#but other than that it just... doesn't work with the established rules so far

[bluerosesburnblue]

I... disagree. Because first off, this video has a fundamental misunderstanding of how the arks/lifeboats work. They're not just catch-all time machines, they have a specific function. They were intended as devices to escape the world, but an issue with them caused the bodies of those inside to burn up due to the speeds they traveled at. That speed, however, is ultimately how the time travel works as an initially unintended side-effect. The heart, now unbound from the body, is going so fast that it basically causes a time dilation effect and speeds itself into the future. It can't go back in time, only forward, because time only progresses forward, the heart is just experiencing it at a different rate than the world around it

That leaves you with the Xehanort method: you need to have a version of you at your destination, you need to have some sort of body to stay in that destination (Xehanort and the Replicas in KH3, Sora inhabiting his own and various other bodies in Re:Mind, arguably Maleficent inhabiting her data-self) or otherwise be in a state where you don't need a body (Ansem SoD going to the past as a Heartless), and if you go to the past you're stuck there unless you have a lifeboat to go forward again. For Skuld in this theory, it's unclear if time spent in lifeboat-induced time travel counts as a point in time you can go back to (is it technically a point in time where you exist or not?) so she'd... probably have to time-travel to a point before the lifeboat worked and if she did, what body is she in? Her own, that's about to be destroyed so that her heart can time travel, completely missing the time period this theory needs her to be in? Or if she can just travel to any point where her heart was in a lifeboat-induced time travel state and can thus skip to after the fall of Daybreak Town, we still have the question of what body she'd be in because her own would have been destroyed to send her to the future to be Subject X, especially since Replicas don't exist yet. And if she's just possessing a random body, that descendant has no reason to look like her. It's also unclear if the body reconstruction method used for lifeboat time-travelers functions on normal time-travelers

So the only way for this theory to work would be if Nomura brought in yet another method of time travel, and frankly, I think that would be too many. You can already see how the lifeboats are written to desperately try to circumvent the already established time travel rules without contradicting them, do we really need another version of that?

At this point I think it must be an either-or: either Skuld is Subject X, or she's the ancestor of Xehanort's mother, she can't be both

You know... This seems pretty obvious now. And I feel like an idiot for not realizing it before. I feel like The Landi Lodge is right.

[cruel-as-sin]

how long before you let me go? | logan howlett

↳ summary: riling up logan doesn't go quite how you planned...

word count: 1.3k

song: supermassive black hole | muse

pairings: bodyguard 70s!logan x rich kid fem!reader

content warnings: 18+ content (MDNI), smut, porn light plot, rough sex, overstimulation, mean!logan, hair pulling, mentions of bite marks and hickeys, spanking (so hard it leaves handprints), whiny!reader, unprotected p in v (practice safe sex everyone!), multiple orgasms, reader flirts with someone else to piss off logan (don't worry about me doing this again...), no use of y/n, pre-established safe word, doggy style, logan puts reader in a headlock, light choking accompanying said headlock, some degradation, pet names for reader (sweetheart, brat, slut), reader is a crying whiny mess and logan loves it, logan has insane stamina (lmk if i missed anything!)

↳ a/n: cas finally posting something!!! (and everyone cheered!) this has been in my drafts for SOOO long and i'm so glad i finally finished it even if it’s shorter than i wanted it to be, logan is sooooooooo hot omfgggg... might turn this into a series bc i feel like this song fits them SO incredibly well

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

The problem, if you could call it that, with having sex with Logan is that he Just. Keeps. Going.

Being a celebrities daughter has its perks. A rich lifestyle, for one. Lots of attention, and of course, a bodyguard with muscles that make you drool and a stern voice that leaves you dripping in… other areas.

You two have been having casual sex for about a month and a half now. He’s always been relentless, but usually takes pity on you enough to let up before he’s tired out. And, of course, you have a safeword if you ever need it. Just in case.

You knew he could keep going far longer than the average man, something about his biology letting him fill you up over and over. You didn’t question it- his business was his own, and you certainly weren’t complaining.

Now, though? You might start to complain.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

To back up a little: maybe this was your fault. Okay, it was definitely your fault, but really, could anyone blame you?

It had all started a few days ago, the last time you’d been having sex. His head was buried between your legs, his beard scratching your thighs as his tongue lapped at your clit in a way that had you seeing stars. You were whining his name, about to reach your peak, when suddenly he pulled away, shoving your bedsheets over you and kicking your clothes away as he took a step back.

You’re not sure how he knew- he must have super-hearing or something- but thank god for it, because if he’d noticed only a few seconds later, you two would’ve been interrupted by your father’s knock on the door.

It was a good thing, of course, that he stopped that night, his sharp senses and quick thinking meaning that you could just tell your father that you were changing and Logan was in the bathroom, and even if he had tried to come in, Logan had hidden the evidence well.

Even if it meant you’d spent the rest of that night pent up beyond relief, you were grateful.

Except for the fact that, and this is where the problem starts to come in, Logan had been very clear about one rule when you started sleeping with him: no touching yourself, not without his permission.

And not only does he reject your advances in the following days, claiming it’s too risky now that you almost got the two of you caught (so what if you’d insisted on sneaking away to your room with hardly any time to spare? It’s not like he didn’t agree to join you), he also tells you you’re not allowed to touch yourself, despite the way you beg and plead and give him those puppy dog eyes that you were formerly convinced worked like a magic trick every time.

So… you took matters into your own hands.

I mean, he said you couldn’t touch yourself, right? He never specified that you couldn’t have someone else do it for you.

The way you saw it, flirting with that politician’s son at a party was a win-win. Either you got some probably mediocre sex, but an orgasm was an orgasm (and the possibility of future blackmail was an added bonus), or you pissed Logan off enough that he’d come fuck you, or at least let you do it yourself.

You had been dead wrong.

Well, not entirely. Logan is fucking you. Just not quite the way you hoped.

You’re face down ass up on the bed, your face shoved into the pillows by a firm grip while his other hand digs into your hips hard enough to leave bruises. Your body aches, already littered with bite marks and handprints, and your cunt is sore. He’s given you nothing, the closest thing to foreplay you got being the hickeys claiming you and the spanking you’d been given before he’d all but thrown you onto the sheets and torn off his clothes.

Maybe that was the point when you should have caught on to what was about to happen, but you were a little too desperate to care. Now you suffer the consequences.

He pounds into you relentlessly, never giving you a break, never giving you a chance to breathe. You’ve lost count of how many orgasms he’s pulled from you with his dick alone- four, maybe? And while he’s already cum once, he seems nowhere near done.

You fight to get out his name through the broken moans leaving your lips, eventually managing a strained, “Logan.”

Instead of responding with some sort of mocking tone or insult, he ignores you. Jesus, he’s mad.

“Logan,” you try again, whining his name as he hits that sweet spot deep inside of you.

“What?” He snaps, the way he smushes your head further into the pillow indicating that he doesn’t really want the answer.

When he keeps hitting that spot, your attempts at getting him to stop turn to muffled sobs as you cum once again, clenching around him.

“Yeah, that’s what I fuckin’ thought.” He grumbles, groaning softly at the way your pussy tightens around his length. He grips you a little harder, his thrusts becoming erratic as he spills into you for the second time. Within moments, he’s hard again- really, how does he do that?- and you’re back to being used like a stress toy.

It's mind-numbing, a mix of pleasure and pain that has you reeling from every thrust. He keeps angling himself to hit you in the spot he knows makes you cum every single time without fail, and you curse yourself for letting him get to know your body so well as he pulls another orgasm out of you, his name falling from your lips.

When he’s cum a third time and continues to ignore your pleas, you try to squirm away from him. But your body is exhausted, and even at your full strength you’d be no match for him.

"Uh-uh." He grabs you by the hair and pulls your head back, his other hand keeping a firm grip on your hips so he can keep plowing into you. "You wanted this, you fuckin' brat. You're not goin' anywhere."

"Logan." You plead, tears starting to stream down your face. It's too much, he's everywhere, and you feel like his cock might actually fucking kills you. What a way to die.

"Nah, don't give me that shit." He yanks on your hair, and you cry out in pain. "You started this, sweetheart. You're the one who couldn't go a few goddamn days without my fuckin' attention. Be grateful you got it."

"But-"

The hand that's gripping your hips comes down on your ass, hard, the already sensitive skin stinging even more from the blow. "No buts. You get what you get, you hear me?"

When you don't answer, he spanks you again. More tears well up in your eyes, your protests reduced to incoherent babbling as his cock continues to assault you mercilessly.

"I could've tied you down, made you watch me touch myself. Or edged you until you were beggin' me for forgiveness. Maybe made you hump my boot like the slut you are." He growls, delivering another harsh smack to your ass. "I gave you what you fuckin' wanted. Deal with it."

As shameful as it is to admit, the idea of what else he could have done to you and the angry tone he speaks in is the thing that sends you tumbling over the edge once again.

He barks out a laugh, smacking your ass a few more times just to hear the way you cry for him.

"Please- Logan, I'm sorry-"

He releases your hair, and for one stupid, fleeting second you think he might be finished with you.

Instead he wraps his arm around you, pulling you into a headlock, holding you up effortlessly, his bicep flexing against your throat as he thrusts into you with a renewed vigor.

"Shut up." He snarls in your ear, letting the hand that was grabbing your hips snake down to your clit.

If you'd been overwhelmed with the pleasure before, you were fucking dying now. Drowning in it, suddenly thrown over the edge again by those perfect little circles. His grip is tight, the lack of oxygen making your head fuzzy, and you barely register the way you're drooling onto his muscles.

"That's better." He adjusts his grip to give you a little more room to breathe, letting your cries of pleasure ring throughout the room as they begin to turn to pleas for mercy once more.

"Lo-"

He doesn't let you get a word out, spanking you as he buries himself deep inside, his seed spilling into you, filling you up even more thoroughly. His bicep flexes against you, once again adjusting to choke you just a little less.

"Better get comfy, sweetheart." You can hear the sharp grin in his voice as he begins to move again, fingers returning to the sweet torture he's inflicting upon your clit. "We're gonna be here all night."

tags: @flowersforbucky @thinkinonsense @gewrgia-black @wlwloverwrites @buckybarneswife125 @sweetverine @dilfverines @wchswift @namikyento @lokirogersgirl @nymphoniah @logansdoe @robo-writing @atleastpleasetelephone @r0ttedcherubim @logaenhowlett @th3mrskory @pidgeypidge-pidge @lostinlovingrevery @rosenclaws @cenviswasteland @lubdubology @trr3rr @sacredsorceress @howlettsangel @dixie-isnt-cool @blythesarchives @loganismybodyguard

(this is the taglist for my logan howlett one-shots. if anyone would like to be added to or removed from this taglist, or would specifically prefer to only be tagged for f!, m!, or gn! reader, please let me know!)

[valtharr]

In the last few days, I've now had two run-ins with people on this site regarding the idea of a TTRPG's mechanics and rules impacting the roleplay aspect of said game. And from what I can tell, these people - and people like them - have the whole concept backwards.

I think people who only ever played D&D and games like it, people who never played a Powered by the Apocalypse or Forged in the Dark system, or any other system with narratively-minded mechanics, are under one false impression:

Mechanics exist to restrict.

Seeing how these people argue, what exactly they say, how they reason why "mechanics shouldn't get in the way of roleplaying," that seems to be their core idea: Rules and mechanics are necessary evils that exist solely to "balance" the game by restricting the things both players and GMs can do. The only reasons why someone would want to use mechanics in their RPG is to keep it from devolving into

"I shot you, you're dead!" "No, I'm wearing bulletproof armor!" "I didn't shoot bullets, I shot a laser!" "Well, the armor's also laserproof!" "Nuh-uh, my lasers are so hot that they melt any armor!" "My armor's a material that can't melt!" And so on. Because we have rules, the players can't just say "we beat this challenge", and neither can the GM say "you haven't beaten this challenge." Because the rules are clear, the rules are obvious, the rules tell you what you can and can't do, and that's it.

So obviously, when the idea of mechanics directly interacting with the roleplay - generally seen as the most free and creative part of a TTRPG - seems at best counterintuitive, at worst absolutely wrong. Hearing this idea, people might be inclined to think of a player saying "I'm gonna do X", just for the evil, restrictive mechanics to come in and say "no, you can't just do X! you first have to roll a Do X check! But you also did Y earlier, so you have to roll the Did Y Penalty Die, and if that one comes up higher than your Do X die, you have to look at this table and roll for your Doing X If You Previously Did Y Penalty! But, if you roll double on that roll..."

But like... that's not how it works. Roleplay-oriented mechanics don't exist to restrict people from roleplaying, they're there to encourage people to roleplay!

Let's go with a really good example for this: The flashback mechanic from Blades in the Dark (and games based on Blades in the Dark).

In BitD, you can declare a flashback to an earlier point in time. Could be five minutes ago, could be fifty years ago, doesn't matter. You declare a flashback, you describe the scene, you take some stress (the equivalent of damage) and now you have some kind of edge in the present, justified by what happened in the flashback. For example, in the Steeplechase campaign of the Adventure Zone podcast, there was a scene where the PCs confronted a character who ended up making a scandalous confession. One of the players declared a flashback, establishing that, just before they walked in, his character had pressed the record button on a portable recording device hidden in his inner coat pocket. Boom, now they have a recording of the confession.

How many times have you done something like this in a D&D game? How many times did your DM let you do this? I think for most players, that number is pretty low. And for two reasons:

The first, admittedly, has to do with restrictions. If you could just declare that your character actually stole the key to the door you're in front of in an off-screen moment earlier, that would be pretty bonkers. Insanely powerful. But, because BitD has specific mechanics built around flashbacks, there are restrictions to it, so it's a viable option without being overpowered.

But secondly, I think the far more prevalent reason as to why players in games without bespoke flashback mechanics don't utilize flashbacks is because they simply don't even think of them as an option. And that's another thing mechanics can do: Tell players what they (or their characters) can do!

Like, it's generally accepted that the players only control what their characters do, and the GM has power over everything else. That's a base assumption, so most players would never think of establishing facts about the larger world, the NPCs, etc. But there are games that have explicit mechanics for that!

Let's take Fabula Ultima as another example: In that game, you can get "Fabula Points" through certain means. They can then spend those points to do a variety of things. What's literally the first thing on the list of things Fabula Points let you do? "Alter the Story - Alter an existing element or add a new element." I've heard people use this to decide that one of the enemies their group was just about to fight was actually their character's relative, which allowed them to resolve the situation peacefully. I again ask: In your average D&D session, how likely is it that a player would just say "that guy is my cousin"? And if they did, how likely is it that the GM accepts that? But thanks to the Fabula Point mechanic making this an explicit option, thanks to rules explicitly saying "players are allowed to do this", it opens up so many possibilities for story developments that simply would not happen if the GM was the only one allowed to do these things.

And it's only possible because the mechanics say it is. Just how your wizard casting fireball is only possible because the mechanics say it is.

[psychopomp-namine]

YE6's butterfly effect. AKA: how did vein "die"?

I'm trying to puzzle out the butterfly effect in YE6, and here is my interpretation so far. if this theory is correct, it would also answer the question of who has the faking death ability and what exactly was liu xiao doing during the whole arc.

of course, feel free to correct me if I got this wrong. I could be missing some key information. I'm just writing this in an attempt to figure it out myself. also, this is gonna be a long post, sorry.

a lot of people are speculating that lu guang directly killed vein somehow through an ability, but I don't think that's what actually happened (although I wish that was the case). I also don't think the situation is as simple as "lu guang wanted vein dead" because I also think that liu xiao is interfering with the same events. there are two puppeteers in YE6, imho.

let's start with lu guang. for one thing, we know he can't directly kill vein with any of the abilities he has, since both scanning 12 hours of photo history and diving into the past require, well, a photo, which lu guang did not have. yingdu even stressed the rules of how both abilities work. if lu guang directly killed vein through ability use, this would imply he has another ability up his sleeve, and I really don't think we've been given enough evidence that points to that. if he always had this ability, why hasn't he used it before on vein in other timelines?

remember that yingdu has a lot of visual metaphors in its storytelling compared to other seasons. I believe lu guang caused the chain of events to happen in such a way that vein would die, but he was not the one to kill him, and that's why there's the animation of him orchestrating vein's death through wang qing, like a ventriloquist would control a puppet. in fact, I would go even further: lu guang and wang qing never got the chance to kill vein, although lu guang certainly thinks he did. we will circle back to this under the cut later, once we've built up the evidence to reach this conclusion.

another thing is the info we learned from an interview with director li. it is unfortunate, imo, that we had to learn this through an interview and not from the show itself (I feel this is yingdu's biggest writing flaw), but whatever. here are the key points to know though:

vein doesn't have an ability during yingdu arc

liu xiao has more than one ability (we know one of them already, which is interestingly enough, heartbeat related)

(not from the interview, but hinted in the show) someone has a "faking death" ability

before we go into the butterfly effect and how vein died, let's go over the details of his death:

from the autopsy report: vein's cause of death is myocardial infarction. aka a heart attack

xia fei later says there were no external injuries and no signs of poison

also, tiny detail, but vein was holding something like a tranquilizer gun in the clinic. the "bullets" he fired on both wang qing and cheng xiaoshi were meant to put them to sleep, not to kill them.

finally, let's lay out some character motivations. this will be important later.

liu xiao wants to get the notebook that belonged to cheng weimin. vein is working with him on this.

lu guang wants to avoid cheng xiaoshi's death node, and he plans to do it by killing vein

now, for the analysis. how did vein "die"?

let's establish something first. since xia fei doesn't know what happened to vein and is looking for the true culprit, we can rule out his involvement. he probably doesn't have the faking death ability, since it was used on vein. and vein doesn't have an ability. so the most likely person to have this ability would be liu xiao. he is also most likely the one to open the body bag with vein in it.

so we can now assume that liu xiao has two abilities:

he can sense someone's emotions and intentions through hearing their heartbeats

he can "fake death" (it is unclear how this works)

well. what an interesting combination! let's put a pin on that for now. remember this for later.

okay. now. let's switch over to lu guang. the big important question here is this: how did lu guang know that delaying vein from entering the clinic would lead to his death through a butterfly effect?

for full context, let's look at what lu guang says in his conversation with vein (I'm using ani-mi's translation, but I watched the bilibili one first and there aren't any drastic changes imo):

do you know the butterfly effect? in a dynamic system, event the smallest changes in initial conditions can lead to vastly different outcomes. I've been wondering, how do you alter a destined ending? what would happen if, before the conclusion, we added another fixed point? another unchangeable node? instead of avoiding deviations, why not let it deviate completely? I know I can't stop you. but I can make you stay a bit longer. now, you can go in.

two things here. first, the mention of an unchangeable node. aka a death node. lu guang for sure wanted vein to die. because if vein dies first, he can't kill cheng xiaoshi. simple logic; great plan.

next, from this speech, we can infer that lu guang planned to create a small change (a butterfly effect) that will lead to a big consequence (vein's death).

it's the second part that should clue us in. he said, "I can make you stay a bit longer. now, you can go in." he knows he can't stop vein from entering the clinic. but he can stall him. he can add a small bit of delay, long enough that it actually matters that vein went into the clinic later than usual.

lu guang knows the effect he wants (vein's death) so how does he know what event (stalling him) would cause the domino effect that leads to it? why does that small delay matter?

let's look at what that extra bit of time actually changed. by delaying vein, another important event happens: cheng xiaoshi has extra time with wang qing, long enough for him to meet his mom, shao yuanyuan. cheng xiaoshi then learns that shao yuanyuan is trying to save cheng weimin. he promises to wait for them and to stop investigating. it is after he makes this promise that vein enters.

we can now infer one more thing here: cheng xiaoshi did not meet his mom through wang qing in the original order of events. this event only happens because lu guang stalled vein.

most likely, in the original order of events, vein incapacitated wang qing too early for her to do anything to him. we don't know what her ability is, but it doesn't matter for this post. all we need to know is that lu guang believes wang qing could kill vein if she was never put to sleep. that is the point of stalling vein from entering the clinic early.

so here's part one of my theory. from lu guang's perspective, this is the plan to kill vein:

stall vein from entering the clinic

because vein entered late, wang qing was possessed by someone with better fighting abilities, allowing her to hold out during the fight

she is then freed from possession, and is still awake when vein tries to leave with the notebook

I don't think we have enough information to really explain what happens next, but what's supposed to happen, imo, is that wang qing kills vein, either through her own ability or someone else uses her to do it. it doesn't really matter how, but this is what is supposed to happen. this is what lu guang wanted to happen. for the sake of this post, we will assume wang qing has an ability to kill vein

vein dies, therefore he can't go to the time photo studio in the future to kill cheng xiaoshi

that's lu guang's butterfly effect. stall vein -> vein dies -> cheng xiaoshi lives.

simple? not quite. I did mention there's another person interfering with these events.

everything I mentioned above is from lu guang's perspective, and that this is what's supposed to happen. but let's look at the actual order of events.

wang qing wakes up (is freed from possession), notices the notebook on vein, and calls his name (interesting point: she knows his full chinese name). at this point, her eyes have NOT changed color yet.

vein gets a heart attack

only after that does wang qing's eyes change color

we know that changing eye colors is not diegetic, meaning this is more for the audience's benefit. their eyes don't really change color in-universe. sometimes they don't even show us eye colors changing. but when they do show us, we have to pay attention.

therefore, I believe that the timing of the shift in eye color matters.

so here's part two of my theory. liu xiao knew lu guang is going to interfere, so he already arranged a "fake death" for vein in advance (which he doesn't tell vein about lmao, but he seems to have figured it out when he gets the heart attack)

this is how, I believe, yingdu happened from liu xiao's perspective:

he wants cheng weimin's notebook. wang qing has it, but would never give it to him. but she might for cheng weimin's son

he baits cheng xiaoshi into going to bridon

he heard lu guang's heartbeat in the airport, which tipped him off that he's someone he should watch out for

he confirmed that cheng xiaoshi and lu guang are investigating cheng weimin

he assigns xia fei to keep an eye on their progress

he planned to use cheng xiaoshi to bait wang qing into giving up information about the notebook. this is why when xia fei told him that cheng xiaoshi was about to meet her, liu xiao reacts like this is the expected outcome

he assigns vein to get the notebook because wang qing is about to reveal the location. but he also knows that lu guang is kinda shady, so when lu guang stalls vein (and tells him! bro don't tell your plans to your victims! don't tell him you're trying to make a butterfly effect!), liu xiao either just knew this would happen or vein tipped him off before going in

now, notice that vein gets a heart attack before wang qing uses an ability (or is used, whatever) to kill vein. and what have we established before at the beginning of this post? liu xiao has a heartbeat related ability and can fake a death. we don't know the mechanics of the second ability, but we know that compatible abilities can combo with each other. it's not far-fetched to think that liu xiao can fake death with a heart attack

later, we see vein wake up after someone (most likely liu xiao) opens his body bag

so now who's fooled? the police arrives and even does an autopsy. they declare vein dead. lu guang is relieved, and for years he believes this. vein doesn't even visit the studio in 2021 (though li tianchen does, through liu min, but that's neither here nor there). he avoided a death node by creating another one. we can let him believe this lie for a little while...

TL;DR lu guang created a butterfly effect by stalling vein, and that creates a domino effect that should have led to vein's death. except he's not the only one interfering with the timeline. while this is happening, liu xiao orchestrates a fake death for vein before his supposed death actually happens, allowing him to act dead during the autopsy and "revive" later

EDIT: this post was written before the interview translation came out, though I don't think this it contradicts anything here; if anything, this post is in line with the interview.

if you're interested, additional thoughts on vein's death can be found in the following links:

reblog of this post: the fake death ability might be wang qing's, or an effect of a combination of wang qing and liu xiao's ability. I posit in this post that I think liu xiao has the ability; in hindsight, it probably relates to wang qing, though I still think that the "heart attack" is related to liu xiao

thematic analysis (as opposed to plot analysis) on vein's death. I am a huge believer that link click is best analyzed through themes than plot tbh

additional thoughts on lu guang's characterization throughout all of this

[bumblingbabooshka]

Forever wishing we had an episode about why Tuvok chose to go into security instead of science (especially since he started out as a science officer like Spock and T'Pol)

I don't think it has to do with violence...Like, an outlet. He isn't a violent person. I think it has to do with him liking puzzles so much...the strategy of it - the endless combinations...and perhaps just a bit the thrill of it being life and death. That pressure to make the best possible choice every time. And him growing orchids specifically to be displayed - competition and beauty... In 'Learning Curve' he says "The strongest tactical move is always the one in which you will reap the highest gain at the lowest cost." You can tell that he's really a tactician and I think because of that he'd solve problems a lot differently than Worf, or Tasha Yar. Also, there's his decision to mind meld with Suder in 'Meld' - the fact he can't leave it alone is so character-building to me. He has to know why Suder did this, it isn't enough to catch and capture him if he doesn't understand the motivation behind such a brutal action. It fits into his portrayal as a detective in 'Ex Post Facto'. Someone who'll pursue the truth diligently no matter who it implicates. There's also the fact that despite Tuvok coming off as a very cold and uncaring person in episodes like 'Learning Curve' where it's implied he might be willing to allow others to die if it'd be the best move tactically - he's shown to be very willing to protect others like in 'Innocence' where he sides with the children against the adults, going so far as giving one of them a phaser to protect herself and 'Muse' where he stays up for 10 days straight trying to find B'Elanna and Harry or even how in 'Random Thoughts' when Nimira (someone he's only met just recently) says she needs his help and he replies "Then you shall have it." Noss falls in love with him partially because of how he immediately saves her without even knowing her name AND he's with Janeway when she makes her decision to help protect the Ocampa, ultimately agreeing with her logic that it's the right thing to do. It's interesting for a Vulcan to be in Security. Sarek in TOS is against Starfleet partially because he views it as being a forceful, militaristic organization which doesn't achieve real peace. In TOS we don't see any other Vulcans in Starfleet - I'm not saying there aren't any (I think we'd hear about Spock being the first if that were the case) but Sarek's attitude might be a cultural one which I'm sure shifted over time, especially with Spock's rise in fame, but I can't help but wonder how it affected Tuvok's decision to change from Science to Security, if at all. Especially since he's shown to be a very traditional person. Does it seem a brutal occupation to a Vulcan? Vulcans have a reputation for pacifism, does it lead to him being underestimated? He had already established a family by the time he re-entered Starfleet, how did they react to him going from a professor to that? Speaking of brutality, In general there's a violence to the other security officers' pasts. Tasha lived amongst ceaseless violence at every turn for 15 years, Worf is very proudly Klingon and lives by their warrior's code, Odo was raised/working during Cardassian's violent occupation of Bajor...but Tuvok doesn't have anything remotely like that in his past, which is also interesting. You might be tempted to think a Vulcan who'd take a job like that would be accustomed or connected to violence but again, that doesn't seem to be the case with Tuvok. If anything, he's very much representative of the opposite - staunchly, unabashedly Vulcan. He nearly underwent the Kolinahr, only stopping to raise a family instead. He uses the word "Postpone" when he speaks of this, implying he hasn't ruled the Kolinahr out as a possibility in the future. It's very interesting to me!! I wish it was explored more...

[wasyago]

how do you choose colors?? i love your color choices and wanna know how you do it

oookay, i don't actually know what i am doing with colors 90% of the time, but there are some guidelines that i follow, so, i hope this will be useful ":3

so. one of the main things that i use almost all the time is complimentary colors! a very cool very useful thing, good for everything. complimentary colors are the ones that are opposite each other on a color wheel. a proper color wheel, not the one that drawing apps use, because that one most of the time has the colors distributed wrong 😔

the thing about complimentary colors is that they make each other stand out more. so if you use them in equal amount and saturation they will fight for attention and don't look as good. another thing is that if you put gray on one complimentary color it will appear to have changed the hue to its pair. uhhh its hard to describe with words, but just try to fill a canvas with one saturated color and draw something gray on it, its an optical illusion of sorts.

so uhhhhhh, what im trying to say is, complimentary colors compliment each other (wow), so using them for accents and shadows and backgrounds will generally make both stand out and look better? idk, here are some examples so it hopefully makes more sense

and so you change the amount of color, it's saturation, hue, warmth, tone, other smart words, and it changes the feeling of the picture! as you can see i really like my greens and reds, they're almost in every picture, but it still looks different (hopefully). if you can't full on change the color of something, if you have a set design for example, bringing the complimentary color in shadows and highlights or background works too! try different things see what's for you!

and, of course, using complimentary colors doesn't mean you can't use any other color! its more like, complimentary colors establish this connection that's pleasing to the eye and everything else is whatever you want it to be! i also have no idea about using more than one pair, generally one is enough but technically it works?

i also try not to use more than 3 main colors for a piece, like, blue-red-yellow but no green, or green-blue-yellow and no red, and stuff. (key word is "try" of course lol) this has nothing to do with the color wheel, just uhh general color balance? but this is about um, "clean" colors. you can absolutely use all 4, if one of them appears different because of the lighting and stuff? again, its hard to explain color with words. plus it all depends on a style, its not a rule, that's just how i do it

and then all the things outside of theory, like, don't use black and gray for shadows, it looks dirty. a lot of artists don't use pure black at all, but i just can't help it i like it too much. i try not to use pure white for things like clothes and eyes and other things that are in-universe colored white. its fine for highlights but for everything else i usually use grayish yellowish color, it looks much more pleasing. things that are closer are more saturated and have more contrast, things that are far have less saturation and less contrast. things that you want to attract attention should have more contrast, and the other way around

aaand i think that's it? all that i can remember at least

[luckyjunehenry]

hi! (not) local anxious teen thinking about the future and very very worried ...

I look up to you a lot and I'm curious if you have any advice about being in the world?

it doesn't have to be anything groundbreaking Im just looking for words to put in my brain :)

ok yay im in the mood to type a lot because my new keyboard protecter makes my typing sound nice. here is my advice for being In The World as someone who was SO scared:

become a Regular somewhere. Coffee shops and libraries r fantastic spots for this. first of all, it's great to have a place away from home to work on schoolwork if you're in school. meeting other Regulars/employees and forming friendships is totally possible, but even if you don't get particularly close to anyone, familiar acquaintances are far more valuable than we realize!

be really mindful about your substance use, especially for the first year of living on your own. Even if you're only using at parties or shows or whatever, that's teaching your brain that in order to have fun and be social, you Need a substance. after struggling with substances in high school, I was completely sober for my freshman year of college. I think this is one of the best choices I made for myself at that age!

you probably haven't found The One yet and that Is GOOD ! ! even if you have a romantic partner you feel really confident about, be sure to form friendships with people completely separate from your partner. even if you and your partner are together 4 life, it's important to have your own social sphere!

IT IS WORTH DECORATING YOUR ROOM EVEN IF YOU WILL ONLY BE THERE FOR ONE YEAR ! ! ! it is NEVER too late to decorate. Yeah it's a hassle to move everything, but it increases my happiness so so much to be in a space that feels like home to me. I think its especially important to do this if you end up living in a dorm!

if you haven't established a line of credit yet, it's a great idea to get on that soon if ya can. My first credit card was a Chime credit builder which basically functioned as a debit card. I couldn't spend any money that I didn't already have. It honestly doesn't even matter if you're using it constantly, just try to make like one purchase per month or so! One of the major factors of a credit score is the length of your credit history. Even though I didn't use a credit card much until recently, my score is pretty decent because I have a credit history that's around 3 years old.

eat. seriously. so many people I know struggle so much with their mood and health and its largely due to not having a regular food schedule. it's way harder than you expect it to be!

everything is always gonna be awkward. you have to decide whether you want awkwardness to rule your life or if you can face awkwardness regularly and live far more freely and awesomely. what's the worst that's gonna happen?? you ask someone to hang out and they say no?? do we need to call the ambulance now????

that's all my basic Young Adult advice. a framework I've been trying to live by lately is like

what would I do if I were a kid but had all the resources and freedom I do now? (Sometimes this means playing at the park for hours, drawing, even buying a silly toy)

what would I do if I were a dog with human rights and resources? (choose whatever animal suits you best. This is just a fun way to live and helps me go on more walks)

also you're allowed to eat ice cream every day. twice per day, even.

BEST OF LUCK TO YOU!!!! It's scary but it's also awesomer than you can imagine!!!!

[epicbuddieficrecs]

Weekly Recap | December 25th-31st 2023

Happy New Year everyone! May 2024 be better than 2023, and may season 7 be good to us!!!

Complete

Battle Born by allisonRW96/ @homerforsure (NHL AU, Established Buddie | 11K | Teen): Buck comes down with appendicitis during the playoffs. He decides to play through it.

🔥 through tooth and claw (to where you are) by allisonRW96/ @homerforsure (Post-S6, Hurt Buck, Getting Together | 18K | Teen): With a reverent hush, Christopher said, “Whoa, it’s so close.” And it was almost as though Buck needed to have that obvious fact pointed out to him before the vague dread of animal instinct that had been pooling in his stomach could solidify into a real, actionable fear. It’s so close. Something’s wrong. AKA: The Rabid Coyote fic

we’ve got something permanent (i mean in the way we care) by callmenewbie/ @callmenewbie (PWP, Breeding Kink | 7K | Explicit): Buck has baby fever and it’s Eddie’s job to give him what he wants. Kind of.

Here Where We Should Be (Kiss Me, It’s Christmas) by allisonRW96/ @homerforsure (Christmas, Getting Together | 5K | General): It’s Christmas and Eddie decides he can’t possibly wait any longer to start kissing Buck.

well, I hate to be a bother, but it's you and there's no other by allisonRW96 / @homerforsure (Getting Together | 3K | Mature): Eddie starts dating again and learns a few things about himself. The most surprising one? He's actually ready this time. Now he just needs to get Buck on board.

in a little while (you will find some relief then) by allisonRW96 / @homerforsure (Hurt Buck | 10K | Teen): Buck gets a severe case of poison oak. He handles it about as well as you'd expect.

🔥 The Nearness of You by allisonRW96/ @homerforsure (Work Trip | 17K | Teen): Eddie reassured himself that he could do this. Other teams coming in were probably going to be staying at the same hotel in the same double rooms and it was very possible that none of them were going to be having sex. Or even lying awake at night thinking about it.

We Can't Succeed but We Love Trying by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels/ @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels (PWP, Breeding Kink | 15K | Explicit): In which Eddie has the thought that if Buck's gonna "donate" his sperm anywhere, it should be with, well. Eddie.

all it took was a backwards baseball cap by honestlydarkprincess/ @honestlydarkprincess (PWP, Getting Together | 5K | Explicit) : Or, the one in which Eddie loses his shit at Buck wearing a backwards baseball cap. Seriously, can this man get more attractive? Is he trying to kill Eddie?

drawstrings by browney3dgirl6/ @hoodie-buck (PWP, Getting Together | 3K | Mature): Eddie helps Buck fix his drawstrings. How was he supposed to know it’d lead to him sitting in Bucks lap?

🔥 come with me, together, we can take the long way home (series) by allisonRW96/ @homerforsure (Canon compliant | 105K | T to M):

Get me through the night; Make me feel alright (Post-S3 Finale | 11K | Mature): After an emotionally-gutting reunion with Abby, Buck turns to old coping mechanisms. Eddie helps him find a better way. In Uncertain Times, The Uncertain Rules Apply (Pre-S4 | 22K | Teen): Covid comes to LA. Eddie copes. Or doesn't. Holding out for Something More (Stuck in Reverse) (Post S4E3/Lone Star Crossover | 26K | Teen): LA is coming out of lockdown and the world is returning to some sense of normalcy. But going back to the way things were hurts more than Buck expected. While his therapist challenges him to confront what he really wants, the team takes a trip to Austin... and El Paso. so far from being free (S4E4: 9-1-1 What's Your Grievance?, S4E5: Buck Begins | 46K | Teen): That’s Daniel. He was our brother. Buck doesn’t know what to do with the past tense. He never had a brother. He’s always had a brother. He gained one and lost one in the same breath and it feels impossible.

carry my heart home to you by allisonRW96/ @homerforsure (Getting Together | 4K | Teen): After his parents join him for a therapy session, Buck starts to learn that some people are never going to be able to give you what you need. And some people are.

if you say it with your hands by hammersmiths/ @henswilsons (S2 | 10K | Teen): Buck thinks it must be a habit he still hasn’t dropped from his days in the army, or maybe it comes with the territory of being a dad – but Eddie can nap pretty much anywhere. or, Eddie starts casually falling asleep against Buck, and Buck is very normal about it.

🔥 into thirty separate parts by hammersmiths/ @henswilsons (S6 | 12K | Teen): “Theoretically,” says Buck, as soon as Eddie picks up the phone, “your ex writes a book about you.” There is a pregnant pause. “…Right,” Eddie decides on, finally. or, Taylor’s book comes out.

close friends (that you lowkey want to fuck, but in a totally platonic way) by rowan_wood/ @transboybuckley (Getting Together | 2K | Teen): Instagram rolls out a new feature, and Buck doesn't totally understand how it works.

I'm still standing in the same place where you left me standing by trysetmeonfire/ @try-set-me-on-fire (POV Bobby, Hurt Eddie, Getting Together | 8K | Teen) Bobby deals with the ramifications of a misplaced confession

Keep My Heart Warm In Yours by callmenewbie/ @callmenewbie (Christmas, Post-S6, Getting Together | 18K | Mature): Christopher decides that he wants to go skiing, Buck makes it happen and the cabin at the foot of the mountains turns out to be quite the romantic backdrop for their little getaway.

Hiding the Christmas Present (of You and Me) by Princessfbi/ @princessfbi (Christmas | 7K | General): Buck thought he was going to spend Christmas alone. His family decides to correct that assumption.

If I Fall, Can You Pull Me Up? by Princessfbi/ @princessfbi (Hurt Buck, Established Buddie | 7K | General): Eddie could pick Buck from a million miles away. Buck’s entire being was like one bright light in an otherwise cloudy sky. So, he was really interested to know why some stranger was wearing his boyfriend’s turnout coat and pretending to be him.

Used to Think That Lovin' Meant a Painful Chase by Princessfbi/ @princessfbi (Getting Together | 4K | Teen): It’d been fine when Buck had Eddie’s dick in his mouth. It wasn’t often that Buck got to see Eddie come undone but he’d been treated to a private showing and the pride he had being the one to take Eddie there was indescribable. But then things got… weird. Or maybe, it was Buck that got weird? He still wasn’t really sure where it started, to be honest.

for all the words unspoken by Maira/ @carrierofthepaperclips (Work Trip, Getting Together | 5K | Teen): "Buck." Eddie had already dropped his bag and was standing next to the bed, hands on his hips. "We've slept in the same bed before. I'm pretty sure we'll manage to do the same in this one, it's humorously large. Don't!" He held up a hand as Buck opened his mouth. His lips twitched, though, so Buck took it as a win. ... or, the one with only one bed.

underneath the tree by devirnis/ @devirnis (PWP, BDSM | 2K | Explicit): Frowning to himself in concentration, Eddie carefully folds the wrapping paper around the corner of the box. He has no idea how his mother makes this look so easy, even after she walked him through it earlier on FaceTime. Under the tree, Eddie’s present whines plaintively.

WIP

🔥 Precious & Fragile Things by Daisies_and_Briars/ @cal-daisies-and-briars (Small Miracles AU, Angel Buck | 20K | 8/? | Teen): Buck is the Fallen Angel of Petty Temptation, who has been tasked with tempting human Eddie Diaz to sin and enjoy life, but just a little. He thinks the job will be easy - get in, get out, go back to Peru to continue messing around with eternity. But when Buck arrives in Los Angeles, he finds Eddie is harder to tempt than expected, and more compelling than Buck had hoped.

🔥 Things We're All Too Young to Know by Daisies_and_Briars/ @cal-daisies-and-briars (Canon, S1 through S6 | 102/? | 276K | Mature): This is a love story. Even if it doesn’t always look like it. Even if it doesn’t always feel like it. A look back on Eddie and Buck's lives up to now, and what led them to each other, interpreted from the current 9-1-1 canon.

Love Ends. by rowan_wood (Exes to Lovers | 4/17 | 5K | Explicit): But what if it doesn't?

in my head by yourcatfishfriend/ @your-catfish-friend (Friends With Benefits | 8/9 | 30K | Explicit): Buck is confidently bisexual. Eddie isn't sure. Buck helps him figure it out.

Re-Read

🔥 Always, All Ways by ashavahishta/ @ashavahishta (A/B/O AU | 85K | Explicit): Buck’s the only omega in the 118. He’s got secrets, and walls a mile high. Eddie’s the alpha determined to knock them down.

[thenhlteaissuperhot]

nykki (martin necas' girlfriend) just posted some sort of q&a on her youtube channel and from the translation of the title, she should be talking about the nhl too, could you perhaps watch it and translate the interesting bits for us since its in czech?

This video was actually really interesting.

I have said it in the past already, but Nykki is genuinely one of the most sensible, down-to-earth, and level-headed WAGs I have seen on social media, so her answers were impressive and definitely worth hearing:

She answered the question about how she and Martin met:

Said that it is the most-asked question she gets - "My theory is that some of the people, who are asking me that, probably want to date a hockey player and they don't know how to do that. Personally, I wouldn't go for a hockey player." (she is so real laughing her ass off during that last part)

She would really want to have some sort of romantic story, but they literally started dating because he was constantly liking her photos, then DMed her on Instagram, they started texting and FaceTiming for several months before they actually saw each other in real life and started dating like two months after.

Talked about what it is like living as a (European) WAG, who moved to the US because of her boyfriend:

The players are away for half of the month during the season, so they don't see each other as often as people may think.

It was really hard for her to make friends among the other WAGs in the first year.

Overall, she expressed that she really struggled the first year and even thought that she wouldn't be able to live like that, wanting to go back home.

She also found it really hard to understand the "NHL lifestyle" (said that the term alone seems silly to her to this day) - "It is an extremely particular group of people. Even among the girls, in the room where we meet during the games, there are so many unspoken rules. I am an open book, I like to share my thoughts, and I hate small shallow talks, but I understood quite quickly that it doesn't work like that here and you can't trust everyone. It is everywhere like that - when you come to a room where there are twenty-five girls, at the end of the day, you only get along with a few of them, and I didn't understand that in the beginning. I kinda burned myself."

She can't have a work permit in the US and neither can all the European WAGs because their visas are officially under their partners - said that it is extremely hard for everyone to get a work permit in the US, but for them, it is practically impossible. A lot of other WAGs have tried, they poured a lot of money into the lawyers, and no one, she knows, has so far succeeded.

Where it is possible for the WAGs to obtain work permits, is in Canada - during this part, she also joked that Martin doesn't have a contract for the next year, so maybe they could move there.

Because of this whole work permit issue, she started doing social media, producing music, and writing scripts for some sort of company (the last two I understood are jobs in the Czech Republic, which she does online), making her own money.

She also said that life in Raleigh, North Carolina is quite uneventful compared to Prague, where she is from - however, she is also aware of the fact, that Raleigh is a quite safe place to live and that she can be glad for it because it's not like that everywhere in the States (as she knows from the experiences of other WAGs).

She also answered money-related questions as many people think that her boyfriend pays for everything in her life:

It is crazy for her that some people think that she is dating him only for the money - said that she didn't move across the Atlantic, away from her family and friends, and the established life she had in the Czech Republic, because of designer bags.

Said that all the WAGs (not just hockey ones) always showcase their life on social media to people who follow them in a manner that makes it seem better than it actually is - posting how they go to the games, how they all have their hair done, designer handbags...

She emphasized that they do have it really easy in a lot of things, and that it actually bothers her (personally she wouldn't be able to bear being financially dependent on her boyfriend - at least that's what I think she meant), but that there are also a lot of disadvantages, for example, if she is going to have kids one day in the States, their grandparents aren't going to see them because they are on the other side of the Atlantic.

At the end of the NHL-related segment, she brought up the question "what would you do if you broke up?"

She emphasized that she is one of the lucky ones because she has managed to find a way how to make a living on her own so this question doesn't really worry her because her life would simply continue, just back in Prague, not in the USA, but that many of the girls are studying in the States or just living there with their boyfriends and solely because of their boyfriends, and that once they break up, it is extremely difficult for them.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

bunny x cat dynamic?

Like, adhd bunny and grumpy cat dynamic? I'm going to try writing a bit where the dynamic of the main characters are fleshed out. Any input on what people often enjoy about these for me to take into account?

To me it's so cute because she considers herself more as an annoying dog but for him, he considers her to be a cute, hyperactive bunny (that's kind of useless to (literal) death but let's put that aside, or not)

The ideal response to this would come from your readers. If you've already established your reader base, try asking them their preferences and expectations. Of course—still, write the story you want (and need) as a writer. And there it is, in your second paragraph. The idea is that if you write what you want, the people who also prefer this dynamic will find your work and stay for the rest of the story, and will more likely enjoy your other work as well (this is essentially what most successful authors advise new writers—write what you want, what you enjoy etc etc). But striking a balance between your readers' and your own preferences would be great too.

If you don't have a reader base yet, I'd suggest going through your favourite literature/films and finding ones that depict this particular character dynamic. Then you yourself, as a reader/viewer now, could answer what you find enjoyable about these pieces of media, and incorporate that in your writing.

Also, here are some tropes that I think have similarities with the dynamic you described. Same suggestion with finding books or films/TV shows you like that feature these tropes. But also research their readers'/audience's feedback to find out what they enjoyed about these character tropes, and this is what you can take into consideration for your story.

Grump and sunshine. One character is so grumpy all the time; the other character is so bubbly all the time. And somehow, through that power-of-love thing, they end up balancing each other out. The grump sometimes has sworn off love.

Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl. This is a potential pairing (platonic or otherwise) between a pragmatic guy and a girl who is very full of energy. One partner in the pair will be lively and optimistic while the other is savvy and more slothful, quiet, or otherwise less expressive. EXAMPLES:

In Corpse Bride, Emily and Victor. The former is a dead bride who is rather lively and spiritual for a corpse, while the latter is a live man who is shy and awkward almost to a fault.

This defines Anna and Kristoff's relationship in Frozen nicely. She is a spunky princess willing to do whatever it takes to bring her sister home, he is a grumpy, rough-around-the-edges ice harvester helping her along the way.

In Pixar's Up, the quiet and timid Carl befriended and eventually married the energetic Ellie.

Uptight Loves Wild. He's stuffy. She's untamed. It's true love. Mr. Stuffy is in a rut: Life is boring because he plays by the rules. Along comes this wild and crazy woman to show him how to live life to its fullest, and she just might learn a few things along the way, too. EXAMPLES:

Enchanted: Stuffy, cynical divorce lawyer Robert meets fairytale princess Giselle.

The Sound of Music: Maria isn't "wild", but she is a Blithe Spirit in the face of the extremely uptight, Captain von Trapp.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: Quite thoroughly deconstructs this. A relationship like this doesn't always work and after the falling-in-love part, it causes more pain than joy; so much so that both parties opt to have their memories removed of each other. The Manic Pixie Dream Girl is also far more complicated: "I'm not a concept, I'm just a fucked-up girl looking for a peace of mind".

Opposites Attract. EXAMPLES:

The Princess and the Frog has Tiana and Naveen. She's a Workaholic, no-nonsense waitress and he's a fun-loving, lazy prince.

Tangled gives us the jaded, worldly-wise thief Flynn Rider and the spirited, innocent princess Rapunzel.

Treasure Planet has Captain Amelia and Dr. Doppler. She's a tough-as-nails Action Girl, he's a bookish scientist, not to mention they're basically an anthropomorphic cat and dog, respectively. The two grow closer throughout the movie, and by the end they even have several kids.

Sources: 1 2 ⚜ More: Writing Notes & References

[locke-esque-monster]

I had a sudden thought come to me about TUA season 4 today that I haven't come across anyone talking about yet: The CIA doesn't have jurisdiction on US persons/soil.

I'm not an expert on the subject but a quick search generally defines that the CIA can't do anything that the CIA is doing during season 4. That's the FBI's role.

So we have no context about how Five has advanced this far in the CIA at the point season 4 begins. I can only assume he and the others got fake paperwork to immerse themselves in the world. (I'd argue it actually makes a lot more sense that all the characters have effectively entry level or self-made jobs, both from lack of experience and lack of work history/real world skills, which is harder to fake than papers).

Five's young, but I'd bet he got ID that aged him up a couple of years, and he's smart enough to compensate for the fact his educational history is also probably faked. But he's got to have had some damn good fakes to slide past the CIA.

But he's clearly established and has a good rapport with his boss, and we have no context for that. And we start in the middle - he's already investigating The Keepers. So he's past the point he would have questioned the order to do that. Which says one of 3 things happened:

Five has questioned his boss why he's breaking the rules and the boss gave him a good reason he could live with.

Five has some sort of deal with the boss that he follows sketchy orders either by mutual agreement because his history/papers are suspect but the boss likes him, or blackmail from the boss because the boss wants someone on his payroll he has a hold over for less reputable tasks.

The writers have straight up forgotten or changed Five's personality without warning.

There's no way Five (or at least seasons 1-3 Five) did not know or would not easily figure out on day one the CIA's jurisdiction. And Five has never found an authority he won't question. But previous seasons have also taught us that Five will work with someone he disagrees with, IF he has a good motivation.

But you're telling me that Five worked for the CIA for an extended period of time, and never questioned his boss for clear violations like investigating or being in charge of crime scenes on US soil? AND his boss was so obviously suspicious Luther put it together in 1 day with the man? Well, I call serious BS.

Keep in mind - this is the man that lasted ONE DAY working at the main office of the Commission before questioning all authority and blowing half of it up.

Just rolling along with his boss breaking the rules with no explanation why in no way resembles the Five we as the audience know prior to season 4. And the writers don't even give us the decency to try to explain how Five changed in the interim or why.

So at the end of the day - we're kind of back at shitty writing no matter the choice - either by omitting scenes to make a character motivation make any sense, or by forgetting/not realizing they changed the character so drastically they need to explain why he changed.

[pissplasmicpantom]

tabletop roleplaying games as a medium have been described in a myriad number of ways—"collaborative storytelling", "half game, half storytelling, half social activity", "folk art", etc—and none of them are any good. either they put constraints on what the medium is capable of or they harken to other mediums in place of defining ttrpgs on their own terms; ultimately being shit for making and analyzing ttrpgs

there is however a description that has found enough utility in online ttrpg spaces to be integrated into our own nerdtongue: "system". "system" is the collective noun for the game mechanics of a given ttrpg, the various ludemes & rules & procedures that describe how playing it works; it's also used as a synonym for a ttrpg. this is the key to the theoretical model that the scene's been missing—ttrpgs are systems, actual systems, bodies of interacting processes that turn inputs into outputs

so let's break that down:

I) inputs: what goes into the system. the first thought might be the player, but they're only the holding place of these inputs. the actual inputs are the player's ideas, thoughts, sensibilities; that psychic substance that fuels the creative endeavors they engage in, prameya (moran, 2009). prameya comes from the mind, but also from outside (the world and what goes on in it, other minds, other media including other ttrpgs) and the line between is very blurry. each ttrpg requires a certain, qualitative load of prameya to function, but it's not harvested from the player; they must share it, willingly, out of interest, and they can share more than necessary if they so desire

II) processes: how the system transforms inputs into outputs. these are typically understood as the "crunch" of a ttrpg, the ludemes and rules and procedures involved in play. most ttrpgs also involve other elements—setting, tones, feeling, aesthetics—grouped together as "fluff" or "flavor", the soft to contrast the hard "crunch". these elements are oft deemed not necessary for play; that reskinning doesn't have any real effect. of course if that was true, why reskin at all? some circles recognize this, but only go as far as saying certain ttrpgs have play depend on and/or are affected by these elements (which they label under "fiction")

the reality is that the fluff-crunch dichotomy is a shadow along the cave wall; all elements of a system contribute to the alchemy of input to output, just in different ways and in different amounts. this is true in ttrpgs too, this alchemy being the act of play itself. the player facilitates the narration, dialogue, decision-making, problem-solving, making shit up, and various other processes that transforms prameya into the output. the ttrpg's elements are how they do that; they establish pretexts for what can happen and provide directions on the flow and presentation of what does happen—if the player goes along with it, the alchemy occurs without a hitch. however not all elements contribute the same amount to the processing; some elements can be more easy to change-out without significant effects to the output, while others harder

the key thing is that a system's elements cannot be easily reduced to "fluff" and "crunch", not without causing confusion and argumentation, and the dichotomy is really just not that useful for understanding the component parts of a system. most "fluff" are simply elements that direct presentation, most "crunch" are elements that direct flow, and both can establish pretexts but either one could do the other's job; apocalypse world is the most pertinent example, with moves that direct flow and presentation at once. likewise, the easy-replaceability of certain "fluff" owes to how little they contribute to the experience, but crunch is like this too—D&D5e's weight system is part of its dungeoneering experience but almost everyone ignores it and without massive effects on the output

III) outputs: what goes out of the system—for ttrpgs, that's very obvious. the output is the form of play that the player is intended to go through; the desired experience. theres an innumerable number of ways this can look, and a ttrpg usually lays this out in an introductory section. while outputs are the end-result of the process, they're also in a way the beginning; descriptions and depictions of the output (however specific or sparse they may be) are how systems catch the player's interest. and if they hold that, the player will volunteer the prameya and facilitate the processes for transformation, and they will keep doing this so long as it's being held

all this may paint the role of the player in this model as a passive and will-less element; they may facilitate the processes (and thus, play) but under directions from the elements of the system, not based on their own impulses. and this is true, only if the player is interested in the experience that the game is offering. their involvement in every step is completely voluntary, and they could put a stop to it whenever they want. if they disagree with how a given element or process works, they can always use their prameya to construct replacements, which the space has put into terms like "reflavoring", "refluffing", "house rules", "homebrew". the system functioning as intended is entirely based on how willing the player is to go along with it

[penny-anna]

have standing plans w friends on a friday night (get together and Watch Stuff) but this friday i was invited to a DIFFERENT friend's birthday party and i kinda wanted to do both

fortunately party starts at 6 and i can meet friends as late as 7:30 so both it is!!

finish work. im so so tired but im hoping there will be some ppl at the party i haven't seen in a while so will regret it if i don't go.

get to the party. there's like 2 people there i know and a bunch of people i don't.

sit down & ask one of the people i know what's going on. 'Concepts'. ?? that is the broadest possible answer, literally everything in the universe could be described as a concept

they are playing some kind of incoherent board game

purpose of the board game is to guess a phrase. so far the group has guessed that it's a 3-word phrase that has something to do with money

other clues that have been given out include 'happy' 'unhappy' 'opposite' 'getting bigger' and 'getting smaller'. everyone is assuming that the phrase they are looking for is a well-known expression and are just saying every expression they can think of that is money-related

go & get a drink

some of the ppl i was hoping to see arrive!! they understand the game even less than i do

one of the rules of the game is that if enough time ellapses the pair of people giving out the clues can add more people to their team. team grows from 2 people to 5 bcos no-one can figure out what the fuck they are talking about

eventually manage to establish that what we are looking for is a three-word phrase that means something is free.

some more new people arrive. they are filled on the above. 'so it doesn't cost anything?'

'YES!! YES!!!'

the card fucking says 'doesn't cost anything' which is not an expression. pandemonium. everyone fucking furious.

go & buy another drink which i quickly realise i will have to neck in order to be home by 7:30 (i am hosting so cannot be late)

stay tuned for part 2!!

[animeyanderelover]

Request: How about Seven Deadly Sins Ten Commandment Meliodas with a royal vampire s/o in an arranged marriage?

Tw: Yandere themes, toxic relationship, possessive behavior, obsession, overprotective behavior, arranged marriage, threats

Arranged marriage with a royal vampire s/o

🐲​Considering that vampires are mere vassels for the Demon Clan during the war, perhaps an arranged marriage was proposed from Izraf, King of Vampires, in hopes of his kind earning more rights by wedding you to the son and successor of the Demon King. The Demon King could easily decline, Meliodas could easily decline, but perhaps there is something the Demon King sees in you thus forcing Meliodas into the marriage or maybe it is even Meliodas who has known you beforehand and for that decides that he can tolerate you enough to accept the offer of Izraf. You have no desire for the marriage but are loyal to your clan and for that have chosen to sacrifice yourself in hopes to aid to the greater good of your kind. Something that Meliodas sees as largely foolish and maybe somewhat admirable. The relationship between you two is very distant though as the marriage is a formality that is celebrated only because it is Meliodas who is now your husband.

🐲​As Meliodas is fighting on the battlefield though as the leader of the Ten Commandments, both of you do not spend as much time with each other. A part of you is almost relieved yet another part knows that you have now duties to fulfill as you need to convince Meliodas to loosen the control his father has over your entire kind or otherwise Izraf will try to fight for the freedom of the clan and you doubt that your kind would stand a chance. Meliodas is aware that this is the main reason why you agreed to the arranged marriage but he dismisses your pleas most of the time as he reminds you that he is the one who has all of the power and control even outside of this marriage. There is no affection nor any love between the two of you so you decide that maybe you should first of all work on the marriage before asking him for any help as he has no obligation to help you. Meliodas isn't much better than his father after all. So you decide to work to gain his love and affection.

🐲​It is quite difficult though as you don't know what to do besides obeying and doing everything you know to please him and keep him satisfied. You do not try to deny it when he asks you if your new strategy is trying to fix the relationship only to then ask him to help you but he doesn't seem to be angry about it, perhaps because he thinks that it'll be useless. He has never loved anyone after all so you aren't going to be any different. He is mainly just entertaining your effort and you are fully aware of this yet you try your best nevertheless. Hard work always pays off though and this saying seems to come true for you as you accomplish what no one has done before you. You worm your way into his heart, something that even Meliodas can't understand. Dark eyes observe you closely, his brows slightly furrowed as he ponders what it is about you that has allowed you to gain his black heart. You have achieved what you had planned to do. Are you aware of the costs though?

🐲​Any rude words or discriminating actions taken against you are suddenly severely punished by Meliodas who has mostly ignored it so far as long as no one would have laid a hand on you. Now nothing is left unpunished anymore as he establishes brutally the rule that as his spouse you should be treated accordingly unless someone wants to face his wrath. He becomes much more possessive as you aren't allowed to walk around unless he can accompany you and whilst the war keeps him busy and he spends time on the battlefield which you often use to sneak outside, he always finds out. You can see that he is displeased with your ignorance of his words. You could get hurt after all. Not only from his own kind or from other clans who might plan to target you but maybe even from your own kind. The distrust that Meliodas holds against everyone is glaringly obvious as the only person he trusts with you is he himself. That is why he is so against the idea of letting you be left alone in the care of someone else.

🐲​You know that whilst Meliodas cares about you though, the same doesn't count for your clan. You plead him for help nevertheless as this is the main reason why you agreed to wed him. Meliodas has always known them. It is only because of the recent awakening of his obsession that his feelings start dramatically shifting about it. He owns you right now. You might not see this marriage as anything more than a way to help your own clan but he sees it as something more now. You are now free of any duties you had to your clan so you can stop begging and pleading for their sake. You have other duties now that you are married to him and those duties are much more important than anything your clan might have asked of you. He asks of you to now focus on him and as your new role as his spouse but you know that the question is more of a demand. Meliodas not only seems agitated when you bring up your clan once again, he is. Your head is filled with the vampire clan to the point where you deny him after all.

🐲​When Vampire King Izraf plots a secret rebellion and the Demon King finds out, your worst fears come true. All of them are defeated by the Demon King and as a punishment and an example for traitors, your entire clan is ordered to be executed. Immediately Meliodas stands up but instead of defending your clan from their grim fate, he only demands of his father to spare you. You are no longer part of the Vampire Clan as you have become a part of the Demon Clan by marrying him and you have been restricted and guarded closely by him which means that you had no part in plotting any of this. He argues with his father yet he is not budging and eventually you are excused and all silent whispers about you are mercilessly silenced by Meliodas. Your desperate pleas for him to save the rest of your clan are all ignored and in tears you realise that you should have never agreed to marry this monster for it would have been more honorable to die together with your clan than to be forever stuck with the possessive prince.

[cactusringed]

i think its fun to see them explore mods, and varied gameplay, and varied stakes and test each other's adaptability each time, i think adaptability has been a large theme of the life series i havent seen many speak about and can often be the make or break of whether a player does well or not, and i love analysing the way people's personalities influence their gameplay and how someone's gameplay speaks about their personalities etc lol. anyway im also biased bc joel won and i dont want to be mean about the series joel won in. because he genuinely did so good lol. he was adaptable and level headed and reliable and i was soooo proud of him throughout the whole series because he's come so far, because it's a culmination of everything hes gone through. each player, and especially joel rn, has grown tremendously throughout the series and i think its fun having this growth - whether the growth has been positive or negative - be challenged constantly.

i think the main problem with the reception of this series, and with the reception of.. every new life series since last life ngl, is twofold; i think due to how dramatic and intense third life and last life got depending on which pov you watched, as well as the mythologisation from the fandom itself, there is this expectation of the life series being the intense, heart wrenching, tragic roleplay series when it was always meant to be a fun competitive improv series where they got to mess around and let go of their inhibitions. because near everyone in this series comes from established smps that are peaceful or highly controlled when it comes to conflict due to the amount of work poured into builds and storylines, so having a sort of anarchy server always felt to me like their way of letting go of these rules they always abide by and go wild. meanwhile, i think when you play minecraft for a living for longer than some of your viewers have been alive, there is a real danger of it getting horribly, intensely, soul-suckingly stale. furthermore, when you have a wide breadth of skill and experience like the life series has within its members, you WANT things to be varied and sometimes even unbalanced to give each players a chance. it might sound counter intuitive, but the thing is that it HAS worked, to a relative extent. there is already this kind of "going with the motions" feeling that is instilled in the members, and has been for a good few seasons. it is noticeable. and when you are the game master, it is even more noticeable. it is expected of the game master to vary the gimmicks and premise in order to keep the game from being predictable both for its players and for the viewers.

i think sometimes it doesn't always land, because the truth is there is only so much testing you can do in a series that is about surprising not just the viewers but the players (and where the players not fully knowing what is to expect is a core point of the series*). not only is there only so much testing you can do to make sure it doesn't impact gameplay too much, but also so much testing you can do to make sure it doesn't impact dynamics too much, and the viewer experience. and then the question is: when you do realise, maybe an episode or two in, what do you even do? a ton of work (and potentially money) has been poured into setting this up. so what do you do? do you continue? do you tweak it mid-season, potentially breaking the complex mods put in place? do you just stop it? do you like, apologise to your fanbase -- "sorry guys, this one was a dud!" ??

like, genuinely. what do you do in this situation? and what do you do when something you would've expected to be a labour of love, with input from the fanbase even, is received in such a way? im not saying "uwu think of the creators feelings" or whatever, they make more in a month than i make in a year. but i do sympathise with them because when creating an episodic and improv series like this there is very little you can do if you see it not going the way you or the fanbase wanted. i personally enjoyed it, even if some bits fell a bit flat, because there were good moments and i thought a bunch of the gimmicks were funny, and i thought they challenged the players in interesting ways. although they are linked and this link IS important to the series as a whole, i like to let each season stand on its own as its own experience as well -- and imo this one does stand. depending on what you want out of the series, the gimmicks might've taken too much of a centre stage, maybe they were too intrusive, maybe they kept players from interacting in a way you enjoy. i tend to take it as kind of... what it is, with an episodic, improv series made by people who are neither professional nor trained storytellers or game developpers (well tango was a game dev wasn't he, but tango isn't the admin of the server so that doesn't even matter anyway)

*you wouldnt think surprise is a core point of the series, but it is. ive already said many times but third life would not be as it was if it wasnt for the fact that no one knew what to expect from the series. they didnt think it would get competitive so fast, they didnt think it would get so dramatic and intense and involved so fast. they didnt think the scarcity of resources would be such a hot topic so fast, etc, etc, etc. you literally hear it so often in various povs in third life, especially grian's though i think, how they just didnt expect the series to have such a feeling. furthermore, theres a clear shift in the series when murders start truly happening. there will never be another series like third life because the only way to have a series like third life is to erase the players memory. since that's impossible, the closest thing grian can get to is introducing strange and unexpected gimmicks to their gameplay.

[blu3-ja3]

Hello! So I want to establish O'Connor a bit more and how she views each member of the 141. All of these will be in first person not my typical 3rd person limited. We're going youngest to oldest so Soap up first.

!TRIGGER WARNING! Panic Attacks, Misguided Grief

1) Smart but Forgetful

Soap is a smart young man, in a way that's terrifying at time. I've watched MacTavish make a bomb from fertilizer, random metal scrap and a broken lighter. Ghost seemed turned on proud of his sergeant on that particular mission. It never fails to amaze me to watch MacTavish work out how much it would take for him to level a building. But he also has a nasty habit of not wearing proper protective gear when dealing with demolitions on and off the field. On the field I can let it slide but when we're on base it worries me to no end.

I've scolded him a great many times before I just started scolding Ghost as well. More often than not the two were together when Soap goes about his explosive work. Price found it hilarious that I've made it a rule that everyone has to carry a set of closed fingered gloves for Soap, that way if they're on field with the man and he starts his work they can give him the gloves so I don't have to treat chemical burns that could easily be prevented.

2) A Simple Gesture

The first time the young sergeant saw my scar he was kind and far more interested in my sleeve. It was late out. I couldn't sleep and figured working out until I was ready to collapse would be the best course of action. I was in a compression sports bra and sweats, I wasn't expecting anyone to be awake so I didn't bother wearing my typical long sleeve turtle neck. I was distracted and didn't notice Soap appearing in the door to the workout room.

"Who did your ink Cap?"

"JESUS, MARY, AND JOSEPH! MacTavish where the hell did you come from?" I practically jumped out of my skin as I turned around.

"My room? You okay Doc? You seem a bit jumpy." Soap tilted his head to the side with a concerned smile on his face. I suddenly felt very aware of the fact that the sergeant could see my discolored and scared arm and body.

"I'm fine, I'll just leave you to your work out sergeant." I made a move to grab my bag and leave

"Wait! Captain I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, I can leave. I was just curious about your sleeve. I've seen some glimpses of it, I'd like a better look but it makes you uncomfortable then I'll leave." Soap offered with a shy smile

" My son, William, drew most of them." I relaxed a bit as Soap approached

"He's an incredible artist, would it be okay if I got a closer look?" Soap asked as he gestured to my arm.

"Would you like to help yourself to one of his sketchbooks? I have one in my office if you'd like to get a better look." I laughed as Soap took my left arm turning it staring intently at the pieces.

"If Will doesn't mind, I don't want to intrude."

I smiled "I'm fairly sure he wouldn't mind Suds"

3) A Mother's Grief

It hurts how similar Soap can be to William, both are incredible artist who are constantly doodling on any scrap of paper. But the similarities didn't seem to stop there, they're both terribly smart and passionate. They care deeply for those they've befriended and had a mischievous streak to them. I think often about what kinda of shenanigans the two would get up to with the other sergeants.

At times though it hurts to be around the young man. He makes me wonder what William would be like as he got older. I cried for hours the night Soap called me, mom. I felt guilty, so incredibly guilty. I thought I was replacing Will with the young sergeant and it killed me. I went to Price after another night of tears and guilt.

"Maevis you alright?"

"No, no I'm really not John."

"What's wrong? Did Oliver do something?"

" No, Jesus, it's about Sergeant MacTavish."

John tensed "What about him O'Connor?"

" He called me, mom last night, he was having a rough go of it. I found him and did what I could, I eventually took him back to his barracks. I tried to convince myself he just called me ma'am but Soap has never called me Ma'am. I feel like I'm being eaten alive by guilt! Like I've replaced William without me realizing. How could I? Will was... Is my baby, he's my boy. I love him! How could I do that to him?" Tears streamed down my face I couldn't stand to look at John.

"Oh Maevis, you muppet. You've done nothing wrong. You still love William, I know you do because you still have the charm made of his ashes. MacTavish called you mom because you did what you always do. You're a care taker Maeve, a mother by instinct and you treat everyone like your child. You haven't replaced your son, you would have done the same thing if Will was alive. You're being too hard on yourself Maevis." John had pulled me into a hug until I finally stopped shaking.

"We both know if Will was here he'd be instant friends with the boys. And he'd hold no ill will towards you being a mother to them."

"Yes you're right, you're always right John."

4) An Artistic Collaboration

Soap is constantly coloring in the tattoos on both mine and Ghost's arms. He was a very tactile person, constantly platonically touching everyone in the 141. MacTavish was quick to notice the missing piece on my sleeve, a decent sized spot above my wrist.

"So what's going there Doc?"

"Well it was ment to be another piece William was drawing specifically for me but he never got around to it. There are simple sketches in his last sketch book but nothing finished."

"Do you mean the horse?"

I nodded in confirmation as Soap turned my arm to start coloring another tattoo with the skin safe markers he was given by Roach.

"Yeah, I wanted to get a kelpie or an undead unicorn. William was enthralled by the idea and wanted to draw it for me. He uh... You know..."

"Yeah, if you'd like I could finish it for you. Why the clovers as filler? It makes coloring you so difficult!"

"I like clovers, used to call Will my lucky clover. Sergeant?"

Soap looked up from where he was focusing on my arm, his hand stilling as he removed the light green marker from my skin.

"If you'd like to, I'd be honored to have your artwork complete my sleeve." I watched as MacTavish's eye lit up with excitement.

"You're not joking Cap? You'd get my art tatted on you?" I nod smiling as the sergeant moved to grab his leather sketchbook.

" Id still like the undead unicorn or kelpie but you're free to do what you'd like with the concept... Are you going to finish coloring my arm or am I going to walk around with a half colored arm?" Soap waved his hand at me as he continued to draw. I chuckled before getting up to leave to go do my rounds.

5) Motherly Advice

I'm sitting in my office filling out paperwork and going through the medical bay inventory. I see my door open from the corner of my eye. I see the tall tale mohawk of one sergeant MacTavish

"How's she cuttin' Suds?"

"Um Mom? Can I ask you a question?" I smiled a bit at the name before calming myself. The boys only call me mom, outside of the usual teasing, if something was serious.

"What's wrong Johnny Boy?" I turned to face the man , setting down my pen as the scott sat across from me.

"You've been in a relationship before right Doc?"

"Um well yes but it wasn't the best example of a relationship..."

"I know but it was with a man, yeah?"

"... Yes? MacTavish can I ask what's this about? Because it may be better to ask Price, lad"

" How did you know you were gay?!" MacTavish seemed to be flustered as his cheeks were a bright pink.

"You were married to a man, yeah? And now you look at so of many of the nurses with such infatuation or at least you stare at any woman like she's the best view you've ever seen! I know what that means Doc.... So how did you know? Cause for most of my life I liked Bonnies but Gho- someone has made me question everything!"

"Tav my boy deep breaths yeah, do you want me to be honest?" Soap nodded furiously.

"I don't know, Oliver was my only partner for a very long time... I was only 16 when we started dating, got married just before I was deployed at 18 and I divorced him when I was 20. I didn't date while I was raising Will, I was so busy being a single mom while active duty, I was recovering from this," I gestured to my heavily scared body. " Then Will passed, I couldn't bring myself to go out let alone date... But you're right I taken a liking to many of the lassies I've seen. But I truly don't know if that makes me gay."

" Is it only ladies that catch your attention?"

"It seems so, yes... But why ask me John? Why not talk to Kyle or Price, the two who are in a very openly gay relationship. Both of them are most definitely more qualified in both regards..." I mumble the last bit.

" I don't know, you were the first person I thought of. "

" Let me ask you this then. This someone, does he make you happy?"

"Yes..."

"Do you trust him?"

"More than anyone I've ever met."

" Then what does it matter if you're gay, straight, bi, whatever?"

"What if he doesn't like me back?"

"You're talking about Ghost, right?"

Soap blushes furiously before replying "Yes I'm talking about Ghost... "

" I know he's not the most expressive or forthcoming but he's different with you John. You know that right?"

Soap nods before something seems to click, he stood up rapidly and rushed towards my office door.

"I'm sorry, I've just remembered something I've gotta go! THANK YOU FOR THE TALK DOC!" Soap's voice echoed down the hall.

A few days later, Ghost and Soap made an announcement that they are dating.

"Wait, you weren't before?" Roach asked

"No, what made you think that?" Soap asked

"Well you were constantly leaving the Lieutenant's room after some very... Loud activities..." Roach smirked "You two seem to forget who's barracks are next to Ghost's!"

It was evident even through Ghost's mask that the man was blushing.

"Oh quite your teasing Roach! Honestly we're happy for you boys, you two deserve happiness!" I smile sweetly at the two young men.

I'm happy that everyone has found someone, and while I'm happy to have helped the young sergeant he's helped me realize my neglect towards myself and my relationships.

COD Master List