#the art i wanted to add was simply Not Working so i had to change that

[altruistic-meme]

oh my fuck i think im just about ready for print. what the fuck. oh gods its happening.

[complainblogforthevoid]

I've finally figured out an argument that convinces coding tech-bros that AI art is bad.

Got into a discussion today (actually a discussion, we were both very reasonable and calm even through I felt like committing violence) with a tech-bro-coded lady who claimed that people use AI in coding all the time so she didn't see why it mattered if people used AI in art.

Obviously I repressed the surge of violence because that would accomplish nothing. Plus, this lady is very articulate, the type who makes claims and you sit there thinking no that's wrong it must be but she said it so well you're kind of just waffling going but, no, wait-- so I knew I had to get this right if I was gonna come out of this unscathed.

The usual arguments about it being about the soul of it and creation fell flat, in fact she was adamant that anyone who believed that was in fact looking down at coding as an art form as she insisted it is. Which, sure, you can totally express yourself through coding. There's a lot more nuance as to the differences but clearly I was not going to win this one.

The other people I was with (literally 8 people anti-ai against her, but you can't change the mind of someone who doesn't want to listen and she just kept accusing us of devaluing coding as an art) took over for I kid you not 15 minutes while I tried desperately to come up with a clear and articulate way to explain the difference to her. They tried so many reasonable arguments, coding being for a function ("what, art doesn't serve a function?") coding being many discrete building blocks that you put together differently, and the AI simply provides the blocks and you put it together yourself ("isn't that what prompt building is") that it's bad for the environment ("but not if it's used for capitalism, hm?" "Yeah literally that's how capitalism works it doesn't care about the environment" she didn't like that response)

But I finally got it.

And the answer is: It's not about what you do, it's about what you claim to be.

Imagine that someone asks an AI to write a code and, by some miracle, it works perfectly without them having to tweak it---which is great because they couldn't tell you what a single solitary thing in that code means.

Now imagine this person, with their code that they don't know how it works, goes and applies to be a coder somewhere, presenting this AI code as proof that they're qualified.

Should they be hired?

She was horrified, of course. Of course they shouldn't be. They're not qualified. They can't actually code, and even if by some miracle they did have an AI successfully write a flawless code for every issue they came across that wouldn't be their code, you could hire any shmuck on the street to do that, no reason to pay someone like they're creating something.

When actual engineers use AI what they do is get some kind of base, which they then go though and check for problems and then if they find any they fix them, and add on to the base code with their own knowledge instead of just trying different prompt after prompt until they randomly come across one that works.

People who generate code like this don't usually call themselves engineers. They're people who needed a bit of code and didn't have the knowledge to generate it, and so used a resource.

And there you go. There are people who have none of the skills of artists, they don't practice, they don't create for themselves. When they feed the prompt to the AI they then don't just use the resulting image as a reference point for their own personal masterpiece, and if they don't like it they don't have the skills to change it---they simply try another prompt, and do that until they get something they like.

These people are calling themselves artists.

Not only that, these people are bringing the AI generated thing to interviews, and they are getting hired, leaving people who slave over their craft out of the job.

And that is the difference, for the tech bros who think AI art isn't a big deal.

[alexrosa13]

Professor's Princess

professor!Rafayel x female!student!reader

Genre: smut with lots of plot (it's mostly plot)

Warnings: 19,7k words, the usual minor writing smut! (month away before 18 alr, I could gatekeep it for the next month, but a promise is a promise @pozuki) block or scroll if uncomfortable!, Rafayel and reader having the same past as him and mc, however with a different present plot so reader is not the mc, reader studies art and is an artist!, reader's clothes described (skirts, dresses, revealing clothes and high shoes, no body features specified tho other than reader having hair), nude paintings, this work contains lots of deep feelings and love, so if you're not into sweet stuff this is not for you, fingering, sex in a public space (classroom//office in the university), male & female masturbation, mutual masturbation, penis in vagina sex, crempie (reader is said to be on birth control), nicknames (cutie, baby, princess←overused I'm not sorry), stalker Rafayel if you squint..., supportive friends (nps's names: Soraya, Angela)

Note: I tried my best to add accurate information about art here, together with coming out with what Rafayel's personal opinions would be like, please do correct me if anything you see here is a false claim!

for masterlist and request info head to the navigation →

When Rafayel became your professor you didn't bat an eye, focused on your goals, not taking a notice of the hottie everyone talked about. What changed and pushed you to catch feelings? Do you believe in fate? Because something clearly pushes you his way...

‘How do you even get yourself into a situation like this?’

You were sitting on a lecture about modern art, the topic itself very much interesting, especially when the person talking about it was Rafayel himself, but most of the people there didn't come to learn about art.

He could have said something like sky is green or purple color doesn't exist and they would all nod and agree with him, simply because of the way he carries himself, unusual and unparalleled artist with a specific worldview, not afraid to voice controversial opinions.

But he was so much more than that.

Everyone admired him for his work and character, the second of which seemed weird since if anyone else would act the same way he did they would be considered rude and tactless, but Rafayel? He could be as mean as he'd want to, and people would continue singing him praises, what an unfair standard that comes with being famous. Other people simply excused his behavior because of his looks, which you had to admit, were really, really good.

At first you didn't like him, didn't even respect him to be honest, thinking of him as another rich man with too much influence in his hands, but with time? You started noticing the little things.

The way he spoke about art as something magical itself, having deeper respect for a piece of paper than an actual human being, and honestly? In some weird way you approved that thinking logic.

Most people in this specific class weren't artists, or even just people interested in it, they simply chose to attend that class because someone popular (despite not even being active in the media) works as a professor, limiting the amount of free places in the lecture for people actually interested in what he's talking about.

You still had no idea how you got a place, since you signed up for it really late and didn't expect to actually make it, but to your surprise you got yourself a spot.

Totally not because the professor himself pulled some strings...

Rafayel wasn't actually half as bad as you first thought, he didn't indulge in people exciting over his existence, didn't use his popularity as a sign that he deserves respect, no. He was much more simple than that, which also made him more complicated since he was so different from the rest.

You didn't really engage in making friends at the university, focusing on your art and people whom you already knew for longer, people who were actually interested in what you do, allowing you a sneak peeks at the process of their own creative work.

And they were enough for you. You liked being alone, didn't care much about people's opinions, preferring silence or music over conversations that you couldn't end out of politeness when they got boring.

Humans were boring.

That's what you use to justify your lack of social interactions for the most part. A couple of people who you knew just get you and actually like you were enough, especially since the conversations at the university were always the same, talks about relationships, problems of our world, parties and stuff like that. Now the quiet groups at the university did in fact sound fun sometimes, talking about topics that you wouldn't catch in the casual conversation when meeting a stranger, weirdly specific and interesting.

And last days? Everyone talks about Rafayel.

Girls talking about how much they would like a private lesson with a professor like this in an obvious context, even some guys engaging on it sometimes.

Just Rafayel, Rafayel and Rafayel, whenever you go.

You get it, he's hot, young and simply so, so attractive simply by just existing.

But did they really have no other problems in life than getting laid?

Now at the start of his lectures you kind of despised him, thinking of his as an annoying, selfish prick, who got too much fame for no reason.

But with time and each lesson you gained more and more respect for him, the way he talked mesmerizing you, bringing out passion for art from the depths of each and everyone who'd listen, the way the world around him seemed to stop every time he picked a paintbrush, the way he didn't care about other's opinions, strict but also really chill, a perfect professor.

And the way he looked at you...

It started innocently, you noticed how his gaze seemed to wander to you whenever you entered his classroom, stopping whatever he was doing for a second too long to simply look at you and take you in, something you noticed he didn't do with anyone else.

At first you thought that it was just your imagination, like you were a 10 year old in a water pool trying to gain the attention of an older lifeguard, now you looked out for the attention of your professor. He wasn't that much older than you though, maybe two or three years from what you know.

And despite telling yourself that his glances didn't mean anything, your friend decided to pursue you into testing the theory that he actually likes you.

So one day you wore something that would definitely catch his attention if he decided to pay any to you.

Nothing too risky, just something that you wouldn't usually wear to a boring, hours long lectures, a skirt and a top with a little deeper neckline than you usually wore.

And just when you walked into his classroom, prepared for your friend's plan to fail, he glanced at you like he always did. You tried to act all natural about it, so slowly you walked to your seat, noticing in the corner of your eye that his eyes followed you for much longer than ever before.

Sitting up you decided to sneak a glance at him again; and that's when you caught it.

His eyes studying your figure, his expression not betraying his thoughts, he seemed just as if looking at something that brought him instant inspiration.

Something worth his attention.

His eyes went up to your face, noticing the way you watched him.

Instead of looking away embarrassed he continued to stare, acting as if it didn't mean anything, but you knew the truth. He never graced any other student with his beautiful eyes straying to them for so long.

You smiled slyly, but subtly, resting your chin on your hand, watching the way he couldn't seem to look away.

Noticing your expression he only smirked, finally moving his eyes to the papers before him.

You had him in your grasp, now the only question is how to approach someone like him about it?

Coming back to a recent time: the lecture slowly came to an end, students began to wrap up their stuff to go about their day, when someone's loud voice disturbed the sounds of chairs being moved.

“Professor Rafayel, since the next lesson is about nude painting will you model for us?” One of the very not funny popular girls at the academy asked while giggling with her girlfriends.

Rafayel didn't even turn around from the canvas, standing right before the huge board in the center of the classroom, studying the works his students submitted for the next academy exhibition.

Uncomfortable silence fell onto the hall, only interrupted by giggles of the people who found disrespecting professors funny.

“You're saying that as if you were able to create a full body sketch while portraying the correct human anatomy.” He stated coldly, as usual. Giggles instantly died down when he finally turned around, walking towards his desk casually, as if he didn't just embarrass a student. “I remember how your sketch of a couple sitting and holding hands turned out. Their limbs stretched out way too long to be considered human, women's breasts bigger than her own head while her body remained tiny and slim, don't even get me started on the guy's abs.” He lifted his head up, his cold gaze instantly making the girl look down in shame. “Now, I don't mean that people aren't allowed to be beginners, make mistakes, or are obligated to perfection. No. What I mean is that only people who come here to paint and improve themselves will attend the nude painting lecture.”

Whispers began circling around you, you couldn't help but smirk, instantly trying to hide it.

So he did notice how most of his students had nothing to do with art...

“Same goes to each and every next lesson that will acquire drawing skills on at least decent level. You're in this class for what, two months now? How come you're still unable to create a sketch that at least resembles a human.” He deadpanned, some of the students began to feel called out, just like the girl herself. “I was being nice, turning a blind eye to your incompetence, but really, how can you take a course that is too advanced for you? And not even try to gain any knowledge from it nonetheless.” He said while grabbing a stack of papers and making his way to the classroom door, stopping in the middle of his way. “I'll say this once and let it sink in. The next lecture won't be for anyone without the ability to hold a paintbrush properly.”

And with that he walked out.

A moment of silence met the hall walls again, before people began laughing. The girl and her minions gathered their things with a pout, talking about them never coming back here and what a dick that professor was.

You looked behind you, instantly making eye contact with a girl who just like you attended these classes from passion, she sent you a wink before continuing to pack her things and laughing under her nose.

Oh yes, Rafayel is not as shallow as you took him for.

You had strange dreams, more often than not you found yourself in the ocean depths, not drowning but simply being there, feeling like you and the cold water were one, before suddenly waking up.

Ever since you could remember you felt connected to the ocean, your inspiration skyrocketing every time you gazed into its surface, hearing the waves hit the shore.

Living only about 15 minutes away from it you could easily get there anytime you felt like it, often finding yourself sitting at a distance from the shore with a sketchbook, scribbling something even if you didn't know what final effect you were going for.

It's always been like this, your art often centering around the deep waters, sometimes you drew a human swimming while looking up towards the light above them, illuminating their face, sometimes it was mermaids, mostly male (for no reason at all) wrapped in jewelry all over them. Sometimes simply the view below the surface, colorful, lively, sometimes sad and depressive, all depending on your mood.

But lately... Whatever you try to draw, paint, create, resembles one specific person...

Rafayel.

Your art professor.

Why? You didn't even know. Every time you picked a paintbrush and just went with the flow, planning to simply create a man, any man, the face you painted looked like him, his hair, his silhouette, just him.

You were so tired of it. Feeling like a teen having their first celebrity crush, knowing fully well they will never happen.

But you still managed to keep your hopes up.

However if anyone asked? You didn't care about him, at all, that's it, that's the story, you don't care.

Because you didn't want to be like all those brain-less girls attending his class just to admire him. You had a goal, you wanted to improve, to learn, to build your future starting by finishing this university, and no hot professor will be able to pull you away from something you worked all your life for.

But also with each and every word spoken by him he seemed more and more mesmerizing, your gaze wandering around his features, unconsciously implanting his image into your brain.

And despite you trying not to pay attention to it you could feel his eyes on you more often than not.

Tomorrow's another lecture. Nude paintings. You can do it, more than familiar with painting human anatomy. But also it's supposed to have less people than ever before attending it...

Honestly, if he already managed to build a house in your mind with the way he had you thinking about him everyday, why won't you do the same to him?

After all, two can play this game, right? Let's push his limits a little bit, live a little, you won't risk your place in the academy since you're not planning to do something scandalous, right? They can't kick you out for no evidence that you tried to seduce your professor, right?

You did just what you said you would. The very next day you woke up a little earlier, just to put your plan in motion.

You picked out clothes from your dresses for about half an hour, finding stuff you haven't seen for years at this point, trying to put together the cutest outfit you could.

Settling for a sweet body-hugging skirt ending at the perfect length so that you won't flash anyone while just walking around, a transparent shirt showing everything except your breasts, carefully hiding them behind a soft sewn-in material, adorable tights and a pair of cute platform shoes.

Topping everything with a cardigan to hide away from the strict professors, who don't understand that clothes do not disturb their lessons.

After making sure you looked your best and sending a selfie to your friend group you got ready to officially start the day, hopeful that your efforts won't go unnoticed.

And to say that they didn't go to waste would be an understanding...

A couple hours later you walked into the art class full of already prepared canvas, Rafayel nowhere in sight yet. You noticed some girls talking to who you thought volunteered to be a model for today's project, probably someone who needed a quick cash, he wasn't bad looking, but not really your type either.

He looked too cocky, with good features and probably a gym freak, but something about him screamed ‘do not approach, he'd fuck anything that moves’.

A typical guy with nothing other on his mind than scoring a girl, pretty much proving you right when you saw him exchanging numbers with two girls that he probably just met.

Well not like you cared about that anyways, let them live their life or whatever like that.

Settling for a place in the corner, very close to the door, behind the others (meaning: they won't see what you're doing), and in a perfect spot for whoever sat at the professor's desk to see you clearly, you took your cardigan off and waited for your prey.

Luckily you didn't have to wait for long.

Rafayel walked in a minute later, not really glancing at the class on his way to put the heavy stuff he carried in his hands down.

You straighten up your back, trying your best to look lost in thought while staring at the blank canvas before you, moving a pencil in the air before it as if trying to imagine the lines you were going to sketch.

For a second you really got lost in daydream, inspiration flowing to you naturally, but before you could have started thinking about the details of your idea your train of thoughts returned to the current situation.

Now, how do you turn around unsuspiciously to check if he was looking at you.

Glancing at the pencil in your hand you began to slowly twist it between your fingers, trying your best to make dropping it look like an accident. Loosening up the pressure in your hand you let it fall to the ground with a soft thud.

Your face shot down, unhurriedly getting off your stool to pick it up.

You crouched down facing his desk, gently picking up your tool and lifting your head his way while standing up.

His eyes didn't leave you for even a second.

Watching the way your skirt rode up when you moved and the way you used your hands to fix it slowly, before finally his eyes went up to look at your face.

He didn't falter at being caught, too busy taking you in.

Not wanting to act weird and not really wishing for someone in your class to notice your weird behavior, you moved back to your seat, acting as if nothing happened.

Well to be honest the only thing that happened was your pussy waking up at his watchful gaze.

Why did he have to be so otherworldly hot? The universe wasn't fair.

You don't remember any other guy other than fictional ones that made you get aroused so fast. Why the fuck was it so easy for him? You didn't like acting crazy over some... Guys...

Not your style.

Okay, that's a lie, you didn't like it only because you couldn't fuck him, other than that you wouldn't complain.

“Alright, that's it for the waiting, whoever was supposed to be in this class today is already here.” You looked around noticing about half of the usual squad missing, people probably did listen to him saying that he doesn't want anyone coming here for nothing. For someone looking this cute he sure as hell had a way to sound harsh and cold, not taking anyone's bullshit.

You giggled into your hand quietly at the thought of him calling out people's idiotism.

“As you all know we last studied bodily anatomy. Most of you did good, some of you still need guidance, but that's okay, since everyone here has improved their technique over the past two months enough to pass a certain criteria.” You followed everyone's gazes, turning on your stool to face your professor, who was currently busy looking out of the window next to his desk. “I believe you already noticed today's model.” He glanced at the man currently busy making the girls blush, not mentioning anything else about him. “We have about 3 to 4 hours today, I want you to focus mainly on the full picture and try your best to capture your model with precision to each mole and mark, if you won't be able to finish in time, you'll simply add details another time since this isn't our last lesson on the topic.” He looked around the class, all eyes turned to him as usual, with his hand he gestured to the volunteer model to come to him.

Hall erupted in small talks as he focused on explaining something to the guy before sending him to probably get ready for hours of standing still naked.

“Nude art was first introduced to us back in Ancient Greek times, later on succeeding in stealing the spotlight in Western art, often presented as something controversial, back then - and now, together with the porn industry absolutely devaluing human body's worth.” The moment he began talking again the whole class quietened down, focusing all their attention on him. “People started portraying bare body as something only serving sexual purposes, thinking that the only purpose of nude art is to arouse the viewer.” He walked to the front of his desk, leaning on it while facing the small crowd. “Now personally I do not believe that the only purpose of it was to serve such a function, but people are free to believe what they want.”

Some people looked at each other, thinking about where the other's opinion stands, you glanced at them for a moment, but your eyes quickly returned to Rafayel.

“But also if you do believe that portraying human's body on canvas is only for it to serve as porn imagine, I do not know what you're even doing here.” He tilted his head for a second, thinking. “From the moment your model will take his pose you're free to start your work at any moment, you may also not work at all, I really don't care, just don't disturb the ones trying to make something beautiful.” He glanced at you for a moment, looking way too natural while doing so, but compared to him staring at the walls whenever he talked it surely wasn't a coincidence. “Do you have any questions before we start?” He shot a quick glance around.

“I do.” One girl from the other side of the hall stated, everyone's gaze momentarily turned to her. Rafayel quickly nodded his head her way gesturing for her to talk. “You said people portray the human body as something exclusively sexual. If not for sexual purposes, what do you think nude art represents?” She asked, not shying away from the topic, she was one of the devoted students, rather quiet one but you even liked her.

“It can represent a lot of things, depending on the artist's vision and the viewer's interpretation. It can portray emotions, feelings, meanings, anything you'd like. In today's world we hide away from nakedness, today's society makes us believe that showing our bodies is something to be ashamed of.” He could have talked about anything and you were sure you'd still hang on every word. His voice sounded so smooth each time he opened his mouth. “Making us feel like exposing the body we are born with is a crime. And while I agree that it is something intimate to see someone bare themselves before you, it's not half as intimate as baring your soul to somebody. And that soul is something that I want you to capture. Each painting has its soul, if you fail to capture it, you're taking away any life from your work. If you don't put your soul into your art, you are not a true artist.” He calmly said, stating his opinion effortlessly as always.

The corners of your mouth rose involuntarily, something about him talking about putting your soul into your paintings making you feel good. After all - each of your works contained part of you in them, having someone say that art has a deeper meaning than just colors on a paper looking nice felt good. Having someone with good values teaching you was nice.

Rafayel rounded his desk again, sitting in his chair while everyone focused on their conversations or preparations for painting. Your eyes didn't leave him for a moment, not caring if someone catches you staring, you wouldn't be the first to do it anyway.

Rafayel raised his eyes to you once again, clearly not by accident.

You shot him a quick grin, your small smile stretching up the moment he returned the gesture.

Your chest shook a little with quiet laughter, you had to fight yourself, biting your cheek to finally turn around from him to finally focus on the task at hand.

You didn't even notice when the model came back and got himself ready to be captured. Not caring one bit that someone hot stood naked not that far away from you. Thoughts occupied by the one and only Rafayel.

You took one deep breath to calm yourself down and relax, unknowingly sending your professor into a daze with the way your barely covered chest rose up before slowly falling back.

No one paid him no mind, their full focus on the naked guy before them, so he was free to stare all he wanted.

Your skirt barely covered your butt, showing off your entire pretty legs while you sat comfortably, you didn't pay it any mind, closing yourself for the outside world as you always did while painting, he admired that about you, the way the whole universe seemed to disappear for you the moment you picked up your tool of work, be it a pencil, crayon, paintbrush, literally anything.

You probably wore that on purpose too. He noticed you weren't usually the one for dressing up everyday, he couldn't help but wonder if it was all for him, having a feeling the tension between you was rising with each and every lecture he had with your class.

At first he didn't want to believe that you would return his interest so fast, prepared to give you years before finally trying something, he was a patient man after all, but you shattered his plans completely the moment your eyes met for the first time, making him a goner, nothing else mattered but you. He taught this class only because of you, and despite keeping his feelings at bay from the moment he saw you he failed his mission, unable to act like you didn't matter to him, he shouldn't have believed himself when he thought that he'll be able to stay away from you for so long.

But now seeing as you started making your own moves in this game of catch he knew that sooner or later he'll break.

Wanting nothing more than your soul to be his once again.

He didn't even notice how seconds turned into minutes, half an hour passing with him not moving his eyes away from you.

He should be talking about something, walking around the class and watching everyone's work, doing what he was hired to do (not like they would kick him out of the job anyways) but instead of that he put all his focus into studying you.

Your body, your face, your body language, your expressions, the way your hair rearranges itself on your head with every small movement, the way your hands worked on the canvas, the way you breathed.

You were truly a work of art in the purest form.

He couldn't help but make a mental note that you didn't often look at the model before you, maybe glanced at him three times and that was it, as if just those seconds were enough for you to recreate his image to perfection.

You didn't pay any mind to his staring, either ignoring it, playing hard to get or really not noticing anything around you while focusing on your art.

He was only forced to tear his gaze away from you when a student asked to check on their work.

And that's how he spent the next hour or so. Walking around between the canvas, giving advice here and there when asked for it, correcting someone's major mistakes (even if he didn't really care about those), giving small encouragements or simple nods of approval or simply staying quiet while watching someone's work from behind them.

But never once did he get to you.

He wasn't avoiding you, no, you just simply didn't pay any mind to his little rounds, stuck in your creativity even when needing to paint something specifically from your eyes only and not your imagination.

Noticing everyone's busy with their work he casually strolled your way, you didn't even spare him a glance.

Standing right behind you he began studying your work with great interest, every stroke of color on your canvas somehow turning out naturally perfect, effortless. You had talent and passion, he saw that in the way your works always seemed to have a soul, a meaning. You had what it takes to become a remarkable artist, and he couldn't be more proud of you.

Unnoticed by him he became so mesmerized by your art process that he didn't even register the way he slowly began leaning closer to you.

Until his torso met your shoulder gently.

He didn't move away, calm and collected, waiting for your reaction.

You titled your head for a moment to glance at him before continuing with your work as if nothing had happened.

His hands linked behind his back while he innocently decided not to pull away.

“Am I doing good, professor Rafayel?” You asked in a whisper, casually, as if his breathing didn't currently tickle your neck. You felt his body move slightly together with his subtle nods.

“Very. You're a natural.” He said into your ear, not bothering worrying if someone will see.

You couldn't help but let a proud grin appear on your lips, compliments from someone like him boosting your ego a little too much.

“Thank you, professor.” You glanced back at him again, with a playful glint in your eye.

His breathing got caught, you somehow managed to make a playful, cutesy tone sound seductive. Or maybe that was just his imagination?

He shot a quick look at the rest of the hall, not noticing anyone who'd look your way, your place on the edge of the class helping him in staying unnoticed.

Without thinking about it he looked down at you, unintentionally allowing himself to gaze at your covered breasts.

Did you not wear a bra? How come he hasn't noticed before? Well maybe because your shirt was way too good at keeping everything in the right position, embracing your body in all the right places.

He noticed the way you suddenly froze, turning your head around to send him a questioning look.

For a moment he didn't know what was wrong, but then he felt it.

His penis was poking your ass.

Holy shit he didn't even notice when he got a hard on.

His eyes widened while looking down at himself, his body leaning way too close to yours than morally appropriate.

He considered moving away and coming back to his desk to hide his little problem.

But then he noticed how your body slightly shook. His eyes returned to your face, you tried your best to hide your giggles, but couldn't hold back a cheeky grin on your face.

He watched you intensively, curious whether or not you'll make a move to get closer or pull away from him, since obviously you were not uncomfortable.

And a move you made...

Straightening up casually on your stool before reaching out for a paint a little too far away from you, knowing fully well that your perfect ass caught his attention when you bended your back for a moment before coming back to your sitting position, but this time moving way closer to him, making his dick throb in his pants at the contact.

Oh so you're one to play dirty? He's into that.

But he noticed a couple of lingering eyes on him, probably wondering why he spends so much time staring at your work.

Not wanting to raise people's suspicions just now he decided it was time to pause your little game for now.

Reaching out his hand he randomly pointed at something on your canvas.

“Add more shading here, it'll give more realism to your piece.” He said casually, as if he totally didn't think about shamefully rubbing against you just now.

You nodded your head approvingly, instantly moving to do as he says, fighting a smirk that threatened to show on your face.

Stay calm woman. Stay calm. He's the desperate one here.

You told yourself, despite the feeling of wetness accompanying you every time your thighs moved against one another.

But he doesn't need to know that.

As if nothing has occurred between you two he walked away from you. His slow steady footsteps echoing in your ears.

“I'll leave you alone for a moment, I trust that once I come back in 20 minutes the class won't be a battlefield, remember; paints are not a weapon, I do not want a brand new floor design.” He stated while walking out of the class, succeeding in making some students chuckle.

You couldn't help but wonder... Did he leave for a little bathroom break to take care of his problem?

Oh it's a shame you can't leave the class without drawing suspicions cause you would love to help him out.

As a good, exemplary student.

It didn't take you that long to come back to your stuck in mind state, all thoughts leaving at once, only you and the canvas before you existing.

A couple more glances at the model later you were halfway done with your piece, you took a peek at the clock on the wall, showing you that 2 and half an hour had passed since the class started.

Rafayel left the hall about 15 minutes ago, you couldn't help but wonder what was he doing...

Did he think about you while doing it?

Okay, stop, you can't be that needy yet, it was too early to get so excited over the thought of your professor getting off to the memory of your ass rubbing against him.

Just as you tried to bring your thoughts back to the right track the classroom doors finally opened again.

You didn't turn around, not letting him know that you were thinking about him, but you listened carefully to each step he took before his desk chair moved signalling him sitting down.

Silence overtook the whole room for a while, everyone trying their best to make their work look absolutely beautiful to gain a rare compliment from their professor.

You were finishing up when he spoke up again.

“We have half an hour left. Will anyone here need additional time another day to finish up?” His question met with about three raised hands, he only nodded, coming back to the papers before him, but by the movement of his hand over the sheet you could tell he wasn't filling out paperwork, he was probably sketching something.

“Professor Rafayel, did you ever had someone model for you?” You suddenly heard, everyone started glancing around, looking for a person who asked that.

You glanced at Rafayel, he seemed lost in thought, did he even hear the question?

Whispers started growing around you, you made eye contact with that one okay girl who simply shrugged sending you a confused look.

“No.” He answered without batting an eye. You looked at the girl again, both of your expressions showing disbelief.

An artist like that? Never painting a model? Never getting paid to paint someone?

Ain't no way.

“Why not?” A male voice spoke up, one of the three guy students in the class.

“No one ever made me feel inspired enough for me to ask them to model for me. And I was never interested in painting people for money.” Is that so...

“Would you paint your lover if you had one?” A bold girl asked, clearly one of the many with a crush on him.

Finally you saw Rafayel moving his eyes away from the paper and glancing at the classroom.

“Maybe.” He said, bringing people's whispers back with just one word.

You even heard someone jokingly throw the draw me like one of your French girls line.

Damn someone in this day and age remembered Titanic?

Your ears sadly picked up more conversations than you would like.

“Oh I could model for him all day.”

“I wonder if he would restrain himself while painting someone he likes nude.”

“How many things I would give up just to be his canvas...”

Talking like this about someone who's in the same room as them? Bold and stupid.

You at least could keep you quiet.

It was a lot more fun this way.

Those last couple of minutes till the lecture end were spent on conversations and moving around, cleaning up work stations and making sure that you didn't miss out any crucial detail on your work.

A couple people left already, and you finally started gathering your things.

Soraya, the girl you exchanged glances with before, came to your station.

“Can you believe the audacity of some people?” She whispered with a disgusted face.

“Nope, honestly, I cannot.” You send her a sarcastic grin.

“I get it, our professor is hot, but why do they have to act like he would ever even glance in their direction for more than half a second.” She said while throwing her bag onto her shoulder.

“Let them stay delusional I guess? What can I say.” You chuckled with her.

“Wanna go to that one cafe nearby the campus? My girlfriend finishes up her studies about now too, we can hang out for a bit.”

“Sure, why not, I have an hour or two to spare.” You nodded, gathering last of your stuff.

“Great~” She hummed out. “I'll wait for you before the classroom, I need to call her and ask where she'll meet us.” You nodded once again.

You met her girlfriend maybe two times before, she was an overall nice but unhinged person. The perfect balance between cute and dangerous, one would say.

You hurriedly turned around to pick up your cardigan from the floor, when your face collided with someone's chest.

Taking a step back you send whoever stood before you an annoyed glance, which changed into shocked one the moment you saw those pretty bluish-pink eyes staring right back at you.

Without a word he picked up your sweater and handed it to you as if it wasn't weird...

“Your work is great.” He glanced behind you at the finished painting.

“Why, thank you.” You squinted your eyes in slight confusion.

“Do you often draw silhouettes? Most of your work that I've seen are landscapes.” You nodded gently, still not really sure why he approached you like this, with people around you two...

“Yeah, I... I draw lots of things, including human anatomy, yes.” And not only human one...

“Aren't you a talented girl. Keep it up, you're doing a good work.” He said like it meant nothing coming from his mouth. So many people would die to hear those words from him, hear him appreciating their work.

And you were granted that honor.

Suddenly you noticed him leaning a little closer to you. “Better than anyone in this God-be-dammed school.” He whispered close to your ear before casually turning around and coming back to his desk.

What. The. Fuck.

Just when did you become a teacher's pet? Not that you're complaining of course...

Stopping your flood of thoughts you finally made your way out of the class, not acknowledging a beautiful pair of eyes following your every move, focusing on the smooth sway of your hips in that pretty skirt you wore today.

“What did the professor want from you?” Was the first thing you heard once you walked out of the classroom.

“What?” You didn't even have time to fully grasp what just happened when Soraya began her questioning.

“He legit came to talk to you about something a second ago.” She said while crossing her arms, looking at you like a police officer at a suspect.

You exhaled and shot your head up with a tired groan. “He complimented my work.” You looked at her for a split-second before walking away, hearing her footsteps right behind you.

“And did he need to be this close to you to simply compliment your work?” She teased, nudging you with an elbow.

“Oh pl-ease. He wasn't that close.” You glanced at her with a grin on your lips, instantly seeing a similar one appear on her face.

“Girl.” She chuckled, you only laughed and looked back at the huge corridor before you. “You like him.” She whispered into your ear with a slight disbelief. “I thought you said that he's a selfish rich guy with questioning morals...” She continued, making sure that none walking by students overheard.

“That was two months ago. People change.” You made an argument, closing the topic for now.

But you should know that it wouldn't be the end of this conversation, especially since she had to share the new found sensation with her girlfriend.

“Girl, what?!” Angela half screamed in shock staring right at you.

You were only sitting down for like 5 minutes before the whole topic came back. You shrugged while watching the girl process the information.

“Hottest professor in the history of our university, the one that people bet on who will get to fuck, the same one that humbles every girl that tried to make a move.” She stopped her wild hand gestures for a second, bending over the table to get closer to you, slamming her hands on it in the process. “Is interested in you?!” She whispered like a top-tier secret, looking into your eyes as if she could have read your mind that way.

“Honestly, I don't know.” You whispered back to her.

“What the hell do you mean you ‘don't know’?!” 'Raya butted into the conversation, also leaning on the table, it must have looked ridiculous from other people's views. “Girl I sat close to you this whole time, do you think I didn't notice how he was clinging to you while you painted.” She raised her eyebrows, looking at you like you had grown a second head.

“He did what?!” Angela screamed in a whisper.

“He was only standing close, it's not like he was hugging me or something.” Oh you knew you were lying.

Both girls froze up for a moment, their mouth opening in disbelief.

“Are you blind?”

“Or delusional?”

Not able to keep the calm act anymore you began laughing while covering your mouth.

”Damn she completely lost it.” Angela whispered to her girlfriend while looking at you.

“I'm fine, just... Holy shit!” They finally backed away to sit back straight. Perfectly in sync with the waitress bringing your ordered drinks.

For a moment you had to keep up the ‘we are normal’ play, but the moment the woman was gone the conversation rose back up.

“Okay girl, so do you actually like him or should we go to the higher-ups to fire him for harassing a student?” Angela looked at you with a suddenly serious expression.

You nodded your head. “I do like him. I didn't think I would, but damn... I do.” You stated while bringing your drink to your mouth for a sip-

“Do you want to fuck him?” And almost ended up spitting it out at this question.

“Angie...” Soraya laughed at the whole situation, facepalming at her girlfriend's curiosity.

„What?! That's an important question!” She defended herself. „So? Do you?” And the conversation came back to you again.

You exhaled loudly, trying to collect your thoughts, but you couldn't lie to yourself.

”Fuck yes.”

“See? I knew it!” Angela instantly argued with Soraya, who only nodded with a small chuckle. “Do you think he only wants to fuck you, or maybe date you?” And the questioning continued.

“I have no idea. But damn right I would date that hottie, but if it would only be a one time thing I'd still take it.” Girl no, you wouldn't - you already started planning what animals will you adopt after moving in together.

“Honestly I don't think that Rafayel is into one night stands, he seems like someone who would get hopelessly in love.” Soraya stated while playing with her drink's straw.

“I don't have lectures with him so I don't know.” Angie said but then started thinking for a moment. “Buuut... I talked with someone who does. She said that he talked about love as an ‘addictive pain’... He seems like a guy who despite acting nonchalant would love deeply, with his whole soul.” Angela got lost in her mind for a moment, as if dreaming about something.

“You won't understand an artist's mind when it comes to love, it's too complicated, especially for someone who seems so complex.” Soraya stated as if she herself wasn't an artist.

“I know... But honestly the idea that someone could love like this is so, so romantic. I'll stick to that mindset until you prove me wrong.” She looked out of the window, daydreaming about a perfect love story.

“Also if you were to start dating him... You'll need to hide it, and it will be tough for those next years, especially since he has students tailing him like a puppy wherever he goes.” Soraya continued with her monologue, breaking the tempting idea of dating a professor.

“By the way how much older is he?” Angie asked curiously.

“I think maybe 2 or 3 years?” 'Raya looked at you for clarification to which you simply nodded.

“Okay, then at least it's not creepy. Girl, you better fuck. that. guy.” Damn she's a little demon.

“Oh don't worry, I will try...” You took another sip.

Through next week's lectures you didn't really have an opportunity to tease your professor, but despite the inability for any physical contact without drawing unnecessary attention, your eyes continued to unconsciously look for each other.

Getting lost in his eyes proved to be too easy of a task, his beautiful irises hiding colorful ocean depths drew you in every time you raised your head to look at him.

You were falling for him.

Your heart beating faster each time he graced you with even a second of attention, your body shivering every time he passed by your desk, your pupils dilating with a single thought about him.

Feelings were a dangerous phenomena.

You didn't even notice when an innocent crush turned into something more, something that should exist only in fairy tales.

The worst thing? You didn't know how serious he was about you.

He didn't pay attention to anyone other than you, even going as far as to be straight up mean at any allusion made by others about wanting him.

But he never as much as glanced at you with the disgust he looked at others with, every time his gaze fell onto you something soft, something warm replaced the usual cold and cool.

Was that enough of a reason to allow yourself to fall in love?

Probably not, but the poems and stories you read before falling asleep made you a hopeless romantic, looking for someone able to sprout a seed of creativity in you simply by existing.

And he not only planted that seed, he made it grow into a tree full of flowers and fruits, bringing you thousands of ideas everyday.

You knew that it could hurt, the realization that maybe he was never interested in you at all would be a painful cut to your heart, turning millions of colorful butterflies living in you into moths.

You prayed for that day to never come.

You prayed for your tree to never wither.

Another day at university ended, people gathered their things, about to go on with their day, class emptying by the second.

But you stayed behind.

The professor who led the lecture left together with the students, something you haven't really noticed, too busy with drawing in your sketchbook, head in the clouds.

Inspiration came to you randomly, at first you were just bored with the discussed topic so innocently you began scribbling, making random lines that suddenly stopped being so random, your hands working their magic before your mind could keep up.

And suddenly the body on the page got a face.

Rafayel.

The figure not leaving your mind ever since you admitted to yourself you liked him.

You lifted your head for a moment, you were about to draw some details...

Noticing no one in the classroom anymore you breathed out in relief, no one saw what you were up to.

There are no more lectures for the day in here...

And you knew that no one would close you inside, as the cleaning staff always checks to make sure no one stays behind, having certain accidents before...

Taking out your earphones you made your decision. And the next half an hour flew by fast.

You were so detached from reality you didn't even notice the door behind you opening up, nor did you hear the slow footsteps coming your way.

Neither did you feel someone's presence right behind you...

And maybe that's for the better.

Since Rafayel doesn't know what would he do if you would randomly turn around and face him... After seeing what you drew.

Peeking over your shoulder his breath hitched for a moment while he forced himself to stay still and not disturb you.

You were drawing him.

Not only him, but... Naked him...

He felt his pants growing tighter with each second, every brush of your pencil on the paper making his head spin.

His heart couldn't take it. His dick couldn't take it.

Unable to face you after a discovery like this he turned around and without making a noise left the classroom.

It was too early... His plan was in ruins.

He was supposed to give you years to notice him.

Years before he would dare to touch you.

But oh my God, why did you have to make it so hard?

Making him pop a boner way too often and way too easily.

You were turning him into some pervert, which he was not. He wanted you for so much more than just your body, yearning for your soul and heart like a madman.

But the bedroom eyes you looked at him with, the slight ‘accidental’ touches you graced him with, your drawing, the way you pressed your ass against him in a classroom full of people...

You were playing a dangerous game, and despite not wanting to come out on the losing side, would he really lose if he'd gain something so precious in return?

What if you only wanted to fuck him? Use him? Go on and spread rumors about the professor being a pervert liking his student?

Would you really do him so dirty?

Walking through the hall at the lighting speed he finally made it to his office, walking inside he locked the door immediately, almost running to his chair with heavy breathing.

Losing up his collar he rested his head on the headrest of his office chair, closing his eyes while he tried to calm down.

You shouldn't have such influence on him, power over him.

But beneath his closed eyelids he saw only more of you, your silhouette, your face, your smile, those fake-innocent eyes, because you both knew you looked at him with anything but pure intentions.

And for whatever sick reason; he liked it, craved you, needed you.

No one else ever had him in their grasp, Rafayel from always being the one holding all the cards suddenly reduced to a pathetic horny man.

He loved and hated the feeling.

Knowing fully well you could use him and toss him aside like a trash bag after you're done.

But would you really? Would you ever break his heart like this?

Fuck he couldn't take it anymore.

Unable to stop himself he reached towards his belt unbuckling it hurriedly and unzipping his fly in a record time before finally taking out his cock.

Fuck he was sensitive, each vein pulsating, tip leaking precum simply because he couldn't keep his imagination in check.

Wrapping his palm around his length he began slowly pumping himself. His mind creating images of you he wished to see in person.

You on top of him, hands grasping onto his shoulder as you ride him, using him for your pleasure.

Oh fuck his hand began moving faster.

You would probably sound so pretty too, would you moan loudly or whine quietly into his ear?

Were you shameless with showing off your body or would you prefer to keep your clothes on?

He let out a moan at the thought.

Would you like it fast? Or maybe preferred the moment to be something sensual and gentle?

He would do anything for you, exactly how you'd like it.

His hand increased the tempo, wet sound filling the quiet study.

Fuck he was close.

Would you let him look into your eyes as you come? Would you shy away? You had no reason to, perfection in his eyes.

He would worship the ground you walked on, kneel before you, begged for you, he would do it all.

Would you prefer him to be in charge, acting like a little brat just to get a rinse out of him, wanting him to take it out on your pussy?

Would you be submissive? Accepting his everything, even if the overstimulation brought you to tears? Would you like him to call you his good girl?

His girl...

Back arched slightly from the chair, mouth opening to let out a silent moan, dick throbbing in his hand.

In seconds his entire palm was covered in sperm, together with the floor and a little bit landing on his shirt and pants, dirtying it.

Fuck he didn't remember the last time he came that hard, most of the days he forget that sex was even a thing, focused on his art, but ever since you came back into his life? This guy couldn't catch a break from the image of you naked underneath - or on top of him.

You were hunting him day and night, even in dreams.

And you were unaware of the effect you had on him, blissfully ignorant.

Cute. Really.

He took a minute to catch his breath, orgasm pulling all the energy from him, finally coming back to his self he couldn't help but came back to the situation that got him like this in the first place.

You were drawing him nude.

The very next day you had yet another lecture with your favorite professor.

Right after waking up you reminded yourself of a secret hidden inside of your sketchbook.

Memories of the lines you made with your pencil yesterday bringing instant heat to your cheeks.

Just what has gotten into you?

Why did you do this?

Also another, more important question: how the hell could you draw all of the details on his body just from memory that never existed?!

Unable to keep thinking about it without feeling the need to get yourself off you decided to finally get up and get ready for the day.

Starting a scavenger hunt in your closet you managed to put together a simple but cute outfit.

A tight white top on thin straps, no bra because you needed to keep your professor's eyes on you, and your boobs are going to be a great help in achieving that. Next was a white flowy skirt made from uneven scraps of silky material with a slit on your right thigh, perfectly fitting an artistic soul so to say. You added some cute white fishnets with a pretty design on their sides and put on a pair of white platform heels with ankle straps.

Looking at yourself in the mirror you couldn't help but feel pretty (author's note: because you all are pretty ♡).

Today will be another painting session, focused on abstraction, colors, and putting your feelings onto canvas.

A perfect setting for some chaos.

After your morning routine you finally made your way to the university, the place where you first came to continue your artistic journey and now are more focused with pinning after your professor than the actual studying.

Oh well, priorities I guess?

First lectures proved to be annoyingly boring, honestly some professors could think about changing the profession, cause what they were doing now was not going well, one of them didn't even seem like he knew what he talked about?

You had a little free time before Rafayel's lecture, Soraya and Angela used it to steal you from the main hall to find a private place to talk about very important matters.

Like literally steal you; they randomly walked over to you, hiked their arms under yours and dragged you with them, not explaining anything, stopping only when you made it to a more quiet location in the abandoned wing of the university where most people came only to deal drugs and other shit.

“How's your mission going?” They sat you down onto a bench and stood over you with their arms crossed, interrogating you.

“A mission?” You played dumb.

“Yes, a mission.”

“Called ‘fuck your professor before another bitch finds herself on him’.” Soraya added after her girlfriend.

“Quieter!” You reacted instantly.

Angie bended down to your eye level. “Not until you tell us your progress!”

“There's no ‘progress’.” You didn't back off.

The two of you stared into each other's eyes before she finally exhaled and moved away.

“Whyyy, from what 'Raya is telling me you basically eye-fuck him any change you get!” She lightly jumped in frustration, cute, really.

“Well it didn't go further than eye-fucking, sorry to disappoint you.” You send a disappointment glare at Soraya who only chuckled in response.

“Alright, angel, we really have to go to the lecture right now, I'll catch you later.” She kissed her girlfriend's forehead affectionately before taking your hand and urging you to stand up.

“See ya, just let me know later how's the situation~” Angela teased, to which you only sent her a death glare and turned around to leave with your classmate.

“You two won't let me off the hook huh?” You asked her on your way.

“Nope. But don't think so low of us, we are rooting for you to catch this man and steal him from all of those idiots here, it will be hilarious knowing that you're together while everyone continues to send him dreamy eyes.” She chuckled and you didn't know whether you should sigh or laugh.

A minute later you found yourself in the classroom, taking your usual spots you waited for the rest of the students and the professor himself to join in.

In the meantime you shared a look with Soraya more than once and each time she sent you a glare that could only be described as ‘get to work bitch’ to which you responded by rolling your eyes.

“Alright everyone.” You turn around to face the door at the familiar voice and sure enough your eyes meet the man who made your heartbeat race.

Class quietened down instantly, all eyes turning to him.

“Today we have another painting session, your favorite I know.” He walked over to his desk, opening up some papers and rummaging through them. “Now if I'm being honest, there is no final effect we're aiming for today. I want you to have fun with it, let your emotion onto the canvas, play with colors, tell stories through colorful spots on the paper if that's what you want to do.“ He looked up from the stack of papers, his gaze instantly falling to you. “Unleash the chaos.” He added before sitting down and returning his focus to his previous activity.

You glanced over at Soraya who was already watching you. ‘Stop it’ you mouthed to her to which she sent you a cheeky grin before turning her head towards her canvas.

The whole classroom stayed quiet for a bit longer, waiting for some more instruction from Rafayel, who didn't pay them any mind.

You were the first to move, picking out random paints and closing your senses to any third party stimuli, others followed not long after.

You didn't need to think about what you were doing, your hand holding the paintbrush smoothly moved around the canvas, creating something without any need to follow the image your mind usually made up first.

But the time spent between cleaning your brush and picking out another paint took too long, so without giving it any second thought you quickly wiped the paint on your skirt.

You heard some noises of disbelief coming from across the room, but you didn't even glance up at them, continuing with your work.

Soon enough one additional color on your white clothes was joined by others, a little blue here, pink there, green over here, but you still didn't care.

You wanted to be messy today, and where is it better to do that other than literal art classes?

You could feel the eyes turning to you every once in a while, people glancing up from their own works to watch the way your plain white outfit turned into canvas.

You also felt the way one specific pair of eyes stared into your back, knowing fully well who watched you most attentively.

But you won't give him the pleasure of your attention, he needs to try harder for that.

You didn't know how much time had passed, an hour? Maybe two? But you heard some people already walking out of the class quietly, finishing earlier than others as today's project took them less than the three whole hours you had the classroom available for.

At some point you dodged the paintbrush, settling for your fingers. It wasn't that long until your shirt began matching your skirt, followed by your hands and neck, a little color also found itself on your fishnets.

Too busy in your dreamland you didn't notice Soraya, who was already finished with her piece, taking out her phone and shooting you a couple pictures from the side before gathering her things and leaving.

You could hear footsteps echoing through the hall countless times, the only knowledge about the classroom emptying you got, since you didn't bother to actually look around and see who's left.

You didn't even notice how all noises around you fell completely silent, leaving only your gentle breathing and the sound of your fingers brushing the canvas.

Suddenly you noticed a hand slowly emerging from behind you, reaching for your stained with paint palm, turning it upwards.

You didn't need to look behind you to know whose chest was currently pressed against your back.

“Beautiful.” Was he speaking about your painting or..?

His hand slowly moved from your palm to your wrist, up to your elbow, his fingers leaving a purple trace on their way. You took a quick peek around, not a single person other than you two were left in the room.

His nose grazed your neck, you let out a shaky breath at the faint touch.

“I knew you'll do well today, but you exceeded my wildest expectations.” He whispered against your skin, his breath tickling your hot skin.

Your heartbeat skyrocketed, blush meeting the tips of your ears, but you didn't want to pull away, despite the fact that you didn't even know him that well you felt comfortable being so close to him, fitting against his body like a glove.

Suddenly you felt something warm and wet on your skin, letting out involuntary moan you reached your hand towards his face, currently busy with planting kisses against your skin.

You didn't care about your fingers dirtying his perfect face, he'll live.

And neither did he, too busy with finally being able to be this close to you.

Your head tilted backwards to his shoulder, your eyes fell closed as your hand found its way to his hair grabbing a handful to at least try and steady yourself while his mouth continued exploring all around your neck with hot kisses.

His arms embraced your waist tightly, holding you even closer to himself, your free hand grasped his wrist.

“You have no idea...” He whispered against your skin. “How much I wanted you.”

His hand which you weren't holding onto wandered to your chin, turning your face to him.

“Everyday I could only look at you but never touch, it was a torture.”

He took a moment to gaze into your drunk-like eyes before his lips crashed into yours, taking away your ability to breath.

Your fingers pulled at his hair before traveling lower to his neck, not letting him move away.

When did innocent stolen glances turn into this?

His teeth nipped your lip, forcing out a moan out of you and your mouth falling open slightly, giving him a perfect opportunity to push his tongue inside.

You didn't notice when his hand left your chin, too busy making out to allow your thoughts to linger.

That was until you felt something cold caressing your nipple through the thin shirt.

You broke the kiss, allowing yourself a moment to breathe and looked down.

His dipped in blue paint hand brushed your hardened nipple before his palm cupped your breast, allowing his thumb to draw circles around the sensitive bud.

You let out a shaky breath and leaned your head back to his shoulder once again, your eyes traveling to his which were currently busy observing the way your body responded to his touch.

His tongue ran over his suddenly dry lips, wanting more than just to touch you.

Without giving you a moment of breather he bent down over your shoulder, both of his hands moving to your chest while yours were forced to stay on the stool next to your body, stabilizing you, one of his palms continued massaging your bud while the other lifted your second boob to his awaiting mouth.

You let out a whine at his mouth sucking your nipple through your shirt, leaving a wet patch behind, your back arched pressing your chest straight into his passionate touch.

You become hyper aware of the wetness pooling out of you, your legs clenching involuntarily.

The now wet material of your shirt clung to your breast like second skin, your erected bud perfectly visible through the fabric.

Unable to resist the temptation any longer Rafayel moved his hand to pull the material down, exposing your pretty breasts to the cool air of the room.

Your shirt straps fell down your shoulders as your shirt held onto your stomach.

Moving a little bit away from you, Rafayel watched the way your chest rose up with each breath you took, but something was missing.

His eyes fell towards the pink paint not too far away from him, dipping his fingers in it before he returned his attention to you.

His fingers gently met your skin again. He savoured the way you arched your back as the cold substance touched your burning skin.

He watched mesmerized as your skin slowly turned into his personal art piece. But his patience proved to be rather thin when it came to you, as he couldn't keep his focus on being slow and gentle with you while your body begged for his attention.

“Are you enjoying yourself?” He asked in a raspy voice, not giving you the time to answer as his mouth returned to your now bared breast.

The explosion of sensations made your entire body tremble slightly, your hand shot up to his head, hugging him closer to yourself. “Ah... Y-yes-” Your shaky, quiet voice pleasured his eardrums. “Please, Rafayel... More.” You whispered as his tongue slipped out from his mouth to lick your now damp nipple.

“More?” He asked, not moving his mouth away from you, his hot breath caressed your skin. “You want more?” He sucked hard on your bud, pulling your entire breast up as his hand left it without support, traveling down your body, stopping on your lower stomach. “Do you need me here, cutie?” He let go of your breast with a plop, resulting in it jumping up a bit before settling in its place, the other still gently massaged by his other palm.

“Yes, please.” You whispered into his ear, opening up your legs as an invitation.

He felt his dick throb at the view.

The slit on your skirt exposed your thigh, giving him a perfect opportunity to sink his hand under the material.

Which he did.

His palm without rush traveled your entire exposed thigh before slowly moving his hand back up, this time; under the previously clean, white material.

Your hips moved impatiently to which he responded by squeezing your breast as a warning.

Your eyes rose up from his hand disappearing under your skirt to his face, he was already looking at you.

Keeping the eye contact you moved your hand to caress his ear while leaning on your other one still planted against the wooden surface of the seat, slowly from his ear you moved it to his neck once again, bringing his face closer.

“Please.” You breathed out a millimeter away from his lips, a second later catching them in a kiss. His hand squeezed your chest once again at the unexpected affection before he let himself drown in it.

It was weirdly sweet and gentle compared to the situation you were currently in, but he didn't change the tempo, leaving it soft and not rushing.

But his hand was much more wicked than his mouth, as with one sharp move he ripped the material of your fishnets right at your opening, you only managed to let out a surprised gasp that he swallowed.

His palm touched your pussy through the soaked material of your underwear, you parted your lips in a silent whine but didn't pull back from him, at least not before he applied preasure right at your clit.

Letting out a moan you bit your lip, remembering where you were, but there was no way in hell you'll be stopping him now.

His palm left your breast to fully wrap his arm under your chest, holding you close to him as his other hand began slowly moving in circles around your sensitive bud.

You let your face fall to his chest, his chin planted on the top of your head while you listened to his quicken heartbeat.

Unrushed, his fingers moved the wet material to the side and despite not being able to see you with your skirt in the way he still managed to find all your weak spots just by the sense of touch.

“Raf...” You whispered into his crumpled shirt as his fingers gently explored your slit without the fabric in the way.

“I know baby, don't worry, I got you.” He gave your forehead a soft kiss before dipping his finger into you without any warning.

You let out a quiet cry, tugging at his shirt.

You were so wet and relaxed he was able to pull his digit all the way in without any problems.

Slowly he began moving it inside you, listening to the squelching noise your pussy made with his every move.

“Shh, keep quiet for me.” He cooed into your ear before a second finger went inside you.

You clung to him like to a salvation, while he continued pleasuring you.

His fingers speed up their movements, more wet sounds filled the quiet and empty classroom.

You wanted to moan loudly, but forced yourself to bite your lip and take it silently.

“Good girl.” He praised noticing your struggles, his fingers speed up again while his thumb focused on your swollen clit.

Your mouth opened in response to the stimulation he put you through, eyes closing in delight as you felt your stomach clenching.

“I'm-” You tried to warn him to which he responded by quickening his pace even more, abusing that spongy spot inside you. “Clo- fuck- close!” You cried out, holding onto him tightly.

“Let go for me, princess.” He said and you couldn't hold it any longer, falling apart in his hands, going limp as he held you.

The sensation shot through your entire body, his fingers slowed down their abuse before gently retreating from your cunt.

Oh fuck that was the most intense orgasm you ever had.

Rafayel continued holding you while you slowly came back to yourself, breathing hard.

Just then you reminded yourself that you didn't think about his pleasure at all, you opened your eyes while your palm slowly moved down towards the tent in his pants. But before you could have squeezed his length through the material of his pants his hand came to stop you, grasping onto your wrist and pulling your palm away from his hard dick.

“Not today, princess.” He smiled at you, totally innocent as if his other hand wasn't still under your skirt.

Speak of the devil; as in the same moment he moved his palm from under your clothes and moved it up to his mouth.

You watched with widened eyes as he put his soaked by you digits into his mouth, testing you like he would savour an expensive dish.

You felt even more wetness leaking out of you at the view.

“Delicious.” He smiled again, unbothered by your surprise as he pulled you in for another kiss, you could taste yourself on his mouth as you got lost in the sensation once again.

The moment you pulled away you finally reminded yourself what you just did.

“Holy fu- We just...” You breathed out, looking at yourself in disbelief.

“We just had some fun together, well earned fun, might I add.” He said casually, caressing your cheek gently.

His eyes fell down for a moment, widening slightly at the sight of your bare breasts, full of love bites and paint. His dick won't go to sleep anytime soon, that's for sure.

He took a good while to take you in. Your hair didn't look messy, but still didn't look very fresh either, your top still rested on your stomach with the straps holding onto your elbows, waiting to be pulled up again, your skirt was full of colors placed there by you yourself through the lecture, now maybe your fishnets didn't look broken, however that was only because the rip was hidden behind your skirt, together with your soaked panties which were probably still planted to a side, right where he left them.

He felt his face heating up, you looked like a walking sinful masterpiece.

His masterpiece.

“Your clothes are dirty because of me.” He followed your gaze down to take a look at himself, and sure enough he noticed random patches of paint every here and there, but he didn't care.

“It's okay, I have spare ones in my office anyway.” He calmed you down.

Noticing how suddenly you saddened up he began worrying that maybe he overstepped, maybe it was too early for this step, maybe-

But you silenced his panicked mind with a simple hug.

He took a second to reciprocate, surprised by your affection.

You looked fragile in his arms, as if the whole confidence from an hour ago has left you.

He got worried that maybe he really did something wrong.

“We shouldn't have.” You said gently into his neck, not pulling back.

“We shouldn't.” He agreed.

“Do you regret it?” Your voice broke, as if you wanted to cry.

“No.” He answered instantly, not a hint of hesitation. “Do you?” You shook your head.

Pulling back from him you fixed your shirt to hide your chest, the material didn't lay on you as good as it did before but it had to do for now.

“You're my professor.” You looked into his eyes, he looked at you with worry plastered on his face, nodding his head gently. “No one can know.” You said and stoop up from your seat on shaky legs.

Instantly his hand caught your waist to stabilize you, to which you responded with a grateful smile.

“It will be our secret.” You said while not moving away from him just yet. He nodded once again, too stunned to speak, you didn't just turn around and leave him alone after you got what you wanted?

You smiled at him again, looking like an angel in his eyes.

Pulling even closer to him you gave him one more kiss, savouring the feeling for later.

And then finally you turned around gathering your things slowly.

You heard him walking away, but didn't glanced back at him, a sound of a key turning in the lock broke the silence. You reached under your skirt to fix your panties, which didn't feel comfortable as of now at all.

But then when you picked up your bag from the floor you felt something dropping onto your shoulders.

His cardigan.

You looked behind you while holding the edges of his sweater together.

Without any words he simply kissed you once again, putting all his feelings into that one, last peck.

Pulling apart felt like a crime, but you had to.

“Have a good day, professor.” You turned around and moved away, glancing one last time over your shoulder before going through the door.

Luckily there wasn't anyone on your way through the university's hallway as most people already finished with their lectures for today.

You walked out of the building and took a very much needed breath of fresh air.

Your mind worked overtime, what will happen after today?

Will he act like he didn't do anything?

No, there's no way he will, right..?

Your legs still felt like jelly and with every step you took you could feel the way your abdomen squeezed in uncomfortable motion. Your long and hurried steps didn't help it, as you wanted to make it home as soon as you could.

You needed your bed, or a bath, preferably both.

You picked out your phone to check the time, noticing that it was an hour after your usual lecture ending time.

Next thing you noticed were notifications from social media and your group chat with Sora and Angie.

The Normal One

[5 images send]

if our professor won't tap that I know people who would

The images were you during the lecture, specifically you sitting and focusing on your painting, outfit dirty from paints, not caring about the world even a bit.

You had to admit you looked hot.

Horny Demon

IM GIVING HIM ONE WEEK MAX BEFORE HE WILL LOSE HIS CHANCE

The Normal one

sure, we both know that you just don't want to lose our bet

Horny Demon

I NEED THAT ICE CREAM U PROMISED OKAY?

Anyways where the hell is our teacher s pet?

@.Professor's Princess wake the fuck up

The Normal One

the lecture should have ended like 30 minutes ago

Horny Demon

SUS

The Normal One

why?

Horny Demon

DID SHE FINALLY FUCKED HIM???

The Normal One

hell nah... I think

Horny Demon

@.Professor's Princess @.Professor's Princess @.Professor's Princess

IF YOU WONT ANSWER IN THE NEXT 5 MINUTES IM CHANGING YOUR NAME TO PROFESSOR S SLUT

The Normal One

lmao even threats started

Horny Demon

I NEED TO KNOW!!!

The Normal One

let me just tell u that if she actually does fuck a professor rn u won't know until later, so be patient baby ❤️

Horny Demon

Fu

The Normal One

is that a proposition?

Horny Demon

:*

The last text was from 10 minutes ago. You ran your fingers through your hair and took a moment to gather your thoughts before answering.

Professor's Princess

I'm here

Instantly you saw the ‘viewed by...’ under your message.

Horny Demon

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN YOUNG LADY?

Professor's Princess

Guess :p

Horny Demon

OH YOU SO WERE WITH UR HOT PROFESSOR

The Normal One

you don't respond to my messages that fast lmao

Professor's Princess

10 points to Hufflepuff 👏

Horny Demon

OH MY GOD???

The Normal One

ain no fucking way.

Horny Demon

YOU FUCKD HIM?!!!

Professor's Princess

not yet ;)

Horny Demon

???

ARE U HOME YET???

Professor's Princess

Getting there

Horny Demon

CALL US THE MOMENT YOULL WALK THROUGH THE DOOR WE HAVE A URGENT TOPIC TO DISCUSS!

Professor's Princess

yes, ma'am

The phonecall lasted an hour, at some point you were making yourself food in your underwear while talking to them about what happened, too lazy to put on fresh clothes.

Their reactions to the knowledge about the Rafayel finger fucking you in his classroom were absolutely priceless.

Angela screamed and dropped her phone, running around her apartment like crazy (luckily her roommate wasn't home), while Soraya opened up her camera just to show you her shocked expression that lasted 2 minutes before she started laughing so much she couldn't breathe.

Once again they promised not to tell anyone your secret, teasing you for seducing your professor for the whole hour after which you finally said goodbye.

You sat down on the couch with your food, turning on the TV on some random channel to entertain yourself during your dining.

The feeling of his fingers working deep inside you didn't leave your memory for even a second. Holy shit you actually did it.

Glancing at the carelessly thrown onto the floor clothes you felt your cheeks heat up.

He made you feel so good, so comfortable... As if you knew him for much longer than two and half months, as if your body recognized him, craved him the way your mind did.

For whatever reason you believed that he won't hurt you, won't break your heart, instead treating it like his dearest treasure.

Your eyes moved to your half finished dinner before turning to the TV screen where main characters currently confessed their love to each other in some depressive settings.

Then you looked down onto yourself.

A random loose t-shirt thrown onto your bare upper body hiding the material of your underwear almost perfectly. Of course it was fresh underwear, the other one felt too uncomfortable after your juices completely drowned it...

You moved to lay on your back, knees up, opening your legs slightly.

Your hand moved down to caress your clit through your panties...

You didn't know why but the sudden need for relief was too hard to resist. Closing up your eyelids you reminded yourself of the way his body pressed into you through the fabrics of your clothes, the way his hard length, that you didn't have time to play with, felt, the way his eyes gazed into yours, watching you attentively as you surrendered to the pleasure he graced you with.

Your fingers slipped under the damp material, you let out a shaky moan.

“Rafayel...” You whispered into the night.

Unknowingly to you: your little fun disrupted someone's attempts at painting...

With each second of your body falling deeper into the pleasure he could feel it in his whole body, his mind clouding with memories of your sounds and expressions, your painted body showing before his eyes each time they fell closed.

Oh how much he would give to be next to you right now...

But he had to settle for less as of now.

His hand traveled past the waistband of his loose pants, his vivid imagination showing him sinful images of what could have happened if you were next to him right now.

And together but separately you chased after the pleasure, calling out each other's names into the nothingness as you let yourself go, wanting only one thing.

To cross all boundaries.

“I heard bitches from my class talking about your man like they were dogs in heat.” Angela complained while sitting next to you and Soraya.

All three of you had some free time before the next lectures and decided to kill some time in the academy cafeteria.

“My man?” You raised your eyebrows in confusion.

“Your future man if you want to focus on the details, which we don't do, cause he's your man already in my eyes.” She added, looking at you like you just insulted her entire family.

You nodded slowly, picking up your drink to run away from the topic.

“I swear I'm this close to closing you and him in some empty room just to force you to talk about your feelings.” Yeah, she wasn't about to drop it.

“Our feelings? How do you know how he feels about me, he might as well just be playing around.” You voiced your concerns out loud, even though you tried not to think about that possibility.

“Girl, are we deadass right now?” Oh she was mad...

“Honestly if he was just playing with you as you said, he wouldn't get you off and treat you like a porcelain while not letting you touch him at all to return the favor.” Soraya finally spoke up. “Guys think with their dicks, if he didn't feel anything towards you be wouldn't act like... That.”

“How can you know how guys think? You have never dated one in your entire life.” You said jokingly, but honestly grateful for the reassurance.

“Are we for real right now? Who doesn't know how the male gender works?” She looked insulted, you chuckled at the sight.

“Anyways.” Once again you turned your head to Angela. “I'm sure that he likes you back. Really, from what you told us he seems crazy over you, dare I say.” Suddenly instead of a playful, mischievous spark you saw honesty in her eyes.

“I wish I could believe that, but really we haven't talked even once. It's all about stolen glances and touches away from prying eyes. I just wish he would tell me what am I to him, but really we have no way of even having this conversation.” We have no right to be, you thought.

”Oo-ooh...” You glanced at 'Raya, noticing her eyes focused on something in the distance, following her gaze you and Angela turned around.

Rafayel was standing in the entrance to the hall with his arms crossed... Looking straight at you...

“Someone's in trouble..?” Angela whispered to you, staring at your professor.

“I don't think so..?” You whispered back.

Noticing how your attention was finally on him he grinned slightly and turned around to leave. Suspiciously glancing back at you over his shoulder before disappearing.

“Go to him.” You looked over at your classmate, unsure. “Ain no way he was here by accident, looking at you like he wanted to eat you whole, run, girl, I think your talk is due.”

Not waiting for second thoughts to appear you stood up and fixed your dress, abandoning your almost finished lunch in the name of what you think was love...

“Be ready to buy me those ice cream.” Angie said, looking in the direction where you disappeared a second ago. She heard a snort coming from her girlfriend and smiled, hoping for the best for you.

Meanwhile you were busy chasing Rafayel's shadow while trying not to look too suspicious to the students you passed.

Damn this building was really huge, you remembered how many times you lost your way during your first year here.

Taking another turn you didn't see him in front of you anymore.

There were three corridors before you and no sight of Rafayel... Where could he go? It was a wing full of storage rooms, almost no one passed by here on accident.

Looking around you noticed one door on your right slightly ajar, soft light coming from the inside.

Unable to turn back now you slowly strolled towards the door, coming close enough to it you took one deep breath before reaching for the door handle and opening it wider without any rush.

First thing you noticed was a painting work place, canvas turned away from you, not letting you see what's on it, then your gaze moved to the side, a silhouette looked out of the window, as if oblivious to your presence.

For a moment longer you contemplated turning around and walking away, but then you heard his voice, “Leaving already?” And instantly you froze with a hand still holding onto the door handle.

You swallowed nervously, feeling a lump in your throat. “I didn't want to disturb you, professor, sorry.” Your voice sounded unsure, even though you tried your best to hide your stress.

It was easier when he made the first move...

You waited for him to say something, each second dragging like hours spent in the room without anything to do but think.

Noticing how he didn't move an inch, still facing away from you, you began feeling shy, as if all the things that happened between you weren't truly real, as if it was something completely made up by your mind.

You took a step back. “I should-”

“Don't go.” Finally his head turned your way, his eyes falling onto your hesitant form.

He looked... Sad?

You looked at each other for a moment, holding your breath as if letting it out would pop the bubble you created around yourself.

Then you finally took a step forward, then another one, closing the door behind you.

All the while keeping eye contact with the man of your dreams.

The silence lasted a while longer, either one of you not knowing how to start this conversation.

And when you finally opened up your mouth you noticed him walking towards you hurriedly.

“Professor-” His lips landed on yours, your bag fell to the ground.

You let out a high pinched squeak from the shock, instinctively trying to pull away but he didn't let you, his palms raised to your face, holding it sternly but without causing you any pain.

Your hands reached up to his elbows, grasping onto them to steady yourself, eyes falling close as you reciprocated the maddening kiss.

His lips moved against yours like there was no tomorrow, as if he needed you like air.

He took a step closer to your body making you stumble, your faces broke away from each other for a moment, “Rafa-” He didn't let you finish, instantly leaning in again to kiss you.

Your body met with the wall behind you, his palm fell to the back of your head to ensure you won't hit it too hard, his other hand reached behind you to lock the door with a key before returning to you, embracing your waist.

Your hands fell plain to his torso, you didn't know what was happening, all the stress from a minute ago seemingly disappearing, but the uncertainty stayed there.

You were busy making out for at least a couple of minutes, swallowing each other moans at the slightest touch of your bodies, but you had to finally break away from the kiss because of the need to breathe.

Turning your head to the side you let his lips fall to your cheek, both of you breathing heavily.

“I have another lecture to attend.” You said quietly, not really wanting to move away.

“I'll take care of that later, just stay with me.” He answered and you weren't going to argue.

You turned to face him once again, your bodies pressed together tightly, you could feel his penis hardening up against you, your cheeks heat up.

“We really shouldn't.” You said while looking into his eyes.

“Do you want to leave?”

You shook your head. “Hell no, I dreamed of you every day.” You confessed, watching his ears gain a pretty pink color.

“Then stay, and let me devour you.” His lips fell onto yours again, hands grabbing onto the material of your dress while his body continued pressing you into the wall.

Your arms embraced his neck, holding him tightly, the thought of him moving away unbearable.

“Please, professor.” You breathed out against his lips, unable to tear away from him. “Take care of me.” His hands slid down to your ass, grabbing it tightly before forcing you to jump onto him, your legs wrapped around his waist without a protest, the skirt of your dress rode up.

Making sure to keep you steady in his arms he walked over to his desk, not stopping his abuse on your mouth for a moment, his tongue meeting with yours.

One of his hands left you to throw off the things laying abandoned on his desk before sitting you down on it.

His hands began exploring your covered body, not letting an inch of your skin go untouched, from your back to your shoulder, stomach to chest, thighs down to your knees.

He wanted to imprint the way you felt into his mind, paint your image into the back of his eyelids to see you every time he closed his eyes.

He was drowning in your presence and didn't even want to look for saving, accepting his fate with open arms and heart.

His fingers digged into the skin of your thighs, your hips moved involuntarily, raising to meet his.

He let out a moan at the touch, the friction making his dick twitch in his pants.

Oh you were playing with fire and were not afraid to burn.

Your hands moved from his neck to his collar, hurriedly unbuttoning his shirt, the need to feel his bare hot skin too hard to resist.

You popped out the last button, palms instantly coming to touch him, caressing his soft skin roughly, you were dreaming about the moment you'll finally be able to touch him like this.

Fuck morality.

His palms moved back to your ass, bringing you to the edge of the desk and up to meet his hips.

Your lips moved in sync while you grinded onto each other like there's no tomorrow.

He pulled back from you just to drop his head to your neck, planting open-mouthed kisses on your skin, loud and wet.

You arched into his touch, not wanting to be separated from him for even a second, his fingers traveled under your dress, just like the last time - teasing you through your panties.

“You're already soaked.” He whispered into your skin, coming back to worshipping your neck right after.

You shamelessly rubbed against his fingers, seeking them out, needing them to touch your clit, to sink into you, touch you the way you needed.

Your palm wandered down to his pants, pressing against his hard on.

“Ah-” He moaned surprised, throbbing against your hand.

You began playing with his belt clasp, your mouth opening in a silent whimper when his hand started moving against you faster in response to your actions.

Not wanting to get a princess treatment like the last time you made a quick work with opening up his belt and letting it drop on the floor, unzipping his pants a second later.

But before you could slip your hand into his boxers, his fingers proved to be faster, moving beneath your panties to press against your bare clit.

You couldn't sustain your moan, hips moving up in a reflex, pressing into his palm.

His hand began drawing circles against you, sucking onto your collarbone hard enough to leave marks.

But you didn't let him have all the fun.

Your palms brought the material of his underwear down, exposing him to the cool air of the room.

He stood tall in your hand, precum glistening from the head, you could barely see it with his shoulder in the way of your vision.

But you didn't need to.

Tightening up your grip you began stroking him, feeling each vein pulse against your fingers.

You relished in the soft sounds he let out against your neck, his hot uneven breath tickled your skin.

And then he struck back.

Two of his fingers stretched you out, your thighs tensed up for a moment before letting go, your body accepting the intrusion.

You were so wet you didn't feel any pain or discomfort, that was the way he affected you.

Your hand began moving again in sync with his digits working inside you, he stopped with the kisses, but left his head pressed to your shoulder, needing to be close to you.

You pleasured each other, enjoying every sound made by your bodies, the way your cunt squelched with every move of his fingers, the way you could hear your hand working on his dick, the feeling of his precum smearing across him with every stroke, the way your hearts seemed to beat in sync, and the way your breaths heavier with each second.

Your head empty, leaving only the current moment to matter, nothing outside of this study worthy of your attention.

Suddenly his fingers thrusted into you surprisingly hard, staying knuckles deep in your cunt for a moment, as if taking in the feeling of your clenching walls, you let out a loud moan when they pressed into that one spot making you see stars.

Your palm gripped his dick in response, making him groan.

“I need you.” He panted under your ear, taking out his digits from your hole and taking a step back making you lose your grip on his manhood.

You looked at him questioningly, but didn't have time to voice your thoughts when he grabbed your hips making you stand up.

“Raf-?” He turned you around, making you bend over until your chest met the hard wood of his desk.

You looked over your shoulder, feeling him hitch the material of your dress up, letting it stay wrapped on your waist and moving your panties down, not even letting you step out of them when they fell to your ankles before his chest pressed against you.

You felt the head of his dick pressing against your clit before he used one hand to raise it up to your opening.

“Can I, princess?” He kissed your shoulder gently, using his hand to drag his penis up and down your slit, not daring to put it in without your permission.

You nodded your head hurriedly. “Please, professor, I waited for so long.” You let out, bracing yourself against his desk, preparing for what comes next.

“You're getting off to the thought of your professor fucking you? And here I thought you were more innocent, turns out you're a naughty girl huh?” You grinned to yourself at his teasing, close to letting out a giggle until you felt his head pushing in.

You opened your mouth in a silent moan, head falling down to lay on the hard surface as your eyes rolled to the back of your head.

Slowly he slid into you, inch by inch, your walls welcoming him in.

“Oh fuck-” You whispered when he pushed last inch in, fitting so well inside you.

You felt his hot breath on your back, his hands moving to grab onto your waist, holding you tightly.

He gave your skin one last affectionate kiss before starting to move, leaving your heat halfway before pushing in again, your body rocked with his thrust.

He didn't stop after that, slowly finding his rhythm.

Your hands gripped onto the edges of the desk, he felt so good, like you were meant to fit together,

“Please, faster.” You plead him, looking over your shoulder to meet his lust driven eyes.

“Oh? Is that not enough to satisfy you, princess?” Fuck, his unusually deep voice did things to you.

Feeling you clench at his comment he chuckled in a low tone, as if amused.

“Do you need something more like...” He gripped your waist tighter, fingers digging into your skin. “This?” He thrusted into you harshly, making the entire desk move. You cried out, arching your back.

He repeated the motion, this time moving his hips back until only the head remained inside you before sinking in deep, his balls hitting your clit.

You moaned at the stimulation, wanting nothing more than for him to fuck you forever.

“Tell me, princess, do you like it hard, like this?” He began thrusting again, his tempo increased, not acting gentle now in the slightest, taking what he wanted; what he knew you wanted.

You were like a doll in his arms, ready for him to do anything to you, you could take it.

His fingers took a grip on your hair, pulling your head back harshly, making you arch deeper.

“I asked,” He said right next to your ear, not stopping his hips for a moment. “Do you like it?”

“Yes-” You tried to make a sentence but he sped up the tempo at the same time you let out a word, “Fuck- yes, professor! Please fuck me hard!” You nearly screamed, forgetting where you are.

“Good girl.” He praised, fixing his angle to penetrate you deeper, hitting all your weak spots. You felt your mind go dumb, pussy clenching around him at his words. “I'll give you what you want.” He straightened up, letting go of your hair.

He gripped your waist and hips, his length restlessly moving in you, not giving you a second to breath.

Oh fuck he hit so deep-

You felt your orgasm begging to build, walls involuntarily tightening up around him.

You heard the prettiest, nastiest moan leaving him the moment he felt you clench around him.

His hand left your waist to move to your clit, pressing and caressing it roughly.

You choked on your scream, feet moving to stand on your toes.

You didn't know whether you tried to move your hips back against him, allowing him to hit your sensitive spots even easier, or pull away from his dick at the overwhelming sensation.

“You gonna come for me?” He asked, almost out of breath, feeling close himself, but not wanting to reach his peak before you.

You nodded your head weakly, hips thrusting back against his rapidly, pleasure consuming you.

Wet sounds of sex echoed from the walls, massaging your eardrums in the best way.

“Rafayel-” You let out a yelp, his hand working against you, guiding you to the pleasure you didn't know before.

“Come for me, princess.” Fuck you couldn't take it anymore.

Your pussy clenched around him as if wanting to keep him there forever, hands bracing against the desk to keep you from hitting your head, legs shaking.

You let out a pornographic moan, riding out your intense orgasm.

You wanted this for so long.

Despite the hand from your clit going missing he didn't stop his abusing thrusts, desperate to reach his peak, overstimulating you. “Professor-” You let out weakly, arm reaching behind you to press against his stomach.

“You can take some more, can't you?” He whispered, lost in his pleasure.

You moaned in protest, not sure whether you could handle him for much longer without a break.

He gave you one hard thrust before going still for a moment, balls deep inside you.

You thought he stopped for good, but then he reached for your leg, moving it up until your knee touched the surface of the desk, your panties laying flat on the floor around your other feet.

“Just a little more, baby.” He said, grabbing your ass and looking at the way your pussy stretched out around him.

Then he began moving again, instantly going fast.

You moaned, tears swelling in your eyes at the overstimulation, but you can take it; for him.

“Fuck, your cunt feels so good.” He whispered with invisible to you hearts in his eyes.

You stayed obedient, taking what he gives you, needing his release like you needed painting: necessary for the peace of your soul.

“I'm close-” He moaned out, losing his rhythm.

“Come inside, please!” You begged, looking over your shoulder with pleading eyes.

He looked uncertain.

“I'm on the pill, please, give it to me, Rafayel.” You grabbed the shirt that stayed on his shoulders this entire time, not allowing him to move away from you.

That argument seemed to work, because in a second he reached for your hand, clasping it with his own while the other embraced you tightly, pulling you to him.

“I'll give my everything to you, princess. You don't even need to ask.” He pulled up his hand from your waist to your chin, making your head tilt to the side, swallowing your moans in a kiss.

And then; he came.

Stopping his movements inside you with his dick filling you up to the fullest, throbbing while his cum shot into you.

You moaned into the kiss, both of you hungry for each other, open mouths moving against one another with full intention of sucking the other's soul out.

He pulled away to breath, his forehead meeting with yours, eyes closing when he came back from his high.

It took him a moment, but he had to finally pull out his softening dick from your warm and comfortable walls.

His cum leaked from you the moment he pulled out, he almost got hard again at the view, but he couldn't let himself go that far just yet, he needed to take care of you first.

He pulled up his underwear and pants in a rush, you stayed in the same position he left you in, trying to get your breathing to steady.

He pulled your leg down from the desk, holding your waist to make sure you won't fall when standing up, one of his hands moved to help you raise your other leg up, letting your panties fall to the floor completely.

He moved to his desk chair, holding you tightly and making you take a step with him before he fell onto the seat, pulling you after him to sit on your side on his lap.

Your head fell to his shoulder, chest raising up and down rapidly, heartbeat still going crazy.

He hugged you tightly, letting you rest in him for as long as you'll need it. His palm reached to brush your hair from your resting face before falling once again to your back, caressing it softly.

“You were perfect.” He whispered into your hair, planting a sweet kiss on your head, hearing your content sigh at the gesture.

He noticed you opening up your suddenly heavy eyes, gazing up at him.

“Hm?” He looked right back at you with a small smile.

Your hand moved up, touching his cheek gently and bringing his face to yours, your lips meet in a soft kiss, the simple affection providing comfort to the both of you.

You didn't know yet what that meant to your relationship, but one thing was obvious:

There's no way you'll let each other go separate ways after that.

Your kiss broke, your head falling into the crain of his neck as you cuddled.

Your eyes opened lazily to take in your surroundings, something you didn't have time to focus on before.

The walls were in a cold blue tone, floor and the furniture in dark brown, ceiling plain white.

It wasn't much, but it felt cozy, despite the melancholic feeling it brought you.

Then your eyes picked at something you saw earlier, but from a different angle.

The canvas you noticed before bears an unfinished painting of a female silhouette in a white dress sitting on the road, drawn from her back, she watched an ocean that spread in the distance, between the trees on the sides looking like they opened up before her to show her the view.

Beautiful, like each work of Rafayel's.

You didn't linger on who might be the woman in his painting, too tired to think.

“Tired?” He asked as if reading your mind. You nodded into his chest, not wanting to move an inch away from his embrace.

A moment of silence followed before he spoke up again.

“I need to get you home.”

“Already?” You murmured, still not moving.

“Everyone's in lecture right now, it'll be easy to sneak off through the side entrance.” He explained with a chuckle at your behavior.

“Yhym, okay...” You agreed, still not moving-

He chuckled once again, standing up with you in his arms and placing you back onto the chair, without him under you for support.

You opened up your eyes again to send him a questioning glance, but he didn't take notice of it, walking over to the other side of the room and opening up one of the shelves.

You watched as he picked a folded black fabric and began taking off his pants.

Your eyes widened but you didn't turn around, taking in the sight of his legs...

“It's not nice to stare, you know.” Looking up you noticed that he was watching you with a smirk.

You blushed a little but also grinned slightly.

“I'm just enjoying the show,” You said to which he only shook his head and unfolded what turned out to be a fresh pair of pants, putting them on. “Why are you changing?”

He looked over at you with an even bigger smirk. “Because someone's pussy left stains that would look too suspicious for others.” He watched as you suddenly got shy, hiding your face in your knees. Cute.

Laughing he buttoned up his shirt, leaving the last two buttons open, then he picked up another fabric from the shelf before closing it and moving back to you.

You felt his arm embracing you and pulling you up to stand which you did without a protest.

The uncomfortable feeling in your legs and stomach was back, you let out a sigh before you could stop it.

“It's okay. I'm here.” He said while holding you tightly to his body, comforting you when you didn't even know you needed it.

You felt his hands traveling past your waist to your sides, his fingers fixing the previously pulled up by him fabric to cover your ass again, you felt something soft wrapping around you a second after.

Glancing down you noticed he covered your legs with a blanket, wrapping it around your waist.

Without waiting for any comment he picked you up princess style, holding the fabric to your body together with your bag that he picked up from the floor a moment earlier.

Your hands came up to his neck immediately, sending him a questioning gaze.

“Hold tight and press your face to my shoulder.” He began walking to the door with you.

“What if someone recognizes me anyway?” You did as you were told anyway, not in the mood to be rational.

“There's no cameras on the path we'll take and everyone has lectures in a different wing, as you probably already know, besides: do you really think I care about this job enough to give a shit?” He unlocked the door, giving you a fake-hurt expression before focusing on walking down the quiet corridor.

You pressed your face tighter into him, enjoying the way he carried you in his arms, even if you should be scared half to death right now.

“It's really risky.” You mumbled, not really caring at this point.

“Not enough of a reason for me to let you walk back home on your own again, I already failed at taking care of you once, won't do it again.” You looked up at the side of his face, could you fall even deeper for this guy?

You squinted your eyes the moment you walked through the exit door, sunlight not sparing your eyeballs the pain.

He carried you all the way to his car before letting you down right before the passenger doors, fishing up the key from his packet that he picked up from the floor earlier after he threw off everything from the desk...

Clicking a button he heard the car unlocking, instantly he reached to open the door for you and make sure you and the blanket are both tugged inside before closing them.

He glanced around; no living being in sight.

Walking around the car he finally sat in the driver's seat, giving you your bag back.

He turned on the car and drove off in silence that stayed for longer, both of you comfortable just sitting in each other's presence.

You searched through your bag for your phone, finding it pretty fast you unlocked it to see whether you had any new messages.

There were a few not from the group chat, but from the private chat with Soraya.

Ray of Pessimism

some people in class asked why u disappeared, I said u threw up in the bathroom and went home, make sure to follow the sorry tomorrow or we're fucked

story* fcking autocorrect

btw i'm not sending it on groupchat cause apparently angie got some assholes in her next class that don't know what's privacy, she hid the chat but if we send smth there it will be visible again, so wait until she'll give u the greenlight to text there

after all we don't want u or ur hot professor in trouble, do we now

You giggled a bit, not caring about Rafayel's gaze turning to you curiously.

Me

Got it, and thank you, I'll make sure to stick to your story :p

ttyl

You put your phone back into your bag, gazing out of the window.

“Penny for your thoughts?” You turned back to Rafayel whose eyes were fixed on the road.

“Just thinking about... Us.” You exhaled, still not sure what to call the situation you found yourself in.

“What about us?”

“Just... What are we, and what we're supposed to do with this situation.” He glanced at you, not looking stressed in the slightest.

“What do you want us to be?” He asked, like the answer was the easier thing to say out loud.

“I'm... Not sure?” You said uncertainty, wishing for him to make the decision.

“Not sure huh? Because I think you're pretty sure, actually.” He stopped the car and got out of it a moment later, like he didn't just make your overthinking go wild.

The door to your side opened and only then you finally noticed that you were next to your place of living.

Wait, how did he know where you live-

He offered you his hand which you took, carefully exiting the vehicle on your still shaky legs.

He walked you over to the doorsteps, supporting you all the way to make sure you won't stumble and fall.

Right before your door you turned around to face him, unsure of what should be said.

Both of you stood in silence for a moment, looking at each other and thinking too much.

“I just-”

“I wanted to-”

You laughed at the accident, he smiled in return.

“Go first.” You said, he took a deep breath.

“I don't want to be just your professor. I can't do it, I want you too much to stay away.” He admitted, and for a moment you saw vulnerability on his face, something he didn't show often.

You glanced down at your feet for a moment before your eyes returned to his.

“Good, because I didn't intend for it to be just a one time thing.” You said honestly.

Taking a step forward you let your lips fall onto his once again, gentle, unhurried, taking in the moment.

None other part of you touched, letting your lips do the talking without words.

It took a minute or two before you pulled away.

You looked into his pretty eyes, taking in the blush that rose on his cheeks before finally turning around and unlocking your door with a fingerprint.

Opening them up you turned back around. “Wanna come in?” You grinned.

He moved forward before you could have asked a second time, and in the spasm of laughing and taking off your shoes you randomly reminded yourself about one small detail

“Wait, my panties stayed in your office?”

“Did you hear the rumors?” Angela heard from beside her the moment she took a seat in the lecture hall.

“What rumors?” The girl beside her was known for gossip, and despite not being one to believe in rumors easily Angie was still curious.

“Apparently the hottest professor to ever exist fucked someone yesterday, probably in the bathroom.” Angie looked at her classmate with distrust, she was a very good actor...

“How do you know that?”

“Someone saw from a window that he carried a woman to his car.” She said, excited for some reason.

“Damn, okay.” She was this close to taking out her phone and sending you a text about the rumor, but it had to wait for now.

“Do you understand what it means?” The girl continued, not taking a hint to drop it.

“What does it mean?” Girl shut up already, Angie begged in her head.

“If he fucked one student, then it means we have a chance too!” If eyes could kill, the stupid girl would be already laying underground.

“Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night.” Angela turned around, signaling that she didn't want to continue that conversation and heard how the girl began talking about it with someone else a second later.

As if anyone would want to fuck you... She rolled her eyes at the thought.

In the meantime you and Soraya had a lecture with Rafayel, he was talking about something to do with the renaissance, complaining about too many things concerning that exact topic.

“He what..?” You heard whispers from all around you, glancing at 'Raya who sat beside you sent her a questioning glance which she reciprocated, also with no clue what was going on.

“... Fucked a student...” You overheard, and instantly you knew what this was about.

“No way...”

“Rafayel?”

“Who's the lucky girl?”

“I volunteer to be next!”

You glanced at your friend again, who sent you a smirk, raising her hand to her lips and zipping them with an invisible fly in the air.

You chuckled quietly.

“Yeah, who is it?” She whispered into your ear, making you shake harder while suppressing your giggle.

“One more whisper and I'm going to just leave.” You heard your lover's stern voice, instantly all eyes turned to him. “I'm already using my precious time to come here and teach you, when I could be painting instead, if you want a different professor that badly I can quit anytime, don't worry.”

You knew he would, yesterday he told you that he doesn't care if someone knows that he began a relationship with a student, you were both adults, and he really, really didn't care about this job.

He said he agreed to give lectures only because he was bored, and planned to quit after a year or so, which honestly sounded like him.

A couple people began protesting at the thought of him quitting, after all - many attended this class only because it was him and no one else.

An eye candy instead of a 40 year old misogynistic dude was rare enough, they couldn't let this one go.

“We apologize, professor, we were just talking that your partner must be so lucky to have you.” One girl teased, probably expecting instant dismissal from him at the idea of having someone, but to her and everyone's shock, he didn't drop the topic.

“It's the other way around, I'm the lucky one to have her.” He said like it was a well known fact?

Soraya's mouth dropped, looking at you with a smile that she tried to hide.

He turned around and stopped paying attention to the nosy people, continuing with his lecture.

Now: let's wait until the message will spread that he's taken, it will be funny to watch everyone trying to figure out who the mysterious partner is...

©alexrosa13 on tumblr

taglist @pozuki @animegamerfox

[certified-bi]

Okay all my thoughts because some people have been saying that not supporting this change is not supporting artist and creators and as an artist fuck that.

1. Audiences owe you nothing. You have to convince them to engage with your creation not the other way around. This is something both the nonprofit theatre I work with recognizes and huge companies realize. It's just part of life. There are so many talented people in the world making amazing art, videos, music, writings, and on and on, and there's only so much time in the day. I'm not saying you shouldn't know your worth, just that being flippant about how little you care about those who can't pay isn't a good move. On that note...

2. PR is everything. If you haven't made a visible effort to push patreon, channel memberships or other avenues of making money, don't be suprised that your creation that was previously accessible to those without extra cash and to those who can't support foreign subscriptions due either to conversions or because it simply doesn't work, being made private isn't popular. There's a big leap from "We want to have more artistic control" to "We can't afford to make our content accessible to most of our audience," and people are smart enough to see this. You either have to make budget cuts or give into sponsors. This isn't unique to Watcher, it's part of literally every production from broadway, to Hollywood, to YouTube. Unless you can fund it yourself or get viewers to pay(which given how many are already strapped for cash...) that's life.

Not to mention they simply do not have enough followers to make the switch to a paid only site(dropping the first epsiode only on YouTube isn't going to draw people in, they're just going to say "oh why start if I'm not going to see the rest" and not watch) especially not one that is buggy and a security risk. Even if the switch had been supported its not going to end well. The only reason services like nebula and dropout work is because of the large amount of series and creators and the fact those creators still are partly on YouTube so new people are drawn in.

3. As for the price, 6 dollars a month is a not a good starting price for only their content and that's as someone who pays for nebula. I'd be paying the same amount for a fraction of the access to others work. Actually it'd be twice as much. And before someone says "it's only a coffee-" that's for you. Not everyone has your lifestyle. And with every other patreon and subscription service that says the same thing, it all adds up and I simply don't think 60 dollars for 48 videos a year on a subscription basis where you don't get to keep the videos if your situation changes, some of which don't appeal to every viewer is a good move. If you were able to buy physical copies of your favorite series they've made that'd be different, but that's not what this is.

4. I do believe that the employees deserve a livable wage. I also did not hire them. It is not on the viewers that they hired more people than they could afford to. They can charge that much if they want to to try and balance this out. They also shouldn't be suprised if not many can or will sign up. They also don't have to be based in L.A. L.A has ridiculous costs associated with it, and quite honestly it doesn't really add much to the content. I'm not saying they need to move to the middle of nowhere Kansas. Simply that living and basing your studio in a super expensive city and then being suprised money is tight is just weird.

5. Something that occurs to me is that they might get more views if their playlists were better set up. Only some series are given playlists. It'd be easier to find all of the series and binge them if they didn't just show off their more popular shows. Honestly the only draw the streaming site has to me is that the series are actually labeled well.

Do I think the weird ass energy towards Steven is necessary? No. He's not the only one at the company and they're all adults. I actually liked grocery run and homemade, and like to see them back. The parascoial attachment to Ryan and Shane is annoying in people's criticisms, but that doesn't make them completely wrong. If you're going to brand yourself as the anti capalist underdogs you can't get away with being dismissive of your poorer fans. The dissonance is what is causing this backlash and makes you look like hypocrites. I definitely think Steven is turning into the fall guy which is fucked up, his statement and the fact dish granted is one of those shows that make people uncomfortable about wealth flexs doesn't help matters.

[e-vay]

Heyo! Do you have any tips for making comics? :)

I've been meaning to get back into the swing of it, but concentrating on such a commitment that takes so much time is tough sometimes haha.

How do you make it work? Are there things you avoid/make easier for yourself just to make the process more fun and do-able?

First of all, I’m very happy for you! I think it’s very exciting whenever we return to a craft we were once passionate about. I wish you the best of luck!

This is a big question and I don’t think there’s really one simple answer since all artists are different and have their own strengths and weaknesses.

One of the biggest issues I face is that I have a million ideas but I simply don’t have the time to do them all. I want to share all these ideas but if I gave each and every idea the same amount of attention and detail, I’d hardly get anything done. So here are some things I've learned through my own comic-making experience, but keep in mind it may not be what you're looking for. Also remember this is NOT career advice. I make comics for fun, not for a living. If you’re looking for professional advice I would suggest looking elsewhere 👍

1 - A comic doesn't have to be fully rendered to be entertaining. Although I love to draw and line and color my work, it’s not always necessary. If I feel a punchline is strong enough to stand on its own, I’ll just make it into a doodle comic. In fact, I’ve found that some of my doodle comics perform better than the fully rendered ones! The doodle comics are still very fun for me to draw and they also serve as gestural drawing practice, so in the end it doesn’t feel like I'm making a sacrifice. I'm still getting my ideas out there and I'm still drawing, I'm just prioritizing what gets more attention so I can better manage my time.

2 - Not every panel needs an illustrated background. You definitely need to show backgrounds for establishing shots and when characters are interacting with the scene. But sometimes the focus needs to be entirely on the character and/or what they’re saying. You can choose to have a solid color background and maybe add a few textures to keep it visually interesting. You're still putting in the effort to make your art pop, but you aren’t losing a ton of time by drawing dozens of backgrounds. Color is also a good way to convey mood. I do that a lot in my comics, like this bit from “My Gal”:

^ I was trying to show a progression in excitement here, so having the colors change from cool to warm does a better job portraying that than if I just had a standard, scenic forest background for all the panels.

3 - Use resources: That's what they're there for! Because I make all these comics by myself, I have had to find resources to help me get through some of the steps faster so I can focus more on the story writing and the artwork. For example, to help me save time on lettering, I use the Onomatopedia font and the Manero Panels, SFX and Bubbles brush set for Procreate. I’m still selecting the sound effects and choosing the appropriate bubbles and tails to suit the mood and scale of the text, but this has saved me a ton of time because I’m not drawing each individual element by hand over and over again. Personally, I purchased these resources but I'm sure there are plenty of free tools out there that you can use.

As far as making it more fun... Honestly, I just love comics as an art form so much that learning about all the 'rules' and techniques and 'SOP's behind comics makes it more fun for me to make them. I recommend checking out tutorials and tips (even if you think you already know it all) and you might be surprised at how much it might ignite more of your comic-making passion. For example, I've spent hours on Blambot's "How-To" page and on ComicDevices.com just to try and soak up as much as I can. They're full of fascinating reads that make me want to try out different things!

I hope this helps! Good luck with your comics!

[luka--lu]

Anthropological and philosophical analysis of Viktor’s story in Season 2 - Part I

Finally gathered thoughts that floated in my mind since Season 2 had ended. These will literally be my first posts ever, will be a bit chaotic, please be kind, I’m shy. But also very critical.

I’ll preface this by saying that I’m not a person with a disability. I cannot claim to know this experience, because I simply don’t. I love Viktor as a character and it so happens he has a disability, it’s something I always consider when engaging with his story. Besides, his story revolves around his disability since S1 Act 2 and he kind of falls into the trope of ‘disability as character motivation’, but he’s much more than that. And that’s what I want to explore in these posts.

My analytical approach is obviously influenced by my experience as an able-bodied person. I’ve had extensive courses on disability studies while at university and focused my bachelor’s thesis partially on disability representation in media (I focused on scars and ‘deformities’, something many Arcane characters have, but that’s perhaps for another post). To people out there who have disabilities and wish to engage with this post - please let me know your thoughts, I’m genuinely trying to learn more.

I want to stress that in my analysis I’m not saying Viktor is entirely ruined as a character or is bad disability representation. I analyse his story from the perspective of philosophical, cultural and social contexts, and through disability studies theory. I’m not an expert and certainly can't speak on behalf of people with disabilities, I'm talking as an anthropologist and enjoyer of storytelling and art.

That being said, I’ll try to make it coherent and divided by topics, because these’ll be long posts. Some thoughts are a bit disjointed, I’ll be sharing some of my ideas for how Viktor’s arc could’ve been improved. Hopefully it makes sense as a whole.

TRANSHUMANISM & POSTHUMANISIM

Transhumanism as a philosophy and social movement originates from the notion that many people are forced to live worse lives than necessary and can’t reach their full potential. One of the most important thinkers of transhumanism Julian Huxley argued that application of science can prevent poverty, illness and change the world for the better. He literally wrote that ‘the man can manage evolution’. 

Viktor represents transhumanist ideology in a way that, in Season 2, he literally can’t refuse the job - he was forced the moment Jayce fused him with the Hexcore. Sure, he could have refused to use its power now residing in his body. But the writers chose to disallow him that choice. So Viktor ‘heals’ Huck and begins his Jesus Era. Viktor later asks Singed if the doctor believes in fate, which is followed by Viktor declaring evolution has a course - superseding nature. This way Viktor exemplifies Huxley’s idea of what transhumanism is:

(...) whether he [man, as in human] is conscious of what he is doing or not, he is in point of fact determining the future direction of evolution (...). That is his inescapable destiny and the sooner he realizes it and starts believing in it, the better for all concerned. (Huxley, Transhumanism)

If the Hexcore was actually sentient and controlled Viktor, then I guess it’s the soul of Julian Huxley.

The same way Huxley's work was grounded in a desire to make the world a better place, so is Viktor’s. His dream of betterment of his people's lives was the primary motivation of Viktor’s character, but it got hijacked by the magical mumbo jumbo of the Hexcore and Arcane powers in S2. His transhumanist ideology wasn’t developed organically, the story just jumps to act 2 and then 3 without proper explanation as to why he turned to this philosophy so radically.

Important to add, Huxley was a eugenicist. Kinda wild to take transhumanist ideas and write Viktor’s, a disabled man’s arc, the way they did. Viktor wanted to use technology to change the world, but writers said: ‘hmm, what if… magic?? And eugenics! because he has internalised ableism now!’ But more on that later.

Central question regarding transhumanism is who decides what’s an enhancement and what’s a limitation. The short answer is: it’s a personal choice, we can use inventions to improve quality of life if we wish. Yes, some things can be a choice, but in reality it’s kind of compulsory, because the society is built in a way that demands conformity.

Viktor changed himself instead of trying to change the world the way he intended to in S1. His arc was derailed from his initial will to act for the society that needed positive change. Progress for Piltover meant technological advancement in the name of scientific and economic gain. In Viktor’s transhumanist vision progress is about extending the self - to live without suffering, to cure physical and mental afflictions of Zaunites. It goes beyond his motivation to cure his disease, his actions in S2 don’t fit his characterization in S1. This is why I believe inserting parts of his original League Lore into Arcane would have made an amazing story with transhumanism as background.

Good part of technology is that it gives us opportunities for different forms of embodiment. Embodiment, important in phenomenology and feminist studies, means how we experience ourselves as a living body that feels the world as we inhabit it -  how we experience it in connection to us, simultaneously being influenced and influencing the world. There’re plenty of theories that tackle this concept, but let me go the short way.

Transhumanist philosophers talk at length about progress in relation to embodiment. Critics ask questions about the ethical side: who’s gonna get to use the technology to enhance themselves? What about people who can’t afford technology used for the enhancement? How will technology influence the embodiment of certain people? Specifically, what does this philosophy say about disability?

I will talk more about disability in another section, but transhumanists consider physical disabilities as something open to changes. Different technologies can be used as mobility aids, advanced procedures could help with improving the standard of life for people with disabilities.

But there still remains a question: what kinds of disability are considered in need of improvement? If technology changes a disabled person's body so they can function similar to able-bodied people, then is the category of 'disabled' even relevant anymore? Is there a definite line when it comes to influencing the body with technology? What kind of progress do transhumanists actually seek and for whom?

We don't hear Viktor’s stance on ideas similar to transhumanist ones until his talk with Singed, but it's a bit convoluted and isn't developed well enough to be an interesting take on a very controversial and fascinating philosophy that is transhumanism. It’s only indirectly addressed at the end by Old Man Jenkins Viktor when he says ‘There’s no prize to perfection, only an end to pursuit’, meaning that the glorious evolution doesn't really have a destination, even though Viktor believed so.

The change transhumanists seek can never actually reach a final perfect end - who and when will decide what the end of human evolution looks like? What is the ultimate, trans- or even posthuman form we’re supposed to achieve? Arcane seems to argue that nobody will ever be able to decide, even with godlike powers and knowledge.

Old Man Jenkins Viktor calls back to primary belief of posthumanism, which Nietzshe wrote about:

Man is not the effect of some special purpose, of a will, an end; nor is he an object of an attempt to attain an ‘ideal of humanity’ or ‘an ideal of happiness’ or an ‘ideal of morality’. It is absurd to wish to devolve one’s essence on some end or other. We have invented the concept of ‘end’: in reality there is no end. (Nietzshe, Twilight of the Idols)

Posthumanism is another philosophy that provides an interesting context for analysing Viktor’s arc in S2. I first focused on transhumanism since his story originally involved using technology to change lives. But Viktor seems to mix transhumanism and posthumanism.

Posthumanism is more about getting rid of core values of humanism. it’s about going beyond what makes humans, well, humans, which is a lot of things (biology, culture, economy, science, politics, environment, religion, social relations ect.). Posthumanism states that humans aren’t really that special, and argues that there are many other creatures and things that are equally as innovative as humans. It’s a philosophy critiquing anthropocentrism. It dismisses the notion of humans as apex creatures that can control and bend the world to their needs and will. The will to extend ourselves and find power within us isn’t exclusively a human trait - all organisms and things on Earth have that potential (interesting that in the destroyed Piltover Jayce saw the flora and fauna still expanded at the top of the Hexgates).

Viktor’s story isn’t really about that, but it ties to posthumanism when Viktor declares that emotions clash with reason, humanity is a contradiction which causes destruction, so there’s the need to go beyond humanism. Viktor’s ideas about human nature aren't really posthuman. His thought as he was dying after Jayce's attack revolved around the humanist idea that humans actually have an unchangeable essence.

Posthumanism, as understood by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guatarri, states that there’s no essence of ‘humans’. There’s only the potentiality, which comes from an individual will to create oneself, apart from fixed rules of the world. Funny enough, Viktor speaks about similar ‘charge, potential, impulse', but I don’t think it’s in any way connected to Deleuze’s idea. The philosophy of Viktor in S2 seems all over the place with trans- and posthuman ideas underneath, but it's an interesting mix that I wanted to explore, even if only on surface level.

Deleuze is fucking difficult to understand, French philosophers are the demons that always kick my ass, but they had some good stuff to say. In Postscript on the Societies of Control Deleuze claims that society is made by machines, not only in technological sense, but also by different systems: social, political, economic, religious ect. Every system is a machine. In the case of Piltover and Zaun, the social and political machines categorize people and program them to inhabit certain identities and spaces. Human body is also a machine consisting of different anatomical systems. We are machines living in machines, the flow of information and experiences between us and the world is constant. In a way, even before Viktor tried to change everyone into machines, the world was already run by machines.

I also think that technological posthumanism is an amazing lens to analyse the usage of Hextech and its final destruction of the world in Arcane. Technological posthumanism states that humans use tools and technology as integral to our identity and functioning. Inventions are made by humans, but inventions also invent humans - we use tools, art, machines that extend us, that make us. Humans don’t make technology because they’re free and rational, rather they’re free and rational because they make technology.

Donna Haraway says we're already cyborgs, because tool-making and technology is always a part of our evolution - we incorporate the world into our bodies. We use tools, but according to posthumanism, tools use us in some sense, like a parasite. Interesting that Viktor becomes literally a mix of flesh and machine, influenced by the Hexcore.

Going further, posthumanist thinker Bernard Stiegler writes:

(...) the pursuit of the evolution of the living by other means than life - which is what the history of technics consists in, from the first flaked pebbles to today, a history that is also the history of humanity. (Stiegler, Technics and Time, 1)

Evolution's course is always directed by technology and tools. Stiegler asks: ‘Who’ or ‘what’ does the inventing? ‘Who’ or ‘what’ is invented?.

Jayce and Viktor invent Hextech. Piltover, City of Progress, is made by the development of Hextech. Hextech invents Piltover’s identity, makes its citizens and government free, rational, innovative and progressive, in opposition to Zaun, which supposedly lacks these traits. Is it really Viktor who causes the calamity in the end? Or is it Viktor and Jayce’s invention of Hextech that caused the end of Piltover? Was it humans using technology, or was it technology influencing humans? Technology can be human’s progression in evolution (as Viktor represented) but it can be the destruction of the world (as Jayce saw in the apocalyptic Piltover). There is no predestined essence or course, there is only the potentiality.

Viktor’s arc with the transhumanist/posthumanist Messiah plot fits a subgenre of these philosophies which states there’s a possibility of a Posthuman God. It means that humans, no longer limited by nature, flesh and emotions, will be able to grow into a god-like state of intelligence. It’s not about ascending to a literal god like Viktor did, but more about posthumans being so advanced and intelligent that modern-day humans wouldn’t be able to comprehend it. It is tied to Nietzshe’s Overman ideal, but that’s another long story.

Summing up, the writers butchered Viktor’s character and did something typical for the general transhumanist discourse. That our problems are technological, not political and social, it’s about science that changes our embodiment, and we need this change because the world is unfair. But why is it unfair? Too difficult of a question for the writers apparently… I'll be dissecting it further below.

* Interesting to add, transhumanists of today go as far as suggesting we’ll be able to upload our minds into computers/certain devices and this way live forever. Viktor sorta reminded me about that with his astral plane self. There was a movie with Johnny Depp with this idea, Transcendence. This movie is bad tho (*Wendy Williams voice* Guess who’s jealous of Viktor Arcane? … JOHNNY DEPP!)

DISABILITY

In The capacity of contract Stacy Clifford Simplican distinguishes two ways of thinking about disability: medical and social. Medical model means that people have a medical problem when we compare their state to fixed diagnostic norms. The social model is about how society creates disability by making the world adjusted to able-bodied people, while disability is an exception to the norm, an anomaly. 

What the social model explains is that the problem isn’t the disabled person’s body, the problem is that they didn’t have a chance to design the world that would accommodate everybody. Medical model is appealing to able-bodied people because it allows them to dismiss their anxieties connected to disability and the possibility of acquiring it. People would have to then face the fact that society is actually unfair, so the medical model allows thinking there’s a distinct difference between able-bodied ‘normal’ people and persons with disabilities. There is ‘us’ (able-bodied) and the Other.

The idea of a cultural Other is key in various theories, especially in post-colonial critical theories, disability studies, social stigma theory ect. It basically means that the dominant group considers everyone who’s an outsider or lacks certain attributes essential to the group, as inherently different, oftentimes meaning lesser, therefore considered ‘other than us’. The Other needs to be distinctly alien to the normative group or culture. In case of people with disabilities the line marking the difference is located in their bodies.

In season 2 Viktor literally crossed the line (haha see what i did there) by rejecting his disabled body and changing into the Machine Herald. By rejecting his embodiment, he wished to fit into the ‘perfect’ embodiment represented by the people of Piltover. However, I consider Machine Herald Viktor as the epitome of what Piltover society considers as the Other. At the end of S2, for people of Piltover the line between what’s worth saving and what’s dangerous yet again locates itself in the body of the Other. The body that originated from the embodiment of the disabled Zaunite.

Viktor’s body is central to his character. We see his embodiment is an experience of pain, struggle, not only physical (he feels his body eroding) and emotional, but also social, he’s a Zaunite in Piltover. He’s double stigmatised as an undercitizen and a disabled person. Theory of stigma tells us that problems disabled people experience oftentimes aren’t connected to the disability itself but to the unequal, negative approach, harmful representations and institutionalised practices that cause the stigmatisation. It all reveals itself in ableism. One of the most important authors of disability studies, Rosemary Garland-Thompson wrote at length about these topics, notably in Extraordinary bodies. I’ll be referring to her work a lot in this post.

Viktor changed his body in S1 and then again in S2, he became Machine Herald, what he thinks is ‘the most he’s ever been’. But Piltover still thinks of him as the Other, a threat - and we know that in their worldview ‘Zaunites’ equals ‘danger’. And here’s the thing - ‘disabled’ is a position you get in a concrete socioeconomic context.

Viktor’s Jesus arc and commune activities focus on ‘fixing’ people and allowing them to live on the outskirts, away from the stigmatising society. Paradoxically, he fixed Zaunites to be able-bodied, like Piltover’s society accepts, but Zaunites can’t join that society, they’re still on the outside. Arguably, they’re trying to create an alternative for the stigmatising society, a new ‘Herald’s vision’. But why does this vision involve getting rid of disabilities? 

‘Overcoming limitations’ isn't really about transforming the body. As Abigail Thorn said: ‘You're not gonna fix homelessness by turning homeless people into inspector Gadget’. Arcane S2 Viktor took the wrong angle on the whole ‘helping the Zaunites’ thing. The show for sure states that. And that makes me sad and mad because it’s just.. idk stupid? Viktor as he’s established in S1 is fiercely intelligent, has very strong morals and convictions. He acts recklessly and crosses ethical limits only when it comes to saving himself from literally dying. I don't see how he would go from ‘In pursuit of great we failed to do good’ to complete opposite and being SO misguided in act 2-3 in the 2nd season. They character assassinated him so hard it’s almost unbearable. Still love him, but gods, look how they massacred my boy. Anyway-

Viktor’s disability makes him significantly different from the rest of the cast - as Garland-Thompson wrote, the figure of Otherness is a result of interpreting and giving meaning to bodies. It gives categories and paradigms, which then give us identities. By making Viktor a person with disability the creators had the responsibility of understanding that their writing has real life consequences. Representation in art and media is a means of identification for real life people who relate to Viktor’s embodiment.

Disability is not only a physical state of being, a form of individual embodiment, but also an economic one. It’s true for Viktor - he self-described in S1 as ‘a poor cripple’, using the language of his oppressors, clearly to pinpoint how he’s perceived by the normative majority of Piltover. I’d argue this doesn’t tell us how he actually feels about his disability. We don't really get his thoughts on it. I see many people assuming he thinks of it as an imperfection from the start and point to S1 when he shies away from the spotlight and then more obviously in S2 Jayce basically confirms to the audience Viktor’s internalised ableism in The Speech.

But I’m not so convinced. Viktor in S1 strikes me as someone who hopes his work will talk for itself, so he doesn't crave the spotlight, but it absolutely could be argued that the reason he hides in shadows is to protect himself from the scrutiny of onlookers. It might be an argument for him thinking poorly about himself and Arcane is known for ‘show don't tell’, but I sort of… wish they told us?

Viktor talks about his disease and focuses on his incoming death, which is central to his character in S1 after act 1. Disability and actively dying are different things though, but in sociocultural contexts are often considered almost the same. It seems to me that the writers made such an assumption - treating Viktor’s leg and his disease interchangeably.

Viktor’s internalised ableism wasn't prominent, I'd say nonexistent, in S1, his focus was on preventing his death, not on getting rid of his disability. He experimented on his leg and tested its durability when running. Season 1 already established that it was the wrong choice (although the running scene is contradictory with its message because of the ‘victorious’ framing and music). Viktor changes his mind at the end of S1 and asks Jayce to destroy the Hexcore. Never, not once, in S1 Viktor declares that he wishes to help people of the Undercity with getting rid of disabilities or that he wants his own to go away. He only speaks about his general health deteriorating.

But then we get Jayce saying Viktor ‘always wanted to cure what he thought were weaknesses; his leg, his disease’. Um- no, not true? Viktor always wanted to invent things to make a change for the disenfranchised. He couldn't do so because of his terminal illness and Piltover’s politicians not giving a damn about Zaunites. We don't know how he feels about his disability apart from recognising it as a part of his social status as a Zaunite in Piltover. We get the scene when as a child he shows Singed his leg, meaning he can’t play with kids and is lonely. This could mean he’s either shunned or can't access places where kids play. That's an issue of accessibility and how disability is created by alienating disabled people. It’s not enough proof to argue that Viktor dislikes his disability to the point of wishing to fix it when he becomes an adult.

I argue that Viktor’s internalised ableism was forced onto him by the writers. This way they put the responsibility of dealing with ableism on the disabled individual instead of asking the real question: why is Viktor experiencing ableism in the first place? Why is it Viktor who has to bear the burden of injustice and feel bad about himself? Apart from the positive sentiment of ‘disability is a part of humanity and doesn’t mean you’re broken’, the message of the ending seems to be: 'it's sad you feel bad about yourself, you need to hear you’re valid and get over your internalised ableism or you’ll doom everybody, but we won’t be addressing systemic oppression you'd experienced'.

The feminist, lesbian, poet, mother, warrior and an icon Audre Lorde pointed out the issues that stigmatised people face, especially having to be representatives of their marginalised position, having to use their intellectual and emotional labor to address oppression. I can’t agree that Viktor taking on the labor of realising his internalised ableism thanks to Jayce’s Speech is amazing writing. His humanity was denied by the oppressors so much he ended up rejecting it all together? The framing of Viktor’s motivation after becoming Machine Herald is extremely detached from his original character’s. I can’t- it seems like they made him self-loath and cause harm just because the final battle would look cool?

I like Arcane’s message that erasing disability is like erasing humanity and love wins in the end. But it's so naive, because it’s done at the cost of the disabled character’s entire arc and positions him as the villain to a society of mostly able-bodied people. I don't vibe with that writing choice. If the writers had the guts and we didn't live in capitalism, maybe we’d get more seasons and something truly revolutionary.

Feminist scholars pointed out how people’s standpoints shape politics, how identity, personhood and body are cultural constructs that need to be questioned. Standpoint theory suggests that representation is always a political act and thus disability representation needs to be treated as such. I don't think Linke and others thought about it this way while writing Viktor. They created a great character though, so allow me to open my ao3 tab and look up canon divergent fics.

Because of Viktor’s arc in S2 becoming about having his autonomy revoked and his supposed internalised ableism, we unfortunately got an interpretation that Garland-Thomson notes as widely accepted - that physical disability is a part of lower social status and a personal tragedy. We could have had Viktor as a transformative example of a physically disabled person who exposes social institutions of power and questions the notion of othering as a rule that permeates the Zaun-Piltover conflict. For that to happen, it wouldn't be Jayce who affirmed Viktor as valid - it would be Viktor affirming himself.

And we know he had the capacity to do that. In S1 act 1 he’s self-confident and we know he got to Piltover thanks to his intellect and resilience. Why would he lose these parts of himself so radically in S2? I understand that he was severely depressed and dying, that did change his perception of self when his health deteriorated. Yet, I believe in S2 the acceptance Jayce talks about could have come from Viktor seeing his own value. Garland-Thomson calls it 'speaking with one’s voice’. To be seen and accepted means having autonomy and possibility to speak about our embodiment with other people. We don't get to see/hear Viktor do that. He speaks of his mortality and deteriorating body in the context of disease, not disability. And he doesn’t really react to Jayce’s Speech.

If the creators wanted a really empowering story about a disabled character, they needed to address that. According to Garland-Thomson, the body is a text that needs interpretation by their owners. Giving meaning to his body, affirming it (maybe choosing to change it only to stop himself from dying) would mean that Viktor frees himself from symbolic and systemic violence, and rebels against fantasies and anxiety projected onto him by the normative society. That would have been based as fuck.

I ship JayVik, but it doesn't mean The Speech is all fine. Jayce might understand some of Viktor’s struggles but he’ll never understand him fully. It’s true that Jayce experienced horrors beyond comprehension, saw how his dream destroyed the world, he starved, had to reflect on his decisions sitting in a dark cave and injured his leg. Him acquiring a disability to parallel Viktor is a very important moment, yet it’s not the same as knowing Viktor’s experience of embodiment.

Jayce didn't live with a disability all his life in the society that considered it as something inferior. Jayce didn't live with despair and desperation of struggling to prevent himself from dying of an illness caused by the actions of an oppressive state. Jayce’s speech is emotional and important for his relationship with Viktor, and I did get teary eyed when he expressed how much he adored Viktor. But they lost me with ‘fix weaknesses, your leg, disease, and there’s beauty in imperfections’.

The Speech is sweet on the surface level but it rubbed me the wrong way, because not only it didn't make sense with Viktor’s arc, but it also feels weird to say that disability and terminal illness are an imperfection in which there's beauty. Imperfection is a tad insensitive of a term in this context... Having Jayce - who was more privileged socially, essentially able-bodied all his life and acquired his disability only recently - say this to Viktor, is kind of an odd choice. I do see what they’re trying to say: such experiences shape us but they don't define us. That Jayce loved Viktor as a whole human being with every part as integral to who he is.

At the end Jayce frees Viktor from his loneliness. Lovely stuff and I like it on a personal level, altho the Speech was poorly worded. Narratively, it tells me that the disabled character needed another person to say he was all he needed to be from the start. But it ignores the social context of why Viktor was lonely. Jayce's speech shifts focus from systemic oppression and inaccessibility to interpersonal connection he had with Viktor and the emotional side of it. It's possible to both establish a loving bond and acknowledge the discrimination Viktor experienced. But that didn’t happen in the story.

Viktor’s actions as written in S2 seem to stem from an immense need for acceptance and a wish not to be lonely. Of course he has Jayce in the end. My JayVik side is kicking its feet in the air and giggling, but when I look at it from a representation perspective it's kind of bad. Jayce is after all a privileged man who has never experienced life long marginalisation, chronic pain and despair of accepting his death when there's so much work to do for a good cause. And he might have understood how lonely Viktor was, how Jayce neglected his partner but still, Jayce cannot fully get it if it's not his lived experience.

Viktor is defined by his body by the unfair society he exists in and it's impossible for him to ignore it, because that's what shapes him every day. It's understandable he’d want to be healthy but I dislike the ‘Magic Cure for disability’ trope they went with in S2 when Viktor merged with the Hexcore. The trope is widely considered regressive and even harmful when it comes to nuanced disability representation. Viktor's case isn't as obvious, so I'm not trying to pass any finite judgement here. But I generally don't vibe with it.

I wish we knew if there were people with disabilities or sensitivity readers at any stage of the creative process of making Arcane.

I’ll be referring to the topic of Viktor’s disability in other sections of my posts, so it’s not really the end of this subject.

THE RADICAL OTHER

As I wrote earlier, the concept of the Other is extremely important in anthropology. There’s a more expanded and emancipatory theory that I'd like to touch upon - the concept of Radical Otherness.

In itself, this concept is disruptive. When we’re faced with the Radical Other, we’re confused. We cannot relate to them, cannot ignore them, our predisposed opinions and structures of understanding are being postponed. It creates a cognitive dissonance, forces us to change perspective, create space for the Other and look for Otherness in ourselves. It can also cause bigger fear and cause us to alienate the Other even further than we initially did.

Experiencing Otherness touches our bodies and senses without us having prior notice of it. This experience disturbs us, it calls on us, it asks us to respond and to react. German philosopher, Bernhard Waldenfels writes in  Bodily experience between selfhood and otherness that people usually either welcome the Other as a guest or exclude the Other as an enemy. The Other is always transformed in a way that the normative society has disposal over them or they're available for the society's intentions. Radical Otherness, according to Waldenfels, is not available to anyone.

Viktor's disabled body is turned into a grotesque fusion of flesh and metal, then into an alien-like creature, not a cyborg which would be more in sync with transhumanist ideas of technological augmentation of the human body. The way Viktor looks in his god-like form is aesthetic but foreign.

What it means for disability visual representation is that Viktor either reinforces or rejects the sociopolitical relations that make the disability a kind of Otherness.

Interpreting Viktor the Machine Herald as rejecting oppressive notions, I’d say he symbolises what’s rebellious, exposing injustice and disrupting social order. He left Piltover behind and came back to cause a radical reinterpretation of the world. He looks absolutely different, strange, magical - and we know people of Piltover fear magic. But because he’s the villain and dies at the end, I'm more inclined to say the writers meant to show his transformation as a symbol of unpredictability, lack of stabilization, anarchy - and that’s both dangerous and brave.

Viktor as Machine Herald can be read as embodiment of personal freedom by rejection of cultural uniformisation. But if it were to be true, he should have rejected conformity while still disabled or at least not transform with Singed’s alchemy. By the time we reach the last episode his arc is a story of Piltover having to tame 'the freak’ as Garland-Thomson would describe it.

The freakiness of Machine Herald’s form is also an interesting choice, because it’s somewhat humanoid but unnatural. It reminds me of the practice of freak shows where people with unusual bodies and disabilities were displayed as freaks of nature, odd creatures. Able-bodied audience gawked at them and while looking in the face of the Others, they’d re-establish themselves as ‘the normal ones’. I hope you catch my drift and see how this is not a good look to have Viktor morph into an alien looking creature that all of Piltover fights in the end…

If I try to find positives in S2’s writing, I can speculate that Viktor becoming the Radical Other in an empowering sense would mean that he embodied an alternative to the status quo. Him leaving and in sense rebelling against domination of Piltover wouldn’t be an intellectual choice but a manifestation of his condition as a person. In this interpretation, his transformation is radical, it’s a positive marker of his individual story.

It’s still a story of oppression though - our Viktor doesn't save himself, Jayce does it for him. I’m not gonna be talking about Old Man Jenkins Viktor orchestrating everything to save himself by having Jayce sent on a mission to save main timeline Viktor. I’m focusing on the Viktor we got to know in S1. It’s beautiful to be seen and supported, the scene at the end was so loving and my AroAce ass relished it. I love JayVik, yeah, though I think the message of Viktor’s arc being so centered on Jayce’s affirmation of him made the message a bit less complex. They’re soulmates, your honor, but they’re so codependent it’s really toxic yaoi.

Jokes aside, it would be amazing if Viktor chose to become the radical Other. He’d make an autonomous decision to use his status of the Other as the ultimate ‘fuck you’ to the system. The system that overlooked him and prescribed him the identity of an undercitizen, ‘an outsider looking in’.

His arc would be even more profound if he recognised his internalised ableism and chose to become the Machine Herald the way he did in the League Lore. In League, his practices aren’t entirely ethical either, but that's besides the point. His decisions were made out of dissatisfaction with Piltover’s corrupt academia and politics, and the moral duty he felt to aid his fellow Zaunites in the face of calamities and everyday hardships. The old LOL Viktor is actually iconic for that.

The Arcane version of the Divorce arc could’ve made JayVik more complex if they let Viktor express disappointment with Jayce’s decision to weaponize Hextech and Council’s lack of interest in the Undercity’s issues. Then the 'our paths diverged long ago' would be more inpactful.

The character arc is a mess but I tried to reach and look for sth more interesting within it. I think the Radical Otherness of Machine Herald is a compelling angle. Not what writers intended, for sure not, I don’t think they taught anything through that deeply.

ENDING PART I...

I think it all could have been more interesting if Viktor wasn't influenced by Hexcore as we’re led to believe, because… this is cheap writing and yet again takes away his autonomy, which he was denied far too much in S2. The magical stuff took away from Viktor’s character and lost focus of his actual motivation.

I think what we got isn’t good enough, but I appreciate bits that can be read as more meaningful, that's where my idea for this 'essay' came from. I just wish the writers had the guts to let Viktor be angry, come back to Zaun, not do the cult stuff and just help people, join the rebellion, basically tell the Pilties: ‘I hope I confuse the hell out of you’.

That’s it for the first part of this analysis. Part 2 coming soon i guess. (Edit: Second paaaart here)

 literally me writing this fucking dissertation:

[galedekarios]

plagiarism in the bg3 fandom

disclaimer: this post should not be taken as a springboard to harrass anyone involved.

-

as i've stated previously, i didn't want to make this post because i have a lot going on in real life, but i have been watching this being done to others and myself for months now and i can't not speak about my experience anymore.

laiostoudenn (prev urls: lathanderr/spellbooking/wizardblood on tumblr / circleofspores on bsky) is a plagiarist and he has a history of stealing from other creators like @minthara, @mercymaker, @onewingedangels and others.

in this post, i, finally and after much and long deliberation, want to add my voice to theirs.

i'll try to give a chronological overview of what happened as i have come to experience it, through others and myself, and as condensed as possible and to make it easier for myself to tell:

the story

i became aware of this new blog after he @ me and he messaged me. he's been following me. i was slow to engage because i have a lot of things going on in my real life that cost me a lot of energy during the day. i have also grown cautious of too quickly becoming close to strangers online. i became aware, however, that he had been doing this with multiple bigger creators in this space, like my friend @hawke, who is also a creator in the bg3 space, and who has experienced the same behaviour. they asked me if i knew him and i replied that i did not.

that was it for me at that point and i didn't engage much beyond that because i didn't know him and i thought nothing of it - until later.

during that time, whenever i saw his creations pop up increasingly, either in the tags or on my dash, i noticed more and more that they looked familiar to the works of others, from @minthara, to @mercymaker, to @onewingedangels and other creators, including myself.

it was then confirmed that i wasn't simply imagining things when, months ago, two creators were brave enough to speak up about the fact that he has been plagiarising gifsets and edits from them:

@minthara and @mercymaker:

@onewingedangels original set posted on 31st december 2023:

his set posted on 29th january 2024 (now deleted):

this was done without consent, and after he had already copied prior sets from @onewingedangels.

i would greatly recommend reading the posts shared above, and looking at the examples provided in it, so that you get a clear picture of what's happening here. it's not one isolated incident.

if you take a look at the notes in the post, you can also see other creators speaking about their experiences.

@minthara has recently also uploaded a google docs with the screenshots of the sets stolen from them because they either have been deleted, or lead to nothing due to now multiple url changes.

i was made aware today that he, following the first posts detailing @minthara and @mercymaker's experiences, apologised at first and admitted to what he's been doing on 31st march 2024:

but sadly, this wasn't to last, and the opportunity to learn and grow wasn't taken.

instead what happened was now painted as "bullying" from other creators, as "clique" behaviour and as "gatekeeping", despite many of us operating independently from each other. i, myself, have only started speaking to one other creator involved now that i have noticed the stealing and copying still ongoing.

i have in my time on this website never gatekept anything. i have shared metas, gifsets, creations, mods, art, tutorials, and many other things freely.

but back to the matter at hand: after he has been trying to ingratiate himself to me for some time now, following me, unfollowing me, and refollowing me again until i blocked him for my own mental health, i tried to remain civil before this point, engaging rarely if at all, hoping everything would go away on its own - which was a mistake in hindsight, i realise - i noticed that once again he's been lifting entire concepts and frame-by-frame gifs and sets from me.

things that he now claims - likely after he has been made aware of my prior personal posts and @minthara and @mercymaker's post circulating again by being reblogged by other people who have been affected) - were simply "remade" or "expanded" upon, that he may have been "subconsciously" influenced, while simultaneously claiming that he didn't know these sets existed in the first place, that he came up with the ideas independently, and that it's simply inevitable to use the same scenes because it's a limited game.

this doesn't hold up under scrutiny, however.

i want to make clear that i very much understand and that i am acutely aware that i do not own scenes and i do not own mods or outfits. however, what i do like to pride myself on is coming up with concepts and scene choices and captions accompanying these concepts that are unique, inspired by my metas, headcanons pertaining to gale and my own ocs altonaufein and karl, all of which i have seen copied by him several times now.

this is not as simple as simply gifing the same lines of dialogue from a scene as he and others supporting him are now postulating and i want to make that very, very clear.

another reason why this statement doesn't hold up under any scrutiny and, what ultimately confirmed my suspicion that he has been copying me, was when he - after the first post exposing his behaviour by @minthara and @mercymaker was made - reached out to me, asking if it it's ok to copy a gifset i made (note: again, this happened after he was called out for plagiarising the first time):

i didn't respond quickly enough, so he went ahead and posted it without waiting for my response (the response i gave him is pictured above and for transparancy, i responded about a day later bc of work and irl obligations).

below you can see the stolen post and what i managed to save from it:

the set was a 1:1 copy. he wanted a version for his oc so bad that he went ahead and stole my concept anyhow, without even waiting for the permission he asked for.

he went to take it down after my reply, made cautious most likely by his still fresh callout done in march 2024 by @minthara and @mercymaker, and i thought the issue was resolved and it wouldn't happen again, that he wouldn't take again without asking, despite having been told not only by myself, but by other creators as well, no. we are not comfortable.

but no. he "remade" the set, switching out gifs while complaining about how he "had to make it original":

my set in question was made on 1st february 2024, he reached out to me on 22nd april 2024 to "remake" the set. he is well aware of the existence of these ideas and concepts and sets he wants to copy, underlined by the need to ask for permission when it's simply too obvious to otherwise deny.

it's no coincidence.

like others have had the experience, i too noticed that he often would not engage with content he planned on stealing or did go through with stealing. he would sometimes present it as his own "remake" of a set he did, of another he was "inspired" or wanted to "expand upon", sometimes crediting, sometimes crediting someone largely unrelated, sometimes and, more often, not crediting.

as i mentioned above, this was not the first and not the only set/concept, which he copied from me - whether that was before asking or after asking, or not asking at all, if it was ok to copy.

i use this example mainly to show a clear pattern of behaviour that exists across the board: he takes concepts from other creators and inserts his own oc and/or favourite character into it because he wants a version of it so very badly. it does not matter if said creator might be hurt, if they told him no, or if they exposed his behaviour before. it doesn't matter how old the set is or how recent.

it is still going on today, the only difference is that he has stopped asking at all once again.

my story completely echoes that of @minthara and @mercymaker's.

concrete examples

i will now go into more detail about the concept sets he's been copying, include the caption or quote attached to it. i'm sorry that these will not be in chronological fashion. i will add at a later point, just like @minthara has done, a google document to better do side by side comparisons, highlight the similarities visually even more, and preserve some of the sets, which have now been deleted by him as recently as today:

the theme of hands in gale's romance

-> mine posted on 23rd september 2023

versus

-> his 1 posted on 24th february 2024

-> his 2 posted on 17th june 2024

i want to preface this by saying that the theme of hands was and still is incredibly important to story of my oc altonaufein and has concept of romance with gale. again, while i do not own these scenes, i wished to highlight a theme that i identified as poignant and profound within the relationship context. it's also why i added the poetry and quotes accompanying the set.

notice how even the caption format matches. the only thing lacking are my quotes / poems.

the format matches almost entirely: gifs from the same scenes (pulling gale out of the portal, the bench scene in an illusionary waterdeep, the astral sea scene, the boat scene, and more of the boat scene). the only thing that was added in this gifset are scenes that weren't available to me back then, namely the updated proposal scene, the kisses patches, and the epilogue as they came out well after i made my original gifset.

the second re-make even contains a gif that's not only the same minute detail of a larger scene - one that anyone who played gale's romance knows contains a multitude of other parts that could have been used - but also the same frames:

mine vs his:

i suppose adding that one to the original post with the same format i had chosen for mine would have made it too obvious, but that is only speculation.

gale + missing waterdeep/home

-> mine posted on 30th september 2023

versus

-> his (deleted on 18th july 2024) so i will have to include screenshots so you may compare:

same caption format, overlapping scenes chosen, only new additions are of content that wasn't available to me back when i first made my original set (the epilogue, kiss patches and proposal scene).

an attempt at "credit" even though he is only referencing my tags on an entirely separate set of a different creator, not the concept i came up with in my original set months prior.

and even though i have told him no before, just like others have told him no before.

i think it speaks volumes that this set is now, like some others, have been suddenly and coincidentally deleted.

gale of waterdeep vs gale dekarios

-> mine posted on 20th november 2023

versus

-> his posted on 13th may 2024

the concept is entirely the same, the scenes are largely overlapping, again, the caption format is almost entirely identical, with the sole difference of me including the full quote and devnotes as i'm wont to do.

gale + i love you

-> mine posted 16th september 2023

versus

-> his 2 (a "remake" of an "older" set of "his") posted on 13th may 2024

again, the concept is entirely the same, it's same caption format, the scenes largely overlap, some of the gifs added that were not available to me when i made my set (which, again, would include the epilogue, kisses patches, and the updated proposal scene).

mermay gale

-> mine posted on 13th may 2024

versus

-> his posted on 21st may 2024

it's the same concept again, the caption format is similar, it's the same setting (camp at baldur's gate), the same armour, the same armour tint, the same 3/4 pose except mirrored, and, this time, his tags were inspired too:

my tag: #i have the worst art block still and virtually no time but i still wanted to do smth for mermay so have this

his tag: #i can't do art so heres my mermay contribution i guess

copied oc post

-> mine posted on (likely) 30th september 2021

versus

-> his originally posted on may 7th 2024, which has also now been deleted on 18th july 2024:

the only thing different was the font. sadly, i deleted my oc post since i have redesigned some of them and wanted to make an updated version of it in the future.

thankfully i found the link on my friends blog, @ayrennaranaaldmeri.

as you can see, all of these happened after the first cases of plagiarism and after i personally told him that i'm not comfortable with him "remaking" my concept sets as his.

conclusion

there are many other sets that i suspect have been copied or plagiarised, i want to remain objective, however, and include the ones i feel are the most damning examples, supported by the fact that he has been deleting some of them today while again, trying to set up his narrative to his audience.

again, i want to highlight the pattern is here with him. my post is not the first, my suspicious are the first.

he knows what he is doing wrong, highlighted by the fact of trying to ask for permission, by deleting sets in question, by, at first, apologising, whilst now talking about "gatekeeping", "bullying", "inevitable repeats of scenes", "taking inspiration", "scrolling by", being "subconsciously" influenced, etc.

as a conclusion, i can say nothing more on this topic other than that i'm very sad. it doesn't give me joy. it stressed me immensely then and it still does now. i wish he'd have taken the already admitted wrong-doing to heart and grown from it, instead of attempting to change the narrative and doubling down on his past behaviour, not examining what he has done and is doing several times over by now.

i have blocked him now, as have done many others, and will not engage further with him. we have been through this before and at this point, i don't think he will change.

what i do very much hope, however, is that this is the last i hear of this happening.

edit:

updated the links to lead to his "archive" so you can access the stolen sets that he still hasn't deleted and seems to have no intentions of doing so.

[gummilutt]

Autonomous crafting for all teen+ Sims

I've never before been so happy to share a creation! Get ready to get crafting, because it's about to get autonomous! Released today in collaboration with the wonderful @joplayingthesims who has built a community lot for the mod, seen in the pictures below. Exciting!

In my game, I have a community lot with crafting stations for Sims who can't afford one, or don't have space for one. But as I visited it recently with one of my college students wanting to learn flower arrangement, I got a bit depressed by all the empty stations and the other visitors just standing around chatting. I wondered if anyone had added autonomy, and I came upon iCad's autonomy enabler. While neat, it only adds autonomy for the active household which is the opposite of what I wanted. So I made my own that enables it for visiting Sims as well, only to quickly realize how annoying that got. All these Sims asking me to pick a recolor for them, blergh! So I went on tweaking, fixing the annoyances as they came up, and here we are! Finally it is possible to have a lively crafting studio where all Sims participate, without being annoying for you the player! Are you excited? Because I am excited!

What does the mod do? - Enables autonomy on "make many" and "continue" (see readme for more info on why not make one) for all five original crafting types - Robots, toy making, flower arrangement, pottery and sewing - Does NOT charge your Sims money for background Sim crafting. Money sounds and visuals show for all Sims, but only your current households crafting charges household funds. - By default only autonomous on community lots. Has optional autonomy on residential/apartment lots, you can enable autonomy on those lot types by placing the Autonomy Toggler object somewhere on the lot (custom object made using parts of the FT crafting clutter, found in hobbies/misc for 1 simoleon). I set it up this way as residential autonomy sounds irritating to me, but I'm all about flexibility for the user. Perhaps you want to run arts classes at your residential playable school, or you simply like autonomy more than I do :) Please note that autonomy advertisement is tuned with community lot use in mind, so it might be higher than you'd want for residential. If there's interest I am happy to make a second version with lower advertising for those who primarily want residential use. If you are somewhat familiar with TTAB edits yourself, you can try changing attenuation code to low or medium to limit advertisement distance which will reduce appeal to Sims. VER 2: Toggler object now also works on community lots, turning off autonomy if present on community lot. Residential/apartment behavior remains the same as before. - Fixes annoyances with background crafting, such as selecting recolors and pop ups about progress - Changes inventory mechanics to allow for owned studio-type use, in case you'd like a friendly owner Sim present to provide instruction. Crafting now only goes to business lot owner if done by an employee, otherwise crafting Sim gets the object. Includes home business, so if it bothered you that family members don't get to keep their work, this also fixes that. If that part annoys you, see readme for how to remove this feature.

Download mod on simfileshare | Download ver 2 on simfileshare (New version out, fixing a bug reported by Nemertes. More info here)

You might say "Okay well fun for you Gummi, but I don't have a community lot with crafting stations, so why would I need this?". Well fortunately Joandsarah has the solution for that problem! Check out the cute crafting studio she built to give all of you a place to start community crafting! Available on MTS

Conflicts: Only known conflict is iCad's original autonomy enabler, you have to pick if you want hers version of autonomy, or mine :) Readme contains breakdown of the functionality of all parts, to help you decide a load order should you encounter conflicts. It should be possible to resolve conflicts though if there are any others, so please report them to me :)

Credits: @joplayingthesims for collaborating with me and providing a lot that you can get started with if you don't have one, iCad at @dramallamadingdang for the original autonomy enabling mod, @cityof2morrow who helped playtest the mod

If anyone else builds a community lot intended for autonomous use, I hope you let me know somehow so I can add links to it in my post :) If any other modders see ways to improve on what I did, please feel free to do so :) I am hoping to eventually post an update that sends all crafting to inventory to fix the make one issue, and the station clogging that happens over time.

[ssavaart]

Happy Friday All!

In early 2020 (before Covid), I was painting larger paintings like this with Acryla-Gouache. I was really enjoying the medium.

I was inspired by a couple of photos by Annie Bertram on Deviant Art and asked permission to use them for reference.

Since I was just doing these for myself... I had NO plan. No test drawings. No layouts. I just started drawing on a large piece of paper and figured it out as I went.

Because of this... I never really figured out what to do with the hand on the left.

So... it just kind of disappeared.

I may go back and add it in later, I think.

But, for now... it's always a reminder of a time where I just broke out the paints and... played.

A couple months later... Covid hit and it was 3 years until I did my next large painting (the Gothic Vampire).

(Note: I can't find a reply from the photographer regarding permission or not. My memory is I heard back. But I can't find it.)

I DID hear from the model Theresa Fractale, a couple of years later, who was VERY upset that I had sold some postcards of the painting without her permission.

I was mortified. I hadn't even considered reaching out to the model. I offered her and Annie Bertram all of the profits I made from the sales, but she wasn't satisfied... and we left it at that.

These things DO happen with artists. Sometimes people claim you've "stolen" their art or style or likeness. And sometimes they have legitimate reason to do so.

Me, personally... I believe that artists should use ALL of the world around them for inspiration and if it is HEAVILY influenced by one artist or work of art... CREDIT them.

But change it. Don't directly copy it (unless you're studying someone's work... in which case... copy away).

But always credit.

I believe I REFERENCED the photos above, but didn't copy them.

But, I DID heavily reference them and, honestly, had NO intention of selling it (I still own the painting) or prints (I had only sold a few postcards before being contacted by the model... then stopped).

In any case... if the model or the photographer is unhappy with me selling prints... I don't sell prints. It's that simple.

Their work directly inspired MY work and while I feel that I've changed it enough to be unique... I don't want to cause another artist harm in any way.

Every artist is different. Some are open to sharing their art (like me) and others are very protective of their art.

But, there are no RULES to art. There is no such thing as "cheating" in art. There IS copyright LAW. And that is theft.

But that law ONLY (as far as I know) works if you are SELLING a copy of someone else's work. Profiting from it.

Not for learning. Not for practice. And not for posting online.

Just please... PLEASE credit the artist you're copying. Tell people why you are copying.

Nowadays, if I'm going to do a painting I plan on making prints of, I either use stock photography I've paid for or I get permission and pay the rights holder.

But, this is ONLY for pieces I want to sell prints of.

You do NOT need permission to use photo reference or even copy another artist's work for your portfolio or to post online.

Credit them. Share your inspiration with others. Tell them why you copied the works

But you don't need permission simply to make art. Ever.

Art should be shared. Copied. Studied. And most of all... enjoyed.

Sending Big Hugs from the Hobbit Hole. ♥♥♥

Scott

[lornaka]

My five cents on Tech’s fate in TBB

It’s been over three weeks since the show ended and I’ve been writing this in my head ever since, mostly to have it summed up in one post for posterity lol. I considered letting it go at this point but I know it’ll drive me crazy if I don’t get it out of my system so might as well.

So here we go, some of my rambly post-finale thoughts on Tech’s death (and a few other issues) under the cut!

Disclaimer: while this post is in critical spirit (because that’s how my brain works), I want to make clear that I have nothing but respect and gratitude towards everyone who’s worked on the show. My criticisms are of the final story as a whole as I interpret it (art is art, everything is subjective, you know the drill), but one never knows what goes into the process of making it behind the scenes, so I’m not holding anything against the creative team. I love this show dearly and am in awe of how good it is at its best, despite certain things I wish they did differently.

To begin, if I had to sum up the biggest problem that TBB writing suffers from, it would be lack of closure, and too many red herrings. Not just for Tech, but many things. Major plot threads as well as little character moments are cultivated or thrown in just to never culminate in anything or to be immediately discarded after serving the plot, some of them incredibly misleading. Some of the top examples:

- Crosshair’s chip. We never get an exploration of how the trauma of his chip activating and being left behind not only affected his motivation and choice to stay with the Empire, but his relationship with his brothers. While it was made fairly obvious, if subtly, that Crosshair became free of the chip’s influence after getting hit by the ion engine on Bracca, the narrative treated this change as if it didn’t matter at that point, while it obviously mattered a lot within the context of Crosshair’s character. Add to that all these little details with him clutching his head in s1 finale, Omega expressing her disappointment in him, and Tech’s comment on how “it is just his nature” (as if it matters!!! See what I mean about the narrative treating Cross’s chip as if it didn’t play the key part in his trajectory? They throw in this line, like we are supposed to take away that it’s simply Crosshair being Crosshair and not like, the results of brainwashing and abandonment), Wrecker blaming Crosshair for not going back to them, all while we as the audience have been shown and told repeatedly how these chips work (and so were the Batch), we ended up with an incredibly confusing situation with lots of mixed signals from the writers. And once Crosshair makes his choice to stay with the Empire in s1 finale, his chip and the confusion it brought to his relationship with his brothers is never brought up again, because the plot simply moves on.

- Cid’s betrayal. After her being a major character for two seasons with a continuous relationship build-up with Omega in particular, she is discarded as soon as her betrayal serves the plot, with all that character development getting thrown out of the window. You can be mad at Cid all you want, but to me it’s incredibly weird and wasteful to end two seasons worth of build up on that note without it having any closure for the characters, especially Omega whose whole theme is trusting people and bringing out the best in them. It’s fine if they decided to make Cid exactly what she appeared on the surface (untrustworthy and self-serving) after playing around with her potentially growing through her fondness of Omega, but then at the very least the betrayal should’ve had an impact on the characters, Omega most of all. Even just one casual line from Omega in s3 about how Cid’s betrayal impacted her emotionally, however minimally, would have solved that problem. And no, CX-2 mentioning how he extracted info on Phee from her off screen absolutely doesn’t count as closure, because I’m talking about emotional closure for the main pov characters as well as the audience. Cid had a presence for two seasons, then as soon as she executed her role as a traitor to further the plot, she was discarded like she was a random extra.

- Emerie’s relationship with Hemlock. We are led to believe that he basically raised her, instilling in her the idea that she had no chance without him and owed her purpose and “safety” to him. You can’t tell me that this didn’t deeply affect her struggle and eventual decision to break away from all that and choose to help the kids, basically betraying Hemlock. I get that the show only had so much screen time and Emerie is a supporting character in season 3 at best, but common, she has more tension with Dr. Scalder than Hemlock while the potential for this rich deep conflict between them is right there.

I can probably list more smaller examples but this is getting long and I don’t want to go on any more tangents, so, finally, the biggest example of lack of closure and tendency of TBB writing to display foreshadowing that leads nowhere:

Tech’s death.

First of all, I’ll die on the hill that it wasn’t denial or delusion that led to such a big portion of the audience to believe that Tech didn’t really die in s2. If we look at the facts:

- there was no body

- it’s the finale of season 2 out of 3, pretty early for one of the main titular characters to get killed off

- the only/last character to allegedly see Tech after his fall is a villainous scientist who is known to experiment on clones specifically

- not a fact but: the whole scene with Hemlock presenting Tech’s goggles to Hunter was incredibly suspicious. In hindsight, I think the whole purpose of it was so that the Batch got Tech’s goggles back in their possession as a memento (and to show how evil Hemlock is to rub it into Hunter’s face like that) but it was executed in a way that read as something much more. It read as if Hemlock was going out of his way to convince us/Hunter of Tech’s death, but with us knowing who Hemlock is, his background in experimenting on clones, everything screams at us to not trust a word he says. Is it really so surprising that so many of the viewers immediately jumped at the conclusion that something more was going on there?

- Hunter’s (lack of) reaction/immediate narrative fall-out. More on that later as I address lack of emotional impact of Tech’s death in s3.

- it’s Star Wars. And there was no body.

So yeah, to me, it is completely justified that so many people read that whole thing as open to speculation at the very least, foreshadowing Tech’s survival at most.

Personally, I was 70% sure Tech was truly dead prior to s3, but not because the text told me so, but because at that point I was used to the show’s writing regularly sending out mixed signals, and a part of me was resigned to Tech’s death becoming another example of the writer’s intent clashing with their accidental empty foreshadowing.

As season 3 aired and the whole CX-2 plot was unfolding alongside continued lack of closure for Tech’s fate, my hope for Tech Lives reveal grew and grew, but in the end my initial doubt was proven right, unfortunately.

Oh, CX-2.. what a mess. You can’t tell me the creators went over all of these scenes, all of these lines, looked at the whole picture and *didn’t* see how it was incredibly easy to interpret CX-2 as potentially being Tech with all these little potential parallels. “Domicile” alone.

If they didn’t want us to entertain the idea that it could be Tech, they could’ve done it differently, but for some reason, they chose to leave that space for speculation. My question is, why?

If they truly wanted us to believe Plan 99 was it, Tech’s Noble End that we were supposed to take as this dramatic super emotional ultimate sacrifice and all that, then why would they not make it clear that CX-2 couldn’t be Tech? Why breed confusion? And breed confusion they did. It’s hard for me to believe they didn’t foresee the “ohh is it Tech?” speculation.

When so many members of the audience immediately and individually jump at a theory or have the same take away from the story they are being told, yet the authors say it wasn’t meant to be taken that way, something went seriously wrong with the writing.

I don’t like to speculate on such things because we will probably never know for certain, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they had at some point considered CX-2 being Tech or at least something more for the whole CX plot thread, but changed and reshuffled things at the last minute for whatever reasons.

Which is fine and understandable. But it brings me to the heart of my biggest issue with how Tech’s fate was handled:

lack of impact and closure.

Let’s disregard all the Tech Lives theories for a moment and focus on what we did get: Tech, one of the main characters, getting killed off at the end of s2 out of 3, for stakes and consequences and NOTHING else. When I say nothing, I mean nothing.

Imagine, for a moment, he survived and stayed with the Batch. Nothing would have changed, in the grand scheme of things. Nothing. We wouldn’t have had a few obligatory “Tech mention, everyone feel sad now” throwaway lines/goggle shots and whatnot, sure, but that’s it.

Tech dying didn’t change the trajectory of the plot in any way, nor did it affect any of the other characters in a way that changed their trajectory. And anything less is simply not enough to justify killing one of your main characters. Stakes and consequences ain’t it.

Consider Mayday, for example: a supporting character, but his death in s2 affected Crosshair in such a way it completely redirected his journey, AND in s3 we got an episode that cemented the impact Mayday had on Crosshair and provided emotional closure for them. That’s a narratively meaningful death.

Tech’s death was not meaningful to the narrative beyond removing him from it. That’s why so many Tech fans insist he deserved better treatment: not only was he not present in one third of the show physically, but he lacked any sort of presence even in death. His absence was never processed or grieved by any of the main characters and so by extension by the audience.

And before anyone starts with the whole ‘they are soldiers/they had no time to grieve/etc’ arguments, it is the responsibility of the writers to provide the space for all of that emotional impact. It they don’t, there is no impact.

A few reactions here and there, moments of missing Tech as a person and a brother, not an asset, anything would have made this whole thing easier to accept.

The lines that we did get, from Omega mentioning the stuff Tech taught her to Echo commenting on how decryption would be easier if Tech was with them to “Clone Force 99 died with Tech” from Crosshair - each and every single one of those lines linked to Tech’s functions as part of the squad, his usefulness, but we didn’t get a single line in remembrance of him as a person of his own, no one missed or remembered him for himself or his personal impact on them.

Just one line from Omega about how he taught her about change being a constant part of life or whatever, or Wrecker making a comment on how Tech used to info dump about stuff, anything would have instantly provided that much needed sense of “he was here, he was a person and is still a part of us”. Instead, Tech was killed off to show that messing with the Empire is dangerous and risks are real, I guess, and immediately lost any and all presence within the story.

We never even got to see Crosshair’s or Phee’s reactions to losing him.

Speaking of Crosshair, that’s a whole other example of complete lack of closure: they never closed the loop on the family being reunited again after initially leaving Crosshair behind, and with Tech dead, it’ll forever stay broken.

They could’ve given this a bittersweet yet meaningful spin if they developed the angle of Tech dying on a mission to bring Crosshair home, making a sacrifice so Crosshair had a chance.

Instead, the moment Tech dies, we get Hunter (and through him, the narrative) immediately abandon the idea/plot thread of going to rescue Cross all while saying “let’s not waste Tech’s sacrifice”. Sacrifice for what? Clearly Hunter doesn’t see it as a sacrifice for Crosshair’s sake, so, what, to make sure the rest of them makes it from the mission? The mission to save Crosshair. That mission. Right.

I see people talking about Tech’s noble sacrifice that ensured his family got to live and eventually have their happy ending, but all I can think about is how the creators chose to have him die on a mission that was immediately abandoned and the only take away from that whole sub plot was Tech’s own demise.

And after Crosshair is back with the Batch, his reaction to Tech’s death is never explored at all.

So yes, to me Tech deserved so much better. If you are going to kill off a major character, it must be necessary to be compelling. The way I see it, Tech’s death was not necessary at all because it didn’t change anything. And if it was meant to, the creators failed to communicate that by choosing not to explore the emotional impact of it and not structuring certain story beats in a more precise manner.

To wrap this up, if the way Tech’s death was handled was satisfying for you, that’s valid and I’m glad for you. For me, unfortunately, it’s completely the opposite and will forever remain the biggest and most unfortunate low point in the story.

And while I welcome anyone to share their own perspective if they wish, please don’t take this post as an invitation for debate, since there is no one right or wrong way to interpret or be affected by art.

[alexanderwales]

Garth came out to the balcony and found Claire there, shoes beside her, dangling her feet over the three story drop. She had squashed her dress by sitting on it.

"Hey," she said.

"What's up?" asked Garth.

"Do you care?" she asked.

"Not really, just being polite," said Garth. He sat down beside her, uninvited. His tie was quite loose, so he undid it entirely, stuffing it in his pocket.

"Mother is very interested in having me find a husband," said Claire. "Or at least a boyfriend. And all I want to do is focus on my art. I have talent, why can't she see that?"

"Hrm," said Garth. "It's the opposite problem with my mother. She wants me to stay away from girls, because apparently I keep picking the wrong ones."

"You do have a reputation as a playboy," said Claire. She looked him over. "Earned, I think."

"Well, be that as it may, I don't think it's mother's place to say," said Garth.

They sat together for a moment, looking out at the night air and the slowly moving river that wound its way through the city. Garth had only intended to come out on the balcony to cool down for a bit, but he had the sense that Claire might be spending the whole night here.

"Say, I have an idea," said Garth.

"Oh?" asked Claire.

"Your mother wants you to spend all this time trying to chase boys, and my mother wants me to get with a respectable girl," said Garth. "So why don't we simply agree to a fake relationship? We would have to put some effort into it, just to sell it, because all our friends and family know we don't really have much affection for each other, and over the course of several fake dates, we could slowly fall in love with each other. But of course neither of us could admit that to the other, so we would use the fake dating story as a flimsy pretense to spend more time together, or to kiss each other, and we would say 'oh, but of course this is just for the cover story, people need to see us kiss, they need to believe that it's not all an act'. And as we pulled away from kissing each other, we would realize that it's not as much of an act as we had once believed. And then before we could confess to each other, I would say something boorish about your art, as though I don't understand what it means to you and expect you to change like all the men you've had no interest in. I would learn my lesson, of course, but before I could apologize you would come across me kissing another woman and misunderstand it, because it was only her trying to rekindle some old relationship that had long since passed. You'd run off before I could explain anything to you. Then when it seemed like you were going off to art school or making a hasty marriage of convenience, I would come in with a grand gesture and confess my love to you."

Claire stared at him. "Why are you so incredibly weird?"

"It was only a joke," said Garth.

"I didn't find it particularly funny," said Claire.

"Well, of course, to begin with we'd dislike each other, wouldn't we?" asked Garth. "So I think we're off to a roaring start."

"It's not a terrible idea, a false front for our mothers," said Claire. "Then an amicable breaking off after six months or so, when we've had our breathing room."

"Narratively, I think it could work, the end of the second act would be at the six month mark, when the fake breakup becomes a real breakup, and then I have to win you back," mused Garth.

"I'm being serious," said Claire, rolling her eyes. "Alright, this will be my one condition: you need to stop joking that it will lead to us falling in love with one another."

"Alas," said Garth. "My one condition was going to be that we joke about it constantly. Don't you think that it would add something to the whole arrangement, if we laid together cuddling beneath a willow tree and you said, 'haha, can you imagine if I was fool enough to fall in love with you just because my head is pressed against your chest and I can hear the hammering of your heart'?"

"So this wasn't a serious proposition disguised as a joke?" asked Claire. "It was just a joke?"

"Well, unfortunately, I'm already in love with you," said Garth. "So it's a desire for your affections disguised as a ploy to fool our mothers which has been cloaked in a joke."

"You're impossible," said Claire. She gave a small laugh. "That's it, I'm calling the fake relationship off."

"But we have to save that for the second act!" said Garth.

"No, I won't be swayed, it seemed like such a good idea several minutes ago, but now, in the cold light of the present, I can see that you're simply too immature," said Claire.

"I had wanted more time to plan my grand gesture," said Garth. "We were supposed to have a lot of plot beats where I showed you how gentle and caring I am, and revealed my hidden depths."

"It's now or never," said Claire. "I need that grand gesture to know that I wasn't a fool for falling for you."

"Alright," said Garth. He cleared his throat. "Claire, when I sat down here minutes ago and proposed that we have a fake relationship which would slowly blossom into a real one, I was just making a joke. But now that time has passed, all these fond seconds together, the joke has turned into a reality."

"It has?" asked Claire.

"Yes," said Garth. "Will you fake date me?"

Claire held in a smile. "Yes. Sure. But if we can drop the layers of irony for a moment, I do want to make it clear that I'm not charmed by you, and certainly won't fall in love with you."

"And why layer of irony was that said on?" asked Garth.

"Oh, well if you can't tell, then I'm not going to tell you," said Claire with a smile.

Garth smiled back. "You are going to be so angry with me when I reveal that this fake dating scheme was something I only did for a bet."

[eschergirls]

Hi everyone! I hope everybody's okay. That felt like the longest February ever. ;-;

Recovery from surgery is taking a little longer than I anticipated but I'm almost at 100% now! There's not many site updates this month due to recovery, but I did restore and recover a bunch of old posts, including this one with "breathing" boobs that had a VINE embedded in it! I managed to find an archived copy of it and restored the Vine of all things.

Also restored are:

A Kiss of War video ad where you check out captured female prisoners like they're meat in a butcher's shop to decide who to rescue

A Wizard Magazine cover featuring Nick Fury and Yelena Belova

An old Marvel trading card featuring Black Cat in an extremely painful looking pose

A panel of Bobbi Morse in a very twisted attack pose

Two posts, one on Yelena Belova and the other of Natasha both in the same boobs and butt pose with glued on clothing

And Star Wars trading card art of Leia Organa with an extremely rubbery and twisted torso, and a t-shirt with the same design on it

The reason I have to fix up a lot of the old posts is because many were broken or formatted incorrectly when the site moved, also all of the older posts lack image captions (which weren't available on Tumblr in the past), and some have just been removed from Tumblr because the original submitter deleted their account or the image host was discontinued or Tumblr's algorithm flagged it as explicit. Also a lot of older posts lack sources or are in low-resolution. I replace the image with a higher res image, add alt-text, source it, and update the formatting to match the current standard I use. I also link the old posts to their Tumblr counterpart and fix up the Tumblr post as well. It's a lot of work but I hope it makes the site more usable for people looking through the archives. :)

I'm now adding "year" and "decade" tags to each post so people can more easily sort things by time period. This is something I should have done a long time ago but didn't, so it will be a LONG time before I can add this to all the old posts, but I'll try my best to work through it. All new posts will have them though and you probably already started to notice it.

I've also been going through my old inbox backlog in my email and Tumblr, so if you submitted something in the past and didn't see it you might see it soon! I deeply apologize for how long it's taken. ):

And now I want to give a huge sincere thank you to Escher Girls' February 2025 Patreon subscribers as well as those who donated on Ko-Fi! I really appreciate your support and helping to keep the site afloat as domain and hosting costs go up due to inflation. If you want to join my Patreon, you can here, it helps to pay for site upkeep and updates and helps to keep Escher Girls as an archive up even if Tumblr goes down or changes their policies again.

And now a huge thank you to the February Patreon subscribers::

Anne Adler Cat Mara Chris McKenzie Em Bardon First Time Trek Greg Sepelak Karrius Ken Trosaurus Kevin Carson Kim Wincen Leak  Manuel Dalton Mary Kuhner Max Schwarz Miriam Pody Morgan McEvoy randomisedmongoose Rebecca Breu Ringoko  Ryan Gerber Sam Mikes Sean Sea SpecialRandomCast  Thomas   

And also a very special thank you to JohnnyBob8 for their donation on Ko-Fi!

And thank YOU to everybody reading this and who read and comment and participate with Escher Girls in general <3 I honestly am glad that people still enjoy my site. :) I hope it helps to bring a small smile to people daily.

By the way, if you want to contact me outside Tumblr, you can at eschergirls@gmail.com, or on Fedi at https://urusai.social/@ami_angelwings.

I hope March is better for all of us <3

Ami

PS: As a reminder, we added a button that links to the Escher Girls Tumblr and to our RSS feed for those who want to follow that way. (For newbies, RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and is basically a feed you can read using an RSS reader. Simply copy and paste https://eschergirls.com/rss.xml into an RSS reader and it will keep you up to date on Escher Girls!)

Make sure it is eschergirls.com and not eschergirls.tumblr.com, as that is Tumblr, and not the self-hosted site.

If you have any issues with the site or suggestions to improve it, please do not hesitate to contact me and let me know!

If you wish to support Escher Girls, you can subscribe to our Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/ami_angelwings or donate through Ko-Fi at: https://ko-fi.com/amiangelwings.

[express-rehiring-project]

->

welcome to my multimedia mouthwashing / 17776 au!

i started writing this very soon after finishing (and falling in love with) 17776, and swore to myself that i WOULD make something of it. writing fic in a way that isn't just narrative chapter storytelling has been something ive wanted to do for the better half of a year now, but i haven't had the motivation or way to do it. 17776 added fuel to that fire and inspired me to finally, FINALLY, write something.

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i can't say for sure when new chapters will be updated, and i absolutely cannot promise anything consistent long term. i have a full time job and cannot write every day, but i will do my best to update this as often as i possibly can.

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***DISCLAIMER: real people, companies, and events will be featured in this story, but not every event will be real. what does this mean? stories like the one featured above, are entirely untrue, and are not trying to pass as true. this a dystopian, futuristic, fiction story, i am not attempting to slander or spread rumors about anyone/anything, they are simply ways to convey the story i want to tell.***

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content warnings: mentions/descriptions of rape/sexual assault, emotional abuse, murder, suicide, and artistic depictions of gore.

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this will not feature any romantic pairings, as i don't think that will add anything narratively, and i don't really ship any characters anyway...... if you read any dialogue/interactions as something romantic, that's fantastic! you can think, do, and make anything you'd like with my work.

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id like to give a special thanks to:

soph, @sarcasticscribbles, for illustrating visual aspects of this story. i absolutely could NOT do this without you, thank you for being part of it. (will also be tagged in chapters where her art is featured).

dannie, @lys5ophobia, for beta reading!! i would scream cry and shit myself if i posted typo

tristan, @good--merits-accumulated, for beta reading, as well as being my biggest supporter in anything creative i do. i wouldn't have the confidence to do this if he didn't push me to do it.

monty, @sirwormbell-the4st, for being my bestest friend and always cheering me on no matter what i do (except if its stupid)

freddie, @marlboro-freds, for showing me 17776, still being around, putting me first for over a year, literally everything.

ralphie, @anhonest-puck, for always being around during the biggest change in my life in the past while. you're so beyond lovely and im so lucky to have you.

i love you all so so much, and i will until i die and have my consciousness forcefully shoved into a spacecraft <3

- @desire-mona

[h0tp0tat0girl]

Comission Experience

Now I will say sometimes you do have to walk away and accept the way things are but I am honestly just so fe up with so many problems i notice when it comes to the art space.

I realized that many times people from Fanfiction that have reached out to me have been very straight forward with wanting to work. We talk about some details and instantly demand me to pay them, even if I say that the project is just and idea or if I have sereval people I am working at the moment.

This is the final straw when working with others. I will be exposing artist that simply cannot respect boundaries when it comes to anything.

Marsha Gorshe was an artist that I had paid money to create art for my story. I gave them specific details on what to do for the art and expected the exact results with a final plan of $1000.

This is her profile. I got along with her and I thought it was going really well and whatnot. So then when it finally cam to getting the art this what I recommended.

I wanted her to create Jinx from Teen Titans so this is what sent for her to reference in her art.

Because my work is based in a High School AU, I wanted Jinx to be brown. And I told her I wanted her features to be clear. I wanted the brown representation she needed. We agreed she would be in goth attire, having a classroom background, etc.

This is little bit more on the conversation between us. But we talked about it at least three different times. You get the idea right?

All the little details were listed so when she emails me the file, I am specifically expecting that. Even thought it is line work, I was expecting this work to be just like I imagined. This is what I get.

SOOOO of course I tell her that yeah it looks good but it is not at all following the details I provided. I tried to be real cool about, you know. I didn't want to make it big deal. Sure she'll fix it.

So when I tell her what I want, this is what she says.

I have to pay for the changes that were already supposed to be on there? Right.... This is what happened. :(

That meant it would add on the payment.

Literally the more I looked at it, the more I thought that it wasn't even close to what I wanted.

So I after email her the details again and reached out on Instagram it goes down.

I texted a friend real quick just to make sure that I wasn't the one over reacting. I even sent her the own art she had on her Instagram as a reference to be like ,and this is the notification I received from my laptop.

BRO WHAT

That's not how you talk to clients. You don't make excuses and you don't give them work that you are not fully putting effort into if it is supposed to be worth $1000. I get if a artist is busy but we had the payment plan since like Feburary.....

That is all I said and you can see from the top profile picture bubble that I blocked her.

One other thing I will mention is that she would only work on the art if I paid 50% of it. Totally understandable because I would hate to be ripped off. But the fact that she had the images given to her beforehand and is giving me this is crazy.

But in general, I have had terrible experiences with artist being so rude towards me. I am already so skeptical about scammers. Like no joke she and I had talked about scammers too. Little did I know she was doing the same to me.

I am just very irritated and disappointed with myself too because duh don't trust people on the internet. But then again, this isn't what I asked for and they got upset. I am also extremely stupid for falling for this. I should have picked up on this but I didn't.

Overall be smart and think about who you really work with.

[1moreff-creator]

Now that you've had some time to cool down from the Fuckfest of Friday Night, I'm a little curious on what you think of MonoTV's whole deal, because I haven't seen anyone actually talk about it much and that makes me so upset because wow Dev somehow managed to get me to care about this piece of steel

Spoilers up to the end of CH2

Hey! Yeah, MonoTV, huh? With everything else going on, this thing kinda got pushed aside, but there's been some really interesting developments indeed. I agree though, it's genuinely pretty incredible dev managed to get me to care about what up to this point had been nothing but a device for plot and humor.

You know, I originally wanted to keep this brief to give my full thoughts on the full part 2 analysis I'm working on, but maybe it's better if I just talk about it in full here and just link to this post from that one. Let me start by the theory side, because that's easier for me to write about :v

While MonoTV's creation being connected to XF-Ture Tech was always a very real possibility, the confirmation that at least its personality drivers come from them is nice. And there doesn't seem to be any type of repurposing going on:

MonoTV: Whenever I make a decision, ultimately, I must make the choice that fulfills my purpose [to run the killing game until the death of every participant]. After all, that was why I was created.

While we don't fully understand how this all fits together yet, I'm glad XF is being brought up because that might mean Min content in the future? For me, please? :,D

Anyways. Having a clearly stated goal for the killing game (killing all the participants) is also pretty useful for theory-crafting purposes, so look forward to seeing that line referenced in mastermind discussions moving forward. Not to mention, the secondary purpose of MonoTV playing the villain, with the reasoning:

MonoTV: This so-called TV show is more about appearances than you'd think.

So... ignoring the weird phrasing of "so-called TV show" as opposed to just "TV show," because I will go crazy if I look too deep into that, the confirmation that the appearances of the killing game are important seem to confirm a suspicion Teruko had back in CH2 Ep2.

Teruko: And also, [MonoTV is designed the way it is] as a way to reference that "past killing game," right?

Assuming via context that she's talking about THH, MonoTV being specifically created and programmed to look and act sorta like Monokuma could have some interesting implications moving forward, especially given things like Duke Spurling being alive to see the Tragedy and maybe wanting a recreation of the THH killing game. Thankfully there's no character with a talent for recreating things, such as art, an art forger of some kind, because if there was this could realistically point to them as the mastermind. :)

Final note about theories: I... called it? Sort of?

[Extract from Vivisection of the David MV] What I think is the best idea [regarding the multi-colored "original"] is that all the characters [which includes MonoTV] got the word. [...] I think it makes more sense to relate them to the meaning of "original style" under my interpretation, where "original style" means a change of heart.

Well, MonoTV sure had a change of personality, albeit briefly, now didn't it? (Please ignore the fact that I dismissed the possibility of MonoTV changing in the lines following that one :p) Admittedly "characters in DRDT will have character development" is possibly my least wild theory ever, but a W is a W (?).

Alright but screw theorizing that's for insane people. Let's go for character analysis, because the fact that MonoTV has become a genuinely interesting creature to study is possibly even wilder than the XF-Ture Tech name drop.

Now, a lot of what we hear character wise is similar to stuff we heard in MonoTV's previous character building moment; CH2 EP3.

MonoTV: Does a toaster know why it toasts? Does a calculator know why it adds and subtracts? They are simply machines that do their job without needing to understand why. To that end, I don't know who made this TV show and why. All I do is carry out the directives programmed into me.

MonoTV: I have no conscience, no sense of morality, no will at all. I am merely a robot, subject to the laws of my code. I have no choice but to perform the actions that my creator dictated I must. [...] All the decisions I make were already decided by whatever entity created me, because I am a robot.

It's stated in a much more melancholic tone, given the music in the background, the sprite pose, and the generally less silly "default personality," but it's nothing really new. MonoTV is a machine, it follows programming.

Except.

MonoTV: Even if I feel pain or guilt, I cannot stop. That is the fate that I have, to make others suffer. And there is no diverging from that fate.

Hey MonoTV what the fuck does this mean.

"Even if I feel pain or guilt"? Instead of "I can't feel pain or guilt"? The choice of wording here is very interesting, because it seems to imply that MonoTV does feel pain and guilt over the killing game, regardless of how impossible that should be. The "fate" drop is pretty huge for thematic reasons, as I'm sure you're aware; Teruko explains her own feelings about it in the rest of the scene, there's Xander's speech to Teruko before he attempted to stab her, Ace talking about how he was too much of a coward to fight his fate, Arei actually defying a similar fate in a way, David with the LGI lyrics, Whit and J and Rose and so many other people, all interconnected by this damn concept. I think it'd be fine if this is all we hear about MonoTV in relation to it, but there's definitely fun parallels to explore regardless.

Given how little we have of these particular character details so far, there's not much I can say about it other than I love the concept of an AI being forced to do something it doesn't "want" to because of code, and I'm interested to see if MonoTV will act differently in the future. It's supposed to reset to its previous personality in the full reset, I imagine, but it's not like we can just ignore all the shit it said here. I'm very curious to see where dev takes this.

That said, I also wanted to point out how this vague allusion to feeling pain and guilt and possibly hopelessness against fate aren't the only feelings MonoTV exhibits. Because for some unfathomable reason, it seems to care about Teruko to an extent?

MonoTV: Is something the matter, Teruko? Everyone else has already left.

Like, maybe I'm misreading because the personality change is fucking with me, but this feels like a concern more genuine than I would expect from pre-2-16 MonoTV. And...

MonoTV: You have to decide the answer for yourself.

This, along with the little speech about Teruko's humanity that precedes it, again comes off as MonoTV genuinely trying to help her through her emotions. I don't see how this correlates with its purpose, unless it somehow "believes" that giving Teruko advice on this will somehow lead to Teruko killing someone or something to that effect, which makes no sense.

If it doesn't help kill the participants, isn't necessary for the killing game, and doesn't make MonoTV seem like a villain, then it's not related to any of its purposes. It isn't code making MonoTV say this things. It's MonoTV's... consciousness? I guess? It's very, very interesting.

I am genuinely super interested in where dev is taking MonoTV, and if you told me that was a sentence I would unironically type before this episode, I would have called you insane. The writing in this series is genuinely immaculate, I can't believe we're getting genuine basis for MonoTV angst and it's compelling. Dev does it again!

Thanks for the ask, this was fun to ramble about!

[rachelfloof]

Caramel Arrow being Dark Cacao’s daughter is a bad headcanon.

I’ve been keeping this to myself for a long time, but there are so many things about this headcanon that bother me, both obvious and less obvious things. There’s certain things about it that I’m surprised people don’t consider and don't realize. I can tolerate it because I can totally understand why people would hc this, but the more I thought about it, the more problems I found with it. I feel like they need to finally be pointed out because, in my opinion, this headcanon does not deserve the popularity it has.

Before I start explaining my thoughts, I want to emphasize that this is JUST MY OPINION. you DO NOT have to change your own opinion after reading this. These are simply my PERSONAL thoughts on this, and you DO NOT have to agree with me. Also, if you DO agree, I DO NOT condone sending hate to or attacking those who disagree with me and/or continue to use this headcanon.

The family headcanon directly conflicts with Caramel Arrow’s character in two major ways. The first is in regard to her ancestors. Following in her ancestors footsteps and honoring their legacy is one of Caramel Arrow’s main motivations. Caramel Arrow currently has one piece of cutscene art, depicting her praying to her fallen ancestors, as well as several quotes where she mentions defending the kingdom, just like her ancestors did (1 star promotion quote). If Dark Cacao is her father, then what ancestors is she talking about? because I know damn well it’s not Mystic Flour.

The only way this headcanon works without conflicting with the canon is if you ship Dark Cacao with a mortal who has a long history of serving the Dark Cacao kingdom (like the Second Watcher, for example). Despite this, Caramel Arrow being biologically related to Dark Cacao in any way brings up the second major issue and, in my opinion, the most damaging issue.

Caramel Arrow’s loading screen trivia states, "Caramel Arrow Cookie became the First Watcher at a young age…" Which is something I feel like has to be one of Caramel Arrow’s biggest achievements in her life. First Watcher is a really highly esteemed role; she’s essentially the top general of Dark Cacao’s most elite troops. Therefore, she likely had to work really hard to be able to become First Watcher, especially at so young.

However, with the added context of Dark Cacao being her father, I feel that it heavily reduces the gravity of this achievement. Dark Cacao is the king; he could’ve easily been biased in Caramel Arrow’s favor when deciding who to make First Watcher since she’d be his daughter. Dark Cacao’s kid being in such a high position at such a young age makes the earning of that role seem like a blatant display of nepotism.

Yesss, why not add taking away positions from people who actually deserve it more to the list of reasons why Dark Cacao is a bad person? /s

By making Caramel Arrow seem more undeserving of her position, you’re essentially weakening the strong woman character. Turning her from “hard-working girl boss” into “daddy’s girl.”

Speaking of Dark Cacao being a bad person, Dark Cacao treating Caramel Arrow like a daughter makes him look even worse when you factor in what he did to Dark Choco. So essentially, what’s happening is that Dark Cacao emotionally neglects Dark Choco while at the same time treating his younger child with the love that Dark Choco originally deserved.

All of the previously mentioned problems go away if you just interpret Dark Cacao and Caramel Arrow’s relationship for what it is. Which is NOT BIOLOGICALLY RELATED. By making them family, you’re heavily simplifying her character; her motivations for standing by the king and the prince go from “this is my sworn duty, and I want to honor my ancestors.” to “oh, it’s because the royal family is my family too.” So it makes her motives seem more like an empty obligation and expectation rather than something she’s worked for and voluntarily committed to because she’s genuinely just that passionate and dedicated about the homeland that her ancestors have fought and died for over generations.

The only way this headcanon works is if Caramel Arrow becomes Dark Cacao’s daughter AFTER everything is said and done with her becoming First Watcher and Dark Choco taking the sword. Which can only really happen if you ship Dark Cacao x Second Watcher or Dark Cacao x Dark Cacaoian OC while having the two characters fall in love AFTER Dark Choco leaves, making Caramel Arrow his stepdaughter. Or if you headcanon Caramel Arrow as his ADOPTED daughter rather than biological, of course with the adoption happening after Dark Choco leaves.

Even then, Dark Cacao adopting his First watcher after everything already happens would just be super random and weird. That’s like if a worker climbs the ranks in the company they work at, becomes COO, and then the CEO just decides to adopt their COO because they become close. Based on the Cookies of Darkness flashback, Caramel Arrow would likely be a full-grown adult by the time Dark Choco leaves with the sword, so Dark Cacao adopting this grown woman would just be kind of weird and unnecessary.

Despite everything I just said, Dark Cacao CAN still see Caramel Arrow like a daughter, and Caramel Arrow CAN still see Crunchy Chip like a brother WITHOUT any of them actually being on each other’s family tree. They can just have a close platonic relationship with each other where they kind of see each other as like a second family, except, of course, they’re not actually related. Rather, they're almost like a family-like friend group or in other words, a friend group with a family-like bond.

This is the end of my little ramble, in case you forgot about the disclaimer at the top, this is just my opinion. Re-read the disclaimer in big red text if you need to. you don't need to agree with me. and I hope everyone has a good day. <3

Also, remember to never be a hater to anyone, hating is cringe ngl.