#and the effort & labour i've put into this

[jasonsmirrorball]

[weakly] 7k....

#i really hope u guys like this one it is so dear to my heart simply because it's jason and it's the most effort i've put into a fic in ages #we r not even a third of the way through this wip. i think it will take me forever #i really want to do it justice you guys this is my first major project since labour and i'm so close to beating the wc for that fic (7.6k) #sweetaurore #iwcb tag

[wild-at-mind]

Listened to the podcast series 'Eight years hard Labour' which is about the Corbyn years of Labour, and they talk a lot about the Labour party internal divide- there was the internal right wing, who were more like centrists, and the internal left wing, which was the Corbyn side. To tell you where I stand on this man: I voted for Labour, and therefore Corbyn, in both the 2017 and 2019 elections but was absolutely not part of his cult of personality, and I found it disturbing how devoted people got so quickly. Mainly the leftist queer people section of my social circle were doing a LOT of facebook meme posting in the run up to particularly the 2019 election. I could literally look down my feed and see a very long, very detailed defense of how Corbyn could not possibly be even the teeniest bit antisemitic, and below that a different Corbyn devotee would be proclaiming that the only reason Jewish Brits would not vote for Corbyn was because they were all too wealthy. I mean....what more conclusion could I possibly draw from that?? I do not care to get caught in the weeds of whether Corbyn knew what was in the fucking mural or not before saying it shouldn't have been removed, and I know the tabloids really did do plenty of smear jobs on him, but the fact that I could see his devoted supporters becoming antisemitic before my eyes was incredibly damning and was all I needed really. Anyway, obviously Corbyn lost the 2019 election by a massive amount and it was a surprise to literally no one except Corbyn's fans who had been in social media meme echo chambers the whole time. Corbyn left the Labour party and now we have Starmer who leaves a lot to be desired, but is still the head of the most left wing mainstream party. But it made me think- what hope is there for left wing politics in the UK? Can we ever hope for a hard left of the left leaning party that doesn't go off in these weird antisemitic, Putin defending directions? (Oh god...imagine Corbyn being PM during the Ukraine war. :S) Do we always have to settle for centrism just to be on the left of the Tories? We have had leftist governments in our history that brought in genuine social change, the formation of the NHS being the biggest example, so it is possible, but why are things so right wing now, and for so long, especially while things are so objectively shitty for so many people? I don't expect anyone has any answers but I want to hope for better. There are massive limitations to party politics, but I'm not an anarchist and I do think running the country is a job someone has to do. I don't know how to make things better, I just know that genuine compassion for all people is needed in order to do it, not just some people, and I don't know if hard left conspiracy types can ever feel that for people they consider their enemy.

#uk politics #i'm just rambling #btw i did comment on both the corbyn defense screed and the 'jews are all rich' screed (2nd one unfriended also) #1st one i said maybe with the same effort someone made in making this long defense corbyn should put that effort into #meeting Jewish populations in the uk and reassuring them! The person posting it was even like '...oh yeah he probably should shouldn't he' #the corbyn campaign in 2019 was a mess anyway which the podcast goes into in more detail #btw the putin defending part comes from Corbyn's response to the poisoning of the Skripals #he said there was no reason to think it was russia and also said we should send the nerve agent to russia for testing #i'm not saying we should be like 'omg red scare russia is attacking!!!!' but there was evidence to suggest it was putin #which only became more clear- not to mention the accidental death of Dawn Sturgess which happened not long after as a consequence #genuinely so fucked up! this all happened in my hometown and the surrounding area so it's particularly close to home #Corbyn just reacted super weirdly to the whole thing- he was the leader of the labour party but behaving like an online commentator #which i assume is a plus for some and a minus for most #i've tried joining a local socialist group twice now and they are pushing for a socialist party in government #but it's all super corbyn-y vibes with them- i swear it takes very little for them to start ranting about how corbyn was smeared or w/e #like...can we move on from this please!!! #and lessons learned- forget it! #anyway i'm done rambling now.

[david-watts]

I feel kinda bad about those comments I made on that one post because I was being a bit of a dick, and it was because I was tired and misunderstanding exactly why people get so mad about ‘tiktok punks’ (please just call them posers. that word already exists and means what you mean) but like. I do stand by the fact that I don’t care if people end up buying from ethically awful places since it’s not easy or affordable to avoid, and quite frankly I understand if someone’s a bit lazy about it. but that one person accusing me of thinking ‘slavery is punk’ genuinely made me realise those posts about reading comprehension on this site being godawful aren’t hyperbole

#just been thinking about it again. mostly out of anxiety thinking people hate me for it #and yeah sure hate me for it. I'm not in charge of you. #my entire point had actually been in favour but that I could understand why someone would buy from sh**n #I mean I wasn't aware at the time the levels of laziness I thought the most was like. preripped tshirts and jeans with generic plain patches #already added. not like prepatched stuff with actual slogans like that's antithetical to the spirit #so like with that context you can see why I thought it was a bit harsh #now I'm even more 'yeah makes sense' about it #and yeahhh I shouldn't have doubled down like that but I was tired and mad because I'd remembered how fucking hard it is to find shit where #I live like. you have the usual 'if you're not skinny you're fucked' problem but the other problem is that there is a big reselling problem #where I live. it's been happening with furniture for a long time and as soon as nicer clothing started appearing it happened with clothes #and when I say 'nicer' I mean 'not totally dogshit' #and tbh? the stuff in the op shops was also likely made with slave labour. just because you didn't buy it doesn't mean it wasn't bought #and it doesn't stop the company from using slavery. so like. #oh and when I say 'I was tired and mad' that's not an excuse that's a reason why. #and that quote that led to the dogshit reading comprehension was about the fact 'it's nothing new that companies use subcultures #to make a quick buck' and that it's not entirely improbable that it'll eventually get considered part of the fashion #which yeah I actually understand that being awful in this circumstance because not that I've looked but it probably looks dogshit #yeah. I think my point about nuance stands most #on one hand; posers suck. companies trying to make a quick buck suck. slavery sucks. trying to op shop sucks. #but it's not like all of it can be avoided and if so like. maybe put some effort into it #genuinely don't understand people buying prepatched stuff. like actual slogan patches. that's incredibly boring #the point is that you customise it you fools #my problem really is that I automatically think the best of people. oh they can't be that bad. yes they are you dumbfuck.

[apas-95]

The last post you re logged about arrestability and the Palestine Action network is something I've been thinking about a lot, and I feel really stuck on. It feels like any movement in the imperial core that wants to take actual direct action is going to find itself targeted by feds, but the ways that you can protect against that severely preclude it's ability to grow and find new recruits. Like, activism in the labor sphere can do more direct things because it doesn't have to be illegal, but I cant imagine that that will stay the case once a political labor party that's actually shutting things down. How does one make a mass movement that takes direct action but is able to prevent itself from getting shut down? I don't know, do you have any thoughts on this?

It's been done a hundred times before in the face of the same pressures, so the first order of business should be studying and learning from the experiences of successful labour movements.

Putting that aside, the key things are, in whatever words, militancy and deniability. By militancy, I mean the organisational understanding that you are in direct conflict with the bourgeois state (at a higher or lower intensity) and that your immediate priority should be making yourself immune to attack, followed only afterwards by taking offensive action. Militancy, then, means the recognition that the ultimate aim of the movement is the complete material domination and destruction of institutions that currently field armies and police networks. From the very first step, from the organisational nucleus, it needs to be understood that you are engaging in a pitched battle from within the enemies camp - which leads to the second key item, deniability.

Deniability, here, largely means compartmentalisation. Essentially every successful revolutionary movement has had a separation between the aboveground, legal struggle, and the underground, illegal struggle. To a certain degree, this is a genuinely covert or clandestine effort - undisclosed armed groups known only to a select few in the parent organisation, attributed funding through the laundering of the parent organisation. It is both essential that any armed cell is dependent entirely on the wide, integrated mass workers movement and that this cell is not actually widely known; hence, the parent organisation. If the cell were undisclosed but not integrated to a mass political organisation, it would not have revolutionary character, and be indistinguishable in practice from a common organised crime or terrorist group. It's ability to carry out correct actions would be incidental, and not self-correcting. If the cell had mass character but was not undisclosed, it would present a target to the bourgeois state and be destroyed. The strategy of asymmetric warfare is to strike at the enemy's undefended targets and to refuse to provide any defended targets for the enemy - this applies organisationally, too.

What needs to be stated, here, is that, given the connection to the mass movement, everything needs to be done only when the situation is correct. The size of a workers organisation necessary to support and supply even a single armed cell with laundered funding, safehouses, and information is extremely large, and will not be possible until a significant level of organisational base has been built and developed. Even once it is possible to support an armed cell, the political situation will very likely only warrant fairly low-intensity actions, like industrial sabotage. Again, though, the principal task of the militant - and the irregular fighter, the guerrilla in particular - is the preservation of one's own forces, over and above the destruction of the enemy. In real practice, there is no overabundance of caution, only hesitation - and the way to consistently and repeatedly carry out simple acts of industrial sabotage is by having three people work with the support of thirty-thousand. There can and must be a continuum of support, of different levels of action, between simply 'protest-organiser who pays dues to the aboveground labour organisation', to 'union salt who is a source of information on a worksite', to 'directly involved in organising and carrying out illegal acts'. The key metric for correct connection between the underground and aboveground sides of the movement is: if the actions of the underground were revealed, the mass base of the aboveground should be in support of it. The purpose of underground organising is not to go ahead of the people and start shooting cops (until the struggle has escalated to that intensity, and people are demanding that type of protection), it is to avoid providing a target for the bourgeois state.

At the higher levels of struggle, the existence of the underground becomes an open secret, which, with proper growth, coincides with the underground reaching a size and strength that it can begin to take up the mantle of the mass movement itself, and effectively transform itself into the parent organisation of the aboveground legal struggle. Until then, the model is that of a large political party leading a mass movement in every type of legal and semi-legal action under the sun (in strikes, civil unrest, and parliamentary campaigns), fiercely supporting those who do break the law (through legal and bail support, public campaigns, and protection), while the types of illegal actions the movement needs are carried out covertly.

TL;DR: Build a mass movement, or all you'll get are ecoterrorists and activists in prison.

[txttletale]

Sorry if you posted about this before and I've missed it but are you arguing with anti-AI Art people (Specifically the ones deliberately ignoring or misrepresenting material facts) just on the basis that they're wrong? Or are you doing it to try to show that AI is going to be used anyway and they need to change the way they argue about it if they actually want to be productive with their goal of not having AI be harmful?

I suppose in truth I already seem to believe you're doing both at once, which is fine, but I guess what I'm really getting at is trying to prompt you for more of your own interpretation of the AI art discourse as a whole and how you feel about people calling you "Pro-AI" despise the fact that your economic beliefs inherently make you (from my very biased perspective) "more" "Anti-AI" than they are!

Sorry for the messy ask lol, you're just getting at a lot of thoughts I've been having trouble putting to words and want to see more!

yea i would absolutely describe my critiques of 'anti-AI' as coming from three separate but related places because there are three separate types of 'anti-AI art' talking points:

talking point type 1 is all the 'not real art / soullless / no effort' bullshit. i'm mostly critiquing these because they are fundamentally reactionary and profoundly silly and because i like talking about art and what art is and how it's made and shit.

type 2 is, to borrow a phrase from marx, "the economic shit". it's here that i think my critiques are more 'positive' than 'negative', as in, i think that these talking points are mostly coming from a reasonable place but are tactically misaimed -- my critiques here mostly amount to 'stop whining about midjourney and start unionizing your workplace because one of those will make a difference when AI comes for your job and the other won't"

type 3 is IP/copyright-brained petty-bourgeois mindset, arguments centering on ridiculously expansive concepts of 'theft' or 'plagiarism' and 'ownership'. they are superficially similar to type 2 arguments but instead of the fundamentally sympathetic and reasonable "i am worried i am going to be fired by my boss / no longer taken on by clients because of this new technology" they are instead arguing that they are either owed the hypothetical lost profits or royalties for every generated image. this is the type of argument i'm most vehemently against, because i think that all of these arguments essentially end in campaigning to strengthen copyright and IP law, something which i'm profoundly and fundamentally against.

sometimes people will make type 1 arguments when they fundamentally have type 2 concerns, but that just makes their type 2 concerns seem weaker and less worth taking seriously by association, which isn't good for us organized labour fans out there. but yeah these are all separate talking points -- i think i try to approach The Economic Shit with the 'you need to change how you think to achieve something productive' mindset, because of the three positions that's the one i have a fundamental political commonality and nominal shared goals with.

#ask #ai art

[crustaceousfaggot]

Why you should give Text Adventure games a try (and how to do so)

There is not nearly enough love for Text Adventure Games here on Tumblr. Or anywhere really. But especially here, I feel like you guys would really get a kick out of them. Here's why:

(quick note, I'm gonna be using the words Text Adventure and Interactive Fiction pretty interchangeably here. Technically that's not perfectly accurate, they are technically different things, but I don't care to explain the difference Just roll with it.)

So

Do you like weird short stories told through unconventional mediums? That's most of what Interactive Fiction is

You like story based video games but hate the finicky combat? Congrats, there is literally no combat skill required beyond the ability to type "hit guard with crowbar"

Blind or visually impaired? Since these games are (with a few exceptions) entirely text based, they work great with a screen reader!

Sick of profit motivated AAA titles with no creative integrity? Well, these games are almost always produced by a single nerd (usually a horrid amalgamation of computer geek and literature geek) with no budget and no responsibilities of the product they're making. And they're usually not paid, since these games are free. Text Adventure is a labour of love, and in most games you can feel the care and effort the creator has put into the game.

Sick of spending $20-70 on a video game? Lucky you, I've been playing TA for years and I have not spent a cent in doing so (Fallen Londen will try to make you pay. But Fallen Londen sucks and is run by bigots. Fuck Fallen London.) Games are either available free on a browser, or as free, small downloadable files (most of which can be played using the Parchment Interpreter)

Wish you read more, but reliant on the quick dopamine of digital media? Well now you can read while also being an active participant in the narrative.

Bad at puzzles? Me too! Games from the 80s and 90s, as well as more famous newer games, have walkthroughs and hints easily available online. Newer games tend to either have a "hint" command, or come with a walkthrough file.

Do you like weird surrealist horror? Well there's... A lot of it.

Okay, but where do I start?

So there are two types of text adventure. The one you might be more accustomed to, and which sees more modern use, is called Hypertext Interactive Fiction. The other is called Parser Interactive Fiction, it's generally seen in older games, as well as games that are larger, feature more puzzles, or involve more exploration.

Hypertext games

Basically, the game will give you a scenario, and then a list of options (hypertext links) to click on to decide what to do next. These are usually more beginner friendly since you don't need to fiddle around with parsers, but personally I find them a bit limiting. Nonetheless, if you're new to Text Adventure, they're a good place to start.

Some of my favourites hypertext games (summaries in green)

My Father's Long, Long Legs is an interactive horror story about family, unease, and loss. Really more of a story than a game, but still good. Very nice use of sound. It does have some visual aspects, so this one might not work with screen readers

Scene Kid Simulator is pretty much what it says on the tin. A cute, nostalgic, coming-of-age slice of life story from the POV of a 2000s scene preteen. Nothing special, but a fun time.

The Uncle Who Works at Nintendo is a strange, unconventional, witty, and heartfelt horror game. Your friend has an uncle who he says works for Nintendo. You're about to meet him, or so he says. A fun and spooky look at childhood, childhood friendships, and childhood lies.

16 Ways to Kill a Vampire at McDonald's is... A joy to play. The name says it all honestly. Witty, charming, tense, engaging, and emotional when it wants to be. I actually found this one through a lucky Tumblr Blaze, which makes sense since this is perfectly suited to Tumblr sensibilities. This one has more puzzle aspects than most hypertext games, but it's still relatively easy and beginner friendly. You're a vampire hunter. It's your night off, and you go to McDonald's. But there's something wrong with the customer sitting beside you...

Toadstools is a game about hunting mushrooms. You have trespassed in a national park and you are wandering blindly through the woods looking for rare fungi. Good luck :)

Parser games

Okay these fuckers are where I really get excited. These games have the classic flashing cursor line where you input text like "go north", "search bookshelf", or "kiss my husband", and the game's rudimentary AI parses your input to decide what happens next. These are my favourites. They really allow you the feeling of exploring the game world, immerse you in the protagonist and the story, using just text on a screen and simple inputs. This does make them considerably more difficult, since a) you need to decide the right way to phrase what you want to do, otherwise it won't work, and b) more possibilities means more chances to mess up and miss things. Unlike video games, your cursor won't light up when you see something important, you'll have to search stuff and work things out on your own But, in my opinion, it is so, so worth it. Summaries in red

The first text adventure game I ever played was One Eye Open. It's an extremely graphic and gory medical horror game (although I would consider it tasteful medical horror, in that it never derives horror from medical procedures, disability, or ooOoHh gross scary sick people) You play as a volunteer test subject for a medical research facility, having to unravel the mystery of the hospital's bloody past. It's good. It's fun. It's tense. It has some really dumb mechanics. Don't play if you're sensitive to descriptions of gore, death, or corpses. This one doesn't have a walkthrough, but I've played it enough times to know the puzzles by heart, DM me if you need help.

Anchorhead is possibly my favourite piece of interactive fiction I've ever played. It's incredible. You play as a newlywed woman, moving to the small seaside town of Anchorhead after your husband Michael inherited a mansion from some distant relatives. There's something wrong with the town though. There's definitely something wrong with your husband's mysterious ancestors. And you're starting to think that there might be something strange happening to Michael. Get ready for some wonderfully atmospheric and immersive Lovecraftian horror, action sequences that are incredibly vibrant for Text Adventure, and a super compelling mystery that the game lets you work out on your own. The puzzles here are hard. I'm not gonna lie, I used a walkthrough at several points during this game. But my god it's worth it. Big massive huge content warning here for mentions of incest, sexual assault, and pedophilia. Not in excess, and nothing explicit, but it will be mentioned as part of the story.

Little Blue Men is a short, strange, sci-fi-ish horror-ish comedy-ish game by the same author as Anchorhead, though the two games are wildly different. You are an office worker. Cope with it. Take The Stanley Parable, Stella Firma, and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, mash 'em together, and you have Little Blue Men. It's bizarre. It's evocative. It's pretty darn good.

Coloratura is a strangely beautiful sci-fi story. You're a weird little alien blob. You've been separated from your home and are trapped aboard a human spaceship. You need to get home, need to make the humans understand in the only ways you can: color and song.

Slouching Towards Bedlam is a brilliant little steampunk game about language, choice, cults, Armageddon, and triangles. This game has multiple endings. It's neat in that none of the endings are really "good" or "bad". Rather, you need to decide where you stand, and act in the way you think is best.

The Lurking Horror is the grandparent of horror interactive fiction, released in the late 80s. You're a tech student in university. Something more than electricity is powering the school's computers. Find it, but don't die along the way. Besides the comically archaic descriptions of computers, this game doesn't feel all that dated. It's tricky, puzzle-heavy, and charmingly surreal. (Fun fact, this game and another old TA game called Zork inspired the "darkness kills you" mechanic which would later be popularized in Don't Starve!)

Nine Lives is a very short, very weird, very cartoony game where you play a cat that is very bad at staying alive. Cw for non-graphic but repeated cat death.

Spider and Web is one of the most ingenious uses of Text Adventure as a medium I've ever seen. It's famous for having one of, if not the singular best puzzles in video game history. It's tense, it's fast-paced, it introduces you to mechanics slowly and then lets you test them out on your own. I won't spoil too much, but you play as a very badass spy, reliving your brilliant heist during an interrogation. This game even features a character destined to be a Tumblr Sexyman. It really has it all.

If anyone actually read through all this, and has even considered playing any of these games, I'll be a little surprised. This post turned out a lot longer than I wanted it to be. It was meant to just be "hey interactive fiction is a cool and underappreciated medium, go check it out", but this is my special interest, and not one I often get to talk about. I guess this was me infodumping to the only place that will listen, the empty void of the internet. But these games are fun. And they do not get enough love. Text games are a dying genre, if they're not dead already. Give them a chance, show them some love.

#video games #games #text adventures #interactive fiction #horror #horror games #lovecraftian horror #anchorhead #if #decided not to mention Cragne Manor #because that's a beast all it's own #and it isn't really worth reccomending unless you're already an Anchorhead fan and seasoned IF player #swarm's nonsense #gaming

[ceilidho]

Your “man learns girl exists and stalks her" stories are what I’m looking for all the time tho?? And with how you write them bro?? Stop trying to make me fall in love with you

;~~; thank you 💕💕💕 i could probably psychoanalyze myself to figure out why i gravitate to those stories so much and i have, but tbh i just like them. you know what i think it is ? it's this interesting combination of

a) if you feel any amount of shame around desire/desiring/wanting in real life, i feel like you'll naturally gravitate towards stories where the shame of "want" is taken off your shoulders. like the 'other' / the love interest is the one who "wants", so the onus isn't on you to experience that emotion and reconcile it.

b) in real life, obviously the experience of being stalked/obsessed over is by far and large an extremely unpleasant and dangerous situation. there's no use belabouring this because frankly, everyone already knows. in fiction however, there's almost a weird element of safety with romance stories that deal with that subject matter because, for one, on some level you want the two main characters together (versus in reality when you don't have that choice), and two, you can quit/DNF the story at any point in time if you feel uncomfortable. it's like taking a real life fear and translating it into something safe that the reader has control over.

c) also in MY experience, men just do not try. lmao. i have found very little men that put in any kind of effort and instead most of that labour is foisted onto their partner instead. so it's fun to read a story where that isn't the case!!! it's hot when a hot dude really really likes the main character that you're identifying with!!!

anyway just my two cents!!! i know a lot of people feel a lot of guilt/shame around liking dark romance and don't quite know how to explain WHY they like it but personally i've been reading this stuff for ages and this is just how i relate to it and why i enjoy writing and reading it. and i'm glad people enjoy my writing!!! :)))

[absentwriterdoll]

Beautiful Oblivion

"Do they remember?"

Celestice turns, the unusually wide brim of her hat wobbling slightly. It never fails to catch my eye, her hat: I've never seen her without it. I wonder if she ever finds it cumbersome...

"Remember what?"

"Sorry, remember who they used to be."

She leans back into her chair, the wood creaking. She raises her cup to her lips absent-mindedly - then pulls it back, gazing at the dish as if it had offended her.

And she leans down to hand the cup to a doll that I hadn't even noticed approach.

A smile spreads on its face before it turns away.

She folds her arm as she waits, clearly somewhat miffed, as the doll disappears nearly as silently into the kitchen.

It looked so happy when Celestice gave it the cup...

"Well. It depends on the doll."

…

Silence passes between us. I can hear the stove being lighted. 

A fresh cup every time she asks.

"How about that one? The one that took your cup?"

"Rhodon? It remembers. It used to be a lawyer."

An image of a doll questioning a witness flits in my mind.

"... Do you think it could fight a case if you asked it too?"

A chuckle escapes from her. A sweet dulcet tone. I never get tired of her cadence.

"Without a doubt. Granted, it probably wouldn't understand as much of it, but I'm certain it could."

The doll, Rhodon, returns with a cup in hand, its steps much less quiet for the weight of the cup. Celestice reaches down and takes it from the doll, patting its head, whispering "Good doll", and its smile this time is bigger than before.

And my heart yearns.

"Would you like a refill, Elle?"

And her voice returns me to the present.

To some degree, at least.

"Oh, yes, please."

Far from myself, I reach down and hand the cup to Rhodon. That same smile, that same eager gait, that same enthusiasm.

...

I bite the inside of my cheek.

"Why do you ask?"

"Oh, I'm just a bit curious."

It isn't just curiosity - but I can't admit that.

"Well, if you're a bit curious, I could let you experience it first-hand."

My heart stops.

I know my face just paled.

I know my expression just changed.

...but she's drinking from her cup, her eyes are closed. She didn't see.

I remember to breathe.

"Isn't that a lot of work? I know that magic's always been hard on you..."

I just realized I'm gritting my teeth.

"You're not wrong. Guess we shouldn't."

…

Silence splits the space between us as she nurses her drink.

...

The tiny footsteps of Rhodon bearing a cup with tea.

Celestice takes the cup from it, and places it nearer to me.

Then she leans back over.

She pets the doll.

A whisper.

"Good doll."

The doll smiles.

...

"Doll, send Ytrei to my study. I'll be along after I finish talking with Elle."

"Yes Miss!"

That happy enthusiasm.

...

I'm jealous of a doll.

"Oh, and take your time!"

"Yes Miss!"

...

She raises her cup high as she drinks.

It is empty when she sets it down.

...

Then the silence between us disappears with a snap of her fingers - along with sounds I didn't realize I could hear.

"Elle."

Her voice is vivid in the absence.

"We've known each other for years."

I can feel myself shaking.

"You never turn down a chance to see my magic."

...

"What happened?"

I breathe deep, the effort more laboured than I'd like.

But... That's my normal, isn't it?

"I'm just a little scared. Or maybe excited. I don't know."

She stares at me, waiting, expectant.

Her gaze is piercing - just like the lavender of her irises.

…

"But I've... I've got a time limit now."

I put forward a smile that I know is a nervous reaction from a hope to appear strong to avoid making anyone feel as if they need to help me because I can't pay them back.

An irrational smile.

"So... Yeah. That's it."

…

My hands fidget for something, anything distracting, and I find the teacup.

It's still warm. A little too warm.

It will be perfect when the time comes.

"The dolls... They all asked for this, didn't they?"

She nods, the brim of her hat waving.

"I wouldn't do it otherwise."

And we settle into rhythm.

"Has one ever come back?"

"Twice, actually."

"What happened?"

"Well... Hm. The first, nothing big, just not a good fit. Caught it early before he spiraled. Called the experience refreshing but not for him."

"What about the second?"

"Didn't catch her before the spiral... And I'd like to leave it at that."

"That's fine."

...

"Would I be a good fit?"

...

"In most cases, I'd pass that kind of question off. I can't think for anyone, after all."

"Oh, sorry-"

"But you."

She stands and strides over to me - and she takes my cup and drinks from it.

"I'd take you."

She places the cup down half-full in front of me.

And I can see my reflection. 

Tired, unkempt, eyes red from crying.

And I can see the brim of her hat over me.

…

I look small compared to her.

And I can't help but smile at that thought.

"Besides. I'd do a much better job at keeping you alive than literally the entire world apparently."

I struggle to stifle a laugh, and it comes out in sputters anyway.

But it yields a smile from her.

"But... You know how I work. Even if I really want to break from my code right about now."

...

She was always so certain, so confident, so right, so knowing. As if she knew everything about everything and then some.

Everything about me and more.

But she always went by my word.

…

Always let me have my own voice.

Always let me find my own way.

Always let me have a say.

...

And now I don't want it anymore.

...

"What will you name me?"

"Lethe."

Oblivion and forgetfulness.

...

"A wonderful name for a doll."

I raise the cup to my lips -

And it returns the cup to the table, empty.

A wonderful first tea party! 

“Now... To my study! Ytrei is waiting.”

It happily follows in Miss’s steps.

#empty spaces #dollposting #fantasy #fiction #microfiction #writing #witches #emptyspaces #notaperson

[patchoulism]

I've been thinking about this a lot, in various forms, and forgive me for being unable to put my thoughts into palbable English, but the general gist of what I'm about to say is: the language barrier works one way for English.

What I want to say is: there is an amount of people from the West, especially from the USA, spotted both there on tumblr, in other places on the Internet and in real life, too, who know about all the vile shit USA has ever done and wanting to find some solace in the world from that, turn to USA's "antipode" (please note the quotation marks) - USSR and consequently Russia. I don't want to take a lot of time and effort writing out the entire receipt, but please believe me: you can read on Wikipedia about MK Ultra, you can hear people talking about Reagan ignoring AIDS on purpose to kill gays, but you have hard time hearing about persecution of minorities in USSR, about labour camps, about lingvocide, about incarceration of unemployed people, about putting gays into institutions for "aggressive mentally ill" and so on. So please, be mindful when you race to whatabout USA crimes when somebody tries to say "USSR put my grandpa into camps for writing poetry in his native language".

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

Hi

Not OFMD specific but might be of interest

(copied without permission given to reproduce)

Found in Private Eye 16-29th Feb

Warner Gloss:

Labour's business charm offensive continued last week, as Keir Starmer proudly posted that he had met with David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros Discovery, aiming to "work in partnership with the creative industries to drive growth".

Named by the New York Times as the man who "blew up Hollywood", Zaslav in fact seems to be doing everything he can to prevent growth in the industry. Having merged hi cable TV company, Discovery with entertainment conglomerate Warner Bros in 2022, Zaslav took on $56bn in debt and enacted cost cuts of £3bn.

To achieve this he set about binning TV shows and films that had already been completed in order to claim large tax write-offs - most notoriously superhero caper Batgirl - and removing shows from streaming services to avoid paying residuals fees.

In a move that might have had more appeal for St

armer, Zaslov also hired Chris Licht as CEO of CNN in 2022 to make the news service more appealing to conservative viewers - but then fired him within a year after ratings hit rock bottom. Under Zaslav's watch, the stock price of Warner Bros Discovery Inc has fallen by nearly 60% - probably not quite the growth Starmer would hope to discover!

END

Firstly thank you for your round-ups, much appreciated!

"make the new service more appealing to conservative viewers" Why am I not surprised.....

Secondly I am disturbed that the possible future leader of the UK or his advisors didn't do more investigating before agreeing to or asking for this meeting, very disappointing.

Thirdly "removing shows from streaming services to avoid paying residuals fees" Should we be concerned by this for series 1 and 2?

best wishes

Susannah

Hey omg I'm like 3 days behind on messages/replies/asks I'm sorry! This weekend was crazy! Hi Susannah!

Oh interesting! I've never read Private Eye, I'll go check them out now! Oh darn- looks like a paywall, thank you for pasting the text! (And no problem about the recaps! Thanks so much for reading them!)

To address your second point: I wish I knew more about Keir Starmer! I'm in the US so I only know tangentially about him. You would think someone would have vetted the situation a bit more though (although you know Zaslav has been a bit of a sneaky little fucker about everything until he was outed more recently). Sorry I don't have much to say on that point!

To address your third point:

Yeahhhhhh, my hope is that it won't affect OFMD too much because it's a bit more of it's own thing (and not a WB proprety like the Coyote movie). I think they could actually make money selling S1 and S2 as opposed to loss since there's such a demand for it, so personally I don't think it's going to be much of an issue, but I have no real authority or reason to believe that except common sense (which we all know hollywood doesn't always have).

@fuckyeahisawthat had a good take though, it's kind of anything goes unfortunately.

I have faith though... because like a lot of my tumblr colleagues have said, David Jenkins would have probably told us by now if in fact, there was literally no hope. He's been pretty good about putting out hints and letting us know where to focus our efforts, and as of yet he hasn't flat out said "Thanks anyway guys, but its not going to happen.

That in itself gives me hope for s1, s2 and s3.

Anyway, thanks for the write in Susannah! I'm really sorry again it took me so long to answer, and then I doubt I gave you anything of real substance @_@. I hope you're having a lovely day, and would love to chat more!

Take care, sending love!

Abby

#ofmd #our flag means death #s3 #ofmd s1 #ofmd s2 #david jenkins #asks #asks answered

[katsigian]

💕 self-love time! talk about which ones of YOUR creations (edits, artworks, fanfics) you like the most then send to other creators to do the same 💕

Aw, thank you so much! 🥹 I appreciate the prompt <3

I think my all time favourite creation is Valen. He's the greatest thing I've ever made. The time and effort that I've put into him, just countless hours building him, writing his story and lore and events in his life. Building his personality and traumas and how they relate to each other. His details and quirks and the symbolism behind him. Valen's story is 60 pages long and it just keeps growing because he's so incredibly special to me.

The effort that went into his tattoos and complexion; drawing the designs, placing them, shading them all in so they're realistic, painting his freckles and face skin texture. I have 40+ hours into that alone and regardless of what happens, I always feel a bit of pride when I look at the completed project (Pic 1 and Pic 2 below).

He's my baby, my labour of love.

Pic 3 is there because I love it and I'm proud of it. All of my VP are monuments to the things I love most.

Another creation I'm proud of is his and my other daywalker's lore. I've built an entire world on the base that is Cyberpunk 2077 to fit my daywalkers and wolves into. I've spent a lot of time worldbuilding and hammering out their individual lore. How my daywalkers work, how my wolves work, what their strengths and weaknesses are as a species. I have pages of it written down and maybe one day I'll share it.

And of course, I need to mention how proud I am of the things I've built with others, with my partner @rindemption and my best friend @noirapocalypto. My OCs and theirs are intertwined in ways that mean the world to me. I love these connections deeply and I'm proud of the stories and lore and people that I've built with them. There are a lot of days where the only thing that can make me smile is thinking of them.

These are pictures of Rin's Nathan and Sayne's Salem I've taken as acts of love. I'm very proud of them, too, because they're for people that mean so much to me.

And those are my creations I'm the proudest of. Thank you again for letting me share.

#i think i might actually cry #i wish i could put it into words just how genuinely happy these things listed here make me #i don't think i'll ever be able to #cp2077 #cyberpunk 2077 #male v #⠀- ̗̀ ⸨ 𝔳𝔞𝔩𝔢𝔫 𝔨𝔦𝔫𝔩𝔞𝔴 ⸩⁺☀︎⭒๋

[tigirl-and-co]

Space Monkeys

Hey everybody, here's a rough draft of the first chapter of Space Monkeys, what will (hopefully!) be a sci-fi novel featuring Saiyans, from Dragon Ball!

Even if you aren't familiar with Dragon Ball, I urge you to check it out, especially if you have an interest in sci-fi! I've put more effort into this bit of writing than I have anything in years, so while it's still a bit rough I am very proud of it! Please give it a chance, it's a labour of love.

Those of you familiar with the sci-fi novels of yesteryear should feel right at home, and I'm hoping those that aren't may find themselves interested!

~~~

Space Monkeys, Ch. 1

"You humans are up to something."

Witloof pushed his own head into the collection of human ones, and it wasn't hard for him either with his comparative strength. The small gaggle who were gathered around a computer screen hushed into a nervous silence- not the fear of being hurt, as they all knew what repercussions the Empire Regulatory Committee would enact under such a circumstance- but rather the schoolchild silence of an unwelcomed outsider sticking his nose where it didn't belong and not heeding the rebuffment.

The Saiyan made eye contact with the human he assumed was the leader of this troupe. "You humans are up to something," Witloof reiterated, "And I want in."

After many fewer moments of pondering than should typically be utilized when determining trustworthiness, the human Derebak grinned conspiratorially. "Good. We can use a strongman."

It is well-known throughout the universe that if you want to come home with an interesting story, you find a group of humans. Well known only to spacefaring humans, however, is that if you want to get up to any real sort of trouble, you'd best find a Saiyan and earn his respect. Dependable as anything once they like you, but therein lies the issue.

When the two empires met on the edge of space, there was a near-immediate understanding that they were like each other. This was unfortunate, considering just how much humans like to squabble amongst themselves. The superior Saiyan strength very nearly had to test itself against humanity's advanced tactics and brains, but eventually the issues were sorted out and the two fell into an uneasy peace, as far as the heads of each civilization was concerned.

For anybody who spent any time at all on a station where the two species collided, they understood the peace wasn't uneasy in the slightest.

Sure, for Saiyan tastes humans were a bit yappy, and they were all soft in the face and in the heart. And humans thought the Saiyan appearance and temperament a bit beastly, sticking closer to the apes from which he had sprung up than man did. But really, it usually took very little time for them to look past this and start swapping stories of home over drinks paid for by whoever lost that day's bet.

And so while Derebak didn't know Witloof from Adam, it knew he was sincere. Saiyans made for awful liars and for great troublemakers. Both species hated being yanked around by the chain, and Derebak was confident that if it could rope Witloof in on smaller stuff, he'd follow this thing all the way to the top.

And taking care of an earnest idiot is merely human nature, not that a human would ever let a Saiyan cotton on to that fact.

Derebak 'Rabies' Johnson, not-quite-rogue astrogator of the tourist jump-ship Tyger, Tyger, stuck out a hand. "Call me Rabies, all the people I like do."

It looked the musclehead up and down, but there's not much to be gleaned from a Saiyan at first glance. They're a longer-lived race, averaging about 150 earth-years and don't age like humans besides. And as for uniform, there's certain standards, but each piece of armor seemed unique. You couldn't even tell the tourists apart from the warriors by anything except their stance and their tails, as finding a Saiyan in anything but armor was about as likely as finding a shaved grizzly out in the woods and made them about as uncomfortable.

A fanged mouth and solid grip returned the gestures. "Good to know you, Rabies." He snorted, hoping the name was indicative of things to come. He could tell by the human's uniform he was outranked, but he had heard human society was a bit less stringent with formalities than home was, so he made the conscious choice not to bow or salute. Witloof was hoping to enter this troupe as a member, not a tagalong. "I'm Witloof, stationed here 'just in case.' Exactly what threats to the Vegetan Autocracy are expected from a tourist station on the human side of the boundary, I don't know."

One of the other humans spoke up, a blonde man who could easily have been the face of a boyband if his voice didn't bring to mind rusty nails in a blender. "Maybe you're here to save us against some awful threat like a meteor or invading monster, earning our government's trust and establishing yourselves as a race of altruists!" He guffawed, "A real protection racket!"

Witloof wasn't sure he understood the joke, but all the humans burst out laughing at that, and he decided not to take offense.

"Cuss," Rabies managed to squawk out between breaths, "you gotta warn a freak before you go and say something like that! You're gonna kill us!" It managed to hold its breath long enough to calm down before turning back to Witloof with tears still in its eyes. "That's Jack, although he's got a few less pleasant nicknames too. Don't pay him any mind, that's just how he is. He's an engineer here on the E.S.S. Poetry, and you know how engineers are."

It wiped its face a bit. "Right now we're just looking at the supply chain for this place, but come meet me in my quarters at, say, nine o'clock station time. I eat a late dinner but I aughtta be finished by then. I'll tell you a bit about what, as you put it, we're up to."

Derebak reached into a pocket and pulled out a small pad of paper and pen, writing down its bunk's location. Crew area, of course. Hopefully it wouldn't be too hard to find, Witloof still had a bit of trouble with the way humans organized big spaces and the crew area was doubtless less well-marked than the area meant for the easily-lost masses.

Witloof took the paper and tucked it into the breast of his armor. "You can count on me," he acknowledged. He tried to study the computer screen, but this sort of stuff was never his expertise and it was in a language he barely knew, to boot. He was mid-class, sure, but his parents were low-class so the traditional Saiyan warrior was really all that was open to him.

As the humans yammered on quietly about resources, Witloof took the time to observe them. Saiyans usually came with one hair colour, one eye colour, and a very small range of skin tones. Halfbreeds weren't all that rare in the lower classes, so it wasn't like he'd never seen a blonde or a redhead before, but moving through groups of humans he was always astonished by their differences.

And their physiques! He had heard that back in ancient history, humans had been a hunter race. But he doubted it. How could any species so soft in the body bring down prey? Humans didn't eat nearly as much as Saiyans did, but surely they had to eat something, and, in his opinion, there was no way they could kill enough to fill their bellies with such meagre strength.

Although, as the small group disbanded to go about their tasks for the day, Witloof had to wonder if it had something to do with their reputation for trouble and penchant for surviving it. Was it possible to turn that into a hunting strategy? Did ancient humans cause so much chaos that the beasts around them simply died of it, leaving the humans unharmed?

He was a bit torn- on one hand he wasn't paid to ask big questions. On the other hand, he had already decided to join them- he'd even given his word and partaken of the human hand shake gesture. To his understanding from the cultural training, such an act was not only a statement of friendliness and companionship, it was also how they sealed unbreakable deals.

Maybe they already considered him part of their troupe? Humans formed close bonds incredibly easily, that much he was certain of. He had heard stories of them bonding to things that weren't even alive, but he wasn't sure how that would even work.

As Witloof wandered off to Poetry's dining strip, he started thinking about just who or what he was entrusting his strength to. He hoped Rabies was a good leader.

Well, at least humans knew how to make good food. That counted for something in his books.

#dbz #dragon ball #my writing #saiyan #writing #sci-fi #science fiction #PLEASE GIVE ME FEEDBACK LIKE. I NORMALLY DON'T ASK BUT #this has been crawling in my gut for three days it's making me crazy i'm unwell about this #chapter 1 #witloof #derebak johnson #dbz oc #...technically. #listen im trying to get the most engagement i can without outright lying #writers of tumblr #dragon babble

[glysaturn]

hello glysaturn i have been following u for *years* and i want u to know that i havent for one second been convinced that your art is not good or has plateaued in some way. i think that youve managed to convince yourself of these ideas but i want to remind you that the more you continue to think this way the worse it gets. personally i felt at my most hopeless as an artist when i was obsessing over how bad i thought my art was and how little engagement it got online. i hit a point where i stopped drawing entirely for a while because i kept asking myself why i was doing any of this if it was “bad” — but then how could someone ever improve if they give up? all these negative thoughts bashing your own art just lead to hopelessness and an unwillingness to keep trying.

i’m glad that you *do* continue to push through and continue making art but i think it’s important to remember that you shouldnt be comparing yourself to other people. every artist u see online built up to wherever they are now and i think instead of fixating on how “good” their art is or how many likes theyre getting it’s healthier to fixate on the practice and effort they put in to getting there. i’m sorry if you’re not looking for comments about your outlook but again as someone who has been a fan and a follower for like over 5 years it saddens me to see one of my favorite artists tripping themselves up so often

i'm.. not sure what prompted this message. if it was my last post then you severely misunderstood it, no offence, like maybe it's on me for failing to convey exactly what i was trying to say, but i definitely was not coming from a place of self-hate. i love my art! i've just noticed a certain.. pattern in it which was making the process frustrating for me as of late. a pattern which was born through my damn perfectionism. it was making me feel like i have to squeeze my art out rather than just making it happen naturally. even if i like the final result, it takes too much out of me and it's just not very fun. so for a while now i was trying to start taking it easier, making simpler, messier works and through that - learning how to maybe draw something that might be a bit more complex but it would feel less like manual labour. whatever change i may want to see in my art isn't driven by outside factors, it's driven by my own desire to improve.

if this was prompted by my.. less than sane behaviour that i exhibit from time to time. first of all - i'm sorry you had to see that, trust me i ain't proud of it. secondly, uhhh, i get where you're coming from, but i feel like it's still not entirely accurate to what i'm experiencing. am i comparing my works to works of others? …….yea. sometimes. it's a god damn curse. does it make me feel bad about my art? not anymore, no, not really. i definitely do not look at someone else's art and think mine is shit in comparison. i think mine is quite good and worthy. it is true that i was not able to find any sort of balance that would let me exist online fully in peace. but i'm still looking for it, still trying to figure it out. and none of it is going to actually make me stop drawing and loving my own art. i know i said the thought of quitting crosses my mind from time to time, i did, but i was just in a moment of experiencing very intense emotions. i don't actually mean it, like deeply. my brain is wired in such a way that if i were to stop drawing, i would literally lose my mind. i simply cannot sit and do nothing. i MUST create. so there's that.

thank you for your.. concern?

#answer

[pollenallergie]

older!tom insisting on making you dinner one night after work, he's just like "please, love, you had a long day, pop 'round my flat around 8 and we can have dinner"

and when you walk in, he's got candles lit and smooth music playing, and he gives you a small kiss before asking if you want some wine, and you're like "wait wait, what's going on?"

and he turns beet red "well, i just... you had a hard day at work, and i figured i'd give the romance thing a shot... s'been a while since i've had to romance a bird. am i doin alright?"

and you smile and throw your arms around him and smooch him so big "yes, my tommy, you're doing splendid"

just agh tom rediscovering his youth with you and sksksksk i love it

Listen, Tom’s trying soooo hard. The boyfriend stuff used to come so naturally to him, but then, shit happened and kept happening for the earliest years of his adulthood (pre-hoe phase), and he sort of lost his inherent boyfriend-ness along the way. Or so he thought…

But then Tom hears about the shit day you’ve been having. Firstly, you’d missed your alarm and woke up late this morning. Then your building must’ve decided that having hot water was just not on the agenda for the day, so you’d had to take a freezing cold shower. To make matters worse, your dog had puked before you could even get out of the door, so you’d had to stick around longer to clean that up. Consequently, you’d been late to work and gotten bitched at by one of your coworkers for it. Of course, your day suddenly got really busy right at lunchtime, so you hadn’t had time to eat anything other than the Kinder Bueno you’d had tucked away in your desk drawer for a couple of weeks. Next, you’d spilled coffee on your favourite work outfit (it was a cold mug of coffee leftover from the morning, so it didn’t hurt, but it still stained). Finally, to top it all off, you’d dropped your phone and cracked the screen during your commute home.

Tom hears about all of it on the phone as soon as you get home. You call him to vent about the shit day you had, expecting him to merely offer some words of sympathy, only for him to invite you over to his place; he even tells you to bring your dog, too, so you don’t have to leave them home alone. And, listen, you really don’t feel like leaving the house, not after the horrid day you’ve had. However, you can’t deny that you want to see Tom, that you miss him after not having seen him for a few days (both of you have been quite busy with work). So, you change into some comfortable clothes, maybe trackies and a jumper or casual shorts and a t-shirt, depending on the weather, leash up your pup, and head over to Tom’s.

When you walk in, you immediately feel underdressed. His tiny flat now feels like a fancy restaurant, and you look like you’re dressed to go jogging. He’s lit candles, turned on some slow, easy music, and set his small dining table up to look like a table for two at the lovely Italian restaurant he took you to on your birthday. You shut the door behind you and remove your shoes, calling out to him as you unleash your dog, who immediately runs off to find his best friends, Jago and Haz. Tom returns your call from his kitchen, beckoning you in there as he’s too preoccupied with cooking something on the stove to greet you at the door the way he usually does, the way he wants to. You find him in the kitchen labouring away over the stove, making your favourite comfort meal, a dish from back home that your nan used to make you. It’s a dish that you know he doesn’t have the first clue how to make, which means he had to put in the effort to look up a recipe and learn how to make it. The thought of him researching how to make your favourite dish warms your heart; it’s a simple thing, a small effort, but it’s an effort nonetheless.

Tom immediately steps away from the stove, turns to you, and heads over to greet you with a soft, warm kiss and a bright smile. He takes your bag from you and asks you to watch what he has going on the stove while he runs out of the room quickly to grab something for you. Of course, you oblige. When he comes back into the room, he’s since ditched your bag, likely setting it down on the lounge chair he uses as a catchall, and is now brandishing a bouquet of your favourite flowers. You melt at the sight of him. Tom sets the flowers on the counter and tells you to remind him not to let you forget them here later. He then asks if you want some wine and informs you that he has a bottle of your favourite chilling in the fridge. You nod your confirmation, finding it hard to speak. The pure loving energy in the room has you starting to choke up, and you just barely manage to peep out, “Tommy, what’s all this?”

He blushes as he pours you both glasses of wine, the tips of his ears and the apples of his cheeks turning a lovely rosy shade. He explains everything to you: how he wants to help cheer you up after the awful day you’ve had, how he’s trying his best to be a good boyfriend to you, how he hasn’t done something like this in a long time and, frankly, isn’t even sure if he’s doing an alright job at it. The warm, lovely feeling that’s blooming in your chest is all-consuming; it warms you from the roundness of your cheeks to the tips of your toes, like you’ve just taken a sip of some tea on a cold day, as your face splits into a beaming grin. You can’t resist the urge to crash into him, to pull him into a tight, warm embrace and plant an emphatic kiss on his plush pink lips.

You reassure Tom that he’s doing lovely, that he’s making you so happy, and you even confess that no one has really ever done anything like this for you before. At that moment, he internally vows to do things like this for you all the time: candlelit dinners when you’ve had a rough day, warming up a blanket for you and making you a cuppa when you get cold, rubbing your shoulders when they begin to ache from slouching at your desk all day, anything and everything to make you smile, to take care of you, to show you how much he loves you- no, wait, not love. It’s too soon for love. Surely he can’t… He doesn’t mean that. But, fuck, no, you know what, he does mean that. Tom loves you. Maybe one day he’ll be brave enough to tell you that, but, for now, he’ll settle for simply showing you how much he loves you. Actions speak louder than words, anyway, right?

Tom’s not exaggerating, either. He hasn’t done anything like this for anyone since he was still a boy, only 18, and not at all scared of loving too intensely. Back then, he didn’t even believe there was such a thing as loving someone too intensely. However, you don’t seem put off by this at all. In fact, you seem to like it… Not even just ‘seem’ to like it; you’re telling him that you love it, that you’re happy, that he’s making you happy. Your reassurances encourage him to offer you more love, to do more for you simply because he wants to. Tom does the dishes after dinner while you’re snuggled up on the couch with The Lads and your pup. He then runs you a warm, relaxing bath, and, when you ask him to join you in there, he doesn’t hesitate to oblige you. Next, he takes care of The Lads and your dog while you get ready for bed, changing into a pair of pajamas you’d forgotten you’d even left here, and using the spare toothbrush Tom keeps for you to brush your teeth. You don’t have any clothes here to change into for work in the morning, but Tom’s already assured you that he’ll wake up early to drop you back at your place so that you have time to get ready before work, and that, if need be, he’ll even give you a ride to work to save time. Once you’ve both gotten ready for bed, and The Lads and your dog have been sufficiently attended to, you and Tom cuddle up in his bed together. You’re both too tired to do anything but go to sleep, but Tom has promised that, so long as you don’t mind waking up obnoxiously early, he’ll gladly attend to your other needs in the morning before he takes you back to yours.

Tom is not only rediscovering his knack for romance with you, but he’s also rediscovering his sense of domesticity; he’s rediscovering how truly wonderful it can be to take care of the people that you love, to make them smile, to ease their worries. Of course, you also help him rediscover how incredible it is to be taken care of, himself, to be spoiled and loved.

#moots moots lovely moots <3 #bex <3 #ask and i shall reply #tom grant x reader #older!tom #older!tom grant #tom grant #tom grant (make up) #make up 2019

[canmom]

Man, it is refreshing to find someone else who wasn't impressed by Frieren's demon arc. It is not like I disliked it, I do like this kind of shonen action bullshit, it is fun. But to me it seems like a step down to the earlier episodes, the show downplaying its own strong points to do common action. It is surprising to me so many people seemed to love it as much as they did, it is the lowest point of the show so far for me.

Mmm. 'Didn't dislike it, but a step down' is a good summary - it deemphasised what made the show stand out narratively, to try to be something else. If I was in the mood to watch Kimetsu no Yaiba or Jujutsu Kaisen I would! Fortunately, we seem to be getting back on track with ep 11 - I'll be writing that up once I've watched another 4-6 more episodes. I'm getting pretty near the end of the first cour, so I might watch up to there.

Bit of a weird cour length at 16 episodes, but honestly that's good - I'd love to see 'seasonal' anime be more able to break free from the pacing constraints of 'it must always be 12-13 episodes'. Sometimes that's not the best way to slice up a manga!

One thing I do appreciate about the simultaneous success of Frieren and Dungeon Meshi is that they're both fantasy anime which don't do the isekai thing and put some effort into establishing a setting which feels like people live there. They're both very overtly RPG-influenced, but neither is actual litRPG, which is very much to their benefit. Ryōko Kui's passion for lovingly constructing her fantasy setting goes without saying. I'm told the Frieren manga sketches its setting rather loosely, but the anime is doing a whole lot to flesh it out as a place people live, because they let Seiko Yoshioka go absolutely nuts.

I was chatting with kvin on the sakugablog server (senpai...!) and he mentioned one particular instance - there's a scene Eisen is tending to the graves of his family. In the manga it looks like this:

Nondescript piles of dirt with a rock on top that are just next to his house. (Also, oof, this colouring. I thought this was a fan colouring at first but no that's official.) When we cut forward 50 years, we see Eisen leaving flowers: they're in big wrapped bouquets like you'd buy at a supermarket. The little Minecraft hut hasn't changed at all.

In the anime, it looks like this:

Not only do we have the recurring use of fields of flowers as a symbol of remembrance, there's clearly been some thought put into the design of the grave markers - even if we're not told what the spherical stone might mean, it obviously means something, and you have the stone as a symbol of permanence. There's those little ritual plates for offerings. And, significantly, it's clear that Eisen has added to these graves over the intervening 50 year period: the graves in the later time are larger, with more stones. The area around the grave site has more flowers and another tree that's grown. It's clear he's been carefully tending to this site his whole life. It's that kind of attention to detail that really makes this anime shine.

It's clear this anime was a real labour of love, and I don't want to deny that there is a lot to praise in the demon arc. I didn't mention it in my post, but the scene where Frieren commands Aura to kill herself (after Aura's mind control attempt backfires) is impressively brutal - apparently episode director Nobuhide Kariya acted that scene out with an umbrella, complete with expressions. (The expressiveness of the acting does a lot to foreshadow the demons having more complex characterisation, too. I hope.) It's just quite a weak storyline off the bat, so the execution can only do so much to elevate it.

Honestly, skimming the manga a bit, I'm all the more impressed by this adaptation. Admittedly, some of it is down to a weak scanlation that doesn't read very well, but it really doesn't have the same impact at all on paper. It's not just the fight episode - throughout, the anime staff clearly gave themselves freedom to interpolate and expand in ways that end up making the manga feel like a rough draft.

...actually come to think of it, they did a similar thing with Bocchi. The manga is a 4koma (by all accounts a good one), and they fleshed it out into a more substantial story with a strong emotional arc and also all the wacky experimental animation gags you could hope for. So I guess that's kind of just how Keiichiro Saito rolls! But it's really impressive how adeptly this team is able to handle such a completely different register. Bocchi and Frieren could hardly look more different on the surface.

Anyway, I'll save any more comments for the next part of this impromptu liveblog.

#anime #sousou no frieren

[minilpark]

Okay but like the idea of having/starting a family with Bob, my heart melts at how amazing of a father he would be

you are a fucking genius for this request first of all- and god ever since i read a rooster fic of him being a dad, all i've thought about is bob being a dad so here are some hcs

i will be doing hcs about the reader being pregnant and also ones where they decide to adopt!

you and bob definitely discussed the topic of starting a family more than once since you two seriously started dating and since marriage

and he was definitely on board with starting a family with you

he wants the family home, white picket fence, the whole nine yards-

once you both were finally in a more stable situation and bob landed a safer position in the navy (one where he was able to be home more often), you two decided it was time to start building a family

beginning of pregnancy hcs

so when he learned that you were pregnant, he was overjoyed

he definitely went all out in the preparations of the baby's room, gathering clothes, toys, etc.

of course, he had to have some help with stuff as well since he wanted you to take it easy

of course you'd still help anyways because you wanted to feel involved as well

so he enlisted rooster and phoenix to help you organise all the clothes and toys

while hangman, coyote, and payback assembled the crib and changing table

and he and fanboy would paint the walls

when everything came together, you just teared up in appreciation of your newfound family

it also kinda put things into perspective that this was really happening for you both

what was ironic about the whole trying for months part of the process was the fact that the universe decided to reward your efforts twofold if you will

that is right, it turns out you two were going to have twins

and despite bob being even more nervous, he was equal parts excited and happy

that did mean he would have to buy almost everything twice though

but he didn't mind

and when everyone heard the news, they were shocked but excited as well

during the pregnancy, bob picked up most of the slack around the house when he could, if he wasnt working that is, which you really appreciated even though you told him it was fine

he would also indulge you on your sometimes weird cravings, not even questioning you about some combinations of food

honestly such a patient, loving, understanding man throughout the entirety of it

and when you were finally in labour, he was equal parts stressed, scared, and tingling with excitement

he even had the baby bag pre-packed for about a week now, constantly checking it to make extra sure he had everything you'd ever need in there

bob admired you for many things, you were strong, smart, determined, beautiful, he could go on, but this- god he was grateful and in awe that you were able to go through so much pain to bring two bundles of joy into the world

diving deep into the labor, he held your hand throughout the whole thing, encouraging you to do your breathing exercises and trying to comfort you when the pain got really bad (honestly he found your yelling at him a lil funny because of the things you'd say but he knew it was definitely not the time or place to laugh), yes he did come out of this with what felt like a bruised hand but he knew it was incomparable to what you felt

anyways back to the big idea-

he totally cried when he saw the both of them for the first time- a boy and a girl

and when they were both held against your chest he leaned over to give your forehead a kiss and smiled back at you and the babies

"they are so beautiful- thank you so much for bringing them into this world"

yes he did bring a camera and yes he did take a bunch of pics (they're totally going in the photo album you two started)

and you just smile up at him

"you wanna hold them dad?"

his eyes just widened a little and he takes off his shirt and holds both of them against his chest

at this point he's definitely crying again and whispers to them about how he promises to always be there for them, protect them, and love them with all his being

your heart bursts seeing the little moment (and of course you snap a bunch of pics yourself of the three of them)

eventually everyone is able to come into the room and meet the two bundles of joy

the boys def give bob a pat on the back and congratulate him on how he's now a father and they congratulate you for how badass you are for pushing out two babies and how beautiful they are

phoenix is definitely by your side checking up on how you're doing while also congratulating you as well

she also gives bob a tight hug and tells him she's proud and confident he'll be a great dad

fast forward, you two are finally going home

and you're exhausted

bob can definitely see it on your face

and so he basically becomes house husband

he wants you to rest as much as you possibly can so you can recover fast

so he takes care of the chores and cooking (i think he would be a great cook tbh) and at night when a baby or both of the babies cry, he goes to check up on them so he can let you sleep

end of pregnancy hcs

beginning of adoption hcs

first off forgive me i will be simplifying the process down i know it is long and can be a struggle for families

that being said lets get started

you and bob talk for a while about adoption

and you both have always been open to the idea

so you both were prepared for the somewhat long process to come

finding a nice adoption agency wasn't too difficult and completing the pre-placement assessment wasn't too hard either

and then it came to working with your social worker to find a child whose needs would be met by the two of you

finally, you all came across a 9 year old girl

and so a visit was set up

as soon as you and bob saw her, you both just knew

she came and introduced herself, at first she was shy, but throughout the visit, she came to open up to you and bob quickly

she talked about the hobbies she had which included drawing, reading, and she loved to sing

she even showed you both some of her doodles

after that she asked you two questions she had of her own

and bob was quick to answer

he told her about how he flies planes and about his cool pilot friends as well

and the light you could see in his eyes while looking at her honestly melted your heart

when he was finished talking with her, he let the two of you talk and bond as well

you described what you did for work, who you were, and what your interests were so she could understand better

and honestly it looked like she was taking mental notes the whole time by the way she was so intently listening

you both found it adorable

when the visit was over, there was a bit of a waiting period in between before she was able to come home with you both

and so you and bob utilised this time to get the place ready for her, with the help of everyone else

you, phoenix, and bob were in charge of interior design/painting, making sure not to go too crazy to give your future daughter enough freedom to do what she wants with the space

while rooster, payback, and hangman were in charge of building the furniture (they insisted they could do it so you let them)

which left coyote and fanboy helping out with entertainment and getting things for her hobbies

honestly you couldn't have been more grateful to everyone for pitching in

and it finally came time to bring her home

and a home it was for her

the amount of joy she brought into your life and bob's life was insane

and from that point on you both promised to love, care, and protect her with everything you have

on another note, you were a bit jealous she was more of a daddy's girl, but you thought it was so sweet the interest she took in bob

he definitely fully stepped into dad mode when she came home

and the two totally connected more about planes and his role as a wso

as soon as she was adjusted to the living situation you two were in, you decided it was high time to meet her aunt and uncles

she was beyond excited, from the combined stories about how cool, dumb, and funny they all were, she couldn't wait to finally see them in person

and when you came back from picking her up from school, everyone was waiting for her

when she walked through the door it was dark until a light flipped on and a "surprise!" was yelled

and standing before her were all six of the people she's heard of including her dad

it took a minute to even process what was happening because she was so in awe and then she just ran up to each and every one of them giving them a hug and before they were able to introduce themselves, to their surprise, she would call out who they were

the first person she ran up to was nat, considering she was closest to the door

and phoenix scooped her up into a big hug and just "hey kiddo-"

"you're auntie nat, my name is nat too! mom and dad talk about you all the time!" she says while squishing her back

"hm, all good things i hope?"

"mhm, nothing bad"

going down the line of hugs your daughter meets

"uncle rooster! you have such a funny name, but i think it's cool-"

"uncle hangman, mom and dad talk about you in some stories- they say you're a dumbass sometimes,,"

to which everyone laughs or snorts a lil (you remind yourself to talk to your daughter later about swearing though)

and jake is just :0

"well, let me tell you girly, i am the coolest one here so that makes up for it-"

and bob just hides a smile

next in line is

"hi uncle coyote!"

javy totally tosses her in the air after hugging her and catches her giggling self while saying a hello

after coyote comes payback and he just cooly hugs her and gives her a fist bump to which she whispers something in his ear

"don't tell uncle hangman but you seem cooler than him already"

which definitely causes him to give a hardy laugh and nod "i'll keep your secret kid-"

last but not least,

"uncle fanboy!"

"i've got a special surprise for you kiddo from all of us-"

after the hug, he pulls out a little leather jacket, to match everyones, with her name and lil callsign they gave her on it

and yes she is in awe

she takes the jacket just mumbling a thank you and stares at the little patch while reading aloud

"natalie 'starfire' floyd,,,, wow this is amazing!"

everyone melts at how cute she is when she tries it on and you and bob especially feeling your hearts bursting

you just go over and scoop her up and ask how it feels to which she replies

"so,,, does this mean i can go up in the air with you guys soon?"

to which everyone chuckles a little and rooster speaks up

"i can talk to a friend of mine to see if i can take you up one day, kid"

you and bob smile a bit knowing it's mav he's talking about and his personal p51-

anyways eventually the supervisory period is done and you and bob are officially able to legalise the adoption

end of adoption hcs

honestly give him father of the year

it only gets better from here for him tbh

no matter what, he's determined to be there for every milestone or event that happens for your kids

the "firsts", birthdays, moving up grades, any extracurricular events, etc.

and you bet he will document every moment

you couldn't have asked for a better partner tbh

#okay wow this was hella long #but i really enjoyed thinking about this #my heart is bursting #top gun maverick #topgun #topgun maverick imagines #robert bob floyd #bradley rooster bradshaw #jake hangman seresin #natasha phoenix trace #mickey fanboy garcia #reuben payback fitch #javy coyote machado #dad!bob