#i might make an ai audio of this

[bloodypeachblog]

The Vees one morning (also Alastor's here, for some reason)

Val, walking in with a hot cup of tea: Which one of you was gonna tell me that tea tastes different if you put it in hot water? *Vel, Alastor, and Vox are horrified/stunned* Vel, building in rage: You...were putting it...in cold water? Vox, panicking in fear of Vel: Val? Answer the question, Val! Val: Yeah, I thought for like 5 years that people just put it in hot water to speed up the 'tea-ification' process. Didn't realize there was an actual reason. Vox: You don't have the patience to microwave water for, like, 3 minutes?! Alastor: Why are you putting it in the microwave to boil it? Vox: Do you think I have the patience to boil water on a stove, Alastor? Alastor, slamming the table: It takes less than a MINUTE! Vox: Dude, is your stove powered by the fucking SUN?! Alastor: How long does it take for you to boil a cup of water on a stove? Vox: LIKE SEVEN MINUTES!!! Alastor: Just stick the mug on top of the stove on medium heat, and it boils in like 2 minutes. Less than that, and you use a sauce pan. Vox, laughing: You're putting the whole mug on the stove? On medium heat?? Your stove is enchanted! Vel: Every single person in this room is a fucking lunatic...DO NONE OF YOU OWN A FUCKING KETTLE?!?!? *Val, quietly leaves the room while everyone argues*

~~~~~

Inspired by this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWv_8nOcNXE

[nyan-ryder]

Body/Analog Horror TW!

Should I just go ahead and make and analog horror series on impulse?

[moncherellie]

try it on (+ ai audios)

a/n: girl. i know ive only posted smut so far but i promise i have 2 fluff coming + a req. req are open beeteedubs >:) sorry if the audios are fucky wucky, i just learned to use the program. requests are open n encouraged :D

-content/warnings: 782 words, semipublic sex in a fitting room, fingering (r receiving), oral (r receiving), kinda bratty/annoyed!r, ellie is way too cocky lmao, my slight hand kink showing, gn reader but has a pussy

Ellie Williams knew she was hot- the hungry look girls gave her as she walked past was proof enough. She knew her veiny arms drove her hookups crazy, knew her slim fingers hit all the spots to make someone shudder, and knew her hair pulled back into that signature half-up was perfect for gripping as she dug her face in a pussy.

And because Ellie knew she was attractive, she knew there were certain things she could get away with. Ever the witty and observant one, she could manipulate her actions in a way to get you riled up in record time, and it pissed you the hell off. Especially when she would utilize this skill during the most inconvenient of times.

You really just wanted to have a nice mall day with her. Walk around, window shop, pick up some trinkets, and maybe grab some Wetzel's Pretzels if you were feeling risqué. But no, Ellie had to insist that she wanted to spoil you by buying a new lingerie set.

"Babe, c'mon, I just got my paycheck. Let me blow some cash on you, yeah?" She stretches her arms in front of her, interlocking her fingers as she shamelessly showed off her lean build. Slut.

You roll your eyes. "You're the worst with money management."

"Well, I'm doing it anyways. So come with me or don't." You know she's not kidding. Might as well go help her out, right?

All it took was one lacy, forest-green set to drive her nuts. Ellie man-spreads on the dressing room bench, all but eye-fucking you. She stands and comes up behind you, purring compliments into your ear, hands roaming your body: caressing, squeezing, pushing your legs apart. Her breath is hot on your neck, sending shivers down your spine.

"Babe", she sighs, "Look at you. You look like a fuckin' angel, you know?" Her teeth graze the crook of your neck as you attempt to shoot her a dirty look.

"Don't even. Not right now." Even as you weakly protest, her hand trails to your inner thigh and traces soft patterns into your sensitive skin.

That was how you ended up leaning against the door of a Victoria's Secret fitting room. The door shook violently with every tremble of your body despite your best efforts to be as subtle as possible. Your right leg was hooked over Ellie's shoulder as she crooked her fingers inside you. You bit your hand to stop from making noise.

Ellie looks up at you with the most infuriating grin, as if to say I knew you couldn't resist me. You roll your eyes but don't say anything. She's already down there, so she might as well make herself useful.

She sees your little eye roll and pulls out, shoving her fingers back in harshly, the base of her palm coming into contact with your clit as you hold back a scream. "Hate that bratty attitude of yours." She mutters.

"Says you!" You hiss.

The dressing room is deathly silent apart from the soulless corporate music over the loudspeakers, so if someone listened closely, past the electronic squeaking of The Chainsmokers, they'd hear the repeated slapping of Ellie's fingers against your skin.

Her thumb rubs your clit as she thrusts at a nearly inhuman pace, and your eyes roll back into your head. You leave bite marks on your hand. Ellie's stupid, arrogant, sexy face grins up at you, slightly flushed and eyes glinting in the harsh fluorescents. With no warning, she pulls the leg hooked over her shoulder closer, shoving your pussy in her face and kitten-licking your clit, sending you over the edge.

You can't hold back the animalistic moan that comes from the back of your throat, and Ellie slaps her free hand over your mouth, slyly smiling up at you as she fucks you through your orgasm. You try to shove her away, overstimulated, but her grip on your thigh tightens.

"Stop, 'm cleaning you up."

You groan, holding her stupid little bun as she continues. When she finally pulls away and your leg comes off her shoulder, it's asleep, thousands of little pinpricks across your thigh. She gives a gentle kiss to your forehead and chuckles as you limp to take off the lingerie set and shuffle on your clothes.

"Aw, did I blow your back out?"

"No, Ellie, my leg is asleep. Asshole." She smacks your ass and picks up the now-crumpled underwear.

You sigh and unlock the stall door, Ellie trailing behind you. When you get to the front of the dressing room, the employee smiles brightly, asking, "Did everything work out?"

Your eyes flicker to Ellie's stupid smirk because you just know she's gonna say something stupid.

You're right.

"Yeah, I think this one's a keeper."

[ladyshinga]

I keep being told to "adapt" to this new AI world.

Okay.

Well first of all, I've been training myself more and more how to spot fake images. I've been reading every article with a more critical eye to see if it's full of ChatGPT's nonsense. I've been ignoring half the comments on stuff just assuming it's now mostly bots trying to make people angry enough to comment.

When it comes to the news and social issues, I've started to focus on and look for specific journalists and essayists whose work I trust. I've been working on getting better at double-checking and verifying things.

I have been working on the biggest part, and this one is a hurdle: PEOPLE. People whose names and faces I actually know. TALKING to people. Being USED to talking to people. Actual conversations with give and take that a chat bot can't emulate even if their creators insist they can.

All of this combined is helping me survive an AI-poisoned internet, because here's what's been on my mind:

What if the internet was this poisoned in 2020?

Would we have protested after George Floyd?

A HUGE number of people followed updates about it via places like Twitter and Tiktok. Twitter is now a bot-hell filled with nazis and owned by a petulant anti-facts weirdo, and Tiktok is embracing AI so hard that it gave up music so that its users can create deepfakes of each other.

Would information have traveled as well as it did? Now?

The answer is no. Half the people would have called the video of Floyd's death a deepfake, AI versions of it would be everywhere to sew doubt about the original, bots would be pushing hard for people to do nothing about it, half the articles written about it would be useless ChatGPT garbage, and the protests themselves… might just NOT have happened. Or at least, they'd be smaller - AND more dangerous when it comes to showing your face in a photo or video - because NOW what can people DO with that photo and video? The things I mentioned earlier will help going forward. Discernment. Studying how the images look, how the fake audio sounds, how the articles often talk in circles and litter in contradictory misinformation. and PEOPLE.

PEOPLE is the biggest one here, because if another 2020-level event happens where we want to be protesting on the streets by the thousands, our ONLY recourse right now is to actually connect with people. Carefully of course, it's still a protest, don't use Discord or something, they'll turn your chats over to cops.

But what USED to theoretically be "simple" when it came to leftist organizing ("well my tweet about it went viral, I helped!") is just going to require more WORK now, and actual personal communication and connection and community. I know if you're reading this and you're American, you barely know what that feels like and I get it. We're deprived of it very much on purpose, but the internet is becoming more and more hostile to humanity itself. When it comes to connecting to other humans… we now have to REALLY connect to other humans

I'm sorry. This all sucks. But adapting usually does.

[totheblood]

superposition. (three)

pairing: dealer!ellie x best friend!reader

summary: ellie gives you lesson number three (she's kinda bitter about it) and you get an A+ on your test!

warnings: 18+, SMUT,(thigh riding) cursing, alcohol/drug mention, suggestive themes... cheating if u squint... once again the ai audios are... just dont listen around others

read the previous part of this fic here!

a/n: this was challenging for some reason... please know i'd love feed back and all reblogs and replies and asks are welcomed and encouraged... thank you for 3k!

"i want you to want me."

You agreed to a second date with Malia.

Despite the fact that you felt something was missing from your first date, you still agreed to give her a second chance. It was a weak attempt to shove whatever you were feeling for your best friend down into the pits of your stomach, but you were failing miserably. While you sat next to her in the crowded bar, all you could think about was Ellie and how her hands traced down your stomach and thighs a week ago.

In fact, that was all you could think about the entire week and it was beginning to make you feel pathetic. Every time Ellie’s hand brushed over yours when you were walking together, or whenever she licked her lips after eating something sent your brain into a frenzy. Her mouth, her hands, her voice ran through your mind on a loop. You were unsure what ‘touch-starved’ meant but you were almost positive that it was what you were feeling right now.

Things had gone back to normal after that night, despite Ellie abruptly leaving your apartment after making you cum. She was just acting as if nothing had happened, not bringing it up again or even joking about it in the way you expected her to. In fact, when you brought up the fact that you were going on another date with Malia she smiled and told you to tell her how it goes. 

It was toxic of you, but you had to admit that her lack of jealousy pissed you off. The Ellie that made quips about the date being too boring and offering to ‘take care of you’ was gone, and you were unsure of how to feel about it. She wasn’t cold, but she wasn’t your Ellie anymore. On movie night that Friday she even voted for the movie Dina picked, making your heart sink. She was pulling away from you and you had to do everything in your power to not freak the fuck out. 

Halfway through the movie, you got up and began collecting your belongings, searching the couch for your phone. 

“Where are you going?” Dina’s voice made you whip your head towards her, her eyes trained on you when they should’ve been trained on that stupid fucking movie her and Ellie wanted to watch.

“Uh- I’m going on a date,” you replied, turning back to the couch to find your phone and place it in your pocket. Instinctively your eye’s flicked towards Ellie, her eyes were stuck on the TV screen, intently watching the movie. 

“Oh, with the same girl as before?” Dina perked up, shifting her whole body in the direction of you and startling awake Jesse who had fallen asleep leaned up against her. 

“Yeah, Malia.” You gave her a smile, unsure if she could even see it in the dark room, the only light coming from the glow of the TV screen. “We’re getting drinks downtown.”

“Oh shit, you know how you get when you’re drunk,” Dina laughed to herself making Jesse groan, “You get all touchy-feely and shit. You’re for sure getting some tonight.”

This made Ellie turn to look at you, green eyes illuminated and lips pressed flat. Your heart jumped in your chest, excitement bubbling at the fact that she might still care. She looked you up and down before turning back to the movie, doing her best to ignore the conversation.

“I mean, I hope so,” you awkwardly laughed, stealing another quick glance at Ellie, “I think I may be ‘touch-starved’ or whatever that is.”

“Well, I wouldn’t mind being touched by Malia, that girl is hot,” Dina whispered, so Jesse wouldn’t hear, “I saw her on campus the other day and I was like ‘Dam-”  

“Can you guys shut up? I’m trying to watch the movie.” Ellie chimed in, her tone sharp. Dina playfully pushed Ellie’s shoulder before rolling her eyes and mouthing a ‘sorry’ to you and gesturing for you to go.

“See you later, guys.” You half-whispered, making your way out the door. Ellie watched as you made your way to the door, eyes lingering for a minute after the door had shut behind you.

Ellie was doing her best to be nonchalant but was failing miserably. It took everything in her to pretend that she didn’t know what you felt like, what you sounded like moaning her name. All she wanted to do was pretend nothing had happened, force a smile on her face when you mentioned going on a second date, and ignore the pain in her jaw from clenching it too much. It was much easier said than done. 

It wasn’t news to anyone that you brought out a volatile reaction in Ellie. Whenever you were mentioned by someone in a negative light she had to physically restrain herself from knocking their teeth out, failing on two occasions. Whenever you were mentioned in a positive light, Ellie had to stop herself from listing all of the things she liked about you or getting jealous at the idea that someone may take you away from her. She knew she didn’t own you, but a part of you belonged to her and she knew that. 

Again, Ellie waited by her phone that night waiting for you to text her that your date was over and that you wanted her to come over. She wasn’t expecting you to, but she still hoped that you would.

The date with Malia went as smoothly as last time. The conversation was good, the drinks were even better, and when her hand rested at the side of your thigh and she asked you if you wanted to go back to her place, you happily obliged. All of it was fuzzy, her frantically unlocking her door with your lips nipping and sucking at her neck, her leading you to her bedroom with girly laughs filling the room, her pressing you down into her mattress, hands pulling at your waistband, and you pushing her off the bed. 

You sat up with a gasp and hand clamped over your mouth as you looked over the edge of the bed to see her sitting on the floor.

“I’m so sorry!” You quickly scrambled to reach out a hand for her, helping her to get up. You assumed she would be pissed but all she did was laugh and accept your outstretched hand. Your face had worry written all over it, your brows wrinkled and eyes wide. 

“It’s okay,” she let out a breathy laugh again, shaking her head as she sat next to you on the bed, “I’m assuming you’re just not ready?”

You took a good look at her watching the way her features all sat perfectly on her face. You were ready, and touch starved, so why couldn’t you do this with her? 

“I don’t think I am,” you reluctantly replied, an apologetic look on your face, “I’m just not there yet, I’m new to all of this so I think we should take it slow.”

“Of course,” she reached a hand out to push your hair out of your face, “we don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.” 

Suddenly, the room felt extremely small and you felt the need to get out of there. It wasn’t anything she had done but the realization that you had just pushed your date off her bed was beginning to set in. You stood up quickly, smoothing out your shirt and beginning to make your way out to her living room where you had thrown your bag. 

“I should go,” your voice was rushed and frantic mimicking your movements. Malia was quick on your tail, trying to reassure you in her own rushed voice, but it all came out as static to you. You turned quickly on your heels to face her, your phone and bag in hand. “I’ll text you, okay?” 

You gave her a kiss on the cheek before rushing out the front door and whipping out your phone to dial the only person you knew how to call these days. You rushed down the staircase and out onto the street, pressing her contact number scared she wouldn’t pick up. It only rang once before you heard her voice through the phone.

“Hey, you okay?” She asked frantically, knowing that if you were calling her and not texting, than something was wrong.

“Um, yeah, yeah-” You breathed out, voice shaky and unstable.

“What’s wrong, Petal?” From your phone, you could hear her already getting up and getting her things together to come and get you.

“Nothing, I’m fine,” you lied, “Can you just come pick me up? I’m just at Malia’s and I need to get out of here.” 

There was silence on her end for a minute. “Uh, yeah. Just send me the address.” 

After what felt like ages of you shaking your head and looking around for Ellie’s car, she pulled up, headlights flashing at you as she approached. You rushed to the door, pulled it open, and got in the passenger seat, avoiding eye contact with Ellie. 

“Hey, you okay?” She asked again, her voice much softer this time. You turned to look at her with your arms crossed. 

“I’m fine, Ellie. It just-” You took a deep breath avoiding her eyes once again. “Can you just drive?”

“My place or yours?” 

“Yours.”

Ellie gave you a curt nod before turning up the radio and driving over to her apartment building. Once you got there and both made your way into her apartment, you were suddenly uncomfortable. You forgot that you had on makeup and a tight shirt and leather pants that you were definitely not going to sleep in.

“Uh, Ellie?” Your voice was small as you followed her into her room. It was much cleaner than it usually was and didn’t reek of weed like it usually did. It instead smelled like… “Did you light a candle or something?” 

“Yeah, why?” She glanced up at you from her place at her dresser, searching through the drawers for something.��

“No reason,” you looked around her room once again, “Just wondering why it smells so good in here.”

She gave you another quick glance and a small smirk, taking an oversized shirt of hers from the drawer and throwing it at you. “Yeah it’s Cactus Blossom. Got it on sale and Bath and Body Works.” 

You opened up the shirt and looked at it, it was a ‘Nirvana’ t-shirt that you saw Ellie wear multiple times before. 

“It’s to sleep in, by the way.” She joked, noticing you stare at the shirt. 

“Yeah, thanks.”

When you came back from changing into Ellie’s shirt, she was in her own pajamas: a loose fitting t-shirt and oversized boxers. She looked up at you from her place on the bed, her eyes lingering on your bare legs for a moment. She pursed her lips and patted the spot next to her on the bed. Climbing back onto the bed, you sat crosslegged next to Ellie, your hands securely in your lap. Ellie put her phone down to look at you, her eyes catching on your neck. 

“Is that a hickey?” She reached up, finger brushing over the purple bruise on your neck. For a moment, you watched her face fall, but she quickly regained herself as she pulled her hand away. 

“Oh shit, I didn’t even realiz-” You were cut off by the sound of Ellie using your name, something she only did when she was serious or mad at you. “What?”

“Did you sleep with her? Is that why yo-”

“What? Ellie, no.” You reassured her, not understanding why there was a need to in the first place.

“So then what happened? Why are you here and not with her?” Ellie’s voice was low and carried a hint of worry with it. Your eyes bore into hers, searching for an answer she wasn’t going to give you verbally.

“She just-” You dramatically sighed, looking down at your hands then back up at her. “We were going to. Like, she was on top of me and was kissing me, and it did feel good, I’m not going to lie, but then she started to try to remove my pants and I just-” 

Ellie’s face was cold, her teeth clenched and her arms crossed in front of her body. She knew she was showing herself but couldn’t stop herself. “You just what?”

“I pushed her off the bed.” You admitted, covering your face in your hands and letting out an embarrassed laugh. Not to your surprise, Ellie was laughing too, a big hearty laugh that came from her chest. If you weren’t so embarrassed you would be basking in the sound, your heart leaping out of your chest and into hers. Instead, your face remained hidden by your hands as you shook your head. 

“Hey, Petal,” Ellie managed to get out in between laughs, reaching for your wrist and pulling them from your face, “Let me see that face.” 

You dramatically pouted, causing her cheeks to redden and grow with the grin she was giving you. “Nothing to be embarrassed about, alright? Hey, if I was dating someone that boring I would push her off me too.” 

Ellie watched as the smile came back to her face and you playfully rolled your eyes. 

“She’s not boring.” You reminded her.

“And you’re back.” Ellie teased, rubbing the inside of your wrists with her palm. 

“Maybe I need another lesson,” You whispered, eyes not leaving hers, “Maybe I’m just not good enough yet.” Something dark flashed over her eyes before she gently tugged your wrists towards her, causing you to lean over on your knees, ass in the air. 

“Are you sure you need another lesson?” She whispered, bringing her face close to yours. “Or do you just want me to be the one to fuck you?”

Your tongue caught in your throat, mouth going dry as you looked down at her lips. 

“Just a lesson, Ellie.” You gulped. “I’m dating her.”

“Yeah, but you’re fucking me.” She leaned forward and pressed a kiss at the side of your lips, causing your eyelids to flutter shut and for you to hum. “Just admit what we both already know. I’m the only one you can get wet for.”

“Yeah, but that could change. You’re my frie-” She cut you off by releasing your hands from her grasp, causing you to fall forward into her. In one swift motion, her hands caught your face, bringing you up to her lips to kiss you. It was messy, teeth clashing and tongues fighting for dominance. Her knee came up in between your legs, pushing you forward, causing a groan to fall from your lips into Ellie’s. 

She sucked on your bottom lip, one hand leaving your face to pull you on top of her by your waist. You sat with your legs on both sides of Ellie’s thigh, humming when her lips made their way to your neck. Carefully, she sucked over the purple mark left by Malia in an attempt to cover it up with her own. Your hand grabbed onto the back of her hand shoving her into the crook of your neck, letting a “Fuck, Ellie,” fall straight from your lips.

Pulling back from you she examined her work, content with the dark and larger bruising caused by her. Her eyes traveled back to your face, smiling at your swollen bottom lip and sweat beading on your forehead. Her chest was rising and falling dramatically, mirroring yours. 

“I’ll give you another lesson,” she panted, lifting the thigh you were sitting on, causing you to stifle back a moan. “Oh, fuck..I’ll teach you how to ride. How to fuck yourself against my leg. That sound okay?”

“Mhm,” you responded, eyes glassy and anticipation stirring inside you. Both of her hands were placed at your waist firmly as she slowly moved you forward. 

“What you have to do is,” She began, looking down to where you sat down on her. In the heat of the moment, neither of you had realized that you were dripping onto the skin of her thigh, straight through your panties. “Fuck, is this from that alone?” 

When you nodded, Ellie blushed leaning forward to press a kiss on your cheek, hands still on your waist. “You really are touch starved, Petal.” She pressed another kiss on your neck, making you whimper and her grip tighten. 

“You just have to rock your hips back and forth,” Her hands fell down to your waist, guiding you to rock back and forth against her. “Slowly, okay?” Nodding, you began rocking back and forth, eyes closing as you whimpered each time your clothed cunt made contact with her thigh. 

“I think you could cum off of this alone.” She cooed continuing to guide your hips and giving you a gentle kiss on your jaw each time you made a noise. She was conditioning you to moan for her. “Don’t you think so?” Another kiss, another moan, another kiss. 

“You can pick up the pace now, Petal.” You quickened your movements, rocking back and forth at a faster pace. Ellie brought her thigh up and pushed your hips down with her hands. She was pressing you into her, causing you to throw your head back and let out a volatile moan. She used one of her hands to catch the back of your head and pull you close to her. 

Your movements began to get more jagged as you felt the familiar feeling in your stomach rise again. Her breath was shaky, her own cunt dripping at the sight of you. Your knee had begun to press into her through her clothes, causing her to let out her own moan. From the sound alone you were about to come.

“Come with me, come with me, fuck,” Her breath was jagged and breathy, but her grip on you never wavered. “Come with me, baby, fuck.” 

That was all it took for you before you were screaming her name and collapsing into her, her own moan coming out much quieter than yours, and in short breaths.  Your hands rested on her shoulder, as your head hung low and you crawled off of her. With deep breaths, you leaned back against the headboard, almost ashamed to look at her. 

“Was that okay?” Your voice was small, unsure of itself. 

“Yeah, yeah, that was uhm-” She turned to look at you and gave you an exhausted smile. “That was good. You did good. A+ for you.” You both let out exhausted laughs.

After she got you cleaned up, and you didn’t mention the fact that you were going on another date with Malia, you both fell asleep silently in her bed. Again, she pretended it hadn’t happened and turned off the side table lamp as she watched you pretend to sleep.

ai audios:

[amourrs]

Some sick!reader + Ellie headcanons I've been thinking about for you Ani <3

• You aren't too sure if it's a coincidence or Ellie is really just That girlfriend, but when you're feeling unwell, all her plans get cancelled out of the blue for her to lay on the bed next to you on her phone quietly glancing towards you from time to time to make sure you're happily enjoying the drink she fixed for you.

• She also goes above and beyond to distract you from the pain,- physical or mental; and probably talks to you to a point where you have to attack her with kisses all over her face for her to stop infodumping for a second and just enjoy the show y'all are watching

• Back rubs.. belly rubs.. arm caresses.. temple kisses.. small pecks.. knuckle kisses.. and boob holding for comfort??? Ellie-

• If you start to feel better by the evening, she tells you not to frown about the missed date and hand crafts a blanket fort "Girls night" as she likes to ironically call it and laugh about it(I'm a sucker for Ellie being traditionally girly dont look at me) She basically makes you watch old movies, does your hair and lets you paint her nails.

you don’t understand how happy this ask made me like omg. 18+ only due to suggestive content under the cut! expansion below (also featuring a couple of sneaky ai audios right at the end…) cw for vomit.

this is so cute i’m gonna cry you just understand all my daydreams!!! she’s so gf i love her… btw it’s canon that cups of watery, kind of awful tea ABOUND in your household when you’re sick and you don’t have the heart to tell ellie they’re bad. she’s looking at you and prompting you with her eyes to take a sip and you have to conceal your wince as you do it. “it’s good tea, right? dunno if i left the teabag in for long enough… google said two minutes. was that right? it’s good, right???” you wait for her to stop but she just keeps rambling and you feel so bad for her that you just have to nod along and swallow down the tea 😭😭

the infodumping… god, the infodumping. you’re just trying to focus on a show through your thumping headache as ellie drones “honestly, i think taissa did do it to allie on purpose, even if she doesn’t realise it-” until it gets to the point where you thwack her with a pillow and she pouts at you before pecking your forehead with her lips and snuggling down next to you.

also i see your boob holding and raise you tit sucking… because yes you’re sick but, well, ellie’s still ellie, and so of course she still wants to do horny things. she’d spring it on you right as you’re waking up from your mid morning nap, eyes all soft as she looks down at you all curled up in the little cosy nest of blankets she meticulously arranged for you.

“hey baby. you just wake up? i can make you another cup of tea if you want,” ellie offers happily. she must see the slightly apprehensive look on your face because her eyebrow crooks up as she continues: “or, well… i was thinking… what if i, like, sucked your tits? just a little? think it might help ease some of the aching… after all, my mouth is kinda magical, if i do say so myself.” you’re unable to contain your splutter at the terrible joke. ellie grins and keeps pushing it. “in fact, this might be a miracle cure!” she says with all the drama of someone announcing they discovered a new planet in the solar system. “you might never get sick again!” comes her next line, hands gesticulating wildly in the air as your chest begins shaking with unbridled giggles.

a fake depressive look turns your girlfriend’s lips down as she dramatically sweeps a hand across her forehead. “okay, maybe that’s a bit far… stop laughing at me. you’re gonna make yourself throw up again,” she teases, except you both seem to realise at the same moment that her last statement was probably true. your eyes lock as ellie dives for the sick bucket and you do in fact puke, her calloused hands holding back your hair from your face <3

as for girl’s night- i feel like she would probably make you a little mocktail because even though you’re not well enough to be drinking, cranberry juice is really good for you and lemonade is almost one of your five a day if you really think about it… and “mint’s basically a vegetable. like, it’s green enough, right?” when you’re forced to take the opposing side on the is-mint-really-a-vegetable debate she acts like you’ve just hit her with a hammer and insists on calling jesse to settle the matter.

“ok, i need your help with a super important decision,” ellie says, a stern expression on her face. the way her eyebrows are wrinkled in the middle looks extra cute, you think, and lean forward to kiss her. instead you’re met with a hand to the sternum and an angry glare. “damn. okay, important decision,” you agree, eyes lifting to hers in curiosity. your girlfriend sucks in a deep breath and you brace yourself… “should i paint my toenails green or pink?” ellie asks innocently. you feel like thumping her- why do i ever take her seriously?? you think, heart slowing back to its normal pace as you throw her a dirty side eye.

“wait, actually… that yellow looks kind of cool-” you cut her off with a thump to the head with your pillow. “OW!” comes her pained response, your lips tilting up into a smug smile as ellie shoots you a look of pure betrayal. “ok… OK!” THUMP! “i get it! no yellow…” the pillow lifts again as if to drive your point home for a final time and… THUMP! “ow! fuck! wait, why is your pillow so fucking solid?”

+ as promised, the ai audios… as i mentioned on my blog before, my bot isn’t anywhere near perfect yet so please excuse if these happen to sound a little funky!

[slytherinsallows]

4 heads are better than 3…

Mc X Sebastian X Ominis X Garreth smut

Summary: Mc just can’t decide between her 3 situationships so decides to test them all out again… at once 🌶️🌶️🌶️ 18+!! Characters are aged up, minors dni!

A/N: So over on my tt acc I made an ai audio series on how Sebastian, Garreth, Ominis and Mc come to be in a poly relationship together, and I thought I’d write some smut leading up to that. This is my first ever smut fic so bear with me 😭 but I hope you enjoy and lmk your thoughts or any other ideas you have I could write ;)

The last few nights had been… well, frustrating for Mc. Each night, as if on queue, she’d wake up, panties soaked through with her wetness, and head in a frenzy of dirty thoughts and confusion. It didn’t help that she had already felt what all of them felt like, pulsing inside of her walls… but the more she dreamt, the more holes she craved to be filled, and she couldn’t ignore it any longer…

She knew she had to talk to the boys to explain her frustrations… but she feared they’d never be up for it, at least not all three of them on her at once? She sighed, tossing and turning in her bed, trying to get back off to sleep, wondering which boy would take which hole of hers in the next dream, a nightly dilemma. Would they fight over who gets to use which hole? She imagined all of them deep inside her, upset this was a dream, not reality. It was agonising.

The next morning at breakfast, she sat down on the Slytherin table, next to Ominis and Sebastian, the same as any usual day. Sebastian immediately noticed her change in demeanour, his smile creeping into a smirk. “Did you forget to put your skirt on today, dear?” He chuckled, eliciting a surprised gasp from her and Ominis. “W-what the hell do you mean, Sallow? I’m-“ she looked down at her thighs, her skirt was there, but definitely A LOT higher than usual… had she done this subconsciously due to her deliriously horny state? She immediately blushed and scrambled to pull it down, so it would at least cover her, already slightly wet, panties.

Ominis cleared his throat. “If it makes you feel any better dear, you know I saw nothing” his lips curved into a warm smile, one that could melt even the most frozen of hearts. “Thank you ominis…” she smiled back at the boy, before turning and glaring at Sebastian.

“What! It wouldn’t be the first time you forgot your clothes in front of me” He teased her.

“It’s 9 in the morning, Sebastian. We’re trying to eat.” Ominis rolled his blind eyes.

“I overslept… so I got ready in a rush, nothing more” she assured Seb, playfully swatting him with the mornings daily prophet. “Oh of course…”

“Anyway..” Mc went on, squirming slightly as she felt the heat inside of her rising looking at the two boys. They always looked so effortlessly handsome, and it really wasn’t helping her… situation. She cradled her cup of orange juice as she decided to bite the bullet. “So I heard the three broomsticks are having like an event on tonight, I might invite Garreth too, if you want to come?” She explained.

Before either boy could reply, Garreth came up behind her, “I heard my name?” He chuckled, perching on the seat next to mc, earning a disapproved look from the rest of the slytherins on the table.

“Oh garreth! I was just saying we should all go to the three broomsticks tonight! They’ve got a thing on, It looks like a lot of…fun” she struggled to get the last word out as she felt a swarm of butterflies gather inside of her stomach, knowing all the boys were looking at her. This was the only thing she could think of on the spot to get them all in one place with no questions asked… and then she could propose the question.

“Sounds good, I’m in” Sebastian said, muffled slightly with a mouthful of toast. Ominis looked in Sebastian’s direction, a look of distaste at his mannerism. “Mhm… me too.”

“Then I’m going too!” Garreth beamed, in his usual excitable nature. Mc’s heart raced as they all agreed, preparing herself for the night ahead…

The evening rolled around fast, and the event itself was a lot of fun, Sebastian and Garreth arguing over the quiz answers while Mc laughed at them and Ominis tutted at their boyishness. They were all slightly tipsy, having maybe one butter beer too many to be completely sober. As the event finished and they were walking back to the castle, she braced herself for the question she gathered them all up for in the first place.

“Hey Mc… you keep going on about this ‘room of requirement’ business but we’ve never actually seen it, I think it’s about time you showed us your little secret room” Garreth winked.

“Bet it’s a sex room. That’s why she hasn’t showed us, you naughty little minx” Sebastian teased her, brushing his hand against her waist. She took this as the perfect opportunity.

“Oh yeah definitely” she rolled her eyes. “But by all means you should all come…in” she gulped.

The boys followed her in to the ror, amazed at how nice it was in there. “Fuck mc…the size of that bed all of us could shag you” Sebastian teased, jokingly.

Her cheeks lit up a fiery red. “Well.. this might’ve been the reason I wanted you all with me tonight.

The three boys jaws dropped at her words, expecting anything but that to come out. “I’m sorry dear, I think I misheard you… you want all three of us… at once?” Ominis questioned, tilting his head to the side.

“Y-yes… I can’t stop thinking about you three, and it’s agonising! You all tease me in different ways and at this point I’m having to change panties like after every class because of how wet you all get me. I just need-“

Before she can even finish her sentence, Sebastian grabs her face and pulls her in. He kisses her hungrily, as if the boy hadn’t been fed in years, groans escaping his lips as he pushes her back onto her bed. “Oh my god” she pants as he pulls away, smirking at her, motioning for garreth to join in on the fun. She rips off Garreths tie and jacket, craving to feel every inch of his chest and back as he kissed her deeply, their tongues sliding against each other frantically. Ominis was lost in all of this, despite his lack of sight, the sounds were just too much for him and he already had a visible bulge forming as he crept onto the bed. “Let me have a go with her” he demanded softly, the other two boys moving aside while pawing at their aroused members through the fabric.

Ominis caressed her face as his lips met hers, his member only growing bigger and harder as he kissed her passionately. “Fuck my angel…I wanna touch every inch of you” he groaned, earning a rapid nod from Mc.

“We need to do something about all these clothes though first, don’t we?” He smirked, skilfully undoing the buttons on her blouse while kissing up and down her neck, her legs trembling already from the action.

“Let me help” Sebastian offered, positioning his face between her thighs and kissing up them slowly, stopping every now and then to suck on them, making sure to leave hickeys as his possessive side started to unveil itself. He tugged off her pitiful excuse for a skirt, tutting as he did so.

“You’re so pathetic my love, it was obvious you wanted this from the start, teasing us wearing these invisible skirts” he said before returning to work on her thighs.

“Maybe… you should’ve just taken me as punishment then and there” she offered, trying her best to hold back her moans.

“Trust me I’m working on it love” Sebastian growled as he found himself at her panties, which were soaked to the core. “So eager for us aren’t you?” He teased as he circled her core through the fabric, causing her to grab Garreths thigh in her squirming.

“Fuck” Garreth moaned as her hand trailed up to his cock, which was threatening to burst out of his clothes at this point. Mc notices this before turning to stroke it softly, feeling it pulse through the farbic. “Garreth…” she looked up at him innocently.

“Yes… fuck mc”

“I want to suck it” she groaned in frustration at how it was still hidden from her, pouting at the redhead. Garreth smiled before removing his trousers, leaving Mc to take it from there. There was a little wet patch of pre cum already staining his boxers. Mc watches in awe, for a moment ignoring the other two boys’ actions, greedily pulling them down as his member springs out from them. It was big, probably around 7 inches and super thick. She circles the head with her tongue, as if she was savouring the taste of a lollipop. Garreth tilts his head back in pleasure as she attempts to take in more and more of him. She was so desperate, she needed them…

“Looks like you’re having fun Mc…” Sebastian chuckled as he looked up. Before she could acknowledge his words, he grabbed her waist, forcing her onto her hands and knees, whilst ominis was still under her kissing her erect nipples. He pushed one finger into her folds, earning him a cry of pleasure. “Fuckkk you’re desperate for these to be filled aren’t you” he moaned to himself, examining his soaking wet finger. Mc nodded eagerly, her mouth still latched onto Garreths cock, which had taken to thrusting into her mouth.

“How would you like this hole stretched out for a change?” He enquired as he slapped her ass, tracing along her pink hole. “Yes. I need you Sebastian” she gagged, her head still bobbing on Garreths cock. As Sebastian started massaging her ready for his length , she turned to Ominis who had been quietly working kisses all over her body.

She felt his cock throbbing underneath her and she wanted to hop on it so badly. She grinded on Ominis, causing his face to flush pink. “Are you gonna ride me like a good girl, my darling?” Ominis smiled, positioning her hips so that her pussy was hovering above his cock, but Sebastian still has access to her other hole. “I need it Omi!” she almost screamed out, using her free hand to rub circles on her clit.

Ominis pushed her hips down onto his member, listening to her moans of pleasure as if it were music as she sat down properly on it. “You’re so big” she cried out as Ominis started to buck his hips up, thrusting his large member deeper inside of her walls. “And you’re so fucking tight” he growled, unleashing a side to himself she’d rarely get to see, but all the while she loved it.

“Are you ready for another cock my love” Sebastian smirked as he watched his best friend fuck her, and it only made him hornier. Mc nodded frantically, not even noticing that her other hole was heavily loosened from Seb’s work. Seb slowly pushed himself in, throwing his head back in ecstasy from how delicious she felt. Something clicked within Mc then, the realisation that all three of the men’s cocks were inside of her, filling her up to the brim. She felt like she could burst but in the best possible way…

Once she got used to the new sensation and Sebastian was happily humping away at her pink hole, she turned her attention back to garreth who was eagerly face fucking her. “Mc… I think I’m close….” he breathed as his cock reached the back of her throat. As he shot his load into her delicate mouth she moaned loudly, some dribbling out down her lips and dripping onto her breasts. The sensation of Garreths warm cum shooting down her throat alone was enough to tip her over the edge, she gripped the bed sheets as Ominis tried to steady himself as her walls gripped tightly around his member. Tears spilled out of her eyes as she rode out her high, dying for the feeling of her walls gripping around Ominis and Sebastians cocks, which were still pumping deep inside of her holes.

“That was… fuck” she breathed, the cum still dribbling down her chin as she looked back at them. That image of her, her perfect ass bouncing with every thrust, Garreths cum all over her face, her pussy wrapped around Ominis’ cock sent Sebastian over the edge next. He collapsed over her as he came, shooting his hot seed into the dead end of her hole. He rest his head on her shoulder, panting and satisfied. Ominis groaned at the sight, gripping her hips and using her as his little toy. “I’m gonna cum in you Mc…” but before he could even think about pulling out of her walls he tipped over the edge and released inside of her, Mc biting down on his neck as she felt the warmth from all the boys cum circulating inside of her.

“Oh my god” she cried as Ominis came down from his high, finally feeling that certain type of pleasure she had been chasing for weeks now. “I’m so sorry Mc…” Ominis whispered as he came back around, lifting her off his cock gently. “No ominis, it’s okay” she giggled, ”I needed that… fuck… and we’ll be fine, I’m on the pill” she smiled at his concern for her. “Oh good…god” Ominis fell back, his cock still pulsating from all the arousal.

Sebastian slowly pulled out of her, smirking slightly. “In that case…” he trailed off before pumping two of his fingers into her pussy, shoving Ominis’ seed deeper into her womb. “S-seb” she moaned from the overstimulation. Garreth already felt himself getting hard against watching the sight, touching himself as he did. “You like that don’t you…you little slut” Sebastian growled into her ear. “You love being used by all of us like the little whore that you are hm?”

Mc was in heaven right now, unable to fully listen to Sebastian’s degrading speech. She nodded, moaning as Ominis seed spilled deeper and deeper. She came again around Sebastian’s slick fingers, gripping his messy brown hair as she did. Sebastian pulled them out, “like I said… you’re our little whore” he kissed her temple before sucking her wetness of his fingers.

She collapsed on Ominis chest, her body still trembling from the extreme pleasure they had given her.

“Round two anyone?”

[adhd-languages]

Keeping up your Languages when you’re Busy

Confession: I’ve been slacking on Japanese recently because my life has been so hectic recently. So here are some of the ways I’ve been trying to keep it in my brain when I can’t dedicate a lot of time to studying.

CHANGE YOUR PHONE LANGUAGE

This applies to computers as well! This is the easiest way to ensure you see at least some of your target language every day. It’s good for any level, even beginners.

If you haven’t already done this, do it now. I understand that some things are important and you need to be sure you understand them — in that case, you can always change individual apps to have different languages, just look up the app name in settings.

Podcasts/Music

Find some podcasts in your target language and listen to them before bed, during your commute, whatever. There are lots of podcasts made specifically for learners, or you can look up topics in your target language to find a podcast you might enjoy.

Music is also an amazing way to hear your target language being used. If you find an artist you like, that’s another good way to study your TL! Follow them on socials, look up interviews with them, etc.

Talk to Yourself

Any spare minute you have, talk to yourself in your target language. It doesn’t need to be out loud. You can have a conversation with yourself, try to express how you’re feeling, make up stories, or just describe the things around you in your target language. This is also a good way to see what kind of vocabulary you’re missing.

Apps

Duolingo has fired a ton of translators and started using crappy AI translations — so they’re probably not the best choice.

I’d recommend dictionary app that has some sort of flash card feature is also good, or an anki deck. Drops is good, and has a lot of languages, but keep in mind you’ll need audio. Anything that’s easy to get out and do for even just a few minutes is perfect.

Apps won’t teach you a language on their own, but doing a little every day helps remind me the language exists and keeps it in my mind.

Texting/Writing/Posting

Whether your friends know your TL or not, force them to experience it by randomly messaging in Japanese! Or, if you feel fancy, download an app like “HelloTalk”, “Tandem”, “Speaky”, “Tabee”…there are a lot.

If you keep a digital journal (like I do…inconsistently), try to write some entries in your TL.

If you have a blog, which I assume you do, post in your TL. Even if you’re a beginner, you can make a sideblog dedicated to saying stuff like “I’m hungry” and “Green is my favourite colour” in your target language.

Open your notes app and just write random words you can remember or sentences you can string together.

I know it’s really difficult, and don’t beat yourself up because you aren’t studying as hard. A language can be a lifelong companion — you’ll have phases of studying constantly, and sometimes it’ll take the back seat, but there’s no rush to learn it. Have a great day :)!

[reasonsforhope]

"Major technology companies signed a pact on Friday to voluntarily adopt "reasonable precautions" to prevent artificial intelligence (AI) tools from being used to disrupt democratic elections around the world.

Executives from Adobe, Amazon, Google, IBM, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, and TikTok gathered at the Munich Security Conference to announce a new framework for how they respond to AI-generated deepfakes that deliberately trick voters. 

Twelve other companies - including Elon Musk's X - are also signing on to the accord...

The accord is largely symbolic, but targets increasingly realistic AI-generated images, audio, and video "that deceptively fake or alter the appearance, voice, or actions of political candidates, election officials, and other key stakeholders in a democratic election, or that provide false information to voters about when, where, and how they can lawfully vote".

The companies aren't committing to ban or remove deepfakes. Instead, the accord outlines methods they will use to try to detect and label deceptive AI content when it is created or distributed on their platforms. 

It notes the companies will share best practices and provide "swift and proportionate responses" when that content starts to spread.

Lack of binding requirements

The vagueness of the commitments and lack of any binding requirements likely helped win over a diverse swath of companies, but disappointed advocates were looking for stronger assurances.

"The language isn't quite as strong as one might have expected," said Rachel Orey, senior associate director of the Elections Project at the Bipartisan Policy Center. 

"I think we should give credit where credit is due, and acknowledge that the companies do have a vested interest in their tools not being used to undermine free and fair elections. That said, it is voluntary, and we'll be keeping an eye on whether they follow through." ...

Several political leaders from Europe and the US also joined Friday’s announcement. European Commission Vice President Vera Jourova said while such an agreement can’t be comprehensive, "it contains very impactful and positive elements".  ...

[The Accord and Where We're At]

The accord calls on platforms to "pay attention to context and in particular to safeguarding educational, documentary, artistic, satirical, and political expression".

It said the companies will focus on transparency to users about their policies and work to educate the public about how they can avoid falling for AI fakes.

Most companies have previously said they’re putting safeguards on their own generative AI tools that can manipulate images and sound, while also working to identify and label AI-generated content so that social media users know if what they’re seeing is real. But most of those proposed solutions haven't yet rolled out and the companies have faced pressure to do more.

That pressure is heightened in the US, where Congress has yet to pass laws regulating AI in politics, leaving companies to largely govern themselves.

The Federal Communications Commission recently confirmed AI-generated audio clips in robocalls are against the law [in the US], but that doesn't cover audio deepfakes when they circulate on social media or in campaign advertisements.

Many social media companies already have policies in place to deter deceptive posts about electoral processes - AI-generated or not... 

[Signatories Include]

In addition to the companies that helped broker Friday's agreement, other signatories include chatbot developers Anthropic and Inflection AI; voice-clone startup ElevenLabs; chip designer Arm Holdings; security companies McAfee and TrendMicro; and Stability AI, known for making the image-generator Stable Diffusion.

Notably absent is another popular AI image-generator, Midjourney. The San Francisco-based startup didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.

The inclusion of X - not mentioned in an earlier announcement about the pending accord - was one of the surprises of Friday's agreement."

-via EuroNews, February 17, 2024

--

Note: No idea whether this will actually do much of anything (would love to hear from people with experience in this area on significant this is), but I'll definitely take it. Some of these companies may even mean it! (X/Twitter almost definitely doesn't, though).

Still, like I said, I'll take it. Any significant move toward tech companies self-regulating AI is a good sign, as far as I'm concerned, especially a large-scale and international effort. Even if it's a "mostly symbolic" accord, the scale and prominence of this accord is encouraging, and it sets a precedent for further regulation to build on.

[femmeanonymelives]

Steven Grant x Vampire!Reader Headcanon

This is NSFW. 18+ stuff y'all. Minors please find something family-friendly. Warning: This is contains a vampire. Blood/gore, sexual content, public sexual content, and Steven being a horny over a Vampire.

Note from Ari: This is my very first time in years trying to write smut. I was inspired by the many AI Steven bots. The Vampire!Steven one by @melodygatesauthor helped out a lot, and the many, many Boyfriend erotic audios on Quinn.

He meets you at a library that is open 24 hours a day.

You stand there in the history section, wearing a dark colored leather trench coat and floral dress. Your skin is pale, but still appears human. The rest of your appearance is almost human-like.

Steven is shy when approaching you. 

Women like you terrify him. 

Marc and Jake tell him to go for it. If he doesn’t they will.

He approaches you with a shy hello. You turn him to say hi.

He asks what is your favorite period in history.

You tell him during the Victorian era and give your explanation why.

Mostly because you were a baby vampire during that time, but you didn’t tell him that.

You gave the normal history buff shepile.

You are worried that he might think you are a freak.

He doesn’t.

Two of you share dinner at a local late-night diner. 

You kept staring at his neck. Looking at the veins. Wondering what would happen if you sink your fangs in.

No. He is a nice guy. A human. He is actually normal

Steven asks why your eyes went dark and bloodshot.

You leave him in the diner and run to a nearby alley.

He follows you. He sees your fangs.

“It is not what it looks like.”

“You are a vampire.”

“I am not going to hurt you.”

He moves up closer to you, touching your face. “How old are you?”

“I am 23 years old, but I have been that age since 1850.” Steven isn’t frightened of you; he is worried. 

Marc and Jake are freaking out. “You need to leave her now.” “She is not worth the hassle. She will kill us.”

Steven kisses you instead and you kiss him back. Marc and Jake freaking out wondering what the hell is wrong with Steven.

His tender touches make you feel like you are human again.

You are with your back against the wall. Your lips against his neck as your fangs pierced in his neck.

He groans loudly, but not in pain; in pleasure.

You start drinking his blood as you feel him press his erection against you; trying to get himself some sort of relief.

You pull yourself off his neck. He stares in complete lust as he stares at your blood-stained lips and chin.

He takes you back to his place.

His flat is scattered with books. Mostly from Egyptian history and journals. 

You started to really fall for him.

You both take off each others’ clothes. 

You trace the bite mark on his neck with your finger. He tells you he liked being bit by you.

You straddle his hips as you start to ride him.

His flat fills with skin slapping against skin, moans from the both of you. 

He begs for you to bite him when you come as he starts pounding his cock deeper and deeper inside you. 

You tell him no. You didn’t want to lose control.

He whimpers to you that he will tell you to let go of him.

You bite into his neck as you cum.

Steven whimpers and moans loudly as you bite into him again. 

His arms wrap around you tightly as he can keep you close to you. 

Grinding your hips into his as you ride out your orgasm.

His thrusts become deeper and sloppier as he whimpers out that he is close.

You pull your mouth from him as he marks your neck and breasts with love bites.

He cums inside you and hard.

You bite your wrist and give him your blood so his neck wound can heal.

He pulls out and gets a washcloth to clean you up.

You ask if he is okay as you trace over the scar on his neck where you bite him earlier.

He responds that he is okay.

You notice his accent is more American, not British.

“Steven? You okay?”

“I am not Steven.. My name is Marc, and we need to talk.”

[olderthannetfic]

AI and queerness: Thank you! AI is great for small domain tasks with a huge number of variables that classic algorithms would struggle to consider all and would be near impossible for humans to fine tune properly (audio speech synthesis or cancer cell diagnostic for example). It sucks at anything else. AI will only replicate and amplify the biases in the training data. You don't even have to maliciously slant training data. Subconscious biases will show up just as much. (1/2)

AI and queerness (2/2). That's why it bugs me when people talk about AI as if it will solve anything. No, hiring processes won't get less biased because a rational and logical AI makes the choices. It makes the choices that seem statistically sensible based on the biased training data given by the company! Also LLMs, they don't tell you what's true, they tell you what sounds statistically nice. That's why they impress. They sound good and confident. It would be a liar, if it was sentient!

And even aside from the stuff that's biased in the way we usually mean, there's the false positives for the big thing vs. the small thing issue.

If I like the more popular thing, I might have to scroll through 10% junk to find it vs. 90% junk for the unpopular thing. AI isn't going to prioritize queer things unless it's explicitly programmed to do so and trained on an appropriate dataset because the world overall is very straight.

(Can you tell I've been shopping for romance novels on kindle? Haha.)

[mr-sadman]

Introducing : Mr. Sadman's Spring Exchange!

Without further ado, here are all the details!

Our stance on plagiarism and AI 

We do not accept nor condone the use of plagiarism, including the use of AI, whether in writing or art. If you are caught using either, you will be disqualified from the current event and barred entry for the other events the Mr. Sadman team puts forward.

General Rules and Informations

Being part of the Mr. Sadman discord is mandatory - meaning this event is open to server members only. Of course, that doesn’t mean you on tumblr cannot participate, just that you need to join the server before the event starts. There will be event related channels and roles available to ensure communication between the mod team and participants runs smoothly. Discord will remain the only method of communication used during the event.

Our sign-ups will be on AO3 only; you will be asked to submit your gift on AO3 regardless of its type to ensure that all assignations are met. That said, if your AO3 handle differs from your Discord handle, please tell us your Discord Username/ID in your sign-up form. 

If you are under the age of 18, you will not be able to create explicit content for the event. Just to reiterate, Mr. Sadman is a 16+ server.

The Mr. Sadman Modteam is a firm believer of “ship and let ship” as well as the kinktomato (https://fanlore.org/wiki/Kinktomato). In accordance with the Server’s existing rules, we will not tolerate any discrimination and harassment in any forms whatsoever. This includes: queerphobia, homophobia, racism, content policing, hate speech, doxxing, shaming, etc, as well as hostility towards organisers and fellow participants. 

It is also mandatory to keep your work and giftee’s identity a secret - this is to ensure that everyone gets the surprise on reveal day. Would you like to have your gifts spoiled ahead of time? Most don’t, so be considerate as it goes against the spirit of the event.

By signing-up to this event, you agree to respect all server and event rules. This includes communication with moderators that might happen outside of server bounds. 

What is a gift exchange?

What is a gift exchange? It’s in the name! This is an event where the exchange of gifts (fic, art, etc.) is central! You will be paired with another participant to make a gift for them based on their sign-up! In turn, you will receive a gift from another participant based on yours!

Are there any minimum requirements? The minimum is 1k words for written pieces, one 500px by 500px piece for art pieces, a minimum of 2mins for digital pieces and audio submissions need to be edited to a near-professional level of quality.

[If your art doesn’t fit within these parameters, please make a note of it in your sign-up and a mod will get in touch with you to reach an agreement]

What kind of art can I make? Anything from traditional or digital drawing, to photomanips, fanvids, podfics, songwriting, book binding and more! We only ask you to put some effort into it! 

A few exceptions include: playlists, icons and banners. These, while being a nice and fun bonus for your giftee, cannot be counted as your primary piece!

What can I write/request? Anything goes! Romantic, platonic, threesomes, foursomes, polycules, you name it! The only thing we ask you to not write/request is xReader/xOC content, as well as anything depicting real life’s children (such as the actors’).

Can I co-write with a friend? If you decide to co-write with a friend, you will have to submit only one sign-up form and will receive only one gift in return. More co-authors doesn’t mean more gifts.

Can I already be paired with someone? No, we do not accept preliminary pairings for this event. 

What if I can’t meet a deadline? Please make sure to inform a mod as soon as you know! Accommodations might be worked out depending on the situation. We simply ask you to be considerate to your fellow participants, it is unfair to them for you to back out as they had already started working on their pieces!

Event Schedule 

Sign-ups : March 31st to April 7th Assignations : April 15th Due date : May 5th Reveal : May 11th

FAQs & TLDR: 

When is the event ? Our Exchange sign-ups are running from March 31st to April 7th, with the due date set for May 5th!

Do I need to be a part of the server to participate? Yes! Our Spring Exchange is open to all server members! This is also to facilitate contact between the mod team and the participants of the event. Please note that sign-ups will be held on AO3 only.

Are there any content type restrictions ? We accept works of various mediums - writing, art, photo edits, podfics, video edits, etc. - , whether they are SFW, NSFW and/or triggering. The only exceptions are playlists, icons and banners, which are not accepted.

Where should I post my work ? Your work should be posted to AO3 to ensure that all assignations have been completed. 

Is this event only for Dreamling? Absolutely not! Whether your pairing is platonic, romantic, neither, both, we want it all!! There is space on the sign-up form for multiple requests, in case you have more than one favoured pairing!

Are polyamorous ships accepted ? Yes!!

Are xReader / xOC works accepted? Not this time around!

I need help, how do I reach a mod?

If there is something that is not covered by our rules masterpost and/or FAQ, you are very free to reach out to us in the Discord server’s dedicated channel or in Discord DMs! 

[anistarrose]

If I might make a submission to the "good vs. bad ways of using and/or thinking about AI" discussion:

AI quickly providing alt text or captions when it would be impractical for a human to get it done in the required time frame is good. Example: live subtitles on a stream. (Yes, that's basically AI. You train voice recognition programs on samples in the target language.)

However: AI being used as an excuse to not put care, effort, and resources into accessibility — when it would be feasible, as it usually is, for a human to write the image description or subtitles — is bad, and specifically, it's a deeply ableist misconception. Example: high-production value YouTube videos where the only closed captioning is inexplicably still "auto-generated".

As someone with audio processing issues, I'm glad that generated captions are at least occasionally useful, and as someone who writes a lot of image descriptions, I'm glad that technology can help extract text to save me some typing. But please, take it from me and my experience: no such tools I've encountered can consistently get near the quality of anything written by a person in all cases and contexts in which captions, IDs, etc are needed.

You still need to care about accessibility. Especially now that there are tools making it easier for you to do so — you just can't assume that they'll do the whole job for you.

[sexiestpodcastcharacter]

AI Bracket — Round 2

Propaganda

Imogen (Stellar Firma):

#IMOGEN 💥💥💥💥💥 #she invented a guy to just put them in situations that she couldnt do herself bcs she is . an ai . #she gave this guy to the most horrific man known to anyone and the only help she gave him was . giving him almost the same rights as humans #not according to anyone else but to her yeah #shes an ai who didn't want to work for big evil human corp so she made a guy who could let her not do that #i love her sm #i cannot hear the words ' watch it buster ' without thinking of her #shes soooooo <33333 #man i should relisten to stellar firma i miss her

The Audio Tour Guide AKA Mistholme (The Mistholme Museum of Mystery, Morbidity, and Mortality):

The ATG is a sentient museum audio tour guide for a museum full of spooky artifacts. It is both completely lovely and kind of bitchy

Sentient AI who is a real sweetie. Got pulled into too many adventures after the museum went on lockdown. Gives tours most of the time but is also the museum now and oversees daily goings on

A magic/tech hybrid AI exploring its own personhood and sentience as it grows. Could easily take over the museum it has become a part of but is a very kind soul. Most demanding it has ever been was convincing its friend to pat a cat for it.

It's a tour guide in an alternatural museum. After facing some challenges and dealing with huge problems, guide learns new things about itself and the world around it and makes new friends. Its woe is trusting people (or not only people), forgetting that they might have bad intentions. Guide is the bestest friend ever.

Where do I even begin? The Guide literally exists on those audio tour devices, go look it up its so cute. It had to deal with its growing sentience and new emotions basically on its own. Was treated terribly by the human museum staff and it had to basically debate them until they accepted its new-found personhood (but it still uses it/its yayy)(the staff have since apologized for their actions and treat it equally now). At some point it was hooked up to the museum mainframe which was supposed to be temporary, but as it turns out The Guide is actually great at running the museum and would like to stay this way. This eventually leads to a small identity crisis since it now sees itself as the museum itself, and its consciousness and responsibilities are a lot grander than when it was just a tiny little tour device. But it's figuring that out, and it still likes being the museum, thus The Guide also counts as a sapient location! It becomes besties with a creepy bloodthirsty creature because they share the struggle of being constantly dehumanized. It fucked around with the fae and found out. It has to deal with time travel bullshit. It loves cats! It got to hang out with the embodiment of knowledge itself. And did I mentioned that throughout all of this it still gives museum tours to guests?!! what a cool guy!

Guide my beloved <3 (platonic)

[retronator]

I never played Karateka in the 80s, but as a big fan of Prince of Persia and Jordan Mechner's journals, I was stoked to hear that an interactive documentary about Jordan's prototypical cinematic platformer was in the works by Digital Eclipse.

Released this week, The Making of Karateka on the surface looks like any other game you buy through Steam ($20, Windows-only), GOG, or whichever favorite store or console you prefer (available also for Xbox, PS4/5, Switch). Once the thing loads though, you really get 3 things: a documentary, the original Karateka, and a new remaster.

The documentary part is an audio-visual slideshow retelling Jordan's development story starting with his teenage years pitching his earlier title Deathbounce to the publishing house Brøderbund. It's an interesting look into the iterative process, seen through correspondence letters, journal entries, and many playable builds at various stages of completion. After we reach the eventual rejection of that title, Jordan comes back with a prototype of a visual-narrative experience unseen on home computers. We get to follow Karateka's full life cycle from pre- to post-production, ending with the conception of its sequel (which eventually turned into Prince of Persia). It's a real treasure trove! Fellow pixel artists will appreciate the many graph-paper sketches and interactive overlays of final game sprites compared to rotoscoped outlines and filmed footage. There are also video segments, from a comprehensive breakdown of the music to interviews with other developers reflecting on the impact Jordan's games had on their careers. You'll even encounter a fan letter signed by the one and only "John Romero, Disciple of the Great Jordan and worshipper of the Magnificent Mechner!" (I kid you not, you can't make this stuff up).

Perhaps just as crucial for an interactive documentary like this, you can launch any of the floppy disks in the emulator, trying out various iterations and ports of Karateka.

The emulation is fantastic and lets you fiddle with display settings (monochrome or color display, scanlines, pixel perfect or zoomed) as well as enhance the frame rate. You can even rewind the many deaths you will face if you've never played the game before (like me). If you spend some more time obsessing over the weird artifacts of the Apple II hi-res graphics, you might even go down the rabbit hole of realizing that on the Apple II you didn't really paint colors as much as you used different monochrome dithering patterns that the graphics display would then turn into 4 different hues. A fascinating learning experience if you include some of your own research online!

Add to this the Commodore 64 and the Atari 8-bit versions to compare how the graphics got adapted across the earlier ports and you have a nice way to relieve the mid-80s with a bit of help from modern emulation (I did beat the C64 version without rewinding though!). I'd love to see more art from the other remakes, especially the 16-bit Atari ST port, but I understand their decision to omit playable versions of those due to the lower quality on the gameplay side of the translations.

This brings us to the final part of the package, the modern remaster. Unlike the 2012 complete reimagining of the game (with 3D graphics and all), Digital Eclipse approached the remake as the ultimate port of the original to an imaginary system along the lines of a 90s VGA PC.

It's well done. Some of the fully-redrawn scenes are a bit overpainted for my taste (I'd prefer a pixel art rendition of the castle than a blurry photographic collage, although there were many games in the 90s that did take this approach), but the in-game graphics are really in style, including the smooth animations that are like one would imagine granted a beefier CPU. It's also a sort of director's cut with previously unseen scenes added, in particular, the battle with the leopard as a clever action-puzzle in the middle. The AI is unfortunately even less challenging than Jordan's implementation. As great as the 6-move fighting system could have been, you yet again resort to simply kicking away opponents as they tirelessly crawl into your range. There isn't even the nuance from the original where you were the one who had to approach some enemies with skilled timing. On the other hand, you now have optional goals and achievements that make the repetitive/easy combat work in your favor (stringing various combos, beating opponents or the level under a time limit …). As the Digital Eclipse president Mike Mika admits at the end of the welcome commentary mode, they didn't manage to achieve their perfect port, but they did come close.

In conclusion, I thoroughly enjoyed playing both the original as well as the remake and while the combat system lacks any sort of depth beneath its stunning animations, Karateka is instead a monumental experience for its presentation. Big characters with personality and realistic motion are displayed through cinematic camera cuts and story vignettes (3 years before Ron Gilbert came up with the word "cutscene"). There are details like animating the unfortunate falling off the cliff at the start of the game, or respectfully bowing to the first guard as they bow in return. Jordan's creative work is precious and worth the attention this release gifts it.

I highly recommend The Making of Karateka to all retro gamers and/or game developers for its immersive documentation which provides an experience that goes beyond the usual video documentaries. It's interactive—just like the subject it's talking about—something I want to see more in the future. And if the $20 by any chance seems high to you, consider that the original retailed at $35 (and that was in 1984 dollars).

[blubberquark]

Things That Are Hard

Some things are harder than they look. Some things are exactly as hard as they look.

Game AI, Intelligent Opponents, Intelligent NPCs

As you already know, "Game AI" is a misnomer. It's NPC behaviour, escort missions, "director" systems that dynamically manage the level of action in a game, pathfinding, AI opponents in multiplayer games, and possibly friendly AI players to fill out your team if there aren't enough humans.

Still, you are able to implement minimax with alpha-beta pruning for board games, pathfinding algorithms like A* or simple planning/reasoning systems with relative ease. Even easier: You could just take an MIT licensed library that implements a cool AI technique and put it in your game.

So why is it so hard to add AI to games, or more AI to games? The first problem is integration of cool AI algorithms with game systems. Although games do not need any "perception" for planning algorithms to work, no computer vision, sensor fusion, or data cleanup, and no Bayesian filtering for mapping and localisation, AI in games still needs information in a machine-readable format. Suddenly you go from free-form level geometry to a uniform grid, and from "every frame, do this or that" to planning and execution phases and checking every frame if the plan is still succeeding or has succeeded or if the assumptions of the original plan no longer hold and a new plan is on order. Intelligent behaviour is orders of magnitude more code than simple behaviours, and every time you add a mechanic to the game, you need to ask yourself "how do I make this mechanic accessible to the AI?"

Some design decisions will just be ruled out because they would be difficult to get to work in a certain AI paradigm.

Even in a game that is perfectly suited for AI techniques, like a turn-based, grid-based rogue-like, with line-of-sight already implemented, can struggle to make use of learning or planning AI for NPC behaviour.

What makes advanced AI "fun" in a game is usually when the behaviour is at least a little predictable, or when the AI explains how it works or why it did what it did. What makes AI "fun" is when it sometimes or usually plays really well, but then makes little mistakes that the player must learn to exploit. What makes AI "fun" is interesting behaviour. What makes AI "fun" is game balance.

You can have all of those with simple, almost hard-coded agent behaviour.

Video Playback

If your engine does not have video playback, you might think that it's easy enough to add it by yourself. After all, there are libraries out there that help you decode and decompress video files, so you can stream them from disk, and get streams of video frames and audio.

You can just use those libraries, and play the sounds and display the pictures with the tools your engine already provides, right?

Unfortunately, no. The video is probably at a different frame rate from your game's frame rate, and the music and sound effect playback in your game engine are probably not designed with syncing audio playback to a video stream.

I'm not saying it can't be done. I'm saying that it's surprisingly tricky, and even worse, it might be something that can't be built on top of your engine, but something that requires you to modify your engine to make it work.

Stealth Games

Stealth games succeed and fail on NPC behaviour/AI, predictability, variety, and level design. Stealth games need sophisticated and legible systems for line of sight, detailed modelling of the knowledge-state of NPCs, communication between NPCs, and good movement/ controls/game feel.

Making a stealth game is probably five times as difficult as a platformer or a puzzle platformer.

In a puzzle platformer, you can develop puzzle elements and then build levels. In a stealth game, your NPC behaviour and level design must work in tandem, and be developed together. Movement must be fluid enough that it doesn't become a challenge in itself, without stealth. NPC behaviour must be interesting and legible.

Rhythm Games

These are hard for the same reason that video playback is hard. You have to sync up your audio with your gameplay. You need some kind of feedback for when which audio is played. You need to know how large the audio lag, screen lag, and input lag are, both in frames, and in milliseconds.

You could try to counteract this by using certain real-time OS functionality directly, instead of using the machinery your engine gives you for sound effects and background music. You could try building your own sequencer that plays the beats at the right time.

Now you have to build good gameplay on top of that, and you have to write music. Rhythm games are the genre that experienced programmers are most likely to get wrong in game jams. They produce a finished and playable game, because they wanted to write a rhythm game for a change, but they get the BPM of their music slightly wrong, and everything feels off, more and more so as each song progresses.

Online Multi-Player Netcode

Everybody knows this is hard, but still underestimates the effort it takes. Sure, back in the day you could use the now-discontinued ready-made solution for Unity 5.0 to synchronise the state of your GameObjects. Sure, you can use a library that lets you send messages and streams on top of UDP. Sure, you can just use TCP and server-authoritative networking.

It can all work out, or it might not. Your netcode will have to deal with pings of 300 milliseconds, lag spikes, package loss, and maybe recover from five seconds of lost WiFi connections. If your game can't, because it absolutely needs the low latency or high bandwidth or consistency between players, you will at least have to detect these conditions and handle them, for example by showing text on the screen informing the player he has lost the match.

It is deceptively easy to build certain kinds of multiplayer games, and test them on your local network with pings in the single digit milliseconds. It is deceptively easy to write your own RPC system that works over TCP and sends out method names and arguments encoded as JSON. This is not the hard part of netcode. It is easy to write a racing game where players don't interact much, but just see each other's ghosts. The hard part is to make a fighting game where both players see the punches connect with the hit boxes in the same place, and where all players see the same finish line. Or maybe it's by design if every player sees his own car go over the finish line first.