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rollercoasterwords · 2 years

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the tiktokification of ao3

or: some of you fundamentally misunderstand ao3 and it really, really shows

i was talking about this with a friend a few days ago and since then i've seen multiple posts of various sorts that have just made me think about it more, so. here is me breaking down a disconnect i see particularly with younger members of the marauders fandom (i say marauders specifically just bc that's the only one i'm plugged into):

okay, so i've seen many (usually younger) marauders fans either talking online about how they wish ao3 was more like social media (specifically regarding algorithms) OR talking about ao3/fanfiction/fanfic writers as if they are operating under the same etiquette/guidelines/assumptions they would bring into social media platforms. this ranges from being mildly irritating to genuinely harmful, and i want to talk abt why.

first - you have to understand that social media, in this day and age, exists in a profit economy. and when i say social media here, i'm referring to platforms like tiktok, twitter, instagram, etc. all of these platforms exist in a profit economy where content is a product that can be monetized. this leads to a few important distinctions:

people posting on these social media platforms are generally posting with the intent to get their content seen by as many people as possible, as quickly as possible

they post with this intent because once their content is consumed by enough people, it becomes a product that they can monetize

therefore, if that content gets popular enough, these people can become influencers, where content creation is an actual job and their audience are, in a sort of vague and obscured way, similar to consumers purchasing a product

because of the profit economy surrounding social media, there are certain assumptions + forms of interaction that bleed across almost all social media platforms. the ones relevant to this little essay include:

operating under the assumption that anyone posting anything on the internet wants to go viral, ie. be seen by as many people as possible as quickly as possible in order to grow an "audience"

these influencers are creating content for us, their audience, so they should want to please us. they should also be trying to appeal to the broadest possible audience. therefore, if we dislike their content, we have a right to make that very, very clear.

in that same vein, we have a general right to critique content creators, as they are making a profit and we are the consumers purchasing their product--much like you might feel entitled to a certain standard of service in a restaurant where you are paying for the food.

when you carry these assumptions over to a platform like ao3, it creates problems. why? in a nutshell: because ao3 exists outside the profit economy

ao3 is a non-profit. it does not have an algorithm because it is not trying to sell you anything. this means that the writers posting their work on ao3 are not making a profit. we are not influencers. we are not creating monetized content to sell to a consumer-audience. where consuming content on other social media platforms might be comparable to eating at a restaurant, reading fanfiction on ao3 is more like coming over to someone's house and eating cookies that they made for free. you are in their house. the cookies are free, given as a gift. so what happens when those assumptions outlined above start to bleed over from other social media?

assuming that anyone posting fanfiction online wants their work to go viral -- i've seen this with popular fic writers getting questions like, "are you worried x isn't going to be as popular as y?" those questions are usually not ill-intended, but they demonstrate a fundamental lack of understanding about why writers post work on ao3. it's not to go viral. it's not to build any sort of online following. most of us who post on ao3 have jobs or schoolwork or other commitments, and writing fanfiction is something done for fun, out of a love for writing. those sharing their work online might be seeking community, but that is fundamentally different from seeking an audience, and in no way involves internet virality. if someone is posting fanfic on ao3 with the hope that it'll "go viral," then they likely either won't continue writing fanfic for long or will reach a point where they have to re-evalute their motivations, because seeking joy and validation by turning your art into a product for consumption just isn't very sustainable.

influencers are creating content for us, so we have a right to let them know if we don't like it -- nope!! fic writers are not influencers. yes, even the popular ones. no matter how much other people might blow their work up on social media, fic writers are still outside the profit economy. they are not creating content for an audience. they are not creating content for you. they are writing because they love it, and they are generously sharing it. if you don't like it, don't interact with it. you are never entitled to loudly and publicly proclaim how much you dislike a fic. i talk about this more here

we have a general right to critique fic writers, the same way we do with content creators/influencers -- again, no. you should not be treating fic writers the way you would treat an influencer on another social media platform, no matter how popular they may be. this is not to say fic writers are beyond all reproach; rather, it is a call-in to check your entitlement. fic writers are not little jesters entertaining in your court. they are not subject to your whims. they do not have to do things for you. they do not have to write things you like. in that post i linked on point 2, i talk about what etiquette might look like if you're really concerned that a fic writer is doing something harmful, but that is not what i'm talking about here. i am talking about the proliferation of negativity i have seen, especially on twitter and tiktok, where people essentially just talk shit about fics or fic writers as though they are entitled to have those fic writers working to please them. this is gross, and it needs to stop. you wouldn't go over to someone's house, eat the cookies they baked to share, and then spit those cookies back in their face and start shouting about what a shitty baker they are. or maybe you would--in which case, congratulations! you are Not A Good Person.

anyway, at the end of the day, a lot of this can be boiled down to: Because ao3 exists outside the profit economy, fic writers are not influencers, and you should never be treating them as though they are. i think i see this disconnect largely with younger people just because they've maybe only ever really understood social media within this sort of influencer-consumer-culture economy, and genuinely don't understand how to interact differently with the internet. so, consider this post a call-in to reevaluate the way you interact with fic writers and the etiquette you use when it comes to engaging with fanfic on ao3! i promise that ao3 being different from social media is a very, very good thing, and also a very, very rare thing, so let's treasure it and focus on fostering community rather than trying to morph it to fit the mould of influencer-audience dynamics that we see almost everywhere else <3

#tldr: fic writers aren't influencers #stop acting like they are #it only creates problems!!!!#anyway if you have engaged in some of these behaviors that doesn't make u a bad person #it just means u should maybe shift ur perspective moving forward #capitalism is a lifeless desert that grows every day and ao3 is a little oasis #let's all enjoy it while we can #instead of trying to place it within a consumer economy #ranting and raving #txt

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tabithatwo · 8 months

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It’s actually so painfully brilliant the way yellowjackets sets up their un-stereotype-able characters. I could (and might) do this for all of them, but because she’s on my mind right now—the show tells us that jackie taylor is the type of girl who has high expectations put on her and WILL be analyzed constantly (from coach, her parents, jeff, shauna (if only by way of shauna’s reflective habits and her personal narrative construction), the team (by way of being captain).

Then they show us so many instances of Jackie being good and kind. Is she perfect? NO, BECAUSE THEN SHE’D BE ANOTHER STEREOTYPE (THE PERFECT DEAD GIRL/WIFE), SILLY! She has enough edge to be believable as a teenage girl.

And what do people do with that edge? They sharpen it and sharpen it and use it to cut out every moment where Jackie is being kind or trying her hardest! Because what do we like?? Feeling confident in our stereotypical assumptions of people! And what did the show do? Give us scenes with blocking that suggests the popular girl/loner best friend stereotype and absolutely turn them on their head, because what’s not very realistic?? The popular girl who is mean to her loser best friend stereotype in media! (Is it impossible in life? NO, nothing is! But it’s not a standard set up. It’s not as common as media makes it out to be.)

What is one of Jackie’s primary fears as a character? Being held to INSANELY high standards and not meeting them! And what do the viewers commonly do to jackie? Why, they hold her to INSANELY high standards and show how she doesn’t meet them, of course!

Jackie cannot slip up, every instance where she falls short is catalogued as a gotcha moment. She was never allowed to fully develop on the screen because we often get her through the filter of shauna.

She gets deeply depressed, that depression is largely ignored in the show (lottie doesn’t pitch in much either, but her brand of being unwell is observed and understood as existing more so than Jackie’s), and then it is often ignored by viewers (“why didn’t she just come inside, she’s stubborn and dumb!” rather than “wow, look at this consistent descent into deep depression and suicidal ideation we’ve seen since episode 3, culminating in Jackie choosing to stay outside, what can we glean from that?”)

Jackie dies and she is literally consumed in totality—her memory is obscured, the hallucination form of her is filtered through Shauna’s psyche, her corpse is a doll, her flesh is digested. And a photo of her at 18 years old is posted at the 25 year reunion, looking perfect, attached to nothing of her life or who she was, used to facilitate a dance between her ex boyfriend and her best friend, who betrayed her in a way that most people would never get over, (but as we’re shown in the death dream Jackie ultimately would).

Allie literally says, “While I know she isn’t here with us, I know that this is what Jackie would have wanted.” She says that! In the show! To punctuate the absurdity of it all! The very relationship that broke Jackie’s heart, crushed her spirit, destroyed her will to live, being touted as something she would’ve wanted to hundreds of people.

And if that doesn’t strike you as a fucking horrifying tragedy, as emblematic of the reduction of women to whatever those around them need them to be, in order to fit their narrative, in order to be useful to them, then baby this show is sailing over your head.

#jackie taylor #shauna shipman #jackie x shauna #yellowjackets #shauna x jackie #jackieshauna

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suppermariobroth · 10 months

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In 2021, internal localization documents for the Korean version of New Super Mario Bros. were leaked online. This is an image from one of the documents.

Bizarrely, the image is hidden within the document, being completely overlaid by an image of a Blockhopper enemy, and was likely never even seen by the localization team for whom the document was intended. The image was only found by dataminers after decompiling the document and extracting its component files. It appears that the Nintendo of Japan employee who composed the document changed it midway through and simply overlaid the image with another one instead of deleting it.

The image depicts Mario under the effect of a Super Star, next to an entity not found in the finished version's gameplay, but still existing in its files: an invisible fireball. The invisible fireball was a trap that would appear invisible until the moment it touched Mario (which is why Mario has a Super Star here, so that he is not hurt while showing off the fireball in a visible state). The only indication of the fireball's presence would be Phantom Hand objects (which appear in the finished version's Level 7-Ghost House, pointing at invisible blocks) pointing at the fireball. Footage of it in action can be seen in a previous post I made about it here.

This image is notable as perhaps one with the most layers of obscurity out of all Mario media. It is a screenshot of an unused object, found in a leaked internal document, hidden from even the document's intended recipients.

Main Blog | Twitter | Patreon | Small Findings | Source

#new super mario bros #nintendo

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mudkirby · 3 months

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Pebbles In order of appearance.

@druidshollow lore lore lore Dune lore lore

@flickering-nightfall whole reason I draw Pebbles the way I do since first exposure

@toxictoxicities b u f f

@dennis7231 still waiting on them dropwigs >:)

@weepinglilvessel ant snooooot

@mudkirby me :> 🔫

@shkika love your Suns

@northflowerowo Sorry I shoved him so far down lol

Honourable mentions/ shout outs: @trashiiplant Howwow Knight and Wainwowld :D

@kelnexia is lurking.

@daszombes Thank you for explaining lore, giving us peak story telling and characters to simp for in the form of the Iterator Logs. What? No Pebbles? Don't care. You're on here now.

Druid's Hollow, the first time I ever saw your YouTube channel was with the Distant Frontier video after just having gotten into Iterator Logs. One of the most pivotal pieces of media you've made in my life was God- Jake Daniels. That single video alone gave me the push I needed to make my first Rainworld oc Parting Clouds. The stories surrounding your characters (and Dune) are creative beyond my ability to write stories. Keep up your top tier memery.

Flickering Nightfall, I'ma put this in a nutshell. Duckdance. After that I found your blog via Google before I made a Tumblr and became enthralled by your content. From something as obscure to me as Infinity Train to Pebbles ragdolling, you were essentially my gateway into liking Iterators. I love the purple. I need moar.

Vic, b u f f I haven't known your blog long and was introduced to you through the My Goodbye animation. Since I was sort of entirely new to Rainworld at that point, I had no idea what was happening. I just saw a well drawn thing and went "oooooo". I'm all for Suns' antenna twitches and NSH box head. Also, body pillow 💀

Dennis, one of the first blogs I found when I first started Tumblr. I found you through the @iterator-ask-blog and found bullying Pebbles hilarious. I love the way you draw the yellow things on his head and I just appreciate that you do digital in general. I do not, will not and proceeds to die if I must. I've seen quick progress with your art style as well. Keep going.

Vessel, I barely know you. Who da heck are ye? I saw your art style once and knew I needed to follow. The way you draw Pebbles and Moon are so satisfying to stare at for minutes and I had way too much fun replicating that s n o o t. I don't know what you're up to with them aside from chaos. Murky Seas' story and design are fantastic. RIP

Shkika, I only found you through the @ask-looks-to-the-moon blog and love the way you draw the Iterators. It's very stylistic without straying too far. The three fingered hands to the goofy faces Moon expresses makes me smile. B a l l s. My Suns design was more so inspired by the way you make him as you were somehow the first Suns exposure. You're the only reason I can't see him without fluff. How did you make Pebbles cute kavvkatkcfadal

Northflowo, way back in 2022 in my first exposure to Hollow Knight, I found your channel through the Baby Mantis skin video with Nosk along with the lore in a nutshell video. Any other content I saw I forgor. In any case, your channel was there in my search for knowledge on that game. Fast-forward to the near conclusion of 2023 when I was first introduced to Rainworld. In my hunt for memes and more knowledge, I found the other lore in a nutshell video and realized you were the perfect channel for me as you had plenty of other content on that subject. Your art still manages to astound me, especially with the shot you did in the map Pliocene and the Warrior Cats redraws like with the waterfall. I'm trash at drawing backgrounds and might learn something from you.

And of great importance to me, @bornt-urnge/@zigmatism

@kitterjitters /@offended-dragon

Thank you for every moment of drawing from Pokemon to Kirby to Mire (oc) and anything else. You have made some of the largest impacts on my life, drawing, game choices and I've enjoyed every moment. I want to have more ridiculous sessions like that in the future and look forward to it.

Some of you have been around in my life for some time and others I've just found. All the same, every single art piece you've made has inspired me no matter how polished, memed or "trash". All of you have made an impact on me, no matter how miniscule. I look forward to the future with anticipation for all of your art. Have a terrific year, and with my deepest gratitude, thank you. Thank you for being here. Thank you for reading this.

#rain world #iterator #five pebbles #fp rw #art #me when when uhhh me theeeeee uuhhh umm me when the #adhd/add #man #pinned post #mud rants #i wrote this at like 1 am #i felt really generous #looking at it now i regret nothing #at least 1 am me was licid enough to make this good

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felassan · 9 months

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remember that wild Dragon Age theme park ride (Dragon Age: Flight of the Wardens), originally located in Dubai until it randomly turned up years later (now also oddly-rebranded as "[Not Dragon Age We Swears It]: The Guardian") in, of all places, Skegness England? well, I had to satisfy my curiosity and obsession with obscure pieces of Dragon Age media & archival thereof. and so - actually quite some time ago now - I finally got around to going on a pilgrimage there (which was this whole, like.. heinous harrowing in and of itself, that I will not go into), and I rode it

and to my surprise the original Dragon Age in-ride movie is still part of the ride experience! - complete with references to darkspawn, a Pride demon, dragons, green "rifts", Discount Anders (a Grey Warden[?] mage called 'Eldron'), Discount Yavanna (a Witch of the Wilds called 'Alexia') and Dragon Age: Inquisition soundtrack music. there is also now a new pre-ride movie which replaces the old Dragon Age pre-ride movie as part of the ride's rebranding, and i simply ?¿?

there are also still quite a lot of identifiable Dragon Age props in the fantasy-themed queue-area of the ride (so these must have been part of the whole purchase between parks), including multiple iconic Inquisitor helmets, Grey Warden shields, a Dragon Age dragon (now with DA-dragon identifiable horns.. sawn off??), and several Dragon Age banners, including the Inquisition hairy eyeball, the templar symbol and the Circle symbol. here's some pictures.

[^this image is taken from the video linked below]

I also captured the new pre-ride movie, and you can see it along with the Dragon Age in-ride movie here ⬇️. and so now, with this epilogue to the.. most odyssey of all time, more than two years after the first message about the ride was ever sent to Ghil Dirthalen, this adventure in obscurity and the strange fever-dream meta story of the Dragon Age: Flight of the Wardens era in Dragon Age history is finally complete.

youtube

Ghil Dirthalen: The Guardian??? {Overview. - Spoilers All}

[video source & link: Ghil Dirthalen, posted here w/ permission]

some further notes, thoughts and commentary under the cut -

there's a few seconds missing from this capture of the in-ride movie. for the sake of the curious and completion: in them, you're still in the fort and you see lots of 'Wardens' walking and milling around.

a camera in the ride takes two photos of the riders during the ride, which are displayed on a screen on the way out. you can choose to buy these from the Fantasy Island merchandise store. you know those photos of people on log flume rides? it's like those, only of the four riders in a row in the seats. the photos have Fantasy Island branding on them and fire along the bottom, then in two corners there's a bit of a dragon's head and that's about it. the ride photo is the only Guardian-specific merch available at the park.

some of the queue area props appear to be from random other places. like there was a barrel which had something like "1850 distillery" written on it, which is obviously temporally/thematically and universe-ly out of place (not that that's at all unreasonable given the rest of the rideworld lore, there's totally a way it could have gotten there easily hh, see below), and I guess it's a spare or leftover prop from a Western-themed ride or something? others were generic sword'n'sorcery fantasy props (some of these are from the ride's previous life in Dubai though). there are also some pretty random props, like a dead stuffed roe deer's head on the wall and a.. comically large spoon.

there's music playing in the queue area, but it's not DA music, it's generic ye olde fantasy world music.

some folks there mistakenly thought that the long themed lead-up (it was pretty darn long) queue area with the props was the entrance to or start of something completely different, like a haunted house or maze type thing, or was the ride 'experience' in and of itself.

the ride attendant gives you the option of watching the new pre-ride movie or not. I guess they get sick of putting it on and listening to it 9000 times a day (valid), and also cutting it out reduces queue times as it's about five minutes long. it's screened in a little enclosed room at the end of the queue area. you go in and sit down, they show it to you, then you go through another door to the chair machine.

the in-ride movie is blurry and poor quality. I heard someone else who rode it say that it was so blurry that they had no idea what was going on hhh

Now about the new pre-ride movie. in the linked video, the start of the new pre-ride movie isn't included in full at normal speed as it seemed to be a compilation of whatever random fantasy-themed stock footage the video creator could find, stitched together. but again for the curious and the sake of completion: it starts out panning randomly around SPACE, like at the solar system and of planets and at the Milky Way. for a sec I wondered if it was made up of random old Mass Effect assets. then it shows dragons (FROM SPACE) invading an Earth-like planet where I suppose the Ferelden-y kindgom (formerly called "Noathen", now called "Elvia" or something) setting in the rideworld is now supposed to be set. these invading dragons invade either from space or.. another dimension?? or maybe from the future or both?? [see below], entering through a big green rift. (and they still have the green coloring for the rifts and call it/them "rifts" like in DA, which was honestly so funny to me for some reason). the whole panning in from space start to the movie reminded me a lot of the Easter eggs in the DA and ME games that, while they're just Easter eggs for fun and I don't subscribe to this theory myself (as DA is its own great, self-contained thing), could light-heartedly imply that the planet with Thedas on it is a planet in the MEverse (like the krogan head in the Winter Palace in DAI or the ogre in that ME dlc).

in the pre-ride movie, the kingdom of "Elvia" might have actually been called "Albion", which is the earliest-known name for the island of Britain. (it was hard to make out exactly what the king was saying there) the new pre-ride movie seems like it was made in England and ofc thats a common fantasy setting, so I could see it, especially since the king character's name was something like Aethylswyth, which sounded very "Old English". for me personally, if it was "Albion", it adds fuel to the fire of Caitie's cracktheory/"trying to make this fit"-headcanon for the ride story/lore (see Caitie's original video on the ride's previous life for this), that it's set somewhere obscure and backwatery in Ferelden, which is kinda England- or Britain-inspired. (dont take these thoughts or other thoughts in this post about the lore/canon etc too srsly pls hh, it's just crack for fun and I know tis just an off-brand themepark ride)

on the whole the new pre-ride movie is pretty random. there's a giant in it, but it doesn't look like a DAI giant. (is it his big spoon??) it shows a fortress in part of it which looks a bit like Skyhold if you squint, with the long bridge approaching it as the entrance. at one point one of the dragons that pops up is a dragon designed more in the style of a dragon as they are sometimes depicted in, for example, Chinese mythology and folklore. the "communication device" the king described had me rolling, it's exactly like a Dragon Age Skype Crystal or a working set of eluvians from Thedas.. I wondered if the video creator was inspired some by DAI promo images and took cues from the Inquisitor's green hand/the Anchor, since the king has a green glowing thing on (or in?) his chest. and when the king started listing the elements humans are made of, I was reminded of Fullmetal Alchemist.

also, "through a time rift".. I mean technically Dorian's involvement in DAI DOES show green space-time magic right? Where is this other dimension? ofc I know it's not literally Dragon Age, but it's funny to think about and to try and make it "fit" skhskdhfjhe. is it the Fade? the Void? from somewhere in-between like Tevinter Nights implies exists? or is it the dimension which has Thedas's mundane world itself in it - like maybe the dragons are invading this poor guy's kingdom dimension from Thedas? if so what tf is going on in Thedas?? did Solas' explosion at the Conclave ripple through spacetime and rip holes in the fabrics of other worlds as well - like is Solas out here accidentally causing interdimensional Space Dragon invasions? like, theoretically.. the new pre-ride move does reference the in-ride movie, and in turn the in-ride movie is still Dragon Age (!), so technically the new pre-ride movie IS.. kind of.. weirdly.. canon.

((the pre-ride movie references an "outerworld", implying that even in THAT dimension there's an outer world and an inner world, definitely more than one at least. and back on the dimensions thing, I'm not clear - are the dragons coming from Thedas dimension? or are they coming to Thedas dimension? "they came through the rift, human in form but with powers, the ability to fly [that's Eldron] and the ability to transform into dragon-like creatures [that's Alexia]" implies that the dimension on the other side of the rift - if the helpers came through the same rift as the invading dragons - is Thedas, because that's Eldron and Alexia from the Dragon Age in-ride movie being referred to, and Noathen where they're from is in Thedas somewhere. so some Thedosians have travelled to another world to save it?? Dragons are escaping out of Thedas? but.. from space? but also - the narration is telling us that Eldron and Alexia and the other Guardians brought with them from where they came from, as a gift, incredible advanced technology that the people of Elvia have never seen before. he then gives the example of "this communication device" which could be read meta-ly as meaning the television screen, and of plans to build a machine made of metal and advanced technology (meaning the ride machine you go sit on, which is a themepark machine irl obviously and in the 'world' of the ride, some kind of flying machine). so like.. are Eldron and Alexia from Future Thedas (think Avatar Aang/Korra, when by Korra's time there's like lots more machinery and a more modern feel), a Thedas which has advanced complex machines like idk, AEROPLANES? is that what they mean by "time-rift"? because they specifically did say "time". is that to try and explain the modern machinery? does that mean the invading dragons also came from the future, not just from space or another dimension? the other option: Eldron and Alexia came from alternate universe Thedas, which has more modern technology in it. but Thedosians Time-Travelling From The Future And Also Space And Another Dimension is so funny to me so lets go with that. my headcanon is that on the way to Elvia they also timetravelled through a Westernthemed time period and thats why theres a recent-modern period whisky barrel)).

in the ride's previous life, the explanatory hook was that Eldron made you a special harness or saddle thing with which to ride a dragon, which was what the ride machine was simulating. however now, the hook to explain the machine is that it's a gift of advanced technology powered by carbon, hydrogen, organic matter (Big Oil lmao?) etc. (I enjoyed that this explanatory hook got wackier between eras of the ride's life, much like the whole meta story of this piece of media itself. it was already weird because riding dragons isn't really part of DA. though I don't understand meta-ly speaking this convoluted explanation for the machine. dragon-riding isn't an identifiable or key part of the Dragon Age franchise, so they could have kept the idea that you're sitting on a dragon's back and flying around on that in instead of having this wacky explanation about a flying machine gifted from magical strangers from Back To The Future and it would have been fine. I love it though bc its so absurd)

And Tiny Dragon Alexia from the original ride experience is kinda referenced (unintentionally?) when the king introduces the dragon "Guardian" "Mia", as when she comes on-screen her size or scaling looks small/kinda off, so maybe Tiny Dragon lives on. so now we have Tiny Dragon Alexia, Tiny Dragon Mia, and Tiny Dragon queue prop. it's a Tiny Dragon Conference.

and like I just have so many questions. in her original video on the ride, Ghil Dirthalen wondered at length where in Ferelden/Thedas Noathen could be. where is Elvia? why does the pov of the pre-ride movie proceed downstairs into the room where the king is - like why does the king have his throne in a basement? is he in an underground bunker for safety because of the Space Dragon invasion? why does he say we "climbed" up when we have just gone down into his dungeon? why is the tiny dragon introduced as "Mia" when the tiny dragon witch lady in the in-ride movie is called "Alexia"? does the king's green glowing chest thing work like the Anchor - does he have a chest Anchor.. a Chanchor? where did they get Discount Gandalf from the queue area and why is he exactly like the Ghil Dirthalen Stock Theatre Wizards in her original video? why did they change the kingdom's name from "Noathen" to "Elvia" in the pre-ride movie when "Noathen" was already non-existent in Dragon Age lore? why did they scrub Dragon Age from or avoid Dragon Age in the pre-ride movie but leave the whole Dragon Age in-ride movie intact? are the "Guardians" Discount Grey Wardens? is the king's whole schpeel secretly an evil plot so he that can use our bodies for like necromancy-alchemy? why does the ride run on your flesh and are we about to be sacrificed in a blood magic ritual? do we end up like the husks in Mass Effect after our organic forms are broken down into compounds to fuel the King of Elvia's flying anti-dragon defense tank? is the actor of the king a park staffer who is into larping, or someone's fun nerd uncle who likes DnD? does Caitie not in fact agree that I am very handsome and smart, indeed the World's Most Interesting Guy? 😤 why go to the trouble of sawing off the dragon's DA-dragon horns when the in-ride movie is still Dragon Age?? why are the dragons invading from space anyway like what do they want??? how can I obtain the king actor guy's autograph? where are EA's lawyers? and why is there a giant spoon?

#dragon age #Not Dragon Age We Swears It #bioware #solas #video games #lul #long post #longpost #gpoy #mj and the world #saveserault #mass effect #(shoutout to the DA Archivists)#thanku to ghil for her vids and for permission to post this video here #this whole episode in my life and in the DA fandom feels like a strange shared fever dream. was that real? am i? is Skegness? is DA4? r WE?#lmaoo #skegness the swampy ass crack of england #Fantasy Island - where dreams go to die (but fever dreams live on)#(cant believe one of the pretend Wardens from Ghil Dirthalen's Eldron's fake Warden cult was literally there irl at Fantasy Island. im ded)#and if u are reading this thinking wat the heck fel r u ok its just a rebranded themepark ride like calm down its not That Deep #i grasp ur collar and raise you that #in the time between dai and DA:D i have fully lost my mind #what dragon age does to a guy #while we wait for dragon age 4 this is the plot of dragon age 4 #on my knees constructing elaborate headcanons about and trying to make sense of a Not dragon age theme park ride #surrealism.txt

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2cutie · 4 months

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Arising Promises

Shang Tsung(MK1) x old friend!Reader (afab, no pronouns)

summary: 18 + content! Shang must revisit the wretched town where he grew up, living his life as a beggar. He is in search for the rare herb for an elixir. You, a past acquittance who knew him when he was a beggar, ends up - literally - running into him and past tensions ensue as hidden emotions arise upon seeing each other again.

a/n: just your casual aro-ace writing about media men again, nothing newww

Outworld’s hinderlands were a place he never bound himself to be, and even now on behalf of traveling back to seek ingredients for a elixir, Shang Tsung’s skin prickled with unbridled discomfort. The scents, the people, the memories were beneath him, and he weighed the option to destroy it all.

Despite its unruly memories against him, it was unfortunate to be the only home of a rare herb.

He paid no mind to the people around him, too miniscule and pale in comparison to his stature now. His held his chin high and dared not look at the fools of the town. A delight rang in his heart that the place was still suffering while he had succeeded.

You had been in the midst of the bustling crowd, down one of the corridors in a street market. As the town was small and communitive, you had befriended the majority of the sellers and those around. You found yourself in a better moods as you greeted some kids that played around you, moving your bag of fruit to avoid their antics. You blindly followed the flow of the crowd, stopping every so often to add more to your groceries.

You shimmied through little pockets of space to get by, feet gliding quickly as your eyes worked for the next openings to get out. You were distracted by a booth selling bread that you didn’t realize the path was suddenly obscured.

You collided with a body, almost stumbling back as you caught your footing. Immediate guilt filled your chest. “I am so sorry! I wasn’t paying any mind to where I was walking.” You gushed out quickly, your eyes shooting up to the man’s back as he hadn’t turned around yet. “Are you alright?”

Shang Tsung’s patience was running dangerously thin, and absolving the fact that one of these filthy townsfolk ran into him made his blood boil. He barely fought the urge to grab you by the throat and take your soul then and there, but he decided it would be a waste of his magic. He sighed silently before pulling on an extravagant facade. “Oh, not at all. Please, it was my mistake. I was distracted. Allow me to help.”

You hated to admit you blushed as his silky voice enveloped your ears. You cleared your throat, shifting the bag as your eyes strayed to the ground nervously. Your shyness was a delightful surprise, and he smirked at it. “I - I’m alright, actually. Thank you. It was my fault. I think I get too distracted here with every-”

The sorcerer raised an eyebrow at your sudden pause, willing you to go on.

Your pause came as you finally met his eyes, scanning over his face and features. Your eyes narrowed. “I know you. I think.”

Had you? That was a curious thing to him. “Oh? Could it be we share past acquaintance?” He glanced to your bag of fruit, elegantly reaching for a grape that poked from the brim and bringing to his mouth.

“That just confirmed that it is indeed you,” you said amidst a sigh, rolling your eyes. Your whole demeanor shifted to casual, if not a bit annoyed. “You haven’t matured since the last time I’ve patched your wounds, have you?” You scanned him, noting the way he dressed. “At least you’re not covered in dirt anymore.”

Shang almost spit out his food. In surprise, or disgust, he wasn’t sure. “Now that is an… unusual greeting for someone you haven’t seen in years.”

He eyed you over with a new perspective. You had breeched his facade easily; that alone prickled his hair. But to say you knew him? He steadied your face carefully, and he latched onto an old memory that surfaced after trying to bury it down.

His eyebrows went up in realization, his smile actually growing. Ah, you. Yes, he remembers you. And to say he hadn’t matured like he taught he had, that he was still the same as the days on the street, it was quite a humbling thought. “To think the only interesting person is still here, in this waste of a town.”

You raised an eyebrow as you scrutinized him, absorbing his demeanor all around. Despite his words, you couldn’t resist the smile that played on your lips as you circled him playfully, trying to get the best look at him. Even after all the headaches he gave you in the past, you were delighted to see him. “You seem to have come a long way, I’m glad. Are you still a nuisance to anyone, or was I the lucky one who gets to hold that honor?”

Shang Tsung smirked at your playful scrutiny, the way you danced was quite entertaining. Maybe you knew him a bit too well. “You were not the only one, I’m sure you know. I spent many years making a nuisance of myself selling my ‘magic’. And I was quite good at it.”

“Unfortunately.”

He hummed and took another piece of fruit, chewing it as he continued. “I suppose you’ll be disappointed to discover that I am no longer a beggar. Perhaps even a little jealous?”

You rolled your eyes again playfully, allowing your smile to stay. “Oh, yes, so jealous of your rise from false potions. I seem to vividly recall you trying to pawn multiple of them on me as well. I would always joke that you weren’t so good of a salesman that you couldn’t even fool me…” Your voice drifted off a bit as you recalled that particular memory. “But I suppose I had the unfair advantage of seeing behind the scenes. Helping you with your bruises after you sold and angered the wrong crowd.”

He truly did not want to reminisce the shadow of himself. “You remember it so vividly, and yet I still managed to swindle you every time.” He moved close to you, putting a finger beneath your chin. He lifted it slightly to look directly in in your eyes. Now it was his turn to get a good look at you.

You hummed, eyes flicking quickly to his lips before meeting his eyes. You mapped the details in his face that you haven’t seen for so long, the curve of his cheeks, the lines on his smile. He changed so much, yet so little. “I suppose you did. But I was a fool then. Always had to let in the stray mutts.”

He hummed shortly. To be compared with such a thing. You still held on to that strong nerve. He chuckled. The air grew thick with the close proximity. “There’s no denying that you weren’t the most savvy back then.”

Shang kept the intense eye contact, his hand slowly trailing down your neck, noting the lack of reaction. You were a tease through and through - or perhaps you were still too used to his antics. He enjoyed it tremendously.

“I’m sure I shouldn’t boost your ego but I must admit, I have missed-” You quickly stopped, considering your words. “My home is too different from all the time I spent with you leeching off me. It’s weird and quiet.” Your eyes followed where his hand traveled. It confirmed that he was real, again in front of you after so much time.

He continued to traverse his hand down. There was something about you that made him consider emotions he hadn’t felt in a very long time; something a bit dangerous about you that you knew the part of him he tries to bury. He wanted to see how much you’d allow before pushing him away. Perhaps he wanted you to.

“I always thought you enjoyed my leeching,” he began in a honeyed voice. “And it was never about the food or that money that had you always making excuses for me.”

His hand cupped one of your breasts over your clothing. He watched closely as his touch turned from teasing to outright groping. He wanted to scare you.

But he failed. You quickly grabbed his wrist away, eyes scanning the crowd in case anyone’s wondering gaze caught it. When they didn’t, you sent him a glare. “Yep,” you tutted. “You have not changed. At all.” You grumbled but couldn’t help a huff of a laugh. You met his eyes again, seeing the glint of humour in them, and dared him to continue. You looked to his hand that you still kept trapped, noticing the residue of fruit juice sticking against his skin.

You locked eyes with him once more before bringing his fingers to your lips, licking the line of juice off, tongue dancing around the skin.

Something dark crept up Shang as he looked over you. His voice lowered to a whisper. “How do you know if I’ve changed if you haven’t seen me for years? I might have fallen in love and turned into a complete gentleman…” The sorcerer leaned close to your ears, lips almost touching your earlobe, “but, if I was a gentleman, I wouldn’t have felt you up in public.” He chuckled.

“You should know by now, I was never one for decencies,” you whispered back. “But if you’re suddenly feel like having a change of heart… I don’t mind you wanting to be one and taking this privately.” You pulled away to dare him, your eyes darkened by longing and lust.

You watched as his brown eyes darkened to match yours as he considered your offer. He wanted to take you then and there in the street. Knowing that anyone seeing could make it even better. “There’s nothing I want more than that. But why don’t we take things back to my quarters? It’s just my temporary one while I stay in this wretched place. After all, I’m sure you’re eager to see what I have inside.”

“You leave me curious,” you replied with a devious grin. “But you’re right. I’m quite intrigued to see what you’ve done for yourself.”

Shang’s eyes gleamed at your reply and his own mischievous thoughts as he pulled back to lightly inspect you for a moment. Your clothes were nothing fancy, fitting that of a working class upbringing. But beneath it all, he could glimpse at the figure that lay beneath. “Follow me,” he practically purred. “I’ll show you exactly how far I’ve come.”

“But of course.”

You followed down the path he led, all the while watching him. His body filled out since he was a beggar, and you actually felt a bit of delight in knowing he ate well. His freckles became more gradient, his neck looked so untouched and tempting to be marked.

/// You were the first to walk into his quarters as he closed the entrance behind you. It was nothing overly luxurious for his journeys, certainly did not match his current status or held a candle to his actual home. Inside, instead, was a surprisingly cozy place. The walls were lined with his bookshelves, and the furniture was rather plush and inviting.

“It’s quite cozy, actually.” You willed yourself to wonder softly in the room, looking at the choice of brandish decor, smiling. “I remember how you always talked about wanting such extravagant things that you couldn’t afford. You’ve come far as to even have it. I wonder what you’ve been up to,” you tease though there was a sincerity in wanting to know more. You stop in front of one of the bookcases, eyeing the intricate spines.

Shang watched your actions closely. It was a nice thought, that the simple things he surrounded himself with were so far out of reach in your eyes. It filled him with pride.

He stepped alongside you, his fingers gently grazing some strands of your hair. “Yes, I’ve worked hard to get where I am now. How about I tell you the tale over a glass of wine?”

“Wining and dining me?” You wit, tutting your tongue at such a show of class but nodding nonetheless. “Well, you know I’m not classy. I’ll take a glass, or a few. Thank you.”

Shang Tsung laughed as he walked away to pour two glasses. “You know what they say: 'Don’t eat a fruit without seeing its tree, and don’t court a woman without feeding her first’.”

He passed over the wine as you chuckled, taking a sip of his own and sitting. It was a dry wine, tasting of plum and blackberries. He stood close behind you, eyes admiring every inch of your body.

“I’m interested to know where you learned such a lesson. But more so, I’d like to know about your upbringing. How did the Shang Tsung leave his poor, pitiful lifestyle and become this? Perhaps I could learn a thing or two.”

His felt his chest vibrate with satisfaction. He had power over you in terms of stature, and with that he believed came authority. He was proud to be above someone. He walked slowly to his couch and sat. “You wish to hear the story of how I rose from being a beggar child to the greatest sorcerer in the realm? It’s a tale of hard work and determination of what I truly believe to be my one true calling. Come and sit at my side, and I’ll speak of it to you in detail.”

“A sorcerer now?” You were filled with genuine interest as you placed yourself softly on the plush furniture. You looked at him with wide eyes. “I thought I saw something interesting books. That’s quite the turn from your old line of work. Maybe you could try selling potions again, and this time they’d work.”

He wanted to scoff at such an outlandish idea. “Selling potions is far beneath my caliber now. I know so much more about the magical arts, much more than I could have ever dreamed.”

“Speak away. I’m in desperate desire to climb that social ladder myself.”

Shang chuckled as his eyes roved across the tempting curves of your body. Despite his temptations, he enjoyed the conversation being about him. “I would argue that you are already climbing, my dear. And that you would do quite well in the future with your tenacity and natural beauty.” His fingers stroked down your arms.

“I don’t know about all that,” you replied, shy when it came to compliments about yourself. You shifted a bit closer, legs dangling close to his lap as you turned to him. “but don’t get distracted by discussions about me.”

He grinned as he noted every little movement you made. “Well, my whole life I was quite unsatisfied. I hungered for more. I desired to have that power to do anything and everything without trepidation.” He paused to sip from his wine, nearly sputtering when your leg rubbed against his purposely. You tempted him to give up this tale, but he persisted. “I’ve surpassed my own initial desires. There has never been a sorcerer before me who has learned so much that I taught myself. None that knew so much magic could bend and twist the very laws of nature to their liking.”

He took your chin between his fingers, leaning over you to intimidate you with the knowledge of his power. Your lips parted. “And how did that happen? What granted you so much power?” You licked the finger closest to your lips.

Oh, how you tempted him. Just when he thinks he’s in control. Your teasing nature brings out the old parts of him he longed to destroy, yet he didn’t seem to care so much with how it felt with you. You were truly a temptress. “My own studies.” He would feign his innocent of Damashi to even you. “I sought out dark rituals that would unlock powers that only the gods could posses.”

Your eyes flicked back to him at the weight of his words. A cold trinkle ran up your spine. “That could be dangerous. Even for you, Shang. Have you… achieved that kind of power?”

Shang smiled, daringly. “Power isn’t easy to come by, my dear. And power like this comes at a great price. I’ve made deals that cannot be spoken of. I’ve had to kill a fair share of my enemies and allies alike to become this powerful. I’ve done things even I am not so proud of. But in the end, I achieved my power that was so rightfully owed.”

You almost quivered at the level of danger he spoke, the venom that laced his every word. Yet somehow instead of terrifying you, it came as a delight. A dance with death and danger. It caused your core to heat up, knowing that you share a room with someone so powerful; knowing that it was Shang. You legs tightened around his in reflex.

That small gesture only excited him more. He could feel the heat rise in your skin. His hands drifted away to sip at his wine once more. “Yet despite the dangers I was warned about, I knew I was the only one who could handle such power. My powers came so naturally to me. I can cast spells at the simple snap of my fingers.”

You had to swallow thickly and Shang watched as your throat worked it down. “You’ve certainly changed from that poor boy I once knew you as,” you whispered. Your eyes glanced to his lips, the scent of the wine tingling your nose. “Feel welcome to demonstrate some of those powers, if you’d feel inclined. You know I’m not so delicate.”

He leaned in closer and you could feel the smirk as you spoke. “If I do that, I can guarantee you’ll not be wanting to leave me tonight.”

His warmth invaded yours again and your heart thumped in your chest. “You assume that I want to leave,” you whisper. “But I in fact do not intend to.” You tilted your head and lean to his ear, swirling your tongue over his earlobe before pulling it in with a nibble.

Shang quietly gasped at the feeling. Oh, you were too enticing. The heart rose within him despite his fight for composure. “And how, exactly, do you expect this night to end?”

You let the silence stretch after his question and transcended your hands down across his chest, pressing again the layers of his clothing. Your nerves vibrated in anticipation, longing. You wanted to feel him, prove that he was truly that same man from all those years ago and that you could have him. You reluctantly pulled away to lock eyes. “However you’ll have me.”

Logical thoughts evaded the sorcerer as his mind ran blank, heart pumping at an increasing velocity with every word. He knew what he wanted, and like all things he desired, he would take.

He grabbed your arms and clashed his lips against yours in a passionate kiss. Every touch he left on you was electrifying to both you and him. From his shifty fingers rubbing across your skin, to your hands roaming through his hair to push him closer, the other diving under his vest to roam his chest. You enjoyed the forbidden taste of him, the touch you craved so long ago.

In kind, his hands descended to your hips, gripping the plush skin he found there. His kiss was passionate, slow yet deep if not just overbearing. He controlled the kiss and you allowed him.

As his tongue circled around yours, you straddled his thighs and dropped yourself atop his lap. Your hands moved to his throat to dip his head back against the sofa, deepening the lustful kiss. As the heat around you rose, you ground your weight against him almost without even realizing, the hand around his throat firming to a lose hold.

Shang broke the kiss as a low moan left him. His eyes were glassy, coated with lust, and he loosely smirked. “You,” he started, grip tight as he groped the plush of your thigh. “Are certainly not the same naive girl I knew when I left. What more do you hunger for, my dear? What do you crave so insatiably?”

The dark lint of his silky voice stirred something deep within your gut. Your breath was heavy as you absorbed the way he looked under you. “We both have seemed to change in some ways… sorcerer.” You teased the last word, still foreign to your lips to call him such. You leaned over him, hair dropping around the both of you. You licked a hot strip across his parted lips. “I’m quite starved for having any part of you.”

He felt him shudder more so than saw it. “Then I guess it’s my turn to ask my question. How is it that I have the privilege to see this temptress side that you’ve become?” His breath shuddered as you attacked his neck, leaving a trail of light nibbles to his jaw.

You pondered how to answer such a question, grinding down against him as you thought. You elected a moan at how he grew under your hips. The more you moved, the hotter your core burned, distracting and enticing you. But Shang seemed to notice and he grabbed your hips in a burning hold, moving himself against you to hold your attention.

“Someone sought me out,” you admitted between your moans. “He came to me, saying I had some potential to become more powerful. To be a defender, become a great warrior.” You left a wet kiss below at his adam’s apple. “To train to become one of earth’s greatest defenders.”

He growled in response to you movements. He could feel every little thing about you, even the tiniest movements brought his mind to pleasurable insanity as he ground himself with you. “Great defenders… great sorcerers. All of it seems so miniscule in the grand scheme of things. Don’t you agree, my dear? Doesn’t it bleed at your skin to know you could be more, become more than anyone thought you could be?”

“In this moment, it seems like a waste,” you admitted, kissing him shortly at his confused expression. “To stay here seems much better.” You undid the buttons to his vest and shirt, opening the layers to his toned chest. You threw off your top next, discarding it over your head, uncaring to where it landed. “But you were not alone in wanting to raise your name from the filth that we both once were. The man, he gave me belief that I could improve. Something about him seemed… sincere. Promising, dominant.” Your hands groped around his exposed skin, hips dancing quicker to match the uprising in your story. “Liu…” You started, trying to recall. “His name is Liu Kang.”

Shang’s grip tightened on you at the mention of that wretched name. His eyes narrowed as he skimmed you over, trying to exploit you for plan you haven’t admitted to. But he found nothing of ill intent. So the damned monk was a step ahead, or it was a trial luck. It burned disgust in his gut to know he influenced you in some way. The sorcerer wouldn’t allow it.

In fact, it opened more avenues. Liu hadn’t revealed to you about him or his plans of the Dragon Army, it seemed. He smiled wide, his sharp teeth brandishing. You could be a great pawn, someone working on the inside to exploit the monk’s plans. His hunger for you was becoming ravenous.

He practically purred. “Ah yes, Liu Kang. I’ve heard that name before. I’m sure he wouldn’t like to hear that I’ve taken his pupil so soon.” He smirked and gave a quick squeeze of your ass.

“You haven’t taken me just yet, Shang Tsung. So why don’t you?” You gripped his throat again, pulling his chin to meet your strong gaze. “Show me how you’ve grown. Take what is bound to be yours. You’ve no need to be gentle with me.”

His heart thrummed in desire. He would give you quite the show you longed for. He was sure he would offer you anything, if you asked. He pulled you taught against him with a restricting grip to your thighs, your body heat crashing against him. His kiss was more teeth than tongue and his hands slipped below your pants, dominating. The moan you cried strummed his sadistic pleasure.

He lifted you off his lap and flipped you to your back against the soft cushions. He removed his shirts promptly.

You ogled him boldly, stomach churning for desire at the appeal of his toned chest and muscles. You quickly stripped your pants and garments in the same manner. “A layer of clothes, for for a layer of clothes,” you whispered. “A fair trade.”

His eyes were predatory as he watched you from above. He suddenly grabbed your ankles and split them apart, sliding himself between them and caging your body beneath him, growling at the flush contact. “Let us not waste a second longer.” A pliant finger came between the two of you.

Feeling his fingers heavily press against your folds, you shuddered a moan and pulled him closer with your legs. “Shit,” you whispered. “Fuck…”

“Such a filthy mouth for someone so beautiful.” He circled firmly against your clit, his own desire rising the more he watched your expressions. “So wet for me. Tell me, for how long have you craved this?”

Your head hit the plush pillows behind you, chest rising in falls in deep breaths. He dipped his head to bite at your unmarked chest. His primal urge to darken it with bruises overruled his moral thoughts. “Quite some time,” you stuttered out, rolling your hips in time with his fingers. You whined pathetically as he entered a finger inside of you. “I-” you inhaled sharply. “Fuck, um.. A bit after I got to know you. I thought you were an annoying asshole.. and a prick.”

Shang rolled his eyes, pressing his lips into your skin. What flattery. He sunk his teeth into you for retribution.

You jolted under him, and he pressed his hips to yours to hold you down. Your knees dug into his hips as you moaned; another finger was added. “I think seeing the, gods, other side of you was what did it in.. Your - fuck! Your fucking smile that you just showed me. You being attractive didn’t help with anything.”

His tongue ran over your bites before he sucked the sensitive skin, a gift for your words of praise. He went up to your neck, sucked deliciously, before pulling away with a shit-eating smirk. You’ve fed his ego.

“You should have told me much sooner,” he purred, dipping his head to lean close to your lips. His hair tickled your cheeks gently, and you shuddered upon feeling a third finger prying you open. “We could have done this,” he thrust up his hips in time with his fingers, the illusion of fucking you, “so much sooner.” He hissed through his teeth. “So many times.”

You could almost sob at how he made you feel, at how good it felt to be with him again. His hold on your hips tightened to a vice, his fingernails denting into your skin. You thoughts ran rampant as you thought over his words, vivid imagination running wild at the different ways he could have taken you all those years ago. In his traveling wagon, barely hidden around a corner in town… all the way you’d let him take you. There was a sharp pang in your heart knowing that could never happen, that you couldn’t go back and make love to the broken boy he used to be.

But that’s what made this moment so much more alluring. “Please, Shang,” you whispered, opening your eyes to find that his never left yours, drinking in your every emotion. “I don’t want to wait any longer. I want you… Now.”

“So demanding,” he chuckled. “But you asked so nicely…” He nipped at your parted lips as you swallowed down shallow breaths. With one final curl of his fingers, he pulled them out, leaving behind a hollow feeling. But your stomach fluttered as he began undoing his layers, unveiling himself to you.

Your legs tightened around him in expectancy, and he chuckled deviously as he felt it. “Does it please you?” He teased, voice as tempting as milk and honey. “Longing for me so impatiently that you make a mess of my couch..” He tutted as he saw your mess drip off your thighs. “When you haven’t even had it before?”

A puff of air puffed out of your nose, whether from embarrassment or anticipation, you weren’t yet sure. “Shang-”

His eyes flicked to yours, narrowing. Telling you to be silent, do not dare to interrupt him. He shifted himself on the couch, traveling lower as he kept your ankles apart. He slowly lowered himself when he was equal to your bottom half, his black hair tickling against your skin. The amount of how much he was staring at your core was driving you insane, if not a bit shy. You went to put your knees together, but he was faster and shouldered them open again.

“You will be good for me, won’t you? After all you’ve stained my sofa. You should be thankful to me for cleaning your mess.” He dipped his chin as his words hit you of what he was about to do. “You are in my debt now.”

You didn’t have a choice in the matter, regardless. His mouth covered your aching mound and sucked instantly, the lewd noise filling the opening air. His tongue followed quickly after, lapping a long strip to catch the falling mess. Your hips jerked up instinctively, thighs tensing as you cried out. Your hand knotted into his hair.

Shang snaked his arms beneath your thighs and pulled them open, effectively holding you down to grant full and unrestricted access to you. You felt exposed, but with him it felt right. Like you were his. He met your eyes when you sucked your clit, as is following your trail of thought about him owning you.

He shouldn’t look so good like this. You felt you kind of hated him for it. But the feeling didn’t last long for how good he was making you feel. You tugged his hair, nails scratching hard, when you felt his tongue pressure inside of you.

He moaned in response, the vibrations making your insides flutter. Your back arched off the sofa as you moaned lewdly. He kissed against you, chuckled at your response, and it felt as if the laugh filtered throughout your whole body. “Shang, Shang,” you muttered quickly. “You- please stop,” you begged, his hair clenched in tight fists. “I won’t be able to last.”

He hummed in response and you wanted to knee his shitty face for how it made you jump. He pulled you closer to his mouth, your hips elevated in the air, thighs over his shoulders as his tongue moved deeper. His eyes closed, enjoying it more than he was willing to admit. You tasted divine.

Your body began to tremble, feeling as if circuits of electricity were coursing through you. Your thighs closed around his head, holding him tight and he let out a pleasured sigh. You felt a high creeping up on you, your chest constricting, your hips rolling in response to his tongue. You felt the rush-

But he pulled away, panting. His eyes opened again and he was looking down at you, eyes darkened with lust.

You would kill him, you were pretty sure. You certainly wanted to. You wanted to tell him about himself, but you stopped when you saw wet his chin was, slick with your own mess. You saw his tongue lap at the remnants on his lips, the fucked out expression he wore so well that you knew his thoughts weren’t all there. His hair that was falling out of the clip and messily scattered around his face. He looked good, and you hated it. You could kill him later, you figured.

You both spoke nothing as he shifted your legs to keep over his shoulders. You crossed your ankles behind his neck. He lined himself up at your entrance without a word, and the heat of his member rubbing against you caused you to shudder.

He leaned above you, flexing your legs with him as he practically folded to where it was almost a sitting position, and entered himself into you, not too slow, not too fast. It was a perfect speed to match an ever more pleasant stretch to accustom him inside of you. Your mouth gaped in response, eyebrows furrowing in lust. He grunted when he was fully hilted inside of you, soaking in the pleasuring warmth you provided.

Shang’s canines poked out of his mouth as his lips curled, the expanse of his heightened emotions bleeding into his expression. You felt divine. Another fruit to his labor, he considered. But this was much better.

Without warning, he slowly thrusted into you, soft but deep to get you accustomed. You gripped at his biceps that were on either side of you.

“What a work of art you are,” he began, his voice an octave you had never heard before. It was doing something for your core. “Both inside and out. You fit right with me, don’t you? You don’t deserve to be in such a filthy town when you belong in my home. You deserve a lavish lifestyle to compliment you, to speak for your sins. You’d be another trophy for my collection; proof of the years I’ve sacrificed.” His thrusts heightened, as he pulled back fully back out, then into you, his breath shuddering. He felt he was in a continual state of arousal, only you put him through. “But no, you’re so much more than that, aren’t you? You’d be a prized collection. Not for anyone’s eyes but my own. Not for anyone’s use,” he pointed the word with a dominant thrust, “but my own.”

You didn’t have any control of your body anymore as he pulled out every pleasure you’ve ever known. Your body was limp as he took control and you could do little but moan and meet his hips back, chasing after your own ecstasy. It took everything in you to open your eyes and meet his gaze.

“I’ve missed you Shang,” you managed to moan out honestly. You shakily grabbed his chin to hold. “I don’t want this to be a one night thing.”

The words you spoke were fragile, and your heart tightened as you admitted them. You didn’t want to even think about the potential event of him leaving again after this was over, and never seeing him again, at least not for years. You’ve had him where you wanted, years of longing finally made up for in this moment. You didn’t want it to end.

Shang moaned at your admission, his thrusts becoming sloppy as he pounded into you. He held your strong gaze, and your eyes were those that would turn him weak, make him fall to his knees and do anything for you if just to see them again. They were the eyes of someone who had accepted his past life, embraced it for what it is and who he had become. He wouldn’t admit the power you had over him, so he would make you feel it.

“I do not wish for this to be for one night only, either,” he admitted softly. “This is right, don’t you agree? How I make you feel, how you make me lose my virtue?” He chuckled and hissed through his teeth, kissing you quick. He watched you lose control.

“Please,” you whispered so softly. It was more of a plea than anything, and tears threated to brim at your eyes. It was a true sense of longing for underneath how your body burned from the mixture of both of your movements. You kissed him again, so gentle. So loving.

The sorcerer’s breath was heavy. His eyes didn’t close as he kissed you, instead deciding to watch you. To make sure you didn’t fade. Your movements together sparked ecstasy inside of him; it was a perfect dance. The way you kissed him, how you spoke, the pleas from you. It made his heart beat hard in his chest, like it was his life’s quest to have you. That all his beggar days and his late night studies of magic were built to just have this moment. And you spoke of the promise of more.

“I want you tonight,” he spoke, hips rolling deliciously. “I want you every night. I want you forever.”

He was one never to admit his desires. Instead, he sought them out and made them his. And he planned to do the same for you.

“You will have me,” you promised. “Now, and any time. I am yours, Shang Tsung.”

He let out a groan that was pitiful to his own ears, as he slowed his thrusts, wanting to cherish yours words and the feeling. He dipped his head down to your chest, feeling the pleasure in him burn, threatening to escape. You had him wrapped around your finger and you didn’t even know it.

“As long as you are mine as well,” you continued, as if that was ever something to be denied. If only you knew how you made him weak.

Shang didn’t relay another word but moved his head out of your shoulder, locking eyes with you once again in the midst of both of your pleasure. He slowly worked his way back to speed, if not faster and deeper in silent promise. It was electrifying, how you made him feel.

“Say it, Shang,” you moaned, breathy as you felt your release build back again. “I want to hear you say it. Say that you’ll be mine, and that I am yours.”

Shang’s gut churned, burning with lust. He talked above your lips. “I will be yours, as you are mine for all of time. Your wishes, your desires, your dream; they will all be shared and become mine onward. You alone are worth the price you’ve paid to become what you are, now where we are. To be this powerful alongside of me. I will ensure that you will never forget what we’ve worked for, my love.”

Your legs tightened around him as he spoke his promise, your release taking you hard, heightened from how you ever felt before. Your legs shook as if they had energy surging through them, as your stomach clenched and churned, and you constricted around Shang. You moaned your ecstasy in the form of his name.

Shang hissed as he felt you shudder, both inside and around him, his own pleasure heightening from the sensation. As he reached his brink, he spoke in your ear, desperate, promising: “From here and out, we are one, in body in soul. The darkest of nights and the brightest of mornings we shall be by each other in kind, ruling together for the duration of our lives. Until the sun shines no more, until creation has no more purpose.”

He released in his monologue, hips grinding and feeding himself through the pleasure until he was finished. You felt his release spread inside of you, a sort of intense intimacy that you felt on the outside as well. His hot breath pricked against your skin as he came off his high, only releasing his tight grasp when he had his senses back.

You shared a comfortable silence, soaking in the afterglow of the promise of each other. The shared pain you both felt apart from each other, the emotions you both buried, the longing and the unspoken feelings. But now, all was replaced with the promise of tomorrow.

Shang moved your thighs off of his shoulders to let you fully relax. You sighed in thanks and he pulled himself closer, gazing into your eyes.

Your heart could sense his next words before he even spoke them, and already you agreed to them.

“You shall never be with another in this life, nor the next. Not while I still exist. You will need no one but me, as I will provide you with nothing but the best. Your body, heart, your mind, they are all mine, and mine are yours. In this life, for eternity, no one shall ever feel the abundance of your love but me, and no one will know the pleasures of mine but you.”

#mortal kombat fanfiction #mortal kombat x reader #shang tsung #shang tsung x you #shang tsung x reader #beggar shang tsung #shang x reader #mortal kombat 1 #mk1 #mk1 shang tsung #im too aro ace for this #no im not #my art

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luimnigh · 2 years

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Why don’t people like CinemaSins?

Short Answer: They're bad at movie criticism.

Long Answer: Their premise and branding has forced them to become bad at movie criticism in order to continue their livelihood.

CinemaSins began as a channel talking about bad movies, pointing out their flaws, and counting it up as a sort of ranking.

The problem is that it became popular, and because it became popular it became monetisable.

All of their problems really stem from the fact that they earn a livelihood from it.

The Youtube Algorithm started focusing on longer videos, so the videos had to become longer, which meant more sins. But even the worst movies have so many flaws, and you can only make the "joke" sins so many times. So the criticisms started getting... looser. Sinning things that get explained moments later. Sinning things that aren't explained, but are obvious without explanation. Sinning things that are completely subjective.

At the same time, there's only so many popular bad movies. Plenty of completely obscure ones, but nobody's gonna click on a video for a movie they've never heard of. So they started sinning good movies, which left them less to legitimately criticize, while still needing longer videos with more sins. Worsening the problem.

And then the selection becomes more limited when you start chasing what's popular. There's a sequel coming out, got to make a video on the previous film, soak up some of those searches. Doesn't matter if the last movie was a masterpiece of cinema, gotta sin it.

And because the channel was popular, it's word was parroted. It gave a platform for some worst aspects of film criticism: the focus on "plot holes"; the conflation of the two definitions of "critical"; the constant "why didn't the characters do x? lol dumb movie" spiels... all existed before CinemaSins, still exist even in those who profess their hate for the channel, but they became the loudest voice making these points.

They're not the first to fall into this trap. The wave of Caustic Critics spawned by the Angry Videogame Nerd suffered this as well. You cannot monetise negativity forever, there is only so many genuinely bad works of media that are interestingly bad, or praised as good and are actually bad, or bad in a way nobody's discussed before.

If you keep telling people "X is Garbage and Here's Why", you're gonna run out of garbage and start having to manufacture it, no matter what the actual facts are.

Other creators adapted. Found other ways to make their content interesting besides anger and negativity.

But CinemaSins can't. It's in the name.

#asks #anonymous

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ladykinrannoch · 2 months

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Kate has never been protected by the royal family. It was considered acquired by the monarchy from the beginning.This family does not deserve this woman. I'm sorry, but that's my point of view. They prefer to protect these two clowns, and they have done so from the beginning. Nothing is done against them. I hear talk of a long game from the RF, but that sounds more like weakness or worse, betrayal. I have the impression that this is a double game that will seriously backfire on them.

I agree only on one thing that Catherine (not Kate) has been hampered in her ability to defend herself/speak out in the absence of publicly visible defence from the BRF. What the other two have got away with, tarnishing her reputation is reprehensible.

If we go back to the days of London PR before the wedding. All Skippy followers knew that it was a set up with backers. The only fool who did not appear to understand what he was doing was the idiot prince. He now has himself in a terrible mess, and maybe only now is realising the gravitas of what he has done. And it appears the backers are no longer supporting them. Hence all the merching and pap walking and taking five minute gigs to hand out awards. They are degraded to rent a royals, and to be honest will slip into obscurity more and more with each passing year. Despite That One sending out millions of media releases and pap alerts all the time.

H is terribly unhappy, self-medicating with goodness knows what and already with an addictive personality trait having abused alcohol and drugs from a young age, he is in my opinion a lost cause. The backers have realised that every stone thrown at the BRF only makes it stronger and more popular. So the duo have been abandoned not just by the family but by whoever wanted to destabilise the monarchy, whether that was WEF, Russian oligarchs, the CIA or any number of parties who stood to benefit from the collapse of the monarchy in Britain.

Let's be clear, MI5 and MI6 have a dossier. And William has full access to it. You don't think he makes regular visits there to jolly them along on there work. Anytime he has visited has clearly been for a specific briefing. You can be sure that despite running and hiding in Canada and then flying to the US, that the intelligence services knows exactly what they are doing. All the time.

How do you think that 12 minute conversation went with Charles? Money - No more. Children - No not until we see them back here in Britain. Want to come home? - No not until you divorce from that vile woman. I reckon Charles called his bluff on all these things. They tried to blackmail the BRF into giving them big chunks of money over naming Charles and Catherine as the racists via that vile Scooby Doo's book. That was no accident. That was on purpose.... Hazbeen came to get the money and got sent home without a penny. Because absolutely no sane person believes that either of them are racist.

So my point is, just because we don't see things happening played out in the media does not mean that the BRF are not doing anything. Personally I think that behind the scenes, the BRF are making Montecito a living hell for them. Just by withholding any bail out or financial support is enough. But it may extend beyond that and it may be why they are getting no deals. What big honcho in LA wants to annoy the BRF? I can tell you very very few...imho.

#brf #british royal family #Mush and Gush #That One and This One

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macleod · 5 months

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I've seen a number of people on here proclaim that you should not, under no circumstances, take photos at a protest, but: Sharing photos of protests is a great way to amplify the impact of collective action, raise awareness on important issues, and encourage more people to participate.

But: We also have to keep in mind that surveillance is on the rise, including the use of facial recognition tech, which can put people at risk.

So here is a quick basic guide, courtesy of DigitalRightsWatchAU, to protecting people's biometric data when posting protest photos:

Conceal or obscure people’s faces in photos

Before you upload photos from protests to social media, remove biometric data by concealing or obscuring people’s faces and using proper communication channels.

Use Signal.

Signal is a great encrypted messaging app that protects your communications. It also has an in-built feature to blur out people’s faces.

We strongly recommend using Signal to communicate with people white protesting (and anytime, really!), and this added feature makes it easy to protect the identities of people in your photos.

Be selective – choose photos that don’t show people’s faces.

With some careful photography and curation, you can upload photos that capture the scale and energy of a protest without revealing sensitive information — no need to edit them!

Here are some ideas:

take photos at a distance, capturing the crowd rather than individual details of faces,

position yourself behind the march, showing only the backs of heads,

focus on signs, flags and other details to emphasise the protest vibe without showing people’s faces.

Remember it’s good practice to ask people before taking their photo whenever you can. You can also explain to them that you just want to get their sign or outfit but not their face – let them know you want to protect their privacy!

Extra tips:

Doing this does not remove the metadata from your image. Image metadata is generated automatically and usually includes details including the time, date, and GPS location, and information about the type of phone used – this can be used to pinpoint where you were and when. To easily remove metadata, take a screenshot on your device and delete the original.

For extra protection, delete the original photos that show people’s faces from your phone after you have made a version that obscures the faces. Even if you don’t intend to upload them online, if your device is compromised or unlocked and you have the originals sitting there, you’ve done all that work for nothing!

What about videos? Videos are trickier to edit to hide people’s faces and may require additional time, effort and software – this isn’t always possible while you’re on the go! We suggest focusing on minimising capturing faces in the first place when recording video footage.

Focus on harm minimisation rather than perfection. Taking protest photos without revealing people’s faces can be hard – there are a lot of people moving around which makes it difficult. The goal is to minimise sharing others’ biometric information as much as possible. Just try your best!

When you want to capture details: recording incidents

Recording incidents such as use of violence by law enforcement can be a powerful tool of accountability. It pays to be prepared.

Here are some tips from Melbourne Activist Legal Support on observing police at protests:

Record in landscape mode. It captures more of the scene.

Hold your device steady and move it slowly. Smooth, clear footage makes better evidence.

If taking your phone to an action, make sure you don’t take sensitive data with you.

Context is important. Recording moments before an arrest can be as important as the arrest itself.

Try to take clear steady images that capture the police officer’s badge name or ID number.

Don’t hinder an arrest when observing or you may end up arrested too.

Try not to narrate. Your recording may not capture key information if you’re speaking over it.

Police do not have the right to hinder you recording public interactions.

You can also check out the resources from Witness for in-depth guides to recording incidents to protect and uphold human rights. You can also get advice and tools from the National Justice Project’s CopWatch.

#protests #collective action #mine #links #protest #civil rights

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1-49 · 4 months

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𝟬.𝟬𝟭 𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝘂𝗻𝗸 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘁.

➺ pairing: ballerina f!reader × street dancer osaki shotaro. warnings: none. just fluff & love119. competing. idiots<3; 2k

Sundays are traditionally celebrated by the dance teams at the academy as a day to have fun and appreciate the variety of dance styles. It’s both hit-and-miss. There are those who love them and those who hate them.

It is also a day on which you’re compelled to see the boy with the freaky movements and baggy clothes, week after week. His street style is in contrast to ur grace. His gentle eyes and angelic smile are in tune though, so ure quite confused sometimes.

Even though his movements re timed perfectly, you find his fluidity to be too harsh and precise. Your dance style will always be superior to his... Or so you believe.

The pair game that all of you’ve been delaying for the longest & playing team against team is one of the worst things that could happen this Sunday. But it is finally happening, it’s final! He is your date for this occasion. And it is just so unfortunate that you will be paired with the boy who has been causing you to have an indecisive impression of him for the longest time.

He smiles shyly at you from across the practice room, and you feel annoyed that you can see yourself smiling back at him thru the reflection of the mirrors. That is just his courteous way of greeting you, following the clatter of applause when your names are announced, and now carrying on with the event is the only choice you have.

Every hand clap causes pressure to build inside your chest. It shouldn’t feel at all like this; however, here he is, a punk wearing clothes that don’t match you & which also create a distinct image from that of ballet.

He makes his way towards the center of the dance floor where you are, step by step. So you close your eyes and allow your mind to filter out all of the noise filling the space. In his presence, you can’t allow yourself to make any mistakes.

As it is a freestyle duet, neither of you knows where it is going, so all you can do is hope it works out well for you both. Being embarrassed in front of everyone is something you wouldn’t want.

The sweet energy that comes from his eyes is easy to be affected by. You understand the importance of meeting someone halfway, particularly when dancing. Despite the stark differences in appearance, your energies must align.

His big-print hoodie contrasts with your sleek-fitting bodice.

Yours is essentially one with your skin to allow you freedom of movement while at the same time enhancing the visual effect of your dance movements. Contrarily, his wide clothes accomplish the same goal in a different way because they permit him to move freely and showcase his unique sense of flair and style.

With your hair up and attention to your posture, you wait for him. Your old shoes are pink in color, worn out, a bit blood-stained, and exhausted. There are heart-shaped band-aids on both of your leg’s injuries.

The boy seems to focus on them before shifting his gaze to you, with a hint of worry visible on his face. It appears that he is aware of the harm that dancing can cause.

Without you realizing it, his cute concern warms the surface of your skin and gradually makes its way to your heart. He might be a little different, but not by much. You are confident that he would relate to you more than your friends, who are overly preoccupied with social media.

Once he is fully in front of you, he bows his head; his large eyes are partially obscured by his beanie. You find it endearing that he is modest enough to cover up one of his greatest features.

While you both anxiously await whatever kind of dancing and music you will have to perform, you bow your head respectfully and advance toward him, the boy whose name you don’t know.

With every movement he makes, his silver earnings sparkle like stars & serve as his only accessory.

You breathe in deeply. You think it would be humiliating if he had to hold your hand and see how nervous you really are because the insides of your hand are so sweaty.

The various dancers around you stop clapping and cheering, and there is a brief pause before the music begins. A moment of silence. A time when it is just the two of you, a moment of absolute connection.

Just your luck, Claude Debussy’s Rêverie, L.68, begins to play.

You are the one in control here, so he can probably tell when you show a little change in confidence. Even so, he beams, his browns dripping with sparks. A little strange considering that he has no knowledge of ballet, you think...

That is, until the two of you strike a graceful starting stance, with pointed feet and flowing arms. You are dressed for the occasion in your ballet shoes, while he is in black Nikes... And until he starts moving his body in time with the melody, you may assume he is being sarcastic rather than sincere.

To your astonishment, with his silhouette concealed by all the loose clothing, he starts to transforms into a true body in motion, just like you. Easily translating sound into action— stepping & bowing—then momentarily, he flies. A perfect, graceful sight.

Your tense muscles are in attempt to match his mental pace. You are devising each step to somewhat resemble his, so the harmony of your individual dances will be the same.

Your ballet teacher has instilled in you the belief that “If it hurts, you are doing it right.”

And indeed, it is painful to match someone whose technique you are not familiar with—you have not even danced with him before. However, he is currently everything that you love—challenges and surprises.

He is the anti-glow, a ball of sunshine, sunk in pools of gray and black polyester. Denying the fine lines on his body that you are certain exist but never see.

Your heart soars straight over cloud nine, as you extend your neck and return to the initial position. By this point, you can be certain that he has some ballet training; if not, he must have had some experience since nothing else could account for his exceptional ballet dancing.

And since all you two have going on is mental chat, you can both telepathically determine that a pair dance would be the show’s biggest highlight. Both of you are progressing in distinct dance styles, but you have one thing in common: you both take things seriously !

When the audience realizes what you were going for, they begin to applaud the choice. The cheering causes the boy’s cheeks to flush. His confidence has never wavered before, but right now.

And now, after all this time of being cold-hearted, you allow his innocent warmth to seep through your exterior barriers of ice. The tips of your eyes gently wrinkle as you make the ‘It’s going to be okay’ motion with your lips. The words of motivation that flow from your mouth are silent, so only he can read them.

It seems that was all he needed to know...

Carried by the bristling atmosphere, he extends his hand.

Before, you wouldn’t have trusted him with your hand because of how sweaty it would be and what he would think of it, but now you just care about giving the best performance possible, regardless of how vulnerable that makes you to him. All you can hope is that he is competent at keeping secrets.

The confession in his eyes & the gentle smile on his face tell you that he’s ur greatest confidante.

It is the final thing you notice,

before two powerful hands firmly grab your waist. Which simultaneously it feels as though somebody had taken hold of your body and is finally releasing the butterflies that had been imprisoned inside your ribs. Sharing so much with someone is vulnerable and frighteningly intimate. But you decide to put your trust in the partnership.

Because of how close you two remain, your mind keeps filtering out all the chants and roars of everyone around. Although you know in the back of your mind that your friends will make insufferable jokes about the situation you find yourself in, you don’t care as nothing seems more important than the boy right now.

You almost get the impression that this boy just keeps you on your toes. Your heart races every time you look at him with that warm gaze.

Sliding into his arms is like having a fuzzy coat hug you. His tired breath is practically on your lips. Yet proud and shining, your figures blend together despite their contrast.

‘It takes two to tango,’ as you two start to move faster while swaying to the orchestral tune.

You feel as if everybody in the room is watching your every skin, but not him... With roused cheeks his only route are your eyes and lips. You might assume from the way he looks at you that you are the only girl he is continuously thinking about and lusting for.

‘Enough! Enough! Enough!’ Your thoughts are racing, telling you that you can’t allow these emotions to distract you.

“Do you trust me?” He asks, so closely you can read it off his lips.

He doesn’t even need to say what... your inner professional dancer knows, so you smile, well aware of what is about to happen.

There’s a specific rhythm to dancing that only a dancer knows. The thrill of a strong jump, a good pointing of the toes, or the success of a hard spin when they thought they’d run out of luck, but to trust him with them all in the absence of any prior practice is a terrifying test.

Yet, you do! You do...

You let yourself entirely depend on this punk whose name you don’t know. A boy you have only ever seen between dance classes and on Sundays, and someone who makes your emotions explode at the moment. For so long, you have thought of him as a loser—or, more accurately, you haven’t thought about him at all... In this sense, your perception of him was never fully formed.

Up until this point, right now, when you body is raised by his hands.

Up, up, and up you go. Looking up, chin up—hands extended like a wings of an angel.

Then down back you go—to your feet, to his chest. To his pretty face, too shiny eyes, and plump lips.

You lend... safety, but your heart is in danger.

In perfect sync. He sees beyond the here and now, beyond your eyes. Making the most of your mutual closeness as though he would never again have the courage to express his feelings for you in such an honest way.

You stare at him intently. Reaching his orbit in the same manner, and exploring the chocolate of his orbs. Savoring his scent, the drops of sweat dripping from his brow.

But despite everything, you understand that this time the contest is about the race—still the first person to cross the finish line is not necessarily the winner... Because,

“How would you feel if you were to win, and what would happen if you lost?” you whisper. You are competitive by nature; all you are doing is making sure.

Naturally, he shrugs his shoulders, and you find yourself desperate to hear his voice just once.

Last but not least, as the big finish approaches—the double individual spin, you cling to him one last time before you part ways, to execute it on their own.

One less time, you get that perfect sense of unity when your hands entwine. As the ballet performance draws to an end, you keep pouting softly more and more.

And as a result, the boy pulls you until your chest merges with his. In your ear, he whispers, “I receive a date if I land badly.”

Apparently, he is competitive in nature as you are; just a punk who ensures that he gets the better of the situation...

Not every loser is an actual loser.

#riize #shotaro #osaki shotaro #riize fluff #riize x reader #shotaro x reader #shotaro imagines #shotaro fluff #shotaro fanfic #riize x you #riize imagines #riize fic #riize fanfic #riize x y/n #riize scenarios

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thewertsearch · 11 days

Text

Second part of the giga-ask compilation!

@publicuniversalworstie asked: Why assume the Horrorterrors would know that changing events would create a doomed timeline? That assumes both A) that the horrorterrors know the future and B) that they don't think it can really be changed. Maybe they genuinely thought they could change things, such as by perhaps fulfilling all the requisite loops a different way? Imagine a scenario where a time traveler learns of their death, therefore being destined to die, and instead fake their death to create the conditions under which they learned of the death originally.

It's possible. But if the Horrorterrors do have a way to trick the Alpha Timeline like that, then they've really been holding out on us by not mentioning it to the Players. Such a revelation would completely change the game - we might even be able to fake the Earth's death.

Anonymous asked: i want to learn more about coding to analyze homestuck better - do you have a place i could start? resources? idk love the liveblog hope you're doin well :]

Absolutely! I've got two separate answers for you, depending on what your goal is here.

If your main goal is just to analyse Homestuck, then you’re probably best off picking a language whose syntax is easy to understand, such as Python. You'll pick up on the basic logic pretty quickly, and the ~ATH snippets will start to make a lot more sense.

If you’re actually interested in programming for its own sake, then I recommend you start with my own first language, C. It’s a lot harder for a newbie to get to grips with, but doing so will give you a much more solid theoretical foundation then ostensibly ‘easier’ languages.

W3schools is a decent starting resource for both languages - but if you need more specific guidance, let me know, and I'd be happy to help!

@skelekingfeddy asked: actually grubmom having the same color wires as in that pic of sahlee wasnt intentional! i based it on how sollux’s game grubs have red and blue wires attached to them

Serendipity!

Anonymous asked: Did you run any mysterious ~ath programs on that computer of yours?

Honestly, running ATH on that thing would probably have improved it.

Anonymous asked: One voice headcanon I have for Terezi is the English dub of Power from Chainsaw man

Honestly, she sounds pretty much exactly how I imagine Terezi does. She even has the horns!

@martinkhall asked: I'm surprised none of the suggested instruments for a time player were an ocarina.

Some fruit is just too low-hanging.

@delicate-ruins asked: what's an animal you like that you think doesn't show up very much in media, be it fiction or news or just generally? example: i like secretary birds. but except for videos about them, i have never heard them references.

They're not obscure, per se, but there will never be enough sloths in media. The only fictional sloth of note is Sid from Ice Age – and he does not do them justice.

Capybaras are also underrated as hell – so much so that LibreOffice, which I'm using to edit this compilation, doesn’t even recognize the word as real!

Anonymous asked: “I’m trying to figure out if it’s fully a Breath outfit, or if there’s some Heir stuff too.” the general rule for god tier outfits is that the colors and symbol represent the aspect, the clothes represent the class. so, for example, if two princes of different aspects ascended, their clothing style would be the same but they would a have different color scheme. @skaiandestiny asked: If you haven't already figured it out, class informs the godtier outfit and aspect informs the colors and icon!

In that case, there is something about John’s outfit that says ‘heir’ – but nothing really stands out to me.

@driventopoison asked: Hey, I don't know if it's just me but it seems like you've skipped ahead. I have been following your liveblog daily, but I haven't seen you come across the windy thing yet. Is this because you were using the app or something? Also just want to let you know that I love your liveblog. Keep up the good work!

Thank you! Anyway, John’s Windy Thing is indeed documented on the liveblog, and it’s visible to me. I was using the app for some of that segment, though – are app-made posts particularly buggy?

@classpecting-guide-official asked: story about a modded game of sburb where the characters notice that something isn't right and slowly realize that their world is a lie

Back in Act 1, this is pretty much what I thought was happening. It was a simpler time.

@ignis-cain asked: Note the colors the capslock flashes for WV.

When WV locks his capsule, the button’s light flashes red and green – but I’m not sure what the significance of these colors is, in this situation.

Anonymous asked: i know i'm SUPER late to answer this, but i think the instantiation thing is the same as any video game, newly made with a prebaked history. when you name your character, that has been their name for their whole life, even though you thought it up a few seconds ago. when you enter the medium, the planet has a history and the denizens have memories, even though they just showed up when you entered.

Yeah, I’m pretty sure this is indeed what’s going on. The implications are just a lot more wild when the game is physically real, rather than virtual!

@kintatsu asked: So, I know I'm a little late to the party, but I have to point out: Alternian sunlight doesn't need to be THAT much stronger than Earth's to blind Terezi as quickly as it did. Trolls are nocturnal, which means they almost definitely have a tapetum lucidum (eyeshine membrane), which means that however much light entered Terezi's eyeballs? Her retinas were blasted by every photon twice.

Damn, Vriska. For a second, I thought this ask was explaining why Terezi wasn't in as much pain as I'd thought - but this alternate explanation might actually be worse than what I was picturing!

@delicate-ruins asked: It's delightful to see somebody read Homestuck and be as charmed by it as I and a lot of my friends were way back when we first read it, and the calm, digesting pace at which you're enjoying it is honestly so nice. I rushed way too much to catch up since my friends recommended it in about 2016, which means I went from knowing nothing about the comic to being caught up on it in like a week. I never sat down with the ideas and thought "hey, does this mean XYZ?" because quite often I got the answer five seconds later as I rushed to catch up. But seeing you asking those questions is so so fun. Yeah, DOES it mean that?? Guess we'll find out! In the meantime, we get to guess, which means we basically get to have fun twice. It's reigniting my enjoyment of homestuck quite significantly, I think!

Thank you! It’s really nice to be able to engage in a dialogue about the comic through these asks, which is something that wouldn't be possible if I was speeding through it. As I always say, I'm here for a good time and a long time.

@manorinthewoods asked: Alright, here's another transtimeline fun fact. Each of the kids was supposed to have a Quest related to their associated material - John had a land covered in oil, Rose's ocean was polluted with chalk, the gears of LOHAC were gummed by amber, and LOFAF was in a nuclear winter. Ultimately, while the ocean of LOLAR is still chalky, nothing but John's oil made the cut. ~LOSS (16/5/23)

I think it was a good change, then. Not everything has to be a pattern, and Dave's two weird maybe-quests are a lot more unique and interesting than a generic 'materials quest'.

@captorations asked: oh hey, this walkaround! so funny story, i used to run a blog where i posted one of terezi’s canon appearances each day, in order. yes, i completed my task, and more besides. however! when i was wandering through this as terezi, a glitch rendered me trapped. i decided that this counted as a noteworthy appearance, and took a screenshot. then, by sheer coincidence, it ended up being posted on… halloween. it was pretty great (also don’t forget to check out ctrl + t)

You accessed the double-secret version of Past Karkat: Wake Up, which plays the Earthbound Halloween Hack version of Megalovania rather than the Homestuck one.

Anonymous asked: Personally, I think John gaining so many levels so quickly is tied to his role as the heir - he gains so many levels without really trying, not because he's better than the trolls or his friends, but because he just kind of falls into it. The game rewards him for taking the path of least resistance.

That certainly makes sense if we just look at John - but I have trouble reconciling this interpretation with our other Heir. Equius certainly has some advantages, but they aren't exactly unique to him, as you'd expect them to be if his Heir class was responsible for them.

Yes, he's a highblood, but he's outranked by three non-Heirs - and his strength doesn't seem to be unique either, as Feferi seems capable of similar feats. Perhaps Equius will trip and fall into more unique privilege, but it hasn't happened yet.

Anonymous asked: my personal headcanons for midnight crew claspects: Slick - Prince of Blood, Droog - Mage of Space, Boxcars - Knight of Heart, Deuce - Bard of Doom. knowing you youre probably gonna attempt to analyse these LOL

Slick has had ties to Blood since he first met Karkat, so that tracks - and Boxcars is a shipper, so Nepeta's aspect is probably the best fit for now. I'm not sure about the other two, but I'll revisit them later!

#asks #full liveblog #act 5.2

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