#a rare instance of posting one from today

[erosiism]

GENSHIN MEN AND…

prompt: HOW THEY WOULD REACT IF YOU SACRIFICED YOUR LIFE FOR THEM | part two

character(s): childe, ayato [part one is finished, it features diluc & zhongli]

warnings(s): angst ofc—mention of blood, my first post on tumblr so my writing style may be a little icky, inaccuracies since I haven’t looked up genshin lore for a hot minute 

note(s): male reader, second person, present tense, not beta read

AYATO

note(s); you are his fiance

Your marriage alliance is purely for business. Ayato knows that. He’s the head of the Yashiro Commission's Kamisato plan—he’s busy, for god’s sake. He doesn’t want to waste time or beat around the bush: if he is to marry you, the only son of the L/n clan, he will, but he doesn’t want you to expect any pleasantries. He will be cordial and polite enough, but he doesn’t have the time to butter you up. He will mind his own business, and so will you. He is not one for earthly desires. He cares far more for his clan’s prestige and for surviving to play the role of a husband.

“[Name], right?” He smiles at you. You smile back, your posture stiff and your smile fixed painfully on your face. “I’m sure we know what this marriage is intended for.”

Your skin feels tight. “I do.”

“You can go to Thoma should you have any inquiries. My sister will help you too should you need anything.”

You tilt your head. Your tone is straightforward and blunt. “And you?”

“I’ll be busy,” Ayato says politely.

“I understand.”

There: your first conversation had been completely unremarkable and bland. But Ayato had appreciated that you had been straight to the point. You had been completely no nonsense, and Ayato at least, did not feel annoyed. He has too many things on his plate to deal with trivial things like romance: too many rival clans are trying to assassinate him, too many people are trying to destroy his clan. He does his own things, you do too. Occasionally you two meet—it’s just one house, after all, and you two make polite conversation. You make for a rather amusing partner at times, you make him laugh, and with you he feels relaxed.

Sometimes he plays the tricks he plays on Thoma; but it’s almost impressive to see you stomach the strange food he feeds you. You tease him with a rather sweet straight face; in calm tones, you poke fun at him. Ayato forgets that the two of you are married, at times, but there are also the rare times that he’s almost pleased.

Months pass after your encounter. The two of you have lapsed into a routine. Ayato finds that there are times he almost looks forward to the occasions the two of you meet. He starts planning brief instances where he can see you: he starts to finish his work a little quicker so he’ll be able to see you. He lessens your workload so you won’t be tired. He buys trinkets that remind him of you. He starts to reach out to you a lot more. 

He notices you smiling more. You seem pleased, joyful, even at this. 

(“Gosh,” Ayaka tells him once, smiling sweetly. “You two do act like a married couple.”

Married. Ah. Right. Ayato has nearly forgotten.)

One day, as he’s out, he spots a gem the color of your eyes. He spends a decidedly long time looking at it, choosing it carefully, before he tucks it in your pocket. You deserve to have nice things, he thinks to himself. And so he will give it to you. His husband.

But when he returns home, he doesn’t expect to see the sight of you barely breathing, your breaths shuddering, your body limp. Thoma and Ayaka are not in sight. They must have gone out today. And you…

The gem clinks in his pocket as he runs towards you.

“[Name],” Ayato calls for your messily, the words falling over each other as they spill from his mouth, “[Name]!”

The last word is a yell. “[Name], please…who did this to you?”

“Those bastards,” you say weakly, “from…that…clan…they wanted information. They…”

“And you—”

“I didn’t give it to them, if that’s what you were worried about,” you manage to choke out. “I know how important it was to you.”

The information. Right. The scrolls. Right. Important? Perhaps months ago Ayato would have agreed. After all, that was months, almost a year of hard work. But looking at you now, Ayato begged to differ. Here you were, bleeding out, dying, because of him.

You sacrificed yourself. You sacrificed yourself for him.

“I know what this marriage was intended for,” you repeat the words he had told you when you two had first met. His husband. His beloved husband. His darling. “I’ve honored it.”

“No,” Ayato cradles you, feeling as if life escapes your body. Your body is turning cold. “No!”

It’s too late. The gem rolls out of his pocket, and Ayato despairs.

The gem is no longer the color of your beautiful eyes.

It’s bathed in red.

CHILDE

note(s); you are from fatui

There are countless deaths when it comes to Fatui. It has become disturbingly normal. And you are Tartaglia’s subordinate. The eleventh harbinger’s associate. You two hit it off, immediately: you are of similar age, and you have a little brother the same age as Teucer. Or: you had a little brother. He was torn away from you because of your poor living conditions in Snezhnaya. And that was what spurred you on to make a last ditch attempt to join the Fatui to find a purpose somehow; to riddle yourself with work so you cannot think of your brother’s death.

Childe has been nothing but sweet to you so far. You have been seeing two sides of him: the tender, gentle side to him when he talks about Teucer, when he speaks of the little letters he gets from his siblings, or on the occasions he speaks to you. And the other is more wild; more bloodthirsty—and in those instances, you can see the marks that the Abyss has left on him. That uncontrollable urge to ravage everything in sight; to leave it broken and damaged.

Today is no different. The two of you tread the snow as you walk up the mountains. Childe is laughing as he is telling you stories. You listen to him like you always do. Neither of you spot the Ruin Guards. Not even three—by some wretched curse, there are five of them, lumbering behind. And by the time their shadows loom before the two of you, it’s too late.

Childe flinches; you reach out to him in desperation before you see him shift into his Foul Legacy form. 

What rotten luck, you curse to yourself, adrenaline starting to fill in. What kind of stupid thing have we walked into?

You have seen him use it a few times—once against three Ruin Guards. He defeated them without much difficulty—but you had seen the after effects. You had seen the way he had panted for his breath; the way his face had turned pale, the way he had quivered and had grasped onto you and the Traveler for help.

He does the same. There’s still two remaining, and Childe’s still standing. But you see him clutching his head. You think of Teucer. Childe has a family to return to. You have no one. In a way, this action would be the most logical. The most understanding. It will be a sacrifice for Childe and his brother. You know the pain of losing a brother—you don’t want Teucer to go through that again.

“I think I can handle them,” you tell Childe quietly. You don’t have a vision, but you have a delusion you have yet to use. “Go. Rest.”

“[Name],” Childe warns.

“Teucer.” Is the only word you say.

Childe’s eyes widen. He bites his lip. He sees your point—you knew he would. 

“I’ll come back alive,” you promise.

“[Name],” he tries again.

“See you later.” It’s a clear dismissal. 

You push him a little to the side; Childe stumbles away. Then you quickly unleash the delusion you have kept and unsheathe your sword. Childe was the one that taught you how to use a sword—and now you recall his advice as you step to the side. The delusion has potentially lethal consequences. You know that. It’s your first time using it. You know that too. The energy thrums in your fingertips as you start to battle—the crimson lashes out between your teeth and blows start to rain on you.

You think of your brother. It was your lack of strength that caused his death—you can still remember his shouts, his screams—and even now they haunt you. You don’t waver, but your stance and your attacks become sloppy. Useless, you think harshly, useless! I can’t even—

The delusion unleashes more power in your desperation. The ruin guards start to sway and fall. You continue, but now blood is bursting from every crevice, every corner: wounds open, flesh tears away, and your mouth overflows with blood. The ventricles of your heart seem to be pulsing dangerously—the delusion is ripping away your mortality in return for its power. You continue. Your eyes start to tear—

Thuds tell you of the defeat of the guards. You slump in relief. Your feet carried you to Childe, who has collapsed on the ground.

“Childe,” you call weakly. “I…”

The words don’t leave your throat. Your broken stance is not the one that jolts him from his consciousness, but it is the splutter of blood and the horrid gargle your throat make when you start to retch out blood that horrifies him.

“[Name]!” He yells, “[Name]!”

“Let me close my eyes,” you plead. “I’m so tired.”

“No. Let’s—let’s get you to—”

“Please,” you start to beg him. “I think…”

Childe knows better. You will die if you close your eyes. He has to get you help—he can’t let you die. 

Oh. 

Oh. 

He has loved you. He loves you. He adores you.

“You promised me,” Childe starts to whisper brokenly, “you promised me, [Name]. You said you'd come back alive. You said you will…”

The promise is shattered when your head slips from his grasp.

Your first and last promise to him, broken.

comments, reblogs, and likes are always appreciated

[de4dlyniightshade]

꩜ QUEEN OF HEARTS

꩜ PAIRING: spencer reid x afab!reader

꩜ RATING: +18, mdni

꩜ WORD COUNT: 3.8k

꩜ WARNINGS/CONTAINS!: smut, public sex, sub!virgin!spencer, cumming in pants, thigh riding(ish), fingering, praise, a little exhibitionism, getting caught(kinda).

꩜ PROMPT: sneaky fooling around with sub spence on the job

© to de4dlyniightshade. no translations/reposts.

[WARNING!] - explicit sexual content! mdni!

A/N: i have mixed feelings about this but i'm posting it anyway bcs i feel like it. also this is proofread but i'm a moron and blind so don't get your hopes up:3

Spencer was, gently put, dumb. Now, obviously, he was intelligent, very, very intelligent, but you can be both in rare instances, and Spencer was a rare instance.

He was completely unaware and blind to his looks, which was obviously due to his childhood of being relentlessly bullied and tormented, causing him to overlook his appearance and how truly attractive he was, no matter how many people told him, flirted with him, or hit on him. I mean his nickname was literally "pretty boy" for a reason, but he just thought it was a sarcastic joke.

"All alone, handsome?" You smiled, noticing Spencer tucked away in a conference room all on his own, surrounded by files, your voice making him look up from the one he was reading.

"Oh uhm, yeah, it just got a little loud out there; I work better in a quiet place," he explained, a tight-lipped smile on his face before he looked back down at the file, furrowing his brows as he scanned it.

"Everything okay?" You asked at his expression, worried that he was struggling and needed a break, which he was terrible at, always overworking himself for the sake of the case, even though he could barely think straight after working himself to the bone for days.

"Yeah, I just- I can't find any connection." He sighed, dropping the file on the table before leaning back in his chair and rubbing his hands over his face and through his hair.

"Need some fresh eyes?" you offered, closing the door behind you to help drown out the loud chattering in the police station you were working in, slowly making your way over to him and hoisting yourself onto the desk beside him, not missing the way he swallowed, his eyes flicking down to your thighs before looking away again.

"Y-Yeah, sure," he murmured, sliding the file over to you before dropping his hands to his lap to fidget with his fingers, picking at the sides of his nails nervously.

"Spence, stop," you warned, looking at him with knowing eyes. It was a bad habit you'd noticed he had, sometimes picking his skin so much that it was red and raw and sometimes bleeding. You'd told him many times to stop before he hurt himself, but it never really worked.

"Sorry…" he mumbled, flattening his hands on his thighs before looking away from you again, scanning the room to distract himself. Your eyes landed on his hands, noticing a familiar red substance at the side of his nail, making you let out a sigh.

"Spencer, you're bleeding; gimme your hand," you sighed, placing the file down beside you and holding your hand out to him, watching his eyes flick between your face and your hand a few times.

"The amount of pathogens passed through holding hands is staggering; it's actually safer to kiss." He stated, it was completely innocent, but the way your stomach churned wasn't. You'd had a thing for Spencer for a long time, but he was just so naive that he couldn't see it; today he'd see it.

"Is that an offer?" You teased, quirking your brow at him as his eyes widened, realising what he had said and who he said it to—a very attractive woman who was sitting right in front of him in a small, hidden room with the door closed and the blinds drawn, his cheeks flushing at the implication.

"N-No, I was just- I- " He stuttered, averting your gaze and swallowing thickly as you smiled at his flustered state, watching as he lifted his hand, placing it in yours in an attempt to make the whole conversation stop.

"Oh Spencer, does that not hurt?" You tutted, furrowing your brows at him at the raw, bleeding skin on his finger, your thumb stroking the back of his hand, absentmindedly.

"A little..." he spoke softly, lowering his head slightly as you sighed.

"Hold on, just a second," you said as you got up from the table, making your way to the door where you'd left your bag, unzipping it and digging through it for a moment, perhaps bending over to show a little bit of your butt from under your skirt on purpose before you finally pulled a bandaid from one of the pockets and made your way back to him.

"Good thing I'm prepared, huh?" You smiled, sitting back on the desk, but closer this time, with Spencer immediately holding his hand out to you for you to take gently, opening the bandaid and carefully wrapping it around his finger, forcing yourself to hold back a smile as you raised his hand to your face, placing a gentle kiss on top of the bandaid, leaving a faint lipstick stain on the tan material.

"Better?" you asked sweetly, holding back a smirk at his pink cheeks, the blush spreading to the tips of his ears, and you just couldn't help yourself. "Oh Spencer, are you feeling okay? Your cheeks are really red," you feigned concern as you reached out to press the back of your hand to his cheek, feeling the heat radiating from his face.

"Y-Yeah, fine," he said, his voice cracking as he tried to sound sure of himself and failing as his cheeks became redder at your touch.

"Are you sure, honey?" You asked sweetly, slipping in the petname just to see him gulp and avoid your eyes, wetting his lips nervously as he shifted in his seat.

Spencer couldn't even answer you, completely avoiding looking even close to you as you shifted closer to him, your eyes boring into him as you saw a very faint sheen of sweat lining his temple.

"Am I making you nervous?" You asked in a low tone, quirking your brow at him as you saw his eyes widen a little at your question, his lips parting as he let out a shaky breath, gulping down his nerves as he looked up at you shyly.

"M-Maybe a little," he admitted bashfully, looking away from you again, staring down at his shoes as you felt lust stirring in your stomach at the sight of him so nervous, admitting that you had an effect on him.

"Y'know, when I tell you that you're pretty, I mean it, don't you?" You asked him, looking at him with doe eyes as he looked back at you with a similar expression.

"Y-You do?" He sounded genuinely surprised, as if he didn't believe you.

"Of course I do. I mean not to sound like I'm in love with you or anything, but you're beautiful, Spencer, and I mean that." You spoke softly, standing up to shift closer to him, standing between his legs and leaning on the desk in front of him, forcing him to look up at you as you towered over him.

"T-Thank you," he breathed shyly, moving his hands to rest between his thighs and covering his crotch with his forearms as he looked anywhere but your face.

"Move your hands," you ordered suddenly, Spencer finally looking at you, brows pulled together slightly at your sudden change in behaviour.

"W-What?" He stuttered, gulping as he shifted in his seat, his hands still planted between his parted thighs, licking his lips as you heard the faint sound of his breathing picking up.

"I said, move your hands," you repeated, this time more sternly, pulling your lip between your teeth as you watched his hands twitch, taking a shaky breath before he hesitantly moved his hands to rest on his thighs, dropping his head in slight humiliation that he'd been caught.

"Oh my, I make you more than nervous," you stated in a sultry tone, Spencer letting out a breathy whine just loud enough for you to hear. The sound was all you needed to have you standing up abruptly, moving to place your knee between his thighs, your hands lifting to rest on either side of his neck.

"Can I kiss you, pretty boy?" You asked breathily, your thumb stroking over his pulse, feeling his breath hitch in his throat at your question before he gulped, nodding quickly.

"Use your words," you teased, watching as his tongue darted out to wet his lips, visibly nervous under your gaze.

"P-Please," he spoke under his breath, looking up at you with wide doe eyes as you smiled down at him, wordlessly leaning towards him, stopping just shy of his lips for a moment just to feel him lean towards you slightly to chase your lips before you finally closed the gap, feeling a whine vibrate against your lips.

Spencer's kissing was slightly clumsy and clearly inexperienced, desperately trying to keep up with you as you kissed him with fervour, letting your teeth graze his bottom lip, your hands trailing up from his neck into his hair at the nape of his neck, your fingertips massaging his scalp as he keened into you, his hips rolling upward, the motion piquing your curiosity, shifting your knee forward to press to his crotch, a moan slipping into your mouth as he bucked his hips again.

"That feel good, handsome?" You pulled away just enough to ask him, your lips brushing his and his hot breath fanning your lips as he panted, his eyes still closed.

"Y-Yeah," he breathed, making you smirk as you pressed your knee harder into his clothed cock, a whimper falling from his swollen lips as he rutted his cock into you, moving his hands to hold your thigh, squeezing your flesh in an attempt to compose himself, pushing himself down to the chair to still his movements.

"Keep going," you husked as you moved to press your lips to his neck, leaving open-mouthed kisses over his pulse, the feeling making him moan as he couldn't help but rut against you, his cheeks flushed at what he was doing.

"W-what if someone-" he stuttered, cutting himself off with a whine as you grazed your teeth on his skin, licking over smooth skin.

"What if?" you said teasingly, your voice low and sultry as you lowered one hand to hold his that was still on your thigh, slowly moving it up and under your skirt. "Touch me," you breathed into his ear, a moan falling from his lips before he gulped, inching his hand higher and higher until he could cup your clothed core, gasping at the heat that radiated from you.

"W-What do I do?" He asked meekly, embarrassed that he didn't know how to touch you properly and that his inexperience only made you want him more.

"Well, first, my underwear need to be out of the picture." You laughed breathily, Spencer blushing and letting out a shaky breath as he used his fingers to move your damp underwear to the side, the fact that he didn't even remove them making you clench around nothing.

"Now touch me." You breathed, biting down on your bottom lip, watching as he gulped before ever so gently pressing his fingertips to your cunt, his middle finger slipping between your folds, resting at your slick entrance, his eyes widening at the feeling, his mouth dropping open slightly.

"Y-You're so...wet," he practically whimpered, not even realising how attractive what he said was, his words making you moan quietly, "inside baby," you breathed, taking his wrist into your hand to guide him, holding his hand where he needed to be before he slowly pushed his middle finger upward, his fingertip slipping into you and making his jaw fall slack as your walls surround his finger.

"God, you've got the perfect fingers for this, baby," you practically moaned, letting your head tip back as you still held his wrist.

"I do?" he asked, his voice slightly whiny as he gazed up at you.

"Mhm, fit so nicely inside me," you murmured absentmindedly, completely forgetting that this wasn't some raunchy dream you were having, your words making him moan low in his throat.

"Curl your finger towards you for me, love," you instructed softly. Spencer immediately followed your exact instructions, curling his middle finger gradually until you let out a quiet gasp, stopping his movements completely.

"D-Did I hurt you?" He asked worriedly, his behaviour and concern making your heart swell.

"N-No baby, no, felt good, k-keep going," you breathed, stroking your thumb over his wrist as you moved the other to rest on his shoulder, balancing yourself so you could move your leg to the outer side of his thigh, spreading your legs for him so he had more access.

"You can add another, baby," you encouraged softly, knowing that he wouldn't do it on his own out of fear of hurting you in any way.

"O-Okay," he breathed, swallowing nervously as he pulled his finger out almost fully, leaving just his fingertip in before he pressed his index finger in beside it, slowly pushing them both in at once, watching your face intently as your jaw fell slack, eyes closed as a breathy moan slipped past your parted lips.

"F-fuck, baby," you mewled as Spencer curled his slender fingers into you on his own accord, his hips rolling into your thigh at the sound of your voice and the feeling of you clenching around his fingers.

"G-Gimme your hand," you asked, holding yours out to him as he placed his free hand in yours with a slightly confused expression that quickly became a completely infatuated, lust-filled expression as you let go of his wrist to hike your skirt up around your waist, exposing the sight of his fingers buried in your cunt.

"O-oh my-" Spencer tried to speak, his words turning into a whimper as you bucked your hips slightly, his fingers pushing in deeper, the sight of them disappearing into you making his cock throb against your leg, hips stuttering against his will.

"J-Just stay right there and make this motion," you explained breathlessly, placing Spencer's thumb on your neglected clit and motioning circles with yours to show him what to do, watching him nod shakily before he made one tentative circle, watching how you reacted, the gasp you let out showing him that it was good, so he repeated the motion again and again until he had a pace going.

"Oh, Spence, g-good baby, so good, c-curl your fingers at the same time for me," you breathed, Spencer immediately doing as you asked, curling both his fingers into you until they were pressed to that soft spot inside you. The way you moaned when he reached it made him realise that spot was what made you react, so he experimented a little, uncurling his fingers before repeating the motion, a louder but still hushed sound falling from your lips as he did.

"Such a quick learner," you mewled as he continued his steady motions, his thumb circling your clit in time with his fingers. Your praise made him blush and rut into your thigh harder than he had before, and your curiosity piqued.

"You like when I praise you? tell you how good you are?" you asked, the way Spencer whimpered and fucked into your thigh again giving you your answer, a smirk tugging at your lips.

"Be a good boy and go faster for me," you instructed, your words of praise making him completely pliant, instantly picking up his pace and making you almost double over as the pleasure shot through you, the motion making your leg slot right between his thighs, leaving no distance between your thigh as his painfully hard length straining against his pants, a pathetic whimper ripped from his throat as his hips bucked desperately into you, this time at a constant pace, Spencer unable to hold back from chasing any kind of friction.

"So pretty fucking my thigh, baby, you like humping my leg like a good boy?" You cooed, bringing your hand to his jaw and letting your thumb stroke over his plush bottom lip, watching as he let his mouth open, as if inviting you in, and you just couldn't deny, letting your thumb slip past his lips and into his warm mouth, clenching around his fingers as he wrapped his beautiful lips around it.

"Oh my, such a good boy," you praised, your voice breathy and low as you felt your orgasm creeping up on you, the way Spencer's fingers consistently curled into you, his thumb never faltering on your clitoral area, his pace matching that of his hips constantly fucking your thigh, his brain going into autopilot as he sucked on your thumb.

"I-I feel- weird," Spencer whimpered around your thumb, just barely audible, but you heard him, his words making you want to coo at him, knowing exactly what the feeling was.

"You're gonna cum, baby boy; it's okay; gonna feel good; just let it happen." You spoke soothingly, pulling your thumb from his mouth and watching as he opened his eyes to look up at you with a doe-like expression, his lips parted and wet as he let out a constant stream of whimpers and moans, his hips stuttering as he desperately fucked your thigh, chasing his orgasm as he brought you to yours.

"F-fuck baby, you're gonna make me cum; keep going; just a little more for mommy." The word slipped out without a thought. You were so caught up in the moment that you didn't even think about it until Spencer let out a choked moan, delivering a particularly hard thrust onto your thigh, your jaw falling slack at what slipped past his lips.

"M-mommy, 'm gonna c-cum," he choked out, letting out little gasps and whimpers as tears spilled from his eyes. He looked utterly gorgeous, completely fucked out, and cumdrunk, so much so that he was calling you mommy and humping your thigh, the whole thing pushing you so close to the edge.

"Oh, baby, so fucking pretty. Gonna cum, you want that? You want mommy to cum on your pretty fingers?" You husked, watching as Spencer nodded mindlessly, clearly not even knowing what he was agreeing to.

"Oh, o-oh, m-mommy! mommy, I can't, I'm-" Spencer stammered, cutting himself off with a choked sob as his hips stilled, cum spurting into his underwear as his whole body tensed, including his hands, his fingers curling into you as far as they'd go, harshly pressing to your sweet spot as his thumb pressed into your clit, the sudden pressure sending you over the edge with a muffled moan, gushing around his fingers as your walls spasmed and thighs trembled.

Spencer continued to shallowly fuck your thigh through his orgasm, little whimpers and whines falling from his lips as he completely soiled his pants, cum seeping through to your thigh and the warm, sticky liquid smearing on your skin.

"Oh, baby, you made such a mess of yourself," you cooed, pouting down at him as you cupped his cheeks, his eyes looking up at you completely dazed as he whimpered.

"You did so well for mommy," you said softly, stroking his soft skin with your thumbs as he pouted, completely fucked out and submissive.

"Okay, baby, slow for me; you can take your fingers out now and we'll get you cleaned up, okay?" You encouraged him sweetly, Spencer nodding as he slowly, like you'd instructed, pulled his fingers out of you, the feeling of his skin dragging against your sensitive walls making you wince slightly.

Once Spencer slipped his fingers fully out of you, he couldn't help but fixate on the slick, shiny liquid that coated them, watching as it created strings between them when he spread them apart, and he just couldn't resist. Your jaw dropped as you watched him bring his soaked fingers to his lips, burying them in his mouth and moaning around them as he tasted you.

"You like how mommy tastes, baby?" You asked, smiling to yourself as you watched him clean every last drop, nodding with his fingers still in his mouth.

"Sticky," he whined once he pulled his fingers from his mouth, shifting in his seat awkwardly. "...and cold," he whined harder, looking up at you with big eyes as if begging you to do something.

"Okay, baby, let's clean you up," you smiled, fixing your soiled underwear and shimmying your skirt back down before planting your foot back on the ground and scanning the room.

"There's no tissues in here," you sighed, furrowing your brows as Spencer whined harder, pressing his thighs together desperately.

"D-Don't like it, mommy," he sniffled, making you turn quickly to see him with teary eyes and pouty lips. He was completely submissive, which was a problem you'd deal with later; right now he needed you.

"It's okay, baby, it's okay; don't cry," you soothed as you cupped his cheeks, watching as his bottom lip quivered slightly. "Mommy's going to think of something," you reassured him, taking another look around the room. An idea springs to mind, and he's not going to like it.

"Okay, you're not going to like it, but it's the only way, okay?" You told him, making sure to talk softly to him so as not to make him think you were being mean. Spencer was sensitive as is, but in this state? He needed the most care.

"O-Okay," he replied hesitantly, curious about what he wouldn't like but also slightly worried.

You let go of his face to turn around and reach over the desk, picking up Spencer's, now stone cold, coffee cup and turning back to him, seeing the dots connect in his mind at what you were planning, the whole idea making him whine but nodding nonetheless, knowing it was the only cover-up that wasn't going to be too suspicious.

"I'm going to spill this on you, and then we're going to go out there; I'll tell them I knocked it over and I feel terrible, and then we're going to go back to the hotel and get you changed, okay?" You explained your plan fully, making sure he was comfortable with the whole thing.

"Okay…" he mumbled, knowing that this was about to be unpleasant and impossibly stickier, but on the upside, the hotel wasn't far, and he got to spend some time alone with you away from work, so it was worth it in the end.

"Sorry, sweetie," you winced as you poured the liquid over his lap, watching as he jumped at the cold feeling seeping into his clothes, feeling terrible about making him uncomfortable.

"Alright, let's go. I don't want you sitting in wet clothes for too long," you said as you quickly placed the cup back on the desk, taking a Spencer hand in yours to help him to his feet and leading him to the door where your bag was, hoisting it onto your shoulder and swinging the door open. Your eyes immediately meeting hotch looking at you from a desk not far from you.

"I spilled Spencer's coffee on him; thank God it was cold, but I feel terrible. I'm gonna give him a ride to the hotel to change; we won't be long," you explained quickly, all but dragging Spencer through the station to the exit, not giving the team time to tease or make jokes.

"How dumb do they think we are?" Derek snorted to the team once you were out of earshot, the others shaking their head and agreeing with him as they continued their work.

@cancersunthatsit @mindfullycriminal @reidsdaisies @iluvreid @teachugger69 @queermaxwooo @olives-and-sunshine @ac0511 @unimportantweirdo @criminalmindswife @deluluforu @busybeingstrange

(if you wanna be tagged when i post fics just lmk!)

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hi raven! I hope youre recovering well, please take care of yourself!

I was curious as since it is known that Rook changed into the flamboyant rook we know due to changing dorms as he was originally from Savannaclaw, whilst alot of people headcanon rook and his family to be prim and proper i find that that wouldnt be the case.

Originally, Rook is shown to be the opposite of how he is now. And with the tales of rooks childhood (e.g. how he was lost in a forest for a few days) i feel like his family would be the opposite of prim and proper aswell (despite what people say).

Do you have any thoughts on this?

[Referencing health update in this post!]

Hello ^^ I thought I would be completed recovered by now but I think I’m rebounding a bit?? Just a little phantom pain when I chew and swallow, nothing major. I was told it might be a few more weeks to fully recover 🥲

I don't think Rook's personality exactly changed upon his transfer to Pomefiore...? Certainly, his appearance did. Transferring to Pomefiore also changed Rook in that he began to”beautify” himself (whereas he previously didn't care to do such a thing). However, Rook seems to have been flamboyant PRIOR to switching dorms.

In 6-67-17 and 6-67-20, Vil shares many detailed opinions Rook expressed to him on his various performances (which is very similar to the way present-day Rook doesn’t sugarcoat his critique, as we see in Vil’s Labwear vignettes). This was to the point where Rook would talk for five hours straight in some instances. Furthermore, Vil states that even he had a hard time keeping up with Rook.

Rook states in his Halloween Dress vignettes that “[he] had trouble expressing [himself] as a child. But one day, [he] went with [his] family to the Shaftlands Royal Theater... And [his] whole life changed.” He was moved to tears by the entire production. Thus, it seems that it was his discovery of theater that would help Rook become as expressive as he is today, not his transfer from Savanaclaw to Pomefiore.

In Endless Halloween Night (3-13), Rook indeed shares a story of when he, at a mere 6 years of age, got lost in the jungle. He had to survive with nothing but the clothes on his back until he was rescued.

Rook states that his mother “cradled [him] in her arms, amazed I’d survived in nothing but a grass skirt.” This may suggest that Rook’s mother isn’t used to “roughing it” or that she at least lacks the same superhuman traits that her son has. However, it’s dubious as to whether or not this story is actually true or if it is simply a lie or exaggerated.

Trey suspects that the tale is made up. It’s possible that Rook did in order to form a bond with Sebek, who at this point suspects him of being a traitor.

We know very little about the Hunts outside of this. Rook tends to speak about his family as a collective (mom, dad, and 5 siblings; 2 older than him and 3 younger than him) rather than separately, so it’s very difficult to parse out traits for individual members. For example, he mentions that he used to have pajama parties with his siblings. Nowadays, the family is so busy that it’s rare for them to father in one place. If they can manage it (usually only once a year), however, it becomes very lively. At most, this implies the Hunt family members get along with one another.

Circling back to something I mentioned earlier in this post, Rook says he went to the theater with his family. This could mean the Hunts are patrons of the arts and attend formal events to indulge in them.

The only other lore we have about the Hunts is that they must be well-off and/or influential in some manner. Epel calls Rook “rich” in book 6, and, furthermore, Rook indicates that his family has villas located all over Twisted Wonderland. These villas are equipped with warp pads, which require special government clearance in order to build and use. While this is interesting lore, it doesn’t tell us much about the character of the Hunts.

(For more lore about the characters’ family members, check out this post!)

I really don’t think we have enough clues to come to a conclusion about what Rook’s family is like. I’m not sure if basing their character off of Rook’s would be accurate either; it could be the case that Rook takes after one relative more than another (like how Sebek is headstrong like his mother + also picked up many of Baur’s anti-human sentiments, but doesn’t have many traits from his father), or it could be that he’s not like his parents at all (like how Jamil is not eager to be as subservient as his parents are).

Even if Twst were to present us with more lore on the Hunt parents, this could be inaccurate (due to the characters’ bias) or later retconned. This was the case for Mr. Shroud, who was exclusively described negatively by Idia as calculating, uncaring, and results-oriented. This, along with the fact that the Shroud parents were not present in Idia’s post-OB flashback, led many fans to believe that the Mr. Shroud was a neglectful father. But then he appeared in book 7 and seemed very try attentive and loving, if not slightly awkward.

Because the Hunt family lore is so vague, it’s possible for people to theorize and come up with many different interpretations of them. It sounds like people might be going with the “prim and proper” (borrowing Anon’s phrasing for lack of a better term) interpretation due to a few fine details: their implied wealth, throwing money at formal theater performances, Mrs. Hunt (supposedly) being surprised that Rook survived in the wild, and them securing international permissions (the warp pads in their villas, which would require negotiations or a strong history or allyship with multiple countries). There can be a case made for the opposite (since Rook says his family can be rowdy when they come together + he used to not care about his looks at all, implying his family didn’t mind it), but there’s less we can extrapolate to come to that conclusion.

I don’t think one has a super strong argument over the other either way 🤷‍♀️ Again, we’re lacking in details about the Hunts. For all we know, we could have another Mr. Shroud situation—especially seeing as all the current information we have comes from ROOK, someone who isn’t exactly forthcoming when it comes to talking about himself.

[felassan]

Dragon Age™: The Veilguard - Patch 4 Release Notes

"We have a patch to celebrate Dragon Age Day, as well as more goodies to come. In Patch 4, you will find a great new tool to take photos of our amazing cutscenes, and 20+ bug fixes."

Rest of post under cut due to length and possible spoilers.

"Hey everyone, Happy Dragon Age Day! First things first, we have our 4th patch out today, and we’ll have even more to come throughout the day to celebrate this yearly tradition. Thank you for being with us on this journey! New Content:  - Dragon Age 2 Hawke’s Iconic Outfit (Armor, Body Paint, Face Paint) - Qunari Complexions (Two new complexions for the Qunari lineage)"

"Quality of Life Changes:  - In Patch 3, we introduced a line on screen showing where a Photo Mode screenshot was saved. In Patch 4, we are reverting that change due to a safety concern brought to us by some content creators. PC players can find their Photo Mode screenshots in Documents/BioWare/Dragon Age: The Veilguard/screenshots - Added an in-game Setting to turn off Bloom.  - Added a “Hide/Show UI” button on the pause screen to better take screenshots on Console.  - Added a “Take Photo” button on the pause screen to take screenshots during conversations and cinematics on PC."

Bug Fixes:  - Fixed an issue that prevented some saves from loading properly. (PC Only) - Fixed an issue that was preventing the Frame Rate Limit setting from being saved.  - Fixed an issue with Rook’s face and hair changing drastically when a save is loaded. - Fixed an issue with certain longer hairstyles that floated above Rook’s chest and shoulders.  - Fixed an issue where two Neve characters could appear in the Fire and Ice quest.   - Fixed a rare issue where Emmrich did not lead Rook to the next task in his recruitment Where the Dead Must Go quest.  - Adjusted the spirit guides in The Warden Vault quest.   - Fixed an issue that caused the Ultimate Ability to swap to the default Ultimate.  - Fixed an issue where the Ultimate Ability Icon was not displayed after Bellara is recruited.  - Fixed an issue where the first hit in a Warrior Rook’s shield throw may miss the target unintentionally.  - Fixed an issue where the Slaughter of Pillars Revenant had no health bar.  - Fixed an issue that caused Achievement Progress to reset when a new Rook was created. This will not restore Achievement Progress that was overwritten, but your Rooks will no longer compete with each other for who can kill more High Dragons.  - Fixed an issue with the camera in The Demon’s Bargain quest when playing on an HDD.  - Fixed an issue with the camera in the Sea of Blood quest if Rook backtracked too far.  - Fixed two instances where Viago was clearly talking to Rook but was too absorbed by Teia’s beauty and staring at her instead.  - Fixed an issue with Photo Mode screenshots appearing slightly blurry for some players.  - Fixed an issue where taking a screenshot with the space bar in Photo Mode also toggled the highlighted setting at the same time. (PC Only)  - Fixed an audio issue that caused battle music to stop playing while Rook was still fighting darkspawn in A Warden’s Best Friend quest.  - Fixed an audio issue that prevented music from playing during a conversation with Lucanis in the Lighthouse.  - Fixed a rare lighting issue in the One Last Breath quest - Fixed a blocking issue in the Fire and Ice quest when returning to the Lighthouse.  - Fixed a blocking issue in the Blood of Arlathan quest if Rook backtracked too far. - Fixed a UI issue that caused the “New Item” highlight to get stuck on an item.  - Fixed an issue with the In Lost Friendship codex that was mentioning events out of order and possibly with the wrong companion.  - Fixed an issue that was causing the male British Inquisitor (Harry Hadden-Paton) to be pitched too low.  - Updated several German voice line instances with corrected translations."

[source]

[cowboygenesis]

4: baby, baby | kylo ren x reader

part 4 of the "bump it, cool it" series: masterlist. | buy me a coffee?

pairing: [modern!au] kylo ren x reader chapter warnings: explicit language. word count: 2.3k series summary: when your roommate’s older brother needs a place to crash, you begrudgingly offer up your couch— only to realize he’s the most insufferable, entitled asshole you’ve ever met. the worst part? you can’t seem to stop thinking about him. notes: we're going with shorter chapters for this fic! also, do you guys like the text part?? it's been so long since i've tried something similar lol but it's so charming! (also i rarely proofread what i post, i'm sorry if it's obvious i just get vertigo looking at the same text for hours on end)

Now Playing: Baby - Ariel Pink

You let out a loud yawn, suppressing it with the sleeve of your sweater. You feel your eyelids sticking, eyes glazed with sleep as you reach for your portable cup. As you take a sip, the rich aroma floods your nostrils, urging you to inhale slowly.

Your manicured finger taps away at the touchpad of your sleek laptop. You were supposed to be taking notes, but today feels pretty slow. Even your lecturer seems to be drooping down in her seat more than usual as the slides flicker across the projector ahead. You catch some information about Morrison… or maybe it was Melville? Regardless, you’d catch up on the reading over your long weekend— god knows you had nothing better to distract yourself from him.

It’s been over a week since Kylo’s arrival and your unfortunate argument, or fight, as Rey had insisted on calling it. You disagreed— it was merely a brief lapse in your patience, and you were ready to bounce back to your daily life soon after.

Except Kylo wasn’t. He made a point of ignoring you most days, disappearing from his couch-bed before you even managed to have your morning coffee. He’d be gone most of the day and come back late at night, usually with a box of takeout or a 4-pack of beer. His avoidance made you that much more upset, at some point making you consider throwing away the pack of cigarettes he’d leave in the kitchen every evening. You discarded the thought eventually, thinking it’d be juvenile to resort to his level of pettiness.

And as such you’ve been coexisting, sharing a home yet living completely separate lives. The few times he’d make a rare appearance, Rey was there to save you from awkwardness. Most recently, it was over breakfast.

Kylo had an annoying habit of completely disregarding your detailed shower schedule. This meant that most days you’d be forced to sit idly in your room until he finished his business, except one fateful Wednesday morning. You had made the foolish mistake of waiting in the kitchen that time, typing away at your laptop when you heard the shower turn off. It was only a matter of time before he emerged from the bathroom down the hall, hair pulled-back and pale skin slick with moisture.

“Hey,” you had greeted him out of courtesy, earning but a short nod in return.

You tried to keep your attention on the screen of your laptop, but his looming presence made it difficult. Despite his obvious spite toward you, his gaze seemed to stay glued to your idle form as you typed away on the keyboard. There were no words exchanged, just the brief instance of eye contact that made your spine prickle. Whenever you’d make the unfortunate mistake of meeting his gaze, he seemed to be making that same face— eyes narrowed, and that teasing fucking smirk painting his plush lips.

“Damn him,” you mutter under your breath, eyes rolling at the memory. “Damn him and his ugly mug.”

You tap open a new private page in your browser, fingers hovering over the keyboard as you worry your lip between your teeth. The thought has been biting at your curiosity for a few days now, but it never felt safe to make the call at home— you knew he could find you out at any moment, and you’d be screwed for the rest of his visit.

With one eyebrow quirked, you quickly type in your query: ‘Kylo Ren.’

As you press the ‘enter’ key, your eyes squint at the inflow of results onscreen. Without any pictures, you’re forced to click the first available result— a LinkedIn page.

Your heart skips a beat when the page loads in. You’re met with a picture of him in black and white, looking at the camera. His face is relaxed, almost stern, suiting his choice of clothing. You think you like him better in a t-shirt as opposed to the turtleneck he dons in the picture, but you brush the thought off quickly before it managed to settle in your gut.

You scroll, hands jittering slightly. Has researching someone online always felt so dirty?

Below, you catch sight of his professional resume. The technicalities make little sense to you for the most part, but indeed, he’s listed as owner of a company called ‘Solo Solutions’ specializing in IT-related services. You realize the name rings a bell, and quickly connect it with a purse of your lips: Rey Solo. You figure it must be their family name, except it wouldn’t match the ‘Ren’ listed on his profile.

You huff, quickly exiting the page and returning to your initial search list. Skipping the purple link, you instead opt for the second one that takes you to the familiar layout of the Facebook website.

“Oh, god,” you whisper under your breath, leaning toward the screen. Your little internet escapade evolves into something much more intimate as you spot Kylo’s profile. The picture here is much different to the professional version, depicting a candid photo of the man’s back as he stands at a bar. With his head tilted slightly, you spot the curve of a smile through the motion blur. You swallow thickly, glancing at the name.

‘Kylo Ren (Ben Solo)’ stares back at your rouged visage, taunting you with the mystery. Your first instinct tells you that the choice is simply stylistic, perhaps to maintain a certain mein in the unforgiving world of corporate, but even then— something doesn’t sit right with you. You’d like the puzzle pieces to snap together, but instead, you find yourself opening the photos section of the page.

Once it loads in, you feel an immediate thrum in your chest at what you see. Dozens of rows filled with various photos, each one depicting Kylo—Ben—on a different background, in a different situation. But it’s not what differs about these images that startles you, it’s what connects them.

His smile.

Across each photo, Kylo’s face greets you with a warm, earnest grin, eyes squinted and dimples showing. You never even knew he had them.

Your free hand squeezes the hem of your sweater as you keep browsing. You feel your gut twisting as you skip past each row, taking in the variety: pictures of his travels abroad, in office, at home… and finally, alongside a woman.

She looks to be about his age, with flaxen hair and bright eyes that squint into a smile as he kisses her cheek. The picture radiates with a joyful, chaotic energy that you’d never expect from Kylo, let alone him in interaction with another human being. But you know this is different.

The realization dawns on you like a sudden storm, surging in your veins and making you chew the inside of your cheek. As you continue down the timeline, you spot the pair again and again, kissing, touching, embracing. In each picture, Kylo smiles. He’s radiant alongside this beautiful woman, his gaze locked on her form like she’s the single most important thing in the world.

Your stomach sinks with something akin to dread, making you shake your head as you swiftly close the page. Your fingers jitter above the touchpad, making you reach for your coffee to quell the accompanying dryness in your throat. As the bitter liquid slicks down your throat and into your stomach, it settles into nausea.

Everything clicks into place. Or, at the very least, one reason for Kylo’s sudden move— and his recent anger toward you. The relationship seems picture perfect, so you’d feel sympathetic if the breakup was indeed a reality.

Except you don’t feel sympathy. Instead, your head thrums with a dull headache as you squeeze your fists, nails digging into your palms. A simmering frustration settles into your insides, stirring your leg into bouncing impatiently.

‘Why?’ you think, settling your cup down to rub at your aching temples, ‘Why would this ever be a subject of my cares?’

And then, something vibrates soundlessly at your hip. You exhale sharply, reaching into the pocket of your pants to withdraw the sleek figure of your phone. When the screen lights up, your tongue goes dry again.

Unknown, 13:57 how’s school

The text looks at your confusion-stricken face, glaring. Your unlock your phone, swiping to the app and letting your thumbs linger above the keyboard for a beat before replying.

Me, 13:58 who’s this?

A grey chat bubble appears after a second, indicating an approaching reply. You bite your bottom lip, fingers flexing and releasing in anticipation. Deep down, part of you knows who it is before the message even comes.

Unknown, 14:00 need wi-fi password. where’s the router

Your jaw almost drops. Surely enough, you were right about the mysterious correspondent, and surely enough, he’s just as annoying through text as he is in real life.

Your eyebrows furrow, and you sigh as your thumbs get to work again.

Me, 14:03 are you serious

Unknown, 14:03 dead serious signals shit in the living room

You scoff, head shaking as you cross your legs.

Me, 14:04 you haven’t talked to me in days and now you’re texting me for the wifi???

Unknown, 14:05 well yea. what else would i text you for

You feel that simmering frustration in your veins bubble into something greater beat by beat. Rolling your eyes, you send your last text message before making a promise to yourself to block the asshole before he completely ruins your day.

Me, 14:06 go fuck yourself

Unknown, 14:06 touchy

You place the device screen-down on your desk, scoffing. You hear it vibrate almost immediately, but do your best to ignore it as you turn your attention to the lecture. Your professor stands at the small podium, pointing to one of the white-boards with a green marker. Another vibration.

You shake your head, opening your Google Doc and typing some bullet points onto the blank page. “A binary opposite is a complete opposite and this is apparent in Brontë's Jane Eyre through the…” you mutter, before another vibration shakes your desk.

You groan in frustration, slapping your laptop closed before withdrawing your phone again.

Unknown, 14:10 so where is it cmon, dont leave me waiting you want me to grovel?

His text leaves you rolling your eyes again, lip caught between your teeth as you reply.

Me, 14:11 tempting

The grey bubble pops up for a beat, before disappearing again. Your thumbs tap against the edge of your phone in something akin to anticipation, but instead of shoving the feeling aside, your heart thrums at the response that comes.

Unknown, 14:13 didn’t know you liked me on my knees

Your jaw almost comes slack, looking around briefly as if checking the perimeter. Most of your colleagues are, like you, zoned out or mindlessly scrolling their devices. When you type again, your thumbs quiver.

Me, 14:14 not telling suffer :)

Unknown, 14:14 WAIT please

The small curve of your mouth comes unsolicited, making you purse your lips.

Me, 14:15 please what?

Unknown, 14:16 please, dear roomie where can i find the router?

The subtle curve bends into a smirk.

Me, 14:17 behind the TV.

Unknown, 14:17 did that kill you?

Me, 14:18 yes. writing from the afterlife hope the wifi sucks for u

You exhale slowly when the replies halt, clicking your phone off before placing it on the desk again. You cross your arms, biting down the grin forming on your lips. You know it stems from the satisfaction of getting Kylo to plead, but still— something about it feels wrong, like the fluttering in your chest shouldn’t be occurring regardless.

With another sigh, you open the lid of your laptop again and get back to mindless note-taking. The class concludes at half-past, and you’re already thinking of the hefty salad you’ll be having at the canteen once you’re out of this stuffy lecture hall.

Another vibration comes. Without second-guessing, you grab your phone within seconds.

Unknown, 14:21 too bad. signals great

You scoff, eyes rolling at the reply. Part of you feels like you should have extended your torture for a while longer, just to make him pay for ignoring you all week.

The grey bubble hovers over the text bar again before disappearing. You bite the inside of your cheek, waiting.

What appears onscreen next knocks the breath out of your lungs.

Unknown, 14:23 thanks baby

You inhale sharply, turning your phone off and dropping it into the depths of your bag. Your fingers tremble as they curl into the fabric of your jeans, but you ignore it, staring blankly at the lecture notes on your screen as the text echoes in your mind.

Baby.

You shake your head, jaw tightening as you force your focus back on the words before you. It means nothing. Kylo’s an asshole who throws words around just to get under your skin, you know this all too well. That’s all this is—another attempt to piss you off.

But the heat licking at the back of your neck tells a different story.

The professor dismisses the class. Chairs scrape against the floor, students shuffle out, conversations bubble up around you. You move on autopilot, shoving your laptop into your bag and slinging it over your shoulder. Your legs feel stiff as you push out of the lecture hall, into the busy corridor, then into the crisp air outside.

It’s chilly outside, but the sun is bright enough to make you shield your eyes with your forearm.

You exhale.

“Fuck him,” you mutter, head shaking as you begin walking down your campus. You square your shoulders, focusing on the rhythmic sound of your boots against the pavement. Students pass by in pairs and clusters, chattering about lectures and weekend plans.

He ignored you for days. That’s what matters—not the texts.

And definitely not the stupid baby.

Your breath fogs in the crisp air as you exhale again, slower this time.

You keep walking.

Your heart still thrums.

[call-me-casual]

I’ve been thinking about them so here’s a Scott Tracy [TAG edition] headcanon dump:

1. This is a bit of a retcon of an older headcanon, but Scott is 26 at the start of S1, just at the edge of turning 27, and 29 on the brink of turning 30 at the end of S3. I originally put him as 27, but I will die on the hill that Alan is 17 in S1 based on the uk driving age and I think I’ve seen somewhere that an old magazine or something said the age gap between Alan and Scott was 9 years?

2. Probably not going to be very popular but I headcanon that in the world of TAG, Scott was never in the military or GDF. No bereznik, no nothing. Instead his possible “militaristic” behaviour comes from Jeff’s training and Scott’s tendencies to copy his father.

3. Scott may have the colouring and significant facial features of his father, but actually has a good amount of his mother’s traits, such as his lanky build and personality. He loves his dad dearly and aspires to be like him, but also appreciates the little things his mother gave him that didn’t leave him a simple clone of his dad. He also inherited a few traits from his mother’s side in general.

4. Scott’s behaviour is often him attempting to act like Jeff for the sake of the others. It started as him trying to figure out how to lead, but there was also an underlying factor of him wanting things at home to stay as similar as they could. This is “Commander Scott”, whilst his real personality shines when he banters with his family, expresses his own interests and feels more comfortable.

5. Linking to headcanon 2 is what I like to call “The silver prince of Tracy Island”. Scott is a valuable asset, and people know this. Even before iR, organisations and militaries were scrambling to try and get hold of the firstborn of the legendary Colonel Jeff Tracy. They think that the kid who wants to be just like daddy will be easy to manipulate. But Scott always turned them down out of a desire to stay with his family and his incredibly pacifist nature. One of these organisations was the GDF, at the time run by a not so nice man. Not long before the Zero-X, they attempted to basically kidnap Scott and force him to serve, but were stopped by an irate Jeff who came in and saved him. This incident lead to the man in charge being investigated and replaced by Colonel Casey not long after Zero-X. (This is partly influenced by an old thread that I can’t find for the LIFE OF ME-)

His brothers know what happened, they know that there are people who want Scott Tracy for their own gain, and they are determined to protect him as he’s protected them. Sometimes, one might find a brother or two sitting vigil over their brother’s rare instances of sleep. His royal guard.

6. Scott’s pacifist nature comes from the fact that his earliest memories include the fresh Conflict of 2040. He became aware of the destruction through Jeff’s own experiences and hearing many, many news broadcasts and conversations. Scott may have been young, but he understood the gravity of what adults talked about following the conflict, when it was fresh in everyone’s minds. Whilst he doesn’t remember this, it was monumental in forming who he is today. He’s not a TOTAL pacifist (as seen when he attempts to punch evil Indiana Jones-), but he is determined to never take a life. He knows his father’s regrets, and promised to never repeat them.

7. Scott is stronger than he looks. Yes he’s light as a feather and could almost be called a twink, but he’s actually mostly lean muscle. iR promotes training for strength rather than show, so Scott isn’t very buff looking. He does however, lack a lot of body fat and can sometimes struggle to warm back up. His uniform is thickly woven and padded inside as a result, and on windy days at the island, Virgil will attempt to swaddle his big brother in blanket-thick towels post-swim.

8. Despite only stating “looking up at the night sky” (ouch) and “swimming” as his hobbies in that interview, Scott does have a few things he enjoys! Flying is obvious, but he also enjoys playing football (the REAL one, where you KICK the ball), hiking, model making and using burner accounts to wind up the bigots of 2060.

9. Scott has some variation of separation anxiety, even if he’ll never admit it. If a brother comes home after a close call or particularly long/dangerous mission, he’ll essentially wrap himself around them and refuse to let go. Because he’s mad at himself that he couldn’t protect them more, scared of what could have happened, and needs to assure himself that he hasn’t lost his baby brothers the way he lost his dad.

10. When there’s a particularly annoying or just frustrating board member at Tracy Industries, Scott will perform a series of secret pranks to get under their skin without any real consequences. The investors fear the coffee machine after it got filled with non-toxic washing up liquid found its way inside. He sits with Gordon to brainstorm new ideas.

11. If picked up from under the armpits or grabbed by the back of his shirt collar, Scott will go limp and one can perform the cat “temperament test” on him. Beware that this only occurs when there is a level of trust, otherwise expect resistance.

[bloodyymaryyy]

Could you do fic for Toto Wolff with wife baker!reader where he's picking her up from work when it’s getting late, and taking a night walk/enjoying the stars? I don't know if it make sense. Add something you'd like to it. Thanks :))

Late night walks

Toto wolff x reader

Warnings : none

Masterlist

Working and having a bakery owed by you is hard, waking up at 5 in the morning to prepare everything for the day, start baking the sweets, the pastries, the breads and the cakes everyone is asking for all day when your employee Mary, as sweet middle aged woman turned the sign around indicating that the bakery is open to take customers until eight at night where you turn it back around.

Today was no different to any other, bakind everything needed to be baked and going to the front to make the display filling the spots of the already bought pastries.

Around ten am the people coming in are less than the early morning, everyone going to their jobs, at schools or sitting at the tables around the bakery where some people mostly teenagers or young adults sitting down with a cup of whatever they are drinking and an empty plate where a pastry was placed, laptops on the tables the outside tables with an ashtray and packets of cigarettes or vapes. The atmosphere was calm, fun with music playing sofly in the background, laughter and a buzzing from the soft chatter all around the shop.

Today you left your husband at home, he didn't have work to do it was the winter break for him, leaving him on your bed asleep wishing you could just stay and enjoy the day with him because moments like that are rare with your work making you disappear until the evening and him going from country to country with his team or in the gym working out only seeing each other at dinner both exhausted from your work, the rare instances where you take time and leave from work and going to the company when he is here or at the paddock when Silverstone is coming around, hands full of pastries to give to everyone Mercedes, Mclaren, Ferrari, Redbull, Williams, Aston Martin and the others because you can give them and for your Lewis vegan ones, you have Lewis in your heart and treat him like a son even tho there isn't many many years difference between you, Lewis being 29 and you being 45 same with Toto, you knew Lewis from when he got into the Mercedes team and from then on loving him so much, and having taken a liking to the younger drivers giving them something extra.

Today toto came to your bakery near the closing hours claiming he wanted to want for you and have fun together.

When the shop was closed, cleaned and with ready dough for tomorrow, toto took your hand leading you to his Mercedes taking you to the lake.

Side note ( does Silverstone has a lake or something? I don't know i have never went there sorry. Just pretend it does)

Walking around the lake, laughing, playfully pushing each other around and taking about everything and making plans for later in life you and just spend time with one other before your schedules become more difficult and came to a decision to have the bakery but having one or two other employees to cover for you so you could be more with your 5 year old son Luca and for toto to continue his work and taking as many breaks as he can and slowly start to retire in the future.

_________________

Sorry it took so long to post I had it in my drafts.

[fandomfloozy]

Strawberry Mentos

pairing: yuuji itadori x sweet tooth!reader

c/w: fluff, song prompt, based on this post, early relationship, petnames (yuuji and reader call each other baby, reader calls yuuji sweet boy), gn!reader

wc: 1.1k

~°•*~

You chew on those little fuckers all the time. Between meal breaks at work or while out running errands, you're more likely than not macking away at one of the chewy circles from the sweet roll of mints. Either that or you're out buying a whole new roll because you burned through the last one so fast.

You snack on other things, sure. You generally have a penchant for eating a wide variety of sugary sweets, much to the amusement of your boyfriend. Yet there's no doubt about which particular brand and flavor is your go-to.

Today, however, is one of those rare instances where you don't have a pack on you. Different snacks befit tonight's planned events.

It's movie night. Yuuji has invited you over to his place to introduce you to his favorite movie series. He's been gushing about it all week, very clearly and unashamedly excited. While you are as well, you're also anticipant about being at your boyfriend's place with him, alone, for the very first time. You're antsy and giddy the whole time Yuuji is preparing your bowls of popcorn while you sit on the couch, remote in hand.

"Chocolate bunches in yours, right?" Yuuji asks as he places his plain popcorn on the coffee table.

"Yes, please!" you respond. You smile up at him and he can't help but grab at your chin and shake your head affectionately.

"Coming right up, baby." He grins like a lovelorn loser.

You feel warmth bubble up in your cheeks, so you push Yuuji towards the kitchen. "Hurry up already! I wanna press play soon!"

Yuuji laughs as he pretends to run away scared. "Alright, alright! Not my fault you insist on adding candy to your popcorn! I'll be right back."

You rest your chin on your hands, which are covered by the oversized sleeves of Yuuji's hoodie. You hide your face in them and let out a deep exhale.

God, he makes you feel so soft. You know your insides are mushy, but this is ridiculous.

You do your best to compose yourself before your boyfriend comes out holding your popcorn bowl, already chewing before you've gotten the chance to have some.

You gasp. "You better not be eating my popcorn while I've been waiting patiently for you to start the movie."

Yuuji circles the couch, chuckling. "Of course not, wouldn't dream of it."

No sooner does he hand you the bowl that you playfully snatch it away and inspect its contents. It seems untouched and has the same amount of popcorn as his bowl, not including your added topping.

You narrow your eyes at him in scrutiny. He sits smiling and sitting crisscross on the couch like a puppy. The poster child of innocence. You narrow your eyes further. "Alright, I'm satisfied. Thank you, baby."

You lean over and pucker your lips at him, and he meets you halfway in a kiss. "Anytime, baby."

Yuuji grabs his bowl from the table and leans back, relaxedly placing an arm on the back of the couch. He faces the screen, waiting.

And nothing happens.

He turns to the remote in your hand. "You gonna put play, baby?"

He failed to realize that you'd been sitting staring at him unblinkingly. His kiss had given you pause.

You rub your lips together in thought. You put your popcorn bowl to the side. You then lean forward and place the remote next to his thigh, catching his lips in another kiss.

Now it's his turn to be taken aback. He's wide-eyed as you pull away. "Woah, what was that for?"

You furrow your brow lean forward again, taking his jaw into one of your hands and deepening the kiss. There's tongue now. Why is there tongue now? Not that Yuuji is complaining, but he's so lost.

You separate for the last time and you both give each other perplexed expressions. You speak at the same time.

"Baby, I'm so confused--""Why do you taste like strawberries?"

"Huh?"

You lick your lips a little to make sure. You breathe out a laugh. "Yuuji, you definitely taste like strawberries. The artificial flavor kind, anyway. Is that what you were chewing on?"

Yuuji suddenly blushes a deeper shade of red. "M-maybe..."

You let out a laugh at the state of him. "I'm sorry if I caught you off guard, you just don't usually eat this kind of stuff. I was surprised."

"Well..." He rubs at the back of his neck sheepishly. "I know you really like this candy. It's your favorite. And I just thought... I dunno, that you'd like it... for when I kiss you."

You blink at that.

Your favorite candy.

You couldn't tell him.

You couldn't possibly tell him that the reason you loved this particular candy so much, the reason you even picked them out in the first place, was because of how much those little pink pieces of sugar reminded you of him.

After you and Yuuji's very first date, when the inklings of real, true feelings were first beginning to blossom in your chest and in the pit of your stomach, you started to see him in everything.

In the glow of the blushing sky when the sun was setting.

In the ros�� of sakura petals falling along sidewalks.

In convenience store candy flavors the very next day after he'd first held your hand.

You only ever reached for your very first roll of Strawberry Mentos because all you'd had on your mind--and all you'd suddenly had an intense craving for--was pink, and pink, and pink, and pink...

"Oh, my sweet, sweet boy." You grab him by both sides of his face and plant a big ol' smooch on his lips. "If you were any sweeter, you'd give me cavities."

He pinches your cheek and grins. "The amount of sweets you eat will do that way before I can."

You pout as he laughs at your expense. You grumble half-heartedly as you snuggle deeper into him, facing the screen. "Just play the movie."

He chest continues to shake in giggles as he wraps his arm around you. He grabs the remote and the movie starts playing. You reach for your bowl of popcorn again and settle in.

He's so kind. He's so stupid. Grabbing a pack of mentos just so you would taste it when he kisses you. Who does that?

You're glad he can't see the way your face heats up while you conjure up the image in your mind. Of him noticing how much you like to snack on strawberry mentos in particular. Of him looking for the pack while he's out shopping. Of him chewing on a few before he sat down to watch a movie with you just for the chance that you'd notice the flavor when your lips met.

So stupid...

...

"Hey, Yuuji?"

"Hm?"

"What's your favorite candy?"

~°•*~

divider via cafekitsune

[petermorwood]

I was wondering if you could answer a question about armor, especially the solid/articulated types - how much did it need to be personalized or fitted? I ask because I often see people criticizing fantasy/gaming armor for being too heavy or cumbersome, but rarely for perfectly fitting everyone between five and seven feet tall regardless of whether they're built like Legolas or Gimli.

So I'm curious about whether and what kinds of armor might have been mass produced vs what needed to be customized. Was it easier to produce broadly applicable armor or to recruit your army by height and weight?

Non-custom-fitted mass-produced armour ("munition grade" as some modern repro makers call it) started becoming more common when workshops where everything ran on muscle-power became ones whose hammers, grinders and polishers were powered by a water-wheel.

Making armour to fit a range of average sizes now took less time, effort and wages, so could be sold for less and be afforded by more people.

It would have been made in the period equivalent of S, M, L and maybe XL, with buyers either paying extra for custom adjustments, or DIY-ing for better fit with padded liners to make it snug or extra holes punched into straps for more space.

*****

Top grade plate armour on the other hand was almost like a second skin - a common term is "exoskeleton".

This post from a few years back has a lot more information, including what was done to ensure a good fit when the wearer couldn't be measured in person: for instance sending close-fitting garments or even wax model limbs to the armourer.

It definitely wouldn't have fitted anyone but the original owner anything like as well. In particular, if a non-original wearer was longer or shorter in arm or leg, the armour's knee and elbow joints might pinch at distracting moments or simply not flex through their full range.

"Is increased protection better than reduced mobility?" was a question where the wrong answer could prove fatal.

*****

Perhaps that's why medieval art shows a lot of partial armour being worn:

arm-harness - sometimes just vambraces on the forearms, often all the parts from gauntlets to pauldrons (hands to shoulders);

brigandine - a cloth or leather jacket with small metal plates riveted inside; this wasn't concealed armour, the rivets arranged in rows or patterns were an obvious decorative feature;

haubergeon (or byrnie, though that's more a Saxon / Viking term IMO) - a short-sleeved, short-bodied mail shirt, usually worn under something else;

plackart - front or sometimes front-and-rear lower-abdomen torso plates;

poleyns - knee-guards, worn on otherwise unarmoured legs.

The one thing everyone wore is the first thing Hollywood armour leaves off - a helmet - while the archer below has not just a helmet, haubergeon, brigandine and poleyns, but also something equally important, a brayette or breech...

...which is a pair - or at least the front half where It Matters Most - of well-padded mail and indeed male underpants.

Full plate armours had full plate ones which were even more emphatic. Boob-plates may be (mostly) fantasy, but obvious gendered armour was A Real Thing.

*****

Flexible armour like mail, scale and lamellar wasn't tailored for fit; being flexible it didn't need to be. That said, if the size was really wrong one way or the other, it could be reduced or enlarged by removing or adding sections, similar to a modern tailor taking in or letting out a garment.

I have a vague recollection of a photo showing a late medieval haubergeon with tailoring darts inserted under the arms, but I can't remember where or when, so "vague" has more weight than "recollection". ;-P

Genuine mail is rarer in museums than plate armour, because at the end of its working life mail armour was often chopped into pot-scrubbers for the kitchen. You can buy the same sort of thing today.

Finally, while some looted high-grade armour, or at least parts of it, might fit the looter straight away, it's more likely that after any battle there was probably a brisk trade in swapping what didn't fit for what did.

Hope This Helps! :->

[kalisburnerphone]

Amazing // Choi Seungcheol

Summary: Seungcheol doesn’t understand why she won’t let him take care of her when it’s all he wants to do. He has no idea how she found out about what he’s been doing every month for the past six months but he’s sure he can get her to agree with his logic.

Warnings: Idol!Seungcheol x OC!Solana, kinda one-sided situationship, a tiny bit suggestive,Seungcheol on his glucose guardian agenda, curve/plus-sized, foreigner!oc, Seungcheol calls her Sol, princess. I think that’s about it, let me know if I missed anything.

A/N: This is part of an idolverse series that’ll be posted in non-chronological order. I’m not sure how many parts members will have but there might be instances of crossovers.Mingyu, Seungcheol and Minghao are the only ones that I have anything written/plotted for. I’m not promising frequent updates because I’m currently on an intensive training program before starting grad school but I have some free time starting Thursday so I’ll try to work on pieces during that time. I only just got back into posting my work in the kpop community after a break from it but I do enjoy anime as well so you may come across it on my dashboard. Lastly, I am absolute trash when it comes to titles and summaries so please bare with me in advance.

Solana and Seungcheol rarely argued and if they did, it was usually about the same thing; Seungcheol spending his money on her like it was the easiest thing in the world for him to do. And in his mind, it was. Seungcheol understood that she was more than capable of providing for and taking care of herself but he felt as though she shouldn’t have to with him around.

They’d met before he’d even acquired the amount of money he had today so he knew for a fact that it wasn’t why she was with him which is exactly why he spent it on her. Seungcheol in most instances believed that actions spoke louder than words and if he felt like buying his girlfriend’s entire shopping cart on her favorite jewelry site than that’s exactly what he’s going to do.

Usually Sol wouldn’t say anything because no matter how much she told him not to, he’d find a way to justify his actions and just do it once again. This time however, she refused to let him.

“Yah!! Choi Seungcheol!” She exclaimed as she entered her apartment. His head pops out from the kitchen where he’d been peeling tangerines when he hears her.

“What’d I do?” She only ever called him by his government name when she angry or irritated with him.

“Y’know what you did! I thought we agreed that you’d ease up on excessive amounts of spending that you do on me?”

“We did, I haven’t spent excessively on you since the last time you gave me an earful for buying everything in your cart from The Jade Jewelers. What’s this about?” He asks tangerines forgotten as he follows her to the living room area, arms crossed over his chest as he looks at her rummaging through her bag before pulling out a small pile of paper.

“You’re really going to play dumb with me right now? You haven’t been spending excessively? Then explain this.” She spits out pressing the printed sheets to his chest.

Seungcheol takes the papers from her hand, looking them over before ‘shit’ is whispered from his lips. “You weren’t supposed to find out about this.”

“Well, no shit Seungcheol. Explain yourself.” She snaps as she sits on the couch with her arms crossed and looking directly at him.

“How’d you find out?”

“That’s not important. I’ve been living here for six months and you’ve been paying my rent this entire time after I told you I didn’t like you spending excessively on me especially when it came to things that I’m capable of handling on my own.”

“I know you’re capable, I do, but just because you can do all these things for yourself doesn’t mean that you have to. I’m here and I’m willing, wanting to do these things for you but you won’t let me.Why can’t I do nice things for you?”

Because it makes this feel like it’s more than what it is. It’s what she wants to tell him because as much as Seungcheol acted like it wasn’t that big of a deal, it was to her. She’d constantly have to remind herself that they weren’t in a relationship. They hooked up whenever he had free time and him paying for her KTX ticket and accommodation in Seoul was as much as she said she’d allow him but Choi Seungcheol had a way of getting whatever he wanted.

“It’s not that you can’t do nice things for me, it’s just that you have a habit of behaving like a damn glucose guardian when it comes to expenses.”

“Okay, and? If I want to behave like your sugar daddy and pay and do everything for you then you should just let me. Think about it,” he says dropping in the space next to her wasting no time in pulling her onto his lap.

“I cover all your basic expenses and necessities and all you have to do is sit pretty and get that degree. Sounds like a win-win situation to me.”

“No. Now either fix it or I’m transferring the money to your account.”

“I’ll send it right back. Play with me if you want to.” He smirks at her.

“God, you’re so infuriating.” She huffs getting off his lap and moving down the hall to her bedroom.”

“Yahhhh, we weren’t finished yet.” She can hear him pouting as he follows behind her.

“Yes, we are because you’re going to do it again regardless of what I say right now.” She responses slipping off her jacket.

“Sollllllll, are you really that upset about it?” When she doesn’t reply, he wraps his arms around her waist and rests his head on her shoulder. “If I compromise with you, will you stop being upset with me and go back to calling me Cheol?”

“Does that compromise include you not paying all my bills?” She replies sarcastically.

“Watch it, princess. Don’t want that mouth getting you in trouble don’t you? I’ve already let you slide with the sass, don’t push it.” He speaks into her ear before lightly nipping at her neck.

“I’ll let you pay your phone bill and groceries but that’s it. Despite what you say I know you only moved out from the dorms this early because of me and to allow us more privacy. The least I can do is cover your rent and utilities, I can’t help it because that’s just who I am and you know this. Now, forgive me please?” 

Seungcheol asks spinning her around in his arms. She was just about an inch or two shorter than him so he didn’t have to do much to look her in the eyes. “I don’t want you mad at me on my last night before I leave.”

“Forgive me,” there’s a peck to her cheek followed by another until Seungcheol has pressed kisses all over her face and has her a giggling mess.

“Fine, fine,Cheolll.” She laughs trying to escape him but he’s not having it.

“I can’t hear you princess, what was that?” He teases as he grasps her chin between his thumb and forefinger.

“I forgive you,” 

“And?” he encourages though he already knows that he’s gotten his way once again.

“I’ll let you take care of me even if it means putting my pride and independent nature aside and letting you pay my rent.” she sighs dramatically.

She’d never admit it but seeing Seungcheol be domestic had a tendency to do things to her. Things he’d never let her hear the end of if he knew. She’d seen a lot of different sides to Choi Seungcheol in the two years since they started all this but domesticated Seungcheol was her second favorite.

“Y’know what’s amazing?” He asks and she’s so busy staring at him that she misses the teasing lithe in his voice.

“Hmmm?” Her hands are draped over his shoulders, fingers playing in the hair at the nape of his neck. His hands around her waist resting on the curve of her ass as he leans in closer to her ear.

“We both know that I have no problem getting your pussy wet but when are you finally going to admit that me being all domesticated and taking care of you gets you all hot and bothered the same way it does to me? Hmmm?”

The way her breath hitches is enough to let him know that he’s right but he doesn’t act on it.

“C’mon, I cut fruit and we have new episodes to finish.” He says kissing her cheek as he leaves her standing in the bedroom like he didn’t just read her for filth. It takes a few seconds for her to recover but once she does she’s following behind him.

“Yah! Choi Seungcheol!”

[lavendermin]

saw your vampire jy post and i immediately started thinking about him sadly drinking on a bottle of your blood at work because he cant just call you to feed you’ve got your own things to do during the day and he doesn’t want to bother you but the blood just doesn’t taste right to him he needs to suck it directly from you 😞give this man his walking bloodbag back

Your brain is so so huge anon.

Of course you can’t readily be available each time he needs to feed. You two developed some backups for unforeseen circumstances and the like.

This was one of such instances where he’s left without your presence to enrich his day. The Seat of Divine Foresight is always cold and bleak when your visit isn’t expected.

So Jing Yuan is left at his desk, eyes scanning document after document with eyes occasionally darting to the main entrance. Like a fool, part of him hopes your schedule changes. No such luck today.

cw | blood, alcohol

An intricate cup sits near him, dark red wine fragrant as he swirls it before taking a sip. His brows scrunch momentarily, savoring the flavor. The placebo isn’t enough. And without company he can hardly convince himself to enjoy a glass.

He reaches into his desk, hand wandering to the very back where a compartment in the wood above sits cool to the touch. A light press and it opens for him to dig out a small vial of crimson liquid.

The fragrance of the wine changes immediately upon adding it. He knows he should be using only a few drops but Jing Yuan is also aware you will be back in three days whereas the entire vial of blood will tide him over for at least five.

The liquid swirls in his cup—aged and with an iron-like scent. It’s not the same on his tongue. Cold and devoid of the meaning he craves. Lacking pulse and pleasure.

It’s never the same as the lovely scent of the blood that runs hot through your veins. The liquid burns like a fine rum down his throat when he feeds from you directly—drunk on your taste.

He can’t help but recall each time he’s sunk his teeth into you as he swirls the remnants of the wine, head resting against his fist while the documents remain ignored on his desk. Yearning will do him more harm than good, but Jing Yuan is only rarely selfish. You’d scold him if you saw him sulking like this.

He knocks back the remainder of the wine, not particularly proud of the lack of elegance it probably displays. There’s hardly anyone at the main room of Seat of Divine Foresight at this time of night anyway. His teeth ache where they anticipate your skin with the taste of your crimson liquid on his tongue.

It’s a bittersweet feeling. One that will have to do until you’re back.

[yaseraphine]

astro observations 1 - focus on appearance and vibes

Hi ! Today I am posting my first ever astro observations ! Hope you like it! (if you do, there is more to come *mischevious smirk)

(REMINDER : I am NOT a professional astrologer. Everything I say are my personal opinions and not facts.)

Aries rising men

-> Aries rising men tend to look either really "primal" or like a greek god that fell from the Mount of Olympus.

From the ones I have seen (which is rare like where are they hiding??l) they have thick straight eyebrows, are taller than average, tend to be on the skinnier/leaner side and tend to have a prominent cranium.

-> They also often look mad/like they are about to start a fight or they are just pissed off 24/7 (it's similar to Scorpio risings RBF but it's not as intense or shady it's more like "the fuck you're looking at ugly ass" lmaooo)

-> I knew a guy who was an Aries rising and he described himself as a professional hater. He loved cursing at people and just getting pissed off. He admitted that himself by saying stuff like "i love hating on people" and would, without any shame, try to find any opportunity to shit on people (just for fun though lmaoo)

This attitude/anger issues/cursing at people 24/7 can also be seeing in Vinnie Hacker for instance. *He is an Aries rising and the way his only screentimes in the Hype House show was him treatening to beat people's asses is so funny to me help-

Also , Vinnie Hacker to me (obviously) falls into the "greek god looking" type of Aries rising men.

(*but then he has cancer placements so maybe all that moodiness doesn't help him at all lmaoo)

Men and women with aries stelliums often radiate libra energy for some reason. 

They look really elegant and feminine. They usually have really good manners, they are really soft spoken and sweet. They are super polite and charming. They seem generally approachable and have a nice smile on top of that.

ex :  Prayag Mishra aka the "pookie guy", PinkPantheress

Prayag Mishra aka the "pookie guy"

-> He looks really well groomed which is a typical libra men thing as it is ruled by venus, the planet of beauty and harmony.

-> He is known for being sassy which i would typically associate with leo placements (and fire energy in general) HOWEVER libras and taurus, because they want to RECEIVE that princess treatment too, can also be quite dramatic and sassy but in a less upfront, all up in your face way.

-> His sassiness is paired with a certain flirtiness which is SOO libra.

-> Just read this article about him "combatting toxic masculinity". I don't know if I am reading to deeply into it, but this "toxic masculinity" and "sassy men apocalypse" thing feels really Aries VS Libra to me -> Masculinity VS Feminity which, again, proves how he radiates feminine energy despite having more masculine energies in his chart.

(that take is a bit of a stretch ngl)

PinkPantheress

-> Her appearance and singing is really angel-like. She sings with a really sweet and soft voice, usually about love.

-> She comes off a little shy at first, but mostly well-mannered and polite. She also smiles a lot.

-> The gentleness in the way she talks and the "Let's not make it political" screams Libra to me. All about keeping the peace and the harmony.

-> She is known for her fashion sense, which is quite "girly".

I also see a lot of men saying she looks "feminine", she has a lot of fanboys and they seem to adore her softness and her nice personnality (in addition to her beauty). A lot of them act a bit possessive towards her. it's like she brings out this "i'll provide and take care of you" type of energy out of men lmaoo

-> I knew two guys with aries stelliums who came across really calm and composed, which sounds completely opposite to what Aries are stereotypically described as.

(one of the guys had a taurus rising and his stellium was located in the 12th house so maybe that is why he seemed much calmer and almost melancholic?)

Scorpio rising women

Scorpio rising women tend to have square/ rectangular and straight body types. Their shoulders tend to be really prominent and squarish.

They are also usually of a smaller height, or just smaller than average. They also have a pretty prominent forehead and prominent cheekbones.

Here’s a visual example of Scorpio rising women : 

Maya from XG - Scorpio rising (Tropical) (it is not confirmed since we don't know her time of birth but I think scorpio could be her rising sign)

Grimes - Scorpio rising (Tropical)

Bee’s Honey Tarot - Scorpio rising (Sidereal)

Lily Rose Depp - Scorpio rising (Tropical)

(/!\ all of them are skinny and most of them are white so it definitely doesn’t represent every Scorpio rising women out there but more so a sub-group that I have identified /!\)

stay blessed 💋​💕​💗​💖​💅​

[gascon-en-exil]

Ranking the Jock Studio Love Interests, Take 2

I judged the jocks after the first demo, so now it's only fitting that I do the same based on the second. This one comes with quite a bit of character content even on top of the introduction of Jock Studio's various minigames and resource management systems, and perhaps unsurprisingly all this new material has caused my personal rankings to shift around some.

I still won't be including Ace or the two NPCs. Ace is still a hilarious MC but is fairly unremarkable in explicit scenes, being as adaptable to his partners as characters in that role typically are. Jacques gets to be delightfully campy and now has some mystery surrounding him and the clearly illicit nature of the club, while Matt seems to be straight but is also leaning toward bicurious and does get a shirtless scene if you can find it. Neither is developed enough to rank alongside the main jocks, though.

Beware of spoilers for the second demo, which just got its wide release today...although this is all still prerelease content so there's nothing too revealing. What is revealing however is the demo's artwork, which contains almost nothing in the way of individual character CGs that are at all SFW. Working around that to get images for this post was a bit of a challenge, although not a bad one to have by any means.

#6. Avan - down from #3

The biggest drop for me, because the second demo doesn't do all that much with Avan - and what it does, I'm not especially into. Contrary to my earlier predictions, Avan is clearly riffing on the trope of people in positions of authority secretly being huge subs. He's actually the most submissive of the jocks in this demo, and gets off on Ace taking the lead in explicit scenes and ordering him around. Also nipple play, which...eh.

But more than that, Avan gets stuck playing the straight man (no pun intended) to the antics of the other jocks and especially Yuuto, which cuts into his entertainment value a good deal. The suggestion that his character development will take the form of him admitting that he's just as much of a horny pervert as Ace or Yuuto doesn't seem all that interesting, and most of his student council business remains mysteriously offscreen so it's tough to dig into. Possibly he'll play a role in some overarching storyline involving whatever underhanded stuff Jacques might be up to regarding the legitimacy of the club, but at this point there's just not that much to enjoy about him if you're not into uptight wet twinks.

#5. Leo - up from #6

The bump isn't wholly on account of Avan dropping, because while I'm still not into his vibe sexually Leo gets some good shades of character development in this demo. It leans more on his nerdy interests as a gamer and computer science major, and it also plays up his tendency to overextend himself which manifests itself in one scene in a way that works in the game's energy mechanic. There's also the very brief suggestion that Leo had a difficult home life, one of the rare instances of any of these guys referencing their families.

He's also noted to be the only virgin in the club aside from Ace, so their explicit scenes play up their mutual inexperience. Leo is not at all shy about leaping into sex however, which I do appreciate at least a bit even if the overall package isn't really my type.

#4. Yuuto- up from #5

Yuuto seems to be slowly growing on me, even if he's just as random and hyperactive as before. His fourth-wall-leaning quips about acting like a character in a video game land better in a demo that's more about mechanical features, and with more dialogue there's more opportunities to pull humor out of his malapropisms. It's not just weird English and puns around Jacques' name either; at one point he manages to fuse a Japanese expression with a Spanish one and presumably ruin both of them in the process.

I am though picking up on another rather curious element of Yuuto's character, one I recognize from its appearance in one of the love interests of Camp Buddy. For lack of a better way to describe it, it's as though the devs want to explore pup play scenarios but aren't into the gear and the explicit kink dynamic that comes with that. Like the CB character, Yuuto is messy, hates bathing, has an affinity for literal dogs, and even has the exposed canine teeth that I suppose have to mean something in anime art styles. His version of the blowjob scene that closes out the demo even has him giving head on all fours, with Ace directing him like an overactive pup in need of discipline. I can't be the only person who can see that, right?

#3. Bryce - down from #1

There's no question that Bryce delivers the horny goods, as his scenes both explicit and otherwise draw ample attention to his bushy, musky armpits and well-developed ass and pecs. Humorously, because the demo ends with a blowjob and never ventures into anal, Bryce is the only character whose ass gets any kind of attention in explicit scenes - even over the more obviously submissive Avan and Leo.

But as a character...oof. Bryce's open, unrelenting homophobia is increasingly painful when it's no longer a one-on-one thing but instead has him casually dropping slurs in group settings. I get that the other characters can't call him out on that in a big way for the moment because he has to go through his development, but it's still tough to take him at face value as merely a grumpy asshole who doesn't want to be a team player. Worse, this demo offers no real hints at why Bryce is so desperate for cash that he's gone gay4pay, or touches on why he's so violently closeted beyond abstract references to the homophobia of his frat brothers and wrestling teammates. And since all of those guys exist purely offscreen, that means the only tangible source of homophobia in the demo is Bryce himself. He's definitely a character in need of a full-length storyline to make him actually palatable.

#2. Zayne - up from #4

Alright, I can admit that Zayne has more or less wooed me. He's far and away the most romantically-inclined of the jocks, and while that's accompanied by a teasing insincerity it does help him stand out from the crowd. There's still a good bit of mystery surrounding his character, particularly in a comment after his blowjob scene where he calls it his "first" but then doesn't elaborate, but unlike Avan's student council business or Bryce's bigotry the surface level here is pretty appealing on its own. Is Zayne already catching feels for Ace, or is he newly exploring his bisexuality so Ace was the first guy to give him head? We can only speculate for now.

The suave romantic Dom angle translates readily into his sex scenes, even if I didn't find them to be especially noteworthy for the most part. He is I'm fairly sure the only one of the jocks to have his being uncut worked into an explicit scenario, even if he's not the only uncut guy in the cast.

#1. Derek - up from #2

Derek's vibes continue to be just what I'm typically looking for in a dating sim love interest, above and beyond his being the biggest guy with the biggest dick. Props for not making Ace deepthroat him during his first blowjob. Derek is still the gentle giant soft Dom, and even though like Avan he's frequently made to play the straight man (again, no pun intended) to the rest of the group he goes along a little more readily with the other characters' silliness so he comes off as less stuffy. He's also amenable to Ace directing softcore daddy kink dialogue toward him; twenty-four is young for a daddy, of course, but then daddies are always relative.

But what really cements Derek's place at the top for me is a surprisingly revealing optional scene where he admits that Ace reminds him of someone he used to know who went to the university. This guy is likely part of Derek's reservations with the adult film industry, and why he's so protective toward Ace in particular. I really wasn't expecting a character reveal of this level from any of the jocks in this demo, and having seen just about everything in this one I'm now actually a bit disappointed that none of the others get anything truly equivalent. That just makes Derek more endearing however: the raw sex appeal of Bryce combined with the smoother romantic appeal of Zayne, at least for me. Naturally if twinks are more your speed Derek may not rate as highly.

Bonus Round: Jock Pairings

And we're not done! The second demo surprised me again by working in elements of three of the nine community-chosen jock pairings that will get erotic CGs as part of the game's stretch goals and may also work into another stretch goal of allowing you to play matchmaker and pair up the characters with each other rather than just with Ace. That's one of the features I've been most excited about, so I really liked the inclusion here. These three pairs show up in several group scenes throughout the demo, with each one additionally getting an optional individual scene during the one free day. The following rankings are based mostly off those free day encounters since they're the best at establishing these characters' dynamics, but I'm taking into account the rest as well.

#3. Derek/Bryce

No, I'm not ranking them last because I want them both to myself. This is some prime beef-on-beef fantasy territory, and Ace's internal monologue does its best to sell their dynamic as Derek domming an unusually receptive Bryce.

The problem, though, is that the dialogue doesn't really bear that out. One of the things I like most about these jock pairings is that they present an opportunity to show off sides of the characters that might not come out in their interactions with the MC. But that's not present here, and it's instead just more of the same: Derek as the levelheaded mentor figure, and Bryce as the abrasive jerk who begrudgingly accepts someone else's attention.

Bryce's personality being what it is, this pair is unsurprisingly the only one of these three to not come off even slightly romantic, and that's liable to be the case for any of his relationships until late in his character development. It's also disappointing to see Derek, who as mentioned is protective of Ace for ambiguous backstory reasons and elsewhere takes up the mantle of Team Dad for the whole group, not even attempting to call out Bryce for how rudely he talks to and about the other club members. Sure, when these two get around to fucking it'll be undeniably hot...but having to put up with Bryce until he finally gets over himself is going to be a chore no matter who he's paired with.

As a minor plus, this scene also confirms that Bryce has some belly fat he wants to get rid of even if he refuses to change his diet or cut back on the booze. If you're into guys with a gut, that's about as good as you're going to get from this game.

#2. Avan/Yuuto

The established relationship pair, essentially, as they're roommates with an obvious odd couple dynamic. Avan's the long-suffering responsible one, while Yuuto's the agent of chaos. I've even seen people saying that they feel like they're breaking this pair up if they have Ace go after either of them. I don't think that's quite true, especially after seeing both of them in action in their explicit scenes and knowing that Avan is super submissive and Yuuto desperately needs to be collared and leashed...but hey, alpha pups exist so it's not wholly implausible.

Anyway, this pairing does contribute to my perception of Avan being one of the more boring jocks in the second demo. The biggest thing it adds to his character is showing that he's more reserved around Ace, as Yuuto is quick to proclaim that Avan normally sleeps naked and bathes with him and that the two are basically friends with benefits already. It's funny in the moment purely from how outlandish it all is, but it's going to take some development before we get to see Avan properly cutting loose. As for Yuuto...Avan is pretty much the only thing keeping him from dying of his own flagrant disregard for personal hygiene or getting arrested for indecent exposure, so that's nice I suppose. At least unlike Derek and Bryce I can see a path to a gradually developing relationship here.

#1. Zayne/Leo

Right from the start, these two are astonishingly cute for a side pairing.

The writing doesn't even go for the cliché of the popular guy crushing on the nerd, either; Zayne gets to display his academic capabilities in helping Leo with his studies, and Leo gets a bunch of positive affirmation over his geeky interests and his status as a "short king." Plus, he has a rare moment of downtime during their individual scene. Zayne also seems to be less insincere in his flirtations when it's not directed at Ace, so it's easier to buy him actually being interested in Leo or at least willing to be so at some point down the line. Zayne is kind of the anti-Bryce in that his side pairs are liable to come off as more romantic than the rest purely on account of his flirty banter, but unless he's got some dark secret about why he acts like he does that's not really a bad thing. (Though that does call to mind that Zayne/Bryce is another one of the player-chosen pairings. We may be in for some unstoppable-force-meets-immovable-object antics here.)

It's impossible for me not to notice as well that this is the only one of these three pairings where both characters went up in my estimation, and how that might partially be the result of their interactions with each other. But it's hard to avoid it; these scenes between the two of them establish new dimensions to both their characters, and I can see them having a good bit of sexual chemistry as well once they get into it.

[rjzimmerman]

The Clean Energy Revolution Is Unstoppable. (Wall Street Journal)

Surprising essay published by the Wall Street Journal. Actually, two surprises. The first is an assertion that the fossil fuel industry is parading to its death, regardless of the current trump mania, while the renewables industry is marching toward success due to dramatic decreases in cost. The second surprise is that the essay is published in the Wall Street Journal, which we all know can be a biblical equivalent for the right wing. But be careful with that right wing label: today's right wing (e.g., MAGA) or the traditional conservative republican right wing, which is more aligned with saving money and making money and avoiding political headwinds.

Here's the entire essay. I rarely post a complete essay, but this one made me happy and feel good, and right now I/we damn well need to learn something to make us happy and feel good.

Since Donald Trump’s election, clean energy stocks have plummeted, major banks have pulled out of a U.N.-sponsored “net zero” climate alliance, and BP announced it is spinning off its offshore wind business to refocus on oil and gas. Markets and companies seem to be betting that Trump’s promises to stop or reverse the clean energy transition and “drill, baby, drill” will be successful.

But this bet is wrong. The clean energy revolution is being driven by fundamental technological and economic forces that are too strong to stop. Trump’s policies can marginally slow progress in the U.S. and harm the competitiveness of American companies, but they cannot halt the fundamental dynamics of technological change or save a fossil fuel industry that will inevitably shrink dramatically in the next two decades.

Our research shows that once new technologies become established their patterns in terms of cost are surprisingly predictable. They generally follow one of three patterns.

The first is a pattern where costs are volatile over days, months and years but relatively flat over longer time frames. It applies to resources extracted from the earth, like minerals and fossil fuels. The price of oil, for instance, fluctuates in response to economic and political events such as recessions, OPEC actions or Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But coal, oil and natural gas cost roughly the same today as they did a century ago, adjusted for inflation. One reason is that even though the technology for extracting fossil fuels improves over time, the resources get harder and harder to extract as the quality of deposits declines.

There is a second group of technologies whose costs are also largely flat over time. For example, hydropower, whose technology can’t be mass produced because each dam is different, now costs about the same as it did 50 years ago. Nuclear power costs have also been relatively flat globally since its first commercial use in 1956, although in the U.S. nuclear costs have increased by about a factor of three. The reasons for U.S. cost increases include a lack of standardized designs, growing construction costs, increased regulatory burdens, supply-chain constraints and worker shortages.

A third group of technologies experience predictable long-term declines in cost and increases in performance. Computer processors are the classic example. In 1965, Gordon Moore, then the head of Intel, noticed that the density of electrical components in integrated circuits was growing at a rate of about 40% a year. He predicted this trend would continue, and Moore’s Law has held true for 60 years, enabling companies and investors to accurately forecast the cost and speed of computers many decades ahead.

Clean energy technologies such as solar, wind and batteries all follow this pattern but at different rates. Since 1990, the cost of wind power has dropped by about 4% a year, solar energy by 12% a year and lithium-ion batteries by about 12% a year. Like semiconductors, each of these technologies can be mass produced. They also benefit from advances and economies of scale in related sectors: solar photovoltaic systems from semiconductor manufacturing, wind from aerospace and batteries from consumer electronics.

Solar energy is 10,000 times cheaper today than when it was first used in the U.S.’s Vanguard satellite in 1958. Using a measure of cost that accounts for reliability and flexibility on the grid, the International Energy Agency (IEA) calculates that electricity from solar power with battery storage is less expensive today than electricity from new coal-fired plants in India and new gas-fired plants in the U.S. We project that by 2050 solar energy will cost a tenth of what it does today, making it far cheaper than any other source of energy. 

At the same time, barriers to large-scale clean energy use keep tumbling, thanks to advances in energy storage and better grid and demand management. And innovations are enabling the electrification of industrial processes with enormous efficiency gains.

The falling price of clean energy has accelerated its adoption. The growth of new technologies, from railroads to mobile phones, follows what is called an S-curve. When a technology is new, it grows exponentially, but its share is tiny, so in absolute terms its growth looks almost flat. As exponential growth continues, however, its share suddenly becomes large, making its absolute growth large too, until the market eventually becomes saturated and growth starts to flatten. The result is an S-shaped adoption curve.

The energy provided by solar has been growing by about 30% a year for several decades. In theory, if this rate continues for just one more decade, solar power with battery storage could supply all the world’s energy needs by about 2035. In reality, growth will probably slow down as the technology reaches the saturation phase in its S-curve. Still, based on historical growth and its likely S-curve pattern, we can predict that renewables, along with pre-existing hydropower and nuclear power, will largely displace fossil fuels by about 2050.

For decades the IEA and others have consistently overestimated the future costs of renewable energy and underestimated future rates of deployment, often by orders of magnitude. The underlying problem is a lack of awareness that technological change is not linear but exponential: A new technology is small for a long time, and then it suddenly takes over. In 2000, about 95% of American households had a landline telephone. Few would have forecast that by 2023, 75% of U.S. adults would have no landline, only a mobile phone. In just two decades, a massive, century-old industry virtually disappeared.

If all of this is true, is there any need for government support for clean energy? Many believe that we should just let the free market alone sort out which energy sources are best. But that would be a mistake. 

History shows that technology transitions often need a kick-start from government. This can take the form of support for basic and high-risk research, purchases that help new technologies reach scale, investment in infrastructure and policies that create stability for private capital. Such government actions have played a critical role in virtually every technological transition, from railroads to automobiles to the internet.

In 2021-22, Congress passed the bipartisan CHIPS Act and Infrastructure Act, plus the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), all of which provided significant funding to accelerate the development of the America’s clean energy industry. Trump has pledged to end that support. The new administration has halted disbursements of $50 billion in already approved clean energy loans and put $280 billion in loan requests under review.

The legality of halting a congressionally mandated program will be challenged in court, but in any case, the IRA horse is well on its way out of the barn. About $61 billion of direct IRA funding has already been spent. IRA tax credits have already attracted $215 billion in new clean energy investment and could be worth $350 billion over the next three years.

Ending the tax credits would be politically difficult, since the top 10 states for clean energy jobs include Texas, Florida, Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina and Pennsylvania—all critical states for Republicans. Trump may find himself fighting Republican governors and members of Congress to make those cuts.

It is more likely that Trump and Congress will take actions that are politically easier, such as ending consumer subsidies for electric vehicles or refusing to issue permits for offshore wind projects. The impact of these policy changes would be mainly to harm U.S. competitiveness. By reducing support for private investment and public infrastructure, raising hurdles for permits and slapping on tariffs, the U.S. will simply drive clean-energy investment to competitors in Europe and China.

Meanwhile, Trump’s promises of a fossil fuel renaissance ring hollow. U.S. oil and gas production is already at record levels, and with softening global prices, producers and investors are increasingly cautious about committing capital to expand U.S. production.

The energy transition is a one-way ticket. As the asset base shifts to clean energy technologies, large segments of fossil fuel demand will permanently disappear. Very few consumers who buy an electric vehicle will go back to fossil-fuel cars. Once utilities build cheap renewables and storage, they won’t go back to expensive coal plants. If the S-curves of clean energy continue on their paths, the fossil fuel sector will likely shrink to a niche industry supplying petrochemicals for plastics by around 2050.

For U.S. policymakers, supporting clean energy isn’t about climate change. It is about maintaining American economic leadership. The U.S. invented most clean-energy technologies and has world-beating capabilities in them. Thanks to smart policies and a risk-taking private sector, it has led every major technological transition of the 20th century. It should lead this one too.

[droughtofapathy]

Your line about how people 40 or under are mainly trained to use contemporary musical theatre techniques (belting, or screlting if we’re cynically speaking), got me thinking.

Do you think that this is a case of younger people not really having a strong interest in how musical theatre actually sounded pre 90’s/00’s?

They probably imagine that a lot of older MT scores sound repetitive and same-y (then again a lot of new shows sound repetitive, and not every era is perfect), but there’s a part of me that feels like younger people are missing out on some genuinely rich scores made many years ago just waiting for people of the new generation to be inspired by (whether it be singers or composers).

Oh, and yeah I agree with you, acting is severely overlooked nowadays and it’s sad.

While I do think that the young generation of any time has always scorned the past music in some way, it does feel like young people (under 25ish) today especially have no curiosity. Not only in regards to past musical theatre scores, but just everything. If it's not being spoonfed, they don't--or can't--take the initiative to find it themselves.

Some (many?) of them don't even know how. I see so many reddit posts by young people asking the most basic questions you can imagine. Things you can easily find just by looking it up online. A recent one was someone asking if there had ever been any biographies written about the Gershwins because all they could find about them was the wikipedia article. They don't know how to google and part of it is because google has become a shitty AI hellscape. But part of it is that they just want it fed to them. They don't have the attention span or the patience to do some digging. If they're not getting Bye Bye Birdie handed to them on their phone, they don't care.

Not only with music, but with history as a whole. We live in an age where the past is more accessible on a widescale than ever before. In the last seven weeks, I've listened to every available Broadway cast recording from 1947 to 1971, and there is such a collection of wonderful music from this time. Sure, a significant amount doesn't hold up well and it starts to blend together once you've gone through 270+ in rapid succession, but it's still worth hearing.

But kids aren't growing up with Golden Age movie musicals on VCR. They don't have their parents old show records on the turntable. Maybe some do, but not on the widespread scale they used to. And not having that early exposure is limiting. It's growing increasingly uncommon to have even DVD or CD players in the home now, and streaming services are just not as effective as popping in the VCR to watch The Sound of Music for the dozenth time with the whole family. And some of it feels like people only want to watch or listen to the brand new thing that everyone else is instead of going off alone to quietly enjoy something four other people are talking about online.

I'd argue that it isn't even just pre-90s/00s, but anything more than a decade old. New music is getting shorter, designed to go "viral" with some fifteen-second clip on the apps. Even among young theatre kids who love musicals, they're only familiar with the same dozen shows. Hamilton is only ten years old, but it's already being largely dismissed and mocked. And sure, yes, it was made for a very specific Obama-era feeling, and part of its negative connotation nowadays is because the fandom was a little...much, shall we say (lest we forget the T.Jeff Mikyu binder incident...) But it was still a rare instance in which rap and hip-hop in a Broadway musical became mainstream. But nowadays the kids are all so afraid of being "cringe" that they've been conditioned by this chronically online culture to not be curious about the past. It isn't all their fault, but they aren't doing anything to change it.

A prime example of this casual dismissal of anything old is any and every Best Musical poll that circulated this site last year and the year before. Look at the shows that won. A clear bias for contemporary pop shows and such limited interest in learning about some of the canon's greatest works. I had teens in my anon inbox absolutely furious that I dared to claim Chicago was an objectively better musical from a creative standpoint than that internet show. Sure, that one was probably fun and it was okay to like it, but it just does not exist on the same level as a Kander & Ebb that has remained relevant for over fifty years and will probably run until Broadway dies. That youtube musical is not. But they have this mindset that old = bad and wrong and sometimes even inherently racist/sexist/homophobic because there are outdated terms and period-typical attitudes. A young person on the Sondheim reddit recently said that A Little Night Music was problematic because the age gap between Anne and Frederick was gross. As if that wasn't the intended takeaway to begin with.

And now I feel like I've written an essay when I should be writing my Ragtime AU. Please excuse me while I return to my dated and boring fanfiction adaptation.

[weirdmarioenemies]

Happy Groundhog Day! I think it is so wonderful that there is an entire holiday dedicated to a specific burrowing rodent. Americans love this thing! And who wouldn't? Their burrows aerate soil, and provide homes for many other critters!

A lot of people wouldn't love the groundhog, actually. In 1883, the New Hampshire Legislative Woodchuck Committee put out a statement calling groundhogs "wayward sinners" whose grooming habits suggest good manners, but who in reality have "not made any material progress in social science". You think the Discourse is bad today? They used to form committees to complain about a squirrel's moral character!

However, this is not the extent of the disrespect toward groundhogs. It happens to this day, and we all take it for granted, and most don't even bother to realize it has to do with a marmot in the first place! Let's talk about...

Name: "Mole"

Debut: Whac-A-Mole

Sorry this picture is not very good. There are just not many pictures available that show that weird old "mole" figure that I have in mind specifically! Here's a green one.

Anyone familiar with the "Mole" series of animals will know that this is very much Not A Mole! The distinct head, the visible ears, the blunt nose, the buckteeth... this, my friend, is 100% Ground Squirrel! And this game is FAR from the only instance of moles and burrowing rodents being mixed up.

It actually makes sense that this mistake would happen, though! Moles are synonymous with burrowing, to the point unrelated burrowing animals are named after moles (including Mole Cricket, perhaps the ORIGINAL mole). But moles spend ALL their time burrowing, rarely if ever coming to the surface, so even though we all know moles, we are rarely blessed with SEEING moles. I have never seen a mole in person... yet! I would love to! Ground squirrels, such as groundhogs and prairie dogs, are also little burrowing critters, but these ones are commonly seen on the surface, ever alert. I think it's reasonable to mistake them for "moles"!

Alas, the popularity of Whac-A-Mole has cemented Ground Squirrel as essentially the "canon" Mole design for this context. And what a context that is! A classic, even GENRE-DEFINING game, all about whacking critters as they emerge from their burrows. So rude! They're not posing any danger, and the player isn't hunting them to eat, either. This is simply a game of spite. How DARE that rodent try to see the sun! This is just like Undertale.

Whac-A-Mole is one of the most straightforward types of game for any device with a touch screen or anything similar. Just gotta tap a thing! Very easy. This has led to such variations such as Whack-a-Monty from New Super Mario Bros., where the player bonks Monty Moles (more like Monty Gopher am I right) while sparing the many, many Luigis. Obviously, the Luigis must surface in order to initiate courtship, ensuring future generations of Luigis.

Now that I think of it, Mario is one of the only times I've seen the ethics of Whac-A-Mole called out, through the endangered Whacka from Paper Mario! I'm surprised the genre is not deconstructed more often (I love that this sentence is about Whac-A-Mole).

I think this is where I will end the post, because this silly game has so permeated human culture that I could go on and on and on! So strange that an entire animal now has a reputation of "pops out and gets bonked on the head". Conceptually, I certainly prefer the "parasitic aliens emerging from an astronaut's body orifices" aesthetic for this kind of game, but obviously kids aren't going out and bludgeoning real rodents because of this game, so whatever.

But still, what if instead of moles, the whacked entities were something humans have no problem attacking with a second thought...?

Get ready for an action-packed new game set in the Bowling universe!