#I'm so happy that we were able to create something so cool!!

[araminakilla]

Regarding Death Wolf...

Hear me out (NO, it's not the kind you are thinking)

We know Death has a job, right? To collect souls and most likely release them to the afterlife.

And for this job, he has to be there when somebody is about to die, as demostrated with him being there moments before Puss' eight death.

Supposing he is THE Death and he has been doing this since the beginning of time (or at least when there were enough stories of the Grim Reaper to adquire a physical form) that means he has seen a lot, A LOT of awful things.

Murders, suicides, massacres, death of infants, people who didn't deserve to die alone, animal cruelty, some other heavy stuff I won't mention here, etc etc etc.

And we thought "man, how is he able to cope with all of that? That job has to be utter torture for someone."

Probably many of you could think that he is able to do that because he is Death, and he was "born" with that purpose and only him can reap souls perfectly.

But while he is a force of nature, he also WAS a force of nature. Let me explain it well: He adquired a personality enough to be angry, excited, frustrated, amazed, happy, among other emotions.

While he has supernatural power and is most likely the most powerful being in the Shrek Franchise (or in Dreamworks as many say) he is also a PERSON.

Someone with a code of honor, morals, opinions, beliefs, etc.

Returning to the question "How can he bear all of that?" taking into account he is no longer an inevitable force, but a character of his own.

The answer is something you may relate to, and that is: Creativity and escapism.

To be the embodiment of Death, the guy is a very creative fella.

First of all, his design. I heard many people saying here and in Twitter that his design is something they would come up in their edgy, teen years of drawing their first fursona.

Guess what? They are right, the wolf form is someone's fursona. It's DEATH'S fursona. He clearly came up with this badass, piercing canine form to blend with the Fairy Tale Land assuming the form of the "Big Bad Wolf". He most likely had other forms he designed over the centuries and was able to present as them like if he were on a role play game in the living world.

His sickles? The weapon of choice with the little crossed cats on it to have a bigger effect of terror for Puss? Those who can become knuckles and join to create a scythe? Those are his creation, probably after thinking it for a while and writing all of those functions on a paper.

The way he presents himself? In the bar? The coins in his eyes as a "watching you" sign while being a cool reference to the Ferryman of souls? He transforming Perrito's forest into the background of a skull? The chilling reveal at the Cave of Lost Souls? The fire ring? It was all him.

As for the escapism part...

When the world becomes too heavy to deal with as real life issues tend to make us feel bad, depressed, angry... we tend to escape it somewhere. And in our time the common place would be the internet as in webpages or comics, stories, etc.

But what has to do with Death Wolf you may ask?

Well, while he would NEVER be able to escape his job entirely, he can have moments where he can enjoy a good hunt of people who don't appreciate life, like the whole plot of the Puss in Boots sequel could demostrate.

He managed to have a little time outside his eternal routine to chase an arrogant cat who took life for granted. He enjoyed it, it was thrilling, it was exciting.

It was a way to escape a monotonous, grim "life", if just for a short moment.

So, when the chase ended as his prey no longer feared him and now was ready to fight for his last life, the wolf retreats, happy for Puss' character development but resigned because he once again had to return to "The Eternal Duty"

And that's not even counting all the times Jack "I'm dead inside" Horner had to interrupt Lobo's hunt and remind him of his job even in his "spare time"

Death knew the chase had to end eventually, but he didn't want it to end.

He didn't want to return to his own world

And if we look at Death like that, then he is probably one of the most relatable characters Dreamworks has ever make.

In the Shrek Franchise:

Monsters can be loved

Princesses don't have to fit the perfect standards of beauty

Handsome guys can be possesive jerks

Love at first sight doesn't work like one would think

Happily ever afters had to be built and not just obtain them with magic

And Death is the most creative and "full of life" being in the world

Because he would absolutely go crazy with his life/work if he wasn't.

Because in a world of Kings, Poets and Soldiers, he's the Supreme King

And he's also a perky goth but none of you are ready for that conversation.

#100% sure that if Tumblr was a thing in the Shrekverse... #Death would have an account #puss in boots #puss in boots 2 #pib #pib 2 #pibtlw #pib the last wish #puss in boots the last wish #the last wish #death wolf #death the wolf #lobo muerte #pib lobo #puss in boots lobo #puss in boots wolf #pib wolf #pib death #puss in boots death #puss in boots analysis #character analysis #escapism #creativity #shrek #dreamworks shrek #dreamworks #this is probably the discovery of the decade #or the stupidest thing I ever wrote on this website

[heaven4lostgirls]

Best Friend (R.C)

pairing: rafe cameron x reader, possibly jj maybank x reader

warning: hurt/comfort i believe? i'm not sure. rafe's an ass but also psycho but what else is new. JJ is a cutie and we love him. mentions of unrequited feelings and jealousy.

summary: being rafe's best friend used to be one of the best things in life, until it wasnt. now its time for you to make your own choices and rafe isnt too happy about that.

word count: 2.3k

a/n: as i said, my motivation is back so say hello to a new story!, not sure if i'll continue this but if you want another part, i'll be open to trying to write another piece.

Rafe and you had been friends since before you could even know what the word meant. Y/N and Rafe, Rafe, and Y/N, never one without the other, a package deal since the day you could remember. It was beautiful, truly. Having someone you could trust unconditionally; sure, you had your family and other close friends but none of them ever knew you as well as Rafe did. His ability to see not just you, but your soul was something you couldn’t imagine finding with someone else.

Which is why for the last 5 years, you’ve spent quietly trying to kill the crush you’d developed on your best friend. Every piece of attention he had ever given you, every small touch and sweet gesture just nurtured your heart faster than any of his sexual conquests and questionable habits could ever break it. You followed his figure through the party he had thrown at house, the smell of drugs, alcohol and sweaty bodies all mushed together to create the distinct atmosphere of a typical Rafe Cameron rager.

He was known for these parties; you both were actually. You and Rafe were unanimously dubbed the prince and princess of the OBX. You were once fond of that title but as time passed and you watched from the sidelines as a new girl sat of Rafe’s lap as you were left behind to do your own thing, it became a harder pill to swallow. Currently, he had his arm wrapped around a beautiful brunette who looked nothing like you, which seemed to be a recurring theme.

You watched as he sat down on one of the couches on the balcony near his friends and pulled the girl into his lap, your eyes stung but you knew better than to let your emotions get the better of you. Now was not the time to lose your cool, someone could see, and the news would spread fast to Rafe and with his inebriated state from who knows what, you weren’t willing to take the chances he was going to act in a sane way.

So, you blinked harshly, refilled your cup with your drink of choice and went back to the party, aiming to ignore Rafe and his company for the most part until  he eventually got bored and came looking for you. Fortunately for you, you spot Kiara and the rest of the Pogue’s outside near the fire pit. It’s usually very rare to see any of them  at one of these parties, more so because of Sarah’s strained relationship with her brother.

It’s comforting to meet their warm and happy gazes, you haven’t been able to spend much time with them because Rafe had monopolised most of it, he also didn’t particularly enjoy you choosing to spend your time with someone else other than him. Fortunately for you, parties like these lets you branch out and speak to new people without having to worry about Rafe breathing down your neck.

“Hey Y/N!” John B calls out and the rest of the group turns with excited and warm looks on their faces, the calm that washes over your body is immediate and you walk over to them to say hi. “Hey” you mutter shy as the girls get up to hug you as you sit in-between JJ and Sarah. “Haven’t seen you much around the island recently, you doing, okay?” Kiara asks curiously and you chew on your lip as you wonder what to tell her.

“No yeah I’m good, it’s just…Rafe you know?” you say, somewhat embarrassed that you don’t have a better excuse for the group. As you look down to your lap, you miss the look of sympathy that Kiara and Sarah share, they know just how bad it is to be caught  up with Rafe. “Hey, are you busy tomorrow?” Sarah pipes in and you look at her in surprise, this is the first time someone’s ever invited you to hang out.

“No?” you say confused and Sarah looks at the group before breaking out in a big smile before mentioning, “We’re all going to the beach tomorrow, it’s supposed to be a really good surf day” she says as she looks at you expectantly. “We’d love if you could join us” Kiara adds and the smile that lights up is almost blinding. “That sounds great! I’m not too good at surfing but I’d still like to come if you’ll have me” you say a little embarrassed and the rest of the group just voices their agreement before Pope breaks the chatter.

“John B’s teaching Sarah tomorrow how to get the bigger waves and I’ll be helping Kie fish, but JJ’s free if you want some help” he offers and the man in question looks surprised at the suggestion. You’re shocked but you look at JJ with a small smile and shrug of your shoulders. “Yeah, no worries, I don’t know how good of a teacher I’ll be, but I can try” he says, and you nod excitedly.

The night moves on swiftly with friendly chatter between 6 of you. You  surprisingly don’t feel excluded when they start sharing all their memories together, you’re happy to sit back and listen and before you know it, the party starts dying down and people start either dozing off right where they are or leaving to get home. You try to find Rafe but one sympathetic look from Topper lets you know that he’s in his room…not alone.

With no ride home and Topper wasted, you have no way home. You’re about to start walking but you see the lights of a run-down van come to a stop across the street before the door opens and JJ’s voice carries through the night. “C’mon! John B’s our DD tonight, you can get a lift bunk with us for the night.” He offers and you gladly accept, you all make your way back to the chalet and as everyone gets to their designated sleeping areas, there’s no space for you on any of the couches.

Pope offers you his space so he can sleep on the floor, but you decline, letting him know its okay. You settle in on the cold floor and try to readjust to get a comfortable spot before you feel someone shaking your arm. You  open your eyes and blink slightly to see JJ’s ruffled hair and outstretched hand, you look at him confusedly but nonetheless comply. He pulls you up and navigates the chalet like second nature, “You can sleep in my bed, I’ll take the floor.” He whispers and you shake your head vehemently.

“No, I’m not taking your bed, you sleep there. I was fine on the floor” you argue, and he rolls his eyes as he pulls you into the room. “I could hear your shuffling through the door, just sleep in the bed y/n.” he says amused, your lips twitch into a smile as you look at him in the eyes. “No.” you say, and his eyes roll again as he huffs and moves to the bed to lie down on one side.

Before you can leave you see him pat the space next to him. “You coming or what?” he mumbles sleepily. You hesitate for a second before you realise that it’s better than sleeping on the floor. You get in on the other side of the bed and place the blanket over the bottom half of your body. As you doze off, you’re mildly aware of someone pulling you closer to their chest and soft breathing against your neck.

You wake up to your phone buzzing, as you pick it up you notice almost a dozen missed calls from Rafe and over fifty texts ranging from asking where you are to confusion that you’re not at his place or your own, to anger that you’re not answering him. Your heads still pounding from the alcohol last night so all you do is send him and your parents a text saying your safe and you’re spending the day with some friends at the beach.

JJ groans from behind you and you’re suddenly aware of his arm wrapped around your waist and his legs tangled with yours. “Why’re you up so early” he mumbles into your neck, and you can’t help but laugh softly. “Sorry, my phone woke me up” you mumble sheepishly. “Then put it off and let’s go back to sleep” he groans as he tightens his arms around you which makes your face heat.

 Just as you turn your phone off and place it on the side table, the door opens and John B’s voice floats through the room. “JJ, get up we’re leaving in 10-” he stops midway through as he catches you and JJ together, you go to tell him what happened, but he just shakes his head and smiles. “I’ll see you both up and ready in 10 minutes, Y/N, Sarah left you a spare bikini in  the bathroom if you need it.” He says cheerfully as he closes the door before you can finish saying thanks.

JJ groans and throws his arm over his eyes before he smirks and lets out a huff of laughter which sends you both into fits of laughter. After you all get ready and are on your way to the beach, you and JJ spend your time talking and catching up with one another, being around the same age you both knew of each other but had never been particularly close. You come to loathe that as you find out just how funny and caring JJ is as a person.

When you reach the beach, you see that JJ had packed a spare board for you. Your heart warms at the gesture as he carries both to the water. The waves aren’t particularly high right now so as you both paddle in, you’re comfortable enough to ride a few of the smaller ones. As they get higher, you let JJ catch a few before he comes back to help you. You spend around an hour letting JJ manoeuvre you to get a good position on the board and working on your technique. It takes a couple tries of you falling off the board and trusting JJ to catch you before you’re even comfortable with trying one of the waves.

Unbeknownst to you, Rafe had been stressing the fuck out after waking up without you this morning. He had spent the better part of an hour trying to find you, you weren’t at his, nor at your parents. He’d only gotten it out of topper that he saw you leaving in a car after the party ended so safe to assume he was losing his shit. Where the fuck had you possibly have gone? Who could you have gone with? You didn’t have any friends other than him, and he knows that none of the guys at the party would have tried to sleep with you when  they knew you inadvertently belonged to him.

Mind you, when you finally bothered to answer his dozen calls and texts, all you had sent was “I’m okay don’t worry, I’m spending the day at the beach with some friends, I’ll see you tomorrow!” like hell you would. Who did you think he was? He was not going to let you just flounce around anywhere when there were people that could hurt you. Also, these “friends” you spoke about just about made him angry enough to fuel the urge to kill someone. Who could you possibly be talking about? All the people you two spent your time with were either at home still or at his place which he knew could only mean you were at the beach with those dirty fucking pogues.

You were gonna do Rafe’s head in, running off from him and the party to hang out with them? He scoffed at the thought. They didn’t know you like he knew you. They wouldn’t treat you as well as he did. Thinking about that dick John B that had roped his stupid fucking sister into their plans made his blood boil at the thought that they could be doing the same to you. The thought only made him speed faster to the beach.

Once he got there, oh was his blood definitely boiling. Fucking JJ. With his scummy little hands all over your body, in one of the tiniest swimsuits he’d ever seen you in. God, you looked beautiful. It was hard to dwell on that fact when all he could see was you laughing and splashing around with JJ whilst he stood on the beach glaring daggers at the blonde boy’s figure.

“Y/N!” he bellowed across the beach, and he gloated in the horror that washed over your face as you turned to look at the beach with JJ’s stupid fucking arms still wrapped around your waist. You try to smile and wave at him, but his anger must show on his face as you drop your hand and look  at him in confusion. “Come here!” he yells again and watches as you turn to JJ to ask a question, the blonde idiot in question just shrugs and smiles up at you.

He watches as you take a deep breath before you turn to him and shake your head whilst yelling a “NO” across the beach. His jaw clenches at your statement as he continues glaring. “I’m not playing around Y/N. COME. HERE.” He yells again and watches as JJ tells you something softly that you laugh at before you turn to him deviously before yelling out, “Fuck off Rafe” with a big smile on your face.

He inhales sharply as his gaze hardens on the both of you. Fine. You wanna be like that? Okay. He’s not letting you get off that easy. He smirks at the thought as he stalks off to his car to drive off. He’ll wait you out if he has to, and when you do come out. You’lll regret ever using that tone with him.

#juliwrites #obx #obx fic #obx fanfiction #rafe obx #rafe cameron imagine #rafe cameron angst #rafe imagine #rafe cameron #rafe outer banks #rafe x reader #outerbanks rafe #dark rafe cameron #rafe cameron x reader #rafe cameron x reader angst #rafe cameron x reader hurt/comfort #jj maybank #jj mayback x reader #jj mayback imagine #jj maybank x reader #jj maybank imagine #jj maybank fanfiction #jj maybank fluff

[pockethep]

TADC Theory...One of the Characters could be an NPC.

Even before episode 2 dropped people were theorizing that one of the main cast could be an NPC. With episode 2 having come out yesterday a very specific line said by Caine only fuels that theory....

"I know you guys love your NPCs but if I start losing track of who's a human and who's an NPC, who knows what could happen..."

I LOVE this idea for the drama. If the main goal is everyone escaping from the circus, there’s a lot of potential for a scene where everyone leaves but one of them physically can’t make it out because they aren’t a real person. (Very Wreck It Ralph like.)

Just based off what we know from two episodes I'm trying to decide who is most and least likely.

We know it probably isn't Pomni or Ragatha, they both glitched out in the pilot plus Pomni has outside game knowledge. She's been saying "collision" and "glitch" and "we're somewhere under the map", these are video game specific terms. And although NPCs can glitch as well (The Gloinks glitched in the pilot) Kinger remembers Ragathas arrival and how hard it was.

Jax can be ruled out in a similar way for the same reason as Pomni. He referenced Augustus Gloop, the child from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, this episode. This is real world knowledge that would be a very specific reference for an NPC to know let alone make.

I can somewhat rule out Kinger just based on the fact that Queenie was a character who (presumably) abstracted. Based on naming conventions and design alone (weak defense but there's only two episodes out) they could have come to the digital circus together. With all the characters having such random designs it feels intentional for two characters look similar. If this is just a coincidence it would be cool for his erratic and paranoid personality to be a result of being an NPC. His spontaneity comes from the fact that he's in an area he isn't supposed to be in. Also he's been at he circus for so long and hasn't abstracted which is very very interesting.

My bets are on Zooble and Gangle. Although mainly because we don't know much about Zooble and the mask gimmick with Gangle is both something no other character has and feels like something from an actual game. Gangle is cheerful with the happy mask and more emotional and depressed with the tragedy mask while the other characters are more permitted to show emotion without something actively filtering them. Also my own bias thinks it would be cool for Gangle to snap, it'd be fun to watch the characters try to avoid getting grabbed by the ribbons while hiding around the circus.

HOWEVER we could look at what Caine said in a different way. Mainly the "who knows what could happen...". What if it was a warning about an actual event that happened? He actually couldn't tell the difference. What if him not being able to tell a human and an NPC apart led to the death of an actual character?

Gummigoo looked very distinct from all the other characters in the circus. He was more gelatinous, had an accent, and was very much from the candy world that Caine had created. It was easy to rule him out from the main group design-wise.

But Kinger and Queenie who look VERY similar...

It would be interesting if the real reason Queenie disappeared was because Caine mixed up the two because of similar designs and blasted the wrong one.

Probably more in tags but TL;DR someone in the main cast could be an NPC and Caine could have accidentally killed a human because he couldn't tell them apart from an NPC. RIP Gummigoo

#the amazing digital circus #tadc pomni #tadc ragatha #tadc jax #tadc kinger #tadc gangle #tadc caine #tadc zooble #tadc theory #TBH given how little info we have anyone could have a case made for any one them but Pomni really #I could see Ragatha being an NPC similar to Toriel she's the character whos there to help and reassure #Jax is such a cool character because he treats the players (tadc cast) like NPCs #Jax treats them as items like he does not want to think of them as real people #Maybe its because HE is the NPC who hates that they are characters or maybe just his way of distancing himself from people who might die #Gangle deserves to snap as a treat and I hope she chokes Jax out first #I really hope Zooble gets more development later they look really cool

[satoshy12]

My wife's dad is more scary then Batman and my grandfather Ra's al Ghul

Estelle as name for Dani or Estrella 

4 Baby Talons (clones of dick Grayson)

It had already been a few months since Damian got married to his friend Ellie, and he was very happy. I'm not sure how to explain it to his family or, worse, her family, but that can wait. It happened while he was traveling with her together on vacation through the countries. And he chated and wrote her like four times a day.

While Damian hid it from his family, Dani didn't, as she first told Sam. Jazz and Maddie are working on how to tell Danny. And then Danny learned about it, and he left to meet that boy in Gotham. It had been a long time since he had been in Gotham. And the observers wanted that one person called Doctor Simon Hurt; too many souls died thanks to him.

He was joined by Skulker on this mission. Skulker was just happy to hunt something new, as he didn't try to hunt Danny anymore. The pain that Danny did to his Robot Body he felt on his real boy!

Well, Dani kind of followed Danny; she wanted to make sure he didn't turn her into a widow! She didn't even tell him about her being a meta!

There was something not many people knew about Danny that he himself never noticed, as Amity Park had known him since he was a baby. And being pretty carefree in your demeanor doesn't help. But once outside of Gotham or at Gala with Vlad, people notice it, like Lex Luthor that very short moment in the Gala.

Here in Gotham,

Danny met his son-in-law, and he found the boy interesting. Sam had told him about the child of Bruce Wayne, the playboy billionaire. But he wasn't sure why the boy was so jumpy. I mean, Skulker isn't even near them; already, with few of his duplicates had found Dr. Hurt and captured him already. And Danny others looked if that Owl group still existed since the last time he cleaned them up.

Danny is too powerful for most normal people to fear. Only with good instinct will he notice how formidable he truly is.

So poor Damian's whole body was in horror at this moment. His instinct made him able to notice it fully.

Damian twitched as he was just near Dani's Father, no matter how he tried to hide or stop it. This man made him think of his grandfather, General Zod or similiar. He wanted to draw his Sword, but he didn't have it near him.

Damian smiled at Dani as he tried to play it cool. But when you notice your father-in-law's shadow moving, HE HAS SEEN WORSE! He can do this!

And after a good dinner and talk he got the support of Danny; Ellie smiled; she wouldn't be a widow; and Damian was happy he was accepted and didn't have to fight this villain, maybe? or in the future. Damian didn't get to sigh in relief as Danny left and whispered something about collecting something.

No! Damian, doesn't care!

He wants alone time with his wife. Only to be told "he was to come with his family to Amity Park to meet the Fenton. Damian's family should meet theirs."

Dani told him they would come, and she would Call them 1 or 2 days bore that first before Damian could say anything.

+++++

As Danny was outside of Gotham, Skulker came to him with his few duplicates, holding four tiny blue-gold mixed-eyed children. "Skulker, you destroyed how they were created and so they can't do it again?" Skulker:"Yup, destroyed both Dionesium and Electrum and let few pets out to eat them, it wasn't Lazarus Pit which is needed after all and has nothing to do with us in the Zone. Also I sent copies of the Court members, very damning evidence of their crimes to many newspapers and reporters all around the US. Did you know they blackmailed a few Senators? It will be a comedy in a few days; you can tell that goth girl to tell her family." Danny nodded his head at that. " The cover-ups for this one?" Skulker:" Yes, Mr. Freeze will do it, as last thanks for helping to heal his wife." Danny:" Good, we can leave then. I am hungry."

Skulker:" Didn't you just eat?"

++++

At Amity Park, it didn't take long for Jazz to just accept the new 4 Owlet babies and raise them, she really is wanting to raise them. True, Danny had no plan for them, but that works too. And now they just have to wait for Damian to visit with his family.

++++

At Gotham, after the chaos was fixed by Mr. Freeze and the new chaos started by the news and police forces and even villains attacking the higher class… Bruce meets and learns about his son's wife, and he is told to meet her family in Amity Park. Damian warned his father, his new father-in-law, that this is very scary and not normal.

#danny fenton #danny phantom #dp #dc #dcau #dc comics #dc x dp #dp + dc #batman #dp x dc #Dr Hurt #Dr Simon Hurt #Skulker #Observants #danielle fenton #dani phantom #Dani x Damian #Serious Chaos #Jazz Fenton #Damian fears Danny #Something is very wrong with his wife's father #Sam Manson #Dami married Dani #Observants aren't evil #Neutral #maddie Fenton #amity park #Amity Park is Weird #More Weird then Gotham #maybe not as bad as Outlast

[non-stop-imagines]

Red Lipstick Smudged

From this request 💖🤭

Pairing: Esteban Ocon x Black Fem!Reader

Summary: In which you and Esteban just...couldn't wait.

Word Count: ~3.0k words

Warning: Porn with a plot??? (Let's just pretend that's true, car sex, oral (m receiving), fingering, p in v, unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it and all that jazz), online translator French, ruining clothing, Very mild orgasm denial but it's still there; Minors DNI!!! 18+

A/N: Whew! I don't know why or how but, uh, yeah. Here this is. This request was a surprising one even though the actual request was simple, I was surprised to see it when it first came in. And what better song to use? 🤣 Now this is mainly based off that second part of Partition (y'all know 😏), but it gave me great smut writing practice so I ain't complaining if y'all aren't. Also, shoutout to 🌶️ anon, you are always just so sweet and kind and supportive and I think like you said, me going and doing something else brought new inspiration for that Carlos fic so, 💋 for you. And thank you to all my anons, with and without symbols, for showing me kindness and being patient with me and checking in on me. Whenever I get those messages it immediately calms my worries because I'm so glad that I have been able to create an environment where we feel comfortable checking on each other. 💖🩷 ANYWAY, happy reading! Hope you guys enjoy! Love you all!! 💖💛💖💛

Translations: Putain, ne me taquine pas.=Fuck, don't tease me; continue, chérie=keep going, darling; Ne pleurnichez pas.=Don't whine; Les yeux sur la putain de route.=Eyes on the fucking road; Regarde, pêches.=Look, peaches.

Masterlist

   "You look amazing, as always." These words come after your boyfriend gets out of the backseat of the car waiting for you two, politely waving away the driver so he can be the one to open the door for you. After getting in you dab on a bit more lipstick while you and the driver waited for Esteban to get in.

   "Merci, mon amour." You give light greeting kisses to the sides of your boyfriends face and then a very light peck to his lips in an effort not to transfer any of your red lipstick.

   "What was that!?" He sounded mock offended at the briefness of the kiss, obviously desiring something bit more than just a peck from his girlfriend.

   "What? I didn't use the smudge proof one. It's a pain trying to get it off and the color of this one is brighter. I just don't want to get it on your lips." Your thumb swipes at his lips in order to remove the little bit of color that did transfer from the kiss you gave him a moment ago, a gesture to which he instinctively accepts.

   "You know I don't care about getting your lipstick on me." He couldn't take his eyes off of you when you took out a compact to check your lipstick. He loved red on you, and you knew it. That's why you wore the dress and the lipstick. You wanted to drive him absolutely insane at the event you two were on your way to. Wanted to see how long it would take for him to crumble and take you to the nearest secluded place to fuck you senseless.

   "You don't mind lipstick getting on certain places." You click the compact mirror closed and give Esteban a cheeky side eye as you put it back in your pearly silver clutch.

   "What do you mean by that?" He leaned his elbow on the back of the limo seat, his hand pushing back your soft hair that fell out of its place. He then realized you got your hair done, silk press and mildly curled to create soft waves.

   "Do I have to remind you of the times you asked me to put this on before sucking your dick?" The look you gave him was a grave contrast to the words you just said, innocent and adoring.

   "Ah. Can you blame me though? Your pretty red lips wrapped around my cock, leaving smudges, it's a lovely sight." He was trying to play it cool as your hand slowly crawled up his thigh, but he could feel his pants getting tighter, more uncomfortable.

   "Well, the venue is another 45 minutes. I could give you a little show…" Your hands found their way to the hem of his pants, slowly undoing his belt.

   "But the driver…" You were already crawling down between Esteban's thighs and pushing down his pants to expose his underwear more by the time he voiced his concern.

   "Just tell him to roll up the partition." You continue your task of releasing his hard dick from the confines of his underwear, leaving him to instruct the driver in French.

   You couldn't lie. You loved his dick. It was long, which, even though Esteban was tall and skinny so it should be expected, surprised you every time you saw it. It curves toward his belly button slightly, and the mauve tip was already leaking in anticipation. You look up at him through your eyelashes, maintaining eye contact as you kiss the head of his cock and let just the tip into your mouth, popping it back out a moment later.

   "Putain, ne me taquine pas." You flash a pretty smile up at him, knowing you already complete control over him. He would always revert to speaking French when filled with high emotion, or in this case, anticipating the feeling of your warm mouth around his hard cock. You decide to be nice and not tease him any longer, opening your mouth wide to take as much of him as you could at that moment in your mouth, reminding yourself to relax your jaw, hollow out your cheeks and breathe through your nose. You pull back after going just barely halfway down his dick, licking your way up it with a flat tongue to distribute spit and possibly make it easier to get him further into your mouth.

   Esteban's view of you was unmatched. Your eyes would move between maintaining eye contact with him and an intense focus on his dick. Your full red lips were the perfect transition as he watched his dick disappear and reappear from your mouth, and sure enough there were faint red streaks of lipstick along portions of his cock. Your dress had hiked up due to your kneeling position being unfavorable for the fabric of the dress, so the bottom half of your ass was visible. Your hair was desperately out of place, the previous streamline look now slightly puffier, some portions obviously misplaced. Esteban tries to reach to fix it, but you signal for him to wait.

   "I'm sweating so it fucked anyway. Leave it." You suck him back into your mouth, regaining the head bobbing pace you had moments before, and using a hand to get whatever wasn't fitting. Your tongue enjoyed the warmth and texture of his dick, and the pleasure you could see clouding his brain made you hornier by the second. You continued to try hard to get as much as you could of him in your mouth, gagging when the tip reaches the back of your throat, and trying to focus on your breathing to distract you from the sensation. But this didn't stop the excess spit from dripping down your chin and tears from producing, and in your pleasure and concentration, it completely slipped your mind that you opted for regular mascara instead of lashes that night, that was until your boyfriend wiped below your eye and showed you the running mascara.

   "You're wearing mascara. What about the lashes you usually wear?" The sentence came out prolonged and shaky since him promoting conversation didn't stop you from sucking on him.

   "I got a stye the last time, remember? So I decided to give them a break." You had taken him out of your mouth to answer but kept stroking him with your hands, using the lathered spit to make the action easier. Every bit of makeup on your face was smudged, but your innocent eyes looking up at him as you spoke so matter-of-factly brought him unbearably close to a climax he didn't know he was at.

   "Oh. Oh-continue, chérie." You smile again, giggling at the response that you were getting from him, then going back to bobbing your head, mentally competing with yourself, seeing if you could get past your gag reflex to take him deeper. You were taken off guard when you felt the buck of Esteban's hip, succeeding in pressing more of his dick into your mouth, the abrupt action producing more tears from your eyes and for more lathered spit to bubble from your mouth. He fucks your face a couple more times, but when you couldn't take it anymore you remove your mouth and resort to your hands to give your jaw a rest. You were beautiful and messy, satisfied with the work you had done and your facial expressions showed it, and just this sight drove Esteban over the edge. He gave no warning for the spurts of cum that came shooting from his cock, landing on various places of your face and chest, with some of it ending up on your dress.

   "Damn it! You got cum on my dress. I could figure out the hair situation but this…is there anything we can use to clean it up?" You sat back on your heels and examined the splotch, wondering how and if you were able to get it off before getting to the charity event both Alpine drivers were invited to attend. Esteban had his mind on other things though, pushing more of his pants down while you weren't paying attention.

   "To be honest, Pêches, the last thing on my mind is this fucking event. Come here." He takes one of your hands that was tending to your dress and attempts to guide you up to his lap. You were hesitant at first, for what reason you had no idea because after seeing Esteban's lap, slender toned thighs and semi-hard dick dripping reminiscence of cum onto the bottom of his button up, you were quick to straddle his waist, you widened thighs finishing the job of bunching the bottom of your dress at your waist. You almost immediately start rolling your his into his, you covered pussy gliding over him, the wetness it produced soaking through and getting on his dick. 

   The scene of hips gyrating into each other was a drastic contrast to the scene of your two faces observing each other. You scanned down his face, sweat beading around his brows, cheeks flushed and tinged red, and his lips, which you take a moment longer to study, were redder and you could see faint teeth marks in the bottom one. Esteban was still enamored by the messy look of your makeup, accented by a small streak of cum on your left cheek that he goes to wipe away. Your eyes conveyed an extreme amount of love and lust, nonverbally telling him exactly how much you loved him and how horny he made you, and boy, was the feeling mutual.

   Esteban leaned in for a kiss, tilting his head up slightly since you kneeling on the seat made you tower over him slightly. You place your hands on the sides of his face to finish bringing him in for the kiss, purposefully making it sloppy to ensure the red on your lips fully transferred to his. His hands made their obvious way to your ass, gripping each cheek with long slender fingers, riding along as you continued to grind on him.

   "Where are we? Are we close to the venue?" You move from kissing his lips to down his neck, leaving lipstick stains wherever they went. Esteban briefly looks out the windows, then utters something to the driver that he has to repeat since the first time it was obstructed by the rolled up partition. "What did you say?" You were still rolling your hips, finding the sensation almost comforting now, and your lips were swollen from the incessant kissing.

   "I told him to drive past and take us back home. I'll text Pierre later. He owes me for the last time, anyway. Bailed on me, probably for a similar reason." His right hand slid from your butt to your pelvis, and in one smooth motion pulled your underwear to the side and ran two long slender fingers through your folds, having to do little work himself as you continued to move your hips, now focused on the sensation that the presence of his fingers gave. He stops you though, moving his hands to your hips to stop your motions. "Lift up." You do as told, fully up on your knees, sternum at his nose, waiting for his next action. You let a shocked gasp fall from your lips when you feel two long, slender fingers ease into you slowly, sliding in effortlessly from how impossibly wet you were. He pulls them out fully and lifts them to his line of sight, and you watch as he separates the two appendages to show strings of arousal connecting them. "I make you this wet? Either that or you just really enjoy sucking dick." He licks the juices from his fingers and then slides them back into you, fucking into you slowly, waiting for your answer.

   "Both. But only if it's your dick." You wanted to taste yourself on his lips, so you littered them with kisses. Kissing him like he was your only source of oxygen, just so you could taste yourself from his lips. You only stop when a calloused thumb is pressed onto you clit.

   "Good answer." He keeps his fingers going, the "come hither" motion being made reaching spots that you could only dream of reaching with your own. Esteban could feel, and hear, that you were getting wetter by the second, the squelching noises being accompanied by the sticky slickness of your overflowing juices with each thrust of his fingers. The back of the limo had a pleasantly lewd scent of sex that swirled so wonderfully with the combined notes of woodsy vanilla from your perfume and his cologne. He was getting irritatingly hard again and this time the only feeling that could even remotely help is that of your soft warm walls wrapped around him.

   "I fucking love your fingers, Daddy." You moan, moving your hips meeting the thrusts of his fingers and trying to increase the pressure on your clit yourself. But Esteban had other plans, and as you guys ventured closer to the venue, he removed his fingers and hastily grabbed his dick, rubbed the tip along your slit and stuck just that in before placing his hands on your hips to push you down onto it himself.

   "Sounds like you like my dick more, pêches." This was in response to the guttural "Oh my gosh" you let out after having no choice but to bottom out on his dick.

   "You're so fucking deep, I don't-" You move one of your hands from your boyfriend's shoulder to the rear window if the limo, not having to do any work yourself as Esteban guides you down onto his cock and then thrusts you back up with his hips. You were already overwhelmed with how he felt inside of you, stretching you, dragging in and out, hitting your cervix with each thrust that it took you a moment to register the riiippp from the fabric of your dress and the feeling of the damp air on your now exposed boobs. "What the fuck?"

   "Ne pleurnichez pas. I'll buy you a new one." He was hypnotized by the sight of your bouncing tits in his face, your moans a background sound that immerses him further. That is until an abrupt stop of the limo causes him to unintentionally thrust deeper into you, making you scream and let out expletives as Esteban examines the situation. He quickly identified the problem: the partition was only rolled up halfway at that point, so from what he could guess, the driver was so distracted from watching your ass bounce on his cock that he almost hit the person in front of him. "Les yeux sur la putain de route." He instructed quick and angrily before motioning for him to roll up the partition again. "Are you okay?"

   For Esteban, there were very few, if any, views of you that didn't turn him on immensely, and the one he had at the moment was no different. Your breasts in his face, your exhausted, pleasure filled face tilted downward, hair falling forward with your tilted head, just trying to catch your breath and recover from the unexpected feeling you just experienced. "Mhmm. Just a shock."

   "Okay." He continues again slower, using the faces you were making as a gauge for when he could go back to the pace he was at. Somehow everything was timed perfectly, because by the time he reached his previous pace, or what seemed to be faster because now you were starting to chase your own orgasm, the limo had reached the outskirts of the event, still a good amount of people waiting to get a glimpse of whatever celebrity they are able to. "Regarde, pêches. Completely oblivious to you being fucked out of your mind in the back of this limo. Want to give them a show, huh? Want to show them how much of a needy little cock-hungry girl you are?" His threats were empty, knowing that the driver was going to take the next side street to take you guys back home, but he wanted to hear you beg.

   "Nooo…I wanna go home." You could only think about how good Esteban's dick made you feel, and how much better it would be in the comforts of your own home. More room available. Less inhibition. Free to get off however you pleased.

   "Don't worry, Daddy will get you home." You nod at him, but continue to nod as your brain shuts out everything except the feeling of Esteban's cock reaching the deepest parts of your pussy and your own fingers strategically rubbing your clit. You just wanted to cum. Well, more like needed to cum, as you've been so unbearably horny since you saw Esteban dressed in his tux before you two even left the house. "But…" He uses one large hand to stop your little fingers from working your clit while he reversed his hips to fully retract himself from you, hard wer dick, covered in your juices, bobbing close to his stomach. "You have to wait to cum. Until we get home. Then I'll make you cum as many times as you want." He guides you off of his lap, pulls his own pants and underwear back up, and then removes his jacket to give to you, which you take after attempting to cover your chest with the ripped fabric of your silky red dress.

   "You're an asshole, you know that." You mope in your seat as the driver continues back to your place, the surroundings becoming familiar again as you watch out the window.

   "Say what you want, you'll pay when we get home." He reaches for your hand and gives it a brief kiss, his aura sweet, but his threatening promise still looking over you. You continue to avoid eye contact, but he knew that it was all a facade. You just enjoyed acting like a little brat when you guys fuck because you knew it irritated him in a way that made him want to fuck you harder just to shut you up. So, it was even less of a surprise when your other hand reached around to aid in ripping his button up open, buttons flying everywhere.

   "I just had to make it fair. I couldn't be the only one with ripped clothing." You turned to look out the window again, your boyfriend's previous promise echoing in your head. As you neared home you made little annoying complaints here and there, because one thing about Esteban is that he always kept his promises.

#Spotify #black reader #formula 1 #f1 imagines #formula 1 x black!reader #f1 x black!reader #request #esteban ocon x black!reader #estie bestie #esteban ocon #esteban ocon x reader #esteban ocon smut #f1 imagine #f1 smut #f1 fic

[crescencestudio]

๋࣭⭑ Devlog #40 | 5.1.24 ๋࣭⭑

Happy April (pretend I'm not late on this devlog)!!

April flew by in the blink of an eye. It's been a really busy month for me personally--I'm not sure about you all!

This devlog is going to be structured differently from the past devlogs for two reasons: 1) my concussion is lowkey kicking my ass and 2) I had a release going on almost every week this month because I am a Crazy Person HA!!!!

This month was filled with some kind of release every weekend, which is equal parts exciting and exhausting. Because releases always take a lot out of me, I basically spent every day this month cycling between phases of post-release euphoria, post-release depression, pre-release excitement, recovery burnout, burnout guilt, and just about every emotion in between.

THEN!! I got into an accident about a week ago and have been throwing hands with the resulting concussion since. So it's basically been a crazy month in the Crescence world.

That being said, let's run through the month in chronological order, and every weekend release :crazy eyes & hysterical laughter:

Kayn's Beta Route Out Now!

Kayn's Beta Route has been Finished!

In Extremely Exciting news, Kayn's beta route was finished during the first weekend of this month! I had put off publicly announcing it because I didn't want to clash with the demo release. But it was released quietly to patrons and beta-testers. Feedback so far has been very kind, and if you'd like to get access to Kayn's beta route, you can play it with the Hydra ($10) tier on my Patreon ^^

I will publicly announce the route sometime later. But for now, for those who bother reading my devlogs, here is a treat!

Enhanced Demo Release

Bro we fucking did it

Second weekend of April, we released the ENHANCED DEMO OFFICIALLY!!!! It was so exciting (and nerve-wracking) to be able to finally get this out to the public. Reception has been so nice, and it's been rewarding to see people finally be able to play the enhanced demo and see what I've been working so very hard on these past couple of months. I'm really glad you all liked it and appreciated all the details that I've painstakingly polished <3

I mentioned it before but I was really nervous for the release---I had no idea how it would go. But as always, I could not be more appreciative of the support you all give to little old me. Thank you, and I hope you all like the taste of what is to come in the Alaris world!

If you haven't gotten a chance to play the demo yet, please check it out here!

ALSO..... if five people want to rate the demo and haven't rated it yet...... it would make me very happy....... we are so close to 300 ratings.....

Velox Formida

Yes, I did help make a game in 36 hours.

Adding to the madness, I got sucked into this game jam by beloved and crazy @shewassaying. You have to make a game in 36 hours. It was a crazy whirlwind of an experience, but with people I always love being with. We finished a beautiful fantasy game if anyone would like to check it out!

Are you tired yet? I sure am.

A Faerie's Tale

We aren't done yet gamers

Finally, to round out the marathon, I created the GUI for this beautiful little game that was submitted to Amare Fest (which you should check out, since a lot of other cool games were submitted!). I had the opportunity to work with some extremely talented devs (@steamberrystudio, @jeneara, @windchimesgames, @tuffmallowinteractive, and feniks of OL fame), some of which are like titans in the VN community to me ;_;

The game is an enchanting, short little story (and FREE!) about a Fae. Something I know many of us are suckers for nyeheh. Please feel free to check it out here

That's it... Kinda.

And that's about it for this month! As you can see..... it was very much a back-to-back month. Because of that, I'm trying to use right now as a break (everyone thank my concussion for forcing me to take a break, yippee!).

Some other things that I want to highlight this month:

We released an official trailer for Alaris. She's stunning, and if you haven't seen it yet...... well, what are you waiting for....

intertwine is part of a Palestinian Relief Bundle. For only $8, you can get access to over 300 cracked games and support an important cause. If you haven't donated yet, please consider doing so. We are close to almost half a million dollars raised! Bundle ends in 4 days, so please consider buying if you haven't already

Alaris is part of a small little collaboration/cross-promotion of other magical and mystery otome. If you like sexy games by cracked devs, please check them out at the bottom of my itchio page. Some of the other games include Obscura, Lost in Limbo, The Good People, Save the Villainess, Snow White Ashes, and more! I would link them here, but I'm starting to get a headache teehee.

Anyways, that rounds out this month and a bunch of exciting news! I know it can be overwhelming to look at. Per usual, I never expect anyone to play every single game I am involved with. But if any of them catch your eye, I encourage you to check them out since many of the people I work with are very talented and you never know what new devs/games you'll get introduced to as a result!

See you all next month! <3

#alaris #devlog #other games #i am tired LMFSLEIFJ

[dyemelikeasunset]

Feeling a whole lot of emotions right now, but the good kind. I found Dom and Mor through a Tumblr poll about webcomics, and decided to read through it — as a gnc lesbian I loved seeing the characters and their relationship and your really cool artstyle. But when I got to one of your notes at the end of an instalment, where you wished everyone Eid Mubarak and said something like ‘we made it’, my heart felt like it stopped. Maybe it’s just because I’m not old enough to have moved out of my parent’s house and so never really had the chance to express myself without worrying about what my small town community will tell them, but… oh man, as you probably know, being Muslim and queer can be so isolating sometimes, since some people in both communities will think that those two parts of your identity contract themselves when they… don’t, of course. It makes me so indescribably happy to know that there is someone like me out there — who is celebrating Eid, has a wife, and creates beautiful art that showcases queer characters. I knew that logically there must be other queer Muslims out there, but I’d only ever heard of them in the context of them being imprisoned or shunned. It means so, so much to me that you chose to be open with all of this online, because it really makes me feel, in a way that not many other things can, that people like me do get to be happy, do get to be themselves… and it makes me believe that maybe one day I will have that too. Thank you, I guess, is what I’m trying to say, for showing me that I’m not alone. It really means a lot. Being open online can incite harassment, I def know, but thank you for choosing to do so. Of course you don’t do it for thanks, but it has really meant a lot to me, just to see someone else like me out there :). I hope that you’re having a blessed Ramadan and that you have a lovely Eid!

The reason I chose to be open about it online is pointedly because I have been in such a similar spot as you. When I was young, the isolation and existential loneliness was almost unbearable. Then as a young adult, most of the other queer Muslims I met were so entrenched in their own traumas that our bonds were mainly over our shared pain. As I've grown, I realized that yes, there comes a time to talk about being queer and muslim and how those things deserve a place in the world together, but more than that I want to be open, loud, and casual about who I am. So many other identities are allowed that normalcy-- I want to be that, and I can't bear to be quiet about it anymore

I'm happy my work and elements of my life were able to reach you. You're not alone-- and a casual, integrated, peaceful life as a queer muslim is absolutely possible. I hope you're able to find your version of that someday in the future

I hope the rest of Ramadan also treats you well!

#long post / #text heavy /

[sweetbottletops]

Neat little interview with Arai Sumiko.

(Bad MTL below the cut. Especially note already nuanced love talk in the original language further removed by MTL)

── What was the idea for the story of two girls, Mitsuki and Aya?

I've always wanted to draw a story between girls. I also like the story of two people from opposite worlds with gaps, and I think that's where I came up with the idea. I love to draw, and I used to post things like two-page comics with no dialogue on social media from time to time. I thought that if there were no lines, it would be easier for people overseas to spread the word, and even if they didn't understand Japanese, they would enjoy it. One of them is the source of 『気になってる人が男じゃなかった』.

──『気になってる人が男じゃなかった』 received a great response when it was announced, and now Arai's X has more than 1 million followers. Was the announcement on social media also due to the ease of communication overseas that you just mentioned?

I didn't think it would be like this, so I didn't think too much about it (laughs). I was very happy to be able to connect with people from overseas through SNS. There was a time when I lived abroad, so I feel that spending time in a completely different environment has made me who I am today. Perhaps, the number of stories between women in the world is not as large as that of love stories between men and women, or between men, so it may have been suitable for social media.

── Why did you want to depict the relationship between two girls?

I think the relationship between women is very intimate. That feeling when we got really close…… They wear matching clothes, listen to the same music, and spend hours together without talking. It's not like love, it's a love that has always been there. Isn't love over when you break up? I have a bit of a prejudice in me, and I want to draw something that transcends it. If we can be together even if we don't have a relationship title, I think that's love. I'm sorry, it's hard to understand.

── I've always longed for a relationship that can't be named, or a relationship where it's just two people, so I feel like I understand it.

We all have a lonely part and loneliness that we can't share with others. Especially when you're young, everyone has a lot of different feelings. However, I think that if I can create an existence that resonates with such a soft part of my heart, it will last a lifetime.

── How did you come up with the character of Mitsuki, who was thought to be mysterious older brother, but was a cool girl? It's completely my preference, but I love people who are women but can see the masculineness, so I created the character of Mitsuki from there. What if a sober girl actually has a tattoo? And such? I also wanted to depict her kindness. Mitsuki is unconscious, but she is naturally compassionate.

── Handsome and gentle, isn't it? As a way of depicting sexuality, the feeling that the existence of the person is affirmed as it is, including the fact that she is a woman, is conveyed from the drawing, and it is exciting.

Thank you. I'm happy because I'm particular about the shape of Mitsuki's slightly bony wrist line, fingers, and nails. There are parts of the picture in Volume 1 that make me think, "Wow" when I reread it now, but I did my best to make Mitsuki's expression when she tells Aya that she wants to be friends. From the time of the name, I drew a lot of facial expressions (laughs). I've improved a bit at drawing, so I've been drawing a lot lately, and I think I'm good at it a lot.

── It's a memorable scene where the two become friends at school.

I love the American TV drama "Glee" (a music-comedy-drama about a high school choir where minorities gather), and I grew up watching that show. I was moved by the story of a sparkling person who seems to have everything, but in fact has emotions that cannot be told to others, so I wanted to draw it myself. Aya has that element in it. Aya is feminine on the outside, but she is shy. When it comes to other people, she's the kind of girl with a lot of grit who confronts her with a "huh?"

── In the second volume, the individuality of each of them became more apparent.

Mitsuki hides herself at school, but the way she hides her personality is actually very attractive. It's fun to depict how talking to Aya brings out more and more of her true self at school.

──It's so nice to be the most yourself when you're with the people you love. Being able to be yourself means having confidence in yourself. By not worrying about what people think, you will be able to see what you care about and the right person for you. Like Mitsuki brought Aya closer. The person who is most saved by being dignified is yourself. That's why I want to value my own individuality, and I draw manga with the hope that I will be able to do so.

── Music is also an important element of this manga. It is colored in two colors, yellow-green and black, which are rare in manga, and when I first read it, I thought it was rock.

Actually, I chose yellow-green 15 minutes before the first episode was posted on social media (laughs). I didn't think it would go viral, and I thought it would be nice to have a rock feel and a slightly dangerous color, so I put it in on a whim. That Last Minute Decision (the last minute decision) may have been a good one.

── NIRVANA and other music are featured in the film, but what is Arai's own musical journey?

When I was little, I loved BECK's album "Guero" the most in the world, and I remember dancing to it at my father's office. That's where my love for rock music started. NIRVANA's music is exceptional, but I also sympathize with frontman Kurt Cobain's feminism and pushing the boundaries of gender. I was an only child, so I spent a lot of time alone, and I moved to a place where I didn't speak the language, so I feel like I was able to cultivate my imagination while filling in the silence with music.

──Even in 『気になってる人が男じゃなかった 』 the music connects the completely different worlds of Mitsuki and Aya and expands them even further.

Let's see. The last scene of Volume 2 is very memorable for me. Aya stops Mitsuki from getting off the pedestrian bridge that can be taken as a stage, but I think it's a friend, and I think it's love. There's also a love for the music that Mitsuki makes.

── "This song connects the world!!" I was also fascinated by the straight line. Is there anything you keep in mind when drawing music?

In my case, I'm completely self-satisfied and just put in the music I like, and I can't say anything admirable, but I think a lot about which songs go well with each scene. There are scenes made from music, and the scene where Aya and Mitsuki hold hands in Volume 2 came to mind when I was listening to The Shins.

──Official playlist But it's also fun to read while actually playing music.

I'm a little embarrassed because I choose it myself (laughs), but I'm happy. I didn't tell anyone, but the official playlist is trying to arrange the songs that Mitsuki and Aya each chose so that they alternate as much as possible. Of course, the flow of music is the most important priority.

──Knowing that changes the way you listen even more! I'm looking forward to seeing what the future holds for them. Thank you very much.

[x]

(Is she a Dianna Agron stan? This is the second connection after this earlier in the year. Also I think this Glee thing gives her an honorary Tumblr diploma too.)

#I saw the typo hours later #I'm putting two and two together and declaring her a Dianna Agron stan #the guy she was interested in wasn't a guy at all #arai sumiko #green manga #manga

[gaylordscooter]

Log of the Multiverse: Cross and XChara

Cross and XChara (usually referred to as just "Chara") both hail from Xtale, an au that's fallen into ruin ever since the creator, XGaster, was contained.

I was shocked to find out that the creator was one of the characters in their universe, but Ink told me he was a false creator, as he was merely a puppet to the true creator that lies beyond our realm and comprehension. It's like how a meta character in a piece of fiction can be written to act "aware", but it's still being written by somebody. Ain't that weird?

Don't think about that for too long.

So Xtale was kinda an empty void after XGaster was taken care of—that's the fault of Cross who killed like, all of his friends (but xpapyrus was the one who killed basically everyone else. GEEZ i couldn't imagine my brother killing a fly! hurting a fly definitely. but killing?? yeesh) and then absorbed xfrisk's soul because he thought he'd be able to OVERWRITE (<- a mechanic their world has where you can basically do whatever the hell you want, or something) his world turned out he couldn't do that sooo.

yeah he was NOT happy about losing his world (and somewhat playing a part in its downfall)

and also xchara's linked to frisk's soul for some reason. so he kinda just had xchara haunting him for awhile.

Luckily! Ink, Dream and I were able to help Cross cope through his loss!

It took so much time. like so much.

He eventually came to accept his world would never come back, but he got an idea. Since his universe couldn't be repaired to what it was before, why not create something new? Of course he couldn't create new people but after learning there were more people that have lost their homes like him (and me) he thought: why not make this place a safe haven for people like him?

Ink encouraged him. He was Very enthusiastic about it actually, he even helped with decorating the place (as in he painted every building. and all the scenery).

Of course, Cross isn't like Dream and Ink, who can sense negativity or when someone's world is destroyed, so those two tend to give him a heads up on where to go (or they just drop people off themselves)

At first we've just been calling it "Xtale" but obviously the place has changed drastically so we decided to call it something else.

unfortunately somehow all of us (even the ARTIST) weren't able to come up with that creative of a name and settled for calling it "the hub"

Now, I didn't forget about XChara, they were getting tired of having to haunt Cross all the time, so I decided to take up a little project.

And by me, I mean I asked Alphys (from a post-pacifist undertale au, we're buddies. yes i'm allowed to be friends with her because they're no longer following the game's script) to help me make a robot body. i made a prototype that ended up being completely non-functional. so alphys kindly made a complete one that WAS functional for me. even though i insisted she didn't need to do that but she said she enjoyed doing it and that i would've popped blood vessels i didn't have if i kept trying to make one (she's right. i was never that big of an engineer)

so the hard part was separating cross and chara. except it WASNT because their souls are WEIRD and i literally just wrenched their pieces apart like lego pieces it was crazy. unfortunately they still only have half of each of their souls. but hey, they can live just fine like that! they're just not as strong as they would be.

well, mainly in cross's case. chara has a cool robot body now that's loaded with defense.

So anyway, yeah! That's about it.

Pretty happy outcome for these guys, despite all the hardships of course.

But I heard from Ink, in this other multiverse this thing called the "X-Event" occurs. It sounded pretty rough from what I remember. But fortunately our Ink isn't like the one in that multiverse! He's too much of a softy

#blue's (totally not diary) log

[mirai-e-jump]

+act Magazine July 2023 Issue ft. Masashi Ikeda Interview (translation below)

Publication: June 12, 2023 (between episodes 15-16)

"First, please tell us how you were chosen for the role, and what you were thinking when the decision was made."

Ikeda: I originally auditioned for the role of one of the main five warriors (kings), and wasn't selected, but, there was an audition for the additional warrior (Jeramie Brasieri). When I was chosen to play the role of Jeramie, I was more confused than excited. Then, the realization slowy began to sink in, and my heart felt full of excitment and anticipation. I've been watching tokusatsu shows since I was a child, and I've always had a strong desire to become a hero. My favorite show was "Kamen Rider 555," and I was such a huge fan that I had all the transformation belts. But even still, it feels strange being chosen to be apart of a hero production.

"After appearing in a Sentai series, many of the actors are still active, as it's considered a gateway to success for young talents. What are your thoughts on this?"

Ikeda: I would like to grow as a person throughout the next year. I'm not content with just being in a situation that's considered a gateway to success, so I want to perform as well as the other actors, and I want to do my best as to not destroy the legacy or quality of the past works that my seniors have created.

"The character of Jeramie plays a very important role, but what was your first impressions of him?"

Ikeda: Since Jeramie is a "storyteller," my first assignment was to narrate the story. What I thought was most interesting, is that Jeramie has been narrating since the beginning with Episode 1. It's unusual for a hero to also narrate the story.

"Your first task was to record the narration, right?"

Ikeda: That's right. Actually, at the time, I myself didn't completely understand Jeramie. I also wasn't familiar with doing narrations, so I had a hard time trying to put Jeramie's character into it. In order to convey Jeramie's emotions, the director gave the advice, "Try moving like you're in a play," so I tried speaking while doing a flashy pose and putting my hand in my hat. It's a recording, so luckily the cameras weren't turned on (laughs). I tried various things out, so it took two to three hours to record the narration for Episodes 1 and 2. The phrase "tosa" was created at that time. It wasn't originally written in the script, but the director had the idea to, "add in "or so it goes" at the end."

"The phrase "tosa" is a strong and memorable one, isn't it?"

Ikeda: That one phrase helped me a lot. The unique way of saying "or so it goes" was the foundation of Jeramie for me, and I was able to envision his character.

"Jeramie is a character of many strong traits. In official material, it also describes him as having an "annoying personality" (laughs)."

Ikeda: Ahahaha! He's pretentious, has a high sense of pride as a storyteller, and has a repetitive way of speaking…Even still, I try to be conscious of the lines I perform, and try to speak in abit of a joking way, or speak with alot of tension when it comes to things he doesn't understand. Jeramie is 2000 years old, he's composed, and enjoys talking to people. That's the kind of character I try to create when performing.

"In regards to Jeramie, what did you and the director discuss about?"

Ikeda: Reading the script, within his annoying, awkward, and narcissistic personality, you can also find a cute and innocent side of him. We discussed how we should remember those points, and express them in order to make him a well loved character. Actually, when I'm told something happy or sad, I react to them honestly and show my true emotions. I'm the type of person who understand emotions easily, so I hope I'm able to show that off.

"How did the other warriors react to such an intense character?"

Ikeda: Everyone said, "You're a nice character. I'm envious" The way he appeared in Episode 11 was very cool, he may be the narrator, but he has an intense presence. He's not just weird and annoying, he wants to help the world for the better more than anyone else. Jeramie's father is a human, while his mother is a Bagnarak, and although he has complex feelings about being a "child of love," he is a pacifist who has a strong desire to help those living in difficult situations, and wants to stop the war between the humans and Bagnarak.

"On the first day of filming, were you deeply moved by the fact that you were finally able to join the heroes you had been longing to work with?"

Ikeda: When I first appeared, I was wearing the Spider Mask that hid my face, so I didn't really feel it then. But, when I was able to let go and take off the mask, I thought, "Uwa! I'm finally going to become a hero!" and an excited feeling overtook me. When we were filming the transformation, I thought, "What should I do? What kind of face should I make when I transform?…" (laughs)

"What kind of things were you conscious of during the transformation scene?"

Ikeda: Jeramie's fighting style is brilliant. He can manipulate spider webs at will, uses his two weapons, a dagger and shooter, he can fly around, and is very smart. When I transform, I don't do it with a lot of enthusiasm, but rather, with a sense of grace. However, the pose is a abit "pretentious" and is kind of annoying (laughs). To transform, I bend my body back as much as I can while saying "Royal Arms." Suspended by a wire, my body flies up, and in a blur, turns into Spider Kumonos, but it's also filmed from the camera above me. It was the first wire acting in my life, and when they first explained the moves to me, I was like, "Eh? We're going to do this?" It was surprising (laughs). Furthermore, my body felt really stiff, and even though they said, "You're not bending at all," I really was bending to my limit…The action director said, "It's difficult for beginners." He also said, "I'm know I'm asking you to do something impossible," but I felt frustrated that I couldn't do it, and my back and abdominal muscles were sore the next day (laugh).

"Do difficult transformation scenes await you in every episode?"

Ikeda: That was the main one for Episode 12, so I won't have to do it every time. However, the director told me to, "Keep my body soft," because it might happen again in the future. That's why I'm going to work hard on my flexibility and try to become even closer to Jeramie.

"What are some highlights to expect in Jeramie's future?"

Ikeda: The relationship between the five kings, Racules, the Bagnarak, and the consequences of their actions, will be the main highlights as the story unfolds. But, how will Jeramie be involved, and what kind of relationship will he have with other Bagnarak? I think it's worth paying attention to see what Jeramie's up to, and I hope you will look forward to the movie being released this July.

#he bent his back to the limit... #ohsama sentai kingohger #kingohger #super sentai #jeramie brasieri #jeremy brasieri #spider kumonos #toku cast #masashi ikeda #ikeda masashi #my scans #my translation #do not repost #tokusatsu #king ohger #ohsama sentai king ohger #interview #people #plus act magazine #finally picked this up at kinokuniya yesterday #glad I only head over to manhatten on weekends #the fuck happened on friday lmao #anyways #I love this interview #not wanting to take it easy even though it's a gateway for success #he's annoying but is also cute and innocent #and he bent his back out were my favorites #and even though it's black and white #I like the look of his fit #I love the big/puffy look

[ametistacollinsworld]

✞ Uzi x Angel Drone! Reader ✞

My 55 request! Hope you like!

✥------- † -------✥

Uzi, a rebellious female Worker drone, who was always on a quest to achieve her goal, to kill all humans… but at what cost?

You..were different…different than anything Uzi had ever encountered…were you some kind of Angel Drone? You had a body similar to those of Murder drones, but you were your own quirks, for example: fluffy wings like angels- plus a beautiful halo of light that always seemed to be there… shining even in the dark- You were so strange and interesting to her!

You, a "Savior Angel Drone", created to save robotic life by a now deceased Worker Drone scientist. Your only goal? Save and help all Worker drones you could from Murder drones.

So one day, when you were flying over the region, and saw Uzi, a Worker drone, being followed by N, a Murder drone… we can say that you just introduced yourself to the guy by kicking him in the back, sending him to a pile of debris and scaring Uzi.

" Ugh… what was that about? " N asked confused, looking up to find you gaze hard on him, which made his eyes wide. Uzi didn't look any better, being too shocked by your appearance, now slumped on the floor in a sitting position.

" You won't lay a finger on her! You Murder drone! " You exclaimed in a harsh tone, which made both of they make confused expressions, with N being the first to speak.

" A-ah what? Uzi is my friend! I wouldn't hurt her! " N explained in a low tone, getting up slowly and watching you carefully for fear of you attacking him. You narrowed your eyes suspiciously at him, causing him to raise his hands in surrender.

We can say that it was a good few hours before they convinced you not to kill N, in addition to explaining the whole story-- saying how they were friends/allies and that they wanted to unravel the mystery of JCJenson, in addition to killing all humans, and blah-blah-blah..

You weren't the type to stay in the same place for a long time, you just helped Worker drones in a certain region, and then left for another to repeat the cycle. But this time, there was something different… your feelings for Uzi and hers for you.

Neither Uzi nor you understood exactly how this happened- But you ended up developing feelings for each other, which had never crossed Uzi's mind or yours.. But in the end you two just accepted it.

" Hey Uzi! I'm back my dear! '' You spoke with a happy tone, softly landing behind Uzi who was facing the ship, which she turned around giving you a small smile.

'' Hey (Y/n).. how were the rescues today? '' Uzi asked in a slow tone, giving a few glances at your slowly approaching form.

'' Everything went well, I was able to help a small group of 6 Worker drones get back to their colony safely! They were in the middle of a huge snowstorm, you know? '' You explained with a soft smile, gently flapping your wings until you were fully in front of Uzi.

'' That's cool honey.. '' Uzi spoke simply, looking up to get a better look at you, seeing how you smiled at her with that action.

'' Did you miss me? '' You asked in a low tone, brushing a piece of hair that fell over Uzi's visor, seeing how her cheeks gently flushed.

'' A-ah little.. who knows? '' Uzi spoke with a slight stutter, looking away embarrassed that she looked so soft. You chuckled at that, placing a small kiss on her forehead.

'' I missed you too, my sweet purple girlfriend '' You teased in a soft tone, feeling your smile get bigger seeing Uzi's troubled expression.

'' Don't do that.. '' Uzi growled, looking away to the side, which you made her look back at you, gently and lovingly cupping the smaller drone's face.

You admired Uzi's eyes for a while, soon starting to approach your face, starting a small kiss that she soon returned, carefully hugging your waist, which you smiled into the kiss, hugging Uzi's neck carefully, which made the female drone smile into the kiss as well.

You pulled away slowly, leaning your foreheads together lovingly as you two stared at each other, with you placing two kisses on Uzi's flushed cheeks. Uzi gave an embarrassed sigh, resting her face on your shoulder in a hug.

You and Uzi were doing well. You both know that.

#murder drones #murder drones uzi #murder drones x reader #murder drones uzi x reader

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Pinkdrunk Linkdump

Today (November 18) at 1PM, I'll be in Concord, NH at Gibson's Books, presenting my new novel The Lost Cause, a preapocalyptic tale of hope in the climate emergency.

On Monday (November 20), I'm at the Simsbury, CT Public Library at 7PM

Happy Saturday! As is so often the case, I have finished the week with more stray links that I can fit into my blog, so it's time for a linkdump post, in which an assorted assortment is assembled. This is my tenth such linkdump – here are the previous installments:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/05/variegated/#nein

While nostalgia is a toxic impulse (h/t John Hodgman), there's no denying that there once existed an old, good web, and that it has given way to the enshitternet. I don't want to bring the old, good web back, but I would welcome a new, good web, and by studying the factors that contributed to the old, good web's rise and fall, we can both conjure up that new, good web – and protect it.

Above all, the old, good web was contingent, a series of lucky accidents, like Tim Berners Lee's decision to make the code and ideas and protocols for the original web as open and free as possible:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/13/this-is-for-everyone/#revisiting

This meant that there was no way to use the law to capture the web. Contrast that with, say, AOL or Compuserve. If you were the Compuserve's CEO and one of your rivals started using your servers to deliver a service that your users preferred, which shifted value from you to this new rival, you could just pull the plug on them. If they came back – using reverse-engineering or fake signups or whatever – you could sue them. Compuserve's bosses made the rules, any rules they wanted, and could kick you off if you violated them. If you pressed the issue, they could get the government to come and fine you, or, in extreme situations, arrest you.

But the open web didn't have these enforcement hooks. If you ran an early website and Yahoo deeplinked to it, you could change the link, but you couldn't make Yahoo stop. The open web was competitive, and that prevented anyone from exercising a veto over who could make the web, and how. It meant that the web was always up for grabs, with key chokepoints like browser market share swinging around wildly from one vendor to another (until Microsoft started illegally tying blocking rival browsers in Windows).

That meant that the "governance" of the web was often just a matter of the technical details of its standards. Code may not be law, but it was sure law-like – if something was in, say, a W3C browser standard, then all the browsers would support it, and then anyone trying to do something cool on the internet could rely on every potential user having it.

Naturally, this made standards development organizations into the sites of vicious power-struggles. These SDOs are classic "weak institutions," lacking the robust rules of, say, a competition regulator, to say nothing of the investigative and enforcement powers of the DoJ:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/30/weak-institutions/

But in the old, good web days, the SDOs had an important advantage: the corporate fragmentation of the web. Because of TBL's decision not to create IP chokepoints, even the wildly overcapitalized companies of the go-go dotcom bubble days weren't able to control the web. No one company was indispensable to the web.

If Microsoft wanted to tilt a W3C standard to its advantage, it couldn't threaten to leave the consortium if it didn't get its way. For one thing, the consortium had such a diversity of membership that losing any one member's dues wouldn't sink the org's finances.

For another, if Microsoft boycotted the W3C, that would just mean that the web standards that all those other companies were making wouldn't reflect its priorities or desires. By staying in the W3C, Microsoft got to participate in rulemaking – if it left, it would be relegated to rule-taking.

But the DoJ and FTC spent the ensuing decades in something like a coma. After a failed bid to break up Microsoft – killed when GW Bush stole the 2000 election and dropped the case – America's antitrust enforcers snoozed through decades of consolidation, and the transformation of the old, good web into "five giant websites, filled with screenshots of text from the other four":

https://twitter.com/tveastman/status/1069674780826071040

This turned SDOs into increasingly fraught battlegrounds where giants duked it out among each other for control of the web. In the days of the old, good web, the W3C was able to continue TBL's chokepoint-free ethos, creating rules that forced members to surrender their patents at the door:

https://www.w3.org/Consortium/Patent-Policy-20040205/

But once the enthitternet was fully in force, the largest corporate members became so important to SDOs' ability to operate that even the W3C wasn't able to resist. They started turning out IP-encumbered standards that were so proprietary that even filing bug-reports against browsers could mean jailtime:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/09/open-letter-w3c-director-ceo-team-and-membership

Within a couple years, it became functionally impossible to implement a web-browser without a license from one of a tiny handful of gigantic, monopolistic corporations, who could use the license to exercise a veto over both who could make a browser, and what that browser could do:

https://blog.samuelmaddock.com/posts/the-end-of-indie-web-browsers/

Standards development is one of those esoteric, hugely important activities that almost no one knows anything about. Good standards are key to an open, free internet, and as governments around the world grapple with Big Tech monopolies, their plans often include a block that basically reads "insert good standard here."

As exciting as the EU's Digital Markets Act and US proposals like the ACCESS Act are, the "insert good standard here" stuff is wildly underspecified and undertheorized. Making a good standard – one that is robust, flexible and secure – is hard enough even under competitive competitions where the SDO can play independent referee, more powerful than the participants. But making good standards under monopolistic conditions is really hard.

And yet, it happens! Look at the Fediverse, powered by Mastodon and its adaptation of a W3C standard called ActivityPub. The Fediverse has done more for an interoperable, decentralized web than all the other projects of the past decade combined:

https://fediverse.party/

How did something so useful and capture-resistant emerge from the enshitternet, from the same standards-body that gave us a proprietary "standard" that allowed three giant companies to seize the right to authorize the production of web browsers themselves?

Therein lies quite a tale. In a talk for this year's Association of Internet Researchers conference, Robert Gehl talks about the weird, highly contingent factors that delivered a fit-for-purpose Fediverse standard:

https://fossacademic.tech/2023/10/15/APnonStandard.html

Gehl starts by describing ActivityPub as a "non-standard standard." The technologists who created it at the W3C were largely unpreturbed by the Big Tech members, who viewed ActivityPub as unimportant, a folly. While this meant that the ActivityPub creators were free from Big Tech attempts to corrupt the standard, they were also insulated from the discipline of Big Tech standards people, who are expert at propelling a standard to completion while resolving conflicts to create a single, unified spec.

By contrast, ActivityPub's creators made seven different specs, resolving factional disputes by letting everyone get their way. Critical parts of these standards – including support for federation! – was marked as optional in group's charter.

Then along came Mastodon, implementing the draft spec for ActivityPub. This triggered two extensions to the deadline for ActivityPub's completion. ActivityPub moved to final draft against the backdrop of the real-world experiences of early Mastodon users. Four of the five ActivityPub authors self-identified as queer, and they set out to make Mastodon more harassment-resistant than corporate social media:

https://fossandcrafts.org/episodes/053-fediverse-reflections-while-the-bird-burns.html

The early success of Mastodon shifted the focus of ActivityPub authors and implementers. In Gehl's words, "half of ActivityPub" is now ignored. Gehl's essay shows how many needles Mastodon threaded to get to where it is today, and while there's an argument that there was a Fediverse-shaped hole in the internet that something was going to fill, the Mastodon-inflected flavor of ActivityPub we got is pretty great.

Gehl is working on a book about this for Oxford University Press, "Move Slowly and Build Bridges":

https://fossacademic.tech/2023/08/17/OxfordUP.html

One of the more contingent elements of the nascent new, good web is Signal, the secure, robust, easy-to-use encrypted messaging tool that has stepped in to fill the gap that encrypted email tools like PGP struggled to fill for years (though that doesn't mean that secure email is impossible!):

https://pluralistic.net/2022/05/01/end-to-end-encryption-is-too-important-to-be-proprietary/

Like Mastodon, Signal threaded a bunch of different needles to get to its current status, and it's still threading needles. In a new article, Signal's amazing new president, Meredith Whittaker and Joshua Lund explain what it costs to keep Signal running:

https://signal.org/blog/signal-is-expensive/

Bottom line: Signal costs $50m/year. The breakdown is fascinating and weird. Signal pays a fortune to send SMS messages to verify your number when you sign up. Here's an irony: as Signal displaces SMS, telcos are making up for lost revenue by charging Signal ever-higher rates to send those signup codes – Signal's spending $6m/year on SMSes!

Storage costs Signal another $1.3m/year. Servers are $2.9m/year. Bandwidth is $2.8m/year. Signal's storage and compute costs are low because they're privacy-first, so they're collecting, processing and storing as little data as possible. Add a couple more zeros per user to approximate the costs for high-surveillance alternatives to Signal.

Because Signal is end-to-end encrypted, they can use untrusted (and cheap) third parties for bandwidth, relaying and storage. Your phone encrypts the data before it leaves your device, and no one can decrypt it except the person you're talking to. That lets Signal shop around for server infra, saving much more. Even so, voice and video calls consume a lot of bandwidth, and it gets more expensive because they jump the connection through multiple servers to prevent the people you're talking to from capturing your IP address.

Signal's got 50 full-time employees – a "shockingly small" team by industry standards. But still: 50 developers, managers, designers, accountants, etc all add up to $19m/year (the org pays "as close to industry wages as possible within the boundaries of a nonprofit").

As Signal scales up, it is discovering new and exciting bugs and problems. A one-in-a-billion bug that may never crop up in a small service can suddenly start occurring on a daily basis once you hit scale. That means Signal will continue to hire engineers to crush these weird little bugs, and they're going to be the kinds of specialists who can preserve privacy while fixing servers.

Signal is amazing. It's been six years since they figured out how to transmit userids, numbers and photos as fully encrypted blobs. Not one of their competitors – not even the "secure" ones from giant Big Tech companies – have managed this. Even Signal's system for embedding animated GIFs is privacy-preserving – the system doesn't reveal your search terms to the GIF repositories.

Today, Signal is tooling up to create "post-quantum resistance" to the system, anticipating the arrival of functional quantum computers that will (theoretically) make short work of existing encryption techniques.

The article ends – logically enough – with a plea for donations. I'm a Signal donor already:

https://signal.org/donate/

The Signal and ActivityPub stories reveal the important interplay between principled individuals and sustainable institutions. Benevolent dictators – whether that's Tim Berners Lee, or Mastodon's Eugen Rochko – work well, but fail badly. No matter how benevolent a dictator is, they are not infallible or omniscient. A critical juncture in any good project is its transition from a dictatorship to a democracy – an individual to an institution.

Take the Archive of Contemporary Music, the largest archive of popular music in the world. It was founded in 1985 by Bob George, who had amassed a collection of 47,000 LPs in a loft he'd lived in since 1974:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/nov/16/archive-of-contemporary-music-new-york

George and his co-founder, David Wheeler, have since grown the collection to 3m pieces of media with 90m songs. They were the first people to start seriously collecting and preserving music that others viewed as ephemeral and disposable. The collection wandered from place to place before settling in a Hudson Valley facility that it is about to outgrow.

In part that's because they're still one of the only places where others' collections can be reliably consigned. When Keith Richards wanted to turn his blues collection over to a facility for long-term preservation, he chose ARC. Now, ARC is working with the Internet Archive to digitize and make available its vast holdings.

But that's a fraught and contingent business, too. The Internet Archive has been targeted with one of those bowel-loosening record-industry lawsuits last seen during the Napster Wars, with Sony, Universal and others seeking damages that would permanently shutter the Archive and bankrupt its founder, the wonderful Brewster Kahle:

https://blog.archive.org/2023/08/14/internet-archive-responds-to-recording-industry-lawsuit-targeting-obsolete-media/

The suit argues that when a library makes 78RPM recordings available for its patrons to check out over the internet, they cannot avail themselves of the copyright exemptions that have been a feature since copyright's inception. Remember, libraries are an order of magnitude older than copyright! The core of this suit is that libraries cannot move into the digital world.

Rather than doing what libraries have done since (literal) time immemorial – collecting works, preserving them and making them available – digital libraries can only license time- and circulation-limited copies of works that can't be preserved. It's a grim vision of a future without libraries:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/13/they-want-to-kill-libraries/

Giant corporations are an existential threat to human thriving. After 40 years of neoliberalism, there's a growing recognition that the market's invisible hand would like to swat you like a bug. Hence the rise and rise of the labor movement. Though "union density" (the proportion of unionized workers) is still at an historically low ebb, union support among the public is higher than at any time since the New Deal.

That's why UAW president Shawn Fain is planning a general strike in 2028, calling on other unions "to align your contract expirations with our own" so that all the contracts come up for renegotiation at the same time:

https://inthesetimes.com/article/uaw-auto-workers-general-strike-contract-labor-unions

This is a very clever way to overcome America's ban on sympathy strikes, which was introduced in 1947 with the Taft-Hartley Act. Sympathy strikes – where all unionized workers refuse to provide any service to employers who won't bargain fairly with their own workforce – are a hugely powerful tool for labor movements. Look at Sweden, where Tesla has refused to bargain with the technicians who fix its cars.

In response, the entire Swedish workforce has united against Tesla. Dockworkers won't unload its cars at the port. Electricians won't fix its chargers. Cleaners won't clean Tesla showrooms:

https://www.wired.com/story/sweden-tesla-strike-cleaners/

This is how it's done. Musk has made his fortune by crushing worker power in every one of his businesses, joining the ranks of Apple and Amazon as one of the world's leading maimers and killers of his workforce:

https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2023-11-18/us-lawmakers-urge-scrutiny-of-spacex-worker-injuries-after-reuters-report

While Musk's latest turn toward open antisemitism is grim, especially in light of his ownership of Twitter, it's perfectly in character for a man whose businesses have always been charnel houses of "crushed limbs, amputations, head injuries and death."

But Musk can't fire or even intimidate the dockworkers who won't unload his cars. Sympathy strikes enlist workers who are beyond the reach of intransigent employers in aid of workers who are subject to retaliation for striking. That's why Taft-Hartley abolished sympathy strikes.

But if all the major unions are negotiating their contracts in 2028 – as Fain has called for – they can all strike without falling afoul of Taft-Hartley. That's some shrewd tactics.

Even if you believe in markets as a force for increasing human thriving, it takes an act of will to miss how corporations who can exploit their customers or workers will. When it comes to exploitable customers, prisoners are the ultimate captive audience. Most of us are familiar with the horrors of private prisons – especially after the acute phase of the covid pandemic, when corporate prison managers simply left America's prisoners to die.

But prison privatization is fractal. You can privatize a prison facility, but you can also privatize the commissary, the library, the mail, even phone calls and visitations. Some of the slimiest prison profiteers are the ones providing telecoms facilities to prisons. These companies lobby to ban in-person visits and mail and then provide "free" phone service to state facilities – service that can cost prisoners and their families $10/minute.

One of the worst of these companies is ViaPath (formerly Global Tel*Link). Not only did they charge prisoners sky-high rates for contact with their families, they ran a wildly insecure service that breached the data of 600,000 users:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/11/prison-phone-company-leaked-600k-users-data-and-didnt-notify-them-ftc-says/

These prisoners and families had "sensitive personal information" exposed online in unencrypted form, and were not informed of the breach, according to an FTC complaint:

https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/Complaint-GlobalTelLinkCorp.pdf

The company went on to defraud state and local prison systems whose contracts they were bidding on, by claiming to have never have suffered a breach.

The sleaze of the prison-tech system is the worst imaginable – which is about what you'd expect. After all, prison-tech is at the very foot of the shitty technology adoption curve:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/02/24/gwb-rumsfeld-monsters/#bossware

The prisoners who are abused by companies like Viapath are test subjects for technology that will work its way up the privilege gradient, moving on to mental patients, asylum seekers, kids, blue collar workers, white collar workers – then, everyone.

This makes prison-tech a great oracle for understanding what's coming for the rest of us in a decade or two. That's why I made prison-tech the McGuffin of The Bezzle, the sequel to my 2023 novel Red Team Blues, which comes out next February:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865878/thebezzle

High-tech forensic accountant Marty Hench is back in The Bezzle for a story of early-2000s internet consolidation, LA Sheriffs Department gangs, prison privatization, collateralized debt obligations, and the absolute depraved sleaze of prison-tech privateers. If you still have a Twitter account, you can enter this sweepstakes to get an early copy:

https://twitter.com/torbooks/status/1725544405879447745

(There will be other ways to get an early peek for non-Twitter users, rest assured!)

Attentive readers will note that The Bezzle will be my fourth book in 14 months. I'm presently touring my third book of 2023, The Lost Cause, a climate emergency book that Rebecca Solnit described as "a future woven from our successes (Green New Deal!), failures (climate chaos anyway), and unresolved conflicts (old MAGA dudes). I loved it":

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865939/the-lost-cause

Book tours are exhausting and exhilarating. They have the weirdest social dynamic, where you're bouncing to a new city every day or two, having high-speed social contact with hundreds of people at a go, then hunkering down alone in a hotel room to do press calls and answer publicity emails. I've been doing this since 2006 or so, and one mystery I've pondered all that time is the weirdness of stinky hotel soap:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/doctorow/53339503041/

Go to any Marriott, any Hilton, a Comfort Inn or a Holiday Inn, and you will find yourself in the Kingdom of Beige. The wallpaper, art, carpets and bedspreads are all calculated to be as generic and invisible as possible. But the soap and shampoo stocked by these redoubts of nothingness are wildly perfumed. I'm not a big fan of floral perfume anyway, but the hand-soap in your typical hotel bathroom makes Axe Body Spray seem innocuous. No taxi air-freshener, no urinal puck, not even the most lethal of 1960s-era douches ever aspired to the eye-watering, clinging, scent of hotel soaps, shampoos, conditioners and hand-cream.

It's like hygiene perfume is the mid-priced hotelier's equivalent of 1980s Wall Street traders' suspenders: while everything else must be absolutely uniform and staid, this is the one realm where you can really let your freak flag fly. I'm always up for a unfettered freak-flag, but holy shit does this stuff stink.

I'll get a chance to ponder this anew on the tour for The Bezzle next February, and again for Picks and Shovels, the February 2025 Martin Hench novel that's already pending.

I need to get ready for my bookstore event, but before I sign off, one more bit of science fiction publishing news. An indie filmmaker in Paris is working with the brilliant John Varley on an adaptation of his sf classic Titan, and they're trying to raise $65k on Kickstarter to pay for it. I kicked in – a world with more Varley in it is a better world:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/superstory/themis-the-next-frontier

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/18/collectanea/#bricabrac

Image: Famartin https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2021-01-06_12_15_43_Cranberry_trail_mix_with_cranberries,_peanuts,_raisins,_walnuts,_almonds,_sunflower_seeds,_pepitas_in_the_Franklin_Farm_section_of_Oak_Hill,_Fairfax_County,_Virginia.jpg

CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en

#pluralistic #architecture #mcmansion hell #2008 crisis #mcmansions #general strike #labor #uaw #shawn fain #activity pub #standards #standarization #contingency #mastodon #fediverse #federation #sdos #w3c #privacy #signal #pay for privacy #themis #john varley #crowdfunding #kickstarter #archiving #music #archive of contemporary music #glam #preservation

[afro-hispwriter]

The Diamond Queen: Homelander

Homelander/John x reader(platonic), Soldier Boy/Ben x reader(mentioned, romantic), Reader x other female characters

Summary- You have a history with Homelander

Warnings- baby John, mentions of drug use, mentions of soldier boy's "death", herogasam, strap on sex, drug use, snorting of bodies, gxgxg, slight temperature play, more on readers' past

A/n- this is a prequel to Parts 1 and 2

Taglist for this series- @the-house-of-auditore-frye

-

Earving got placed in a medically induced coma after you returned from Nicaragua. They were worried he wouldn't pull through but his powers helped keep him alive. But Ben had destroyed him far beyond repair. You sat by his bed every day, crying.

It wasn't until Vogelbaum called for you. It took a bit of convincing but soon you were standing in front of his institute. It wasn't the first time you were there, you would be called occasionally when an out-of-control supe needed to be controlled or calmed down in their words. 

"I'm so glad you were able to come we know you're going through a lot with Noir and Soldier Boy. God Soldier Boy, hard to believe-." Vogelbaum started, 

"Just show me the supe." You cut off Vogelbaum and he frowned. You looked so drained of life, but who wouldn't? 

"Follow me." He led you through the facility and into the pediatric ward. It made you uneasy, controlling a child pained you. 

"A child?" 

"I know how much you hate it, I'm sorry." Another scientist was standing right in front of the door, making faces through the window. When he saw you approach he backed off and they let you look through the small window.

"Oh." A tiny baby, who could barely be a year old sat there all alone smiling and laughing as he held his blue blanket. "He's laughing, seems fine to me." You say not taking your eyes off of the baby. 

"That's why we called you, we think we have something here, but we need him to display his powers." 

"You want me to force a baby to use its power?"

"We'll pay you, double what you usually get." 

Money is money you thought and opened the door. You walked in and the giggling baby looked up at you with a big gummy smile.

"What's his name?" You asked Vogelbaum.

"John." 

"Hey, John." You say and sat down, crossing your legs. John crawled to you with his blanket in his hand, he grabbed your knees and used them to push himself onto your lap. "Oh hey." You grabbed him under his arms and held him tightly. As your hands touched his bare arms you felt a sudden electric shock between the two of you. Your eyes softened and you brushed his hair to the side. "Why do they have you locked up here? Hmm?"

He squealed and grabbed onto the hem of your shirt. His bright blue eyes stared right at you, instantly melting away any stress you had.

-

Since the day you met John, you visited him every day. You created a bond with the child. 

Vogelbaum watched the interactions every day as well. It fascinated him, the connection between you and your former fiancé's child was extraordinary. You didn't seem to know John was Ben's, and he'd like to keep it that way.

"Happy Birthday John, I got you some cake." In a singing voice as you carried a gift and a whole cake into the now 8-year-old's room.

"Thank you Y/n." John came up to you and instantly hugged you tightly. It was a very tight hug, any normal human would have been crushed. Ever since John started to display his powers you were there more. You calmed him down most of the time. As he did burn straight through one of the workers just the previous week. 

"Guess what flavor it is?" You say and set the cake down on the table.

"Vanilla!" 

"You got it!" You handed him the bag with his present and he sat on his head and instantly started ripping it open. 

"Cool! These are limited edition Payback figures!" 

"I know, luckily I know a few people." 

"You're the best." He hugged you again and out of the corner of his eyes a lit-up cake. It floated in front of him and he backed up. 

"Make a wish." John's eyes flicked up to you and back down to the cake. He thought for a moment and you made sure not to let your mind wander. He blew out the candle and you clapped your hands.

"Y/n?" 

"Hmm." 

"Can you watch the first Soldier Boy movie with me?" You knew you should've said no but John was giving you puppy dog eyes.

"Okay, sure."  

The two of you settled on his tiny bed eating cake. The entire movie John pointed stuff out, you tried to listen but every time Ben's face appeared you shut off. It wasn't until John shoved you hard that brought you back.

"Y/n? Are you okay?" 

"Y-Yeah sorry." Your voice broke a bit.

"I was asking if you ever met Soldier Boy. Since you know, Noir. Your brother worked with him." 

"Oh yeah, i-i met him a few times. He was everything the movies and the media made him out to be." 

"That's cool, do you think there will ever be another Soldier Boy?" You looked down at him and swallowed.

"I hope so, the world needs its superhero." 

You knew deep down that was Vought's plan. John has shown exceptional, dangerous power. Something that interested them heavily. 

"I wish I had your abilities, I hate mine. I hurt people." He says and his nose twitches. You set your plate down and wrapped an arm around him.

"I hate mine too, they aren't as fun as everyone thinks they are." John smiled at that.

"Just another thing we have in common."

-

It was the tenth anniversary of Ben's death(or disappearance). The world was celebrating their lost hero, mourning. 

Herogasm was mourning differently. You had never seen so many people fucking in one place. You have gone to herogasm quite a bit with Ben, but it was never this packed. 

Your nose burned as you snorted the white substance off the girl with fire abilities pretty pussy. While the girl with ice powers shoved her ice dick far up inside of you. You were high as a kite and loved it. The difference in temperature and the drug made your orgasm 10 times more intense than usual. 

"Fuck." You moaned out and lifted your head but got your face instantly shoved into the girl in front of you. She rocked herself harshly, moaning loudly as her clit ground against your nose. You opened your mouth as she came harshly, jerking her hips. 

"Thank you." She breathes out and the girl behind you pulled out making you whimper. 

"Want to have some more fun?" She kisses you should and you smile hazily.

"Another day." You say out of breath and flip yourself around. Both women stand up but before leaving they leaned down and pressed a long kiss to your lips before pulling away and turning to each other, pushing their lips together and you watch steam pour out from between them. 

"See you Y/n." You watched them leave to join whatever other group there was. You stood up and started searching for your clothes amongst the heap of them. 

You walked out of the house fully clothed, denying any advances or invitations on your way out. You even stole a bottle of tequila.

Fireworks popped in the distance. All for Soldier Boy.  They all acted like they fucking knew him. They knew Soldier Boy. You knew Ben. 

You sat on the wet ground, drowning the bottle of alcohol. You hadn't touched a bottle in years. Both alcohol and drugs.

When you first received the V and discovered what your abilities were. The voices were so loud. You couldn't control it, you couldn't shut them out or just focus on one mind. You were at a party and on the verge of tears of how sensitive you were when someone offered you a little bag of powder. It was your medicine until you finally learned to control it. Ben helped you control it, and he didn't even understand it. 

Ben was the one thing on your mind. It made you think of what your life could have been like if he were still alive. Would the world finally know who their beloved hero's love is? Would your relationship be accepted? Would you have had your wedding? Kids? Would he have retired? 

So many questions and no answers. But they made you think of John. You've known the boy for almost 10 years. He felt like your son. You watched him grow. You practically raised him. He could be your son. 

-

That's how you ended up in front of the institution. Eyes bloodshot. Could barely keep up. 

You opened the doors and walked right past the front nurse. She called you for saying visiting hours weren't until the next day but she got cut off by her neck snapping. You forced the security doors open and alarms started blaring around the building. 

Workers noticed you and immediately got out of your way. 

"Where's Vogelbaum?" You slurred at one and they shakily looked around, stammering over their words. 

"I'm right here." You whipped around and almost stumbled but caught yourself. "Seems like you're having a night, why don't we talk in my office." He points back behind him. 

"Don't bullshit me." You cocked your head to the aide and you were in his mind. He was nervous, everyone was. But Vogelbaums's mind was screaming something about a collar. "What collar?" 

"Y/n, don't. It's been a day for you, with Ben and his-." 

"I'm taking John with me, he-he deserves a good life."  You say and the scientist sighs.

"We can't let you do that." That made you laugh.

"Did you forget who I am? What I can do?" you simply closed your eyes and everyone in that hallway was under your control. "Bring me John." 3 people walked away like robots, while everyone else was frozen at attention. It wasn't long before John screamed your name down the hall.

"Y/n!" You turned around and immediately opened your arms. When he got closer he stopped. "Are you okay?" You probably looked terrible, horrifying to a child. 

"John is okay, I'm here to take you home. We can be a family." At the sound of family, John immediately perked up. 

"Really?"

"Yeah." He smiled brightly and ran into your arms.

"Can we leave now?" He whispered into your neck and you nodded.

"Right now." As you pulled apart Johns's eyes widened in shock.

"Watch out!" You turned around but it was too late. Someone in all black stood there holding a silver collar. Before you could react it got slammed on your neck and it locked. Your hands grabbed at it, trying to rip it off but to no avail. Suddenly John blasted the person with his heat vision, instantly killing them. 

Your control over everyone fell. You tried to activate your diamond form but nothing worked. 

"Fuck." You say and John kneels down next to you. "This shit won't let me use my powers. FUCK!" 

"We have to go." John cries.

"I know, I know." You say and feel your body slowly start to weaken. "What is- what is this doing to me?" You asked yourself and your eyes started to flutter close. 

"Gas them." Someone said and a can clatter next to you. You started coughing harshly and John dropped to his knees, coughing hard as well. You collapsed face first into the ground, slowly falling unconscious. 

-

Your eyes fluttered open and the blinding light was unbearable. 

"Fuck." You mumbled and slowly started to sit up. 

"Y/n, lay back down." A deep voice made its way to your ears.

"Mmm." You flopped on the bed and blinked rapidly to get used to your surroundings. You looked around and your eyes settled on the scientist you wished you could keep calling your friend. 

“You really fucked up.” You rolled your eyes.

“I'm leaving. With John, and you’re not going to stop me.” You say and in an attempt to control his, a shock triggered makes you scream. “What the fuck?” It made him chuckle. 

“You know Vought is so terrified of you that they had me create a contingency plan just for you. At first, it was Soldier Boy himself but then the two of you started getting involved so we had to turn to something different. Hell, I didn’t even think it was going to work. But here we are.” That’s when you felt the metal on your neck, you reached up and grabbed it but a tiny shock made you let it go. 

“What is this?”

“This is the device that won’t let you use your abilities, it weakens you, and if you try to use the. It seems powerful shocks, enough of them and we fry your brain. You’ll become a mindless zombie.” He stood from his chair and got close to your face. “Just like everyone you control.” You gave him a hard glare before looking away and swallowing.

“What do you want from me?”

“I need you to leave. Never come back. And don’t come looking for John. America. The world needs a hero again, and it's going to be John.” 

“He’s just a kid.”

“He won't be in a few years. I'm going to propose a deal.” He says and you stay quiet. “You’re going to leave and never come back and in return. We take this collar off.”  He grabbed it with his hands and he tugged it. “It will stay locked away and nobody will be able to replicate it. Vought will also make sure you live comfortably, funded for the rest of your life. Does that sound good?” 

Your jaw tensed and you took in a deep breath.

“What about John, he’s going to ask.” You say and feel your eyes water.

“We’ll worry about that. Now, do we have a deal?” He holds out his hand with a raised eyebrow. You looked at it and back up at him. With a deep breath, you grabbed his hand. 

-

A/n- not proud of this one tbh. Let me know what you guys think though. Going to start working on part 3 ASAP:)

#soldier boy x reader #ben x reader #the boys #homelander #x black reader

[strwberri-milk]

I realize it’s probably too late to be asking for this request, but I’ll give it a try anyway and at the very least I want to share this idea: may I request something with Kaeya and his S/O who caught a cold and thus was sick on valentines day? And they feel really guilty about having ‘ruined’ his plans for the day because they’re too dazed & feverish & drained to do anything but lay in bed & cough & drink hot water with lemon and honey? But Kaeya doesn’t care and just wants to make sure they’re getting rest and feeling okay and on the path to recovery?

This is totally not based on my own experience today of being sick since yesterday and wishing I had Kaeya to dote on me and love me, whatever would give you that impression?

Hello!! it's not exactly valentines day but at least we're still w/in feburary lolol hope you enjoy!!

When Kaeya came over to pick you up he wasn't expecting to almost have to break in, knocking hard on the door to get your attention. He was about to break it down when you finally appeared, looking a little worse for wear. It was clear to him what was happening and before you could even open your mouth he was ushering you back inside, closing the door behind him and leading you back to your room.

It looked like a mess - understandably so as you were rifling through to find things to make you comfy before collapsing back onto your bed. Your trashbin was overflowing with tissues and you had some medicine and thermoses on the bedside table to avoid leaving. Clearly, you were trying to overload the sickness in attempts to get better, unfortunately failing.

He immediately brings a cool hand to your forehead, laughing a little at the happy sigh you give him when he meets your heated face. Immediately, you grab his wrist and make him cup your cheek, leaning into his palm as you look up at him.

The look on your face is a little pitiful, he thinks to himself, knowing that you're absolutely adorable like this. He hasn't seen you this sick for a while, resisting the urge to give you a kiss.

"Kaeya," you whine, seeming near tears despite barely being able to breathe.

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry? For what?"

He can't resist himself, ignoring your running nose and pressing a kiss to your forehead.

"I ruined your plans. Whatever it is you wanted us to do today - I got myself sick and now we can't go. I should have listened to you and worn that extra coat. Then I would be fine, and there wouldn't be any reason for you to waste your time here and we could do whatever you wanted. But now I'm just stuck here and you're already trying to take care of me."

Your eyes are brimming with unshed tears, shiny in the light and he gently thumbs them away, shaking his head as he shushes you softly. Your sniffles are especially pronounced, wiping your tears away with him.

"I'm not mad at you," he says quietly, sitting on your bed and resting your head on his lap.

"Sure, we were going to spend today together, but you're not feeling well. You barely seemed coherent the other day when I came to visit you and it already seems like you're getting better. If we really focus on getting you better then we can do everything today another day, okay?"

"But I ruined your plans," you reiterate, only getting shushed by him as he lays you back down on your pillow.

"We'll just do Valentine's Day Abridged, alright? Stay there, and don't let me catch you out of bed or else I'll have to arrest you," he teases mischievously, humming to himself as he leaves the room.

You want to follow after him, moving around a little bit to get yourself ready to leave when you see his head poke back in, narrowing his eye at you.

"I heard that. Stay there, and do not try and follow me. I'm just making you something you can get to stay down. You won't be getting any better if you're not eating anything."

The thing about Kaeya is that he's great at cooking. Until it's meant to be more functional. There's something that puts him on autopilot and makes him create the most nutritious meal without necessarily caring about the taste. He thinks this is a side effect of having to mass cook for so many knights when out on patrols and making sure everyone stays alive and healthy.

He brings it to you, well, sorta. You're half asleep and still mildly delirious, barely lifting your head when he walks in. However, once you realise he's really there you try to sit up, moving so fast that it makes your head spin.

He tuts his tongue at you, looking more like a mother hen with the stern expression and hand on his hip at you trying to get out of bed again. Quickly, he's at your side to serve you, spooning soup into your mouth.

"This tastes like...nothing," you say after a few bites.

"Does it? I think it tastes fine," he shrugs, continuing to feed you.

"Is it supposed to taste like hot water?" you tease again, happily taking every spoonful he gives you.

"Maybe it is! Hot water is good for you!" he retorts, hugging you close to him.

It takes a while but the two of you slowly work through the bowl of soup together. You can't deny feeling better afterward, unsure if it's because of him or the soup. Most likely a mixture of both.

"Hey Kaeya," you say again, getting his attention as he cleans up your room a bit.

"You sure you aren't mad at me?" you ask.

"How could I be mad? I got to spend all day with the love of my life."

He sounds so sure that it finally settles your nerves, shyly smiling to yourself as you fiddle with your blanket. You can tell he really is happy too, watching him flutter about your room like he belongs there. And you know he does.

#kaeya x reader #genshin x reader #genshin impact #genshin impact fanfic #kaeya alberich x reader

[luaspersona]

fic teaser | kim taehyung

pairing ↠ himbo!taehyung x reader (f. reader) genre ↠ college!au; holiday!au; smut; one-shot; humor summary ↠ after making some terrible memories together, Taehyung wants nothing more than to never see you again; and he was pretty much succeeding until — after a minor accident — he finds himself having to spend Christmas alone with you in the middle of nowhere. rating ↠ +18 teaser warnings ↠ nothing explicit; profanity; nudity; mentions of sex; mentions of bondage; mentions of puking.

complete work warnings (full warnings on the post) ⇝ alcohol consumption; sexual tension; religious jokes; minor accident; very minor parent issues; second hand embarrassment; pov switch; explicit smut: masturbation, orgasm denial and control, edging, dirty talk, pet names, soft dom!taehyung, switch!reader, fingering, oral (f. and m. receiving), unprotected sex, praise kink, light spanking, a splash of degradation, begging; overstimulation, multiple orgasms, squirting, creampie, rough sex, aftercare.

release date ↠ released. teaser word count ↠ 0.8k estimated reading time ↠ 2 minutes

note ↠ so i had the idea to write a holiday!au for tae’s birthday around three weeks ago and just now finished the outline lol 🤡 i’m still working on it, but i decided to drop a little something so you can have a taste! the teaser happens a couple months before the actual fanfic, so it’s not christmas here yet lol sorry, i promise i’ll plan better the next time (i probably won’t tho). note² ↠ wanna thank @imakeamess for the BEAUTIFUL BANNER, i know i was all over the place but you were able to create the most amazing art for me, so thank you once again🥺 note³ ↠ special thanks to @uarmymoonlight for helping me come up with the story and patiently listening to me rambling about this fic nonstop, i love you! and @vsualitae for helping me find inspiration and letting me spam his dms with this lol note⁴ ↠ also, merry christmas for those who celebrate and happy holidays! hope you all have an amazing year ending and an even better new year🎄

if you wanna be added to the taglist just leave a comment 🥰

When Taehyung was eighteen years old, he told a slightly less experienced Jungkook that girls have a secret sweet spot on the back of their knees.

Yeah, pretty shitty, he knows, he knows— but!, in Taehyung's defense, Jungkook was too damn innocent for his own good and he obviously didn't expect that Jungkook would take a whole ass year to google it. How hard is it to differentiate a freaked out face from a fucked out face, really? It was only like, 30% his responsibility. 

Clearly, though, the universe wasn't as understanding, because now Taehyung is pretty sure that he’s cursed.

Whenever he’s feeling like he’s hot shit, life finds ridiculous and absurd ways to humble him — being extra careful to guarantee Jungkook front row seats.

Fair enough. Taehyung has no problem owning his stuff, and he didn’t really believe all this karma shit anyway.

Except when it came to you.

“Shit.” Soojin curses, hands stopping in their search for her keys.

“What's wrong, babe?” Jungkook frowns.

“Can we maybe go to your place? My roommate had some work stuff to prepare and asked me to give her some space this afternoon.”

Taehyung groans “Soojin, we live on the other side of campus and I'm starving.” He punctuates this by lifting the food bags in his hands.

“But she's been super stressed lately, I don't wanna add to that.”

“We won't! We can be quiet, baby.” Jungkook reassures. 

Soojin chews her bottom lip. “You sure?”

“Promise.”

Taehyung nods. “She won't even notice us.”

Soojin sighs. “Fine.”

“Also, it can be a great opportunity for Tae to finally meet her.” Jungkook turns to Taehyung. “She's painfully your type, man.”

“Don’t even think about it! My roomie is not interested in Taehyung’s fuckboy ways, Kookie, she’s a pure soul.” Soojin protests.

“Baby, that’s slutshaming. Not cool.”

“What? I'm not a fuckboy. I'm just a very good boy who likes to give people what they want, nothing wrong with that.”

Soojin rolls her eyes, then finally opens the door.

Barely they step into the apartment, though, the three of them freeze — somewhat distracted by the sight of a blond man standing in the middle of the living room, covered only by a blue underwear and a trail of purple marks on his neck and collarbone.

And damn, what a fine man that is. Taehyung had never seen such pretty pouty lips before and he can't help the sudden wish to add a couple of purples to that soft skin himself. 

“What the hell?” Soojin's question prompts the man to cover his crotch with his hands. Pitty. “Who the fuck are you?”

“So, I found these old ropes in the back of my drawer, but I think they can hold—” you stop talking once you enter the living room, seeing a hell of a lot more people than when you left.

Jungkook snickers, glancing down at the rope still in your hands. “Pure soul my ass.”

When your name drops from Soojin’s mouth, something snaps in Taehyung’s mind. You see, he isn’t dumb by any means, but Taehyung sure sometimes is slow.

To be fair, he’d spent so much time trying to forget everything about you and the day you met that it’s only natural that he would take some time to recognize your face from his days I wish I hadn’t woken up archive.

But the way your fingers tighten around the knots before you hide them behind your back? Shit, how can he forget the way those fingers felt entangled in his hair that night? The way you made him groan against your neck whenever you pulled a bit too strong?

And your thighs? Fuck, they are so much prettier than he fantasized they’d be, barely covered by the oversized shirt you’re wearing. Taehyung almost has to stifle a groan because holy fuck how he wishes he could’ve seem them — felt them under his palms that night.

“Is he your work thing?” Soojin sarcastically points to the man’s general direction.

“Yeah, sorry about that, Soo, I just wanted to— Taehyung?!”

He grimaces, eyes immediately darting away from your form as he clears his throat, letting out a silent “hey.”

“You know each other?” Soojin frowns.

“We uhm… we met at—” you stutter “we met once. At a party.”

Soojin is silent for a moment, before her jaw drops “Wait— is Taehyung the puke guy?!”

The blue underwear man looks at you immediately. “Did you puke on him?”

“No! No, of course not, Jimin, it was him who— I mean, uh” so this is what humiliation tastes like? “Nevermind.”

The sudden sound of Jungkook’s laugh erupts beside Taehyung, and the boy takes his hand to his stomach as he leans forward. Taehyung is sure he’s never seen Jungkook so happy.

It takes around a minute for Jungkook’s laugh to turn into light giggling as he tries to catch his breath.

“She’s the girl you puked on? No fucking way, man.”

Well. Yeah. Karma and shit.

READ THE COMPLETE WORK HERE

note ↠ lemme know what you think 🥺 links ↠ navigation | masterlist | join my permanent taglist

#taehyung fanfic #taehyung smut #taehyung x reader #taehyung x you #taehyung fic #taehyung crack #taehyung humor #bts #bts fanfic #bts fic #bts smut #taehyung teaser #kth #kth smut #kth x reader #kth fanfic #btscarnivalnet #luawrites #fic:snow.flower #luaytc

[fleetingcalypso]

you are an enchantress, and my mind is running around your work. Can you write something where it's y/n's birthday? it's my birthday in two days. I'd love if it was summer-y and at the lake house with all of them. It could be Y/n x anybody, i'm partial to henry :)

≋ I hope your birthday will be celebrated with the sweetest of pastries and the most joyful of laughter. Happy early birthday, please accept this as my gift to you, may your day be one to remember forever.

≋ Henry Winter x GN!Reader ≋

≋ Word Count: 1461 words.

“I know you’re awake,” Henry’s husky voice comes from the right side of the bed, I can feel him watching me. Of course I’m awake, how could I not be with Bunny causing a ruckus barely a few feet away from the bedroom where me and my lover doze off during the nighttime. I’m not going to let the commotion steal me away from my sleep, not when I was living in the most magnificent dream of all which now, by no means I can remember. If I pretend to be asleep and lay as still as I can, perhaps the divine Hypnos will take pity on me and bless me with a couple more hours of rest. 

As well as my deception could work on the deity of sleep, it does not on the divine being lying by my side. “Ignoring me is unbecoming of you,” he whispers in my ear, his finger grazing over the side of my hip, sliding up towards my waist, gliding up to my shoulder before gripping the thin blanket I was holding over my head and expose my body to the warm sunlight glimpsing through the half-open window. 

“Five more minutes…” I groan into the pillow in which my face is buried. I’ve never understood how Henry could wake up as early as first light whenever we are welcomed in Francis’ aunt’s mansion. He’d tried to explain it to me once, in my current drowsiness his original statement becomes abandoned in the fabric of time. “It’s too early.” I croak again, my body rolling away from his in a pitiful attempt to have him abandon me to my slumber and the many dreams that await me on the other side of the oniric world.

At last he yields, my seemingly preposterous request for just a few more moments of relaxation is accepted and my dearest has shown himself for the kind soul that he is, pressing his lips to my head in a sweet blessing, “Five more minutes, then. Not one second more.” My only response to the limitation he poses to me is an unconcerned hum and somehow, as the pandemonium occurring downstairs grows louder, it serves as the perfect cradlesong to guide me right into Morpheus’s arms.

The house being oddly quiet is the first thing that worries me when my eyes blink open, Henry’s absence beside me being the second thing I detect, although less troubling. Educated as I am on his habits and his needs, he’s most likely working on yet a new translation. 

A gentle breeze fills the room, pecking my skin with its cool kisses, alleviating for what feels like a fleeting second the heat I feel, thanks to the sun electing me as one of its lovers for it too decides to lay its kind caresses on my body. The window is wide open, I only notice it after my head turns, the sudden brilliancy reaching my gaze causes me to squint, my hand instinctively rising to create some shadow. Peeking from my fingers, I can make out a bird perched on the windowsill, if only Henry were basking in this peaceful moment with me, he’d be able to identify precisely what kind of feathered creature that is, he’s the ornithologist out of the two of us.

With time my vision adjusts to the glistening light and as I observe my plumaged friend take flight I decide it is time to finally see if my not so plumaged peers kindly left any scraps of their breakfast for me. I take my time washing up and getting dressed. It is such a serene day, to taint it with hurriedness feels like a crime against nature.

Making my way towards the kitchen has me realizing that the house is not as soundless as I imagined: hushed whispers are audible, along with repetitive shushing and a melodious yet quiet feminine giggle. I’m not swimming in solitude, then. It only adds to my enjoyment of the morning.

Finally, when I step into the room, that's when I spot it: a cake sits in the middle of the breakfast table, Bunny trying his best to not be seen sneaking a taste of it with his finger. My dearest invites me to step further in with his sweet call, “At last, you live. I thought you’d never join us.” Henry sits with his elbows on the table and his chin resting confidently on top of his joined hand, naturally I glide across the floor to him, my hand finds its rightful spot on his shoulder rubbing my fingers in his muscles, “Good morning,” I say and there rises an echo of ‘Morning’ in return.

His hand finds mine, bringing it to his lips and pressing the softest of kisses to the back of it, “Take a seat. We were just waiting for you.” The chair next to him is already pulled, waiting only to feel my weight on it. Settling at the right side of my beloved I feel like the very world we’re in is but a violin’s string, ready to snap at any moment. Clearly, I’m missing a piece of the puzzle, watching my companions throw each other amused glances, not so patiently looking forward to something I do not understand, though by Bun’s hungry looks towards the baked delicacy sat in front of him, it’s plain to see just what he is impatient for.

Following a moment’s quiet, his anticipation takes the best of him, “Do you know what day it is or are you still half-asleep?” He asks, his fingers tapping nervously on the edge of wood. I do not know what day it is, in truth. The times we spend in this sanctuary compel me to misinterpret the countless hours that spread through the summer weeks into one single round of twenty-four. It all blends together in a haze.

“Is it an important occasion that’s slipping my mind?” 

“Oh for God’s sake!” He childishly laments, shaking his head in frustration. “It is, no doubt, a special occasion,” Comes Camilla’s voice with syrupy patience embedded in it, “A cake, us gathered around it, waiting for you…” 

Miraculously I get the picture before any kind of remarks against my intellect can be formulated. Eyes wide with glee, elated smile taking over my lips, I can’t hide the appreciation I feel for the souls joining me in celebrating the day I was born. When the traces of flour smudged on their clothes finally have a reason for existing I feel my heart overflowing, they’ve baked a cake just for me and even if I haven’t tasted it yet, I can already tell it will taste like ambrosia. This is one of those times where I wonder if one individual could pass away from feeling too much love.

Celebrating with them all has a golden spot in the throne residing inside of my memory, and not for the visible kindness they’ve shown me by gifting me many presents I’ll forever treasure, but for the affection they’ve showered me. I’m able to bathe in the tenderness of our friendship.

Francis gifted me a locket on a chain, a small sparkly token where I could hide away a picture of my lover for only my greedy eyes to see. Charles and Camilla offered me a brand new chess set with the promise that they’ll take turns playing against me soon, the immaculate black and white pieces sculpted in smooth marble almost look like precious jewels. Bunny, hyperbolizing how long it took him to find a gift he deemed worthy of me, presented me with a watch I’m sure he pestered Henry to buy in his stead. Richard, with an air of uncertainty to him, handed me a book, the very one I’d been rambling about purchasing for myself during one drunken night. How he’d caught that miniscule detail, I’ll never know.

“Happy birthday,” Henry whispers, his voice caresses my ear as he sets a small rectangular, intricate, case in my hands. The see-through glass top shows me the contents of it. A stunning montblanc fountain pen, with golden decorations on its body. 

The conviction sets in me with every breath I take, that finding people as caring as them is an unprecedented benediction. “Thank you.” Attempting to put my gratitude into more elegant words is unachievable. “Thank you for everything.” Henry’s arm around my body drags me further into his side in an unusual display of public affection while my friends, they don’t seem to notice, too busy arguing over who should get the last slice of the dessert they spent so much time preparing. If birthdays could always compose such a heavenly melody, then they’d be hymns I’d never grow tired of singing. 

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