#Work at Height(Level 1 to 2)

[dumbfucksystem]

you know the hyperfixation is extreme when you are willing to learn an entire craft and become a slave to the animation industry just so that you can make content for it. i would put my blood, sweat, and tears into animating all of scum villain if it didn’t also grind my soul into a million pieces.

[hsslilly-blog]

have i ever mentioned claire’s measuring tape. the measuring tape she carries in her purse and when a man is annoying her she takes it out. which is a threat.

[kiwisoap]

How to Make Your Own Binder that Fits Well and Looks Good

A while back I was in need of some new binders and thought hey, I bet I can make one way cheaper than buying it from somewhere (especially cus some of the ones I’ve bought in the past didn’t really fit right). Except when I started looking for a binder patterns online, I was very surprised that I really… couldn’t find many that looked very nice lol. Most of them had really wrinkled necklines, or didn't bind well, or just overall looked weird. A lot of the patterns also required a serger, which I don't have.

So I just said fuck it and made my own pattern! And it ended up being relatively easy! And the binders fit REALLY WELL and are comfortable to wear, even for long periods. The neckline doesn't show under shirts with loose collars, and the bottom hem doesn't gap or stick out. Here's me wearing one:

(plus I was able to make myself 5 of them for a total of like ~$50.)

So I figured I could throw together a guide to help out anyone else who wanted to make their own binder but was dissatisfied with the patterns available!

Disclaimer: This tutorial is going to assume a baseline level of sewing experience, and also will require access to a sewing machine. It is not a complicated pattern, but it will most likely require some tweaking and adjustments after you make the first one. Don’t be afraid to make alterations to make it fit better!

This tutorial is for a gc2b-style half-tank binder. It could be altered to be a full-tank binder, but all instructions will be for the half-tank design.

Materials needed:

Stretchy fabric, probably listed as 'athletic fabric' (I use this kind from Joann’s. Most athletic stretch fabrics should work, look for around 80% nylon/20% spandex blends)

Stiff fabric (I use this shirting cotton because I like how lightweight it is. If you want something a little stiffer with more structure, you can use a cotton or cotton/poly blend twill like this. gc2b binders use twill for theirs.)

Lightweight fusible interfacing (I use this kind) (get FUSIBLE not sew-in)

Fusible webbing like Pellon Wonder-Web (this is technically optional but it WILL make your life easier when you’re sewing - just make sure to get the kind with the paper backing!!!)

“But kiwisoap thats 4 whole kinds of materials, surely I don’t need that many!” Ok sure, you can probably get by without the fusible web and interfacing, but consider: they are both dirt cheap (im talking like $1-2/yard), they will make it much easier to sew the final product, and will give you an overall better-looking result. This tutorial is written with the assumption that you’ll use them.

"How much fabric will I need?" Measure the circumference of your chest below your armpits. Add 6 inches just to be safe. This is the yardage of stretch fabric you’ll need, and should give you enough material to make at least 3 binders without much excess left over. You will need around half as much stiff fabric.

Other supplies:

Big Paper (for drawing the pattern)

Flexible measuring tape

Sewing machine

Iron

Pins

Step 1: Measuring

You will need 4 main measurements for this pattern.

A) Measure the circumference of your chest just below your armpits, then divide the number in half. This will be the widest part of the pattern.

B) Measure from the top of your shoulder down to where you want the binder to end. For most folks, this will usually be around the natural waist (narrowest part of the torso), about 3-6 inches above the belly button. This will be the overall height of the pattern.

C) Measure the distance from below your armpit to where you want the binder to end. This will determine where the arm hole starts.

D) Measure the circumference of your waist where you want the binder to end, then divide the number in half.

So for example, after dividing A and D in half, my measurements are 17", 15", 7", and 14.5".

Next:

Subtract one inch from measurement A - This will help provide some compression. You might need to take it in even further depending on how it fits, but one inch is a safe starting point. I take mine in around 1.5 inches.

Subtract half an inch from measurement D. This will help prevent the bottom edge of the binder from gapping. Again, you may need to take it in more or less, depending on your own body.

Add 1.5 inches to measurement B and one inch to measurement C. This is to account for the hems and armhole placement.

This makes my final measurements

A = 16"

B = 16.5"

C = 8"

D = 13.5"

From here on out, we are only going to be working with the measurements that we have added/subtracted to, NOT the ones we initially took.

Step 2: Drawing the Pattern

You will need a piece of paper large enough to accommodate the entire pattern. This may involve taping multiple pieces together, or using a piece of newsprint, etc.

I recommend folding the paper in half to ensure that you get a symmetrical pattern. However, this means you will need to divide measurements A and D in half again, or else you’ll end up with a pattern that’s twice as wide as it should be!

Also note: the pattern is drawn with the seam allowance built in! You don’t need to add any seam allowance.

To draw the pattern:

Begin with your folded paper. Measure and mark B and C on the paper, and draw a line extending across the paper. These will be your guidelines.

Measure and mark A and D along the middle and bottom guidelines, respectively. Remember, the paper is folded, so you only use half of the measurement for A and D.

Draw a loose curve connecting the endpoints of A and D. If needed, you can also just draw a straight line between the two.

Mark the opening for the neck hole. Depending on your size, it will measure around 6-8 inches across at the top (remember to divide this in half for the folded paper) and about 5-6.5 inches deep. (mine is 6.5" across and 5.5" deep) Draw a curve to connect the two points. This part will take some tweaking and adjusting to get it to look right lol.

Measure the width of the strap - this should be somewhere between 2.5 - 4 inches wide. They will end up about 1/2” to 3/4” narrower once you sew them. Draw the line at a slight angle, as shown.

Connect the endpoint of the strap to the endpoint of line A with a curve like in the diagram.

This will be the pattern for the front piece.

To make the back piece, trace the front pattern, but make a very shallow curve for the neckline instead of a steep one, as shown:

The last piece is the stiff front panel. This is what provides the flattening effect of the binder. To make the pattern, trace the front pattern again. Trim 3/8” in on the sleeves and neckline, and 3/4” to 1” along the bottom. This gives a flatter hem. Then trim the straps shorter by a few inches. This helps the binder lay flatter along the shoulders.

When you're done, you should have 3 pattern pieces that look approximately like this (stiff panel shown overlaid on the stretch fabric to show how it fits together).

NOTE: If you want more compression or just want to make it a bit sturdier, you can add a second panel of stretch fabric to the back piece. Just use the bottom half of the back pattern (from the widest part down to the bottom hem) to cut out another piece of stretch fabric. Attach it to the back piece with a strip of fusible webbing and a zig-zag stitch along the top.

Step 3: Putting It All Together

Once you’ve made the patterns and cut out the pieces of fabric, you should have something that looks like this:

The next step is adding interfacing and fusible webbing. Use your pattern to cut out 3/8" strips to fit on the top of the straps for both pieces, and to the neckline, sleeves, and bottom hem of the back piece, as shown:

If you want to add it to the bottom hem of the front piece, it will help keep that hem flat when sewing it down later, but it's not essential.

If you choose to also use fusible webbing (WHICH I RECOMMEND), you will apply it to the stiff front panel similarly to how the interfacing was applied, ~3/8” strips along the neckline, sleeves, and top of the straps. Cut out two strips for the neckline and sleeves, because we'll use those later too.

Iron the strips onto the front panel as shown:

Once it's on, just peel off the paper, position it webbing-side down on the stretch fabric, and iron it to fuse the two pieces together so everything stays in place while you sew. THIS MAKES IT WAY EASIER TO SEW.

After the stiff front panel is fused to the stretch fabric, you’ll sew the straps of the front and back pieces together, then join the pieces along the sides. Pin the hell out of it to keep everything in place -this type of material is VERY prone to puckering.

When sewing, USE A ZIGZAG STITCH. A straight stitch will NOT WORK for stretch fabric. I adjust mine to 1.3mm long and 3.5mm wide which has worked well. If your machine doesn’t let you adjust stitch length or width, well. That sucks, I don’t really have any advice.

After you sew the front and back pieces together, you can add more fusible webbing to the front panel to help hold the hem down flat and prevent it from puckering while you sew it. Just add the strip, peel the paper off, then fold the hem over and iron it down. This part isn’t really necessary, but it does make the hems look nicer. If nothing else, I would recommend adding it to the neckline.

After that, you just fold & pin all the hems and sew them up with a zigzag stitch, then go over the raw edge at the top of the stiff panel (where we cut the straps shorter).

And that’s it! You’re done! And now you can make your own binders whenever you want!

And hey! If you used this tutorial and wanna throw me a dollar or two on ko-fi, I wouldn't complain.

[tamil1984]

[nikitallymessy]

who will you end up with?

→ liked the reading? support me on ko-fi!

ᯓ𖤐.ᐟ introduction: this reading will cover who you'll end up with, and who your end game is. This is a follower request yippie!!

ᯓ𖤐.ᐟ reminder: this is a general reading made for entertainment purposes, so please take what resonates and leave what doesn't ^_^

ᯓ𖤐.ᐟ how to pick a pile: close your eyes, take a deep breath, and choose the picture to which your eyes are drawn to.

from left to right: pile 1 | pile 2 | pile 3 | pile 4 | pile 5

PILE 1:

their physical appearance - page of swords

The physical appearance of the person you’ll end up with is someone who looks youthful for their age like they’re eternally 20 years old. They have brown wavy hair and eyes with warm medium tan skin, (I don’t know if you guys are familiar with this brand but I keep seeing the shade “Lazi” from Colourette’s first base skin tint.) They are also tall with a lean or naturally slim build. I’m getting very “boyish” vibes from this card. 

their aura - the star

With the star card, their aura is very dream-like, like a breath of fresh air of hope. Their favorite color could be blue as well, with the water and the background on the star card as well as on the page of swords. They could enjoy wearing the color blue or incorporate it often in their daily lives. Anyway, I see they could be a spiritual person as well, with a strong connection to water. Their favorite hobbies may include stargazing, swimming, and walking. 

their main traits - saturn in scorpio and mercury in virgo

What I'm getting at with the saturn in scorpio is that they are a very intense person, especially when it comes to work. This includes being a perfectionist and a hard worker as well. The meaning of this card is inheritance, so this could hint that they deal with family matters often, such as managing an inheritance. I'm getting hints that the person you end up with could be a businessman or someone whose career requires maximum effort and an excellent, analytical mind. Your person does not rush into things or do things impulsively, rather, they take the time to think clearly about their options with a level-headed mind.

━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━ ❜❛ ━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━ ❜❛ ━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━ ❜❛ ━━

PILE 2:

their physical appearance - temperance

Your person is someone who is very angelic in their appearance. They have this white aura-like glow about them, and they’re conventionally attractive as well. I see that they have the perfect balance of feminine and masculine features, so they are androgynous in appearance. To be more specific, they may have light brown to blonde hair, have dewy, healthy skin, and are average to tall in height. 

their aura - the tower

This is someone who has very intense energy. They could have experienced great losses in their life that makes them closed off to people. I’m getting that they’re the type of person to leave a long-lasting impression on people due to how intense and powerful their aura is. 

their main traits - saturn in capricorn and saturn in scorpio

A lot of saturn energy here! Aligned with the tower card, your person is someone who experienced great lessons in life, thus transforming them into someone who practices self-discipline and structure in their lives. While they’re young, they’re a very “all work no play” type of person, but once they get older and cement themselves in life as a successful person, they start to let loose. I see that for now, they could be very stuck-up and stick to the rules a lot, but that is for their own benefit in life. They feel as though they have to leave their mark in the world. 

━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━ ❜❛ ━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━ ❜❛ ━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━ ❜❛ ━━

PILE 3:

their physical appearance - nine of cups

For this pile, your person is someone who you’ll take note of first and who dresses with comfort in mind over everything else. They could have round faces and body shapes, as well as wavy dark-colored hair. They are of medium to short height (shorter than you or around your height). 

their aura eight of pentacles

This is someone who at first glance, you know is passionate and creative about their craft. This craft could be anything, like hobbies such as woodworking, or even writing. They have a very grounded, they know themselves, hardworking energy about them. This is someone who is a very dependable person due to their consistency. 

their main traits - jupiter in libra and mars in leo

I see that they have a talent for making people love them, it's their comforting, reliable energy. They have the respect and admiration of others in their life, and this is for good reason. Although with this respect comes egotism, they could also be someone with a high ego because they know that they are great at what they do. I see that they enjoy playing games as well, it could be one of their hobbies!

━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━ ❜❛ ━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━ ❜❛ ━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━ ❜❛ ━━

PILE 4:

their physical appearance - the empress

First of all, I have to say that this entire pile is giving me feminine energy. So this person who you'll end up with is definitely someone who embodies the feminine energy and the divine feminine. This is someone who is undeniably beautiful, and they know it. They take care of themselves well and carry themselves with elegance and grace.

their aura - queen of wands

For their aura, they are intensely confident, independent, and vivacious. They know what they want and they know how to get it. They are also incredibly independent - like pure "girl boss" energy is just screaming from this pile. For the people they're close with, they see this person as a mother figure at best, someone who is dependable and exudes warmth.

their main traits - venus in aries and moon in aquarius

Your person has a lust for life, they're wild, eccentric, and affectionate. You could enter this relationship with them impulsively or it's a relationship that moves fast. Whoever they choose to be their partner, they get them. This is someone who does not hide behind any facades, they show their true selves to others and they have to decide whether to appreciate them or move on.

━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━ ❜❛ ━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━ ❜❛ ━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━ ❜❛ ━━

PILE 5:

their physical appearance - knight of pentacles

I see that with the knight of pentacles, your person has an earthy look about them, like dark hair and olive-to-dark skin. They are muscular and strong, very sturdy. This build makes them someone who at first glance, you already know is a great shoulder to lean on. I see that they could have thoughtful and expressive eyes as well, like they can't hide how they feel no matter what once you look into their eyes.

their aura - knight of cups

This is a very romantic person, lucky you! They care about you a lot and chivalry is not dead when you're with them. I see that they're very sweet and charming, but not to the point where it's flashy. This charm and sweetness come straight from their heart. They love connecting with you and knowing every thought that comes from your mind, they find those thoughts beautiful.

their main traits - mercury in aquarius and sun in leo

This is someone who is revolutionary, they're immensely intelligent, an innovative thinker, and cares about humanity in general. They could take a social science or a humanities course in college. This is someone who has a grand vision for people and wants to execute it. They could be a CEO later in their life, such as owning a start-up company. This is someone who is a hard worker and reaps what they sow. I see that they often take leadership roles, not because they want the recognition of being a leader, but because it is in their soul to lead.

[machinemonstrosity]

hjust a qusetion but , would you consider writing for the minions of mafioso's...... im really fond of them freaks << 3 3 33 .

WARNINGS - NONE , silly headcanons for mafioso's henchmen , technically not an x reader but i don't know how else to tag it

a/n - i didn't know what to write since there's nothing about these guys other than one render......i'll write more next time, i promise! working through mobile sucks so i apologize if the image sizes and qualities are bad.

Mafioso's henchmen act like goofy cartoon villain sidekicks. While they can be serious and will get the job done, most of the time people are wondering how they even got into the mafia in the first place. They're a capable group of minions — just not the best in terms of scare factor.

To conceal their actual names, they nicknamed themselves with numbers. They also thought it sounded cooler.

ONE (1)

Out of everyone who tried to puff out their chest to claim the title, 1 received it due to being the oldest and most skilled of the group.

He's the most reasonable and level-headed of the henchmen, although that doesn't mean much. They all tend to bounce the same brain cell around like a game of hot potato.

The most stubborn when it comes to the gang's shenanigans and plans. Yet every time, without fail, he'll still cave and tag along. “Can't let the rest of ‘em get in trouble without me.” As he says.

He doesn't really express as much emotion as the others, but he will crack a noticeable smile or chuckle on occasion. Catching 1 letting out a full-on laugh is rare, normally only being something that happens with the rest of the minions. You're doing something right if he laughs around you.

TWO (2)

King of being competitive. Will absolutely take every small achievement or victory of his as a challenge to do better, especially if it's other people's. It happens to be playfully mutual among the others.

2 beats everyone at knife fights. Including 1.

He has a tendency to be the instigator of chaos. When they're inevitably caught causing a ruckus, all fingers are instantly pointing to him. Everyone still gets punished for it despite the snitching.

The tallest of the group. The running joke is that the tophat is the only reason for his placement on the height chart.

THREE (3)

The loudest of the group and the first to humor a terrible idea. That crowbar is always itching to be used.

3 is very short-tempered. He was unofficially banned from handling interrogations as the result of a group vote. The incident still isn't discussed to this day and is somehow still hidden from Mafioso.

Normally the last to show up for duty. This guy is an absolute night owl and stays up until the early hours of the morning. 

Magically, laundry duty always falls onto 3. Very cruel magic that has the other henchmen giggling and smiling like kids in a candy store. Laundry day rotations are basically nonexistent now.

FOUR (4)

Being the youngest of the group, 4 is a certified rookie. It gets him picked on sometimes, but it's all in good fun.

Surprisingly, he's only the second shortest of the group.

One of the most unconvincing gang members the world has ever seen. 4 is friendly to a fault, having gotten into multiple sticky situations in his naivety. His inexperience is sympathized with, but the boys are trying their hardest to toughen him up a bit.

No matter how many times the henchmen get asked about why they joined the mafia, 4 is the only one who never gives an answer.

Around you, the boys would be total sweethearts! They have one rule: if the big boss is alright with you, it's a pass in their book, too. Whether they were ordered to or not, they'll insist on keeping a careful eye on you and ensuring you're safe and sound. Escorts and free lunch are your new normal.

It may be a bit overbearing at times, but their hearts are in the right places.

Just know it won't be them answering the call if you get hurt. At that point, they're only the messengers.

[redgoldsparks]

TAEKWONDO: A fanzine by Maia Kobabe

insta / patreon / portfolio / etsy / my books / print store / bluesky

Full zine transcript below the cut.

Page 1

In 2017, I started working from home full time. I loved having more time to focus on my writing & art but soon realized I rarely left a 100 foot radius of my home office. 

Shrimp posture of someone who enjoys typing in their lap

Maia: I need to move my body or I’ll calcify!

I’d noticed a martial arts gym not far from my house. I couldn’t tell what type of martial art, but I was interested. I did a year of Judo in college, but wanted to try a new sport.

Page 2

Finally, I worked up the motivation to give them a call.

Maia: Hello, I was wondering if you had classes for beginning adults. 

Teacher: We do! Three days a week. 

Teacher: Come to a class for free to see if you like it. 

Maia: Thanks, I will. Um- what sport is it? 

Teacher: Taekwondo! 

That first day I felt like I’d completely forgotten how to exercise. Jogging around the small gym 20 times almost ended me. 

Maia: I shouldn’t have eaten before class! 

(Only one not wearing a uniform.) 

That plus a basic warmup of pushups, jumping jacks, squats, and kick drills left me so sore I could barely get out of bed the next day. 

Maia: My whole body hurts! 

Page 3

But right away there were things I loved about Taekwondo at this gym.

Bowing before stepping onto the mat. 

Everyone wearing the same gender neutral uniform. 

A moment of mediation at the start of class. “I am here.” 

Kids playing at the side of the gym while their parents exercise. 

Kick drills! 

And forms! I love learning forms.

Page 4

Poomsae, or forms, are choreographed patterns of attacks & defenses. There are 8 forms for color belts to learn before reaching black belt with increasing levels of difficulty. 

First few steps of taeguk il-jang, form one. Prepare low block, pull fist back, step & block. Snap wrist with block. Prepare for middle punch, palm facing up. Middle punch, sternum height. Palm facing down.

Form one is made of very basic movements & yet it is infinitely perfectible with greater degrees of precision & skill.

Maia: My fist should brush past my belt before my hand twists… shoulder stay square. 

Maia: High block starts with palm facing up and ends with palm facing out… block should be two fists above my forehead. 

Page 5 

During the first four years I studied taekwondo my hometown experienced three devastating wildfires. I sold, wrote, published, & toured my first book. 

But no matter how much I have in my mind, taekwondo forces me to be in my body. 

And in the moment. 

Present. 

I remember the first time I left the gym & realized: "Wow, I didn’t think about work for an hour." 

Page 6 

When the pandemic hit, my taekwondo classes continued on zoom. 

Practicing kicks over & over in my living room was one of the main things that kept me sane. 

Page 7

I’m heading into my 8th year of studying taekwondo. Wow!

This is the longest I have ever stuck with one sport in my life. 

This year I hope to take my black belt test, a goal that felt completely unattainable when I started. 

I love the physicality of this sport & I’m definitely in better shape than when I started.

But what kept me coming back is how good it is for my brain.

When I leave class, my mind feels so much calmer & more peaceful. 

As we head into an increasingly uncertain future, I’m more & more grateful for this practice. 

Page 8

I love the comforting rituals of taekwondo. 

Lining up in color belt order.

Doing the same basic warmup everyday.

But taekwondo also pushes me outside my comfort zone, especially in tournament season. 

Maia: $200 to register for 2 events? Yikes!

They are expensive; 

Maia: Check-in starts at 8am

start very early; 

Maia: Here we go…

& the closest one is over 100 miles away. 

Maia: I spent hundreds of dollars & I am driving hundreds of miles to go fight a stranger in a high school gym. Whyyyyyy am I doing this? 

Page 9

At my first tournament, as a green belt, they couldn’t find anyone in my level for me to spar. They paired me with a red advanced belt (one level below black). 

She kicked my butt. I fell down multiple times & got a mild black eye from a kick in the face. I lost by 26 to 6.  

As I limped out of the ring, I remember thinking: 

Maia: "That really scared and intimidated me… but I did it anyway. And I lived!" 

Page 10

You should try Taekwondo if: 

You’re interested in a dynamic sport that includes cardio, stretching, endurance training, speed, flexibility, jumping, kicking, & yelling 

You like the formality of martial arts (wearing a uniform, bowing, opening & closing rituals)

You want a sport that is gentle on the hands- everyday is leg day in taekwondo (good for artists!)

You are interested in learning forms & techniques that require memory & patience. 

You want to run around & have a good time in an exercise class! It’s fun! 

Thank you so much to my instructors & the classmates who trained alongside me for all these years. And thank you for reading. 

감사합니다

Maia Kobabe is the author of the award-winning graphic memoir, Gender Queer, the most challenged book in the United States in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Maia’s short comics and writing have been published in The New Yorker, The Nib, The Washington Post, NPR, Time Magazine and in many print anthologies. 

This zine was written & drawn on the traditional lands of the Coast Miwok & Southern Pomo people, where I am grateful to live and work. 

[kunikuyu]

"A reward for someone so good." Hashira Series!

Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Gyomei Himejima x Male! Reader

Warnings: Minors DNI, NSFW, read as afab reader, size kink, "calm" sex, faint, belly bulge, Himejima has feelings for the reader.

Summary: Pillar training has begun, much to your delight. Of course, as a hard-working and strong person, you can handle any challenge. Even if it's fighting a hashira. And in a way, they all see some value in you, and want to reward you for it.

You decided you would trust Sanemi (in which case, you were too tired to try and cut the ropes). You slept on the floor of that room and were woken up by someone mumbling while untying you.

"Ah, you finally decided to wake up? Lazy bastard." And you just shrug. If Sanemi wasn't going to untie you, you'd probably stay there until you gathered the strength to do it yourself.

Shinazugawa finally lets you go, but you can't walk at the moment. "..." He stares at you, hoping you'll get up soon. "You haven't realized my situation yet, have you?"

"I won't carry you in my arms, don't you dare ask."

....

You didn't even have to ask. He picked you up willingly and covered you with his haori (which only covered the bottom part due to your height). Fortunately, no one saw you in this situation.

Sanemi carries you to the room and offers you new clothes, next to a hot bath since you were covered in blood. He seems to want to apologize for being too rough last night, but he's too proud for that.

This is how he shows that in a way, he cares for you. Genya came to see you after your shower, and he seemed very curious to know why you disappeared last night and are now in Sanemi's room. You just laugh softly.

After some small talk and some things about the upcoming training and about Gyomei, Genya and Sanemi accompany you to the gate. You were already more recovered, and could probably get to Gyomei's training area with ease.

Genya says goodbye to you with a handshake and quickly leaves. Sanemi would finally apologize to you. "... Sorry for yesterday." "It's okay. Just make sure you don't leave me tied up next time." And so, you walked away while following your crow.

"Wait... WILL THERE BE A NEXT TIME?!" The older Shinazugawa screams and tries to reach you, but trips on a rock and ends up falling.

......

You finally arrived at Gyomei's training area. The few people who made it past Sanemi's training looked washed up. Himejima's training was very heavy, just like Genya said.

A hand subtly touches your shoulder, and you immediately recognize who the person is. "Himejima-san!" You smile, and the man almost twice your height smiles back. You weren't exactly short, but Gyomei was almost a tree, he was so tall.

"[Name], long time I haven't seen you. Namu." He says, voice deep as he rubs his hands together. The bulging veins on his arms made you blush softly. Maybe you have a thing for muscular men. And speaking of which, you've done a lot of missions together. It was almost a trio. Genya, Gyomei and you (since Tomioka stayed away from you in the past).

For a few seconds you wondered how Himejima knew it was you. But he's like a bear, his senses are extremely keen. "So, what's the training like?" Even though you already had an idea, you still wanted to be sure of what you were going to face.

"Your training is unique, please follow me. Namu."

.....

You obey the Hashira, and soon, you arrive at his mansion. It was very similar to all the others, except it felt more warm and comfortable. "Please sit."

Gyomei takes you to the farthest corner of the house, and sits in front of you. The difference in size was brutal even when he was sitting down.

He holds your hand gently and sighs, preparing to say something unusual. "Sr. [Name], I would like you to have sex with me. Not only that, but I propose that this be your test of strength." He was so straight to the point that it scared you.

Okay, you knew that was his personality. But it was on a much higher level. Seeing that you didn't answer him, but didn't move away either, he continues what he was saying. "On every mission we've done, I've felt something for you that I never thought I'd feel for a man. You are kind and pure, despite your personality being somewhat eccentric."

You had no words for it. You were normally the one praising people, and now you were being praised in such a kind way. You just squeeze Himejima's hand, as your body moves closer to him.

"...I accept this training, Himejima-san."

.....

He takes off all of his necklaces, and starts to unbuckle his belt. Before he even took off his pants, you noticed that his cock was already hard as a rock.

And when he took off his pants, you almost fainted. Seriously, your blood pressure has really dropped. That thing was huge, probably 44 centimeters. That wasn't even humanly possible! Now you're not sure if you agree with this training.

Himejima senses your concern, and quickly reassures you. "If you can't take it, I won't force you." And you just make a mumble of "ok"

He takes off his pants, and pats his hand gently on his thigh, to signal that he was ready. You quickly take off your pants too, and crawl until you are face to face with that monstrosity. It was quite heavy, and his balls felt swollen, as if it were waiting to release their load.

You try to sit on Gyomei's lap, placing the man's cock in your pussy. But it was almost an impossible task, it was too big. Only the head had entered and you already felt full. He throws his head back and lets out some low, hoarse moans, already feeling pleasure just from having contact with your body.

Little by little, you get used to the new sensation, and Gyomei's cock starts to slide inside you. Soon, (almost) everything was inside you, and you were already sitting on Gyomei's lap. He let out much louder, but still discreet, moans as he hugged your body. Your belly was swollen, and you could be sure that that bulge was the perfect shape of Gyomei's cock.

You massage that bulge and squeeze gently, making you and the other man moan again. He didn't seem to care if you weren't moving, he just wanted contact with you.

But you wanted to move, you wanted to go after your own pleasure. And so, you began to lightly move back and forth, riding the taller man. He starts to sigh deeply and moan some meaningless words, while you bite your mouth to keep from screaming. Every slightest movement you make makes his member hit your sweet spot.

Until he decides to help you with your movements. His hands held your ass, and without any difficulty, he made you move up and down gently on his slippery cock. That was as far as you could go without moaning loudly.

You just put your hand over your mouth to keep from screaming while he fucks you. "H-Himejima...Ah!~" It's all you can say, because you were almost screaming.

And this goes on for a few minutes. He makes calm movements with his body as he reaches the deepest point he could reach. You were already close to passing out, it was too much to handle and every time he hit your sweet spot, you could feel your blood pressure dropping.

"... [Name]-san... I feel like I'm about to..." You widen your eyes, already understanding what he meant. And it only took a few seconds for him to release his load inside you. As soon as his cum hit your deepest point in a warm jet, you passed out.

There was a lot of cum, it was even leaking and causing a bigger swelling in your belly. He notices your body going limp, and pulls you off his dick. He wasn't that experienced in having sex, but he felt like he shouldn't have such extreme concern, just take care of you and your body while you were passed out.

And so he does, giving you a bath, putting on clean clothes and lying next to you in bed, hugging you in a bear hug.

He was really happy with everything that happened. He really likes you, and sex only confirmed his feelings.

Bonus lines!

"I really love you, [Name]-san. We should get married, I want you to be my husband."

"... I see..."

[mostlysignssomeportents]

AI’s productivity theater

Support me this summer on the Clarion Write-A-Thon and help raise money for the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop!

When I took my kid to New Zealand with me on a book-tour, I was delighted to learn that grocery stores had special aisles where all the kids'-eye-level candy had been removed, to minimize nagging. What a great idea!

Related: countries around the world limit advertising to children, for two reasons:

1) Kids may not be stupid, but they are inexperienced, and that makes them gullible; and

2) Kids don't have money of their own, so their path to getting the stuff they see in ads is nagging their parents, which creates a natural constituency to support limits on kids' advertising (nagged parents).

There's something especially annoying about ads targeted at getting credulous people to coerce or torment other people on behalf of the advertiser. For example, AI companies spent millions targeting your boss in an effort to convince them that you can be replaced with a chatbot that absolutely, positively cannot do your job.

Your boss has no idea what your job entails, and is (not so) secretly convinced that you're a featherbedding parasite who only shows up for work because you fear the breadline, and not because your job is a) challenging, or b) rewarding:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/19/make-them-afraid/#fear-is-their-mind-killer

That makes them prime marks for chatbot-peddling AI pitchmen. Your boss would love to fire you and replace you with a chatbot. Chatbots don't unionize, they don't backtalk about stupid orders, and they don't experience any inconvenient moral injury when ordered to enshittify the product:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/25/moral-injury/#enshittification

Bosses are Bizarro-world Marxists. Like Marxists, your boss's worldview is organized around the principle that every dollar you take home in wages is a dollar that isn't available for executive bonuses, stock buybacks or dividends. That's why you boss is insatiably horny for firing you and replacing you with software. Software is cheaper, and it doesn't advocate for higher wages.

That makes your boss such an easy mark for AI pitchmen, which explains the vast gap between the valuation of AI companies and the utility of AI to the customers that buy those companies' products. As an investor, buying shares in AI might represent a bet the usefulness of AI – but for many of those investors, backing an AI company is actually a bet on your boss's credulity and contempt for you and your job.

But bosses' resemblance to toddlers doesn't end with their credulity. A toddler's path to getting that eye-height candy-bar goes through their exhausted parents. Your boss's path to realizing the productivity gains promised by an AI salesman runs through you.

A new research report from the Upwork Research Institute offers a look into the bizarre situation unfolding in workplaces where bosses have been conned into buying AI and now face the challenge of getting it to work as advertised:

https://www.upwork.com/research/ai-enhanced-work-models

The headline findings tell the whole story:

96% of bosses expect that AI will make their workers more productive;

85% of companies are either requiring or strongly encouraging workers to use AI;

49% of workers have no idea how AI is supposed to increase their productivity;

77% of workers say using AI decreases their productivity.

Working at an AI-equipped workplaces is like being the parent of a furious toddler who has bought a million Sea Monkey farms off the back page of a comic book, and is now destroying your life with demands that you figure out how to get the brine shrimp he ordered from a notorious Holocaust denier to wear little crowns like they do in the ad:

https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2004/hitler-and-sea-monkeys

Bosses spend a lot of time thinking about your productivity. The "productivity paradox" shows a rapid, persistent decline in American worker productivity, starting in the 1970s and continuing to this day:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Productivity_paradox

The "paradox" refers to the growth of IT, which is sold as a productivity-increasing miracle. There are many theories to explain this paradox. One especially good theory came from the late David Graeber (rest in power), in his 2012 essay, "Of Flying Cars and the Declining Rate of Profit":

https://thebaffler.com/salvos/of-flying-cars-and-the-declining-rate-of-profit

Graeber proposes that the growth of IT was part of a wider shift in research approaches. Research was once dominated by weirdos (e.g. Jack Parsons, Oppenheimer, etc) who operated with relatively little red tape. The rise of IT coincides with the rise of "managerialism," the McKinseyoid drive to monitor, quantify and – above all – discipline the workforce. IT made it easier to generate these records, which also made it normal to expect these records.

Before long, every employee – including the "creatives" whose ideas were credited with the productivity gains of the American century until the 70s – was spending a huge amount of time (sometimes the majority of their working days) filling in forms, documenting their work, and generally producing a legible account of their day's work. All this data gave rise to a ballooning class of managers, who colonized every kind of institution – not just corporations, but also universities and government agencies, which were structured to resemble corporations (down to referring to voters or students as "customers").

Even if you think all that record-keeping might be useful, there's no denying that the more time you spend documenting your work, the less time you have to do your work. The solution to this was inevitably more IT, sold as a way to make the record-keeping easier. But adding IT to a bureaucracy is like adding lanes to a highway: the easier it is to demand fine-grained record-keeping, the more record-keeping will be demanded of you.

But that's not all that IT did for the workplace. There are a couple areas in which IT absolutely increased the profitability of the companies that invested in it.

First, IT allowed corporations to outsource production to low-waged countries in the global south, usually places with worse labor protection, weaker environmental laws, and easily bribed regulators. It's really hard to produce things in factories thousands of miles away, or to oversee remote workers in another country. But IT makes it possible to annihilate distance, time zone gaps, and language barriers. Corporations that figured out how to use IT to fire workers at home and exploit workers and despoil the environment in distant lands thrived. Executives who oversaw these projects rose through the ranks. For example, Tim Cook became the CEO of Apple thanks to his successes in moving production out of the USA and into China.

https://archive.is/M17qq

Outsourcing provided a sugar high that compensated for declining productivity…for a while. But eventually, all the gains to be had from outsourcing were realized, and companies needed a new source of cheap gains. That's where "bossware" came in: the automation of workforce monitoring and discipline. Bossware made it possible to monitor workers at the finest-grained levels, measuring everything from keystrokes to eyeball movements.

What's more, the declining power of the American worker – a nice bonus of the project to fire huge numbers of workers and ship their jobs overseas, which made the remainder terrified of losing their jobs and thus willing to eat a rasher of shit and ask for seconds – meant that bossware could be used to tie wages to metrics. It's not just gig workers who don't score consistent five star ratings from app users whose pay gets docked – it's also creative workers whose Youtube and Tiktok wages are cut for violating rules that they aren't allowed to know, because that might help them break the rules without being detected and punished:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/13/solidarity-forever/#tech-unions

Bossware dominates workplaces from public schools to hospitals, restaurants to call centers, and extends to your home and car, if you're working from home (AKA "living at work") or driving for Uber or Amazon:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/10/02/chickenized-by-arise/#arise

In providing a pretense for stealing wages, IT can increase profits, even as it reduces productivity:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/11/robots-stole-my-jerb/#computer-says-no

One way to think about how this works is through the automation-theory metaphor of a "centaur" and a "reverse centaur." In automation circles, a "centaur" is someone who is assisted by an automation tool – for example, when your boss uses AI to monitor your eyeballs in order to find excuses to steal your wages, they are a centaur, a human head atop a machine body that does all the hard work, far in excess of any human's capacity.

A "reverse centaur" is a worker who acts as an assistant to an automation system. The worker who is ridden by an AI that monitors their eyeballs, bathroom breaks, and keystrokes is a reverse centaur, being used (and eventually, used up) by a machine to perform the tasks that the machine can't perform unassisted:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/12/algorithmic-wage-discrimination/#fishers-of-men

But there's only so much work you can squeeze out of a human in this fashion before they are ruined for the job. Amazon's internal research reveals that the company has calculated that it ruins workers so quickly that it is in danger of using up every able-bodied worker in America:

https://www.vox.com/recode/23170900/leaked-amazon-memo-warehouses-hiring-shortage

Which explains the other major findings from the Upwork study:

81% of bosses have increased the demands they make on their workers over the past year; and

71% of workers are "burned out."

Bosses' answer to "AI making workers feel burned out" is the same as "IT-driven form-filling makes workers unproductive" – do more of the same, but go harder. Cisco has a new product that tries to detect when workers are about to snap after absorbing abuse from furious customers and then gives them a "Zen" moment in which they are showed a "soothing" photo of their family:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ai-bringing-zen-first-horizons-192010166.html

This is just the latest in a series of increasingly sweaty and cruel "workplace wellness" technologies that spy on workers and try to help them "manage their stress," all of which have the (totally predictable) effect of increasing workplace stress:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/03/15/wellness-taylorism/#sick-of-spying

The only person who wouldn't predict that being closely monitored by an AI that snitches on you to your boss would increase your stress levels is your boss. Unfortunately for you, AI pitchmen know this, too, and they're more than happy to sell your boss the reverse-centaur automation tool that makes you want to die, and then sell your boss another automation tool that is supposed to restore your will to live.

The "productivity paradox" is being resolved before our eyes. American per-worker productivity fell because it was more profitable to ship American jobs to regulatory free-fire zones and exploit the resulting precarity to abuse the workers left onshore. Workers who resented this arrangement were condemned for having a shitty "work ethic" – even as the number of hours worked by the average US worker rose by 13% between 1976 and 2016:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/11/robots-stole-my-jerb/#computer-says-no

AI is just a successor gimmick at the terminal end of 40 years of increasing profits by taking them out of workers' hides rather than improving efficiency. That arrangement didn't come out of nowhere: it was a direct result of a Reagan-era theory of corporate power called "consumer welfare." Under the "consumer welfare" approach to antitrust, monopolies were encouraged, provided that they used their market power to lower wages and screw suppliers, while lowering costs to consumers.

"Consumer welfare" supposed that we could somehow separate our identities as "workers" from our identities as "shoppers" – that our stagnating wages and worsening conditions ceased mattering to us when we clocked out at 5PM (or, you know, 9PM) and bought a $0.99 Meal Deal at McDonald's whose low, low price was only possible because it was cooked by someone sleeping in their car and collecting food-stamps.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/20/disneyland-workers-anaheim-california-authorize-strike

But we're reaching the end of the road for consumer welfare. Sure, your toddler-boss can be tricked into buying AI and firing half of your co-workers and demanding that the remainder use AI to do their jobs. But if AI can't do their jobs (it can't), no amount of demanding that you figure out how to make the Sea Monkeys act like they did in the comic-book ad is doing to make that work.

As screwing workers and suppliers produces fewer and fewer gains, companies are increasingly turning on their customers. It's not just that you're getting worse service from chatbots or the humans who are reverse-centaured into their workflow. You're also paying more for that, as algorithmic surveillance pricing uses automation to gouge you on prices in realtime:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/07/24/gouging-the-all-seeing-eye/#i-spy

This is – in the memorable phrase of David Dayen and Lindsay Owens, the "age of recoupment," in which companies end their practice of splitting the gains from suppressing labor with their customers:

https://prospect.org/economy/2024-06-03-age-of-recoupment/

It's a bet that the tolerance for monopolies made these companies too big to fail, and that means they're too big to jail, so they can cheat their customers as well as their workers.

AI may be a bet that your boss can be suckered into buying a chatbot that can't do your job, but investors are souring on that bet. Goldman Sachs, who once trumpeted AI as a multi-trillion dollar sector with unlimited growth, is now publishing reports describing how companies who buy AI can't figure out what to do with it:

https://www.goldmansachs.com/intelligence/pages/gs-research/gen-ai-too-much-spend-too-little-benefit/report.pdf

Fine, investment banks are supposed to be a little conservative. But VCs? They're the ones with all the appetite for risk, right? Well, maybe so, but Sequoia Capital, a top-tier Silicon Valley VC, is also publicly questioning whether anyone will make AI investments pay off:

https://www.sequoiacap.com/article/ais-600b-question/

I can't tell you how great it was to take my kid down a grocery checkout aisle from which all the eye-level candy had been removed. Alas, I can't figure out how we keep the nation's executive toddlers from being dazzled by shiny AI pitches that leave us stuck with the consequences of their impulse purchases.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/07/25/accountability-sinks/#work-harder-not-smarter

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

[abraxo-official]

Companion rambles: could they operate a vehicle + other random assortment of headcannons

Curie:

Knows every single part of a car. Knows every driving safety rule. Do not let her near a vehicle. Her driving style is mad-max levels of fear. She will giggle and comment about how much fun she’s having, and how she wishes she did this sooner. Danger level: 9/10. You won’t die but you’ll never look at a corvega the same.

Cait:

In trying to hotwire it, will either blow it up or will turn it on for just enough time that the alarm goes off. If she did find a functioning one, it would probably end up in a ditch. Danger level: 7/10

Deacon:

He can drive, but in the same way that a elderly person would: you don’t know if he should be behind the wheel, but goddamn it if he’s not going to Tokyo drift into the last parking spot in front of the super-duper mart. Danger level: 5/10

Danse:

Why concern himself with pre-war ruins that aren’t even technologically interesting? He *technically* can fly vertibirds, but also…heights get to him sometimes. If he did have a car, he would dive super safe and basically act like a midwestern dad. Do NOT try and merge without signaling in front of him. Danger level: 2/10

Mac:

Really good at taking cars apart. Only knows about driving from comics. TBH I think he would be the type to only learn how to ride a bike at 10+ years old. He can’t even start the car. Danger level: 0/10

Hancock:

Would try to drive but would get either lost or just confused after about a half hour. Would probably try to add a bunch of stuff on top, like a missile launcher or a turret. It would be so decked out that it wouldn’t even be functional anymore. Would take joy in doing demolition derbies with Mac. Danger level: 3/10

Piper:

She knows how a car works, but like, only from reading 4 pages of a really old manual when she was board. She claims to defunct know how they work, but has no idea what to do when she lifts the hood. Either causes an explosion or ends up breaking at least one part. Never gets it moving. 6/10

Gage:

He can probably figure it out after about a day or two of trying to compare it to a coaster. When he does start it, I think he would actually hate driving. He’s the sole one in control, with his foot on the gas the whole time, and there is no way in hell he is ready for that. Would probably make up some excuse about how raiders don’t need to use cars to make their points. 2/10

Preston:

The safest driver in the world at first, but then he starts going after bigger things. Trucks would help with transporting supplies to settlements, he argues. If we had a garrison of tanks, imagine how many people we could protect, etc. He’s not wrong, and not bad at driving, but he really needs to stop adopting every bubble-top he comes across. 3/10

Nick:

Can drive. Will drive. Then will have to confront the reality of his muscle memory being from a person he never really was. He’ll still take a spin now and then, especially if going long distances, but he prefers to walk. It’s more….him. 1/10

Longfellow:

Cars, no. Boats? Hell yeah. He’s taught just about every sailor far harbor has. But try to get him to drive on land and he will straight out refuse. It’s not who he is. 0/10

Strong:

No. Car for throwing. Inside small, only for weak human. No need metal shell to go fast. 0/10

Dogmeat:

Sticks his head out the window. Can honk the horn. 0/10

Codsworth:

Listen, somewhere in his programming is knowing how to drive a car. Also how to assemble one from 4 cans and a high powered magnet. Can drive it either completely normal and safe or in a way that would make vin diesel scared. 7/10

X6:

Danger level: 10/10. He would succeed in the way Hancock could not. He turns it into a weapon. Stuff of nightmares. Avoid at all costs.

[quirekey]

Ik noone asked for a part 3, but this is so fun to write

ORION PAX x D16 x GN!READER

[ orion pax x d16 x gn!racer!reader ] [ Part 3 ]

PART 1 PART 2

“Wait! Before you go, (Y/N)! Is there any way you could.. I don’t know.. Keep us somewhere secret? They wouldn’t care about a few miners disappearing.”

”But Pax, you think they will let us off the hook? Just like tha-“

”Don’t you wanna hang out with your crush more?”

”… Wh- DON’T SAY THAT OUTLOUD! Let (Y/N) make their decision before you jump to conclusions.”

They then look up at you, waiting for you to make your decision. You weren’t sure if you wanted to hold them in your quarters. You didn’t want to isolate them from society just so they wouldn’t get in trouble…

POLL RESULTS

Give in and bring them into your quarters - 95.6%

Decline and force them back into the mines - 4.4%

START OF PART 3

“… Look, if I bring you guys to my quarters temporarily, then will you guys be happy?”

The two looked at each other, shook that you even accepted Orion’s request. Orion then looks at you, nodding eagerly. D16 looks at you with a shy smile, still willing to come with you. The two don’t have the best life so anything could seem fun to them.

”Are you serious? I- I mean yeah, sure, of course! It would be an honour!”

You chuckled at D16’s confused but hyped tone and crouched to them once more, going down to eye-level.

”Alright, but I’ll have to carry you guys on my shoulders again. You guys can’t catch up with me and my speed.”

Both of them understood so you grabbed them and instead of harshly throwing them onto your back, you held them with one in each arm. You were holding them so they were facing you as they sat in your arms. You then start rushing to your quarters as you feel their hands grip onto you for stability.

Bypassers saw you run by, waving and screaming your name as you were famous for all of your wins in the Iacon races. The Cybertronians around you made it clear that you were absolutely famous and you loved to bask in the glory, but currently you're holding two miners who could probably be fugitives so you couldn’t stop for autographs nor meet and greets.

You get to the building and push everybot aside and unlock the metal passageway, throwing the two into your quarters, running in after and letting the passage shut and lock. Looking at the miners then at your room, reality struck you again. These are fugitives and you took them in, you could get in trouble for having them here… Whatever, things happen and it is too late now, you thought.

You were training as a scientist despite being more of the speeds than anything else. You were made to be a bot all about speed and maybe even brawn, but you aspired to be a scientist. Because of this, there were lots of advanced technology, messy chemical works, shelves filled to the brim with inventions and generally it was a mess. Then at the back was where your stasis pod was, directly in the middle. Beside the stasis pod were a massive shelf on each side, both of them filled with trophies and badges you have received overtime in iacon. It was contrasting on how dirty it is on the front of your quarters compared to the cleanliness in the back.

Orion Pax and D16’s jaws were dropped so quickly at the sight of your quarters. It was so messy and clean at the same time, the surprise of you wanting to be a scientist was definitely something else and their height makes them look like little sparklings. Orion immediately runs off and starts looking around, his face in awe. D16 grabs his arm and yells at him.

”Pax! This isn’t a museum, we can’t just look around without permission!”

“Oh come on, I’m sure (Y/N) wouldn’t mind! Right?”

Orion smirked and looked up at you for their approval. You just chuckled and nodded.

”Sure, just be careful. There are many failed inventions and deadly chemicals that are placed around here… I should really clean it up.”

Orion launched off mid-speech, you and D16 weren’t too surprised. D16 gently tapped your elbow, looking up at you with a tinge of curiosity, it was pretty wholesome. You look at him with your head tilted slightly.

”(Y/N), are you studying science?”

”Yes, why do you ask?”

”I just wanted to know… Why? You are the fastest bot in all of Iacon! You are swift and sly, unlike any other bot. What’s the poi-“

D16 was cut off with Orion yelling out your name, trying to get you to go over to him. He was yelling for you to come and explain something to him, seemingly it was something pretty personal to you. D16 just scoffed and crossed his arms, he was jealous?

TO BE CONTINUED

with another poll!!

[blueaprondelight]

A GLIMPSE AT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SYDNEY AND CARMEN

i recently came across this article that i randomly saw that had co-showrunner joanna calo talking about sydney and carmen.

article: comicbook.com

now, yes. this interview did take place before the release of season 3. but i think now, as we prepare for season 4, it still speaks true. but i will never believe this and here's why.

(this post is fairly long, i wrote this at 1:03 in the morning because i genuinely couldn't believe this sentence existed.)

SECTION ONE: THEIR DYNAMIC

firstly, i do think they may have intended their relationship to look like a work wife work husband relationship. but my issue with that lies within season 1 and season 2 primarily.

you put scenes like this. you intentionally write - you and a team - moments between the two. you direct them to be close together, the framework of the two is precise.

these moments specifically speak to me because if the dynamic between them is meant to be simply two platonic co-workers who have the "work husband" "work wife" dynamic, why intentionally have carmen say that to sydney?

"you deserve my full focus."

he could've just as easily said that to tina. she was working there, too. richie. he's got more of a history with carmen than sydney does - in terms of both mikey and his involvement with the beef and what he went through to prepare for the bear (the whole him training, etc) and yet richie doesn't get told he deserves carmen's full focus.

because to carmen, they aren't on the same level with sydney. and why is that? it certainly isn't because they're just platonic friends, partners if you will. it's because she means something more to him than that.

and to me, i don't believe that you can write scenes like that and say you never intended for them to be more than friends. and before someone comes for me saying "friends can act like this!!" you're absolutely right! but i've never looked at my 'friend' like they have at each other.

they purposefully wrote this entire moment. each sentence, each movement. it was all directed.

and if your main goal is for them to be strictly platonic or seen as two partners who are perceived as dating but aren’t, maybe don’t include scenes like these in episodes:

carmen hasn’t said that richie makes him better at his job there. he didn’t say that to tina, he didn’t say it to marcus or ebraheim.

he strictly said it to sydney. he trusts her on a deeper level - both to keep him grounded and keep his focus on what he’s started (in season 2 primarily, with season 3 it also focused on making him realize what he was doing to everyone else with the non negotiables and reminding him of their goals with the bear) but also trusts her with keeping him motivated. he trusts she’ll be there to help him with all of the chaos.

and she trusts him the same way. she trusts him to help her work on her dreams of getting a star, of being a better chef. she also trusts now that he’ll prioritize their partnership unlike he had with claire.

SECTION TWO: BODY LANGUAGE.

i'd like to call your attention to this hug. this moment speficially between the two. it's a joyous moment - they get the all clear. notice the way he hugs sydney.

keeping what we've already heard in mind from calo, wouldn't this hug seem weird between two coworkers? two partners? a "work husband and his work wife"? this hug screams intimate.

and sure. you can say that's just how either character hugs. but let's look at other scenes with sydney recieving hugs. this moment with tina came to mind first.

notice the difference in the two? even if she was caught off guard, even if it’s the height difference, whatever. another perspective of that same hug:

these two moments exist in the same context. they’re hugs between two friends, right? they’re celebrating small moments. so why is one more intimate?

after all, they've been credited as just being co-workers, right? the writers say there's nothing romantic between the two.

so, quick question. why is tina not receiving that same embrace? why is it different? because it’s meant to be.

how about eye contact? that’s another fun area to focus on.

here’s how carmen looks at everyone else in the show - varying moments and photos here so the "context" can't be a factor, the character can't be a factor either so here's three photos from different moments.

we're focusing on how he looks at his other co-workers. in some cases, these are also his business partners. maybe not as head on as Syd but i consider someone who sticks with you as you make such a drastic change a business partner in their own right.

so why isn't he looking at them like this? where's the same type of scene as the table scene with say tina? where he tells her that his focus should've been with her?

i mean, after all. he had known tina for a slightly longer time than he had sydney. she worked with his brother, that should mean more, right?

now, remind me. how does carmen look at sydney again? oh that's right. like this.

the only thing i agree with that joanna said is that their relationship is complicated. but what complicates it more is writers intentionally having characters look at characters certain ways or say specific things YOU WRITE INTO THE SCRIPT FOR A REASON and dismiss that as them just being friends.

and don't get me wrong - i do geniuenly think the writers had this intention at first. but you can't say one moment you think they're just friends or you don't plan to make them get together (something writers like storer said previously) but purposefully write the table scene is insane.

[tamil1984]

[literaryvein-reblogs]

A 3-Part Character Profile Template

PART 1: The Present

THE BASICS

Name:

Age:

Place of birth:

Current location:

Nationality:

Education:

Occupation:

Income:

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

Height:

Eye color:

Hair color:

Build:

Distinguishing features (tattoos, scars, birthmarks, etc.):

Preferred outfit?

Glasses?

Accessories (cane, pipe, necklace, etc.):

Grooming: Disheveled; Smart, very put together; Untidy but clean; Other

Distinguishing “tics” and mannerisms:

Health? Do they suffer from chronic illnesses?

Handwriting (sloppy, neat, careful, unintelligible, etc.):

Gait: Confident, powerful strides; Lazy stroll; Fast, walks at a clip; Distracted, eyes on the ground; Other

SPEECH & COMMUNICATION

Style of speech (elevated, educated, peppered with slang, etc.):

Tempo of speech (rapid, slow, measured, drawl, etc.):

Health? Do they suffer from chronic illnesses?

Distinguishing “tics” and mannerisms:

Do they have an accent?

Pitch (melodic, gravelly, deep, etc.):

Posture: Stiff, military; Slouching; Casual and relaxed; ‘Turtle’, tired; Other

Gesturing: Only when agitated or eager; Doesn’t gesture; Compulsive “hand-talker”; Controlled, only to make a point; Other?

Level of eye contact (direct, shifty, etc.):

Speech impediments:

Distinguishing speech “tics”:

Preferred curse word:

Catchphrases:

Laughter? What do they tend to find funny?

Describe their smile:

Emotive? Do they wear their emotions on their sleeve? How easily can others read them?

They have a resting ____ face. Angel; Side-eye; Neutral; Confused; Other

PART 2: The Past

This shows how your character is a product of their environment.

BACKSTORY

Hometown:

Type of childhood (sheltered, neglected, etc.):

Education:

Were they involved in organizations and clubs at school: Sports; Debate; Gay/Straight Alliance; Model UN; Drama; Other

At graduation, they were named Most Likely to __ in the yearbook.

Jobs (if applicable)? What would their résumé look like?

Dream job as a child? Why?

Who were their role models growing up? Describe them:

Greatest regret:

Hobbies growing up:

Favourite place to be as a child?

If they could change one thing from their past, what would it be? Why?

Major turning points or “life beats” in childhood:

Earliest memory:

Saddest memory:

Happiest memory:

Clearest memory:

What are their skeletons in the closet?

Three adjectives to describe them as a child?

What advice would they give to their younger self?

Criminal record:

FAMILY

Father

Age (if living):

Occupation:

Briefly describe their relationship with your character:

Mother

Age (if living):

Occupation:

Briefly describe their relationship with your character:

Siblings (if applicable)

How many?

What are their names? Ages?

Briefly describe their relationship(s) with your character:

Children (if applicable)

How many?

What are their names? Ages?

Briefly describe their relationship(s) with your character:

Extended family

Grandparents:

Uncles and aunts:

Cousins:

Other:

Family’s economic status:

How often do they see their family in a year?

RELATIONSHIPS

Closest friends? Describe them:

Other significant friends:

Enemies? Describe them:

How are they perceived by…

Strangers in the street?

Acquaintances at a work function?

Colleagues in the office?

Authority figures?

Friends in their friend circles?

Children?

The opposite sex?

Extended family?

What social media platforms are they on?

How would they use their social media platforms?

How would they fill out an online dating profile for themselves?

What’s their role in a group dynamic? Leader; Joker; Parent; Hype man; Mooch; Other

Who do they depend on for…

Practical advice?

Mentoring?

A wingman?

Emotional support?

Moral support?

What do they want from a relationship?

Who would be their ideal partner?

Do they have a significant other? Describe them:

How many people would attend their funeral?

PART 3: The Core

This shows how your character is deep down.

PSYCHOLOGY

What do they do on rainy days?

Are they: Street-smart; Book-smart; Optimist; Pessimist; Introvert; Extrovert

What is their favorite sound?

Favorite place in the world?

What secrets do they keep? What are they most afraid of people finding out?

What do they want the most?

Biggest flaw:

Biggest strength:

Biggest fear:

What is their biggest accomplishment?

What is their idea of perfect happiness?

Do they want to be remembered? What for?

Favorite quote:

How do they approach…

Power?

Ambition?

Love?

Change?

What is the one object or possession that they would rescue from their burning home?

What (or who) bores them?

What makes them angry?

What do they look for in a person?

How strong is their moral compass? When, specifically, are they willing to compromise their morals?

List the last 10 books that they read:

Which fictional world would they most wish to visit?

If they didn’t have to sleep, what would they do with extra time?

What are their pet peeves?

If they won the lottery, what would they do?

Describe the character’s bucket list at the ages of: 15; 20; 30; 40

List the 10 songs that would occupy their All-Time Most Played playlist on Spotify:

What is the best compliment that someone ever paid them?

In an elevator, do they push the elevator button more than once?

What would they want their tombstone to say?

PRESENT & FUTURE

Story goal:

Story motivation:

Source ⚜ More: Worksheets & Templates ⚜ Notes & References Plot ⚜ Character ⚜ Worldbuilding ⚜ Tips & Advice

[dalishious]

Gaming GIF Tutorial (2025)

Here is my current GIF making process from video game captures!

PART 1: Capturing Video

The best tip I can give you when it comes to capturing video from your games, is to invest in an injectable photomode tools - I personally use Otis_Inf's cameras because they are easy to use and run smoothly. With these tools, you can not only toggle the UI, but also pause cutscenes and manually change the camera. They are great for both screenshots and video recording!

As for the recording part, I personally prefer NVIDIA's built-in recording tools, but OBS also works well in my experience when NVIDIA is being fussy.

PART 2: Image Conversion

Do yourself a huge favour and download PotPlayer. It is superior to VLC in more ways than one in my opinion, but is especially helpful for its Consecutive Image Capturer tool.

Open the video recording in PotPlayer, and use CTRL + G to open the tool. If this is your first time, be sure to set up a folder for your image captures before anything else! Here are the settings I use, albeit the "Every # frame" I change from time to time:

When you're ready, hit the "Start" button, then play the part of the video you want to turn into a GIF. When you're done, pause the video, and hit the "Stop" button. You can then check the images captured in your specified storage folder.

(TIP: Start the video a few seconds a head and stop a few seconds after the part you want to make into a GIF, then manually delete the extra images if necessary. This will reduce the chance of any unwanted cut-offs if there is any lagging.)

PART 3: Image Setup

Now, this part I personally always do in GIMP, because I find its "Open as Layers" and image resizing options 100% better and easier to use than Photoshop. But you don't have to use GIMP, you can do this part in Photoshop as well if you prefer.

Open the images each as an individual layer. Then, crop and/or scale to no more than 540px wide if you're uploading to Tumblr.

(TIP: This might just be a picky thing on my end, but I like to also make sure the height is a multiple of 10. I get clean results this way, so I stick to it.)

If you use GIMP for this part, export the file as .psd when done.

PART 4: Sharpening

If you use GIMP first, now it's time to open the file in Photoshop.

The very first thing I always do is sharpen the image using the "Smart Sharpen" filter. Because we downsized the image, the Smart Sharpen will help it look more crisp and naturally sized. These are the settings I mostly use, though sometimes I change the Amount to 200 if it's a little too crunchy:

Here's a comparison between before and after sharpening:

Repeat the Smart Sharpen filter for ALL the layers!

PART 5: Timeline

First, if your timeline isn't visible, turn it on by click on Windows > Timeline. Then, change the mode from video to frame:

Click "Create Frame Animation" with the very bottom layer selected. Then, click on the menu icon on the far-right of the Timeline, and click "Make Frames from Layers" to add the rest of the frames.

Make sure the delay should be 0 seconds between frames for the smoothest animation, and make sure that the looping is set to forever so that the GIF doesn't stop.

Part 5: Editing

Now that the GIF is set up, this is the part where you can add make edits to the colours, brightness/contrast, add text, etc. as overlays that will affect all the layers below it.

Click on the very top layer so that it is the one highlighted. (Not in the timeline, in the layers box; keep Frame 1 highlighted in the timeline!)

For this example, I'm just going to adjust the levels a bit, but you can experiment with all kinds of fun effects with time and patience. Try a gradient mask, for example!

To test your GIF with the applied effects, hit the Play button in the Timeline. Just remember to always stop at Frame 1 again before you make changes, because otherwise you may run into trouble where the changes are only applied to certain frames. This is also why it's important to always place your adjustment layers at the very top!

Part 6: Exporting

When exporting your GIF with plans to post to Tumblr, I strongly recommend doing all you can to keep the image size below 5mb. Otherwise, it will be compressed to hell and back. If it's over 5mb, try deleting some frames, increasing the black parts, or you can reduce to number of colours in the settings we're about to cover below. Or, you can use EZGIF's optimization tools afterwards to reduce it while keeping better quality than what Tumblr will do to it.

Click on File > Export > Save for Web (Legacy). Here are the settings I always use:

This GIF example is under 5mb, yay! So we don't need to fiddle with anything, we can just save it as is.

I hope this tutorial has offered you some insight and encouragement into making your own GIFs! If you found it helpful, please reblog!