#but it has also applied to the following: | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

jeanjauthor · 2 days ago

Note

Ooh ooh, I can also answer some of the height & width thing!

First of all, there will always be slight differences of mere millimeters / tiny fractions of an inch, due to how the cutting machinery is set up, and whether or not anyone has measured it lately. But that one's obvious.

But if we're talking the difference between a regular size paperback and one that is a couple inches larger? The one that is the most common size is called a mass market paperback. This was determined long ago as a good portable size for producing in masses for the market.

The one that is larger by over an inch in height (3cm ish)? That is called a trade paperback.

Trade paperbacks tend to have slightly larger spacing for both between the lines (leading, as in literally the strips of lead inserted between the rows of letters on an old-fashioned printing press) and between the letters (kerning, don't ask me where this word comes from) themselves.

This makes trade paperbacks a little easier to read, especially for those who are getting up there in years. (They're sort of a halfway cheat to large print editions, which are easier for folks with vision problems to read). They're also a little heavier (obviously) but simultaneously a little easier to hold open. You can even lay it on a table and have an easier time holding the pages open. This makes them easier & gentler on hands that are slowly growing arthritic, or on hands that are young and thus not as strong as adult hands are.

Trade paperbacks are popular purchase choices when targetting both of these categories of readers. It's also literally (pun intended) why the Harry Potter books were trade paperback size, not mass market size. The spacing between the lines was easier for younger kids to read. And the books, though bigger and thus heavier, were easier to hold open and follow along without "breaking" the paperback's spine.

There is another reason why some books are published in trade first, and that's because trade paperback buyers tend to be more loyal, with fewer book returns. So some publishing houses will print a first run in trade paperback to see how the booksales go, and if the books get snatched up a lot, they will re-release in the mass market paperback size.

The reason why I know this is because I asked my editor why my first book was such a large size when I was expecting the mass market size. Romance readers who buy trade paperbacks tend to be much more accurate on what will sell well when tracking sales vs returns. (We talked about it a bit, and she added that the books are easier on the hands, etc.)

CAVEAT: This information does not apply in all cases! I first got published in 2007. Since then, the Berkley Group (handles romance & women's literature) has swapped to only printing physical books for their top 300-ish authors each year, while all other authors now get their debut or ongoing publications released first in electronic format. If those sell well, the publishing house will consider paperbacks, though I don't know which size they would be choosing in that instance.

Additionally, other circumstances can alter the choice of which size to use. Science Fiction genre tends to get released far more often (and indeed at Berkley's sister company, Ace/Roc, only) in mass market paperback format. Smaller, more independent publishers, may actually go with trade paperbacks exclusively. This is because while it's slightly more expensive in terms of amounts of paper & ink used, they're much easier for the printers to set up for small batch runs, and thus cheaper in terms of time & manpower, etc.

...There are, of course, many other reasons why a book gets released in such-and-such a size, but these are the ones I personally know on the differences between mass market & trade.

Happy Reading!

Hi, *insert childhood adoration here* just got home from work and don't really have access to true coherent thought. Um. Okay.

Do you know why sometimes, books in a series, from the same publisher, will be in two different sizes? My sister and I figured out that sometimes the exact same book from the same publisher will have two different thicknesses of paper and so one will be slightly thicker, but we can't work out the height and width thing. Same cover design type, like, same edition. Just. One of them is bigger. Do you know why?

Thanks for the wizard books that first made friends of my cousin and me.

First: you're very welcome. I'm glad to have been of service.

On the size question, though: This is one of the Great Imponderables that drives books' writers at least as far around the bend as their readers.

Now there are some explanations that make at least some kind of sense. Sometimes, for example, even within a single edition of a single book, there may be difference-in-thickness issues for some concrete reason: the challenge is discovering which reason (assuming the publisher hasn't themselves told you about it, which is likely to be the case about 99% of the time). ...A common problem is when, for some reason to do with ongoing geopolitical crap or national/international crises, the price of paper changes suddenly. This will cause publishers to try to reduce costs on a book by (the next time it goes back to press) changing the paper quality for something thinner. One of these changes might come between volumes of a series, which is why you might suddenly get a difference between the paper quality of book 5 and book 6 of what's otherwise supposed to be a unified set.

(There's also a similar weirdness in which going up a level of paper thickness will allow your publisher to shove a book of a given length into a slightly higher price point. So, whammo, it happens, and no one bothers consulting you about this detail.)

Or alternately: All of a sudden, somebody at your publisher decides that your series needs to be packaged in a slightly different format that—for reasons that possibly no one in the field even fully understands—is becoming associated with better sales at some other publisher (or some other imprint at your own publisher). So, bang, between one book of a series and the next, the next volume to come out is a quarter inch taller or half an inch wider. And/or 15% thicker (because the pulp of the paper involved has had more air pumped into it than previously). And your books will continue to look like that until some other fad or trend at the packaging end affects them.

(Or alternately, it doesn't affect them, because your publisher's focus has changed in some inexplicable way—or the in-house accountants have crunched their numbers in some new manner—and they've decided your books aren't worth spending the format-change money on.)

(sigh) Tl:dr; There's no damn telling. (It's vanishingly rare that anybody tells us, anyway.) And I wish I had a clearer answer for you than this. Apologies. :/

283 notes · View notes

avifaunaa · 21 hours ago

Text

these strange noises [ voices ] followed me here

Authors Note: so like, this was intended as a Shauna fic ONLY. Nat somehow found her way in here on her own, without my consent. Oops.

Masterlist

Pairing: Shauna Shipman x fem!reader x Natalie Scatorccio

Summary: You didn’t like how strained things were with the team lately. Shauna didn’t like how easily you tried to make friends. Natalie? Natalie was just there by accident. But she’ll make sure Shauna’s message comes across clear.

Content Warnings: Dark-ISH, r has a crush on Nat, animal injury, animal death, soft!dark!Natalie, mean!dark!shauna, degradation and praise, grinding, breathplay, double penetration in two holes, which means anal, and vaginal, spit, spit as lube, scratching, fingering, controlling behavior, non/dubcon [ r for all lmao ], NO AFTERCARE | mention of past injuries and illness, as R hurts herself by accident and also works as a sort of medic for the team IM SO SORRY THIS GOT FILTHY LMFAO

Word Count: ~5.7k

Natalie was huddled with her little Council again. Lottie, Tai, Van . . . Whoever the team decided was the best suited at leading everyone out of this shithole into somewhat of a survivable society as you currently knew it.

You had to admit the ducks were cute — until Shauna came for them for dinner time. You steered clear from her around those times, when the look came to cover her features and she had the dark aura surrounding her. “Dark aura” was coined by Mari, and you made sure to never vocally mention it around Shauna.

You had managed to stay out of everyone’s way after you had fallen and broken your arm trying to be useful after the cabin burnt to splinters.

You had managed to become somewhat of a healer after resetting your own bones, creating a sling for your own arm, and packing the sling with leftover snow until the swelling went down.

Yay to three years of medical school.

It was now fully healed, but it never truly managed to recover right. There was an ache when you bent it a certain way and reaching up over your head was painful beyond measure. Still, the bone healed and you didn’t get a blood infection: win-win.

When Natalie had cropped up with some cuts from hunting expeditions, you’d offered to treat them with a prototype paste you had been testing out on your own minor scratches. She had been suspicious, but she hadn’t wanted to turn you down. So she agreed.

It worked somewhat — you had found some stinging nettle and fireweed in different areas of the surrounding territory that you had to make use of on your arm by ingesting.

You had her eat some of the paste and apply some to the cuts. Either way — it had worked to speed the healing process and ease her pain.

And so began your life as the team’s new medic. It hadn’t been intentional, but you were the only one currently still majoring in medicine and going through the process of trying to get into a residency.

You hadn’t told the team — especially Shauna — that you had planned to quit after this season.

You hadn’t told the team — especially Natalie — that you were moving to Vancouver for it.

Neither of them would’ve taken kindly to the news for different reasons, and you hoped that you died in these woods so you wouldn’t have to.

Mari was in your hut now, claiming she had a sore throat after one of the games they’d played. Shauna had punched her in the jugular, allegedly. It didn’t surprise you, not really. Shauna and Mari had been not so subtly resting their teeth at one another’s throats for weeks, and it was starting to drag on everyone.

“Ow,” Mari deadpanned as you pressed around the skin tenderly where you saw the outline of Shauna’s knuckles beginning to form.

“You’re fine. She probably didn’t do any real damage — just take it easy on any activity that requires you to yell at each other and maybe stay away from these games for a while,” you ordered, pulling your hand away.

She gave a sniff, nose wrinkled and lip curling up at the corner. You did your very best not to roll your eyes as she left without so much as a thank you. But she did squeeze your wrist, and you supposed that was thank you enough for Mari.

You went about your day stripping herbs and taking some berries from the food storages, making your pastes and wraps and using old clothes to make more slings in case another limb broke.

You heard shuffling outside of your hut and turned to find Shauna entering, a shadowy look on her face.

“Oh, hey.” You set down the makeshift bowl and smile warmly at Shauna despite the uneasiness that arose with her appearance. You avoided her at all costs these days — her and the rest of the makeshift Council. All of it terrified you and you didn’t want their eyes on you.

“Hey.” Short and curt, dark eyes glittering as they shifted around the hut at the hanging herbs and shells from the beach of the lake. “You’ve made a little spot for yourself here.”

“Hasn’t everyone?” you agreed carefully, shrugging a little bit as you went back to mashing berries and leaves together. This was a different paste you were experimenting with — one that may help coughs before next winter came to strike. “We have to sort of make do with what we’ve got right?”

“Yeah,” she murmured. You could feel her analyzing you in the way Shauna Shipman analyzed all things: like they were weak, or a target.

Shauna Shipman never sought to find enemies in the air or behind her — why would she? This is her world you’re in, her game you play most of the time especially because food is what she is in charge of.

Shauna Shipman is an apex predator who fears nothing and no one — and you are here only because she allows it, and perhaps she is here to remind you of that simple fact.

“Is everything okay?” you asked cautiously, dipping a finger into the sticky mixture you created and kneading at it anxiously. You refused to turn around and look at her and the way she seemed to track every movement you made.

“Why was Mari in here earlier?”

The inquiry shouldn’t have caught you off guard — it shouldn’t but it did. You would have put it off as something as simple as her wanting to check on a likely injured teammate but something inside of you told you that this was not as simple as that.

“She was receiving some medical attention from the strangulation she received. During the game.” You roped in any accusatory lilt that would’ve snuck in if you hadn’t been careful. “She’s fine.”

“I don’t really care,” Shauna replied casually. You turned around with the bowl and saw her fingering some of the hanging herbs, looking over them with disinterest.

“Then why’d you ask?”

Shauna stilled just a second before slowly moving her gaze back over to you. She hasn’t been all to normal since Jackie died — a fact you kept your mouth firmly shut over even if Gen and Melissa murmured about it from time to time.

There was a way her dark eyes flickered along your face and her lip curled upward like she had a reason to be disgusted with you that made you want to turn tail and run.

But alas — you were trapped in this goddamned hut with her now.

“I asked,” Shauna said lowly, voice dropping a couple of octaves, “because I saw her coming in here crying like a little bitch. I wanted to just remind everyone that this game is optional and she has a choice to play.”

Your tongue curled into the back of your mouth to kill all the things you wanted to snap back at her — all of them.

Oh, and she must have known it. Must have seen it in the way your face screwed and twisted up as you jerked your chin back down to your medicine making.

“If we have a choice, why are you acting like you’re accusing me of breaking the law?” you asked her slowly, in as much of a respectful tone as you could produce.

Shauna tilted her head just so. “Because the team considers it a bonding exercise; and it keeps us fit, quick on our feet, strong. Morale and shit.”

You wiped the paste onto the side of the bowl and set the object down onto a built in shelf of your hut, rubbing the excess onto your pants anxiously. You did not answer her, and she seemed inclined to talk to you more either way.

“Although,” Shauna continued, starting to creep closer to you with ease of a practiced creature of skill, “you wouldn’t really know one way or another. You exempt yourself everytime. I keep hoping to see you, you know?”

You play off your nerves with a scoff, rolling your eyes and trying to appease with a side smirk. “Please. Who the hell would help patch you assholes up after? Misty? She can’t hardly tell poison ivy from nettle. You’d all be dead in weeks.”

You hoped it did the trick — though you hated to do it at all. Misty was sort of becoming a friend to you in the last month, having offered her help when she wasn’t sniffing around Nat and Lottie so reverently. She would stop by so often and lend a hand with some work.

But then again, she was still Misty and she always had to be thrown under the bus in these situations.

Laughter drifted into your ears after a split second and soon the tension in your shoulders followed. “You may be right,” the brunette agreed, looking considerably lighter with an air of content.

Thank God.

“Only on days that end in y, Shipman.”

You tried to keep up a casual conversation with Shauna for a while just to ensure that the tension she entered with had all but vanished when she left you.

However it had the opposite effect. The longer you kept her — and tried to entertain her — the more her mood seemed to dip once more. Her eyes flickering behind her to the exit, arms crossed protectively and fidgeting with her sleeve.

It slowly built up until she found a way to end the conversation altogether, commenting that she had to go speak to Natalie about her ‘indiscretion’ regarding Mari. Whatever the hell that meant.

You were more confused by what had just transpired between the two of you than anything else.

“Kid.”

“I’m not a kid,” you corrected from your place by the camp’s center community fire. You were patching up one of the wings on Gen’s ducks as she anxiously stood to your right. “Why didn’t you clip them?” you asked Gen, scolding, “this is the fourth duck that’s been nearly carried off by a hawk.”

It was not Gen trying to get your attention at the moment -- for you were already focused on the crux of her problems: her wayward free-sighted ducks.

"Clipping them seems wrong," Gen retorted meekly, chewing on her chapped lips as she walked you work, "and what if something attacks camp and they can't get away?"

"We have a better chance at defending them together from something in camp than we do trying to get them back from a predator after they've taken flight from here," you reminded as you tenderly wrapped a waxy leaf between two sticks as a sort of splint. "Clip the wings, Gen, or we'll have more than just busted wings come winter."

"Kid," the same person behind you interrupted.

You ignored her as you pressed the flapping duck back into Gen's arms. "Keep an eye on her for three days, maybe keep her in your hut instead of with the others. I'm not a vet so I don't really know much about animals. All I know is that she needs to go easy on the wing."

A hand grasped your shoulder from behind and you stiffened. Gen glanced to who was behind you and mumbled a thanks before scampering off in the opposite direction.

You felt your body being turned by Nat as she met you with the least disguised look of irritation you've seen on her face in the last few days.

"Maybe calling me by my name would get my attention better," you greeted her dryly, plucking a loose duck feather off of your shirt and crossing your arms. "I tend to respond to it easier, too."

Nat rolled her eyes so hard that you could have almost placed a bet that she saw the inside of her own skull. "Right, of course, so sorry." She did not, in fact, sound sorry. She sounded fed up.

Which, you supposed, was fair enough.

"What do you need, Nat?" you asked, noting that her hand had drifted from your shoulder to your elbow instead.

"Do you want to go hunting with me?"

You blinked at her, struck silent immediately at her request. It was almost shy how she asked and you bit the inside of your cheek to keep from pointing that out.

"You took me once and I almost got both of us killed," you tried to deviate, throwing your gaze to your feet where dirty and ragged shoes scuffed the dirt.

"Yeah," Nat murmured, fingers drifting even lower until her fingers linked with yours, "which is why I want to bring you again. Besides -- you don't leave camp much now that you've managed to grow your herb garden. We could . . . we could look for some of the stuff you're low on and can't really grow?"

"Bringing Travis with you gives you a higher chance at finding something than if I were to come," you continued to deflect, though you allowed her hand to keep you locked in her space, entertaining her requests.

"I don't want to bring Travis, I want to bring you," she pointed out. "Look at me."

You drug your eyes slowly up her body until you were finally looking her in the eye, and you found her watching you with a soft encouragement but strong nature you knew Nat to carry with her.

"Good girl," the blonde praised followed by a squeeze to your hand. "So . . .?"

"Okay . . ." you agreed, cheeks reddening under her stare. "Okay, as long as you don't blame me if we don't catch anything."

She raises your linked palms and specifically curls her pinkie finger around yours. "I promise," she agrees, nodding with a little smirk gracing her features. "Now go get what you need."

Natalie was getting very frustrated and you had a sinking feeling you were connected to those feelings. She would point out spots to avoid stepping and you'd somehow find a way to unintentionally disobey that order.

She turned to glare at you when you were both crouched low in the underbrush as your knee pressed into fallen leaves and twigs.

"Sorry," you mouthed, stiffening up and not moving an inch as she turned back and settled in again.

She peered through the scope of the rifle and brushed her thumb along the trigger, shoulders relaxing as she eyed the well-fed doe in her sights.

She was beautiful and you hated to see her go, and you would tell Natalie as much later when the doe was shot down successfully.

She had the gun thrown over her shoulder as she inspected the kill, likely looking for anything Shauna would need to cut out parasite or old injury-wise when she went to butcher it.

"She was so pretty," you commented, unable to hide the tinge of sadness that paired with the words. "I'm sorry that she had to go."

At first you thought she ignored you. She had no response and the only noise around the two of you were the songs the birds sang above you, alerting the rest of the forest of your existence.

"She died for a good reason," the blonde finally said, throwing her bag down and opening it to reveal some bloodstained rope. "Just like they all have."

You did not press her on whether she meant your fallen teammates or just the animals. You did not think you wanted to know.

"Get her back legs, will you?" Nat tossed some ropes to you and you caught them.

You crouched at the back end of the deer and started lifting her legs to tie them together and stopped when you felt the leg closest to you give way too easily. You bent it a few times and breathed out a sigh, drawing Nat's attention.

"What?" she asked, frowning in your direction.

"Nothing -- just. She had an injury, a broken leg. I'm surprised she survived long enough for it to heal," you said as you stroked a hand down the base of the thigh. The leg felt weaker than the rest of the body, less muscled. "She may not have been using it either."

"She walked with a limp," Nat mentioned with a deepening frown, finishing the knot on the front legs. "She also had no herd -- maybe she couldn't keep up with them."

"Left behind." You drew the legs together and started to tie the knot, fixing it until it was tighter than you would have usually done it.

You felt Natalie watching you as you lifted her from the rear while she went to grab the front.

"Is this about --"

"No," you said, cutting her off, "it's not."

When you had broken your arm there had been a huge debate on whether or not to cannibalize you, release you into the woods and let you find your own way, or let you stay and care for you.

Before your arm you had no special job that kept you in a particular high standing -- Misty was the team's resident doctor at the time and as far as they knew, the most knowledgeable in the medical field. You had let her make them believe that -- it was too much. Too much death, too much illness, too much injury.

You wanted to be a pediatric surgeon, not watch and try to treat your friends as they died in the wilderness.

When you had been forced to fix your own arm that harsh night, it was also forcing you to reveal your abilities and in the end it forced you into the role you attempted to avoid for months.

But you never got over it; the fact that they considered throwing you out because you may bring greater weakness to their survival and because you may prove another mouth to feed if your arm healed wrong and you couldn't chop wood again, or lift heavy objects, or do chores that required arm work.

" . . . shoulder?"

"W-what?" you asked, blinking at Nat. She stared at you.

"Can you lift it over your shoulder? Just enough for us to get it carried back to camp? I know it hurts sometimes when --"

"It's fine," you said, clenching your jaw as you bent down to grab the animal. "Let's just -- let's just get going."

Nat did not press, but the air was thick with a heaviness you could not decipher for the entire trek back.

Four nights later you got into trouble.

Dinner was being served normally tonight -- no outfits or prayers like Lottie did from time to time.

What was off, though, was the way Shauna sat a few seats down and glared in your direction as Krystal and Mari kept trying to pull you into conversation.

You were mostly tuning them out. You had a headache from the boiling summer heat that lasted all day and water was only so helpful when it had to be boiled to be safe for consumption.

Everyone was going swimming together after this, while it was cool and the moon was bright. You would go with them this time -- anything to get the stink of sweat out of your skin and the cool water to surround your pounding head.

"You're going with Krystal and I, right?" Mari asked you as you downed the rest of your bowl. "Be our swimming buddy?"

What harm could it do? ]

"Sure," you started.

"Actually," Nat said loudly, leaning across Shauna to get your attention and staring you down with a crinkled nose, "Shauna and I want to steal you for our swimming trip. We wanted to use it as an opportunity to discuss some things with you."

"Okay --"

"Like what?" Mari scoffed, the barbing remark aiming for Shauna as her eyes rested on the quiet but very present brunette.

"Council things, Mari," Nat said shortly, "and if you want to keep acting up, you can stay behind and guard camp while we bring Misty instead."

"No thanks," Misty, for once, said with a squint. She hated swimming with the team. She much preferred privacy when doing anything in regards to undressing in general.

"Then behave," Nat told Mari as though she wouldn't be punishing Misty, as well.

Mari let it go. It was a bigger fight than she appeared to want to take on at the moment and you could not blame her. Nat and Shauna butted heads nine out of ten times but when they formed an alliance, it was formidable.

Everyone finished their meals without incident after that matter was settled but it left you anything except settled. Nat and Shauna had not previously mentioned wanting to talk to you about much of anything beforehand so this was as much a surprise to you as it was to Mari.

You all walked the worn path down to the lake together as a group but Shauna and Nat gestured for you to veer off with them down a slope before reaching the beach.

You hesitated and watched as the rest of the group laughed and disappeared over the lip of the path while Nat flung an arm around your shoulder and continued guiding you down the steep slope off trail.

"Where are we going?" you asked, eyes fixed on the barely-visible pattern of Shauna's flannel as she walked ahead of both of you.

"Shauna found a nice little spot, sort of a private beach. We can see and hear the others but the swim would be too far," Nat told you. You nearly tripped over a thick tree branch in your way and Nat grasped you roughly, fingers digging into the flesh of your arm to keep you from eating shit.

"You are prone to disaster, has anybody ever told you that?" she asked with laughter.

"Oh shut up," you grumbled.

Nat only laughed harder and you tuned her out once Shauna stepped out of the tree line and opened up to a small beachside grove. It seems she had made a sort of hideout here -- a tree stump had been dragged through the sand and she had some of the plane seats across it. There were rocks and shells sat out in piles like they'd been gathered overtime and sat aside on a boulder.

"It's pretty," you mused as you kicked off your shoes before stepping into the rough sand and following after Shauna.

"I know." Dark eyes watched you, gauging your reaction to her secret and you suddenly felt a ball of nervous energy form in your stomach. "Only Nat has seen it."

"Oh." You didn't know what meaning that held -- or what it meant for her to have also agreed to shown you. "Um -- cool. Why -- why show me?"

Nat was removing her shorts near the firepit and circle of makeshift seats, soon followed by her shirt and leaving her just in her underwear. She ran past you both and splashed into the water, laughing. "God, it feels so good."

You smiled at Nat and . . . how free she appeared as she swam deeper and dipped her head back into the water.

"We brought you because we can," Shauna said, obviously. She glanced behind her, following your gaze. She did not smile but there was a softening to her eyes that you thought had long since gone extinct after Jackie's untimely death.

"Want to get in?" she asked, elbow gesturing toward the water without removing her hands from her pockets.

"Oh. Yeah, absolutely." You made your way over to the damp sand, the water washing up your ankles in greeting.

"Absolutely not," Shauna breathed behind you, grabbing you by your shirt. Her lips brushed against your neck lightly. "No swimming in clothes. You could drown, stupid."

Your body flushed as the embarrassment swept over you like a wave from the lake. "R-right, yeah."

You waited for her to back away a bit but you could still feel her breath on your neck. You stepped slightly to the side and started undressing. You went to leave your underwear on but Shauna stopped you again.

"Everything."

"Nat has her underwear on?" you pointed out, glancing out to where the blonde lay on her back, treading water.

"And I care why?" Shauna drawls. "Take them off or I'll do it."

You trembled, an uneasy stickiness starting to coat the inside of said underwear despite yourself. But you did as you were told in order to avoid having Shauna wrangle them off of you.

Your heart was racing, your blood turning cold, and the sweat turning to ice along your skin as she gazed at you patiently like a hawk.

You added them to the pile and Shauna jerked her chin.

"Took you long enough," she said. "Go join Nat. I'll be there in a moment."

You slowly dipped into the water inch by inch until it was up to your chest, bottom of your toes barely managing to stay dug into the sand the deeper you got.

Natalie looked up and grinned at you, swimming to meet you the rest of the way. She crossed the waters to you and slid her arms around your waist, pulling you close until your chests touched.

You hoped she could not feel how fast your heart ran in your ribcage, otherwise you could be held for questioning.

You were not, however, expecting a knee to come rest between your thighs when she went to tangle her legs with yours. The following squeak had her grinning like a cat with freshly stolen milk.

"Make that sound again," Nat purred as she jerked her knee upward, this time rubbing into your cunt. You gasped and fell into her.

"Nat -- Nat stop." You dug your fingers into her shoulder to push back from her despite the dizzy feeling you got from the way she circled her knee.

"Why?" the blonde wondered, reaching over to tuck a strand of damp hair behind your ear and leaning across to suck at your collarbone. "You're so pretty."

"B-but shouldn't we talk about t-this?" you whispered, startling at the screams and laughter of the girls from across the lake. They sounded so close but the likelihood of them seeing you was little.

You felt a warmth against your back and another arm wrap around your waist. A hand ran along the curve of your neck, fingers pressing none-to-gently along each muscle that popped out with her puppeting your head. Shauna looked down at you as your head angled up to meet her gaze.

"Look at you." Then she leaned down and kissed you, teeth immediately making themselves apart of the equation as they dug into your bottom lip and she held her hand close to your jugular. Not squeezing, not even putting weight, just staying there.

A jolt of pleasure rushing down your spine. A whine escaped your lips and into Shauna's as Nat continued licking and biting along the skin there, her knee slowly moving up until it rubbed directly into your clit.

This was sudden -- unexpected and like a curveball sent across the field to knock you out.

"W-wait," you pleaded when Shauna broke the kiss for air. "Wait, stop."

"No," Shauna purred, fingers dancing along your abdomen. "We're staking our claim now that fucking Mari has started sniffing around where she doesn't belong."

"W-what?"

"W-what?" Shauna mocked. This time, the hand started applying the pressure it so lacked before. "God. You're fucking dumb, sometimes. Such a big brain but no thoughts."

"Oh, she's smart. My smart, pretty, empathetic girl," Nat crooned in front of you has she drags you and Shauna deeper into her, thus forcing you more on her knee. "Grind, baby."

"No," you whined. You tried to gain some form of control in this -- tried to collect yourself and try to splash at the water, but Shauna struck. She forced you against Nat even closer, leaving no escape. Both of them were more active, more stronger than you. You had no choice.

"Yes," Shauna whined back, mocking. Teeth started pulling at your earlobe. "Mari has been digging up a shit ton of trouble for us lately. She refuses to follow the rules, she's pitting everyone against each other, and what's worse: she's starting to use you to get to us."

What in the actual good fuck was she rambling about? A shudder rippled through you as Nat pulled you in for the kiss this time, allowing Shauna to roam and explore your body as she would. \

You fought it with best intentions, but the climax was building and you had no other option but to give into it, Shauna's body forcefully keeping you in motion. Nat's knee grew slick under the water as you came across her skin, breaking the kiss and crying out into the night.

"Such a good girl," Nat breathed, circling her knee four more times to ease you through it.

"Fuck," you sobbed, slumping in their arms as tears overcame you and you worked on recovering from the orgasm that just destroyed and put you back together all at once.

"Fucked stupid and sweet, just what I need," Shauna murmured as she stroked your sides with surprisingly tender hands while Nat kept her knee in place, not trusting you to be steady in the water.

"Why?" was all you could ask when you had wanted to break out numerous questions.

Shauna untangled wet hair, kissing small bites into your cheeks and neck. "You're so lonely, aren't you? We can't have Mari stealing you away. When the time comes, we need you on our side."

"For what?"

She did not reply.

After a while of floating in the water, most of it in which you yourself floated away from the place entirely, Nat and Shauna sought to get you out before you grew too cold.

Nat got out first and started a fire around the stump and chairs, but she seemed to be laying out the clothes like a blanket as Shauna guided you out and over to the fire.

They push you down and instead of leaving you to your own devices, Nat has you lay on top of her. "C'mon, let's cuddle," she murmured.

You didn't want to be touched, not by her or Shauna, or anyone. But your mental shields were shattered and Shauna was giving you a look as she threw a log into the flames, the orange flickering across her face like an angry shadow.

So you sit in Nat's lap instead of laying down, insisting you'd be more comfortable. She agrees and wraps your legs around her hips to help you get comfortable.

Nat was scratching at your back almost sweetly, and you could have fallen asleep then and there if it hadn't been for the fact that not even ten minutes later you felt her teeth grazing your shoulder and her fingers dipping low into your cunt.

You locked up in her arms, a high-pitched gasp escaping your lungs as her fingers sank into your heat which was still wet and allowed easy entrance.

"Were you sleepy? I'm sorry. I can't help it, you're just so beautiful and perfect like this," Natalie soothed as her other hand resumed stroking your back while two fingers started pumping evenly in and out of you.

You moaned into her bare neck, drool escaping as she brushed her nails against your walls. You started moving into the thrusts, unable to help yourself and feeling wanton.

"Does that feel good, baby? Does that make you happy?" Nat asked so softly and sweetly, peppering kisses along your skin endlessly. \

"Feels good," you whined.

"Good girl."

It wasn't long before Shauna joined in. "Fucking slut," the butcher hissed from behind you, getting to her knees with a soft thud on the laid out clothes and spitting on your back.

You squeaked when the wetness hit your skin, but quickly fingers swiped along the dip in your spine where it landed, collecting it on fingers.

"You're going to be fucking owned after tonight. Any pleasure you seek out will be from me or Nat. Any friendships you think you have will end. You don't need them."

Your body suddenly jerks forward when you feel Shauna's fingers start circling the outside of your back hole. "No, no, no," you blabbered, clenching up and trying to push as close to Nat as the huntress would allow.

"Hold her still," Shauna snapped.

Nat complied, stilling inside of you and killing the building orgasm in the process. She pressed her self as tight as possible into you and forced your writhing to come to a stop as Shauna pushed her way inside the outer rings of your ass.

"Ohmygod," you wailed, muffled, into Nat's shoulder as you tried to escape from the intrusion. Shauna snarled behind you and ran her free hand down your ass, nails leaving hot trails of stings in their wake.

"Move," Shauna ordered tightly, "fuck her like the whore she is."

Natalie pulled away to check your features -- she did not want to injure you in this. She saw only a glazed, floaty look in your eye and bit her lip before thrusting upwards again.

You gasped when Shauna followed suit, the two of them working in tandem to take you while you shivered and cried in their arms. Natalie whispered soothing praises in one ear while Shauna took from you and grew harsher in movement.

Something angry and disgusting was starting to coil like a viper in the darkest part of your entire being, wanting to strike them and cause as much pain as they were causing you. But instead only the crushing wave of the onslaught of an orgasm crashed into you.

You screamed through it -- it was devastating. It was the most painful thing you've ever experienced, and yet it was the greatest pleasure you've ever known. This is what destruction felt like and you reveled in it while also drowning in the aftermath.

They sat with you until the shakes and shudders ended, the only witness to your new life in the Wilderness being the moon you used to find comfort and escape from the overheating sun and burning in.

Now nothing in this world could keep you safe. Nothing, except maybe death.

#shaunanat x reader #shauna shipman x reader #natalie scatorccio x reader #natalie scatorccio #shauna shipman #the yellowjackets #yellowjackets #fanficiton

80 notes · View notes

meanbossart · 16 hours ago

Text

ASK COMPILATION: SHADOWCUTE, EGALITATION DU DROW, THE MAN WHO HAS NEVER HAD A COLD AND PROMISES OF FROTTING.

ALL I CAN DO FOR TONIGHT FOLKS, but I might end up doing another compilation very soon since the inbox situation is dire 💀

Thank you so much for showing so much interest in my character and my art! And an extra especial Thank You as always to anyone who has taken the time to leave a nice compliment or words of encouragement in my mail!

Now, onto the debauchery.

Surprisingly, no! While they may have been stuck at the hip since the early game, DU drow most definitely wasn't interested in becoming intimately involved with anyone at that stage - having lost all of his memories and seemingly kidnapped by mindflayers and all, he was a little on edge. Besides, Shadowheart struck him as rather juvenile in the earlier game, which kind of erased any possibility of his interest in her growing. By the time she """matures""" in DU drow's eyes he was already locked in with Astarion, and their friendship was also firmly established.

He did not. I think if he had been more observant as a Bhaalist he could have put two-and-two together - but he was far too self absorbed for that. He is under the impression that Helena (Orin's mother) had a divine pregnancy.

Besides women more often falling into a category that he is sexually attracted to (which doesn't affect his treatment of them by much either as long as he and Astarion are together, he may just steal a glance down their shirt or something) not really!

He has specific prejudices about women from the drow race for the same reasons everyone else has, but otherwise sex or gender doesn't impact his views. The one exception I can think of that may apply here is that he has a slight soft spot for mothers.

And don't worry, your english is perfectly fine!

Hello! I have gotten an ask about this before where I went much more in-depth, but I can't find it right now. The TLDR is that he doesn't care as long as you can still "pull your weight" outside of whatever the disability is. How reasonable his expectations are vary on how much he likes the person in question, but generally speaking he doesn't care and this would be something that bears much less weight than race or attitude - if they don't make it into a problem, he just won't bring it up.

He does have a vile sense of humor though; that might come up if he's trying to hurt someone's pride or, ironically, has built enough of a rapport with that he's comfortable joking around about such things with them.

Have a great day yourself!

I don't think there is anything wrong with relating to fictional characters, even if they are profoundly flawed or even straight up evil. Hopefully that's a vehicle for self-examination and introspection - after all, we are all flawed ourselves.

Honestly it is very hard for me to picture him old, at least in the conventional sense.

Truthfully, I am preeeeetty settled on DU drow being an immortal being at this point. I think it makes sense that Bhaal would have just stopped his aging at some point so he can be at peak performance while following through with his bidding, and that just seems to make sense to me based on prior BG lore. He changes over-time in other ways that I most certainly plan on drawing, but it might take a while for me to get there!

LOL, I think he retained knowledge of illness and disease just fine, so if he were to come down with something he wouldn't panic - probably quite the opposite. He strikes me as the kind of guy who wouldn't walk into a hospital unless a limb was dangling off by an artery - and even then, his friends probably had to insist he went.

Luckily he must has the immune system of vulture after so many years of eating half-cooked wild animals and rolling around in the cold dirt, so he very rarely contracts disease. When he does, he likely just tries his best to hide it or dismiss the concerns of anyone around him about it.

I'm glad to hear that! I remember being concerned that DU drow's scars may get read as rather exploitative or disrespectful when my art first started getting traction - I'm relieved that not only that seems to never have happened, but that people like yourself can actually gain some self-confidence from it!

Listen now that I know that there is an audience for it -

I'm not sure how I feel about simply making a book with art that already exists online and charging people money for it - especially when I have prints for sale that are most definitely of better quality than a zine and can actually serve to decorate your home! But I suppose if an opportunity like that popped up and it made sense, I don't see why not!

Oh he hates her guts, LOL. He would respect The Hag Grind for the pure comedy of it if she weren't so disgusting to look at or so unpleasant to talk to. He's particularly irate at her during act 3 when she tries to trick him into killing that little girl's mother, since he almost follows through with it (one of my few moments of lore save-scumming because I felt like SUCH an idiot).

He definitely didn't take up on her offer in act 1 for the failed tadpole treatment!

And as a bonus, here are some Viscious Mockery inspired taunts Ethel definitely bombarded him with during every fight.

#du drow lore #du drow and shadowheart #ask compilation #orin the red

92 notes · View notes

bumbled-bees · 2 days ago

Text

Lily's Lies and Revisionist History

Lily’s constant contradictions and revisionist history are a hallmark of her manipulation tactics. She has no consistent narrative—she just says whatever is most convenient for her at the moment.

Take Stockholm, for example. Her stance on it has changed so many times:

Admitted to writing it.

Denied writing it.

Claimed it’s just people falsely attaching her name to it.

Said maybe she wrote it, but it’s not a big deal.

Gone back to denying it again.

The reason she constantly shifts her story is because she can’t figure out what the least damaging answer is. She doesn’t want to admit to writing a fanfiction that glorifies incest and underage relationships (especially when her own sister has made accusations against her), but she also knows her name is attached to it and that people have receipts. So she keeps scrambling for an explanation that will stick.

She cycles through different versions of reality depending on what she thinks will benefit her most at any given time. The same applies to the Tara Callie situation.

Tara was real but got arrested for CP.

Lily beat her up in prison.

And somehow, the guards just... let that happen?

Lily’s entire defense strategy hinges on two things: deleting, contradicting, and rewriting her own history, and making sure her audience never questions her enough to notice.

The Goal: Confuse, Obfuscate, Distract

Lily isn’t trying to tell a convincing story. She’s trying to overload the conversation with so much contradiction, noise, and revision that it becomes exhausting to follow.

If someone calls her out, she:

Deletes anything incriminating.

Pretends it never happened.

Contradicts herself when necessary.

Calls her critics stalkers, transphobes, or abusers.

Moves the goalposts (e.g., "Why are you even focusing on this? It doesn’t matter.").

Why Her Audience Falls for It

Most of Lily’s most devoted fans aren’t people who carefully follow evidence. They’re often:

Former abuse victims who deeply relate to Lily’s “survivor” narrative.

Neurodivergent people who struggle with gray areas and may take her words at face value.

People with depression and mental health struggles who see her as a guiding voice.

LGBT+ people who are quick to believe her accusations of transphobia and bigotry.

When she contradicts herself, her audience doesn’t think, “Wait, that’s not what she said last month.” Instead, they think, “Lily is constantly under attack, of course she’s frustrated,” or “This is just another smear campaign against her.”

And that’s how she gets away with it.

None of it makes sense. It’s completely absurd. But she knows that her followers aren’t actually going to stop and think about the contradictions.

Lily relies on the fact that people don’t archive everything she says. But unfortunately for her, her critics do. That’s why they screenshot, record, and document everything. They’ve learned that Lily’s modus operandi is to rewrite history whenever it suits her.

She’ll delete messages, change her story, and pretend things never happened—all so she can claim that any accusations against her are fabricated. And when that doesn’t work, she just resorts to smearing her critics by calling them transphobic, stalkers, or abusers themselves.

The whole reason she hates her “stalkers” so much isn’t just because they criticize her—it’s because they’re keeping receipts. They’re exposing the fact that she cannot keep her own lies straight.

#lily orchard #cd call #lily orchard analysis #lily orchard critcal

41 notes · View notes

dramas-vs-novels · 1 day ago

Note

Can you please elaborate how payurain portray a healthy 24/7 d/s relationship? And how payu shows casual dominance?

I love this ask so much!

First and Foremost:: They're Equals

A healthy D/s dynamic- especially a 24/7 one- isn't built at all on "one person is better or more in some way than the other" (there is a separate kink for that if it's your jam). The Dominant doesn't think he's superior to the submissive, or if he does that's a couple who won't last long.

They have to see themselves as equals, so it's a conscious decision to submit or Dominate. It is a choice being made. Rain sees himself as less than Payu- the god-like senior with the good job and extreme wealth. But Payu never sees him like that. He never says "I'm better than you" or "I'm worth this, you're worth that".

As Love Storm goes on, but especially in the LITA Special Novel, you see Rain shedding his "unattainable perfection" image of Payu and seeing him as human. Rain will always hero worship him, but he no longer does it from a perspective of "Look how much better than me he is", but rather just "He's amazing, I'm lucky to have him in my life". He doesn't belittle himself, and a hell of a lot of that is because that's how Payu has always treated him.

---------------

Domination and submission Displays

I did want to include this because it isn't as nebulous as the other topics, but it's very much a part of things. It also goes towards your question about casual Dominance.

D/s have a sort of ritual to them in displays between the Dominant and submissive that... you don't really see in PayuRain as obviously as you might in others.

Rain has to call Payu "Phi" and use respectful language, but he isn't calling him "Sir", he isn't expected to say like "Yes, sir" or "No, sir", he isn't expected to seek permission for actions or wait for Payu to order or command him.

But they still have their almost ritualistic elements that present a clear sign of "You're stepping out of your lane" and kind of pulling the leash on the dynamic to get everything back where it's supposed to be.

Most obviously, Payu has subtle ways to command Rain that the little guy might not wholly be aware of himself. When Payu strokes Rain's bottom lip, that's "Obey", and Rain always obeys when Payu pulls that trigger.

It is also a kind of "Submit" switch- if Rain is being a brat and Payu does that, Rain immediately changes tune. A hot example is during the race kink scene, when Payu opts to bite the sitch instead of stroke it like he usually does after Rain goes too far.

Rain has a sexual response to that bottom lip being messed with (a seed Payu plants in the bathroom stall), and whenever it is touched (or in this case, bitten), you can see the boy utterly melt. In some scenes, once Payu touches that, Rain's eyes become heavy and he immediately shudders.

Fun note: when Rain wants to try being the one in control (race kink scene), he does the same move to Payu.

---------------

Rules and Guardrails Apply to Both

Rain doesn't know anything about D/s dynamics or relationships, but Payu does, so he gently shows Rain how to handle the checks and balances. He respects Rain, he asks for respect in return. He has his Rules for their relationship, but he shows Rain from the start that he's allowed to make Rules.

He also- big point- explains why he makes the Rules, they aren't arbitrary things Rain is expected to follow blindly. They aren't just for fun to see if he can make Rain obey- they're serious, and he treats them seriously.

When Rain breaks Payu's Rules, he's punished accordingly. But when Payu breaks a rule, he knows Rain doesn't understand yet that there has to be a ding on Payu as well. That's one of those areas where they are equal and have to be treated equally. Rain isn't a pet, he's a human being. Just because he embraces being a submissive doesn't mean he doesn't have power.

24/7 Cannot Be Unbreakably 24/7

The other important thing I want to mention (because one of my favorite Special Chapters is all about this) is that even if there is a 24/7 dynamic in place... That doesn't mean it's actually, mercilessly, 24/7. It isn't some unending roleplay, it's their lives.

Payu has good days and bad days. He has his needs- physical, emotional, and sexual. But so does Rain. And Payu is very respectful of those. If either one is upset, the Rules or the dynamic are set aside.

Payu will drop his Dominant air the moment he sees that Rain is geniunely upset about something.

And he never stops doing that. Even if it's for something stupid- if Rain is upset, Payu won't push their dynamic, and he will very sincerely try to understand Rain's feelings (please note the finger trigger being used in the last image!)

Or, when Rain runs away from Payu's home and breaks critical aftercare for both him and Payu (I did a whole post about this one, so I'm glossing past it), he both makes sure Rain knows that's not cool, but also doesn't press the matter because he knows the boy isn't feeling well.

And later on, after Rain has started to grasp the controls of their dynamic, when Stop enrages Payu, he steps well out of his comfort zone to be more kitten-ish and try to help break Payu's bad mood. He uses nicknames with himself he hasn't entirely warmed to, and coaxes Payu in a public setting.

The absolute best example of this- which is such a base, foundation-level core of 24/7 D/s relationships- is this excerpt from a Special Chapter in the novel.

Rain is heading into exam season, an incredibly stressful time, and he's utterly overwhelmed. He's burning the candle at both ends, feels lost and dejected, and doesn't even have time to acknowledge Payu, let alone be with him. And at the back of his mind, because of this, he feels like he is failing as Payu's sub by not being available for him romantically or physically.

Payu, meanwhile, is more worried about Rain. he knows the pressures and the stress, but it doesn't make it any easier. So Payu will make Rain food and try to keep it warm until Rain has a minute to eat, he'll let slide Rain ignoring him, and he'll do what he can to make things easier.

But when Rain eventually explodes, cussing Payu out... Payu doesn't play the dynamic. He doesn't bring up Rules or even consider punishing Rain in the slightest. He lets Rain vent as much as he needs to, even if it hurts his feelings a bit. He gives Rain space to kind of re-spool.

And when Rain comes down, now crying for how he's treated Payu, Payu reassures him and supports him. He gives Rain the strength he needs to succeed and adds a Rule that Rain has to set aside some time each day to eat and take a break. Anothe Rule put into their dynamic, but with Rain's physical wellbeing being the focus.

I'm sure I'm forgetting stuff, I'm sure people would like to add stuff. I don't engage in 24/7 D/s so there might be elements I'm not mentioning that other people would, but I tried to kind of highlight the biggest areas.

At the core of it all, the D/s are both equal.

Rain's little "submit" switch.

Rules have to apply to both.

24/7 cannot be 24/7 without mercy.

#payu #rain #payurain #love in the air #lita #love storm #ask

24 notes · View notes

tokiro07 · 2 days ago

Text

Ichi the Witch ch.23 thoughts

[I'm Not Brutalized, But I Seem to Be Struck By You]

(Topics: character analysis - Gokuraku/Ichi/Kumugi, speculation - worldbuilding)

Confirmed! The new companion is, in fact, a man! And what a pretty man he is, too

I've always been a fan of those sorts of gauntlets and greaves, his hair has a lot of interesting things going on, the markings around his eyes are distinctive, and of course, as a freckle-haver myself, I'm quite impressed that Usazaki made those such a prominent part of his design

But before we dive into discussing our new best boy, though, I'd like to take a brief moment to talk about our previous one, Ichi, and his little uh...proposal for Kumugi

What'd He Mean By This?

It's immediately clear that Ichi doesn't actually have a firm grasp on the terms of the contract, as the literal first thing he does after learning that he's now indentured into Desscaras' servitude is draft his own copy of the contract and run to Kumugi, asking her to be his family too

What this tells us is that a) Ichi doesn't realize that he'd be endangering himself and Kumugi by doing this; b) he thinks that all it takes to forge a magical contract is a regular pen and paper; and c) his takeaway from that conversation with Desscaras was that they have, in fact, become family

Ichi is so excited by the prospect of having someone in his life who he knows won't leave him that he tries to apply it wherever he can, so naturally he goes to the only other friend he has, Kumugi. I won't suggest that this means that he feels anything romantic towards her, but he does value her and want her around. Even if he misunderstands the weight of what he asked, that misunderstanding in and of itself carries its own weight and implications, that he never wants Kumugi to leave him

Of course, from her perspective, he basically just waltzed in with a marriage license and said "let's get hitched." She doesn't have the context for what Ichi thinks that contract is for or even what it actually is in the first place. She saw paper and heard "family," and her imagination went wild. She does seem to appreciate that Ichi probably didn't know what he was saying, but that only leads to more confusion on her part: what did he think he was saying, and whatever it was, what prompted him to say it?

I wouldn't be at all surprised if Kumugi starts to develop feelings for Ichi over the course of the story, but I'm also not quite sure that I want that, at least not yet. This doesn't seem like a story that's built on romance, meaningful glances and women drinking from each other's glasses notwithstanding, so unless Nishi lays a lot of groundwork first, I just don't see Ichi settling down or anything

That said, if Family is meant to be a major recurring theme, perhaps tackling the topic of marriage would be helpful for developing that theme? Marriage is a contract, so perhaps a comparison could be drawn between marriage and the Mentor-Pupil Blood Contract? Like how much control one relinquishes or gains in a wedded relationship vs. how much is lost as a Pupil

We can probably explore that fine with the contract on its own, but it already doesn't seem quite as all-powerful as I expected

The Ol' Ball-and-Chain

As the gang arrives at Origumo's nest, Ichi prepares to mozy on in without hesitation, only to be pulled back by Desscaras who gives him a number of orders: "don't rush in, don't get cocky, don't eat stuff off the ground," all of which Ichi acquiesces to. This is presumably because he is under magical contract and can't defy any order from Desscaras, except there's one more that he doesn't seem bound to follow

After he says yes to the orders, Desscaras pulls a Makima and insists that the correct response isn't "yes," but "woof." However, Ichi emphatically and successfully refuses this order, even though she tries it two more times

This implies one of two things: 1) Desscaras' orders aren't absolute and there is some mitigating factor such as the reasonability of the request or relevance to the mentor-pupil relationship; or 2) that wasn't a serious order and the spell is powered by intent, so an "order' like that that's only meant for banter doesn't necessarily count

It's a minor detail and one that doesn't really need to be dwelled on, but it's a pretty immediate inconsistency that I think is worth at least considering in the event of future contradictions

I think the exact wording or specific circumstance is important to consider as well, as Ichi does manage to defy the order not to charge in unprepared after seeing Gokuraku's treatment of Oniguro. Does the context of already being in the nest negate the timing of the order? Does he have some reign to say "I'm not unprepared, so now I can charge in?" It seems strange that he's already able to resist the contract after such a big deal was made about it, so I'd really like an in-depth explanation on the mechanics

I don't expect we'll get it for a little while if we're not getting it now, but one that I think we will get an explanation for is Gokuraku's armor

Gauntlet Thrown, Gauntlet Picked Up

The clearest takeway from this chapter is that, whether or not there are men aside from Ichi in the world who can use magic, Gokuraku is not one of them

And yet, when he kisses his ring and declares "Synchro Rate 10%," he seems to be able to augment his strength at will. This gives the impression that the kiss is meant to activate the ability of his armor and that this strength comes from it rather than purely from himself

My question is how

That sounds pretty similar to the leg augmentation of Ichi's magic boots, but that requires that the user charge them with magical energy. Gokuraku can't be using magical energy on his armor because he doesn't have magic to use, but we don't have a clear alternate energy source in the story yet

Gokuraku is either here specifically to introduce that new energy or technology or to expand on the lore of how magical items work. Perhaps the armor already has magic imbued into it from another Witch and that's what Gokuraku is synchronizing with?

Or maybe he's actually incredibly strong naturally and he's adjusting his physical output to a smaller amount to account for the current situation? The kanji used is "tekigou" (適合), meaning "compatibility/adaptability/conformity," so I could go either way, but I think it's clear that Gokuraku's strength is being scaled to something, and I'd really like to know what

The idea of compatibility is particularly interesting here because that seems to be Gokuraku's goal: to find a Magik that he's compatible with, but there's something about him that's making it impossible

Swipe Left

Some of Gokuraku's dialogue ("what a silly little Magik you are" in English or speaking with heart emojis ♥) and his actions (kissing his ring, attacking with a playful forehead flick, etc.) gives a sort of whimsically flirtatious vibe. It's almost like he's looking for a partner or a soulmate and trying to convince the Magiks to love him

I don't know if that is his motivation, but I think with the theme of Family starting to develop, I'd say someone that's desperate to find love would be a perfect angle to analyze the theme from at this point

Even better for that analysis is the fact that, despite thinking that he's just doing his best, Gokuraku is actually disincentivizing the Magiks from wanting to be with him by being cruel to them. Gokuraku may be looking for love, but he's not actually trying to find it, he's trying to take it by force

Gokuraku is, for the time being, an abuser

He's a toxic man who refuses to listen to what anyone else says if it contradicts his opinions or desires. It can't possibly be that he's incapable of acquiring a Magik, it has to be that the Magiks are either lying or lazy. They either know exactly what they need to do and are being stingy, or they aren't willing to put in the same work as he is to figure out a way around it

He's deluded himself into thinking that "magic" can do anything, can break any rule that proves inconvenient to it, inconvenient to him. If there isn't currently a way for a man to acquire a Magik, then the Magik should be able to cast a spell on him that will allow him to

But magic simply doesn't work that way. A Magik only has one spell. Maybe they can use it in different and clever ways, but they aren't miracle workers. They can't change the rules of the world, no matter how much they want to

And that's unacceptable to Gokuraku. Maybe it's because accepting it would mean giving up on some kind of dream. Maybe it's because admitting he was wrong would make everything he did to all of those Magiks pointless, a colossal waste of time. It would make him the bad guy

And I think that's the problem. It's his unwillingness to accept other people's perspectives to overwrite his own, his refusal to be open to anyone outside of himself, that's keeping him from acquiring a Magik, at least on a symbolic level. I don't think having a change of heart will get him what he wants immediately, but I think the narrative is keeping him from his goal because he's allowed that goal to turn him into a monster. He is not fit for a relationship, to be family with anyone, so he doesn't get to be

It'll only be when he abandons his ego and his insistence on everything going his one, specific and unreasonable way that he'll find what he's actually looking for in a place he never looked. Once he ceases to be cruel to Magiks, he'll be able to open his heart to humans and find his family among them

But he has to change first

Necessary Evils

From this introduction, it seems like it will be difficult to make Gokuraku an ally. Not because he won't be willing, he's already endeared to Ichi, but because Ichi already doesn't like him

While Ichi does take pleasure in killing, he only kills because it's necessary for survival. It needs to be done anyway, so he might as well enjoy it. However, suffering isn't necessary for survival. There's no sense in hurting a rabbit, the goal is to kill and eat it; drawing out the process only makes it more likely that the rabbit will get away, and will waste precious energy that the rabbit is supposed to be refueling. A quick, painless death is the most beneficial for everyone involved

The World Hater doesn't seem to take pleasure in anything, they only kill because it's necessary for ridding the world of the things they hate. It needs to be done as a matter of course, so emotional investment isn't necessary. The death they bring hurts, and clearly a lot, but likely not for long. The goal is to kill them and be done with it; drawing out the process only gives humanity time to breed more to replace the ones that died. A quick death without concern for pain or pleasure is the most efficient for the World Hater

Gokuraku has no desire to kill Magiks, he wants to acquire their spells, he just needs to convince them to let him do so. They're unreasonable and won't give him what he's earned when he passes their trial, so he has to retaliate. It's not like they'll die, they won't even be so much as scarred! They'll walk away exactly the same as they were before, and they know it, so he's gotta get a bit extreme to really make his case. And hey, if he's gonna be there for a while, he might as well have fun with it! The goal is to make them give up the goods, and it's completely up to them how long that takes. He doesn't want to hurt them, they're making him hurt them; they're drawing out the process, and the longer it goes, the more painful he has to make it to convince them that giving him what he wants is the only way to make it stop

Gokuraku's approach shows a complete lack of respect for the Magiks or their lives. He thinks because they'll heal that he can do whatever he wants, completely ignorant of the psychological damage that they'll be left with, and how that will impact their immortal lives going forward. Worse, he revels in that ignorance, whistling while he humiliates and tortures them in creative ways

Ichi can't possibly accept that. His philosophy of Death for Death assumes the capacity to die, a dignified conclusion to a battle for survival. Nothing that Gokuraku is doing helps him to survive, and doesn't offer a way out for the victim to escape. The Magiks are not a threat to Gokuraku, and he doesn't live longer because of their suffering - Death for Death does not apply anywhere in this process

The gulf between Ichi's philosophy and Gokuraku's actions is so wide, it would be near impossible to reconcile their differences without forcing Gokuraku to grow. Somehow, Ichi needs to prove to him that what he's doing is causing real harm for absolutely no benefit, and he himself needs to be able to admit that he's wrong

I see this going one of two ways - either Gokuraku gives up hurting Magiks but is still clearly a deeply unhinged and sadistic individual in every other aspect of his life, OR he has to fight the urge to be sadistic and struggles with it for the remainder of his storyline. I'm not sure which would be more fun to see, but either way, I'm very compelled by his character already and I greatly look forward to seeing how he develops

Until next time, let's enjoy life!

#ichi the witch #madan no ichi #fouryearsandananime

30 notes · View notes