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departmentofsnideremarks · 2 days ago

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Yeah, I think you're way off the mark here, both in terms of an understanding what the Luddite movement was created to do/achieve and the frustrations that this image is meant to convey.

First and foremost, the Luddite movement was not simply people going "Unga bunga, machines bad!" as it is often considered today. It wasn't a movement to "only produce fabric by hand." When the Luddite movement formed, Britain had just come out of the Napoleonic wars and the War of 1812 with the US, which had left their economy in shambles, with high unemployment and inflation. The factory owners were using the machines allowed them to avoid negotiating with skilled tradespeople and hire unskilled, low-wage workers and literal children instead. This undermined the authority and circumvented the agreements that they already had with trade unions. The actual demands of the Luddites were to work with the trade unions, stop using child labor, and increase the minimum wage. It wasn't a regressive effort against the technology itself, but a violent result of being abused by the economy and those with capital who were putting profit above all else. We can see that paralleled today in the demands of the Acting/Writer's unions that went on strike in recent years.

If you would like some criticisms of "AI", I'd be happy to talk about them, since a singular, shareable image isn't really meant to be 95 theses nailed to OpenAI's door. The biggest issue, at least to me, is that the neural network is a black box. You cannot ask it why it made a certain decision or how it came to a conclusion without extensive testing and that can disguise biases. Let's talk about its application in the medical field. Let's say we want to use AI to diagnose dermatological issues (see Han, et al 2018). This would be fantastic as early detection of skin cancers or other diagnoses could lead to greatly improved outcomes and their study showed quiet a lot of promise! Wouldn't that be great? No need to go to the doctor; just take a picture of that spot on your arm, load it into an app, and have your diagnosis/treatment options in seconds. However, further examination of their algorithm showed that simply changing the orientation, brightness, or magnification of the same image led to entirely different diagnoses. One of the examples listed showed that one image was diagnosed, with 99% confidence, as a harmless spot on the skin. And then, simply by magnifying the exact same image, the AI came up with a new diagnosis: skin cancer, 97% confidence. That is not an algorithm that's anywhere near ready for public consumption. The secondary study also showed that they didn't include much of the metadata (such as patient history, age, gender, anatomical location, etc.) that would go into actually making a diagnosis. Not to mention that there have been other studies that show that other, non-diagnostic characteristics in an image were being used by the algorithm for diagnosis, such as the presence of rulers or ink marks. And then we have to take into consideration that different races manifest in different ways, so an algorithm trained on data from Edinburgh may not have a sufficient data pool to diagnose someone who isn't of a certain skin tone. We need look no further for an example of bias in training data than China, who trained a facial recognition program to identify "criminals". However, their training data was largely mugshots of people who had already been arrested. Imagine if that same training was done in the US. People are eager to assume that AI is unbiased, but if it's pulling its data from biased sources, the outcome is going to carry that bias.

The problem, then, is that people are too ready and willing to trust AI as some sort of impartial arbiter of truth, despite very real and sometimes unknowable (without extensive research and testing) biases in its training data. This eagerness to trust AI particularly comes from people with money and power who have a vested interest in seeing their investment into AI pay off. Companies that have invested a great deal into AI are pushing it onto their consumers regardless of whether the consumers want to use it with very little ability to opt out. We're seeing infamous images of Google's AI recommending that people add glue to their pizza to keep toppings from sliding off or that people should regularly consume small rocks for their mineral content. Microsoft's Copilot was launched prematurely, struggled to process large amounts of data, and incorporated the user's data into it's neural network, creating questions of confidentiality and data security. People aren't asking for it. People don't want it. Companies and those who create these algorithms want people to use it so that they can make their money back.

Theranos was a medical diagnostic fraud to the tune of $700 million, do you really think it would be beyond the expectations of a company to take something like the dermatology algorithm, package it into an app, and sell it to insurance companies and healthcare providers to replace real dermatologists? What happens then? Can you hold an algorithm accountable for a misdiagnosis the way you can for a doctor? If someone's cancer advances to a fatal degree because the picture they used was too dark or if they underwent extensive and invasive treatment because they took a picture of their mole in the mirror rather than directly, what recourse do they have? We see this lack of accountability again and again and again across the spectrum of learning models. If your Waymo taxi runs over somebody, who's accountable? The company? The developers of the driving algorithm? If someone circumvents the laughable protections that keep image generators from recreating copyrighted images, who is held responsible? If someone gets fired because they wrote a professional document using ChatGPT and the language model had a "hallucination" which presented entirely incorrect information, do they have grounds to sue OpenAI? If someone injures themselves using an exercise regimen created for them by one of these AIs, do they have any recourse? If a video-making AI is asked to create a Sci-Fi film and the protagonist looks identical to Mark Hamill or a horror film staring Not Jamie Lee Curtis, who becomes responsible for using their likeness without permission? Perhaps you could say that these are a failing of our legal system, not of the AI itself, but I'd argue it's the companies who are exploiting the grey areas in our legal system for profit, regardless of the detriment it may be having to our society as a whole, which is what this image is really meant to argue against.

I'm not saying that there is no value in "AI" now or in the future. But the technology, as it exists now, is not ready for the widespread commercial applications that are being forced onto the public by those who create them. The trust that's placed in it is misguided at best and could be outright dangerous at worst.

#ai #tech #luddite #discussion

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peachii-nitenite · 1 day ago

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Much Needed Support Part 3 (semi-nsfw)

JayVik x Reader

Synopsis: Your dutiful friends nurse you back to health, and they get back to work on your braces. After 2 weeks of anticipation, they stop by; and the three of you figure a lot of things out about each other very quickly. (3.8k words) Content: reader with feminine pronouns, sexual tension, fluff, mutual pining, self-doubt, idiots in love, getting sick, friends to lovers, pervy daydreams, mentions of chronic pain, descriptions of chronic pain, heavily implied hand kink, enthusiastic consent, Dom!Viktor, Service Top!Jayce, subby reader

taglist: @chickentenderx, @miraculousasscheeks

the smut is coming I promise! this chapter had to be split in two because of just how much there is, but that means the final part will be done VERY soon! I thrive on making ridiculously self indulgent bullshit these days lololol

anyways, you know the drill, have fun!

You woke up fully clothed, sweaty, hot, and congested in the dead middle of the night, with a prominent mind fog. Your voice was gone, your body was achy, and it took a bit of effort to remember how you’d gotten home.

And then you remembered, oh, how you remembered.

the fleeting touches in the lab, the warmth of Jayce's chest, Viktor's cool hand against your face--

You wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

You evaluated the situation-- there was a glass of water and a few aspirin on your nightstand, your door was slightly cracked open, and the lights in your living room were still on.

They were probably still there.

The thought was comforting, and made your heart flutter ever so slightly.

Through the muggy sick-fog of your mind, recounted your earlier encounter with your friends in the lab. You could almost feel the phantom traces of fingers and palms against your skin, the breath of kind words against your ear. You smiled. They were so kind, so understanding, so reliable-

And so, so attractive

You could no longer lie to yourself, not when the facts were laid so plainly in front of you.

You had it bad. For both of them.

But examining that any further would have to wait, as your waking senses became acutely aware of your aching joints and muscles. You glanced at the water and pills on the nightstand.

“Up we go” you mumbled in a near silent rasp.

You coughed, weakly attempting to sit up, and promptly failing. You groaned against your pillow in frustration.

Everything hurt.

You wouldn't be able to tough this out alone, you begrudgingly realized.

You had had similarly bad pain flare ups in the past, but being sick on top of it made it significantly worse. Getting up on your own was no longer an option.

You opted for the next best thing.

“Guys?… you there?” You rasped out, hoping they could hear you. You weren’t sure what time it was, but you knew your friends were night owls. There was a 90% chance both of them were still up.

It was embarrassing, having to ask for help getting out of your own bed…. but at least you had the excuse of being sick, instead of it being solely due to your aching joints.

Small victories, you supposed.

Within seconds you could hear the heavy patter of Jayce’s footsteps, and the soft metallic tapping of Viktor’s cane against the floor. The door creaked open further as Jayce poked his head inside.

“You called?” He asked softly, hesitating before stepping fully into your room.

While he had hung out at your place before, he had never actually been inside your bedroom. Though he couldn’t make out much of the details in the dark, there was something…thrilling about it. It smelled like you; like the lotion you used, like whatever you put in your hair, like your favorite candle- and the realization was briefly dizzying.

And there you were once again, bundled up in your bed and beckoning him over with a weak hand. He shuffled over to you quickly upon your nonverbal permission. Viktor suppressed a chuckle at the sight. Always so polite, always so eager, and always, always so obedient.

But now was not the time for such thoughts.

After all, their main focus was nursing you back to health at the moment.

“Help me sit up…please..” you whispered, knowing speaking any louder would just hurt. Jayce nodded and swiftly, yet still gentle as ever, got you upright against your headboard. He switched on the small bedside lamp, causing you to wince at the light. “Sorry, sorry…” he cooed, patting you back as you rubbed your eyes.

“How are you feeling?” Viktor inquired, following Jayce to your side and sitting on your bed. He brought his hand to your face once again, and you sighed at the temporary relief of his cold palm against your cheek. “Like shit….gross and sweaty…” you grumbled, leaning into his cool touch. It was nice. He felt so nice…

You pouted when he pulled away. It did not go unnoticed.

“Are you hungry?” Jayce asked with concern. His natural inclination to help was very sweet, you thought. “We can make you something, if we can borrow the kitchen…”

You shook your head, reaching for your water and the aspirin. It went down smooth; soothing, but only temporary. That fact made you groan. “Nn…no…too achy…” you saw him deflate a bit, with those big, sad puppy eyes….

How could you refuse him?

“…soup. In the upper left cabinet.” You relented hoarsely, watching as his face lit back up. It was adorable how he wanted to be helpful, but it felt wildly unfair at the moment.

But you could tell they were pleased that you were asking for help, so you decided to let it slide. “First. Too warm, too many clothes…” you didn’t have the energy to be bashful about it, as you started weakly tugging at the collar of your sweat laden sweater.

Though, it didn’t go unnoticed how the two of them tensed up.

Who’s hands would help you now?

You shuddered as the thought, alongside the memories of their calloused palms against your bare skin, slithered into your feverish mind.

Viktor looked away, avoiding your eyes lest he give in to your request first. ‘Sorry Jayce, you’ll have to bear with it for now’ he thought pityingly.

“Please?” You locked eyes with Jayce, and he swallowed audibly.

So cute. So kind.

How could he refuse you?

“O-of course, just a second-“ he stammered before reaching under your sweater to help you shimmy your way out of the clammy fabric. He averted his gaze the moment he caught a glimpse of your navel, opting to tug semi blindly until it was finally off.

And then you giggled.

Giggled.

A slightly delirious, wispy sound, but still a giggle as you asked--

“J…Jayce…why so stiff?”

It took every ounce of strength in him not to turn back to you, to drink in your bare, flushed form in the dim light of the lamp.“It’s not like it’s anything you haven’t seen already, and not much to see anyways…” you joked, peeling off the covers.

So cruel.

And you didn’t even realize how much you were torturing them.

Or, just how perfect you were to them.

You started fumbling with the zipper of your skirt, grunting at the clumsiness of your hands at the moment. They were quickly replaced with long, cold, pale fingers effortlessly unzipping the offending article of clothing and opening it just enough for you to shuffle out of it.

“Mm…thanks V..” you mumbled, sighing at the cool air against your skin.

Viktor had moved before really thinking about it, managing to keep more of a level head about it.

That is, until he laid eyes on a small, thin, painfully familiar strip of fabric.

Your panties, now in full view, and no longer dismissable as a trick of the light or a figment of his perverted imagination.

They were cute.

You were so cute.

His eyes slowly drifted back to you in full, exhaling slowly through his nose. The labored rise and fall of your chest, the soft glow of the light on your skin, and the little, goofy smile on your face. If he hadn't known you were sick, the scene would have been intensely erotic.

Well…It still was, but he told himself otherwise to reign in the thoughts racing through his mind a mile a minute. Focus. Now was not the time.

He couldn’t help but start to feel like his plan to wait was now in jeopardy.

He cleared his throat, pulling his hands away as he got back up.

“Is… is this better?” He asked, turning his face away as casually as he could in this situation.

“Mhm…thanks…” you sighed in relief as you kicked the skirt off of the bed, re-tangling yourself in your covers. You winced, having moved your leg a bit too harshly. Jayce noticed immediately, moving to help you lie back down with tense, but gentle hands.

His stupidly big, warm hands.

“Why’re your hands so damn…big..” you quietly thought out loud, closing your eyes as you relaxed into his grasp. You could feel him still for a moment, before continuing to situate you on the bed. You paid it no mind, cocooning yourself under your comforter.

Jayce backed away, stiffly b-lining for the door. Viktor sighed as he let his partner slip past, following suit in leaving you to rest. “We’ll be in the kitchen, I will leave the door open, so call if you need us.”

You hummed in response, and he swiftly left your doorway.

Your two friends stood silently in your kitchen; tense.

“....we have to wait until she is no longer sick.” Viktor whispered, gaze never leaving the floor as he gripped his cane.

“I know.” Jayce sighed, looking down at his hands.

Thinking of how soft you were under his palms.

Viktor looked up, locking eyes with Jayce.

“.....”

“It will not be easy.” he admitted, letting himself lean against the wall.

“Not at all, no.” Jayce groaned as he brought a hand down his face.

“But…I do have a feeling I am correct” Viktor smiled, moving over to his partner’s side.

You had to get better first. Their own dilemma could wait.

—-

They persevered, all things considered. They kept a vigilant watch through the night, making sure you ate and took some cold medicine, adjusting the pillows on your bed to keep you comfortable- anything at all that you needed, they did their best to provide. Luckily, you had no classes the following day, and they made sure you remained in bed even when you insisted you were feeling well enough to be up and about. You hated feeling so unproductive, but you could admit that it was nice to be taken care of for once. You felt guilty for taking up so much of their time, knowing that they were often busy; but they reassured you that it was no burden whatsoever.

“Please never hesitate to ask us for help. With anything.” Viktor had implored, noticing your apprehension about allowing them to take care of you. They were unconvinced by your promises that you could look after yourself, knowing full well that if they left you would not rest properly. You gave up on resisting on the third plea.

You were well enough to attend class the day after that, and it was back to your dreaded daily academic routine. You almost felt spoiled, being so well taken care of those past two days. It made you daydream of a reality where that could be your everyday.

The three of you, together.

The days flew by uneventfully, until two weeks had passed in the blink of an eye; your dreams consistently permeated by the two of them. Endless, fleeting fantasies of what could have happened that night in your bedroom. Steamy images of Viktor’s head between your legs, Jayce holding your thighs open for him. Taking turns, the meeting of lips, and lewd, desperate noises.

Without fail, you woke up hot and bothered before the climax.

And without fail, it grew harder and harder to ignore.

Who could blame you? You could hardly blame yourself at this point-

Not when you kept replaying their reactions that day in your mind, picking them apart and trying to rationalize them. Every lingering touch and heated glance sent your mind on a tailspin straight into the gutter. “Was it delusional to think they might feel the same?” you worried, pacing around your living room. It was the end of the week, your work was done, and you had nothing to do but think.

You flopped on your couch, yelling incoherently into the cushion. It only helped slightly.

It had been two weeks, and you had barely seen them. Jayce had reassured you once you felt better that they would continue working on your braces. But since then, you'd heard no updates. You could have visited the lab to check on them, sure, but something odd inside of you made you refrain from doing so.

You were anxious.

It's not that you didn’t trust them, it was simply that you didn't want to bother them, or interrupt them further. And you certainly did not want to make a fool out of yourself on account of your yearning. “They haven't updated you for a reason, obviously.” you mentally reprimanded yourself. “Don't get all stir-crazy over nothing”

Despite thinking that, you were still overjoyed to hear a knock at your door. You scrambled to the door, straightening your clothes and taking a deep breath. You swung the door open, and there they stood: the men that plagued your dreams. “I hope we aren’t interrupting anything,” Jayce beamed down at you “We just couldn’t wait much longer.”

The way that Viktor sighed and shook his head made you tilt your head ever so slightly.

“We brought dinner, if you're not busy.” Viktor held a bag of takeout food. Your favorite takeout food. You were touched that they remembered what you liked. Meanwhile, Jayce held a rectangular gift box, not unlike ones that would normally hold clothing. Your eyes lit up in recognition.

The braces.

Forgetting your anxiety, you could feel your nerves buzz with excitement. Viktor smiled at how your face lit up when you saw them, feeling accomplished. “Of course! Come in, come in!” you chirped, stepping aside to let them into your dorm.

They insisted you eat first; having correctly guessed that you hadn't had anything since early in the morning. Your anxiety was doing a number on your appetite, and after failing to assure them that a snack counted as a meal, you relented and dug in. It was like nothing had changed, like you hadn't spent your nights desperate and lonely out of yearning. You spent the time catching up, complaining about class, asking about their week– and another realization sunk in.

You had missed them. A lot.

You felt horribly clingy, but it was true.

After you’d all had your fill, the moment of truth was finally there.

“Keep in mind that these are “technically” still in the prototype phase, so let us know if you want to change anything” Jayce explained, an anticipatory grin on his face as you opened the box. The knee braces were a stark, sleek black, made out of a soft yet sturdy neoprene-like fabric. The internal cording to provide support and structure were light and flexible, and judging by how they felt under your fingers, much stronger than the shabby boning of your old ones. In a motion that set off just a smidge of deja vu, you pulled up your skirt and chucked off your old braces without a care.

Viktor raised a brow, raking his eyes over your clothed torso, before asking– “You’re…you are not wearing the corset as well, are you? I thought I told you-” he began to reprimand, taking a seat next to you on the couch.

“-that it will do more harm than good, I know.” you cut him off, sighing as you flexed your freed knee. ”I'm not wearing it, only the knee braces, I promise” you assured him, smiling. He huffed, a sort of half-laugh as he smiled back.

“Don’t mind him, you know how he likes to nag” Jayce said teasingly, winking as he helped slide one of the new braces onto your first leg. You flushed ever so slightly at the proximity, as well as how…natural it felt this time. Like he belonged there, kneeling in front of you, assisting you so tenderly. Without skipping a beat, he had gently guided you into the brace, adjusting it against your skin and ensuring it was properly in place.

God, how you had missed his hands.

“I do not nag. I remind.” Viktor corrected, throwing a sharp glance at Jayce. The larger man ignored it, testing him further. “Same difference– now, other leg please?” he had turned his undivided attention to you, and when you locked eyes with him, there was something…different in his gaze. It wasn’t bashful like it had been in the lab, not at all.

There was want. And there was mischief.

A thrilling, and dangerous combination, assuming you hadn't imagined it.

You hadn't.

You slowly gave him your other leg, letting yourself lean back onto the couch, shifting your eyes to Viktor, as if for guidance.

You found that he was observing you in a similar manner; analyzing you, watching your reactions, and watching the path of Jayce’s dedicated hands. You almost felt naked under his gaze. “Jayce.” he softly murmured, with a warning tone. Just as the second brace was put into place, his hands stilled at the sound of his name. Your eyes flickered between the two of them, caught in the midst of the building tension.

“Oh…. there was definitely something going on between the two of them” you thought, examining Jayce frozen in his spot kneeling before you like a dog in trouble.

And Jayce is definitely not the one in charge.

“Two weeks away, a successful prototype, and his ego inflates tenfold. What do I do with him, hm?” Viktor mused, a glint of…something in his eye. The question was definitely rhetorical, but something made you want to play along– to see how far you could take it.

“What…do you usually do about it?” you asked quietly, shifting in your seat on the couch.

The pause felt eternal, as every suppressed emotion and desire began to bubble up to the surface.

Best case scenario- your feelings are requited, and everything is fine

Worst case scenario- you can laugh it off and cry about it later. And then everything is fine.

You weighed the possibilities as you glanced between them. Viktor smiled, chuckling quietly.

“Jayce?” he called, tone eerily sweet. Jayce wordlessly turned to him, the air heavy with expectation. “Come here,” he said simply. Jayce got up, sheepishly moving to stand near Viktor’s end of the couch. “Now wait.” he ordered. You noticed Jayce’s expression for a fraction of a second. Was he…pouting?

Yes. yes he was.

And Viktor laughed dryly. “He’ll listen, so long as you ask him… correctly. So that is what I do.” He smiled slyly as he gestured for you to stand; and you did. You became less focused on their dynamic, however, when you immediately noticed the difference of the braces. They felt significantly more supportive than your other ones, and leagues more comfortable on top of that. There was a giddy excitement welling up, as well as just plain gratitude.

This was one of the nicest things anyone had ever done for you.

“They’re amazing! I don't know how to thank you guys!” You beamed as you shifted your weight between both legs. While it wasn’t a cure for you pain, it would definitely aid your day to day, and that made all the difference. They looked thoroughly pleased just to see how happy you were with what they had made, exchanging proud glances as you tested them out.

“Don’t thank us just yet, you still have to try the back brace!” Jayce reminded you, expectantly looking between you and Viktor, as if for permission to present it to you.

“I said wait. I will help with it.” Viktor replied, reaching into the box to retrieve the garment in question. Jayce deflated.

Permission denied.

“Do not sulk, you started it.” He reminded, scooting closer to you with the brace in his hands. It’s design matched the knee braces, made of the same sleek material and sturdy boning. It had no laces like your old corset— this new brace was elegant and seamless, with sturdy hooks and eyes to close it rather than the worn metal busks you were familiar with. You eyed it with curiosity before he piped up once more.

“If you could remove your sweater, I can help you try it on.”

“Huh?”

You blinked.

Of course you’d have to take your shirt off. It only made sense. But they’d seen you shirtless twice now. Twice! Something about that fact made you hesitate, some odd feeling somewhere between giddiness and anxiety causing your fingers to tremble as they went to the hem of your shirt.

You didn’t really intend to do it so slowly, really.

You weren’t trying to tease.

But when it was finally off, and you saw the looks on both their faces, you couldn’t help but be a little smug. A pretty blush had painted its way across Viktor’s cheeks, cutely tinting his ears as his eyes remained fixed on you. Jayce was much the same, still glued to his spot on the other side of the couch.

You hadn’t lied, you weren’t wearing the old corset. In fact, you weren’t even wearing an undershirt. There you sat, your top half completely bare as you looked expectantly at Viktor’s hands, currently tightly gripping the brace conveniently covering his lap.

You felt warmth pool in your core under their gaze. It was hungry; and if not for the extremely real draft in the dorm making goosebumps ripple across your skin, you’d’ve thought you were simply dreaming again.

Wordlessly, the slim man shuffled closer to you, gesturing for you to turn around so you he could help you into the brace. Your breath hitched in your throat as he reached around you from behind, nearly pulling you into his lap as he fastened the hooks and eyes in the front. “Is it too tight?” He whispered, lips dangerously close to your ear. You shook your head, shakily exhaling and he made his way to the final hook. “There. How does it feel?”

It was a perfect fit—just the right amount of structure and flexibility, without restricting your breathing or range of movement too much. You would have said as much, if you weren’t currently distracted by tantalizingly close he was as his breath tickled the shell of your ear. You swallowed, running your hands over the fabric. “It…it’s really nice too. Thank you…” you murmured, not moving an inch.

It was now or never.

“H-hey, I have a qu-“

“Let me ask you something-“

The two of you paused as your voices overlapped. A dense silence filled the room.

“Sorry, uh…you go first.” You giggled nervously.

“…very well.” He said lowly, tone heavy with yet unspoken want. You felt him tense behind you for a moment, before you felt his hands snake their way onto your hips, up to your waist, before resting just below your breasts. Dangerously close. You gasped, pressing your thighs together at the spark of arousal the sudden touch sent through you.

“Let me ask you something— and be completely honest” he muttered into your ear, his grip on you tightening ever so slightly. You whined softly as you nodded, not yet trusting your voice.

“You like it when we touch you— don’t you?”

You didn’t even have to turn around to know how intensely he was looking at you. His tone was accusatory, but held no malice. It was something closer to amusement, maybe anticipation. But he said it with all the confidence of a man that knew he was correct.

And how could you lie?

“Y-yes…I— I do…”

The words tumbled out before you could even think of being coy about it.

And that was all either of them needed to hear

-----

<prev. next>

#arcane jayce #arcane viktor #my fics #peachii fics #jayvik x reader #arcane netflix #arcane #jayvik #jayce x reader #viktor x reader

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meanbossart · 31 minutes ago

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Sorry if you've already answered this question before, but how did DU Drow react when Astarion was finally free from Cazador? Did he try to comfort him, or maybe they celebrated it somehow or never talked about that? Or would the Drow like to strangle Kazador with his own hands instead?

If you mean the immediate aftermath, there isn't much, if anything, that sets it apart from how it goes in-game. I do understand why people wish there were more options in how to react during Astarion's big moment, maybe they have more reactive Tavs - but DU drow would absolutely just let something like that breathe. No words of comfort, no shows of affection- he stands back, he stays quiet, and when Astarion says he wants to go, they go. He's as eager to leave as he is and to put this behind the both of them.

Thing is, that at the end of the day, there is no amount of words that could adequately explain to DU drow what his partner went through. Like, sure, he holds nothing but contempt towards Cazador and understands that what Astarion went through was horrific, but he has to filter all of it through the much, much narrower understanding that he himself has of pain, hopelessness, and most of all, time.

For him, at least in that moment, what is done is done and the important thing is that it happen anymore. It's simple and it's not worth lingering on - his feelings about Astarion's situation become more complex later, but at that point Cazador is just yet another foe whom he met and felled within the same hour, and not his two-hundred-year-spamming tormentor.

The point is, there isn't really any emotional high here besides what we see during the cemetery scene (which in their case, doesn't even end in sex) and there certainly isn't any celebration, either.

That all being said, I still think its sweet. He might be doing it with a degree of aloofness, but DU drow is still choosing to give Astarion space instead of bombarding him with love and comfort right off the bat. He has a lot of moments like these, where despite being borderline overbearing at times he recognizes when he's ill-equipped to address something.

Now, moving a little ahead:

I really like that the game gives you these dialogue options here, and they were kind of formative in DU drow's characterization, especially in regards to their relationship. Discussing Cazador's crimes and the sacrifices Astarion has had to make for his own freedom is just sad. It's uncomfortable. It's quitter talk. On the other hand, immediately setting up a new goal-post, giving Astarion something to look forward to and that certainly he can provide, on the other hand, is so much easier.

PICTURED ABOVE: Sentences that go over DU drow's head faster than you can say "bootstrapper".

And speaking of formative and tone-deafness, here's another dialogue option that truly set in stone for me the type of turbulent emotional journey this character (and Astarion by extension) was about to go through from here on out.

I love that they put that here. That your character can be be tempted with a line that is, on the surface, so sweet, but with this underlying implication that you still think of Astarion as somehow lesser or incapable by default - like he hasn't been around for so much longer and been through so much more than yourself in almost every case.

...OR you just didn't express yourself well.

But in DU drow case, that is exactly what he means. that Astarion doesn't need all that power because he has him now. He wants to be his protector. He wants for Astarion to depend on him.

In his Bhaalist plotline, this devotion takes a very ugly and possessive form. In DU Drow 1.0 storyline, on the other hand, it is just... A perception that has to be slowly and painfully broken down - that Astarion doesn't need to be handled with children's gloves, or constantly protected and provided for - that he in fact doesn't need a partner to look after him, and how that doesn't immediately translate to not wanting companionship.

I can only hope ANE has a lot of moments that get this flip of dynamic across with all its caveats and addendums. After all, this is kind of a bed Astarion has made for himself.

BUT, that comes later. Right now Astarion just has to smile-and-nod while his beloved fresh-faced twunk says some truly goofy shit.

#ask #du drow and astarion #du drow lore

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presiding · 2 days ago

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AITA? the guys at the pub told me to find a woman because she's sleeping with my enemy but all i had was a picture of her ass that i extorted from a well-known pervert. he couldn't name her and i didn't recognise her ass so i gatecrashed a party. i narrowed it to 1 of the 3 hosts but they were basically the same woman, idk, i cant tell them apart. some guy in a mask told me he was in love with the woman i needed and would deal with everything, i just needed to get her into the basement. so i told her she was in danger and she followed me into the basement where i strangled her. i never got proof she was involved but i guess it doesnt matter cause i found the ass i was told to find. i told my daughter's governess and she went quiet but the guys at the pub clapped me on the back. AITA?

poetic justice in revenge games: what's with lady boyle's last party in dishonored (2012)

a longpost i'd prefer someone else made tbh

references at the end

—

where to start?

dishonored 2012 is a revenge game (tagline: "revenge solves everything" [see also dh2: take back whats yours]), where high/low chaos story outcomes represent different types of power fantasies for the intended younger male (1) core audience.

the story & level design

each dh1 level is designed around the concept of revenge. with Corvo as the player character, each betrayal he experiences in the story gives the player rationale to seek out a target for justice in each level.

"The difference between Dishonored and how it works in Half-Life 2 is that it's a lot more personal. I think you get that involvement because the character has personal relationships with people from the beginning. And it's very clear that people have fucked with you in a very personal way," [Austin Grossman] said. "I'm biased, of course, but I think Dishonored grips you much more viscerally, more emotionally." (2)

dishonored is a game about choice: between low or high chaos options, each level's story can justify your decision to kill or neutralise - (nb: this means each target must have done enough wrong to "deserve" death) - and each level design prioritises player decision-making/freedom.

a common misconception about dishonored 1 is that its a game about morality, or right and wrong, but i argue its not that deep (affectionate). the chaos system is more about your role in the city's ecosystem than a morality simulator - kill more people, rats feast, the plague gets worse and the city becomes more chaotic.

poetic justice

because dishonored is a revenge game, each level involves choosing a fate for your primary target/s that will feel like justice to you, the player.

while assassination is always an option, the ultimate goal for each level is to engineer a fitting end for your victim.

this ‘low chaos’ option is reinforced in two ways - if poetic justice isn’t fun enough on its own, the game also rewards you with achievements for choosing ‘nonlethal’ fates.

[sidebar: enough players gave feedback that they didn't enjoy the confusion of choosing the 'right' way to play, that this feedback loop was removed from dh2:doto and deathloop (3)(4)]

storywise, low chaos/nonlethal endings are designed to feel like poetic justice.

to achieve this, the target's neutralisation must be 1) uniquely tailored 2) to the deserving victim.

a common phrase you’ll see in the dh fandom communities is:

“the nonlethal fate was worse”

but if you inspect the villain's actions/planned actions there’s an aspect of scale. your decision to incapacitate a single person leads to countless lives improved, in addition to avenging their role in the character's downfall (see also: the central premise of game called dishonored). this aspect of scale in wrongdoing (eg. villains extend their villainy to not just the player but in-universe to many people) gives a feeling of heroism to acts that might otherwise feel cruel.

because this game is designed around catharsis in revenge, it's important that the player feels that their actions are both fitting and justified - generally in a “turnabout is fair play” sense. these actions may be cruel viewed without context, but they are justified in terms of scale - this game isn't about being moral, or following the law, it's about revenge.

dishonored examples of poetic justice:

campbell branded a heretic and cast out because his power came from weaponising Overseer beliefs & systems

delilah trapped in the paintings she planned to capture a child in.

sokolov who trapped civilians for experimentation, was trapped in an animal cage

each villain demonstrably, within the game’s narrative, earned their fate - and because these are fates they planned to inflict on others, or already had done worse, the player character feels justified in their choice, and by additionally tailoring to each character, there's a sense of personalised and fitting revenge.

with the exception of…

who is Lady Boyle? good qn.

in dh1, there is only one female primary target - Lady Boyle.

canonically, the player must neutralize her because she is providing funding to the man on your daughter’s rightful throne.

in broad story terms, you are asked to find her because she is burrows' mistress.

the clue to her identity is a portrait of her ass ("finest hindquarters in all of Dunwall" - Sokolov), and when you get to the party, almost no one knows who she is even though she's the host.

in terms of level design, she is literally interchangeable with her sisters - the game randomly changes who your target is, and the character models only differ by colour. in terms of the universe, she's less a person, more of a sex symbol. as well as anton's comments about her ass, there's also the pendleton brothers' comments about wanting to fuck her, as well as multiple partygoers comments about the boyle sisters' sexual availability. there's a lot of gossip ingame but little is substantiated (as a reminder: the majority of dh players have only played dh1 and have not/will not read the canon books).

from both an internal logic perspective, and an external logic perspective, it “doesn’t matter” who this only female target is. she's barely a person, more a piece of ass.

poetic justice (for her)

unlike other primary targets with their tidy poetic endings, Lady Boyle (canonically Waverly) is not personally responsible for mass deaths (unlike, say, Sokolov), nor has played an active role in your downfall. let me expand on that.

a comment i've seen a bit:

"well she deserved it because she's partying while the city burns"

a woman planning to stay sober because she's afraid someone's after her doesn't sound like she's having fun.

her funding is not proven story-wise other than hearsay until Corvo has already finished the mission (a note from a guard in the next mission mentions the Boyle funding has dried up) (otherwise its speculation, its not actually in campbell's black book).

there’s no evidence she is providing this money willingly, nor even that she feels positively about Burrows (the letters in game hinting at romance are from him). one of the plot-points is that burrows was using his former role as Royal Spymaster to blackmail nobility with secrets. so, there's just as much a chance that she was his victim. (i've heard others say this is canon but i wasn't able to find evidence for that... if you know something i am curious!)

to complete this mission low chaos/nonlethal, you either need to lure her upstairs to drug her, or strangle her, or lure her to the basement before doing either of those things.

your options are to knock out a woman who has done you no direct harm, and you have no concrete proof she's done you indirect harm, and then traffick her unconscious body to someone you have no reason to trust.

let's review:

is her fate warranted in terms of scale? we only know it's true she was giving money to burrows in hindsight (eg. second runthrough), so not really no.

is her fate poetic justice? she is sex trafficked not because she regularly kidnaps people, but because she is the woman target, and is reduced to the sexual availability that so many NPCs comment on—she is not even a specific woman, given that she is gameplay wise randomly interchangeable with her sisters.

so it's not a case of turnabout being fair play.

yes, there’s a canon ending but that’s not the point here—we’re talking about the experience of playing dh1 first run.

let's rewind to another quote from the writer above:

“[...] it's very clear that people have fucked with you in a very personal way,"

assuming that the point of each level is catharsis for the assumed player, you can read this another way:

if your entire understanding of Lady Boyle as a character is that she is an unmarried woman who is presumably sleeping with your enemy (she's referred to as "the lord regent's mistress" regularly),

and she is someone that many people want to fuck, or at least comment on her sexual activity or attractiveness,

and as the assumed player you view any of this as punishable,

then... I suppose it is poetic justice that she will be locked in some creep’s sex dungeon for the rest of her life as revenge, regardless of her lack of role in your downfall, and regardless of how willingly she aided your enemy.

in other words, in this narrative's logic: sexually attractive women have this coming. as a target, lady boyle is less of a character and more of a trophy to be won.

contrary to poetic justice which is tailored and deserved, Lady Boyle’s fate of being handed unconscious to her stalker, is neither tailored (there was no precedent for this to happen to her - contrast with the targets who take lives), nor deserved (there’s no proof she had anything to do with corvo specifically, other than being his enemy's mistress. its debatable she was funding burrows willingly).

the purpose of a system is what it does

in a game that prioritises player choice, it is not possible to progress the game without choosing either to sex traffic Lady Boyle, or kill her.

this isn't equivalent to random bits of lore you can skip - you cannot get progress past the 5th level without making this call.

it's bad faith to argue "maybe he just locked her up and never intended to sexually assault her" within a universe that provides, unprompted, comments on this woman's body, attractiveness & sexual availability.

It is also canon. this is what corvo decided to do.

but isn’t the empire just sexist?

"when he says bring the bottles, i bring the bottles. when he says undress, I undress." - recurring maid NPC voiceline [multiple environments]

the world introduced within dh1 is sexist and sexually violent. this is valid - i include these themes in my own dishonored fics too, so the issue isn't the inclusion of these issues.

the difference here is that this is a game in which player choices are inherently about justice. rather than being a bystander trying to the right thing in a cruel world, you are an active participant in sex trafficking, and you are rewarded for this behaviour (achievements, a reward later in your room, and this contributes to the 'low chaos' ending).

this isn't corvo fighting the in-universe sexism, he's not even leveraging it --- this is corvo and therefore the player perpetuating it.

there’s no specific storyline reason to mete out a karmic punishment to lady boyle, then, well... is this cathartic to the player? given dh1's target audience, it's not a huge logical jump to say the story assumes you the player won't notice that this isn’t a deserved ending (accurately, given how few talk about this. and we've had years to talk about this). she's a sexy interchangeable woman who might be sleeping with your enemy, and there's rumours she's funding him too, and at that point ingame that's enough for her to deserve this fate.

my most generous take is that it’s lazy writing to forgo a poetic ending for a level/target.

a canonical retcon

the developers later expressed regret about this (see below harvey smith tweet).

presumably to address that "corvo is canonically a sex trafficker" thing, they added a storyline to a supplementary book which demonstrates that Lady Boyle was able to manipulate their way out of being kidnapped by her stalker.

imo this doesn't help:

this information is not in the game - almost no players will know of this (consider the # of book sales vs # of videogame sales). in writing, if it’s important, it will be both in the story and clear to the audience.

It reinforces myths that victims of sexual violence are deserving, or are lying/exaggerating etc. “you lived so why are you complaining?” and/or "well she was a manipulative bitch in the end so she deserved it all along”

gritty 'realism'

“its realistic because women are raped and stalked every day”

hiram burrows has cctv.

people love realism while the power fantasy caters to them. part of the power fantasy of corvo attano as a character is how the women in-game treat you (cecelia trusting you, emily being adoring/attentive/learning from you, esma boyle & lydia etc wanting to fuck you, piero talking to you/begging as though you're the arbiter of callista's honor in the bath scene, and saving countless NPC women). and this level, this target, is part of the power fantasy.

the thing about narratively punishing characters for being women, or having the wrong skin colour etc—is that, when you defend those writing choices by saying its realistic within the context of a fantasy game, you’re saying that inequality and the structural violence supporting it is inevitable, even when everything is made up.

additionally, it's gatekeeping: you're saying that escapist power fantasies are only for certain people. comparing “poetic endings”, there is a massive difference between the real-life statistical likelihood of, for example:

“put to work in your own slave mines,”

“getting kidnapped by a stalker.”

in my experience, people invoking ‘realism’ as a defense of their favourite media don’t want to discuss the ‘realistic’ things — more often, they want the people for whom their ‘realism in fantasy’ is reality to shut up so they can go back to enjoying their gritty fantasy, with other people's lives as wallpaper.

but pres i like this game

me too.

on that note, thanks for reading this far - its natural to resist analyses that critiques something you like. its easier and more comforting to shrug and say everything was justified.

as genius as many elements of dishonored 1 is, it is still a game for young men made in 2012... which isn't an excuse, just a reason. dh1 had every opportunity to not slip into this type of lazy writing - there's no particular reason to handle lady boyle & this mission this way as its not even satisfying at a player/audience level.

this isn't one miss-step, this is multiple miss-steps, and is less commentary on in-story/in-universe sexism, but more just regular sexism on the side of the devs, which is in turn excused at an audience level.

by working out what a game did well or poorly, we can learn how to do better in narrative design. we can also learn to identify similar plot shortcomings in other media.

and, from my perspective - it's another little contradiction to sit with in the things we enjoy. ah, dishonored, you beautiful ugly perfect fallible game.

talking about it

it's important to talk about this storyline.

don’t use the main fandom tags to criticise people who find this storyline shitty. it's weird. even if you don’t care about extending base-level empathy to people who have survived sex trafficking and rape/assault, it’s also citationless behaviour; the devs said lady boyle's fate was a miss-step.

part of why this is rarely talked about is - well, it’s hard. its emotionally difficult to talk about sincerely, and its even more rare to find an audience who will listen.

as a person who has survived similar violence, i feel like i need to write an 2,000 word essay with citations to prove that the only female villain in this game is treated in a way that isn’t justified in a doylist sense, nor in a watsonian sense. and honestly? that's not great.

citations:

1 - Dh demographics targeting (pdf) 2 - Quote source 3 - Dev interview & (4) article with dev quotes

#reading comprehension check:#what is the author saying is bad? what is the author saying should be done?#what types of analysis is the author using?#in defense of the mission you do get to hand a moth-woman a drink. and for that alone. game of the year 2012.#cracks my knuckles and posts this to the following tags #dishonored #arkane studios #lady boyle #long post #btw if you're planning to respond to this.... reading comprehension check. then double and triple check what you say #i cannot reiterate enough i hate that i have to make this post. don't make this more tedious for me. thanks #i also have some takes about how to fix this level storywise #but people have misconstrued this post enough. so. nah #'pres go back to writing yaoi' I was dead silent about this for years. I've had most dh tags blocked for years.#i didn't start or want this conversation.#“it's historically accurate” like black magic and cctv and 80s makeup trends and 90s supermodel aesthetics #it's a rich media so of course it's fine for a survivor to offer an analysis with references... you're not going to be weird about that rig #right. right?

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tribow · 17 hours ago

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Ah yes let me listen to

While I get some work done mmm I wonder what's going on here.

"...This stuff is also happening on music platforms like Spotify too, so it's not like using another musical platform is really an option."

HUH!??!?!?! WHAT!??!?!?

"And even if it was, that shouldn't be the solution."

NO. NO! NOOO!!!

You can't, you can't just dismiss the competition! Youtube and Spotify are not the only places to listen to music are you kidding me!??!?! Both Youtube and Spotify are music platforms that heavily rely on algorithms to deliver music to you. Of course bots and AI slop are going to take advantage of that! This video talks a lot about how Youtube playlists and recommendations are getting ruined by the slop. That's a shame, really, but consider what you're saying here!

There are options!!!!

Bandcamp and Soundcloud are right there!!! They're right there!!!!!

I go to the first page of Bandcamp and what do I get??? Featured Artists being promoted by Bandcamp, a list of current top selling albums on the platform, new and notable albums that were released on the platform recently, and encouragement to explore the tags.

What do I get on Soundcloud??? Music I recently played, Recommendations based on songs I previously liked, Other recommendations based on who I follow and listen to, Soundcloud's featured artists that get promoted.

Both platforms use tags that are set by whatever musician uploaded the music. They both encourage you to curate your music yourself or explore what others have curated. Yes, there's some algorithm stuff on their front pages, but these algorithms are properly built to promote real people and not just bots taking advantage of the system. Soundcloud has a feed just like other social media platforms, and that feed is only for what YOU follow.

Heck, you could even use Audius! I don't personally use the platform myself, but it functions like an alternative to Soundcloud. It has much of the same appeal. Its front page shows what music is currently trending, but guess what, it has a feed and it encourages you to curate it!

I get it, a lot of artists don't use these platforms, but what ties them all together is that they're doing what we want them to do: Actually support musicians. Artists aren't incentivized to use the platforms strictly because they're less popular, but it doesn't mean these platforms are worse than Youtube or Spotify.

Spotify sucks ass! They're literally infamous for being infested with bots, fake genres, and barely paying artists. You can buy an artists album for $5 and you would be paying them more money than they would get if you listened to them on Spotify for 5 months total.

Youtube pays a bit better, but they don't give a flying fuck about music! They're trying to have the whole cake and eat it too with movies, games, and other social media interaction. (text posts, polls, pictures, and the such.) They want people to be using their platforms and ONLY their platforms for everything. Your eyes must be glued to their screens at all times, so what if the algorithm hands you slop? You'll watch it right? It'll promote whatever keeps you there no matter who or what it is! (as long as its legal)

Don't sit around waiting for these platforms to change for the better. LEAVE. If you want to support artists then support them on other platforms if they're available on there!

And I know, I know Soundcloud had a whole exodus some years ago because whoever makes the decisions at Soundcloud is some out of touch buffoon who's getting desperate and doesn't know how to make the platform profitable, but you know what happened with almost every stupid decision Soundcloud made? They rolled it back or it didn't follow through with it. They're at the mercy of the userbase. The platform has issues, but I'd never give it up for the lack of respect and slop Spotify and Youtube have. Soundcloud's my musical hellsite (affectionate)

Bandcamp, as far as I know, has 0 controversy outside of the big companies who bought them and laid off half the Bandcamp staff. That wasn't Bandcamp's fault! They just got fucked over by Epic, otherwise they're still doing great! Bandcamp just needs to modernize their platform a little bit. (HOW IS THERE STILL NO VOLUME SLIDER)

Again, no comment on Audius, but hell maybe I'll start using that too.

And if you're SO INSISTENT on using Youtube for music, don't rely on the algorithm for your content! You can curate what you see on there you know! Subscribe to people, actually look at your subscription feed! If you want to use recommendations, you can adjust that too! Every time you see some AI bullshit click on those 3 little dots and either click "Not Interested" or "Don't recommend channel". I hate Youtube's guts when it comes to music, but they at least gave you options to if you hate what the algorithm is showing you. Use them!

Fuck!

Sorry that video got under my skin, it's not a bad video all things considered, but that one point got me heated.

#youtube #music #soundcloud #bandcamp #algorithm #spotify #curator #and enough of this “Release this on Spotify!” “When is it coming to Spotify!” shit!!#WHEN IS IT COMING TO BANDCAMP #WHERE'S THE BANDCAMP RELEASE!?!?!?

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belamew · 17 hours ago

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Hello! Friendly reminder that if you're going to get a buneary, PLEASE learn about their body language. Buneary, especially if they're wild-caught or poorly socialized from a bad breeder, can be very temperamental and spiteful! Their popularity as pets means that breeders don't always have their best interests at heart, or trainers catch them thinking they got a cute new friend. Sorry to break it to you, but wild buneary hate you with the passion of a spiteful God.

A LOT of their body language is shown through their ears!

One ear curled, one up

This is the most common position you'll see a buneary in. Since they're prey animals, they'll nearly always have one ear curled up in case they need to hit something. This doesn't mean they don't trust you, but ALSO doesn't mean they're fully content or not weary of you. Consider it neutral to positive learning. If nothing else, your buneary is feeling confident in it's ability to protect itself.

Both ears are curled

Unless it's extremely cold or windy, this is an EXTREMELY BAD SIGN! Even when asleep one ear should stay up. Your buneary is defensive! This might mean that it's sick or feels extremely unsafe in their current environment or with the people/Pokémon around it. Do not attempt to pick up the buneary, a hit from it's ears can literally break your bones. If it won't come to you, please transport it in a pokéball, its the safest option for everyone involved.

One curled, one half raised

Still bad! This might mean you have a spooked buneary where it might not totally sure if it's in danger or not and doesn't want to sacrifice too much hearing. If your buneary is friendly with you, but has it's ears like this, they might have anxiety or feeling confused. Might be a sign it's getting unwell.

Both up

A buneary might briefly raise both its ears to hear better, but if they stay up, it's typically a sign if great trust! It's ears are it's weapons, uncurled ears means they feel completely safe, enough so to overwrite their prey-instincts to be prepared to protect itself.

#pokeblogging #irl pokemon #bela.txt #buneary

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ofdarklands · 2 days ago

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a while ago i mentioned on discord that mitr'a would have definitely given the twins knives made by him, and i've since been thinking about the shape they would take. evidently they had to be functional above all, and probably made with insane, never dulling ultima thule materials or something

eventually decided to go with one i had researched before. its inclusion into my personal keeper lore is ongoing; still have to decide on the traditional materials... maybe some sort of very hard seedpods would be cool? anyway

got a bit long:

these two are based on the chilean corvo knife. historically it was a knife used by miners and farmers, made from recycled farm equipment, and probably descended in its shape from the morish knives brought by the spanish. it can, and has, been used as a weapon, but its original function was practical: cutting rope, leather, wood, boring holes, skinning animals, opening cans...

you can absolutely filet a person with it, but it requires intention. you have to hack at people like you're holding an axe, and while it doesn't require much strength or dexterity to wield it, you have to know what you're doing. it's not much good to defend either, so if you're attacking with it about your best option is going fully lethal with killing shots to the eyes, throat, gut, and arteries

alphinaud's would be the so called 'condor's beak' shape, mostly used by the military, but in this case i chose it because it's also perfect for cutting underbrush like a handheld rozón. added a little saw too, replacing most of the outside edge. you could also use it to climb, probably. it looks impressive, but it's actually harder to fight with. can hook on bone alisaie's is the shape called 'atacameño' and is an older, more utility based knife, with an edge only on the inside of the curve. it was mostly used by workers, and then brought by them to the pacific war where it was used as a close melee weapon and multitool. unlike alphinaud's, it also can stab, and the extra metal in the pommel is for whacking people (and things) with for both, the handle has the 'angel's eye' design, which is, supposedly, to distract and scare the opponent before you slice and dice them

here's some sketches with other shapes. since it was mostly a self forged weapon until about the 60s, there was a LOT of variation in the references

all this lore was gathered from a bunch of web pages. i can't claim to be an actual expert on corvos

#my works #theunbound #mitr'a #and the twins; but i don't have a specific tag for them #anyway drawing knives is harder than it seems

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specialagentartemis · 3 days ago

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heck yeah!!!

Depends on what you like about sci-fi and what you want to get out of Trek. There's lots of it, which means there are lots of entry points and lots of stuff to cater to different fans.

Option 1: TOS

If you have a fondness for - or at least a high tolerance for - low budget 60s nonsense, The Original Series is lots of fun. Roll with the stupid stuff for them gems that are also in there haha.

TOS was designed to be watched in any order, and doesn't really build on what came before. If you have less of an interest in 1960s Nonsense, here's a list I assembled with @chimaerakitten of what we'd consider the Important TOS List to get the TOS Experience.

The must-watch TOS episodes (in no particular order):

“Devil in the Dark”

“Balance of Terror”

“Amok Time”

“Space Seed”

“City on the Edge of Forever”

“The Trouble with Tribbles”

“Mirror, Mirror”

“The Tholian Web”

Mixed quality episodes with Significant Lore:

“Conscience of the King”

“Journey to Babel”

“The Enterprise Incident”

“The Menagerie”

"Plato's Stepchildren"

Just For Fun:

"Miri"

"The Naked Time"

“Who Mourns for Adonis”

“For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky”

It’s stupid as hell but I personally love it so much:

“A Piece of the Action”

And then you can decide whether you liked those enough to go watch the rest haha. (even I haven't actually seen all of TOS, even though there are only three seasons of it.)

Option 2: TOS Movies

Another option, if you want the TOS cast with Kirk and Spock and McCoy and all of them: the movies - Star Trek movies 1-4 - are overall higher quality and better put together, and give you a great overall Original Series Experience. You should probably watch at least "Space Seed" and "Journey to Babel" beforehand to get the high points of stuff that'll come back in the movies. But the movies mostly stand on their own and tell tighter stories. (5 is bad. I haven't watched 6 but people like it.)

Option 3: TNG

If you want higher production values and generally better writing and more interesting sci-fi ideas, you can start with The Next Generation instead - lots of people prefer it! However, I would recommend starting with TNG season 2, and only go back to season 1 if you decide you like it. The first two seasons aren't strong, though season 2 introduces a lot of ideas that get riffed on later, and has some good Data episodes. TNG was for the most part designed to be watched in basically any order.

Option 4: DS9

Deep Space 9 is my favorite show, and tells a much more mature, cohesive, serialized story with more complex characters. However, if you want to start here, I would recommend watching at least a few episodes of TNG before jumping into DS9 to get a baseline for what the Star Trek world of the 24th century is like. The TNG episodes "Q Who," "The Best of Both Worlds" Part 1 & 2, "Redemption" Parts 1 & 2, and "Ensign Ro" will give you some important setup for DS9. (TOS's "Mirror, Mirror" provides important background on the Mirror Universe that comes back in DS9, and there is an absolutely fantastic DS9 episode that's a direct riff on "The Trouble with Tribbles" which I recommend watching anyway because it's also great haha.)

Those are my recommended entry point options depending on what you like! And if you like it, there's looooots more where that came from, haha.

“Which fictional universe would you rather live in—“ Star Trek. Star Trek. There is a correct answer and it’s Star Trek. “I want to have cool adventures—“ Star Trek. “I want to live in high tech but ethical peace and comfort” Star Trek. “I want to be a psychic alien—“ Star Trek. “But I want to do magic—“ do you know how much weird magic shit happens in Star Trek. Also Star Trek has holodecks you can pretend to be in Lord of the Rings or Star Wars or whatever and then come home to your usually peaceful interstellar community. There are basically no downsides to living in the Star Trek universe if you take the assumption that you remain you, a human living on Earth. You can join Starfleet or you can stay home and enjoy fully automated luxury gay space communism. The answer is Star Trek.

#Star Trek #long post

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hurayratun · 15 hours ago

Note

YOU LITTLE STINKER >:( /aff ALL OF THEM FOR THE TRUTH OR DARE

HEY

🎱 ⇢ post your AO3 total stats

LOSER I DONT HAVE ANY POSTED WORKS ON AO3

🕯️ ⇢ on a scale from 1 to 10, how much do you enjoy editing? why is that?

it really depends on the fic, but as of right now, probably an 8 since I really like going back and adding details and fun things but I also have to wait until the end to edit and I HATE THAT

🛼 ⇢ describe your latest wip with five emojis

hehe. 🩸🧛‍♀️❄️🥺🥂

🥤 ⇢ recommend an author or fanfic you love

ermm. not an author, but a poet works too: Mary Oliver :3

💌 ⇢ how many unread emails do you have right now?

2448

🌻 ⇢ tag someone you appreciate but don't talk to on a regular basis

@/mlkbwunnies im too shy but i love ying and her positivity so much u dont understand

🐇 ⇢ do you prefer writing original characters, reader inserts, or a mix of both?

ORIGINAL CHARACTERS ALLLL THE WAY. sometimes reader inserts + a mix of both. but oc fics r so fun i havent written a story with a canon character in so long

🎲 ⇢ what stops you from writing more in your free time?

STUDYING or just me feeling too tired from studying

🧸 ⇢ what's the fastest way to become your mutual?

girl idk ermmm. i get scared following people so

🪐 ⇢ name three good things going on in your life right now

my bed, tea, and writing poetry on my english hw in class

🏜️ ⇢ what's your favourite type of comment to receive on your work?

keyboard spam

🦋 ⇢ share something that has been on your heart and mind lately

my latest monster energy

🦴 ⇢ is there a piece of media that inspires your writing?

For the most recent one, it's probably Bones and All a bit and this one werewolf/vampire art i saw

🍅 ⇢ give yourself some constructive criticism on your own writing

i rush through things and struggle to use variety

🐚 ⇢ do you like or dislike surprises?

dislike :thumbs_down: but it depends

🐝 ⇢ tag your biggest supporter(s) and say one nice thing about them

@alexisomnias: I love her freak and her encouragement on the morally questionable actions in my writing. she does ask if i have something wrong with me often

@taraxacum-vulpes: judges me but I strive off of spite and the whimsy

@strawberry-milkbun: also judges me, but a lot more, and it's so silly to me. i love discussing about the Doomed with her

🌸 ⇢ do you have any pets? if you do, post some pictures of them

i dont have pictures of them rn but I have birds :3

🎨 ⇢ link your favourite piece of fanart and explain why you like it

for my top two options, I lost one and the other one is a little freaky (it's the werewolf/vampire one, tldr, vampire loses themself in the werewolf's blood and the werewolf is like "woah. u r a freak" and then licks the blood off of the vampire's teeth)

#ask !#Lysol Crisp Linen Disinfectant Spray !

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svsssbestiaryzine · 2 days ago

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SVSSS Bestiary Zine FAQ

The sign ups have been open for a week now, and here are some of the most common questions we’ve been asked!

Can I be both a writer and an artist?

In short, hopefully! As we receive more sign ups this project gets larger and a bit more complicated for us to manage so, going off of the previous post addressing this question-

Everyone who signs up is committing to making at least one piece for the zine, we ask that you pick a role (writer, artist, or otherwise) based on what you feel most comfortable working with and are certain you will be able to complete.

Once your main contribution is done you are free to ask a mod about changing your role to start on another piece!

However, please see the following question for more information about multiple pieces.

Is there a limit to how many pieces we can contribute?

Tentatively yes, but the exact number we are unsure of. With there being multiple things each role can do, we want to allow for creators to make what they want but ensure that everyone gets their time to shine with their work being shown in the zine. So artists can potentially do a bestiary page, bonus content piece, as well as fic art. Writers can potentially write both journal entries and a fic.

However, in the start of the creating process you will be clarifying what your main contribution will be, and after that there will most likely be a period (after X check-in) where secondary or following pieces will then be allowed to be started.

What is the process for picking the creatures for the bestiary?

There will be a form for submitting ideas after everyone joins the discord server and is accounted for. There, you will determine your role and what your main contribution will be and which part of the zine you want that piece to be for (Main zine or Nsfw).

For artists, there are two options-

In the next part there will be a section of the form where you will submit short descriptions of your creature idea. (ex. Name: Three winged cerulean tortoise. Details: tortoise based creature with wings that lives in deep water.)

There will be 6 locations (human realm, demon realm-gen, demon realm-northern desert, demon realm-southern realm, borderlands, the endless abyss) you can submit one idea to each location, but are only required to do a minimum of three. Having a spread of locations helps us make sure that there is a good variety of creatures.

After this form, the mods will be going through to make sure there isn’t too much overlap with other people’s monsters. Then to start the creation period the mods will be assigning participants one of their submitted ideas to work on.

If you do not have ideas or would like to be surprised, you will have the option to be randomly paired with a writer that has ideas to prompt you.

For writers, two options as well-

If you have ideas you will submit them like mentioned above for artists.

If you do not have ideas or would like to be surprised, you will have the option to be randomly paired with an artist and their idea to write for.

Because we know that a lot of people have ideas, we want to make sure that those can be shared, but we ask that creators for bestiary pages be open to doing other people’s ideas for pairing purposes.

How will artists and writers be paired?

Pairing will be prioritized between people who have an idea + want to do someone else's idea. After we pair off writers and artists for the bestiary pages this way, we will see who is left over and ask if anyone with similar ideas wants to collaborate. If there are people left after that, then we will ask if the remaining creators would be willing to drop their idea for a secondary piece to be matched for a first piece. (This is also where pinch hitters could come into play.)

Can I create using original monsters from my previous works?

As long as they are your original creations, yes of course! There will be a section of the form for you to submit the related works for us to double check.

Can I create in mediums other than digital art?

Of course! If you are planning to make something for a bestiary page entry you need to ensure you can edit it to be a clean png to be put on a bestiary page, otherwise you can talk with a mod about it being a bonus content piece.

Can I sign up as a back-up or pinch hit creator?

Yes! Leave a note at the end of your sign-up that you would like to pinch hit and select the role that matches your skillset (Or add an additional note with the pitch hit note if you would like to do both art or writing) then the mods can give you a pinch hit role in the discord server when it opens.

#svsss bestiary zine #svsss #mxtx svsss #svsss fandom #svsss zine #bestiary faq

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planar-river-road · 3 hours ago

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It definitely is extremely funny, but to get back to the initial question for a moment I'm pretty sure it's because unlike Twitter and Reddit, TikTok doesn't really have much overlap with Tumblr from a practical standpoint.

Twitter, Reddit and Tumblr are all ultimately social media platforms based on text posts, even if the culture, layout and algorithms aren't the same. If you jump from Twitter or Reddit to Tumblr, you might learn to adapt, you might thrive immediately or you might find out that it isn't for you, but it isn't a worse first choice than any of the other options you could've switched to (except for the ones that are Literally Just A Clone Of Your Previous App Without The Baggage). If you like threads of short text posts, you can find or make those on Tumblr. If you like longform essays with a variety of comments, you can find or make those on Tumblr.

But TikTok is specifically a platform for watching lots of quick videos without anything interrupting it. And you won't get that on Tumblr. Half of the videos you'll find here are just clips scraped from TikTok in the first place (followed by someone adding the written transcript because even Tumblr users don't trust Tumblr with video files), much like how most of what TikTok knows about Tumblr are long text posts that someone made an AI voice read out while bouncing around Minecraft just so they wouldn't have to actually read them.

TikTok and Tumblr users have both made a culture of converting what little they find of value about each other's sites into something that fits into their own culture, and I think that's respectable. I hope they all find happiness on RedNote, both for their own sake and so that Tumblr staff doesn't try to bring back Tumblr Live as some kind of alternative.

I find it so funny, in light of TikTok’s imminent American demise, that even now they aren’t considering moving to tumblr. The last two social media refugee crises (Twitter -> X and whatever happened with Reddit) prompted a wave of wide-eyed new baffled tumblr users to flood this app and yet last I heard all of the tiktokers are flooding en-masse a Chinese social media app. That is entirely in Mandarin. Instead of moving to tumblr.

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haveyouseenthisskeleton · 1 day ago

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S/O has won the lottery! After the dreaded taxes, S/O ends up with almost a billion dollars. However instead of feeling happy, S/O is super duper stressed out because A LOT of people learned about it and is asking them for to spare some (a lot) of cash. To the point of harassment.. S/O asks their bonefriend for some help and maybe figure out what to do with this amount of money.

I took it like they're already a couple and living together so it's simple.

Undertale Sans - He's a bit overwhelmed as well. Sans was homeless at one point in his life and suddenly seeing so much money is crazy. Sans is very pragmatic though. You could buy a new house and then use the rest in your everyday life with a few extras occasionally. He doesn't know what to do with all that money either, but knowing you won't starve if there's a problem in the future is kind of comforting. As for all the people harassing you, Sans tries to keep them away when he can. He stays nice, but seeing people in the house all the time is also tiring him so he helps to push them out to have peace.

Undertale Papyrus - He quite literally never saw that much money in his life. He has no idea what to do with everything, but he has an idea of how to get away from your harassers! You two leave on a trip around the world without any preparation and without telling anyone (except your families so they don't worry too much about your disappearance). This way you two can plan the future without the social pressure.

Underswap Sans - Blue is not exactly a good example when it comes to money and he will encourage you to buy things you actually don't need. You even try some caviar for the first time in your life and both actually hates it. He's at least good at keeping the annoying people away, as living with a police officer does this thing to people. When they're getting a little too close, Blue reminds them he's the law by showing up his police suit. It's usually enough to make them think twice before scamming you.

Underswap Papyrus - Honey, being a natural emotions sponge, is as stressed as you are lol. He thinks having so much money is actually more of a problem than a gift. So, you two can buy a house, a car and keep some money for the groceries and give away the rest? He doesn't feel comfortable keeping that much money at home, and some random guy tried twice to intrude on your house already to rob you, so he doesn't feel safe anymore. Honey also doesn't know how to say no to people which doesn't help. You're both completely lost about what to do.

Underfell Sans - Red gets a little protective. He doesn't like that there's a lot of people pressuring you constantly and he's going to show these guys what he thinks of all of this. He gets defensive really fast when there's someone home and he can even get aggressive if he realizes they're trying to get money from you. Red is stressed as hell, and he knows that a lot of money makes you a target. For his own good and yours, you decide to go on small vacations so you can both relax a little and discuss your options. Red is scared something bad might happen to you.

Underfell Papyrus - Well, you're lucky, Edge is a lawyer so he knows what's legal and what's not. He tries to stay neutral about this to judge the situation better, but he still gets slightly defensive when people are insisting too much. That's your money, you do what you want with it and you don't owe anything to anyone. Edge advises you to not give away your money to the first people showing off, and to not sign anything that would lead you to be in debt for someone. If someone tries to trick you, just call him and we'll see who is the most clever out of the two.

Horrortale Sans - He shows you one of his hiding places for food, so you can hide your money, literally at the doors of the Underground. No one comes here anymore and he's really good at hiding things so no one will ever suspect something is buried there. And if you ever worry about him, he reminds you he'll probably forget everything in an hour anyway so you're safe. It's a lot less stressful now that the money is safe and hard to access. You feel less tempted to give it away to anyone, except to modernize the farm a little, which is more than welcome.

Horrortale Papyrus - He tells you to keep everything and save it for when you need it. Health is expensive in this country, he knows something about it, and he knows humans tend to develop big problems as they age. So keep everything for yourself and don't regret anything. The curious will get bored eventually and leave you alone, you just have to hold on for now.

Swapfell Sans - Well, he already deals with a lot of money himself and he learned to avoid all the traps that inevitably follow, so he's your best man in this situation. Nox teaches you what you have to be careful of and how to push away the vultures that will try to suck you like vampires. You decide what you want to do with that money and don't care too much about what people will say. He tells you that the first thing you need though is some vacations to recover from the shock, relax a little and get away from all the people asking things from you.

Swapfell Papyrus - Well, he's not the one you should talk about with. If you listen to Rus, you would open a private fast food for him that serves only nuggets so he could be fed all day. So he redirects you towards his brother, who is clearly more educated on these subjects and can help you with that.

Fellswap Gold Sans - I mean, if you don't know what to do of the money, you could give it to him so he can have more funds to take control of the country or something. What? What do you mean that seems like a terrible idea? He's 100% reliable, he doesn't understand why you're hesitating so much. Wine is a full part of your problem lol, maybe don't ask him for help.

Fellswap Gold Papyrus - Well, since one of your biggest problem is Wine, Coffee is a bit lost about what to do. He would love to help you, but he doesn't want to disappoint his brother either so he has his butt stuck between two chairs. He's not sure what to do and it's stressing him as much as you. It was better when you didn't have all that money.

#undertale #underswap #underfell #horrortale #swapfell #fellswap gold #sans #papyrus #undertale ask blog #undertale asks #undertale imagines #undertale headcanons

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mooshie-blue · 2 days ago

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Flow like water

A Bonniecles self indulgent fic

Don’t like self shipping? Don’t interact

Bonnie always felt gross, both inside and out, they always let their brain rot away with terrible thoughts about their body or mind.

It wasn’t ever easy to escape such things. Once a thought came in it was impossible for Bonnie to let it go. They’d become so focused on it that they would forget to take care of themselves.

And with the handful of missions that Bonnie and the Octonauts are given almost daily, it gave Bonnie even less time to do so.

They lay in bed, as they always did when they weren’t in the library, The weird itchy feeling on their skin, and their unkempt hair bothered them so much but they didn’t have the energy to take care of it.

Bonnie just sat quietly, waiting for something to happen, whether it was someone sounding the Octo-alert, the Vegimals handing out a fresh batch of kelp-cakes. It’s not like Bonnie was desperate for adventure or anything, they just wanted their thoughts to shut up for once.

Up in the HQ, Barnacles, and Dashi monitored the creatures that surrounded the Octopod with all their varying splendor. Shellington was checking in on Peso and Kwazii who were out on a mission to collect samples for research purposes. Not a day goes by where Captain Barnacles forgets to thank his lucky stars to have taken Professor Inkling’s offer to be where he is now.

The beauty and majesty of the vast ocean truly spoke to him, ever since Captain Barnacles was a little cub, his great love was exploring every nook and cranny of the world around him, he loved learning, he loved swimming, he loved the whole world around him, and now he gets to see the beautiful blue ocean every single day, he has the pleasure of waking up to the sight of various marine animals swimming beside his window. It’s all he could ever want.

After another hour of keeping watch for any trouble on the reef, Captain Barnacles decided it was a good time for a break. He stepped back from his port in the HQ and turned to Dashi and Shellington. “I’ll be on break to check up on a few things, please let me know if you two need anything.”

“Will do, Captain.” They both replied. Dashi checked the computer screens for any sort of weather updates, and Shellington sent a map to guide Peso and Kwazii.

“Excellent.” Captain Barnacles smiled and headed down the Octo-chute. Bonnie’s absence wasn’t really a surprise, he knew they kept to themselves most of the time. Even around the Captain himself, Bonnie would hide in their own shell, but that didn’t mean they didn’t like him.

Bonnie loved everyone on the Octopod. They felt safe in the mighty ship, it was their home with a team they respected, but so much self doubt prevented them from ever being honest, they didn’t know how the other Octonauts felt, they couldn’t read their minds, if they could it would make things a lot easier.

The safest option in Bonnie’s mind was to just lock themselves away from everyone unless they were needed.

Bonnie curled up in their bed, wishing their thoughts could go away. They lightly gripped their covers in frustration at the constant battle in their mind that never seemed to end.

“My love, are you alright?” Barnacles’ gentle voice echoed through the door followed by a knock.

Bonnie let out an incomprehensible noise, it sounded like they were trying to talk but wanted to cry. Which made the polar bear worry more. “Bonnie?”

His partner sat up and quietly wrapped themselves in their warm, safe blanket prison. Pangs of anxiety shot through Bonnie’s neglected body, or was it hunger? They couldn’t tell the difference anymore. They didn’t know how to tell Captain Barnacles how bad they felt, anytime it got this bad to the point of skipping meals or baths. They didn’t want to bring the team down.

“May I come in, Bonnie?” Barnacles pleaded, “Please let me in, dear..” his voice was warm as ever even with worry painted in.

Bonnie reluctantly crawled over to the screen and tapped it, which split the crease and opened the door. Barnacles looked up at Bonnie, who hadn’t even changed out of their pajamas, their eyes were sunken and heavy, whether it was from crying or a lack of sleep was anyone’s guess, their hair was matted and tangled, though it looked as though Bonnie barely brushed it earlier. They couldn’t bring themselves to speak.

Barnacles expression softened, his eyes gleamed with understanding “one of those days again, dear?” He asked.

Bonnie nodded and plopped back down on their bed. The little polar bear sat next to them “Have you eaten?” He gently took their hand and rubbed their knuckles with his thumb. Bonnie shook their head again and their eyes welled.

“I see.” He held their hand tighter “And have you bathed?” He noticed Bonnie’s constant itching and squirming, they must’ve felt so uncomfortable and gross, but Barnacles never changed his mind about how much he loved them.

“No, I haven’t.” Bonnie mumbled, avoiding eye contact. Their mind still cursing with thoughts of possible disappointment or anger from the Captain. Yes, such ideas were irrational and stupid, but that didn’t make them any less present.

“I was doing so well..” Bonnie lamented, their voice started to break. “I was going on missions, but I’m back where I started.. I’m so tired.”

Captain Barnacles solemnly watched as Bonnie struggled. It always ached him, he wasn’t new to this quiet shell Bonnie kept themselves in.

But he wasn’t gonna let Bonnie rot, and he wasn’t going to leave them all alone, not ever. He gently put his paw on their back “Would you like me to help you, dear? I can run you a bath and make you some lunch, we can all have the rest of the day off.” He offered with a kind smile.

They looked at him and raised an eyebrow. “Why would you..” they paused. “But why?”

“Because I care about you, Bonnie, no matter how you see yourself, I adore you and everything you are, no matter how messy or ugly you see yourself as.” Barnacles spilled his heart out in front of them, he’d do it countless times if he had to. “Please let me help you.”

The fear and guilt in Bonnie’s heart subsided as Barnacles offered his paw. Their eyes welled with tears and they swiftly held the small bear in their arms and cried against his warm embrace. They felt so stupid.

“I have you, dear. It’s okay. You never upset me.” His voice warmed the coldness of Bonnie’s heart away, if not just a little.

“I’m sorry.” They sobbed against his chest, “Captain I’m so sorry for hiding so much, and I’m sorry I keep crying like this.”

“Bonnie please don’t apologize for being this way, this job, all of life as a whole, it’s hard, that’s why we must confide in each other.” Barnacles gently held their cheek and kissed their lips. “You shouldn’t have to suffer in silence, if I’m being honest I’m still trying to learn that. I can’t blame you for being stuck like this, all I can do is help pull you out and that’s what I want to do, now.”

“Please help me, Bear..” Bonnie finally whispered. “I hate how gross I feel right now.”

“Of course dear, pick out some clothes and I’ll get the bath ready.” He stepped back and smiled at them. Bonnie obliged and got out of bed as Barnacles left the room, a smile on his face.

Before heading to the bathroom, Barnacles made his way to the kitchen, where the vegimals were sorting through the cook book, brainstorming ideas for Dinner and putting away clean dishes.

He walked in and gently cleared his throat “Excuse me, Vegimals?”

The little critters paused their activity and turned their attention to the captain. Tunip waddling over front and center. “Yes, Cappy?”

“I’d like you to make a warm bowl of pesto kelp noodles for Bonnie, with sun dyed tomatoes just as they like it” The Captain ordered, Tomminow worriedly approached him “Mama?”

Barnacles gave a comforting smile “Don’t worry, Tomminow, Bonnie will be okay, they’re just not feeling well, I’m doing what I can to help, I promise.”

Tominow hugged him for reassurance. “Help Mama, please..” she begged, the polar bear knelt down and hugged her right back “I promise, Tomminow, on my honor, I’ll take care of Bonnie, as their partner and as an Octonaut, don’t any of you worry about a thing.” He stood back up and smiled.

Tomminow nodded, then the vegimals all scattered to different parts of the kitchen, grabbing different items as they prepared the pesto kelp noodles.

With that, Captain Barnacles and walked off to the bathroom, Bonnie was already standing beside the door with some clothes. He sheepishly opened the door “I’m sorry, dear, I had to make a quick detour, the vegimals are preparing lunch for you.”

Bonnie nodded “I understand.” They opened the door and walked in, Barnacles followed close behind, Bonnie sat aside as he got the bath ready “Warm or cold?”

“Warm, please?” Bonnie requested as Barnacles turned the knobs to the tub and placed the plug over the drain

As the water ran, Captain Barnacles grabbed a bottle of shampoo and conditioner, along with body wash and bubble bath.

As the water rose, he poured some bubble bath in and ran his paw along the water so the bubbles could spread, Bonnie watched silently. Barnacles smiled the whole time he spent preparing the bath.

Bonnie removed their clothes and when the tub filled, they carefully sat down. The warm, soapy water cascaded against their stressed skin, they let out a sigh and lay back, completely engulfed in pleasure from the cleanliness to come.

Barnacles watched with love, he wordlessly let Bonnie enjoy the moment, it always bought him a great deal of joy to help.

Bonnie opened their eyes and smiled. “That feels.. so good..” they sighed.

“Glad it does, Bonnie.” Captain Barnacles let a chuckle escape from his muzzle. “Just relax, my love, let me take care of you.” He gently cupped some water with his paws and very lightly rinsed Bonnie’s hair.

“You always do, Bear.” Bonnie looked at him with a playful smile. Barnacles smiled right back at them. “I’m always happy to take care of you, dear. You mean more to me than anything else.”

Barnacles began rinsing Bonnie’s hair, the sound of the water dripping and pouring filled the room, but it was a comfortable atmosphere.

Bonnie’s hair, while weighted with the water had fallen gently costing the sides of their face, Captain Barnacles gently moved their bangs away with his paw. Bonnie kissed his nose and smiled.

“Are you ready for Shampoo?” He asked, his cheeks slightly red from Bonnie’s little kiss. They responded with a nod.

Captain Barnacles took the shampoo bottle and poured a little into his paws, then, he gently lathered it against their scalp, he hummed a soft tune as he tended to Bonnie, giving them this sort of care was always an honor to him. No matter what Bonnie thought of themselves, Barnacles was always happy to jump in and take care of them, or help them with anything they need.

As Barnacles massaged Bonnie’s scalp, Bonnie wondered for a moment about him. “Bear, I don’t think I’ve met anyone as passionate about the ocean as you, why is that?”

His heart practically glowed with joy, one of his great loves was the ocean, it was his home, as long as he was with the Octonauts of course.

“If I’m being honest, I feel free when I’m in the sea, it’s big and it’s beautiful.” He began. “Even as a cub, all I ever wanted to do was swim, in a strange way it felt like it was easier to get along with the sea creatures than other polar bears, it just feels right being in the ocean.”

Bonnie tilted their head “you didn’t get along with other Polar Bears?” They asked, wondering about what possible reasons Barnacles would have to not get along with someone, let alone other polar bears.

“Oh, we didn’t fight or anything, I just felt like I didn’t belong.” He confessed “For many different reasons, for one, I don’t like eating meat, but I’m sure you already know that. I’ve never had the hunting instinct, not since I was really little.”

Bonnie had noticed that the dishes served on the octopod barely included meats of any kind. It was all Vegetarian dishes. even the fish biscuits that were made to deter predators came from stuff like tofu.

They lay their head back as Barnacles rinsed the shampoo from their hair and continued talking:

“Another reason, well. I just never really fit in, you see, I’m autistic, Bonnie. I’m sure that speaks for itself.” Barnacles added. “I didn’t want to repress who I was. I tried to, because I felt lonely and I wanted to be friends, but it never felt right to be someone I’m not. The only polar bears who liked me were my mother, my sister, and some of the polar scouts.”

Bonnie knew all too well what that was like. That’s why they repressed themselves around so many people. They never thought the issue of being judged for being autistic would spread to the arctic amongst polar bears.

“But when I’m here, on the octopod with you all, I feel like I’m home, I AM home here.” He smiled fondly, thinking of the family he found on his journey of being the captain of the Octonauts.

“I know what it’s like.” Bonnie spoke up.

Barnacles’ ear twitched as he listened. “I mean you already know I’m autistic, When I was really little it wasn’t hard to talk to people, in fact, I loved being around people, everytime I had the chance to talk to someone knew, especially someone my age, I’d take it.”

Barnacles listened as Bonnie shared a piece of themselves with him. Bonnie had always been a quiet, vulnerable person but this brought a new light.

Bonnie ran their hands through the tub water, gently scooping up bubbles and suds. “But as we all got older, especially after I turned 10, I began to notice how different I was, I noticed that teachers had to focus a little more on me when I was upset, I just new I was different, I thought it was just ADHD.”

Bonnie put their hands back in the water and Barnacles tilted his head with concern. “After I was told I was also autistic, whether it was good for me or not, I just stopped trying. I didn’t want freinds anymore, some part of me did, but in everyone’s eyes and, honestly my own, I was too much, I just understood that no one was gonna like me.”

Bonnie stuttered a little before turning to Captain Barnacles, who looked back with pity. “And, that- that’s why I’m so quiet, people like me when I’m quiet.”

“Sorry..” Bonnie sighed.

Captain Barnacles gently took their hand, his heart ached painfully for his partner. “Thank you for telling me this, Bonnie. and you never have to worry about any of that while you’re here.”

“I know, but it’s hard to let myself believe that.” Bonnie looked down.

“It can be hard, yes.” Barnacles admitted “It’s never easy to beleive good things after years of believing you’re bad, but that’s why you need to surround yourself with people who love you.”

Bonnie looked at him again

“Don’t forget, Dear.” He tenderly kissed their head. “I adore you.”

“I love you too.” Bonnie sighed.

Barnacles grabbed the conditioner and lathered it up in Bonnie’s hair. His paws ever so gentle, as they always were. “If you’d like, maybe we can spend the rest of the day together?”

“Sounds like a plan.” Bonnie began to smile as Barnacles lathered the conditioner some more “You’re beautiful, Bonnie.”

“Oh don’t start that..” Bonnie mumbled as they looked away in embarrassment.

“I already have, darling.” He grabbed the body wash and looked at Bonnie for a moment. “May I?” He held up the loofah.

With Bonnie’s permission and their arm out, Barnacles began tenderly scrubbing their arm.

“Do you miss the arctic?” Bonnie asked as Captain Barnacles cleaned their body. The scrubbing slowed to a stop. And Barnacles glanced at Bonnie, he grew a bittersweet smile and sighed.

“Of course I do.” He gently put the loofah aside. His attention still focused on Bonnie. “There’s a lot to miss, doesn’t matter what happened back there.” He smiled.

Bonnie felt a twinge of tension hover over their shoulders. They hesitantly reached for Captain Barnacles’ paw. But with the stillness of the air practically screaming at them to not dare call his attention, they put their hand back in the water.

“Please don’t worry about it, Bonnie.” He took their another arm and tenderly scrubbed away with the loofah. Bonnie looked away with guilt. Their hand rested on their knee, fingernails barely digging in the skin. Bonnie’s unkempt fingernails and shallow breathing really stuck out now.

“Sorry..” Bonnie croaked out while avoiding eye contact. Noticing Barnacles’ vacant expression.

“Don’t be. you’re okay, dear.” He responded bluntly. The loofah against their skin moving more fervently.

“But you aren’t.”

Barnacles felt his mind shut down. He hated those words. He refused to look at Bonnie, if their words put him to a hault, what would their expression do?

“This isn’t about me, Bonnie.” He grimaced. “We can talk about that later, dear.”

Later probably wouldn’t come, Bonnie’s heart thumped in their chest, it wouldn’t be fair to leave the captain in the dark. Bonnie swallowed their pride and gently took his paw. “Captain.” Bonnie began. “Look, you don’t have to tell me anything, I can’t control your feelings, and I can’t make you talk about them.”

Barnacles mouth hung open and he tilted his head at Bonnie’s outburst. Could it be an outburst? Or was it a declaration?

“But you never have to hide how you feel. I know I’m no good at comforting people, all I can really do is listen, but I’d be happy to listen to you, about anything.” Bonnie paused and their cheeks turned red. “I really like your voice, it’s pretty.. and I love you.”

Their eyes half lidded and their smile sincere. Bonnie placed a hand on Captain Barnacles soft cheek, which was also a cute shade of pink at this point, and sighed before kissing his open lips.

Barnacles kept his hands on the tub and his feet firmly in place, but his heart was beating at a million miles an hour and his mind burnt to a crisp. Bonnie’s lips, no matter how used to them he was, always tasted like what love felt like. God, he loved them more than he could ever know or understand.

He felt Bonnie gently pull away from the sweet gesture and gazed to them with shock and adoration. “Darling..” he breathed out, he leaned forward as if he was under some sort of spell.

Bonnie smiled back at his love struck stupor. They rested their head on their arms and studied his features. His eyes hung half lidded and he smiled adoringly.

“You’re wonderful, dear. You always know how to take my breath away.” Barnacles chuckled a little at the end.

“You’re the one lending it to me, Bear.” Bonnie lay back, and Barnacles gleefully continued cleaning Bonnie, they spent the next few minutes enjoying eachothers words and laughter, Bonnie and Barnacles both feeling just as loved as before.

Once late noon came to pass, Bonnie was in the kitchen, eating the pesto kelp noodles that were requested earlier, they didn’t feel the constant itchy or the shame anymore, just then, Captain Barnacles walked in with two mugs. “Feeling better, dear?” He approached them and set one of the mugs down and sat beside them at the table.

“I am, thank you, what about you, Bear?” Bonnie took a sip of the tea on their mug, most of the Octonauts drank hot cocoa, but Bonnie hated it, as they believed drinks should be cold. So they usually had tea.

“Better.” Barnacles simply replied. “Thank you for that, by the way.” He looked at the hot cocoa in his mug “What you said meant a lot to me, but I’d appreciate some patience with my feelings, dear? I’ve never been good with that.” He asked, his expression ad kind as ever.

“I’ll be patient , just like you are with me.” Bonnie gently kissed his head.

#Mooshie writes #🐻‍❄️ Bonniecles 🍄#octonauts #captain barnacles #self indulgence #selfshipping

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