#its just: i don't like feeling obligated to stick to things (like a series or theme or whatever) so maybe not. would be nice though..

[salsflore]

been almost 3 yrs and i am still struggling with the whole mikachi first meeting thing. bye

#for zl its something simple. i just saw cute fanart of it with another ship [ p sure it was someones 2 ocs ] and enjoyed the idea #i lost my black umbrella irl but tbf it doesnt really matter because i always fucking forget to bring it anyways. so sometimes i get caught #in the rain. so idk zl lends me his umbrella bc. fuck! heading in the same direction and is like hey loser . . let me help you . . #cue immediate heart eyes bc handsome stranger helped her. like Wow Yuo Are So Cool... ♡ #afterwards she mentions this interaction to her friend [ yun jin or hu tao .. unsure but they are both so silly so its hard 2 decide ] and #then they are like wait i know that grandpa you're talking about! let me set you up lalala theres this whole thing i'm lazy #i'll write about it Maybe bc i do want to write for my platonic f/os. and also cover all the [ firsts ] in my self ships #its just: i don't like feeling obligated to stick to things (like a series or theme or whatever) so maybe not. would be nice though.. #nobody in this world is allowed to laugh at me i'll die #as for childe my plan was he breaks into her house and then shes like wtf who r u?!! they make eye contact and kiss + get married asap #no actually i truly dont know. zl's is slightly easier because he lives a mortal life. just chills #has connections with a lot of the liyue chars. literally just enjoying his retirement era now #ajax doesn't have many connections ( other harbingers but they dgaf about each other i think x ) and i just cant imagine that. idk #just fucking. bumping into him would lead to anything. maybe i should turn into a fish and have him fish me up and then i transform into a #girl and then we fall in love what do you guys think (losing my grip on humanity) #💭 #mika ♡ ajax #mika ♡ zhongli

[canmom]

The Flower That Bloomed Nowhere, 000-012

Or, what if that mural was the heart of a web serial.

I'm reading The Flower That Bloomed Nowhere, thanks largely to the enthusiasm of @azdoine and @lukore on my dash over the last few months.

This is absolutely not gonna be a liveblog in the level of detail of the great Umineko liveblog project. Rather I'm gonna be aiming at something like the comics comints series or those occasional posts on anime. Or indeed what I wrote about Worth The Candle last year. I must create a robot whose purpose is to watch to see if I start writing detailed plot summaries and hit me with a stick labelled 'remember you have a job now'.

That outta the way, let's talk flower!

No, not that flower!

I will start with an anecdote. When I was at university, I ended up attending a talk by court alchemist senescence researcher Aubrey de Grey, who at that time did not yet have a 'sexual harassment allegations' section on his Wikipedia page. The main thing that struck me at the time was his rather spectacularly long beard. But I did listen to his talk about ending aging.

de Grey's schtick is that he, like many people in the transhumanist milieu, believes that medical technology is on the cusp of being able to prevent aging sufficiently well to prolong human lifespans more or less indefinitely. He believes that the different processes of aging can be understood in terms of various forms of accumulating cellular 'damage', and that these will begin to be addressed within present human lifespans, buying time for further advancements - so that (paraphrasing from memory) 'the first immortals have already been born'. He has some pretty graphs to demonstrate this point.

At that talk, one of the audience members asked de Grey the (in my view) very obvious question about whether access to this technology would be distributed unevenly, creating in effect an immortal ruling class. de Grey scoffed at this, saying he always gets this question, and basically he didn't think it would be a big deal. I forget his exact words, but he seemed to assume the tech would trickle down sooner or later, and this was no reason not to pursue it.

I'm sure de Grey is just as tired of being reminded of how unbalanced access to medical technology is in our current world, or the differences in average life expectancy between countries.

So, I was very strongly reminded of de Grey as The Flower That Bloomed Nowhere laid out its major thematic concerns and characters. I was also put in mind of many online arguments in the transhumanist milieu about whether it would be a good thing, in principle, to end death.

In particular, of course, comes to mind transhumanist Nick Bostrom's short story The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant, in which death is likened to a huge dragon that demands to be fed trains full of humans every day. In the story, humanity's scientists secretly build a giant gun to kill the dragon. Naturally, despite all the doubters and naysayers who foolishly feel obliged to justify the existence of the dragon, the gun works. Bostrom's imagery is incredibly heavy-handed (particularly the trains à la Auschwitz), but just in case you didn't get it, he also spells out the moral explicit at the end: basically, every day not spent putting resources to abolishing death is adding up more and more bodies to the pile of people who don't get to be immortal.

So far, Flower seems to be shaping up to be a critical intervention into that milieu, with a much more grounded view of death and a much stronger model of society - admittedly not a high bar but it's going good so far!

At the time of writing this commentary, I have read the prologue and first two six-chapter arcs, namely Mankind's Shining Future (1-6) and Pilgrimage to the Deep (7-12).

the general shape of things

We are introduced - from the perspective of sardonic, introverted Su, who is going to be the protagonist of our time loop - to a group of brilliant young medical wizards, who have just been invited to visit the headquarters of a secret society whose mission is precisely to abolish death. Su's grandfather was some kind of controversial luminary who was expelled this organisation, and he also did something to her, which is giving her some kind of ulterior motive to find her way into this society.

We know pretty much from the outset that this is a time loop scenario: Su has been explicitly given the opportunity to replay the scenario in the hopes of find an alternative outcome, by some kind of presently mysterious parties. This first part is the 'control' loop, i.e. probably more or less how things went down 'originally'.

I believe Umineko is an explicit inspiration for this story, and the influence is pretty evident. But parallels with the Locked Tomb series, especially Gideon the Ninth, are also quite noticeable. @lukore spoke of it as the STEM to Locked Tomb's humanities, and I can already kinda see it, although we haven't got into the real meat of the scenario yet. This story began serialisation four years ago, making the two works roughly contemporary. The latest chapter was published in the last couple of weeks - no idea if I've arrived just in time for the ending!

Stylistically, it's generally pretty heavy on dialogue and long asides. The characters are a bunch of mega nerds who love to have big philosophical and political discussions, but their dynamics are well enough realised and their dynamics clear enough that it can double up as naturalistic characterisation. So far, the discussions have been interesting to read.

Below I'm going to make some notes and comments on various elements of the setting and story. In a followup post (because it got too long) I'm going to talk a lot about entropy. Perhaps you will find this interesting!

the world

The first few chapters are dedicated pretty hard to exposition. We find ourselves in a distant-future setting - one in which it seems reality has totally collapsed and then been rebuilt using magic, creating a somewhat oddball universe which lacks things like the element iron, and also electromagnetism. This seems like it would have pretty severe implications for just about everything!

However, the 'ironworkers' have, after producing a series of trial and error 'lower planes' that didn't quite get it right, landed on a fairly close approximation of how things used to be on the old world. Though by 'fairly close approximation' I mean like... it's a bowl-shaped world and the sun and stars are artificial lanterns. But still, there are humans, and they seem to work more or less like we're used to humans working, apart from the whole 'magic' thing.

So, an alt-physics setting. Praise Aealacreatrananda, I love that shit.

While electromagnetism might be out, the more abstract physical principles like thermodynamics still apply, and the humans of this universe have managed to find analogues to a number of things in our world. Instead of computers, they have 'logic engines' which run on magic. Horses seem to have made it in, so we get delightful blends of historical and futuristic concepts like a self-driving computer-controlled horse-drawn carriage taxi.

The biggest difference is of course that in this setting, magic - more on that in a bit - has solved most medical problems and humans routinely live to around 500. The setting is ostensibly a semi-post-scarcity one, although a form of money exists in 'luxury debt', which can be exchanged for things like taxi rides, café food and trips on the space elevator.

Politically, we are told that the world has enjoyed a few hundred years of general peace, broken in living memory by a revolution which put an end to a regime of magical secrecy. There are lots of countries, and an alliance overseeing them.

There's a few other oddities in this world. Something called a 'prosognostic event' can happen if you see someone who has the same face as you, and whatever this is, it's bad enough news that everyone is constantly reminded to veil their faces in public and there's some kind of infant 'distinction treatment' to mitigate the risk. Given that, in the regular world, nothing particularly bad would happen if you ran into a long-lost identical twin, it suggest there is probably something a little fucky about how humans work in this world!

There's evidently a fair bit of effort put into the worldbuilding of fictional countries and historical periods. The important elements seem to be roughly along the lines of:

our world is currently in what they call the 'old kingdoms' period, which is poorly remembered;

next up comes an 'imperial' period of high transhumanist shenanigans in which society was ruled by 'gerontocrats' who got exclusive access to the longevity treatment, but this all somehow led to a huge disaster which destroyed og earth;

the survivors built the Mimikos where humanity currently lives using magic and created some kind of huge iron spike that holds the universe together; there was subsequently a 'fundamentalist' period in which a strict cutoff point was put on human lifespans and a lot of the wackier magic was banned;

now we're onto a new era of openness following a small revolution, while the major political structures remain largely intact.

Writing a far-future setting is hard, because trying to deal with the weight of history without the story getting bogged down with worldbuilding details is a fiddly line to walk. The Dying Earth series of Jack Vance might be a relevant point of comparison. Vance leaves the historical details vague - there are endless old kingdoms and strange artefacts and micro-societies for Cugel and co. to stumble on. Far more important than the specifics of history is establishing the vibe of a world that's seen an unimaginable amount of events layered on top of each other and is honestly a bit tired.

Flower makes things a bit more concrete and generally manages to make this work decently well. I do appreciate the asides where Su talks about, for example, the different architectural styles that layer up to make a place, or the way a technique has been refined. It establishes both that Su is the kind of person to notice this sort of thing, and also helps the world feel lived-in.

the names

The story doesn't do a lot with language. The story is written in English, and the narration will occasionally make reference to how things are phrased (e.g. how divination predates the suffix -mancy). We can probably make the standard assumption that this is all translated from $future_language, with the notional translator making a suitable substitution of whatever linguistic forms exist in that language.

The characters are named in a variety of languages. Our main character's full name is Utsushikome of Fusai. We're told that this is "an old name from Kutuy, and means something like 'mysterious child'" - so Kutuyan is one of the languages spoken in this world. It's blatantly got the same phonotactics as Japanese, and indeed if I search up 'Utsushikome', I find an obscure historical figure called Utsushikome-no-Mikoto, wife of the Emperor Kōgen; she has no article on English Wikipedia, but she does have a brief one on Japanese wiki. Just as Su says about Kutuyan, 'Utsushikome' is written 欝色謎 in Japanese, but it relies on archaic readings of those characters and wouldn't read that way in modern Japanese. We could perhaps assume a good old translation convention is in effect where Kutuyan is replaced with Japanese.

A lot of characters have Greek names, as do various setting elements. One exception is Kamrusepa, or Kam, who is named for an ancient goddess of medicine worshipped by the Hittites and Luwians. I know basically fuck all about Hittites and Luwians but it's a cool little nod to mythology, and it won't be the only one!

I'll run down a list of characters and my comments about them in a bit. But many are named after gods or other mythological figures.

the magic

Most of the divergences come from magic existing. Certain humans are 'arcanists', who are able to use the 'Power', which is a magic system with a highly computational flavour. Thanks to Su's expositional asides, we know that an incantation is something like a short program written in cuneiform with the ability to gather information, perform maths, and manipulate particles. An example we are given is a spell called "entropy-denying", which is the following string of cuneiform:

"…(𒌍𒌷𒀭)(𒌍𒁁𒀭)𒅥𒌈𒆜𒈣𒂠, 𒋢𒀀𒅆𒌫𒃶,𒈬𒊹."

We're told that spells always start with phrases ending in 𒀭, and end in 𒊹. Beyond that, I'm not sure how far the author has actually worked out the syntax of this magic system - probably not in too much detail! Seems like the kind of thing it's better to leave vague, but also she seems like kind of nerd who would (positive). It's conceptually a reasonable magic system for a world where more or less realistic physics applies.

The use of unusual scripts for a magic system isn't that unusual - the old European occultists who wrote the [Lesser] Key of Solomon loved to write on their magic circles in Hebrew, and in modern times we could mention Yoko Taro's signature use of the Celestial Alphabet for example - but the specific use of cuneiform here seems like it might be a little more significant, because a little later in the story the characters encounter a mural depicting The Epic of Gilgamesh, which of course was recorded on cuneiform tablets. Remains to be seen exactly what these allusions will mean!

The magic system is divided into various disciplines defined by the different ways they approach doing magic, with the disciplines breaking down broadly along the same lines as the modern scientific disciplines. For example, our protagonist is a thanatomancer ("necromancer" having become unfashionable), which is the discipline dealing with death; she's specifically an entropic thanatomancer, distinguished by their framework viewing death as the cessation of processes.

Magic relies on an energy that they refer to as 'eris' (unknown relation to the Greek goddess of strife and discord). We are told that eris must be carefully apportioned across the elements of a spell or shit blows up, that it can be stored, and it accumulates gradually enough that you don't want to be wasteful with it, but so far given little information about where it comes from.

Magic in this story generally seems to act as a kind of 'sufficiently advanced technology'. It's very rules-based, and used for a lot of mundane ends like operating computers or transport. Advancement in magic is something like a combination of basic research and software development. But the thing that makes it a magic system and not merely alt-physics is that it's at least a little bit personal: it must be invoked by an individual, and only certain people can operate the magic. We're told a little about how wizards are privileged in some societies, indoctrinated in social utility in others, and expected to be inconspicuous in the present setting. It's not clear yet if you need some kind of special innate capacity to do the magic, or if it's just a matter of skill issue.

With one exception, our main characters are a gaggle of wizards, and exceptionally skilled students at that. They're at an elite institution, carrying high expectations, even if they are themselves fairly dismissive of the pomp and ceremony. They have grandiose plans: Kamrusepa in particular is the main voice of the 'death should be abolished' current.

the cast

We're entering a cloistered environment with high political stakes hanging off of it. Even if I hadn't already heard it described as a murder mystery, it would feel like someone will probably be murdered at some point, so lets round up our future suspects.

Su (Utsushikome) is our protagonist and first-person POV. She's telling this story in the first past tense, with a style calling to mind verbal narration; she'll occasionally allude to future events so we know for sure narrator!Su knows more than present!Su. She's got a sardonic streak and she likes long depressing antijokes, especially if the punchline is suicide. She will happily tell us she's a liar - so maybe her narration isn't entirely reliable, huh.

Su is more than a little judgemental; she doesn't particularly like a lot of her classmates, or people in general, and generally the first thing she'll tell you about a character is how well she gets on with them. She introduces the theme of 'wow death sucks' in the first paragraph, but she is, at least at this point, pessimistic that anyone will manage to do anything about it for good.

Her magical specialisation is entropic thanatomancy, roughly making processes go again after they working coherently.

Her name is a reference to an obscure Japanese empress, as discussed above.

Ran is Su's bestie from the same home country. She is generally pretty on the level. She likes romance novels and she is pretty sharp at analysing them. She will cheerfully team up with Su to do a bit or bait someone else when an argument gets going.

Her magical specialisation is Divination, which is sort of a more fundamental layer of magic, about gathering information by any means. In medicine it's super advanced diagnostics.

Her name is too short to pin down to a specific allusion. Could be one of a couple of disciple of Confucius such as Ran Geng, or a Norse goddess of the sea.

Kam (Kamrusepa) is the de facto class prez and spotlight lover. She's hardcore ideological, the story's main voice of the de Grey/Bostrom death-abolishing concept so far - I think she straight up calls someone a 'deathist' at some point. She loves to tell everyone what she thinks about everything, and getting the last word.

Her magical specialisation is Chronomancy, so time magic. It's described as secretive and byzantine, but also it can do stuff like (locally?) rewind time for about five minutes. No doubt it has something to do with the time loop.

As mentioned above, she's named after a fairly obscure ancient deity of healing and magic.

Theo (Theodoros) is a fairly minor character. He's scatterbrained and easily flustered, he has a similar background to our protagonist, and he's not great with people. His name is shared with a number of ancient Greek figures, so it's hard to narrow it down to one allusion. I don't think his magic school has been mentioned.

Ptolema is a cheery outgoing one, someone who Su dismisses as an airhead. And she is at least easy to bait into saying something ill-considered. Her specialisation is applying magic to surgery. As a character, she tends to act as a bit of a foil to the others. Bit of a valley girl thing going on.

'Ptolema' is presumably a feminised version of the renowned Greek philosopher Ptolemy.

Seth is the jock to Ptolema's prep, and our goth protag Su doesn't particularly like him either. ...lol maybe that's too flippant, I may be misapplying these US high school stereotypes. To be a little more precise then, he's pretty casual in demeanour, flirty, likes to play the clown. He specialises in Assistive Biomancy, which revolves around accelerating natural healing processes.

Seth is named for either the Egyptian god (domain: deserts, violence and foreigners) or an Abrahamic figure, the third son of Adam and Eve granted by God after the whole Caim killing Abel thing.

Ophelia is someone Su describes as 'traditionally feminine' - soft-spoken, demure etc. (Gender in this world appears to be constructed along broadly similar lines to ours). Indeed we get a fairly extended description of her appearance. Her specialisation is Alienist Biomancy, which means introducing foreign elements to healing (not entirely sure how that differs from the Golemancy mentioned later).

Ophelia is of course a major character in Shakespeare's Hamlet, best known for going mad and dying in a river.

Fang is the only nonbinary member of the class, noted as the most academically successful. They're not on the expedition, but the characters discuss them a little in their absence, so maybe they'll show up later. It seems like they have a bit of a rebellious streak. Their magical specialisation is not mentioned.

Fang is a regular ol' English word, but I gave it a search all the same and found there's an ancient Chinese alchemist of that name. She is the oldest recorded woman to do an alchemy in China, said to know how to turn mercury into silver.

Lilith is the teenaged prodigy in computers logic engines, and Mehit is her mother who accompanies her on the trip. They've got a big Maria and Rosa (of Umineko) dynamic going on, with Mehit constantly scolding Lilith and trying to get her to obey social norms, though in contrast to Maria, Lilith is a lot more standoffish and condescending to the rest of the gang. Lilith specialises in 'Golemancy', which means basically medical robotics - prosthetic limbs and such. She spends most of her time fiddling with her phone logic engine, and will generally tell anyone who talks to her that they're an idiot. Sort of a zoomer stereotype.

Lilith is named for the Abrahamic figure, the disobedient first wife of Adam who was banished and, according to some Jewish traditions, subsequently became a demon who attacks women at night. There may be some connection between Lilith and the lioness-headed Mesopotamian chimeric monster Lamashtu, which I mention because Mehit is an Egyptian and Nubian lion goddess.

'Golemancy' is probably playing on the popular fantasy idea of a 'golem' as a kind of magic robot, but given the Jewish allusion in Lilith's name here, I do wonder a little bit if it's going to touch on the Jewish stories of the Golem which inspired it - a protective figure with a specific religious dimension.

There are some other characters but they're not part of the main party on their way to the function, so I won't say much about them just yet. Also it's entirely possible I went and forgot an entire classmate or something, big whoops if so.

the events

In true Umineko tradition, the beginning of the story narrates in great detail how the protagonists make their way to the place where the plot is going to happen.

To be fair, there's a lot of groundwork to be laid here, and the characters' discussions do a lot to lay out the concerns of the story and sketch out the setting, not to mention establish the major character relations. A murder mystery takes a certain amount of setup after all! There's plenty of sci-fi colour to be had in the 'aetherbridge', which is a kind of space elevator that lifts you up to a high altitude teleporter network. (It's technically not teleportation but 'transposition', since teleportation magic also exists in the story, with different restrictions! But close enough for government work.)

They go to a huge space citadel, which is kind of a transport hub; some cloak and dagger shit happens to hide the route they must take to the mysterious secret organisation. They find a strange room with a missing floor and a mural of the Epic of Gilgamesh, albeit modified to render it cyclic. What does it meeaaaan?

The idea of a secret society of rationalists is one that dates back to the dawn of ratfic, in HPMOR. It was kinda dumb then, but it works a lot better here, where we're approaching the wizard circle from outside. The phrase 'Great Work' has already been dropped. I love that kind of alchemical shit so I'm well into finding out what these wizards are plotting.

the dying

A lot of the discussions revolve around the mechanics of death. Essentially the big problem for living forever is information decay. Simple cancers can be thwarted fairly easily with the magic techniques available, but more subtle genetic slippages start to emerge after the first few hundred years; later, after roughly the 500 year mark, a form of dementia becomes inevitable. It's this dementia in particular that the characters set their sights on curing.

One thing that is interesting to me is that, contra a lot of fantasy that deals with necromancy (notably the Locked Tomb series), there appears to be no notion of a soul in this world whatsoever. The body is all that there is. Indeed, despite all the occult allusions in the character names, there is very little in the way of religion for that matter. Even the 'fundamentalism' is about an idea of human biological continuity that shouldn't be messed with too much.

Su distinguishes three schools of thought on death, namely 'traditional', 'transformative' and 'entropic'. The 'traditional' form attempts to restore limited function - classic skeleton shit. 'Transformative' sees death as a process and uses dead tissues together with living in healing. Su's 'entropic' school broadens this 'process' view to consider death as any kind of loss of order - a flame going out as much as an organism dying. At the outset of the story, Su has discovered a 'negentropic' means to restore life to an organism, which she considers promising, even if for now it only works for fifteen minutes.

This is an interesting perspective, but the devil is in the details. Because processes such as life or flames, necessarily, result in a continuous increase in the thermodynamic entropy of the universe. And yet this idea of death-as-loss-of-order does make a kind of sense, at a certain level of abstraction.

Elaborating on this got rather too long for this post, and I think it can stand alone, so I'm going to extract it to a followup post.

the comments

As is probably evident by the length of this post, I am very intrigued by The Flower That Bloomed Nowhere. The setting is compelling, and it seems like it's got the willingness to bite at the chewy questions it raises instead of acting like it has all the answers, which is I think one of the most crucial elements for this kind of scifi. I like how unabashed it is at having its characters straight-up debate shit.

Of course, this all depends where they go with it. There's so many ways it could be headed at this point. I hear where it's going is 'dark yuri' and 'Umineko-inspired murder mystery', so that should be really juicy fun, but I do end up wondering what space that will leave to address the core theme it's laid out in these first few chapters.

Overall, if this and Worth the Candle are what modern ratfic is like, the genre is honestly in pretty good shape! Of course, I am reading very selectively. But this is scratching the itch of 'the thing I want out of science fiction', so I'm excited to see where the next 133 chapters will take me.

Though all that said, I ended up writing this post all day instead of reading any other chapters or working, so I may need to rein it in a bit.

#fiction #web serials #the flower that bloomed nowhere #tftbn #sff

[maybe-not-a-robot]

Media Log 2024 Entry 3 - De Blob - 4/5

I remember very few things about this game from when I was a kid. the overtly anti-imperialist message was not one of them.

To preface this, I will tell a little story about myself: De Blob, the original game on the Wii, was a game I had and loved as a kid. Though, I had a strange relationship with it: I never played past the first level even once. Every time I booted up the game, all I did was play the first level. If I'm remembering correctly, it was because I was afraid of the enemies that appeared for the first time in the second level. My, how I've grown!

Anyway, this game is pretty damn good! To start with the positives, the gameplay loop of painting buildings and doing missions in ambitiously large levels is very enjoyable (and it ties into a scoring system so I'm obligated to like it at least a little bit). This gameplay loop is made much more enjoyable by what I consider the game's highlight feature: the entire in-game OST is adaptive! As you paint the levels, the music goes from a very simple percussion line to a full-track alongside other changes like the sky going from gray to blue and the ground getting more colorful. On top of that, it's just a really good OST all around, which is always a plus.

The game also oozes (like paint. Haha.) charm and style, which becomes readily apparent as you paint buildings from blank grays to vivid colors and patterns. The entire game is about revolution against an oppressive government and its graffiti-inspired style works well to sell that! The character designs are also very charming and use shape language well to convey their vibes.

Speaking of the revolution against an oppressive government - the weird thing about this game is that it's very overtly leftist. It's not like it's winning awards for discussing theory like Disco Elysium, but it goes farther than I'd expect a Wii game published by THQ to go. Besides this, the story isn't anything to write home about, but it's funny when it wants to be and weirdly fucked up when it wants to be. Ink is rarefied liquid misery, by the way.

Anyway, onto the negatives - mostly, the controls. While the movement feels good in open spaces, precision platforming is a major struggling point. The slippery controls make moving across smaller platforms or making tight jumps a chore, and wall jumps are even worse - you either stick to every wall you brush against or you don't stick to walls at all.

The other negative is the enemy design - honestly, mostly just the Elite Inkies. Having to go out of your way to find the right color to deal with them is a fine gimmick... until the game starts really overusing them. Then it gets really annoying really fast. The combat in general is fairly weak, really - I feel like combat doesn't suit the gameplay the best, and that focusing more on hazards would have been the best, as satisfying as slamming Inkies into little black stains is.

Overall, De Blob is a very charming and unique game (with a great port to PC from the Wii!) held back by some major flaws, but nothing so bad as to sour the experience. I'd recommend giving it a shot if you get the chance!

Also, like the Portal series, it's apparently a game that started out as a school project. Funny how that keeps happening.

#media log #media log 2024

[marbleboa]

I'd like to write a little something something sakuyama but I cannot for the life of me decide which relationship scenario is best for them. Keeping relationship secret from claw? Koyama not caring to talk abt it but Sakurai HATES him to bc he doesn't mix personal with professional life? Actually hooking up after Claw disbanded? Been an item for several years and nobody knew?? I think every idea got its potential but I can't decide. What's your personal hc for em?

Right? There's so many possibilities--but that's the fun part about hc stuff like this, you don't necessarily have to stick to one idea for everything you make! We don't get much about the Scars' histories with the organization and each other prior to Season 1, plus the unknown happenings between seasons. It's always very fun to see the different interpretations people have and how they compare/contrast.

In regards to my own thoughts, I actually had been typing up a draft on ideas for the way their relationship develops over the course of the series so. Perfect timing. Hope you find these helpful!

Claw Era: Rivalry+mutual attraction turns into what's meant to be a solely physical relationship to let off steam. Despite their best efforts, something akin to affection starts to develop deep down--expressed subtly, of course(like this). Koyama doesn't give a damn about secrecy but Sakurai makes him keep quiet, more so out of his own pride than any fear of repercussions. For Claw, the vibe I got is that HQ doesn't care about the Scars as long as they do their jobs(getting each other injured would affect) so even if the matter somehow reached them they don't really care. Some of the other Scars know something's up but, well, those two are a dangerous pair--as long as they aren't killing each other, best not get involved.

Post-Fall of 7th Division: Sakurai still insists on getting involved in Koyama’s business even though he really has no obligation to with the organization gone. To his own denial and both of their irritation, Sakurai's grown to care about what happens to him. It’s because of his influence that Koyama joins the other former Scars despite 1. not being there for Reigen’s speech and 2. Being a stubborn asshole. On Koyama's end, Sakurai’s become a pretty big weakness of his. He still doesn't trust the others, doesn't trust this weird Reigen guy they've called in who's apparently a big deal, but he trusts Sakurai. Also if he behaves he gets to make out with a hot guy, so. Win.

Post-WD Arc: Sakurai lets Koyama live with him under the convenient excuse of sharing rent and giving a fellow ex-Scar some help while he finds work--but he needs Koyama just as much as Koyama needs him. With Claw gone there's no way back, and having someone at his side while he faces rejoining society is a mortifying yet undeniable comfort. For Koyama, he has a lot of doubt about the whole 'becoming a commoner' thing and starts off feeling aimless, but Sakurai ends up give him direction. Granted, that often comes in the form of his own concerns about Koyama's capacity for change inciting this weird kind of...positive spite. He wants to prove Sakurai wrong, prove himself to him, it's like their former rivalry but more constructive. This leads into them working with each other again, and they learn to settle into a more domestic life.

As a sort-of aside, I really like the idea of their relationship being built upon things unsaid—it’s not a conventional romance by any means. They bicker like an old married couple, are attached at the hip, clearly are the most important thing in the world to each other, but then look at you like you’ve got two heads if you ask if they’re dating.

God I don’t even know when they’d get around to bringing out the L word. Sakurai has so many hangups about his capacity to love/be loved from his upbringing—hearing something so overt might make him panic and try to withdraw if it isn’t done carefully. And Koyama, for all his growth at this point, still isn’t really in touch with his emotions enough that he’d be able to have those sort of deeper conversations easily. But it doesn’t mean the emotions aren’t there, you know? And in the end they’re happy with how they are, with taking anything the other is willing to give.

#thank you for the ask and best of luck with your writing!!! #sakuyama #sakurai yusuke #koyama megumu #asks #fishy-octopus

[birdantlers]

10 for the ask game

10. The Dragon Ball series isn’t exactly known for being consistent with its story, its characters, and various other things. Which inconsistency irritates you the most?

Omg . This question.

Okay, there are a hundred million things I would change abt dragon ball if I could, but the thing that pisses me off the most is definitely inconsistency with Gohan's characterization. Namely,

[deep breath]

Gohan should have stayed/become the main character after Cell Saga what the hell.

I'm really tired rn so I can't elaborate as much as I want to but holy shit Buu saga really dropped the ball on this and it's one of the reasons I don't like that arc much. For a while before I knew what the arc was actually about, I got duped into thinking it would be largely Gohan-centric. Focusing on his relationship with humanity and his peers when he attends school / his old trauma/fears/idk.. anything negative or introspective?? Resurfacing when his dad comes back and shit inevitably hits the fan again.

(mandatory "thank for for existing, the Red Boy fic" statement. Look it up it's great I got derailed while reading the last chapter and I feel bad abt not getting back to it yet h)

But instead..... No? Gohan frustratingly gets yanked off center stage halfway through Buu saga, thanks to Toriyama's unfortunate authorship situation at the time. And after that he just....... Stays there. In the wings of Goku and Vegeta's story instead of taking the mantle of MC. It's really disappointing to me, and it's one of the reasons I still haven't watched Super lmao.

Ik I talk about piccolo for 172783736 hours at a time but Gohan's character arc is really the one that carries Z for me up to Buu saga. I consider Cell saga to be an infinitely superior end to his character arc, and I think the way it sticks the landing there is another reason why Buu saga gets on my nerves so much.

I've talked abt this with friends, but current Gohan also feels largely void of the gamut of emotions he was shown to have while younger, and that bugs the hell out of me. Obviously he's matured, but the fear and insecurity and loss he struggled with pre-buu arc feels strangely muted. Like he isn't allowed to cry now that he's an adult or something (though Goku got hit with this same problem, sigh). This doesn't help his already bad sidelining.

In Buu saga and Super, his repeated cycle of "BAMF fight where he comes out on top as strongest Z fighter→ peacetime→ complacency and domestic life→ uh oh he's weak now→ gets admonished for it and wins the day again" could be SUCH a good foundation for a compelling character arc, but they just. Don't do it! So it comes off as redundant and uncharacteristically negligent on Gohan's part. For as much as I love it, Super Hero drops the ball with this too.

I'm just gonna port my messages from discord and let y'all glean the gist

Basically Gohan feels kinda McGuffin-ized at this point and it makes me sad. He literally had a CELL clone in front of him and had no visible reaction or even an acknowledgement. He's verbally passionate about things like the saiyaman gig or entomology or his family, but the plot and writing don't allow him to actually struggle with the obligation his power gives him.

Like. He might on the surface, sure, but ultimately he just rolls over whenever someone goads him into fighting again (I have seen that part(s) of super don't @ me). I just can't help but see wasted potential and a character with somewhat weak writing. It really is like they just don't know what to do with him now. And that's a real shame because he still is my 1st/2nd favorite character and I am still interested in his arc. Way more so than Goku or Vegeta's. I just wish they would DO something with it 😭

Anyway. Can you believe this isn't even all my thoughts on the matter hdhdhdkdjdj

#oops i still wrote a lot #dbz #dragonball #gohan #skit yells #ask

[addictedtostorytelling]

i’ve been rewatching csi from the beginning (because i’ve never been able to make it past season 9 without grissom) and i’m finally up to the end of season 7… i have like 3 episodes left and i’m SAD. this team dynamic is so special to me and i feel this slow crawl of devastation that i’m (again) witnessing the end of what has been for 7 seasons. soon sara won’t be her usually cute and passionate self (in love too) that we get see in season 7, and she’ll leave, and then warrick is going to die, and grissom will leave… and nothing will ever be the same on this show. i don’t know how to get over it. how did you do it? how do i move on? how do i mourn this team dynamic that i’ve loved for so long and get used to new variations of the team? god, i wish grissom came back for a proper full ep earlier than the freaking series finale and the new show. i’m just… not sure how to enjoy without them all 😭

hi, anon!

yours is a very heartfelt question, and, unfortunately, i am probably the wrong person to answer it, because i never really "got over" the changes to the show post-s7, either.

not gonna lie to you: i have only watched the s10-s15 era of the show once through in its entirety.

the s8 and s9 angst i can deal with in order to get to the happy gsr ending in episode 09x10 "one to go." however, i hate all later seasons of the show beyond that point with all the salt that is in me, not only because of the cast turnover but also because the writing and production values of the show changed so much as to make the series (and the remaining characters) unrecognizable.

most of the time, i just straight-up ignore the fact that those seasons exist, preferring to imagine my own canon-divergent au version of the show (starting from the end of s7) instead.

i really do not engage with them unless someone sends me an ask.

that so, i can't exactly tell you how to learn to accept the new team or get comfortable in that altered narrative landscape. i never did, on either count.

instead, my advice is this: keep in mind you're not obligated to finish watching csi if doing so isn't enjoyable to you. you fell in love with a particular group of characters, story universe, and cast dynamic, and if those things went away or ship of theseus'd themselves into a production that is fundamentally different from the one you fell in love with in every way save name, you don't have to stick around anymore.

remember: you're watching this show as a hobby, not a job.

the #1 rule of fandom is to follow your bliss, so if you're not naturally motivated to finish the series—and especially if the thought of doing so is actively causing you dread—then you don't have to force the issue.

give yourself permission to say, "for me, the series ends with episode 08x01 'dead doll' or episode 09x10 'one to go' (or wherever you want to draw your line in the sand)" and then walk away.

if you need closure, write your own au version of what happens after that point or else find some fanfic author whose vision aligns with your own. keep living blissfully in your s1-s7 happy place with the original team graveyard, where grissom is the boss and sara stays in vegas and warrick doesn't die and they all keep solving cases together until retirement.

and then don't sweat it.

you're not being a "bad fan" or letting anyone down, and there's still plenty of material in the early seasons for you to engage with.

now.

if you absolutely feel you must finish the show (for whatever reason), i guess one thing i might suggest is to engage with work from fans who genuinely enjoy the later seasons. i know there are some folks in this fandom who adore the new characters and team graveyard version 2.0. they write meta and fic and make gifsets about it, and they have a total blast doing so. hanging around their blogs might help you to find things to appreciate.

another thing you might do is give yourself permission to "cherry-pick." watch just to see what happens. if there's stuff you like, go ahead and incorporate it into your conception of the show. the rest, discard. as i said above, you're not obligated to enjoy the show in a certain way and especially not "across the board." so if you like the fact sara has mother-in-law drama but hate the fact she gets divorced? then keep the first thing and toss out the second. if canon makes a stupid-ass decision, you can elect to ignore it.

and regardless of whether you ultimately decide to finish out your watch-through or not, don't forget: the beginning of the story—i.e., those seven golden seasons you so love—will always be there, and you can return to them as often as you want. the beauty of a story is that it exists in perpetuity. grissom, catherine, warrick, nick, sara, and greg will all still be there waiting for you, and you can continue to enjoy their dynamics however you best prefer them.

good luck, anon! if you choose to continue your watch, i hope you enjoy yourself. if not, then i hope you have fun mentally setting up shop in the early seasons.

i certainly do!

thanks for the question! please feel welcome to send another any time.

#answered #anon #asks: csi #let's talk shop #csiverse #later seasons

[searchingforgravity]

Love Me Tender - PART 2 (Elvis/ Austin!Elvis x Reader)

Character/Fandom: Elvis - Elvis (2022)

Prompt: It's the morning after you spend the night with Elvis, and you are in complete bliss until it is shattered by reality. You can't stay at his place, you have your life to get back to. As you two part ways, you find it harder than you thought it would be to say goodbye.

TW: Smut, Sex, handjob, dirty talk

Rating: Mature/Explicit

Word Count: 4961

A/N: I am so happy you guys liked part one! I have decided to make it a short series, so stick around for part three!

You gasp awake as you sit up in bed, completely disoriented. You try to adjust your eyes to your surroundings, but it's pitch black. Realizing you are stripped of all clothing, you grasp at the covers, pulling it up to your frame. Suddenly, you remember where you are as your memories pull you out of your sleepiness. You're in Elvis Presley's bedroom.

"Honey, lay down," the sleepy man grumbles from beside you as he grasps at your waist, pulling you back down to him. You allow him to wrap his arms around you as he hums softly, pulling you close. Feeling him warm against you makes you think back to last night. Your cheeks flush as you remember the amount of pleasure he gave to you that no man ever had before. "We had sex," you whisper softly as you look into the darkness of the room, not intending to let your thoughts slip out. Elvis chuckles softly, making you blush as he brings his lips to your bare back, peppering light kisses on it. "Yes we did, mama," he mumbles as he threads his fingers through yours. "Really good sex," he hums, his lips traveling from your back slowly to your neck, attaching his warm lips to your soft skin, suckling gently.

Sighing at his actions, you lean back into him as you press your body to his, jumping slightly in surprise when you feel his morning wood. He chuckles again at your action as his hand comes to rest on your hip. "Baby, it don't bite," he murmurs, peppering kisses on your cheek bone. Blood rushes to your cheeks at this as you scoff softly. "No, I just- I didn't know you were-" Your thoughts are interrupted when he gently grinds himself into you, causing your eyes flutter closed at the sensation. "You turn me on," he says simply, the croak of his morning voice sending a shock of heat straight to your core.

You can't help the stupid smile that plays on your face at his words. "Really?" you breathe, just wanting to hear him say it again as he pulls you closer. "Mhm, so bad," he groans as he grinds into you again, his grip tightening on your waist. Cautiously, you return the action, pushing back against his hard length. A low moan escapes his throat as his hand softly starts massaging your hip bone. Scooting closer to you so he is now flush against your back, his hand slowly, cautiously, inches towards your core. "Is this okay?" he mumbles, his words questioning yet hopeful as his breath lingers on your neck. You only nod in response. He can feel your movements, but can't see them in the darkness. "I need words, honey," he whispers, his breath tickling at your ear. "Yes," you mumble back, breathless as you reach for his hand, guiding it to wear you need him most. He chuckles and you feel it reverberate onto your back as he obliges, slowly rubbing at your clit. You gasp softly at the sensation as you buck up into his hand, needing more. His kisses on your neck become more languid at your reaction. "We have time, sweet thing," he whispers, though he can't resist grinding into you. You moan softly as he circles your clit only slightly faster, at an excruciating pace.

Your back is now glued to his chest as you throw your head back against his shoulder, you eyes closed tightly as small whimpers escape your lips. "Such pretty little noises. Makin' me all hard," he groans as he slides his finger to your entrance, gathering your arousal before bringing it back to its position on your clit, causing a new level of pleasure. "Do you like this?" he mumbles against your skin. "You like when I tease you?" Although his pace is agonizing, it's having you writhing with pleasure, and he knows it.

You find it hard to respond. Of course you're enjoying this, but you clearly aren't as experienced as he is. And you definitely don't have experience talking during intimate moments. He pauses at your hesitation. "Honey, are you enjoyin' this?" he questions, hesitation in his voice. "Y-Yes," you whimper, your voice failing you. Then, something you don't expect him to say, "do I make you nervous?" You are blushing furiously now as you try to gather your thoughts. This is a man you've been idealizing for years, someone that you are obsessed with, someone that currently has his hand between your legs, and he's asking you if he makes you nervous. You can't help the laugh that leaves your lips, and this has him pausing his actions completely. "What?" he questions, seemingly oblivious. You collect yourself well enough to give him a response.

"Of course you make me nervous. You're, well, you. And I'm just..." some girl, you want to say, but can't bring yourself to utter the words. He pauses for a moment, as if in thought, before responding. "I'm just a man, darlin'." You feel his hands come to your hips, turning you to face him, before his hands travel to your face, cupping your cheeks. Scooting closer to you, you feel his breath on your face as he leans his forehead on yours. "Just a man that wants to please you. Jus' wanna make you feel good," he mutters, his hand trialing back down to your core as he finds your clit, rubbing it softly.

Heat courses through you at his words. You're grateful for the darkness as you flush in response, your hands finding their way to the back of his neck, pulling him closer as your legs come to wrap around his waist. He brings his head to rest on your shoulder as he picks up the pace on your clit, his lips coming to kiss your neck. A soft moan falls from your lips as your legs tighten around his waist. He keeps a steady pace as he guides you to lay on your back. His free hand travels along your torso, so light it tickles your sensitive skin as he brings it to cup your breast. After kneading it for a moment, he brings the pad of his thumb to swipe along your nipple, causing you to gasp as your eyes flutter closed.

"Tell me how it feels, baby. Wanna hear you," he groans onto your neck as he moves to hover over you more fully. "I-It feels so good," you gasp out, your back arching slightly as your breathing starts to speed up. A soft whine leaves your lips as you grip onto him tighter. "Please," you whine, needing him to touch you more. He decides not to tease you as his hand leaves your beast. He now buries himself between your thighs as he continues his pace on your clit, his other hand trailing to your opening, his index finger playing with your opening for a moment before slipping inside.

You screw your eyes shut as you huff at the feeling. His finger quickly finds a soft pace and you can hear his breathing start to become labored. "God, make some noise honey. I wanna hear that pretty voice," he moans, and you can tell he's getting impatient, that just touching you is getting him hot. You moan in response, grinding into his hand as your head falls back against the pillows, your chest now heaving.

Not long after he starts a steady pace, softly pounding his finger into you, he adds another, making you cry out as your hands move to grip his shoulders. "Fuck! Elvis," you mewl as you buck up into him, now chasing your orgasm. He groans into your neck as his mouth starts leaving kisses, the kisses quickly turning into needy sucks. "Shit," you gasp, now clinging to him. "Don't stop, don't-" you moan, interrupting yourself as he hits that same spot inside you as the night before, his thrust becoming rough. "I won't mama. You go on and cum for me," he whispers his lips coming to kiss your forehead. "Doin' so good."

You cry out as you reach your peak, clenching down on his fingers as you grind against them. He hums in contentment as his lips travel all over your face, helping you ride out your orgasm as his fingers work inside you softly. When you come down from your high, you are heaving harshly, trying to catch your breath. "God," you whisper under your breath, still in bliss. You sigh when you feel his lips attach to your neck again, sucking harsher than before, turning desperate. "I-I need ya," he croaks, his body now stiff above you as he kneels in between your legs. Gently he presses his erection against your thigh, and you don't think you've ever felt one so hard before.

Taking his face in your hands, you press your lips to him feverishly, just as desperate. He groans into the kiss as he licks your bottom lip asking for entrance. You waist no time opening your mouth as his tongue finds yours. you sigh at this as you bring your hand down to his erection, gently grasping it. A hiss escapes his mouth as he pulls his lips away from you. "You mind if I turn a light on? I wanna see you touchin' me." You swallow harshly as you suddenly become self concious. You have no idea how you look right now, and your makeup is probably smeared beyond repair. You take a deep breath as you breathe a quiet "sure."

Reaching over to the right side of his bed, he flips on a lamp light, dimly illuminating his room. Your eyes immediately land on his and your blood runs cold. You don't know how it's possible, but he looks infinitely more handsome with his bed head and droopy eyes. Butterflies form in your stomach as you look at him, your nerves skyrocketing. When his eyes land on yours, you hastily look away, your cheeks flushing softly. You hear him chuckle as he moves back over you. "What?" he mumbles, his hand coming to cup your cheek, encouraging you to look at him. When you return your eyes to his, he is already gazing at you, his expression unreadable. "Nothing," you whisper, shaking your head, another wave of nerves coursing through you as you peel your eyes away from him.

"Sweet heart, I wantcha to look at me," he pleads, his hand coming to thread through your hair. You huff as you return your gaze to his. "You're just a little brat, aren't ya? Just huffin' and puffin' all the time," he mumbles, a smirk on his face as he pushes stray hairs away from your forehead. Your cheeks flush at this as you roll your eyes. "N-No-" you cut yourself off with a gasp as you feel his thumb on your sensitive clit, jumping slightly, making him laugh softly. "Mhm, I think you might be. But I like brats," he whispers, kissing your forehead. You groan internally in embarrassment, pulling him close to hide your face. Thankfully, he is too aroused to notice your embarrassment, letting you pull him close as he brings his hands on either side of your face.

"Hell, I want ya so bad," he mumbles, hesitantly pressing himself against your core. "Have me, then," you whisper, your hand coming to grasp at his cock again. Your cheeks flush when he look in between your bodies to watch you. You are about to line him up at your entrance when he stops you. You look up at his and are surprised to see bashfulness in his features. "Could you...uh, I was wonderin' if- c-can you touch me for a minute. I jus' wanna see your hand 'round me," he manages out, his cheeks flushing a light shade of pink. "Oh! yeah, sorry, I- yeah," you stutter, flustered as you start hastily running your hand along his shaft.

I hiss escapes his mouth as he brings his hand to grip on your wrist, stopping your actions. "B-Baby, not so fast. Take it easy." Your face is flaming now as you nod, completely mortified. You really don't have a ton of experience, and that mixed with your nerves is not treating you well. "Sorry," you mutter, humiliated as you go slower, your movements turning mechanical. He endures it for a moment while he tries to watch you, but can't take it anymore as he reaches between you two, placing his hand over yours. "Can I show you?"

You nod as you avoid his gaze. "Honey, don't be embarrassed," he whispers, causing you to look at him. There is nothing but sympathy in his eyes as he gazes at you a moment before leaning down, capturing your lips in his. You instantly start to relax as you sigh into the kiss before he pulls away. "Just watch me," he instructs, softly guiding your hand along his erection, bringing your thumb to slide along his tip. He then glides your hand with the pre cum around his shaft again, grunting softly. You look up at him and his eyes are glued to his actions, his brow furrowed in concentration.

After another moment, he releases your hand, letting you take the lead. Hesitating just a moment, you resume the same steady pace that he started, your thumb coming to swipe along his tip again before gliding it back down. "Hell, that's good mama," he groans, his eyes never leaving your hand. You gain courage from his reaction as you continue the pace, your other hand curiously coming to gently touch his balls. "Jesus," Elvis moans from above you, his hips stuttering slightly. He allows you to touch him a little longer before pulling your hand away, positioning himself at your entrance.

Bringing your lips to his, he sinks down to you, running his cock along your opening. You whimper softly at this as you wrap your legs around his waist. "You still want this, baby?" he breathes, waiting for your approval. You nod, looking up at him. He smirks as he quirks an eyebrow, waiting to hear you say it. You huff at this making his smirk turn into a smile. "Yes. Please," you groan, pulling him closer. "Okay," he mutters, leaning down to kiss your neck as he slowly inches himself inside.

You gasp as he cling unto him, the stretch causing only slight uncomfortability. "You okay, mama?" he mutters, stopping when he is inside you all the way. "Yeah," you gasp, clutching unto his shoulders. He gives you a moment before he starts moving, thrusting slowly to make sure you don't get hurt. "Don't know how, you feel even better than before," he moans into your neck, his grip tightening on the bedsheets as he finds a steady pace. You can't even respond as you feel the same way, digging your nails into his back. "God," you gasp, tightening your legs around his waist. He groans again at your reaction, kissing your neck softly as he thrusts into you at the same excruciating pace.

You need more. You don't know why, but you're nervous to ask. Elvis is groaning softly above you, his face buried in your neck when you work up the courage to ask. "E-Elvis," you whimper, still taking incredible pleasure from his movements. He pulls his face out from your neck as he searches your eyes. "Yeah, baby?" You blush as you bring your hand to his arm, nervously tracing it with your finger. "C-Can you go faster," you say in almost a whisper. When you look back at him, you see lust in his eyes. "I thought you'd never ask."

With that, he takes your legs up around his shoulders, as he picks up the pace, causing you both to moan. "This okay?" he asks, but it's hard to understand as he stutters the words out, more moans escaping his lips. "Yes, just- just-," you start, but he understands. "Okay, okay baby," he mumbles as he allows himself to lose a little control. He sets a new, harder pace than the one before. One that has you screwing your eyes shut as you throw your head against the pillows, a loud moan escaping your lips. "Oh God," you whine as you grip his shoulders for dear life. Last night was gentle, soft. This morning is the complete opposite as he starts pounding into you, loud groans leaving his mouth as his eyes close tightly, his brow furrowing in pleasure.

"Jesus. You got a damn good pussy," he grunts, his pace quickening slightly. Your cheeks flush at his words as moan falls from your lips. Suddenly, you feel his hot puffs of his breath on your chest as he travels his mouth over your breast, capturing your right nipple between his lips. You gasp as you bring your hands to his head, keeping it in place. The new sensation of his warm tongue swirling around your hardened nipple has you bucking up into his thrusts. "Elvis, fuck!" you cry, causing him to groan on your breast, sending vibrations to your core.

You think you're about to lose it completely when his hand comes to circle your clit, his pace still relentless as he switches to your other nipple. "Oh, God, Elvis I-Shit," you groan, your mind completely fogged, your chest now heaving heavily, the pleasure almost too much. "Yeah, baby, tell me," he moans, his head coming up from your chest as his breathes come is short gasps, a light sheen of sweat forming on his chest as he continues his relentless pace. "D-Don't stop, feels so good," you whimper, gasping when he hits that spot inside you. "Fuck! Right there!" you yell. You'd be embarrassed if you weren't blissed out of your mind right now, and Elvis loves hearing you yell, loves how he's making you feel good. He hits that place over and over again and it's making you see stars as continuous moans leave your lips.

"Doin' so good, little baby," he groans, his thrusts becoming more sporadic as he gets closer to the edge. "Wantcha to cum," he moans, his breath hot as he buries it back in your neck, one hand gripping tightly to your thigh as his other is still buried between your legs. "I w-want you to," you moan, making him laugh through his moans. "I'm gonna. Impossible not to with your tight beaver," he groans. He picks up the pace even further, now fully pounding into you as he tries to get you there.

You are now clawing at his back, rough enough to leave marks as you mewl underneath him. "C'mon, I know you're close. C'mon baby," he grunts, his body starting to shake above you as he holds off his orgasm. Your back is arching off the mattress as you cling to him, teetering on the edge. It only takes him hitting that spot inside you once more for you to reach your peak, plunging face first into your climax. You shout and moan as you clench around him over and over again, your eyes screwed shut as your toes curl. "Goddamn!" he shouts as he reaches his own orgasm, his thrusts stuttering as a long string of groans slip from his lips, spilling inside you.

He softly thrusts into you, helping you both ride out your highs. "Jesus," he sighs, his hips coming to a stop as he places soft kisses on your shoulder. Pulling his face up from your neck, he takes your legs off his shoulders, gently placing them on the bed to make you comfortable. "You okay?" he gasps, sweat now beading on his temples as his face is completely flushed, his breathing labored. "Yeah," you breathe back, just as winded. You both just look at each other for a moment, admiring each others faces when you start smiling. "W-What," he stutters, a small smile playing on his face. "I don't know," you mutter, a small laugh escaping your lips. Your entire body is buzzing, and you can't tell if it's from the sex or something else, but you can feel the butterflies return to your stomach briefly.

He chuckles with you as he brings his lips to linger over yours. You close the gap as you connect your lips. He gives you chaste kiss, pulling away just to bring you back in, once, twice, three times. This makes you giggle louder as you press your hands on his chest. "Okay! I need to breathe," you laugh, pulling him in for another kiss nonetheless. He hums into the kiss, holding you there as it lingers a moment, before pulling away.

Later that morning

After cleaning you up and letting you take a shower, he gets in himself. Now, alone in his room, your nerves start coming back. What were you thinking, spending the night with him? You're not this type of girl, to fall into bed with someone. And the feelings that arose in the course of one night has your heart in your throat. You need to leave before he gets out. You rush to write a quick note, looking for a pen and paper. You are shuffling around in concentration, and don't notice the shower turn off. "What are you doin'?" you hear, making you just about jump out of your skin as you twirl around.

You feel a twist in your stomach when you see him, emerging from the steam filled bathroom, just a towel hanging loosely around his hips. "Oh! I- uh..sorry, I was just" you stutter, trying to come up with and excuse. "Trying to sneak out, or steal somethin'?" he quirks an eyebrow, feigning seriousness, though a soft smirk teases at the corners of his mouth. "No! I wouldn't steal anything-" you start, your cheeks flushing before he interrupts you. "Ah, I see, so the first one," he teases, though you think you see disappointment playing in his eyes. You try to stutter out a response, but it's just a jumble of noises, not sure how to respond. That's exactly what you were trying to do.

"Sneakin' out without givin' me a kiss goodbye?" he murmurs, stepping towards you. You feel a sinking in your stomach at his words. Of course it was just a hook up, it was pretty much an unspoken agreement you two had, but it almost brings tears to your eyes to think you won't be with him like this again. You are pulled out of your thoughts when he approaches you, his hands coming to rest on your shoulders.

You are brought back to that state of comfort when you feel his soft lips on yours, and instantly lean into him. He hums as his hands move to cup your face, deepening the embrace only slightly. When he pulls away, he rests his forehead on yours, and pauses as if in thought. "Ya know...you don't have to leave right now. We could maybe get somethin' to eat," he whispers, his thumb caressing your cheek. As much as you would love to, you have your life to get back to, and you promised your sister you would babysit later today. "I can't," you whisper back, and he nods, understanding.

"Well, where are you stayin'? I could get one of my guys to drive you, I'd come with you, of course." You start to deny his offer, saying he doesn't have to do that when he interrupts. "Honey, I insist." "What if people recognize you?" you ask. He chuckles as he pulls back, walking over to his closet to get a change of clothes. "Would it be so bad to be seen with me?" he questions, a hint of cockiness in his voice. You scoff as you roll your eyes, making him turn to look at you, a hint of desire in his face at your reaction, before humor replaces it. "Aw I'm just playin', baby. Stop huffin' if you know what's good for ya'" he mumbles, making heat surge through you. "Sit down a minute, I'm just gonna get changed," he mumbles, causing you to take a seat on on of the lounge chairs.

You gasp when he lets the towel fall to the floor, thinking that he would've gone to the bathroom. Your reaction causes him to look over to you again, a smirk forming on his lips. "What? Ain't nothin' you ain't seen before," he laughs. Taking a pair of boxers out of his drawer and pulling them up his body, he starts gasping, over and over again, mocking you. "That's all you do, is gasp and huff," he laughs walking over to you, now in just boxers as he approaches you, his arms wrapping around your waist. "Whatever," you laugh, pushing against his chest, only making him tighten his grip. "You're just a nervous little thing aren't ya? God, you're so cute," he groans, his lips coming to yours.

After calling his driver, he grabs your hand, threading his fingers through yours as he leading you into the common area of the penthouse and out the door. Your heart starts to pound as he leads you down the hall. You're not ready to leave yet, you don't want to. He doesn't look at you as his hand comes to snake around your waist. You are about to lean into him when you two run into Jerry, just getting off the elevator. He looks like he hadn't slept all night as he offers the pair of you a weak smile, passing by to make his way to his room. Elvis chuckles lightly beside you as his grip tightens slightly on your waist. "Goodnight, sweet heart," Elvis calls behind him to Jerry who mumbles a quiet "screw you," before his hotel room closes behind him. You can't help the soft giggle that escapes your lips at his state. Knowing Amy, she is probably in the same exact position.

As you and Elvis approach the car, You get in the back behind his driver. As soon as he gets in the car beside you, his hand comes to wrap around your waist, landing on your hip, pulling you close. His lips come to kiss your cheek, making your body melt against his as heat courses through you. "What's the address, mama?" he whispers, his breath gently tickling your ear. You clear your throat as you try to rid your mind of thoughts which are quickly turning heated while you pull away from Elvis gently to tell the driver your address.

As soon as the driver starts down the road, Elvis pulls you back to him, his lips pressing feverishly to your neck. You can't help the sigh that leaves your lips, and blush immediately after, your eyes landing on the driver close by. "He won't pay us no mind," Elvis whispers as his hand travels to your thigh, squeezing slightly. You hastily push his hand away. He might be comfortable doing this with other people around, but you aren't. "Stop it," you giggle, bringing his hand back up to your waist, pushing against his chest so you can lean your head on it. He sighs in defeat as he brings his other hand to yours, threading your fingers through his.

When your place comes into view from the back window, that same sinking feeling comes back. You don't want to go. You want to stay here, snuggled up with him, his warmth calming and comforting as he still has his arms wrapped around your frame. When the driver pulls up to your house, you thank him as you go to open the door. You don't look at Elvis as you go to step out, it will be too hard to leave if you do. You are about to break away from him when his grip on you tightens, turning you in his arms as he faces you toward him. It feels like the wind is knocked out of you when you see the look in his eyes. They look like they're longing, forlorn as his eyebrows are gently knitting together, slight dismay in his features. You lose your small sliver of self control as you look at him the same way, slight despair on your face. "C'mere mama," he breathes quietly as he pulls you into him, his soft lips landing on yours.

The kiss is gentle and longing. Like a goodbye kiss. This is his goodbye to you, you think to yourself. His way of telling you farewell. You cling onto him as you pull him close, not wanting it to end. His hand lands on your cheek as he gently deepens the kiss, pulling you closer to him. When he pulls away from you, his lips come right back to kiss your cheek, then the other one, and one last chaste kiss to your lips. "Bye," you whisper, and before you could stop yourself, you mutter "Don't forget about me." His lips come back to yours quickly at your response. "I couldn't. It's not possible," he mutters as he pulls away, his hand threading through your hair gently. You offer him a weak smile, not knowing if his statement is true or not. You choose to believe it is as you pull away, stepping out of the car.

You instantly feel cold despite it being summer as you start walking away from the car. You force yourself not to look back as you make your way to the cobblestone steps of your house. You don't hear the car start driving away until you start opening your front door. You decide to turn back to catch a glimpse of the car but are too late. It had already left.

Masterlist

Tag List:

@flowersofcement @horrorgirl4life @looloolily @father-of-2cats @peaceloveelvis @tantamount-treason @goldobsessionsworld @

[frumfrumfroo]

(Sorry if I am belabouring the point, so feel free to ignore this ask) no yeah I'm definitely the same way and you're never wrong for having personal reasons not getting into something immediately - I think some of the fandom anxiety comes from the fact that things get cancelled so quickly without sufficient viewership (or even with sufficient viewership, which is a whole other nut). It puts a weird amount of onus of a show's success on the fandom, which is even stranger in the time of broken trust and active resentment of audiences/audience engagement with a text/trying to 'outsmart' us. But ultimately there is something severely rotting at the root that I don't think we have any control over.

And yeah the popular perception of TD season 1 is that it's grimdark because its protagonist is deeply wounded and many a fanboy is butthurt about its celebration of redemption. It's an incredibly, incredibly dark show, and so that tragic beginning is hard for a lot of people to get past, I think, when it's not the final conclusive thematic remark*. I would say that Dark is similar to this if you want an idea of the tone. Somehow we have ended up where the children's modern day fairytale is grimdark and nihilistic and shows inured in tragedy are idealistic and redemptive.

Anyway, very thankful for your blog in keeping me sane in the time of psychedelic narrative rules, and being Principled, because sometimes I feel like a stick in the mud lol.

And the asterisk is there up above because I have heard this exact description of a popular book series (A Song of Ice and Fire) and I disagree with this conclusion, partly because the series is unfinished, partly because I think the fanbase on Tumblr is overly optimistic, and also because TD has an absolute conclusion which is idealistic. So I just want to note this so it doesn't seem like I'm misrepresenting or overstating the show lololol.

It's also extremely unsavoury the way big name fans and the former twitter cabal, wherever that hangs out now, will take advantage of this anxiety and use it as a bludgeon to make a captive audience feel like they have some 'duty' to support the financial success of giant evil corporations. Giving Disney more money and bullying people for not giving Disney more money is not a moral victory, I think we should all be able to agree. Abusing calls to support artists by co-opting them into the service of mindless consumption of branded refuse is fairly repugnant. Saying 'vote with your dollars' between a choice of Disney Extruded Movie Product A, B, or C is both hilarious and sad.

eg: that tie-in comic, I think it was the TLJ one? The one with the terrible art. It's a commissioned product, the artist was paid once and as little as possible to create it for solely marketing purposes. Applying fandom etiquette to it or saying it should not be criticised because of high turnover times is frankly fucking ridiculous. It's a professional commissioned product they were selling for profit. They had all the time and all the money in the world, there's no excuse for it to be awful and absolutely no one should have felt obligated to buy it or keep quiet about how bad it was. Maybe the artist could have done better under better working conditions, but that doesn't make the actual product we're being asked to purchase acceptable. Giving Disney your money is not going to improve those conditions and it's not going to help that artist.

The same with the tros defenders saying they tried therefore you can't criticise them. A) they did not try B) this was not a sincere piece of art and pretending otherwise is just insulting and C) it's a corporate product made by a near-monopoly who employed alleged professionals. Nothing could possibly be more fair game for harsh criticism.

Ultimately putting this onus on fandom of you must throw your money away on this thing or be a free shill for this brand or maybe they'll stop throwing us any crumbs... like it's debasement. Given all the many recent examples of how public support doesn't matter unless it's that first weekend a show drops on a streaming platform or the opening box office, how being the 'wrong' audience makes you irrelevant no matter how many of you there are, how even very successful shows are dropped after two seasons because producers don't want to pay actors, etc. etc. it's even more silly. We should be demanding better, not propping up this nonsense. Creative people are being profoundly fucked over by this system and are often still fucked even if they make something successful.

If people want to support artists, buy independent and small label media. Go see original, mid-budget movies at the cinema (if you live in a city where you have any chance of one playing, that is).

And see, I have no problem with darkness, angst, and tragedy if I know it's going somewhere positive. Having to really go through it can make the journey and the ultimate conclusion feel even more rewarding. As long as it's not angst for angst's sake, but is doing something meaningful and necessary, it only enriches the hope at the foundation of redemption or recovery stories.

Idealism is brave, challenging, and requires sincerity. When the modern fairy tales are being produced in cynicism and by committee to meet a quota for the shareholders...

Thank-you ❤️

[food4dogs]

WEEKEND CHAT :: 9 JANUARY 2023 :: TV DRAMA

Hello all,

I'm trialling a new home for my YouTube Weekend Chat longer writings - especially for TV/MOVIES/BOOKS - as Tumblr makes the writing & publishing process a lot easier. I hope you don't mind; do let me know if you have any problems accessing these posts here.

I'll catch up with three big Netflix TV productions today; before that, a quick bit of news:

The new show by the team who brought us DarK was .. not successful enough? 🤔

‘1899’ Canceled After One Season At Netflix

We don't know all the reasons of course (we DO know that Netflix is scrambling to cut costs) - but it looks like cost could be an important factor in this case.

On Reddit, there was a discussion about it:

The sad implication is that this type of decision does affect how people watch (and will watch in the future): They will become more cautious and not watch the first season any more but wait to see if a second season is greenlit.

We haven't watched 1899 yet, but I believe it ends on a big cliffhanger, so naturally people are upset.

As I've pointed out before, Netflix is not the only service struggling with decisions over expensive series and long-term planning (we've seen equally upsetting decisions by Amazon Prime, for example). But Netflix does seem to go through these issues more frequently (which indicates there's a problem with their streaming & financing model).

So, what does that mean for the future? It means with more cautious viewing behaviour, many shows (especially smaller, more niche, more unorthodox ones) will struggle even more to make an impact and get renewed. It doesn't bode well for fostering creativity in my opinion.

==========================

OK, on to our first Big Drama series: Alice in Borderland (adapted from the manga by Haro Aso) Season 2. (Note: If you haven't watched S2 yet, there will be a few unavoidable, but minor, spoilers in my discussion)

Netflix has an article about the actors and changes for season 2:

‘Alice in Borderland’ Levels Up in Season 2

Season 2 really felt very different to us: in terms of production value, cinematography, choreography of fight scenes and much more, this was a BIG step up. It really looked and felt superb. 👍🏻

Question for those of you who have watched S2 : did you have a strong "The Last of Us" impression, too, from the way the Tokyo Borderland city scenery was portrayed, all overgrown? I just couldn't shake it. And then ... SPOILER ALERT! ==>

... there was the ... scene with the elephants! My brain just wired "Giraffe"! 😁🦒

==> END SPOILER ALERT!

Is that just me?

We thought the second season was overall better than the first (the first had various issues with strange pacing, sometimes unimpressive acting, the story veering around at times) and we were truly hooked.

The big divide for most people will be over whether they found the ending (and therefore explanation of the true events) believable and satisfying.

If you feel the need to either 'study up' more, or don't want to watch Season 2 but want a summary of what happens, then Netflix obliges with this article: Game Cleared: ‘Alice in Borderland’ Season 2 Ending Explained

I won't discuss the ending too much, since many may not yet have seen it. But while it is obviously pretty 'out there' - what else could it be with a story like this, seriously? - we didn't think it was unbelievable. In terms of bringing closure, a death game story like this with an apocalyptic setting really has its work cut out. What matters is the journey, and the final episode had enough twists and turns to satisfy, we felt.

You could call it a bit of an easy 'cop out' kind of ending. But what kind of ending can you possibly have for a story like this? I haven't read the manga, but I assume from what I've read online that the adaptation sticks pretty close to the conclusion (?).

However - BIG HOWEVER - there are enough questions that remain, unresolved or without clear explanation, to warrant some probing. 'Alice in Borderland': 11 Unanswered Questions After Season 2

The really 'teasing' issue is of course the zoom in on the Joker card right at the end. Woah - is that an indication of more Alice in Borderland coming? It could be, couldn't it? (I believe Joker is actually a character in the manga, but doesn't appear in the TV series. Maybe this is a chance to propel the story even further?)

PoodlePa and I obviously talked about AiB for a long time afterwards, and something strange happened. PP quoted - off the top of his head - some lines from a TS Eliot poem (ya know, the guy who wrote famous poetry a hundred years ago, including The Wasteland).

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

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock - from "Prufrock, 1917"

Do I dare

Disturb the universe?

In a minute there is time

For decicions and revisions which a minute will reverse.

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

If you remember the significance of the "one minute" in the AiB ending, then you'll see why I thought this was eerily hitting the mark!

Had enough of Death Games? 😯

Let's move on .. to more grisly deaths and murder mystery investigations!

I'll discuss The Pale Blue Eye next in Part 2!

#Netflix #Alice in Borderland #manga

[deviantaccumulation]

Rambling thoughts on Obi-Wan Kenobi (the series)

Man maybe I'm getting cynical or haven't consumed enough Star Wars lately, but the first two episodes were pretttttttttttyyyyyy underwhelming for me

I'm very glad many of the people I follow seem to be enjoying it, but so far I'm not really; if you don't want to hear me ramble about that for several paragraphs best stop reading now ':D

First episode was still kinda alright, though it dragged a bit, but I can vibe with taking it slow to establish the setting and where the characters are at and just the general mood of the show

Now I know the joke of The Kenobi series is just going to be Obi-Wan sad in a cave for 10 episodes is a true and tried one, but damn I wish they had spiced it up a bit. At this point it feels too cliche to actually go for depressed 24/7; I would have preferred there to be some variety, something about him interacting a bit with the locals (the part with the Jawa was cute but since they didn't return it felt very one beat), some appreciation of the beauty of the desert, some small joys, and then you can make the sadness hit that much harder when you contrast e.g. with the night terrors. Like this they just felt like another point on the checklist

Also what I'm afraid is dooming the series for me a bit is that I cannot get myself to like Leia. She feels like every generic bratty but supposed to be adorable child character to me and it is grating. There is a very fine line to walk with being bossy and talking back and not having it be annoying, and she falls very firmly in the latter. It doesn't help that within the plot she is constantly an obstacle and not a helper. Many of her actions in episode 2 seems extremely stupid, and while I can get with the whole Being a child and Being in a very dangerous and unpredictive situation and Being afraid, it does not make her causing half the problems in the episode that much less grating. Especially since the biggest one is literally a shrek-level of misunderstanding between Obi-Wan and her

In general, but in episode 2 more egriougsly, the show suffers from so many conveniences. People just meet each other within vast cities, they learn crucial information by happenstance, and so on and so forth. Episode 2 is all over the place with where its characters are at and when, it's bad both from a writing and editing stand point

Whined enough about the technical side now, moving on

I really wish Leia and Obi-Wan's relationship could be landing for me. If they continue with this plotline it will be a cornerstone of the series, and it could be absolutely adorable and wholesome, but at the moment I don't know which bantha wrote Leia's dialogue, everything she says feels very forced and unnatural. Yes, she's mature for her age, but can we please tone down the hashtag feminism girlboss energy and have her talk like an actual 9 year old once in a while

If there's one thing I like about the series it's the world. The worldbuilding is nice, and the sets and costumes are beautiful. I loved the bladerunner esque aesthetic of the planet of the second episode, and just the diversity of all the people milling around. Makes me sad that Obi-Wan is apparently contractually obliged to stick to the sand tunics when there is absolutely no in universe reason for him to do so? The whole planet knows your face, for the love of god just put on a helmet and pretend youre a bounty hunter of which there are thousands here.

Sigh

My main hope for the series is that they explore the spiritual angle of the Force a bit more, but so far that's not happening, though i will be patient about it and just hope it comes up in the later episodes

So far this is not a show I would recommend to someone who is not a big Star Wars/Obi-Wan fan, it's fairly mediocre so far with episode 2 nearing being bad

I'm still holding out hope that it gets better, and that we'll see a nice character arc for Obi-Wan and it will make it worth to start on such a monotone note, but my expectations are tempered

#obi wan kenobi #star wars #kenobi series #obi wan series #obi wan kenobi show

[theredsuzuran]

Kᴏᴋᴜsʜɪʙᴏᴜ, ᴅᴏᴜᴍᴀ x ғᴇᴍ ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ [ NSFW ❣︎ ]

ᵗʰⁱˢ ⁱˢ ᵐʸ ᶠⁱʳˢᵗ ᵗⁱᵐᵉ ʷʳⁱᵗⁱⁿᵍ ˢᵐᵘᵗ ˢᵒ ᵃᵐ ˢᵒʳʳʸ ʸᵃʸ¡

Kokushibou~

Tags : non-con, dom-sub, hate sex, fingering, creampie, belly bulge.

"I believe you want to decapitate my head, no?"

The demon spoke calmly while teasing that swollen clit of yours on the other hand his long wide digits pumped in and out of your tight wet core vigorously. Ending up like this after dedicating your life to the crops is rather humiliating but instead of cowering with shame and disgust, you find yourself enjoying every thrust that penetrated deep inside the clenched hole of yours, prevailing a pure state of ecstacy.

"Speak of yourself filthy demon" you managed to speak between low grunts by resuming the lweds noises from escaping your soft trembling lips. A series of swift slaps landed onto your bare tits molding the flesh roughly in the process accompanied with pinches in the hypersensitive bud erected high due to its intensity. Your knees shuddering with each blow as kokushibo slaps harder simultaneously in your hip and breast without mercy.

How did you two end up like, this night was supposed to predict the future of humanity, either one of your demise, yet there you were being fucked by your sworn enemy. Hate was an understatement to define the feelings you store for him, lothe was the correct word. You loathed him for long as you can remember starting from the way he overpowers you to the way you whimper helplessly beneath his touch. All the insults he throws at you with his gaze locked directly over your frail quivering frame, caressing your forbidden places, fluids overflow shamelessly from your heated cunt.

Hovering on top of your small delicate body, the tall demon bends you aggressively against the tree stem. Fearing what might happen next, you tearfully pleaded but was it too late for he gropes your hips with such force rubbing his cock in between them.

"Weak" is all that come out from the silence, that one thing you never wanted to hear especially from him, it was unacceptable how he honorably stood as if he was mocking at your pathetic state while you lower you head down due to mind numbing pleasure, unable to put up with this degradation you decided to work on your impulses, applying all your remaining force you lifted your head only to be pressed down allowing him to hold a fistful of your hair roughly. 

"You think you can defeat an upper rank?" he yanked your hair roughly causing you to flinch with pain, and before you knew his member slide inside your drenched opening, you clinged onto his toned chest scratching his shoulders. He began pounding you with inhuman speed, his other hand spreading your leg wide as he mercilessly pumped his shaft upto your cervix creating concussions all over your body, belly bulging out due to his length. The forest filled with lwed moans, pants and grunts accompanied with sloppy noises of bare skin clapping against one another as the two of you continue to bang.

"Look at me" kokushibo ordered with his low voice, as an act of rebellion you refuse to listen to him gritting your teeth in protest. Suddenly he grabbed your face roughly to stare at you with his menacing eyes, your faces inches apart ready to mingle with burning passion but now would he let your lips connect? Demons are not capable of experiencing emotions anymore for they have abandoned their humanity long ago and before you stood one of the most ruthless, cruel demon of all time dominating your fragile little body like a play thing. Saliva drooling off your mouth while your tounge sticking out as he increases his pace gradually, upon witnessing the pathetic sight of yours, he chockes you earning moans of his name from your lips. There was nothing more you wanted than his cock. He shoots it warming up your walls while your juices coating his member reaching your respective orgasm, he releases you from his grip making you fall onto the ground, his hot seeds oozing out off your pussy. Just as you thought your miseries have ended and your life as well he pulled you up the ground earning a loud shriek in response, his usual calm face curving slightly into a sinister expression.

"I know exactly how to break you, (y/n)"

Douma~

Tags : mastrabation, degrading, oral sex, cock worship.

You have always loved the eccentric cult leader from afar which begun from exchanging a glance, you were just an insignificant maid like some other women in his prismatic pair of eyes but devoting your life and soul for his upmost affection became your priority. Everybody desires that whole heartedly you never consider yourself as an exception but you dared intoxicating your thoughts spending tedious nights imagining yourself indulged in sinful pleasure.

Just like any normal day, you were assigned to do chores around the cult including tending your master's room. His scent lingered as you prepared the cushions he would he sitting later "douma s-sama" your lips parted to chante his name, fingers automatically rubbing over the fabric of your heated spot forming inbetween shaking thighs, trembling, as all kind of dirty thoughts engulf your mind Sitting onto the bed you spread them, so blissfully unaware that the one watches intently.

"Look who we have here, (y/n)~ touching herself while calling her master's name" you jolted upwards in utter shock soon turning into shame.

"Don't mind me, continue what you were doing dove" the man beamed with excitement as his lustful gaze roamed upside down.

"I-" you hesitantly replied.

"I won't ask you twice, if you don't want me to force you, do what I say you useless slut" his tone changed in a matter of second the carefree smile he puts up usually is replaced to a completely unemotional one scaring you for you followed his orders fearfully by rubbing your clit infront of him avoiding eye contact. He locked his eyes directly on that dripping entrance. Your wildest fantasies have come to reality.

"Come here" which you immediately obliged to, he motioned to the tent forming in his pants. "Suck" you touched the length with your hand carefully unzipping the fabric, his scent filled your nostrils captivating you to take that inside your warm mouth and you did, swirling your tongue around it kissing and sucking it gradually making the demon groan in satisfaction. You bobbed your head slowly adjusting to his big size and start sucking it upside down when suddenly you were bend down with his nose poking at your wet core, hot breath tickling onto your pussy.

"I thought it would be rude of me to enjoy on my own" he explained his expression just the same as usual as if nothing like that happened before. He stretch his tongue out to have a good taste of your wet little slit. "Oh, did I allow you to stop now, dove?" Then he began assaulting that area vigorously with his long wide tongue making it hard for you to clinge onto his cock. You scream with pure ecstasy while he continue licking and teasing your vulva occasionally sucking on it, each time harder than before. You manage to suck his cock trying to match with his inhuman speed, then he suddenly pull out a string of saliva mixed with your fluids connecting his tongue.

"You really like it no? You have to beg for it if you do" a devilish smirk formed on his features. "I do" you replied trying to clasp the area he assaulted minutes before. "No, be specific, say you are horny little slut who wants to be touched" douma explained his smile never fading away. "Please.." tears forming your eyes, who knew he'd be so sadistic but you can't deny you loved every inch of it however he pocked onto your sensitive erected clit with his sharp nails just enough to not scratch it. "You won't? Too bad" he rubbed it slightly driving you crazy.

"I- want I-it"

"Mm? You want what dove?"

"I want you to touch me master for I am a horny little slut who needs your attention.. please master" you mwealed unable to take his teasing anymore, he bit your clit harshly making you squirm in pain, your walls tightened releasing all the pent up frustration you have stored over his face, you collapsed your eyes rolled back, tongue sticking out.

"That's it?" Douma pouted.

"But don't worry you have to yet make me cum, this day's gonna be so long (y/n)"

#kokushibou #kokushibo x reader #kny kokushibou #douma #douma x reader #kny douma #douma kny #kimetsu no yaiba #kny fanfic #kny smut #demon slayer #smut fanfiction #smut #upper moons

[downwiththemutantnjnjaturtles]

A Little Closer

[Raphael x fem reader]

sfw, apocalypse AU, 2012

The city that never sleeps.

They jinxed it, you thought as you dragged yourself along the street, Raphael at your side. The city wasn't only sleeping—it was dead.

You and him were alone, trying to get back in touch with everyone after getting split up. The team had been separated by unfortunate circumstances, nothing short of Murphy's Law. If you hadn't believed in the law before, you did, now.

But Raph could and would plow through a horde for you. He had to; he was your friend, the protector, at the moment. Because while you were able to handle yourself to some degree, ultimately, Raph was the one defending the both of you. And not even because you told him to. He took the role up himself, assumed it silently and never complained. You couldn't quite tell if it was because he felt obligated, or if it really was just his nature.

"You see that building up ahead? The tall one." He pointed toward a particular rooftop rising high among the ones around, and you nod. An infected ambled around in an adjacent alleyway. You glanced over at it anxiously, while Raph seemed completely unbothered. He was focused mentally planning their route. "That's our checkpoint. From there, we'll rest and see if we can regroup with the rest of the team."

The infected, a slower, pustule-covered form, started coming toward the two of you, stumbling out with quiet gurgles. "Raph," you said softly, with a tap on his hard shoulder. He glanced back at you before pulling out his sai, running at the infected and quickly dispatching it by a stab right in the eye socket. He avoided the sickly green caps.The creature fell heavily, and some of the pustules popped on the pavement, squeezing out a foul-smelling concoction of mutagen and infector cells. It amazed you every time just how fast he could get it done, the killing. And without fear—a few infected were more of an inconvenience to him than anything. He got in and got out, all the while you were left in awe at his ability to work on autopilot.

"Actually," he muttered, stepping around the body and into the alleyway the Infector had just come from. He noticed the fire escape and decided they'd take it from there on the rooftops. "I think we can get there from here. Feel like a little roof-running?" he asked you, throwing a subtle smile over.

Anything to get off the streets. Down there, it was bad. You had to look around every corner, watch your back even more carefully, and even then, straggling infected would still manage to slip under the radar. Though, luckily, Raph often was able to predict the movements of groups, which was what made you avoid the building horde making its way through the city. It was still a major scare to think you were clear and suddenly have a hunter-class infected jump out at you.

"Yeah," you answered him, following into the alleyway. "Yeah, let's do that. There are way too many Infectors down here." A shudder crawled up your spine to think about what the ooze those things carried could do to people.

He leaped up onto the railing, while you took the stairs. "It ain't the Infectors you have to worry about. It's the Hunters," he replied, pulling himself into the edge of the roof. You finished your ascent up the staircase as quietly as possible, and he met you at the top, grabbing your hand and helping you up the rest of the way. "But don't worry; I'll make sure none of 'em get you." You leaned forward and looked at him with a small smile, noting what he said. And that he still hadn't let go of your hand. "Or me," he added quickly as he released your hand and turned away to survey the series of buildings ahead.

You laughed, "Well, I'd be pretty screwed if I lost you, Raph. I kinda rely on you, y'know?"

Unknown to you, those last words would stick with him. For a long time.

"Yeah…" he trailed off. He didn't know how to respond to that. Of course, he'd been relied upon before; by Mikey, especially. He knew what that felt like. But protecting this girl? There was a new sense of pressure. Even Mikey could handle himself well enough alone. But there wasn't anything for you to fall back on, should he be out of the equation. No ninja training, not much knowledge of how to use a melee weapon aside from the basics, and guns were few and far between. Very far. A gang would trade you one, if you were lucky. Most people weren't lucky in that regard. Raph didn't want you anywhere near those thugs, anyway.

Between the two of you was nothing but the sound of the breeze. The city was almost dead silent, save for the occasional racket of survivors, or feral animals. Both were in low numbers; most of the city—the country—had been turned. The rate at which the infection spread was astonishing. Only here and there would a lonely human cause ruckus anywhere.

Raph cleared his throat, "We should get moving. Sun's going down and we need to hunker down for the night, the Hunters will be wakin' up soon."

"Sounds good," you said as you stretched your tight muscles out. Hours of almost nonstop walking and jogging could really work up some nasty knots.

You moved forward, him naturally taking the lead as you both made your ways across the roofs, him helping you along when you needed it, and you keeping watch for stragglers while you were at it. Sometimes, there would be other people up there. Other times, former people.

Coming up to a run down building, Raph made the last jump across, expecting you to be able to handle it. But you were hesitant, your body worn and weary from days of over exertion, and today was the straw that broke the camel's back. After all this time, you just couldn't muster the strength to clear the gap yourself.

Raph was about to go on ahead when he noticed you hadn't made it across yet, and he called out, "Y/N, what're you doing over there? Come on, this is our stop."

You wanted to do it, for the sake of his convenience, but it was too far. You could have over or underestimated and plummeted down into the alley below, gotten incapacitated, and became even more baggage. He watched as you backpedaled from the ledge. "I can't," you answered, slightly ashamed, "it's too far of a jump. I can't do it."

You watched as Raph easily bounded across, landing in front of you. "Here," he motioned for you to step in, and you did, where he then picked you right up into his arms and started backing further away. He'd lended you a helping hand before, a catch, sometimes, but never had he picked you up like this. "Wrap your arms around my neck, this is a little dodgy," he instructed you. He tried to ignore the fluttery feeling it gave him when you did what he'd said to do, wrapping your arms around his sturdy neck as he got ready to leap the gap. You were comfortable enough—Raph was strong. Really strong. But the threat of you both falling still have you anxiety, and for that, you had to clamp your eyes shut.

Without a word, he took off in a dash, one powerful leg launching the both of you off the edge. His arms tightened around you somehow more than they had been before. And for a brief second you felt wind. You still couldn't open your eyes, only focused on the feeling of almost absolute security in Raph's grip. Next was the hard landing, which jarred you out of your brief moment of warmth. He grunted, following through into a crouch and setting you down on your feet.

"You alright?" you asked him, concerned, placing a light hand on his shell.

He had a level of endurance that far exceeded the average person's, but even Raph was getting tired. He despised feeling weak, but his body was now actively working against him. He felt slow and heavy for his standards, running on fumes and secretly desperate for rest. As good of a sleep as he could get without worrying about being ambushed by something, be it human or otherwise. He knew he'd be back to the grind soon enough though because you needed sleep, too, and he would die before leaving you undefended in such a vulnerable state.

You realized then just now exhausted he was as he rose, taking in a deep breath. "I'm alright, let's just...clear the place and get in there," he said.

He approached the door into the stairwell and listened for a second before trying the knob. Locked. He was impatient to get in and finally be able to rest, so he just kicked the door in with everything he had, deciding to deal with anything that might be in there as they came. You grimaced; stairwells were awful places to fight anyone or anything.

Collecting yourself, you came over and peered in along with him. "Easy there, shouldn't we be quiet?" you questioned him in earnest.

He never intended to be rude to you, but his mood got the best of him, and he snapped back with a sigh, "Look, I'll get rid of them, okay? It's not like you're the one going in and killing them, so just stay out of the way and let me get it done."

You backed out of the doorway and shot him a look as if to say, are you serious? You knew Raph was prone to moodiness, but you'd never expected it to be targeted your way.

Shit. He slapped his hand onto the doorframe and leaned his forehead on it, groaning. Not even at you, but himself, because he'd just snapped at his only friend and ally out here at the moment. Seeing the flash of the look of hurt on your face at his words made him feel like a total asshole.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled after a minute of uncomfortable silence. He looked back at you, eyes falling on the sombreness of your expression. "I'm just tired. I'll be more careful here on out, if it makes you feel better. I know you're just trying to look out for us, trust me. I do."

"It's okay," you said softly. "Don't worry about it. Let's get in there now, yeah?" you nudged him, stepping in. You looked over the railing in search of anything suspicious. Oxidized blood, the hybrid mutagenic fluid that the Infectors secreted. No, it all appeared clean. But that didn't mean it was safe. Raph descended the stairs slowly, listening for anything he could pick up on. The two of you were surprised that it seemed clear, maybe even skeptical, but it didn't stop you as your paced picked up. Raph kept you behind him at all times with his sai out and ready.

"You think it's good?" you whisper, leaning your head over his shoulder. His eyes scanned the surroundings in the hallway you had just been lead into, still searching for any red flags.

There was nothing. No sounds, no signs of infected, and deathly quiet. The lack of noise disturbed Raph more than anything, but if it meant one night of peace, he'd take anything he could get.

"The residents must've abandoned this place when the evacs happened," you noted.

"Everyone should have stayed. Maybe then we would have had a chance of actually containing this thing and Donnie wouldn't have to be busting his ass to save us all. If that's even possible at this point."

He let his guard down a little. All he wanted to do was pick out any random apartment and take it over for the night. Trying the one on his left, the door slowly opened to reveal a messy studio, papers strewn about, cabinets still open, things discarded on the floor. He almost melted just seeing the couch, let alone a bed.

You were watching the hall just to make sure, but felt his calloused hand land on your forearm, pulling you in.

"Wow," you breathed out. "I never thought I'd be so happy to see such a mess. I feel like I haven't slept in three years," you muttered to yourself, shutting the door behind you.

Raph wandered around the room as he made his last checks behind the counters and such before he finally relaxed and slid his sais back into their holders. "No kidding," he commented. "I'd bet there's nothing to eat in here, though."

"Can't hurt to try."

Turned out that there wasn't anything but a couple of granola bars and a single bottle of water you'd found under the kitchen table. Probably rolled under there and the owner never noticed, but you were running low on your water supply, as your backpack was starting to feel light.

Raph kept the blinds closed tight in fear of being spotted from the window, even though it was practically a wasteland out there, but you couldn't help but part them a bit to catch a glimpse of the sun going down. That beautiful, warm glow that the Golden Hour produced, and the way it painted the sky. Though, it wasn't all that visible from where you were.

Sunset came and went and gave way to night. It was dark in the apartment; no electricity was being routed there, and so the only thing that lit up the area was the lone lantern you had sitting on the coffee table. Your eyelids were becoming so heavy that you couldn't stop to care if the furniture had bed bugs or other gross stuff. It was comfortable on your aching back, that's what mattered. You lay down on it and was already dozing off when Raph padded by. He stopped. You were so tired, he could see that. He could stand to stay up for a few more hours, he told himself—he would do that.

As you slept, he spent his time cleaning his weapons, adjusting his gear, snacking on what little the two of you shared. Also thinking. About how tired he was in that moment, his brothers (wherever they were), and finally...you. He found his gaze shifting from the knife in his lap that he'd been sharpening to you, sound asleep on the couch and for the first time in days, looking at peace. You had dark circles under your eyes, bumps and scrapes all over your body, yet for a little while, you'd forgotten all about it. Because you were asleep, obviously, but even though he was downright beat, he couldn't bring himself to disturb you. Not yet, at least. The clock on the wall was still ticking on. It was quiet, except for that—Raph couldn't complain. He softened watching you. There was something comforting to him about being able to drop the act and just observe you without having to talk. He wasn't always good at talking. He judged that perhaps you were only trying to fill the silence when you kept rambling or muttering, which was understandable. It made him wonder briefly if you felt awkward when he was quiet.

Raph was on his proverbial last leg in terms of his wakefulness when he heard your voice, the slightest call that was almost inaudible. He set his gear aside and shifted towards you where he sat on the coffee table, trying to figure out if you were only dreaming, or if you really needed something.

"You awake?" he whispered.

Arm dangling off the couch, you rested your face on your other hand. "Yeah," you answered through a dry throat. He remembered the bottle of water from earlier and reached into the backpack at his feet, handing it to you. He'd already drank over half of it.

"How long have you been laying there awake while I could have been getting some shut-eye?" he jested. You did your best to muster a smile, but it wasn't going. It wasn't like you to be so solemn.

He spoke again as you downed the rest of the water, "Uh...joking. Are you—"

"Can you hold me?"

You weren't looking at him. Your eyes were closed, and on the inside, you asked yourself why you'd said it. Maybe it was the mid-sleep grogginess, or you had just lost all care in the world. He was staring at you, but in the low light, you could hardly see his expression. He swallowed; oh, how this had taken him off guard.

"Just for a little bit."

He was going to stammer out something, he wasn't sure what, but anything to relieve the mix of awkward embarrassment he was feeling. He wanted to crawl into that couch with you, to feel the warmth of your body against his cold one—why couldn't he move? Why was it so hard to just say: "Yes, I can hold you."

He could fight. He could defend. What he couldn't do was comprehend his own emotions.

"I, uh…do you feel unsafe, or something?" He felt stupid to ask that, but that part of his mind wanted to rationalize your request. He would feel vulnerable in your shoes. He knew that for a fact. But really, he was aware that wasn't the case, you feeling unsafe; he was there. Your sentinel, willing to push himself as far as he possibly could, and then some.

A sigh left you, and the single word, "Please."

No more thinking. Just do.

He sat up, tentative in his approach to your tired form. You shifted back as far into the cushions of the couch that you could, offering him the space on the edge. He climbed down, and after a minute of trying to situate all of your limbs, he was finally comfortable. He would be lying to say his heart wasn't beating faster, that it didn't feel weird to drape his arm around you the way he did, being pressed against your back like that. Despite everything, it felt natural. Right. Like he'd been missing something that whole time, and as soon as he had pulled you into him, he had a revelation.

There were no words exchanged. Just the sound of the clock ticking and the both of your breaths as you were lulled back into sleep. He couldn't sleep yet. You still had an hour to go before it was his turn. Not that it bothered him. Not then; he wanted to be conscious for this, the feeling of fullness he had with how you seemed to fit against his body so well. The contrast of soft skin to his scales, his lean, solid muscles compared to your own less-developed. His fingers brushed along your wrist in some of the lightest touches he'd ever administered. His leg found its way over your own.

What started rigid and awkward now had melted him. His body hadn't felt that loose in a long time.

Whatever the next move was, he was fine with it. The team was close to finding each other after four days of separation. There was a horde forming outside, gathering up to blow through the city in one last sweep. But as long as they got where they needed to go, he didn't mind it at all.

a/n: i 100% did not feel like explaining how or why they got separated from the rest of the group just be along for the ride bby

#tmnt #tmnt raph #raphael x reader #tmnt x reader #tmnt raphael #raph x reader #apocalypse au #tmnt 2012 #sfw #wiritng #tmnt fanfiction #tmnt one shot #teenage mutant ninja turtles #zombie au #zombies #raphael 2012 #raph 2012 #leonardo #michelangelo #donatello

[oswald-privileges]

ALL RIGHT BUT YOU ASKED FOR IT

Power of Three as a series is just. full of weaknesses, most of which come down to poor continuity and structure. I'm not gonna try and fix ALL of those, bc that'd be laborious as hell, but I will pick out things that I feel are the most egregious as case studies.

What Po3 does have, tho, is an absolutely shining strength in the concept of its three main characters. After twelve books of Blandly Heroic Protagonist Syndrome, Jayfeather is an absolute godsend. He's angry! He's rude! He's unhappy! He's not nice. I Love Him And He's My Son. Lionblaze has his invincible pride (hah) and emergent bloodlust, and Hollyleaf has her moral absolutism and certainty. These are good starting points for characters. Sadly, the lack of continuity undermines what could have been three really good character arcs.

So! I present to you:

HOW TO MAKE "WARRIORS: THE POWER OF THREE" NOT COMPLETELY SUCK ACCORDING TO MY PERSONAL TASTE; A NON-EXHAUSTIVE, NON-CONSECUTIVE LIST BY ME

ONE

- Have there be a persistant, overarching series threat. Sol is a character with amazing villain potential who does literally nothing except hang around, and do exactly 2 Bad Things completely off-screen. This Is Not Good.

- Instead, have him be present from the second book onwards- initially introduced as a friendly but enigmatic outsider who is slowly revealed across the series to be a complete black hole of a personality, a social parasite quietly rearranging whatever community he's a part of to just-so-happen to benefit him as much as humanly possible. His "preach individualism not starclan" methods are not so much values as one strategy out of many. (to those who know me- yes i have a type. no i will not apologise.)

- Maybe his ultimate goal is to dissolve and centralise the clans or something so that he can live out his life as a political puppetmaster in all the cat-luxury he likes. idk it's hard to imagine overall stakes for this rewrite BECAUSE THE ORIGINAL DOESN'T HAVE ANY

TWO

- For gods sake you don't have a series based on the premise of "the main characters develop super powers" and then only have the second power confirmed by the end of the fourth book. I understand the first book mostly focusing on Jayfeather- his powers are obvious from the start, he's got the strongest personality of the three, he gets access to most of the prophecy plot stuff because of them. But you NEED to have the other two show an interest in something concrete happening to them beyond that, and you need to at least hint towards the other two having something unique to them even if nobody clocks it yet.

- Have Jayfeather tell his siblings about the prophecy by the end of book two at the latest. The amount of time he spends noodling around not sharing it with them is inexcusable. It's not that it's out of character for him to hang onto a secret for a bit, it's just that there's no point and it slows everything down. It would be equally in character for him to go to his siblings and be like "look, i'm SPECIAL. well you as well but ALSO ME". Boy starts off as desperate for recognition, what can I say

THREE

- Have Jayfeather discover that StarClan don't withhold signs or information on purpose for the sake of "building courage and faith" or whatever nonsense. Seeing and communicating the future is metaphysically very difficult, so interpreting signs and messages is a genuine skill, or even an art. The cats of StarClan, however, really are just ghosts, much more similar to living cats than the currently living believe. This is the impotus for Jayfeather's discarding of his reverence for StarClan, which remains consistent throughout the series.

- Have Hollyleaf and Jayfeather both still change their cat careers in the first book, but put place more attention on the fact that they basically switched jobs. Have a scene where they end up yelling at each other, because can't the other see how lucky they have it? The tension breaks when they realise they've both lost something important to them- Jayfeather his chance to prove he's as capable as a sighted cat, and Hollyleaf her path to helping her clan in the way she thinks is best. They commiserate together, and reluctantly promise to do the best they can with their lots, so they don't waste the path the other wishes they'd taken. This closeness is eroded over the series as they disagree more and more on the subject of StarClan and its role in their moral choices and obligations.

FOUR

- Speaking of Hollyleaf! I nearly threw my phone across the room when the first Omen of the Stars book claimed that Hollyleaf "worked so hard to discover her power to help her clan". Where, Ms Erins??? I would have LOVED to have seen that!! Hollyleaf expresses absolutely no concern over the details of what power she has/will develop, and only has a couple of scenes even touching on her ambitions to help her clan. She has some vague ideas about becoming leader and like one scene where she gets to do some leadery things, but that never gets followed up on. What does happen is that the whole "warrior code" thing becomes more and more a part of her personality (for no clear reason) until she snaps.

- Hollyleaf going off the deep end is something I wanted so badly to get into and be moved by, because I could see where it comes from! Her moral certainty is fascinating, especially since it's based in something as abstract as the warrior code- which, when you think about it, isn't really... anything. There's no concrete set of rules that make it up, no traditional wording or cat philosophers, not even any fables. It's a handful of agreed-upon, common sense rules- don't cross boundaries, don't take prey that isn't yours, respect your ancestors, and don't murder. That's it!

- So, combining the above points, I think Hollyleaf not being one of the Three should stay, but both the audience and the characters are given good reason to believe she is. By around the third volume, make it so that Hollyleaf has found that her power is to get cats to "Do The Right Thing"- i.e. what she wants them to do. She sneaks off often to see Sol, who teachs her how to use this power. Her siblings are concerned about this new power, having already gotten a glimpse at what Sol can do, but she's confident that she can only use this power for good. Volume-specific plot happens, Sol manipulates her into causing him to win, she is shocked and horrified, and vows to stick ridgedly to what she knows is right i.e. The Warrior Code

- However, the more fervently she tries to stick to this abstract idea, the less it gives her results, the more her power seems to be failing. Believing that StarClan is taking her power away from her, she becomes caught up in a faith-guilt spiral that puts her in the position to snap at the end of the series. By that point it's clear to her siblings that Hollyleaf has no power- she was just very, very good at persuading people to do what she wanted.

FIVE

- Lionblaze is a girl now because I Said So. This Cat Is Trans And There's Nothing You Can Do About It.

- Her relationship with Heathertail stays the same- childhood sweethearts who are torn apart as they begin to understand the nature of the societal divides that exist between them.

- This can be used to contextualise the whole "half clan/outsider blood" thing as a cultural contradiction. In reality, inter- and outer- clan relationships aren't at all rare. They can't be, otherwise the whole society would be inbred out of existence in like five generations. But if at least one society of humans can spend a good 200 years pretending Sex Is Bad And Sinful Actually then cats can have persistant cat-racism in the face of all logic. Heathertail clocks this contradiction, Lionblaze doesn't.

- Her relationship-to-power arc doesn't need changing all that much either, other than starting much sooner and being more consistent. At first, she's completely overjoyed by her power, since unlike her siblings, it lines up so well with her ambition- become the finest warrior any of the clans have to offer. As the berserker rage aspect becomes more prevelent, she becomes more and more disturbed by the fact that she isn't disturbed by what she can do, and that she doesn't want the escalation of her power to stop.

- Tigerstar still does his thing, but Brambleclaw knows about it. He recognises the signs from when his father used to visit him, and tries to train Lionblaze in his own way. She ends up caught between wanting to be a good warrior, and testing the limits of her power.

SIX

- Jayfeather can stay basically the same because he's my perfect little angy boy and nothing needs to change. His arcs can be strengthened by having a more robust relationship with Yellowfang where they try to out-bitch each other, and coming to terms with his internalised ablism. Maybe he has a chat with Mothwing about faith a couple of times. Him furiously lashing out at being offered help transitions into an acceptence and understanding of his abilities more naturally. He never stops being A Grumpy Old Man.

- All fucking past-lives unexplained time travel goes in the BIN. Doesn't fucking happen. You can have that lore dump sprinkled across the books, or come from going deep into the tunnels and having a surreal meeting. Make it properly eldritch-level scary, shake Jayfeather's confidence in the idea of them being just a bunch of ghosts.

SEVEN

- Have the way Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight present very clearly as parents to the Three be explicitly, textually unusual. One of the things I liked so much about the first series was an almost total lack of emphasis on who was mated with who, and who was related or not. It felt very real to how feral cat colonies form, where raising kittens is a communal job. This gets completely dropped the moment series 2 starts and now the cats have monogamy.

- This emphasis on the family unit and fostering close relationships between parents and kittens is deliberate on the part of both Leafpool and Squirrelflight. Their aim is to cover for Leafpool so she doesn't lose her role as medicine cat- something she already gave up Crowfeather for before she was pregnant.

- In that little bit of backstory, have a robust reason for both Leafpool and Squirrelflight to leave the camp while Leafpool is pregnant and giving birth, possibly one that ties into the present day story in some minor way. I don't know how, it would just make that element of the story a lot more ground than "we left, the kits were born, then we came back and everyone was cool with it"

- When it comes to the "I am Not your mother" reveal, Jayfeather and Lionblaze are confused and hurt that they were lied to, but come to the reasonable conclusion that well, since they were raised mostly by Squirrelflight, saw Leafpool often, and are loved by both, they don't hate her. Lionblaze has something of a crisis over being half-clan, possibly initiating an attempted reunion with Heathertail. Jayfeather is more concerned with how other cats will think it makes him lesser, something he's still sensitive too.

- Hollyleaf, meanwhile, completely fucking snaps at the way her mother Violated Part Of The Code. It's a completely irrational reaction, but expected because she's been growing more and more reliant on The Code for the whole series, and less and less stable in her attempts to aid her clan and train to be its new leader.

- Squirrelflight is the one to murder Ashfur. This is easy to work out while reading- she's literally the only one of the four with a motive who isn't a perspective character. The mystery is less around finding out who did it, and more about why she did it (it's very ambiguous as to whether it was an accident or not). The main tension comes from who finds out when.

- Lionblaze is shocked, awed by how far she'd go to protect the three of them, and reassures her she did the right thing (as a way to salve her own uncertainty over her own longing for violence). Jayfeather makes it all about himself because he's Jayfeather- upset that he didn't know immediately, instead of, you know, figuring it out in a few hours because he can basically read minds. They try their best to hide it from Hollyleaf, who is already rattling around the final volume as a full-on antagonist, but are unsuccessful. This almost costs them something incredibly important- possibly Squirrelflight's life.

EIGHT

- the whole plot with the Tribe Of Rushing Water is a MASSIVE can of worms that could be removed from the series without issue. As it is:

- Characterize the Tribe as uncertain of how to fight other cats, because yes, they haven't had to do this before. DON'T characterise them as pathetic, doing whatever their leader says without thinking, and with ancestors who have Given Up

- Have some of the Tribe be really good at the violence. Worryingly good. Have others be sickened by what they're being asked to do.

- Have some of the clan cats reflect on what they've done. Hollyleaf would be all for introducing this society to jesus The Code, but even she might be horrified at being thanked by a tribe cat who can't wait to get out there and win themselves glory, only to be killed a few hours later

- The Tribe begin a new tradition of marking the walls in the mud they use as camoflage in order to commemorate their battles, and memorialise the fallen. One of the characters reflects on the fact that in a generation or two, the Tribe will feel like it's always been this way. How many of their own traditions- those that feel almost like natural law- started out the same way?

- Have Sol as the leader of the invaders, or maybe having insinuated himself into the tribe as a "mediator" and doing his charismatic cult leader thing.

NINE

- Cinderheart isn't a reincarnation of Cinderpelt. She's just named after her bc Cinderpelt saved her mother from a badger. this is because I think the reincanation thing is stupid and I can't think of a way to make it good.

TEN

- No more using tails as hand gestures like covering people's mouths. Never. None of it. It's expunged from existence.

Disclaimer: I haven't read Omen of the Stars yet, so I can't account for anything that might happen in that series that's grounded in Po3. I'm like... two thirds of the way through the first volume. I'm Not Impressed.

#Warrior Cats #warriors #The Power of Three #Jayfeather #Hollyleaf #Lionblaze #long post

[sigritandtheelves]

You told me you don't believe in canon, can I ask why? I am really curious, and I don't mind a long detailed answer ( lol). Also what are your thoughts on the difference between canon divergent and AU?

Crisis on Infinite Truths, or, Why I Don’t Believe in Canon (And Neither Should You)

Thanks for this ask, friend. I’ve thought about this quite a bit, especially when I see occasional comments about what or when events “really” happened, or people saying that they don’t like AU (by which they often mean any canon divergence). So here’s my little manifesto on why I think adherence to canon is pointless (and painful).

The world of the X-Files contradicts itself. Constantly.

Mulder and Scully met in March, 1992 (Pilot). But in December, 1993, they’d known each other only a few months. Scully was missing for four weeks. No wait, Duane Barry clearly takes place in August, and she was returned in November so that’s three months!  Samantha’s middle name is Teena—no, Anne! Margaret Scully gave Dana her cross necklace for her birthday… or was it for Christmas?

Anyone who’s ever tried to piece together a coherent timeline for this show knows that there are constant, frustrating contradictions, and numerous impossibilities—but not the good kind that Mulder likes to investigate. We pick and choose these minor points to accept or deny all the time without worrying about betraying canon. Why, then, do some remain committed to the idea of a “true” storyline (canon), even after major contradictions in story, not to mention the betrayals and cruelties of our Clueless Creator? It’s a matter of personal preference and one’s own relationship to the show, but here’s why I don’t believe in canon.

The smaller discrepancies listed above (just a tiny sampling) appear early in what I think of as the main timeline of seasons 1-7, but the contradictions that began to appear afterward were truly egregious: major changes in the mythology and characterization that were incompatible with earlier seasons, and which were sometimes later retconned by the show itself (Supersoldiers? Never happened. Colonization in 2012, “The date is set!”? Nup.). The plot became desperate (for ratings and to intensify its drama), cruel (to both Mulder and Scully in its violences and unjustified, poorly handled traumas), dictated by real-world constraints (Duchovny’s absence), and utterly nonsensical (the Smoking Man appears to be an otherworldly demon? He dies how many times?). I mostly hang with canon in the first seven seasons, but after that, I feel absolutely no obligation to this nonsense. Season ten was so painful and so offensive in so many ways—I won’t ever go near most of that season. I don’t think any fan should feel obligated to believe in one “true” timeline, especially when it seems written into the show that there are multiple possibilities and versions of truth.

My orientation toward canon, and I think that of many fanfic writers, is based on this multiplicity: we pick narrative elements that are grounded in what’s given or represented in the show itself. We reframe and retell. We offer something new. I’m going to draw, just briefly, on the work that I do academically, and talk about hermeneutics. Writing fanfiction is a transformative act of interpretation. By necessity, all of it is canon-divergent to some extent, because canon (like any primary text) contains no “true” interpretation. There is no single and correct reading, no singular meaning beyond what we, as readers and viewers, bring to it. A text is worth what we make of it and nothing more. Isn’t that incredibly liberating?

Why are some people so committed to the idea of canon?

When I first returned to writing fanfic, I had an epic goal in mind—I wanted to trace the relationship development between Mulder and Scully through all of the years of the show. I failed very early on because the project quickly felt both impossible and unnecessary. Most fic that is “canon compliant” emphasizes a particular piece of the timeline in order to parse out the distinct emotional and psychological nuances of a single arc. We zero in on one place to make sense of it (hermeneutics) and then tell our stories that offer more than the original. Already, we diverge from canon.

Rather than an account of the whole series, my idea became an effort to understand and reframe the reproduction arc, beginning in season five. It became the “Bearings” series of four stories, which attempted to be faithful to canonical events as much as possible. But even then, it diverged after the beginning of season eight because the things that happen in that season do not make sense in the arc of the rest of the show. I could find absolutely no justification for Mulder’s “death” based on what we know of the alien plot. Supersoldiers? They get written out of the show after season nine! They don’t make sense in relation to anything else we know about the aliens, and they never appear again. Screw supersoldiers, and screw the nonsensical mytharc of seasons eight and nine. I rewrote it in the final part.

People focus on the canonical because they want there to be coherence and consistency—they want a true truth that is grounded in the show’s representation. I say: let go of that. It is impossible both because the writing contradicts itself, literally, over and over again, and because many of the events that do become consistent (Scully gave up William? Really, we’re sticking with that one because no one in Hollywood knows how to write children?) are so fundamentally wrong in relation to what we know of the characters.

There is no dogma, there is no truth, there is no single and correct canon. We have pieces. Let’s make beautiful things with them.

Through all of a narrative’s divergent possibilities, we choose our elements.

We know that the arc of this overall story was not planned. There’s no show bible, no “truth” that was ever out there, in the end. What we have instead are truths (plural) and infinite possibilities: factoids, events, feelings, characters. Personally, I have a few things that I hold as true across most versions of the stories that I like to tell, and some of that borrows from post-season-seven events, even as I tend to rewrite canon after that point: Mulder and Scully tried IVF, but it didn’t work. Afterward, they had two children together (at a reasonable human age for conceiving children). They find their way (in all ‘verses) to the unremarkable house. They keep fighting the good fight and are as tough as nails—but they always love the absolute hell out of each other and their kids. These are the elements that I often choose to keep, and the rest I can play around with. Others do great things with other bits and pieces, and I like to experiment with angsty vignettes, too. I dig a good break-up fic, for example. Even an on-the-run fic: I love those, too. There are interesting, nuanced, painful, and beautiful things that can be done with what 1013 gave us—but not with everything it gave us and nothing else.

What’s the difference between AU and Canon Divergence?

This is a difference that gets conflated all the time, and I’m just as guilty of this mix-up as anyone else, because of the way the term AU gets used these days. It’s not a huge deal; I’m not really into taxonomizing and hair-splitting. But I do think story metadata is useful for finding what you’re looking for, so maybe we should clarify what these things mean. AU stands for Alternate Universe, and initially, that’s what this term was used to designate: a fundamental difference in worlds. Let’s put Mulder and Scully in the Wild West, or the 1950s, or in space, and see how their story changes or stays the same. I love these stories, as many do, because they maintain essential elements from the world of the show (characterization, certain plot points, family relations, approximations of life-defining events), but allow readers and writers to speculate about how things might have played out, were the world not as it is.

Canon divergence is different, and also is pretty self explanatory. This is the world of the X-Files, but here’s how things would play out if just this one thing (or these five) happened differently: Melissa didn’t die in Paper Clip; Scully and Mulder kept and raised William; Mulder finds Samantha alive at the end of Closure; etc. These stories are great because they allow for imaginative speculation, but keep us in a world we’re familiar with. But again, all fanfiction involves creative speculation. All of it diverges from what we actually saw. These just diverge a little more widely. They speculate a little bit harder, maybe.

The difference between canon divergence and AU gets fuzzy in spaces like pre-XF, because it’s kind of an AU—a world that takes place before the timeline of the show, and therefore makes major changes before there’s such thing as “canon” (see—we using scare quotes now). It seems like hair-splitting to argue for one or the other, but AU probably makes the most sense, unless you’re going to incorporate major elements of the canonical storyline too.

So that’s pretty much all I have to say. Sorry for the long-windedness, but I’d love to chat more about it.

#xf meta #my rant on canon #and why it's bullshit