#the ''you are not obligated to interact at all''

[office-fantasies2]

Title: Bound by Desire

In the bright fluorescent glow of the office, Janet navigated her day with the practiced ease of someone adept at wearing multiple masks. Her boss, Mr. Davidson, was a man who exuded confidence, his presence commanding attention from everyone in the room. He had an almost palpable power that flowed through the office like a current, and it thrilled some while unsettling others. For Janet, the thrill was intoxicating, laced with a hint of rebellion against her domestic life.

The office’s dress code was unusual, to say the least. A strict prohibition against underwear lent her attire an air of underlying daring. Each time she moved, the fabric brushed against her skin, a constant reminder of the vulnerability intertwined with her empowerment. There was something deliciously scandalous about it, a sense of freedom that contrasted sharply with her obligations at home. Yet, what began as exhilaration grew more complex as the days turned into weeks.

Janet's home life revolved around her husband, Tom, a man of quiet strength who valued trust and fidelity. He was supportive, even encouraging, of her career, proud of the ambitious woman she had become. But now, he found himself drifting on the periphery of his own life, grappling with the dichotomy of his love for her and the unsettling reality of her entanglement in Mr. Davidson’s world.

The most pressing rule from her employer was the expectation that she maintain her professional charm and allure. When Mr. Davidson summoned her to socialize, it was not merely as a colleague; he wanted to introduce her to clients, friends, and influencers—all while instructing her on how to engage. It was a game of flirtation and charisma, where she was both the player and the pawn. Little did Tom know, each time she laughed too brightly at a client's joke or leaned in a fraction too close, the boundaries of her marital vow blurred a little more.

"I just want you to be the best version of yourself," Tom had said on one of those blissfully ordinary evenings, unaware of the unorthodox expectancies creeping into their lives. The irony hung heavy in the air; he wanted her to flourish, yet he was unknowing of how that very flourish might lead her deeper into someone else’s designs.

The prohibition against disclosing her marital status transformed her existence into a silent performance. With every interaction at the office, she danced with the thrill of secrets, forbidden desires shimmering just beneath the surface. She basked in attention, flattered by the compliments of colleagues who were oblivious to the silent struggle treading behind her eyes.

Out in public, she was just another employee, laughing and engaging, but internally, she was a woman shackled by the weight of her dual life. And as Tom continued to wear his trusting husband mask, he felt the creeping shadows; the subtle changes in her laughter, the late nights at work that turned into dinner dates with clients, and the hushed phone calls that he couldn't quite decipher.

Yet, the allure of Mr. Davidson’s world was hard to resist—a world filled with risk, desire, and a heady sense of liberation. As Tom unknowingly stepped further into the role of the cuckold, Janet found herself leaning toward a darker kind of freedom—a world where she could be admired, desired, and yet, shrouded in the veil of secrecy that shunned her most sacred commitments.

As these intricacies unfolded, the once simple lines of duty and love grew tangled, weaving a charade that held the potential to redefine not only her existence but the very essence of their marriage. In this provocative game of power and passion, who truly held the reins, and at what cost would each of them pay to keep the other?

@lucylemonxxx

[sapphiresaphics]

The reason why I keep bringing up media literacy and bad faith criticisms is because of things like this. Follow along if you can!

^^^———

I saw this post the other day where this person suggested that the reason Vi didn’t get as much character development was because the writers didn’t know what to do with her. That’s a pretty bold statement to make. I’ve certainly not heard any of the writers express that opinion at all. So where did this idea come from? What interview provided us with that look behind the scenes?

Luckily someone asked for a source, and they obliged! And my friends… this gets weirder…

The “source” ends up being this game journalism article:

This is an entire article dedicated to basically interpreting, reframing, and summarizing…. A tweet.

A single tweet by Christian Linke.

An entire article that took his response to a question WAY out of proportion and infused it with more meaning than was intended.

Here’s the original tweet. A user ask’s about VI’s character being less prominent, and his response is basically “we had a lot of characters” which is true. There were a lot of characters to squeeze in appropriate amounts of time for. Vi included. Here’s the original tweet:

It’s really not much at all, is it? This isn’t him admitting they didn’t know what to do with her, or that they abandoned her storyline or anything like that. All he said was there were a lot of characters and as a result Vi got a little less screen time as a matter of fact. Nothing more, nothing less.

But here’s how the game article summarized things:

^^^———

So do you see what I’m getting at here? A fan asks a reasonable question, and Linke gives a very straightforward answer. This is picked up and interpreted by the games journalist reporter and given far greater weight that it deserves, including a flashy headline. People see this and add even MORE of their own personal biases and exaggerated opinions and spread that around… and before long that innocent tweet somehow is “proof they didn’t know what to do with Vi and that’s why her arc was reduced to X thing I didn’t like!”

Swirling around Season 2 of Arcane is this weird game of telephone where with each step of the journey the original message is getting lost and distorted and twisted around. Unfortunately when a quote is this ambiguous, it leaves it open to interpretation. I’ve seen this same tweet be used to explain why every character had “bad writing.”

And the games journalist isn’t technically wrong in their coverage… after all, all they did was post the tweet and then re-summarize the same tweet. But by taking what the fan asked and twisting it into “Arcane lead explains why Vi felt like a side character” as an article headline, they’ve distorted the original interaction and infused it with this twinge of negativity designed to get you angry enough to click on the article.

Arcane Season 2 had a lot of story to tell with a lot of characters. As a result Vi’s screen time was slightly reduced. Doesn’t matter that out of all the characters she has the most screen time across both seasons. Nothing about acknowledging that as a simple fact explains motivations behind the writing of her arc in season 2 at all. It says nothing about her pitfighter phase, her relationship with Caitlyn, or her final battle fight with Jinx and Warwick. But if you were already critical of season 2, this gives you a plausible air of credibility for whatever “reasons” you think they did what they did. And then you just spread this fabrication to the internet where it just snowballs out of control.

So much of the negativity surrounding Arcane Season 2 is the result of this game of telephone and it’s really starting to bother me. And when you label overblown garbage like this as “arcane critical” then I genuinely believe you’re doing this on purpose and you don’t have an original thought in your body. You’re not being critical, you’re just letting your ignorance and biases control everything. This is bad faith argument construction at it’s worst.

[midnight-mourning]

Not Even a Mouse

❄️❄️Midnight's DCA December Day 21❄️❄️

alright, y'all have had it too good for too long, have some angst (with a bit of fluff, of course) to balance it all out, hope you enjoy!

Prompt: If you don't fill all the spots,,, I'm gonna make a second request! Idk if you're doing any angst for this one, but if you are,,, something about Sun being alone for Christmas. Maybe he finds out the employees and Glams are having a party without him. Idk i just wanna make him sad. xD Don't feel obligated to do this one! This is just an extra if you want :P

Word Count: 1700

❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️

The Daycare has a cold atmosphere to it, being so empty as it is. The music plays as always, tune just as cheery as ever, without a single listener. Save for one. 

Every toy is in its place, all the crafts supplies are put away. There's not a thing that isn't perfectly organized within the entire space. It's already been cleaned, one, twice, and now thrice, so there's not even a singular speck of dust. 

It's spotless. And desolate. 

The children are gone, it is the holidays after all. They wouldn't be back for another day or so. In the meantime, the attendant can only twiddle his thumbs and try not to go stir crazy in the meantime. 

There's others in the Plex of course, the other bots and some employees. But they, well. They aren't exactly friendly, when it came to either side of the Daycare Attendant. 

They were never exactly sure as to why. 

Both had tried to reach out, interact, engage, on multiple occasions. Each attempt being met with either unease, wobbly kindness, or downright hostility in some cases. It got to the point where both simply just, gave up. 

It was better to not try, they realized, it made things easier to keep to themselves and not bother anyone else. At least, Moon had learned this. It was arguably easier for him, given his status as naptime attendant. Isolation wasn't an unfamiliar feeling. 

But it was for Sun. 

While Moon was fine with the quiet, Sun was borderline inconsolable. 

And that was before he had found out about the holiday party. 

It had been a complete accident. Just so happening to be walking by on his way to gather clean stuffed animals from the laundry room. Two random employees chatting without a care in the world.

"Yeah, there's even a white elephant, come on, you gotta come!"

"I wasn't gonna miss it. Are the Glamrocks participating? I feel like it'd be funny to see what they come up with as gifts."

"I think so, yeah. It's gonna be..." They notice the Daycare Attendant, voice lowering. "—Great."

The other employee gives a confused look, then turns slightly to see the bot, eyes wide.

Not wanting to make things worse Sun simply nods in greeting, and goes on his way. 

Now, sitting alone in their room, scattered papers and old crayons surrounding him, he wishes he had said something. Wishes he had spoken up, argued, criticized, cried. Anything. 

Instead, he didn't. He just stood there and took it. 

The playtime attendant can picture it, dozens of employees and the other bots crowded together somewhere, probably the dance floor. Laughing, chatting, just enjoying the company of friends and coworkers. There's probably decorations everyone, to the nines even, based on how many boxes Moon saw people carrying around earlier that week. 

Holiday music and snacks, and of course, the gift exchange. Competing for the best gift, and having a wonderful time doing it.

It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that they were so hated. That he was so disliked. What had he done to deserve this kind of treatment? This kind of hurt?

The Glamrocks were good enough, so why wasn't he—

There's a muted snap, causing the bot to jump and glance down to his hand. 

Another broken crayon to add to the collection. 

With a scoff he tosses it away, towards the wall not too far in front of him. It wasn't a hard throw, but apparently it was enough. 

The sound of fluttering paper can be heard as a single page falls to the ground. It piques Sun's interest, and he shifts to take a closer look. 

It's a drawing of him, one done in pencil, maybe charcoal—he'd never thought to ask—as opposed to the usual paint and crayons the kids utilized. 

Though that would be because a child didn't make it for him. You did. 

At least, he's 99% sure. You'd scurried off before he could ask. 

You worked in the gift shop, passing by the Daycare every day for work. And every day, either one of the attendants would catch you staring as you walked by the large windows. Ducking your head and rushing off whenever you got caught. 

You'd only spoken to them a handful of times, when you happened to come in to speak to the security guard about something. Sun was never quite sure why you needed the guard so much, but he didn't think to question it either. 

Your voice was always very soft, mumbling. If he didn't have such well-adjusted noise sensors he'd probably not be able to hear you. He didn't know why you were so quiet, you had a lovely voice. 

He wished you say more, on your visits. Your words always stuttered and brief. But he cherished those moments. Every little interaction was saved in several locations in his hard drive just to make sure he didn't lose them. You were probably the only person who would bother talking to him or Moon. That was precious. 

He picks up the drawing, admiring the detail you'd put into it. For something of this quality, he didn't know why you were working in the gift shop. Maybe you were doing something else, like college, and this was a temporary situation for you in the long run. 

He remembers when you gave it to him, he'd at least gotten a direct interaction, you'd slipped Moon's under the door one night before going home. 

He believes it's because of your encounter that you just ran away the second time, and he can't say he blames you. 

You'd been nice enough to knock, having been the very end of the day, the last child having been picked up just a few minutes prior. 

When he opens the door, you're looking to the ground, clutching the paper in your hands tightly. 

Surprised, but happy to see you, he speaks first. "Hello there, friend! It's good to see you!" 

"U-um, hi...." You say, still looking down. "Good, good to see you too."

You're nervous for some reason, though you're always nervous he realizes. 

He wants to fix it. He tries with a joke. "Well, you can't see me very well from there can you?"

It doesn't land. You flinch, but look up. "S-Sorry."

Stupid. Stupid. Fix it.

"Oh! Not a worry at all, Sunbeam. I just wanted to see you're smiling face." His rays spin. 

Your eyes widen. "Really?"

"Of course! A lovely smile on a face like yours just makes my day!" Surely that'll do it, let you know he's being sincere.

Your internal temperature rises, fluctuating around your cheeks and ears. Now he's gone and made you mad. Great, this is going so great, he's blowing it—

You shove the paper into his hands. "This is for you. I-I, I have to go now. Buh-bye!"

Before he can say another word you're gone, running back towards the main entrance, leaving him with an amazing drawing, and not so amazing thoughts. 

You hadn't come back into the daycare since then, which could only mean that you hated him now too. Sun rubs his thumb over your signature on the page, at least he still had this. 

The sound of laughter growing closer interrupts his thoughts. And, curiosity getting the better of him, he goes to take a look. 

Peeking out the curtains, he can see a group of employees walking by. You're among them, smiling and chatting all the while. 

Just outside the Daycare you stop, waving to the group. 

"I think I forgot my jacket in the gift shop, I'll see you guys later! Happy holidays!" 

They bid you farewell, and Sun's planning to shut the curtain again, not wanting to be weird and watch you go about your business, when he picks up on your odd behavior. 

You watch your friends leave and then glance around a few times. Then, you pull out two small, wrapped gifts and walk over to the Daycare doors. After a moment he hears a knock. 

His rays spin, and he acts before he thinks. He dives into the ball pit and as soon as he makes contact is immediately scrambling out of it and heading for the door. He takes a moment to collect himself, then opens it. 

To his shock, you speak first. "Hi Sunny! It's good to see you. I, I wasn't sure you'd be around. I um, having something for you! And, and Moon." You hold up the gifts. 

Sun short circuits. 

You got him a gift. 

You.

The person he thought hated him like all the rest. 

You thought of him, were actively thinking of him. 

And you called him Sunny.

"If, if that's okay. Sorry if I'm bothering you. I just, I really wanted to get these to you tonight. I, I thought you were going to be at the party, I was um, kinda sad you weren't. But I totally get it if parties aren't your thing! They're... not really mine either but um, god I'm rambling here I'm sorry." You look up to him then, concern in your gaze. "Are, are you okay?"

It occurs to the playtime attendant that his fans are roaring now. He has to get you to stop before he overheats. Time to play his role. 

"Ah! I'm alright friend! I'm happy to see you too! And I appreciate the thought, truly." He takes your hand, and without thinking, raises it to his smile for a kiss. "It means a lot. Would, would you like to come inside for a moment?"

Now you're frozen, temperature climbing in a matter of seconds. 

"I would really like that."

His rays spin out of his control. "Great. Great! Please,"—he stands straight, waving his other hand behind him—"Come on in."

You keep your hand in his, squeezing gently. "O-okay."

As the door closes behind the two of you, Sun decides that he doesn't really care if missed the holiday party or not. He doesn't really care if everyone hates him and Moon either. 

If he can have just this moment to share with you, and maybe more. Maybe even becoming friends?

That's enough.

❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️

Thank you @zenkaiankoku for the request! Enjoyed having a bit of angst to write hehe, still made it a little fluffy in spots but I think it still works ^-^

Masterpost link

Tag list (if you would like added, see this post for more info):

@scarletcowboy @beemyhuneybee @fishm0ther @deviouscrackers @elsajoyagent8

@luckyyyduckyyy @zenkaiankoku @jogimote @local-shrub @amarynthian-chronicles

@robinette-green @everlightreader @sinister-sincerely @starredeclipse @dangerva

@juukai @crystalmagpie447 @mothgutz236 @lizyxml @divinit3a

[blueraith]

Any time I see this shit unironically, I now say to myself, "Oh, thank you for so easily revealing you're a damn fool, I shall be blocking you post-haste."

Alas, it seems that whenever one fool is blocked, another is ready to take their place. It's exhausting, and if I had more energy and were more masochistic, I'd like to ask them what it's like to be so damn miserable all the time when interacting with media or its fandoms.

Some of them are posting as though their rambling on tumblr is going to change the state of the world or at the very least American politics as we know it. Because we can all see with our own eyeballs that their takes are absolutely STEEPED in American-centrism. What a boring, basic-as-fuck way to analyze every piece of content you consume.

It's absolutely wild that they assume the rest of us want to see their weirdness in the main tags. How they'll try to strawman arguments ahead of time in their posts as if we're obligated to interact with them.

No, boo, you're just getting blocked, and then we all pull up a drink of choice and commiserate with one another that a good chunk of the youth are Not Okay, Evidently

Anytime I hear the "oppressor/oppressed" excuse for why people hate caitvi, instead of actually dissecting the course of their relationship, tbh it's giving "people should stay with their own kind".

And it also makes zero sense.

Men oppress women. Should men never date women?

White people oppress people of color. Should interracial dating never happen?

You guys sound stupid as shit. You need to stop using that narrative and actually take caitlyn and vi for who they are in relation to each other. Their actions, not concepts of their origins and status and stupid theoretical bullshit.

[walnutcookie]

ok watch this. lol (i blocked them)

[lotus-pear]

got like five asks requesting aku or chuuya so i just drew them together🗿

[useless-catalanfacts]

Btw if you come on holidays and stay at an AirBnb instead of an actual registered hotel I hate you personally. Not "I hate the gentrification and touristic massification and the way we can't live in our homes and are forced to move away because of tourism" in an abstract way- No, not just that. I hate you.

[silkjade]

i haven’t been here much recently, and i’m sorry i’ve only been negative on the off chance i’ve been online, but let me just say one last piece before the end of this month, so that maybe the next might be better….

[erabu-san]

Hmm I apologize again for the rant !

It is not the first time I am doing it. I might forgot to put "please don't tag it as ship" under my drawing of tighnari cyno. Please, do not !

I love them as best friend, I love them as brother/found family, I don't mind the queerplatonic relationship at all

But their romantic side make me pretty uncomfortable. No hate ! It is my own taste.

Shippers are always welcomed and I am so glad you like my content 💕 but all my art concerning them (unless I tag the ship) are purely platonic. I just ask for some respect of my taste and not reblog my art with the ship tag.

I don't want to block, because I am genuinely glad you enjoy my work and as a young artist, it means a lot for me. Thank you so much 🙇 !! But as a human, I can't deny how uneasy it makes me feel.

Thank you for understanding !

[icewindandboringhorror]

I occasionally wish to reach out to old friends/acquaintances I haven't spoken to since high school/some other even earlier time in my life, but I have SOOO little social energy even for required tasks (like making dr phone calls or etc), I never have any leftover for extra ones, and it would be very odd to message someone I haven't spoken to in like 5 years out of the blue but then take 4 entire months to respond back lol.. My natural curiosity with nostalgia/collecting details of the past/etc. (literally if I were born a little earlier I would definitely do scrapbooking or something lol) is very strong, but, alas, not strong enough to beat out the Social Issues Demons apparently

[copepods]

i really need to make real lore refs for my rw ocs i’ve been thinking more about them recently

[k7tt1]

Sometimes I sit down to think about the true ramifications of how / what the Fizz Bots are to Fizzarolli,

Imagine robotic clones ( sexual, at that ) being made of you and they are not only modeled after you in physical appearance, but have a likeness to your personality, mannerisms and general demeanor. Imagine they say the things you would, possibly act in the same way you would.

What's worse, is that they're made in your likeness in real time; their production / manufacturing ages along with you,

Imagine you SEE these things being assaulted, used & abused in public; these clones take it all with a smile. Soulless, mindless... But as if that's not enough, then realizing that they may just have sentience. Or at least, they give off the impression they do. And on top of ALL that... they have chunks of your memories, your past; they're you, but at the same time, they aren't,

What do you do with that information? How do you treat them ( yourself? )? What's the end game?

[moe-broey]

THE MILFS ARE FIIIIIIIIIGHTINGGGGGGGGGG

[mad-hunts]

jokethur asked: ❝ that's not the worst thing i've ever heard but it's certainly up there. ❞

one might argue that the way barton huffed through his nostrils in a wry sense of disbelief at what he heard come out of the other's mouth, rather than at the terrible thing that was just said through his own lips without an ounce of shame, told you everything you needed to know about him; that he was a brutal and very unfeeling person. but honestly, even if those things were the least bit true, barton thought... he was only saying what everyone would be thinking in their heads if they knew what was really going on behind the scenes. they just wouldn't want to say it aloud for one reason or another, whether that was due to the fear of being ostracized by their peers, or frowned down upon by society as a whole. kind of like how he was currently by the man standing beside him.

barton took a long drag out of his cigarette and averted his gaze from one of the big, bright displays that decorated the skyline to meet the others eyes. the displays were showcasing what looked like the latest news: and that was what barton seemingly was making a comment on, as the death of a cop that was rather infamous for being a ' pinnacle of kindness and care to their community ' was the main headline for that day. except that man was everything but in reality. it was just so rich to be seeing him regarded as some fantastic guy, when barton knew for a fact that he was a sleazeball who he had seen hanging around his old boss, as he was secretly in their pocket and doing their dirty work. and if there was one person that barton held contempt for more than anything... it was the man who used to treat him like he was something less than human. or, less than dirt, actually.

but of course, barton would never tell the gcpd of his corruption because he knew that rainer (you have to put a face to the name for these people) would realize that it was him who'd sold him out. and besides... since when did he have faith in the gcpd, or even like the police? they were all a bunch of pigs to him. so, barton let him continue on with his little game of playing the role of the well-beloved police officer while he was helping people get killed on the side. he rolled his eyes then, ❝ well, if i had known that you were such a big fan of the police, then i likely wouldn't have said anything. but i rest my case: a lot of people do deserve to die, stranger, and he was one of them. so i don't feel sorry for him or his family at all. ❞

barton stated this all in a very matter-of-fact manner, blowing smoke out through his nose from his cigarette before he continued, ❝ i mean, where was this guy if he was so good whenever the city got flooded? i didn't see him among the people who were helping other's whenever everything went to shit. in fact, i bet he was probably sitting in some place really safe and warm whenever it happened, because i knew the real kind of person that he was. a total prick who certainly wasn't the golden boy that the news is trying to make him out to be, ❞ he flicked his cigarette down on the ground and smushed it underneath his boot, successfully putting out the fire on its other end. barton turned to face arthur completely with an unamused look in his eyes.

❝ now, are you done preaching to me about how wrong it is that i said that? you don't really know the first thing about the pig after all. but i do. though you didn't hear that from me, alright? ❞

[headaching]

*guy who hasn’t posted in 8 weeks voice* um. hi for the love of god hello

[sonknuxadow]

okay sorry for having opinions on sonic shipping but . the more popular a ship is the more likely i am to be annoyed by it so its probably for the best that my favorite ship is one of the not as popular ones . but also the way sonknux gets talked about (or not talked about) as a result of it being less popular drives me up the wall . what do you mean it doesnt make sense. hes literally not staring at the moon and thinking about him💔