#these are 2 very different things when there's no common agreement on things

[so-that-was-okay]

I'm gonna be this person for a minute because the things I read sometimes are just... not that. Some of you really need to talk to elder millenials instead of profiling Tommy based on your very young life experience. Please. The generation gap really shows and you misinterpret everything about him because his behavior of a late 30s/early 40s man doesn't match your less than 25 years old life. And I get it, you do with what you know, it's perfectly normal, but don't project yourself in a story where characters will invevitably be very different from you. Learn to know them instead. And even if you're jealous of Tommy (because I know how it works, you don't fool me), it's not a reason to paint a portrait of him that is nowhere near his canon self and what we see on screen. We're not dramatic teens anymore at this age and details are a lot less important when they're not about really meaningful things, as is life-scale things.

Tommy not wearing perfectly in-theme clothes at the party is nothing. It's a shame, sure, but does it spoil the fun (they end up not having)? Absolutely not. And remember: they just met. It's not like they've known each other for months or years and have high expectations because they have a history together. What is important here? That he showed up or that he wears the right outfit? He showed up while being on call. This is big. Details are details. It's like saying a 6 course meal was horrible because they didn't have the dessert you wanted and had to choose something else. No, the dinner was delicious, shame they didn't have the dessert but it's nothing. You still enjoyed the damn food served.

Creating posts about how Tommy doesn't care about Buck because of this kind of details, and using your personality as a reference to profile Tommy?? This is not how things work. It's not because you can't relate that it's wrong. It's not because it doesn't fit your fic ideas that it's not valid. It's not because it's different that it's not right. You can just say you don't like him for who he is, it's fine! No one is forced to like him. But don't twist the character's personality to fit your narrative. This is not how things work.

And please talk to people. Just, you know, sharing basic life things, in a safe space. It's possible and it's great, for everyone involved.

#911 #911 abc #tommy kinard #bucktommy #and not caring about some details doesn't mean you don't have principles #these are 2 very different things when there's no common agreement on things #and please learn about life as a working adult with big responsibilities #tommy will prioritize his work when he has to at this stage of his budding relationship with buck and HE'S RIGHT #he's too important for the community to just ignore that and go have fun #and yet he still found the strenght to be there after hours and hours of physical and dangerous work #i mean... come on #this nonsense feeds the rage and the toxicity in this fandom it's insane #and to think i just got there lmao #perfect timing istg

[mostlysignssomeportents]

American education has all the downsides of standardization, none of the upsides

Catch me in Miami! I'll be at Books and Books in Coral Gables on Jan 22 at 8PM.

We moved to America in 2015, in time for my kid to start third grade. Now she's a year away from graduating high school (!) and I've had a front-row seat for the US K-12 system in a district rated as one of the best in the country. There were ups and downs, but high school has been a monster.

We're a decade and a half into the "common core" experiment in educational standardization. The majority of the country has now signed up to a standardized and rigid curriculum that treats overworked teachers as untrustworthy slackers who need to be disciplined by measuring their output through standard lessons and evaluations:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Core

This system is rigid enough, but it gets even worse at the secondary level, especially when combined with the Advanced Placement (AP) courses, which adds another layer of inflexible benchmarks to the highest-stakes, most anxiety-provoking classes in the system:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Placement

It is a system singularly lacking in grace. Ironically, this unforgiving system was sold as a way of correcting the injustice at the heart of the US public education system, which funds schools based on local taxation. That means that rich neighborhoods have better funded schools. Rather than equalizing public educational funding, the standardizers promised to ensure the quality of instruction at the worst-funded schools by measuring the educational outcomes with standard tools.

But the joke's on the middle-class families who backed standardized instruction over standardized funding. Their own kids need slack as much as anyone's, and a system that promises to put the nation's kids through the same benchmarks on the same timetable is bad for everyone:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/11/28/give-me-slack-2/

Undoing this is above my pay-grade. I've already got more causes to crusade on than I have time for. But there is a piece of tantalyzingly low-hanging fruit that is dangling right there, and even though I'm not gonna pick it, I can't get it out of my head, so I figured I'd write about it and hope I can lazyweb it into existence.

The thing is, there's a reason that standardization takes hold in so many domains. Agreeing on a common standard enables collaboration by many entities without any need for explicit agreements or coordination. The existence of the ANSI/SAE J563 standard automobile auxiliary power outlet (AKA "car cigarette lighter") didn't just allow many manufacturers to make replacement lighter plugs. The existence of a standardized receptacle delivering standardized voltage to standardized contacts let all kinds of gadgets be designed to fit in that socket.

Standards crystallize the space of all possible ways of solving a problem into a range of solutions. This inevitably has a downside, because the standardized range might not be optimal for all applications. Think of the EU's requirement for USB-C charger tips on all devices. There's a lot of reasons that manufacturers prefer different charger tips for different gadgets. Some of those reasons are bad (gouging you on replacement chargers), but some are good (unique form-factor, specific smart-charging needs). USB-C is a very flexible standard (indeed, it's so flexible that some people complain that it's not a standard at all!) but there are some applications where the optimal solution is outside its parameters.

And still, I think that the standardization on USB-C is a force for good. I have drawers full of gadgets that need proprietary charger tips, and other drawers full of chargers with proprietary tips, and damned if I can make half of them match up. We've continued our pandemic lockdown tradition of my wife cutting my hair in the back yard, and just tracking the three different charger tips for the three clippers she uses is an ongoing source of frustration. I'd happily trade slightly sub-optimal charging for just being able to plug any of those clippers into the same cable I charge my headphones, phone, tablet and laptop on.

The standardization of American education has produced all the downsides of standardization – a rigid, often suboptimal, one-size-fits-all system – without the benefits. With teachers across America teaching in lockstep, often from the same set texts (especially in the AP courses), there's a massive opportunity for a commons to go with the common core.

For example, the AP English and History classes my kid takes use standard texts that are often centuries old and hard to puzzle out. I watched my kid struggle with texts for learning about "persuasive rhetoric" like 17th century pamphlets that inspired anti-indigenous pogroms with fictional accounts of "Indian atrocities."

It's good for American schoolkids to learn about the use of these blood libels to excuse genocide, but these pamphlets are a slog. Even with glossaries in the textbooks, it's a slow, word-by-word matter to parse these out. I can't imagine anyone learning a single thing about how speech persuades people just by reading that text.

But there's nothing in the standardized curriculum that prevents teachers from adding more texts to the unit. We live in an unfortunate golden age for persuasive texts that inspire terrible deeds – for example, kids could also read core Pizzagate texts and connect the guy who shot up the pizza parlor to the racists who formed a 17th century lynchmob.

But teachers are incredibly time-constrained. For one thing, at least a third of the AP classroom time seems to be taken up with detailed instructions for writing stilted, stylized "essays" for the AP tests (these are terrible writing, but they're easy to grade in a standardized way).

That's where standardization could actually deliver some benefits. If just one teacher could produce some supplemental materials and accompanying curriculum, the existence of standards means that every other teacher could use it. What's more, any adaptations that teachers make to that unit to make them suited to their kids would also work for the other teachers in the USA. And because the instruction is so rigidly standardized, all of these materials could be keyed to metadata that precisely identified the units they belonged to.

The closest thing we have to this are "marketplaces" where teachers can sell each other their supplementary materials. As far as I can tell, the only people making real money from these marketplaces are the grifters who built them and convinced teachers to paywall the instructional materials that could otherwise form a commons.

Like I said, I've got a completely overfull plate, but if I found myself at loose ends, trying to find a project to devote the rest of my life to, I'd be pitching funders on building a national, open access portal to build an educational commons.

It may be a lot to expect teachers to master the intricacies of peer-based co-production tools like Git, but there's already a system like this that K-8 teachers across the country have mastered: Scratch. Scratch is a graphic programming environment for kids, and starting with 2019's Scratch 3.0, the primary way to access it is via an in-browser version that's hosted at scratch.mit.edu.

Scratch's online version is basically a kid- (and teacher-)friendly version of Github. Find a project you like, make a copy in your own workspace, and then mod it to suit your own needs. The system keeps track of the lineage of different projects and makes it easy for Scratch users to find, adapt, and share their own projects. The wild popularity of this system tells us that this model for a managed digital commons for an educational audience is eminently achievable.

So when students are being asked to study the rhythm of text by counting the numbers of words in the sentences of important speeches, they could supplement that very boring exercise by listening to and analyzing contemporary election speeches, or rap lyrics, or viral influencer videos. Different teachers could fork these units to swap in locally appropriate comparitors – and so could students!

Students could be given extra credit for identifying additional materials that slot into existing curricular projects – Tiktok videos, new chart-topping songs, passages from hot YA novels. These, too, could go into the commons.

This would enlist students in developing and thinking critically about their curriculum, whereas today, these activities are often off-limits to students. For example, my kid's math teachers don't hand back their quizzes after they're graded. The teachers only have one set of quizzes per unit, and letting the kids hold onto them would leak an answer-key for the next batch of test-takers.

I can't imagine learning math this way. "You got three questions wrong but I won't let you see them" is no way to help a student focus on the right areas to improve their understanding.

But there's no reason that math teachers in a commons built around the (unfortunately) rigid procession of concepts and testing couldn't generate procedural quizzes, specified with a simple programming language. These tests could even be automatically graded, and produce classroom stats on which concepts the whole class is struggling with. Each quiz would be different, but cover the same ground.

When I help my kid with her homework, we often find disorganized and scattered elements of this system – a teacher might post extensive notes on teaching a specific unit. A publisher might produce a classroom guide that connects a book to specific parts of the common core. But these are scattered across the web, and they aren't keyed to the specific, standard components of common core and AP.

This is a standardized system that is all costs, no benefits. It has no "architecture of participation" that lets teachers, students, parents, practitioners and even commercial publishers collaborate to produce a commons that all may share and improve upon.

In an ideal world, we'd get rid of standardization in education, pay teachers well, give them the additional time they needed to prepare exciting and relevant curriculum, and fund all our schools based on need, not parents' income.

But in the meanwhile, we could be making lemonade of out lemons. If we're going to have standardization, we should at least have the collaboration standards enable.

I'm Kickstarting the audiobook for The Bezzle, the sequel to Red Team Blues, narrated by @wilwheaton! You can pre-order the audiobook and ebook, DRM free, as well as the hardcover, signed or unsigned. There's also bundles with Red Team Blues in ebook, audio or paperback.

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

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/16/flexibility-in-the-margins/#a-commons

#pluralistic #education #common core #commons #set texts #pedagogy #scratch #edtech

[tamurilofrivendell]

Deadly Blush | Thranduil x Reader

Pairing Thranduil/Reader

Read on AO3

Content: idk teasing, smut.

Word Count: 3,840

Prompt: (#2 from this list). It’s in bold in the text below.

Requested by anon.

tags: (if you’ve filled in a form for my taglist and you’re not here it’s because your settings are probably set to hide you from search engines so it will not allow me to tag you!) @firelightinferno​, @coopsgirl​, @birbixo0912​, @desert-fern​, @weepingdreammarvel​

The only thing that you could focus on, as the Elvenking's deep voice reverberated around the room, was his mouth. You tried not to be so blatant but you could not stop your gaze from dropping to those perfectly shaped lips every time he spoke. The rest of the room seemed unaffected by your staring and by your, truly, quite sinful thoughts. Thranduil himself seemed to not notice and you decided that was a small mercy because you were pretty certain that if he did, you might die.

However, the King was not as clueless as you believed him to be. He could see you quite clearly and, truthfully, you were not very subtle about it. The rest of the council were far too focused upon the words the king was speaking to pay attention, nodding and murmuring their agreement every so often or voicing a question of their own.

When this happened next, an important member of his council drawing everyone else's attention while they brought up a very good point, Thranduil took his chance to play with you a little.

He did not turn his head, he could see you clearly enough without even needing to. His attention appeared to be on the discussion even as his tongue flicked out of his mouth and ran along the length of his lower lip.

He saw the way you shifted in your seat and inwardly smirked, though nothing showed on his face. He remained as stoic as always, his expression a mask of dignity and calm. Inside, he was most amused. The council members all turned back to him and he was quick to snap his mind back into professional mode, answering the question with ease and authority.

The next time everyone's attention was drawn elsewhere, he took his bottom lip between his teeth.

Your face had to be on fire by now, you could feel it, and you desperately hoped that nobody so much as glanced your way. You were only ever in these meetings to take notes and so thankfully it was quite common that nobody paid any attention to you. Sometimes the ignorance bothered you but today you desperately hoped and wished for it.

Just when you thought you'd gotten yourself under control again, heat rushed straight back into your cheeks at the sight of Thranduil lifting his hand to his face and running his finger over his mouth. The gesture was merely thoughtful but your mind took it to an entirely different place.

You ducked your head and then, thankfully, a halt was called to the proceedings and everybody began to stand and leave the room. You decided to stay right where you were with your hair a curtain either side of your face, acting busy with the parchment on your lap, until they had all left the room so there was little chance of them seeing your no doubt ridiculously flushed face.

“You know, I like it when your face is all red.” Thranduil's voice suddenly purred in your ear and you shivered, wondering how he had moved so quickly.  

“My lord... please.” You murmured, though you had no idea if you were pleading for him to stop teasing you or for him to make the uncomfortable knotted feeling in your stomach go away.

“Please what?” He leaned in a little closer, ghosting those sinfully soft lips over the shell of your ear before he was gone again, pacing back over to the wine decanter in the corner of the room.

Your heart stuttered in your chest and you finally lifted your head to look at him, wondering if that had even happened at all or if you had imagined it entirely.

"Nothing, I..."

However, Thranduil was talking again and you went quiet. "You know, you seem so awfully interested in my mouth, yet I do not believe you truly heard most of the words that actually left it. I dread to imagine how useless today’s notes must be." He said it so matter-of-factly that you quite literally couldn’t understand how you did not die on the spot.

He had seen you staring at him? Oh, how horrifyingly embarrassing!

You opened your mouth to let out a stream of apologies but he was already talking again, having now turned back around to face you with his wine in his hand. "Perhaps you should rid yourself of such distracting thoughts.”

You blinked and your heart sank, nodding as you lowered your gaze shamefully. He was reprimanding you and you had never felt so low in your whole life. “I... I am so sorry, Aran nin, I...” You could not speak another word. You felt so ashamed, so embarrassed. You fiddled with the corner of the parchment and waited for him to sweep out and leave you here alone while he joined the others for their quick lunch.

A deep chuckle left him as he stared at you, watching you intently. “You misunderstand me.” He said. When you looked up, he lifted the wine chalice to his lips and drank the entire thing down, making you squirm as you waited in confusion for him to explain what it is you have misunderstood.

“My lord?” You had to prompt eventually, when he lowered the now empty glass to the table and licked his lips, his eyes burning holes in your face. Your gaze slipped involuntarily back to his mouth as he did this and your face burned as you forced them back up to his face. He was grinning.

“What I meant,” he finally spoke again. “Was you should rid yourself of these thoughts... by indulging them.”

You blinked dumbly up at him for a long moment. He stared unblinkingly back at you, the hint of a smirk on his face. You swallowed hard. “I, uh... what?” How eloquent, you thought bitterly.

Thranduil chuckled again and he moved across the room towards you. “Well.” He shrugged, reaching out a hand towards you. You took it and he pulled you up onto your feet so you were now standing right in front of him. He was still quite a lot taller than you were and you had to tilt your head. He was quiet a moment longer, studying you, and you could have sworn you saw his eyes soften. “Do you not think,” he continued, his voice soft, seductive, as he lifted his hand and traced his thumb slowly across your bottom lip. Your breath caught in your throat. “That if you were to have what you were so obsessing over that your thoughts might cease...?” His smirk widened. “Hm? You might actually get some work done. I might even be able to use those notes as intended...”

You felt as if the very breath had been stolen from you and your skin felt hot and the knot in your stomach only felt like it was getting more tangled up. You had to be dreaming or hallucinating... but could a hallucination feel quite this solid, you wondered, as his thumb continued to rub gently at your lower lip. His skin was so soft...

Without warning, because you did not move away or show disinterest, he dipped his head and his mouth came down on yours, and you squeaked in surprise. You could feel his amusement as he began to kiss you and for a moment you thought your heart might have stopped altogether before you gathered enough wits to kiss him back, a little timidly. You were kissing the king. Before you could fully get used to this thought, his tongue touched your lips, asking for access, and your mouth opened slightly as if you were about to gasp. Thranduil took the chance immediately and his tongue plunged into your mouth. The sensation, coupled with the taste of him, was overwhelming. He kissed you like this, for a little while, waiting patiently for you to grow less tense as your mind fought to catch up with what was happening here. How your secret, quite lascivious fantasy had somehow become a reality.

Eventually, you managed to get over your intense shock and you began to kiss him with the enthusiasm you had imagined in your mind, and Thranduil hummed a sound of appreciation into your mouth as his tongue battled against your own. He moved his arms and his hands took firm hold of your waist. You made a slightly strangled sound and he made a noise in response that sounded like a laugh.

When he finally broke the kiss, pulling back for air, you gasped in a deep breath and opened your eyes. As you focused in on him, you realised he hadn't moved very far away, his nose still only inches from your own, his hands still grasping at your waist. He was breathing quite heavily and his pupils were dilated as he stared back at you, making his gaze seem dark... and hungry.

There was a long silence and you thought he was going to pull away. He tore his gaze from you long enough to glance at the closed door of the room. You didn't know it but he was trying to figure out if he had enough time before everybody returned to continue the meeting. Enough time for what? You found out a moment later when his lips came crashing back down on your own, his tongue no longer asking as he shoved it into your mouth. You had absolutely no complaints about that, immediately returning to kissing him back, however it was different. There was a greater urgency to his kisses this time and in the next second he had moved you over the floor at lightning speed and your back hit the wall.

He continued to kiss you as one hand moved from your waist and began to slide up under your shirt. You shivered and made an embarrassing squeaking sound that had him pulling back to look at you. He paused, as if realising what he'd done. Thranduil licked his lips, his breathing ragged, and you were certain you had never seen the Elvenking look quite so... out of control.

"Is..." He started but then he stopped, his eyes flicking downward briefly, as if he was unsure of what to say. That couldn't be right. Thranduil was never unsure of what to say. You watched his gaze turn to the door again and then move back to your face and you suddenly understood the question he was trying to ask you. Is this okay? Do you want this? Do you want more? It was absolutely absurd, of course, and you were certain this had to be a sick joke. But the desire in his eyes told a different story and Thranduil may be a lot of things but a liar he isn't.

"Yes." You said, nodding your immediate consent as you stared up at him, your head spinning at the mere idea. "Yes... please." You wanted more, you always did, always had. Now he was... offering it? You could not fathom it but you were not about to say no!

Thranduil studied you for a very long moment, searching your eyes for any hint of uncertainty, but he found none. He growled slightly and his grip on you tightened as he hoisted you up by the waist and pressed you firmly against the wall. Your legs wrapped around him on instinct and your body felt like it was on fire as he attacked your mouth with his once more. He kissed you deeply, thoroughly, though urgently, as if there was not enough time and you realised then why he had kept looking at the door and you understood this would need to be quick. Your heart fluttered in anticipation.

Thranduil kept you pressed to the wall as he slid a hand between your bodies and moved it up under the skirt you’d put on that morning. Luckily, your choice of garments only made this process easier. You moaned into his mouth when, without hesitation, his fingers found that delicious spot between your legs and began to massage, gently at first but his touch became more vigorous. He needn't have really bothered, because you were wet enough already, embarrassingly. Though it only seemed to excite him when he discovered this. All you could do in this moment was keep making muffled sounds of pleasure into his mouth.

Thranduil wished that he could touch you longer, that he had the time to please you properly as he had always longed to do. He had not expected his little game to go quite this far, of course, but he told himself that next time... he would take all the time he wished and pay attention to every inch of you.

He grunted as he reached down and tugged at the laces keeping his trousers in place, pulling himself out and lining up between your legs. A gasp left you as you felt the tip of him against you and you had to pull away from his mouth to process that this was actually happening. He didn’t stop, breathing laboured as he held eye contact with you the entire time he pushed himself inside, watching the way your eyes almost rolled back and your body shuddered with delight.

Then he was moving and you were pretty certain that you had entered heaven. He moved with determination as he took you right there against the wall of the conference room and soon he was practically panting in your ear. You had never thought yourself to be turned on by sounds before but the ones you heard leave him, quiet as they may be as he controlled himself, changed your mind. He moved quickly but not selfishly, his large body pinning you between him and the wall, one hand still between your legs trying to make certain you felt pleasure too. Your legs, which had once been firmly about his waist, began to lose their grip on him.

You were a mess.

There was no other way to put it.

One particularly well aimed thrust caused a loud moan to rip itself from your throat and one of Thranduil’s large hands immediately clamped down over your mouth. You couldn’t help it! You were not as good at controlling yourself as he appeared to be and it felt... so... good.

He smirked as he looked back into your eyes and started to move his hips just that little bit faster, as if reading your thoughts, his hand still firmly over your mouth as you moaned again, the sound muffled, the back of your head tilting back and hitting the wall as your legs began to feel useless around him and your fingers dug into the fabric of his doublet.

Thranduil’s smug expression soon disappeared from his face as he realised that he was getting closer and closer to release. His hand slipped from your mouth, his palm pressing hard against the wall as his thrusts increased slightly, his pace becoming desperate as he drove himself closer, aware that time was running out. You were, of course, much closer and you tensed around him as a great wave crashed over you, your blood rushing in your ears as you screamed out your satisfaction. Thranduil tried to cover your mouth again but he wasn’t quick enough and the feeling of you contracting around him made him forget everything else as he was pushed over the edge of his own orgasm.

As the ecstasy rolled over him, he dropped his head and pressed his face into the crook of your neck and he let out a deep, almost primal groan against your skin. The heat and the sound of him made you shiver. The feeling of him releasing deep inside you made you moan again, but you did bite your lip this time to try and stifle the sound. Thranduil went still and, for a short while, the only sound in the room was both of your heavy breathing mixing together.

Slowly, Thranduil came back to himself. He sighed, his breath hot on your neck, and he kissed your flushed skin, his lips soft and tender. You hummed, keeping your eyes closed as he gently began to suck on your neck, losing himself for a moment, and then unfortunately he pulled his face away to look you in the eye again. He took a deep breath, looking at you for a long moment as if he was studying you. “You are so beautiful...” He breathed, and your heart practically melted. Thranduil leaned in and he kissed you once more, the touch of his lips soft and gentle, as your legs trembled and threatened to stop working. Thranduil’s hands found your waist again and he helped your feet find the floor again, still kissing you.

Sudden, loud voices from the hall outside caused him to jump back from you quite suddenly, his hands immediately moving to adjust his trousers and smooth down his clothing. He stared at the door for a moment before he turned his eyes back on you, watching as you adjusted yourself, the long skirt sliding easily back into place. He reached out and he combed his fingers through your hair, smoothing some stray pieces back down. You stared up at him, captivated. He opened his mouth like he was about to say something but at that very instant the door opened and everybody began to file back into the room, their voices loud and cheerful as they moved to take their seats.

Thranduil moved away from you back to the front of the room, his shoulders straight, his hands clasped behind his back, and his expression once more his normal neutral mask.

You, on the other hand, were certain that your legs were shaking so much that if you took a step you would fall flat on your face in front of everybody. You stayed where you were for a long moment until everybody was seated and then you realised you had no other choice because it was you who needed to take the notes for the final half of this meeting. You forced one foot in front of the other, certain you could feel Thranduil’s seed starting to run down your leg. You bit your lip and you squeezed your thighs together as you finally reached your seat, taking up your parchment and quill once more, and letting out a very shaky breath. You were sure your face was flushed but, as usual, nobody paid you any attention. Small mercies.

The rest of the meeting seemed to drag on for eternity as you did your utmost to take coherent notes of what was being discussed. Unlike how Thranduil had made it sound earlier on, your mind had certainly not let up after getting what it wanted (more than it wanted, even!) No, in fact it was probably worse as your thoughts were full of Thranduil’s firm body pressing you against that wall, the feeling of him moving inside you, his hands on your body, his tongue in your mouth...

“...are you even listening?”

You blinked, lifting your head. Your eyes met Thranduil’s and the knowing smirk on his face looked so self-congratulatory you could have actually smacked him for it.

“Sorry?”

“Apology accepted.” He said, his smirk only growing as you blinked up at him.  Your eyes narrowed and he chuckled. “Forgive me, I am only teasing you.”

It was only then that you realised the room was empty. You had not even noticed everybody leaving and you glanced down at the paper in a panic to see if you had even registered the end of the meeting. Apparently you had, in a few almost incomprehensible scribbles that you must have written on autopilot.

Cringing slightly, you turned your attention back to Thranduil. “Have you not teased me enough, my lord?” You asked, a slight smirk of your own visible on your face as you met his gaze.

He let out another laugh, this one brighter, and he seemed pleased. “You will call me Thranduil.” He said firmly and then he shook his head. “And no. I do not believe I have.” 

You would call him... by his name? Without any titles at all? You were too busy trying to figure that one out that you did not catch his next words straight away. When you did, you frowned and tilted your head at him. “No?”

Thranduil shook his head, holding your gaze as he shifted and bent down at the waist so he was eye level with where you were sitting. “No.” He repeated, his eyes studying your own. He looked a little lost for a moment before he gathered himself once more. “Do you have plans this eve?”

The question took you off guard and you could only stare for a long few seconds, probably looking like a complete fool... but Thranduil merely stood patiently and waited. “No...” You said eventually.

Thranduil immediately straightened and turned on his heel. “Good. Come.” He said, gesturing over his shoulder for you to follow him. You scrambled out of the seat as fast as you could manage, snatching up your things as you hurried to follow him from the room. He did not lead you out of the main door but the one near the back of the room, that connected to one of the many passageways that were reserved just for the king, which would eventually lead... to his chambers.

When he pushed the door open, it hit you like a ton of bricks, though you must have already known on some level. Your brain was just a little slow from what had happened between the two of you earlier. 

He turned in the doorway and looked at you very seriously. “I do not want...” As before, the Elvenking seemed to not quite know what to say. “I mean, I would not wish to presume...” Again, he stopped, his mouth a thin line and his eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he tried to figure out what it was exactly he wanted to say to you. Such uncertainty frustrated him.

You smiled. Somehow, despite how surprising it was to see him in such a way, it relaxed your nerves. You reached for his hand and you gazed up at him, watching the surprise register on his face as he felt your fingers thread into the gaps between his own. “You do not presume, Thranduil...” You said simply, your soft smile turning into another tiny smirk. “You guess correctly.”

His uncertainty and frustration melted away, reassured by your words. You expected his perfect mouth to turn into yet another smug smirk but instead he gave you the softest, most relieved smile you had ever seen on him. “In that case...” He said, tightening his grip on your hand and pulling you back into the room with him, kicking the door shut with his boot and lifting you into his arms in one swift movement.

You squealed a laugh and then he did smirk, his lips finding yours once more, as he walked you across the room and threw you down on his large, extravagant bed.

#thranduil x reader #thranduil x you #thranduil fanfiction #thranduil fanfic #lotr x reader #this took forever i'm sorry #also it got away from me

[blueberry-pride]

The Royal Meetup Part 2

Leona x FEM! S/O

Centurion Follower Event Special (March 1-25) Warnings: N/A Request: I'd like to request a fluffy scenario in which Farena meets Leona’s girlfriend after hearing about her from Cheka, please. It takes place during the Tamashina-Mina event Part 1

Berry: I legit did not expect to make a part 2 of this request. I blinked and then I realized I wrote a ton, whoops. This part is entirely an interaction between Farena and (Y/N) but its about a certain lion so...enjoy!

"I am very much aware, no need to remind me now but this will take a moment." Farena noted as he went to my side once more. "if it's alright with the two of you, I'd want to talk to (Y/N) in private."

You and Leona had the same exact expression to what Farena said. You looked nervously to Leona, trying to say telepathically that as much as you want to bond with his family, you don't want accidentally mess up or insult unknowingly THE royal family.

"I can't just leave her-" Leona started but was cut off by his older brother. "Miss (Y/N) (L/N) will be under my personal watch for the time being. You'd know that the two of us were raised to give the utmost respect to ladies such as (Y/N) herself" Farena gestures towards you with a smile.

"That's not exactly what I was worried about." Leona grumbled as he folded his arms. You looked at him with a sheepish smile and nodded along. "I'll be okay..You do need to train the others back in the arena after all." You turned to face Farena. "I'm sure I'll return in time when it's your guys' turn for practice...right?"

Farena chuckled and nodded accordingly. "Indeed, I shan't keep the two lovebirds away for too long." Farena then ushered one of the royal guards to get the limo once more.

Before Leona walked out the door, he placed his hand on your shoulder. You laid yours on top and gave him a warm smile. He stared into your eyes for a brief second, nodded towards you, and finally left the lounge . leaving you with the first prince.

you'd be lying to yourself if you said your heart wasn't beating at the now silent lounge.

Farena cleared his throat, grabbing your attention from your thoughts. "Leona's never the one to say things outright... but you could see it in his intentions and actions that he cares a whole lot deeply."

You hummed in agreement. "I-it took a long while for the both of us to have some common ground." you chuckled. "And so far, it's getting along quite a while If I do say so myself."

He smiled as he gestured his hand towards the other door in the lounge. "There's a whole lot more to discuss about my brother, walk with me?"

You were by Farena's side for quite some time, he showed you around the different parts of the palace, sharing bits and pieces of Leona's life growing up here that had you at the edge.

"-And then what happened?"

"Then Leona was told off by our father- what was it for how long?" He contemplated. "Ah, for almost two hours!" You both share a laugh that echoed the halls.

"Surely he recovered after, right?"

"Oh, he did. After one long nap, he was eventually back to usual his Leona self." He chuckled. He then led you to an ornate door that was protected by two muscular women at the front. "Your highness!" They both bowed their heads as one of them opened the door widely.

Inside, contained hundreds or even thousands of jewelry and a assortment of decorated vases and rugs.

"I'm sure my brother has told you, I tend to have a habit of...over-gifting," He said sheepishly as he watched you look around in awe. You looked to him in shock as he was implying. "Your Highness, you really don't have to, Leona, and I have only been-"

He clasped your hands in between his. "I meant what I said before miss (Y/N), I really do thank you for being with Leona." he smiled as he began to look around for something in particular, continuing his conversation.

He opened one of the cabinets to reveal a row of glittering necklaces and began to study each one. "Leona's a rather difficult person to understand. He creates more enemies than he does, friends." he noted as he went through another drawer. "You have guts to stick up with him, which tells a lot of who you are. I can see you're extremely patient, strong, and overall, you don't give up."

After a while, Farena came forward with what you thought was a jewel but was actually an ornate lioness figure that can fit in the palm of your hand.

"I suppose I'd get an earful from Leona if I were to give you anything bigger or much more elaborate but, here." he placed the figure in your hand, feeling a heavy weight of it. "Do take care of each other, and hopefully... we'll see each other again soon."

Epilouge:

Farena waved goodbye as (Y/N) does so in return from her seat of the limousine. The limo speeds off taking you towards the arena,where the rest of your friends are practicing for the event. Farena let out a sigh in relief, smiling at the interaction he just had with you. His lion ears perked up as the sound of footsteps coming towards him, he turned to see his wife with a curious glint in her eyes.

"The guards informed me that you gave a little gift to our young guest?" She teased while Farena had a sheepish grin.

"It was only a small ornament from the chess set mother and father used to play with."

"But then it would always have a missing piece-"

"Not when I plan to give the remaining set as a future wedding present." Farena smiled at his wife. "it's a promising investment."

#twisted wonderland #disney twisted wonderland #twst #disney twst #twstファンアート #twst wonderland #twst savanaclaw #savanaclaw x reader #savanaclaw #twst scenarios #twst leona #leona kingscholar #leona x reader

[hopefulatrocity]

Snow And Embers- Part 2

Note: I was not going to do a part 2 for this story but then my brain was like "Part 2? Lucy Gray's POV? Yes." and it wouldn't leave my head. This is my first full smut I've written in years so I hope it's good. Possible OOC dialogue for Coriolanus? Edited by @loganlostitall. Thank you!

Part 1

CW/TW: SMUT!! 18+ only. Unsafe P in v, creampie, breeding kink, oral sex(male receiving), fingering, use of cum as lube, light choking

Please let me know if I forgot anything.

Lucy Gray Baird was many things. Kind, resilient, stubborn, loving. But one thing she wasn't was stupid. 

After her first time with Coriolanus, she thought it was passion, an innate need to claim each other and become one. Coriolanus couldn't keep his hands off of her. Any second they were alone, he was working his hands under her dress and bringing lightning strikes to her nerve endings with every pass of his calloused fingers. To be fair, she couldn't get enough of him either. She had lovers before. But none like this. The boys before, they could hardly be called men, were only focused on themselves. They'd say all the right things but the second they got her under them, it was like she ceased to exist and all they cared for was their own pleasure. He was different. Despite his inexperience, Coryo relished in the pleasure he gave her. Every moan from her lips or arch from her back was just another piece of wood that stoked the flames of his passion for her. 

It was small things that made her realize his intentions were…. More than just being in the moment together. Her experience with men wasn't incredibly extensive but she did know that each man had their own personal desires, things that made them aroused more than others. Her first, Toby Kormin, was extremely aroused by tying Lucy Gray up. And Billy Taupe had an interesting fascination with her feet. Coriolanus…. Well she was fairly certain that Coriolanus liked the idea of getting her pregnant. 

In truth, the first time he came in her, had been a mistake. She was usually very careful in that regard. She made sure her partners knew, in no uncertain terms, they always had to pull out. Lucy Gray had the know-how to deal with any accidents if they did occur. The day she started her monthly, at the tender age of 13, her Momma sat her down and showed her all the herbs to make a preventative tea. But it wasn't fool proof. And having kids was not something she wanted anytime soon. If at all. But that first time with Coriolanus, Lucy Gray lost all common thought when it came to safe sex. All she saw were those deep blue eyes of his staring down at her with a primal need that she had never experienced before. Before she could stop herself, she was wrapping her legs tight around his hips, practically locking him in as he came deep inside her. And that happened twice more that night. 

Lucy Gray came to her senses the next morning. She drank her tea and told Coriolanus that that couldn't happen again. He needed to pull out or they would have to stick to oral or hand play. Along with a bright blush that peppered his pale skin, there was almost a look of disappointment in his eyes. He briefly glanced down at her stomach before he nodded in agreement. 

The next two times they were together, he obliged without problems. He pulled out and came on her stomach like she asked. But it almost felt…. Wrong. 

So the next time, just as Coriolanus was about to pull out, she dug her nails into his tight cheeks and pushed him back inside her. There weren't any words said, but it seemed like they both came to an understanding that night. 

Lucy Gray made sure she carried a bag of her morning-after tea, anytime she saw him. She told him that they should try to be safe if they could, but she knew how they both could get lost in the moment. It was a delusional platitude for herself though. Deep down she knew that he wasn't going to cum anywhere else but inside of her from then on. 

He didn't pull out after that, even if he promised to try. In fact, his need for her became even more evident.  

It started with innocent touches. Often, she found Coriolanus's hands hovering over her stomach. He'd rub the area slowly sometimes, almost reverently. A fight had broken out in the Hob one night, and he had placed himself in front of her. His body a barrier between her and the brawling men, that Sejanus and another peacekeeper were trying to separate. But the only thing she could think of was how his hand was slightly behind his back, pressing into her abdomen. Almost like he was protecting more than just her from the violence in front of them.  

Some nights she woke to him whispering to the area. He claimed it was to help him sleep, reciting old stories to tire his mind. But she always knew when Coriolanus was lying. The intensity of his gaze would magnify and he would press himself closer to her. 

More than once, after their coupling, she woke up to a pillow under her hips. Coriolanus's eyes would be dark as he watched her wake. The plush object had her cunt angled so not a drop of their mixed fluids could escape her. Before she could even ask why he had done it, he would be on her again, using his fingers or his cock to claim her thoroughly. 

It wasn't long before he openly admitted to his desire.

Lucy Gray could feel the orgasm building in him. Her hands pressed to his stomach and she felt the muscles clenching and his hips jerked periodically against her lips. The tightening muscles of his thighs had him bucking into her mouth. His fingers were tight in her dark curls, and she felt his nails prick her skin as he clenched them thoughtlessly.  Coriolanus was a man who loved control. She loved sucking that control straight from his cock and turning him into mud in her hands. 

“Don't you dare swallow, Lucy Gray. Keep my cum in your pretty mouth.”, he growled. His voice was radiating dominance but she knew she had him in the palm of her hands.  The vibrations of his deep voice flowed through her and she clenched her thighs together. Her nipples were peaked and bare and she wished desperately that he was touching them. She could feel the sound in her clit, throbbing in time with her pulse. Nodding slightly around his cock, she took him as deep in her mouth as possible, swallowing around the tip to create a myriad of warmth and suction.  

“I’m about to cum.”, he grunted, his hips stuttering from the familiar feeling. Coriolanus gripped her hair tightly and bucked one last time into her mouth, the tip of himself hitting the back of her throat and making her gag a small bit. Salty seed flooded her mouth and Lucy Gray had to fight not to swallow it on instinct. 

Coriolanus pulled out of her mouth, a string of their fluids leading from the tip of his cock to her pretty pink lips. Her cheeks were puffed out, holding in as much of his cum as possible, just like he told her. 

One large hand gripped under chin, his fingers cupping either side of her cheeks. He used a light pressure on the underside of her chin to wordlessly command her up onto her shaking legs. 

Blue eyes bore into her own, that dark swirl of shadow filling his irises, and he lowered his voice to a deep growl. 

“Spit.”, Coriolanus ordered, holding his other hand up to her lips, cupped to catch all the seed that dripped out. Shock and lust radiated through her body, wondering what he planned to do. The order sending heat to her pussy, and making it clench around thin air. In public, Coriolanus was sweet and needy, a typical boy in love. But behind closed doors, he became more dominate. Lucy Gray wasn't scared though. There was darkness in his eyes, but the brightness of hers tempered it out. 

Taking her lack of response for disobedience, Coriolanus tightened his fingers on both of her cheeks, pinching the skin and forcing her lips open slightly. A small amount of his white fluid slid from the pink flesh and he groaned. He'd love to show the whole Hob how she looked right now. Eyes glazed over, thighs rubbing together seeking any kind of friction, begging him to take her and he hadn't even gotten his hands on her pussy yet. 

“Spit now, Lucy Gray. Or I'll leave you here, dripping wet, and you won't get to cum. ”, they were practically nose to nose at that point. Whimpering at the thought of being left without his touch, Lucy Gray opened her lips and let his cum flow into his offered hand. The seed was warm and mixed with her own spit, a contrast of their two bodies. 

Keeping the cooling liquid in his hand, Coryo pressed a small kiss to her lips, moaning lightly at the salty taste of his cum and her smoky flavor mixed together. 

“On the bed, Songbird.”, the order rumbled from his chest. “Spread your legs. Show me how much you liked the taste of me.”

Another sound of desperation left Lucy Gray's lips and she did exactly as he asked. She quickly stripped her skirt off and tossed her panties to the side with it, landing right next to her torn shirt. The air was chilly against her heated lower lips and the mix of sensations made her thighs shake with wanton need. Part of Lucy Gray was ashamed of how she was acting. She always considered herself to be an independent woman, one who despised the idea of taking orders from a man. But Coryo was different. He was her beautiful Capitol man. The one who saved her life and made her feel things she had never felt before. 

She crawled onto the bed and rolled onto her back, rising her upper half up onto her elbows so she could see her lover's reaction. The predatory gaze from Coryo's ice blue eyes only made her wetter and she slowly parted her legs, exposing her soaking core to the cold air.  

“Fuck.”, the expletive slipped from his red lips, swollen from their heated kisses. Lucy Gray smiled sweetly at him. She loved when she was able to entice such reactions from the normally proper man. 

“Please, Coryo”, she whispered, voice barely audible. 

Coriolanus’ long legs covered the distance between them in two easy steps. His cock was already hardening again against his thigh and Lucy Gray could feel the ache inside her, begging for him. 

“You're so beautiful, Lucy Gray”, his Capitol accent was thick with desire and the sound made her hips instinctively arch up to try to get closer to him. 

With his seed still in his hand, he maneuvered himself between her legs with his knees and leaned over her, his other hand holding him up. The bed gave a loud squeak from their combined weight, but neither of them were in the head space to hear it. 

“Hold your legs apart, love. As wide as you can”, Coryo said using his eyes to look from her hands to her parted legs. 

Submissively, Lucy Gray did as he asked, spreading her legs wider for him, hands grasping her thighs tightly. 

“You're so wet you're sparkling like a diamond, Lucy Gray. Is that all for me? Just from tasting me?”, his deep voice rolled through her body like an early morning breeze, making goosebumps appear on her tanned skin. 

Another whine escaped her lips and she nodded at him. “Only you, Coryo.”

She knew how much he loved hearing how she belonged to him. The narrowing of his eyes and deep intake of breath was a byproduct of that. She felt his length jump against her leg and she resisted the urge to drop her thigh and touch him. But she knew Coryo didn't like it when she didn't listen to him. He would keep his promise and not let her cum if she disobeyed.  

“I don't think we should waste this. Should we, Lucy Gray?”, he pressed his nose against hers, rubbing them together softly. He lifted his hand to indicate the white cum still cupped in his hand. She shook her head vehemently. Although she didn't have an idea as to what he had planned, her body desperately wanted to know. 

Eyes locked together, Coriolanus brought his cupped hand to his mouth and dipped his tongue into his seed, letting the white liquid coat his tongue. Moaning at the visual, Lucy Gray lifted her head and sought his lips out with her own. The salty cum had cooled and was a stark contrast to his burning mouth. And she loved it. The taste was nearly indescribable. Her tongue tangled with his and she searched for every last bit of the flavor. She was so lost in their frantic kiss that she didn't even see him moving his hand between her legs. The jolting sensation of the cold liquid meeting her overheated flesh had her gasping into his mouth. Arching her hips up to meet his hand, she tangled her fingers into his cropped hair, needing him to be closer. But his hair was too short and he easily pulled himself back, smirking at the look of frustration on her face. 

“Watch me, Lucy Gray.”, he guided her eyes down with his own to look between her legs. 

Lucy Gray panted as she watched him angle his hand up and use his fingers to guide his cum into her cunt. There was enough to cover her fluttering pussy and flow back up onto her clit. Her hips jolted at the feeling of her heated flesh being coated with him. 

“This is the only place my cum belongs. Do you hear me, Songbird?”, Coriolanus asked her, his intense blue eyes searing into her soul. He pressed the tips of his index and middle fingers inside of her tight entrance, funneling seed into it's rightful place. Her heated walls clamped down on his fingers and milked the spend off the long digits. He began a slow rhythm, pushing them in and out of her, trying to force his cum as deep as he could. He had pinned her thighs wide open with his hips and she used the reprieve to grasp onto him, needing something to anchor her floating mind. Lucy Gray's nails dug into Coriolanus’ muscled shoulders and he basked in the pain. His Lucy Gray was gentle, and the fact that he pushed her to the point of inflicting damage to him appealed to his pride. She was so lost in the feeling of taking him that she didn't care that her blunt nails were drawing blood, staining the air with a copper scent. 

“Yes, Coryo.”, she breathed out shakily. 

Lucy Gray writhed underneath him. Each press of his fingers deep inside her sent shivers down her spine. He watched her eyes fluttering shut as she pressed her hips up against his hands. 

He slowed the movements of his fingers and she whimpered in protest. “Look at me, Lucy Gray. You don't get to cum unless you're looking at me.”

His order made her clit throb even more, and she quickly opened her eyes, not wanting to lose the feeling he was invoking inside her. 

“Good girl. Always so good for me.”, Coriolanus whispered against her ear, his tongue flicking out to trace the shell of her ear. He increased the thrusts of his fingers, making sure to curl the tips so it brushed that small spongy spot inside of her. That was all it took for the pressure in her stomach to expand, shockwaves of pleasure rolled through her body as she called out his name.

Coryo didn't even wait for her inner muscles to stop clenching before he was retracting his fingers from her and replacing them with the tip of his cock. He slammed in, her wetness and grasping muscles sucking him in like he was already part of her body.  All pretense of softness was gone and his primal desire for her overtook all senses. The seed he had pushed into her with his fingers, bubbled around his cock and formed a white ring around the base of him. It glistened with every thrust and Lucy Gray watched reverently as he pushed in and out of her. 

“Feels so good, Coryo.”, she tightened her grips on his shoulders and used them for leverage to press her hips up into his. She met every thrust with a clench of her inner muscles and the reaction from him was nearly feral. 

The sound that left his mouth was almost a snarl, the hands grasping her hips dug in deep enough to bruise. 

“Fuck you're so beautiful. You're mine, Lucy Gray. Do you understand?”, each word was punctuated with a hard thrust and she swore she could feel him all the way in the back of her throat. Coriolanus was well endowed and the angle he was holding her hips had him slamming as deep inside her as possible. Each movement had his cock squelching in the mess of his previous release and her wetness. 

Her mind was so occluded with pleasure that all she could manage was a nod and a gasp. 

That wasn't enough for him though. Coriolanus growled and moved one of his hands from her hip to her throat. His long fingers, still sticky with their combined fluids, applied pressure to both sides of her neck, slowing the blood flow to her brain. The fogginess of her thoughts only increased her pleasure and she clamped down on his cock, tighter than before. 

“Your pussy is mine, Lucy Gray. Every part of you is mine,” he punctuated with a deep thrust, the tip of himself hitting the entrance to her uterus. He released a little bit of pressure on her neck, Allowing for a rush of blood to fill her head. She gasped but tried to push her throat into his fingers again. If he wasn't so lost in the pleasure of fucking her, he might have smirked.  

Coriolanus released her throat, despite her noises of protest, and brought the fingers down to where they were joined. He could feel the orgasm building inside of him. His balls were tight to his body and he knew he didn't have long. But he refused to come without her. He circled her clit, the mix of their fluids providing enough lube that he was practically slipping off the bundle of nerves with each roll of his fingers. 

“Gonna cum soon, Songbird. Fuck. I'm gonna put a baby in you. Don't care how long it takes. Want everyone to know you're mine. Stomach all full of me.”, His hips began to stutter, his thrusts frantic. His normal, proper speech pattern was husky and shortened. His only thoughts on the pleasure her pussy was causing him, and the need to breed her. 

His words sent a spike of heat right to her clit. It was something she had suspected for awhile. But to hear him say the words in the heat of the moment, it brushed a primal part of her brain that she didn't know existed. The sounds he was making in her ear, vocalizations of his ecstasy, were what sent her over the edge. Knowing that she was the one causing his pleasure–that he was using her body to get off–made her feel powerful and in control despite being pinned under him. Lucy Gray felt her pussy clamp down on him, her muscles contracting and inviting him to cum deep inside her. 

Coriolanus came with a guttural moan–the noise muffled by his face pressing into her neck. His final thrust pushed him deep inside, ropes of his seed coating her inner walls and pooling against her cervix. 

They stayed like that for awhile. Chests expanding in sync, and their breathing labored. Coriolanus still buried deep inside her, pressing soft kisses to the curve of her neck. She ran her fingers over the soft fuzz of his hair rhythmically and nuzzled her nose against his ear every minute or so. 

When he finally softened, Coriolanus pulled out of her. The wet sucking noise made her already flushed face turn a deeper shade of red. Looking down, Lucy Gray noticed that his length was coated in the remnants of his seed and her own cum. 

He pressed a deep kiss to her lips and reached over the side of the bed to grab one of the pillows he had brought. Lips still attached to hers, he lifted her hips gently, mindful of the bruises that were already beginning to form on her tanned skin, and pushed the plush cushion under her hips. He pulled back and nuzzled his nose against hers. 

“Keep your hips up, Lucy Gray. I don't want to see a drop of my seed leaving that pretty pussy of yours,” his voice was deep and laden with animal instinct. “You're mine.”

From then on, Coriolanus wasn't quiet about his intentions during their coupling, and even outside of it. His hand was constantly on her stomach, and he was consistently whispering words of his desires in her ear. Sejanus found it particularly funny watching Lucy Gray blush and fan herself during those moments. 

Despite his words and actions of his intentions to get her pregnant, Coriolanus didn't interfere with Lucy Gray drinking her morning after tea. Although the looks of disdain he shot the mug each time made a primal warmth pool in her belly. And the tea worked. 

Until it didn't. 

#coriolanus snow x lucy gray baird #snowbaird #coriolanus snow #lucy gray x coriolanus #coriolanus x lucy gray #lucy gray baird #coryo x lucy gray baird #thg smut #tbosas smut

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for getting mad at my roommates?

A while ago I had to move out of my college apartment due to disagreements with the roommates. I was told I was ignoring boundaries and ignoring their stuff, cited as disagreeable in remediation meetings, and also told my disability was “not able to be accommodated” despite the fact theirs all were.

When I moved in, our roommate agreement as per signed by the university said the kitchen and the dishes within the kitchen were all communal property, and could be used by anyone with permission. It was also stated in the same agreement that responsibility for the management of personal items was one’s own responsibility, IE it was your job to inform someone else if something within the kitchen came with special instructions, or if it should not handle something that the person may be allergic to, like nuts or milk. This was a big deal at our university because someone had died a few years ago from a peanut allergy after their roommate ate peanut butter from some utensils which were not washed properly, and sued the university as a result.

I went on to take these rules as they were written, because I come from a similar culture where the kitchen is a communal space and what is in it is considered as belonging to everyone. I ended up using many of my roommates’ pots and utensils because I was poor and could not afford the same things they had, always with permission and always cleaning up after.

After a while, I ended up being informed by one of my roommates (I had 3) that I was “destroying” one of her pans because I had put it in the dishwasher and it was an “heirloom” from her grandmother. I had asked her multiple times if it was okay, and she always said yes, and the complaint was about that she had mistakenly told me yes and never intended for me to use that. She said I was destroying her property and not taking care of it, even though the pan said dishwasher safe on the bottom in extremely faded letters and i saw no signs of damage whatsoever.

Fast forward a few months, and the rest of my roommates are taking her side. One of them was someone I actually shared a bathroom with, who ended up screaming at me in a hissy fit over me having left two (2) actual literal hairs in the drain. Like not two clumps of hair, but two hairs. I cleaned up the drain every time, but she continued to yell at me for being so “dirty” and “uncivilized”, and the other roommates began joining in on this too.

Everything eventually escalated into arguments because I did not want to take what they were saying lying down. I told them very plainly what the roommate agreement was that we all signed to, and they all told me it was null and void and that they would be changing the terms of it extremely shortly. I told them that this was unfair and that the kitchen should be a common space that is shared, and not gatekept, and that they have a duty to uphold that as we all lived in the same space and managed the same things.

They called me selfish, and said I had no sense of respect for others or responsibility for my actions. Eventually they took this to the RA who told me since I signed the lease last, I would eventually have to leave if everything was not settled. We tried many mediations and many things to settle our differences, but I just kept getting called selfish for explaining where I came from and the cultural differences between me and them and they just kept calling me selfish and destructive.

Am I really the asshole here? It was the first time I’ve ever felt unsafe sharing a space with other people.

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

[hatredmadeofgold]

Revenge with a vengeance — The tragedy of Sam and Raiden’s canon relationship dynamic

Alternate title: SamuRaiden is THAT deep, actually.

Although MGR does not have as complex or well researched character lore as the main series, Samuraiden as a relationship is a lot more complex than common fandom tropes and interpretations of their relationship suggest. I don’t mind it when people make funny/meme content about these two, since MGS/R does come with its own flair of humour, it’s very exhausting for me as well as a few others I know who enjoy this ship for it to be reduced to just that — a joke. MGR being perceived as ‘goofy’ is mainly due to how poorly some of the character lines translate from Japanese to English, as well as it being more or less evident that either budget, time or both ran out over the course of development, hence the second half of the game feels rushed and underdeveloped. In fact, the great majority of MGR fans do not understand how serious, dark, hopeless and dystopian its message really is and that is saddening.

The world isn’t black and white, neither is it in MGS/R. Sam isn’t the just the villain (never has been, by the way), Raiden isn’t the just the hero (never has been either, by the way), I’d say it’s rather “depends on who you ask”. They are on opposite sides due to the circumstances of how they meet and not because they wouldn’t get along. Quite the opposite is true, in fact, if they would have met before 2016, they might have become friends based on the fact of how much they can actually relate to each other in many different aspects of their personalities, interests and experiences.

Before we get to fight Armstrong as well as during the Sam DLC (also through very subtle hints during their first fight on the train) we learn that Sam is just like Raiden and that Desperado forced him to become a shadow of who he once was, going against his own morals and values and only Raiden reminding him of who he truly was before Armstrong defeated him 2 years prior, ultimately crushing his spirit — he had no other choice, either die there as a failure or continue to live and become Desperado’s/Armstrong’s puppet [until someone would eventually defeat Armstrong and free Sam from his never ending nightmare — Did I already mention that Sam is a really fucking tragic character?]. Sam joining Armstrong’s laughter at the end of DLC is a reaction of fear, not agreement with him or enjoyment. And if there’s one thing that both MGS and MGR are really good at, it’s the accurate and very realistic portrayal of the human psyche under stressful and traumatic situations.

On the other side we can tell from Raiden’s reaction when holding Murasama after killing Sam that he, for once in the entire damn series, questions if that was the right choice he made. We know that Raiden enjoys inflicting pain and suffering onto others, he enjoys murder — but he did not feel that way when he killed Sam. It’s quite the opposite. It’s very subtle and if you’re not very observant like me, easy to miss. But the way his voice turns a bit softer, how his eyes look listless, almost sad; he regrets it. When Blade Wolf asks Raiden if that outcome was really necessary, he does not answer him, because he knows that Wolf is right, it wasn’t. And Raiden pretty much hates himself for it. To his team he confidently says that Sam isn’t a problem anymore since he killed him, but that’s not the same Raiden that he’s that moment in the badlands (which is another implication to me that Raiden doesn’t fully trust his teammates, although they are friends; he has major trust issues and the only emotions he shares with them is either anger or amusement but nothing outside of that). The way he sheathes Murasama is a way to honour him, and as far as I remember this is a ritual to honour a samurai’s defeat or death.

I believe that there has been a silent understanding between the two swordsmen that they respect each other from the very beginning, but they do not say it out loud. This is a case of “show, don’t tell” but also something I suspect has something to do with the game being written by Japanese authors, and Japanese is a high context language, meaning, very little words are needed to get the meaning across, and I think this may also translate into the words these two exchange with each other compared to how they truly feel about the other. Besides, they probably couldn’t truly speak honestly with each other in the first place because of the unfortunate conditions of how they met and were (more or less) forced to fight each other until one of them would eventually succumb to the other’s blade. Codecs and conversations were most likely recorded by their respective employers, and I highly suspect that in Sam’s case, he was even monitored 24/7 by Desperado since he never was an official member of the Winds of Destruction in the first place, and they didn’t fully trust him either.

At the very end of the game during the fight with Armstrong, Sam’s message plays, and we can hear how Sam also speaks with a different voice to Blade Wolf compared to everyone else (and technically, indirectly to Raiden but I cannot confirm or deny that Sam was aware that Raiden would ever hear this playback), it’s a note softer; Raiden learns the truth, which confirms to him that he was right about Sam after all, that they are alike, that they respect each other, and that there was more to Sam’s story than him being a part of Desperado, he doesn’t know what exactly, but he knows now for sure that Sam was not the person he originally believed he was (and lets his team still believe he thinks that way).

Would Raiden truly say Sam’s catchphrase “Let’s dance” before fighting and ultimately killing Armstrong, if he wouldn’t have been going through a gradual process between originally hating Sam to respecting and liking him but unable to ever express that to him or anyone else?

Would he ever admit to anyone what kind of emotional impact Sam had on him, besides the anger and hatred he openly expressed towards him?

Doubt so. Highly fucking doubt so.

Because sharing his true feelings is a liability to him, and Raiden learnt as a very young child that vulnerable feelings such as sadness or guilt would be used against him, so his psyche is conditioned to discard them immediately. But Sam made him feel those things in their full extent and Raiden is fully aware of that, but he would never share with anybody that he ever felt that way about Sam.

He may or may not take those feelings to his grave.

From Sam’s side, we can only guess how he truly felt about Raiden, but we can only guess by the way he hesitated to finish him off on the train during the prologue, the way he smiled at Blade Wolf before his death (which might be likely another case of a silent understanding between Sam and Wolf that the latter would share with Raiden what he knows about Sam or the playback of their conversation itself, if not both) as well as everything he says with giving Murasama to Raiden. Of course, Sam couldn’t even say out loud to Blade Wolf or Raiden that he planned to give Raiden his sword to take down Armstrong, and he had to be as vague as possible with the information that he shared with the robot dog. Not by choice, no. Most likely because he was being watched 24/7, he knew that Desperado nor Armstrong didn’t fully trust him and if they knew about his plans, they’d make sure to finish him off before Raiden had the chance to do so. Sam knew he would die, and that it would be the only way he would ever be free from Armstrong’s grasp. So he chose suicide through Raiden’s blade, and gave him his sword to finish what he could not back then.

The game’s title is REVENGEANCE — Revenge with a vengeance.

They both translate to the same thing in my native language German, but there’s a subtle yet important difference between these two nouns.

“Revenge means when you get back at your enemy who is responsible for hurting you and vengeance is the punishment inflicted or retribution exacted for an injury or wrong.”

But it was never Armstrong who hurt or wronged Raiden in the first place, and we know he’s an essentially selfish person who does not really care all that much about politics, religion or anything like that and he only fights for himself (I wrote in my essay about Raiden’s ASPD that his motivation to save these children from becoming cyborg child soldiers is a trauma response first and his rather lose and grey morality second) and the few people he cares about, so Armstrong being the one one who ordered to get N’mani killed is not the reason Raiden went after him or was that passionate about getting revenge or retribution on him either.

It was Sam who hurt him — wounded both his body and soul during the prologue — but when Raiden got his revenge, he realised that revenge is empty, that he didn’t feel better, and that he regrets killing him, then we get to the vengeance part. From the moment Raiden held Sam’s Murasama in the badlands, he felt no more hatred towards him and the emotional impact his death had on him made Sam transition from a person he hated to one of the few people Raiden truly cares about.

Armstrong may be the villain of the story, but the person who wanted revenge on him never had been Raiden. It was Sam. Always had been Sam, because it was Sam who got hurt by Armstrong, it was Sam who wanted to get revenge on Armstrong for defeating him and crushing his spirit, it was Sam who wanted to punish Armstrong for making him into a shadow of who he once was, making Sam speak about ideals he didn’t truly believe in (like, who the FUCK even thinks that Sam truly believed a single fucking word of that, because I for sure as hell can tell he never did, he either gaslit himself into believing that for 2 years until he met Raiden or only parroted whatever the fuck Armstrong wanted him to say so he would not get killed on the spot).

Revenge and vengeance are very deep feelings and actions of hatred, feelings that are too deep and complex to be associated with morality, hence why I highly doubt that the title of the game is directed at Armstrong from Raiden’s side at all. That between Raiden and Armstrong is not nearly as personal as it has been between Sam and Armstrong. Raiden eradicating Desperado and Armstrong had been about justice [for the kids being killed and their organs sold], not revenge.

"I said my sword was a tool of justice. Not used in anger. Not used for vengeance. But now… Now I'm not so sure. And besides, this isn't my sword."

But when he says this, followed by “Let’s dance”, it became deeply personal for Raiden as well. Because he could confirm that his feelings about Sam had been right, and that Sam wanted to get revenge on Armstrong.

Raiden decides to avenge him, because Sam couldn’t get revenge himself.

Although Sam never told him directly, Raiden understood him from his actions alone, those subtle hints, reading between the lines what the other truly felt and wanted the whole time, eventually passing the “torch” — his sword — to Raiden, to finish what he could not. So while Raiden’s own reasons to finish off Armstrong were (mostly) justice for the innocent lives he destroyed and planned to continue to destroy, they also became feelings of hatred and anger — Sam’s feelings towards Armstrong.

In the end — revenge with a vengeance — is what Sam could get on Armstrong only through Raiden, after Raiden enacted his onto Sam.

Now the question is — if Raiden would’ve never killed Sam, by the chance of him recognising earlier than in canon that revenge is empty and that he won’t feel better after killing him, would Sam go by his example and abandon his revenge plans on Armstrong as well? Or would they fight Armstrong together and get justice?

We unfortunately can only speculate (or write stories about it).

What we can tell from canon though, is that Raiden’s (= Sam’s) passionate feelings of hatred towards Armstrong quickly vanish the moment he finished him off, and he looks into the camera with an empty expression, covered in blood and a crushed cybernetic heart in his hand.

And I think that is exactly what he feels — empty.

Because again, he got revenge and avenged Sam, led by what Sam felt, Sam’s feelings became Raiden’s feelings during that fight with Armstrong. But once that was gone, there’s nothing left. In the case of killing Armstrong, he doesn’t feel remorse or guilt. There’s nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Because revenge is empty.

Raiden defeated his enemies — but at what cost?

By killing Sam, he realised what he had actually lost — a potential friend (or more), someone who understood him in a way that no one else did. Perhaps he thought or felt that, if he avenges Sam, making Sam’s feelings towards Armstrong into his own, he might be able to deal with that loss better, but to no avail.

Because, and I can speak from experience as a person with the same mental health issues as Raiden, that emptiness is worse than regret.

MGR’s ending also implies that Raiden abandons his family and friends to fight his own war; essentially taking the same path that Sam once took in his past, ending up in a personal war and revenge act that knows no end, making one bad choice after the next. If Raiden hasn’t already become the villain of his own story by the end of MGR, then it’s just a matter of time until he becomes that.

And the cycle of violence continues, until the story repeats itself, over and over and over and over and over.

Did I mention already that there is a myth around Murasama being a cursed sword, that will drive its user either slowly insane or make them commit suicide if it doesn’t get a regular ‘blood sacrifice’?

—

“I really enjoy murder, but that one, that I will regret for the rest of my life.”

#Samuraiden #samurai #samrai #mgr #raiden #jetstream sam #mgrr #Raiden mgr #Raiden mgs #Raiden mgrr #Samuel Rodrigues #metal gear rising #metal gear rising revengeance #metal gear solid #mgs #anyway I went a little bit INSANE last night and wrote this #basically Samuraiden is at least platonically canon #and MGR is really fucking dark and depressing #BUT THE MAJORITY OF MGR FANS DON’T FUCKING GET THAT #anyway #suffer with me #my writing #golden writing

[posebean]

fantasys your crazy:B‼️ ‼️ ‼️ ‼️ ‼️ ‼️ ‼️ 

fantasy AU stuff... alkaloid later...world building + details stuff under read more maybe dont look if u dont wanna be spoiled for the 2 fics that i already wrote for this au

in general magic is kind of weird there’s multiple methods to cast the same spell those being spell components, incantations, somatic (gestures). each has their merits and flaws/ u can choose to use only one/ any most people stick with 1-2

there’s all kinds of spells and people are either born with an innate specialty in it or grow up developing it; power is how strong their magic can be, control is how much of a grasp they have on their magic, the lower control is compared to power the more easy it is for someone’s magic to go out of control (aira in this AU but i’ll talk about that when i have the alkaloid one made). if someone has more control than power they’re able to do very precise things with their magic with no focus at all while others would need some focus; general populace has both equal, usually people that dont hone their skills (common villagers) stay at 1 star for both

niki’s outfit is very simple and inspired by his fs2, very versatile and such because he’s always out and about chasing after exotic creatures to add to his checklist cloak HGFSDH he learned to sew from Aira’s mom when he was little and made most of his clothes himself, his satchels, and even helps the others when they need his skills whenever hes in town. even though he clearly puts spices etc. on one side compared to his components on the other, he still mixes them up because he is silly Aka is very fluffy and has kind of wild hair like. someone we know. i wonder who bright blue eyes (also like someone we know. ) but foxes are funner to draw with just closed eyes

RInne just has his normal village clothes with like longer and some changes to make it more. fantastical???? idk im soooo bad at designing clothes lmfao but before the “fox” is out of the bag he doesn’t really shift back much except to stretch and mess around with meru so he doesnt really. get different clothes. def after the reveal he stays in that form more around niki and they do get him different clothes. idk what they would be maybe niki would make them because he gets sick of seeing both hiiro and rinne in his house wearing the same things all the time. oh yeah i havent gone over this yet but yeah hiiro does refuse to leave because rinne refuses to leave so he just. lives with them on niki’s couch LMAO. who knows. maybe he becomes a denizen of the beehive rinne also still shifts because he finds moving around as a little guy more convenient and also niki still finds that form cute and cant say no if he does the puppy eyes so it usually goes like niki: rinne-kun, no rinne: boo-hooo.. niki~kyun.... (swishes his finger and ina  poof hes aka again with round blue eyes) niki: niki: i know what you’re doing, its not going to work this time aka (rinne): whimpers niki: niki: (throws his hands in the air) oh my god fine rinne: (quickly changes back and grabs niki and cheers)

i havent gotten to kohaku’s fic yet but he’s good at stealth magic. like really good. he can make himself vanish and no one will be able to find him when he’s right next to them. think about that as you will. when aira brought him to the beehive he only had a yukata and worn down sandals and since he and aira had similar builds he just ended up getting clothes from aira for most of the time; he does have shirts that are specifically his because they all have little pockets sewn on (by niki!) for rabu-han junior but with coats pants and outerwear he and aira just share except kohaku stays away from some of aira’s more. fancy clothes ?? lmao not to his taste rabu-han junior is a little hamster familiar that he met one day and made a familiar pact agreement with. rabu-han junior usually sits in his pocket, but if need be rabu-han junior can grow MASSIVE from 3 inches to 6 feet. Big mode. in big mode he can easily carry. 4 people. lmfao. rabu-han junior also shares magic with kohaku and technically is as strong as him and from that logic. rabu-han junior is better at magic than poor rabu-han (original)

merumeru’s clothes are all from kaname except the coat the coat is tatsumi’s. no idea why himeru hasn’t thrown it away though. maybe somewhere deep in his heart he does care for tatsunn his main reason for leaving was he didnt want tatsumi to always be in pain from seeing him, the very spitting image of kaname

all of him is just like kaname except: slightly older, longer hair, hair dark grayish at the ends and its not visible much and he does do illusion magic to change it but he has cat eyes pupils kittymeru is mainly dark gray (the same color as his human hair ends) with kaname-blue highlights and the long strand, the proof that kaname was the one that conjured him and essentially put part of himself in meru

#enstars #crazy:b #niki shiina #rinne amagi #kohaku oukawa #himeru #fantasyau #bean art

[swallowerofdharma]

The language of that fall from grace won’t get us home*

I really love manga as a visual language and its various possibilities of storytelling. Among the vocabulary that can be oh so cleverly used, there is the juxtaposition of images or scenes to show similarities or contrast between concepts in the arc of a single chapter. In chapter 2 Yashiro and Doumeki have the first serious talk between them. This time deflection is out of the question and Doumeki has to give up his background and family history, since his sister Aoi has been loitering outside of the office. Yashiro is surprised to learn that Doumeki was in the police and, even if he lost his job and served a prison sentence, his motives and actions were far from the common acts of violence committed by petty criminals who become yakuza. “There is one thing I want to ask you though. How did a former police officer end up in a place like this? Why didn’t you leave when you were told to work for me?” Yashiro asks. And the answer probably doesn’t make a lot of sense to Yashiro. Because Doumeki saw him and thought he was beautiful and a beautiful person in the yakuza meant that maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to get involved? Without beating around the bush, Yashiro asks directly if Doumeki is gay. Maybe he discovered it in prison? So here there are probably some nuances that need a little bit of attention and some flexibility. I don’t really know who is going to read my analysis but surely enjoying this manga are people from different backgrounds and cultural contexts. Are you gay? Is this character gay? What definitions are we using? Let’s be clear then first, this is just an attempt to analyze what Yashiro and Doumeki talk about, not general statements or definitions. So let’s stay in the text, with these characters and their particular experiences and thoughts and hang-ups and their critical vocabulary. After all shouldn’t understanding come before agreement or disagreement? So let’s suspend our beliefs for a moment while reading the chapter.

“Are you a homo? Did you learn the pleasures of anal while you were in prison?”

“I don’t think I’m homosexual. I never was. But since I can’t get it up right now, I can’t say for sure”.

First of all, for these men to define their sexuality the body seems like the place to look, physical responses are less vague than just thinking someone is attractive. Finding anal sex pleasurable or getting an erection, being able to perform, as in maintaining an erection, and reaching an orgasm, these are observable facts, these are things very basic and easy to understand. And even when this is putting it simply, the reasoning around defining sexual orientation for men comes back to the physical reality often in the common language, in the crass language and in practice. Having become impotent and never having experienced anal sex from the receiving end, from the body’s standpoint Doumeki can’t know more than two things: he wasn’t gay before, we will learn more later about his experiences with women, but he knows that he rejected sexual advances in prison or didn’t feel anything about the guy who gave him a blowjob, while with Yashiro something is different. Yashiro inquires further, after all a young man having an infatuation with an older man can be quite common, but often it’s just admiration and the desire for mentorship, guidance and recognition, rather then being something sexual in nature. If Doumeki can’t be sure because he doesn’t get hard, then maybe he can admit that he felt some form of repulsion towards Yashiro when he gave him a blowjob or when he had gay sex in front of him. I think this is the direction of the dialogue until Doumeki says something unexpected: “I’m not sure. I’ve never met anyone like you in my entire life so…”. Suddenly Yashiro is the one who deflects from the conversation, although he can’t help a gesture of affection for this man who doesn’t express disgust towards his behavior.

Little digression here, but following the logic of physical response and physical pleasure only, Yashiro saying that he is bisexual makes a lot of sense since he feels arousal and gets hard with women too, although he prefers the pleasure he gets from being on the receiving end with men. Matters of consent don’t seem to count in this reasoning, although Yashiro gets angry when Doumeki cosplaying as a cop says that if someone doesn’t object or is into it then that can’t be considered rape, at the beginning of chapter 4. I believe there is something inside Yashiro that knows how wrong that idea actually is, that sometimes you are unable to voice your dissent out loud or your body doesn’t fight it but instinctively retreats into what it learned from experience and worked before, even fabricating pleasure from pain. And that maybe physical responses aren’t reliable enough to make sense of our feelings. But there is another experience that Yashiro knows, and that is that his feelings for Kageyama are independent from what little physical touch passed between them, he knows and can say out loud that he fell in love with a man. That is confirmation enough that Yashiro is queer, something outside of the logic of physical pleasure, something that Yashiro still doesn’t find easier to accept than his sexual preferences and desires. On the contrary, Doumeki as he is at the moment, can only rely on his feelings, since his body is dormant, and those feelings become impossible to ignore or discard because they are calling him and awakening him, giving him hope and direction when he had felt like he had lost everything. So why did I start this analysis announcing a juxtaposition?

The rain keeps falling as we transition into another day when Aoi is back, this time under her own umbrella. Yashiro manages to get her in a caffè to talk alone, without Doumeki knowing, and even tells her about his own experience, because having someone else who knows what that’s like is more than just a generic expression of sympathy. Yashiro can’t help but be self deprecating and stating how different he actually is from her - we will learn how he convinced himself that rape is harder on women or that he somehow doesn’t deserve to be treated with any sort of care. But Aoi, although she is surprised, doesn’t judge him harder than she judges herself as well, for putting Doumeki and her family in an awful situation. Not a lot a pages, not a lot of words, but there are so many things being said or implied, so much complexity and an instant connection. When she confesses her feelings for her brother and she shows how confused and conflicted she is and she cries because her love was not only unrequited but also unnatural, since she is sure she would have loved him even if there was a blood relation, Yashiro recognizes the same type of pain he felt when he recognized his feelings for Kageyama. Stripped down to his own honest responses and after all his stepfather did to him, he still couldn’t help but love a man and one who rejected him. Love came to both Yashiro and Aoi regardless their impossible circumstances and felt wrong and painful and unacceptable to the ones they directed their feelings to. For a moment, we don’t know how long, Yashiro can only watch Aoi cry silently, while his cigarette turns into ashes. And looking out at the window, at the light coming through after the rain, he makes a decision, he won’t fire Doumeki unless he asks to leave himself. Notice how these types of decisions come and how things can change, how these characters are following their hopes or intuition until the next moment they are confronted with another decision to make, another circumstance, and how the storytelling is based on the characters’ little weaknesses and on serendipity, so much so that if we don’t pay enough attention we can miss these delicate threads. This is Yoneda-Sensei’s storytelling. And the composition of the chapter works around these images and these three people trying to make sense of falling in love in ways that defy common beliefs or expectations, ever their own. How they are getting caught in a love that feels distinct and not subject to some type of physical response or banal logic or law or rationale. How useless is fighting against it sometimes, or how love can feel like pain and feel like hope at the same time.

*frase is from a review written by Kevin Brazil about a book called An Apartment on Uranus by Paul B. Preciado and published in ArtReview on March 1st, 2020.

#saezuru tori wa habatakanai #saezuru analysis #yoneda kou #manga analysis #eri reads saezuru #trying to convey my thoughts and impressions but feeling like I didn’t particularly succeed

[collecting-dustbunnies]

Solomon, Nightbringer and MC: A Clash of Ideals (AKA An Addendum to my "Unreliable Narrator MC" theory)

Part 1: MC is an Unreliable Narrator | Part 2: A Clash of Ideals

(Original tag from @impish-ivy on my part 1 post)

So these tags got me thinking...

The main thing that was stumping me as I was writing my "suspicious MC" theory was... what exactly is Solomon's role in all this? Lesson 10-A in NB makes it clear that Solomon and Nightbringer know each other, but Solomon withheld this information from MC when MC discusses their conversation with Adam (who had been relaying things Nightbringer had said). How far is Solomon aware of the MC's ploy? And why is he withholding information from MC? How far do his goals differ from Sheep-chan's?

(Disclaimer: Long post. Read Part 1 to understand what the hell I'm talking about over here. Contains general NB spoilers.)

OG = Obey Me Original

NB = Obey Me Nightbringer

The Enemy of My Enemy is My...

Here are some of the things that caught my eye regarding Chapter 10-A in Nightbringer.

"I'm not trying to make an enemy out of either one of you. I just want to be free, that's all. That's part of the agreement I have with "him""

This was what Solomon told the Simeon illusion when Simeon and Diavolo were arguing over who humans should side with. At this point in the game, it was unclear who "him" is referring to, but a couple of lines later, we learn that it is unlikely to be Nightbringer. Why do I say so? Because of this:

Here we see that Nightbringer calls Solomon "difficult" and "troublesome" for not choosing his side. This implies that Solomon and Nightbringer's main goals, at first glance, are not aligned. Solomon's wish to protect his own freedom goes directly against Nightbringer's wish to see Solomon choose between the angels and the demons in that illusion.

But this begs the question, who is "our side" referring to here. Is it only between the angels and the demons? We'll get to that in a moment.

"If you'd only chosen our side, it would've made things so much easier."

Nightbringer was disappointed that Solomon didn't choose to side with him in the illusion. But that does not mean that Nightbringer and Solomon are not cooperating at all. There is at least one common goal between Solomon, Nightbringer and the MC: To have MC form pacts with the demon brothers once again. So Nightbringer and Solomon could very well be working together behind the scenes to create scenarios that allows MC to get closer to the demon brothers and forge pacts with them.

Nightbringer's sentence here can mean two things. On the surface, it seems like Nightbringer is lamenting how Solomon was making things difficult for him. But when we consider that all three parties have some common ground here, "simply have been easier" could also have meant that Solomon was taking an unnecessarily difficult path to achieve their shared goals.

Considering Solomon seems to have known Nightbringer for a long time, and is aware that Nightbringer is the one that brought MC to the past, the logical conclusion would be that he has some suspicion of Nightbringer's plans for the MC. But this is where Solomon and Nightbringer's goals would differ.

Where their paths diverge

Now let's consider how different each party's goal is. The only difference between all three of their goals is the motive behind having MC form these pacts:

MC wants to be together with the brothers in their ideal world

Nightbringer wants to bring MC to their ideal world for reasons still unknown

Solomon wants MC to regain their powers once again so that the both of them can leave the past timeline

This could explain why Solomon may not be revealing his connection to Nightbringer yet: Due to the different plans they have for the MC. Perhaps being sent to the past is not only a test of Solomon's ideals, but a test of MC's as well. This journey to the past and subsequently, MC's journey to their ideal world could be a test to find out what choice MC makes. When the time comes, would MC choose to align with Nightbringer or with Solomon?

But as I had discussed in part 1, MC seems to harbour very different motivations than Solomon, and is not as interested in making pacts with the demon brothers so they can go home.

So what if when Nightbringer had mentioned "our side" in the very beginning, it was Nightbringer's sneaky way of hinting to Solomon that "our" actually means "MC and me". Not the angels, nor the demons. What if this hint totally went under Solomon's notice?

"What if your adorable apprentice were to get caught up in this?"

Nightbringer alludes to his hint again, suggesting that if MC were to get involved in their tug-of-war, Solomon's convictions may be tested. Which makes sense. If the MC's motivations does not align with Solomon's, it could pose a problem for him, as he needs MC to help him in safeguarding humanity's best interests.

Solomon here perceives Nightbringer's statement to be a threat. What if this is Nightbringer's way of holding the MC "hostage" to keep Solomon in check? That one wrong move from him would actually hurt the MC.

But alternatively, this could also be a warning from Nightbringer: If Solomon ends up on the "wrong" side, they'll find that their own apprentice will be working together with Nightbringer to go against him.

"You think you know what it is your apprentice truly wants? That you can see inside the heart of another? That doesn't strike you as overconfident?"

Here is where we see the first clue that Solomon could actually be unaware of MC's previous deal with Nightbringer and of their intention to remain in the past with the brothers. Even when Solomon insists that he and MC want the same thing, Nightbringer brands his trust in MC as overconfidence instead. If MC and Nightbringer had some implicit agreement beforehand, it would make sense for Nightbringer to be so confident that MC would not side with Solomon in the end. After all, Nightbringer would know that all MC wants is to create their ideal world. MC is actively working towards securing their place with the demon brothers of the past. Obviously, MC wouldn't care to engage in any power struggle between the 3 realms.

So from Nightbringer's perspective, Solomon looks like the fool here, which is why he later says that Solomon "has confidence to the point of arrogance". And Nightbringer is proven correct when Solomon tries to test the MC's convictions at the Fountain of Knowledge in Lesson 11. In the end, the MC chose to swear their allegiance to the demon brothers over protecting themself.

This gives even more credence to the idea that this entire conversation is a warning from Nightbringer, to tell Solomon to stay in line or he will suffer the consequences of the eventual fallout that will occur...

Sounds great, but what does this all mean?

Unfortunately, we don't see Solomon speak with Nightbringer after this scene. And after Lesson 11, the story derails from this plot point to focus on MC regaining the brothers' trust again. So it's still unclear what Solomon and Nightbringer's motives (and the reason they're trying to test the MC) truly are. But based on the possibilities I've raised so far, I have some ideas:

1. Solomon and MC: The pawns in Nightbringer's game

Solomon, the MC and Nightbringer. All three characters have their own goals that they still keep close to their chest. So Nightbringer takes advantage of the humans' convictions to achieve his aim. It is easy to get Solomon to cooperate with Nightbringer, since we know that Nightbringer was the one who made Solomon the person he is today. Nightbringer could call upon that debt to get Solomon to cooperate with him. Double-so if Solomon feels that Nightbringer is holding MC hostage. Nightbringer is also aware of MC's desire to go to the past and meet the brothers and uses this to his advantage to get MC to make pacts with the brothers again. Neither Solomon nor the MC have to know of each other's true goal here. But Nightbringer can orchestrate things using his two beloved humans to achieve the outcome he desires. This would be a case of reluctant cooperation between all three parties, for now...

2. Solomon as the sacrificial lamb

...But when the time comes, each party will then go on to pursue their own interests.

Though Solomon knows that MC needs to form pacts with the brothers' again, he does not seem to know that MC wants to remain in the past together with the brothers, that MC may be willing to abandon their previous life to forge their own ideal world. Or he may have some idea, but is convinced that the MC will make the right decision in the end. So he'd be in for a rude shock when MC finally has the pacts, turns around and says "Actually, I'm going to use these pacts to go to my ideal world, just like Nightbringer promised me!" Then Nightbringer's warning may become a reality, depending on if Solomon deems MC's new goal as a danger to humanity.

3. The MC as the sacrificial lamb (hehe)

The MC and Nightbringer both agreed that the pacts are required so MC can go to their ideal world. But what if Nightbringer is omitting some important information here? We have to remember Michael's warning in Lesson 13: That the MC will be making an enemy of the Celestial Realm should they choose to side with Nightbringer. One has to wonder why Nightbringer is so invested in bringing the MC the "happiness they desire" after all. The MC could find a cruel betrayal waiting for them at the end of the road....

Points 1, 2 and 3 here are all connected to each other, but it's possible that only one or two of these ideas may be happening. Cuz if the finale is just some Yakuza 2 shit, where everyone just ends up betraying each other in the last 15 minutes of the game, that would be ridiculous. Then again, looking at how Lesson 38 of NB went down, that kind of thing does fit the NB team's writing appro-- wait, why do I hear an angry mob outside?

To sum up:

Solomon and Nightbringer are not the only schemers here. MC is just as sneaky and manipulative, and if they play their cards right, they can give the former two a run for their money. The possibilities of how this can play out are endless!

I don't care about the brothers' trauma, game! Whatever's going on with these three is WAY more interesting *gnaws on the bars of my cell*

#so i clearly lied when i said i didn't like making theory posts for this game lol #obey me #obey me nightbringer #obey me mc #obey me solomon #obey me theory #obey me analysis #db rambles #LONG #wait actually why is my analysis of this one scene 3/4 the length of my analysis of the entire game wth #i need to touch grass

[iamgodsoopsie]

Astarion Headcanons (that you probably won't like) Pt. 3:

Part 1 link

Part 2 link

More Astarion headcanons that are mostly me projecting onto a fictional character to help me process my own trauma!

BG3 does an excellent job at depicting SA trauma and the beginning of the healing process/journey. Many of the headcanons I've seen floating around (intentionally or unintentionally) gloss over the uglier side of healing from (prolonged) trauma. I'm not judging anyone for magically healing him, he's fictional after all, but I'd like to make some more ...realistic... headcanons.

Disclaimer: Everyone's healing process looks different, but they tend share commonalities. These headcanons are based on my own experiences. Not everyone who is healing from their trauma will experience what I have or have experienced it like I have.

[Please don't message me with explicit details about your trauma. I am at the point in my healing journey where I can share my experiences, and commiserate with other's similar experiences, but I am unable to support others in a more personal manner at this time. I wish you the best of luck in your healing process/ journey.]

Spoiler warning

Mental illness, SA, & SH (suicidal ideation) Trigger Warnings: More descriptive and potentially triggering than part 1, but about equal to part 2.

These headcanons are based on an Astarion who is still a spawn and romantically involved with a Tav who honestly loves him and isn't abusive or manipulative. Also Cazador is dead and Astarion got to stab him. They also assume that he himself does not turn into Cazador 2.0 or wish.com Cazador.

Have things been going well for awhile? Is he reclaiming his sexuality at an exponential rate? Does he think he's practically conquered his trauma?

-> If you said 'Yes' to any of the questions above, then be ready for: A trigger he didn't know he had hitting him out of no where and setting his mental health on fire.

->-> If he's at a place in his healing journey that he is able to recognize what happening and use his healthy coping tools/ honest communication to process his unexpected emotional (maybe literal) flashback then it'll be a not fun time for him, but he'll get through it fairly quickly with minimal mental damage.

->->-> If this happens closer to the beginning of his healing journey then be ready for him to spiral and catastrophize. He'll insist that he'll never truly be free of Cazador, that he's broken, that he isn't allowed to be happy, etc. All you can really do during this time is be there for him. Reassure him that you love him and that you believe that he will get better.

->↑ This is a normal part of the healing process, it's shitty and God-awful- but it gets easier to manage and happens less frequently over time.

Even if he weren't an immortal vampire he's still a high-elf and will probably outlive you. And boy oh boy the pressure he's going to put himself under to hurry up and heal is going to be immense AND counterproductive!

-> Poor bby is terrified that he'll finally be happy only for it to be ripped away from him.

->-> Him rushing his healing will only make it harder for him to heal, and he knows this. But Gods damn it all he can't seem to shake the feeling that he's running out of time (okay Hamilton).

->->-> I gotta be honest, I have no fucking clue how to help him with this. I suppose that the only thing you can do is love him with the time ya'll have.

->->->-> TBH I can see him deciding that he'll KHS when you die. I know you have the best intentions, but asking him to live for you after your gone will (probably) be perceived as very manipulative.

->↑ I honestly don't think ya'll are going to come to an agreement on this if you're vehemently against the notion. It may be best to make your preference known and then leave the topic alone- as pressing it will only cause him to double down. (After 200 years of not being allowed to make any decisions for himself, he's not going to let anyone tell him how to 'live' or die).

Surviving "200 years of shit, PURE. SHIT!" had to have been exhausting. And healing from trauma is exhausting. All Astarion wants to do is rest but he feels that he can't truly rest until he heals from his trauma and he's so damn tired and has to keep dealing with this shit and he really wants to give up somedays but he'll be damned if he lets Cazador 'win'.

->↑ Healing is hard work. But it is so damn worth it.

I'll go back and edit any grammar and spelling mistakes later, but I'd really like to post this now.

#astarion #astarion ancunin #astarion hc #astarion headcanon #astarion headcanons #astarion x reader #astarion x tav #baldurs gate 3 #bg3 spoilers #cw #tw sa #tw mental illness #tw sh #heavy themes #trauma recovery #astarion analysis #sa survivor #dead dove do not eat #im projecting #tw suicidal ideation #tw sucidal ideation

[obeymycok]

MC’s Demon Form

I mentioned making something like this in my Pact Headcanons Pt.2 where the brothers react to finding out there’s a little more to the pact than they realize👀. It happens when they come to the human world with Diavolo and Barbatos to check on MC’s progress as a sorcerer under Solomon. Completed parts will be linked under the brother’s name.

Completed: Lucifer Mammon Leviathan Satan Asmodeus Beelzebub Belphegor

Taglist: @trashlord-007  @waldeinsamkeit600

365 days

52 weeks

12 months

A whole year

     No way of saying it made the brothers less sad about MC’s departure from the devildom. It was difficult but everyone had agreed, MC included, that they weren’t living up to their magic potential in such a different environment than they were used to. Also, they didn’t really need to use their pacts if they were always surrounded by the brothers, the demon king, his all-powerful butler, 2 angels, and the most powerful sorcerer in history. So, MC and Solomon had decided to return to the human world for a year to improve MC’s magic and experiment with their new power.

     Simeon and Luke had gone with them to ensure a hidden and safe training arena sealed with holy magic to prevent sustaining injuries. Diavolo and Barbatos would make weekly visits to check on MC’s progress. But the brothers were NOT under any circumstances, allowed in the human realm unless MC fully summoned them. The biggest reason MC left was because the brothers were too clingy the close proximity they constantly had with all their pacts could’ve very well been what prevented their powers from striving to develop.

     Obviously, this didn’t go over well with most of the brothers; but they did eventually see that it would be only beneficial to MC. The goodbye was full of tears from everyone; even Lucifer let a single tear slip when he thought no one was watching (you were :))) And so began the depression in the House of Lamentation

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

“Rise and shine everyone! Today’s THE DAAAY!” Mammon shouted as he sprinted through the hallways, banging on all his brothers’ doors. 

     Normally, everyone would be fuming; but today was special. Beel was already awake in the kitchen making breakfast, accompanied by Lucifer who made sure he didn’t snack too much. Everyone else was quickly out of their rooms and helping in the kitchen to finish up breakfast. Yes, even Belphie was awake. Arguments were kept to a minimal and everyone was actually out the door on time. Only one thing could make the seven lords of hell get along like best friends and to work towards a common goal; you.

“My, what a surprise! You’re all half an hour early!” Diavolo exclaimed in his usual, joyful tone.

“Indeed, this is a surprise, Lucifer.” Barbatos agreed as he finished pouring Diavolo and the others some tea. Lucifer let out a small laugh in agreement as he took a sip, trying to hide his jittery fingers. Luckily, Mammon and Asmo were quick to draw attention.

“Why’d we have to meet at the castle first? And what’s with not updating us about MC’s training!? As their first man, I should’ve been the one to supervise.”

“As much as I hate to, I have to agree with Mammon. I miss our darling MC just so much I can’t stand it another second!”

“Asmo, Mammon, please...” Lucifer sighed again, this time in exhaustion.

“Actually, we figured it’d be best for you to see for yourself.” Diavolo stated with a proud smile.

“MC’s power has far surpassed what we even thought was possible. Maybe it’s because they’re the only one to form a pact with all seven of you, because they’re a descendant of Lilith, or both, we don’t know for sure...” Barbatos spoke, basking in the expectant and pleading expressions. “...but they’ve truly become a force to be reckoned with.”

     The air in the room changed, but not necessarily to something bad. Confusion is mainly what overtook the brothers. Some were also excited, some were nervous, some concerned; but most of all, they just HAD to see what their fragile MC had achieved in such a short time.

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

“I’m nervous, Solomon.” you stated quietly as you both walked through the battlefield. The arena had changed to look like a forest while you and Solomon were to make your way to the finish line. Of course, the place was littered with devildom creatures; but that wasn’t your main concern. “I don’t know, what if they freak out? What if they get upset we didn’t tell them sooner?”

“You seem to keep forgetting that you had no say in that; not even Barbatos expected this to happen. Plus, Diavolo and I were the ones that agreed it would be best to keep this from them until we figured out the full effects of your power.” Solomon replied in his usual matter-of-fact tone.

     Still, you felt a bit unsure of their reactions. It wasn’t until Solomon had yanked you behind a tree, just barely missing a beam of magic, that you snapped back into your own head. The beast was about 10 feet tall and stood on two legs. Its jagged teeth protruded past its lips as it snarled, blood and drool dripping down.

“Well, no sense worrying about them now when we have one of these to deal with.” Solomon whispered with a hint of a chuckle as he smiled at you. You returned the gesture with a smirk and a single nod.

“Let’s fuck him up.”

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

"Hey, Diavolo? Are you sure this is safe? Some of these look like the monsters we summon for the elite fighters." Poor Beel was very worried. These were the types of monsters his coach would summon when the team wasn't doing their drills fast enough and he knew how strong they were.

"That's LORD Diavolo, Beelzebub." Lucifer retorted in his usual tone, but everyone could tell he was also worried. "Lord Diavolo wouldn't put the human exchange student in harm's way, especially if Simeon's healing couldn't protect them if something dire were to happen. Isn't that right, Simeon." It was said more like a statement than a question, but Simeon could see the desperation in Lucifer's eyes; begging that you were never in danger.

"That's correct, Lucifer." Simeon answered with a knowing smile.

     Before any of the others had a chance to speak, a Baatezu smashed through the iron gates at the finish line. The brothers all got ready to fight before realizing it was dead.

“MC!!!” Mammon shouted as he sprinted to the fallen beast followed closely by the rest of the brothers. Apparently, too close. Mammon stopped dead in his tracks, feet still sliding over the dirt as his brothers crashed into him at full force. They all got up ready to curse him out, but the sight in front of them quickly shut them up.

There you were, but you looked like..?

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

Aaahh I’m actually so happy with this!! I am actively making the bro’s reactions as this is posted. I finally have a day off work so I’ll try to get everyone done today. Basically it’ll be HC format of how each bro reacts to seeing MC as themselves or another brother. (Bros react to MC in Lucifer’s Form, Mammon’s Form, etc) If you interact with this post and tell me which bro you’d wish to see first, I’ll do that. If not, I’ll just go in order. I’m also starting a taglist so I don’t feel bad about cliff hangers so comment on a post and I’ll add you. Stay tuned, everyone! :)))

Edit: lol motivation said brr so I'll be posting a new brother daily

#OBEY ME #obey me shall we date #obey me worldbuilding #obey me fanfic #obey me headcanons #obey me mc #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me levi #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me asmo #obey me beelzebub #obey me beel #obey me belphegor #obey me belphie #obey me diavolo #obey me barbatos #obey me solomon #obey me simeon #obey me luke

[nientedenada]

Why the Altmeri Commentary on Talos is Important to Lore Discussion (Even if It Isn't the Thalmor's End Goal) 

Originally posted on r/teslore three years ago. To be clear, important in this context means if you're trying to guess where TES might go in the future. And as the years go by, and we now have an almost complete turn-over of developers at Bethesda, it may be less relevant. Still, the new developers will have all these old ideas to rummage through.

This begins with a split among fans, though I don't think it has to be a nasty split. There is a very strong opinion in /r/teslore that Out-of-Game texts are valid if you want them to be, if you find them interesting enough for your Tamriel. And there's another very strong opinion that only official lore is really valid for theorizing. To be completely honest, we all probably dabble in one or the other at different times. Sometimes we are more creative and speculatory about Tamriel, other times we are arguing out the Lowest Common Denominator of agreed-upon lore. (It's never actually agreed upon, but that's part of the fun.)

But there's a third possibility: examining Out of Game texts for the perspective they can give us on In-game lore. A really good example of how this works would be the document: On the Nords' Totem Religion. It was a design document for Skyrim which was not incorporated into the game directly. However, the document gives a lot of insight into the little we do see in Skyrim of the ancient Nord religion. It is useful in interpreting the game itself.

It's also useful for going forward. When ESO returned to Skyrim this year, we could bet that the devs would be taking a closer look at the local religion, as they had in Elsweyr last year. And we could also guess that they might turn to that unofficial Skyrim design document which best explained the original ideas for the Nord religion. As of a few weeks ago, much of the Totem Religion document's lore has been added to the official lore as in-game books in ESO.

The totem religion document is as uncontroversial example of this process as you can find. Most everyone in lore circles has regarded it as a very useful document. You won't find that agreement about all OOG unofficial writings. But I'd like to make the argument for why the Altmeri Commentary on Talos is worth knowing and discussing even if you don't end up thinking it's true.

So, I'll begin with quoting the whole thing. It's pretty short.

What appears to be an Altmeri commentary on Talos To kill Man is to reach Heaven, from where we came before the Doom Drum's iniquity. When we accomplish this, we can escape the mockery and long shame of the Material Prison. To achieve this goal, we must: 1) Erase the Upstart Talos from the mythic. His presence fortifies the Wheel of the Convention, and binds our souls to this plane. 2) Remove Man not just from the world, but from the Pattern of Possibility, so that the very idea of them can be forgotten and thereby never again repeated. 3) With Talos and the Sons of Talos removed, the Dragon will become ours to unbind. The world of mortals will be over. The Dragon will uncoil his hold on the stagnancy of linear time and move as Free Serpent again, moving through the Aether without measure or burden, spilling time along the innumerable roads we once travelled. And with that we will regain the mantle of the imperishable spirit.

What it doesn't say: Nowhere does it say it's a Thalmor document. Nowhere does it mention the Towers. Those two points are pretty well-known in lore circles, but they come up enough to make it worthwhile to point out.

Second thing to notice: its date.

Submitted by Lady N on Sun, 09/19/2010 - 19:53 Obscure texts Author: Michael Kirkbride Librarian Comment: Many of these are in-character snippets taken from various forum posts.

It doesn't have an exact date; the old forums have been deleted. But we do see that it was re-posted on the Imperial Library on 09/19/2010, the year before Skyrim came out. This important detail is glossed over in a lot of the discussion of its relevance. It is not a document written after Skyrim trying to put a creative spin on some details in-game. It's a document published before Skyrim came out, and hence a window on the discussions that were going on in the development of Skyrim. We need to look at the stuff in Skyrim with the question: Does the Altmeri commentary shed any light on what's going on here?

Well, the fact that the Altmeri Commentary suggests that Talos needs to be erased from the mythic makes it very relevant. Maybe this is not the reason for the Thalmor's Talos ban in the game that eventually was released. But it's evidence that during the development of Skyrim, the reason was being kicked around by someone in discussions with the devs. It's that context that finally informs the two lines in-game that might refer back to the Commentary.

The first and most often quoted is Ancano's boast:

You think I can't destroy you? The power to unmake the world at my fingertips, and you think you can do anything about it?

It's pointed out that he can simply be boasting of his power there, without any reference to a supposed greater plan. And yes, that's true. But remember, we aren't interpreting that line in a vacuum. There was a development-related post that brought up a fanatical Altmer idea of unmaking the world before Skyrim, and it's just a coincidence that a fanatic Thalmor member boasts of having the power to do so in the game? These things have nothing to do with each other?

And then there is the other line from Esbern which I think is even more significant.

I don't suppose they want the world to end any more than we do. Or at least, they'd prefer it to end on their terms.

Esbern's statement does not confirm this is the Thalmor's plan. What it does is confirm that the idea this is the Thalmor's plan exists in-universe. And Esbern is not some random conspiracist; he's a lore-master. Dragons were his hobby but we also know from his dossier that the Thalmor consider him responsible for two of the most damaging operations on Dominion soil. He knows his stuff when it comes to the Thalmor. His opinion may be affected by paranoia, he may not even hold the opinion very strongly (suggested by how he corrects himself there), but he is not some random guy in the pub with a conspiracy theory about the Thalmor. If it's a conspiracy theory, it's an important one in-universe.

So, we have a timeline that suggests the Commentary is important, and two references in the game of Skyrim to the idea presented in the Commentary. The references are independent, coming from ideological enemies, Ancano and Esbern. I'd say that makes a very strong case for the Commentary's ideology existing within the universe.

If this concept exists within the universe, the Commentary is important even if it does not represent the Thalmor's ultimate goal accurately.

But where does one go with that? With Michael Kirkbride's historic and ongoing influence on the TES franchise, elements of the Commentary are quite likely to make it into future games. On the other hand, the Commentary may be a window on an idea in development that was tossed around and ultimately abandoned. Maybe it's not Thalmor belief, really. It could even be Blades propaganda. Maybe Ancano believes in it, but he's actually a fanatic who's out of step with the Thalmor in general. etc. etc. etc.

Acknowledging that an Out-of-Game source is relevant does not mean accepting it as the Truth Bound To Be Revealed by TES VI. TES fandom has had enough of that over-certainty already. I think we've all met someone who takes some random developer's post as The Gospel Truth that cannot be questioned. That's frustrating, for sure. But let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater. It doesn't make sense to ignore it completely in discussions about the Thalmor's ultimate goal. There are enough sources to make it worth looking at, both inside and outside the universe.

This post was about the relevance of the Commentary, but if you're interested in how the Commentary's ideology could function within the Thalmor, I can never recommend enough this old /r/teslore post: Analyzing the Altmeri Commentary on Talos.

Additional reply in comments: I thought I'd hedged enough on my statement. I won't claim Esbern as an expert on the Thalmor's ontological goals, although he definitely is more knowledgable about the Thalmor than the random guy at the pub. I do think, however, that his statement confirms that some people within the universe think this is the Thalmor's end goal. I see his statement there as he's not certain himself of it.

In the comments of the original post, a user who has since deleted their account posted a very interesting timeline of the development under discussion. I also recommend this discussion with Misticsan about the post and whether fans give the Commentary undue importance in contrast to other sources on the Thalmor.

This was only the beginning of a very involved journey into the weird fandom status of the Altmeri Commentary and the Towers Theory. It's a lengthy saga, and I've put off formatting it for tumblr but I do mean to eventually copy all the teslore posts over here.

#tesblr #teslore #thalmor #Skyrim #niente lore

[minggukieology]

Hi, firstly thanks a lot for the beautiful blog. Always enjoy reading your posts that specially help when you clear things about the translation.

You probably know how are things on the bird app. One of the very common trend among the i-side is calling every Convo as flirting. While even the English translation doesn't convey such a felling but still people call it flirting. The cultural gap between the i-side and the k side isn't helping either. I follow many people from the k-side and they usually never go crazy over any Convo but those between KM. So what I would like to ask you is to please if possible compare a convo between KM and one between KM with other members and explain the differences to show which one is called flirting in Korean culture and language. I myself don't understand why people react like that. So would be amazing if you do that favor for us and elaborate on it. Thank you so much.

Hello and thanks for your message.

It has been sitting in my inbox for quite a few days now as you probably noticed, mostly due to my busy schedule but also because I wasn't really sure how to formulate my answer to this.

It is difficult for me to pinpoint one KM conversation and then find a parallel to that one with other members because:

1.

A lot of times these interactions heavily rely on the context. We know the different dynamics between the members that also translate into how they talk to each other and therefore we know how to "understand" their conversations. But to at least try and give some sort of example, we can take the Weverse interactions between Jimin and Hobi on his bday- on the outside it might have looked like they were flirting, because Jimin literally wrote "섹시하네" | "(you're) sexy" with a zoomed in pic of his eye (look) but we very well know this is how Jimin and Hobi joke around with each other and there's no explicit meaning whatsoever. I dare to say Korean fans know and understand the dynamics better, because 90% of times a lot of meaning/undertone/implication gets lost in translation and a simple screenshot of a translation cannot give the full context and the full explanation of how and what was said. That is how, I presume, everything ends up being considered as "flirting" (but I think it's also just a type of internet joke within the online community so it is not necessarily to be taken seriously)

2.

Other than that, to showcase what Korean fans consider 'flirting' would also require me to start explaining Korean sentence structures, formation of sentences, the context of their usage etc. Please understand it is difficult for me to go that much in depth as I am also limited on time and don't have enough free space to research the best possible example and write down a full explanation to it. (But if you would really like one, you are more than welcome to send me a concrete example of an interaction, preferably with links or reference material and I will try to reply with an explanation).

What I would say just in general, in Korean there are various ways to show the level of engagement/understanding/agreement/disagreement/implication/etc. with the way you set up the sentence and what words you choose and how you say them. So what happens in KM interactions is that a lot of times they show a great amount of care, understanding and attention with the way they communicate and respond to each other. It's about tiny details and nuance that, as I said before, often gets lost in translations.

I am sorry I couldn't provide a more specific answer. I wish I had more time but as my life progresses, I find myself online less and less. Therefore, the amount of time I am able to allocate to each message is also limited and I ask for your understanding.

#ask #민꾸기 #not the most satisfactory answer and i apologize for that

[josouhenshin]

Day 3

Prev post Index Next post

Welcome back, josou enthusiasts. Last time, Mizuho and Shinobu picked up some women’s underwear (known to some as the foundation of crossdressing) to round out Shinobu’s first girl mode outfit. This time, we’re going to take Shinobu out on her first adventure en femme. 

At the end of the previous update, I put up a poll to help decide where to have them go next. The results were:

Town: 2 votes

Amusement park: 2 votes

French restaurant: 1 vote

Tennis court: 2 votes (including mine)

A 3 way tie is tricky to resolve, but town introduces some important things, so let’s take care of that first. Tennis is short and it’s got a special outfit so I’ll try to squeeze that in soon too.

Incidentally, I obtained the music through a bit of exploring, so let’s ease into the update with the main title theme:

First things first- we gotta equip the underwear. What had Mizuho picked out for us last time that had the two of them so flustered, I wonder, I wonder?

Music: BGM 11

A jra and joyshorts. I believe the flavor text describes them as something to the effect of “denim-like” or “with the vibes of denim” so I don’t think they’re actually junderwear but I could be wrong. Anyway I do like that they specifically start Shina here off with boyshorts instead of regular panties, I suppose that staple of the culture hasn’t changed much in 20 years. Equipping both gets Shina down from 109 bpm to 103. 

Important to note- if you don’t equip the underwear, Shina doesn’t pass and the events seem to mostly end with the two of them getting harassed and going home early. So put on the underwear. It’s the foundation of crossdressing, you know!

I also want to make a quick note about progression too. I tried out a few combinations of things, and it seems like the first time you visit any of these places you get the same event regardless of order. I’m not sure if your outfit or base stats influence things though, so getting access to clothes shopping is pretty important. This all feels very similar to messing around in first cycle termina or something though. Hard to tell how much is really accessible or what’s worth doing. 

Well, that’s enough dillydallying, I’m sure Mizuho is getting impatient. 

Music: BGM02

We’re out in public. Shina is visibly (and understandably) extremely nervous. Mizuho assures her that if she acts confident it’ll be fine. Shinobu mumbles in agreement and thinks to herself that it’s unbelievable that she actually went out looking like this.

“But when you crossdress and go out, the world is different, right?” Mizuho says.

“Yeah,” Shina agrees, “it’s like you’re not yourself.”

Mizuho says she remembers the feeling of going out for the first time well. Everything around seemed like it was brand new. She wondered why she’d never done it before, why she’d never gotten to know the world of crossdressing. Shina says she understands that feeling well. Just by dressing up it’s like a different world out there. 

Nearby they hear a solicitor passing out tissues. This is (was?) a common occurrence overseas similar to the american tradition of making someone stand out on the street and twirl signs. Mascot costume optional. They’re being kinda pushy.

The ad on the tissues says “recruiting: tele-club part time job.” Tele-club apparently being a term for phone sex hotlines. Shina muses that the two of them should probably think about looking for some part time work too... but working for a tele-club sounds like a bad idea. She also corrects herself from saying ‘boku’ to ‘atashi.’ They grow up so fast!

Mizuho agrees. She says it’ll help Shina with collecting new clothes and cosmetics and such.

“I guess with crossdressing you also need money, huh,” she considers.

Ah piss and shit and fuck the tissue guy overheard. Damn it. Now they’re stuck talking to him. He’s asking them if they’re job hunting. God- god damn it. Come on man. He’s recommending they take a look at the tele-club job. What a hassle. Shina tries to politely turn him down. He’s disappointed but offers them a more regular part time job at a cafe instead. Well that’s very nice and not at all shady. He says cute girls like them would be well received, since they don’t have any waitresses. 

“I wonder whether we’d get to wear a cute uniform or something,” Shina thinks to herself. But, she also figures that getting a part time job while crossdressing sounds like a terrible idea. She asks if they’re recruiting men for the job too, and-

“Men?!” he’s totally flabbergasted. He says, well, we’re accepting anyone, but why? “Did you want to get a job with your boyfriend?” He asks if they have boyfriends. 

Man this guy is shady. But Shina is also not playing it off well at all. “Well, I don’t have a boyfriend, but, uh, what do I say-” she stammers.

Mizuho asks for directions to the cafe. He explains the route. He also gives his name: Jin Asakura. “Let’s be friends, okay?”

You may have guessed from his severaltitude of sprites, but you can fuck that guy down the line. If you want. From what I understand there’s a few different jobs you can get, each with a handful of associated romanceable characters. I think you also meet the green haired girl through the cafe job, and maybe some others, but I’m not sure how the progression works out yet. More investigation to come. 

“Jeez, you went and said something weird and that guy got confused,” Mizuho accuses. But she also agrees that crossdressing at work sounds awful. She also says she wants to see Shina as a waitress though. Much to consider, huh?

Thus ends the day. We’ve opened up a few new events by talking to that guy. For starters, there’s a new “your house” option on the map in girl mode, and it also adds the cafe on the map in boy mode. Like I said, I think I want to do the tennis court event next, but after that I might take suggestions about where to go again. 

Until next time, girls and girl-likes <3

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#trans 2 #Youtube

[knightinink]

Pip and Damien for the ask game of course!!

Pip

1: sexuality headcanon

I’ve never really given it much thought before, so I can’t really say. He liked Estella, saying she was “a beautiful girl, with a kind heart!”, but I think he’s just happy when someone genuinely enjoys his company & companionship.

2: otp

Dip! (as though that wasn’t obvious if you’ve been around this blog for any length of time). I found them through fanart & quickly fell in love with the opposite yet similar dynamic between them, one being of darkness while the other shines with positivity. They are able to fill in what the other is missing, and can empathize in being an outcast with an unstable familial life. They are also very aesthetic *chefs kiss*

3: brotp

Honestly? I’m gonna say Pip & Pocket. They have a very interesting relationship (that was more fleshed-out in the novel mind you), and their dynamic seems fun. They complement each other well, albeit not being “opposites” as he is with Damien; they are more similar to one another. Herbert would supplement the confidence & intelligence Pip lacks, while Pip would be able to provide more work-intelligence, as he was apprenticed as a blacksmith for a time.

4: notp

Pip x Christophe. He’s French, that’s reason enough for Pip to despise him. And Pip would be too bubbly & cheery, & would get on Chris’ nerves very quickly. They would be in agreement that they wouldn’t work together, both being a negative experience for the other.

5: first headcanon that pops into my head

He and his whole family have a terrible immune system, & each year when illness is being spread around the school, he’s forced to be bedridden for nearly a week. (it was weakened further by his once contracting scarlet fever back in England).

6: favorite line from this character

“Being a gentleman doesn’t mean learning to dance, or proper table manners. It means being a gentle man. Gentle to everyone!”

7: one way in which I relate to this character

I was always that kid who was just kind of there, unless you got to know me. I’m not too sure that I like his character because I relate to him, however; I think I like him because my common trope is liking characters that have suffered in some way and desperately need a hug.

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

The fact that his episode (s4ep14) is the most hated/worst episode of the entire series. I quite like it, and it’s what got me interested in reading the novel it’s based off, which has quickly become my favorite book. And I do find his “Wickershams and Deklers” song quite annoying.

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?

Pip’s a sweetie who wears his heart on his sleeve. He only has the best intentions & tries to see the best in everyone despite it all. I don’t think he was given enough of a chance while during his run on the show to be developed enough to be seen as problematic. He was more of a static character who rarely got the spotlight, but one that I love, nonetheless.

~

Damien

1: sexuality headcanon

Again, I’ve never really given it much though, but maybe he’ll take after his father. He likes Pip & Pip likes him, that’s all he cares about.

2: otp

Dip! I like to think Pip’s the first one in his life to show him any shred of friendliness who wasn’t ordered to by his father. He has a difficult time making friends due to his father constantly being on the move, but with Pip it felt different. Despite this, he still blew him up to gain acceptance from the other boys after learning about Pip’s social standing, but of course, he had to leave his new friends soon after. Once Pip died, they reunited, and Damien was very apologetic about his actions towards Pip, the other soon forgiving him & accepting his friendship.

3: brotp

Damien & Kenny. When Kenny shows up in Hell for a bit, it always brightens Damien’s day (though he will never admit that, he has an image to uphold!). He’s glad that for at least a little while, there’s someone kinda like him his own age who will stay and play for a while. Damien will act like Kenny gets on his nerves, but he’s just happy to have someone to talk to who’s not one of his father’s lackey’s or consorts. He can relax & be himself around Kenny too, dropping his “son of the Devil” façade, if only for a while.

4: notp

I’m not sure, this may be more of a crackship, but Cartman..? I guess??? I could see them being paired because they’re both “evil” in a sense, but they are two very different kinds of evil. Damien only does evil because he has to, being the antichrist. This doesn’t mean he necessarily wants to do evil, but he needs to, to keep his father happy (although this is more headcanon-y but whatever). Cartman on the other hand does evil for a myriad of reasons, far too many to count here. Cartman doesn’t need to do evil in the way Damien does, but rather, he often does so of his own volition.

5: first headcanon that pops into my head

Despite being the son of the Devil, he’s actually quite sensitive & introverted, often putting up a tough front to protect himself. This is why it’s so difficult for him to make friends, & he rarely shows his vulnerable side. Pip is one of the very few who has seen this vulnerable side.

6: favorite line from this character

“Because I’m the son of the Devil? Because I- burn them & kill them?”

7: one way in which I relate to this character

Liking fire, I guess? I’m not as prone to it as he is, but I do enjoy a good bonfire.

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

Nothing really? I’d say his voice, but I find it oddly endearing, like someone would say “That’s a voice that only a father could love!” & Satan would be like “And I do! I love him very much!”

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?

Similar to Pip, he wasn’t given enough time on screen for development, so he’s also kinda static. I don’t think he’s problematically written character, but I don’t think cinnamon roll is necessarily the right word for him either. I think I’d affectionately call him a firecracker.

~

Thank you for the ask!

#pip pirrip #damien thorn #sp dip #pip x damien #south park