#smth smth a reputation to maintain

[szilverer]

trying to figure out some ways to tweak my traditional stuff digitally without outright redrawing everything + brainstorming different manners rei wears their cowl without looking like a master cosplayer

(don't tell anyone, but they find it comfy to have fabric on their face. it was how they first woke up and to this day its how they like to sleep)

one of the consequences of violently smashing their skull in that one time is that their sight was never quite the same afterwards-- reisz thought it would give out eventually and tried to become less reliant on their vision, which felt easier to do in parabola, so they started to show up to work with their face covered up as well.

didnt take long for them to get their cryptid-like epithet after that.

[ybcpatrick]

i haven't drawn on paper in months and i feel like a baby giraffe on god

[sandraharissa]

s2 intro was so fire. and I thought like s1 it showed/hinted at the things that would happen during this season. but most stuff didn't happen or it didn't live up to the imagery used in the intro

Vi smudging the VI tattoo. it implies that she would struggle with her identity and the name connected with it and the legacy connected with it, like Jinx did in s1. maybe this could even be her going so far as to reject the name itself, like denying that she's The Vi to keep a low profile. like how Jinx would insist that she's not Powder in s1. but none of that ever happened. Vi never struggles with 'being Vi' or what it means to her or with being Vander's prodigy even tho he's brought back from the dead.

this shot implying that this was gonna be a story about the sisters, but also that Jinx is Vi's burden or her shadow or a demon on her shoulder. but to explore Vi's feelings on her sister and what she's become they'd have to try to explore Vi at all

this shot which implies to me 'Jinx being Jinx' cos it's a callback to when she does the finger gun in s1, but even more so to when she does it as a kid in the Enemy MV. in the scene she, when she still went by Powder, aims a finger gun at enforcers and as she pretend fires at them it flashes to Jinx standing there. so a 'Jinx was always Jinx' message. but it also alludes to her having a target like the firelight in s1 or the enforcers in the MV, who she always hated.

the two times we see Ekko he reverses time, which ig he technically does but the meat of his story is him going to a parallel universe, not going back in time. idk ig I thought that time travel would be more relevant to Ekko's story than parallel universe travel. in the end time travel is only meaningfully used for the timebomb angst scene even tho it's not really necessary there. ig I thought the powers would be more relevant to Ekko's whole character and arc. in an Ekko lol short he reverses time to defeat the bad guy and when he finally succeeds it's at the cost of the destruction of the mural for dead kids, and so he goes back in time again. that's more meaningful than anything they did with firelights in s2 (and arguably more meaningful than the timebomb scene). why did they drop the sick tree plotline? the firelights? his past with Jinx? his involvement in the revolution? the past vs present and saving the things we love? I swear they were teasing me with an epic time travel episode but delivered a parallel universe (derogatory) episode.

this type of shots made me think that Cait would actually struggle internally to an extreme degree with her actions and how the power corrupts her etc. that she'd become horrified of what she's become. and how she'd hate and struggle with maintaining her appearances to the public.

the first shot made it seem like, just like Cait, Jayce would struggle with public attention and maybe scrutiny, considering he was the head of the council in s1. but then the first thing he does this season is resign and that's that for him being a public persona and struggling with his reputation even tho s1 and his lol lore focus on that. like that stuff's so juicy don't get rid of that.

the second shot hints to me at him discovering smth grand/important connected to the arcane, which ig kinda happened but what it ended up being is that Jayce got transported to a bad universe and learned that arcane bad. meanwhile this shot evokes to me smth more awe-inspiring, idk like smth mystical and magical, arcane, you could say. with white bright light often being used in media to communicate divinity. wild runes mumbo jumbo and Jayce being transported to a bad arcane universe seem so pedestrian compared to like, heavenly lights ig.

both concepts for Jayce's story that were introduced in the intro and the eps delivered on neither.

I don't remember the french revolution ending with the ppl teaming up with the royalty. I also don't get the impression that there are any french revolution stories out there with the hero thinking the revolution is an irritating nuisance. this parallel is so extremely unwarranted and borderline offensive.

Viktor did turn out to be evil and he did get a cult as this shot implied but the mask obvs references his lol mech suit that he never gets. there was no reason for him to be designed the way he was, as an arcane deity with specifically a mask, outside of for the purpose of having the faintest similarity to his lol design. the mask, the cult, all that third arm imagery in s1? it all references his lol lore, for nothing, cos they took his character in a drastically different direction. talk about blue balls. and same thing with the light as with Jayce, the light coming from the mask implies Revelations connected to the mask but also loss of identity/being consumed by it. maybe a glorious evolution? idk it again just feels like someone knew what the fans wanted but it wasn't the writers. but someone still put all this in the intro. teasing a better story that we'll never get to see.

there's also all the Black Rose imagery that seemed important even tho they weren't in the end. it being connected to Mel (politician) and Ambessa (politician/warrior) made me think that they would focus on the Black Rose being a political organization that wants smth connected to Piltover and the PnZ conflict, with all the imagery of holding the rose/squishing the rose/being the rose/picking up the rose alluding to the political scheming between Ambessa/Mel/the Black Rose. but they went the route of out of nowhere making Mel magic. imagine if in a random ep of s1 they made Silco magic.

why? why why why why why?

the intro did more for all the character arcs than the episodes themselves

[loving-n0t-heyting]

would be curious to hear more about ur near-expulsion, if you're happy to share! no worries if not

I would never pass up an opportunity to indulge some self pity about my youth!

The long and short of it is tgat i was quite seriously mentally ill in hs—not ever psychotic, which is how a lot of ppl tend to read that, but very emotionally disturbed—and my school was veeeeeery bad at handling this.

Starting end of freshman year i was in a very emotionally abusive relationship, i could give and have in the past given more lurid details but at this point it feels kind of ridiculous to hold that extensive of a grudge against another pretty differently mentally ill 15yo. It came to an end start of junior year, where i told her i was self harming and asked her to tell the counselors about this. She agreed, and their response upon hearing about the relationship was to tell both of us, "Holy shit, you have to break up"

The breakup was a lot harder on me than it was on her, in large part bc i had very little of any remaining friend circle among the other students (see: emotional abuse) and my teachers that semester were for whatever reason less able to talk to me outside of class (i generally preferred adults to fellow kids whenever possible). This led to a situation where i was breaking down fairly dramatically now and then in school, which did not make the school administration very happy

They prolly would have expelled me immediately, had it not been for the fact i was by the numbers an especially promising student. You can read this in a sort of meritocratic way, that i was being rewarded for my intelligence and hard work. But i think the deeper explanation was more crass: as a private religious school with a strong reputation and high overhead, they relied heavily on alumni support to maintain themselves and thought i would be a future cash cow, and so were eager not to lose my future munificence (jokes on them lol). So instead of expelling me they... forcibly isolated me for the rest of the semester, msking me study from home away from all contact with other students. This was (surprise!) terrible for both my academic motivation and my wider mental health

Part of my overall deterioration was that i started posting a ton of mildly insane religious and rightwing shit in long essays on facebook. The importance of sexual repression was one major theme, but also stuff about the metaphysics of angels and Society, the need for a theocratic upheaval of existing democratic institutions, etc. (Also there was one about how the school shouldnt ban the proposed gsa? Which seemed very natural to me but prolly struck others as weird.) This contributed to two deleterious interactions with my school administration. First was a couplr of crazy letters i sent to the administration denouncing insufficient rigour in the theology curriculum and proposed changes in class scheduling to be implemented my senior year. Second was my tattling on a shithead the year above me who started responding to my bizarre essays with screeds about how i was the moral equivalent of a meth dealer, which was technically a violation of school rules leading to mild official rebuke. The school was not at all happy about the first one, and the second would eventually bite me once i returned

Oh, i almost forgot: part of the conditions on returning to school were that a shrink diagnose smth wrong with me thst medication could fix, said shrinks protestations that he couldnt find anything strsightforwardly treatable thru pills not withstanding. Thus began my almost decade long history of coercive administration of psychiatric medications, first fluoxetine and then (after that gave me scrupulosity spirals so severe and immobilising my parents had to call a priest to our home just to hear the worlds most banal confession) mirtazapine, which would regularly induce sleep too powerful to let me wake in time for school and caused me to launch into incoherent delirious fits if my parents tried to wake me for it. (This was not when i was introduced to antipsychotics, which began instead 2yrs later in college after a failed hanging.) So that was fun

I made it back go school the following semester, where i was unsurprisingly just as isolated and emotionally unwell given my lack of any social support and enforced separation from the only person among the students i had previouslybeen close with (my shitty ex). I was incredibly bored and unmotivated, and for the first time in my life started to get failing grades after i continually blew off homework and study

Then, one day, i happened upon a means of relieving my boredom. Sitting in the college admissions lounge i found the guy whod been an ass to me on fb hanging out with his gf, and approached him to start demanding an apology. Obviously he got pretty pissed and refused, so for the time being i left him. But from then on, any time i saw him in the halls vel sim, i would approach him to again request an apology, less out of any expectation he would experience a change of heart than bc it at least gave me smth to do

This reached its summit after a couple of months when, the day of parent teacher conferences, i was sitting in a nearby public library and saw him walking down the street with his gf. Ofc, i followed him and again started pestering him for an apology, to which he this time replied with threats of physical violence. This was apparently quickly reported to the administration as stalking, and my parents were informed of it later that afternoon. They were, unsurprisingly, pretty upset, but let me know later that the school (iiuc) had not yet decided to expel me, but had instead retained the services of a psychologist to determine whether i was suffice sane to be held responsible for my actions enough to expel me. This was the point at which i pulled the "You cant fire me!" with my parents help

It didnt turn out so bad in the end. I was able to start college early at a peculiar but much beloved liberal arts college in my city, where i had a very rewarding undergraduate education leading to a promising graduate school career for 5yrs before similar psychological deterioration (with a much more understanding set of teachers/administrators) forced me to temporarily withdraw, leading to my past 5yrs of faildaughter idleness

Eta: im prolly inordinately self critical about my theologico political juvenilia. It bears the unmistakable quality of in fact being juvenilia but so does, idk, the treatise of human nature. I havent looked at it in ages, i cannot speak much to its merits anymore, but like, if it werent for that stuff i prolly wouldnt have gotten as intellectually far as i did. Even if im still short of where i want to be

[clarabowmp3]

I hope Taylor isn’t so insecure she feels like she needs strangers validation to be happy but I fear that’s Probly true, if I were a celeb I would not want any private pictures on line. It’s interesting how much external validation seems to motivate her in this era

fr! I think this links to smth that doesn't quite sit right with me (I think I've talked abt this before), how she dedicates the archer to the fans now that her and joe are over. there's nothing wrong with changing the meaning of a song/applying it to a different person, but I don't think its very healthy to dedicate such a deeply personal and vulnerable song to millions of strangers. it's essentially a 'will you love me at my worst' song and by worst she's to talking about sales or commercial success but very intimate flaws, and the kind of support that song seeks is one of a romantic partner or a close loved one, not from a crowd of people you'll never know even superficially. i don't know if its her who started this or the fans, but either way it only contributes to the toxic parasocial relationship, the archer is not quite in the same category as songs like change or long live

(for eg with atw10! she talks abt how the fans have changed what that song means for her which is much healthier because its about a group of people resonating so deeply with a song and its meaning, which transformed an otherwise rather unbearably painful time as just another chapter in her life)

as for her need for external validation, imo i dont think that's anything new like even in miss Americana, her response to reputation not being nominated for any grammys was that she just needed to create a better album. we see it in the intense commercialisation of her brand in the past 2 years, with taylor nations tweets/her social media marketing + pandering to gen z. she is no longer special or revolutionary in any way (even tho she used to be to a certain extent imo) because she now she's just catering to/adapting to what's hot and what's not. i think she desperately needs to stay at the top of the game, sales wise and public favour wise, to feel validated as an artist and person (even tho it is inherently problematic to tie one person's morality to the public's opinion of them).

(however, she's at a pretty interesting part of her career where instead of having to constantly justify herself, she's built a strong enough fan base to do the jumping through hoops *for* her, so she doesn't seem to care as much abt maintaining a positive public image. forget tree, her publicist(s) are the diehard swifties now lmao)

[scalproie]

ngl i felt so sad when i learned that the mk story isn't about scorpion and sub-zero's rivalry. i feel like I would have gotten more into it if it was... there's also a weird disconnect between the gameplay and the actual story??? what do you mean these characters don't regularly disembowel each other?? they're supposed to be good guys????

I am BIASED as all fuck but litterally the best part of mk is when they focus on the borderline shakespearean storyline of the scorpion/sub zero rivalry, like yeah on a surface level its really silly but if you dare to dig a lil deeper, its a very compelling story about the rivalry of two clans, revenge, irony, deception, atonement, forgiveness, and even about fate considering how many times the three people involved have danced this dance.

But because mk wants to be dc sooo bad, they have to maintain the illusion of fairness in how the characters share the screentime, as opposed to a comic book approach where there is technically endless screentime to share and story to tell, a video game/movie/animated movie cost a lot more money, and as much as I love it, mk does suffer from a lack of focus as fuck (but then again, so does most fighting game lore until very recently with the most recent games that have a clear precise storyline)

The silver-lining about mk tho, is that it has 30 years of history behind it so if you choose to focus on a particular thing or dynamic, you have a pretty large amount of food to chew on.

As for the disconnect, yeah. mk's whole brand is the gore, its what made it famous back in the 90s, so to keep the brand, it has to keep the reputation of being as gorey in its presentation as possible even if the story itself has turned into smth more serious and fantastic instead. It does make every character morally grey tho bc yeah there are obvious "good guys" and "bad guys" but each and every one of them has the potential for incredible violence

[ohbo-ohno]

How do you write fanfiction without going ooc?

Personally I think you're the best cod writer, I'm considering writing some fan fiction but I'm scared the characters arent in character

"best cod writer"??? when i haven't posted in like a month?? oh babe we are getting MARRIED ilysm thank you <3

im actually like fucking terrible at giving advice (i am not a well spoken person lmao) but i can talk At you for a bit about this!!!

grasping a character's voice is actually like. deeply difficult, and it's maaaaybe the thing i struggle with most when writing (or at least one of the things lmao). especially bc literally every single writer has a different voice for every character, so you have to find what works best for your story and your style. your ghost shouldn't look/sound exactly like someone else's ghost, because he's yours, yk?

that also being said - things that are ooc to me aren't necessarily ooc to someone else. the ghost in my mind would never let you call him a cheesy pet name like "sisi", but that doesn't mean that someone else's ghost wouldn't, yk? and to them, they're in character! so you've kinda got to decide what you think being in character is, if that makes any sense

i read a looooot of fanfiction before i started writing my own cod stuff. i've only watched the full campaign once, but i've read what's probably dozens of fics lmao - my ghost and soap are an amalgamation of the things i enjoyed most in other people's fics. think about the things that you love the most in your favorite fics, and see if you can replicate that tone/vibe

i also think that getting a character's Voice is a lot more than just dialogue. i write in either second person or third person limited, but for the sake of this i'll talk a bit about third person limited

if i'm writing smth like i'll eat you whole, im technically writing from johnny's perspective, right? so i don't write his internal monologue in his accent, but i do use certain adjective he would - like instead of describing ghost as "broad" or "hulking", i said he's "a big motherfucker" bc that's how i think johnny would talk. this doesn't matter nearly as much with second person, but letting johnny's voice float into the internal monologue helps keep me in the right headspace for the fic. it's easier for me to maintain his voice if i never really let it go, yknow what i mean?

also i know this sounds sooo stupid but i think a big part of writing in character is literally just thinking "can i see them saying this? would a person like this do this?"

like. okay. ghost is a 6'4 special forces lieutenant who is willing to do literally anything if it means completing his mission. he's a big man with an even bigger reputation. can you see him begging for your forgiveness at the slightest argument? can you see him stuttering on a first date?

and soap is an incredibly accomplished sergeant who's set records in the military, he's a demolitions expert and a skilled sniper with a hell of a temper. can you see him giggling? can you see him crying when his girlfriend is mad at him?

sometimes making sure you're not writing ooc is as simple as "They Would Not Fucking Say That", and as unhelpful as it is, that's literally just based on vibes

is any of that coherent at all?? i genuinely don't know. hope i didn't make things worse! ily!

(also just as general writing advice - practice!!! don't post everything you write!! i cannot tell you how many things i've written will never see the light of day, but all my little failures in writing have given me a better grasp on the characters, yk? you have to do badly and recognize what's bad before you can be super happy with your writing. write something and then focus on exactly what feels off to you, and change only that. idk. maybe im spouting bullshit)

[mclwcc]

unpopular opinion but i think carlos would hate lando by now if he had stayed at mclaren. lando was basically matching him that second year and u could see from their quali records that lando had more raw pace. and he's only continued to improve in consistency, race pace, tyre management, etc. since then. like i think the whole "carlando" dynamic would have ended horribly (but funnily for me) if he hadn't left.

hm. im actually not sure abt that

i saw this opinion on my dash literally like an hour ago and like i respect it as a hypothetical, but i just think carlos is the type to swallow his frustrations and play nice for the team as long as the team is being nice to him. (and i do think mclaren wouldve continued to be nice to him) (i have my own biases idk as me abt team orders and u'll get another essay)

so far, mclaren have not been in a position to b fighting for championships, so realistically even if carlos stayed the dynamic wouldnt have climbed that extra step of competitiveness. what would have changed would b - as u rightly pointed out - their teammate delta. they deffo would b way closer (and lando would maybe edge him out) but i dont think it would b the dominance landos had over his other teammates in 2021-2023. carlos has been landos strongest teammate in f1 so far (obvs this is mostly bc oscar is a rookie), and he has a very fun-to-watch talent thats clearly manifested itself since he moved to ferrari: not necessarily to drive the fastest or best, but to get the most points. man's probably one of the smartest drivers out there on track currently (barring his repeated divebombs into car 81 oops) and it rly shows. what lando would have on him in terms of consistency and raw pace carlos makes up for in scrappiness and adaptability.

so thats what the situation would look like in my head - close in the wdc rankings but w different strengths, likely often going for diff strategies and setups. lando 'i have a reputation for getting along with my teammates' norris (actual quote) and carlos, who clearly maintains a soft spot for lando & has had to adapt to a bunch of diff team dynamics with general success, would have to probably actively work at their relationship to keep it amicable, but i think theyd probably manage to do it. if anything they'd get closer than they are currently, which is not that close (mostly bc lando can't golf as much as he used to, they live in diff countries now, and lando struggles to juggle more than like 2.5 friends at a time)

so like yeah. if even charles (who destroyed the competitive psyche of a 4 time world champion with his dimples, tragic backstory, and a well placed monza win) cant make carlos break out of his friendliness (friendly, not friends - yes ive seen the pierre quote going around, yes im also aware he was mostly saying those things as a spiderman-printed band-aid over his intrateam dynamic's massive fuck-off gaping wound) then i dont see how lando could. i think a lot of the way lando deals w the social / human side of f1 is thru what he learned from carlos anyways, so they have quite compatible ways of working thru things. tldr i dont think lando would need to have sympathy for carlos anyways but if he did way that thing to a journo carlos would laughs in spanish and hit him in the balls or smth

[gunnerhq]

TRIGGERS: crimes mentioned and implied, violence mentioned, parental neglect implied / mentioned, illegal money making.

THE BASICS.

LEGAL NAME: gunner isaiah armani

GOES BY: gunner / wtvr

BIRTHDAY: july 31st 1994

AGE: 29

ZODIAC: leo sun, tbd.

OCCUPATION: socialite ( son of a very influential + wealthy man and a trophy wife ) + musician + street racer.

LANGUAGE(S): english, some spanish, tba.

TATTOOS: jb's.

SCARS: one along his lower abdomen from an accident.

HEIGHT: 6'0"

ORIENTATION: heterosexual, heteroromantic.

INSPIRED BY / RESEMBLES: to be added.

FAMILY.

PARENTS: teresa armani (nee hastings), raymond armani SIBLINGS: twin brother - npc. PETS: to be added.

HEADCANONS.

the armani's are stupid rich. their dad's wealth and influence is tainted in blood / crime but it has fed the family's reputation and given them a power over certain things.

growing up, gunner + his twin were cared for by nannies. not many nannies were able to endure the torture that gunner and his brother would place on them. be it pranks, genuinely terrorizing them, or setting them up to get fired.

eventually, they did get a nanny that could handle the boys but as much as they adored her as time went on, they also were emotionally lacking a relationship with their parents.

spoiled beyond belief, this mix of lack of attention and total gift bombing the twins had an unsatisfactory effect on gunner. he started to lash out in self destructive and violent ways: from instigating fights with strangers to drinking until he couldn't remember the night. ( no worries, there was always a tabloid invading his privacy to recap the details with. )

from messy exes to soured friendships, the paps have always been focused on the armani family. it's made gunner's life all the more difficult in his perspective.

it never mattered what gunner did, however, because mr. armani always erased the evidence.

he got into music fairly young, his careerclaim is blackbear (as long as it's not taken) + he's done a lot of different work in the music world.

when he turned 18, he ended up getting involved in street racer + quickly became a public favorite. he has maintained his title and managed to keep a fairly unheard of win streak over the years. his wins outweigh his losses.

he loves to be behind the wheel of the car.

more to be added but im sleepy < 3

WANTED CONNECTIONS.

platonic soulmate.

wife - maybe? chem would def be priority.

exes on good + bad terms.

best friend.

cousin(s).

bad influences.

partner in crime.

ride or die.

good influences.

love / hate friendship.

rivalries.

family rivalry - they have to hate each other bc their families do... but do they really hate each other?

ex friends - maybe they had a big argument / one of them did smth shady to the other.

anything, pls. i'm so open for everything.

[alteriivik]

you know those subs w a reputation??

like a teacher or smth where they're usually in a position of authority, but then they meet you. they're stumbling over their words and failing miserably to hide their blush while grasping at straws to hold onto that authority they're so used to.

THOSE MAKE ME SO DOWN BAD!! they can handle any situation and hold their ground, but the second you walk into the room, they're practically whimpering already. SMASHES MY WALL. FUCK THATS SO CUTE BRO.

2 WEAK 4 ME. | RAMBLES

a/n: I have an INKLING of suspicion on who you are BUT I won't question it...

warnings: mild sexual content !!

sub strict professor who’s well-known for a striking appearance, exuding a commanding presence and professionalism. He is a gentleman who consistently maintains a professional demeanor, having such seriousness in his work that others find it challenging to speak to him. Yet despite his aloofness, or perhaps because of it, he remains an object of desire—and maybe intensifying the longing for his affection.

sub strict professor who KNOWS many, many people find him attractive. He’s lost count of how many times people have confessed to him, the countless chocolates, teddy bears, and love letters that pile up his desk whenever an event like valentines happen. In the end, he doesn’t pay much mind to the gifts other than the letters; he usually gives the chocolate and teddy bears to charities and reads some of the love letters out of curiosity. A man so used to being squealed over gazed with the love-filled (yet lustful) eyes of his students and colleagues alike.

sub strict professor who was attending a formal party, a friendly gathering he thought was tiresome. He became increasingly irritated, his gaze fixed on an older professor shamelessly flirting with him. Swearing under his breath, he readies to excuse himself from the tedious interaction. However, his name was called out by a colleague, and rather than looking at the colleague, his eyes flickered only to land on you. And oh god, did his knees feel weak, his palms growing sweaty, and his heart raced so loudly he feared it would betray his composure.

sub strict professor who clings desperately to his dignity, exerting every ounce of effort to maintain his professional demeanor. He clutches onto the tattered remains of his authority, recalling a time when he stood firm even under pressure, basking in the admiration and longing gazes of those around him. Oh, how he missed the days when his mere presence commanded silence, causing others to either grow silent or stumble over their words. And yet, whenever it comes to you? All that professionalism and composure of his gets thrown out of the window. He becomes just like them.

sub strict professor who couldn’t stop thinking about ever since that day, whenever he finds himself in an interaction with you, it always ends with him having a flustered face. As the days pass and he continues meeting you, coincidental meetings turn into pleasant conversations. He couldn’t stop it—countless times he recalls your attractive features, countless times he finds himself flustered by you, countless times he bucked his hips into his hands to the thought of you. He felt a faint sense of guilt, yet the pleasure was undeniable.

sub strict professor who ends up in a drunken make-out session with you after you two had met in a bar by chance. He felt like nothing else made sense, only thinking about what’s happening right now. The kisses grew more fervent as seconds flew past, fueled by the deep-seated hunger that had been fuming for too long. His hands trace the contours of your face, feeling your seemingly perfect features under his fingertips. The heat intensifies with every stolen breath, every movement eliciting a pleasurable shudder from him. Letting out wanton moans, he loses himself from the feeling of your intertwined tongues exploring every inch of each other’s mouths. He felt himself gaining goosebumps from the sensation of your hands exploring his body, caressing and fondling.

sub strict professor who can't forgive himself after that day. The sinful desires that burned throughout the whole night engulfed his entire apartment; the persistent memories flooded his mind. He tries his best to forget that night… but the way your hands handled him with such gentleness then turned to roughness as the night continued. Every time he looked at his kitchen counter, he remembered you lapping at his insides—so hungrily yet so drunkenly. He shakes his head in embarrassment at the thought until his eyes land on his couch, and he can vividly remember the sensations he felt, his face being pushed down onto the plush material, the uncomfortable feeling of his legs being pushed down from your weight, the feeling of his walls being violated over and over again. Fuck, he’s thinking about you again.

sub strict professor who tries to avoid you. He always leaves the room (if able to) whenever you enter, excusing himself from conversations whenever you suddenly appear, glancing at everything but you. It was clear that he was yet nobody else noticed, noting it as his usual disinterest but you noticed. And then you confronted him by looming over him at his desk, effectively trapping him onto his seat in the empty staffroom.

sub strict professor being pulled into the janitor’s closet. His beautifully flushed face had clear tear stains, both old and new, accompanied with drool coming from the corner of his mouth. His hand tightly clamp around his mouth, trying his best to not make any sound as you eat him out. Your tongue skillfully exploring at his insides, his thighs quivering. His felt himself sweating excessively from the heat of the small closet and this scenario. Truth be told, he felt himself get harder at the thought of being caught in such a scandalous position with you. He lets out inaudible gasps and whines, almost letting out a loud moan from time to time. His head was so hazy and he couldn’t procure any thoughts, like a dumb whore. When you were done, he was EXHAUSTED yet he remembered how possessive your voice became when you boldly stated he was yours. He got a hard again, oopsie.

sub strict professor who, needless to say, starts quietly whimpering whenever you’re in the room with him. His eyes downcasted in a submissive attitude, yet he slightly becomes a little provocative with his every action. He gazes at you as if asking for your validation, expectantly and wide-eyed. He tries to hold his composure, though, especially when he’s teaching, but he can’t help but stammer a few times and make small mistakes. Sometimes, when he’s seated, he’ll rub his thighs together while glancing at you, not-so-friendly thoughts resurfacing his mind.

He’s under pressure when you’re there, he only wants to show you how good he is at teaching (and apparently, in teasing you too; he got his ass fucked hard)

@alteriivik | do not steal

[devilsrecreation]

This is gonna be the last update about this episode BUT there is one more thing I wanna talk about:

The wild ass that has Carlotta’s role is named Mashuhuri (famous). She prolly serves as the episode’s antagonist who wants to maintain her reputation and wants to get rid of Paka and Neema. She has a couple of bird cronies with her or smth with her who like to rile up the crowd. Her song would be like that of “Miss Baltimore Crabs” from Hairspray, with her basically bullying Tamka and later Wakali at the very end while Neema watches ready to sabotage yet another show (guessing it happens after the float confronts Neema). Her punishment for trying to harm Paka and Neema is that she steps down from her leading roles and lets Paka be the star of the show, as well as no longer being in charge of auditions so she can’t show any more favoritism. It was either that, she’s fired, or she becomes lunch for Kiburi’s float. She chooses the first, but she’s warned of the third option should she ever even think of pulling a stunt like that again

Since the ep is INSPIRED by POTO, I’mma point out the similarities and differences

Similarities/references to POTO:

-There are obvious parodies of the characters in the book/musical. Neema’s obviously the Phantom, Paka kinda has Christine’s role, Nne and Tano are kinda like Madame Giry, and there’s an herbivore with Carlotta’s role. Maybe a wild ass

-Neema pulls very similar stunts Erik pulls, mainly sabotaging performances. But he also has a secret lair in a water cave that he takes Kiburi’s float and Paka

-The Grasslands has a tradition called the “kupiga mpira”, meaning “masquerade ball” where everyone dresses up in costumes. Neema crashes the party lol

-Like Christine, Paka is a (rookie) performer and has a relationship with the Phantom

-I guess you could say both Erik and Neema had a hard life (granted, Neema’s past wasn’t as bad as Erik’s but still) that somehow affected their reputation

-He put Paka to sleep with a soothing melody (AKA he recreates “Music of the Night”)

-“[Why would anyone want to date a strange individual who’s killed people? That just sounds like a toxic relationship.]”-Neema at one point

-The reptiles like to refer to Neema as an “angel of music”

-Tamka brings up “the point of no return”

-Like Erik, Neema kills someone

-One of the reasons he sabotages a show is that a certain spot isn’t left for him. It’s HIS spot, no one else’s

-Neema and Erik both get exposed

-Both phantoms get affection at the end

-Neema’s point of no return is to either quit this double life thing and go back to being in Kiburi’s float or stick to being a phantom and leave his only family permanently. Although Tamka/Nduli think Neema’s gonna give THEM a choice to either join him or he’ll kill everybody, to which Kiburi shuts it down cuz that makes zero sense

Differences:

-There is no operatic singing in the episode. It has singing (the Grasslands are a musical place) but not actual opera. Also there’s no Raoul nor Persian

-While Erik loves/is obsessed with Christine, Neema is aromantic and has no interest in anyone

-Neema does not wear a mask that covers his face (except during the masquerade scene)

-Like I said before, everything between them is platonic and healthy. Though Neema DOES have a soft spot for her. If anything, they’d be QPP’s

-Erik and Neema haunt their respective places for different reasons. Erik does it cuz of his passion for opera and obsession for Christine. Neema honestly just likes the music. The hero thing just comes with it.

-Two things: it was completely platonic and Neema hummed the song since he’s mute and can’t sing. It’s more of a lullaby than a romantic ballad

-Neema isn’t jealous nor possessive. The most he does when he sees Paka with someone else is make sure they don’t hurt her. He’s more protective if anything

-my guy is not a teacher. He’s never taught anyone anything (except maybe how to stand up for yourself)

-As much as I love the scene, it ain’t happening with Neema and Paka. Way too sexual for them (and the episode fic) 😭

-Unlike Erik he killed someone cuz he was hungry, not to sabotage the show. Though everybody else seems to think differently

-He doesn’t kill anyone cuz of it, although he does cause a monkey to interrupt it by scaring him

-While Erik’s face gets exposed during an opera in front of everyone, Neema’s confronted by Kiburi’s float and basically gets exposed then

-Erik gets a kiss while Neema and Paka share a hug and a head pat :)

-Neema’s ending is veeeeeeery different from Erik’s. Neema doesn’t die like in the book nor does he completely quit being a phantom and not see Paka again. He goes back with his float in the end, but he continues to be a Phantom hero in the Grasslands.

There’s a reason Neema kept up the whole “Phantom” act and it kinda has something to do with his past. Neema was raised by strict, but somewhat supportive parents as a hatchling. He never learned to actually talk but his parents convinced him that being quiet was a good thing. “Silence is golden” they’d always say. “Just do as you’re told and they’ll like you”. It was like that for a while until the day he saved that lizard. Being referred to as a “hero” awakened something in him that day. He likes being some mysterious heroic entity, he likes playing with the Grasslanders and telling them what to do, he likes keeping animals on their toes, he likes the music the Grasslands have.

He likes being his own animal.

He’s been following and obeying his leaders all his life. Don’t get him wrong, he doesn’t necessarily mind it and he loves his friends, but it just feels nice to be someone now that he’s found his passion.

Nne and Tano found out when they got hungry and wanted to try something different rather than a mole rat or trying to eat animals from the Pridelands. They soon found themselves in the Grasslands and just so happened to spot Paka walking around. Just as they cornered her, Neema came out of nowhere, gave Paka a chance to run away, and began to attack the pair…until they recognized him like “Hey wait a minute…we know you! You’re one of the crocodiles in Kiburi’s float! What’re you doing here?”. It took a bit, but the pair finally figured out that Neema was a phantom and decide to join him. They never let anyone know since (until Kiburi basically forced them to tell where Neema was going).

Ever since Paka heard about this supposed phantom saving one of her lizard friends, her sleep schedule has been out of whack (seeing how black-footed cats are nocturnal) and she’s been obsessed with seeing it for herself. It only grew when Neema saved her and she went from wanting to see him to wanting to get to know him. Luckily, Neema took interest in the little feline due to her personality and shared love for music and began watching over her. He’s even led her to his water cave (where he hummed her his lullaby) and their friendship grew from there. She doesn’t really understand him so they communicate by yes or no questions until Kiburi comes along. Same with Nne and Tano.

Unrelated, but I just realized a pattern with my headcanons for Kiburi’s float: I gave them all desires

Kiburi wants to be good enough to make his dad proud like he promised

Tamka wants to be seen as more than just one thing (which is an idiot). He wants to pursue his passion and show he’s capable of doing things

Neema wants to feel like somebody. Like I said, he’s been a follower for way too long and he wants to find himself

Nduli wants everything to stay the same. He’s lost so much due to change and he doesn’t want to lose anything or anybody else, so he clings to his loved ones in hopes they won’t let go

Wakali wants to be taken seriously since her young age and albinism causes other animals to underestimate her

Even Makuu wants to show everyone that he’s changed his ways and wants to leave a legacy. It was the same thing with Pua, although nowadays he just wants to live his best life

Ucheshi got what she wanted in that Udugu episode I have-she got her big brother back :)

[maschotch]

[girls-and-honey]

at another work event this weekend which means hotel night (yay) but also means I'm just tumbling all night so hi come talk to me! how was your week, what are you looking forward to, what's a fun fact you want to share?

[cosmoss-express]

N.S.F.W. Observations

!MINORS DO NOT INTERACT! It's for other people's safety AND your own!

(I'm censoring the s*xual terms since I'm not in the mood to get flagged)

❤ Mars conjunct Pluto is a textbook dom aspect (the type of dom that you see in fanfics).

Over-achievers, who stop at nothing to reach their goals. These natives get resentful when they get bullied or belittled. Gets off on power play and seeing their partner at their mercy (choking, orgasm denial, restriction, ball gags, seeing their partner cry, etc)

🖤 Cancer Mars natives like rough sex only with a person they know they can trust and love (it also depends on their mood). Cancers can get very wild and primal, but they're quite reluctant in showing that side, as if they have a soft reputation to maintain or smth. Could have a degradation or a praise kink depending on other aspects

for example, Cancer Mars positively aspecting Venus = more likely to enjoy praise

❤ Scorpio Venus/Scorpio degrees on Venus (Mars too) have a thing for holding their partner close to them during the act

🖤 Scorpio + Capricorn Venus/Moon natives can get in a bad mood if they can't have s*x with their lovers

If undeveloped they tend to get very dramatic about it, throwing tantrums and being manipulative

❤ Neptune-Pluto aspects can make you extremely private about your fantasies and more likely to treat s*x as a spiritual experience. You can become more submissive in the presence of a more dominant person

🖤 There's always gonna be sexual tension between you and the person whose Sun is aspecting your Mars (especially conjunction / harsh aspects)

❤ Harsh Sun/Lilith aspects could make it hard for the native to integrate/accept their sexuality. They could view their fantasies/the way they want to express themselves sexually as different compared to how they see themselves (or how the ego sees itself).

The native could try to hide the Lilith part as they might redeem it as evil/dirty. Which won't work in their favour because shunning Lilith leads to repressed anger, co-dependence, hate for the self and unsatisfying relationships

🖤 Leo and Taurus placements/degrees love wearing silk lingerie, tights, garters, etc around the house or get easily turned on by those who wear them

❤ Eros/Mars in the 5th have a TALENT for transforming cuddles into s*x (goes from bored to freaky immediately). The native either tries to be sneaky (touching their partner "innocently") or NOT AT ALL (gets freaky with 0 warning)

🖤 Mars conjunct Moon in synastry: the Mars person has a desperate NEED to stay on top of the Moon person, in and out of the bedroom

As if Mars is using their body to protect Moon from the world or smth

❤ I know that Venus represents what gets you in the mood , but the Moon is a very important indicator on how you like being touched and what makes you feel safe/comfortable during foreplay/sex

🖤 Chiron in the 8th natives might seek healing through s3x , yet fearing to get close to someone in that way

❤ Mars/Venus in Virgo/Gemini degrees enjoy dirty talk (also they get really fucking loud when they're drunk lmao)

[weldingmaskon]

Found it. Here's the specific quote:

As for the “bias v. unbias” point, there is no such thing as true unbiased, except through appearance. This is one of the many poor principles taught to students in K-12, to avoid “bias” sources, but once you get into professional and academic research your learn that sources being bias isn’t an issue and that your actual goal is to use a wide variety of reputable sources and allowing the facts/evidence discovered to guide your conclusion. Usually the people with the greatest expertise on a subject are those with some of the largest bias within that subject. Anytime someone says they’re “unbiased”, they’re lying. At a minimum, they’re bias towards their own experiences and information received. This is why it’s so critical for people to maintain a wide range of sources of information.

And one more for good measure:

I would caution you from being so adverse to bias or to those most critical of an idea; quite often, the best experts of the problems of an idea are those that oppose it the most. The key is to just make sure you're aware of that bias when reading. This is a common mistake that I think a lot of people make by equating bias to invalidity or inaccuracy; when in fact I would argue that entities that put significant effort into concealing their bias are more likely to mislead their audience than those that are transparent with their bias. TL;DR -> A neutral author does not necessarily mean a better author.

I think you may have discovered another "appeal to X" logical fallacy.

"Appeal to Lack of Bias" or smth like that.

Where's your older post about "everyone is biased; you need to gather up their biased perspectives to get a truly holistic view of any topic"? I wish I could find it again so I can print it out; I consider that post as like words to live by.

It is somewhere on my blog. I do a terrible job of tagging/indexing my posts, so feel free to take the journey of searching for it :P

[princessamericachavez]

i just want a VM AU where like 

the BW didn’t happen 

and the twins went back to Syngorn because they learned of their mother’s passing and decided to suck it up and stay with the one parent they still had or something 

and maybe Kiki’s mother did complete her Aramenthe so she didn’t have to travel at all... 

and then years later there’s a ball or smth and there’s the third son of Lord De Rolo, proper and elegant and pompous and totally not pouting because deep down he just wishes he could be home tinkering with his latest project 

and there are also the half-elf twins who are so serious and sullen, rumor has it they barely speak to anyone other than one another and both really really really don’t want to be here but this is one chance they have to make their father proud (hah, as if) for once

and then there’s Keyleth of the Air Ashari, nervous and shy and awkward, trying to be a good diplomat because her mother is off doing other important things and this is her family’s duty after all

and maybe for some reason these four kids in their twenties all end accidentally in the same corner of the ball 

and idk maybe kiki starts conversation with them (tries to, at least) because she’s nervous and doesn’t have many friends

and maybe, to Vex’s surprise, Vax replies because he knows all too well what it’s like to feel like an outcast in this kind of events and he wouldn’t do that to someone else

and mayyyyybe Lord De Rolo starts giving his son a “you better behave like the gentleman you are and come join the party, we have a reputation and duty to maintain in these diplomatic events” look from across the ball (Percy can practically listen to the nagging just with that one look)

so Percy, knowing what is expected of him, knows he needs to dance with someone, at least once, to get his parents off his back so he turns to the hot and scary woman next to him because she looks like the only person here who doesn’t want to dance and therefore won’t make him dance more than one song 

and Vex is even more stunned than before because in all these years in Syngorn no one, not one person, has asked her to dance (nobody would lower themselves like that in Syldor’s eyes, even if deep down they desired her) so she accepts (to both of their surprises -and Vax’s)

but Vex is too stubborn and distrustful and has been hurt too many times, so she immediately wonders if this De Rolo kid is being an asshole or playing a prank on her or something...

She can’t risk that. Not if she wants to earn her father’s approval for once. 

“Interesting move,” she says, while dancing, “but if Whitestone wanted to strengthen their ties to Syngorn there’s plenty of better choices for you to woo.”

And Percy isn’t even offended by the implication. He just says “Not a play. I couldn’t care less about politics. You just looked like the only person who wanted to be here even less than me.”

Vex doesn’t tell him about her father, or the expectations put upon her and her brother, nor how much her heart still longs for the woods every day ever since they chose to return to their father, or how she hates this uptight life even more than her bear does. She says “these events are rarely entertaining”

“I agree. They are just a bunch of unhappy people trying to pretend their money makes them special, even though you couldn’t get a single original idea out of them put together.” 

And Vex laughs and points out how hypocritical that is from someone that comes from money and he just shrugs “oh, no, I am brilliant.” and he’s so egocentric it’s almost charming. “I am an inventor.”

She laughs, finding the idea a little ridiculous. 

And that’s when shit goes down, of course. 

Something like a cult or mafia or monsters attack the ball (idk bare with me, I’m making this up the idea as i go)

The twins, of course, almost immediately forget about their current conversations and become laser focused on finding each other. 

Kiki and Percy follow them because neither knows what else to do. 

While there’s a mess going on and there’s royal guards from everywhere going down and these four are just trying to get out, stick to the shadows, make it out safe. 

The twins are good at becoming invisible (they learned a little of it in the streets during their time as runaways, and a lot more in the palace while trying to avoid everyone who looked down on them). Percy and Kiki are not. 

Bonus points if Keyleth unexpectedly saves Vax from an attacker and they are both surprised and delighted by it. “I had never fought anyone before!!!!!” 

Bonus bonus points if Percy, who is still his brave and daring self but lacks any kind of training or real life experience, tries to fight off an attacker and gets hurt 

Bonus extra bonus points if in the nick of time an arrow saves him and he sees Vex’ahlia, gorgeous in her ball gown but with a fierce glare, holding a fallen guard’s bow (she kept practicing after the woods, because archery is a proper sport for a lady with high blood, even if her father never fails to remark how unexceptional her marksman abilities are compared to full blood elves). 

Anyway, the four of them protect each other and make it out in one piece (more or less) by the time some adventurers, barely older than them, show up to save the day. 

The De Rolos and Korrin are of course both delighted and relieved to see their kids in one piece.

Syldor expresses an almost sarcastic “what a relief” and takes in their dirtied faces and torn clothes and undone hair, the two diner knives Vax keeps holding on to and the bow and arrow in Vex’ahlias firm hands, and looks utterly disappointed and embarased by them. 

Percy and Kiki notice.

Everyone, in a way, notices, to their utter humiliation. 

Anyway, not two weeks have passed when the first letter from Zephrah arrives. Keyleth writes to each twin separately (excitedly and warmly to Vax, nervous and reverently to Vex). They both respond, though Vax’s correspondence becomes far more frequent. 

Vax starts pressing flowers into his books. Vex makes fun of him, because she’s jealous and she hates to see her brother’s attention elsewhere. 

And then, nearly four months later, a package arrives for her. 

She’s annoyed at first because it must be Keyleth’s (no one else ever sends them anything) until she opens it. There is a bunch of different and curious looking arrows. Trick arrows. There’s no name from the sender, only a note: “Told you, I am an inventor.”

I am already thinking of a part 2 but I’ll leave it here for now because this little silly idea already got way out of hand byeee

EDIT: part two is up!