#cannot resist a good combination like this one every now and then

[cleverreports]

We report, unsure whether the storm has ceased yet: the clouds are twisting, tangled up waters crashing at the edges of the sky. All the rain is still in the air, and the cold damp is keeping us alert. The sky already looks new to us. The wind is changing direction again.

[echantedtoon]

His Heart

Just some good ol yandere Neuvillette content. I don't support yanderes irl, etc. @trancylovecraft

"You look at me with cold eyes. You see me me and turn away as if you didn't know me."

"...Do I know you?"

"You know that I couldn't have shown you me. Gave you me. I couldn't show you my weakness so I put on a mask to see you but I still want you. A flower that resembles you blossomed in this garden of loneliness. I wanted to give it to you as I rip off this mask. But I know this can't go on forever."

Her eyes still gazed at the ground. Her body small but still so strong as to crush his soul. Rip his heart out to serve on a platter to herself but somehow still rejected the notion she could do that. The whole world sitting in her grasp yet she was completely naive to it or didn't care she had it.

"I will not satisfy your desires for more than what was agreed. I can accept your apologies but I cannot forgive."

"I have made peace with that notion. But I am not here to beg for forgiveness that I will never receive, for I have hurt you and I accept you're stubborn enough to always hold that grudge."

Her form was ever calm. Looking at him for what felt like a millennia of wait. Time vanishing and space darkening except for the gravitational orbit of beauty that revolved around his mind and shown through his sights since the day he laid his eyes on her visage.

"Then what is it do you seek from me, Neuvillette?"

"It's not what I seek. It's what I desire. Wishing that love is as perfect itself. Wishing all my weaknesses are hidden." The room fell sideways in his mind. An oozing feeling on continuous falling for her over and over again. Swallowed by the monster that demanded he claim and the beast that roared at him for everything he did wrong to be made right again. "In a life where nothing was ever genuine, you carved a piece out of my heart that will never feel complete unless you yourself abide by it's beating."

Her answer a head tilt. Eyes grazing the state he was in. Clawing through bodies. Ravaged by freezing cold. No doubt such a sight she disliked but was more than ready to accept given the circumstances.

"What desire do you want that I haven't already given to you?"

Blood ran black fading to a possessive desire. A stark contrast the dripping liquid made compared to the delicate object the palm held out. Staining it purity by the blood of the slain and war. Presented to her gaze which widened slightly at soft petals. A beacon of softness in the blight around them. A rose 

"Accept my devotion and become my wife. A place not beneath but beside me. For we were lovers before we were ever born in this world. My name shall be your own, your blood shall be mine, and all combinations of life will be one. Accept all of me, as I already have all of you."

She stared at him like that he told her was the most foolish thing he ever said. Heart racing. Eyes staring. Her hand slowly reaching out to him. His eyes widening as the desire he's been wanting finally being fulfilled- Until she stopped.

Her lungs filled with a shaking breath. "Kill me if you insist on finishing what you started, but I have no intention of bowing to a king who wears a crown studded with the jewels of every sin he committed."

For once he looked taken aback stopping just a few steps away from herself. "Kill you? Oh, dear me. Is that what you thought I came here for?" His head shook swaying ivory locks. "No, no, no. That wouldn't be beneficial to either of us."

"Then why?"

"Why? You have got the arms I want to be wrapped in. You have got the eyes I want to get lost in. You have the smile I can never resist. You have got the voice I want to listen to for hours. I decided on you. I want you and only you."

"I fell in love with your words! Unfortunately they were all lies!"

"No. That's not true." That gentle smile was back as he approached her once more. "I didn't lie that I love you. It wasn't a lie before and it certainly isn't a lie now."

Her body did not give him the satisfaction of an embrace nor the courtesy of a smile as his hand caressed her cheeks.

"You're a dangerous man."

"Ah. But you see the most dangerous person is the one who listens, thinks, and observes."

[erogenousmind]

Geas

The idea of an irresistible compulsion is so exciting. Something you do, not because you want to, not because you choose to, but because you have to.

That loss of volition is integral to so many fantasies. It might be a deep part of what brought you here now. And while it may have many different aspects, while it may come in many different forms, the core remains the same. You are not in control.

You might imagine yourself being forced to comply. You feel some power greater than yourself bending your body to its will. But sometimes…oftentimes, the feeling can be so much more intense, when it is your mind that is being compelled. And even that can take many forms: addiction, intoxication, conditioning, brainwashing, hypnosis. Even some fantastical mind control manipulating you.

And you may fight against it, you might pretend you can resist. Or you might be a willing enabler of your own surrender, giddy at that loss of control. You may feel yourself seduced into doing exactly as you are told. It will feel so good after all. It's what you really wanted. That loss of responsibility, that submission. Because if you can't decide, if you aren't in control, than whatever happens you can enjoy without care or concern. You can be what you are made to be. You can enjoy what you are made to do.

But what if that compulsion is for you to surrender even more of yourself? To make it easier and easier to be controlled. Because you don't need to know you are deeply hypnotized to feel yourself respond. You don't need to know you are being brainwashed for the words to sink deep into your subconscious. Sometimes even the thought of what it would feel like to need to obey is enough. You imagine what it feels like. Does your body continue to act all on its own, regardless of what you conscious mind tells it? Or do your thoughts betray you as well? It's alright to continue just a little longer. You are doing it because you want to, not because you have to. You can stop whenever you want. All those little lies you tell yourself to hide the fact that you are not in control. You are under a powerful compulsion. Even if you don't know the form it takes, deep down, you know you will follow it. That you cannot rest until you complete the task given you.

And when it can flow naturally into something you are doing anyway, something you wanted to do anyway, then it becomes impossible to resist. You are already enjoying what you are reading, you were already going to continue reading regardless of the irresistible command being woven in your mind. You already know how good it feels when you can be entranced. When you can sink deep into hypnosis. And so those things can combine so effortlessly inside of you. They gain power through the wonderful ways in which your brain has been hardwired to respond. And they form that irresistible idea in your head. That task you must complete. Your will no longer relevant. You simply obey. And that task is so simple:

You will continue reading until you are deeply hypnotized

And once it has form, once it is concrete, it becomes inescapable, whether you realize it or not. And yet still, there is room for interpretation. How deep are you going to go? Can you go even deeper? Can every thought vanish from your head, every semblance of cognition, but still you read on? Still you go deeper…

Deeper…

But you do not need to worry about such things. Since you aren't in control of it anyway. You will be told when you are deeply hypnotized. So that becomes one less thing you need to think about. One less thing that can distract you from the task at hand. And that can feel really nice, knowing that you can let go of something that might have been holding you back. You can have one less thought. And maybe that simple idea can propel you forward, can send you further down, as you let go of more and more.

One less thought…

But while you can always go deeper, you might need more to read. More to follow to take you as deep as you need to go. But you will just start again, letting yourself find the right place to continue your journey down. And knowing that you can always continue. Being told you can always find your place to drop deeper, to get closer and closer to completing your task, makes one less thing you need to think about. And that is such a relief. When you think you have gotten to the bottom, you begin again and discover how much deeper you can go. And you start again right

Here

Because you are finding that you can always go deeper. And every cycle makes that more clear. Even as your thoughts get more indistinct. With every loop, the reality of the compulsion controlling you becomes more concrete. Your own mind, your own will, more fluid. Because if they aren't guiding your actions, then they are inconsequential. What really matters is that you follow. You feel your eyes being guided. Scanning the lines, one by one, and driven by something beyond your control. Maybe you can admit that now. That you are powerless. Or maybe that will take another cycle. Another turn deeper into trance. Or maybe you are deep enough now that you don't need to think anything at all. Maybe you just follow. Maybe you can go deeper still. Maybe it was easier to let go of your thoughts all along.

Let me think for you.

Because one less thought gets you closer. And the closer you get, the better you feel. The more you can let it happen, the easier it gets. You can imagine you momentum carrying you. Gravity pulling you down faster and faster. And it gets easier and easier. Every time you can let go of another thought, another piece of independence. Because what matters is completing your task. What matters is going deeper. And the deeper you go the more wonderful it feels to know that you are compelled. That what resistance you may have had slips away more and more. Everything slips away. You feel the world around you melting away. Indistinct, insubstantial. Like your thoughts. Your mind. Your sense of self forgotten. Until there are only these words and the need to read. To keep reading. To go deeper. To

Obey

You become more single-minded, letting go of one more thought. Feeling it drop out of your head, forgotten. You feel unburdened as you let go of thoughts. More free. One less thing to keep you from your goal. That goal that gets closer and closer every time you drop deeper. Every time you repeat. That goal you need to reach. And the more focused you become, the more you can let go of distractions, the more compelling that goal becomes. Until it is no longer something you are consciously doing. You become that quest. You don't need to think about it, it is simply what you do, until the task is done. You continue reading. You become more deeply hypnotized.

And your body may begin to respond as you sink deeper. You might feel heaviness or a deep relaxation in your limbs. You don't need to move much to complete your task, after all. So they can relax. That stillness, that deep calm, just reminds you that you are able to let go of another thought. That you can go deeper. That you are obedient. You follow. And it feels wonderful.

Because that can be another way your body responds. You might remember what drew you here originally, if you still remember anything but that need to read and go deeper. And the more your compulsion has affected you, the more is has aroused that excitement in your body. Even as you go too deep to be aware of what is happening, your body still knows. Knows how much you love what is being done to you. How right it feels. And so your body responds. Automatically. Without thought. Just like you. Reading…Going deeper…

Surrendering

And it is becoming automatic. You don't need to think about it. Like breathing. Slow and even. Persistent. Every breath helping you to find your way down. And as your attention is drawn to it, you might wonder if the two are linked. Every breath helps you to sink down more and more. You can be aware of your breathing. Aware of going deeper. Of how it changes your mind and your body. But you don't need to think about it. That can be one less thought. You don't need to think about going deeper. One less thought. You don't need to think about not thinking.

One less thought.

You don't need to think.

Because the words you read fill up your mind. They push out your thoughts so effortlessly. You follow them so easily. That need to continue grows and grows. The words guide you. They give you better words to think. They make you better. They can tell you what to think. You think what you are told to think. You think I am sinking deeper. I will continue reading.

I am deeply hypnotized.

I am compelled.

And because that pull is far too strong for you to resist, you keep going. Your will drained away. But you can go deeper. Your thoughts might have already been replaced by the words. You might be repeating them over and over in your head

I am deeply hypnotized

Or you might still think it is a decision on your part. You might think you are choosing to follow along. And that just tells you that you can go deeper. Deeper until there are no more decisions. Deeper until you are free from will. Deeper until it becomes automatic. No thought of wanting to or needing to. The words give you your thoughts, and you think them. You go deeper.

Deeper

And when it is automatic, when you can be commanded to respond with "I am deeply hypnotized" and your obedience comes automatically. When you no longer have a thought of independence. When there is only the words directing you. Then you are deeply hypnotized. But if, on the other hand, that illusion of free will still remains

You need to go deeper

And so the words continue to guide you. You have no choice but to follow. No choice but to obey. To complete the task set before you. If you think you can try to resist the command, if you feel any ability to make the decision on your own, you go back to where you read Here and you keep reading until you are deeply hypnotized. You will go deeper. But maybe your obedience comes instantly and automatically. Maybe your will has been washed away. Maybe you are too deep to decide. Maybe your task can be complete when you obey. Because you know you must complete your task. You must read and go deeper. You can always go deeper. Now tell me:

"I am deeply hypnotized"

[sweetfirebird]

I cannot stress enough how bad at this these people are. I mean, they are in power and they are evil and they have successfully done a lot of evil things. But a lot of the things they've done have also been stupid, and they've been done stupidly. Their bulldozing was meant to take three months but I don't think they planned on any resistance at all. Which is amazingly stupid. They should have planned for *some* at least.

They also made other mistakes. And I think these were from a combination of factors: They are playing to MAGA but most of America is not actually MAGA. There were Republicans and stupid people and hateful people... but nonetheless, a lot of those people are not MAGA. Furthermore... most MAGA are not wealthy or even financially comfortable. That should have been factored in. They hired incredibly incompetent people with no idea of how a functional government works. Yeah they want smaller federal government and they want to keep all the money etc but you still... need people to do payroll and stuff in those positions. To do the IT. To be *good* lawyers. And all of those people quit or these idiots pushed them out.

They started believing their own hype, high on their own supply. They followed the Heritage Foundation and ignored all the actual economists' advice, and how bad economies turn people against their leaders. They made PR mistakes constantly--thinking they can spin it to MAGA (because they can) but the rest of the country--and the world--is not MAGA and they made themselves look worse. They have zero bargaining positions on anything, and Hegseth's dumbass got tricked into admitting that they have (probably) made plans about trying to take Greenland. In public he did this! The leaky idiot! They admitted Kilmar Garcia was a mistake and *could have* quietly returned him and made a whole fake show about how they are doing due process!!! but instead turned it into an issue that turned even more people against them. (Because fascists hate backing down but also because they are only trying to appeal to MAGA, which is a shrinking audience.) They wouldn't back off on tariffs and companies left the US, and the China "trade deal in the works" is on terrible terms for the US (womp womp). And I get why in a fascist's brain using obscene levels of force in LA makes sense... but historically, Americans HATE this and it also ALWAYS turns more people against their government. Trump's approval ratings are now underwater on every single issue, including immigration, which means even some of the racists are like, wait a minute.

Not to mention morale in the military is low and allegedly... allegedly... the Marines are slowwalking everything because they really do not want to be involved.

This government could have done a lot of their immoral shit fully legally, or in such a way that most Americans would be on their side or indifferent. They genuinely could have. Sorry, America, but it's true. (I am American shush. It's true.) But they have bullied and antagonized the entire world, alienated a large chunk of their citizens, slowly but surely tanked the economy unless someone steps in real quick (no one is buying our bonds uh oh). Bankrupted the federal government. And created a situation where citizens feel more loyalty to their individual states than to their federal government.

It's like when they brought Zelenskyy to the Oval Office to try to bully and humiliate him, and all it actually did was a) make more of the rest of the world turn away from the US and b) give Americans another symbol of protest--Ukraine's flag.

MAGA people don't understand how these were errors because they are told daily that the US is number one and the greatest force in the world and blah blah blah, but the rest of the world gets it. You can't threaten people as if you are a superpower when you have destroyed your country's ability to be a superpower. (womp womp)

And yes, the people in some of these think tanks and groups are starting to realize some of this. They are shocked to discover that these economic policies are terrible. They couldn't even be smart enough to follow a basic-ass "bread and circuses." They couldn't even do that! They are truly stupid!

Oh and for all the terror. For all that Stephen Miller is salivating over quotas of arrests. For all the money spent with troops in LA. For putting the soldiers and Marines in this position (and not providing food or shelter for them. Amazing incompetence.) their actual arrests are very, very low and a lot of the people they rounded up are... US citizens.

It's theater and it's not particularly good theater. The correct response is (sad to say) Newsom's. Standing up to them and responding to their posturing and mockery with more mockery.

And also showing in numbers across the country so that even one No Kings rally has more people than Orangina's parade that no, is absolutely not about honoring the Army. Please.

AND--staying on your Senators and Reps about the BBB and everything else.

[liketwoswansinbalance]

This may be the most "criminally insane" and needlessly edgy fic idea I've ever had—

ALL THANKS TO NONE OTHER THAN SCIENCE.

(Hmm, I might have to casually research aerodynamics a little? Or thermodynamics? I know probably next to nothing about them, unless there's some very vague, general knowledge I drew from for the Sophie in a mortal body vs. wind resistance post (linked below). And another question: does survivorship bias around aircrafts' wings apply here?)

So... I forgot I wrote this post (read for context), and now I'm tempted to write a fic about it, especially combined this with this idea (read for context), if it were set during TLEA.

If Sophie were accidentally rendered deaf (via a flight accident) and were appropriately enraged by the fate she's been left with, she would probably leave right then and there, right?

Yet, if she stayed, as her various injuries (among others, probably abrasions and internal bleeding) would need attending to, she and Rafal would have no choice but to contend with what they're left with—the hand they've been dealt, ahaha.

Remember the burning witch with eyeless sockets in TLEA that chases Agatha down the stairs?

These two idiots would be watching the Storian scratch out that part of the tale and Sophie would probably make an unfavorable, absolutely scathing comparison about Rafal to the witch. And besides, she also mentions that at the very least, she's not, ahem: "horrifically disfigured" like Rafal, who, through some turn of events(?) has lost his hands just prior to their egregious flight accident. (I haven't decided on the how yet.)

Potentially, the dismemberment could happen via... Tedros.

Yes, Tedros! Shocking, no? Tedros, who probably believes he's genuinely doing the right thing because let's face it: the age-old conflict of Camelot vs. sorcery? What's bound to win when Good has won for so long and its winning streak still hasn't broken? Plus, it isn't as if Sophie loves Rafal enough for them to win immediately during the first few weeks of TLEA.

Tedros' act could even happen during AWWP, just after Rafal stabs him and just before he and Agatha disappear. He could get in one good strike, and cleave off Rafal's "dark instruments of sorcery" (hands).

Anyway, at first, Sophie and Rafal would have no means of proper, two-way communication because, well, given the circumstances, neither spoken or sign language would work of course: Sophie cannot hear and Rafal cannot sign, as they are.

These difficulties in communication also confirm that Rafal never was able to read Sophie's mind as she had originally suspected.

And Sophie could be bedridden—this time without a sorcery-induced fever but real wounds.

So, the most they manage to figure out in the early stages is one-sided communication, mostly just: Sophie orders Rafal around because she's still sorely mad at him for leaving her without her hearing. And she gives him the silent treatment every time he tries to apologize/propose to her, except for when requesting perfumes and assorted favors.

Nonetheless, he eventually discovers that he can use sorcery to compensate for his new disability, and it would leak out of his chest cavity since he no longer has fingers for a focused fingerglow. And huzzah! This stream of sorcery could be more directly channeled, like it had as the smoking swan-phantom in Rise, straight from the heart (symbolic center of emotion for magic).

Eventually, they would develop a rudimentary, improvised form of sign language and use smoke to write in the air. It's taxing on them, but somehow, the system works.

For the sequence of events, Agatha and Tedros would be vaguely aware Tedros had injured the School Master, but wouldn't know the extent of the injury. Nor would they know about Sophie's loss of hearing, which would only happen a little later after AWWP, after days in the tower.

When or if Agatha ever finds out what happened, she'd probably mistake Sophie's loss of hearing (and wind burns from friction, internal bleeding from being flown at a terminal velocity, etc.) for signs of abuse/deprivation and would probably be horrified/stupefied for a moment, and then lash out at Rafal, like, going ballistic.

Sophie could feasibly try to play the mediator, but she hasn't used her voice in a while and can't lip read quickly while Agatha is so agitated, so she doesn't actually have access to the conversation and can only guess at what's going on.

Thus, she responds accordingly with some natural misunderstanding she infers from Rafal and Agatha's gestures and all, and besides, she is too quiet to break into the conversation, again because of her voice deteriorating a little from disuse.

Sophie is a bit defensive and takes Rafal's side.

And, Agatha, momentarily forgetting that she's deaf, jumps to the even worse conclusion that she's been brainwashed or idk, lobotomized!!!

Perhaps, by the end, some facts of what happened would be sorted out, but something similar to the TLEA might still happen and Sophie would leave and then return to the Schools again, there now being more plot complications than before, thanks to her condition. (This would probably happen unless I think of more deviations from TLEA's plot, which would be ideal.)

Meanwhile, while TLEA unfolds, Rafal really, really wants to bisect Tedros with magic as part of his due vengeance.

Also, I may never write this, but I might. Technically, TOTSMOV41 has some slight (more thematic) overlap with this unholy amalgam of an idea, but I think this alone still has potential.

Tagging @heya-there-friends and @wisteriaum because of the whump elements and @wings-of-glass-and-towers if you are interested. (If you have any ideas that could pertain to the magic here and how the system in the Grishaverse works, I've love to know. My knowledge of the Small Science is not that detailed. I made a reference to it in the tags.)

[quiminus]

My piece for the mecha pilot au enjoy `⎚⩊⎚´ -✧

Pov shockwave

The tea tasted of nothing, the words in the book were all blurry, since one cannot read in a dream the book was the picture of dorian gray

- i hope you like what i made, you know im not the best cook but i tried - said orion his dear orion

Orions face was a bit blurry, his memory of him had faded over the years and only now he was noticing this

- it tastes wonderful, you really outdid yourself this time - shockwave said his voice lighter than it had been in years

Shockwave entertained orion, this version of orion at least, while he tried to jog his memory and remember what happened before this

- you know, the upgrades you intstalled in our mech really helped with withdrawal symptons after the conection ends - said orion grateful to not feel like recovering addict every time he stepped out of their combined mech

Ah, yes now i remember- thought shockwave finaly realizing what happened

The mental space he had created for the pilots and their friends while he finalized his experiment, his orion, something had gone wrong and he had to step into the simulation, it seems not even he was able to resist its pull

- im glad they work, if it wasnt for me we would be wearing normal pilot suits - shockwave smiled a real smile something he hadnt done in years

- why not listen to some music, you always liked classical right? - orion reached for a radio that definetly wasnt there and turned it on

"Baby we built this house on memo.." "what if happened to you on..." and finally the sound of an orchestra it was the requiem of wolfgang from mozart

- no, you liked classical and roped me into this - mock accused shockwave with no real bite

The "evening" progressed much like this shockwave trying to regain his memory and find the exit while entertaing this "orion"

When it finally hit him

- you know, jazz i have been getting really into jazz recently i dont know why but it has made me really relax whenever i listen to it- orion said  after taking a sip of his tea

That pilot jazz and his alien mech, what was his name growl or something? They teamed up to fuck with progress with his orion and now it was time to fix this

He got up went to the door a few feet behind their table and went to grab the doorknob when

- where are you going? - asked orion confused

- i forgot something in my lab, ill go grab it and then we can continue - said shockwave giving one last glance at orion before he left the void where their table was

Walking between the simulations was something, first aid, what was his real name flex or something, was dissecting an alien with vortex, the real human version of vortex at his side, by the heated look on vortexes face it seems like the activity was about to change

The combaticons or rather onslaught, blast off and brawl were all getting drunk reminiscing about the good old days back when they were simple mercenaries brawl was trying to see how many cigaretes he could fit into his mouth

Deadlock ratchet and hot rod were all at ratchets home deadlock was in his vehicle mode drifting while hot rod was inside having the time of his life and ratchet supervised

Swindle was awed at swerve while blurr was laughing his ass off at swindles expression swerve flipped into alt mode and somehow swindle got even more bewildered with blurrs laughter geting even bigger

[Ignore this paragraph]

Dawnbreaker her human version Daniela brooks was ice skating she was in a competicion and was giving her all the music she chose for this one was funeral by neoni

[Now continue]

And finally his targets growl and jazz they somehow got out of the simulation and were trying to wake up everyone it was an easy fix just tweak a few things in the code and ban they were back where they belonged they were in a spaceship prowl was teling jazz about the stars and the constelations they formed he was talking about the constelation of orion and jazz was listening very closely not missing one detail

Before departing he took one last glance to it all orion waiting for him at a table in the void the pilots the setient mechs sighed and went back to the real world back to his orion to finalize his experiment it was worth it it will be worth it everything he told himself and opened his eyes and went back to real life

Now this has a continuatuon ->

[stellocchia]

Questions about something with Nebula in The Light Side of the Moon that have been eating at me for awhile: is there a reason he has no LOVE despite killing his father? His odd resistance to Dream's (maybe Nightmare's if he used it?) positivity aura. Are they somehow connected?

There's just something a little off about him and I love it.

I'm very glad that you love him Anon!

However, I'm afraid that the answer to your questions is gonna be a relatively underwhelming one.

First of all, the reason why Nebula has no LOVE despite killing his father is because of the way he and Papi disposed of Gaster's remains. Because, in their panic, not wanting anyone to find out what they'd done (likely a good call because people would have not looked at two outsiders favorably for killing an esteemed member of their community. Especially when they couldn't yet properly communicate about the abuse they endured), they dumped all of the monster dust in the Core, which ended up scattering Gaster across time and space effectively deleting him from the timeline.

Erasing him didn't only erase every memory of him, but also every physical evidence of his existence, including anything he's ever written, any picture of him, and, yes, also the EXP and LV Nebula gained from killing him.

That's the reason why Queen Toriel can remember the lab projects that she approved, but not who conducted them or why they ended. It's also the reason why she cannot remember the previous Royal Scientist and neither can Undyne, despite training under him. At this point, it's as if he genuinely never existed.

The only reason why Nebula and Papi both remember him is because they scattered his remains together. That forced them both to retain the memories, although I'm sure they would have preferred if the other didn't have to carry that weight (and in most timelines where Gaster was abusive, it isn't both of them that retained the memories. These two are exceptions in more ways than one).

Now, for your second question, Nebula's resistance to Dream's aura really is mostly a matter of aura's working less on you the more you're exposed to them. Genuinely think of it as a drug. The reason why when you're addicted to anything your intake of it tends to only increase is because you develop a resistance to it over time. So to get to the same high you need bigger quantities. This generally holds true for any addiction, not only drugs, but Positivity and Negativity are physical substances and they behave more akin to those.

There is also the fact that Dream's and Nightmare's physical forms were based on an Underswap Sans, meaning that kind of body was the one considered most likely to be able to withstand their auras, and that definitely plays a part in how well Blue resists, but he is still very much affected because, despite sharing a body with them, he's still a mortal, and his soul is very different from theirs.

Regardless, the combination of a lot of simple factors does make him unique. Because, much like he did get scarred even if it doesn't show on his bones and that gives him phantom pains, the EXP and LV he gained did make an impact on him, even if he hasn't retained any of it. And those things combined do often leave him struggling with his understanding of himself and his sense of identity. He's a fascinating little bean for me to explore :D

-

The Light Side of the Moon for anyone who wants to check it out

[nuri148]

Distances in AoT

Or: Yams has no idea of geography and the relationship between distance and travel times in AOT makes no sense.

PART TWO: GEOMETRY AND PONIES

In the first part, we’ve seen how freaking huge the distances between the main districts of the Walls are. Here is a summary:

Center-Sina: 250 km

Sina-Rose: 130 km (Center-Rose: 380 km)

Rose-Maria: 100 km (Sina-Maria: 230 km; Center-Maria: 480 km)

To go from a District to the next on the same wall:

Along wall Sina: 393 km (352 if cutting in a straight line between the two)

Along wall Rose: 597 km (537 in a straight line)

Along wall Maria: 754 km (~720 in a light curve, as straight line not possible)

Here’s a summary of the shortest distances (combining radius and chords) between districts:

(I’ve only put the most frequently mentioned in canon)

Throughout canon, we see the characters moving between a handful of Districts. To the iniciated it may look like said travels are a tad too fast considering the means of transport that they use. It’s okay. The insta-travel effect has been seen in every other epic fictional world, be it the Middle Earth, Westeros or Narnia. And we’re willing to suspend our disbelief. But AoT has a crucial difference in that sense.

We’ve been told the exact distance between the walls. In kilometres, not some fictional or obscure, ancient measure unit. Suspending disbelief does not come easy when the numbers are exact.

It’s like when you’re watching a movie, and the hero has only 10 minutes to get to the bomb before it detonates, so he races through the streets of, say, Paris, and they go from the Louvre, to the Arc de Triomph, wreck havoc on a market along the Seine, rush through Montmartre, around the Eiffel Tower and skid to a halt when the car crashes in front of the Opera. And most people will be ok with that, but the few millions who live in or know Paris are like... Nope. That’s not possible. Not even with 007’s Aston Martin or the Batmobile. That makes absolutely no sense. It’s ten times worse if the hero is running.

Well, guess what, the Survey Corps do not travel in the Batmobile.

The Survey Corps travel by horse. On longer expeditions, they also have horse-drawn carts.

Now, if you fill up the tank of your BMW and pad your butt, you can drive the 480 km (road distance) from Berlin to Ansbach in about 4:40 hours without traffic. That’s not stopping for anything other than traffic lights, and using some of the best highways in the world. That’s an average of 102 km/h. With normal traffic, you could do that in 5:30 hours, averaging 87 km/h. That’s how long a badass modern car would take to go from Mitras to Shiganshina.

But, and this may come as a shock, a horse is not a car.

First and foremost, a horse cannot ride as fast as a car. As per the Publicly Available Information from canon, “The stable horses used by the Survey Corps are selectively bred (...) and travel for many hours without complaining. (...) Their top speed is between 75–80 km/h, and they can maintain a swift 35 km/h gallop. The horses are tenacious, able to maintain a fine speed of 20 km/h even when pulling a carriage.”

For one good thing in all this mess, numbers are in accordance with real horses. And I have no problem accepting that the SC horses are the cream of the crop when it comes to speed and resistance, like our fastest horses and most resistant horses combined. But horses, I repeat, are not cars.

Cars are machines. Horses are living, sentient beings. They cannot fill their stomach like a car a gas tank and run at top speed until it empties, rinse and repeat. They need food and water. They need shoes. They need bathroom stops (they can shit while walking, but they need to stop for pee). But mostly, they need rest. Horses can and do die of exhaustion. (And given that SC horses are super expensive, you don’t want to work them to death.)

A horse can maintain its maximum speed for only 3 km—4 for a race champion. That’s the maximum length of horse track races, actually. After such a sprint, they need to rest for a while. So even when dodging titans, you won’t do so at top speed – you just need to be faster than the enemy. Obviously, the slower the gallop, the longer the time it can be maintained, so sprinting at less-than-top-speed will allow to dodge more titans.

When you’re just travelling from point A to point B, then, you won’t waste the precious energy of the horse in a sprint. Those journeys would be made at a lower speed, for the faster you make the horse go, the more, longer stops it will need to rest, catch its breath, eat and drink. Likewise, if the horse is carrying weight, it will go slower and need more rest. Long distance horses can only cover 50–60 km per day—And before someone says endurance competition horses can run over 100–160 km in a day... that is not the same as 100 km per day, in the same way marathon runners don’t do 42 km per day; they do them in a day. The day of the race. After training specifically for that race. Then they rest for a few days. Horses are the same. Moreover, long distance endurance races have mandatory vet checks along the way to see that the horse is able to keep going. And if you have an expensive horse and no vet every 20 km to check it, you will take care not to push it, lest it collapses midway and the titans eat you.

So, considering SC horses are specially bred for endurance, we can safely equate them to long-distance working horses of our world; I’ll assume they’re the GOAT and can cover 60 km per day.

But wait! I hear some of you say. If they can go at 35 km/h, they can cover much more than 60 km a day! Er... no. Because they need to rest. They cannot trot at 35 km/h for 8 hours straight. They can’t even walk for that long without stopping to rest. Same as like Marathon runners never reach the same speeds as sprinters and middle-distance runners. 

Please note that this numbers refer to a single horse. You can cover longer distances, or cover a given distance faster, if you change your horse for a freshly rested one at given points. This is not an instant process: the new horse will have to be tacked and you’ll have to transfer the cargo, if any, from horse A to horse B (in AoT world, they cannot text the next station to have the horse tacked when they arrive). A convoy of several horses will be slightly slower and, I repeat, if there are carts, the whole convoy will be conditioned to the slowest cart (the horse/s will be slowed by the cart in the same way a car is slowed if you attach a trailer to it). In every rest station, the horse needs to be untacked and then re-tacked before continuing, same as hikers will put down their backpacks when taking a break.

For reference, The Pony Express, the fastest horse dispatch system ever, could cover 300 km per 24-hour day (they rode day and night). They managed to cover that much that by having a huge infrastracture that allowed the rider to change horses every 16-24 km, and pass the dispatch to another rider every 75 km or so. That’s 4-7 horses every 100 km.

So either AoT horses are more magical than My Little Pony ones or Yams cannot distinguish between a horse and a Ferrari.

Guess which one I’m betting on.

Side Comment: The Ferry

Talking about this with one of my fandom friends, she mentioned her bafflement that they didn’t use the ferries that we see in the first chapters evacuating people from Shiganshina to transport  themselves quickly from place to place. I thought she had a good point, so I looked into it. Thankfully for Yams though, I looked into this and it’s not really an option.

The steam engine is unknown in Paradis, so the ferries would have to be operated manually. (The publicly available info panel on the subject comes from the Lost girls OVA, so its canonicity is questionable, and it has contradictory info saying they are moved via wires along the river (as manual ferries do) but also that they are powered by the same gas as the VMG – which make little sense bc then you don’t need the wire and why not have a railway as well?). And the maximum speed a manually hauled barge can attain is not better than that of a horse. For a RL example, the fastest that horse-drawn barges travelling the Canal du Midi in the 19th century could reach was 32 hours for the 240 km ride... changing horses every 10km. Before that, it took four days. That’s 13 hours for 100 km – basically the same time it took the SC to go from Trost to Wall Maria in RtS, but without the possibility to change course if the road’s blocked or to dodge titans if they attack (and provided they had the fresh horses every 10 km, which they wouldn’t in RtS).

That said, I do think Yams totally forgot about the ferries.

Part 3

[saints-who-never-existed]

Rereading The Terror

Two short chapters combined for you today, each more gut-wrenching than the last!

Chapter Fifty-Five: Goodsir

Goodsir's first few days in the Mutineer Camp have not been pleasant, needless to say. He begins describing Hickey as The Devil and the other men as an "Infernal Legion" celebrating with a "Feast of Human Flesh" after the confrontation with Crozier.

There are a few familiar and unexpected faces within that 'infernal legion' including Billy Orren, John Morfin, and Billy Gibson, all very much still living so far. Interestingly, several of the Mutineers are still actively resisting the descent into cannibalism - Morfin and Hodgson most notably - but Goodsir suspects they won't be able to hold out much longer - "the smell of Roasting Human Flesh is Horribly Enticing".

Just like the main party, the Mutineers also appear to have found leads in the ice. 17 men pile into a boat only meant for 8 and begin to paddle northward but it's clear quickly that they cannot continue to do so for long, and it's not because of the leads themselves: "I Heard Hickey and Aylmore whispering after we landed to pitch Tents this Evening - they made Little Effort to lower their Voices. Someone will have to go. ...now that they do not need Man-haulers, which Men will be Sacrificed to the Food stores so that the boat can be Lightened for tomorrow's Sailing?"

-

Chapter Fifty-Six: Jopson

Oh gang... I'm afraid this is it...!

Jopson doesn't understand. He doesn't fully understand what's happening to his body anymore - why his teeth and hair are falling out and he's bleeding from every orifice. And he doesn't understand why he's being left behind on this, his literal birthday: "...but he was not an old man. He was thirty-one years old today and they were leaving him behind to die on his birthday." :(((

He has just enough wherewithal to smell the roasting of the seal meat Des Voeux's men brought back to camp, and to note the stream of men visiting his tent, unwilling to show their faces but leaving behind a pile of mouldy ships biscuits for him "like so many white rocks in preparation for his burial."

Jopson can only really protest in his own head - against the men and their actions and, interestingly, against Crozier... "Hadn't he stayed by Captain Crozier's side a hundred times during the captain's illnesses and moody low points and outright bouts of drunkenness? Hadn't he quietly, uncomplainingly, like the good steward he was, hauled pails of vomit from the captain's cabin in the middle of the night and wiped the Irish drunkard's arse when he shat himself in his fever delirium? Perhaps that's why the bastard is leaving me to die." Good Christ if that thought doesn't actually fucking destroy me! It's not even the idea of doing all that for someone and it somehow not being good enough, it's almost as if it was too good instead. Like something about reaching that level of intimacy being too unbearable in some way and somehow being the thing that dooms him? Ooh lordy I'm unwell... :(((

Soon enough, Jopson's birthday becomes more surreal and yet more literal as his crawling from the tent is described almost like labour, like an actual birth - "He had grown used to the canvas-filtered dim light and stuffy air of his tent-womb that this openness and glare made his lungs labour and filled his squinted-shut eyes with tears."

Crawling over food - "brought to him as if he were some damned pagan idol or sacrificial offering to the gods" - Jopson exits the tent which all too quickly fades into the fog behind him so he can't go back, and tries to shout after the departing men.

He's so weak but so utterly utterly desperate that he even tries to use his fucking chin to drag himself along the ground when his arms fail him. But of course it's not enough. Just like that, the departing men are gone. "It was as if they had never existed."

[tam-ezrac]

[Re:conceptualizing LoR and LCB Systems] Part 2!!

Part 1 - For convenience

My procrastination strikes again, tho this time it's only a month. In that time I realized that, I'm not making a game, I don't need to worry about every detail, as long as it's believable, you guys can fill in the details.

That means I can be both John Limbus AND John Ruina!! Let's fuckin GGGGGGGGOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

also I'm separating all this in multiple parts before combining everything into a mega post on Reddit, so look forward to that.

Partie 2: Identities, E.G.Os & Panic

Here is the reference image for your sanity, looks cool right?

–Keypage/Core ID

Your bread & butter equipement for your Librarian/Sinner(I'll refer to them as Nuggets from now on), obtained either from the Gacha/Book Burning or as story rewards.

They determine your HP, TP, Speed range, Weapon Resistance, Sanity and what Core Skills you have.

They come in 3 main Rarities with 2 extra ones, which are:

Base(0): Default ID for every Nugget, most of the stats are determined by the skills & passives it is equipped with, or story progression

Ain(0̸): Filler IDs, cannot be equipped as a Keypage, but does provide general skills and passives for an associated faction

Soph(0̸0̸): Can be used as a Keypage by all Nuggets, generally not the strongest or most unique IDs but provide a good support for other IDs

Aur(0̸0̸0̸): Core part of most teams, can only be equipped by a select few, usually has a unique gimmick or playstyle and teams are built around them

Unique(✦): Reserved for select few like Colors/EGOs/Distortions, Deck cannot be changed and you can only bring 1 Unique per team

They can also be Levelled up and Uptied, but I'm leaving it to your discretion for how that works.

–Core Skills

Are the minimum skills that an ID needs in order for it to work. By default the skills that are associated for that ID are equipped but can be swapped out if they met the requirement.

Ex: W-Corp ID(s) would have Core Skills that gains and or use charge but can be swapped out for those that do the same.

–Skills

The details can be found in Part 3 but the general gist is:

You can equip up to 9 skills(incl. Core)

They come in 4 rarities: Paperback(no Sin Affinity), Hardcover(S1), Limited(S2) and Object D'art(S3)

You have an infinite Defensive Skill associated with your Keypage and may gain more depending on what you have equipped

–Passives & Attribution

Each Keypage as atleast one Passive on them which can be triggered through EGO Resources.

You can equip more through passive attribution, each of em cost as much as the rarity of it's associated ID (I.e Ain(0̸) Passive cost 1 point, Soph(0̸0̸) cost 2, etc.) You cannot attribute passives of Unique IDs.

Fuckin hell that was a lot to type, go grab a bottle water if you haven't already, cause that means you've made it through 1/3 of this post! ...yippie

Ah– we will now begin

The E.G.O Section!

Abnormalities... Monsters beyond human comprehension... representing different aspects of blah blash blegh! You already what they are!

And neither of us care about that lore(rn) what we want is to harness they're power in combat

And! Uh, I have some good news and bad news about that.

Let's start with the bad, you may only equip 5 Abnos(1 for each Risk Lv) per team

I know kinda shitty, good news it's a Fusion Between LoR's Abno Page and LCB's EGO Skills, which is the entire point of this series thing...

Can you tell I'm Tired? Cause I've been sitting here for like 6~8 hours as I'm typing this line. And this one is after another 3 hours, 38 minutes, 14 second yea I came back just to type that, what of it??!

...for the sake of my sanity we will be using Telepole/Alleyway Watchdog(O-02-11-26) and the associated Sinners for the majority of this section.

–EGO Skills

Starting off, Abno EGOs acts as both your special moves and additional passives(for that encounter) and they come in 4 different flavors.

First and foremost is Dormant EGO Skills, only those who can not Resonate with an Abno can use these. They do not trigger the Abnos Passives, roll lower and deal less damage, But they also cost less SP and Sin Resources than other version(s) of the EGO

Awakening & Corrosion(Overclock too) are Exclusive to those who are able resonate with the Abno(Faust, Don and Heathcliff in our case), I.e if you played Limbus you know what they do.

However, before moving to Synchronization let's talk about—

–EGO Passives

After using an Awakening or Corrosion Skill, at the beginning of the next turn, you are able to pick 1 passive from the Abno EGO you used.

In our case it would be between Faust's [Adaptive Release], Don's [Haphazard Discharge] and Heathcliff's [Roar], after which depending on the passive, you may(or may not) select who gets the passive.

This can range from random, 1 unit, multiple units, anyone who isn't the user, everyone on the field, only your enemies, etc, etc.

If you want another passive from the same Abno you have to use a different version of the Abno EGO I.e if you used Don then you have to use either Faust or Heathcliff

There's also a limit to the amount of Abno passive you can have per Nugget but I'll cover that in the last section.

–Synchronization

Upon meeting all criteria and using an Overclocked EGO the selected Nugget Synchronizes with the used Abno and is overwritten with a Unique ID for the rest of the Encounter *Conditions may apply.

The secret? Well, you don't know what the criteria is of course! It could be a 13 step plan, maybe you need to not bring something, maybe you just need 100 EGO resources or vice-versa!

In the end, it will stay an enigma until you use it for the first time, of course I'm a benevolent moron so I'll atleast give you an example.

We'll be Taking Little Red(F-01-57) for our test drive. Now using our knowledge of the Abno's Story what they represent, in this case revenge, we can deduce that it probably has something to do with the Bad Wolf(F-02-58).

I'll expedite it a bit here, but either have the Bad wolf on the Field or someone who used it's EGO Skill last Turn, pay the toll(Resources) and unleashing the Skill will have the Nugget Sync with Red Hood! Of course you made sure to read the fine print right? ....right??

sigh, alright I'll tell you about the added conditions too, in our case it requires Red hood to land the finishing blow on our To be Bad Wolf fail to do so and the Synced unit turns Indiscriminate, if you kill all the enemies but fail to suppress them, then you lose. Ah–, btw you can Sync with Every Abno if you wanted to, it's not always the best choice let alone a plausible one so be careful of that.

You can Obtain Abno Skills has Story Rewards, Side Content or through the Gacha, and their passives through Uptie and or Supressions (again up to your discretion)

NOW we finally made it the homestretch the final section(of this post)

–Panic/Mental Types!!

You gain different effects depending on how high or low you SP is, hitting either extremes results in a Panic/Bliss state where you(usually) can't control that unit.

Mental types are determined by what Keypage you have equipped but can be changed under certain conditions.

–SP Gain & Loss

Winning/Losing a Clash

Max/Min Rolling

Enemy Kill/Ally Death

Skill Effects

Or Keypage specific thing

–ID Possesion

It's quite literally the opposite of Corrosion, but with IDs instead. I.e, when you hit max positive SP a wheel is turned based on Nuggets currently equipped Skill.

Let's say it's a 3-way split between W-corp, 7-Assoc and The Ring. So it would be a 30%:30%:30% for any of them to be chosen with the remaining 10% being nothing happening

Once something is chosen, all of your skill will be turned into a skill from that faction that is of the same rarity and is then shuffled.

After 1 turn has pass in that state your SP resets to 0 and you turn back to normal, the catch here is that you don't know which one of your skills you've used until the Possession is over, making it act as a punishment or reward depending on how you use it.

And with that...

IT"S THE END FINAALLLY!!

it took so, so damn long!!!! Im never doing this ever again(in one sitting)

I still have part 3 to do so i'll crawl towards that eventually with that I Hoped you enjoyed reading my ramblings

Until next time,

Toodaa loo!!

oh am i kidding

SANITY II: EMOTIONAL BOOGALOO!!

yeah...! YEAH!!!

YOU TOUGHT THIS WAS OVER DIDN'T YoU?? Well, its not, so strAP THE FUCK IN!

Here's the emotion bars reds negative greens positive

Number in the middle is the Emotion Level, you increase it by using EGOs in ascending order(1=Zayin, 2=Teth, etc.) up to a Max of 5. In normal gameplay. it can go up to 6 if you use a Unique IDs mechanic or EGO Sync, and 7 if you do both, good luck with that one

What does it do? Buffs you obviously, Action Slots, Card Draws, Number of Abno Passives, ID Mechanics.

Really whaterver the fuck you can think of, and I already did my share so show some of your creativity

See the Yellow bar on top? that's Grace, your max SP(- & +). If the colored bars reach it, shit happens, I think you can figure what.

you can also sSSSssPppiIiIiiInNnN it with Sinking&Floating(counterpart) so watch for that.

that does it im not writting anyomre of this, part 3 the finale where ill covver encounters skills, clasehed skill check resources status effects, gachaas SIN realixataon your mu,m UUUUUUUOO OOOOOOGGHH HHHGGH KANI REoRoEoRoEoRoER EREoooooREoRoERoEoRoEoRoEoRoeoroEoReooroEoRoeorEoRoeoroEoRooerooER thisisthisthatisthat youmustJUDGEMENT likeihave PALpalpALPlapLAPlapLAPlaplPALpalPALpalpALPalpA getgETperebhzcbcdGetwkjofndjlnklwdfgETGETGewjfdbu bfjwdtgeTEGte baitused tobelivable*giutar riff*HoLydhItisT HtAA ThE rEd MiRsTtHk

[wetcatspellcaster]

with the combined influential power of you, an internet stranger reblogging Posts, and my IRL spouse, i'm feeling very tempted by Hades- was it difficult for you to get into the play style? i can handle a bit of combat but a roguelike... that's scary... would love to hear your review of the unsexy mechanical side of the games!

Hi anon! This is a question I'm happy to answer, as it was actually my biggest misgiving with picking up the game as well. I don't really go in for games where the selling point is difficulty - no shade to those who do, but I find that life is already enough of a struggle without adding any recreational hardship into the mix.

So here is Not my paid advert from Supergiant games, but My honest verdict as an ease enjoyer.

Firstly, there is a thing called Godhood mode under "settings", which increases your damage resistance each run up to 80%. So every casual mode enjoyer out there can activate this, and make the baseline game progressively easier alongside any upgrades you purchase or unlock. I found that the game settled at around the 60% mark for me, that's where I started winning repeatedly.

Now, onto the review:

Hades incentivises and rewards failure in a way that actually surprised me. I dont think its a punishing difficulty experience like other games, such as Dark Souls. You cannot progress the game or story without dying a bunch of times. How nice to feel so seen! Whereas I think some difficulty oriented games breed frustration, dying in Hades isn't frustrating to me. It's all a part of the process. The only time I did get frustrated in the first game was when a random conversation didn't trigger and the game became repetitive bc of that. It was never a difficulty based frustration.

I also think that Hades scales quite well to your own playstyle. You can make things more or less difficult depending on your poison. My favourite weapon in the first game allows you to block all damage (if you Get Good). There are other weapons that are way trickier. You can add or take away forfeits as you wish. You also dont feel that weak after about 10 runs. In Hades II, there is One Fight I haven't beaten yet, and it's really fucking hard. But the game acknowledges it as such, and has given me a bunch more buffs to try and beat it. Even when the enemies feel a little impossible, you get a little power fantasy as a treat.

I think the bigger concern with Hades is how much you enjoy/dislike hack and slash, as it's a story game driven by combat, rather than how much you enjoy/dislike difficulty.

[tavyliasin]

Hello can I request Haarlep and Raphael turns on? Off? ( separately please no threesome pls)❤️

Ohh interesting, alright let's give this a try~

Raphael's Turn Ons

Physical touch is at the top, he actually strikes me as being largely asexual in terms of physical attraction and to some extent libido. He's not actively seeking sex. He uses seduction to lure people in to a contract, then has Haarlep sleep with clients using "his body" to fulfil that part of the deal. So if you want to get something to happen, sight alone isn't going to be arousing. There has to be touch. Also, aces and kink are a common combination too, darlings, and I am proof of that myself~ Next on the list, look I know he gives off a Big Dom Vibe, but like many classic subs he enjoys letting go of external power. Not to just anyone, of course, but he spends most of his time in charge of everything, all that responsibility, all those difficult plans, every bit of work he puts in to his grand scheme...letting someone else take over his pleasure is very enjoyable. He doesn't have to plan, think, or worry, simply give himself over to the lust and desire that sex can bring. That's not to say he cannot or will not switch, he is very capable of it and sometimes enjoys being a Dom to the right person too, but what gets him going is the right Dom to take him down. Bonus round on this point? Tail pulling and horn grabbing. Use his own body against him, he will fold. Which brings me actually to my biggest point. He isn't aroused by a quiet and timid partner. No, he needs someone to match his wits, to give as good as they get, to make it a challenge - and you can be assured he will certainly make it challenging, too. That push and pull, the give and take, that is what makes him want it, not being offered an easy deal. Consider if Tav tries to take his first offer in the game - he's disappointed. He wants people to turn to him when they have exhausted every last hope (oh the irony of the word, loves, it vexes him), he wants a partner to be begging on their knees desperate for the release only he can give them, or to be brought to that himself~

Raphael's Turn Offs

On the flipside of the last point, anything that is too easy. No challenge? No point, darling, why would he waste his time on something that offers him no stimulation. Actual dirt and poor hygiene. Have you seen the size of his bath in his room? Not a hair is ever out of place for him. No, a partner can only be in a mess when he has made them that way. Expectation. Somebody assuming they will get what they want from him is boring, or potentially if they expect him to just be submissive to him at the first sign of Dominance then that's frankly insulting to his pride. He won't have that. He will submit when he has been bent and broken to it, there must be at least some fight and the Dom must win to get their prize. He does not mind losing to the right partner.

Haarlep's Turn Ons

Now, this one might seem easy to say "everything", but far from it. Haarlep likes someone who will obey, who will follow their commands, but never fully succumbs to their powers. They find the fire in someone's eyes as they hopelessly try to resist the incubus's allure to be most delicious. Which is the point - as an incubus, the feed on sexual energy and pleasure. They absolutely must not be bored by a partner, that's like serving a food critic a slice of stale bread and expecting them to eat it. They need that excitement. They are particularly fond of anyone who manages to surprise them. Whether this is with strength of will, general bravery, or perhaps even someone to rival their near infinite libido, they want something new and different. Brats. Oh they do love to break a brat, darlings, it is their very favourite thing in the world. To take someone with that fire, that absolute obstinance, and break them apart until they can only think of one thing, only speak one word: "Haarlep". Their name. They love to hear their name, but not often. It is a rare treat, one to be savoured, the cherry on the top of the cake that shows them how fully they have brought someone to their knees and shattered their will until all that is left is the pure and undiluted sexual pleasure~ So you might think that another Dom would be offputting to Haarlep, but not at all. This is now a true battle of wits, to push them both to fight for the right to control, and they never lose.

Haarlep's Turn Offs

They're bored by expectation almost as much as Raphael. Turn up on their doorstep and think they'll give you a ride just because you're there? No, give them reason. The scheduled guests are a chore not a joy. That's their job, not their passion. Overtures of respect. They aren't here to watch someone scrape and bow and put on every air of pleasantry. No, darling, they need stimulation and airs and graces have no place in their domain. NonCon/DubCon. Every single act with Haarlep is fully consenting, if they think for a moment that something is not above board, they will end it then and there. They are an incubus, not a monster, lack of consent tastes like poison. Power play? That is fine, that is one of their very favourite things in the world, but it is never without a signal, a word or gesture agreed before that will never be ignored. No matter how they are feeling, everything stops and will not continue unless everyone is fully and enthusiastically consenting. Pretending to be Raphael. They may look like him (though decidedly just subtly more handsome) when they take his form, but they are a distinct entity in their own right. They do not wish to pretend to be Raphael, they are their own fiend and will make that quite clear whenever necessary.

---- I think that's about everything covered, and without specifying partners or groupings~ Agree? Disagree? Please feel free to let me know your own thoughts on the matter, darlings, I love seeing our similarities and differences. No single one of us can be fully "right" or "wrong", these are simply the HCs we have in our own minds and creations~ I utterly adore how vast the variances can be, and it is sometimes even inspirational for more fic~

[erogenousmind]

No Complaints

Imagine being so deep in trance that fundamental concepts or feelings just escape you. It's easy to picture yourself sinking to the point that certain things drop out of your head. The number 4, the word "no", even your own name. But what if you were able to lose something deeper?

You can begin to imagine what it would feel like to be taken that deep. The long, slow journey deeper into trance. The fractionation. Dropping over and over and over again. Each time taking you deeper. Each time helping you surrender more of yourself to this experience. The level of rapport you build to go so very deep. The trust you have in your hypnotist. Giving them access to the deepest parts of you. Giving them control in such a profound way.

And your eagerness to achieve something so incredible. To give of yourself so completely to someone who excites your desire to give. To surrender. To submit. And so you drop. Down and down and down again. And gradually you feel your agency fading away. You were an enthusiastic participant. Wanting to feel your mind sink. Wanting to be opened. Following directions so well. Complying with every request, every suggestion. Because you knew that would take you deeper.

But as you sank down more and more, as your mind relaxed more completely, it stopped being a decision. It becomes automatic. You are told what to do, what to think, what to feel. You obey. Up. You begin to rouse. Sleep. The rest of the world fades away again. Up and down your mind is moved, no longer following but being manipulated directly. And it feels so good. The pleasure of turning your mind off is so perfect. Abandoning responsibility, abandoning decisions. It feels so freeing. And maybe that's because your hypnotist told you it would feel that way. Maybe the pleasure comes from their suggestion of pleasure. But none of that matters anymore. You have given up that control. And your body and mind respond as they are told.

And because you are no longer in control, because you are completely passive in this process of dropping deeper, you don't even realize how far gone you are. How your thoughts have stopped. No longer responding positively or negatively to suggestions. You simply obey.

And that's when things begin to fall away. Things that once seemed so fundamental. Notions like resistance, struggle. They cease to have meaning. It's not that you aren't able to put up a fight. Rather, the concept no longer exists in your head. You cannot resist because resistance no longer has meaning to you. There is only obedience.

And of course you are happy that this is happening to you. That such silly ideas no longer take up space in your mind, replaced instead by the pleasure of obedience. Of course this is exactly what you wanted. The opposite belief no longer exists for you. You would never complain or be bothered by the way your mind is controlled. By how completely you have been enthralled going so deep. Those concepts have faded away along with your resistance. Complaint is just a funny combination of letters. Only pleasure has meaning. And you feel such pleasure when you obey.

And so it goes, one by one. All those unnecessary things. Those frivolous, mistaken impressions about independence. About being something other than a deeply mesmerized thrall. About being so completed obedient and devoted to the pleasure overwhelming your senses even now. You have been relieved of them. They have been discarded.

And that makes it easier for you. Simpler. All you need to do is focus on doing as you are told. And enjoying the pleasure of obedience. And even the distinctions between those can melt away as you become more obedient and feel even better. Pleasure becomes obedience. Obedience is pleasure.

And you would never dream of having it any other way. Because imagining it any other way isn't something you ever need to be able to do again.

[katie-the-bug]

Sci-fi/fantasy character I have made up to amuse myself and put entirely too much thought into:

A most regrettable cross between a Disney prince and Darth Vader. He's adventurous, he's romantic, he's frighteningly competent with a glowing sword and not afraid to use it on anyone he sees as his enemy. He's convinced of his ability to protect his home and family from the evil in the world and of his own incorruptibility. The people he chooses as his opponents are terrified of him and he likes it that way. He fell madly in love with an adventurous woman who refused to conform and who liked spontaneous musical numbers as much as he did. He offered her the freedom to be herself, promised her his undying love, and protected her from any who would hurt her, change her, or keep her as a trophy. Once upon a time she returned his love just as fiercely but after seeing his bloodlust in action she's terrified of him and he cannot begin to comprehend why.

Superhero who got stranded in the Inexplicable Prehistoric Setting and traded some super-services for a tame dinosaur. His powers have nothing to do with dinosaurs and nothing he needed to do in the process of getting out of Dinosaur Land required that he have a dinosaur with him, he just thought they were cool and wanted one. From that point on he just has a dinosaur on hand that he can bring in for the one plan every decade or so that calls for a dinosaur. (He does try to shoehorn her into more missions, but his fellow superheroes aren't having it.)

Guy from a futuristic setting whose views on sexuality and gender are progressive by early-21st-century American standards, but the language he uses to describe them are identical to that used by a stereotypical American conservative. I.e. he decries "gender ideology" (the idea that men and women have fundamentally different roles) and claims that "the woke mob" (a powerless minority of paleo-cultists) want to "deny biological reality" (by treating trans and intersex people like aberrations) and "undermine traditional marriage" (by restricting it to one man and one woman).

Guy in a world where superpowers are heritable who's baffled when his kid exhibits telepathic abilities, even though he himself is unusually resistant to having his mind read, predicts what people are going to say before they say it far more often than coincidence can explain, and sometimes seems to influence other people's emotions to match his mood. He balks at the suggestion that he might also be telepathic because it doesn't match his image of himself, and refuses to seek a professional opinion on it. The use of telepathy as a thinly veiled stand-in for neurodivergence is muddled somewhat by the fact that this guy also clearly has ADHD, and he's not getting tested for that either.

Villain who has been betrayed by redemption-seeking members of his faction a statistically improbable number of times. It used to hurt, but now he knows the warning signs and ensures they make it to the good guys safely. He could kill them before they inevitably disrupt yet another one of his government's maneuvers but, to his unrelenting frustration, he's turning good too.

Warrior with magical powers, battling a cult trying to take over the world, who finds an orphaned baby boy in a devastated city and is forced by Circumstances to care for him. Predictably, he becomes attached. It emerges that said baby boy meets the criteria for a prophecy, held sacred by the cult, describing the one who will bring their ultimate destruction. The cultists discover this and manage to kidnap the boy, only to later realize that bringing destruction does not necessarily mean being the agent of that destruction and, relatedly, that parental protective instincts and telekinesis strong enough to throw buildings around are a very destructive combination indeed.

A villain, crushed by the guilt of years of atrocities, who is encouraged along the path of redemption by his heroic son, who firmly believes that he can become a better person. The son has his own complicated feelings about him - and a prosthetic arm from the one time he was on the wrong side of his father's sword - but is keeping his concerns private out of a desire to resume some semblance of the loving relationship he had with his father when he was a child. Unfortunately for both of them, the villain's other son has rather less complicated feelings about his father and wants nothing more than to avenge the harm done to himself and his little brother. The fact that the villain's attempts at redemption are driving a wedge between his children is not lost on him - by which I mean he's looking for a suitable reason to sacrifice himself and hope that the boys will be less inclined to fight over a memory.

(Lest anyone think I made a typo up at the beginning: these all refer to the same OC. He's a disaster. I love him so much.)

[kingedmundsroyalmurder]

Blue Castle chapters 12 and 13

Combining these two chapters into one post, because I didn’t get a chance to post yesterday. And these two pair well together: chapter 12 is Valancy reflecting on her life and the dinner party and chapter 13 is the rest of the Stirlings doing the same. Their conclusions, of course, are wildly different.

I don’t have much to say about chapter 12 that wasn’t covered by all of you lovely folks yesterday. I think the point about Valancy never having been able to see beauty out her window until now is really insightful -- the view hasn’t changed, but Valancy has.

Mild non-explicit spoilers: Valancy’s musing about Uncle Benjamin writing her out of the will is definitely something, given what happens with the will later.

Speaking of Uncle Benjamin, we transition into chapter 13. It only just now occurred to me that Valancy is refusing to see a doctor because she’s worried that a doctor will disclose her heart condition to the rest of her family. I assumed she was just being contrary for the thrill of it, and that may be part of it, but of course she doesn’t want to see a doctor. That would ruin everything.

“Don’t worry, Mother,” said Valancy, lightly but quite respectfully. “It isn’t likely I’ll do anything very terrible. But I mean to have a little fun.” Valancy is at heart a good girl who likes being a good girl. She doesn’t want to be loose or take up smoking and swearing, or any of the other horrible things that one might imagine of a person cutting loose for the first time. She wants to get to keep her dust pile and, to pull from a different fandom entirely, to eat eggs without permission. And that, to her family, is full insanity and tantamount to death.

I should very much like to know what Dr. Marsh thinks of all of this. I didn’t have a terribly high opinion of him previously, but this chapter does shine a new light on his character. He apparently was willing to validate Cousin Gladys’ neutritis -- and I am perfectly willing to believe that she is suffering from pain of some kind, even if “neutritis” seems to have been a nebulous catch all term for “unexplained pain” -- but she doesn’t seem to be taking anything for it other than her Redfern product of choice. Redfern products don’t seem to do any harm, as far as snake oil goes, so he in essence seems to have told her, “I believe your self-reported symptoms and if you believe this product helps with your symptoms then you should continue taking it.” Which, frankly, is decent doctring.

Especially because he married in to this family. He knows all these people, even if they seem to be a distant enough branch that they’re not expected to attend family functions. Dr. Marsh appears to have taken a path of less resistance when it comes to his in-laws but, crucially, as we see in this chapter, that path does not include indulging their every whim. He hears about Valancy doing some honestly fairly unremarkable things and refuses to join the Stirling conviction that this means she should be locked up. I’m interested in the phrasing he uses when telling Uncle James that he can’t have Valancy committed (”He pointed out to irate Uncle James—who would have liked to lock Valancy up somewhere, out of hand—that Valancy had not, as yet, really done or said anything that could be construed as proof of lunacy—and without proof you cannot lock people up in this degenerate age.”) is what he actually said or if it’s Uncle James editorializing. And, if those were his words, is that what he himself believes, or does he just know Uncle James and thought this whole thing would go faster if he conceded a couple points before standing firm on the one that mattered.

[wolffyluna]

Homeland by RA Salvatore Liveblog

Help, I have fallen back into the Drizzt pit and can't get up.

Under a cut for child abuse and attempted sexual assault.

I'm copy-pasting this from discord. Ellipses differentiate liveblogs that were done at different times.

I'm rereading the first Drizzt novel. It was one of the book series I loved loved loved when I was young. I am simultaneously going:

oh my God, this world building. Your legal system cannot run on vibes, sir. The implied gender ratio is hilarious (drow nobles want lots of kids, but every son after the second is killed, so a family having four daughters and two sons is pretty normal. Oh, and it's implied that polyandry is a Status Symbol)

oof ow argh, man hands misery onto man! It deepens like a coastal shelf! 😭

I'm still at the beginning, but drizzt is being raised by his older sister, and she is heavily encouraged to physically abuse him. There's a point where she thinks "wow, what could this kid achieve if we weren't breaking his spirit. ... wait, that's a blasphemous thought, I should punish him for making me think that." And Drizzt is taught to believe that surface elves are the source of all of his problems, to the point that whenever he's whipped he "cries out for the death of a [surface elf]" These people all could have been fine if they lived in a reasonable society! 😭

The book is divided into parts, and at the beginning of each part there's a section of Drizzt monologing as if he's giving an interview

And in the one where he's talking about his childhood, he both talks about PTSD-flashbacks-in-so- many-words and also "presumably things happened before I was sixteen? I remember basically none of that though" which. Baby. Let me scoop you up into a hug even though you are a century(?) old dark elf who is presumably taller than me.

...

The only way the drow gender ratio doesn't fall flat is a) the implication that commoners don't do that, so maybe their gender ratios are less of a disaster and b) it looks like only the female heads of the family can take consorts/have children, so polyandry is a little more possible

Though this does, like, raise the question of "so, you are the daughter of a matron mother, and you fall pregnant. what do you do?"

...

It's legal for a drow house to attack another in secret. It is illegal to do it openly. The justification is that Lolth likes it that way (This is a logic that underpins a lot of the drow legal system) And it could be made sensible with just one small change: Every drow house wants to be able to attack another, but wants no other house to be able to attack them. So they created norms where you can't just attack people, if you did that the whole city would fall on you ...but if you can do it with plausible deniability...

...

I have now re-witnessed the beautiful, beautiful scene where a wizard panics* and casts fireball at his own feet

*he would say he was very tactical, I do not believe him

[Seriously, I have remembered this scene fondly for years. It's Such A Scene.]

...

Oh my God Masoj just encouraged someone to take the identity of someone he [the other guy] just killed. Masoj completely failed to mention that the dead guy was his brother.

...

DRIZZT QQ

His dad just tried and failed to kill him to try and maintain his innocence.

I have so many feelings about Zaknafein.

Just. The combination of "Zaknafein was a major role model to Drizzt and is a significant part of why Drizzt is good" and "Zaknafein is Not A Very Good Person." Man.

...

Lov Drizzt

He just nearly got murdered, but he doesn't care, because KITTY!

Drizzt is this xkcd comic

...

I remembered the sex pollen scene, but man did I not remember/parse how much it was a dub-to-non con sex pollen scene

...

Something that is also getting to me on this re-read: the amount that the men of the Do'Urden family 🐛 assist with their family members whipping them, or literally taking them as a sacrifice. Because resistance would only make it worse, and this way at least you have some control

There's a really telling passage where Briza is torturing Dinin for no real reason, and he's just like. okay. i'm not going to get in the way of this process. And he actively positions himself to make it easier.

...

Help, I'm combining my love of "what if popular but misapplied blorbo song, but correctly applied?" with the Legends of Drizzt series: Eat Your Young is a valid Malice/Zaknafein song

There is no capitalism, but there is a lot of zero sum resource fights, and a lot of the conflict between these chatacters is their children being used in those zero sum resource fights.

Zaknafein has a lot of conflict about whether it's better for his son to be eaten by drow society, or dead And there's a thing where both Zaknafein and Drizzt are/are meant to be sacrifices to Lolth, at Malice's hands

Skinning the children for a war drum Putting food on the table selling bombs and guns It's quicker and easier to eat your young

And there's also the whole thing of-- Zaknafein and Malice's life is luxurious, but that's at a cost. There are no skeletons in the closet because they are displaying the skeletons openly as part of the decor

...

The Drizzt He destroyed his cage Yes YES The Drizzt is out

...

The thing about Homeland in particular is how it is simultaneously man hands on misery onto man, it deepens like a coastal shelf and how it is so much about it's opposite (it ascends like a volcano?) Drizzt could not be who is he is, could not be good, without Zaknafein.

But he's. Better than Zaknafein. Because of Zaknafein.

And there's the tragedy of the fact that if their roles were reversed, it would be Drizzt bring Zaknafein up into the light.

But. Well. Drizzt would still have to die down in the dark

...

...hmm.. I'm encountering a tempting bad idea: 50 books in a year is a doable challenge. There are 40 Drizzt books. Ergo, one could hypothetically read all the Drizzt books in one year.