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#i had to scale this down so much so i could post it the quality doesn't suck as much in the original
obsessivevoidkitten · 10 months
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Slippery As An Eel
Yandere Eel Merman x Gender Neutral Reader (CW: Non-con, violent sex, bloody sex, biting, inhuman genitalia, huge dick, stalking, kidnapping, sadistic yandere, merman, eel man, merpeople, magic, general yandere behavior, reader gets broken ankle, dacryphylia, long tongue down reader’s throat) Word Count: 5.6k (Where I live there is still over an hour of May left, and I posted something for Mermay already, but it did not have smut, so I hope this feeds you all well for Mermay!)
Veeris was a merman, part man and part eel. Though most merfolk stayed well away from humankind, Veeris never managed to shake his fascination with them. They were so limited in their biped forms and yet they managed to traverse the skies and the seas. Maybe not so gracefully as a harpy or a merperson, but they traversed these domains nonetheless. And they did such a wide array of behaviors, from what he observed by watching the beach. They were just so fun to watch, going about their days. So small and fragile, but with little to no fear of predators. Veeris supposed that his own kind did a variety of crafts and hobbies too, but the eelfolk were a bit more homogenous than humans, who seemed far less predictable. Maybe it was just that he had lived among his own species so they just seemed more boring, but whatever the reason humans held some kind of spell over him. But there was one human that held his attention in a way that none others did, in a way that made his heart flutter and his thoughts race. And that human was you. It was a slow development, but after a while he became totally enthralled by you. Not knowing your name he dubbed you his "little siren" for getting him so attracted to you. He first saw you when you were picking up garbage from the beach, an activity that wasn't too uncommon as far as humans are concerned, but not totally normal either, it was always a welcome sight to see a human caring about the ocean rather than just polluting it though.   But another quality you possessed that made it so easy for the eel to fixate on you was that unlike the tourists who came and went you were a constant figure at the beach, you were practically a feature of it. And you weren't just a frequent beach goer, you were also consistent in the times that you went. Veeris could almost always predict just exactly when you were going to be there. At that point Veeris was extremely interested and curious about you, but not yet obsessed. What really made him yearn for you was when there was an oil spill. Of course you were a volunteer on the coast, helping to clean up birds that had gotten oil on them. And when he saw that he realized he longed for your delicate hands attending to him, traipsing over and exploring every inch of his body, in the same way that they were diligently cleaning every inch of the wildlife. Veeris tried to temper his passions, he really did. After all, you were a human and on the land and there was no way for him to even get to you, no matter how much he wanted to. Unless... he took advantage of your natural care for sea life. He was sea life was he not? The eel man knew every single inch of every path you took around the beach when you did one of your trash clean-ups. You always started at the south end and ended at the much more secluded north end. He staked the beach out for days waiting for a moment where there were no other humans nearby when you approached the end of your route. As you were going about using your grabber tool to pick up today's wave of never ending pollution you suddenly saw something large wash up with the gentle waves lapping at the shore. Just about 15ft. in front of you now lay a mind bogglingly long merman. Each of his features were striking in their own right. His rippling muscles, the long dark purple hair, almost black, splayed about messily over his face. The blue freckles covering his face, and parts of his arms, and chest. The dark purple scales covering his webbed hands and going up to his arms. But by far his most striking feature was the over 10ft. long tail. It was large, purple, had fins running all the way down its length, and looked oily, it was currently under a net. You saw his sharp teeth as he looked up pleadingly with his dark blue eyes and spoke in a pained voice, "Please help me, I’m Veeris. I was just swimming along when my arm and tail got caught up in this drifting net and I got washed ashore!" You told him your name and said that of course you would assist him! You ran over to him without hesitation, some humans may be scared of the seafolk, but you weren't a bigot! And clearly he needed your help. As you finished removing the net he struck without warning, wrapping you in his long slimy tail before slithering into the water and quickly making his way to his cave. You were stunned for a moment before you started to struggle, but the tail was heavy and muscular, almost like having the largest snake wrapped around you. There was also the little issue of having to contend with not being able to breathe. Just when your head was pounding and it felt like your lungs were on fire you felt the rush of air on your face as he crawled onto the floor of the seafloor, dragging you behind him. You gagged and spit up some water you had accidentally inhaled. "Wh-why did you bring me here?" You managed to croak out. It was practically unheard of for a merman of any type to eat a human but... with human meddling in the ocean fish may be scarce and anyone could be driven to extremes if starving. And those sharp teeth were definitely made for meat. "To be my mate, little siren!" He coiled around you and looked down at you intensely, this was the first time he had ever gotten to see you close up and he wanted to savor each and every little detail of his precious human mate. You flinched as his webbed fingers gently caressed your face. Welp, better than him intending you to be dinner. But uh... not ideal. You feared that trying to reason with him might make him angry and possibly violent, he clearly was not too rational, but maybe some quick thinking could weasel you out of this situation. “Well, um, I have a lot of responsibilities and a job that I have to do. Bills to pay. I can’t just be stuck here!” Maybe a bit flimsy, but maybe he’d buy it? “Ah, but don’t worry my sweet siren, with you being here you won’t have any of those types of worries in the first place! You can just relax and let me take care of you~” Damn, it didn't work. “But this cave is so damp and cool, surely my health will suffer if I stay for too long! And how am I to eat fresh vegetables or cook?” “Don’t worry, my love, I am good friends with the sea witch, Emrul. She has spent time amongst the humans in their form and has used powerful magic to make the next chamber in the cave habitable for your kind!” For the first time you took notice of your surroundings. You were in a huge room, a large portion of which was submerged in water where the cave led out to the sea, but the other portion was smooth rocky terrain. The walls had faintly glowing shells embedded into them with stalactites and stalagmites running together to form large pillars along the farther edges of the room. A soft moss like substance covered the rocky floor in large patches, it was probably of magical origin given that you could see no other way for it to survive here. Glancing behind you you saw a wide corridor leading deeper into Veeris’ den. Veeris slithered closer and grabbed your hand, leading you into the next room. Despite your reluctance to be there even you had to gasp at the sight before you. The room was enormous. The ceiling was a false but convincing image of the sky, clear blue with moving clouds. It was so real there was even a breeze, if it were not for the cave walls remaining the same as the previous chamber you would have been convinced you were really in a scenic location above water. The room was filled with grass and soil and even trees, there was a freshwater pond to give you a water source and in the distance there was a huge cabin, that even Veeris could easily fit into, in the corner with a sprawling garden free of any pests or disease, it was truly amazing. There was even a miniature river for Veeris to cool off in when he needed moisture and when he needed to get from one side of the room to the other quickly, it had arching bridges over it in several places so you could cross and remain dry. “See? Everything a human needs is here! Fresh air, food, trees, plants, food, freshwater, shelter!” Fuck! No dice. There was one last thing you could try. “Well, humans don’t fall in love or move in so fast… not usually… most of us prefer to date for a bit first.” “Date?” “Yeah, where you get to know someone gradually through planned meet-ups! And if you like them then you agree to be mates!” “Oh, so an extended courtship ritual that you need? Okay, little siren, how do we do a human date? I have already watched you for so long every time you are on the beach so I know I love you, but I don’t mind waiting a bit and doing this for you if it makes you more comfortable~” He looked at you and gave a toothy grin that you supposed was meant to be sweet but his sharp teeth gave you chills. But it wasn’t just that grin that made you exceedingly uncomfortable, apparently this eel man had been stalking you for quite some time. Oh god, it was working! “Well, uh, you can take me back up and we can meet and hang out on the beach sometime. I don’t know how your calendar works… maybe during the full moon, two nights from now?” “Okay!” Veeris took you gently and brought you back to the surface, it wasn’t that long, you could have made it yourself in one breath if you had to… assuming you were wearing flippers. Veeris gave you a hug and you said your goodbyes, once he re-submerged into the blue depths you ran home. You hadn’t brought your car since you lived just up the road. You had all of zero intention of going on your date, instead you started looking into new places to live. The nature of your work meant you absolutely had to be near an ocean, it would take some time to pull off but you sure as shit would not remain anywhere near this beach! Veeris, on the other hand, could not wait for his date. In only two days he would court and win the heart of his beloved, he just knew it! He could hardly focus on hunting, eating, or sleeping. He was just so excited, even a bit nervous despite his confidence that he would win you over. When the full moon started to rise Veeris was already at the spot where he first met you. You weren’t there, but that was okay, he had gotten there pretty early in the night in his excitement to see you again. But as the hours passed and the moon reached its zenith, with moonlight dancing on the water you never showed up. Veeris was heartbroken. At first he was depressed, then he was enraged. How could his little siren do something like this to him? He began to go back to his lair when a thought occurred to him. What if something had happened to you? What if you had been injured or hurt? It was the middle of the night, but Emrul was always up performing rituals and spells during the night of a full moon. Veeris knew he would need her help and did not delay in changing course and swimming directly to her dwelling. Emrul lived nearby, in a small stone building carved into the rocky side of a trench, secluded enough to perform her magical research and incantations in relative peace, but also close enough to the people that sought after her unique services. Her perimeter spell had already alerted her to Veeris’ arrival and she was outside to greet him. She looked very similar to him, with the obvious difference that she was a woman. Her scales were also a very dark, almost black, shade of blue rather than purple. She warmly greeted her fellow eel as they both went into her abode. Vials of brightly colored fluids lined her shelves, a cauldron bubbled with a mystic fluid that was thicker than water, and the smell of pungent ingredients permeated the water. “So, what brings you to me at such an hour? It must be important…” “it is… I really need your help...” And, after explaining his situation to her, he got it. A few days later you were in your house getting ready for bed. You had already arranged everything for your move, it wasn’t too terribly far, just 35 miles up the coast. All your things were already packed. You would miss the area, but you had no familial ties and no friends that lived near so that made things easier. You couldn’t stay knowing what was waiting to drag you into the depths. As you turned off the light and got into bed you slept soundly for the first time in days. But you didn’t stay asleep, you heard something outside. You ignored it at first, thinking it was just some raccoon or other such animal roaming about in the dark. But then you heard pounding at your door. You looked through the peephole to see who could possibly be disturbing you at this hour. What you saw made your blood run cold. Veeris, somehow, this far inland. Except there were now two very human legs where his tail should have been, he had no scales, and he was also dressed in very old style clothing. Like an alien who had seen fashion from the Victorian era and wore it thinking it would blend them in with modern day humans. How was he on land? How had he found you!? You ran back upstairs and hid under your bed, hoping that he would think you weren’t home and simply leave. And if he did come in maybe he wouldn’t find you under there. The pounding at the door only grew more fervent, you prayed he would just take a hint and leave but it didn’t seem like a lack of response was going to be enough of a deterrent for the former eel man. Veeris was worried for your safety, worried something terrible may have happened to you, so there was no force on earth that was going to prevent him from seeing you. And he knew you were inside. Emrul didn’t just enchant him with a temporary human form but also let him have a homing crystal that was tuned to the object of his desire. He knew you were inside this human building. Knocking wasn’t working, what if someone had you bound or you were injured and unable to come to the door? With a mighty heave he snapped the door and entered your home, calling out your name as he searched every room. When he reached your bedroom the crystal grew warm and glowed more strongly. You were close. His heavy steps boomed and thudded around you as he checked under your covers and opened your closet. There was now only one place left to check. Veeris easily pushed aside your bed, revealing you huddled up in a fetal position below where the bed previously stood. He picked you up easily and pulled you into a painfully tight embrace. “My siren! What happened to you!? Are you okay? Why did you miss our date?” Veeris was sure there had to be a proper explanation, like maybe you had been ill or someone had hurt you. You only had to get him to leave you alone for another night and then you could find a human mage, warlock, witch, or sorcerer of some type to block out magical tracking. You decided to go with old reliable. In a sickly voice you answered him after a few convincing coughs, “I-i wanted to come, of course I did but… I was so s-sick. I still am. That’s why I was under the bed, I had fallen and couldn’t even get up!” You finished your lie with a few more fake coughs and a slight whimper of pain. Veeris was totally convinced of your deception. Perhaps, as you would soon realize, just a bit too convinced. “Oh, my poor sweet angel fish, I am so sorry that you have been suffering. Forget the date.” Haha, Success! “You clearly cannot be left alone in this condition, don’t worry I will take good care of you, I will make sure you get plenty of rest and all your needs are taken care of!” FUCK! “No, no! You don’t need to go through all of that trouble! I was already starting to feel a little bit better!” You did not like where this was going. “Nonsense, what kind of potential mate would I be if I just left you to suffer! You don’t need to be so strong, you can rely on me.” “B-but the cold water could make me worse!” “Don’t worry, the swim to my cave is so brief that you won’t be exposed long and we can warm up and dry you off in that human dwelling Emrul put in the cave for us! And here, this will let you breathe underwater! It is an enchanted necklace Emrul made for me.” Veeris pulled a sapphire pendant from his pocket and put it gently around your neck before easily scooping you up into his mighty arms. Then he started walking with you right past the broken door and out of the house. You briefly considered screaming for help but there was no one out and about at this hour and even on the off chance someone heard your pleas for help and called the authorities they would never get here in time, and even if that did somehow happen how would Veeris react to your screaming? He could snap your bones without any effort. It was only a quick jog to the sea and when he reached the water’s edge he shed his antique style human clothing before starting the transformation back into an eel man, scales erupting on his arms and legs before his legs joined together and once more became his tail. He held you tight as he slithered into the water and swam as quickly as he could back to his lair. You instinctively held your breath but remembered the charm around your neck that would supposedly allow you to breathe water. It took a lot of will power to force your body to take a breath underwater, but you finally managed to do it and it worked exactly as it was supposed to. You could certainly use this to escape later. Veeris continued carrying you as he slithered into the large enchanted part of the cave. He took you into the cabin and, much to your dismay, stripped you of all your clothing. You tried to talk him out of it but he wasn’t having it, he insisted on getting you out of the wet clothing and bundled up in bed, you were sick after all and apparently humans were supposed to stay dry when sick as per your earlier worry about being exposed to the water while ill. He also insisted on cleaning you up and drying you off. The eel man took a soft rag and gently washed your body of all the water before bundling you up in the softest blankets you had ever felt and having you lay in the humongous bed. Veeris had never slept in a human style bed before, but this one was enchanted to support his full weight and made to dimensions to fit his full size. He found it very comfortable as he slithered into it, fitting you perfectly into his oddly warm coils. You had thought yourself free of this whole mess but now here you were, naked except for some blankets, snuggled up in the tail of a merman who was determined to prove himself to be a perfect mate for you. One day. Just one day and you would have been significantly farther. Not that that necessarily would have stopped him, but it might have. At the very least it would have given you more time. It was hard to go asleep with the massive man surrounding you, but eventually you did manage to get a few shaky hours of rest before waking up to something poking you in your thigh. You opened your eyes to find he was no longer coiled around you and instead spooning you, and his cock had gone erect in his sleep and slid out of his genital slit and was now leaking pre all over you. You feared the size of it, at least he currently thought you ill and hopefully wouldn’t try to mate with you. There was no way that thing was going in without at least some pain. You managed to suppress the urge to push him away from you, but you didn’t want to wake him up and have to deal with him. That task became impossible though when he began slowly fucking your thighs from behind in his sleep. You began shouting and struggling, but it did nothing to wake him. Thankfully whatever erotic dreams were leading to him to such behavior dissipated before he splooged all over you. He finally woke up, with his cock still between your thighs. He blushed and looked away shyly. “O-oh, I am so sorry my little angelfish, I… didn’t mean to uh…, well anyway your clothes are dry now.” But of course, he still had to dress you. You were there for several days, with each day seemingly getting just a slight bit better. You couldn’t stay sick indefinitely, what if he got his magic friend to diagnose you and tell you he was faking? He said her medical magic and remedies were species specific and she didn’t know how to heal humans, but what if he chanced it if you stayed ill? You couldn’t take the risk so instead you gradually acted like you were healing. The entire time he waited on you hand and foot, it was suffocating, he did not even take time to go hunt for himself. Instead he relied on the human food that grew there, even though it wasn’t what he was adapted to. He was overjoyed when you finally “got better.” And you were happy he did not have to be so smothering. No more being fed or bathed or watched over as if you were the most fragile thing to ever exist. When he finally left to go and hunt for the first time since you had been there you had to fight the urge to immediately make a run for it. You had no idea how long he was typically gone, you needed to wait a few days so that you could memorize his outside activities. Veeris, meanwhile, was so happy that his perfect siren had gotten well and was now staying with him. He considered all the time he spent caring for you to be a good substitute for your traditional courtship and dating. Plus every time he returned from any hunting or other necessary outings he always brought you back some gifts, a shiny stone or shell that caught his eye or other such treasures of the sea, and you always accepted and thanked him for these things. If that wasn't successful courtship he didn't know what was. It had now been days since your recovery from your "illness" and you felt that you finally had the ability to accurately predict approximately how long his outings would take. After he left, and when you had figured that he was far enough away as to be out of sight, you grabbed the pendant that allowed you to breathe underwater and started to make your way to the pool that led out of the cave. But in a tragic stroke of bad luck Veeris had found prey almost immediately right outside his den and was already on his way back as you left. Veeris was stunned when he smacked right into you as he was entering the tunnel back to the lair. After a moment of shocked silence he growled furiously and wrapped his tail around you tightly and hauled you right back into the tunnel you had just come out of. Fuck. Everything clicked for Veeris. This whole time you had faked illness to get out of your date with him. But that’s okay, he wasn’t above keeping you against your will. That was, after all, what he had attempted to do originally. You just had to be shown your place while he proved he was the only mate for you. Your fear in that moment was beyond anything that you had ever felt before, you had no idea what he would do or whether or not he would hurt you. Kicking and punching him did nothing to remove you from his thick coils, when he hauled himself out of the water he carried you aloft with the end of his tail and took you back to the cabin. Once there he slammed you hard into the bed, knocking the air out of you. “You were really going to leave me my wonderful angelfish?” He sounded as though he was on the verge of tears. “After all the gifts and how well I have treated you??” “Please just… let me go…” “NO! You’ll be happy here! I’m the only mate for you and we spent so much time together! I just have to show you, just give it more time and I will get you to love me back eventually, okay my siren?” Veeris was unstable, equal parts heartbreak, despair, denial, anger, and love. “I-I hate you, you fucking freak!” For a moment your anger at being kidnapped by this insane merman overcame your fear of him. You regretted it almost instantly. Such blunt words cut Veeris’ heart, causing him great cognitive dissonance. And he was also angered at you being so ungrateful, he had this whole little world in this cave tailor made just for you, when he thought you were sick he took care of you, and he always gave you tokens of love. Seeing the fury in your eyes you backed up until you were against the headboard. “S-sorry. I didn’t mean i-” He pulled you by the legs back towards him as you tried to get away from him. In Veeris’ mind you had to love him, at least on some level, it didn’t make sense that you didn’t. His brain couldn’t entertain the notion. You saying you hated him clashed with his belief and caused him discomfort and pain until he could resolve it in a logical manner. But now with a frightening smirk on his face everything fell into place. He had to utterly dominate you. You didn’t want an overly gentle mate at all times. You clearly wanted him to prove he was strong and worthy. And you were probably in denial about it too. It all made sense. He needed to overpower and ravage you until you accepted it. You flailed as you remained on your back, still being yanked towards him, all the while he stared at you with a very uncharacteristic grin. “V-Veeris?” Suddenly your pants and underwear were torn off followed shortly by your shirt, leaving you exposed under his unhinged gaze. Veeris bent down and used his insanely long tongue to lick all over you, from your neck down to between your legs. His large slimy cock and balls were now out of his genital slit and he was fully erect. The size of it truly scared you. “No! Please! Don-” You were cut off by that long tong plunging into your mouth and probing every inch, gagging you as it explored a bit down your throat. As he did this he coiled his tail around you almost unbearably tight. He broke the kiss and then positioned you to be turning away from him. You could feel his hot cock from behind begin to grind against your very much unlubed entrance. You instinctively flinched in anticipation for the pain, but it only made it much worse for you than if you had tried to relax. Veeris finally finished with the grinding and jammed his fat cock into you unceremoniously. It felt like you had been impaled by a molten spear and you screamed as loud as you could from the pain. It felt as if your hole was being ripped open with how much your body had to stretch to accommodate his dick. With each thrust into you it drove the pain deeper and deeper. Your body would have been shaking with the force of your sobs had you not been so tightly bound by his strong serpentine tail. But his sensitive body was made to detect any and all disturbances in water, so he could feel every sob and gasp and shake, he reveled in it, it was your body submitting to him. As he continued slowly fucking you he licked up all your tasty tears with his long tongue. You were such a beautiful sight, somehow made only more beautiful by your crying and pain. The hurt and trauma of the rape never turned to pleasure, he was not gentle, he was not doing this just for sex. He was doing it to completely dominate you so that you would understand that you were his mate and that he made the rules. He thought it was what you, deep down, needed and even wanted. Veeris refused to go fast, he wanted to savor every delicious stroke of his cock into your blood-lubed hole. You could feel the blood leaking down your thighs, mixed with his precum. You wanted to punch out, or kick, or at the very least hide your head in shame in your pillow to shield your tears from the world and block out the violation that was happening to you. But his body was tight around you, if he was railing you so violently you probably would have noticed the pain the bondage was causing. Veeris kissed your cheek with mock tenderness before whispering into your ear, “You cry so prettily for me my little siren~” Sharp teeth pierced your skin as he bit into your shoulder and then your neck. You blacked out from the pain right as Veeris pumped load after load of hot burning cum deep into your raw abused depths. You woke up over a day later all bandaged up and with a salve that had been inserted inside you to help you heal. Veeris was nowhere to be found. You even called out to him as loudly as you could, though your throat was sore from all the screaming from the day before. No response. You made sure your breathing pendant was still on you, which he foolishly didn’t remove, before hobbling to your feet. You almost collapsed due to the pain, but you pushed past it. Only one short, albeit painful, swim separated you from freedom. You weren’t broken yet. You were crying, your heart was beating erratically in your chest with anxiety, but you still had hope. You could make it. You got to the submerged part of the first room of the cave, your feet at the edge of the water about to step in. Veeris popped up with a splash before you even put a toe in the water. It had all been a test, a trap, he was going to train you to never dare leave one way or another. “Sorry to have set you up like that, but it is the only way you are going to learn your place.” As he slammed you back on to the bed you were kicking, screaming, and blubbering far too incoherently to make out any words. You were sure he was going to rape you again, his cock impaling you and filling you with the worst kind of pain. But he had something a bit more brutal in mind. Your terrified mind couldn’t even comprehend what he was doing as he held your leg with one hand and your leg with the other. Veeris sneered down at you as he twisted your leg in one direction and your foot in the other. There was a sickening snap as he broke your ankle. You screamed louder than you did even when he was fucking you. Mercifully you passed out from the pain and Veeris saw to your injury. He may have taken some pleasure in dominating and hurting you, but he didn’t actually want to cause you harm, didn’t you understand you were making him do these things? No matter, One way or another you would learn you would learn to never try and leave him.
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absolutebl · 9 months
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This week in BL - I am all over the place, But Laws of Attraction is Phenomenal af
July 2023 Wk 2
Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying most.
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Ongoing Series - Thai
Laws of Attraction (Thai Sat iQIYI) 1 of 8 - Icky picked it up but it’s not airing for me until Sundays so I held this post specifically to watch and talk about this show. Stars the pair from To Sir With Love with the same production team. IT’S SO GOOD Y’ALL. A morally corrupted trickster lawyer with a tragic past, sad eyes, and a beautiful smile that he uses like a weapon. Meets paladin martial arts instructor from other side of the tracks (who is out, at least to his baby sister). Corrupt police. Spoiled rich kid evil. Ambitious politician. Tragic death. Terrible subs.* This show is very like Manner of Death but so far it is a much better/tighter story. It’s NOT BL but it is fucking phenomenal. And you shoudl watch it. Not wait to binge it. WATCH IT. On a global scale this might be the best thing currently airing featuring gay romantic leads. Its really fucking good. It’s Lawless Lawyer but more complex character motivation and gay af. Fuck yes please and thank you. FINALLY. Triggers for violence, beatings, death & torture depicted on screen. Like MoD they are not holding back.  (* A lot of the familial names they are using are not gendered in Thai but translated as such, like “nephew”. This one is gonna go down a lot easier if you know some Thai.)
Step By Step (Tues WeTV & Gaga) ep 12fin - 2 years pass and no one’s hairstyle changes? Srs. Them meeting again = hella AWKWARD. Both still pining & hurt. NO SINGING. The reconciliation scene was great. I enjoyed that on the “do over relationship” they went with phi/pom (instead of the super formal khuns). So cute and so much more relaxed. Also lots of neck kisses! Charming final ep. It’s only flaw being they dropped the side couple, but I wasn’t really into them anyway. Ultimately? This is what Boss & Babe should have been and could we please have Up lead out another BL? I miss him and he only gets prettier. Full review below.
La Pluie (Sat iQIYI) ep 12fin - I adore the tiny little baby GL thread that we almost got. And I wish we had had more of it throughout the show. The side couple turned out to be good too. Emotional crying kisses are my favorite. Sunshine netted himself an earnest serious romantic boy, we likey. As for the main couple? Well... Tai’s search story arc was dull and dragging in a final ep and it felt bloated and slow as a result. It was a good confession reunion with Tai figuring all of his shit out, not surprising but fine. Kind of a a weak final ep. Full review below. 
Hidden Agenda (Thai Sun GMMTV YouTube) ep 1 of 12 - JoonDunk are back and we have all seen this a million times before, but Thailand never executed a successful formula it didn’t want to repeat a million times over, drunk bathroom and everything. Welcome (back) to Thai BL (and back and back and back). Basically they just added glasses, a new 1-shared-brain-cell friendship group, and different uni departments. Ah GMMTV, forever trying to recreate the magic of 2gether. But also I’m enjoying it. I’m a simple person. (Hi Jamie! Still in college since 2018 I see.) Anyone else notice that Chinese phrase that they did not translate for us? Mmm hum. Cute. Still... NO SINGING. 
Low Frequency (Sat iQIYI) ep 2 of 8 - Thames is in coma and getting slagged off on the socials. It’s moving a bit slowly but the premise is interesting despite the poor quality of the execution. 
Dinosaur Love (Sun iQIYI) ep 3 of 8 eps - Major trigger for self harm depicted on screen in part 2/4. I skipped it. Then there is assault and verbal abuse. I told you Ultimate Troop is NOT to be trusted. 
Be Mine Super Star (Mon Viki) ep 2 of 12 - Look, I don’t really mind this show but I also don’t like second hand embarrassment and I sense a metric butt ton incoming.
Be My Favorite (Fri YouTube) ep 8 of 12 - I was not best pleased with this episode. Ya’ll round the tumblr-sphere seem to be enjoying it but I have officially hit the wall on Kawi. There is not enough booze for me to cope with his shizz. I may be alone in this. But gotta say how I feel... Unlike him. Trash watch here.
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Ongoing Series - Not Thai
Tokyo in April is... AKA Shigatsu no Tokyo wa (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 5 of 8 - Poor Ren, he feels compelled to take on the burden of protecting everyone from sexual assault because he blames himself. And he can’t even talk to his boyfriend about it. Oh fuck me the pair of shoes at the door. And neck kisses? TOO MUCH. Argh. Japan. Why must you hurt so good? 
Stay By My Side (Taiwan Fri Gaga) 3 of 10 eps - It’s a very cute show. All the tropes and archetypes with no fuss or attempts to be clever, just executing them (sometimes over and over again). Even hiccoughs as a result of flirting! I haven’t seen that one in ages. The show feels old fashioned as a result. Nostalgic. I’m good with that. 
Tie The Not (Pinoy YouTube) ep 6 of 8 - Sad boys still sad now drunk. (Noooooo shoes on bed! Argh.) Finally kisses! Also good ones for a large portion of this ep. Plus hair pulling. And verse rep! And after sex convo. Then side dishes have a whole proper gay ax covo about top/bottom. Everyone say thank you Philippines! get down with your queer selves! 
Stupid Genius (Vietnam Fri YouTube) ep 6fin - I believe this was the final episode. It was cute. This is a standard sort of semi-crappy VBL high school drama. Enjoyable in its floppy friendliness, weirdly like a queer after school special promoting education. Dead fish kisses but fine for what it is. 7/10 
Minato's Laundromat Season 2 AKA Minato Shouji Coin Laundry Season 2 (Japan Thu Gaga) 2 of 12 eps - Activate cohabitation trope. They okay bfs. Minato not as frustrating this week, but still frustrating for me and Shin. Next week = cute outfits and dumb miscommunication yay!
Vian the series (Vietnam YouTube ) ep 11 of 12 - again it didn’t show up on my dash in time for this. I’ll pop it into next week. 
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It’s airing but ...
House of Stars (Thai Mon iQIYI) 12 eps - I bounced at ep 3. Will binge if told it is worth it at end.
Stay (Pinoy YouTube) 7 eps - It’s mostly English & set in LA (shudder) so I’m not bothering.
Stay With Me ... NO I WILL NOT! And you can’t make me.
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Ended This Week
Step By Step Series Review  
This was Thailand’s answer to The New Employee, and everything I loved about that show I loved about this one. This was an office romance between stern boss and sweet subordinate that felt more authentic to an office environment than previous Thai BLs of this ilk. And that authenticity added tension to the narrative and character development (how novel). Now that might be because it has western source material, or it might be because it is actually kind of old-fashioned (it’s been years since I worked as an office grunt). I also really enjoyed the brothers’ relationship, and kinda wished they hadn’t attempted (and failed) to give said brother his own side BL. That one flaw made it a 9/10 for me. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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La Pluie Series Review
This BL takes to task the fated mates trope and what it means to have love chained intimately to predestination. It’s about how faith in destiny before choice diminishes the authenticity of emotion, relationships, and connection. This is a high concept to examine through the lens of a BL. By activating + examining the soulmates trope this show is challenging a foundation of romance: the idea that there is one person meant to be your one romantic partner all your life. This means that we, as viewers, spend much of the show worried about it having a happy ending, and that’s the source of both its brilliance and tension: would the narrative have the strength to truly challenge its own romantic core? But, ultimately, all this elevated complexity was executed in a somewhat shaky manner with the narrative derailing into some serious pacing issues and characters manipulated by miscommunication. However, with good chemistry and decent acting all around, plus some excellent high heat and representation of consent and a few other rare tropes, this one has to (like it’s sibling show My Ride) earn a 9/10. I enjoyed it even as it made me think, so despite its flaws: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Next Week Looks Like This:
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Starting:  
7/19 Wedding Plan (Thai Wed YouTube & iQIYI)  - It's Mame and she's coming for our GL. She's such a misogynist IMAGINE what we will get with a GL side dish? It's going to be absolute carnage. To crane your neck as you drive by the car wreck or not? That is the question. Me? I'm wallowing in the guts. Trying to decide to trash watch or not... 
7/20 Jun & Jun (Korea Thu Viki) - From 2022 I CAN’T FUCKING WAIT! So excited for this one. 
2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED)
THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS
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FYI roselle juice is made from hibiscus (a flower) so technically neither a tea nor a juice. (Hidden Agenda)
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Tie the Not = all the verse rep this ep. I love this for them. 
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The giggling was SO DAMN CUTE (Step by Step, na?) 
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We all guessed it but it was still fun. (Stupid Genius) Also miracles of miracles, two actors who actually look like they could be brothers play brothers. 
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First time I’ve seen faen translated as significant other. (Laws of Attraction)
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THE PAIN! (Tokyo) 
(Last week.)
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bambiraptorx · 1 year
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He stared down at the businesswoman smirking in front of him, even she could even be called that. It was too nice a word for Big Mama, too legitimate. It would imply that she was capable of honest exchange or straightforward deals, when the only thing she could actually ever be relied upon for was to work in her own interest.
And that was exactly was he needed her for. If there was anyone qualified to safeguard the Key with their life, it would, rather ironically, be the woman who always looked out for herself. If he could convince her that keeping the Key was in her best interests, she would defend it, simple as that.
Sure, it's risky as hell to give her the opportunity set the terms of a deal, but she was more predictable than he'd ever let on to her. He could feel her eyes on his scars, from the multitudes of tiny, nearly invisible lines crisscrossing his arms from decades of training to the large discolored patch of scales spreading up his neck. They'd probably make him pretty intimidating even if he weren't absolutely massive. He was built like a fighter, had been one for well over a decade, and Big Mama would have to be losing her mind to not want him as a gladiator. It's what this whole gamble was based on, after all.
"Obviously I'd put you in my Battle Nexus, should I accept your offer," she said, steepling her fingers in front of her. If he didn't know all of her tricks by now, it might look almost intimidating.
He snorted. "We both know that the Nexus has been declining since Lou Jitsu's fights stopped. The way I see it, I need this--" he gestured at the Key--"to be impossible to find, and you need someone to draw people back to the fights. We could solve each other's problems," he rumbled out, far more confidence in his words than he felt. He'd been a leader since he was a kid, faking assurance was like wearing a second skin by now.
She stood, pushing her chair backward and walking around her desk. She picked up the Key, casually running her manicured nails along the crude carvings. "A dimensional gateway opener? What sort of skantonious irritankle could be awful enough to require locking it away with a relic of this mystic caliber?"
Memories of zombies and food shortages, guard rosters and mercy killings, hopeless battles and sleepless weeks, of the portal opening and hell itself raining out, sprung to mind. "Let's just say you'd be lucky to die a quick death after finding out."
She huffed in amusement and set the Key down. "I'll draw up the contract."
---
I've been rotating a "Future Raph goes back in time but he goes a decade or so too far" story in my head for a while. I don't know if I'll do more, but I wanted to post this much.
(I'm gonna be so mad if tumblr nerfs the quality of this I spent so much time drawing the comic.)
Sequel of sorts
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milkycarnations · 8 months
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Kinktober 2022
|Week Four| Clockwork x afab!Reader | car sex, overstimulation, spanking | 818 words
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kinktober masterlist | public sex, exhibitionism, parking lot, pussy slapping, light impact play, fingering, cunnilingus, teasing, lesbian sex
Written for @just-a-creep-babe's #creepkinks.
Sorry, this one is so so short. I've been holding onto it for so long and just couldn't find anything else to add, so I have to finally get it out there.
And it's finally done! I want to give a final thanks to @just-a-creep-babe for this wonderful prompt challenge. I know it took an absurdly long time, but I had some unexpected life-changing things happen while writing these. But that's not the point! I think I strongly improved my writing with these and really got put outside of my comfort zone. I do plan to do something like this again in the future (maybe another kinktober?), but it will definitely be on a much smaller scale so I can put out higher quality and more consistent posts. Enjoy!
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Natalie turned the car off, the sudden stop of the rumbling engine leaving the two of you in silence. The Walmart parking lot had been empty, except for two or three other cars parked far away from you. Regardless, the bright white lights shone into the car and made you feel exposed. If anyone had decided to walk past, they would definitely see you completely undressed and at her mercy.
"Feeling comfy yet?" Nat asked. She frowned as she saw you scanning the parking lot.
"This was your idea," she said, "but you can back out if it's really bugging you that bad."
"No," you looked at her from the back seat, "I can't wait any longer. I want you now."
Relaxing, she smirked at you.
"I knew you had it in you, you dirty girl." she flung herself from the driver's seat, shuffling herself into the foot space below you. Her face was now leveled right near your pussy.
"You got to get this off first," she said, tugging at your pants.
You helped as she unbuttoned them and pulled them off of you, leaving you in your panties. Feeling yourself become even needier for her, you spread your legs open for her and slouched down. Her hands reached around your thighs, propping them above her shoulders.
"Damn, Nat,"
She giggled in response, tracing a finger over your clothed clit. Her touch was soft and teasing and it only made you ache even more for her. It wasn't enough and you were already so desperate for her. Natalie looked up from between your legs.
"What's wrong?" she smirked.
"Please, skip the foreplay. I just want you to make me cum."
"Aww, there's no fun in playing like that."
Regardless, she pulled down your panties, throwing them onto the floor of the car. Your pussy was now bare to her, cold from your arousal already starting to drip onto the car seat. Putting her thumb against your clit, she continued to rub small circles. You flinched, rutting into her hand.
"Sensitive already?"
"Yeah, when you're teasing like that," you whined.
"I thought you wanted more, but you can't handle it?" she laughed.
"I can handle it. Please, I just want to cum so badly Nat."
Wordlessly, she pressed her tongue along your folds, letting out small kitten licks. Each swipe of her tongue had your toes curling. You reached your hand out and ran your fingers through her hair, holding her head steady. As she ate you out, she steadily hummed into your pussy, moaning and giggling.
With a flick of her tongue across your clit, she pushed a finger into you. She pulled her head back.
"So wet for me already. I know you like being teased, baby."
As you went to protest, she started to suck on your clit. Your grip on her hair tightened.
"Fuck, that's too much."
She continued sucking slowly and pumped another finger into you. Each curl of her fingers pressed against your g-spot and made your mind go fuzzy. You could barely argue with her as she worked them into you. Out of the haze of your pleasure, a light slap hit your pussy. You jumped.
"Look at how wet you are. You're getting my seats dirty you know."
She let out another slap, slightly harder this time. You bucked up to meet her hand, each slap only slightly providing any stimulation for your sensitive clit.
"C'mere hun," without another word she extended her tongue again, steadily swiping at your clit. Body trembling with each pass, your legs quickly grew tense, wrapping tighter around her face. A muffled laugh sounded between your thighs, sending pleasant vibrations your way. You didn't last much longer before the rubber band pulling in your stomach snapped.
"That's a good girl," she said, continuing to thrust her fingers into you as you rode the high of your first orgasm. The sensation of your own cum running down your legs and painting Nat's face was overwhelming, but her lips met yours again, nonetheless. You jumped, fingers tightening around strands of her hair.
"Woah,"
"What, you can't take a lil more for me?" she asked you.
"No," she ran her tongue softly across your pussy, "it's too much."
She does it again.
"I'm too sensitive, Nat!" you begged.
"But I'm being so gentle, would my fingers be better?"
Switching to rubbing her thumb in circles, you let out a squeal. The friction of her rough finger pads was swarming your senses.
"Please, Nat!"
Your legs began to shake again as you pleaded with her.
"Fine," she sighed, smiling. Giving you a quick kiss before pulling herself away from your lower half.
"Time to keep moving anyway, huh." she reached over to the front seat to grab a blanket and placed it beside you.
"Let me get you something to clean up and then you can hit the hay."
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prettyflyshyguy · 3 months
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What are you gonna do, monster boy?
Amazing what I can achieve when I put a song on repeat. Smashed this one out as something fun, refreshing and stress free. Still working on the big final chapter of the C Virus AU, but I'm recovering my confidence as a writer by letting myself work on some sillier things. Good practice too.
This is a mini story based on this phenomenal post and an overly complicated idea I had from it.
Enjoy the garbage here, or on AO3.
“You look nice.” Leon smiled wryly.
Chris rolled his eyes as he pushed the elevator doors back for Leon, who was wasting all the time in the world as he made his way down the corridor. The sharp cut business attire didn’t suit him as much as it barely fit him. A necessary evil, Leon had assured him. It’ll go down better.
To aid in Rebecca’s continued research, and for ease of access to monitoring the effects of the trial viral inhibitors she’d prescribed him, Leon was temporarily assigned to assisting in BSAA operations. The guise was of course that his knowledge post-Lanshiang was critical in containing and mitigating the impact of smaller scale and localised outbreaks of the C-Virus. A half truth, no one seemed to question it so far and a number of months had already passed. The global crisis raged on, the work never ended, his temporary partnership was easily justified to nosy journalists and more discerning governmental bodies.
Chris perpetually winged to him the whole elevator ride about how much he found the bureaucratic nature of these meetings tiresome. Paper pushers, out-of-touch management. Stakeholders who never set foot on ground zero yet felt qualified to call the shots. 
“If it weren't for people like that, we wouldn't be here.” Leon retorted, “You saying you’d want to be out of a job?”
He smiled as he watched Chris fiddle for the umpteenth time with his collar and tie.
“If people like that weren't around, there’d be no BOW based warfare. I’ll be glad the day I’m made redundant.” Chris huffed as he loosened his tie slightly.
Leon conceded that the man had a point.
The meeting was routine. The BSAA was called in to clean up a minor incident, it was successful, and so various representatives and stakeholders for the client would be meeting with the BSAA to discuss the outcome and debrief. Chris had insisted on arriving early, saying that this meeting was critical given the circumstance of the client, and it needed to go smoothly. 
Although it wasn’t mentioned, Leon could tell he appreciated the emotional support.
-
Chris was, for all intents and purposes, an exemplary operator within the BSAA. Most notable about him was his considerable empathy, fierce determination to do what's right, and how much he believed they had the power to change the world for the better. Quality traits, Leon respected him highly for them all, however, the latter might be considered a tad naive. Chris was an exemplary operator, trapped in a room, surrounded by stakeholders and board members. Politicians, in the figurative sense, and arguably the worst kind. Leon’s eyes darted around the seated figures, noting the sheen of luxurious silk clothes, tailored suits and wrist watches that were never used for any practical purpose. If you had to ask, you couldn’t afford it. 
There were a handful of friendlies on the south end of the oval table where Leon and Chris sat opposite. Leon knew them all as subordinates within the teams Chris oversaw, all good men and women, people you could trust. They had kindness in their eyes despite the worn and torn faces they wore, they shared the optimism of their Captain. They existed in stark contrast to the other two thirds of the table where the client cartel sat in horseshoe formation, their backs positioned to the entrance to the room, psychologically forming a barrier between the BSAA staff and the exit. 
“-pride ourselves in swiftly responding to an incident, and I am very pleased with the outcome and the performance of my team.”
Leon watched Chris fidget slightly in his seat as he spoke. He was clearly uncomfortable, but he was handling it well. Still, Chris was out of his depth. 
Politicians were hard enough to hold a work related conversation with. They were always playing games. A simple discussion became a contract with fine print, never in your favor or your benefit. More was always demanded of you, because good was never good enough for them. He wondered who had more power anyway, in these strange times. Was it the politicians he was used to handling, or the people sitting a few meters away from him. 
“-the use of B.O.W units by the BSAA?”
Leon’s attention violently snapped back to the woman seated at the head of the table. She shuffled through a document folder, licking a finger to flick through the pages effortlessly. Peering down through a set of reading glasses with a fine gold chain draped around her neck, a frown crinkled the skin on her forehead. She looked to be at least fifty years of age, with the telltale signs that she’d had work done to maintain a youthful presentation. Despite mankind mastering the molding of biology, they were still unable to tame the passage of time. The cracks in her mask formed when she frowned, and her voice gave away her years. Her dark eyes shifted upwards, piercing out from behind a sunken brow.
“I-Wh-Excuse me?” Chris stammered, shocked at whatever she had just implied.
Leon looked around the room hoping to find some context. The BSAA members appeared just as confused and shocked as he was. 
“Mr. Redfield, as the lead operator of this…” the woman paused, a chill beginning to settle on the room, “... Successful operation…”
Chris stiffened in his chair. Leon squinted from across the table and could barely make out the tiny printed details on her visitors identification badge.
Ms. Harker, CTO, Valhanian Pharmaceuticals. 
This is bad, he thought.
“... Do you condone the use of Bio-Organic-Weapons by the BSAA?” 
Harker’s speech had a sharp whistle to it that pierced the air of the room and the stunned silence of the attendees. This was a regular Tuesday lunch for Leon, for Chris this may as well be judgment day at the pearly gates. 
Don’t.
As if willing it so hard might psychically influence Chris into responding the right way.
Chris, don’t.
“What the hell are you trying to say?”
Fuck.
He couldn’t fault Chris for being defensive, but god, if there ever was a worse time for it.
“It’s a simple question, Mr Redfield.”
Chris rolled back his shoulders and leaned into his chair, hands clasped tightly on the tabletop, trying to calm himself as he regulated the tone of his response.  
“Of course we don’t condone the use of B.O.W’s, the BSAA was formed specifically to combat their use and propagation.” he responded calmly and confidently. 
“Thank you Mr Redfield, you’ve alleviated my concerns regarding your intelligence.”
Leon flinched at the insult. Glancing at Chris, he could see his friend's quick fuse burning at an alarming rate. 
“However your conviction is something I fear I must question.” 
Chris swallowed. The colour had drained ever so slightly from his face.
“I only think it’s right that the BSAA is transparent with regards to how it operates. We came to you on the good faith you would have the professionalism to help us clean up a horrific accident…” she gently placed the manilla folder back on the desk in front of her, and started to lay out items from inside it in an organised fashion.
“... and what are we without safety protocols and rigidity? Our products keep people alive and healthy all over the world, as I’m sure you’re all well aware.”
The venom in her tone caused a shiver to roll across Leon’s skin. 
“So to sit here in front of myself and my associates, and represent the BSAA, I find this conviction quite concerning with regards to what I’m going to show you.”
With a twist of her wrist she selected and slid a photograph down the length of the table, as if to twist the knife deeper.
“Care to explain this to me, Mr Redfield?”
Chris gently reached for the photograph, his hand trembled ever so slightly. The sight of Chris of all people, this nervous unsettled Leon like nothing else, despite everything he’d been through and seen before. Somehow a room full of big-pharma sharks was scarier than a giant monster covered in teeth and claws. He felt his heart beat a little faster as Chris eyed the photograph.
“I’m sorry, what exactly am I looking at?”
Good, good. Leon thought. Don’t give it to them easy. 
“What you are looking at, Mr Redfield, is an image pulled from our security system. It’s the clearest shot our team recovered, as either the camera’s were tampered with, or their blind spots were carefully utilised by this….” she paused, tapping the table with an acrylic nail as she pondered what word would be most appropriate.
“... individual.”
She paused to let the phrase sink in before continuing.
“It failed to hide entirely from us however, and in that image you can clearly see it is wearing a uniform that matches those of your team, yet it is not a human.”
Fuck. He’d been so careful, so cautious.
Something had felt off about the job from the minute Leon set boots on the ground outside the factory. Chris had assured him that it’d be smooth, he’d done it a hundred times before, there shouldn’t be any issues. It was a C-Virus outbreak for sure, but not the normal kind. Valhanian was working on vaccines and preventative medication, blockers for the immune system that could quickly and effectively obliterate the virus or prevent it from even gaining a hold on the system. The most common form was the standard strains that had a very similar effect on humans as the T-Virus did, which they were led to believe was the main focus of the factory - manufacturing and R&D for the ‘zombie’ strains. 
What they found waiting for them was most certainly not the standard C-Virus infected humans. 
Chris had brushed it off at the time, claiming that with how volatile the virus was, he wasn’t surprised that something had gone wrong and there were chrysalid variants in the facility.
Nothing’s without risk, something must have gone wrong, it’s not like we haven’t handled this sort of thing before.
Leon knew that there was no way in hell that a company with that much money in the game of vaccines would fuck around and find out - risking everything in the process. But it wasn’t worth arguing with Chris, he insisted that it wasn’t his job to worry about the science team’s side of things and that ‘Rebecca will figure it out.’ 
Chris was ever the optimist on his good days. Leon had seen too much to trust any corporation that invested in the field of medicine. You don’t get fission without fusion, and anyone who claimed that advancements in bio-organic warfare had no links to advancements in medicine, was a fool or a liar. Most likely both. 
Naturally, something went wrong on the job, sure he’d had a little ‘mutation’ incident, but Rebecca’s drugs worked a treat, they just took a while to fully kick in. 
.
“I don’t know what this is or what you’re trying to do, we don’t employ B.O.W’s as part of our operations, whatever you’re trying to claim with this is unfounded.” Chris responded in anger.
No no no you dumbass, don’t give it to them Chris!
“Mr. Redfield, I'm just being thorough.” Harker’s voice took the tone of a teacher reprimanding a student, “You’re no stranger to the industry, and I’m sure you understand we are very conscious and concerned about protecting our business. Incidents like this are of a high concern to us as the entire reason we brought the BSAA in to assist us was to stop a B.O.W incident.”
Chris glanced briefly at the BSAA staff seated around him, and Leon. Fear and panic reflected in his eyes, a silent cry for help. Leon could tell that Chris knew who was in the photograph and could only lie about it for so long before the game was given away.
Leon cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the sharks.
“Ms Harker I can assure you that Chris is just as shocked as you are, and that the BSAA operates at the highest level of-”
“Thank you for your assurance, Mr Kennedy,” Harker interrupted, her full attention snapping to Leon “but I believe you are not a member of the BSAA is that correct?”
There was a predatory look to her gaze. Leon’s heart skipped a beat.
“Yes, I’m temporarily assigned to assist them in operations regarding the C-Virus as I have first hand experience with it that has proven invaluable in us combatting further outbreaks.”
“I don’t doubt that Mr. Kennedy. I’m aware of your reputation and high standing. Our country has a lot to thank you for.” 
He shivered again. There was no genuinity to her tone.
“I just wish to express my concerns, as I feel we deserve an explanation to the security footage.”
Leon dug his fingers into his thigh, scrunching the fabric of his chinos, hands hidden under the table. Showing any public sign of fear or nerves would be his downfall.
“Trust is critical to any operation, but you all know this of course. How can we trust the BSAA after seeing this? How can you even trust yourselves?” 
Seeing a hint of a smile form at the edges of her mouth, Leon’s temper began to rise.
Chris began to speak, only to be cut off by Harker’s shrill tone.
“Have you considered that there may be individuals lying dormantly infected, unbeknownst to the world, the BSAA, even themselves?
Leon bit down on his tongue. 
“Perhaps there’s an infected individual sitting in this room with us right now.”
Chris went white and gripped the photograph tighter, holding himself back from instinctively looking away from Harker, he could see the bait now but it was too late.
“Perhaps it's someone not within the BSAA.” she trailed off softly as she shifted her sights from Chris to Leon. 
He felt the eyes of every member of the meeting shift to look at him in horror. 
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netherworldpost · 1 year
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AI art predictions with a laundry list
This is a very long post, so as an advertisement to entice you to read it, let’s start off with my proof points. It ends with advice on what to do if you make things and/or want to make things and are concerned.
I remember when royalty-free microstock ($1/photo) began. It fundamentally changed stock photography, ending a significant number of careers, creating a significantly larger number of photographers -- as well as graphic designers AND illustrators who now had floods of reference photos they could not access before.
I remember when boilerplate WordPress starter themes began. They largely are a “paint by numbers” kit of parts. A lot of web developers rallied against it, claiming they would go out of business. Some did, most did not, a great number went into business using them as tools.
Hell, I remember when WordPress started. Similar story to above.
I remember when Adobe created built-in color palette tools. These are, essentially, color wheels. There were a lot of designers and illustrators who claimed this would give the public and/or low skill designers too much power.
I remember when free logo generators started. See above notes.
I remember when ultra cheap graphic design freelance services began. Fiverr and Upwork, etc. See above notes.
Hell I remember when digital printers started gaining a neck grip on small scale commercial printing. Bad time to be a 1 and 2 color press shop.
Tech bros and their priests will continue to throw money and other resources at it from about mid 2022 until early 2024
A combination of boredom, other opportunities (good, bad, and neutral), lawsuits, and the inescapable physics of what is required to create new AI art will taper off interest around early to mid 2024
The arc of interest will diminish far sooner but will occasionally be spiked back up by a combination of:
^- click-bait news articles and new breakthroughs in tech
^- click-bait news articles that claim there is a new breakthrough because the reporter/outlet is just catching on to existing things
^- tech bros claiming a new breakthrough (that isn’t new) because they have reinvented existing tech and/or are outright stealing from existing tech
Some levels of AI will continue forever with varying degrees of aesthetic attraction
On some level, the continuation will be because some tech bros and their priests are interested in pursuing the tech and are uninterested in the benefits/costs
On another level, it will continue as a weapon against artists (at large) because all tech invented is utilized as a weapon by bad actors against specific groups people
On yet another level, it will continue as a weapon against specific artists because all tech invented is utilized as a weapon by bad actors against specific people
Some (a moderate sample size) artists will lose everything for a little while but ultimately adapt, a smaller sample size everything permanently and leave the art profession
The public at large will begin in earnest interest as a “we can create stuff too!” but then lose interest over time because quality (as measured by uniqueness) and accessibility (as measured as “free vs. paid”) will steadily decrease
The decrease of interest will spike tech bros desperate to reclaim their throne into accelerating outright theft and abuse because at the nature these specific tech bros are parasites and have nothing positive to offer either the tech or art ecosystems
Corporate interests will both utilize AI art for their own interests while suing to stop their own direct properties from being used. These lawsuits will generate attention-grabbing headlines but almost exclusively be settled out of court and/or the AI companies will simply be bought to bring the tech/people into the fold/shut down
Artists (at large) will engage in the various platforms. There will be generalized outrage for 1 - 5 years as a combination of acceptance, resignation, and useful labor-saving tools are built
^- schisms will enter the art community. Some points will be made as legitimate discourse, most will be stated as individual artists use this as the point-of-the-day to prove themselves better than everyone else.
Ultimately:
Tech will continue building what they can, scraping every resources available at the lowest cost possible and often through piracy, until it becomes untenable via cost and boredom
Artists will continue to create, adapt, and evolve. Some unfortunately will legitimately lose everything and drop out of the career for a period of years, some forever.
There will be a convergence point then the two will separate out slowly. The path will be painful for artists. The public will vastly be ignorant, those who know mostly won’t care, some will passionately rally for artists.
Advice for people who make things:
Keep making things. Despair is an automated weapon that targets you, the more you feed it, the stronger it grows.
Do not personalized despair. It is easy to give into the thought of a conspiracy theory against you, or your industry. I view the accuracy more as “people/institutions who do not know, or care, about your existence are building their own empire. Sometimes you’re a tree line of border protection against wind, sometimes you’re lumber. Either way you’re not considered in any instance except when you’re useful, and never as an individual.”
Protect yourself as possible (file copyright takedown notices, keep an eye on prices to keep yourself in business, do not actively participate in contests that scrape AI, block people onsite who advocate for AI art if you yourself do not)
Protect your business funds as possible (multiple streams of income where possible, keep an eye on costs -- is fancy packaging actually necessary, from a business perspective, or are you making it fancy because you’re an artist)
Build a community as you can, everywhere you can. There is an absolute effort-to-cost ratio that must be watched -- you can, as of writing, literally sign up for a MySpace if you want. I wouldn’t recommend trying to build a network there.
And to repeat: keep making things. There are tools you used to get started, there are tools you USE RIGHT NOW, I promise you, that were once heralded as “the thing that will kill art.” It didn’t, except where it did, and in both instances everything evolved to whatever our current state is.
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bandaged-writer · 2 years
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𝗠𝗔𝗞𝗘 𝗜𝗧 𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧.
↠ pairing. dazai x reader
↠ genre. angst, heartbreak, happy ending
↠ warnings. not proof-read
↠ words. 1k
↠ summary. you knew that if you turned around, you would never be able to let dazai go and let him have the life he deserved
↠ notes. it's been actual years since i've posted anything on this account and the first thing i write at 7 am gotta be angst 👩🏻‍🦯 anyways, i hope you enjoy this little something i whipped up on a whim ✨
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When the lights illuminating Yokohama were exceptionally pretty, in a spot that only you and Dazai knew, the birds were still chirping underneath the setting sun. The sky, dipped in hues so blue that it rivalled the sadness within the man's heart, hung above you like some sort of omen.
"You called me out here to say goodbye, didn't you?" Breaking the silence first, you gave Dazai a smile. One that he admitted to adore when he thought you were sound asleep in his bed.
"How did you know?" Dazai asked, a rare, surprised glimmer in those eyes that always seemed so void of any life left.
You chuckled, it lacked any humor. "I have heard of Odasaku's passing, Osamu. Rumor had it that a mafia executive went after him and never came back. I had a hunch it was you."
Dazai let a half-smile grace his features. Attentive as always, although your head seemed to be up in the clouds, believing in everything that was deemed good, but refusing to judge him who had done everything that was deemed evil.
Before Dazai could speak another word, you beat him to it. "You wish to leave, don't you?"
Not the brightest tool in the shed, they liked to call you. But you had managed to figure Dazai out, an endless puzzle of complex thoughts and an inexplicable desire for death that ran as deep as the ocean. Despite that, you willingly drowned in his sea.
"I can't hide anything from you, can I?" Dazai came to a stop in the middle of a field of grass, trees and dandelion seeds as he took in your appearance.
Your eyes got glassy underneath the last sunrays and threatened to spill like an overflowing sink and for once, Dazai understood a feeling he had never quite felt before until he lost Odasaku and stood in front of you.
The fear of losing those he loved.
He always said that the things worth wanting were always lost the moment he obtained them, yet he feared this moment, because this was the end of the one good thing he managed to obtain.
Dazai remembered the day he met you for the very first time at Lupin by Odasaku's side. The only person left of a small-scale group, Oda had said while you were shoving a piece of strawberry cake down your throat. Oh, how horribly you had cried and how hilarious you looked with whipped cream stuck to the corner of your lips.
Back then, Dazai hadn't thought much of you. You were merely another person with another tragedy upon their shoulders. Too innocent, too soft for the mafia. Not even one good quality did you possess that could qualify you to be part of the Port Mafia.
Each time Dazai had seen you again, you'd prove him wrong and his interest in you was the demise of the heart he had buried six feet under.
"It's okay if you wish to leave. I won't stop you," you said and cupped Dazai's cheeks. His skin was warmer than usual, you silently noted.
"I will never see you again once we turn our backs on each other. Are you sure?" He leaned into your touch, his hand resting atop yours.
"Of course!" Now, the tears were rolling down your cheeks and you cussed underneath your breath. "Ah, you shouldn't see me cry. You have to remember my smiling face!" Hurriedly, you wiped the tears from your face and forced a smile upon your lips. "Girls look prettier when they smile, after all."
Dazai couldn't help the light-hearted laugh slipping his lips or his hands that dried your tears. "Belladonna, how could I ever forget your smile?"
The last sniffles left you. "Promise?"
"..I promise."
And when dandelion seeds got stuck in Dazai's hair while he was wearing a smile so gentle, you knew it was the right decision to let him go. Whatever plan he had up his sleeve, you knew it was better than being stuck in this hell disguised as the mafia.
Yes, he'd be well.
Even if it was without you, this was all you had ever wanted for the man you had terribly fallen in love with.
He'd be well.
Standing on your tippy toes, fingers grasping the soft fabric of his blazer, you pressed a kiss to Dazai's cheek. Your breath fanned across his skin as you spoke in soft, broken tones. "Take care, Osamu."
A heart heavy as lead beat within your chest as you turned your back to Dazai and walked away. Each step was more painful than the previous, each step tore that heart within you apart, but you couldn't bear to see the face Dazai was making.
You knew that if you turned around, you would never be able to let Dazai go and let him have the life he deserved.
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It wasn't until five years later that Kunikida pulled Dazai back to the Agency after his hell of a partner nearly buried himself on a client's farm. Kunikda was certain that he would die of a heart attack caused by none other than the bandage-wasting machine that went by the name of Dazai Osamu.
"If you wanna bury yourself, do it in your free time! Because of you, our next client has been waiting 5 minutes and 35 seconds longer than scheduled!," Kunikida scolded his colleague, dragging him up the stairs by the collar like a sack of potatoes.
Dazai whined. "You sure love your schedules, huh?"
When Kunikida ripped the door open and the light coming from within the Agency briefly blinded Dazai, he could hear chatter and laughter coming from within. One voice belonged to Yosano, another one to Tanizaki and the other one to someone who he had silently cherished like a prayer in his heart.
"Oh! There they are." Yosano said.
After years of vowing to yourself to not turn back, you finally did. Not a hint of regret lingered in your eyes when you saw Dazai again and smiled at him like you always did when he used to cross paths with you in the mafia.
The decision to let him go that evening was indeed the right one, you concluded after seeing the spark of something in his eyes.
"Right. I have a request for you."
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aprismaticodyssey · 4 months
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Hello; please read this, if you don't mind.
This isn't any sort of update. This isn't an announcement. I know I haven't been posting and I haven't been active, so I'm sure to a lot of you, I'm all but gone. For all my talk of "I'm writing this!" and "That's being edited!" I haven't shown you guys anything. I will get to that later. This post is to tell you about my dog and his situation.
That's right! I have a dog! A yorkie. I should have spammed you all with pictures of him. We had gotten him (my mother's idea) to help me through depression. He absolutely loves people, adores meeting new dogs (even if the bigger breeds scare him), and especially kids. He's a people person. He'd sooner lick you to death than ever cause anyone genuine harm. My dog's name is Monty. Monty the Monster. And he's certainly grown into his name when he would play!
Unfortunately, at eleven years old, I guess his time is... running out. You see, last month, we took him to be groomed at a pet store we frequent. When we came home, a couple days later, he would eat less. He wasn't quite as playful, but he was still more or less himself. After stressing about his lack of interest in food, we went to the vet. There, we were told he has a heart murmur, a 3 out of 6 on the scale, I believe. We were recommended to take Monty to a cardiologist and our vet personally recommended one that she had gone to.
The problem is... everything was booked up. Some places we simply couldn't trust with something so delicate. Others were full until next February or March. Last night, my mother had me call one more place and after the call, we were told to come in on emergency. Not ideal but everything was full and we had to get him looked at. His breathing is hard and fast, uncomfortable. Wheezing. A few coughs. Distress in his eyes.
So we left. The place was nice. The people were nice. The problem was what they found: metastatic cancer in the lungs. I appreciated that we were told matter-of-factly. Very straightforward. But I still cried nonetheless. And when we were left alone, I broke down. Our options were this: we give him a few days of medication and see if it helps him. If it improves his quality of living adequately, we could get more medicine. Or... after those few days... we come back and have him euthanized. My mother has looked into other avenues already. Further treatments. Tests.
But I've already made up my mind. It isn't fair for me to put him through all of that just to delay the inevitable. I feel like a horrible owner for thinking that. For saying it. Like I should be moving mountains to give him another week. A month. A year. But I can't. I just can't. I couldn't handle seeing my dog knowing that all I've done is bought him time, time his health has decided he doesn't necessarily have. I struggled going to sleep last night even after crying. I told him over and over that I loved him. That he's my best friend and how much he helped me. These eleven years are too short. Too soon.
So... the reason I'm posting this, the reason I'm saying all of this, is just because I would like you, any of you, to say a prayer or two for Monty. To wish him smooth passage into the afterlife and that he's able to eat all the things he never could. Like chocolate! God, he'd love it if he could have it now.
If there's anything I want left behind, it's this post. I love you, Monty. More than I'll ever love myself or anyone on this earth. You helped me more than medicine or therapy ever could. I love you. I love you. I love you. I hope you get to travel the stars. I hope you make friends. I hope you find grandpa somewhere out there and join him on his adventures.
And to those of you who read this... Thank you. I'm sorry for my silence. I'm sorry for not posting more. I'm sorry for not being here. I'll be here more and more soon. Eventually. Just... not yet.
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thesweetnessofspring · 7 months
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In your opinion, please rate thg movie series with 1-5 scale.
(1 = I hate it, 3=neutral, 5 = I love it.)
1.The Hunger Games :
Things that you like :
Things that you don't like :
2.Cathing Fire :
Things that you like :
Things that you don't like :
3.Mockingjay part 1 :
Things that you like :
Things that you don't like :
4.Mockingjay part 2 :
Things that you like :
Things that you don't like :
Thank you 😊
@curiousnonny
So honestly I think I've seen each of the movies like...twice for Mockingjay 1 and 2 and three times for THG and CF. The movies are basically an opportunity to have gifs displaying events in the book more than movies for me. But here we go:
The Hunger Games: 2.5. I like the opening with the interview with Seneca Crane and then transitioning to Prim's screams. I overall like the casting--they should have gone for POC Seam characters, but Woody and Jen are at least good in their parts and Gale could have been played by a cardboard cutout for all I care about him (which is basically what Liam Hemsworth was). I do like the Crane and Snow peeks. Dislike: Shaky cam. Terrible, nonsensical bread scene. Cutting out Madge. The gruesomeness of their injuries being sanitized. Cutting down Everlark. Peeta lost his cheekiness and endearing qualities (not Josh's fault, it's the script/direction). The cave scene is disappointing. Get Gale out of my face during the Everlark kiss please. Taking out how desperate Katniss was to save Peeta and reducing her to rebelling and him to being an idiot in love was AGH. The ending is also super rushed. And cutting out Peeta being an amputee!!!
Catching Fire: 3.75. I love this movie from the Reaping onward. There are little things I'd change, like Peeta giving Katniss the pearl after the beach kiss so he'd recognize she was still planning on dying for him. But again, good casting for new parts, good expansion with Plutarch/Snow, they kept up the tension and shot the action really well. Dislike: Too much Everthorne (SHE SHOULD NOT HAVE KISSED HIM BEFORE GOING TO THE QUELL AGHHHH). Softening Gale too much (having him save a woman from a whipping instead of being caught poaching, reducing the fight he had with Katniss and his pettiness about Peeta and Haymitch to him just wanting to fight against the Capitol). Not even referencing Haymitch's games was a bummer. And a repeat of Peeta not being an amputee in the Games. This is definitely the strongest out of all of them.
Mockingjay Part 1: 3.25. I like for the movie that they replaced Fulvia with Effie. Jen and Josh are at their acting peak in this movie. Snow taunting Katniss during the rescue and the quote "It's the things we love most that destroy us." Dislike: Once again things are too sanitized. Cutting out the prep team being abused by 13. Also too much Everthorne. They needed to add more rifts between them as it was in the book.
Mockingjay Part 2: 2.5. It's shot well. Um. Idk, it follows the plot of the book so for me that's always an automatic 2 points at least. Donald Sutherland shined in this one as Snow. Dislike: This is when things being sanitized bothers me the most. Katniss should be absolutely DESTROYED at the end of the war, as should Peeta. They screwed up Everlark post-war. Katniss returning from hunting when she first sees Peeta instead of emerging from the worst of her depression and PTSD and grief was a misstep, as well as Everlark not sharing even a kiss post-war. The filmmakers were just cowards when it came to Everlark.
Personally I'm still advocating for a THG animated series. The movies had a lot they were trying to cram in for a movie runtime and were limited in terms of timeline. Maybe if TBOSAS does well Hollywood will come to return to an established property.
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pb-dot · 8 months
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The Clockwork Boy Ch. 1: The Sky-Eyes Boy
As I mentioned in my 100 followers celebration/acknowledgment post, I'm posting the first proper chapter of The Clockwork Boy. Call it a bit of a longer sneak peek than the snippets I usually post. The chapter is just about where I want it editing-wise, but I can't promise I won't fiddle with it more. Without further ado, full chapter beneath the cut.
Jake didn’t much like hauling, and yet it was an activity he found himself doing frequently. Admittedly, it could be argued that what he did this particular day was more akin to schlepping, as pulling a hand cart loaded to the brim with tin was pushing his strength just about as far as it would go. Regardless of the exact definition of what he was doing, it was tiresome tedious work. It made Jake the kind of tired that had him making stupid mistakes or really quite clever observations. There wasn’t much of an in-between, and today he was going to do both.
The practical-minded clockmaker’s workshop always bought its materials in bulk, ideally already smelted into ingots for ease of use. While employing the economics of scale was undoubtedly preferable, this required access to a market that his humble, if not entirely disreputable workshop did not have. The biggest providers of raw materials tended to be bought out in a hurry, and the contracts for new clients quickly became restrictive to the point of exclusion. Smaller dealers usually were left to do their limited business in peace, although there was a definite limit to how big they could get before accidents started happening, or anonymous tips into shady business practices led to lengthy investigations with no protection against bankruptcy and destitution. So his employer bought materials wherever they could get them for reasonable prices, which usually meant low quanta and mediocre quality at best, and smelting them was expensive and at times dangerous, but it was better than saddling oneself with the usurious revenue garnishing payment plans that the more convenient suppliers used.
Jake had come to gain an understanding of the workings of the city. It wasn’t a place for mercy, but it was reasonable in its own way. There were rules and laws, of a sort, like any place else, but there were also strongly worded suggestions, things one was better off doing. One of the biggest rules was to keep your head down. Both avoiding eye contact in public and not standing out, in general, were strategies that Jake employed all but subconsciously after a few years in the city, and now no longer questioned. There were, of course, disadvantages to looking at the ground while lost in thought, but at least when pulling the handcart, his profile was looming enough to dissuade all but the most thoughtless jaywalkers. There is, however, no shortage of foolishness and recklessness in the world, and on occasion, a fool of as of yet unmatched magnitude will make their presence known in the worst sort of way. One such hitherto undefeated champion of duncery was driving a passing steam pavise. The horseless cart was pulled by a trio of disembodied steam-powered leg pairs, reminiscent of the brutish beasts that had once provided the propulsion to similar contraptions in days past. The steam pavise itself was about to go the way of the horse and fade from the streets as the more energy- and space-efficient Gear Walkers took over. If this changing of the guard brought any pensive humility to its drivers, said humility had not penetrated to the madman driving this particular vehicle. The wheels of the pavise didn’t as much hit the cart as they briefly snagged the handcart’s wheel, sending the whole contraption and its hapless driver into a spin, before careening further down the street with the rhythmic beat of automated hooves.
Jake felt his body sting and ache. He had managed to stop the handcart from spinning out or hitting anyone, but he was pretty sure he had pulled at least a couple of muscles in doing so. It would sting like the dickens, and he was pretty sure he wouldn’t be hammering or lifting anything in the next couple of days. At least he should be able to get the cart back to the workshop, the slight slope would take him the rest of the way all but unaided.
It was only once the brightest flash of adrenaline and other pain-numbing chemicals subsided that Jake found it in himself to be angry at the pavise driver. In days gone, you could talk to the constables about that kind of behavior, but the streets hadn’t seen as much as a badge for decades now. There was always trying to sic The Enforcers on people who mistreated you, but as long as you weren’t rich they were just as likely to rough you up for your trouble. Besides, Jake thought, even if he thought the guy absolutely shouldn’t be driving, he didn’t want him beat up. Lightly chastised? Sure, but that was the extent of it. Jake felt his pulse calm and the fog of anger and pain clearing up. When he found it in himself to look up at the world around him, he realized, with a sudden shock, that he was being watched.
A street stoat was staring at him from the little side path that it and its brethren had carved through the litter that filled the sides of the street. Jake wasn’t sure, but he suspected the animal had frozen in fear from the brief moment where the cart was in danger of spinning out and hitting the little predator. “It’s alright,” Jake said, he had no idea why he was speaking to the stoat, but it felt right like the little thing deserved some attention. “You’re not in danger, go along now, don’t you have finches to hunt?” The stoat kept staring. It wasn’t freezing fear in its eyes, Jake now realized. The stoat was appraising him with some sort of mustelid intelligence.
Jake couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m flattered for the attention Mr. Stoat, but I better get going and so should you, shoo.” Jake waved a hand in the stoat’s direction to shoo it away. The little fur tube finally took the hint and darted down the street. It was probably going to hunt trash finches in some alley, or perhaps it was on its way back to whatever den it had built for itself. “When the fox sleeps the raccoon feasts, huh,” Jake murmured to himself
As he righted the cart and prepared for the last leg of his tedious transport journey, he realized it wasn’t just the stoat that had been watching him.
The boy, for Jake could not think of him as anything else despite being a head taller than him, had the bluest eyes Jake had ever seen. This, he realized with a start, had to be how the sky looked above all the smog during the golden hour. Jake had no idea how he got to this conclusion as he had lived in the city long enough to forget the smogless sky and honestly had no expertise in color or poetry even on a good day.
There was something with the pensive look in the eyes of the strange young man that just drew out the similes. His eyes weren’t blue, they were like a perfect sky; His hair wasn’t blond and tightly cropped, it was like freshly harvested wheat; His cloak was not oversized and ill-fitting, it was like an immaterial fog swathing his delicate form. Perhaps the young man could not be comprehended otherwise, at least not by Jake.
Jake barely had the time to snap out of his sudden and all-encompassing reverie before the moment was over. The sky-eyed, wheat-haired elflike youth disappeared into the nascent bustle of the city as if Jake had dreamed him up whole cloth. Jake had no idea if the boy had moved unnaturally fast, or if his reverie or his exhaustion had merely dulled his senses to the point where it seemed like it. Another strongly worded suggestion for living in the city was letting things go. If something was too unusual to understand without extra effort, or strange in a way that wasn’t explicitly dangerous, you’d be better off just forgetting about it. Little good could come out of sticking your nose where it didn’t belong, and that counted double for things out of the usual.
There were no hidden treasures, no long lost knowledge or forgotten riches just ready for the taking in the city, just disappointments you hadn’t had the option of experiencing yet, losses you hadn’t suffered, dangers that you had unwittingly avoided. It was easier to just not think twice about it, never consider what-ifs, and let bygones be bygones, lest things found a way to get even worse. It wasn’t much of a life, Jake had to admit to himself as he pulled the cart the final bit to the workshop, but it surely had to beat dying.
In the little schooling he had received, Jake had come to learn that an idea in theory and an idea in practice were two wildly different things, and seldom intersected in their entirety. There was, or so his teachers had told him, a push and pull there, where theory informed attempted practice, and experience from practice shaped future theory. It struck Jake as somewhat of a pointless exercise, an admission that you’d never truly know anything resembling the truth, but perhaps that was the point.
As he parked the handcart and signaled for his colleagues to assist him in unloading the materials, however, Jake had to concede he might need to tweak his theory regarding forgetting about the strange young man. It was going about as well as his attempts at attracting the attention of his coworkers, who did a decent job of looking entirely too busy to help. The thought of that strange young man didn’t leave him, but most of him merely haunted the peripheries of Jake’s memory. One part, though, stayed with him, as clear as when he’d first seen it. Put simply, he could not put those eyes out of his mind.
What manner of things they seen, he wondered, to seem so sad, and yet so beautiful? Now that he thought about it, it reminded him of a childhood memory. It had been one of the few excursions he had experienced in his life. The orphanage had hired a rickety old steam pavise to take them to the outskirts, to “the forest” where some natural vegetation still existed. They had played among the trees and by the brooks and river in the forests that still remained on the fringes of the city, it could charitably be called “nature.” It was a lovely memory, but one also tinged with profound sadness, and, Jake was starting to realize, anger.
He hadn’t thought about it at the time, but looking back at it, the trees looked like they were dying. Leaves and even branches curled and twisted with unknown maladies, even the evergreens lost their needles and those needles who remained gained an unnatural orange pallor and a faintly oily smell. The same stink could be felt wherever the water grew stagnant in the rivers, even as a child he had noticed that. Some of his friends had gotten sick after that, he recalled, but most of them survived it.
Jake wasn’t quite sure what to think about what he was thinking, but there really wasn’t anything for it, the thoughts were there whether he liked them or not. He was happy for remembering the fun he had had, running around and being a carefree child for once, he felt sad for his friends that got sick, and he felt angry for the world that had allowed a beautiful place of nature to decay. No, he thought, it was worse than decay, it was rot, putrescence, poisoned with the malice of carelessness or greed rather than conceded to entropy. He assumed it was runoff from the city or one of the factories dumping their waste material, and that some of whatever toxic sludge had resulted made its way to the groundwater. Jake hadn’t been back there since then, but he suspected the trees were entirely gone by now. It could even be that the city had expanded since then, and the entire diseased copse was now brick and cobblestone.
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ltwharfy · 3 months
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"Bob's Burgers" Season 1 Episode Ranking Rewatch (Long Post)
Remember that "Bob's Burgers" episode ranking spreadsheet that @babsvibes came out with a while back? No, well, that's okay. But I personally thought it was one of the coolest things ever.
I particularly love how it calculates average ratings for the seasons because, honestly, I have no freaking clue what my favorite season of "Bob's Burgers" is. I'm certain it's somewhere between seasons 3-10 (inclusive), but other than that, I couldn't say. Because it is an episodic comedy with a rather consistent high level of quality, the individual seasons don't feel that distinct to me. (Now ask me about seasons of "Buffy" or "Deep Space 9" and that's a totally different ballgame...) The writer and director ratings appeal to me for the same reason- I recognize the names of the writers but have never noticed enough variation to label one as a favorite (again, "Buffy" and"DS9" would be contrasts to this.)
But I quickly realized that I couldn't just sit down and rate all the episodes because, for a lot of them, I've never really thought about how good they were. I know the episodes I love and practically have memorized (hey, "Bob Actually", I see you) and I know the rare episodes I had a strong negative reaction. But, honestly, I hadn't thought about "The Hormone-iums" enough recently to be able to assign a number to it.
The solution to this is: rewatch! I'm rewatching every episode and entering a rating in the spradsheet within minutes of finishing it- the ratings are very much a gut reaction after watching the episode! I've finished rewatching season 1 and my thoughts on it are below (I'm also watching episodes I come across on cable when I have the time, so I do have some episodes from later seasons filled in and I'll share subsequent seasons as they get completed.)
Oh, and here's a word about what the ratings mean to me: I'm seeing this as a 1-5 scale that I could rate all TV shows, or even all types of entertainment, on. So, a 3 doesn't mean I think it's an average episode of "Bob's Burgers", it means I think it is an average episode of television. It means it's fine, I wouldn't turn it off if I wanted to watch TV and it was all that was on. I also think of the scale a lot like letter grades with 3= a C, 4=B, and 5=A. That also explains why I haven't actually rated anything a 2 or a 1 yet. The Belcher kids might get Ds on their report cards, but "Bob's Burgers" rarely makes D episodes, IMO.
Okay, if you actually read the several paragraphs of introduction, here are my Season 1 episode ratings (the episode rating is the number in the furthest right column):
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The average (mean) for the season was 3.54 and the mode (most common rating) was 3.
Some thoughts on the season as a whole:
First, I think one of my less commonly-held opinions in "Bob's Burgers" fandom is that I don't think Season 1 was awful. It's not as great as the show would become but, honestly, I think it is far from the worst example of Early Installment Weirdness on a show that I love. I've watched the show since it debuted, and even in those early episodes I enjoyed it enough to keep coming back week after week. If it had been cancelled after season 1, I wouldn't've viewed it as a tragedy like "Firefly" or "Terriers", but I would've been annoyed because I thought it was a promising show that made me laugh sometimes and had some talented folks working on it.
Rewatching these early episodes, I still found a lot to enjoy about them. There are some classic storylines and jokes, and while there was definitely a process of fine-tuning that would continue through the first few seasons, I think most of the character's core personalities are pretty recognizable. (Bob is actually the character whose personality seems most different in my book. It was really Bob's personality and the general family dynamic that took the longest to figure out.)
Some thoughts on particular episodes:
One thing I noted while doing the ratings is that 3 can mean at least two different things to me. Sometimes, 3 just means the episode is meh; I'm kind of indifferent it to it but it's okay. "Torpedo" falls in that category. I have very little to say about "Torpedo". Other times, 3 is more of a mixed review, where I loved some things and hated others. An example of that would be "Human Flesh"- I hate the child molester and autism jokes. But I really enjoy other bits, like Hugo's poem, Bob's speech to the protestors that ends up going off the rails, the kids locking Bob out of the restaurant, etc. So, I just average out the good and the bad and give it a 3.
It was interesting comparing my feelings towards these episodes going into them versus the ratings I ended up giving them. I ended up enjoying "Sexy Dance Fighting" and "Sacred Cow" more than I thought I would. Can't really give a good explanation except "they were funnier than I remembered". With "Sacred Cow", I'll add that I really like Randy and his dynamic with Bob, and that, on rewatch, the episode wasn't as mean spirited towards vegetarians as I recalled it being (my sister has been a vegetarian for decades, so I hate when people make cheap shots at them.)
On the other hand, my ratings for "Hamburger Dinner Theater" and "Sheesh! Cab, Bob?" were lower than they would've been if I was just going from memory. For those two, the subsequent evolution of the show made me like them less than I did when they first aired. For "Hamburger Dinner Theater", I remember really liking the songs when it first aired...but the show has done so much more impressive musical work since then that I can't say it's songs elevate it. For "Sheesh! Cab, Bob?", I really dislike the mocking of Jimmy Pesto's diaper fetish towards the end of it. It just seems mean spirited and out of character for the show when compared to later seasons. Yeah, Jimmy's a jerk but we shouldn't mock his sex stuff.
I totally admit that the ratings are shaped by my own personal tastes, and maybe the best example of that is "Spaghetti Western and Meatballs" getting a 4. Why did it get a 4 rather than a 3? Mainly because its really the first episode where we see the softer side of Louise and realize how much her relationships with her family, especially her dad, mean to her, and I love that stuff.
EDITED TO ADD: "Art Crawl"! I can't believe that when I originally posted this I didn't mention anything about the first episode I give a 5. I wish I could give a better explanation than "I found it very funny: but that's pretty much it. It is one that I remembered considering a highlight back when I was first watching this season, and in this case, I found it even funnier than I remembered. I really enjoy Edith and Harold- their voices and hostility towards the Belchers crack me up- and this was a great introduction to them. I particularly love the scene when Edith refuses to let Harold drink water from Bob's Burgers. Oh, and this episode introduces Gayle, too, and does a great job with it! Just a solid, hilarious episode, IMO.
Random thoughts (stuff that doesn't affect the ratings):
Gloria is my least favorite "Bob's Burgers" character. If you had asked me prior to the rewatch, I might say she has no redeeming moments on the show. But in "Crawl Space" she sticks up for Bob and Linda to Mr. Frond. So she has one good moment, in the show's second episode.
The bit of Early Installment Weirdness that bothers me the most? Ms. LaBonz's voice is off! Contrasting her appearance in "Lobsterfest" to her later appearances makes it clear how much the voice helps make the character.
I'm a big fan of the supporting characters in Louise's 4th grade class- Rudy, Kaylee, Arnold, Chloe, Millie, Jessica...so it is so weird that none of them are present in these early episodes but Large Tommy is! Weird to think that after Louise, he was first of those 4th graders to be introduced- he has a non-speaking role in the pilot episode!
Is there anybody out there who ships Normal Sized Jenny and Regular Sized Rudy? They've clearly got a lot in common....(This is a stupid joke. The last thing I need is another Rudy ship.)
I'll probably post something like this when I finish rating each season. The other posts will likely be shorter because they won't have the several paragraphs of introductory text at the beginning. Thanks for reading if you did!
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moonlitapollo · 2 years
Text
Prosperity (Yandere! Yoongi)
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Yandere! God of Death! Yoongi
Balance must be kept in life and death, to prosper is to shift the scales.
Flower prompts: “The first time my eyes grazed your form I knew what it meant to be utterly and ardently in love.” (Rose)
Also supposed to gave wisteria and nightshade , but they should be included in the next part. Because this part was getting too long so I decided to split them. A two-shot at most. Basically if I left it now I may never write more again so here it is posted ahahhaa....
Warnings: yandere themes (next part esp!), lots of death, illness, suffering, vaguely religious themes (ancient style, I have not rlly specified)
4k
The people stand in solemn silence; empty gazes, weakened souls- they are closer to their dearly deceased than they may ever know. They stand still, primed to be laid to rest in the ground beneath them. Alongside him. Their dear leader. 
Few weep for his demise, for he was a tyrant. A beastly man who made the land prosper through war and chaos. 
And so the cloth used to cover his corpse is of the finest quality; the metals he wears are the most precious of the land. Yet, his ring finger remains empty. The tyrant dies alone. 
You do not weep for him, despite your relationship, for even with family, he ruled with fear alone. But public appearances state you must act solemn, whether anyone feels such is irrelevant. You may not be accused of causing his demise this way. 
For that, you would look to your eldest sister, who weeps and weeps enough for everyone. He was a tyrant to her, too. Now dead, he is but a stepping stool. 
She stands pressed against her husband, your new leader. He doesn't care to weep, his ambitions filling him with pride. 
You look down to the ground, where the departed now lies. The people call out their prayer, a safe journey in death. A prayer to the god of death. 
You wonder if the tyrant will continue to reign even in the afterlife. Will he continue to bring about destruction even there? You pray, silently, that he does not cause the god of death too much trouble in the afterlife. That the god does not allow that to happen. It had ruined too many lives already. 
The ceremony ends solemnly as it began. The masses leave first, crowds swarming back down the steps of the temple, away to their own homes. They do not worry about their great leader any longer. 
You wait alongside those highest for them to filter out, until there are few left at all. The ground covers the leader now, it is over. His reign is over. Everything is thankful. 
Perhaps the two now stood at the very top, more so, but you do not stop to ask. They simply smile at you, and then, at their land. 
It fills you with worry. 
You step by them, "I am going to pray for our brother's peace in the afterlife." 
Your sister nods, regretful. "I do wish we could do the same, but the court waits for no one." A lie, the whole court was still here. "He will be proud to see us lead, I'm sure. Please, pray on our behalf, too." 
"As you wish." You bowed your head slightly. 
The pair look happier than ever. They hadn't waited long. That sickly feeling swarms inside you, and you hurry to escape them. 
The temple offers great comfort. It's strange. A temple of death should not be a comforting place, you would think. But it is calm, there is peace here, and you find yourself settling down in the centre. You look upon the great statue, behold the many offerings left for your brother, the tyrant, and pray. 
You pray for his peace, finally. You pray that in his peace, he will cease to harm others, to cause any more damage. And then, you pray for the living. You pray that no one else must die for such a tyrant. That the wars will die instead. You pray for life, peaceful, truly prosperous life. 
Then, mind settled, you head back to the Palace. You do not wish to see the great leaders, and you do not have to. 
If you were to become too common a presence, they may grow wary of you. You would not like to be a target of such a pair. 
The wars do not stop. The chaos continues. 
The people slowly realise that that will be the way no matter who is their leader, and slowly, the people grow to live with it. They live with knowing their sons may be taken into the army, for some conquest on another land. 
It does not help your land prosper. Not when the farmers have been taken by battle. 
You find yourself visiting the temple more and more. It still brings you peace. You pray each time for the lives of the soldiers, for death to cease its incessant taking. 
"Surely, these offerings satisfy your greed, great god. You may rip the life from plentiful fields of crops, from our livestock freely. I bring enough to feed a village." You close your eyes. "Yet must you still take our sick and weak. Have you no restraint? No guilt?" 
"You must think a war is fought on just two sides." Your eyes fly open, you dart to catch the owner of the voice. He sits beside you, beautiful as the moon. He is still, a calm presence. "Your country may be victorious in the battle, but your enemies prosper in their land. Their fields are green, their fruits plentiful." He opens his eyes, deep dark eyes staring at you. "All must be at balance in this world."
"And so our sick and elderly must suffer for it?" You narrow your eyes. "Why not take away the cause of this madness? I have been praying earnestly." 
"You have been praying for life." He hums. 
You retort, "Are the two not connected? Is this not the balance you preach?" 
He chuckles. "All must be balanced in this world. And if the world was but two sides, it would be as easy as you say." The man sighs, laying down against the cold stone floor. He does not seem to mind. "But the world is bigger than you, or your enemies. And for true prosperity, the opposite must be ensured elsewhere. Only then may it be considered a true victory." 
"If the opposite side is completely destroyed?" You frown. 
He hums in agreement. "But that is not the trend these days. You like to conquer, to take their prospers as your own. It does not end." 
"...You are right." You sigh, laying down beside him. "Forgive me for being presumptuous, but may I know your name?" 
He blinks up at the ceiling. "I believe you are already aware of my title. What use is my name?" 
"I wish to talk with you again, and need a name to put with my thoughts." You smile. "Should you think of our talks, you can think of me as Y/n." 
"Yoongi." 
"I'm honoured to meet you, Yoongi." 
"As am I…" He pauses, testing the sound. "Y/n." 
You stare up at the ceiling with him. It's not as extravagantly decorated as other temples. Perhaps that's why it's such a comforting place, perhaps that adds to the serenity you feel here. 
"You talked earlier…" You notice a small dent in the stone above. "Of my prayers. You have been listening, then?" 
"I listen to all the prayers I receive." Yoongi confirms. "But yours, they intrigued me. Not many come to me seeking life. And at such a ceremony, no less." 
"You heard then, too?" You're a little shocked. 
Yoongi laughs, it's a pleasant, gentle sound. "You took me by surprise, Y/n, for certain."  
"I'm glad. Though I will have to watch my words in temples from now on. I have never thought I may share a conversation with the divine." 
He clicks his tongue, "Have you not read the myths?" 
You tease, "Then, perhaps I best cease speaking to you now, before you place a terrible curse upon me." 
You sit up, solemn. 
Yoongi follows you, hair looking a little ruffled. You never imagined to see a god with…with bed hair. It's earnestly endearing. 
"Y/n?" He looks concerned. "Not every myth is based on truth."
You shake your head, "Don't worry, I'm aware. But, I must return before my sister thinks I am…overly saddened by my brother's passing. She would not take it well." 
Yoongi's face grows stone cold. He nods, solemn. "Yes, of course. I had almost forgotten." 
"I would be honoured to share another conversation with you, sometime, my-" 
"Yoongi. We have an agreement now." He smiles.
You nod, returning his smile. 
Yoongi vanishes before your eyes. It is a true wonder. One you will not be sharing with anyone, lest they envy you. Or have you punished for your words. They must not know. 
You return to find the solemn air held earlier has long passed by. Instead, there is music, food is spread everywhere. Your sister looks joyful. You are glad, she and her husband look happy. As do the rest of their faithful subjects, not at all affected by the recent death. 
"Everyone." She speaks, voice booming. The hall quietens, eagerly awaiting her news. It is of little surprise, of course. But you feign ignorance alongside the others as she announces, "I am your new leader!" 
The cheers show none of this disheartenment, only supporting their leaders. In court. Outside, they may speak freely. But you are not one to listen in on such talks. 
Instead, you amuse yourself with the music, the way the dancers move with it. The beauty of the arts is unmatched indeed. 
"Sister, do you have plans to marry?" The happy pair are beside you now. 
You bowed your head with a smile, "Not urgently. I am willing to wait for true love, my dear sister." 
"A great plan indeed. That is how I met my darling." Her husband joins in, they exchange a kiss. 
You smile watching them. It is painful to be on the end of such questions, knowing that your answer may well end with your assassination. But they cannot fault you for such a response. It shows truth, alongside childish ideology. True love is a rare find in the court. The pair only manage to love each other for their gain, afterall. 
But they approve, and so, you are safe. 
"Congratulations." You praise, your warmest look to them both. 
"We are truly lucky to be given the chance to rule. It must be fate. Truly lucky." 
"Blessed." 
They move on to another target just as quickly, only really here to scout out any threat to their reign. And of course you have no intention of harming that. 
You mingle briefly with the highest of people, no words are exchanged about their new ruler. None at all. You suspect that shows their true feelings better than any feigned delight could. 
And then you retire to your room, exhausted from the party. Exhausted from the ceremony. The public appearances are frighteningly exhausting indeed. 
But you do not find a sense of weariness from your time in the temple, from your talk with Yoongi. You smile thinking of him, of the words exchanged. A god he must be, to speak so beautifully. To share thoughts you'd never encountered and argue views to which you were ignorant. If this is what enlightenment may feel like, you can understand the search for it. Even if you only experienced one conversation. 
You rise with the sun. Not out of any particular need, but out of simple habit. The tyrant would always be long awake by now, taunted by nightmares of his enemies. He would wake the entire Palace with his screams. 
You sleep well that night, not thinking of the horrors that have passed, and gladly distracted from the horrors to come. 
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It is strange to wake to the sound of nature. But it is calm, and you enjoy that more than anything else. 
You sit in silence, pondering what to do for the day. You must, as always, avoid the leaders at all costs. They must think you insignificant. And that way, you will live to hear the birds sing each morning. 
You will go on a walk today. Truly immerse yourself in the beauty of nature you've a newfound appreciation for. Perhaps bring a picnic of sorts along with you, find a place to rest your eyes under the sun. Yes, that would make a wonderful day. 
You need not concern yourself with the goings of the Palace, and you do not wish to. You will not be missed- any servants certainly won't mind having one less person to attend to. 
So, after fixing your appearance, you head out. The people rarely recognise you for your status, thankfully, and so they do not bother you. You experience their usual behaviours instead. 
The people are hurting. The sick are getting weaker, they grow frail. It hurts to see. 
You eye your basket with a frown. It is of no use to you, you would never eat the entirety anyway. Instead, you approach the children, huddled under one cloth blanket together. It is marred with dirt, you notice. You should've brought more supplies for them. 
You give them each a small pile of food, "Promise to share this with others who need it? I will bring more food here very soon." They do not speak, wide, pained eyes staring up at you. "And…blankets? Please tell me if there is anything else you need." 
The smallest finally speaks up, "Our friend…he needs…he needs medicine." 
"Where will she get medicine, idiot?" The elder of the trio snaps. She winces, a weak cough leaves her lips. 
"I can get medicine." You assure them, crouched down now to speak better. There are people watching you, you hope this does not cause a commotion. You do not need to be recognised right now. You need to stay in the shadows. "Do you know…what's wrong with him?" 
"We can take you to him!" The child jumps up, determined. 
You nod, following him, along with the others, who trail behind you. You eye the food warily, hoping it will still be there when you get back. 
The child they bring you to is in a pitiful state, coughing and wracking his body, his skin pale. He looks almost the same colour as the statues, stony and cold. You dare not call him lifeless, but the child is struggling. He seems barely able to breathe at all. 
"Can you help him?" His friends ask with wide eyes. 
You have no wish to crush their hopes just now, so you nod, albeit with a grim expression. "I think so. I believe I can get something that may ease his suffering." 
They cheer, it's shaky, but it's full of pure joy. 
"I will go and fetch medicine, and more supplies. Please wait for me here? And keep the food somewhere safe, yes?" 
They nod enthusiastically. "Be quick, please!" 
You assure them you will, and head back up to the Palace hastily. The servants had not helped pack your earlier picnic, so they do not question when you ask. 
The physician does, however, but you brush off his concerns, demanding the medicine immediately. Of course, he obliges. 
After packing these supplies, and a few of the sheets from your own rooms, you head back down into the town. You rush as much as you can, but you are carrying rather a lot. And had already refused the servants' requests to help you carry things. 
"You came back!" They cry out, surprised. Joyful. It warms your heart, but pains it too, for who could abandon them after promising? 
"I did promise." You state with a smile. "Where should we put these things, then?" 
They hum noisily, a tiny hand on the youngest's hip as he thinks, "With our friend! Then he can see all the stuff he has, and feel better!" 
"That's wonderful." You help them lay out the items, instructing them on how to use the medicine, but that it's best if an adult helps. They nod along eagerly, excited. "I will do my best to come back again soon. But remember to share these things, and don't eat it all at once. Alright?" 
With their final cheer of agreement, you leave the children. You intend to head for your own rest now, but you spot another group. An elderly group this time- they remind you of the sickly child. 
You turn around immediately. Towards the Palace again, you turn the next corner. 
There, you almost collide with a man. He's dressed in finer silks today, the headpiece rather noticeable. You falter, "Yoongi…" 
He nods in greeting, hand clasped around your arm. He's stopping you. But why? "You've done enough for today. If you continue to help each and every person you see suffering, then you will have nothing left for yourself." 
"Just…just a few more." You try to tug your arm away, but he persists. "I have never seen the town like this, it's…it's horrible." 
He sighs, "And yet your Palace fairs well, no?" 
"Exactly." You nod. "You understand. So please, I must help them."
Yoongi tugs a little harsher, forcing you to follow his movements. Yet your arm does not hurt, nor are there any marks of pain encircled with his grip. 
He leads you to the fields you had intended to rest in, you recognise them well. But the journey had never been that short. You widen your eyes upon the realisation. Yoongi had somehow… 
"That child." He sits down underneath a tree. It's beautiful, the flowers are blossoming already. "He was to die soon, but you intervened." 
"You mean to say I saved his life?" You gasp, "And you want me to stop helping others, knowing this? That I made such a difference?" 
Yoongi grits his teeth. "Interfering in matters of life and death has consequences. It will be you who has to face those consequences, Y/n." 
"I believe it would be worth it to simply offer comfort to a fleeting life, but to save one? To allow them more time with their loved ones? That is something more deserving of this time on earth than my idle days." 
"And what of your loved ones? Will they not resent all those you help at your own expense?” Yoongi stares down at you, his eyes are darker than you’ve seen. His headpiece glistens against the sunlight, a finer metal than you have ever seen. 
“My loved ones do not care for my presence.” You scoff. “They would kill their own family for power- to know I am preoccupied with something they view so futile, they would only be grateful.” 
“...And what of me?” 
“What?”
“I would certainly resent all those you help at your own expense. I would consider their pain a worthy punishment.” His hands are cold as they grasp at yours, gentle fingers curling around your palm.
“How can you say that?” You snarl, bitter. 
“Because I care for you, Y/n.” He breathes out, a secret like no other. 
“That is impossible. We have spoken once, and I-”
“The first time my eyes grazed your form I knew what it meant to be utterly and ardently in love.” He pulls your palm close to his chest, it is warm there. Your cheeks feel strangely hot. “We may have only shared one conversation, but did it not affect you? Was it not above every interaction you have had since then? Does it not plague your mind, your dreams? For me, I could not stop thinking about you, Y/n.”
“I-...I enjoyed our conversation very much, but this one…less so.” You pull your hand away hastily. “Your feelings for me are fleeting. You will see. Now that we do not share our views, you will find I cease to exist in your mind. You have not seen me in any time but that one, I was not in my usual state.” 
He stares at you, unblinking, a smile resting on his face. He looks at you as though what you are saying is but amusing, is endearing. He looks almost to be pitying you. You do not appreciate that thought. 
“But you’re wrong.” He shares. “I have seen you before that ceremony, I have taken interest then too. I did not contact you before, I will always regret that.” Yoongi leans his body against the tree, his head tilting to gaze upon your form. “We may have only spoken once before, but I have watched you every second since then. I assure you I continue to adore you more and more with each passing moment.” 
“I cannot return your feelings.” You frown. It would be wrong, he is a god, a divine being, and though your bloodline places themselves high, it is nothing in comparison. You are nothing when compared to a god. You wish to remain in the shadows, as ever, not to be caught up in such chaos. It is for myths alone. 
“But you will continue to spend time with me, yes?” He frowns, for perhaps the first time since you have seen him. You hesitate. Should you spend time with him? With a god? A shadow is cast over your heads, it grows rapidly darker. The blossom from the tree falls to the ground, shriveled and weak. 
You reach out a hand, resting it upon Yoongi’s. It is foolish. But the sky clears, the sun returns to your spot, and the tree remains at peace. 
“I will continue to talk with you, when we happen to meet.” You confirm. “You are better company than those of the court, indeed.”
He wraps his fingers back around your hand, leaning to press his lips against your knuckles. Your face feels unbearably warm now, it is strange, on a day where the breeze is strong. You gulp, pushing the strange feeling away. 
“You must understand that you cannot get involved with the lives and deaths of others, Y/n. I do not wish to see any harm come to you. I came to warn you of this today.” 
“And I am thankful for your warning, but I do not see how my helping is any different from another’s. Do all physicians face such consequences? Do all mothers suffer upon bringing life to the world?” You shake your head, the question answered already. “So I see no reason that I cannot join those who help.” 
“...It has to do with fate.” He whispers, “Your bloodline tends not to act so nobly. They tend to be the ones causing the suffering. Like your brother did. And he lived a short life in return.” 
“He was killed.” 
“And they will face the consequences too.” Yoongi says, “For many horrors yet to come. Y/n, you are right to stay well out of their way. To stay well away from the court. I would warn you against spending time with either side. The people will not stay happy with tyrants for much longer.” 
“And what do you suggest I do instead? I do not have another place to go.” 
He presses his lips to your hand again, “So I am offering. Should you need to flee, stay in my temple, you will be safe there.” 
“From your words I am certain I will soon need to.” You speak quietly, saddened. “I had hoped that the fighting would soon stop, but you are right. With such a tyrant in charge, no one will be happy. I will remember that.”
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simlicious · 1 year
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Hi, I’m loving the advent so far! How do you get your patterns to look so natural? Whenever I make patterns I either get these crusty lines at the edges of some channels where one channel bleeds into the other. Or, I get these super sharp unnatural edges on them that never look any good. Teach me your magic please lol.
Thank you so much for the compliment :) I made a fancy tutorial, because more people might be interested in this topic!
There are a few things you can do to solve color bleed and crusty lines while making the Sims 3 patterns. These tips are for Photoshop and the TSR Workshop pattern tool, though they also work for Delphy's pattern tool. The EA CAP tool compresses its image files automatically, so you have no control over it afaik. Save your textures uncompressed! Most of your problem should be solved by saving your images in an uncompressed DDS file format (depending on what DDS plugin you use, it "8.8.8.8 argb 32bpp unsigned" or, in newer versions, "8.8.8.8 bgra 32bpp unsigned". This is an image of the newer dds plugin export dialog with the settings I use:
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This reduces blockiness and color bleed significantly! Note: For maximum visual clarity and the sake of our eyes, starting from now, I will show just the contents of the individual color channels of the image, specifically green and blue. If you click on a single color channel in Photoshop, it will be represented in greyscale. My screenshots therefore also represent a single color channel and do not show how the colors interact with each other. I thought it would be distracting and hard to see if I presented everything in color and this tutorial is not about how to build a pattern, but how to get crisp outlines and the best possible quality.
What is the issue with compressed textures? EA's pattern textures are DDS files that use DXT compression (DXT1 for non-alpha/5 for alpha images, BC1/3 in the newer plugin). If you save your image as a compressed DDS file and reopen it, you will notice that certain areas are blocky/blotchy. That is because lightness and color information is not retained for every pixel, but areas get grouped together in a more or less chessboard-like fashion. In this first example, I increased the contrast to make these compression artifacts more visible so you can see what's going on: Notice the grey blocky areas?
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These cause color bleed in the final pattern and the textures look blurry or washed out. EA's textures have this issue too, because they use compression. In some patterns, the effect is less noticeable than in others, but compressed files will always have a reduced image quality compared to the original image. Deciding to go with uncompressed textures was essential for me to achieve the quality I offer. I reasoned that the patterns are only 256px in size and the performance impact should not be very noticeable. I once made a survey in which I asked whether my patterns cause performance issues, and most said they did not, so I stuck with it.
You could test it out for yourself and decide! If you want to continue to use compression, make sure to change the quality of the compression algorithm to get the best possible result. In the screenshot I posted at the beginning of the tutorial, you can see that I set it to "highest" instead of the usual default "fastest", though this is not really needed if you save uncompressed files. The old DDS plugin used on older Photoshop versions also has that setting, it is just a bit more obscure. I do not have that anymore so I cannot say where exactly. Is it a bug? Lines all around the edges of some channels could also be a Photoshop bug*. This was a regular occurring bug in older versions (before CC 2020 or so.) The issue was that when you scaled down or sometimes even just saved an image that was not just the background layer but had stuff on other layers, there would be a faint line around the whole image. Suuuper annoying! *clarification: It's not an official bug, but a lot of people get annoyed by it. I still had this happen to me with the current 2023 Photoshop version when using bicubic (sharper) on an image with layers, but I do feel there are less problems with saving layered images now. Idk, this might be "feature quirk" after all... Anyway, to avoid the faint lines around your image, follow these tips: Using the bilinear mode when reducing an image's size helps, as does flattening the image before image reduction or file export. I like to create a copy of the entire document using the shortcuts ctrl+shift+alt+e to make sure it appears flattened without actually flattening everything. You could also paste the flattened copy into a new document, merge it down and export the dds file from there. Just try what works best for you. Retaining maximum quality on resizing Most images need to be resized to the pattern size, or you might have made a larger pattern and want that in smaller sizes. You may never have paid much attention to the settings in that image size dialogue, but it holds some key elements to make sure your pattern comes out in the best way possible! Per default, the resizing mode that is used by Photoshop to make an image smaller is "bicubic (sharper)". This mode has a sharpening algorithm that causes halos if the pixels are not white or black, which can create unwanted effects such as white outlines around grey pixels, or grey ones around black areas. Note: even if you have the "bicubic (automatic)" setting, it will still use the "bicubic (sharper)" if you reduce the image size! Let me show you an example: Below, you can see a comparison of bicubic (sharper) reduction vs bilinear reduction. The channel with the black and white checkers has some greyish edges after using bicubic (sharper), which can cause the texture to become unwantedly transparent in these areas, making the colors become muddled in these areas. Using bilinear or nearest neighbor modes (the latter is great for very geometric, crisp shapes), the result is very clean.
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This is why do not recommend to use the bicubic algorithm on your textures. Go for bilinear and nearest neighbor modes, these are perfect for patterns. I do any sharpening of the channels in a more controlled way later.
The best way to sharpen your texture To make the textures look as crisp as possible, you immediately think about the "unsharp mask" feature, right? This might not be your best option though!
If you have a white shape on a black background with a rim of dark grey pixels around it and you want to make it crisp and want that dark grey outline to disappear, unsharp mask will actually do a pretty good job, because it mainly targets those grey pixels and there is nothing to lighten or darken on pure white or pure black. But if you have a lot of grey tones, the algorithm "attacks" a lot in your image, depending on how you set your radius in the options dialogue. Most of the time, the radius is set to a small number, for sharpening details, but it creates a problem for us in the form of halos/bright or dark rims around shapes.
I like to increase the contrast of the individual channels to make the image appear sharper without those halo effects that the "unsharp mask " feature often creates. I love to use the "levels" tool for adjusting the contrast, I use it all the time! I have grey pixels as a starting point and then applied an aggressive "unsharp mask" (strength 100, radius: 1px) to it so you can see the effect. The results are bright halos around the shapes. This will make the edges of the shapes more opaque on the final pattern and can look strange! On very delicate lines, this might be what you want, but for larger areas, this is less desirable.
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Sharpening without actually sharpening
Instead of using "unsharp mask", I like to increase the contrast of the individual channels to make the image appear sharper entirely without those halo effects that the "unsharp mask " feature often creates. I love to use the "levels" tool for adjusting the contrast, I use it all the time!
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On this layer, I have some intricate shapes, which should appear fully opaque. The are already bright white, but the edges are a bit too soft right now to get a truly crisp result, so I use the "levels" tool to increase the contrast and make the edges crisper. You can also use the curves tool for this, but I find the levels tool a bit more intuitive for this process! The curves tool gives you even more control over pixel values and lets you adjust them individually, which can be great, but for the purpose of creating controlled contrast, the levels tool will suffice.
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By moving the marked sliders towards the middle, the contrast is increased. This also works nicely on grey pixels without creating the halo problem.
Another use for the levels tool in this context is to control the thickness of your shapes by moving the middle slider too, like this:
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Final words "Levels" is your friend when adjusting contrast and making things sharper. In some cases, "unsharp mask" or other sharpened options can create a desired effect, such as on more realistic textures such as carpet/fabric textures, wood and stone, where you might want these halos to increase the depth of details. There is always a right time to use any tool, so if levels alone do not give the effect you desire, by all means, give "unsharp mask" a go! Experiment, and find the best way for you. The biggest gain in quality will come from saving in an uncompressed format though. Thanks for reading through the tutorial, I hope it was helpful!
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thepunkmuppet · 1 year
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I’ve already posted about my big theories for nerdy prudes, but I just wanted to get my personal hopes and mini predictions down in a neat little list before I finally see the digital ticket on Tuesday! I will reblog this with a completed checklist once I’ve seen it (obviously with spoilers tagged) CANT WAIT!!
so, in no particular order:
paul and emma cameo. I think paul is confirmed based on this one post I saw but the photo was very blurry so it could be someone else… still both lauren and jon are in the show, they had a cameo in black friday - I just think they deserve to be together and happy in every universe until they inevitably die or break up horribly and I would squee so hard if they really showed up
ted cameo where he immediately dies. because come on. you can’t not do it you just can’t
stephski kiss. I just think they’re neat
HOLLODUKE APPEARANCE. HOLLODUKE APPEARANCE HOLLODUKE APPEARANCE HOLLODUKE APPEARANCE HOLLODUKE APPEARANCE HOLLOD
the book they get the ritual from is the black book which is how miss holloway (as the student counsellor miss holiday) ties in.
grace gets a solo song and also a lethal weapon.
grace canonically has a crush on steph. idk I’m very happy with the “we’re besties” “I hate you and want you dead” dynamic but also “I’m madly in love with you and obsessed with you and also a repressed christian teenager” “I hate you and want you dead and also have a boyfriend” has potential
bill and alice cameo. corey and mariah have played father and daughter twice and I think they could get some quality jokes out of that even if just for one scene
the apocalypse happens and everyone dies just like in the other two musicals - otherwise I think it would pretty much just feel like a nightmare time episode scaled up to 10 which doesn’t sound bad, just not what fans are looking for in a full fledged hatchetfield musical
detective shapiro will be an undercover peip agent or at least connected to them in some way
it’s set in the same universe as abstinence camp (therefore ted is alive, grace steph and pete have established dynamics with each other, they know about weird shit in hatchetfield, etc)
my theories end up being correct. or at least blinky is the major villain and the murderer is being controlled by him and “larry” is an important character
HERE IS HOW GENERAL MACNAMARA CAN STILL WIN-
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writernopal · 9 months
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7 Snippets 7 People
Tagged by @talesofsorrowandofruin and @mariahwritesstuff, thank you both! See their posts here and here, respectively.
Tagging (gently): @captain-kraken @tabswrites @sarahlizziewrites @outpost51 @dragonedged-if @thewardenofwinter @thelivingdeceased and anyone else who'd like to do this!
One (Axtapor's POV)
Perhaps many would be intimidated by the sight of Lord Rojundrog, Seer of Clan Oxlo, laying eyes on them like this, but to me, he was just a crooked old man with a talent for making himself bigger than he ought to be. He was born from my grandmother’s first clutch and had unusual crimson scales, or rather, unusual for Clan Oxlo. While we lizards came in a variety of colors, certain clans tended to favor certain shades. Ours were hues of blue, black, gray, and purple with the exceedingly rare orchid pink that appeared once every few generations, so his crimson was, at the very least, curious.
Two (Axtapor's POV)
“That is why the start of each social season begins with a reading of rites. A stupid commemoration of those ineffectual ones who fail to consummate their union in that place, the way true Dreamers should, and instead end up with their brains splattered all over their marriage bed. However, it is a rather effective culling tool to eliminate those who should not be trusted with our power or with the duty of representing our House.”
Three (Axtapor's POV)
“I could bore you with the details, but I doubt you are all that interested when it comes to ladies’ fashion, so I will spare you.” She responded, folding her hands neatly in her lap.  “I be plenty interested in lady clothes when it be on the ground...” I remarked under my breath. Egra and Ulsei both eagerly slapped my head, while Idhi and my grandmother shared similar looks of dissatisfaction.  I frowned as I rubbed the warm spot of impact and turned my focus back on Lord Haphrex. “How will ye be gettin’ to the Hefredies?” “I’m afraid that is where we will have to impose on your expertise at sea, my lord.” He said, “Fisla has told me about how talented you are at sailing.” “Has she? Ye’s be right familiar usin’ given names...” I muttered. Egra kicked me and shot me a frown. I growled at her. “Ye wee bitch.” “Grandmama!” She whined. “Settle down.” My grandmother admonished us both with a frown.
Four (Axtapor's POV)
“Well, now that we are on the subject of my beau.” She teased, “What is your opinion of him?” I sighed, not really wanting to provide her with my thoughts about him. I didn't dislike him, but it was still odd for me to see them so close to each other all the time. My grandfather had never been tender with my grandmother the way that Lord Haphrex was. The most I’d ever seen my grandfather do was kiss her hand, and that was only because we’d been at a social event where he was obligated to do so. I supposed Lord Haphrex’s intimacy with her was strange because I wasn’t yet accustomed to seeing someone be so openly affectionate towards her in a romantic way. There was something sad about that.
Five (Axtapor's POV)
“Then, if you can’t say, please, look out for yourself. You know that I care for you very much. But how you worry me, you troublesome boy—!” She let out a strained laugh in a poor attempt to hide the glittering of tears in her eyes. I squared my jaw and did my best to hold her gaze, but it was hard to when she cried.  “What be ye on about? I be a man grown now, proper as so, nay a boy.” I teased her weakly.  She let out another laugh, and this time her tears fell. “Oh no, you will always be a boy to me, hatchling. That same little boy who loved eating sweets from all the town stalls. When was the last time I treated you to something like that, hmm?” I laughed softly this time and pulled her into an embrace. “Right, long while.”
Six (Fay's POV)
Their coin was clean, and if the knights were pleased with that merchant’s quality of goods, they would certainly return with their business and that of other knights. And knights were easy to swindle. They paraded around in their fancy armors and capes, blithely unaware of how absurd they looked, dragging their velvets through piles of shit and stepping in vomit with their ignorant boots. They didn’t care for their belongings; that much was clear, so for a greedy merchant, they were endless fonts of gold.
Seven (Axtapor's POV)
“Lord Haphrex.” I greeted him with a small dip of the head.  “Lord Axtapor.” He responded with a similar gesture. “Tendin’ to business?” I asked as I saw him fold what looked like a bill of sale into his pocket. “One could say so.” He said, gesturing that I follow him with something of a busy look on his face.  I didn’t really want to have an extended chat with him, but I followed along anyway. “Fisla is saddened that you will be leaving us so soon, my lord.” He voiced as we took a leisurely pace toward one end of the harbor. It still irked me that he used her name so casually, but there was no real reason why he shouldn’t be able to, given their involvement. “Aye. I know.” “I do not like seeing her distressed, my lord.” He shot me a sidelong look this time. “That be...good.” I replied somewhat awkwardly.  What was he getting at? And what was that look from before? I hardly knew him well enough to be able to guess. He halted his advance and turned to face me. “So your mind is made up? You will not stay?” I sighed. “Did she put ye up to this?” “A man never reveals what a woman says to him in confidence, my lord.” He said with a slight frown. I pushed the leaves to the other side of my mouth impatiently. “I nay have time to be waggin’ tongues as so, my lord. What be it that ye want?”
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fem-blade-adept · 8 months
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I’ve done a lot of Soulsbornekiro posts but I don’t think I’ve ever written a Game ranking. So here goes. Reminder that this is opinion based on the thousands of hours I’ve sunk into these games. Enjoy!
All Souls Games Ranked from Best to Worst
Dark Souls 3- This is a no brainer for me. EVERYTHING I love about the Souls games were on full display in DS3. The scale of the fights, the lore, the weapons, the environments, the aesthetic. DS3 will always win for me in every regard.
Sekiro- A spin-off, sure, but such a creative presence in FromSoft’s anthology. The combat was unique while still having the classic Souls flair. It also forced me to learn its combat system and when you learn it, it’s such a satisfying victory. My only gripes were that it didn’t have DLC and that it wasn’t a longer game.
Dark Souls 1- Where it all started for me. Looking back on it, it’s probably the easiest on this list for me, but it’s still a very solid entry. I love the nostalgia it brings me as well as it setting the pace for a lot of lore and moments we see in future games. I wish it had gotten a little harder in the remastered version, but I can’t complain past that.
Elden Ring- A lot of my moots are probably surprised to see this down this low. Mommy Malenia is a shining star and definitely tops a list of my favorite souls bosses, but looking at the rest of the game, it fells short in some respects. A lot of the bosses are either way too easy or brutally difficult and not always for the best reasons. The lore and boss scale is great, but a lot of solid play styles get drowned out by the rising difficulty and it becomes a cheesefest fairly easily. Also, I’m annoyed by a lot more bosses in Elden Ring than most of the games on this list and it’s not because they are difficult.
Bloodborne- This is where I will lose A LOT of people. People rank this at the VERY top of their lists for a lot of reasons and are probably gonna be completely lost as to why this is down this far. Don’t get me wrong. The lore is great, the environment is good, Lady Maria is perfect, the weapons are fantastic, and people know I love cosmic and eldritch horror stuff, so you would think I’d love this game. But for me, what really shafts this game is the balance, the combat, and the walk back. One of the first weapons you get practically makes every other weapon in this game meaningless if you let it, my favorite weapons come at the END of the game (#rakuyobitchfolyfe), the combat and dodge system bones me about as much as it helps, and the fact that blood vials are a consumable? Not my favorite design choice. I don’t like having to refarm my healing options after having to trek through Cainhurst or the Fishing Hamlet and if I’m slamming my head against the Orphan of Kos, it dampens the experience to have to go back and refarm blood vials because I ran out. There were a lot of things that could have been executed better and it probably wouldn’t have been as bad if these issues weren’t so blatant.
Dark Souls 2- It’s the design choices. I don’t hate DS2 as much as a lot of people, but I’ll admit the game did not come off good to me when I first played it. The hollowing system actively frustrates me to this day, the quantity over quality bosses leaves a lot of nebulous memories, the open-ish world hurts me a lot more than it helps, and the weapons were really meh compared to the rest of the list. It’s definitely not as bad as people say, but there were some questionable choices here.
Demon Souls- The walkback hurts in this game. The system is great, but again consumable healing is brutal. It also is a lot of punishment unless you know the gimmicks that each boss has and once you know them, it kinda waters down the experience in an unsatisfying way. At least in DS2, you have Estus and can always have a healing option, but Demon Souls’ LOOOONG walk back to boss rooms and exhausting areas really wore me out of love for this game quickly.
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