#I bet I know the results beforehand

[punksocks]

Astrology Observation: No.24 (18+ Only)

No minors! Adults only pls

Just based on my opinions only take what resonates

-Water moons/mars are the most likely to just say they love you during s*x (they may mean it too !); Can happen to fire moon/mars too but they may not mean it after the moment; Earth Moon/Mars will not be saying anything without planning well in advance (Earth moon AND Mars, you will not catch them slip lmao); I’d assume Air Moon/Mars would be the most likely to tease the other person(s) and say just about anything but I love you

-Venus aspects to Mars/ Taurus/Libra mars/ Venus and/or Mars in 2nd could really enjoy dressing up in lingerie and setting up a s*xy atmosphere in general (and your partner would enjoy this too !)

-1st/2nd /7th/8th house Venus, Scorpio Venus, Venus conjunct Pluto/ sometimes 12th house venus you may get compliments on your genitals from people during s*x (like told you have a pretty p*ssy lol yea fr)

-1st /8th house mars, Aries mars, Scorpio mars/Mars conjunct Pluto/sometimes 12th house mars would also be this for those in their masc energy (instead of pretty someone might admire the aggressive look of your junk instead)

-Imo the easiest sexual partners to discuss boundaries and such with will be partners that have easy (conjunct/trine/Sextile) mars aspects to your Mercury and/or moon

-I know we’d assume that mars in 8th is the most s*xual but I’d argue that mars in 12th is also super s*xual. Intimacy tends to be heavy on the mind, and there’s a higher chance of mirroring s*xual energy back to others. Especially if the native acts out of their masc/mars energy

-i’d think Aries, Leo, and Scorpio mars would be the most into their partner being SO attracted to them they can’t keep their hands off of them and/or finish too fast (least likely with Scorpio unless you’re just really over stimulating them, most likely with Aries- the most veracious Aries mars go rounds imo)

-I’d argue and assume that air mars/3rd house mars are spacing out the hardest during s*x, and I bet it’s not on purpose (just bouncing between thoughts and coming back to what’s going on)(also if you keep their attention, you’re doing something right)

-Water mars could mean you sleep around for emotional validation (…Imma say it… cancer mars has the strongest chances lol)

-I think your Venus and mars together can show if you’re more of a sub or dom imo (like if they’re both cardinal you’re probably a dom, if they’re mutable then you may be a switch/sub, and if they’re fixed I’d think you’d be hard set on being a sub or dom — and then results may vary depending on the combination of signs and how much of your feminine or masculine energy you act out of.)

-I think Scorpio Venus/Mars makes someone more dominant in s*x than Aries mars/Venus imo (they’re not here to win, they’re here to posses you- that’s so intense man)

-Understated praise kink placements? Virgo moon/mars. They need to hear praises for how well they did or they’re gonna overthink it. Libra/Taurus mars also would like this. And Venus square/opposition Mars would too in a tell me how much you want me sort of way (it makes them feel really desired)

-Tumblr ruined me bc now every time I look up a dudes birth chart and see Sagittarius mars/Jupiter positively aspecting mars I’m like damn, do they just have bde or actually have a big d*ck and I feel bad for guessing lmao but now it’s so automatic

-Strong Lilith placements (1st/7th/8th/10th) can show guys pressuring you to perform their like shadow side fantasies (which is not cool, because where’s the consent? We always need to discuss things beforehand and map out a plan otherwise it’s skeezy behavior -unless you’re into being surprised but even then lol)

-Gemini placements (the big 6, but especially mars) make you louder in bed. And more open to trying new things and switching up positions.

-5th house synastry is really s*xy and fun. Some of the best dates and relationships imo. It also allows you to open up and experiment in a way you never have before. Can keep a long term relationship exciting as well depending on the overall synastry. (Be careful bc this is the pregnancy overlay too oml)

-I think north node in 5th can (depending on the sign and aspects ofc) can point to indulging in the senses, partying, breakin hearts and hookin up a bunch— especially if you’re unbalanced/still learning to balance this with your south node energy

-(in sing songy voice) Scorpio synastry is someone telling you s*x with you makes them f*cking crazy (No they are not kidding ! Lilith synastry is this on steroids but it feels more like you’re lighting this fire in the more masc person - and they’re afraid of burning imo (I’m not singing any more lol)

-I hold to the fact that Lilith in 1st/7th/8th/10th can make someone jump into bed with you way faster than they usually would even if they have like an earth or water mars, if you have Lilith synastry with them this is amplified

-Masc folks/Men with Taurus and/or Cancer in their big 6 (especially mars/venus) are very attracted to women/femmes that are curvy and have an hourglass figure. Aries placements tend to be attracted to athletic figures. Leo placements are likely to jump at figures they find attention grabbing. Libra/Scorpio placement men are more likely to be attracted to figures that they’re socialized to find s*xy. I find that Sagittarius/Pisces is the least likely to have a set type. Aquarius and Gemini are also pretty dependent on personality and conversation skills.

[kylermalloy]

This has probably already been said, but I have to talk about the courtroom scene and why it was a fantastic introduction to not only Levi, but Erwin too—and their relationship.

So we first meet Levi in the heat of battle. We see very quickly the type of fighter he is—confident, but not overly so. He has a strong command of himself and the people under him. He’s The Guy.

Then Erwin shows up and announces they’re pulling back—Levi immediately argues this. We might assume Levi is being set up as the guy who ~doesn’t do well with authority.~ You know the type. He does his own thing. Doesn’t play well with others. Chafes under orders. He’s too big and too important for all of that!

This impression continues when Eren meets Levi and Erwin in the dungeon. Levi is rude and mouthy, and Erwin’s chastisements do little to curb this. Levi’s confidence and skill give him authority issues…right?

So then we move to the courtroom scene, Eren’s trial. Erwin says beforehand that he has a plan, but we’re told nothing more. We see him propose to the court that Eren be given to the Scouts, and he says nothing more.

Levi is the one to scathingly go after the MPs during the debate, pointing out the flaws in their plan and how likely it is that they’re trying to save their own skin. First time viewers might assume that, again, while Erwin is a charismatic leader, he doesn’t go far enough. Levi is the one to say the quiet part out loud, to go to the places Erwin’s too ~respectable~ to go.

Then things start to go sideways. The court’s favor seems to be turning against Eren and the Scouts, fear and paranoia winning out. Eren is getting desperate.

Enter Levi.

And we get this glorious scene. Levi convinces the court that Eren is harmless to the likes of someone like him. Their best bet is to do what Erwin asked and give Eren to the Scouts. Please.

(Notice how Erwin is not shocked, nor does he try to stop Levi.)

Now again, to a first time viewer, this scene feeds into our preconceived notion of Levi. He’s the guy who isn’t deterred by silly things like rank or authority. He saw that things weren’t going Erwin’s way, so he took matters into his own hands. Maybe Erwin will be mad about this later, but Levi will shrug and roll his eyes and say “but I got results, didn’t I?” and Erwin will have no argument for that.

…Right?

Cut to the next scene, after the court has granted the Scouts custody of Eren—and Erwin’s like, “sooo…sorry about that. We had to make it look good.”

This whole thing was planned by Erwin.

The scene was more or less staged by the Scouts. Erwin wanted to present himself as the calm, collected leader with clean hands. And Levi was the one to do the dirty work, be the brutalizer—even though it was all on Erwin’s orders.

He’ll play that role. He’ll be the rogue, the rough one, the problem child, because his personality fits so well into that niche anyway. But he does it because Erwin wanted him to. If Erwin had wanted him to stand nice and quiet the entire time during the trial, if that’s what needed to be done, Levi would’ve done that instead. He’s not looking to get results; he trusts Erwin’s methods and does what he’s told.

And in this case, he was told to beat up this helpless brat. Gladly.

(How much do you want to bet one of the MPs said to Erwin after, “you need to keep your dog under control.” I would simply implode.)

Like, if this display will land anyone in trouble, it wouldn’t be Erwin—it would be Levi. Levi’s the one who got violent and mouthy during a military trial. He broke rank. He attacked the defendant. Erwin isn’t, ostensibly, responsible for this at all. Levi willingly put himself in that position because he trusted Erwin.

And so everything we thought we knew about Levi is turned on its head! Eren even says so in the next episode—he expresses surprise that Levi’s so diligent about following orders.

Eren, silly boy, assumes that being skilled means you don’t have to take orders from anyone. But Levi does. It’s his whole character. (Notice how, despite him ending up being the oldest member of the Scouts, he’s never in line for Commander? He’s the hands, not the head.)

And this whole thing provides so much insight into Erwin’s character as well! Pyxis says at the beginning of the episode that Erwin is very straight-laced. Well, by the end of the episode, we can see that’s…not quite true.

Erwin is conniving, willing to play dirty, do whatever it takes, to get things to go his way. All while keeping his own hands clean, maintaining the image of the honorable Commander. He simply uses the tools at his disposal (Levi) to do the dirty bits for him.

It’s a fantastic introduction to the Scouts, their leader, and his right hand (or is it the left hand that does the dirty work?)

[pixiecactus]

one of the headcanons/aus i'm really fond of is, lyanna survives jon's birth (we are going to ignore how all of westeros handles that change and it's repercussions, because certainly it would be a butterfly effect and this just a self-indulgent not serious at all post) and let's imagine the fact that she had a child out of wedlock and the shame westeros society would put upon her for this is ignored, or most importantly ned stark, lord of winterfell and warden of the north decides to completely ignore it and lyanna is living in winterfell of her own free will with her son, i hope this helps to set the scene. i'm not going to talk about jon finally having a mother figure and a loving one at that, i'm deeply sorry. but i will tell you that i definitely see catelyn and lyanna butting heads in this one, catelyn would not be pleased with having an unmarried and dishonored lady and her bastard son around her highborn family.

but this post is about my girl, arya. this little girl would benefit so much of having a northern woman around her. in canon it's baffling how much southern education is prioritized in the stark household over a northern one.

arya is failing at septa mordane's teaching all the same in this universe, she confides in jon, because you bet they are just as close in this au as in canon and this ends up with jon making a off-hand comment to his mother.

so lyanna decides to take action, she starts to attend the girls lessons wanting to know why arya, who reminds her of her very own childhood, is failing at them (i just want (1) one adult to actually take the time and pay attention to arya and figure out that she's left-handed, thank you very much!)

this post is getting to long when what i only wanted was to write a few lines, so let me get some plotpoints going:

i believe lyanna would talk with the septa about arya's preferred hand, look i'm a self-proclaimed septa mordane hater so you get where this is going, but the septa refuses to listen. no, i don't think she would get fired over this, maybe if i was her employer, well hell yes. but i don't see eddard and/or catelyn making this type of decision over this issue. so lyanna takes it in her own hands to teach her embroidery (i will make a reader's choice if lyanna knows how to embroider or not beforehand)

but the image of lyanna trying her hardest to make sure arya is able to succeed at this task in late nights sessions, because there's not really a reasonable time slot left in arya's itinerary, with jon at her side willing to learn too, because honestly who cares if a bastard boy is learning embroidery with his mother and cousin, who cares if that's a designated "lady activity", he just wants to see his mother and arya smile, it warms my heart.

i want this conversation to happen in this au too:

“A wolf with a fish in its mouth?” It made her laugh. “That would look silly. Besides, if a girl can’t fight, why should she have a coat of arms?” Jon shrugged. “Girls get the arms but not the swords. Bastards get the swords but not the arms. I did not make the rules, little sister.”

and you know what is the result of that conversation in jon's mind: the need to give "needle" to arya. of course in this context, it will not be a parting gift, so i think it could be meant as a nameday present. maybe when arya had reached twelve namedays.

i'm finally getting to the part i wanted to write initially:

i'd love to see both arya and lyanna's personalities shinning through, in lyanna teaching arya how to use needle. from the bits and pieces we have in the books, we can assumed lyanna was passionated about sword fighting and she loved the activity as well. arya is overly joyous in being able to learn something that was deemed "only for boys" too, after all, she considers that having activities designated to do by gender is pretty stupid!

[dreadark]

compilation of some comments in official RI medical records

That's a sure sign of a diva who hasn't seen much of the real world, if you ask me. She needs a lesson in the grim reality of war and just how hard the Infected have it. Skyfire should be given more hands-on combat missions to knock some sense into her. —Medic Operator Gavial A reminder, Gavial, that all physical examinations are public record. —Dr. Kal'tsit

Well, look what we have here! Your body's pretty well built! —Gavial, admiring Eunectes

The physical exam went smoothly, but her heartbeat was abnormally fast and that confounded the data. —Gavial, clueless about Tomimi

That gal wakes up before daylight and starts training every day without exception... How can she not be in good shape? Argh, I wanna arm wrestle with her... If I get to fight her, that's even better! —Gavial, appreciating Akafuyu

If Weedy can still get infected despite all these protective measures, then life on Terra can no longer persist. —Gavial

Having that said, what are we even doing for her? Is she going to live here? Are you crazy? —Gavial, opposed to Leizi

Minor infection, nothing to be concerned about! I know my own body the best, of course. Rhodes Island's course of treatment has been effective in controlling and stabilizing the disease. However, physical performance has been affected considerably, down peak levels. Guess it's time to do some rehab... —Gavial, definitely not downplaying her own condition

Even among Vouivre, this girl has one of the most incredible bodies I've ever seen. I'm somewhat curious to see if she even can contract Oripathy at all, if her body can just tough it out... But whatever, that's probably not happening. Test it out? No, that's not an option. —Warfarin, about Bagpipe

We finally got one! An infected Vouivre! —Warfarin, about Toddifons

I was wondering what's the big deal when they told me Lungmen confiscated Ch'en's physical report. Turns out it was no big deal at all. Lame. —Warfarin, finding out Ch’en is infected

Everyday contact with Infected won't lead to Oripathy transmission, that's common sense; a majority of people don't believe this, which is also common sense. —Warfarin, in Honeyberry’s profile

What do I say? She doesn't really hide it, and she went so far beforehand as to tell me that her body probably isn't like the layman's, so I'm not overly surprised by this? Although if I could just have a little discussion with her, get her to undergo regular inspections in my office, let me draw a little blood, that's all. It wouldn't impact her in any real way. —Warfarin, wanting to experiment on Kjera Ask her yourself. —Kal'tsit

Nian insisted on entering Rhodes Island as a visitor and refused to undergo medical tests. After a series of gambling bets, dice-rolling, wrestling, and other competitions, the gathering of physiological data was finally put on indefinite hiatus. 'It's a darn shame that Gavial lost the last rock-climbing competition! We were so close to forcing her to get a medical examination. I never expected that Gavial would contribute to the medical department in such an important manner. Do your best, Gavial! There's always next year!' —Hibiscus, Medic Operator

What? She actually took a physical? Wow, she's so easy? I figured anyone Nian would haul in would be pretty much like her. Guess we're not gonna need Gavial's help this time, let her gear up for round two with Nian. Nian's idea for how to run the tests at the normal operator level had the examiner thinking of calling for a medic to shut the whole thing down. And Nian sure looked pleased with herself. She knew exactly how that would go down. But Dusk is really out of shape. Whatever, she's not taking a salary, so it's none of my business... Oh, the results match everything in the files we got. She has 'no connection' to Originium whatsoever. Not allocating any additional funds. If you're already struggling, you could always consider NOT starting a research project on some weirdo shut-in? —Closure

Miss Ling agreed to be medically tested, which we didn't anticipate. We thought she'd dodge us as hard as Nian did. She did show a sort of... laissez-faire attitude during the tests, though, so the results were all over the map. Not rigorous at all... but Miss Closure says not to mind it, so we suppose we won't. 'It's probably all the wine she drank,' was her explanation. —Medic Operator Hibiscus

Saria was my coworker at Rhine Lab. She is authoritative in the field of medical treatment, but did not become a Medic Operator. My guess is this is due to her lack of bedside manner. Just kidding. —Medic Operator Ptilopsis

Blaze, the next time you don't bring protective gear on the mission, I will have Dr. Kal'tsit forbid you from consuming alcoholic beverages. —Y.P., Medic Operator

Grani is in such good shape, even if infection was chasing her, it wouldn't be able to catch up... —A Medic Operator

Don't worry, Ms. Swire, Rhodes Island's hospital fees are quite reasonable. You only have to pay... —S.S.E., Medic Operator Any unfair charges to patients will have appropriate consequences. —Dr. Kal'tsit

Hey, this young lady can jump between buildings and punch through a wall with her bare fists. Makes sense she's in good shape, eh? —Aak, about Waai Fu

How great it is to be young. —Unnamed senior physician, envying Sideroca

Abdominal area feels pretty good on palpation. —Medic's addendum, after feeling up Ayerscarpe

Can she really do field work dressed like that? —Medical Department anonymous remark, judging Iris

In every way a person can be, he is very unsafe. —Sussurro, remarking on Tequila

That scent, it's so good... So refreshing... Ah, ah... Achoo! —A medic operator with a pollen allergy encountering Podenco

I hope we don't get too many more difficult patients like her... —A comment on Bubble’s profile

Shut-ins are bound to have a decent health advantage. —Tuye, relating to Indigo

Not good enough. I can still do better. —Folinic, about her own Oripathy

What? This is impossibly low! It would be impossible to have that little exposure to Originium! I cannot permit her to ever leave the medical department. Even if she wants to go fight, I insist she stays back! She is a special case! Anyone who loves medical science would want to see her! We must give her more exams and do a clinical analysis! Also... Come on, Dr. Kal'tsit, just this once, please! —J.A., Medic Operator, bewildered by Skadi Request denied. —Dr. Kal'tsit

Bonus:

Ahem. Everyone here? It's clear why the medical staff has assembled for this closed-door meeting... Yes, of course. You're all interested in Skadi, aren't you? Whether you are interested in her endocrine system, her skeletal system, her muscles, her nerves, or the fact that her Blood Originium-Crystal Density is almost zero... What kind of environment could foster that? What race is she? Her movement and physical functions are currently beyond our understanding, so how do they work? Right, right... Skadi has been kept a secret for too long! On behalf of Rhodes Island, all Infected people, and on behalf of science itself, we need to find answers! My plan is to put sedatives in her food... We'll work out the specific dosage, but enough for two hundred people should do, right? Then, when Skadi gets woozy, she will be taken to the nearest infirmary... And we've got her! Dissecting her would be a bit too much, but we only need a little more information to add to what Dr. Kal'tsit already has... That's it! Even if it's just a blood sample! A little bit of blood is no problem... Maybe a pinch of muscle tissue too? I think that won't be an issue, either! Everyone, don't you think...

Oh.

Dr. Kal'tsit? How long have you been here...?

—Dr. Kal'tsit discovered Warfarin's plan during her secret meeting, and fined her one month's salary.

[pencil-peach]

GWitch Onscreen Text: Episode 8

Part 9 in my ongoing attempt to transcribe all the written text in G Witch, cause I'm just that cool ! We're currently on Episode 8: "Their Choice."

<<Click here to return to episode 8!

Let us begin!

Not text, but in the opening scene, Lilique is told by Aliya that she'll "have trouble with men" in the near future during their divination session. This is foretelling how Renee will destroy her MS in the Grassley duel because she rejected John Van Simmon's lunch invitation.

TEXT: GUND-ARM Inc.

During Miorine's impromptu enlisting of Earth House to help run GUND-ARM, we see the spray painted sign that Miorine and Suletta made beforehand leaning outside the door. Given that they definitely didn't make the sign at Earth House, I like to imagine that they made the sign, and Miorine was like:

"This is the worst. Suletta, help me carry this sign to Earth House."

S: "W-why, Miorine-san?"

M: "They're going to be working at the company so I'll just have them make a better sign."

S: "Oh, did you ask them?"

M: "Not yet."

S: ????????????????????????????

TEXT DUEL BETTING ODDS TYPE OF BETTING: SINGLE RANK | ID. No | NAME | ODDS

| KP003 | SHADDIQ ZENELLI | 1.3

| LP041 | SULETTA MERCURY | 1.9

| KP002 | ELAN CERES | 2.7

| KP001 | GUEL JETURK | 3.4

| KP014 | SABINA FARDIN | 6.9

| LP029 | OLTA SHUBACCA | 7.6

| KP013 | LAUDA NEILL | 9.1

| LP022 | JONAS MOUWEN | 9.8

| MP028 | RAGNAR OOLES | 11.4

| LP013 | RENEE COSTA | 13.3

During this scene where Martin and Ojelo are talking, we get a look into the betting program he and Nuno are always using, and we get to see the top 10 ranked duelists at Asticassia at the time of this episode.

Of special note: Shaddiq is currently at rank 1, and due to the gray up arrow next to his rank, we can see this is a recent change in his rank. But considering that he doesn't duel very often, (at this point he currently has 7 wins and 0 losses) we can probably assume this is because Suletta has knocked both Guel and Elan from the top spots, leaving him alone at the top. His Odds are at 1.3

Suletta is currently at Rank 2, and we can also see by the gray arrow that this is a recent promotion. She probably rose up after defeating Elan. Her odds are 1.9.

Elan is Rank 3, and the red down arrow means he's recently been demoted, presumably after losing to Suletta. His odds are 2.7

Guel, surprisingly, is still rank 4 with a 3.4. Because he's the only pilot at the school to have won a double digit number of duels, his Win - Loss ratio is still presumably one of the best, even with 2 official losses.

Sabina is rank 5, with a 6.9. She's not only the second highest ranked pilot in Grassley House, but is the 4th best among all the other members of the main 3 houses. Even at that, her rank is 6.9, 3.5 points below Guel's. It really goes to show the gulf between the best pilots and the VERY best pilots at Asticassia.

Lauda is rank 7, with a 9.1. Still top 10, but he's eclipsed by Guel even at his lowest. It's nice to see proof pre-Schwarzette that Lauda can hold his own, and it gives more context to his statement that "[With a Gundam's power], he's a match for his brother." He's probably never beaten Guel in a duel, and with the difference in their results, he's probably never come close, either. On some level, he probably resents him for that.

Renee is rank 10, with odds of 13.3. We don't learn much about Renee, but we know now that she's the 3rd highest ranked pilot within Grassley, underneath Sabina and Shaddiq, but the gulf is large.

I don't think there's any way in hell to figure out how the odds are calculated, (I've tried.) but we know that the lower the odds, the higher your rank.

Because the names are color coded, we can actually see how many members of each house are in the top ten. Grassley - Shaddiq, Sabina, Renee (3/10) - 30% Peil - Elan (1/10) - 10% Jeturk - Guel, Lauda, Ragnar (3/10) - 30% Earth - Suletta (1/10) - 10% Unknown House - Olta, Jonas (2/10) - 20% (These two names are color coded the same, so I'll assume they're in the same house, as 'unhoused' students have the standard blue color coding : e.g Miorine)

Okay, we're ALMOST done here, but, because Ojelo often says the odds of a duel out loud during it, we can actually track the odds of Guel, Elan, and Suletta up to this point. (Ojelo always says the odds in terms of Person he's betting on's odds - Opponent's odds.)

Guel: Episode 3 Odds: 1 Episode 5 Odds: 1.4 Episode 8 Odds: 3.4 1 - 1.4 - 3.4

Elan: Episode 5 Odds: 1 Episode 6 Odds: 1 Episode 8 Odds: 2.7 1 - 1 - 2.7

Suletta: Episode 3 Odds: 8.6 Episode 6 Odds: 2.7 Episode 8 Odds: 1.9 8.6 - 2.7 - 1.9

HUAHH okay, let us continue

This is the Recording System that opens when Prospera sends her all of Aerial's past data. The screen is similar to the one that appears when Eri is speaking to Lfrith, but other than that there's not much info that can be gleaned here.

Not text, but I really how during the scene where Suletta asks Prospera why she lied to her, and Prospera continues to lie to her about why, Suletta's face is drawn in a way that's uncomfortable to look at once she falls for her manipulation.

This scene is also where Prospera tells her outright that Gundams are safe, and for nearly the entire rest of the series, Suletta repeats this, even when faced with direct evidence to the contrary because she wholeheartedly believes her mother would never lie to her for no reason.

Okay okay FINAL non text thing I PROMMY, but this scene implies that at some point, Suletta spoke with Shaddiq about the situation with her mom for at least a little bit at some point. I wish we got to see that.

TEXT: NEXT > THE ASTICASSIA SCHOOL OF TECHNOLOGY WE WILL SHORTLY ARRIVE...

I wonder why Shaddiq was on this flight anyway. Probably to talk to Sarius or something.

TEXT: Preparing disclosure documents for investors Application for Registration of Incorporation (Benerit Group Student Business Startup Program) Articles of Incorporation to Benerit Group Legal Certification Division Business Plan for Benerit Group Internal Entrepreneurship Committee Business Plan for Student Business Startup Program Documents for Benerit Group Grant Review Committee Broadcast License for PR Video Documents to Open Corporate Account Application for Special R & D Financial Transaction Business Application for MSP Certified Factory Application for Establishment of Sustainable Enterprise

This is the list of all the various things and registrations the company needs to take care of

Not text (sorry i lied) but I think it's interesting that the video Miorine watches of her father's speech is a secondhand recording and not an actual recording of the event.

Some closer looks at the editing software used to create the PR video. The name of the raw video file is GUND-ARMInc.PV01, and the placeholder text for the GUND-ARM Inc. Logo is GUND-ARMInc.PV02.

Also all of the silly visual effects like the hearts and musical notes make sense when you realize they had Suletta edit the actual video.

We can actually see Till's rough sketch of the GUND-ARM logo on his tablet screen, complete with construction lines. That's why they have to use a placeholder in the editing software, it's not complete yet.

When Miorine chooses the data files to cast to the screen, the 3 video files are named GUND CARDO NABO MS

The files are dated by year, so all of these files were recorded in A.S. 101.

Here is all of the editing (blessings) in the GUND-ARM PR Video 1. When Suletta walks into frame, the video is covered in a filter that makes hearts and stars appear on the screen. When the video cuts the first time, the filter changes to one that makes various musical notes appear on the screen. Then when it cuts again the filter is gone. 2. Suletta walks into frame, and then tries to correct her position, and then it cuts back to a shot of her in the original spot she was standing in. 3. Aerial is horribly keyed into the shot, and you can see bits of the green screen behind it. Tiko also walks in front of it and they didn't know how to edit him out. 4. When they begin the dance, each step cuts to a later time of day and Suletta looks noticeably more exhausted, which means they kept having to re-record it. 5. They kept having to edit Aerial's arms to make the dance moves work.

They move them around

And they stretch them.

I like that Prospera laughs at the video, because for her, it's probably like watching her daughters having fun and playing together.

The food for the party that Suletta and Miorine are bringing are from ASTICASSIA FOODS.

TEXT: ASTICASSIA SCHOOL OF TECHNOLOGY STUDENT REGULATIONS

STUDENT REGULATIONS >> SUPPLEMENTAL STUDENT BUSINESS STARTUP REGULATIONS ARTICLE 53 PARAGRAPH 3 SAFETY VERIFICATION OF NEW TECHNOLOGY USED IN STUDENT BUSINESSES. EDIT APPLY

The part of the school regulations that Sabina edits for Shaddiq.

HOYAAAHHH!!! MISSION COMPLETE! This one was a DOOZY...but i've actually been wanting to talk about the betting program for a WHILE and I'm glad I finally got to..! My final gift...errmmm

In a way, I guess they did, in the end, huh?

Click here to go to Episode 9. >>

Click here to go to the Masterpost.

[an-anonimous-writer]

''TRUTH OR DARE?''

credits to the GIF creator and owner

Remus Lupin x Fem!Reader and Platonic! Marlene x Fem!Reader

Summary: Marlene Mckinnon, your best friend of years invites you to a drinking night with the Marauders and half of Gryffindor’s Seventh Years. Your crush Remus is there, would heartbreaks unfold when Sirius asks him about the person that he likes?

Warnings: angst, language, underage drinking, insecure reader, unrequited love, Marlene being a bad friend (although I think she would be the greatest one), James being an idiot, the Marauders being a bit of assholes + my terrible English (once more I apologize beforehand for any errors)

A/N: hello, how are y’all? long time no see. i’ve been stuck on a writers block and it had all summed up to finishing my last year of high school, the summer after that and starting uni (which i’m very happy with) and so i had this idea stuck in my head for a while, i haven’t proofread so i don’t know the result of it, but as you know i’m a sucker for angst so, here it is ANGST. hope you enjoyed it, i’d love some feedback and corrections (if you had any). enjoy!! :D

remus lupin masterlist

marlene mckinnon masterlist

What could possibly go wrong with a bit of veritaserum, a few shots of firewhiskey and a truth or dare game? Everything and nothing at the same time, it is like flipping coin you can bet and win it all, however, at the same time there is uncertainty.

The Marauders were in the Gryffindor common room, you weren’t a part of their group, but your friend Marlene asked you to come with her, Lily and Dorcas to this ‘‘getting drunk because we don’t know what else to do on a Saturday night, although we would prefer to be partying’’. Marlene told you it was going to be a chill Saturday night, but half of Gryffindor’s Seventh Years were there too.

Marlene had always been your closest friend, she was your neighbour and she was rather an extrovert kid so you were quick to be friends. Since you were eight, you have considered Marls to be your best friend, you told her your deepest secrets, no other than your diary and yourself knew. Nonetheless, you felt as if you were drifting apart, she met Lily and they befriended the Marauders as quick as she befriended you when you were little. You thought she could sense it, that’s why you were here.

You refused at first, it wasn’t your scene, you preferred promenading through Hogsmeade and drinking a few butterbears, taking a few laughs and get back in touch, but she knew how to persuade you. You caught yourself reproducing last night interaction, your rommates let in Marlene because they knew you two were friends, though they thought of you as an alienesque pair. You were in the bathroom, prepping for bed time, when Marlene’s reflection, once you wiped your face, startled you. 

‘‘What are you doing here?’’ you asked, a hand holding your chest. ‘‘You scared me, you could’ve at least knocked’’.

You turn your whole body to see your best friend with a cheshire smile, she entered the small bathroom closing the door behind her.

‘‘Do you wanna hang out tomorrow night?’’ she started, smile still present on her features. As she saw your reaction she continued: ‘‘We haven’t seen each other for so long, please!’’ she pleaded, reaching for your hand and holding in between hers.

You looked down to where your bodys joined and sighed, that wasn’t your idea of reconnecting.

‘‘I don’t know Marls, you know I rather…’’. She cut you off.

‘‘Rems is going to be there, plus James had stolen a bit of veritaserum from Slughorn’s potion room, and I’ve seen his looks when he glance over you in the hallways’’ she explained to you, ‘‘Maybe he will confess, please come and bring your roommates, they are fun, even more than…’’

‘‘Me?’’ It was your time of cutting her off. ‘‘I’ll think of it, but my friends won’t come, they have plans for tomorrow night.’’ You crossed your arms over your chest, Marlene never lied, even when she needed to it was a blessing and a curse.

She grimaced, sensing she might had screwed it up. 

‘‘We’ll have a great time, think about it, please.’’ 

The trance was broken due to James calling your name and giggling at you. This is why it you were distancing yourself from Marls, you felt as if her friends were analyzing your every moves and when you did something out of what they were expecting, they laughed at you as if you were a monkey in a circus about to do its next trick. 

Marls looked at you and next to the object set in between the circle of people, almost everybody were drunk, your first and only glass of firewhikey sat in your hands half empty. The bottle was pointed at you, of all people. Even though Marlene promised they were only going to be the Marauders and you, almost half of the Gryffindor 7th Years were there too.

‘‘Your turn, pretty friend of Marls’’ a giggling and drunk James said, ‘‘truth or dare?’’ 

Your gaze fixated on Marlene, you inhaled deeply. Taking a sip of the glass you confidently said dare. A set of ‘‘ohs’’ was heard in the room, you gulped at the sound. Silently and in your head, you cursed Marlene and her stupid ‘‘Rem will be there’’. 

‘‘I dare you to…’’ James stood pensive his next words, he look over a boy who played in the Gryffinfor quidditch team ‘‘I dare you to lick Dean’s neck.’’

Evrybody started laughing, you wanted to minimize yourself to the sixe of a bacteria, but you were in the bravest house for a reason, and you stood up and went directly to the boy. Dean move her head so you could have access to his neck and you obeyed. They started cheering you as you licked his neck. Once you finished, embarrassed you went back to the seat next to Marlene, who was heavily drunk and was cheering on you.

‘‘That’s my friend, woohoo!’’ She extended her hand so you could give her a high five. ‘‘You should have seen Remus’ reaction, he was totally pissed off I tell you’’ she whispered as you sat down. You looked in Remus direction who was gazing at both of you and you gave him a smile, he turned quickly.

You thought nothing of it, or so you wanted to think because you were overanalyzing everything of that small and chaste interaction, he must be jealous. It was your turn of spinning the bottle and as if you manifest it just by thinking of him, it fell on Remus. You open your mouth, but you were cut off by the King Potter.

‘‘Truth or dare, mate?’’

Remus was holding your gaze as his mouth let out the word ‘‘truth’’. The coin was flipped in that exact moment and you felt the side you chose, believing Marlene, his looks over at your friend group, every small interaction, was going to win.

James gave him the veritaserum in a shot glass, he drank it still holding your gaze. The coin was high in the sky.

‘‘Well’’ Sirius was the one who spoke this time, a smirk present in his face ‘‘who is the person you can’t stop talking about? What’s their name, mate? If your drunk self hasn’t understood me, who do you like, Moony?’’ 

Slowly the coin fell, still confident in the choosing side. You were going to win this one time, you knew it.

‘‘You know Y/N, Marls’ friend.’’ Your heart fluttered, the coin was showing your side as it fell and you caught it. ‘‘Well, you know the girl she is always with, what’s her name? Oh yeah, Constance! Constance Hayes.’’

Your palm open, it showed a broken heart, you bet and lost. Still holding his gaze, Remus asked you:

‘‘You could set us up, right? You are practically together all of the time.’’

That was what pushed you over the edge, you saw Marlene’s face. You felt the tears, was this Marls idea of fun? She didn’t look surprised at his revelation, not a even a little bit, did she knew? Was that why she asked you to bring your friends?

You stood up, quickly, startling the people in the room. Marlene copied your every move and followed you, repeating your name over and over again. Everybody followed Marlene, it was the beginning of a fight and people were hungry for action. Your eyes were wet of holding back the tears and hearing the commotion wasn’t helping.

Once you enter your room, you let it all out. Marlene came in right behind you, she went to hug you, but you dismissed her.

‘‘Did you know?’’ you asked, tears flowing. ‘‘I know you can’t lie, so there’s no need to try now.’’

She shook her head at your words, looking hurt just by the accusation.

‘‘If I knew I’d never have encouraged you’’ she answer, her voice half broken and half in a scream.

‘‘I said don’t try to lie now!’’ you recriminated. You wanted to believe in her, but something in your brain just didn’t. ‘‘That’s why yesterday you asked me to bring my friends, so Constance could hear how Remus liked her, because you know both, her and I, like him. Did you wanted me to stop talking about him? What was it?’’

‘‘No! Of course not!’’ She shouted. Both of you could felt how its jab was scaleting quickly into a fight, and to worsen things up, both could hear James and Remus’ shocked expressions.

‘‘Then why!?’’ There was no use in keeping it a secret anymore, the whole school would know by tomorrow.

‘‘I wanted to spend time with you…’’

You cut her, pointing an angry finger towards her.

‘‘Don’t lie!’’

Exasperated, Marlene ran her hands through her hair dyed blonde hair, pulling some.

‘‘You want to know the truth?’’ you nodded. ‘‘Okay, I knew he liked Constance, but I couldn’t hurt you, we’ve been friends for so long… What I didn’t know is that Sirius would ask him that, Sirius knew about who you like-’’

‘‘Oh, so I can’t trust you now! Okay, why did Sirius know?’’ you asked her, angrily.

‘‘Because we can’t be best friend for our whole lifes, Y/N. Our paths have separated, we have different friends, we don’t hang out us much and to be honest, sometimes I feel like our relationship is a burden’’ she said, signaling the space between you.

That was what hurt you the most, you weren’t even thinking about Remus anymore. You knew Marlene was drifting apart, you tried to hang out with her as much as you could, but you never thought you were a burden to her, but that was reality, harsh as a sea storm.

‘‘If you aimed for us to stop being friends, I congratulate you.’’ You started applaudding. ‘‘You fucking did it, Marls! Oh, I almost forgot, you can tell your stupid friends, who I hope wont bother you as I did for all these years, their circus freak is out of shows.’’

‘‘You know I didn’t mean it like that…’’ she tried to fix it.

‘‘You meant it like that, Marls, that’s the worse part. So if you are so considerate of getting out of my room, thank you.’’ You forced a smile, tears streaming down your features.

Marlene obeyed, leaving you back and as she opened the door and displayed a childish James and an awful Remus, you open your mouth to say one last thing.

‘‘Oh, Remus’’ you started, making eye contact with him, just as he did the whole time downstairs ‘‘Constance will look forward on a date with you, how about next week?’’ You smiled falsely.

‘‘I’m sorry, Y/N, I didn’t want to…’’ he apologized.

‘‘Don’t worry Remus, I bet you don’t even feel as bad as you paint it to be. Fuck you all, Marauders!’’ You shouted, giving them all a middle finger.

That night, you drained yourself. You had no more water inside of you to form any more tear, the next morning Marlene and Remus watched you go into the Great Hall, Marlene knew she screwed up and there wasn’t anything she could do to patch up your heart, Remus, on the other hand, replayed the last words you would ever tell him, and you were right, he didn’t even feel as bad as he showed.

Truth or dare was like flipping a coin, you could win it all, however, that night you lost a friendship, but gained a heartbreak.

[smolweeblets]

Be my partner forever?

Hange Zoe x GN reader

“Y/n! Glad to see you arrived.” Hange greeted cheerfully as they ushered you in their apartment. It smelled faintly of cinnamon and spruce. The place was nice and homey and looked unexpectedly clean. No offense to your lab partner but they didnt exactly seem like the most organized person.

“Of course id come, we’re partners in this project after all.” You smiled. You were happy when Hange invited you over for your project. They were a joy of a partner to have, and youve always admired them. Being invited to their house felt like a new step in your friendship, even though it was just for school reasons.

“Here, lets go to my room so we can discuss and research everything that we need. I already did a little bit of research myself beforehand though, so everything we need should be spread out on my floor.” You nodded in affirmation while still surveying your surroundings.

The place seemed very lived in, in a good way. Small knick-knacks littered the surfaces. you were willing to bet that almost each of them had a little story, and that Hange would love to ramble about all of them.

Youve harbored a crush for your eccentric classmate for a while now, and everytime they got excited about something its never failed to make you feel the same excitement they have about whatever it is that they were talking about.

“Here we are, sorry if its a little messy, ive been preoccupied with getting everything we needed.” They sheepishly smiled.

“Its fine, theres no need to apologize especially because it really isnt even all that messy.” You could swear they just let out a breath as you said that.

You made your way to their bed and promptly sat down. You opened your phone to check the details of your project and showed them to Hange. They were sat on the floor and hummed in acknowledgement.

“So, we need to get this vial…” It only took a second for you to find what you were looking for because all the materials were neatly labeled with easy to see stickers.

You could help but comment on their almost out of character neatness. “Wow, these are all very organized! I wish my stuff were this neat.”

“Haha, well i wanted my things to look nice since you were visiting. These chemicals usually arent labeled and i just figure things as i go–” They picked up a beaker and swirled it around as if for emphasis.

They then held an almost embarrased smile. “Heh, and well, that may play a part as to why my glasses are so heavy duty… they explode on me– a lot–”

You giggled softly. “Really? What kind of substances do you experiment with so often where they explode that much?”

They awkwardly chuckled as they averted your gaze. “If I told you youd probably leave.”

“Aw, you should know that some chemicals wont just magically make me leave, but i wont press in the issue. Id gladly stay ignorant if i could continue to be with you.” You chuckled as you sit down beside them and put your hand on their shoulder.

They heat up at the contact and at your words.

They cleared their throat. “Well then– we should uh, start soon yeah?”

“Oh yeah! Sorry, lets start” You looked down to the vial in your hands and tried to remember what to do next.

“I think we mix a few drops of that with this stuff” They held up a beaker so you could see the label.

“Oh yeah! Then the result should be the first common solution for everything else right?”

“Yep! Exactly!” They excitedly chirped.

Time flew by fast as the both of you worked together. Hange already knew all the steps beforehand, but they kept asking you questions and let you do things throughout because you were absolutely adorable when you enthusiastically answered sonething you knew about.

You didnt notice or mind all the questions, even though they were supposedly the smartest kid in class. You were just happy the both of you spending time together.

Hanges hands brushed with yours several times, and almost always it causes them to jolt a little. They cant help it, years of pining can have detrimental effects on a person. Everytime you get something wrong and sheepishly laugh, they find that all they want to do is kiss you and tell you its alright. They find themselves settling with just the latter, as difficult as it is. And every time you thank them for something, the try their hardest not to squeal and roll around the floor in happiness.

Before the both of you knew it, you were almost finished with the project. The sky was already dark yet neither of you wanted this moment to end.

“So, after we do this, we should be done! Working with you has been such a pleasure, I hope youre my lab partner again in the future!”

“I agree! Hell, you should be my lab partner forever, since we both love working with each other so much.” Their eyes widened as they realized the implications of what they said. They quickly scrambled to fix that, they didnt want you to have the wrong idea. Saying that was dumb, they should stop just saying everything that came to mind. Their mind was racing as they spoke.

“Well– i mean, uh, as long as school allows it because, obviously being lab partners forever is just quite impossible and i dont think wed even know each other for that long, i mean not that i dont want to but im just saying and uhh…” Their words stopped in their throat as they felt your hand holding theirs.

“No, I think forever sounds good” You smiled at them as you intertwined your hands together. A newfound confidence has found you. And you were going to make the most of it.

“We could work on something friday night, around… 5pm? Is that okay for you?”

“What– I mean yes! Yes of course im good at that time! Im good whenever!” Their words were failing them, but words really could not show their enthusiasm for your proposition.

“Great! I like the aspect of us working together, and i would like for it to be forever, i also would like to stay close with you forever.”

Hange was a blushing mess and couldnt believe their ears. Were you saying you like them?

They never would have expected this in a thousand years, they were fully expecting you just go on with your life and they would just watch quietly by the side. But your were saying you wanted to be together. With them.

Its almost like a dream come true to them. They could only stare at you wide-eyed as you smiled at them.

After staring at each other for what felt like hours, stood up to stretch.

“I think i have to go now, this has been a great day with you, im hoping we will have many more moments like this in the future.” You winked as put emphasis on the ‘many’, letting their imagination run wild.

“Uh– yeah… same here.”

And with that, you got your bag and left Hange a flustred, blushing mess. Oh how they could not wait for friday.

[esta-elavaris]

Flufftober Day 27: Outdoor Event ~ Cullen Rutherford/F!Inquisitor [1,526 words]

My Flufftober '23 masterpost can be found here 💜✨

Evelyn’s sense of satisfaction over just how nicely they’d managed to clean up Skyhold was dampened around the exact moment Josephine deemed it good enough to throw its first ever soiree. But her arguments that the roof could, and absolutely would, cave in any minute now fell on deaf ears – especially when Josephine informed her that what she had planned would take place in the gardens, anyway. Cullen’s dry addition that he wasn’t sure the sky was too structurally sound either, however, did draw a laugh out of her – which, in turn, drew a smirk from him when Josephine’s back was turned.

Ever since her near-death experience back at Haven, he’d been more…warm with her. Not that he’d been cold beforehand, just more tentative. That one night had shown them that there was little time for that, and the result was that they were driving everybody in the castle mad with whatever was blossoming between them. For they could not rush this, either.

In the end, Josephine proved a formidable opponent, and Evelyn found herself trapped in the gardens one brilliant summer day, decked out in a gown of white lace with an entire greenhouse’s worth of roses atop her head. She had to admit the finished effect was rather fine. And that opinion was reinforced when Cullen entered the gardens, caught sight of her, and stopped short in the doorway, staring as though stunned into stillness. He only moved when one of the guests stuck in the hallway behind him complained – and even then, he only looked away long enough to side-step his way into the garden without bumping into anybody before those golden-brown eyes of his were once again fixed on her.

She smiled, although she couldn’t do so too smugly, for he was not the only one staring. While Evelyn had been privy to the argument between he and Josephine as to whether he could wear his armour to this thing – and Josephine’s adamant insistence that if he did, it would have all of the guests worried that he suspected another attack from Corypheus was eminent – she never could have guessed that he’d come like this. Like…like one of the heroes from the novels Cassandra thought none knew she read.

Garbed in a dazzling crimson coat, a slightly darker gold-embroidered waistcoat beneath which covered all but the collar of the white linen shirt beneath, and dark brown breeches and boots, had she not known him, Evelyn wouldn’t have questioned it if she’d been told he was a neighbouring prince or king or some such thing. Although given her experience with nobles and royals, she was rather glad he was not. Even if the King of Ferelden had eventually written to apologise for his foul mood at Redcliffe.

“See something you like, Inquisitor?”

Sometime during their staring contest, Varric had materialised at her side and was now offering her a very self-satisfied smirk. She started, and then recovered quickly, looking away and snorting.

“Shut up.”

“Now you sound like the Seeker. I have to say, I do feel like your beau stole my look.”

“Not enough chest on display for that, I think.”

“Much to your devastation, I’m sure,” Varric teased.

“Did you need something, Varric, or did you just come to poke your nose into my personal life?”

“The latter,” he admitted happily. “I was going to ask if either you or Curly had made a move yet.”

“Excuse me?”

They hadn’t – neither of them. In Evelyn’s case, it was because she was the Inquisitor, and that technically made her Cullen’s boss. It would be inappropriate if she…well. And he hadn’t because…well, she didn’t know why. But she was sure he had a very good reason.

“I’m curious.”

“Varric, if you’re writing a book about us, I swear-”

“Would I do that?”

“Yes.”

He chuckled. “Listen…there may or may not be gold on the matter.”

“On whether we’ll-”

“On when. There’s no if about it.”

“You’re betting on us?”

“Only within your inner circle – you have my word that beyond it, we’re all very professional and we dutifully pretend we have no idea what all of the talk is about.”

Evelyn groaned. “Who? You, obviously. Sera, I’m guessing. Probably Dorian, too, because he’s been very curious lately. Are there any others?”

“Just one.”

“Bull?”

“Nah, he won’t have anything to do with it. Unprofessional, unfair advantage, the whole deal. Although he did hint that he’d be open to advising bets if we sweetened the deal.”

“Blackwall?” she guessed.

“Please, he’d fall on his sword before he speculated on the infallible Inquisitor’s love life,” he shook his head, as if disappointed in her thinking.

“Who, then?”

“I think answering would put my life on the line.”

Only two people in Skyhold could have him saying such a thing, and Cassandra would never involve herself in something like this.

“Not Leliana?” she stared in disbelief.

The dwarf grinned.

“She had none of Bull’s qualms about unfair advantages. We had to add the condition that she wouldn’t use anything her spies saw or heard, but she still sees everything the rest of us don’t when that War Room door closes behind you.”

“Yes, because that’s the perfect setting for us to start stripping off,” she responded drily. “Leliana and Josephine could spectate. Offer constructive criticism – that sort of thing.”

“Now you really are giving me ideas for a book.”

“Varric.”

“I’m only teasing, Inquisitor. It’s good, you know. Seeing you get caught up in something not all about death, demons, and the end of the world for once.”

His tone took on such a tone of sincerity at the end that she found herself stunned into speechlessness – until finally, she breathed a quiet laugh and nodded.

“It is nice,” she admitted, albeit very quietly.

Even out here, in a garden full of guests vying to take the measure of her, along with hoping for a chance encounter that may lead them able to boast to their connections that they made Inquisitor Evelyn Trevelyan laugh with a clever joke, when she was off to one side trading glances with Cullen, she simply felt like a woman getting stupidly giddy because the man she liked smiled at her.

But, of course, the presence of the guests couldn’t be ignored for long. Varric had scarcely left her side for ten seconds before she was drawn into conversations that either treated her as an authority on the Maker’s will (which she found horrifying), saw her recounting her recent brush with death (again, she wasn’t a fan of that), or reciting what she’d learned of Skyhold’s origins and speculating on details of its architecture (which was…interesting, actually).

The sun had climbed high into the sky before she got a moment’s respite, bathing the gardens in golden light and warmth that should not have been possible this high in the mountains. It only added to the sense that there was something not entirely natural about this place. Whatever it was, though, it felt benevolent. Everything did, after the ruin of Haven.

She sought the shade under the gazebo, half-lamenting that she’d been too busy playing host to engage in more staring contests with Cullen – who was now woefully nowhere to be seen, perhaps having retreated to his tower after showing his face – when a hand touched her upper arm. Proper Inquisitor-appropriate smile already rising to her face, she turned and then felt the smile brightening and becoming sincere quite of its own volition. The man she’d just been thinking of stood beside her, holding a silver goblet of wine in offerance.

“You look like you could use it.”

“Not a fan of the ensemble Josephine and Leliana put together for me, then?” she teased lightly, accepting the wine and nodding her thanks.

“No! I mean yes, I…Maker’s breath- I didn’t mean…not that…” he trailed off, sighed, and then regarded her openly. “You look breathtaking, Evelyn.”

Her eyes widened before she could stop them, and he winced a little, folding his hands before her.

“I, er, apologise if that was too intense.”

“It wasn’t, Cullen,” she said quickly, “not at all. I was…thinking the same thing.”

Of course, then it was her turn to ramble nervously.

“About you, I mean – not myself. I’ll need a few more titles under my belt before I reach that point.”

He chuckled, his shoulders loosening as the nerves slipped away. “Well, should you reach that point I could hardly fault you for seeing things as they are.”

Evelyn smiled, ducking her head if only so that the rest of the garden wouldn’t see how she blushed.

“I actually came to see if you wouldn’t be too worn out to have dinner with me – later, after this. In my tower. I thought it might be a nice way to decompress.”

When she lifted her head, her cheeks still blazed, but she didn’t care.

“I’d love that. Maybe then I can ask you whether you’d rather Varric, Leliana, Sera, or Dorian won a hefty bag of gold.”

Although when she then realised she’d have to explain that remark, she did rather regret bringing it up in the first place.

Links: AO3 -- FF.net -- flufftober masterpost -- dividers by cafekitsune

[love-triangles-au]

bill is giving bottom energy and i hope i am right

Oh, you're right, alright :)

Well, kinda. It's complicated. In this essay, I will

(Gonna mainly use the terms "top" and "bottom" more as surrogates for "dom" and "sub" here as that's kinda what I assume anon means; but powerbottom Bill is extremely real too)

If you asked him he'd tell you that he's always in charge, really, no matter what it may look like. That was his thing before he met Venuz -- no issues bottoming as long as he knows he's ultimately the dominant partner who holds the power. He'd play the subbiest sub to ever sub if it was for the sake of manipulating somebody.

However, with the acquisition of his mortal body, he'd gotten a lot more...well, sensitive. When he was a being of pure energy he could fine-tune everything he felt, make his body react exactly how he wanted it to, but now? No control!

That's frankly part of what first drew him to Venuz in the beginning -- very mortal urges. He hadn't felt pure, physical attraction in a very long while, had turned those instincts off and only had sex when he wanted to, the same way one would decide "y'know, I think I'll play Wii Sports today". Arousal used to be a choice for him, a fun game like anything else, and now it wasn't.

Sure, Venuz wasn't of the same species, but he was close enough to trick his biology! Flatlanders* are very good at making out nuances in geometry the same way we are with faces, and one of the most attractive things to them is symmetry. Well, Venuz was symmetrical in a way only a god could be. His color was even and clean, his eye bright, his limbs strong and muscular...a very attractive triangle by Flatland standards.

Of course there was strategy to it, seduction was his best bet in getting what he wanted, and if you asked Bill that is what he would tell you -- it was all part of the plan.

With that being said, he was fully aware of the power of sex -- it was what he was planning to take advantage of, after all -- but he'd failed to recognize that it was something he might be susceptible to, as well, now that he was a mortal. And really, at first, he didn't even entirely recognize it happening, both from a lack of experience and his advanced abilities of cognitive dissonance. So, he was taken quite off-guard by just how much a simple look from the Gun God could get those long-dormant gears turning on overdrive.

As a result, their first time wasn't nearly as...calculated or dignified as he had hoped. Frankly, the second Venuz touched him he couldn't really think anymore, and he enjoyed his place on the bottom a little more than he was happy with.

Bill had gotten arguably just as much out of the act as Venuz had, and that was NOT the plan. Thankfully, he could lie to himself enough about it to where it wasn't a problem. The way Bill's gaze would trace those perfectly sixty degree angles? It was part of the plan, Venuz liked it! The way his whole body would quiver when Venuz would brush his fingers along his edges? Method acting, he was just too convincing! The way he'd drag his sharp little claws down Venuz's back in the throes of passion, leaving stinging red lines in their wake? Well, uh...Venuz didn't seem to mind, so...sure, that's probably strategy.

As things went on, however, and Bill became more comfortable with Venuz, more willing to be vulnerable, he started to mind less and less about it. Bill loves sensory overload, that's basically his whole personality, and inevitably that meant his mortal body being reduced to a trembling, boneless mass on the bed by the end of the night. So, really, being the bottom and letting Venuz take control is very enjoyable for him when he's able to get over himself.

With that being said, it's something very hard for him to admit when he's got such a massive ego. Sometimes it can call the shots beforehand and demand a role reversal, but Venuz is very willing to be beneath his sexy demon boyfriend, so it all works out either way.

Frankly, though, I'd say you're right, anon -- he is more suited to a bottom. Not only for the reasons above, but also for the much sappier reason that he feels comfort in knowing his lover is strong, maybe even stronger than him. He's always anxious about losing Venuz, so anything that can reassure him that the Gun God is this all-powerful, larger-than-life deity fulfills something very deep within him, even when it's in such a lewd setting.

But, TL;DR, he's a switch who thinks he's a dom, in denial of his submissive side. But, Venuz'll help him come to terms with it, don't you worry :)

*Note that Flatland is meant as a placeholder for Bill's home dimension; it's not exactly Flatland

~ Mod Emily 🦇

[lover-of-skellies]

how about lust sans lol

The smooch-ability rating for Lust is 11 out of 12! He's a safe bet for kissing, and you can read my reasoning if you want, but just be aware that I do briefly touch on some slightly suggestive subjects, since he is from Underlust :P

1) Is Lust's mouth dangerous? His teeth are flat, so no, I'd say his mouth is perfectly safe. There's nothing jagged or sharp about his teeth, and really the only thing you have to be worried about is some spontaneous tongue action, but that's not harmful, so he gets 2 points

2) Would he bite? Not in a dangerous, malicious sort of way. The only biting he'd do is the kinky kind, if you asked him nicely beforehand for that. Is he aggressive? In general, no, I don't think I see him being the aggressive type. He could be during other, much spicier activities (if you catch my drift), but for a smooch, I think he'd be able to control himself well enough, so there's 2 more points

3) Are there any health hazards to the smoocher? Could he somehow hurt them or make them sick? To both of those questions, I'd say no. He's not the sort to harbor any kind of ill intent, he just wants to enjoy himself as much as he can, just with things in general. There's no potentially nasty fluids leaking from his facial area anywhere, and he doesn't really carry a weapon or anything. He has magic, yes, but I don't think he'd use it unless absolutely necessary. That being said, I'll give him 2 points for safety

4) Does Lust have a sympathetic backstory? From what I remember of Underlust, there was a big baby deficiency underground and monsters weren't as fertile (for lack of a better word) as they were before, and when they found a potential solution to that, it sort of messed with everyone and made them all super hormonal and down to clown 24/7. I say that like it's a silly thing, but at the same time, when you think about it, that implies that they can't control how they are anymore. They have these urges they need to act on, or else they hurt or suffer in some way as a result. I remember reading some of the original Underlust comic stuff from nsfwshamecave a while back, and I remember Lust speaking with Grillby and having an emotional breakdown. He did have some drinks beforehand, sure, but everything that he said led me to believe that he's harboring a lot of depression and anxiety, and that he experiences this constant feeling of dread due to the resets and being the only one who knows about them. He isn't well in an emotional or mental sense, and I would absolutely tell him to consider therapy if that were possible. So in summary, he suffers from this weird permaheat thing and he'll be miserable if he doesn't sate it, and he's got a lot of mental and emotional issues and lots of pent up thoughts and feelings. All things consider, I'd give him 2 points for sympathy, seeing as how he can probably never go back to his normal self now

5) Does he deserve a smooch? He's constantly horny and he's at least somewhat of a pervert to some degree, but he hasn't done anything majorly bad, despite his trauma from the resets and the situation he's been stuck in. While there is a risk of some impromptu frenching or wandering hands if things got too heated and out of control, I'd say he still gets at least 1 point here

6) Is he cute or cool? His design makes him stand out from other Sanses, and he's likely stronger than one would expect, considering his appearance and what his hobbies probably consist of. He's still a genius, and he still has impeccable self control regardless of his circumstances. He's also very level headed and still has the ability to think clearly, plus he's sassy, and who doesn't like perfectly timed sass? He gets 2 points in this area for both coolness and cuteness

In total, Lust's smooch-ability rating is 11. He's a very safe bet, so if you have to kiss a Sans, this is one of your safer options. He could make the kiss the most passionate experience of your life and leave your head in the clouds, but if you'd like to peck his cheek or his forehead instead, I get the impression he wouldn't mind that, either. Odds are, any form of comfort or platonic care would go a long way with him

[ikeprincest]

On the topic of side-stories, just to talk a bit more about them, I have some ideas based on stories in the app, but others with... More original themes I guess I could say? I've mentioned two ideas before here (although one was in the tags of a post...) but some others I'd definitely like to do are:

An idea based on the maid story in the app (thinking maybe a more unexpected setup with Clavis and/or Nokto being the one to dress up; Perhaps as the result of a bet, with the player choosing who lost? I'd have a total of 4 ships in the initial release of this side story, 2 for Clavis dressing up and 2 for Nokto dressing up)

An idea based on Elixer of Lust, since that's the story event that is/was going when I decided to start this whole thing (since Yves is the one I could see most likely to wear something like the nectar, I think all the ships in this story would involve him. I'd have 2-3 ships in this side story's initial release)

Aphrodisiac chocolate. I forget if that was a story event I ever saw in the app or if I dreamed it. Either way I can see it happening with Yves/Licht and Clavis/Chevalier (in different ways), so it'd probably be a mixed-bag of ships in the end. The initial release for the side story would (hopefully) have 2-3 ships.

I've seen stories in the app involving the guys' kinks but I've never actually been able to buy them, sadly, so I don't know what they are into canonically (don't even remember the previews)... But I have some headcanons for what certain specific ships would do, so I'd probably have a side story for that. Again, it'd be a mixed-bag of ships, with the initial release having 2-3 ships.

Whenever I get around to working on the side stories (I'd like to finish the main one beforehand) I'll hold a poll for what ship(s) should go to whichever story I do first. Some I'll definitely have in certain stories' initial releases due to either how well they fit or how much I like them (I really want to write about Yves pampering Licht in a horny way in the kink one) but in the end I'll definitely be taking suggestions for at least 1 ship in each one.

[baronessblixen]

this is a specific prompt but as the queen of sweet, deep-rooted pining, I wanted to bring it to your doorstep: there’s a very pretty line from Wichita Lineman that goes “and I need you more than want you/and I want you for all time” and the tone of it always makes me think of MSR - so any way to work that into a fic would be truly wonderful. thank you for all your great, beautiful stories!

I just let the muse take over and this is the result. Some humor/angst/hurt/comfort/fluff.

Fictober Day 26 | Tagging @today-in-fic @xffictober2022 | Wc: 1,444

And I Want You For All Time

“Mulder,” she says, biting back a chuckle. “Are you… drunk?”

“You know me, Scully,” he replies, swaying on the spot. “I don’t drink.” His slurred speech and his goofy smile belie his words.

“Hmm, then why did Frohike call me and ask me to pick you up?”

Mulder shrugs, still grinning. He leans close to her and she can smell the beer on him. So much for that.

“Let me tell you a secret,” Mulder whispers loudly. “Frohike likes you. He likes you a lot.”

“I like him, too,” Scully says, pushing Mulder towards her car. But he doesn’t budge. He stands there, staring down at her with a pout.

“You like Frohike?” He asks, sounding disappointed.

“He’s a good friend,” Scully says. “Mulder, you need to move. I can’t carry you to the car.” He giggles, finally moving his legs. Scully keeps a hand on his back, just in case. They’re making baby steps, but at least they’re moving forward.

“Would love to see you try though. I bet you could. You’re strong, Scully. I don’t know anyone as strong as you.”

“Well, thank you, Mulder.”

“It’s the truth.”

They’ve made it to the car. Still holding Mulder upright, who seems to be dancing along to a song only he can hear, Scully unlocks the door and helps him sit down.

She’s never seen him like this. It’s true that he doesn’t drink. She can’t recall ever seeing him drink more than one or two beers. What happened here tonight? Frohike didn’t say anything. Just that she needed to come pick up Mulder because he refused to get into a cab, saying he couldn’t trust anyone but Scully.

“Do you need help with your seat belt?”

“No, I’ve got it,” he says. She watches him tug at the belt and it gets stuck a few times before he manages to pull it over himself. Scully closes the door and gets in herself. Mulder is leaning his head against the window, humming a familiar song whose name she can’t remember.

“Are you okay?” She asks him, touching his thigh. There’s no telling how much he had to drink. Frohike said that he only had beer. A lot of beer.

“I’m okay,” Mulder replies, smiling at her with small, sleepy eyes. What is she going to do with him if he falls asleep in her car and she can’t wake him up again?

“I’m going to take you home with me.”

“I’ve been waiting years to hear you say that.”

“I don’t know how much you’ve had to drink,” Scully goes on, ignoring what he said. “I’d rather keep an eye on you tonight. What made you drink this much, Mulder?” She asks, navigating the car through empty streets.

It’s late. Very, very late. She’s used to Mulder’s late-night calls and fully expected it to be him on the other end of the line earlier. When she heard Frohike’s voice instead, she flinched. Late-night calls that aren’t Mulder asking her to go on a crazy goose chase are never good. They mean accidents. They mean loss.

Her hands trembled as she got dressed even though Frohike had assured her that Mulder was fine. She had to see it with her own eyes. And there he was, standing outside a bar, looking inebriated but otherwise fine, unharmed. She would have hugged him had it not been for Frohike’s watchful eyes.

“I don’t even remember,” Mulder says. “Byers said I had to try this beer. Byers of all people! Can you imagine? So I tried this beer. It was good. You should try it, too, Scully. Then there was the bar. There was more beer.”

“Did you eat anything beforehand?”

“Didn’t we have lunch?” He asks her.

“Mulder that was 12 hours ago.”

“Oh. I mean technically that counts as eating beforehand, doesn’t it? My head is spinning. Can you slow down?”

“I’m already under the speed limit. Are you going to be sick?” Too bad that she just had her car cleaned the other day, getting rid of all the garbage in here. There are no empty bags here, nothing. “Just let me know if you’re gonna be sick, Mulder. I can stop the car.”

“I thought I was gonna throw up,” he says, sounding surprised. “But I’m better now. Thank you for picking me up, Scully. I appreciate it. Last time I got drunk I got in the car with a man who claimed to have been friends with my father and then proceeded to tell me government secrets before his car blew up. Not taking chances again. I trust you, Scully. You’re the only one I trust.”

“What is that song you keep humming?” She asks him to change the subject. Mulder, alcohol, and government conspiracies don’t mix well. She parks her car close to her apartment building and helps Mulder get out. She just about saves him from tripping over his own feet.

“Damn feet,” he mumbles. “Do you think my feet are too big, Scully?”

“They’re not. They’re proportional to your body.” Her arm is around his waist as they make their way upstairs. She’s trying to shush him as it’s late, but Mulder isn’t listening.

“I remember needing new shoes all the time as a teenager. My dad hated that. Told me to stop growing, ha. I kept growing. My nose especially. The rest of my body took a while to catch up. My nose is too big, isn’t it?”

“Your nose isn’t too big either, but right now your mouth is. It’s late, Mulder. My neighbors are sleeping.” She puts a finger on her lips to signal him to be quiet. He nods. Then he takes her finger and puts it on his own lips, giggling. He kisses her fingertip before he lets go of her.

“Oh, I forgot,” he says once they’re inside her apartment. He jumps around, trying to get his shoes off. Scully watches him with wary eyes, hoping he won’t hurt himself. He slips out of his coat, leaving it on the floor. He makes a beeline for her couch, laying down on it. He’s much too big for it, but he doesn’t seem to mind.

“What did you forget?” She asks him, pouring him a glass of water. She sets the glass and two aspirin on the coffee table, watching him.

“You asked what song I was humming. It was playing at the bar and I- it’s stuck in my head now.” He hums it again and the melody scratches an itch in her mind. She must know the song.

“Take your aspirin, Mulder,” Scully says softly and Mulder obeys.

“I remember now,” he says after taking a big gulp of water. “’The Wichita Lineman is still on the line’”, he sings, his eyes closed. “Hm, yeah, that’s it. It’s a good song.”

“I didn’t know you liked country music, Mulder.” But he’s right, it’s a good song. She remembers her parents listening to it when she was a child. The memory puts a smile on her face.

“I don’t,” he says, lying back down. “But this song… it reminded me of hmm, you.”

“Me?”

“There’s this line,” he says, not even opening his eyes. “I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s ‘And I need you more than want you and I want you for all the time'. Reminds me of you,” he mumbles with a sigh.

“What you need and should want now is sleep.” Her mind is reeling from his confession as she puts a blanket over him, tucking him in. Why does that line remind him of her?

She stares at him, at his relaxed face. His jaw is slack and his expression peaceful. Whatever demons were possessing him earlier, they seem to be gone now. But she still wants to know what made him get drunk in the first place.

Just as she’s about to get up and get ready for bed herself, Mulder mumbles something in his sleep. She crouches back down to his level.

“Mulder?” She asks.

“I want you so much and I can’t tell you,” he says, his eyes still closed. “You can’t know.” Her heart breaks for him. She touches his cheek, feels the rough stubble beneath her skin. “Had to drink the wanting you away,” he says, his words barely discernible.

“Oh Mulder,” she whispers, pressing a kiss to his temple. He doesn’t move, just lies there like a question mark on her couch, trying to make himself fit.

As she gets ready for bed, she wonders how much he’ll remember in the morning, and whether she wants him to remember at all.

[basicallyjaywalker]

For the ask game >:3 ✂️❤️

🎨 I know you have OC’s but I know embarrassingly little for being a mutual this long. Hand them over rook :)

Edit: I forgot to say hi 😭 sorry I saw you mentioned OCs and literally just. mind blank got the zoomies started stimming forgot my manners. Anyways

Hello Oli :DDD

One thing I would change: I mean. I would rewrite a lot of the series but mainly I would wanna give Nya a more prominent and starring role early on. Let her have more Samurai X moments and quit putting her on the sidelines while the boys do things!!

Favorite ship? Canonically Pixane ngl. I love Jaya but Pixane is soulmate coded for me I break Jaya up at the drop of a hat for funsies I feel bad breaking up Pixane.

Do I have OCs? You're goddamn right I do I have wayyyyyy too many. I'm working on character sheets for the main ones now but until those are uploaded have a taste!

Nataly Chumsworth: Master of Love, half Serpentine, menace to society. If the name did not clue you in she's Pythor's daughter and they have. A relationship.

Roxie Andrews: Master of Peace, local stressed out mom friend, former student at Marty Oppenheimer's! Old friend of Cole's and someone i imagine Nya being besties with.

Jasmine Bucket/Julien: Master of Nature (secondary: Ice), engineer at Borg Industries, made before Bolobo I swear. Zane's half sister but neither has any clue about that yet

Jackie Fei: Master of Magic (I have a whole system set up for this), chronically tired and depressed but gets to have a glow-up, chaotic good incarnate. My favoritest little blorbo ngl

Hannah Stone: Master of Music (different from sound and again swear she was pre-S4), punk rock girl, Chen's former... student is not the right term. Embodiment of that one audio: "they got their weapon, I got cheated out of my childhood)

Kyle Stone: not an elemental master but a former member of Chen's cult kinda (born into it), instead of masking his trauma with anger like Hannah he masks it with bubbliness, chronic overprotective disease. He and Hannah aren't blood related but they're also the closest thing to family each other has

Master Twyla: Master of Light, the teacher of these fucking kids, trying her best to keep the memory of the former EMs alive. Bops her on the head this bad girl can fit soooooo much trauma she's trying to overcome in her, goddamn

Ivy Crest: Master of Wind except not fully until S5 (thanks Morro), Morro's bio daughter and Ronin's adopted daughter (bet you can't guess who she prefers), expert in forgery and shit at mechanics. She and Nya form a close bond in S5 and Nya continues to try and teach her mechanical stuff (it does not work)

Luna McCallister/Garmadon: Master of Dreams, long lost Garmadon daughter who?, big fucking nerd. I have no idea when she and Lloyd realize their related but it makes their interactions at the comic store beforehand a lot funnier (for reference: she is about 2 years older than him)

Jonathan Borg: heir to Borg Industries, curious about the supernatural elements of Ninjago, knows about something he probably shouldn't. His place is not fully figured out yet but I feel like he's gonna start wanting to prove more useful after S7 to mixed results, esp bc his sister is way cooler than him

Willow Whispernight: yeah check back later chief I am reworking her ENTIRE lore lmao. Currently also connected with nature in some way and Jasmine's step-sister

Ahahaha that isn't even all of them. it's been over a decade I am soooo normal. I do not have *checks notes* approximately 20 OCs, named and unnamed, with various places in stories and development

[ncisladaily]

Jeff Kober has thrived on playing the baddie for much of his long career. The prolific actor has almost 150 credits to his name with stops on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The X Files, Walker, Texas Ranger, The Walking Dead, New Girl, and NCIS: Los Angeles to name a few. Then there are more regular roles like Jacob Hale Jr. on Sons of Anarchy, Sgt. Dodger Winslow on China Beach, and most recently, on General Hospital where he won an Emmy for his portrayal of shady Cyrus Renault.

Next up is the pool shark thriller Break, where he takes on the role of pool hall hustler “The Hand” Jimmy. In the film, he looks to stand in the way of Eli (Daniel Weiss), the hotshot son of a former rival, from honoring his legendary dad and former rival’s legacy. Here the veteran actor talks about the project and reminisces about some of his favorite parts.

After all this time, how is it being that go-to bad guy? 

Jeff Kober: I don’t know. It is interesting, but I enjoy working. What I’m trying to do these days is humanize everyone. Even if they’re not terribly nice people based on the story being told. They can’t be all bad. What’s human about that? That’s fascinating. So you’re not ever acting. You’ve built some type of world you’re living through. As a natural result of your belief system, this is what happens.

You’re the bad guy in Break. What stands out about Jimmy to you? 

What I liked about him was it was such a specific world. So foreign to anything I’ve experienced, except bits here and there. I was in a carnival for a while as a younger man and that character would have fit well in the carnival. Someone lost a wallet on a ride. The carny who ran that ride and the carny who ran the ride next to it argued not about who got to turn in the wallet back to the person who lost it but who got the money that was in it. I didn’t understand those kind of people then. Now I kind of do to find my way in and what it would take for me to be like that. This is what made the role so fascinating to me.

How much of a pool player were you beforehand? 

I played a lot of pool in bars as a younger man. I once was beaten I think 17 times in a row by Megan Branman, a casting director in Hollywood. So I was a moderately okay pool player. I enjoy the sport, but I am never able to play even remotely like in the movie. I got an evening of lessons. This guy just corrected a couple of things for me and suddenly a whole new world opened up for me. That was amazing.

What did you make of the environment the film takes place, gritty Detroit? 

We’re seeing it everywhere today. People are frightened of so many different things. They are struggling to behave in a way with respect to themselves. They may be following the fear and doing things they don’t respect. Like when Eli decides to bet all the money he was saving for his sister’s education. That’s not out of a sense of love and compassion and wanting to do the right thing. That’s out of the terror of I can’t be shown up like this. I can’t have my ego smashed like this. We all have those challenges every day. I just look at it as is this the ego working here or the truth working here and are they aware there is a difference? Those are the questions that occur to me.

How was it sharing the screen with Darren Weiss as Eli? 

With Darren, he stepped up and met me. We really play in that area of wanting to beat each other in the script. I’m really proud of what he did in this.

It has been more than 35 years since China Beach hit the airwaves. How do you look back on the show today?

I know it didn’t come out to watch easily over the years when so many others came out because of the music rights that were so spread out. It was impossible to get permission from that many music companies and have it make sense to make it commercially available. I love the fact people are still moved by it. Everyone was trying to do the best they could in order to honor the women and men we were representing. That’s really special when you get to do a job like that.

A lot of times shows will get canceled without getting a formal goodbye, but China Beach was lucky enough to have one. A touching one at that. 

I’m grateful we did in the end show these characters accelerated forward and what it was like to visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall in Washington D.C. This was very special, especially for me who have been around many Vietnam veterans. I still have Vietnam veteran friends in my life and see what they had and lost and the rebuilding process that had to occur. I really feel that China Beach was a part of opening up the consciousness of the U.S. Like, “Hey something happened here, and we’ve been ignoring it. Wake up.”

These days a lot of viewers know you from the soap opera world on General Hospital. How is it to step in and out of Port Charles as Cyrus? A role that won you a Daytime Emmy Award. 

It’s more like being a sprinter than a distance runner. You have to be ready to go. You have to be ready to jump in any direction because you don’t know who you’re going to be from one week to the next until you look at a script. You never get to see where that script fits into the larger fabric of the story they’re telling. It’s a hoot because it’s jumping into the unknown.

Cyrus has been through a lot. What do you make of his evolution? Where do you see this character going in the future on the show? 

It started out as a short gig. Whatever happened, they decided to keep me on a little longer. So they made me the mysterious half-brother of Genie Francis’ character [Laura Spencer]. They wrote this evil criminal as someone who is broken and needs his mother’s love. I was like, “How do you play that? I guess we’ll find out.” It was so much fun to do that. Then they sent him away to prison and he found Jesus, or did he? For me, it’s always about finding what’s the most interesting and grounded and most passionate perspective this character can have in a given time. They keep you guessing on that show. What he has come around to now, and being holier than now. The last time I saw him he was saying, “I got to work on myself before I tell anyone else how to do this.” Don’t you wish more people in the world realized that?

You’ve been in the shoes of a lot of characters. What are some of your favorites? For me, The Claimers leader on The Walking Dead has to be included. 

Joe on The Walking Dead was fantastic because it was so rich. The people I worked with were also just fantastic. I would have done anything on that show for as long as they wanted me to.

What a way Joe went though. 

It was the best death in the show up to that point I think. The last line for him was just great, “What the hell are you gonna do now sport?” Just amazing. I loved China Beach, too. The people, we’re brothers and sisters. We left a mark on all of our lives. A lot of us were really beginning our careers when we did that. It holds a place that will never be touched by anything else. I’ve had really exciting experiences. I had a run on NCIS: Los Angeles. I got to work intimately with Linda Hunt. That was otherworldly. There was an intimacy with her and strength in her work. She is like a national treasure. I can always tell how wonderful someone’s talent is when you just get in their face. They go, “Oh, someone is here.” Then they just jump in themselves. They did this.

Jeff Kober and Linda Hunt (Henrietta “Hetty” Lange) in NCIS: Los Angeles (Bill Inoshita/CBS Broadcasting, Inc.)

One of my favorite turns for you was also when you were on New Girl as this curmudgeon of a landlord. During the rewatch podcast “Welcome to Our Show” the cast revealed a few years ago that Bruce Willis was almost cast as Remy. You made it your own though. 

It was a hoot. I actually did a movie with Jake Johnson that is on Hulu now called Self Reliance. He wrote this character with me in mind. Then right around Christmas, I did his podcast where they give advice for people on really stupid things. We were reminiscing about the characters almost doing this threesome. I was in my underwear and cowboy boots. We shot the scene many times, and every time I would come up with a different yoga pose or something I’d be doing when they came to me like reading a book or spraying aftershave in my private areas. They give you free rein to be crazy. That was a gas.

[blueboyluca]

OK here are my thoughts on chapters 7-9. Chapter 7 is a real doozy. It details Stella starting to use the buttons independently. Why this is incredible to Hunger is beyond me, as the outcome of teaching a dog something is – get this – the dog can now do the thing.

When I saw these gestures, I would sometimes say a verbal prompt, like “What do you want?” Then I stayed silent for at least fifteen seconds to give Stella a chance to respond. Research shows that when communication partners pause for ten to forty-five seconds, AAC users are more likely to respond using their devices. Giving a longer wait time cues the learner that it is their turn to talk. It also gives them more time to process what is happening then choose what to do next.

Research with humans shows this, not research with dogs. The dog doesn’t know what “What do you want?” means. Pausing for ten to 45 seconds will not have the same results between a dog and a human because dog communication doesn’t include speech, so cues for turns to speak don’t mean anything. Humans and dogs share developmental similarities because we are both mammals and we co-evolved, but that doesn't mean our developmental milestones are the same.

“Water,” Stella said.

Stella didn’t say "water”. She pressed a button with a recording that played “water”. The punctuation is deliberate.

This was the most powerful cue we could give Stella to use one of her words now, simply waiting long enough to give her a real chance to say it. It is so natural for adults to want to jump in and help immediately, or to take over to accomplish something quickly. We have to become comfortable with silence and patience before we can expect to see real, significant progress.

More problematic anthropomorphism. The use of the word adult. This isn’t about adults and children, this is about humans and dogs. Once again, Hunger is directly equating disabled children and dogs.

This was the first time Stella had ever said a word totally by herself, without any cues or modeling right beforehand. It was a huge milestone to celebrate.

It’s crazy to me that this is so celebrated by Hunger. In chapter two she described exactly the same situation, just with a different dog and a bell rather than a button. Functionally it is the same. A dog in a room without a human communicated with a device. How is the button any more significant than the bell?

This is completely common and natural for all kids, whether they are learning to talk with a communication device or verbal speech. Children need support before they can do something new entirely on their own. It’s like when babies are learning to walk. They need to hold on to furniture or their parents before they can take several steps freely.

And then directly referencing child development again. Stella is not a human child! Her developmental milestones are not the same as humans!

It was helpful for both Stella and me that I could be upstairs and know exactly what she wanted right when she wanted it. If she had barked, and come up to find me, I would not have known why. If she were standing quietly by the door, I would not have been able to see her from upstairs or even know that she was wanting something. Stella could have her needs attended to much more quickly if she could tell us exactly what she wanted.

This is a great point, the button has communicated something more specific than a bark or a look. But that same specificity could be achieved with a dozen other means! The button with the recording on it is not the important part here!! Also, if Stella had barked and come upstairs to find Hunger, there could have been some basic attempt to figure it out on Hunger's part. Hunger has already described multiple instances of this happening and yet still feels the need to add a button layer into the existing communication.

This time, she left after I finished watering the first plant. About five seconds later, I heard, “water.” I chuckled to myself. I bet seeing the water reminded her that she was thirsty. I started walking down the hall to see Stella walking back toward me. "Do you need water, girl?" As I saw moments later, her water dish was full, and she did not take a drink. Stella returned to the sunroom with me, continuing to watch me give the plants a good soak. She was talking about what was happening, not about something she wanted. This was the first time Stella said a word without requesting an object or an action from one of us. She walked out of the sunroom, down the hall, and into the dining room all simply to tell me what she observed in the world around her.

This is Hunger’s interpretation of what happened. We do not actually know that Stella was using the “water” button to identify the watering can as water for the sake of it. If I take this anecdote at face value – which I admit is difficult – perhaps Stella was communicating that she wanted water, perhaps she wanted to drink the water in the watering can. But I am skeptical that Stella did indeed press the water button at this moment, and if she did that it was directly related to Hunger's actions with the watering can.

Hunger then launches into this anecdote about how they let Stella off lead for the first time ever at a lake house and were shocked – shocked! – that she didn’t run off and instead stopped ahead of them and waited for them to catch up. Hunger attributes all of this to Stella understanding the word “wait” because she apparently now has this kind of language capability, rather than any other possible reason this could have happened. Hunger writes, “It actually mattered to Stella and made sense why she should wait.” This is a really basic interpretation of dog behaviour and fails to consider any other motivations beyond language comprehension. Like, this is the kind of dog owner who says "I told her no, but she kept doing it anyway!" about a dog they haven't trained at all.

In the middle of our meal we heard “outside” come from the back-door area. Everyone quieted down and looked around the table, taking a quick mental head count. We were all there together. That meant the only one who could have said “outside” was Stella.

Multiple times in these anecdotes Hunger has stated that humans have had to consider what mysterious voice spoke. As if the sound of the button is not instantly recognisable. As if the voice coming out of it isn’t just Hunger’s voice. I do not understand why these anecdotes are written this way. It’s not like you wouldn’t be able to recognise a recording and it's weird that she's kind of pretending otherwise.

At four months old, Stella was using three words independently, in multiple environments, with several different people. This was incredibly impressive to me. I could not believe how fast she learned. During the process, it seemed like it took so long, but now, looking back, we only had Stella for two months and she was already saying three different words.

I’m also extremely skeptical about the button pressing instances that haven’t made it into this book. What about all the times that Stella used the buttons and it wasn’t clear that she was communicating the exact meanings of the words “outside”, “play” and “water”? It’s as if Hunger is suggesting that beyond the first month, Stella only ever used the buttons meaningfully and deliberately, every time.

But I taught Stella in all the same ways that I teach children. I didn’t train her to push a button on my command. I didn’t reward her with treats for saying a word. I didn’t use my hand to grab her paw and make her say a word. I didn’t train the behavior of pushing the button first before I attached meaning to it.

Again we see no interest in dog behaviour or existing knowledge of dog training. Hunger did, actually, train Stella to push a button. She did it through operant conditioning. She didn’t reinforce with food, but she did reinforce with opening the door, water, play and praise. This is basic dog training, something Hunger has shown no interest in learning about.

In chapter 8 Hunger decides to add six more buttons all at once. Eat, love you, walk, help, come and no.

It was fascinating to see such a clear difference in her reactions between all her other vocabulary words and “walk.” Stella did not push any of the other words right away, not even “eat.” She stood near me while I modeled them, but they did not capture her attention like “walk” had. Seeing her so excited to push it made me wonder if she had ever wished for the ability to say “walk” before I programmed it for her.

We already know Stella now has button pushing in her behavioural repertoire. The fact that she pushed a button right away does not mean that Stella intrinsically understood the meaning of “walk”. The use of the button immediately preceded the same behaviours that cue a walk, so it’s no wonder that Stella immediately responded to them. She was excited about the cues she observed from Hunger that indicated a walk was imminent. The word “walk” is only one cue out of a whole sequence of predictable behaviours!

She finishes the chapter by using a few paragraphs to wax poetical about abstaining from social media. Amusingly she writes, “Since my brain was not filled with other people’s thoughts, I could really listen to my own.” In this instance I would recommend immediately reading other people’s thoughts, specifically in regards to dog behaviour.

Stella started using her sixth word, help, multiple times a day when she would drop her toy behind the couch or when it rolled under the TV stand. Initially, she said “help” on its own, without pairing gestures with it. Even though we knew she needed help, if Jake or I had not been watching, we would not know where her toy disappeared. Stella would watch us look around, under the couch or under the entertainment center. Then, her tail started wagging and she came to stand right next to us when we were close to it. Soon, Stella started independently combining “help” with a gesture, normally standing where she wanted us to look. She learned that we needed more information to most effectively find her toy.

So far this is the most interesting anecdote about Stella using a button. If this is true, Stella has generalised the meaning of the “help” button to her toys being stuck in different places. This is fascinating! I’d love for this to be expanded upon, for this to be the focus. This has far more potential than any other example.

This chapter also has another weird divergence about minimalism. It’s that annoying thing that some people do where they try to frame social media usage and owning possessions as a kind of moral stance, and shedding themselves of these things makes them more morally pure. Anyway the point of the minimalism thing is to explain why they got rid of all their furniture (even though them moving is enough of an explanation), and that made Stella stressed.

Stella left the room, turned the corner, and said, “no.” She looked up to me with the saddest eyes before she curled up in a ball on top of an empty grocery bag lying on the ground. This was the first time Stella had ever said “no.” She was either commenting on how there was “no” couch there anymore, upset that the couch she grew up snuggling on was suddenly gone, or protesting what we did. Maybe Stella had more awareness and attachment to the items in our home than I had realized.

I’m sorry but I just… don’t believe Hunger. This is too narratively and anthropomorphically convenient. I just don’t trust Hunger. This paragraph is storytelling. This is what Bunny’s owner does in every video, she creates a narrative to explain what’s happening. The key point here being that it’s narrative and does not actually equate to the truth.

Again, how many times is Stella using the buttons “incorrectly”? We have no idea because Hunger never talks about that. She is only giving us anecdotes that fit her narrative. Remember that Hunger has added six new words all at once.

After she heard the words and saw what happened when she said each of them a few times, she started using them more confidently.

I’m just going to say it again: operant conditioning.

Stella watched me zip up the suitcase, said “help,” and curled up in a ball on my lap.

I’m just going to say it again: I have difficulty believing these anecdotes. I have difficulty accepting them exactly as presented, with all the insinuations and implications left unwritten.

This book is a memoir, and a questionable one at that. There is nothing scientific about it, and the "tips" it provides for budding dog button users are extremely dubious. So far she has backed up her actions with examples from her education in child development. This is not appropriate for discussing dog behaviour. It's useful to consider the way we teach human children language, and how it may be adapted for dogs, but Hunger is not doing that. She is copying and pasting the same principles to her dog with no adjustments, no species-appropriate changes.

A few months ago a fellow trainer brought this book to a trial and took it around to tell people how wonderful it was. I did not really engage because I didn't want to be a hater on someone for absolutely no reason. But reading it now, it alarms me that people without much knowledge about dogs would find this a useful or interesting book, and it especially alarms me that experienced dog people would. Nine chapters in, there is no value here. There is nothing groundbreaking, nothing interesting. I stand by what I wrote the first time I wrote about my disdain for dog buttons: instead of focusing on how to correctly interpret dog communication and behaviour and how to use training to augment our relationship with dogs, this talking dog thing comes in and just crushes all that beneath the weight of a wooden board covered in plastic buttons.