#and then of course id give it a significance
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society if white people saw culture as more nuanced than the "all around the globe" videos they watched in elementary school
#culture is. again. the filter through which you experience the world#what you see is the APPLICATION of it#if i live in the middle east and we have little rainfall and too much sun and date trees and wells#well its not so shocking we had rain and moon gods and still place ridiculous health values on dates and venerate certain water wells#if i only have access to certain fabrics and certain clothing layouts thatd protect me from the sun#of COURSE im going to wear the type of clothes thatd protect my skin#and then of course id give it a significance#if we actually thought about culture as complex as it is then there literally wouldnt be racism dude#poc#woc#racism#oppression#culture#anthropology
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My thoughts during “The Sign” [SPOILERS!!!!!]
ID in ALT
More thoughts under the cut
So I think most of us can agree that this is the best episode of Bluey so far. It was so emotional and satisfying in ways that are kinda new for Bluey. It answered so many questions while giving us a few new ones. I’ve been waiting for this episode for months and it did not disappoint in any way.
This is just a Chekov’s firing squad of an episode. As in a lot of stuff that was set up in earlier episodes all pay off in this episode. I kinda understand why people love soap operas now lol. I will say that this episode was a tad overwhelming for me in the best way possible. As in I had to pause and rewind every 30 seconds or so so I could emotionally process what was happening before moving forward (but that’s a me thing). There was just so much going on and I’m happy about that.
Now onto individual thoughts about specific things:
The callback to Baby Race (“you took your first steps in that house!”) really got to me because Baby Race was the first episode of Bluey that I watched and it immediately made me fall in love with it so it just got to me.
When Chilli said “Frisky and I came up here as teenagers to…um…think,” my mind started racing immediately with “what the FUCK happened at the Lookout?” “Who hurt Frisky and/or Chilli?” And I’m just so curious about what made Chilli say that line like that but we’ll probably never know what happened.
So yeah that scene at the end when the music was playing and Bandit ripped the sign out of the ground and Chilli tackled him to the ground ABSOLUTELY CHANGED my brain chemistry y’all. I can’t articulate my feelings any more than that.
I know some people were upset that Brandy ended up getting pregnant but I thought it was great for her! I’m happy for her! And I think that even though she got what she wanted in the end doesn’t negate the feelings she had about her infertility earlier. But I think we’re all wondering who the father is and I don’t know if the show really needs to answer that.
The whole message of “we’ll see” in terms of if something is good or bad is such a mature message that I never really thought of like that so I will be taking that philosophy forward in life. Congratulations Bluey, you managed to teach a 22-year-old childless person something new and insightful about life that I don’t think I’ve learned from another show.
I want to know more about what Bob was going through and feeling and why he went to India, but again, we’ll probably never know.
I just love how the wedding photos were beautiful but imperfect. Like of course we’re not perfect and nothing will ever be perfect but it’s beautiful and worth remembering anyway.
So many little jokes and moments were so funny in a mature way (I.e. “are we allowed to do that?” And Nana thinking there was about to be a baby announcement) were just so funny and memorable.
I think some people would say it’s a cop-out to end up not selling the house after building it up for 2 episodes but I don’t know, I think it works. I think Bluey and Bingo learned a valuable lesson and Bandit (and Chilli kinda) learned it’s not always about making their kids lives “perfect” in their eyes. Also I’m just personally glad they didn’t end up selling the house and I also kinda like that it wasn’t entirely their choice to keep it.
On a more serious note I think this episode has some interesting commentary on like gender roles and gender relations in straight relationships. In this episode Chilli and Frisky (both women) have to deal with their male significant others pressuring them to move with them far away from what they know and love. In the end they don’t end up moving and the men didn’t seem to have like malicious or selfish intent with it, they were just kinda basing their choices off their jobs instead of what’s best emotionally for their loved ones. But I think it’s interesting to have this conflict where gender is kinda brought up in a way (“because your husband is making you”). It kinda plays into the traditional idea of like men are the breadwinners and the family has to move with them regardless of what they actually want. And this episode kinda like deconstructs that and says “no, it’s not always about the job or money, it’s also sometimes about connections and emotional attachment.” And I’m not saying that you should never move or whatever, but really weigh your options. I just thought that it was interesting that this episode kinda touched on that.
So yeah that’s kinda the main thoughts I had on this episode if you made it this far thank you for reading my rambles and have a good one!
#Bluey#bluey the sign#meme#Bluey heeler#rad heeler#bandit heeler#chilli heeler#baby race#my ramblings#my rambles#frisky heeler#brandy cattle#spoilers#bluey the sign spoilers#bluey spoilers
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zuko’s collapse after returning from lake laogai is such an interesting point in his character development, and you can look at it from so many ways. from a storytelling perspective, zuko is approaching his descent into the underworld as part of his hero’s journey. from a psychoanalyst perspective, zuko’s id is being superseded by his superego. from an in-universe perspective, zuko goes through a spiritual awakening. but I think it’s especially significant if you look at it from a trauma perspective.
because I think the significance of this moment that often gets missed is that zuko doesn’t just make one (1) good decision and then immediately fall into a morality coma. by choosing to free appa and give up his hunt for the avatar, zuko is making a conscious choice to disobey his father, and as a result, falls into a catatonic state due to overwhelming feelings of fear that his body literally can’t handle.
zuko vacillates through all five fear responses over the course of the show. he defaults most often to fight, but he also displays the freeze response during the second war meeting he attends after returning to the fire nation (he can’t speak up; he is frozen in place and unable to act), and he often responds to conflict with his uncle with the flight response (he runs away during when iroh objects to him stealing rather than stay and confront the issue; he runs away from iroh to find appa during “lake laogai”).
the fifth trauma response, and the most debilitating one, is sometimes referred to as “flop,” a state of catalonia characterized by fainting and unresponsiveness, the instinctive reaction of an animal in the jaws of a predator. and from that perspective, the context of this moment is that zuko is literally so overwhelmed by the consequences of the choice he has made that his body goes through an involuntary shutdown.
after he awakens from his catatonia, zuko smiles and acts in a submissive, non-threatening manner toward his uncle, whom he’s displeased and disobeyed. this isn’t the norm for zuko--but it is characteristic of the fawn response. from a trauma perspective, zuko’s newfound pleasantness is an unconscious attempt to ingratiate himself back into iroh’s good graces, because he has learned that disobeying a parental figure leads is not safe.
and it makes you wonder if zuko’s choice to side with azula in “crossroads of destiny” was because he had experienced a frightening and disorienting trauma response the last time he directly disobeyed his father’s orders. zuko probably never wanted to experience that state of vulnerability again, and siding with azula may have instinctively felt like a way to protect himself. zuko isn’t just trying to get what he wants, he’s making what feels like the safest choice possible available to him in that moment.
tl;dr, from a trauma perspective, zuko isn’t just collapsing because he’s a perpetual drama llama--his body is going through a fear response that he has no control over.
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What Americans want
Tomorrow (Oct 19), I'm in Charleston, WV to give the 41st annual McCreight Lecture in the Humanities. And on Friday (Oct 20), I'm at Charleston's Taylor Books from 12h-14h.
If you aspire to be a Very Serious Person (and whomst amongst us doesn't?) then you know why we can't have nice things. The American people won't stand for court packing, Congressional term limits, the abolition of the Electoral College, or campaign finance limits. Politics is the art of the possible, and these just aren't possible.
Friends, you've been lied to.
The latest Pew Research mega-report investigates Americans' attitudes towards politics, and honestly, the title says it all: "Americans’ Dismal Views of the Nation’s Politics":
https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2023/09/19/americans-dismal-views-of-the-nations-politics/
The American people hate Congress. They hate the parties. They hate the president. They hate the 2024 presidential candidates. They loathe the Supreme Court. Approval for America's bedrock institutions are at historic lows. Disapprovals are at historic highs.
The report's subtitle speaks volumes: "65% say they always or often feel exhausted when thinking about politics." Who can blame them? After all: "63% express not too much or no confidence at all in the future of the U.S. political system."
"Just 4% of U.S. adults say the political system is working extremely or very well": that is to say, there are more Americans who think Elvis is alive than who think US politics are working well.
There are differences, of course. Young people have less hope than older people. Republicans are more reactionary than Democrats. Racialized people trust institutions less than white people.
But there are also broad, bipartisan, cross-demographic, intergenerational agreements, and these may surprise you:
Take Congressional term-limits. 87% of US adults support these. Only 12% oppose them.
Everyone knows American gerontocracy is a problem. I mean, for one thing, it's destabilizing. There's a significant chance that neither of the presumptive US presidential candidates will be alive on inauguration day:
https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/01/designated-survivors/
But beyond the inexorable logic of actuarial science, there's the problem that our Congress of septuagenarians have served for decades, and are palpably out-of-touch with their constituents' lives. And those constituents know it, which is why 79% of Americans favor age limits for elected officials and Supreme Court justices:
https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2023/09/19/how-americans-view-proposals-to-change-the-political-system/
Not all of this bipartisan agreement is positive. 76% of Americans have been duped into favoring a voter ID requirement to solve the nonexistent problem of voter fraud by imposing a racialized, wealth-based poll-tax. But even here, there's a silver lining: 62% of American support automatically registering every eligible voter.
Threats to pack the Supreme Court have a long and honorable tradition in this country. It's how Lincoln got his antislavery agenda, and how FDR got the New Deal:
https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/25/consequentialism/#dotards-in-robes
The majority of Americans don't want to pack the court…yet. The race is currently neck-and-neck – 51% opposed, 46% in favor, and with approval for the Supreme Court at lows not seen since the 2400 baud era, court-packing is an idea with serious momentum:
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/07/21/favorable-views-of-supreme-court-fall-to-historic-low/
66% of Democrats want the court packed. 58% of under 30s – of every affiliation – favor the proposal.
And two thirds (65%) of Americans want to abolish the Electoral College and award the presidency to the candidate with the most votes. That includes nearly half (47%) of Republicans, and two thirds of independents.
Americans believe – correctly – that their elected representatives are more beholden to monied interests than to a sense of duty towards their constituents. Or, as a pair of political scientists put it in their widely cited 2014 paper:
Economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little or no independent influence.
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/perspectives-on-politics/article/testing-theories-of-american-politics-elites-interest-groups-and-average-citizens/62327F513959D0A304D4893B382B992B
So yeah, no surprise that 70% of Americans believe that voters have too little influence over their elected lawmakers. 83% of Republicans say big campaign donors call the shots. 80% of Democrats agree.
Which is why 72% of Americans want to limit political spending (76% for Democrats, 71% for Republicans). The majority of Americans – 58% – believe that it is possible to get money out of politics with well-crafted laws.
Americans truly do have a "dismal view of the nation's politics," and who can blame them? But if you "feel exhausted thinking about the nation's politics," consider this – the majority of Americans, including Republicans, want to:
abolish the electoral college;
impose campaign spending limits;
put term limits on elected officials and Supreme Court justices;
put age limits on elected officials and Supreme Court justices; and
automatically register every eligible American to vote.
What's more, packing the Supreme Court is a coin-toss, and it's growing more popular day by day.
Which is all to say, yes, things are really screwed up, but everyone knows it and everyone agrees on the commonsense measures that would fix it.
If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:
https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/18/the-people-no/#tell-ya-what-i-want-what-i-really-really-want
My next novel is The Lost Cause, a hopeful novel of the climate emergency. Amazon won't sell the audiobook, so I made my own and I'm pre-selling it on Kickstarter!
#pluralistic#gerontocracy#corruption#politics#polling#usa usa usa#pew#term limits#scotus#pack the court#citizens united
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AU where L and Light go to To-Oh together before the Death Note is dropped. (Whether Light is Kira is up to you, I think it'd be cool either way)
While L and the cops are investigating Kira, Light and L have began a relationship. Now, Soichiro (lights dad, if your memory is as bad as mine) is working with L, but has also literally seen him in the house.
Sufficed to say, he's shocked when he meets L and it's his son's college friend. Even more so when Light calls L nearing the end of a meeting and hears them talk more than platonically.
Here's some little excerpts my mind made up. I've watched the show only once, so I'm sorry if/that it's ooc
"Hello. I am here to see Light."
"Light! There's a weird guy at the door!" Sayu called. She glanced at him. "No offense."
"None taken," L dismissed.
Light ran down the stairs, smiling at the sight of L in the door.
"Hey! I picked up some cake, and we can go play that game I talked about."
"I figured as much, since that's why I'm here," L said. Light rolled his eyes fondly.
They walked into the kitchen, where his father was getting water.
"Oh, you must be Soichiro Yagami. Police chief, solved over 30 cases."
"Wow, Light. I had no idea you talked about me all that much."
"He doesn't."
Upon setting their sights on L, Soichiro's mind went blank. He would've never guessed. What were the chances. While everyone else was making their judgments on L and his appearance, Soichiro was trying to combine Ryuzaki with L in his mind.
He ignored it. It'd be safer for both of them if they didn't bring their personal lives into this. He took out his ID and introduced himself as if it were the first time.
"If I were Kira you would be dead Soichiro Yagami."
Combining these two people wouldn't be so difficult. He knew Ryuzaki reminded him of someone.
As they went on, he remembered small details. Light running downstairs because he and Ryuzaki had left their phones there. Ryuzaki also had an infatuation for sugar, and even when his wife made pretty universally loved tea, he'd still add stacks of sugar cubes.
Then there was...
"And from now on, I'll have to ask that you stop calling me 'L.' It's..." L glanced at Soichiro. "Ryuzaki now. Just to be safe."
How cautious was L to give a fake name to L before Kira was even a factor? And if Soichiro didn't know him, would he have used a different alias?
"Excuse me," L said, pulling his phone oddly from his pocket. "Your timing is perfect, I'm nearly done with my meeting. I'll be over shortly."
"I assume you have more puzzles to test me with?"
"Of course I do." Whoever was on the other side laughed softly. A small smile cracked L's face.
"I look forward to it, Ryu."
"So do I."
"See you soon."
L hesitated, but hung up without saying much more like usual.
"My apologies, I try not to keep him waiting."
"Was that Watari?" Matsuda asked.
"No, my boyfriend." He said it so casually, though it shocked everyone.
"You... what?" Aizawa asked.
"He's the only person I've ever met on my level. If it didn't put him in significant danger, I would've brought him in to help." He pushed his lip with his thumb. "Though that's not the only reason," he added in a mumble. He looked as ashamed as L could look.
"How long have you, uh..." Poor Matsuda was thrown extremely off guard.
"I've been queer my whole life if that's what you're asking. Though, I'm sure you're not. I've known him for a few months. He's very attractive." He pulled his hand away from his smile. "I'd tell you his name, but I don't feel comfortable doing so."
Soichiro feared he already knew who it was. Light didn't need to be put in more danger than he already was being his son. He didn't know how to feel about this.
"You'd place surveillance camera's on your own boyfriend?" Soichiro asked. He wouldn't mind placing them on Light, but L always had a certain level of respect for him.
"Of course. I've suspected he was L since before we started a romantic relationship."
This was a shock to everyone. Not only L dating Light, but L potentially dating Kira and knowing it.
"Why?"
"Light is my intellectual equal. Unfortunately that makes it more likely that he's Kira. And the fact that he made the first move only increases that likelihood, though he doesn't know I'm L. If he did, I'd be more sure."
"How sure are you?"
"About 5%. If he knew I was L before he kissed me, it'd be 7 or 8%. Getting close with the enemy is a good way of staying in their good graces and not getting caught, but I'm not going to excuse Light as a suspect just because he makes me happy. That would be ridiculous. And being his boyfriend makes it so I can monitor him outside the house without raising suspicion."
"I might be out of line, but that sounds messed up. Spying on your boyfriend?"
"Well, I don't have to. I can monitor elsewhere while they're at home. I will still be attending my outings with Light and I can't help but monitor him in those moments, though I can assure you we're usually focused on each other; I'm not sure he'd have a moment to kill with me there."
"And Light doesn't know you're L?" Aizawa asked. "Couldn't it be helpful for him to be brought on the case? He's helped on cases before."
"If Light isn't Kira, I don't want him in any danger. I'm sure Soichiro understands my dilemma." His voice was tense as were his hands.
"I do," Soichiro admitted. "I'm find putting cameras around the house. If there's any chance, we may as well check."
"Exactly."
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Tell me about how the structure of the medium impacts the story 🔫
My brother in Christ, prepare yourself for the most boring essay you could possibly imagine. I'm going to over-simplify a few things here for the sake of Getting To The Point, so bear with me.
I think a good starting place is that DSMP is an example of New Media. The go-to definition most folks use is this one: that New Media are stories told via "communication technologies that enable or enhance interaction between users as well as interaction between users and content." In other words, NM is basically this category of stories made up of convergent elements, which satisfy a multimedia requirement, and are heavily reliant on both participatory fan culture and recent advances in technology that allow creators/audiences to communicate with one another instantly.
There's a couple ways you can understand DSMP as a New Media, but as far as I'm concerned, one of the most interesting is prosumption. The term "prosumption" describes a creative situation where a piece of art is being produced (at least in part) by the same people that consume it; they're both audience and creator. DSMP is a really great example of this phenomenon, because A) it's serial and therefore the CCs had ample opportunity to respond to and engage with the audience's reception of their story; and B) because the chat feature allows CCs to interact directly with their audience during roleplay rather than after the fact. These features, among others, kinda set the stage for DSMP to function as a highly prosumptive piece of media.
In particular, the stuff that interests me is the stuff to do with storytelling convention (genre, perspective, etc) and how prosumption turns all that on its head. There are a number of altercations in DSMP canon where the course of the story is altered because of real-time interactions between the CCs and their chat - particularly times when a CC's chat warns them about events happening at the same time elsewhere in the server. In this kind of scenario, the CCs are static, they can't really leave their own stream. Their viewers, on the other hand, are able to jump between streams and talk to each other to figure out what's happening in the overarching story. When this happens, viewers have choices to make: are they going to tell a CC what's going down on the other side of the server? If so, how are viewers going to communicate those events? Viewers are biased, they directly inform CCs, and the information they divulge (as well as how they divulge that info) goes on to influence CCs' actions and thus the events of the story, to some degree. In my opinion, this is a pretty new and exciting way to prosumptively construct a narrative! Media has always been interactive to some extent (especially serial works), but the interaction being live and in real-time is pretty significant in my view because it can exert unique pressures on a narrative.
Speaking of audience choice, that brings me to the next thing I want to yap about: ergodic storytelling, a term that refers to stories “negotiated by processes of choice, discernment, and decision-making.” For reference, a good non-MCYT example of this would be hypertext fiction, because it's generally characterized by the ability of the interactant (that's the reader, in this hypothetical example) to explore material provided by someone else, either as a kind of conceptual landscape (think setting in a video game), or as puzzle pieces that must be put together in order to give the interaction the "big picture" of the story. Basically, with hypertext fiction, there is a core text (the main document that forms the skeleton of the story) and there are multiple hypertexts branching off of the core text - and whether the reader ends up reading those branches, and in what order, inevitably shapes that reader's perception of the whole story.
So here's where it gets tricky. In the case of DSMP, where is the core text located? Is there any one identifiable core text at all? Or is it more appropriate to consider each individual stream or VOD as its own singular core text, with the related Twitch channels and Youtube recommended in the sidebar being "branches"? Alternatively, if the streams and recordings distributed on the server members’ official channels are the central text in the grand hypertext fiction that is DSMP, then can adjacent spaces where audiences do the work of creating and archiving lore be considered their own story branches? I don't have answers to these questions. No one does. That's part of what makes DSMP exciting.
To translate the above quote out of Academia Hellspeak: in an ergodic story, the audience has agency, but the agency enabled and allowed by the text varies in its intensity and mode. Yes, stories told ergodically necessitate choice — and therefore enable agency, turning the reader or viewer into interactant — but that element of choice doesn't always look the same. Some hypertexts are more choice-reliant than others, or are choice-reliant in different ways. So, rather than being a choose-your-own-adventure story, DSMP is more closely analogous to a story where the audience chooses the perspective through which they view plot developments, in addition to having some influence over how plot developments unfold.
(☝️From a 2021 Polygon article, if you think I sound crazy☝️)
The web of choices DSMP presents to viewers is very complex, even compared to other forms of choose-your-own-adventure game. Because each CC approaches the task of story-creation from their own angle (bringing their own narrative baggage to the writers’ room, so to speak), those shifts in perspective this Polygon article describes often also constitute shifts in genre. For instance, cc!Wilbur brought his music production experience and interest in musical theater to the server, cited operas and stage musicals as some of his main inspirations; and accordingly, much of c!Wilbur's most crucial arcs observably draw from those sources. When you watch a c!Wilbur stream, you’re watching a story about statecraft, about revolution, about the triumphs and tragedies of ego that play out during the process of nation-building. On the other hand, cc!Quackity has repeatedly identified Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul as his primary influences; accordingly, his RP character’s story is closer to a piece of gritty prestige television in some places (especially LN series). Unlike with c!Wilbur, a lot of c!Quackity's tension does not revolve around a romanticized fantasy of revolution but around more personal conflicts: securing your place in a new regime, navigating exploitation as both exploited and exploiter, etc. In terms of both plot beats and character arcs, Wilbur and Quackity’s respective storylines embody many of the genre conventions the content creators are working within.
Moreover, a shift in genre often entails a shift in style or mode. Because cc!Wilbur was heavily inspired by musical theater, the presentation style of his character’s storyline is correspondingly both theatrical (i.e. only loosely scripted, nearly always televised live, and improv-heavy) and musical (featuring multiple instances of Wilbur singing in-character ballads and anthems.) On the flipside, Quackity’s streams (especially the later ones, since I'm mostly focusing on Las Nevadas era here) demonstrably mimic the prestige TV shows the CC draws his inspiration from, with lore sessions being pre-recorded rather than televised live, featuring distinctive sonic and visual aesthetics popularized by neo-Western thriller dramas. So, where a piece of media like DSMP is concerned, shifts in perspective entail shifts in genre, which in turn entail pronounced shifts in style. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say it's an entirely new story depending on which character the viewer decides to follow. In that regard, what initially appears to be a single choice (whose perspective to watch a plot event through) has the power to determine a wide array of other elements, as viewers’ responses to the options presented to them will decide the overall tone of the section of the story they're about to watch.
While I think the genre-switching is genuinely super cool, lately I'm a lot more interested in perspective-switching and how it's related to viewer empathy. One side-effect of DSMP being televised live is that yes, you can watch a plot event from 30+ different POVs, but you can't watch every POV live. Typically, you either have to switch between multiple streams, or you need to pick one streamer to watch live and maybe later you'll watch other characters' POVs as you see fit. This has an impact on your perception of how that plot point went down because watching something live feels very different from watching something after-the-fact. I haven't done study on this, so what I'm about to say is mostly conjecture, but I wouldn't be surprised if viewers felt greater empathy for (and greater degrees of kinship with) characters whose POVs they watched live.
The choice of which character to follow also has observable impacts on other kinds of narrative conventions (who is the main character of DSMP? the boring answer is c!Dream because the server's named after him, but the real answer is the protagonist is whoever's POV you watched most of the major plot events through) but to be honest, those questions don't interest me as much.
So, going back to perspective and empathy. I think viewers' reactions to Exile are a really solid way of exemplifying the thing I'm trying to say, so this is the part of the yapping where we gotta bring up the dreaded Exile discourse.
Even though the Exile VODs are available and new viewers can go back and watch them, those viewers experience the Exile arc in a way that is fundamentally different from the experience had by viewers who had to wait in between updates as the videos were being streamed serially in real-time. I would argue that viewers who were “present” during the whole arc noticeably felt the brutality of c!Tommy’s treatment to a greater degree, because the audience was effectively forced to sit in exile alongside Tommy’s character - stewing in anxiety, looking forward to the possibility of appearances from other characters, and living in fear of Dream’s next visit, etc etc. Obviously you could also make this point using c!Dream's time in Pandora as an example, but I'm using Exile here because I've actually seen a lot of fans bring this up when discussing the arc: "people who didn't watch live Don't Get It," "the reason newer fans don't see Exile as scary is because they didn't have to watch it live," that sort of thing. And while I have certain qualms with some of the implications here, I do think these are really fascinating responses! These sorts of responses show that viewers consciously perceive their viewing experience as having been fundamentally different from others' based on a temporal element that's unique to serial fiction!
This instance of a divergence in collective fan experience is an example of choice being rendered unavailable to viewers by virtue of the story’s structure and means of distribution; audience members who happen to accidentally miss streams or who begin following the story after major events have occurred will never be able to engage with and witness those events as LIVE viewers, merely as retrospective ones. They don’t get to make that choice, but they do get to make choices about which perspective (and therefore genre) they get to experience the story through. So it follows that each aspect of DSMP, a semi-ergodic story, can be categorized as either ergodic or non-ergodic, and whether a particular storytelling element is ergodic can change depending on WHEN the viewer began tuning in to the story.
I have a lot more shit to say (shocker) but I'm gonna cap it here for now. Though I do want to add that this is kinda why I have a lot of patience for the crazy diversity of interpretation you tend to get in DSMP fandom. If you took a random sample of fans and asked them what they think of various arcs, characters, and plot events, chances are they would all have fairly different things to say. To me, that's a feature, not a bug. Obviously I have my own opinions, and obviously I do think it's possible for a given interpretation to be "bad," i.e. not grounded in the text - but I have a lot more patience for it here, in a fandom where agreeing on what "the text" EVEN IS presents a challenge. We can't all agree on who the main character is, so I don't ever expect us to agree on more nuanced questions of theme and conflict resolution in the narrative. Again, that's a feature, not a bug. I don't think it was ever possible to reach a consensus with a piece of media like DSMP because of how inextricable the audience is from the story.
#dream smp#tw cc!Wilbur mention#in case anyone wants to avoid that right now for obvious reasons#sorry for yapping for so long but I did warn you#also sorry for letting this sit in my inbox for ages#I got so busy and it was hard finding a spare moment to sit down and collect my thoughts#dsmp exile arc#asks#long post
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I've seen people talk about Kim's daily cigarette and the connection to the lungs and how if he's left in Martinaise he smokes a second cigarette and how that links to his feelings for Harry.
What I haven't seen is people talking about the cigarette also involving fire. Fire, which the game repeatedly uses to represent hope, change, and revolution.
Let's take a look at the lines after his one-a-day habit is introduced:
[Text ID: KIM KITSURAGI - "You mean this?" The light of his cigarette illuminates a fleeting smile. "This isn't cool - it's an unnecessary trial of will. And unhealthy." He flicks the ash.
VOLITION - Keeping the habit within the parameters he's given himself takes a lot of focus. It would be easier to simply quit.
COMPOSURE - Yet were he to quit, he would lose the cool factor. This man relishes his cool quite a bit -- below it all. End ID]
This is clearly an allegory for the way he tries to keep his emotions under tight control, and this includes his desire for something better for Revachol. Volition states that it would be easier to quit than to do what Kim does. Giving up hope, resigning himself to the world he's in, would mean less disappointment, more distance, less pain, but it would mean removing a significant part of himself. That spark is too important to him to extinguish fully. Being in the RCM, though, means he needs to keep that spark as dim as possible. Otherwise, he might draw attention himself or actually process his role in suppressing the change he can't help but want.
This is interesting when coupled with some statements he makes later if you ask him his position on the Moralintern and Dolorianism.
[Text ID: KIM KITSURAGI - "The Moralintern are a fact. I try not to have opinions on facts -- until they change. And," he looks at the city below, "It doesn't look like that's about to happen." End ID]
[Text ID: YOU - "Kim, are you a follower of Dolorianism?"
KIM KITSURAGI - "Yes. We all are. Her name, body, and rule are synonymous with humanism. The laws we enforce are Dolorian in origin."
YOU - "I didn't think you were spiritual."
KIM KITSURAGI - "It's not spiritual. It's constitutional. The Dolorian system does not demand faith -- only accordance." End ID]
These answers are both so... empty. There's no belief in either of these systems, just that resignation to the fact of their existence. He is, on some level, aware of what he is supporting. That tiny revolutionary desire of his keeps him from identifying with it, though his refusal to stoke that flame simultaneously keeps him from rejecting it to pursue something he *can* believe in.
So, Kim takes refuge in something he knows is true: facts. He knows how the world works, and he knows that there aren't mysterious things like giant bug cryptids or 2-millimeter holes in the world involved in Martinaise.
Except, there are those things, as well as other things that challenge what Kim holds to be facts, and he is forced to accept that the world is much stranger and much more beautiful than he dared to believe.
Over the course of one week, facts change.
The first cigarette we see Kim smoke that final day comes out almost immediately after Harry wakes up after the tribunal, which is completely understandable. After experiencing the tribunal and seeing Harry in so much pain and abandoned by his precinct, of course Kim is experiencing affection for Harry and anger at the system that created this situation.
Later, looking at the message painted on the ground in oil, Harry sets it on fire. What does he use to do this?
[Text ID: YOU - "Step back, lieutenant." (Set the graffito on fire with a lit cigarette.)
ONE DAY I WILL RETURN TO YOUR SIDE - The fuel oil catches fire immediately with an ominous hiss -- a bright orange flash across the surface of the letters. Black smoke rises from the burning message. End ID]
A cigarette. One spark to set off the massive fire. A fire that warms both of them.
That brings us to Kim's second cigarette he smokes when left in Martinaise. It's a representation of how irrevocably changed Kim is by his experience on this case. Even if he and Harry don't go on to continue working together, this one week has stirred something in Kim that causes that hopeful, revolutionary fire in his lungs to burn a little brighter, and for once he decides to fan the flame.
#disco elysium#kim kitsuragi#it speaks#i hope this is coherent#i have a bunch of other thoughts but it was too hard to get them all into one post#so focusing on the cigarettes for now haha
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Bridging the Language
YN groaned as she stumbled into the Jeffersonian Institute's bustling lab, her hair in disarray and her eyes half-closed. It was early morning, and her brain was not yet fully awake. As she made her way to her assigned workstation, she noticed Zack Addy, immersed in a detailed discussion with Dr. Temperance Brennan about the intricacies of skeletal anatomy.
"Good morning," YN mumbled, stifling a yawn as she plopped down at her desk.
Zack turned towards her with an enthusiastic smile. "Good morning, YN. Did you know that the iliac crest plays a crucial role in..."
YN held up her hand, interrupting him with a groan. "Zack, Zack, slow down. It's way too early for anatomy lessons in high definition. Can we do low-res explanations?"
Zack blinked, adjusting and recalibrated his approach. "Of course. In simpler terms, the bony ridge on the side of the pelvis has an important function in identifying individuals through skeletal remains."
YN perked up, her eyes slightly less glazed over. "Got it. Bony ID card. Check."
Zack chuckled, finding her analogy amusing. "Precisely. A bony ID card."
Just then, Angela Montenegro, the lab's forensic artist, approached with a friendly smile. "Hey, you two. Early bird gets the skeletal worm, huh?"
YN managed a tired grin. "More like the early bird needs a coffee IV."
Angela chuckled. "I feel you. So, what's the science of the day?"
Zack cleared his throat, switching to a more approachable tone. "We were discussing the significance of the iliac crest in forensic identification."
YN leaned closer to Angela and whispered, "It's like the name tag of bones."
Angela stifled a laugh and nodded, playing along. "Ah, got it. The bones' way of saying 'Hello, my name is...'."
As the morning progressed, YN and Zack continued to work side by side, their dynamic a mix of scientific precision and relatable simplicity. While Zack delved into intricate details with Brennan, YN helped bridge the communication gap, offering analogies and relatable metaphors to make the concepts more accessible.
At one point, as they examined a particularly complex skeletal feature, Zack began, "The sphenoid bone forms the base of the cranium and—"
YN raised her hand again, giving him a bemused look. "Sphenoid bone, got it. It's like the skull's floor mat."
Zack chuckled, nodding in agreement. "Yes, in a way, you could say that."
Dr. Brennan, observing their interaction, approached with an approving smile. "Miss YLN, your ability to distill complex concepts into relatable terms is quite impressive."
YN blushed, feeling a sense of validation from her mentor's words. "Thank you, Dr. Brennan. I just know that sometimes my brain needs the training wheels early in the morning."
Dr. Brennan nodded understandingly. "We all have our unique ways of processing information. Collaboration is about leveraging those strengths."
As the day continued, YN and Zack's collaborative approach proved to be a winning formula. While Zack excelled in his precise scientific explanations, YN's knack for simplifying complex ideas made their teamwork remarkably efficient. They were, in essence, the perfect balance of technicality and accessibility.
And so, amidst the whirlwind of bones, equations, and early morning fatigue, a unique friendship blossomed. YN and Zack, two interns with distinct strengths, found common ground in their shared pursuit of knowledge and the joy of making complex science a bit more relatable—even if it meant using unconventional metaphors and analogies.
As the day unfolded, YN found herself gradually absorbing more of the specific scientific terminology that was a hallmark of the Jeffersonian lab. While her initial approach had been to simplify concepts for herself, she realized that there was a certain elegance and precision in using the correct names for things.
Later that morning, while examining a set of bones, Zack began, "The metatarsals are distinct bones in the foot that—"
YN cut in with a grin, "Metatarsals, got it. They're the foot's fancy finger bones."
Zack chuckled softly, then continued, "Yes, essentially they're like the fingers of the foot."
Brennan, overhearing their conversation, chimed in. "YN, it's great that you're finding creative ways to understand these terms, but using their proper names can provide more accurate communication."
YN nodded, a determined look in her eyes. "You're right, Dr. Brennan. I'm up for the challenge."
Throughout the day, YN made an effort to incorporate the precise scientific terms into her vocabulary. As she worked alongside Zack and the rest of the team, she found herself asking questions, seeking clarification, and even occasionally correcting herself when she slipped into her simpler analogies.
During a lunch break, she sat with Zack, Angela, and the rest of the team in the lab's break room. Angela grinned playfully. "So, YN, have you upgraded from foot finger bones to metatarsals?"
YN chuckled and nodded, her determination evident. "Yes, Angela. I'm diving headfirst into the world of scientific names."
Zack looked pleased, offering a supportive smile. "It's a worthwhile endeavor. Accurate terminology is essential for effective communication in our field."
As the day progressed, YN's commitment to learning the scientific names didn't go unnoticed. During an analysis of skeletal remains, she surprised everyone when she pointed to the maxilla and confidently said, "So, the maxilla is the upper jawbone, right?"
Zack's eyes widened in pleasant surprise. "Yes, YN, that's absolutely correct."
YN beamed, feeling a sense of accomplishment. "I'm starting to see that these names actually make a lot of sense once you get used to them."
Brennan nodded approvingly. "Indeed, Miss YLN. Your dedication to learning and adapting is commendable."
As the workday drew to a close, YN felt a growing sense of pride in her ability to balance her simplified interpretations with the precision of scientific terminology. She realized that her approach had its own value—it had helped her build a solid foundation of understanding, which she could now expand upon with the proper terms.
As she and Zack wrapped up their tasks for the day, YN turned to him with a playful smile. "So, Zack, do you think I've earned a spot in the league of precise scientific language users?"
Zack chuckled, adjusting his glasses. "You're well on your way, YN. Keep it up, and you might just surpass me."
#ruby arrows#ruby arrows imagines#bones#bones x reader#bones imagine#bones imagines#bones fanfiction#zack addy#zack addy x reader#zack addy imagine#zack addy imagines#zack addy fanfiction
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Welcome Home Simon
Pairing: Ghost x Soap, Third Person POV
Word Count: 2,601
Themes: !18+! for Suggestive Themes but nothing Explicit, Fluff
About: Johnny welcomes home his significant other after a long and grueling mission.
Notes: I am starting to get into this pairing a lot, they just have so much chemistry with each other and I was heavily inspired by the lovely @wispscribbles and their art 'Welcome Home Simon' to write this so thank you for giving me permission to write this!! I enjoyed doing this. For some reason, this music fits with the theme of this fic so of course I was listening to it the whole time I was writing it. And this is also a situation where Simon is in the military and Johnny isn't. Enjoy!!
The soft distant boom of thunder that occurred every few seconds was enough to keep him awake. Even though it was nearing two o’clock in the morning, he knew it was worth it to see the one he loves the most. Johnny ‘Soap’ MacTavish never thought this would be his life. A year ago, he was working in a dead end customer service job. He wanted something more in life. It was miserable getting up just to go to a job you hated so much. His life was essentially on repeat back then. Get up, go to work from nine am to five pm, come home, eat some cheap dinner, watch some stupid soap opera show he secretly enjoys, take a shower, go to bed, and then rinse and repeat. Johnny knew there had to be something more to his life, he just wasn’t sure where to look. One day, after work, he decided to try this local new coffee shop that opened up. As he entered, there was a little line but he had all the time in the world to wait. He was not in any rush.
“I'll just have regular tea, please.”
Tea? Who the fuck orders tea at a coffee shop? Johnny thought. It was the man in front of the line. The first thing he noticed about the man was how tall and broad he was. Johnny was pretty fit himself but this man was huge. The man wore a dark navy jacket with gray jeans and regular tennis shoes. The second thing he noticed about the man was his thick British accent. Johnny himself was Scottish and everyone always giggles when he starts to talk, simply because of the way he pronounces and says some words, and while it doesn’t bother him for the most part, he can’t help how he sounds and where he is from. The man paid for his tea and stepped to the side to wait for it. Johnny was one more person away from ordering a coffee. But for some reason, he couldn’t take his eyes off of the man who ordered tea at a coffee shop. Johnny was surprised to find the man wearing a skull mask that concealed his face apart from his eyes. His deep brown eyes scanned the entire shop, eventually landing on Johnny who immediately looked away, feeling a little flustered he was caught staring. The man was given the tea he had ordered and he turned and walked out of the coffee shop.
Wait..is that his wallet on the ground?
Johnny stepped out of line and approached the lone, leather wallet that was on the ground. He opened it up to find an ID card and a military ID card both issued to Simon Riley. So that’s his name. In the regular ID, Simon Riley had short, poofy blonde hair, the same deep brown eyes, and light skin. It has to be his, just from the eye color alone. Maybe he could catch him, he couldn’t have gotten far. Ditching the coffee all together, Johnny closed the wallet and sprinted out of the coffee shop, his eyes scanning outside to find the masked man walking down the street.
“Sir? Sir?!” Johnny called out to the man, hurrying up his pace.
The masked man turned and faced him, relieved that it was indeed the same man who was in the coffee shop just moments ago.
“You..” Johnny paused, catching his breath from sprinting, “you dropped your wallet in the shop.”
The man took the wallet from Johnny, examining it to confirm if it was his or not.
“Thank you.” The man thanked Johnny and was starting to turn and leave when Johnny remembered the military ID card.
“Are you in the ‘milatree’?” Johnny asked.
Simon was amused by Johnny's accent.
“Yes.” Simon plainly answered.
“Oh that's nice. My cousin is in the military too. I didn't mean to snoop but I had to check and see if it was ‘our wallet before I chased you down.” Johnny explained himself.
Simon understood and appreciated Johnny's act of kindness. Most people are turned away by him due to his appearance but this Scottish man was the first to not be. In fact he wanted to have a conversation with him.
“I appreciate you returning my wallet.” Simon thanked him.
And from then on it was history. Johnny and Simon kept bumping into each other in town to the point that eventually Johnny asked to hang out with him. Although Simon was reluctant at first, he agreed. From then on, both Johnny and Simon grew close. Real close. Johnny was the first to get feelings and he pushed them away. He didn’t even really have a real reason to have romantic feelings for Simon. He has always had girlfriends. Granted they were never anything serious or lasted long, but for some reason, Simon was special. He has never felt this way about any man or anyone in general. His heart would race every time he would think he saw him, his leg would start bouncing if Simon sat too close to him, he would chew the inside of his cheek if Simon prolonged eye contact for too long, and his palms would get sweaty if Simon brushed his hand on his leg. When they were out with friends, Simon always insisted on sitting next to Johnny. Johnny didn’t understand why he was having these feelings for Simon. He figured this phase would past eventually and maybe just maybe he just had an infatuation for him and looked up to him. It wasn’t until one night when Simon brushed his hand on Johnny, a little too down low, and Simon immediately felt it in his pants. He tried to hide it, but he knew Simon saw it. He had to have. That confirmed it for Simon. He was in love with Simon. He didn’t understand why but he did. He loved Simon.
And then Simon told Johnny he would have to be deployed again for another mission.
Present Johnny was glad he did it, but Past Johnny didn’t understand why he did it. Simon invited him over to his place to hang out before Simon would have to leave early in the morning. He had it in his mind to confess to Simon how he felt, in fear he would get killed in combat before he ever got the chance to do so. So he did. He told Simon how he felt.
“I don’t know why, I feel this way about ‘ou. But I love you, Simon.”
For a moment, Simon was silent. His deep brown eyes pierced into Johnny’s bright blue ones. It was then that Johnny started to regret what he did.
You stupid focking idiot. Why would you do that?
The thoughts stopped when Simon lifted up his mask, just enough for his lips to be out,leaned in and placed a passionate kiss onto Johnny’s lips. Johnny immediately latched back, feeling romance and lust take over immediately but he managed to hold himself together to avoid hurting or making Simon uncomfortable. He didn’t expect that night to go as far as it did, but it very much did to the point were Simon was worried he would get a noise complaint. But it was the best night of their lives. They both thought that.
“So dis whole fucking time, you were teasin’ meh?” Johnny asked the scruffy blonde man.
“Maybe I was, maybe I wasn’t.” Simon teased back as Johnny rested his head on Simon’s soft but muscular chest, feeling loved for the first time ever in his life.
The next day was hard for both of them. They didn’t care that everyone was watching as Johnny gave Simon a ‘Good luck’ peck on the cheek. Even though Simon couldn’t give a peck back due to all of the gear on him, he instead bumped his forehead onto Johnny’s. Simon didn’t care what the rest of the team thought, whether they were supportive or not. Turns out they were supportive, but he wouldn’t stop being relentlessly teased the whole time. The first time Simon came back home from a mission, Johnny had a warm and hearty dinner ready for Simon. Of course, Simon was surprised, but very much appreciated it. And that’s what Johnny did every single time Simon came home from a mission. During the day he would work at his carpentry job that Simon got for him and then come home and make sure the place was tidy and would be ready for Simon to come home. He missed him when he was out on missions, but it only made their relationship stronger.
And that is exactly what Johnny was doing right at this moment. Simon already warned Johnny ahead of time that he would be flying in really late due to their original flight being canceled. Of course, Johnny insisted and still prepared a meal for him, despite making it hard for him to stay awake. Just as he was drifting off on the couch, the door swung open.
“Si?” Soap tiredly called to him.
“I’m ‘ere, Johnny.” Simon responded as he approached the couch.
Johnny smiled at Simon as he pulled his mask up to his forehead, his handsome face being put on display for Johnny.
“How was your flight?” Johnny asked as Simon approached him.
“Bloody fucking lovely.”
Johnny chuckled at his sarcasm.
“Take all that gear off, love.” Johnny suggested as he went to grab Simon’s tactical vest.
“At least take me out to dinner first.”
Johnny broke out into a chuckle, leaning his head onto Simon’s chest. Simon was significantly taller than Johnny so he was always at perfect eye height at his chest, which is Johnny’s favorite pillow.
“I promised I did cook some grub.” Johnny said, not moving his head.
Simon ran his fingers through Johnny’s mohawk. He could tell Johnny missed him a lot.
“How was your mission?” Johnny asked as Simon led Johnny to the couch.
Simon laid down on his back and Johnny laid down on his chest, wrapping his arms around him.
“The worst we had in a long time.” Simon said.
“I’m ‘orry, Simon.” Johnny apologized.
“Ain’t your fault, Johnny. I’m just happy to be home.”
Simon had felt instant relief when he entered their home they both had bought recently. They bought it a couple of months ago and it was perfect for the two of them. When Simon first got with Johnny, he had walls up. While he too had feelings for Johnny, he was afraid of letting him in. He wasn’t afraid to show his face almost right away to Johnny. In fact, remembering that moment always puts a smile on his face. It wasn’t like a ‘grand reveal moment’ he just took it off in front of Johnny one day and Johnny wouldn’t stop staring at him.
“What? Do I have some shit on my face?”
“No, not at all. You’re just..”
Johnny could barely put the words together to describe how he felt. But one things for sure, he had hit the jackpot.
“Just what?” Simon asked, afraid of what Johnny would say.
Johnny just approached Simon and smashed his lips onto his. After a moment of lust, Johnny finally managed to find the words to say.
“You’re just stunning, Simon.”
Simon chuckled to himself, remembering the moment.
“What’s so funny, aye?” Johnny asked.
“Nothing. Just remembering the time you first saw my entire face.”
Johnny’s face turned pink once Simon said that.
“I assume for a good reason righ’?”
“Yes of course.” Simon reassured Johnny.
Johnny just held Simon tightly, fear of him disappearing.
“I thought about ‘ou every single day.” Johnny commented.
“So did I.”
Johnny smiled to himself, knowing that Simon loves him as much as he loves him. Things were kind of awkward when they first got together only cause neither of them had ever been with a man before and they were still getting to know each other. But now they know for sure that they love each other very much.
“Dinner is in the fridge.” Johnny softly told Simon.
“Is it alright if I go get it?”
“Of course, love.”
Johnny moved first so Simon could get up. As Simon was in the kitchen, Johnny got into his own thoughts. Everyday he wakes up not believing that this was his life. Some days it feels like a dream. He couldn’t believe he had gotten so lucky. So damn lucky. Johnny was always afraid that his Captain would be at his front door instead of Simon, but he is thankful every single time Simon is the one who shows up. But there’s always that chance that the next mission he goes to could be the last time he sees him. Even though they always spend as much time as they can together before he gets sent off again, Johnny feels as though there’s always that off chance that something could happen to Simon. Anything could happen. Johnny knows that Simon is the one he wants to be with for the rest of his life. He still gets flirted on and hit on by many women and even though it makes his ego bigger, he always turns them down, happy to inform them that he is happily taken. He just wants to actually have physical proof of it. The kind that rests on your finger.
“Fuck it.” Johnny mumbled to himself.
Johnny got up from the couch and marched over to Simon. Before Simon could even get a word out, Johnny grabbed him by his vest and pulled him into a kiss. Simon immediately melted into the kiss, his food leaving his mind that very second. One hand went into Johnny’s mohawk and the other on his hip. Both of Johnny’s hands stayed on Simon’s chest as he pulled him even closer, deepening the kiss. Something was growing intensely inside both of them and they both knew it well. Simon was the first to pull away to get some air.
“Someone missed me.” Simon smirked at Johnny.
“I can say the same about ‘ou.”
Simon laughed, giving Johnny a light peck.
“Let’s get married.”
Simon’s eyes went wide when Johnny said that.
“Really? You wanna get married to me?” Simon asked Johnny.
“Fucking ‘ell, yes I do. There’s always that chance that you may not come back home alive. I want to do everything with ya Simon. I love you.” Johnny poured his heart out to him.
Simon felt his heart racing. He has never had someone pour their heart out to him like that, let alone demand to get married. He never thought his life would end up like this. Never. But he was happy, very happy.
“Johnny..” Simon started.
Johnny perked up, waiting to hear what Simon had to say.
“It’s going to be bloody fucking hard deciding whose last name gets changed.”
Johnny knew that was Simon’s way of saying yes. Johnny hugged Simon tightly, just so damn happy.
“Quit stabbing me, Johnny.” Simon remarked.
Johnny’s face turned beet red, forgetting about their ‘predicaments.’
“Let’s go take care of that.” Simon seductively said.
“But Simon, you need to eat.”
“Eh, I ain’t that hungry.”
Johnny placed a kiss on Simon’s lips, just high off of his love alone. The food got cold in the microwave, the storm raged outside, the sun was starting to peek through the windows, but neither of them cared. They only cared about each other and that is all that matters to them.
END
#simon ghost riley#cod#callofduty#call of duty#cod modern warfare#ghost x soap#simon riley x john mactavish#ghoap#ghoap au#soapghost#soap x ghost#ghostsoap#john soap mactavish#ghoap fic#ghostofthemost141
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Writing Tips
Commonly Misused Words & Phrases
❋
phrases
⇾ another think coming (not another thing coming)
⇾ bated breath (not baited breath)
⇾ beck and call (not beckon call)
⇾ buck naked (not butt naked)
⇾ by accident (not on accident)
⇾ by and large (not by in large)
⇾ case in point (not case and point)
⇾ change tack (not change tact)
⇾ couldn’t care less (not could care less)
⇾ deep-seated (not deep-seeded)
⇾ due diligence (not do diligence)
⇾ exact revenge (not extract revenge)
⇾ for all intents and purposes (not for all intensive purposes)
⇾ free rein (not free reign)
⇾ homing in (not honing in)
⇾ hunger pangs (not hunger pains)
⇾ jibe with (not jive with)
⇾ moot point (not mute point)
⇾ nerve-wracking (not nerve-wrecking)
⇾ nip it in the bud (not nip it in the butt)
⇾ on tenterhooks (not on tender hooks)
⇾ one and the same (not one in the same)
⇾ palm off (not pawn off)
⇾ per se (not per say)
⇾ piqued my interest (not peaked my interest)
⇾ pore over (not pour over)
⇾ scot free (not scotch free or scott free)
⇾ shoo-in (not shoe-in)
⇾ sleight of hand (not slight of hand)
⇾ spit and image (not spitting image)
⇾ whet your appetite (not wet your appetite)
❋
words
⇾ accept: receive something (verb) // except: exclusion (preposition)
⇾ adverse: something harmful // averse: feeling of dislike
⇾ advice: guidance (noun) // advise: to give counsel (verb)
⇾ affect: to influence (verb) // effect: result (noun)
⇾ all together: same place, same time // altogether: whole or complete
⇾ allowed: permitted // aloud: audibly
⇾ allude: make indirect reference // elude: escape
⇾ amiable: referring to person // amicable: referring to interaction
⇾ among: expresses relationship between several items // between: expresses relationship of one thing to another or to many other things
⇾ amoral: lacking morality // immoral: not conforming to standard morality // nonmoral: morality is irrelevant
⇾ any time: noun phrase used after preposition // anytime: adverb
⇾ assure: to tell someone something with confidence // ensure: to make certain something will occur // insure: to protect
⇾ a while: noun // awhile: adverb
⇾ bate: angry mood // bait: lure
⇾ blond: masculine // blonde: feminine
⇾ breath: air inhaled and exhaled (noun) // breathe: the action of inhaling and exhaling (verb)
⇾ canvas: closely woven close used to make items // canvass: to look closely or to elicit votes
⇾ capital: city, wealth, or resource // capitol: building where lawmakers meet
⇾ carat: a measure of the purity of gold // caret: a mark placed below the line to indicate a proposed insertion in a text // carrot: a vegetable
⇾ complement: enhances something // compliment: expression of praise
⇾ conscience: noun; one’s awareness // conscious: adjective; awake or alert
⇾ continual: occurring at regular intervals // continuous: occurring without interruption
⇾ desert: dry terrain // dessert: sweet course
⇾ dichotomy: entirely opposite // discrepancy: relatively minor inconsistency // disparity: significant difference
⇾ disc: music or throwable object // disk: computer storage
⇾ discreet: unobtrusive // discrete: separate
⇾ disinterested: impartial // uninterested: bored or not wanting to be involved
⇾ each: refers to individual object or person in a group of two or more // every: refers to a group of objects or people in a group of three or more
⇾ e.g.: for example (exampli gratia) // i.e.: in other words (id est)
⇾ emigrate: to move away // immigrate: to move into
⇾ empathy: ability to understand another’s perspective or emotions (but do not necessarily share them) // sympathy: understand from one’s own perspective (and share feelings)
⇾ envy: feeling of desiring something one does not have // jealous: feeling of fearing losing something one does have
⇾ every day: adverb // everyday: adjective
⇾ farther: physical distance // further: metaphorical distance
⇾ fazed: disturbed // phased: staged
⇾ fewer: countable difference // less: metaphorical difference
⇾ flaunt: to show off // flout: to defy
⇾ hanged: death of person via hanging // hung: to have suspended something
⇾ historic: famous or influential // historical: related to history
⇾ ingenious: to be clever and creative // ingenuous: to be innocent and unsuspecting
⇾ its: possessive form // it’s: it is
⇾ lay: placement of something // lie: act of reclining
⇾ loose: not fixed in place (adjective) // lose: to be deprived of or defeated (verb)
⇾ may: high possibility // might: low possibility
⇾ palate: roof of mouth // palette: thin board of colors // pallet: bed or platform
⇾ peak: mountain top // peek: quick look
⇾ persecute: to harass // prosecute: to bring legal action
⇾ prescribe: dictate a rule to follow // proscribe: forbid something
⇾ principal: head of organization or sum of money // principle: basic truth or law
⇾ reign: to rule // rein: to control or restraint
⇾ sleight: deceitful dexterity // slight: insult
⇾ stationary: unmoving // stationery: letter writing materials
⇾ subconscious: not in current focus awareness // unconscious: processes that occur automatically and are not available to introspection
⇾ than: for comparisons // then: for passage of time
⇾ that: restrictive; indicates something specific // which: nonrestrictive; adds information
⇾ their: possessive form // there: place // they’re: they are
⇾ to: preposition // too: adverb meaning also // two: number
⇾ well: adverb // good: adjective
⇾ who: subject // whom: object
⇾ who’s: who is // whose: possessive form
⇾ worse: comparative // worst: superlative
⇾ your: possessive form // you’re: you are
#writing#writing tips#grammar#writing reference#reference#knowledge#english#homophones#mistakes#common mistakes
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Heyy Id like to request headcanons(Alphabet/ABCs {smut/fluff} whatever you like better)
For Sasuke and Naruto.
If you decide to write it, I would very much appreciate it.
Thank you in advance💘💘
hi, of course!! i picked a smut alphabet, hope that's all right with you. the template that i used can be found here.
---
Sasuke:
A - Alone time: doesn't really jerk off all that much, except if the nights are particularly lonely and he has you on his mind. Porn isn't successful in scratching the itch he feels, so Sasuke prefers to fantasize or bring back certain memories of you whenever he's pumping a tired hand over his cock.
B - Bondage: he'll tie your wrists and ankles, and play with you until you're practically begging him for mercy like a sinner would a God. He'll even blindfold you to make the sweet torture even more thrilling than it already is.
Will let you do the same to him, but only when he's comfortable enough in the relationship. It may take months. Or a year or two. Who knows?
C - Crying: won't cry, but will enjoy seeing you spill hot tears from how fucking good his cock feels as it keeps hitting that soft, gushy spot within you that makes you milk him dry after he's abused it for far too long.
D - Dominance: dominates; more or less. He's a dom by nature, but turns into a switch when he trusts his significant other enough. Threatens to murder you if you dare mention it to a single soul, though.
E - Extra info: he's super into giving oral. Won't admit it, but all he thinks about is how sweet your pussy tastes on his tongue, and that he can barely wait to latch his hot mouth between your legs.
It's just the way your legs tremble around his head when you're close that does it for him. He lives for seeing you squirm.
F - Food play: far too messy for his liking. The best he can do is an ice cube.
G - Group sex: he thought about it, but he loves you far too much to share you with anybody else; fantasy or not. He may not show it, but envy runs hot in that Uchiha blood. Possessive is his middle name.
H - Humiliation: will degrade you and smile that cold grin whilst doing it, too. He knows you love it so fucking much whenever he shows that egocentric side of him.
I - Impact play: Sasuke with a flogger. I repeat: Sasuke fucking Uchiha with a goddamn flogger!
He'd brush the thin strips of leather over your naked chest gently whilst lounging on the couch before you; one ankle nonchalantly resting on his knee, making every single one of your nerve ends recoil and drip with anxiety as you'd kneel before him.
Snap!
"Does it hurt? Yeah, darling? How bad?"
J - Jelly: this man loves a good, ol' cherry lube just because it smells really sweet, and he can taste the sugar when he eats you out after stretching you out with his fingers.
K - Kissing: loves, and absolutely adores the feeling of your tongue wrapping around his own. His kisses are deep and intimate, the saliva exchanging in thin, glistening strings between your panting mouths. He wants to own your fucking mouth.
Also enjoys leaving little love bites all over your body, and allows you to mark his own skin with your personal signature, too, but only in places others cannot see.
L - Lighting: fucks you with the lights off, or when the lighting is really dim and gloomy. His Sharingan glows the entire time as he makes you his. The carmine colour makes your heart want to explode.
M - Masochism: will let you scratch his back as he's on top of you, pounding you into the mattress. He'll hiss at the aching contact of your nails biting into his smooth skin, but will only kiss you harder in reply - making you gasp for air.
He does get turned on if you choke him and push the back of his head further into the pillow whenever you're on top of him, though. It's like a battle, of sorts.
N - Not yet: won't let you cum, until he decides that it's the proper time for it. Will punish you if you touch yourself without him allowing you to.
Begging doesn't help. All you can do is endure.
O - Outdoor sex: no, but if you try to initiate something; he'll break your back as soon as you're behind closed doors.
P - Photography: really appreciates if you send him pictures of yourself, but doesn't really react to them until he sees you in person. As soon as you can feel his chin resting on your shoulder as he wraps a caring hand around your throat without a single sound, you know it's game over.
Q - Quiet please: isn't very audible, but enjoys the little mewls and pleas you make as you writhe underneath him. He does the little sigh whenever he bottoms out in your warmth.
R - Routine: fucking you is the first thing he wants to do after not seeing you for weeks straight. So, it could be considered a routine of some sort?
S - Sleepy sex: will wake you up with oral [in the morning, or the middle of the night; it doesn't matter], because you've communicated it before and you've given him the consent to do it. Nothing makes him happier than listening to your breathless moans, and feeling the tired strokes you give to his hair as he lazily swipes his tongue over your sweet pussy.
T - Top or bottom: switch, but more lenient towards being a top.
U - Underwear: simple, black boxer briefs, but he prefers to sleep naked.
V - Voyeurism: would rather murder the entire village, than see you fucking someone that wasn't him.
W - Water: bath sex, where it's slow and lazy and he gets to see you in all your glory as the glimmer of soap coats your smooth skin and his digits are slipping over your torso, hips, ass, over and over again as you ride him.
X - X-dressing: the best he can do is eyeliner, and even then he's fussy about it.
Y - Yes, Master: you are his darling, and he will fuck his darling stupid, until she won't be able to sit down properly for a few days.
Z - Zones: forehead kisses. He also loves it whenever you kiss his collarbones and sink your teeth into them before swirling your tongue over the aching mark you've just gifted him. The little pecks over his chest and stomach when you are about to go down on him make his heart flutter. As well as any kiss you place upon his mouth.
Naruto:
A - Alone time: he has a high libido, so he pleasures himself quite often in attempt of placating the need. Definitely watches a lot of porn and cums into tissues. [Especially when he's older, and constantly working as Hokage. Jerking off is his favourite way to relieve stress.]
B - Bondage: he likes being on the receiving end for bondage from time to time [nothing too drastic, though, because he doesn't enjoy losing complete control.] As for the giving aspect; he's simply too clumsy and impatient to tie all the knots properly and tighten the rope in a way that it won't burn your skin over time.
C - Crying: definitely gets slightly teary-eyed if he's drunk and if it's slow, passionate intimacy that's filled with lots of praise from your side. The deep connection and approval makes him want to nearly bind his soul to your own. It turns him a bit overwhelmed, but in a good way.
D - Dominance: he dominates. Naruto has gained a taste for it because of the women who practically threw themselves at him, and allowed him to do whatever he wished with them in the following years when he was proclaimed a war hero.
E - Extra info: he’s a tits man. Absolutely loves shoving his dick in-between your breasts after forcing you to press your arms tightly together, so that he can fuck them until they’re covered in his cum.
F - Food play: not really. He’d eat it all before you’d even get to the good part.
G - Group sex: absolutely not. His clones are the only exception, and even then he gets awfully jealous.
H - Humiliation: he’s more on the praising side than the one of degradation, but he will say a thing or two when he’s frustrated/tired, or when you won’t give him what he wants. [He feels bad about it later, though.]
I - Impact play: definitely spanks you, but uses his hand to rub the burn away the moment after he strikes.
J - Jelly: warming lube. It makes him feel nice and cosy inside you; especially when he persuades you into cock warming.
K - Kissing: likes it when you kiss his jaw, his beaten-up knuckles and the tips of his fingers. He feels appreciated that way, and appreciation makes him horny.
L - Lighting: he enjoys fucking you in the morning, when the light is really dim and mellow, and he’s still sleepy.
M - Masochism: is a sucker for the pain you give him only because he’s making you feel good. His favourite is when your nails dig into his biceps in attempt of steadying yourself while he’s pounding the living shit out of you. [Also, he loves it whenever you tug on his hair.]
N - Not yet: Way too impatient for orgasm denial. He will force you to cum and gush all over his cock as soon as possible. [As well as many times as possible.]
Will also fuck you like an enraged beast if you tease him too much and don’t allow him to cum in return.
O - Outdoor sex: Two words: office sex.
P - Photography: loves receiving nudes, but isn’t really good at sending them. Scrolls through the gallery of pictures he has of you when he’s bored, or just wants something that’ll make him cum quick and easy.
Q - Quiet please: grunts and groans, especially when receiving oral. Likes to hear soft moans and whines of his name from you. It tells him that he’s doing a good job.
R - Routine: no routine, whatsoever. When it comes to Naruto; everything is spontaneous.
S - Sleepy sex: he likes receiving oral before bed because it helps him sleep better and because he’s simply too tired to offer anything in return. He tries to, of course, but you’re persistent in rewarding your good Hokage; all until he’s running his fingers through your hair, and whispering quiet whispers of gratitude for taking such good care of him.
Though, lazy morning sex is his favourite way of starting his day whenever he, by some odd chance, doesn’t have to go to work, or at least not as early. Naruto takes his time with you on those mornings, making up for all the days he couldn’t and, to put it simply, spoils you rotten.
T - Top or bottom: TOP!
U - Underwear: even at his grown age, he’s still rocking ‘em boxer briefs with the froggy pattern plastered all over. You think it’s the cutest thing ever.
V - Voyeurism: definitely is more of the hands-on type, but sometimes catches himself enjoying the sight of his clones doing the work for him in the bedroom. [Still, the original Naruto is the only one that’s allowed to kiss you and make you cum.]
W - Water: is a big fan of shower sex. He likes seeing you naked and the way the droplets of water glimmer as they cascade down your bare skin. Constantly insists that you shower together, in order to “save on water”. It's just an excuse to see your tits press against the cool tiles, though.
X - X-dressing: he's the inventor of the ‘Sexy Jutsu’. Naruto is down to let you fuck him while he’s obtaining the body of a woman, but will most surely dominate you even in that form by the end of the night.
Y - Yes, Master: gets turned on whenever you call him daddy. He calls you sweetheart in return.
Bonus: he’ll never admit it, but whenever you lean over the desk, smile, and address him as Lord Seventh; he’s hard as a rock.
Z - Zones: likes it whenever you suck on his fingers and kiss each finger pad, respectively. If you trace his stomach. Or tug on the hair on the nape of his neck, before running your digits over his scalp. When you rub his temples or shoulders, because they all ache most of the time. But touching his rough hands and running your own through his hair over and over again, is what gives him the strongest of shivers.
#narutosmut#naruto uzumaki#naruto x reader#naruto x you#naruto x y/n#naruto headcanons#sasuke x y/n#naruto#sasuke x you#sasuke x reader#smut#sasuke uchiha#sasuke
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Sortie Sad Sack Thought Journal 4: This One's Actually about Sad Sack I Promise
Subtitled The Haunting and Perplexing Question of the Ontological Status of Garv.
I'm finally gonna turn to a question that has been subject to significant debate (if you accept several arguments I've had with myself while in the shower as "significant debate"). What if Garv isn't, like, just another guy? What if he isn't really a person in the world of Sad Sack at all?
Okay, to explain that a bit better: Garv interacts with the rest of the crew, the plot, and the world in some weird ways (weird, that is, in the sense of inexplicable, not just Garv's usual Messed Up Guy weirdness). Among other things, a few incidents come to mind as particularly unusual:
Garv's notable absence from the epilogue of SADS #1.
Garv's ability to gain access to the warehouse in SADS #5 (particularly, how he obtained the key from Jake).
The disappearance of Garv's body in SADS #5.
There's a reading of these events that says Garv doesn't actually exist. It's a kind of speculative and somewhat silly thing to consider, but I promise I mean this seriously. Maybe he's not a guy! Maybe Garv, as he's portrayed in SADS, is merely a representation of an idea, or a motive, or a sort of shadow self of another character.
Question 4: What is Garv if not an actual person?
If that were true, his depiction as just another member of the group suggests a certain textual unreliability—I promised this wasn't going to become about Sortie; it merely lingers as an elephant in the room—which is not out of the question. While SADS gives fewer reasons than Sortie to challenge the idea that the events that occur within it occur (approximately) in the way that they depicted, I don't think that's any grounds to reject unreliable depiction. So that's one layer of plausibility to the Garv Unrealist position. But I'm getting ahead of myself—I ought to make clearer (at least two of) the positions we might take about Garv.
Garv Realism. Garv is a person in the same way as any other member of the SADS cast. Unusual Events 1–3 must be explained through circumstances not depicted in SADS.
Garv Unrealism. Garv is not a person. Garv, as he is depicted, is a representation of something intangible: an idea, a motivation, an id, a shadow self, some combination thereof, or something else.
The shadow self idea is particularly interesting, both because it explains some things about Unusual Events 1–3 and because it might illuminate some things about a character who remains (in my opinion) somewhat difficult to parse. That character is Jake. I think I want to read Garv as a shadow self of Jake. Here's why.
Jake is, in my opinion, the character whose motive for involvement in the events of SADS is the least clear. Of course, SADS #1 is his own deeply personal revenge moment, and it's obvious from the fact that he initiated the events of SADS in that way that he is, in some way, deeply messed up. But... what is that way? Essentially everyone else in SADS does a very poor job at hiding their own personal damage. Mal has the world's most malignant white knight complex. Stone's an alcoholic with abandonment issues that have been festering for approximately three decades. Sal... well. You know.
But what the fuck is Jake's problem? How'd he get here?
I'm not sure that I can explain that. But reading Garv as a shadow self of Jake does a shockingly good job of explaining that. It actually makes a lot of things click into place: why does this seemingly normal type-A guy initiate a series of torture-murders?
Because Jake, the normal type-A guy, didn't do that. The set of personality traits we attribute to Jake are incongruous with his role in the narrative because there are several relevant traits missing, because those traits are attributed to Garv. Garv is utterly incapable of hiding how much of a fucking creep he is because that is literally all he is. He's a mere representation of one facet of who Jake is as a person. To be clear, I'm not talking about a true split personality or a dissociative identity disorder—I use "shadow self" here as a looser term, and by it I mean a loose aggregate of the traits that exist within a person but which conflict with other traits that seem to define them. By reading Garv as a shadow self of Jake, we assert: Jake is what we see from Jake plus what we see from Garv.
When you graft Garv's personality onto Jake, you suddenly get almost exactly the sort of person who would initiate a series of torture-murders with very specific rules and conditions.
A Garv Unrealist reading has a lot to say about SADS #5. In that reading, the initial conflict between Jake and Garv is actually an internal conflict within Jake that unfolds as he finally confronts the tension between his sadistic impulses and his stringent moral/behavioral code. The confrontation that follows is, in some significant way, metaphorical—though Sal's physical appearance in Sortie implies it did unfold somewhat similarly to the way that it is depicted.
(Does it, actually? A question for another post.)
In that reading, of course, we don't have to account for how Garv got into the warehouse. Garv is Jake; Jake has the key. In that reading, we don't have to account for why Garv's body disappears at the end of SADS #5. Garv isn't embodied; Garv never died.
It's a deeply interesting reading of SADS, certainly, and it's not insignificant that it does answer at least two pretty big questions. But is that enough to accept Garv Unrealism? It comes at a pretty significant cost—there's a lot we must re-interpret, and a lot we must accept as unreliable depiction or metaphor, in order to accept Garv Unrealism. Is the price worth the payoff?
(For what it's worth, I think I'm still in the Garv Realist camp.)
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And here we are! My Rusty Quill Gaming crochet blanket. It was made for the fanzine titled Look Out! Lots of Magnificent Gifts by The Ones Who Got Away ( @towga ). And I couldn't have done it without the incredible help of my friends @sugar-peanut-cat, who crocheted a significant portion of the squares, @mori-stuff who helped me find good quotes to use and made sure they were well and truly accurate to the source, and of course @apolloborealis who ignited my excitement for this blanket, helped me with choosing colours for the over 200 episodes, and last but not least made the center square with the highly impressive embroidery of the Rusty Quill Gaming logo. Thanks folks!!!
Early progress pics
Late progress pics
ID: a 20 squares wide and 23 squares long solid granny square crochet blanket based on Rusty Quill Gaming. Diagonals alternate between being multi coloured with quotes on the squares (representing all 218 main campaign episodes as well as the Ancient Rome sidequest, ordered from left to right, top to bottom), and being solidly white, grey or black (alternating by diagonal between those three). In the center is a four by four sized black square with the Rusty Quill Gaming logo embroidered on it. Blue veins run across the blanket, increasing in density near the bottom and especially the bottom right corner. There are noticably more quotes filled in near the top than near the bottom. End ID
ID: two close ups of five by three squares. The first shows the top left corner of the blanket, the visible episode squares are:
1 - We start in the skies above London
2 - Bertie! Wellington!
3 - Go make more of yourself
11 - He's happy enough
12 - Keeeesh (which is an alternate spelling of quiche)
21 - If we die, it's on us
22 - Maybe he just forgot to breathe
23 - Does anyone speak morse?
The second shows the top right corner, with episode squares:
9 - I cast prestidigitation
10 - A friendly Other London hello
18 - I shall make a cringe roll
19 - You cannot give a skeleton scurvy
20 - I'm gonna make another cringe check
29 - Single Female Lawyer
30 - Sacrifice of the self. End ID
ID: the first is a close up of episode 179, a lavender square with three overlapping quotes. Where the words of the quotes overlap, they are embroidered with both or all colours. The quotes are:
It's good to have you here. (In black)
Okay, good. (In pink)
Good to have you back. (In white)
The second shows three by three squares, with in the center episode 181, which is the same deep blue as the veins and reads: It's okay to hope. From it, blue veins spread in all directions. To the top left is a purple and pink square without a quote, episode 171. To the top right is 172 - See you on the other side. End ID
ID: a four by four square consisting of black squares. On this the Rusty Quill Gaming logo is embroidered. A beige banner with the text Rusty hangs over a gear with the text Quill. Beneath it in a bright red semi attached font, with a fancy starting letter id the text Gaming. Behind the gear, to the left stands a grey microphone with red sound lines coming off it. A grey quill stands diagonally in the center back, with the tip resting within the G from Gaming, and the other end of the feather partially covering and ending above a red twenty sided die without numbers. End ID
ID: image one is a three by three grid with a fair amount of blue veins. The quotes are:
168 - Alexander Jalexander Nalexander
178 - What did they choose? (In white) Wrong. (In black)
187 - My turn.
Image two is a closeup of episode 50, a yellow square with an aqua outline reading: Sometimes you have to try. End ID
ID: the three by three squares in the bottom right corner of the blanket. The blue veins are coming in dense from up and left, and converge on the edge of the final episode square and final blank square. The blue veins are not able to break this border. The final episode (218) reads: There's always hope. To the top right of this episode is 208, which reads: Almost lost ya. End ID
#crochet#crafts#fibre arts#described#accessible art#rqg#rusty quill gaming#rqg spoilers#sasha rackett#zolf smith#bertie macguffingham#hamid saleh haroun al tahan#grizzop drik acht amsterdam#azu#cel sidebottom#alexander j newall#lydia nicholas#ben meredith#james ross#bryn monroe#helen gould#did i tag my friends to once again show my love and appreciation for them? yes. did i tag them to hopefully get more engagement? also yes.
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[CN] MLQC Lucien's Through Thousands of Mirrors event translation (Day 1 -Thursday)
⚠️ SPOILER ALERT ⚠️
This post contains a HEAVY SPOILER for the event that has not been released in EN yet! Feel free to notify me if there are any mistakes in the translation~
Through Thousands of Mirrors Event | Day 1 (You're here!) | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | HS/Uni SSR Story: Monochrome Scenery
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[Tidbits: I don't wanna break the flow so I'll put some information here first 😂. Dr. Lawson is Lucien's post-grad professor. Before, he also appears in UR MQ Distant Similarity. During his post-grad he has three seniors Colt, Elliot, and Caroline.]
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[Math]
Seeing the particularly puzzled expression on the classmate next to him, Lucien starts to consider whether he should offer some assistance within his capabilities.
For instance, he thinks about telling the classmate that the topic currently being discussed on the blackboard is not from the same chapter as the one in the textbook he's currently reading.
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[MATH/BIOCHEMISTRY]
After the vending machine devours Lucien's one dollar and twenty-five cents for the third time, and with only three minutes left to get to his next class, he begins to seriously contemplate whether he should try some mysterious repair method—like giving it a good smack or a swift kick.
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[BIOCHEMISTRY]
Lucien coincidentally runs into Colt by the sports field, just as Colt is about to attend a cricket practice session.
Upon realizing that his senior from the lab is not only managing coursework and a significant project workload but also juggling a 20-hour weekly part-time job and daily school cricket team training, Lucien begins to contemplate whether there is any room for further optimization in his own schedule.
-
[PREVIEW/COMPUTER SCIENCE]
During the brief half-hour period, Lucien typically uses the time to prepare for the upcoming class or visit the library to research and gather information.
In any case, that time should not be spent on arguing and explaining to people, like the enthusiastic campus volunteer in front of him.
"No, thank you. I'm not a high school student attending a summer camp. This is my student ID, and I'm indeed a student here, a graduate student. Yes, I'm not lost, and I need to get to my class. Can you please let me go?"
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[COMPUTER SCIENCE]
Lucien presses the enter key, intending to ask the teacher if he can leave early once his coursework is done. However, the error message on the screen deters him from that thought. So, he sits back down and begins to examine it again.
But that's okay, he does understand the commonality between computer science and experimental research: it's often hard to know right away if the thing at hand will work, why it's not working, or even why it's even working.
-
[LAB]
Come on, come on, come on. After moving this box, there's another.
And after moving that box, there are three more to go.
The prospects for the future and the shine in one's eyes are often taken away by the God of research in such necessary yet mechanical repetitive work.
-
[LAB]
Lucien goes out to get some water and returns to find a school burger on his desk.
Colt, with dark circles under his eyes, waves at Lucien and saying, "No need to thank me, newcomer. Have some food, we might be staying here today."
Lucien quietly eats the burger, hesitant to tell Colt that he has spent more time in the laboratory than in the dorm.
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[LAB]
When Dr. Lawson enters the laboratory, what he sees is a scene where his graduate and doctoral students are sleeping and sprawled all over the place.
On the laboratory whiteboard, several words were written in large letters: "Publish immediately! Guaranteed to be published in Nature!!"
Dr. Lawson retrieves small blankets from the cabinet, covering each of these research madmen.
He proceeds to organize the data and take over the finishing work on the project. Of course, when it comes to authorship in the paper, not a single one of these kids' names can be left out.
#OK BUT this whole event and story kinda explain why he has a some attachment to Dr. Lawson 🥺#mlqc lucien#mr love queen's choice#mlqc cn#mlqc spoiler#mlqc#mlqc translation#mr. love queen's choice#mr love lucien#mlqc xu mo#mlqc spoilers
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CH 19 note/sketch-taking and sensory-progression arc of Din
thought id do a cooking-segment in chapter 10, but upon re-reading furthur i think it fits best here in chapter 19 pt 1.
ALSO I WANNA LET ANYONE INTERESTED KNOW BC I FORGET IM THE ONLY ONE WHO KNOWS IF I DONT SHARE IT ONLINE BECAUSE I CANT SPEAK BOUT THIS SHIT IRL. (also not worried about giving afcr spoilers, those chapters are months if not years away and thisll get buried so only the early people will know lol i dont mind.)
In the abcr edits, im trying to make an emphasis on Din regaining or re-appreciating the five senses through having Sweet Girl in his life.
Im running with @no-droids' 'backstory drabble' headcannon of Din secretly hating taking off the helmet because he loved the outside experiecne too much and feared straying from the Way etc.
But of course, he cant help it after she enters his life because 'SHE MAKES HIM WANT TO KNOW MORE' 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭
-----mini breakdown for those who are curious!---
obviously all chapters from the begining explore the skin to skin touch-experience, but i want more. i want him to feel more things with his bare hands trhough her: Much of M's observance and experiences with of SG in all chapters and prolougues will be of her taking the time to feel new things around her and share it with him. Din's lack of senseitivity trhough the armor and gloves and helmet will be explored and change as he stops to feel things more, or at least recalls how he used to (prolougue pt 6 -helmet hate hist)
sight will be explored as a general and consistent arc, mostly in observing SG's curiousity of new things in comparison to Din's prolougue part 6,
taste and smell will be hinted at in eraly chapters, but wont make any significant progress until chapter 10 around the campfire, and will have its most singificant progression in chapter 19 pt 1, where she teaches or shows him how to cook something, letting him take time to smell and taste the distrinctness of each inggredient, then how they comlpiment eachother in the meal.
hearing will be concentrated around him falling in love with her voice (yes she can sing sweetly to, I may or may not wink wink drop self-made dubs for those segments when they come out, as ) after not being particularly aquianted or intersted with music in general as a consequence of ...you know...being a mandalorian and a ard-ass. It'll reach its peak/reveal at chapter 11-pt 3, and be much more exhibited in the rest of the story as they become even closer (yesssssss i may have her sing/hum over the comm during the chase arc, maybeeeee to put the restless kid to sleep or because Din just misses and loves her sweet voice that much OH FUCK THATS GONNA MAKE ME CRY)
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im very excited to incorporate this aspect of the backstory drabble into the abridged for christian roomates rd comic! i feel like itll show how he changes trhough meeting her more intenseley, and how he regains that while still being able to wear the armor. like...re-learning to appreciate and love and know the physichal world and nature and being human instead of shutting it out all together/running it over/ignoring it under the armor. Thisll all make more sense when the 6th prolougue comes out, as itll show how a variety of Din's habits changed as he grew older.
#rough day comic#rough day#rough day fanfic#notes#mando#mando fanfiction#the mandolarian#mando x reader#fanfic#ao3 fanfic#din djarin#the mandolorian#the mandalorian#din dijarin fanfiction#din dijarin x reader#din darjin#din djaren#tumblr draw#drawing#my draws#hand drawn#drawfee#drawings#illustration#artwork#digital aritst#digital art#sketch#doodle#sketches
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through the cosmos
/ kiss later (fluff) 2.8kct
lyric synopsis: even if i dont say it / you know how i feel / i like you too / i trust you too
“hey, y/n.”
i jump out of my seat, adrenaline filling my body.
when i turned to my side, i saw my attacker was just choi soobin, the man, or rather boy, who appears at 9 am every day, scaring me in every way possible. its the 164th day of him having this routine, and it gets me every time.
“i cant believe that still gets you,” he chuckled, rubbing my shoulders to ease them. its humorous that even he is confused how i never anticipate him.
the true reason i get scared every morning at 9 am on the dot is hidden behind my ribcage, pounding aggressively everytime i see him.
its common knowledge among our peers the way us two flirt. well, its really common knowledge the way soobin flirts.
he’ll look at you, a small smile in his eyes, all while listening intently to whatever unimportant tangent youre going on. he’ll nod as he listens, making sure you know how engaged he is. then he’ll respond with a quick smirk, licking his lips soon after, and then fiddling with his hands. in this specific situation, though, “you” is me.
in that case, its common knowledge that soobin and i mutually have crushes on each other. i never reciprocated physically, though, out of pure nervousness. once i start it’ll be hard to stop right? its better not to start in that case.
of course i trust soobin, why shouldnt i? he has great reviews around the campus. a solid 10/10 stars. he’s respectful, reliable and cuddly, that last adjective i awarded him myself.
he knows i trust him, and he trusts me too. he knows how to abide by boundaries and put others’ feelings before his own. hes wonderful in every sense of the word.
“how are you, soobin?” i pushed my lips into a straight-lipped smile, raising my eyebrows to show soobin that i really cared to know despite my sarcastic tone.
“well now that im with you, my love,” he leaned down to my level, lining our eyes. his right hand was holding my cheek.
before soobin could finish his sentence, i turned my head to the side, avoiding his lips. yet, it seems i couldnt keep the smile from creeping on my face.
“kiss later, soob.” i removed soobins hand from my cheek and gave him a nervous grin.
he accepts my request and finds his seat next to me, keeping his hand on the table next to me, open in case i decide to find warmth and comfort in his fingers. eventually i took his offer and subtly wrapped my pinky around his pointer finger.
im not very fond of my 9 am class, but soobin joining me on my daily escapades almost makes it worth it. key word: almost.
-
“lets go out tonight,” soobin said as he held my waist, looking down at me while awaiting an answer. we were on our way off campus after a long day of distracting each other with soft giggles.
i played with his fingers with minimal thought, my mind thinking about a date with soobin tonight. our fifth date.
soobin seemed rather traditional with labels. he believed in proper dates before officially announcing a relationship. he enjoys separating dating and being in a relationship. i, on the other hand, find us in an odd gray area. even in the 1950s, people were more touchy on dates, right? id enjoy being asked to be soobins significant other, but soobin has yet to ask.
“i have a lot of work to do though,” i said as my voice faded. his fingers danced on my waist, tickling me into submission.
“trust me, ill take care of all your work, just let me take you out tonight, please?” his soothing voice lulled me into agreeing. i smiled to myself, focusing on my walking feet while trying not to give in too quickly.
“it matters where we’d go.” i finally made eye contact with him, smiling at him playfully once again.
“how about the planetarium? theyre having a huge show tonight. flying through the cosmos.”
i nodded with a small pout, continuing to hold soobins hand that was holding my waist. my eyes found his once more, seeing that he was already looking at me. the corners of my lips turned up once more, seeing the way his pupils grew to fill almost his entire iris— it always happened when we made eye contact and i thought it was adorable.
-
“its the fifth fucking date,” yunjin muttered as she folded a shirt of mine, “you gotta give him something. he definitely deserves it.”
i rolled my eyes, knowing my friend has been saying that since the second date. since they first heard about me and soobin officially starting to date, theyve been begging me to slut myself out for their own gain. i love them for that, because i know for a fact i would do the same thing if i were in their spot.
“yunjin, sometimes people are more conservative with their kiss virginity,” my other friend, sieun, groaned.
“im not a damn kiss virgin. thats a stupid term anyways.” my lips rubbed against each other as i tried yet another lipstick shade. i started choosing so many different colors that they started mixing together as one color—maybe ill go with a stylish, yet unique lip stain, then.
“its just crazy you have thee choi soobin wrapped around your finger and, still, you never felt the urge to go ballistic and devour him, how havent you…y’know?” my third friend, chaeryeong, agreed with yunjin.
“trust me, chaer, i definitely wanted to. during literally every date my gut tells me to jump ontop of him and go insane, but then my mind gets foggy and my anxiety kicks in and then soobin has to take me back to his apartment to drink fucking pepto bismol.” i wasnt joking but everyone still laughed.
yunjin was on her knees, rummaging through my dresser drawer to complete her mission of living vicariously through me. she was definitely hoping id make a move just so she can hear all about it. she laid out at least five pairs of underwear and seven different short shorts and skirts. she started pulling out clothing items i completely forgot existed.
“c’mon, y/n, its gonna be dark and, like, literally who goes to the planetarium?” sieun asked.
“you do know theres a lot of astronomy students in the area, right? and gay girls who are obsessed with stars and shit,” yunjin giggled from the floor.
“he did say there was a huge show today. i doubt we’ll be alone-”
“so does that imply that there is a chance youll go jennifer check on him?”
i stared blankly, yet kept the same playful undertone thats been around the whole conversation. i quietly appreciated the pep talks everyone was giving me, letting my lungs catch slow and calming breaths to ease my nerves. my anticipation was growing, making me wonder how i ever controlled myself around soobin—i guess being all talk and no bite is one hell of a personality trait.
-
a complete silence filled the air, only the buzz of the street lamps outside my less-than-ideal apartment. i hardly ever have soobin over at the fear of him hearing some loud bang or routine scream from the sketchy people outside. its embarrassing, but its the best i could afford off of campus.
“youre so pretty,” soobin whispered, almost not allowing me to hear.
“and youre rather handsome,” i audibly smiled.
he was wearing a completely out-of-style pair of blue jeans and a much more stylish sweater over a white button down with the collar popped out. it was a bit chilly, but sieun told me i should put my style before the weather this one time.
soobin playfully bowed to me, allowing me to curtsey in response, holding my mid-thigh length black skirt wide, showing more than i intended to. to be fair, though, i have a feeling he was peeking at my halfway unbuttoned white dress shirt, purposefully, yet messily tucked into the skirt—this was entirely yunjins doing, of course. i almost caught myself insecurely caving my chest in, wanting him to look away, but i quickly imagined how it would feel to finally seduce soobin instead of it being the other way around. it helped that he looked so pretty in the dim light.
“shall we get a move on?” i joked, raising my eyebrows to try to wake soobin from my boobs’ amazing and captivating spell.
soobin shook his head slightly, yet quickly, and offered his arm. i took it, taking a quick glance at my friends through the closing door while they quietly cheered me on. almost immediately, a thousand text messages rolled in from the three stooges, telling me that theyll be out of my apartment by the next hour and that theyre leaving presents for me in my room.
i rolled my eyes softly and smiled, knowing they completely disregarded my telling them that i refuse to ever do anything sexual in my apartment. when i sneeze, i get at least three neighbors blessing me in response. i cant take the risk.
“oh, be careful, my love,” soobin mumbled, practically carrying me down the decrepit stairs, noticing how high my shoes are and how expensive they look. “your shoes are really pretty.”
i smiled, feeling very proud of the shoes i picked out myself despite yunjin adamantly disagreeing with the decision. it was the only part of my outfit i was able to choose myself. i whispered a timid, “thank you,” feeling my domineering confidence drain with the way i melted at soobins simple compliment.
after making our way to his car, he opened the door for me. i didnt get the chance to comment on the way he watched me attempt to cover my backside while crawling into the seat.
-
“its even colder in here, god,” i chuckled as we walked into the dome shaped building. just as chaeryeong assumed, there was hardly anyone in the building. the old man who worked the counter was kind, and very proud that there are still young couples that have the urge to stargaze in a country dying of light pollution. his eyes were sad and mine followed, then soobin looked in mine and frowned.
“i would give you my sweater, but im a fraud, and this collar is just a piece to make my outfit look good,” soobin said with a chuckle, pulling me into his body by the side. “i can agree to cuddling, though.
i agreed, holding onto his forearm that wrapped around my shoulders. we walked intertwined, finding our way to the specific room that the show will be. occasionally, i would cross my step to interrupt soobin, causing him to embarrassingly trip a few times over. he whined every time i did it, but hearing his distress was cute, so i continued as a result.
“ah, come on,” soobin dragged on his words, grabbing me by my stomach and waist, picking me up swiftly as he held me over his shoulder. although soobin didnt work out or have much strength in a traditional sense, natural and personal strength is something soobin prospered in. no one expects it every time he reveals it, even himself.
as soobin carried me, i felt my skirt rise inappropriately. i slapped his back and shoulder trying not to alarm the older man at all.
“soobin, my skirt!” i whisper yelled at him, but my warning only caused him to look at me with a smug smile and raised eyebrows, suggesting he wanted to take a look as a joke, though im not really sure if it was a joke. soobin quickly let me down and smoothed out my clothes to make sure i was presentable to anyone we may encounter.
there was a tired, clearly overworked teenager working the stand for that specific theater room. maybe she wasnt overworked, but i can only assume how much she doesnt want to be there.
“enjoy the show,” she lazily muttered to us before taking our tickets and locking the door behind us. there was only one other person in the entire theater, and it seemed to be another older person dead asleep in the corner of the rows. soobin and i held in laughs as we wondered how long this person had been there, and how long theyll remain. soobin led us to the opposite corner of the seats, the old lady kind of scaring us out of that vicinity.
my thighs rubbed together in anticipation while my eyes took glances at soobins figure. i watched the way his hands laid between his open legs, the way his spine slouched slightly, and the way he took many, many heavy and deep breaths. his eyes stayed away from me though.
i twiddled my thumbs until a slow rumble of inspirational music played in the surrounding sound system. the theater was pitch black and my eyes were on the ceiling, anticipating the start of the star of the show, literally.
a narration by an old man begins, babbling about how small of specs we are in retrospect while video of our solar system plays in the back. i began giggling at how outdated the information was; it still had pluto categorized as an official planet. the video was grainy and the audio was practically a snoozefest in the first three minutes.
“i thought you said this was a big show, soobin,” i whispered to him, nudging his bicep.
“i lie a lot to get you to go out with me, i thought youd know this already, y/n.”
he definitely had a point there. he lied a lot. not always on purpose, but it happened. its never really blatant lies, its usually just stretched truths. technically, the show itself is big, but just in the literal sense of the word. i accepted it though, since we’re alone.
i watched the ceiling, seeing how the big bang happened (all according to some random dude in the 1990s). there was one particular part i found genuinely interesting: only after 9 billions years did our universe get created post-‘big bang’, although many people perceive the big bang as the start of the universe itself; we always find a way to center ourselves in spaces we arent important.
as soon as i turn to ask soobin if he heard that fact, i caught him trying to quickly look away from me.
his eyes were scanning the ceiling, revealing a small nervousness i havent previously seen in him often. since we switched places, i decided i could make my move.
i straightened my posture, pivoting my body so i could comfortably face him. my hand found refuge on his neck, forcing him to bring his gaze to mine.
he was so nervous and it made me feel comforted knowing this was going to be as important to him as it is to me. he took a deep breath before holding my jaw in the palm of his hand, though he didnt pull me up towards him. he allowed me to pull him down into my lips, holding him so perfectly and exactly the way i dreamed.
i smiled into the kiss when i felt soobins body perk up and push deeper into mine. we separated quickly for air, but reconnected soon after. his head tilted to find my lips in the most amazing way possible.
it was dark once more, the stars molding into each other and disappearing in mathematical patterns. we couldnt see each other, and we couldnt hear each other well, but, still, we felt each other as deeply as we could. i felt connected to him, and im more than exhilarated to be with him.
starting makes it hard to stop, and part of me wishes i never started. our bodies drew closer, ignoring the physical barrier of the armchairs between us. my mind faded out any logic that, once upon a time, guarded my entire consciousness. i wouldve continued if soobins soft hand didnt gently push my chest away from his.
the removal wasnt harsh, it was honestly hardly noticeable, but i took the hint and finally separated from soobins lips.
“im so glad you made me wait for that.” even in the darkness, i could see the way his teeth revealed themselves behind his heavy breath.
“it was the perfect time, right?” i tried not to sound needy, but i definitely needed words of affirmation after such a gutsy action.
“i couldnt have planned it better.” his smile hugged me, and his hand held mine.
the narrator then said something about the never ending expanding universe: we will expand until swallowed whole by a black hole. it’s inevitable. our generation will be long gone before that will ever happen, so we shouldnt worry.
time will go on with or without us, and maybe a new wave of life will pop up somewhere in the multiverse, and the most we will be able to do is wish for the best for them.
i hope in every universe, theres a person watching the stars with someone who is willing to wait.
//
a/n: i wrote this way before the loona boycott, so, despite me saying that everyone should listen to the songs i write with before or after reaading, please avoid listening to kiss later! however, if you feel you must, please listen on soundcloud, theres a few reuploads of kiss later on there! i also kinda dont like this for some reason, but its always been a fic i had a soft spot for lol
#txt fluff#tomorrow x together#txt x reader#kpop#txt#soobin fluff#choi soobin#soobin x reader#txt soft hours#song fic
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