#(i can also give a real answer at some point but this about sums it up)

[st-eve-barnes]

Leverage (Michael Gavey x fem Reader)

Chapter 2

Summary: When your ex threatens to release some very personal videos you are left with no choice but to do what he asks: seduce the biggest nerd on campus, Michael Gavey. Will you rock his world or will he fundamentally change yours?

This chapter: Michael starts tutoring you but things are off to a rocky start.

Word count: +1900

Warning for the entire fic: 18+ for explicit content and language. Kissing, oral sex (male receiving), dry humping, hand job, fingering, p in v sex. First kiss and loss of virginity. Experienced reader. Enemies to lovers vibes.

Fluff, smut and of course angst (my favorite combination! lol) I haven't watched Saltburn yet so all characters in this fic except for Michael are my own.

Read Chapter 1 Here

***

All my fics are also on AO3

***

After almost two hours of Michael’s tutoring you were beginning to contemplate throwing in the towel and just letting Ben release that video. What’s the worst that could happen anyway?

Michael had been cocky as soon as you had sat down in front of him in the library that evening. Right now he was bordering on rude and very obviously growing more impatient with you by the minute. And the faster he talked the less you listened, leaving you both frustrated.

You had a splitting headache and all the numbers and calculations were just dancing across the page now, mocking you. None of it made any sense, no matter how many different ways Michael tried to explain it all to you. 

You were good with history, languages, art or psychology. Numbers were hell on earth.

“Are you even listening?” Michael sighed impatiently, leaning back in his chair and stretching his arms behind his head.

“Yes,” you nodded, followed by a heavy sigh,”No, ugh..I’m sorry, I just…I lost my focus about an hour ago.”

“An hour ago? You didn’t even have it to begin with,” Michael called you out.

“I just don’t know how this is so easy for you, like you don’t even have to think about it at all.”

“That’s because I don’t,” he answered smugly, making you roll your eyes.”Go on. Ask me a sum.”

You sighed some more but indulged him anyway,”33 times 20.”

He gave you a look,”Don’t insult me, a real sum.”

“333 times 444.”

“147.852,” he answered without even blinking. You had no way of knowing if his answer was even correct but you didn’t doubt it for a second.

“How did you do that so fucking fast?”

“I don’t know, I can just do it, in my head, I don’t have to think about it.”

“Lucky you,” you rolled your eyes again.

“They’re gonna get stuck in your head if you keep doing that, you know,” he teased, making you squint your eyes at him.

He shook his head with a little amused grin,“Ask me another one then.”

“It’s fine, you made your point, you’re a genius.”

“Ask me another one, just to be sure,” he insisted.

“Michael, it’s fine, I get it.”

‘Ask me another fucking sum!” he raised his voice, making the few other people in the library look up at you both with annoyed looks on his face. You wanted to crawl under the table and disappear.

“Alright, fucking hell…1245 times 987.”

“1.228.815,” he answered, giving you another satisfied little smile.

You just stared at him without saying anything.

“My brain works different from yours,” he then explained.

“Yeah, no shit.”

You were beginning to see why Ben was so threatened by him, Michael was an actual mathematical genius, Ben didn’t stand a chance at that internship. That thought suddenly filled you with immense joy. And then fear, because if Ben didn’t stand a chance then what were you even doing here?

Michael watched as your face fell.

“Do you want to take a break?” he suggested.

You nodded,”Yeah, a permanent one, I’m never going to get this.” You dropped your head onto the table and let out a desperate little whine.

Michael just shook his head,”So you’re a quitter, I would say I’m shocked but my mum told me never to tell a lie.”

You lifted your head to give him an angry glare but he just ignored you and closed his books, not giving you time to object before he was up and out of his seat.

“When you’re serious about wanting to learn, you know where to find me,” he said,”Until then…stop wasting my time.”

“Michael,” you sighed but he was already walking away from you, and with it your last chance to stop Ben.

You couldn’t let this happen, if you let him go now your fate was sealed.

“Michael, wait!” you rushed after him without thinking, finding him halfway in one of the book shelves. 

You grabbed at his arm to stop him, taking him by surprise. 

He froze, eyes staring wildly at the spot where your hand was touching his arm. But he didn’t pull back or try to stop you. Instead he almost seemed to lean into your space a little, accepting your touch, his mouth opened in a surprised little sigh when your fingers gently closed around his elbow. 

Of course the nerd was touch starved, it was almost too predictable. And was that a blush creeping up on his pale cheeks?

Ben had been right, Michael clearly wasn’t used to being touched, especially not by a woman. But he didn’t seem to dislike it, at all.

Maybe this mission wasn’t so impossible after all.

It was a desperate move, you realized that, but desperate is what you were.

“Please, wait,” you begged again, placing your other hand on his wrist while you gave him your best sad eyes and pouty lips,”You can’t give up on me, Michael. Please, you’re the only one who can help me, I need you.”

You watched him swallow hard at those last words, his eyes flickering from yours down to your lips and back up again.

He was staring now, shamelessly, not even trying to hide it. You used his obvious interest to lean in closer, so close he could almost feel your breath against his cheek and when you slowly and very deliberately licked your lips you could hear him bite back a quiet whimper. 

You took another step forward and carefully pressed your body up against his. That’s when you felt it, undeniably, he was hard. You had barely touched him and yet he was rock hard in his stupid cargo pants. 

You had him right where you wanted him and you could have sworn he was about to close that final distance between you two and pull you in for a kiss.

But then he leaned back and his thin lips curled up into a smug, annoyed grin.

“What are you playing at?” he asked.

“What do you mean? I’m not playing….”

“Stop lying to me, you stupid girl,” he growled and took a few steps back from you,”You say you want a tutor but you don’t give a shit about what I’m trying to teach you and now you want to…what….seduce me? How daft do you think I am?”

“I don’t think you’re daft at all!”

“I know this isn’t about math and it sure as hell isn’t about you wanting to get into my pants, girls like you don’t want nerds like me.”

“Girls like me?” you asked, staring at him with anger in your eyes,”Oh, you mean stupid girls like me? Listen, you little shit…”

“I meant pretty girls like you,” he interrupted you, shutting you up instantly.

He took a step closer again, towering over you and forcing you to lean against the book shelves behind you.

“What is it you want from me then?” he mused, as if he was asking the question more to himself and not you,”You’ve never paid any attention to me before this week…not until…I saw you scheming with Ben in the library a few days ago.”

Your eyes widened at his statement and it was enough for Michael to know he was onto something.

“I fucking knew it,” he shook his head and laughed,”What does that twat want from me this time, hmm?”

“Nothing,” you answered, too quickly.

“You’re a bad liar, girl.”

His stare was making you nervous, you wanted to blurt out everything to him and at the same time run away and never speak another word again. But there was no place to run from Ben and his ugly threats. Michael was your only ticket out of that bad spot.

He stepped back from you with a sigh,“Fine. Whatever. Tell your rich little friend that whatever you and him want from me he’s not going to get it, under any circumstances. Can you remember that or should I write it down for you?”

You nodded, feeling tears well up in your eyes. Michael’s harsh tone combined with the hopelessness of your situation was suddenly too much and you burst out into tears.

To your surprise Michael’s whole demeanor changed instantly and he rubbed his hand over his face with a heavy sigh.

You started crying,“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to involve you in this shit, I’m so sorry, Michael.”

For a moment he just looked at you, your tears and desperation too real for him to ignore.

Then he leaned back against the book shelves next to you, not saying a word. You looked up at him through your teary lashes and it was the first time you could see real compassion in his blue eyes. ”What does he have on you?” he asked softly.

”We used to date, he has some…private material he’s threatening to release.”

“Fucking prick,” Michael spat out.

“Yeah, he really is and I’m an idiot for ever being with him,” you wiped at your tears and looked surprised when Michael reached into his pocket and handed you a handkerchief. It looked like the ones your grandma used to have and you couldn’t help but smile through your tears.

”Thanks,” you sobbed and used it to wipe your cheeks dry.

“So…what did he want you to do in return then?”

”He wants that internship at Charter Inc.”

Michael nodded knowingly,”Yeah, that one is mine.”

“I know,” you smiled weakly,”That’s why he…he wanted me to distract you.”

Michael scoffed,”Jesus fuck, what an idiot. There’s nothing on this earth he can do to keep me from getting that job.”

You nodded,”I know.”

And with that realization came more tears. You used Michael’s handkerchief to keep them at bay.

“Do you think he’d actually do it?” he asked,”Are they just empty threats?”

“I honestly don’t know what he’s capable of and I don’t want to find out.”

You both stayed quiet for a while. Michael didn’t make any attempts to comfort you or touch you, but he didn’t move from his spot right next to you either.

“What can I do?” he asked.

“I don’t know if there’s anything you can do, Michael, this isn’t your problem, or your fight.”

He nodded,”Yeah, you’re right, it isn’t.”

You could feel your stomach drop in defeat.

“But,” he then added,”I’d really fucking hate to see a rich kid win in life.”

You couldn’t help but laugh through your tears.”Got any ideas?”

He thought about that for a little while and then he nodded,”We could…make him believe his plan is working? I mean, for now, until we can come up with something better.”

“How?”

“He won’t do anything as long as he believes you’re on board, yeah?”

“I guess not.”

“So we pretend that you’re…distracting me.”

You laughed bitterly at his choice of words.”He wants me to fuck you, that’s what he means by distracting you. You realize that, right?” you then blurted out and Michael snorted out loud but he regained his composure quickly.

“Then…I guess we pretend that you’re fucking me,” he said calmly, letting his eyes meet yours. You felt a shiver run up your spine, the good kind.

“Alright,” you nodded.

“Alright,” Michael repeated, keeping his eyes on you for a few moments too long before he eventually looked away and nervously pushed his glasses up his nose, smiling shyly,”When do we start then?”

#michael gavey x reader #michael gavey #michael gavey x you #michael gavey x female reader #ewan mitchell fanfic #michael gavey smut

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Gale Rates: All the break ups of Ramona and her Evil exes

Criteria:

1. It will have 3 ratings. How bad the break up is, How much fault is on the Ex, and How much fault is on Ramona.

2. It will be rated 0 out of 10. 0 being that it was not their fault, 10 being it was completely their fault.

3. This is going as objective as possible. I will be using the Original source (the comics) and any supplemental source that gives insight on the break up.

__________________________________________

1. Matthew Patel

Ratings: Break up: 3/10

The relationship always felt like a means to an end. Plus it was middle school and it barely counts

Matthew’s Fault: 3/10

From my understanding he was too immature and his Capriciousness (moody) , but it was Ramona that indeed ended the relationship and he didn’t take it well

Ramona’s Fault: 7/10

Ramona said up front the only reason she dated him was to get the jocks off her back and because he wasn’t a Jock and wasn’t white (her own words). Which really makes it a means to an end. She doesn’t make it sound like he didn’t know this. But Ramona could have handled it better.

___________________________________________

Lucas Lee

Break up: 10/10

Considering Lucas felt this was a big deal and he was cheated on, it’s clear that this was a hurtful break up. As For Ramona she hardly seemed to think much of the relationship. But still it is completely on their actions it ended

Lucas Fault: 1/10

Ramona did mention that there was a lot of Drama in their relationship. To the point that she wasn’t sure what class she met him (drama, or math). But even so Ramona ended up leaving him for her next Evil Ex which she cheated on him with. Now I can’t fault Lucas too much, because he doesn’t even hold much ill will towards her, he hates Todd more. At worse he was described as whiny.

Ramona’s Fault: 9/10

She cheated on him. Like that pretty much sums it up. She might have not really considered it much of a relationship, And I’m being understanding and trying to be as objective as possible. Ramona has completely created this Evil Ex,

________________________________________

Todd Ingram

Break up: 2/10

They ended up breaking up cause they were going to different colleges and it was mutual. They were the bad kids together but there was no real malice in the split

Ramona: 4/10

As mentioned above, it was a mutual break up cause they were going to different colleges. Ramona even pointed out that Todd was a bad guy known for fooling around. And she was mortified by the moon thing. So even though the break up was mutual, I feel like she still would break it off sooner or later.

Todd: 6/10

As mentioned above, it was a mutual break up cause they were going to different colleges. But Todd also had a girl back home he was waiting for him. And he was a prick.

___________________________________________

Roxie Richter

Break up: 8/10

Ramona's university roommate and the only ex-girlfriend. She alleges that their relationship was just a phase. But as expanded upon in Scott Pilgrim takes off, Roxie fell hard for her and the way they broke up was Ramona leaving without saying a word. So it was heartbreaking and sad.

Ramona’s Fault: 8/10

While not as bad as what she did to Lucas, I find what she did to Roxie on a similar level. Ramona never really gives a reason aside from it was a phase. Which Roxie is hurt by. I can’t entirely fault Ramona because if you realize you aren’t into another sex (or just not attracted To Roxie) you shouldn’t stay out of obligation. But that being said, she should have talked with Roxie about it.

Roxie’s Fault: 2/10

Roxie really isn’t at fault here, I guess the only thing one could argue is she could have pushed Ramona to get some answers and maybe be a bit more forthcoming with her feelings. But that is really all I can say. Though in the comic Roxie and Ramona have a more friendly relationship.

____________________________________________

Kyle & Ken Katayanagi

(Mostly they are in the background I’m sorry)

Break up: 10/10

Ramona blatantly cheated on them with eachother. Like yea according to her they were womanizers and sleazy, but it never made it sound like they were cheaters or anything worse. And the relationship ended when they found out about the cheating

Ramona’s Fault: 10/10

She intentionally did this. This is her fault which she admits. And quite frankly I feel bad for the twins, screwed over by screen time and Ramona. I will point out how intentionally f***ed this is

Kyle & Ken Katayanagi: 0/10

Maybe they were complete douchebags, but they got intentionally played by Ramona. It’s often skipped over but it’s probably the most justified why these guys are Evil Exes. At least they have eachother.

___________________________________________

Gideon Graves

Break up: 10/10

Gideon was an abusive asshole that experimented on Ramona and got angry when she left because she ended the relationship and his ego couldn’t understand why

Gideon’s Fault: 10/10

Gideon is an abusive asshole that thinks he’s God’s gift to humanity and can’t understand why people would ever want to leave him. He EXPERIMENTED on Ramona. Not experimented with like in a kinky way, but in a science lab rat kind of way. This doesn’t even include what he WAS planning to do with her later. Point is, this one’s on him.

Ramona’s Fault: 0/10

See above, she is 100% valid for leaving that abusive relationship.

#scott pilgram vs the world #scott pilgrim takes off #scott pilgrim #evil exes #ramona flowers #Ramona’s evil exes #matthew patel #todd ingram #gideon graves #roxie richter #Lucas Lee

[thewarmblanket]

How do na’vi feed their babies?

I’ve been writing a WIP that revolves around a pregnancy since june and I still have no idea. I’ve heard and seen so many answers from they can’t breastfeed bc of their low body fat to actually they do breastfeed to actually they use their kurus

That is a good question! Actually whole fandom now struggles to answer that since we've got some new info about na'vi birthing process in the script for ATWOW.

WARNING! So everything I'm going to tell is yet not been proven to be canon!!!! But since before that we didn't have almost any information at all... It's up to you to use it or not. (and sorry it took me so long to get to the point 😅😅)

Firstly a little about na'vi gestation period and birth. It is not stated how long it takes, but we know that it is split into trimesters and na'vi actually "give birth" in the end of the second trimester! They give birth to a translucent chrysalis called "tsalnu".

And for the third trimester mother nourishes her baby with kuru. And when times comes for the baby to "hatch" that is when the na'vi are born.

Neytiri, Jake and baby Neteyam

(there's supposed to be my thoughts on chrysalis thing but then I thought it wasn't important for the topic so, if you wanna hear it then ask me)

Kuru nourishing

I saw people hating on this concept since kuru is supposed to be an extention of the neutral system, how can it transport nutrients and vitamins through it? These questions started even earlier, when we discovered that reef na'vi can extend their time being underwater by connecting to the sea creatures and plants that can transport oxygen through tsaheylu. But how? Well, apparently it has veins.

Avatar the way of water: the visual dictionary

I'm gonna talk more about possible similarities between na'vi and other animals especially tulkun in the way how they reproduce but later in other questions.

So, when tsaheylu is made, it not only connects two creatures neural systems but circulatory too. I have a headcanon explanation of how it works but it's weird lol. So, do you remember this sticky wet sound kuru sometimes made when connecting/disconnecting? Well, what if, when connected, kuru produces some kind of liquid that is similar to something like blood plasma? And that's when nutrient transportation starts? (and now I'm thinking that it can also keep this fragile organ clean and protected from harsh disconnecting that could rip off poor tendrils). I have some questions on how circulatory system works in that case, like maybe Pandoran animals only have one blood type or it somehow separates inside, but we just don't know. That is a question for the speculative biologists out there!

Now, for the everything I said above, I need some proves on can you consider it canon or not. Your word, Mr. Cameron.

So, he never said anything about chrysalis, but kuru nourishing is pretty much a real thing I suppose. But what happens when the baby is out of it's tsalnu?

Breastfeeding

I haven't heard anything about them not being able to breastfeed due to their low body fat, but my immediate thought was... Why do they have breasts then? 😅 Alright, maybe it has a different purpose, but NIPPLES? For what reason? So I'd rather think that maybe their bodies produce hormones somehow differently than assumed that they have breasts but are not able to feed with them.

We even know that they "nurse their infants for up to four months"! So the answer is clear.

Avatar wiki fandom: na'vi species

Summing this all up!

So the answer for your question is:

- na'vi women give birth at the end of the second trimester and nourish their baby (inside a pod) with their kuru until it's ready to born.

- after birth they breastfeed a newborn for up to four months. ☺️

Thank you for reading!

Btw if you'll finish your WIP please let me know!

#Waiting for more questions! #Ask me about avatar series #avatar #avatar the way of water #avatar frontiers of pandora #afop #Atwow

[evolutionsvoid]

Whenever I go to new regions, I always make sure to talk to the locals and get a read on the area. Indeed, bookstores sell all sorts of guides for new locales and exotic locations, but you will never get anything more reliable and informative than the word of those who live there. It is especially important to me, because my interests don't exactly fit in with the recommended restaurants or must-get souvenirs. I want animals, I want plants and I want weird locations and little known habitats for me to do my research. Most people don't care about that stuff, sometimes even the locals, but often they know enough about the lay of the land to point me in the right direction. It also helps because they can give me a heads up about any dangers I may encounter, be it aggressive animals or local laws that I am not fully aware of.

Like there was one time I was out studying Bladed Prowlers when some kind folk informed me of a nearby fellow who really didn't like people walking into his territory. They said he fancied himself a warlord and staked out a big chunk of land that he declared his kingdom. All who dare tread upon his rightful land would answer to him. So obviously they advised me to avoid this region, lest I get scooped up by his men and punished for my intrusion. This was awfully kind of them, as it let me know to be cautious where I studied and to be mindful of my surroundings! I trespassed on his land anyways, because that is where the Prowlers were nested, but I now I knew the importance of not being caught! It did work out in the end, as his troops never got a hold of me, but he did learn of my presence so I did kind of have the rest of my trip haunted by his search parties.

But as I was saying! Local information and knowledge is crucial for my work, and it helps me avoid real dangerous scenarios. I always ask about their legends and rumors, to see if there are any places one would consider "haunted" or "cursed." Now everyone knows I am not a real superstitious dryad, and I often hesitate to take fantastical tales of monsters and horror at face value. No doubt many of these stories have logical answers and real culprits, but that isn't to say they are all useless. By hearing these legends and learning how the stars of these tales perish horribly, I can get an idea of what is really out there. And sometimes what I learn is enough for me to steer clear of these places too! For example, when I am in arid rocky places, with plenty of canyons, crevices and caves, I keep an ear open for any stories of people who delve into these stony depths and never return. That or blackened figures are found burnt into the walls and floors, as if they turned to ash. While some claim ghosts and spirits are responsible for disappearances, I think more of Flayers and other such predators. But when I hear about scorched outlines in rock, I know what is responsible and I make sure to stay far away! A story like that means a Sulfrik is lurking in the darkness, and no living being should ever wish to cross paths with one!

The origins and nature of the Sulfrik can be summed up with two points. One, is that they are a True Dragon, not some regular beast given a fancy name. And the second point, to really drive that home, is that they are related to the Fuldruk, that terror of the volcanic deserts. If you have read my entry on them, then you should know exactly why I avoid Sulfriks! The two share many similarities with each other, like the serpentine bodies, reduced limbs, clawed tails and bulbous heads with slender jaws. The Sulfrik does have some key differences though. Their bodies are not so spiky and blue, instead with hardened bumps along their armor and a vibrant green to their form. Their tail pincer is more rounded and wide, with long hollow spikes that can easily drive into flesh when they grab hold. Their heads have less sharp bits and a more exposed cranium, one filled with a special fluid. Instead of hunting with electrical pulses like the Fuldruk, they use echolocation to navigate their surroundings. They send out clicks and whistles, then absorb the bouncing sound with that gelatinous dome. Their long snouts have noticeably less teeth than their cousins, and instead have large fangs that curve upwards and wrap around the jaws. Some would think that this would make it hard to open their mouths, and they are right! A full grown Sulfrik will have its jaws almost locked shut by their woven teeth, but it hardly causes them any issue. They don't need to open their mouths that wide to eat, as they prefer a squishier, more liquid diet. 

The mention of it drinking its meals may cause some to breath a sigh of relief, as that must mean flesh is off the menu. May I remind you that many spiders have a liquid diet, and that is because their turn their prey's internal organs into soup. Just because you are currently not in a drinkable state, doesn't mean you can't be painfully processed into a gory slurry. The Sulfrik does exactly that for its prey, and my bark shivers to think what it must be like to fall victim to one. These dragons live in caves and deep crevices, hiding within darkness when the sun is out and hot. In shadowy canyons, they may still stir and slither during the day, but they seem to be in a more lax and sluggish state then. When night falls, however, they wake to their true potential and go out on the hunt.

They emerge from their lairs and burrows, and stalk the darkness for food. What they eat seems to be everything, as they don't hesitate to drop whatever they encounter. They silently slither through the blackness, keeping out of sight and using the cloak of night to their advantage. Sleeping prey is mostly targeted, but they will also go after those who aren't fully aware of their surroundings. When they strike, it isn't physically, rather they unleash their horrid breath weapon upon their victims. Stored within their bodies is a potent acid, one that is incredibly caustic and flammable. With their snouts forever sealed by their teeth, they have the perfect tube for spraying out this fluid, and that is what they do. It comes out in a pressurized spray, hosing down victims directly, or easing up the pressure to let out more of a caustic fog. With a scrape of their wrapped teeth, they can create a spark that ignites this acid and unleash something that can only be described as "acid flame." In this state, the burning fluid eats through armor and flesh in seconds, and prey are reduced to blackened puddles of goo. These are then eagerly slurped up by the Sulfrik's straw-like mouth, and then it slinks off for more food.

When they are hunting, Sulfriks appear to be ravenous, happily consuming anything they encounter. Perhaps because their prey is already pre liquefied and cooked it means that the digestion process happens quite quickly. They will melt anything they can, and take time to reestablish any territory markings they have put out, spraying their acid on notable rocks and walls to show that this land is theirs. Due to their size and appetite, only a single Sulfrik can live within a territory that is dozens of square miles. This is a good thing, because I can't imagine dealing with more than one! A single Sulfrik is usually enough to terrify an entire village into fleeing and I don't blame them!

Like many True Dragons, there is an intelligence to them. Unfortunately like their cousins, they don't seem to use it for meaningful conversation or curious discovery. Rather, they seek to entertain themselves and find ways to liven up their day (or night in this case). On the nicer side of things, they appear to have an artistic streak to them, using their acid to burn intricate patterns into stone. Or perhaps melt pieces of the landscape then mold their molten forms into something fun. The lair of a Sulfrik has many such art pieces, and it is clear they like to decorate their homes. I wish this is how they spent their time entirely, but unfortunately they do also find fun in playing with their food. If one isn't starving, they may take time to torment their prey, creating walls of acid flame or chasing them around tight canyons to extend the hunt and make their victim's struggle that much more entertaining. Their tail claws can be used to grab victims and sling them about like a doll, or inject acid directly into them so they can watch them flail and melt from within. Prey can also be used in their art, searing them into blackened patterns onto stone, or attempting to sculpt their molten bones and armor into a fun little art installation. I have heard many artists say that suffering, pain and little body fluids can make for interesting art pieces, but I sure hope this doesn't count. It seems a bit morbid, though I have heard wealthy collectors paying top coin for some collected Sulfrik sculptures. I wonder what they do about the smell....

It should seem obvious at this point that most people view Sulfriks as a scourge, a monstrous menace that will happily melt down herds of livestock and leave villages in ruin. While I feel it is a tad melodramatic when people claim this for every dragon, I do understand their terror when faced with these fellows. When Sulfriks come across towns, they tend to get a mischievous side to them and find people to be amusing play things. They may light buildings aflame, ambush people at night or cause random death and destruction before slinking off into their labyrinthine homes. It is like the species is well aware that folks have a real hard time slaying them, so that means they can get away with a whole lot.

The narrow crevices and maze-like canyons let them hide and lose their pursuers with ease, and their acid flame eats through all non-magic armors. Their hide is heavily armored with plates, and their serpentine bodies are fast and lethal. Their claw tails snare hunters and smash them against the stone walls, while their flame devours the entire battlefield, reducing everyone to screaming bubbling soup. The only real hope is rupturing their fluid filled craniums, which will destroy their ability to properly echolocate. This means they are blind, which is good for getting in a sneak attack, but it also means they will flail and fire with wild abandon. With all this in mind, Sulfrik bounties tend to fetch an exorbitant prize, but they are very rarely claimed. There are few in this world that will happily hunt one of these things. In most cases, people find the lair of the Sulfrik and then seal it up during the day when they are slumbering within. The hope is that it dooms the creature, leaving them to starve in this stony prison. Often, though it seems they find their way out through tunnels or and other cracks, resulting in their territory changing as they pop out in some new area. That will mean the menace is gone for our poor besieged town, but unfortunately that often means it is now someone else's problem.   

Chlora Myron

Dryad Natural Historian

------------------------------------------------------

"Sulfrik"

We got another dragon here, and one related to the Fuldruk! Couldn't let that concept just end at one! Especially with there being more weird cetacean skulls to base them on!

#dragon #smaugust #art #drawing #creature #monster #serpent

[croxot]

Here I'll ramble about my favorite games this year.

This sure was a good year, and I have better opinions than the game awards do so I'm just gonna talk into the ether for a bit here.

Once upon a time I liked D&D 5e quite a bit, just like everyone else on this god forsaken internet. In recent years I've been more interested in Pathfinder 2e and Lancer. After so many years rolling with 5e, it became a bit more refreshing to try systems with more specific and rigid rules for certain things. However, a videogame requires specific adherence to rules to function, and in this respect, Baldur's Gate 3 is an incredible adaptation of the system. There's just so much stupid bullshit you're allowed to get away with in game that most devs would not even consider. I may have played thru act 1 like 7 times now and it's still entertaining. Also I went from hating Lae'zel to loving her. Congrats Larian, you made me like perhaps the most annoying person I've ever met in a videogame.

As my bones start to deteriorate I find myself seeking smaller, more intimate games that give a sort of feeling. Lunacid is "like" Kingsfield in the way that it's a first-person dungeon crawler. That's where the buck stops for that comparison gameplay wise. However, Lunacid offers an extremely specific feeling I find is rare in games. It's the same sort of "you're lost and alone but also it's also groovy" feel as Metroid Prime 1 & 2. And if you can capture the same sort of feeling that some of my favorite games ever gave me as a teenager, you're just automatically on my games of the year list.

I saw a gameplay video in passing on twitter, got slightly horny because caked-up goat lady, went to the steam page and saw OVERWHEMINGLY POSITIVE. I don't think my experience with Pseudoregalia is unique. It just feels great to jump around and the music slaps.

Cross the feeling of the open-sea adventure of Wind Waker, with the chase and collection of fishing minigames of countless other titles, and the dread of exploring the uncaring unknown. It scratches a seldom-scratched itch of exploratory joy within an indifferent universe. Dredge's systems can be distilled to the simple loop of growing beyond your own fears to discover more and more. None of these fears is particularly intense, but it's enough. Dredge isn't going to find itself on game of the year lists because it's doing any one thing particularly well. It's also not doing anything specifically or wholly NEW. It is however, more than the sum of it's parts, and it is beautiful.

Remnant 2 is the best co-op souls-style game that exists, tied with Nioh 2. That's it, that's what I had to say. It just real good and it deserves to be on game of the year lists.

So like, late this year, 2 Souls successors came out. Lies of P and Lords of the Fallen. And goddamn did Lords inspire division.

I think these releases really showed that people who are "Souls Fans" really cover a LOT of different specific interests, and not all of these interests are well-represented in every souls-like. Lords, perhaps amazingly, seems to cater to what I particularly want out of a Souls game, whereas Lies of P did not. I like these games for their challenge, sure, but more importantly, I like the character building. The ability to create a unique playstyle that I can take on the game with. This slowly grated on me in Lies of P because the game really only wants you to play it (and succeed at it) a certain way. Because the perfect parry was the truest answer to everything a boss could throw at you, and the dodge sucks ass, I felt more exhausted by the end of the game than anything. I also wanted to try a strength build, but the heaviest weapons cannot manage to fully wind up and land a hit on any bosses past the halfway point. Without any hyper-armor or poise, the "big weapon" playstyle felt completely trash, even outside of bosses. Lords lets me dodge, block, perfect parry, and hey they ALL feel useful. I can actually wind up big weapon hits too! Yeah it feels a bit floaty, and yeah enemy density can be rather crazy at times, but I'm the weirdo who's favorite Dark Souls is DS2. Lords also does ranged combat better than any of it's contemporaries. I think a lot of people also never played the original Lords of the Fallen. Now that game SUCKED. I played the whole thing, my god.

GAME OF THE YEAR BAYBEE

I've already talked about AC6, but again, you can't just get me to complete a game. I see an achievement list and I say "fuck that, I hate that!" I saw AC6's Achievement list and I was rubbing my hands together like a cartoon villain. Like Pseudoregalia, AC6 just feels good to play. It feels so tight, and after a few hours you can feel the minute changes in the way your mech handles even after small part swaps. Anyways it needs DLC with more Rusty content. 12/10.

#goty 2023 #games of the year #baldur's gate 3 #armored core #armored core vi #fires of rubicon #pseudoregalia #Dredge #Lunacid #Remnant 2 #lords of the fallen #croxotwords

[ineffablydelighted]

[How exploring the Ineffable Husbands' dynamic in Good Omens can help us figure out what the show/book is all about, Part 3.1/?]

Also called: This human has, apparently, too much time on her hands and will be trying to Effable the Ineffable for [...] hours.

Hiya, Angels! 👋

Hope you're all doing well!

First of all, if you randomly came across this analysis, I guess you would expect me to entice you to read the first two parts beforehand... And you would be absolutely right.

"Obviosleh."

And since I'm nice [and because I fully understand the importance of saving people as much effort as possible to catch a larger audience - Duh 😇], here are the links for Part 1 and Part 2 🥰 so that everyone is on the same page as we dive into Part 3.

As I previously announced, we'll dissect our favorite pair's next two encounters today which are S1 3004 BC (Noa's Arch, The Flood) and S2 2500 BC (Job's ca-

[future me rereading this before dropping - Yep, nope, not happening just yet]

By doing that, I will try my best to prove to you the main point of my analysis I've revealed at the end of Part 2.

Repeat after me: Good Omens is a philosophical essay disguised as comedic/satyric/romantic fiction.

[Yeah... here she is, already giving orders strong recommendations... I'm so Metatroning you right now.]

[And, since I'm at my best when I'm Metatroning people, this is the moment I'm gonna take to strongly recommend you to ingest the human matter of your choosing - Num num num.]

*In Crowley's voice* OOookaay, let's start!

3004 BC (Mesopotamia - Noa's Arch, The Flood)

In S1, Right before this encounter happens, the scene starts by making us, the audience, witness Aziraphale very badly lying to God about the flaming sword, an event that I already mentioned in part 2 because of the contrast it was considering he did tell the truth to a newly Demonized Crawley in comparison.

BUT [Yay, first "but" of Part 3! Are you having fun?], I really want to talk about this bit some more because that remains one of the scenes that, to this day, bugs me THE MOST in Good Omens as a whole.

To sum things up, you're telling me that GOD:

BOTHERED to pop in to ask one of their Angels a question.

That the said Angel seemed suuuuper anxious about from the start: looking everywhere aimlessly, almost asking them WHAT A DAMN SWORD EVEN WAS... basically giving away EVERY TELLTALE SIGN, both in their voice, mannerisms, and the simple fact that they were literally back to the wall, that they were about to LIE, proceeded to give God the UNanswerest answer EVER:

"Oh, must have, uh, must have put it down here somewhere."

And God just... just... LEFT THAT LYING ANGEL ALONE?! Just as quickly as they arrived?! No arguments, no further questions, no reckoning, just... NOTHING. HAPPENED?!

HUH?

WOT?!

WHO?!

WHO THE F DOES THAT?!

WHO DOES THAT?! That is a real question! WHO?!

IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY. SENSE!

THE F-

I mea-

I'll never recover from it.

Oof. Okay, I'm fini-

I NEED an answer in Season 3! This is all I ask! I don't need the world to be saved, I don't need Alpha Centauri, man, I don't even need Aziracrow to reuni- [okay, no, can't say that, even if I like being dramatic, I take that back, this is all I want and all I've ever wanted, please, I just need to see Aziraphale in a white dress and Crowley demanding him to remove his 200 yo jacket on top of it because it "absolutely ruins it", please!] I. NEED. ANSWERS.

*clears her throat* Yeah. So. I'm perfectly fine with this scene. Moving on!

Aziraphale and Crawley meet in Mesopotamia during the year 3004 BC.

Crawley is the first to notice and to greet Aziraphale VERY enthusiastically. Which is, first of all, cute, but also an indicator that they haven't seen each other in a very long time, more precisely, since Eden (a thousand years prior to be exact). We know that because the first thing Crawley says after his "Hello, Aziraphale!" is the direct continuation of their conversation back in Eden:

"So, giving the mortals a flaming sword. How did that work out for you?"

Aziraphale answers what will never cease to bug me:

"The Almighty has never actually mentioned it again."

Which still peaks my interest because it could mean two things, and pretty different things at that:

One, God and Aziraphale never directly interacted again and nobody from the Main Office ever asked him about the flaming sword at all, which made Aziraphale believe that God never asked them anything about it.

OR

Two, God and Aziraphale DID directly interact again but the flaming sword subject has never been brought up once more.

Given the way this sentence is constructed and the emphasis on "actually mentioned it again," I'm more inclined to believe in the second option, which would be a very interesting thing to pounder:

Aziraphale might have a "privileged" relationship with God considering they probably interacted somewhat directly and more than once.

I'll go back to it later because we need to keep that in mind for the Job's case encounter.

Crawley says that it is "probably a good thing" until his attention is drawn to what is happening around them.

Then, they will debate the subject of the day, which is pretty much the same thing as before but formulated differently and condensed:

What is the point of Good and Bad? Do these concepts even have a meaning or not?

The main difference between the two previous encounters compared to this one is that this time, Aziraphale and Crawley are both active in the debate and do find common grounds here and there. It is shown cinematographically: they share the screen.

Aziraphale explains to Crawley that God got "a bit tetchy" and wants to drown the human race (well, at least the Middle Eastern humans) and Crawley takes that announcement astonishingly, which still aligns with his creator-at-heart persona.

"All of them?"

Insists Crawley.

Aziraphale first tries to mitigate what appears to Crawley as an extreme reaction by stating that Noah, his family, and their spouses will be spared but you can see that he, himself, doesn't really believe in what he tries to say.

"But they're drowning everybody else?"

Crawley really, really cannot comprehend what is happening.

"Not the kids. You can't kill kids."

This reminds us of their very first meeting because Crawley, here, judges God and tries to put himself in their place. Again.

Aziraphale answers with a worried nod: both because he is scared (his Fear of God cannot be anything but present at that moment) and because... he agrees.

And THEN, Crawley says that:

"Well, that's more the kind of thing you'd expect my lot to do."

Now that Aziraphale is more inclined to be part of the debate, Crawley tends to be more forthright about his opinion:

If God can do what Satan and his demons do, what is the point of separating the two? Are they, really, that different?

And, more so:

Is God a Good being anyway?

If Good or Bad exists, of course. [Oh, yes, I know I'm annoying. 100% aware. 😁]

To Aziraphale, it is clearly the case, and that is why he tries, again, to mitigate God's actions:

"The Almighty's going to put up a new thing, called a rainbow. As a promise not to drown everyone again."

A rainbow, huh? How interesting...

A rainbow is basically a demonstration of the union between Water and Fire. God and Satan. Good and Bad. Blah blah blah.

Almost as if...

Nahhh...

Almost as if they both needed to exist at all times!

Also, Aziraphale almost sounds like he is interpreting the rainbow as God's excuse for having a tantrum.

Which Crawley responds with a very sarcastic:

"How kind."

That's when Aziraphale cannot bring himself to follow Crawley's opinion any further (even if it is clearly shown he DOES agree, he is just SCARED to be).

After telling Crawley that he cannot judge God, that's when the "Ineffable" word is brought up again. This time, by Crawley. Because he already knows what Ineffable means to Aziraphale:

I am not important, or mighty enough to judge God and I am not supposed to. I am supposed to do what I am told, no questions asked.

Does it sound repetitive? Yeah, because it is 😅 That is Good Omen's main theme, after all.

This story is, as I mentioned before, a satire. Of religion, but also, of the concept of hierarchy, and the danger of ideologies as a whole. "Ineffable" is an ideology. "Ineffable" literally means "so emotionally overwhelming and powerful that you cannot translate into words"...

But Good Omens wants to bring you to ask yourself: cannot or don't want to?

Aziraphale is a character who doesn't want to think by himself because he is scared of a higher power (hierarchy). But he cannot just... stop thinking. Oppositely to Crowley, who kind of always, naturally had that ability.

Therefore, that makes it difficult for the both of them to understand each other [Oh yes, we'll talk about that further when we finally talk about that S2 finale that left us traumatized. According to my rhythm and how my Muse is an erratic bench, I'd say this conversation will occur in about a year or two.] Just as it is difficult for any of us to understand the people who think dramatically differently than us. Good Omens is an invitation to debate with people who do not share our views. That is how we stay open-minded and prompt to change.

Basically, folks: don't blindly stay in the boxes you're in.

Hierarchy is heavily criticized too, because it is a big cause - if not the main one - of people staying put in their respective boxes. Religion is a box among many others, hence the fact I prefer to say that GO mocks ideologies as a whole.

But hierarchy can be different things, and, more so, can use many different tones towards its subordinates: hierarchy can be nice, and affectionate (family, for instance - or not, definitely not always). Hierarchy can also be threatening, physically or mentally, or both (dictatorship, for instance).

Basically: hierarchy can either come from love or fear.

Or... well, both. That's how you get... propaganda? That is the most blatant example that came to my mind. We tend to associate love with good. We also tend to forget how often love has been used as a weapon.

Good and bad are...

[You know the end of the sentence, now, do you? If not, it means I haven't harassed you enough, so let me remind you]

Good and Bad are always mixed up. If they exist.

Anyway, I feel like I'm starting to digress.

.... Actually? I'm not done with that segment just yet.

[You right now.]

Hierarchy can also come from... habits. History. Some hierarchies that we are under today are still there because of how long they have been installed, but not really because they are that relevant anymore. I am not going to bring examples here because I do not want to offend anybody and because you are more than capable of interpreting this statement in a way that speaks to you.

We'll talk about this more when we'll reach the... Jim/Gabriel subject. [In about a year and a half.]

ANYWAY. Moving on to a lighter reflection:

Romantically speaking, Aziraphale remembers that encounter because Crawley displayed strong empathy and concern during that whole meeting.

He asked Aziraphale how he was after the flaming sword incident,

He could not comprehend how killing kids was okay,

He bothered to alert Noah about the escaping unicorn.

[Also, maybe, because damn - Also, it might come as a surprise to you who have seen me fangirling over Crowley for the last 3 parts but my favorite is actually Aziraphale 🤣]

After this conversation, The Flood starts and neither of them is protecting the other from it. Because of habits (after a thousand years spent on earth, they know this will not hurt any of them), but also as a way to tell us, the audience: they have started to realize they were in this together.

[Insert the "We're all in this together" Disney's High School Musical song right here... Yeah! I'm a Millennial, how could you possibly have guessed?!]

They are Equals.

Another really important topic in Good Omens, by the way, but it is time to dive into one of my favorite encounters between Aziraphale and Crowley and-

Huhhhh. I feel like analyzing two meetings including a whole episode in only one part might feel too heavy (to me, at least). So... I guess see you next time? 😅

Bye, Angels!

[No, no, I'm not saying you are "sssuckersss" okay? Just wanted a Crowley gif.]

Need help to find the rest of this analysis? I've got you covered! Follow me, Angel 😇

Previous - Beginning - Next

#Ineffable Husbands #Good Omens analysis #Good Omens #Good Omens S1 #Good Omens S2 #Aziraphale in love #Good Omens theory #Aziraphale #Crowley #Aziracrow #Effable the Ineffable #Philosophy #Good Omens is a philosophical essay disguised as comedic/satyric/romantic Fiction and I am here to prove it #What is Good what is Bad does it actually exists anyway #This analysis turns to 40% actual GO analysis VS 60% me digressing #I'm not sure I am mad about it though #Maybe you are? Idk #Can't wait to analyze the Job episode even if that alone will take over a month

[mcl-ng-hr]

Hello!

I finally decided to write my thoughts about the game down! So here is my own "little" review, which is in fact quite long, and segmented in three parts, beginning with a general review, then my personal opinions on the LIs, and finally some more specific likes and dislikes.

Thanks in advance for reading 😘️

General Opinion

First off, the interface is refreshing, and I appreciate all the efforts put into it, although I admit it can be quite heavy, and therefore buggy (even without anything else running, on a good laptop). For this reason I'd like being able to disable some features (the animation of the transition between pages, for example, gives me a lot of troubles).

I like that Candy can have a more defined personality, and I also like how we can better understand the intention behind the answers now. No more "what? but that was not what I meant by choosing this"! For the new AP and gems system… I am still wary of it for now, and will see later if it is really as manageable as it seems. I also like sending hearts to other players, so even if they don't end up useful I'm still happy to have them I personally like the idle mini-games, and am quite curious about how the other game will be. I also think the calendar is a nice touch. And lastly, the jokers seem nice and promising, though I would have preferred having a stock-limit instead of them being temporary.

Story-wise, I like that things are going rather quickly for the beginning, and I trust they'll know when to slow things down later. I saw a few reviews saying these two first episodes felt punitive, and let me tell you… Yes. Amanda disliking me right of the bat on my first play was unexpected. So was Roy. And Devon. But I think it is kind of the point of starting a new game, we don't know their personalities yet, so it's quite normal to screw up when not using guides. But yeah, it was frustrating and Devenmentiel broke my heart.

The Love Interests

Jason is my favorite so far. Why you may ask? … I find him funny. The man is just having fun being an annoying bitch, and I absolutely love that for him! He also was one I had a quite good Lo'M with at my first play without even trying (rip Roy and Devon who did not appreciate), and it felt quite nice since things did not go so well with most of the other characters. And of course being the antagonist has its own ring, and in my taste the white streaks of hair too.

Amanda comes in the second place with Thomas. Even though my first play did not go well with her, I managed better on my second, and I quite like the relaxed Amanda.

For Thomas, he is the one I had the easiest time with on my first play, everything went smoothly and I found him pretty nice and relatable, though I do not plan on following his route.

Devon is the one I am the most neutral about I think, I don't particularly like or dislike him yet, though his route does intrigue me in a "Ah shit, here we go again" kind of way.

… Now, listen. I do not dislike Roy. He honestly seems like a great dolphin-loving guy who likes to be half-naked a lot and decided to dislike me when I was trying hard for him not to! He is just not my type. This is nothing personal, I swear! Joke aside, Roy is the one I like the least for now. And honestly, it is a shame, because I totally see why other people appreciate him. But the warningless half-nakedness happening twice summed to his for now unexplained short-patience with Jason really did not woo me, quite the opposite in fact.

Other things I like:

I find Candy's customization quite good! Whether it is for the illustrations, where you can choose between different skin colors, or for our profiles. Candy can also have disability aids (though no mobility aids yet) and a panel of skin features for really cheap, and you can not know how happy it makes me! There also are so much outfits from the beginning, and though many of them have to be paid with real money, Beemoov needs to be profitable, so I think it's rather fair (and hopefully, we'll be able to get those outfits through mini-games).

The music and the animation. I said it before and I'll say it again, I absolutely adored the theme switch when Jason appeared, and I also liked the creativity in the animation very much too. I can not wait for other such things to happen again.

Things I find too bad:

So far there has only been one character that is not thin (two if you count Danica who will show up later), and I regret that all of the men Love Interests are so fit. I can not tell you how down bad I would have been for a fat Devon or Roy (I get that Roy is the athletic type here, but you can be incredibly strong and not be skinny).

Amanda being rich was really emphasized, too much for my taste, on my first play it made me feel like being rich was her main personality trait, which made me uncomfortable. I would have preferred a more subtle way to express it (show don't tell amiright?).

I would have loved to see more not-conventionally-thought-as-attractive features in the LIs, like visible disabilities for example, or different noses, or scars, the kind of things that make the characters feel more real.

What I hope for later:

For the characters of color to be written like ones, with at least their cultures included in some aspects of the game. I understand Beemoov's wish to keep the game lighthearted, so I'd personally understand if they choose not to show racism in the game, but I would also hate that to be an excuse for ignoring the characters' cultures when addressing them would actually be relevant. Here is a better post about the matter.

More non-skinny characters.

Hopefully some in-game disability representation.

#my candy love new gen #mcl new gen #mcl ng #beemoov #critic

[bambamramfan]

This is obviously a critical response. Also Scott has posted his follow-up post "Highlights from the Comments" here, which I'm also responding to.

Now, even if you aren't conservative I think there is real value in saying "a major cultural change, focused on some sectors, recently happened. WHY did it happen. What were the turning points and structural factors." And I don't think "because we suddenly became better people" is a good answer to that. So exploring the cause and effect from civil rights law to the social justice shift is not, a priori, a bad idea.

Hanania's very partisan and activist slant on the question I disagree with, but it doesn't mean he makes no good empirical points. If you only read the people you agree with, well, they tend not to circulate inconvenient facts to your side and then you get blind-sided. And despite his reputation, I really do like RH's writing on China. And I'm on the record that running large parts of employment regulation through a very tiny errata of the Civil Rights Act, leads to absurd and bad outcomes and bad law.

But I'm pretty disappointed at his book (as summed up here) and Scott's moderate reaction to it. I'm glad Scott pointed out "these administrative changes in the 1970's are unlikely to be responsible for a cultural shift that hit max velocity in 2014." Because Scott gives a lot of credit to the dystopia it paints of government and corporate hiring programs forced to circumnavigate huge vagaries by implementing contradictory and Orwellian hiring standards. The second comments post does this even more so. And I feel that even when these anecdotes are factually correct, they are leaving out extremely important context. To wit:

Bureaucratic hiring processes are already this Orwellian process of doublespeak that pay attention to a lot of factors besides who would be the best at the job. All the procedures people describe were already in place, just for other types of qualifications. Random example: Harvard prides itself on always have a student from every state in it's undergraduate body. Some of our states represent about 0.2% of the population. To guarantee that say Wyoming or Idaho always have someone on campus, you basically have to target geographically - and not by merit. Or a hedge fund that wants to impress investors by hiring graduates from the right schools, even if they've found ambitious state school students are better bang for the buck. It was never the case that employers cared purely for merit and then race came into play, even if it is the case that race is now one of several factors they have to juggle for.

Here's the bigger issue. The book and review really emphasizes how terrible it is to be caught in the bind that the US government wants organizations to be racially equitable, but it doesn't just give a list of rules to follow. It says "you figure it out. So long as you don't cause a problem that's fine. But if someone thinks you're racist, they can sue, and we'll have to prove it out in court." This creates an environment where the rules are unclear, and the best you can do is follow the best practices that similar organizations do, and say you were trying your best. And so if some organizations for idiosyncratic reasons take diversity more seriously, everyone else is forced to follow suit. For certain types of people this causes scrupulosity spirals. I agree that sucks. But this is by design! Not just in civil rights, but in the entire US administrative state, it was decided long ago. See, you can have a legal environment where regulations are enforced either through: a) An agency draws up all the rules for companies to follow, and has the workforce to go inspect every company to make sure they are complying. This is what we do with cars or restaurants, and most of Europe does with a lot more areas than we do. b) The government says "don't fuck this up. You're on your own" and you are left alone until someone thinks you've fucked it up enough that they sue you. Trials are a TERRIBLE way to work this out, but it's supposed to motivate you to be extra careful. This is much more random but much less costly tax wise, so it is the system the US has decided to go with for many of its laws.

So I agree "government by lawsuit" is a terrible curse upon America (and why we have so many more lawyers per capitate than other Western nations.) It leads to all the moral problems this book and review highlights. But it's not limited to the realm of race relations and it's by design so that we don't have to pay more bureaucrats. I doubt Hanania would want us to move to the European model which has less scrupulosity issues.

[annerbhp]

I asked google bard for fanfic reccomendations and one of your fics turned up lol

You know what's been amusing (horrifying) me about all this AI stuff lately is just how wrong it all is? Which, if it was all just wrong, it would be a funny failed experiment. But it's even worse. On the surface it gets just enough right to lend it some false sort of legitimacy, but I have never once seen any AI answer a question where it gets everything right. There is always one big error or many big errors. And it's one of the scariest things about AI produced "knowledge" because there is nothing here that tells us about it's certainty of the various "facts" it is providing. These answers put solid facts right next to complete misinformation. It places information from peer-reviewed sources right next to internet rumor and group-think conspiracy theories. So what skills do we, the average reading and knowledge seeker, need to be able to engage with technology like this in a way that can counter this harm? Especially because I know this sort of thing isn't going to go anywhere? I'm pretty sure it's here to stay.

Like, let's be real. I couldn't give less of a crap that google bard clearly has no idea what my fic is about. That's not the point. My ego will survive perfectly fine. But what if people start turning to AI for real knowledge that will influence and form truths for people around real issues in the world? What happens if these sites are where people go for knowledge?

Let's look at some silly examples that we can easily fact check, just to get a sense of how wrong all this stuff can be.

I went to chatgpt and asked it "tell me about the fanfiction author Annerb". This is what it spewed out:

"Annerb is a pseudonym used by a fanfiction author known for writing in the Harry Potter fandom. While the author's real name is not publicly known, Annerb has gained a significant following for her imaginative and well-written stories.

Annerb is particularly well-known for her epic fanfiction series, "The Changeling," which follows the character of Harry Potter as he discovers he is actually a changeling - a child of the Fae. The series spans over 1.5 million words and is known for its intricate plot, rich world-building, and well-developed characters.

In addition to "The Changeling," Annerb has written several other popular fanfictions, including "Ghosts of the Past," "The Debt of Time," and "The Sum of Their Parts." Her writing style is often praised for its attention to detail, strong character development, and engaging storytelling.

Annerb has also been involved in the fanfiction community as a beta reader, offering feedback and assistance to other writers. Despite her popularity, Annerb remains relatively private and has not revealed much about her personal life or identity."

It's like that old game two truths and a lie here. Or more like one truth and ten lies and five misunderstandings. Hope all those other hardworking authors don't mind that I've stolen credit for all their fics! (I regenerated it a few times, and it claimed I wrote for fandoms I've never even seen the source material for.)

Or how about this one. I asked it "What is wangxian?" (one of my latest otps.)

"Wangxian is a term that refers to a fictional romantic relationship between two male characters named Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian in the novel "Mo Dao Zu Shi" by Chinese author Mo Xiang Tong Xiu. The novel was later adapted into a popular Chinese animated series and live-action television series.

The term "wangxian" is a combination of the two characters' names, with "wang" being a part of Lan Wangji's name and "xian" being a part of Wei Wuxian's name. Fans of the series often use the term to refer to the romantic relationship between the two characters.

It is important to note that while the relationship between Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian is depicted as romantic in some adaptations of the novel, including the animated series, it is not explicitly stated as such in the original novel."

First two paragraphs? Not so bad. Pretty accurate for the most part. That third paragraph? Really fascinating that it's even there and also completely factually incorrect. While the live-action tv show never explicitly states that it is a romantic relationship thanks to censorship, the original novel includes multiple explicit sex scenes between the two characters and they also end up married? Like, actually married? So why is this "important to note"? Why does the so-called "legitimacy" of the ship even factor in? Is this just a scraped up reflection of discourse? Or at worst, a reflection of larger biases reflected in internet "knowledge"?

I know you probably sent me that screencap just as a fun mention of my fic popping up somewhere, for which I thank you. It was nice of you to think of me.

At the same time, these are the things I just can't help thinking about as truth becomes even harder to see day by day. Walk carefully, my friends.

#artificial intelligence #chatgpt #google bard #misinformation

[voasprofile]

mean girls in twisted wonderland and yuu who's somewhat a mix of the og mean girls

I say somewhat cause yuu wasn't really given that much personality

yuu is kind of a theater kid but again wasn't given much personality so it doesn't really show all that much

also reader is gn but does 'feminine' things like apply lipgloss and all that shit

pt.2 here

"what do you mean 'what's mean girls?'" I asked the first years looking offended

"what do you mean 'what do you mean what's mean girls?'?" ace countered "it's exactly means what I said" this back talking mf

"you guys have not lived yet" I looked them up and down "and it shows"

"what's that supposed to mean?" epel asked

"it means-" I mean I was going to explain but some pomefiore background character decided they wanted more screen time

"hey! first year the dormleader's looking for you" he yelled at epel almost as loud as sebek. I applaud him clap clap

"oh my god that vest is SO cute where'd you get it?" I leaned in on the table

"oh- um it was my dad during his time here" he answered

"vintage! so adorbs" I smiled at him "thanks" he smiled walking away

"that was the ugliest effin vest I've ever seen" I whispered at them

epel laughed so did ace deuce looked mortified jack... well he was a wee bit disappointed and sebek wasn't even paying attention

"hhhhhhhhh what?" epel whispered at me after getting ahold of himself. he wanted sum of that tea

I leaned in further so they could hear me whispering

"yeah, did you know so many people trust me in this school? not knowing I stockpile their secrets" I covered my mouth looking around for any signs of anyone listening, once I knew I was clear

"yeah, you guys know that one guy from heartslabyul? the one with almost white hair? yeah he has a girlfriend that he's cheating on with a guy from scarabia" I leaned back

"really? I knew it, he portrays himself way to innocently for it to be true" ace said

another background character came to the table but this time I was the one they're looking for

"hey uh yuu, can you forget about the thing I said earlier this week? I changed my mind on it" he asked scratching the back of his neck

"oh no no don't you worry, it will just be our little secret" I smiled up at him

"thank you so much, I owe you one!" he said leaving

they looked at me

"I wasn't lying about people trusting me y'know?" I said laughing

"but like seriously? you guys don't have mean girls, ugh your guy's life suck" I said re applying my lip gloss

"but anyways I like have it downloaded on my phone, if you guys know anyone who knows how to transfer files from an other worldly phone to a laptop, give them a call" a favour for a favour

actually me showing them the absolute treasure mean girls, they should owe me

apparently epel knew a guy who knew a guy who knew ortho who's idia, the ignyhides dorm leader 

it didn't take much convincing idia we happened to play together a couple of times when I was gaming on the phone I, ME bought NOT CROWLEY

turns out he was really techy

anyways he transferred the movie to MY laptop y'know the one I bought with MY money. he even taught me how to do it

I offered for him and ortho to watch with us, but he refused saying 'there'd be too much people'

I didn't force him but ortho wanted to come so me and ortho went to sam's to buy a couple of snacks for the movie 

then back to ramshackle we go

we waited

first to come was jack and sebek holding a couple bottles of pop

then epel with a few apple desserts

then adeuce combo with a few pasties and ace with more chips

before any of that I mad all of them wear sheet masks not excluding ortho ofc I just squeezed it a bit more to not damage anything on his face

so begins the movie

"he reminds me of the creep flirtin with everyone in the cafe" epel pointed out Jason almost throwing a handful of chips at the laptop

"real, poor gretchen imagine someone you like flirting with someone else in front of you" jack said chewing on some pie

"how disgraceful" sebek murmured sipping on his cup

"shhh" ace said

I smiled. I'm in the process of making some mean girls out of them

at the end of the movie everyone was satisfied

"ugh if I were the bus driver I would've ran them over" ace said

three fourths to the movie everyone forgot about the food so now were finishing them off

"would it be ok for me to download this to send to nii san? ortho asked. somebody bless this child

"of course, wanna send him another movie?" I asked

"there's another movie?" sebek asked

"well yeah but it's not a franchise, some people say this was the film to inspire mean girls" I said to them "wanna watch it?"

everyone agreed it was too early to turn in anyways

heathers ah my love

"which one do you guys wanna watch the movie or the musical?"

we ended up watching both

it was funny when we were watching dead girl walking and suddenly all the comments stopped then resumed after the song

I covered ortho's eyes and ears dw

next day we were having lunch again

I was looking at the back of a candy bar with a confused look "it's all in like swedish or something"

epel caught on "yeah y'know there's some weird ingredient in there that's not legal here"

"hmm ephedrine?" I said already chewing "no" he said

"phentermine" I approved "no" he denied

I looked at him confused

"it burns carbs, it just burns up all your carbs" he said"

"hm I really wanna lose three pounds" I said looking at them raising my eyebrows

there was a pause

"oh my god what are you talking about" sebek said

"you're so skinny" deuce added

"shut up" I told them

every body else close enough to hear's pov

drama? first year drama?

lol

soon jack epel and I left the table to mingle with others. jack in savanaclaw with his upperclassmen, same with epel and pomefiore, and I went to diasomnia

and then my phone rings

"you're on speaker" ace whispers

"epel, jack thinks you're mad at him because he got nominated prettiest in the freshman yearbook" deuce said

"oh my god I'm not mad at him, I'm worried about him. I think someone is pulling a joke on him, I mean if no one votes for him, he's gonna have a total meltdown. and who's gonna have to comfort him? me."

"so you don't think he'll get in?" ace asked

"deuce ace, he's not pretty. I know that sounds bad but whatever, the prettiest freshman is always y'know pretty. the crazy thing is it should be yuu, but everyone forgets them because they're such a slut, anyway I got to go, I'm going to class" epel 'hung up'

"well he's not mad at you" ortho told jack

"hold on" he told all of them "are you okay" deuce asked "shh" he switched the line to call me

my phone 'rings' again, and then I put it on speaker

"hello?" "if someone said something bad to you, you'd want me to tell you right?" jack asked

"mmm no" I said "what if it was someone you thought was your friend?" he pressed on

I got annoyed "what are you-? hold on other line" I said taking the call

"hello?" "let's go out" sebek said "hold on I'm on the other line with jack" I said "don't invite him, he's driving me nuts" "okay hold on" "good hurry up" I went back to jack

"it's sebek, he wanted to hang out and told me not to invite you" "do not hang out with him" jack said "why?" I said annoyed "oh you wouldn't want me to tell you" "ugh you can tell me, hold on" I switched over "oh my god he is so annoying" "who is?" I widened my eyes "who's this?" I asked "jack" he responded "right, hold on" I switched

"oh my god he is so annoying" I told sebek "I know just get rid of him" I switched

"okay what is it?" I asked jack "sebek said everybody forgets about you because you're such a slut" he said "he said that?" I asked offended "you didn't hear it from me" I switched lines

"I can't go out ehe ehe I'm sick" I told sebek "boo you whore" he said hanging up

I wore an offended expression and left the cafeteria. actually everyone in the call left the cafe

the one's who heard couldn't help but feel surprised, the first years? fighting? 

rumors quickly spread

#twisted wonderland fanfic #disney twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x mean girls #twisted wonderland x heathers #twst first years #twst x reader #twst fanfic #twst mc #ace trappola #deuce spade #jack howl #epel felmier #ortho shroud #sebek zigvolt #twst yuu #gn reader #voa writes

[gutterspeak]

from that ask meme: 6 (with the added question: how different are the answers for pre-canon, early-game, and endgame true aeon?), 16, and 27 for luthais, + 20 and 38 for iolanthe (bg3-verse her or pre-murder pwotr-verse, either one, if the answers would be different!) as a bonus? 👀👀

thank you so so much for all of these!! sorry it took so long to get around to answering them!

from this ask game!

for Luthais!

6. Do they consider laws flexible, or immovable?

100% something that changes over the course of the game, absolutely. I'd consider him more true neutral-leaning-evil than lawful neutral prior to WOTR and during acts 1-3 (although he definitely has some chaotic bastard moments... but those are usually deliberate and few and far between)

BUT seeing as he's a wanted criminal in at least two countries... his view of the law is initially pretty loose!! the murder of his wife and the lack of any real action taken to punish those responsible had him disillusioned with the structural corruption of it all and vigilante justice was, in his mind, the only option. and maaaybe he took it a little too far, but hey! he did it for feminism

as act 3 rolls around and starts going down the aeon path, his view of the law changes - but mostly because now he is the law, or is in the process of wholly understanding and becoming it. there was this line that stuck out to me in my replay recently when you're making one of the first aeon decisions after capturing drezen:

...which I think sums up how he finds himself taking a hard left into the "immovable laws" territory pretty well! he is, even at that point, the only one who understands what must be done, and he'll break himself and anyone else in his way to mete out what justice needs meting. or whatever

honestly it's not too different from how he felt before (as far as pushing justice to extremes goes...) except now, with the aeon's eyes, he's infallible!

...right? right??

16. What makes their stomach turn?

I'm taking this question maybe more literally than was intended LOL but!! he's one of those people who gets nauseous when he's anxious, which is basically all the time. thank god for his fantasy xanax potions that he mixes himself

public speaking turns his stomach in knots for sure. he can be pretty sensitive to smells, notably the smell of alcohol has a tendency to make him feel ill. he also can't STAND strawberry as sad as it is. he hates the taste on top of being mildly allergic to it, not enough to send him into shock but absolutely enough to give him a rash and a category 5 tummy moment

27. What causes them to feel dread?

answered here!

for Iolanthe!

20. If they were asked to explain the difference between romantic and platonic or familial love, how would they do so?

Iolanthe is an interesting one to answer this for! the line specifically between romantic and platonic love is very blurred for her, there's not a structured set of criteria where a relationship will fall into one category or another, it's really just about the vibes and the specific person in question

she's also on the aro spectrum in that she usually doesn't feel romantically attracted to people in the sense of pursuing a relationship, regardless of physical/sexual attraction, but every once in a while she'll desire that commitment with someone - so... demiromantic maybe? or grayromantic? 🤔

but to give an example without deep diving into too much long-winded backstory, she has a very close relationship with another drow named Selene. they were once both slaves and came to take comfort in and care deeply for one another - to the point where Iolanthe was blinded as punishment after she took the blame for Selene's secret stash of outlawed books when she wasn't even supposed to have books in the first place. they protected each other and escaped together, and while they aren't and never were in a typical committed relationship, they do hold a lot of love and physical affection for each other that most people would probably consider to be romantic. which means yes they have explored each other's bodies <3 yuri win!!

familial love is a tough one. she was abandoned at birth and taken in by a very elderly man who passed when she was still too young to remember his name (or the one he gave her)

it's not until she's much older that she starts to learn what family is. in BG3 and 5e she and Luthais have a son of their own and she's fiercely protective of both of them. after Luthais croaks, she becomes a much more guarded person, but really anyone she manages to get close to she sees as family and that same protectiveness over them kicks into gear. by the end of BG3 pretty much the entire party falls under that umbrella so rip Mizora, Gortash, Vlaakith, Cazador, Mystra, Shar, etc LOL. she will fight the gods if pressed

and after writing an entire essay here I realized the question specifically asks how they would explain it, not me as their creator. WELL

Iolanthe's answer would probably be very short and sweet. love is love is love is love. the difference doesn't matter. find who you want to enjoy being alive with. stay with them and protect them no matter the cost

38. What memory do they revisit the most often?

I'll answer this one specifically for her BG3/5e self... and that would be Luthais' execution 🥹

the details differ slightly between BG3 and 5e but the overall story beat is the same. Luthais was framed for a crime they didn't commit and burned at the stake. something about how he dies by fire in WOTR too after he finds Iolanthe murdered and sets the whole town ablaze about it... there's symbolism there that I'll write about someday...

BUT Iolanthe was present during the execution with their infant son and was completely powerless to stop it. just like Luthais in the verses where it's all switched around and it's Iolanthe who dies instead, she agonizes over what she could have done differently to prevent it. her way of coping is less explosive and more running the fuck away and repressing her rage into a paladin oath, but yknow. the horrific, endless grief and night terrors that haunt her for the rest of her life are pretty much the same 💔

#thank you again!!!! #these ended up really long I'm so sorry skjdfhk #inbox

[decafdoodlez]

Hey I've been a fan for a while! I hope this isn't too much to ask but I love your character Rina and wanna learn more abt her.

Can you tell us some Rina fun facts? 🙈✨️

Have a nice day pookie

Aw, hi anon! <3

And it isn’t too much to ask, I love answering questions about my OCs! :D I’ll hit you with the basic facts, then some fun facts/lore, heheh.

Here are her basic facts:

Name: Marina “Rina” Kaninsen

Nationality & Ethnicity: Canadian citizen, Norwegian heritage

Age: 25 (January Aquarius)

5’5” or 165 cm (She’s a bit taller than Ren, yippee!)

Rina Lore:

Marina was born into an affluent family who invested their capital into real estate and stocks. She is the youngest of 6 siblings, with a 13 year age gap between her older sister, and an 8 year gap between her youngest older twin brothers.

Rina’s father lost all of their wealth by the time Rina finished college. As a “favor,” Derek Goffard’s father proposed a deal with Rina’s father to have Rina work for him and he would give him a lump sum of money to get his business back up and running and life back on track. Mr. Goffard, the slimy gore pervert he is, did NOT have good intentions upon obtaining Rina, and would’ve acted on his impulses sooner or later if had gotten the chance to before she was kidnapped by Fox’s auctions. In a sense, Rina’s father sold Rina to the Goffards.

Marina worked at Goffard Conglomerate under Derek and his father as a business assistant for a little under a year.

Marina was kidnapped for auction after leaving alone early after a (one-sided) petty fight over drinks with her friends.

Fun Facts:

Rina’s last name, ‘Kaninsen,’ is a made up Norwegian patronymic name that means “son of rabbit.” Kind of a call back to her family having a lot of kids, haha.

Marina is fluent in Norwegian.

Rina appears to have pointed ears, though she does not possess any sort of mystical or elven heritage. (I just like pointed ears, like how Guts from Berserk has pointed ears and is just a human dude, lol.)

Before being kept by Fox, Marina preferred to dress modestly! She still does prefer to cover up, but Fox thinks it’d be a damn shame for her to just “cover up her beautiful assets.”

Rina is musically gifted, and plays piano and harp.

Marina is the most academically gifted amongst her siblings, and is quite smart.

Marina was a very career driven and “results driven” person.

Marina had NO relationship experience before being kidnapped then taken in by Fox as his “pet.”

Marina has a secret blog where she gushes over her nerdy interests. No one in her family or friend group knows of the blog.

Marina generally hides any nerdy interest from friends and family.

Though Marina is secretive about her otaku/weeb interests/habits, while in captivity in the bunker, Fox found her secret blog and read up on her interests and learned more about her want to live in a fantasy world.

Marina likes to play 18+ otome games.

Marina’s favorite eligible bachelor in her favorite otome series, Feral Fantasy, was a human-canine hybrid man with pointed dog ears and a tail, similar to Ren.

Rina learned how to knit while in Fox’s care, and sometimes tries to make him gifts, such as scarves, blankets, or sweaters. With each project, she gets better, and Fox is smitten with each gift she makes for him.

Marina is also into crafting, she even made an iron on decal sweater that says "Fox's #1 Fan," complete with the signature fox logo. (Fox thought it was adorable)

Marina rarely smiles, though she does smile a bit more after being kept by Fox, and it stops him dead in his tracks and warms Fox’s heart every time.

Marina also enjoys reading novels. Fox usually buys her a new novel each time he goes out into town, with or without her.

She can frequently be found with a book laid atop her chest as she sleeps on the couch, waiting for Fox to come home.

Fox has also designated a room in his living quarters filled with plushies, cute objects, and video games just for Marina to “play” in, especially when he’s away.

Though not falling for him immediately, Marina does eventually come to love Ren.

And I think that’s enough for now! :) If you have any specific questions about Rina, her background, or her relationship with Fox, I will be more than happy to answer! (SFW & NSFW asks are welcome!)

Thanks anon! Thank you for your curiosity about darling Rina! <3

#decaf answers #rina posting #renrina #tpof oc #tpof mc #tpof

[eruden-writes]

Room & Board - Part 12 (Vampire x Reader)

Anon submitted this prompt: For the prompt submissions a vampire that feels guilty after feeding/attacking someone so they leave obscenely valuable ancient artifacts as payment/an apology?

Part 1 | Previous | Masterlist | Next

x x x x x

Early access to Part 13 when it’s ready will be available on Patreon!

Comments, tags, and reblogs are real motivators for me, too! (●ˇ∀ˇ●)

Also, my inbox is always open for asks, so don’t be shy!

x x x x x

April 20, 1882

It has been 2 weeks since my last entry. Regrettably, there has not been much to report.

I have continued to visit Tabaeus and provide sustenance when requested. Others have not seemed to realize Tabaeus's dwindling feral appearance as their body shifts to something more human.

The council hasn't decided what to do with the creature. Caged, Tabaeus has been nullified. They have not fed on non-consenting parties nor shown any hostility, unless provoked.

However, a few entrepreneuring minds have tossed in the idea of 'leasing' Tabaeus out to interested parties. Thus, the vampyr would become a source of revenue for the town and a plaything for scientists or doctors with deep enough pockets.

I do not know how to feel about that option, yet there is not much else to consider at this point in time. If there were a way to reverse the vampyrism, perhaps. Which, I suppose, would be reason enough to allow learned minds to study or test Tabaeus.

Tabaeus's screams from Dr. Forsythe's surgery still haunts me, however. I do hope the council puts restrictions on such activities.

May 10th, 1882

The council has concluded to lease out the vampyr.

Tabaeus will remain in the morgue's basement, which has been equipped with safety measures such as silver bars at most exits and religious seals. In hopes of renewed coffers, the mortician has been relocated.

All studies and experiments are to take place on these premises. Interested parties shall be charged weekly, a hefty sum which varies according to the research or experiments to be accomplished.

I will stay on as a keeper, for now. My duties will include recording pertinent findings and relaying other research that may aid a doctor or scientist in their own work. I am also tasked with caring for Tabaeus, as one would an animal.

There is not much to the task, however. I simply provide him food and liquids, perhaps some entertainment by the way of books or art supplies. Something to give him stimulation in that dreary dark crypt of a basement.

I still do not know how to feel about this decision. If Tabaeus could be wrenched from the clutches of corrupt darkness, however, perhaps it will be worth it.

For the rest of the day and into the next, you continue to read Dr. Kieran Bennett's journal. Tabaeus often makes themselves scarce, when they see you nose-deep in the book, perhaps worried about what else you have found.

Or what you will find out.

You shove all suspicions away for the time being. For now, you just want to get through this journal and perhaps answer questions that have been itching at your brain.

Numerous entries fill the pages of the journal, once it's decided to "rent out" Tabaeus. They cover the better part of almost two years since Tabaeus's 1882 discovery. Many new names, new people come through.

Doctors, scientists, students. Even a few priests who try to 'sway Tabaeus's soul toward the light.' Sometimes, the fresh faces linger for months. Other times, they flitter in to get a specimen from Tabaeus or try a small, insignificant theory, before being lost to time.

Garlic has no effect. Silver can burn, but not to a huge detriment. Other than being an annoyance, spilled beans or small pebbles did not paralyze Tabaeus until they were all counted.

All through it, Dr. Kieran Bennett stays by Tabaeus's side. He sleeps in the upper part of the once-morgue, presumably in an apartment where the mortician once lived. Faintly, you wonder how often Kieran let Tabaeus roam the house, if at all. Kieran's tone when it comes to Tabaeus fluctuates over the course of their acquaintanceship.

There are times you swear Kieran is fond of Tabaeus, if not outright loves them. Then the usage of 'creature' and 'it' returns, to once more establish a cold distance.

Eventually, you stumble upon an entry unlike the others.

January 4, 1884

A new figure has arrived on the scene. A one Lord ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛. He is allegedly learned in occult studies, medicines, herbology, and more. A modern day Renaissance scholar with a particular interest in unholy things, whether they be items or creatures.

He arrived last night and I have yet to meet him.

With squinting eyes, you try to make out the name that has been blotted out. It is impossible, though. Whether it's due to the ink or time that has passed, you can't make out the once scrawled name nor can you decipher it through the indents of the paper.

Quietly, you hazard a glance at Tabaeus. For once, they have remained close on the opposite end of the couch as you read, although there's still a healthy distance between the two of you. They're focused on their own book - ironically a vampire romance - while Liuva and Bjarka sleep in the pocket of their overall dress.

You wonder if it's worth it to ask them about the redacted name. Likely, it won't be. They won't remember or claim not to remember. But, it couldn't hurt.

With a nudge of your foot against their side, Tabaeus glances up from their book. They toss you an easy smile, delighted at your attention, but their expression falls, seeing the look on your face. "Yes?"

"Do you know who this is?" You turn the journal around, holding it open with one hand and pointing to the smeared ink.

Much as how you did, Tabaeus leans forward and narrows their eyes at the page. You watch their lips minutely move as they read the passage, their brows furrowing as they came to the blot. Their lips press together tight as their eyes drop, but you're not sure if they're trying to remember or trying to come up with an excuse.

"Regrettably, I do not know exactly what it says," Tabaeus sighs, but their eyebrows do not relax. You want to say they're struggling to remember, parting the curtains of time to find the answer, but you can't be sure. "He is an important figure, intimidating. It is all hazy, however."

A contemplative hum drops from your lips as you settle back into the couch. You and Tabaeus share an uncertain look across the space between you. Though you've continued to allow feedings, continued to trust Tabaeus despite the tenuous and muddled situation, there's a part of you still wary. And they are aware of that part.

You see the pain that crosses their features whenever the subject surfaces. It makes an answering ache twinge through your own chest.

"Alright," you shrug and sigh, turning back to the journal. You feel Tabaeus's red gaze linger on you as your re-read the passage, trying to immerse yourself in the words once more. Soon enough, they too return to their book.

January 27, 1884

I do not trust Lord ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛.

Tabaeus becomes tense whenever the man is around. They are clearly upset by Lord ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛'s presence. When asked, they cannot - or will not - say why. No matter how badly they are pressed.

Lord ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛'s treatments appear to be more cruelty than cure, as well.

I fear I feel the same as Tabaeus when it comes to my mistrust of this newcomer. However, my apprehension may be more personal than professional.

Too many townspeople have been discussing my lack of marital inquiries and my disinterest in finding a wife. Oftentimes, they dredge up my time spent with Tabaeus in the next breath.

It has grown... uncomfortable in town.

I do not know if Lord ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ simply picked up on it from burgeoning rumors or if his presence is what allowed the seeds of rumor to take root.

I fear my time here is coming to a close, very soon.

It will be difficult to say goodbye.

You turn the page, wondering who this Lord Blot is, what he was doing. Did he have something to do with Dr. Kieran's proclivities coming to light? Or was it simply happenstance, of a man who spent so much time in the company of a vampire?

Your eyes widen as you stare at the next page.

There is no date, but there is a frantically scrawled words, taking up the better part of the page.

HE IS NOT AS HE APPEAR

Mid-word, the ink makes a harsh line down before a splatter of ink messes the page. But that is not what causes you pause.

Most of the paper is stained a grimy reddish brown. You carefully lift the page, finding the stain has soaked through the remaining pages.

With a realization that makes something in your heart cringe back, you realize there are no further entries.

"Are you feeling well?" Tabaeus's quiet question rouses you from a swirl of nausea.

Feeling more than a little lightheaded, your attention flickers to them. Your eyes wide as your lips part to answer. Then your gaze flickers back to the book. Had Tabaeus killed Kieran? Had the Lord Blot?

Hell, you don't even know if Kieran was dead after writing that passage. Perhaps he just suffered a terrible injury and still lived. But who suffers such an injury while journaling?

"Amata?" You hear Tabaeus set his own book aside and sense, more than feel, their hand hover toward your shoulder. They do not touch you, though. You're not sure if you're grateful for that or not.

"I believe Dr. Kieran Bennett was injured or killed while writing this final passage." Your words are soft as you flip through the stained parchment. Faintly, you wonder if Tabaeus knows that stain is blood, if they could smell or sense it somehow. The air around Tabaeus becomes heavier, colder.

After a quiet moment, you hear them swallow and tentatively ask, "What did it say?"

"Dr. Kieran didn't finish it, entirely." "But I presume the whole statement was: He is not as he appears."

Tabaeus falls silent again, red eyes wide and eyebrows tilted upward. You cannot meet their gaze. Instead, you tilt your attention back to the book. Your teeth worry the inside of your cheek as you think.

Could the 'he' in Kieran's warning be about Tabaeus? Or the blotted out name?

Perhaps the blotted name was Tabaeus's own doing, you think with a start. Maybe it was the name of someone that did know how to do away with vampires, a hunter of some sort. It would make sense for a vampire to be leery of such a figure. Would a vampire's possible lover also have to worry?

When you tilt your attention back to Tabaeus, misery is painted across their features. They see the suspicions clearly on your face.

"Amata," they start weakly. You're not sure what they're going to say. Perhaps once more asking for your trust, reasserting their own uncertainty. Maybe, they were going to suggest parting ways.

Whatever they were about to say, you interrupted as you held up one of the later passages. You jabbed at the splotch of ink with your finger. "Did you blot this name out?"

Tabaeus's lips thin at your question. Now they look away. Your stomach is already in the process of sinking when they answer, "Yes. I blotted the name out a long time ago."

"Why?" The word comes out desperate and exasperated on your lips. As much as you want to believe them, you cannot ignore the conflicted feelings itching at your insides. There was too much piling up against Tabaeus. There wasn't enough information coming straight from the vampire.

They reached up to their head, running a clawed hand through their hair. A mix of expressions pinches their features and their eyes dart around, finding the right words and forcing them out, "I am... afraid of them."

"Who?" Half-answers, non-answer. It's all threading frustration through your thoughts. The only reason you can think Tabaeus to be afraid of anyone was if they were a hunter. Your thoughts spin back to the box, where the journal was safely lodged. Maybe this Lord had killed Kieran and Tabaeus had killed this Lord? Your mind spins with potential answers, but no way to verify any of them. "Why were you afraid of them?"

"I can't say," moans Tabaeus, pressing their face into their hands. You watch them as they scoot even further away, bringing their knees to their chest. As they curl up - though careful of the sugar gliders in their breast pocket - against the far end of the couch. Their shoulders hunch, their voice pitching into pleading though they expect to not be believed. "Please, believe me when I say I couldn't remember them."

With a disgruntled sigh, you snap the journal closed a little harsher than you mean to. From the corner of your eye, you notice Tabaeus flinch at the sound.

Silence blankets the both of you, neither of you looking to the other.

Tabaeus is a flawed source of confirmation and answers. You knew this. Catching your lower lip between your teeth, you try to calm your spiraling thoughts and consider other options.

You still need to research Dr. Kieran Bennett. Perhaps you can access some old records somewhere, via the library. Part of you worries what you'll find out, though.

A chime from your phone draws you from your tense thoughts. Picking it up from the couch's arm, you find a text from Ewan. After a glance to Tabaeus, who is pitifully skulking further into teh couch, you read the message.

Hey! Wanna go get some dinner and catch a movie tonight? We can catch up. ;)

Surprisingly, the message manages to draw a pleasant warmth in your chest, pushing away the cold and dread. After the last couple days, literally binge-reading the journal, you could use a dose of fun. A quick glance to Tabaeus makes you realize they could use it too. You'd been so consumed by the journal, the two of you hadn't really hung out. Not in the fun sense, at least.

Your attention slowly turns back to your phone. Ewan and Tabaeus likely wouldn't want to hang out together, you realize. A swell of disappointment expands in your chest at that thought. Leaving Tabaeus alone, after all of this, seems mean-spirited, as well.

It's not until your phone dings again that you realize Ewan started typing again.

If you'd feel more comfortable bringing your roomie, feel free to.

You just stare at your phone, surprised by Ewan's concession. Considering how both of them acted the other night, you thought you'd have to twist both their arms when it came to being in the same room. Hanging out hadn't even been a consideration, honestly.

Getting Tabaeus to agree, however, might be another problem. Sly-like, you peer over at the vampire, who still huddles far from you. Their expression appears strained and creased. Whatever Tabaeus is thinking of is definitely weighing them down.

Tentatively, you quietly interrupt the heavy silence. "Want to go to dinner and a movie with Ewan and me?"

Tabaeus perks up at your voice, but noticeably deflates at the mention of Ewan. Their arms tighten around their stockinged legs, their eyes refusing to meet yours. "I don't know."

Trying to revive some playfulness in the air, you lean toward Tabaeus with a teasing smile. "Well, if you don't come, Ewan will be all alone with me."

You almost cringe at how half-hearted the delight in your voice sounds. It's proving to be hard, shaking off all the heavy atmosphere.

"Why are you doing this?" Tabaeus sighs and their red eyes flicker to you. Their gaze seems duller than it usually is and you can almost see a cloud of gloomy miasma around them.

At their question, your eyebrows furrow, completely uncomprehending. "What do you mean?"

"How can you live with me if you don't trust me? Why offer to hang out after all that?" Tabaeus pushes themself off the couch, pacing back and forth along it. The sudden movement startles the sugar gliders, who squeak their complaints away. Tabaeus doesn't hear them, though. Their long arms stretch down to the hem of their dress, fussing with the edge of the fabric. "It'd be simpler if you just... just..."

You want to ask 'if I just what?' But you can't. Tabaeus gave you the vampire hunter box with clear intent. And after reading Kieran's journal, you know they'd been kept in a basement for years, experimented on, and even suffered through multiple surgeries.

What other misfortunes had they lived through that hadn't been recorded? Even if Tabaeus was lying about their memory, could it stem from the string of bad luck that seems to have followed them? An ache pierces your chest at that thought. Perhaps there were reasons for Tabaeus's memory problems, beyond trickery or genuine amnesia.

"A lot of things could make this whole situations simpler," you sigh when Tabaeus seems unable to come up with a course of action. If only there was a clear reason for their memory loss. If only there had been more explicit information in the journal. If only, if only, if only... A million thoughts spin around your head, but you shake your head, dispersing them.

Slowly, you get to your feet and approach the vampire. Pausing in front of them, you cross your arms, angling your head to look up at them. "I'm having a hard time believing you would hurt me, but there's still that suspicion that this, how you are, is an act."

Panicked and anguished, Tabaeus's voice crackles as they squawk, "It's not!"

An apologetic smile spreads over your lips, which doesn't seem to ease the woe in Tabaeus's features. Another blanket of silence briefly covers you both. Tabaeus towers over you, their shoulders hunched, staring at their hands still fiddling with their own skirt.

"Look, I think I got too deep, too fast, in this journal." You reach for the book, holding it up and waggling it in the air. With a toss, you throw it back onto the couch. Just holding it makes your head hurt, recalling all the awful things inside its pages. "I need to cleanse my palate and Ewan offered to hang out. Even extended the invite to you."

At that, Tabaeus looks up, surprise glinting in their eyes.

You can't help but smile, almost seeing the thoughts banging about Tabaeus's head. A werewolf extending an invitation to a vampire? How absurd.

Clinging to that image, and other amusements the night may yet bring, your smile finally feels genuine after a long hiatus. "I thought we both could use an outing."

"Perhaps," Tabaeus murmurs, their eyes flickering to your smile. The tension in their stance relaxes, apparently put further at eas with the return of your more pleasant smile.

"Let's forget about this for now and get gussied up." With a renewed sense of vigor, you type a reply out to Ewan - agreeing to meet and saying you would bring Tabaeus - before looking up at Tabaeus again. As your grin broadens, you wink at the vampire. "I'll even let you pick out my outfit."

"Oh," Tabaeus's voice has gone soft, their eyes widening a little. They had asked to dress you, on multiple occasions. Sometimes as a joke, but occasionally a sincere note bled into their words. Now, they shake their head. "You do not want me doing that."

Their hesitance only serves to deepen your amusement. "Why not?"

Tabaeus makes a noise, deep in their throat. Too ashamed to put their thoughts into words. Now, you're simply curious what they have in mind. Feeling more bold and amiable than earlier, you take their hand in yours. Their fingers flex at the sudden touch, before they ease into it.

"Well, let's get ready and knock Ewan dead." Excited to shove the despair away for the evening, you start pulling Tabaeus up to your room. However, you pause and squint up at the suddenly delighted smile pulled across the vampire's face. You sigh when you realize what you had said. "Figuratively knock Ewan dead."

"Killjoy," Tabaeus mumbles as their face falls a little. You snort and roll your eyes, pulling them back up the stairs and toward your room.

Thoughts of the journal - of Kieran and Lord Blot and everything else in those pages - gets shoved to the back of your head. You are still on vacation from work. You have a house. Your roomie is a vampire - who can foot your bills for life - and, quite possibly, a former co-worker is a werewolf.

There would be time to dwell on the past later.

Tonight, you just wanted fun.

#exophilia #exo writing #monster x reader #vampire x reader #monster romance #vampire romance #vampire #monster #monster lover #vampire lover #vampire datemate #vampire boyfriend #monster boyfriend #tabaeus #reader #amata #wait until you see what Tabaeus puts you in #;3 #lol

[exiledelle]

UNDERTALE YELLOW SPOILERS FOR PACIFIST AND MERCILESS

please excuse my crazed and disorganized ramblings this is a long one and im not even sure if im making a point or just spinning in circles around a single thing that should be way simpler to say than im saying it

okay so i might be going a little insane over undertale yellows whole storyline with the blue soul, how something bad happened, people were attacked, etc

and my brain wants, or at least wanted, to make a whole Conspiracy Board about my thoughts on it, but im coming to the realization that theres actually not much i can say about individual pieces of dialogue cuz everything i could say about whats mentioned in-game basically just sums up to: What If It's Not What It Seems

like. everything said about the blue soul is just that there was an attack, not about what actually happened. i dont think it was the murderous rampage everyone paints it as, considering dalv was there and only got injured, plus the human fleeing instead of finishing the job or standing their ground like someone on a merciless route would normally do.

im not saying the human DIDNT kill though, to be completely clear. im just suggesting that the event is vague and uncertain, and theres still multiple ways it could go. maybe the human killed, but it was an accident, a mistake they couldnt possibly fix and paid a horrible price for, or maybe it WAS intentional for one reason or another, but they werent going out of their way to kill everyone they met, neutral route at worst

or, an option my brain is lingering on personally: what if they were FRAMED. by who, im not sure. why, im not sure. but like....the tutu is only referred to as dusty by papyrus, but the item itself is just "old". so maybe the dust is natural rather than a monsters, but with that said, its still THERE, and theres a weight to it. especially considering the ballet shoes' description says the shoes make you feel "incredibly dangerous" which on its own can be shrugged off as a joke, but with the context of yellow (ignoring that its not officially canon) its not that simple

and the WEIGHT of that dust is what the whole thing is about: something bad absolutely happened regarding the blue soul. we just dont know what specifically went down, even with undertale yellows spin on it. all undertale yellow gives us is where it happened, and how that humans journey ended.

i cant say for sure what actually happened, and thats the thing: i dont think ANYONE can. but honestly thats the thing i love about the whole blue soul plotline: its open-ended. and its somethin id actually hope for a fangame to try and explore, that theres no single "right" answer

(that said i do think its absolutely possible for a fangame that tries to touch on it to give it a single outcome and still be interesting and satisfying, im just leaning way more toward the multiple answers route)

also this is a side tangent but.

one thing id also like to bring up is the soul mode transformation in yellow: in each route, clover obtains the soul mode because of a strong feeling of justice. whether thats ceroba making unjust decisions in desperation, or discovering axis was responsible for the death of a human. (neutral routes an enigma, theres no real transformation, flowey just flips clovers soul upside down, and boom, theyre in shooter mode)

obviously souls are the embodiment of a persons essence, so this isnt really surprising. but specifically what im thinking of is. the blue souls mode in undertale is gravity. the soul is weighed down and has to jump.

what if, unlike clovers shooter mode, this gravity mode was NEGATIVE for them. not some ultimate realization of the humans integrity, its whatever happened in snowdin possibly weighing on their back? maybe they killed, maybe they led someone else to kill, but either way it loops back to them, in one way or another its their fault, and the guilt of it literally weighs on their soul and results in the gravity mode?

like i said in my cyan soul fangame concept, i dont have the means to work on a soul fangame (although id still love to), but i am excited to see how other fangames handle it assuming they do try and lead into yellow

#undertale #undertale yellow #undertale yellow spoilers #elle rambles

[loving-n0t-heyting]

Re eugenics, not sure i understand. Do you think all possible states for a gene pool are morally equivalent? Or that it's impossible to decide if one is better or worse? Or that it's wrong to prefer a better one? Or just wrong to act one that preference. Or something else.

I guess a pat answer is that i don’t think “the gene pool” is something that can be better or worse off? Or if it can it’s not smth we should care about.

We should care about ppl. And when you say (for example) it would be better off if there were no ppl with a genetic predisposition to cystic fibrosis (or whatever), it leaves it ambiguous who is supposed to be better off. The ones who would have the predisposition but don’t exist? Surely not! Others who now don’t have to deal with others having cystic fibrosis? Maybe, but it seems strange to give them much weight on the question. Others who exist in place of the would be predisposed-to-cystic-fibrosis ppl? Maybe, in that they benefit from existing at all, but an exactly parallel point can be made about those with the would be predisposition

Ofc, not with cystic fibrosis, but there are some conditions where ppl believe those living with them are better off dead or never having been born to begin with, that they are lebensunwertes leben. But i do not believe in lebensunwertes leben

Often in these contexts ppl talk about how they want the best life for their future child, which I find misleading in an illustrative way. It’s much as if a man were to say, I love my future husband and want the best for him, so I will only marry a man who is especially intelligent and healthy, making my future husband better off. Nobody is actually being improved from unhealthy and stupid to healthy and intelligent! It’s a modal fallacy of definite descriptions. Same with kids one might or might not go on to have (tho there might be more sensical considerations in the vicinity)

You can talk about benefiting humanity as a whole, as a sum or average of all humans (or sentients or w/e), but all you are saying in talking about bettering “humanity” is that you are optimising some variable that is a function of all individual humans’ wellbeing. This gives no reason to care about this variable you have defined. You can construct any number of such functions, it’s not clear why any of them should be important. Say, for example, (assuming we can understand degrees of wellbeing as reals, maybe up to constant multiplication) that the well-being of “schumanity” is 0 if the number of humans whose wellbeing is positive is even and is 1 otherwise; this is also a function of humans wellbeing, but there’s obviously no reason to care about it or optimize for it. There are no ppl bettered simply by increasing that variable. We should think of fictions like “aggregate human happiness” similarly. If there are reasons to care about the species as a whole, there must be smth more to how the species is doing than this sum or average or whatever of how all the individual humans are doing

Still cooling off tumblr for a bit tbc. Especially this cursed discourse topic. Just wanted to get to some asks.

#ask #anon

[kitkatt0430]

idk if youre still doing in it but tommy merlyn, oliver queen for the character ask game?

It's been a while, but not that long so sure :D I do enjoy answering these, after all

Tommy Merlyn

1: sexuality headcanon

He's bi. Definitely bi. More into women than men, but he's an equal opportunity flirt.

2: otp

Tommy/Oliver or Tommy/Oliver/Laurel - there are a few other ships for him I like, but not to the point I'd call them an OTP

3: brotp

Tommy & Oliver & Thea where Tommy is the unofficial third Queen sibling - after all, he is actually Thea's sibling for real already

4: notp

Tommy/Thea for what are probably pretty obvious reasons. I feel so bad for Thea in season 1 knowing that part of her freak out in season 2 over having her biological parentage kept from her is knowing that she hit on her own brother and her mother never warned her.

5: first headcanon that pops into my head

In the Earth Prime universe, Tommy took Laurel's last name and became Tommy Lance. After his dad tried to blow up half the city and nearly killed Tommy along with it, he's not exactly keen to stay a Merlyn. So it makes sense that when he married Laurel, it was the Lance family name he wanted to honor and continue.

6: favorite line from this character

I really like this exchange:

Tommy: Dinah Laurel Lance always trying to save the world. Laurel: Hey. If I don't try and save it, who will?

It's very cute. And I do enjoy Tommy/Laurel even they're not an OTP to me, so having them be flirty while also kinda summing themselves up at the same time? He wants to support Laurel even though no one ever really taught him how to do that and she wants to save people be it as part of CNRI or as the Black Canary.

7: one way in which I relate to this character

Tommy struggles a lot with his feelings of not being good enough and when I was his age (when this show began he was older, now I am, how dare time work like this) so did I. Admittedly, for very different reasons. I've definitely found my sense of self confidence and self worth, though, and I'd like to think that Earth Prime Tommy did too, even though we didn't get to see it happen.

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character

He can be a little misogynistic at times. I do see it as something he's growing out of over the course of S1. End of season Tommy is way less prone to making an ass of himself objectifying women the way start of season Tommy is, so at least it's something he's got character growth about.

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?

cinnamon roll, definitely

And now for...

Oliver Queen

1: sexuality headcanon

Bi or pan. Oliver definitely has a crush on Barry going on by the time the Flash season premier rolled around.

2: otp

Barry/Oliver and Tommy/Oliver

I used to really like Felicity/Oliver and then the ship became canon and I just... didn't like the way they kinda brought out the worst in each other at times *shrug* a good example of being careful what you wish for, I suppose. Some ships are better left to fanon.

I actually really like the show Laurel/Oliver as exes, that was a fun dynamic for them. Though for the comics its Dinah/Oliver all the way.

3: brotp

Oliver & Dig, Oliver & Barry, Oliver & Tommy

Oliver & Dig especially though. It is fun seeing their friendship grow and be tested and come out stronger in the end. I was glad that if Oliver had to show up one last time on the Flash that Dig was there to see him and say goodbye.

4: notp

McKenna Hall and Isabel Rochev

The former... I do like her and Ollie on the show, they're cute but... she's a cop and comics Oliver would never.

Isabel having been one of Oliver's father's affairs and her only sleeping with Oliver to get revenge on a dead man who chose not to abandon his children is gross and squicks me so much when it happens on the show.

5: first headcanon that pops into my head

Oliver tells Barry that he can inspire people with hope because he inspired Oliver first. Meeting and becoming friends with Barry made Oliver want to be a better version of himself and he just feels comfortable around Barry/trusting Barry in a way he doesn't with everyone else.

6: favorite line from this character

So I don't know what my favorite line is, Oliver gets a lot of good zingers in, but I really love this exchange with him and Malcolm every time I rewatch S1

Malcolm: What are your thoughts, Oliver?

Oliver: I think the vigilante needs a better code name then "The Hood" or "The Hood Guy."

Malcolm: I agree. How about Green Arrow?

Oliver: Lame.

And then what is Oliver's final code name? The Green Arrow, of course.

7: one way in which I relate to this character

Honestly, I don't really know that I relate to him. He's a very different person from me which is probably what makes him such an interesting character to delve into when writing.

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character

Joining the cops??? I thought his inability to stop lying to people about shit could not be topped and then the final season happened. Comics Oliver would disown show Oliver over that one. He may not have been an real police officer, but working with the cops like that was just... crossing a line that should not have been crossed with this character.

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?

so many problems, I love this character anyway :D

#thanks for asking #kitkatt0430 answers #character ask game #tommy merlyn #oliver queen