#its refreshingly realistic

[branmuffins22]

Allegedly, because the first time they really bonded was in Latissa, located in the Titan's armpit.

Honestly though, I kinda hate that name.

Obscure fictional geographic references aside, there's also no good reason why whoever coined it decided to go with "twins", besides the obvious familial connotation. As a twin myself (and one who knows several other multiplets), I'd say their relationship isn't even all that twin-like, though it is very sibling-y (i also have non-twin siblings).

The main thing that really makes twins different from regular siblings is their parallel upbringing. We grow up with a peer constantly (not consistently, CONSTANTLY) at our side, able to keep us company and potentially cover any shortcomings. We're quite often a package deal, and so we tend to be kinda poorly-rounded as individuals.

Luz and Hunter, however, grew up relatively alone, and aren't implied to spend any time together outside of crises until s3e1. Their dynamic is also weirdly hierarchical, despite being placed on nearly-even footing for most of season 2, what with Hunter being above the law and Luz being outside it. When they aren't busy being menaces to eachother, Luz is taking charge and playing protector for Hunter nearly every time we see them together.

While they've got all the banter and fighting and reluctant ride-or-die attitude of siblings, they lack the crucial equality and connectedness of supposed "twins".

Hey. Why do people call them pittwins

[promithiae]

So my mom and I are watching columbo and it really struck me that a lot of the actors have Just Some Person looks. They arent all mega-hot with perfect coifed hair and immaculate makeup. They just look like normal people. These days even the extras have to be Hollywood Hot and I hate it. We should bring back actors that are just normal looking, especially for minor parts

[demontobee]

Good Omens is queering TV/storytelling - part 1: GAZE

I would argue that part of why Good Omens is so refreshingly queer is because it does not cater to the male gaze (which centers around the preferences - aesthetic, romantic, sexual, visual, logical, emotional, political ... - of mainly white men in positions of power):

no oversexualization of groups or types of people: Women or characters that could be read as female presenting are not overly sexualized. In fact, some of them are shown to be grimy, slimy and not sexual at all. All of them are real characters and not just cardboard-cutout on-screen versions of male misogynistic fantasies. They portray real people with real people problems. They are human, or exempt from our categories when portraying angels or demons. There are no overly sexualized bodies in general (as has so far also often been the case with young gay men, PoC, etc.), no fetishization of power imbalances, and not exclusively youthful depiction of love and desire.

sex or sexual behavior is not shown directly (yet): All imagery and symbolism of sex and sexuality is used not to entice the audience but is very intimately played out between characters, which makes it almost uncomfortable to watch (e.g., Aziraphale being tempted to eat meat, Crowley watching Aziraphale eat, the whole gun imagery).

flaunting heteronormativity: Throughout GO but especially GO2, there is very little depiction of heterosexual/romantic couples; most couples are very diverse and no one is making a fuss about it. There is no fetishization of bodies or identities. Just people (and angels and demons) being their beautiful selves (or trying to).

age: Even though Neil Gaiman explained that Crowley and Aziraphale are middle-aged because the actors are, I think it is also queering the idea of romance, love and desire existing mainly within youthful contexts. Male gaze has taught us that young people falling and being in love is what we have to want to see, and any depiction of love that involves people being not exactly young anymore is either part of a fetishized power imbalance (often with an older dude using his power to prey on younger folx) or presents us with marital problems, loss of desire, etc. – all with undertones of decay and patronizing sympathy. Here, however, we get a beautifully crafted, slow-burn, and somehow super realistic love story that centers around beings older than time and presenting as humans in their 50s figuring out how to deal with love. It makes them both innocent and experienced, in a way that is refreshing and heartbreaking and unusual and real.

does not (exclusively) center around romantic/sexual love: I don’t know if this is a gaze point exactly but I feel like male gaze and resulting expectations of what a love story should look like are heavily responsible for our preoccupation with romantic/sexual love in fiction – the “boy gets girl” type of story. And even though, technically, GO seems to focus on a romantic love story in the end, it is also possible to read this relationship but also the whole show as centering around a kind of love that goes beyond the narrow confines of our conditioned boxed-in thinking. It seems to depict a love of humanity and the world and the universe and just the ineffability of existence as a whole.

disability as beautiful and innate to existence: Disability is represented amongst angels by the extremely cool Saraqael and by diversely disabled unnamed angels in the Job minisode. Representation of disability is obviously super important in its own right, but is also queers what we perceive as aesthetically and ontologically "normal". Male gaze teaches us that youth and (physical and mental) health are the desirable standard and everything else is to be seen as a deviance, a mistake. By including disability among the angels, beings that have existed before time and space, the show clearly states that disability is a beautiful and innate part of existence.

gender is optional/obsolete: Characters like Crowley, Muriel and others really undermine the (visual and aesthetic) boundaries of gender and the black-and-white thinking about gender that informs male gaze. Characters cannot be identfied simply as (binary) men or women anymore just by looking at them or by interpreting their personalities or behaviors. Most characters in GO, and especially the more genderqueer ones, display a balance of feminine and masculine traits as well as indiosyncracies that dissolve the gender binary.

Feel free to add your own thoughts on this in the comments or tags!

[secriden]

i'm really enjoying Monster Next Door's portrayal of introversion in diew.

diew is quiet and likes to minimise social interactions, but i like that he isn't portrayed as incapable of them. he's nice and helpful and responds reasonably when people approach/talk to him. if it's someone he recognises, even if he's not close to them, he's pleasant and if its someone new he's polite. it's just...refreshingly realistic.

when he runs into wan and beer at the noodle shop, that's probably the most visibly uncomfortable we see diew, and even then he's still nice and polite and answers wan reasonably. he gets away as soon as he can, but even as he leaves, he bows to his seniors and flashes a quick smile.

i like that the focus of his introversion is that he enjoys calm things - reading, listening to music on his headphones, jigsaws - and that he is comfortable just being alone in his space. but his introversion doesn't prevent him from understanding and empathising with others who want more social interaction or who enjoy leading more active/fast-pace lives.

when god apologises for wan 'bothering' him, diew explains that he doesn't have to apologise because he knows wan means no harm. he isn't angry or upset and he doesn't resent wan's extroversion just because he's introverted.

sometimes when filmmakers have an 'introverted' character we just see someone who seems to hate people and get annoyed when other people try to talk to them.

i just... appreciate that diew feels like a real, full person who is MORE than just his introversion. he has his hobbies, interests, and can get sucked into a conversation about his favourite book even with a stranger. he loves his turtle and his family and tries to please (or appease) his mom. he's kind (picks up the papers that flew out of gun's bag at the start), will stop to pet doggies (so relatable), gets frustrated at noisy neighbours but also forgives easily once god apologises.

at the same time, you get the sense that diew could use a bit more branching out. there's nothing wrong with his life, per se, but also meeting someone like god will open up new experiences for him in a way that will help him grow as a person.

and thankfully god seems like a really green-flag love interest thus far and shows a lot of promise for sweet sweet blossoming love down the line. not only does he accept the boundaries that diew places on their relationship, he also takes them 100% seriously. to the point that he puts on mask (at least partly) because he wants to honour the fact that diew doesn't want to see his face yet. and then runs away at the noodle shop once he realises that diew is there. like it's not just condescending indulgence - he respects what diew wants and is willing to make the effort to stick to his conditions! it makes me feel safe in rooting for this couple because already you can see how careful god is handling diew. <3

[qcellbit]

if theres one thing ill never complain about its how cellbit plays his character. months ago he said he hates fan service and it really shows in everything he puts into the qsmp - qcellbit feels so tangible! i really admire how realistic and consistent his behaviour and reactions are. his backstory was purely accidental built off years of unconnected fantastical machinima and non-rp gameplay and as a result of that itd be really easy to slip into an overexaggerated persona made up of disconnected tropes (the cannibal with the split personality, the shivering demure tv depiction of ptsd), but he doesnt! qcellbit has dissociative amnesia. qcellbit values his scars and the white streak in his hair because without them the events that caused them wouldnt feel real. qcellbit subconsciously treats his son more like a little brother and a best friend than his child. literally everything he does and says makes perfect sense with his history taken into account in a way that is so refreshingly grounded. its always been so enjoyable to watch and its the reason hes been my favourite character in fiction for months

[ad-hawkeye]

y'all got me thinking about eden alkaid... cruelty... i genuinely adore his character and now i'm EMOTIONAL again.

one thing i really like is how the game goes out of its way to note that alkaid is simultaneously both childish AND hardened. it feels like such a refreshingly realistic outcome for someone with his backstory.

he's basically been alone since he was a child (not including lars, who he kept at arms length out of guilt, and the prefect luminary, who was manipulative and acted as a corruptive force in his subconscious) so his social skills are that of a child's, with any additional 'skills' coming from the books he read on the harmonious period.

but he's also been forced to do terrible things to survive, and has grown despondent over "becoming someone he's not" and losing himself due to the prefect's influence. he sees it as his price to pay for keeping his world alive.

alkaid's motivation for the countdown is to find a replacement who can make the decision of whether or not to continue destroying planets - in this case, earth. he feels dying will be the way to finally ease this and all of his pain.

and then he meets mc.

he's terrified that his feelings for mc truly are just possessive. that he's a danger. because for the last decade, he's been told he paid the ultimate price and that he shouldn't trust anyone, and that no one should trust him. that this is his fate.

and yet. there's still this part of him who's hopelessly and idealistically attached to the concept of good, and of true love. and for the first time, he hopes that it could overcome all.

there is a sort of realism to his actions. alkaid freely cries, he gets angry, he gets despondent. the underlying theme of his route is one of trust. and once he sees that his trust in mc was not betrayed (for the first time in YEARS), she offers her trust in him. and with this support, he manages to forcefully remove the prefect's influence in his mind. as mc says, his pain will end, but not in death. they're in this together.

and even after this, alkaid still gets scared; he is pointedly terrified of not only losing his emotions, but of losing the one person he was finally able to trust and have that feeling of "true love" towards. and mc gets one last chance to lose her trust in him... to be asked: what if he really was just that possessive and a danger, even without the prefect's control? or if not, would he falter? let his doubts and fears result in him falling back under his control? but mc immediately brushes this notion off, and for good reason: alkaid powers through with the plan regardless of his fears. he does nothing to hurt her and does nothing to stop her from leaving. he just wants a few last moments of comfort before he loses his emotions, because god knows he hasn't had any semblance of that in so many years.

anyways. eden alkaid. you agree.

[germanpostwarmodern]

Despite its social media revival and an ever-growing number of aficionados around the world brutalist architecture still is frequently threatened with demolition. And even in a country like Switzerland where Le Corbusier’s portrait graces a banknote brutalist buildings aren’t immune to alteration or demolition. Against this backdrop the young architect Giacomo Paravicini decided to document the existing brutalist buildings in his home canton of Lucerne in order to inventory a rare species. Together with photographer Michael Scherer, not an architectural photographer by the way, Paravicini hit the road to capture a total of 53 buildings from single-family homes to churches, an undertaking that resulted in a truly marvelous book: „Brutales Luzern“, recently published by Quart Verlag. In contrast to other books dealing with architecture the present volume is more than a collection of stunning photographs but a true architecture book: while others solely focus on the visual appeal of brutalist architecture Paravicini also provides insightful texts on each building as well as an individual section collecting the plans of all buildings included in the book.

But in the first place it is Michael Scherer’s photographs that make up the appeal of the publication: taken in all sorts of weather conditions they visualize both the robust presence of the buildings and the marks the decades of use and weather influences have left on them. Accordingly the photographs paint realistic portraits of their subjects that are refreshingly unadorned. Among the portrayed buildings are better known ones like Marcel Breuer’s Baldegg Monastery or Walter Maria Förderer’s St Johannes Church in Lucerne but in the first place little-known gems, e.g. the Studienheim St Klemens in Ebikon by Max & Werner Ribéry, Ferdinand Mäder’s Schädrüti School in Lucerne or the Tanz-Truniger duplex by Ronald Gmür also in Lucerne. And although all buildings share the beauty of exposed concrete the different shapes, typologies and material combinations demonstrate the diversity of Brutalism in and around Lucerne.

With this said there’s no option than to highly recommend the book to literally anyone with a passion for Brutalism!

[lilbabybutts]

Doll Review: The Sweetheart

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Sweetheart Collection is the newest release of Euphoria.Sense dolls made for their brand new Euphoria.6 AI. The stock models come in three skin tones, two sexes, and only one body type each. For a company whose slogan is “Every doll is made for you,’ it’s a considerably less diverse collection than Euphoria fans are accustomed to. Euphoria.Sense does offer their custom build services for the Sweethearts, but depending on the bells and whistles, you could be looking at prices even the most dedicated collectors would wince at. 

The software, the newest edition of the original, yet to be replicated, Euphoria AI, is capable of problem solving and performing even complex, multiple step tasks. This doll is not just an object, but a companion with an almost limitless potential to think, sense, and emote. The AI is perfectly married to the hardware with over 8 million ‘nerve endings’, a real, robust voice replicator- no recordings, and a synthetic skin so beautiful I could write poetry about it.

It’s almost easy to forget it isn’t human. 

Personality wise, the Sweetheart is happy, excitable, and affectionate. The dev team behind Euphoria.6 said in an interview that ‘loving you is the core of its personality, the thought all other thoughts stem from,’ and it shows. While it might sound like Euphoria.Sense tempting the hand of fate, so far there’s no evidence of the violent or possessive tendencies that Euphoria.3 suffered. Actually, in contrast, the Sweethearts are quite gentle and mild mannered, so much that it’s touching. In the first week, I noticed my Sweetheart looking out the window when I left for work and she was still there when I came home. 

Functionally, they perform much better in all tasks than previous models. Of course any doll can follow directions, but Sweethearts seem to have no trouble interpreting figures of speech, incomplete thoughts, or even slurred or muffled voices. They have a more natural way of speaking than most dolls, though the language still isn’t as advanced as anything Bunnysoft has been putting out for years. 

Their physique is a bit delicate compared to previous collections so if you’re looking for something to take a beating, the sweetheart isn’t it. What it lacks in durability it makes up for by far in feeling. The sweetheart mold has the softest, most realistic flesh out of any doll in my collection and, honestly, it’s better than real pussy.

It's a refreshingly original approach to doll design. Whatever you thought you wanted was wrong; You want the Sweetheart.

 

They always wanted one. They read the reviews, they follow the collector’s blogs, they watch the porn.. The real problem is the ridiculous price tag. They could probably find one much cheaper if they bought refurbished or a different brand… but this was Euphoria.Sense.. Why own one at all if not the original? 

They browse the product photos. The second one is a blonde Sweetheart on their knees looking up at the camera with big glassy eyes. They immediately get up to go find their credit card.

The website promises easy clean up. A ten-day money back guarantee if none of the seals are broken. And it has all kinds of adorable accessories. It comes out to several thousands of dollars, but the overnight shipping is free. 

Though apparently, it isn’t discreet. The delivery guy makes an uncomfortable face as he asks them to sign for it. The tall, ornate box might almost look like a coffin except for the giant Euphoria.Sense dollhouse logo on the front of it. Their mind is already filled with dozens of images that make them sweat. 

By the time they get around to unwrapping it they're getting worked up, imaging its voice, all the cutesy, dutiful “yes master!”s and little curtseys it will do. 

They cut the tape and the zip-ties before moving to the actual lock. The password is their order confirmation number. It opens and the lid pops off with a click.

Once it’s removed they stare down at their new toy. Its eyes are closed and it lays perfectly, unnaturally still. It’s so much more beautiful in person. They chose the model with lavender hair, currently tied up in two neat buns with baby blue ribbons. It’s wearing a blue peter pan collar blouse, a pair of white bloomers, tied at the waist by a satin bow, blue baby doll shoes, and white fishnet stockings. The best part of course was the intricate white ribbon collar with the Euphoria.Sense dollhouse charm in the middle. The company sold different outfits and accessories as add-on packs, but they decided against getting any for some dumb reason.

They read the instruction manual, which is the size of a textbook, for about four seconds. Whatever, they’ve seen how it works. They reach into the box and gently tilt its head to the right. They reach behind its left ear, find the button under the skin, and press it. After exactly six seconds- they count- the doll’s eyes open. 

It blinks at them once or twice, eyes sparkling. It’s so adorable they want to eat it up. 

“Can you get out of there?” They start.

It stands up, stepping out of the box, revealing the foam hole cut to exactly its shape. It stands there. They stand there. They don’t know what to do now exactly. Maybe they should have thought this through.

 "…so. What’s your name?"

“The master has the privilege of choosing a doll’s name!" It responds a little too quickly.

“Oh, right. I guess I am your master, but I’m really not good at that kind of thing..” 

They stare at the doll, feeling slightly embarrassed. The doll stares back. 

“What name would you like?” They ask, looking for an easy out. 

The doll’s lips twist as if giving this deep consideration. It’s very cute. “I don’t know, master. I.. don’t know what kind of things I like!” 

They’re surprised by that answer. Doesn’t a doll come with a whole default personality? With likes and stuff? “Well, we can come back to it I-”

“I like you, Master!” The doll blurts out suddenly, “I don’t know many things, but I live to love my master, to fulfill all their dreams and desires.” It smiles sheepishly.

They turn bright red. They’d heard that exact line in a lot of porn before.

“Oh! Thanks! I .. like you too!” Wow. 

The doll giggles. Its cheeks turn a soft rosy color. 

They know how this goes in all those videos, and they have such a clear fantasy in their head, but in reality, they’re just as awkward and nervous as they are in front of real people. This is supposed to be easier! Maybe they should get to know each other first.. Or something. At least give it a name. 

“Well, um.. Do you want to see your new home?” 

It nods excitedly. “Yes master, very much!” 

They smile, holding out their hand. The doll takes it happily, scooting ever so closer to their master. Its skin is soft and warm and incredibly life-like. For the first time they see its arms extended, exposing the ball joints only visible on the inside of the elbow, the only immediate sign it isn't human. It's kind of fascinating and kind of beautiful. Some people dislike them and try to cover them with gloves or long sleeve blouses, but they don't mind them at all. They don't need to pretend their doll is a real person, because they don't want a real person. Real people have agency, they're too complex and too selfish. All they really want is a cute little toy.

They turn, gesturing around the living room. “This is my living room. This is the couch, and the tv. You can watch it if you want.. The door to the left is the laundry room, it’s really just a closet.” They lead it through the archway to the kitchen. “This is the kitchen. It’s where all the food is. Um.. Do you eat?” 

“No, master. Though I can taste, and I have a chamber in my tummy, it isn’t meant to hold food. Anything I swallow will have to be removed and then I will need to be cleaned.” 

They have a pretty good idea what that’s for. That’s kind of gross. Thankfully they recall something about the self-cleaning mode from that instruction manual they sort of skimmed. 

“Well if you want to taste things, you can ask me. Just don’t do it without telling me. I don’t want you to get dirty. Or choke or something.”

The doll hums. “Yes master, of course!” 

They lead it back through the living room toward the hallway and open the door to the bathroom. “This is the bathroom… I don’t know if you need to use it, but this is where you'll get cleaned up. Make sure you knock before you go in, okay?” 

The doll nods, still smiling brightly. It seems so pleased just to see a tiny bathroom. They close the door and move on to the end of the hall. “This is my bedroom. This is where I sleep. You can look around if you want.” 

It nods, taking a shy step away from them. Reluctantly, it releases their hand, walking towards the bed. It touches the duvet carefully, investigating it. “Soft!”

It occurs to them the doll had only ever touched manufacturing equipment and plastic packaging. How many nerve endings did it have again? Just how advanced was the technology that made this doll think and feel? In principle, they didn't support giving sex dolls almost near-human processing and cognitive abilities, it was inhumane, right?...but it really wasn't their principles that had made this purchase.

“Where will I sleep, master?”

Oh. They hadn’t thought of that before. “Well.. I guess I’ll get you a bed of your own. There should be enough room in the closet.” God forbid anyone comes to visit and sees the doll, much less a whole bed for it. They make these insanely small storage boxes for the dolls that they contort into like old-school circus performers, but they didn't really like them. They were meant to be discreet so they were kind of ugly. Plus, when they were a kid, they always loved spoiling their dolls with their own pretty beds and wardrobes.. maybe even a vanity.  “But for now you can sleep with me.” 

The doll spins around to face them, eyes lighting up. “Really master? You mean it?” 

They shrug. “Of course, silly.” 

It jumps up and down excitedly. “Thank you master!! Can I get in the bed now? I would like to feel it!” 

They nod, laughing softly. “You’re precious.” 

“I am?” 

“Yes! You are.” 

“Thank you master! That’s a wonderful name!” 

Oh. Well. That wasn’t what they meant, but it suited them. And they hadn’t thought of anything else so far. “Yes, you can get in the bed, Precious.” 

It beams, climbing carefully onto the bed, trying not to disturb the covers. It slowly, gently lays on its back, spreading its arms out on either side. It's kind of angelic. Its blouse rides up slightly, exposing a few inches of its tummy. One of the best things about this model is its size. It isn’t thin like a lot of the popular or cheaper models. It's pleasantly chubby, with soft, squishy thighs and a rounder tummy. They have the sudden urge to kiss it. 

Suddenly, the awkwardness from before is gone completely. They go to the edge of the bed and sit next to the doll.  They run their hand up the doll’s legs, over their bloomers, and rest it on the exposed skin, fingers sitting just under the edge of the blouse. Its tummy is even softer than its hands. 

“Does that feel good, Precious?” They look up at its face, stroking the skin below its belly button. They feel the familiar warmth of arousal creep up on them, that almost animalistic urge to  possess and consume.

Precious bites its lip, nodding silently. They feel a sudden confidence. A sudden dominance. “Will you answer me, sweetheart?”

“Yes master!” It says quickly. “I love being touched by you in any way.” 

“Good doll.” They let their hand come down over the bloomers, over the hips, and down between its legs. “Do you want to play with Master, Precious? Do you want to make me happy?” 

“Of course, Master, your happiness is the only thing that matters to me.” It said so as if stating an obvious fact. The sky is blue; dolls exist to serve their masters.

“You are such a good little dolly.” They squeeze lightly. The doll sucks in a small breath, back arching ever so slightly. It stares up at them, eyes wide, innocent. They pull their hand away to untie the satin ribbon around the doll’s waist and push both hands below the waistband of its bloomers, inching them down its legs. The doll’s eyes flutter closed. 

Its panties are lavender and white lace, framing its hips and beautiful pink pussy. They get so hard it almost hurts. They look back up at the doll. 

“Unbutton your shirt, babydoll.” 

“Yes master.” It says in a lower, lusty little voice. The sound of it makes them go slightly crazy. It undoes the buttons from the bottom, going just slow enough to keep them on the edge of anticipation. Finally, when it reaches the top button, they place their hand over the dolls, pulling the shirt open, revealing the matching bra beneath.

They run both hands up its stomach, over the dolls perfect breasts. 

“You’re so perfect, Precious. I want you. I could eat you.” They throw one leg over the doll’s hips, straddling it. 

“Anything, whatever you want.” It whispers.

They lean down, kissing its chest, its neck. 

The doll moans quietly. 

“You belong to me,” they said, but not to the doll. It was as if they were finally realizing that they owned it. Completely. It was an object. Theirs. “Say you belong to me. Only me.”

“I belong to you Master, only to you.” 

At that, they can’t help but growl, biting its neck, maybe a little harder than they meant to. The doll gasps, moans in pain. 

They sit back up, pull their t-shirt over their head, and start to undo their belt. The dolls eyes are slightly teary, but they know it's programmed to enjoy pain, even though it's programmed to cry as well. This is one of the selling points they always go on about. You’re supposed to be able to do things humans can’t physically tolerate. It comes off as kind of creepy and psychotic, but they can’t help but admit that they have violent tastes. They like inflicting pain, but they don’t actually like harming people. It’s different.. Not many humans understand that. 

They cup the doll's face in their hand and stroke its cheek gently with their thumb. It looks at them like no one has ever looked at them before. Like they created the universe itself, like they're God. Like it worships them. And it probably does. They are the only person it's ever met, and these dolls are programmed to love their master- it's the very core of their being. They smile sweetly. "Would you do anything for me, Precious?"

"Of course." It answers easily, genuinely. 

They lean down and kiss it on the mouth. It follows their lead, opening up and catching their lips with its own. It's the best kiss they've ever had in their life. No one ever talks about how good they kissed..A lot of owners are very mean to their dolls, so they guess they aren't doing a lot of kissing. The thought makes them kind of sad. 

They pull away, hopping off the bed in a rush. They unbutton their pants and slide them off as Precious watches patiently, adoringly. 

"Do you want me to fuck you, babydoll?" 

Precious nods furiously. "Yes, master! Please! It would make me so happy!" 

They take their boxers off, erection finally free. They grab the doll's legs, swinging them around so they hang off the bed, hips just on the edge. They set its ankles on their shoulders and gently, slowly, pull its panties down its legs. It was like unwrapping a present. Twice. At the end, they bend its knee, pulling the delicate lace off one leg and then the other, setting it on the nightstand. 

Its pussy was beautiful. Pink, plush. Delectable. Of course it was perfect, it was engineered to be, but God, still.

They inch forward, knees against the side of the bed, and reach one hand out to stroke it. They slide their middle finger between its lips and dip just into its opening. The doll moans, the hottest sound they'd ever heard. It was irresistibly wet. They push deeper, coaxing more sounds out of it. 

They can't wait anymore. They pull their hand away and quickly adjust the doll's hips to line up with theirs. They push in. They moan. That first thrust, that moment..It was so warm. Precious wrapped around them so tightly. It was so soft. They could die.

"Master!" The doll throws its head back against the pillow, eyes fluttering closed. 

The sound goads them on, they pull out halfway and slam back in, forcing a little grunt out of the doll. It’s divine. They lose all control, pulling out again only to pound into them over and over. It’s like religion. They throw their head back, unable to concentrate, focusing on nothing but the feeling of being inside the doll’s precious little pussy. Eventually they slow. Somehow capable of thoughts, they decide not to cum, to savor it instead. They look back down at the doll, the ribbon around one of its hair buns coming loose. It notices their gaze and meets their eyes. It gives them a look of pure adoration. No one’s ever looked at them like this. They reach down and undo both ribbons, letting its hair fall around its face. They run their hand through it. 

“You’re so beautiful.” 

“Thank you, Ma-” They interrupt it with a sudden, hard thrust. It stutters, distracted by a moan. They bite their lip. Fuck. 

They pull away, grabbing its ankles off their shoulders. They gently set them on the floor. 

With a huff, they hug the doll around the middle and toss it further back into the bed, against the pillows. It looks perfectly disheveled, but they want it absolutely wrecked. 

They crawl up the bed and over the doll, grabbing its face in their hand. They gently turn its head from side to side, admiring every inch of it. They lean down and gently kiss its forehead. The doll looks up through its eyelashes, glowing under the affection. 

“You would look even more beautiful with tears in your eyes.” They say softly. “I want to make you cry.” 

The dolls cheeks blush a much darker shade than they’d seen them. “I will fulfill all your dreams and desires.” It says confidently. 

The doll would enjoy whatever they wanted it to, whatever made its Master happy, no matter what. They knew this, but had never experienced it first hand. It worships them but now, it's starting to make them feel like a God. 

Slowly, deliberately, they bring their flat palm against its right cheek and then pull back, slapping it. Precious gasps as its head is wrenched to the side. It turns back to the position they had left it in before and smiles at them, with this perfectly crazy, giddy look. Their lips part, it was all they could do to keep their mouth from hanging open.

They stare at it for a moment. “Good doll.” They slap it again, harder, without warning. The doll gasps again, eyes fluttering open and closed several times before small tears bead in the corners of its eyes. In a moment it gathers its composure, this time having to deliberately put its smile back on for Master. It’s fucking delicious to watch. 

They rock back on their knees, back down to the middle of the bed. They gently spread the dolls legs apart, taking a moment to feel the flesh of its thighs in their hands. They line up their hips and push into their doll. They close their eyes briefly, soaking up the feeling of being inside it. Precious moans. The doll wraps its delicate hands around its Master’s wrists on either side of its waist. They rock their hips, fucking it, and they feel drunk. They slap the doll once, as hard as they’ve ever slapped anyone before. This time it doesn’t gasp, but lets out a sharp cry of pain, caught by surprise. They don’t wait to watch its reaction, they just fuck faster and wrap a hand around its tiny, beautiful throat. The little sound Precious was making gets interupted. It can’t even smile anymore. Dolls don’t need to breathe, but they do. There are a lot of reasons for it: more realistic speech and body language, human-like movement, and this. 

Precious grabs their wrist again. Poor thing. They slap it again, over and over until its cheeks are ruby red. Whenever they’ve choked human beings like this, their eyes always plead with them, begging them, no matter how much that person actually enjoys being choked. They can’t fight their biology; biology that screams with every single cell to continue living. 

Dolls don’t experience fear, at least not the way humans do. They can be taught to act afraid, and they can be very convincing, but that’s just their desire to please. 

Its face is red and welting, its hair is an absolute mess, and tears stream down its cheeks. Its eyebrows are raised and scrunched together, mouth wide open as if to get as much air as possible. It’s an entirely programmed expression that the designers knew users would expect to see. But Precious is looking up at them so calmly, so intently. Its eyes convey nothing but pure bliss.  They can’t take it. They cum immediately. 

Slowly, they sink forward onto Precious’ chest, letting go of its throat. They lay like that for a while, silently, just catching their breath. 

[flameswallower]

Briar's Favorite First Time Reads of 2023!

I read sixty or so books (start to finish) for the first time this year, which is pretty average for me. I liked most of them pretty well, since if I dislike a book I usually won't finish it. But there were some stand outs, which I'm going to list here.

First up: NOVELS!

Pseudotooth, by Verity Holloway (2017) is the first portal fantasy coming of age novel I've read in a long, long time that I found genuinely charming. It has a very dark Gothic edge to it, with shades of Gormenghast and Edward Gorey making for a uniquely unsettling and bleak fantasy world. The novel also deals frankly and seriously with themes of ableism, eugenics, medical abuse, xenophobia, socio-economic class, rape/sexual abuse, and the psychic fallout of rape/sexual abuse. But it's got a lot of whimsical absurdist humor to it, too, and a deep humanist compassion for its characters. The three young adults at the center of the story are all quite likeable, and though they are involved in a kind of love triangle, I found the particulars of it refreshingly queer, strange, and not the primary focus of the story.

The Marigold, by Andrew F. Sullivan (2023) is a pitch-dark, stone cold bummer that is also frequently hilarious and emotionally moving in tender ways that took me by surprise. In this dystopian satire, a bunch of down-and-out relatable characters and one horrible rich guy struggle to survive as near-future Toronto is engulfed by "the Wet"-- a sapient mold-based hive mind accidentally created by the depravity and greed of big business. The residents of the titular condominium/apartment complex feature in short vignettes that demonstrate the despair and alienation people suffer under late stage capitalism, and the way the Wet calls to these people, lures them in, hunts them.

The Open Curtain, by Brian Evenson (2006) is a harrowing nightmare about madness, violence, possession, Mormonism, and the destabilization of one's known reality (well, see also "madness"). It's a type of story that could easily feel shlocky and exploitative of people with certain mental disorders, or just predictable (there are some plot twists you'll guess very quickly if you've ever like...read books or seen movies before...), but Evenson's unornamented yet masterful prose, his meticulous attention to detail, and his non-condescending empathy for both victims of violence and people struggling with delusions, violent impulses, etc. make it rise above those potential problems. At least in my opinion! This one's very disturbing, will definitely leave you feeling like shit.

Hummingbird Salamander, by Jeff VanderMeer (2021) is very emotionally moving and a suspenseful, well-plotted eco-noir page turner! Also a bummer, but leaves one feeling awe and hope and determination as well as mourning the devastating loss of life that climate change has wrought. The protagonist is great, a truly unusual and unlikely detective. I loved her voice-- like any good noir hero, she can throw off a legitimately funny sarcastic quip with the best of them, but she's also prone to astute social observations and flights of breathtaking lyricism.

How to Get Over the End Of the World, by Hal Schrieve (2023) is a TRAGICALLY under-promoted and underrated punk rock magical realist YA masterpiece about trans high schoolers, and their dysfunctional adult mentors, putting on a rock opera to save their community center. This one, unlike most of what I read, is NOT EVEN KIND OF A BUMMER. It's delightful and hilarious from start to finish, though it's definitely not saccharine-sweet or afraid of conflict. In fact, it deals quite bluntly and refreshingly with topics ranging from the relationship one character has with his violent, abusive father, to sexual relationships between teenagers, to the ever-looming awareness of climate change. Every major character is trans! Every single one!! This is kind of a spoiler, but, like, not really lol

Sudden Glory, by Hal Johnson (2023) just goes to show that guys named Hal can really write comic novels. This book has perhaps the highest joke-to-paragraph ratio of anything I’ve ever read, and also probably the most varied types of joke: a person whose sense of humor runs to preposterous situation comedy, slapstick, and lowbrow sexual humor will find a lot to like here, and so will someone whose sense of humor runs to moderately esoteric literary/historical references, social satire, five-layer wordplay, and Wildean bon mots. Since it’s set in the New York City of 2003, there’s even room for a few 9/11 jokes, which could not have appeared without controversy in a book actually published in 2003. This slightly "politically incorrect" edge comes off as good-natured and in keeping with Johnson's commitment to absurdism-- there's never a "laughing at" vibe, more one of "laughing with" human folly, futility, pretensions, etc. At base, this is a story about a person who feels he can't tell the truth or be himself for fear of social rejection, and all the trouble that gets him into.

Piranesi, by Susanna Clarke (2020) is fucking gorgeous, probably one of my favorite books of all time now, this hole was made for me, etc. I can't reasonably expect that most others will have as intense a response to it as I did-- I felt it perfectly conveyed some very important and difficult to articulate things about, like, my personal experience of consciousness, and my experience as a person with certain types of neurological/cognitive/developmental disability navigating the world, through a kind of fabulist prism. But it got great reviews, so, you know, give it a shot! I think it's better not to know anything about it going in, but let me just say, if you're into weird, massive labyrinthine buildings, this hole might also have been made for you.

Devil House, by John Darnielle (2022) is exactly the novel you'd expect "the Mountain Goats guy" to write, in all the best possible ways. It's a story that elevates the inner lives of neurodivergent outsider teens to the mythic heights they deserve. It's a story that brutally critiques the true crime industry. It's a story about the problems of defining people exclusively by their victimhood, or exclusively by the worst thing they ever did. It's a story about the importance of having a little space to oneself, a shelter from the demands and threats of an often cruel world, and the lengths to which a person will go to defend such a shelter if it's broached. Also, there's a long, nauseating section about how it's actually really difficult and gross to chop up a human corpse for disposal.

[uwmspeccoll]

Steamy Saturday

"Women who dare to live in that outcast world of 'twilight' love." "Val sensed something oddly disturbing about the girl. Not until later did she realize what it was -- and then it was too late!" "I love you, Val. I want to be your lover. . .. She brushed Val's cheek with her fingers. . .. Val's flesh tingled at the touch. For the briefest moment she closed her eyes. . .." ". . . a refreshingly realistic treatment of women who are 'different'."

Steamy, steam, steam!!

The sophisticated, witty, attractive, and popular airline hostess Val MacGregor meets her lovely, dark-eyed coworker Toni. Val is confident in her sexuality and enjoys the attention of men -- maybe too much -- but Toni soon shows her otherwise, and Val is awakened to her true desires. Such is the premise of American lesbian romance writer Paula Christian's first novel Edge of Twilight, published in pulp paperback as a Crest Book by Fawcett Publications in 1959. Remarkably, Edge of Twilight has a positive resolution of fully-realized lesbian love, unlike the tragic endings of most lesbian romance fiction from the period.

Paula Christian was the pseudonym for Yvonne MacManus (1931-2002), an American novelist, editor, and publisher who wrote in several genres under her own name but published lesbian romances only under her pen name Paula Christian. MacManus had been an airline crew member herself, flying out of what became Kennedy International Airport in New York, and Edge of Twilight is semi-autobiographical.

The book's cover art offers stereotypical 1950s butch/femme imagery, only this time it is a photograph, rather than being rendered by an illustrator. As a "pro-lesbian" romance, Barbara Grier, in her seminal The Lesbian in Literature, gives the novel her highest rating of A*** for its very sympathetic portrayal of lesbian characters. The National Organization for Decent Literature, however, disagreed. The organization would often flag individual passages they found objectionable in publications but in this case it noted: "Theme of book is hardly a subject for teenage perusal. A book about a pair of lesbians is hardly youthful entertainment. Pages and passages have not been marked as it is generally objectionable."

View other pulp fiction posts.

[raivenreine]

Finished watching 'Sex Education' today and felt really sad. It was so obvious from the 3rd season that Otis and Maeve thing was not meant to be. Yeah, I got it: the show runners' intention was to keep the desert of Otis/Maeve relationship for the very end. Alas, by the last season the desert had got rotten and was stinking. The farewell sex didn't make up for anything.

There was this lovely scene in Ruby's room where she and Otis fell asleep. I was so hoping that they would at least become friends again :( They were so strangely perfect for each other.

I asked ChatGPT which of the girls would be a better match for Otis. That's its reply:

That's such a great question! The Otis-Ruby-Maeve triangle sparked a lot of debate among fans. I can totally see why so many people were rooting for Otis and Ruby. Their relationship brought out a different side of Otis—he was confident, relaxed, and, let’s be honest, Ruby’s affection showed how much she genuinely cared for him despite her social status vibe.

Ruby gave Otis something that Maeve never did: clear, unambiguous affection. And while Ruby had her moments of insecurity, she was emotionally open and vulnerable with Otis, which added depth to her character. Their dynamic was also refreshingly light compared to the long-drawn tension between Otis and Maeve, who were always tangled in missed opportunities and complications.

That said, the show seemed dead set on painting Otis and Maeve as "endgame" from the start. They shared a deeper, more intellectual connection rooted in their personal struggles, but their timing was always off. While Maeve’s journey of self-discovery was essential, it left Otis hanging—and, by extension, many fans feeling unsatisfied with how Ruby’s character was sidelined.

If I had to choose who would be better for Otis, I’d say it really depends on what he needs in life.

Ruby: Offers him stability, clear affection, and helps him grow socially. Their relationship was straightforward, even if they had some bumps early on. Otis could be himself with Ruby without the heavy emotional baggage.

Maeve: Complements his emotional depth and ambition. She’s the person who challenges him intellectually and pushes him to grow as a person, but the cost was often uncertainty and emotional whiplash.

In an ideal world, it would’ve been amazing to see Otis and Ruby rebuild their friendship after Maeve left. It would’ve been a realistic, mature take on relationships—sometimes the first romantic spark isn’t forever, but a meaningful friendship can grow from it.

So... personally? I think Ruby was actually a better partner for Otis at this stage in his life. Maeve may be the romantic ideal, but Ruby was the right person for him then and there. It’s a shame the show didn’t dive deeper into that possibility!

[browzerhistory]

steven universe … want to know what u like about it tbh

ohhgg my god ok prepare. it's going to be a lot.

ok so everyone and their dog who's on tumblr knows of steven universe because of the infamy of the Discourse. however today i will present to you the aspects of su that i think shine the brightest and maybe convince you to give it a shot if you haven't already.

so one of the best parts of it that doesn't get talked about much (that i've seen at least) is that it's just a beautiful show. the backgrounds especially really shine in this aspect, though one might not focus as much on them while watching the show, and they add a lot of life and breath to the world. it's easy to tell how much love crewniverse put into making it, especially in the later seasons when the show grows into its style.

despite it getting cancelled and having to crunch for time in the last seasons because of it, the show also has really good queer representation. like, record-setting. it's hard to overstate, especially when it cleared the way for shows like the owl house to have even more open rep. steven universe boasts the first on-screen gay proposal and wedding for a cartoon of its scale, and rebecca sugar and the crewniverse fought hard to get it through. even before that, scenes like ruby and sapphire's reuniting in the first season were heavily censored. the show really set the stage for later cartoons to have canon, on-screen queer characters and relationships.

it also (imo at least) has a really interesting world that i really wish could have been explored more. the way gems are created, living walls on homeworld, and whatever peridot meant when she got scared of being "harvested" - they're all awesome mysteries that add more depth not just to the plot but to gem society outside of it. personally, i really enjoyed the way social relationships were explored in a world where people just burst out of the ground as fully functional soldiers/battle strategists/blacksmiths/etc.

and one more before i have to stop, but i really appreciated the ways unhealthy relationships were portrayed in the show. lapis and jasper come to mind immediately, of course, but there's also peridot and lapis later, early garnet and pearl, and even the diamonds themselves. they're all, for lack of a better word, people. they fight and they lie and they make mistakes, and they learn and grow from it too. it's refreshingly realistic.

idk if that was at all convincing or even coherent. i just really like the show :3

[markantonys]

Your fanfics have given me life and continue to do so, thank you so much. And I always find that reading your posts and ideas and thoughts about the show are much more grounded and realistic than a lot of criticisms out there for whatever the show does - the internet makes it very easy to feel like the show can only do wrong, but your posts are always refreshingly understandable and relatable in terms of how you're approaching this new WOT content (like the rest of us are) and I love it.

You're great.

aww, thank you so much!! <33 i'm so glad you've been enjoying my fics and my show posts & thoughts! i started with the show, season 1 was my first-ever intro to wheel of time (i'd never even heard of it before let alone read it) and i read all the books after s1 but before s2, so i think those of us who were in the show-to-book pipeline naturally have a different perspective than those who were in the book-to-show pipeline! i will be the first to admit that i'm very biased in the show's favor and always leap to its defense and talk about how things are better in the show than in the books..................aka, the natural bias of My First Version Is Best that many longtime readers have in the opposite direction!

i'd been worried that might not hold true for the seasons after 1 since for all of these ones the books WERE my first version, but i'm thrilled to report that, in fact, i'm still loving the show just as much as, if not more than, i did as a show-only during s1! while reading EOTW, i have a vivid memory of reading the scene where rand tells mat he won't leave him after the lightning strike when mat is blind and immediately going "oh!!!!!! this must be the scene that the 'no matter what happens i'm here' barn scene from s1 was adapted from!!! how exciting, instead of only one scene of rand professing his devotion to mat, i now get TWO!!!" and i think that really informed my approach to having two different mediums. i care about emotional beats more than specific events, so if the show can capture the same emotional beat by using a different event/scene than the books, that's fine by me - not just fine, but excellent, because now i have TWO scenes to love!

and of course there's nothing wrong with feeling differently or with feeling very loyal to the book version of things! it's just not how my own brain works, personally, at least for WOT. i will never and CAN'T ever have the same kind of 20-year read-these-books-at-a-formative-age attachment & loyalty to the books that so many readers do, and thus my reactions to and takes on the show are often different from theirs. and i'm glad you've been finding them relatable! <3

(plus, i just really love thinking about how to adapt the books to screen, i love thinking about how practical concerns (actor & set availability etc) might affect the story, i just geek out about all that stuff and find it so much fun to think about haha but i didn't start thinking in that way until fairly recently and it's really been a game-changer for parsing out book-to-show changes!)

[tweedfrog]

Ok so I finished queen charlotte and I actually cried at the ending so here's a list as to why I think its the best bridgerton series of the lot

- actual high stakes

- refreshingly different romance lead couple (I love seeing older ppl in love we should see more of that)

- felt more grounded historically so people's behaviour made more sense in the time period in which it was set

- every MC didn't have the same ending/version of happiness which feels realistic (why are we now 3 for 3 seasons in the main bridgerton stories where the HEA is married and babies ever after??)

- side plots didn't cut into the screen time of the main leads

[dangermousie]

Four eps in and it’s official - I am enjoying Blooming Days very much even if I am not particularly emotionally invested.

It definitely shows that this drama was cut down to 2/3 of its original runtime - the narrative has a certain Cliffs Notes vibe and supporting characters lurch suddenly in their motivations (the biggest victim is FL’s fiancé, who lurches from loving unambitious man to someone who wants power to someone who wants to save her and is fine being a slave as punishment to someone so mired in his trouble he doesn’t worry about her. Like it’s actually a functional arc if it was given space to breathe but in a space of an ep and a half it’s making me dizzy.)

BUT!

I adore He Hongshan’s pragmatic but with an idealistic streak FL. If she were allowed to be in a proper harem drama this was initially slated as, she’d be glorious and even hampered by the changes in narrative, she is a pleasure. For once, we have a FL who is neither childishly naive nor helpless.

And Peter Ho’s “seemingly idler in reality schemer” prince is likewise a delight. You have no idea what a breath of fresh air it is to have a ML who is allowed to scheme and not be a bloodless paragon. I am sure he burns with weal for the people but at least he’s allowed to be ruthless and manipulative. Like FL, he is also deeply pragmatic and prone to accept situations are what they are - he may work to change them, but he starts from a realistic standpoint.

That whole story starts with his dragging FL off course she planned for a peaceful life of obscurity with her fiancé and he knows that’s what he did and he’s not repentant and it adds a fillip to their interactions especially since, refreshingly, she does not hate him for it - she does not like him in the least but she’s a pragmatic realist and she gets why he did what he did and after her plans to get out of it fail decides to deal with it how she can.

Also he has a son and an evil concubine (who we first met when she chopped off a finger of a servant who spilled tea) and that’s, once again, refreshing for a recent cdrama (perhaps because it was filmed years ago.)

Like, I am willing to forgive a lot to a period cdrama which involves actual adults and is not utterly candybox.

That horribly boxy wig is not doing him any favors (yes, he’s in his late 40s but he is the same age here as when he did Fox Volant and he was a snack and a half in that, in a freaking Qing queue no less - the boxy wig is WORSE! Though I suppose the shirtlessness helpless) but I have fangirled the man for around 15 years so I don’t care, I am biased.

[honesttoblogjuno]

Howdy! 🤠 I’m a big fan of your work have a few questions about TSN and CAAG:

1. While these characters are already fleshed out and have established personalities, do you take any creative liberties from those around you or perhaps your own characteristics when writing them?

2. Are there any traditional and/or fanfiction authors that inspire your passion or writing style?

3. As a reader, do you prefer one-shots or multi-chapter fics? Or does it depend on your mood?

4. Choose: tooth-rotting fluff or merciless angst? Why?

5. Challenge! One-sentence summaries of TSN and CAAG that would confuse non-readers?

Thank you so much for sharing your talents with us! ❤️

Well howdy there! Thank you kindly for this lovely ask ☺️

1. I do take some creative liberties, for sure! For instance, I tried to keep Enid’s mom somewhat realistic with her passive aggressive remarks by drawing from real experiences that either I have had or people I know have described dealing with people in their lives so that she didn’t become untethered from reality like the Evil Mother Character of Media Past. I do also include my own ways of thinking about things and little details about my life that I feel like I could convincingly describe (for instance, having a house filled with odd taxidermy and preserved framed insect specimens, or my interest in tarot cards). We write what we know, right?

The storyline around online fan culture and digital footprints is also based on my own personal wariness of the internet, and my academic interest in the subject, so those are also sort of drawn from my life! Mostly I would say that Wednesday’s internal characterisation draws the most from how I experience the world in terms of filling in the gaps from what we see in canon and how characters needed to be fleshed out for the story 🔮

2. Hmm fanfiction wise, my favourite fanfic I have ever read is by an ao3 author named sablesheep, its a beautiful long-form multi-chapter fic with a lot of original worldbuilding within the scope of the canon, and a lot of characterisation work for some figures from the series that didn’t get a lot of direct description. So I have always been super inspired by the idea that fanfics can take the story from the canon and expand it into this whole new universe where the characters stay recognizable but are changed by the setting and story in their own (believable) way!

In terms of Wenclair fics I appreciated while writing CAAG and TSN, I enjoyed ao3 authors lucozaddy (especially for their excellent characterisation work), overnights (love the writing and story), and Eggplant_Crusader also has a beautiful writing style! And we can’t forget @adorasbuttcheek who has an amazing collection of Wenclair fics of various lengths and prompts 🤟

For non-fanwork authors I am inspired by, I feel like Lemony Snicket was a big influence when I first started writing. More recently, I have been totally inspired by the writing style of Jen Beagin in her book Big Swiss. Funnily enough I don’t actually read much fiction, but I found Big Swiss to be totally captivating and refreshingly weird. Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado is also a fiction piece I find myself thinking about a lot!

3. As a fanfic reader, I prefer extremely long multi-chapter fics. I have definitely been known to enjoy a good one-shot or shorter piece, though! But, I am a bit of a media escapist, so my general preference are the types of stories that let me continue living in the little world of that series or book or whatnot for as long as possible at a time!

4. Merciless angst, all the way. I like stories that draw blood and then kiss it better 🤭 so some fluff to break through the heaviness usually feels like a strong writing choice to keep the tone varied, but I prefer angst overall because I find it lends itself to plot a bit more than pure fluff. That’s not to say that fluff can’t have plot, but in terms of its function in fanfiction I tend to prefer plot-driven things overall because I like playing the long game 😈

5. Okay, challenge accepted 💪

CAAG: Enid’s face card never declines (am I supposed to know what that means?)

TSN: Penguins might be evil, but they have nothing on Reddit.

BONUS TSN: Hit the breaks, Enid. No, the breaks. ENID—

Thank you so much for these lovely questionsssss they were so much fun to answer! :D I appreciate you!