#attempting to collect some data lol

[highlandkall]

@ animation fans/creators!!

how do you feel about anime style lip-sync (three mouth shapes looped w/ focus on expressions)

vs. western styles? (more varied mouth shapes for phonetic emphasis)

and do you have a preference over one or the other?

working on an indie project and we're trying to decide what route to take there ^^

[staytrueblue]

AO3 is now making people agree to a privacy policy before being able to access their content. What does that mean?

This is not something to be scared of. Knowledge is power so I encourage you to do research, especially if you're concerned about your privacy as a reader or writer on AO3. Please do your own research and come to your own conclusions. I can only provide the information, and I also do not have a law degree so I am not the person to speak to about this lol

Here are some relevant links, information, and full screenshots of that privacy policy that hopefully can help explain what it is and what you're agreeing to:

"Any Personal Information you include in your Content (including Special Categories of Personal Data and other types of Personal Information) may be accessible by AO3 administrators. It may also be accessible by the general public if the Content is made public, or by AO3 users if the Content is made available to AO3 users."

Definition of, ‘Processing of special categories of personal data’.

(we won't share your information at all unless one of these very specific and probably legal situations happens)

---

"You may have other rights regarding your Personal Information under the laws of the jurisdiction in which you are located. We will not discriminate against you for making a request under the data privacy laws of applicable jurisdiction."

Link to rights under data privacy laws in the UK, EU, and some US states. (I encourage you to also do your own research for your country/state)

---

"We will not share your Personal Information with any third parties without your prior consent, except for the following cases:

For external processing: We may use third-party services to store, process, or transmit data, or to perform other technical functions related to operating AO3. For example, we may use third-party email services. A list of third-party services is provided in our Subprocessor List. We cannot guarantee other services' technical performance. We or the services we use may store or process your Personal Information in data centers which may be located in the United States or elsewhere."

Link to what subprocessors are and what that means. (Again I encourage you to do your own research.)

---

This has no links but it is just helpful to know.

"For legal reasons: We may share Personal Information if we:

are legally compelled to do so;

have a good-faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with a current judicial proceeding, court order, or legal process served on the OTW; or

are cooperating with law enforcement authorities. We will cooperate with all investigations conducted by law enforcement authorities within the United States when legally required to do so. Cooperation with law enforcement authorities from other countries and cooperation when it is not legally required are at our sole discretion. Our discretion looks favorably on freedom and justice, and unfavorably on oppression and violence.We will attempt to notify you any time we disclose your Personal Information to a third party for legal reasons, unless legally prohibited from doing so or if, in our sole judgment, notification might hinder an ongoing investigation. In some cases, the Personal Information we have, such as an IP address, may be insufficient for us to notify you."

---

"If you have any questions, concerns, or complaints about this Privacy Policy, or would like to submit a data request, please contact the Policy & Abuse committee."

Link to the Ao3 Policy & Abuse Committee

---

Final links that I believe could be of benefit:

Which AO3 features collect, process, retain, and/or display my content or personal information, and how do they use it?

The full AO3 Terms of Service

The AO3 Terms of Service, including the Content Policy and Privacy Policy, are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

The screenshots of the full Privacy Policy are below for those who want to read it.

After reading it I personally think it just means that legally they are now required to inform us that our information is being stored in 3rd party sub-processors (because they’ve gotten so big) and how our information is being stored therefore having to explain how and when it would be used if at all. again this is just my personal opinion from reading the information.

[reddesires]

A Soldier's Recovery

(II) A Helping Hand

Winter Soldier x Reader

Synopsis: As you fall into a routine of caring for the former brainwashed assassin, you can see the seams that are barely holding him together. It's only a matter of him trusting you enough to give him that helping hand he so desperate wants and needs.

Word Count: 3211

Tags: Winter Soldier!Bucky, mentions of blood, hurt/comfort, trauma and slight recovery, mentions of torture, mentions of canon-typical violence, angst, self-destructive behavior, ill mental health, depiction of injury

A/N: I couldn't even tell you where I pulled this from, I've been getting my ass kicked by lack of motivation recently, so pls, forgive me if it's lacking some zest or it's absolute trash lol I tried my best so here's some Soldier content.

Your life became starkly different compared to before your Soldier's appearance. Your old life consisted of long hours of collecting, cleaning and analyzing data in the poor excuse of a corner where you keep your computer setup, the routine almost driving you up a wall as you desperately tried to hold on to your sanity staring at the blue screen.

Your outside life inconsequential where it really counted, you trudged on without much substance to your life, every day life unusually bland and repetitious. Work day in and day out without so much as a companion to keep you company.

However since he's came along and you've gotten used to his quiet presence to the point you no longer tiptoed around him in fear you'd spook him back into a corner, he just may have been the reason you haven't gone mad from the unvarying tasks of your day job, his nearness making up for his lack of speech.

He's in his own way gravitated towards you- Almost as if he was resource guarding you, close with the desire to safeguard the only soul providing for him but faltering as if getting too close would scald his skin, fear clinging to him so tightly he's closed within himself.

Fearfulness shrouds him, a collar that inches into his skin if he so much as turns his neck in an attempt to breathe. Fear shown in the way he became deathly still when there was an unknown sound outside the apartment, his body tensing as if he was prepared for a fight that was bound to happen, it showed in those moments when he was silent but followed you, as if he imprinted on you and he'd somehow lose sight of you if he didn't linger.

He was diligent, his oceanic eyes sharp with an unreadable depth and what you could only describe as trepidation, awaiting the moment you bared your teeth and your hand struck down with resentment against him.

But you'd never.

It's like a gentle ebb, his presence, the weight of his stare profound though not uncomfortable. It's intimate in a way, you do not hide from his gaze as it traces over you, open with full transparency for his sake and peace of mind with hopes that he'll further trust his well being in your capable hands, his recovery taking precedence the more time passes.

He's in no way recovered enough for you to consider him self-sufficient, but he's made progress. Such progress that you can't help the small praises, the words of encouragement falling from your lips subconsciously and despite his lack of a response, the quick flicker of his eyes is enough for you to keep doing so.

And like just like every other day he watches your every move, observing your day-to-day tasks with a close eye as if he's trying to compute it all, almost like he's compartmentalized in his head for later, and you let him, softly speaking to him as you show him what you're doing.

"I think you should eat some fruit, Soldier. Some vitamin C would do you good," you murmur as you cut the fruit with nimble fingers, his body close enough that you can feel the warmth radiating off him in waves. You become a little distracted as you look up for a second as you notice him closer than expected from your peripheral, causing your hand to slip and the knife to nick your finger.

You hiss from the sharp pain, the stinging immediate from the oranges acidic juice seeping into the cut, your thought process is immediately cut short as you feel him urgently pull your hand closer to him and you can't help but feel a prick of guilt needling your heart at the way his brows are harshly furrowed and his lips downturns into a frown.

"вы ранены." His voice is rough and low, speaking quietly as if he weren't allowed to speak at all and you revel in it, his voice causing a smile to pull at your lips in habit but it soon falters "Soldier, I don't understand.." his grip only slightly tightens on your hand, his head lowered to inspect the weeping cut with a keen eye before the word tumbles from his mouth, an accent heavy on his tongue as he sweeps his finger over the cut inspecting your blood coating over his calloused finger.

"Hurt.. you are hurt." He clarified, a shadow casted over his eyes as he met your curious gaze and it sent a shiver down your spine seeing the icy depths of his stormy blues, how much he can express with just those cerulean eyes with no need of words.

But to hear him utter those words was beyond relieving, so far he's only spoken to you in russian and you lacked the proper vocabulary to properly communicate with him, only understanding 'yes' or 'no' and you've come to learn that he addresses you as 'Сиделка' which you were promptly enlightened that it meant 'Carer', a name that you don't mind him calling you as it did feel most fitting considering this whole situation.

You lightly hold onto his wrist, slowly moving over to the sink and turning on the faucet and bringing both of your hands under the running water. "It's just a small cut, Hun. I'm okay," you attempt to soothe him as he watches as the blood swirls down the drain, his grip not loosening as the water runs over his fingers washing away your life essence and his breathing quickens and his grip tightens and in turn, you tighten your hold on his wrist "it's stopped bleeding. No need to worry," You whisper, holding your hand between your bodies allowing him to scan over the wound with his trembling hands and with your free-hand you swiftly open your junk drawer grabbing a bandaid from your stashed box incase of kitchen incidents, placing the bandage over your cut with a kind smile as you softly say "nothing a band aid won't fix, like nothing happened."

There's no remark as he stares at your hand, you swear there's a tension like he wants to say something in return but he seems perplexed as the turbulent thoughts in his head rage on so you decide to bring his attention elsewhere. "Come, why don't you try the oranges? It's healthy for you."

Leading him over with a gentle hand, you'd have to be careful around him, blood is emphatically a trigger for his fragile mind and you'd rather not have him spiral and hinder all the progress you've made so far if it can be helped.

-

You noticed the hesitantance as he stood near your bathroom door, his hand gripping the sill with a force that you've grown to understand more and more the longer you observe him. You can see the anxiety growing in him, his chest slightly heaving with deep breaths and his shoulders square with tension. It was a heartbreaking sight, the simplest of tasks were always met with a daunting uncertainty and a faraway look to his eyes like haunted memories were forcing their way in the forefront of his mind, a glazed over sheen, a barely concealed entryway for all the aching torment and blood stained testaments.

Though he towered over you, you feared he just may crumble into pieces right before your very feet, his edges so serrated it just may pierce into you demanding, raging, begging to be heard and seen and felt.

He tended to avoid the bathroom as much as possible, only using it when he absolutely needed to, and you only assume it's because he feels most vulnerable in there.

"It's okay, it's safe. I'm here." You assure him, your footsteps light as you come to a stop close behind him, his body shivers involuntarily and he clenches his fists to his sides as you step next to him, you swear you can hear the tight clench of his jaw as his teeth grounded together in a poorly hidden strain. You want to reach out to him and soothe your fingers along the side of his face to unclench his tight jaw but you think better of it, he's hanging by a thread resisting whatever destructive thoughts running through his mind.

This was always the hardest part, trying to safely navigate these tumultuous situations not only for him but yourself, words can only get you so far and it brings back that dreaded uneasiness that settled in the pit of your stomach. 'What ifs' ran through your mind, but the croak of his voice pulled you from it, the sting of your teeth biting into your bottom finally registering in "Сиделка..help."

he refuses to meet your stunned gaze, his chin tilted down and his spine erect with tautness, your silence not one of disgust as he automatically assumed but rather in pure disbelief as he has not asked for help out rightly but you soon school your emotions as you nod with an awkwardness that almost causes you to groan in unadulterated humiliation. This poor man is finally asking for the aid he's never asked before, and you freeze, not only embarrassing but more than likely unsettling for him.

"Okay, whatever you need.." You calmly articulate, thanking the stars that your voice didn't give out on you as you step into the bathroom standing to the side with your hands nervously thumbing the hem of your shirt.

Soldier's body doesn't ease as he mechanically follows in after you, the whirring of the plates in his metal arm the second loudest sound aside from his deep breathing. His eyes are glued to the bathtub that seemed so dangerously imposing to him, the sting settling in from his unblinking stare, his bare feet digging into the plush bath rug that adorned your bathroom floor. This isn't where he wanted to be, the impending doom that settled over him at the thought of that bathtub being filled and being forced into the unforgiving freezing temperature of the liquid, the burn of his lungs as merciless hands forcibly pushed his head under.

The walls are closing in around him, and his ears ring loudly as he feels himself slipping away. Your presence is doing little to pull him back from the void that's taking hold on him.

"Soldier." A lifeline. Your voice leading him back into the moment, the softness and lack of thunderous authority attention grabbing, not at all brash and tyrannical. You step within his line of sight, your eyes compelling him to meet your gaze. "Would you like a shower or bath?" Questions, again. What seems to be the bane of his existence, your insistence on asking him questions, of giving him an option. Each and every time, it feels like a trap, a lure to tempt him with the idea that he's permitted to make a choice.

No. You're his Carer, his handler. He had no say in this matter. So why do you insist on this meaningless charade? It's frustrating, and it grates on his mind each and every time.

You nod to yourself, taking his silence as an answer itself. You'd have to make the choice yourself so you settle for the safer option, a shower.

you pull the shower curtain fully back and turn the knob of the shower on, the shower head sputters to life, the water cascading down filling the room with the sound reminiscent to the rainy night you found him. One hand under the shower down, evening out the temperature for a comfortable warmth for him, finally satisfied as it leveled out enough.

You turn toward Soldier immediately, catching the way his throat anxiously contracts and his arms stiffened at the sight of the shower, his intense gaze locked on the raining shower head.

"It's warm. You can see for yourself if you want." He makes no move towards the shower, only a slight nod in acknowledgement before his eyes glaze over, his hands automatically shedding off the clothes adorning him and a small gasp is startled from you as you immediately cover your eyes in attempt of respecting his privacy that he seemed to have no regard for. As the sounds of his shuffling cease you're confused as slightly peek through your fingers, he makes no attempt to climb into the tub, if you didn't know any better it seemed like something was preventing him from stepping over that threshold. The look in his eyes pained and absolutely impotent and you can feel your heart mourn, your breath hitching as you frantically try to put a thought together for your next move.

Not even a moment later, you are stepping into the tub fully clothed under the raining shower head, your hand still shielding over your eyes as you sit down, allowing yourself to be fully saturated.

All is silent as you feel your clothes stick to your skin heavily and you almost begin to wonder if he'll join you in your pathetic attempt of reassuring him it's safe, that you'll endure this shower with him if you have to, your sodden clothes no consequence to that.

All of those thoughts are put to a close and you feel him settle on the other side of the tub, it's a tight fit but the two of you settle in slight fetal position, your knees pulled your chest and though his legs are covering majority of his body now, you still hide your eyes behind your palm.

The warm water settles all around you, enshrouding you in a miniature makeshift waterfall and you can feel the liquid running over your palm and down into your lap, this moment feels surreal and overwhelmingly intimate in a way you don't fully understand.

Though you are fully clothed, you feel exposed and torn about this particular situation. You are sitting in a bathtub with the world's deadliest assassin, who's not completely free from the shackles of his oppressive past, the very same assassin who is sitting nude 2 inches from you.

It's all too bizarre.

His despondency and forlorn presence compels a side of you that you've haven't had much opportunities to meet yourself, a side that forces you to observe more closely, forces you to be selfless in all the ways that count, could it be considered maternal? Or did it run on the fumes of natural human empathy? His pain and suffering inhabited the space like a living breathing existence. It lingered over him, and it stuck to your lungs like a pesky smog that refused to let you breathe in too deeply.

Empathy was a strange thing. Such a humanly emotion that weighed down on you more and more each day as you witnessed the greater extent of just how deep his wounds ran. It sat before you like a state of constant agony. The blood ran, never at a stalemate, remnants of ghosts seeping from the lesions, infected with promises of more to come.

Oh, the torment of being touched with only martyrdom.

Though the grasp on your wrist was nothing of such, firm but docile as he lowered your hand from your eyes, his movement unhurried, but his hand trembled. Unquiet is the best word described for him as he allowed you to look at him, his hand clinging to your wrist as a means to ground the quiver in his nervy fingers. His legs pulled to his chest tightly, his flesh arm wound around the front of his knees redolent of a scared child, his long wet hair sticking to his face as the water sprayed overhead.

The metal ran warm around your wrist, you thought as your eyes ran up the length of his forearm to his bicep, finally landing on the marring of his shoulder. The skin riddled with traces of the touch of his tormentors spread into their metallic creation that took up the place that once made him whole.

That red star is a brand, symbolic in the way that matters to them, a mark to signify that he was theirs. Their soldier, their prized asset.

It made your stomach turn.

"Help. Please." The water blurred your vision as the droplets ran over your lashes, your mouth falling open slightly before you nodded with a small gulp.

He released a breath, his hand falling from your wrist as he pressed his cheek to the top of his knee, his saturated hair falling over his eyes. There it was, that quiet trust, a plea to be cared for sitting right before you and your hands trembled.

you pushed his hair from his eyes, your fingers slicked it back, his arms tightened around his legs, and his cheek pressed closer to knee.

He didn't make a sound as your fingers messaged the shampoo through his knotted tresses, his eyelashes fluttering at the sensation of your ultra careful movements, mindful to not pull or scratch too deep as you worked to wash and relieve his entangled strands.

'All is fine..I'm okay, he's okay. We're okay..'

His blue eyes met yours as he slowly lifted his head without so much of a word, his hand lifted, his thumb soothing out the crease between your brows with a touch that made your heart stutter and your breath to completely come to a stop. There's a haze to his eyes, glossy as if mentally he was in a far-off place.

Your hand consciously grabs the body cloth from your shower rack, generously pouring body wash, making sure to thoroughly rub it until suds produced from the movement. You place it on top of his knee with a shaky smile. Surely he wouldn't want you to wash him yourself..

His gaze strayed from the cloth back to you with a blank stare, and it seemed almost expectant like he truly thought you would take it upon yourself to start the violating process of scrubbing his skin raw, to rid him of all the grime as if it was his sins were inked into him and with enough force they could be cleaned away, just so new ones could replace them.

You simply shake your head, a reserved smile taking over your lips. "I'd need your permission, Soldier. I can't otherwise." You say resolutely. Without his verbal consent, you can't bring yourself to touch him. It felt like a transgression to not just him but yourself to do such a task without his say so.

It feels like he's at a crossroads, stuck between choice and compliance.

His conditioning rages within him, spitting out threats of retribution, the repercussions hanging over his head like a noose awaiting the moment it tightens around his supple neck, the rope biting into his skin with a cruel penance.

But once again, you present him with a choice. One he feels is a trap, a simple word of consent feeling like a death sentence.

The soaked cloth is gentle against the skin of his hand when he lifts it, the soap suds slathering his inner palm as he extends it out towards you, his gaze cautious as you grab the linen from him, his low voice filling the space between you.

"I want your help."

Taglist:

@singularattitudeofasafetypin

@killerwendigo

[my-great-big-book-of-fan-fiction]

L Lawliet x Reader pt. 19: the Billionaire and the Prostitute

New chapter! A bit of a warning for bondage, and the precursor to angst at the end 🫠 this one's also pretty short, mostly smut lol

L's been acting odd recently.

Well, more so than usual.

He hasn't called you for sex, and that was normal, but the things he asked you about during your usual cuddling sessions were...weird. what other word was there to use?

"Your past clients, did they...satisfy you?"

"Have you ever been filmed having sex? Was it enjoyable?"

"Do you own any personal toys?"

You always answered, but the quality of your answers were clearly undesirable to him.

"Depended on the client."

"Why? lookin' for a copy?"

"What does it matter to you? Even if I did, it doesn't change whether or not I see you."

you guessed he was curious, but now was a weird time to have a sudden interest. He wasn't the type to avoid asking out of politeness, so he hadn't thought about these things before. What set him on this rampage of personal questions?

Unbeknownst to you, L was doing what L does best: collect data, and organize it. If he was going to attempt to satisfy you, he was going to do it right. His questions were invasive, but they didn't lack in nuance. Each question had it's own plethora of opportunities to get any sort of hint as to what you liked best.

Surely you, a woman well-versed in sex and it's many facets, had your preferences.

So far, he's contacted several of your past clients to ask about the things they did, the things you've refused. As he expected, they were reluctant to answer, as many people are when it comes to the topic of sex, so they needed some coaxing. He told them he worked with you, to survey their experiences for improvement. The fact it actually worked was a surprise by itself.

So far the data shows mentions of BDSM, particularly bondage, have a high rate of reaction, including the flushing of your face, the twiddling of your thumbs, and occasionally the response of, "what the hell are you talking about?"

Your ex-clients weren't much help, they couldn't discern an orgasm from cheap theatrics. He's glad you never tried to fake one with him, it'd only turn him off to have you ooh and ahh while your eyes crossed.

Still, his research and memories of your drunken spree combined came back with a promising plan to give you a truly pleasurable experience.

He would start slow, see if this night worked out, and repeat the experiment with higher stakes if successful.

"Yeah?"

"Hello, (Y/n). I'd like to have sex tomorrow night."

"alright, what time?"

"Seven."

"Kay. See you tomorrow."

Step one, complete.

the wait is the worst part. He has nothing to do now that his case is closed. He takes out a puzzle, tries to busy himself, but all he can think about is what he wants to do to you, with you.

How will you react? Will this work? Will your feelings for him change?

He frowns, and clicks the final piece into place. He needed a new one.

7 finally rolled around, and the first thing you see as you enter his new hotel is the table, piled high with puzzles. He's working on a solid black one, but he turns to face you the moment you walk in, his eyes trained on yours.

"It's weird seeing you without your computer."

He snaps another piece in place. "My work in america is over. Have a seat."

You plop down beside him, and rest your arms on the back of the couch. "Have you ever been to America?"

"Twice. How are the cats?"

"Cute. It's hard to find a consistent sitter though, until they get big enough to be left alone."

"I can imagine."

"...so, sex. The usual stuff?"

"Actually...I'd like to try something new, if that's alright with you."

"Sure, what is it?"

"Bondage."

Your face is placid, but your fingers twitch. "Oh? What about it?"

"I want to tie your wrists to the bed."

Straightforward as always. "Welp, who am I to say no? Let's get to it."

So, here you are. Naked and tied to the bars of the headboard with a silk scarf. He was gentle with you as he tied it, purposefully picking something that wouldn't dig into your wrists. It was quiet while he worked, eyes trained on your hands as you stretched your fingers, unstretched them, fidgeting. It was secure, it didn't budge as you yanked on the bars to test the strength.

When he was done, the hand that tightened the last knot glided down your arm, down your side, until it reached your hip. He stared at you for a second, on his knees, silent and expressionless as he took in the image.

It was weird, to be so open. To have your everything stretched and exposed. It was as if he could reach into the space between your expanded ribs and dig out your heart, as if he could eat it whole and settle himself in the empty cavern that was left.

Something about being so exposed...it thrilled you, for some reason. Your heartbeat quickened. You almost yanked on your binds to cover yourself, to push him over and distract him.

But you didn't have the option. You were left to his whims.

His whims involved looking at you like he saw every crevice of your brain, like he could pull a tab on the side of your skull, and have every thought read to him at his leisure.

"Getting nervous," you ask.

"No...no, I don't think I've been any less nervous than I am now," he murmurs.

You swallow.

"Are you nervous?" He begins to lift his shirt over his head, the criss-cross of blue veins that littered his sides twitching beneath his pale skin. He looked nearly translucent. You bet if you tried hard enough, you could see his organs beneath the outline of his ribs.

"I think out of the two of us, the prostitute would be more comfortable."

He tosses the garment to the side, and begins to unbutton his pants. "Yes, you would think that, wouldn't you?"

You roll your eyes. "You think you know everything," you taunt.

"No. I know quite a lot about a few, meaningful things," he argues, kicking off his pants.

"Like what?"

"Like my work." His boxers follow.

"Your work is the kind of thing you need to know everything for."

He slides a palm down your stomach. "Like finances," he continues, ignoring you.

you watch as he thumbs at the connection between the fat of your thigh, and the dip of your hip.

"And I know about you. That's what qualifies me to speak on what you are and aren't nervous about."

"Are you going to spend all night talking?"

He leans down, straddling your thighs with his calves, and presses a ginger kiss to the crook of your neck. "Perhaps I will."

You tilt your head away from him, and he takes the opportunity to kiss higher, beneath your ear. His hips settle against yours, angling to enter. Just as his tip presses inside, he rests his cheek against yours.

"It always surprises me, how wet you are..."

you blink, your face immediately heating. "L, what are you-"

"Warm, too...I don't forget much, and yet each time feels like the first with you, doesn't it?"

You instinctively jerk, your hands moving to smack him, or flip him over and shut him up...but you can't avoid this, not like that. So instead, to your surprise most of all, you moan.

"You really do like when I talk to you," he murmurs, his hips rocking slow and steady, each pump done with purpose and undeserved skill.

What amazed you every time was how this...freak was such a natural. God, but he was a nice freak, wasn't he? He was tender. Tender as he kissed your collarbone, tender as he caressed your thigh. Tender as his big, owl eyes flicked up to meet yours with infatuation you couldn't avoid.

These knots, these words, they made you face your worst fear: intimacy. To be unguarded, bare, at his mercy. It embarrassed you. It turned you on.

"You're twitching," he mumbles, driving into you with a particularly deep thrust, just to keep your attention. "I've noticed that- you twitch when I look at you." He sits up on his elbows and brings his lips to yours, tongue lashing against tongue, eyes never closing. As soon as he pulls back, he's on you again, sucking at your neck. "Twitch for me more..."

You shudder, your own hips lurching to be joined with his. What was he doing to you?

"What is it like, to be so submissive?"

Finally, something you can respond to. "You tell me," you huff.

He nips your shoulder. "You're the only person I've felt any sort of submission toward."

Well, shit. You weren't expecting him to admit it.

"I'm new, to submitting." He begins to grow in speed, sliding in and out with ease only granted by the slick of your cunt.

"Perhaps, at another time, you can teach me how to do it properly. You're good at it."

"Why not now," you manage to stammer out, filth strewn between the words in the form of ugly whines and needy pants.

"You seem -haah- busy." He lifts your leg, tossing it over his shoulder to reach a new angle.

"Oh, L..."

"Would you like that? I'd allow you. To tie me up next time, I mean. "

"Fuck!"

His nose settles against your temple so his mouth can rest against your ear. "You're beautiful when you let me appreciate you...however, I'm biased because... to me, you're beautiful all of the time."

"Oh...God...so-" you buckle beneath him, back arching- "Cheesy!!!"

He smiles, sniffing in almost-laugter. You couldn't help but get the last word in.

He keeps going, in and out, over and over, tip slamming against your cervix, guiding you through your climax. He only stops when your thrashing ends, and your howling subsides. An absolute animal, every time you came. He loved that about you. He loved to see you undone beneath him, heaving.

He wasn't done.

He slips out, and trails his lips down your chest.

"L..." you sigh.

"Would you like me to untie you?" He keeps moving down, over your belly, never once looking away from your sweet face.

"What are you doing," you mumble, avoiding his question.

He pets down your thigh. "I could leave you like this," he murmurs. He would avoid your question, too.

"That what you get off on? Leaving me high and dry?"

He kisses your clit as if it were your mouth, slow and wet and hungry. "You know what I get off on by now," he sighs, mouth pressed against you.

Your hips jerk. You want to put your hand in his hair, hold him down, but with your hands occupied, you have to sit still and watch. You have to trust.

"You're the only thing I've eaten without sugar," he hums, licking at your entrance. He could taste himself there. He's tasted it before, out of curiosity. It wasn't entirely unpleasant, but he didn't know how you managed to swallow it down like it was ambrosia. Tea was much nicer.

Still, he slips his tongue inside of you, tasting, feeling, exploring it's second home.

"Mn...L...oh..."

He doesn't spend long inside of you, he'd much rather focus on the pulsing, aching clit that begged to be teased. He would devote himself to pleasing you, devote himself to making you crave him as much as he craved you.

"Shit...!"

His hands hold your hips, keeping you pressed to the mattress. "I wouldn't leave you..." he concludes, muffled by your folds. "Not if the world was ending around us."

"Shut up!"

He does, for a moment, just to swirl and flick, suck and lap. You struggle against your binds, he almost worries you'll break free, until another cry of passion leaves you, and the worst of your writhing ends.

Fluid floods from you, and he does his best to drink it up. This was worth swallowing. This was nicer than tea.

He inches back up, satisfied to see the dazed glimmer in your eyes. When he leans in to kiss you, he finds no resistance. "Are you alright?"

"Mhm...did you even cum?"

He kisses your jaw. "I'd like the opportunity to, if that's what you'd like as well."

"That's embarrassing."

"If I were your client, it would be. But I'm your..." lover. How badly he wants to call you his lover. "Friend."

You smile, and tilt your head up to look at the black silk.

"Ready to untie me?"

"Yes...May I flip you over?"

You laugh. "Whatever."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What time was it?

You needed water.

Your head felt all tingly.

Your legs too.

Did you pee after? You should have. You probably did.

What time was it?

"L...?"

He's pressed to your back, calves first.

You twist to face him. He's sound asleep. Best not to wake him, he barely sleeps as it is.

You shift. You can feel every muscle as it's being used. He has to slow down with the new positions, you need a break...

Slowly, you stand, and stumble around to find your clothes.

It doesn't take long, you're almost out the door.

You pause for a moment.

He usually wakes up by now. "Goodbye, (Y/n). I love you."

He must've really tired himself out.

"Bye, L."

You make your way out, and just as you realize L needs to make the call for Watari to drive you, the man of the hour shows up at the entrance of the hotel.

"Oh, hey Watari. It's late, are you always up like this?"

"Hello, Miss (Y/n). I've been preparing for your leave in advance, lately."

"Thanks...what time is it?"

"3:32."

"Wow, yeah, it is late...y'know, I could drive myself to these...meetings. I don't like inconveniencing you."

"L prefers I take you. Your safety is a top priority of his."

You give a polite smile, tight-lipped. It's always awkward to talk to Watari, you've never really had a true conversation with him.

"...you must be sick of seeing me," you titter, heading for the door. He takes the lead, a few steps ahead of you. You swear you can see a small smile beneath that broom mustache.

"You bring L great happiness. He hasn't been happy in quite some time."

Great. No pressure.

You're silent for the drive home, besides a nervous thank you at the end. You open your mailbox, flip through the items you never checked yesterday.

Magazines, junk mail, ads for hedge-trimming...

You stop. Dad's handwriting.

You can feel the blood leave your face. You're slow as you slice the letter open with your nail, as you unfold the parchment, as you read through your father's stilted and impersonal syntax.

oh.

Mom's dead.

[thescarletnargacuga]

Maybe a showtime fic where Caine is constantly trying to either propose or confess to Pomni and he is failing miserably each time he tries….things eventually work out in the end…

A/N:awwwwww! Poor Caine lol

WILL YOU MA-

A SHOWTIME ONESHOT

WARNING: none!

~

Caine hovered out of bounds focusing hard on his clasped hands. He wanted to make sure he fabricated it right, it needed to be flawless. His tongue poked out the side as he concentrated. After a few seconds, he opened his hands. A rose gold ring with a single diamond cut ruby rests in his palm. His fist pumped. "Yes!! It came out perfect this time!"

He grinned as he looked over his craftsmanship. This had been his fifteenth attempt at making the ring the way he knew Pomni would like. Simple and symbolic. Like her.

He flicked the ring into the air and snapped. A ring box appeared mid air and caught the ring. "Now, to ask her the million dollar question!" It's only after he says it out loud that it hits him. He was really doing this. He was asking Pomni to marry him. To vow to be his partner forever. He couldn't just ask. No, No, No. It needed to be SPECTACLE! She deserved nothing less, in his mind.

This would require a bit more work. He immediately went to the drawing board for a personalized adventure. He could make it amazing, yet still be sneaky about it, as they did this all the time. He quickly collected the data he needed and zipped away to the circus, where the humans waited for their daily adventure.

~

"Good luck, my wandering warthogs! Enjoy your adventure!" He sent the group off with a wave. Pomni stood behind him.

"So, this is unexpected. You usually tell me a day in advance when you want to go on a private adventure." She rocked on her feet, her hands behind her back.

"I'm feeling spontaneous today!" He snapped and another portal appeared.

Pomni smirked. "That's dangerous."

Caine gave her a winking smile. "Only enough to make things interesting. After you."

Pomni went through the portal to find herself on a quiet grassy hill. A picnic blanket laid on the apex with a bucket of ice and champagne. The night sky shines above with realistic stars, a faded milky way covering from horizon to horizon. Shooting stars occasionally flew by before disappearing into the darkness of space.

"Wow..." She slowly spun as she looked up at the gorgeous sky. "This is unusually calm for you." She arches a brow at Caine as the portal vanished. "You feeling alright?"

"I'm doing fantastic! I just- I wanted to do something a bit more... intentionally romantic. I have a very special surprise for you." The ring box was burning a metaphorical hole in his pocket. His code started to buzz with nerves, but this was no time for stage fright, it was showtime.

They sat close together on the blanket. He kept glancing at her, wanting to see her reaction for what was next. Fireworks rocketed into the sky, exploding into shapes and colors of all kinds.

"OOO!" Pomni smiled broadly and leaned against Caine's shoulder as she enjoyed the show.

Caine put his arm around her, holding her close. This was going much smoother than he had anticipated. He could do this. He could absolutely do this. He reached into his pocket and snuck the box out. It was almost time. He was certain he was going to explode or turn to dust from the amount of nervous buzzing he felt inside. His hand trembled and he tightened his grip on the box.

The fireworks made sparkling letters appear in the sky.

🎆LRWM REU IYAYL OM?🎇

Caine's jaw dropped. "What!? That's not what I-" He stopped himself, the surprise wasn't entirely ruined. He could save this.

Pomni looked at Caine. "What's wrong? What was that?"

"Uh! Nothing! Just some weird words, obviously! Nothing strange about it!" He was sweating. "Let me just, uh-" He fumbles the box. It comes open and the ring falls out, rolling and bouncing down the hill. "CHEESE AND CRACKERS!!" He takes off after it.

"Wha- Caine!?" Pomni stood, watching Caine fly down the hill face first after a small shiny object.

The ring bounced out of every attempt Caine made to grab it like it was avoiding him on purpose. It went into a lake at the bottom of the hill, Caine dove in without hesitation. The ring was swallowed by a large fish. Caine grabbed it by the tail and the fish thrashed him around, trying to get him to let go.

"NOOO! YOU CAN'T HAVE THAT!!" Caine flies straight up, taking the fish with him. He breaches the surface and shakes the fish upside down. "Drop it, you aquatic fiend!!" Eventually, the ring falls from the fish. He drops the fish and quickly catches the ring before it goes back in the water.

He heaves the biggest sigh of relief. "Let's get you back-" The box wasn't in his waterlogged pocket. He left it at the top of the hill. "Oh no! She'll see it! She'll know!!"

"Who'll know what, chief?" Bubble floated to him from the other side of the lake where the fireworks had been launched from.

"You!" Caine pointed an accusing finger. "What was that with the fireworks!? You didn't set them off in the right order!!"

".... Pyrotechnics are hard to handle when you don't have hands." A snide smile on Bubble's face.

"This is why I have to do everything myself..." Caine groaned and popped Bubble. "The ONE time I want to focus all my energy on her and not the world and everything goes bananas." He teleported himself back to Pomni, the water left behind.

Pomni dropped the little ring box in surprise when Caine reappeared. "Oh! There you are. You okay? You took off in a bit of a hurry."

"Yeah..." He clutched the ring in his fist. "I'm fine, there's just been something on my mind lately." He came down to the ground on one knee. "Pomni...you are the most wonderful person I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. I brought you here because I wanted to ask you..." He took a steadying breath, Pomni's undivided attention never felt so intimidating. "Will you ma-"

"Hey, Boss! I got the next round of fireworks ready! Do you want me to set them off now?" Bubble appeared next to the couple, grinning.

"BE GONE, PARASITE!!" Caine jabbed his finger at Bubble again, popping the knowing nuisance.

Pomni gasped. "Caine...that was harsh."

He groaned and facepalmed. "This was supposed to be perfect." Everything was ruined; the mood, the setting, his plan. "I'm sorry, Pomni. You deserve so much better than this."

Pomni gave a sympathetic smile and held Caine's closed hand. "You're right. I do want more than I'm getting right now..."

Caine internally cringed. He knew it. He messed it up too much. He may as well throw himself into the void right now.

"Caine, will you marry me?"

His eyes bugged out. "Pomni!? You- but I was- I tried- you want to?"

She gently opened his hand, revealing the ring. "Yes, very much so. I'm already happy to be with you, and I would love nothing more to spend the rest of my life calling you mine. So Caine, would you do me the honor of being my husband?"

Caine couldn't help but get emotional. He struggled to form coherent worlds as he was choked up on joy. "Yes, oh yes, Pomni! Nothing would make me happier! Please, allow me..." He slid the ring on Pomni's finger.

Pomni admired the ring for a brief moment before she threw herself happily at Caine, tackling him to the ground and attacking him with kisses.

[voidandabyssal]

Okay, hoping this is allowed. In regards to Below the Ice, how do you think some of the other Sans' would react to Reader in the same situation? Say Red, Blue, Axe, or Dior? You don't have to answer for all of these if you don't feel like it!

Of course this is allowed! Such a good idea. Hopefully I read this right lol

Red:

Reds more aggressive than Sans. He's not an Orca Siren but a Bull shark Siren. Not exactly known for being cold and calculating. There's definitely more murder attempts, Red is also far more successful at killing off Readers co-workers. This is probably set off the coast of coast of mexico, lots of bull sharks and bull shark sirens congregate there.

He's also more openly flirty though, he's more aware of his feelings to reader than Sans is and he's not shy about checking you out ;)))

Initially, he thinks your just like the other scientists. Dumb, easily manipulatable and an easy meal. You quickly prove him wrong when you successfully manage to trap him under some falling rocks.

Boy does Red love a strong and smart partner. Something about being capable enough to take down an apex predator like him just does it for him.

The two of you get closer once he's under captivity, which is in this au, not for evil science purposes but more so for everyone's (including reds, safety). Once you're on more equal power dynamics you find him to be quite funny and charming when he needs to be.

He's pretty touchy as well, not to the point of it being uncomfortable. He just likes play fighting with you, or just holding onto you.

Blue:

He's a Dolphin Siren! you initially meet him when your scuba diving taking coral samples. He's friendly and inquisitive and all too helpful. Your other colleagues are jealous he approached you this time. Similar to Red, this doesn't take place in the arctic but instead somewhere off the coast of Australia, maybe the Great Barrier Reef.

Yeah, he's definitely known around the area for how kind he is. Tons of youtube videos have gone viral featuring him helping fishermen, scuba divers and even lost swimmers.

ngl, this is probably the best start to your relationship compared to any of the other boys

He often swims circles around you, trying to draw you from your work to play with him, solve puzzles and even tries to get you to meet his brother. Sometimes you relent, sometimes you don't, though you do build a strong friendship.

You fall first but he falls harder.

It just hits him one day. You and him are out swimming, you collecting important marine data and him following you around with a strange stirring in his soul that he can't quite place.

When he sees you helping a small fish out of a plastic bottle. That's when it hits him. He loves you. You're perfect

Axe:

hhrrrrrrgggg pretty human,,,,,,

eyes wide, jaw dropped, STARING,,,,

you first meet when you're out late night fishing. You had been warned of a Giant Pacific Octopus Siren that had recently started inhabiting the area but what did they know??? Certainly not more than you! You'd been fishing round these parts since you were a baby!

"....HOLY SHIT!" is what you screech out, dropping your fishing rod when you see Axe's bright red eye-light looking up from the murky deep.

Yeah you turn right back around and don't come back. Much to Axe's disappointment. Luckily for him, and unluckily for you, he has very long, very powerful tentacles that he uses to pull you into the water with him.

He doesn't drag you under of course, he's smart enough to figure out that you really don't like that.

He's already designated you his mate. Sorry, pal, you're just going to have to make do with the giant octopus Siren cuddling up to you now.

He does let you go eventually, though you do have to repeatedly promise him that you'll come back.

And you do, afraid that he'll come chase you down. Eventually it does come to be a mutually loving relationship, it just takes a little time.

Dior (lusttale Sans):

This time you're the one approaching him. You're a famous wildlife photographer and you have been craving that perfect, career making picture; and you know who you have to photograph.

Dior, a famous lionfish Siren, known for his striking beauty and his charming friendliness to everyone. He proves to be rather elusive. Hard to find, rarely ever in one spot as he's surrounded by many Siren admirers. But you're determined!

finally, after days of bashing up against sharp corals in your search, you find him! Dozing off on a large rock formation. You're steadying yourself for the perfect picture when you notice a much larger Siren sneaking up on Dior, teeth bared and claws sharpened.

"Look out!" You say, or at least try to say through all the bubbles. Dior does manage to wake up though, and quickly pokes the attacker with one of his many poisonous spines.

He thanks you, deciding to pose for you in thanks for you saving him.

When you leave, he assumes you'll never come back. He's too used to people leaving once they've gotten what they want out of him.

He's pleasantly surprised when you come back, without the camera, just wanting to know more about the beautiful but distant Siren.

He doesn't mean to fall as fast and as hard as he does, but being around someone so genuine is such a nice shock to his system he just can't help but fall for your smile.

[lexosaurus]

Hello! Very random and no worries if that's not your intention for the blog, but I love reading about your teacher experience and insights! Take this ask more so as encouragement to write more about it if you feel like it, because I'm going to start teaching soon (and yes, many people I've met have warned me about both its miracles and horrors lol) and it's really helpful to hear others' experiences :)

Thanks for the ask! Honestly I'm just a first year, so I don't have a tonnnn of advice to give. But here's a few general first year tips from one to a future another:

1 — No matter what, having a good department team is ESSENTIAL. You're going to be relying on them a lot your first year for help, advice, curriculum stuff, behavioral management stuff, etc. Talk to them, get to know them, have lunch with them, share issues/seek advice from them. You're going to encounter situations that your degree did not prepare you for (likely, in the first week lol. For me, it was Day 1) and having people around to help you judgement free is going to be crucial. I was super lucky that my department team and all the teachers from other departments that I work closely with are really amazing, easy to work with, etc.

2 — You're also going to want a good relationship with the "other" departments. The library staff, tech staff, sped department, guidance, janitors, etc. They're all lovely people, so don't be afraid to pop in to introduce yourself on the first week!

3 — Crazy things are going to happen. Like....all the time. Don't bring them home with you. As soon as you exit the doors, shake it off. All your students made it on the bus to their parents alive, so it's fine. Your job is done for the day. I've been going to the gym a lot right from school, and it's been really helpful to prevent myself from taking anything home with me so to speak.

4 — Document, document, document. Did something happen? Document it, email a copy to whoever's applicable: admin, guidance, sped, BCBA, etc. "Hello, just emailing a summary of what happened today" is not an uncommon email for me to send out. If an IEP isn't working, well at the next IEP meeting it shows they have 10 emails in the last month from you about little Timmy's hourly verbal threats and attempted physical violence to his classmates, so maybe the BCBA needs to do some data collection to adjust his BIP, or they need to give him a 1-1, or give him more resource intervention, etc.

5 — This isn't so much of advice, more like reassurance. The small moments when it clicks for a student and they get something, and then the confidence and excitement shows, it's really the best. That's probably why I've fallen so in love with working where I did. The other day, after weeks of struggling to help this student with Downs with his math, I tried a totally different approach based off a few example problems I saw in a math intervention workbook and hOLY HELL IT WORKED. It totally clicked for him, and the kid was so excited to do a problem out on the board for the class. It was amazing. Another student with an LD who I've been helping heavily school aced a quiz in one of her classes and legit ran into the room to show me. Cue me literally jumping out of my chair to high-five her, and her calling her parents to deliver the good news. Like, little things like that are really really special, and they're going to mean so much to you. And I hope you get to experience LOTS of them too!

[owlyteas]

Alright guys this is gonna be a big chunky update on the Digimon fan game stuff

First up: Title screen! I swear I'll make it prettier later it just needs to function right now. Got saving and loading working, and yeah I couldn't think of any better name than "Digimon Quest" so I guess that's what the game's called now

After showing off the Data Bank and Clothing Shop last time I got a couple other important NPCs with jobs.

Cerberumon runs the Item Bank where you can put inventory items into storage. I might add a way to add more storage but right now it's 100 extra slots which seems like a lot but I always hate it when a game is really stingy on item storage so I might have gone a bit overboard lol

Ganemon runs the Bit Bank which is pretty simple. You can store and withdraw your Bits. That's it.

Bulkmon runs the Training Gym and will exchange a Digimon's Training Points (or TP) for a chance to increase their stats. There's three different difficulties for each stat to train (Attack, Defense, Max HP, and Max SP), with higher difficulties giving bigger stat boosts but are harder to succeed at. As mentioned before if you've played Digimon World 3 it's a lot like the Training Gym there, except you can refund your TP to lose any stat bonuses you've gotten but will get all your TP back to try again. Digimon get 1 TP each time they level up and the higher difficulties require more TP per attempt (1, 5, and 10 respectively). Your Digimon gets three attempts to succeed at the training with a bonus fourth attempt if they succeed all three attempts. Even if they fail an attempt, they'll still get a little stat boost, just not nearly as much as succeeding.

I don't need to show every single training type but just to show a couple examples here's the lowest difficulty for Attack.

...And the highest difficulty for Defense. We chose violence today.

HATCHING! This is the best part right getting more Digimon to use. You need to get a DigiEgg, which is a rare drop from enemies or can sometimes be found in the overworld or as quest rewards, plus a shop where you can buy some eggs, though I haven't decided if it uses Bits or maybe data yet. Each egg requires a certain type and amount of data, and once you have enough all you gotta do is put it into the incubator and hatch your new friend. :D

In this example a BlackAgumon DigiEgg needs Dragon, Devil, and Fire data to hatch.

Digimon also now have a bond level that can be increased by doing things like leveling them up or giving them treats they like. I haven't put in any benefits for a high bond level yet but I've got some ideas. Max bond level is 500.

And since I've got Digivolving working, I added a tab to the Digimon menu to view all of their possible evolutions.

If you want to view more info on an evo and their evos you can just click on the information button. You can also set a default Champion, Ultimate, and Mega level Digimon that will be more easily accessible on the sidebar or from a button press so you don't have to navigate through menus every time you wanna Digivolve.

Unfortunately Ultimates (and Megas) probably won't be available right away since I've got enough artwork to get through with just Rookies and Champions to worry about. The framework is in though.

Quests are implemented! I've still got a couple things to mess around with to make sure I can do different types of quests but yeah. Your quest item inventory doesn't run out of room and doesn't take up your main inventory so you can collect as many quests as you want and you'll always be able to get the right items. The quests here are just a bunch of test quests obviously.

Also got a couple things pertaining to enemies/combat. There's now buffs and debuffs that some attacks can have a chance to apply, like Agumon's Pepper Breath has a chance of applying a Burn. I've got a few debuff/buff types right now and I can always put more types in if I feel like it's needed for some type of attack.

The debuffs are: Burn (damage over time), Poison (damage over time plus lowered attack & defense), Leech (steals health from the target), Drain (steals SP from the target), Glitch (prevents use of Special Attacks), Weaken (lowers attack), Enfeeble (lowers defense), Stun (prevents movement), and Paralysis (lowers movement speed).

The buffs are: Heal (heals health), Restore (restores SP), Strengthen (raises attack), Bolster (raises defense), Shield (prevents damage), Counter (attacks enemy when attacked), and Speedup (raises movement speed).

If you don't remember all of those you can see what buff/debuff your partner or your enemies have by hovering over them so a little tooltip pops up. You can also see the duration for each buff/debuff.

I can't tell if we're screwed or not.

I also put in a small feature where you can click on an enemy to focus on them and keep their healthbar at the top of the screen. It won't make attacks automatically aim at them or anything but it's nice to see all the info of whatever enemy you want to focus on.

Aaaand I've got a storage system working for extra Digimon you don't want in your party. You can freely swap between party and storage and organize them however you want. I don't have a hard number on how many pages of storage you would get but I'll decide that soon, right now it's only 4 pages. You can probably unlock more somehow. Clicking on a Digimon will also bring up a little info window that doesn't have as much info as the Digimon Menu but it's info you might want to see at a glance for your Digimon in storage.

Oh and I either totally spaced on this last time or hadn't implemented it yet, but I've put in items that can be equipped to your Digimon. Each Digimon can only hold one of each type of item but there's two slots to use. I've only put in items that can give you a close-range attack (gloves) and a long-range shooting attack (wand) but there'll probably be all sorts of items that won't necessarily give you another type of attack but will do something else when equipped. Both of these items give you a Neutral element attack but other types of gloves and wands can give you elemental attacks.

OKAY I think that's everything whew. The next things I'm going to work on is a framework for achievements and maybe something along the line of Tamer perks that you can use to get upgrades or bonus stuff as you level up. I don't know if I'll be fully implementing them but I at least want to get the framework ready for whenever I do put them in.

And then after that it's time to knuckle down and DRAW DRAW DRAW and start building the actual game wow exciting!! I'll keep showing progress on sprites once I get back to them. :D

[arbitrarity]

this is all beautiful

it also reminds me of two times I dressed up for Halloween in spaces where it wasn't expected. and got lovely responses

the first was while I was working in the back-of-house for a Chinese food restaurant in a little town. I adore Halloween and dressing up and being a little silly, so I decided to dig around in my parents' costume trunk and dress up as a cowboy for work. Nothing major: some cowboy boots and hat, a bandana around my neck, and a holster with little plastic guns. and the family who ran the restaurant were thrilled! owner's wife and mother and brother all thought it was so so fun that I was in costume - they were so surprised, and giggled and wanted pictures and got me to pose with the niece (younger than me; couldn't care less, lol). they were delighted and that delighted me

I was just getting out of a really rough emotional time when I worked there. I was often quiet - I didn't speak Cantonese and their collective level of English was limited (I was hired mainly to answer the phone tbh). but the family was always so kind to me. and those moments when I let myself be silly and go all-in were some of my absolute favourites: dressing up and seeing their joy at my costume, attempting a dance they taught me over hotpot to celebrate New Years, trying to use a little handful of Cantonese words despite my pronunciation always making them laugh (though not as much as at my first attempt, which was in Mandarin 😅).

the second Halloween outfit was last year. I'm a grad student and was in a small class doing research on linguistic change, which focused on celebrities' speech so we could get a lot of data. we had a presentation due on Halloween and my prof suggested that we should each dress up as the celebrity we were studying. I did: I went as Catherine O'Hara and did my full presentation in costume. apparently no one else had remembered/taken seriously this somewhat-off-hand comment. but my professor was so enthused! she kept suggesting that we take photos and send them to Catherine O'Hara herself! she dubbed me the 'mascot' of our collective project and said if we ever present at conferences we should totally all dress up. it was so silly and fun, even when I was the only one in costume haha

so I'm not a cosplayer (though i'd like to try my hand at it), but I can attest that dressing up sure is fun. and other people can be more kind than you might expect when you stand out!

something ive noticed after being a hobby cosplayer for years is that in a lot of places the general consensus seems to be that wearing costumes in public is weird and/or socially unacceptable, but whenever I'm in costume in public while on the train to the con venue or having a photoshoot on location or something, people by and large fucking love my costume. they think it's so cool. kids think my costume rocks. their parents are impressed that I made it myself. random grandmas tell me my armor kicks ass. I was at a japanese garden once and barely got around to doing the photoshoot me and my homies came there to do because swathes of visitors who had never heard the word cosplay before were lining up to take a picture with me.

it's the same thing with adjacent hobbies like larp or reenactment or fursuiting, the general image of the hobby is that you're weird nerds (and probably also sex perverts) for playing dressup despite not being a child but when you're actually in costume the response from random normies is categorically positive. I inevitably get weird looks from the kind of people who think having a tattoo is an affront to god but they give me that look for just existing with blue hair and pronouns too and the people who actually talk to me always do because they wanted to tell me they love my costume. and the response that always gets me the most is when they say it looks fun but they would never dare to do the same. it's such a shame. why did wearing a silly little costume have to become an act of bravery.

[sav-official]

ABOUT SINS AND VIRTUES [our killer object show] BUT EXPLAINED LIKE A QNA

[ORIGINALLY TYPED BY AFLIE, EDITED AND REPOSTED BY US!!]

"CAN WE GET THE BREAKDOWN OF WHAT 'SINS AND VITRUES' IS?":

Sins And Virtues [SAV] is a project Alfie made [in attempt to help him get over his personal experiences with object shows] that he has given full ownership to Spade, with Spard [confusing, we know lol XD] as a co-host. So far, there are no episodes in the works, as animating and the writing process takes MUCH MUCH time, and we're very busy in our own personal lives and projects, but we do hope to work on some stuff soon!!

"WHAT IS 'SINS AND VIRTUES' ABOUT?":

Sins And Virtues [SAV] is partially inspired by the Roblox game, Pressure. A bunch of criminals are sent to a facility where they must collect data on the creatures kept within. If all data is received and collected, the criminals may be released back into the public as changed people. If the data fails to be fully acquired, they will die within the facility.

"WHERE CAN YOU GET MORE INFORMATION ABOUT EACH INDIVIDUAL CHARACTER IN SAV?":

[N/A, CURRENTLY NOT IN SERVICE AT THIS TIME]

"WHO WILL BE RUNNING THE OFFICIAL SAV TUMBLR BLOG?":

OUR GOOD FRIENDS @aliencart AND @spare-me-the-spades

"WHAT CHARACTERS ARE CURRENTLY MADE READY FOR SAV?":

Here are their current [design] references!

(Ginny; fem, Lassie; fem, Stacey; fem, Gacey; masc, Casey; andro/enby)

(Colton; masc, Mash; masc, Washy; fem)

"CAN WE INTERACT WITH THEM INDIVIDUALLY?":

Yes, of course!!! Talk to them, they'll respond with their best responses!!.. well.. SOME of them.. [COUGH Mash >:[ COUGH COUGH]

"WILL THERE BE ANY CONTENT SURROUNDING SAV?":

Don't doubt it!! It could be in the form of doodles, meme redraws, angst, fluff, WHATEVER WE FEEL LIKE DRAWIN'!! ^^

"WILL THERE BE LITERATURE WRITTEN ABT SAV?":

Correctomundo!! Chapter one has been written, but will not be posted as of currently due to some setbacks, but once we get our paws on it, we will happily release it [AND MORE] to your eyes!!

IF YOU HAVE ANYMORE QUESTIONS, FEEL FREE TO ASK US OR THE CREW!!!🐾🐾

[whosesideareyouon]

The Science Of Valuing Your League Of Legends Account

League of Legends or merely LoL is actually a well-liked online multiplayer video game that has taken the gaming neighborhood by storm. The game possesses millions of energetic gamers worldwide, and if you are playing this game for an although, normally, you will certainly possess grown affixed to your profile. In time, you will have possibly committed a bunch of time, cash and effort into your account to unlock products, characters, skins, as well as other in-game benefits. Yet did you recognize that your LoL profile could possess considerable value in the electronic planet? Yes, you read that right! Within this post, our experts will certainly discover the factors that specify the value of a League of Legends account.

Position as well as Profiling:

Some of the primary elements that identify the worth of a LoL profile is the rank of the player. The video game has a ranking unit based upon the player's efficiency and the triumphes they obtain. A higher rank shows that the gamer is competent and also skilled, and therefore, their profile stores more value. An additional vital factor to consider in profiling pertains to the players' characters, skins, and in-game items. Collectible skins and characters can significantly influence buy lol skin account worth.

Video game Background and also data:

Yet another important think about finding out the market value of a LoL profile is the activity background of the player. A gamer who has certainly not lost lots of activities, has more victories to their label, and greater Kill-Death-Assists (KDA) ratings, are going to likely have actually a greater valued profile. Activity past history, statistics, and also performance can easily show the player's ability as well as commitment in the direction of the game.

Player's Image and Recognition:

Like in genuine life, online reputation management matters a lot in the electronic planet. The exact same administers to LoL. An expert gamer who has actually gained attraction across streaming media sites including Twitch, YouTube, and also Instagram, will likely have a higher valued profile. Attraction and image attract better deals, sponsors, and also greater scenery, which translate into an important profile.

In-Game Products:

In-game products, skins, and also characters keep a ton of worth, especially if they are rare, difficult to get, as well as in higher need. For that reason, accounts that have bought or even unlocked highly popular skins, characters as well as things, have more market value on the market.

Time and Effort:

Effort and time bought the video game must additionally be considered when buy LOL skin account. accounts that have actually been active for years as well as have high statistics indicate that the player has been actually betting a longer duration versus a profile that has been made recently. A player that has spent time, loan, attempt, as well as emotion in to their account are going to normally value their profile much more.

Verdict:

The worth of a LoL account is actually calculated by a combo of variables that are specific to the private player and also their in-game task. Aspects such as ranks, game past, products, skins, personalities, credibility, and also attempt, time and attraction spent all participate in a crucial task in identifying the market value of an LoL account. While thinking about marketing your LoL account, it is actually crucial to think about these elements and job along with a well-known and also respectable buyer to secure the greatest feasible deal.

[autolenaphilia]

Okay, here is a perfect example of the debating tactic known as JAQing off, where instead of making a series of assertions and statements, you frame them as leading and accusatory questions. It's very condescending and annoying to read, as it seems to presume the reader is dumb enough to fall for this technique. It's rude.

Especially as some some of this are accusations against me "Why are you not mentioning", "Why didn't you mention", "Why are these not defended and explained:"

Just say what you mean! It's actually less rude than making these clearly leading and accusatory questions against me. Just saying that I'm ignoring the privacy issues with the Firefox browser would have been far less rude than this insulting rigmarole.

Also adding "if I get a response saying they're not reading all this I will laugh." in the tags. Again, more smug condescension. Also tl:dr would be a valid response to this barrage of leading questions, it's practically a gish gallop. Again, actually saying what you mean instead of making a series of leading questions would have come across less aggressive, and easier to read and respond to. You are not Socrates.

Anyway, to answer the questions that actually refer towards me and this post, I never said Mozilla is perfect and exempt from criticism, I just wrote i wish what people knew what Mozilla actually is before they criticized it. It's not an all-in-one refutation of all criticisms of Mozilla. I didn't even bring up the question of privacy. This is therefore mostly unrelated to my actual post, and should have been its own post.

I won't answer all of these questions, they are so leading in nature that its pointless. The answer is already in the question for most of them. You might say that this invalidates my entire response, but that's a classic JAQ-off/gish gallop tactic. I'm actually being very nice here and not blocking you immediately, because coming onto my blog with a series of passive aggressive leading questions that are only barely related to what my post is about expecting answers is very rude, and I would be justified in blocking you immediately.

Some of these issues are conspiratorial claims, like the one about the IRS audit, where a lack of concrete basis for the accusation implied is disguised through the JAQing off. Some of these are "telemetry is evil!"

And some of them are valid criticisms. There are reasons to be worried about how Google funds Mozilla, and the data Mozilla collects. I find it annoying that Google is the default search engine in every install of Firefox and I have to change it. I don't view the issues as bad enough to switch from Firefox, mainly because I'm not against telemetry in itself, but I respect those who do.

The reality of these issues lead to the creation of Librewolf, a fork of Firefox meant to preserve privacy. It's a non commercial open-source community run project, and I respect what they are doing.

Since you constantly evade making clear statements via JAQing off, I got curious to see what your alternative to Firefox is, and checked your blog, and it's fucking Vivaldi. It's a closed-source proprietary freeware browser run by a commercial company based on chromium. Just lol. "if you are not paying for it, it means you are not the customer, you are the product being sold" fully applies to Vivialdi, since it's a commercial company and it needs to make money.

I can respect someone who switches to Librewolf because of their valid concerns with Mozilla's privacy policy, not someone who switches to a commercial proprietary browser. If you are going to use chromium, at least have the decency to use ungoogled-chromium. I'm not going to be condescended to by a JAQ-off using vivaldi.

It's funny how clearly uninformed a lot of criticism of Mozilla and its browser Firefox is. Like people say "it's just another corporation, out to make profit, just like Google." And that ordinary users promoting Firefox are just giving them free advertising.

It's in basically any post criticizing Mozilla, including on this site. Like using tumblr search I quickly found a post that was largely positive, but argued that Mozilla operates "under capitalist incentives" And outside tumblr I found a blog post out on the interwebs that criticized Mozilla and outright wondered "I don't know if Mozilla's business model ever made sense, it makes a lot more sense if it's something closer to a nonprofit rather than a commercial entity."

Well, let's research the Mozilla Corporation, see what that business model actually is. Let's begin that research by going to the wikipedia article, and read the two introductory paragraphs. And it turns out that it's "a wholly owned subsidiary of the Mozilla Foundation", which is a non-profit.

"The Mozilla Foundation will ultimately control the activities of the Mozilla Corporation and will retain its 100 percent ownership of the new subsidiary. Any profits made by the Mozilla Corporation will be invested back into the Mozilla project. There will be no shareholders, no stock options will be issued and no dividends will be paid. The Mozilla Corporation will not be floating on the stock market and it will be impossible for any company to take over or buy a stake in the subsidiary."

Turns out that it is not just "closer to a non-profit", it is literally a non-profit. Turns out you only needed two paragraphs on wikipedia to learn that, the most basic online research possible, which basically every post I found criticizing Mozilla failed to do.

This is entirely different from any other entity calling itself corporation, which is all about creating profit or money for its shareholders, the "capitalist incentives" spoken about earlier.

If you read further into that article, you will learn that the Mozilla corporation literally only exists separate from the foundation for tax and legal purposes, but it's still a non-profit operation.

This makes it reasonably immune from the enshittification process I've written about before. there is no incentive to fuck over the experience for end users for the sake of shareholder profits, like what tumblr is doing right now.

It means that Firefox is an exemption to the rule that "if something is free, you are the product", because there is no product to produce profits for shareholders, it's a charitable endeavour for a free and open internet, as laid out in the Mozilla manifesto.

This doesn't mean non-profits make corruption impossible, there is plenty of corruption in non-profit foundations. But unlike actual capitalist corporations, it doesn't have the greed and corruption built in. And if you are going to criticize Mozilla and Firefox, which it does sometimes deserve, you should have your basic facts straight before doing so, if you expect me to take you seriously.

[ahsoka-its-all-of-us]

Okay so since I am suddenly working more than full time because the conservatoire is pretty much on fire atm I did not have the opportunity to watch The Bad Batch episode 14 until just now (and I won’t be able to watch Mando until Friday probably, so I might stay off the internet for a bit rip (I mean. Not that I have time to be on the internet anyway lol))

But as usual, I’m gonna yell into the void about it, even if it’s gonna be less wild since I didn’t document it live (had to multitask with having dinner in the meantime rip)

And boy do I have a lot to yell about

I SCREECHED when I saw Howzer. My beloved, my angel ;-;

ECHO IS BACK AND I LOVE HIM SO MUCH

This is where Echo is supposed to be. Rescuing his brothers. This is everything I could have ever wanted

Ofc I am craning my neck to see if Rex is there too, and I am only mildly disappointed that he isn’t. But with Echo saying that him and Rex are building a network… is Rex maybe the communicator? A clone agent? Is Rex the original clone Fulcrum, and did Ahsoka get the idea from him?

Okay this may be my growing-up-in-a-country-with-a-collective-WW2-German-occupation-trauma talking, but why are all newly introduced Imperials kinda Aryan lately? I know Imperial xenophobia is a thing, but are they also gonna be racist like that?

CHUCHI IS INVOLVED WITH THE CLONE RESCUE MISSIONS I LOVE THAT

God she’s such a queen. I always thought she would join the Rebellion, and I love that I’m proven right. Also such a huge point to the Foxiyo shippers lol

Not me scrutinising the clone prisoners to see if Cody is there. Not sure if I should be disappointed or glad that he isn’t

Crosshair protecting the Batch Crosshair protecting the Batch CROSSHAIR PROTECTING THE BATCH

Okay ngl seeing Echo fight the good fight makes me more at peace with the rest of Batch settling down. Love how Wrecker just fits right in, he’s such a sweetheart 🥹

I am living for the amount of screen time Gonky gets in this season. Favourite character right there

Echo contacting Tech to get the data decrypted, love that ;-; And Hunter really doesn’t get what Echo’s doing, which is nice to see pointed out. Some fights you don’t fight to win; you just fight because you have no other choice, because not fighting simply isn’t an option

Them finding out about Crosshair’s defection and attempt to warn them 😭 At least whatever might happen to Crosshair, they know now

Okay fr this was an AMAZING episode and the only way it could have been better is if it would have had Rex smooching Ahsoka

Or a young Imperial Agent Kallus, whom I am still irrationally hoping to show up because the parallels with Crosshair are just too obvious

[earthstellar]

oh god I’ve been so so busy lately, I promise I have some long posts in the works to post soon because I will never run out of Transformers analyses lmaooo 

in the meantime, here’s me testing out more design apps on my phone lol but of course I had a whole idea about this so here you go y’all:  

I like to think that early in Megatron’s efforts to organise his fellow workers and encourage those around him to explore subjects and areas that were believed to be off limits or impossible for them, he likely tried to set up small events for his fellow miners and any other industrial workers on site 

and because this is early days Megatron lol, 99% of these sort of fell flat, others weren’t quite as willing to listen to him yet, he wasn’t making these grand speeches after gladiatorial victories etc. 

so I imagine him creating like a handful of basic posters for events, which at the time, almost nobody attends 

but then once he DOES get popular, and that popularity starts to build and gain real traction and people start to read his work and actually engage with what he’s trying to achieve 

suddenly these little events with the university student style after class club sort of vibe start getting more attendees and bots from other nearby worksites start showing up 

and eventually, as one of the first major Decepticon events, it’s not a protest or a street rally or anything like that 

but it’s one of Megatron’s very first ideas, a literary event designed for lower class/lower caste bots who would never otherwise have the opportunity or support or encouragement to write or attempt to express themselves in a more public way 

and so once he gets enough social capital that he can get more help sorting out his literary festival, and once Kaon essentially becomes Decepticon territory with increasingly little outside influence from Iacon / the Council as they start to lose control of the lower classes, 

finally, in that sweet brief timeframe after his rise to cultural power but before his ideals became derailed and he lost his way, 

he got his dream: 

a simple concept, the very first literary event on Cybertron purely for lower class/caste bots of all designations or industries, is arranged at a larger scale than he ever imagined possible 

the poster is the same basic one he created in five minutes on a datapad given to him by Terminus so long ago 

and instead of a handful of flyers stuck on ragged mine walls, where they inevitably got ripped down or fell anyway as the wall behind it was drilled through or shaken apart during a day’s work 

suddenly every street in Kaon is covered in posters and banners encouraging writing submissions from anyone and everyone, no cost, no fee, no requirements other than wanting to speak on the common struggle 

and every worker’s canteen is hosting small stages for local poets or performers to test out their writing or material and tables are being set up down the pavement to provide free zines 

pamphlets in multiple forms of Cybertronian alongside literacy software patches are distributed, to increase the accessibility and understanding of words and expression to as many bots as possible 

books are being printed in the millions to distribute across Kaon and beyond, the words of the workers will reach the hands of anyone and everyone, even through the sheer force of volume, the amount of people speaking up for the very first time has fostered the hope and desire to change conditions for the better and let all of Cybertron know:

that in every worker, in every living bot, in every single spark, there is a collection of experiences and feelings and memories and thoughts that are deserving of expression

and they will be listened to en masse, because you cannot ignore the entire industrial region of your planet purposefully grinding to a halt in order to perform poetry, ash and dirt covered servos gripping cracked data pads and with a shaking vocaliser, they speak the truth one after another 

and suddenly those shaking vocalisers are no longer shaking as their words are met by the cheers of thousands 

no longer afraid of the heavy hand of the Council, the festival goes on interrupted, the other city-state polities of Cybertron watching underground broadcasts on secure channels across the planet

and it is the first indicator, the first time the rest of the planet truly understands the scale and nature of class struggle on Cybertron 

the Council frantically tries to shut these broadcasts down, but fails, as the communications infrastructure was almost entirely manufactured in Kaon or Tarn, and as a result, the workers are able to use their superior knowledge of these systems and equipment to thwart any censorship efforts 

all at once, the working classes achieve even greater solidarity, there is a near-tangible hope for the future, growing belief that the Council can be overthrown and the people can build a better society, a better world, where nobody lives three million years to die in a collapsed adit without ever having seen Cybertron’s moons as they rise along the curvature of the planetary atmosphere

all at once, Cybertron as a whole begins to listen, even if purely out of shock, to the voices of the oppressed many-- and sympathisers begin to reconsider a great many things, questions are finally starting to be asked by those who may have greater ability to affect or influence more direct change in other polities or regions or branches of Consular government

all at once, Megatron sees his ideals coming to fruition 

and without any knowledge of what the future holds 

he finishes his speech, to overwhelming applause 

and looking to where Terminus should be seated 

where he would be seated if the world had been kind 

the glory of the festival is inevitably still tainted by a sense of pervasive bitterness and loss 

and while he remains present, engaged in the words of his people, the new collective class, the “Decepticons” 

he hopes, silently to himself, that Terminus would be proud, that Terminus would approve, that he is doing right in spearheading what has potential to become real, tangible change for the better 

and he watches the next bot take the stage, a small electrical substation worker who has written a piece on “shared electricity”, the connection between Cybertronians and the electrical impulses that keep their planet thriving, how they are one, how every alloy of a bot’s frame was forged from raw elements and materials and how life is inseparable, it is universal, we are all Of Primus 

and it is wonderful, evocative, creative, a work of art 

all the things the Council has said they cannot be and cannot do 

and with that heavy burning sensation in his spark 

he, and thousands of others, rise to applaud the author, to applaud creation and expression as acts of direct defiance, as acts of compassion for one another, as actions being taken to create a better Cybertron, finally, the crowd itself embodies a wave of revolutionary thought and progress 

and pushing his better judgement aside, sitting down as the next speaker approaches, he decides not to investigate that pang of heaviness behind his chestplate 

where it will fester for centuries, where it will corrupt and distort the beauty of his ideals 

instead, out of fear that this will somehow instantly fade, fear that the Council will find him again underground in the night and he will awaken to the sensation of thin metal dragging softly against his helm as Terminus coughs and sputters behind him and fear becomes overwhelming, doubt becomes pervasive

it is not a battle that starts the path to eventual despotism 

but rather 

it is at the first literary festival of Kaon

that fear becomes fuelled into furious righteousness

as he comes to understand that hope is a fragile thing 

and if Terminus were here 

he would explore, he would ask, he would risk feeling 

but Terminus is not here 

and for now 

Cybertron is still unkind 

and his people are still vulnerable 

and every night is still uncertain 

and he would do anything 

anything 

for nobody to feel the fear and loss

that he feels 

ever again

and it is not hatred 

or rage 

but fear 

which brings Megatron to rise

and to close the festival 

he recites from Towards Peace 

and the applause is so great that it vibrates his massive frame 

as it shakes loose the last of his self-imposed restrictions

as his thoughts are drowned out 

by cheers and shouts calling for the change that must now happen

before it is all taken away 

it is in this moment 

not in a gladiatorial competition or a battle field 

where even though he speaks of a better future

his spark is frozen in time

long ago, back in the mine

where all he can think of 

over the raucous noise

is how Terminus should be here 

and isn’t. 

[dahniwitchoflight]

Oh Shit Classpect in the year of our lord 2021

Don’t know why, suddenly got a surge of inspiration to finally do the thing I’ve been claiming I want to do all these years

finally update and refresh all my decades old classpect posts (oh god its been literally a decade for the oldest ones hnnnng)

not at all finished yet, itll be a lot, but hey here’s a sneak peak preview

let me know how you���re feeling about it anyone who still cares lol

Witches are at their core rebellious individuals. They push against and change things related to their Aspect, seemingly able to warp their Aspect’s rules and inherent base nature. They have a tendency towards being reactionary or contrarian for its own sake when pushed. They struggle with the conundrum of knowing if they’ve changed something for the better or for the worse, or if their changes were even wanted or necessary. 

Heirs are at their core flexible individuals. They tend to naturally gravitate towards or yield to their Aspect’s basic nature and rules, adapting or bending where necessary in order to find their comfortable fit within it. No matter how much they have to bend over backwards in order to make themselves fit. Because of this, they struggle to know when to assert themselves, push their boundaries, or in knowing how to leave their comfort zones. 

Mages are at their core experienced individuals. They wholeheartedly delve into understanding their Aspect’s basic rules and they uniquely experience their Aspect’s inherent nature in personal and esoteric ways. They struggle to convey their internal understanding to other people, in translating or articulating their internal, esoteric and unique experiences into ideas that others will understand, and in turn struggle to understand others' perspectives and knowledge of their Aspect in turn. 

Seers are at their core curious individuals. They observe and wonder and scrutinize their Aspect’s basic rules and inherent nature, trying to come to a coherent and articulate understanding of what their Aspect is and does. They struggle to know, to understand, to learn, sifting through gathered data and scrutinizing everything they can, and in the end, they struggle with judging whether the information they have is ultimately correct, or if it is lacking or false in some way. 

Princes are at their core adamant individuals. They hold fast to their own perceptions of their Aspect’s ironclad rules and inherent nature as an overpowering destructive force. As a result, they’re occasionally prone to smothering the unfavorable parts of their own Aspect in an attempt to gain control over it, to the point of outwardly appearing to be misaligned with it. This causes them to struggle with preventing their Aspect’s self-destruction, or their own self-destruction, because of it.

Bards are at their core erratic individuals. They seem to ignore or veer away from their Aspect’s rules or inherent nature at first, interacting with their Aspect loosely at best. But in reality they can have major sudden shifts or a crisis in perspective and suddenly turn into major forces of their Aspect on a dime. This means they struggle to find a healthy balance within their Aspects, when they always seem to be flipping between 0 and 100 with no in-between. 

Maids are at their core experimental individuals. They see their Aspects' rules and basic nature as somewhat limiting, or outdated and stale, viewing it as an inescapable constant that initially surrounds them. They see in their Aspect’s untapped, unused or wasted potential that could be brought to the surface, but isn’t. They struggle to create a unique and fresh identity for themselves by creating or transforming themselves through their Aspect. 

Sylphs are at their core steadfast individuals. They want to conform to their Aspect’s rules and align themselves with its inherent nature, seeing it as a goal to work towards or an objective to succeed in. They unerringly work towards and encourage the growth of their Aspect in themselves and others. They struggle to reconcile their identity with that of their Aspect’s and struggle to recognize if they are truly aligned with their Aspect as well. 

Thieves are at their core territorial individuals. They view their Aspect’s rules and inherent nature as something that intrinsically belongs to them in some way, or as something that they deserve to have or that they have rightfully earned. This causes them to feel like they have to constantly prove to others their claim over it, but also as a result of this way of thinking, it causes them to struggle to understand that they’re not the only ones who deserve their Aspect as well. 

Rogues are at their core accommodating individuals. They view their Aspect’s rules and base nature as something greatly desirable, but they hold themselves back if someone else expresses a desire for it instead. They convince themselves that the other person deserves it more than they do or that they’ll just be rejected for it. This causes them to deflect, hiding their true feelings, and as a result, they struggle with being able to honestly express their desires to others. 

Knights are at their core self-reliant individuals. They view their Aspect’s rules and inherent nature as a skill to be honed to perfection, intensely motivated by an insecurity of somehow “failing” at their Aspect in some way. Though this is often expertly hidden behind a shield of an outwardly portrayed confidence and expertise with their Aspect. Because of this, they struggle to let down their guard and be open, and honestly admit when they cannot do something and need help. 

Pages are at their core uncertain individuals. They view their Aspect’s rules and inherent nature as some sort of test that they are constantly failing to measure up to. They feel like they aren’t reaching the potential that they should have, but they struggle to understand any consistent way they can improve, regardless of how true that is. They struggle to accurately assess themselves as a result, and come to be too reliant on external evaluation, for better or worse.

* NEW *

Lords are at their cores controlling individuals. They measure the ultimate worth of their Aspect’s rules and inherent nature against their own strict personal standards, passing judgement using their own self as the ultimate standard of quality. Because of this, they consider their own desires and intentions paramount above all others, rejecting all external influences except those they have already approved, and believing that everything and everyone else ultimately pales in comparison or importance to their personal quest for self-fulfillment.

Muses are at their cores inspiring individuals. They accept that the ultimate judgement of their Aspect’s rules and inherent nature comes not from themselves, but from the collective consensus of everyone around them, and so greatly value that feedback. Because of this they understand innately that they have a responsibility to defend and preserve the existence of the choices and desires of everyone around them. Always conscious of how they must delicately balance between that preservation, and their ability to influence others for their own and everyone else’s sake as well.

[britishassistant]

From one gut punch to another, but fluff edition: I think Divus hates when Yuu gets sick. Being a test tube baby, Yuu must have missed out on the natural immunities given by typical pregnancy. So when they were really young they would get ill very fast and very terrible. You can’t tell me that first time parents Roger and Anita wouldn’t panic when faced with the dreaded stomach bug. And who else to watch the pup when they run out for supplies then their “Uncle Crew”. At first, Crewel would consider it an triumph that Yuu could get sick since most of his creations have natural immunity, but that immediately changed and suddenly he was panicking too after Yuu had a pretty nasty burst of coughing. After all Yuu is the first creation that he’s ever made that was meant to be fragile, he’s not exactly equipped with how to deal with that. Nowadays Yuu mostly just suffers in silence, but if Crewel happens to hear that a certain reporter is under the weather, The Perfect will mostly likely stumble back into their apartment to find a care package from him with all their childhood treatments and the decent medicine.

@coffee-or-hot-cocoa said: hahaha how about yuu getting sick with a cold, lol the city must be the verge on a civil war with all the villains arguing who takes care of yuu, no crimes where committed but breaking and entering and the occasional medicine theft, they could've had kidnapped a doctor, but nothing says "look i'm husband material" by treating them to get better by helping them themselves. I keep imagining riddle with trey bringing some soup but then being shoved to the side from jade and floyd, with them bringing blankets and medicine, only to be beaten by the savana trio, by them taking a nap with yuu.

Thank you for the ask, dear anon and @coffee-or-hot-cocoa !

And oh. Oh. That makes so much sense and makes me so soft, I declare it canon.

Because Yuu’s lacking in these natural defenses, they tend to be someone who goes all out when they get sick. By which I mean they’re never someone who can have ‘just a light cold’, because their body just goes to the greatest extreme, from 0 to 100 in a matter of hours. They get awful fevers, migraines that leave them hardly able to think, body-wracking coughs, upset stomachs that mean they’re unable to even keep water down, sore throats which quickly devolve into tonsillitis, and that’s if they’re lucky and their symptoms are mild.

And they’ll still try to go to work in this state, because they’re a dumb workaholic.

Yuuken is in charge of turning them around, sitting them back in the car, and driving them home to rest.

It was particularly scary for Anita and Roger when Yuu was small, because chicken pox hit them like a freight train when it went through their class at school, leaving them ill enough for two weeks that they were contemplating taking Yuu to the emergency room so they could at least get the fluids they were losing via IV drip.

Crewel found it fascinating at first, as all of his creations have natural immunity built into them, so nothing can stop them when they rampage. Seeing one of them laid low by a mere disease, it’s a new experience that needs to be documented to its fullest extent to gather valuable data.

Of course it stops being so ‘fascinating’ once it becomes clear how much #Y26 is suffering, how much longer they’ve been bedridden when compared to normal rates of recuperation in children their age, long enough that the idea of them just not recovering at all becomes a viable option.

That’s when Crewel stops collecting data and starts working on a way to cure Yuu or alleviate the worst of their symptoms.

It’s also why he gets so pissy when he finds out what the supervillains are doing while Yuu’s sick. What don’t those numbskull puppies understand about avoiding stressing out the patient and the dangers of weakened immune systems?! Do they want the reporter to stay ill for longer under their antics?? It’s not like they’ll even be able to remember any of the ‘caretaking’ that they’re hoping will earn them brownie points, given how out of it Yuu always ends up!

He usually descends like a fashionable yet wrathful god, chasing the unruly puppies out of the reporter’s apartment with a rolled up newspaper before they can make the situation worse. The best thing they can do is leave their offerings of soup and medicine for Crewel’s perusal and back off quickly. Attempting to force their way in or sneak Yuu out is a fast way to incur Crewel’s cold fury. The Diasomnia, Octavinelle and Savannaclaw supervillain groups learned that the hard way.

Yuuken quickly won Crewel’s favor when they first met by staying as far away as he could when Yuu came down with flu while they roomed together, and doing exactly what Crewel advised him to after he had to leave Yuu in Yuuken’s care overnight, asking sensible questions when unclear about his directives. That at least showed Crewel that Yuuken was willing to do what was necessary to return Yuu to health rather than fulfill a certain ideal of caretaking that’s ultimately more self-serving than actually helpful.

Yuu wakes up a few days later with a can of tuna perched on their chest, grumbling about the remnants of a headache and wondering how much they’re going to need to play nursemaid after Uncle Divvy got done with their supervillain admirers this time.