#but the way they can be obsessed with each other sometimes

[tmbrstylnsn]

hii! i'm louis, i'm gonna answer all these about my system, the reveromantic system :3

1. which headmates are the iconic couple?

my instinct is to say me and harry, but i know that award goes to tommy and wilbur. theyve been here the longest and founded our system, plus theyre married so bonus points.

2. which headmates are the unlikely couple?

see, this has to go to tommy and wilbur again. me and harry, and liam and zayn, are both popular ships in our source. toms and wil arent, so they win this one again.

3. which headmates were enemies at first but are now best friends/a couple?

i dont think any of us were really enemies, since we formed as pairs. but i do have source memories of liam finding me super annoying before we became best mates, so theres that!

4. which headmate is the most different from the body?

ooh... personality wise, its gotta be harry or maybe liam? i think the others (including me) share traits with our separate DID system, so theres some similarity there. ill say harry, hes really unique <3

visually, ive gotta say tommy for being blonde. thats one hair colour our body has never had and probably never will have.

5. which headmates are city folk?

all of us ahaha, i dont think any of us like the country. maybe tommy would disagree, im not sure. he was real active back when we did live in the semi-country, so maybe hes got attachments to it?

6. which headmates are country folk?

not really any of us, but like i said maybe tommy?

7. which headmates have the most unique music taste?

ooh, i dont know if any of us do. i really like one direction, obviously, and me own music. i love harry and zayn's stuff too, but again our whole body loves that music so its not really unique?

i think we all just like our source music a lot, like tommy and wilbur are both lovejoy obsessed, and me, harry, zayn, and liam are 1D obsessed.

8. which headmates have the most specific role?

none of us have roles! our other sysmates in our DID system do, but we dont because we're nontraumagenic and just exist for fun :3

9. are there any headmates from a different state/city/place than the body?

well, all of us except tommy are british, and from various parts of england. im from doncaster, harry's from holmes chapel, zayn's from bradford, liam's from wolverhampton, wilbur's from london, and tommy is american but i think he was still born in nottingham? could be wrong :P

10. which headmates are emo/punk/goth?

ooh thats a good question. i think zayn probably leans the most like, punk or emo or whatever it is. none of us really do, i think we all just dress like normal lads. i do like me a good black cutoff shirt and skinny jeans, though!

11. what are some pet peeves headmates have about each other?

hm... i dunno if we have any at the moment. other than source memories, like me and liam getting on each other's nerves! but we all get on pretty well, generally.

12. what headmate was the biggest surprise?

definitely liam and zayn. i wasnt expecting them to form, after me and harry i thought it would just be us two, toms, and wilbur. i had no idea our mates would be forming too, but im glad they did! love these lads.

13. what headmate has a skill the body doesnt?

we tend to share skills, but i guess the british accents count? our body can do a british accent whenever, but its usually stronger and feels more natural/comfortable when one of us (bar tommy) is fronting and speaking in our specific accent.

14. which headmate makes the most typos?

gonna take a guess and say either harry or tommy, harry because hes a bit silly and loose with life, and tommy because hes probably talking too fast to fix it.

15. what headmate has the weirdest way of talking/typing?

hm... zayn for talking, me for typing. i say a lot of shit like "me" instead of my sometimes, "babes" a whole lot, stuff like that. it doesnt sound too weird verbally, but over text its quite obvious its me.

zayn for talking because hes got that rougher british accent that sounds distinctly different to the rest of us. cant quite describe it, but if youve heard source zayn talk yknow what i mean.

these were fun to answer!

- louis

SYSTEM ASK GAME!! FOR SYSTEMS OF ANY ORIGINS!! SYSMEDS DNI!!

Which headmates are the iconic couple

Which headmates are the unlikely couple

Which headmates were enemies at first and now best friends and/or a couple

Which headmate is the most different from the body?

Which headmates are city folk

Which headmates are country folk

Which headmates have the most unique music taste?

Which headmate has the most specific role?

Are there any headmates from a specific state/country/etc different from the body?

Which headmates are emo/punk/goth etc?

What are some pet peeves headmates have about other headmates?

What headmate was the biggest surpise?

What headmate has a skill that the body doesn't usually, but when they front the body gets it (or almost gets it)?

What headmate makes the most typos?

What headmate has the weirdest (/pos) way of talking/typing?

[luvvzinspo]

❀Daisuke - MW Headcannons!!❀

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

❀Warning: suggestive themes❀

(SFW+NSFW)

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

❀SFW↓❀

───────────────

•❀• This man is OBSESSED with you. And when I say obsessed, I mean basically drooling just by thinking about you.

•❀• He'll do anything for you. He loves to please, and you want something? He's already at it!

•❀• He definitely loves cuddling. Big spoon or little, he just craves physical touch. He prefers you two to be facing each other, though.

•❀• I'm pretty sure we all know Daisuke has a praise kink, but what about loving some cute nicknames?

───────────────

•❀• Me, personally, I think he would like ones like "Pretty boy" or "Baby", like, y'know how people always are babying him? What if that's something he would prefer? Not in a young-and-old way, but, like, maybe he just likes the thought of that?

•❀• Maybe, just maybe, sometimes he likes to feel more manly. Maybe he wants to be called "Handsome" or "Hubby". (I kind of cringed writing that aha)

❀NSFW↓❀

───────────────

•❀• His libido is absolutely insane. He's definitely the easiest out of the crew to get hard, but he deals with it.

•❀• I feel like he'd love thigh riding. Something about it just makes him feel amazing.

•❀• This boy is crazy when it comes to sex. I mean, maybe he's like, a soft dom. Going slow and gentle at first, but once he's near his peak, he's fucking like a rabbit.

•❀• He's inexperienced, we all know. The closet he probably has ever gotten to losing his v-card is probably a blowjob, or makeout sessions.

•❀• But, he'll make the best out of it once he gets it. I'm guessing he finishes quite fast, and if you aren't satisfied, he'd eat you out or suck you off until you are.

•❀• He definitely touches himself. And probably doesn't even washes his hands afterwards.

•❀• He can go for a few rounds; maybe 2-3. But after that, he's exhausted. Sweating, sleepy, and just tired in general.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

That's all I can write for now, but if you have any suggestions, please tell me! I love writing.

[star2fishmeg]

need some luke x inexperienced reader PLEASE just too good

Luke's hand lay under your t-shirt, flat against your spine, his other cradling your nape with your pyjama shorts clad thighs straddling his lap and curls tugged by your fingers as lips move and lap in languid motions. Elongated moans muting any noise from beyond your bedroom door, volume increasing when his hand slides from your neck and over her breast, cupping and giving it a soft squeeze before you part, hot breaths panting onto the surface of your swollen lips and eyes flickering to each other. He can't begin to explain the heat that surges through him every time you kiss him, his head just floats straight to cloud nine and ears blocked everything but the sounds you make when you grind down on him experimentally.

His hands fall to the hem of your t-shirt, his old Michigan one that's you've been stealing since you met as freshman, fingers wrapping around the fabric.

Luke's voice drops low, raspy and still catching his breath slightly, "Can I?"

"Only if you will too..." you mumble, retracting your arms away from his hair.

He lets the fabric go and pulls his own shirt over his head first before removing yours. You think about looking away but it's Luke, his eyes are too soft and he's gently running his hands along your back so, when you go to meet his gaze, you're surprised to see him locked on your breasts. He licks his lips before pressing sweet kisses to the flesh, over the top and into the valley, hands finding their way to cup over the lacy bra and thumbs rubbing over your nipples. He can't help it, he's obsessed with them, they're the best pillows he's ever had and nuzzling his face in them is a past time, but without the barrier of a t-shirt, his hairs stand on end and his cock twitches.

"Look at you, beautiful." He groans deeply when his nose presses in the valley, pushing your breasts together to bury his face entirely. You feel his lips, his mouth trailing sloppy and wet kisses wherever he can, teeth grazing and buds pebbling under the padding.

"Lu," your hands find his hair again, nails massaging into his scalp as his teeth nip the flesh, "can...can we try something?"

He raises his head and kisses the corner of your lips, "What is it, baby? You sure?"

"I...fuck, this is hard...I want you, uh, to suck my tits. Please. Apparently, it's good and, uh, you like my tits a lot so, like..." you notice the way his eyes sparkle, elated that you've finally granted him full access to his favourite place to sleep.

"Yeah...oh yeah, I can do that, shit, baby." His lips quirk into a crooked smile, excitement fizzling in his chest and he plants both hands on your lower back, pulling you closer on his lap and sliding his palms up your spine. Freedom fills your back, the band of your bra unclasping and you can't bear watch it hit the floor, not that you get the chance before Luke's peppering your cheeks with kisses. "You sure you’re, okay? Just say so and I'll stop if you aren't diggin' it, okay?"

"Okay-oh!" you moan abruptly, it only taking him a split second to hear your consent before his warm mouth latches to your nipple, hand pushing against your spine and guiding you to arch into him.

Your eyes flutter close, jaw faltering open with shockwaves of euphoria as his tongue swirls around your bud, the tip flicking between phases swirling and suckling. Your hips buck into him when he groans, the vibration's a sweet, pleasurable paradise through your nerves and your fingers grip his hair harsher, keeping him into your chest.

When he pulls off with a wet 'pop', you whimper as the cold air brushes your nipple, now soaked with saliva and swollen but before the words leave your throat, he's taking your other breast into his mouth, hungrily. Sometimes you forget how strong he really is, but you're thankful he reminds you by pushing you backwards, your back hitting the mattress and situating his biceps either side of you, lips sucking firmly and tongue moving in circles around your nipple.

"Luke," you whine out with a smile, "oh, Lu."

His large palm encases your free breast, groping and taking the bud between his pointer and middle finger, rolling it to draw those high-pitched whimpers you love to torment him with so much. The sensations new, so new but tremendously stimulating with bursts of craving in your stomach, those tingles that feel like flips. You want him to touch you like this all the time, relish how he loves every part of you.

Pulling away again, Luke rasps, looking at you with his glossy eyes and flushed cheeks, "Fucking love your tits, baby. Did I do okay?"

"I didn't say stop, do it again." You push his head back to your breast, his chuckle intoxicating but not as addicting as his tongue flicking over your nipple again, lips suctioning over the wet surface of your skin and your head tips back into the sheets, mewling out his name while his hand and mouth work in tandem.

[unhingedpolycule]

I just read the new Nikto/Krueger fanfic….. and HOLY mother of sh-t! didn’t know Nikto! My man was old enough too be my dad!

Still hot 🥵 thou 😏

Hahaha, yes, a lot of people seem to be blindsided by this (again and again)… but for me, those nasty men are at least forty. I get an aneurism every time they are like… in their twenties? I can cope with thirties, but 40s/50s are the sweet spot for me personally. (Absolutely NO hate though. To each their own, but if I read a fic, I imagine them to be old by default. Lol.)

Mostly because I believe that Nikto in his 20s/early 30s was a wet cat and Krueger was also way less palatable. Still smart, still interested but also less keen on just existing to serve another. He wanted more space and the codependency he and Nikto got going is only possible because they mellowed out with age (again, just MY hc!) Personally, I live for the odd flavor of fluff they have going on… just so comfortable in the relationship, having come to terms with each other and having fought most fights there are to fight. Nowadays, its small things they sometimes blow out of proportion because they are both stubborn (they like fighting with each other. Its called enrichment) but they are not at risk of breaking up or anything. Its just peaceful and they are super set in their toxic ways, which kind of work for them.

They are one of those old people couples that no one likes/knows how they work, but they are happy with each other (oddly enough).

Aside from that, I also just find a lot of comfort in them seeing the other age. Like… wrinkles, less strength, skin less taunt… and just being amazed at having gotten to this point. It’s a nice thought to appreciate each other for their physical changes as well. Nikto specifically is a bit obsessed with Krueger’s hair greying or his skin on his chest/stomach getting less taunt. It’s so soothing to him that this man chooses to spent their life with him and he is quite possessive in a gruff way, so seeing Krueger change with the years… hell yeah. Big emotional turn on.

[canirove]

Canary boy | Chapter 3

Previous chapter | Next chapter (coming out on Tuesday)

Masterlist

“Inés, did you just giggle?”

“No.”

“Inés, I know you, and you just giggled. Who is the lucky one who has managed that?” Carla says. “Maybe the tall guy we met the other night?”

“The one who thought I was a lesbian because I played football?” I snort. 

“What?”

“Men” I shrug.

“That's… nevermind. If it isn't him, then who is it?” she asks again, raising her eyebrows up and down like that Milhouse gif.

“No one.”

“I don't believe you” she says, snatching my phone from my hands before I can hide it in my bag. 

“Carla!” 

“You seriously need to put a password, Inés. What if someone steals your phone and sees all your sexy photos?” she smirks.

“I don't have sexy photos” I reply, rolling my eyes.

“Why? You are sexy and… Why is Pedri sending you a photo of him eating churros?”

“It's an inside joke” I say, taking advantage of her shock to get my phone back. Maybe I do need a password on it, but to avoid having her lurking.

“An inside joke? Since when do you have inside jokes with him? And that was WhatsApp, Inés. Not Instagram. I thought you only followed each other there.”

“Not anymore” I say. 

It had happened the day after our churros date or whatever you want to call it. We had spent the night chatting on Instagram, Pedri asking me about how meeting my grandparents had gone, and telling me that his hungover had come back with violence once he had made it home. And the morning after, he had asked me for my number because he liked chatting on WhatsApp better, the “oh my God” I screamed when I saw that message being heard by the whole building. Like I already said, I'm stupid and I like getting my hopes up too fast and too much.

Though it's been a week, and we've been texting daily and very often. Very often. 

“Inés…” Carla sighs. “He has a girlfriend.”

“I know.”

“Do you? Because this totally looks like flirting.”

“What?” I laugh.

“Having inside jokes about churros of all things? Texting on WhatsApp? The fact that he has made you giggle?” 

“Carla, we are just friends.”

“No, you aren't. You fancy him, Inés!”

“Who do you fancy?” Aitana says, sitting next to me.

“No one” I quickly say, focusing on tying up my boots to hide the colour of my face.

“Who does she fancy?” she asks Carla.

“Someone she shouldn't.”

“Víctor?”

“What?” Carla and I say at the same time.

Víctor is one of the men's team stars, another young player from the academy like myself who made it to the first team at the same time I did. And since we both also play in the same position, everyone has always joked that we are destined to end up together, himself included. But the thing is, that I can't stand him. I've never have.

As a kid his ego already was too big for someone so young, and now it is even worse. The fact that once the awkward teenage years passed he turned out to be quite hot, girls all over the world being so obsessed with him that it sometimes is scary, hasn't helped. 

“I don't know. Since he is someone she shouldn't fancy and you've always said that you can't stand him…” Aitana shrugs. “We are filming some stuff with the boys after training, by the way. He'll probably be there.”

“Urgh, don't remind me of it” I say. “They'll probably put us together again.”

“They have to give the shippers their monthly content, Inés” Aitana teases me.

“Idiot” I reply, giving her a little push. 

“I'm sorry, I'm sorry” she laughs. “But you know it's true.”

“Whatever. Let's go training and stop talking about men” I say, standing up.

“Yeah, let's go avoid thinking about the mess we may be getting ourselves into” Carla says behind me before following us. 

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“And Inés, you will be filming a guess who with Víctor.”

“Great” I sigh.

“Did you say anything, Inés?”

“I was just wondering where he is” I quickly say. 

“Were you missing me, my love?” someone says behind me.

“Jesus Christ!” 

“Almost as famous” Víctor laughs. “Looking beautiful today” he smirks, putting his arm around my shoulders.

“Thank you” I reply, moving to be in front of him so he stops touching me. “Where were you? You are late.”

“Is that jealousy, Inés? Are you worried I may be seeing someone else?”

“What?” I laugh.

“You look really cute when you are jealous” he smirks, closing the space between us so he can caress my cheek. But I'm faster, and take a step back just in time to make him miss. 

“I'm not jealous, Víctor.”

“Of course not, my love.”

“I'm not your love either.”

“Yet” he winks. “Anyway, should we start filming this thing? If we finish early we can go grab something to eat… or whatever you fancy.”

“What I fancy, is to go home. Alone” I add when he is about to say another of his stupid flirty sentences.

“Always so harsh, my love.”

“I'm not your… urgh” I groan. Lord, grant me patience, because if he says another my love, I'm gonna end up committing murder.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“And now who is calling… me” I say after finally making it home and checking my phone. 

This can't be real. It has to be a mistake. He's trying to call someone else and dialed my number because we had been texting earlier. Or maybe not. Maybe he actually is calling me. Maybe something happened. Maybe he needs my help. Maybe he is in danger! If he is, I should probably answer and stop with my internal dialogue, shouldn't I? Ok, you can do this, Inés.

“Pedri, why are you video calling me? Is everything ok?”

“Hello to you too” he chuckles.

“Hi, sorry. But is everything ok?”

“Yeah.”

“Then why are you calling me?”

“Because my head is about to explode after being in front of my laptop working on an assignment for the past few hours, and I needed a distraction.”

“And I am a distraction?” I laugh.

“You have no idea” Pedri smirks. He… umm… what? “Anyway, are you free? Do you want to go out for a walk? I seriously need to leave my room and have some fresh air.”

“I just made it home, but… Yeah, why not?”

“Great!” he says with a smile that makes me feel all fuzzy inside. “I'll call an Uber and pick you up. See you in a bit, Inés.”

“Bye” I smile back before he hangs up. 

Did I just agree to go out with Pedri? As in some kind of… date? But it is a friends date, of course. Because that's what we are. Just friends. Though one of the friends is completely infatuated with the other, and for the past week may have been dreaming about very steamy cooking dates and other things that involve his churro. But my period just left and the days after I'm horny, ok? Ok.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“I can't believe that as someone born and raised in Barcelona, I had no idea this place existed.”

“That's because you are a mountain girl, Inés. The sea doesn't call you the same way it calls me, an island boy” Pedri says.

“What?” I laugh, taking the hand he is offering me to help me jump from the rocks we just walked down to make it to the beach. I could very well do it myself, but letting him be a gentleman and help me won't hurt anybody, will it? Unless you ask Carla, of course.

She would probably say that us touching like this would cause a tsunami that would destroy the city. Though maybe the sea starting to boil due to the heat that is going through my body and coming from it right now, would be more likely to happen. Dear Lord, Inés. He's just holding your hand! Stop being so lame and… horny!

“You don't like the sea” Pedri says.

“I do.”

“But not as much as you like the mountain” he says while we walk, still holding hands. “When you have some free time, you always go hiking or for a walk around the woods, you don't come to the beach to have a swim like I do.”

“How do you know that?”

“I've seen it on your Instagram” he smiles. Wait a second… Pedri has been paying attention to what I post? What? And more importantly… why? “You are a mountain girl, and that's ok. Next time you have to take me to one of your favourite spots.”

“Next time?”

“Today I think this is the perfect one for us” he says, putting down the backpack he was carrying and completely ignoring my question, which only means one thing: I will be thinking about it and what he meant with next time for the rest of my life. “Fancy a beer?”

“What?” I say, my brain working again and making me sit down on the sand next to him.

“You can drink beer, can't you? Or is that something you are not allowed to anymore?”

“Oh, no, we can. They just suggest us to not drink too much.”

“I'm not planning on getting you drunk, don't worry” Pedri winks before opening one bottle and passing it to me. How did I manage to take it from his hand and not let it fall after that wink and our fingers touching again? Nobody knows. “So, what should we toast to?” he asks after opening one for himself. “This place?”

“Nah, that's too boring. What about… to getting distracted?”

“I like that. To getting distracted” he says, raising his bottle.

“To getting distracted” I reply, doing the same with mine before drinking. “Urgh, I had forgotten how good this beer is.”

“It is your favourite, isn't it?”

“It is, yes. How do you know? My Instagram again?” I ask with a teasing smile. Wow, Inés. Bold move there.

“No, not this time” he laughs, the sound making me feel funny things on my stomach. “I know it is your favourite because you mentioned it the last time we all went out together after class.”

“How can you remember that? I can't even remember what I had for lunch yesterday” I chuckle.

“I just do” he shrugs, taking a sip from his beer. 

After that, we both stay in silence, neither of us saying a word while we drink and watch the sun set behind the waves. But it isn't an awkward silence. It is one of the most comfortable and nice ones I've ever experienced. Nice, until the worst thing ever happens.

“Oh my God, Inés!” Pedri laughs while I cover my face with my hands and wish the sand would open and swallow me whole. “What was that noise? A dinosaur?”

“I'm so sorry you had to hear that” I say from behind my hands. “But I haven't eaten anything since before training and…”

“And you are starving. Big time” he laughs again.

“Yeah.”

“Should we go grab something to eat? After hearing that, I'm afraid you may try to eat me.”

“What?” I say, daring to look at him. Which is the biggest mistake ever, because he is: one, smirking, and two, way closer to my face than I had expected him to be.

“Are you going to eat me, Inés?” 

“What?” I repeat with a nervous laugh, my eyes moving from his to his lips. Have I said yet that they are the most kissable lips ever? Kissable, and edible too. 

“I fear you might” he says, closing the space between us a bit more.

“Pedri…” 

“Inés…” he whispers, his face now so close to mine that I've felt him saying my name on my skin. 

He is going to kiss me. He is, isn't he? Why else would he be so close to my face right now? There is no other explanation, is it? He is going to kiss me. He… 

“Inés!” he laughs again when my stomach makes another horrible noise, sending to hell my hopes for that kiss. “C'mon, let's get you some food before you actually eat me.”

“I was about to” I say, speaking before thinking.

“I know” he smirks, getting up from the sand. “But there is a really good restaurant close by, and their food tastes way better than I do.”

“I beg to differ.”

“Uh?”

“Nothing, nothing” I say, quickly standing up. I think I'm so hungry it has started to affect my brain. “Sorry about the dinosaur in my stomach.”

“You don't need to apologize, Inés. I actually am quite hungry too. Shall we?” Pedri says after putting our empty beer bottles back on his backpack. 

“Let's go” I reply, forcing myself to smile and to ignore the fact that we, as in Pedri and yours truly, almost kissed. I think.

[otomes-and-tears]

Can you do another soulmate au with Qiu and Tamarack but mc moves in at step two (I'd assume they'd basically end up the same way without the mc being there)? Qiu in particular would be interesting to see cause of how closed off they are lol

Anyway love your writing ❤️❤️❤️

♦ You can only see grey until you meet your soulmate for the first time with Qiu and Tamarack step 2 ♦

► tags and warnings: Soulmate! Au, Based on this post

► words: 2406

► A/N: Hi! I didn't know if you wanted the same type of soulmate AU or a different kind, so I wrote the same! If you're interested in seeing a different kid, just drop a request and I'll be glad to write something <3

► Masterlist

Tamarack

If the idea of a soulmate, as a child, made Tamarack indifferent, it now filled her with fear.

It wasn’t supposed to be like that, she was sure. Not like she’d ever admit to these feelings to anyone— Finding your soulmate was a goal to strive towards, a consolation on difficult days.

It’s what all romance books centered around. It’s the topic of all of the songs people listen to on the radio, the advice columns on magazines the girls much cooler than her read. 

It’s a daunting notion, perhaps, but a natural one. Her soulmate will appear when she least expects, her world will fill with colours she had never particularly wished to see, and she will be granted a companion for as long as both shall live. The other half of her soul, a missing limb she had never noticed was gone.

But how could she ever muster up excitement for it when her future was so uncertain?

Maybe her soulmate was back at her old home, at the school she’d have attended if her parents had kept her instead of leaving her with her grandparents. Or maybe, if they followed through on their promises to take her back, she’d just miss her soulmate moving into the perpetually empty, likely haunted, house in the middle of the cul-de-sac.

A soulmate could be the anchor she’d always wished for, a tether somewhere, but it could just as easily twist into another loss, another painful what-if to occupy her thoughts.

And losing the one thing you wished for isn’t terrifying?

So she continues living her life. Hoping that she’s just another person to meet their soulmate just a little later in life— her parents had met in college, after all. Things would just work out if the universe could hold out for just a while longer, until her family’s mess could finally settle itself or she was old enough to make her own choices, put down roots somewhere she was certain they wouldn’t be cruelly ripped out the soil. 

She had heard many tragic tales of the sort, after all. Soulmates that meet briefly only to be torn apart. People who are meant to each other, but who are destined to just weave in and out of each other’s lives, only having brief, blissful moments together.

She hates to admit it, but the idea of suffering such a fate keeps her awake, sometimes.

Tamarack was tired of holding her breath and waiting for other people to make decisions for her. Soulmates were a cosmic matter, beyond the reach of any plea or plan. And if people could be fickle and unreliable, she doubted the universe would be any more inclined to listen to her wishes.

Every year that passed, with her world continuing to be coloured in the greyscale she was so fond of, made her just a little more hopeful, dimming the fear and anxiety she had long grown used to.

But things have a way of changing when you least expect it.

This Halloween was different. It was her first as a teenager, and she had obsessed over her costume for weeks. How could she not? Everything felt more important this year, like the tiniest details suddenly carried the weight of her entire identity. Adding to the excitement, her Omi had mentioned something Tamarack couldn’t stop thinking about: after years of vacancy, someone had finally moved into the empty house next door.

Before she could head out for her own festivities, her omi invites her to deliver her homemade sweets to the new neighbours.

Tamarack stood on the porch of her grandparents’ house, the evening’s chill nipping at her nose. She adjusted her cape— a flimsy, dollar-store last minute addition to an otherwise well-planned witch costume. Her Omi had insisted on the traditional sweets, meticulously wrapped and sealed in clear plastic with small bows. Tamarack clutched the basket, feeling every bit the reluctant Little Red Riding Hood.

“Go on, sweetheart…” her Omi urged from the doorway, every bit as boisterous as she always was “First impressions are important!”

First impressions, Tamarack thought bitterly, only mattered if you planned on sticking around. Still, she trudged across the lawn to the new neighbor’s house, pausing at the edge of the worn wood porch, and the sparse decorations out on the lawn. It brought a smile to her face— the residents had likely not fully moved in yet, but they at the very least bothered to decorate for the occasion.

Her heart thudded as she raised a hand to knock, suddenly a little nervous. She looks back at her grandmother, who seems impatient enough to do it for her when suddenly…

The door swung open, and Tamarack’s breath caught in her throat.

A kid stood there, about her age, also wearing a costume, trying to add in the last accessories while answering the door. Behind them, she can see boxes piled into the living room.

“Uh, hi…” they said, eyes darting to the basket in her hands. “Trick-or-treat?”

Tamarack blinked, suddenly hyper-aware of the weight of the basket.

“Oh, um, no. I mean, yes. Sort of? My grandmother…”  She looks back towards her grandmother for a moment “Wanted me to bring these over.” 

Before she can offers the sweets, the kid’s mother, appears behind them— her Omi’s attention quickly shifting to the other adult as they commence introductions. Tamarack shyly, albeing awkwardly thrusts the basket forward, as a peace offering. 

Her new neighbour looks up for the first time, her red eyes meeting theirs.

It was like a silent firework had gone off in her mind, flooding every corner with color. The drab greyscale of the world she had grown so accustomed to was suddenly replaced by shades she didn’t have words for. The red of their costume was vibrant and rich, and the soft yellow light from the porch lamp bathed their features in a warmth that seemed dream-like.

Her knees felt weak, and her hands trembled as she tried to process the transformation. She glanced down at her own costume, marveling at the green hue of her skirt, the deep black of her cape that somehow seemed darker than before.

They were staring at her, wide-eyed. Their grip on the basket slackened, and a few candies tumbled out.

 “You’re seeing it too, right?” they whispered.

Tamarack nodded slowly. She leans down to grab the fallen candies just as her soulmate does. When their hands touch, they both pull back like it’s fire.  

The moment is awkward for just a second— before she laughs, and accompanies her.

Her heart pounded in her chest as a thousand thoughts jumbled together—fear, confusion, disbelief. She had spent years imagining this, dreading it, preparing for a moment that always seemed far away, out of reach.

Now, it was here.

Her world had changed in the blink of an eye, and she hadn’t even had time to catch her breath.

“I wasn’t ready for this.” 

She admitted softly, barely more than a whisper. The fallen candies back in her basket, and her heart feeling just a tad lighter.

“Same…” Her soulmate replied, in disbelief. “Well… It isn’t as bad like I feared it would be.”

Surprisingly, she shares the sentiment. 

Behind them, her Omi and MC’s mother were deep in conversation, already swapping stories and laughter as though they had known each other forever.

Tamarack barely noticed. Everything around her felt distant— muted compared to the colors she couldn’t stop staring at.

She forced herself to take a breath, steadying her nerves. This wasn’t what she had planned. It wasn’t what she wanted. But maybe… maybe it didn’t have to be as terrifying as she thought. Maybe this wasn’t the end of her carefully constructed world, but the start of something else.

Qiu

There was once a time in which Qiu longed to find their soulmate.

Back when things were brighter, easier. When the idea of finding the person that stood on the other side of their invisible string felt like an inevitability, a cheat code to meeting a new friend— their perfect equal, the way to make their life just a little more perfect. Golden grove was a little boring, but it was a little town brimming with potential, filled with wonderful things, little secrets, they knew of, and they were eager to share with their perfect match.

That hope belonged to a different version of Qiu, though.

A younger, more naive one. The boy with sparkling eyes and an eager need to please who he once believed themselves to be.

Now, it felt like a memory from someone else’s life, not their own. 

Regardless, it was a hope Qiu had held onto for an embarrassingly long amount of time. Even when things became less certain, and making new friends became a chore rather than an exciting prospect, they still hoped anyway.

Fantasised about their eyes meeting when they took their bows at the end of a ballet recital, the world blooming into colour as they found them in a crowd, eyes soft and adoring, their appearance shifting with every second they conjured their little daydream— not knowing what they would look like, but wishing that, just at having a glimpse of them in a dream, Qiu would just know.

Or perhaps in the bustling halls of school, a casual brush of shoulders with a new transfer student would change everything.

It occupied their thoughts during boring classes or frustrating days when no one understood them, no matter how much they tried to speak: the ever-shifting face of their soulmate, the kind eyes, the idea that someone would be able to tell them who they were, someone who’d instinctively know.

Not having found their soulmate, despite their increasingly desperate attempts to do so throughout their childhood, had been just another in a long list of disappointments in Qiu’s life. 

It was just another testament to a fact that terrified them: they didn’t know who they were, nor who they were supposed to be. People around them had an idea— expectations, their own stifling view of who Qiu Lin was, and the more they insisted on it, the less Qiu wished to fulfil their expectations.

Like with most other things, in recent times, they had just stopped trying.

Why should they even bother with a soulmate, anyway? They had lost so much time together already. The colours their parents had described sounded headache inducing, the idea of a soulmate stifling in a way it hadn’t before. They stopped greeting colleagues in the hallways and avoided any chance to meet new people. Their friendship circle was small, and ever dwindling— And it was better this way. 

A soulmate would just be another person to disappoint, after all. Like the list wasn’t long enough already. It was better for them, and for the poor soul tethered to them, if they didn’t meet at all.

For that reason, the first day of high school was terrifying.

Golden Grove’s only school rarely got transfers. The golden-haired whirlwind that was Tamarack, their neighbour, had been an exception. But what made Qiu particularly anxious was the sinking feeling that this was it. That something was in the air. Some deep, impending change they were too small to ever possibly stop.

They couldn’t stop it, but they could delay it, whoever.

If locking themselves in their room wasn’t an option, which Qiu was sure it wasn’t, then the solution was simple. Instead of heading straight to school, Qiu veered off course, slipping into the woods that gave Golden Grove its name. The golden leaves heralding autumn crunched beneath their sneakers as they made their way to the old bridge over the creek. It was a cherished spot, a secret place they’d often escaped to as a kid.

The boy’s club, with Tamarack as an honorary member, had once made it their domain.

They throw their gym bag on the floor, huffing as it falls with a thump on the top steps, leading to the small bridge. Qiu slumps right beside it, fishing their phone out of their pockets to shoot a quick message to Ren, reassuring him that they’d show up eventually, and putting some music on.

The crisp morning air helped clear their thoughts, even if the anxiety still simmered beneath the surface.

Skipping a few hours of school seemed worth the inevitable lecture they’d get at home. For now, they could breathe, even if just for a little.

“Excuse me…”

An unknown voice sounds from right behind them, above the sound of their music. They’re momentarily taken aback. No one ever came here. It was a local secret. Who else would be in a bridge in the woods in the early morning hours?

A gasp escaped their lips as the vibrant hues overwhelmed them. Blues, oranges, and reds assaulted their senses, a kaleidoscope of shades they had no names for.

It was too much.

Qiu squeezed their eyes shut, reeling from the sudden intensity.

The stranger staggered too, pages from a notepad— Qiu’s notepad,  slipping from their grasp and scattering across the bridge steps. Their wide eyes darted around as if trying to process the same blinding shift.

Qiu’s heart raced, cautiously grabbing one of the fallen pages. A note they had made a few weeks ago on ideas for Ren’s birthday gift. 

Had they led their soulmate straight to them without realizing it? The colours were no less dazzling now that they started getting used to them, but the feeling was slightly more bearable. The stranger’s hair gleamed like sunlight, their features sharp yet soft, framed by a hesitant, confused, smile.

“Are you okay?” the stranger asked, voice shaky but kind. They crouched to gather the rest of the  fallen pages, glancing up at Qiu with equal parts concern and awe.

Qiu’s mouth went dry. Words tumbled through their mind but refused to align into a coherent sentence.

They’d dreamed of this moment for years, yet nothing had prepared them for the overwhelming reality of actually meeting them.

“I…” They swallowed hard, trying again. “I didn’t think…”

The stranger smiled softly, offering a hand. 

“Me neither.”

Qiu hesitated before taking it.

Their hands touched, and the colors seemed to pulse, brighter and warmer, as if the universe was reaffirming the connection. For the first time in years, Qiu felt a glimmer of hope.

Maybe, just maybe, they hadn’t been wrong to dream after all.

[atthebell]

Natal Macabro Slasher/Horror References

Spoilers, obviously, for a lot of classic as well as newer slashers and horror films generally. Content warnings for blood, gore, and graphic violence. I'm gonna order this generally by how influential I think each film is, although sometimes it's just whatever order I wanted to list them in. Additional disclaimers at the bottom along with some footnotes and fun facts.

Friday the 13th (1980) references:

The camp setting, though I'll discuss later other instances of this that are likely also inspiration.

Aguiar's mask is Jason Voorhees-inspired (though the signature Jason mask first appeared in Friday the 13th Part III, not the first film).

The axe is also a Friday the 13th reference-- though axe killings are very common in slashers, the specific scene of Brenda being killed by an axe to the head in Friday the 13th seems like inspiration for Aguiar's favored method of splitting people's heads open with an axe.

Alice likely having been Aguiar's adoptive mother* & also a killer (Pam Voorhees was the original Friday the 13th killer, then Jason took up the role in subsequent films)

Diamond Lake is a reference to Crystal Lake, the location of the original and most subsequent Friday the 13th films.

Halloween (1978) references:

The true pioneer of the slasher, Halloween kicked off the genre and is widely recognized as the first slasher as well as a pivotal horror film.

Solidified some key elements of the final girl trope, namely that the final female survivor has a confrontation with the killer herself

Scream (1996) references:

Ghostface uses a hunting knife, as does Jae in Natal Macabro.

Ghostface plays a game with Casey Becker in the original movie-- if she can guess horror movies correctly from clues he gives her over the phone, the killer won't hurt her boyfriend. Jae creates a game for their victims to have to find keys and avoid her in the house. Not completely the same but similar enough that I'm including it.

Ghostface's costume includes a hood, as does Jae's.

The imposter trope/unsureness about who the killer is and if the protagonist/final girl knows them is very much a thing in Scream, but I discuss it a bit more below as well

Cellbit loves this fucking franchise he is obsessed with Ghostface

Black Christmas (1974) references:

The film's poster is in the house, first of all

Christmas horror, obviously, set in a sorority house where some members have left for the holidays and others are staying, making them targets for the killer.

For a big portion of the movie, several of the characters' bodies are in the attic while other characters, unaware of the danger, wander the house.

Considered to be one of the first true slashers

The imposter element that I'll discuss somewhat below is definitely present in Black Christmas.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) references:

Made the masked killer trope popular, though it wasn't the first.

Leatherface, the main killer in the film, wears a mask made of human flesh-- just like Alice Lucina's Caçadora de Gente mask.

Includes the young people stopping at a random house trope.

You Might Be the Killer (2018) references

Similar masks, particularly with the lack of a mouth hole

The mask in You Might Be the Killer makes the wearer lose control of themself and kill others, sometimes going into a fugue state and being compelled to continue putting the mask on.

The Prisoners (2013) references:

This reference is the major reason I believe in the idea that Alice was Aguiar's adoptive mother in some way, as in The Prisoners, Helen Jones kidnaps a young boy named Alex and raises him to be a killer like her. The portrait of Alice in the house seems to be a clear nod to Helen (big glasses, white turtleneck, crazy eyes), and I've seen way too many Brazilians on Twitter talking about this movie as a reference point to think it's coincidence.

Saw (2004) references:

Let's play a game shit

Waking up locked in a location & needing to escape (through harming yourself)

Yet another masked freak

Dead by Daylight references:

Dead by Daylight isn't a slasher film, but it's a game entirely based around slashers, and it's a game Cellbit has played a lot of so I think it's fair to discuss.

Hooks and generators -- DBD didn't invent people getting put on hooks, see below, but it is the signature of the game

Underground/shadow travel by the killers

Killers participating in rituals to sacrifice survivors (this is also kind of just Ordem shit but yk)

Not really references, but Sobrevivendo ao Horror as an addition has a lot of stuff that lends itself well to a Dead by Daylight setting-- chase sequences and the mechanics involved, for instance. Very neat!!! It's a good system and a good supplement for slashers, which makes it interesting to compare to DBD as a video game adaptation of slashers.

DBD's whole Entity thing is also very Lovecraftian and very Ordem-like so that's fun as well

General slasher/horror tropes:

Useless cops/cops are in on the killings (Aguiar)

Hot blonde girl/hot cheerleader (Mel)

Genre-aware person who wants to leave the situation before others are scared (Shany)

Horror nerd -- Best example is Randy in Scream, and in Natal Macabro is represented by Nath. This trope can be represented very similarly to the genre-aware character trope, but they aren't inherently the same role.

Imposter (sorry)-- generally a group member who either hides that they are the killer or has some other ulterior motive, or serves as a red herring. Think Peter in Black Christmas, or Billy and Stu in Scream. Jorel fills this role but so does Aguiar, appearing to the first group to be an ally before revealing that he's in on the killings.

Previous murders/a location seemingly marked for repeat killings (think Friday the 13th, Scream, etc. & the previous camper killings in 2013 in Natal Macabro)

Axes and hunting knives as weapons, bear traps -- For the latter, I would look towards My Heart is a Chainsaw and the rest of The Indian Lake Trilogy-- all of which include bear traps, and the series is a great horror read & glossary for slashers. I believe there's also bear traps in DBD.

Camp location, particularly with an accompanying lake -- Present in Friday the 13th, Sleepaway Camp, and a ton of other slashers, present in NM with o Acampamento Lua da Benquerença.

Teenagers sneaking into an abandoned/supposedly abandoned house -- This trope seems to have originated with A Bay of Blood/Ecologia del delitto (1971), which was a huge influence on slashers, but is present throughout many horror films.

Secluded cabin location (typically involving young people) -- Occurs in Evil Dead (1981), The Cabin in the Woods (2011), etc.

Broken down vehicle/roadtrip -- Present in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre as well as many others

Complex parental relationships (particularly mommy issues) -- Present in Friday the 13th, relevant here if Alice and Aguiar are parent and child as I think they are

Hooks as weapons/killers putting people on hooks -- present in Black Christmas, I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), and of course extremely central to Dead by Daylight, but Candyman (1992) is what really stands out to me as the slasher most connected to the hook as a weapon.

Other Christmas slashers/horror films: Silent Night, Bloody Night (1972), Home for the Holidays (1972), Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)

Final girl-- a common trope in horror movies and particularly slashers. The most commonly acknowledged initiation of the trope comes from the 1973 giallo* film Torso, but it's most widely known from Black Christmas and, especially, Halloween, with Laurie Strode, Sidney Prescott, Alice Hardy, and Ellen Ripley being some of the most famous final girls in horror. Final girl is sometimes applied to men in horror films as well, most often Ash from Evil Dead, but is meant to be applied to women as the slasher franchise's relationship with female characters and misogynistic violence is a complex one. Final characters generally have become especially popular to talk about in recent years.

My many disclaimers/footnotes:

[1] I have no confirmation on any of these references (aside from the Black Christmas poster, lol), although some of them are extremely obvious if you're a fan of horror/have seen these movies. I'm also only listing the initial film in a franchise unless there's a clear reference to a later film-- you can get the picture from the first Scream, for example; you don't need me to go on about each sequential film including certain tropes/elements too. I am not an expert or even all that well-versed on slashers, either, I just enjoy doing research and like learning about film and horror history. If I missed any references, feel free to let me know and I'll add them to the post, or you can reblog with references you noticed too. Some of these I'll also admit are just me talking about important films to the genre that I think inform any conversation about Natal Macabro and any other kind of slasher. I also haven't seen every film I mentioned here, some I've only read the summary of, others I've seen only parts of.

[2] I know this is just one of my theories about NM but it seems pretty likely to me for this and other reasons included later (The Prisoners connection, for instance) so I'm putting it on the list.

[3] Italian giallo films were the precursor to slashers-- they were generally considered exploitation films full of gratuitous sex and violence, and paved the way for the kinds of plots, gore, and tropes that would become popular in slashers.

Fun facts:

Breno is not alone in being a Black final character! If you count George Romero's Night of the Living Dead, the first movie to feature zombies (though they weren't called that in the movie), Ben is one of the first final guys, although he's still killed by the end of the film, just not by "ghouls." There have been many other Black final characters in horror (Alexa Woods in Alien vs. Predator, Selena in 28 Days Later, Jeryline in Demon Knight, Tess in Barbarian, and more), though definitely not as many as there should be. The lack of Black leads, and specifically Black female leads, means slashers suffer in the same way many pieces of media do, along with the fact that so many of the characters that aren't the protagonist must die according to the formula. I've heard the latest Scream also has a Black female survivor by the end, so I'm excited about more diverse casting and writing becoming more prevalent within horror as a genre.

Some other character tropes present with the NM cast of characters: Jorel as the wimpy injured guy who turns out to suck, Leandro as the brooding suspicious guy who's actually fine, Lila as the weird spiritual person, Ricardo and Breno both as the jocks, Lucio as the more recent horror trope of influencers/filmmakers who get stuck in a horror situation.

Masked killers are EXTREMELY common in slashers, as they provide a way to hide the identity of the killer until the "reveal," a typical part of the film/story when the identity, backstory, and motivations of the killer are revealed, usually by the final girl/remaining survivors finding said information. They're also just great for marketing.

Noncomprehensive horror homework Letterboxd list

More recommendations:

Book recs:

The Indian Lake Trilogy (My Heart is a Chainsaw, Don't Fear the Reaper, The Angel of Indian Lake) - Stephen Graham Jones [IMO this series is THE way to learn about slashers if you're unfamiliar-- Jade Daniels is a veritable encyclopedia of slashers, and the narratives of the books themselves are wonderful and crazy and gory and just awesome.]

The Only Good Indians - Stephen Graham Jones

Out There Screaming - ed. Jordan Peele

For game recs: Dead by Daylight, Little Nightmares, Alien Isolation (don't actually play it it's terrible but go watch someone's playthrough if you're into self-flagellation and the Alien franchise), Resident Evil, Outlast, Killer Frequency, and plenty more survival-horror. Do NOT play Until Dawn, but read the Wikipedia page or something to understand how not to pay homage to slashers, because that's what that game is.

For stuff that I think relates to more typical Ordem content (aka more paranormal horror), I'd recommend Shirley Jackson, Lovecraft, and some Stephen King, although for the latter two there's a lot of disclaimers to provide and curated recommendations that you should track down.

[duckduck-buck]

Buck and Eddie sometimes piss me off because how are you so obsessed with your bestie but yeah haha it’s platonic of course no homo haha.

[tetzoro]

happy tuesday friendz & gooood morning ! i was up all night plucking little stars from the night sky to place on everyone’s head for good luck today ✩ — ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و ! i hope today is magical is for you all <3

[heartshattering]

5 AM

Just me and my overactive mind facing the nighttime again 🙃

[whimsicalcotton]

thinking about rachel&kate some more

[seventh-district]

i’m not like other girls, my “Rest” stats are a heart rate of 110bpm and a HRV of 14 fucking milliseconds. :)

[pinkopalina]

as a huge batjokes shipper i want batman and joker to hate each other in the sense they dont really hate each other, they just have really different goals and see their own version of potential in the other and right now hate is the best word for their situationship. they both love the other for what they could be but neither of them wants to be what the other one wants, and that's equally as frustrating as it is necessary for them to keep existing in their current roles. they're deadlocked and that fate surrounding each other is kind of the point -- we both have to be like this, the opposite of what the other wants, for us to keep existing at all, and for giving me that gift i both love and hate you. it's an agreement. i think the hate that's there now is born from an intense underlying love.

i think batman "hates" joker for being so amazing and smart and cunning, for being able to create grand gestures and schemes, to pull people together under his charisma and make them all believe in something, for being as extraordinary as he is but batman hates that he uses it to hurt people. he hates that joker can't channel his energy into doing something good for the world, that he hurts himself and others just because he wants to be batman's greatest enemy. i think batman wants to help joker but also hates him at this point for joker exhausting him, constantly getting hurt both emotionally and physically by him, joker never trying to improve his situation, throwing away other people's lives, showing batman he loves him by lashing out and hurting him. batman hates joker because he loves his rogues, he wants to help them, and he knows they can do better. he wants to live in a gotham that doesn't need batman but he still needs to be needed, because when there's no batman, what is bruce going to be? without joker, he will continue being batman, but it's an empty crusade. some of my favorite interactions between harvey and bruce are the ones where harvey thanks bruce for "always being there for me, never giving up on me, my very best friend." even with someone like harvey, bruce can still hold onto that hope for his rogues, never give up on them, keep going for them, even if it puts them through the cycle one more time.

i think joker hates batman in the most toxic way possible, but it's still love. i just think he's selfish and doesn't want batman to think about anyone else but him, the same way he operates for batman, but if he must think about other people then joker will make it as amazing as possible! i think he hates batman for wasting his time on ordinary people, people who are so boring that batman claims he has to protect and serve and love them but joker thinks it's all surface-level. batman won't kill joker but he'll leave room for people dying in his crusade. it's a choice he allows, and even if joker knows that's a morally fucked up way to put someone in a box, he doesn't care. batman is the type of person to train himself mentally and physically for decades and dress up in a half-silly-half-menacing costume so that everyone can have an idea about him. batman himself is not normal, and joker knows that and loves that! why is he wasting his time trying to save people that use him, abuse him, don't want him to be the best he can be? i think joker's motivations for loving batman and lashing out as if he hates him lie somewhere in between extreme admiration -- like i truly believe in your cause and that you're the right person to do it, but i'm so angry at you for wasting your time on other people and i'm so hurt and jealous that you choose them over me, just so you can be a hypocrite and let them die if i want them to anyways -- and anger at his hypocrisy -- like it's easy for joker to dedicate himself to chaos and just being in batman's life by putting batman in situations that force him to be a better and better hero, but how can batman sit there and choose and pick what morals he'll uphold and who gets to live and who gets to die?

i want to be your greatest enemy because you are the greatest hero ever, and the only way you and i can keep being the best at what we do is if we do it together, because of what we both believe in.

[dex-starr]

“Who else would ever stay?

Who else would ever stay?

Who else is going to love someone like me?

Who else is going to love someone like me that’s marked for death?

Who else is going to be with me when I breathe it all?

Who else would take your place and hold and keep me safe?”

[valeriehalla]

I am so utterly fascinated by “Saki”, the 18-year-running mahjong manga in which you, the reader, become gradually, frog-boilingly aware (over the course of nearly two decades’ worth of mahjong tournaments) that none of these girls are wearing underwear and most of their boobs are slowly expanding.

I need you to understand that I have, like, an anthropological level fascination with this comic. From the perspective of someone who is also a comic artist and writer, two things delight me about it:

the fact that I understand completely how an artist gets from “the fans can have a little hint of skirted asscheek” to “the pussy is completely out on center page” over the course of 18 years; and

the way in which the pussy being out is treated by the characters and diegesis as being utterly unremarkable.

Okay. Point 1. The frog-boiling.

Let me put this in perspective for you. There was already a meme about how the characters in “Saki” don’t wear underwear when I was in middle school. I am thirty now. Okay? And it’s still going.

In the time since, this has stopped being a joke. It is now indisputable canon. This is not because anyone outright says it at any point. It’s because the underwear ran out of places to hide. I’m obsessed with this thought: somewhere in the over 20 volumes of “Saki”, there is a panel in which underwear was objectively deconfirmed. And it would be so hard to figure out where that panel actually is. Maybe the artist didn’t even realize it when she drew it! The frog? Boiling!!

And of course there is also the breast expansion. I don’t know how to put a spin on this. They are just expanding. Like, this happens a lot with artists: you define a character as being, in your mind, “the one with the big boobs”, and over the years you emphasize that trait further and further so that the signal doesn’t get lost in the noise. It’s just that normally—in like a wildly popular manga series about mahjong published by literally Square Enix, for example—normally there would be a point at which the boobs stopped getting bigger. Like, an editor would step in or something. Or you would get to the point where you cannot draw the character in the same panel as her mahjong tiles without her breasts spilling over the tiles, and you’d go, “Well, this is now untenable.”

That did not happen. There is no ceiling. The frog is soup.

Point 2. The complete and utter mundanity of all of this.

It’s like this, okay: there’s no shortage of trashy ecchi manga out there. There’s a million other comics doing wildly bawdier things with wildly more improbable bishoujos.

The vibe with “Saki” is different.

It’s hard to explain this, but it feels like the world of the comic is fundamentally uninterested in the fanservice happening on the page. I cannot describe it as “leering”, because I cannot conceive of a person in the story from whose point of view one would leer. I think the artist is probably into it—I can’t imagine anyone is making her do this—but “Saki” the comic has no opinion on the matter.

There are essentially no male characters in “Saki”. Like, there was one guy? Kind of? At the very beginning? But he is gone now. They put him back in the toybox. He does not exist. It appears to be some level of canonical that in the world of “Saki”, almost all humans are women. Those women are sometimes romantically into each other. According to comments the artist has made on Twitter (which I cannot source), they have lesbian baby technology, so it’s no problem. It’s so much not a problem that the story is about mahjong, instead of any of that.

So, like, the fiction here appears to be this: this is the, like, meta-narrative of the fanservice of “Saki”, right: it’s just normal that they don’t wear underwear and their boobs are arbitrarily big. It’s been normal. It was normal before the story of the manga began. It’s just how things are. Nobody bats an eye about it, and if they do, it’s in sort of a lesbian kind of way so like what’s the problem, we love lesbians here. This is literally normal for girls.

The fanservice simply diffuses into this all-encompassing aura of disembodied, ambient sluttiness. The framing of the panels demands you acknowledge it, and the story demands you already be over it, because it’s mahjong time now, and we’re playing mahjong.

Do you get??? why I’m so fascinated??? Are you not a little enraptured???

Anyway, I have no idea how to end this weird post. I guess the conclusion is that women stay winning????

[headspace-hotel]

I think sometimes people think eugenics is bad but its still true, like thinking that if people with certain traits have children it will change society for better or worse based upon what traits are promoted. I think its important to emphasize that eugenics is not only wrong morally it's also fake and stupid bullshit

Like eugenics was supposed to be based on the idea that "If it works with animals to select only the best ones to breed, why wouldn't it work with humans?"

well it doesn't work with animals, that's the thing. applying the eugenics ideas to domestic breeds of animals hasn't made better animals it's just made animals with more extreme expression of certain traits. turns out that when you decide which traits are the "best" and become obsessed with the genetic purity of the animals that have the "best" traits, you might well end up with some sad suffering creature like a Pug, or the Persian cats with the smashed faces that are in constant pain because their teeth and airways and brains are getting crushed by their skulls, or those meat chickens that grow so fast they can hardly even stand up after a few weeks old, or inbred race horses with tiny feet and fragile toothpick legs

like almost all traits are neither "good" or "bad" they're way more complex than that. a long tail or a long snout or a stubborn, independent personality can be good or bad depending on the situation. Who gets to decide what is a "good" trait or a "bad" trait? It's arbitrary and selecting for traits that are "good" in your opinion will often have both "good" and "bad" outcomes because the "good" and "bad" are part of each other and not separate its just part of being alive

Obviously oversimplifying everything but you get it. we did eugenics with dogs and how did that go? not very well