#what I do not exaggerate on is that you do need to learn how the world works and where the stuff you use daily comes from

[privateanxieties]

for anyone curious, the 'democrat' hashtag was suppressed on instagram today, for most of the day. the 'republican' one works and has been working just fine, but they suppressed 'democrat' for "sensitive content". Same for 'voteblue' and a few similar ones.

they're now back to "normal", but why did they get suppressed in the first place? what were they trying to purge?

this is how it starts.

I urge everyone to be more critical than ever of everything they see online. get informed. learn how to tweak all the settings of every device you can, for both privacy and content filtering. install browser extensions. do whatever you can to rely on these platforms as little as possible. it's also a good time to look into alternative search engines.

it's possible they're right now trying to see what they can get away with, what people don't notice, what they don't speak out against, and implementing those measures. it's possible they're not going full speed ahead, just treading lightly for now.

Do not let them take an inch. Keep your eyes opened for this kind of subterfuge, report, tell others.

Also, print out and keep PHYSICALLY, in your home, life-saving information. Medical info, maps, addresses, phone numbers, precious and sentimental info, etcetera. Print out your rights. Print out everything you might need at a crucial moment that you'd normally use google for, because they are not your friend.

Get a hold of books that have been banned and are on the chopping block next. Have them physically. Download music. Keep it on your own drive. No cloud services.

And for those who think I'm exaggerating, how fucked would you be if tomorrow you couldn't access any info online? Yeah. That's how prepared you need to be.

now that trump has tiktok, twitter, facebook and insta in his pocket, get ready for a massive wave of internet censorship. one of trump's greatest weapons has always been misinformation; it's going to become harder and harder to spread facts and criticism going forward. posts that aren't made invisible will be magically ignored by the algorithm. dissidents will have their accounts deleted and voices erased.

this is a suppression tactic. this is another stage of fascism.

[t-a-a-1]

Counting Stars

Pt.2: The Wait

TFP Optimus x Female Reader

Summary: After revealing to Optimus that you are carrying his sparkling, he convinces you to stay under the Autobot care. However, after the sudden appearance of an old lover of yours, Optimus faces difficult challenges as he tries to win you back and learn how to prepare to be a father at the same time.

A/N: Lots of yearning, jealousy, delusions, craving, fluff. All that good stuff.

4K

Counting Stars

Pt.2: The Wait

There is a clear difference between carrying a sparkling and dying. 

You weren’t sure which one you were doing.

Everyone was treating you like you were about to perish. Everyone has always been careful around you. But now they are extremely aware of you. Every step you take, breath, look, smell, nothing was too insignificant. 

“You shouldn’t be carrying that.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t eat that.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t go there.”

The autobots treated you like a doll. Although the thought sounds amusing, it really wasn’t. 

“I just want to go for a drive. I’ve been inside for two weeks. I need to get out.”

Bulkhead moves his helm from side to side. He was  the third bot you asked about going out. 

“What if we crash and you get hurt?” 

You knew he was making up an excuse to not take you for a drive. Because what kind of Autobot would be such a bad driver?

“I am a human! I need the sun and see pretty things or I’ll get depressed and die!”

“Can you just watch the sun and pretty things on TV?”

Crossing your hands in front of your chest, you huff, showing your clear satisfaction. 

“I am sorry (Y/N) but you are carrying the only sparkling Cybertron has seen since millennials. If you weren’t having our species’s only hope, I would be more lenient.” 

Bulkhead’s voice sounds apologetic. You know that he was telling the truth. Maybe they all missed hanging out with you but couldn’t do much due to current circumstances. 

“I am being serious. I need to go out.” you say looking at the bot. “I’ll seriously die.”

You were exaggerating but you didn’t know until how much you could last without going crazy. 

“Well, maybe we can wait until Optimus is back and hear what he thinks.” Arcee steps in, trying to see if she could alleviate the situation. “You know, so no one wants to get in trouble.”

“Prime isn’t even around.”

A simple talk couldn’t fix everything. Although you and Optimus were in speaking terms, you wouldn’t say that things were the way they used to be. Things were still awkward and tense between the two of you. 

“You need to understand him, he is also going through biological needs not seen eons ago,” Ratchet speaks up while still typing on his large computer. “He is nesting for you and the sparkling, he can’t control it and he is trusting us to keep you safe while he is away.”

“Oh so you care about his biological needs but not about mine? I see how it is.”

“It’s not that, it's just–”

Ratchet turns to look at you. 

“Alright, maybe you are right.”

The medic-bot notices the color of your skin. It’s pale. Not in a natural way but in a sick-manner. Your belly has grown and you look tired. Mentally, you must be going through a lot. The weight of the survival of an entire civilization is on your shoulders and you are yet to know if the sparkling will be born healthy. 

“Only for 30 minutes.”

.

.

.

Optimus was able to satisfy his biological needs only after he found ten dandelions. It was extremely hard to bring them to base since they were delicate and were easy for its tiny petals to crumble. He had found several but would have to go back and look for more since most would lose their petals on the way. 

He also found some pretty rocks. He wasn’t sure which one you would like most so he brought all of them. 

“So you are here to stay with (Y/N) for the rest of the pregnancy?”

His olfactory sensors picked a familiar smell. A human one but it was none of the kids. It was a scent he wasn’t fond of. One he very much wished did not exist. 

“Yes, as a Special Agent, I was assigned this duty. Which I am glad for, I want to spend time with (Y/N) as much as possible.”

Special Agent Alex. Fowler’s Co-worker and your childhood best friend. 

Optimus’ sensors were on alert. All of his instincts warned him. 

“Potential male threat detected. Human male may potentially steal sparkling and partner. Action Required: Keep human male away from mate.”

“May I inquire about your reasoning behind your sudden … presence without invitation?”

He didn’t waste any time as he walked towards the center of the hangar. His tall demeanor did not seem to phase the secret agent. 

“Hey, Prime! Sorry for not announcing it before,” Alex waved knowing that he would get more of a reaction out of Optimus if he pretended that his hostility does not affect him. “But I am just doing my duty. (Y/N) was originally supposed to be transported to a secured area under my watch. But since that didn’t happen, I’ll be staying here.”

“(Y/N) is currently protected by five Autobots at all times. She’s safe here and does not need your guarding.”

“That may be right but (Y/N)’s child is a matter of national security. I can’t let the Autobots have complete control over humanity’s first human-alien hybrid child.”

Optimus closes his servo, fighting the urge to smash the human like a mosquito. 

“My sparkling is no human experiment.”

“I am not saying it was,” Alex looks directly at Optimus’ optics. Unafraid. “What I am saying is that the child would benefit from having all the resources this world can offer. That child, no matter what it may be or look like, would be more human than Cybertronian. It will grow here. Learn our languages, history, traditions and culture.”

Alex smirks, about to deliver the final hit. 

“It’s not like there’s much to learn from Cybertron after all,” he says. “I may raise that child myself.”

Everyone could hear Optimus’ gun engine turn on, about to point directly at the agent. 

Until you showed up. 

“Alex?”

He immediately put away his weapon, pretending that he wasn’t about to harm a certain individual. He couldn’t do it, not after seeing the smile on your face. 

Not after you jumped into his arms, hugging him as he spinned you around. 

“Alert. Action Required: Eliminate threat. Keep human male away from mate. Alert.”

His processor telling him commands wasn’t helping the feelings in his spark. 

“You have always been beautiful but pregnancy suits you so well. It’s going to make my stay here all the more pleasant.”

Alex has always been a flirt.  But you never took it seriously. At least not now. You used to love the compliments during the time of your relationship. Years ago. 

“Are you staying here?”

You ask excitedly, in a desperate need of a friend your age. A human friend who would understand your need to get coffee and see the sunsets. 

“Yes, you won’t have to be lonely anymore,” Alex puts a hand on your head, giving you a soft head pat. An act Optimus was never able to do casually. Putting hands on you without consent in any way did not fit right with him.  “I’ll stay as long as you have me.”

“Yes! You can stay in my room!”

You seem to enjoy the affection. The agent gave you a certain warmness Optimus couldn’t give you and his processor is starting to write codes unfamiliar to him. 

“I am highly against that–”

“Alright, I’ll put my things in there,” Alex’s voice was louder than Optimus’ as he was closer to you. You were too excited to pay attention to the rising anger of the bot. “But tell me, where were you? I was waiting for you and got kinda worried.”

“I’ve been inside here for two weeks and Ratchet took me for a quick drive.”

“For two weeks? That’s not healthy for you and the baby, you need to stay active and get enough sunlight.”

“That’s what I told them but they wouldn’t listen to me.”

Everyone around you noticed your evident happiness that they didn’t mind the comment. You were right, they weren’t taking your needs into consideration. It was even more evident by the sudden change of your mood. 

“Well, from now on I’ll be taking care of you,” Alex moves his hand to caress your cheek. “And I’ll take you on regular drives and trips.”

“Do not touch my sparkmate–”

“Also I brought you a gift!”

He looks down at his backpack as Optimus’ voice subsides. Opening it quickly and showing the content inside it. 

“My favorite chocolate!” you take the pink box from his hands. It was an expensive brand and hard to find. Not available anywhere in the city.  “Thank you! 

Optimus quickly thinks of the things he got you. Dandelions, flowers, rocks. Would you love them just as much? Will you jump in excitement and hug him? Will you see him as fit enough to be your provider, protector and Sparkmate?

“Analysis Complete: Human Male wishes to bond with Sparkmate and steal Sparkling. Activating Sparkmate Protection Codes. Eliminate offering. Keep Sparkmate secluded.”

It’s like he couldn’t control himself. It was fear, confusion and jealousy that overtook his processor. 

Without any announcement, Optimus walks towards you and takes the chocolate box using two of his digits. You watch him with amusement, not understanding his actions. And without any previous warning, he crushes the box. 

The Autobots don’t say a word, flabbergasted at their leader’s actions. 

“I- I am–”

Optimus wanted to apologize but he was so surprised by his own doing that no words left his dermas. 

The room is silent for a few seconds until sobbing is heard coming from you.  Normally, you wouldn’t cry but your hormones have been acting differently, making you more emotionally sensitive.

You run to your room, Alex quickly follows by until the two of you disappear from the hangar. 

“Sparkmate in distress. Advance with caution. In case of Sparkmate rejection, proceed to program Offline codes.” 

Optimus looks at his servo. The pink chocolate box is destroyed. It was a nice gift. Delicate, gentle, genuine. And he destroyed it. All that was left was the result of his own selfish actions. 

.

.

.

He didn’t know how to approach you. Nor knew if he should. His processor was begging him to go talk to you. 

His pedes hang from the cliff as he sees the stars in the sky. Its a view Cybertron was unknown to.  His home planet, with all of its technological advances, unique traditions and indescribable views could never have this kind of beauty. Yet, it can’t compare to the delicacy of your eyes.

Hearing heavy steps walking towards him, he knows it wasn’t you. Most of the time, he couldn’t tell when you were approaching him, your steps were too small to be heard. Either that or he would smell your scent. 

“You know, the right thing to do is apologize, right?”

Arcee was not one to open up easily. That was something she had in common with Optimus. 

“It would be simple if I knew she would want me to,” he responds, seeing the motorcycle sit next to him.

“... Are all male bots this stupid?”

“I believe so.”

There was silence but it wasn’t awkward. They didn’t need to talk to understand each other. Optimus is a great leader but somewhat stupid when it comes to relationships. It is of no surprise, however. Cybertronian and Human relationships are very different. Cybertron culture is more reserved, sometimes even completely political. As a species living for so long, it’s more about companionship. A long lasting friendship. Finding a Sparkmate was completely rare. Something not everyone would get to experience. 

Humans however … Due to their short lifespan, they were more prone to fall in love and out of love rather fast. 

“My processor has been programmed to do things I deemed as primitive for our kind,” he says. “Sometimes I can’t control it.”

“Then just tell her that,” Arceee puts a servo on his shoulder. Physical contact wasn’t common in Cybertron either. But he didn’t mind. “And apologize … a lot.”

.

.

.

You started to overthink. A lot. 

Optimus had feelings for you. Of that you were almost certain. You think ‘almost’ because now you weren’t so sure. 

Optimus would live for many years after you are gone. Maybe one day he will finally find the one, his Sparkmate. Where would that leave your child? He has told you that he will be responsible. But is he doing it out of duty or because he has love for his sparkling? You didn’t want him to believe that he is being forced to stay. 

It was a stupid thought. You knew that. But the thought still lingers in the back of your mind. 

“Prime is gonna kill me whenever he finds out I took you out of the base.”

It's always nice to get out of the base during the night. Especially with someone who saw you as an individual instead of just a ‘carrier and savior of an advanced robot race.’ He also drives nicely, not too fast, not too slow. Alex used to be a mechanic, his love for cars was always evident. Even as he drives, you can tell that this is all he ever wanted to do. 

“You know he won’t even kill a fly.”

“Yeah and that’s why it’s so fun to tease him.”

Alex tried to diminish the tension of the previous situation. He didn’t know why Optimus did what he did. But he feels a bit guilty for teasing Optimus as much. Maybe if he hadn't pushed him to his limits, he wouldn't have done such ugly act. 

“Can we go to the beach?”

You ask randomly. 

Alex smiles.

“Sure.”

.

.

.

When Ratchet informed him that you had gone on a night drive with Alex, he immediately went to your room. 

Why?

It was something even he couldn’t understand.

He knew he wasn’t going to find you there. 

Yet, his processor couldn’t understand how you weren’t here. He needs you. Now. His every circuit aching at the thought of you leaving his side. Carrying his sparkling and with a male who had successfully stolen you from his servos even if it's just for one night. 

He can still smell your scent in your room. Even after he had mass-shifted to enter, the room was still too small for him. He touched the bedsheets and began to miss the moments he has shared with you before in it. 

Where are you?

He needs you now. He needs to hold you, to know that you are safe. To express how much he adores you and the sparkling. 

“Sparkmate Status: Missing. Sparkling Status: Missing. Safety Status: Unknown. If Unable To Locate, Proceed With Solitude Activation Codes.”

He used his Comm-Link to call your cell phone. But nothing. He tried again. Nothing. 

It wasn’t until the 30th time that he understood … You didn’t want to be with him. 

You didn’t want him. 

You didn’t want him.

You didn’t want him. 

His servos tremble. 

Optics feel heavy. It’s strange. Having blue liquid come out of his eyes. He had cried before. For different reasons. This was pain, in its purest form. In a way words can’t describe. Proof of it were his subsided pleas of air as he had forgotten how to breathe, something he didn’t know he could do until he saw you. 

His spark aches. It hurts. Everything. 

Everything …  His everything is gone.

.

.

.

It was about a 10 hour drive.

Watching the sunrise was always a beautiful experience. Feeling the warm sunlight touch your skin energizes you. It made you forget the previous negative emotions and you began to have this strange yearning. 

For Optimus.

You wanted to be with him. Wishing he could  be here with you along with your unborn child. 

Maybe he had over reacted but knowing Optimus he probably has a good reason for destroying the chocolate box. Was he taking care of your weight? What if chocolate is toxic for sparklings? You wanted to talk to him and make things better–

Oh. 

You were right. You do need the sun. 

“Let’s build a sandcastle.”

Alex could sometimes be like a child, which was fun. There was never a boring moment with him.

“Let’s build an Autobot, instead!”

You let yourself touch the sand and immediately feel something moving inside you. It feels strange. It doesn’t hurt but feels very uncanny. Nonetheless, you smile as you put your hands in your belly. Your sparkling may be more human than you think, also enjoying the activity and fresh air. 

“Do you think will look like his father?”

You ask Alex as he tries to make a small square with his hands, using water from a water bottle. 

He looks at you and then down at his little project. 

“If the child were to live on Cybertron then I would prefer for them to look like Optimus,” he says, trying to think of a delicate way to tell you his opinion. “But since they will be living on Earth, then I genuinely hope they look more human.”

You know you will love the child no matter what. But Alex had a point. What kind of life will the child live if he is too different? Humans can be cruel, especially to those who are different. 

“If something happens to me … will you take care of them?”

He lets out a heavy sigh and looks at you again. His mood had been ruined but it was a question you were meaning to ask. 

“You know childbirth is difficult as it is and well, I am assuming giving birth to the first Human-Cybertronian child would be even more so.”

“You know we’ll have the best doctors in the world for that day,” Alex starts to mold more rectangular boxes as he stacks them up. Meanwhile you have started working on the head. “And if anyone can come out alive out of that it's you.”

He makes a pause and a small laugh escapes from his lips. 

“Besides, did you fuck a 20 feet tall alien robot? If you did that and came out fine. Childbirth should be a piece of cake.”

Without any notice, Alex’s mouth is filled with sand. You had thrown him a sand-ball and he started spitting it out and washing his mouth with the remaining water. 

“Hey! It's true!”

“Yes but you didn’t have to say it like that!”

“I don’t blame you, if Arcee would give me the change, I would hit too–”

You throw more sand at him and he also retaliates. A sandy-battle unleashed as the wind was in your favor. Alex was gentle enough to only attack you below or above your belly. His ‘projecticles’ are extremely small compared to yours and between giggles and laughs, the battle continues until both of your hairs and clothes are covered with sand. 

And then, Alex’s phone begins to ring. 

.

.

.

“Where is he?”

The sun is still rising. The groundbridge could not stop time. But the time in California and Nevada were the same. 

You run towards Ratchet who is still by the groundbrige system, Alex close by.

“At the top, he is doing better now that I told him you were returning but …” The autobot medic pauses, not finding the right words to describe the situation. “I think you should go and see for yourself.”

You didn’t hesitate and made your way towards the rooftop. Of course, you didn’t run but you moved as fast as your pregnant body could. 

It was a good workout, you were losing your breath as you made your way to the elevator. If you had been in better shape, you would have taken the stairs. 

As you wait to arrive at the top, you could hear the beats of your heart palpitating against your chest. Overthinking is a talent of yours. Many stupid thoughts crossed your head. Thinking that Optimus was too angry at you for leaving the base without permission. You were ready to accept your punishment, whatever that may be. 

Instead, as you arrive at the top of the cliff, there are more questions than answers. 

You find big rocks, with a weight of more than a ton. Two rocks standing vertically and one on top of the two laying horizontally. Like a small house made out of giant rocks, enough space for a single Cybertronian. One that is around 20 feet tall, blue and red that turns into a truck.

Optimus is there but he is too busy spraying dandelions around his small house that he didn’t notice your presence. 

It wasn’t until he turned around that his optics shine in excitement. He almost runs towards but reminds himself to be gentle. Reaching out a servo, you expected him to hold you but he doesn’t he pulls away, using all of his strength to restrain himself. 

“I am glad to see you are safe.”

He says in a soft voice, the relief in his voice is evident and you feel the need to jump into his servos and be embraced by him. But just like him, you stopped yourself from doing so.

“I am glad you are safe too,” you tilted your body a little, your attention directed to the rocks behind. “Ratchet said you were acting … strange.”

Optimus also takes a look at his creation. He wished he could do better but its the best he could do with his limited resources. 

“Yes, you could say so.”

“May I ask, what is going on?”

He has been meaning to tell you but he doesn't know without getting nervous. He didn’t know how you would react. Will you think of him as weird? Disgusting even? But he can’t run away any longer. You are the sword and he is against a dead end with the only option being moving forward.

“Cybertron hasn’t had a sparkling in milenia so to ensure its safety, my processor activated primal codes,” Optimus says. “It makes me do things that may be antiquated.”

Not understanding fully, but if you had to come to a conclusion, Optimus may be going through something similar to animal mating rituals. Which is not so far fetched since Cybertron used to have Predacons before Cybertronians appeared. 

“Is that why you destroyed my chocolate box?”

“Due that we haven’t concluded the Conjunx Ritus, my processor doesn’t consider you as my Conjunx Endura yet, although I consider you my Sparkmate” Optimus blinks multiple times as he only does when he is nervous. “I identified Special Agent Alex’s actions as threatening to steal you and my sparkling.”

“Me?”

“Yes, although those reasons are more … intimate ones.”

Your heart beats faster as the sunlight reflects on his paint-job. He looks beautiful. You once again remember how incredible and extraordinary of an individual he is. There is no one like him in the entire universe and never will. You feel delighted to know that you are in his presence, being able to admire a side not one has seen yet. 

“Oh,” you look away after realizing you had been staring at him for too long.  “And that?”

You point at the rock structure and Optimus optics quickly follow. 

“After you left, I went to look for you at your private quarters,” he kept looking at the rocks and you wonder the struggles he had to go through to carry them to the top. “Not seeing you there activated my Solitude Codes.”

He walks towards the rocks, there are a lot of dandelions. Some of them died. Others are alive. There is some sort of yearning in his Optimics as if he belongs there. Its a sorrowful yearning, as if he was made to do something that he wishes to not do. Yet, he knows he would be skillful at it. 

“I felt the need to build this.”

“And do what?”

You ask, not wanting to walk closer as you thought that maybe you would be overstepping his boundaries. 

“Wait,” he answers. 

His back faces you. Not being able to see his faceplate, you can only tell how he feels based on his voice box’s tone. He just stands there, looking down. 

“For what?”

“For you to come back.”

He answers so longingly that it makes you almost shed a tear. For a moment, time stops. There is no wind, no sound, no scent, nothing. But just him. As if your entire world had become just him.  

“... And if I didn’t come back?”

He slowly turns to look at you. A soft smile, of  love. There wasn’t any desire in it. It was pure. Genuine. As he is in love with your soul and wishes to spend eternity with the thought of you. With your existence, whatever that was. To be one until the heavens and the earth collide. 

“I would wait until you do.”

And for a second, the Prime no longer was. But just a spark. In his purest form. His faceplates open, he wants to say something but it's lost in words. He had given up so easily. Realizing that he has yet to find the right words to express his love for you. A love so vast that not even the best poets or writers could ever put into paper. 

If he could go back in time and stop himself from becoming a Prime, he would. Because being an archivist would have made him more eloquent, maybe then, he could describe to you a small fraction of his endless adoration. 

“Prime–”

“Guys!” Alex came out of the elevator, screaming and ruining the moment. “Sorry to interrupt but we have a message coming from Megatron!”

He tilts his head outside the elevator, blue eyes staring at the two of you. Noticing that he interrupted a romantic scenario, he just pointed a finger at the two of you. 

“Prime we need you, please make-out quickly!”

And with that, Alex leaves as soon as he appeared. 

“Well, now that you are here, I won’t be using this,” Optimus walks towards you and bends down on one knee. He is still too tall but you appreciate that he tries to see you faceplate to face. Using a servo, he caresses your hair and your soft skin. With so much adoration and devotion. 

  “I don’t have much time but I realized I haven’t thank you yet for carrying my Sparkling.”

He wants to hold you. Craving it. He wishes he could have time to tell you more. To whisper in your ears sweet things. To read to you the most lovely of poems. To just rot in a bed, indulging in nothing but love. 

But he can’t. Not now. 

“Creating a new life with you has been the greatest honor of my life.” 

He stands up, walks past you. Leaving you at a shock, at a state of awe. 

“Now, let us go,” he says. “Some things can’t wait.”

He'll wait until you call him by his first name again.

.

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A/N: It was fun to write this. Optimus panicking and not understanding the changes he is going through. I think on this he has accepted that he may not win you back but that won't stop him from loving you and his sparkling. Meanwhile you are falling for him all over again.

I wrote this because y'all liked the concept for Counting Stars and supported it a lot! So thank you everyone so much for the support.

This was a one shot and I continued it because there was lots of love but I don't have a certain story-line. To be honest I don't know how to continue it.

For the next chapter (if there is one) I was thinking that Megatron accidentally sends Reader to the Dark Dimension where Reader meets Nemesis Prime. In this dimension, Optimus loses Reader and his Sparkling, transforming him into an evil being.

Meanwhile in Reader's dimension, Optimus is losing it. Slowly spiraling into madness at the thought of never seeing Reader and his Sparkling again. Destroying everything on sight, the Autobots fight to keep Optimus at bay.

The plot would end with Optimus and Nemesis fighting to see who would keep Reader.

That storyline would take around 2-3 chapters and it would conclude this story.

But that is just a thought, I still don't if I'll continue this since I really need to focus on writing the next chapter for 'The Darkest Hour'

And I am currently working on a oneshot bayverse Optimus fic too so please look forward to it!

Again thank you for reading and sorry for any spelling and grammar mistakes.

See You in the next story!

Previous:

https://www.tumblr.com/t-a-a-1/771132293279580160/counting-stars?source=share

[somerandomcockroach]

Honestly decepticon prowl

I see his brain going 'if you can be ten steps ahead, why not be at LEAST twenty steps ahead?' to himself. In a mirror.

Barricade however seems rather clueless, not listening to certain things, communications officer with soundwave, barricade is the one to send in if someone HAS to be captured, he can endure a lot of mind games and trickery and has been known to come out with information instead of whatever falsities that he gave the autobots.

Prowl is smart, rarely seen, immoral, a walking grey line that somehow got on the decepticons side (?) however they aren't sure if he is, don't know where he is to get the upper hand of it to make sure he is.

Prowl knows enough about both sides he could stall the entire war, one side gets an advantage then the other gets lucky, and if a side pisses prowl off? They start losing for a little while, not enough to make a difference, but it happens.

The autobots... kind of know barricade, all of them know the tricky decepticon, except Red Alert, who knows barricade as a traitor. Why red alert? Because it's hard for anyone how knows him to question if he's serious or not. (Kill me I love idw version of red alert)

Anyway prowl being powerful yes... but in the mind way, Shockwave hates him.. only because Prowl throws a wrench in shockwaves backup plans, somehow, someway 'barricade' is curious and is known as a bad shot, he wanders, he is known to be an olay conversation, a little boring, but barricade is okay in everyone's book but shockwave..

Okay i gotta stop there, sorry to ramble... Imma go to my snacc collection now, hope you liked the ideas! 🍬

OH OH OH okay ahah okay I, I might really like to hear any rambles about people's ideas and looks on decepticon Prowl so feel free to ramble ahah Mmm, I think in Prowl's case it isn't an exaggeration to say that he needs to count 100+ moves ahead You just made he realise that he might end up being a good liar in such sircumstances? Like I always think of him as a bad liar because his face acts unproportionally to what he says. But his face movements are so barely noticable that maybe only Jazz and Red Alert could notice them (I didn't see enough of Red Alert in idw, I need more info on him I see people loving him pfehge) Barricade being clueless because he is busy coming up with the new tactical strategies while still doing him job so he loses some things he is said to. Oh god yes you made me realise that he is also sent on interrogations to get out information, autobots could learn about Barricade from here, a chance of someone running away. OH, Prowl is some kind of mistery just like Jazz. Prowl death bringer and Jazz life bringer to neutrals. One works undercover with decepticons, other undercover with autobots to help the ones who mustn't be involved in their war. (There would have been so many facts and details that shouldn't be on the front page but ahah let it be) OH Prowl was working with Primes. He was leading operations. He was responsible for Megatron's case when he was a gladiator. He knows enough of autobots' inner info. There is just one misconception. He was a Prowl back then. I wonder how he can trick everyone to believe Prowl is dead (seems easy but he wasn't a low figure to cover it was easily) unless he just made sure everyone who was working with him fell down under Prime's fire. I wonder if he changes his painting

OH mmm yes his plans could always be on the way of Soundwave's backup plans. So far in idw I saw that 1) Shockwave sometimes acts on his own too without Megatron knowing because he looks at possibilities of the world changing from the war 2) Soundwave ending up randomly anywhere ahah Pffffffht, "What do you mean you pissed off Prowl and we lost 3 squadrons a joor ago?!?""

[nothoughtsjustfic]

Thinking about: Nursery school teacher L.JH

💭Who: Lee Jihoon (Seventeen) x female reader 💭What: Humour. Fluff. Suggestive(18+). Established relationship. Nursery school teacher Jihoon. Single parent reader. 💭Word count: 1.9k 💭Warnings: Reader has a 5-year-old daughter. Wen Junhui is reader’s best friend and a menace. Yes, I want to point that out ahead of time. Reader is thirsty for her boyfriend and it’s very mutual. Some heavy kissing. Jihoon’s strength is mentioned as a point of interest for reader, and I just want to point that out because I think buffhoon needs a warning, okay. 💭Summary: “After almost five months, it’s time to tell your daughter that you’re in a relationship with her favourite teacher. You just hope it goes well.”

Minors do NOT interact, which means reblogging and/or commenting on this story. I WILL block any account that interacts without an age indicator in their bio.

Masterlist - Read the prequel “Precious” here (coming soon)

A/N - this was originally supposed to be very different, but when I tried to write that I got carried away and it came out at almost 12k, so that will be out at some point in February, and it shows how reader and Jihoon get together! It’s both angsty and fluffy and I really hope you’ll look forward to that! I’ll add the link above when it’s released.

It feels like it’s taken both forever and no time at all for this day to come. Even though you and Jihoon have talked about it at every chance over the past few weeks, you don’t feel at all prepared.

“You’ve got this,” Junhui encourages as he too harshly massages your shoulders once he stands behind you, just to be annoying. You yelp and jerk out of his reach to turn and slap his arm while he snickers and lets you, knowing you’ll never truly hurt him, just like he won’t you, bony thumbs in your shoulders aside.

“Why are you even still here?” You ask, trying to nudge him out of the kitchen.

“Moral support.”

“Bullshit, you just want to eat my food.”

“It’s a symbiotic relationship; I bless you with my presence and you feed me your mediocre cooking.” He cracks up cackling as you return to slapping him and even kick his thigh for good measure. “I’m kidding! I’m kidding! I taught you well!”

“Fuck off already,” you grumble and shove him away so that you can turn back to the pan and check on the progress of the contents.

“Fine, I can see when I’m not wanted,” your best friend retorts dramatically as he slinks out of the kitchen.

“Two decades too late!” Without even looking up, you just know that the man has backtracked to look at you from the doorway.

You’re proven right when you look up to see him peering at you from around the doorframe with dramatic puppy dog eyes and an exaggerated pout. “Don’t you wuv me?” He asks in an overly cutesy tone, making you fake a gag. He laughs and straightens up. “Later, loser.”

“Yeah, yeah, text me when you’re home.”

“You’re not, my mama!” He yells back, voice further away signalling he’s in the living room, which is confirmed when you hear him saying goodbye to your daughter with their usual prolonged farewell, including exchanging “I love you”sin multiple languages. Junhui doesn’t even know most of the languages, he just learned the phrases purely to tell your daughter he loves her in every way he can.

Your best friend is a strange, pain in your ass at the best of times, but you adore the everloving shit out of him, which only grew when your daughter came along, and he devoted himself to be the best uncle a little girl could ever want. Even though sometimes you say you wish he hadn’t taught her so many of his weird quirks and habits, you’re always genuinely so pleased to see your best friend in your daughter, and you hope their soul-deep bond never wavers.

When you hear the front door open minutes later, signalling that Junhui is leaving your apartment a whole half an hour later than he said he’d stay for, you hear him loudly and dramatically greeting your boyfriend.

“Juni! Guess who’s here!” Junhui sing-songs, followed by the patter of little feet before your daughter shrieks excitedly.

“Mr Lee!” She yells, and seconds later the door closes, though you hear Jihoon happily talking with Juni and a distinct lack of Junhui, proving that he’s finally gone and left you to handle this important dinner without him looming over your shoulder with a dumbass grin like a lanky, less stable Cheshire Cat.

“Smells good,” Jihoon comments as he enters the kitchen with Juni now somehow clinging to his back. You look over and smile at him in appreciation and greeting before focusing back on cooking, even if you want nothing more than to walk over and grab his precious face to plant the kiss on his lips that you’ve wanted to do since seeing him this morning at the drop off for Juni’s last day in his class.

“Mama maked your favourite!” Juni informs.

“Made,” Jihoon corrects gently and Juni hums and nods. “That’s very kind of her.”

“Yes,” Juni agrees. “You need to say thank you.”

“Ah, you’re right, I do,” Jihoon replies, amusement lacing his tone as he moves closer while effortlessly holding Juni up with only one hand under her backside.

You eye his arm with a squint, half sulking that he can so easily carry your daughter when it takes you both arms to achieve now that she’s getting bigger, but the other half of you is sulking because his usual work attire of casual yet smart, long-sleeved, button-up shirts hides his strong muscles from your gaze.

Jihoon says your name amusedly, making you look up at him instead of practically glaring at his sadly hidden, bulging bicep and find him smirking at you, well aware that you’re trying to burn away his shirt with your intense stare to get a look at your boyfriend’s strong arms.

Of course, he can’t say anything about it with your daughter literally attached to him and observing the pair of you in wait for Jihoon to show his appreciation for your thoughtfulness, so he just smirks around his words. “Thank you for making my favourite for dinner tonight, I appreciate the time and effort it takes to make, and I’ll eat it well.”

“You’re welcome, Jihoon,” you reply, purposely using his first name even though you usually call him Mr Lee in front of Juni so that she doesn’t gain the habit of calling him improperly at school.

As expected, it makes her perk up with a gasp. “Is that your real name, Mr Lee?!”

“Yeah, Nini, my name’s Jihoon, and now that I’m no longer your teacher, you can call me Jihoon when we’re not at school,” he answers and carefully swings her around from his back, with an unfair amount of ease, so that he can plop her backside on the counter in front of him.

“I have to say Mr Lee at school?”

“Yeah, even though Mr Kwon will be your teacher next year, I’m still a staff member and you have to call all staff by our surnames, don’t you.”

“Why?”

“It’s respect. We’re older and in charge of teaching and looking after you, so you should show your teachers and support staff respect.”

“Oh, otay,” she agrees simply and swings her legs a little as she looks over to watch what you’re doing. “When dinner ready, mama? I’m hungry.”

“Not long now, baby,” you promise. “You probably have time for another episode.”

“Yay!” Juni cheers and lifts her arms towards Jihoon, so he picks her up to place on her feet on the tiled flooring and lets her run off to the living room to watch another ten-minute episode of her current favourite show, even if you’re certain she’s already seen each one multiple times at this point.

Jihoon stands at the kitchen doorway to peer through to the living room and wait for Juni to be settled on the couch with her duck plushie, Bubba, in her arms and attention glued to the TV, before he stalks over to you and grabs your face to kiss you passionately.

You can’t help but whimper at the intensity of the kiss while eagerly going along with it, wrapping your arms around his neck as he backs you against the fridge with a firm grip on your hips.

It’s not a long kiss at all, yet you’re both panting when you pull apart and he knocks his forehead lightly against yours before settling there to catch his breath.

“Wanted to do that all fucking day,” he admits in a low murmur.

“I think you would’ve been fired if you kissed me like that on the playground,” you muse, earning a soft chuckle.

Jihoon presses a disarmingly sweet and short kiss to your tingling lips before letting go and backing up, making you pout disapprovingly. Of course, he notices and smirks at you teasingly. “What’s the matter, baby?”

“Get your ass back here, Lee Jihoon,” you demand, pointing to the spot right in front of you.

“But dinner,” he gasps theatrically, and you think he’s been spending too much time with Junhui and Soonyoung aka Mr Kwon.

Who, apparently, Junhui once knew from his teen dance group and the pair have decided to rekindle their friendship full of dance and theatrics, which they use to tease yourself and Jihoon whenever the four of you get together while Juni is with her sweet as sugar best friend, Danil.

“It’s fine, come here,” you whine, trying to grab his shirt but he remains just out of arms reach and you don’t move your back away from the fridge.

Another dramatic gasp accompanies his next jibe, “But Juni is-” he cuts off with a yelp when you suddenly lean forward enough to grab a fistful of his shirt over his chest and yank him in. He stumbles into place in front of you and catches himself with his forearms on the fridge either side of your head.

“Shut the fuck up and kiss me.”

“So demanding,” he murmurs and slides one hand down the metal surface until he can fit his palm against your jaw before tilting his head forward to slot your lips together.

You keep one hand against his chest, feeling his contently thudding heart against your palm, as your other holds onto his waist and encourages him closer when his tongue swipes teasingly against your lips.

Of course, you don’t hesitate to return the gesture and let your tongues find each other to slide together and make him moan softly in approval and pleasure, causing the warmth beginning to fizzle under your skin to burn brighter.

Maybe Jihoon had been right, even if he had just been trying to wind you up and tease, as a sudden, loud gasp from the doorway sounds and alerts you to the fact that your daughter is suddenly present.

In an instant, the two of you pull apart and try to look like you weren’t just tongue deep in each other’s mouths as you face Juni.

You open your mouth to try to explain and tell her the news you were really hoping to be a post-dinner conversation, yet Juni beats you to the punch.

“Are you boyfriend-girlfriend?!” She shrieks.

“Uhm,” you respond eloquently, then look at Jihoon, who is already turning to look at you. You share a look with your boyfriend, silently deciding that you might as well just get it over with before you look at Juni and nod slightly. “Yeah.”

Juni stares at you with wide eyes for a moment before she excitedly yells then runs over to attach herself to you both at once while blabbering about being happy that you are finally boyfriend-girlfriend. You decide to tell her at a later point that you’ve actually been “boyfriend-girlfriend” with her previous teacher for four months already and dating for a few weeks before that.

You and Jihoon exchange a surprised yet pleased look at how easy this was and how enthusiastic your daughter is about your relationship, though silently just decide to accept this blessing for what it is and simply get to work setting up the table for dinner.

When everything is in place, you both sit down with Juni at the head of the table between you like always, while remaining wordlessly relieved that you don’t have to awkwardly explain exactly what you and Jihoon kissing means.

Before you can help Juni when she struggles to reach her cup, Jihoon silently reaches out to move it within her reach so that she can pick it up with both hands carefully.

“Thank you, daddy,” Juni says innocently, just as Jihoon takes some of his own drink into his mouth, making him promptly choke and spray the liquid over his plate in shock.

Okay, maybe you do need to explain it a bit, after all.

Don’t forget to reblog if you liked to help spread the story and let others read it too! And don't be shy to leave comments or send an ask so I can see your thoughts 🥺 💖

Permanent taglist: @okiedokrie, @tusswrites, @svtiddiess

[theartisticcrow]

I spent a few minutes just using a reverse image search and I think I found the origin. And oh hey would you look at that, it's ai. Because of course it fuckin' is.

I'm genuinely horrified by how precise this fuckin' ai bullshit has gotten. I miss the days of weird fucked up horses that you could tell was obviously ai. Like it's not just a silly, harmless thing.

It takes a lot if energy and resources to make this slop work. It slurps up the entire power grid to make an fake image with no soul, no creativity, and no talent.

Capitalism. Just capitalism in general. Need I explain any further? I'm not exaggerating when I say this shit is leaving people unemployed. It's been happening for a while now. Because big corporations see this stuff and they decide to replace their talented artists with ai so that they don't have to keep paying people money to do their job.

It just sucks the joy and creativity out of everything. It's bland and lifeless. I am an artist. I write and I draw. Believe me when I tell you it's not about the end product. It never was. It's about having fun, being creative, thinking about each intricate detail and colouring in a blank page. The process is the fun part.

I want ai to do my dishes and laundry so that I have time to write and draw. Not the other way round. If you put the time and effort into actually creating your own thing, I think you'll appreciate it a lot more than if it was some piece of ai sludge.

It's theft. It scraps the internet and steals from other works of art all to create a dumpster fire of an image.

Ai is just a waste of resources. It's garbage, it's disgusting slop. How lazy must you be to decide you need a machine to do your hobbies for you? You can learn to draw. I encourage people to learn how to draw. Your age doesn't matter. Just pick up a pencil and don't stop. It's fun. Creating is fun. Even the mistakes are what gives it life. And if you don't want to draw, go find a friend or commission an artist online. It's not that hard. Ai doesn't help anyone, it's just a scourge on humanity.

The Veldt by Ray Bradbury should be required reading at this point for a number of reasons and this is one of them.

"A cadaverousness of complexion; an eye large, liquid and very luminous...finely molded chin, speaking, in its want of prominence, of a want of moral energy." -Edgar Allan Poe, "The Fall of the House of Usher"

(Not my art nor do I know if it's "AI" I just don't give a fuck thanks have a great fucking day!)

[endiness]

"Epic fantasy has responded poorly to too much oversight from above. I think that was The Witcher’s problem. You had that visionary: It was Henry Cavill. And they didn’t want to listen to him. So, well, there you go." — Brandon Sanderson

Yeah, anyway, just a friendly reminder that Henry Cavill massively over-exaggerated how much of a fan he was of the franchise and how much he knew about it as he hadn't even read the books when he first sought out the role because he thought that the books were based off the games (and for some reason despite proclaiming himself to be such a lorebuff, he ~curiously never bothered to check them out; he can't have ever googled or wiki'd the series, either, despite finding out that Netflix was making the show from the internet, because if he had, then surely he would've learned that the games were actually based on the books and would've read them; and somehow he also ~curiously never noticed that the first thing credited in the games is Sapkowski and the books.) He only read the books after Lauren told him about them and even then, he only read the series once right before he was cast in 2018. He also only ever really played the third game and even then, he never played the DLC for it.

By his own admission, he also didn't actually do any research or preparation for the role because, as established above, he hadn't read the books when he first sought out the role, he only read the series once after Lauren told him about the books, and he's really only played the third game.

"I asked my agent to put me on the spot and wanted to meet Lauren as soon as possible. I didn’t even need to prepare specially for the role. Because I breathe, I experience this universe every day. I’ve already had many opportunities to think about this character when I was playing the game. My preparation was already done before the casting even began!"

Henry Cavill was also directly responsible for a lot of the show's deviations from the books, or he at least had a hand in them, and the idea the he was such an advocate for the source material is actually just a massive pr campaign he ran against Lauren, the writers, and the show to deflect from his own responsibility for those changes and because he was mad about how he was co-lead with two women and the general prominence of women on the show.

He fucked up Geralt's characterization in S1 and made it inaccurate to the books by cutting his lines and either saying nothing or just grunting instead — often leaving his scene partners in the position of not knowing what was going on and if he was going to say his lines and even having to take his lines just in order to move the plot along. (Half of Geralt's dialogue was cut in the S1 finale, btw.)

"Henry tends to cut his lines, say less, which means I have to say more. So I had to improvise quite often." — Joey

Then in the press for S2, Henry Cavill started heavily pushing the narrative about how important adhering to the source material is to him and how much he advocated for a more book accurate, verbose Geralt — and not only did he virtually never take any responsibility for how it was due to his acting choices that happened in the first place, but he also lied about the whole thing and tried to act like Geralt was never originally written as being verbose and blamed Geralt's lack of dialogue on Yennefer and Cir's prominence — which can't be true as confirmed by Lauren. (Yennefer and Ciri's scenes were actually the ones cut in S1, btw.)

He tried to act like he was inspired by Doug Cockle's performance to make up for the lack of Geralt's dialogue — which can't be true because he only decided to use his "Geralt" voice in January 2019 but filming for the show started late October/early November 2018 and meanwhile he started cutting Geralt's lines from the pilot episode.

And he tried to act like the lines he was cutting weren't even really that important anyway so it didn't really matter that he was cutting them — which can't be true as confirmed by Joey.

Whenever Henry Cavill went on about how important adhering to the source material is to him in the press for S2 as if Lauren's vision of the show was somehow contradictory to that and the books, he was actually just mad about the prominence of women on the show. (Ciri is the main character of the main book series, btw, and women move the plot forward in the books in massive ways and are absolutely integral to the story.)

(In the press for S2, he also went on about how important men being three dimensional characters is to him as if women being three dimensional characters on the show somehow came at the expense of the male characters.) (Also, here's a quote from him during the press for S2: "I believe that real men are very sensitive. They are very capable of doing things which can be violent, if possible, or necessary. But at the same time, they are incredibly capable of love and caring amongst men and towards children and family and all sorts." Weird that he doesn't specifically list women as people that real sensitive, violent men can be loving and caring towards and reduces them to just being part of "all sorts." 🤔)

Henry Cavill also fucked up Geralt and Jaskier's friendship — beyond, y'know, just cutting Geralt's dialogue in scenes with Jaskier. (Imo given everything he's said, I think it's likely a lot of the dialogue he was cutting in their scenes was any, all, or most affirmation on Geralt's side of things that he cares about Jaskier and that they're friends and, in general, just any positivity toward Jaskier and their friendship .)

"In the books, they are very, very close friends. That is so obvious. They speak to each other fondly. The opportunity is different in this story because Jaskier turns up and he’s not an immediate player straight away. We sort of had to show that essence of Geralt and Joey playing the complete opposite, which creates a wonderful dynamic. If I were to play it more directly like the books, it wouldn’t quite have the same sense of two fated friends. They’d just be like, “Hey, buddy!” Instead, Geralt cares deeply for Jaskier, whether he wants to admit it or not."

He cut a sex scene between Geralt and Yennefer in S2 because he didn't understand Geralt and Yennefer's characters and their relationship dynamic as it absolutely would've been in character of them to have sex after reuniting.

"We wanted it to be emotional rather than sexual. It was really, really important and we had to lean away from what was originally on the page. […] That's not how they behave. How they behave is they just want to be with the person and emotionally recognize their existence again in that shared space."

He nixed even the idea of Geralt and Triss just platonically finding comfort with each other — which is what happens in the books.

"The thing that was important to me, which we took directly from the books, is that Triss asks Geralt to spend the night with her and, in the books, he actually says yes once she says just basically lay with me, nothing is going to happen. Henry felt very, very strongly that when we were playing this scene he still believed that his one true love, Yennefer of Vengerberg, was dead. He was still mourning her. So he didn't actually want to go that extra step and have them have any intimacy whatsoever." — Lauren

He didn't want to play Geralt struggling with fatherhood in any way in S2 nor with any character flaws and only positive character traits (because he was overcompensating for how he fucked up Geralt's characterization in S1 and was embarrassed that redditors were dunking on him for it and that even the show was completely harmlessly making fun of Geralt's "grumpy snowman" characterization) — all of which resulted in the domino effect of Yennefer's betrayal, Eskel's death (which in itself led to Vesemir trying to create new witchers and Lambert's harsher attitude toward Ciri), and Voleth Meir being the big bad of the season.

So yeah, anyway, a friendly reminder that the conspiracy theory that Henry Cavill ragequit the show because he just cares about the source material oh so much and he's the only one in the cast and crew to know anything about it and he's the only reason why the show followed the books in any way whatsoever is, actually, just a conspiracy theory based off nothing more than Henry Cavill saying that he cares about the source material while all of his actions and everything else he's said, as established above, proves otherwise. 👍

[weirdglassthing]

ouaw doodle dump!!

[elbiotipo]

Every day I get comments on my worldbuilding posts that aren't worth getting angry about but they're boring stuff like "I mostly agree with you OP that worldbuilding is important but It Depends on the Kind Of Story you want to tell and it shouldn't get in the way of The Plot and The Characters and you should Write What You Want" can you stop being such a centrist and write the ethnobotany paper I told you to

[catscraftsandcommentary]

The ghosts are silent.

Jaskier can see them when no one else can, but even he can't hear them. The ghosts seem to understand this, and several of them use hands handsigns with him.

(It's not until he reaches Oxenfurt and learns about language development and languages in deaf cultures that he starts to REALLY communicate with them, but pointing and exaggerating body language can do a LOT, he learned that early on.)

(He still has to see a ghost fairly frequently to work out a language with someone, but still. Ghosts can pass messages between themselves, and then one can help translate, and...he gets better at it, is the point.)

Growing up, several of his ancestors show him little secrets on the grounds or indicate that "good old family stories" are so much bullshit, and occasionally keep him out of trouble. Or just from getting caught.

(But not all the time. Some of them think being caught is good for him, he learns that too.)

And then he gets to court, and...well...

He'd been used to the friendly ghosts. The ones who liked him, who would keep any meaner ghosts away from their young descendant. He wasn't used to angry ghosts trying to hit HIM just because he's noble, he's part of the class that caused their death.

He doesn't know enough not to tell a Duke "you murdered thirty women, and they are ANGRY, and I hope they get you before you get someone new." Especially when he's the youngest son of a minor noble. Barely more important than the servants.

He goes to Oxenfurt very quickly, is the thing.

Not everyone becomes a ghost. He knew that already, but he learns it again. And again. And then again. He doesn't know what makes someone a ghost or not, and he VERY carefully avoids letting any mages know about his ability. He doesn't want them testing to figure it out, or trying to figure out why he gained the ability to see them, or looking for a way to touch and hear them.

All the ghosts near mages made the importance of staying away VERY clear. And then a little more graphic than that. Sometimes they worked together, pointing and miming, and...yeah. He's not going there, thanks.

But horses...horses are nice. He doesn't see many animal ghosts, or not many who are still sharp and clear, like they still know what they are and how they lived. And he grew up with horses, he knows them, and these...

...they like the witcher. No, they LOVE him. They run into each other all the time coming up to him, they perk up when he moves, they follow his moods.

He's formed an entire HERD of ghost horses, most of them very similar even when he tries to squint past the ghostly sheen, and none of them fight him or are scared when they stand by him.

Jaskier needs to KNOW. He needs to UNDERSTAND. He needs to - okay, yes, he also really wants to ride that man like a stallion, put him through his paces, et cetera and so forth, FUCK THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS OUT OF HIM.

But that's for later. Maybe. Probably. He might do it first, if there's a chance.

(He'll never admit that the ghost Roaches save his ass from a hidden danger ten times in his first month with Geralt, but they so do. And he doesn't have ghost carrots, but he can try to scratch them, kiss their noses, talk to them kindly.)

Gods, it is HEARTBREAKING to hear Geralt call Roach, and thirty pairs of ears perk up, but he can only see the one. Jaskier will write a song about it, but he wants to get it exactly right, and...it's not ready yet.

(Repatriating another meme from Facebook)

Also, most of the horses are brown mares with a white blaze and 1-3 white socks, which makes it EVEN MORE surreal.

Jaskier is like "there is a STORY here, and I WANT IT. Also I want to ride him LIKE a horse, but that can come later. Maybe."

And then he spends the next few decades going "dear gods, this man is an IDIOT but I would CHANGE THE WORLD for him. Such an asshole. Please let me suck your cock already, you fucker."

@everything-but-the-not-natural

[emmavakarian-theirin]

god the amount of art i would pump out if i stopped letting lineart talk me out of it i would be unstoppable

[bmpmp3]

My sudden onset and inexplicable obsession with genbu in the past year is really fun because I'm developing a lot of tuning skills that apply to literally no other voicebank and will never apply to any others again

[mantisgodsdomain]

The greatest curse of Us, without a doubt, is the... us-centrism of the fact that we are Us and no one else. Our view on the world is limited and we are frequently subject to the logical fallacy of The Curse Of Knowledge and we're even more frequently beset upon by the fact that some people, like, are Genuinely Averse to depictions of things they've Dealt With themselves.

Like, what do you mean you're talking about this thing as a reason that this media sucks? What do you mean you actively avoid media that depicts things you went through? Do you not gain that feeling of connection from watching people go through something similar to what you did? Do you lack the feelings that are so easy to conjure up in a strong way from seeing a character dealing with the Same Damn Shit? Do you not look at art to feel things?

[forrome]

.

[salmoncakepls]

...🦌?

[dappermouth]

What animals do you enjoy drawing the most? Which ones are easiest to draw and which ones are the hardest? Love your art btw!

Good question! I like drawing even-toed ungulates (esp. deer and goats), my brain kind of 'gets' how their faces/bodies work and their features are easy to exaggerate to neat effect.

The easiest animals to draw are housecats (maybe because I've lived with them my whole life and gazed long into their perfect faces).

For me the toughest animals to draw are canines of all kinds. Dogs, foxes, wolves. I put them in my work frequently because I like them and I need to, but it's really hard, every time. Comically difficult for me.

— ok side note but while answering this ask i have just learned that orcas are even-toed ungulates and it has me very fucked up — i didn't know where to cram this info but i can't be alone with it rn

[caparrucia]

Full offense and pun fully intended, but I genuinely think the very existence of "dead dove, do not eat" was a fucking canary in the mines, and no one really paid attention.

Because the tag itself was created as a response to a fandom-wide tendency to disregard warnings and assume tagging was exaggerated. And then the same fucking idiots reading those tags describing things they found upsetting or disturbing or just not to their taste would STILL click into the stories and give the writer's grief about it.

And as a response writers began using the tag to signal "no, really, I MEAN the tags!"

But like.

If you really think about it, that's a solution to a different problem. The solution to "I know you tagged your story appropriately but I chose to disregard the tags and warnings by reading it anyway, even though I knew it would upset me, so now I'm upset and making it your problem" is frankly a block, a ban and wide-spread blacklisting. But fandom as a whole is fucking awful at handling bad faith, insidious arguments that appeal to community inclusion and weaponize the fact most people participating in fandom want to share the space with others, as opposed to hurting people.

So instead of upfront ridiculing this kind of maladaptive attempt to foster one's own emotional self-regulation onto random strangers on the internet, fandom compromised and came up with a redundant tag in a good faith attempt to address an imaginary nuance.

There is no nuance to this.

A writer's job is to tag their work correctly. It's not to tag it exhaustively. It's not even to tag it extensively. A writer's sole obligation, as far as AO3 and arguably fandom spaces are concerned, is to make damn sure that the tags they put on their story actually match whatever is going on in that story.

That's it.

That's all.

"But what if I don't want to read X?" Well, you don't read fic that's tagged X.

"But what if I read something that wasn't tagged X?" Well, that's very unfortunate for you, but if it is genuinely that upsetting, you have a responsibility to yourself to only browse things explicitly tagged to not include X.

"But that's not a lot of fic!" Hi, you must be new here, yes, welcome to fandom. Most of our spaces are built explicitly as a reaction to There's Not Enough Of The Thing I Want, both in canon and fandom.

"But there are things on the internet that I don't like!" Yeah, and they are also out there, offline. And, here's the thing, things existing even though we personally dislike or even hate or even flat out find offensive/gross/immoral/unspeakable existing is the price we pay to secure our right to exist as individuals and creators, regardless of who finds US personally unpleasant, hateful or flat out offensive/gross/immoral/unspeakable.

"But what about [illegal thing]?!" So the thing itself is illegal, because the thing itself has been deemed harmful. But your goddamn cop-poisoned authoritarian little heart needs to learn that sometimes things are illegal that aren't harmful, and defaulting to "but illegal!" is a surefire way to end up on the wrong side of the fascism pop quiz. You're not a figure of authority and the more you demand to control and exercise authority by command, rather than leadership, the less impressive you seem. You know how you make actual, genuine change in a community? You center harm and argue in good faith to find accommodations and spread awareness of real, actual problems.

But let's play your game. Let's pretend we're all brainwashed cop-abiding little cogs that do not own a single working brain cell to exercise critical thinking with. 99% of the time, when you cry about any given thing "being illegal!!!" you're correct only so far as the THING itself being illegal. The act or object is illegal. Depiction of it is not. You know why, dipshit? Because if depiction of the thing were illegal, you wouldn't be able to talk about it. You wouldn't be able to educate about it. You wouldn't be able to reexamine and discuss and understand the thing, how and why and where it happens and how to prevent it. And yeah, depiction being legal opens the door for people to make depictions that are in bad taste or probably not appropriate. Sure. But that's the price we pay, creating tools to demystify some of the most horrific things in the world and support the people who've survived them. The net good of those tools existing outweighs the harm of people misusing them.

"You're defending the indefensible!" No, you're clumsily stumbling into a conversation that's been going on for centuries, with your elementary school understanding of morality and your bone-deep police state rot filtering your perception of reality, and insisting you figured it out and everyone else at the table is an idiot for not agreeing with you. Shut the fuck up, sit the fuck down and read a goddamn book.