#semantics writes

[semantics-error]

Chapter 6 of This Tedious Misery, my Alan/Ray fic, is now posted! It's the second to last chapter and I'm still sad this one is ending even though it's much shorter than my usual chaptered fics! I hope you enjoy the ending for these two sad boys :)

[irisfixation]

it is generally understood within the adventuring community that some sort of contract should be preemptively made in order to protect oneself from an untimely death.

[original hypnosis fic, second-person narration from perspective of the subject. gender-neutral, little to no sexual content. please read accordingly, and enjoy.]

now, the act of seeking out such a contract, let alone the fact of its normalization, would have been taboo a few decades past. "we don't negotiate with pact-entities", the old elders crow; anti-demon and anti-fae rhetoric was accepted as the norm.

it only took looking at the rate of mortality, the expenditures of the local church, and getting over themselves to at last shake up the in-culture of heroics.

of course, that didn't mean they weren't diligent with their new protocols; information on prospective patrons was inscribed down in ledgers half phone book and half grimoire, noting the terms of agreement, the trustworthiness of pact-entity after pact-entity, any bargain a little too faustian struck through in red.

you'd watch your peers peer through the book, discussing the pros and cons of each. was an unlucky fate too much to pay? were compulsions too obstructive, did the bodily changes contrast too much with one's self-identity?

of course, they all ended up choosing sooner or another. better that than dying young and alone.

it was under this sort of necessity that you went to the house.

-------

it was closer to home than you expected, really - you anticipated some kind of ominous manor on the cliffs, or secluded cabin by the forest's edge, so the three minute walk from the town square came as a welcome surprise. its residence looked the same as any other lodging - you'd no doubt walked past it on your regular commutes countless times without batting an eye.

you knocked, and the door fell open, as if it had been awaiting your arrival; afternoon sunlight bouncing off the gossamer-thin threads adorning the hallway.

make yourself at home, she says. i'll be upstairs when you're ready to talk. you nod and ask if there's any consequences for eating any food or drink. i promise you this; all food i've set out here is yours to eat and drink without consequence comes the reply; perhaps a little verbose from anyone else, but necessary caveats for a pact-entity's trust. you oblige.

with throat wet and stomach sated, you ascend the stairs. the bedroom is small, humble even; you've seen more expensive homes by far from some of your more show-off rivals. more fit for a pauper than the-

"than Her Lady of Marionettes?"

yeah.

"i never cared all too much for the trappings of nobility. i'm satisfied simply living in peace here."

then why the contracts?

"it's mutually beneficial, no? i quench my thirst for control for a time, and you don't meet any horrible, lonely fates. it's no different from any other line of work."

more reasonable than any would-be evil queen you've ever met, let alone one considered an enemy to the hero's guild not so long ago.

"please. i never cared all too much for that arrangement."

she rolls in her bed to face you. despite her role, she looks little different from your sister or partner; eyes still closed, hands still set upon her crosses.

-------

you discuss business. she will string you up, she says; and then, if she were to find yourself in an otherwise fatal scenario, she will pull your body back, mend you, even clear your mind from any hostile entities trying to take it over.

what do each of you get out of this?

"i get to observe the world through your eyes. i get the joy of commanding a body beyond my own. you cede a small, negotiated amount of control, and in return you are freed from tragedy's grasp forevermore."

it sounded like a hell of a better deal than half of the faustian bargains you saw other contract-entities propose.

"if you'd like, we can provide a demonstration here and now. no permanent alterations, and you can back out any time you wish. is that amenable?"

it does indeed sound amenable.

-------

you're sitting by her side on the bed. she's set her crosses down in place of a needle she holds deftly between thumb and forefinger, pinched together like a bee ready to sting. "hold your left arm out, please? we'll begin now."

you do so, and she passes the needle through skin. you feel it travel up across the veins in your wrist, her other hand steadying you in place with the tenderness of lily-petals. your elbow twitches as it passes through; the nerves firing once in shock, but no more. up through bicep, then shoulder; and then out, a release in pressure from within as the needle finally leaves your insides, leaving a trail of silken fibres behind it.

she plucks the taut string left in its wake, and your arm twitches with it, pulled from within. "see? no pain at all."

next is the right arm, then the legs. she flutters around you like a sprite alighting upon forest blossoms, soft fingers and steel-precise nails moving you, adjusting your wrist or shoulders or rotation with studious diligence. the intimacy of being studied and guided like this is almost palpable.

"...and, done." she declares, finishing a line of thread across the shoulders and through the nape of the neck. "well, how is it? comfortable, right?"

"yes, miss", you are made to say; and then, immediately, recall the strings through your upper and lower lip alike, a third running through the seam in your tongue. right. you move your eyes to meet hers; she's smiling brightly, but it's more the naive smile of a child than the former evil queen's smirk you expected. the effect is equal amounts unsettling and genuinely cute.

"well, let's begin." she picks up her crosses again, and with one subtle rotation of a hand's balance, she guides you.

it's easy to follow through. your right arm raises with a poise and natural nature that shocks you, outstretched to one side. she returns her hand to neutral, and your arm falls back once again, more sudden and limp than you were expecting.

("excellent", she says.)

with that first test done, she guides you down the stairs. your eyes are still your own, so some reflexive part of you fidgets as your body glides down each flight of steps; you have no control over if you fall or not. she could throw you down the stairs now, and you'd be helpless; passenger in your own tumbling body.

but she doesn't. your hand remains firmly upon the balustrade, and your every footstep is delivered with care. by the time you reach the landing, your heart may be pounding, but you're just glad to have made it through.

("well done," crows her voice.)

the near-invisible threads all throughout your body continue to urge you forward - sometimes single strings tugging suddenly, but other times shifting in a steady unison, almost imperceptible from your body's natural movements save that no thought of your own guides it. you're in the kitchen, before too long - a rack of dried dishes shows that she, too, has been here recently. your fingers and palm grasp onto each bowl and glass, one by one, filing them away in procedure through the unfamiliar house.

with your body outside of your control, you'd think your mind would wander to idle thoughts; to the birdsong from beyond the window, perhaps, or to thoughts of how your companions are faring in their own attempts to find their own contracts. but all thoughts seem to be silenced by each consequent string's plucking, a resonance within yourself that numbs your brain under its force.

before you know it, the rack of dishes is clear, and you are ascending the stairs again. it's less scary going up, and she knows it; she takes each step faster now, with a fluidity of movement that your legs accept graciously. there is no joint pain, no hesitation - each step is placed with pinpoint precision, each movement following the next.

a puppet's dance, you think; then dismiss the idea just as quickly. you're just here to obtain insurance from danger, not to humor thoughts like that.

she's lying back down on the bed when you arrive - exposing her back to you, vulnerable. but her hands are still outstretched, each one holding those crosses linked to the many strings pulled taut across, within, and around you. "welcome back", she tells you. "i trust it wasn't too uncomfortable?"

"no," you say, "it was fine."

"i'm glad to hear it!" she says, turning to smile at you. "and you took to it so well, too! good doll."

there's something about meeting her eyes as she says those last two words that feels different from everything prior. something deeper, like the strings are mycelial network growing their own nerves to entangle around yours, setting them alight in a microcosm dance, your whole body twitching just subtly as you are affixed within her gaze, burning up from the inside out-

"oh, my apologies. old habits die hard it would seem."

she doesn't gesture you to sit next to her, but your body does so, so you can assume it was her will all the same. she turns to you and explains that the demonstration has concluded; that the act of forming a pact with her is something you can now think of on your own, that you can return to her any time you need and in fact she'll completely understand if she never sees you again. she snips off the strings, one by one, with a pair of ornate scissors - the ones within will dissolve organically, she notes, metabolized by your own body. nothing to worry about.

you're not worrying. you're not thinking much at all, in the aftermath of everything that's happened. but she is patient, and you have all the time you need to recover.

-------

she walks you to the door and waves you out with a flourish. you're reminded of how mundane the house is, and now you can see that same mundanity in the Lady's face; no different from any number of passers-by through the town square.

"safe travels~!" she says, and you walk out the door; your steps faltering just a little as you once more acclimate to control over your own body.

well, for a contract patron, that wasn't so bad. and she seems well-meaning enough. maybe you'll go back there sometime again, you think to yourself, and shrug as you make your way home.

[thepunkmuppet]

the reason why transfem elias is my favourite theory for gwendolyn is because think about the implications.

so let’s say this alternate universe reveals that elias is actually transgender, and would present/identify as female if they had the opportunity to figure themself out and transition (elias was reportedly very young when jonah possessed them)

then the idea that in the tma universe they not only didn’t live long enough to do that, but THEIR BODY WAS TAKEN OVER BY SOMEONE ELSE WHO THEN PRESENTED IN A MASCULINE WAY AND LIVED AS A MAN USING THEIR FACE AND BODY FOR OVER TWENTY YEARS?!? FUCKING TERRIFYING

as a trans person myself, even though the real elias was dead the dysphoria that idea gives me is absolutely unreal, and really creeps into serious body/existential horror territory which i think would be really interesting and very in-character for a writer like jonny to explore.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: Semantic Change

Linguists have distinguished several kinds of semantic change. Four particularly important categories are given below (other types and examples include: euphemism, cliché, figurative language, and the various dimensions of "political correctness").

Lexeme - the smallest contrastive unit in a semantic system (run, cat, switch on); also called lexical item.

Extension or generalization. A lexeme widens its meaning. Numerous examples of this process have occurred in the religious field, where office, doctrine, novice, and many other terms have taken on a more general, secular range of meanings.

Narrowing or specialization. A lexeme becomes more specialized in meaning. Engine was formerly used in a general sense of ‘mechanical contrivance’ (especially of war and torture), but since the Industrial Revolution, it has come to mean ‘mechanical source of power’. Several of the terms of economics also show specialization.

Amelioration. A lexeme develops a positive sense of approval. Revolutionary, once associated in the capitalist mind with an undesirable overthrowing of the status quo, is now widely used by advertisers as a signal of desirable novelty. Lean no longer brings to mind emaciation but athleticism and good looks.

Pejoration or deterioration. A lexeme develops a negative sense of disapproval. Middle English villein neutrally described a serf, whereas Modern English villain is by no means neutral. Similarly, junta has acquired a sinister, dictatorial sense, and lewd (originally, ‘of the laity’) has developed a sense of sexual impropriety.

NOTES

Everyone knows that words can change their meaning.

Example: We do not need to have taken a course in semantics to hold a view about what has happened to "gay" since the 1960s.

Some strongly disapprove of the new meaning which this lexeme has developed; some welcome it; but all native speakers of English recognize that there has been a change, and are able to talk about it.

Semantic change is a fact of life.

And those who have had to study older works of literature, such as a Shakespeare play, will need no reminding of how much of the vocabulary has been affected by such changes.

Source ⚜ More References: Word Lists

[katsdynam1ght]

…? no because the child (touya) did NOT in fact have too much love for his father. what in the victim blaming fuck are you talking about 💀😭 a child should not be able to have too much love for their dad. enji neglecting him and pushing him away when he needed his love and validation does NOT mean that touya had an excess. his strong emotions and the fact he needed help with them does NOT equal ‘an excess’ love. what an insane thing to say. endeavor fans are like the one kind of person where i can’t separate fiction from reality when it comes to how i react to your opinions. because these takes are genuinely always so incredibly concerning when it comes to touya and rei

ok right off the bat, i’m going to assume that you, anon, as an endeavor hater, are not going to put any good faith effort into understanding what i’m saying at all. i am noting now that i do not owe you any kind of explanation on my post, nor on my opinion, and i genuinely could not care less about your inability to separate fiction from reality. in fact, i could not care less about your opinion as a whole.

that said, i do love pointing out when people intentionally misconstrue what i say, so let’s dive into this anyway, shall we? (as an aside, i do think it’s amusing that you sent this on anon. if you really think you’re justified in your opinion and not intentionally misreading my post, then why not come out and say that openly? interesting)

here we go: in my post, i did not ever say touya loved his father “too much”. i think you have a fundamental misunderstanding of what i meant about him having “an excess”. let me explain—

as someone with very intense emotions myself (pretty much everything i feel is either 0 or 100 with no in-between), what i mean by “an excess” is a level of obsession and fixation that yes, is harmful. no emotion is healthy when it is felt at such an extreme, ok? even the “positive” ones. an excess of love (obsession) can lead to all sorts of behaviors that do not benefit the giver or receiver.

if you want a different canonical example of this, look at seasons 1-2 izuku midoriya and how he feels about all might. he is obsessive, passionate, admiring, and yes—those feelings do benefit him in a lot of ways, but as gran torino observes during izuku’s internship, that admiration also holds him back. he’s fixated on doing things the way all might does them, on doing things to make all might proud, and as a result, he doesn’t realize his true potential. (this occurs again in s3 when he discovers he can use his legs)

this is also reflected in touya. he loves his father, yes! but there is (in his case) a level of obsession with said father (especially his hero identity) that ultimately harms touya (because it drives his need to be greater which in turn causes him to self-harm via his quirk).

nothing in my post was victim-blaming at all. it is not touya’s fault that enji responded poorly and neglected him. it’s not even his fault that he feels things with such intensity. the tragedy of it is that his intense love was not reciprocated in a way he could understand. as the tags on my original post said, “the problem has always been love mishandled, not missing love”. the love was there—it always has been, but touya did not know how to receive his father’s love, and his father in turn did not understand touya’s own.

beyond the red-flag goggles of endeavor hate, i’m really not sure how you misunderstood my post so badly, given that the central themes of it were A) touya suffered a different kind of abuse than shouto (neglect, not physical violence), and B) enji and touya have always had love for each other, but were never able to have that love expressed or felt properly (because touya’s required validation, and all enji wanted was for him to stop hurting himself).

anyway. if you’ve read this far and are interested in having an actual discussion about this, i’d be happy to talk more. goodness knows i love thinking about the todoroki family. however, if your only intention is to come at this from an anti-endeavor lens and purposefully misread everything i say for the sake of being rude, then you might as well not waste your time. you are absolutely entitled to your opinion, but i promise that there are better things you could be doing on a monday night (or whatever time it is for you) than trying to pick a fight with a stranger on the internet.

thanks for the ask! :)

[rumble-bee-art]

thirteen years ago when I first read the book, I deduced that J in Anthony J Crowley stands for James as in James Bond yet he (the giant nerd that is Crowley) is too embarrassed to admit it, and to this day I absolutely refuse to believe otherwise

[technikki]

"errm super paper mario isn't even an rpg" i'm firing lasers haphazardly from my eyes in the hopes that one of them makes contact with you

[might-be-tiny-gt]

Last year I wrote a story about a streamer who shrinks based on chat donations. I meant it as a one shot, but guys…. GUYSSSSS.

I think about this story ‘s universe a lot. I have lore notes just collecting dust and I need to share it or I might go absolutely mad XD Made these visuals charts to get the basics across but if you’re interested in my lore and semantic ramblings, feel free to read below the cut.

Consider this my unofficial pitch bible for Down Played.

General premise: Monica Diaz is Twitch streamer with steadily growing fan base. Her tag is MiniMushroom and her aesthetic is cottage core. She loves all things magical and tiny, especially toadstool mushrooms, that’s the image most associated with her “brand.” She’s approached by a mysterious benefactor who has developed technology specifically for Monica to test and utilize for her streams. It’s called Byte-Syzed Tech and it connects to a user’s twitch stream and based on the user’s preferences, gives the audience the ability to change the user’s height. The one shot I wrote takes place during Monica’s first live use of Byte-Syzed tech on stream. If I were to develop this into a full story I’d probably go back a bit and start around when Monica is first approached about using Byte-Syzed tech then continue to follow Monica adjusting to using Byte-Syzed more often. How she deals with the size change on camera, off camera, how her social and personal life are affected, all that good stuff. I think it would like a slice of life feel good kinda story.

Characters:

- Monica - Main character and primary user of Byte-Syzed tech. Surprisingly enough, she’s actually a law school grad who probably would have put her degree to use if she didn’t accidentally gain a massive following on twitch. Funny how life works out. She stands at 6’4 and always was fascinated with the idea of being small (Basically, she’s a g/t nerd who doesn’t know what g/t is) so being gifted Byte-Syzed and being able to use it on stream is kinda a dream come true.

- Kim - Monica’s girlfriend, roommate, and stream moderator. Kim and Monica were high school sweethearts but drifted apart in college due to personal matters in Kim’s life including having to drop out of college. Kim and Monica rekindled their relationship a few years later and Kim cites Monica and her encouragement as a big reason why she’s been able to get her life back together. She’s currently back in college working on getting her degree in Mathematics.

- The Twitch Team- Moni hosts solo streams but also very often collabs with three of her online friends. Ariel (@Lifeisthebubbles), a Vtuber who is the only one Moni has met in person. Corey (@McDonuts) an NB asmrist on youtube who started streaming games for fun. And Phin (@UrguyPhin) Corey's bf and the competitive gamer of the four. All three of them were streaming with Monica when she first used Byte-Syzed and have since gotten used to pausing their games so an ever shrinking Monica can adjust her set up.

- The Benefactors- Keeping their (Plural, there are two of them) exact identity to myself for the time being, but basically they’re mad scientists with the best intentions. Their antics have garnered attention across the internet as they have created and gifted inventions to up and coming online creators that seem to defy all laws of physics. Anti Gravity chambers, a literal money tree, a mask the morphs the wearer’s face, and now the Byte-Syzed size changing tech. Despite their inventions going viral, their identities have remained hidden. So what is their deal? They’re just big fans of these creators and for lack of drawing skills have gifted them weird inventions instead. Nerds… Due to the nature of Byte-Syzed and the possible effects it can have on the human body, Monica and Kim remain in close contact with them.

How Byte-Syzed Works in Universe: This I wrote tons of notes about when I first thought of the idea. Byte-Syzed can be divided into three key components; The program, the arm band monitor, and the sync suit.

The Program is installed on the user’s computer and connects directly to the arm band monitor and sync suit. The program has user friendly set up that allows the user to input the direction of height change (Shrink or Grow), The minimum or maximum height change, How height change occurs (By views, chat commands, donations, etc.), and rate of height change (How much height is gained or lost with each instance of viewer interaction.) EX: If height is based on donations, the user can set it up so they lose 1 inch for every 10 dollars donated. They can set the minimum height to 6 inches, so once they’ve received enough donations that they have shrunk down to 6 inches, Byte-Syzed will hold at that height. More donations may come in after, but the height will remain at 6 inches for the duration of the stream.)

The Arm Band Monitor, is the device the physically changes the user’s height after connecting to the Byte-Syzed Program. It also monitors and display’s the user’s current height and vitals. All data collected from the arm band will then be saved and can be referenced later if the band is connected to the computer. The arm band must be kept on at all times during active use and active reset of Byte-Syzed. Active use is the time in which Byte-Syzed is being used in a stream and the user’s height is actively changing. Active reset refers to time after the stream has ended and the user is either set at their new current height or in the process of returning to their normal height. After a stream has ended the user will remain at their changed height until they press the reset button on the monitor. Once the reset button is active, the user will return to their normal height at 1.5 times the amount of time it took to change to their current changed height. EX: A user has finished a stream that was 4 hours. They hit the reset button which will return them to normal over the course of 6 hours. (4x1.5=6) This only applies for time Byte-Syzed was in use, not how long a size change occurred. EX: If the user’s stream was 4 hours, but they reached their minimum height in 3 hours, the reset function will account for the 4 hours the stream lasted. This is a safety procedure to reduce stress on the user’s body. Note: If the reset button is not pressed, the user will remain at their changed height for a period of 12 hours. After 12 hours, the reset function will kick in automatically.

The Synchronized Suit or Sync Suit is directly connected to the Byte-Syzed program and will grow and shrink with the user at the same rate as the user. Normal clothing can be worn above it but they will not change size with the user, only the sync suit. The sync suit Monica received came with the suit, shoes, and a headset with a built in microphone to keep audio input even over the course of her size changing. More sync suits are in the process of being designed and produced, with the goal of making sync suits that resemble everyday clothing like t shirts or skirts.

Fun Story Ideas:

- Origin story. How Monica met the benefactors and was gifted Byte-Syzed, her and Kim’s gripes about using it, actually going through with it and the pros and cons she noticed, the end of her first size changing stream and dealing with being tiny in her own room and her girlfriend’s hands. Etc etc

- Monica finished a late night stream using byte Syzed and forgets to press reset when she goes to sleep so instead of growing back over the course of the night she wakes up at her tiny size. After realizing her mistake she begins the growth process but now has to do it while attempting to do her regular day time activities.

- Monica is approached by a doll company to collaborate on a new doll based on her, only issue, their studio is several hours away and they want her to model at both her full height and at the height of the dolls. After some consideration Monica and Kim decide to take a road trip to the studio and use Byte Syzed at the studio under Kim’s careful supervision. What could go wrong?

- Months have passed and Kim and Monica have grown well adjusted to the major size difference between them after Monica finishes a byte syze stream, however curiosity has gotten the best of her and Kim wonders what it would be like to be the tiny one for a change.

If you have read this far, you have my eternal gratitude. Thanks for reading this far, I really hope you liked it XD Maybe if time and motivation allows I can flesh the story out.

[semantics-error]

Chapter 5, Stay (for always) of my Alan/Ray fic, This Tedious Misery, is now posted!

Sorry this tumblr post is late, I had something to do directly after posting the chapter. I really love this chapter and I hope you all enjoy it too!

[irisfixation]

knights getting mindbroken. you agree. enjoy

"She's just ahead. Let's get ready." It wasn't difficult to make it this far. The palace was left in ruins decades ago, and the few guards still under her spell were little more than shambling corpses, easily dispatched by your party. You expected a little more, to be honest: some final bastion of opulence at the place's heart, as it were. But no - here it is, the throne room of the "empress of ruins"'. Once a feared tyrant, now little more than prey to be put upon your sword. If she's anything like her guards, you doubt it'll be harder than any other job.

She doesn't look like the stories. Once, she might have been adorned in all her fineries, hair tied back and dress magnificent. Now, though, she's little more than a haggard, scrawny wretch. You can see the bags under her eyes all the way from the boss door, let alone the rags and stolen traveler's attire she's wearing. One of your party members can barely stifle a giggle.

"Hold it," another commands. "She'll see us if we draw any closer. We should prepare." A tedious task, really, given how easy the journey thus far has been. Still, you acquiesce. One hireling takes a detour in search of something that piqued her interest, another sets about marking spell-circles into the earth beneath, a third makes camp and begins preparing your rations, and so on, and so forth.

You - you scout out at the thresholds of the gate, watching the once-empress as she lays unmoving. You rehearse battle stratagems in your head, reflect on the research conducted by previous adventuring parties, the whole nine yards. "She'll get desperate when she's wounded enough-" you recall, "so conserve your strength until then". You'll cover for the rest of the party to start, and then-

Her glare snaps you back to the here and now. Oh, shit. The tip of your boot has crossed the ruined threshold; you can just make out where the microfilament runes across its border intersect with your foot. She knows you're here.

That's fine, you reassure to yourself. The rest of the party should be ready soon enough - and besides, you're the best of the bunch. You'll hold her down until then. Your armaments gleam in stark contrast to her sorry state as you step forwards.

She lurches forwards, a slow and dreary movement. Fine by you. You take your stance, and call out with sheer heroic might in your voice. "Give it up, would-be empress! Today, your feeble reign finally comes to an en-"

In a blink, she is upon you, barreling with the speed of a starving and maddened wolf. You barely have time to call to your allies and attempt to swing your sword before-

A single outstretched finger presses upon your forehead. Her hand is gnarled and dust-caked, but the point of the nail is pristine as crystal. You watch as the frantic charge of your allies slows to a crawl, then freezes entirely. Time magic? No, it's more like your mind's been trapped within a single moment - like the compressed moment of time spent trying to catch something in mid-fall, magnified hundredfold.

You recoil. And as you do, you feel something worm its way out of you, plucked from your skull. It twists and gravitates towards her, gossamer-thin filament of gold and scarlet, wrapping around her finger like a ring or snake.

The shock of the moment ceases. She's barely two feet from you, and as frail as the dust upon her kingdom - your hands clench upon cold steel, your blade moves to seek her head -

"Stop."

Your body seizes up, arms and muscles pulling to a taut rictus. You can't even bring yourself to fall over in defiance - you feel your limbs pull into the closest approximation of a bow they can manage. She looks at you with icy eyes, and you realize your comrades aren't doing anything. Are they even there? You cannot hear their breaths, cannot turn to look-

"Kneel. Goodness, you were easier than I expected."

"What in hell's name did you- take from me-"

"Your ability to disobey orders," she says, her voice low and measured. She's clearly enjoying hearing herself talk, which sickens you all the more. "The only thing keeping the 'self' from being consumed by the 'other' - your soul. Your free will. You really didn't even expect this much?" "The kingdom," you sputter, "will have your head for this-"

"Silence." Your tongue is stilled in your own mouth; your own breath feels too there, too physical upon your throat and lips, like breathing and swallowing smog.

"The -kingdom- will arrive here too late, if at all," she rebuts. "I never needed anything more than a singular doll to rewrite, after all." She lifts your head to meet her gaze; her smirk does not reach their depths. "And would you look at that - a cocky, self-assured knight, delivered right into my lap. But of course, I only let you down here in the first place because of your incompetence."

Fuck. No wonder the journey had felt so easy, that all the actual moments of drama and risk just happened to work out in your favor. Had she engineered every last one of them? Just for - what, this?

"If I was -actually- worried, I would have vanished before you even arrived here. Unlike you, I actually take my position -seriously.- Now! Beg for me, please."

"of course my goddess please i am yours i am yours forever i'll serve you to the day i die please use me however you wish" The words spill from your mouth before your conscious mind has a say in the matter. "my life is yours it always has been nothing else matters" You try and bite them back, to deny them, but they sear something into you: your mind conjures images of a parasite tunneling down through brain matter.

"Exactly. And I'll keep doing this, one pitiful would-be hero at a time."

She looks down at you again, and you witness her wreathed in a halo of eyes; each reflecting a vision of your life, your loved ones, your family, your life, your memories. A million different reflections of how they could be snuffed out if you dared disobey your new Empress - of how much you possibly have to lose, more than you could ever truly understand-

"There's nothing your little 'kingdom' can do about it. Certainly nothing you could."

She's right. Of course she is.

"Now, please go to sleep for now-"

---------

(the end! for now, anyhow)

[velvette-hussle]

Just imagine a version of the “Vees” part of ‘The Show Must Go On’ that actually (actively) involved all the Vees.

Imagine there three voices mixing beautifully. Imagine the little way the show could’ve incorporated a three-way swing dance routine into the animation. Imagine VoxVal spinning Vel back and forth between them (after dancing with each other for a bit one on one of course) while they all sing and cheer. Imagine the way they could’ve animated Vel absolutely tearing up a few Lindy Hop moves real quick.

Really, just imagine how damn amazing it would’ve been if instead of just standing to record Vox and Valentino dancing & singing Velvette had (after still being able to silently judge watch them celebrating Alastor’s supposed demise) moved to prop her phone up - so she could record all of them together - and slipped in between the guys to start singing and dancing with them…while showing them up a little too, let’s be honest.

Just imagine…

[yanderefairyangel]

I find it very funny that some people try to point at the "I wanted to be a good dragon" as being bad dialogue and proof Engage is badly written when it does the exact opposite.

I know you are tired of hearing it but allow me to repeat it. Just once more. Past Alear is someone who use hiragana, an alphabet use mainly by kids in anime and in jpn media.

That is what makes their dialogue in chapter 24 so unsettling. This shows that Past Alear has the emotional maturity of a child. This is a childish dialogue devoided of emotions, where the characteristic of the hiragana lacking the polysemy of kanji is making this dialogue feels even colder, even more robotic, mecanic, empty, devoided of emotions. Hiragana is used to show how broken past Alear is as a child whose innocence was completely destroyed.

However, in this cutscene of chapter 22, the use of hiragana is no longer to convey this feeling. This time, it's to convey a warm feeling, letting Alear's childish personality of that time shines as them showing their innocent side, their weaker and true side to Lumera. it's them dropping the facade, and finally revealing what they were concealing when we meet them in chapter 24 : an innocent, kind child. You don't even need to turn off Alear's voice and hear how the performance changed to realize that because you can see this from the models. How Past Alear's blank and emotionelss gaze in chapter 24 contrast to the one bright and tender gaze they gave to Lumera in chapter 22. The sentence they speak is no longer intended to be read as emtioneless because of this, because now the property of the hiragana as conveying the childish innocent feeling, like it does with Veyle, is the one aspect exploited in this scene. It's to show Alear's innocence and child like nature, their warmth. This immediately makes their "tadashii ryuu ni naremasen" all the more tragic. They speak this time with the tone matching the undertones of the hiragana, unlike how in the past they used that "childish" dialect with the tone of a robot. In fact, the change of tone in the voice shows the shift in tone despite how Past Alear still uses the same alphabet. All in context.

The same way Past Alear's politness express through the same conjuction and expression as current Alear but have a different nature because of the context, the same way Alear's incantations read as prayers/wish rather then commands/orders because of the context, the use of hiragana's meaning changes because of the context. This is no longer to express a broken child speaking, but to show Past Alear's innocence and to emphazize their love for Lumera by showing how they reveal themselves to her only.

[petrichal]

Does anyone else find the scene of Conis getting "God's Judgement" on Angel Island very reminiscent of Lulusia getting wiped off the map?

While I don't think they have anything to do with each other story-wise, I find it super interesting how the very arc where they deal with a self-proclaimed god, his powers are mimicked further in the story but on a much larger scale, and still done by a "higher existence" (Imu isn't a "god" per se but they're said to be the "supreme leader"; someone above Celestial Dragons who claim to have the creator's blood- so not that far off from the concept of "god" tbh).

Along with the foreshadowing (?) of Gear 5th, Skypiea feels like a miniature version of the entirety of world in the future. Giant craters and perceived "gods" fighting with hopes/dreams on the line (-> the ringing of the giant belfry (song of the island) signifying the existence of what was thought to be myth, symbolized by the City of Gold and maybe, also the One Piece?) as the final end to the battle.

[mantisgodsdomain]

Finally, we get the opportunity to put our Spy Cards worldbuilding in a work. Though there are many questions about such things as "regulation" "how these cards are printed" "who approves a single spy card", and so on, we are here to present a bold new take: this game is based like 60% on obscure roach memory-reading tech that got turned into a card game with absolutely No card-game-related intentions included in the original tech and most of the card vetting is just from the fact that there aren't too many card printers out there and most of them make cards that need to be translated from Roach.

Strictly speaking, as a card game, it is not a terribly good or well-balanced one. It's popular primarily because of a mix of the difficulty involved in getting the data for high-level cards, the fun of seeing the variety of monsters that can be brought to the table, and the incredible amounts of ham and drama that goes into specifically the professional scene.

[towersofviolet]

v's sfth toki pona translation #1

i decided to smoosh two hyperfixations together and translated one of shoot from the hip's improvised sketches into toki pona. this is "heinous crimes of treason" from "completely improvised sketches #11", a.k.a. luke as a draconian monarch sending people down into the crocodile-infested waters below. it's literally just a transcript so won't make much sense without the accompanying video.

musi sin nanpa 11: ike a tawa lawa

jan Ton: tenpo ni la mi pali e musi tawa sina. musi nanpa wan la mi wile e toki open. ken la ni li kama tan ma ni. ni li toki open.

jan mute: [kalama mute]

jan Ton: ni li seme?

jan: a! mun li len e suno. ni li suno a!

jan Ton: a! mun li len e suno. ni li suno a! pona a. o pana e ijo tan ma ni.

jan ante nanpa wan: mi moli e waso.

jan ante nanpa tu: o tawa e ona lon anpa.

jan ante nanpa tu wan: mi kama mama.

jan Ton: “o tawa e ona lon anpa.” ni li toki sina anu seme? lukin sina li pana e suno. ni li nasa a. “o tawa e ona lon anpa.” ni li pona tawa mi. ni la jan ante li jo e nasin ante mute. mi open kepeken ni:  “o tawa e ona lon anpa.” jan ale o kalama luka suli tawa open!

jan mute: [mu]

jan Lu: o tawa e ona lon anpa!

jan San: [mu]

jan Lu: [kalama musi nasa]

jan San: ona li anpa, lawa mi o. jan sin li tawa lon lupa pi akesi suli.

jan Lu: [kalama musi nasa] ni li pona tawa mi. ona li pali ike a.

jan San: jan ni li seme, lawa mi o?

jan Lu: mu… ona li kalama musi tawa mi.

jan San: lon.

jan Lu: sina pana e sona seme kepeken nimi “lon”?

jan San: taso… mi kute e toki sina. ni li lon.

jan Lu: mi lukin e ni: sina sewi e linja pi sewi lukin sina.

jan San: [kalama musi]

jan Lu: sina kalama musi tawa mi. ni li tan seme?

jan San: mi kalama musi ala tawa sina. mi pilin ike tan ni. mi-

jan Lu: o tawa e ona lon anpa!

jan San: a! o tawa ala e mi lon anpa! o tawa ala e mi lon anpa! o tawa ala e mi lon anpa!

jan Ese: [mu]

jan San: [mu]

jan Lu: [kalama musi nasa]

jan Ese: jan sin li moli, lawa sina- mi o.

jan mute: [kalama musi]

jan Lu: sina toki e seme?

jan Ese: mi pilin ike tan ni. tenpo mute la nasin toki mi li kama… nimi ante. mi toki e ni: jan sin li moli, lawa si- mi o. ma mama mi la…

jan Lu: o tawa e ona lon anpa!

jan Ese: ala, ala! o awen! o awen! o awen! ala!

jan Ton: [mu]

jan Ese: [mu]

jan Lu: [kalama musi nasa]

jan Ese: [mu]

jan Ton: ona li moli, lawa mi o.

jan Lu: lon! ni li pona tawa mi. ona li pali ike a.

jan Ton: lon, lawa mi o.

jan Lu: sina lukin e mi tan seme?

jan Ton: mi kute taso e sina, lawa mi o.

jan Lu: ni li pona tawa mi lon tenpo ni.

jan Ton: ni li wowa* ala tawa mi, lawa mi o.

jan Lu: ni li seme tawa sina?

jan Ton: ni li wawo* ala tawa mi, lawa mi o.

jan Lu: wowo*?

jan Ton: ni li ike tawa mi. mi wile e ni: mi ante e ijo. taso, mi sona e ni: mi pakala!

jan Lu: o tawa e ona lon anpa a!

jan San: [mu]

jan Lu: [kalama musi nasa]

jan San: [kalama musi sama] lawa mi o, mi pali tawa sina. ni li pona tawa mi.

jan Lu: jan sama weka o!

jan San: lon! mi lon! tenpo sike mute pini la sina tawa e mi lon anpa. sina sona ala sona e ni? [kalama musi nasa]

jan Lu: [kalama monsuta]

jan San: [kalama nasa]

jan Lu: sina li lon sin tan seme?

jan San: weka la mi pilin ike, jan sama o. ni la mi en akesi suli en jan meli mute en jan lili mute en jan awen mute li lon. ona li lon tan ni: sina tawa e ona lon anpa. mi pilin ike tan ni: mi ken ala toki tawa jan.

jan Lu: a! sina walo tawa mi. sina monsuta tawa mi, jan sama o.

jan San: ni li tan ni: mi monsuta.

jan Lu: [mu monsuta] a! ala!

jan San: mi la sina sona e wile sina.

jan Lu: o tawa e ona lon anpa!

jan San: sina ken ala tawa e monsuta lon anpa. mi tawa sewi. [mu]

jan Lu: lon.

jan San: sina ken taso weka e mi tan ni: sina lukin e sijelo mi. sina kama jo e… sijelo moli mi.

jan Lu: o tawa e mi lon anpa!

jan San: … mi monsuta.

jan Ton: ni li tenpo pini! o kalama luka tawa ona!

jan ale: [kalama luka a]

[melodic-haze]

arlecchino and signora x male reader for my copium please 🥺 can be either SFW or NSFW or both AHAHAHAHA

Thank youu

-Can I be 🤡 or 🐨?

Bouta use 🤡 on you for not reading my rules dawg ☺️