#they're all decently fleshed out

[giantchasm]

"Hm, Miss Peony! Your esteemed friend is here to wish you luck, and improve your PR. Already, you have such an excellent grasp on popularity and attention. A genius!

Anyhow... What is your social circle like? What sort of fellows do you decide to, ah, "Hang around" with?

I hope your day remains well.

Yours sincerely, Mapobas Dejasce Novavunora."

[//Aka hi!!!!!! Share the Peo,,,,]

"Of course, I’ve also been making lots of good friends during the tourney! Flora, Fylass, Vic, Moroshi… and you, obviously! I'm meeting all sorts of super cool people. It's been tons of fun~"

It may have taken 800 years, but ask #1 of many for Peony has been answered. There's a lot of other cool stuff I'm excited to tackle in my inbox, so hopefully I'll be able to answer more soon... and feel free to keep sending them in! Peony's a little blabbermouth, so she'll savor literally any opportunity to talk about herself or the world around her.

@kirbyoctournament

[ddarker-dreams]

lock's otome game recs

i received some asks indicating an interest in a compilation of my favorite otome games, so i decided to go for it!! i've played about fourteen otome games, but of those fourteen, only these six left a lasting impression on me. there are still some that i intend to check out, so the rankings may update in the future. i'll give a very general overview of each game and how i'd score the categories that i find the most important in an otome game — the heroine, story, art, enjoyability, along with the characters i liked the most.

number 6 - piofiore fated memories.

heroine: 6/10 story: 6.5/10 characters: 7/10 art: 10/10 enjoyability: 8/10 favorite characters: dante (ishikawa kaito), nicola (kimura ryouhei) and yang (okamoto nobuhiko)

this game centers around the heroine, with the default name liliana adornato, who finds herself entangled in the politics of the region's three most prominent crime organizations. the game has an italian backdrop and iirc, takes place in the 1930s.

the overarching narrative, while it has its fair share of intrigue, isn't the game's strongest point. it's the interactions with the characters themselves that made the game feel worthwhile. each love interest has more to them than what meets the eye, so it's satisfying to watch the relationship between them and the heroine develop.

the heroine takes a passive role throughout much of the game, events sorta just happen to her. still, she has a kind disposition that makes her likable and doesn't make stupid decisions that has you wanting to fling your console across the room. her characterization changes slightly depending on the route. for instance, without getting into spoilers, she's more assertive throughout yang's route. the resulting dynamic made yang's route the most memorable, even if he's my third favorite character from the bunch.

what feels unique to this game is the effort put into the bad endings. in most visual novels, bad endings can feel like gimmicks. you make one or two wrong decisions and you're rewarded with a few paragraphs. the downward spiral of the characters in the bad endings are decently fleshed out and you can see how they arrived at this 'worst' version of themselves. they're suitably dark and it shouldn't come as a surprise that i enjoyed them because of that 😭

then there's the art. it's stunning, the details in each CG are mindboggling. the heroine gets to wear a variety of pretty outfits which is something i like to see. even in the story's weaker moments, a stunning CG would pop up that had me forgiving everything. i still glance through the gallery to this day.

number five - cupid parasite.

heroine: 9.5/10 story: 7/10 characters: 7/10 art: 9/10 enjoyability: 9/10 favorite characters: ryuki keisaiin (junya enoki) & gill lovecraft (kimura ryouhei)

iconic. showstopping. a little bit camp.

cupid parasite stars one of my favorite heroines, lynette. she works as a bridal advisor whose ambition is to ensure everyone finds their soulmate. in actuality, she's the goddess cupid, who left her post in celestia to better understand humanity and create lasting pairs. she's a delight to play as.

this game's presentation and overall aesthetic is the most distinct from any otome game i've played. aside from the presentation, the story itself is unlike any of the others on this list. when it comes to romance, i typically prefer them to be dark and mature. this game opts for a more lighthearted approach. it vacillates between being a romcom and dipping into the absurdist genre. there were times i was literally left speechless (glances at gill's route)... but it makes for an entertaining experience. the game's plenty funny as well.

personally, i enjoyed the more grounded moments when the mythological elements remained in the background. because of this, the true ending doesn't do it for me as much as they do in other games. as with anything, this is a personal preference though. i liked all of the routes and found the game handles the development of each love interest well. we're introduced to these men at their most pathetic and get to help them become a little more well-adjusted. lowering the cringe meter, if you will. it makes their growth all the most satisfying as the narrative progresses.

number four - even if tempest.

heroine: 9/10 story: 8.5/10 characters: 8/10 art: 6/10 enjoyability: 9/10 favorite characters: the heroine herself, tyril i lister (noriaki sugiyama), crius castlerock (makoto furukawa) and lucien neuschburn (kaito ishikawa)

right from the get-go, this game's premise had me hooked. it features the heroine, anastasia (<3!), who leads an incredibly tragic life. she's bestowed the ability to reverse time following each of her deaths and uses this to unravel a mess of mysteries the world's setting is tangled in.

this game is absolutely anastasia's story. without spoiling anything, i loved the approach they took with the time rewinding ability. how it's incorporated is unique to an otome game, which they take full advantage of to amplify the tragic romances. on that note, the romance itself occasionally takes a backseat to the narrative as a whole. personally, i didn't mind this in the moment, since i found the story so interesting. in retrospect, i do wish that we got more moments between the heroine and each love interest, especially in the true ending.

there are more gameplay elements here as well. you have to conduct investigations, gather evidence, and apply what you've learned during these trial segments. when i first read about this, i thought it'd be a gimmick, but i liked playing through them. it incentivizes you to pay extra close attention to the world.

while i liked the narrative as a whole, i do wish we got more worldbuilding. there are hints of political subterfuge and religious oligarchy that, while touched upon, could've been leaned into more to give the setting a distinct feeling.

number three - olympia soiree

heroine: 8/10 story: 8/10 characters: 8/10 art: 10/10 enjoyability: 10/10 favorite characters: akaza (yoshitsugu matsuoka), himuka (shun horie), and yosuga (yuma uchida)

in olympia soirée, the eponymous heroine, olympia, lives in a society divided into castes based on colors. she is the last surviving member of a clan that can perform rituals to keep the sun aglow. this game is a lengthier title, i believe i clocked in around 25 ish hours (i don't use auto-play so that sheds some time). the story benefits from this, as olympia has rich worldbuilding and lore that's revealed throughout the route's progression.

we get to see the consequences of this caste system and olympia's growth as she becomes determined to realize a better future for the islands. this makes the heroine someone that you want to root for. personally, i'm a sucker for stories that center around a sheltered individual being forced to face the harsh realities of the world and maturing in their own way. this, paired with the struggles specific to this setting, make for a gripping backdrop for the character's routes. all the love interests have problems of their own that they need to address.

this is certainly a mature title, there's plenty of steamy scenes featuring gorgeous artwork. seriously... all the pretty CGs are absolute eye candy. i enjoyed the balance between the main narrative and the development of the romantic relationships, i don't remember ever feeling bored.

ironically enough, i think this is the darkest game from the bunch listed here, surpassing the game with actual horror elements. there's a whole litany of trigger warnings to be mindful of when going through the game's bad ends. they are, as the term suggests, Bad. not light or humorous in the slightest. the poor heroine goes through it. please be mindful of these more touchy subjects.

number two - 9 r.i.p

heroine: 8/10 story: 8/10 characters: 9/10 art: 10/10 enjoyability: 10/10 favorite characters: minami (nobuhiko okamoto), hibiki (shunichi toki), kureha (toshiki masuda), and koyo (ryota suzuki)

i was looking forward to the english localization of this game before it was even announced ... i'd been wanting an otome game with this vibe for ages. and it didn't disappoint! there are four different overarching story sections, with two characters each having their routes fall under them. this makes it difficult to give a summary since each route has a vastly different feel. some routes lean heavy into supernatural horror (such as hibiki and kureha), whereas others are just... supernatural (like with yukimaro and koharu).

the basic premise is that the main character, misa, is a high school girl burdened with her career survey. she's uncertain what she wants for the future and is being pressured by his mother to pursue a career in medicine. in one way or another, depending on the story section, she comes into contact with the afterlife and those who inhabit it.

i loved this game, i couldn't put it down. the routes that leaned heavy into horror were my favorites, which shouldn't be a surprise lol. i do feel some love interests were given preferential treatment of others, i wanted more from sena's storyline in particular, since he's voiced by one of my favorite VAs (tetsuya kakihara, the voice of scaramouche) 😭... apparently this game is receiving a fandisc, so hopefully they'll remedy that in the future.

minami stole the show for me. from what i've gauged online, he's a divisive character, you either find him grating or love him (like i do). i'm biased but i do think he has the most interesting and well-written story out of the love interests, i've played through it three times already. i just adored the dynamic between him and the heroine. he's petulant, selfish, and a bit immature, yet he goes to extremes for her as he realizes his unhinged feelings.

hibiki is a close second. the most yandere-coded of the bunch, he's soft-spoken and polite, but that exterior hides a creepy personality. like all of the characters in this game, there's a tragic element to him. i was worried about the role the heroine would play in helping him 'overcome' this, but i think they handled it well. it doesn't feel like the heroine's fixing him so much as she's helping him have a different perspective on certain events.

yeah i'm not normal about this game, i cannot recommend it enough. it would've taken the top slot if some of the routes were a bit more polished. i didn't care for yukimaro's at all, for example. routes like minami's, hibiki's, and koyo's more than make up for it though.

number one - collar x malice

heroine: 10/10 story: 10/10 characters: 10/10 art: 10/10 enjoyability: 10/10 favorite characters: takeru sasazuka (daisuke namikawa), kei okazaki (yuki kaji), and aiji yanagi (masakazu morita)

the holy grail. the otome games that died for our sins. this isn't just a good otome game, it's an excellent story, with a very human cast, commentary on issues like the nature of crime, and you're left wanting to solve the various mysterious as much as the heroine does. speaking of the heroine, miss hoshino ichika is my all-time favorite heroine. she's clever, resolute, compassionate, and you can't help but fall in love with her a little yourself 😭😭

i'm not sure if this makes sense, but the world feels very... full? you get this sense that ichika exists outside just interacting with the love interests. she has her career, friends, and her younger brother that act as more than passing NPCs. the writers ensured all the characters with portraits are given some level of depth. i left caring about more characters than the heroine and love interests.

each route is dedicated to working through a certain case, which keeps the story intriguing as you progress. finally, all of the little hints that have been littered throughout coalesce into the 'true' route, where questions you've had since the first chapter are given satisfactory conclusions. at the same time, you're left wondering about a few things, such as the complete philosophy of the main antagonist.

ichika's relationship with each of the love interests develops alongside the case they're investigating, which almost always have connections or parallels to the LI's past. this helped ground them in reality and flesh them out into dynamic characters. you come to care deeply about them alongside ichika. the romance feels earned and doesn't come on too fast, which some otome games suffer from.

if you like otome games and haven't played collar x malice yet, i fully recommend it!!!!!!!! it's the strongest title from what i've played so far.

[growthhyp]

Hello sir, you wouldn't happen to have a tie for sale would you? I just found out I need one for my upcoming job interview. I'll take any color or design of tie you have at this point, I'm desperate.

The Black Tie

It's a crisp morning, the kind that makes the air feel alive with possibility, and you're feeling pretty good about yourself. You've scored a decent black tie from a garage sale, which you're now wearing proudly as you step into the gleaming lobby of a high-rise building. The company you're interviewing with is one of those big, corporate giants, the kind that makes you feel like a tiny fish in a very large pond. But you're not just any tiny fish; you're one with a brain that's been honed to a sharp point by years of study, and a degree that proves it. You've got this interview in the bag, or so you think.

You wipe the beads of sweat from your forehead, feeling your heart race as you make your way to the correct floor. The walls seem to be closing in, a reminder of the pressure you've been under to land this job. You've always been the smart kid, the one who'd rather hit the books than the gym, and here you are, surrounded by men who look like they've stepped out of a fitness magazine. But you shrug it off, reminding yourself that brains got you this far. You went back to the elevator and pressed the correct floor.

As the elevator doors glide open, you step into a sea of corporate sameness. Suits and ties as far as the eye can see, you stand tall, the tie around your neck a symbol of your determination. The interviewer, a stern-faced woman with a clipboard, motions you to the waiting room. It's a small space filled with equally nervous candidates, all of them flipping through their resumes like they're reading a map to hidden treasure.

You sit down in the chair, feeling the cool leather against your skin, and that's when it hits you. A warmth, starting in your chest and spreading like wildfire. The kind of warmth that could either be nerves or something more. You wipe the sweat from your brow, noticing the damp stain spreading across the fabric of your shirt. The heat pools in your stomach, a warm, sticky reminder of the extra pounds you've been carrying around. But as you look down, you realize something's not quite right. Your shirt, which was snug around your midsection just moments ago, is now baggy. You tentatively poke at the fabric and feel the firmness of a flat stomach beneath.

Panic sets in, but it's quickly overridden by something else. A strange, exhilarating sensation as your chest starts to rise, pushing against the fabric of your shirt. You grunt, the sound echoing a little too loudly in the quiet room. You glance around, but the other interviewees are too busy with their own nerves to pay you any mind. Your hand moves to your chest, feeling the firmness of muscles you've never had before. It's like someone's pumped you full of air, and your shirt is straining to contain the new you. Your shoulders follow suit, pushing through the sleeves of your now too-small coat. You can't help but stare, watching in a mix of shock and fascination as your body transforms before your very eyes.

The feeling spreads like a wildfire, igniting every muscle fiber in your arms. Your biceps balloon, your triceps pop, and your forearms thicken into ropes of power. Your back muscles start to stretch and bulge, pushing at the seams of your shirt. You can feel the fabric tearing, giving way to the new, more powerful version of you that's emerging.

The pain in your stomach is intense, but it's quickly replaced by a sense of awe as you feel your abs forming. The soft, squishy flesh of your belly is now a tight, chiseled landscape of definition. You can feel the ridges of each muscle, the way they knit together like a finely woven tapestry. Your obliques, those elusive lines that you've only seen on the most dedicated of gym-goers, are suddenly prominent, creating a V-shape that leads down to your waist.

Your mind races with excitement as you flex your arms again, this time harder, watching the muscles dance beneath your skin. The sleeves of your once baggy coat now hug your biceps like a lover, showcasing every bulge and curve. Your forearms, now thick and ropey, the veins pulsing with the beat of your heart. Your lats spread like wings, pulling the tails of your shirt taut across your broad back. The feeling is exhilarating, and you can't help but let out a soft growl of approval.

You catch a glimpse of your reflection in the polished glass of the conference room door. The sight of your new physique is like a punch to the gut, but instead of pain, you feel an overwhelming sense of pride. Gone is the shy, overweight man who used to dread taking his shirt off at the pool. In his place stands a muscular Adonis, a creature of power and beauty that you never knew existed. You can't help but strike a pose, one hand on your hip, the other flexed in front of you. You look like a Greek god who's been teleported into a corporate jungle, and it feels absolutely amazing.

The seams of your pants are screaming for mercy as your legs and calves swell to match your newfound upper body strength. Each flex of your quads sends a shockwave through the fabric, threatening to rip it apart at any moment. Your feet, now larger and more defined, feel like they're straining the confines of your shoes. You can't resist the urge to stand and stretch, feeling the material of your pants strain with each movement.

You smirk, feeling the confidence suddenly growing on you. You can't help but revel in the power surging through your veins. The room seems to shrink as your presence grows, your muscles casting shadows on the walls.

But then it was not yet done. You felt something stirring in your pants, something that didn't quite fit the pattern of your transformation so far. Your cock began to elongate, stretching out like a firehose slowly being pulled from the base of your skin. The sensation was overwhelming, a mix of pleasure and pain that made you moan and groan. It grew longer and thicker, pushing against the fabric of your boxer shorts, straining the elastic band to its limits.

As your newfound member reached its full potential, your mind was flooded with memories that didn't quite feel like your own. They were memories of your workouts at the gym, pushing weights until your muscles screamed, and early mornings spent measuring your meals down to the last gram. The numbers and formulas of accounting that once filled your thoughts were replaced by workout sets and protein shakes. The thrill of the grind, the desire to sculpt your body into something worthy of admiration, it was all there, as vivid as if you'd lived it yourself.

You couldn't help but let out a deep, guttural groan as your body finished its transformation shredding the remains of your clothes, leaving only black tie in your bulging neck and your black boxers with a bulging anaconda desperately containing it. The room was silent, all eyes on you as your muscles bulged through the shredded remnants of your once baggy shirt and pants. Your cock, now a monstrous extension of your newfound masculinity, stood tall and proud, the head poking out from the top of your boxers like a beacon. Your voice, once high-pitched and uncertain, was now a deep, commanding rumble, a testament to the power coursing through your veins.

The interviewer's jaw dropped as he took in the scene before him. He'd seen a lot of things in his line of work, but nothing quite like this. His eyes darted to the clock, then back to you, and a look of realization dawned on his face. "Oh, sir," he stammered, his eyes wide with shock, "you're in the wrong place. The modeling agency's interviews are on the floor below."

With a flex of your massive bicep, you grinned and said, "My bad, Ms.!" The room was silent, every eye in the place was on you, taking in the spectacle that was your transformed body. The other applicants, all so neatly packaged in their suits, looked positively puny in comparison. You could see the envy in their eyes, the way their gazes lingered on your chiseled abs and the thick, powerful muscles that now rippled with every movement.

You turned and strutted away from the room, each step a deliberate show of the new confidence that filled you to the brim. The stairs were just a few feet away, and you could feel the eyes of the other hopefuls boring into your back. The idea of being late for a modeling interview was almost laughable. You had the body of a god now, and you knew it.

[ittsybittsybunny]

ATLA Live Action Series Review:

The Good

Aesthetically this show felt right. Sure sometimes the outfits didn't quite feel lived in, but I always felt like I was watching a fantasy world with decent effects and interesting design. Also, I really enjoyed the sets!

Bending: Yes some of the fights feel very quick, but the bending looks cool. It is certainly better than 10 benders lifting one big rock. I can honestly say the opening bending fight scene gave me so much hope for this show.

Kyoshi Warriors: I loved seeing them in live action, and I thought Suki's performance was great!

Omashu: I think the mashup of the mechanist made sense since that is an important character overall and I would hate to see him cut. However, both Jet & the secret tunnels felt sloppily thrown in.

Northern Water Tribe: I really loved the way it looked, and appreciated the two episodes we spent here. I think Yue gained more agency in this interpretation, and why shouldn't the moon spirit be a waterbender. Also, episode seven felt the most in tune with the original show's spirit.

Zuko: I think he was one of the most fleshed-out and best parts of the show! Dallas Liu really captured Zuko's spirit, and the scene between him and Aang in episode 6 was wonderful!

Soundtrack: Hearing the original soundtrack bits is always great, and when I first heard the ending music I was so excited.

Is the show perfect, no - but I wouldn't mind a season 2.

The Bad

Pacing: Turning 20 episodes into 8 was bound to lead to some cuts...but oftentimes times things felt too quick or disjointed. I think there were editing problems contributing to this for sure, but sometimes things skipped around too much without a clear purpose as to why. Also, why bring in plots from later seasons when you barely have enough time already?

Writing: This show definitely suffered from exposition dumping, though it did get better as time went on. I think the biggest example of this is actually opening in the past rather than the present. We do not get to learn along with Aang that the world has changed, instead, we get to learn that 100 years have passed....which doesn't hold the same tension or worldbuilding.

Clunky Dialogue: Along with exposition, clunky dialogue is another example of bad writing. I think sometimes I felt like the acting was kind of meh in the beginning, but then over time I began to realize it had far more to do with the lines characters were trying to deliver. The actors themselves are not bad, just cursed with awkward writing and lines that feel out of touch with the setting they're in.

Main Trio: I don't entirely know that I believe Katara, Sokka, and Aang are friends as opposed to 3 people stuck together to save the world. Aang feels a little too somber for a young kid running away from his responsibilities, Sokka is protective, but not exactly the heart of the team, and Katara is sort of just there until the last two episodes. Where is her struggle, her desire to learn so strong she steals from pirates? Also, while Gordon Cormier did a great job, Aang does zero waterbending on his own, is overly serious, and tells Katara not to fight. Where is his desperation to protect his friends? It feels like they all lost emotional depth.

Tension: Bringing Ozai, Azula, and Zhao out in the beginning immediately causes us to lose the realization there is an even bigger bad. Part of why Ozai is so terrifying is he is a primarily silent villain until the third season when we finally see the face of the "big bad evil guy" behind it all. Yes, they add to Zuko's backstory, but again, they are revealing the villains too early. Azula is the antagonist of season 2 and one of my favorite characters, so I hope they do more with her in the future. Finally, Zhao is supposed to be an example of the uncontrollable nature of fire unrestrained, instead, he comes off as vaguely threatening with the supposed true power being Azula.

Characterization: While all characters are bound to lose something in a shorter show, it still felt like certain characters were more mutilated than others. I am sure there are 100 different opinions on who, but I think the biggest victim was Katara.

Katara: Katara manages to go from a complete novice to a bending master in what feels like a matter of days. The journey feels short, and that makes the results feel largely unearned. Katara is one of the strongest personalities in the show, determined, kind, and fiery. In many ways, she is the unpredictability of water - equally dangerous as it is necessary to live. She is the child of a war who lost her mother, forced to grow up too soon, and even raised her older brother. Yes, Katara often gets stereotyped as the mom friend, but overall she feels underutilized in this show. We really don't see enough of her journey until the very end.

Iroh: Iroh was always comedic but most importantly wise. Even when Zuko is trying to give himself advice, he mimics Iroh. Instead, he seems to be used more as comedic relief without the underlying experience. He just doesn't feel right. Also, he kills Zhao instead of Zhao getting himself killed - which is less about Iroh and more about the writing than anything.

Ozai is weirdly a little too nice. Yes, he burned Zuko and pits his kids against each other, but he feels toned down in a show claiming to be more mature than the original cartoon.

Azula is perhaps more realistically worried about losing her status as the golden child, but she is also missing the cruelty she and her father share. I understand worrying about making your character cartoonishly evil, but the Fire Nation is currently a deeply nationalistic empire trying to control the world. Where is the deep-seated belief that they are better than other people, not just trying to bring balance to the world? There is a line between creating complexity and toning down the very real evil inherent in this plan.

Roku: I can only say what the fuck was that. He was barely there, and not the serious master to Aang's youthful exuberance.

The Ugly

Show, Don't Tell: The show's single biggest issue seems to be speeding through story parts by simply stating things. Instead of allowing the audience to discover, trusting that we are smart enough to understand, let's just blatantly say things like Zuko is the only reason the 41st division is alive to their faces. Even though in the context of the story Ozai literally already said that.... it's the division, the division for Zuko, Zuko's division.

Thematic Misunderstandings: I think this show makes several minor changes with major implications, such as airbenders actively fighting the firebenders, when airbenders are known for their pacifist nature and the lie of an Airbender fighting force is actively propaganda. Similarly, Aang very quickly accepts his role as the avatar and doesn't even run away in the beginning. Without this conflict between his desire to be a carefree child and the fact that the world needs him - the show loses a key aspect of Aang's character. Also, the obsession with downplaying the avatar state as something dangerous feels like a disservice to the tradition, connection, and strength of the avatar, which can be permanently destroyed as the trade-off for that kind of power. It's dangerous for the balance of the entire world, not just because it's powerful!

The Agni Kai: Zuko's fight against his father is one of the defining moments of Ozai's cruelty, not just because he is willing to fight his child, but because Zuko tried to do everything right. Zuko shows deference to his father, apologizes, and most importantly refuses to fight! The determination not to upset his father and still be grievously injured and banished is a hugely important theme for the fire nation and Zuko's life as a whole. He tries to do everything he is supposed to and only regains his father's acceptance after he "kills" Aang. Zuko's struggle between moral vs. social right and wrong in contrast to his family is hugely important to his character.

-----

TLDR: ATLA was a fantastical animated television show that was never afraid to show character development and flaws. When you turn 20 episodes into 8, you are bound to lose something. You hollowed out the middle, leaving the shell of important moments and events without ever wondering if all the times in between formed the true spirit of the show.

Rating: 6.5/10 It's perfectly fine and worth a watch. Not a disaster, but certainly falls flat of the original.

[autisticsupervillain]

Autistic Avatars not realizing that they're Avatars because they're just "like that": a thread

The Eye

Special Interest in the supernatural = constant food for The Watcher

You know about Interest? TELL ME EVERYTHING

"Hey man listen to me infodump about this horrifying ghost story I read for twenty minutes, alright?"

I need to Know everything about something before I partake in it.

"How did I Know that? Eh, I probably hyperfixated on it at some point."

I cannot be misunderstood so I'll beam the facts into your brain.

The Web

I must plan everything 200 steps in advance before doing anything.

I have prepared for all possible outcomes, I can now have this one conversation.

If I set up all these variables long in advance, then I can do everything correctly and Win the social interaction.

I cannot do anything before The Plan says to.

"I practice my social skills by talking to my spider friends." -Martin "Autism" Blackwood

The Stranger

I cannot socialize without being Uncanny.

If my socialization seems like an act, that's because it is. I practice it in the mirror every day.

Theater Kid

How do you Normal Human?

The Anatomy Class.

Assuming fellow Stranger Avatars also just have the 'Tism. They're not trying to be creepy, honest.

Can't do faces. Doesn't notice when you get replaced.

Being subtly off is too subtle for me.

The Lonely

"I have failed the social interaction. Let the fog reclaim me."

Talking to people is draining my batteries even faster than ever. I need to be alone for approximately 384,400,000 years.

Nothing can overstimulate me in the cool, blinding fog.

Nothing unpredictable can happen in the fog.

The fog is your friend.

The known connection between autism and depression feeds the fog.

The Dark

Why is the sun so god damn bright? I'm going to blow it up I swear.

Night Owl.

Everything's decently quite at night and people leave you alone.

Same overstimulation preventatives as the Lonely tbh. Dark and fog are good concealers.

The dawn is your enemy.

The dread florescent lights shall never bother me again. They break upon my arrival.

Can and will infodump to the monster under my bed. Even now it feels like it listens.

The Spiral

Autism makes getting other mental illnesses recognized hard.

Autism dissociation from body and mind. When did it become 3 AM and why do I hurt? Why am I grumpy? What vital self care task did I forget?

Literal mind doesn't often match reality. Reality is specifically unspecific.

Spaced out and wandered off. Where the fuck am I?

I'm not a mental baby, please stop treating me like it.

I'm not inherently dangerous, please stop treating me like it.

Memory problems my beloathed. Did that happen? I dunno.

What Is Time?

What Is Me?

The Gender

Why do things only make sense to me? What does no one else make sense?

The Flesh

Autism Genderfuckery = Flesh fueled dysphoria.

Meat is the only texture that's palatable. Especially the Mystery Meat.

Will never try any other foods. Too picky.

Infodumps about the horrors of meat processing at dinner and ruins the meal for everyone. More steak for me.

Hates PETA.

Double the arms means double the stim. You weren't using them, right?

Working out is a great stim.

The Corruption

Practices social interaction with the bugs who live in my walls.

"Insects are disgusting. I love them!"

Will protect endangered insects by any means necessary.

According to all known laws of aviation-

Relationship boundaries struggles.

Difficulty noticing sickness symptoms.

Is that nausea or am I overstimulated? *Accidentally causes supernatural plague outbreak*

Difficulty getting diseases diagnosed because of both Autism and noticing too many symptoms so the doctors assume they're faking.

Forgot vital hygiene needs.

The Bugs Are My Friends! They keep me company when I'm sick!

The Buried

Weighted blankets are insufficient, I need the Earth to reclaim me.

Avoid social interaction by tunneling everywhere like a mole.

101 facts about worms.

Forgor hygiene again. Time to become dirt.

Digging a hole is good stimming.

That guy who had to be buried alive to sleep properly. What do you mean you don't want to be buried?

The End

Aradia Megido from Homestuck.Com

That's it, that's the list.

The Desolation

The Autism Temper.

Losing relationships and friendships to ableism and your own disability constantly.

The Fire is a wonderful stim board. Watch it crinkle.

Just watching candles melt for hours.

The fire and thrill gives my life passion again.

Jude Perry.png

The Vast

Accidentally terrifying people by infodumping about the horrors of nature.

The stimulus of falling.

Nature/Space/Weather Documentary on in background always.

Okay, but from how high did you fall? I want to calculate your velocity as you fell through the void.

Weirdly enough... power scaling?

Power scaling is just the art of determining how easily your favorite characters can destroy mankind so... yeah, I can see it.

Brain empty, only terminal velocity.

The Hunt

Cat Autism

The inherent hyperfocus of the hunt. The chase. Your prey.

Studying the habits of your latest hyperfixation/Hunt assigned prey for days at a time.

I've spent so much time hunting in the woods that I forgot about human society. The Missing Person's Bureau have written you off for dead.

Returning to society to sell your wears and realizing you aren't human anymore.

That's okay. Social interaction is random. The Hunt makes sense.

It's black and white. Predator and prey. Humans hunting monsters. It Makes Sense.

The Slaughter

The incredible human WW1 documentary.

"Did you know?" *Describes horrible historic warcrime*

Takes apart puts back together guns from their collection.

The list of known casualties from this war is incomplete. With my help, they can expand it. :)

The Extinction

The world is spiraling towards its end and only you seem to care.

It hurts to be this passionate about a lost cause.

You Will Make Them Care.

[noodlesarecheese]

So Watcher is launching a Dropout (it's not called Dropout but they're clearly using the same template format platform thing idk what it's called, and the same pricing structure), and the reaction so far has been wildly different than what I remember from Dropout's launch. I was curious about why that was or if I was just misremembering the Dropout launch, so I went back to the Dropout launch video to compare them and I think I can see where some of the difference is coming from.

If you want to make the comparison yourself: Watcher's Video, Dropout's Video.

I wanna clarify first though that this isn't a knock against Watcher or the fans who are reacting one way or another or anything like that, I genuinely am just fascinated with how different the reactions are to what seems to be the same business decision. This also isn't a 'wow watcher sucks and dropout is so much better' I'm just using them for comparison because they did the same thing with different results. ALSO this isn't about the business decision itself, just the presentation! Disclaimers out of the way, here's the analysis.

Title and Thumbnail So the Watcher.tv announcement video is titled "Goodbye Youtube" and the thumbnail is Ryan, Shane, and Steven sitting on a couch looking serious, with a dark background. That really makes it seem like they're quitting (which, ok, they are quitting youtube but not quitting quitting). Viewers are already primed to be upset, and it's easier to go from upset to angry than upset to excited, curious, or neutral.

Compare to the dropout announcement video: "How the Internet is Ruining Comedy" - inline with other collegehumor video titles, might make you curious. Thumbnail - Big News! with Sam smiling and a bright background. We know its big news, but he looks happy, and the exclamation point let's us know they want us to be excited. Viewers are primed to be curious and excited.

Tone The Watcher announcement has 2 main tones. The first half is very sentimental, almost sad or wistful at times, and while there are parts that veer into pride at achievements, it's mostly bittersweet and sentimental. The second half is a bit more uplifting, but still quite serious. It reminded me of a tech announcement, like when they introduce the new iphone or something like that. Very professional, sleek, and serious, which isn't automatically a bad thing! But I do think that's not the vibe a decently-sized chunk of the audience expected or wanted. Many people watch Watcher for the cast's dynamic with each other, humor, and the more relaxed/conversational/friendly feel that most of the series have.

Compare to dropout - excited and comedic tone. Still professional, but also fits the expectations of the viewers. People watch collegehumor for the humor (it was in the name, after all). They also poke a bit of fun at themselves, which lightens the mood, shows self-awareness, and alleviates some of the bad feelings about paywalling.

Focus The Watcher announcement focuses a lot on the creative journey of the cast and company, as well as how this move will benefit them. Which isn't a bad thing, that's actually quite interesting! The problem here, I think, is actually more about what isn't here - a solid explanation of how this will also benefit the viewers and why the viewers should be excited. There's a brief description of one new show, and the promise that existing shows will get an upgrade, but we weren't given many specific details about how they'll be improved, and there's only one new show to tempt us into subscribing. Some people will be excited for that, some people won't, and some people will be excited but not enough to subscribe. Having 2 or 3 series (even if it's 1 fleshed out plus a few teasers of what's in production or what is being planned) plus some more details about how existing shows will be improved would've helped. Without that, it really does seem like it'll just be the same stuff viewers were getting for free, but now paywalled, rather than new and exciting stuff. That makes a big difference. I think with the fans not getting as much focus, this also led to some (accidental, I hope) hurt feelings. Based on what I've seen from fan reactions, all the talk about hitting the peak of what they can do on youtube and wanting more, translated for many people to 'youtube isn't enough' which became 'you (the current viewers) aren't enough.' Which I don't think was their intent! But I also don't think fans are wrong for feeling hurt by that.

Compare to dropout: They clearly explain how the move will benefit fans, and reassure viewers that existing content will stay where it is, and only new content will be behind the paywall. (Watcher clarified this too, but in a comment. It's not in the video itself, which is a huge problem.) They include clips of several new (at the time) series that would be premiering on dropout, including things that specifically could not be made on youtube (due to weed, violence, and sexual humor), so the reason for the shift is clear to the audience.

Advertisers Both videos contain the sentiment that being monetarily successful on youtube means working to appease the advertisers, and that over time what the advertisers want and what the creators want drifts further and further apart, putting strain on the creators.

However, I think the message gets lost a bit in the Watcher vid. Instead, it leaves viewers with the idea that the main problem is just ads are annoying instead of advertisers putting constraints on content. I'm not even sure what the specific constraints are for watcher, because they didn't give any examples. And the focus on ads being annoying leaves viewers frustrated because people typically either don't mind ads or they already have an ad blocker.

Timing and Size Okay, this isn't exactly about presentation, but it is still a factor that impacts perception so I'm tackling it. And I'm actually going to do dropout first. CollegeHumor launched dropout in September 2018. Pre-pandemic, but also pre-Sam Reich as CEO. The company was still owned by IAC. It was a Company, and while it wasn't huge it wasn't tiny either. So launching dropout was a Company Decision, a Business Strategy. Some people were upset about, but it wasn't a personal betrayal (generally, anyways). If I remember correctly, this was also not a high point for the company. They kinda needed dropout to do well to keep things running smoothly (which is why they shut it down and sold it to Sam just 1 1/2ish years later), so the sudden shift made sense.

Watcher Entertainment is a company, but it doesn't feel like one. Ryan, Shane, and Steven own and operate things, but they're also the faces, and they're youtubers. Which makes every business decision they make feel more personal to viewers, especially those who have been watching for a long time. They've also seemingly been doing well on youtube, which makes it more difficult for viewers to understand why the sudden change is happening now. They do talk a bit about it, about the company expanding and wanting to do things that advertisers don't like (which I've already covered). However, mostly the choice to start a streaming platform is framed as 'the next big step' without much clarification on why it's the next big step. Plus, it's post-pandemic, and a lot of people are still struggling financially with the ripple effects of that. Yes, $6 isn't a wild amount of money, but there have been some months where $5 absolutely meant the difference between paying all my bills or not, and I know I'm not the only one. This, coupled with a lack of clarity about why exactly they're doing this, leads to fans feeling hurt, betrayed, bitter, and frustrated.

Now, presentation and framing isn't everything. No matter how perfect your announcement is, some people are still going to be upset. It's a big change, of course people will be upset! But I do think a more careful presentation would've alleviated some of the hurt and anger that fans are feeling. While I do think a lot of the reaction we're seeing is due to the decision, I think (based on what I've seen) that some of it is also based on the poor communication in the video itself, and that could've been avoided!

So I'm gonna get a little speculative and describe what I would've done. In this hypothetical, they've decided to launch the streaming service and brought me on just for the announcement.

Firstly, switch the title out. If they're married to Goodbye Youtube then add a (and hello...?) after so it's at least obvious they aren't fully quitting. The dark color scheme of the thumbnail fits their regular vibe, but they want everyone to be excited so they should look excited. Next, let's lighten the tone up. Being proud of what they've done so far is great, but we don't need the sentimental music and bittersweetness. Remember, the goal is to get viewers excited about what come's next - so let's focus on what actually comes next! Talk about specific show plans and mention why they wouldn't work on youtube. Then, take some time to reassure the fans. Predict a few likely worries and address them in the video. Acknowledge that it's a big change, that it will take time to get used to, and that not everyone will be onboard, and let the fans know that it's ok if they aren't onboard.

Like I said, this wouldn't fix everything. There are a few differences in between dropout and watcher that don't have anything to do with presentation. Dropout launched with primarily new shows rather than new seasons of existing shows, and they continued uploading to youtube relatively regularly in addition to the content behind the paywall, which I do think went a long way to keeping fans happy. At this point it's unclear if watcher will do either of those or not. But, while I don't think it would fix everything, I do think improved communication in the announcement would've helped.

[phantasia69]

As a female gamer, one thing I love about Fromsoftware games is their female characters.

For me, a game having decent female characters is a huge selling point. I literally bought Elden Ring (and therefore got into souls games) just because of Malenia. She is literally the sole reason why I bought the game. I even bought the collectors edition of the game so I could get the figurine of her, which sits at the top shelf of my glass display shelf along with a figurine of Lady Maria.

I love how fleshed out the female characters are in Fromsoftware games. I love how the female characters are allowed to just be people, and not have their entire character revolve around them being female. They're allowed to be kind, mean, caring, selfish, deceitful, cunning, mysterious, vulnerable, strong, weak, and so many other things.

Even in the modern age, there are still so many games coming out that use female characters for just fanservice. All the time, I see games underutilize their female characters or just set them to the side entirely. Not once have I ever felt like a female character was used for fanservice in a Fromsoftware game, or at least, their entire character wasn't based around it.

I'm not saying that fanservice is inherently bad, I'm just saying that it gets a little exhausting when all of your favorite female characters, especially in video games, get over sexualized to the point where there's NSFW content of them everywhere. I know the same thing happens with some male characters, but I see it a lot more often with female characters.

I feel like a lot of newer games should take some notes from Fromsoftware when it comes to making female characters. It's 2023, after all.

[creature-wizard]

A brief introduction to New Age spirituality (and some of the things wrong with it)

New Age can be summed up as spiritual movement that believes our planet is on the cusp of a new cosmic cycle (hence the term New Age) where humanity enters the next phase of its evolution. Its mythology incorporates a number of fringe beliefs and conspiracy theories, including Atlantis, Lemuria, ancient astronaut theory, and numerous conspiracy theories.

It was heavily influenced by the teachings of Helena Blavatsky, one of the main founders of Theosophy. Influenced by Victorian-age misconceptions about the nature of evolution, Blavatsky taught that we would soon enter the Age of Aquarius, where we would begin to see a new "race" of people who naturally had more powerful spiritual abilities, and then:

Then, as they increase, and their numbers become with every age greater, one day they will awake to find themselves in a majority. It is the present men who will then begin to be regarded as exceptional mongrels, until these die out in their turn in civilised lands ; surviving only in small groups on islands—the mountain peaks of to-day—where they will vegetate, degenerate, and finally die out, perhaps millions of years hence, as the Aztecs have, as the Nyam-Nyam and the dwarfish Moola Koorumba of the Nilghiri Hills are dying. (The Secret Doctrine, Volume II, page 445.)

You can see the influence of eugenics here - she's basically saying that when "superior" people arrive on the scene, then it's just the natural order for the "inferior" ones to die out.

New Age is rife with ideas informed by eugenics, including the belief that you literally have to "upgrade" your DNA to spiritually grow and the belief that humans are destined to become the most powerful beings in the galaxy because we were engineered from the best DNA each alien race had to offer. There are supposedly alien beings who are incapable of genuine kindness because it's just not in their genetic code, and these beings are said to walk among us. There are allegedly alien beings and even some people who cannot connect to the divine because it's not in their DNA.

I want to emphasize here that saying some people are just genetically incapable of kindness or experiencing God is the kind of thing people do when there's a bunch of people they really, really want to die. This is the rhetoric of genocide.

In fact, the evil aliens in New Age mythology, the reptilians, are based on antisemitic conspiracy theories. Depending on who you listen to, they're said to drink human blood and eat human flesh, or just feed on their life force or mental anguish. (Blood libel.) They're claimed to be behind everything described in The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion. They supposedly disguise themselves as humans so they can exploit us. (Not all Jews are supposedly reptilians, and not all people accused of being reptilians are Jews, but Jews make up a disproportionate number of people claimed to be reptilians.)

David Icke, who is behind the reptilian alien conspiracy theory most people know today, wrote in his book The Biggest Secret (page 212):

The so-called Protocols of the Elders of Zion were discovered in the last century and tell in incredible detail the events and methods of manipulation we have seen manifest in the 20th century. These documents were very much the creation of the Rothschilds and the reptilian-Aryans. But they are not really the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, they are, in truth, the Protocols of SION, the Sun, and the Priory of Sion. So much disinformation and aggression has been hurled at the Protocols and anyone who has mentioned them - including me - because the Brotherhood are desperate to discredit their contents. It is far too close to home. Hitler used the Protocols in part to justify the oppression of Jews, but he was given the Protocols by a Rothschild agent of Khazar decent called Alfred Rosenberg. I don’t accept that the Protocols are ‘Jewish’ in the way people have come to understand that term. They are the work of the reptile-Aryans and made to appear ‘Jewish’ so that we lose the plot.

Icke is also invoking a discredited hypothesis that proposed Ashkenazi Jews are descended from a group of Khazars who converted to Judaism. No one takes it seriously anymore, except for some people who try and use it to claim that Ashkenazi Jews aren't actually real Jews. It's a very ridiculous conspiracy theory because even if Ashkenazi Jews were descended from Khazars, they would still be 100% real Jews. The only people who think your "real" culture or ethnicity determined solely by your genetics are eugenicists. (Go look up blood quantum and the Mischling test.)

Moreover, the "Brotherhood" Icke refers to is a variation on Alexander Hislop's conspiracy theory that the Catholic Church is secretly a Babylonian mystery cult. Hislop was a Scottish Presbyterian minister who claimed in his book The Two Babylons that Babylonians were behind every religion that wasn't good, wholesome Protestant Christianity. He asserted, for example, that "Easter" was derived from "Ishtar" on the simple basis that they sound kind of similar. He also claimed that nearly every pagan god and goddess was actually based on Semiramis, Nimrod, and their son Tammuz (who was regarded as a reincarnation of Nimrod). Hislop's assertions also rely on a literal interpretation of the stories of the Flood and the Tower of Babel. There is of course to evidence to support any of these claims. This article briefly explains just how bad Hislop's methodology is. (By the way, each and every conspiracy theory that claims a Babylonian mystery cult is behind everything is derived from Hislop's work!)

The rest of the alien mythology New Age incorporates also has racist origins. The existence of large and sophisticated stonework like the Great Pyramids challenged the belief that Europeans were inherently superior to the non-white people they considered primitive. So people began to propose that others had built these structures for them. (Ignatius L. Donnelly, for example, proposed that they'd been built by Atlanteans.)

One of the first people to propose aliens was Erich von Daniken. In his 1968 book Chariots of the Gods?, he tried to spin various Sumerian myths and Biblical stories as historical accounts of alien beings. He listed a number of sites as likely to have been built by aliens, such as various pyramids and the moai of Easter Island. Most of today's ancient astronaut conspiracy theories are influenced by this book in some way.

Now here's the thing: the main methodology of ancient astronaut theorists is to look at an ancient structure and say, "Well, I can't figure out how humans could have built it, so it must have been aliens." And then from there, twist and distort local legends and myths - if the story talks about beings from the sky, then they must have been aliens. If a divine being had any kind of vehicle or craft, then it must have been a spaceship. Etc. Cultural and historical contexts are ignored and archaeological evidence is cherry picked.

Oh, by the way, before writing this book, von Daniken spent time in prison for embezzlement, forgery, and fraud:

A court in his native Switzerland found Von Daniken guilty of embezzlement, forgery, and fraud, sentencing him to three and a half years in prison. While operating a Swiss hotel. it seems he fraudulently obtained money by misrepresenting his financial assets, this experience in deception later proving invaluable in his literary career.

In any case, Jason Colavito noticed that von Daniken's narrative looked more like HP Lovecraft than real ancient mythology. Specifically, The Call of Cthulhu proposed that ancient gods came from space:

There had been aeons when other Things ruled on the earth, and They had had great cities. Remains of Them, he said the deathless Chinamen had told him, were still to be found as Cyclopean stones on islands in the Pacific. They all died vast epochs of time before men came, but there were arts which could revive Them when the stars had come round again to the right positions in the cycle of eternity. They had, indeed, come themselves from the stars, and brought Their images with Them.

Meanwhile, The Call of Cthulhu was essentially Lovecraft's own response to Theosophy. Once you compare The Call of Cthulhu with Theosophy's teachings, it's pretty hard to miss that he was straight-up telling Theosophy where to shove it.

Another influence on New Age mythology was Zechariah Sitchin, who also claimed that Sumerian myths actually described alien encounters. It was he who spun the yarn that they engineered humanity to mine gold for them, and he published these ideas in his 1976 book, The 12th Planet. Dr. Michael Heiser's website sitchiniswrong.com explains how Sitchin distorted myths and language to support his narrative.

To try and give you an idea of what these people are doing, I want you to imagine someone coming up and telling you that JRR Tolkien was actually an alien contactee, and that the elves in Lord of the Rings represent an alien species he actually met. Even if you knew absolutely nothing about Tolkien or Lord of the Rings, you could research who he was as a person and it wouldn't take very long to work out that it wasn't alien visitations who inspired him, and you could easily read his books and see that the narratives just don't really suggest anything about alien visitors. So it is with the ancient cultures and texts ancient astronaut proponents plunder. Once you really get in and do the research, it's obvious that these people are cherry picking what they want to hear and projecting what they want to see.

Various ancient astronaut theorists have done this with all kinds of traditions from around the world, and it's become so prevalent that numerous people just take it for granted that these stories were actually all about aliens and somebody just covered it up. If you're one of those people, I encourage you to start chasing down the sources. Start searching for - and start demanding - citations and sources. I promise you, it's all going to go back to some racist white asshat or other. If somebody cites a holy text or legend or something, read it for yourself, and I promise you it won't actually say what you've been told it says. (You'll find that somebody just saw something talking about divine beings from the sky and projected aliens onto it, or otherwise pretend it says something that's just not actually in there.)

New Age mythology also incorporates a number of benevolent alien races. Most of them aren't too remarkable; they're mostly your one-note Planet of Hats aliens, not so much offensive as they are uninspired, bland, and even a little twee. They embody a very average western person's idea of what enlightened or advanced beings would look like. In channeled messages they often dole out generic platitudes couched in New Age jargon. Their advice is probably enough to satiate the middle class white people who make up most of their audience, but it's almost useless - if not insulting - if you have any genuinely difficult problems. Through their channelers, they deliver messages of miraculous wonders and changes ahead - always just a few years around the corner. Of course these promises never manifest, and of course the channelers keep on repeating them.

To be clear, the benevolent aliens were supposed to reveal themselves to humanity dozens of times by now. We were supposed to have miraculous quantum healing technology available everywhere by now. We were supposed to have a new economic system that would end poverty by now. The history of New Age is a history of failed prophecies and broken promises.

There is one genre of "benevolent" alien we have to talk about in specific, however - specifically, the Nordic type, so named because they are supposedly tall, pale, and blond. One might also say they look… Aryan. They pop up quite a lot. One notable alien of this type of Commander Ashtar, a high-ranking leader in the Galactic Federation of Light. Through the many people who purport to channel him, Ashtar has assured us that the evil reptilian aliens have already been defeated, and that a time of great peace and prosperity is just about to arrive.

Commander Ashtar, by the way, was first channeled by George van Tassel in the early 1950's. He published his sessions in his book, I Rode The Flying Saucer. Here are a couple of interesting quotes:

On July 18, 1952, Ashtar seemingly told us that we had to stop building hydrogen bombs or else they'd make us stop:

When they explode the hydrogen atom, they shall extinguish life on this planet. They are tinkering with a formula they do not comprehend. They are destroying a life-giving element of the Creative Intelligence. Our message to you is this: You shall advance to your government all information we have transmitted to you. You shall request that your government shall immediately contact all other earth nations regardless of political feelings … Your materialists will disagree with our attempt to warn mankind. Rest assured they shall cease to explore life giving atoms, or we shall eliminate all projects connected with such.

On August 22, 1952, Ashtar seemingly told Van Tassel to start preparing for disaster that never came:

You are constructed to work together without personal regard for individual property. You are instructed further to consolidate your unity to build structures possible to prepare for food storage due to rapid changes now affecting the financial, military and political conjunction. We advance you this information in the light of true love.

Obviously, nothing ever happened to justify any kind of prepping, and aliens never intervened to stop anybody from building nuclear bombs, which just goes to show that alien channelers have been setting us up for disappointment as far back as when boomers were babies.

Another aspect of the New Age movement that has to be talked about are starseeds. This is basically the idea that alien beings are incarnating into human bodies for essentially the purpose of spreading New Age beliefs to help the planet ascend to 5D. There are many issues with this whole concept. For one, there is a strong current of ableism - when you read any list of starseed traits, you'll inevitably see a list of characteristics more typically associated with ADHD, autism, and even just low-grade social trauma. Some proponents even go so far as to claim that autism and ADHD don't actually exist at all, but were made up to hide the reality of starseeds from the populace. Young children who are believed to be starseeds are expected to show advanced spiritual powers and wisdom, and I should think it's pretty obvious how placing these kinds of expectations on a young child - especially one who is probably struggling with neurodivergence-related issues already - could cause some psychological damage.

Moreover, the whole starseed myth is rooted in white colonialism; specifically, the idea that "primitive" cultures need to be taught true spirituality by more advanced or enlightened peoples. It's the whole "we need to send missionaries out to bring those poor unenlightened Natives to Christ" mentality in a new hat. The aforementioned distortions of cultural beliefs serves a purpose here, too; if they can just convince people that their own traditions are actually about aliens, then they'll have to convert. This is also out of the Christian playbook; for example, Christians would try and project Jesus into Kabbalah to convince Jews to convert. (Dr. Justin Sledge talks about this in his online lecture, The Dark Side of Perennialism.)

I don't think many New Agers (if any) are particularly conscious of the colonialism happening here. As far as they understand it, they are simply spreading the truth which will help usher in this new era of enlightenment and prosperity. But that's what makes it to insidious - this glittering truth they've actually fallen in love with is actually a pack of lies.

Also, many practices and beliefs within the New Age movement make it incredibly easy to manipulate people. Teaching people that information contrary to their own teachings is all the work of an evil conspiracy stifles critical thinking. Teaching them that they can always use their feelings and intuition to tell what's true or false makes them vulnerable to emotional manipulation.

Many New Agers also practice various techniques to try and learn about their past lives, including hypnosis and similar forms of trancework. There is no evidence that these exercises can help anyone remember really remember much of anything; in fact, people mostly seem to confabulate things based on what they expect to see and what they've been generally exposed to. A number of people "remember" encountering the reptilian aliens described by David Icke - the ones we've established are based on the conspiracy theories promoted in The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion and The Two Babylons, and recycle the old blood libel canard. (If you'd like some examples, you can see them over here and over here.) Interestingly, there is some research that suggests people who believe they have past life memories actually have a poor ability to recall where they learned information, which further suggests that these people are just confabulating from things they've seen or heard in this life - they just forgot where they encountered it.

Also, the pseudohistory and conspiracy theories in New Age mythology are often used to promote a lot of medical quackery. Vaccines are often claimed to be mind control technology or meant to poison us (another conspiracy theory with antisemitic roots), while treatments with little to no evidence to support their efficacy are promoted instead, such as homeopathy, colloidal silver, or whatever this week's alleged panacea is.

Now to be clear, not each and everything New Agers do is inherently bad. Many practices associated with New Age can have psychological benefits, provided they don't become spiritual bypassing. We know that meditation is good for you, and I personally find that speaking "light languages" is cathartic. There's even evidence to suggest that energy healing promotes relaxation, if nothing else. If somebody's practice is helping them in any way (even if it's just helping them relax and focus) and it's not hurting anyone else, then I think they should keep doing it. We need all the tools we can get right now.

The problems lie with the conspiratorial and pseudohistorical narratives the belief system pushes, and the uncritical acceptance that mystical or spiritual experiences that seem to confirm them should be taken at face value. These things to justify the oppression of minorities and the erasure of their cultures, justify colonialist attitudes and behaviors in general, and promote dangerous medical quackery. It's these things specifically that must be challenged and fought.

[lakesbian]

i have had like 10 friends rec worm to me but nobody’s given me a good like, gist of its vibe and what its abt because ‘its best blind’, could u please give a like brief summary and vibe check of it 😭 it’s so long i dont wanna try and invest that much time without knowing much abt it

so, worm is a 1.7 million word long webserial written in 2010. 1.7 million words seems like a lot, but it was also written over a relatively short period of time, which means the writing style is very easy to parse--the ideas aren't without complexity, but the language itself isn't intimidatingly dense. you can get through it at a very decent pace. i agree with your friends that there are vast portions of worm that hit best when you're unspoiled, but the thing is that worm is long enough that giving you the basic plot pitch is in no way spoilers for any of the things that i wouldn't want to see spoiled for someone. i'm actually kind of baffled they're not telling you Any Thing, because it is in my estimation one of the best books i've ever read, but it also Needs a briefing before you get into it for like five different reasons. which i will now provide. i swear to god this is brief by my standards it's just that i am very thorough

worm is a story about superheroes and supervillains, set in a world where superpowers are traumagenic--rather than appearing randomly or innately, some people gain powers after a traumatizing event happens to them. the protagonist is taylor hebert, a 15yo girl who has the power to control insects and desperately wants to be a superhero. and then accidentally finds herself scouted by a team of teenage villains instead. who's to say how she's going to react to all that!

one of the most compelling things about worm is that the superpowers in it serve as visceral, hyper-literal metaphors for the trauma and traumatized coping mechanisms of the characters with those powers. each power is incredibly specific and thematically relevant to the person who has it, and it's incredibly interesting and evocative. it feels so natural and well-done that it comes off like how superpowers are just meant to be written.

the fact that superpowers stem from trauma also means that worm is fundamentally a narrative about trauma. specifically, about traumatized teenagers and the relationships they form as they cling together while struggling through growing up traumatized & mutually coping with an increasingly intriguing, intense, and far-reaching escalating plot. worm's depictions of trauma + mental illness--including unpalatable trauma responses, including traumatized characters who are allowed to be complicated and nuanced and messy while still receiving narrative respect--are deeply real-feeling and impactful, and they're placed in the context of a well-spun + engaging story.

i really do have to stress how excellent the character writing is. worm is fully deserving of being as long as it is. over the course of 1.7 million words of character development, the average reader's reaction to the main characters goes from "sorta interesting" to "okay, i want to see where this goes" to "augh...really likable" to "i am now on hands and knees crying and these characters are going to stick around in my brain forever." wildbow has incredible talent for efficiently conveying complicated, real-feeling, and viscerally evocative characterization. many of the interlude chapters (chapters written from the perspective of different characters other than taylor) are so interesting, fleshed-out, and emotionally affecting that they make you wish you could read an entire novel about just the side character being featured. with that level of characterization for just the side cast, it's not surprising that taylor (& co) are genuinely just downright iconic. and i do not say that lightly--taylor is truly one of the best-written protagonists i've seen in anything. ever.

the other main pitch-point for worm is that it's a fascinating deconstruction/reconstruction/examination of the conceits of the superhero genre. it answers the question of--what would the world have to be like, for people with superpowers to act the way they do in classic cape media? and it does this well enough that it's interesting even if you have only a passing familiarity with cape media. i am not a big superhero media fan, but worm addresses virtually every aspect of cape media that was under the sun around 2010 in a way that's so interesting i still find it incredibly engaging. the approach it takes makes the narrative very accessible even to people who aren't usually cape media fans.

and speaking of the narrative: the end of the story is coherent and satisfying and deeply thematically resonant*. the way worm follows through on all of its main mysteries & plot threads is excellent. you don't have to worry about getting thru 1.7 million words and being dissatisfied by the author shitting the bed at the end, or anything like that. he does an amazing job of weaving together plot events in a way that makes each successive one feel rationally, thematically, and emotionally connected to what came before. there's really only one part where i feel the story stumbles a bit, but i think it was the best option he had for the narrative, and it's by no means a dealbreaker. it's in fact really impressive how cohesive and satisfying worm is for such a long webserial released over such a brief period of time.

*this is subjective ive seen some people who didnt love it but ive never seen anyone who downright Hated it who didnt also demonstrate egregious misunderstanding of literally everything worm is about. so thats a good sign

as for the downsides of worm/things that might put you off:

there is a very long list of trigger warnings for it. if you have any trigger warnings you want you should ask your friends to let you know about the relevant parts, because the fact that it's About Trauma (& about typical cape media circumstances presented very seriously) means that traumatic and violent things & their realistic aftermath are constantly happening and/or being discussed. i would not classify worm as needlessly dark or spiteful to the audience by any means, but it is intense and covers a lot of heavy topics. i do assume if your friends are all recommending it to you, they think none of the material would be too much for you, though!

worm was written in 2010 by a white cishet guy from canada. it's typical levels of 2010-era bigoted, it has a deeply lesbophobic stereotype character, it has some atrociously racist stereotype characters, the author really hates addicts, It's Got Blind Spots. i think worm is generally fully worth reading despite these, but very fair warning that it can get bad. i think what exacerbates this is that worm is generally extremely nuanced & sympathetic regarding ideas such as "crime is a result of systematic circumstance vs people just being inherently evil" and "mentally ill people who are traumatized in unpalatable ways are still deserving of fundamental respect as human beings" and so on and so forth, so it's extra noticeable and insufferable when you get to a topic the author has unexamined biases on and all that nuance drops out. the worst part is that a lot of this is most concentrated in the early arcs, so you have to get through them without being super attached to any of the characters yet. it is worth it though.

worm like. Does have a central straight relationship in it. and it's a very well written straight relationship for the most part and i like it quite a lot. but worm also passes the bechdel test with such flying colors that it enters 'unintentionally homoerotic' territory. which means a lot of people were shipping the main character ms taylor hebert with her female friends while the story was being released. which caused the author to get so mad he 1. posted a word of god to a forum loudly insisting that all of the girls are straight and 2. inserted a few deeply awkward and obvious and out of character scenes where he finds an excuse for the girls to more or less turn to the camera and go "i'm not gay, btw. this is platonic." This is fucking insufferable, and will piss you off immensely, but then you will get to any of the number of deeply emotionally affecting scenes between them, and at that point you will be too busy sniffling piteously and perhaps crytyping an analysis post on tumblr to be mad about all that other shit. also they're only a couple tiny portions out of an entire overall fantastic novel

overall: if those points don't sound like dealbreakers (i hope they aren't they're really massively outstripped by the amount of devastatingly good moments in worm, worm still has a thriving fandom over a decade later for a reason), you should absolutely give it a shot and see what you think. my final note is that you have to read up until the end of arc 8 to really see where what makes worm Worm kicks in, so aim for at least there to see how you feel about it if you're just thinking about dipping your toes in vs fully committing. i hope that was helpful and not too long :)

oh and don't go in the comments section on wordpress if you don't want spoilers. or anywhere else in the fandom at all. you will be spoiled. quite possibly for things you could not even have imagined were topics to be spoiled on.

[taggedmemes]

SENTENCE MEME BALDUR'S GATE 3 / PART SIX

leave us in peace and we shall leave you in kind.

cut the crap.

we just want to go home.

enough of this charade.

i'll not play pretend anymore.

you'll soon learn what it means to ally yourself with the likes of this garbage.

i'm free now, and i'm never going back.

fuck them.

felt good letting off a little steam.

if i burn any hotter, i might explode.

don't get too close until i've found a way to calm down.

it's a bit early to be getting into tragic backstories.

let's save the scar-show for later after we've worked up an appetite for tragedy.

in the grand scheme of things, i'm inconsequential [to her].

she favored me like a child favors a captive pet.

it had the makings of a good stage show, but i did not want to be one of the players.

torture, bloodsport? or perhaps just a good old-fashioned walloping?

you owe me nothing.

i could extort you, if that's what you want.

you're teasing me now.

ignorance is alive and well it seems.

don't make me get the wooden spoon.

you'd best have one hells of an apology for me.

if you think your precious little god holds any power here, you're in for a surprise.

do you treat all your guests so poorly?

i don't like busybodies.

you are as thick as they come.

are you telling me you made love to a goddess?

i shared a bed with a goddess and yet i wasn't satisfied.

shall i share the story behind it or would you rather head straight to its sordid finale?

how are you still alive?

we've come this far together and we'll continue on together.

even i am tired of the sound of my own voice.

i'll rip your spine out of your asshole.

i'll use your blood to spice my stew.

i'll keep you alive until i've sucked the marrow from your bones.

killing me is a waste of time.

you bastard, you ruined everything.

this is an interesting way of thanking me.

a slap is all you deserve.

a hag was never going to help you.

they don't help anyone but themselves.

that double-crossing, filthy, lying hag.

focus on the positive.

forgive the aroma.

perhaps that is why i have survived so long where more fearsome peers have not.

your loyalty is admirable but misplaced.

his kind have charm beyond our mortal means to resist.

who'd keep a secret like that from his friends?

you can't trust anyone these days.

even in the middle of nowhere, he can reach me.

why do you insist on exhuming the past?

people think the biggest threat to a vampire is a cleric with a stake.

they're scheming, paranoid, power-hungry beasts.

i am what i must be, says what i must be.

how does it feel to be a devil?

i can't tell if you're being silly or serious.

you have to admire the man's ambition.

i promise i will not betray your trust.

you kept me by your side despite the menace i am.

i learned quick how to stay alive.

to feel invincible again.

this isn't where i thought i'd end up.

maybe when this is all done, you can show me where you came from.

i'm not normally one to begrudge someone their secrets, but..

i'm already blessed to have you at my side.

don't you cut a fine figure.

i am not some lower city coinlad offering you a tumble.

there is nothing so depressing as learning one's true value.

i could use someone with your skills.

they're ravenous predators with fangs like daggers.

it's hardly an irrational fear to harbor.

you've been decent to me, so far.

everyone's got their own fears.

maybe that's what i like about you.

all of this was for nothing.

if you're here to help, get to the fight quickly.

gods, i thought you were one of those beasts.

i'm not chasing after it, if that's what you're thinking.

the little beast's charming once you get accustomed to the smell of rotting flesh.

[yanderes-galore]

for rq period: yandere tmnt03 donnie concept?

I'll try my best! He isn't as fleshed out as the others in 2003... So I'll try my best ^^; Sorry if it's vague, I'm more well-versed in 2012 and Rise.

Yandere! 2003! Donatello Concept

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Manipulation, Controlling behavior, Stalking, Tracking, Jealousy, Kidnapping, Cameras, Picture taking, Delusional behavior, Isolation, Drugging, Forced relationship.

Donatello is one who puts those around him before himself.

He often neglects his own needs at times just so he can care for his loved ones.

He's the smartest of the four turtles, a clever inventor and tactician.

He values education and science more than his actual ninjutsu studies at times.

He's a pacifist and isn't as physically resilient as his brothers from what I've seen.

Yet he's still a decent fighter with his quick wit and planning.

He always comes prepared, always tries to think things through...

Similar to his other iterations, he would try to plan things out in his obsession.

Things need to be perfect to make a plan work for him.

Donatello is often gentle and calm, never wanting to cause unnecessary harm.

He rarely loses his temper and I imagine this version of Donnie isn't all that... confrontational.

Not many of them are, but still....

The only time this turtle is ever violent or aggressive is when he's mutated into a large monster.

That's it.

For the most part... You being his obsession isn't that bad.

As long as you're okay with mutant turtles.

He honestly just seems like he'd be such a respectable sweetheart to you as his obsession.

Although he does seem to know... too much?

As expected, Donatello would research his obsession like they're his newest project.

As sweet as he is, he's keeping track of everything you do.

He's not possessive since he's usually against confrontation.

However... He is obsessive and protective.

Donatello knows all sorts of things about you.

He knows more than any of your closest friends, in fact, at some point he'll know more than your own family...

Or even yourself.

Donatello soaks in information like a sponge.

The moment he learns something new about you, he's noting that down like his life depends on it.

Now... Donatello would have all sorts of information about you.

He has a notebook or two dedicated to you.

He just lacks the courage and confidence to actually do anything with said info other than stutter and stare.

Donatello is socially awkward.

He's caring and attentive towards you and your well-being...

Yet struggles on how to express his overwhelming feelings towards you.

It's not like he can tell you about his notebooks...

Or why he knows all of this info....

While you're unaware, Donatello gets to work with scraping up any sort of info he can find on you.

He stalks you everywhere.

He puts trackers on your clothes, belongings, car...

This turtle has your entire routine memorized.

Donatello has to be careful when speaking with you as his obsession continues.

He may accidentally say something he shouldn't know...

Only to make you both awkwardly stare at one another before trying to change the conversation.

Donatello tries so hard to impress you.

He gets into all the things you like, he builds new inventions and gadgets just for you to look at them.

Just a warning, if you take a phone from him, you are definitely being tracked now.

Donatello just seems so socially awkward and relaxed when you speak to him.

You have no clue how unhinged he is behind the scenes.

Donatello stays up late at night to track you, research you, watch you...

But you're oblivious.

You just see him tired and think he's overworking himself again.

Being cared for by you just adds to his obsession.

Donatello no doubt sets up cameras in spots you frequent and is always recording for himself.

That and he has secret photos he took of you at night, keeping them tucked away in his room.

Donatello is infatuated with you.

It's quite obvious to him... The notebooks, footage, pictures, tracking...

His habit of leaving home to follow you....

Donatello knows he doesn't deserve you.

Why would you?

He's a mutant turtle, you're a human.

You may not view him as a monster... yet you certainly wouldn't date him.

That breaks his heart...

But part of him still wishes to believe you can.

He can't stop thinking about such a fantasy, actually...

He dreams of it... dreams of you...!

He imagines protecting you, dating you, your praise, hugs, kisses...

He just imagines what it would be like to love you.

Such a thought nearly drives him insane.

While he is normally calm and able to control himself...

Imagine if he snaps and just decides to take you away.

In his delusional mind, Donatello thinks you'll understand.

In reality you won't... You don't understand his twisted mind.

Donatello is desperate for your love.

Desperate to the point he slips something in your food or drink... just to catch you when you fall into his arms unconscious...

Then he locks you somewhere no one will look... surrounded by pictures he took and cameras watching your every move...

With ropes around your body as you lay on a makeshift bed.

It may not be much now...

But he's planned out everything!

Your new relationship (which he just forced upon you) will begin just as he's dreamed it!

Except... Donatello needs you on your best behavior first...

He knows you may be nervous about your first date together... yet he'll try to compensate!

Your first date is tied up in a sewer surrounded by pictures of you that you didn't know existed.

He's so delusional when he has you.

He doesn't understand why you're so scared.

It's just him!

You know him, right? (You thought you did.)

He's your best friend! Soon to be boyfriend, actually!

He can't wait to start.

He can't wait to hold you, touch you, kiss you, love you...

But he must be patient!

He'll take things slow for you...

You may be nervous and scared now... But don't worry...!

You'll warm up to him eventually... Then he can continue to make things perfect between you! Just like in his fantasies!

[0bsequi0us]

Feeling kinda spicy so here's some (potentially) unpopular Trials opinions/HCs

(silly as usual)

I'm a Franco Barbi comic body type truther 😔 I think it's cute ok

Mother Gooseberry sucks at making food. I know we think 1950s housewife and immediately think of homebaked pies and shit but I think she's more of an aspic with human fingers in it type gal

Coyle is like... primarily gay. Bi with heavy leanings towards men. Mostly only exhibits attraction/sexual aggression towards women out of social obligation. Sorry Coyle goils

Franco Barbi would NEVER want a baby even if he COULD get someone pregnant. He's supposed to be the baby! He would be so murderously jealous of a baby that thang would never see the light of day

Franco is a tits man, Coyle is an ass man, Gooseberry is an ass man. I feel like this is obvious but idk usually people seem to not know what to do with Gooseberry. There is so much ass brutality in her trials yall. She has a thing for absolutely destroying man ass

I like Franco's impotence. It's cute

We can all agree that Franco smells vile but Coyle and Gooseberry do too. They probably smell like different types of bad but I can't think of one expop who would smell decent

Maybe Pitcher. Pitcher might just smell like burnt hair and gasoline. That's how low the bar is. That burnt hair would be comparatively pleasant

Coyle smells like stale cigarettes and straight up unwashed ass

Gooseberry smells like rotting flesh + it smells worse depending on how fresh her current mask happens to be. She might try to conceal it but she just ends up smelling like a corpse drowned in perfume

Franco smells like an anime convention + INTENSE spoiled milk. Probably also alcohol sweat. May also try to use cologne but to even worse effect than Gooseberry

Gooseberry is the best Prime Asset. Yall are just blinded by lust

I admit of all the PA ships I get Gooseberry/Coyle the least. Gooseberry doesn't even seem to like Coyle that much, in most of her voice lines she seems to feel uncomfortable around him

That said I think every possible combination of PAs fuck so I still ship them lol

How is there not more Franco/Easterman content. Easterman had Franco's Lupara in his mouth he basically fellated him (It's because Easterman girlies don't like Franco and Franco girlies don't like Easterman isn't it lol)

I don't know how any future Prime Assets could work with the current theming and idk if I even want more Prime Assets. They're gonna ruin my perfect nuclear family 😤

[grim333z]

forever~

MASTERLIST

Carl grimes x gn!reader

mostly fluff but theres a little bit of angst... (Sorry!!)

"That I'm broke, but I'm real rich in my head

That I broke a bone that never healed in my hand

So, when I hold her close, I might loosen my grip

But I won't ever let her go

I won't ever let her go" - Noah Kahan

"Carl!" You yell, dropping the basket of fresh grown goods, recently delivered from hilltop, almost sprinting into his arms his usual warm musk filling your nose as you wrap your arms around his shoulders, he slips his hat off, holding it against your back as he leans down to bury his face in the nape of your neck, the rough fibres of his bandage brush against the warm exposed skin of your shoulder, the soft almost sweat-damp strands of his tousled fringe grazing the same chunk of flesh.

He'd gone on a longer run, with Rick and Michonne, completely out of range for any of the walkie talkies or radios could reach. They'd been having to go further and further to find anything of much use, the Runs taking even longer now they're mainly using horses, especially in the heat of the summer.

He's breathing you in, free arm gently wrapped around the flesh of your waist.

"You run into any trouble out there?"

"no.." Carl breathes in response, muffled by your shoulder, he pulls back slightly to look up into your eyes, his face is darkened with dirt and blood, assumably just spray back from killing walkers while out, he'd taken after his father ; becoming decently skilled with an axe.

His tongue pokes out slightly to dampen his lips before raising his arm from around your back to set his hat back on his head, bringing shade over the two of your faces as he uses his now free hand to cup your face, Carl's long, slender fingers gently finding their way into your hair, his thumb tracing the curve of your cheek bone as he leans in to kiss you. You find your hands floating up to his face, thumbs gently gliding across the warm pink-tinted skin of his cheeks, he shudders slightly as your thumb grazes over the rougher raised scarred skin on the right side of his face, his left eye dropping slightly, his breath hitching in his throat and he accidentally loosens his grip on you, he doesn't  let go however. 

You whisper a soft breathy "sorry," your voice warm and sweet to his ears, you would never ever want to make him uncomfortable, he knows that, he cant help himself from shuddering. 

It wasn't long ago he'd admitted how he felt about the scar, a deep rippled valley of discoloured skin right on his face, the two of you were sat on the top of the gazebo, your usual spot, Alexandria was dark and quiet, the sounds of a far away walker and the horses nickering in their stables were all that could be heard, other than the quiet thrum of each others heartbeats and soft calm breathing echoing from each of your lungs, fingers gently interlinked providing warmth in the cool summer night, he wasn't the most open person, having spent so long on the road he never got used to even having the chance to talk about his issues. He went quieter, angrier when something bad happened to him or the group, everyone knew he was struggling when he was angry, he always seemed to just get over it himself, the adults around him did, so it wasn't surprising he did the same. The quiet ley heavy till his words came out in a quiet whisper, "you don't have to pretend to want to be with me, now I look like this" his words were a quiet admission on how he really felt, you couldn't do much more than wrap your fingers around his tighter and reassure him, "I want you no matter what, Carl."

So now, with the warmth of his fingers gently gliding across the side of your face, his grip loose, but still their, he reassures you, "Don't be." 

[fiber-optic-alligator]

(Not a request dw) (I definitely borrowed a little from what you wrote and slashed through earlier)

Knock Out brainrot time. >:3c

Just thinking of him occasionally taking his human Back to the train tracks where he caught them the first time to torment them further. Especially about how they failed to escape him the first time. Not that they Actually Had a Chance, but he's an arrogant asshole so he's gonna act like they did. And that they failed to utilize it correctly.

Maybe he pretends to give them another chance to properly flee, with the same rules/time limit as last time? 20 minutes, but after 5 he's going to begin his search for them. But this time? The human has something of a plan, even if it'll only delay the inevitable. They use the fog cover to sneakily dash about, and cover things in heir scent. They're trying to fool his nose so he has to try harder to find them in the fog.

Five minutes pass of him tracking their progress, and he begins to move. Taunting them about their plan to con a Con, and how it won't work. Of course he knew what they were doing, and it's a decent plan outside of the fact that he can See them trying to put it into action. But, oh well, better luck next time, morsel.

At the ten minute mark, however, he loses sight of them. And with minimal sign of them beyond the smell of terror they leave behind, he begins to grow a little antsy. Not worried, no, he's going to catch them, and It Will Be Easy. They just... hadn't been much of a challenge before. This is certainly proving to be an interesting round of Hide and Shriek.

It's a little past the fifteen minute mark that he catches a definitive trace of them. "Ah, There they are." He laughs lowly, and stomps closer to the boxcar they'd stashed themselves away in. Now that he's locked onto where they've hidden, he decides to walk a little further away from them. To make them think he's still oblivious to their hiding spot. A minute passes. Two, three. Little footsteps pad through the door to the next boxcar.

At nineteen minutes, Knock Out decides to stop playing with his food. He saunters over to their new hiding spot, and tears the door open. Leaning the whole boxcar at an angle with a servo, so His human is forced to skid over to the far side and look up at him. "You know, this game of Cyber cat and Glitch mouse was certainly thrilling, but all good things must come to an end eventually. Now, sit still for me won't you? We have things to do once we get back to the Nemesis."

He reaches in with his right servo to daintily pluck them from their rusty tomb, but stops short when something blunt smashes into one of his digits. He pulls his claws away from them to survey the damage, and notices rusty little scratches in one of them. He growls in displeasure before lunging to harshly pin His Plaything's arm to the wall, and wrenching away the offending weapon. An old crowbar sits pinched between two of his talons before he snaps it in two, and throws it away like a used tooth pick.

He regards his captive with a snarl, hating the effect their resistance has on him. The fact that they have the Audacity to attack him is in itself is infuriating, and he loathes losing his cool. Especially in regards to a fleshbag he's been ever So lenient with. He'll make them buff out the scratch later, but for now... "As much as I can respect your meager survival tactics, don't you think it's a little late to be trying this hard to escape?" He tries to maintain his self-assured tone to scare the human into thinking that their efforts to piss him off were Entirely in vain. But even they can detect the wrath bleeding into his tone like a drop of ink in water.

Knock Out lunges to pin his prize to the far wall with a servo again, making sure that the sharp ends of his claws graze their flesh lightly. "Has it Not sunken in yet human? You. Can't. Escape. From. Me. You only get as far as you do during our little games, because I let you. You didn't stand a chance In The Pits of escaping the second I laid my optics on you the first time, and you certainly don't have a shot now." He lifts them out of the boxcar, and drops it back onto the tracks, a crumpled heap of scrap metal. He ceases to keep his contempt for their petulance out of his voice now that he's got a proper grip on them.

"In case you haven't noticed, human? I am Faster than you. I am Stronger than you. And no matter how Far you run, I will Always find you. Remember that the next time you forget your place in this little arrangement of ours. Though, in case you Do need a reminder after all that?

You. Are. Mine.

His grip tightens while he speaks, and only loosens his grip again once he can he feel them gasp for air. He sighs, satisfied that he'd gotten his point across, and brings his little Snack down from optic level. "Once we get back to the Nemesis, you're getting a bath. And then, you're due for a night long tour of my tank. That's a fitting punishment for a squirmy little fleshy like you, I think. Oh, and you Will be buffing this scratch out of my hand, by the by. Don't think your panicked flailing fit with a piece of scrap metal slipped my mind, dear. I won't be as gentle with you the next time you lash out like that."

Anon. Holy shit. I literally have no words. This is absolutely incredible. I have nothing to add to this because it’s so damn GOOD!!! I don’t even have to write a part 2 anymore because this is that AMAZING!!!! God I am going to be rereading this at least twice a week SHAUZISKDJFNFJJFAAAAAAUGH!!!!!

I can only imagine afterwords when this is all over and you are within his tank. You have never seen Knockout that angry before. Though he makes an effort to intimidate you and show how terrifying he can be, he’s always been relatively gentle with you. Now, though? The memory of being slammed against the boxcar, how his claws grazed your skin, his snarls, the way he nearly squeezed the life out of you. And his words…

“You. Are. Mine.”

You curl up tighter and bury your head into your knees, shaking. You begin to quietly weep.

Meanwhile, Knockout is tinkering away with some stuff when he hears your soft sobs rising up from his middle. Pausing his activities and looking down, he listens to you cry and feels you tremble. A part of him feels smugly satisfied that you know your place now…but there’s another part of him that feels strangely…guilty. Your a small, fragile little thing. He could have seriously hurt you.

Heaving a low sigh, he clenches his tank muscles to squeeze you gently. “Settle down, little thing,” he murmurs. “I was harsh with you, I’ll admit. But you must understand that at moments, harshness is necessary. You need to know your place. You need to know you are mine.”

You don’t respond. He doesn’t expect you to. His comfort is not exactly the most comforting. He’s silent. He doesn’t feel as triumphant as he did earlier.

Even Decepticons can feel remorse sometimes.

[abrcmswrld]

NSFW Alphabet | TFE!Edward Nashton x Reader

Word Count: 1,979

Warnings: SMUT (18+ MDNI), seriously this whole thing is smut and that’s it, AFAB terms used

Summary: A collection of drabbles centered around sex with my version of Edward Nashton from my fic series: The French Exit.

Author’s Note: This is dedicated to the discord server. I’ve loved getting to know their Eddie’s. Thank you for giving my Eddie a chance.

HBD Pookie<3

A = Aftercare (What they're like after sex)

He's tender and clingy, keeping his arms wrapped around you for as long as he possibly can until you finally nudge him off to clean up. After that he's helpful, he loves taking the time to wipe you down. He'll take any excuse to touch your body, really.

B = Body part (Their favourite body part of theirs and also their partner's)

He's never given it much thought for himself. He's always thought himself to be below average in most categories. Whether it's looks or strength, he's always felt himself fall short. But he can recognize that he excels in brains. He is quite proud of the mind he has.

When it comes to you however, he can't find a part that he doesn't like, but the feeling of your thighs is absolute heaven to him. He loves to sink his fingertips into the soft flesh as he laps his tongue over you or as he fucks into you slowly. He also loves to rest his head on them and feel your fingers trailing through his hair.

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum basically... I'm a disgusting person)

He will cum anywhere you ask. By the time he reaches his climax, he’s putty in your hands. Any dominance he may have held is gone as his legs shake. You want him to cum on your stomach, back, face, inside you? He’ll do it. But if he’s being honest he prefers to finish inside of you. The sticky slickness as he continues to rut into you even after finishing is the perfect overstimulation.

D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

He's very voyeuristic. To an alarming extent. The view from your window is just perfect. He can feel the pressure in his pants the moment you begin to undress after a long day at the office. Of course, you know exactly what he's doing and you secretly get off on it too.

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they're doing?)

He has very little experience. Aside from a pity handjob in his early 20's, he's avoided most sexual interaction. He doesn't find it easy to go on dates. He has a decent idea of how things work as he has watched plenty of porn in his lifetime, but I wouldn't call him experienced.

F = Favourite Position (This goes without saying. Will probably include a visual)

His weak spot is missionary. He loves to hover over you with you caged in him arms. He enjoys taking it one step further and lifting your leg to his shoulder. It gives him the same pleasure of seeing your face with an added bit of pressure that gets both you and him to the edge faster than any other position.

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc)

You’re the one person he can let a chuckle out with. He tries to embrace that side of himself in closed off spaces with just the two of you, such as the break room. But for some reason he can’t make it translate into the bedroom. He’s never been so intimate with someone before, it’s very serious to him. He’s too focused on the ecstasy of the moment and the feelings he has for you pouring out to goof off at all.

H = Hair (How well groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.)

He keeps himself trimmed decently. He tried to shave completely once, but ended up giving himself awful razor burn and cuts. He’s not been a fan since.

He doesn’t have a preference for his partner. He loves for them feel confident however they choose.

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect...)

As previously said, he’s never experienced such intimacy with anyone before. Never had someone touch him with such tenderness, like they want to heal all of his wounds, internal and external. He often finds himself crying during the act. It’s not a sadness response and it’s something he’s found he can’t quite control. He just wants you to know how much he loves you in that moment. He wants to be as close as two souls can possibly be.

J = Jack Off (Masturbation headcanon)

He’s masturbates decently often. More often after developing a crush on you. Less often when the tension breaks between the two of you. He’d much rather feel your hand, mouth, heat, than his own hand.

Before you, his relationship with masturbation wasn’t great. Years of catholic guilt can do that to a person. He often fights the feeling of shame after his release. He struggles to enjoy the feeling of bliss while coming down. Watching you pleasure yourself for him, and the way you whimper and smile through it intrigues him, and he strives to be able to enjoy himself in a similar fashion.

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks)

Voyeurism: This is his big one. It’s questionable at times. He knows it’s sick, the way he watches you through your window, but he can’t help himself. It’s as if you left the curtain open as an invitation.

Even as your relationship progresses, he finds himself asking you if he can watch as you pleasure yourself. He loves to observe. He loves to take note of the things that make you whimper.

L = Location (Favourite places to do the do)

He prefers the comfort of your home. It’s warm and safe and comfortable. Nothing else to bother the two of you. Although he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t thought about bending you over his desk at the office. He finds himself getting hard in his pants as he thinks about it, looking over his shoulder at your concentrated face as you sit at your own desk. He pushes the thought away for his own good.

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)

He’s ashamed to say that everything you do turns him on. He hides it out of fear of offending you or making you believe he only likes the sex, but it’s the little things that get him going. The way you bite your lip while you concentrate on work, the way you laugh at his jokes, the brush of your legs up against him, it all turns him on.

N = NO (Something they wouldn't do, turn offs)

He’s not big on any form of weapon play. The idea using a weapon (even in a safe and monitored way) on you makes his stomach turn rather than turn him on. He doesn’t like to mix that side of him with your intimacy.

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc)

He definitely prefers to give rather than receive. Not that he doesn’t enjoy receiving, but he gets just as much pleasure from eating you out. He loves to bury his head between your thighs and rut against the mattress. Pull him in by his hair and he will cum in his pants.

P = Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.)

His pace depends on the mood he is in. Sometimes he enjoys a loving, slow pace. It allows him to slowly take you apart, piece by piece. But sometimes he loves to drive into you fast and rough. The sound of his skin slapping against yours spurs him on. He loves the way your eyes roll back as he abuses that spot inside you.

Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc.)

Shockingly enough, Edward enjoys quickies. He likes to think of it as a miniature version of what you always do. If you’re pressed for time, if the two of you have work, he loves to get in one last fuck. He loves to cum inside of you and watch you leave for work right after.

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc.)

His entire life is a risk. The Riddler is a risk. He’d rather not bring you into that risk. He’s seen the way that porn frames scenarios of risky public sex to look enticing, but he just can’t bring himself to enjoy it with you. He’d never put you in a risky position on purpose. You’re the one pure thing in his life.

However, he is willing to experiment with kinks inside the comfort of your own home. He’s supportive when you ask and always tries his best to feed into your fantasies, even if it doesn’t always stick for you guys.

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last...)

His stamina is dependent on his mood at the moment. If you have him extremely riled up, he is ready to go multiple rounds with little to no recovery period. However, sometimes he loves a good lazy fuck and to just cuddle up to you afterwards in a hazy, tired bliss.

T = Toy (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?)

He’d never owned toys before you. He’d thought about it, but never gotten the courage to try them for himself. He knows you own many though and he enjoys using them with you. His favorite is pressing your vibrator to your sensitive bud as he fucks you deep. He loves the way it makes you squirm under him.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

He loves to tease and be teased. Although he does find it difficult to tease you for very long. He loves to hear you beg for him and the moment a soft ‘please’ escapes your lips he gives you everything you need.

He loves when you are unfair to him. He loves the playful look in your eyes as you gives him teasing kisses and licks all over his body.

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make)

He tries but is generally unsuccessful at holding in his cries and moans. They often come out as a choked off and whiney mess. He loves to hear your sweet noises. He nibbles at your weak spots until you cry out his name. It makes him smile into your flesh.

W = Wild Card (Get a random headcanon for the character of your choice)

He loves to see you wear his clothes. He has to hide the erection growing in his pants when he does something as small as giving you his jacket to wear when you’re cold. It’s such a small action but the way his clothes practically swallow you makes his heart race.

X = X-Ray (Let's see what's going on in those pants, picture or words)

Watching porn all those years hasn’t helped his self esteem. He finds himself feeling insecure about his size a lot. He’s about average length, but is decently thick. He loves it when you let him know how much he stretches you, and the way you clench around him as he drives into you. It’s the only thing that can ease his insecurities.

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

He is ready to go pretty much whenever. All it takes is the slightest touch of your hands down his chest and sides and those longing kisses, and he is ready. He finds that his sex drive is much higher since becoming intimate with you. It’s a new experience and he finds himself craving you often.

Z = ZZZ (... how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

He has gone most of his life struggling with sleep. The orphanage had given him horrific night terrors and his sleep schedule has never been normal. But, after sex with you he feels a calm wash over him that he can't explain. For once he is peaceful and finds himself drifting to sleep rather quickly.

[lovemyromance]

Hear me out 🖐️😌

What if SJM planned for a rejected bond trope all along?

Walk with me 🚶🏽‍♀️‍➡️

What if she knew she wanted to do it - but she was still indecisive on who/which couple would have it?

She has admitted Lucien was originally supposed to end up with Nesta - that's why the flames on her drawer were there as early as the second chapter of ACOTAR.

And if you think about it - they'd honestly make a decent couple? they're both witty and sharp and have a darker sense of humor and Lucien is aristocratic in a way that Nesta was supposed to be drawn to. He is basically Eris - without the scrupulous morals. Why would SJM scrap that?

1. It could be just due to the introduction of Cassian - the chemistry those two had on the page that even SJM didn't expect

Or, perhaps:

2. If the rejected bond trope was to be done with Nesta & Lucien - SJM realized very quickly after fleshing out Nesta's character a bit more that this hellion of a woman wouldn't even leave Hybern before immediately rejecting that bond. There would've been zero build up - zero drama - zero story because the second Lucien claimed her as his mate, Nesta would've renounced it or made it her mission to find any possible way to reject the bond.

The rejected bond in itself is a major plot point/twist. It does not make sense to have a couple reject the bond - then fall in love. It does not make sense to have a couple fall in love - then reject a bond. It's simply not a logical process of events 🤷🏻‍♀️ you'd essentially be wasting 700 pages of a love story development for no reason.

So then if SJM were to do a rejected bond trope - who else does that leave?

Elain mf Archeron 😌

It makes sense that she wrote them as "fated mates" ... and then proceeded to spend 3 books showing us every which way how they are incompatible. How they are doing just fine being on opposite sides of the continent. How they ignore each other, avoid each other. How they both have lead separate lives and are starting to show romantic interest in other people, rather than each other.

The way she has written Elucien makes sense ... only IF they were to become the "rejected mates" trope.

Only if they were meant to break the bond, and find true love outside of fate.

It makes sense then, that SJM went on the today show and talked about rejected mates. It makes sense why she gave Azriel - not Lucien - a bonus chapter. It makes sense how every single thing that should have belonged to Lucien - Elain included - was written with Azriel instead.

Let me show my work 🤨:

I have a much lengthier post I can't be bothered to find that shows exactly how Elucien should've been written to make readers root for that forced proximity - reluctant mates trope (again) ...

But to summarize: If Elucien stood a chance, SJM would've kept Lucien around. She would've had Lucien save Elain from Hybern. She would've had Elain give Lucien a solstice gift. She would've had Lucien figure out Elain's powers. She would've had Lucien & Elain in the bonus chapter.

So - in conclusion - SJM likely always had the rejected mates trope in mind. She couldn't have done it with Nesta - so that left Elain. She had initially planned for Moriel, so Elain's "reluctant" mate defaulted to Lucien. But then when she wrote ACOWAR - more and more signs and similarities and chemistry started popping up with Elain & Azriel - and the plot thickened.

Mor hastily became SJM's token LGBTQ+ representation. Azriel became Elain's true love interest. Lucien became the rejected mate - though not without planting breadcrumbs for his happily ever after as well.

I do not believe with the passion SJM has for the #3 that she was able to resist a perfect 3x3 setup. Everything falls into place with Elriel. It's a master plan, really. And if she stumbled upon this by accident even, well done SJM.