#square e bear

[inifinitypink]

Hello, I have made the complete parappa friend circle chart thing. Go crazy with it.

[bear-cubs-art-things]

I love how our band can make good circle forms but fails miserably to form a decent block

[napoleonic-sexyman-tournament]

All the propaganda is under the cut. It's long for both of them:

Alexander I Pavlovich:

a. “Maybe not the most handsome or charismatic man in this tournament, but he has ample chaotic neutral energy that both baffles and fascinates contemporaries. In short, if you're into mysterious men, you won't find a sexier enigma than our imperator.”

b. “Look. Is this or is this not the monsterfucking website.”

c. There are lots of monuments dedicated to him. There's one in Moscow in the Alexander Garden right by the Red Square. While nowhere near as grand as the Alexander Column, I think it's still worth showcasing!

The monument is meant to celebrate his victory in the 1812 Russian invasion. He's holding a sword, proudly standing on top of his enemies' weapon.

The sculptors, however, have never seen the man in their life - all the people involved in the making are still alive and well (i think), so that should tell how new it is. The monument was opened for the public just a decade ago in 2014.

d. quote about this bust from the memoirs of Sophie de Choiseul-Gouffier: “No painter was able to properly capture the features of his face and especially his soft expression. Alexander didn’t like to pose for portraits and they were mostly done with some stealth. In this case sculpture have produced a better likeness. The famed Thorvaldsen made a bust of this sovereign worthy of a hand of such a remarkable artist.”

e. His family nickname might have been ‘our angel’ and the medal commemorating his death bears the inscription “Our angel is in heaven”, but did you know that to this day Alexander looks down on Sankt Petersburg as an actual angel, wings, cross, trampled snake and all? Alas, you cannot see it from the ground, the Alexander Column being so very tall, but the statue of the angel on top certainly seems to take after our sexy thrice-angel Emperor.

f. Apotheosis of Alexander! An eminently universal image, perfectly serviceable for his rise to the throne… of Napoleonic Sexyman Tournament.

It really looks like Peter and Catherine are instructing the Electorate. Gentlevoters, surely you wouldn’t dream of disappointing Sasha’s Grandmother and his scantily clothed giant of a Great-great-grandfather?

g. What is sexier than a man in a dress???

Thomas-Alexandre Dumas

a. “mustache”

b. “Tall! Daring! Swashbuckling! A devoted husband and father! Had a personal conflict with Napoleon! Also it was said he could, while holding onto a bar above his head, LIFT A HORSE WITH HIS THIGHS. How is he not on this list ten times already! Vote for General Dumas!”

c. “He was so hot that he inspired The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo, and many more books that his son, Alexandre Dumas, wrote. He definitely looked the part of a sexyman, as he son recounts in his memoirs: "My father, as already stated, was twenty-four, and as handsome a young fellow as could be found anywhere. His complexion was dark, his eyes of a rich chestnut colour […]. His teeth were white, his lips mobile, his neck well set on his powerful shoulders, and, in spite of his height of five feet nine inches, he had the hands and feet of a woman. These feet were the envy of his mistresses, whose shoes he was very rarely able to put on." He could crush you between his thighs: "His free colonial life had developed his strength and prowess to an extraordinary degree; he was a veritable American horse-lad, a cowboy. His skill with gun or pistol was the envy of St. Georges and Junot. And his muscular strength became a proverb in the army. More than once he amused himself in the riding-school by passing under a beam, and lifting his horse between his legs." He was so badass he could beat 13 men with 4 and take all the enemy prisoner, and defend against hundreds of men on a bridge by himself. He performed these acts of valour numerous times in Italy. He was so formidable that the Austrians named him the "Schwartz Teufel", or the Black Devil, and his feat at the bridge earned him the moniker of "Horatius Cocles of Tyrol". He wasn't afraid to stand up to his morals and protest against unfair treatment. When unjust executions by the guillotine were happening outside his quarters, he closed the blinds of his curtains, earning him the nickname "Mr. Humanity". When in the Vendée, he complained about the wanton indiscipline in his troops. When in Italy, Berthier wrongly reported his actions as one of "observation" in St. Antonio. Dumas wrote to General Bonaparte that if Berthier was in the same position, he would have shit his pants. Dumas abhorred plunder, never exhorted the locals, and ordered the Directory agent who had come to persuade him otherwise be shot if he dared present himself to Dumas again. Integrity and a sense of moral justice is sexy, mark my words. For Dumas' final qualifier as a sexyman, look no further than this Tumblr heritage post (https://www.tumblr.com/petermorwood/133803437020/hortensevanuppity-elodieunderglass), with 300,000 notes and counting. And I quote: "- daddy general dumas was an immense fierce french warrior who was a 6 foot plus, stunningly gorgeous and charismatic Black gentleman - he invaded egypt - the native egyptians said “is this napoleon? this must be napoleon. we for one welcome our majestic new overlord” - then napoleon showed up - napoleon has all the presence of yesterday’s plain Tesco hummus - the native egyptians were like “��� no… no, we’ve thought very hard and we’ll have General Dumas actually” - this did not make napoleon happy - in fact it made him jealous - napoleon felt so emasculated that he launched a campaign of revenge against General Dumas, including taking away his pension, that probably inspired a lot of Alexandre’s rather satisfying scenes in which fathers are nobly avenged and the money-grubbing villains are rubbed in the mud" I rest my case. Tl;dr: He was so hot he inspired multiple books, he was a stronk man who could crush you between his thighs or carry you like a sack of potatoes, and he was so badass that he could take on odds of 1 to 3. He had a foul mouth but a heart of gold and his actions were never self-serving. Posts relating to him on Tumblr have had 300,000 notes and counting. He is qualitatively and quantitatively qualified to be a sexyman.”

[youaintnothinbuta]

“Do you have to show off?” — Elvis Presley x reader

Summary: Drabble where you and Elvis are hanging out when a tickle fight breaks out and the only thing you can think of to stop him is to kiss him and so your first kiss happens

Pairing: Elvis Presley or Austin!elvis x fem!reader

Word count: 405

Warnings: none!! Drabble fluff <3

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Elvis had come over to your house for dinner, and you were now in your bedroom, chatting away. You lounged on your bed, flipping through a magazine. Across the room, Elvis sat on the floor, surrounded by stacks of vinyl records, his fingers skimming over the worn covers as he searched for the perfect one to play.

You watched him from your spot on the bed, a fond smile tugging at the corners of your lips as he meticulously sorted through your collection. Finally, he plucked a record from the pile, carefully placing it on the turntable before lowering the needle onto the spinning vinyl. He soon started singing along with the record, his smooth croon making your heart beat faster. He didn’t need to know that, though.

“Do you have to show off?” You feigned irritation, rolling your eyes. Though secretly you loved whenever he’d start singing (who didn’t?).

"You know, you're lucky to have me here to serenade you," he quipped, his playful tone bringing a laugh to your lips.

You rolled your eyes in mock exasperation, reaching for the nearest teddy bear and hurling it in his direction. It hit him square in the face, eliciting a fake yelp. Elvis sprang to his feet, his eyes dancing with mischief as he ran toward you. You scrambled to get up from the bed, attempting to flee from his grasp, but he was too quick. With a swift motion, he captured you around the waist, pulling you into his embrace.

“Gotcha,” he declared triumphantly, his fingers finding the most ticklish spots on your sides. You erupted into a chorus of giggles and laughter, squirming in his arms as he mercilessly tickled you. “Elvis, Elvis, E, I can't—“ You gasped between breathless laughter, your protests falling on deaf ears as his fingertips continued to roam your skin. In an attempt to get him to let you go, your hands found their way to either side of his face, and before you could overthink it, you pressed your lips to his. He stopped, sinking into your kiss. His hands found the small of your back, pulling you into him. You broke the kiss, looking into his bright blue eyes, finding nothing but warmth and affection.

“You're perfect,” Elvis mumbled, his voice soft and sincere. You sat tangled together on the bedroom floor, he kissed you on the cheek, and you just allowed him to hold you.

[theshotsheardacrossworlds]

Hibernation

Set post-game. Halsin starts to feel more tired every day and knows what it means---he will need to hibernate. NSFW.

“Daddy Halsin, are you alright?” One of the tiefling children asked him. He had been showing the children how to take care of the vegetable seeds they had planted in the greenhouse when a jolt of fatigue went through him. Third time this has happened today. Is it that time again? “Daddy Halsin?”

He offered a gentle smile to the child. “Yes, Eustace. I’m well, simply tired.”

One of the other children, a human girl named Poppy, thought for a moment before suggesting, “You should take a nap with Miss Annie, Daddy Halsin. You’re always so happy after being with her!”

He could not help but laugh and ruffled the child’s hair. “You’re very right, Poppy! Miss Annie does make me happy.” He looked at one of the druids, a dragonborn from Baldur’s Gate. “Can you continue their lesson, friend? After, let them wander the square and play to their hearts’ content.”

The druid gave a nod. “Of course. Now children…”

Thankfully Halsin was able to slip away without too much crying, and soon he opened the door to his and Anais’s cottage on the edge of what was Reithwin and now known as Moonrise. He and his beloved agreed to live away from the town center (so I may easily go into the woods whenever I please) but with a kitchen of her design (higher than usual counters and a large hearth) and additions of nature throughout. It was a beautiful home. Certainly not as grand as that manor she grew up in, but thankfully her tastes are much simpler than her mother’s. He smelled something sweet as he entered the cottage. Honey cakes?

“You’re back early!” Anais looked up from her book. She was sitting at the table, her apron covered in flour.

He smiled as he bent to kiss her. She is perfect. She fills my heart with such joy. “I was feeling tired.”

“Again?” Her voice was tinged with worry.

Pulling up his chair next to hers, he sighed. “Yes, but I think I know what it is.” She offered an encouraging nod, and he continued. “Every so often, the bear needs to hibernate. It’s getting to be that time.” He watched as she put a slip of paper inside her book and closed it.

“How long?”

“It can range from a week to three months. It’s never the same, and I won’t know for long I’ve been hibernating until I wake.” She’s going to ask if she can come with me. Oh Annie, please…

As she serious as he had ever seen her, she asked, “Can I come with you?”

He sandwiched one of her hands in his as he shook his head. “No. It’s far too dangerous. Best to stay here and—” Please don’t fight me on this. It’s too dangerous. Far, far too dangerous.

Anais smiled sadly. “Carry on as best I can.”

The two sat in silence for a few moments before he spoke again. “I will write to your mother, Nadia, and Astarion to see if any of them would like to be with you while I’m gone. Or perhaps Gale could make the trip from Waterdeep. Or Shadowheart and her parents?” I would also suggest Wyll and Karlach, but alas, they cannot return from Avernus, and gods know where Lae’zel is.

Her other hand now rested on the top of his. “Oh no, please. I don’t want to be a bother. Besides, I’m not alone when I have Scratch, Horace, and Obie here. And there’s also everyone in town. I’ll be okay.” She reassured him with a kiss on his cheek.

Their foreheads touched as he closed his eyes. I don’t want you to feel alone. I want you to be surrounded by love and care while I hibernate. It will make my sleep much more peaceful. “Since we have coupled, we have not spent one night apart. I worry if my hibernation lasts more than a week or two you will be lonely, my heart.” And it breaks my heart to see you sad.

She wrinkled her nose and gave him a quick peck. “Oh, I’ll be alright. Don’t worry about me.” Impossible, dearest one. “Is there anything else we need to do before you, I assume, go into a cave and sleep?”

Halsin chuckled heartily. “Yes! I’ll start scouting for one tomorrow. There is something else, Annie. I need to put on some weight.”

Anais raised an eyebrow. “How much?”

“Usually between forty to sixty pounds. Though,” he remembered a specific hibernation, soon after the Shadow Curse took hold. “There was one time I barely put on forty pounds, and it was…erm, not a pleasant experience. So please forgive me if I eat us out of house and home for the next several weeks.” Upon hearing her laugh, he shook his head. “You’re taking this remarkably well, my heart.”

She waved a dismissive hand with a grin. “To be honest, when you pass a certain point, some things are just filed under ‘strange but interesting druid things.’ This happens to be one of them.” Giving him a kiss on the cheek, she rose to check the items in the oven. “Ooh, these are all done.” Taking the honey cakes out of the oven, she placed the tray on the stovetop. “Nice and fresh, love, though if you’re going to grab one or two, just wait until they cool a bit.”

Chuckling, he rose and embraced her from behind, his large, calloused hands resting on her apron covered belly. “I was…thinking of something else, my love. As I make ready for hibernation, what if I leave you a piece of me?” We’ve spoken about this before, but why does my heart race so?

“A piece of you, hm? A lock of your hair perhaps?” She cannot be serious. “Or,” Praise Silvanus, she’s teasing. “Something else entirely?”

He huffed a breath as he tugged on her earlobe. “Does ‘something else entirely’ cover me filling you to the brim with my seed until it takes, blessing us with a child?”

A small gasp escaped her, her hands now covering his. Attempting to cover mine. Hers are smaller…and so very lovely. “What a coincidence it does! When shall we begin, Halsin love?”

He gave her a quick squeeze before releasing her and taking a honey cake. “Right after I have a few of these, my heart.”

They spent the rest of the day in bed---laughing, making love, and Halsin leaving the bed every so often for more honey cakes. How blessed am I to love a woman who is brave, brilliant, beautiful, and an excellent baker. Annie is truly one of a kind.

***

Halsin was in heaven.

Or what was as close as he would get to it.

In wildshape, he was on his back in a small clearing outside Moonrise, his belly full of fruit, milk, and honey as Anais scratched behind a soft ear. She had been reading a book her mother sent (“More bawdy romance, love” she said) after a morning filled with music lessons for the children. She has taken on the role of teacher so well. The way she lights up when they learn something new is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.

“I still have some more strawberries if you’re still hungry, my handsome bear.” she said sweetly. Annie always casts Speak to Animals or drinks a Potion of Animal Speaking before I go into wildshape. The sweetest and most thoughtful woman alive… “There’s still plenty of honey too.”

He huffed. “In a short while, my heart. Need things to settle first.”

She nodded, her nose wrinkling. “Alright, love.” Placing her bookmark where she left off, she closed the book and put it down. She then shifted so she was sitting closer to the bear’s middle. “Belly rub?”

Silvanus preserve me. “If…if that is something you wish to do, sweet one, then by all means.”

Anais slowly rubbed circles on his fur-covered belly, humming her favorite waltz. To Halsin, he had never seen a more beautiful sight. The way the sun is hitting her skin, it appears as if she’s glowing with radiance. Oak Father, thank you for sending her to me. Upon hearing him moan, she chuckled. “That good, huh?”

“You’ve no idea…feels so good, my heart…”

She puckered her lips a little and winked at him. Another way of giving each other kisses while I’m in wildshape. “Good. And don’t worry, my beautiful bear---I love doing things for you, big or small.” How true that is, especially anything with the children. She adores every child and acts as a mother to all. “Oh, and before I forget---the care package from Mum should be arriving tomorrow or the day after. I told her to put in lots of snacks with honey in them for you.”

Halsin groaned loudly as she continued her ministrations. “So thoughtful, lover. You’re so good…” As I hope I am to you. Perhaps I should show her how much I adore her. A golden glow surrounded him as he wildshaped back into an elf. “Come here to me…”

Smiling softly, she shifted to lay down next to him, curling into his more substantial side. Not that she minds. I could be a worm, and she would love me. Blessings be upon you, Oak Father. Thank you for her. “Always coming to you. For you. On you.” She snorted, beginning to laugh. “With you.” They laughed for a few minutes with Halsin tickling her upper arm.

He pressed several kisses to her red hair and murmured, “Come with me before you start supper. Come with me after. Come with me once more after dessert…and more…” Seeing the knowing grin tugging on her lips, he held onto her wide hips as she straddled him. And mindful of how full I am. I am blessed. “More…” She will know how much I desire her.

She rocked a little on the ever-growing bulge in his trousers and chuckled. “And you accuse me of being greedy? You’ve been wanting me more than usual, lover. I’m not complaining, mind you.” Her hands traveled down her sides and rested on top of his. “Is this how it usually is for you when preparing for hibernation?”

He furrowed his brow. “Hmm, the fire burns a little hotter some years but never like this.”

Anais thought for a moment. “Maybe because the burdens you once carried---the battle at Moonrise, the Shadow Curse, Thaniel, the responsibilities of the grove---are no longer present? You said yourself your heart feels lighter than it has in centuries.”

“Very true. It could be that. It could be something else entirely. However,” he squeezed her hips and stared at her with his most loving gaze. “I will choose to believe it is because of you.” After all, it is because of you that light shines here once more. Nature thrives here because of you. My heart is full of joy every day because of you.

Her cheeks flushed pink. Nature blessed her in so many beautiful ways. “You are quite possibly the sweetest man to ever exist,” she smiled brighter than a million suns. “And I adore you.” Untying the laces on his breeches (which are far too tight in more ways than one), she freed his aching member, earning her a groan. “Time to come with me, love.” Hiking up her dress a little, she slowly sank down his massive length and not being silent about it as is her way. Finally, be loud, my heart! “Decided against panties today…had a feeling we’d be…” Yes. Good. Very good, my love. “Gods, I’ve no idea how I get you inside me every time…you’re so bloody huge…”

“Ah, and yet, you take me so well!” He let her adjust to him for a few moments until he was fully hilted inside her. Oak Father take me. She is your most lovely creation. Thrusting slowly, Halsin bit back a moan as she rolled her soft hips. “Annie…my love…”

She clenched around him and squeezed her brown eyes shut. “W-what do you desire?”

“To stay like this…and…” He licked his lips. “The honey.”

With ease, Anais summoned a pair of mage hands that opened the jar of honey and brought it back to her and Halsin. “How should we do this?” She clenched around him and moaned softly. “Eat honey off my hand? Pour?”

“Pour…please, my heart…” He panted, his cock twitching inside her. Oak Father, fill me with your bounty, and let me fill her with my seed. “Please, I beg of you…”

Her cheeks turned redder as she smiled sweetly, tipping the jar towards his lips. “No need to beg, my handsome bear.” She cooed. “I can’t possibly tease the one who owns my heart, can I? Not when he’s been so incredibly good to me lately.” Her smile grew brighter as he swallowed the honey. How am I so blessed? It is the highest honor to hold your heart, dearest one. “That’s it, Halsin love. Jar’s almost empty, and then,” she winked. “Want to me to bounce on your cock for a bit?”

Gulping down the rest of the honey, his calloused hands squeezed her soft hips and thrusted upwards making her to moan. More. I must have more. My blood is on fire. All I want is her. All I need is her. Her. Annie. My heart. My everything.

His everything then tossed the empty jar aside as Halsin swallowed, rolling her hips slowly. “Fucking hells, you’re so bloody much, love…” She reached for his hands, grasping them in hers. “Gods…Halsin, fill me…please…”

“As if…I can ever…deny you…” He huffed, thrusting with as much frequency as he could. He could feel his own end coming quickly but hoped as always that she comes first. It is only right that my sweetest Annie experience pleasure before me. Giving one of her hands a squeeze, he let go. The hand dove under her dress to find the spot where they were joined and began to rub furiously. He reveled in her reaction---completely, openly, happily debauched. That I am the cause of her pleasure brings me so much joy…more so knowing that she feels the same for me. “And if this doesn’t take…I shall fill you again, my love.” So close. Oak Father, hear me---let me bring her bliss always. Let this be the seed that creates life.

“HALSIN!” Anais screamed as her orgasm ripped through her.

Moments later, he reached his own peak, hazel eyes glowing gold. Several grunts escaped him as he once again gripped both her hands. “Annie…” Halsin sighed, feeling not only impossibly full but entirely spent.

She rolled off him and onto her back, staring at the sky. “Yes?”

“Perhaps we may nap here a while before returning home?” He waited for her to respond before noticing she immediately fell asleep. Chuckling, he laid on his side and brushed a few strands of red hair out of her perfect face. “Rest now, sweet one, for there will be more later.”

***

Today is the day. Halsin heaved a sigh as his feet hit the bedroom floor. Today I will leave to hibernate. Today I leave Annie for who knows how long. Annie, my love… As tears began to form in his eyes, he remembered something she said the previous night that made his heart feel lighter.

“Think of it this way---you’re taking a lot of me with you.” Anais wrinkled her nose, giggled, and kissed his cheek. “About sixty pounds worth, I’d say. I’m keeping you snuggly warm until you wake and return to me.”

He was not ashamed to admit that he began to cry after hearing her say that and held her in his arms for some time, refusing to let her go. Not that she minds. She once said if she could spend eternity in my arms she would. The feeling is certainly mutual, my heart.

“I packed a few more herbs to make healing potions in your bag. And some freshly baked cinnamon rolls!” Anais said as she leaned in the doorway of their bedroom. While she was smiling, it did not reach her brown eyes. “I keep trying to think if there’s anything else you need—”

Halsin held up a hand. “You’ve done enough, my love. I am more than prepared for hibernation.” Standing, he grabbed the only pair of trousers that still fit and put them on. “All thanks to you of course.” He smiled warmly at her as he tied them. Loosely. They’ll be off as soon as I reach the cave. Then wildshape. Then sleep. And hopefully dream of her. “Your mother is still arriving tomorrow?”

“Yes. I think she might be staying longer than originally planned. Now that she knows the Ironworks can indeed function without her, she wants to see just how long it can function without her.” She giggled and walked to Halsin, giving him an adoring look over. “Gods, you’re gorgeous. Do you know that, love?”

He enveloped her in his arms and pressed a kiss to her head. “I am nothing when compared to your beauty. Nature truly outdid itself when it created you.”

She rested her head under his chin and grinned. “Flatterer.”

“It’s not flattery when it’s true, my heart.”

Normally she would banter with him further. Instead, she hummed softly and ran her hands over his back and sides. “I’m going to miss you.” She whispered after a few minutes.

Annie, please. I do not wish to cry. I want to leave you with a smile, not with any more tears. “As I will miss you, sweet one. Oak Father willing, I will return to you much sooner than we think.” He cupped her face and kissed her forehead gently. OH! “Remember that Eustace loves—”

“The lavender soap at bathtime. I know. They’ll be alright.”

He had said goodbye to the children the previous night, and while it was not easy for anyone (there were many tears shed and hugs given), he knew they were in the best hands. “Forgive me, I—”

She silenced him with a short kiss and a knowing smile. “We’ll be alright. Now,” she stepped back and sighed, hands on her hips. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

He laughed and hugged her one more time. “I love you, Annie.”

More than you will ever know.

[janmisali]

a naming scheme for polyominoes

polyominoes are shapes made out of orthogonally connected unit squares (like in tetris). I think they're really fun, but one problem is that there really isn't any established method for referring to them. lower-order polyominoes are generally referred to by letters that they resemble, but that doesn't scale well. there are more polyominoes than letters.

so, here's my system! full description under the cut, but here's a spreadsheet with the names for all the polyominoes with up to nine squares, if all you want is the names of these shapes.

in this system, polyominoes are described extremely thoroughly according to several defining properties.

number of squares

this is the part that's already well-established. a monomino has one square, a domino has two, a tromino has three, a tetromino has four, and so on. the numeral prefixes I'm using to generalize these established names are the same as in my base-naming system, so for example a twelve-square polyomino is a "dozomino".

for a monomino or a domino, the number of squares alone is enough to uniquely describe the polyomino. for any higher order, you need a little more information.

symmetry group

this is one of my favorite parts of this system.

after the numeral prefix, there's a suffix that indicates what symmetries the polyomino has. this suffix is broken into three parts.

starting from the right, the ending of the suffix indicates rotational symmetry. -o (polyomino) is the generic form, leaving rotational symmetry unspecified. -e (polyomine) means no rotational symmetry, -us (polyominus) means twofold rotational symmetry, and -on (polyominon) means fourfold rotational symmetry.

before that, the middle part of the suffix indicates reflectional symmetry. -min- (polyomino) is the generic unspecified form, -m- (polyomo) means no reflectional symmetry, -mil- (polyomilo) means one axis of mirror symmetry, -mic- (polyomico) means two axes of mirror symmetry, and -dr- (polyodro) means four axes of mirror symmetry.

and finally (or I guess initially), the vowel at the start of the suffix indicates the alignment of the axis or axes of mirror symmetry, when relevant. -o- (polyomino) is generic, -a- (polyamino) means orthogonal axes, and -i- (polyimino) means diagonal axes.

in total, there are eight distinct symmetry groups a polyomino can belong to:

asymmetric (polyome)

one orthogonal line of mirror symmetry (polyamile)

one diagonal line of mirror symmetry (polyimile)

chiral twofold rotational symmetry (polyomus)

two orthogonal lines of mirror symmetry (polyamicus)

two diagonal lines of mirror symmetry (polyimicus)

chiral fourfold rotational symmetry (polyomon)

four lines of mirror symmetry (polyodron)

in some cases, the numeral prefix for the number of squares and this suffix for the symmetry group is sufficient to uniquely describe a polyomino. (for example, there is only one pentodron: the five-square polyomino shaped like a plus sign) however, most of the time you need more information than that.

stability

the stability of a polyomino is, in simple terms, the number of "non-load-bearing" squares in the pattern. how many of the squares could individually be removed while keeping the polyomino connected? this turns out to be a very useful thing to be able to refer to.

as an example, here are two pentamiles. they both have five squares, and one orthogonal line of mirror symmetry. the one on the left has two non-load-bearing squares (the two on the left side), and the one on the right has three (the one on the left, the one on the top, and the one on the bottom). you can check for yourself to verify that removing any other square from either of these will result in the remaining squares no longer being orthogonally connected.

so, the two pentamiles can be distinguished from each other by calling the one on the left the diadic pentamile, and the one on the right the triadic pentamile. in general, a polyomino with n non-load-bearing squares is n-adic, using the same kinda silly numeral prefix system as everything else.

but what about when this isn't enough information either?

sides

here are the two pentimiles, both of which are diadic. they can be distinguished by counting how many sides they have: the one on the left is hexagonal, and the one on the right is decagonal. so, their names are the hexagonal pentimile and the decagonal pentimile.

counting how many sides a polyomino has isn't as straightforward as you might expect due to some literal edge cases like this one:

this is a heptomino with a hole in it. how many sides does it have? I think most people would say it has ten sides, but you could also say it has six (ignore the hole), nine (there are nine vertices), or what I did and say it has eight sides.

I think this particular method of counting sides is more elegant mathematically (and computationally), which is why it's what I'm using. also it's fun!

holes

these are the two tesseragonal (sixteen sided) tetradic ennimiles. the one on the right has a hole in it, and the one on the left doesn't, so the left one can be called the solid tesseragonal tetradic ennimile and the right one can be called the hollow tesseragonal tetradic ennimile.

for polyominoes with more than one hole, you add a numeral prefix to "hollow", eg. bihollow, trihollow, tetrahollow, etc.

longest line

these are the two polyominoes that can be called an octagonal diadic hexomus. (they're also both solid, but that's not necessary to specify in this case because there isn't a hollow octagonal diadic hexomus.)

these are distinguished by the lengths of their longest line of squares. unlike previously described parts of these names, this is relative, not absolute; all that matters is that the one on the left's longest line is shorter than the one on the right. in this case, these are called the minor octagonal diadic hexomus and the major octagonal diadic hexomus.

there are naturally cases where you need to distinguish between more than two longest-line lengths, so these two words can be supplemented with additional words as necessary:

minor, major

minor, medial, major

subminor, minor, major, supermajor

subminor, minor, medial, major, supermajor

subminor, minor, superminor, submajor, major, supermajor

subminor, minor, superminor, medial, submajor, major, supermajor

subminor, minor, superminor, submedial, supermedial, submajor, major, supermajor

subminor, minor, superminor, submedial, medial, supermedial, submajor, major, supermajor

bisubminor, subminor, minor, (…) major, supermajor, bisupermajor

trisubminor, bisubminor, minor, (…) major, supermajor, bisupermajor, trisupermajor

and so on from there, including "medial" only when there's an odd number of different longest-line lengths that need to be distinguished.

bounding area

these are the three octagonal diadic hexomes. the one on the right has a longer longest line than the other two, so it's the major octagonal diadic hexome, but the other two (which are both minor) can be further disambiguated using their bounding area.

the one on the left fills a three-by-three rectangle, and the one in the middle fills a three-by-four rectangle. in this sense, the left one is smaller than the middle one, so they are respectively named the small minor octagonal diadic hexome and the great minor octagonal diadic hexome.

just like minor and major, small and great are part of a larger set of relative terms, and which ones are used depends on how many distinct bounding areas are being compared.

small, great

small, middle, great

smaller, small, great, greater

smaller, small, middle, great, greater

smallest, smaller, small, great, greater, greatest

smallest, smaller, small, middle, great, greater, greatest

smallest, smaller, small, smallish, greatish, great, greater, greatest

smallest, smaller, small, smallish, middle, greatish, greater, greatest

bismallest, smallest, smaller, small, smallish, (...) greatish, great, greater, greatest, bigreatest

trismallest, bismallest, (...) bigreatest, trigreatest

and so on, using "middle" when there's an odd number of areas being compared.

aspect ratio

these are the two smaller minor dozagonal diadic octomes. their bounding rectangles have the same area (twelve square units), but the one on the left is three-by-four and the one on the right is two-by-six. to convey this, they're called the broad smaller minor dozagonal diadic octome and the narrow smaller minor dozagonal diadic octome.

specifically, "broad" means closer to a square, and "narrow" means more elongated. these terms are further extended in the same way as small and great, with "intermediary" as the equivalent of "middle".

last resort

if two polyominoes have all of these things in common, they're pretty dang similar shapes.

these are the two great decagonal diadic hexomes. they're basically the same shape, but they're still distinct. what I've decided to do when this happens is to just number them, semi-arbitrarily. the one on the left is the primary great decagonal diadic hexome, and the one on the right is the secondary great decagonal diadic hexome.

but of course, what order should they go in? I think the most natural thing to do is to convert the polyomino into a binary number, then sort numerically. since in order to get to the point where this step is necessary polyominoes are guaranteed to have the same bounding box, there's no need to indicate where the different rows start and end; you can just read off all the squares one after the other.

in this example, these two polyominoes are 001 001 011 110 and 001 011 010 110, reading from the bottom row up (with the "origin" placed at the bottom left corner).

one minor issue with this is that a single polyomino can have up to eight distinct orientations. so, to convert it into a number, you first need to pick which orientation is "canonical". the solution I went with is to use whichever orientation of the ones where the shorter side of the bounding box is the width corresponds to the lowest number in binary.

a more significant issue with this, which I haven't really solved, is that there are still so many dang polyominoes.

these are the thirty-seven distinct greatish minor solid dozagonal triadic ennomes. while the vibes of these shapes are indeed very similar, it would be nice to be able to distinguish between them in some way other than just numbering them one through thirty-seven (as fun as using my base-naming system to generate words like "bikery" for the 26th one may be).

closing thoughts

the names this system generates are by no means practical or convenient, but they are highly descriptive, which was my main goal. regardless, for practical purposes just inserting an image inline with text is almost always a better way to refer to higher-order polyominoes than any naming scheme.

there are many important things that this naming system does not describe which could hypothetically be incorporated into a derivative system. one worth noting is whether or not a given polyomino can tile the plane. as it turns out, figuring out if an arbitrary polyomino can tile the plane is computationally really hard, so it would be unsuitable for something like this.

this system only describes "free" polyominoes, where mirror images count as the same shape. following tetris rules, however, those chiral pairs (such as the "S" and "Z" tetrominoes, both of which are called a "tetromus" by my system) should count separately. my recommended solution to this is to refer to the canonical orientation as the "left-handed" one and its mirror image as "right-handed".

[lonniemachin]

Omar reached out to me to help spread his fundraiser. He is a Palestinian in Rafah urgently trying to raise money for necessities of survival and to evacuate his 9-person family. He has only raised €4,893 out of his €50,000 goal so far! Please share and donate, and if you can't donate, please still share!

From Omar's GFM:

Hello, I am Mohammed, a Palestinian student in Germany, I am trying to forward the message of a good friend in Gaza, please support him !!!

Hello to everyone with humanity in this world. I'm speaking to you from Gaza, and I don't know if we will survive in the coming days from this death that draws nearer with each passing day. God spared me from the previous four wars on Gaza, but this war is entirely different. Perhaps in the coming days, I won't be among you anymore. Maybe death will take me as it took my friends and relatives from me.

I am Omar Hamad from Gaza Strip, Beit Hanoun city. I graduated from the College of Pharmacy in 2019. I worked hard in pharmacies and pharmaceutical companies to save up enough money to open my own pharmacy. Because I am very interested in the field of cosmetics and skincare, I didn't open a pharmacy. Instead, I opened my own skincare and hair care store, "Cosmatics," and it cost me around $45,000.

In the last few months before the war, I prepared my apartment and, literally, "poured my heart's blood" into furnishing it. It cost me a hefty amount, around $20,000, and I was ready to get married. But the war did not allow that. It did not grant us even a simple life, which is the right of every human in this world. This world has become desolate, where we see death every day and it cannot even save our children.

I belong to a beautiful, loving, and kind family. My father, mother, brothers Ahmed, Abdullah, Sameh, and Mohamed, and my sisters Faten, Ward, and Reem. My elder brother Ahmed is deaf and mute, suffering in the war from the intensity of the bombing and the concussion in his ear, where he never sleeps at night. My sisters Faten and Ward are also deaf and mute, and their suffering is more difficult because they are females and their physical structure is weaker, as those vibrations and concussions in their ears reverberate heavily. Meanwhile, my sister Reem's fiancé was killed in the war. She couldn't look at life with a hopeful gaze. Our sorrows could fill the whole world and overwhelm it. Oh God, why does all of this happen!

My mother also lost her three brothers, her mother, her brother's wife, and her brother's daughter during the war, all brutally killed. Despite all the sorrow that fills our hearts, we still have a positive outlook towards the future.

After being forced to evacuate from the northern Gaza Strip to its south, we went to the Palestinian Red Crescent in Khan Yunis. The bombing and scenes of killing and destruction were numerous. One day, while my friends and I were eating in our tent, the house next to us was bombed, and shrapnel fell into our food, miraculously sparing us. On another day, a group of people in the street next to us was bombed, and I saw before me 17 bodies, all torn apart, scattered flesh. I couldn't stand from the horror of the scene.

Then we moved to Rafah, on a barren sandy land, if found, on an area of 8 square meters. Twenty meters of expensive nylon and some ropes, that's how a scar is made on the ground bearing the name "tent," assigned to shelter an entire family that meets all its needs within its walls. Living inside it without a bathroom, without a kitchen, without flooring, without pillars, without covers, without warmth, without anything except a heavy heart, a wandering mind, an empty stomach, dense fog, and a very long night, accompanied by sadness, loss of loved ones, wind, rain, and bone-chilling cold. And thus, we await death.

We all need at least medical and psychological care to alleviate some of this pain, also due to the prevalence of diseases and the lack of clean drinking water and the scarcity of food.

We deserve a dignified life like any human in this world. We don't want to live just to survive; we don't want to live like animals only thinking about drinking and eating. We want to live with dignity, with freedom. I am full of hope and optimism that you will support us and help us. If you find that we deserve a better life, please help us in this campaign, which is $50,000.

• The permits and fees necessary to leave the Gaza Strip through the Egyptian Rafah are $5,000 per person (9 people, which is $45,000), in addition to $5,000 to secure the lives of 9 people for rent, buying clean clothes, and securing food and drink at least in the first few days.

Thank you very much for being interested in reading and hearing my story. You are not obliged to help, but we all hope that you will help us and that we will live a dignified life free from bombing, death, blood, and destruction, and also free from continuous hunger and thirst, a life full of cleanliness and hope.

Omar.

[talonabraxas]

How to Transmute Human Consciousness into Buddhas Wisdom

1. The Ten Mysterious Gates

There are ten gates of wonderful manifestations as taught by the Hwa Yen School. I have omitted four of them which duplicate other ones. One may meditate on the six gates of mystic manifestations as follows:

(a) The mysterious gate of perfect yoga of the co-relation and co-existence of all things both in space and in time. As the nature of all Dharmas are Sunyata, every condition of every Dharma relates freely, moves freely, is united freely and plays freely. It is just like a great plain which does not belong to any ego-centered individual, and every person may play there. Hence the mystic circus brings their lions, elephants, horses, monkeys, bears and dogs with their girl and boy members to play there freely. So in the great Dharmadhatu which is of the great Sunyata, all Dharmas may play together and the space of four or ten directions and the time of the three periods may be united or separated, interlocked or interwoven at the meditators will since his mind has been sublimated by the Sunyata.

(b) The mysterious gate of sovereign power in connection with all the Dharmas. As oneself is Sunyata so are those other than self; as a being lacks self so does a thing lack self. Whenever the self is void where the power of the mysterious gate or rooms are opened, one is in all and all may be in one, too; one behind all, all may be behind one, too; small in great, great may be in small; low in high, high may be in low also. Thus all elements of beings and things are mutually identified. A universal identification forms an unlimited and ultimate freedom. Those American hippies who ask for more freedom by laziness onlybeard may be unshaven, clothes may be unwashed, girls may be sexually enjoyed without being married, drugs to enhance sex may be taken often, school lessons may be left but picnics should be frequently takensuch freedom is only a kind of suicide. One who really wants the great freedom should lay more stress on this meditation.

(c) The mysterious gate of performance of manifestations of either appearance or disappearance. When something appears, it appears in the Sunyata; when it disappears, it disappears into the same Sunyata. When the atom was only a potential, scientists treated it as superstition but Buddhists knew it could be broken up, 3000 years before the scientists. When the atom was made up into the atomic bomb it was not a new thing to the Buddhists. The atom and atomic bomb are one thing, but the former holds the potentiality of its disappearance, while the latter its appearance. Both form the complement of the whole entity of truth.

(d) The mysterious gate of sovereign power in different and opposite formswide or narrow (2nd gate), one or many (3rd gate), subtle or gross (6th gate). These pairs may interpenetrate one another commutably, freely, and uninterruptedly. Is not the finger narrower than a mountain but sometimes when held in front of ones eye it may hide a mountain in the distance. Is not the atomic bomb powerful and can destroy gross or great matter but it is invisible, as subtle as a spirit, when it is not split. Buddhists found out this truth approximately 3000 years earlier than the scientists. Are not the lungs 600 square feet larger than the body when they are extended; but they occupy only one small part of the body! Are not there 200 billion nerve cells in only one small brain? These examples are common things. If by the power of Sunyata, the mysterious and supernatural maya becomes much more inconceivable, yet it may actually be realized through this meditation.

(e) The mysterious gate of the various performances of separated Dharmas in the ten periods. Each of the past, present, and future also contains three periods. To the whole one, if these nine are added, it will make up the ten periods. By the speed of gnostic light, Buddha sees the things of the future and remembers things of the past. Time seems to go in reverse which is known by the theory of Einstein in these days, only Buddha knew it 3000 years earlier. Such a vertical connection completes the interconnection and interlocking of the separate beings along the nine periods. The precious five gates are mutually penetrated in the horizontal plane. When their vertical connection of time is added, it becomes four dimensions, which was known to Buddhists almost 30 centuries earlier than Einstein. Two dimensions may be symbolized by a plane. Three dimensions by a cube. Four should be symbolized by a ball fully encircling a cross. But there is the fifth dimension when it is added causes a mysterious penetration, and this may be symbolized by this signcrossed vajra non-limitation of time and of space. Things only occur with length and width in mathematics, materials adding height are solid geometrical materials. Adding time again are durable materials, yet they are physical. With the addition of the Sunyata mystic emergence it then becomes metaphysical. Hence philosophically length, width, height, duration and Sunyata emanation form a fifth dimension, as I newly make this term.

(f) The mysterious gate of completion of virtues of the master and family working together harmoniously and brightly. If any one of the Dharmas or persons is taken as the chief one, all other Dharmas or persons might work agreeable as his retinue. For instance when the practitioner is practicing Ahimsa, all his neighbors follow his good example and out of great compassion send birds to their natural state from their cages, fishes to the ocean from their tanks, doves to the sky from their prisons. Remote neighbors follow their close neighbors, the village follows the remote neighbor, the town follows the village, the city and the whole nation and whole globe will follow one by one and the third world war will not happen. No matter how the facts really appear, one should meditate like this as if it is so fortunately becoming true. By the addition of the time dimension, the three periods may unite as one whole, so here and there, all persons of the whole world will eventually become kind, merciful and peaceful once and for all.

As Sunyata has no ego, it enables oneself to be united with all others. When one practitioner, Mr. A., takes one person as the master, all other persons of the ten Dharmadhatus, may be his family. At the same time, another practitioner, Mr. B., C., D. or so on may take someone in the family of Mr. A as his master and all other persons other than that master may be his family. Thus, master yet family, family yet master, they all have the philosophic emanation. Wonderful and inconceivable incarnations would happen without limitation. Again one master has his inner family and outer family, small family and big family, appeared family and disappeared family, small family in the big family, big family in the small family. Their transformations are at the will of the master without any confinement.

Alas! Very few persons know that Sunyata is not negativism. A philosophic, mysterious positive potentiality is within it. Still very, very few practitioners or scholars know the discriminations between the ten goodnesses and six paramitas which I am going to deal with below.

2. To Distinguish the Six Paramitas from Ten Good Conducts and Diligently Practice the Former Ones

(a) The liberatable way of charity. To give alms to the poor even frequently in an amount more than the whole world can contain is goodness which may get one a good rebirth in heaven, but to be liberated from heaven or earth one should give alms with the Sunyata which has no giver, non-giving, and non-objects of giving. In doing this liberatable charity, one is able to approach the liberation of Buddhahood. Buddha taught it in the Dragon Palace with the following stanza:

"Give all things till the ego remains, Give the ego till others remain, Give the others till Dharmas remain, Give Dharmas till Buddha to attain."

(b) The liberatable way of holding the precepts. All silas, vinayas or commandments should be kept with wisdom, as Buddha taught on some occasion:

Holding the Silas not depend upon Body, speech and mind, or depend upon Three periods, two sides, or depend upon Delusions, or awareness but by none Dependence is precepts holding the precepts on.

(c) The liberatable way of patience. To be patient on the occasion of misery or to the harmful person or at difficult work does good which is not sufficient to be liberated by the paramita. He who practices this should follow the main meaning of the stanza taught by Buddha on the same occasion:

Patience never knows there is I or you Neither keep the idea of mine and yours All men, things and views should be purified When all Dharmas become pure its patience.

(d) The liberatable way of diligence. To exert ones energies to do good and to leave no stone unturned to forbid evil, these are profane merits by which alone one does not reach the thither shore of Nirvana, but following the teaching below one does:

As men are in their nature so am I As Dharmas are in nature so is my Lord, knowing there is no thing to gain It is the real diligence so high

(e) The liberatable way of concentration. Sitting straight, thinking of nothing, neither sleepy nor disturbed in ones mind, this is a common attitude of a religious person. One does not abide in the truth unless one can follow the stanza taught by Buddha Gautama correctly:

Mind is not inside Nor outside nor bide Holds nothing but a void Dhyana can not hide

(f) The liberatable way of wisdom. Even one who is wise as a serpent or as Solomon and can see as far through a brick wall as anybody but sees no Sunyata, gets no realization thereof. One would not be liberated at all. Hence the ultimate Prajnaparamita should be practiced under the guidance of the following stanza:

All Dharmas are so plain Has neither goal nor vain There is view without sight But not view it as light No request no volition Pity on fools is real wit.

3. To Distinguish the Sunyata Identification with Bodhicitta from that Dry Sunyata without Bodhicitta

The wise one does know that the Sunyata does not stand alone. The ancients called those persons who had little recognition of Sunyata and mistook it as a thing of voidness separate from everything else as men of dry wisdom. Hence one should develop five kinds of Bodhicitta.

a. Bodhicitta of Will

When one is still in the Course of Hinayana, one finds out that he is in transmigration and suffers many kinds of pain and one then has pity on those who are suffering with the same pains. A strong sympathy arises in his mind. He might think that if I were a Buddha I might save them. So he keeps such a good will to become a Buddha for the sake of saving mankind and every sentient being trapped within the same transmigration. Every day he should frequently think like this. He might write down his special good wills in some ten provisions or more. Every day he should repeat them and practice every good Dharma for their accomplishment and ask his Protector to help him until this aim is reached.

b. Bodhicitta of Conducts

When the above mentioned wills are developed, one must perform with the six paramitas many myriad conducts of goodness to carry on all the good wills and actually benefit all sentient beings. Thus all the eight right paths of Hinayana and the six paramitas of Mahayana and all the Vajrayana precepts thereof under this guide or basis will be fulfilled.

c. Bodhicitta of Victorious Signification

To get rid of the volition of Bodhicitta, to flee from the demon of compassion, one has to develop the victorious signification which is thoroughly fixed with the Sunyata of nature. One of my stanzas on Bodhicitta may be introduced below:

The best significant Bodhicitta Is without any kind of work or data There is no real mind to arise it Nor is there volition to hold it.

There is neither pleasure nor pain, neither sufferer nor enjoyer, neither agreement nor sympathy, neither I nor he. One may know this well but one has to have some Bodhicitta to pity them who do not know that the Bodhicitta and the person who has been pitied are both of Sunyata. One is still in the Sunyata.

d. Bodhicitta of Samadhi

When one has passed the study of exoteric doctrines and starts to learn Vajrayana, ones Bodhicitta is no longer confined to mentalization but always keeps ones mind identified with the materiality. Thus Bodhicitta is symbolized by the moon. One must visualize ones Bodhicitta as a bright moon which is situated in ones heart and on a lotus in the middle of the heart. From the moon many rays of great compassion are emitted to sentient beings through all of transmigration.

e. Bodhicitta of Kunda

When one has studied Tantra and gets progress in the Anuttarayoga, one is enabled to practice the vajra love. One then has to develop this kind of Bodhicitta of Kunda which is the gnostic semen containing both the Sunyata of nature and the great compassion and great pleasure. Through the good karmas held in the lotus of the Dakini, the ultimate salvation may be fulfilled. This is the final and highest, deepest Bodhicitta.

The first three Bodhicittas are known to every scholar of exoteric doctrines but the next two are only known to the students of the Tantra and they are never systematically emphasized as I do.

Under the first two kinds of Bodhicitta, adding thoughts of impermanence and the pains of transmigration, one may practice again great compassion toward sentient beings and things or Dharmas. Adding the Sunyata meditations, through the third Bodhicitta of Victorious Signification, one practices the great compassion of the same entity with all sentient beings and things and that of non-condition. That is, without any particular connection with others, one should have great compassion towards every being and every thing.

Thus the human mind which was acting in a self-centered psychical sphere now is sublimated by the Bodhicitta and great compassion and becomes the mind of a Bodhisattva who is the prince of Buddhas and acting in the accumulation of Holy Karmas.

[zerogate]

Music and wild dancing phenomena recur in all shapes and forms throughout history. In the history of European Christianity, music in service to spiritual dance and ceremony has been a constant, periodically erupting into irrepressible movements. In many European dance epidemics, participants vied with the old Greeks in wildness, for example in the Festival of Fools, in which people donned costumes of animals, often disguising themselves as the other gender, happily doing and saying things out of character, all of which was outrageous to Christian piety.

The “dancing” was not square or genteel but explosive, spastic, jerky, and hopping. There were dances meant to promote the fertility of crops, as well as of women, or to celebrate a saint or a holy day. The hungry, the sick, and the miserable danced for relief, for healing, for companionship. There were dances of the dead meant to help the dead but also to ward off the dangers that might issue from the insulted dead. J. G. Frazer, distinguished British folklorist and anthropologist, has documented the curious fact that early humanity lived in extreme fear of the dead, even dead folks who in life were friends and loved ones....

There is a strange side to music that is dark. You’ve probably heard of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. An odd little fellow comes strolling through town blowing tunes on his pipe and the children spontaneously break free and follow the Piper out of town and never come back. It’s a true story, and 147 children were never seen again. All kinds of historical documentation bears this out. All we know is that the piping had the power to lure the children into whatever made them disappear...

As for the Dionysian frenzy, E. Lewis Backman, a professor of pharmacology from the University of Upsala, has tracked dance epidemics in Western history.

An epidemic erupted in a region near the Rhine in 1374. That year was a time of unprecedented floods; the water of the Rhine was twenty-six feet higher than normal from the biggest snowfalls in hundreds of years. In the midst of this chaos arrived the choreomaniacs, victims of a mysterious disease called choreomania, dance mania, which became a big epidemic sweeping across Europe. According to one French historian, “the dancers were seized by some crazy madness, a frenzy hitherto unknown. They took off their clothes and went about naked; they put wreathes of flowers on their heads; they held each other hand in hand, and so they danced through the streets.”

Was this a disease or a Dionysian explosion of ecstatic consciousness—an unconscious rebellion against boredom, poverty, and oppression? However bizarre and frightening their behavior, very few died; in the end, they all recovered and were restored to their normal selves.

-- Michael Grosso, Yoga of Sound: the Life and Teachings of the Celestial Songman, Swami Nada Brahmananda

[siryouarebeingmocked]

i gotta say i agree that exposing children to algorithmic content feeds is going to make them grow up with one billion new kinds of mental illnesses and it's a serious societal problem that urgently needs addressing but it makes me v. v. v. uneasy when i see posts going around that identify this issue and come to the conclusion 'this is why it's important for parents to know what their kid is doing online' and uh girls there are a lot of kids out there who would be dead if their parents knew what they were doing online

"yeah this aspect of capitalism is extremely alienating and traumatizing" and im nodding and smiling and then they add "which is why we must retreat to the safety of the family" and i start abruptly high-pitched screaming like a fire alarm

It's really amazing how txttletale almost comes to the right conclusion, and then veers off at the last second.

And is basically asking for validation about their irrational, highly emotional knee-jerk reaction. 

Also, how exactly can one tell that a lot of kids would be dead if their parents knew what they were doing? Hypotheticals aren't proof. 

Even if I assume this is hyperbole, maybe the kid is doing something that's actually harmful, and parents need to keep them from doing that. That;s literally the job.

Why are you just completely ignoring that idea? How can you go "social media is harmful for kids" and then immediately go "parents should have no control over their kids online lives"? 

>capitalism Oh, yeah, clearly it's the algo and capitalism that are the problem, not what people are actually doing with social media. Individuals bear no responsibility at all. 

Couldn't possibly be TX trying to WD-40 a square peg into a round hole. 

Also, notice the lack of any specific measures, just vague "this needs to be addressed". Given her prior leftist leanings, five bucks says most of her ideal solutions involve government regulations. 

You know, the ones that often come from people who are even more out of touch with the internet than your average modern parent. 

Also, it's kind of hilarious that someone who blocks over the slightest disagreement and unironically spouts the "Tolkein's orcs are racist" argument thinks they're opposed to bigotry and know how to deal with massive Internet problems. 

We know that both traditional and social media work closely with the government to shape public opinion, so blaming the harm of social media entirely on capitalism is stupid. 

PPS: , this is coming from someone whose claim to e-fame is being a smug, toxic, insular jerk even by the standards of this infamously toxic social media site. No wonder she wants to blame the algo and capitalism. 

[bonzos-number-1-fan]

TMAGP 16 Thoughts: Aave Maria

This was an interesting one. I don't think I loved it but I do think there is a surprising amount to dig into. I also think this is showing more of the form of TMP. A bigger focus on a rogue's gallery and unlike TMA is more more in the thick of it to start with. We're not piecing together an unseen world, we're in the world and getting our bearings.

Spoilers for episode 16 below the cut.

It's really great to see some immediate follow up on Alice's run in with Drowning Victim. I was a little worried it'd be something she pushes down and ignores like everything else in the job. Because she didn't I think there might be a change in her perspective. Previous she's been very uninvested in the specifics of the cases and now she's basically been in one I do wonder if it'll effect her work. We definitely saw more of a reaction from her from this incident than we've ever seen before. So I'm wondering where that will lead her. I'll also be interested to see how this ties back into the Institute. The Drowning Victim is obviously connected but it makes me think Connor Dyer (found in CHBD, see master sheet below) might not be her dead name. I wasn't a fan of the idea of both main protagonists having the same backstory but the way she alluded to the death of her parents here makes me think the Institute might have had something to do with it. Not that I think she knows that but that the narrative placement of it might be laying the groundwork for that connection to be revealed.

For the incident itself I don't have a load to get into I don't think. I thought it was pretty effective in showing Madame E to be kind of a tool but then giving us more and more reason to be sympathetic towards them. Ink5oul's first voiced appearance was remarkably understated too. I was expecting them to feature more here but I think I'm glad they didn't. As I mentioned there is more of a rouge's gallery here and with a couple of really loud characters already it's quite nice to see one more understated than that. They've got a bit of an M.O. forming here too. Part ironic "punishment", part graverobbing plagiarist. DIG. Which does lead me to wonder about how they'll end up kicking the bucket. It feels like a set up waiting for a punchline. The way they give the "clients" what they're after in a twisted sense has a lot of room for interesting stories so I'm interesting to see where that goes. It's also interesting just how similar this was to Daria's incident. Very similar incidents overall but to different ends. What I think is a more interesting concept in those is how it totally differs from the tattoo that showed up in Marked. The tattoo in both of Ink5oul's works have been afflictions on the tattooed but Marked's tattoo was something that affected those that viewed it. Whether that's a consequence of they're plagiarism or a different "school" of tattoo technique remains to be seen.

Also fun fact: from.vision.ruled really is a location in Highgate Cemetery. There is a map app called what3words that is a grid of 3 metre squares over the globe and then each square gets a three word code. It's so you can give a more precise location than something like an address or broad location. So in this case you don't need to say "Meet me outside the Circle of Lebanon in Highgate East" you can say "Meet me at from.vision.ruled" and get a more accurate location. It's great if you want to meet people where there isn't much or any signage, point people towards the entrances to places when it's not obvious from a address, and stuff like that.

Post-incident was really great too. It's lovely to see Lena be so clearly angry and lose her typical collected nature. Not only because it shows she's got range but because it really hammers home just how scary a character like Lady M. is going to be. Gwen not taking her shit for it is also great. I think bringing Lady M. to the OIAR as a power play was pushing it hard but I also think Lena treats Gwen like shit and needs a lesson or two as well. This power struggle they've got going is always captivating to see and I can't wait to see more of it.

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Incident/CAT#R#DPHW Master Sheet (Now with terminology/theory cheat sheet)

DPHW Theory: 1565 is about where I was expecting this would end up. 1 in Death in an episode where someone died already seems to be a sticking point for people. I personally don't understand that particular framing. Every Power in TMA had a massive body count but only one of them was the Power about death, and not all of them focused on stuff that'd outright kill you. So while a person did die this episode it's not an episode about Death as a concept/theme/subject.

CAT# Theory: CAT1 is very interesting given how the other tattoos have been placed thus far. But I'm going to leave that for the time being. I've got an essay in the works about the current more common CAT# theory. Should be out over the weekend.

R# Theory: B seems about right for this. It's weird and publicised but, ostensibly, medically explainable. So it happened and we can agree it happened but it's just an unfortunate illness in the eyes of most.

Header talk: Tattoo (Influencer) -/- Cardiac is interesting in the same way the CAT# is so I'll leave some of that for later. What I do want to talk about in that subsection. Influencer as a subsection is intriguing because it's very unlike Smirke's methodology. That was fairly rigid but Influencer in this context is such a modern term that it implies this methodology is reacting to how things change and express more rapidly, or it's not as old as I think has been implied so far.

[inifinitypink]

forgotten characters

[eptodaytommorowforever]

Events In The History And Of The Life Of Elvis Presley Today On The 12th Of November In 1972

Elvis Presley Tour And Show Comes To San Bernardino CA.

A look back at Elvis Presley's 1972 outstanding concert at swing auditorium in San Bernardino CA

Sunday night, Nov. 12, 1972. The Santa Ana winds were howling, so typical of San Bernardino in November. And it was cold. But a sold-out crowd stood patiently to have an audience with The Legend . Elvis Presley was in the Swing Auditorium.

The Swing was the place east of L.A.'s Fabulous Forum to see virtually every top name act in the rock world, circa 1964 through 1981. Located on E Street, the auditorium was built in 1949 on the grounds of the National Orange Show and was named for Senator Ralph E. Swing, a San Bernardino legislator. What a glorious barn it was and what history played out on that stage. The Rolling Stones did their first American concert there in June 1964. The place rocked until a small plane crashed into it on Sept. 11, 1981 and the auditorium had to be demolished. One of the last shows played there featured Iron Maiden.

In between, rock royalty were regulars. Fleetwood Mac played more than five times. The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Jefferson Airplane, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Cream, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Black Sabbath, Ramones (as opening act), Chicago, Jethro Tull, Alice Cooper, the Grateful Dead (multiple times), Faces with Rod Stewart (also multiple times), Santana, the Kinks, Janis Joplin, Eric Clapton, the Beach Boys, and more. Look up how many of these acts are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Just about everybody but the Beatles made it to the Swing.

Prior to the modern rock era, Bob Hope was almost an annual fixture at the Swing during the National Orange Show Fair. Other notables who performed there in the '50s and '60s included Sammy Davis Jr., Jack Benny, Judy Garland, Jerry Lewis, and George Burns. But never had a King played there before that night.

Yet, it wasn't as if Elvis Presley had never been to the IE. He did own a house for several of the Priscilla years in Palm Springs and was known to do some boating in Big Bear Lake. Many scenes of the totally forgettable remake movie 'Kid Galahad' were shot in Idyllwild. And, some of the outdoor footage in 1964's 'Kissin' Cousins' was shot in the San Bernardino Mountains. Still, this was different.

Elvis Presley's nationwide tour began at Madison Square Garden in New York, a city he had never before performed live in. The four concerts there were sold out and got rave reviews. At 37, he was 'lean, tanned and greasily handsome, his coal-black hair glistening with an oily 1950s sheen', as the New York Times' Grace Lichtenstein put it. At a press conference before the Madison Square Garden appearance, he was asked about the secret of his longevity on the pop music scene. 'I take Vitamin E', he told reporters.

From New York, the tour moved west, passing through cities like Milwaukee, Chicago, Wichita and Tulsa before continuing on to Las Vegas. Elvis stayed there for most of October before continuing the tour, which took him to Texas, Arizona, and into California. He hit Oakland, then San Bernardino, where he performed two sold-out shows - one on Nov. 12 and another on Nov. 13. rom there, he headed to the Long Beach Arena for two shows, the last stop before catching a plane for Honolulu where the tour would wrap up. Originally, the Honolulu show was planned to be broadcast worldwide by satellite, but the broadcast date was changed to early 1973 so it wouldn't conflict with the release of MGM's musical documentary Elvis on Tour. No matter. The show (actually four of them) went on. And in Honolulu, as well as in other cities on the tour, fans of all ages crowded concert venues to get a live view of the King.

So it was in San Bernardino. The Swing could hold about 10,000 people with a concert take of around $60,000. On that cold November night, fans crammed into the sold-out auditorium. With reserved seating, there was none of the festival seating chaos that marked the Swing rock shows - kids pushing and shoving and fighting to get to the stage area. This crowd was real diferent. I was way too young at 21. For the usual Swing rock show, most of the concertgoers were my age or younger. The guys had long hair, wore boots, Levis and denim work shirts (think the cover of a Creedence album.) The girls went braless, wore tight jeans or peasant dresses. There were always more guys than girls.

For Elvis Presley though, these fans had jobs, mortgages, and kids. The women clearly outnumbered the guys. They wore bright yellow or orange dresses, lots of makeup. Hairspray was huge. And, there were more than a few suicide blondes with hot pants and go-go boots. (I would never have sat on anything in the Swing in hot pants.) Jean Naté was locked in mortal combat with Charlie in a fragrance war. My Sin perfume held its own. Smoke from the bathrooms came from real Marlboro men (and women.)

My seat was in the cheap section - off to the side and high up, close to the glued-on tinsel that was a prominent feature of the Swing. The place always had a peculiar smell. Close to show time, greedy Colonel Tom's minions were at the stage hawking T-shirts, photos, and other assorted gee-gaws. I wonder just how much of that cash Elvis Presley received.

Finally, the lights lowered. The band started playing the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Then, there he was - The King. He was resplendent in a black and red concert suit.

Though his show was typical of his Vegas show that he performed at the International Hotel (later known as the Las Vegas Hilton and now called the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino), it didn't matter to his loyal subjects. He was live in San Berdoo! Old ladies screamed. It was hard to tell from my cheap seat, but I believe there were a few panties thrown at him.

His voice and physique were in A-plus form. He ripped through concert standards such as 'Polk Salad Annie', crooned to crowd favorite 'Can't Help Falling In Love', and did a couple of religious numbers with the gospel group J.D. Sumner and The Stamps.

No Elvis Presley show would be complete without the hits 'Hound Dog', 'All Shook Up', 'Jailhouse Rock', and 'American Trilogy'.

His band and entourage - the Sweet Inspirations, legendary guitar hero James Burton - provided a full sound that could not be duplicated by the typical four-man rock act. It was a show truly becoming of a King. The crowd responded as if seeing him for the first time. Bedlam broke out among the thousands of fans.

After about 90 minutes, despite fans calling for more, Elvis Presley left the auditorium for the San Bernardino Hilton, about $60,000 richer. I was a poor college kid. I went to Del Taco. What a Sunday night! rare candid photo's one captured of elvis presley leaving Oakland CA captured here by a female ep fan boarding is executive chartered jet heading to San Bernardino CA and performing here at this show wearing the white pinwheel jumpsuit and the white cape and the lions head belt captured by a fan audience member who was at this show concert.

[napoleonic-sexyman-tournament]

Propaganda under the cut because it's long:

Alexander I Pavlovich

a. “Maybe not the most handsome or charismatic man in this tournament, but he has ample chaotic neutral energy that both baffles and fascinates contemporaries. In short, if you're into mysterious men, you won't find a sexier enigma than our imperator.”

b. “Look. Is this or is this not the monsterfucking website.”

c. There are lots of monuments dedicated to him. There's one in Moscow in the Alexander Garden right by the Red Square. While nowhere near as grand as the Alexander Column, I think it's still worth showcasing!

The monument is meant to celebrate his victory in the 1812 Russian invasion. He's holding a sword, proudly standing on top of his enemies' weapon.

The sculptors, however, have never seen the man in their life - all the people involved in the making are still alive and well (i think), so that should tell how new it is. The monument was opened for the public just a decade ago in 2014.

d. quote about this bust from the memoirs of Sophie de Choiseul-Gouffier: “No painter was able to properly capture the features of his face and especially his soft expression. Alexander didn’t like to pose for portraits and they were mostly done with some stealth. In this case sculpture have produced a better likeness. The famed Thorvaldsen made a bust of this sovereign worthy of a hand of such a remarkable artist.”

e. His family nickname might have been ‘our angel’ and the medal commemorating his death bears the inscription “Our angel is in heaven”, but did you know that to this day Alexander looks down on Sankt Petersburg as an actual angel, wings, cross, trampled snake and all? Alas, you cannot see it from the ground, the Alexander Column being so very tall, but the statue of the angel on top certainly seems to take after our sexy thrice-angel Emperor.

f. Apotheosis of Alexander! An eminently universal image, perfectly serviceable for his rise to the throne… of Napoleonic Sexyman Tournament.

It really looks like Peter and Catherine are instructing the Electorate. Gentlevoters, surely you wouldn’t dream of disappointing Sasha’s Grandmother and his scantily clothed giant of a Great-great-grandfather?

g. What is sexier than a man in a dress???

Mikhail Miloradovich:

Miloradovich had a short episode as Catherine the Great's favourite at just eighteen. Alas, usually he's not included on the official list except by Barskov. That is because he was one of several concurrent boytoys candidates in 1789, before Zubov won the contest. But I believe that being to Catherine's taste adds to M's sexyman cred.

He never married, but according to his legend, he kept an entire trunk of love letters (from many, many ladies) in his palace, which was discovered after his death.

Miloradovich possessed the kind of cavalier fantasy that made him a hero among soldiers (and one of Suvorov's favourites). Hence these three popular stories:

Once, while on campaign, his soldiers decided to give M their best wishes on his name day. He was very gracious about it and told them with his best roguish smile that in thanks for their wishes he'd give them a present... that present being the nearest pretty-as-a-picture enemy column (French).

On one occasion Joachim Murat came out, sat down and demonstratively drank coffee during an active fire exchange. Miloradovich naturally couldn't be worse and asked for a table to be set for him. Also under the fire, because where else. "He's drinking coffee? I'm eating dinner here!" And it wasn't a singular event: more than once he and Murat conducted a peculiar gallant flirtation on the field. And yes, Miloradovich also had a weakness for very blingy bling.

Alas, M didn't get to carry a ladder (that we know of), but he didn't shy motivating his soldiers in similar ways. It just so happened that his scouting party came to a stop at a steep slope and froze. Miloradovich came forward, got on the ground and slid down the slope on his spine, laughing and generally having (or pretending to have) lots of fun.

[nethhiri]

Marooned: Chapter 45

Kid x FemReader x Killer

Warnings: mentions of kidnapping, rape, and forced pregnancy, sex workers, references to sex

Whispers

In the hallway of some nearby marine base, a man overheard some curious whispers, whispers about a woman with Y/C/H hair and a patchwork coat of 'justice', whispers about the Sea Snake being alive on some island. The man already knew you were alive, thanks to that sniveling Giemsa. He was a fucking idiot, but at least he had thought to tell the man about your resurgence. After that, there was radio silence, no sign of you anywhere. It made most marine captains nervous when you dropped off the radar in the past. You could pop up anywhere. It made the man, however, impatient, especially present time. He had been aching to get his hands on you. He knew Von Kossa was toying around with you too much. The man would have drowned you in acid if it were up to him. That would have ended you for sure. 

This time, though, he wasn't going to tell Von Kossa about this rumor. He would go check it out for himself. It was easy to see what islands would be your next stop. Maybe he would get some playtime in with you before handing you over to the boss, maybe even save him the trouble of killing you since he couldn't do it right the first time. He could even sell you. How ironic would that be? Or maybe he could keep you. No one had to know. He knew how much you loved torture and would be all too happy to oblige. 

All his partners were too weak to handle his proclivity for violence, but you had always been tough. And you had a pretty face, well, you used to. Even if it was ruined, your body was probably still how he remembered it. Yeah... he could keep you. How great would that be? It would be delightful to break you down. Manipulate you to beg for him, do anything he asked. Abruptly, a thought occurred to him. None of his partners lasted long enough to bear him a child and he remembered you being fairly formidable with haki. They would be perfect genes to mix with his. A slow grin spread over the man's face. Wouldn't that be wonderful? To fully subjugate you and get something out of it. You would be his diminutive, pathetic wife and you would love it. He would make you love it. And if you couldn't meet his needs, well then, he would turn you out to the crew and hand you over to Von Kossa after all. 

The man sat at his desk. He was broad-shouldered but not entirely broad himself, with musculature that stood out from under his clothes. His white-gray hair, half pulled up, and weathered, scarred skin betrayed his age. His chiseled, square jaw clenched. He wanted to chart a course right away, but he had gotten hot under the collar playing out this fantasy in his head. The man called Warthin palmed himself through his uniform pants, thinking of all the ways he was going to break you down. 

______________________________________________________________

Sleep had a hard time finding you. You tossed and turned with this strange anxious feeling. Your heart wouldn't slow down thinking about Kid asking you to stay. Of course you knew the answer, you did want to stay. It was something about the fact that Kid was asking you, though, that wouldn't allow your mind to rest. Maybe it was the fact that your relationship had been contentious for a long period of time. You pressed a hand to Mini's head, running your palm through her bristly fur. Sometimes petting her helped you fall asleep. Tonight was no such night. 

You threw on sweatpants to cover your bottom half, the top half covered by one of Killer's old shirts. Your feet shuffled you to the infirmary where you pulled out some books to flip through. They would either put you to sleep or you would learn something, a win-win. As soon as you sat down, there was a soft chime of metal on metal coming from your tag. Was that from you sitting or was that Kid? You tapped on the tag, spelling something in code: Y-E-S-?. Before transponder snails were popular, some people used this code to communicate. It jingled with more intention this time.

You opened the door to Kid's workshop a crack. At first it didn't seem like he was there, the lights were off. A small desk lamp turned on after a moment. Kid had his head in the crook of his elbow resting on the desk. His metal arm was laid on the table, like he had fallen asleep working on it. His red hair was limp over his eyes without his goggles to hold it up. It was endearing to see him all groggy without any of his normal gruffness about him. 

"Couldn't sleep either?" Your voice was quiet, matching the deadness of the night on the ship.

Kid yawned. "Almost was, but felt ya come next door."

"Sleep then. I'm not going anywhere." 

Kid blew his hair out of his eyes so you could see the yellow light reflected in them. 

You couldn't explain how this intimidating behemoth of a man was giving you puppy-dog eyes, but there was no other way to describe it. Sighing, you walked closer to him and let him pull you into his lap. His good arm curled around you and he rested his head on top of yours. After adjusting yourself to be comfortable, you cautiously reached to put your hand on his bad shoulder, assessing it. 

"If I could bring this back, would you want me to?"

"Nah." Kid's hand played with your hair. "S'part of my story.... and it makes me look badass." 

"I think it would be difficult for you to come off as anything less." You felt him laugh under you with a gentle bounce. Several minutes passed and you thought he fell asleep. 

"Sorry. Fer earlier."

"Yeah you better be. What if I had gotten amnesia?" You slapped his chest.

"S'easy." Kid was getting heavier as he let himself drift to sleep. He was struggling to keep his eyes open. "Would just have tah use m'devilish charm... to ..." There were the beginnings of a rumbling snore deep in his chest.

"Kid?" You tapped him.

"...until ya loved me again...." His eyebrows furrowed in that half-dream state and he yawned. "Liked? Loved?" It was like he was talking to himself, or saying his thoughts out loud. "I dunno.... whatever ya want. M'sleepin." His arm tightened around you. 

You blinked slowly. Is that what he thought? That you...? Do I?  You were in a stunned state. No way. No. Maybe you could go as far as saying you liked him. Fine. You could admit that much. He was fucking hot and amazing in bed, easy to like. But anything more than that? Now your heart was racing faster than ever and you were trapped against Kid until he woke up or moved his arm. 

You felt similarly about Killer, and Killer had the additional features of actually being sweet and thoughtful. He even tried to defend you somewhat, in the beginning, against Kid's impulsive wrath. Theoretically, if you did want to pursue something, which one would you pursue? They were fine with sharing casually. Would that change if it was a less casual arrangement? Really what would change other than the label applied to it? 

At some point in the night, you must have managed to fall asleep, because you woke up on top of Kid, who seemed to have fallen backwards off the bench. His feet were still propped up on it. It was dumbfounding how he could sleep through almost anything. You must have been tired since you technically also slept through it. Your back was definitely going to hurt from the strange sleeping position. 

"G'morning." Kid stretched. He must have woken up before you, shockingly. He pressed his lips to the top of your head.

A kiss? A kiss unrelated to horniness? "Hey."

"Sleep ok?"

"No. It was very uncomfortable in your vice grip."

"If I'm so uncomfortable why are ya still on top of me?"

You pushed yourself to get up and was swiftly pushed back down and trapped again in Kid's arm.

"No, no. M'not ready fer ya to get up." 

You huffed and relented, shifting to attempt getting comfortable.

Kid's arm relaxed around you and his hand traveled up the back of your shirt to rest on the skin. "Will ya stay?" He asked softly, in a tone lacking his usual confidence.

You moved your head to look at his face. "Are we still talking about cuddling?"

Kid scoffed. "This ain't cuddling. We're just hanging out." Still, he squeezed you slightly tighter to himself. You felt him take a deep breath under you. "I'm askin if- Do you think- Would you- Do you want to be a Kid Pirate?" His eyes avoided yours until he got the question out.

"Do I want to be your pirate?"

His face went as red as his hair. "Not my pirate. A Kid Pirate...Unless-"

"Are the Kid Pirates not yours?" You were fucking with him, though you wished you hadn't cut him off so quickly. What was he gonna say?

Kid squeezed the breath out of you. "Yer such a fuckin smart-ass. Always hafta be a rotten brat."

You wheezed, "Yes, but I'm your rotten brat." You realized how that sounded and quickly amended it. "'Your' as in, you know, the collective Kid Pirates... Not just..." You coughed, your voice quiet from lack of air. "You." You tapped Kid's arm and he released his hold so you could get a breath in. You re-inflated your lungs to finish speaking. "As in, yes, I would like to be a Kid Pirate." You pushed yourself up, putting one leg on either side of Kid, sitting on his stomach.

A very genuine, relieved grin appeared on Kid's face. "Welcome officially, Doc Rotten." 

"I am the very loosest definition of doctor."

"Yer tight to me." Kid's grin turned more sinister. 

"Oh come on. Can it wait until after breakfast?" You pouted. "I'm hungry."

Kid pulled your hips closer to his face. "I got breakfast right here." The man couldn't ask you a simple question but he would eat your pussy at the drop of a hat. 

Needless to say, you were both late for breakfast. You didn't even bother to smooth out the sex hair or change into real clothes because you were starving at this point. 

"Are those my pants?" Killer eyed the overly sized gray sweats you had on. "I've been looking for those."

"Ah yeah I borrowed em. I'll give em back." You sat down with food. "They're gonna need to be washed though." 

You could tell Killer was frowning behind his mask. 

Kid slapped him hard on the back, causing Killer to grunt. "Lighten up, Killer. It's not the first time my cum was all over the inside of yer sweats."

You also frowned. The entire table didn't need to know what exactly was going on under your borrowed pants, that were definitely going to be stuck to your leg afterwards. You apologetically smiled at the first mate.

Kid banged his fist on the table. "Forget that. We got ourselves a permanent new addition!" He pointed at you with a crispy piece of bacon.

"So you're one of us officially?" Heat asked.

Killer perked up next to him. "Oh you finally grew a pair and asked?" 

"Shut up, Killer. They're plenty big."

"Probably considerably smaller after this morning," you quipped with a smirk. 

Wire was smirking similarly under his hood. 

Kid announced to the crew that they would be celebrating your official induction tonight. The next island was famous for brothels, good booze, and whatever other trouble you could get into. The crew hustled after breakfast to finish their assigned duties for the day so that they could have time to prepare for tonight or get going as soon as the ship was docked. 

______________________________________________________________

It wasn't usually your vibe to wear sexy or revealing clothing, opting more for practicality than anything else. But tonight was special. You had on full-length, maroon pants, though the pants were crafted such that their entirety looked like if jeans had all their vertical threads removed. Only thousands of thin, cotton fibers going horizontally covered your skin, leaving it exposed between the threads. They came together on the sides into fringe. Essentially, they were pants consisting entire of fringe, with excess lying the sides. The only solid fabric was in a thong shape, to cover your front. The top was a matching maroon harness-style top with straps that accentuated your bust and the shoes matched, too. You completed the monochromatic look with maroon lipstick and smoky eye, rather, Emma and Quincy helped you. 

Mini met you on deck with an enthusiastic nudge of her wet nose, ready to get fed especially good table scraps. You thought Mini was getting the majority from the girls or Killer, but the boar quickly zeroed in on the real weakest link. Wire, it turned out, had an incredibly soft spot for animals. Once, you even saw him feeding the ship mice from his palm. When Mini wasn't hovering around you, she was usually with him. 

"You better get off the ship before Captain sees you in that or you'll never make it off the ship." Heat came up behind you as you stood on deck. 

"Is it too much?"

"Yeah but you look hot so who cares?" Heat grinned. "You look like a Kid Pirate." 

You grinned at him. You did feel good in this outfit, even if it was slightly out of character for you to wear so little. It made you feel powerful in a different way. You knew these pants made your ass look perfectly rounded and showed off the smooth, soft skin of the cheeks. And you did occasionally wear tight shirts, but this top did a lot more for presenting your breasts in the way of cleavage.

"Heat! Ya dog! Ya already brought back a whore?" Kid was behind you both and couldn't see your faces. 

"Actually, I was just leaving," you partially turned so he could hear you before jumping down, Mini hot on your heels. It was hilarious to you that Kid mistook you for a whore. 

"Why was the pig followin her?" Kid came to stand next to Heat.

"Boss, that was Y/N."

It took a second for Kid to put two and two together. "That was Y/N?!" Kid didn't say anything more before going after you. 

You went off on your own, looking for somewhere fun. It was fairly crowded, so you were carried away in a sea of people almost immediately. You ended up checking out a few bars, seeing several of the crew scattered around. You sat with some of the girls for a drink or two at one of the brothels that had a fine selection of men to choose from. None of them were as beefy, crass, or handsome as your particular interests at the moment. Though, that didn't stop you from helping get your friends laid. When you were the last one at the table, you left with Minerva.

There were a few catcalls that faded into the background, not worth your time to respond. Some got ballsy and came directly to you. You shut them down hard and if they didn't take the hint, you beat them down harder. You heard running feet behind you and prepared to throw punches, but stopped as you recognized Killer and Heat. 

"Easy, tiger." Killer put his hand on your head and roughed up your hair. "We gotta do something bout that observation haki of yours."

You huffed. "I can handle myself fine without it."

Heat smoothed your hair back out from behind before walking by your side.

"Thank you, Heat. Such a gentleman." You could see that Killer's mask was ever so slightly tilted in your direction and he was lagging behind you a little. "You might as well walk behind me if you want to look." 

"While I would love to slow down and appreciate the view, Kid heard about an exclusive pirate-only club and wants us to go. Supposed to be the best on the island. Best in the area. The Snake Den."

"Because Snake Hole was too on the nose," you laughed at your own joke.

Once you were in the right part of town, a few more minutes of walking, the place was easy to identify, especially if you knew the name. A giant stone snake head was the entrance. Its mouth was open in a hiss and two large fangs served as pillars on either side of the walkway. A red glow emanated from inside. They were famous for only allowing one crew in at any given time, and the wide variety of kink they would cater to. All who were employed were the best of the best, by skill and looks. 

Wire and Kid were waiting outside, as were a few others, including Pomp, Reck, and Bubblegum, who looked nervous. None of the ladies were with them, probably still with their own rented lovers for the night. Kid looked impatient as always, and annoyed with you, as always. 

"Always fuckin disappearing," He chided you. "Took ya long enough." Kid addressed the entire group. "Been waitin for ages! Let's go!" 

Kid entered and you followed behind him and the other officers. Every brothel they visited, there was a chorus of women excitedly whispering about the Kid Pirates, which evolved into them fawning over the crew, and hanging all over them. It was partially the business, however, you had noticed the crew had a reputation for treating those who worked in brothels very well. The behavior was more the behavior of a fan than someone trying to get money out of a customer. If you listened closely to the whispers, they were all about how well they tipped, how well they were equipped, and how fun they were to be around. This was no different. They had never been here before, though women were addressing them by name and seemed to know a lot about them. Some of the women may have been from other brothels, the others may have just learned through simple gossip. Brothels often had partnerships with each other where women could be swapped, either to keep the selection fresh or to let women be closer to their favorite lovers. This kind of trading was all consensual and usually suggested by the working girls themselves.

Incredibly beautiful women were already hanging off the arms of the officers, with quite a few around Wire. These women had obviously heard rumors about his size. They were standing in a lobby area. The lights were dimmer in the back, where several hallways led. At the front of the lobby, a tall, slender woman ushered everyone into the main dining area, where hot food was already on the table and women were lined up waiting to pour a glass of the guests' beverage of choice. All the working girls were dressed in various silks, many of them were robe-like with promises of something skimpy underneath. The room was cozy and had many comfortable sitting options. You had assumed the woman in the lobby was the madame. A different woman, clearly in charge, entered, personally greeting every pirate by name, asking a few questions, and calling over a girl she thought would suit their needs. This woman was also tall, with a touch more curve, pale with auburn hair that flowed down her back and muted green eyes. She was hiding it well, though she had a slight limp that made her gait unique.

Your eyes lingered on the way her steps were long and exaggerated the way her hips swayed as she came to you. You had seen it before somewhere, though you didn't frequent brothels. A wave of jasmine flooded your nose as she guided you away from the room, towards the hall just outside. Her hands cupped your face, and turned it, studying your features.

"Please forgive me." The sultry look was fading from her face and was replaced with one reflecting deep sorrow. It took you aback. "You look like someone I knew once." A thin smile attempted to cover whatever memory was surfacing for her. "I don't recognize you as a Kid Pirate. Are you new? What sort of things are you interested in? I'm sure I have just the girl." 

You took her shoulder, gently turning her. She stiffened and started to protest when you moved her hair from her back, careful to only peek. There was a brand between her shoulder blades that you knew would be there. "Jade?" You guessed softly. She was named after the color of her eyes. You covered the scarred half of your face with your hand, helping her out.  

"It's Madame Tempest now..." she said quietly. Her eyebrows knit together and you saw her face brighten with recognition. "Y/N?!" She covered her mouth, shrieking it far louder than she meant to and grabbed you for a tight hug.

In the other room, about half of the other women turned with surprise in their faces towards the outburst, excusing themselves for a moment.

Next Chapter

Tag list: @bbnbhm @nocturnalrorobin

[xox-b1te-m3-xox]

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please view my TOS before send in a commission form.

HALFBODY

30$ Sketch - 40$ Coloured Sketch - 50$ Flat Colour - 80$+ Shaded

1000x1000 up to 3000x3000 px.

5$-10$ extra for multiple characters

Transparent or flat colour backgrounds available

15$ fee for landscape backgrounds

Can have messy or clean lineart, up to the client

FULLBODY

50$ Sketch - 60$ Coloured Sketch - 80$ Flat Colour - 100$+ Shaded

3000x3000 px.+ guaranteed for highest quality

5$-15$ fee for multiple characters (Price is character complexity dependent)

Transparent or flat colour backgrounds available (15$ fee for landscape backgrounds)

Can have messy or clean lineart, up to the client

Capped at 5 characters per 1 image

HEADSHOT / BUST

20$ Sketch - 25$ Coloured Sketch - 40$ Flat Colour - 50$+ Shaded

Single Character

Mid-torso and up or above shoulders ONLY, may include hands/paws

2000x2000 px.+

Can have messy or clean lineart, up to the client

Can make square or circular backgrounds (or both)

Background must be flat colour or pattern, landscape not available

SOCIAL MEDIA ICONS

15$ Pixel Art - 20$ Sketch - 30$ Coloured Sketch - 40$ Flat Colour - 50$ Shaded

Single Character ONLY

Mid-torso and up or above shoulders ONLY, may include hands/paws

2000x2000 px.+, resized to 500x500 px. for display purposes

Pixel art typically 32x32 px. resized to 635x635 px.

Pixel art limited to SIMPLE CHARACTERS ONLY due to canvas size

Can have messy or clean lineart, up to the client

Can make square or circular backgrounds (or both)

Background must be flat colour or pattern, landscape not available

MLP BASE CUSTOM REF SHEET

50$ Flat Colour

Fullbody Single Character

2500x2500 - 3000x3000+ px guaranteed

Transparent background with circular PNG Backdrop

Accessories Optional (Glasses, piercings, legwear, jewelry, clothing, etc.)

Base is picked by client or up to artist (I can make a custom made base for the commission on request)

Easy pick colour palette & showcase of cutie mark + identities (+ Magic for Unicorns/Alicorns)

Will come with a separate PNG file for a high quality Cutie Mark vector (3000+ pixels)

Custom bases (if requested) will be given as a separate file to the client as well

HALFBODY VEADOTUBE PNGTUBER

60$ Flat Colour - 80$ Shaded

Fullbody can be requested with a 20$ fee

Fullbody PNGtuber upwards of 8000x8000 px.

Regular Halfbody 3000x3000+ px. up to 4000x4000+ px.

Neutral expression (Can be decided by client)

Extra expressions come with 10$ fee each

Extra expressions capped at 9 (For a total of 10)

Front facing or 3/4 angle (Can be decided by client)

Multiple outfits come with 15$ fee per outfit (25$ for Fullbody PNGTubers)

WRITTEN STORIES / BOOKS

7.50$ per 500 words

Minimum of 3.5k words (52.50$), Maximum of 80k words (1200$)

Stories will be provided as .docx files for E-Book uploads

WIPs will be sent halfway through, or in quarters (if the story is longer than 20k words)

Can ghostwrite for an extra 50$ licensing fee

See ToS for genres I write stories in (will not write outside them)

Will write under 3.5k words in special situations (will require more information)

View my AO3 & Fimfiction for more story examples

anything at all is going to help us in the long run, even if it's a small amount, so i'd really appreciate even a consideration. just boosting this alone will help ease some of the stress for me, so even if you can't/don't want to buy my commissions, spreading the world will help me a lot.

ART PROGRESS EXAMPLES