#there are cool jobs out there i can do but they require a masters or a phd idk if i wanna do that rn bruh 😭

[spaciebabie]

"so what are your plans after your graduate? :D" i dont fucking know

[the-vast-corner-of-the-galaxy]

KW 2024- Day 2: Protectiveness

Day 2 of Kataang Week hosted by @kataang-week

Prompt: Protectiveness/Bodyguard - Tuesday, July 30th

I basically remembered this picture by @ sheepnishly on insta and thought it would be cool using it for this particular prompt.

Rating: General Audiences

Word Count: 3K

Modern AU where Katara is a singer and starts to fall in love with her bodyguard, Aang. 

It was a lovely morning in Ba Sing Se, and Aang, who was a martial arts teacher at one of Ba Sing Se’s biggest martial arts centers, was looking for jobs on the newspaper. Aang loved loved teaching, but he was already getting a little bored of his job. It paid a salary that was enough to get by in the big city’s middle ring, but he wanted to do something different from being a simply martial arts teacher. He got through various ads, but none of them had a position that he was interested in, until he got to a particularly small ad at the bottom left corner of the page:

WE ARE LOOKING FOR BODYGUARDS 

MUST BE FROM AGES 20-29

REQUIREMENTS:

Military officers

Martial arts masters

Daofei

MEET US AT THE JAZMINE DRAGON TEA SHOP ANY WEEK DAY IN THE AFTERNOONS

“This is such a weird ad,” said Aang out loud. However, curiosity got the best of the master and he decided to go to the Jazmine Dragon Tea Shop in the afternoon. Luckily, today he did not have to go to the academy to teach, so he took the train to the upper ring and headed to the tea shop. 

When he got to the busy tea shop, he was not exactly sure of what to do. He walked up to the counter where an older man with a long beard was preparing tea with a few other workers. 

“Hello! Welcome to the Jazmine Dragon!,” greeted the man. “My name is Iroh, what can I help you with?”

“Hello! I saw this ad on the newspaper and they told me to come here,” said Aang, pointing at the ad in the page. 

Iroh looked at it and gave him a warm smile and said: “They are over there in the back, at the largest table with the blue flowerpot.” Aang thanked him and headed to the back of the shop to the table where Iroh pointed. In that table, four men with dark blue suits sat while drinking tea. They all wore black sunglasses and had stern and serious expressions. 

“Uh… hello?” Aang greeted awkwardly. “I was told to come here for the ad-”

“Yeah, yeah, come here,” said one of the men. He was a tall and lean man with a short, brown ponytail, an undercut, a goatee, and brownish skin. He let Aang sit down in front of him and tilted his dark glasses down, revealing his dark blue eyes. 

“Are you by any chance a military officer, a martial arts master, or part of the Daofei?” he asked sternly. 

“Well, yes, I am martial arts master,” replied Aang, humbly. 

“Right,” said the man, writing notes on a piece of paper, “I am going to ask a few questions and later we will test your abilities in the martial arts. Prepare yourself.” 

Aang did not know what he meant by that last phrase, but he answered every question that was asked with full honesty. This was probably the most interesting interview he has received by far, but he was not exactly liking where it was going. 

When the inteview was finished, the man with the ponytail led Aang outside and thanked him for coming. Aang was walking away from the tea shop, when he suddenly felt a pair of eyes observing him. He then heard footsteps coming from multiple directions. Who could’ve been following him? 

Aang turned around and saw two dark figures in front of him. They were wearing all black suits and carried weapons. Aang stopped and positioned himself to defend himself. Aang did not like street fights or attacking people with no reason, but sometimes, he had to defend himself in life or dead situations. 

Four more figures came from the other sides, and had him surrounded. They were looking at him attentively, seeing if he would make a move. Aang stood still and kept calm, waiting for the other cloaked figures to move. 

One of them sprinted towards Aang and tried attacking him with a knife. Aang removed the knife with a swift of his hand and stunned him. Another one tried jumping on him, but Aang quickly threw him on the ground. The third one tried kicking him from the sides, but Aang quickly reacted and in just a few kicks, had stunned him. 

Before Aang could catch his breath, another figured began choking him with a rope, but thanks to his skills, Aang broke away from the grip and stunned the figure. More figures came running to him and attacked him from all sides. “This is so weird,” Aang thought to himself. He was easily defending and stunning the cloaked figures, but was growing a bit tired and gasped for air. Luckily, the figures ran away from him in a few minutes and left Aang alone in the streets of the Upper Ring. 

When Aang finished catching his breath, a familiar figure came from behind him and clapped his hands. It was the man who interviewed him in the tea shop.

“Impressive,” he said, “You’re hired. Now come with us.”

“Wait I-” Aang tried to speak, but a black limosine stopped where they were and they all huddled Aang to get inside the vehicle. Aang was seated between two of the men with suits, and the man who interviewed him sat in front of him and took out a can of the famous Cactus Juice.

“Are you guys the mafia?” Aang asked, feeling worried.

“Oh no, you got it all wrong,” the man laughed, “We are actually the security team of the famous singer songwriter Katara. You obviously know her, right?”

“I only heard a few songs by her,” Aang replied. “Why didn’t you guys mention that early?”

“If we were to reveal the reason why we are looking for extra security, the tea shop would’ve been a chaotic place,” said the man, “So we wanted to make the hiring as weird and mysterious as possible.”

Aang simply nodded, still feeling uneasy. “So… Where are we going mister…”

“Sokka,” replied the man. “You can call me Sokka. I am Katara’s older and awesome brother, and I am her manager. You said your name was Aang, right?”

“Yes, my name is Aang,” the young master replied. “You didn’t answer my question. Where are we going?”

“Oh! We are going to the recording studio, where Ms. Katara wishes to meet you,” said Sokka, “Do you want some Cactus Juice? It’s the quenchiest!” 

Aang politely declined the drink and stayed silent through the ride to the studio. When they got to the place, Aang was shocked to see the humongous building in front of him. It was about 40 stories and had a white, round, shape. They went into the building and took the elevator to the 34th floor. A white door in front of them had the words written on a sign that said “Do not disturb”, but Sokka simply knocked the door and was answered by a smaller lady with black hair tied up in a bun, dark glasses, and a black suit. 

“Toph, is Katara in there?” Sokka asked.

“What do you think, dumbass?” she asked sarcastically. “Of course she is in here! She says you’re late!”

Aang entered the room awkwardly and tried not making any noise. When they walked into the studio, a lean woman was standing looking at a large window that showed almost all of Ba Sing Se. She had wavy, dark brown, hair, and wore a short blue dress covered with a denim jacket and tall, white platforms. 

“You’re late, Sokka,” said the woman. “Did you find the new recruit?”

“Yes, Kat” said Sokka. “We found you another bodyguard. He is a martial arts master, a skilled fighter, and really nice!”

The woman turned around and revealed herself, and when Aang saw her, he felt like he was struck by lightning again. The singer was probably the most gorgeous woman he has ever seen. Her long, wavy hair fell perfectly on her shoulders, her eyes were the color of the ocean, and you could even see the water reflected on them. Her lips were painted a light shade of red, but completed her face perfectly. Katara was absolutely stunning, and Aang could feel his heart skip multiple beats at the sight of her. 

“Hello,” she greeted nicely. “What is your name?”

“Uh… my name is Aang,” replied Aang, still bewildered by the artist’s beauty. “Nice to meet you, Katara.” 

Katara extended her hand and shook it. “It is also nice to meet you, Aang. Come here, let us talk.” Katara welcomed Aang into the room with the large window and offered him a seat. He couldn’t take his eyes off Katara, not just because of her beauty, but because there was something about her that he felt drawn to, an unspoken energy. 

“So, Aang,” Katara began. “Are you from Ba Sing Se?”

“Well… no,” replied Aang. “I am from the Air Islands, but moved here a few years ago.”

“Oh! That’s intriguing,” replied Katara, taking a sip of water, “I haven’t been to the Air Islands in a while. It’s such a lovely place to visit. The mountains are gorgeous to look at, and the temples are some of the most impressive architecture I’ve seen.”

“Yeah, it’s a pretty nice place,” replied Aang, trying not to sound awkward. “So… how is this job going to work?”

“Oh! It’s fairly simple!” said Katara, grabbing a folder from the other side of the table. “Aang, you are going to be my personal bodyguard. You are going to be part of my personal team, which includes Toph, who is in charge of security, the three guards, Sokka, my manager, as well as many other people you will eventually meet. You are not just going to be working at the concerts, but also as a companion, a member of Team Katara.”

Aang nodded with too much enthusiasm and seized the folder from Katara’s hands before she could fully give it to him. He read all of the terms and conditions to his contrat, his salary, which would be very generous and three times his salary he got from the academy, and his schedules. He was technically going to be with Katara almost 24/7, but he did not mind, except for the fact that he would probably be very exhausted by the end of each day and each tour. 

Once Aang finished reading the terms and conditions, he signed the contrat and handed it to Katara, who gave it to Sokka. Katara stood up and shook Aang’s hand, welcoming him officially into the team. 

A few hours after getting to know the rest of Katara’s crew, he left the studio and was escorted by Toph through the elevator. 

“Tomorrow, you must be in this address by 9 AM,” she said, taking out a card. It had the address of a house in the Upper Ring, which he figured was Katara’s residency. “Also, Katara can be quite temperamental, so be careful about what you say.” Toph took out her glasses and handed the card to Aang. The master realized that the woman’s eyes were covered with a thick, grey, film. She was blind, which made Aang wonder how she was in charge of a whole security team, but of course, he didn’t mind.

“We will see you tomorrow, Aang,” she said as the elevator door shut behind her. Aang headed outside the studio and took the last train to the Middle Ring, filled with determination about his new job. 

***

The next morning, Aang headed to the address he was given last night. He got there at 8:55 AM, five minutes exactly before the time. The house he was sent to was a large, and impressive Earth Kingdom mansion. When he knocked the door, he was received by Toph, who welcomed him into the residence. 

“This is Katara’s residence,” said Toph. “You might be wondering why it is so large. The crew actually lives with here. She likes the company of people and loves interacting with the rest of the staff.”

Aang was impressed by the entire house and gawkwed at its design. The outside of the house had the style of many Ba Sing Se mansions, but the inside was decorated with objects from the Water Tribe. 

“Aang!” Katara exclaimed from the stairs. “You’re here! And just in time!”

Aang smiled at Katara’s warm welcome, and then Sokka came and began to explain the details of the day’s events. “Today, there is going to be a press conference about the upcoming album. It’s going to be up in the North of the Middle Ring. We are expecting a large amount of expectators and interviewers, so we will need to increase the security. Aang, you will be near the exit of the press room ready to escort Katara at any moment, and Toph will secure the perimeter with the guards and extra staff given to us. Is everything clear?”

Everyone nodded and then got in the vehicles from Katara’s garage to head to the press conference.When they got there, there were already many interviewers and reporters in the room. Aang got to his position and saw Toph with the rest of the guards securing the area. The conference began with questions about Katara’s upcoming album and about the upcoming tour. As the hours passed, the questions started getting more personal and Aang noticed Katara was feeling uneasy. 

A particular interviewer from the Earth Kingdom was pressing Katara on questions about a relationship she had with a famous activist named Jet in the past. Katara was visibly uncomfortable and tried everything to evade answering any details about their rupture, but the interviewer was still pressuring Katara. Sokka yelled at the man for being too invasive and did his best to go to the next question. The singer glanced at Aang with a call for help in her eyes. Aang understood the signal in a glimpse and escorted Katara out of the conference room. Sokka kept arguing with the reporters while Aang escorted Katara cradling her in his arms and covering her from the cameras of the paparazzi. When the door got shut behind them, Aang took her to the nearest empty room so she could calm down and shut the door. 

“Are you okay?” Aang asked with a tone of concern. “Would you like some water? Something to calm down?”

Before Katara could answer, she broke down in tears. Aang was not exactly sure what to do in that moment. He wanted to calm her down, but did not want to be too invasive since it was his first day working and barely knew Katara. 

Aang crouched and got closer to Katara, handing her a bottle of water so that she could drink it. She took the bottle and sipped on some of the water. There were heavy tears streaming down her eyes, which was making her makeup cascade on her cheeks. Aang decided to give her some tissues he had in his pocket so she could wipe her tears. 

“Thank you, Aang,” Katara whispered, calming down. “I always hate when they begin pressing so much on my personal life. Why do they need to take personal information from my relationships and make entertainment out of it? I cannot stand it!”

Aang stayed silent for a few moments, but then said: “Because they have nothing better to do. They just want to make profit out of the life of someone, and you have all the right to not answer any questions willingly.”

“I know, but it still annoys me,” said Katara. “You wouldn’t like it if the papers began publishing details about your last romantic relationship, right?”

Aang shook his head and stayed silent for a few moments, not sure of what to say to Katara. 

“Would you like me to tell Sokka to get the car so we can leave?” Aang asked, heading to the door.

“Wait!” Katara exclaimed, pulling Aang’s hand. “Can you please stay for a bit?” Aang’s heart skipped a few beats, but he turned back to the woman in front of him. When Aang faced the singer in front of him, he did not just see a music star, but a simple woman, who was showing emotion and needed comfort. 

Aang sat next to Katara and stayed close to her. Katara then turned around and wrapped her arms around Aang’s shoulders and cried some more. The young bodyguard did not know what to do and froze for a few moments, but decided to return the hug lightly and wrapped his long arms around her. Katara tightened her grip on his shoulders, searching for more security in Aang. A few minutes passed, and Katara’s cries seemed to ease, and her breathing came back to normal. 

“Thank you, Aang,” she cooed, looking at his silver grey eyes while holding his arms. Katara noticed the color in her bodyguard’s eyes and saw how pretty they were. The dark silver flakes made his eyes look like diamond jewelry and gave her a sense of security and comfort, a security she has been looking for years. 

A faint knock was heard from the door, and Katara turned around hoping it was not the paparazzi. 

“Kat?” Sokka called from the door. “Are you in there? The press left. We can go now.”

“You can come in, Sokka,” replied Katara. Sokka entered the room with caution approached the bodyguard and his sister with caution. 

“Are you okay?” Sokka asked. 

“Yes,” said Katara, following Sokka to the door. Then, she turned to Aang, stared sweetly into his eyes, and said: “Everything is better now.”

Aang felt his cheeks turn pink, and really hoped Katara or Sokka did not notice. He was starting to like his job a lot more, even if it had its stressful situations. Aang felt like he was going to enjoy his job, not because he worked for a famous singer, but because he cared for Katara. 

[see-arcane]

How different are Dracula's Demeter and TLVOTD?

Oof. Okay. This is going to hurt me as a staunch THE BOOK IS ALWAYS BETTER believer, but.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter is very much the better story. By a wide margin.

Spoilers for The Last Voyage of the Demeter, Dracula's Demeter, and Dracula below

Just speaking on differences, TLVOTD does sadly tuck in that Universal Pictures nonsense about ~the sun hurts vampires~ and sacrifices some of the Captain's coolness and giving the Romanians and the Roma any respect due to the origins of the poor chick who got boxed up as a bloodbag stowaway. But it is still a very very well done Dracula as an Actual Goddamn Monster horror film. Even the close of the movie--yes, with more random action slapped on for cinematic reasons--leaves a door open for one last knife twist as OC Protagonist stalks off into the shadows to hunt Dracula down...

...and possibly accidentally-brilliantly nodding to a certain scene in the novel where the gang enters the Count's Piccadilly house and finds a bowl of bloodied water. RIP.

It's a good scary story and it built something enjoyable out of the Demeter chapter's foundation. Definitely a refreshing departure from the constant sexypire barrage of Draculas.

Dracula's Demeter feels like a con job by comparison.

Specifically because it opens so promisingly. It's very obvious that the author read Dracula front to back and loved what he read! He uses tons of direct lines from it! He has period accurate details dappled throughout for the Demeter's ship and crew! He does an admirable job of building up his own two Requisite Guy and Girl Stowaway Romance OCs so they can do Meaningful Things, just like TLVOTD's duo do! Dracula is sinister and erudite and--credit where it's due--delivers an absolutely nightmarish demise to poor Petrofsky. Holy shit.

With all that, you can forgive the kind of rough editing and the way that (parentheses) and ALL CAPS ACTION WORDS get sprinkled throughout like someone who just peeled their stuff straight from Ao3. It's fine, it's fun. At first.

And then shit goes downhill and straight into Dracufetishland: Naughty Nautical Edition.

Because it turns out that where TLVOTD had Required Girl Character get to be a whole person and not a gossamer-dressed sexy lamp (even having been chomped), DD's Required Girl gets chomped and immediately goes full 'lol my human boyfriend is a loser compared to Count Fuckula,' in a way I might forgive if we were going for some unrelated vampire's story--but no. This is a Dracula story and she's in full Coppola mode.

She gets turned, ogles what's left of her reflection so we can talk about how hard and visible her nips are in a borrowed shirt, gets Dracuhorny, and ditches her boyfriend.

And then, when Earnest Englishman Boyfriend tries to burn the ship and save the day, he gets burned alive, and then Dracula orders Vampire Girlfriend to garrote the poor guy to death while wearing the convenient billowy white dress she brought onboard. And she does. Happily. There's not even a crumb of will or even dissent left in her the way we see with the goddamn Weird Sisters who were with him for centuries and actively tried to steal Jonathan from their master***, or even Bloofer Lady Lucy reaching for Art.

Just a pointless fuck you of a death that added nothing.

Followed by Dracula snapping Vampire Girlfriend's neck, double-kills her, and chucks her into the sea while chuckling about how silly it is to think that he would want a companion, ha ha!

...

Yes, I am also staring at the camera The Office-style, thinking about -checks notes- the Weird Sisters, Jonathan, Lucy, a random ass girl in Piccadilly, Mina...

Oh, that Dracula. Such a loner.

And all that leads to the Captain with the rosary--WHICH ISN'T EVEN HIS--and the last few chapters which are just pure padding about Dracula shoving the Demeter to shore. After getting a cutaway scene to Dracula hopping into Lucy's brain somehow to grope her while Mina watches. For reasons.

The book is, in short, pointless.

The OCs are pointless. Them being on the boat is pointless. Nothing they do, nothing the author has the crew or Dracula do, adds literally anything to what was already in the Demeter section of the book. There is no meat here, only voluptuous gristle.

And the thing is! The infuriating thing is! Because this is a Dracula*** story, it is still technically more respectful than the bulk of other writing and media about Dracula, because so much of it is doubly extra-fetished never-read-the-book never-liked-the-book utter garbage.

So I still have to give it 3/5 stars as a Dracula story. 1.5-2 in isolation.

Anyway, I'm going to go re-watch TLVOTD now

[mamasbakeria]

hey, what's your major again?

summary: my credible expert opinion on what the aot characters would study in university. what are my qualifications? the dozens of hours i’ve spent staring at my school’s program bulletin trying to figure out what i’m majoring in

genre | includes: headcanons, sfw, minor language, uninformed percy jackson reference (pls don't hate me if im wrong)

characters: eren jaeger, mikasa ackerman, armin arlert, sasha braus, jean kirschtein, connie springer, historia reiss, ymir, reiner braun, annie leonhardt

author’s note: had this in my drafts for months now. i just need to post it so it stops haunting me. might do the rest of the marleyans and vets in the future! lmk your thoughts, my only tumblr notifications are from p*rn bots, so i'd love to hear from real people lol. enjoy <3

eren: sociology and public policy, 4+1 program for a social work masters

there’s only so many times you can hear “you’re gonna be a doctor just like your dad” before you start to believe it. that’s why eren started out with biology on the premed track. the thing is, he really didn’t care for it. eren is really passionate about lessening equity gaps and is a firm believer in “if you want something done right, do it yourself”. this is why i see him making the switch to a double major in public policy and sociology. he wants to know about how society got to the point of perpetuating disparities so that he can fix them. but he also knows that the government fucking sucks and thinks its naive to expect policy change to be the only method of change. and like the maniac he is, eren is enrolled in a 4+1 program so he can get his master’s in social work when he’s done with his undergrad. he’s determined to graduate with both degrees in just 4 years though. rip his summers.

armin: international relations and military ethics, minor in communications or smth

everyone always says armin would study marine biology or oceanographic studies, but i honestly think that it’s a passion that he pursues on the side. he takes marine bio courses for his breadth requirements, but knows he’d end up hating the ocean if he spent the rest of his life studying it. he also strikes me as someone who would rather run buck naked into traffic than sit through multiple semesters of organic chemistry. armin was always a good public speaker, though, despite being a bit insecure. that’s why his speech and debate teacher during sophomore year of high school recommended model united nations to him. he was hooked after his first conference and now genuinely sees the path of international diplomacy as his calling. that’s why he’s majoring in international relations. his concentration in military ethics is something he tacks on in his junior year after taking some courses and publishing research with dr. erwin smith. he probably minors in communications because he can.

mikasa: forensic science

mikasa had no idea what she wanted to do when she started uni. she’s good at nearly everything. like never gotten a B in her life and is the student who the curve is based off of. but excelling in every environment you’re put in often means you don’t know what you’re best at. she knew deep down that she wanted to do something justice related like her childhood best friends did, but she’s no public speaker and has no interest in political reform. she was, however, emo in high school and heard a fair share of undertaker jokes at her expense. it wouldn’t hurt to look into right? as cool as the title sounds, morticians don’t make enough money for the job they have. fortunately enough, forensic pathologists do and mikasa looks good in a lab coat. she would never admit it to spare armin and eren’s feelings, but when they, as children, recreated the crime-solving shows mrs. jaeger always had on, mikasa always wanted to be the brains. so criminology and forensic science it is. (side note: she definitely joins the military and they pay for her education)

jean: structural engineering and industrial design with a minor in studio art

more than anything, jean wants to provide for his mom and knows he can’t guarantee a retirement of luxury for her as the freelance artist he wishes he could be. he’s decent at math when he tries and doesn’t hate physics, so he decided he’d give structural engineering a try for at least a semester or two. he wasn’t expecting to get much from it, to be honest. he had a plethora of backup plans waiting for his supposedly inevitable distaste for engineering, but he found that he didn’t hate it at all. someone once told jean that he had the makings of a great leader and he didn’t believe them until he started taking the lead on design projects and producing incredible results. his only qualm is that he just doesn’t get to be as creative as he wanted to be. that was easily rectified by an additional major in industrial design and a minor in studio art. he’s unbelievably busy, busier than he anticipated when he started his post-secondary journey, but he’s content and there’s nothing some extra coffee can’t solve. 

sasha: environmental science and sustainability

sasha spent her childhood ankle-deep in mud and fighting her way through forest thickets without a compass. an upbringing like that doesn’t leave your spirit, no matter how far into the city you go for school. so sasha’s always been passively passionate about the environment. that passiveness became significantly more prominent when part of the woods she grew up in was cleared out to build an industrial complex. it was then that she started researching and writing petitions about preserving wildlife and making environmentally conscious decisions. her work actually got her the scholarship she’s on (because god knows it wasn’t her grades). and she genuinely loves what she does, so why wouldn’t she keep learning about it? the environmental science and sustainability program at the school is small, but tight-knit and known for churning out changemakers. sasha knows she’ll be one of them one day. just hide your plastic straws from her, okay?

connie: computer science and chinese

stick with me here okay? everyone expects connie to be a douchebag marketing major whose hardest assignments are graphing functions and making posters on photoshop, but he’s a lot more invested in his education than he looks. don’t get me wrong, connie has always struggled academically, but that’s because so much of early education is pre-determined. he performed way better when he could choose what courses he took. it’s kind of like percy jackson being dyslexic in english because he was wired to read in greek. connie can’t keep his eyes on a history textbook for shit, but will gladly sit in front of the c++ code on his pc for hours. he doesn’t even get mad when he realizes that he was missing a semicolon. connie loves how versatile of a future he could have with a compsci degree, because, let’s be real, he could never survive in a typical office environment. definitely takes a bunch of chinese classes and doesn’t realize that he has enough credits for it to be a minor until his second to last semester.

historia: political science with a minor in international relations and child development

historia is a lot like eren in the sense that she knows her time is best spent doing hands-on work in the fields she cares about. she realizes this sometime after reconnecting with her estranged father and volunteering at the orphanage she grew up in. but now that she’s publicly associated with a powerful political figure, historia doesn’t get to do what she wants, only what is expected of her. that’s how she ends up on the pre-law political science and public policy route. the nickname “ms. president” that connie and sasha give her only further reminds her that she’s heading down a path she never wanted for herself. after lots of encouragement from ymir, historia decided to take child development courses on the side. even if she doesn’t take on the full minor, she’s taking some classes she cares about. maybe she’ll find use for it someday. at the very least, it’s her first step in becoming the most selfish girl in the world.

ymir: data science and business management

ymir is smart. much smarter than she presents herself to be, almost as a form of protection. nobody expects much of someone who is aloof, so it makes it easy to slip through the cracks to remain safe and comfortable in the shadows. business management is notoriously low commitment and easy to skate by with. guaranteed internships, post-graduate employment, and so on. To anyone who doesn’t know ymir well, it’s perfect. but they have her mistaken, ymir will do as little as possible to go as far as possible. sure, she can live comfortably with a business degree, but it could be better with a little bit of data science in her arsenal. she’s intelligent enough to pick up on it, and determined enough to make it her bitch. yeah, academia is a money-sucking pipeline into the capitalist hellscape, she doesn’t believe in it yada yada, but at the end of the day, ymir’s gonna get the bag. so what if she’s gotta sleep through some stats classes to get it?

reiner: behavioral economics

reiner’s mother had convinced him his whole life that getting a high paying job would fix their lives and bring his father back. believing “perfect grades lead to a perfect life” made high school tough for reiner; gifted kid burnout is no joke. it really messed him up. he wasn’t sure if he could withstand the pressures of university, but here he is. reiner was never allowed a therapist, so he figured pursuing psychology would, at the very least, give him some answers and be a good pathway to a medical degree. he loved getting to understand how people work and why they act the way they do, but something was missing. he found out what it was when a guest lecturer spoke in his economics class. he knew making the switch would be risky, it’s a new field and his current career options are really only research, academia, or government, but the interdisciplinary study of behavioral economics is calling reiner’s name. 

annie: biomedical engineering and kinesiology

annie’s entire life revolved around her father, including the injury he was never able to heal from. the one she gave him. he’s claimed to be over it, she’s forgiven, but annie will never feel like she’s earned that forgiveness until she gets rid of the problem entirely. how is she going to do that exactly? with biomedical engineering. she has years of hell in front of her, especially with her concentration on biomechanics, but she doesn’t care. annie will throw herself into her work to get the results she wants. she takes the highest amount of credits possible every semester so she can graduate early. you’ll most likely find her chained to a study cubicle at the library at all hours of the day and running on 2 hours of sleep, but it doesn’t faze her. she tacks on a minor in kinesiology because it makes sense and she had most of the credits for it anyway. and as if it couldn’t get worse, she probably TAs for a thermodynamics course or something crazy like that.

© mamasbakeria 2023. do not repost, translate (without permission), or modify

[musclesandhammering]

No, Sylvie didn’t “have a point” in that bar convo.

Ok. I’ve seen a lot of sylvie stans on Twitter (and ofc Twitter is the app of choice for sylvie stans lmao) claiming that, in the bar conversation in episode 5, Sylvie had the moral high ground. They say she Made Points and that she’s consistently been the one trying to preserve lives while Loki/Mobius/the TVA have been carelessly destroying them. Yeah. Let’s talk about that.

On Sylvie being right about Loki “kidnapping” people from their timelines…

First off, Loki admitted that he had an ulterior motive of bringing his friend group back together because he didn’t want to be alone. Cool! But he didn’t say he wanted to forcefully drag them from their happy lives and imprison them somewhere so they couldn’t leave just so he could hang out with them. He said they should be given a choice whether they wanted to join him in his ‘save the TVA’ quest or go back to their current lives. A choice. You know.. like what they didn’t have before.

And it’s kinda valid, when you think about it. Yes, they had/have lives on their original branches, but they also had/have lives at the TVA. Centuries worth of life there. They have friends there, they have jobs that they genuinely see as their own glorious purposes, and (in recent days) they have their own little world-saving team! They have a heroic mission! They have their friendship with Loki! And whether or not they should’ve been drafted to the TVA is irrelevant, because it happened. And those experiences are significant just like their experiences on the timeline. It was wrong for HWR to take away their memories and their choice to stay in their mundane lives, but it’s equally as wrong for Sylvie to not want to give them their memories of the TVA back or give them the choice to go back to that life, if they want to. And considering how A.D. Doug and Frank’s branch lives are going (read: not good), I’m fairly confident they’d choose to return if they had all their memories back.

And I mean, considering how the meeting with Sylvie went, if any of them had refused to come with Loki, he would have let them stay! It’s not like he was literally kidnapping them. He just wanted to give them a choice in hopes that they’d choose him. Just because Sylvie can’t imagine ever wanting to leave her life on the timeline to go back to the TVA doesn’t mean she can make that choice for others.

On Sylvie being right about just leaving everyone be and letting the TVA stay destroyed…

Like..??? This is so frustrating. This is probably my greatest source of annoyance with her throughout this entire season. She’s constantly argued in favour of inaction, despite the fact that she knows there is an emergency going on that requires immediate action. Moral discussions aside, just sitting at McDonalds and ignoring everything that’s going on isn’t feasible, because- as Loki has been trying to tell her for 4 episodes now- if the loom melts down, there won’t be a McDonalds anymore. There won’t be anything. The entire multiverse will be fettuccine 😭. 

Like I just don’t understand her logic?? Either she doesn’t believe him (despite having evidence), or she just doesn’t care because a.) she thinks they should fix the mess she made while she just chills in the 80s OR b.) she thinks “well I’ll be fine, fuck everyone else 🤪” because she has the master tempad and thinks she can just keep outrunning the destruction like she’s been doing her whole life.

Either way, though, even if the branches weren’t being spaghettified and everything was fine.. there’s still a billion kang variants on the horizon. Like does that not trouble her at all? I’m sure her reasoning would be that she’d just kill any Kangs that show up, but it’s hilarious how she’s so confident in her ability to do that considering she did nothing impressive to kill He Who Remains. He sat in a chair and offered himself up to her. She walked up and stabbed him in the chest. Like there was no battle, that was no accomplishment. But she really thinks she did something, huh? To the point that she’s willing to risk the lives of everyone in the multiverse, gambling on her ability to single-handedly take on an entire army of all-powerful dudes actually trying to win. Nonsensical behaviour.

On Sylvie just wanting to save all the innocent people…

Building on my last point. Sylvie’s whole thing about being the one that stands up for The People and does everything in the best interest of the innocents… yeah, that’s bs lol. Sylvie, I think, has convinced herself that she’s fighting to preserve lives, but in all actuality, she’s just fighting to oppose the TVA. She’s not seeking justice (at least not primarily), she’s seeking revenge. And that’s been a problem with her since the end of season 1.

She had no problem murdering 400+ minute men in violent and torturous ways (she even enjoyed doing it, and still takes pride in it), despite the fact that she knew they were innocent people brainwashed and forced to work for the TVA. She had no problem sitting back and letting the infinite number of Kangs come, even though it was inevitable that lots of innocent people would be killed by them. As long as she didn’t have to do the work to prepare for it, she was fine with that risk. Loki tried to tell her multiple times, in multiple instances, that the TVA falling apart would cause branched timelines to be destroyed and all the people on them to die, but she ignored him and didn’t believe him and refused to do anything to help over and over and over until that very thing ended up happening. As a matter of fact, she never cared at all until it effected her timeline. Then she immediately was like “there must be something we can do!!”

Anyway….. I just think it’s annoying how some people act like she’s the pro-life (not that kind of pro-life) voice of reason in all this. She’s extremely selfish (yes, more so than Loki) and perfectly willing to let innocent people die if it means she gets to keep relaxing on her branch. Much like Brad. And you know what? That doesn’t make her a villain! There’s nothing wrong with wanting a life away from the organisation that ruined your old one. But I wish folks would stop saying she was right. Cause.. no, bestie, she was not. Lol.

[beneathsilverstars]

ooc of me to go this long without thinking about a daycare teacher au but i'm doing it now and i think siffrin would teach babies, nille would teach toddlers, isabeau younger preschoolers, mirabelle older preschoolers, and odile the after-school kids.

baby rooms are very routine-based with lots of written notes and almost no variation from the schedule, which would work well for siffrin! i think older kids might stress him out because he's kind of sensitive lol, but babies can't be mean to you or each other. and they definitely need more snuggles in their life, which babies are great for.

toddlers enjoy a lot of rough and tumble play because they're calibrating their proprioceptive senses, and people tend to hc nille as active and strong. having a bad reaction to sudden touch could be an issue with any age group, but at least toddler classrooms are built to make it easy to keep track of where everyone is at once, and toddlers don't care if you react weird sometimes!

early preschoolers are trying to learn how to name and manage big feelings and navigate interpersonal conflicts, but still can't communicate very clearly, so isabeau's emotional perceptiveness would come in handy. he's also strong enough to still be able to carry them and swing them around easily. and he's very silly, which is a plus with any age, but esp kids who are old enough to have active opinions but not old enough to hold a long conversation.

pre-kindergarten is the era of mastering basic skills like writing letters, using scissors, and naming days of the week; mirabelle loves taking all sorts of classes, so i think she'd love teaching all sorts of skills! and since she's used to working through her own anxiety, she would probably do a good job helping kids who are starting to become aware of more complex social dynamics and getting shy and self-conscious.

odile is self-assured and unflappable enough to be able to handle big kids, who will pounce on a hint of weakness. i think she'd get quite bored of cutesy early childhood stuff, but elementary school kids can play real games and do cool big projects! and she'd definitely notice when any trouble starts brewing so she can nip it in the bud.

none of them are lead teachers lol, except odile since the ratio for elementary schoolers only requires one teacher. euphrasie is the director, and mirabelle works there because she went to the same center as a kid and remembers it fondly. bonnie goes to the after-school classroom, and nille gets that sweet employee discount on childcare. odile is doing this temporarily while she looks for a job teaching adults in her actual field, isabeau kinda defaulted to childcare because he has way too much experience taking care of younger siblings, and siffrin applied to every job in the area and happened to get this one first. <3

[incorrectelswordquotes]

Do you remember when the job progression quests had dialogue cutscenes and difficult quests? Each town had its own gear and you'd have to drop blue-background items to upgrade it. And it was character-specific too. Ice statues had to be crafted, and the ingredients would just pile up in your inventory. There was Unique equipment for every region you had a chance to drop after a boss battle, and it'd be shown in the chat. Plant Overlord's accessory was the top trending thing. Rena was blonde and did a flip when she double jumped. The first field introduced was the one between Hamel and Velder. The level cap was 40 and it was *hard* to get there.

I sure don't miss a lot of this stuff, but looking back, it feels like a wholly different game.

i played around when the game was still like this for the most part, except the level cap at the time was 70? and then over time it jumped to 90 but my middle-school/high-school ass couldn't keep up. actually, i remember seeing the new UI the game has for the health bars and that was already enough to throw me off. not that it looks bad, but i remember seeing this UI for the longest time:

vs this:

like as much as i miss the one i got acquainted with, this new one is a lot simpler and cleaner? yet it retains that cartoony vibe with the slanted bars so thats neat. and then there's THIS:

i'll admit i havent played during this era but man this looks busy af. it was simple yea, but something feels off about it. like i love the look here too but it kinda clashes colors-wise. there's not too much of a difference between the original UI and the one after it but i could tell it needed slimming down.

while i was gone i also learned that the previous privately-hosted server VoidEls was shut down but was eventually replaced by another, which is fair enough i guess.

"Each town had its own gear and you'd have to drop blue-background items to upgrade it. And it was character-specific too."

this was both cool and annoying, for me personally at least. it's cool in that every town having gear gave you a way to progress before getting even stronger gear. sort of like a jumping-off point for every town you got to as they handed you their own version of stuff you could use. and you could emulate their aesthetic by wearing their gear. the annoying part is that constantly switching gear means item management is necessary to prevent your inventory from maxing out, and not every item looked good on you. if you didn't have skins? tough luck. (my memory might be wrong here so please correct me if i messed something up)

"...job progression quests had dialogue cutscenes and difficult quests?"

THEY GOT RID OF THOSE!? maybe im jaded but as a writer, i liked seeing the player-characters' personal struggle as they progressed through a job-specific mission. those short cutscenes let us see what they're really like. even if some of the requirements really were trash. i still remember spamming the same dungeon over and over hoping for a quest drop (or multiple) so i can move on. but after hearing the story was consolidated to be one singular, linear path regardless of who you played, maybe they streamlined the job class progression system too?

update: yea it seems you still have to spam dungeons to upgrade to Master Class but it looks less tedious than before for previous class ranks.

"Plant Overlord's accessory was the top trending thing."

boss accessories were the bane of my existence so this makes sense. it seems like it's unobtainable, as many overworld zones and dungeons have since been removed based on what i just looked up

im assuming Plant Overlord isn't fightable anymore or only shows up in some elite zone now so rip

"Rena was blonde and did a flip when she double jumped."

i didn't know this. in fact when i checked her wiki page, the change was because her hair wasn't green enough despite her class art showing her as having green-hued hair.

speaking of the wiki,

holy fucking shit thats a lot of classes

[peppymintdreams]

Handling Business

Asirel Cain x Pet

The ornate, high-ceilinged room of Asirel's study was filled with tension, the kind that lingered thickly in the air. Papers were scattered across the polished wooden desk, a few bills and contracts lying in neat piles beside carefully written notes. Asirel sat in his chair, his fingers pressed lightly against his temple, his thoughts focused entirely on the matter before him.

He had a meeting with the court—a delicate matter involving a client who was proving to be more trouble than he was worth. The man had been causing issues, and Asirel needed a solution, something discreet and effective. Someone like him wasn’t used to dealing with problems in the open. He preferred silence, efficiency, and subtlety.

He looked up when he heard the soft click of the door opening. Pet stepped in, their presence immediately commanding his attention. Their expression was neutral, as always, though there was a subtle tension in the air between them. They knew what was coming.

"Master," Pet greeted, voice calm but with an underlying softness that only he could recognize.

Asirel gestured for them to come closer, his lips curling into a faint smile. "Pet," he said, his tone a bit more serious than usual. "I have business to attend to with the court. A client, you see—one who needs... handling."

Pet tilted their head slightly, a hint of understanding passing through their eyes. "What would you like me to do, Master?"

A knowing glimmer flickered in Asirel's gaze. "I need you to deal with him," he said smoothly, his voice carrying a layer of command. "This man is troublesome, but he doesn't know how to respect boundaries. I want you to ensure that he does."

Pet's posture remained straight, but there was a subtle shift in their demeanor, a shift that spoke volumes. "How should I handle him?" they asked, their tone implying they understood exactly what was required.

Asirel leaned forward, his fingers tapping rhythmically against the desk. "His pride is his greatest flaw. He believes he can manipulate his way through life, expecting others to bend to his will. He needs to be reminded of who truly holds the power in this situation."

Pet's gaze softened, a small, almost imperceptible nod of agreement. "Understood."

Asirel stood from his chair, moving toward a nearby cabinet where he kept a set of elegant, yet practical, tools. He returned to Pet, his eyes scanning them briefly, as if measuring their readiness. He reached into a drawer, pulling out a small, elegant black velvet pouch. From it, he retrieved a thin silver chain, adorned with a few delicate charms. He held it up, the glint of silver catching the light.

"Put this on," he instructed, his tone slightly softer, almost imperceptible in its concern.

Pet took the chain from his hand without hesitation, slipping it over their head. The cool silver settled around their neck, the charms resting just above their collarbone. It was both beautiful and practical—an accessory with purpose, a reminder of Asirel's trust in them.

"You will make him see the consequences of his actions," Asirel continued, his voice now a low murmur. "But you will remain in control. You know how to keep a situation in balance."

Pet nodded, their resolve clear in their eyes. "I will handle it, Master. I will not let him forget his place."

Asirel’s lips curled into a faint smile, the kind that held no warmth, but rather an air of quiet approval. "Good. I expect nothing less."

He stepped closer, placing a hand on Pet's shoulder, his touch firm yet gentle. "You are the perfect tool for the job. I trust you will ensure the client leaves with a clearer understanding of his situation."

Pet met his gaze, their expression unwavering. "I will make sure of it."

Asirel's fingers grazed their chin before gently tilting their face upward. "I’m counting on you," he whispered, his voice carrying a rare note of sincerity.

Without another word, Pet turned and left the study, their movements fluid and purposeful. Asirel watched them go, his mind already turning to the next part of the plan.

The court meeting would go smoothly, he was certain of it. Pet would handle the client with the kind of subtle precision only they could provide. After all, with Asirel’s guidance, Pet had learned the art of making people listen. And when they were finished, the client would never forget who was truly in charge.

🍬

P.S. Hey… hey, you! 🫵🏾 Do you want more Sakuverse gay shit? Hit that follow button and send in a request! You’ll get notifications whenever I post new fics or incorrect quotes or head canons and maybe even a chance to have your OC featured in a story.

[bellshazes]

i am very curious about your academic history! uni or informal or personal interest or otherwise. i've seen you mention a number of disciplines from time to time, v cool to see medieval studies be among them. always awe-inspiring to see someone use their wealth of lit knowledge to help create incredibly provocative posts about minecraft youtubers. your experience with philosophy is one i'd love to know more about.

(if you're comfortable with sharing it! otherwise, feel free to ignore this ask :P)

this is a very lovely ask and i don't mind to share at all because it's really just... a hodgepodge. it took me twelve years to graduate college. i flunked out my junior year and tried in fits to go back and chip away at my last requirements only when i got reimbursement through my job. i concentrated my courses on medieval culture/literature, french, and general linguistics (these often overlapped). i didn't study any actual theory in my courses until i took my final 2 humanities ones. which in fact i took and blogged through right here.

taking that theater of the absurd class (as Last Life happened!) connected me to academic game studies, which was easy pickings since i spent about a decade teaching arkham horror (and occasional other pinch hits for e.g. catan) at game conventions. so i have a lot of friends from those cons who enjoy and have the vocabulary to dissect games' mechanics and feel and the social dynamics of them. i love rehashing the difference between game mastering a co-op board game vs. an official strategy tournament vs. casual improv games vs. casual competitive vs. asymmetric, and then rehashing the player pov of each of those and more, and people who can argue back.

i'm very lucky to have friends who also think of philosophy not as being walled off from daily life but a practice of examining the world and our relationships within it. we sit and argue for the sake of tearing a concept apart, like "what differentiates art from craft?" or "does the platonic ideal suck or is it romantic?" or "what are you most afraid of?". do this for at least 5 years and you'll end up with complex opinions and perspectives. in my early 20s, biking from my restaurant job to free museums and writing about local art history kept me alive.i'm lucky my very bizarre career path since has led me to jobs where taxonomical flexibility and philosophy are necessary skills.

i think everything is worth taking seriously, even the most unserious parts of life, and i think you can take play seriously while also remaining playful in your examination. i think all your experiences build on themselves by virtue of aging, if you allow yourself to play with them. i think that there are a thousand silver threads between each thing and every every every other thing in the world and universe and imagination and drawing those lines of juxtaposition illuminate the edges of a negative space that is dynamic as it pulls and is pushed by all of its interrelationships, even the most obscure thinnest threads. i wouldn't have worked all that out without talking with the same people again and again.

at a work conference last year i was introduced to gregory bateson, whose ecology of mind makes me feel like i just stepped off the tallest rollercoaster in the world. i'm still not sure that i've got a good enough understanding of pedagogy of the oppressed (which i discovered via um les mis fanfic?) but i reread the second chapter even more often than i revisit quine's the ways of paradox. for good advice on how to be an amateur, tampopo lays it out the best. i lead with being a college dropout because i want to emphasize i'm no master of anything, just a lover of many, but that i think a critical amateurism, a love that drives learning and development and communion with others is just about the best most life-giving thing there is.

[simulation-machine]

SIMS RELATED PROJECTS/UPDATES

My spring break is coming up in a week and holy crap do I have plans on plans on plans, especially since my summer is gonna be full of school + internship + HOPEFULLY friggin' graduating with a BA in Psychology so that I can start applying to grad schools.

Read more iffin' you'd like! It's long! Here's a picture of my golden retriever napping on her brother's food bowl to entice/entertain you:

god she is so precious i would literally kill for her

GOAL 1: MASTER GSHADE/ReSHADE

I know that some people are sticklers for this but my thing is that I had no gee-dee clue what I was doing with ReShade, whereas Gshade just kinda clicked and worked for me? That said I have a bunch of resources for learning ReShade so I might end up moving back to it at some point.

My main issue is figuring out the order of all the different effects. It obviously matters, I'm sure people smarter than me have tried to use presets only to be like "why tf does this look absolutely nothing like the baller screenshots this one cool Simblr has?" Annnd it turns out it's order + remembering to turn off certain graphic settings. Also photoshop, but that's gonna take a lot longer for me to figure out lol.

Like I'd been struggling to figure out why @gunthermunch's gorgeous Lithium preset wasn't looking as sexy as it did before annnnd it's because I forgot to turn Edge Smoothing off when switching to it. Jesus wept at how dippy I am sometimes.

Eventually, what I would like to do is maybe make my own preset at some point? I would be kind enough to show the effect order too if I did so. But this requires so, so much more shader knowledge than I currently have.

FUN FACT: My first ever degree was in art, I even went to a very fancy and private art school (School of the Art Institute of Chicago if you're curious)- I dropped out after one semester because uhhh that shit is expensive. Ended up finishing my degree at a much cheaper location in MN. That said, my art was 100% analog and 2D, and it turns out it did not translate super well into trying my hand at graphic art.

It's funny because I've been gifted really neat stuff for graphic art (like a really nice Wacom tablet and Adobe subscriptions), like people just expected my mixed-media ass would know what to do with it. NOPE! But yeah, Sims is sort of my excuse to try my hand at this stuff again, especially since I have a bit more energy now that my soul is not regularly being drained out of my body by customer service and tech support jobs.

GOAL 2: GET CRACKIN' ON ANOTHER DOOR

This one is hard because I am only on Gen 2 of the Orsons and it's sort of hard to justify starting up another story while that one is less than 1/5 of the way done.

THAT SAID, I don't plan on posting Another Door until I have a decent chunk of it done. Since it's not a casual gameplay story nor a legacy challenge, I plan on editing the bajeez out of the screenshots for it, really honing in on the aesthetic. I want it to look and feel very different from my random legacy challenge.

Fortunately, this story has been fucking up my sleep schedule for *months* now and I have a lot of the writing for it done. The hard part is translating that into the Sims, making sure I get the right poses and stuff, maybe even learning how to make some super easy CC (like, posters and stuff), and stuff related to GOAL 1 above.

What I'm saying is that it's going to take a bit. But I'm super serious about sharing it because it's my obsession and honestly the first time a story of my own design has possessed me in literal years.

Also, I want to make sure I have a significant backlog of the Orsons before I start seriously simming for it, because I don't want to screw over my favorite little pixel babies. This legacy challenge is going to be the one, I have done so much to keep my save files to keep it safe from harm (ask me how many backups I have of the save files. JK don't, the number is frankly silly).

GOAL 3: START YET ANOTHER MASSIVE CC PURGE

Y'all, my CC folder for this game is honestly an embarrassment. I go so hard on CC shopping because this community is stupid-talented and I like giving my pixel babies nice things and cool looks. When I'm bored and not quite in the mood for gameplay, I just like making neat-looking sims that I do absolutely nothing with because I love fucking around in CAS.

I have built my own PCs since I was 17 years old, and when I first built COMPUTERMACHINE (current rig) back in the autumn of 2018, it was with the goal that it would run Sims 4 flawlessly no matter what I did to it. It's got ridiculous amounts of RAM, I religiously update parts for it. And to be fair, even with the current 6,907,907,890 TB of CC I have atm it runs better than Sims 3 ever had with a measly 50 GB of CC.

But for me, it comes down to finding all the stuff I wanna use. Making myself get rid of the stuff I don't wanna use. Straight up yeeting the CC that I thought was going to look incredible that uh, didn't deliver.

I do CAS CC purges about once a year but have literally never done it for Build & Buy stuff, because OMG some of this shit I've had since 2014. Like when Sims 4 first came out. YIKES. My CAS CC obsession is notable but it's honestly nothing compared to my Build & Buy. Even before For Rent made building lots slow af, my PC was starting to take a solid minute to switch to different buy categories.

It would take a long af time so I want to make sure I have a bunch of content in the queue before I do it. It's gonna be a whole ass thing and be so, so boring to do. So I'm putting it off for when I have a ton of time to do it. Like, oh, my entire Spring Break?

GOAL 4: MAKE A FRIGGIN' RESOURCES LIST ALREADY

This would obviously need to wait until after GOAL 3 is completed, but I wanna make sure the awesome creators whose stuff I use get credit, and that people know where they can grab neat stuff. It would include not only CC but mods, Gshade/ReShade presets, and maybe even lots and sims I've downloaded from the gallery?

(Since I am super anti-paywall and very unapologetic and rude about it, I will also share where one could perhaps get some of these CCs without paying some dip a Trenta Starbucks Unicorn Frappucino amount of $$$)

It's ambitious as hell because *gestures vaguely at GOAL 3* but it would make things like doing WCIF asks and lookbooks so much easier.

Somewhat relatedly, I wanna make a navigation post, especially once Another Door starts getting posted. That story is gonna be a bit huge with multiple arcs that take place over the course of like, 14 years. Plus once the Orsons get to the 4th+ generation, it would be easier to track things down.

IN CONCLUSION...

I have been having so much fun sharing my silly little Sim adventures on Tumblr, so much more than I ever thought I would! You all have been so great to me, and all of this stuff is sort of a way for me to repay that. Ever since I stopped being able to be artistically creative ever since a really nasty depressive spell in 2017, Sims has been my #1 artistic outlet. And having people who are even somewhat entertained by my pixels is incredibly motivating.

Basically, if you read all of this, DAMN would you have been a rad livejournal follower of mine circa 2007. On the seriousness, however, thank you all so much for being rad and encouraging and sweet. I promise to do you all, if not proud, then at the very least not disappointed.

Time to hit the bong and take some pictures of Lou and Tatertot before taking my IRL doggos on a walk~

[frodothefair]

When I first started simping Eomer

During my most recent reread of The Two Towers, I once again "met" Eomer when he encountered the Three Hunters, and his reaction was, if you put it in our language, "what the fuck, what the fuck, what the actual fuck, who are these weird people, and more importantly what the HELL am I supposed to do with them now?" Part of his job was to enforce an edict that required all foreigners in Rohan to be arrested and brought to the king, and he struggled with whether to carry this order out, or help the Hunters in their quest. Ultimately, he bent the rules, even within sight of a number of other men under his leadership, and let them go, and even lent them horses.

And by the time I was done reading this, I was sobbing in my mind and thinking "you too, Eomer, man, you too??!!! Let me buy you a pint of mead and we can commiserate all about it..."

I face situations the like the one described every day. I get paid to solve problems for people, just as Eomer kills orcs to keep his people safe, and over the course of my job I run into outlandish situations I only thought existed in books ("legends that spring up from the earth.") I am also part of a system and have to enforce rules I may or may not agree with from time to time, and have to make difficult decisions about what the most logical and humane course of action is in any given case.

As Mr. Nisile was quick to point out, of course, I do not run the risk of being imprisoned or exiled if I make the wrong choice, but in every other respect, the parallels are there, and quite meaningful to one who has both power and responsibility, but often still cannot do enough, and yet they must function within a system and answer to many different masters, from their own respected superiors, to the people they serve, to their very own conscience.

The bad news? My car refuses to answer to "Firefoot." The old name, even though it's that of an actor I've cooled toward, has stuck and does not want to unstick. Ah, well.

@sotwk @konartiste

[pleb-the-original]

Day 4: Dragon

(Sorry if this took a while. I was dry on ideas and also went on vacation for a bit. I wanted to do the Codrille cause a plague dragon sounded really cool. It was only until today that I finally figured out a good theme for this piece. A care guide welcoming you to the job.)

Welcome to the Codrille Care Program! Once you have received the initial package containing this pamphlet, you are now an official member of the program. We’re glad to have you on board! The following segment will be a QnA dictating the extent of the program’s duties and history. What is the Program? The Codrille Care Program is a small organization tasked with caring for the small flock of Codrilles owned by the plague demons when they are not in use. We dutifully follow the care guidelines outlined in the master document and are dedicated to giving them the maximum quality of life possible. Fun Fact: Although Codrilles are noted to have a lower intelligence compared to other dragons leading to an inability to speak, that just means their intelligence is on par with highly intelligent animals such as dolphins or corvids. Why? It is our duty to uphold the Dragon’s Pact at all costs despite outsider opinions on the usefulness of Codrilles. Despite their unorthodox abilities disqualifying them from the usual smithing career many other dragons take, they are still an important asset to Hell due to their plague spreading abilities. Many plague demons have compared their impact to that of a warplane spreading a biological payload. Fun fact: Codrilles have flown alongside several military planes throughout history in order to boost the effects of their payload such as with the spread of Agent Orange. How? Cordille care is somewhat similar to the care of other dragons with a few notable key differences. The main difference lies their more animalistic nature. Codrilles are kept in stables and cannot directly communicate their needs and desires and thus must be either inferred or learned through bonding with the Codrille. Our Codrilles are highly personable with a variety of quirks that will make anyone fall in love with them. Another important aspect of care is their weekly crown polishing. A Codrille’s crown gem will lose its luster over time as it generates the Codrille’s natural plague aura. In the wild their gem is recharged by solar power and ambient earth magic but due to the Pact and human activity they are unable to access these resources. The gem can be charged and cleansed using demon magic however Codrilles have various different reactions to the process from complete calmness to rage. Fun Fact: During a Codrille’s juvenile salamander stage, it requires a heavy dose of pure natural magical energy in order to grow its gem. It has been theorized that humans looking at a Codrille and becoming aware of it sends some human magic into it which disrupts said delicate process and causes the Codrille’s death. What about me? Once you clock in for your first day, you will be assigned to a Codrille of any age stage. If you are assigned to our breeding program, you will be in charge of the chicken flock that hatches the Codrille and will note if the rooster lays an egg. Once the egg has been determined to host a Codrille (if it is not, they will be given to other dragon rehabilitators), you will be assigned to watch over its development in the mortal world. Do not look at it when it hatches before it sees you. Demon magic has been shown to corrupt a Codrille’s developmental stages leading to defects in adult life. If you are assigned to the juvenile program, you will be tasked with feeding the salamanders and tracking their food intake. You are not allowed to look at them in this state either but you will monitor their health based on the amount of bad luck emitted by them in this state. If you are assigned to the adult program, you will be placed with a team of carers assigned to a Codrille tasked with meeting its needs and keeping it satisfied in between the occasional deployment. You may be tasked with ride training a Codrille to get it accustomed to being ridden by a plague demon. Fun Fact: Codrille riders were one of the major forces that saved a lot of dragons from the cullings that occurred prior to the Pact. Good luck on your new endeavors with us! 

[maccreadysbaby]

male fo4 companions +arcade & butch (bc I see them on your master list) rank them on being able to take care of a severely injured sole/lone/six?

Okay! this goes from best to worst, I really hope arcade and butch aren’t ooc! I try to do my research on them :)

Ranking Male Companions Taking Care of an Injured Sole/Lone/Six

Arcade is the best for very obvious reasons. It’s his job. As soon as Six is down, he knows what he’s doing and he executes flawlessly. Definitely griping at them while he works, but nonetheless, he gets everything done nice and tidy. Very capable of separating emotions and work, so he won’t have shaky hands or be panicking like some of the others. Will shamelessly call them dumb if they got hurt doing something dumb. He’s glad they’re okay, really, but also don’t be stupid and you won’t get hurt. Will withhold the stupid comments if it was a very serious injury, like they were shot or something.

10/10 - The best male companion to have on hand for Couriers that can’t stop getting hurt. (And his grumbling is entertaining.)

Nick may be a synth, and doesn’t require real first aid, but c’mon, he used to be a policeman! He still remembers most of that aid and is extremely knowledgeable and good at helping. He’s always a little hesitant about things like using his metal hand, but that won’t stop him from helping Sole. Tries to talk to them — distract them, even — and never fails to make them crack at least one smile. Unmatchably gentle, even more so than Preston. Will take them to a real doctor after but they probably won’t need much attention because Nick already covered it all. Can help with things from little scrapes to punctured lungs and does so with deadly accuracy, seems to somehow materialize medical supplies out of nowhere.

10/10 - Probably the most comforting companion to have by Sole’s side when they’re hurt.

Preston may not be a doctor, but he has the heart of a medic buried somewhere deep inside of him from his time with the Minutemen. Also very capable of keeping himself together while helping Sole. Unlike Arcade, when he works, he’s constantly asking Sole if they’re okay, how they’re feeling, what hurts, what else they need from him, etc. Sees them, momentarily, as just another one of his men because he works most efficiently like that. His face stays blank (but at least he doesn’t look angry.) Moves slow and treats them like they’re fragile. He knows surprisingly more first aid than anyone would think, but definitely wants to get them stable and to a real doctor.

10/10 - Good at what he does and unmistakably gentle, with words and first aid, while he does it.

Danse is no stranger to combat aid, though he isn’t the best with less casual, more complex aid. Will definitely be a little more nervous than the others while tending to Sole. Dead silent when he’s working because he’s trying so hard. Gritted teeth and set jaw, rarely muttering things quietly that Sole can’t really make out. Looks kind of angry the whole time just because he’s focusing so hard. But he will do a good job nonetheless, and is incredibly efficient at getting Sole to a real, trustworthy doctor afterwards. They always tell him he did a good job and it never fails to make a little smile quirk up on his little dork face. He’s actually just glad they’re okay.

9/10 - Sole will think he’s mad the whole time but he’s actually just trying really hard.

Deacon is cool as a cucumber on the outside, but internally, he freaks out. Constant rambling and so many jokes. Pretends like he knows what he’s doing but he’s always kinda winging it. He knows general first aid, but nothing major, and he’s really anxious about doing a good job. Probably tries too hard and screws up because he’s trying so hard. Pretends he didn’t screw up. His hands might shake just a little if the injury is particularly bad, but he’ll play it off cool. He ends up covered in blood and looking like he’s the one that was hurt. Looks worse than Sole. Isn’t bad at first aid, but isn’t good at it either?

Drops to a solid 7/10 — At least he pretends to know. Good at easing Sole’s nerves.

MacCready will start crying before he does anything. Can not panic internally. His hands hover, unsure of actually what to do, and shakes like a freaking arthritis patient. He is pretty good at first aid but the shaking and crying gets in the way. Always uses way too much medicine and might make Sole high. Hugely overcompensates, usually not in a good way, trying so hard to help them that he isn’t actually doing much good. He’s just panicking because they’re injured and he couldn’t save Lucy and what if he can’t save them, either? Will forget how to breathe, Sole will have to remind him not to hold his breath if they can. Will probably get dizzy and nauseous if he thinks of losing them. Can and will get it together (eventually) and provide little first aid.

6/10 - The fact that their caretaker is sobbing profusely and looks like he’s gonna pass out is never helpful for the nerves.

Hancock simply isn’t very good at first aid. He’s a ghoul, and his body is different than theirs, responds differently. Is internally crying, screaming, and throwing up. Will offer chems and then backpedal because they don’t need chems they need help. Shaky hands, shaky breaths, will need a hit of something because he can’t stop shaking. His first aid is messy and quick. He jabs them with so many needles they can’t even count them all, and he mumbles to himself under his breath the entire time like some kind of narrator. The thing he’s perhaps best at is locating and getting them to the nearest doctor in record time. Dude goes pedal to the freaking metal. Will stay annoyingly close and ask the doctor questions until they blow a gasket. He just wants his sunshine, the first friend he’s had that wasn’t just casual, to be okay.

5/10 - Sole’s probably incredibly high at the end of it but at least they’re alive, right?

Gage knows first aid, but the moment the overboss is injured, it all flies out the window. He drags them by their hair to someone more equipped for this crap. Probably grumbled at them about getting hurt in the first place. If he absolutely has to help, he is rough and just wants to get it over with and them to someone else. Will mutter under his breath the entire time with that dumb little accent. Incredibly violent with the first aid stuff. Tells them never to do this again because it’s annoying. Probably gets angry at the first aid supplies and throws them across the room or something to that degree, only to go grab them again because he actually needs them. Rolls his eyes a lot. He cares deep down, but he’s gonna give Sole a lot of crap about it for a while.

3/10 - Being reprimanded when you’re bleeding out usually isn’t great for the morale.

Butch has no earthly idea how to perform any more first aid than bandaging up knuckles and icing bruises, let’s be honest. He will definitely be panicking. The second most likely companion to start crying. Not from the past, like MacCready, but because Lone is injured and he doesn’t know what to do, he’s more useless in this situation than an actual bag of bricks and he feels so worthless and why do they even travel with him if he can’t help? Lone, being a doctors child, will probably have to talk him through the first aid step by step like the wikihow. Will get some of it wrong even if they tell him how to do it four or five times. Can’t really see because he’s freaking bawling but will try his best anyway. It’s probably in Lone (and his) best interests if they just go to a doctor.

2/10 - Honestly, not comforting or helpful in the slightest for him to be self-destructing while Lone’s trying to talk him into stitching them up before their organs fall out.

X6-88 immediately relays into the Institute. If it’s gone, immediately relays somewhere else. Very rarely does he do the actual first aid. Coursers don’t need standard first aid because they aren’t human, and they don’t get hurt as easily. Plus, when X6 gets hurt, he doesn’t deal with it himself, he just relays in. Knows what to do in the back of his mind but absolutely botches it if he tries. Is focusing so hard his tongue sticks out the side of his mouth but more focus makes it worse. He doesn’t actually know what he’s doing because he never does this crap. Will take them to someone qualified in human first aid and probably give them a lecture about tact and the fact that they need to not get hurt because he doesn’t have it.

1/10 - At least he doesn’t let Sole die without a lecture.

[ink-and-hedera]

Acquaintance

"Brewed in academia, we sip knowledge, each cup filled with life's realities. In the shadow of ancient trees and hills, we find comfort, learning to endure our shared existence. Like an over-roasted coffee, life blends bitterness with inexplicable charm."

My go-to is black coffee - drip when I'm in a rush, or filter when my favorite barista is working at the coffee shop near the dormitory. The other barista over-roasts the coffee beans and brews it without passion. I'd rather skip coffee altogether than face that disappointment in a small white cup.

You can always tell when a person loves what they do.

I'd love to say that I wake up to the first rays of the sun sneaking into our room through the solitary window, but the truth is we live in the shadow of a hill and old trees. It's unusual, given that we're in the center of Kyiv, but neither my roommates nor I complain. In the summer, the shade provides welcome coolness.

Our room, a cramped 10 square meters, houses four of us. There's no such thing as privacy here. It's not a life, but a fairy tale. But you get used to it. The options are limited: a) find a third job, neglect studies, and rent an apartment; b) sell a kidney; c) endure.

Since I don't have a spare kidney, and a day only has 24 hours - the first two options are out. As for the third - I'm a born endurer.

Back to the room and its inhabitants. To protect privacy, I've changed the names, ages, appearances, and some biographical details. Girls, if you're reading this, know that I love you. Probably.

We're four girls of different ages, tastes, and views. Essentially, we're strangers forced by circumstances to share a roof. In such a situation, you must find common ground. Living together requires rules and responsibility sharing, and quarrels over household matters are inevitable. Sometimes, someone might eat your dinner, the one you've fantasized about all day during tedious lectures. Sometimes, you spend two hours deciding who should pay for the internet and who should take out the trash.

It's like a family.

“Alaska, are you busy?”

A friend messages me while I'm sitting in class, rubbing my forehead. My students are in an anti-bullying lecture, so I'm doing my own thing. Teaching in college at 22 while studying for a master's? It’s a cruel joke. Don't get me wrong, I love my students. But the administration, colleagues, standards from the ministry, and bureaucracy that has me rewriting the curriculum for the sixth time...

I sigh heavily and return to the message.

“Yes,” I answer, though I'm not really bothered. I have at least 20 free minutes.

“Come outside.”

Ugh.

“Why did you even ask then?” I text back, irritated.

“Just come, grumpy.”

I sigh again, shut off my work laptop, and leave everything in the office. I put on a black trench coat with a packet of two remaining cigarettes, a lighter, and keys in the pocket.

"I hope you didn't call me just because you're bored. I have zero desire to climb back to the 4th floor," I say as I exit the building. The cold autumn wind hits me as I descend the stone stairs of the old building.

Oliver is sitting on a bench next to an abstract statue. He waves as I approach. We study Computer Science together at the university, though we don't fit the programmer stereotype.

Oliver, half a head taller than me, has red hair and freckles covering his nose and cheeks. He might seem cute to some, but his snarky sarcasm ruins that image.

"And I missed you too, grumpy. Let's grab a coffee," he says as I stare at him in disbelief. "You're a jerk. Couldn't you just come to me? I'm gonna die climbing back to the classroom."

"I care about your health. Maybe you'll finally quit smoking."

"Shut up," I snap, though I still follow him through the green gates marking the college territory. "So, what brings you here?"

"Had some business around, decided to stop by, check on our grumpy," Oliver says, smirking.

"And who told you I'm at work, and not in the dormitory or elsewhere?"

"Mary. She's worried because you've been acting strange lately," he says as we reach a coffee shop.

The coffee shop is spacious and not crowded - it's the middle of a workday. The interior is green and white, and I momentarily drift away from the conversation, observing every detail of the décor.

The spacious café is cozy and calm, as if immersed in a peaceful oasis in the middle of the city, where time meditates to the rhythm of coffee drops. Modernity intertwines with elegance in every detail. The walls, made of fresh white brick and adorned with green accents, seem to reflect the trends of nature that seep into the modern urban landscape.

Filling the space, the soft light shimmers from stylish pendant lamps with glass shades, creating an atmosphere of tenderness and tranquility. Tables, made of glass panels and metal legs, embody the spirit of innovation and refinement. Interwoven green and white accents add whimsy and refresh the space, creating a sense of lightness and harmony.

Meanwhile, the café does not lose its functionality. Comfortable chairs with soft cushions invite you to relax and enjoy the aromatic drinks brewed in copper coffee makers on the kitchen windowsill. The taste notes of coffee, complemented by the delicate aromas of freshly baked pastries, awaken all your senses, prompting instant relaxation and rest.

Thanks to its refined design and sophisticated approach to decor, the café in green and white color becomes not just a place where you can enjoy the taste of coffee, but also a true masterpiece of modern urban life, inviting you to discover new horizons of taste and aesthetics.

“Are you even listening to me?” Oliver asks, and I just stare at him, momentarily forgetting that I'm not alone here. “I asked what coffee you'll have.”

“Yes, sorry. Americano,” I finally respond. He smiles again and turns back to the barista, while I decide where we should sit.

My gaze lands on a table by the window, and I head there to claim it.

After a few minutes, Oliver joins me, holding two sandwiches. I look at him with a silent question in my eyes.

“You clearly haven't eaten anything,” he says as if he knows me like the back of his hand.

Indeed, I haven't eaten because I overslept three damn alarms and ran to work as if I had been scalded.

“Thank you,” I say gratefully and unfold the bag. The smell of food makes my stomach somersault, and just from that, I let out a pleased “mmm…”

“God, don't rush. When was the last time you ate properly? You're losing your mind with your work. Mary said you were acting strange, but I think I see that the reason for it is your workaholism,” Oliver says, taking a sip of his cappuccino, which the barista has just brought.

“Just... a lot of work,” I say, just having chewed my long-awaited food. “Mary worries in vain.”

“I think she is doing the right thing worrying. I, of course, call you a workaholic, but that doesn't mean you should actually become one, for God's sake,” he says, looking straight at me and exhales with disappointment. “Anyway, we'll talk about this later. Anyway, I came with a proposition.”

I stop eating and look at him in surprise.

“I won't marry you,” I say, with a note of sarcasm, joking.

“Hey! Actually, I'm a great catch,” he adds, laughing openly. “But no, you're wrong. Not that proposition. I know a guy who really wants to open a private educational institution. Somewhere in the summer. The building is great, and so are the ideas and programs. They promise a room, food, and decent salary..." he says, and I look at him with irritation.

“Oliver, you must be joking? I dream of escaping this teaching pit, and you're offering me to dive deeper into it... sorry, frankly, this shit? You know how I'm counting down the days until the end of the contract,” I add, exhaling.

“Alaska, wait and don't get heated. I know, I know, you're planning to go into the gaming industry. And yes, I know how much you like teaching. But this is a really cool opportunity. At least temporarily, until you finish your master's degree. You've been needing to move out of the dorm for a long time, get away from all the problems and start... living. Come on, where else will you find a job with such conditions? And there's a young team there. Lots of opportunities. You'll be able to balance everything appropriately and finally take care of your health.” Oliver says with such determination, trying to convince me. “You don't have to answer right now. Just think about it. It's a good start... Considering... events. Don't refuse right away.”

I take a sip of my Americano.

Damn.

The beans are over-roasted again.

[longeyelashedtragedy]

get to know me tag from @heffer-wen this is a good one!

tagging: @perfectpiety @echthr0s @colorsofmyseason @kvaradonaa @protect-daniel-james @thundercrack @arsenalgbt @steeple-sinderby-wanderers @lamperry4ever (this is all optional of course!!!)

1. Do you make your bed?

I only properly make my bed when I change my sheets, but I can't stand to have the bed looking janky when i come home, so I wrestle with my thicc blanket until it's decently even and neat on the bed, and if the pillows have gone wild I'll straighten them out a little. if any of my over 9000 stuffed animals are on the floor I'll pick them up of course.

2. Favourite number?

24! my birthday, and a nice solid good number, can fit lots of other numbers into it. 17 has been an Important number for my bff and me, and I have a religion based fondness for 18...but 24 it is.

3. What's your job?

my job is very cool and specific and I love it, but it's not one I would ever want to mix with my online persona for various reasons. in fact I've always worked in an "industry" that I think should never mix with my nsfw ways on here. always happy to talk about it in private!

4. If you could go back to school would you?

oh hale to the FUCK no. I hate school. I haven't liked school since I graduated high school. my brain can't be made to think like that and do so much work to other people's specifications--and then there's sitting in class and having to listen to other people talk, I couldn't give less of a shit if I tried! I'm a voracious self directed learner--I want to learn something new like, every second--but this doesn't translate well into a school setting.

unfortunately--a job I think would be really cool to have, I'd have to get a master's and certification, and while I think I'd be great at the job, I'd be right shit at the kind of work the degree requires you to do to pass. (I could easily do the job with good mentoring and maybe like...one course, but that's how so many things are.) Maybe if I marry rich I'd go back! Frank lampard step the fuck up!

5. Can you parallel park?

I could do it just to pass my driver's test and have done it like. twice since. I'm terrible 😭 I have visual-spatial-perceptual whatever deficits and just can't do it. I also have a spot missing from my peripheral vision on my left side so parking on that side is even more confusing. my sister however is great at those things and yet she also can barely parallel park, you should see the two of us try to do it together, it's a full on yakety sax comedy. the WORST is here in the city, people stop on the street and give you unsolicited advice while you park and this gives me so much anxiety that I can't even remember what to do.

6. Do you think aliens are real?

not really? I suppose there's sentient life somewhere but is it likely to be humanoid? I'm terrified of space (I'm one of those would rather go to the bottom of the ocean than outer space freaks) so I try not to think about it

7. Can you drive a manual car?

what to heck,,,,,,,,,,,,of course I can't 🇺🇸 shamed by having to pay more to rent an automatic when I've driven in Europe

8. Guilty pleasure?

disregarding my dietary restrictions? I also have the bad habit of reading what scents my hot favs wear and then buying cheap samples. today one arrived that I forgot I'd ordered so now my wrists smell like chanel allure. I'm indifferent? it smells like Ladies' Perfume

what else...idk, I'm not too guilty about my pleasures really

9. Tattoos?

none--I have a couple of ideas, but have never been tempted to actually do it?

10. Favourite colour?

black and pink!

11. Favourite type of music?

I like things that are loud and repetitive and insistent. sometimes screechy. I like listening to other languages. my favorite instrument is the bagpipes (how do I say that in a grammatically correct way ffs) if that helps! will always go for: good rap/hip hop, 80s thrash metal, eastern european/balkan folk music, techno (the darker and more berghainy the better), other weird electronica, the beatles, most things that came out of the 80s

12. Do you like puzzles?

the kind with pieces? those are fun, I just don't have any room to spread one out. other kinds, like logic and shit, absolutely not, my brain doesn't work like that at all

13. Any phobias?

insects, and the main one: food contamination, but not the kind you're thinking--I definitely am more anxious than the average person about the food I eat being contaminated, but what the phobia actually is is more like...places where food shouldn't be being contaminated by bits of food...It's very specific and I've always had it but it's getting worse as I get older. like, imagine if you go into a restaurant and there's a couple of crumbs on the chair, or like, a bit of dirt on the underside of the waiter's tray. you'll just brush them off, right? or like, just not care about the bottom of a tray? I feel sick to my stomach and my heart is racing a bit just imagining this. what a privilege!

I'm also fucking terrified of being alone in elevators, but I'm not sure if that counts as a phobia? (I'm afraid of getting stuck in one by myself--as long as there's another person in there I don't care lol)

14. Favourite childhood sport?

swimming was my only one--I begged for lessons, started young, and was pretty good, did a swim team and everything. otherwise I am horrible at sports--I can't run (never could), and have no hand-eye coordination (did some occupational therapy at age 18 but it was Too Late), and again, those visual perceptual spatial issues! I wasn't terrible at floor hockey and volleyball in gym class I guess. footy was my worst 😭 in 8 years of gym I scored one goal--an own goal

15. Do you talk to yourself?

Not really.

16. What movies do you adore?

hmmm...I am not a huge movies person, but here's a list:

mulholland drive

mary poppins

the producers (mostel/wilder, 1967)

willy wonka & the chocolate factory (gene wilder version ONLY)

little miss sunshine

moulin rouge

cabaret

my cousin vinny

run lola run

y tu mamá también

the sound of music

chicago

kill bill vol. 1

cidade de deus

diarios de motocicleta

buena vista social club (not without its problematic side, but the musicians/music is so joyous)

the wedding singer

anklaget/the accused (weird danish movie that I don't think anyone i know has heard of?)

le dîner de cons

kamchatka

imagine me and you

ghostbusters 2016 (i will DIE on this hill)

brokeback mountain

team america: world police

rear window

amadeus

the crow

the incredibles

spaceballs

a shot in the dark

airplane!

romeo + juliet

school of rock

american psycho

uncut gems

rebecca

dial m for murder

17. Tea or coffee?

coffee! please. tea makes me feel a bit sick

18. First thing you wanted to be growing up?

I wanted to be an opera singer and a "lady mover" (we moved twice in the span of like, 2 and a half years when I was little)

[lupunsus]

Since dog hybrids are the most common, I thought I'd write about masters who use these companions to their fullest potential

By giving them jobs.

Hybrid au based on the writings made by @cinnamonest

Gn Farm/Hunting Dog Hybrids

Warning: mention of heats/ruts and how you shouldn't fuck your hunting dog hybrid until they trust you. Idk if it counts, but I thought I should still mention it, even if it isn't described in detail.

I can confidently say that a good number of people see hybrids as glorified sex toys because I said so. (And also cinnamonest did too, im pretty sure.)

As mentioned previously, dog hybrids are common, with already domesticated breeds being easier to obtain even if you look like someone with low income and living in their parents' basement. But they can't really stop you if you prove that you will take care of them, and even if you do live in your parent's basement, they'll be lumped into taking care of the hybrid anyway so it should be fine.

However, there are some cases when a specific set of people who normally use dogs for tasks decide on using hybrids. Why? Mainly because of their ability to communicate. While dogs have no problem barking your ear off, hybrids can learn to talk, allowing them to convey issues and warnings, or just be someone to talk to.

These hybrids are mainly breeds that were bred for hunting or to herd farm animals.

At first, the adoption centers had little to no dogs qualified for hunting, nor were they used to farm life, but as time progressed, there became facilities that housed these special breeds. Of course, employees needed to have a good hand and experience with normal dogs, as the hybrid counterparts are more demanding. It works out in the end. The adopter gets a hybrid, and the hybrid receives a good amount of freedom to do whatever, as long as they do their job.

Because of how free and open farms can be, however, while it isn't required for the hybrids to wear clothes, they must have on a collar with a tag at all times. It's rare for a farm dog hybrid to wander too far from the animals it's supposed to look after and protect, though. The rule is more for the hunting dog hybrids. Usually, their collar has some sort of identity tag that lets humans be aware and cautious around it unless they're prepared to lose a finger or five. Seasoned hunters sometimes help the hybrids back to their owners if they appear to be injured or stuck.

As for farming dog hybrids, they're definitely much more friendlier, but they require lots of exercise. So anyone can have them, although it's recommended for those who get out and move a lot. Keeping one cooped up inside for too long can make it feel restless and irritated, and it'll soon start becoming aggressive and trash the place to release the pent-up energy it has. So make sure to give your energetic hybrids lots of outdoor time! Having a backyard they can play in is ideal, but even just bringing it along to run errands will work. Just make sure they're properly trained to behave or have them on a harness, as they can get bursts of energy and run all over the place.

Everyone should be wary of hunting dog hybrids! While tamed, they're still as dangerous as wild hybrids if around anyone that isn't their master and shouldn't be taken in by someone who thinks it'd be cool to have one.

As for hybrids who actually work on a farm, it's basically the same as what normal dogs do. Except it may be difficult to cozy to them in that way unless their heat/rut comes around that time. Farm owners usually let their hybrids take those seasons off for breaks until they feel better. Of course, you could always help them and receive a heartfelt: "Thank you, Master!" along with many other praises they can list under the sun for being with them during such a vulnerable point of time during their life.

For hunting dog hybrids, though, they won't let you help them with their spring seasons unless you earn their trust. But hey, they say that slow and steady wins the race. Plus, you should be more worried about hunting and not fucking your companion.

There's definitely a lot more jobs dog hybrids can have, but I'll save that for another post this time.