#i mean i want it but in the way i want any other unreasonably expensive thing

[osanzo]

has anyone actually purchased the interview with the vampire themed casket off the amc online store i need to know it's for science

[togglesbloggle]

You Aren't Supposed to Win

There's a species of post on Tumblr that's not uncommon: explainers about neurotypical social interactions for the benefit of the neurodivergent. Others, in an adjacent genre, are vent-posts or bewildered people expressing exasperation and impatience with neurotypical social rituals. And these are usually fine as far as they go, but there's a sort of deficit or hole in them that I think tends to go un-addressed.

Basically, a lot of these explainers are very reasonably helping readers to navigate a system for some desired outcome (getting a job, finding a date, or other such things), but with the understanding that a failure to get the desired outcome is a failure of the system. And that's... only kind of true.

Neurotypical social interactions can be a very complex mix of collaborative and competitive enterprises. The ratio between those things can shift on a dime, it can be really hard to figure out where on the spectrum you are at any given moment, and this is the system working as intended. Or at least, as the players in the game intend, which isn't always quite the same thing.

I don't want to overstate this too much; standard social interactions aren't a fight to the death or anything. Typical examples are more like a preponderance of cooperation, but with some jockeying for a larger share of the rewards that follow from a shared project. Or, perhaps, attempts to spend the least effort in a group project, while receiving a full share of the reward.

The thing about this is, the presence of an antagonistic element within these interactions means that perfect legibility is opposed to most participants' goals for the interaction. There is a degree of confusion and uncertainty that is quite deliberate and instrumentally useful. If a particular partnership is going to pivot to 'pvp mode', it is absolutely in each participants' interest to be the first one to defect, and to mask that defection for as long as possible; perfect transparency prevents them from being able to do so, and they can and will interpret requests for perfect transparency as being hostile acts.

At the same time, admitting any of this is also a loss of strategic advantage during adversarial interactions, so it's one of the hardest things to get people to admit. It's even hard for people to notice that they're doing it, because evolution favors mentalities that keep as much of this as possible subconscious; it's easier to defect without warning if you never consciously think of yourself as defecting at all. So explicit discussions of this are quite rare. (There is, however, an entire genre of party games designed to bring them to the fore and let people show off their capacity for adversarial play among shifting alliances and uncertainty, so it's more 'open secret' than 'forbidden lore'.)

The upshot of all of this is, the desire for an explicit, legible system of social interactions that can be exploited for reliable outcomes- can often be a desire for power over others, in a way that I don't think the proponents fully realize. The fantasy of people just doing what you want is a powerful one for everybody, neurodivergent and neurotypical alike. And this isn't an unreasonable fantasy! it's really not fun to be surrounded by people pursuing their own interests at the expense of yours!

But it's important to realize that a lot of the hard work of aligning those values and making a system of interactions 'purely collaborative', such that everybody will be doing their best to help you succeed regardless of skill level or quirks of neurotype, is a really hard problem that nobody has yet been able to solve. And until we get there, a system in which you reliably get everything you want, and which you navigate with perfect confidence, is one that subordinates the people around you.

[babygorewhore]

Newlyweds

Mafia AU Rafe Cameron x fem reader

After a dangerous situation, you’re forced to marry mafia boss Rafe Cameron. Someone you went to high school with years ago. And now, you both attempt to make the best of it.

Warnings! OOC Rafe a bit considering it’s a AU. Non graphic Talks of violence, beginning of a universe for my version of mafia Rafe. Male receiving oral! Degrading! He is covered in blood but it’s not readers! Praise! Unprotected sex! Photo in the middle is edited by @rafeyscurtainbangs

Not only was Rafe Cameron your previous enemy from high school, a certified asshole who most people avoided, he was also apparently in the mafia. A fact you didn’t learn until you were forced into a marriage with him weeks ago.

The situation was necessary. A bargain you had to make in order to save your family who owed their rivals a debt.

In order to maintain your and your parent’s safety, you agreed to marry Rafe for status. For protection. You lied to your friends, saying you’d both been secretly dating for a while and decided to get hitched.

It could be worse, you reasoned during moments of anxiety and anger. While Rafe was a dick, he did provide a nice bedroom and bought you a ring that was fitting to your personality. You both were reluctant to this arrangement and so far stuck to minimal interactions.

His only soft spot you observed was in the way he spoke to his youngest sister. Wheezie. He didn’t give her the same cold, sarcastic bite everyone else got. Did you eavesdrop? Yes but you might as well learn as much as possible.

Rafe’s newest peace offering was currently in front of you.

A wardrobe full of new clothes. All your size, tailored to your figure and even specific items used in your hobbies. He didn’t leave hand written notes or explain how he knew what to buy.

You selected a dark dress and a necklace above your heart. Both suited to your body but it radiated a new life. One that promised danger, wealth and power. He insisted you join him for dinner, sending you a nonnegotiable text in the morning. Signed off with a simple, R.C.

The table was already set when you entered the dining room. It was dimly lit and the plates were expensive. The style was clean cut. Newest editions of technology in every corner with a view of the ocean nearby.

Rafe sat at the head. Still in his business clothes but his tie was gone. His shirts and pants were always pristine. His legs were parted, large hands gripping the arms of the chair as he watched you sit across from him.

He looked angry, blue eyes on fire and his jaw twitching with irritation. You weighed your options, crossing your ankles as you toyed with the fringes of the tablecloth. Ultimately, you decided to speak.

“Is everything okay?”

He snorted and his shoulders rolled. Rafe tapped his fingers against the chair, his gold rings shining around his fingers. ��Had to handle some business. I’m tired of dealing with incompetent people and family shit.”

You watched as he chewed his lower lip and bounced his knee. You narrowed your eyes and leaned forward.

“Was any of that about me? About our,” You looked for the right word, “situation?”

Rafe gave you a bitter smile. “Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Couple of people notice how unhappy we look and have big ass mouths. They know we avoid each other.”

“Shit,” You breathe and he nods.

“Yeah. Shit. So, this whole thing is gonna fall apart if we keep this up.” Your hackles started raising but Rafe pressed on, “I mean if we’re gonna do this we might as well…be friends or something.”

That surprised you. His effort to seem calm and logical. You knew it was probably unreasonable to still view him as that high-school jock who bullied Pogues almost ten years ago. Or the fact you were one of the few people who stood up to him.

“You want to be friends?” You parroted and Rafe flicked his hand nonchalantly.

“That’s what I said, right? Look,” Rafe set his elbows on his knees, trying to seem smaller. “I’m not some kid anymore. And as shitty as this whole thing is, I’m trying here. I’m trying to make all this work and take care of everyone.”

Your defenses let down slightly and you acknowledged his point. You raised a glass and held it up in a truce.

“Friends?”

Rafe had a ghost of a smile on his face, a sight that was attractive and he raised his own.

“Friends.”

Two weeks later, Rafe stormed in the house and he was losing his mind. You were out of the shower, still wearing a robe with nothing underneath when you heard the echoing slam of the door. You heard him screaming at the handful of people who worked at the house, ordering security and barking orders that you couldn’t understand.

You removed your headphones, his words muffled by and you stood up to leave your bedroom.

You both made an effort to be friendly, you wouldn’t say a particular bond was there but the terms were improving. Your conversation about friendship looming in the air as you came downstairs.

You searched for him and found him sitting in his office. A lineup of books on shelves, computers and photographs around you. The leather seat was large underneath his body but you were shocked at the sight of him covered in blood.

Rafe trembled and you noticed the gun in his right hand. He stared at you with his nostrils flaring.

“What the hell happened?” Your eyes widened as he tapped the gun against the chair.

“Lot of people died tonight. An investment of ours went wrong and uh,” He laughed but it leaked with rage, “Our common enemy attempted to kill one of my men.”

He had shared the name of one of his partners, someone he spoke about with something close to respect.

“Barry?”

Rafe nodded and blew out a breath. “Part of the deal. People step out of line, people disobey orders or they turn on us,” He glanced at the gun. “And we don’t forgive it.”

He exhaled tightly and met your eyes. “One of em said some shit about you. Said they were gonna kill you. And I shot him without a second thought.” Your mouth parted at his confession.

“You protected me.”

Rafe licked his teeth and laid his head back against the seat. “I protect what’s mine. Anyone who tries to take what belongs to me away, pays the ultimate price.”

His statement gave you chills. You shivered despite the warm robe and a carnal desire ached in your core. The sight of the blood, his spread legs and the gun dangling loosely in his hand made you approach him.

You knelt down, toying with the button of his pants. Rafe looked down at you, his neck straining as his chest heaved at your nimble fingers. You paused and waited for him to give you permission.

“You wanna suck my cock, baby doll? Thank me for what I did?” His voice had a playful tone but he set down the weapon. He set a steady palm on the top of your head as you tugged his pants down.

An urgency overtook you and you hastily peeled down his boxers. You swallowed at the sight of his dick. He was big, thick and the tip pulsed with need as he adjusted his hips. He was giving you an invitation and you gladly took it.

You started off teasing, kissing his happy trail and making your way down to lick the soft skin. Rafe locked his fingers in your hair, encouraging you forward and you sucked his balls. He grunted sharply as you moaned and instinctively bounced on your heels.

You took him into your mouth, the tip shooting precum on your tongue as you bobbed your head and teased him with the rhythm. Rafe began to unravel, his hold firm and he wrapped his hand around your head. He brought your nose to his stomach and you gagged. Deepthroating him as your hands flew to his thighs.

You started running out of air, tears flickering in your lashes and you pulled back. Drool and his pleasure seeping from your mouth. He growled at the sight.

“Filthy little slut. I got half a mind to cum on your pretty face and send a picture to everyone. But I need to feel that pussy,” Rafe hauled you on his lap. Your legs straddling his dick moments before he shoved you down.

Your wet cunt sucked him in, sending a whine through your throat and Rafe groaned the further you sank. He drove his pelvis up, his pace brutal as he smashed his lips to yours.

You tasted the tang of blood on his mouth but it only increased the pressure in your stomach. Rafe’s flesh hit your clit as you bounced, your thigh muscles aiding the movement.

“Mhm, ride my dick. Taking me like such a good girl. You’re so goddamn pretty like this,” He moaned into your mouth and he lewdly licked a stripe up your neck.

Your nipples were painfully hard as you held onto his shoulders and circled your hips. Rafe smacked your ass and wrapped his hand around your throat. Not extremely hard but enough to get your attention.

You cried out a louder sound of pleasure and Rafe wickedly smirked.

“God, you’re so fucking disgusting. Getting off on me choking you?” He scanned your body, watching your tits bounce as you fucked him faster. “That’s it, come on you can do it better than that. Uh huh, you gonna cream on it?”

You wailed as your climax hit you and you shook. Rafe growled, “Open your fucking mouth!” His loud command mixed in with your orgasm made you immediately listen.

He spat in your mouth and gave you one more hard thrust. Rafe’s cum burst into your pussy, your entrance greedily taking in his seed.

He held you as you both came down from aftershock and you caught a glimpse of yourself in a reflection.

His hand left a bloody print on your neck. From his enemies that were now yours.

“Now, you’ve really sealed the deal.” Rafe lifted you up, making your legs encircle his waist and he laid you on the desk. He shoved aside what was in his way and started trailing his lips down your chest.

“You’re such a sweet girl, huh? Rewarding me? Now, you’re gonna let me reward you.”

Dividers by @strangergraphics

Tagging @xxbimbobunnyxx @oceandriveab @oceanblvd111 @redhead1180 @gri959 @loserboysandlithium @usergeta @rafeinterlude @rafecameroninterlude @cameronsprincess @sturnioloshacker @stillwjk-channie-lixie @justafangirls-blog

[hwanchaesong]

Enhypen: Tropes & Parallels

Synopsis: Love portrayed in different kinds of ways and worlds.

🥀 Heeseung: Sanctuary (Love Epiphany)

genre: angst, smut, fluff

"Will you believe me if I told you that you're my whole sky? Dazzling like the orange sun, prettier than the sinking sunset over the glistening cerulean sea. You are my calm during the night. Will you believe me if I said that from the start to finish, you're the one I've prayed for?"

Preview

🌌 Jay: Chatoyant (Soulmate)

genre: angst, fluff, smut

"Every waking day, I asked the sun to look after your well being. Every sleepless night, I wished for the moon to let you be safe. I implored the whole universe to guide you back to me. Here, in my arms. So I could marry you like I always promised. So you could love me like how I deserve it."

Preview

🪐Jake: Idyllic (Mutual Pining)

genre: fluff, angst, smut

"How many times do I stumble down this dead end? How many times should I meet all these wrong people just to meet the right, destined one? Tell me, how long should I tolerate more of this suffering? When will I be able to leave this hell hole? When the sweet happiness finally has turned into an ugly resentment?"

Preview

❄️ Sunghoon: Quintessence (Forbidden Love)

genre: angst, smut, fluff

"Do my words mean nothing to you unless they are on an old paper, written metaphorically? Are any of my sentences and paragraphs trash just because they don't rhyme poetically? Then, what if we let the stars align tonight, by chance, by fate, by destinies and against all odds, will you allow me to enter your life?"

Preview

🤍 Sunoo: Labyrinth (Unexpected Love)

genre: fluff, angst, suggestive

"These pretty faces won't be the reason why I'll let myself fall in love again. I will not accept someone who brings an unreasonably expensive bouquet only during special occasions. I can't make any promises anymore, not in a tranquil and joyful way. Please forgive me, because if I open my heart again, I don't think I will be ready for it to bleed until I die."

Preview

🍀 Jungwon: Ephemeral (Second Chances)

genre: angst, fluff, suggestive

"Were your feelings truly genuine or you just weren't patient enough? Did you really love me or were you in love with the thought of having someone kiss you during your darkest nights, or having someone hold you during your coldest days? The chances that weren't given to you, you only chose me for that, right? Successfully distracting your heart that wasn't meant to take a risk."

Preview

Read here

🪷 Riki: Paradox (Enemies to Lovers)

genre: angst, fluff, suggestive

"No, not once did I question the moment where I felt like drowning when you decided to walk the other way, turning your back on me. Surprise was the last emotion I felt when someone took my spot once I'm out of the picture. The only thing that is wrong here is me. I made the mistake of asking you the truth, then choosing to believe the untrue."

Preview

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a/n: again, another one that's in my drafts for so long, i had to post this and add to the masterlist ig. feel free to message, send an ask, or comment under this post if you want to be added to the taglist :3

[queenvhagar]

While I really do love the early idea of Rhaenicent as in a young Rhaenyra and young Alicent have a very close, quasi-romantic, deeply meaningful bond in their early years, at a certain point it just becomes one-sided, and at a further point in the story, it becomes unrealistic and unreasonable.

Once Viserys announces his intent to marry Alicent, and she of course has to accept because her father and the king tell her she must, and she's a young daughter of a second son in a feudalist monarchy, it's like a switch has flipped for Rhaenyra in that past this moment no amount of effort on Alicent's part can do anything. From that moment, the relationship is just Alicent giving, giving, and giving to Rhaenyra until ultimately she has nothing left to give.

Alicent tries for years to mend the relationship between them and foster a positive relationship between herself, Rhaenyra, and her children. As her father is pushing for Aegon as heir, Alicent instead praises Rhaenyra and defends her to her own father, her husband and king, and the ladies at court. She proclaims that Rhaenyra would be a great ruler and goes out of her way to support her. She convinces the king to let Rhaenyra embark on a kingdoms-wide tour to personally select her own match among hundreds of suitors, something literally no other noble woman has ever had the opportunity to do before. She comforts Rhaenyra about the prospect of getting married and having children. She takes Rhaenyra's word and defends her against allegations that could have her disinherited and exiled, as it did Saera Targaryen, defying her own father and standing up to the king, even at the expense of her own father being sent away from court and her isolation in the Red Keep. Time after time over literal years Alicent gives to Rhaenyra and tries to mend the relationship, despite having done very little herself to merit any huge attempt at reconciliation with her.

And what does Rhaenyra do with all of this? From the moment her father announces his intent to marry Alicent, the relationship is dead to her. Her first reaction, despite recognizing Alicent's powerlessness in the situation, is to call her a whore. She spends years ignoring Alicent's attempts to mend the relationship, only interacting with her to passive aggressively reference Alicent's new position as queen. She refuses to interact with her half-brother, a literal baby, insisting he is just "Alicent's son" and therefore only a threat to her. She insults everyone at Aegon's birthday party, yells at the king in front of the court about how she thinks she's above duty and tradition, and storms off into the woods overnight, only to return covered in blood giving Alicent and her toddler a death glare. After being given an extended tour to choose a match thanks to Alicent's influence with the king, she returns and almost immediately makes fun of how romantic Alicent's situation is of being forced to be a broodmare locked away in a castle. She throws away her chance at picking her marriage by being seen in a brothel with her uncle. She lies on her mother's grave to take advantage of Alicent's support for her and cover her own ass which results in Alicent being left all alone in the Red Keep (and after this conversation she goes back to acting like Alicent means nothing to her).

Alicent gives, and Rhaenyra takes. Until Alicent just cannot keep giving. Then, once the giving stops, the narrative wants her to be seen as this ultimate villain. She's evil for not giving to Rhaenyra again and instead refusing to marry Helaena to Rhaenyra's bastard son (a desperate proposal to try to cover her own ass that would've made Helaena a political hostage when the bastard issue would eventual boil over). She's evil for not giving to Rhaenyra and instead showing anger when Rhaenyra's sons attack Aemond and cut out his eye and Rhaenyra demands that Aemond be punished. She's evil for not giving to Rhaenyra and instead supporting a Velaryon who is rightfully upset that Rhaenyra's bastard son is usurping his throne. And she's evil for ruling the kingdoms with the Hand of the King while Viserys is dying and Rhaenyra is off living unbothered on Dragonstone (and not "giving" Rhaenyra the responsibilities as heir she already should have been doing on her own).

I understand the young love was once there, and for even longer, Alicent alone seems to have been trying to restore that relationship, despite her relative powerlessness as a non-Targaryen in the Red Keep. But at a certain point, when someone has repeatedly treated you like you were nothing to them, when someone has repeatedly used you for their own benefit and then tossed you aside, when someone takes advantage of you and takes you for granted so many times, when someone shows you they will throw you and yours under the bus so easily to save their own skin and shows you they cannot be trusted to show any concern about your well-being...

At some point that affection is realistically and justifiably lost. It would certainly be gone after Driftmark. There is no world where Alicent could consider the relationship mendable past then (and thus no world where she actually means what she says at the dinner). And it is appalling to see that somehow despite it all the writers seem to want us to believe that after Blood and Cheese - Helaena's sanity destroyed, Alicent's young grandson slain in cold blood, all in Rhaenyra's name - that somehow Alicent holds out hope of rekindling lost love with Rhaenyra. Not when Rhaenyra has only ever taken from her. Not when Rhaenyra has never supported Alicent or her family in any meaningful way.

Alicent is not so desperately sabotaging to herself and her family that she would yearn to rekindle a situationship she had briefly literal decades ago and that she tried for years to fix to no avail. It's over. As it should be. Anything else is character assassination and some poor attempt at depicting the Alicent of the show as some peaceful martyr to a "feminist" queen who should be revered because *checks notes* a prophecy and white stag shows that she is pure, righteous, and has divine right to rule so she can do no wrong and anyway apparently *checks other notes* Alicent's son is a drunken r*pist who assaulted an original character created by the writers to make him look worse than Rhaenyra.

[lovelynim]

TickleTober2024/Day 23 - Money

Honkai: Star Rail - Aventurine x Dr. Ratio

“Oh, you like it?”

“No, I was just looking at-”

“I will take two of those shirts, please. Oh, and that suit too,” Aventurine ordered, only winking at Ratio. His credit card was already in his hand and Ratio could only sigh in disapproval at another unreasonable expense.

By the time they went back to their room in the nearby hotel, Aventurine had already spent… no, it was better to not do the math, Ratio thought, looking at the seemingly endless pile of shopping bags.

What made everything worse was the realization that very few items among that sea of purchases were, actually, for Aventurine. Most were “gifts” bought on what Ratio could only call some sort of primal impulse that prevented Aventurine from thinking twice- no, from thinking at all before spending his credits.

“What’s wrong, doc?” Aventurine hummed, ravaging through one of the bags, “you didn’t like that shopping? We can go to anot-”

“Don’t,” Ratio interrupted him, his eyes widened a little at how fast Aventurine jumped into the conclusion of spending more money, “you already spent too much on me. This isn’t the behavior you’d expect from one of the heads of the IPC.”

“Eh?” Aventurine giggled, tossing the bag full of clothes away before plopping his body on the large bed - even this room, now that Ratio thought about it, was an unreasonable expense. Who needs to book a deluxe hotel bedroom for a simple trip like that? They were barely staying over the hotel!!

“Please, doc, what do you take me for? I’m barely spending some pocket money.”

“No, you have a problem. More than one, maybe,” Ratio sighed, walking over Aventurine with his arms crossed in front of his chest. His eyes were cold, bathing the blonde with a disapproving look. “You don’t want you to spend on me like that.”

“Why not?” Aventurine pouted, but just as he was about to sit up to face Ratio with all his stubbornness, the doctor sat himself on top of Aventurine’s midriff, pinning him into the mattress with his weight. “H-hey, you’re not exactly light, doc, c-can’t you mov-”

“Promise.”

“W-what?”

“Promise me you won’t do any other unreasonable purchase or waste your money on something unnecessary. At least, not until we are done with work.”

Aventurine knew something was up, but what kind of gambler would he be if he backed away with just a threat like that? “No way, doc. I can spehehe- h-hehey!”

“Suit yourself,” Ratio scoffed, pinning one of Aventurine’s wrists next to his head while his free hand kneaded and tickled the blonde’s vulnerable ribs, Ratio’s fingers wiggling over the delicate, expensive fabric of Aventurine’s shirt.

“R-RahHAHAhatio!” Aventurine laughed, his feet that were once hanging over the bed’s edge now kicking up in the air, flailing like a fish on a hook. “W-whahat are you- aHAHAH, c-cohohome on, not thehehere!”

“I made you a clear proposal, gambler, but since you seem to enjoy wasting my patience as much as you waste your money, I might as well opt for… a different approach on your money-management problem.”

A/N: Who else than Aventurine for this prompt? I mean, he shields himself with his money, right?

Anyway, I don't think his money protected him from this, ehe, but oh well

[kagoutiss]

So I am having SO MANY thoughts about the twinrova and how they’re a couple centuries old and so would’ve lived through multiple rulers before “serving” ganondorf.

Like they raised him, what was their agenda? Did they have plans spanning multiple sovereigns to secure their power over the gerudo? Did they have the Omni man “what’s another century we’ll just raise the next one” kind of feelings towards him if he didn’t become their puppet or weapon?

So much thot not enough brain space this rot is taking over me

ooooooogh twinrova brainrot is strong in me too…..yeah because if they’re ~400 years old and OoT ganondorf was still just in his twenties at the time, and a male gerudo child is born every century, then presumably they could’ve been in the position of raising said children multiple times? i think i remember seeing a take somewhere that considered the idea of twinrova’s role in the gerudo being similar to that of impa serving as an attendant/mentor to zelda, and i think that’s a really cool idea. there’s probably also a lot of potential angst to be found in these little old witches who may have cared for previous gerudo princes, and would have had the incredible responsibility of keeping them safe in childhood, while also training them in witchcraft and war strategy, and advising them in their kingship as adults. because if that’s the case, they would’ve seen those princes live and die multiple times too

it kinda makes you wonder if their love for ganondorf is so obsessive in part because they know firsthand how painful it is to lose a child, to live long enough to outlive to your children multiple times. tbh, i feel like them using ganondorf as their proxy for everything, and trying to make him an all-powerful being at any cost, is more a product of their love for him, than it is a litmus test of whether they‘ll love him or not? and by this i don’t mean they’re like,,, a healthy family by any means, like you can still easily apply terms like abuse and trauma-bonding to parts of their dynamic, imo. i think kotake & koume love ganondorf genuinely, and always have, and that the sentiment is mutual. it’s just that they’re willing to go to very extreme lengths to protect/empower ganon in the ways they believe are necessary, because they are very aware of how important he is, to them and the gerudo as a whole. and ironically, a lot of the time, this desperation ends up being not at all conducive to his safety, or sanity, or happiness

like…raising him with expectations and standards that are completely unreasonable for any human being, that turn him into an ambition-driven nutjob who invents lightning magic & masters all types of weaponry & plays a pipe organ, while also having virtually no ability to form genuine relationships with people other than his mothers. or them trying to make him into an impervious, all-powerful being by trying to take divine power, which sometimes inadvertently turns the rational parts of his brain into soup and sets them on fire. or them trying to revive him after death in the downfall timeline by sacrificing themselves, inadvertently bringing him back wrong, and sentencing him to an existence he never would’ve originally wanted

idk. they’re really fun and also heartbreaking to think about. he engraves their names into his weapons, they willfully die just for the possibility of allowing him to live again. their familial relationship seems to be the most important bond in the lives of everyone involved in it, at the expense of any other kind of connections in their lives. he’s their figurative puppet in a few ways, and will break himself over and over if it means meeting their expectations, but i doubt any of them see it that way. everyone involved gets extremely hurt in one way or another, no matter what, often in an attempt to do the opposite, out of love and fear. little fucked up witch fambly……it’s so much

[prosperdemeter2]

Teaser Tuesday - glass

Haven't teased this in awhile 👀 It's slowly coming, but it's coming. I honest to God love this fic.

“Thanks for, uhm,” Evan trailed off, squinting his eyes against the harsh glare of rain on pavement. He shuffled his feet, his hand rubbing at the skin on the back of his neck and his cheeks dusted with a light spattering of pink. “For dinner.” He finished lamely.  Eddie had lived in Boston for a season, now, and he still didn't think he'd ever get used to the noise. Evan lived near the harbor in a new, tall building that overlooked the water and sat against a backdrop of crystallized glass. It probably cost Eddie’s entire month's salary to rent there, and he was sure Evan didn't make enough at the restaurant - even as a bartender that moonlighted as a member of their kitchen staff when it was busy or he was bored - to afford it on his own. He knew he didn't. That he lived with his brother, a man Eddie had met only once and didn't have much of an opinion on. Things between Evan and Daniel were complicated. There seemed to be a lot of love there, a bucket full of respect, but something deeper that Evan clearly never wanted to talk about. “Of course.” He said and tried not to feel intimidated standing in front of all of that glass.  Eddie should have left it at that. Gone back to Shannon’s hotel. Picked up Chris to put him to bed at an… entirely unreasonable time. “Even if it was in my own kitchen.” Evan said with a cheeky little smile, looking sideways at Eddie through his eyelashes.  God, he was beautiful. With the dying summer heat and humidity clinging to his skin, the light tan to his arms, the way his hair was brighter in the sun, like it contained sushine itself, curls fighting to break free of where he had tamed them under a backwards base all cap with the Red Sox logo on the front. “It's not like I made you do any work.” Eddie accepted the tease for what it was, a stalling tactic. He leaned back against the cooling metal of his truck, thumbing his keys in his pocket.  Evan looked at him, all of two steps away, on the sidewalk where Eddie was on the curb and dipped his teeth ever so lightly into his lower lip. “Would…” he swallowed, his adams apple bobbing in his throat, his eyes glancing down Eddie’s entire body in a way that made him feel like he had caught on fire and quickly been put out. “Would you like to come up? Daniel's working the late shift tonight.”  Meaning… they would have the apartment to themselves. Evan's whole fancy apartment that probably had big windows and expensive furniture. He had been to Eddie’s, been pressed down into Eddie’s secondhand mattress, and slept on the pillows that had been empty for so long. Eddie could see how it would happen. They'd keep their hands off of each other until they were inside. Evan would push him against the door the moment he locked it. He'd ask for permission like he always did. And when Eddie gave it, he'd claim him as his own again. It would be slow, or maybe even a bit fast, depending, and it would be… he'd taste like Eddie’s horrible drinks, like the quesadillas he had made on the stove. He'd whimper and whine, and with no one else house they'd be loud for once. No bitten off noises or muffled sounds. His mattress was probably a lot more comfortable than Eddie’s could ever have a dream of being. “Yes.” He breathed out and then blinked, shaking himself. “But I can't.”  Evan’s face did something complicated. A flutter of his eyelashes to show disappointment and then a roll of his lips in acceptance. No one's ever really… wanted me to stay the night before. He had said when Eddie offered it to him. “Oh.” He scratched behind his ear and cleared his throat. “Right, uhm… well, thanks for the… you know. Dinner.” 

“I have to pick up Chris.” Eddie said in a rush. “Before, you know…” He joked awkwardly. Lamely. “Before Shannon does something crazy like… take him back to Texas or something.” Not that she would but the worry was still passivly in his mind. Shannon didn't want to be a parent, at least not all of the time, and they both knew that what Eddie had carved out for them in Boston was what was best for him now. “Otherwise… I would.”  Evan tugged his lip into his mouth like he didn't believe him. Or, like he did believe him, but wasn't sure if he could. “Yeah?”  Of course, he would. Eddie would have been dumb not to. But Chris came first, and Eddie’s libido (and love life) could wait. “Yeah.”  Evan smiled, slow and shy. “Okay.” He said softly. Pleasantly.  “Okay?”  He blinked up at him, “Yeah. Okay.” Evan rolled himself forward, not allowing himself a moment to pause and think about what he was doing. His lips landed lightly against Eddie’s, wet and welcoming and a taste that Eddie wanted to chase for however long he was allowed it. “Goodnight, Eddie.”  Eddie swallowed as he pulled back, settled himself inches away and tried not to lick his lips in fear that, if he did, he would lose Evan’s taste from them entirely. “Night, Ev.” 

[miscelliteeous]

Been thinking about Spandam again a lot lately for some reason. I was majorly into him back when the Enies Lobby arc was coming out a looooong time ago (please understand this makes me feel very old!) like I printed off pics to keep in my school folders, had a very elaborate selfship (well over a decade before I even heard that term) and all that jazz. Held off on posting this for over a week because it feels a little weird sharing this since they're super old concepts.

Anyways! All that to preface that these headcanons are a tiny bit new, but most are very old concepts from my selfship getting dusted off. Some are a bit toxic, but I mean, it's Spandam, of course they are.

Spandam Headcanons

-General Relationship/History-

He met you through his father’s connections when the two of you were children. Your parents and his arranged a marriage and you and Spandam are expected to accept it.

You spend a month with him every year while your respective parents have a vacation together at a resort.

Spandam whines and bosses you around and you’re expected to put up with it because he’s a year older and his father is a higher rank than yours and this trend continues through the rest of your relationship.

Despite this, you do somewhat enjoy his company, as his weaknesses mean you get to step up and play hero to him often, even if he isn’t the most grateful. And around your teens you realize you do find him cute, even if you would never admit it.

The yearly meetings end when you’re in your late teens and instead you’re stuck having to help plan a reluctant wedding that neither of you are sure you want.

The wedding is long and boring, but you and Spandam surprise each other by having a good time complaining about everything together.

As the years go by and he rises in rank (cough nepobaby cough) you’re by his side, and you get to see a side of him others rarely see. After about a year together, he’d shocked to realize he actually DOES love you, in his own way.

He can be sweet! He likes to spoil you by buying you gifts, and he makes sure you know how expensive/rare they are.

Please join him in being a smug asshole to others and he will be over the moon. Assert your authority belittle, demean, he likes having someone to back him up when he's talking shit.

Honestly can be a pretty shit husband, not gonna lie. You’d need to learn basic combat skills (ideally you’d be trained to an almost Cipher Pol 9 level but he can’t always get what he wants) because in addition to being married to him he’d be expecting you to defend him sometimes.

Do not expect him to put himself in harms way for you though, and he would push you to the ground if it would buy him more time to save himself in a crisis.

No matter how many “spill proof” cups you buy him, he constantly proves them wrong. At least he’s easy to buy gifts for.

It bugs him IMMENSELY that CP9 vastly prefers interacting with you and they actually have a little respect for you.

He does brag about you a lot to his underlings, but its usually in a "my wife is better than you" way, putting others down.

You get to see him without his mask more than anyone else, and he often uses it to elicit sympathy and praise from you. When he’s in a bad mood he’ll sometimes say his face is your fault for not protecting him.

Spandam goes between phases of “no PDA in front of anyone” and “clingy and handsy”, depending on his mood.

The relationship can be rather ‘slap, slap, kiss’ at times, but he doesn’t really hold it against you if you give as good as you get. Sure, he’ll whine and complain that you’re unreasonable, but he’s known you long enough to not take it personally.

So basically: he won’t hesitate to slap you if he’s in a bad mood, so slap him the fuck back! Just be careful, he’s a lot weaker than you. But he’s pretty durable.

Regardless of any fights, he has trouble sleeping at night if he’s not curled up with you so any issues are cleared up before bedtime. He’s much more manageable when it’s just the two of you.

-Family Relationship-

He'd be perfectly happy and fine with never having to see your family again if you don't.

His family though? You’re stuck visiting Spandine any time Spandam wants to.

You’re both expected to continue the family line asap.

Spandam wouldn’t be any extra help during pregnancy, the most he’d do is hire you some assistants or have Funkfreed out more often for you to lean on or to bring you things.

50/50 on if he would miss the birth. It depends on if there’s a work opportunity or not. If he has a chance to rise in rank, he’ll take it.

Same goes for birthdays, anniversaries, and any other holidays. Anything to boost his own standing always comes first.

I’m sorry but there’s a good chance the child would inherit the darker face markings too, or at least the eye ones.

An even worse father than he is a husband, leaves the childcare to you or a nanny. Will not change diapers, clean up throw up, etc.

Still has a fondness for his kid because it’s his, especially if the kid reminds him of himself.

The type to try and buy his kids love and respect.

Unless you took massive steps to curb it, the kid would likely grow up to be a spoiled brat who looks up to Spandam and never realizes how lonely they really feel in his company.

-Misc-

The type to toss and turn in his sleep. Not because he’s tormented or anything but because he can never find the perfect angle to sleep in.

Spandam would only admit it when you’re alone with him, but he likes to lay his head in your lap and have his hair stroked, very calming for such a stressed out guy.

Goes between extremely secure in the relationship to worrying he might lose you to one of his subordinates if you talk to them too long. Then he’s clingy for the rest of the day.

His favorite date spot is anywhere that has a good and highly expensive steak. The price is important because he likes reiterating to you that he can afford very nice things/bragging.

Even if you’re taller, he’d likely call you things like “my little Y/N”, because it makes him feel big and powerful.

During anniversaries when he IS there, he breaks out the good whiskey and likes to has a drink with you.

He acts like he likes black coffee but when he can, he has a SUPER complicated drink order at coffee shops and gets very annoyed when it’s wrong.

You have to put up with him going “don’t you know who I am?!” in public with the dignity and grace that he severely lacks.

If push comes to shove, he wouldn’t hesitate to put your life at risk for his own but he would be very moody and shockingly (to himself) upset with himself for a long time, feeling guilty is something he’s not used to at all.

That being said, it would almost certainly not come to that and you still rank higher in his heart than anyone else.

He’s at your mercy when healing from the Enies Lobby incident and badly injured, but he deserves to be smacked hard for almost leaving you behind during the Buster Call.

Is a lot less smug and a lot more humble towards you after his extensive recovery and being moved to an underling position in CP0.

He becomes a LOT more clingy too, and would prefer you be at his side at all times.

[emeraldspiral]

Thinking about how so far in Invader Zim the only members of Irken society we've seen have been members of the military, fast food workers, and scientists. I headcanon that there are no artists on Irk and all creative work is done by AI, but I like to think that there are civilian Irkens who do other jobs besides working in the military or feeding or supplying the military. I imagine they probably have big corporations that make the snack food Irkens love, their vehicles, communication devices and other infrastructure, their TVs and couches and other everyday items needed for leisure and entertainment, etc... And Irkens absolutely would have a celebrity culture surrounding the CEOs of these companies. Like, everyone idolizes them and hangs onto their every word hoping their success will rub off on them. And since extreme selfishness is so ingrained in their culture, Irkens don't even have to pretend to think these are good people. They know all about and applaud the exploitation of underpaid workers, price gouging customers, and every other shady business practice meant to maximize the CEO's profits at the expense of everyone else. They don't think that makes you evil, they think it makes you smart. But they also kinda only think being greedy and exploitative makes you smart because they think if you're rich, powerful, and successful you must be smart and therefore everything you do is smart. But these guys aren't smart at all. They're basically all indistinguishable from Red and Purple. Literally every CEO is an Almighty Tallest-lite, running their companies the exact same way Red and Purple run the entire Empire. Because the Control Brains love their brainless figureheads.

Irkens are told that if they work hard to prove themselves, they can advance to any station, even overcoming the barriers of height discrimination. But the reality is that the Control Brains have the ability to control for height through genetic selection in the cloning process and hormone control throughout a developing Irken's life. So they can pick and choose who's going to be tall and receive Tallness Privilege and be automatically granted opportunities shorter Irkens have to fight tooth and nail for, only to still be denied no matter what, reinforcing the idea that being taller means being inherently better. So while tall Irkens don't get the benefit of inherited wealth since their are no families on Irk, they do get pre-selected by the system to go through special training sims for business and leadership elites and receive massive grants for free upon graduation to start-up or buy into a business. And of course they also receive bailouts aplenty whenever they run their businesses into the ground. Because don't they deserve another chance to buy their way into and fuck up another company? They are Tall after all. Meanwhile, the lower Irken classes have to save their monies for decades just to open up a hot-dog stand, or try to take out a loan, which most will be denied flat-out if they aren't tall enough. If they can get a loan the interest will be insanely high and investors will expect a return on investment within an unreasonably short period, making it all but impossible for new small businesses to succeed and grow, further reinforcing the notion that smaller Irkens are just too stupid to run businesses.

Also, because Irkens are so greedy and have no families to leave inheritance to it's traditional for rich Irkens to arrange for their monies to be burned so that nobody can access their wealth. Because they don't want any inferior Irkens getting their hands on one cent of their money that they earned because they were smarter, taller, and better than everyone else. There are rumors of certain eccentric Irken billionaires who buried their money in a secret location, or in a tomb full of death traps, or used near-impossible to hack encryption software to lock their funds behind a digital wall, so that their wealth might still be accessible to someone clever enough to prove their worth. But whenever someone manages find these alleged treasure hoards, it always turns out to be a cruel prank by the billionaire before they died. Their money was burnt all along.

[thesovereignsring-if]

I just want to say that being with your cousin is not incest. Even today it is legally allowed.

People are allowed to not like that, but throwing stuff around like incest if they clearly don't even know what that means is ridiculous.

I honestly hope people aren't too much after you because of that. There have been some IFs with cousins/step siblings that you can romance and they've been hunted down.

Again, people don't need to like certain stuff, but this is 1) fiction and 2) still no need to be rude or condescending.

Hope you have a great day!

Hi! Anon, technically yes, you are correct! Incest pertains to sexual relations between parent, child, sibling, and or grandparent, however its societal breadth has extended to any relationship of consanguinity and even those gained through other unions (so like marriage and stepfamily lmao). So it’s definition various from place to place. Clinically they have method to measure the level of consanguinity and lmao Eirik/MC would totally count as incestuous as they are genetically closer to siblings- but I like those technicalities because they are so uncomfortably comfy when writing. It’s juicy that way! 😂

So far I’ve only had one unreasonably rude comment about it that I just found funny on Itch. Most people I’ve seen so far are open to see it unfold, especially when I consider it low on the controversial content list compared to everything else in the game. Most people that follow the blog are genuinely mature about it. It’s a consensual adult relationship at the end of the day and players would only really have access to it if they search it out for themselves. It’s not there to be a kink! (And if it is for people, the who caaaaares, it’s fiction baby!) There’s a narrative to be made here!

But if people come to me for clarification that they aren’t hallucinating when they see Eirik in the RO asks, I’ll always be honest. 🤣 i’m just here to write a story and have a good time at the expense of everyone else. And it’s fun to pull out the book and educate people on the history of incest and politics.

[galateaencore]

Writers Asks 8/26/2024

thank you @vossn for the procrastination opportunity

When did you start writing?

technically age 8 when I wrote a mystery/detective story that I didn't know how to finish. but I started making these "visual novels" about a group of animal friends who go traveling the countryside when I was 6ish, and honestly, counts.

Are there different themes or genres you enjoy reading more than what you write?

if I enjoy reading something, I immediately want to copy it but better, so no. that said, I'm not as good at humor as I want to be.

Is there a writer you want to emulate or get compared to often?

ughhhhh. certain circles would def clown me for thinking I could even try, but writing-style and philosophy-wise, Babel, Zhadan, McCarthy. within my fanfic genre I do genuinely like Sapkowski; I don't want to emulate him in everything, but the way he makes his worlds both esoteric and down-home familiar is paralelled only in Pratchett and the Strugatsky brothers.

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space?

my house lol. I mostly write (and do most other things) in bed. it's a california king with an unreasonably expensive but totally worth it italian silk and down blanket. the furniture is a mix of MCM, chippendale, ikea, and baroque (all 100% authentic because fuck you). it faces a north-side inner courtyard so is usually dark, and it has excellent sound isolation. the walls have my collection of watercolors, ink prints, embroideries, and Found Things. there is a nude woman with the head of a fish, a smoking chimney pipe, and two japanese schoolgirls walking away from the viewer, and a high-concept print of a bison herd from a lithuanian artist that is called the great migration. i don't listen to music. sometimes i light incense.

What’s your most effective way to muster up a muse?

sit your ass down and start writing

Are there any recurring themes in your writing? Do they surprise you?

talking about one's own themes is a bit masturbatory, but that's what this tumblr is for. I always come back to small people surviving in big systems, the pull of one's own history, and coping with being a stranger. also, is fucking a theme? or is that a plot, or a narrative device?

What is your reason for writing?

graphomania

Is there any specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating?

honestly any comment leaves me shrieking. that said, my favorite thing about writing for rarepairs and small fandoms (and both) is that you're much likelier to attract other obsessed weirdos who get you on a cellular level. a comment from a person like that is my favorite type of comment.

How do you want to be thought about by your readers?

I mean, as being brilliant and their favorite, but that isn't saying much.

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

I want every scene to feel like it's really happening, like you personally know the people talking, and like the narration isn't even there except when it's being beautiful and incisive. there's a point in talent and skill when the writing becomes both effortless and unforgettable, and clearly I'm not there because I can't even describe it without falling into meaninglessly broad adjectives and conceptual kitsch.

How do you feel about your own writing?

It's pretty good but not transcendental.

When you write, are you influenced by what others enjoy or might enjoy reading, or do you write purely for yourself, or a mix of both?

This is a stupid question: the reader doesn't know what they'll enjoy reading until they read it, and your one job as a craftsperson is to figure out what that is and give it to them. That it also happens to be something that excites you is why you do this job and they don't. In a fanfic context, I exclusively write weird formless shit that a mother couldn't love (The Blob of writing), but I *know* there is at least one weirdo out there who will enjoy what I post, and everything that I post is for them.

paging @dclcq and @holylustration

[crystalelemental]

Rune Factory 5 is going to be the death of me.

I'm at the Forest of No Return at this point, and things are simultaneously going really smoothly and really badly.  On the one hand, equipment is unreasonably good.  I made a Wind Cloak, which is astonishingly low level for the stats it provides, and now we're all basically immune to damage.  Even bosses are dealing maybe a couple hundred.  I managed to forge excellent twin swords as well, which covers Alice and Hina perfectly, and a Spiked Hammer that makes Beatrice somehow even stronger than I am without an elemental affinity.  I haven't been able to upgrade Elsja's punching gloves, but we'll get to that.

Town friendship is going well, if a bit slow.  Everyone except for Ludmila is level 5 friendship, and Heinz recently had salted rainbow trout as part of his rotating stock, so I bought several to give Ludmila over the next few days to speed that process up.  My wife pushed past my progress, so I know full well another character drops in the town if I do the forest and subsequent section, ruining this progress.  I'm on hold until then.

Which means it's time for sidequests!  Part of it is building up crop levels, which is going okay.  Spinach is level 9 and Kumo has a quest for level 10, so provided my sickle can get to 10, we're in business.  I am less than optimistic, however.  The bigger issue is the other side quests, which are steadily killing me to death.

One is making a gigantic vegetable.  I don't know if Spinach isn't able to become giant, or if I'm doing something wrong, but the Gigantizer isn't working.  Priscilla tells you "when they mature," which I thought meant before fully grown, but that wasn't it.  I tried again with fully grown spinach, but that didn't work either.  So I'm kinda stumped on how to pull this off.  I guess I could try with the corn?  I legitimately don't know what to do with it.

Then there's the tree seeds.  Ryker mentioned wanting oranges, and after like three weeks of having no idea how to find oranges, I cracked and looked it up.  Turns out, there are two completely hidden locations where you can randomly find seeds for apples, oranges, grapes, and general lumber with twinkle trees.  I have found zero orange seeds.  It's been over a week.  I have so many twinkle trees and grapes, but zero oranges.  I need to find these soon, none of the trees do well in winter and Ryker wants goddamned 20 oranges, I don't think I have that kind of time.

Around all this, there's supposed to be a looming typhoon.  My wife told me hers hit in summer, and I'm bracing for that one.  I tend to skip a lot of introductory dialogue since it's repetitive, but I think I skipped Hina mentioning her mom sensing the typhoon coming in, because everyone else was also talking about a big storm...but the next day was a festival so it was super sunny and nice, and now nothing is happening, and I'm wondering if the holiday negated the typhoon and I spent over 200k on Wettable Powder for nothing.

But the grand supreme champion of frustration...is Palmo.  Upgrading shops is wildly expensive.  Not by actual cost, mind you.  In sheer money dollars, I have so much raw cash I could buy every upgrade twice over.  Not even with Seed points, although those are rarer.  With the newest badges, I can farm Seed points whenever I wish, and it's honestly not too much trouble.  No, I'm talking about lumber and stone costs.  The first upgrades were sane.  The second were pricey, but could be achieved.  3000 lumber is downright ludicrous.  Those Twinkle Trees better be packing lumber on the order of 500+ if this is to be in any way achievable.  I've heard Heinz' rotating stock can carry it, but at 500 gold per piece, we're looking at 1.5 million gold per upgrade, for something to the order of 9 million for all upgrades.  This is assuming you can even hold that much on your person in a day, given his rotating stock only opens around 3, and he closes shop at 6.  Just by volume that feels like a multi-day project.  It's outlandish.

I know a lot of this probably isn't required, and I'm reaching the point I very well may consider it optional and move on with my life.  The postgame is also in question.  I don't have any true opposition, but at present there are just too many factors hindering my general progress that I can't even think about that right now.  Between lack of oranges, lack of any substantial progress toward renovating the town, and inability to move forward on story until we get Ludmila to friendship rank 5, I'm kinda souring on the game a bit.

[garruscoochie]

So just a quick rambling thought on one of the aspects of Barbarian (2022) because this wild movie really has got me thinking! Spoilers and TWs in tags

So while Keith turns out to be one of the "good" guys in the movie, it's subtly shown that even he does not fully understand Tess as a woman. When Tess comes to him in a panic he doesn't listen to her, sealing his own death in the process. Showing that scene and the scene where he's yelling at her in the tunnel as a parallel is super interesting. He got upset, believing he was right and wanting her to understand and listen to his fear when just before when she was terrified he didn't fully believe her, even telling her to calm down. And Tess's fear is warranted, just from the glimpse of the initial room alone. She knows what a room like that is for. Girls are aggressively warned about sexual violence from a very young age, hence her caution when first staying with Keith. There's also something to be said about his own realization of making her a drink and how she viewed that. He makes her one after she says no, then realizes her trepidation, and then he sort of jokes about it. He feels awkward and doesn't want to say the wrong thing so he jokes that she could watch him make it or have some unopened wine with him. There's something about that scene for me, its more of that not fully comprehending her and dismissing her worry because hes not a "bad" guy in his own eyes. So he's not fully capable of putting himself in her shoes. Though he wakes up with her touching him while sleeping, past the initial alarm, it's not really indicated that he fears for his safety around her, unlike like her POV staying with him. I mean, they're human and they did only meet like one day ago and he didn't grow up femme so like, it's mostly understandable!

Anyway, Keith is not the monster that AJ and Frank are. But there is a message subtly shown here that even the best intentions or views of self morality don't keep you from making poor decisions especially at the expense of others. Because of Keith's disbelief, this leads to Tess running after him to help when he puts himself in harms way. Though understandable, his yelling for help when he knows, or at least hopes, that she will help him puts her in danger. He is expecting more from her than he gave her just a minute before. And the thing is, he is one of the better guys in the film! Again, it just goes to show that though you think you're a good person, you can fail to make the best decisions and indirectly affect those around you.

One last thing, the only other good man in this movie is the homeless man in the neighborhood, Andre. He helps and let's Tess into his home. Selflessly, he does these things. I would just like to point back to the scene immediately after he rescues her. When she wants to go back in to rescue AJ, he dismisses her. He finds her empathy unreasonable, favoring self preservation ideals instead. Which, again, totally understandable! This is a man who has learned street smarts and safety for survival for years. What I find interesting is that he doesn't necessarily rescue Tess at any expense to himself at that time. He knew that Mother wouldn't come out in the sun when he pulled Tess out. And he settled to go separate ways from Tess until she winds up on his doorstep that night. Of course his hospitality is more at his expense because he knows Mother will come for her "babies" that night but still let's them stay. And even his initial warning when he runs after her is just poorly thought out. In what world does yelling "Hey little girl, don't run in that house" while running full speed at her a good idea? Again, it's just poor critical thinking regarding women and how they view their safety.

I guess my point is, no one seems to care or feel things quite as much as Tess does. And because of that, she seems to be disregarded by the men in the film as...dramatic? The movie paints the picture of how she, a woman, is regarded by society. There are the glaring displays of sexism, misogyny, and gender based violence but there is also the subtler instances of lesser versions of the same things. Especially the ones not done intentionally. (This last sentence doesn't pertain to anything to do with AJ or Frank, may they burn in hades.)

In conclusion, Idk if I could watch this again anytime soon. It genuinely is disturbing but I do enjoy a movie that makes you think deeply. I've heard many people call this a unique story and at first, I was conflicted because I was stuck on how sexual violence against women is not a unique thing at all in our world. And how horror movies tell them, most of the time, pretty damn poorly. But the storybuilding and the complexities surrounding the base storyline and Mother, it just really works. This isn't a gratuitous horror movie at all imo. Yknow the kind I'm talking about, where it's just torture porn and exploitative. There's layers here and something to be thought about. I would recommend this movie, it's quite the watch. This is just my opinion ofc, I can readily see why this movie wouldn't be people's cup of tea. Anyway, this movie is gonna live in my head paying absolutely no rent.

[henriettalamb]

To Pause, and Breathe

Hello everyone, this is Wally, the author and artist of the comic- earlier I announced a hiatus for the Lamb comic series, and now I’m going deeper into why.

Lamb and Sweet and all the characters I made for the story, they were all made in a very precarious, precious, and specific part of my life when I was coming out and needed to find a source of happiness- and I could find that in them! Coming up with scenarios to draw them in was exciting- it was new uncharted territory for me and i was brimming with inspiration- and that led to the story of them that I’m telling now.

Unfortunately, I’ve been pushing myself so hard, keeping a schedule in unrealistic ways and it’s been negatively affecting my health, both physically and mentally. As soon as the art got more and *more* complex, with artwork taking longer and longer to complete each week, I eventually just hit a wall, and practically- it’s no way to release a comic, it’s unprofessional, and (to be brutally honest) it’s going to eventually kill me, I’ve never been so lethargic in my life. It will take way too long, and that’s not only a disservice to myself- it’s a disservice to all of you who wait patiently while i make a “weekly” update into a de facto bi-weekly one, it’s not fair to you all.

Changing the schedule to make it bi-weekly won’t fix the problem- it just delays it. But there is a more pressing, personal issue at hand- aside from the comic, it’s been leaving my accounts (on here and on Twitter) so stagnant and effectively dead- effectively meaning I no longer draw the characters for fun, or for boosting my mood, it’s become a job that frankly, I’m not even being paid for to begin with- I’m pressuring myself to unreasonable degrees

It’s spiritually draining, and as a result, I’ve become not only emotionally and spiritually detached from my characters i hold dear- I’ve become robotic with my comic, it feels soulless and that in itself is going to become a ticking time bomb in terms of narrative and output.

SO with that all in mind, what am I going to do? Where is the story going? And what’s going to become of the accounts?

I’m not going to stop updating the accounts at all, as a matter of fact, I’m going to do something that has been sorely lacking- while I’m on a comic hiatus, I will be making these....Lamb art accounts!

It helps me get used to them again, give some new ideas and life on these accounts and even may help me get new ideas in the process! Not only that, it may help me foster a more positive connection with followers or any that view it- I’ve unfortunately been dead doing comic only. So, I am excited for this, actually!

As for the comic: I DO want to finish the current issue I’m working on at some point- just to say that I gave it a full shot (plus you all deserve that).

After the comic issue ends though, I have to think it over on *how* to continue the story- whether it should still be told through comic....or something else, something possibly better even! (special illustrated novel perhaps?...)

Whatever it may be, this story is a burning passion from within me, i NEED to tell it- but I’m only human, a flawed being on a flawed world, and i can’t do it at the expense of you, my connections with others, and my own health. So, keeping that all in mind, I thank you for any patience I’ve received over the years, and instead of apologizing, I now need to move forward in a smarter, more emotionally, spiritually connected & healthier way, not just with my story, but for how I do art, and writing in general (as well as for my own personal life as well). And while I navigate through it all, I hope the stories of Lamb, Sweet, Coco and the others bring you as much joy as they did (and continue to do) for me.

With lots of love -Wally

[laundryandtaxes]

Working at the place I do (with a relatively formal restaurant upstairs and a more barlike atmosphere downstairs) means I've gotten pretty comfortable taking care of bar guests who wants very different experiences. Some groups will spend all night talking if you don't interrupt them to force an order out of them and will not take any offense to that interruption. Some couples want to be guided through the menu in its entirety, some want to make their own mind up together without much input. Some men want to buy an expensive bottle to show off for a date and would like it poured extra nicely to show off how nice of a restaurant they picked for their date. But all of that requires some amount of guest input, and it's insane to me how much people have entirely forgotten how to dine out. This week I had two pairs of guests complain to a server assistant that they felt I was ignoring them/ask for me- these two pairs had come with a group of 11 people who didn't want to split the bill and spent the whole time talking to each other, pretty clearly work colleagues or otherwise friends, all at least in their 50s. Before they made this complaint, I had in fact left them alone for at least 15 minutes unattended, because the last two times I'd circled my bar to check on people and asked if they wanted anything both pairs had said no, and the group had dwindled down to these two pairs of people who were not sitting directly beside each other, and after the second "we don't need anything, thank you," I circled one more time, not saying anything but walking by very slowly and attempting to make eye contact while filling water glasses that were not quite low enough to merot filling. All of those pieces of information add up in 99% of cases to the natural end of a work outing- generally people don't order after the group itself is done drinking in order to be polite to the person who is picking up the group tab. The only way I could have known they wanted more beers would have been to interrupt the (potentially extremely important and likely business related) conversation of these grown adults who'd told me twice they didn't want more alcohol to ask if they wanted to give me more money. It would literally have been rude to interrupt the conversation of a bunch of adult people who appeared to be done drinking to ask if they wanted to give me more money for sitting at my bar. I build in some leeway for people who appear to be under 40- I had never experienced fine dining until my early 20s or even been to a restaurant that brings a check by until my late teens because I grew up poor, I don't assume every single bar guest is familiar with how it works and I don't judge people solely on the basis of their not being familiar with how dining out works. But at a certain point it is unreasonable, and that point is when you expect someone to either be rude to you or read your mind and then complain when neither of those happens.