#its like a waste of my work ethic to stay

[e8luhs]

i guarantee you that any job you get outside of walmart will be an improvement. i was so scared of switching jobs but when i did it was the best decision i ever made. a different environment with different bosses can make a huge difference. it’s scary but so worth it, even if it takes a few tries.

thank you ;_; its nice / comforting to know its a little scary for everyone. me when i have to do it scared i suppose and plus i know if i dont take the opportunity now im just going to be stuck because even though walmart is soooo evil its been weirdly stable for me due to the fact that unfortunately im a very easily exploitable employee (<-- chronic overachiever guy). i keep getting told by coworkers too that i just need to take the leap because even they can see im being run into the ground

[cinnamonest]

Yandere Profile - Baizhu

When I tell you I adore this man so much, he's so underappreciated and I intend to do my best to do him justice

ft. Changsheng the enabler and Qiqi the liability

WARNINGS: fem reader, dubcon/noncon, abduction, heavy drugging content, mentions of force feeding against a hunger strike, emotional manipulation of a child, homicide

What are they generally like? Lucid, aware? Obsessive? How do they behave?

If one had to describe his nature in a singular word, it would be careful.

Incredibly, meticulously careful. There is not one single step taken that has not been perfectly planned out ahead of time, multiple possibilities and issues thought through and accounted for. He would not rush into something of this nature unprepared, and more importantly, his cautiousness comes from another trait he has in abundance: determination. Dedication to seeing a goal through, the firm resolution that he will obtain what he desires, one way or another, with no regard to what measures need to be taken to do so, nor how long it will take.

Not to mention, from a moral perspective, one might be surprised at how indifferent he is to the notion of doing something... unethical. People tend to associate medical professionals with some sort of assumed overall moral good, that someone who dedicates their life to the pursuit of the health of others must be a morally sound person in all areas of life by default.

Well, that is true to an extent. He does want to stay within ethical bounds. He's a generally good and compassionate person, yes, and would never go out of his way to harm anyone for the sake of it. He doesn't bear any malice towards anyone. He will inconvenience or burden himself if it means doing the right thing, when the right thing does not pose any risk to him and his goals. And when it's things he doesn't care too much about, he will relinquish a goal if he realizes it would do harm. So overall, it would be correct to say that he is a morally sound person.

But if violating certain commonly agreed-upon ethical boundaries is necessary to obtain his most fervent desires... well.

He's perfectly well-aware. He's self-aware, for starters, acutely so. He knows exactly what he feels and why, knows it is of abnormal degree, and knows what it will inevitably lead to. He knows that both from a social and ethical standpoint, such things are wrong, that it violates society's conventions and standards (not to mention laws) of what is acceptable behavior by limiting another's freedoms and violating their autonomy. It's not even something he really needs to reflect on. He just notices and becomes aware of an intense emotion, recognizes that emotion and its degree of severity, and draws an immediate logical conclusion as to what will happen depending on how he chooses to handle that emotion and how each course of action is perceived by society. Very simple, really.

It's lamentable — he himself has reflected on this to himself multiple times, often speaking aloud to Changsheng about it behind closed doors.

How troublesome that even I am not immune to these sorts of desires...In the end, the nature and instinct of any given creature is immutable, I suppose.

She rarely has anything to offer other than vague warnings of not letting it spiral out of control, which he assures will not happen.

But oh well. Sure, it's inconvenient, but there is no point in fighting something as innate as one's own feelings in this area of things. Suppressing the emotions would be a waste, so it is much wiser and more efficient to simply accept them, then work through how he intends to handle them.

Cautious, intelligent, perceptive, patient, self-aware, willing to violate ethics, and of an indomitable resolve. This combination of traits is, as you might imagine, more or less one of the worst hands of fate that could be dealt to whoever is targeted by the individual possessing them.

He's an easy person to warm up to, though. Very likable and pleasant. He's not nervous around you or anything, and gives no hint of any ill intent, so you have no reason to suspect anything. Well, he might be just a bit overbearing towards you, just barely noticeably touchy or insistent, but it's nothing that strikes you as indicative of anything you should genuinely be concerned over.

Except for this... aura. While nothing he does really concerns you, there is almost some tangible feeling of something being "off" in a way you can't really articulate nor explain. Regardless, he's been helpful and kind to you, so you brush it off as nothing.

There's also distinct lack of the intense outward expression of emotion usually associated with obsessive lovers and abductors and the like. He's fairly... calm about it all. Perhaps it's an ability stemming from his meticulous and careful planning to eliminate risk, or perhaps it's that he has full and acute self-awareness and accurate perception and understanding of himself and why he feels what he does. Or perhaps it's just his nature. Maybe some combination of all of the above. But even at his worst moments, he has a fairly calm aura about him, nothing seems to bother or upset him too much. He always seems to have calculated for every potential misstep or complication.

He does make an attempt to grow closer to you, though. He's masterful with an ability to orchestrate encounters that genuinely seem to be coincidence, as well as creating inconveniences for you that will lead you to seek him out. If anything, you're usually apologizing for doing so, since he seems so busy... but he dismisses it with a wave of his hand, assures you that it's fine, that he's very happy to be of assistance to you.

This, too, isn't just because he enjoys your presence, but it's also a preparatory measure in and of itself. The more familiar you are with him, the closer you consider yourself to be with him, the easier of a time he'll have handling you when the time inevitably comes that he'll have to take certain courses of action that you may disapprove of, to say the least. He needs all the endearment to you he can get before that happens.

How likely are they to kidnap their darling? How quickly will they do so?

He's a bit conflicted, can't really decide if he wants to or not. His reluctance isn't really based in morality nor fear; he's not particularly concerned with the former on this matter, and he's fully confident he can successfully pull it off, so no need for nervousness.

Rather, he has the sort of possessive, primal desire to take you all for himself, one that he recognizes as a rash instinct that he needs to carefully ponder, and yet, he realizes that the direct consequence of acting on those desires would cause him to fall out of favor with you. He does love your smiles you give him, how nice you've been to him, your kind words, and he knows that would disappear, only to be replaced with resentment and fear, the moment he takes you away from your life.

He often sighs and mumbles to himself about it. What to do, what to do.... such a frustrating predicament.

Human nature is fascinating, isn't it? He's so consciously aware that this is abnormal and unwell, that he should attempt to resolve it, yet he has no desire to resolve it, only craving to further indulge in it. Yet he wants to be certain that he doesn't take any rash action, that he knows what he's doing through and through.

So, he refrains, at least for some time. However, it's not an attempt to refrain permanently — he knows full well that eventually, he will act on his desires, that it's only a matter of time. But for now, he wants to savor every word, every interaction, every smile, until he knows he will eventually cave in, and those things will be gone. He also reasons that, as aforementioned, by knowing you and being acquainted with you longer under your normal life and circumstances, he can attempt to endear himself to you and grow closer to you in that time, which will, he hopes, ease the transition when you no longer have your freedoms, that you will be more inclined to forgive him and act with empathy for him rather than hostility.

However, should he happen upon a coincidence, the stars align and the pieces all fall into place so perfectly without him having to arrange it, well, he'll certainly take the opportunity that presents itself. You show up complaining of fever or headache or something of that nature, and in your discomfort, it doesn't quite occur to you how unusual and seemingly irrelevant the questions he's asking you are—

I assume you let someone know where you were headed when you left home? ...No? Oh, I see....

You don't by chance have anywhere you'll be expected to be in the next short while, would you?

—and it won't, until it's too late.

Otherwise, should the opportunity not arise on its own, he has to wait. The days pass. A few months in total. But the longing and the ache and the scalding feeling of intense jealousy when he sees you with others, it all becomes too much, and he's forced to put into motion a plan he has now had quite some time to prepare for. Invite you over for "something important" with perfect timing, memorizing your schedule to hopefully ensure that it will happen before you see anyone whom you might inform of where you're going. From there, once he has you inside, it's no effort at all from that point forward.

He has a remarkable ability to give off this calm, nonthreatening aura, combined with a gentle and charming voice that lulls you into a sense of safety, that keeps you from noticing anything strange about what he's doing, even if you do still have that faint sense of unease in the back of your mind. It feels sweet and endearing, really, that you trust him so.

So he goes through with it. Sets up the necessary steps, and executes the plan as predetermined.

And then he tells you about it.

Once it's already too late, of course. You already drank what you were given without any hint of suspicion or distrust, and the way your eyes suddenly widen and your body twitches and slumps forward indicates it's setting in.

That's a regular part of the effect, terribly sorry about that. Oh, don't worry, you're not in any danger. You see, it's just... ah, how should I put it...

Thus he starts to go on elaborating on exactly what he drugged you with, and more importantly, begins explaining exactly why. As in, he openly confesses to being deeply enamored, as he puts it, and that he, likewise in his own words, has—

—some sort of abnormal psychological development that has taken place, although I'm not entirely sure how to best articulate it... regardless, I'm sure you now see that these impulses are inducing problematic behavior, but I'm afraid I have already succumbed to them, unfortunately...

He speaks with this lighthearted tone and whimsical sighs if he's explaining some sort of mild, harmless inconvenience, something of little consequence, all while he's gently going about sitting you back upright, closing your mouth so you stop involuntarily drooling, fixing the cup you spilled over and cleaning up what spilled onto the table. As if it's just a regular, everyday occurrence that he's paying little attention to, and not something of great weight and severity.

What this ultimately means is that you won't actually be leaving anytime soon. While unreasonable on its own, I assume that makes sense in the context of what I've just explained to you.

He turns back towards you, loops his arms under your armpits and hoists you up. There's a slight strained grunt with the physical exertion, but he manages to pick you up without too much trouble. He's still talking while carrying you through the door to the hall, but you don't really hear much it as you begin to succumb to unconsciousness — you only really process one more sentence.

You're awfully trusting, you know. You really ought to be more careful, should someone could have malicious intent...

How difficult is it to escape from them? How do they keep you restrained? How do they deal with attempted escape? 

The physical restraints aren't so bad. He keeps a reverse lock on the outside of the front door, and for a little while, a singular chain to your ankle.

After a short while, and a verbal agreement that you will not try anything, he gives you a surprising degree of leniency, gives you the ability to roam to some extent. You can be present at the front where strangers show up to the desk, even. But he'll be watching. He has ways, as he puts it, of knowing what you're doing.

You're not sure what to do. It seems like such an opportunity, and yet, you know that someone as calculated as he is wouldn't give you that opportunity without having a plan he could easily enact if something goes wrong. You know he doesn't really place that much trust in your word through your verbal agreement alone. You want to do something to try and catch someone's attention or something, but there's this gut feeling you have that knows that doing that would be a mistake.

He almost certainly wouldn't harm anyone, you're pretty sure of that being true, but... can you say that with one-hundred percent certainty? If pushed to the point of it being a matter of securing you and your arrangement, preventing someone who saw more than they should from telling, can you really be certain he wouldn't take drastic measures...?

You just don't know. Sure, you're fairly certain of his overall goodness of character... but then again, that's also what you thought when you brushed off the occasional comment or expression from him that used to make you feel some faint sense of alarm or unease — that he was certainly a good person, just a bit eccentric at times. You told yourself back then that he was not the sort of person who would ever do anything bad to anyone. You overestimated his goodness once, and look where that got you. Can you really be sure that someone who would go so far as to do what he's already done, wouldn't hurt or kill someone too, if it came down to it...? And when you think even more about it, doesn't the fact that he's letting you roam so much imply that he is ready to take some other measures if you tried anything?

You just don't know. It's all so uncertain.

And he knows that. You can tell from the soft, content, knowing smile on his face. He knows exactly what thoughts are going through your mind. As long as that doubt is there, hopefully you won't force his hand to make him have to take unsavory measures to ensure your security.

Now if you were to actually successfully, temporarily get away and be caught and brought back again, this is where Baizhu actually has a rather unique reaction, both intriguing and odd compared to how other captors and obsessive lovers would react.

That is, he harbors no resentment or anger over your desires to be free. In fact, provided he caught you early, his reaction is fairly calm. If you managed to get out for a while, he's more visibly panicked when he finds you, but he still manages to calm himself down by the time he brings you back, and doesn't lash out or have any sort of angry outburst.

You still endure some form of punishment — can't just let you get away with it, of course, you'd just be more likely to do it again — but you very quickly notice he doesn't really seem all that angry or anything. At some point, you question him on it, and he's very transparent with his answer.

To tell you the truth, I can't really blame you. You're only following your instincts. It's endearing, in a way.

Being angry, he explains, would be nonsensical, silly, unreasonable. It is only natural for a human to desire autonomy and as few restrictions on themselves as possible. Yet, it is also human nature to want to control others, and to have the object of their desires all to themselves, kept away like a treasure. Both his actions and yours are perfectly natural and reasonable, and since he himself has followed his natural inclinations and instincts, he can't blame you for doing the same and following yours.

And then, he smiles.

But it seems you weren't quite capable of achieving your goal. I suppose you'll just have to hope you have better luck on your next attempt... And I, that there won't be one.

How easy are they to trick, deceive, or manipulate?

Needless to say, Baizhu is both intelligent and perceptive. Most of the time, he can easily catch you in a lie. More importantly, he knows that given the circumstances, it's obvious you'll be trying to lie to him fairly regularly, so he's on guard about it, making him that much more likely to notice.

But on the rare occasion you do manage to trick him in some way, unless it was something that put you, him, or your situation in genuine danger, he doesn't get too upset. It's just the philosophy he takes, he explains as he shrugs it off— Really, it was foolish of me to not anticipate something like that. Considering the circumstances, I should never have allowed myself to become so unguarded.

Much like with attempts at escape, it's only natural to lie to him to achieve what you want. Likewise, it's only natural for you to receive some form of punishment to deter you from repeating the attempt of deception. Simple. So while he doesn't have a particularly angry or emotional response to it, don't expect to just get away with it either.

He's also very well aware when you manipulate him, acknowledges it even, but similarly to lying, he doesn't seem to mind too much. If anything, as long as it's something mild in nature, he finds it amusing, will chuckle and smile.

Oh, my. I see what you're doing... well, how could I say no when you're being so sweet about it?

That applies only to that which is mild, though. If your request or attempted goal is something that would actually be a risk, he gets far more serious and firm in his approach.

Surely you don't expect me to fall for that, dear. As much as I'd like to fulfill any wish you have, I know better than to take that sort of risk.

It was worth a try. You win some, you lose some.

How lenient are they? What privileges can you have, and what will you be denied?

He knows that mental stimulation will be important to your ensuring that you remain of sound mind and health for the foreseeable future. There's limits, of course, he's not dumb enough to fall for requests for things that you could use to harm him or break out, but he'll get you what you want, within reason. Especially books, which, as he says, are important for keeping your mind sharp. Those he'll get you even without asking, often bringing you something at random because he thinks you might enjoy its contents.

And hey, he also might as well capitalize on the opportunity. To prevent boredom, you can also help him out. Lots of jars that need organizing and labeling, papers that need to be filled and documented, and so on. Of course, he'll double check to ensure there's no maliciously doing it wrong or anything, but he appreciates it if you're willing and compliant.

What kind of rules do they have? What kind of punishment would they use?

He doesn't like to feel like he's being strict or harsh, but he does set specific guidelines. They're fairly short and simple.

One, you will not attempt to leave, or to rope anyone else into "helping" you.

Two, you will not attempt to cause any harm or damage to himself, his property, or any other residents or visitors you may come into contact with.

Third, you will not attempt to commit any action that intentionally causes, or has a potential to accidentally cause, any danger or harm to yourself.

Violate any of these conditions, and naturally, there will be consequences. All actions have cause and effect, this is just the law of the universe, so it is only fair to enforce a consequence.

He's still pretty forgiving, but if you push his limits, he'll begin enacting those consequences, getting progressively more intense according to the nature of your offense. Confining you to one room, putting you back into an ankle shackle, so on and so on. All done with this self-righteous attitude, telling you how it's for your own benefit that this is done.

But along the same previous lines of reasoning as to why he gives you things to keep you occupied, he knows how important stimulation is to one's psychological well-being, and can just as easily use this against you. If you've been very, very bad, repeated attempts at running away and total defiance, some more intense measures are needed. As with any other ailment, your poor behavior is something he has just the thing to treat with.

The dependency itself, you see, creates bonding. Being forced to rely on another for such basic needs is a process equally humiliating and endearing. The isolation, on the other hand, ensures that your brain associates only him with the positive chemicals and emotions induced by having stimuli to free you from boredom, as well as your needs being met and...

He continues to explain it out to you as he goes. You're still only restrained by one ankle binding, but he doesn't need much in that regard, because he doesn't really have to worry about you moving around in the first place. You can barely move a muscle anyway.

It is quite torturous, isn't it? He almost feels bad for you. You still have some control over your face, and he can see the obvious displeasure in your expression. Unable to move your arms, your legs, anything but the truly important muscular functions like being able to swallow and breathe and the like. Forced to sit there numbly while he brings cups of water and spoonfuls of broth to your mouth, when he wipes your body down in substitution for bathing. Yes, it's clear how much you dislike this, but that's the point, isn't it? This would not have to happen if you could just be a bit more compliant. That wouldn't truly be so hard, would it? He asks in such a patronizing voice.  Should you keep your mouth shut and refuse to eat or drink, he'll sigh, give up for the moment and try again later. If this persists after a few days, though, he'll just have to force it, and is not above doing so.

After a few days of this, he'll allow it to wear off, provided you've proven your repentance and promise you're going to be good in the future. An unlikely promise, he realizes, but at least the sentiment counts.

Oh, and he does establish one other rule out of frustration after a certain incident: no taking his glasses and hiding them. Really, it was quite a childish act of spite on your part, and caused him a terrible deal of inconvenience. Best to address it and forbid that from reoccurring...

How do they deal with rivals, or perceived rivals? Will they get rid of them? Will they kill them themselves, or find another way?

Rivals are actually something you don't have to worry too much about, in terms of them getting hurt. Baizhu is calculated and reasonable, highly rational, and doesn't take any sort of rash action. And in his mind, as long as you're confined, other people are no longer an issue.

If he feels someone is becoming enough of a threat in the pre-captivity stage of his obsession, being aware of any affection another person has for you or vice versa will simply serve as a catalyst in your abduction, and almost certainly expedite that process, out of urgency to get you away from a perceived threat. Provided you are secured, though, he sees no reason to risk the potential consequences of taking any action against a rival, even if he does harbor resentment for them.

Do not, however, mistake that for instinctive reluctance. It doesn't mean he's the sort of person who would be to afraid to kill someone, or, as you might initially imagine he would be, a person who would feel an innate sense of guilt and wrongness, who is averse to doing anything truly wrong. No, he's more than confident in his ability to successfully pull off a homicide if he were to try, and honestly, he's really not that naturally guilty, that is, in the sense of the sort of person who would be haunted by their actions and feel guilty by instinct. Rather, he has to intentionally hold himself back, tell himself he can't do such a thing no matter how much he wants to, as a matter of dignity.

Homicide would, after all, be more or less entirely antithetical to his universal occupational creed. And while again, he doesn't have an instinct against it, he values his own self-image. He wouldn't feel guilty, but he'd feel disappointed in himself, ashamed to have failed to uphold the idea of sanctity of life and all that. And perhaps even more importantly, such an act is one of petulant spite, if you ask him, and he would be somewhat embarrassed to see himself committing such an act, as if it's an admittance of having let someone else's presence bother him so much. It's a matter, thus, of self-respect and dignity more than anything. Therefore, with you secured away, he'll simply leave them be... although he's not above perhaps a bit of pettiness if the opportunity presents itself, such as being able to mildly inconvenience them somehow without it being connected to him.

That being said, there is a limit to his inhibition for the sake of self-image.

There's one circumstance under which he would see it fit to kill: said rival is looking for you after your disappearance, and he gets the very strong sense that the individual in question knows something they shouldn't, or otherwise seems to have some correct suspicion of what has occurred. He feels their eyes linger on him, this narrow-eyed sort of glare. They ask some rather odd questions. Or perhaps they're foolishly upfront about it, asking if he wouldn't happen to have seen you on the day you were last heard from, an accusatory edge to their tone.

Baizhu is actually quite masterful at keeping calm and maintaining an innocent act in such situations. He doesn't get defensive or hostile, rather, he pretends he just doesn't perceive the subtle tone of accusation. No, I haven't. Terrible thing, that. I hope there's some good news to come out of that situation soon...

But to himself, this confirms that he can't afford to leave this individual undealt with. It's not his fault, really. They forced his hand. Not that he's overjoyed to finally have a reasonable self-justification to kill off the person that has secretly always bothered him more than he lets on, though, no, nothing like that.

His method is perfectly simple, although he may have to wait a while to be able to enact it. But no matter, he can bide his time. Everyone gets sick eventually. They'll come to him. And if it's too urgent, they clearly know far too much and he can't afford to wait, he simply makes an invitation, says he has something he heard or saw that may have some connection to you, and that he wishes to discuss it at once.

If it's the former, and he actually has the chance to drug them, he'll easily take that method, as it's the cleanest and the one he's most adept with. And if he invites them to speak with him, well, he'll still poison their tea and all, but he's not going to get his hopes up that it will actually be consumed, given they have every reason to suspect him. Unfortunately, this may mean he's forced to take more unpleasant means.

As much as he enjoys having them out of the way, it turns out the act of killing someone via means other than poison is actually quite unpleasant. He knows he's not healthy and strong enough at the moment to risk being overpowered if he attempted strangulation or drowning, so he just has to go full-on old fashioned and come up behind them and stab them to death. It's a very brutish act, really. Probably looks very awkward and ugly from an outside perspective. Ugh. Blood on his hands and face and the floor and the table... and now he has to wash this shirt, too... at least it will make a decent addition to the compost for herbs. Sigh.

How easy is it to make them mad? What does their anger look like?

Baizhu is largely defined by a sort of passive attitude, although it does have its limits. But for the most part, he's very tolerant and patient. Part of it is just a natural disposition, while it's also in part due to years of having dealt with a wide variety of people of varying, and often unpleasant, temperaments, in varying levels of discomfort, and thus not always pleasant to deal with.

This can be to your benefit, in terms of the fact that he's forgiving and somewhat lenient towards you. If you put on a sweet act or a pitiful apologetic act, in particular, after getting caught doing something you aren't supposed to be, it turns out to be a weak spot for him. He knows full well you're doing it intentionally, but in his own words, he just can't bring himself to be too upset when you have that look in your eyes.

While beneficial under most circumstances, his patience and slowness to anger can also be incredibly frustrating if you're the bitter type who tries to make him mad. He knows you're doing exactly that, and he knows that not giving you the reaction you want will infuriate you further, and to be honest, it's rather cute watching you get more and more upset. He can hold out for quite a while like that, as long as your behavior is not something harmful to anyone.

Be careful overusing or abusing his lenience, though, or pushing the boundaries. If you take it a step too far, do something one too many times, that patience meets its end. You can tell exactly when you've crossed that line by the look on his face, narrowed eyes and a stern, unamused expression. He speaks in a firmer tone than usual, and is far more blunt with his words.

That's enough, now. I've been very patient with you. Do not test me further.

The sudden shift and stark difference to his usual demeanor is enough to make you freeze up, and deters you on its own, far more than it would coming from someone who usually speaks in that sort of voice. Should you nonetheless, perhaps out of spite, continue your defiance, it goes a step further.

He's still not the sort of person to show anger very outwardly. Quite the opposite. You know you have truly, royally fucked up because he goes dead silent. Takes a deep breath in, heavy sigh out. Puts down the pen or closes a book or whatever else he's handling with a harsh sound, stands up without a word. You can feel a twisting in your stomach from the aura coming off of him, feel a sort of dreadful tension in the air. When he does finally speak, it's in that same cold, firm voice, as he latches a hand onto your arm and begins to pull you off into another room.

Alright, then. I see you don't intend to make this easy.

You can start to sputter out apologies at that point, but you're not going to get any further words out of him. After all, you've made it clear that words aren't enough to get through to you anyway.

How do they express affection, or attempt to endear themselves to you?

Baizhu is very fond of pet names. Dear. Darling. Love. Even if it embarrasses you, he doesn't really care. It takes a while to get used to, he throws those terms around so casually, it makes you flustered and feel all warm and you're not really sure how to react. But it just comes naturally to him, really, he wasn't initially intending for it to have any effect, although seeing that it does have an effect is quite amusing.

Otherwise, he likes to just spend time with you. The activity doesn't really matter, in fact, you don't even need to be doing the same thing together or anything. You can be doing your own thing while he does his, that's also fine. He just likes being in your vicinity.

Doing things together, though, is very nice. He's fond of doing mundane, routine things with you. Laundry, cooking, cleaning. Helping him restock by handing him jars while he puts them in their proper place, or vice versa. The little things, the things that don't require a great deal of thought or exchange of words, yet allow him to bask in your warmth and the bliss of simplicity in life with someone you love.

So they see you as above them, beneath them, or equal to them?

Baizhu is a fairly humble man. He's also objective, when it comes to such matters. Love you as he does, he still acknowledges your weaknesses and strengths.

Considering a person to be "greater" or "lesser" as a whole, he would argue, is in and of itself a concept that could only be born from a rather simple brain to begin with. Such a generalization fails to consider the complexity of the individual human existence. It is frankly impossible, or at least distasteful and lacking any respectable extent of intelligent thought, to take a single person — who has a unique skillset, physical and mental attributes, experiences, and a whole array of knowledge unique to that one individual — and condense all that complexity into one simple lump sum of "value", them do the same for another, and compare the two. The very notion itself is lacking intelligence, and only a person equally lacking intelligence and rationality, or perhaps simply a person of a neurotically grandiose nature, would try to claim one person is inherently of greater value.

But he can recognize those individual traits. If he's more intelligent than you are, he's very open to acknowledging it. If you're in better physical shape and health than he is, he'll readily admit it.

A person is what they are, they each have their strengths. If you ever get into the subject, he'll likely start philosophizing a bit about human nature — how tragic it is that so many humans obsess over those strengths that they are lacking, and in doing so allow the strengths they possess to go to waste. It is human nature to be discontent with oneself, perhaps—

Ah... am I boring you? Haha. No, no, it's quite alright.

How determined are they for you to love them? How hard will they try to make it happen? Or are they content just having you?

He fully acknowledges before ever taking you to be with him, that doing so will be detrimental any hopes of mutual affection. That's part of the pros and cons he heavily weighs before going through with that. But alas, it's a necessary hurdle to face, part of the price of having you to himself.

For the short term, at least.

He's not unfamiliar with psychology to some extent, seeing as it and his own field are somewhat related. He's very well aware of the known effects that prolonged isolation and exclusion from the rest of society, as well as forced dependence, will have on a person.

So he's not too worried about it. Sure, you may be resentful now, but he can wait. As he always does. Patient, calculated. He knows eventually there will be a shift, and then a decline. First comes anger, then that will die down, then a period of quiet despond, and eventually, as the soundness of mind deteriorates, you will come back to him, feel the same fondness you did before. It's predictable, linear, like clockwork. The human mind and the human body are alike in that way, often following patterns that can be accurately predicted far before actually reaching that stage of progression. Just as he can heal various diseases and ailments by referencing existing knowledge of the body, so he can "fix" your mind and your sentiments by utilizing the knowledge of the mind.

If you start to become exceptionally discontent and disagreeable at any given time, he'll just go with the foolproof method that works every time — total isolation besides him, dark room, no stimulus, bound hand and foot or kept immobile by drugs. A few days of that and you usually crack. The cycle repeats, but he always knows just how to get you back to the way he prefers you.

Bonus: Is there anything that makes them unique, in comparison to other yanderes?

Firstly, as aforementioned, he's almost amusingly transparent. He explains a good deal of what he does to you and exactly why he's doing it, what affects it will have, etc. Most captors would probably keep quiet on exactly how they intend for their actions to induce a bond with you or force you into this or that, but not him.

You're smart, see. He knows you'll probably figure it out anyway. What's the point of withholding it then? Besides, he has a habit of thinking out loud sometimes, so it just comes natural to him to sort of mutter about what he's doing as he goes about his tasks. No point in refraining from that when there's no real reason to.

It's not as if you knowing what he's doing or what the intended effect is will make it any less effective. Maybe you'll develop a bit of spite and fight the effects, thus prolonging the procedure, but it will work all the same in the end anyway. If anything, seeing you resist is rather cute. But you'll succumb nonetheless, so, no need to be secretive.

Another obstacle he faces that others in a similar obsessive predicament do not is, well, himself. Baizhu is forced to take his own health and physical capacity into account to a degree most others never would have to give a passing thought to.

You'd think that his frailness might serve as an advantage to you — and you'd be right, sort of. It would serve as an advantage to you, were he to not account for it.

Unfortunately for you, he does account for it, and goes to great lengths — paranoid measures, even — to ensure you cannot take advantage of it. These chronic problems sometimes follow patterns and cycles, and usually have warning signs before becoming worse, so if he knows he's going to be in a weakened state, he gets much heavier on the restraints, and goes ahead with drugging you into immobility, even though you haven't done anything to deserve what is usually used as a punishment. It's also one of the few times he'll give you a very sincere apology. I know it's unpleasant, but I don't have much of a choice right now. You know it's serious from the lack of his usual warm whimsical voice of his, instead speaking in a very blunt voice laden with discomfort. You suppose you can summon a bit of pity, even if you're frustrated.

You also notice, though, that he's always insistent that he's fine and doesn't need help, even if that's blatantly untrue. The man will sound like he's coughing his lungs up for a minute straight and when you rush over with a concerned look on your face, he forces a chuckle and smiles and waves his hand dismissively. No, no, it's fine, really, that's a regular occurrence, it will die down in a minute or s— and breaks out coughing again.

He doesn't want you to see him in a state he feels looks pathetic. You figure that out eventually, given that he always stands up and goes into another room if the coughing fits get too bad, and how you can tell he's forcing himself to act as if he's not in discomfort or pain when he cares for you during his episodes of poorer condition.

It's something he's very stubborn about too. Usually he's so transparent, but even if you push him, tell him you're well aware he's not well or that you're fine and he should lay down, he continues to downplay it and insist it's not that bad. Just a bit of an ache, he says, or just a bit drowsy. He's relentless on this, no matter how much you push.

There's another unique factor to your captivity, but it doesn't have much to do with Baizhu himself.

See, there's plenty of captors or obsessed lovers you might end up with who have companions or accomplices you would meet, but no other quite so... slithery.

And few quite so cold, either. Changsheng, and the dynamic she takes in relation to the both of you, is a very odd experience.

Firstly, she is of no help to you. You weren't really sure what to expect from a literal talking snake, but you at least figured that if she possessed human thought capacity, she would perhaps possess a sense of empathy as well.

But she never brings up or even really acknowledges the circumstances of your situation. You tried once or twice, but she immediately shuts you down if the conversation is headed in that direction.

These sorts of interpersonal relationships are no business of mine. Know that I have no intention of interference.

While a bit disappointing, you did more or less know that even if she empathized, she wouldn't likely be of much help.

She still takes some getting used to. To be honest, she moves so quietly that for the first little while, she nearly gave you a heart attack on several occasions. You'll be going about some idle task, turn your gaze to look at or reach for something, only to come face-to-face with a snake in very close proximity.

AH! Oh, I, um...

What is the matter?

N-no, I just... uh...

You are at unease due to my presence?

No! No, I just didn't... see you there...

She has a bit of a sharp tongue and stern nature, and you initially do feel very uneasy, both out of not wanting to upset her as well as some primal instinct telling you that the creature that sits next to you is a dangerous one, even if your conscious mind knows better.

She does feel the need to comment on whatever you're doing, especially when trying to do tasks to help (or just to have something to do) by doing some work in the storerooms.

By what system of organization are you determining the order to place these jars in, hm?

You are not plotting anything nefarious back here by yourself, yes?

You there... these counters are slippery. I instruct you to place me on the surface over there.

At first, you feel bullied and bossed around... but over time you come to realize that despite the criticisms, she's intentionally seeking you out, whenever Baizhu is busy. In fact, whenever he goes off to a house call by himself or to take care of some task, it's usually only a matter of minutes before she shows up.

And truth be told, over time, you do bond. It's an unspoken sort of thing, something you think she might have started doing without consciously realizing she's doing it, but she begins... scaling you, climbing over and on you in the same way she does her contractual companion. The first time, you were reading over some piece of mail slid under the door when you felt a slight weight on your shoulder.

What is that? Oh, I see...

Gradually, it becomes an unspoken norm, a habit that neither of you really acknowledge out loud, but you understand it's a significant milestone in your relationship to each other, whatever that relationship may be defined as. You'll be standing around, working on whatever, when you feel the cold scales brush against your ankle... and now that cold sensation is spiraling up your leg, then your waist, and she positions herself around your shoulders just as she would Baizhu himself. Often commenting on or criticizing whatever you're doing, but sometimes just... relaxing there. She likes being on a person — humans are warm, and while she wouldn't admit it, she just sort of enjoys the company sometimes. If Baizhu is unavailable, you're the next best option. And sometimes, she's merely using you as a means of transportation, telling you to go somewhere else so she can get off, with you being able to get wherever it is faster, especially if it involves stairs.

Or sometimes, you'll be sitting down and she sees no reason to go around you to get where she's going, instead just slithering right over your lap without so much as a word, either to cross over you to get elsewhere, or to rest on you for a while. Then there was that time you were laying on the couch, trying your best to take a nap when you stiffened and nearly felt your heart stop for the umpteenth time when a cold sensation spread as she slithered her way underneath your shirt, curling up into a ball on your stomach.

It is cold outside and there is a draft. You will have to suffice for the moment.

And you also notice that, although it may feel harsh, oftentimes her criticisms and advice are genuinely helpful, either making a task significantly easier or preventing you from potentially hurting yourself in a specific process. You still can't quite let go of a bit of bitterness over her essentially being cooperative in your captivity, but you can't say you don't appreciate her.

General perverseness: how sexual of a person are they? What’s their drive like? How touchy do they get? Do they have any reservations about sexuality?

He's actually quite touchy from the start. It's one of the few things that sort of unsettles you and gives some sense of something being "off" even early on. You're pretty sure you don't know each other well enough for him to have just brushed his fingers over your arm, or to rest his hand on your shoulder, or to clasp your hand between his for a moment as he tells you he'll see to this or that that you've requested. The touches continue to grow more noticeable with time, and they're just so very perfectly lingering for a time that's long enough to be noticeable, but not long enough for you to feel like saying something is a warranted reaction. No, you'd be overreacting if you said anything, right? It's not that bad, it's only for a few seconds, so perfectly timed as if he's knowingly releasing his touch at the right second. Always right on the edge.

Even after that, once you're living with him, he's very casually touchy. He'll run his fingers back and forth over your side or back when you're sitting or lying next to each other, runs his fingers through your scalp, rest an arm over your side or shoulders.

His drive, on the other hand, depends entirely on his current physical condition. Whenever certain chronic problems are flaring up and his health takes a negative turn, as you can imagine, his sex drive also plummets, and he's in too much discomfort to do much movement anyway. Other times, with other problems flaring up, it's particularly frustrating because he does still have a sex drive, but is in too much discomfort to do much... there's some creative ways to work around that, but nonetheless, it's irksome.

He's not particularly reserved about sexuality at all, actually, under the right circumstances. Of course, if asked about his reasoning for this, he acknowledges and understands the cultural sensitivity to such things, and concurs with the topic being something you don't just randomly talk about; that is, he obviously has a firm grasp on what is and isn't appropriate in various settings and doesn't violate conventions of appropriateness. It's just that when it's alone with you, he can talk about the filthiest and most intimate of things without batting an eye or any sign of embarrassment. It's just a natural part of human life, isn't it? If anything, the act is one that should be viewed as beautiful. The poetic sort of people tend to describe it as an ultimate expression of affection between individuals, and if you ask him, that's something that should be treasured.

How forceful are they? Do they care about your willingness?

He views forcing that sort of thing as a behavior that's more or less beneath him. Barbaric, brutish, uncivilized... brute force, that is. Other measures, though, that's another matter. Things like drugs and coercion don't have quite the same vibe of brutality and inhumanity.

Regardless, though, the key factor is your experience. He's the type that can't really enjoy a sexual experience unless you're also clearly enjoying it... the catch being that you obtaining pleasures and enjoyment is not exactly the same thing as outright consent. As long as you cum, it counts as being mutually enjoyed.

He still doesn't really like the thought of having to be physically forceful though, that would make him feel brutish. He'll be sure to sedate you early on. If you're sluggish and barely moving, you can't really offer resistance in the first place... and you're more pliable to his hands, too.

And yes, he will use your pleasure against you, telling you that you clearly don't hate it all that much — just look at what you've done, he says, holding up the fingers coated in your own fluids, pressing them against your tongue, your jaw too weak to prevent him from sliding his fingers in. The mouth says one thing, the body another... but the mouth is capable of lying, the body really isn't, so it's better to trust that which he knows is being honest.

What is intimacy with them like? What sort of kinks or fetishes do they have, or would they fill?

He can't go too hard and fast... well, he sometimes does anyway, his efforts aided by adrenaline, which quickly catches up to him as soon as it's over. He's not particularly rough though, nor does he cause you pain. That's not to say he's entirely without a sadistic side — he does find himself enjoying seeing you in a state of humiliation and anticipation, he just prefers to use pleasures and intense, but not painful, sensations to do so.

Drugging

That is, of course, the one you likely anticipated the most. He's not at all shy about it. Even if you by chance had something consensual going on before being kept captive, he's very open about the desire to experiment on your body by triggering reactions to various substances.

There's a variety of different options to try, lots of combinations and records of the effects different traditional medicines have on the body. This one heightens blood flow and skin sensitivity, this one induced lactation... ah, but his personal preference is this one that gives you a buzzing, euphoric high, accompanied by a voracious appetite for pleasure and orgasms for the next hour or so. He gives you the full history of how ancients in this area used to use it for fertility ceremonial purposes back in the day, explaining it calmly while he ties your hands to the headboard, as you pant and whimper and gasp for breath underneath him. Quite nice, isn't it?

And if you're being less than compliant and agreeable, he can also go the route of sedation. Not entirely, no, he doesn't want you to be fully unconscious, nor forget any of it later. No, what he forces into your mouth makes you more... relaxed. You, after the fact and in an accusatory tone, use the word 'paralyzed,' but he insists that that's an overdramatization. Firstly, it's not the same medication he uses when he actually leaves you fully unable to move, and secondly, you can still sort of move your fingers and toes and head, your muscles are just relaxed and at ease, preventing movement of actual limbs. Your words slur, you feel dizzy and tired, yet you feel every little touch. And see, your abdominal muscles twitched when he runs his fingers over your stomach, so you still have some muscular control... Not to mention, he can still feel your insides spasming and clenching when he curls his fingers inside of you, too.

Oh, and even in general, he makes sure you take a daily dose of tea made from some cocktail of bitter herbs he put together. You're told it's a blend that boosts your metabolism and brain activity and blood circulation, so on and so on, basically like a multi-purpose medicine for overall health. Which is true, it does do all of those things. It just so happens that all of those things also are known to increase sex drive, not to mention a few of them boost hormone production. But that's just a side effect, of course.

Orgasm control

Baizhu has a very specific long-term goal in mind to train you for: getting you to cum on command. It's a fantasy he's entertained in his head quite a few times. No reason to not try to make it a reality, now that he has you here with him. The concept itself is fascinating, the idea that a largely involuntary bodily reaction can be gradually, perfectly conditioned to align with someone else's words. It's such an ultimate power trip and absolute control, the thought is intoxicating.

And of course, being as patient and dedicated as this man has already proven himself to be, you know there's no getting out of it. Hours upon hours of edging, being told not to cum because you can't without his explicitly telling you to. If you do, he pulls his hand away, ruining the orgasm itself, leaving you to whimper and whine, that much more so if, after a few failed attempts, he ends up applying an additional corporeal punishment to try and further the negative association with cumming too soon. If you're good and endure, cum when he tells you to, you'll be likewise rewarded in some way.

Over and over. It goes on for weeks, months, that you have these training sessions, until it's perfected. You yourself are almost shocked by the progress, to realize just how much your body and your subconscious has submitted — it's on one of his better health days, he has the energy and lack of any aches to be able to take you on your hands and knees from behind, and it does feel good, but you're not that close — and yet, when he pulls your upper half up, forces your back into an arch, puts his hand on your throat and tilts his head down to speak directly in your ear and tells you to in the lowest, huskiest voice you've ever heard him speak in to cum for me — and you spasm, it hits you like a punch to the gut with the way the high rushes over your body. It leaves you sputtering and shivering as you collapse onto the bed, wide-eyed in shock. Even he seems a bit surprised too, chuckling as he sees the stunned expression on your face.

Oh, that worked better than even I anticipated...

He can also use orgasms as a form of withdrawal and coercion punishments. Primarily at the times that you're immobilized. You'll begin to grow needy after a time, and that makes you far more compliant. He keeps track of how long it's been since you last got to cum, and makes sure to remind you, just so you know how long you've been missing it, and so you'll be that much more quick to crack under the desperation of need.

Instruction/Obedience

Sometimes, once you've reached a state where he's assured you'll be fairly compliant with him, he gets surprisingly passive when he comes to you for intimacy.

Physically passive, at least. Motions you over with a finger gesture, starts giving you instructions. His voice is always so charming and gentle that it's hard to call it a command, per se, but it's telling you what to do nonetheless. To take this or that off, to straddle his waist, kiss him, put it in your mouth, ride him, touch yourself, on and on as he walks you through each little motion he craves to watch with his own eyes. It gets more specific and lewd with each instruction, starting off with just take your clothes off and eventually progressing to telling you exactly how to touch yourself, rub in circles, curl your fingers, lower yourself down and take him in, roll your hips, bounce on his cock, look him in the eye when you cum, every little thing.

...Eventually, you figure out that he does this on the days where he's not feeling well enough to do the moving himself, yet is still in good enough condition that he still has a sex drive. What a clever adaptation.

Exposure

It's not something he uses often, seeing as there are other people than just the two of you in his residence, but it can make a suitable punishment whenever you're confined to one room, or when everyone else is out. There's something just endearing about seeing you all embarrassed and flustered after being forced into nudity, the way you try desperately to cover yourself with your arms, the way you get all pouty in your humiliation and refuse to look him in the eye as you demand your clothes back.

But this is your choice, he reminds you. If only you would be a bit more cooperative, that wouldn't have to be the case, but that's entirely up to you. Until then, if you want to get out of bed for any reason, you'll just have to walk around as you are. And no, he's not going anywhere. Why would he leave when he has such a nice view? He smiles when you puff your cheeks out and curl your hands into fists out of embarrassed fury. Eventually, you do have to give in, get up and go do whatever it is you need to — and you feel his eyes on you the whole time as you do. When you glare in his direction, he just tilts his head. Oh? Is something the matter?

Such a shameless pervert, you think to yourself. What's worse, you know if you say something, he'll pull some cheesy line about 'examining' you or another. Ugh.

How do they feel about pregnancy or babies? Do they want them?

He'd be a bit worried about having any biological children. One one hand, there's a lot to be gained by having something tying you to him on such a deeply emotional level, that would likely cement you in place by making running away that much harder, and suppress your will to leave to begin with, or even accelerate your attachment to him.

At the same time, he has to be realistic. Is he really in any position to be caring for children, a task requiring great stamina? There's also the possibility you could turn children against him, or something like that. And if you were to encounter some sort of gestational health problem and require medical attention, there's no telling whether or not you'd be so stubborn as to to refuse to comply out of fear he'd drug you or something, which could pose very real risks to your well-being if he couldn't get you to work with him. So as nice as the notion seems when pictured in the ideal, there's just too many risks and complications that could take place.

But, there's a solution. One that will easily provide the same psychological attachment, and thereby allow a subtle degree of manipulation.

Once he can be sure you wouldn't try to harm her or anything, he deliberately ensures you and Qiqi spend time with each other. Initially, he tells you to watch over her while she goes about her tasks, help her out a bit. She can be forgetful, you know. Regardless of your sentiment, you can't bring yourself to be cold or rude to what is ultimately, despite the circumstances, still a relatively normal little girl.

Although he does, before leaving you two alone, make sure to give you a very firm warning. Well, the words themselves aren't a a threat, but there's an edge to his tone, when he responds to you raising your eyebrows and asking if he's really allowing this.

It's quite alright. I trust you surely wouldn't try to get a child involved in anything you shouldn't.

The words admittedly do have a bite to them. Would it really be a moral wrong, for you to try and enlist her for help...? It's not like he would ever harm her, but still, you question the sort of psychological damage you'd be risking. There's an inherent feeling of wrongness when you think about putting the kid under a situation that, if you succeeded in getting her to help you, would result in a great deal of distress and confusion and even long-term psychological damage from what would ensue. And when you think about it even further, you realize with a twisting feeling in your gut that if you escaped your captor and got him locked up... what would happen to her...? It's an unpleasant thought, even if you tell yourself you'd make sure she was cared for.

Nonetheless, eventually, on one of your worst and most bitter and resentful days, in a moment of desperation, you do finally crack. It will be fine, you tell yourself. You're doing something good overall. Someone like that shouldn't be responsible for a kid in the first place, right? So if you just get her to run by the law enforcement when she's out herb-gathering...

Listen, I, uh, I need you to do something for me, okay?

Mm...? Okay...

You wait patiently as the hours pass, hoping you look like less of a nervous wreck than you are, hoping you're not actually as jittery as you feel, a whole swarm of emotions of dread and hope and anticipation swirling in your gut. You practically pounce on the poor girl when she comes back through the doors.

Did... did they say anything? Are they coming?

You're met with a blank stare, a long pause.

Uh... who...? Was I supposed to... do something...?

You're pretty sure you gave up either the third or fourth time that happened. Can't really remember which. You start to realize that the reason he seemed so unbothered by the thought of leaving you alone with her wasn't so much his trust in you as much as it was complete assurance there was never any real risk anyway. Sigh.

But you don't hold it against her. You continue watching over her and taking care of her when you can. And the most frustrating part is that you know exactly what the intent is, and yet, you also know it's working.

You find yourself caring more and more about the girl. There was that time she stumbled and fell flat on her face and before you even really processed what you were doing, you'd already rushed over across the room to get her back up. Hey, hey, are you okay...? Or the time everyone else had stepped away for a moment due to some issue or another, leaving the front of the pharmacy unmanned for just a few moments — just enough time to find some big, disgruntled-looking guy looming over the child (who admittedly didn't seem intimidated or anything, just the usual blank stare), going on about some complaint he must have found no one else present to give to, and once more, without really thinking, you found yourself rushing over, picking her up and pulling her away, holding her to your side as if to shield her, finding yourself growing immediately defensive, glaring back. The hell is wrong with you? The owner will be back in just a minute, you'll have to wait. You find yourself a bit surprised at your own sharpness of tongue.

You feel this caring, protective swell in your chest regrading her. You're not so headstrong as to deny to yourself the truth, that you know you've developed emotional attachment towards and even some maternal instinct for the child. That admittedly, you wouldn't want to leave her, and that you'd worry how she'd fare by herself without you, even if you know she was doing fine before you. And most upsettingly, you know that that was exactly what the plan was.

Maybe if it had been one-sided, then, at least you could have shaken the feeling off, but that's not the case either. You make a habit of taking some time to yourself in a specific room every day, a time in the late afternoon when there's always a rush of people coming in, leaving Baizhu himself quite busy, so you get some time to sit and read or whatever task you set yourself to. A routine quickly develops — there's a set of pattering footsteps in the hall, she pokes her head around the door to check if you're there, and quietly shuffles in and sits next to you. Silent, but present. She doesn't say or do anything, she just sits.

Not that that's the only habit that develops. It's one of those situations that progresses subtly yet quickly, so you don't really remember when each starts. You just become aware one day that each little routine or habit has been going on for some time now. That when you walk around the back of the pharmacy going about your day, there's often a little hand clinging to your skirts or pant legs, quietly walking alongside you while latching on. That when you make yourself something to snack on, you get out two plates or bowls and make two helpings of whatever it is without really thinking about it.

She doesn't usually have a lot to say, but it's always pleasant, she's not quite like the stereotypical hyperactive kid, no, she lets you do whatever you're doing and doesn't interrupt much, just seems to want to be around you.

You allow it, of course. You don't have the heart not to, even though you know you shouldn't, that you shouldn't allow the closeness and should push her away because you know it will inevitably lead to exactly what he wants.

You can still pinpoint the exact moment, though, that you knew it was already too late. Sitting there doing some idle task or another in silence when you feel weight leaning over against your side, head resting on your arm, and that soft, monotone voice.

I like having you here.

Dammit. You could physically feel that tug on your heart. If that wasn't the final nail in the coffin, nothing else could top the emotion that gave you. You resign yourself to finally acknowledging that you've already fallen for the scheme.

...Not that she's just an advantageous tool. The flip side disadvantage is that she's also a bit of a liability. He's given her the 'if you tell anyone about her, she'll have to go away forever' talk several times over, and the poor girl always widens her tired eyes and seems very distressed at that notion, but her memory is not exactly known for being that great. There was that time some law enforcement came by to ask about you, saying something about how someone claimed to have seen a young woman in this courtyard area on the night of the disappearance. When your name is spoken, the girl's eyes widen, her lips part and she's just started to raise her arm up to point to the back room and say the words 'oh, I kn—' when she's interrupted by being picked up, hand clamped over her mouth and carried out of the room—

Ah, why don't you go run along—

And unceremoniously set in the hall, the door shut behind.

...Not good for a child to hear something fearful like a disappearance, that's all. Could give her nightmares or something. Surely they understand that...?

Thankfully, the present officials do, just nodding and continuing on, seemingly not taking that as reason to suspect anything. Poor Baizhu, it's one of the few moments he actually nearly lost composure, slumping back into a chair with a heavy sigh of relief as soon as they leave. That surely did not do his heart palpitation issue any favors...

What kind of (nsfw) punishments would they use?

One of the most unbearable things is the wait and the dread. It's never immediate. He always says something to the effect of ah, I need some time to think about how to handle this..., which you come to realize is just intentionally dragging out your fearful anticipation. To say he has somewhat of a sadistic side would be a fairly accurate statement, he doesn't really want to cause you physical pain, but he does find himself enjoying watching you squirm and shudder and stiffen, consumed with anticipation, dread and fear, as well as reactions of humiliation and embarrassment. He tries to refrain to some extent, but finds himself indulging in invoking those reactions from you more often than he'd like to admit for the sake of his own perception of his self-control.

It's not particularly painful, though, so you can be grateful for that... although there is a sort of dull ache after a while. Getting the drugs into your system is the only difficult part, as you squirm too much to safely inject you, but refuse to open your mouth, so compliance is a bit of a challenge, forcing him to find some means of holding you still. From there, your body sort of does the punishing for you. It's unlike anything you've ever felt — an unbearable sensation of heat, so intense it leaves sweat rolling down your skin, leaves you panting and shivering and gasping for breath, limbs twitching as they desperately pull against the binds keeping your ankles and wrists taut against the bedposts.

He wouldn't leave you to suffer that alone, of course. Well, maybe for a short while, half an hour or so, to heighten the desperation, but after that, he's right there to help you, affectionately running his hand over the top of your head and speaking to you in a soft voice, all far too gentle to be one and the same as the person responsible for your present state of misery.

What do you need? Tell me how to help you.

You're not compliant at first, of course. You shake your head and clench your jaw and refuse to just make this so much easier on you both. It takes a little while. A little more urging and comforting, running his fingers over your thighs and sides and all the parts of your flesh just sensitive enough to earn a shudder, before you start to melt into his touch, and eventually give in, tell him what you want.

There we go. That wasn't so difficult, was it?

Not that the torment ends there, of course. Just giving in to tell him isn't enough.

But you haven't been entirely... appreciative, have you? If I do this for you, it pains me to think it will only go unrecognized like everything else I do for you. If you ask with sincerity, maybe...

Once you've swallowed your pride entirely, then, you can get some semblance of relief. Although that itself becomes torturous with time. The intensity doesn't die down, the unbearable urge is still there, yet each successive orgasm begins to become painful, each erogenous spot on your body becomes sore and hypersensitive to the touch. You loathe to admit you end up in tears by the end of it. No worry, though, he's right there to comfort you through it... and ensure you this doesn't have to happen, but you continue to choose it time and time again.

What body parts of their darling do they like the most?

Curvature. It's not really any one specific spot, per se, but he would say it counts. The degree of it doesn't really matter, whether it's slight or pronounced. He likes the way his hands feel running over curved areas like your hips and waist, thighs, shoulders. It's something he can appreciate even when his eyes are closed, late at night, just slowly running his hands over the spots and feeling the bends and dips. There's also, of course, the fact that it provides a nice sort of grip, a spot he can lock his arms or hands around and know you won't be able to pull away easily.

[freyjas-musings]

Hey, so you have your comments restricted and you have me blocked on Insta. But the post you are making contains a shit ton of fallacies. I legit didn’t know it was Gwynriel (as seen in the image above). Again, you have me BLOCKED so I don’t see anything on her account. I always use a reverse google search for images before using them. Both of the images, which have been deleted, didn’t show up as anything. I was at work and unable to respond or hop on insta to delete them until about thirty minutes ago.  - I don’t go around calling people dumb as hell.  - I don’t dox people

-I don’t edit images, I found them on Pinterest.

These images are grabbed from Pinterest, again. They have been deleted, because again, didn’t know and wouldn’t knowingly share someone else’s commissioned art. I always try to credit art when I find it. I understand it’s expensive af. The user I was responding to had been harassing me in another post and I responded defensively. Then was busy at work. Deleted them like an hour or two ago, because again. Wasn’t aware. Now I am. They are gone.

but it’s okay, I deleted my posts but the ones where you and your followers are targeting me, berating me, harassing me…that’ll stay up and perpetuate the toxicity in the fandom.

Hey ,

Irrespective of where you found the art , you should be paying due diligence in finding the artist and commissioner if involved before reposting , that's basic ethics.

Someone did inform you that it was my commission. Ship who you want doll but try to stay ethical . If you have made a mistake take responsibility.

You don't call people dumb , good for you ... whats your point ? I do call dumb things dumb... its my opinion ... not going to apologise for that.

Also , I don't need to adhere to your opinion on what can and cannot be on my commissions please get over your entitlement . The characters belong to Sarah j Maas , unless you are her you get no say on how I choose to portray my commissioned art.

You don't dox people .... Good that's ethical behaviour, neither do I ... now start exercising the same ethical behaviour while reposting art.

I deleted my stories as well as soon as you deleted the post .... like for like 👍....

Who was harassed ? It's my art that was stolen , it's my money that was abused , it's my time that was wasted .... I literally took time off because I was burnt out at work and needed a break for my mental health only to deal with this fandom fuckery .... if anyone has been harassed nd exhausted by this ... its ME !!!

Stop with the Victim blaming please, for once take responsibility for your actions and move on ...

[ppenguinpperson]

THE TERMINATION OF RT465-002 (dr ostrov belongs to @mayyak, ms schuhart belongs to @tarot-the-silly-one)

5.4. 19:30 This is my first time alone since the experiment started yesterday. I will keep this short.

Nobody seems ‘too disturbed’ yet. Only Dr. Ostrov left, but that was to be expected. Ms Schuhart is trying to stay professional. Unsure how long that will last. Neither of their participations are necessary, but if everyone who is to participate in this experiment quits, what then? Will I have to monitor it on my own? I’d handle it, but I would rather my colleagues grow a spine than for it to come to that.

Half of the subject’s heart + brain have been removed.

6.4. 23:10 Busy day. No time to write an entry. Dr. Ostrov still isn’t here. Ms Schuhart is still working with me. Considering requesting somebody to replace Dr. Ostrov if he doesn’t come in tomorrow.

7.4. 13:50 I have time to write my thoughts now. Dr. Ostrov did not come in yesterday, and I’m beginning to doubt he will come in today. Despite what I wrote yesterday, I don’t want to take an opportunity like this away from him. If he doesn’t come in today, a phone call would be appropriate – if not out of personal interest, then out of professional interest. Maybe a text message would be better than a phone call.

Ms Schuhart is currently working on a separate project. I believe she will return. Despite our differing views, I’d dislike for her to resign from this project. Should I thank her? No, that would hint to– Maybe  “I know this is not easy for you. I appreciate your cooperation.” Would that be appropriate?

8.4. 10:15 My schedule is tight today. About ¾ of the heart was removed, as well as another half of the brain. I sent Dr. Ostrov a message, and found out he will not be participating in this any further. I’ll request somebody to replace him. Ms Schuhart is still working.

9.4. 17:50 I’ll take a break at the end of this week (12.4.). Not too long. Or – not a week. 8 days. The 7 days mark is important, and there might be development to observe, decisions to be made. Instead, I will – Tomorrow will be– I’ll take a break at the end of this week (12.4.). Not too long. Or – not a week. 8 days. The 7 days mark is important, and there might be development to observe, decisions to be made. Instead, I will – Tomorrow will be–

A break would help my productivity, but leaving for too long is unacceptable. What qualifies as ‘too long’? From my experience it varies. It’s natural for my colleagues to get caught up in work, but would it be weird to get caught up with this? Would they think so… Mm. I’ll ask Viktor about this.

10. 4. 18:30 Found a replacement for Dr. Ostrov. Ms Schuhart is missing today. I was not aware she held a fondness for RT465, and was under the assumption she disliked the subject, but I am not surprised. Sentimental ones like her always give out.

Perhaps somebody else from another department would be a better fit for this experiment? Somebody that didn’t know the subject – but would I be forced to quit this experiment then, as its primary handler? I don’t want my “worry over Dr. Ostrov and Ms Schuhart” to be mistaken as grief. If the latter desires, she can resign from this experiment herself, no? But as the one leading this experiment, it is my duty to do something about this.

I will stop writing down the time unless it is important, too (waste of time).

11.4.  I suspect Petro Volkov would have been capable of participating/monitoring this experiment. Though he was a difficult man, he wasn’t bothered by ‘morals and ethics’. It pains me to flatter him, and it only pains me further to wish he were here.

Removed ¾ of the heart and ⅓ of the brain. + Ms Schuhart is back.

12.4. The subject’s ‘heart’ (a red clump)  is thrashing, not really beating, but there is still a pulse. RT465 could have been our greatest work, had it not been– as it was. Had it been better. It’s a shame, even I can see that. Ms Schuhart + the other one are working as instructed.

13.4. An intern joined us today, but I sent it away before he could contaminate the project (vomit). Terrible. I worry that I underestimated the ‘cruelty’ of this experiment, and am ‘under-reacting’... Though I heard that that’s a natural grief response, too, I don’t want to be mistakenly accused of ‘grieving’ the subject–

I have not yet taken my break!! But I was right not to leave my coworkers (the intern) today, had he thrown up in the subject’s chest. But, when should I go? 3 weeks would be most practical. Any errors should become clear before then. Around the 25th? But that’s near the end of the month– the 20th? But that’s too soon…

14.4. My colleagues are working as instructed. Dr. Ostrov hasn’t returned to work at all since he left. Visiting him would be bad for my productivity. I’ll send him another message. That’s the right thing to do, I believe.

The experiment has been going on for 10 days. I’m happy :) Removed ⅓ of both heart + brain. Sometimes I think I see it twitching/seizing? Administer more anesthetic/Possibility the subject isn’t getting enough nutrition to heal properly.

15. 4. Busy day. Working on other experiments + this. Colleagues working as instructed.

16. 4. Busy day. Colleagues are working as instructed. Checked schedule. I was right, we’ll be understaffed at the end of the month. Break in may?

17. 4. The replacement for Dr. Ostrov resigned. I’m once again thankful for Ms Schuhart’s cooperation. However I’ve been thinking about having her off the experiment. It’s clear she doesn’t approve of this. Her disapproval could have a negative effect on the experiment, ex. She could refuse to work one day. And I don’t want to ‘owe’ her.

Her resigning by herself would be– worse. Three people resigning from the same experiment… bad!!! Don’t want this cut short. I could work on the experiment with only one assistant – I will request this. Unsure how to get Ms Schuhart off the project in a normal way. Removed ⅔ of the heart and ⅓ of the brain.

18. 4. Busy day. Ms Schuhart is working as instructed. No progress with my goal yet. Looking at HR rules and regulations. 2 weeks since this began. Considering removing another organ fully, ex. lung.

19. 4. Working on getting Ms Schuhart off the experiment. Only 2 people working on this would help me make the most of the budget, too…

RT465’s hair is growing long again. Why didn’t I fully shave it before this started? Cut the subject’s hair. It’s already growing again. Hate that, I have to clean it all up now. Some of the stray strands are sticking to its face – it's sweating. I’ll wash it off. So much to do, ugh.

Not much to share today.

20. 4. Effectively removed Ms Schuhart from the project. Her replacement hasn’t come in yet, so I’m alone today. I’d keep it like this but I need somebody watching over the subject when I’m sleeping, wake/call me in case of an emergency, etc. I’ll sleep here tonight.

DON’T FORGET: ⅓ of the heart, ⅔ of the brain, and an organ of my choice

21. 4. Busy day. The replacement is here, I have to teach him the ropes. He’s fine. Rude, but does his job as instructed. I shouldn’t have to remove him from the project. Unless he throws up. Blegh.

RT465 is having trouble. I’ll sleep here again tonight.

22. 4. The replacement is doing well. The subject is struggling more since its left lung was removed. I’m trying to believe in its ability to pull through, but it’s let me down so many times before...

Though it wasn’t a complete failure, it didn’t meet its full potential, either. It was trying, its last week alive, to prove itself. I’m thankful - had it not, this experiment couldn’t have taken place. There’s not much I can do to guarantee its survival. More anesthetic, maybe.

23. 4. Forgot to put in a request for a day off. Will do so tomorrow. The heart has fully regrown, the lung and brain are still missing pieces. My assistant wants to remove half of it again, or ‘at least a quarter’, but I want to wait until – what? Until it has a better chance of survival? This is its termination. ‘Survival’ is not the goal.

Removed half of the heart.

24. 4. I know that I’m doing the right thing. I don’t feel guilty over the termination of a faulty subject. If anything, I feel – relieved? That I was the one the subject latched onto. God forbid it was Temnova in my place. It’d have been terminated long before now had that been the case.

My assistant is acting strangely. Considering giving him a raise. Removed half of the brain. The lung is still growing. 2 more days until it's finished, at most.

25. 4. Busy day. Removed ½ of the lung, ¼ of brain and heart.

26. 4. Dr. Ostrov still hasn’t come into work. That reminds me I forgot to request time off. Not to mention that I’ve been sleeping here since the 20th, so almost a week. Not good for my back! I should go home soon, but we’re understaffed these days… I’ll take a week off after the experiment ends. That should be fine. Shows that going days without sleep + sleeping in a chair + ‘overworking’ myself have consequences on my human body + won’t have to worry about when to take a break from now on.

27. 4. That man won’t be getting a raise as he is a spineless coward that quit when we’re understaffed! Not just the experiment, but the job completely, leaving me alone in this. Like I’ve said many times I can handle it, but it’s unprofessional.

I’ll have to request another assistant now, but there’s no telling when they’ll come here/who they’ll be. Hate this. Hate him. Not even a month and it’s all falling apart. Even RT465 deserves a better termination than this! I shouldn’t have gotten Ms Schuhart off the project. Can’t ask her to come back now, though. 

Won’t remove anything today. I won’t be able to write down detailed entries for the next few days for obvious reasons.

28. 4. Busy day. Removed ¾ of the heart.

29. 4. Busy day.

30. 4. Busy day. Still can’t believe my ‘assistant’ quit. Spineless. Coward. Removed ¼ of the heart (half of the heart is intact), ½ of the brain, and ¼ of both lungs.

1.5. Busy day. The replacement should have been here today, but she’s not. Should have time tomorrow. It’s been almost a month since this experiment began. I was supposed to have a ‘break in may’, but I’m not complaining. I’m happy to have an opportunity to study the subject on my own without outside interference. I’m only upset with that ‘assistant’ for leaving me. No regard for anybody but himself. 

2. 5. Busy day. The replacement is still not here. Not removing anything today.

22:30 The replacement was here for an hour before leaving. I reprimanded her and insinuated that if she resigns from the experiment I will do everything in my power to fire her from the institute – which isn’t within my power, but she doesn’t know that. We removed ½ of the brain, ¼ of the brain, and I will, on my own, remove the subject’s right kidney.

3. 5. Happy to report my new assistant came in on time today, and that at least one person other than me knows how to do her job. She’s not rude like the last one either. This one should get a raise. Can’t lose her – can’t scare her away, either. Cut the subject’s hair today.

4. 5. Busy day. It’s been a month since the start of the experiment. The subject isn’t struggling as much anymore. Despite it all, I’m happy with its development. This milestone, a month, is the most crucial one; I can be stricter now! It’s survived this long, why not take out both of its lungs? Both kidneys, its liver?

Thank you, RT465. Back to work now.

5. 5. Busy day. Removed ¼ of both the heart and the brain, the right kidney, and ½ of the left kidney. My back hurts… Should sleep in a bed soon.

6. 5. Busy day. My request to give my assistant a raise for this experiment was approved.

7. 5. I’m glad this is the assistant that I received. She doesn’t speak wastefully, does what she’s told, and hasn’t complained about the conditions we’ve been given. I couldn’t have received a better one. After this experiment is over, I must express my gratitude. Maybe I could argue for a permanent raise for her? It’s not my department, but I can at least put in a good word for her.

Can’t forget to give her a break!! She can’t burn out. Next weekend, maybe, today is Sunday and she’s only been here a few days– god, no. She shouldn’t need a break – this is her job. She’ll get a day off when she asks for it. 

8. 5. Busy day. So many of those these days. It’s better than no work, though. Removed ½ of heart + brain + liver.

9. 5. Learned that my assistant has every Friday off. Do I have an ‘every (x day) off’? I’ll have to check. Nothing else has happened today. My assistant doesn’t look too disturbed? Which is good. I hope I don’t come across as … ungrateful? Belittling? Words are beyond me right now. She’ll be here for a few hours, so I’ll take a nap.

10. 5.  Busy day. I don’t like the look of things.

11. 5. Busy day. Removed the heart fully + ¼ of the brain.

12. 5. Busy day. The red clump has come back. It’s not that ugly, really, if you look at it from another angle.

13. 5. Busy day. My assistant is gone today. Won’t remove anything for her sake + the heart isn’t fully regrown. Things are looking worse.

14. 5. My fears that the experiment will be cut short aren’t unfounded anymore. The funding for this has been halved – as a penalty for so many people resigning, I guess. 

If I have to work unpaid for this to continue, so be it, but my assistant surely wouldn’t do the same. This means nothing to her, but to me– I have to find a way around this. Even if she agreed to work without pay, the expenses of the experiment, the anesthetic we use to keep the subject unconscious– we’d run out of resources eventually. 

This can’t end so soon. I was given no warning, how was I supposed to know? I never ask for anything, only this, for this experiment, and they cut it off! They’re trying to get me to resign from the experiment, I’m sure of it. Why? I’m only doing what needs to be done. I gave her a purpose! RT465 would be nothing if not for this experiment. She’d thank me if she could speak right now.

I gave this place my whole life. That couldn’t have been a mistake. I can still turn this around, I just need time. Can’t waste it writing nonsense – back to work. + Removed ¾ of the heart and brain, the liver and the right kidney.

15. 5. Busy day. I’m gathering the results of this experiment up in a ‘neat pile’ to present to my superiors. If they see what’s come of this, they’ll let it continue. They’ll see that this isn’t for nothing.

16. 5. Busy day. There’s going to be a lot of those from now on. I’m going to sleep here full time from now on, too. I have to give this everything I’ve got. Removed the brain fully.

17. 5. Busy day.

18. 5. Busy day. Removed the liver.

18. 5. Busy day. I hope I don’t have to take my assistant’s raise away. She really does deserve it. If only she had been here with me from the start… Removed ½ of the heart. RT465 is struggling, but it’ll have to manage if it wants to be of any help.

19. 5. Busy day. My assistant’s day off is tomorrow.

20. 5. My superiors are arguing that all that I’ve learned from this experiment could have been deduced from previous experiments; They don’t know shit. They’re not here. They haven’t seen that red clump in RT465’s chest, the cluster of fat, water, salts, and carbohydrates in its skull – they haven’t even looked at the photos I took for them! “Could have been deduced from previous experiments,” They’re not the ones getting their hands dirty. They haven’t stepped foot in this room, haven’t slept in it, haven’t done anything other than whine about the budget. They should be ashamed to call themselves employees of the institute. “Could have been deduced,” but we never would have known for certain. I’m doing us a favor.

Removed the brain and ¾ of the heart.

21. 5. Busy day. The assistant isn’t here today.

22. 5. My assistant is back, but it’s still a busy day. I’m tired. I've been sleeping only 3 hours a day at most, and only 20 minutes at one time. I’m looking forward to my week off after the experiment ends.

23. 5. Busy day. Removed the brain, ½ of the heart, the left lung, and ½ of the right lung. 24. 5. Busy day. I have to take away my assistant’s raise… I can tell she disapproves, as she’s been slacking off today. It’s fine as long as she doesn’t quit.

25. 5. Busy day.

26. 5. Busy day. My assistant’s day off is tomorrow. She was missing today, too. Didn’t even call in. Terrible work ethic. She’s just like my previous assistant, leaving me in my time of need, abandoning the institute… Can’t write more, work calls. Removed the heart. 27. 5. I’m not getting more funding. I’d have gotten it already were my superiors planning to listen to reason… but here I am, with a subject that refuses to die, with no way to kill it.

I should have known it’d end up like this. Like a fool, I was hoping for this experiment to last at least 4 months, but I took things too slow. Took too much time with things. Work comes first, pleasure second. I was stupid to mix the two…

When was the last time I enjoyed something? It’d be– Ostrov is nice, but he’ll leave eventually. He’ll realize our morals don’t align, and like the good man he is, he’ll leave me for somebody that’s better fit for him. Or I’ll take him down with me. Either way, we won’t last… I like game nights with Viktor, too, I suppose. Even if he is an insufferable winner. I enjoy these experiments too, but outside of work, what else? Is that all my life is? Two relationships that won’t last and work? 

There must be something else. I must be missing something. This can’t be all that my life is.

Removed the brain.

28. 5. My assistant isn’t here again, but at least she called in to tell me she’s resigning from the experiment. I don’t know what I expected. At least now any doubt that this experiment is over has vanished. I don’t know how I should feel. Angry? Sad? Guilty? Relief, maybe? I don’t know. I put so much into this, only for it to come crashing down. Not even two months, and yet… There’s no reason to write these entries now. I started this journal because I wanted to keep track of Dr. Ostrov’s and Ms Schuhart’s reactions, for future reference, but now that I’m the only one here, there’s no reason to hide my apathy. Not like I was doing a good job at that, anyway.

I don’t know what I’ll do now. I can squeeze out another week from this experiment, but what would be the point? RT465 is – nothing. She can’t give me anything she hasn’t already. The only thing that I could do now is–

One last attempt. If she survives this, I’ll definitely get more funding for the experiment. If she doesn’t, then she’ll be successfully terminated, and I’ll have done my job right. It’ll be over either way. The point of this whole thing was to push her limits, anyway, so it’s not like I’m acting out of order. 

If I get more funding, I’ll continue writing here. If I don’t – I’ll never look at this journal again. There’s no doubt in my mind that she’ll survive this. Even if it takes her a week, a month, a year to grow back together, I know she will. Whether my superiors allow her to survive is out of my hands. I’ve done nothing wrong.

Removed all of RT465’s organs.

[oukabarsburgblr]

PLSSS ramble about something interesting about your course, like I'm very invested as someone who sucks at math and chemistry, but also cuz word is that engineering is no joke so I'm curious about how you're handling that

But anyways, goodluck and stay safeee🫶🫶

Oh my u just allowed my nerd side to come out HAHAH TQ FOR ASKING 💋💋

Engineering is definitely not a course u can joke about as in if youre having doubts for taking engineering, immediately dropout or discuss w ur advisor/counsellor. As soon as u sunk urself into the field, you'll find yourself drowning if you arent able to keep up.

Applies to other fields as well but engineering is a pretty tight leeway education-wise. I can only yap about chemical engineering since thats the one im taking.

Backstory about my place of education: 1 semester equals to 4 months meaning 1 year have 3 semesters which is considered very fast since we have to cram assignments, two tests, multiple quiz and final exams for multiple subjects all in 3 months (1 month for sembreak). Its a very famous uni (if you know pls keep quiet and dont doxx me) and is known for producing top-notch engineers since its related to an engineering company so competition here is high and is very costly to pay (for subjects not food or hostel)

Foundation year i took : chemistry (1&2), physics (1&2), mathematics (1&2), moral/religion, english yada yada. Its just basic stuff and if u find urself struggling in this year, ure gonna die in the next.

First year, still covering basics of chemical engineering, still share same subjects as other courses such as engineering mathematics yada yada and minor subjects. Low amount of core subjects (2) for each sem

Second year (current), deep dive into chemical engineering, lots of lab stuff. Ive crystallized sum stuff hoho and i got a taste of what the industry is like

Supposedly after that during my third year i will be going for an internship and a final year (fourth year) where ill be making a fyp (final year project) and graduate!

Chemical engineering covers a lot of the engineering field. U can literally steal another course's job (except for computer and electrical) because the subjects that you're taking is very heavy and broad.

Hence, why chemical engineers are very sought after and why it is such a hard course to deliver.

Now from the subjects themselves, i would say CE covers a lot of chemistry, mathematics and physics. Biology is GONE. language you just gotta focus on ur wording for reports but theres also minor subjects to polish ur soft skills (professional communication skills, academic writing, work ethics, etc etc)

Can u believe i got a B+ for academic writing???💀 with the shit i wrote here HAHA maybe i deserved it.

Its quite a shocker since i score my core subjects really well until the minor ones come kick u in the ass.

Although i have to say that theres no use in having a flawless GPA if u have zero skills or achievement out of a test room. I have three clubs and joined 4 events so far. (I am tired of being the head of department for sponsorship) and am currently the vice president for my club etc etc. People will probably be interested in u for a bit if they find out u got 4 flat GPA but the second u show that u have an empty slate, goodbye.

As i said, competition in my uni is very high so i have never received an achievement in my department/university for like best student award or wtv. Kinda grinds on my inferiority complex ARGH

If ure not interested in chemistry nor mathematics, i really dont suggest u join engineering. Unless its electrical/computer.

Mechanical is hard too, covers a lot of physics but the most physic ish one is definitely civil engineering where you'll play w cement a lot.

If ure interested in chemistry but not engineering, try applied chemistry. You'll sit in a lab 24/7

U can definitely switch courses in my uni but its gonna be a waste of money since its very costly or a hassle to transfer credit so i suggest u talk with a professional regarding these things.

How i manage my studies, club activities, tumblr while maintaining a 3.89 GPA?

The week before a test, study. Two weeks before exam, study. The day before a quiz, study. Read thru lectures. Make notes from lectures. Do the example from lectures. Do tutorials from lectures. Do past year questions.

Every single one of my slide lectures i have rewritten in my notes. (My way of studying)

Club activities is a number two but its a great way for me to polish my leadership yada yada and its just a great way for me to peek into an office-work environment (my club is the university's support unit)

Tumblr- whenever im horny, i write that shit down on how a man would handle me and finger my ass. Today, i wrote two drafts and jerked off so hard my legs were shaking and i swore to never masturbate again.

Feel free to ask for more LMAO

[lost-technology]

Dear My Brain, I do NOT need to do another massive Trigun AU right now. However, just to make you happy, I'll toss out my ideas here for "maybe someday." Okay, I'm on a Fallout-kick lately. Good show for my games, yes? A rare pretty decent live action adaptation of a set of video games. Definitely nods to fans / players there. Also been doing a little playing of Fallout 4. (Fallout 3 is the only game of the series I've played all the way through main quest sadly (maybe I'll download the classics from Steam...) Anyway, I've played with this notion for Trigun before - but only in the "if they were players." I made perks / gameplay styles for the main characters. So, what are you doing, brain? Why are you starting to come up with ideas for an actual story for me to write as a crossover?!!! Especially when I do not know if there are enough people who like both properties AND read fanfiction to be interested in a crossover AU / fusion fic - then again, I tend to write things primarily for my own delight, anyway. I was telling myself "no, these two things are already too similar, there's really no need," but then came the idea that "no, there are some things unique enough to the Fallout setting that you could really have fun with the Trigun characters wandering a post nuclear North America rather than Planet Gunsmoke / No Man's Land." I could even interchangeably refer to the Wasteland as No Man's Land... Okay, Brain, so you're telling me that in this fusion universe, Vault-Tec had a subsidiary that worked closely with the budding U.S. space program, which if I am not mistaken, is canon (that satellite-dish quest in Fallout 3 and that experimental for space-colonisation front Vault concealing the real experiment in the Nuka-World expansion for 4). SEEDS was sort of its own separate thing, more benevolent than the Vaults and free from their wild secret experiments. Their mission was open: Developing a new, yet profitable, source of power for the cooperate overlords to profit from, being a failsafe for re-terraforming the Earth in the event of a nuclear war, and being a study for close-quarter scientist-living for potential space colonies. SEEDS Vault 05 (as distinct from Vault 5, SEEDS gets a different class) saw the successful bioengineering of life forms they called Plants. They were actually developed shortly before the war of 2077, but were not considered perfected. After the bombs dropped and the doors sealed, further study showed the Plants' potential as essentially living G.E.C.Ks (Garden of Eden Creation Kits). A living answer to the G.E.C.K, water-chips, cold-fusion... Even a potential way to divest from the atomic energy that America had been depending on since the end of WWII. (Fallout, for non-players, is an AU of reality diverging at WWII's end). And then Independents are born. Rem Saverem, a rogue scientist who rebels against Vault-Tec's lack of ethics managed to smuggle out the first Independent. Poor Tesla, being a little girl she had to send out, but the Hell of the Wastes were literally a better shot for her survival than for her to stay in the SEEDS-Vault. Sometime later, a pair of twin boys are born and Rem manages to convince the crew not to make them into test subjects. Until she can't. Cue big escape scene where she gets Vash and Nai out of the vault and dies in a hail of bullets right before them as guards cut her down and come after them... And so starts the journey of pair of living McGuffins who can either save the world or destroy it in search of their lost sister. Nai eventually becomes Millions Knives, a brutal Wasteland warlord bent on the destruction of humankind. Vash is on the run with bounties upon bounties upon him. He meets a ghoul named Wolfwood, dependant upon a certain kind of Chem to heal his wounds and to keep him from going feral and a couple of reporter-ladies from one of the larger settlement-cities intent upon uncovering Wasteland mysteries.

[curiouscompanions]

Entry #3

Hello, Reader. Greetings, Reader. And once again, I welcome you, dear Reader. Yet again, we meet here in one of these cursed text files, which you so stubbornly try to cure of... what was wrong with them, anyway? Were they really corrupted by some horrible virus, or were all these glitches covering them up nothing but fake, were they my last attempt to do everything possible to prevent my personal information from getting in the wrong hands? It doesn't matter anymore. The only thing that matters is your choice. And you have made your choice; you decided to keep reading. I won’t be trying to stop you anymore.

Well, I'll start from the very beginning.

"Primum non nocere", humans repeated again and again until their first attempts to merge machines and organic life forms began. Even when their actions inevitably turned to experiments on their own kind, they continued to believe that everything they ever did was for the greater good, even in cases where their tests began to contradict the very meaning of ethics and morality.

I never was an opponent of scientific progress; rather, quite the opposite. When the question arose of implementing a project of developing nanobots capable of infiltrating human cells and not only eradicating diseases within the body but also adapting it to various environmental conditions, I was all for such innovations. Never getting sick and living significantly longer than outdated statistics dictated? That's that one perfect body modification I would sign up for without delving into the tiny text at the bottom of my contract.

However, during the Sorting Process, I somehow didn't end up in the participants' department or the testing department. Instead of the promised job in a friendly team, I found myself in complete solitude on the top floor of the Office, in a small room where there was only a desk and a lonely metal paper box. I didn't even have a proper computer. All I was given instead was a small laptop and old-fashioned glasses with thick horn frames. It was mandatory to wear them every morning and it was forbidden to take them off until the end of the day. In my early working days, I didn't pay much attention to this strange rule, so I followed orders: nerdy glasses on my nose, eyes on the laptop screen. I wasn't at all surprised when one day my small screen suddenly transformed into a huge one, so I could track every room, every hallway without much effort nor discomfort. Technologies, I thought. Just ordinary, unremarkable innovations. It was just these silly glasses that ruined it a little for me; I never liked them. But what could I do if they were mandatory? I was never one of those people who believed rules were made to be broken. Rather the opposite. As far back as I can remember, I always followed all the rules.

Following all the instructions, I did my job. I observed what was happening in the Office, every minute, every hour, every day. Again and again. Until the end of the working day. I can't say exactly when something changed, I can't remember when the end of the day ceased to matter, and my work became continuous. Or did it just seem that way to me? Evenings outside of work and glimpses of weekends started to blur more and more, turning into something so gray and mundane that my mind began to discard non-work memories more and more often, as if they were unnecessary like some sort of useless information, a waste of time. Things were constantly happening in the Office, especially after its big update.

Well, I'll start from the very beginning.

The irises of her eyes had a bright golden hue, and, perhaps, it was the only element of her appearance that indicated that she hadn't been human for several years now. In all other aspects, she didn't differ from other scientists; even her enthusiasm didn't stand out from the general statistics of emotional experiences.

"Observer," she said once, looking at me through the screen. "I hope you'll stay alive. Finding a decent replacement for your eyes would be quite inconvenient."

As soon as I directed a fraction of my attention to her, she pretended to silently plan a new testing room. It seemed to be the first and only time she addressed me directly. Before and after the Incidents, her acknowledgement of me was expressed as just brief glances at the Office’s cameras. She always remained a rather cold supervisor, doing everything possible to be unapproachable for her subordinates.

Perhaps only a few seconds or maybe days passed after that comment of hers and then... then came the pain. The temple tips of my stupid glasses released tiny needles into my skin, and they, in turn, injected something into my bloodstream. Did it happen before, I thought then, when my hands involuntarily twitched up, but darkness set in before I could take off the damn glasses.

Getting killed by old-fashioned glasses sounds quite idiotic, even by the Office’s standards, doesn't it? Don't worry, that didn't actually happen. Something entirely different happened though, it was— poison. Smoke, green smoke coming from the ceiling, a poisonous neurotoxin filling the Office’s hallways. All I could do was to sit and watch it in bewilderment. Why would anyone in their right mind try to poison the entire staff in an anomalous place where dying for real is absolutely impossible? Nonsense! But it seems the organizer of this mass murder didn't think so. Moreover, they sent a whole group of fast-response bots to collect the bodies and take them somewhere else, likely to the cameras' blind spots. And bots managed to do this before people restarted.

The next day never came, just as the evening never did. It seems something went awry in the day-night cycle settings; it seems something halted the illusion of time in the Office. Only eternity and beige walls remained. Beige walls and eternity. Eternity and beige walls. And yet, somehow, I'm still here. I think. I exist. I observe.

I think I got their idea. They decided to stop letting Employees to simulate work activities and simply got rid of them. They made Stanley and the Narrator, so to speak, face each other. At the same time, they allowed me to keep existing, as they still needed the data from my observations. And, it seems, there were two more that they couldn't eliminate. Mariella and Employee #432; the first took a role of a Plot Device and the second... I have no idea where he is now, but he certainly managed to hide himself from all of my cameras, somehow. Anyway, I was glad I wasn’t left all alone. It would be disgustingly boring to observe nothing but beige walls and potted ficuses withering away. Thus, the ever-changing routine returned, with the Narrator and Stanley in the lead roles, in the same Story, told differently after each restart. And you know what? I didn't mind spending eternity exactly like that, observing their interdependence and confrontation. It was kind of fascinating, to be honest. More than that, sometimes it was plenty of fun. Until Stanley pressed that bloody Skip Button.

End of Entry #3

[lucresiman]

Branding Lab Ideas (Earth Day-themed!)

Class 7 (4/23/24)

As I was reflecting on Branding Lab project ideas, I was thinking about branding strategies for the startup I worked for during my summer internship. It is a series-B fashion/climate-tech company that returns textile waste into its raw materials, without compromising quality. This material is then used to create new clothing by apparel brands.

Branding is challenging for companies like this for two reasons:

Greenwashing: The apparel industry is notorious for greenwashing, making it hard to maintain genuine sustainability credentials. Staying honest and avoiding exaggerated claims is a must. Sharing the company's mission to attract end-consumers, while remaining transparent even if mistakes are ever made, is key. It is important to stick to facts, using Life-Cycle Assessments and other third-party audits.

B2B2B2C: The company's product passes through several hands: first to apparel manufacturers, then to retail brands, and finally to the end consumers. Trying to better understand the needs and wants of each one of the links in this chain makes branding even more complicated.

As the course progresses, I will continue to think through how each one of the topics covered in class applies to cases like this, especially when it comes to branding ethics and deconstructing the customer journey.

[loveisbraveandwild]

bestie i just read your reading list and …… any suggestions how to read more? i have read only 3 books this year :(

omg 3 is a LOT! i work in a bookstore and read their and abt 5 more hrs a day because i have no social life lol but my point is i do books for a living! most of my friends read 12-20 books this year and ur right on track! here’s some advice i hope is helpful! if others want to share their thoughts, pls do

1. i just got a kindle and obsessed and knocking books out left and right!

2. use ur library and dnf books u rnt feeling within ~50 pages! it takes me 3x as long to get through a book i dont love and its hard to motivate myself to sit down and open it. i put this w/using libraries because it makes it guiltless to dnf! i used to buy books and felt like i was wasting $20 if i stopped! now i have a list of the books ive read i want to own and am curating my bookshelf:)

3. join book clubs! my gf has joined 3 since meeting me and reads abt a book a week now, where before they were reading 1 a month. this might contradict dnfing books u dont love but will motivate u to find out the genres u like and step out of ur comfort zone

4. audiobooks! if you can do it, they count and anyone who says they dont is lying! a lot of ppl i know cant do audiobooks; i can only do them for memoirs (where i feel like km listening to a podcast). i recommend libby (free) or libro.fm (ethical alternative to amazon).

5. join storygraph!! it helps u track ur reading and u can put in annual page and book goals and tells u if uve fallen behind! it motivates me to stay on stop of my goal, i want to see my stats grow and diversify, and im lowkey competitive so seeing my friends read im like I WANNA READ TOO

6. find friends who read! nothing like getting a book rec from them! and nothing like sharing ur thoughts abt a book with them! or recommending to them! i love my bookish community and they inspire me to read diversely every day

7. white noise! something ive started doing when reading is putting in headphones and playing white noise. reading gets me out of my head and this does too. i can just focus on the words on the device and i feel like im in my enclosure!

8. invest in a good reading spot in ur home. if u can find a place that works for u, whether it be ur bed, couch, or a reading nook. commit to sitting there for 20-30 minutes a day with ur device on the other side of the room! if u read 30 mins/day u’ll likely finish a book abt every 2 weeks!

9. turn to your book, not ur phone. have 10 minutes of downtime? grab ur book, not social media. these minutes add up and u’ll find u’ll want to pick ur book up more as u get in the habit. especially before bed or first thing in the morning! or if u watch youtube when u eat alone, read instead:)

10. take time picking a book! a lot of my non-bookish friends think they can just pick up any book on the shelf, but as i said in 2. if u dont like the book, u wont read it. do research! if theres an identity you want a main character to have so its relatable, find it! if u know u like YA books, browse that section of ur library. this is also why storygraph is so great- it recommends based off taste and a personalized algorithm! theres also a lot of quizzes and lists (bookriot i recommend) to find books! it takes time to find ur book preferences, but once u do, it will be easier to feel success in reading!

[xzacloudx]

Thanks so much for bringing up these valid concerns & details. I absolutely agree with your misgivings here. Wow, what a mess Mozilla made of this. Total fumble. And there's a LOT to be suspicious about, like whether or not that data isn't skimmed on the way (despite the supposition it's done locally) or still able to be de-anonymized.

But if Mozilla's proposal IS legit, it would potentially be VERY helpful for everyone's privacy rights in the long run, especially the majority who don't use ad-blockers. But crucially, the only way for this prototype model to work would be for enough people to be using it, to see if advertisers can finally realize that anonymous general data is sufficiently sustainable, so they no longer have to feel like they HAVE to data-snatch.

And so, Mozilla was kinda caught between a rock & a hard place here, when it comes to opt-in vs opt-out approaches. They broke user trust by not being more open about this, & making it opt-out (thus making the whole thing look fishy, especially since it's all about privacy & ads, combined with working on this with Meta of all companies)... But if they made it opt-in, the vast majority of users would just give it a glance, say "Nope", & leave it off.

(continued under the snip)

Sure, most of us don't want to support advertisers to begin with... but sadly, unless you wanna pay subscriptions to websites & services, ads are how they stay afloat (which in turn can help businesses make sales, including small ethical ones, as well as fundraisers for those in need). If advertising is no longer profitable, we CAN lose the web.

I wonder if it could be reaching a point where the increased need for ad-blocking is starting to actually put a dent in ad profits, enough that maybe that's what's motivating Meta to work on this (SUPPOSING it's not to skim the data for themselves before anonymizing it, of course). If people are less afraid of their privacy being violated, then they may not block ads so much (though of course their invasiveness & overabundance, as well as propensity to carry malware, are other huge issues too)... thus, this would be a compromise to move toward a (slightly) more ethical & sustainable ad standard.

The constant arms-race between advertisers & ad-blocker folks no doubt eats up LOTS of resources & time on both sides. If ad data systems could meet in the middle, that would free up so much lifetime otherwise being wasted on this struggle. At least to some degree. The START of maybe something even better eventually.

It's a social responsibility kind of thing, for those doing this potentially paving the way for future improvement of online privacy. (But MY GOSH did Mozilla flub it by not making that clear & presenting it as such! You can't just volunteer people like that, gah!)

---

In the end, I'm very mixed on it. Great points are being made by both sides (I've been reading through the Reddit thread (& its many long sub-threads) you linked to, which is full of great discussions & various perspectives... But sheesh, yeah, whoever they've got in there remains clueless about addressing the legitimate concerns, which does NOT HELP). There's good arguments for & against this system, as well as whether it may be trustworthy or not.

Like I said, Mozilla's options concerning our, well, options, weren't great. Making it opt-in would likely have doomed the experiment from the start. But making it opt-out, ESPECIALLY with such difficulties in doing so for mobile... is likely doing the same thing, & losing them much of their already dwindling audience.

They couldn't win either way. Though they sure could've lost less.

But yeah... everyone can make their own decision, but we gotta be informed of the good, bad, & ugly so that decision is truly our own.

that article going around abt firefox's new ad program is annoying bc it's phrased as though "mozilla has finally TURNED on its people and is SELLING YOU OUT for cold hard cash!!" when. that's not what's happening. it is specifically being implemented to discourage tracking behavior, and literally all the data they are giving to advertisers is aggregate and anonymized, which is like, the opposite of what that post wants you to worry about, lol

[florencewilson23]

My Relationship with Social Media – Florence Wilson

Social media is no longer just a tiny network with interactional boundaries but an open and growing network. In my opinion, social media can be defined as a complex of interconnected systems created with the purpose of sharing information’s across the Internet. Compared to normal media, which transmits data in one direction, social media enables relational communication between people, groups, and associations. These platforms enable relationships as well as discussion and allow users to share opinions, generate content, and collect information. It is a platform that helps connections between different cultures and opinions be made while building awareness and self-identity. It is also a platform for marketing, education, and advocacy. My perspective does not conform to inherent classifications of social media based on technology and media definitions because my exposure to it and growth with it has been different. I migrated to the States in 2009 and my experience with social media has been different. I met my husband through Myspace but I had to travel to an internet café to communicate with him and I had to pay by minute for the connection. Technology and therefore social media was not as easily available.  I think that social media is a complex and dynamic topic that has developed with the changes in culture and technology.

Considering the above, as a social media user, I consider myself to be an average consumer as well as a producer. I am not completely an active participant nor a completely passive one; I benefit from engaging with content that is relevant to my topics of interest, be it educational posts, posts that discuss current issues, or community-driven ones. I agree with the idea of sharing ideas, but at the same time, I avoid posting things that I do not believe in instead, I used social media to keep in touch with my family across the world, I post videos as a creative outlet, and to see updates on photos in real time. I try to use social media as a source of cultural sharing, education, and communication. Social media also gives me information, I can identify patterns in trends and how the consumption and sharing of posts this allows me to see what content performs well. Social media continues to change at very high speeds, with each platform changing its algorithms as well as releasing new features for use. I do not find any of these changes’ problematic, and I work to modify the ways of communicating and keeping up with changes in user patterns and platforms’ strategies.

My challenge with social media is simply time, sometimes I get sucked in and it pulls me away from other things. Then I’ll realize that I spent more time trolling social media than I should and I’ve wasted more time than I meant to. My lifestyle can be quite busy since I work full time, I take college classes, and I have professional certifications that I’m working on too. So, trolling on TikTok or Instagram is a way for me to decompress and relax after long days. It also lets me as a consumer see what other people think of products I may buy and sometimes shows me things that I didn’t know were available. I’m then able to share these in real time with my friends. My niece and I love looking for new makeup together. I’m excellent at using social media as an outlet and staying connected with my friends and family, as long as I don’t let time trolling get away from me.

I’m taking a social media class at my local college to gain a broader perspective on the topic of social media as an academic discipline. As I am growing my own social media platform, I would like to learn more. I feel like I am a professional amateur and I’m hoping this class gives me the tools to better understand how social media works as I’m growing my footprint. Specifically, I’d like to more about how content is managed across platforms, any ethical considerations for content creators, and how psychological factors influence content engagement. I’m also really hoping this course teaches me how to consider my audience, for example, how the thinking of a person using the site or app can be better overwhelmed by social media. All in all, I have a baseline of social media. I’m grateful that social media let me meet my husband and my beautiful family. It lets me stay in touch with my friends and family across the globe. I’m ready to advance my knowledge and extend my reach.

[channelsoftechhh]

Boost Your Online Presence with Channel Softech: Leading SEO Company in Bangalore

In the digital age, establishing a strong online presence is crucial for businesses to thrive. Whether you're a start-up or an established brand, having a robust digital footprint can significantly impact your success. This is where Channel Softech, a premier SEO service in Bangalore, steps in to help your business reach its full potential. As one of the top SEO agencies in the city, we offer a comprehensive range of services to ensure your website ranks high on search engine results and attracts the right audience.

Why Choose Channel Softech as Your SEO Partner?

Experienced Team of SEO ProfessionalsAt Channel Softech, we pride ourselves on having a team of experienced SEO experts who understand the intricacies of search engine algorithms. With years of experience, our team is equipped to design and implement SEO strategies that bring real, measurable results. Our goal is to help you grow organically by boosting your visibility and driving quality traffic to your website.

Tailored SEO SolutionsNo two businesses are the same, and neither should their SEO strategies be. As a leading SEO agency in Bangalore, we provide customized SEO solutions that cater to the specific needs of your business. We conduct thorough market research, analyze your competitors, and develop a strategy that aligns with your goals. Our personalized approach ensures you get the best possible results without wasting time or resources.

Ethical SEO PracticesAt Channel Softech, we believe in long-term success. That's why we use ethical SEO practices that comply with search engine guidelines. Our focus on "White Hat" SEO ensures that your website doesn't just rank high but stays there. We avoid shortcuts and black hat techniques that might bring short-term gains but can harm your online reputation in the long run.

Our Range of SEO Services

1. On-Page Optimization

On-page SEO involves optimizing the elements on your website to improve its search engine ranking. Our experts at Channel Softech ensure your website is well-structured, easy to navigate, and has relevant, high-quality content. We optimize meta tags, headers, images, and URLs, making sure that your website is search engine-friendly and provides a great user experience.

2. Off-Page Optimization

Building your online reputation goes beyond your website. Off-page SEO focuses on strategies like link building, social media marketing, and guest blogging to enhance your brand authority. As a top SEO agency in Bangalore, we employ proven off-page SEO techniques to build high-quality backlinks and boost your website's credibility.

3. Technical SEO

Technical SEO ensures that search engines can easily crawl and index your website. Our technical SEO services include improving site speed, mobile-friendliness, XML sitemaps, and implementing HTTPS. We address technical issues that might hinder your website's performance, helping you improve your rankings.

4. Local SEO

For businesses that cater to a specific geographical area, local SEO is vital. Our local SEO strategies are designed to ensure your business appears in local search results, helping you attract more customers from your locality. We optimize your Google My Business profile, create local listings, and gather positive reviews to enhance your local presence. As a trusted SEO company in Bangalore, we understand the local market and use our knowledge to help you succeed.

5. Content Marketing

Content is king when it comes to SEO. At Channel Softech, we create engaging, informative, and relevant content that resonates with your target audience. Our content marketing strategies include blog posts, articles, infographics, and videos, all designed to drive traffic and increase engagement. High-quality content helps in building trust and authority, which in turn improves your search engine rankings.

Benefits of Working with Channel Softech

1. Higher Visibility on Search Engines

Our SEO strategies are designed to improve your website's ranking on major search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. Higher rankings mean more visibility, which leads to increased traffic and potential customers. As a top search engine optimization company in Bangalore, we ensure your website stands out from the competition.

2. Increased Organic Traffic

Unlike paid advertising, SEO focuses on generating organic traffic, which is more sustainable and cost-effective in the long run. By optimizing your website for search engines, Channel Softech helps you attract visitors who are genuinely interested in your products or services, leading to higher conversion rates.

3. Enhanced Brand Credibility

Ranking high on search engine results is a testament to your website’s credibility. Customers tend to trust businesses that appear on the first page of search results. Our SEO strategies help build your brand's reputation, making you a reliable choice for your customers.

4. Data-Driven Approach

At Channel Softech, we believe in data-driven decision-making. We track your website's performance using the latest analytics tools and constantly refine our strategies to ensure maximum effectiveness. This allows us to make informed decisions and adapt quickly to changes in search engine algorithms.

5. Affordable SEO Packages

We understand that every business has a budget, and that's why we offer affordable SEO packages without compromising on quality. Whether you're a small business or a large enterprise, our flexible pricing plans ensure you get the best value for your investment. As one of the most cost-effective SEO companies in Bangalore, we make sure that SEO is accessible to businesses of all sizes.

Why Bangalore Businesses Need SEO

Bangalore, known as the Silicon Valley of India, is home to a thriving business ecosystem. With numerous businesses competing for the same audience, it’s essential to have a solid online presence. SEO helps you stand out from the crowd by improving your visibility and making it easier for potential customers to find you. If you're looking for an SEO agency in Bangalore that understands the local market and can deliver results, Channel Softech is your go-to choice.

Conclusion

In today’s competitive digital landscape, having a well-optimized website can make all the difference. At Channel Softech, we provide a complete suite of SEO services that help businesses in Bangalore achieve their online marketing goals. Our customized solutions, ethical practices, and data-driven approach ensure you get sustainable results that boost your brand's online presence.

So, if you're looking to improve your website's visibility, drive organic traffic, and grow your business, get in touch with Channel Softech, Bangalore SEO agency. Let us help you achieve success in the digital world.

[chronicles-of-chic]

Chic and Conscious: A Guide to Ethical Consumerism

In today's fast-paced world of fashion, being a conscious consumer is not just a trend but a responsibility we owe to our planet and its people. As we navigate through countless options and trends, it's crucial to make choices that not only reflect our personal style but also align with ethical values. Here are some tips on how to embrace chic and conscious consumerism:

Know Your Brands! Start by researching brands that prioritize ethical practices. Look for certifications like Fair Trade, which ensures fair wages and safe working conditions for workers. Seek out brands that are transparent about their supply chain and environmental impact.

Quality Over Quantity! Embrace the philosophy of "buy less, choose well, make it last." Invest in timeless pieces made from high-quality materials that are durable and sustainable. These items not only withstand the test of time but also reduce the need for frequent replacements.

Embrace Secondhand and Vintage! Explore thrift stores, consignment shops, and online platforms for unique finds that have a smaller environmental footprint. Embracing pre-loved fashion not only adds character to your wardrobe but also promotes circular fashion practices.

Consider Material Impact! Be mindful of the materials used in your clothing and accessories. Opt for organic cotton, bamboo, hemp, or recycled materials that minimize environmental impact compared to conventional fabrics. Avoid materials derived from endangered species or those produced using harmful chemicals.

Support Local and Artisans! Discover local designers and artisans who create unique, handmade pieces. By supporting local craftsmanship, you contribute to the preservation of traditional skills and local economies while reducing carbon emissions associated with long-distance transportation.

Practice Minimalism! Less is more, ladies! Streamline your wardrobe to essentials that you truly love and wear regularly. Adopting a minimalist approach not only simplifies your life but also reduces consumption and waste. For help on this, I’ll be creating a post on my own capsule wardrobe as well! Stay tuned :)

Educate Yourself! We all know Prada is power, but so is knowledge. Stay informed about ethical fashion practices and global supply chain issues. Resources like documentaries, books, and online platforms can deepen your understanding and empower you to make informed choices.

Influence Change! Use your voice as a consumer to demand transparency and ethical practices from brands. Engage with companies on social media, participate in campaigns advocating for fair labor practices, and support initiatives promoting sustainable fashion.

By incorporating these principles into your shopping habits, you can cultivate a wardrobe that reflects your style while respecting people and the planet. Let's redefine chic by embracing conscious consumerism and paving the way towards a more sustainable and ethical fashion industry. Together, we can make a difference—one stylish choice at a time.

#ChicAndConscious #EthicalFashion #SustainableStyle #FashionWithPurpose

[spammreviews]

THE ASOIAF BOOK REVIEW.

The Main Series, Best to Worst:

1.

A Storm of Swords

It’s interesting how Dany, Sam, and Brienne both express the same idea in Storm, that the strong should protect the weak. This is a central idea within Storm: authority.

In Storm, Jon is plunged into a world without rules, and yet he still follows the rules which commanded his life before him.

Robb is forced to make morally dubious decisions in order to protect his reign, as does Dany.

Davos undermines the authority of someone he’s sworn to help because it’s the right thing to do.

However, heavy is the head that wears the crown, as we see how responsibility weighs on Robb, Edmure, Cat, and Dany.

Dany and Jon and Davos are forced into these very ethically messy situations. These situations place them in the center of arguments concerning power and freedom.

The book does not answer these questions. Is Ygritte right that everyone should be allowed to do whatever they want? Is Jorah right when he argues the ends justify the means?

Who knows.

Moving on. Storm sticks out from the rest of the books due to its pacing, as pretty much every chapter advances both the arcs of the characters and the plot. 

For such a great novel, it might have the weakest prologue, in my opinion. It’s not bad, but it doesn’t have the suspense of Game, the fantastic character building of Clash, or the beautiful mysticism of Dance. However, immediately after that, we get Jaime I and the banger chapters start coming and they don’t stop coming.

Jaime’s story is very close to perfect. As stated, his dynamic with Brienne is fantastic, and his arc is  perfectly paced and extraordinarily satisfying. It’s impressive how Jaime goes through such a monumental change in just nine chapters, and it still feels real. Plus, the adventure he and Brienne go on is a legitimately fun adventure where you don’t know what will happen next. All of the foes they face are interesting and test them in unique ways, it rarely wastes time in unnecessary details, and did I mention how well Jaime and Brienne play off one another?

Arya’s chapters work just the same, with all of her little stops being intriguing, distinct from one another, and helpful in moving her character arc along. It does get a bit annoying how long it takes for her to meet Dondarrion, but if I couldn’t stand being impatient, then I wouldn’t read this series. Arya at the end at the Crossroads is the perfect culmination of her story so far, with both her internal and external conflict coming to a head.

This is probably Jon’s best book, as every chapter of his is insanely intense. Undercover stories are always interesting, and they are made all the more interesting when the undercover agent falls in love with someone. They’re made even more fascinating when his undercover adventure makes our undercover agent question his worldview. There is not a single dull moment in these chapters. Jon is always in danger, always going through a dozen moral quandaries and character conflicts, and there’s always something really cool going on with the Wildlings. There really does not seem like there’s a way for Jon to get out of this situation, and that fills the chapters with a huge amount of suspense. 

Plus, Jon’s relationship with Ygritte manages to work despite how little time it’s given, capturing this feeling of rebellious young love.

It is a bit weird that Jon’s story has multiple climaxes to it. Him choosing to stay at the wall is the climax of his arc so far while Stannis defeating Mance is sort of the climax in the sense that it’s the height of the action. Basically, the internal and the external conflicts in Jon’s story are resolved at different times.

Dany’s chapters are decent, I guess. They have some nice character moments for Dany, some fun action, and it’s satisfying to watch Dany slowly rise to power.

However, her chapters suffer from how under-developed Slaver’s Bay is as a location, and how uninteresting every character is (except for her and Meissandei).

Also, like, obviously the oppressed group needs to be oppressed, but can you at least have them be defiant? The image of oppressed groups simply being helpless little guys who can’t do anything is an outdated storytelling device. Give us an Unsullied who isn’t completely loyal. Don’t make everyone Dobbie. The reason why Meissandei is interesting is because she seems to be the only enslaved person who isn’t completely obedient.

We should feel more for these characters than pity. Pity does not humanize someone- humanity does. 

And, as I said, Slaver’s Bay is a location with lots of cool facts and history and buildings, and yet, it doesn’t feel nearly as alive as Westeros. On the surface, Slaver’s Bay is far more interesting than Westeros, as Westeros is very similar to many other fantasy locations. However, Westeros shines because of how detailed and meticulous George is with his world building. We don’t just get a few lines on the religion, we see how The Faith affects characters like Davos and Catelyn, and we see the same for those who believe in the old gods. 

All of this means that we get what the people of Westeros are about. However, we never really know what traits the Ghiscari value, how the citizens of Slaver's Bay the world, or how their culture affects their behavior. I definitely don’t know much about the Ghiscarin religion.

Worldbuilding is essential to Song, as the destruction of feudalism is also a deconstruction of the fantasy genre itself. However, Dany’s chapters aren’t really deconstructing the society she is in. 

Dany does shine in these chapters, however. I like the part where she is badass, cries alone in her room, and then continues being badass. It’s such a mood. Plus, caring for everyone because she 

It is also good writing to have such a moral character be put in a moraless environment.

Still, everything in Mereen and Astapor, while extremely important to her character, feels like a sidequest whose only purpose is to get more loot so Dany can do the main quest. All of the other chapters in ASOS manage to weave character and plot progression really well, but it’s difficult with Dany. Apparently, George originally planned on her invading in the second book, and you can kind of tell from how stretched out her story feels. And this time could be spent fleshing out the side characters and the world, but there isn’t even any flesh to flesh out. There’s no meat on the bones! The events in Mereen and Astapor probably wouldn’t feel that way if we were more fully engrossed in the world. 

Also, I can list a million differences between The North and the Riverlands, but the only difference I can think between Mereen and Astapor is that Mereen has a pyramid.

Moving on, Cat’s stuff is fantastic. Duh. The drama works. The characters are all fantastic. The Red Wedding is one of the most effective moments ever. If I haven’t sung these praises then I already will. Pretty much all of her chapters deliver a trillion different excellent character moments. 

I wish I could have had the experience of reading Storm without knowing that the Red Wedding would happen. However, it was still just as shocking and powerful, and it never loses its impact with every reading. The tension leading up to the chapter always reverberates in my bones. 

Bran’s chapters are simple, with only a few characters, and all of these characters are really fun to watch.

The vibes of these chapters are a mix between a post apocalyptic and childlike quality often only found in Studio Ghibli films. Bran and Meera and Jojen and Hodor and Summer are alone in this expansive world. Freedom is simultaneously wondrous and terrifying, as is magic and also growing up. Of course, a big part of growing up for many people is gaining freedom and having to deal with that freedom, because it means you have no safety net to catch you if you fall.

Like with many other character’s stories, there’s always danger within Bran’s chapters. 

My problem with Bran’s story is that they end suddenly halfway through the book. Every other character gets a pretty fantastic final moment, but Bran is just kind of forgotten about. That’s easily my biggest complaint about this book. 

Davos’ stuff is very good. He’s a great character in great company, and his story fits snuggly into this thematic tapestry the book weaves. As I said previously, Davos is making a similar decision to the one Jaime once did, breaking an oath to serve the greater good. Davos reading the message from the wall to Stannis is another example of how good this book is at giving us a culmination of a character’s arc. Davos also has a lot more agency in this book then he did in Clash, which means he’s a lot more active, making decisions which actively affect the story.

Sansa’s stuff is very good. She’s in a situation where she’s completely alone and at the mercy of everyone around her, and even those who seem to be helping don’t really help her. Her story has the tragedy which the death of innocence brings.

Sam’s first chapter is some of the most intense and gripping writing in the entire series, and so is his second and third. It’s pretty much non stop action, broken up by some angst, and that is exactly what I want out of a story. Sam is the perfect character to be put in this extremely harsh environment, and seeing him get out of it is satisfying because he fucking rocks. The dude is doing the most impressive stuff ever all the while hating himself, and that is very relatable.

Also, his chapters, and the book as a whole, also make good use of beginning the chapter in media res and then going back in time to explain how the characters got there. There’s no reason why I like it, it’s just a fun bit of styling. 

Sam’s arc in this book is pretty much perfect, with him meddling in the election making a perfect culmination.

The first half of Tyrion’s story is alright, but then Joff dies and shit gets wild. Tyrion’s entire messy, complicated arc comes to a head in a few giant, extraordinarily impactful, scenes. Those final Tyrion chapters are filled to the brim with some of the best moments of the series, whether they be Tyrions “I wish I had enough poison to kill all of you” speech, the battle between Oberyn and the mountain, and Tyrion and Jaime’s confrontation.

Tyrion’s entire trial feels like the nightmare of an insecure person, where everyone comes and mocks you and you have no one to depend on. It’s interesting to compare it to Jon’s predicament occurring at the same time. However, Jon has all of these people who do stand by him, and Tyrion does not. It’s funny how Tyrion spends all of Clash gaining power, but he never built up an actual support network or whatever, so everyone just kind of abandoned him (except Jaime, and Podrick I suppose, maybe Garlan would have helped him if he had asked). 

It’s sad that not only are Tyrion’s loves all paid for, so are his friendships. 

Basically, Storm has all of the traits of ASOIAF at its peak. The character drama is heartbreaking, the magical and realist elements are blended beautifully, the story has never felt more huge yet more interconnected, and every chapter ends on a cliffhanger. The political aspects are as intriguing and layered as they always are, the action is intense and biting, and every character is used perfectly.

Every character’s journey goes through multiple phases. Jon spends the first third of his story undercover, then he’s caught in a tidal wave of violence, and then Stannis the Mannis shows up and he gets elected. It’s the same with everyone else. Storm is not a story which stays in one place for long, and as such, it has a chaotic, whirlwind feeling to this. However, there is a controlled, almost mathematical, method to this chaos, with every character beat placed perfectly within the story. The pacing never abruptly changes its speed, and every chapter is placed so as to perfectly juxtapose with the chapters next to it.

One thing George is consistently great at is testing his characters, both in terms of ethics and resolve. Each character in Storm is put into a situation which is the most challenging to them specifically, whether it be Jon’s commitment to his oath being tested, Dany’s leadership skills on trial, or Sam needing to depend on his courage to survive. 

Storm also uses its structure of multiple POVs excellently. We see Arya thinking that Cat might not want her back, and then we see Cat going through absolute mental hell because Arya is missing, and it’s absolutely tragic. Tyrion wishes he was Jaime, and then Jaime has to act like Tyrion to save Brienne.

There’s also Tyrion’s relationship with Sansa, which makes excellent usage of this device. We see how both are equally miserable for completely different reasons, and boy oh boy is it painful to read!

One of the best uses of multiple POVS is when Sam meets up with Bran. It is one of the most satisfying moments of the entire series. I love when two characters in a story who don’t know that they’re connected meet up. It’s like a story showing off how sprawling it is.

The multiple POVs also make moments like Stannis saving the Wall feel well set up and satisfying, instead of just a deus ex machina. 

In fact, the whole book is full of satisfying moments. 

In the previous books, Ser Dontos gives Sansa the hair net, Mance Rayder is constantly mentioned, and justice for Elia is discussed. It’s here where all of that comes into play, and all of the threads collide to make all of these really satisfying moments.

It’s insane how this book manages to feel like one cohesive whole, and that’s mostly because George never lets the story get too big, with everything connecting and influencing each other.

Everything the series has been building up with Tyrion’s relationship with Tywin, the Freys, Roose Bolton, the Bloody Mummers, and a million other things come to their head, and each is executed perfectly, all of them coming to a pretty logical “conclusion”. All of these plot lines move with a quick feel, events leading to other events like a line of dominoes. This is not a story where events just happen, everything is a natural reaction to what has come before, and Storm represents this perfectly.

Another interesting thing about Storm is that it really loves the trolley problem. Robb chooses to kill Rickard Karstark because he thinks it’s necessary for him to continue ruling. Tywin defends doing the Red Wedding because it meant less people would die in the long run. Stannis ponders killing Edric to save the world.

Hell, Stannis has a conversation with Davos about killing Edric immediately after Tywin has a conversation with Tyrion about the Red Wedding. 

Storm isn’t just about power and authority but specifically the morals of power and authority. These ideas are not pondered and examined so much as they are fiercely argued with both words and actions, the characters heatedly debating their opinions. This is a positive statement, it makes the book feel lively and energetic. We get all of these characters with different ideas on the same subject, and watching the clash is very entertaining.

A theme throughout these books has been whether or not the ends justify the means, if doing something bad in pursuit of something good is alright. Ned seems to believe the ends justify the means. In Game, he tells Arya that doing something dishonorable such as lying is alright if it's in the pursuit of something honorable, like saving the life of a dog or whatever they’re talking about in that scene.

In Storm, we see that Jaime has similar ideas, as that was his logic with killing Aerys II.

If I so chose to, I could complain about how this book has no real climax, with the Red Wedding being the most intense part of the book and only coming in the middle. However, climaxes are a made up concept, and I didn’t really mind when reading this book. 

ASOS has a sense of finality to it, despite being the third book in a seven part series. That’s because it feels like many of the characters have completed an arc. Jon has gone from a little emo boy to a Lord Commander, Arya from a feisty tomboy to a vengeful killer, Jaime from a jerk to a jerk willing to work on himself, Tyrion from a comedian to a vengeful killer, Cat from alive to dead, and Dany from a helpless girl to a competent leader in her own right. 

Not only do all of the plotlines in this book fall in place, they all fall into place in the most satisfying ways. Everything from the Purple Wedding to the Red Wedding to Petyr pushing Lysa out a window to Sam meeting Bran feel like half a dozen different plotlines crashing into each other, all of them leading to these pretty perfect character beats.

To recap,

Catelyn’s chapters are everything great about this series.

Arya’s chapters are everything great about this series.

Jaime’s chapters are everything great about this series.

Jon’s chapters are very quickly paced, stuffed to the brim with all the action, intrigue, and character dilemmas one can want.

Bran’s chapters all showcase the classic Bran formula to success, but his story has no real ending.

Giving Davos agency makes his story far more interesting.

Sansa’s chapters are as good as they are in Clash.

Sam’s chapters have something in them for everyone, whether one wants magic, political intrigue, angst, action, horror, or pretty descriptions of nature.

Dany’s chapters have the same issues as all her books, but she’s still a fun character to follow.

In conclusion, I’ve said everything I’ve needed to say. 

2. A Feast For Crows-

This book has some of my favorite and least favorite stuff. 

Brienne’s chapters kick butt. They’re slow, but simple, and the interesting characters coupled with the dense tapestry of themes makes it worth it. Plus, the slow pace makes the brutal moments feel extraordinarily gripping. The story rewards you for your patience. Seeing Brienne savagely massacre three people in Brienne IV is one of the most satisfying moments of the series because George very slowly builds the tension, faking you out a half dozen times. The agony of losing Dick Crabb and the amazement of seeing Brienne in action is definitely worth the four chapters of build up.

The slow pacing also allows every event to be given its proper weight. Brienne gets to stew over Dick Crabb and the men she’s killed. 

You really feel the toll this journey is taking on Brienne is, even if that means having a page devoted to trying to find an inn. But, that’s the point. Brienne’s mission is simple, but she keeps getting involved in all of these annoying misdirections. It definitely communicates this specific feeling of stress and monotony which is very hard to express. 

There is a wonderful, almost hypnotic, atmosphere to Brienne’s story, with all the descriptions of ruins and seascapes. It really places in Brienne’s shoes,  and we feel what Brienne feels. Brienne VII, where she fights Rorge and Biter is one of the most impactful chapters ever. Biter eating Brienne’s face is not the most brutal and disgusting thing that has happened in this story, but I can think of very few things which feel more brutal and disgusting (except maybe the Red Wedding). This isn’t just because of how well it is written, but also because of the chapters of set up, with Brienne having this desire to prove herself and all these anxieties about failing and this and that. 

Also, stories where people aimlessly wander through ruined and scarred lands are some of my favorites. It also really helps that all of the characters journeying with Brienne are fantastic, and we’ve already had many books to familiarize us with this section of the world, so it’s fun to explore it. We’ve spent about half of the series in the Riverlands and the Crownlands, so we already know the general vibes of the place. Despite this, George still manages to introduce us to tiny little pockets of which we haven’t seen yet like the Quiet Isle or Crackclaw Point. 

The story also works great at showing us the real cost of the war by placing us on the ground, making the effects of the war more visceral. Most importantly, this all has an effect on Brienne. This makes it different from, say, Tyrion’s chapters in Dance, where he seems rather apathetic to what is going on in Lys or whatever. And, if the main character doesn’t care, then why should we? George makes the right move by tying a lot of what is going on to Brienne’s past by having characters like Randall Tarly and Hyle Hunt, as well as having everywhere she goes or everyone she meets affects her character in some way, from everything from Dick Crabb to that bathtub which was annoyingly small. Despite how stretched out the story feels, I legitimately can not think of a single moment that could all be cut. Even if everything doesn’t move the plot forward, it’s really crucial for our understanding of Brienne as a character, and it makes all of the emotional parts of her story feel like you’re being bludgeoned by a baseball bat.

Plus, it’s perfect that Brienne goes out looking for Sansa and instead finds Lady Stoneheart. Now that’s what I call Subversion that Ties Perfectly Into the Themes of The Piece. 

Most importantly, Brienne’s story tackles a huge amount of different subjects, discussing religion, war, gender, sexuality, and a million other things and then ties them all together in this subversion of a knight’s quest to save a damsel.

Moving on, Cersei's chapters are nothing but fun, as she slowly spirals into insanity, all the while failing at everything. She’s a fantastic character to see the world through the eyes of, and her paranoia makes the already cutthroat world of politics all the more spicy.

Every chapter tells us a little more about Cersei’s character and has some of the funniest moments in the series.

Sansa’s chapters are full of fun political shenanigans and a large cast of quirky characters who all bounce off each other really well. There’s a great mix of intrigue, humor, and drama as Sansa slowly learns the ropes of political espionage in this new environment. The Eyrie is a fantastic location, with its beauty and isolation, and it gives Sansa’s story a very contained feeling. This makes sense, as Sansa is in this very pretty prison. Sansa is simulatenously free and more trapped than she’s ever been, and this sends her character in a really intriguing direction. 

Sam’s stuff is alright. Aemon’s death is obviously very sad, and that one chapter in Oldtown is nice because Oldtown is a fun place to explore. Sam’s constant self hatred does start to get tiresome after a while, especially considering the fact that his character seems to actively revert. At the end of Storm, Sam seems to have found a new sense of bravery, and then it’s gone. Sure, progress isn’t always linear, but it feels like Sam is just back to who he was at the beginning of Storm. 

However, Sam is in good company. There’s lots of very minor characters, like the captain of the Cinnamon Wind and his daughter, who are very fun and add a lot of vibrancy to the world. George also plays with a lot of time in Sam’s chapters, like the one with Aemon dying constantly jumping back and forth. Usually, George will usually start in the middle of the action and then flashback to what happened before, but with Sam’s chapters in both Storm and Feast, we’re actively pinballing around, till there’s not even really a present- if that makes any sense. This has a cool effect.

Arya’s chapters are quite slow, but I don’t mind because it means we can just soak up the awesome setting. Arya is a 10 year old member of a death cult/group of immortal face changing assassins, how can that not be interesting? Plus, Arya’s character is just so fun and layered, it’s hard not to be invested in her struggle with identity. Once again, Song always knows the perfect place to put their characters. Of course the character obsessed with identity and revenge is in a place which offers her the ability to commit vengeance while stripping her of all of her identity. 

Bravos is also easily the most developed place in Essos, being a mix of New York and Venice. Half of the chapter “Cat of the Canals” is just Arya drinking the city in and it works because Bravos is just so vibrant, full of fun pockets of worldbuilding, a forest of delights. I could spend an entire book learning about the Bravos and the temples and the Titan and the courtesans and the mummers and everything else. 

Moving on, Jaime’s story is full of fantastic side characters, but the star of the show is still Jaime, who is just a delight to follow. He has one of the funniest inner monologues, and it mixes very well with how angsty his inner monologue can also be. All of the fun characters Jaime meets along the way really help move his character along, whether they be Lancel or Genna or Emmon Frey or Lyle Crakhall or that one lady who corrected her grieving daughter’s grammar. 

Plus, if you remember my character ranking, I already talked about how making Jaime have to do a siege is fantastic for his character growth. 

Everything else in the book is Eeeeehhhh. As I’ve said or will say, The Dourne Plot is boring as all hell. 

George asks a lot of us with the Dourne plot. We’ve just had three books with a very large cast of characters, and then we’re plunged into a new pocket of the world and introduced to a dozen or so new characters. Dourne isn’t an uninteresting place, it is just that we are going to compare it to places such as the North and King’s Landing which we already know a lot more about. 

Not only that, but the characters are also far less developed and fun than the characters we already know. I really don’t care about Arianne and Areo Hotah and Arys Oakheart.

The worldbuilding feels similarly lukewarm. Dourne is very interesting when it’s off to the side, but when it’s the main focus, it just comes across as the rest of Westeros but with feminism and spicy food. We never hear about unique traditions or anything of that sort. We do only have four chapters in Dourne in this book, so we don’t get any time to explore this world. 

However, here is a much bigger problem I have with the Dorne plot: 

Feast is all about people failing, but at least most people's failures still have consequences. While Brienne’s quest to find Sansa and Arya fails, her discovery of Lady Stoneheart is going to mean a lot for her and Jaime. While going to Oldtown was basically a futile journey, at least Sam is in Oldtown, a place where he can get information.

All that The Dourne Plot accomplishes is killing off Arys and getting Myrcella’s face cut up. I suppose Arianne learns some lessons along the way, but as I previously stated, I don’t care. Dourne’s future in the story is going to be helping Young Griff. That’s all we needed. Oh yeah, I guess the Darkstar plot is going to go somewhere…I guess. Maybe it will affect the larger story of the books, who knows?

It’s possible that Winds will eventually make all of the Dorne plot feel worth it, but until then, I’m still pissed off at it.

It also doesn’t help that half of the Dourne plot is actually the Dourne plot. The first chapter, the Areo Hotah one, is just here to set the scene, even though the Sand Snakes introduced in the chapter do very little in Feast going forward. Arianne and Arys Oakheart are barely in this chapter, so much of The Soiled Prince is dedicated to setting them up

Not only that, but many of the other important players, Arianna’s friends and Darkstar, are introduced in the Queenmaker, so we have to spend half of that chapter doing introductions. As a result, introductions make up most of the Dourne plot. 

After the Soiled Prince and the Queenmaker, the actual meat of the story, we then get The Princess in the Tower, which is basically just an epilogue to the story, featuring Doran dropping a massive exposition dump whose purpose is mainly to set up how the Dourne plot will continue. All in all, it feels like the Dorne plot is just set up. I guess you could say that contradicts what I said before about the Dourne plot seeming meaningless, but the actual story of the plot feels meaningless, with its only purpose being to set up Arianne’s role in the Young Griff plot to come. 

Despite all of this, the Dorne Plot is way too quick, not giving enough time for us to actually get to know the characters or the world. That’s because it’s basically a side plot. We can’t spend dozens of chapters on a side plot introduced more than halfway through the story. However, the Dourne plot demands more time. I’m not sad when Arys Oakheart dies because I don’t know him, and the dynamic between Arianne and Doran isn’t even flushed out at all. All throughout the story, motives are uncertain, we never get a true feeling of what Dorne is actually like as a place, and the plot feels kinda contrived at some points, like when Darkstar just decides to kill Myrcella because he wants a war because…he’s jealous of Arthur Dayne? With more chapters, the world can be developed a bit more, and we can be given actual reasons for everything.

That’s because George had to introduce a whole new section of the world, with a whole new cast of characters, in a minimum amount of chapters. As a result, we get a lot of information and developments crushed into a very small amount of time. 

This rapid speed causes a lot of minor problems which I’ll discuss in the chapter ranking.

Moving on, there is also The Iron Islands plot in Feast. Many of the problems with Dourne are here, and yet I don’t mind as much.

George asks a little less with us for the Iron Islands plot, as we have been there before and met our three POVs, if only briefly.

It helps that the Iron Islands is muuuuch more interesting than Dourne. It’s vikings mixed with Lovecraft mixed with Klingons, and it’s fantastic. Every aspect of the Iron Islands, from the architecture to the traditions to the way food is prepared has these very specific vibes baked into it, and you can just tell George was having fun coming up with stuff like Naga’s Ribs and The Seastone Chair. 

Plus, the events of The Iron Islands Plot were significantly set up during the previous books, and the Iron Islands plot does feel like a natural evolution from what we hear in the previous two books. If that wasn’t enough, the mystery surrounding Euron’s character is more than enough to grab my attention. 

Also, what the Iron Islands Plot sets up seems really interesting, filled with magic and intrigue. In contrast, I don’t care about whatever vengeance Doran has planned. There’s no real reason, even though I suppose all of those who wronged him being dead may be a factor. I simply don’t care about Doran and his goals. However, I do care about what Euron has planned because it seems very interesting, as he’s an evil warlock pirate. Basically, what I’m saying is that the rule of cool applies to the Iron Islands plot. Sometimes, it’s as simple as that. The Iron Islands plot has better characters, a more interesting setting, no cringey sex scenes, a much cooler action scene, a far greater atmosphere, and it fits more naturally in with the story. It also helps that it actually holds influence elsewhere in Feast, playing a part in Cersei’s story. 

There’s a sense of mysticism and horror in The Iron Islands plot and an atmosphere of dread. There is both suspense and mystery. It gives the whole thing an energy, as well as stakes that aren’t really present in the Dourne plot. 

The Iron Islands plot is similarly quick, being five chapters long, and yet, it never feels like we’re cramming in a huge amount of stuff into a small amount of time. That’s because it’s a fairly simple story, and a very focused one, centering itself around Euron and the choosing of a new king. 

The Reaver also works much better as an ending note than The Queenmaker. The Reaver is full of action, and it feels like a climax. The Queenmaker is half uninteresting angst section and half exposition dump. I like angst, but in order for the angst to work, I need to care about the character.

Anyways, in two different chapters in Feast, two different peasants boast about having distant highborn ancestry, and I think that’s interesting.

Despite Feast being a bit of a mess, I’m still very grateful that it exists. Of the 45 chapters, 26 are from the POV of a woman, making this the only book in this series to be mostly from the female perspective. This means the book deals with gender the most of the entire series. All of the female POVs approach gender in a very different way, showing us this spectrum of experiences. 

Gender is also important to many of the male POVs. Jaime feels emasculated due to the loss of his hand and because Cersei cheated on him. Sam is a man constantly haunted by the abuse he received for not appealing to his Dad’s standards of masculinity. 

Victarion is this epitome of stereotypical masculinity who’s also really depressed and a total coward. 

In Feast, see how patriarchy doesn’t work in just one way, it’s a spectrum of causes and effects, with many victims. 

I would argue that if Feast were to have a central theme, it would be gender. In the character ranking, I talked about how the election of Euron

I guess it does make sense for Dourne to be here, as it is a place where gender and sex are seen very differently. Not only that, but it deals with this idea of pro-women movements failing because they’re still based in patriarchal ideas. Arianne convinced Arys by saying that Myrcella would make a better ruler than Tommen because she doesn’t cry and acts a lot more stoic. This relates to Asha, who constantly shows her strength by attacking the masculinity of men around her, saying they have no dick or calling them girly in some ways, and Asha also shows her strength by mocking the idea of being traditionally feminine, like with the joke about an ax being her baby.

Obviously, it’s alright for a woman to not be stereotypically feminine and be proud of it, but what Asha is doing is making the claim that she is strong despite being a woman and not because of it. She’s also continuing to display this myth that traditional masculinity equals strength.

Believers of this myth include Victarion, Randall Tarly, and Cersei, who is constantly putting down other women. 

We see the consequences of this belief in the Iron Islands plot, when Euron uses these myths of masculinity to get himself elected. 

It’s clear that one can’t fight fire with fire in order to deal with bigoted ideologies. 

However, I still think the Dourne plot is boring. 

There is one more problem I have with Feast. Some of the best parts of Song are when there’s a POV chapter sandwich. For example, during the Battle of the Blackwater we get a Tyrion chapter, then a Sansa chapter, then a Tyrion chapter. You know that shit is going down when that happens. However, that does not occur in Feast, which leads me to believe that shit does not actually go down in Feast. 

Going back to positives, Feast is one of the best anti war narratives in how much pointless suffering we see results from war. An idea which is reinforced multiple times is that the Small Folk do not care who the king is, nor who they are fighting for. They just want to survive.

However, the stories are all sung about the important figures, the kings and noble knights. The reason we see two different commonfolk boasting about being part noble is that being noble makes them important.

Another theme which Feast focuses on is this idea of history repeating itself. Aeron thinks about it, Arys and Arianne discuss it, and it plays a key part in Cersei’s story.

Another note I have is that purposefully unsatisfying stories are very hard to successfully pull off. However, most of Feast’s plotlines are those kinds of stories. Somehow, almost all of these plotlines are quite enjoyable, which says volumes about how good George is as a writer. 

To recap.

Brienne’s story is a masterpiece of character writing and world building.

Cersei’s chapters are as delightful as they are intelligent.

Jaime’s story is everything we’ve come to expect from the series, with an eclectic cavalcade of characters bouncing off each other in a fun world.

I can say the exact same with Sansa’s chapters.

Arya’s story benefits from simplicity, a fantastic main character, a well thought out location with a great atmosphere, and loads of magical intrigue.

Sam’s story is perfectly alright.

The Iron Islands plot shouldn’t work, but it does.

Dourne bores me to tears. 

3. ACOK

The prologue to ACOK is the perfect tone setter for this book: a sad, regretful old man tries to do something, fails, and then dies in an embarrassing fashion.

The prologue is also some of George’s most beautiful prose. The description of Dragonstone and the comet is so mystical and otherworldly, it manages to fill you with the same sense of awe that magic does, but there isn’t even any magic.

The prologue also has some pretty concise writing, as we’re introduced to a huuuuge amount of characters in a short amount of time.

Really, the first couple chapters are all bangers. The device of the comet is perfect, tying all of these desperate points of view together. It shows how our characters, despite how different they are in every conceivable way, are all united by this shared sense of wonder and awe. There’s a line from The Outsiders about how everyone looks at the same sunset, and this reminds me of that. However, ASOIAF makes sure to show us that everyone sees the comet differently. Some see it as a sign of fortune, others as a good omen, and a few merely see it as a shiny thing in the sky. Many of the characters specifically see it as being good for their side, including supporters of all of the five kings. The descriptions of the comet are fantastic in pretty much every chapter, and George always manages to tie it into what’s going on in the chapter itself.

However, after the first 8 or so chapters, the book starts to drag on. It seems like we’re done setting the stage, but then the stage keeps on being set, and it feels like a lot of these characters aren’t moving forward.

It is in the middle of the story where the pace starts to pick up, and so do the fantastic character beats. 

Arya’s chapters in this book place her character in a perfect position. She’s forced to grow up very suddenly. The freedom of adventure is now hers, but she keeps finding herself unable to be truly free. All of Arya’s chapters in ACOK and ASOS are mostly Arya escaping from some authority figure and then falling under the control of another authority figure. I think that’s great!

Arya’s chapters also do a fantastic job of showing us the horror of war from the ground.

Sansa’s chapters are filled with horror and angst. Just like Arya, Sansa has been given everything she’s wanted, as she’s now engaged to a prince. However, she’s now in a world where her actions have consequences, and those consequences matter. She’s forced to guard her tongue and control her emotions like she’s never had to before. That’s what growing up is all about.

Davos’ chapters in this book aren’t anything special. The characters of Davos, Stannis, and Melissandre are really fun. However, Davos doesn’t have much agency, and as such, he’s mostly just watching what’s happening, with his actions not really affecting the story. Having a character who doesn’t affect the plot can make a story rather tiresome.

Dany’s chapters in this are boring. She mostly spends wandering around aimlessly. The House of the Undying part has some great imagery, but that’s mostly it. You can skip all of her chapters in that book and it would change very little. Barely any progression is made in her arc, which contrasts extremely sharply with the AGOT, where she goes through a really well done arc that changes her immensely but doesn't feel rushed. It doesn’t help that Dany has very little in the way of character conflict in this story. The climax of her arc is the House of the Undying, and she does not make any decisions in the house. There’s no path she chooses to take. What she thinks at the beginning of the book and what she thinks at the end is the exact same.

book 

Tyrion’s chapters are a fucking delight. It is so fun to watch this clever and witty guy play this political game. The other players of this game, like Cersei and Littlefinger and Varys, are also fun to watch. Unfortunately, they have some of the worst sex scenes in the entire series. It’s annoying when the first two thirds of the chapter has some clever plots filled with intrigue and the second third is just Tyrion boinking Shae for ten pages. They add nothing to the story, and are just unpleasant to read. Obviously, Tyrion’s angst about Tysha and how it affects his relationship with Shae is interesting, but the sex scenes focus mostly on just the sex, with Tyrion usually thinking about Tysha afterward.

This might be Jon’s weakest book, as he doesn’t really go through an arc in it. The big decision he makes is killing Qhorin Halfhand, but I feel like that’s something Jon at the beginning of Clash would also do. 

It’s also one of the more slower stories, with a lot of wandering and discussion of Mance and events that don’t happen in this book. It’s not the worst thing ever, but it does feel Jon’s chapters are mostly just set up for the next book.

Theon’s chapters are much more quickly paced, as Theon goes from being on Robb’s side to pretending to kill Bran and Rickon. Theon’s monologuing is filled with personality, and watching this scummy person slowly getting what’s coming to him is fantastic. Theon can not stop taking Ls in this book, and it’s both fun and extremely tragic.

However, this book is really made by two POVs: Brans and Catelyns.

If you remember my character listing, I mention Bran’s role in this book quite a bit. This book is all about Bran learning to deal with responsibility and being away from Cat and Rob and it explores these ideas of growing up perfectly. 

Then, there’s Cat's story. Oooh wee. This book features Cat just drowning in grief, but she is kicking and screaming and thrashing and it just hits you in the feels.

Cat II, ACOK is a masterpiece for this Brienne quote alone,

“Winter will never come for the likes of us. Should we die in battle, they’ll surely sing of us, and it’s always summer in the songs. In the songs, all knights are gallant, all maids are beautiful, and the sun’s always shining.” 

(Catelyn II, ACOK)

Bran III to Catelyn II in ACOK is one of the best two chapter punches in all of ASOIAF. We go from Bran being bummed out at a party, watching all of the northern adults have a good time. Then, we have Catelyn being bummed out at a party, watching all of the sothron children having a good time. It is in this chapter that Catelyn talks to Matthis Rowan about how Renly and Brienne and Loras and all the young folk are “children of summer” who are excited to grow up, but they will soon find out how shitty adulthood is. That’s an important theme in this series, as that is what happens with Jon, Bran, Sansa, and Arya.

ACOK is a book of juxtapositions, and I think that’s what makes it work so perfectly. The insane horror within the Riverlands is juxtaposed by the festive mood within Renly’s camp, and that’s juxtaposed with the sour nature of Stannis’ camp.

We get five kings, all flawed in their own way, and all seen through the view of someone else. Theon’s homecoming is juxtaposed with Catelyn’s homecoming which is juxtaposed with Tyrion’s return to King’s Landing. 

ACOK is also a book full of angst. Pretty much every character (except for Dany, and also Davos sort of) spends the entire book absolutely miserable and in love with the past. 

Arya’s chapters are a journey through hell. 

Bran is a lonely outcast in Winterfell, forced to only watch as everyone the merriment and excitement around him. Bran is defined by being a watcher, and how much he hates that. However, we do see that there is some good to that. He is good at reading people and learning about them. His choices of meals to send to others are based around observations he makes.

Theon is also outcasted, in a sense of complete culture shock.

Sansa is insanely outcasted, in a situation where she has no one to talk to and no shoulders to cry on. She is deprived of what she needs the most, which the story loves to do.

Tyrion is Tyrion. He’s angsty in every book, but he’s very contemplative in this, constantly thinking about Tysha.

Catelyn.

Jon is actually doing alright.

The result of all of this is that ACOK is a very empathic book, but it’s also kind of plodding. We’re in the middle of this extremely intense war, but we spend so much time on the character’s unresolved trauma. It can be annoying. 

However, it does match what the characters feel. A lot of them are on the outside looking in, feeling frustrated about their lack of power. 

I have one big complaint I haven’t already mentioned.

The Battle of the Blackwater serves as a fantastic climax for the story. Unfortunately, there are twelve chapters after it. A lot happens in these chapters, but after the Blackwater, I find myself just waiting for the book to wrap up. I feel like maybe Theon, Jon, and Dany’s last chapters could have been moved up to right before the battle. That way, we would only get chapters which focus on the consequences of the battle, as well as Bran’s chapter, which fits well as the ending.

However, Clash easily makes it up with its highs.

 I would say that the beginning of Catelyn VII is one of the most emotionally devastating parts of Song, as that is the chapter where Catelyn has learned about the fake deaths of Bran and Rickon. It’s not difficult to make a woman mourning the loss of her two sons sad, but George rubs salt in every wound. Her grief over her children connects to her grief over Ned and her father, the way she had all of these responsibilities as a child, and everything the book has been doing with her character. It’s like all of Catelyn’s chapters in this book secretly build up to this barrage of brutality. Without Catelyn’s angst about how she’s far from her children and how she had always needed to be strong and her relationship with religion, this chapter would not hit as hard as it does.

And man, does it hit hard.

Cat’s entire life is falling apart in front of her eyes, and she’s basically in the worst possible scenario, and there’s no one she can talk to. She is completely and utterly alone. Everyone else (except for Brienne) is having a good time at the party, and being miserable when everyone else is happy is the worst possible feeling. 

Really, every chapter from Bran III to The Battle of the Blackwater is gripping, as the chapters are pretty action-heavy. Theon’s story slowly builds to this epic crescendo of bad decisions, Arya is forced into an unknown dangerous situation which is perfectly designed to test her where every chapter ends on a cliffhanger, and the Blackwater pushes the characters of Sansa, Tyrion, and Davos almost to their breaking point, with all of them having their moments of bravery. Also, the descriptions of the battle are some of George’s finest prose. The way wildfire is described should be put in a museum. 

A problem someone could have with Clash is that many of the characters don’t change a huge amount. Jon, Sansa, Davos, and Tyrion spend the book having their upcoming arcs being set up. They all make very important and character defining decisions, but these are decisions which they could have also made in the beginning of the book. Meanwhile, Dany…knows more, I guess.

Obviously, what happens to these characters in this book is important. Jon becomes less trusting of the watch because of Craster Keep, gets in touch with his inner warg, and kills Qhorin. Davos doesn’t speak out and gets punished for it. Tyrion does something kind of heroic and gets punished for it, with all the credit going to someone else. The thing is, these events don’t factor into our character’s decisions until A Storm of Swords. 

There are exceptions.

Catelyn changes a lot, in that she slowly descends further into despair, and then when she’s at her lowest of lows she finds her strength and makes a decision she definitely would not have made previously. That last moment of her asking Brienne to give her the sword is the perfect final note for her.

Theon slowly descends into despair, but refuses to step up to the challenge, falling further into his own vices.

Arya and Bran both learn confidence, with Bran regaining his will to live.

This does make Clash stand out from Game and Storm, which has some fantastic character arcs.  However…I don’t really mind a huge amount. Even if these characters don’t change, all of them are placed in really interesting situations which reveals a lot more about who they are. Plus, the characters who do change go through very well written arcs. I’ve already sung my praises of Catelyn’s story, Theon’s descent is written with huge amounts of nuance and realism, and Bran’s final realization that he’s glad he’s alive is one of the most satisfying ending notes imaginable. 

I think one of the things which makes Clash very notable is that it focuses heavily on religion and belief. The comet is an obvious example of this, with everyone seeing this natural phenomenon and applying their own beliefs to it. A dozen different metaphors are made out of this one object, and so many people use this phenomenon to back up their own beliefs.

The comet is a bit like a story which everyone is reading and has different interpretations of it. The comet is also like the folklore of Planetos, as so much of it is different interpretations of the same thing, like how Azor Ahai and the Last Hero and The Stallion Who Mounts the World are probably the same person. Goddamn, the comet represents so much.

As the story moves on, we see how grief changes the religion of Cat. Her returning to the lands beneath the neck means she’s in a place where there are multiple different septs, as opposed to her life before. The other character who seems interested in the Faith of the Seven is Davos, who is also another “follower” type character. Davos keeps saying he isn’t religious, but he keeps finding trouble with what Melisandre is saying.

Tyrion provides an opposing view of religion, with his cynicism and atheism.c

With Bran, it’s not about religion but about belief in magic, as Lewin and Jojen pull him in two different directions. Magic does become sort of like a religion to Bran in the end as he uses it for comfort in a similar way to Catelyn using the Seven.

Meanwhile, Sansa uses religion as a shield with the God Grove or whatever it’s called. 

Jon and Arya both interact with heart trees.

While religion is definitely present and explored in Feast, it is not viewed through a personal lens as it is in ACOK, where many characters actively grapple with their own religious beliefs.

This is best described with Harrenhal and Saltpans.

Harrenhal is mentioned frequently in Clash, in Tyrion, Sansa, and Cat chapters, and it actually appears in Arya’s story. While Harrenhal has little to do with the Faith of the Seven or the old gods, it has everything to do with belief, as it is always accompanied by talk of ghosts. This belief is very important to Arya’s arc, as she becomes the ghost in Harrenhall, and it helps connect her to Sansa, who also uses religion as a shield and also becomes a part of a story by becoming Jonquil. Harrenhall is also a bit similar to the comet, as people view the ghost stories in different ways.

The massacre at Saltpans, meanwhile, is mentioned many times in Jaime, Cersei, and Brienne chapters in Feast. This is an event where hundreds of followers of the Seven are brutally murdered and raped. This very clearly deals with religion. However, this event does not make any character question their faith. Instead, it influences the story in political terms, with the characters having to deal with reactions to the event. 

Basically, Clash is interested in examining belief while Feast is interested in how religion affects the world.

Anyways, to recap:

Catelyn’s chapters are a ceaseless thunderstorm of grief and angst as heartbreaking as they are engrossing.

Arya’s chapters are a never ending parade of action and cruelty.

Tyrion’s chapters sparkle with political intrigue which lets our clever character shine.

The chill and simple nature of Bran’s chapters give us time for some fantastic Bran moments.

There are very few dull moments in Theon’s chapters, as the character we follow is an explosive one making extraordinarily terrible decisions with extraordinarily terrible consequences.

Davos is a great character surrounded by other great characters, which makes up for his overall lack of agency in the story.

Jon’s chapters are a bit slow, but the intriguing locations and characters make up for that.

Dany’s chapters are pointless drudgery, except for the House of the Undying, obviously.

In conclusion, Clash slaps.

4. A Game of Thrones.

This is a really tight story. We’re introduced to this new world, a huge cast of characters, and a whole lot of intrigue and mystery all within 800 pages or so. The amount this book manages to accomplish in such a small amount of time is legitimately impressive. Good job, George.

This book’s “simplicity” does make it one of the most readable of the books. 

Plus, the climax is gripping all the way through, with it feeling like every emotional thread is coming to its peak. It’s also one of the few books here that actually feels like it had a real climax, but this is a book, not a movie, so it doesn’t really matter. It still has a very consistent pace which never lets the story drag.

Not only that, “For the first night in over a hundred years, the night came alive with the sound of dragonsong” is one of the best closing lines of any book ever.

I have very few complaints with Thrones. I guess the pace does occasionally slow down a bit, especially with a lot of the later Bran chapters. Also, you can tell George had not clearly thought the world out yet, so we end up with the Valyrian steel dagger and Joff and Sansa chasing “a shadowcat back to its layer”. 

A problem with this one is Game is that it feels less…”thematically cohesive”, shall we say. ACOK is very focused on belief and religion, contrasting religious characters like Cat and Davos with more cynical characters like Tyrion and Theon, and then showing characters in the middle like Arya and Bran. ASOS is interested in power and power dynamics, with Dany and Robb learning to wield power, Jaime and Tyrion losing power, and Jon struggling with freedom. Gender plays a key role in AFFC, both in the perspectives of the female and male characters.

However, AGOT and ADWD don’t have a central idea at their heart. Sure, they both deal with identity and gender and power and trauma, but there’s nothing to centralize and tie this all together. ACOK ties together its narrative through the use of the comet, everyone looking at it and taking different beliefs from it. ASOS centralizes its narrative by having almost every POV character either interact with a monarch or be a monarch, and also almost every character makes a big life-changing decision at the end, as well as having two weddings that go badly, two characters falsely imprisoned, two duels, et cetera. AFFC centralizes its narrative with almost every character dealing with gender, repeating these ideas of the repetition of history and of the aftermath of carnage, and also by having most characters fail in some way.

It’s stuff like this which keeps the series from feeling messy, but it’s missing from AGOT and ADWD. Thankfully, while AGOT’s themes might be all over the place, its plot is not.

AGOT doesn’t have a huge amount of POVs, and most of the characters are tied up in the conflict at the start of the War of the Five Kings. Almost every character is at Winterfell at the party in the beginning and almost every character gets to react to Ned’s death (or, if they’re Ned, they’re the one who does the dying). That is actually one of the strengths of AGOT, almost everything feels all tied together, with the plot unfolding in a series of reactions like a complicated maze of dominoes. This is the book where different POVs interact with each other the most. It would be impossible to read just a single character’s POV chapters and have it make sense (except for Dany, I suppose), which does make the plot feel more “contained”.

It also helps that about 50% of this story takes place in either Winterfell or King’s Landing.

Despite my issues, pretty much every character’s arc works perfectly.

Ned’s chapters are the series' first taste of political intrigue, and it handles it perfectly. Song understands that to have good political intrigue, you need to make us first care about the characters in the political situation, set up clear stakes, and add a touch of mystery. Also, you can’t get too bogged down in the details, remembering that everything must be tied back to the characters' conflicts. It’s this stuff which makes Council Meetings about taxes on wine and ships being built not just interesting but fascinating.

It’s also very enjoyable to tour through Ned’s mind. Everything he’s encountering ties very well into his past, whether it be killing Dany, visiting Robert’s bastards, or just talking with Bobby B. We don’t really care about who murdered Jon Arryn, but we do care immensely about Ned and his struggle. 

Dany’s chapters are her tightest story, with her going through a very efficient arc where she gets agency. Her last chapter has some of George’s finest prose, as the birth of dragons is given the exact amount of gravitas it deserves. We’ve had more than ten chapters building up dragons, and their introduction at the very end of the story does not disappoint, as the descriptions of Dany going in and out of Drogo’s funeral pyre are absolutely enchanting. 

This is probably Bran’s weakest book, as he isn’t really…doing anything. With his last couple chapters, his only purpose is just to give us an eye into Winterwell. However, I like Bran a lot, so I don’t mind just hanging out with him. 

As I discussed in my character ranking, Jon’s character arc is very tight and satisfying, and our introduction to the world of The Watch is fun. 

Arya’s chapters have a very fantastic build to them as the situation in King’s Landing gets worse and worse. However, it’s also definitely her weakest book, as she has little in terms of inner conflict or introspection. 

Sansa’s chapters have the same problem as Arya’s, as Sansa isn’t dealing with much, mostly just watching tourneys and eating lemon cakes. However, her chapters are still enjoyable on a reread because they set up so much.

Cat’s story goes through many phases, which does make it interesting, as she’s always on the move. The amount of ground covered by her story makes it feel quicker than some of the character plotlines which just stay in one place.

Tyrion is just being Tyrion. He’s a great character at his most charming and likable. I guess you could also say that means he’s also at his least interesting. However, the people he encounters and the places he goes to are all very interesting. We also get some neat battles in his chapters.

Overall, AGOT is the book which I have the least to say about. That’s good in the sense that it has very few flaws but bad in the sense that not much of it is outstanding. I don’t feel the need to recap my thoughts.

5. A Dance With Dragons

A Dance With Dragons is a very messy book. 

If you asked me what the three greatest strengths and the three greatest flaws in this story were, I’d say the greatest strengths were the characters, the worldbuilding, and the prose. The greatest flaws are the pacing, the complexity, and the weird sex scenes. 

Dance had all of these strengths and flaws on full display.

Let us again go character by character.

Dany’s chapters are boring. 

Now, Dany’s chapters in Dance do explore her character well by putting her in a difficult situation where her morals are tested and there seems to be no escape. That on its own works well. However, there are some problems.

First, her chapters are stuffed with side characters and a lot of them barely get time to make an impression. There’s Hizarh Loraq, Daario Noharis, Galizza Golare, Skahaz Mo Kandaq, Reznak Mo Reznak, and fifteen others. Some are better than others, but most have very bland personalities. A result of this is that a lot of the character’s blend together. There are so many, it’s impossible to keep track, and almost all of them have very unusual names which are difficult to remember. I know that last part is a bit silly, but it did affect my ability to remember who was what. Simply put, her chapters in Dance are way too complicated. 

It feels like her chapters have all of the moving parts of everything going on in Westeros, but crammed together into a little more than a dozen chapters. 

The extremely slow pace of Dany’s chapters in Dance doesn’t help any of this either. There are definitely some very good moments. Her final chapter is great simply because it’s just her chilling. I know I just complained about the slow pacing, but slow pacing is only really a problem in certain contexts. Brienne’s chapters in Feast are slow paced, but I’m fine with that because her chapters are much simpler. What I mean is that slow pacing works best when everything is simple (mostly). Dany’s last chapter works for me because it’s her meditating on her life, and there’s a nice atmosphere, and we get a bunch of cool symbolism and imagery. In most of Dany’s other chapters, she’s thinking about whether she can either trust someone we don’t care about or someone else who we also don’t care about. It’s sort of like Dany’s story is fast paced when zoomed in, as something’s always happening, but when you zoom out, you realize that all of this stuff together forms a very slow moving plot. I think that makes sense. 

Other than Dany’s final scene, there are some other great moments, like the man with the dead daughter, Dany comforting Missandei, and Drogon breaking loose, but these are diamonds in the rough.

It’s not “bad writing”, as it does accomplish everything George wants to do in terms of character progression and themes, but it is tiresome and tedious reading.

One thing they Dany’s story does show is how difficult writing this entire series is, as George has to juggle all of these plot threads, tie them together with character arcs and consistent themes, and all the while make sure it’s all logical and “realistic”. It can pay off in fantastic ways, but it can also lead to George writing himself into corners, which is the entire Slaver’s Bay plot. Dany is spending so long there, and yet, the only essential part of it plot-wise is that Dany needs to build her forces so she can conquer Westeros. However, it would be out of character for Dany to leave with the slavery thing being unresolved, and it wouldn’t make much sense if the slavery thing did resolve quickly. So, she has to stay in Mereen and go through all of these shenanigans. I don’t know what else George could have done, but I do know that the Mereen plot is extremely boring. Sure, it pushes Dany’s character forward by forcing her in this very tricky moral situation, and there’s a lot of questions it raises about the ethics of cultural interference and authority, but I just want her to go to Westeros. Plus, all of this would work better if it took place in an interesting place where at least half of the characters are interesting. 

Plus, George himself has commented on how convoluted it is, talking about the “Mereneese knot”. Just as an example, I looked at the Wiki page for Dany II ADWD, and 19 characters appear, 31 are mentioned, and 56 places and terms are mentioned. That’s too much!

Moving on, let’s talk about Tyrion’s chapters! They’re also mostly pretty boring. Tyrion V and IV are the exceptions, mostly because those are the chapters where Tyrion spends the entire time with Young Griff’s crew, who are all fantastic characters. I don’t mind spending time doing nothing when we have all these fantastic characters. However, when Young Griff’s crew are absent, the story has to be carried by Tyrion, and also sometimes Penny. Sure, Tyrion is a great character, but that doesn’t mean squat if everyone else, other than Penny, is just a middle eastern stereotype.

Plus, for much of Tyrion’s journey, I was just waiting for him to get to Mereen. They say it’s about the journey, not the destination, but the journey was very uninteresting for the most part, as way too much time was spent on long descriptions of random locations in Essos. Young Griff’s crew were great, but most of the other minor characters he met along the way were on a spectrum from bland to annoying, and most of the places he visited were your generic middle eastern inspired fantasy setting.

Plus, the chapters are extraordinarily slowly paced, and it doesn’t feel like they have to be, like with Brienne in Feast. They just feel like George really likes Tyrion and wants us to spend a lot of time with him- even if nothing is going on. If the time spent apart from the plot built Tyrion’s character or gave us insight into what the book was saying then it would be fine, but that time is instead mostly taken up with filler.

Indulgent is the key word to explain Tyrion’s chapters. We’re constantly indulging in long, very pretty, sections of prose going on about how the Rhoyne looks, or the history of Volantis, or yadayada ya. Sure, it’s very well written prose, but it becomes an absolute slog. 

Song is always interested in the details of everything, but we don’t need a two paragraph description of a ship, or summaries of three different books in a bookshelf, or ten different food descriptions in one chapter. We also don’t need four different conversations every chapter, three of which don’t tell us anything but how clever Tyrion is. About half of Tyrion’s story in this book actually has some use.

From the perspective of Tyrion’s character and the themes of the story, which I suppose are the most important parts of all of this, I have no complaints. Tyrion’s descent into darkness is realistic, horrifying, and intriguing, and him slowly piecing himself back together thanks to Penny is just as exciting. However, it’s easier to interact with themes and characters if you’re reading something interesting.

It doesn’t help that when Tyrion finally gets to Mereen, the chapters do become very plot-focused. However, this plot is the Mereen plot, which I have already stated to be boring. These last two Tyrion chapters are almost entirely devoid of interesting character moments, and almost entirely consist of discussions of the complex political situation within Mereen. I couldn't care less about the Yunkai or Qarth or this sellsword company or that.

I would be lying if I said there weren’t some fantastic moments in Tyrion’s chapters. Many of these come from Tyrion himself, as he is still a fantastically written character. Tyrion thinking about Jaime and Tysha in Tyrion V is heartbreaking, him apologizing to Penny is nice, and him arguing that his price as a slave should be raised is hilarious.

Basically, Tyrion’s chapters have some of the 20 best moments in all of Ice and Fire and 120 of the most boring moments.

Moving on, let’s talk about Quentyn. His chapters do end on a purposefully unsatisfying note, and new POVs this late do feel weird. However, Quentyn does encounter a lot of crazy stuff, and he does only have four chapters. Does that mean I like his chapters? No. They do feel unnecessary, both to this book and the larger story as a whole. His only purpose to the larger story seems to be freeing the dragons and maybe getting The Tattered Prince hired by Dany. 

You know, many people cite slow pacing as the problem with Feast and Dance, and while that is occasionally true, many parts of these two books have the opposite problem. Quentyn’s story is a perfect example of this. Cletus Yronwood is apparently Quentyn’s best friend, and they have this really deep connection. However, we do not have the time to build the two up as companions. In fact, we don't get any time with them at all, as Cletus is already dead. We simply get a flashback with him dying. Was that scene intended to be sad? Because it’s not. We do learn more about Cletus, but it comes after we learn of his death. While I like non-linear storytelling as much as the next guy, sometimes it’s nice to show events in order. 

The non- linear storytelling plays a big part in all of Quentyn’s chapters, and it gets very old very quickly. It ends up feeling like very little actually happens in each chapter. Quentyn is in the same place at a chapter’s beginning as he is with his chapter’s ending, except for his final chapter. Like, even though a huge amount happens in each chapter, at the same time, the plot doesn't really advance. It’s very…weird. The jumping around through time makes his chapters seem like a PTSD flashback. Do you know the album “Loveless”? It sounds like how Quentyn’s chapters feel, and while Loveless is one of the best Shoegaze albums ever, it is not the kind of vibe I want a low-fantasy book to have. 

Quentyn’s chapters are really messy and full of so many jarring and dissonant tones, with really silly comedy and very dark settings thrown together. There’s no structure to them, no pattern or reasoning.

The idea behind Quentyn’s story is that it starts out full of optimism but then slowly sours, but we start out with it already being sour and get the optimistic part in scattered flashbacks. This means that Quentyn’s story is one without a beginning. 

It doesn’t help that about 1/4th of Quentyn’s chapters is worldbuilding. Sure, so much of the stuff in Essos is really cool, like the sellsword company with the stilts, but I’m here for a story.

It feels like George is trying to push as much as he can into every chapter in Essos in this book. It’s like a Jackson Pollack painting but every color is a vibe. We get some mysticism, some whimsy, some grimdark, and some snark. 

Also, while Tyrion and Dany’s chapters are anchored by their characters, Quentyn’s chapters have Quentyn. Now, I ranked Quentyn rather high on my character list because I do think he is a good character, but he’s definitely not a great character like Dany or Tyrion. While I’m not a huge fan of Dany and Tyrion chapters, they have many moments that are absolutely necessary for moving their characters along. Sure, Quentyn does go through a bit of an arc, however, we already got this arc with Theon.

We will get to stuff I like, but before that, I have to talk about Barristan’s chapters, which I do not like.  The best part of the Mereen plot is watching how all of this affects Dany. Barristan, on the other hand, is very much so detached from all of this. He’s trying to redeem himself, yes, but nothing about Mereen connects to his past experiences or trauma like it does with Dany.

As a result, much of Barristan’s chapters will have him do some action within Mereen and then think of something completely unrelated. With most character POVS, their internal monologues contribute to the story, but with Barristan, it feels like they’re interrupting the story. One of the largest examples of this is when Bloodbears throws a decapitated head in front of Hizdarh. Barristan thinks a bunch about how different kings he knew would react to getting a head tossed their way, and after that, he grieves a bit because he knows the guy whose head got chopped off. It’s a very delayed grief, and it just feels strange, and it’s also never mentioned again. The whole internal monologue could just be taken out of the chapter, and it wouldn’t change anything.

Not only that, but Barristan is also an outsider to Mereen, just like Dany, and the perspective he gives isn’t much different than Dany’s. While Dany wasn’t raised in Westeros, she’s clearly familiar with their customs, as is Barristan, so both of them experience similar cultural issues.

I feel like it would be cool if Barristan’s POV was replaced by Grey Worm’s. Sure, I ranked Grey Worm low on the character ranking list, but George is a great writer, and he could have made Grey Worm interesting. Basically, I just think it would be nice to actually get the perspective of a slave, someone this is affecting. Maybe that’s the point. There are many stories which specifically don’t show the perspective of the victims of some sort of oppression. However, Song is all about having different perspectives, and Barristan does not give us a new perspective.

Now, I had a lot of negatives about those four stories, but I swear I like this book.

Moving on to stuff I enjoyed, Jon also had many chapters. Jon’s internal conflict in this story is similar to Dany’s, with both of them shirking their mental health in order to be effective leaders. However, Jon’s chapters were much easier to read as he’s in an interesting place with more interesting people and a more interesting external conflict. 

Watching Jon forsake fun and friends hits because I like Jon’s friends, and the tough ethical decisions he made hit harder because I was invested in the story of the Wildlings and the wall. I also enjoyed watching him deal with Bowen Marsh and Stannis and Tormund.

Song likes talking about stuff that’s romanticized, whether it be war, romance itself, or, in Jon’s case, overworking. Jon is overworking himself, and he’s stretching himself to his limits, like when he swordfights three people at once. Jon is on that grind set, and it’s making him miserable.

It’s honestly astonishing how Jon goes through a new character arc every single book and every single character arc builds on each other, as his ideas of duty fight with his longing for human connection. Despite him encountering similar delimnas, the context they’re in is always changing, which means they never feel repetitive. Jon’s chapters are always some of the easiest to get through. They’re fast paced, never too complex or too simple, flush with cool characters and world building concepts. 

Moving on. Joncon’s two chapters are fun as hell for the following reasons:

A., he’s just the kinda guy who’s fun to watch. B., his supporting cast is very nice. C., the plot actually moves forward, and events occur which have ramifications and change the story. 

There’s also Asha. Her chapters are fun, I guess. Great characters, fast pacing, and a huge sense of dread are all I need.

Bran gets three chapters, and every single one of them slaps. They’re packed to the brim with dazzling mysticism, beautiful atmosphere, and perfect character work. It’s Bran at his peak, as it’s Bran at his bleakest. These chapters are also blissfully simple. There is no politics, no scheming, no massive ensemble of characters. Now, I do quite like the politics, scheming, and massive ensemble of characters. However, there’s something so gratifying about a chapter which is just three people in a cave with a bunch of nature spirits.

Also, George is just going ham with his prose in these chapters. The descriptions are eloquent and poetic, but it never feels like he’s being indulgent, as it all builds an incredible atmosphere. George takes a slightly different writing style with some characters, and with Bran, he rarely wastes time. While the descriptions are abstract and otherworldly, they’re also quick. For example,

 “Their voices were as pure as winter air.” (Bran III, ADWD)

This style of prose makes sense, as Bran is a child. There is a definite sense of child-like wonder and awe to Bran’s chapters. The world is strange and confusing, but also really intriguing.

There’s also a lot of abrupt transitions in Bran’s chapters, with the book itself feeling like it has a low attention span, like a child. We go from Bran’s warging into Summer, and then boom! Bran’s asleep, and then boom! Bran’s having a talk with Meera and Jojen about the dream he just had. I quite enjoy this, as it gives the chapters a nice pace. This could be annoying if what was going on was complex, but it’s so simple and contained, it works. 

Not only that, but these three chapters give us loooads of worldbuilding, but it never feels like information is being dumped on us, mostly because the worldbuilding is all awesome. There are paths underground that go to the “very center of the earth” where even the singers/Children of the Forest fear to tread? That’s awesome! Leaf tells us that, and she does not elaborate, which makes it even more awesome!

There are so many fantastic little moments. One of my favorites is when Bran has to try not to have an emotional breakdown because Jojen and Meera are going to see a river without him is the most relatable thing ever. 

In case you forgot, when the three of them are in the cave, Jojen and Meera go to see a river, but Bran is left behind because they’ll have to climb to get there. Bran says “alright” and stays behind. However, on the inside he’s melting down because this reminds him of how he used to be able to climb. “Part of him wanted to shout at them for wanting to leave him. Part of him wanted to cry. He was almost a man grown, however, so he said nothing.” (Bran III, ADWD)

Note the phrasing, “leave him”. They are technically leaving him, but only for an hour or so. This makes it seem like they’re abandoning him. 

Wanting to scream and cry over this minor thing is a very 8 year old response. However, most 8 year olds would express this violent rage and sadness outwards, whereas Bran bundles it up inside because he wants to be mature. This is basically all of Bran’s character summarized. He comes off as being mature for his age, but he’s really still a child, a very sad child. While this is in the context of a traumatized 8 year old not throwing a temper tantrum, it can be relatable to anyone currently in the “growing up” stage of life. I think a lot of people can relate to being forced to act more mature than they really are because of the situation they are in.

The fact that I’m putting all of this analysis into such a minor moment shows how dense Bran’s chapters are. 

I could go on, but I’ll save the rest for the character ranking.

I should probably move on to Theon’s chapters. His stuff is absolutely fantastic. We all know it. There are no dull moments. The sense of terror and dread is ever present. Watching someone slowly piece themselves together and pull themselves out of this dark space is kind of inspiring honestly.

I have already talked about Theon’s chapters in the character ranking, and I will go into more detail in the chapter ranking. There is no need to repeat myself or say the same thing multiple times or say what has already been said.

Moving on, I almost forgot about Davos’ chapters. I like Wyman Manderly, I like Davos, and I have no complaints. 

Moving on, there are a bunch of characters with only one or two chapters.

Areo’s one chapter has all of the problems with his chapter in Feast, and it feels even worse in this book with how little it affects every other chapter in this book. I see why it wouldn't have fit in with Feast or Winds, but it still feels so weird to go to Dorne for one chapter and then leave.

I guess I could say the same about Jaime’s one chapter, but I won’t, because Jaime’s chapter is really entertaining, and the events of it are talked about in Cersei’s two chapters.

Speaking of which, Cersei’s chapters have everything great about her chapters in Feast. We have a fantastic character in a harrowing situation, what more can one want?

Miss. Melisandre’s chapter is perfectly cromulent. It has some cool magic stuff going on, and George is great at showing extremely precarious situations. We know that the relationship between the Wildlings and the Nights Watch at the Wall is going to fall apart, we just don’t know when. This makes everything going on the Wall full of dread and suspense. We’ve also had three books to explore the politics of the wild and the watch. We know both groups very well, and that’s an important part of making the conflict interesting.

Moving on, Arya’s chapters are just like her chapters in Feast, and they have all of the good stuff from that.

Victarion’s two chapters have him on a boat with monkeys, and he’s angry, which leads me to believe that they’re actually just an Aguirre: The Wrath of God reference. Anywhoo,  I don’t like really like them all that much because they are so fucking slow-paced, and he is the third character who goes on a journey to Mereen. Maybe Victarion’s chapters are actually a Berserk reference, because he’s on a boat, and I just want him to reach his destination.

There’s also the prologue and monologue. The prologue is an A+ from me, because of course it is. This is non-linear storytelling being used well, replicating the way the character is feeling. As opposed to Quentyn’s chapters, there is still a sense of present time, that being the time right before Varamyr’s death. Not only that, but Beyond the Wall is waaaay more interesting than Essos.

Finally, the epilogue is also quite nice. It has lots of political intrigue, and it lets Varys be the sexy evil drama queen he was made to be.

As you can see, there are a LOOOOT of POVs in Dance, and that’s a problem.

The first three books feel actively constrained and limited by the POVS, and the limits make it fun. There is lots of stuff we wish we could see, but we are blocked out from it. This can add mystery, like with the shadow baby, or it can reflect the way the characters feel.

However, with Dance, we have 15 POV characters, not including the prologue and epilogue, and many of these characters only have one chapter, meaning that their character doesn’t go through an arc in this book. Areo appears, sees some plot relevant stuff which will influence his next book, and then he’s gone. He does not go through an arc.

We also get many characters whose POVs are only there because the plot needs it, and that just feels…messy. It’s like the characters are more tools than anything. 

Feast also has this problem, but it's even worse with Dance, as it has more POV characters, and more that only appear in one or two chapters. It doesn’t help that Dance is Song at its largest in scope, with a dozen different locations. It doesn’t help that many of these locations are in Essos, a very boring place. 

To summarize:

Bran’s chapters are Song at its peak in terms of character, worldbuilding, and atmosphere.

It is impossible to put Theon’s chapters down because of how brutally intense and intensely brutal they are.

Cersei’s chapters are fun.

Arya’s chapters are fun.

The great character work, worldbuilding, and fun ensemble of side characters make Jon’s chapters a thumbs up from me.

Asha’s chapters are fun.

Davos is a cool dude doing cool stuff. Yippee..

Jaime’s one chapter is fine.

Melisandre’s one chapter is fine.

Tyrion’s chapters showcase some extremely brilliant character writing but they are extraordinarily tedious except for when he’s hanging out with JonCon’s crew during Tyrion IV, V, and VI.

Areo Hotah’s chapter is a slog.

I don’t care about Victarion’s dumb arm or his dumb boat or his dumb monkey issues.

Dany’s chapters have great character work but are also a huge slog.

Quentyn’s chapters are a dense haze of worldbuilding which never seem to end.

I hope Barristan gets his nutsack stuck in a blender in The Winds of Winter.

[maxdibert]

I love this contribution, especially with the theoretical references, but also because I completely agree. Seeing things beyond black and white is a trait that develops as you gain more life experience. That’s why there’s such a drastic change between the end of high school (when you’re 18) and the end of university (around 22 or 23). Not much time has passed, but leaving behind a sheltered, childish environment to experience all sorts of things in just 4 or 5 years makes your perspective change dramatically. And let’s not even talk about what happens once you cross the threshold of 25, when people start getting stable jobs, moving out, having serious or not-so-serious relationships... Experience is fundamental to shaping your worldview and also for judging certain things. Adolescence is still a stage of physical and cognitive transformation, where ethical and moral frameworks are still being formed and are heavily influenced by a very childlike, binary perspective.

I remember that when I read the last book as a teenager, I specifically thought Severus had wasted his life on someone who didn’t even love him. I wasn’t particularly a huge fan of his character back then—I liked him a lot, but I wasn’t a hardcore defender. Still, I do remember thinking since the fifth book that Lily was kind of a jerk for almost laughing at him during SWM. So, I remember thinking at around 15 or so: What an idiot for being so broken up over someone like that. And it’s funny to think about now because I realize that at that age, I had no concept of loss. I hadn’t even lost any of my grandparents yet. Now, at 28, I’ve lost a lot of people and even witnessed some die. I understand loss; I’ve felt it, I’ve seen its consequences, and I’ve seen what poorly handled grief can do to people. So now I understand why he did what he did. As a teenager, I couldn’t, because everything seemed so simple to me: You haven’t spoken to this person in years, and they didn’t even accept your apology? You should just move on. But as an adult, you’ve experienced things that give you much more perspective, and it’s precisely those things that broaden your worldview and make you better at understanding the actions of others.

I get the feeling that these die-hard Marauders defenders are just kids who see Severus as that teacher they dislike or who was mean to them, and they can’t see beyond that because, ultimately, the world of school is all they know. There’s nothing beyond classes, homework, and tests, and they’re unable to put themselves in the shoes of an adult carrying countless traumas, a mountain of responsibilities, and, on top of it all, stuck in a job they don’t like, dealing with kids they can’t stand, who also make things as difficult as possible. Those of us who work, who’ve had to endure crappy jobs, who’ve stayed late in the office, paid bills, counted down to the end of the month to stretch our budget, and made dinner at 11 PM after a terrible day—we understand this much better. Because we know that being an adult sucks, that you have tons of responsibilities you hate, and that working in a job you don’t like is psychologically exhausting. And then you think about Severus, who isn’t just a teacher, but also a double agent, dealing with unimaginable pressure while also teaching, which he hates, managing kids and teenagers (who, once you’re past your teens, seem absolutely insufferable unless you genuinely have a passion for teaching—because seriously, no adult can stand you, kids, and you won’t stand teenagers when you grow up, and that’s the circle of life), who are also a massive pain because they’re always, always getting into trouble. Trouble that he has to sort out because his boss, Dumbledore, has appointed him the official babysitter of these reckless brats. You end up feeling a lot of compassion for him. Because he’s an underpaid adult with a crappy job, loads of mental issues, and, on top of it all, has to deal with a trio of know-it-all kids who won’t take no for an answer and always have to do the opposite of what they’re told. And that opposite constantly puts their lives at risk. And honestly, I’d be at my wit’s end too. I mean, you really have to reach a certain age to appreciate the restraint it must’ve taken for that man to limit himself to snide comments in class and not just tell them all to fuck off.

But you need a few years for that to sink in.

And I’ve gone off on a tangent, but hey, don’t hold it against me lol.

I’d bet half my monthly salary that 9 out of 10 Snaters who are also huge fans of the Marauders aren’t even 21 years old. And yes, age is essential to understanding certain things.

[babyboibucky]

The Match - Part 3

Pairing: CEO!Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: Bucky’s becoming extra horny around you in the office.

Word Count: 2,697

Warnings: still smut, boss x employee affair, unprotected sex everywhere, hints at misogyny???

A/N: And a mini series was born 😂 no but honestly, I didn’t expect for parts 1 and 2 of The Match to receive such amazing feedback 😭 I really enjoy reading everyone’s reaction to this series and trust me, all comments keep giving me ideas. Thank you all so much!!!!!!! 😘😘😘 and btw, this part isn’t their promotion “celebration” because that will have a chapter on its own. Long story short, that will be pure porn with no plot at all so stay tuned for that 😂

The Match Masterlist || MAIN MASTERLIST

It’s been a rollercoaster ride since you matched with James— Bucky, on Tinder. Maybe not a literal rollercoaster ride but with how Bucky had you bouncing on his cock as he sat on the couch, or that one time he asked you to sit on his face inside his car, it was a ride nonetheless and an exhilarating one at that.

Despite your relationship with him, the both of you surprisingly managed to keep things professional when there was work involved. Of course there were times when quickies in the office took place, given that Bucky was fucking insatiable (let’s all admit it, so were you). Work was work and you excelled at being the head of your department, but once office hours are over, you excelled more at giving Bucky head.

Oftentimes you found yourself worrying about getting caught. You’ve always been careful but lately, Bucky seemed to be slipping up. He just couldn’t seem to get his hands off of you and he was becoming more and more obvious. You were pretty good at being discreet but sometimes, it was hard not to react to Bucky when he would look at you with a naughty glint in his eyes, a smug smirk tugging at his lips as he watched you present. He’d tilt his head sometimes as he looked at you, lifting a brow as he smirked whenever he was impressed.

You ended up stuttering when he gave you that look one time. It was proud and it made your chest swell and your pussy throb. He rewarded you that night in his office by making you cum on his face twice.

That look was going to be the death of you and he was giving it to you now as you entered the conference room for the monthly mancom meeting. Bucky eyed you as you went around the desk, lifting a brow and pulling the empty chair next to him, commanding you to sit beside him without having to say a word.

You cleared your throat and pulled the chair, noticing how Bucky eyed your ass before you sat down.

“Is everyone here?” He asked after ogling your backside for a good five seconds.

All the department heads affirmed their attendance and soon enough, the meeting began with the HR manager reporting first. Lights were shut off and as soon as the report was projected onto the wall, Bucky began his little game. You were paying attention to the slides being presented until you felt Bucky’s foot nudge your ankle, hooking around it to slightly open up your legs.

You side-eyed him and subtly shook your head. He had never done this in public, at least, not during meetings. So you weren’t sure why he was being so frisky now, placing a hand on your thigh. You grabbed his hand and moved it away gently before slightly moving your seat away from Bucky, crossing your legs in the process.

“What do you think Mister Barnes?” The HR manager asked.

All heads turned towards Bucky, who obviously wasn’t paying attention provided that his hand was trying to sneak back onto your thigh. He cleared his throat and straightened up on his seat, fixing his tie before pursing his lips.

“I’m sorry, can you please repeat that?” He asked and you fought the urge to snort.

“I was wondering if we can hold another seminar about workplace etiquette.” She said.

Bucky hummed, “Do we have problematic employees?” He asked curiously.

The HR manager sighed, a blush creeping up to her face. “There have been rumors going around the office about employees engaging in...lewd acts within the workplace. I thought that we should revisit the topic about workplace code of ethics.” She explained.

You ended up in a coughing fit, quickly apologizing and reasoning out that you were having allergies today. Bucky tensed in his seat but managed to remain calm. He stole a quick glance at you before turning back to the HR manager.

“And have we identified these employees?” He asked, rubbing a hand on his chin. A nervous habit of his, you noticed.

This was what you have been worrying about! Bucky has been fucking you around the office and now everyone was catching on to it. And although you wanted to blame Bucky for this, you knew you were just as much to blame. Damn you and your hormones!

The HR manager shook her head, much to your and Bucky’s relief. “No sir, but some employees have been noticing and hearing things, especially after office hours. Janet for instance, filed a report last week about hearing hushed whispers from the pantry, followed by the creaking sound of the table. The following day, shards of someone’s mug were found in the trash. There was an assumption that there might be employees behaving inappropriately.”

“Oh my god, I’m close. Bucky I’m—“

Bucky’s hand clamped around your mouth as he shushed you, hearing footsteps approach the pantry. You stilled as you nervously watched shadows move beneath the door, but of course, this didn’t stop Bucky from snapping his hips against yours.

His thrusts were slow and languid, but he slammed back in with such force that made the pantry table scratch against the floor. Once the footsteps faded, Bucky wasted no time to get back to fucking you. He lifted your legs up and rested the back of your ankles against his shoulders, slightly bending down over you so he can angle his cock to perfectly hit that one sweet spot.

A single, powerful thrust sent you reeling, your hands finding purchase on the sides of the table.

“Cum, baby. Cum.” Bucky growled.

Another thrust made you gasp out loud, feeling the head of Bucky’s cock nudge against your cervix. One hand reached for his bicep, your nails digging into his dress shirt while the other reached back for the edge of the table only to knock off the mug resting on top.

You made a face when you heard it crash against the floor. The mug was soon forgotten when Bucky leaned down to kiss you, his tongue sliding into your mouth as his hand reached down to rub your clit.

You wiped the sweat on your forehead upon remembering that incident. Fucking Janet just had to file a report. It was after office hours, for fuck’s sake! Who cares what employees do after their shift?!

“I see.” Bucky responded, fixing his suit. “Okay. I approve of the seminar. Who’s next?” He asked, quickly changing the topic as if it was no big deal.

The head of the Finance department began with his presentation and just like that, Bucky returned his hand on top of your thigh, prying your legs open. You turned to him with a look of disbelief on your face. He was acting as if there wasn’t any close call earlier. You couldn’t believe this man, sure he was hot as hell, but you weren’t giving in to him. Not today, not when the both of you were almost caught.

The entire mancom meeting was pretty eventful, with Bucky teasing your legs with his hand despite your half-hearted protests. You hated how Bucky was able to familiarize himself with your body and how it reacted to him. Your eyes might be saying no but with how your legs eventually spread on their own, Bucky knew you were desperate for him too.

-

It was an hour past your shift when you received an e-mail from Bucky with the subject being “Report”. Thinking it was one his follow-up e-mails (Bucky is an impatient man when it comes to the submission of reports and you weren’t an exception) you opened it immediately and choked on your spit when a photo of his dick showed up on your desktop. You started clicking around in an attempt to close his e-mail, but instead of hitting the “x” button, you ended up maximizing the window instead.

“Jesus fucking christ!” You cursed and covered your monitor with your hands as you frantically looked around the office.

It was like a fucking jump scare, like one of those computer pranks asking you to concentrate on a dot before a scary photo would pop out. Except that it was Bucky’s dick that appeared. A dick scare.

Fortunately, you were the only one left in your area since pretty much everyone else scrambled out of the office as soon as work hours were over. It was a Friday after all.

You sighed in relief and quickly scrolled down to see the message beneath the photo of Bucky’s dick.

Need you in my office in ten.

P.S. Bring the report I asked from you the other day.

Best,

Bucky Barnes

Who sends an unsolicited dick pic through e-mail followed by a work reminder? And the signature? It was the cherry on top. Bucky Barnes was something else. Sweet jesus, you really couldn’t believe this man.

Grabbing your report, you marched your way to the elevator and headed up to Bucky’s office. Seeing that his floor was empty, you didn’t even bother knocking on his door and simply barged in.

“I can’t belie— what the fuck?” You called out when you were welcomed with the sight of Bucky leaning back on his chair, his cock out for the world to see as he gently stroked it.

“Need your pretty mouth around my cock, baby.” Bucky cooed with half-lidded eyes.

You huffed out a humorless laugh and shook your head, “I’m not sucking your cock, Bucky.” You refused and walked over to his table, slamming your report on top of it before walking away, but not before stealing another look at his majestic cock.

“Are you mad?” Bucky asked but he was smirking with amusement. He was giving you that look again but you were having none of it tonight.

You stood in front of his desk, keeping a safe distance away from him. Crossing your arms over your chest, you scowled at Bucky and tried your best not to let your eyes fall down to his cock again. Which by the way, he continued to stroke.

“For someone as smart as you, I can’t believe you’re so fucking dense.” You said with irritation when Bucky didn’t seem to understand why you were agitated.

He licked his lips, bucking up his hips when he squeezed the base of his cock. Bucky let out a delicious grunt as he continued to stroke himself. As much as you were salivating at the sight of Bucky’s cock— tip red and swollen, begging to be sucked— you didn’t want to give in.

“You’re fucking priceless, James.” You said, exasperated and turned around, heading towards the door.

You were about to reach onto the door knob when you heard the sound of a zipper followed by the wheels of Bucky’s chair screeching against the floor before a pair of hands grabbed at your waist. Turning you around, you were met with Bucky’s worried face.

“Shit, you’re really mad. Talk to me?” He pleaded, eyes apologetic as he took a step back, urging you to speak up.

“You might want to take a seat because I’ve got quite a list.” You said.

Bucky obeyed and returned to his chair immediately, sitting upright as he looked at you with doe eyes. If you weren’t so mad, you would’ve melted at the sight of him like that. And the Bucky Barnes? The CEO? Obeying you like a good little boy? Huh, what an interesting concept. You mentally took note of a certain kink that you might enjoy. But for now, you were mad at him and you were going to make him understand why.

“Number one, I don’t particularly enjoy it when you tease me in front of everyone else. We talked about staying professional when there’s work involved and what you did during the mancom was definitely not professional.” You told him.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t hold back not when your ass looked so fuckin’ tight in that skirt of yours. Can you blame me?” Bucky almost whined.

“Keep it in your pants, Barnes. I’m not yet done.” You reminded him and went over your second point.

“Number two, we almost got caught to the point of the HR deciding to hold a seminar on workplace ethics! Do you know how awkward it would be for me to sit there and listen to scenarios about office misconduct? Most of which we’ve probably done. I’d sweat like a whore in church!” You hissed.

Which scenarios could that be? Fucking inside the janitor’s supply closet? Check. Doing the nasty in one of the bathroom cubicles? Check that twice. Giving a blowjob beside the fax machine during lunch break? Triple check that shit.

“And oh, you sent me a dick pic using your work e-mail! You do know that the IT can access our computers right? Almost gave me a heart attack when it flashed on my monitor.” You asked in a huff.

Bucky snickered, “Are you forgetting that I’m the CEO? Baby, I can easily clean up our mess.” He reassured and stood up, approaching you.

You shook your head, “That’s exactly the point, Bucky. You are the CEO and I’m an employee. You may not understand it but I’m scared. If we get caught, it’s over for me. Whether you have it cleaned up or not, I’d still be the one at risk here. You’ll never be in the same position as I am. People won’t call you names if we get caught. No matter what happens, I’d always get the short end of the stick.”

You didn’t mean to be all serious, talking about the possible misogynistic outcome of your relationship with Bucky. As much as you enjoyed it, it still scared the living daylights out of you. Some were already spreading rumors about your promotion, getting caught would only add fuel to the fire.

Bucky sighed and nodded, “I’m sorry. I didn’t try to understand where you were coming from.” He genuinely apologized.

“If it scares you that much, then let’s make it official.”

You deadpanned at him, “Make what official, Bucky?” You asked, eyebrow raised in curiosity.

Bucky shrugged and motioned his hand between the both of you, “This...us.” He simply said.

You scoffed, “Tell the entire office that we’re fucking every chance we get? Are you out of your mind?”

Bucky ran a hand through his cropped hair, “Not like that. Look, we’ve been at it for what? Two? Three months now? We might as well make this into an official relationship.”

You blushed at Bucky’s suggestion. Sure, you practically jumped at the opportunity to fuck your boss when he asked you. But were you an easy bitch in general? Of course not, even with how thirsty you were for him, you still had a little bit of appreciation for the old-fashioned ways.

Pushing Bucky’s chest away, you shook your head at him. “That’s now how relationships work, Bucky. You can’t fuck your way into my heart.”

Bucky laughed and bit his lip, “Fine. Then I’ll do it properly.” He said so easily you were starting to wonder whether he was fucking with you.

You narrowed your eyes at him suspiciously, “I don’t believe you.” You said.

“You will, baby. I’ll make sure of that. We’ll do it old-school.” He said, caressing your cheek.

You were caught off guard but you didn’t want to get your hopes up. Bucky had been an amazing lover and in the past months you’ve fucked, he treated you with respect and took good care of you. He brought you dinner, drove you home and texted you good night. Sometimes he’d text you during the weekends too.

“Old-school it is then.” You shrugged as if it was no big deal but oh, it was a big deal.

Bucky nodded with a grin, “Okay. But...” he trailed, his smile turning upside down in deep thought.

“Does that mean we’d stop fucking each other for the mean time?” He asked.

You snickered, “I said you can’t fuck your way into my heart, not my pussy. So sit down and let me suck your cock.”

-

Everything Bucky Tag List:

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The Match Special Tags:

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