#it’s my default ship so you should always expect it

[mrssimply]

Johnny insisted to tag along with V, even though the merc warned him it was going to be a slow gig, with a lot of observation and waiting, and very little action. It didn’t deter the resurrected rocker, who said - to V’s chagrin - that he was bored out of his fucking mind and didn’t have anything better to do.

Even more worrying, he announced he was going to join V a little while later because he needed to prepare some things.

Some things happened to be a crate of beers, a bottle of tequila, and pizzas.

“Johnny, I’m on a job, this ain’t a fucking picnic…”

“Who said it can’t be both? C’mon V, have a little fun, it’s not gonna kill you.”

V refrained from pointing out they were on top of one of the higher buildings in Night City, without any barriers to keep them away from the void should one of them (Johnny) stumble over the parapet in a drunken haze.

He sighed and nodded, and had to bite his cheek to stop smiling at Johnny’s shit eating grin.

V was already set: the sniper rifle waiting with its muzzle over the parapet, extended in the direction of V’s target: he was overseeing a meeting between his client and a buyer. The client suspected his buyer of fool play, and was counting on V to put a bullet through their head should they show signs of not playing fair during the exchange.

The meeting was happening in the adjacent megabuilding, in a living unit the client had rented for the occasion.

So while V checked his settings in the visor, Johnny went on with his picnic, and even pulled out a blanket.

“Should I expect candles and a proposal?” The merc joked, getting a finger in reply. He grinned before focusing back on his target. The meeting hour was getting close, and V could observe his client pace back and forth in front of the window.

He heard Johnny uncap a beer, and a second one before bringing the first one to V, lying on his front in imitation of the merc.

“I’m not drinking, J. I need to be clear headed.”

He knew without checking that Johnny rolled his eyes at that.

“More for me, then.”

The rocker seemed content to drink in silence, allowing V to watch the byer come into the room. The silence was short lived, however.

“Did you know there is a guy dancing naked, two stories down?” Johnny said, and without meaning to, V glanced at him to discover him with binoculars perched on his nose and a smoke between his lips.

With a discreet sigh, V went back to position, and ignored him.

“Ah, apparently it was his warming ritual before jerking off. He’s making a grand show of it, too.”

Through his visor, V could see his client and his buyer seated at the table strategically placed in front of the window. A suitcase was waiting between them, but so far, the conversation looked relaxed.

“Ah, he’s gonna get jizz everywhere, it’s not gonna be pretty.”

Despite himself, V fell to temptation and pointed his rifle slightly lower. The guy was indeed in the middle of his room, kneeling and doing his business like it was the best sex he’d ever had.

With a long suffering sigh, he repositioned the rifle.

“Ya know, watching a random guy jerk off ain’t super straight behavior.”

“Oh I think we were all here to celebrate my heterosexuality’s funeral. I distinctly remember you and Kerry playing a key part in it.”

V chuckled, replaying the fond memory in his mind's eye. In the real world, he saw his client tense and refocused on that, finger on the trigger.

“Oh, plot twist, the NCPD just barged in. Man, they got great timing,” he recounted while V followed the silent conversation across the void: his services were going to be needed in a minute, if he believed his instincts.

“Oopie oopsie, one dutiful officer just got a load on his boots and they’re mad. Oof, that was nasty,” Johnny went on. “Ah, they’re taking him away. He’s in for a nice walk of shame in front of the neighbors.”

V couldn’t help but snort, imagining the scene, but his distraction was cut short as his client’s buyer pulled a gun out.

Taking a deep breath, V prepared to fire… Only for him to grunt as Johnny crawled on all four over him and grinded against his ass.

“Fuck, Johnny! Get off!”

“That’s the plan.”

“I mean it!” V complained as he repositioned the rifle, taking aim again.

Over him, the rocker snorted and nuzzled the sensitive part of his neck playfully.

“C’mon, take the shot, big bad merc like you has nerves of steel,” he crooned.

V prided himself on his cold blood in most situations, but there were a few instances where he was basically a slave to baser instincts, mainly any situation involving sex, Johnny and/or Kerry. Johnny knew it and abused the knowledge regularly to get what he wanted or just torture his friend. Like today.

He rocked against V’s ass playfully, forcing V to lock all his muscle to not move an inch.

His client was holding his hands up and being more professional than V: he wasn’t glancing at the window, but V read the signal all the same: his index made a little swirling movement.

“C’mon V, don’t botch the job, take. the. shot,” Johnny whispered right in his ear before licking it.

V took the shot, and watched the buyer's head explode, covering his client in goop and blood. But he was safe. Releasing the gun, V turned and tackled Johnny to the ground before grinding against him.

“You’re gonna regret that.”

Johnny laughed out loud, and reached out to the side to retrieve a bottle of lube that he shook in front of V’s eyes.

“Sure I will, tiger. Do your worst.”

They spent the night here, their skins cooling off thanks to the breeze constantly blowing at this height. They ate the pizzas cold and drank all the beers before Johnny started on the tequila between two cigarettes.

“What do you think that guy did to have the NCPD barge in on his me-time?” John asked, words slurring with his drunken state.

“Who cares,” V mumbled, hands behind his head, looking at the advertising holograms rising slowly into the sky.

“What a tragedy,” Johnny bemoaned, making V laugh again.

“You would think so.”

“It should be a constitutional crime, let a guy finish properly instead of ruining him buzz. Poor bloke.”

Turning on his side, V stole Johnny’s smoke.

“You’re just commiserating ‘cause you know that could’ve been you.”

“I would never let the NCPD surprise me like that, V. Question of honor. I would face them on my two feet.”

“You would use your cock as a weapon, too, since you’re convinced the thing has super powers.”

“The thing,” Johnny repeated in distaste. “Fine, see if I use it to make you come after calling it that.”

V raised an eyebrow at him.

“Not super worried, J. You’re the slut here.”

“And proud to be! You should try it V.”

Their banter went on for a while and devolved into another round before they fell asleep one on top of the other.

V woke up when the sun fell on his closed eyelids, bringing a hangover with it and making him moan miserably.

Johnny’s brilliant ideas…

He sat up with a grunt and looked around. He was alone on the blanket, surrounded by the empty beer bottles. One had visibly escaped the others’ fate as Johnny was drinking it, perched on the parapet, with a leg dangling in the void.

Yawning and stretching, V shivered in the cold morning air. The sun was just reaching over the horizon, piercing through two tall buildings on the east. The sight still took v’s breath away and he sat there for a minute, just taking it in. The cold made him start to move, pulling his clothes back on and finding Johnny’s pack a few feet away. He pulled the last cigarette out and went to join his friend, feet over the drop.

“Hey,” Johnny greeted him, voice low and gravely from the alcohol and the smoking. His usual morning voice, then.

“You know, we have a really great bed at my place or at Kerry’s, so I really don’t get why we slept on a measly blanket on the ground.”

In answer, Johnny just waved his chrome arm around.

“‘Cause it’s only here you get to see the sun rise over your kingdom, V.”

The merc looked at it: the streets not yet that busy, the tall shadows under the building as the sun fought them away, and the general atmosphere of a new dawn, full of opportunities.

He grunted in ascent, pulling on the smoke.

“Am I right or am I right?” Johnny still asked, because he wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to be praised.

“Sure, you’re right. Now give me that bottle.”

“Of course, my king,” Johnny replied with a flourish, making V snort.

When I showed the pic to @m-lter she said that Johnny looked absolutely faded and she was totally right since I told myself the same thing when I took the pic. But since it’s Johnny’s natural state, I kept it that way and decided to write a little story as a companion to the pic.

So Merry Christmas to y’all who celebrate it, even though this clearly has nothing to do with Christmas, I’m just posting it today.

[lilacstro]

astrocartography and relocation charts in astrology

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Hey!! I am clearing my drafts as much as I can before we start with Vedic astrology. This post would not be as big because there is overwhelming information on this topic as well, but let us see.

Astrocartography is a discipline of astrology that graphs out where planets were conjunct angles anywhere in the world at the moment of your birth. While relocation chart is a birth chart of a place if you were born there, what would your life look like.

These are very useful to see what place is best for you to travel, or relocate to for specific purposes like maybe education, finding a partner and so on..

NOTE: SKIP TO THE LAST SECTION IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO HAVE TOO DEEP INFORMATION ON HOW TO USE COMBINATION OF THESE CHARTS!!

🌐History and a little astronomical knowledge (skip if uninterested)

There are two techniques to study this discipline. En Mundo and Zodiacal. En Mundo is what we use by default as this is what Jim Lewis the creator of astrocartography used. For some extra knowledge, (you can skip pass this section if you want to!) look below:

Image source: kepler college

The basic difference is that En Mundo measures the planets relative to the celestial equator while the Zodiacal used Ecliptic. So basically the Zodiacal misses the declinations and the right ascensions (the 23 degree tilt basically). Now look at the charts below, the left one is En Mundo while the right one is Zodiacal. You can see how planets are in one line on the Zodiacal while the shift to different positions in the En Mundo chart.

🌐How to use astrocartography and relocation charts

🎀 here is how you can create relocation and astrocartography charts. I HIGHLY recommend using these in combination to have the best ideas of your experience at a particular place.

Know that your astrocartography map is based on your relocated birth charts. That’s the first, most important thing to know. Your birth chart shifts depending on where you are in the world. Meaning you have MANY charts for all of the places in the world! The natal planet and aspects of your chart don’t change, but the houses (areas of life), angles and aspects to those angles do. When you’re pulling up your astrocartography map, you’ll notice you have 44 lines criss-crossing across the globe. These lines show where the planets were situated on angles in the relocated chart.

You do not have to be situated right on a line to activate that story. You don’t have to live on a cruise ship and venture to the ocean to experience your astrocartography lines. Note where you have planetary lines and measure 150-200 miles surrounding it to see the strongest influence. 

Jim Lewis, the creator of Astrocartography, used 800 mile of an influence. most astrologers use 600 miles maximum, meaning you can feel effects of a line around 600-800 miles either side from where the line passes. Now the question is which side is the influence strongest? the answer likely is towards the west.

There’s a saying by Jim Lewis that “west was best” but it’s been said that moving west of a planetary line makes that planetary line more angular and dynamic, and moving east of a line places it in a more cadent position, which is less powerful.

However you can always see a relocation chart for the desired place to understand what is it that you want!

For example: Having planets in angular houses, the 2nd house and 6th house may be really good if you have been wanting a career success and recognition, having planets in 9th house is good for higher education and so on. You should see the location of chart ruler for more information on the main themes you can expect! The rising sign is incredibly important as well. I would not be making this too long because you can interpret your relocation chart very similarly to your natal chart, however let me know if you guys want a separate post on that one! I also recommend looking at the Vortex and Part of Fortune for more information.

Now let us see what do the lines on your Astrocartography map mean for you. Below would be an interpretation table for each lines, HOWEVER use these lines with accordance to your natal chart. If say you have Moon in 8th house, you could experience extreme emotional experiences along your Moon lines, and though depending on whether what type of line it is would make differences, your natal chart would still show effects.

For example if you have Uranus on your angular houses or maybe you are Aquarius rising or have Uranus in 1st, or aspects to Uranus like Uranus Trine Sun, Uranus lines passing through your birth country or where you live currently, you could either want to or struggle or maybe both for self expression and crave freedom, rebel. There was some actress whose chart I saw and she was very rebellious when she was in her home country and much better when she moved out, she had her Uranus lines passing through her birth country. It is worth mentioning that all aspects to Uranus are important, if I remember correctly, astrologer Noel Tyl used to take these very seriously.

Here is what astrologer Helena says:

We all have a fixed permanent astrocartography map based on when we were born. That never changes. But what does change is timing. Regardless if whether or not you’re in a nice location, if you have hard transits or progressions at that time, and hitting that location (and the angles of that new relocated chart), it will bring up challenging times. Progressions can last up to 3 years and transits can be as short as a few days to 3 years. Timing matters. Just as much as location. So if you’re wondering, “why am I having such a hard time in this location but I’m on a supported planetary line!” first ask yourself if you’ve looked at the relocated chart and parans, then ask yourself if you’ve looked at the timing.

(Parans are the latitude lines that are within 70-75 miles north and south. These crossings of lines create latitude lines that are a blend of two planets. Parans are incredibly powerful and can make or break a place. I would not be discussing them here since it is beyond what most people here would be willing to dedicate time to, however if anyone is curious they can study it themselves or I can make a post!)

🌐Meanings for each types of lines, AC, MC, DC and IC.

AC (Ascendant) Lines:

Moon: Heightened intuition, emotional sensitivity, and connection to needs and heart. Strong emotional bonds but be cautious of neediness and psychological worry.

Sun: Vitality, creativity, self-expression, and ego increase. Ideal for networking, social connection, and personal relationships.

Mercury: Energy abounds! Expect mental agility, restlessness, and a love for travel, writing, and speaking. Social interactions are lively, and this is an excellent place for networking, learning, and sharing ideas.

Venus: Enhanced beauty and identity, ideal for romance, indulgence, and a relaxed lifestyle.

Mars: Increased leadership, motivation, and action. Caution advised for impulsivity, recklessness, and relationship challenges.

Jupiter: Optimism, expansion, and resilience are heightened. A lucky place where you may feel compelled to share wisdom, but watch for overconfidence.

Saturn: A serious, stoic outlook on life is adopted here. Increased responsibilities and leadership roles, but also potential physical strain. Relationships may feel monotonous and duty-bound.

Uranus: A place to break free from your identity and explore authenticity. Expect changes in lifestyle and possibly even physical appearance. Relationships may be interesting, spontaneous, and non-traditional.

Neptune: Life feels dreamy and romanticized, but also prone to confusion and escapism. Relationships here can be enchanting but may involve glamorization or projection.

Pluto: A transformative place where you explore your identity and inner power. Relationships can be intense, with themes of power dynamics and potential for conflict.

MC (Midheaven) Lines:

Moon: Excellent for compassionate service careers, fame, and emotionally led work. Caution against emotional thirstiness and people-pleasing.

Sun: Optimal for launching products, promotions, and realizing potential in work and vocation. High public profile and exposure.

Mercury: The ultimate career line for work in communication! Ideal for advancing in travel, media, sales, writing, teaching, and any field that involves communication.

Venus: Ideal for careers in design, beauty, fashion, and the arts. Recognition and public acknowledgment are common.

Mars: Great for daring, risk-taking careers, especially in entrepreneurship, training, and the military. Expect hard work and bold moves.

Jupiter: One of the luckiest places for career expansion, especially in publishing, travel, teaching, and spiritual work. Expect growth and new opportunities.

Saturn: Increased authority and responsibility in your career. Success comes from hard work and effort, though it can feel lonely at the top.

Uranus: Ideal for breaking new ground in careers involving science, technology, and entrepreneurship. Expect fluctuations and sudden changes in work and public image.

Neptune: A place for public visibility in careers related to media, spirituality, and healing, but be cautious of illusions and confusion in contracts and agreements.

Pluto: A powerful location for career transformation, often involving work in government, psychology, or disrupting and transforming industries. Be cautious of controlling bosses and authority issues.

DC (Descendant) Lines:

Moon: External situations reflect subconscious needs. Emotional relationships are likely, but watch for desperation or worry.

Sun: Opportunities for business, friendships, and personal relationships increase. Ideal for popularity and extroversion.

Mercury: Social butterfly energy abounds! You'll enjoy lively discussions, meet interesting people, and possibly start a client-based business. Great for flirting, gossiping, and learning from others.

Venus: Romance and pleasant relationships thrive. Likely to meet romantic partners or enjoy romantic getaways.

Mars: Challenges in relationships, with potential for breakups, confrontations, or aggression. Strong need for physical activity or training.

Jupiter: Relationships expand and grow, with the possibility of meeting uplifting people, teachers, or guides. Business partnerships may also flourish.

Saturn: Relationships may be slow and laborious, with a focus on duty and responsibility. Romantic partnerships could face delays and challenges.

Uranus: Relationships can be exciting, inspiring, and non-traditional but may also be unstable and unpredictable.

Neptune: Romantic and spiritual relationships thrive, but there's a risk of confusion, escapism, and projection. Stay grounded in your interactions.

Pluto: Intense, transformative relationships, with themes of power dynamics and psychological exploration. Be cautious of conflict and manipulation.

IC (Imum Coeli) Lines:

Moon: Deep connection to home and family life, with a focus on nourishment and settledness. Often a more private and comforting location.

Sun: A place to build a joyful private life and focus on self-expression at home. Ideal for settling down and family life.

Mercury: One of the best lines for working from home, writing projects, or exploring family lineage and the past. Local travel and community engagement are common.

Venus: Creates a love for domestic life, pleasure, and beauty in the home. Ideal for creative expression and local community involvement.

Mars: Home life may feel chaotic and busy. Not ideal for peace, but careers in risk-taking and pioneering thrive.

Jupiter: An ideal place for a joyful home life, personal hobbies, and retirement. Expect freedom and space to pursue your interests.

Saturn: Not the easiest place for family life, with a sense of duty and obligation. Maintenance, renovation, and feelings of being stuck or isolated may arise.

Uranus: A place for breaking away from family and tradition. Restlessness and frequent home changes are likely, so consider a trial visit before moving.

Neptune: A peaceful, dreamy location for healing and escaping reality, but be cautious with real estate investments and contracts.

Pluto: A location for deep psychological exploration of family roots and ancestry. Be wary of real estate investments and potential family conflicts.

Now I would yet again say this could be such a lengthy post but no one really has time for that. For example,

🎀people usually would suggest against travelling to your Pluto lines, however, if you have Pluto trine/conjunct Sun, you could benefit from travelling along your Pluto lines.

🎀Jupiter DSC lines can sometimes show the location of your spouse or maybe where would be the best place to find abundant love/partnerships.

🎀 I have often seen people having IC and ASC lines passing through their childhood home/birth country.

Now you can look up a combination of your relocation chart, natal chart-astrocartography chart to get a good idea of what your life could be at a place

I hope this helped,

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xoxo

[agirlandherkinks]

Hypnovisor: Beta Test (TGTF, Hypno)

James had always been a tech super-fan. The newest phone, newest headphones, shiniest laptop, he had to stay abreast of and on top of the current trends. So when he read about some fancy new VR company that wanted beta testers for a headset, provided for free (minus shipping), his vision blurred and he signed up before he even considered finishing reading the ad.

Three weeks of anticipation and waiting passed until his doorbell finally rung, accompanied by the corresponding buzz of an email notification on his phone. Scrambling from his couch he flung the apartment door open, and to his mild surprise saw that the postman was nowhere in site. There was just a nondescript cardboard box labelled "Fragile", which fortunately bore none of the expected dents and scratches one would associate with the postal service and delicate freight. Practically bouncing with undignified delight, James scooped his parcel up and dashed back inside, barely remembering to lock the door behind him.

The headset looked even better than he had imagined. Sleek plastic curves surrounded a central visor that was just translucent enough to see through, meaning you could walk around safely if you turned a program's opacity down. It fit beautifully when he tried it on, more comfortable than anything he'd ever worn. Wearing it felt wonderful and... right, somehow. His only complaint was that the black headset was decorated in hot pink highlights, although it still looked futuristic enough to sooth his fragile masculinity. His roommate and best friend Erik certainly agreed, interspersing James' insightful comments with appropriate "Ooh's" and "Aah's". Waiting for the battery to charge seemed to take a thousand years, although chatting with each other about what it could do replaced their boredom with swiftly growing excitement.

Two hours later, a soft buzz from the headset in the corner signified its charge was complete. Erik cheered, his sandy-blonde hair bouncing behind him, and even James couldn't suppress a soft whoop of excitement. Erik unplugged it and handed it to James with a flourish and a bow, who accepted it with a suitable stuffy speech. His cheeks flushed with embarrassment, but he was so giddy with anticipation he felt he could match Erik's goofiness for once. The advertisement had promised unmatched realism, a luxurious fit, and cutting-edge, groundbreaking technology. Normally James would have discounted claims like that as corporate claptrap, but the headset fit so well he actually believed the rest of it.

Booting up the headset brought a perky, relaxing jingle in his ears and wall of settings text in his vision. He would have read it, but between his own excitement and Erik's infectious enthusiasm he left the settings on default and skipped to the main menu. The feedback for the buttons was amazing, it felt just like he was pressing down on them whenever he touched one! Another little jingle sounded as he confirmed his choices, and a few games and applications bubbled up into his view, imposed over a hot pink background.

"So Erik, what do you think I should try," James asked. "We've got a music player, interior design app, some sorta idle monster game, and a few RPG's." "Surely try out the RPG's man! You've gotta see that high-definition you were yammering about when we called." Erik's voice came back surprisingly muffled, as if he was speaking down a long tunnel. "Bro, I can barely hear you, the noise-cancelling on this headset's insane! It's like I'm in a world of my own!" James took a deep breath, recovering a little of his composure. "Alright, an RPG it is. Fantasy, sci-fi, or modern day?" "Go fantasy! You know we've both got a thing for elf chiiiicks. Hell, with the kind of feedback you were telling me about, you might even get to grab her" Erik's distant voice sounded playful, with a ting of desire and jealousy. And it did make James hard, at the thought of getting to look and squeeze and fondle some busty elf bitch, made entirely to his wishes~

To James' horror a quiet moan escaped his lips, accompanied by faint hysterical laughter from his friend. Brushing it off angrily, he slammed the icon for 'Silverflame: A Magical Journey' (the button felt like thick moss to his touch). Instantly a soft flute begun to play in his ears, accompanied by the gentle lull of a harp and a quiet sparkling. James felt himself relax, all the tension draining out of his body. Erik must have noticed too, because James heard his laughter die down to be replaced with a slightly concerned silence. "Don't worry man," James said, "music's just really pretty..." He trailed off with a slight giggle, but heard Erik give an affirmative just before a silky, sultry voice started to speak.

"Welcome traveler, to the beautiful world of Silverflame. An untamed paradise where strange beasts roam the land, noble adventurers go forth in search of treasure, and the most wonderful magic [James shuddered] is woven. You are the latest brave, beautiful heroine [Heroine? Shouldn't I get to choose my character's gender first?] to step foot into this land. But first, tell us a bit about who you really are."

Pink sparkles rained across the screen, superimposing his view of a vibrant meadow with a series of stats. Physique, IQ, Wisdom, and Charisma, fairly standard stuff. And next to it, a human man with a blank, slightly happy expression on his face [...did he look familiar?]. James gasped, he looked just like a real person! Erik was suitably impressed by this information, and urged him to pick some stats so he can get to the body modification. "You can always change them later man, might as well pick a couple of stats now and get a move on. Sounds like you're not gonna get to pick your gender for a while, which kinda sucks. Buuut if we're being horny about this, you might as well go for a slut scaffold so you make less changes later." James chuckled at this, remembering the build they discussed one night while both sloshed beyond belief. For this game it would be high Physique and Charisma, low IQ and Wisdom. James touched the slider for Physique, and gasped as he felt himself feel... better than he had in a long time.

Not trusting his senses any more, and worrying about Erik being exposed to whatever was happening from the other side of the headset, James brushed off his concerned questions (which he could barely hear now, past the soothing, soothing, music) and suggested he went to the toilet, since he'd been holding it in since he got here. Erik grumbled at missing out, but mercifully left. James was actively sweating from what just went through his body, but couldn't muster the energy or concentration to feel the level of panic he knew he should be. The music was just so, so calming, that fear was harder to feel than usual. The prompt told him he still had to change two more stats, so he decided to turn down Wisdom. He gasped again and his vision went blurry, and when it cleared he felt a bit, fuzzier? In the head. But it wasn't too bad, in fact it was perfectly manageable. He felt even calmer now, so maybe changing another stats would make him feel better. Why not IQ? He tapped the slider.

He groaned as an immense pressure wrapped around his brain. Thoughts, aspirations, memories felt like they were melting from his head faster than they appeared. The pressure seemed like it lasted forever, but eventually it trailed off and he was left panting in his chair. It had felt, really good? Like, tots good, even. James giggled to himself. Something was different about him, but he couldn't think what. Oh well, it'll probably come to him later. He squealed in delight as he realized he could get a step closer to the body modification page, although he looked longingly at the IQ slider. He could come back to it later, for now it was time to make his super-hot elf slut a body!

James clapped to himself with delight as a cute little melody played, a shower of sparkles spiraled [spiraled...] across the screen, and the man on the side moved to the center of the screen. "Firstly", the sultry voice said, "choose what race you want to be." That was an easy choice. He clicked on the 'Elf' button, and shivered as he felt tingles run through his body, intensifying in his ears. Reaching up to touch them, he inhaled as he felt long, pointed tips. In fact, his whole body seemed a bit slimmer. This doesn't quite feel right... he thought. Oh I know! It must be making me an elf too! Maybe we'll be in a party together! Between the strange fuzziness and the pulsating heat in his groin, James quickly flicked to the next page and made his choices. Long, silver hair, gorgeous big purple eyes, and some giant perky lips. "Combination unlocked!" the narrator exclaimed, "+1 Charisma, -1 Wisdom!" James giggled again as the mental fog settled a little tighter around his brain and naughty thoughts about cute girls and boys filled his brain. Boys? Well I guess I've never minded swinging both ways... This felt natural to him, because of course he'd always been bisexual. Next screen!

"Choose your voice young heroine," the woman commanded. James felt a little strange, like her voice was echoing around his head. And why were the sparkles still there, spinning and spinning around the screen. He felt confused, but knew he had to obey that voice. He picked the sexiest combination for his own voice; high pitched, breathy, perky. "Combination unlocked! +1 Charisma, -1 Int." He moaned as that wonderful pressure wrapped his brain and his weekend plans changed to eyeing hunks at the beach. Girls were cool and all, but men had always been more interesting to him [and their pulsing, hard...].

"Now heroine, can you tell me: Are you a girl, or a boy?" The question sent shock waves through his brain. He was a he... right? Why did it feel like there was some longing, some need to acknowledge the woman in him... her? The fog, the music, the spirals, all the feelings he had been having, James could hardly think. Maybe he should think less. Being a girl sounded fun, it's just a character after all. And he needed to be sexy. "Wonderful choice young lady! Now, are you a dominatrix, a super-switch, or a bimbo slut?" Bimbo slut~ James giggled as the words echoed in her brain. She was a bit of a slut, now that she thought about it. It felt odd to pick it, but why not for funsies? "Bimbo slut selected! Wonderful choice, just wonderful. Hold still while your stats are adjusted, and then we'll begin on giving you the perfect, sexy body you've always wanted."

The spirals filled her view and began increasing in speed. James was taken aback at first, but quickly felt oddly calm and receptive to that sultry voice.

"Physique +1, Physique +1, Physique +1." James felt wonderful, like every ache and blemish in his body had faded away.

"Wisdom -1, Wisdom -1." Thinking was fuzzy, but Jamella felt so content she didn't care.

"Charisma +1, Charisma +1, Charisma +1, Charisma +1. Charisma +1." Jamella gasped as visions of sexy men, pecs and abs and juicy, throbbing cocks filled her mind. A desperate heat filled her, and she began touching her groin against her will to try and ease it.

"IQ -1." She moaned, feeling light.

"IQ-1." Empty. She was so, wonderfully empty.

"IQ -1." This was like, so much funsies! She didn't know what was going on, but everything felt so nice~

"IQ -1. Congratulations Ella, you now have the 'Bimbo Slut' build."

Ella giggled absently. Thinking was like, so hard, and she felt like, so hard~. The fun spirals had disappeared... But the nice lady was talking to her again! With great effort, she listened in. "Now that your mental changes are complete, it's time for the physical changes!" Ella rubbed her thighs together and cheered in excitement. She couldn't wait to have more fun! "Unless you choose so now, the process will be au-to-ma-tic [...why was she using such big words?]. You can choose to take over at any time, or wait until the end and adjust as you please [...please. That word felt funny in her brain]".

"No user input detected. Body adjustment commencing."

A nice shiver went through Ella's body as she felt her headset warm against her face. Looking at the boring young man she'd begun to customize (her reflection, of course), she couldn't wait to begin! She sighed happily as waves of pretty silver hair drifted into her view and cascaded down her back. It felt especially nice against her smooth, soft skin, and she couldn't help but gently shake her head to watch it sway. A cool feeling brought her attention to her face, and the alluring amethyst eyes now set in it. Her face itself became much more elegant [but cutesy, too!], and she puckered her lips as a lovely pressure made them swell and bulge out, giving her a sexy and kissable pout [the boys'll love this look! boys~]. She felt herself shrink a few centimeters, gulping as her Adam's apple disappeared into her body. In fact, her whole body had become even more slender, with narrow shoulders, adorably small hands [pretty purple nails!], and a tiny little waist. She gasped, then clasped her hands over her mouth in delight. Her voice was so high and cutesy! She couldn't stop herself from giving out tiny, high-pitched giggles, just to hear how cute she was!

"Basic body structure altered. Adjusting outfit in preparation for primary and secondary sexual characteristics."

Ella ooh'ed appreciatively as a stream of sparkles enveloped her body. And when they disappeared, she squealed in delight! Her drab t-shirt and denim shorts were gone! In their place was a beautiful silver mini-dress that shimmered like starlight when she moved. She frowned in vexation, though. The plunging chest and shoulder-less design was very pretty, but her chest was flat! [shouldn't I have tiddies? The boys won't like me like this...] And the way it clung to her waist and hips would have been sexy, but as it was there was barely any difference between them! Her ass wasn't nearly big enough to justify how the dress cut off barely past it, and with how tight the fabric was Ella could see how achingly hard she was [wait, why do I have a cock? I'm supposed to get cock! In my mouth, in my ass, in my tight little pussy~]. It wasn't right!

"Thank you for your patience sweetie. Optimal figure calculated. Prepare for adjustment of sexual characteristics."

Ella let out a moan as a wave of heat and pleasure washed over her. With how horny she was she could barely keep her eyes open, but she knew she wanted to watch herself become the sexy little [cum] slut she was meant to be [I want it... I want to be~]. The heat settled in her hips, her ass, and her chest, and she moaned again as the changes begun.

Her nipples grew first, more than doubling in size and stiffening through the soft fabric of her dress. Tentatively touching them induced a gasp of pleasure [so nice~] and sent her rocking backwards. The motion made her giggle, because in that time she'd grown a cute pair of B-cup breasts that jiggled when she rocked. Jiggle makes me giggle. I like giggling. I like jiggling. Ella nodded thoughtfully to herself, feeling very wise. Her boobies grew to C-cups. She jiggled some more. She giggled some more.

A tightness around her hips distracted Ella from her tiddies. They were growing! She groaned as fabric and flesh tightened around them, too euphoric to feel pain. Sliding her hands from her waist to her hips made her squeal happily. She had such a sexy hourglass figure, she knew any girl worth her money would be jealous [and the boys would wanna hold me and squeeze me and fuck me raw]. Thighs thickening dramatically in response to her growth, she slapped her ass in impatience. Why won't it get bigger already!

But get bigger it did, swelling out in response to her touch. She fell forward as sheer pleasure blanketed her mind and weakened her knees. Squishing her boobies against the ground made her feel even nicer, until she was panting and moaning for somebody to help, to hit her again and make her bigger~

A slap landed on her booty, and she groaned in delight as it and her thighs swelled again. More. More! I NEED MORE! She moaned in ecstasy as blow after blow landed, making her swell and grow and grow and swell and feel so gooooood! Her tits inflated to D, then E-cups [good for the boys. I can jiggle so well for them~]. Her hips widened and thighs thickened, until she looked ridiculously large compared to her waist [ridicu... ridic... really, really sexy...] And her ass kept growing, and growing, and growing and growing and growing and growing! Tighter! Around my cock! Cock... I... oh~ Too... too... much! Too much! I'm~ I'm!

OooOOoOoOOooOoOoooOOOOOHHH~

Ella screamed in delight as she came, just cumming and cumming and cumming her tiny little brain out.

"Wisdom -1. IQ -1. Charisma +1. Charisma +1."

She was desperate, humping against the ground as the flow of cum abated from her cock. Everything she had been was flowing out of her messy stupid brain, and everything that she should be was coming in. Boys... Cock... Need fuck... Breed~ I'm such a dumb little cum slut~ She giggled to herself.

"Final adjustment required."

Ella stood up shakily, the bottom of her dress a cum-soaked mess. She squealed with delight as the mental fog settled even tighter and she felt an intense heat in her groin. She could see the tops of nipples trying to break free from her dress, and could feel the air drift over her ass, which had mostly escaped the fabric in her growth. So sexy. Hehe~ Boy can take me~ Don't even need dress off~ Thinking hard... Her ass and hips had pulled up so much fabric that her cock was visible now, deflating and still leaking from her orgasm, but she gasped in pleasure as it began rising up again. And, as she felt something long and hard brush her booty [cock? Boys? Fuck?].

A pressure like hands on her shoulders forced her to her knees, and she whimpered in desire as she felt an unseen cock touch her cheek. At the same time, something began intensely stimulating her own. She reflexively opened her mouth in a moan, but was cut off as she felt the cock shove inside [Feels~ Feels!].

All thought stopped.

Her mind was blank, full of pleasure and desire and happiness. Her cock felt good like it never had before, and the dick in her mouth tasted wonderful~ This was what Ella was made for, what she was meant to be. Feeling good, feeling sexy, feeling a pleasant emptiness that could only be filled with cock. Her haze reached a crescendo. Dimly she was aware of her own cries of ecstasy, muffled by the cock fucking her mouth and mind, as she came harder than she even had before. And as she came, her dick shrunk with each spurt until it went inside her [inside me!]. The cock withdrew from her mouth, filling her with a desperate longing. Emma moaned for her unseen hero, then gasped as she felt him once more. And blinked in surprise as the pretty meadow and her sexy reflection disappeared.

She was kneeling on the floor of an unfamiliar room. Shaking off a little of her confusion [don't need know much anyways...], she gasped as the tell-tale smell of pre-cum filled her nose. There was a man standing in front of her!

Sandy-blonde hair. Body like a surfer hunk! Naked. With a massive, sexy cock, dripping with her saliva and it's own juices. Ella moaned in desire, falling on all fours. Visibly trembling with lust, he tenderly cupped her cheek and slowly moved behind her.

Touching her with his [cock!].

Ever so gently, on the edge of her [...pussy!!!!]

He rammed inside her, and she screamed as an absolute feeling of rightness, of sexiness and pleasure and single-minded happiness rushed through her [MORE! HARDER! COCKKKK~]. Riding his dick she felt herself go into a trance, with nothing, absolutely nothing, disturbing her feelings. Ever. This was right. Ella moaned and surrendered to herself, drifting away on her lover's cock and mindless pleasure.

[dunmeshistash]

What do you think about Shuro? And more specifically his relationship with Laios, and idk if you talk about ships but what are your thoughts on laishuro

I have this headcannon that Laios has some sort of unrequited crush on Shuro just because it's sorta funny

I ship pretty much everything. Like, as default I think everyone should kiss everyone 👍

If I'm honest I'm not much of a Shuro fan, he's a little boring to me and reactions to the chimera episode made me dislike him a bit lmao.

Ignoring the fandom I like him as a character and I LOVE his fight with Laios. Shuro's relationship to Laios is my favorite part of that character so laishuro pretty much saves him for me.

In universe Shuro is said to be quite the introvert even for people from his country. He's not the standard for someone from the eastern archipelago and it bothered me a bit when people used that to justify how he wasn't honest to Laios. I understand the idea that he comes from somewhere where reading social cues is not only expected but required but he's also someone who avoids confrontation and is quiet/shy in general.

Here's a bit from Maizuru's description from the adventurer's bible

"People tend to describe Shuro as "drab" and "shy" (...)" so specifically HE IS the exact type of person who would cause the biggest misunderstanding with Laios, just compare him to how his retainers or even his father and brothers act.

It took them saying they used ancient magic on Falin/seeing chimera Falin for him to finally snap, everything else he decided to just take it cause he thought it was better to take it than to confront Laios directly.

So besides the cultural differences you have to take into consideration this was pretty much the perfect storm brewing for that confrontation, and it's as much who Shuro is as a person and who Laios is as person that caused it.

I also disagree that the fight was a "they're both in the wrong" situation. Don't get me wrong, Laios was VERY culturally insensitive to Shuro and even more insensitive to his feelings, but there was nothing he could have done differently with the information that was available to him.

Specifically I see this comic being used to justify how Laios was to blame too, making Shuro into the victim

Like that's a major white guy move but he DIDN'T HEAR Shuro's name and Shuro never corrected him. I'd understand it if his reaction was "Your name is too complicated so I'll call you Shuro instead" that would be a major dick move, but Laios did not hear his name because Toshiro mumbled it, and for someone that forgot Kabru's name several times I imagine he made an effort to remember Shuro's.

Laios never met someone from the eastern archipelago before this, nobody ever explained to him he wasn't acting in an appropriate manner and most of all he thought they were friends. He trusted Shuro to set boundaries for him, he always respects boundaries that are set even when he doesn't fully understand them (Recalling the "I forgot about feelings.." when Chilchuck says it feels wrong to eat merman)

Instead of explaining ANYTHING to Laios, Shuro instead held it all in until it exploded all at once, he blamed Laios for not knowing something he couldn't know, and accused him of not being serious about saving his own sister.

Just imagine how this must have felt for Laios, everyone is always underestimating how serious he is, everyone accuses him of being stupid, clueless, and now this guy is telling him he isn't serious about saving the person he loves the most in the world and wants to protect always. To me this wasn't a "they're both in the wrong" situation, Shuro is far more in the wrong than Laios. But that's just how I see it.

That all being said, they understood each other finally and made peace after that fight.

And several times after this we see that Shuro really cares for Laios, and Laios still wants to be his friend. He even offered to save Laios if he fails (and he's sure he's gonna fail). So their relationship is dear to me, especially cause after this they finally have the foundation for a true mutual friendship <3

I think my dislike of Shuro comes from relating to him to be honest, it happens often that I see my own failures on a character and get angry at them for being angry at myself lmao. I also got a little annoyed cause I only saw people defending him, apparently those were made as a response to hate he had gotten? But since I never actually seen the hate it just felt annoying to see Shuro being white knighted.

Anyway I love the two of them together and I'm really happy they finally understood each other better. laishuro might be my favorite Laios ship, one sided crushes are great.

[olderthannetfic]

Hi, Ah weird question? So the default of fandoms usually is 'ship and let ship' right? Meaning even if you hate a ship you'll not harass the person, right? Now I'm asking this as someone who always headcanon and ship characters as queer. Here is this situation that I'm in right now: apparently a friend of mine who also agrees with 'SALS', found out another friend of theirs(A) used a mod to romance a queer character in a not queer way, you know what I mean? So then my friend called A queerphobic, they then fought and they are not talking right now. My friend came to me and told me about this, apparently expecting me to be as angry as them(I'm also queer/pan btw) and well I wasn't? Because why should I care what they ship or better say, how A chooses to romance characters. I suggested to my friend to talk to A about it and well, this made them more angry? I mean yeah it's awful when someone denies a character being queer in canon. But as far as I know A is not doing that? Now they are angry with me too although we still talk.....Am I in the wrong here? What should I do?

--

Using mods to make every NPC player-sexual is perfectly fine.

I get that it can be upsetting to see people "taking away" your few queer characters, but they're not actually taking them away. That friend is being unreasonable.

I'm not sure the default actually is SALS these days, but it ought to be.

Your friend may come back around to this once they calm down... or they may continue to be upset and think that being upset is a sign that something is morally wrong and not just a personal reaction.

I would avoid the topic with them for now. If they insist on talking about it, you can compare it to letting people ship ships you find gross. It's fine to keep finding them gross! But you shouldn't dump or attack friends over that.

This is, in general, a very touchy subject for a lot of queer people. Bob & Rose got a massive amount of hate despite reportedly being based on some real experiences. One Exception happens even IRL and even to people who thought they were gay... but it feels like talking about it gives ammo to shitheads who think they're going to be your one exception or that we should send teens to conversion camp.

So I get why people freak out about this, but... well... they need to chill when it comes to some friend smashing the barbie dolls together the wrong way.

[hinamie]

wanted 2 make a bit of an update post to get a few things off my chest bc i feel like i've been a bit quiet on here compared 2 normal and for that i apologize gsdhjgfdsj I promise I will do better at being chronically online

in all seriousness though, ever since the jjk manga ended, I've started experiencing th dilemma where I am feeling less inspired but also twice as pressured to continue living up to the standard I set for myself by being so active while the manga was ongoing. i'm finding it's taking longer than it should to finish pieces that are not challenging enough to warrant the extra hours, it's harder to come up with what I think are original concepts, and overall i'm just anxious that the high i've been riding since april has finally begun its descent.

I know logically tht these expectations i'm worried about being unable to meet are entirely self-imposed. I /know/ that not every piece needs to be a profound character tribute packed with symbolism and hidden meanings, but tht doesn't change the fact that it still feels really disappointing when I try to dig for that emotional component that I was really loving in the art that was inspired by later manga chapters, only to come up short. I'm feeling myself defaulting back to drawing My Ship Posed Cutely, or Character Lineup In Cute Outfits, whereas before I was really feeling like my art was touching something beyond just surface-level aesthetic. This isn't to say that I don't think I can ever get back to creating those harder-hitting pieces, or that I /dislike/ my more lighthearted aesthetically-driven work, I'm just frustrated at myself for feeling like I have to now dig for what used to be so readily available.

there's no conclusion to this story gfhjsgd this is rly just a vent post. i've been doing this long enough to know that this is just part of what happens with any creative hobby. periods of feeling uninspired unfortunately come with the territory, n it makes sense that those feelings wld be exacerbated now that the series i take my main inspiration from has come to a standstill for the time being. but I don't feel burnt out on jjk yet, which is reassuring in that it means I know I still Want to draw the characters, no matter how boring or overdone all of my current ideas feel. i'm in no rush to move on from jjk as my main fandom either, although I do see myself sprinkling in more art for other series to pass the time n keep me Inspired while I wait for s3. so for those of you who found me through my art (probably most of u), i guess also pls take this as both warning and reassurance that you most likely Will see me start drawing for other fandoms in the coming months, but don't take it as meaning I've abandoned drawing for jjk

and as always, thank u all for sticking with me and for all the support and lovely words on my art, it rly does make my days brighter <3

[waywardstation]

One last store update! After this I will begin sending emails to a subscriber list.

You can input your email of choice for my shop newsletter into this google form here.

A quick summary of some things:

I was unable to finish orders by printing their shipping labels by today, despite what I said last week, because of health issues that had to be addressed instead.

More of my product order was messed up, had enough items to fulfill every order but I’ve been left with ZERO extra stock on a couple items to put into my shop after.

I got enough interest in the Halloween keychains and stickers so I will be making them.

Full explanations below ^^

I have now packed every single order and reviewed all of their contents. However I was unable to send them out today as at some point last week I became very unwell. I’ve been going downhill for a while but it has never gotten to this degree this fast before. I still don’t really know what caused it and so I had been unable to pack over the weekend and couldn’t get all the shipping labels printed for them today.

I will be printing these labels out and taking chunks of the orders to the post office over the next few days.

But the more I’d packed the more I’d realized more of my product order had been messed up. I had ordered extras of everything and yet some of the products that I ordered just BARELY fulfilled every order — I had to use some of the initial samples to fulfill every order but rest assured they are the exact same as the products in size and quality. I have exactly ZERO of some products left over for shop stock when I’d ordered 10-15 extra of every item (as well as TOO MANY of some less popular products that didn’t need all these extras) which sadly means a few items will not be in stock when I open the store back up. I may put discounts on the unwanted extras I received because of this.

While I would expect by default to receive the products in the quantity that I ordered, I also understand that I ordered hundreds of products all in one order, and that is only one order that is being fulfilled out of the many other orders they get daily. I myself did not count out every single product to check because of the sheer amount of everything that was ordered — I had ordered over 500 keychains alone to fulfill the preorders and the entire order has taken up a full room when all spread out. But I still did not count beforehand and would only find out once I’d run out of a certain product, so I accept this is partly my responsibility too. This should not happen again as I never expect to make an order this big again, I had only done this for shop startup, and I will be making another order to restock these products. But it’s still sad it happened.

I apologize for this and I appreciate all of your patience once again. I am explaining all of this as I believe you are owed information about what is going on seeing as you’ve put money into this, and I myself said they would all be sent out by Monday. I just want to be transparent ^^

And one last thing — many of you wanted Halloween merchandise, so I will be moving forward with that! (I’ve decided they will not be glow in the dark though, as I’d have to make every vibrant color instead transparent for the glow to come through, and I believe the designs would suffer too much without these colors)

I have ordered from this manufacturer multiple times before over the years and they’ve always gotten it right with more reasonably-sized orders, so I am confident these will not have the same problems as this preorders period has.

Thank you again very much for your support and understanding up to this point!! <3

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

I will never understand the notion that Zuko was the only one to support to Katara or that Zuko supported Katara more than Aang. Like that’s objectively false.

As someone who likes lots of hero X villain ships, and plenty of Good Girl X Bad Guy ships in particular, let me explain: it's just a popular cope/lie to justify hating on the good guy that is either part of a love triangle, and thus the bad guy's rival, or the only real love interest for the girl in cases of "fanon love triangles" like the Kataang VS Zutara one.

Lots of people who like that kind of dynamic, or simply rooting for the bad guy, are, for some reason, uncomfortable with the fact that these dynamics can get (and sometimes forever remain) messy, toxic, unhealthy or downright abusive, and that the bad guy is, in fact, bad and will do evil things to harm the hero, even if they are canonically in love (and again, the romance sometimes isn't even canon to begin with).

So they try to fix that "problem" by pretending the "evil love interest" was the only one that actually cared, and either never did anything to genuinely harm the romantic lead or did so much good stuff that it balances it out.

Meanwhile the "morally correct/default choice" is always demonized and talked about as a character that is not only boring, but also secretly selfish, controling, uncaring and/or abusive, yet the writers refuse to acknowledge is not the saint they claim he is. That is done solely to make the "bad guy" look better in comparison. Only twice in my life have I ever seen the "good guy" in the love triangle genuinely be as bad as the fandom says they are - Ted Mosby from How I Met Your Mother and Riley Finn from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Pretty much every other time I've seen fans use that argument? It was total bullshit.

That's literally all there is to the nonsense 'argument' of "Zuko cared about Katara even when he was still a bad guy, but Aang acted worse than he ever did all while being the hero the show never calls out." It's disregarding canon almost completely and creating an alternative version of the story that goes out of it's way to glorify Zuko's every action, while demonizing Aang, solely for the sake of saying "Therefore Zutara should have been canon and endgame instead of Kataang."

That's why they talk about nonsense like "Zuko was the only one to ever help Katara with chores during camp, while Aang expected her to be do everything by herself just because she's a girl." It never happened, but if it had it'd make Zutara look better than Kataang, so they just convince themselves that's what happened and repeat it to everyone else.

You'll never understand the logic in these arguments because there is none to be found in the first place, and you can't reason with these people because they simply don't care what happened in the show. They only care about their version of Avatar. The "Zuko" and "Aang" they describe in their fics, metas and headcanons are completely separate from the actual Zuko and Aang.

[centrally-unplanned]

Gonna talk more about the cluster munitions thing, because I think its interesting:

Weapons are not 'special'; they do not fall into dangerous vs safe categories, no weapon is more or less morally pure than the other. Every weapon of war can be used to indiscriminately kill civilians. From this, the "level 1" reasoning would state that the use of any weapon is therefore equally contextual; you just odds-estimate the "median civilian risk" like any other weapon for its use. From this logic using say tactical nuclear weapons is fine, as it is in fact trivial and common in war to arrive at scenarios where the civilian risk of such weapons is more-or-less as low as conventional weapons.

However, humans are not civilian-risk utility maximizers, and the international order is not composed of dispassionate super-rational agents. We govern things through norms & expectations, and constantly run the risk of sunk costs and moral decay. If we allowed tactical nuclear weapons to be used in Ukraine, first off they would not stay in that "low civilian risk" category; once used the pressure to keep using them increases and the ability for them to slip into far more dangerous territory is quite high compared to conventional bombs. Secondly, it would break the norm for other countries - in Ukraine, Russia could be using tactical nuclear weapons, but are not because they know the US & EU would respond extremely harshly, maybe arming Ukraine with the same. No side wants to open those floodgates.

All of this is to say that norms in war do matter, and you don't want to break them lightly, even if there is a solid use case on the micro-level for the weapon. Building these norms takes time and we are better off for them.

Cluster munitions do not, at all, have this norm. People want it to have this norm; that is admirable, and I think there is merit to it. But those people have failed - the military applications for the munitions are too large, and 'risk profile' however you wish to define it too low, for any major military power to actually limit its use. The fact that the EU & Japan have done so is very telling, as they are the countries that virtually always conduct their military operations as part of joint operations for non-critical security concerns, and with US assistance. Actual militaries who consider themselves to face critical security threats, from China to South Korea to Iran to India, have not done this. No 'norm of war' has emerged against their use. (Some norms around minimum detonation thresholds have emerged, maybe, loosely, and ofc there are norms about how to use them, though they aren't cluster-munitions specific in the main).

So certainly shipping cluster munitions to Ukraine is a setback to those hoping to form that norm, its a real cost. But that cost is much less than violating an existing norm, Russia did not hesitate to use cluster munitions and always has in its other military operations like Chechnya. There is no risk of 'escalation', no new major military power is going to go "its time!" - they all already did that decades ago - its not going to change the status quo. Which means you can get back to the granular questions - does the Ukraine war have applications within the acceptable risk range?

Which I don't know the answer to! My instinct is yes, this war has lots of 'remote' combat sites and Ukraine has no interest in killing its own people, but I am not in the field, I do not know. But the Ukrainian Army is in the field, and my default is that they should be listened to - I would need a compelling case as to why this is a large risk escalation and I haven't seen it yet.

[kept-confidence]

Closing Time

This piece began first as a private daydream, Later, it grew into a daydream shared with a newfound friend (@imonthemoonitsmadeofcheese). With that came a wash of creativity over me that I decided, for once, to fully submerge myself in. This is also now on Ao3, found here. The song that I imagine Drifter singing in this piece is titled "Martha", and is sung by Tom Waits. The song that I imagine being played in the scene — the trumpet and piano duet — is titled “Closing Time”, and is also by Tom Waits. This is a personal favourite of mine. Note: I'd highly recommend putting "Closing Time" on when you're at the montage section — I imagine it'd be a nice experience overall while you imagine the scene being described. There is nothing violent here — only tenderness and kindness founded upon a moment of healing. I am no expert in handling tender moments between individuals, and sometimes struggle to describe them. I make up for it, perhaps, in metaphor. I’m always inspired by music, and I guess that’s where the daydream emerged from in the first place. I also cooked this up in a day which is absolutely hilarious (neurospicy brain things). This is my first fic, which is nice, I think. Hope you enjoyed reading this! Comments are hugely appreciated (and I'd love to meet new folks who are into this ship as much as I am).

The door opened slowly with a gentle push, creaking loudly in response to decades of wear and neglect as it swung open and away from the Drifter. For a place that had been left largely abandoned, forgotten, and untouched — likely intentionally by its owner — any sort of movement and sound felt sacrilegious, like intruding upon a sacred space that should have, perhaps, been left alone. 

Drifter breathed a heavy sigh as he hesitated to take a step into what used to be his old bar. It should feel like a place he owns, one that he feels welcome in, he tells himself. But the air responds otherwise — the dominant scent of stale, damp wood rendering it thick, musty, and overbearing. If anything, the air was weighed down heavily by memories of the Drifter's past — of old selves torn away and discarded, of ghosts he'd rather forget, and of a time that no longer seemed welcome nor accessible. It had been weighed down by the burden of change. 

Why had he come here? A rhetorical question to himself, but one that occupied his mind nonetheless. 

Now restless, the Drifter took to rolling his green coin across his knuckles in a bid to calm his mind. Despite this, there was no denying the fact that his breathing had since grown rather shallow and irregular at the prospect of having to enter this forsaken space. Nonetheless, he figured that he'd lingered outside enough. 

"Eh, gotta go in at some point, I guess," he muttered to himself, words trailing off, as he defaulted to erecting a wall of indifference once more. It was, perhaps, what he thought to be the only way to keep himself safe. 

With soft and quiet steps, the Drifter finally stepped into the bar with a sense of trepidation that he wished he didn't have to feel, especially for a place he knew he once had some attachment to. Though he'd expected things to look different, he had to admit that the space of his bar — though theoretically the same as how he'd left it last — felt different. His heart skipped a beat as his senses slowly became more attuned to the apparent dissonance in the once lively (though chaotic) space he owned. After all, the mind can only prepare one so far — the heart, however, will always be tugged along, albeit unwillingly, in directions undesired and unwanted. For someone who had survived so much, who thrived on instability, chaos, and change as a means of putting up walls and abandoning the past, it would seem that for a rare moment, the Drifter would finally admit to himself that he'd been subconsciously wishing for something in his life to, at least, remain the same. 

The silence was piercing — ringing, even. It was in stark contrast to a sonic memory of a boisterous time once filled with excitement and activity. The Drifter could almost imagine the scene that accompanied it, but as he called forth that memory in his mind, the dissonance grew louder and more discordant. He promptly shut the door to that memory, and instead found himself stemming the discomfort by fixating on the sound of his footfalls as he fidgeted and shifted his feet in a bid to punctuate the silence pressing into him. Grounding, as Eris had once taught him. Where these footfalls had once been crisp and confident, heard in tandem with the voices of comrades and enemies both lost to time, they were instead now faint and muted no thanks to the thick layer of dust that blanketed what used to be dry and clean wooden floorboards. As each step unsettled the caked-on dust on the floor, leaving imprints of his boots, the Drifter directed his attention to his footfalls and simply looked. Dust was gently being dislodged, then lifted, and finally fell off the tips and soles of his boots. He could feel it — that each shift, each step, carried with it the heaviness of time, and its burden laid bare for him to witness. Breathing in deeply, Drifter felt the discomfort ease ever so slightly, as he was finally reminded of why he'd come back to the bar in the first place. 

To learn to embrace change while not abandoning the past. It was an answer to his question from before, but one that he knew, acutely, that its execution would not come as easily as hoped. Ideally, the process would happen on its own, without any need for effort — but that would be nothing more than a lofty dream. By this point, there was perhaps no escaping the fact that it was time for him to face his past, head on. 

Before his mind could stray any further, he felt a buzz from the databad tucked neatly beneath his robes. The Drifter retrieved it, and smiled softly when he saw who the message was from. 

EM: Germaine, you are not on the Derelict.  D: Aw Moondust! Missin' me already? You should've just said so!  EM: Answer the question, Rat. Where are you?  D: I'm at the old bar. The one I used to own? From waaaaaaaay before? The one Efrideet trashed?  EM: It's three in the morning, Germaine. What are you doing there? Are you alright? 

The Drifter's fingers hovered in the air for a moment as he contemplated how to reply to her question — specifically, the latter one. Like always, he decided that he'd ignore it. 

D: Catching up on old times, I guess.  EM: I see. You did not answer the second question. Would you like company? 

Caught. Nothing new — Eris always knew. 

D: Yeah. Thanks, Moondust. Seeya in a bit. 

The gentle smile didn't leave the Drifter's face even as he tucked the datapad back in its place. For him, Eris's company was always welcome. But this was even more so true for today — with the weight of the past and of this space still holding him down like a Sisyphean boulder on his sholders. Though he wasn't expecting her to know more about it, or to help him lift it, he imagined that it would, at least, be nice to have her company while he worked though and unravelled the attachment to this place he had long since buried. There was, after all, comfort to be found in the gentle intimacy of vulnerability they had since learned to share in time. 

Just as he'd finished ruminating, the Drifter felt his arm brush against yet another thick layer of dust as he walked past a large, boxy object. He turned, and let out a tiny, silent gasp of awe as he came to realise what was in front of him — it was a piano. It had been such a long time since he'd played one, not to mention seen one in the first place. The piano was no Steinway, of course. Just an upright Baldwin that had been salvaged from way before. The Drifter chuckled as he recalled just how out of tune it was when he had salvaged it, and how he'd managed to tinker with the piano enough that it at least sounded mostly reasonable. For a moment, he wondered if his work had stood the test of time. Orin was convinced that it would. 

He tensed, and held his coin tightly between his thumb and index finger. It was inevitable that the train of thought would lead him down that road. He'd been the one to salvage the piano and to tinker with it, but it was Orin who witnessed all of this happening — who laughed with him, and groaned at him each time he failed to fix the piano's tuning. She was the one who made the memory feel real when it would've otherwise been like any other memory — a generic piece of paper burnt to a crisp. 

This was the memory he'd come to confront. Right as he was about to fall off the edge into a memory-induced panic, the Drifter caught himself and grounded himself once more. Move the coin across the knuckles. Flip it between these fingers, and then the others. Shifting feet. Fidget a little. Grip the coin, then loosen that grip. In that release, the Drifter's tension eased a little as well. 

He dragged himself back into the present moment. In it, there was a quietude that ached in the space around him, as the Drifter took the time to take in the scene laid in front of him. Slowly, he took a few steps back, and gazed softly at the piano. The sight was, frankly, captivating. Moonlight streamed in from the holes in the roof that had since come to plague the bar, touching — even caressing — the piano ever so slightly. In these beams of moonlight, particles of dust travelling in the air were illuminated. For a space where its stillness initially bordered on suffocation, the Drifter finally felt himself attuned to the sensation and observation of the most minute movements. The way his breathing shifted the dust travelling around him, visible through the rays of moonlight. The way the clouds cast shadows on the ground as they momentarily blocked the moonlight. He felt just a little better about being here.  

Feeling inspired by the sight, he pulled out the piano bench and sat on it. No one would have issues with someone playing a piano at the base of Felwinter Peak at three in the morning, of course. Drifter pulled his gloves off, placing them neatly on the top of the piano. He had done so instinctively, as if wanting to truly feel and reminisce the texture of the keys with his own fingers. As he swiped one finger gently across the surface of the piano’s unopened cover, he was reminded once again of change — of time and age. Parts of the dislodged dust now hung on the tip of his finger. The truth is, he didn’t have to do that. He could’ve simply opened the piano cover. Yet, for the Drifter acknowledging that presence of dust, feeling it, and shifting it away, felt like an active recognition and acceptance of a time long gone. Of change.

The Drifter proceeded to lift the cover of the piano, which took a little bit more than a gentle struggle simply because of how long it had been left unopened. It inspired a simple metaphor in his mind — he thought of how the dust, when left undealt with, would work itself into the seams of the piano like a glue that seals all things shut, making it even harder to pry open. He visualized that momentarily in himself, with the dust that had settled into the seams of his own box that contained his heart and his past. It was, indeed, one that he was also struggling a little to open. He would try today, perhaps.

Beneath the cover lay the piano keys. Some were chipped, and some were stuck in a half-pressed position no thanks to the lack of maintenance. But for the Drifter, it was, in fact, the same as he had left it — it had been untouched for decades, chips consistent with his memory, and the sticky keys were still, well, sticky. There was no fixing those, he remembered, chuckling to himself.

It would become clear eventually that for the Drifter, memory is a muscle, and muscle memory never fails. His hands naturally fell into position, and for some strange reason, prepared themselves in the key of D#. He pressed down on the keys ever so delicately — perhaps to him, they seemed so fragile that they might break under the weight of his burdens.

But they didn't, and instead produced a faint chord in D#. He lifted his fingers, and pressed once more — now confident the keys would not crumble under him. The sensation — both of the keys, and of the sound received — was, to him, extremely familiar. Let memory lead, let memory take charge. The heart knows what it needs, he reminded himself. And from there, notes and chords pieced and flowed together, and the Drifter began to play a tune. He knew not what it was titled, or who had sung it originally, but he only remembered hearing it being played once by a visitor to the bar who had kindly asked for permission to play the piano. All he knew about the tune was that it was from the golden age — a song from a time now long gone, now being revisited in the present. 

As he progressed through the instrumental introduction to the song, Eris slipped quietly into the bar, undetected. The Drifter was too immersed in the moment that Eris refused to even think of interrupting it to announce herself. Gently and ever so silently, she perched herself on a bar stool that was still loosely intact, knees crossed, listening to his performance intently. She couldn't help but smile at the sight she was witnessing — but nothing could prepare her for what would come next, as the Drfiter began to sing. 

“Operator, number please It's been so many years Will she remember my old voice While I fight the tears?

Hello, hello there, is this Martha? This is old Tom Frost And I am calling long distance Don’t worry ‘bout the cost

Cause it’s been 40 years or more Now, Martha, please recall Meet me out for coffee Where we’ll talk about it all”

The words fell out of his mouth so naturally like a confession sung aloud to himself. His singing voice was low and ever so slightly gravelly, but there was a genuine tenderness to it a huge shift from his usually crass and sometimes insufferable modes of expression, Eris thought. It felt like a warm embrace — where words held on tightly to harmony, Eris instinctively found herself drawn towards and into the moment as well. As his gravelly voice continued to be sounded out — brushing against and touching her eardrums — a memory resurfaced. Eris couldn't help but recall the first time she ever placed her hand on his cheek as a gesture of care and love. She remembered how he leaned into her hand in return, and most prominently, the sensation of his beard tickling her palm. This felt similar — and it was comforting. 

At the same time, Eris was sure in this moment that her dear Rat was feeling more than just "old times", as he'd preferred to call it. If the lyrics weren't enough proof of this, the melancholic instrumental lines that accompanied the song were. In this song was nostalgia tinged with grief — a wistfulness of love once found and later lost, of time spent searching to no avail. She took a look around the bar and was met with the same scene of moonlight the Drifter had seen earlier. If he feels it's too much, he will know he's at least surrounded by moonlight, she thought to herself, reassuringly. 

Meanwhile, the Drifter continued: 

“And those were the days of roses, poetry and prose And, Martha, all I had was you, and all you had was me There was no tomorrows, we'd packed away our sorrows And we saved them for a rainy day

And I feel so much older now And you're much older too How's your husband and how's the kids? You know that I got married too?

Lucky that you found someone To make you feel secure Cause we were all so young and foolish Now we are mature”

As the chorus made its first iteration, it was evident by now that Martha, for the Drifter, was undoubtedly Orin. The mood in the air was suffused with a warm, gentle longing to revisit the past, to catch up with an old friend, an old lover. To simply ask, how are you doing? Perhaps it might've seemed that the Drifter was singing this to or for Orin, but Eris knew better than that. Despite the clear dedication to Martha drawn out by the lyrics — the incessant yearning and desire to return to the past — Eris had no doubt that her Rat was instead singing to his memory of Orin and his past experiences with her. He was, through this song, acknowledging the reality of his past — one that he had, at many times, tried to shut away with bursts of denial and detachment. The intention here was indeed very different. 

The chorus looped around a second time, and then:

“And I was always so impulsive I guess that I still am And all that really mattered then Was that I was a man

I guess that our being together Was never meant to be And Martha, Martha I love you, can't you see?”

Eris heard the Drifter stutter a little on the last line, his voice shaking as he held the last note for a second. And then he paused for a moment, hands laid on the keys, but frozen in time.

He said nothing for a while, and ruminated. Eris watched, but chose not to intervene — this was an important moment for him, one reserved for himself, and she would respect that. 

Finally, in the now drawn-out silence, he said to himself, quietly: "I loved you, Orin. This dude who wrote the lyric's still hung up on Martha. But for me? I don't love you. Not anymore. I loved you." Eris held her breath and clutched her Ahamkara bone closer to her chest as she heard the Drifter draw out the end of the word 'loved', clearly juxtaposed against the present, and original 'love' written into the song. She let go of that breath, and smiled. It was not that she needed reassurance — that safety and security had long been found in the foundation of their friendship and relationship. Instead, she simply felt a sense of pride for her dear Rat, who had finally taken active steps to work through the grief he had amassed in his heart from his time with Orin and beyond. It was no wonder that she had grown to love this man so very much — at no point in the time they knew each other did he ever expect her to fix his grief and his heart, and all he ever asked for, as she had now grown accustomed to providing, was her company through it all. 

Picking up his playing once more, the Drifter worked his way through the final chorus, before concluding the song with the words: 

"And I remember quiet evenings Trembling close to you.”

The last note from the piano resonated in the space of the bar, before the song faded into a final, concrete silence. The Drifter exhaled — it was a heavy one, but one that also seemed to bring him relief, as if he'd finally come to terms with what it meant to let go. He removed his hands from the keys, and proceeded to place them by his side as he pressed them softly into the bench. He gazed upwards, looking through one of the holes of the roof where the moonlight seemed to be pouring in from. It was a tiny whisper directed at the ray of moonlight, but one audible enough for Eris to hear from where she was seated. 

"Thanks for keeping me company through it, random ray of moonlight." 

Eris rose from the bar stool, finally making her presence known. And though slightly startled, the Drifter wasn't shocked enough to whip out Trust — he had been expecting her after all, though he had frankly no idea how long she'd been behind him all this while. 

"You're welcome," she said, smiling, while crossing the bar towards him, still seated at the piano. In response, he scooted over to the side as an invitation for her to sit beside him. She does. 

There was a moment of gentle silence — the air was no longer as still as it once was, and it was quiet enough that they could hear each other breathe almost in unison. She placed her hand over his, and he turned his palm over to intertwine their fingers together. He thought about asking her how long she'd been there for, but held back because he could already guess the answer to that. 

"That was beautiful, Germaine. How do you feel?" Eris asked, in hushed tones. 

For a man usually of many words, the Drifter struggled to gather any of a proper response. He simply sighed, and squeezed her hand, gazing at the moonlight through the roof once more. There was a warmth in his gesture, as if to say, I'm working through it still, but thank you for being here. She squeezed his in return, gently drawing circles on his hand with her thumb, as if to respond with take your time, I'm here, and I'll stay. With yet another sigh, he leaned over, and positioned his head on her shoulder, snuggling softly into the space that he'd already claimed as his multiple times. She turned her head to kiss him on his forehead, before simply leaning her head on his. 

It wasn't clear if he had started to cry, or was simply taking in the moment. He might have — but that was something meant only for Eris's eyes, and no one else. A private moment between the two. There was, perhaps, no need to know as well. Not everything needs to be witnessed, not everything needs to be known.

-------

It felt like a scene from a film. A montage of quiet, gentle moments.

scene begins, all dark; "closing time" by tom waits begins to play. a duet between a wistful trumpet and a plangent piano resonates in the air.  cut / close-up shot of the hole in the roof. moonlight is pouring in through it, and a crescent moon can be seen from the hole — clouds drift past in front of it.  cut / various still shots of the bar in disrepair — broken chairs, rotting wood, layers of dust, torn curtains at the windows.  cut / a still shot, now framing the back of the drifter and eris sitting side by side on the piano bench, the drifter's head on her shoulder, her head lying on his in return. cut / a close-up, still shot of fingers interlaced with each other.  cut / return to previous still shot of the drifter and eris on the piano bench, now pulling away with a backwards dolly. the two are now framed in relation to the larger space of the bar — as well as the moonlight. the camera remains in this position for a significant amount of time compared to the previous shots. cut / fade to black. the song is still playing. two sets of footfalls are heard — the heavy sort made from boots, though one is notably softer than the other. the sound of these footfalls pan from the far centre, closer to the front, and finally to the left. a door is heard creaking open, and then closed. the footfalls fade into the distance.  song fades into silence.  end scene. 

[crystal-cliffs]

Why Tartacchino is my OTP

A semi-long commentary on my favorite genshin impact ship because I want to talk about them so badly. Also this isn’t me pulling up evidence, this is 99% anecdote on why this ship is a huge comfort for me despite a lot of knee jerk reactions I’ve gotten when trying to explain it. So I’ve collected it all into a post that is 100% an excuse to ramble. Don’t expect coherency that ship sailed a long time ago and I’m only serious for about a minute or too.

If I had to give a song with their vibe it would be Tongues & Teeth by The Crane Wives so everyone should check it out if you’re already reading this.

This isn’t me trying to convince anyone to ship it either, though if I did I’d be surprised tbh. Just want something on the forefront that serves as a “this is what you’re getting into” vibe yk?

Why?

Because it’s fun… I like exploring ships that seem complicated and maybe wouldn’t even work out long term because it makes me think about the nature of human relationships. Whilst I have other arlecchino ships, thinking x Furina, x Xianyun, x Signora etc etc, I don’t… think about them the same way. Like they’re mostly fluffy to me and sweet and uncomplicated despite the fact that the reoccurring character that is Arlecchino would seemingly make it more interesting.

And yet it doesn’t for me, because I assume by default Arlecchino would treat these ladies like royalty and thus it’s settled.

With Tartaglia I don’t immediately assume that simply because the first question I ask myself is… why would Arlecchino even date a man? But when I stopped viewing these characters under such a strict guideline based on fandom interpretations of their sexual orientations, I came away with a different question. What would it take for these two to view each other in a light beyond mildly friendly?

And then I spiraled from there.

Sometimes I feel like shipping culture is so rigid that I fall victim to that, and don’t allow myself the ability to explore potential dynamics that usually wouldn’t be given a second glance. Tartacchino being one of them. The concept of them dating seems so impossible at times and to other people but I think that’s why it’s fun.

Alright Ramble Time but Serious-ish

I think sometimes we as humans forget the complexity of human relationships and we seperate them into these categories that simply don’t encompass the entirety of the human experience.

One common occurrence I’ve realized is how people look at relationships. You see two people who are dating and you personally believe that they aren’t good together and hey, they’ll probably break up in the next couple months. (This isn’t about toxic or abusive relationships, let’s not make it about those)

When the truth is, you only know half of the story. You don’t know what the two of these hypothetical people are like when they’re alone with each other and you probably never will because your presence directly affects these people’s behavior.

Tying this into Tartacchino, that’s the vibe the relationships always given me. Two people who seem incompatible to everyone around them, people who probably wouldn’t make it past a couple months before realizing the whole relationship was a mistake.

But they make it work.

I like exploring the complexity of human relationships and this ship allows me to do so somewhat. Imagining how they navigate an experience that even they themselves aren’t sure makes sense to them for whatever reasons I can conjure up. Sometimes it’s sexuality, sometimes it’s beliefs, personalities clashing, trauma and the inability to let yourself get too close, whatever.

Ramble time part 2: But not so serious

Actually, on the note of sexuality, the existence of a fandom consensus on a characters sexuality doesn’t make it canon. I’ve had multiple experiences where people have gotten upset at the prospect of me shipping a character that is headcanoned as a lesbian with a guy, some to the point of calling me lesbophobic which is ironic since I am a lesbian, that’s why I do this. As a lesbian I’m actually allowed to do whatever I want❗️/lh

…

So like… the post didn’t save when I wrote this part so now I gotta be even less coherent than I probably was.

Their relationship is very not heterosexual. They break the gender roles and stereotypes by being alive, their queerness happened the second they started living on the same plane of existence.

I just like to make all of the harbingers gender and sexuality fucked though, they experience gender fuckery and sexuality fuckery and who am I to interfere.

Like Tartaglia is a girl, a boy girl, a girlboy, I dunno it’s beyond our capabilities as humans without inter-dimensional parasites leaching off our life force.

Arlecchino is… let’s not get into that, he’s whatever you think he is frankly. She likes the speculation be so fr, she would.

Inherently queer, idk what else you want from me lol. Uhh they don’t kiss I feel like I should specify that, that’s to soft for them frankly. If they did kiss properly it would be bloody and painful and full of emotions neither of them would be willing to say out loud because they’re probably hateful lol I dunno. But they also do kiss each other, just not properly because for some reason that’s too intimate.

Their intimacy is sparring violently and then patching each other up because the passion is shown through how much blood is shed yk? Idk Tartaglia’s love language is violence so… why not❗️

Damn idk what I’m talking about tbh… I got less serious and realized I really don’t know how to explain my love and reasoning for this ship since there is no actual concrete reason, get bamboozled or something. I just like seeing girlboys and boygirl’s bloody, that’s all, it’s not a crime. That’s what the horror genre is for after all. Uhhh

They are not husband and wife nor girlfriend and boyfriend, they are that secret third thing. (Tho if they were we both know who the husband is and who the wife is)

We could get even more basic, golden retriever with rabies x wolf dog that knows basic human commands. They are not Goldie and black cat that’s wrong because arlecchino has wolf energy, dog energy, they both do, it’s just one is a little more intimidating than the other.

Just realized they’re hydro x pyro

Yeah there’s no argument, love Fire and Water, both equally dangerous in their own right, and they both live in a perpetual cycle of being capable of destroying each other and being used to destroy each other. There’s no point to this i just like Fire and Water.

Hoyoverse make them talk again they were so silly.

I think that’s it…

Yeah❗️

If you don’t like this ship idc, just don’t make it my business. Talk to me about one of the other 500 arlecchino or tartaglia ships instead or something, I still like a lot of those this is just my favorite.

And just to top it all off

We all saw wife right?

Right.

[goeldicotton]

For some reason people keep reading my other ElevenRiver ship question thing…So sure, why not another. I’m working on a time tot fic anyway.

1) Eleven, not that River can’t. She’s just usually forced to be the adult in the room.

2) I think they both struggle a bit with that. Their baby would have their energy. If I had to decide who’s better…I imagine River??? Just because she just tries more often. The doctor usually just forgets the baby should sleep until his wife reminds him, or they finally knock out on their own.

3) Both of them, but Eleven specifically is pretty over protective…and by pretty I mean extremely. For several obvious reasons, and several fic related ones. Meanwhile, River is also protective. she just has a better handle over her emotions.

4) They almost always go to their dad, because he’s almost always awake. He’s a time lord, he doesn’t need as much sleep as his wife, it just makes more sense for him to handle it. Plus, he’s very good with monsters and nightmares, plenty of experience.

5) Well, River reads more stories, but she doesn’t do voices, she just reads like normal, so I guess the Doctor wins by default (though, for the record, I think his voices would be exactly as ridiculous as you’d expect).

6) I think they’d be homeschooled unfortunately, so neither.

7) Eleven, for both, and River would tease him for being a sentimental old man.

8) Eleven, River.

9) Depends, River is the disciplinarian when it comes to things like when playtime ends, when to go to bed, and getting done homework. You know, house rules. Meanwhile, on adventures the Doctor is usually on edge with them, and starts getting snappy, especially when things go wrong. It’s not that he wants to, he’s just is really worried when traveling with them.

10) All that being said, he’s still the Doctor. Losing his companions is practically part of his job (although he’d have a much bigger heart attack in this particular case). River would hold onto them the whole time.

Alright, that was fun, sleeping now.

[risingsouls]

[Okey dokey. Now that I've imploded and have picked up those pieces (maybe), I want to discuss what I plan to do moving forward. I want to preface this by saying I do not blame anyone but myself for getting to this point. I didn't follow my own rules, and it has made me uncomfortable with what I'm doing on this blog.

This is mainly about shipping so, if you ship with me, you'll want to take a gander. Under the cut for obvious reasons and to not annoy people.]

So, this has really been a long time coming but I do think I want to reset pretty much all my ships. Again, this is not anyone else's fault but my own, but I've just sort of become bored with what I've been doing in that realm. I went against my own rule of building up ships and allowed them to be rushed instead of built from the ground up like I like. I want to go through the stages of getting two (or more as the case might rarely be who knows) muses into a relationship. I want to see the messy parts. I want to do more than just having relationships be established from almost the jump after one or two small interactions. It's not fair to my muses who are all pretty damn picky. I don't feel like I'm doing right by them by not building these relationships properly. I do love all the ships that have happened, but I'm just not happy with myself for not sticking to my guns about REALLY building them.

What does this mean? Good question. By default, I think this means that I'm just going to wipe the board clean of all ships, save for a few exceptions. I'm also going to lay some ground rules for shipping in general that are honestly more a reminder for me, but also a sort of "this is what you can expect" thing moving forward for my partners.

First and foremost, I'm going to be pickier. I'm not going to allow people to just come at my muses from the jump with anything that's obviously shippy in an established way. Flirting is fine, but if I get something like "I've always loved you" (within reason on this one because that could be interesting) or "we've been married for sixteen years!" when there was no build up to this or they're basically strangers, I'm going to ignore it. Anyone is welcome to come ask me to ship, but, at the risk of sounding harsh, we're BOTH going to have to work for it.

If characters have a history, either in my canon or regular canon, I'm obviously willing to be a WEENSY bit more lenient. For example, Nabooru and Vegeta, in my AU crossover shenanigans, already have some history. Not necessarily as a romantic relationship (unless it's way down the line and even that's not traditional), but they did build some rapport with each other in that realm to some degree. However, since my Vegeta isn't the same as someone else's, I do still want to do the lifting with getting them off the ground. I want to see how it would differ with someone else's Vegeta than with what I've written/imagined in my AU. And I should also disclaimer that no other Vegeta or any other character needs to know Nabooru or any other one of my characters in the way they do in my AU.

This is where I'm afraid I might hurt feelings or lose RP partners, though I really hope I don't as it's not intended. As mentioned, I am starting ships over. I know I told some people recently that I was okay with continuing what we had, but it's become clear that I'm not happy with what I allowed and how I rushed things. Basically, I am very much still willing to explore the ships I already have again! But I do want to sort of start at some kind of beginning. To build it from the ground or close to it up. If you don't want to deal with that, I understand, but I feel this is necessary for me to feel good about what I'm doing again.

I think that covers everything. If you have questions, don't hesitate to pop in my DMs or hmu on dis.cor.d. Again, I'm not upset with anyone at all! This was definitely a me issue that I didn't get a handle on before I let it get to the point it bothered me.

[chirpsythismorning]

I feel like a big part of the reason Anti Bylers are so aggressive is because this is the first time in mainstream media where there's a chance that the main couple of the show may end up being mlm.

Not only is there a likelihood that the main couple will be gay, it will come after years of these fans assuming that the cliche, safe straight ship was going to sail from start to finish.

If you look at the "predictions" these individuals have for season 5, which honestly have less to do with narrative direction and more to do with what they want, you'll always catch a certain undertone to what they're saying:

"The heterosexual, white male audience is the default for media. We will allow the wlw ship, so long as it has limited screen time. We will accept Will surviving, and even allow him to have an acceptance arc. But you will not receive queer rep at the expense of a ship that we are nostalgic for. The straight male audience is the one that matters, and we will be represented by the main couple in the show."

My favorite is when they’re asked what they hope for Mike and El in s5, only to list off qualities of Mike and Will’s dynamic. I legit saw someone say that they hoped they finally took the time to talk through their problems (oh so you’re admitting they never do..) and that we’ll actually get to see them be a team…

Like, do you hear yourselves?

I would actually like to read off their play by play of how they imagine s5 going down. Not just their wishes but like what they literally imagine happening over the course of the season, episode by episode.

And I’m talking the confident milkvans ones that are like super hostile about it. I wanna see what they hypothesize will happen in early s5 related to Mike and El… I don’t think I could keep it together if it is anything along the lines of them instantly making up and being happy for the rest of the season… 😳🤣

They just don’t realize how dumb that sounds.

S4 created conflict and hasn’t settled it. It was considered the beginning of the end, meaning those parts are going to fit perfectly together. If Mike and El were lacking romantically more than ever before in s4, don’t expect that to change much…

And gentle reminder that rewatch value is everything. If milkvans have to skip 3 eps in s1 bc they’re not together or fighting, skip all of s2 bc they’re separated, skip most of s3 bc they broke up in the second episode, skip most of s4 bc they separated in the third episode…. What does that fucking tell you?? They are not being prioritized for rewatch value, that’s what. Whereas byler is. (Bylers also are capable of watching milkvan scenes religiously… I can’t say the same about milkvans being capable of handling more than one second of rewatching a byler scene. And it’s bc they know if they watch it the mental gymnastics they gotta go through to convince themselves nothing romantic is going on is near impossible…)

Byler endgame is going to make the rewatch for the entire series hit, while milkvans, even with a hypothetical endgame would probably watch s1 and s5 and say the rest doesn’t matter. Do they think that’s how the show is supposed to be watched?

With one season left, they should have been hoping that monologue wasn’t in s4, but instead s5. Bc now how can those two one up that? They simply can’t. It was put there to show that they’ll never progress beyond this point. Nothing will ever top it. This is as good as it gets and yet, they still lost. What should that tell you?

What are they gonna just repeat that monologue in s5, but have mike say it 20x and THIS TIME it works?? Yay? Like there’s literally nothing satisfying about that in the least.

Can’t say I wish bad for ppl that simply like Mike and El and are bummed that they’re starting to lose hope. That as a basic idea is like whatever. I don’t like seeing ppl sad. Even if I told off a milkvan directly, seeing them like feeling depressed afterwards, does make me feel bad.

But when it comes to the hostile ones, people literally resorting to harassing directly with complete strangers unprompted and threatening to dox, over people merely theorizing? Like?? Was it ever that serious?

If we’re so delusional and we’re just setting ourselves up for disappointment, why not wait to say I told you so when it’s all said and done, if you’re so sure? Why dedicate so much of your time trying to discourage people on the other side? Unless it somehow qualms doubts you have?…

What makes this whole situation such bullshit, is that if this were a queerbait situation, you still shouldn’t be out here being hurtful like literally spouting off how you can’t wait for people to experience getting queerbaited? Like it’s fucking weird? The prominence of queerbaiting is literally referring to show runners taking advantage of fans, making them think it’ll happen, even encouraging it, and then ripping it away, usually ending in a bury your gays situation. That is the norm in the industry and it’s only now within the last few years starting to change in mainstream.

The hypocrisy of it all, is that they think we should just accept what they believe is the only possibility, queer-bait. But you know if the roles were reversed, which they inevitably will be when s5 drops, they’re going to be playing the victim, saying nonsense like if queerbaiting is bad then so is straightbating!! and it’s just going to be so out of touch and pathetic.

It’s not the same. Whatsoever. And the fact that they can’t see that, that one result is lazy writing and one is epic subversion, and are literally making a mockery out of the situation, convinced they’re right bc they have history on their side and gays should just be used to never getting their way and THATS okay to them?

Like it’s almost painful to watch. Especially knowing the 180 they’re gonna pull when they end up in the situation they convinced themselves we were gonna be in.

[ryuichirou]

Replies

Short replies! As many as I can write in 30 minutes! Let’s goooooooooo

Anonymous asked:

Deuce should have put a ring on his mom if he didn't want anyone to flirt with her. she's free for picking

Yeah, by the time Deuce figures it out there’s going to be a line of people who want to put a ring on his mom, and I stand in this line too.

Anonymous asked:

Which anime characters do you love drawing the most?

This is such a difficult question to answer, I can’t pick 😭 Pretty much every title that we watch or read or play has a bunch of characters that I adore drawing, but I guess I gravitate towards characters with long hair and unusual hairstyles or outfits?? I also feel the urge to try to draw a character when they are out of my comfort zone, which doesn’t mean that I always do it or good at it, but I always have fun drawing stuff in a different art style (like the guys from Scott Pilgrim),with complicated outfits (like Barok van Zieks) or with mechanic parts (like Ortho!)… but the last one is pretty recent, I just noticed that I kind of enjoy drawing it. I guess I love a challenge? In a way? It’s just more fun that way.

By my comfort type of character and a default option would be a gloomy boy/girl in a hoody, my heart is always smiling whenever I draw this type.

Examples of some of my faves throughout the years (without twst): Levi (SnK), Ainosuke (sk8), Killua (HxH), Shiroba (DMMD), Apollo Justice (AA), Geto (JJK)… this is just a few of them.

I also still think that Prussia from Hetalia is our ultimate boy because I’ve been drawing him for about 15 years now lol

Anonymous asked:

Omg, your boob post,bless u... What would Riddle think of her childhood friend having those honkers though?? (Also, her burying her face in those tits or fondling them with curiosity lol)

Ahh thank you so much, Anon!! <3

I still giggle every time I think about how we ended up with poor Riddle being surrounded by busty girls, I swear it wasn’t intentional. But the more I think about it, the funnier and more Freudian it gets… what an aggressive way to heal mommy issues and an acute deficiency of tight hugs.

To answer your question, I think Riddle was kind of surprised when she saw Trey after being separated because she didn’t think boobs could get that big. Logically yes, it makes sense, but seeing it in person is different. Riddle always does her best to be proper and act like a lady, but I can imagine her eyes sliding down all the time during their first conversation. Trey would absolutely notice…

Riddle is indeed very curious, and it’s pretty obvious, but she would never talk about it or even ask to touch Trey’s boobs, but maybe one day… you know, for science… or Trey is just going to offer it herself lol save that girl, Trey.

Honestly? If Riddle could just bury her face in Trey’s chest for a minute or two, I think a lot of her tantrums would just… not happen. She would be so calm…

Alright, now Trey owes this to humanity.

blackbutlerfandomnerddomain asked:

Why do I deeply headcanon Night Raven Collage have orgies? I kind of blame you

😭Look at us being the worst influence on this fandom LOL

Ironically, I don't think we ever talked about orgies and such?

NRC might have a secret student society for orgies though...

Anonymous asked:

Eric Venue can get it though 🥵

And he did! That’s how we got Vil 🥰

hipsterteller asked:

Have you seen Vil’s father?! And why do I get a feeling you might be putting him and Trein together?

Yes, we have! He looks great, and based on everything we’ve seen and heard so far (as always, we aren’t watching the event just yet), he is everything we wished and expected him to be, so I’m very satisfied hehe.

I don’t know about your feeling though, do you want us to? 👀 Is it because of another certain stylish young man?

We don’t know who we’re going to ship Papa Schoenheit with though, only time will tell…

Anonymous asked:

just wanted to say i absolutely adore your Ortho x Vil stuff!

Thank you so much, Anon!! <3 I am very happy that you love them!

Anonymous asked:

Do ya think Sebek has fantasies ab breeding Malleus

Kind of talked about it here!

But also in general, I feel like Sebek has all kinds of dreams about Malleus, like he wouldn’t dare to actively fantasise about it, but his mind keeps showing him so many naughty scenarios that he finds it very difficult to look at Malleus after that sometimes…

Anonymous asked:

Do you guys ever think about how Floyd would try to breed Riddle?

Because he probably didn't understand how human bodies work at first (was probably taught but got bored listening)

Floyd probably like : Where the baby bump?

Then Riddle would be like : Baby bump? I can't have babies -

*insert small sad Floyd in eel form here*

Awwww, poor eel, he was so sure that he found his mate 😔 Keep trying, buddy, maybe you’ll get him next time. Or the time after that. Basically, just keep mating with him until you change his entire anatomy lol

We haven’t really thought about this specific theme, but we did talk about Floyd being in heat and being all over Riddle, so at least there’s that!

Anonymous asked:

Hello!!  Iirc, you guys don't read the TWST mangas or light novel right?  There's a bit in the new 4-koma manga I'd thought you'd like: Rook, Leona, and Idia have to paint something and then make it move with magic.  Rook paints himself about to shoot an arrow that always aims at Leona.  Then the Rook in the painting comes to life and terrorizes the Savanaclaw students, so Leona smacks Painting!Rook with his canvas where P!Rook decides to stay.  Leona's okay with it cause it means he doesn't have to paint anything.  Idia's just there to judge I guess.

(new head canon, Leona's a pillow princess)

Hi Anon! Yeah, I heard that they’re making a 4-koma manga, and even though we don’t read any additional twst material, I really love that they’re making it! I love 4-komas, they’re silly lol

The one that you described is golden and pretty in-character; god poor Idia who had to witness all that lol I love that just running around and shooting beast boys is pretty much Rook’s entire essence…

It also makes sense that Leona would do something like this omg, paint your own picture you lazy bitch 😭

(also not a headcanon, Anon, this is 100% factual)

Anonymous asked:

I….That anon was….personally offended by a headcanon? I’m so confused…

(related to this reply)

Maybe?? I don’t know, but they weren’t rude about it or anything, so I hope it’s all good.

Anonymous asked:

Jade can gaslight me all he wants…

Don't encourage him, Anon... he is already very ill-behaved.

Anonymous asked:

Jinx from Arcane looks like Idia’s long lost sister.

Don't know much about her other than her design and some bits and pieces of her story, but Idia with two pigtails would look very cute.

[toyama-division]

Asato - 3

Yano - 43

Kensaku - wanna ask the same as Jack but whoops, let the world dyed in pink for now... 33

3 - What is the most meaningful thing your OC has ever said?

It's hard to say what specifically Asato could have said that is meaningful? Especially when he is always second-guessing himself and hesitant to say what's on his mind.

If I had to look back at the few lines of dialogue that I've written for Asato, the line, "'You want a fight?'...'Fight me. Use your words. Prove that you're not a coward.'" to Ryuko in EB vs SZ drama track is my favorite. It's a rare moment that Asato is actually confident in his speech. But that is expected when he's going against the ex-yakuza he holds a grudge against.

43 - What is the biggest family drama that has ever happened to your OC?

Yano tends to get in trouble with his family often... The entire ordeal surrounding Yano and his sister is the biggest drama within his family. His parents are unaware that both their children are working with Chuohku - they're under the impression it is just Riyeko working willingly under the Party of Words. If they knew that Yano had placed both their lives in the hands of the Party of Words...

33 - What was your OC's first date with their current partner(s) like?

Not gonna lie, if we are speaking in terms of the KenJakuSaya ship, Jakurai and Sayaka should probably take the reins in terms of picking first-date locations. Kensaku likes to default to very gaudy, expensive restaurants. He's gotten used to the fact that if he ever lands himself a date, they're in it for his money, not the quality time. So finding himself on a date with the two people he actually likes is going to make him panic a little.

I'd hope they could agree on a more practical restaurant. Maybe a place the three of them are comfortable regulars at (my brain immediately goes to Suriru Manten no Hato in Aoyama lol). But who knows! I gotta finish my plans for Kensaku's god awful confession to them first lololol

Thank you for the ask! Even if my response is delayed. (ᓀ ᓀ)