#don't tell my boss about this i don't technically have the rights to these images

[tonitoewyn]

this is my lane and my knowledge here might be of interest: I'm a digital art history research assistant. We just did a survey on how well people can distinguish AI-made art from human-made originals, asking 900 people to choose the human-made painting out of two images, one being the original and the other being a midjourney generated piece (we asked it to make paintings "in the style of" artists, detailing the content of the paintings). The general outcome is that people choose the correct option roughly half the time - mostly because they couldn't actually distinguish them, and if you take a wild guess, a 50% success rate is likely. HOWEVER, there were clear differences between the paintings that were more easily distinguished and those that confused people. The pair of images where 78% of participants answered correctly:

First one is The Annunciation by Joseph Erns Tunner (1830), second is midjourney 2023. People recognized the AI fake by realism but done wrong: the midjourney architecture doesn't make sense, the surfaces are too smooth, the hands and proportions are weird. The task most people guessed wrong, at 14% success rate?

First one is Sam Francis 1965, the second is midjourney 2023. People presumably got this wrong because they expect human-made art to be what they have seen before, and AI-made art to be weird, unusual, "wrong". Of course, AI art is still in developement, but for what it is at the moment I can derive three points from this: 1) People at large think that AI art is weird and human-made art is what they expect. Do with that knowledge what you want. 2) AI art so far actually sucks at realism. There is a specific AI-art look that most people who have been confronted with this before can recognize, because it is too smooth while also making clear mistakes in the construction of architecture and anatomy which are easily recognized by the human eye (because your eyes already saw more images than any AI training model has by the time you were three years old). If you make realistic art, especially showing humans, AI cannot do what you do. 3) At the same time AI art isn't creative. It doesn't subvert expectations, it learned from what is already there and reproduces it as well as it can (like large language models, AI art generators also are stochastic parrots - babbling without real content understanding). If you make weird art - AI isn't going to be on par with you for even longer, because you can come up with actual new things, taking all your specific knowledge, background and experiences into account. (However, presuming that people don't update their expectations, at some point you might get an annoying amount of people mistaking you for AI, which is a whole new can of worms.) Honestly the only kind of art AI can do really well is soulless, faceless corporate images and the corporate designers who did that so far should be doing better anyway

Robots may already be replacing a lot of art jobs but that's all the more reason to make all of your art weirder. Realistic illustration is dying but if that's what you trained for you still have all kinds of skills applicable to stylistic work. Go ahead and just draw like a toddler who somehow spent 10 years on just color theory.

[idyat]

Phobos x reader

Rude >:(

Requested on Wattpad

Also note that there is already a similar Phobos oneshot on Tumblr out of coincidence, so yeah, just a heads-up

Summary: Director Phobos does not stand for any disrespect towards Nexus Core's god emperor. Unfortunately for him, there seems to be a special case...

Warnings: One mention of torture, violent threats

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Scientists and guards glanced as their Director strided through the halls. He looked angry today, footsteps even louder than usual and fists clenching behind his back. Nobody dared to ask what happened, not only because of his unspoken policy of "don't speak unless spoken to or if it's important" towards the lower ranking employees, but also simply because unlike most politicians he could actually kill them before they even notice.

Besides, even if he didn't, he would still be way too embarassed to admit the source of his frustration.

A civilian.

That's it. That's all there is. Not even anyone working directly for him, just some random citizen that seemed to take pleasure in getting on his nerves.

Whether that be ignoring every speech he gives out or every rule he imposes, and they always found a technicality to go around to avoid punishement. It threatened his public image occasionally, and piereced right through his over-inflated ego everytime.

They outsmarted him in the simplest of things and if that didn't make his blood boil I tell you.

And the worst thing? He couldn't bring himself to punish them for it.

It's not like he didn't want to, on the contrary, he should have sliced their head clean off long ago, but for SOME reason, he couldn't.

"Director?"

Maybe it was them playing with legal loopholes again that made him feel like they were untouchable, maybe they were actually trying to play mind games on HIM out of all people...

"Uhm...Director Sir..."

There was just...something about them, their shitty little smile, the way they talked to him so casually...

"Directooor..."

He hated it. He hated them.

"DIRECTOR PHOBOS!"

"Gah!" Phobos whipped around, snapping out of his thoughts to angrily look at the employee whp just yelled at him.

"Who do you think you are to yell at your lord like that?!"

"This is the fifth time I've tried talking to you Sir! Do you even know where you've been walking this whole time?!"

The dictator looks around him. Huh. In fact he DIDN'T know where he was going, he was on autopilot as he was thinking about that damn grunt.

"...What do you want anyways vermin." He avoided accidentally showing his embarrassement by asking a question.

"We got a delivery at the front door."

"Get someone else to take care of it. I'm busy." Busy walking to nowhere thinking about some random ass person.

"It needs your signature."

Phobos heavily sighed.

"Fine. Now get out of my sight George."

"My name is Ben."

"Whatever. You all look the same."

Ben left as he grumbled something, leaving his boss to start walking himself to the entrance at which deliveries to the Nexus Core were, well, delivered.

On his way there, he thought about how most of his workers truly do look the same. While yes, he was the one to impose the uniform, they could at least make an effort to stylize their hair or whatever. Maybe if the employees took inspiration from HIM, they'd be a little more-

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...Hi-"

"What are you doing here."

Phobos interrupted as he stared at the very same person he's been thinking about the entire day, the same one that has been consistently mocking and disrespecting him for way too long, standing outside the door with a package in hand.

"First of all, it's rude to interrupt pe-"

"Answer me."

They silently stared at him with a 'bitch' expression for a second before answering.

"The usual delivery guy got sick. So I'm taking his job until he feels better. Happy little accident huh?"

He glares at them and their cheeky grin as he brutally grabs the notepad and pen out of their hands and starts signing.

...

...very long signature he has...

..................

"...Is the drawing of you on a throne really ne-"

"Yes."

"Stop interrupting me! It's rude!" Are they really talking to their god emperor as if he was a stupid child? That piece of shit!

"You're rude. Now scra- ahem. Leave at once."

The smile on their face only gets larger.

"Imagine calling someone rude and then telling them to scram. Not like it'll be possible anyway, I have like 3 other people in this building I need to deliver stuff to. So unless you want to play delivery boy to them, I'm going to have to come inside."

Phobos' eye twitches. What kind of plot convenient badly written gacha life coincidence stupidity is this?! He's not humiliating himself like this! He can just go back to his office and use the intercom!

"I'll send a message to them. Who are you looking for?"

"Huh. This is probably the most polite you've been to me so far. I've got a Christoff, a Hoffnar, and a Crackpot."

"Oh...That stupid Crackpot is never going to want to come in here..."

He heavily sighed as he rubbed his eye. They don't know who that Crackpot is, but they sure as hell make their boss sound exhausted.

He stared a little more at the subsitute delivery person, before making a hard decision.

"You're coming with me in my office. Anywhere else would disturb my employees work."

Not sure how just standing around would disturb any work, but they just shrugged and accepted it as they followed Phobos back to the top of the tower.

"...And I've tried to be polite with you before, but you insisted on being a disrespectful little fool. So you only have yourself to blame."

"I know."

They eventually reached the elevator, which was great for the director as there was no one in there to look at the two of them weirdly or to judge him when he slightly drops his fancy talk and posture. Sure, he liked it, but it's way less natural from time to time, especially when all he wants to do is curse the gods he wishes so desperately to be for putting THIS person next to him.

"...Say, why doesn't Crackpot want to go to the delivery and storage room?"

"Fuck if I know. This man never makes sense."

...

"What did they order anyway?"

Might as well make some small talk if they're going to stay at the top of a very tall tower for some time.

"Let me check...Some religious things, christmas lights, a furby, there's also a bunch of Slaughter Time merch and clown themed stuff for one of them."

"I'm not surprised. They're all clowns."

"Woah, you talk about your employees like that?"

"If you had to deal with them all day every day, you would too."

"No I wouldn't."

He turns his head when they say that. How can they know that so well? They can't just expect all their reactions to be oh so pure, when they hadn't spent even a day in the science tower!

And even if they wouldn't talk shit about anyone behind their backs that...that would....well that would be pretty impressive honestly. At least to Phobos.

But before he could say anything, the elevator doors opened to his big private office's floor (because as cool as it was to have an open office watching lower beings work for you, it wasn't the best option for privacy, even less so when you had such a DISRESPECTFUL fellow with you).

Next they go into his office, he calls the top 3 scientists to go to his office, yada yada yada not very interesting stuff, he also took the occasion to sign some paperwork with that criminally long and complicated signature of his.

"...Why didn't you just let me stand in front of the storage room. Does that Crackpot just not want to get close to it in any way?"

He suddenly stopped writing (although with that signature it was closer to drawing really).

He didn't think of that.

He didn't say anything, he just went back to his work, although he seemed a little more tense, and his eye had squinted a bit, to which they quietly chuckled before looking around the room.

It was a very impressive one at that. Large with an entire wall replaced by a red-tinted window offering view to the city, and although it was more empty than the average person would expect it to be, especially for the leader of Nexus Core, there were still a few shelves, tables and frames displaying many medals, fancy paintings of the director displaying just how self-absorbed he was, as well as some trophies, almost all gold for one plastic exception that was for some sort of school theatre club thingy. Huh, cute.

Both Phobos and the subsitute delivery person turned their head when someone knocked on the door. That someone was the main scientist of the project, who was given his package, albeit not without flashing a strange look on the two people in front of him.

And then he left. Leaving them alone in the room once again.

It took a little bit of time, but eventually, the civil started talking to Phobos. And even if the director was quiet and reluctant at first, it was surprising how well things were going after a few minutes. It started off with snarky remarks and passive-aggressive jokes, before eventually turning into more general talk about eachother's interests and how the author doesn't know how to write a good story like what the fuck is this idyat.

And then, a certain Hofnarr came by and picked up his clown objects and Slaughter Time™ merch, also giving his boss a weird look because of the errand boy standing right next to him for some reason, plus the fact the two seemed to have been having a quite pleasant conversation before he arrived, which is absolutely out of character for the dictator.

To be honest, Phobos himself was surprised. Just a few minutes ago, he wanted to chop this person's head off like they were french royalty, but now he was sitting there, willingly listening to their voice and responding as he was working. It wasn't normal, it just wasn't. And yet here he was, genuinely taling pleasure in hearing about whatever anecdotes this random fool had to talk about.

Although they clearly didn't stop with their attempts at teasing him in between people entering and leaving the office, reminding him of just how much they love annoying him.

Then Crackpot comes in.

Except when picking up his package, he didn't stop at a simple questionning glance.

"Hey, Sir, who is that?"

He asked his boss, making him raise his head from his work.

"Take a guess, doctor."

Oh, he seemed in a bad mood. Would usually be more professional. Well, it wasn't complivated to guess who they were, the true question really was...

"But why are they here though?"

The director slightly tightened his grip on his pen, the embarassement and realisation of how stupid this situation was from earlier coming back. He glared at his employee.

However, the intimidation that glare was supposed to inspire didn't seem to get by, as Crackpot seemed to have had another type of reaction instead.

"Oooooooohohohoho...I see...I see..."

He snickered with a voice waaay too cheeky to be having an innocent assumption.

The two people in front of the scientist stared at him with a confused look.

"See what?" Said the delivery person, Phobos just ignored it and leaned back on his work.

"Oh, nothing! Absolutely nothing my friend! Just...I guess I found the answer to my question by myself!"

He was clearly trying to keep himself from laughing.

"Leave."

The sudden and oddly loud order of the director made the two others in the room jump. But you could still hear the smile in the excentric scientist's voice as he left.

"Alright! I'll just leave you two to it now!"

And he closed the door.

"Huh. I like that guy."

Phobos turned his head to that.

"Oh, you do?"

"I just think he's neat."

They then looked back at him, a frin on their face.

"Now, should I leave or do you want to spend more time with me?"

Oh boy. Here was that stupid smile and tone of voice again.

"You shall leave now." He starts to get up as he says that, the tower is a bit complicated for newcomers to travel after all.

"Aw, that's sad. I wanted to talk a little more."

"Well I don't."

"Are you sure? You look like you could use a friend." That question seemed genuine, as their smiled dissapeared whilst asking it.

"I don't need friends. They dissapoint me."

"Are you sure it's just that no one wants to be your friend?"

He suddenly slamed his hand against the desk with a force that could have broken it if it wasn't made of some fancy strong material.

"Listen here, vermin! If you are unable to realise your place in this city, I would be happy to show you where that kind of disrespect you seem to have so much fun showing me could make you end up in!"

He loomed over them, his eye almost seeming to glow in the shadow he casted. And they simply stared.

"If I'm feeling nice, you might even be able to choose. Jail, torture or hell, which one would you prefer being put in when your attitude makes you forget who you're talking to?"

His breathing was heavy as the silence between them grew and grew before he realised what he was doing and calmed himself down and started walking to the exit of the room, signaling for them to do the same.

And they did. Completely ignoring what just happened.

In fact, they almost looked...satisfied.

They knew they were probably one of if not the first person to have made and most importantly seen the Director Phobos himself snap like this.

The walk back was quiet, still littered with strange looks at the duo passing by. Except this time Phobos had no problem with giving anyone who dared stare at him a death glare that immadiately made them cower.

Not much happened aside from that. They eventually reached the delivery entrance, and he thought that would be all. But before the delivery person got on their delivery person scooter, they turned back to him.

"It was nice talking to you, by the way."

Phobos raised his head to look at them.

"...What?"

"I spent a very good time with you."

"...But...I...I litteraly-" His hands were making little movements to match his confused face.

"Oh don't worry about that, that was mostly intentional."

They gave him that stupid cheeky grin again, although this time...he couldn't get too angry at them for some reason.

"Wouldn't have thought I could have fun with you without the teasing."

"So you- ahem. So you admit it."

He had to stop himself for a second to avoid sounding childish.

"I was never denying it. Bye Phobos!"

And without giving the director time to catch on to the fact they just called him by his name, they left. Driving away on the slightly broken road.

He had to get back to his work, but the antire time he did, that interaction...that compliment...it all kept playing in his head over and over again.

He had received compliments before. And an ungodly amount at that. It fed his already oversized ego even more than it already needed. But he knew none of them were real. He was completely aware all the praise he was constantly given was always in the praisers own gain. Either for a promotion, to avoid punishement, any reason really. But it sure as hell wasn't to show their boss their actual appreciation and feelings towards him.

So...to have a random person who not only doesn't even work for him, but actively tries to be disrespectful and annoying to him...be the first one to give a genuine compliment to him after what was probably decades...

If he had to be honest, he had to force himself to keep a straight, unsmiling face of pride while working.

Huh... His chest and stomach are feeling a little funny... Whatever. He never took a sick day, and he wasn't going to take one now. There's still a lot work to do.

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

[the-book-in-the-mirror]

Mary Plays Pokemon Gaia - Part I: the beginning [Reposted from Twitter]

Hi! I'm @miyamoris and this is my blog for essays, let's plays and other more thought-out posts and conversations. To kick off the blogging, I'm bringing my Pokemon Gaia playthrough, styled after forums screenshot let's plays. (I'm not a video person. Sorry!)

I started this playthrough two years ago - it's hardly a long game but took me a while to finish it for... reasons. The first posts are reproductions from the original Twitter threads that I'd rather archive somewhere more reliable. The only thing I'll change is formatting so they flow better as blog posts. It's very likely the posterior updates will look different in style - instead of posting as I play like I did before, I have already finished the game and took a bunch of screenshots to organize while memory is still fresh. This is the first time I post let's plays on tumblr so I'm still discovering what works better.

For those who doesn't know, Pokemon Gaia is a Pokemon FireRed romhack created by Spherical Ice. Right now it's completed up to the Elite Four and thecomplete game with post-game and all is currently being overhauled as a Emerald hack. This hack is pretty popular for getting the exact feel of an official pokemon game plus some impressive technical achievements like perfectly reproducing the Mega Evolution system from gen VI into a 3rd gen rom.

Without more delays, let's begin. Enjoy!

[Original Thread]

let's goooo

-> #maryplaysgaia for my organizing and your muting convenience

Right off the bat, I already like the player sprite - it's visibly drawing from the FRLG sprite but it's well-done.

The Orbtus region map - the game seems to revolve strongly around archaeology (the professor in the intro says he's an archaeologist (typed it right on the first try!)) so it's unsurprising to find a lot of caves and ruins there.

Running shoes before even getting a starter! lovely game!!

I won't do a whole let's play-like thread summarizing every game bit but I'll try to keep threading the most notable game moments and whatever observation I have.

REALLY LOVELY GAME though tbh I am not sure if we even have gyms in this region

So for now an iffy lady asked back a book I got from the library, there's a lot involving earthquakes and instead of getting a mon in a lab, you meet the professor in a library.

Okay this is funny

The starters are 4th gen starters - this game has up to 6th gen mons and mechanics (updated type chart, physical/special split etc.)

Empoleon is easily my fave among those so I'm grabbing piplup. they tell you their nature right once you chose them too.

- there's no rival battle for now, it seems

- you don't see the exact pokemon IVs but they give you an idea how well the mon is faring there

...and yeah I ended up picking another piplup cause those E's were grating me. look, it only took five minutes.

Rival battles you (another neat sprite) after you talk to the professor and get a bunch of stuff and instructions. which is cool to me, cause I just got a neat taillow.😎

NOT CALM NATURE COME ON

Okay so there's the professor asking teens to help him investigate fucking earthquakes and a subquest about a missing weedle and I just got into this special room with a clefairy boss??

Girlboss team!

YOOOOOO

Ariados isn't too good but I could do a few things with this one in the early game.

Early game team: done ✅though I expect a few of these to stick around beyond that.

I just realized I've been writing this thread for nearly two hours and it's lacking a better overview of the game so:

- You're travelling through a region where an ancient civilization was supposedly wiped by earthquakes

- There are tremors happening again now so you're working with this region's ProfessorTM to investigate it. Your rival is very the May/Brandon 3rd gen type of rival (assistant that is pretty chill)

(Thread content will continue on the next post. Apparently tumblr does not want me to post more than 30 images. Ah well!)

[mermaidxatxheart]

Better Together Chapter 4

Okay, y'all. I'm posting this just before I go on vacation. If you want to be added to my tag lists, send an ask. My work is not to be reposted anywhere. A big thank you to those who have proof-read this for me. I don't know what I would do without you.

Pairing: Poe Dameron x Reader

Word Count: 2.7k

Warnings: language, violence, angst. This is where it gets rough.

Chapter 3

Chapter Four

You sit up violently with a scream, clutching at your chest, but it’s not really your chest you’re worried about. You scramble for your friend, but he’s not at the edge of the cave, it’s still dark outside. You’ve probably been asleep for an hour, no more than two.

“Poe!” You call frantically. “Dameron!”

He skids back into the entrance, back into your blessed view, buckle undone on his trousers. “Hey, I’m right here. What happened?” He asks, reaching for your arms.

Your hands press shakily against his chest, desperate to feel his solid heartbeat. “I—“ you stutter.

It was just a dream.

“You’re freezing.” He comments, rubbing your arms to get you warm.

“Wh-what were you doing outside?” You ask, teeth starting to chatter as the shivering hits you.

“Taking a leak. I was just outside.” He leads you back over to the fire and drapes his jacket around your shoulders. “Here, sit in front of the fire, sweetheart. Let’s get you warm.” He builds the fire back up, and while the heat of it dances across your skin, it never goes any deeper.

He starts to stand up but you grab his wrist pleadingly. “Don’t leave me?” You whisper. He seems taken aback by the sheer desperation in your voice, so he nods and settles behind you.

“Close your eyes. I’m right here.” He says softly and you pull his arm around you, needing him close. He presses his forehead to the back of yours and you can feel his breath on your neck. You can feel your hands trembling as you clutch at his and he holds you tighter.

“Do you think,” he starts, lifting his head to speak softly into your ear. You start at the noise and turn to listen better. “Do you think Leia is sobbing uncontrollably right now because of how much she misses me?” He asks quietly and your lips pull up at the corners against your will.

“I’m sure she’s managing somehow. It’s difficult, but I think she can hold on.” You reply, shifting to lay your head back down.

“I hope so. I’d hate to be the reason she suffers so.” He says dramatically and you snort loudly before you can stop yourself. “Bless you.” He adds, his voice dripping with a grin.

“You definitely cause her to suffer.” You mutter and he squeezes your side, exactly where you hate. You squeal and squirm, trying to get away, but he grabs you and presses you flush against him.

“You’re so mean to me.” He sighs, dropping his head against your shoulder, but his nonsense worked, you feel a little better as he holds you so you can sleep.

***

Poe Dameron is…. confusing. And soft. Big giant Ewok. Ever since you woke up this morning, he’s been gentle. Cracking jokes to get you to smile, walking next to you instead of in front of you, taking your hand more often.

About mid morning, you stop for a break. Your legs don’t feel any better and you almost wish you had taken Poe up on his offer to massage them. You ease down onto a log and he hands you some food from his pack.

You close your eyes against the light, sweat trickling down the back of your neck. No matter how many times you wipe it away, more takes its place. You can see Poe in your mind’s eye, leaning against the trunk of the tree across from you, legs crossed at the ankles. You can hear him chewing on the snack he noisily unwrapped.

You can hear a strange noise, almost like a whooshing, or a whistling as something big moves through the air. You try to open your eyes to look around, but your lids won’t cooperate. You feel something swing past your ear, rustling your hair into your face. A big spiked log heading straight for Poe. You scream his name, trying to move to get to him. The spiked log flattens against the tree and you see his legs go slack. You scream, the sound ripping from your throat in anguish as you struggle against whatever is holding you in place.

“Y/N! Y/N!!” Poe’s voice reaches you. He’s shaking you roughly as you fight against his hands. It takes you a minute to realize he’s the one holding you, and another to pry your eyes open and look at him. He’s blurry, confusingly so, until you realize you’re crying. “Hey, you’re okay. I’m right here.” He says, forcing you to look up at him. “I’m right here.” The tears spill over and he brushes them away with his thumbs, searching your face. “You fell asleep on me.” He says, half a smile on his face. It doesn’t reach his eyes.

“I don’t like it here.” You whisper, throat sore from the scream. “I don’t like it.” You shake your head, dropping it against his chest. His big hand cradles the back of your head, stroking your hair softly.

“I know. Just a couple more days and then we’ll go tell Leia that this planet won’t work.” He promises.

“Except it’s almost perfect.” You groan.

“Not if it’s doing this to you. Hey, look at me.” He says gently, guiding your head back. “Wanna leave? We’ll go back right now.”

You want to. You want to take him up on it so badly. Your hands twitch towards his, but you force them to stay still. “No. We have a mission to complete.” You mumble and he sighs.

“Alright. Just say the word, sweetheart, and we’re gone.” He assures you and you nod.

***

“Know what I would kill for right now?” He huffs, lifting you over a log.

“A more capable partner?” You mutter dully.

“Ice cream. Cold, sweet, melty, chocolate, beebleberry, denta bean.” He hums, wiping his face. “Mmm. Denta bean.” He licks his lips and your eyes are suddenly drawn to them. He’s hot. His face is flushed from sweating and so much hiking. He needs to take a break.

“Hey, hey. Poe.” You grab his arm and he spins into you abruptly. “Sit. You need water.” You tell him, pushing him down onto the ground. He pulls you into his lap with him and you can’t stop the smile that cracks through.

“Are you okay?” He asks, tucking hair behind your ear as you fumble for his canteen.

“I’m fine. I promise I won’t fall asleep this time.” You say.

“You can sleep on me any time.” He huffs. You pick up his canteen and frown.

“Drink.” You insist, holding the skein to his soft lips.

He parts them, allowing the cool liquid to flow in. His dark eyes never leave you as he drinks. After a few seconds, he captures your wrist and lowers it.

“We either need to find a safe water source, or head back to the ship.” You say after a minute. “We’re almost out of water.”

“You’re the boss.” He cracks a smile, adjusting his head against the rough bark.

“Technically, you’re the commander on this mission.” You remind him.

“Oh yeah? Well, technically, you’re smarter.” He admits shamelessly and you roll your eyes.

“Ever have fried ice cream from Corellia?” You ask, shifting to sit back next to him.

“No. Is it delicious? It sounds pointless. Wouldn’t it melt?”

“Nope. They do this thing to it that super freezes it so it only gets a little soft in its crispy shell.” The taste of it, salty and sweet ghosts across your tongue and you clamp down on the sound wanting to escape. “After this is over, we’ll go and I’ll buy you some.” You promise.

“It’s a date.” He says, dropping his hand onto your thigh in the absolute most friendly way possible, but your stomach still flip-flops in your midsection.

“You know, this is the dumbest mission ever. We’ve been sent to a planet that’s never been explored and we’re wandering around aimlessly trying to map it in just a couple days.” You groan.

“Know what I think?” He says, turning his handsome face to look at you.

“That Leia must have been desperate to get you out of her perfect hair? I just don’t see why she had to drag me down with you.” You sigh and he drops his head forward, chuckling.

“You’re so funny.” He says and then lunges, capturing you around your waist and rolling you both into the ground as you shriek. You cling to his shoulders as you land on your back, his hands cradling your head to protect it from the hard ground.

“Jerk.” You huff. Then you blink, seeming to realize just how close his face is to yours. His soft brown eyes are searching yours, his charming smile slowly fading.

Bryce’s smiling face flashes in your mind’s eye and you twist your face away with a groan. He blinks in confusion.

“You weigh a ton.” You protest and a soft chuckle skates across your cheek.

“All muscle, sweetheart.”

“Sure. If muscle here means bantha burgers.” You tease, but it’s fake. Regret settles low in your belly and you’re absolutely not sure if it’s regret at not kissing Poe, or letting it go so far. Unfortunately, Poe Dameron is literally the easiest person in the galaxy to be around.

“Maker, you’re mean when you’re—“ he cuts off and pushes himself off you.

“When I’m what?” You prompt.

“...camping.” He says finally and you know that’s not even close to what he was gonna say.

“We should keep moving. Find some water.” You mumble, pushing yourself up and gathering your things.

“Yeah. ‘Course.” He joins you once more, but this time in silence.

***

His shoulders are tense. Pulled almost all the way up to his ears. His shirt catches at his spine, bunching at the gap at his neck and sticking to the rest of him. He hasn’t spoken in over an hour and you’re terrified that he’s mad at you.

You follow dutifully behind him now, no longer next to him as you were this morning. A dozen times, you’ve opened your mouth to call his name. But then you shrink back, hiding in your own cowardice.

The image of that knife plunging into his chest slams into you full force and you squeak, mouth opening, his name on your lips before you can catch it this time.

“Sh, you hear that?” He asks, holding up his hand to stop you in your tracks.

Bubbling, the sound of a river flowing swiftly. Water. He turns to glance at you before his hand latches tightly onto yours and then he’s pulling. He drags you along, hardly able to keep up. You round the base of a tree and there it is, crystal clear, blue, fast enough to be safe. You quickly mark it on your holopad, noting the direction it’s flowing in. Poe steps forward, but you pull him back, fear twisting you.

“Let me test it first.” You say quietly, avoiding his eyes. You dig into your bag and pull out your kit, dipping it into the water at the bank’s edge. You fill a small vial and dump the tester chemicals into it. You swirl it around as they change colors and you hold it up for him.

“Is blue good?” He asks warily.

“Blue is good.” You confirm and he drops his bag, giving a loud, echoing whoop that disturbs a butterfly resting nearby. He scoops you up in his arms, pulling your bag off and swinging you around as he walks you into the freezingwater.

You shriek, holding onto him as it stings your legs. “Poe!” You protest and he laughs, sinking down to his waist, and Maker, it’s even fucking colder.

“Fuck, it feels so good.” He moans loudly, sinking in up to his shoulders. After the initial shock, you do have to admit that the cool water is lowering your body temperature considerably. You duck under the surface, holding your breath and getting your sweaty hair wet.

You come back to the surface to see him watching you. “Better than ice cream?” You ask and he tips his head back, laughing jubilantly.

“A million times better.” He agrees.

“We should refill.” You say, thinking again. You head for the shore, grabbing both of your canteens and holding them under the water. They fill to the very brim and you screw the lids back on, enjoying the heavy feel of them once again.

“Are you done?” He asks from directly behind you and you jump.

“How do you move so quietly in fucking water?” You ask, turning to face him.

“Special skill.” He says shortly, a toss away answer.

“Poe,” you start. You want to apologize for this morning, the abrupt shut out.

“Sh.” He says, applying just a little pressure to your shoulders until you sink to your knees, shivering in the frigid water. He moves behind you, tipping your head back gently until your neck is stretched as far as it’ll go.

“I’m sorry,” you start again.

“Sh.” He hushes you again, his big hands fill with water and he lets it flood your hair. The cool water instantly dispels the heat in your scalp and it feels so good. Your eyes flutter shut as he keeps doing it. He guides you to lean forward slightly as he pulls your hair out of the way. More scoops of water splash over your burning neck, sending chills down your spine.

You stare at your rippling reflection in the water, Poe behind you, taking care of you. Always fucking taking care of you.

Oh.

Oh.

Maker, you’re blind.

You blink the tears away, choosing to pretend that it’s the river water. You grab his hand awkwardly from behind you to stop him and you stand up, turning to face him.

Your best friend, probably the only person you’ve ever cared about more than yourself.

“Poe,” you breathe, your fingers curling into the front of his soaked shirt.

Why fight it?

“Y/N?”

You tug, just hard enough to let him know what you want. He moves forward, closing the distance and then your lips are on his. They’re soft, and currently immobile under yours as the shock settles in. But that’s okay. Your hands slide up to hold his face, curling around his ears. You shift, lips moving against his, and he snaps out of it, opening his mouth for you. His hands blaze a trail down to your waist as he pulls you closer, pressing you against his chest. You lick into his mouth as he moans, fingers twisting into your shirt. He kisses you harder, more urgently than you’ve ever been kissed by anyonebefore. Your fingers card through his hair, holding him as close as you can. Your heart is slamming against your ribs at the taste of him.

“Well, what do we have here? Two resistance rats.” A voice says and you jump apart, your heart coming to a dead stop in your chest.

Three StormTroopers stand on either side of the bank, blasters aimed directly at you. Poe reaches for his own blaster, but a laser pointer trained right over your heart stops him.

“Try it. Please. I’m begging you. I haven’t been so bored in ages. A little target practice would be great.” One of them snarks.

“You could probably use it, too.” Poe says before he can stop himself.

“Out.” Another one orders, waving his gun and gesturing.

Poe hesitates. He wants to fight, it’s what he does. There’s only three of them, after all. But then, you’re there, in harm’s way. You think back to your comment this morning about him getting a more capable partner. You’ve never wished for anything harder.

One of the troopers pulls the hammer back, leveling the blaster at you. Poe looks at you, gritting his teeth together before trudging to the edge of the water. You follow, hating that he’s giving up because of you, because you’re so weak. You hate that you got him caught, because you distracted him with a kiss.

And then guilt floods you as your hands are handcuffed behind your back roughly. The kiss. You wonder if it even matters now, you probably won’t make it home to tell Bryce the truth anyway.

But that doesn’t stop the guilt from filling you. You wish you had taken Poe up on his offer to leave this morning. Now you’ve gotten him caught. They nudge you in the direction of the river, downstream and Poe glances over his shoulder at you, his usually warm eyes cold.

You’re a terrible friend.

Chapter 5

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[unforgivable-thatswhatiam]

Aziraphale intentionally "summons" Crowley with his trouble, isn't that so? I'm quite sure it's simply because he misses him, though, and their mutual feelings allow them to find each other and sense when the other is in danger (💕). After all, eight years is a long time between un unofficial and an official opening (1793-1800), and C. tells he already knows that A. is opening a bookshop. This suggests he's been kept up to date: who knows, maybe C. occasionally visits A.'s home (the angel has owned the land since the 17th century) and they discuss friendly.

I think you are right, Paris 1793 is a turning point in their story: until then, it really seems like their meetings were strictly 'technically' tied to the Arrangement, perhaps out of fear of outside interference or rejection - especially if they hadn't really understood their feelings yet (Azi is SO happy to see Crowley and to be rescued, even if he seems to me way too confident about it and C. perfectly understands this subtext… 😉).

The deleted scene is canon, because NG confirmed it; the scene was cut, but it remains in the script. It seems contradictory, but I don't think it is, actually. In the scene, Gabriel and Sandalphon want to take Aziraphale back to heaven as a reward for his success on Earth; so, to make them believe that the angel is the only one that can succeed against him, Crowley goes where they can hear him and says:

"If only I could understand why my evil plans are always so brilliantly thwarted. It's as if the forces of Heaven have a champion here on Earth who thwarts me... thwartingly...".

Then he pretends that one of his minions replies:

"(...) the angel Aziraphale, your nemesis, is being sent back to Heaven."

In this way, Crowley makes the angels think he's aware that it's all Aziraphale's fault if his plans are thwarted, but at the same time he doesn't seems to know at all his nemesis.

4. As a bonus point, it follows my personal opinion about Gabriel's line in s1e1. As you wrote, G. says: "It's a miracle hasn't spotted you yet". However, I think that Gabriel is self-centered and unpleasant, but he isn't a complete fool: Crowley was important, in heaven - a throne, as I think, or a dominion or above - and he has a recognizable appearance; Saraqael remembers Crowley from their working time on Nebula, in s2 (6000+ years after the Fall); Gabriel was the supreme archangel of all heaven by the time of Job's minisode (2500 a.C., less than 2000 years after the Fall), and he could easily recognize C., while Michael seems to be suspicious of Bildad the Shuhite; he doesn't seem surprised when Michael shows him the photo-evidence of contacts between A. and C., but suggests that there would be a perfectly normal explanation to this.

If you remember, when in s1e2 Gabriel and Sandalphon go to the bookshop, Sandalphon - the implacable angel that has destroyed Sodoma and killed its inhabitants for their sodomy, aka the 'sin' of homosexual behaviour/intercourses - says that "something smells evil" (his evil=homosexuality, and we can image who is guilty); in the meantime, Gabriel deflects Sandalphon's attention in multiple ways. It could be Sandalphon himself that "hasn't spotted" them ("you") yet in the scene of episode 1. I don't exclude that either in 1800 G. wanted to take Aziraphale back (safe) because of concerns - his? Sandalphon's? - about A.'s relationship with the demon: heaven may have given to A. a medal, but actually none there seem to truly appreciate him or believe he has done a good job; they criticize indeed him more than once for being soft, for having been on Earth too long, etc.

To summarize, I think that in episode 1 Gabriel was pretending ignorance with Aziraphale. As a boss like him, it makes sense to pretend he didn't know the extent of A.+C.'s interactions, even if he was aware of some of it. He wasn't particularly concerned about it, until the work was done. Nonetheless, in the end of s1 Aziraphale disobeyed orders, averted an apocalypse with his "boyfriend in the dark glasses" (quote from s1e4, with the return of Sandalphon, threating and smiting A.) and C+A's relationship has thwarted heaven's plan. At that point, Gabriel had to do his job and "to make exemple of" the traitor: he was upset, but it wasn't a personal decision to punish Aziraphale; if he didn't do it, he himself could have been involved in the treason, lost his position and punished in the same way). Until then, however, he didn't want to go too far with Aziraphale.

A lot to read, sorry... I love so much GO ❤️

So, I have no idea when Aziraphale actually opens his bookshop, but I have a thought that I really really like:

Paris, 1793. Crowley says that angel "was opening a bookshop". He knows about it but haven't seen it or been there, it's been a work in progress for some time now.

Weell, my thought is... Aziraphale intentionally "summons" Crowley with his trouble in order to invite him for the opening or (which is better) to have their own unofficial opening. Just for themselves.

At this point they already arrange meetings (eg. Shakespear's theatre), but only if it has something to do with the Arrangement and work stuff. Looking for a simple dinner and showing a bookshop without a reason would feel strange and awkward: they're still adjusting to their friendship and mostly hold on to the Arrangement. Despite the fact that they both clearly enjoy each other's company, there are still many barriers in their communication, including the fear of outside interference and witnesses.

And Aziraphale takes the first step in 1793. He uses their arrangement as well ("land a hand when needed"), and god he is SO happy to see that Crowely actually comes to rescue him!! It's just an excuse to buy him lunch (for the record: the best french crepes, he has chosen the place to celebrate the event, hasn't he?)

Would be just nice and fine to go back to England together and... well, have a look at the bookshop, wouldn't it? Or at least Aziraphale could give Crowely a formal invitation on when he should visit his newly established bookshop.

The bookshop, the sign of which invitingly displays "A.Z. Fell & Co".

Update: I've found a deleted scene about the opening in 1800. WELL, it could mean that Crowely was invited indeed, but... I honestly don't see this scene as a part of canon, it has been cut after all. Mostly I think it's not canon 'cause the dialog between angels here kinda conradicts the stated in s1e1 "It's a miracle [Crowley] hasn't spotted you yet".

So yeah, untill proven wrong in the actual show (where I haven't really seen any dates about the bookshop) this is my headcanon which I sincerely love: 1793 was another important turn in their relationship and it's the time when Aziraphale takes the first step and lets Crowely into their bookshop.

[cowboymantis]

Let's talk about Kazuto Arase

Yakuza / Yakuza Kiwami , Yakuza 3 side content spoilers. Later on Yakuza LaD too, but I'll give a warning before that especially since a lot of people haven't played that yet.

So I have a lot of thoughts about Yakuza on my mind and just want to scream into the void about it somewhere to write 'em all down somewhere! I'm starting with... Arase.

Yeah, I know, a mostly very hated character (personality and battle-wise) that has so little screen time on top of it all too, is the first thing I'll be talking about.

Hear me out, I actually really love this character and only really started to appreciate him after I went for the Yakuza 3 platinum trophy... I've replayed this game so many times, I didn't mind it when I played through it first but seeing all the hate it has gotten, I went to replay it just in case and with that replayed it again and again because I just somehow loved it so much-

And you know, one part of Yakuza 3, also completion related so there was no way I could've missed it, were the Hitman missions. In general, after playing through all the main games I started to come back to a lot of characters I didn't like or minded the first time playing that are now some of my favourites (other examples are Tamashiro or Lau Ka Long, hell even Katsuragi)!

To come back to Arase, let's start with, well, the start: Yakuza / Yakuza Kiwami.

Introduced already in the very first Yakuza game, Arase is just there for a brief moment in the game, yet has a heavy impact on the game's story and Kiryu. It starts with Arase's oath brother Shinji being shot by Arases subordinate, Mochizuki, at least it looks like it. Shinji came here to rescue Reina, whose corpse then gets dragged on the roof of the Dragon Palace by Arase, Sergeant of the Nishikiyama Family. Now that's a pretty... heavy and sadistic first image for a character introduction, and honestly, his strong personality like that seemed also to be the reason he wasn't exactly loved by other members of the Family.

His battle theme in the first Yakuza game is called "Turning Point" which also puts more emphasis on how important this scene is, Kiryu breaking down, his scream when he sees Reina's body... It's really a turning point in the story.

In Kiwami, his new theme "Virtical Point" is also used as the intro song (or at least, the intro song "Vertical Point" is similar and shortened). Which also once again shows the importance of this piece.

Of course, he's not the most important character in the story, but it's still interesting to see how much there is around him other than his rather short appearance.

Then, his fighting style. Yeah, most hate this too and also the fact that starting from there, other bosses also sometimes use his moveset or a similar one. Like, take Jiro or Jo Amon or Andre Richardson... Basically just the usual dual wielding guns while being an athlete on crack - layout. It is actually not that bad, it's even less bad when you've got the right equipment but I have to admit I didn't really have that much good equipment when I first played all the games and basically just rushed through them because I just couldn't stop!

Arase's goal here of course was also to beat Kiryu but well, just like every other character ever, he couldn't do it and got beat instead.

And that's the end of that... The end of his part in the story and also the end of his part in the Nishikiyama Family, because he got disowned right after his failure.

Which is so... hmm... It makes me think. Many others have tried to take Kiryu down, too. And I mean, Arase was normally a very successful assassin, right? Yet this one failed attempt, at which everyone else too failed, got him disowned? Seems to me like they didn't like him and gave him an impossible task to have a reason to throw him out, huh?

And with that wonderful transition, let's get into his appearance in Yakuza 3.

You get introduced to the concept of the Honest Living Association, in short the HLA pretty much after Kashiwagis death. An association, founded by Kashiwagi to help Yakuza / former Yakuza who weren't meant for this life or just wanted out but just couldn't do in it on their own. For some, all they knew was the criminal life, so having a thing like this is especially helpful. Although, I'm kinda sad this was never a thing anymore after Yakuza 3. The whole concept of it was very cool.

Kiryu gets asked by Ibuki to help the HLA because there is an organisation of hitmen, also known as The Reapers (or The Avengers on PS3) whose goal was a different one than the HLA's, it was to kill Yakuza. The Reapers consisted of former criminals, mainly Yakuza, who were wronged by their superiours and expelled, disowned, you name it. Basically what happened to Arase.

Apprehending those hitmen is a totally optional part of the game and I have to admit, I didn't finish it my first time playing. Which is such a shame because it goes by so fast too when you play it after finishing the game! And the individual stories are all so interesting too, I've really enjoyed this side content and also replayed those missions already. You don't really expect someone like Arase to be behind all of it when it turns out to be him who is the founder and the leader of it all. I was already taken aback by Shinzaki being the lieutenant, or part of it at all. I often stopped by to listen to his guitar playing and talked to him, often asking myself is there's anything else up with him.

And once this one hitman contract came in and guitar playing was mentioned, I was just thinking "It can't be him...?", god, this whole side storyline just was so good. And here people come and say Yakuza 3 was a bad game.

The whole build-up to then reveal Arase was just so cool, honestly. It made me start to look more into his character after this confrontation. The fight was really cool too, just having to fight Shinzaki so many times wasn't really necessary, but Arase seems to like to fight alongside others, so fair enough.

And his theme "End Point" is also just so good. It's more similar to Turning Point than Virtical Point was. The name is also again fitting, since this is the end for The Reapers and Arases power.

It is made clear here that Arase has a strong hatred against the Yakuza and especially holds a strong grudge against Kiryu. He sees Kiryu as the reason he got wronged and had to leave the Yakuza behind, while also seeming to be very aware of the fact that the others there probably didn't like him at all.

He's so angry at him, he holds this whole speech and talks about revenge while Kiryu tries to talk some sense into him, eventually Ibuki also joins and tries to reason with Arase too. Telling him how that's what Kashiwagi wanted, even for Arase to find a new, honest life.

Arase is too strongly lead on by his grudges, so even though it seems like he might be thinking about turning his life around, he decided to not let them help him. Then he goes on about how he will definetly return to take revenge on Kiryu... Well. That's the end of that.

It becomes clear that Arases stubborn way of thinking is kind of childish. Not taking responsibility for any of his actions, thinking that his vile personality and actions are in fact the reason he got disowned. Failing to beat Kiryu was just the final puzzle piece to have a solid reason to throw him out. He's clearly unstable, doesn't think twice before shooting someone, he could turn on anyone and wouldn't be sorry for it. Just, he doesn't seem to really think about what he does.

I guess he probably thinks he's strong enough, he doesn't need to be careful. Also fitting for that is his fighting style in Dead Souls, how when he gets low on HP, he pretty much fends for himself, disregarding orders and just charging head first with full strength.

His Dead Souls appearance is also interesting. Okay, we all know, this game isn't canon, it's a spin-off and just doesn't fit in to the story. But it is interesting how he teams up with Kiryu for a bit and then leaves again. The game itself takes place after the events of Yakuza 4, meaning at this point RGG did remember that hey, they have a rival that swore to beat Kiryu one day. But after that... radio silence.

Really, this is such a shame. Just alone from his short appearances I can talk so much about Arase because he really is an interesting character with so much more potential! The only thing that's good about it is that he didn't die, making him technically one of the longest surviving characters in Yakuza which really is a great achievement.

Okay, we don't exactly know that he's still alive, but assuming due to there not being a mention of him being dead, he's probably alive. He might be, might not. Schrödinger's Arase.

One other thing I thought about is Jo Amon. I mean, his outfit and fight style is also similar to Arase, but that's not what I'm mainly thinking about. So the name Amon is for the greatest assassins, right? And they have a strong hatred against Kiryu at the beginning too.

So, putting those things together, Arase being a former assassin in the Nishikiyama Family, then the leader of a dangerous hitman organisation... Then, to fight Jo Amon in Yakuza 3 you also need to do all the hitman missions other than the substories and the IF7 fights. And to start the search for Amon, you also need to go to Ibuki again, where you got all the other hitman missions.

Yeah, it's a bit far fetched, but ... not too far fetched to think that maybe Arase and at least Jo Amon could know each other. I'd say, they could team up in a future game but. Well... Yeah.

Now some more things I thought about, I'll put a warning here though.

Yakuza LaD spoilers ahead!

Soooo, in this game we've gotten a couple of characters "back" ... Some more real than others... Thinking about Joon Gi's body double.

But one character that survived is Kashiwagi! Now the bartender of a bar named Survive. What a fitting name. After surviving such a heavy attack and believed dead by, well, everyone, it was the best approach to keep a low profile, start a new life. Also, he doesn't seem to be fit for any fighting after the incident.

So Kashiwagi is still there. And, now I just thought about, what if there was a possible redemption arc for Arase? Kiryu is believed dead now too, alone the fact that it seems that Kiryu never met Kashiwagi while being in the same area is kinda sad. I like to imagine they met each other...

I think it could go either way, Arase somehow got information on Kiryu being in Ijincho. He is a professional after all. Plus, by now Kiryu is also, well, not really working with... but. You know, not fighting with the Amon Clan anymore, even having Shin Amon to help determine Ichibans strength with the (True) Final Millennium Tower.

And, now, maybe there can be some other comnecting inside the Amon Clan and some info got out to Arase, ah, hell, I don't know, it's all so far fetched but I just like to have those possible headcanons of Arase somehow coming back!

Another possibility could also be Arase thinking Kiryu has died, just per chance being in the area and just going to the Survive bar? He'd probably be way more open about the thought of redemption and with Kashiwagi probably being pretty good at talking former Yakuza into that, given how the whole HLA was his doing.

Just... Thinking about possible things.

Yakuza LaD spoilers end here!

Well. That's that.

At the end of the day, the chances of Arase returning are pretty much 0, other characters you never thought of reappearing sometimes appear in one way or another, so it can be possible, but probably won't.

But one thing is clear, looking more into this character made me really appreciate him more. I guess that's the fact with a lot of characters, not just in Yakuza, but in general.

The characters in Yakuza are just so well written and even though it has some very weird and silly plot points and plot twists, I just love this game so much and looking more into it and replaying it is just so much fun.

I even started to like the minigames in Yakuza 3, even though I got very hopeless at the last pool opponent and the goddamn Mahjong completion, ugh. But at the end of the day it's all just really fun once you get the hang of it. It hasn't aged too well when you play it after the other Yakuza games, but replaying it on all the difficulties and then casually, then trying to beat it as fast as I can just made me love the game more and more every time.

So, uh... I don't know if it's a blessing or curse for me to often really like the characters that either everyone hates or have almost to screen time. Because well... there's such a lack of content and appreciation but hey that's what I'm writing this for!

I hope maybe someone starts to appreciate Arase more after this - if anyone even reads further after learning that I love this character. :D' I swear I tried to write it with as little bias as possible. I do know he's a morally very very grey character but after all, it's a video game character. (...There's no way I'll ever like characters like Yoneda...Ogita...Or Kume though... ugh)

Well anyway, with that, I go!

[cattles-bians]

exes au part 14

post directory

obsetress:

obsetress: viola

em: holy shit

em: i think viola could hold a truly ridiculous number of things in her hands

em: danis like i have a little fanny pack right here- and violas like (turns up nose) absolutely not

obsetress: pre therapy viola during her relationship w dani: buys dani a birkin too, is like "here baby, so you don't have to use that fanny pack"

obsetress: dani's like "oh. i, um. like my fanny pack"

obsetress: viola therapy era after her relationship with dani: buys her a hermes fanny pack instead

obsetress: jamie rolls her eyes but dani is literally

em: i think a lot abt viola offering solutions completely unprompted n then being really offended when ppl dont take her up on it

em: pre therapy obvs

obsetress: SAME

obsetress: oh link is gross

obsetress: cost is grosser

obsetress: but viola lloyd dropping $2550 on a fanny pack for her ex gf? chefs kiss

---

obsetress: ok just remembered viola slouching or leaning or w/e n like

obsetress: brain practically applying that to exes au and imagining when and where she'd slouch n everyone's reactions to htat

obsetress: bc like she has perfect posture but when she chooses to do it it's a power move

obsetress: and i. hm

em: yeah

obsetress: viola sitting up stock straight when they first get to brunch and as soon as she's ordered her bloody mary shes pulling off her sunglasses and dropping them on the table and just sinking back

em: how to phrase this w/o sounding too much like a whore

em: actually no way to say this but like i feel v strongly abt the way we make women take up less space wrt to knees together calves touching type deal and i think maybe

em: maybe viola can manspread a bit as a treat

em: hate that term but i cant think of a better one

obsetress: nah she does n it's hot

obsetress: just had this image pre divorce of viola and arthur at marriage counseling on opp ends of the couch n arthur's sitting v tight close and vi is just

obsetress: leaning and spreading a lil

obsetress: the first time jamie sees her do it she's so taken aback

obsetress: because she's NOT expecting it

em: jamies like ah ok late in life lesbian deal and then jokes on her viola is fluent in dyke slouch

obsetress: jamie immediately trying to suss out just how long viola has been fucking women

obsetress: she says to dani later "i thought she was all proper like" and dani's like "she is" and jamie's like "so wot was that then" and dani's like "well, people are gay, jamie,"

em: ghfjhgljkJFDASJKKJFGA

em: jamies like so wait how long HAS viola been

obsetress: jamie: so you were vi's first serious girlfriend right? dani: dani: jamie: right???????

em: violas been fucking women longer than jamie has lbr

em: i mean shes clearly only 35, jamie,

obsetress: jamie: so... vi... viola: hm? jamie: you're, uh, gay, right? viola: obviously jamie: right. well dani told me you've been dating women since–– viola: since i was 15, yes jamie: but you married a man

em: violas like u went to jail everyone does stupid shit occasionally

em: jamie: so how long have you been dating women viola: since i was 15 jamie: no i meant like. in years viola raises her eyebrows and jamies just like haha nevermind fuck

obsetress: she tried!

obsetress: she tried

em: jamie on her 35th birthday pencilling 'many happy returns' into violas ????th 35th birthday card

em: yknow i think

em: i think something's afoot

obsetress: jamie, giving up on the direct approach

obsetress: slipping in next to rebecca at the wine bar

obsetress: "becca"

obsetress: "hi, jamie" "hi. how old is your girlfriend"

em: am fucking losing it thinking abt jamie like. realising how much gay energy viola has

em: like taken ABACK

obsetress: fksljfLKSDJFLJ

obsetress: just like

obsetress: why are jamies reactions to viola so funny

obsetress: montage of jamie realizing how much gay energy viola has

obsetress: jamie watching viola sitting

obsetress: jamie watching viola pick up a variety of glasses and mugs

obsetress: jamie watching viola compare hand sizes with dani, jamie's girlfriend and viola's ex girlfriend who she dated for literal years and whose hand size she definitely already knows

em: NOT THE HAND SZIES

em: they go for a walk and viola immediately complains about the sun and jamie's like

em: i have a spare hat but ur not gonna like it

em: its a snapback that says daddy or smthn in gold, owen got it for jamie for her bday, jamie Loathes it

obsetress: BYE

obsetress: viola looks better in it than jamie does

em: jamie has that

em: am i attracted to viola? moment

em: it passses

em: she has already compartmentalised the weird psychosexual power play

em: queen of compartmentalising

obsetress: jamie: had another one of those moments today dani: what moments? jamie: where i thought i might be attracted to vi dani: well, you did let her fuck you... what was it, four? times in one night, so

em: jamie; yeah but like that aside

em: jamie 'thats neither here nor there' taylor

obsetress: she is the queen of compartmentalizing tho

em: i was gonna be like. 'jamies like wait i dont remember saying four' but. i think she would tell dani

em: because the flip of that is dani callin up vi n i dont think she would necessarily

obsetress: i think she would and dani would make her anyway

obsetress: well make her is harsh but

obsetress: dani would very curiously ask in very convincing ways

em: lovingly coax it out of her

em: dani: what if i fucked you four times in o

obsetress: dani: let me do five

em: viola probably wears so many rings jamie doesn’t even clock the ever present thumb ring

obsetress: jamie just. writes it all off

em: am laughing abt like. viola v meticulously taking off every single ring and putting it in its proper location before...

obsetress: there is something. so hot about that

obsetress: im gonna scream i think

em: i was just meming and now im thinking abt it and

em: truly played myself

em: actually this is me refusing to unpack whatever the hell theo crain gloves made me feel

obsetress: sdkfmsldjfa

obsetress: fair

em: sublimate it into rings

obsetress: i just like um

obsetress: thinkin about when she and dani are together and like

obsetress: it's intentional and everything has its place but vi also makes a show out of it

obsetress: and like

obsetress: she's SO painstaking about it and definitely makes dani wait a little bit and

em: helps dani outta her big ass earrings

em: i mean dani doesnt even Need the help

em: viola meticulous lloyd

em: i mean she just wears so much goddamn jewellry

obsetress: she can tell when dani's getting impatient and goes even slower

em: viola has like

em: viola is one of thos ppl thats really into expensive watches

obsetress: !!!!!!

obsetress: yeah

obsetress: nice lil canon nod too

em: she drags dani to antique auctions n danis like i cant. actually tell the difference between the real and the forgery and violas like (passionately explains it for like 30 minutes) and dani is

em: like shes mentally checked out but also v intensely watching violas hands as she points to the parts of the watch

em: rebecca gets it tho

em: rebecca Gets It

obsetress: dani shoving vi into the bathroom at the auction house and tugging vi's hand between her legs v rebecca grabbing her own auction paddle and bidding against viola for the same watch

obsetress: (rebecca n vi fuck in the car on the ride home)

em: dani grabs a paddle n mimes spanking viola n then the auctioneer is like '$250 to 201' and danis like aw Fcuk

em: violas like i cant take u Anywhere

obsetress: dani gives her the 🥺😌and viola's immediately over it and pulling out $250

obsetress: dani: i didn't even want it, i was just–– vi: i know dani: what am i even gonna do with a–– vi: i'll sell it for $500 at a private auction next week dani: so technically i'm making you money dani, grinning: it's like i'm your employee dani: do you have any more assignments for me, boss? vi: dani get your hand out of my pocket i need to focu––

[mysticgalaxychaos]

"In depth" analysis (commentary) on Mcs vs Yaha dialogue (part 1)

Because I'm obsessed and I need something to take my mind off of things!

*Also, these screenshots are taken from two different gameplay videos (cause I don't own the game unfortunately) so if the quality shifts it's because of that. I will provide links to the videos at the end of this entire thing*

Yaha's voice is so damn sweet!!!! He sounds like such an innocent person!

Urick sounds like a mix between a disgruntled ex and a man who just met his arch nemesis

"It's... been a while" ゴゴゴゴ

Apart from the sick rapping skills I gotta point out, why is he warning Manah? It really doesn't look like Yaha's that interested in women (I mean we don't know, but he hasn't shown any interest and he shows interest in most male characters so...)

*I'm skipping Nowe's "What do you mean" as it's not Urick x Yaha plot relevant.*

Now, this line is interesting. As a first time viewer, you hear/read this and think: "What a deep quote!" Urick really does sound hurt when saying this and it gives a very dramatic vibe. Now read that line again with the knowledge that Yaha's pact price was his ABILITY TO FEEL **SEXUAL** PLEASURE. Now for context (to those poor people reading this who have no idea whats happening) the power he gained was to charm anyone (any man??) he wanted when they looked into his eyes. This sentence makes sense especially with this context, but I find it hilarious!

"Or maybe... (Dramatic pause, *probably dramatically leans on wall*) it's the price he had to pay...(dramatic voice)"

*means ability to feel sexual satisfaction*

Like idk maybe someone's ability to feel that is super important and warants the dramatic tone but imo I really don't think it does... Especially when spoken from the dude's friend (ex friend or whatever)

Anyway there are more scenes later made really funny by knowing this, we'll get to them. Next line comes from Yaha and isn't super important either. He just compliments Urick's other friends' (yes that is a reference) abilities, tells him it'll be a shame to kill them, doesn't want to fight but he's apparently "duty bound". I don't have anything to analyse there unless he's saying any of these ironically but I can't tell cause he always sounds what I can describe as "polite" and doesn't seem to change a lot. He just sounds genuine so we'll leave it there

Unlike Yaha, Urick sounds 100% ironic and really aggressive. That's something Urick's dialogue tends to have when he talks about Yaha (When he does during the previous section of the game). He just sounds tired and aggressive.

Next part is the Gnomes being introduced and there the fight begins. From here on we have dialogue within the fight and the audio is pretty disrupted by the slowed down roblox death sound effects the gnomes make when they take damage (? I presume) but I'll try to analyse what I have. (If I owned the game I could see if there is a way to turn off those sounds, but I don't so we'll have to use what we have)

First thing Yaha says during the battle (at least in this one video I'm watching, maybe they are in a different order for each one(??)) One thing to note is that Yaha's dialogue is super weird. He says stuff like these and I don't know how to interpret that. I don't know where it's coming from or if ity meant to be some short of "I'll win" type of thing... Buuuuut, what I will point out is how he seems to share Urick's sick rapping skills!

And now he's taunting us... Ok, good I guess. That's what bosses are meant to do...

Another weird thing Yaha says. I don't know if he's trying to advertise himself to Urick or... Nowe... Or if he's trying to strike his own narcissism. Now this is likely refering to Urick (and later on you'll see what I mean) because of the specific use of the word "body". Technically we (and Nowe) can't tell if his body is perfect because we don't see it very much, but it is possible (likely) that Urick has. On the other hand he does say "is perfect" instead of "was" which would imply reference to a past event (which would have been with Urick) meaning we are supposed to be finding his body perfect now by looking at him for the first time. Which we really aren't... Because he's wearing clothes. Idk might just be a weird, hornier way to say he's pretty...*Bonus, the person recording this is using Urick at the time so that's nice*

This has started to remind me of Aizen's quotes after he got the Hogyoku (you know ehich ones I mean, the were wonky af) This is one of the weirder ones... I don't know what he means by "sin"... I want to believe he implies "lust". I just don't get this one...

Now that's more juicy! Gives is WAY more to work with and dare I say WAY WAY more than we would like to! For starters, this quote sounds so horny!!! SO HORNY! Now apart from that, it implies something that is very weird and that is that Yaha is able to compare Nowe's eyes with his adoptive father's. For Yaha to be able to do that it means he has *intensely* looked into "General Oror's" eyes, couple that with the "excite me so" and his powers and... You have a pretty creepy scenario... All I'm gonna say is RIP "General Oror" and Nowe, you really shouldn't ask Urick about this EVER for your own good... ("General Oror" is like really old looking and idk like... Ew! Just how horny do you have to be to do this, like... Maybe Urick was right to be supper dramatic...)

So I just hit the "10 image limit" and on to part two of this we go!

[ragsy]

"Papa, will you tell me again the story of how you got your sword?"

Well, my boss pulled me aside on Monday morning.

"I need you to see something," she whispered. She spoke with the gravity of a library director who's had to deal with bedbugs, tornadoes, roof leaks, and public masturbators in the same fiscal year.

She led me to her office, then gestured to the object lying on her desk.

"So, this got donated to our bookstore over the weekend."

A fucking real-ass ornate longsword. Her grave expression broke into a wry grin.

"I just thought you'd get a kick out of this."

She was right! That's hilarious! I wanted to know the person who had a sword in their house that they needed to dispose of, and thought of the library as the first place who would want it. That thing probably has a bitchin' curse on it. Hope it goes to someone who will appreciate it

We laughed, I returned to my desk. I resumed my normal duties.

Several hours later, the manager of the bookstore approaches me.

"How are you enjoying your new sword?" she asks. The bookstore manager is 85 years old, five feet tall, and as mild-mannered-midwestern as they come. She was the one who received the sword from our generous donor; the mental image of her carrying the damn thing all the way across the parking lot is about to send me into hysterics.

"It's your sword, isn't it?" I ask. Refusal of the call to adventure, I guess.

"Well, I don't think we can put it in the store, and you seemed interested in it. So you can have it, if you'd like."

I want it so bad.

"Can I purchase it from you?"

"Technically you can't, but you could make a small cash donation to the bookstore and I'll give it to you in exchange."

Fuck.

On my lunch break, I give $10 to the bookstore cashier and I leave with a sword.

God, I hope this thing isn't cursed.

anyone wanna see my new sword