#or they won't approve it and will point you.

[the-modern-typewriter]

Hello this is a question that came about from watching the new Fallout TV show and a character named Maximus. He’s a relatively neutral character and his arc is very wonderful coming from a writer and big book reader but I noticed that the average viewer doesn’t understand his character and actually hates him… my question is as an author is it okay to make your story more digestible to people who lack perception since it’s the general audience for mainstream media and how do you do that without losing your story? Idk this was probably too complex and a stupid question 💔

Not a stupid question! There are no stupid questions.

Going to unpack this a bit though. (I haven't seen the show.) First some general points, but then some advice on balancing complexity in a story.

So. Some things to get out of the way:

You don't know what the average viewer is thinking. Just because their opinion on a character is different to yours, doesn't mean they lack perception. Do we sometimes have an issue with critical thinking in the modern age? Yes. But we also live in an age where people bring a vast array of different insights and experiences into the stories they read/watch. 99% of the time a story doesn't have just one right interpretation, especially if it is a more complex narrative.

You CAN try to write a story that is more digestible to a general audience, but if you do have concerns about the media literacy of the general population, focusing on providing unchallenging stories is not the fix to that. People learn through engaging with interesting work and having discussions about them - e.g. when they are given the opportunity to. Perception, like anything, is a skill trained with practice. No one's born with it. There's no inherent us/them that can't be changed.

Will you be happy and fulfilled as a writer writing stories that you feel are dumbed or watered down? I know I wouldn't end up writing the versions of stories that I want. Similarly, you probably won't then attract the readers/audience that most resonate with your ideas, because you don't give them the chance.

Generally speaking, people hate being talked down to. As a reader/lover of stories, if I thought a writer was talking down to me and thought I was an idiot who couldn't understand the themes/plot, I wouldn't want to have anything to do with their stuff. It's a horrible feeling, isn't it? It's like being written off before you even leave the gate.

Okay, now some advice: Amazing children's books are a great example of stories that are simplified to appeal and meet the audience where they are at, without losing the richness that makes them resonate and engage readers/audience. However, there are adult examples too. They share some qualities.

These often have:

Clear structure (there are a myriad story structures that you can use to make a story hit beats the reader expects and create a sense of satisfaction, while still giving you room to play.)

High concept story idea/plot (so, stories that can be explained/pitched in a line. E.g. children are forced to fight in televised death matches (Hunger Games), a famous author is imprisoned by a dangerous fan who doesn't approve of his new work (Misery), 'it's jaws in outer space!'). These stories have simple premises that often have wide-appeal, but the stories themselves can be complex.

Engaging main character(s) with a clear goal/agenda. They don't have to all be morally pure, but for an easy win, your character should be likeable/easy to root for. In a children's book, e.g. at the simplest level, these are often also high concept. (E.g. a mouse wants to be heard so is convinced it needs a lion's roar to be loved - The Lion Inside by Rachel Bright)

There are, of course, exceptions to every rule. Game of Thrones was phenomenally popular, for example, but I don't think it's an easy to sink into world/simple set of characters.

Watering down an existing story to fit a different target audience is often not going to lead you to write the best story. This is because it's like trying to fit a triangle into a circle, or make a banana bread into a savoury scone. However, there are plenty of stories with mass-appeal that offer readers a variety of different levels to engage with them, so it is very possible to write a brilliant story with mass appeal. But you work from the foundations up, not from the finished product down.

I hope this helps!

#writing advice #writing talk #writing tips #creative writing #fiction writing #writing #on writing

[punks-never-die205]

Some crazy hot Kink ideas or sexual habits for Kid and Killer?😎 Except Being Dom, S&M, Bondage.

Except Being dom, S&M and bondage.... man, making it difficult for me out here huh?

I've mentioned elsewhere but I think Kid has super sensitive nipples. He won't admit it, but if you can keep him from stopping you, you only need a couple minutes to get him to pop off from it. He won't whimper, but the growls are a delight.

Scritching Killer's goatee will get you a nice deep hum of approval. Depending on the circumstances he'll either nuzzle into your hand, grab you and dance, or just put you over his shoulder and head to a room.

The only thing that will slow you down with pegging either one of them is that they're both going to make sure there's plenty of prep and you know what you're doing. Some of it is of course, no one wants that to really hurt, but also it's practical. They're both way too busy to be laid up with internal ass injuries, so it gets done right or not at all.

Killer will treat you well afterward however you like, but Kid's gonna wanna peg you back, so keep that in mind <.<

Bonus, maybe - Kid likes overstimulation because there's a point before it becomes painful or exhausting where you're so soaked in pleasure and have just enough energy left that you can't control anything. Your sounds are feral, and your body trembles, and it's hot in a very messy desperate way.

#eustass kid #quin answers #side blog #massacre soldier killer #x reader #reader insert #anon asks #mdni

[kaurwreck]

Any kunizai hcs that you can share? All your bsd hcs are spot on

Thank you for thinking my bsd headcanons are on point!!! Yes, I have lots of kunizai headcanons, I think Kunikida is such a crucial pillar in Dazai's polycule.

Kunikida has a sex towel that's a different color than the other towels, but still part of an overarching and cohesive scheme because he needs to be able to tell when Dazai has grabbed the wrong towel but it also would distract him if it clashed too badly with the rest of the towels.

Kunikida keeps Dazai's dorm stocked with gummy vitamins mixed with actual gummies because Dazai will just eat them all as a meal if he doesn't feel like making himself food, and it's a waste of vitamins if he eats them all at once.

Dazai won't take medication if it's inconvenient or gross, so Kunikida will press his thumb into the hinge of Dazai's jaw and pill him like a cat. The first time Atsushi saw this, he was perturbed. The second time, Kunikida taught him how to do it too.

I think a lot about how personally and deeply Kunikida takes every life lost under his watch, and how Dazai is watching him, waiting for him to collapse beneath the pain, only for Kunikida to consistently bounce back anyway. It's a well of hope and healing for Dazai, and he relies on Kunikida, not for what Kunikida does for him, but for who Kunikida is despite everything. I'm not saying that Dazai would lose it without Kunikida anchoring him, but I have read Beast, so. Maybe that is what I'm saying.

This isn't a headcanon so much as it's actually canon, but Kunikida's nagging and browbeating are his sincerest show of affection and Dazai knows this and irritates him because when Kunikida throttles him over it, it's affirmation that Dazai doesn't often receive when he acts out. Chuuya is also good for this.

Speaking of which, Chuuya and Kunikida remind Dazai of each other for their stalwartness, their commitment to their values, their loyalty, their disgust for authority they don't respect, and their reactivity. Their ferocity is soothing to Dazai.

Kunikida sees Dazai as impossibly coquettish, provocative, and sensual, whereas Dazai finds his own sexuality brutish and like an imposition. Dazai's startled during the moments he sees himself through Kunikida's perspective, but he likes being surprised by Kunikida more than he hates himself. (Which also startles him, the first several times it happens.)

Kunikida, holding Atsushi up by his armpits: stinky Kyouka: no!! don't be mean!! Kunikida, swaying him: stinky bastard man Kyouka: no!!!!!! Dazai, not looking up from the pornographic magazine he's reading in the office: naughty boy. brat cat.

Dazai thinks he's keeping that he and Kunikida are sleeping together from Fukuzawa, namely because he sees himself as a corrupting influence and is avoiding the rejection he's certain he'd receive if he sought Fukuzawa's approval. Kunikida has already disclosed to Fukuzawa and received the appropriate paperwork from the law firm on the first floor of the Agency's office building. Dazai doesn't read the things Kunikida asks him to sign, so hasn't realized.

Kunikida says no to Dazai and not to Ranpo, so Dazai pays Ranpo with difficult-to-obtain sweets in exchange for Ranpo's cooperation when Dazai wants Kunikida to do ridiculous things about which Kunikida is liable to tell him no.

This isn't a headcanon, but related to the above, please enjoy this audio drama clip of Kunikida hyper-realistically meowing like a cat because Ranpo and Dazai are horrible imps [skip to 3:19 for Kunyaakida].

#bsd #bungou stray dogs #kunizai #bsd dazai #bsd kunikida

[jasontoddenthusiastt]

The recent influx of “Jason is obviously a bad person. Look at how many people he’s killed” posts is 2x more idiotic because it runs on the same premise as “Jason is a cop symbol”. There’s an infinitely more famous example right next to him that people ignore entirely.

In the real world killing people is a felony, just as vigilantism as a whole is too. The same way Batman is a fictional character in a fake world, Jason is not part of the real world either. I think if you’re above age 10 you should’ve moved past the stage of trying to point fingers to try to determine a right vs wrong way to do illegal vigilantism in a world like the dcu while pretending it’s a perfect model of a real society lol.

Batman enjoys maiming and crippling people (bad things). Why is he working with cops and throwing drug addicts into prison after beating the tar out of them (bad things). It’s proven in the real world that that does not do anything to rehabilitate them and in fact costs the government billions of dollars and actually worsens the war on drugs (higher mortality & crime rates, and increased spread of infectious diseases). Yet since the authors constantly spoon feed you lines about how heroic he is people just eat that shit up, disregarding the fact that it might be utter horseshit irl and his morals wouldn’t make much sense either.

If ‘character doing bad thing’ is synonymous with ‘character can’t possibly be a good person’, then that should negate the idea that Batman’s biggest trait is compassion (although I think it already does for other in-story reasons lol, re: he tends to be classist and discriminatory towards people who commit petty crimes, calling them degrading names like “trash” and “bottom-feeders”. No amount of donating to charity makes you a good person if at your core you see poor/homeless people as lesser and you get a kick out of mocking them).

There’s far more evidence of Jason possessing all the good traits the authors keep begging you to believe Batman has. He patiently fed and cared for his dying mother all alone as a small baby/child. He literally fed groups of homeless people like a mother hen everyday while he himself was homeless, brain dead, and running on basic survival instincts. After finally regaining higher functioning in his brain and discovering the joker was still alive, one of the first things he cried about was the countless number of other innocent people dead at the hands of his own killer. If the only justification you have for why Jason’s a bad person is that he kills, that’s a weak and baseless argument for obvious reasons.

#kelseethe #also why do people even care so much if Jason fans think he’s a good person #like why are you in our tag everyday trying to change our minds. why are you so desperate for our approval #anyway you don’t need to waste your time making elaborately worded posts about how many people he’s killed #and why you think that makes him an undesirable abomination #you're wasting your time. nobody cares about your mediocre takes and they won't change our minds #not like they're worded eloquently enough to be convincing either lol #he just has a more likeable personality and convincing point than the lot of you hence why we’re fans of his character

[uncanny-tranny]

Trans people aren't really "more ridged about gender stereotypes," at least, not more than the average cis person.

I look at when people say that trans people "think having a short haircut means you're a man" and it's like... I'm literally growing out my hair and I'm a man*. My trans girl friend has hers short. By this logic, she wouldn't be a girl, and I would. But surprisingly enough, gender is more complicated that "long hair girl" and "short hair boy", and trans people know this intimately. In fact, we are uniquely understanding about this fact.

Trans people are oftentimes more flakey when it comes to gendered performances, from what I've experienced. When a trans person is comfortable with themselves and feels they are safe, that's when they express who they are to the fullest extent.

I know for me, when I was dysphoric and pre-medical transition, I was more uncomfortable not being masculine (despite not even describing myself as such). It felt like there was a lot more for me to lose if I wasn't conforming to the preconceived norms of what gender "is." Once I was able to feel more secure in my place, I felt able to explore myself. That's why sometimes it seems like trans people totally change after transition - we're able to feel secure enough in our place.

#trans #transgender #lgbt #lgbtq #ftm #mtf #nonbinary #also cis people do the exact same thing. but it's considered normal so nobody sees it as deviation from the norm #and consider also who made gender norms in the forst place... #...because right now and historically? trans people did not invent or enforce these standards #in fact most of them hurt us #it hurts closeted trans people if somebody says 'short hair = boy' which is why you won't see very many trans people who say that... #...you might come across a trans person appealing to bioessentialism/gender essentialism for approval sure... #...but most trans people and sometimes even them realize that gender stereotypes hurt us... #...because stereotypes are used to deny us agency and deny us who we actually are #so no trans people by and large don't think in these black-and-white stuctures... #...if it were that way you would never see gnc trans people. but they're everywhere. so at some point you have to consider that

[barbieaiden]

watch me ruin my mostly nice bg3 playthrough in act 3 and be really mean so astarion will love me

#in the beginning i was like i'm going to stay consistent with my character it doesn't matter if my companions approve but #at this point idk if i care about astarion romancing me but it feels like he's just mocking me. bullying me #literally the guy was like lol you should've slept with me sooner and he #STILL. WON'T. ROMANCE. ME

[lloydfrontera]

i know it's the logical conclusion and realistically it makes sense to point out that people can only like you so much. but. i really want lloyd to be proven wrong. i really want him to realize there's no limit to how much someone can love you. i want his parents and javier and julien's approval rating to keep going up even when lloyd thinks there's nothing more he can do to earn their love for him. i want him to be able to learn that sometimes love can keep growing every day for no other reason than because the other person is choosing to love you over and over again. i just want him to feel loved just for being him and not for what he does is that too much to ask for?!?

#lloyd frontera #tged #the greatest estate developer #i know it's probably not what the novel is going for but!! i can dream!! #like yeah it's realistic that at one point he won't be able to make people's approval of him keep going up #because there's only so much he can do to make them like him #but like!! love doesn't work like that!! your actions do matter when it comes to whether someone loves you or not #but at one point it also comes to the other person deciding to keep loving you! to choose to keep building upon that foundation!! #and i want lloyd to experience that!! #i want him to realize that yes there is a point where he won't be able to do more to earn more approval from them. but that it doesn't #matter because they love him and everyday they spent with him is one where they love him more #im sorry im a sucker for characters finding out how loved they are by their family and friends do you still think im hot #one thing i do have to say is that tged has always been very clear that actions do matter when it comes to people liking or loving you #like it starts with lloyd taking over the body of someone who by his own actions had made it so everyone hated him #and so he had to earn back the trust and approval of everyone around him #but that's an extreme case! it wasn't even something he had done! but it definitely influenced how he approached everyone around him #because instead of having to just start from 0 and naturally build relationships like it's normally done #he had to work twice as hard to repair what og lloyd had broken #idk i just think it's fascinating and i would love if the novel acknowledged how unfair and actually a little fucked up it was to give him #a system where he had to earn points from his relationships with others and always be aware of how much they either liked or disliked him #(something that would fuck with the self esteem of anyone) #while also putting him in the body of someone who had already done so much to burn bridges with everyone and his damn best to be disliked #but i know it's probably too much to ask for 😅 #i talk a lot <3

[gender-euphowrya]

gonna be honest i do Not trust "yes all men includes trans guys" sayers

#if you seriously can't envision how having experienced girlhood even if it wasn't 'for real' #means we will NEVER have the exact same bias or attitude against women that cis dudes have #idk what to fucking say #like yeah we're men they're men but we know firsthand how patriarchy harms #we know what behaviors to avoid to not cause discomfort or harm or anything of the sort in women #because we've been on the fucking receiving end #like us being men doesn't magically turn us into oppressors the second we come out #it doesn't reset our fucking memory to the point where we forget how men harm women. how men harmed us #like ding dong we're oppressed still. society doesn't put us on the pedestal reserved for men because it doesn't think we ARE men #i don't care how many jerkface trans dudes you met who dipped too hard into the misogyny bowl to get cis peers' approval #that'll never be on the same fucking level as cis men holding institutional power and being the root of systemic sexism #hell. fuck it. blame the fucking cis dudes who won't accept trans men unless they perform hatred of women. #i am so fucking god damn tired of transmasc people getting an extra level of scrutiny on the basis of being masculine #quit sipping the fucking gender essentialist juice already

[emypony]

.

#i went from 'hey maybe im figuring out how to be an independent adult!' #to 'every day i wish and i pray tomorrow is the day i dont wake up' #i became so suicidal because of my job. literally #i just want myself dead. simple #apparently not choosing your first proper full time job is? no one's problem? #“oh well you chose this” seriously? no one's ever made a mistake? #i dont CARE thst you have a kid im SORRY you were struggling by yourself and im much needed help and you are also giving me even- #MORE responsibility. and yet its still not enough. im not enough. #i almost thought i killed a dog today. it traumatized me #how am i supposed to perform when i dont have even 20% of the required equipment to perform a groom on an agitated elderly fucking dog? #it broke me. i want out. stupid unemployment file GET APPROVED FASTER #I WANT OUT OF HERE #either i get out. or im *making* a way out. #i told my mom one day it won't be me calling #it will be a hospital #and that day is growing ever so closely #and its scary and i wouldnt wanna do anything but at this point anything is better than this #im tired. and this isnt living. #personal #vent #tw suicide thoughts #tw sui ideation #idk what tags to use. #its 2 am. im tired #please.

[exuberantoctopus]

.

#ughhhhh #why does my happiness about my engagement have to be complicated by my fear about telling/not telling my parents? #i wish i could tell them and just have them be happy #but i know that they won't be #and even though they've gotten to a point where they're more surface-level tolerant #they don't like my relationship on any level #and i so don't see them being supportive #it's not even that it would be that bad though #it would hurt but they probably wouldn't even say anything unless pressed #i might even get a 'well i hope it's making you happy' #but i know that they don't actually approve of me like that #and i just... i don't know. i can't right now. #but not saying anything feels like i'm lying #and the longer the gap between the proposal and my announcement the more awkward #and the more fuel they have to think/say that i'm not telling them because i have doubts that aren't there #why does it have to be like this? #i just wish i could know they were going to support me like they used to #pay no attention to the blogger behind the screen #(for the uninitiated that's my vent tag if you ever want to block it)

[a-little-ray-of-fantasy]

An analysis on how Sir Pentious' character design represents his personality and development perfectly (beware of Hazbin Hotel spoilers)

Let's get this out of the way: Sir Pentious is a snake, an animal mostly known for generally believed negative traits such as poison, deceit and betrayal. We don't know WHY he's in Hell, maybe he was a "snake oil salesman" considering he comes from the Victorian times and he's into hyping up what he does, or maybe he was into war. Thing is, he's a Sinner whose design just scream "Evil".

(BTW, a snake could also represent "fertility": looking at you, Egg Boiz!)

He always had eyes all around him not just because of a stylistic choice.

Sir Pentious always felt like he was watched, and had to watch out for any danger.

"Everyone here is too nice: obviously it must be a lie! I can sense they are planning to kill me, but when?! HOW?! I must be PREPARED!"

Sadly, he's been constantly berated by other demons, far more effective in destruction, status, cruelty and charisma. Alastor won't ever bother to remember him, Cherri always ones up him, and the Vs, the ones he admires to most, won't care less about him.

To the point that Vox sent him as a spy without the intention to save him if things were going to fail. Heck, he even openly tells him to die while calling him a failure.

So of course he's got reasons to have trust issues, or taking everything so seriously, being constantly reminded of what he can't accomplish. So he puts an air of grandure that may be very flamboyant, but is VERY frail.

But, if we have to be frank here, his biggest source of insecurities... is himself.

He has eyes on his tail (his softer, more vulnerable side, which is ironically made even MORE lieable to getting hurt because of how sensitive those organs are), and inside his hood, so he could look out better for danger when on alert mode.

Heck, even the mark on his hood kinda resembles one eye.

Problem is, when you see his hood folded, when he's at ease, neutral or sad, those are not looking at outside sources.

They're looking at him, at his back. A constant stare that happens everytime he lets his guard down and shows how vulnerable he is. A gaze that can sense all of his weakness, his struggles, his insecurities.

And it's all him.

Pentious constantly believes that his inferiority complex will fade away once he'll accomplish something grand that will make others accept him. But he is his biggest critic, his worst enemy: HE is the one who believes he's a failure, that he'll never gain approval from others.

This show takes place in Hell, but this is Sir Pentious' personal Hell: insecurity born out of self hatred. Doomed to feel everyone's gaze upon him, including his own. Believing the danger to his self esteem is from others, when it's really from him.

But then he's accepted at the Hazbin Hotel: Charlie forgives him, he bonds with Angel, Husk and Niffty who don't care a bit about what he's accomplished or not, or what he's done in the past.

He feels more comfortable in showing his vulnerable side, and no one judges him for how easy it is for him to get emotional.

Of course he's still very insecure, considering how he struggles to confess to Cherri, but notice how he stops building machines or planning to attack others as soon as he starts bonding with the others: he doesn't have a reason to destroy or attack, now that he knows he's loved.

And his final design, when he goes to Heaven, shows how much he's changed, yet stayed the same. He may have died a hero, but he's still the same awkward snake we've come to love.

Speaking of love, let's talk about that!

No more eyes on his tail, now it's just on his chest (showing he's opened his heart), his glasses are now heart shaped, and even the markings inside his hood resemble kiss marks more than anything else.

And look: the mark on his hood is now heart shaped!

Why all these hearts? Why did all the eyes disappeared from his body? Even his eyes that were looking at his back?

Simple: love. Love defeated his insecurities and self hatred. He died for love.

He died protecting his friends, his new family, his new home.

He confessed and kissed Cherri knowing full well he wouldn't have made it, and yet he went anyway.

The usually cowardly and timid Pentious actually faced a great danger with courage and determination: he acted selflessly by putting himself in harm's way, he didn't steal (naturally) and by going against Adam he did indeed "stick it to the man"!

He used his weaponry knowhow and battle experience not to conquer, but to save his loved ones.

His only thought up until his demise was: "I'll go down protecting them".

And he's been rewarded not only by becoming an angel, but also being spawned directly in front of Emily and Sera, two Seraphim, the highest rank for an angel to have, who have also been depicted as snakes of fire throughout history! Sir Pentious, the lowly demon considered a failure by everyone, actually has been noticed by the Seraphim! He's come so far!

He's now come to represent the REAL symbolism of a snake: the duality of death and rebirth, transformation and immortality (ironically a reference to the fact he's been around since 1888 without ever dying from any Extermination or blessed weapons).

And isn't so poetic that a snake, the "source of the original evil", was the first sinner to ascend to Heaven? Or that this episode was released on February 1st, or National Serpent Day?

And of course, as the Bible itself says:

"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends."

(John 15:13)

And knowing him, I'm confident in saying he'll keep helping his friends even in his new position, like the soft hearted noodle he's always been, but was to afraid to show it up until now.

#Vivziepop #Hazbin Hotel #Hazbin Hotel Spoilers #Hazbin Spoilers #Sir Pentious #Fave Character #Comfort Character #Personal Rambles #What a wonderful lovable character he turned out to be 🥲 #Character Analysis

[ririblogsss]

I have found inspiration to write :).

The flash for the fist time in forever stop moving. No twitching. NO moving his leg up and down. No running back and forward to the cafeteria for snacks. He was completely still with his jaw open looking past Batman who at the moment was giving the league members an overview of the missions that have been happening within the past month. Immediately everyone locked in, Flash not moving major red flag. Batman caught it first and proceeded to turn around in a split of a second and froze (caught of guard) this caused the other league members to slowly turn their heads and eyes away from starring at the Flash. And they couldn't believe their eyes.

Superman had his jaw dropped.

Flash was pointing and unable to form words the only sound escaping his mouth was vocals "aa" "ee" he was over all gobsmacked.

Not like the other leagues were fairing any better. It's just that their eyes could not make their brain correctly process what they were seeing. And what they were currently seeing was a teenager with white hair with a box of donuts and drinking something out of a coffee cup. Now this is the watchtower everyone has seen teenagers from various backgrounds to say the least enjoy their coffee and snacks. That wasn't the problem. The problem was that the teen wasn't one of theirs. Not that it really matters Batman.

What actually matters is that the kids outside. IN SPACE. How is he surviving. How isn't he dead? Is he an alien? Then why is the box of donuts from earth?

And the kid has the gull to smile sheepishly?????

---

Danny only wanted help. HE SWEARSS. And the Justice League wasn't helping after they had been spammed with calls for help against the Ghosts. Amity parkers think that the JL has banned them from making calls. So Danny decided if they won't come. He will go to them, but his parents did not raise a disrespectful child the Fentons maybe break tax laws and driving laws and overall all OSHA regulations. BUT THEY NEVER DISRESPECT (unless warranted) ANYBODY. And Danny wasn't about to misrepresent them. So he brought a box of donuts and his fathers homemade fudge in hopes to make some sort of slightly good impression.

So taking a breath in (as a force of habit) he knocked on the watchtowers window and didn't become intangible and go in until Wonder Woman nodded with her head yes.

Batman was side-eying WW, but Danny decided that Wonder Woman had more decision power in this instance.

So with the approval that he may come in Danny made himself (and everything else) intangible so he could enter. Once inside he realize that Jazz had been correct in telling him to at least know how he was going to approach the subject.

He placed the treats on the table and made a gesture that they could eat. He took a sip of his hot ecto and then he opened his mouth.

"Why are you guys hunting us down for sport? w-we are people too"

Danny said it in such a broken voice with teary eyes. He really should have practiced first.

The JL choked.

#dpxdc #dc x dp #dp x dc crossover #dp x dc

[eff-plays]

The way Astarion reacts depending on how you compliment him in the mirror scene (I have no interest in insulting him so I won't be covering that here, have fun though!) drives me fucking insane.

"I want to know what the world sees when it looks at me. What you see."

And you get two types of responses. First, your choices for compliments are

Strong, piercing eyes.

The creases when you laugh.

Pick the first, and he's pleased. "Go on," he says, sounding very seductive. You're giving him exactly what he wants, and he's encouraging it.

Pick the second, and he gets upset. He's an eternally young vampire, not your doting grandmother! You can do better than that. Even if you meant it as a compliment (I know my Tav definitely did), he doesn't seem to take it that way.

Your second options are

That dangerous smile.

The way your hair curls around your ears.

Once again, the first one pleases him, and he even praises your efforts. Very good. Now finish the scene and tell him he's beautiful.

But if you say the second, he gets exasperated. This is meant to be flattery, not poetry. Just tell him he's beautiful and we can call it a day, he says with a dismissive wave of his hand. He doesn't need to hear this crap, just tell him what he wants and fuck off.

Of course, it doesn't matter how you get to this point, and every dialogue option at the end of the scene nets you the same amount of approval. If you call him beautiful, it's +1. Call someone else beautiful, it's +1. If you ask whether he just wants shallow praise (aka don't call him beautiful), you get +1. So this is me pulling this out of my ass I guess.

I always choose to call him beautiful becuase 1) he is and 2) my Tav thinks so too and would oblige him if he asked for it that directly.

But I am obsessed with the different routes you can take to get to this point and what they imply.

Strong, piercing eyes and dangerous smile pleases him more outwardly, but doesn't actually affect the outcome. He's satisfied and confident with these compliments. They confirm what he's trying to project into the world, what he aspires to have and to be.

The creases when he laughs? The hair curling around his ears? Those are things he can't control, can't use against someone else. But he asked to be seen, and if this is what Tav sees, then what does that mean for him?

Why are they complimenting his laugh lines? Why are they speaking poetry at him? Why are they seeing things he has no control over, and why are they revealing them to him?

He doesn't want shallow praise. Questioning this nets approval, and giving it to him doesn't increase approval. What he wants is assurance that what he's trying to be is what the world sees, that he's in control.

And if you actually act as a mirror, point out the things unique to him that you see, he gets uncomfortable, because you're showing a reflection of someone he thinks he's not, of someone he has no control over. And that's scary, even if it's supposedly complimentary.

Because what's scarier than losing control?

But then, compared to how genuinely upset he seems when you insult him (I looked these up on YT for context), the laugh lines and hair curls are still accepted as compliments. So what does he think when Tav says these things?

They see past his piercing eyes and dangerous smile. They see something else that they like even more, things he's not aware of or doesn't appreciate as much. What does that feel like, to cultivate such a perfect image of oneself for the purposes of seducing and tricking others, and then be stumped when someone walks past all that and points out something entirely different that they noticed and found endearing?

Do you do him a favor, and tell him you see only what he wants to be? Or do you speak the truth, and show him what he actually is? Which one is better? Which one is worse?

#i have my own headcanons of course and this is influenced by those #but i just ... AUGH the mirror scene!!! #bg3 #bg3 meta #astarion #baldur's gate 3 #long post #also 'strong piercing eyes' lmao #sad wet puppy eyes more like #also he says he feels seen with tav later on like!! AUGH #DO YOU SEE HIS WANT FOR CONTROL!! OR DO YOU SEE HIS NEED FOR RECOGNITION!! WHICH ONE DO YOU ENFORCE!!

[corollaservant]

anyways...

(suggestive) mess up ur white tee w jjk men

based on this 2021 tiktok challenge lol

Gojo: bro is horny before you even start to film. he doesn’t even notice your nails or understand really what the fuck is going on, all he knows is you have your hands on his growing bulge and he can’t concentrate. he snatches your phone with his huge palms and throws it across the room, you shriek as he pins you down and rubs himself on you. you never finish filming the challenge and he notices your nails after he sees the scratches on his back under the bathroom light as you clean him up.

Geto: he is used to these shenanigans of yours, of course he doesn't approve (he doesn't even know why one would use tiktok in the first place) but goes along with it. after a couple of takes he is bored but without realizing it hard- it’s when he notices your nails which are done beautifully, “these look really cute babe” he compliments while holding your hand and dragging you to sit on his lap, his cock poking you playfully.

Nanami: he doesn’t see you film until a flash hits his grey sweatpants and he turns to you confused. “babe what is this?” he is genuinely curious so he closes the book he's reading. you explain and he laughs, he doesn't really mind, after about 10 takes though he is painfully hard so he stops you and kisses you. “lets put these pretty nails to good use now, alright?”

Toji: bro won't even ask, he doesn’t give a fuck at this point, he lets you do whatever you want as long as his face isnt being filmed, what he doesnt know is that your stupid tiktoks get him hard, you've been palming him for 15 minutes and he’s had enough. he will grab your phone and free his cock, you are not getting it back until he comes in your pretty blabbering mouth (you explained the challenge but he wasn't listening). as for the nails, he’ll notice while having you bent over as you're gripping the sheets, he thinks they suit you but will not comment on it to tease you.

Sukuna: you are neither explaining or filming in the first place. he’ll glance at your new set once and within seconds have you pump his cock with them. “pretty nails” is all he’ll say after. “you didn't need a challenge to have me fuck you”

#jujutsu kaisen #jjk smut #jjk x you #jjk x reader #geto x reader #toji smut #toji x reader #nanami x reader #sukuna x reader #jjk men #corollaservant

[vexwerewolf]

The thing is, D&D is not a game.

I know that sounds insane, but hear me out: D&D is not a game, it is a games console. You don't actually "play D&D." You play "Dragon Heist" or "Tomb of Annihilation" or "Ghosts of Saltmarsh" or "your GM's homebrew campaign" or "the plot of Critical Role Season 1 reconstructed from memory" on D&D.

For quite a long while now - possibly literal decades - D&D hasn't even been the best games console, but it's been "the one everyone knows about" and "the one my friends have" and in fact it's "the one whose name is almost synonymous with the entire medium of TTRPGs," like how "Nintendo" or "Playstation" could just mean "games console" to people who didn't understand games consoles. They might not have heard of a "tabletop roleplaying game," but most people have heard of "Dungeons & Dragons."

For this extended metaphor, D&D is Nintendo back in the 90s, or Playstation in the 2000s. Sometimes you say "oh let's go to my house and play Nintendo" or "c'mon dude I wanna play Playstation" but you're not actually playing Nintendo or Playstation, you're playing Resident Evil or Super Mario Bros or Jurassic Park or Metal Gear Solid or whatever on a Nintendo or a Playstation.

Now, this metaphor is going to get even more tortured, but remember how when the PS2 and the original X-Box came out, they used a standardised DVD format, but the Nintendo console in that generation, the Gamecube, used discs but they were this proprietary tiny little disc format that they had control over? That essentially meant that it was really difficult to make third party titles for the Gamecube that did literally anything that Nintendo didn't want them to do, and also essentially gave Nintendo an even greater ability to skim money off the top of any sales?

So that must've seemed like a smart business decision in their heads. But the PS2 and the X-Box used DVDs. This was a standardized format which gave Microsoft and Sony way less control over who made games for their consoles, but that actually turned out to be a good thing for gaming, because it meant that the breadth of games that you could play on their consoles was massively increased even if some of them were games Microsoft and Sony didn't really approve of. (Also it's worth nothing that the PS2 and the X-Box could just play DVDs, which meant if your household was on a budget, you didn't need a separate DVD player - your games console could do it for you! This was actually a huge selling point!)

What Wizards are currently trying to do now is kinda-sorta the equivalent of Sony suddenly announcing that the PS5 will only accept a proprietary cartridge format they hold the patent on, will control the content of and charge money for the construction of. This possibly seems like it could be a moneymaker in your head because you hold market dominance (apparently the PS5 has 30 million units shipped compared to X-Box Series X 20 million units) and so many people make games for your console, but what it actually means is game devs and publishers will abandon your product. If it takes so much more work, the scope of what they're allowed to do is so much more limited and they're going to make less money off of it, they just won't bother. They'll go make games for the X-Box or PC instead.

To use another computer metaphor, D&D is Windows - it might not be the best system but it's the system most people are familiar with and so it gets the most stuff made for it, but there's is an upper limit on the bullshit people will take before they decide fuck it and get an Apple or learn how Linux works.

TTRPG systems are a weird product because you're not selling people a game, you're selling people a method to play a game. All the actual games are created by the community - even prewritten campaigns needs to be executed via a game master. Trying to skim money off the community will mean they'll eventually give up on you.

#open gaming license #dungeons and dragons #ogl #ogl 1.1 #opendnd #wizards of the coast #one dnd #d&d #dnd #tabletop gaming #tabletop roleplaying games #ttrpgs

[lyralit]

ꜱʜᴏᴡ, ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ᴛᴇʟʟ (ɪɪ)

fear - open mouth - backing away - fake smiles - hugging themselves - long / dragged breaths - rocking

jealousy - snide remarks - darting looks - self-deprication - visible judging - folded arms - arguing a fair point

hurt - steadying breaths - overly bobbing head - teary - anger - trembling - pressed lips - insisting everything is 'fine'

lying (ticks) - picking at nails - touching hair - licking lips - laughing too loud - avoids subjects - won't meet eyes

worry - reaching out physically - pursing lips - looking to others - reassuring smiles - looking you up and down - tilted head - sympathetic nod

shame - will not meet eyes - feet turned away - teary - desperate - fidgeting - begging

humiliation - lashes back - cheeks flush - palms turn sweaty - face frowns -> brows scrunch, lips pull back - teary

love - looks for approval - blushing / turning red - clammy palms - nervous around certain people - laughs hard - turning clumsy - slip of thought

#writing tips #show don't tell #writerblr #lyralit #creative writing #writers #writblr #writing #writers block #writing ideas #writing prompts #emotions #writer inspo