#it's a good game and one worth preserving

[simpforsolas]

So my biggest problem with Solas x Mythal isn’t that I’m “jealous” of their relationship or anything like that. In fact, I really like the concept of her being a toxic and abusive relationship he has to let go of to be able to move forward and find true happiness with the inquisitor.

My problem is that it cheapens Solas’s motivations and seems to make his only reasoning for tearing down the veil be loyalty to Mythal. It also, to me, downplays the significance of the inquisitor’s influence on him. This was disappointing because in Inquisition, we were introduced to Solas as this very wise, idealistic, and thoughtful person who cared deeply for his causes. Justice for Mythal was one of his motivations, but I never interpreted it as his main motivation. I thought his main motivation was always to make a better world and fix his mistakes.

I truly believe that he’s not wrong about some things. The veil IS a wound inflicted on this world. It was made by him; it’s not the world’s natural state. It’s falling apart and broken. It creates a class divide between mages and non-mages, and by separating spirits from the physical realm, it makes them more susceptible to corruption into demons and makes people scared of them. There are tons of instances through DAO - DAI where weak spots in the veil lead to mass demon possessions and death. It made a world where elves die instead of live forever, and where they either live in slums or as shadows of their former glory in the woods. But DATV didn’t address ANY of this. It painted Solas to be this lovesick pup whose motivation was purely emotion-based, and it didn’t help that this game didn’t go into Thedas’s socio-political climate so a new player wouldn’t understand that the world of Thedas is seriously messed up, and that Solas’s plan would resolve a lot of the issues in need of fixing.

The problem is, and always has been, the cost. Solas restoring the natural order of the world would cost thousands of lives, and destroy the current world and all the good it has to offer. In order to abandon this plan, Solas needed to not only be released from Mythal’s service, but to let go of the world of the past. He needed to acknowledge that the world he loved is gone, that a new world that he also loves has taken its place, and that it deserves a chance to live. It’s sort of implied that he goes through this shift in belief in Trespasser, but it’s not enough at the time, and that’s okay.

Anyway, with all this in mind, this is how I’m choosing to interpret Solas’s entire redemption arc. Solas did have his reasons to tear down the veil that he passionately believed in, but through his interactions with the inquisitor and rook, the only reason that truly remained was that he didn't want to fail Mythal. They changed his perspective on the world, and showed him that it’s a world worth preserving, even if it’s different. He didn’t want to do what he had to do, and by the end of DAI and/or Veilguard, the only thing keeping him tied to his course was duty to Mythal. So she has to free him to allow him to move on.

However. If Mythal had released him from his service at the beginning of inquisition, because Solas hadn’t gained any affection for the new world, it wouldn’t have mattered. He would’ve been like "cool i'm doing this anyway because I want to.” Changing his course required two things: having his heart changed by the inquisitor, and Mythal allowing him to move on. Unfortunately I feel like the game is a little sloppy with this and makes it feel like freedom from Mythal is all that matters, but my dear friends, she is not. It was a team effort all around, and Solas’s redemption would not have been possible without our beloved inquisitor. 💜

[quietwingsinthesky]

lied again. it’s also a game preservation issue to me. last year, the wii and 3ds e-shops closed down. i believe there was an effort to archive all the games on there that went as successfully as it could, but that was only games on there available before it closed, not counting games removed beforehand for one reason or another. how many games did we just. lose? because game companies don’t give a shit about preservation, and even less for preservation of games that just aren’t impressive, aren’t meaningful in the way things like. the legend of zelda are.

who in their right mind would dedicate resources to making sure that Rio on the ds is made continuously available for archival purposes, right? but it matters. even the shit games matter. every terrible atari game from when people really didn’t know what the hell they were making, every nes title that probably has its own angry video game nerd rant dedicated to it, and every terrible wii tie-in game that no one asked for. leave it up to the companies who made those games, and they’d disappear. especially nowadays with the prevalence of digital copies over physical ones, it feels so precarious. at least there was some stability in know that there were probably going to be thousands of physical copies made of those past games. take down a digital-only game when nobody’s looking, does it make a sound?

idk. it upsets me, the idea that these things, even as seemingly worthless and bad as they are, could be lost. would be lost, if the people in charge had a say in it.

[o-sachi]

Wishlist! - Headcanons for WinBre Week!

ᯓ what are the furin boys putting on their wishlist this year? ᯓ characters; sakura haruka, suo hayato, sugishita kyotaro, mitsuki kiryu, kaji ren, umemiya hajime, hiragi toma, togame jo ᯓ tags; just plain platonic headcanons

[🐟]: for day 5 - holidays prompt! @windbreakerweek

Sakura Haruka

"Ehhh? No... I don't want anything..."

He's only saying that because he'd feel like too much of a burden knowing someone might go out of their way to get him a present.

But he's like the easiest person to give a gift to because he will appreciate anything you give him. Hell, the fact that you even thought to get him anything is a gift in and of itself.

Although, he'd prefer something that isn't super expensive.

Wishlist: a new blanket, coupons for omurice, another pair of shoes (pls get our boy a new pair of shoes)

Suo Hayato

"Oh? A gift? How thoughtful of you."

Not really choosy when it comes to gifts either. He's probably hella rich and has everything that he wants already, so gifts are like a kind gesture to him if anything.

Although, he prefers gifts with meaning over ones that are practical.

It's because he can buy the practical stuff, but he can't put in meaning into things that he buys for himself.

Wishlist: rare tea leaves, lucky trinket, calligraphy brush (a hobby he picked up recently)

Sugishita Kyotaro

"For me? Why."

Doesn't really think about gifts, both in the sense of giving and receiving it.

But if you give him one, he'll be over the moon. Doesn't matter what it is really. He's similar to Sakura in this regard.

However, his issue with gifts is that he doesn't know how to react when he's given one. Is a thank you enough? Should he get them a gift too? He's so overwhelmed. Poor guy...

Wishlist: a small plant for his room, a plain shirt, Ume's approval (he's been told you can't put things like this on a wishlist, but he got mad)

Mitsuki Kiryu

"Yippee! You're the best. Thank you so much."

He likes to joke about stuff that he likes to receive. Also jokes about not needing gifts because his fangirls already give him more than enough.

He judges gifts based on aesthetic appeal rather than its practical use. He doesn't care if its useless as long as it'll look good on him or in his room.

I just know this dude has the best reactions when given any gift. Even if he has experienced it soooo many times, he'll make you feel as if he's so thankful for it each time.

Wishlist: gems for the game he's playing, a cat charm, a hamburger phone case (so he can alternate between that and the hotdog phone case)

Kaji Ren

"Wha? What's the occasion? Well, thanks. I guess..."

Super adamant about not wanting to receive any gifts. He says he's happy enough to have loyal friends by his side. Honestly, he's just scared to get emotional if the gift ends up being too good.

Gifts from close friends hold more value to him regardless of what the gift is.

It's pretty easy to predict the things that he would like...

Wishlist: a box of lollipops, a new hoodie, a year's worth of Spotify subscriptions (me too actually sob)

Umemiya Hajime

"Whaddaya know? I also have a little something for you here!"

It actually puts a bit of pressure on you to find Ume the perfect gift because he is THE GIFT GIVER. It's like he always knows what everyone would love.

A really simple guy. Even quality time is considered a gift in his eyes.

Ume prefers gifts that aren't the usual kinds of things you'd buy from the store, so stuff like handmade gifts, home cooked meals, and letters are his favorite things to receive.

Wishlist: a new trowel for gardening, a shirt that says "Tomato Dad", a dinner party with the entire Furin student body (awww)

Hiragi Toma

"Thanks. I'll make sure to use this."

He's like an old man, so gifts that are practical are is preference. His eyes go wide when the thing is multi-purpose and a steal for its price.

He's also the type of person to preserve gift bags to use for another time. Although, he has definitely gifted back to a person using a bag given to him by that same person before...

A big believer of the saying, "It's the thought that counts."

Wishlist: stomach medicine... lots of it, hair gel, perfume/cologne (I JUST KNOW HE SMELLS GOOD)

Togame Jo

"Aww, this for me? You didn't have to."

Nonchalant as fuck when receiving gifts, but trust me, he is sobbing inside. He's so happy someone thought of him.

Also prefers practical gifts, but it hardly matters. As long as you got him something, he'll be grateful for it.

He won't admit it but he enjoys the moment of unwrapping the gift. Even better if it's wrapped neatly and with a bow on top. Kame's not sure why, but he just loves that part.

Wishlist: food foood fooooood, a new pair of sandals, fancy shogi set (to show off to the old men he plays with lol)

o-sachi © 2024 pls do not translate/copy/reupload my work on other platforms.

[thedomesticanthropologist]

I present to you: at no point in the game is Astarion actually ready for a romantic relationship

Tav is the first person he drank from

The first person he has consensual sex with after 200 years

And he says to them: no one is like you. You're YOU

He genuinely believes that Tav is the *only* person who would be this way, even if it isn't true. He does fall in love with you, he does want you, but I present to you the idea that if things hadn't gone down EXACTLY as they had, Astarion NEVER would have initiated a partnership/romantic relationship for YEARS after escaping Cazador for good.

The man is coded for survival, for self-preservation, and is inherently selfish by nature. It is only because Tav gives selflessly and determinedly reinforces wanting to be with him that he caves in and allows it, but if you try to leave he's thrilled. This is for the best he says, you don't deserve this facade from me he says.

"I don't know how to be with someone even if I want to. I want this to be real but I don't know what real is. I need to not have sex right now"

In act 2, if you break up with him, he agrees with you. He thinks it's the right thing for you because hes not ready. He won't say this unless you initiate a break up but how could he possibly let go of the best thing that's happened to him in his entire undead life? He wouldn't toss out the treasure of you even if he didn't feel ready.

It really does take a patient, calm, supportive Tav to get him in the end, and he DOES want you, I'm not arguing that

I'm arguing that that man is not ready for a committed relationship, doesn't know what a healthy relationship looks like, and in an ideal situation if he thought he had time and options in his life and if he felt safe he would have focused 100% on himself first for a VERY long time.

The tadpoles, the adventure, the pressures of the battles, the fighting the revenge the ascension and the ritual he has to fight or succumb to the fact that the sunlight is gonna nerf him again- all of this contributes to the perfect scene where Tav gets him right "out the gate", first by being a mark and a target and then by simply *not breaking it off with him*

And yes he's in love to the best of his ability to know what love is at this point

And yes he wants you very much

But the man is going through the biggest whiplash of his life and I can say with confidence that he's not... *Ready*. And after all is said and done, Tav will have to continue to be patient with many things with him. There are still a lot of hurdles. He may be with them for a long time before he wakes up one day and realizes, really really realizes, that he's ready.

The power dynamics are off, they're imbalanced. How could he say no to a perfect mark that gives him everything ? Blood, sex, waits when sex is off the table, never breaks up with him never leaves no matter how he rails against them? He can't. He won't, and he doesn't want to, but that doesnt make him emotionally ready for what a genuine relationship is.

He has to learn it, with you, over time, but I don't think he'd jump into learning that and going for it and seeing it as worth it if the situation were in any way different

Without the perfect storm of events, I don't see Astarion jumping into "commited relationship" to be clear, I'm not saying that he isn't capable of feelings or doesn't want tav it's just

It doesn't *seem* to match his character or his struggles to me. For a man that is completely self serving, he accidentally catches feels and then doesn't have the strength to cut you loose even though his act 2 confession is practically him asking you to leave him. If you take the Araj route in particular, he VERY plainly lays his shitty behaviour on the table as if daring you to punish him for it... Or maybe just expecting.

In his spontaneous scene it's softer, it's I love you but I don't know how to do this. And still if you say "I don't think you're ready to be in a relationship" he immediately agrees. In act 3, if you've stuck to him the whole time like glue, he never wants to let you go. Again, I think this level of connection is impossibly rare and everything had to happen as it did to get you there, but the power balance is off still. He says partner, equal, and he wants that. And he WILL get there

But he not only has to struggle with his past, his issues, his trauma, he has to struggle with the power imabalance that you're his Savior. YOU defeated Cazador. YOU protected him in camp and didn't stake him on sight. YOU fed him from thinking creatures for the first time. YOU are one of "a very few select people" who have had sex with him and not been slaughtered immediately afterwards.

You're everything to him

And by the end of the game you already see him trying to shift that power imabalance because HE SEES IT. If you say you'll protect him he WINCES and disagrees, he doesn't want that. He doesn't want to be below you, but he sees himself that way anyway. And to me, that's the sign that he wasn't ready, he still isn't ready,

But he will be, one day. And I think that makes it a better written romance than thousands I've read, because it's not perfect. There's grey areas. There's things that can make you uncomfortable. There's parts of it that aren't healthy and won't be for a while. Who knows how long until he feels like he's your equal? Until he feels like this relationship is something he ever would have chosen if things were different?

But he does choose you. He does. He wants you. He'd just never have gotten the chance to if it hadn't been "right place right time" imho

[go-go-gojo]

Infinity

Gojo Satoru x F!Reader

Summary: You learn a bit more about Gojo’s infinity

Rated: G

Genre: Fluff, dating, humor, getting to know each other, physical touch

You recently made a fun game in testing Gojo’s infinity. Not with violence of course - after all, you’re no fighter- but with every day gestures that are normal for people without a 24/7 shield in place. Tapping their shoulder. Patting their head (not something you tried, he’s way too tall), even the soft gesture of covering them with a blanket. He laughed at the shocked look in your face - you had never seen an object float in mid air before.

Gojo is chatting away, cell pressed between his ear and his shoulder, when he stops mid conversation. You fail to hide a cheeky grin, because despite the blindfold you just know he’s glancing at your finger an inch from his cheek.

He chuckles. "Again?"

You smirk. “It really is always on."

“Yeah, yeah, I gotta go.” Gojo says into the phone before hanging up, slipping it back into the pocket of his jacket. He turns his face toward you.

“Alright,” Gojo pinches your cheek. “You got my full attention.

You laugh and place your hand over his. You can’t help but wonder. "Isn't that exhuasting?"

“Not really.” Gojo looks back ahead, leaning his head against the sofa cushion and slips his figer under his blindfold and tugs at it once, and then releasing it, holding his index finger in front of him. "Covering my eyes helps preserve a great deal of my energy. But honestly, it’s just easier to keep it. Takes an annoying amount of effort to acutally turn it off."

You look at him, pensive. You're tend to hold your tongue on such matters, but part of you really wants to say, Perhaps you’ll find someone worth turning it off for.

But you stop yourself. Because it’s about the things he went through to make that happen in the first place.

"Must have dealt with some serious shit," you say instead, "to have to leave that on."

“Yeah,” Gojo said, adding as he trailed off, muttering to no one, “Something great…”

“Huh?”

“Oh-uhm…”

You see the arches of his brows raise, failing to hide the surprise that you knew were in his eyes. Gojo always seemed taken aback when you offered him empathy.

“Truth is,” Gojo quickly composes himself and smiles, crossing one leg over the other. "A girl slapped me in the face once. I didn't even see it coming!”

You cross your arms and scoff. "Seriously?"

"Yeah," he looked down, and his voice grew quiet. "It was...the most jarring moment of my life. I told myself...such a thing would never happen again….it couldn’t.”

You find the half truths weaving themselves in this seemingly tall tale, and decide not to press.

"I'm sorry."

WIthout thinking you drop your head to rest it on his shoulder. Before his infinity could bump you away, Gojo wraps his arm around you, drawing you close against him.

"Heh.” You chuckle, “Good timing."

Gojo presses his lips against your temple.

[rebeccathenaturalist]

Existence Value: Why All of Nature is Important Whether We Can Use it or Not

I spend a lot of time around other nature nerds. We’re a bunch of people from varying backgrounds, places, and generations who all find a deep well of inspiration within the natural world. We’re the sort of people who will happily spend all day outside enjoying seeing wildlife and their habitats without any sort of secondary goal like fishing, foraging, etc. (though some of us engage in those activities, too.) We don’t just fall in love with the places we’ve been, either, but wild locales that we’ve only ever seen in pictures, or heard of from others. We are curators of existence value.

Existence value is exactly what it sounds like–something is considered important and worthwhile simply because it is. It’s at odds with how a lot of folks here in the United States view our “natural resources.” It’s also telling that that is the term most often used to refer collectively to anything that is not a human being, something we have created, or a species we have domesticated, and I have run into many people in my lifetime for whom the only value nature has is what money can be extracted from it. Timber, minerals, water, meat (wild and domestic), mushrooms, and more–for some, these are the sole reasons nature exists, especially if they can be sold for profit. When questioning how deeply imbalanced and harmful our extractive processes have become, I’ve often been told “Well, that’s just the way it is,” as if we shall be forever frozen in the mid-20th century with no opportunity to reimagine industry, technology, or uses thereof.

Moreover, we often assign positive or negative value to a being or place based on whether it directly benefits us or not. Look at how many people want to see deer and elk numbers skyrocket so that they have more to hunt, while advocating for going back to the days when people shot every gray wolf they came across. Barry Holstun Lopez’ classic Of Wolves and Men is just one of several in-depth looks at how deeply ingrained that hatred of the “big bad wolf” is in western mindsets, simply because wolves inconveniently prey on livestock and compete with us for dwindling areas of wild land and the wild game that sustained both species’ ancestors for many millennia. “Good” species are those that give us things; “bad” species are those that refuse to be so complacent.

Even the modern conservation movement often has to appeal to people’s selfishness in order to get us to care about nature. Look at how often we have to argue that a species of rare plant is worth saving because it might have a compound in it we could use for medicine. Think about how we’ve had to explain that we need biodiverse ecosystems, healthy soil, and clean water and air because of the ecosystem services they provide us. We measure the value of trees in dollars based on how they can mitigate air pollution and anthropogenic climate change. It’s frankly depressing how many people won’t understand a problem until we put things in terms of their own self-interest and make it personal. (I see that less as an individual failing, and more our society’s failure to teach empathy and emotional skills in general, but that’s a post for another time.)

Existence value flies in the face of all of those presumptions. It says that a wild animal, or a fungus, or a landscape, is worth preserving simply because it is there, and that is good enough. It argues that the white-tailed deer and the gray wolf are equally valuable regardless of what we think of them or get from them, in part because both are keystone species that have massive positive impacts on the ecosystems they are a part of, and their loss is ecologically devastating.

But even those species whose ecological impact isn’t quite so wide-ranging are still considered to have existence value. And we don’t have to have personally interacted with a place or its natural inhabitants in order to understand their existence value, either. I may never get to visit the Maasai Mara in Kenya, but I wish to see it as protected and cared for as places I visit regularly, like Willapa National Wildlife Refuge. And there are countless other places, whose names I may never know and which may be no larger than a fraction of an acre, that are important in their own right.

I would like more people (in western societies in particular) to be considering this concept of existence value. What happens when we detangle non-human nature from the automatic value judgements we place on it according to our own biases? When we question why we hold certain values, where those values came from, and the motivations of those who handed them to us in the first place, it makes it easier to see the complicated messes beneath the simple, shiny veneer of “Well, that’s just the way it is.”

And then we get to that most dangerous of realizations: it doesn’t have to be this way. It can be different, and better, taking the best of what we’ve accomplished over the years and creating better solutions for the worst of what we’ve done. In the words of Rebecca Buck–aka Tank Girl–“We can be wonderful. We can be magnificent. We can turn this shit around.”

Let’s be clear: rethinking is just the first step. We can’t just uproot ourselves from our current, deeply entrenched technological, social, and environmental situation and instantly create a new way of doing things. Societal change takes time; it takes generations. This is how we got into that situation, and it’s how we’re going to climb out of it and hopefully into something better. Sometimes the best we can do is celebrate small, incremental victories–but that’s better than nothing at all.

Nor can we just ignore the immensely disproportionate impact that has been made on indigenous and other disadvantaged communities by our society (even in some cases where we’ve actually been trying to fix the problems we’ve created.) It does no good to accept nature’s inherent value on its own terms if we do not also extend that acceptance throughout our own society, and to our entire species as a whole.

But I think ruminating on this concept of existence value is a good first step toward breaking ourselves out first and foremost. And then we go from there.

Did you enjoy this post? Consider taking one of my online foraging and natural history classes or hiring me for a guided nature tour, checking out my other articles, or picking up a paperback or ebook I’ve written! You can even buy me a coffee here!

[mymarifae]

every time someone says "an should have been vbs's leader" or "saki should have been leo/need's leader" i want to . slam my head through concrete. oh you missed the point so bad

1. the "leader" thing is kind of really fucking insignificant outside of where each group's story begins and promo materials. it doesn't mean one character is the "main character" of the group. project sekai doesn't HAVE a main character in the first place it's not that kind of story. each individual character is equally important to not only their group's story but the over-arching story of the whole game

2. leo/need's story begins with ichika because she is ultimately the one that brings them all back together. not saki. it is ichika's determination and frankly stubbornness that gets through to shiho and honami. like, saki was literally ready to give up on reconnecting with honami! (out of love and respect for her choices but like) if she was the focus leo/need would have been honami-less!! but ichika refuses to let it go. much like she refused to let go of their friendships throughout all of middle school.

when the story begins, we see ichika burnt out and hopeless. but that's only after years of trying and trying and trying and trying again to reconnect with shiho and later honami. this fandom does not understand ichika's character well . she's not meek and she doesn't back down easily she's not some like... fumbling "girlflop" she's incredibly driven and strong-willed. she lost some of that due to depression and isolation but as of leo/need's most recent arc ender she has pretty much regained her fiery spirit. she's leo/need's lead singer and MC for a reason

3. vivid bad squad's story opens with kohane because she's the only one who hasn't grown up/partially grown up on vivid street. if an or akito had been the "leader" we would have lost the magic of getting to know vivid street and its people and unique culture. it's all average every day life for them, but kohane is experiencing it all for the first time. it's only through her eyes that the audience can understand just how very special vivid street is

4. one more thing: you could say that the "leaders" represent the themes of each group and the general direction of their story arcs. vivid bad squad, among several other things, is all about improvement and growth and overcoming challenges and creating something new and finding a place to call home within a community. who better to represent that but the socially anxious newbie who never felt like she belongs anywhere and would never do anything with her life?

leo/need is about love and the ability to endure all hardships and preserve that love . it's about having a heart big enough to hope for the impossible and the willpower to make it reality. ichika, in all her hard-headed stubborn painfully persistent glory, is perfect for that.

similarly, mafuyu isn't nightcord's leader because nightcord is ultimately about healing. hope. finding a way to make life worth living again. these aren't paths he would have chosen on his own. he gave up on himself a long time ago. as did ena and mizuki, in their own ways. the best person to represent hope is the one who refuses to give up on anyone and stubbornly believes she can save them all

wonderlands x showtime is about moving forward to a brighter future and not letting the past keep you shackled in place. it's also about having lofty dreams and the selfishness to pursue those dreams. both of these things are why emu Isn't wxs's leader; she lacks that selfishness (i'm not using this word in a negative sense btw; i think being selfish can be a good thing. and sometimes being selfless is a bad one) tsukasa (and rui) has, and she often clings to the past.

and as far as more more jump and all their own themes of hope and never giving up go, of course their leader has to be minori. she brought three disillusioned, jaded ex-idols hope and reignited their passion! she's the walking embodiment of hope itself

[yourplayersaidwhat]

Context: Session of the Fallout RPG at a game store. I’m new to the group and playing a Brotherhood of Steel scribe who’s after the same piece of heavily guarded old world tech as the party and working with them as an alliance of convenience. One of the other party members is a Mister Handy, so a robot.

Ghoul PC: Hey, the Mr. Handy’s also old world tech, right? Aren’t you gonna want to take him too?

(Both of us look over at the Mr. Handy, who is in the middle of brushing the threadbare remnants of a dog plushie and calling it a good boy)

Me: There is nothing worth preserving about that.

[valleyfthdolls]

Onyx's cringe ass horror recommendations for Halloween: so you like the idea of mascot horror, but most mascot "horror" makes you wanna kill yourself

I personally love the concept of mascot horror, at least in the idea of childish horror, combining childlike and nostalgic things with actual horror, etc. I don't love Garten of BanBan.

So here's some "mascot-esque" horror I think is a good sort of replacement, that utilizes the contrast of cute and childlike vs disturbing without just pretending to as an excuse to open a merch store.

1. Petscop (2017-2019 YouTube series) Basics: A man discovers an old Petscop disc in his mom's house and uploads a series of videos of him playing it to prove to a "friend" that it's real. Not outright scary, but cryptic and eerie. Content warnings: Child abuse and allusions to suicide

2. Shipwrecked 64 (2024 video game) Basics: A cursed "lost N64 game" created by a slighted developer with the intention of exposing the covered-up crimes of the company that commissioned it. One of the most outright scary on the list. Content warnings: Graphic violence, self-hate, self-harm (brought up by ralseibinary because I forgor)

3. Mr. Hopp's Playhouse (2019-2023 video game series) Basics: A girl's dying gift from her grandmother- a creepy toy rabbit named Mr. Hopp- turns out to be housing a demonic entity. Not very scary, but an entertaining game with an interesting story. Content warnings: Emotional abuse against children and implied violence (both in Mr. Hopp's Playhouse 2)

4. The Walten Files (2020-present YouTube series) Basics: A series chronicling the disturbing incidents and supernatural occurences around the now-defunct Bon's Burgers. My personal pick for the scariest on the list. Content warnings: Harm against/death of children, extreme/graphic violence

5. Harmony & Horror (2019-?? YouTube series) Basics: A mad toymaker traps his family inside a series of grotesque living dolls in a search for the perfect toy. A somewhat disturbing and scare-heavy series. Content warnings: Religious/satanic themes, graphic violence, domestic and child abuse

6. The Nursery (2024-present YouTube series) Basics: My own horror series. A girl returns to her hometown years after leaving to investigate the urban legend of "The Thing" and an unidentified Jane Doe. Not so much childlike, at least, not yet, but designed to be Petscop-esque, sort of nostalgic. Content warnings: Implied child abuse and abandonment, graphic violence, harm to and death of small children, religious themes, body dysmorphia

7. Welcome Home (2023 "ARG") Basics: A website detailing the restoration and preservation of the fictitious lost Sesame-Street style show Welcome Home. Not really an ARG. The opposite end of the spectrum from The Nursery, Welcome Home is less horror-based and more rooted in the nostalgic, childish aesthetic. Content warnings: None that I know of

8. Amanda the Adventurer (2023-present video game series) Basics: A Dora-the-Explorer-esque public-access TV series houses at least one demon and the trapped souls of children who have been lured in by the show. Content warnings: Religious/satanic/cult themes, implied harm to/death of small children

9. Choo-Choo Charles (2022 video game) Basics: A giant spider inhabiting a defunct train terrorizes a remote island, and an archivist and monster hunter is tasked with finding the spider's eggs. Different from most mascot horror and basically all horror on this list, but in a way that felt worth honoring with its inclusion. Content warnings: Religious/cult themes, animal death?

Feel free to add in in reblogs!

[justhereforxreaders]

The Prince and the Dragon Rider - Part Seven: The Rift

Jacaerys Velaryon x dragon rider!reader

Summary: while still reeling from your first day in King’s Landing, you must come to terms with the command given during your private conversation with Princess Rhaenyra.

Warnings: angst, anxiety/panic attacks

part one: the oath

part two: tempest

part three: the dawn

part four: the test

part five: precipice

part six: pieces and players

soundtrack - listening recommendations:

• triassic love song by Paris Paloma • I’d Have to Think About It by Leith Ross • putting a spin on good luck, babe! by Egg • Call Your Mom by Noah Kahan •

After making your way through the endless maze of The Red Keep, and finally finding your newly assigned chambers within the palace, you sat in the stillness trying to calm yourself. Though you’d have likely found more rest if you had continued to wander. The opulence of the vast, unfamiliar space only made you feel more isolated and out of place.

With no other anchor to cling to as you try to soothe your heartache, your mind drifts to your mother.

Six short years of life by her side gave you little insight into the kind of person she was, or the kind of person she hoped you’d be. She was likely kind, and certainly clever, but what you knew without question was that she was incomparably fierce. In your bleakest moments on your journey with Tempest, you’d holdfast to the memory of her strength, using it endure whatever challenges you faced.

Surviving life’s hardships was your way to honor her sacrifices. And though, you told yourself that she’d be proud of who you’d become, you’d always pondered what kind of life she’d have wished for you if survival hadn’t been her primary driving force. If she’d been given the opportunity to be carefree and gentle, what kind of person would that have made you. Surely she wanted more than mere survival for you, but was the life you sold yourself to what she’d have wanted for you? Were you still honoring her memory?

Which was why, as fierce as you had made yourself and as hard as you fought to prove your worth within a realm of dragonlords, you also strived to preserve some of the softness within you that she was denied. If there was hope that you’d be able to find a peaceful life, you wanted your heart to be able to receive it.

However, as you sit alone with an ache so powerful it feels as though your chest has been set alight, you begin to despise your effort to protect that tenderness. If all you were meant to do was simply become a pawn in someone else’s game, what use was there for softness? What need was there for love?

You are so consumed by your thoughts that you do not hear the soft knock at your door or the quiet footsteps that tiptoe across the room as you lie motionless on top of your bedding. When Jace whispers your name from the foot of the bed, it takes you a moment to realize it is not in your head.

“Are you alright?” he whispers slightly louder, voice laced with concern. “I returned to the godswood and you had already gone.”

You sit up slowly, avoiding his eyes, and fold your legs beneath you, keeping your gaze fixed on the fabric below. After a beat and no response from you, you hear him shuffle around to the side of the bed.

“What did my mother speak to you about?” He asks quietly and your breath hitches.

He takes notice and moves to sit at the edge of the bed. Unable to bring yourself to voice the Princess’s command, you force yourself to look up and find his gaze in the dark. His eyes widen at your disheveled state and he darts a hand out to grasp yours.

“What happened?” He asks in a frantic whisper. “What’s wrong?”

You close your eyes and take your hand from his, steadying yourself with a shaky breath before finding your voice.

“I have been instructed to keep my distance from you,” your voice cracks, hoarse from hours of silence following your onslaught of tears.

“By who?” He moves closer to your face to see you clearly, “My mother?”

You sigh deeply and nod your head, he stands from the bed suddenly and you watch as he begins to pace the floor.

“She believes the nature of our companionship could be called into question, thus, jeopardizing your prospects for alliances through marriage.” You mutter.

“I fail to see why anyone would concern themselves with such speculation. You are my friend. Where is the fault in that?” He huffs and continues to pace back and forth.

“Jacaerys,” you say softly, “look at us. The closeness of our friendship is no secret to anyone, but what if you were to be discovered here? Alone in my chambers in the dead of night?” He stops in his tracks, as if this is the first he’s considered this, “Accusations and assumptions would not be difficult to form.”

“Why should it matter what they say, if it isn’t true?” He mumbles, staring intently at the floor.

“It doesn’t matter what they say or what they think,” You stand, crossing your arms over your chest, trying to contain the sorrow building within, “but I cannot allow them to turn me into a weapon to be used against you.”

His head snaps up in your direction, the confusion plain on his face as you continue.

“Look at why we’ve travel all this way in the first place. There are always going to be those looking to undermine and discredit someone in your position. Whether you admit it or not, you know our friendship could harm you and your standing. I will not risk being complicit in your pain.”

“And what of the pain that your absence would inflict? Why must we be forced to choose between happiness and duty?” He pleads and steps toward you.

“Your mother tried to have both, did she not?” You say plainly and he finds your eyes before placing his hands on your arms.

“Yes but this is different, there has to be a way,” there is a desperation in his voice that you have not heard before that breaks your heart even further, “Why must her mistakes determine our future? We can find our own path.”

You step closer and unfold your arms, taking hold of his hands as he makes to pull them away.

“The moment I took my oath, I knew I was giving up my right to my own path, Jace. For a time, it was easy to forget the larger roles we would be called to play. It felt like we could have both…” your voice trails off as you absentmindedly run your thumbs across the backs of his hands, “But the pieces are moving. And we must take our place.” Your voice wavers, if there were any tears left in your body they would be flowing freely.

He looks down at your clasped hands, gripping them tighter.

“But I can’t lose you.” He utters before returning his gaze back to yours, tears beginning to form in his deep brown eyes, “If I am to walk this horrid path then I only wish to do it with you by my side.”

You both stand quietly in the darkness, searching each other’s eyes, letting his words hang in the air around the two of you.

A hushed gasp leaves his lips and he takes a step back. Eyes wide and hands trembling as they leave yours. You cross your arms over your chest, taking a ragged breath which causes Jacaerys to take half step forward. Raising a palm in protest, you step away.

“Please go,” you sob softly.

He opens his mouth slightly, a question forming on his lips.

“Please, Jace,” you interrupt as sternly as you can manage, “I can’t.”

He closes his mouth and stares at you for a moment, unmoving, eyes locked on your face. Involuntarily, he begins to walk towards the door, still watching you intently, conflict and confusion becoming clearer upon his face with every step away from you. You nod silently once he reaches the door and with one last pained glance he exits your chambers, once again leaving you in solitude.

You retreat back to the bed and collapse into the fabric, curling up on your side as the tearless sobs begin to rack your body once more. Cursing the tenderness you have allowed to blossom there. As you desperately will the pain into numbness, you are at last given some relief as you are mercifully pulled into a dreamless sleep.

You awake with the dawn in a daze, taking a moment to remember where you are as you look about your unfamiliar surroundings. Once your mind is fully pulled from the fog of sleep, you stand from the bed and make your way across the room, trying to stretch your tired muscles as you pull fresh clothes from your bag.

As you rummage through your belongings, the red cloak you were gifted when you were sworn into service comes to the surface. You look upon it quietly for a moment before retrieving your other items of clothing and rushing back to the bed to dress yourself, doing your best to stomp out the sparks of anguish that its appearance brings forth.

Dressing yourself slowly and deliberately, you keep your mind focused on each step, trying to avoid inciting any further emotional responses. However, the red of the cloak makes that task all the more difficult as it lingers in the periphery of your vision. After fully dressing you dart back to the bag, intent on burying the cloak deep within, but a knock on the door stays your hand for the moment.

A handmaiden enters and offers you a bow.

“The Lady Baela,” she announces and backs out through the door as Baela steps forward.

“Good morrow, y/n,” she says with a bright smile.

“Good morrow, my Lady,” you bow stiffly, “how can I be of service?”

She walks forward, looking over your chambers until she spies a small table then turns back to you.

“I thought we might break fast together before we make our way to the throne room for the petitions,” she grimaces slightly at the mention of today’s events, “I imagined my cousins would be occupied with other affairs and didn’t want you to be left behind.”

The thought of the Princes causes a twisting pain in your chest but you do your best to smile politely.

“Thank you,” you mutter, “that’s very kind of you.”

She makes her way across the floor to stand next to you, a mischievous glimmer in her eye.

“I wondered if you might tell me about your travels as well,” she quirks a brow inquisitively, “Rhaena has already told me so much but I’d love to hear them from you if you’re willing to share?”

“Rhaena has told you about me?” Your brow furrows as you register her words.

“She has,” she chuckles lightly at your expression, “in letters and through most of the night, in fact.”

“That is surprising,” you say, taken aback by this revelation, “I thought she despised me.”

“She may,” she shrugs, rolling her eyes at her twin,“but more than anything she hates what she was denied. When we lived in Pentos, we had heard rumors of the wild sea dragon that lurked in the waters. For a time, Rhaena had plans to find it and claim it for herself before our mother died.”

You reel back in disbelief.

“I was unaware I had such a reputation,” you breath a laugh, a genuine smile growing at the corner of your lips.

Baela smirks and nods her head.

“You and your dragon have made quite a name for yourselves,” she takes you by the crook of the arm, “I look forward to testing mine and Moondancer’s mettle against yours one day.”

“I look forward to that as well, my Lady,” you nod in agreement.

Another knock rings out and more servants enter with platters of warm food.

“Shall we?” She asks and gestures towards the table where the meal has been placed.

“Yes please,” you say with a grateful sigh.

Conversation with Baela flowed effortlessly, bringing an ease to your soul as the two of you swapped stories over the meal. The relief was much too short lived however, as once the servants had cleared the table, Baela’s handmaiden steps forward.

“It’s time, my Lady,” she informs the two of you and you freeze in place.

Baela sees the change in your demeanor and thanks her handmaiden before she stands and moves to offer her hand to pull you from your seat.

“We’ll be along shortly.” She calls with a nod before returning her attention to you.

Her eyes soften and she sighs quietly.

“My mother used to say that The Red Keep was poisonous, but that poison could not harm a dragon.”

You take her hand and she pulls you to your feet.

“You may not be the blood of the dragon. But you certainly have the heart of one,” she smiles softly meeting your eyes to ensure you understand, “Don’t let them take that from you.”

You take a deep breath and stand at attention.

“Are you ready?” She asks calmly.

“Yes,” you pause, looking back to your belongings, “just give me one moment.”

You step over to your bag pull the cloak free, swinging it over your shoulders in one swift motion before affixing it with a black dragon clasp. Returning to Baela’s side, she beams proudly and links her arm through yours.

“Onwards, Dragon Rider.”

• @freefallthoughts @eywas-heir

[iouinotes]

Good gone bad I Coriolanus Snow (part three)

pairing: Coriolanus Snow x female!reader

movie: Hunger Games - Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

warnings: toxic, smut, arguments

summary: After months of denying your feelings for him, you finally give in. Or more, he makes you.

author’s note: I thought I wouldnt do a third part, but I guess I was wrong. Anyway, here comes another one!

part one , part two

I see all kinds of emotions in the crowd.

Envy, hatred, idolization, fear.

Can literally feel how their eyes are staring at me, their thoughts so loud that I can hear how much they doubt me.

I as the first lady of Panem, wife of President Coriolanus Snow. Fearless, unpredictable, beautiful.

I try my best not to pay attention to him. Try to maintain the facade, to pretend worship and love. While he stands next to me, higher on the pedestal, more powerful with every word. I, on the other hand, am silent.

Smiling, while my hair is disheeved by the strong wind. Feel the cold on my skin, despite the expensive fabric of my clothes. No one can see how much much tears I’ve shed, every little imperfection is covered by makeup.

His voice sounds loudly all over the kingdom and my heart beats faster out of fear, when his hand goes around my hip. He pulls me close to him, my breathing quickens while he maintains the illusion.

As if I were worth something by his side, although in reality I am only a prize that he has won violently. Hypocritically even.

“My beautiful first lady. My sunshine, the sun for whole Panem. With her presence, I testify to the announcement for the next Hunger Game. Even if the war was years ago, it will never be forgotten. Not my actions, the deeds of a president who does everything to preserve humanity. Remember my words when you think about wishing for peace.”

Loud, roaring applause. Adorable glances towards him, excitement in her eyes, the urge for watching torture and torment trough the games. The little children, some scared, some grinning terribly.

When he steps down in front of me, he won’t let me go, keeps me tied to him. Looks complacent and calm, as if he has the world under control. The world, the people and me. Everyone kneels down in front of him, some voluntarily, many forced.

As soon as the doors close, silence sounds in his office. A glance of him and the employees leave the room, bow to his authority and the fear of his power.

The door closes loudly and it is the last sound I need to hear for me to tear me away from him. To take his hands off me and put so much distance between us so that I can keep lying to myself. To pretend that everything is just a game. A false truth and I could go, flee from him.

Even if I know, that I will never be able to.

“You do that every time, my dear. And I tell you every time for eternity. You can’t escape me. Come here, now.“ I see him sitting on his chair with complete serenity, which is more like a throne, just as his title feels.

I form my hands into fists, detest the way he controls me. My words, my actions, my feelings, my whole life.

“I don’t want to be in your presence for even a second longer. You make me sick.“ His face adorns a smile. His eyes, on the other hand, show his desire to make me bow to him. His desire for my submission, that my heart beats for him again. As it once has.

“Your hatred will be of no use to you. Do you still not understand it? You belong to me. Either you recognize it voluntarily or the winter breaks down faster than you think.“

All emotions disappear from my face and I try desperately to suppress my tears at his threat to poison me. The memory still painfully aware in my mind, every time I close my eyes.

So I swallow my pride, my anger and my inability to destroy him. With my chin raised and a grim look, I slowly approach him. Look at him defiantly, can literally see how the satisfaction spreads in him when I follow his words. See his eyes glide over my body as I get closer to him.

When I stop in front of him, one step away from him, too close, but too far for him to touch me. My only weapon, my only protection. To make him angry. To show him that I will never submit voluntarily, even while following his requests.

„Closer.“ His cold tone makes my shoulders tense, while my heels clack on the floor and goosebumps spread on my skin. As I step closer to him, I do everything in my power not to give in to him. His touch, his warmth, his attempts to bring me to my knees.

His fingers stroke over the fabric of my dress, his gaze however rests on my face.

“I know you. How much longer do you want to pretend you don’t want me?“ His deep voice pierces trough my heart, his attentive gaze recognizes every flaw as he tries to decipher me.

“I don’t want you.“ My words make him grin. As I continue to look down at him, I see an idea forming in his head. See how he straightens up casually on his chair and looks deep into my eyes.

“Is that so? And if I touch you?“ His two hands lie around my waist, slowly pulling me closer to him until I stand right in front of him. The sparkle in his eyes, the bright blue makes me unintentionally unfocused. I hate how insecure he makes me.

But I stay strong. Keep raising my chin, not moving a finger, not giving in.

“Nothing.“ The grin on his lips distracts me as memories haunt my mind how it was to kiss him. I try not to let my desire for him be noticed, while I keep telling myself that I don’t want that. Don’t want him.

“What about now?“ His hands stroke my body, it almost hurts to be touched again after all the months I stayed away from him. My heart beats so incredibly fast.

Slowly his hands are running to my legs. Over the end of my airy dress, turn the fabric in his hands until he slowly pushes it up. My breath gets caught in my throat when the cold air hits my exposed skin.

Excruciatingly slowly he pushes the fabric up, along my legs. His fingers caress my soft skin. I have to suppress a tremor when my dress is rolled up to my hip, my underwear now on display for him.

The hungry look in his eyes makes my knees weak. God, don’t give in. Don’t think about how good his touch feels. How good he could make me feel.

My eyes pinch together as his fingers turn around my panties and play with the expensive silk. He doesn’t say anything, I can only hear his breathing change. Hear my loud heartbeat. Jump slightly when his warm breath floats over my skin.

My eyes open abruptly as he puts his mouth on the inside of my thighs. I breathe in audibly when he leaves kisses there, when he starts to suck on the skin and leave his mark.

“You will think of me when you look at yourself in the mirror, doll. With my tracks, you look even more beautiful.“ I bite my teeth together as his mouth moves higher.

“I never think about you.“ His rough laughter almost makes me squeeze my thighs. His warm mouth ghosts over my middle, his fingers curl around the black fabric.

„We both know that this is a lie.“ When his hand pulls down my panties, I forget to breathe for a moment.

The air hits me and I shudder, whether because of the cold or his breath that he blows on me, I try to ignore both.

“You disgust me.“ My voice sounds less convincing the closer his mouth comes me. His fingers strip my underpants down my legs until I hear it hitting the floor.

“Then why are you so wet for me?“ His finger claws into my skin while his nose strokes my folds. I hiss quietly while my hands try not to hit him in the face.

“I’m thinking of a man who has more honor than you ever could.“ A scream wants to escape me as his left hand shoots up and squeezes my neck. So tight that I can hardly breathe.

Scaringly quietly, he whispers to me.

“I wonder how you always manage to make me so angry. I know that every word that escapes your delicate lips is a lie. You just want me to give in. Because you can’t stand how much you need my touch. How much you need me.“

Angry, I look into his eyes.

“I don’t need you.“ He smiles as his free hand collects my wetness, stroking his thumb over my clitoris. My eyes role into my head when he inserts a finger into me.

“Liar. You say you don’t want me, but your pussy screams for more. Do you hear that? That’s the sound of your submission.“ His finger hits my sweet spot, while sinful sounds of his touches fill the room.

„You sick, psychopathic- ahh“ the pressure around my neck gets stronger when he inserts two more fingers into me. The pain as they stretch me, make black dots appear in my view. Making me see nothing but darkness, before everything becomes white when he makes me come.

“I think you just come on my fingers, doesn’t that feel like sweet revenge?“ Everything in me wants to hold onto him. Instead, I put my hands on the desk behind me to stabilize myself.

“Are your knees already getting weak? I’m not done with you yet.“ My legs almost break away when he pushes his fingers deeper into me and when I regain my vision, my whole world turns.

Then, without me really realizing it, his tongue licks over my folds and my mouth opens in pleasure, while high moans leave my divided lips.

I feel him grinning at me, wanting to tear him away from me, but then his tongue slides into me and it feels like heaven. My thoughts forget for a moment my inner dichotomy and in this moment of forgetting, my hand lays itself on his head. My fingers burying themselves in his blonde curls.

Pulling his hair while I pull him closer to me. Closer, closer, more and more. But just as my head wants to blackout, when he is about to win me over because I want to beg, begging for more, his words make me open my eyes. Hating every second that he breathes.

“I like you better when you push yourself so desperately against my tongue.“ Almost immediately I change my strong grip around his hair. Instead of pushing him against me, I tear his head away from me with full force. It hits him so unexpectedly that he moves away from me. But the look he gives at me, dripping with anger, is nothing in contrast to my hatred.

“Leave me alone.“ I flinch in shock when he gets up and buries his fingers, which are still inside me, to the limit in me.

Painfully, my eyes close when I want to escape his touch. But he only stands threateningly over me, his gaze so evil that he almost scares me.

,,So ungrateful, my sweet wife. How many times do I have to remind you that I’m in control, mh? I control you, not the other way around.“ Shaking my head, I try to contradict him, but with each further thrust of his fingers, my thoughts dissolve a little more.

“I hate you-“ his lips, which attack my neck, make my heartbeat double, make my heart feel something else.

“You hate me? Do you also hate how good it feels that I finger you? Do you hate how good my cock would feel in you now? Or have you already forgotten that? Maybe I should remind you.“ His teeth strip my skin, leaving red marks while he pulls his fingers out of me, leaving me empty.

I need a moment to notice what circumstance I am in right now. Annoyed, I bite my teeth together, jump off the pedestal while I desperately try to pull up my dress.

“Fuck, no. Keep your dirty fingers away from me-“ but before I can run out of the room, before I’m even two steps away from him, his hand brutally grabs my arm. Pulls me back, only to press me painfully, with my chest, against the pedestal.

His breath runs strenuously over my neck when I hear his sarcastic voice in my ear.

“You already want to go? That’s bad luck, because I won’t allow it.“ Once again, his hand rests around my neck, squeezes until I am out of breath, even as I try to escape his grip with my remaining strength.

“Relax, darling. All you have to do is spread your legs. You should be used to that by now.“ His mean words make writhing with hatred and when I hear the rustling behind me, hear him pull down his pants, I can do nothing more than humiliate him.

“Oh yes, I am. But more for the staff in the house than for your pathetic actions.“ Without me being able to prevent it, his hand meanders between my legs and squeezes them apart. So far that it is almost painful.

But I only recognize what my words have triggered in him when he buries himself in me in a strong thrust of his hips. The sound that escapes my throat must be heard for the whole building.

His arm presses me painfully against the hard wood as his hand grips my neck firmly, while he ruthlessly trusting into me without giving me a second to breath.

“I could kill you for your words. Do you hear me? If you say these words one more time, think of them, I won’t hesitate to finally take the last breath away from you. Do you understand me?“ I don’t want to nod, I don’t want to give in.

“Then kill me! Save me your empty words, you bastard.“ When he leans against me, he presses himself so deep into me that I feel his cock deep into my stomach. I can’t breathe, my vision blurs in front of my eyes when he fucks me even harder.

“You think you’re so clever, mh? But you don’t escape me, not even with death. You belong to me. Your body, your thoughts, your deeds, your heart. You are not here to love me, you are here to serve me. And if you refuse, I’ll make you do it.“ He pulls me back by my hair as he pushes me further and I hate the way his words make me wet. The way he makes me his slut, how I try to deny it while he is in the process of using me as he wishes.

“But maybe you want exactly that. You don’t want me to be nice and patient, do you? You want me to use you, even if you refuse acknowledge it. I’m right, because why else aren’t you begging me to stop?“

My eyes are rolling inside my head when I finally give in. When I allow myself to relax my body, open my legs further to let his cock trust into me even deeper.

„You useless, little thing. Do you finally have what you always wanted? In public, so brave and proud, always pretending to be a queen. But in reality you just want to be used, mh? Don’t worry, I’ll do that.“ Every push, every mean word, makes me continue to digress from reality until I no longer know what to think.

Then his hands lay around my upper body and pull me against his chest, he makes me moan against his body while I no longer suppress my sounds.

“I-I hate you“ his dark laugher makes me drop my head on his shoulder while my walls clench around his cock.

“Keep telling yourself that if it makes you want me to fuck you. But we both know well enough that the only thing you hate, is the fact, how much your heart beats for me.“ With his last push, he lets me see white and I come so hard on his cock that I almost faint. All the last few months in which I have forbidden myself to get close to him. To give in to his touches. All for nothing, just to come on his cock now.

The deep moan that escapes him when he comes into me is a sound that will burn into my memory forever. God, if he’s such an asshole, why is he so hot? On the other hand, if he can’t be fixed by me, what’s stopping me from fucking him?

When he leans his body on me, the wood presses deeper into my skin. His breath strokes over my neck as he lets his lips roam over my shoulder. Gentle kisses distributed there. The flutter in my heart as his hand gently turns my head to wrap my lips in a kiss feels almost painful.

The way his tongue strokes over my lips, slides into my mouth, while his other hand strokes over my stomach. Over the place where his cock causes a bump, making me moan softly.

This time I don’t refuse his touch, slowly kissing him back. Enjoying the moment. Forgetting who I am, who he is. How much I try to hate him.

“Fuck, why did it take you so long to return my kiss?“ His mouth touches my neck while my eyes close tiredly.

Gone are his rough touches, the mean words and even though I know that he uses his charm to win me back, the moment feels too good not to give in.

“Stop talking, Snow. Before I change my mind.“ Grinning, he sluggishly moves his cock in me, making me moan while I open my mouth. Just for him to put his finger in my mouth to silence myself.

“Shh, don’t ruin it. You can’t get enough of me.“ When I let my tongue circle around his finger, he presses against it until I can no longer move it. His cock twitches in me when he notices our position.

I, full of his cock, bent over his table, while his finger in my mouth prevents me from speaking. Grinning, he slides a second finger into my mouth and I do my best to breathe through my nose.

When he bends over me, I hear him whispering triumphantly into my ear.

,,I won, darling. Snow lands on top. Every single time.“

[lyon-77]

Erlang Shen in Traditional Chinese Painting Pt. 1

Searching the Mountains (搜山图) for yaoguais is a classic theme in Chinese traditional painting starting in Southern Song Dynasty. It exists in several versions featuring different commanders, and a major category is Erlang Searching the Mountains. One of its best preserved copies is by Lu Zhi (陆治), dated to the 16th century during the Ming Dynasty and currently owned by the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The painting is on a silk scroll with a dimension of 61 x 806 cm (24 x 317 inches). As it's impossible to fit the entire painting in one frame here, below are the sections with Erlang (Fig. 1) and his hound, Xiaotian Quan (Fig. 2).

Fig. 1. Toward the beginning (the far right side) of the scroll.

Here is one classic representation of Erlang Shen in traditional art, where he wears a three-peaked hat (三山帽), holds an unsheathed sword, and strikes a distinctive pose, now known as the Erlang pose (二郎腿).

The three-peaked hat signals authority and wisdom, given its broad associations with nobility, Daoism, and scholar-officialdom. This is an interesting and intentional substitution for the helmet, as Erlang Shen is otherwise in a full suit of armor here.

The sword has become a staple in Erlang's image since his absorption into Daoism, where swords signal character and status, serving a more ritualistic than pragmatic purpose.

"Erlang pose" is commonly used in everyday speech to refer to any crossed-leg postures with only one foot on the ground, and it carries a connotation of casual confidence. Many native Chinese speakers are not consciously aware of its origin, just as native French speakers might not know that numbers like 86 (quatre-vingt-six) are remnants of the vigesimal (base-20) system.

The page on Erlang's right-hand side holds his hunting bow, and the guard to the page's right holds Erlang's spear. Other non-human-looking figures surrounding Erlang are part of his troop.

It is worth noting that Erlang's troop is called Grassroots Gods (草头神) because they are not formally enlisted in the Celestial Court but are recognized by Erlang. One could say that they, including Xiaotian, might've been considered yaoguais if not for Erlang. This might be why in Black Myth: Wukong, the game maker combined different lores to have Erlang's sworn brothers mentioned in JTTW be the yaoguais he previously subdued in Investiture of the Gods. As such, in the portrait section of the BMW journal, their names appear under Characters rather than Yaoguais.

This detail may open up many interpretations. For one, it shows Erlang's attitude toward yaoguais isn't simply antagonistic and the boundaries between yaoguais, humans, immortals, and gods are more fluid. Looking beyond Black Myth: Wukong's framing, the very concept of grassroots gods suggests that Erlang Shen believes in true merits—yaoguais who harm humans need to be subdued, while those who do good or are willing to redeem themselves can ascend to godhood. This is quite different from viewing yaoguais as inherently evil and untrustworthy, and is consistent with Erlang's traditional depiction as unconventional and charismatic.

Fig. 2. Toward the end (the far left side) of the scroll.

Xiaotian Quan is depicted as a white sighthound in this painting (Fig. 2). The beautiful women in the foreground are yaoguais, and their paws are showing under their gowns. This reflects another subtle rule in Chinese lore: yaoguais who look just like humans are more likely to be evil as they rely on disguises, while yaoguai-looking characters are more likely to be positive and even immortals or gods as they have nothing to hide with their true forms. It's a curious theory when you consider Sun Wukong's evolution in Chinese lore. His earliest depiction is as a lewd ape yao who often shows up as a white-robed scholar, but by the time of JTTW, he appears as a monkey throughout the story without needing or wanting to pretend to be a human.

[bzurk]

 zombie!au 141 x reader

dark content ahead! you've been warned.

It’d been hard at first. Women weren't treated well when people turned on each other, both healthy and infected. You were lucky when the virus started;

You were a dog trainer, surrounded by canines trained in personal protection. It was easy to scare people off. On your travels, your pack grew, a congregation of man’s best friends who were left behind. You had a whole arsenal, eventually; hunting, tracking, attacking.

This winter, though, was particularly difficult. Game was scarce, the ground frozen solid, the older dogs weakened by sore joints and aching limbs. You had run out of supplies weeks ago, trading your trained mutts for scraps and tools. Your only companions were your two remaining dogs, your only hope the compound in the distance, surrounded by wires and gates. The facility's noise, perhaps, was scaring off any nearby game. Maybe, it was already infected. Your doubts were alleviated when you saw little shadows moving about the tarmac.

You walked up to what you hoped was the front gate, arms raised and guns holstered, dogs plastered at each side.

“I come peacefully!” You bellowed, staring straight through the chain links towards the silhouetted figures. They grow closer, slowly, weapons raised and glinting blindingly under the sunlight. “I mean no harm. I would like to know if you have any food to spare. I can trade you for it.” You swung out an arm to gesture to your dogs.

The men wore fatigues and vests, packed with gear and weaponry. Well-equipped. They must have food, fresh game, stocks of MREs, dried rations.

“What you offerin’?” A man’s rough voice called back.

“Can take one of the dogs, if you’ve got enough of worth. I don’t part with them easily. Both trained, they are. Good at keeping out infected.”

It wasn’t long before Price’s three subordinates were staring at him with wide, pleading puppy-dog eyes. “Can we keep ‘em, Cap, please please please?”

Price had to admit you were a sight. Tousled, blood-stained, covered in tattered winter clothes that could barely keep out the cold. A hunting rifle strapped to your back, knives peaking from your pockets. A capable girl. Not many women out this far. He hadn’t come across one in months, not since venturing to trade with nearby settlements. Three or four months, at the least.

“Would you like to come in, love? Looks like you could do with a night of rest.”

They were nice, these four men, if not overly charming and kind. But they were nice enough to let you, and your dogs, in, even providing a tour of the premises – insisting guns were left at the door, of course. You were correct in assuming they were well-stocked. They confirmed they’d been residing in the base since outbreak day, though people came and went. They fed you, and even your two dogs. You’d be lying if you said you didn’t enjoy the human company.

The base was a stark contrast to the wasteland outside. Boxes of food and warm blankets, running water, and electricity powered by a generator. The men showed you their hydroponic garden, where they grew fresh vegetables, and a storeroom stocked with preserved foods and medical supplies. It was a veritable haven.

They introduced themselves: Captain John Price, Lieutenant Ghost, Sergeant Johnny ‘Soap’ MacTavish, and Sergeant Kyle ‘Gaz’ Garrick. They shared stories of their missions before the outbreak, their camaraderie evident in their banter and shared glances.

You felt a flicker of hope. Maybe, just maybe, you had found a place where you and your dogs could be safe, at least for a few nights. These men were skilled and seemed trustworthy enough, and their compound was secure. It was enough to put your tired mind at ease.

Perhaps too at ease. It didn’t take long for your body to slump in your chair, almost sliding out of it, if not for the hands that held you steady. Your eyes were fuzzy, your hearing diminished to a faint ringing. You could feel a wet snout nosing your limp hand, firm and warm palms divesting you of your coats and the weapons hidden in your pockets, strong arms wrapping around your waist, your tummy digging into a warm shoulder as you were thrown around like a sack of flour.

“Nice little pack of mutts we’ve found, aye, lads? Don’t you worry, we’ll take good care of you. Train you up well.”

if this gets enough interest ill turn it into a fic

[adelheidvonschicksal]

Not an request but can you imagine how lads men's (A/B/O) react about their partner dying?

Edit: thought of this as if their partner doesn’t reincarnate like in game (because if they did then the boys would all wait to meet them again ❤️).

Rafayel will probably get very depressed, like he does when you leave. He has a very heavy burden on his shoulders, being the leader for his people. So, MC is the one that makes it all a bit easier to handle; he does everything for her so all his choices will be worth it if she lives. He tries to preserve everything about you, keeping things with your scent on it as long as he can, preserves your room the way it was before you died. He seems like a mate for life sort of guy, so I can’t see him moving on with anyone else. You’d mostly see his pain in his art if inspiration ever comes back to him.

Xavier wouldn’t take it well. He might be a little bit in denial at first. I can see him trying to move on but struggling to do so because he’s always comparing his new partner to the things you did, the way move, the slight changes in pitch when you get excited. He already struggles with communication so I think this would make it worse. He needs to grieve from his last partner before moving on, but the right one can probably find him.

Zayne would probably handle it the best on the surface. He throws himself into his usual routine, working more at the hospital, trying to keep busy so grief doesn’t wash over him. But there’s little things that’d constantly remind him of you like the sweets you like, or the flower pens you bought him. He might buy stuff his mate used to like just out of habit, and he takes good care of all the things you gave him long ago. I actually see him being able to be with someone else. It’s hard to wiggle into his heart so if someone else manages that then they’re really important to him.

[daemon-in-my-head]

No actually, im not over the fact that Durge get treated the way they are. On a good run they helped everyone, they helped Shart, Laezel and Minthara to escape a cult. They helped Astarion to start healing. They helped Gale and Wyll realise they're worth more than their might, their goddess or their feats. They helped Halsin to lift the burden that has been weighting on him for centuries, allowed him to be free after 300 fucking years.

And what did they do for Durge? Jackshit. At best one of them helped them once to make it through a horrible night, by tying them up and watching over them. Once. After Durge tried to kill them. In an act of self-preservation. Jaheira at least offers her 'support' when she finds out what Durge is. But that's it. They did not help with the temple. They did not mourn Durges' very apparent death. They did not offer any comfort when they killed everyone they must've once held dear. They stood by as Durge duelled for their life. For a Tav this might work since they don't have any specific troubles or quests, but Durge does. And they get fucking ignored. By everyone except the deadbeat mother and the loveable fool that is Minsc. The people they met only recently. But the people who spent weeks or months with them, who could escape their personal hells thanks to them? Lol get ignored fucker.

Yes, yes, they all have grey stories. Nothing is black and white except Durges' story. It's black. There's no nuance. They're fucked regardless of what they do. Their choice is mind control and death or presumed immortality and endless suffering from being a Bhaalspawn, as well as not having their memory and working for yet another Dead God, and nobody gives a damn. As cruel as Durge is, as fucked up as they might've been, they, too, were a victim of an evil deity and cult. Hell, Orin can straight up tell you 'bro, that Gortash guy? Kept manipulating your ass since like ever'. And if we're being real, he does just that the second durge is back too. 'He did miss this' and he wouldn't want you to submit, but at the end of the day, he's still the person with the last word, and everything goes exactly how he wants.

Durge was manipulated and exploited like fuck in the past, by everyone around them who survived. Just like most of the other companions. But fuck Durge in particular I guess. The game is very much like 'fuck Martyrdom it's not worth it' but when it's Durges turn, your choices are Martyrdom or falling right back into the abuse. Oh, or becoming something less than an animal and essentially just a sentient doll to be used by their guardian.

[dushysworld]

My personal thoughts on Spirituality pt 1:

Spirituality isn't something that you can force someone to get into. It can't be forcibly taught to someone or oneself.

Spirituality is what people need when they are confused in their lives, when they are on the verge of going crazy. Spirituality is what brings their soul in alignment with their purpose and shifts the vibration completely to their OG vibration.

Spirituality begins with the basic understanding of ourselves(our basic psychology as a human), our mind, our body 👁️ 👁️ (all the parts and senses), what is our likes & dislikes, what kind of energy or people are the best for me, what kind of food 🥑 is the best for my health etc. this is just the basic of what spirituality means.

In a more complex sense, spirituality is your connection to your soul mission/purpose led by God(the supreme consciousness).

Every individual has got their own main character story going on in their head, so respect everyone's decision whether for the good or for the bad because we shouldn't judge people just based on their actions or views only. You never know what the other person person might be going through in life *it could even be a negative scene going on in their movie of life*.

Real spirituality begins with loving yourselves first of all, taking care of your likes/dislikes and being compassionate & kind to others.

You must always be conscious of what you are doing, what you're saying to the other person or group, what kind of people are you associating with or spending your most time with, be mindful of how much time you're giving to your phone or other devices in life since they are going to waste a lot of your time (useless videos and photos on different social medias). Instead make use of that time and turn it into something productive, as putting your attention to the right place is likely to bring out the best of positive results that you want out of the situation.

Remember that when you know your worth you won't just be anywhere and you won't just give away your time & energy like that. It is important that you preserve your energy for it is very precious *everyone's energy is precious*.

You are the universe itself, what's outside there in the universe is the same what's inside each one of us. We(our consciousness) are small parts or portions of the GOD (the supreme consciousness) for it is GOD who has given us the opportunity to be aware of ourselves in this planet called EARTH.

At times when you feel like life is getting boring or you aren't doing anything better/productive then make sure to remind yourself that you're in a game that's controlled by GOD and each one of us in this game has been given specific abilities & power, so the main thing to be done at first is understand yourself and how you are supposed to contribute towards the world and become conscious of yourself till the end. *The ones that are aware of this fact will surely get what I meant* ;)

Also,

Start your journey of spirituality by connecting to your soul purpose and in case you don't know your soul purpose you can always consult me. I'm a Vedic Astrologer & Life coach for who's been doing this for the past few years offline but now I'm doing this online as well.