#the layout of this post is a bit different than usual

[applesaucesims]

Emma was already thriving through motherhood. Although little Louis was a bit of a light sleeper, she did not mind spending more time with him in the morning, while her husband was still fast asleep.

This morning time was especially meaningful to her, since she had been called back to work quite soon after the birth. After all, the studio had been in the middle of set production, and her paintings were necessary for it to be able to hit the deadline. Unlike Niall, who was at a point in his career where he could take breaks as much as he wished, she could not afford the risk of losing the job she only just got. Thankfully, Niall had happily offered to look after their son by himself, when she was gone.

To Niall, on the other hand, the new living situation was much more troublesome. Of course, he deeply loved their child and he was happy to spend the day with him, but the stress started to take a toll on him.

He had been looking forward to being a family with Emma and Louis so much, so why did it all seem so wrong now? The baby's screams were constantly ringing in his head, his mind felt like it was never really there, and nothing he did was right. He could not help but feel like the bond with his son was just not there, and any attempt to fix it failed. Maybe he simply was not fit to be a parent.

Looking back, there was one thing he had always leaned on when his feelings were getting too much for him to deal with. It was easier to make it fade away than to bother others with it.

When Emma returned from work, Niall withdrew to the bedroom to get some peace and quiet. But even then, doubts were filling his brain to the point of giving him the worst headache. Frustrated with himself, he grabbed the bottle of whisky he had stayed away from for too long now. Just a few drinks to quiet the noise, then he would head to bed anyway.

As he felt the liquid run down his throat, he leaned back on the big chair and blinked away the tears forming in his eyes all of a sudden. Soon, he lost count of the refills as he felt himself drifting away and eventually falling asleep.

[TRANSCRIPT]

Emma: "Good morning, my beautiful angel!"

...

Niall: "Em-! ...shit, she's at work, isn't she?"

Louis: "AAAAAAAAAAAA"

Niall: "How did you even break this thing?"

Louis: *babbles*

Niall: "I- I don't know what-"

Louis: *screaming continues*

Niall: "No, no, please! What did I do? What do you want me to do?"

...

Niall: "Finally... quiet..."

Niall: "I'll just have once glass to take the edge off... That's not too bad. Just... one... Maybe two..."

Niall: *pained groan*

#ts4 decades challenge #ts4 #sims 4 #ts4 legacy #alcoholism tw #postnatal depression tw #idk if this is a tag but yeahhhhh #1930s #emma jones #louis mcgregor #niall mcgregor #the layout of this post is a bit different than usual #i had a specific vision on how to cut up this scene and i think this works best

[cherryfennec]

"All fun and games."

Aka a silly thing before the angstier project.

Script for those who struggle reading.

If Mr.L won he'd have told Dimentio to stay out of his sight for as long as possible. He usually ignores these challenges but this once he thought he could easily win whatever Dimentio had in mind and get the clown to leave him alone for a while. It didn't work out so well....fucker chose Jenga...

Thank you for reading!!

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

Some additional information regarding the bigger upcoming comic for those interested:

Some of you might've already heard that I'm working on a bit more serious toned project and if you haven't well, there you go now you know.

As of now I have planned out around maybe 20 panels, more or less. I'm not super well versed in comic layout but I've been trying to make it look somewhat interesting and comprehensible. I'm not sure how long this will take to put together and I will not make any false promises. This is something I want to have fun and experiment with, for example; I might post it per page at a time or I might post an entire part at once (there are two parts planned in total). If writing the chat bubbles becomes tedious I might resolve to just typing it out as well. The style for it might also be different from the one you see above, I've been trying out new brushes and I think I found a cool combo.

The comic will feature Dimentio, Nastasia and Mr.L. As always it will include at least some headcanons like slightly altered designs or mannerisms. I have already thought of the name for the comic but I might keep it private for now.

Additional trivia: The comics I make are under the assumption SPM takes longer than one or two days. That's why you'll see me reference time periods such as weeks and maybe even months.

#super paper mario #paper mario #spm #spm comic #mimi spm #nastasia spm #dimentio #mr l #myart

[all-the-fish]

Oh, you know, just the usual internet browsing experience in the year of 2024

Some links and explanations since I figured it might be useful to some people, and writing down stuff is nice.

First of all, get Firefox. Yes, it has apps for Android/iOS too. It allows more extensions and customization (except the iOS version), it tracks less, the company has a less shitty attitude about things. Currently all the other alternatives are variations of Chromium, which means no matter how degoogled they supposedly are, Google has almost a monopoly on web browsing and that's not great. Basically they can introduce extremely user unfriendly updates and there's nothing forcing them to not do it, and nowhere for people to escape to. Current examples of their suggested updates are disabling/severly limiting adblocks in June 2024, and this great suggestion to force sites to verify "web environment integrity" ("oh you don't run a version of chromium we approve, such as the one that runs working adblocks? no web for you.").

uBlockOrigin - barely needs any explanation but yes, it works. You can whitelist whatever you want to support through displaying ads. You can also easily "adblock" site elements that annoy you. "Please log in" notice that won't go away? Important news tm sidebar that gives you sensory overload? Bye.

Dark Reader - a site you use has no dark mode? Now it has. Fairly customizable, also has some basic options for visually impaired people.

SponsorBlock for YouTube - highlights/skips (you choose) sponsored bits in the videos based on user submissions, and a few other things people often skip ("pls like and subscribe!"). A bit more controversial than normal adblock since the creators get some decent money from this, but also a lot of the big sponsors are kinda scummy and offer inferior product for superior price (or try to sell you a star jpg land ownership in Scotland to become a lord), so hearing an ad for that for the 20th time is kinda annoying. But also some creators make their sponsored segments hilarious.

Privacy Badger (and Ghostery I suppose) - I'm not actually sure how needed these are with uBlock and Firefox set to block any tracking it can, but that's basically what it does. Find someone more educated on this topic than me for more info.

Https Everywhere - I... can't actually find the extension anymore, also Firefox has this as an option in its settings now, so this is probably obsolete, whoops.

Facebook Container - also comes with Firefox by default I think. Keeps FB from snooping around outside of FB. It does that a lot, even if you don't have an account.

WebP / Avif image converter - have you ever saved an image and then discovered you can't view it, because it's WebP/Avif? You can now save it as a jpg.

YouTube Search Fixer - have you noticed that youtube search has been even worse than usual lately, with inserting all those unrelated videos into your search results? This fixes that. Also has an option to force shorts to play in the normal video window.

Consent-O-Matic - automatically rejects cookies/gdpr consent forms. While automated, you might still get a second or two of flashing popups being yeeted.

XKit Rewritten - current most up to date "variation "fork" of XKit I think? Has settings in extension settings instead of an extra tumblr button. As long as you get over the new dash layout current tumblr is kinda fine tbh, so this isn't as important as in the past, but still nice. I mostly use it to hide some visual bloat and mark posts on the dash I've already seen.

YouTube NonStop - do you want to punch youtube every time it pauses a video to check if you're still there? This saves your fists.

uBlacklist - blacklists sites from your search results. Obviously has a lot of different uses, but I use it to hide ai generated stuff from image search results. Here's a site list for that.

Redirect AMP to HTML - redirects links from their amp version to the normal version. Amp link is a version of a site made faster and more accessible for phones by Bing/Google. Good in theory, but lets search engines prefer some pages to others (that don't have an amp version), and afaik takes traffic from the original page too. Here's some more reading about why it's an issue, I don't think I can make a good tl;dr on this.

Also since I used this in the tags, here's some reading about enshittification and why the current mainstream internet/services kinda suck.

#modern internet is great #enshittification #internet browsing #idk how to tag this #but i hope it will help someone #personal #question mark

[lostloveletters]

One of Those Nights (Sonny Corleone x Reader)

Summary: You’re Sonny and Sandra’s go-to babysitter, and when Sandra’s out of town for the weekend, Sonny needs all the help he can get.

Note: College-aged female reader, but no other descriptors are used. I listened to Donna Summer while writing this lol. Anyway, my first Godfather reader-insert fic! Do not interact if you're under 18, a terf or radfem, or post thinspo/ED content.

Word count: 1.8k

Warnings: Implied age gap, power imbalance, cheating. Sexually explicit content involving unprotected sex and Sonny's canonically huge cock. A little bit of praise kink. Do not interact if you're under 18.

Your eyes fluttered open from your half-asleep stupor at the sound of the front door’s locks clicking. Sitting up on the couch, you quickly smoothed out your blouse and skirt. You just barely made it into the kitchen when Sonny got in.

“Sorry I’m back so late. I wanted to be home to put the kids to bed—“

You shook your head, smiling. “It’s fine, Mr. Corleone. Frank and the twins are already asleep. There’s some sausage with peppers and onions in the icebox if you haven’t eaten. I can heat it up quick on the stove for you.”

“Jesus, you’re already doin’ us a favor staying the weekend while Sandra’s outta town,” he said, shedding his tie and undoing the first few buttons of his shirt. “And how many times do I gotta tell you, you can call me Sonny.” He playfully pinched your cheek. “I’m not that old yet, am I?”

“No,” you giggled. “Sorry, Sonny.”

The kitchen's layout was almost second-nature to you at that point, having done plenty of cooking for Sonny and Sandra's sweet kids when you babysat them. You grabbed a frying pan, setting it on the stovetop and pouring in a few drops of olive oil before turning on the flame. By the time you got the plate you saved for Sonny out of the refrigerator, the oil was sizzling, and the scent of sweet peppers and onions filled the kitchen again when you’d scraped the contents of the plate into the pan. 

Sonny was quiet behind you, save for him tapping his freshly lit cigarette against the porcelain ashtray on the kitchen table. You knew the sound well. His gaze burned through your back to your rapidly beating heart as you became increasingly aware that you were alone with him, the man who you lusted after in quiet guilt, because he was married and you were his children’s babysitter, for Christsake. 

After a few minutes, the sausage with peppers and onions appeared thoroughly reheated, and you transferred the meal back onto the plate. You grabbed a nearby loaf of crusty bread, cutting a piece for him and placing it with the rest of the food.

“Thanks, sweetheart,” Sonny said, grabbing the plate from the counter.

“Anytime.”

You returned to the living room, tuning the radio to the station that was broadcasting Lights Out, a late night horror show that always sucked you in no matter how hard you tried to remind yourself it was only a radio story. At least it’d get your mind off of Sonny, out of the gutter–or into a different one at least. You sat on the couch, fidgeting with your hands as you let yourself get lost in the host’s voice as he told the latest tale of terror.

You nearly screamed when Sonny appeared in the living room with his plate of food and asked, “You listen to this garbage?”

“It usually scares me into staying awake.”

He snickered to himself, taking the spot on the couch next to you. “For what?”

“My roommates and I play it in the dorm during finals to keep us up when coffee doesn’t cut it.”

“How’s college goin’ anyway? Straight As, right?”

“I made the dean’s list last semester.”

He shook his head. “Smart and beautiful, whatever lucky guy ends up with you is gonna have his hands full.” He glanced at your chest, his eyes lingering on your breasts for a moment before going back to his food. “Your cooking might be a little better than San’s. Don’t tell her I said that.”

You smiled, keening at his compliment. “Your secret’s safe with me.”

“You didn’t have to stay up for me, you know.”

“I know, but I wanted to.”

“Why’s that?”

You faltered. “I just wanted to see you.”

He smiled, amused by your answer. “You’re sweet. Gonna give me a toothache if you keep that up.”

“Is that so bad?”

Sonny shook his head as he set his plate down on the coffee table. “‘Course not.” He got up to turn the radio off, the sound of his voice engulfing you in a warm haze, “Don’t get a chance to be alone with you enough.” He placed his hand on your knee when he sat back down, rubbing his thumb against your stocking-clad leg, the feeling frustratingly electric as the thin fabric was all that lay between the skin-on-skin contact you craved from him.

Your lips parted, trying to conjure up a response, but only managing a shaky breath and a weak nod of agreement. 

“We don’t gotta do anything you don’t wanna do, doll,” he whispered, his voice low.

“I want you, Sonny,” you assured him. 

He kissed you with a passion you swore only existed in movies, not the hesitant or sloppy handling you’d experienced from past boyfriends, but the certainty of a man who knew exactly what he wanted. Heat rushed over your skin at the confirmation that he wanted you, his hands on your body, sliding up your skirt as he grabbed your ass, pulling you closer to him so that you were practically straddling his lap. You steadied yourself on his biceps, giving them a squeeze, letting yourself feel him, acknowledge your desire for him that had been latent until then.

You moaned into his mouth, his tongue capturing the sound, claiming your expression of desire as his. And who else would it be for? You’d always found him handsome and charismatic, always were a bit too curious about what was behind each vaguely flirtatious comment or sly wink he’d send your way when no one else was looking. 

“Sonny, where–where should we–”

“We can do it out here, but you gotta be quiet. You can do that for me, right?”

You nodded eagerly.

Hunger glistened in his dark eyes as he smiled wolfishly. “Attagirl.”

A whimper escaped your lips at his praise, the way he made you feel naked with just his gaze. You unbuttoned your blouse, letting it slip from your arms and tossing it aside onto the floor. Sonny pulled you onto his lap, burying his face in the crook of your neck while he kneaded your breasts through your bra. Soon, that wasn’t enough, and he pulled them from the cups, his hands on your soft skin as he squeezed. His thumbs brushed over your nipples. You gasped. You wanted his hands on you like that all the time, had imagined–secretly hoped, even–that he’d do it one day while you were in the kitchen or in the narrow hallway to the bedrooms, that he’d grope you, kiss you, do something to make you stop feeling so crazy about him. In that moment you realized getting what you wished for only made you want him more.

His lips burned deliciously against your skin, and you groaned at the gentle bites he left on your neck and shoulders. You rocked your hips against his, feeling his hard cock straining through his pants, desperate for more friction against your pussy. 

“You feel that? You feel what you do to me?” he murmured against your tender skin.

“I need you,” you whined. “Please, Sonny.”

“Alright, doll. Lay back for me, alright?”

You did as he asked, shifting off of his lap to lie back on the couch. You watched intently, hungrily, as he unbuckled his belt, pulling his cock free from his pants, slowly pumping his length in his hand. You nearly choked. Sandra had made jokes about Sonny’s size before, ones that made your face heat up in embarrassment at her talking so crudely about him, but you’d always thought she was exaggerating. 

“Oh my god,” you breathed, silently wondering if he could even fit inside you, an almost morbid curiosity only further fueling your desire.

A tender concern spread across his face as he searched yours for any sign of hesitation. “You sure you’re alright with this?”

You nodded. “I’ve wanted you in a bad way for so long.”

“How bad?” he asked, his voice husky and low.

Your lips nearly touched his as you whispered your answer. “Shameful.”

He kissed you again, this time with an intensity that nearly knocked the wind out of you. His fingers dug into the waistband of your panties and stockings, pulling them down so you could kick them off, ending up with one leg hanging off of the couch, exposing your wet pussy for him. You buried your fingers into his hair, the kiss desperate and wanton, your mouth open for him in a soft gasp as his pushed his tip inside you. 

It wasn’t enough, the primal part of your brain screamed. You needed more. Digging your nails into his scalp, you lifted your hips, taking more of him in you.

“Don’t hold back, Sonny. I can take it,” you said.

He licked his lips, staring at you for a split second before determining you meant what you said. He filled you, your pussy clenching around his cock as he thrust into you, finding a rhythm that would’ve been painful if you weren’t already wet for him. 

“Y’know, I used to get off thinkin’ about this,” he grunted, “bending you over the kitchen counter or up against the bathroom door.”

“Sonny–I–”

“You know how long I’ve wanted you? Now I’ve got my pretty college girl coming apart for me.”

“Oh my god–fuck–Sonny–” Your heart was pounding in your ears, eyes struggling to stay open as his thrusts became deeper, more erratic. He was close, his cock twitching inside you, hitting that spot you’d only ever reached with your fingers before. No faking it, no having to do the heavy lifting yourself. 

He had to put his hand over your mouth when it hit you, white hot pleasure bursting in your brain, pulsing through your pussy as you grabbed at him, digging your fingers into his arms to ground yourself, feeling as though you’d lose control of your body otherwise. Your moans were muffled, incoherent nonsense as he fucked you through your climax to reach his. With another hard thrust, he came inside you. Overwhelmed by the sensation, your hips bucked and your pussy clenched hard around him, milking his cock as he came.

“Look at you, takin’ it all–fuck–” Sonny hissed out through gritted teeth, trying to maintain what little self-control he had as to not make too much noise. “So fuckin’ good for me–”

You whined at that, your overstimulated, fucked-out brain going into overdrive. You wanted to be good for him. You were good for him. 

You weren’t sure when it got so still, so quiet, but the only sound in the room was your and Sonny’s heavy breathing. He pulled out of you, your pussy feeling achingly empty. You looked at the ceiling, mildly aware of Sonny staring at you.

“How're you feeling? I didn’t hurt you, did I?” he asked.

“I’ll be lucky if I can walk tomorrow,” you said breathlessly. “But that was great. Really I–I don’t know what else to say.”

He caressed your cheek, bringing your attention back to him. “I’m gonna get you a towel, alright, sweetheart?”

You nodded, smiling a bit when he kissed your forehead before disappearing down the hall to the bathroom. And there were still two whole days left before Sandra got back. You smiled wider.

#sonny corleone x reader #sonny corleone #the godfather #the godfather x reader #the godfather imagine #the godfather fanfic #sonny corleone imagine #sonny corleone fanfic

[thesuperiorgenshinaddict]

Vox N$FW Alphabet

AN: yeah i never thought i would actually post on tumblr but boom here i am. sorry for shitty layout because i just want to pump my hcs out and get it done w/ kekw also i think i made him a bit more of an asshole than ppl usually do so sorrryyy maybe idk Pairing: Vox x GN! Reader Warnings: Sexual content, Top! Vox, Mild degradation, not sure what else idk A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex) Lets be honest, this dude would NOT do aftercare whatsoever. He'll just go take a shower or something (yes he's waterproof if you say otherwise you're wrong L + Ratio) and when you blankly stare at him like 'wtf bro' this dude will not catch on until you straight up tell him to help you out. Once you successfully got the dude to consistently do aftercare, he'll get you a towel and clean you up and shit.

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s) This man is a raging narcissist. Probably looks in the mirror, fixes his ugly ass bowtie and does twelve different practiced poses every morning to make sure the public knows he's fucking sexy. He probably loves every part of him besides his side profile, or maybe he would like it because it's 'sleek, modern, state of the art' or some technology bullshit. Loves his claws though. He'd probably be really into ass. Thighs too, but slightly less. I have no clue why but I am convinced he fucking loves legs and all of that. I think he'd like your expression too, mainly because he feels like a god knowing that he makes you feel like that. Don't do mirror sex if you want him to focus on you though, because he's looking at himself more than he's looking at you.

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically) It glows blue. Same shade as his claws and is electric. Don't put it next to fire, it'll burn the fuckin' tower down. Tastes mildly salty and has the same effect as pineapples where it feels like it's biting back. For body parts he likes to cum on, he probably would do it literally anywhere. Inside, on the stomach, on your face, ANYWHERE. Maybe not bukkake because he doesn't want it to get too messy and have to clean it up, that's too much work for a quick jizz.

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs) Secretly finds you attractive romantically. Is it even a dirty secret? He'd just be too scared to do anything besides flirting and sex and shit for a long time. Maybe appeal to him enough and he'll take you on a completely romantic and sweet date that doesn't involve him blowing your back out afterwards. Christ, why the fuck is that somehow more appealing than having a one-nighter with him? Maybe I'm tweaking. Ignore this if you want. Go on and live your life with sweet husband Voxxy dookers buddy, I'm not judging too hard. Probably.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?) Pretty experienced. Unless you have some wild ass kink, chances are, he's probably smooth as fuck with it. Go wild.

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying) Mating press. I originally thought I was just biased as fuck since I love the whole thought of mating press and shit, but apparently a good amount of people agree with me. He probably loves being close to you and mating press lets him fuck your brains out. Wants to be as deep as physically possible in you, and you're vulnerable to him and he's looooving it.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.) Definitely is leaning on the more serious side. If he's joking around, it wouldn't be in a 'haha funny' way, it'd be more of a condescending way where he's making fun of how pathetic you are. Or horny, or something along the lines of that. I feel like he'd do makeup sex, so if that's the case, I can assure you he is not cracking jokes. Maybe cracking your legs apart though. Fuck, that wasn't funny.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.) No hair. No hair. No hair. No hair. No hair. No hair. No hair. No hair. No hair. No hair. No hair. He wouldn't grow hair there. Uh. Anyway, I don't want to have so little shit written here, so when he was alive, he probably was pretty well taken care of down there. I think a bit more hair than trimmed, but not the whole ass Amazon forest, ya get what I mean? Why the fuck did I say that? Okay. Regardless, I think of him being like dark brown hair when he was alive. Probably was a few shades darker on his dicky wicky cocky okay seriously I have to stop wtf

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect) He'd be physically close to you, but if you're a one night stand, expect NOTHING emotional from him. Nada. Nothin'. On the other hand, if he was dating you or married or whatever your delusional ahh comes up with, he'd be just hardcore fucking you with a ton of horny ass compliments, but you'd be able to look into his eyes and just kinda tell he really loves you past all that horndog shit. Not really intimate sex for the most part imo, but if the both of you guys are in a shitty mood and it's not hate sex, he might say a few really sweet compliments and all that jazz. Fuuuuckkk I read that and he sounds kinda assholey (he is one though cope seethe /j don't get mad at me pwease) so if you're upset I half meant that in the 'he won't be bawling his eyes out during sex out of sheer love' way. Boom

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon) He has cameras everywhere in Hell. Did you even think of the mere possibility that he's not jerking that shit constantly? Kidding. I feel like he'd be busy working a lot, but if you're not there to help him out after work and shit, he'd jerk it. Maybe a few times a week normally. If he had time and he was lonely though... Bro's going ham on his poor footlong. He has a lot of videos and whatever to look at. I think he'd thrive just off his imagination too.

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks) Dry humping (receiving), Mild degradation (giving), Voyeurism, Shock play (giving, duh), Hypnosis (gee i sure wonder if it's giving or receiving woahhhhh /s), Power dynamic, I definitely have a lot more but it depends heavily on your relationship to him :p

L = Location (favorite places to do the do) Desk. Now. Besides that though, he's probably fine with a lot of places. I feel like he'd be somewhat against public or semi-public sex because it could make his reputation worse, but anywhere else is fine. His office isn't really risky because he knows when people are about to enter using his lil' cameras.

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going) A lot of things. Many, many things. For the most part though, if you tease him by wearing some revealing shit or acting like a bitch, he's getting a hard on.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs) Anything that puts him in a situation where he has little to no control. He's not willing to show that much vulnerability, no matter how well you know him. You can try domming, sure, but just know he has the full ability to do a 360.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.) Receiving. He'll occasionally do giving, but if you start calling him your submissive bitch or something, he'll spit and fucking leave. But regardless, he shoving his dick down your throat. Face-fucking is probably his favorite. Solid 6-7/10 in terms of skill, bonus points since his tongue is long.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.) Definitely rough like a good 90% of the time. The pace depends on his mood, but he'd go with medium to fast for the most part. Maybe slow if he magically has a break (That'll almost never happen. Poor dude loves his work so much, probably chronically online just because of how much time he has to spend with computers). Don't piss him off though, he doesn't have a speed cap on this type of shit. Random thing I wanted to add in, his typing speed is fucking insane. 300 something and higher when he's arguing on the internet. Would definitely participate in those arguments of who's the goat of sports or whatever. Also random flex but my typing speeds at like 200 wow I'm so cool everyone clap

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.) He barely has time to do anything, so quickies a lot of times end up being the only option he has to get off. Hella often. He enjoys an occasional slow sesh, but speedruns are his go-to.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.) Hell fucking yes. Always willing to try new shit out as long as it's not too risky. If it won't destroy his company, he's down for it.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?) This dude consumes more caffeine than humanely possible. He could probably go forever if it wasn't for his job, but he'd probably settle for 4~ rounds on a normal workday. If he's feeling excited though, expect more.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?) Definitely owns quite a bit. Probably only his company's products though, he wouldn't want to support other businesses. I don't think he's one to use them all that often since he'll normally just call you over to suck his dick, but piss him off and he'll shove a dildo in you and leave for a few hours, just to see how long you'll last.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease) He's such a brat. Taunts and makes fun of you constantly. Poor you, he loves to see you overstimulated and sobbing your eyes out.

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.) I feel like he wouldn't be that loud himself, definitely some breathy groans and shit, but on the other hand... If you're not loud enough, he'll make sure you're screaming out his name until he's satisfied. Maybe a little glitchy sounds. Before he comes, he probably becomes a little staticky.

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character) Willing to fuck you with his aux cords. Would find it fun as hell, especially he can shock you easier.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes) I think some of you guys don't remember that this man is 7ft. If he was human, it'd probably be around 7 inches, but he's tall as fuck. Expect it to be 9 inches minimum and probably larger. Average girth with thick veins running down the side. Pretty sure I said a good amount about it earlier.

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?) Insanely high because he's always pent-up while working. Gets hard from the slightest bit of teasing. I have no clue what to write, but I want to write more so he's the type to get hard when he's comfortable. Cuddle with him and he's probably hard just because he's feeling cozy and shit.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards) He'd sleep a few minutes later, depending on how much he trusts you. If he doesn't trust you much, he's leaving to a different room. If he likes you though, he'd just go nighty-night. AN: hope you enjoyed thanks like and follow for more banger content /hj

#vox x reader #hazbin hotel vox #vox #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel x you #hazbin hotel x reader #hazbin vox #headcannons #headcanon #hazbin

[lost-in-lamentation]

passing storms.

a/n: new layout + new post? crazy. but august is wrapping up which means i finally have some free time and energy to write (´ω｀)

content: beel has a very scary nightmare and it's you to the rescue.

warnings: mentions of characters being dead in nightmare, but no one is harmed. lucifer and mammon make brief appearances.

fluff. comfort. beel × gen!reader (you/your).

"MC, if i may, i need to request something from you this morning."

you shifted in your seat, finding lucifer in the doorway to the dining hall. "as if you would let me say no," you sighed, rubbing an eye before standing up to face him properly. "what is it now?"

lucifer stared at the ground uncharacteristically. "it is not an errand this time. it's…" the way his voice trailed off had you raising an eyebrow.

"really, lucifer. i've got plenty on my plate with RAD, either say it or spare me the trouble." usually, you feared being so curt with lucifer himself, but the exhaustion of your assignments and the fact that you were a demon brother wrangler was catching up to you. a stark bitterness clung to the edge of your voice. "if you won't say, then-"

"i need you to stay home with beel today." the eldest cut you off, concern evident in the way his eyes dimmed. "i'm sure mammon has informed you of how all of us are subject to nightmares," lucifer began, his words quieting the more he spoke. "beel is no different, and if anything, suffers the worst." you waited as he made his way to the window, gloved hand reaching up to place a palm on the glass. "mammon and belphie could not help him today, but they both believe you could." lucifer dropped his gaze to the floor. "please."

rare were the occasions that lucifer said the word so genuinely, so raw. you bit your lip, guilt creeping into the crevices of your mind at how crudely you had spoken to lucifer just seconds ago. "okay, i'll go." the raven haired demon said nothing more, only shooting you a glance over his shoulder; a silent thank you that you knew would be harder for him to say aloud.

═  ˎˊ˗

you headed down to the twins room, muffled cries and soft words of encouragement echoing through the hallways. the sound alone made your heart ache, and you couldn't stop yourself from practically sprinting down. when you got there, you knocked twice quietly, before turning the knob and allowing yourself in with a click. you were surprised to see mammon sitting next to beelzebub, and even more surprised when belphegor wasn't in the room. the second born just barely turned his head to acknowledge you, his focus remaining on his younger brother. beside him, beel shuddered with each passing second, head buried in his knees and arms wrapped tightly around himself.

beel, ever the tall and steadfast demon, was small, shaking; afraid. you shut the door behind you a bit louder, trying to announce your presence to the second youngest. when the door shut, beel snapped his head up, wide-eyed and trembling, and at the sight of you, his eyes filled with more tears. you ran over immediately, slotting yourself next to beel's legs and just in front of mammon. with a heavy sob, beel grabbed at your shoulders, pulling you into an embrace and squeezing you harder than you thought possible. you held back a wince, hands reaching to card through his hair and rub the small of his back. you took a moment to nod at mammon, who made his way out after giving his brother one more tight hug.

as the door opened and closed for the third time, you exhaled softly, tapping gently on beel's shoulders. "you're alright, i'm here. i'm not going anywhere." his tears began to seep through your clothing, his hold on you loosening just barely after hearing you speak. from the way he shook, you were worried that he wasn't breathing. "beel, breathe with me, okay?" you started slow, inhaling for 4 counts, and then exhaling for another 4. you kept the pattern, waiting until beelzebub could finally match you. even after he was following you, you continued the cycle, taking the chance to unwrap his arms from you. beel allowed you to move his hands away from you, but refused to lift his face when you tried to look at him. "oh, beel," you whispered, using one hand to play with his and another to hold to his waist. underneath your touch, beel eventually stopped trembling, his hands becoming more responsive to yours. after a few minutes of steady breathing, beel finally lifted his head from your shoulder, tears still streaming.

"i thought… you all died." his voice was barely above a whimper. "you, and belphie, and everyone… you were dead." his breaths began heaving again as the images replayed in his head.

quickly, you pulled him towards you, rubbing gently on his chest. "we're all okay. i promise. mammon was just here, remember?" you nuzzled his temple with your nose, pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek as you did. "come on, lie down. lucifer said you don't have to go to RAD today." beel was reluctant, fear obvious through the way he didn't allow you to pull him down. you tried again, this time lying down first. "lie down with me," you urged, placing your hand on the back of his neck and guiding him to rest on your shoulder. beel finally relented, too exhausted to fight back.

his heart pounded behind the confines of his ribcage, clear as day even through the layers of clothing that separated you from him. but in the storm of fright and confusion that raged in beel's heart, he found you directly in the eye of the hurricane. the way your fingers danced lightly along his back brought him back to the reality where his family is full; is alive. soon enough, you felt the demon relax into your embrace, his head becoming heavier on your shoulder as his body tried to regain the hours of sleep he had lost last night. beel continued to resist, eyes snapping wide open each time they dared fall closed. you moved your hands to the base of his neck, playing around with his hair gently.

"you can go to sleep beel. it's okay."

tears spilled out of beel's eyes once more, his gaze watery and unsure when he tilted his head up to look at you. "do you promise?"

you smiled at him, a hand threading through his hair. "i promise. i'll be right here when you wake up."

beel only nodded in response, exhaling shakily as his eyes finally felt shut. his arms tightened around your waist, holding you as though you would disappear if he let go for a second.

"we'll all be here," you reassured him, sneaking a kiss to the crown of his head just before he allowed himself to finally rest.

a/n: idk man it's 3am. also it's not a fic written by me if it doesn't have 1 older brother doin something so brotherly :) I LOVE BIG BROS!!

and yes, requests are being worked on, i promise. i just finished a wedding where i had to make the cake, and had to play the piano as the bride walked down the aisle. needless to say, it's been a bit of a wild ride for me this month-

reblogs are really appreciated (´ω｀) ♡

#obey me #obey me swd #obey me nightbringer #obey me beelzebub #obey me beel #obey me beel x reader #obey me comfort #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me fluff #aris writes 🐈‍⬛

[fuxuannie]

❥﹒vvvampire blade ??? sign me up !!!

✦. synopsis — recently, it's felt like a lingering gaze is always on you. little do you know, in the darkness, a pair of red eyes watch you and want you.

✦. love mail — 💌 the layout of this post is inspired by @yanqingisim 's spiderblade which i loved i hope u dont mind!! this is so different from what i usually write so um.. yeah 🌸 I STRUGGLED SO HARD WRITING THIS RGRJEJRRRGE

✦. tags — experimental so its lowkey bad, kind of funky ???? umm not my usual writing, i did not proofread this, biting, uhh a little bit of stalking, obsessive if u squint, blood mentions, suggestive if u squint, g-neutral reader but no pronouns specified

Vampire!BLADE who has known you much longer than you've known him, watching you here and there in his free time. He doesn't wanna call it stalking.. just - watching over you. (stalking.)

Vampire!Blade, who is so badly annoyed that he can't seem to catch you. That Jing Yuan seemingly always by your side.. his blood can't help but to boil. The General has caught onto the rumors of a vampire in the Luofu, and has made it his duty to protect you.

Vampire!Blade, that during feeding - he'll mutter your name while sinking his teeth into other people. He so badly wants to feed on you, to sink his teeth into your neck - maybe you'd even like that.

Vampire!Blade who has been in your room countless of times, as quiet as a mouse as he just watches you. He doesn't do anything, but his mind wanders to what exactly he could do - feed. Imagining how sweet your blood would taste, holding you down against the sheets as he listens to you make the noises that are music to his ears. But he doesn't, he controls himself, has a moment to realize how strange doing this is and leaves your room instantly.

Vampire!Blade who the moment he catches you, he's practically drooling at the bare skin of your neck. He's waited far too long for this moment and he's hungry. He feeds enough to satiate his appetite, but not enough to kill you. If it wasn't for the fact you found him very attractive, you'd be making a much bigger fuss about the situation you're in.

Vampire!Blade who whispers words of reassurance while he's feeding, murming on how good you're doing and how the pain will end soon. He even lets you tug on his hair if you're into that, and how he loves how much fear (or excitement ??) he drills into you. It has your blood pumping faster and faster and it makes it much more appetizing for him.

Conclusion: I'm never doing this again

#♡ — 𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 #˚₊· ͟͟͞➳❥ bailu's candy stash #hsr x reader #honkai star rail x reader #blade x reader #hsr blade #blade hsr x reader

[frokenkeke]

Making of Ashes to Ashley

Recently I posted my comic Ashes to Ashley, and got such a tremendously kind and loving response that I felt like sharing a little bit more about where it came from.

The story is about a transgender awakening, where the quiet and somber Ash explodes out of the closet as the loud and colorful Ashley. This was always the plan, however the details changed along the way. Quite quickly I realized that I was writing about myself and my own trans journey. I never played in a band and I don't imagine I'll ever grow bunny ears (sadly), but still Ashley is undoubtedly a reflection of myself. I just allowed life to become a stage and gender performance a rock concert.

Above are the first idea doodles I drew late at night in early April. I quite enjoyed giving Ashley lipstick and prominent eye shadow, since I hadn't ever done a character like that before. The idea was a bit of exaggerated femininity that accidentally becomes raw punk expression. One or two people have pointed out the Um Jammer Lammy similarities, and they are absolutely not coincidental. Initially I imagined Ashley would've been more reluctant about her transformation, which is why she looks a bit more annoyed in some of my sketches, but the story became more bright and funny if it was made immediately clear that this all happens off of her own volition.

Some method and color tests. My girlfriend suggested I instead go a lot more raw with it, which is why I ended up adamantly using an ugly sponge brush built into Photoshop. Sapphic Disaster are some form of punk-shoegaze band, so combining rough pencil linework with crunchy texture coloring felt like a fitting visual representation of them. This also side-stepped the biggest problems I've always had with drawing comics – dealing with inking is a boring waste of time, and working digitally always makes me fixate on perfection. By just using pencil on paper I had to stick with whatever errors couldn't be saved by a regular eraser, in fact I dedicated myself to only using an old worn down Bic mechanical pencil and embraced the idea that the comic would consistently look a bit off and amateurish. Of course I allowed myself the luxury of cleaning up my drawings digitally before coloring, but that can only take you so far. This way of working helped me make fast progress and kept each step engaging, I've never had as much fun drawing a comic as I had with Ashes to Ashley.

Here's a before and after from initial scan to finished panel. I often only tidy up around focal points like faces or hands, and allow the rest to remain as it is, usually parts like the legs or Ashley's ears.

Character references and my initial color picks, they went through small changes as I went along. I liked giving all the band members different sorts of rabbit ears to make them all look distinct from each other.

Here's some ideas for the Sapphic Disaster band logo and the comic's color palette, notice how Ashley is more vibrant than Ash.

While working I filled up numerous papers with doodles trying to workshop panels and layouts. It's too much to show all of them here, so I composed a few collages of my favorites.

It was pivotal for me that Ash would always look painfully cute. The sketch of the table scene with Floyd shows a rare out-of-character confident and laid-back Ash. In the presence of Floyd?! Never!

I was very concerned about the reader recognizing the old Ash when first seeing Ashley. She may be all excited about being a girl, but her nervous cluelessness remains. I ended up going back and redrawing two panels in Ashley's introduction to strengthen this impression.

For those not in the know, shoegaze is a rock subgenre that centers around noisey guitar textures, typically achieved through heavy use of effect pedals at the musicians feet; hence the name. When Ashley plays her guitar she produces a cacophony of strange sounds, the reader will have to imagine what they actually sound like, but I always imagined their opening number "I Wanna Be a Girl" to sound like a couple of amateurs trying to recreate Lush's Blackout.

The page where the band go around looking for Ashley while she's receiving her makeover was shoehorned in at a later stage for pacing purposes. That's why Gabriel is suddenly back to pulling cords after previously claiming they're all set, oops!

One of the core rules to this story is that everyone is always overly supportive of Ashley's transition no matter what. This is what makes the otherwise stern and serious Floyd especially funny, my girlfriend was pivotal in sprucing up his dialogue, adding bits like "have you seen the health care waiting lists?, "I know an endocrinologist who owes me a favor or two" and "give me 35% more danger"

Towards the end I discovered that Ashley and Debbie dancing was apparently the most important panel in the entire comic, judging by how much I tried to perfect it. (For the record, my favorite panel is when Ashley screams into the microphone that she wants to be a girl.) Maybe Ashley and Debbie dancing should've replaced the final full-page panel? Well, we got a lot of cute doodles out of it regardless. Just kiss already!

Initially I imagined Ashley to be standing alone in the "could this be the real me" final panel, but I realized her odd family of friends was equally a part of the real her. She was always right where she needed to be, she just needed to find herself within that place. (I ended up giving Ashley a cigarette because otherwise it looked like she was praying.)

Here are some ideas for the cover illustration, of course in 1:1 format to look like an album cover. Up until last minute I planned for the comic to have You Made Me Realize as its subtitle to distinguish it from eventual follow-ups, which is why the You Made Me Realize EP cover art is paraphrased in the top-middle. I ended up just going with Ashes to Ashley to keep it clean and simple. The title Ashes to Ashley was blurted out immediately by my girlfriend when I first showed her my concepts for the story. It's perfect, she's perfect.

I drew two Ashes and two Ashleys for the cover art and let my fingers smudge all over the latter. While most obviously riffing on the cover for My Bloody Valentine's Loveless, it's equally taking from the Ecstasy of Saint Theresa's Pigment.

And there you have it.

However I never intended this to be the full extent of Ashley's story, just a satisfying and complete end of a chapter. I've already finished writing the next story, Today Forever, and I hope I can get it out to you all soon enough. Your love for Ashley keeps me going.

/Kiki

#ashes to ashley

[inner-viper]

How to read tarot cards- Inner Viper

Hello, I have been getting a lot of messages regarding how I read tarot. I have not been ignoring those messages but I wanted to answer this in a post rather than explaining it through DMs/Ask. Reading tarot is more simple than you think it is! Whatever you think “reading” the cards is, throw it out the window.

Remember to knock on the deck, blow it away, and begin shuffling. There are different methods to cleanse the deck. You should cleanse with incense if you can but you can also use a bell to cleanse it. This will provide a clean energy state of the deck, therefore the deck won’t be influenced by “negative” energy. Technically, you are just refreshing the deck's energy and pouring your energy into it. Once you call on the spirits, they will also pour their own energy into you and then that energy reaches the deck.

Now, when you ask a generic question, for example, say “What traits does my FS like about me?”. This question will give me the answer that I am looking for. Sometimes you need to specify the question better in order to get more accurate and in-depth responses. There are times when you could simply be asking the wrong questions and you will get the “wrong” answer, thus the answer is not what you are looking for. It is about defining the problem and understanding what it is you are truly asking.

Let’s begin with a basic three-card layout. Example: “What does my FS like about me?”

The cards: Knight of Cups, The Lovers, and The Tower

When I see these cards I usually get intuitive messages because of mediumship, the more you practice tarot the more “psychic” you become. It is like working out a muscle, you need to continue lifting weights and increasing the amounts steadily in order to get better at it. Every little thing matters when it comes to being intuitive.

If I start to feel aroused, and my body becomes warmer. Then, I start to get random images of sex positions in my head. Then, I could conclude that this is what my FS likes about me. What do you feel the general energy during your reading? You should evaluate what you are picking up on. I would say the general energy would be fun, romantic, emotional, and a bit chaotic. This is also reflected on the cards itself.

Now, for the cards itself. You can read them by looking at the images and interpreting them as well. The knight of cups is charging into the lovers and then it is met by the tower. This could indicate how they like how I offer emotional support with love, only to then turn my advice and nurture to myself. Causing a revelation, a deconstruction of myself. This only happens after I meet with them, whence the tower. In the tower, there are two people falling off the tower. This could be interpreted as me and my FS having revelations of where we need to destroy preconceived notions from poor foundational buildings.

Then, you will read what the cards mean. We did technically read the cards by interpreting the images. This sometimes doesn’t work when we are reading certain decks. The meaning behind each card can be read but remember your intuition is key here alongside discernment.

I will be using Wikipedia as a source but typically you should have a handbook that comes with your deck.

Knight of Cups- Divination usage If the card is upright, it represents change and new excitements, particularly of a romantic nature. It can mean invitations, opportunities, and offers. The knight of cups is a person who is a bringer of ideas, opportunities and offers. He is constantly bored, and in constant need of stimulation, but also artistic and refined. He represents a person who is amiable, intelligent, and full of high principles, but a dreamer who can be easily persuaded or discouraged.

Reversed, the card represents unreliability and recklessness. It indicates fraud, false promises and trickery. It represents a person who has trouble discerning when and where the truth ends and lies begin. Interpretation According to A.E. Waite's 1910 book Pictorial Key to the Tarot, the Lovers card carries several divinatory associations:[1]

THE LOVERS—Attraction, love, beauty, trials overcome. Reversed: Failure, foolish designs. Another account speaks of marriage frustrated and contrarieties of all kinds.

The Tower-Symbolism The Tower is widely associated to danger, crisis, sudden change, destruction, higher learning, and liberation.[6] In the Rider–Waite deck, the top of The Tower is a crown, which symbolizes materialistic thought being bought cheap, downcast We can read through the meanings of the card and interpret exactly what it means with the use of intuition. If it resonates then it is for you, if it doesn’t then it is not for you. This does not mean that you can ignore the “negative” interpretations of the deck. It just means that you will need to use your intuition to see how this applies to your reading. In this case, the tower was not “negative” but it did indicate chaos. Referring back to Wikipedia, there are keywords such as “sudden change”, “higher learning”, and “liberation”. These keywords are not “negative” but rather “positive” in this reading.

Now, notice how we connected all of this. There is no disconnection with the tarot cards. Sometimes we can struggle with connecting the cards in the spread but that’s why you can always do different spreads to help you.

If you don’t understand the answer then reshuffle the deck and ask again.

Reversed cards do not always indicate "opposite meanings" it can represent a blockage. An excess amount of energy, a lack of energy, and etc. Use your intuition to guide you and only implement reversals when you feel comfortable doing so. For example, If I get the king of wands in reverse, the meaning could be I am overcontrolling, a masculine figure in my life is overcontrolling. There is a situation where I am keeping my creative energy locked. Sometimes it could mean, bottling emotions until you explode. These are all different meanings and I would use my intuition to pick up on what is correct.

#pac #tarot #hellenic pagan #pagan witch #pick a pile #pick a card #tarot cards #pac reading #witchcraft #paganism #tarot deck #tarot reading #tarotcommunity #divination readings #fs pac #pac future spouse #pac tarot #tarotblr #divination #demonolatry

[literary-illuminati]

2024 Book Review #11 – The Maya (10th Edition) by Michael D. Coe and Stephen Houston

My second proper history book of the year, and significantly better than the first! This existed on the happy intersection of ‘the r/AskHistorian’s big list of recommenced works on Goodreads’ and ‘stuff my public library inexplicably has a copy of’. It’s dense and more than a bit dry reading, enough that I read it over the course of a week as a side-dish to more digestible fiction. Still, fascinating read, and a book that left more far better informed about the subject than when I started it.

The book is more or less what it says on the tin – a survey of the history of the Maya (or at least the current state of what’s known about it). The book opens with an explanation of the Maya language family, the relevant geography, the characteristics of the high- and lowlands, and the division into northern, central and southern area the field seems to use generally. The better part of it is then arranged chronologically, beginning with the Archaic Period, through the Pre-Classic and Classic, then then Collapse and the Post-Classic. The Spanish Conquest and history since gets a very abbreviated epilogue, ending with a few micro-anthropologies of different contemporary villages and then a five-page travellers’ guide to the most important sites and how to access them.

It’s all, as I said, quite dense – the sort of book where every paragraph adds at least one new important fact and very little time is spent on repetition or review. Combined with the usually very dry, expository tone, it feels much more like a textbook to be read with a lecturer or group to break down and dig into each section than something that was really written to be read alone and for pleasure. Which you know, makes sense, given that this is the tenth edition of a book originally written several decades before I was born.

Now, I say this is a history book, but that’s honestly a bit of a kludge – better to say it’s an archaeology book or, failing that, about anthropology and historiography. There is very little narativizing, and it is very much told from the point of view of the present. That is, the sections are organized chronologically, but within them the unit of analysis is the archaeological site, with every supposition explained as emerging from the analysis of some ruin or artifact or fragment of text. Far more time is spent on the architecture and layout of Mayan cities than the people who actually lived within them, simply because the author’s have so much more to say about them.

It’s only really in the chapters on the Classic (and, to a much lesser extent, post-classic) periods that the book goes from theorizing about building and pottery styles to speaking more confidently about royal courts and high politics and dynastic grandeur, and above all the attempts to give specific particular people a sense of personality and personal biographies that you generally expect out of a pop history book. Which does make sense, given that those are the only periods where we really have enough textual evidence to confidently name and ascribe significance to any particular people – overwhelmingly dynasts and war-leaders, because of course those are the (almost invariably) men who constructed stelae and covered the walls of temples with testaments of their own greatness.

This means that you do get more of a look into nuts and bolts of knowledge production that you do in most histories – a passage about the development of chocolate drinks as elite consumption is framed with the discovery of cocoa residue on preclassic ceramic vessels, one about human sacrifice by the discovery of skeletal remains in cenotes near major architectural sites, that sort of thing. Similarly, just about every single discovery or theory is credited to one or a few specific academics who initially made it. Which will be either incredibly interesting or the dullest thing in the world, depending on one’s tastes.

The text is mostly incredibly dry and expository in tone, which makes the points where a real sense of personality and subjective opinion leaks through interesting. And endearing, at least to me, but I just find there to be something instantly likeable about the sort of academic myopia which considers human sacrifice and mass famine from the point of view of the universe but is roused to passionate rage by suburban sprawl building over unexamined archaeological sites.

I knew little enough about the specifics of Maya civilization going into this that just relaying everything that struck me reading this would turn this review into a novella. But the way that lowland urbanization and agriculture were based around, not rivers like just about every other culture I’ve read on, but cenotes (and artificially constructed simulacra thereof) in the limestone to capture enough rainwater to last through the dry season was just fascinating. The fact that, the region’s reputation for inexhaustible lushness notwithstanding, the soil the Maya relied upon was very thin and in most cases totally degraded after just a few years of agriculture as well. (Speaking of, the theorizing about how diet changed over the ages and how this related to population movements and density was just fascinating).

The book really wasn’t that interested in the specifics of mythology or divine pantheons beyond how they showed up on engravings and ornamentation – there’s no bestiary of gods or anything – but there’s enough of that ornamentation for it to be a recurring topic anyway. I admit I still find the fact that there’s this great primordial pre-classic god-monster which in the modern era is just called ‘Principle Bird Deity’ deeply amusing.

The book is deeply interested in the Maya calendar and time-keeping. Along with the monumental architecture it’s pretty clearly the thing that the authors find most impressive and awe-inspiring about Classical Mayan culture. There’s enough time dedicated to explaining it that I even pretty much understood how the different counts and levels of timekeeping interacted by the end of the book.

One beat the book kept coming back to (which I admit suits my biases quite well) is that there’s just no sense in the Maya were ever isolated or pristine. Cultural influence coming down from the Valley of Mexico waxed and waned, but on some level it was constant – Mesoamerica was a coherent cultural unit, and the similarities in philosophy and culture (not to mention material goods) between cultures within it are too blatant to ignore. The book theorizes that the population levels reached in the Yucatan before the Spanish Conquest really couldn’t have been supported by local maize agriculture, and instead cities were probably sustained by harvesting and exporting from the salt flats (among the best in the Americas) they controlled access to.

Even beyond trade, there’s several points where ruling dynasties were toppled or installed by armies ranging down from Mexico. The Olmecs and Toltecs make repeated appearances. Even the conquistadors conquest of the Highlands was really only possible because the few hundred Spaniards who got all the credit were marching alongside several thousand indigenous allies.

Speaking of – it’s really only an aside to an epilogue, but given I mostly know the Anglo-American history here, it did kind of strike me how...traditionally imperialist the Spanish were, compared to the more-or-less explicitly genocidal rhetoric I’m used to. If you were an indigenous potentate or ruler enthusiastically selling out to the Spanish Crown was significantly more likely to actually work out for you than trusting a treaty with the US of A, anyway (well, for a while. Smallpox comes for everyone),

Then again, the book does mention that the newly independent Mexican and Central American states in the 19th century were actually significantly worse for the Maya than the Bourbons had been (with things reaching their nadir with the genocidal violence of the 1980s in Guatemala), so maybe that’s it.

Anyway, the book is illustrated, and absolutely chock full of truly beautiful photography and prints on just about every other page. Even if you never actually read it, it would be a great coffee table book.

#book review #history #The Maya #Michael D. Coe #stephen houston

[urfavoritesecretadmirer]

Stuff that would get us fake claimed bc this trend is so amazing in my eyes

(And no I'm not asking to get fake claimed bc apparently I'm not allowed to make jokes)

High alter count

We don’t have an exact number, but our overall estimation is pretty high (not in the thousands but yk 100-150).

Not being able to control switches

We can’t control when we switch but it’s usually in stressful/negative situations. We also can’t control who takes front.

Alter variety

Istg, people are weird when it comes to alter variety. It’s always “oh your alters are all similar? Fake!!” Or “oh your alters are all very different? Fake!!” Our system has a lot of variety.

Has a TikTok account

“Omg, a system with social media?! Fake!!” Believe it or not, we only started our TikTok in late June of last year. We’ve known we are a system since way before that. So yes, systems can have TikTok accounts. Because I guarantee there are thousands of systems on TikTok who are not open to being a system that you will never know about.

Posts about system stuff

Damn, I didn’t know it was illegal for systems to be open about being a system. I didn’t know my literal existence, labels I choose to use, etc were taking away from the “real systems”. My apologies, Mr/ms high and mighty ceo of Reddit moderation as your 9-5.

Has simply plural

“Omg an app for systems?! And you’re using it?! As a system?! Fake!!” I’m not allowed to use one of the few useful apps that can log switches, keep track of members, send messages, help you meet other systems, make polls, make your layout look pretty if you want, etc without getting fakeclaimed. It’s almost like it’s an app for systems, and systems use it. Shocker.

Uses pluralkit

“A system using a meaningful way of communication and another good way to keep track of members?! Fake!!” Apparently redditors think that pluralkit worsens amnesia barriers and derealization. Is this true?? If so tell me, but it doesn’t happen for us. Because obviously, I’m not fronting all the time. How am I supposed to feel derealization if I’m not there?? Also it’s not like our main account profile is by default the host. Our user has <3 and our systag in the name for christs sake.

Goes to school

I know, shocker, I have a life. I’m not physically incapable of having an education as a system. And believe it or not, I have decent grades too. Systems are traumatized, not stupid (directed at that one boy at my old school).

Doesn’t want final fusion

Excuse you, but this system has been here for me and has been around since I was five (I think). I’ve only now fully accepted the fact I’m a system. I think it’d be a bit rude to just say “alr you can go now” like I don’t wanna be alone tf.

Introjects

We ain’t Introject heavy, but ig even having two introjects makes you fake. This may be a shocker, but it’s more common to have other disorders alongside DID/OSDD than to not. This, and again, this may be a shocker, but it includes ADHD and autism.

In sys relationships

Me, the host, has personally never been in an in-sys relationship. But I think in our system there’s like, two? And then there’s a lot of ‘it’s complicated’ or ‘situationship’.

Decent communication

Obviously, it could be better, but we overall have decent and healthy ways of communicating with each other. Usually it’s talking out loud or leaving little notes.

Alter intros

Because apparently it’s a crime against being neurodivergent to share about your alters. We obviously can’t share everything for obvious reasons but we want yall to get to know us.

DNI alters

This may be a hard pill to swallow, but DNI doesn’t always mean the alter is some dangerous monster. It can mean that alter is too little to be online, it could mean that alter is a social anxiety symptom holder, it could mean that alter just doesn’t like talking to people outside the system/at all. These are just a few examples. Or maybe, that alter just doesn’t wanna be fuckin interacted with. But these alters should still be acknowledged. Why? Because healing is a thing. Locking them away isn’t healthy. Maybe they want people to know not to interact with them. But noooo, all DNI alters are awful people apparently.

Other mental health disorders

We have anxiety and depression (diagnosed and genetic), medically recognized ADHD, and tics. And yes, all of our alters have tics because it's caused by your brain and we share the same brain.

#did system #did osdd #actually osdd #osdd #osddid #actually did #osdd system #osdd 1b #actually traumagenic #traumagenic did #did memes #did stuff #did #did positivity #osdd did #did alter #osdd things #osdd1b #osdd 1 #osdd community #osdd alter #osdd 1a #anti endo

[pudding-parade]

Geotic by karmatical

Back to the Exchange we go! Generally speaking, with these world overviews, I mostly want to focus on complete worlds, or at least worlds that are complete enough that you can just plunk down a sim or twelve in the world and play, without having to do any set-up. But, for those who like to build, I will also give a shout-out here and there to empty worlds that I think are nicely sculpted/painted/decorated and that have good lot lay-outs that would be easy to create a nice-looking town in, whether you build the lots yourself or plop down EA or downloaded ones.

This is one such world. It's a recent one, uploaded in January of 2022. It has lovely mountainous scenery full of evergreen trees as well as quite a bit of water and three waterfalls. The lot layout is great, too, with discrete sections that make it easy to create various types of neighborhoods within the world as well as a centralized city/downtown area, complete with a waterfront.

Some stats:

I'm not 100% sure what size the world is, but I think it's 2048x2048. Not all of it is routable, though, so the playable area is smaller than that. It shouldn't take sim-hours to get anywhere.

I'm terrible at recognizing what landscape items come from which EP, but I did see trees that I know for certain come from Pets and Ambitions. I thiiiiiiink the rest is all basegame, though? Maybe? There is no Store content or CC.

I counted 114 lots, with 84 designated as residential and 30 as community, but since they're all empty, you can change that however you want. All of the lots are flat, other than half-a-dozen or so that overlap water so that you could build/place ports/houseboats on them. The "bay" area would be a great place to add some diving lots, too. Some of the lots are odd sizes, particularly long, narrow strips between other lots which are obviously meant to be greenbelts. There are also some other lots that are just a bit "off" from normal sizes -- like 45x40, for instance -- but this wouldn't mean that you couldn't place pre-built "normal" size lots on them. You'd just have a bit of space left over in some cases, which can be a good thing.

There are no spawners in the world. None. Not even fish. Minor pets do not spawn, either. So, if you want to be able to fish or collect things in this world, you'll need to add spawners yourself.

As usual, the title of this post is a link to the world's enormously unhelpful Exchange page, but if you don't want to deal with the Exchange/the Launcher/sims3packs, I have uploaded a .world file here. If you download that, it goes in your install files under GameData - Shared - NonPackaged - Worlds. If you like this world, the creator has two more similar ones, also empty, which you can access from the "Creator" tab on the Exchange page.

So, all that being said, let's have a look at some more pics and info, behind the cut!

First up, some Edit Town pics of the various sections of the world. As I said, the world is broken out into discrete sections meant for different purposes. I don't know about anyone else, but this is something I look for in worlds. So here we go:

This is the area where all of the lots designated as community lots (except for one out by the lighthouse) are. Me, I'd put luxury houses on the lots on the causeway bit on the left, but as-is they're designated as community lots. Anyway, this is obviously where the city/downtown is supposed to be.

This is a little rural area, with three larger lots for farms.

This area has a bunch of small lots. The ones in the grid layout are 15x20, and the ones in the other bit are mostly 20x20 with one or two more 15x20s. So, this would be a good place to put starter houses or small-footprint multi-story houses.

The lots on the back of the central "mountain" are large and have nice views of unroutable wilderness with a lake and a waterfall, so pretty obviously meant for fancy houses. The area in the upper right has smaller lots but also with a water view, so also good for smaller but more-expensive houses. The lots in the red rectangle are kind of odd, though. They're 15x40. I suppose you could build narrow but very deep houses on them, like urban brownstones or whatever, but I would replace them with fewer but square-er lots.

Annnnnd this is the area that's mostly meant to be mid-level suburbia, I think. Larger lots laid out in a grid, tree-lined streets, blah blah. There are some larger and more isolated lots there in the bottom right as well as the upper bit along the river, though.

And that's about it! Since the world is empty, we're left with scenery, so...Let's have LOTS MOAR SCENERY!

#sims 3 #world overview #world overview wednesday #sims 3 scenery #sims 3 pictures

[astranne]

— with this kiss i pledge my love and not because i forgot the valentine gift for you

fandom. genshin impact

pairing. heizou x gn!reader

content warnings. heizou is a flirt but not a romantic person lies he is very romantic in the end, open ending

notes. posting this before i dip for the rest of the week. my first heizou work and part of the valentines writing event of the yae network! please keep in mind that i didn’t do his hangout, so it was a bit difficult for me to write this ;-; hope you all still like it :) also pspspsps 👀 new (banner) layout for works 🤭 ty @keqism for proofreading this!!

Shikanoin Heizou isn’t a romantic person. Flirty, yes of course, he loves to tease you, make you flustered with the sweetest words, but a true romantic?

No, Heizou isn’t one for romance, yet he still loves you with all his heart. He just shows it differently and that’s fine. After all, you love Heizou exactly because of this. But you also love receiving gifts—who wouldn’t? Not that you expected gifts from your boyfriend everyday, it was already a gift to you when he came home early from his work.

Shikanoin Heizou is a busy man, his time and love are the biggest gifts to you. And still you were a bit disappointed, when he came home empty handed on one specific day in February. No flowers, no chocolate, no wrapped gift. Just a tired smile on his face, his hair a little more windswept than usual and dirt on his clothes. You don’t show your disappointment, because you knew- you knew Heizou wasn’t a romantic boyfriend and there was no need for it. He already loved you so much, and this silly day wasn’t needed for the two of you.

But then you see the couples strolling around in the city while you do the last touches on today’s meal. Watching from the window in your kitchen, your movements slow down until you stop. You don’t see it then, but there’s a wistful smile on your face, almost sad and it breaks Heizou’s heart. He curses himself. Just because he isn’t a romantic person, it doesn’t mean you aren’t one either. What if you wanted to go on a date with him? One that was an official one, with him asking you out, planning the whole date and sweeping you off your feet for the rest of the day.

You may have agreed to his opinion that this day is stupid and totally unnecessary, but maybe you wished for a Valentine’s date, with chocolate and a kiss. He watches how you sigh and then go back to putting the food on plates.

“Let me,” he says and presses a kiss on your hairline. “It’s only fair I finish this up, darling mine.” You duck your head and blush, even after all those years of being his partner.

The two of you eat in peaceful silence, as you often do after a tiring day. And then… then Heizou asks you to let him clean up the kitchen, the least thing he can do after forgetting to get you a gift, even a small one. You don’t protest, fully knowing that he’s a stubborn man and so you let him, nursing a hot cup of tea and watch how he cleans up the kitchen. It warms your heart, seeing him like this, in the home you share, simply just here.

And when he’s finally done, he turns to you with a soft smile, eyes full with love and takes both of your hands in his. Pressing kisses on them, he kneels in front of you, all while you watch him with wide eyes.

“I don’t have a physical gift for you today, love, I can only show you how much I love you. You are a gift to me, the only one who owns my heart,” he murmurs and presses one last, long kiss on your fingertips. “And with this kiss, I pledge my love and life to you, be it in hard or easy times, when we’re alone or together. Will you accept my gift, darling mine?”

taglist. @keyz-writes , @obsidianjewel , @keqism , @kamiiyaka , @stellumi , @wanderersbell

do you want to join the taglist? then read this post!

ASTRANNE 2023

#yaepublishinghouse #astronetwrk #heizou x reader #heizou x gn reader #shikanoin heizou x reader #heizou shikanoin #genshin heizou #heizou imagines #heizou scenarios #heizou x you #heizou x gender neutral reader #genshin impact x gn reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #genshin impact #🪐 galaxy milky way

[twistedchristianscience]

forgot to post about him here BUT I finished my silly little Vashraptor fursuit just before Emerald City Comic Con (and Vancoufur)

except he's not actually "finished", just finished enough for me to wear him to those cons for a bit. he still needs a few more details, namely feetpaws, the stitches on his torso, a more raptor-like hand for his prosthetic, and claws. plus I'm not totally happy with his ears so I might redo them. I'll make legs and different prosthetics eventually, but that probably won't be for a while.

as per usual of raptors, he looks pretty silly at any angle other than side profiles, so its a little difficult to get good photos while im actually wearing him.

more ramblings + WIP shots under the cut because this was the most complicated project ive ever done and im insane

so far, he's taken about $700 worth of materials and 150 hours but I'll make another post with updated numbers when he's fully finished.

the headbase is made of EVA foam, with a hinge from WeaselsOnEasels (covered with that pink fabric because I accidentally put it on the inside, rip) and 40 teeth from DreamVisionCreations. the eyes and antorbital fenestrae have .5mm computer fan pvc mesh-- his vision and ventilation are fantastic, rivaling my suit with a 3d printed base, but fine details like writing and text are lost as per usual with vision meshes (that's not normally much of a problem for me with the furry conventions I go to annually and know the layout of, but it made navigating ECCC a nightmare since ive never been before and the venue is HUGE. I imagine ill have the same struggles if I go to sakuracon-- anyone wanna be my handler for that? lol). the unfurred section is coated with Plastidip and spraypainted dark brown. most of his mane is zippered on both sides so I can remove it and make interchangable versions (I plan to make spiked-up hair in yellow, half yellow/black, and fully black) while the tip of it is magnetic so it lies flat against the base. his tongue is also magnetic. I was originally going to make magnetic eyelids, but in all honesty, I might prefer to make them velcro as they tend to be easier to adjust + more secure than magnetic ones.

the part I hated making the most was his tail, not because it's bad, but because when I was almost done with it my dog got to it and chewed it apart.

you can see there's an awkward little bump along the top near where the light yellow and black fur connect-- when im wearing the tail that bump makes it look broken. but since he's so mangled anyway it can just be considered part of his design since I didn't add any scars to it

the tail feathers were a bit of a nightmare to make but the progress shots are cool

the part I loved making the most, and that im most proud of, is the bodysuit. I thought the scars were going to be a nightmare to sew, but they were actually the most fun and I love how they turned out!! he will be getting an interchangable mane down his back as well but I didn't have the time to finish it. I might also extend the shoulders a little for a better fit, particularly the left as theres a noticeable gap between the suit and the prosthetic as it is.

I showed this video of the pattern to a friend at When Furballs Strike a few weeks back and she told me I was insane. she is correct, and I'm fairly sure me actually finishing the bodysuit in a week only proves it further. but I did it anyway, and I had fun doing it.

Fur used: Yellow (Hair/Mane, Tail Feathers): HowlFabric Buttercup Luxury Shag Light Yellow (Main Body/Face): MofuMofu Mi Yellow Long Fur White (Neck, Top Surgery Scars, Tail): BigZFabric White Short Shag Brown (Ears, Tail Feathers): HowlFabric Fossil Grey Luxury Teddy Black (Arm, Tail): HowlFabric Natural Black Luxury Teddy Scars: HowlFabric Salmon Minky Tongue: HowlFabric Banana Minky Inner Mouth: HowlFabric Vanilla Minky Inner Ears: BigZFabric White Minky

note about the mofumofu fur: it's pretty thin, if you trim too much you can see the backing through it. HOWEVER. this proved to be a positive for the bodysuit, as it's MUCH more breathable than thicker furs like howl's and bigz's. (for the one day I could make it to ECCC and two days of Vancoufur, I wore this suit for 10-12 hours straight with a sweatshirt underneath and never felt like I was overheating, the minky scars most likely helped with it but STILL??) it also doesn't get as matted. whether or not it's worth the $55/yd price depends on what you need it for, if it's within your price range and you're particularly sensitive to heat, I'd say go for it. I only needed a yard for this as I'm kindof a little guy (5'5", 120lbs) so it was worth it for me.

#twist talks #vashraptor #kinsona #vash the stampede #trigun #fursuit #fursuit making

[ca77um-ilo77]

alright you have me convinced!! what should i know before i watch indycar next season??

yooo i'm so glad i convinced you!! this is a pretty long post, and is kind of all-over the place. i tried to break it up by general topic, but i'm adding randomly as i think, so just a warning. i'll add some info links i like at the bottom. (if you or anyone wants to talk indy or f1, asks or dms are so very welcome, i love making friends <3)

one thing about indy is unlike in basically every else, many cars look very different even when on the same team as well as special liveries that are nothing like their normal ones, so i'd recommend getting the indycar app (it's free and user friendly once you figure out the weird layout) as it has a spotter's guide. it also has onboard cameras and radios for free (!!!!).

indycar is (usually) a pretty friendly sport, but as is the case with american sports, we like chaos, so the drivers can pretty much say anything except swear words lol. there's a few different clips of drivers threatening each other, which is great. id say most drivers are friends or at least acquaintances, expect santino ferrucci (huge bigot, pay driver, got kicked out of f2 for extremely dirty driving, and i personally hate his hair) and often romain grosjean as he hits people a lot. as for 2024 rookies, kyffin simpson's dad bought him his seat, and kyle larson saying the n-word in 2020 means he has some really, really racist fans.

the safety rules are strict and the cars are very durable which is good for high-speed crashes. the safety people (shoutout amr indycar safety team i love y'all, amr the company i hate you more than i hate the fia) travel with the races and have extensive training. they are also stationed in places that allow quick access to any location on a track. this is most apparent at ovals as they are much faster and more dangerous. at the other races, they are stationed where there is higher likelihood for a more dangerous crash that needs faster reactions. they take trucks to the site that are full of basically anything that might be needed. this is especially important as indycar refuels and are at high risk of combustion compared to f1. the calling yellow flags is also a lot more liberal which is nice. during longer yellows, and reds at ovals they'll run a sweeper truck to clean the racing line so people don't slide into walls.

for flag code info, as i don't have the patience to write it out, it is is section 7.2 of the rule book (page 27). i've linked it at the bottom of the post.

with the cars, they're all required to have the same chassis and aren't allowed to change a huge amount, so the racing is mostly down to skill, though andretti, ganassi, penske, and mclaren are better as they have more money. there are two engine suppliers, honda and chevrolet, iirc (don't quote me here) chevy is a bit more powerful, but honda is a bit more handleable. fast pit stops are usually about 7 seconds due to smaller pit crews (7 people maximum) and refueling. each car also has it's own pit box as teams have variable car numbers based on what they can afford. firestone provides tires, and there are two compounds, primary and alternate, as well as a wet tire. primaries are the harder compound and have a black sidewall. alternates are softer and have a red sidewall, except at street circuits where it's green to signify all natural rubber. use of both compounds are required. on broadcast you'll hear them mention "sticker reds" which are just the brand new ones.

more tire info in section 15 of the rulebook (page 84). there's some complex rules if you like tires.

the biggest difference between indy cars and f1 is f1 has power steering, indy doesn't. if you watch onboards, the drivers are wrestling the car the whole time, and most of the racing comes down to skill. the actual racing is often chaotic (indycar app helps with this. i keep it open always) and since there are many pit stops in a race (the cars use a lot of fuel) the leaderboard will change a lot.

the points system is very different, i'll try to cover it as succinctly as i can but i'm going to put a link for the wiki on it at the bottom anyway. (this is going to be formatted real weird, but i want to be brief). p1 50; p2 40; p3 35; p4 32; 4th-10th decreases by 2; p10 20; 10th-25th decreases by 1; everything p25 down is 5 points. drivers get points for finishing the race, basically. (unless there's more than 33 finishers, then 34 down get nothing, but that doesn't really happen). there's some bonus points also, 1 for leading a lap, 2 for most laps led, and 1 for pole position. the final bonus is for indy 500 qualifying. top 12 get points from p1 getting 12, descending by 1, to p12 getting 1.

as for the circuits there's three types: ovals (6 races, 4 tracks), roads (6 races, +1 non-championship race), and street (5 races). ovals are very high speed with little to no breaking. road courses are just your average circuit made for racing, the roads tend to be a bit rougher than f1's but that's kinda just how american tracks are. street circuits are, well, on the street. american roads suck major dick. the smoothest indycar street circuit is comparable to the worst of f1's. very bumpy, usually some good crashes (watch 2023 st. petersburg start. shit was insane).

as a fan, i cannot recommend irl indy more. some races are busier than others, obviously, but it's cheap considering it's a big racing category. 3 day entry for the less major races is usually $60-ish, and paddock passes are an additional $120-ish. not 100% on the price for pit access, but that is a bundle with three day tickets usually. the races aren't super crowded and there isn't assigned seats which is nice. the paddock is super open (check my "fenrir indycar" tag, quick access on my pinned) and you are able to walk up to and touch the cars if you really want (i wouldn't) as well as have conversation with engineers if they're not busy. if you have pit access the drivers are usually just wandering around and are often happy to stop and talk/sign something when not busy. there's also a high risk of nearly getting run over by drivers on their scooters. will power is notorious for this.

for my non-americans, (love y'all) we are very happy to have a conversation with strangers. the indy fans are often thrilled to talk about their favorite drivers and thoughts with anyone. when i went id say the only bad experiences i had was getting overwhelmed (my fault, i went to a place that i knew would cause a meltdown) and my dad getting hit twice by a man in a golf cart twice (same guy, not my dad's fault, the cunt didn't try to move, warn him, or apologize, just hit him, let my dad stumble, hit him again. i'm still mad). the seats are usually right on the track, so it's extremely loud and smelly. 10/10 can not recommend irl indy enough. i am biased to the pnw and it's the only race i've been to, but the portland race is great. it's not got masses of people, you can walk right up to the track to watch with the only thing between you and the cars being a concrete wall and a fence, and as it's a smaller race with less fans compared to the east coast and mid-west races, it's cheaper. biggest con is its built on a swamp, so super humid. (another pro, i'll be there <3 [joke.])

any questions you've got or clarification needed, my notifications are on and i'll respond to relevant stuff as soon as i see it.

LINKS:

rule book (clicking on a section of the table of contents will take you there)

points format wiki

schedule (tickets can be bought here)

app link

2024 series wiki (so helpful)

#f1 #indycar #fenrir indycar #indy 500 #2023 indycar #2024 indycar #formula 1 #anti santino ferrucci #portland indycar #ask #anonymous #anon

[ourgoodfriendjonathan]

Results of the Big Dracula Daily Fandom Questionnaire

Part 2 of 2: Favourites

(Part 1)

I analysed the results and will post them in two parts, because it is a bit much. If you have any questions, let me know.

Note: the layout isn't perfect and the language isn't scientific.

Also note: this post contains major spoilers.

Time for the second tournament between Dracula characters this year: who is everyone’s favourite? Here is the final (average) ranking, where 1 would be first place and 10 would be last place:

Mina (2.2)

Jonathan (2.6)

Quincey (4.4)

Lucy (4.6)

Jack (5.1)

Van Helsing (5.5)

Arthur (6.4)

Renfield (6.6)

Dracula (6.9)

Captain of the Demeter (7.1)

It may come as a shock that the captain was ranked below Dracula, but keep in mind that I asked you your favourite character and not, for example, favourite person to hang out with or to go sailing with. The answers would be wildly different if that were the question. Remember also: Arthur is an amateur fitter. Opportunities for a next questionnaire!

In this table you can see the amounts of votes per ranking per character. For example, the number “215” next to Mina’s name and under the number one means Mina was ranked number one 215 times.

What is interesting to note is that in this table you can see that the captain was mostly ranked in eight or ninth place, but Dracula was placed mostly ninth or tenth. So if we look at this, instead of at the average ranking, I would say we like the captain better than Dracula.

As you can see in the table as well, the results weren’t entirely unonymous. Especially Jack and Van Helsing are ranked all over the place, ranging from third place to seventh.  

The most important take-away here is how much we love Mina and Jonathan. We place Jonathan in the top three 620 times (28% of all 1-3 votes), and Mina 560 times (26% of all 1-3 votes). (See how I found a way to make Jonathan sound slightly better there? I may not be all objective.)

A few of you misunderstood the assignment, and ranked 10 as highest and 1 as lowest. I think I managed to filter most of these out and reversed those rankings. Usually it was clear from other answers that the participant had made a mistake. They would have, for example, expressed fondness for Mina in all questions, and then went on to rank her in tenth place. I knew, intuitively, this was a mistake.

We loved receiving mail from our good friend Jonathan and it shows: 45% of us liked his “voice” best. Mina comes in second (27%) and Jack third (13%). The captain of the Demeter’s log scored well too with 7%, and 4% of you kept a soft spot for the flowery journalism of the anonymous correspondent. Lucy received another 4% of the votes, but only seven people loved Art’s and Quincey’s writing the best.

When I made the quiz, Van Helsing hadn’t made any entries yet. Future research could find out what the results would be now, after we read everything.

The hardest results to analyse were the ones for the question about ships. I thought I would be able to find all combinations by making the question a multiple choice grid, but it turns out it’s still vague.

Do with these results what you like, I declare it a puddle.

In my next questionnaire I will write out all of the combinations you made (including all the polycule variants), so that you can choose and mix to your heart’s desire. Hopefully the results of that will be more conclusive.

The last four questions asked to describe/name a moment that made you feel something. There were four categories: scared, sad, happy, and moments that made you laugh. I grouped the results into broader categories so I could rank how often they were named.

The category names make sense to me, but perhaps not to everyone. I’ll try to explain the ones I think might cause confusion.

Overall (the results of all categories piled together) we were most moved by everything that happened to Lucy. Her slow decline, Dracula’s last attack of September 17 and her eventual death were mentioned by 14% of you. Counting everything else surrounding her too, 24% of the answers named something related to Lucy's story, almost all of it sad.

Second most mentioned was the wedding. If we group the news of Jonathan surviving, him and Mina reuniting and the wedding together, we get 13% of the answers that contained one or more of these moments as a source of happiness.  

Special shoutout to the 3% of you who named Quincey shooting the bat as something that made you laugh.

Please note that most of the results of the questionnaire came in before the end of the book (between October 29 and 31). Events that happened after October 31 are therefore underrepresented in the replies.

My next questionnaire will contain a list of everything mentioned, and I will make participants pick their favourites. This list will include events that happened after October 31.

Below are the results for each category:

12% of the answers for this question named the log of the Demeter as a cause of fright, followed closely by the attack on Mina on October 3 (11%) and the attack on Lucy on September 17 (10%).

The group “Trapped” (6%), which includes general moments in the first two months (May and June) when Jonathan felt especially in the toils in castle Dracula.

“Escape” (5%) is specifically Jonathan’s last entry of June where he told us he was going to walk the ledge in an effort to escape the castle (“Good-bye, all! Mina!”).

The “July silence” (7%) is the fact that we didn’t get any letters from him for a long time after this, and we didn’t know whether he lived or died.

“Lucy’s mum” (4%) covers the moments surrounding the death of Mrs Westenra, like the fact that Lucy was alone with her body or that she died smack on top of her.

“Mina left behind” (3%) are the events of October 2 and 3 when Mina was excluded and this led to her being at risk.

29% of you mentioned Lucy’s death as a cause of sadness. Renfield’s death was second with 9% of mentions, and the groups “attack on Lucy”, “unopened by her” and “Lucy’s decline” got 6% of mentions each. The others all got mentioned 4% or less.

“Lucy’s decline” (6%) contains everything from the first attack of Dracula (when she was sleepwalking) until the moment she eventually died, like the ups and downs of her 'mystery disease', or how futile healing her seemed.

“Unopened by her” (6%) was the letter Mina sent Lucy on the day of Dracula’s last attack, which Lucy would never be able to read.

“Suitors mourning” (3%) is about Arthur, Quincey and Jack mourning for Lucy after her death or after killing her as a vampire.

“Jonathan suffering” (2%) contained several moments of Jonathan having a generally bad time, like his reaction to Mina being attacked or his speech to Van Helsing (“Have you felt the Vampire’s lips” etc.).  

The happy-category was often answered with more general things like the love these characters have for each other (3%).

“Jonmina” (6%) means the relationship between Jonathan and Mina,

By “Assembly” (5%) I mean the day all the characters met each other and combined their diaries.

In the group “Harker-Helsing” (3%) fell mostly events of the day Van Helsing met the Harkers, for example Mina pranking Van Helsing or Jonathan saying he loved hearing him praise Mina.  

As touched on before, “Bat” (15%) refers to the moment Quincey got up from a meeting to shoot a bat sitting in the windowsill.

“VH talks” (7%) groups the weird things Van Helsing said or, more generally, his way of talking, though I made separate groups for mentions of his King Laugh-speech (4%) and the Corn-speech (3%).

“Mirror yeet” (4%) is my name for the debacle surrounding Dracula and Jonathan’s shaving mirror (“A foul bauble of vanity!”),

“Maid” (3%) refers to the fact that Dracula did all the cooking and cleaning in Castle Dracula.

Let me know if any other categories need explaining, I’ll be happy to talk about this more!

In general, we ranked the entirety of the Dracula Daily phenomenon with an average score of 6.7 out of 7. Over 95% of the participants gave it at least a 6 out of 7.

This concludes my analysis of the results on the Big Dracula Daily Fandom Questionnaire.

As said before, I made another, even bigger, questionnaire, because I have lots and lots of other questions. I think they'll be fun to answer, as they aren't very scientific (wet rat Jack the certified scientist would no doubt frown upon it).

During all of this analysing I felt a bit like Jack sitting begrudgingly in the graveyard back in September, in that I kept grumbling profanities and "Why am I doing this" and immediately after: "I'm going to do this again tomorrow."

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

Please consider filling in my long follow-up questionnaire. I think it'll take about 15 minutes:

#dracula daily #the big dracula daily questionnaire #btw i may have made an error in the percentages of the favourite moments but I don't feel like changing it #the overall gist of this still very much stands