#my weird nerdy text posts

[clandest1ne-g1rl]

Ok so, while watching Chungking Express by Wong Kar-wai I kind of felt like the vibe of the movie (and other movies of WKW) are really similar to Haruki Murakami's books, also maybe because I've been reading a lot of those lately. And apparently it's more or less known that he was influenced by Murakami? I will link some stuff at the bottom of this post for people to read, it's really cool.

Wong has admitted to Murakami’s direct influence on his work, particularly Chungking Express, remarking that “Haruki Murakami was very popular in Hong Kong then, and because Kaneshiro Takeshi is half Japanese, I thought it would be funny to have his voice-overs written in Murakami style”.

https://medium.com/@jameshunter_22058/five-books-that-influenced-the-films-of-wong-kar-wai-ce249643256b

Also another fun fact for movie nerds, Faye Wong (who plays Faye in Chungking Express) was Shunji Iwai'a inspiration for the character of Lily Chou-Chou in his 2001 movie 'All about Lily Chou-Chou' !!! It's so cool to see how everything's connected

[pdpenpals]

hihi! i was wondering if i could get a romantic letter from phoenix drop high gene? she/they pronouns please :)

and for the context of the letter, maybe Gene & Reader recently started dating but can’t text because Reader is away at an academic sleep away camp (preferably centered around literature/writing)? Reader is on the more academic/nerdy side and not officially part of the SK so them doing these kinds of programs is their usual summer thing but it’s the first time Gene and Reader have been away from eachother since they started dating

tysm <33

hihi!! thanks for sending this in, i think this prompt’s absolutely adorable!

unrelated but speaking of literature whenever i see gene now that i’m older i think of heathcliff (more of the name) or the phantom for some reason.

your entire being perks up at the mention that a letter’s arrived, and your heart races as you go through who could have possibly sent it in your head. the moment you have it in your hands, you can almost tell exactly who it’s from. the envelope’s a dark gray, close enough to be black. there are stickers all over its back next to your name and address, same goes for the front. opening it, you catch a whiff of someone familiar’s cologne. that cheeky bastard. 

you notice almost immediately that there’s not only a letter inside, but a bunch of printed photos and some unused stickers. after finding a spot to settle your new goodies upon, you get comfy and get to reading.

Hey cutie. Miss me yet? 

Heard a fair’s coming to town soon. I think it’ll still be there when you get back. There should even be fireworks on the last day. We can go there if you wanna.

Other than that, nothing much happened today. Dante was out, and I had the house to myself for a good portion of the afternoon. Without sugarcoating it, I was bored out of my mind.

It took me a while to figure out my texts or calls weren’t getting through to you. Mom must have seen how frustrated I was about it, so she shared some of her spare stationery with me as a last resort. She said something about wanting to hear about how your summer’s been doing so far.

That’s all the small talk I can handle for today. You might get too tired of staring at only words for too long over there, so you might want to check out the pics taken these past few days. The stickers are from Zenix and Sasha by the way, they also say hi.

Kidding aside, I know how much this whole camp thing means to you.  But I’ve been feeling weird ever since you left. It’s weirder knowing you’re not nearby. When you’re not a walk or a call away. Even though I know exactly how many days and many hours are left until you come back.

Sappy shit out the way, I decided to read that one book you lent me at random. I’m not sure you remember it much since you hurriedly gave it to me without a second thought, but it’s that really old one about the day before the world ends. All that apocalyptic and sad shit. Even though I didn’t get it, I guess it was nice that Vincent and Leticia got their happy ending. To be honest, the book overall didn’t stand out to me much, but the concept of having one day left to live sure did.

If I knew the world was going to end tomorrow I would

Y’know, maybe it’s for the best I save it for when we meet again in person, so you better come back home in one piece, yeah?

With an aching heart and hand, Your Gene, who misses you terribly

PS. I feel like you’ve been rubbing off on me recently, state-of-mind-wise. While it’s not that bad, it gives me the chills.

PPS. If not having you near me hasn't driven me insane yet, I definitely will go mad if this letter doesn't make it to you. Especially after all I've put my wrist through just for this. Maybe I should visit the post office a few more times?

[adamsmasher]

Okay it's after 1am and I've had a lot of wine so obviously it's time for a late night wall-of-text post, but this time it's less likely to piss off your weird uncle or whatever because once again, I gotta talk about the best $4.99 a month I've ever spent.

Please, if you haven't yet, I'm begging you to look into all of the incredible content available on the Dropout.tv streaming service (formerly known as College Humor) . Not only did Whose Line Is It Anyway's Wayne Brady say that the Dropout crew are the only ones doing improv comedy on the same level as Whose Line, but they were also one of the only studios/streaming services allowed to work during the writers' strike because their contracts went above and beyond industry standards. (And, from my own observations, Dropout LOVES hiring queer, trans/nonbinary, and BIPOC performers + crew. Obviously I don't know much about the industry, but they seem like one of the most inclusive companies in Hollywood.)

"Alex, thanks for the recommendation! What shows do they have that you think I'll like?" Oh, you're asking me to gush about my favorite tv shows? Don't mind if I do!!!

Are you D&D curious, but took one look at actual play shows like Critical Role and thought "6 hours an episode? and there's like 750 episodes or whatever? oh baby not my adhd ass..." Don't worry, me too (sorry CR I love you I promise). But Dropout has a show called "Dimension 20" where comedians play Dungeons and Dragons with emotional, immersive storytelling, gut-busting laughs, and spectacular set design that makes you forget it's a fully improvised series controlled by the roll of the dice. They even did a miniseries perfect for D&D beginners called "Dungeons and Drag Queens" where absolute novices and Drag Race royalty Jujubee, Monet X Change, Alaska Thunderfuck, and Bob the Drag Queen embark on an adventure full of mystery, intrigue, and stupidity. I mean, Alaska plays a muscle-bound, axe-wielding, caveman-grunting Orc named Princess, what more could you want? Plus, the primary game master Brennan Lee Mulligan is so easy on the eyes. Oh, you're not into dorky ginger dudes? How about Aabria Iyengar, a 6 foot tall goddess who's equally as nerdy as Brennan but loves basketball. that's right, if nothing else, there's eye candy for every person in every season.

"Oh, why aren't there any good game shows on TV?" you wonder, wishing that the Game Show Network could come up with something that isn't a lame remake of a free-to-play phone game. Well how about Game Changer, "the only game show where the game changes every show (except for [...] Game of Games, Taskmaster, and a few others that have come to light AFTER [Game Changer first aired]. That's right, [the] players have no idea what game it is they're about to play. The only way to learn is by playing, the only way to win is by learning, and the only way to begin is by beginning." And yes, I did sit there and watch the beginning of an episode to make sure I was accurately quoting Game Changer host (and Dropout CEO) Sam Reich's description of his flaghship game show that has THREE separate spin-offs. (for context, he only mentions the other shows that copied his in the one episode I pulled up to get an accurate quote. could you imagine how uncomfortable it would be if he said that every episode? hah!)

Are you more of a traditional Whose Line fan? Look no further than Game Changer spin-off Make Some Noise, where contestants act out "improvisational prompts that [they have] never seen before, isn't that right contestants?" ("We won't know if we've seen them before or not until we see them!" Brennan insists every time he's on...)

You like musicals but wish they were less... ya know, scripted? Check out "Play It By Ear", a fully improvised musical! (you may be familiar with its primary cast members Jess McKenna and Zach Reino from the podcast that inspired it all, "Off Book: the Improvised Musical Podcast with Zach and Jess")

Or maybe you're more into trivia, cuz you're a total nerd like me (and every single performer that's ever appeared on dropout.tv). How about "Umm, Actually" where contestants are given an incorrect statement and have to buzz in to correct it - but you have to say "Umm, Actually" first!

Straight up, you can't go wrong on Dropout. Please, check it out. They're nearly doubling the amount of original shows they have in 2024, and no other streaming service is doing it like them. If I haven't convinced you yet, get the 7 day trial and give em a chance. There's no referral code I can give you that gives me some sort of kickback or whatever, I genuinely wrote what looks like a thousand word essay about Dropout at 1am just because I love them so much.

[hyperfixaredweirdo]

So I stumbled on this tik tok today and tried my best to only include the text bc I’m not trying to attack anyone or bring to much attention to it since im only using it as an example.

this is something that I’m very tired of seeing in fandom spaces, especially on the internet and especially in the pjo fandom. I myself LOVE Percabeth and I hate perachel, (I think that’s the first time I’ve typed “perachel” lol) But what I’ve learned to do growing up in this fandom is that yes, I CAN BLOCK ANYONE WHO POSTS ABOUT PERACHEL. AND SO CAN YOU. I CAN BLCOK THE PERACHEL TAG. AND SO CAN YOU. I DONT HAVE TO INTERACT WITH OTHER PEOPLE WHO SHIP PERACHEL. AND NEITHER DO YOU. Bc what ends up happening when you get into an unwarranted debate with someone over fictional characters over the internet is that you end up insulting REAL PEOPLE. PEOPLE THAT EVEN OF YOU BELIEVE TO BE “STUPID” OR “WEIRD” OR WHATEVER, AT THE END OF THE DAY. YOU DONT KNOW THAT.

DONT BE MEAN TO REAL PEOPLE OVER FICTIONAL CHARACTERS.

and it’s not just with the Percabeth vs perachel debate you can use the “out of sight out of mind” mentality with any other topic in any other fandom. Nerdy fandom things are supposed to be fun, and there is nothing wrong with blocking or ignoring people who don’t share the same opinions as u. With so many other things in the real world that actually do need to be debated on and thought hard about, fictional stories doesn’t have to be one of them. Not if it’s gonna cause harm to real people.

[affixjoy]

Today I continued my Star Trek journey by rewatching Star Trek (2009) and boy howdy do I have some thoughts.

So first off, I saw this for the first time when I came out in 2009. It wasn’t my first experience with Star Trek, but it was probably my first with Kirk and Spock and that gang. I remember liking it a lot.

Now that I’ve watched all of TOS and a few of the movies with the original cast my feelings are a little more complicated.

Overall, fun movie! I imagine they had to have felt the weight of recasting and redoing such iconic characters, and in a lot of ways they succeeded. It certainly got younger people like me interested in the franchise!

💫 Spock: I do love this version of him. His “live long and prosper” to the VSA is perfectly bitchy and I’m obsessed with it.

💫BONES!! if you’ve read any of my other posts you’ll know that somehow Bones snuck up on me as my favorite character. I love his intro here, and I think Karl Urban gets the tone just right. This really is a buffet for the McKirkers out there, I can see how this led to 1000 academy era fics of them.

💫Kirk: oh Jim. Jimmy Jim Jim. Baby boy. What are you doing. How did being played by Chris Pine (who is incredibly hot) make you LESS attractive??

Obviously this Kirk suffers from some Kirk drift and the added trauma of losing his dad. He’s so much angrier, so much less sweet and nerdy. Rewatching this now I can see why I was so hesitant to like him in TOS because he’s a lot less lovable here.

💫 I get it’s an emergency and they had to for plot reasons, but almost all of Pike’s staffing choices make no sense. Sure, Spock as acting captain, I get that. But everyone else?? Imagine being one of the other people there who has been with starfleet for years and seeing him hand Kirk the role of first officer. The ship can’t be entirely cadets can it?? Imagine the group texts going around after like “thank god he didn’t die because I really need to bitch about this.”

💫 I love all three Uhuras (tos, aos, and snw) and I get why they made her Spock’s love interest here because they’ve got fun chemistry! They have a lot in common, they’re both hot and smart, I get it. But cmon guys, that man is a 6 on the Kinsey scale. You keep pairing him with women and it doesn’t work.

💫 I feel like they worked in lots of little references to classic trek, from plot stuff to smaller details like when Spock enters from the turbolift at the end in a very TMP way. I love that, it makes me feel like the people making the movie really care about the stories and the characters. When Spock Prime says good luck I felt all the weight of his relationship with his Jim and how it changed him. So lovely and touching.

And just how close they made Kirk and Spock stand, especially towards the end of the movie. They were always glued to each other in TOS and JJ must have known us Spirk shippers needed something to latch on to 😅

💫 There’s too much action in this movie for me. We didn’t need to see Scotty beamed into the water tank. The best sf stuff is always story based, I don’t need extravagant fights and cgi shit. I’m sure there are people who watch science fiction for the spectacle but I’m here for the ideas and the feelings.

💫 goddddd everything with Vulcan and losing Amanda. Rip all our hearts out why don’t you. Spock’s mom dying is just heartbreaking. I know they had to lose someone we knew to make the destruction of the planet more real to us as viewers but so crushing to see it.

💫 Old Spock 😭😭😭

He knows right away who Jim is and expects that Jim found him on purpose.

Old Spock just launched right in to the mind meld huh. To me this really says that he and his Jim are on very casual mind meld terms and he’s not fully understanding that this Jim is not his Jim.

Think about how fucking weird all this must be for old Spock. How heartbreakingly strange it would be so see a young version of your husband and send him to a young version of yourself. Meeting all your old friends young selves, years after you’ve lost them all.

And from here out it’s just miscellaneous thoughts I jotted down while watching that don’t fit great anywhere else:

⭐️I love when the redshirt is so excited to get the Romulans and Kirk gets this look like… that’s why you’re here? Dude the battle not the appeal here. A nice glimpse of how this Kirk is similar at heart to TOS Kirk.

⭐️Love you Sulu and your fencing skills

⭐️I love when they stop the lift for emotional reasons.

⭐️“Our destinies have changed” goddddd great speech Spock

⭐️Jim has the look of a man who is frequently escorted places by security

⭐️Spock wants to break Kirk so bad 😂

⭐️When Jim slaps Spock’s back and Spock has a look of “I think that just awakened something in me.”

⭐️Spock you’re calling him Jim already? You slut. (Delighted, affectionate)

Overall I think it’s a fun movie but it misses a lot of what’s at the heart of the classic Trek I love. They try to do everything too fast and it just doesn’t work as well for me. I’m excited to rewatch the next two and see how these versions of the characters change!

[aha-chuu]

Kaveh's Odd Desert Connections

Kaveh... Is weird. I hadn't thought that much about it until I very recently caught up with the Dirge of Bilqis quest (the new desert one with Jeht) and watched Ashikai's latest theory video. This post is just meant to gather my thoughts and share what I've learned.

So first what sent me down this rabbit hole was finding this during the desert quest:

In case you missed it in that wall of text, this record is addressed to "Mehrak". We know due to leaks that Kaveh's very cute briefcase is called Mehrak also.

Unfortunately,,, desert lore is like that and is pretty hard to untangle. These records recount the fall of Gurabad and the story of Liloupar - basically, they tell a story of a ruined civilisation from thousands of years in the past. Knowing the actual contents of them isn't really necessary to follow this post, because Mehrak (and by extension Kaveh) is only namedropped this one time out of all the records.

But we can theorise a lot just from this single mention. To me, there are two possible explanations for why "Mehrak" comes up in these records whilst also being Kaveh's present day briefcase. The first is mildly boring but kind of funny: there is no true connection between Kaveh's Mehrak and the Mehrak mentioned, Kaveh simply named his cute techno briefcase after a historical figure because he thought it would be cool. Kaveh is smart and does work on projects in the desert, so it is not outside the realm of possibility that he might learn of Mehrak and use the name. It makes him look a whole lot more nerdy, which I find amusing.

The second possible explanation (and pls do provide your thoughts if you have any other ideas) was provided to me by a redditer (PinkPrimrose05). Their theory is that Mehrak is in a similar situation to Ferigees, who I will remind you is the Jinni near the end of the Dirge of Bilqis questline. They were a person at a certain point in history, but has since been trapped in a mechanical construct. They cannot die until we release them.

(I apologise for the poor quality, Ferigees is inside that yellow mechanism.)

This has many more implications, since (if this is the case) Mehrak's current form does not really match the other ancient desert technology. Well, perhaps it has some similar patterning, but it definitely looks significantly more modern than other technology from that time -

(I could not for the life of me find a good model image for this, so sorry Kaveh's arm is in the way.)

Perhaps I should have mentioned this earlier - we know from leaks that Mehrak has some level of sentience, in that it has expressions (little pixelated anime eye reactions) and responds to Kaveh's instructions without necessitating verbal or physical inputs. This makes the Jinni idea seem more likely, since they also have sentience.

Okay, so maybe the briefcase has a rich history from the time of King Deshret. So what? Kaveh probably found it in the desert and repurposed it for his own needs - perhaps due to errosion Mehrak has no memory of its past life. Since the technology does not quite match, or at least not totally, perhaps Kaveh created the briefcase around Mehrak (as well as an architect he is also a student from the technology darshan, after all). Or maybe he just made additions. What does it even matter aside from being an interesting tidbit?

Well, then I watched Ashikai's latest video: https://youtu.be/h5rNMYwWjfA. It's not necessary watching to understand what I'm about to say, so I'll summarise some of her thoughts very broadly: she brings up the idea that rather than Alhaitham being the Deshret parallel as we all thought, it's instead Kaveh. If you would like to hear all her thoughts as to why that could be, I recommend watching the video.

This does not mean that Kaveh IS Deshret, or even that it's a reincarnation situation. Just that he could be a parallel, or have more connections/knowledge than we might realise. Kaveh is an interesting case from a meta perspective also, since he has had a strange amount of unnecessary story presence for an unreleased four star. He is in the archon quest and Alhaitham's story quest and in neither is his presence at all justified by narrative - Alhaitham's quest could easily end fifteen minutes earlier, and Kaveh adds literally nothing to the archon quest aside from some nice levity. Some lore relevant significance might explain this presence past just "oh, well Hoyo wanted fanservice".

Through the lens that their is some sort of Deshret -> Kaveh connection happening (and I say this so so loosely), his connection with Mehrak might have a more sinister implication. Deshret allowed, through his own ignorance, the Jinni he intended to protect on behalf of the Goddess of Flowers to be enslaved. He also lied about the Goddess' death to the Jinni, and it is largely due to their contract with him that their entire civilisation fell apart. An important note about Ferigees and Liloupar is that both crave an existence outside of their prisons - Ferigees purposefully trapped themself inside the mechanism but found the experience torturous, and Liloupar returns to Gurabad. If Mehrak is another trapped Jinni, Kaveh might be accidentally mistreating it.

However, I like the idea that Mehrak and Kaveh are friends much better. Its expressions are often positive ones, so even if it's forced to listen to Kaveh because he has its name, it doesn't seem too upset about it. Also, another part of Ashikai's video posits that Liloupar so quickly accepts the traveller because they have resemblance to Deshret (a whole other rabbit hole, watch the video if you want to know). In this same thread, Ashikai brings up that Kaveh looks very similar to the traveller, so I think that perhaps Mehrak (either knowingly or not) connects Kaveh to its previous master, which could explain why it listens to him so well.

Overall, I find this connection very intriguing and I'm excited to learn more. There is definitely something there, but whether or not it will be imprtant I do not know.

[the-mad-starker]

Starker Smut: Be Mine

Inspired by this post from @anonoite 💗💗 The first one I got was kitty!Tony x kitty!Peter. So here I am coming in with kitty starker Valentine's Day 😌

Can you believe this cute lil thing spawned a 5k fic? I can't 😂 I meant for this to be so much shorter. I wanted to finish it for Valentine's Day but better late than never?

Summary: It's Valentine's Day but Peter knows Tony's keeping a secret from him. His alpha makes sure to correct that mistake.

WC: 5681

(AO3 Link)

Notes: Alpha/Omega, feline omegaverse, Barbed Penis (kind of), Intersex Omegas, Omega Peter Parker, Alpha Tony Stark, Vaginal Sex, Vaginal Fingering, Oral Sex, Dirty Talk, Implied Mpreg, Cat/Human Hybrids, Mating jewelry, Light Angst, Marriage Proposal, Creampie, (some) pain kink, mirror sex, multiple orgasms

Note 2: although I have tagged barbed penis, it's not exactly penis spines cause I didn't wanna... Shred poor Peter 😂 so it's still spines but blunted. So no bleeding 😅

Terminology: toms refer to male cats and queens refer to female cats, but in this situation, tom=alpha, queen=omega

Mating Jewelry inspo cause I doubt I did a great job describing:

💗💗💗

Tony's been secretive lately.

The thought plagues Peter's mind throughout the morning class. His ears, usually perked up and attentive, lie flat against his curly hair and his tail barely twitches.

It's February 14th. Valentine's Day.

The tom wouldn't be so cruel as to break up with Peter on Valentine's Day, would he?

Peter doesn't think Tony would do that to him but it doesn't bring him any comfort. What if Tony wants to give him one last hurrah, wine and dine Peter, then let him down easy the next day?

The feline buries his head in his arms even more because somehow that thought seems even worse than being broken up with on Valentine's Day.

A nudge to his side has Peter peeking out of his makeshift hiding spot. Ned's concerned face greets him.

"It's time to go," Ned tugs him out of his seat but Peter drags his feet even knowing Happy's waiting for him.

"I'd thought you'd be excited to see your alpha," Ned muses, his own ears flopping as they walk.

"He's gonna break up with me, Ned," Peter says as though it's inevitable. His tail curls around his waist as Ned tugs him along.

"What?" His best friend sounds appropriately offended. "No way, dude! You guys are like… perfect together."

"Yeah? What makes you think that?" Peter turns to look at his friend. He's latching onto any bit of hope because he really really likes Tony. Maybe even… loves him...

Ned pauses as though not expecting the question.

"You're both felines?" Ned says as though that simple fact is enough.

Peter groans and bumps against the beta.

"That doesn't mean we're perfect together…" Peter says. He wishes it was that simple. "Maybe he found another queen, a prettier one, with– I dunno, a fluffier tail? …I'm just me, after all. I'm just… Peter. Boring, nerdy Peter."

"Hey, don't talk about my best friend like that," Ned pokes him. "And there's no better omega or uh, queen, than you, Peter."

The way Ned fumbles with the terminology breaks him out of his gloomy thoughts.

"You can just call me an omega, I know the terminology is a bit weird to get used to," Peter tries to smile at Ned. He's grateful that Ned tries so hard. He's such a good friend.

"I'll get used to it," Ned shrugs. "Omega, queen. Alpha, tom. It's the same thing, just… a tiny bit different."

"Well, we call each other omega and alpha too," Peter points out. "So it's fine if you use those terms."

"If I can get used to it in my head, it'll be better," Ned says, determined. "And hey, don't change the subject. Why do you think Tony's planning to break up?"

The omega falls silent gathering his thoughts.

"I dunno, it's just… a feeling. Like he's hiding something from me," Peter says, ears once again hanging flat. "He hasn't been texting or calling as much. And he's been busy a lot…"

Ned takes it all in. He doesn't call Peter crazy or paranoid, which Peter appreciates.

"Peter. He's a genius billionaire that's CEO of his own company," Ned reminds him gently.

"Genius, billionaire, ex-playboy, philanthropist," Peter feels the need to correct him, his lips quirking up into a half smile.

Ned rolls his eyes but concedes.

"Right. That. That's a lot of stuff to be handling," Ned nudges him.

"Yeah," Peter sighs. "I know… I just… wish I didn't feel like he was hiding something from me."

"So… ask him," Ned suggests. "What's the worst that can happen?"

And just on cue, they arrive at the parking garage where Happy is patiently waiting.

Normally, Peter feels so excited, so giddy, when he sees Happy because that means Tony's waiting for him at the end of the ride. But here, he can't help feeling a tiny bit of trepidation.

He waves Ned goodbye and resolves to get the answer out of his alpha.

What's the worst that can happen, after all? Maybe just a little heartbreak that'll tear Peter's whole world apart.

Yep. Nothing to it.

---

Tony's plans for Valentine's Day have Peter wanting to melt into a pile of goo.

The plan goes as follows:

Happy taking Peter to get tailor fit for a suit

A romantic brunch in Manhattan, set on one of the rooftops overlooking the city.

Spending the rest of the night with his alpha at the penthouse, just the two of them.

The custom made suit has Peter feeling so pampered and spoiled. He always feels so self-conscious when he's on Tony's arm, more than aware of the difference in their social standing. But like this, clad in form-fitting trousers and a waistcoat that accentuates his slim waist, he looks like a model ready for a photo shoot.

The way Tony's eyes light up in genuine pleasure, his eyes inspecting Peter from head to toe and finding the omega more than perfect… The kit glows with pleasure and feels confident enough to step up to Tony.

Tony's ears and tail are as dark as his hair, all sleek fur. Peter's, on the other hand, is a sable brown but what really catches the eye is the texture. Fluffy and curly, every single move has them bouncing.

When Peter steps up to his side, the tom's tail sways forward and effortlessly catches Peter's.

"You look lovely, kitten," Tony all but purrs, snagging him by the waist and dropping a sweet kiss on his lips.

Peter melts in his arms, his tail twining possessively around Tony's.

"It's the suit," Peter blushes.

"Even if you were wearing a t-shirt and sweats, you'd still look lovely," Tony continues with the charm and maybe Peter would've laughed and called him a sap but today was different.

The insecurity is still in the back of his mind so he eats up the compliment and all but purrs when Tony strokes one of his ears with affection.

"You look good too, alpha," Peter says sincerely.

Tony must hear it often enough but Peter's sweet words have the alpha purring in happiness.

Their luncheon is amazing. No matter how often Tony spoils him, the omega still isn't used to this type of lavish lifestyle. The tastiest of dishes are placed before him, the meat practically melting in his mouth while flavor bursts on his tongue.

The view of the city is breathtaking too. The company makes it all even better but when Peter turns to face the tom, he can't help but feel a pang of sorrow.

What if this doesn't last?

Tony continues to distract him though, talking about mutual projects and his general day. Peter gets the full brunt of Tony's attention and he eagerly soaks it up like a parched flower tasting rain.

When they're tucked away in the car, bellies full and hands entwined, Tony mentions, "You're a bit quiet today, kitten. Anything wrong?"

Peter means to shake his head. He's decided during lunch that he doesn't want to ruin things and doesn't want to disrupt the romantic plan Tony laid out for them. If he has to be in denial, then let him be in denial.

He leans his head against Tony's chest and the alpha's arm winds around him, tucking him close to his chest. Tony's heartbeat thumps against his ear, steady and reassuring.

It all feels so perfect and Peter breathes in the scent of his alpha and home. He can't imagine being with anyone else but Tony.

"Don't break up with me," Peter can't help but murmur softly. He doesn't realize he's said it out loud until the alpha he's leaning on suddenly stiffens.

"What?" Tony sounds so confused and that's when it registers.

Peter sits up, eyes wide. When his tail tries to untangle itself from Tony's, Tony continues to hold on.

"What do you mean, break up?" Tony looks so adorably confused that Peter has to bite down on his lip to stop from repeating his words.

"Peter, sweetheart, kitten–" Tony takes his hands and squeezes gently. "Why do you think I'd want to break up with you?"

A minute shiver has Peter's body shuddering. Tony's words ignite hope in his heart. Hopefully, he hasn't ruined everything with his insecurities.

"I thought you got bored of me," Peter confesses, "You kinda… weren't as into our conversations the past week and… I know you're busy so I didn't want to bother you but it made me feel like… yeah…"

Tony's mouth drops open in a Gobsmacked expression and he seizes Peter in a hard hug.

"Silly kit," Tony says and the feeling of his hand sliding through Peter's hair and rubbing against the velvety soft fur of his ear is so soothing, so right.

"Happy," Tony calls out to their driver and Peter jerks, embarrassed that he forgot Happy was an unintentional audience in this. "I think it's time. Change of course, take us to the secret spot."

"Tony…?" Peter asks, unsure.

The alpha kisses his forehead and only holds him tighter.

"Shh, sweetheart, this will explain everything."

And because Peter trusts Tony, loves Tony… the omega closes his eyes and just breathes in the soothing scent of his boyfriend as Happy changes course.

---

The place Happy takes them to isn't familiar to Peter but that isn't unusual. The stores here scream luxury so it isn't a neighborhood that Peter would have reason to frequent.

The name of the boutique is a simple word, Promises, and when Tony leads him to the entrance, the door is opened by a peacock. Or– Well, Peter assumes it's a peacock man since the employee has a distinctive crest of blue feathers swaying above his hair.

"Mr. Stark," the man doesn't seem surprised to see him or Peter. "This way, please."

They're led inside and it's a spacious area with a few mannequins lined against the walls. The lights in the store are specifically placed to shine on the mannequins and there are strands hung on the bodies where bright sparks of light are reflected back.

Peter wants to get a closer look, attracted by the light, but Tony's hand in his has him tugging the younger man to his side.

A teasing pinch to his ear has Peter flicking it instinctively.

"C'mon, kitten," Tony says, "You'll see for yourself why we're here."

Peter still wants to peek but he's also excited to learn more. They rejoin the employee, following behind a train of brilliant green feathers.

They're shown into a room. A dressing… room? Fitting room? It's the fanciest dressing room Peter's ever been in. Definitely the most spacious.

In the corner, a large section is curtained off from the rest of the room with thick light blue curtains. In the center, there's a small platform that's surrounded by mirrors so that the person standing in the center could see every angle.

There are bouquets of red roses on corner tables. And there's a small white couch against the wall for the comfort of waiting partners.

Suddenly, Peter knows exactly what Tony's been so busy with.

"Tony, this…" Peter trails off, helpless, and even more helpless when Tony leads him to the curtained off area.

The curtains are retracted to reveal a single mannequin, very similar to Peter's size. Peter wouldn't be surprised if it is his exact measurements.

The mannequin is decorated in fine strands of gold. Just like the front of the store, the light here is specifically positioned to showcase the jewelry. And that's what it is… Jewelry. Peter hadn't been able to see clearly when they were brought in, but he realizes now that it could've only been jewelry.

"Tony…" Peter breathes out as he approaches the mannequin. He lifts a hand and hesitates as though touching them would make them disappear.

Tony approaches with him and when Peter hesitates, the alpha calmly presses his hand down on the thin strands that make up the chest piece.

"It's yours," Tony tells him softly. "I've been coming here to check the progress. Make sure everything was perfect, the diamonds, the rubies, the arrangement… It had to be perfect for my future mate."

The courting gift is beautiful. It's made up of delicate gold strands that make up a chest harness. It starts at the neck where a beautiful collar sits. From the collar, two strands of gold gently trail downward and wrap around to the back. Connected from these chains, two more meet in the middle where there are rubies. The first chain would sit right where his collarbone would meet and the next chain would be between his pecs.

From the last chain, three gold strands are attached. The center dangles just short enough to rest above his belly button while the other two are long enough to wrap around his waist.

And separate from the chest piece, two more delicate strands of gold circle around the waist, crossing in an X at the front.

Peter knows it must've cost Tony a fortune, one that the omega probably can't even fathom.

"Alpha…" Peter murmurs when he turns to Tony. The tom's tail is flicking nervously and his ears are pushed forward eagerly.

"Peter… I hope you know now how serious I am about you," Tony tells him. When he steps closer and pulls Peter into his arms, he leans down and rubs their noses together.

Peter can't help the soft rumble that comes from his chest. His grip on Tony's arms tightens and he leans into him.

"Kitten… Peter… Peter Parker…" Tony murmurs. "Will you be mine? My mate? My queen?"

Even though Peter expects the question, it still makes his heart jump. He gives a brilliant smile, his fluffy curls bounce when he leans up and kisses his alpha.

"Yes, yes–" Peter says between kisses and smiles and a heart full of joy. "Alpha, my alpha. I want to be yours, wanna be your mate, your queen, only yours…!"

Tony returns the kisses. Peter can feel the press of his alpha fangs against his lips, their kisses are so full of passion.

When Peter pulls away breathless and giddy with happiness, he can't help but look back at the courting gift. An engagement set, he now realizes.

"Wanna try it on?" Tony's voice, low and suggestive, almost makes him jump.

Peter's face blushes pink. A lot of the jewelry is meant to show off Tony's claim on him. The collar, specifically, is the traditional piece and often, it tends to be the only piece necessary for a mating. Tony, of course, is going for a full set.

The jewelry is meant to show off Tony's adoration for him, but it's also a quiet declaration to Peter himself of Tony's love. The collar is meant to be shown off but the other pieces, the ones that Peter can wear under his clothes or hide away, those are just for him.

The chest harness and the pieces that hug his waist are only for him and Tony.

Peter wants to try it on and he wants to show his alpha just how well he knows him and his body.

"Yes," Peter answers, turning and nuzzling Tony's neck. "Will you put it on me?"

"Of course, sweetheart," Tony murmurs with a crinkling of his eyes, "I'm at your service."

It's not the first time Tony has seen him naked. They're way beyond that and are intimate with each other's bodies. Tony has kissed freckles and moles on Peter's back that the omega hadn't even been aware were there.

It's safe to say that Tony knows Peter's body more intimately than even he does himself.

So when Tony starts to remove the expensive suit he bought for Peter, the omega lets him until he's completely bare. He's more than a little hard, more than a little slick, and Tony can smell it on him.

Tony's eyes when they look at him are all dark pupils and full of hunger. But the anticipation makes it all the more worth it and Tony turns away, though he has to adjust himself too.

Peter hums teasingly, rocking on his heels and waiting eagerly.

The first piece that Tony places on him is the collar. It goes around his neck, neither too loose nor too snug. When Tony secures the clasp on the back, he brushes over the gold with reverent fingers when it settles into place.

Then a necklace is put on him. Peter hadn't even realized that it's a separate piece, it matches the set so well. The sparkle of a ruby settles right in the hollow of his throat like it belongs there.

The chest harness is next and it attaches to the collar seamlessly. Peter likes that he can wear them separately or together. When Tony goes to secure the harness, Peter obediently lifts his arms so Tony can reach the back.

Just as he expected, a line of gold dangles from the harness and barely reaches his belly. The ruby is just as red, just as beautiful as the one on his throat.

Tony's hands linger on Peter's hips when he places the last piece but the alpha behaves himself. Peter almost wishes he didn't.

Once that's secure, Tony steps back and lets his eyes linger in appreciation.

"How's it look, alpha?" Peter asks shyly.

The piece had looked stunning on the mannequin and even though he knows this is custom made for him, he wonders if the jewelry is too fine, too delicate, to look right on him.

"Come," Tony beckons him, taking his hand and leading him back to the center of the room.

Peter feels self-conscious walking around naked but Tony has always been a possessive alpha and has always taken Peter's safety into consideration. He knows he can trust the tom to keep his privacy safe if only because Tony would ruin anyone who even glances at him.

The alpha helps Peter up onto the platform. He stands behind the omega as Peter takes in the sight of his body covered in Tony's claim and he looks…

Handsome. Stunning.

The alpha looks at him in the mirror, eyes dark, his tail curled possessively around Peter's waist. Standing in front of the alpha, Peter feels so small and covered in gold, he feels just as delicate.

He feels adored and loved.

Tony's hands roam over his body, feather-light, as he teaches the strands of gold.

"Do you like it?" the tom needlessly asks.

Peter catches Tony's hand as he settles over his belly, large enough that his palm nearly covers the width of him.

"I love it, alpha," Peter says honestly. He turns towards Tony, smiling brightly.

The alpha is satisfied and he nods before smiling mischievously.

"Good, although…" Tony turns and steps away, confusing the poor omega. He takes a step to follow but then waits patiently when Tony goes to the door.

Something is handed off to him from the other side but Tony makes sure that Peter is still safely ensconced inside, hidden away from any curious eyes.

The box he returns with is longer than it is wide, easily the length of his forearm. When he opens it, Peter's brows raise in surprise.

There's another piece in there and it matches the set Peter is wearing.

"Alpha?" He says curiously.

Tony knees in front of him and looks up with sparkling eyes.

"Did you really think this was all I had for you?" Tony teases gently before he leans forward, takes Peter's hand, and kisses his knuckles. "No, kitten mine, what you have on now… is just the start."

He takes the new jewelry out and holds it up for Peter's inspection. It's just one piece and compared to the chest harness, the direction of the gold is going the opposite way. Instead of falling in a V, the chains here go from a point and lead downwards.

Peter isn't sure where it's supposed to go until Tony gently takes a hold of the back of his knee and urges him to lift his foot. When he does, Tony carefully helps him balance so that Peter lightly places his elevated foot on Tony's bent knee.

The new piece of jewelry is secured around his thigh like a garter belt and Peter shivers at the feeling of Tony's hands on him.

"There we go…" Tony murmurs, pleased. His fingers stroke the sensitive skin on his inner thigh.

"Alpha… what did you mean by this being the start…?" Peter has to ask, otherwise, he'd lose himself to the feeling of Tony's hands. Something embarrassing would truly happen then, like Peter whimpering.

Tony continues to stroke his inner thigh with a loving caress and then he leans forward and places a kiss there.

Peter shudders and his entire body feels like it's being lit up from the inside when his alpha's warm breath brushes against his skin.

"My mate, my queen," Tony calls him, "The set you have now is not complete yet. I'll spend the entire first year of our mating adding to this one and when it's complete, I'll do it again and again…"

Peter's breath catches in his throat. It sounds like so much but it's also so very Tony. He can't deny that it makes Peter feel so very… very spoiled.

You don't have to… He wants to say but he knows Tony wouldn't do something unless it was something he wanted. So the only thing Peter can do is run his fingers through Tony's dark hair, rubbing his dark ears and purring contentedly.

"Alpha…" Peter licks his dry lips. Tony being so close, his alpha scent free and unfiltered, is doing such things to Peter.

He knows his alpha is doing it on purpose and Peter is more than willing to follow his lead.

"Alpha…" Peter murmurs again when those gentle hands start to press deeper into his skin and Tony's purrs against his inner thigh. His face turns to where the omega is hard, his cocklet aching for attention.

"I'm glad you like my gift," Tony says, purring as he nuzzles the hardening cocklet. "Let me show you how appreciative I am that you're accepting."

He sets Peter's foot down, allowing him to better balance for what he's planning next.

"Shouldn't I be thanking you, alpha…?" Peter gasps out when Tony takes his cocklet into his mouth.

The alpha's mouth is hot and his tongue is soft and wet against Peter's cock. The omega, so sensitive already, grips the tom's hair, trapping strands of it in his fist. He needs it, something to hold onto, as Tony sucks on his cocklet, the small thing fitting so easily in his mouth.

For such a small thing, it's so very sensitive and Tony knows it. He sucks gently, swirling his tongue around the top and tracing the underside of Peter's cock with the tip of his tongue.

"Oh… Oh…" Peter moans, squeezing his eyes shut when Tony's fingers creep up his thighs and start to tease his pussy.

He's wet, dripping with slick. His insides part easily for the alpha's questing fingers but once they're inside, they clamp down, desperate for something bigger.

"Alpha… Tony…" Peter begs, muscles clenching tight as the fingers dig deeper, pumping into him with purpose. "I want…"

Slick wet noises come from between his legs and his ears grow hot with the filthy sound of it. Tony's mouth on him, his devious tongue playing with his cocklet… Tony's fingers fucking his wet pussy…

Tony knows him so well… His alpha…

"M gonna… Alpha, please… I can't…" Peter wants to protest, wants to be fucked before he comes but Tony continues to suck and finger him even when Peter grabs onto his ears and tries to wrench him away.

"Mm…! Ah-alpha…" Peter is helpless as he comes into the alpha's mouth. His tail lashes out, spasming as his insides clamp down on Tony's fingers and he floods the warm mouth he's in.

Wetness gushes from between Tony's fingers and the alpha hums and swallows.

"Alpha…" Peter complains when it gets to be too much. His legs feel like jelly and he melts into the alpha's lap, slick staining Tony's pants but neither care.

He purposely rubs against the alpha's cock, almost desperate despite just having an orgasm.

The orgasm sates him for two seconds because his body takes note and demands more. He hasn't been mated, hasn't gotten fucked and he needs more than a suck and a fuck for his omega body to be satisfied.

So he writhes in the alpha's lap, a desperate needy thing that only wants one thing.

"Let me thank you, alpha," Peter begs him, kissing Tony's lips and tasting his own seed in the alpha's mouth. It only makes his body burn hotter, his insides feeling achingly empty.

"Alright, kitten, I'm not gonna say no to that," Tony says against his lips. And yet, he seems reluctant to part from Peter's mouth, licking and nipping at his lips.

Peter gets handsy and not only does he rub against Tony's erection with his ass, but he also reaches down and fondles what he finds. Tony's cock strains against his pants, large and demanding and so so hard…

Tony hisses at the direct touch and that does it.

"Turn around, kitten," Tony growls against his mouth. "Let me see that pretty pussy."

Peter shudders and obeys immediately, going on his knees and lifting his tail to the side so he's exposed and vulnerable to his mate.

"So perfect…" he hears Tony murmur behind him.

A touch to the base of his tail has him lifting his ass higher and pushing into Tony's touch. When Peter lifts his gaze, he sees their bodies in the mirror and it shocks him.

The jewelry is still glimmering brilliantly in the light but they look even prettier against the flushed pink of his skin. His face is particularly red, even more so when he sees his alpha positioning himself behind him.

Large and intimidating, the alpha is staring intently at the place between Peter's legs. It makes Peter squeeze his thighs together before he forces them to relax.

"Alpha… C'mon, alpha… Take it… take what's yours…" Peter says, tail waving in an almost hypnotizing gesture.

"God, you're such a temptress…" Tony groans before he rushes to pull his cock out.

Peter licks his lips when he sees it reflected in the mirror. Tony's alpha cock, thick and ready. He jerks when he feels the heat of it slap on his ass but a harsh grip on his hip keeps him in position.

"Here you go, kitten… You need it so bad, don't you?" Tony says as he positions the head of his cock at Peter's dripping pussy. The tip teases the omega's hungry hole and he shifts on his knees just to feel the alpha's cockhead nudging in.

"Please, please…" Peter whines when he can't get it inside by himself.

"Shh, I have you, kitten… Gonna give it to you…" Tony doesn't make him wait any longer and pushes inside.

Just the girth of his alpha's cock makes the breath in his lungs rush out when it pushes inside. The length, though, it feels as though Peter's split apart every time. It's only practice and familiarity that has Peter taking the impressive cock in its entirety.

Even then, that first thrust doesn't let Tony sink all the way. It's still enough for Peter to buck against his hold, hips wanting to simultaneously pull away and push back.

Tony groans, loud and clear, and pulls out only to fuck back in. Peter gasps, scrambling for purchase when the tom starts to fuck him hard, trying to inch his entire cock into the tight, wet space of the omega's body.

Peter's eyes threaten to roll to the back of his head as Tony works his cock in.

"Mmph! Mmm alpha…!" Peter cries out, pleasure making his body eager and primed for the rough fucking their kind enjoys.

Tony's cock works him open but he's still so big, so large inside him… Peter's insides are going to ache for days and it's what he wants… That type of pain that has the feline omega arching his back, begging to be mated and bred.

He could never have this with anyone else. It is only ever Tony for him, his tom, his alpha…

The pain of being fucked harshly transmutes into a type of pleasure that has Peter crying out and only begging for more.

"Alpha–" Peter cries out, "Mm, it hurts… hurts…"

Tony's hips never stop working. By now, his cock has sunk all the way in, plowing into Peter's insides over and over again.

"Yeah?" Tony pants, breathless, and then he folds his body over Peter's, covering him completely. His teeth nip at his mating mark and Peter feels like he's going to fall apart. "Hurts good, doesn't it, kitten? This is what you wanted. When you waved that pretty tail at me… Bent over and gave me access to that pretty pussy of yours…"

Another thrust, this time shorter but no less impactful.

"Mm!" Peter moans, his head tilting to give Tony better access to his neck. "Yes, alpha… yes… hurts so good… alpha's cock… splitting me open…"

"Mm…" Tony groans. He sets his teeth against Peter's sweat damp skin, teeth encountering gold and pressing in against skin despite that. "Don't want me to stop, do you, kitten? Want me to go all the way? Let my barbs out and make you pregnant…?"

Pregnant…

"Oh!" Peter gasps out, his mind going haywire with it. Tony's cock… Tony's come, Tony's barbs… The one thing that would scare the shit out of other omegas that weren't of their kind but Peter is exactly like Tony.

He was made for this. He would only ever get pregnant from a feline alpha like Tony. His body would only ever recognize an alpha of his kind and his heart would only ever recognize Tony.

"Yes, alpha, my alpha… give it to me…" Peter grows desperate, pushing back against the alpha's thrust, now hungry to be filled. "Make me pregnant… Fill me up… Do it, do it–!"

A hand clamps down on his nape and just like that, Peter's body goes soft and pliant.

"Alpha…" Peter whimpers as Tony takes full control. The hold has him incapable of moving but it's necessary for what's next.

Felines mating… It's rough on the omega and Tony needs to take complete control.

With a few more thrusts, Peter's body sways like that of a rag doll as his alpha takes his pleasure. He's happy to do it, happy to please his alpha.

His mind starts to float, pleasure and pain signals mixing in his head until there's only pleasure.

He knows the moment Tony gets close. The alpha's thrusting becomes rougher, almost jarring. The clapping of his hips against Peter's ass is especially harsh, sounding loud in the fitting room.

"Alpha…" Peter mewls and Tony hauls him onto his knees, replacing his hand with his teeth so that the omega remains pliant for him.

He catches a glimpse of them in the mirror, Peter's flushed body held captive in his alpha's arms. A feral glint gleams in his alpha's eyes and he stares at Peter and meets his gaze in the mirror. Between his spread thighs, the alpha's hard cock is seen in flashes of slick wet flesh, his heavy balls pulled tight and ready to deliver a thick virile load.

Tony's teeth in his flesh only add to the pleasure. Tony's rough calloused hand stroking his dripping cocklet… His thick cock fucking in and out of Peter's pussy…

He fucks another orgasm out of Peter and the omega is gone. The pleasure is even more overwhelming, the heightened pain turned pleasure has him clutching onto his alpha's forearm.

Tony's cock sinks in all the way and in the midst of Peter losing his mind, the barbs on his cock raise up, the blunted tips scraping and rubbing.

Peter screams, he yowls when he feels his alpha's cock grow and rub against his already tight insides. His eyes roll to the back of his head as the alpha's cock jerks inside him, pulses erratically, and fills his aching insides with come. The barbs feel even more prominent with Peter's pussy squeezing down like a vice and the omega moans in oversensitivity. The blunted tips rub him just like he needs and his entire body shudders in recognition, his demanding instincts finally quieting down at the feel of a feline male's cock breeding him.

Tony doesn't release him until he's done and so Peter takes it with soft whimpers and whines. He's being bred and his feline body knows it, his stomach cramping as more and more come is spilled into his overflowing pussy. Even when he feels like there can't possibly be more space, his pussy still shamelessly wants more, clamping down on Tony's cock and milking it for more.

When Tony's finally done with him, he lowers Peter gently onto the floor.

As always, their mating takes a toll on the poor omega and Peter looks at his alpha with hooded eyes, barely able to keep his eyes open. Tony settles between his legs, his tail flickering contentedly behind him. The satisfied smile he gives Peter spells trouble but the omega barely twitches when Tony puts a hand on his knee.

He does, however, whine, when Tony places his knee over his shoulder and lifts his hips.

"Alpha… can't…" Peter whines but he doesn't try to stop the alpha when Tony sets his mouth to his pussy. He only squeezes the alpha's head between his thighs and resolves to the fact that he'll most likely be fucked into unconsciousness tonight.

"Shh," Tony murmurs then laps at his pussy, licking away a mix of come and slick. "Let me clean my mate…"

So Peter just lays back and lets his mate clean up the mess, a purr sounding from his throat and Tony working him up to another release.

[pikapeppa]

re: your post about quen glyphs... it's possible that the old focuses they found in the delta were formatted to work w/ simplified chinese characters... after all, the focuses are pre-zero dawn and would have been formatted to whatever the local ppl used, right? its even possible that being able to write and speak simplified chinese in addition to any other languages that a focus could be formatted to might be something on the diviners examinations alva talks about... (also the fascinating implications that the quen might have had the only record of other languages existing pre-apollo)

I'M SO SORRY IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO REPLY TO THIS. But I wanted to do it when I had time and brainpower to fully think it through 😂

So this ask is in relation to my tags on this gorgeous photo, where I remarked that it's weird for this beautiful Quen person to be carrying a tablet with what look like nonsense glyphs, when we know canonically that the Quen read and write English in the Roman alphabet. This is in contrast with the Oseram, for instance, who read and write English in their own original glyph system (as evidenced by Erend having trouble learning to read the Old Ones' glyphs).

For the purposes of this reply, I'm going to focus on Mandarin and Cantonese as the spoken forms of "Chinese" since they're the most familiar Chinese languages, and since Mandarin is considered the "standard" Chinese language. Before I start, I should also point out that there is no such thing as spoken simplified Chinese; "simplified Chinese" refers to a variation of written Chinese that's usually used to transcribe the spoken language of Mandarin, whereas "traditional Chinese" refers to the written variation of Chinese that's usually used to transcribe Cantonese.

ALSO, STRAP IN, BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO GET A LITTLE NERDY HERE. I'm a speech-language pathologist by day (smut writer by night! 👹) and my favourite class in undergrad was a course about writing systems of the world, so I'm just giving advance warning that YOU ASKED FOR THIS. 😂😂😂

Okay, diving in now! That's a really good point re: the Focuses in the Great Delta -- it would make sense for many of the Focuses there to be set to display in Mandarin and/or Cantonese, and thus for the "glyph system" to be simplified or traditional Chinese characters, respectively. But if we're sticking to canon lore, the Quen don't speak other languages. There is a datapoint from Alva about this where she expresses some (VERY ACCURATE AND ADORABLE) disgust at Ted Faro for the loss of all languages except the Zero Dawn "default" language of English. If we're taking this at face value (and I see no reason why Alva would lie about this in her notes), then even if the Focuses were formatted to display Chinese characters, the Quen wouldn't be able to read them. This would also explain why being a Diviner is a rare and highly-prized role: it would probably be rare for the Focuses they found to be set in English, and those English Focuses would be even more prized and revered since they're interpretable.

Now, we might wonder why the Quen wouldn't be able to learn to speak Mandarin or Cantonese by deciphering the glyphs on a Chinese-formatted Focus. The problem is that the Quen have no spoken language to map the Chinese characters onto. Chinese characters are not an alphabet, and thus there's no one-to-one correspondence between a character and a sound or a sequence of sounds; instead, Chinese characters are largely morphographic, meaning they represent a unit of meaning rather than a sound or a sequence of sounds. The Quen might be able to figure out what some Chinese characters represent by comparing a single piece of text that's written both in Chinese and English, but they would not be able to figure out what the Chinese characters sound like.

Ah, but you might be wondering if the Quen could have figured out how to speak Mandarin/Cantonese by listening to audiorecordings or holovids in Mandarin/Cantonese and mapping them to transcripts written in Chinese, then comparing those Chinese transcripts to English transcripts of the same text? (Wait, YOU'RE NOT WONDERING THAT? SERIOUSLY?? I'm teasing. I'm clearly overthinking this.) I mean, yes, they could, but that would require you to have a piece of text in both English and Chinese that also has a corresponding holovid/audiorecording in Mandarin/Cantonese for that text, which... I mean, maybe I'm wrong, but that seems like a pretty big ask. Then again, if the Focuses have like a library of C-dramas with subtitles, then that could work???

But this brings me back to Alva's datapoint again. If all of the Diviners learned Mandarin/Cantonese for their exams, either Alva is being secretive about this in her own notes (seems implausible to me, she is not a disingenuous person), OR there is a faction of Quen Diviners above Alva's proverbial "pay grade" who are working on that. So that could be an interesting avenue for someone to explore in fic! Actually, the more I think about it, the more plausible it seems that there is some "upper class" of Diviners who are secretly working on restoring old languages and who get extra perks from the Imperial family for interpreting the most valuable texts. Okay, you got me, you talked me into it LOL.

But let's return now to my original cheeky remark re: the Quen glyphs as pictured in the game. This is a more detailed image of some Quen glyphs in Burning Shores:

Now, we can't say whether this piece of text is meant to be read top to bottom or whether it was pinned to the post sideways, but it looks to me from the brackets and the red lines (likely underlines) that it's posted sideways and is meant to be read either right-to-left or left-to-right. This does not look like Chinese characters, either simplified or traditional. On a superficial inspection, it looks to me more like the Tibetan syllabary, or maybe the Hebrew abjad, without actually being either of those. In the image I referred to at the beginning of this post, the glyphs look more like the Arabic abjad as it would be used to transcribe Farsi. In other words, the Quen glyphs as pictured in the DLC alone are inconsistent.

To be perfectly honest, I think that these Quen glyphs are a "game-ism": one of those things that's a visual element in the game that actually doesn't match up with the lore, similar to how Grudda is canonically from the Desert Clan but has Lowland tattoos. (If you've never noticed this, I implore you to use tearblast arrows to blow off all his armour until he's naked down to his underoos the next time you play LOL. Drakka would greatly approve.)

In short, I still adhere to the idea that the general Quen population read and write in English using the Roman alphabet, and that the Quen glyphs pictured in these images are visual nonsense (NO OFFENSE). If there are any Quen who speak and read in other languages, it would most likely be a secret faction of Diviners that Alva doesn't know about.

I hope this answer was satisfying and not fucking boring as hell BAHAHAH. Thank you for making me think about this, though! It also reminds of a mini-rant I have about Hekarro wanting the Tenakth to learn Carja glyphs that I should find some time to write out!

If anyone has further thoughts about this, feel free to comment/reblob/send me an ask or a message or whatever! ❤ Also, forgive any typos, it's past 1AM when I'm writing this LMAO.

-- much love from your friendly neighbourhood Pika xoxo

[lexart-io]

AI art has been getting a lot of hate so i just wanted to say your work is awesome and is just as much real art as any other art, even if it's made with a non conventional tool... coming from a digital character / illustration artist :) it's really cool. thanks for posting your art for us to enjoy

thank you, i really appreciate that! as someone with a fairly lengthy art and design background myself (professionally, academically, and personally), i see artificial intelligence as just another fascinating medium for human creativity. it will never replace any other mediums of art, there will always be a noticeable difference between what experienced / classically trained artists can do with ai tech versus beginners, and the human touch will absolutely always have a place in the art world. ai just makes visual creativity more accessible.

at it's most basic level, simple text prompts can create something (which is a game changer for the dexterity-impaired; like children, the elderly, persons with disabilities, folks who just don't have the time to invest into daily practice, or even small business owners who need digital assets but lack the resources to hire artists/designers). but "real" artists can take this technology sooo much further to really automate their creative work flow... you can train custom ai models to handle specific advanced concepts/styles/subjects/etc, use tools like ControlNet to convert pencil sketches into fully fleshed out digital images, and overall just really alleviate some of the creative strain that can arise from tight deadlines and too many creative responsibilities.

i think what i enjoy most about this tech is in how it exercises a creative part of my brain that i never knew existed. a weird blend of verbal creativity + visual creativity + a lot of nerdy computer programming / tinkering stuff. communicating effectively with a machine intelligence is truly an art form in its own right. incredibly fun and fascinating stuff. what a time to be alive!

[defiantbird]

(This isn't the same person as estranged childhood bestie. That one is actually keeping in touch with me more lately.)

I had a friend I was really close with starting in middle school and through college. Even so, we were always pretty different. She's normal, has normal interests, is highly likable and pretty much had no one who disliked her. I've always been odd and nerdy and bad at interacting with people. But she never acted like there was anything wrong with me, even though all her friends definitely thought I was weird as hell. We bonded over having depression and anxiety. I have two particular memories of this: her holding my hand and leading me away from a crowd when I had a panic attack at Warped Tour, and breaking down at her house after her birthday party because my relationship was hanging on my a thread and I'd been pretending to be ok all night.

After college, we drifted apart a bit, as it often goes with school friends once you're adults. The gulf got wider when I moved to the boroughs, after the pandemic, and when she got a new boyfriend. I havent met her boyfriend as we just were never able to really make plans happen again. Still, I asked her to be a bridesmaid for my wedding.

She agreed, but only really showed up for my shower. I got the vibe she just didn't really feel like coming to the boroughs for my bachelorette party and anything else. A week before my wedding, she told me that she was having problems with the house ahead just bought and she was extremely stressed and couldn't be a bridesmaid. I told her not to worry about it...I said she didn't need to give me a gift, I said I'd happily pay for her hair and makeup, I just wanted her to be there, she literally didn't have to do anything but be there.

She agreed again, but a few days later told me she just couldn't. OK. I wasn't going to push, I wanted her to be ok, I got that she was in a tough spot, so I let it go. But ultimately, she didn't even come as a guest. She didn't even come to just the ceremony. She didn't text me the day of or anything.

I sort of accepted this as the end. I was pretty hurt that she didn't show up at all, even after I told her she didn't have to do anything, I just wanted to see her. It felt like there was some other reason she had that she didn't want to tell me. But it is what it is. I figure maybe it was weird of me to want her as a bridesmaid after we'd drifted so much.

Since then were exchanged pleasantries on social media for birthdays and stuff, but otherwise nothing. A few months ago, she got engaged.

I'm not certain yet, but I think I'm invited to her wedding. She posted about sending her save-the-dates and the next day, my former neighbor texted me to say they had a letter that got sent to my old address. I assume it's the save-the-date, because my friend doesn't know I moved.

I feel really conflicted. I don't rely want to go...not out of a petty "Well you didn't come to my wedding so I should I come to yours", but because I really am just kind of hurt and I feel like she's only inviting me out of a sense of obligation. I don't know how to say 'no' without seeming like it's just pettiness, and frankly I don't feel like it's worth telling her the real reason. I'm not mad at her, just sad, and kind of resigned about our friendship. I don't know what excuse I can give. I don't know if I should just go, show my face, have dinner with all her friends who always though I was weird, and quietly leave. Or maybe I should just decline, say nothing, and hope that that solidifies the end so neither of us have to pretend anymore. It feels shitty, but so does the idea of going. I don't know her fiance at all, and sometimes I wonder if he convinced her not to go to my wedding. I have no idea. I don't really know her anymore, either.

Ugh.

Sorry. I had to put this somewhere.

[skulltopcomputer]

I Have So Much To Say About Transmasc Jake English

Disclaimer: This is my opinion- I definitely don’t think you have to interpret Jake this way, both gender and character-wise. Also, this is just for fun (I swear). Although I am interested in working in the confines of canon for as much as possible, I'm not trying to "prove" Jake is transmasc, I'm sure Hussie wrote him as a cis man. Content warnings under read more.

Content warning for discussions of transphobia and misogyny (if I need to add anything else let me know).

Just for context, I believe Jake realized he was a boy very early in his childhood. Thematically, it would be most appropriate shortly after Grandma English dies, so basically, as long as he's been old enough to understand the concept of "gender", he has known he is a boy. (I have a lot of ways that I think transmasc Jake would interact with the text of Homestuck, but that's all you really need to know for this post).

Also I’m going to talk about “the narrative” a lot here, which I'm mostly using to mean the perceived author of Homestuck, that is, the person who writes the narration, controls who to focus on and how the plot plays out, etc. I say "the narrative" instead of "Hussie" because 1. Hussie is a literal character within the comic and I'm not referring to them there and 2. I don't think they intended everything I'm going to say "the narrative" pushes here, even if their vitriol towards Jake was very much deliberate. It's important to have a term for this as Hussie's background as the specific type of Internet Poster they were greatly impacts how Homestuck is written- in Jake's case, how the reader is made to perceive his character.

OK onto the actual analysis.

(One of) the whole point(s) of Jake is that he conceptualizes himself in certain ways that aren't reflected in the reality of his actions. Specifically, he thinks of himself as some grandiose, charismatic action hero, even though in reality he’s just kind of a nerdy teen who watches movies all day. There are many reasons he views himself that way, but most relevantly to this post he’s raised solely on media to influence his worldview, and therefore both consciously and unconsciously assimilates the roles of movie character archetypes onto how he thinks of real people. This is easily mapped onto Jake’s perception of himself as a “man”, as (most of) the men he knows are the rough-and-tumble, kick ass adventure type. He thinks that since these are traits of men, and since he is a man, he must inherently be that way as well- even though in actuality, he's done very little to show it.

By the narrative’s standards, Jake makes a lot of mistakes as someone who wants to be considered a “man”. He idolizes female heroes alongside male ones (most likely influenced by Grandma English’s being his first model of what a hero should be), even going so far as to dress like them. He’s not ashamed of his attraction to men. In fact, he's open about his attraction to what the narrative considers to be abnormal (I know in the real world, an attraction to "blue women" would be regarded as incredibly tame, but considering what Homestuck considers a furry it's safe to say the standard of deviance is rather low. I think the emphasis on Neytiri is meant to accentuate Jake's affinity towards blue woman as "weird", especially as the narration highlights her nonhuman anatomy and she's repeatedly described as "furry"). The narrative punishes him for these traits, often in ironic ways. He is given a skimpy, uncomfortable, god tier outfit meant to objectify him (reminiscent of how women are objectified in the movies he likes), he messes up his relationship with Dirk so bad he convinces himself he's not attracted to anyone*, and he is embarrassingly awkward with the real-life blue alien girl he meets. Sincerity, especially among male characters, is often unforgivable to Homestuck.

*To clarify, what I think is happening when Jake says he's not "capable" of romantic attraction is that he's trying to convince himself he can't feel attraction, because he doesn't want to have a relationship where he hurts people/other people hurt him that bad ever again. I don't think it's "wrong" to interpret him as aromantic, and I especially don't think aromanticism should be treated as a "punishment". I just don't think of him as such.

Jake’s whole SBURB adventure is the narrative repeatedly, humiliatingly tearing down Jake’s perception of himself by placing him into situations wherein he is shown to fail to uphold it, both internally to the characters and externally to the reader. The “charismatic” part of his persona is all but demolished in his conversations with Aranea, as well as his relationships with the Alpha kids in the void session. In the Game Over timeline while Gamzee is fighting Terezi, all Jake can bring himself to do is politely ask him to stop. His most damning blow comes in his confrontation with Crockertier Jane, as he fails twofold at what a “man” would do in his place- he doesn’t want to fight her, and he doesn’t want to have sex with her. His admission of “not wanting to be a man and not wanting to punch her in the face” at BGD’s pestering is the narrative finally succeeding at pressuring him into admitting he’s too weak for the standards of masculinity imposed on him, or put another way, that he’s not a "man” at all. (Relevantly, BGD functions as both a Dirk [a character praised for his adherence to masculinity] analogue and Jake’s internal monologue, proving Jake is aware and ashamed of himself in the moment and that he thinks his friends would most likely judge him too). Once the narrative has proven Jake has failed at the standards of masculinity, it forces him into what he, and the reader, would understand as positions typically held by female characters in media (objectifying him, assaulting him, etc.).

Jake is often treated as “silly” and “stupid”, both outright and insidiously. He's the kid who grew up on an island, isolated from society, and therefore doesn't understand how the world "really" operates. He also shares Caliborn's unspecified "learning disorder", which in the narrative's terms, is just another reason he's out of touch. The more characters who think of him as stupid or ignorant, the more Jake's autonomy is diminished- how can he claim to know anything about his identity when he so disconnected from reality? Jake's continual crying falls into this too, as large displays of emotions are often conflated with stupidity, or at the very least irrationality.

All of this is so resonant for me as a transmasc person, especially since Homestuck is so influenced by internet culture. I was never a forum goer but I did a lot of digital self harm on Reddit and the sentiment that transmasc people are stupid, fanciful, confused teen girls that only want to be men because they want to imitate characters in media is (was? I try not to go on Reddit anymore) very common in those types of spaces. (This is amplified if you read Jake as autistic [as I do] as the “confused autistic teen girl” is unfortunately a very prevalent transphobic stereotype). Anyone who did not live up to a very specific caliber of toxic masculinity (wearing only masculine clothes, being attracted exclusively to women, repressing grand acts of emotions, etc.) was labeled as faking, and often subject to misogynistic harassment. I hope by now you can see how this connects to Jake.

(One of the reasons) why John's conversation with Jake in Act 6 Act 6 is so important to resolving his character is that John shows Jake that there's more than one way to be a man. John introduces a new type of masculinity to Jake, that of a "side kick", evidently referencing Robin, as he contrasts this archetype with "bat man". He recontextualizes his outfit meant to objectify him as something this character would wear. Robin- and therefore this role of the "side kick"- is still very much a male character who is allowed to be male even though he's goofy instead of a chiseled, emotionally repressed paradigm of masculinity. Jake shows a lot of joy at inhabiting this idea.

In summary, transmasc Jake is an extrapolation of the themes of how the narrative punishes Jake for not meeting the expectations of masculinity put upon him. There are other reasons why I view Jake as transmasc, but this is the most important one to me, as it's the most poignant. There are few stories that portray the experience of growing up on the internet, fewer specifically with a transmasculine lens, and even fewer that discuss the hardships of doing so in both cases. Ironically, the narrative's contempt towards Jake made for a more realistic, and therefore more evocative, experience for me.

Of course, not all transmasc people are going to view it that way, so please don't generalize. I like seeing negative experiences reflected in media, but not all people do. Also, I don't want to give Hussie credit for all of this- some (probably most) of what I talked about was legitimately intended to be bigoted, or at least rooted in bigoted assumptions. Homestuck is a text you should read critically, as it is embedded in its author's history, for the better and for the worse.

This isn’t even the tip of the iceberg concerning both transmasc Jake and especially Jake analysis in general so hopefully more posts to come. Also, despite the fact I didn’t go into them much as characters in this post, know I am a staunch Jane and Dirk defender (crockertier Jane is not really representative of Jane and BGD is not really representative of Dirk. I also don't think Jake is perfect or anything). They are also both transmasc but that's a post for a different day.

[analteredme]

Info!

Welcome to my altered blog! This is a place for me to explore my sexual and kinkier side! It should be obvious, but for clarity, this blog is 18+! Additionally, no homophobia/ transphobia/sexism/racism/etc is tolerated here!

Me:

23

bisexual (or pansexual, maybe?)

amab and use he/him pronouns (though I’m not picky)

very nerdy

very weird

neurodivergent

open to all asks/dms/etc (both sfw and nsfw)!

Below you'll find my likes/dislikes as well as kink info and some random rambling!

Likes:

Pretty much everything nerdy (science, math, etc)

Pretty much everything geeky (D&D, books, math, etc)

Pretty much everything where I can be creative (writing, drawing, developing, etc)

Music (ranging from old pop to weird rock to extreme metal and much more)

Games (video games, tabletop games, board games, card games, rolaplaying games, etc)

Probably lots more

Dislikes:

Rude people

The passing of time

That’s pretty much it tbh

Kinks:

All kinks require a safe environment and enthusiastic consent! If you can’t or won’t respect that, please go away.

Romantic cute and passionate stuff

Bondage (ropes, blindfolds, leather, etc)

Sadism & Masochism

Voyeurism & Exhibitionism

Exposure

Submission and following orders

Spit and drool

Cum and cum play

Somnophilia

Sneaking around and secretive play

Touching over clothes (dick bulge my beloved)

Roleplay (including text-based)

Limits:

Scat

Diapers

Pregnancy (breeding talk is okay though)

Anything immoral/illegal

Since I’m new to a lot of this (both kink stuff and tumblr in general) I honestly don’t know a whole lot of terms, so these are just the things I thought of and know of. If it’s not on any of the lists I’m either indifferent, don’t know too much, or I just forgot about it lol. Feel free to ask and I’ll let you know my thoughts!

Extra Rambling:

While I initially started this blog to post some things I found hot here and there, it’s now also a place to share some thoughts of mine and also some pics of myself. Like I said, I’m sorta new to this stuff, and I’m also new to tumblr in general, so I don’t really know what I’m doing. While I mentioned some of my non-sexual interests in this post, the majority of this blog is going to be sexual stuff. I obviously have more to me than just this, but this blog is specifically for exploring that aspect of my personality. If you’d like to get to know me outside of this side, feel free to message me! I’ll talk to you here about pretty much anything :) which leads me to my next point.

I’m very open for questions and chatting! This goes for sexy stuff to kink stuff to completely random stuff, and also goes for mutuals and everyone else, though mutuals get priority. Send me anything and everything! Be nice of course, and if you want to send or receive pics one-on-one, have a conversation with me first.

(Also yes my name and intro sentence is a reference to King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard songs/albums, bonus points for you if you caught this, let me know! These points are redeemable for… things 😳)

[almalvo]

STAR TREK: DISCOVERY | S1E3 "Context Is For Kings"

[I will react to each episode individually and in full, raw reception and then post as is unrevised here onto my tumblr for the full span of every and all NuTrek episodes and series that have been and will be released. If this falls under your field of interest - I welcome your company in joining me. Enjoy the ride.] -------

Rated "mature" huh. [suspicious face] man seeing the starfleet symbol ugh man look outside its so pretty i love the colours i keep saying this but i looooove the colourssss ugh these effects are so are SOOO whoa nice suit on the pilot the filming style is odd in DISCO pacing wise rn still but whats cool is it no longer feels like that almost stagnant "another day in star trek" type feeling. everything feels very specialised episode by episode - very "limited series" - cuz it is. what ship is this it looks kinda like an idic pin from underneath NCC OH SHIT ITS THE SHIPPPPPP OHHHHHH FUUUUUUUUUCKKKKKKKKKKKK THIS IS DISCOVERY?!!?!??!?!??! OH MFUCK ITS NAME IS AFTER A SHIP YEAH OK DUH BUT ALSO WHAT THE FUCK ugh this intro listen youll read this probably the next 50 times over how i just gawk at the everything that im eating right now with my eyeballs the Discovery ship has such an odd shape no but its literally IDIC the ship but also its SOOO cool to see the evolution of the ship designs until we land at the PERFECT ratio of NCC-1701 Enterprise.

fuck that just made me think - oh SHIT---

ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh who HO\ WHO WHO LEADS THIS SHIP WHO WHOOOOOOOOOO LEEEAAAAAAADS THHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS SHHSHSIIIIIPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP whoa eyes with pretty reflection/not reflection nvm who is this????????? gabriel lorca? ok sry not to be underwhelmed but i am too eager its my fault alright mr. lorca - lets see what you about. i have never seen someone just eat fortune cookies like an everyday snack in a wooden bowl. discovery has a very interesting feeling, more..

door just shut in her face wow WHO ELSE IS ON THIS MASSIVE SHIP THOUGH NO NO NO ALSO ITS A FUCKING SCIENCE VESSEL. SCIENCE. VESSEL. SCIENCE. Whos this lady? aw she seems cute sylvia tilly? aw poor gal id shake her hand yo i like these beds mickey nah nahhh no thanks sylvia. sylvia. listen. dont be weird now. black alert. intersting what the hell ? its so PRETTY THOUGH whoaaaaa WHAOSSSS WHOAAA yeah no WHAT the hell IS going on on this ship please do tell??? new replicator hi saruuuu he is very fitting as first officer what are you eating? hahahahahhahha wow they nailed that one blueberries huh yeahhhh not me thinkin he eating larvae or somethin nope no sirrr i like the bowl hes eats from from though ugh hes so TALLLLL hes such a nice stick

idk why the title image of this show with burnham giving the vulcan salute only NOW is hitting me with its potential significance

fearing a black woman huh idk bruh come on now star trek not today bro not today

stamets why does this name sound familiar tf is this so fuckin weird though must we be so discriminatory tho lmao this stamets? whats this sparkle wahts happening stamets are you gay sir are you gay damn sir wonder what you gon do also burnham giving the vulcan brow ugh itll be so cool to have holographic text though? man how can we get that to work without a backlight of aerosol straal? straal and stamets. excuse me. ARE YALL LOVERS ??? ARE YALL A'LOVIN??? KISSY KISSY? YALL BOYFREEENNNNS??? lurkers lol ok. lurker such a fuckin nerdy word lmaooo stamets and straal huh. i got my EYES on you ew also give me that starfleet towel WHERE ARE YOU BURNHAM THIS LOOKS SO FUCKING BEUATIFUL OH MY GOD I HAVE ENVISIONED SOMETHING SO MUCH LIKE THIS ONBOARD STARFLEET SHIPS LIKE WE ALL HAVE OH MY GOD that put a chilll through my spine in a wonderful way

lorca has a mouth and rbf eyes like Homelander his face kind of reminds me of homelander lmaoo hi sylvia yall need to smile a bit mroe lol you better apologise the green screening is almost perfect but the border is still there the border of sylvias face against the greenscreen behidn the glass is too hard when its blue outside when irl the face woul have a light that really diffuses about the curfature of her face anwyays astromycologist fascinating. i like what hes talking about though tickles the science degree in me hahaha man what is this research im so curious what project is lorca up to? ugh so juicy im SOOO curious ugh shuttlepod looks fucking sexy. alright whos gonna die in here. whos the redshirt in this away party. whoaaa the mangling is nicee WHAT WAS THAT oml star trek horror though is SUCH a grand idea fuckkkk meeeee bruh this deadspace or what no lie i like the OG bat'leth design more of the blades splayed INWARDS than out

thats big bruh this is liteally deadspace its not gorn in here right lol its not right idk gorn gorn. gorn can do this right thats the first thing i thought when i saw any of this damage. sylvia you brave owowowoww NEVER MIND WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT someone give me a star trek indie horror game RIGHT NOW DO IT ill fucking do it if no one does ill fucking DO IT. oop well guess we know who the redshirt is. broo the way their bodies are twisted like that is wickedddd i dont think ive seen bodies STRETCHED and wrung like a towel before stamets is so calm he dont give no fuck. stamets my man what have you BEEN through?

big space mole looks like a fuckin cow-size tardigrade JEFFERIES TUUUUUBEEE burnham's composure is crazy ugh she recitin what? it better not be another "literary classic" bullshit. this is literally a giant tardigrade. ugh look at the bridgee i love this shot from the outside in why it blurry at the end tho ay ooo who this freeza droid XD GIVE ME THOSE BOOTS YO i want my room to be the bridge oh my god if i had money id remodel my house and make my room the bridge the viewscreen would be my personal theatre fucking bigass monitor projection did I hear that--- TRI TRIBBBLEEEEE EAAAAAAAAAAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAA THAT IS A FUCKINGGGG TRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE ONNNNNNNNNNN HIIIIIIS DESSSSSSSSSSKKKKKKK they really are just having this conversation with a tribble just chillin on his desk son. i knew that sound anywhere oh my god GIVE ME ONE RIGHT NWO GIVE ME A BLACK ONE RIGHT NOW.

FUCK. bye tribbleee oooo in-ship transport what is this box what is the research what the fuck is happening. that is so pretty ohh intersting organic propulsion this is fascinaatingggg oh i really like this lorca has great delivery i BELIEVE in his role god the magic of masterful actors. love it WHOA THIS IS TOO FUCKING BEAUTLFUL NOOOOOO TAKE ME AWAYYYYY oh i love this pacing just now this whole scene was so good im so enamoured right now ugh its so nice to see creative cinematography why the tendrils on saru though what purpose do they serve wtf man wonder if we gon have more that typical star trek alien sexy-time lmaooooo ugh alice in wonderland really when we done with this shit :/ sylvia you wanna be captain? u know what - maybe you might be. if you dont die getting there. (you didnt hear that from me ahurghurghurgunrguhg-)

FOSTER FOSTER MOM AND HER SON??? YOU GREW UP WITH SPOCK????? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA WHAT THE FUCKKKKKKKKKKKK WHYYYYYYYYYY HOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWW TWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO YOU TELLIN ME BURNHAM IS KIRK'S SISTER IN LAW GET THE FUCK OUT

imn losin it whoa dead spcimens who whats in ITS THE GIANT TARDIGRADE sir you did this on purpose what you plannin lorca whats your grand design ughhh the scale of this ship though ugh EAT ME UP no i like that scene a lot though the one with cap lorca talking to burnham in the box - please intellectual star trek lore on mainstream play with modern techonological representation PLEASE oh im so intriguedddddddd.

bring it the fuck on.

kirk's sister in law, what even the fuck--

[jira-chii]

The moment the One Piece anime becomes art

(Big spoiler warning for the One Piece Wa no Kuni arc, around the episode 1070 mark of the anime. Yes, I know the manga is better, but what I am about to talk about is a little more special for viewers of the anime, and fans of animation in general.)

For the tldr, this twitter post covers a lot of the things I am about to talk about.

One Piece is great. You don't need me to say it. So I'll cut right to the chase. The moment One Piece transcends being a run-of-the-mill (and sometimes kind of mediocre) anime, and becomes art, is when Gear 5 is introduced.

Is this a hot take? I honestly don’t know. Gear 5 is goofy, it’s weird. It’s so different from traditional mainstream shounen anime. I’m sure it’s an abomination to hardcore Japanese anime purists. 

But it is also a brilliant example of storytelling by using visual animation to its full potential. It weaves together so many complex ideas, and even carries an important message for the anime industry in general.

What do I mean by ‘art’?

Obviously this is a subjective question and I am using the term ‘art’ very liberally. I am actually referring to something called ‘textual integrity’.

Textual integrity is when all the elements that comprise a text work together to faithfully deliver on its author’s intent, from start to finish. It’s when recurring symbols, dialogue and story beats in a novel or movie start to match up. Or when the colour palette of a painting works in harmony with its motifs to convey a mood or idea. It’s the kind of thing that makes you think: “Oh! So that’s what that was about!” when you notice. Sometimes it even gives you a new point of view on the topic.

Dissecting each of these elements, trying to work out what they say on their own and how they play their role in the bigger picture, is one of my favourite embarrassingly nerdy activities. So please indulge me as I explore just some of the many, many elements that make up the colourful tapestry that is One Piece’s Wa no Kuni arc. 

(And please note, my interpretation is just one of many - that’s just part of the fun of analysing art!)

How the 'idea' of Wano is built

The Wa no Kuni arc (which I’ll abbreviate to Wano arc) is, much like many other main arcs in One Piece, about the fight for leadership over a country. 

The history of how Wano came to be in its current state is framed through the story of Oden. Oden, the former Shogun, was executed before he could fulfil his goal of opening up the land of Wano. With his death, the country is plunged into a dark age, where the poor starve and are forced to slave away for Kaido’s benefit. But Oden’s son, Kouzuki Momonosuke, manages to escape to the future along with a band of loyal retainers. They enlist the help of pirates and return to free Wano.  

That was a very bare bones summary, but it does give an overview of some of the ideas the arc explores: leadership, succession, rebellion etc. The conflict for Wano’s future is most starkly characterised by its two competing leaders - current ruler Kaido, and Momonosuke, the son of the previous Shogun. And nowhere is this more obvious than in their character designs.

Momo and Kaido are both eastern-style dragons, but that’s where the similarity ends. They are totally different in almost every other way: different colours, different sizes (initially), different levels of confidence, and importantly, different ideals. This is because they represent different values as potential leaders for the one country: Kaido wants to keep the country closed and turn it into a weapons factory for his own benefit, while Momo wants to free the people, and (after some deliberation), seems likely to follow in his father’s footsteps and eventually open the country. 

This arc has elements of a war story about national identity, it explores what true leadership looks like, it has tons of political intrigue, spying and sabotage, and it even serves as both a coming of age and a revenge story for Momonosuke. The clash between Kaido and Momonosuke on its own is already a compelling narrative. There’s a clear preference in this conflict too. How often have we heard the Akazaya Samurai serving Momo be referred to as the ones who will bring Wano out of the neverending night into a new dawn? 

There’s a solid good vs evil formula right there. But then we throw pirates into the mix and things get...slightly more complicated…

How pirates complicate things

The Wano arc primarily centres around a domestic power struggle. From an outsider’s perspective, the Straw Hat pirates are a foreign party that basically overthrow Wano’s current Shogun to reinstate their preferred ruler. 

Politically speaking, this looks bad, and Luffy knows it. Pirates really should have no business meddling in the affairs of other governments. That’s why the deliberate move to not be portrayed as heroes is a smart one. 

There’s another meta layer to this decision as well. Wano Kuni is very clearly based on the forced opening of sakoku Japan to the Western world. It would have been so dangerously easy to go down the path of a simple story about the pirates ‘saving’ Wano and ‘enlightening’ them to the outside world. But unproblematically portraying a ‘foreigner’ as the big strong saviour of a country clearly based on Japan definitely has problematic Eurocentric overtones!

In One Piece, pirates are not heroes. But it can be easy to forget that when your main character is such an incredibly likeable pirate. Trying to reconcile these two seemingly opposing facts is really, really hard, and Oda definitely does not choose to take the easy way out!

And yet, Wano arc goes a long way to conveying the nuance of this message. Through the careful interweaving and layering of its plot, symbols, motifs, character designs, character arcs and more, everything culminates to lead us to the final answer: Gear 5. 

Wa

I know that sounds like a joke title but I promise it’s not.

‘Wa no Kuni’ translates to “the Country of Wa”. It is never mentioned what ‘Wa’ actually means, but the most obvious interpretation would be ‘Japan’. ‘Wa’ commonly refers to “japanese style”, as in wagashi 和菓子 (Japanese sweets) or wafuku 和服 (Japanese clothes).

The character Wa 和 by itself can also mean peace or harmony, and this is the interpretation that stands out to me. Because I think this is a concept that also captures the complexity of One Piece itself. 

‘Wa’ to me is about finding peace through harmony, but when the world is as complex as it is, that harmony requires us to embrace, rather than reject contradiction. 

Have you noticed Wano arc includes many recurring motifs that contrast, conflict and seemingly contradict each other?

For instance, I mentioned previously that our ‘heroes’, the Akazaya Samurai under Kouzuki Momonosuke, were commonly associated with heralding the new dawn. In fact, the ‘Kou’ 光 in Kouzuki 光月 is the character for light!

But the ‘zuki’ 月 part is actually ‘moon’. Isn’t it strange that the clan that we are supposed to be rooting for, the band of ‘heroes’ who will bring about a “new dawn”, is associated with ‘moonlight’?

This concept is extended further, in the design of Gear 5 no less! It is explained that the Fishmen worshipped a previous incarnation of Luffy’s new form as the Sun God Nika, however our introduction to Luffy in Nika’s iconic pose is against a moon. 

This is not a coincidence. Did you notice the Kouzuki clan symbol includes a sun as well?

We're not just exploring the duality of the sun and moon either. Gear 5 is actually a mix of Eastern and Western influences. The animation very much seems inspired by Western slapstick cartoons, but the visual design is reminiscent of fuujin and raijin gods, with even a bit of that komainu lion dog influence. 

And while the cloud shawl/scarf coupled with Gear 5’s moon association evokes Asian moon goddesses, don’t you think “Nika” sounds awfully similar to Nike, the Greek Goddess of Victory?

The Eastern symbolism clearly represents Wano, while the Western bits are everything else. We see something similar with Izou’s character design: his style of dress is distinctly Wano (Japanese) style, but his chosen weapon is a gun, a symbol of the outside (Western) world. The mix of Wano and non-Wano influences tells us this is somebody who has embraced both parts of his identity. 

It is fitting then, that Gear 5 should also incorporate a blend of diverse influences, representing the melting pot of creatures, races, time periods, hopes and desires that make up the alliance ultimately responsible for ushering in Wano's 'new dawn'. It’s even possible to see links in the design to the Minks (moon symbolism and predominantly white colour scheme) as well as the Fishmen (Nika already established as the sun god worshipped by former slaves).

Gear 5 encapsulates 'Wa' because it embraces chaos and makes it work. Who could ask for a better god-figure, to represent the insane group we can only call the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai alliance? 

When I first started Wano, I thought it would be a story of hope in the future overcoming the darkness of the past. I thought this would be a story about teaching a country to let go of traditions that it held onto too tightly, and wholly embrace the unknown (I too am sometimes at risk of developing a Eurocentric mindset...and I'm Asian).

I was wrong, of course. Nobody let go of tradition. It's more complex than that. Momo's insistence on trying not to rely too hard on the Straw Hats symbolises that (which is also why I find Luffy being forced into claiming Wano as his territory just to protect them under the Yonkou system a little uncomfortable, but that’s a story for another day).

Opening oneself up to new experiences does not mean completely discarding your past. Momo has physically changed, but he is still Momo. Yamato is still trying to be Oden, but he will do it in his way. The history of what lays beneath Wano has been passed on to the new generation. All of this will influence Wano's future moving forward.

Harmonising complexity starts with accepting it. The past matters. Everything that has happened, no matter how terrible or beautiful, has resulted in what we see, hear and feel today. And all of that, regardless of how hard people try to hide it, will continue to matter in shaping the future.

'Wa' is not just Luffy's answer to Wano. In true textual integrity fashion, 'Wa' encapsulates the philosophy of One Piece, and I think it also conveys Oda's wishes for Japan as well as the world.

'Wa' captures the complexity of what being a pirate is; how a leader should act; what freedom means; what chasing your dreams looks like; what it is to live. And none of it is sunshine and rainbows.

The world is complicated. It is chaotic. There is no sense in distinguishing black from white, good from evil, or even the sun from the moon. Everything is mushed together to create this terrible, beautiful mess. ‘Wa’ is an answer full of contradictions, and yet there is this harmonious balance within the chaos, a perfect reflection of our imperfect, complex world.

I do love that there is a side character named Hamlet in this arc, because this writing is nothing less than Shakespearean. But the reason I call Gear 5 art is not purely because of the writing alone.

Let's get meta

Alright, we’re going to step away from the story, get a little bit meta, and talk about the presentation of the arc as a whole, including how it is structured.

Wano Kuni is depicted in a way to deliberately evoke imagery and symbolism of Japan: even before we reach the country, the crew are assaulted by carp and great waves, clearly inspired by Hokusai’s own; the lineart is stylised to look like calligraphy; and the music utilises shamisen and koto, which fits in perfectly with how the whole arc is structured like a traditional kabuki play, right down to the red, green and black curtains that frame the start of each clearly marked Act. 

Everything presentation-wise in this arc has been carefully prepared to make it feel as Japanese as possible. Why is why when Gear 5, in all its cartoonish, physics-defying glory, appeared so suddenly in the middle of what had been primed to be the most Japanese anime set in basically Edo Japan, it was a bit of an understatement to say I was definitely caught off-guard!

It felt like I had fallen for a trap. In the middle of watching my kabuki play, suddenly I realised it was I who was being played all along...

And that’s the point!

Gear 5 is pretty much the least anime thing to happen to the One Piece anime. At the climax of the arc, we do not get the full satisfaction of a badass final fight like one would expect at this point of the story. Instead, we get the most cartoonish and batshit insane sequence I have ever seen in One Piece.

It is downright insulting to Kaido, who had been built up to be this huge, menacing final boss. Gear 5 essential reduced him to a googly-eyed snek - the poor thing even got blown up like a balloon at one point!

The closest thing I can compare it to is the Davy Back Fight arc. But doing Looney Tunes shenanigans during the looney-by-nature Davy Back Fight is a totally different story to doing Looney Tunes right in the midst of the tension of seeing a whole country’s beacon of hope fall in battle against their oppressor. 

The contrast is stark, it is shocking, it is tonally subversive, and unexpected. It is such a deviation from what we are used to.

...And yet, isn’t it glorious, that when Luffy basically reaches god-status, he not only decides to break the rules of anime physics, but the rules of mainstream anime as well?

One Piece, through Gear 5, is subverting the shounen anime battle formula. And while I don’t know if Oda intended for the animation to be so starkly western, I am absolutely certain it was what the animator’s intended. 

Because this deviation from the norm is sending a message, not only to anime fans, but to individual artists, animators, storytellers and creators in general. And that includes the big animation studios. 

The message is important: break free from the status quo. There are no clear lines that define what anime can and cannot be. Let japanese animation take inspiration from western animation, and vice-versa. In fact, this is something that should be encouraged of all animation. 

One Piece is encouraging us all to experiment and surpass our boundaries. It is telling us that even a smash hit mainstream shounen anime can still break all the rules and be not only successful, but create something unique and new and truly, truly special…even if some people think the result is a little bit ugly. 

If that’s not art, I don’t know what is. And I am so, so happy One Piece did it. 

[torposopla]

List 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the askbox for the last 10 people who liked or reblogged something from you! Get to know your mutuals and followers ⭐️

I'm going to say that when I got this I was like very very happy but also really torn because i'm really down and depressed lately to feel happy 😔 but you are a literal angel 🥺 you know it 🫶🏼

Things that I think make me happy:

1. When my mom starts laughing really loud because she was watching something really funny on the tv or a movie or when is something really weird and random like when we watched "Nobody will save you" and she laughed everytime an alien was killed lmao.

2. When I spend quality time with my sisters but is like better when we are the three of us being weird and nerdy talking over the hobbies we share that is watching anime/movies and reading books, comics and manga and the fact that the three of us are already adults so we are not afraid of sharing and talking about the questionable content we watch/read.

3. Reading about my very favorite characters I bias in the silly romance games I play. For the kind of person I'm in real life (very black cat) I'm soo much into romance stuff and it makes me incredible fluffy to read about my favs and getting audios and text msj from this characters. I'm confident I can do a tedtalk about this characters and games or write a powerpoint and I think all this is very funny.

4. Dancing alone when nobody is watching and dancing to weird music like bellydance/bollywood/balkan/tribal and salsa/bachata/zumba/etc... I don't know how to dance to half of this but I'll do it anyway.

5. Makes me really happy when I get to interact with my mutuals here even if I'm really shy because I think everyone is soo cool and I'm a loser lol but I really really like and share stuff from my mutuals because it makes very happy and I agree with them. Also makes me happy when I post stuff and I get a ton of notes from people and is all very positive feedback and I love when people spam my notifications because someone liked absolutely all my post about an specific topic, this people deserve more love back 🫶🏼

[milfweirdal]

Weird Al 30 Day Challenge!

took the liberty of adapting my weird al ask game for a 30 day posting challenge. here's a handy dandy graphic i whipped up for it

if you decide to do it, please feel free to reblog this/tag me, i am so curious and nosy about everyones answers 😁

questions text underneath the cut!

Day 1: how did you first get into weird al? what was the first song you heard?

Day 2: what was the last song by al you listened to?

Day 3: favourite album? (you can pick more than one for the favourites questions)

Day 4: favourite song parody?

Day 5: favourite style parody/original?

Day 6: favourite album artwork?

Day 7: favourite polka medley?

Day 8: favourite unreleased/concert only song?

Day 9: favourite Ridiculously Self-Indulgent Ill-Advised Vanity Tour cover song?

Day 10: favourite music video?

Day 11: favourite ALTV interview?

Day 12: favourite member of The Band?

Day 13: favourite of his recurring jokes (e.g. the number 27, crazed animal attacks, being nerdy, food jokes, etc etc)

Day 14: favourite fandom event or in-joke? (e.g. getting him a star on the Hollywood walk of fame, Alcon, etc.)

Day 15: which song do you personally relate to the most?

Day 16: a song you think is underrated?

Day 17: a song that gets stuck in your head a lot?

Day 18: what song/s would you show people if they had never heard of weird al before?

Day 19: has al parodied any of your favourite bands/musicians?

Day 20: have you ever made any weird al-related fanart? (share/link if you feel comfortable doing so!)

Day 21: have you seen al live? if so, what was the experience like? which tour?

Day 22: What would your dream live setlist look like?

Day 23: have you met Al or any of the members of the band?

Day 24: do you own any physic-Al media? e.g. CD, vinyl, tapes.

Day 25: do you own any al merchandise? e.g. T-shirt, poster, action figure etc.

Day 26: do you have a "Lame Claim to Fame"?

Day 27: ever tried a twinkie wiener sandwich?

Day 28: al doesn’t accept other people's parody ideas (unless you're Madonna) but if he did, what song or style would you want him to parody?

Day 29: thoughts on the weird al yankovic cinematic universe (WAYCU) i.e. UHF, the biopic, The Compleat Al etc.?

Day 30: thoughts on the weird al yankovic televisual universe i.e. The Weird Al Show, ALTV, his numerous cameos, etc?