#they have no obligation nor the resources to like

[cherrysnax]

man why can’t I have a mental breakdown during the day in front of everyone like all the other guys nooo I gotta do it in my head

[gay-dorito-dust]

Can I request headcanons for Sunday, Boothill, Welt, Gallagher, Blade, and Dan Heng react to his gn s/o asking him randomly if they can hug him in private?

Sunday: adheres to your every want and need without complaint.

He’d easily have a room cleared for you within seconds and make it known that no one should dare disrupt his ‘meeting’ with you, unless it was absolutely necessary.

And even then he’s the one making the final decision on whether or not the issue at hand was really worth his time and resources; which for most of the time they weren’t.

Sunday would more than likely make private hugs a thing in the future. He knew how busy he was and how little time that gives him with you that he felt as though somethings had to change as a result; Also it acted as the perfect guise for him to keep an close eye on you as you held onto him tightly.

He’s selfish and greedy with you and your affection and will take it whenever he felt necessary. Sunday was a hoarder in his own right but mainly with you and who he was forced to share you with because if Sunday had it his way, you’d never leave the room nor his arms unless he said so.

Boothill:

Smirking bastard this one.

Despite the fact that -apart from his face- he couldn’t actually feel anything, he wasn’t one to ignore you wanting to hug him because of it.

He, much like Gallagher, is the kind who’d thoughtfully enjoy just spending the day having you in his arms as having you close was his remedy for almost everything.

However he would be the type to tickle your sensitive spots for the fun of it, and getting to hear your squeals of excitement followed by the sound of your laughter as it makes him happy seeing you happy from something he did.

Does he hate that he can’t feel you against him? Yes.

Will he try to squeeze you closer in a desperate attempt to feel you, even if it that if was faint? Also yes. He just hoped that he could one day trick himself into thinking that he could feel you, but he spent too long coming to terms with that fact that he had lost that ability long ago.

But he keeps this all as far away from you as possible and decided to focus on the warmth your smile brings him instead to compensate.

Welt:

Is more than willing in giving you a hug.

He might think that something was wrong and that you needed some privacy so that you could confess to him your worries in confidence.

So upon arriving somewhere void of anyone and anything, Welt would ask if there was something that you wanted to get off your chest, only for you to tell him that you just wanted to hug him without having so many eyes on you when doing so.

Welt, being the most understand man ever, completely understands where your coming from and would let you hug him for as long as your heart wished. For he simply wanted you to feel as though he was there for you, regardless of how silly or stupid you might think your issues were, he wanted you to know that someone cared and that someone was him.

You’d probably end up sleeping him his arms as he was just so comfortable to be pressed up against and warm. Welt would find himself staring at you for far longer than he probably should, smiling dopily, before helping you to his room or yours where he would soon fall asleep also.

Dan heng;

Isn’t that great with PDA but is more expressive of his emotions behind closed doors. So the moment you asked for him to give you a hug in private, Dan Heng was more than willing to oblige.

After all he’s more prone to giving you affection and sweet words when you were away from everyone else. Not to say that he doesn’t shows that he cares for you in front of other people, but it would probably be a small group of people you both know, whom Dan Heng would feel comfortable with showing that side of himself towards.

Other than that rare expedition, most -if not- all affection was reserved for when you two were alone together.

His inner dragon noodle thrives off of your affection and warmth to the point where Dan Heng becomes flustered and embarrassed by it. You on the other hand thought it was extremely cute that he softly purrs when you burrow yourself into his arms.

‘You’re purring.’ You’d muse, kissing under his jaw.

‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’ Dan Heng says, face extremely flustered as the sound of his purrs continued.

He may not be all that vocal but he didn’t need to when his body told you everything you needed to know in the moment. He loved spending quieter moments with you and holding you close as it gave him his much needed reassurance that you very much appreciated him still. That he still had a purpose in your life to fulfil.

Gallagher:

Will agree within a heartbeat because any time with you is time well spent in his opinion.

He may or may not use you as an excuse to have the day off, just so he could hold you for the rest of the day, to the point it might as well become a cuddle session.

Give him any opportunity to cuddle and be lazy with you? Count. Him. In.

Also he’d probably would bite you at random points but you were made more then aware of this habit of his. So you’ve had enough time to make your peace with that fact, unfortunately you were also left with the unenviable position of having to explain why you were covered in bite marks, but that’s neither here nor there.

Gallagher would more than gladly spend the rest of his day with you in his arms no matter what and you weren’t one to argue with him as he was practically a walking furnace, and he made for an comfortable pillow on top of that too. Not to mention that he -in general- smelt amazing, which may or may not have been a primary cause for you to somehow manage to fall asleep in his arms a hundred percent of the time.

Blade:

Blade only accepts to hug you in utter privacy because PDA isn’t his thing. So at first he might not seem at all interested in giving you a hug, but the moment you mentioned that you’d want the hug in private, Blade grunted as he grabbed your arm and dragged you elsewhere from prying eyes.

‘This should work.’ He’d then say to himself before looking back at you and raising an eyebrow. ‘Well?’

‘Well what?’ You ask.

‘Aren’t you going to hug me?’ He relies.

‘Well you never really agreed to be hugged, you just grunted and dragged me here so…’ you trailed off as you were then brought against his chest as his arms kept your in place.

The hug itself was stiff, rigid and was a little awkward but all you have to do was practice a little patience and soon you’d feel him slowly start to relax under your touch. He’s not the type whom people feel as though they could come to him for affection or comforting, affirming words because that’s just not Blade, and he will agree to this also for it not being his forte.

For you however, Blade will try to compensate for those shortcomings by any means necessary. He doesn’t try for others nor put in the effort because why would he when it would ultimately amount to nothing?

but you? His partner? He genuinely tries but is secretly happy when you show compassion as to he just can’t.

[tritoch]

i have seen people be like "if you think what the dawntrail protagonists do in zone six is valid you have to conceded emet's approach/perspective was valid, what you do is basically what he does" and it's like...nah. it's obviously intentionally very similar ("it's like poetry, it rhymes") but there's some key differences:

emet is disgusted by sundered life, which he sees as inhuman, and longs to return to the unrecoverable past. so he does seven(ish) planet-wide genocides. the endless aren't new life, their ability to grow and learn is specifically in question (at the very least they are fundamentally incapable of taking in new sensory experience of certain forms), they're shades from the unrecoverable past, and you are destroying them in favor of those still alive.

also, we aren't disgusted by them nor do we think anything is fundamentally justified if done to them (everyone pretty much no-sells cahciua "we aren't alive so it doesn't matter if you kill us :)," in fact). we don't have like 12,000 years and the most advanced magic known to anyone alive. we are forced by serious exigency to destroy them due to a political impasse with their leadership's policy re: resource extraction. this tonal difference is in fact extremely important.

the endless themselves seem pretty ambivalent about the whole deal. they're bored or they're wary of the way their world keeps shrinking, and it's very explicitly neither a functioning society by any recognizable human terms nor a paradise.

related to the above, basically every named endless turns to the person most relevant to them (cahciua to erenville, krile's parents to her, namikka to wuk lamat, otis to you) and is like, huh, i really appreciate having this moment of grace at the end of my journey to see that it was all worthwhile and to resolve my lasting regrets, but i understand what you're here to do and yeah, it's probably time for us to go. (does the writing put a finger on the scale by doing this? sure, but the writers also designed and built the scales and everything they're weighing on them, so i find it hard to discredit any one aspect for being the writers' invention.)

finally uh no one in the party has kids with the endless or lives a full human lifetime as one of them lol.

it's important to remember that emet was definitely at least somewhat lying about not seeing the sundered as real people. the fact that he has "lived a thousand thousand of your lives . . . broken bread with you, fought with you, grown ill, grown old, sired children and yes, welcomed death’s sweet embrace" makes everything he did soooooo much crazier than what you do. if i managed to convince an endless to fall in love with me and i had a kid with them and i loved that kid so much that their death threw me into a permanent grief spiral then like. yeah i guess i would have to be like "well hats off to emet, folks." but luckily the game doesn't make you do that.

even if you insist everyone in living memory was a full living person that we killed, you're still weighing like a city of people versus 7+ planet-wide mass murders. you do not under any circumstances got to hand it to him.

living memory absolutely is evocative of everything that happens in shadowbringers. but rather than placing us in emet's shoes, it forces us to relive what we already did, to really fully face up to what we have done by promising to remember emet's culture after destroying any chance of its return. after two games going hard on the hope part of the game's central theme of hope arising from grief, now we're doing grief. we are forced to see the past of our memories not as a cold, ghostly art deco cubus-plagued socratic method hellscape but as the most beautiful technicolor theme park where everyone's happy and no one's sad and there's parades every day and your parents are alive and they love you so much. and then the game's conclusion is, yeah, you were still right to let go. in fact, you were and are morally obliged to let go. the living were and are worth more than the dead. our grief in letting go of them may be immense and turns our world to bleak nothingness for a time, and that is important to recognize, but at the end of the day our most pressing duty is to those we can yet save, not those we have lost.

[leviathan-supersystem]

this what if the world was made of pudding thing is making me insane bc to me. a communist. one of the most reprehensible things about capitalism is that people die every day due to an artificial scarcity of resources. if youre not trying to come up with a solution to the problem of disabled people dying for no reason what are you even trying to come up with a solution to?? what's the point of dreaming of a world beyond capitalism if in the world beyond capitalism anyone who can't self sustain themselves dies???

the thing is, a lot of the antiwork crowd is trying to imagine a better world for disabled people, they just suck really bad at it. like they noticed society's obligation to perform labor, and the flawed nature of existing systems to evaluate disability in relation to that obligation, causes harm to disabled people in the here and now, and they went "well it's simple then! we simply hold that NO ONE has any obligation, nor should be compelled via any incentives, to perform labor. problem solved!" and then they called it a day and didn't spend the 10 seconds to think "hey wait a second don't some disabled people specifically need other people to perform labor in the form of care for them, and doesn't an ethical framework which holds that labor should never be obligatory or incentivized kinda leave those disabled people without reliable care, and also is so limited as an ethical framework that it can't even definitively say that someone is in the wrong when disabled people die because communities don't perform the labor of caring for them or create systems of social incentives or obligations to ensure that labor is performed"

honestly i would be a lot more forgiving of them having a shoddy and short-sighted ethical framework if they didn't make a habit of dogpiling and smearing anyone who doesn't agree with their absurd fringe ideology as "supporting forced labor".

i'd also be more forgiving if they didn't lean so heavily into right-wing mccarthyist red scare rhetoric any time they pull this routine on a marxist, "aaaaugh the red communist menace will have your elderly grandma working in the cobalt mines at gunpoint till she dies while the jackbooted commissar laughs over her broken body, yes my fellow patriotic god fearing americans feral anarcho-nihilists, we must do whatever we can to thwart this terrible marxist scourge!"

also when they do this whole dogpiling smear campaign routine they lean very heavily on accusations of ableism, which is some truly egregious hypocrisy considering their own ideology's major shortcomings when it comes to ensuring the well-being of disabled people.

[stitched-mouth-vs-the-world]

Just For Research

Pairing: Professor! Rick Sanchez x College Student! GN! Reader.

Summary: When Rick discovers his top student is a virgin, he knows he must change that so she can write her paper on human pheromones.

Warnings: Smut, Intercourse (P in ?), Virginity Loss, Teacher x Student relationship, Age Gap, Virgin! Reader.

Writing Time: 30 minutes.

Word Count: 652.

Format: Kinktober Fic, Day 7.

A/N:

Woke up in the middle of the night and decided to just write this. Sorry for any mistakes, this is not proofread. I'm just really trying to make sure everything is written before October arrives so the quality is some fics might be lacking a little, this might be one of them. This is probably my shortest fic so far. Oh well.I also have completely forgotten what it was like in college. I did about 3 months of Combined Science in the UK before I dropped out for an apprenticeship instead and I don't remember anything about those 3 months. So this could be all completely wrong but tbh I really don't care.I tried really hard to keep it GN, which is getting harder and harder for me due to the lack of gender neutral terms in the English language but I'll keep managing.Hope you enjoy, I've been eager to write something for Rick for ages now.

Here is the masterlist for all my Kinktober works.

---///---

Thoughts were swarming your head, making it almost impossible to think about what was currently happening.

'How did this happen?' You thought, 'This couldn't of been an accident, but how then did it happen?'

You let out a torn scream, but Rick was fast to cover your mouth and silence it.

"Shut up little Whore, or the whole building will hear you." He huffed.

Just a second ago you and Rick was discussing your college assignment. Your assignment was to write an essay about the human and animal pheromones that tell them to breed and compare the two. Something fairly basic for a Combined Science class and as the class's top student, Rick expected this assignment to be a breeze for you.

But he had been wrong. For a top student with a bright future in Science, you had no idea about pheromones. Especially the sexual kind. It was the one thing you hadn't studied yourself in your own time nor had you experienced it.

You had come to Rick after class to hopefully explain the subject better for you or give you good resources to look up but once Rick found out you was a virgin, what you got instead was a private lessons on pheromones that included an experimental or practical that would give you the experience.

So now you were bent over his desk taking all of him like the good little one you was.

"Please..." You whimpered, tired and stretched out to the max. It had only been a few minutes but this was completely new to a virgin.

"Please what, Whore?" Rick glared down at you, still thrusting in and out of you at an ungodly pace.

Rick didn't think this was exactly the best way to show someone who had never experienced sexual feelings what they were like, but to be honest, he didn't care. He was just looking for a reason to fuck you. His prettiest most innocent and intelligent little Princess/Prince who always sat in the front row, listening to him with wide ears.

But this had been a good lesson for you. Your sexual desire and need for Professor Sanchez now more than alive, it was insatiable.

"Please more Sir!" You cried.

Rick was a little shocked, but more than happy to oblige. And quickly increased his speed, you looked down and moaned into the once clean desk.

"Yeah? You like this cock? You want more of it, my little cocksleeve?" Rick groaned into your ears.

"Yes!" You nodded eagerly.

Obviously, you came first. You did so with a scream and giant smile. Rick came not too long after you onto your back, with just a few loud grunt.

You was pretty confident now you was gonna Ace this assignment.

[wing-ed-thing]

Jinchūriki Found Family Headcanons with Naruto and Gaara

Tags/Warnings: No Reader Pronouns

𓆃 A decently close, long-distance friendship that has less to do with the fact that you're all Jinchūriki and more because you've happened to have saved each other's lives multiple times.

𓆃 Your relationship comes naturally, and while it may seem like your attachment comes from a place of obligation, the three of you find yourselves naturally drawn together.

𓆃 No matter how little you know each other or have spent time apart, the time you do spend together feels like you've known each other for a lifetime.

𓆃 And you don't usually do anything very specific. Especially with the events in your formative years leading up to the Fourth Great Ninja War, your time spent in one place was limited.

𓆃 It's likely that you'll meet them one at a time and happen to connect the dots that you all know each other later during a time when you happen to be serendipitously gathered.

𓆃 Naruto has more of a stake in your friendship at Jinchūriki strictly because you're Jinchūriki. Not knowing a lot about his origins, he's eager to feel connection to people he views can understand him and his early experiences.

𓆃 While Gaara has stakes less importance on relationships with other Jinchūriki, he makes these connections willingly and tries his absolute best to supply you and Naruto with any resources you could possibly need to sustain yourselves.

𓆃 Being a young Kazekage, he's not afraid to allocate resources where he sees fit (within reason, of course).

𓆃 Coming from similar backgrounds, none of you are strangers to an upbringing of skepticism and shunning. You all try to stay in touch through occasional letters via messenger bird.

𓆃 It's an odd relationship to describe, because you are all too busy to have regular hang outs and meetings nor do you know every aspect of each other's lives.

𓆃 In a way, you have a very adult type of friendship from an early age where you meet every few months and it literally doesn't matter.

𓆃 Perhaps you'll happen to be able to have a whole day with Naruto or a lunch with Gaara squeezed into his calendar and you won't have a single complaint.

𓆃 It's never awkward, and you never run out of things to talk about.

𓆃 You're bound to talk about very heavy aspects of live as a Jinchūriki, so on one hand, you'll know the darkest aspects of Naruto's existence, but have no idea that his summon is a toad.

𓆃 You'll come to understand Gaara's deep regrets about his past and his bitter feelings toward his father, and yet you couldn't describe what he does on a given day even with a kunai to your throat.

𓆃 Expect nice care packages from Gaara and rambling letters and trinkets from Naruto.

𓆃 Try to make plans twice before giving up and end up seeing each other 7 months later like nothing happened.

𓆃 You've aligned yourselves as deeply close friends, all while skipping all the first steps to a friendship. You've almost just adopted each other as a family right off the bat.

Thank you to all who liked, reblogged, followed, and supported. Your support means so much and is greatly appreciated.

[river-in-the-woods]

In my humble experience, when consorting with the world of gods and spirits, I see two main possible ways to reap the benefits. They are both easy to do, and anyone can do it regardless of skill level. (Doing it well, of course, comes with experience and practice - this applies to anything.)

1. The Path of Sorcery. This is about pacts and contracts. Very much like a business transaction. Two parties agree on an exchange, both provide the resources they have, and if all goes well, both benefit when the contract is fulfilled. This is very much an A + B = C situation, the process is clear and the outcome and parameters of success are well defined. Results can come very quickly. As long as the method is sound, the chances of success are high, and there is no compatibility needed. But there is no loyalty nor further investment. You’ll get what you paid for; your fate is in your own hands and there is no safety net except the one you made yourself. If these transactions are done skillfully, many avenues can open up for the sorcerer.

2. The Path of Devotion. This is a relationship, it is about giving without the expectation of receiving. It requires faith, courtesy and good will, as well as compatibility. Either side will initiate interactions at their own pace, and it takes much longer to see results. Further commitments are made over time; the stakes are higher, but so are the rewards. Once the relationship is built up, getting what you desire can be as easy as asking, although the spirits will expect you to receive their input on the choices you make. You may have to take oaths for the relationship to progress any further, and adopt certain moral obligations. If these are properly honoured, one’s problems can even seem to disappear of their own accord, as one’s spiritual allies become invested in them and take their own initiative to secure better opportunities for the devotee. This path can open up other paths through one’s spiritual network, but it can also close off potential relationships with certain spirits depending on your allegiances.

These are both very valid paths to power. The sorcerer is not necessarily better than the devotee, and vice versa – one can be an exceptional sorcerer and scarcely touch a devotee adored by their spirits. It all depends on how skillfully one handles the path they are on. Naturally, the best practice will combine a bit of both, so that one is receiving benefits from a variety of spirits and builds a well-rounded skill set. And as one progresses on their path, the lines between sorcery and devotion will become increasingly blurred.

[gabessquishytum]

There was a story or post I read years ago about two different girls who became pregnant by the same guy around the same time, decided to move in together (I think? They definitely get involved in each other’s lives more than the father) to co-parent the two half-siblings, and the girls ended up in a relationship together. I remembered it recently (I tried to find it again with no success), and immediately thought of t4t dreamling.

Hob discovers that he’s pregnant by his recently ex-boyfriend. He’s pretty pleased and excited to be a dad, though he’s not thrilled to have to inform his ex, who he’d dumped for cheating on him (the relationship wasn’t going anywhere so Hob’s not broken up about it, but it was still a dick move). Still, he feels obligated to reach out and let his ex know, just in case he wants to be involved in their kid’s life beyond just child support.

A few days later, he answers his door to a gorgeous but furious man he doesn’t know (Dream), who immediately launches into accusations of man-stealing and baby-trapping, and how he isn’t going to lose his boyfriend to some gold-digging side piece.

Once Hob is able to get a word in and calm him down (learning that Hob had been dating the guy first, meaning Dream was the side piece, does a lot to take the wind out of his sails), inviting him inside to sit and talk, the whole sad story comes out: Dream is also newly pregnant, by the same guy, and dearly wants to keep the baby. But he really doesn’t have the resources to be a single parent, so even though he’s not really invested in the relationship anymore, when he found out about Hob he panicked that he was going to lose the guy as support and thus have to give up his kid. His parents are transphobic and wouldn’t approve of the baby out of wedlock, so no help there, and while a couple of his siblings would be glad to help, at the moment they’re all financially dependent on their parents and at risk of being cut off if they help him. So if Dream wants to keep his baby, his options are pretty limited.

Something something Hob offers up a room, Dream also dumps the boyfriend and moves in, and they get ready to raise their kids together. It’s a bit of a slow burn to get to know each other (and start to pine for each other) over the course of nine months, but they’re remarkably quick to fall in sync as upcoming parents; they accompany each other to all the doctor appointments, are completely on top of each other’s medication or dietary needs, and an easy topic of conversation for them is the pregnancies or the kids themselves, comparing their ongoing experiences or discussing plans for the future—from the moment Dream moved in there was an unspoken agreement for both of them that they’d be parenting both kids together, essentially as partners, which does funny things to both their hearts once they begin to fall for each other. People who meet them start to assume that they’re a couple pregnant by a surrogate, and as time goes on it starts to feel more and more like the truth, though neither Hob nor Dream really talk about it (idk how involved the ex is, but its definitely seldom in-person enough that everyone often forgets that he had anything to do with the pregnancies)

Robyn and Orpheus are born on the same day, timed absurdly perfectly to allow Hob and Dream to be there for each other without being in active labor—like Hob gives birth in the early morning with Dream holding his hand, has a bit of a breather, then is available to hold Dream’s hand while he gives birth in the late evening. It’s sometime soon after, while they’re still a little high off endorphins and painkillers, that they confess to each other and tearfully kiss as they watch over their newborn sons.

A couple years down the line Robyn and Orpheus are considered the Gadling twins with two dads (the ex is either essentially not in the picture or has somehow managed to settle into the weird uncle role), and Hob and Dream may or may not be considering giving the twins another sibling or two, maybe giving themselves a chance at all that pregnant sex they missed out on the first time (unless we want to make them real dumb and have them providing each other orgasms during their first pregnancies, all in the name of good prenatal care, while they were pining for each other… haha jk… unless? 👀)

-🪽anon

I certainly love the concept on t4t dreamling having simultaneous pregnancies (completely by accident).

Hob is incredibly excited to be a dad. He wishes that he'd picked a better set of genes for his kid, as he's still very angry at his ex. But this is what he's wanted for a very long time. He's excited to do all the pregnancy things and to document all the changes that he's about to go through.

And then Dream turns up. Poor, soggy, wet cat Dream who wants his baby but doesn't feel at all capable of coping alone. Their hormones come together and combine into one big soup, and they spend the evening sitting and intermittently crying, bitching about their mutual ex, and have brief moments of zoomies where they get really excited about being pregnant. They never really talk about it but just mutually decide that Dream is moving in and they're going to do this together.

They have drastically different pregnancies. Poor Dream is so sick. Hob is glad to take care of him, keeping him hydrated and stocked up with anti nausea meds. Somewhere along the line they start crawling into bed together each night to cuddle. And then when cuddling is no long comfortable, they just lay next to each other with their pregnancy pillows.

(Sleeping together also means that they are essentially mutually masturbating next to each other each night. Another thing that they don't talk about, lol.)

When Hob gets hit with big mood swings, Dream is the only person allowed to speak to him. Somehow he can always cheer Hob up with a cup of tea and a back rub. Dream is also the only person in the world who smells good to Hob while he's pregnant. Everyone else is disgusting to him. Hob is never grumpy with Dream. Everyone else runs away when they see him coming though.

They do all the trendy pregnancy things together. Maternity shoot, gender reveal, baby shower. Dream admits that he never thought he'd be able to do any of this and he's just so happy that Hob bothered to organise it all. They have their first kiss at the end of the maternity shoot, right at the very end of both their pregnancies, and mutually agree to talk more when the babies arrive. They're pretty much partners already, but it will be nice to sit down after the stress of labour is out the way, and actually figure out where their relationship stands!

But oops, apparently they can't wait. Somewhere around due date time, they start making out and Hob is gently getting Dream off with his fingers... only to accidently tip him into labour. Seeing Dream deliver Orpheus into the world is enough to set Hob off as well, and Robyn is born just a few hours later. They're both perfect. They look adorable in their cribs side by side, in the nursery that Dream designed so beautifully. Hob could actually burst with pride!

Let's face it, they don't manage to have any sex for a while... recovering from birth, taking care of the twins, and getting back on track with hormone therapy is a lot to juggle. But the pregnancy pillows are out, and they're back to cuddling whenever they have a few moments of peace in bed. Both of them have separately texted their mutual ex and thanked him for his help in facilitating their relationship.

Maybe they'll give him a call in a year or two. When the mutual baby fever sets in, and they decide that pregnant sex is worth it <3

[ladyinred2248]

Praise Them (Finan x Aelswith x Sihtric) Part 1

Summary: The Lady Aelswith spends time with Finan and Sihtric. Part 1 of 2. (A continuation/ same era of my Beltane fics)

Warnings: Mature. MINORS DNI.

Lady Aelswith dreaded the moments that the Lord Uhtred was near. Not only did he not appreciate the King nor her own authority, he strutted around like he was God’s own gift to women and to Wessex alike. He was a heathen for God’s sake! Her husband unrightfully trusted the man with his fyrds, his resources, his men — Dear God, there would be no end to the madness.

Every night Aelswith sat at the altar, praying for guidance and strength — not only for herself, but for her husband, who could do no wrong in her eyes. Well, perhaps Alfred wasn’t perfect; maybe she resented the Lord Uhtred for additional reasons. For she knew that Alfred held certain secret affections for him. Though the act had not been done, she knew that Uhtred’s spell would be cast upon Alfred eventually, in a sexual manner, the heathen that he was. Even though she had given Alfred permission to indulge in his own desires, she would often cringe at the thought. Regardless, the idea of sexual liberation actually sent a deep warmth cascading through her body that she had been desperately trying to suppress. The thought of Alfred and the Lord Uhtred sharing intimacy was one that sparked a sense of longing on her own accord for something more. Perhaps she had been too uptight, the many obligations of her royal title weighing her down.

Aelswith received word by her many spies in the region that the heathens had recently participated in solstice rituals — sex rituals, at Uhtred’s Coccham estate. Of course they would, she thought, the heathens they were. But according to the Queen’s spies, good Christian men — Finan the Agile, no less — indulged themselves during these rituals as well. That thought alone piqued her curiosity. Her mind drifted to the women on the receiving end, and suddenly she bit her lip as a rather rebellious thought came to her mind.

The next morning, Lord Uhtred and his men inevitably came barraging through her hall as they usually did, strutting towards her with their hands on their swords and furrowed brows. Alfred suddenly held a shadow of a smile on his face when he locked eyes with the Danish Lord. Lord Uhtred and the King had been on good terms as of late and they seemed almost beaming toward one another this day, having not seen each other in some time. Aelswith let her mind wander as she had the night prior, looking to Uhtred’s men in a new light. Rituals? Hm.

She couldn’t stop herself from gazing at Finan’s bare arms as he stood before her. Porcelain skin mulled over with scars, large biceps flexed even in a relaxed position. Aelswith rubbed her lips together in an effort to close her gaping mouth, trying to steer away her gaze but not quickly enough it seemed. The Irishman’s eyes met hers, and with a soft gaze Finan gave her a nod and a smile, his dark eyes piercing straight through her body. She felt her thighs quiver as he held her eye contact excruciatingly long, until Aelswith simply smiled and looked down. Was he… gazing at me? Oh dear heavens.

Suddenly, Alfred’s voice brought her out of the trance.

“My dear, the Lord Uhtred and I have a private matter to discuss. The one that we talked about. Do you approve of this?”

Aelswith was suddenly startled by his voice, looking to Uhtred, then back to Alfred. “Yes, my Lord. Lord Uhtred’s men can be put to work in the meantime.”

“What?” Finan gasped, Sihtric hitting his arm to shush him.

Finan and Sihtric shared a curious glance at each other laced with contempt. Sihtric rolled his eyes. Of course they would be stuck fulfilling the Queen’s orders.

Aelswith knew what the King was implying. But somehow, she didn’t care anymore. Not after accepting his affection for the Danish Lord, nor after gazing at the handsome Irishman and opening her mind to the naughtiest of occasions. Even the young Dane next to him looked enticing, dangerously so. Tattoos evident on his olive skin, his strong hand wrapped around the seax on his belt. His mesmerizing eyes and strong build was enough to have any woman turn her head. She was almost entirely sure he knew what to do with those strong hands.

With a small nod to the others, Alfred led Uhtred down the corridor, and Aelswith was left seated at her throne with Uhtred’s men standing before her, tall and powerful as ever. She knew that they didn’t feel quite relaxed around her, the impressions she had made previously keeping them on their toes.

“Uh, Finan,” Aelswith spoke up, withholding her authority, “You and your… friend, will escort me to the gardens.”

“I am Sihtric, Lady.” Sihtric gave her a smirk, his eyebrows raised.

“Yes, that’s right… uh, Sihtric. Forgive me.”

Finan smirked as he came closer and held out his arm to her, and with shaking breaths and a flush to her cheeks, Aelswith took his large arm with her delicate hand. They were then headed towards the gardens.

Finan and Sihtric tried to lighten the queen’s mood by telling subtle jokes, not too forward of course for fear of offending her. Eventually a servant girl brought them all some wine, and Aelswith’s demeanor seemed to lighten up a bit as the men sat on either side of her and entertained her with their stories. Finan felt that her laugh was simply adorable.

“I simply cannot believe that you two are still alive,” Aelswith chuckled, placing her hand on Sihtric’s shoulder without a second thought in her inebriated haze. “I am… grateful, for your service to the King.”

“You are most welcome,” Sihtric whispered, “and the King is grateful to have you as his wife, yes?”

“Well, anyone would be, I suppose.”

The boys raised their eyebrows in shock at her bold response, and Sihtric couldn’t help the laugh that exploded from him.

“Yes, lady.” Sihtric said, smiling at her. “They would.”

Finan was feeling bold in his own right now, Aelswith’s fierce energy enabling his own.

“Lady,” Finan rasped, “Ya might have a wilder side than I once thought, eh? Tell me — do you ever let your hair down?” He stroked her braid quite firmly with his fingers, causing a shudder to run down her body before she slapped his hand away with a chuckle. His large hand then traced down her back, coming down to caress the spot just above her buttocks. The wine was giving Finan a certain boisterous courage as it usually did, and witnessing Aelswith’s fair features up close combined with her fiery nature was rushing blood straight to his cock.

“May I?” Sihtric whispered before unclasping her braids one by one, not waiting for her to respond before undoing them softly with his fingers, his face close enough for his breath to fan her cheeks.

Just this simple touch of the young Dane was enough to light Aelswith ablaze, feeling the wetness rush to her core as it began to throb. The wine made her head fuzzy, but it was the attentions of the men that made her body suddenly run hot, the liquid courage in her veins making her lock eyes with Sihtric as he looked at her like a man starving. She leaned her body back then, spreading her legs slightly as she felt Finan’s calloused hand run under her dress and up her thigh to fondle her bare skin. On her other side, Sihtric brought his lips to her neck softly before sucking and biting at the tender skin, his tongue grazing her jawline as she tilted her head with a moan.

Finan’s hand was slowly coming higher up her thigh, stroking firmly as he brought his lips to her ear. “Such a pretty little thing. Why don’t ya let us worship ya, my Queen … I promise you a world of pleasure.”

Aelswith whimpered in response, Sihtric’s fingers now entangling slowly in the laces of her dress at her bosom as Finan’s fingers came to her core, rubbing her sensitive bud slowly.

“Y-yes, I…” she whimpered as Finan’s fingers started to stroke through her wet core now, not yet penetrating, as she rocked her hips instinctively into them as she sought him to enter her.

Sihtric’s hand came into the bosom of her dress, grabbing her breast tenderly and rolling her nipple in between his fingers before rasping his lips against her ear, whispering softly yet demanding. “Show us your quarters, Lady. Take us there.”

Regardless of Aelswith’s better judgment, she took the two men to her private chamber, giggling the whole way while in between Finan and Sihtric, her arms entangled with each of theirs. The men walked in and immediately made themselves at home; Finan sprawled out on a fancy sofa while Sihtric looked at all of Aelswith’s belongings, picking them up and setting them down with care.

Aelswith just gazed at them for a moment, running her fingers through the laces of her dress as her heart was thundering in her ears. Sihtric came to her then, bringing his hand to cup her cheek.

“Lady,” the young Dane said, “You want us to please you, yes? If not, you can tell us... I swear it.”

Aelswith bit her lip, looking intently into Sihtric’s mismatched eyes as he smiled at her before looking over to Finan, who looked very relaxed and sprawled out on her sofa. Finan caught her eye and gave Aelswith a sensual wink.

She turned back to Sihtric, giving him her best bedroom eyes. “I would like the two of you to stay.”

Sihtric hummed, stepping closer to her before licking his lips. “It would be our pleasure.”

Sihtric brought his fingers to the already loose laces of Aelswith’s dress, untwining them before slowly brushing the dress off of her shoulders. It fell to the ground swiftly, and before she knew it, she was thrust into Sihtric’s body with a pull of his arm around her waist, and his lips met hers in a desperate act of his desire.

“Hey,” Finan groaned with a hint of jealousy, “Lady, I’ve been waitin’ for ya. Have ya forgotten?”

Aelswith pulled away from Sihtric’s kiss, catching her breath as the Irishman stalked behind her and wrapped his hands around her hips. “Never,” she whispered.

The next moments were filled with intensity as Sihtric took the opportunity to rid himself of his armor while Finan’s hands traveled up to caress the Queen’s breasts. She effortlessly relaxed into him for a moment as he caressed her, but her patience was running thin as her desperation hit its peak. She turned to Finan, unbuckling his cuirass, shoving away any bit of armor she could as quickly as possible. He let out a deep chuckle, biting his lip when her hands came to the laces of his trousers. Within moments the Irishman was as bare as she was, and the skin to skin feeling as he pulled her into his body was sending pulses of fire through her veins. He picked her up then, her legs wrapped around Finan’s waist as he led her to the nearby bed, setting her on top of it gently and holding his body over her as he captured her in a devouring kiss.

Sihtric stalked towards them, enjoying the sight of Aelswith’s fair and flushed skin as the Irishman dominated her. He sat next to them, taking his hand to cup her cheek before running his thumb over her bottom lip as Finan started to kiss his way down her body.

“My Lady,” Sihtric said, “You are such a good girl for us. Are you ready?”

Aelswith bit her lip, looking back to Finan’s dark gaze.

“Answer him,” Finan demanded.

“Yes! Yes.. I—I’m ready.”

“Oh,” Sihtric cooed. “I’m not so sure.” He winked at Finan, who gave him a smirk.

Aelswith bit her lip. “I am!” She said with a hint of frustration.

“What was that, your Grace?” Sihtric replied as he took his tongue to the hardened peak of her breast. “I can’t hear you.”

“I need you, n-need you both!”

Finan chuckled then, coming up again to give Aelswith a deep kiss, his dark eyes burning into hers.

Finan moved his body away suddenly and Aelswith whimpered at the loss. Within seconds she felt the Irishman’s breath rasp across her core just before feeling his hot, wet tongue on her center. She moaned at the tense, sensitive feeling of pleasure as Sihtric captured her lips with his, caressing her breast with his strong hand.

Before she knew it, the Irishman’s tantalizing ministrations had quickened her breath and brought a deep warm flush across her chest. Sihtric cradled her upper body as he sat behind her, caressing her porcelain skin with his fingertips and peppering kisses on her neck every so often. The queen could no longer hold in her moans of pleasure when she felt Finan plunge two fingers into her core, curling them so delicately and expertly against her front wall. The sensation made her squirm in Sihtric’s arms, so the young Dane took it upon himself to tighten his grip on her, chuckling as he rasped his lips against her ear.

“Such a good girl. Are you going to cum for us?”

Aelswith whimpered, biting her lip as her body was pulsing with pleasure. Her toes curled, so close to reaching her peak as a deep brogue spoke to her from below.

“Answer him,” Finan was looking up at her with his dark bedroom eyes, but after a moment his gaze softened, and he gave the queen a wink.

“Yes, I…”

Finan let out a pleasured groan. “I can’t wait to fuck you.”

Aelswith smiled at the Irishman before leaning back into Sihtric, pleasantly drifting back into the throes of pleasure as Finan expertly quickened the pace of his fingers, listening to every pleasured moan intently and gauging the queen's reactions until she was squirming in their arms again, moaning relentlessly.

“Let it go for me,” Finan rasped, “Yes, that’s a good girl.”

Sihtric held his bruising grip onto Aelswith as she hit her peak, her fingernails digging into Sihtric’s skin and provoking the utmost attention of the men as she experienced a soul shattering climax.

Taglist: @gemini-mama @persephones-journey @whitedarkmoonflower @alexagirlie @justanother-sihtricgirlie @bcon24 @ficnation

[thelordofgifs]

Obscure Tolkien Blorbo: Round 4

A fox passing through the woods on business of his own vs Eldacar of Gondor

A fox passing through the woods on business of his own:

A fox who found Frodo, Sam and Pippin asleep under a tree and was puzzled by this.

Yeah sure why NOT switch PoV to a (arguably) non-sentient creature for like a paragraph with no bearing on the actual plot besides the comment that it never realized that the plot was happening??

It shows up for one page for no reason.  It's great.

Listen, that fox is absolutely a borbo. Confused? Funny? Has enough to be memorable but little enough to write a shitload of fanfiction about? Someone I have actually written about? Twice? (they aren't on ao3 though) clear boorbo

Look, people have observed before, correctly, that one of the things that sets The Lord of the Rings apart is that Tolkien will tell us things about the well-being of minor characters, like that the hobbits’ ponies that they lost in Bree were okay and went to live with Tom Bombadil. Tolkien is the kind of writer who will switch the POV to a fox who happens to pass by the hobbits on the first night of their journey to Rivendell, because the story isn’t just about the main characters, nor is it just about the endurance of realms like Rohan and Gondor. It’s about every living thing in Middle-earth, and for Frodo it’s especially about the Shire, the home of simplicity and good food and community and gardens and foxes. That’s what he takes up the Ring to save, and the fact that he takes it up with that motivation, not personal greatness or heroism, is what enables him to get as far as Mount Doom. Gandalf lays this idea out to Denethor when Denethor claims the fate of Gondor as a goal above all else: “For my part, I shall not wholly fail of my task, though Gondor should perish, if anything passes through this night that can still grow fair or bear fruit and flower again in days to come.” The Quest of the Ring is not simply about Men and Elves and Hobbits; it is about ponies, and the trees of Fangorn, and tiny sun-star flowers in the grass, and yes, a fox on business of his own who never finds out anything more about the three hobbits he once saw sleeping under a tree, but lives and thrives because of what they did.

Eldacar of Gondor:

The twenty-first King of Gondor, also known as Vinitharya. During his reign the conflict known as the Kin-strife occurred and he was forced from his throne for ten years.

The blorbo of all time actually. He’s the protagonist of one of the most interesting stories in the LoTR appendices, the Kin-strife, and everything about his life story is so fascinating! His father was the crown prince of Gondor and his mother was the princess of Rhovanion so not a Númenorean. As a result all the racist nobles of Gondor made noises about how Eldacar was of “lesser race” and wouldn’t live as long as a “true Dúnadan”. One of the most fascinating examples of fantasy racism in Tolkien’s works imo – the bigotry is awful but the bigots have a shield to hide behind! Obviously their concerns are actually valid because they just don’t want their king to die young! (Their concerns aren’t valid. But I think the worldbuilding here is great.) Anyway Eldacar was born in Rhovanion and given the birth-name Vinitharya, but when he returned to Gondor aged five he was obliged to take up the Quenya name Eldacar, presumably to pacify all the racists in Gondor. He’s the EMBODIMENT of mixed-race/immigrant child trauma my beloved. Eventually his father died and he ascended to the throne of Gondor, but then his shitty second cousin Castamir (all my homies hate Castamir he’s the worst) started the civil war known as the Kin-strife and usurped Eldacar’s throne. Eldacar was forced to flee north to Rhovanion but Castamir captured his eldest son Ornendil and had him cruelly put to death which is SO SAD. But Eldacar, being brave and resourceful and clever and extremely cool, put together an alliance with his mother’s kinsfolk in Rhovanion and after ten years reclaimed his throne, which turned out to be slightly easier than expected because Castamir was The Worst and all his subjects hated him. And Eldacar PERSONALLY fought and killed Castamir HIMSELF and AVENGED HIS SON which is extremely important when you consider all the cringefail elves in the legendarium whose quests for revenge didn’t really go anywhere at all. Then he lived to be 235 proving that all the idiot racists who were worried about his lifespan didn’t have any idea what they were talking about, as is par for the course with racists. Also the Kin-strife itself has such far-reaching consequences for the history of Gondor! The Corsairs of Umbar, Gondor’s long-standing enemies, are actually followers of the descendants of Castamir. And during the Usurpation of Castamir Osgiliath was sacked and burned, leading to the beginning of its decline as Gondor’s greatest city. Even though Eldacar’s story is, to me, ultimately hopeful, it’s also such a fascinating turning point in the history of Gondor. Also ALSO he’s explicitly surrounded by textual ghosts which is really fascinating. His father Valacar has “children” plural – so Eldacar had siblings!! What were they like? How did they react to it all? And his son Aldamir is described as Eldacar’s second son and third child, meaning that he had a daughter too. Who was she?? What happened to her? He’s such a blorbo and there’s so much interesting stuff to dig into around him and he has to win this entire tournament please please please❤️

Round 4 masterpost

[stitched-mouth]

Just For Research

Pairing: Professor! Rick Sanchez x College Student! GN! Reader.

Summary: When Rick discovers his top student is a virgin, he knows he must change that so she can write her paper on human pheromones.

Warnings: Smut, Intercourse (P in ?), Teacher x Student relationship, Age Gap, Virgin! Reader

Writing Time: 30 minutes.

Word Count: 650.

Format: Kinktober Fic, Day 7.

A/N:

Woke up in the middle of the night and decided to just write this. Sorry for any mistakes, this is not proofread. I’m just really trying to make sure everything is written before October arrives so the quality is some fics might be lacking a little, this might be one of them. This is probably my shortest fic so far. Oh well.

I also have completely forgotten what it was like in college. I did about 3 months of Combined Science in the UK before I dropped out for an apprenticeship instead and I don’t remember anything about those 3 months. So this could be all completely wrong but tbh I really don’t care.

I tried really hard to keep it GN, which is getting harder and harder for me due to the lack of gender neutral terms in the English language but I’ll keep managing.

Hope you enjoy, I’ve been eager to write something for Rick for ages now.

Thoughts were swarming your head, making it almost impossible to think about what was currently happening.

‘How did this happen?’ You thought, ‘This couldn’t of been an accident, but how then did it happen?’

You let out a torn scream, but Rick was fast to cover your mouth and silence it.

“Shut up little Whore, or the whole building will hear you.” He huffed.

Just a second ago you and Rick was discussing your college assignment. Your assignment was to write an essay about the human and animal pheromones that tell them to breed and compare the two. Something fairly basic for a Combined Science class and as the class’s top student, Rick expected this assignment to be a breeze for you.

But he had been wrong. For a top student with a bright future in Science, you had no idea about pheromones. Especially the sexual kind. It was the one thing you hadn’t studied yourself in your own time nor had you experienced it.

You had come to Rick after class to hopefully explain the subject better for you or give you good resources to look up but once Rick found out you was a virgin, what you got instead was a private lessons on pheromones that included an experimental or practical that would give you the experience.

So now you were bent over his desk taking all of him like the good little one you was.

“Please…” You whimpered, tired and stretched out to the max. It had only been a few minutes but this was completely new to a virgin.

“Please what, Whore?” Rick glared down at you, still thrusting in and out of you at an ungodly pace.

Rick didn’t think this was exactly the best way to show someone who had never experienced sexual feelings what they were like, but to be honest, he didn’t care. He was just looking for a reason to fuck you. His prettiest most innocent and intelligent little Princess/Prince who always sat in the front row, listening to him with wide ears.

But this had been a good lesson for you. Your sexual desire and need for Professor Sanchez now more than alive, it was insatiable.

“Please more Sir!” You cried.

Rick was a little shocked, but more than happy to oblige. And quickly increased his speed, you looked down and moaned into the once clean desk.

“Yeah? You like this cock? You want more of it, my little cocksleeve?” Rick groaned into your ears.

“Yes!” You nodded eagerly.

Obviously, you came first. You did so with a scream and giant smile. Rick came not too long after you onto your back, with just a few loud grunt.

You was pretty confident now you was gonna Ace this assignment.

[daenerystargaryen06]

I was rewatching Game of Thrones...

I was watching Game of Thrones with my friend, and was just reminded that the ending really had no sort of cohesive thought put into it.

Let's start with the North becoming independent.

So, the North going independent really was a dumb decision. It is assumed that winter is still going, I don't think winter would suddenly just end that fast even with the NK having been killed. The North being independent would mean that other Kingdoms would have no obligation to send them resources, food, or men when needed. Meaning if another Kingdom were to suddenly attack the North, they can't call for help from other areas to get more men, and a majority of their men were assumed to have been depleted after the war against the dead. Sansa mentions that she has no resources to feed Dany's army when they arrive (and pretended as though she didn't even know when they were coming, even though Jon had sent her a letter about it); and the glass gardens within Winterfell were likely destroyed from two battles occurring- so where does Sansa plan on obtaining food to feed her people, especially during winter? Not even Bran has an obligation to send her help, and even if he wanted to, he himself likely doesn't have the resources to do so. Highgarden had been sacked previously by the Lannister's, and gold is needed to be spent on rebuilding King's Landing (or apparently focused on building brothels, as Bronn suggests). So how exactly does Sansa plan on ruling her people and getting them through the coming winter, when she has no experience with ruling and the few scenes shown of her looking after Winterfell while Jon is gone, she barely does anything?

Not to mention the fact that considering the North obtained its independence, what's to stop the other kingdoms from declaring for their independence as well? Yara Greyjoy will likely be the first to declare for independence, considering Dany had promised her independence when they allied together. What is also to stop Yara from going after the North? Jon Snow was the one to kill her sworn Queen, and was barely given any sort of consequence for his actions, and the Starks were left in power. As mentioned, the North's armies have been depleted likely from the battle against the dead, and winter will likely be there as well, which means that they can't really afford needed resources and men on fighting against the Ironborn should they decide to go after the North or pillage from it.

Another contender likely to go independent is Dorne. In the show, it was mentioned that Dorne had pledged itself to Dany's side. I doubt they will want to follow the Stark's due to the same reasoning as Yara Greyjoy had- Jon Snow killed their Queen, hardly got any reasonable consequence for it, and the Stark's were left in power. That already leaves two areas independent from the crown. When the other people see Dorne and the Iron Islands go independent, what is to stop them from doing the same? War will likely start because of these independences (Westeros had warred amongst itself before Aegon the Conqueror united the lands). Neither Bran nor Sansa will have any men, supplies, or resources for these wars. And who is to even say that people would want to follow behind Bran being their King? Unlike previous rulers, Bran has no showing for why he should be respected and feared as a ruler to keep others in line, except for the fact that he can see all that goes on. Which isn't really going to stop people from rebelling when he has no actual backing to him; limited men and limited resources. Highgarden, as well, is probably going to be f*cked over from having Bronn as their Lord. Bronn has no experience ruling. His only actions showcased throughout the entire show was fighting, and going to brothels. Already as Master of Coin he is showing he has no concept for ruling and utilizing things wisely, considering he wished to focus the coin on rebuilding brothels of all things, over anything else. Also, what is to stop the Citadel from feeling slighted by Bran and his decisions as King? Samwell Tarly being made maester, when he didn't even finish his training in Oldtown, had stolen valuable items from the Citadel, and has two children with Gilly. The Citadel likely will rebel as well, or refuse to involve themselves with the Crown, considering what Bran had done.

Overall, when you truly put logical sense into the show's ending, it was a shitshow all around. Nothing made sense. And when you apply actual thinking and reasoning to it, you realize just how screwed over Westeros is going to be from this ending. It was said that G.R.R.M plans for Bran to be King, but from the way D&D did it, the ending made no credible sense and had a lot of errors within it as a whole because they can't seem to write a cohesive and good ending without plot holes, character assassination, and stupidity.

I really am crossing my fingers for the books, if they're ever going to be released, because the finality of the show just is... horrible. I would have taken Dany being Queen (even if they had made her 'mad' in the show) over this mess.

[painted-bees]

I really love making comics and writings n stuff that explore/depict the character's neuro-eccentricities and struggles, etc. So I make a lot of that kind of thing. And I like framing these narratives/situations in a way that prioritizes reader empathy. One of my anxieties about this is that it runs the risk of...not exactly 'woobifying', but like--sanding off the edges of what it's like to live with some of these disorders, or what it's like to live someone who does. Hi-Note in general is a very "U wU" comfort thing for me, and the characters are custom tailored to respond to situations in a kind of idealized manner while attempting to remain grounded by the personal, real-life, lived circumstances that they're mirror. And, ideally, I'd like the characters and situations to serve as an easy gateway into understanding how certain destructive/manipulative/abusive personality traits can arise, especially in people with PDs--and that these behaviors do not usually stem from some kind of 'born evil'. By that same token, though--Raf is a very "best case" depiction; someone with the time, resources, support, and space to sit with himself and introspect on why he's so unhappy, why his relationships go poorly, and what needs to change in order to exist peacefully. Let me make it clear, the work he puts in is primarily motivated by his desire to feel comfortable in his own life. It's for himself. Not everyone has the means--the time, the space, the help--to self-identify and make that same kind of ""transformation"" for themselves. And I hope I make it apparent that, even for someone with all the time and resources in the world, managing the behaviors your brain developed as a protective instinct is a difficult, exhausting undertaking, and that regressions and old habits may never truly go away. No one should ever be made to suffer abuse from someone who grapples with these challenges, but the reality of these disorders is that...abuse is often what happens. And this is one of those things that I don't really know how to adequately depict in a comforting little character study, nor do I know how to invite people to see both sides of this struggle. It's so multifaceted. Those suffering mental illness deserve patience, love and grace unconditionally, but no person, no matter how loved or loving, should ever feel obliged to shoulder an abusive situation regardless of whether their abuser is trying to manage and work on their behavior or not. So...I write write Raf and Margie, find comfort in their mutual understanding, warmly relish their apparent likeability among the readers who enjoy relating to them

and quietly worry about all the parts I have left out.

[not-goldy]

So you are very ok with JK given everything by the company while Jimin is mistreated af ? You said JK AND JM. But what JM is getting ? Dust ?

Just like JK, you are being greedy only wanting him to the succeed while JM is always ignored by the company. But ofcourse JK is successful so you are ok with JM being his trophy husband, who works hard but with restricted success and won't go above JK, isn't it ?

I'm open to discussing the various ways in which one member's career could be hyped up more or invested into more by us or their company. I'm open to discussing all the ways in which their company could be abusing them or the ways in which they aren't being treated fairly.

What I would not do is hate on another member just because while secretly yearning for what he has for my bias. That's bad karma so you are on your own.

I can't and don't need to hate Jungkook in order to love Jimin.

I can't wish evil for Jungkook in order to wish well for Jimin. I'M NOT DERANGED NOR SLOW LIKE THAT.

They can both be successful artists, their individual successes don't take away from each other's.

They can both be great

They can both coexist as icons.

There's so much room and space for them to inhabit as they each speak to unique demographics. Different talents, different audiences.

I don't need to bring one down to lift one up. You are weird for that shit.

Also these are SOLO artists which presupposes they have separate deals and contractual rights and obligations with the company and I'm tired of explaining this over and over- get yourself some legal education will you.

They are both free to contract and if they are not happy with their contracts they can sue the company.

I'm okay with Hybe performing and fulfilling their obligations under their contract with Jungkook. If that contract stipulates they give all their resources to him then that's what they must do.

Jimin needs a better lawyer to negotiate a better deal for him then if the contract is not serving him because believe it or not hybe is not a charity and they don't operate outside the limits set by their contracts🙄

We know this because they refuse to get into matters that fall within the privacy clause of their artists and as Jimin said, even the food they give them comes straight out of the artist's pay.

We can talk about the different value they place on each member - which of course, they don't place the same value on the members equally. Some are valued more than others. But we been knew that. It's been that way since day one.

It's business though. Nothing personal. Companies do take risks on others more so than others because they look for different things in artists and have specific target markets in mind from the get go.

It's the reason Jungkook may not work well for Dior but Jimin does. They are unique brands and require unique artist's brand as well.

It's up to that artist and their fans to prove them right or wrong- which us and Jimin keep doing every single day. Let's focus on that. The more we sell out, the more numbers we have the better for his market value.

Jungkook is the GOLDEN MAKNAE. he has that going for him. You can't take that away from him. He's managed to capture a portion of the market that most music companies struggle to break through. He could well be the next Justin Beiber or the JB of Kpop but then again he is his own person and a unique phenomenon on his own just as BTS.

Don't underestimate his influence. Don't make that mistake.

He has all the qualities that makes A GLOBAL POP ARTIST and right now there is a gap in that market. I have several posts on this explaining this phenomenon please find any and read for further clarification on my other blog.

Btw, Jimin stans are mostly adults most of whom are lawyers and legal practitioners with the JDs and shit who understand the ins and outs of the entertainment industry. Get real and quit embarrassing us💀💀💀💀

[anamericangirl]

Forget the January 6th riot. It's an unimportant distraction. Focus on the real issue.

In the USA we vote not necessarily for candidates, but Electors who then vote for president. They meet on capitol hill and cast their votes, and are under no obligation to actually vote for who they've been told to by the public, because we are a republic, not a democracy.

Donald John Trump hired fake electors who were neither appointed to the position nor chosen by the public, falsified elector documents, and sent them to capitol hill to vote him back into office.

This is the crime that is being discussed as treason. Trump and his lawyers say it can not be a crime because Trump was president, and therefore hiring fake electors was an official presidential act. They have even gone as far to claim the president has complete and total power to use government resources to kill political opponents.

If the courts agree with Donald Trump, power will be given to all sitting presidents to do what he tried to do and more. With Joe Biden in office, it would become legal for the Joe Biden to kill any electors slated to vote for Trump and plant his own loyalists instead, or even kill Trump himself. Whoever is president come next election cycle after that, be it Biden or Harris, would have the same power do to do it again. And again. And again.

If Trump wins if gives the Democrats power to take over the United States government from now until the end of time. It would usher in a communist dictatorship the likes of which the world has never seen before.

For freedom, liberty, and justice to prevail, Trump must be found guilty or all is lost.

Obviously this was sent to me before Trump's trial but this is how dumb these people are.

[loopingpyre]

Yeah, fair enough on the needing more detail point, I sort of wanted to test the waters to see if you'd even care first, cause I wasn't gonna waste time typing out a whole thing if the notion of JRPGs being fundamentally flawed didn't interest you and then you deleted my ask. So I guess I'll now oblige and explain in more detail.

I've been playing a few of the SMT games because my girlfriend really likes them and I, being a good girlfriend (trying to!) want to show that I care about her interests. Prior to this I've only really played Persona 3 and 5 and Yakuza 7. For this, I played Soul Hackers 2, and Devil Survivor 1 and 2 (1 to Yuzu's ending, and 2 to Ronaldo's ending), and about an hour of SMT V, which I found boring, and she, having played the whole game (I'm pretty sure) agrees with me that it's boring, so I decided to not keep playing it (for now at least)

My main issue with most all of these games comes mostly threefold: the amount of time and commitment they take, the difficulty and in particular the manner in which it is imposed, and the heavily formulaic nature of their plots. These are sort of holistic issues, I guess, so I can't really neatly divide them, but I'll try.

First of all: the time commitment. Playing both Devil Survivors to a single ending took me around thirty to forty hours each, going off of my save files. (I was playing the 3DS versions, mind, and listening to all the voice acting, which surely extended the time played.) I understand that it gets faster on NG+, and in itself, this isn't exactly the biggest of deals, because video games in general take a long time (it's the way it is really), but JRPGs just feel like they take way longer than the average video game and this issue compounds when one considers the latter two flaws I've observed.

So, secondarily: The difficulty, and the way it's imposed. Soul Hackers 2 obviously is not a hard game, and there's not that much variance in its content, and it's not the longest of these sorts of games, either, so I wouldn't say it's the greatest offender here (using that term feels wrong...), but with Devil Survivor 1, I felt this the most. About 80 percent of the way through the game, which I'd generally found to be quite unchallenging for the most part, I found myself suddenly struggling against Belial (the fire demon). During a grinding session in which I was trying to level myself up so that I could weather my way through this (to my annoyance, as I found the grinding incessantly tedious, more on that later), my girlfriend looked over my shoulder, and said "why do your stats look like that?"

You see, my stats, at the time, all four, magic, vitality, agility, and uh... What was the fourth one. Strength! Yeah, um they were *all* at exactly 17 (give or take 1.) I explained to her, rather calmly, that I had done this because I couldn't really choose which of the four stats I wanted more of, and thought it would be best if I made all of these numbers perfectly balanced and equal.

This is an approach I almost always take in most any video game that offers any form of upgrade or skill tree: I struggle with overchoice, can't choose a priority to go for, so every time I have resources with which to upgrade, I just upgrade whatever is most recently neglected such that I have a generally well-rounded skill set and can do a bit of everything.

She, an SMT veteran, immediately went like, "NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO "

And explained to me that the way I was *supposed* to do this, was to specialize in one area or another, magic or strength or tanking damage with high health, or whatever. To which I said "HOW THE FUCK WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT!" She insisted I should have just known it, I guess? Anyway, I considered this a grievous design flaw that irreparably impaired my enjoyment of the game. As I did not have an old save file with which to revert my statting decisions, and did not wanted to restart the entire game, nor did I want to grind the same fucking goddamned shibuya battle over and over and over and over and over again for god knows how many hours until I somehow corrected my stats

I opted to use my (hacked) 3DS to install an external cheat which inflated my protagonist's level to 99 with all four stats at their maximum of 40. I did this because I had decided I hated how this game was balanced and wanted to finish it and no longer waste my time. I felt pleased with this decision, because I was playing through the bad ending in which the cast brute forces their way out of the lockdown and ruining the world, while myself brute forcing my way out of the game and ruining the game balance. *ahem* I mean, fixing the game balance

My girlfriend said "I'm glad you had fun ruining one of my favorite games :(((" In response, I opined that Devil Survivor would have been better if it were a straightforward visual novel.

While Soul Hackers 2 does not have this specific issue, given that Ringo's stats are all mostly preset by the game and you can only mildly boost them here and there, I did instead take umbrage with the way that the later floors of the Soul Matrix dungeon were organized around teleporters which teleport you from one island of the floor to another, with no clear sense of rhyme or reason to their routing. I considered these teleporters to be arbitrary and stupid, as they were frustrating, and demanded that I have the capacity for rote memorization of the layout and teleporter placement of an entire dungeon whose corners broadly look all the damn same. I called these a blatantly egregious example of "fake difficulty".

She warned me never to touch several of the older SMT games.

I booted up Devil Survivor 2, with my girlfriend's advice about specialization in mind. I enjoyed the game a lot more than Devil Survivor 1, but, for the sake of mitigating gameplay frustration, I pirated the DLC. I quickly realized I would not enjoy the grinding, even with the reduction of grinding that the DLC enables, and cheated to have infinite money so I could have more fun with the game. I went for Ronaldo's ending, because he's sort of a leftist and his voice acting makes him sound like Knuckles the Echidna from Sonic the Hedgehog, and I thought siding with "communist Knuckles the Echidna" was a very funny image

Anyway, across all three of these experiences, I generally wondered, "do I like these? do I like their stories? do I like their gameplay?" and I feel like the answer is broadly sort of... yes, sometimes, but generally no?

I kinda just don't really understand the appeal of being railroaded into repetitive tasks for the sake of increasing numbers that then decide whether or not you win, rather than like, your actual skill, which is just down to pressing the same buttons over and over. I get that part of the appeal is the long-term strategy of building your party, and that's valid and all, but I tend to very quickly get frustrated with it because often times I fail to intuit the correct strategy ahead of time, and the solution turns out to be "rewind the clock back several hours!" and I don't want to do that and have to redo all the work I did up to that point, and then potentially have to rewind again if I do it wrong.

So, the appeal is supposed to be the strategy, I guess, which just takes a lot of dedication that I don't have in me, but if I dial that down to make it easier, then the game's reduced to pressing more buttons, and, just isn't really fun at all in the way it's supposed to be. And that all might be fine if the story was worth the effort, but... is it?

All of these games have very thin narratives which all more or less boil down to "humanity good" vs "humanity bad" vs "humanity bad but sometimes good so it's worth it (sometimes)" ideological conflicts that all end up with killing one or another divine or cosmic entity with omnipotence of one or another variety, and like, cool, I guess, is that worth 50-100 hours of effort? Is that something I'm invested enough in to throw myself into an entire series, hell, an entire genre, of games for? I'm not really sure that it is, to me, so. Weh?

Is that really all that there is to this entire game genre? Like, outside of indie games that mostly have their own issues (they're all very derivatively ripping off Mother 3 and/or Undertale and/or Chrono Trigger and not generally bringing a lot of new mechanical ideas, and even still they just kinda find their way back to the issue of the grind not being that fun most of the time)

And my girlfriend has just argued to most of this that maybe I just don't like the games, and I shouldn't force myself to like them, and she'd like to please stop rehashing this argument with me, and maybe she's right, maybe I just don't enjoy JRPGs, and that's okay, but uh...

I don't know. I want to try and see what she sees in them and find out if I can really care about them the way she does. She has a Jack Frost plushie that I sometimes play with, and it's cute, and I want to care about him more the way she does, not just because he's cute but because I've played these games and had fun and know who he is and definitely don't hate his stupid little face aaahh I love him so much

and I keep inventing fun little lore for Frosty the Jack Frost plushie (she calls him Frosty) about how he sells stuff he stole to the Black Market which is owned by Black Frost, and he's planning to kill King Frost and overthrow the Frost Monarchy, and all that, and she seems to find that cute even though she keeps contradicting it with lore and trivia from the games and I keep going "well I dunno *in the back of my mind: but maybe I want to know*" and like

I'm sorry if this seems like an insane unhinged rant but I just really love my girlfriend and I think it'd hurt a little to have to give up on something she really loves, even if I know, intellectually, that she loves me more, and that that won't change if I don't like SMT, and it's okay if I don't like them.

But I want to like them. I genuinely do. I don't know how to like them and I don't know how to tell her I want to like them and am not trying to start a fight with her over something she loves. I don't know. Am I missing something?

for the record I kind of like a lot of things Soul Hackers 2 does and I think I'd like it a lot more if it was finished but that's a can of worms I maybe shouldn't open....

Holy shit this is so much and thank you so much also for caring enough for my opinion because i have a whole lot to say here, and I adore these games.

Let's break it down point by point.

Belial is fairly challenging, the game is hard. And I think your girlfriend has done you a severe disservice. If she wanted you to min-max your stats in a certain direction, she should have told you about that straight up. I can understand her immediate reaction due to it being uncommon, but how is that your fault? The game is actually designed for it anyway.

You're given party members that focus on different niches, Yuzu and Midori and Keisuke can all perform powerful magic offensive roles, Atsuro is a strong tank, Kaido has powerful offensive stats, and you share a skill pool, so having a less specialised build is really only going to make it that much harder if you try to make your protag the main attacker, which some SMT vets seem to instinctively do in these games. Having a mix means you could play the healer, carry an extra element or phys attack or status condition to cripple a foe.

I personally would have leant towards a code that lets you boost levels faster, but I think her response to cheating was unreasonable. I think the game is balanced well even if you make an even spread but you're trying to have fun and try her thing. Kind of rude to you really, because sometimes you just need to cheat, these games are HARD. Remember that escort mission earlier on? Kind of needlessly tricky.

There's a reason that new versions of these releases have additional easy modes. In some of their PS2 game promotion, Atlus PR famously said 'we get off on your tears'. That mentality has somewhat changed since. Whilst some, like I, say that the difficulty is kind of part of the point, there's only so much you should have to put up with. I actively reccommend cheats in some games as a way to ease you in, when they are so challenging.

(Were you playing the DS version? The Yuzu ending certainly isnt a 'bad ending' on 3ds. The 8th day makes it one of my fave endings. Trying to complete every ending is a fool's endeavor in my opinion, and you should only lean towards what you think is best. Maybe look up an ending guide on the offchance the cool ending you want is hidden in some way so you never have to touch the game again unless you actually want to. The point is about you making Your Choice.)

Moving along, Ronnie my beloved. Love that guy, his route is easily the best. I love Soul Hackers 2 despite it's frustratingly flaws of 'they ripped half the game out and sold it as day 1 dlc' and 'the fucking soul matrix', and a lot of people just dismiss it out of hand based on early dungeon design and miss out on the way it deals with it's cast. Im so glad you can SEE IT.

Within many Shin Megami Tensei games, the stat grinding difficulty is the point insofar as you are fighting a world that is falling apart and wants you dead. And even so, you keep fighting and surviving. These titles can be rather samey as they go over their various aspects of humanity over and over, but thus can they really be made a representative of the JRPG genre? What about Pokemon, which is about adventuring and bonding with your creatures? SMT has a distinct theme they stick to that they repackage in different flavours. Fuck it, play old ones and cheat in them. Load up on macca and buy a gazillion healing items to cut down the grind and overall playtime.

I've noticed a distinct absence of the Persona games too? Which is strange given how they all differ from traditional smt in terms of theming.

My favourite RPGs are 'The World Ends With You' and 'The Caligula Effect 2'. Entirely different from SMT and dont focus on 'humanity' in that way at all and they absolutely aren't representative of more mainstream JRPGs.

(sidenote, what are your favourite RPGs out of curiosity? I can probably help you hunt down some specific titles that you would like more?)

I adore your Jack Frost lore. Why can't that work in canon? Little fairy friend SHOULD overthrow the frost monarchy!

(and that sort of stuff is encouraged in Atlus' other series Etrian Odyssey, which is a dungeon crawler where you make a team of customised guys (you can start anywhere).

I think the only thing you can really do is play more, but i dont think you should push yourself either or you could burn out and appreciate it less. I'm sorry that I don't have magical advice that will solve that conundrum.

Thank you so much for coming to me though, it means a lot and I hope this ramble does anything for you. Im trying to check on my phone that I covered everything in your post and Im so sorry if I missed anything (please point it out if so).

Best of luck?