of them reuniting again, and yet, here they are, on high-definition display for the world to witness. Most sets of eyes are at the very least glazed-over, mine are not only dry, but rolling as well. The screen sees this. It processes it with remorse. It doesn’t want to see that much cynicism radiating from a single person, no matter how corny the scene may be. Perhaps it’s not of two newly-weds at all, and instead shows a short transitional scene of a not-so-happy average person pulling into a parking stall at their not-so- spectacular job. A ritual they’ve performed for many years and will continue on with for many years to still come. Maybe the movie’s supposed to be a comedy. So why is this unimportant scene making me unconsciously tear up? The screen knows, even if I never will.

It’s witnessed my upbringing. It’s been there for my maturation, regression, ups and downs. First dates, excitement for sequels, anxiety-filled precursors to a talk I’ll have to eventually have tonight with a girl who’ll be completely blindsided—the screen’s been there through it all. At sixteen, it saw my blood-shot eyes and unusually stiff demeanor, correctly deducing just how paranoid a few hits off of a water-bong earlier in the day can make an amateur like myself. At eighteen, it saw my date do things no person should ever feel comfortable doing at a midday-showing of Kangaroo Jack. At twenty-two, it saw my expressionless face in vividness it probably wishes it could forget. In hopeless attempts to do exactly what it was built for and distract me from whatever seemed to be weighing on my frontal lobe, it filled its face with bright colors, state-of-the-art visuals, and swirls of different worlds, realities, and lives—to no avail. It’s been beaten down by the very kids who’d come running down its halls, shouting in excitement and picking out favorite seats in front-row sections that parents hated. Those kids grew up into cynics who aren’t impressed by loud, booming noises and superhero costumes like they once were. Fair enough, maybe indie dramas and underground horror festivals? It still comes up short. At least, it did with me. I wish I could look it in its face with pure honesty, at some point before the pre-show or maybe after the credits. Those handful of minutes in- between the very end of the last show and long before the next one’s start-time. I wish I could stare into its dark abyss, let my eyes relax and let the center of itself envelope my thoughts so I could tell it how much it deserves.

“You have always been here for me!” I’d admit. “I do lose myself in your stories!” I don’t say anything though, I don’t even think about it, because the alternate realities I’ve become accustomed to seeing up there is exactly the reason for my disenchantment now, and why it’s nearly impossible for my being swept away at twenty-seven like I was at seventeen, at twelve, and at nine. Much like walking out into the sun after hearing a sermon that sounds like its got your name written all over it, and with even a thousand other people in the congregation, the pastor’s speaking directly to you, the first time walking out of a first-viewing of Jurassic Park, Inception, or Lord of the Rings feels like bathing in a warm, bright, shimmering enlightenment. I envy those who have yet to see those classics and others, as you only get one “first time.” The sermon stays with you for a while, maybe only until you reach your car, but the radio comes back on at some point, doesn’t it? Or a text reminds you of something you’d been intentionally putting off for a while now. One way or another, the sun too, sets and goes away and the cold night air reminds you that while fantasies are fun in temporary doses, reality will ultimately creep back in and cause the dreamers heartache. It will thread its sickness into their mental fabric, and unable to catch it in time, they’ll wake up one day and realize that those are just as they’d feared—dreams, and that the screen is just a screen, that a canvas is and can only ever be a canvas, whether it’s blank or bragging about the Picasso it holds. A canvas could never change the world, likewise, the screen sits alone, late, after midnight when the house lights are all shut off and the pitch black darkness reminds it of just how lonely it truly is. It has the widest and loudest-heard voice, but cannot speak. It’s looked at in awe and wonder by the youth, the magic-drained, dreamless “average guys” of tomorrow. In the darkness though, it sits alone and wonders, if through all the eyes it’d captivated, there wasn’t one pair that would take what it’d just experienced back home, and keep it sheltered, safe from the overreaching sadness of the outside world? If even when they’d age too, like the rest, wouldn’t they still look back to it with the same awe and respect and pure imaginative stare that they’d once had? Maybe today was it. Maybe it was finally the day where it got through to the one mind it needed to. Not with the story it was forced to show, of course, but with the mere fact that it was showing a story at all. Maybe its dialogue was forced, or its car-chases didn’t make logical sense, or its two lovers were never guaranteed a perfect future together so the ending was filled with ambiguity, but—it’s a story. It’s a beautiful, perfect story, because, it’s ours. It may be a hollow copy with little heart, but even those are based on greater, larger possibilities. Those are our lives up there, on the big, shiny, silver screen.

For the moment, I may not be so easily swayed to believe in them again. I, however, still show up, with varying degrees of consistency, but I still show up and find a seat and wait for the lights to dim and the velour curtains to pull back so that I can see my friend again. Depending on what it’s got for its theater tonight, the screen may or may not get the respect it deserves. Attention, however, is a non- issue. For the next two hours, it owns us, will captivate us and try as hard as it can to make us believe in bigger, brighter futures again. Of greater, larger possibilities. It’ll watch us as we watch it. It’ll notice all the small nothings we’d never look twice at. It’ll speak to couples on the verge of divorce the only way it can—not through its immediate art, but instead, the collectiveness of its art. At some point in their relationship, the screen played a vital role, its only goal tonight is to merely nudge them in reminder of it. So I sit and wait, knowing the feature presentation isn’t far off now. Knowing that everything that’s come before it are previews. Knowing I’m not here for those stories, even if I have to sit through them momentarily. Knowing the story I’m here to see is something completely different, perfectly specific and something I’ve waited an agonizingly long time for. I look up at the screen and though I may or may have never seen this unique screen tell a story before, I know it recognizes me, like it does everyone else in the theater. The screen is all of them at once, showing thousands of different stories at the same time. Alternate realities. I inhale a deep breath and feel strangely comfortable, like I’m at home. I’m just realizing how much I envy the screen’s strength, to know how powerful its canvas can be, yet to never be able to have organic, original thought displayed. I’m just realizing that if it could, it would pick my body up and shake me into the understanding that I have the ability to do what it will never be able to. I’m just realizing how thankful I am to it when the lights begin to dim. Someone coughs a few rows back and a smile stretches across my darkened face. Maybe I’m becoming the screen myself.

[zyafics]

PLAY FAKE | 02

MASTERLIST (Series)

Pairing — Rafe Cameron x Female Reader .ᐟ

Summary — When Rafe needs to secure a girlfriend for his father to see him as a viable candidate for Cameron Development, he enlists the help of a bartender who wants nothing to do with him.

Content — 18+, smut, angst, depictions of jealousy + aggression, emotional turmoil, mild descriptions of violence, and usage of drugs.

You didn't want to ask Rafe for help.

You never like doing it in general. The concept is foreign to you and it makes your skin crawl with a sense of dread, but you were desperate.

He hasn't come back to your bar in a while; probably off finding a new replacement for a fake girlfriend. Before, you hadn't given it much thought. You did decline. However, now, you wish he hadn't found one yet. Now, the offer sounds appetizing given the situation you're in.

You need to get in contact with him. You knew that showing up to the Tannyhill estate would raise questions but you didn't know where he would be. An idea suddenly popped up in your head and you decided to scroll through social media and find the nearest Kook party. You found one, just uploaded fifteen minutes ago, at Topper's house.

Parking in the street, you stare at the party in full swing. It has been a while since you've been to a party—too focused on working full-time at Sailor and taking care of your siblings—and the idea of going in unnerves you. You were still in uniform, well, it's something you try to wear everyday to get tips. A simple black crop top and a mini skirt. You find it ironic that you were at least dressed for the part.

Leveling some confidence, you push open the creaky door of your old car and head inside. It is absolutely crowded with people, with girls and guys drinking and dancing outside in the yard, near the pool, on the porch. Your eyes glaze over every single one of them, trying to find the one person you hope would be here.

You find Rafe near the back porch of the mansion. He's with a couple of his buddies, Topper being among them, and a girl on his arm as he holds a beer with the same hand. You weren't surprised in the slightest. This was his plan after all. You were just surprised by the feeling in your stomach.

The lick of jealousy you didn't understand where it came from.

You step up. His friends were the first to notice you, scanning over your body that you wish you had worn a jacket over yourself. When you are just in front of him, his gaze finally focuses and meets your gaze.

"Can we talk?" You ask, sparing no attention to the girl on him.

He scoffs, "fuck off."

Of course he's going to be an asshole. You didn't bother with entertaining his comment by grabbing his arm, pulling him up. You knew you didn't have the strength to take him completely so you were pleasantly surprised when he assisted and got up. He even pushed the girl to the side as you dragged him off to somewhere quiet.

Well, as quiet as the live party can be.

"What do you want?"

His words are sharp and harsh, but you expected nothing less. You figured something happened—that's why he entertains his vices, right?—and plus, you told him that you wanted nothing to do with him. If anything, he has a bit of justification to be pissed.

But that doesn't mean you would accept it.

"I was going to talk to you about your offer, but seeing as you're being too much of an ass, I guess I should come back another time," you snap, turning around to head out because fuck him. You weren't going to take it. You had other things to do. You would be forgiving, perhaps, if he actually talked to you about his problem but to be a dick off the bat? Not a chance in hell.

"Wait," he grabs your arm before you move far and this contrasts the strength you hold. One hand and a lazy attempt to hold you in place. "What do you want?"

He said that somewhat nicer.

You turn back with a glare, contemplating what to do, before remembering what's at stake. You're already here. Might as well get it over with.

"I'll do it." You say, your voice coming out smaller than you intended. It’s so embarrassing to ask for help. It feels even more so to backtrack into something you said you couldn't—wouldn't—do. "Be your fake girlfriend, I mean."

The corner of his lips quirks into an amused smile. Even in his drunk state, where his blond hair is darkened from the humidity of the space and his eyes glossed over, you can't help but admit how attractive he is. "Couldn't stay away, could you?"

"I'm not trying to be the next Mrs. Cameron," you snap, feeling the need to clarify. "But, I do need the payout."

His eyes narrow. "Thought you didn't want it?"

"I don't," you answer. "It's something else."

He tilts his head to the side, studying you. "What?"

Sighing, you wished you could talk somewhere more private. But, this truly is the best place you can get him. "When you get your father's company and start doing all the Kook bullshit of hosting charity events, galas, and dinners, I want you to use Sailor as your drink caterer."

It sounded like a good deal when you thought of it. You didn't want the money because you don't know how long this little facade is going to last. You needed something stable. You need something that would benefit you in the long-run. Since Sailor has been slipping off the profit margins and you've been dealing with some trouble regarding its ownership, you figured the business from all the catering would boost it up. It would give you status and credit. It would benefit you long after this engagement with Rafe ends.

His eyes look thoughtful of the idea. You wonder how he's calculating, how he's weighing the options about whether to accept your negotiation or to decline—telling you he already found a replacement. You hope it wasn't the latter. You needed this.

"No."

You clench your jaw. Of course. The one time you sought out help, instead of cleaning up the mess yourself, you got shut down. It's embarrassing.

"Fine." You say, ripping your arm out of his grasp and heading straight to the exit. You want to leave as soon as possible and use the time you should've spent going here to actually come up with a solution. It was a wasted effort on your end. You make a mental note of that.

Just a few steps short of the exit, some guy nearby grabs your arm and holds you in place. "Where you going, pretty?" He slurs his words, his eyes cascading down your body that you wished you pulled down the length of your skirt. "I didn't get the chance to talk to you."

You try to rip your arm off of his but his grip is firm. "Leave me alone."

"Come on, pretty," he gets closer, his intoxication reeking from his breath that you had to turn your head to avoid the smell. "I can make you feel real good."

Your hand clenched by your side while the other places a palm directly on his chest, trying to place some distance between you and the stranger before you commit to your next move. "If you don’t leave me alone—"

It happened in a flash. One minute he's holding you, the second he's getting knocked back with a punch delivered straight on the mouth.

You look up to see Rafe, his knuckles clenched and redden while the beer he was cradling had dropped on the ground into a million broken pieces. His breathing heavy while his eyes are a little distant, lagged out.

"Rafe," you call out, but before he gets the chance to face you, the drunk stranger comes staggering back with a punch in return. The crowd gasps and quickly moves out of the way as a circle forms, Rafe and the man trading swings.

No one is helping them. No one is attempting to. Rafe is significantly more drunk than the stranger, his footing is slightly off, and the drunkard is getting in more decks on Rafe's face.

When Rafe tries to duck from a delivery, the guy does directly to his stomach and it causes him to topple over with a grunt.

Having enough, you step forward and grab the stranger's shoulder. He turns around with a look of confusion—just in time for you to deck him as hard as your hand can swing, right in the face.

"Shit!" You swear under your breath, the blow rippling back and returning straight to your fist, aching.

The stranger staggers back, his back hitting the floor while you grab Rafe. You don't know where you're going, you don't know the layout of this house, but pushing through the crowd, you find an empty bedroom and slam the door close with a lock.

Thankfully, it had a bathroom attached to it. You set Rafe on the mattress as you flick the lights on and search for the cabinets for any aid. Rafe's bottom lip is busted, there's a cut on one of his brows, and bruising forming against his jawline. You don't even want to think about the mess on his knuckles.

Finding a first aid kit, you step back to see Rafe laid out against the mattress, his eyes closed. You rush to his side, afraid he has a concussion and he's falling asleep.

"Rafe!" You shout, hitting his cheeks with the back of your hand in light taps, causing his eyes to flutter open. "You can't do that."

Willing himself back to a sitting position with your assistance, you set the first aid kit to the side as you attempt to help him. Using your hands to cradle his face, you assess the damages.

"Where'd you learn to punch like that?" He asks, the heat of his gaze follows you as you remove your touch.

You shrug. "You need to learn two things growing up in The Cut," you hold up a finger, "how to deliver a good right hook,"

You pause for a moment.

Impatiently, he prompts. "And?"

You hold up his gold signet ring and his watch. "How to take advantage of a drunk."

He scoffs, snatching his things out of your grasp as you laugh, releasing some tension in your shoulders. "Pogue." He sneers.

"Kook." You retort, but there's a lightness in your tone.

Rafe says nothing as you return to your search through the aid kit. When you find what you were looking for, you start on his face, first cleaning the cut around his brow.

He hisses at the sting, but allows you to continue. It was an awkward position to be in, sitting beside him as you try to clean the damage, and he must've noticed how irritated you were getting with his constant shifts away from the pain. Without a word, he grabs your waist and pulls you into his lap with one swoop, both legs on either side of his waist as his hands settle on the small of your back.

"Better?" He questions, raising a brow.

You don't say anything, attempting to adjust your skirt rising up to your hips, before you nod.

Cleaning the wound, you tilt your head to examine what your next step should be. It's hard to figure out because the bruise is slowly forming and while the cut may be small right now, it's going to be nasty tomorrow.

To ease some tension of the silence, you prompt with a conversation. "You got into another fight with your dad?"

He stiffens under you, clenching his jaw. "What makes you say that?"

You feel his eyes trained on your face, but you refuse to acknowledge it. "Because you're out here getting drunk instead of getting wasted at my bar."

Rafe smirks. "Miss me?"

"No, it was good for business." You say, matter-of-fact, and the look on his face dies off. You feel guilty. Adding on, you rectify, "and, you would've had someone to talk to. I don't think the people around here are offering that."

He says nothing, watching you work. You exchanged the bloodied pads for some ointment.

"It's just about Sarah again." He mutters, almost like he didn't want you to hear but knowing you would. "Same shit. Same golden child."

You nod, finally flicking your gaze down to his. His blue eyes are so prominent now, so clear, you wonder if you could get lost in them.

Rafe doesn't disclose any details like he normally does. When he goes on long tangents about the problem. It must've been bad. So, you lower your hand and cup his face, tilting his face to meet yours. "Want to talk about it?"

He swallows hard. "I don't want to talk."

"What do you want to do?"

"Fuck." He answers without a thought, the ability to shift into a fuck-mode is easier than digesting his feelings. You laugh, inappropriately, dropping your hand from his cheeks. You're about to push yourself off his lap—having bandaged him up—and let him go find his next hookup, but his grip on your waist tightens.

He doesn't say anything with that move, and you tilt your head at him.

"I thought I was below your level?" You tease.

"Yet, you're sitting on my dick right now," he says, eyes following yours. "What do you think that means?"

While you're not directly on him, you can feel his hard-on swelling under his pants, lightly grazing against your core, and causing a small ache between your legs.

"That you're horny enough to go for a Pogue."

He scoffs, lowering his hands to your ass and palms the flesh. Your eyes flutter close at the moment. "Who knew you were hiding such a nice body behind that counter?"

"You just haven't been paying attention."

"I am now."

His hands lowering to your hips, slowly pulling you down his lap, realigning your cunt until it sits directly on top of his zipper. He leans forward, his hot mouth against your ear. "If I tell you to grind on me, would you do it?"

You place a hand on his chest, trying to ease some space between the two of you, but your attempt was weak. Some part of you didn't want to leave.

"You're pushing it."

"What if I told you it would make me feel better?" He whispers, his fingers trailing up your skirt, against your bare thighs, leaving goosebumps in its wake. "That you can consider it part of your deal."

Your breath hitch in surprise. "You're saying yes?"

"I was going to," he pulls back to meet your face, "but you ran away."

"You said no to me," you remind him.

"To rile you up," he says, like an asshole, and you scoff. "Didn't think you would just leave like that."

"Maybe you should give me clear answers then."

"Fine," his breath is right in front of yours. "I want you to ride me."

Your eyes trail his face, your hands finding his shoulders. You know you shouldn't. You know if this is supposed to be fake, why do you feel a deep, carnal urge for him. If this happens, it opens the door to other things. But, something in you softens. He did get a bruise for you. He did defend you. He's in pain and you're in need.

Maybe you could use each other.

Slowly, your hips roll against his. The look on his face hints at surprise that you took the bait and causes you to smirk, gripping his shoulders harder when you find the hard cock lined against your panties. You press down.

"Fuck," he groans raspily, "just like that."

The praise lights something in you. "Like that?" You repeat, pushing yourself against his jeans, rubbing up and down, that you can feel him grow harder and harder against the seams of his pants. He nods shakily. "Is it making you feel better, baby?"

He knows you're taunting him, using his words, but he fucking loves it. You're listening. For once, you're not actively trying to spite him and knock back—but willing, to him.

"That's right," he compliments, his gaze following your body as you are starting to find a rhythm against him. Your movements are getting sloppier. "Just what I need. A Pogue who listens to whatever I fucking say."

You nod vigorously, feeling your wetness growing against your panties, drenching the material enough to leak through and rub off against the front of his pants.

"God, look at you," he muses in your ear, glancing down, and a chuckle leaves his throat. "You made such a mess."

"Feel so good," you moan, you tip your head back as the friction of his jeans feels incredibly perfect against your swollen clit.

"Come on, sweetheart," his grip around your waist tightens, afraid with the way you're moving, you're going to fall off. "Ride me."

You follow his direction, quickening your pace as low groans and rasps leaves his lips at the sensation you're making him feel. The sound is like drugs to you, fueling you, because you want to desperately help him arrive at his own climax.

You wrap both your arms around his neck, grinding ruthlessly against his lap. Leaning forward, you dip your face into the crook of his neck. "Come on, Rafe," you whisper into his ear, closing into your own orgasm. "Come for me."

As you came with a moan, your movements didn't stop. Your legs ache, begging to stop, but you want him to get there too.

"Fuck, fuck," he moans at your aggression, at how hard you're pressed against him, moving against him, it's a mesmerizing sight. "I'm coming."

You feel it against your core. The subtle twitch of his dick under the jeans. The faint wetness under you, mixed with your own cum, produces a small smile against your lips.

You slow your grind, pulling back, just to meet his eyes clearing from their post-orgasmic haze, and his grip has weakened significantly around your body. When you stop completely, you push yourself off of him, finding your feet on solid ground with wobbly legs.

"Better?" You tease, to which he nods weakly through heavy-lids. With a satisfied smile, you turn around and head for the door.

"I'll see you on our first date." 

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Navigation — Part 01 | Part 02 | Part 03

[dailyaudiobiblechronological]

11/10/2023 DAB Chronological Transcription

Part 2

Commentary:

Now the feast of unleavened bread from four different narratives for different people, for different truths. I think, I think that's accurate. We have hit all four gospels. Yes, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. And it's even interesting the things that we read that are so similar, but they might hit you in a different way. In each story, things that you didn't notice from the other translations, it was there, but you just didn't pay attention to it. And it might, just might, just hit you a different way. Oh, I, I must have missed that the first time. And there's so many layers here from the religious leaders trying to trick him and catch him in a thing that will be the thing that will justify means for execution. And I don't want to call Jesus a trickster, but he is so smooth. He is so wise. He's like the greatest spiritual director that ever lived by returning questions with more questions to get to the heart of those that are asking, not just giving the answers. If you think about it, this is Jesus, the man who single handedly changed the trajectory of the world forever. He could answer things and make them as black and white as he possibly could. So we could go there it is. Our theology is locked in. It is the words of Jesus, but he almost gives these hidden cryptic questions that make you go layer beyond layer, beyond layer. And oftentimes if you don't study the layers, if you don't sit with the layers, if you just read it and go, I don't know what just happened here and move on, then you'll try to quote those words back as black and white and they just don't make sense like we think they do. But here's what we do have today, we have an incredibly important phrase here today that we cannot glaze over. John, Chapter 13, verse 34: I give you a new commandment to love one another just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. Everyone will know by this that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. End music. Drop mic. You cannot mince these words. You cannot make Jesus too loving. We cannot be too loving. Let me say this in these terms, they will not know us by our theology. They will not know us by our denomination. They will not know us by our political affiliation. They will not know us on our beliefs on current issues. They will not know us by how culturally relevant we are. They will not know us by how loud we pray or how often we prophecy. They will know that we are his by the love that we show one another. Period. I'm going to tell you what this means exactly. This doesn't mean love the ones you agree with. Love the ones of the same faith and denomination and systemic beliefs and political affiliation. It means love your brothers and sisters in Christ despite the differences of beliefs. Love one another. It is the most simple concept of what truly will change the world. What makes us rise above the hatred and the noise? And yet we complicate this. We complicate this because we refuse to obey the new commandment that Jesus gave the disciples before he left them. A new commandment, and I get it. When it's new and you're just walking it out and it's not modeled, there's going to be some opposition. There's going to be some pushback. But we are 2,000 plus years into the life and death and ascension of Jesus, and this still rings true. This is what he said, Jesus 's words, thi is how they will know we are his. We've got some work to do. 

[robot-roadtrip-rants]

Wheel of Time, Season 1 Episode 1

yeah that's right fam this tumble log is going from a 40k log to a 40k and WoT TV Series log because I need to vent

(even though all the venting about season 1 happened like a year ago, WHOOPS)

I warned you this would happen, I TOLD YOU

But anyways:

I'll start off with the pros:

The bit with Egwene going through a coming of age ceremony and braiding her hair was a nice bit of worldbuilding! You only hear about it in passing in the books so it's neat to see it here.

Same thing with Bel Tine! Religious ideas, practices, and holidays are never really elaborated upon beyond the basics in the books. At most you've got the Whitecloaks, but the focus is more on them being horrible extremists than on what their horrible extremist interpretation of the Light is (well, aside from "channel BAD"). Bel Tine in the books kinda felt like Generic Village Festival--and of course, you don't actually see the festival because Rand spends it on his farm. Here we get to see the festival AND we get an explanation about what it, which segues nicely into exposition about key concepts like the Pattern. Very well done.

The costumes! The sets! The acting! Very good, much like. It's so nice to have a fantasy series where the common folk are actually allowed to wear colorful clothing.

I'm kinda digging Mat's backstory. It's taking him in a more serious, more responsible direction than in the books, and I'm interested to see where that leads.

The fact that Two Rivers folk actually know that "listening to the wind" is channeling and actively train their women is a really cool twist! I hope this gets built upon and we see more traditions like this, it would add a really interesting wrinkle to the White Tower's relations with outside channeling groups!

And now *sigh* the cons:

WHERE THE FUCK IS THOM

THEY GAVE PERRIN A WIFE JUST SO THEY COULD FRIDGE HER

EVERYTHING ABOUT THE OPENING IS WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!

EGWENE KICKS SO MUCH ASS AND TRANSFORMS SO MUCH OF THE WORLD WITHOUT BEING TA'VEREN HOW FUCKING DARE YOU TAKE THAT AWAY FROM HER

LAN WOULD JUST ABANDON? A VILLAGE?? TO TROLLOCS?!?!?!?!

THE DRAGON REBORN HAS TO BE A MAN THAT'S *WHY* HE'S SO TERRIFYING BLOOD AND ASHES DID THESE MOTHERFUCKERS' EYES JUST FLAMING GLAZE OVER WHENEVER THE TAINT CAME UP?!?!??!?!??!?!?

ugh. maybe later I'll do a write up dissecting how they appear to misunderstand key aspects of the source material. someone else has probably done it already but I'm angry.

(they gave Perrin a wife for fridging reasons what the fuck)

[saficswrites]

Small Kiran x Petrine thing

So this is something new for me, actually sharing drafts, unfinished work or concepts publicly isn't something I’m particularly familiar with but I figured I’d try it here since this story naturally places itself much deeper in these characters timeline than where I’m at so it would be a long time before I end up sharing it on ao3, if ever.

As for tags or warnings: penis in vagina sex, references to heat, references to impregnation, and a tiny bit of blood. If I missed anything please let me know and I’ll edit the post. Also I’m still learning how to use this site and posting from mobile so please forgive any formatting issues.

As always I really hope you enjoy!

Tharja had warned them that the fertility hexes could set something off in the Laguz blood coursing through Petrine’s veins. Giving her a virile albeit temporary penis all while forcing her partner, her mate, to ovulate… it had obviously triggered something in the older woman.

Kiran had never seen Petrine quite like this, eyes glassy and unfocused, completely glazed over with need… her panting breath so hot and heavy it almost seemed to be visible in the flickering candlelight. Beads of sweat rolled down the older woman’s forehead as she struggled not to tighten her grip on the summoner to the point of hurting her. Struggled to control herself at all after hilting herself inside the smaller woman.

The sensation of being filled like this was overwhelming for Kiran, not just the stimulation but the warmth radiating inside of her, and the knowledge of what was going to happen. Petrine was going to take her completely, give her a child to raise together in the Daein countryside. They’d all live happily, safe in Micaiah’s world that was already free of Ashera. 

Kiran’s shaking hands ghosted down her own stomach, fingertips settling on the slight bulge of the older woman’s cock deep inside her. “I can feel you here.” Her voice was deep, dripping with the same need Petrine obviously felt.

Petrine moaned through grit teeth in response, sharp canines digging into her lower lip hard enough to draw blood. Her grip on the summoner tightened past the point of bruising but loosened just as quickly. She let out a shaky exhale as she desperately stared into Kiran’s eyes. There was a question there, do you trust me? Do you trust me not to hurt you? It took everything the older woman had to not give into her instincts and have her way with the woman underneath her.

Petrine didn’t move her hips until she saw Kiran nod.

[onebluebookworm]

Ranking Books I Read in 2022: 50-46

50. Monster, She Wrote - Lisa Kroger and Melanie R. Anderson

What I Liked: Bulked up my tbr list considerably, introduced me to some ore obscure authors I’d never heard of. What I Didn’t Like: The same kind of quirky weird girl humor that made Quackery such a pain to read sometimes. Some annoying digs at my girl Jane Austen and a fundamental misunderstanding of Northanger Abbey. Do you think the hucksters of the spiritualist movement were exhibiting girlboss energy when they bilks grieving people out of thousands wit their fake seance schticks? The book was written in 2019, so there’s some...unfortunate praise of Rowling. Final thoughts: A noble effort to bring attention to the women who spearheaded the horror and speculative fiction genre, but a little too much “we’re dark girlbosses who like weird stuff and dark books and not that dainty, prissy stuff other girls like” for it to be anything more.

49. Our Hearts Will Burn Us Down - Anne Valente

What I Liked: A genuinely strong idea with some good execution in places. Some of the language knocked the wind out of me. An actually accurate depiction of the St. Louis area, which is something I rarely see in fiction about St. Louis. What I Didn’t Like: This book could have been about 50 pages shorter if Valente just cut out the repetition of points we’ve already gone over several times at this point. The magical realism aspect is sorely underutilized. Abrupt ending that left me frustrated. None of the characters really grow or change meaningfully, and it’s a bit of a slog. Final thoughts: Another strong start that I was genuinely excited for, but slowly went off the rails from compelling study of trauma to moping, doping slog of people feeling sad and not moving from there.

48. The Screwtape Letters - C.S. Lewis

What I Liked: Lewis’ trademark dry humor. Screwtape is hilariously awful, and this is a genuinely interesting way of portraying hell. The ending was honestly kind of unnerving and it’s great. What I Didn’t Like: I know Screwtape being a didactic windbag is the point, but damn did it make my eyes glaze over in some parts. Final thoughts: A fun, quick read, but don’t try to read it when you’re tired or don’t have much of an attention span. You’ll forget what’s happening.

47. The Murder of Mr. Wickham - Claudia Gray

What I Liked: The premise of a massive crossover between a bunch of Jane Austen characters is a dream to me, and this book did indeed deliver on that. Jonathan Darcy is my darling autism king and I love him very much. This book at least leaned into the fact Edmund Bertram is a jackass. What I Didn’t Like: The reveal of the actual murderer fuckin sucked. Boring and didactic at points, and not in the good way that my girl Jane was. Dates are wrong and it bothered me to no end. Final thoughts: I have very high standards for modern regency novels, and this didn’t quite make the mark. Cute and fun, but nothing special and at times kinda tedious.

46. Ain’t Burned All the Bright - Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffin

What I Liked: An interesting concept with some absolutely gorgeous art and prose. What I Didn’t Like: Over too quickly. Final thoughts: Could have been bulked up a little, but given how personal of a project this was for Reynolds and Griffin, I’m not about to quibble over it too much. It gets the job done and that’s perfectly fine.

[foulfirerebel]

Crass language aside, I absolutely agree with @crimsonaxe on this one. For all the OP dives into Arcane, Spiderverse, and Total Drama (with good points to make on the concept of character focus), they've missed the mark with RWBY by several miles.

Just my two cents: perhaps some people could stand to watch RWBY again? The whole series, reading the books as they go along. It's not that big a time commitment and there is a lot to process.

Just saying, if you can handle Arcane and all the stuff it throws at you, you can stand to rewatch RWBY from the beginning again and possibly read the novels. In fact, do read the novels.

I do so every time a volume ends and before one starts, so I recall everything well enough. In fact, if you'd prefer, a friend has shared a comprehensive RWBY viewing guide. Goes into everything you might need to know, though the version I have doesn't go into V9. V9 is required viewing though, for all that @crimsonaxe said above.

In short, the analysis of RWBY by the OP is flawed at best and at worst extremely uncharitable and in incredibly bad faith. My eyes literally glazed over when I tried to read the volume summaries.

More under the Readmore, RWBY volume 9 spoilers ahead~

["Season 9: UH... (That's not me not knowing what happened in 9, they just climbed out of the hole, basically, as the season has nothing to do with Salem's forces.)]

Team RWBY reunites, and out of all of them Ruby doesn't have Crescent Rose. Everyone else seems to be more or less stable.

Weiss suffers a lot by trying to make sense of the nonsensical, eventually rolling with it.

Blake takes temporary leadership since Ruby is checked out for most of the volume. Her worries are first that they're ruining the book and becoming more cautionary tales, but then for her team as they continue onward.

Ruby starts showing signs of her trauma getting to her, little by little, until she eventually explodes over having to be the positive one all the time among other issues. Jaune doesn't help matters, but more on that later.

Yang at first is angry that they're there with her, thinking she died. It takes a couple of pep talks from Ruby and Blake before she gets somewhat back to normal, though still worries about Ruby, Blake, and Weiss.

Speaking of Little, the best mouse ever, they meet Ruby and start the volume themes of Purpose and Identity.

They realize they're in a fairy tale realm, The Ever After, from a book they all read as children aka The Girl who Fell through the World. Basically, Alice in Wonderland.

The world isn't the same as the book, tying back to the Volume 1 theme of the world "not being like a fairy tale". For instance, the Jinxy Peddler (a thieving raccoon auctioneer) is older than in the book, a bratty Red Prince is in place of a wise Red King, etc.

The Curious Cat (bastard, malicious) shows up to help them after an altercation with The Red Prince in the form of a (epic) chess game. They are incredibly curious, but also seem like they're hiding something about Alyx aka Alice.

Blake and Yang get closer together, culminating in them becoming a couple. That's an incredibly shortened version of them getting together, it's really much better watched.

Team RWBY face down their past selves, all resolute in their newfound purposes and what they want from life...except Ruby, who falters and is on the verge of succumbing to despair if not for the Cat. She remains so throughout the volume.

Neopolitan, who likewise fell with them, menaces Team RWBY with clones of a powerful creature that can destroy everything called a Jabberwocker. She does so several times after her first appearance, for the sole purpose of killing Ruby in revenge for Torchwick's death.

Jaune Arc, who also fell, ends up in time travel shenanigans and becomes the heroic Rusted Knight. This doesn't help his psyche either, as it turns him into a more controlling (yet still friendly) and unhinged type of hero who keeps his charges from ascending and achieving more with their lives.

The Cat and Jaune, both having conflicting accounts about what happened to Alyx, argue at a critical juncture and the Cat abandons the group in disdain.

Neo attacks the heroes and Ruby is unable to defend herself owing to her PTSD and trauma. Jaune doesn't help matters afterward, driving Ruby away after she explodes by having his own explosion. This is after the village drowns during the attack, of the Paper Pleasers' own volition.

Neo corners Ruby with not only illusions of Roman, but illusions of everyone else she's been associated with that died. It's basically a massive guilt trip that culminates in Ruby drinking the Ascension Tea. The Cat shows up to try possessing Ruby, seeing her as naught but an empty shell. They fail thanks to Neo.

Neo, on the other hand, has no motivation after seeing Ruby fall. Her entire motivation has just been revenge all this time and having it seemingly complete leaves her hollow. The Cat possesses her as a result. It's not pretty.

All the while, Team WBY (who did their best to comfort Ruby, saw Ruby in distress and tried to be there for her, but likewise tried to be there for Jaune because his breakdowns were more noticeable) show Jaune that he really hasn't failed again like he thought he did. The Paper Pleasers he was helping? They ascended into Crystal people, proving their belief about ascension correct.

Jaune was under the false impression that the tree was death, Alyx was selfish, and that Lewis (her brother) died. The opposite was true. Alyx had a change of heart, Lewis left, the Cat killed Alyx when she didn't keep her promise to them to take them to Remnant (seeing it as an act of utmost betrayal rather than someone learning from mistakes).

Ruby. at the end of it all. After learning her flaws, her mistakes, don't make her a failure, had the choice to be someone else. She chose herself. Because she, at the end of it all, is enough. With her having bounced back, she and her team defeat the Cat.

Neo, seeing the love and life that Team RWBY had, decides not to attack. Not to continue revenge seeking. But ultimately tips her hat in thanks, and embraces the Tree's aid and possibilty of changing herself.

We, alongside team RWBY, learn the real origins of the "Gods" of Remnant and Remnant itself. We learn about Alyx, and how her last wish was to help Jaune. We learn that Team RWBY has done good, as Little evolved from a small mouse into Somewhat: the new and significantly bigger defender of the realm.

They exit the Ever After, seeing all the people that answered Ruby's call for aid in Volume 8 in Vacuo. Ships from across Remnant are arriving at Shade Academy. Proving Ruby's plans were right.

In short order:

Team RWBY, Ruby especially, are more resolute in their paths. Ruby's trauma doesn't have the hold over her like it once did. Blake and Yang, all doubts and fears removed, are a couple and have each other's and their team's back. Weiss is firm about who she is and knows Atlas' fall wasn't her fault. Jaune finally has all those notions about being THE Hero(tm) driven away from him. Neo, a threat since V2, has started making peace with Torchwick's death and is on the verge of becoming better.

None of this is filler. None of this unimportant. All of this matters. Hell, my long ass summary CANNOT and DOES NOT do V9 justice. The sweeping music, the character moments, the callbacks to V2 and before, the character growth each of them go through.

"They just get out of a hole."

I truly, truly wonder why this is the take the OP chose. As I truly wonder why people call ANY of this filler. V9 deals with longstanding issues, has plenty of call backs to fit an entire book, progresses the characters. If we immediately cut to Vacuo after V8, then everything would be rushed through.

I do hope this...rather in depth summary has helped. If I left anything out, please blame my shoddy memory.

If anyone else wants that comprehensive list, I'll be sure to share it.

Is Screen Time An Issue For A Character?

That’s a tough one.

I see quite a few arguments about some shows I’ve watched that ‘oh, this character is bad because they have too much screen time’. Or ‘I wish this character had more screen time to be interesting.’

Basically, too much screen time is now a valid critique to describe why a character is bad or doesn’t work for you. And to that I say…

Uh… no?

I’ll give some examples where I see this critique, but for now I want to state a case of examples where I expected to see this critique online, but didn’t, and I wondered why.

SPOILERS BELOW FOR THE SPIDERVERSE SEQUEL:

The main character of the Spiderverse movies is Miles Morales. Clear as day if you see ANY promotional concept art. The movies nail that home and give you a solid POV character among the Multiverse chaos.

The sequel begins with an over twenty minute backstory sequence involving Gwen Stacy, a side character in the first movie.

(Fun fact: When me and my dad went to see it in theaters together, he said that backstory was over twenty minutes long and that he thought they could've trimmed it down. Animated-phobia gives you weird opinions. He didn't watch Arcane with me and thought nothing of it because 'it was an animated show'. Not kidding.) (Both of my parents are like this, sadly.)

Now, in the context of the movie, it makes sense to include this to understand the full POV of her character going forward. As she is pretty vital to the story.

I tried imagining a version of the movie where we DIDN'T get this intro, went straight to Miles, and we just had to put the pieces together involving Gwen and her actions. And I don't think the movie would've worked nearly as well.

This brings me to another point involving Gwen Stacy in this movie: She's kind of become a protagonist as well, next to Miles.

Is this screen time theft? Under the screen time critique, it probably would seem that way.

And yet nobody I've seen complains. If anything, this solidified her as one of the best movie adaptations of Gwen Stacy out there. In my opinion.

Unlike the first movie, this one is not driven by the narrative of the main character, but rather multiple.

This is not uncommon. And it's an even bigger case with Arcane.

Yeah, this show is phenomenal everyone who says so is right Jinx is an icon Vi is my cartoon crush next to Petra I was crying so hard at the ending and for that alone this show deserves every ounce of praise it gets and I'm kind of an Arcane stan-

*Inhales*

I think I just have a thing for dystopian stories where characters walk through hell.

(Yes I consider TD a dystopian setting, that'd be a nice hot take to tackle one day.)

The Hunger Games is my favorite dystopian setting that I've seen, just because it's very memorable and inspiring. But Arcane is objectively the best dystopian story out there. If I fade out of my Total Drama obsession, this show might be my next target.

Cupcakes. El fin.

I could stop there, but lets talk about why we're here.

Arcane does not focus on the two main characters only as the driving force of its narrative.

Advertisement tell you that our main characters are the two growing war machines who go around calling each other sisters, Vi and Powder (Jinx. Idk how mad people get for which name I use for her. Sorry if I offend you). In fact, there's evidence to back that up. Other than they're the people with dyed hair, that's instant main character. They're the first characters we meet in the entire show. They're the characters with the final scene that closes off the season. EVERY ending to an act is with them. They're the main characters. Boom.

But wait. Nearly TWO THIRDS of this show doesn't even focus on them!

We have all the Piltover characters we keep switching back to. Jayce, Viktor, Mel, Caitlyn for Act 2 pretty much, Silco kind of becomes his own protagonist in Act 3. Really, the only people who remain consistent side characters are Ekko, and the two boys that get blown to pieces by Powder. And... some other people I'm forgetting the names of. (Sorry, I only had two watch throughs of this show so far and I know nothing about League other than the sisters become enemies.)

Now, why?

Why is this the case? I'm not saying characters other than our mains don't get fleshed out at all, but to the point where they're basically major enough to carry their own show? That SOUNDS like a detriment to the story if anything, especially how unfocused it kind of all gets until the end where everyone's in the same room.

Had Vi or Jinx interact with these characters, their fleshing out makes sense, and you definitely see that with characters like Caitlyn and Silco, who kind of need them to function.

But the Piltover gang? Jinx doesn't meet them at all, neither of the sisters meet Viktor, and Vi does meet Jayce, but in Episode 8 of 9.

Why does nobody complain about this? If anything, these guys are stealing screen time.

Well, it turns out, this is all done in Arcane's benefit, rather than fault. We are all the protagonist of our own story, and there are multiple POVs regarding the world.

It's basically if Hunger Games was third person instead of first, and we actually got a chance to flesh out the other rebels/children.

Me personally, and I know I'm not the only one out there, but the sisters were the most interesting thing about the show, and other characters that talk to them were how they caught my attention. That in no way means I don't care for anyone though, and it's COMPLETELY a PERSONAL thing.

So whenever we DO focus on the sisters and their story, not only do we get these other POVS on the scene that could clash with our view of them, but it makes it so that EVERY. SCENE. MATTERS.

No scene is wasted in fleshing out the sister's story. Everything has a purpose and drives it all to one heartbreaking simulation. There's no wasted space, there's no lack of attention to a certain detail, darn it, it's just right.

(I mean, I guess I would've liked to see what they went through in that time skip, like how Jinx was raised by Silco and processed her new identity, or better yet how tf Vi survived prison when it's heavily implied she beat people to a pulp and got solitary multiple times. But I think Season 2 is gonna cover it.)

Seriously, imagine a version of this show real quick.

Imagine a version of the show that took the Hunger Games approach, and used first person POV on one of the two sisters, doesn't matter which one, they'd both work. Cut out scenes not involving that sister. The other characters that appear revolve around scenes they're in with that sister.

Would that work nearly as well?

I don't think so.

Now First Person POV isn't necessarily a bad thing. Danganronpa is first person. Minecraft Story Mode is first person. Those are probably not great examples, but it can work. (TDDRI, a fic of mine, is first person, and I had to work around that to flesh out everyone else. It can work.)

This show is very hot topic and weirdly paced than what I'm used to. So take everything with a grain of salt as I am nowhere near an expert with this show. The show's story doesn't even get started until Episode 4, as the first three episodes are all flashback to explain where our characters are and why they're motivated to do what they do.

Again, I tried imagining a version of this show where we DIDN'T get those first three episodes, we started with Episode 4, and we just had to ASSUME all the backstory involving the sisters and the titular arcane and put the pieces together through Vi's words and Jinx's hallucinations. I don't think we would have been nearly as invested.

So with these two examples, WHY does nobody complain about screen time involving a character?

Is it because they're just really good pieces of media? Or is there a reason for this?

After all, Spiderverse and Arcane fall under the category of an 'ensemble cast'. A cast of characters in a story where there is no titular main character to drive the narrative, and everyone does instead. It's like if Harry Potter was 'Hogwarts' instead, or some title like that.

But lets take a look at some examples of ensemble casts where there's been a complaint of some sort with screen time:

Total Drama and RWBY.

Now I only like one of these two shows, so I'm gonna put that aside for now.

Total Drama. It has an ensemble cast. The show is about teenagers suffering-I mean competing for a prize, eliminating each other bit by bit as it goes along. Naturally with that setup, early boots are left to dry. But that doesn't stop people from complaining.

Ezekiel gets the most flack for too little screen time, and major fanboys say he should've had more focus. Personally I don't get that based on what role he's deigned to play. Caleb is a more recent example. I thought he was gonna have a bigger role and character than he ended up having, and him being a first boot gag makes even less sense than Zeke. Dawn is a fan favorite who isn't even in that many episodes. Axel is a ripoff of Shawn because of her lack of screen time. Scary Girl is... Scary Girl, who I don't see the fuss about her little screen time as she's comic relief, but the complaint is there. There is SO MUCH bashing about Noah's lack of screen time it is not even funny. So much so that he's sharing screen time with another person.

And who is to blame for this: Well, the characters who make it really far into the game, or course! How dare they steal screen time away from these guys!

I feel like Ripper is the most recent example of this. His character arc was about him breaking a world record. He broke it. It's Episode 5. Now he can leave the show, right-

Nope. He's around till Episode 8. Out of 13. And even then, in Episode 13, he's Millie's partner, which means screen time.

It sounds unjustified because it is. I'm not the biggest Ripper hater, but I definitely see the complaints. (Ripper and Damien swapping places are the only part of the elimination order I would change. Everything else is pretty spot on.)

We already have MK as a pre-merge antagonist and Julia as a post merge antagonist, we don't need this rando bully character as well as it adds nothing. Maybe Ripper would've been better liked if he wasn't a bully and just some morally average comic relief guy, but also... probably not.

But he's not the only fart based character in this show that gets complaints about screen time. Here's where I talk about the first gen.

For what I have seen, the ones with the biggest screen time complaints are Owen, Duncan, and Beth. I don't count Heather cause it's on purpose. I count Sierra because it's a personal gripe I have.

Owen was the original winner of TDI, came back on the show in the second season for a mole subplot nobody likes, and merged season three. He and Noah also got a spinoff.

Beth was the finalist of TDA.

And everyone hates it, including myself.

Then there's Duncan. Easily the character the show focuses on the most. Season 1? 4th place. Season 2? Winner. Season 3? Gone half the season so he's only in 8 episodes not counting what he didn't compete in, but he scored 5th overall. Season 5? Weakest performance, but he still merged. That's 8th place by the way.

By far, THIS is the character in this show that gets the MOST horrendous flack for his screen time. And from what I've learned, if you think this, you probably hate Duncan as a character.

Like, I haven't watched Winx, but I saw videos on YouTube that made fun of Bloom for getting too much screen time.

Somebody do those but with Duncan! I'm not a Duncan hater, but I would like to get a laugh!

So it'd just be easy to say the writers played favorites, it was an issue, and be done with it, right?

Except no.

My GF watched World Tour just recently. (And she was mixed on it.) Her comments regarding Duncan and Gwen were that she wished they had more interactions to sell them (she was routing AGAINST Duncney, basically) and it didn't help that Duncan was gone half the season. She said that it would've helped all the characters involved if he stayed to flesh that out.

To that I went: "Huh. That's interesting how you take no issue with this character's screen time."

But why though? She's not a stan of him, she's a casual viewer, so that can't be it.

And that's when it hit me.

Beth and Sierra. These two make it through an entire season each. And we both collectively hate them as characters. And we hate seeing them on screen.

That's because it's what the characters DO with their screen time.

See what I'm talking about:

Season 1: Duncan is an established character that develops relationships and friendships and learns to open up to people outside of his comfort bad boy zone.

Trent spends 16 episodes sitting still and looking pretty with a guitar. (Okay that's probably not a great example, and I don't hate Trent, but you kinda get it)

Season 2: Duncan is dealing with revenge on Harold for his spoiled relationship with Courtney where he gets abused by her, fights to hold his own, and dumps her.

Beth spends the entire season talking about a fake boyfriend and cheating on it.

Season 3: Duncan, again, is only competing in 8 episodes out of 26, but what does he do? He establishes a new relationship with Gwen, gets her cancelled, forms a friendship with Alejandro, and gets played.

Sierra is there the entire season sexually harassing Cody and passing it off as quirky. We hate to see it. (Seriously, you guys think the love triangle is worse than this? My GF and I agreed we would rather watch the love triangle ten times again, over Sierra being on screen at all.)

What's the difference here? STORY.

Certain characters have story to follow, that NEEDS that screen time to work. Ironically, the plotline of Duncan's that comes across the least genuine, is the season where he's on screen the least. (Not counting All Stars, but they're kind of equal in episodes Duncan's in.)

Again, imagine if we never had that backstory sequence of Gwen Stacy. Yes it eats up screen time, but without it? She would come across as an ingenuine traitor who supposedly ditched her dad for some cool spider society. We NEEDED that sequence.

Duncan is always doing something when the screen is focused on him.

The reason Beth and Sierra don't work despite having all the screen time in the world is that they do NOTHING with the screen time they get. Nothing of value at least. We could've learned a lot about their origins, Beth's underdog status, or Sierra's fanclub, flesh them out as dynamic characters to route for, with different sides of them that slip through time to time that gets the audience thinking.

Nope. Sexual harassment makes up for all of that. (I question why I put up with this show sometimes.)

That would be the case and that's the answer, just do something with your screen time and you're free to have as much as you want.

Except there's ANOTHER key to the puzzle here.

Duncan is in the top 4 of the TD cast for a reason.

He's a main character.

Something Jaune Arc is not.

Hello nemesis my old friend.

Look, I respect people who like RWBY. People can feel any way they want to about a show. Opinions are valid.

If you think Arcane is the worst show ever made, that's valid.

If you think Velma is the best show ever made, that's valid.

It's all VALID.

With that said I think this show is an absolute trainwreck when it comes to writing characters.

Now hold on before you say I hate everything about it, I don't. This show does have SOME merits to it. The music is stellar and I actually listen to the soundtrack from time to time. For a limited budget animation, it's impressive. The choreo is neat. I want these weapons. I actually like quite a few of the side characters. Keep in mind I said side.

But what I look for in a good show is a compelling story and interesting characters to follow.

Something this show just does not have in my opinion.

I keep saying I'll do an analysis post on why Team RWBY are awful protagonists, but I've been busy and my plate has not emptied. But one of my main points regarding them is screen time.

Keep in mind, I've only seen fully up to Season 8. I've only seen clips of Season 9, so whatever I say about 9 may not be accurate.

Team RWBY are the main characters of the show, and yet they have not done a single main character thing throughout EIGHT SEASONS. It's kind of incredible.

If I didn't know the name of the show but saw a clip, I'd assume the main character was Jaune, or Oscar, more on them later.

What have these girls contributed in the battle of Salem's forces?

Season 1: Blake helped stop a robbery. Not even all four of them, just Blake. (So did Sun and Penny.)

Season 2: They broke into the White Fang's secret operation and busted a train into the city to fight off some Grim, in time for Team CFVY to wipe them out. (Those characters appear TWICE in the ENTIRE show, this is the first time. Just to speak my point.)

Season 3: Yang got framed for assault which helped the bad guys. Ruby watched Pyyra die and she blasted an eyeball off Cinder.

Season 4: UH...

Season 5: They housed Oscar, they met Raven, and they took place in the battle of Haven where Yang got the relic. (So did Oscar, JNR, Qrow)

Season 6: They took the relic to Atlas. (So did Oscar, JNR, Qrow)

Season 7: They lied to the general about vital information that could've helped them get one on Salem, and doomed all of Atlas.

Season 8: They caused the death of a kingdom and fell through a hole.

Season 9: UH... (That's not me not knowing what happened in 9, they just climbed out of the hole, basically, as the season has nothing to do with Salem's forces.)

Now, because the main characters are not involved with the main plot very much, does that make them bad?

No. There ARE ways to utilize them outside of driving the external plot.

Some stories are Character vs Self, Internal Conflict. The basis of this show's story is that these kids who grew up to be military soldiers are learning that their lives and the world is not a fairy tale, and they're not the good guys. That SOUNDS like the show is all about internal conflict, right?

Well it's not.

I mean, they DO realize this and make a morally questionable choice with consequences they regret.

In Season SEVEN.

And even THEN, they're treated by gods themselves like they've done nothing wrong!

If you ask me, it should have happened a LONG time ago.

What internal conflicts do these girls have?

Ruby is a naive prodigy who wants to be a huntress and live out a fairy tale reality. And she lives out that dream. Then Pyyra dies and she loses that home. And then she's back to fairy tale land, just doing more crimes and hating authority. And I GUESS she learned a lesson in 9...? I just saw her as depressed.

Weiss is an heiress of a rich company trying to overthrow rule of her father, who hates her. She hates Faunus. She learns not to hate Faunus. And she gains a lot of powers.

Blake is part of a civil rights movement with Faunus and she likes assaulting her own kind and burning their homes. She also has an abusive boyfriend and kills him with a girlfriend by her side.

Yang lost her mommy and wants to find her. She loses her arm. She finds her mommy but doesn't give a s**t because plot. She also gets a girlfriend.

That's like Vi and Jinx's reunion, only they didn't care about seeing each other again after years, they just pointed fists and guns at each other and said, "Where's the arcane?! Where's Silco?! I'm not here for you, I have a police GF now!" "I'm not here for you, I just wanted an easy route to blast Piltover to pieces! Mwahaha!"

See where I'm going with that?

Internal conflict is a key to making characters screen time worth while.

But lets face it, Team RWBY not having very well established internal/relevance to the external conflict is not the full reason why this is a problem with their screen time.

It's their lack thereof.

Three quarters of every season, they're just sitting at some random place that's not even pretty to look at, and the SIDE CHARACTERS do all the plot relevant stuff.

See why I like the side characters better?

Lets look at that chart again:

Season 1: Sun and Penny stopped that robbery.

Season 2: Team CFVY stopped the Grim invasion.

Season 3: Pyyra's story and downward spiral to her death.

Season 4: Nora and Ren the season.

Season 5: Oscar. The tribe.

Season 6: Oscar again as he's responsible for the exposition involved in that season.

Season 7: Ironwood's descent into insanity AND Penny's descent into accidental heroism.

Season 8: Both those characters die. Everyone dies.

Season 9: ...okay, good point, there was no one else.

Okay so maybe Season 9 gets a pass, but the others? Can you really put Team RWBY in a plot summary?

And that's just external conflict talking, let's talk the MAIN CHARACTER with the INTERNAL conflicts throughout the ENTIRE show.

Jaune Arc.

A SIDE character, voiced by one of the writers, has some of the most plotlines to follow due to his internal struggle and conflict in this new war throughout the entire show.

He has something to do in MOST of the seasons of this show. Not unlike Duncan. The only time I think he didn't have anything going on was Season 7.

In the very first season, Jaune has an entire character arc surrounding him trying to find his inner strength with a one off bully character as an antagonist. That sounds fine, so what's the issue?

This character arc takes up FOUR episodes out of 16. A WHOLE QUARTER OF THE SEASON.

"Well, maybe those episodes cut away to other people at some points-"

No. They don't. It's all Jaune in all these episodes.

Season two is less so Jaune focused, but he has a little subplot surrounding letting go of his feelings for Weiss and finding another girl who would gladly take him. I guess it's priority respect because Neptune was into Weiss at the time? But those two wound up never being a thing, so...

The whole time I thought Weiss was just asexual, but then 9 came in to screw that idea.

Season three focuses on Pyyra, Jaune's love interest, and therefore he's vital to her story and her thought process, so much so that the big angst moment in the season is with him and their death kiss.

Season four and five are focused on Jaune's thirst for revenge on Cinder, a member of Salem's forces, for killing Pyyra. He learns about Salem's forces along the way, makes his own opinion about all this lore, and decides to help out due to his personal necessity.

Wow. He has an internal conflict going on, AND he's active with the external conflict. HMM...

Season six is him letting go of his grief after his moral failure from the Battle of Haven nearly getting Weiss killed. And also he pins Oscar to the wall because why not. It's brief but it's also a full on character arc.

Season eight, he kills Penny, a girl he has never interacted with before this point, and he's a grieving mess. So much so that season nine also includes Jaune dealing with MULTIPLE grieving instances and personal failures.

Everyone else got a seasonal break from the story, and yet Jaune could not.

Now, is this a screen time issue?

Yes.

But NOT for the reasons you might think.

Let's go off of Duncan again, a character with a major status in the show's story and conflict from day one. He was designed that way.

Jaune was not designed that way. BUT I don't actually hate his story for the screen time he gets. In fact, he's probably one of the most interesting characters in the show because there's so much time dedicated to his struggle and his story.

The elephant in the room isn't because Jaune has a story.

It's because the main characters don't have a story.

Again, Arcane, that show focuses on a LOT of characters that aren't Vi and Jinx. You could argue Jayce is the Jaune in their universe. But why does it work? Because there is NOT a neglect of characterization of the leads.

In RWBY, there's a serious neglect issue.

And it's not just Jaune. There are other side characters who've been stealing time away from the leads.

Oscar, ever since he debuted Season 4, has been devoted to screen time stealing, and stealing the main character status with a Chosen One narrative and a pretty offensive way of portraying Multiple Personality Disorder. He's the one with the chosen one story, he's the one who interacts with the bad guys, he's toe to toe with Ironwood, he's the one related to Salem, and he does all of it with the personality of a hollow pine tree.

I mean I guess he also has a crush on Ruby, but... I don't want to get into that.

Hell, CINDER, an ANTAGONIST of the show, has more conflict and screen time than the leads. And she's one of my least favorite characters in the entire show, isn't that sweet?!

On top of that, she's a VILLAIN. We shouldn't be routing for her!

Then there's the rest of JNPR. Nora and Ren have a season focused on them, that being season 4. Pyyra is the same case with season 3. Pyyra dies in that season, so she's obviously not getting screen time any further. But Ren and Nora are alive, AND they have a subplot in the Atlas arc. Having a subplot isn't a problem, it just becomes jarring when the main characters don't have an arc and they do.

Penny gets revived and dies in the Atlas arc. That's also a thing.

The fix here should be really simple! Swap roles! Have the side characters sit in the houses with their little arcs, and have Team RWBY on the fields reacting to everything. It wouldn't excuse their lack of inner struggle, but at least they'd be involved with the plot.

There are many ways you could fix this. Like Oscar's role of being related to Salem. Ruby's mom is dead, but like, what if her mom was Salem and was taken out in war and revived/corrupted into this monster figure? That'd be an interesting narrative.

And RWBY is not the only show, the previous season of Pretty Cure, Delicious Party, ALSO has this issue. And arguably they did it worse because I don't even care for the side characters there either. I'd be repeating myself with criticism there:

Yui, the supposed main character, has no character trait other than be a glutton and a stand in for her grandmother, the other Cures are also irrelevant to the plot and just spend their time eating. The boys of this magical girl show are the focus and have all the wishy washy plotlines, and none of them are even that interesting.

I will give RWBY this over Delicious Party to prove I can see its merits:

At least they only have ONE forth wall narration and do know boundaries to that stuff, as opposed to Delicious Party that thinks their viewers are IDIOTS, and needs a narrator to explain EVERYTHING. CONSTANTLY.

(What a new low for that franchise, am I right? At least we have Hirogaru Sky.)

So what have we learned here?

To answer the question: Is Screen Time An Issue For A Character?

No. It's not that simple.

It's what the character DOES with that screen time that matters. And their role in the story that warrants this screen time.

They need to have all the details of their story laid out for you to care about them.

They need every scene involving their story to matter.

They need to have a plotline that justifies the screen time, small role or big role.

They need to be involved with the main story if they are a major character.

They need an internal conflict to keep the time on them engaging.

They need to be doing something.

If they are a minor character, additional screen time is not a bad thing.

A minor character with a lot of screen time could be there to advance the world building, they could be heavily connected to major character, relationship or otherwise.

But the minor characters don't become favorites and neglect focus on the people the story is revolving around.

First Person POV is a difficult storytelling technique when it comes to screen time, but it's not a bad tool. It can be used as a certain perspective for every character involved if done properly.

And just... screen time alone isn't a valid criticism in my opinion. It's WAY more complicated than that.

What's your opinion? Reblog your thoughts, I'm very curious, especially with media with this issue I did not cover.

[megistusdiary]

I can’t believe no one’s suggested this yet but TIGHNARI + mushrooms that he found/tested for safety (he IS a forest ranger and botanist after all) that are not only not poisonous but works wonders as aphrodisiacs. Just imagine him testing one out (or letting his s/o try it with consent) before they go at it; pleasure ensues! X3

ooh this is the one turn it up. this is such an amazing concept >:)

kinda turned a bit long. so much dialogue because of a random plot i thought of while trying to do chem hw lol 💀💀

warnings: dom!tighnari and sub!fem anatomy/pronouns reader

69ing (lol), aphrodisiacs, tighnari calls you a 'good girl,' praise, degradation, hair pulling (sub!receiving), dry humping, coming in pants, fingering (sub!receiving), messy

you observed tighnari carefully as he sat in the chair across from you, gingerly holding an ornate looking box.

"so...are you going to tell me what's in there?" you asked, pointing at said box as his lips quirked up slightly.

"it's a finding i have been eager to share with you for quite some time." tighnari explained, setting the box down on the table. "don't worry, i have done very thorough experimentation and research. there also happens to be the element of the 'word of mouth' about these."

you could contain your curiosity no longer, leaning forward as he opened the box. your parted lips sealed shut when you saw what was inside.

there were two mushrooms, a light brown color, of the same, small shape. "mushrooms?" you asked, puzzled. you failed to see the glint in his eyes as you reached towards the box. "i don't really know if i'm following here."

"they're not just any mushrooms, my dear." tighnari picked one up between his fingers, holding it up to the slowly fading sunlight. "they're very popular with the locals seeking a boost in, well, libido, if you will."

your face felt hot as tighnari's expression remained stoic. "l-libido? you're telling me they're sex mushrooms?"

tighnari chuckled at your boldness, shrugging and setting the fungus down. "sure, if that's what you want to call it. they're completely harmless, i have tested them myself."

"really? when?"

"that's...not important." tighnari scratched the back of his neck, elaborating no further. "i will keep the description of effects a secret, but just know it is intensely intoxicating without being overwhelming."

you remained silent, picking up a mushroom for your own eyes to glaze over. you rotated it carefully between your fingers, leaning forward to smell it.

smells like...earth and dirt. as expected, you guessed.

"so how do we do this? just eat the whole thing?"

"well, some people prefer to cut pieces off, or even cook them in some type of food. i've seen others make drinks using herbs and-"

tighnari's eyes widened as he watched you pop the entire thing in your mouth, chewing and swallowing before he could stop you. he rushed towards you, pressing his palms to your cheeks.

"i wouldn't have recommended that large of a dose for the first time!"

"is it going to kill me?!" you panicked, grabbing at his wrists.

"no- no, of course not i just- nobody ever eats the whole thing...how are you feeling? is it hitting you yet? any fever? tingling?"

you sighed, leaning back and rubbing your temples. you watched tighnari lean back, brows furrowed as he picked up the remaining mushroom. "so-"

tighnari did exactly as you did, eating the entire thing as you gasped, quickly standing up and shaking him by his shoulders. "why would you do that?"

"if you did it, we might as well be even with dosage. i refuse to be out-lasted." tighnari flirted so casually sometimes, it knocked the wind out of you.

you stammered, feeling too flustered to reply quickly as you sat back down, closing your eyes and taking a deep breath. "how long until we feel it?"

"you'll know." he assured you. there were sounds of fabric rustling as tighnari sat across from you.

it came over you slowly, beginning as a little flame in your belly. easily something to ignore.

it traveled up into your chest, spreading downwards as well until it had your thighs pressing together ever so slightly.

you could feel your heart thumping louder, feel your pulse quicken, your limbs feeling light and tingly in a very...pleasurable way.

your eyes opened, seeing tighnari in a similar state, ears pressed against his head, one hand gripping his knee, the other over his heart.

you stood up so fast, you felt the blood rush to your head, stumbling onto tighnari's lap. you were coherent enough to be aware of your actions, and by the archons did you want tighnari.

he welcomed you in, pulling you against him and smashing your lips together. your eyelids fluttered shut as he held your head against his, licking the seam of your lips as you whined, grinding your hips down on his thigh.

he suddenly tangled his hand into your hair, pulling you away as you mewled, back arching. "be patient, don't be such a desperate little thing. behave."

"tighnari, please, it's so warm. you were right, i think- i think that dosage was crazy powerful. i feel it everywhere." you rambled, holding your head steady as he cooed, petting your hair.

"oh i know, i know. next time don't be in such a rush, hm? now we're in this predicament. ah, what a mess." tighnari chuckled, feeling you trembling on his lap.

"i'm sorry, i'll be more patient next time, i promise, nari. but, please, just...do something!" you begged, feeling his hands slide down to your waist, grinding you against him at a leisurely pace as you gasped, head falling back. "fuck-" you sighed, gripping his shoulders and moving your hips to match his rhythm.

"good girl, such a good girl for me." tighnari mumbled, pressing kisses to your neck. you moved your head further, bearing the skin in a display of submission the fox man seemed to be very pleased by.

he could feel you shake in his hold, clearly turned on by such little stimulation due to the mushroom in your system. he felt the same, barely hanging on by a thread as his dick twitched in its confines.

you moaned when you felt it, pushing your hips down onto his lap, moving them in circles frantically. "close..." you bit your lip, feeling him push and pull faster and faster until you arched your back, barely managing to muffle your moan as you came in his lap. he held you steady, grinding up into you through your first orgasm of the night.

he heard curses spilling from your lips along with 'thank you's and garbles of his name. he pet your hair once more, letting you rest against his chest as you recovered. "that was...embarrassing." you whined, still feeling the heat. "i don't- i mean i never..."

"it's the mushroom, my dear. no need to be embarrassed. in fact, i found that little display rather endearing."

his melodic voice hit you hard, feeling both the heat of shame and from your core as you moved to shed your clothes, peeling your shirts and pants off until you sat on his lap in your undergarments. you pawed at his pants, feeling him twitch under your grasp.

"can i touch you? please?" your eyes gazed up at him so beautifully, he just couldn't say no, opting to remove his pants enough for his cock to spring out.

your eyes shimmered with delight as you reached out, placing a soft kiss to the tip that had his hips bucking. "archons," he held the back of his hand against his lips, watching you seat yourself between his thighs.

you kitty-licked the tip, tasting the salty pre-cum on your tongue gingerly. he watched you carefully, gathering your hair into a ponytail as you kissed down the sides, licking up the veins running along his cock.

"you look so pretty like this..." tighnari sighed. though he couldn't help but feel selfish as he watched you rub your thighs together. "as much as i love it, there's something else i'd like even more, my dear." you stared up quizzically, letting out a squeak as he pulled you up onto his chest.

he spun your body around, making you face his dick and pushing your back down, presenting your clothed pussy to him as you gasped. he pressed his nose against you, inhaling softly as you shivered. "you smell so good..."

"don't say that!" you gasped, feeling him slowly peel your panties off. "it's embarrassing-"

tighnari moved his thumbs to spread your folds, eyeing your hole as he bucked his hips up. "come on, pretty girl, get back to work."

you leaned down, suckling the tip and slowly taking more of him into your mouth, desperately trying to move your hair out of your eyes.

you almost collapsed, however, when he licked a stripe up your pussy, swirling the tip across your clit.

you moaned around tighnari's dick, feeling it twitch against your tongue as tighnari groaned deeply. "oh-"

you pushed yourself further, taking him deeper as he continued to lick up and down your slit, playing with your clit. he moaned into your pussy as he felt your tongue lave over him, causing you to shiver and whine, moving your hips back against his face. you could feel his tongue slowly pushing into your hole, teasing you just to feel you tremble, enjoying your body's way of begging for him.

you removed your mouth from his dick, opting to lick at his heavy balls and the knot at the base of his shaft, pressing wet kisses from your pre-cum covered lips.

tighnari doubled his efforts, circling your clit and coating one of his hands in slick, spreading it across his fingers before moving them around your hole. he collected the remains of your previous orgasm along with it, gently pushing a finger into you as you cried out at the sudden stretch. "tighnari!"

the second you took him back into your mouth, he was bucking his hips, taking the reins and fucking your throat while he pressed his fingers deep into you. the second they hit your sweet spot, your eyes rolled back into your head, throat constricting around him as he came without warning.

he softly sobbed, feeling quickly overstimulated as his fingers jabbed into your g-spot, hurdling you into your second orgasm as you collapsed on him, cum spilling from your mouth onto his torso and the sheets.

you both panted in the otherwise silent room, twitching from your orgasms as you collected yourselves.

you could slowly feel the mushroom's effects wearing off as you sighed, turning towards tighnari. though you were stunned when you saw his cock slowly rising again.

"i probably should have mentioned it before but...this specific aphrodisiac tends to last quite a bit longer in foxes."

"but you said you needed to take it quick to outlast me-!"

"it was all part of the fun, my dear. now, won't you indulge me for just one more round?"

[dsmutp]

Learning Curve (C!Charlie Slimecicle x Reader)

Teaching Charlie was a delight.

When Quackity had put you up to the job, you hadn’t been too sure about it. Teaching someone how to be human (whatever that entailed) seemed like more than you had signed up for when you had become a resident of Las Nevadas - just imagining long hours of helping someone learn the intricacies of human life made your head ache. But Quackity had insisted, and you really had nothing better to do.

Three months into the job though, and you were quite attached to Charlie.

He was a wonderful student - eager to learn and bright enough that it never took him too long to grasp new concepts (though, as with any student, some things came more naturally than others) - and an even more wonderful friend. It was amazing how a sentient piece of goo (though it was really hard for you to think of him like that anymore) could be more kind and caring than half of the actual people you knew. 

You were pleased to say that Charlie had become quite fond of you as well. Though you were only supposed to spend six hours a day with him, oftentimes you wound up just spending your days together, wandering around the unfinished Las Nevadas after you had completed his schooling for the day, talking about whatever crossed your minds. Charlie was always eager to hear stories from your day to day life, and the amount of history he had seen just from being around for that many years never failed to make you gaze at him with wonder. 

It wouldn’t have been a stretch to say that he had become your best friend.

You certainly liked him enough - that goofy smile never failed to brighten your mood, even on the worst days, and though the slight fluidity of his skin had been off putting at first, through the amount of daps you shared, you had gotten used to it - come to enjoy it even, something that was uniquely Charlie.

For all his wonderful attributes though, there were still some times that you got a little exasperated with him. 

“Nope.” You sighed, watching as his arm bent the wrong way again. “You can’t just bend the joint that way, Charlie, that’s not how bones work.”

“But you said to hit the lever behind me..?” Charlie asked, righting his arm again. 

“Right, but with humans, remember, the joints don’t bend all the way around because of the bones.” You reminded him. “Just because your body can bend that way, doesn’t mean mine can.”

Charlie nodded slowly, but the confused look was still hovering in his eyes. 

“Do you want to go over joints and movement again?” You asked. 

Charlie smiled sheepishly. “Yes please.”

You stepped forward, extending your arms. You had done this exercise a few times before, just to help Charlie learn which body parts worked together and which joints moved in which directions. It was easy for him to forget though - his body didn’t really have limits to movement, being slime - and he had a bad habit of just throwing human joint movements away in exchange for what was the most easy at the time. 

Charlie placed his hands on your elbows, and you bent your arms, letting him feel how the joints moved and worked. “See? One way.”

“Right.” Charlie said, nodding now. His hands moved to your shoulders. “But these ones go all the way around?”

You rolled your shoulders, moving the ball joint in a circle. “Correct.”

His hands wandered down to your wrists. “Same as these?”

You rolled your wrists, nodding. 

From there, Charlie’s hands found your hips. “But these ones only go forward and backward.”

“For walking.” You said, nodding. “They can go out, a little - nothing too far though.” 

Charlie nodded, his eyes wandering over your body innocently. The first few times you had done this with him, you had been a little uncomfortable - it was strange, to be treated like a scientific model, slightly slimy hands running up and down your skin, asking what each of your joints and muscles did. But over time, you had gotten used to it - Charlie was only curious to learn, after all, and you were more than willing to help.

A hand over your crotch startled you, and you broke out of your train of thought, raising an eyebrow at Charlie. He only blinked at you though, saying, “You never said what this part’s for.”

You closed your eyes, steeling yourself. You had known this day would come, eventually - sex was a large part of human life, after all. You didn’t really want to be having ‘the talk’ with a sentient piece of goo that you had come to know and love, but you supposed it had had to come at some point. 

“It’s for sex, Charlie.”

Charlie’s eyebrows shot up. “You have a stripper pole on you?”

The comment was so out of place that you couldn’t help but bark out a laugh. “What?”

“A stripper pole.” Charlie repeated. “Like the one in the casino? Quackity said it was for sex-”

“No, no.” You said, cutting him off, still laughing. “Sex organs Charles, for the actual act. They’re part of basic human anatomy - everyone’s got some.”

Charlie’s eyes narrowed as he nodded, and movement under his pants caught your eye - the fabric shifted and pulled until it filled out a little more - like his very skin was reshaping itself to include what you had just told him. 

It was then that you realized that Charlie might be the answer to every sexual fantasy you had ever had. 

---

It didn’t take much convincing to get Charlie into bed with you.

You had always known that he had had something of a puppy dog crush on you - just from the way that he hung on your every word, even when you weren’t teaching, and followed you around like a little duckling. You had stopped yourself from doing anything about it though, telling yourself that it would be wrong, that he was your student - but those sentiments had faded the more time you had spent together outside of the teaching. 

They were completely gone now, as you tossed Charlie’s pants over the side of the bed. Though you were both naked as the day you were born, he was perfectly comfortable, sprawled out on the pillows like he owned the place. 

“So, again,” He started. “You want me to put my dick inside you? But not detach it? And thats sex?”

“The basics of it.” You said. “Simple stuff, really. You tell me if you don’t like it though - I don’t know exactly how it’ll feel for you.”

Charlie nodded, arranging his arms underneath his head with a smile. “I am ready to sex.”

You laughed as you straddled his hips, gently wrapping a hand around his cock and aligning it with your hole, just pressing his tip against your entrance. “Promise you’ll tell me to stop if it feels bad, okay? Just because I wanted to try this doesn’t mean you have to suck it up for me.”

“Promise.” Charlie assured you. “I won’t pretend to like it just because you do- hhh.”

You sank down on his cock, reveling at the feeling - there was almost no stretch as he entered you, the slime of his body simply moving like a liquid, filling out your insides completely without having the painful stretch around your entrance. Every nerve ending in you lit up at the contact - the slime filled every space without pushing too far - Charlie’s cock had molded to you completely, hitting all your spots without even trying.

“Wow.” You breathed, placing the palms of your hands on Charlie’s chest. “This is- wow. How’re you feeling Charlie?”

Underneath you, Charlie was in a daze, eyes glazed over as he stared at some point past your shoulder. His mouth moved, but only a long string of syllables came out - more like a moan than any real words.

“Descriptors, love.” You prompted, shifting to place your hands on either side of his face. 

Charlie let out a breathy whimper, his hands finding purchase on your hips, squeezing the skin there. “Good.” He said. “Very very good, uh, sort of tingly? And warm? I-I don’t really know words for it…”

You smiled, caressing his hair. “Good.” You said. It was good to know that it felt pleasurable for him - you weren’t quite sure how slime anatomy worked, and if human sex was something that he would enjoy, but now that you knew it felt as good for him as it did for you, you had no intention of holding back.

You began to rock, slowly, rolling your hips over Charlie’s and letting his cock begin to rub against your walls. Charlie’s fingers dug into your hips more as his breathing canted upwards, instinct taking over as he bucked up into you a few times. You welcomed the movement, using the momentum to fuck yourself down on him harder, savoring the feeling of him running over your nerves, lighting you up from the inside. 

Charlie let out another whimper, and you leaned down to press a kiss to his lips, still keeping your hands framed gently around his face. Charlie kissed back eagerly, releasing his little whimpers and moans into your mouth now, the hands at your hips moving up to your lower back, holding on for dear life.

“You’re doing so well.” You cooed, feeling that familiar coil begin to tighten in your gut. “You’re a natural, Charlie.”

“Really?” Charlie said, a grin overtaking his features. His slimy complexion really didn’t allow for a blush, but you could see the flushed pride just in his expression.

“Really.” You gasped out as a particularly good thrust made your head spin. Your hands fell from Charlie’s face as you instead buried your face into the crook of his neck with a groan, rolling your hips down with more intensity now, chasing your orgasm. Without the painful stretch in the beginning, you were reaching it so much more quickly now - though it probably also helped that Charlie’s cock had become a perfect fill for your insides too - leaving no nerve ending spared.

“Mmmm.” Charlie tipped his head back as he moaned, lips pressing together into a thin line. “It feels different now.” He said, voice shaky. “Bigger, I think?” He tried. 

“That’s supposed to happen.” You said, speeding up your thrusts, for both your sake and Charlie’s. You were getting to the brink of orgasm now, the pleasure making it’s way all the way down your legs and to your toes. It was only a moment more before you were shaking with it, the rolling of your hips slowing as you rode out your high. 

Charlie groaned underneath you, tipping his head back into the pillows as the slime inside you rippled, the sensation making you moan at the strangeness of it. You hadn’t really known what his orgasm was going to look (or feel) like, but you hadn’t been expecting that. 

For a moment, you just laid there, head still tucked under Charlie’s jaw as you both caught your breath, just feeling him breathe.

“That was pretty fun.” Charlie said. “It felt weird, but good weird.”

You sat up, rolling off him to sprawl out on the rest of the bed, his cock sliding out as easily as it had gone in. “Glad you liked it.” You said, letting yourself stretch out into a boneless heap. “For your first time ever, you were really good, Charlie.”

Charlie beamed at the praise, and you pressed a kiss to his cheek. You were definitely going to be doing that again.

[silversatoru]

play-thing — part one

gojo satoru x getou suguru x f!reader

t/w: nsfw 18+, dark content, drugging, manipulation, noncon/dubcon, oral (f!receiving), nipple play, this story contains very dark themes so please do not read it you’re sensitive to any of these topics

synopsis: suguru and satoru are missing something in their lives, and who better to manipulate than an lonely, impressionable girl who just moved to tokyo from another city. they’re willing to take extreme measures to transform you into their perfectly submissive little play-thing. 

wc: 1.9k

suguru and satoru do everything together; live in the same house, work at the same company, even share a closet of the most expensive clothes, but something was missing. they both felt it, the empty space between them, and they were determined to find the perfect piece to fill the gaping hole in their lives.

and you practically fell right into the palm of their hands, in a local grocery store of all places. a pretty little thing with a freshly broken heart who’d just moved here from a neighboring city. no friends, no family nearby, anxious and impressionable and desperately in need of a couple capable men to show her around. it all started with an innocent question: “hey, sorry to bother you guys, but could you tell me where the baking aisle is?”

how you ended up here you still weren't quite sure. 

“let us take you on a tour of the city tonight,” satoru had cooed at you.

“there’s a few really nice bars, we could grab some drinks,” suguru added, both their voices smooth and terrifyingly persuasive.

but they seemed nice enough, and you weren't in any position to be picky with making friends right now — after all, you’d have to get accustomed to the city somehow, right?

wear something pretty, satoru had winked at you before you parted ways and continued your shopping, and for some reason you were very inclined to do as he said. they were both intimidatingly attractive and you weren’t exactly sure what their dynamic was yet, but you decided that if you ended up in bed with one of them tonight, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

you’d chosen a short and silky black dress, something elegant but classic that would absolutely catch the eyes of both men. and it did, satoru’s eyes glazing over your body several times before he even bothered to say hello to you. suguru was less obvious, his dark eyes giving you a quick once-over before giving you a warm smile and wrapping his arm around your shoulders as the three of you entered the first bar.

it was small, dimly lit with a few lanterns and packed tight with people. a little too crowded for your level of comfort, so you stuck closely to the sides of suguru and satoru as they led you deeper into the pub. the dark-haired male gestured towards an empty seat at the end of the countertop, the two of them standing on either side of you after you slid into it. satoru spoke with an impressive level of charisma, ordering three of the same drink from the bartender — who he seemed to know quite well.

taking a few sips of the liquor did wonders for you initial anxiety, and the casual conversation with both men was helping you to settle in as well. 

so, where are you from? 

what made you want to move to tokyo?

what do you do for a living? 

you were painfully oblivious to how the conversation stayed entirely centered around you; you still hadn’t learned anything about the two men, but they were learning everything about you. 

an hour or so in, a warm dizziness began to swirl around the inside of your head, slowly exacerbating until you felt like you were about to tumble out of your seat. you’d only had a couple drinks, and you normally handled your alcohol fairly well, so why did you feel absolutely sloshed right now? 

“guys, i think maybe-” you turned towards your two tour guides and crashed forward into suguru’s chest without warning. 

“think you went a little heavy, toru?” he scooped his hands under your plump ass and lifted your unconscious body into his muscularly arms. 

“not my fault she has no tolerance,” satoru shrugged, throwing some cash on the counter, “might be easier with her like this anyway”. 

“i suppose,” suguru clicked his tongue off the roof of his mouth, “stupid girl, didn’t your parents teach you not to trust strangers so easily?”

the two of them casually made their way out of the bar together, making jokes about how poorly you handle your liquor to anyone who gave them a questionable look — but the bar was so loud and jam-packed with people that they made it out without any incident.

you were slow to come out of your sleepy haze, head nodding up and down as you struggled to maintain consciousness and take in the scenery around you. in a futile attempt to brush some hair out of your face you realized your hands were tightly secured behind your back. panic immediately flooded your system, chest tightening and hot tears brimming at the edges of your eyes. 

“just a precaution, angel,” suguru came walking into your hazy vision, a warm smile on his face as he tucked the loose strands of hair behind your ears, “how are you feeling?” 

“wha-, whaaat happen- ed?” your words were garbled, your brain barely able to form them. 

“don’t worry about it,” satoru appeared next to suguru, “you just drank a little too much, but we’ll take good care of you, won’t we suguru?” 

“of course, no need for you to worry about anything anymore,” he gave an affirmative nod. 

“i don’t think-” you wracked your brain for any recollection of what had happened tonight, but you found nothing, “i don’t th- think i — understand”. 

“you will soon,” satoru flashed a bright smile, but it wasn’t nearly as inviting as the first time you saw it. this time it was eerie, evil, threatening — what exactly was he talking about? 

your brain was quickly turning to absolute mush, your vision getting darker and foggier than it already was as you tried to hang on to the sound of their voices.

just relax

we’re gonna make you feel good, you wanna feel good, princess?

you want us to make you feel better?

“mhm,” you gave them a slow nod. you did want them to make you feel better! you felt groggy and confused and nauseas! so of course you said yes! that is what they were asking? right?

you felt the bed shift around you, several hands tracing over your skin and gently pushing you onto your back. you tried to question them, tried to form the words, but your brain was unable to produce a single word or movement at this point.

a hot tongue connected with the side of your neck, lips latched onto the skin and sucking gently on the sensitive area. another mouth was on your inner thigh, sucking a little harder and undoubtedly leaving a small marking. you subconsciously let out a squeaky, shaky breath, the warmth of their tongues eliciting a response in your doped-up body.

goosebumps raked through your body when you felt a pair of slender fingers slip under your dress and brush over the thin material of your panties. it was satoru, his middle and index fingers prodding at your clothed cunt and sending jolts through your legs. meanwhile suguru continued to cover your neck in sloppy kisses, one of his large hands groping at your covered breasts.

your brain had gone numb, from the drugs, the confusion, the terribly intoxicating pleasure. you hated how clueless you were, how useless your body was right now, but what you hated most of all was that you weren’t even trying to fight back. their touch felt good — too good for you to ask them to stop.

it wasn’t long before satoru’s fingers were replaced with his mouth, his tongue running up and down the fold in your panties and absolutely soaking the material with his saliva. he groaned from the taste, getting just as much pleasure from this as you were. he was quick to push the fabric to the side, sliding his tongue against your sticky folds with hunger and urgency. he lapped at your cunt, flicking your clit with the tip of his tongue and evoking a series of twitches from your lazy body.

“be gentle with her” suguru’s voice sounded far off in the distance as he mumbled into your chest.

satoru heeded to the other man’s instructions, slowing his pace and going more gentle on your sensitive, puffy clit. suguru found your hardened nipples through your thin dress, rolling them in his fingers and enhancing the already blissful feeling you were getting from satoru’s tongue.

the two of them working together was incomprehensibly euphoric, your stomach coiling into tight knots with each swipe of his tongue. without warning he dove even deeper, his tongue shooting into your cunt while his nose rubbed against your throbbing bundle of nerves. between that and suguru giving your nipples a sudden tug, your body was crashing with waves of pleasure — strangled moans and pitiful whimpers the only sounds that your mouth could produce.

it was a near-holy experience, the feeling of the sedatives pumping through your veins as satoru tongued your pussy and suguru massaged your breasts through your heightened orgasm. you felt like you were floating, the room was spinning, and then everything went dark.

a real shame that you wouldn’t be able to remember any of it by the time you woke up.

bright sunlight pierced through your eyelids the following morning, forcing you awake and causing you to jolt up. you were laying in a large bed that was situated at the back of a rather large room, fitted silk sheets cool under your skin. confused of what happened and where you were, you stood from the bed and made your way to the door, feet patting on the soft carpeted floor. 

when you opened the door you entered a long hallway that led to a wide stairway covered in the same fluffy carpeting. two voices were laughing and talking beneath you, and curiosity fueled your motivation to walk down the stairs and into an open-concept kitchen and living room. 

satoru and suguru, the two men from yesterday were busy at the stove, pancakes and bacon sizzling away on two cast-iron pans. they wore matching aprons, suguru’s reading chef daddy, and satoru’s reading mr. good-lookin’ is cookin’. 

who the fuck were these guys?

“feeling better?” suguru was the first to notice you loitering at the edge of the room. 

“yeah, how are you? didn’t picture you to be such a heavy drinker,” satoru laughed, flipping a pancake with grace. 

you didn’t remember much, nothing past sitting down at the bar with them. you weren’t much for getting wasted but you were plagued with more stress than usual lately — maybe you really let yourself go last night. 

“ah, sorry about that, I don’t even remember what i did, honestly,” you shrugged, “thanks for looking out for me though, where’s my stuff?”

“in a hurry to leave? stay for breakfast,” suguru brushed off your question with a captivating smile, his eyes squinting together in the most adorable way. 

“we insist,” satoru chimed in, humming as he continued to focus on the sweet-smelling food. 

and so you stayed, which was probably the worst mistake that you’d made in the past twenty-four hours of countless terrible mistakes. 

part one | part two

a/n: im on a yandere/dark content kick today i cant help it. anyway if u wanna be tagged when i post part two lemme know :) and if u want some yandere megumi go read @katslutski​ ‘s tell me 

(ily kat <33 so happy to have someone to get into very specific obsessions with)

[x-hollywoodghoul-x]

To her credit, the vault-dweller didn't turn to look at him while he spoke. Maybe it was just because she didn't want him to see the tear marks on her face, but he appreciated the relative neutrality of her reaction. If she'd looked at him with pity, he didn't know if he could have handled it.

Dogmeat had fully abandoned him in favour of getting lap cuddles on the floor. Traitor. Whatever, it meant he had more space to stretch his legs out, and the canine intervention seemed to have stopped Vaultie's pathetically sad leaking. Thank god for that, that had been getting really fucking awkward.

“Well- sure- I was part of Vault 33, one of three Vaults, 32 and 31. We were all interconnected. Little farms on each. Living quarters. It was nice, simple and clean."

The Ghoul's gaze snapped to her.

...Interconnected vaults?

He'd never heard of something like that. Then again, there had been a lot about the vaults he hadn't known, outside of his little tour of one over two centuries ago.

"On my father being the overseer- I don’t know when that happened. Ever since I was little, I can remember him being the overseer…. We’ve always been in 33.”

But, if there were interconnected vaults, there was the possibility that Henry hadn't originated from 33.

"You sure about that? Got two sets of grandparents there an' all?" He raised a hairless brow at her.

He had no idea whether Henry's family had been preserved with him or not, or whether the bastard had even had any living family at the time the bombs fell, but if Lucy had never met any paternal grandparents, aunts, uncles, or cousins, then that would be a pretty significant clue.

"What's the purpose of havin' interconnected vaults, then?"

“Oh- our vaults purpose was to eventually repopulate the surface once it’s safe. So we would have traded with the other vaults… for marriage partnerships…? For instance, The day I left, We we’re trading a breeding partner from Vault 32, for things to assist them with crops. It…”

The vault-dweller trailed off suddenly; he couldn't see her face, but the tension in her shoulders told him the topic had touched upon some kind of unpleasant memory. Well. He supposed something bad must have happened, for her to venture out into the wasteland on a rescue mission for daddy dearest in the first place.

He remembered how Lucy had pleaded with him, her desperate drive to get that Enclave scientist's head back just for a shot of trading it for her father's safe return.

The immense irony of it all now, that she knew the ugly truth about the man she'd risked it all for.

“It was very peaceful, really, there wasn’t anything weird or strange about it. I spent my time teaching history and participating in other things.. the trades were a big part of it all, though, it was always … so exciting.”

The Ghoul's jaw worked, eyes taking on a reticent glaze as he ruminated over this information for a grimly solemn moment.

...Yeah, given the shadowy coporation behind highly sheltered Vaultie's upbringing, he didn't really trust her perception of what was not weird or strange. It was entirely possible there was some fucked up practices in her vault that she hadn't batted an eyelid at, just because they'd been presented as normal. But from her reactions to the shit she'd seen on the surface so far, it still seemed like her life had been pretty sunshine and roses overall.

Sifting through what she knew would be difficult and annoying, and there was no guarantee of it even turning up anything useful. Those interconnected vaults, though...

Maybe there was something to that particular detail that could shed light on why Barb's former assistant was still alive and notably fresher looking than any ghoul.

"...Hm. You ever see the inside of them other vaults? 32 and 31?"

It was just a hunch, but he doubted they were the same idyllic farm-simulation setup that Lucy described her home to be. If they were making trades to get pre-war breeding stock (and wasn't that a fucked up little concept?) there would have to be some kind of fancy storage facilities to keep people preserved.

"How 'bout the trades?" He posed another acerbic enquiry, after mulling over it some more. Was he on to something, here? Or was this just yet another disturbing dead end?

"Did your people ever get sent to the other vaults in exchange for some farmin' equipment, or did this people-tradin' only go one way?"

@canary-in-a-vault

out of all the people in the world, i had to get stuck with you. - @canary-in-a-vault (hello!! I hope sending a starter sentence is ok!)

This little abandoned bunker had been stripped pretty clean of anything useful long ago, but at least it was a place to wait out the latest rad-storm. By the thick layer of undisturbed dust, they were the first to crash here in a long while. Between that and the shitty weather overhead, it was as good time as any to get some rest.

Vaultie didn't seem delighted by the unscheduled stop.

Or maybe the reality of her situation was finally starting to sink in, seeping through the shock of everything that had happened.

At her words, The Ghoul's mouth twitched upwards at the corner; a sardonic little smile, edged with something sharp.

"Ain't no rope 'round your neck this time, sweetheart," he pointed out, low and shrewd, as he made a point of making himself comfortable on the thoroughly worn sofa bed in the corner. Dogmeat promptly hopped up and flopped next to him - just as keen to capitalize on a surface more cushioned than the hard ground.

Maybe her shiny Brotherhood Knight boy would have offered it to her instead of just wordlessly calling dibs. Maybe they'd have been friendly enough with each other to agree to share it.

Maybe he'd have offered better comfort, too.

But she'd made her choice, and The Ghoul wasn't about to let her forget it. Just as he wasn't about to coddle her.

"Nothin' keepin' you here with me. You fancy takin' your chances out there on your lonesome, or findin' more agreeable company - well, you know where the door is."

With that, he tipped his hat down over his eyes and settled back to wait out the storm. It was unlikely he'd actually be able to fall asleep - but at least if it looked like he was taking a nap, maybe it would set the vault-dweller at ease enough to snatch some of the rest she so very obviously needed, in turn. After all, the last thing he wanted was her slowing them down.

Then you should've given her the sofa bed, shouldn't you?

...Whatever. He was here now. And the floor had carpet.

@canary-in-a-vault