#its why there is a differentiation in the first place | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

april · 1 month

Text

TVs and monitors are separate species with common features, but which features these are have drastically changed over time. the two used to be similar sizes with very similar behaviour, and were differentiated primarily by which connection ports they had.

over time, their courses of evolution brought them closer together in that regard, with both species' survival becoming contingent on how well they could digest HDMI. as their analogue prey, such as VGA and Component, died out, the two display species were faced with the same choice: adapt, or die.

despite this newfound similarity, though, the two species still fill different ecological niches, and the way they adapted to these new environmental situations resulted in further physical distinction in other areas. for example, it is now almost impossible to find a modern TV that is a comparable size to a monitor; while the modern monitor is still limited in dimensions by the desktops where it prefers to nest, the modern TV has an almost unbounded adult size.

another strange new differentiation is that the TV seems to have developed a dependence on internet connectivity and software updates. while this benefits them in the short term, having more selling points than a monitor at first glance, it is working against them in the long-term, with each one's effective lifespan being cut dramatically.

the "dumb TV" that, quite intelligently, does not have any big software features, is nearing extinction, with very few members still producing offspring. and while we may feel sorrow for these displays, it is only natural that they are dying off - they are simply being outcompeted by the once-humble monitor. at the same size, and without the advantage of a wider variety of ports, the dumb TV cannot keep up with the monitor's much more refined adaptations for the same niche.

however, one mystery remains: why did the dumb TV never grow to the same impressive dimensions as its smart siblings? some observations suggests that the larger smart TVs have become overly territorial as a result of their decreased longevity, to the point that they will kill an infant dumb TV if they feel that it could grow to compete with them. it seems cruel to us, but in the wild, it's all a matter of survival. if you win the evolutionary race - you fight to keep first place.

#this is a long way of saying “if you want a small dumb TV and don't need analogue connections you can just buy a monitor of the same size”#finding a good modern dumb TV? nigh-impossible. finding a good monitor? pretty easy actually! dunno how i didn't realise this sooner.

1K notes · View notes

eyivibyemi · 1 year

Audio

✧ I won’t really write descriptions for these, but see original post tags for explanation/commentary on the song snippet ✧

#beepo tag #just messing around. this is from years ago one of the first times I recorded in a car in a relatives driveway because #i couldnt find any other quiet place to go where epople couldnt hear me #i think this was just a quick sample to see the sound and stuff like if there was any echo or anything or weird #noises because i think it was raining or something too?? idk #another old thing I found (like the 'maman need to koos' thing) in a folder from forever ago #titled 'gooble recordingh'#a silly snippet from the ancient past #also one of the things where i used to make my voice sillier to try and differentiate it more so it sounded like an actual group of like #multiple people singing together. which is why the main one that starts sounds kind of more like.. idk.. not 'preppy' but more of a #higher brighter kind of thing than usual. and that one low voice sounds comically like someone doing an impression of a deep voice #I have a few other things on my computer from around that time where it's not a group of people singing but is like.. people talking??#because its still so cool to me that computers allow you the ability to record one thing and then record another layer on top of it #with you kind of interacting with what you just recorded or etc.#whether thats adding multiple harmonies that all sound different in a song. or like. having a group of people with all different #accents and vocal tones chanting the same words. or some people saying stuff and then other people responding to it etc.#ANYWAY. i used to make the differences almost goofily pronounced to try and have every voice sound a little unique like they were #all different people and not just me singing over myself. because I would also do these like long 5 minute ''conversations'' where #it's literally just a group talking about something (maybe theyre all in a club and they're reacting to recent news about club members)#because I liked to talk in different accents and make it like I was having conversations with myself. and they all of course feature moments #of people talking over each other or arguing or fighting because i thought it was SO cool that I could use The Power Of Technology #to talk over myself in a realistc conversational style or etc. lol #I also really feel like I must have posted this somewhere already?? but I looked for it and I guess not so.. here

0 notes

koimethehorizon · 8 months

Text

Fionna and Cake theory: Simon the Artist

Nothing like a good old creative panic attack.

Fionna and Cake good. Haven’t been excited about a show like this in a long time, though it being a part of Adventure Time does help quite a bit. I was holding on to some cautious optimism for the show when it was announced as yet another big IP series covering the multiverse (still waiting to groan at THAT scene where Prismo has to explain to us about there being infinite universes), but as usual, Adventure Time’s crew continues to surprise me with its creativity, humor, and thematic resonance.

The most striking part about Fionna and Cake so far is just how deliberately the show wants us to differentiate it from the original Adventure Time.

We’re getting shots where Simon pops an artery from his arm, a theme song that explicitly talks about suicidal ideation, discussions of rent and financial problems, and curses no longer disguised with AT’s usual dialogue. Adventure Time has always had violence, thematic density, and juvenile rating pushers, but they were always reserved at small points. Meanwhile, these are factors that are just casually shown and discussed in Fionna and Cake every 3 minutes or so. This is not an all-ages miniseries, it’s for young adults. (hint: this will be relevant later)

Let’s get right into it. This is much less a speculative lore theory and more on what thematic direction the story may be going.

Before we do, let’s get this out of the way first. This theory assumes that the current Fionna and Cake world is all a part of Simon’s head and not merely a separate multiverse, which… I’m certain is fact for the following reasons.

The immediately obvious piece is that Fionna and Cake was always the Ice King’s fanfiction. Now if you’re versed in AT’s continuity you’re probably going to be asking about the red light in Fionna and Cake + Fionna and… I’ve no answer for it unfortunately. It’ll probably be relevant later in the series and possibly age this post like milk but for now, we’re not here to focus on the how, but the why.

Second is that the intro and the ending of Ep 2 literally show Fionna’s world spilling right out of Simon’s head like an animated world out of a frozen brain. If that isn’t clear enough-

Didn't realize this until writing, but these glasses are just plastic made to look like Betty's

There’s no other explanation for this other than that this world is artificial or influenced by Simon in some sense. Fionna even specifies that the statue went under renovation 12 years ago, but nobody seems to know who it is. Considering how Finn looks in the episode, it’s likely that it’s been that long since Betty’s sacrifice in the finale.

With that out of the way, here it goes.

The reason Fionna and Cake exist in the first place is because the creators found Natasha Allegri’s genderswap designs charming and wanted an in-universe reason to use them the Ice King wanted to create trashy, wish fulfillment through art. It was a phase.

Definitely changed that image for publishing.

Simon can argue if they’re good or bad but it’s undeniably his art. It’s not just a portfolio he left behind in a closet, it’s an experience that was shared with a larger audience.

And even if wasn’t liked at first, the citizens of Ooo seemed to have come around to it. And some of them love it!

Whether Simon likes it or not, he has a fan base that is so endeared to the story he made all those years ago that they demand he makes more. Why let a good story, loved by many, go to rest when you still have some life and creativity left in you?

Can't move on in more ways than one.

Except, the problem is that Simon isn’t Ice King anymore. He’s aged out of it.

His real passion is history, he's an adult who who finds passion in the mundane and antiques from the past. And frankly, there isn’t much room for wish-fulfillment and fantasy anymore. Simon has responsibilities. He has a job and a daughter in a world that is moving faster than he can process.

And where Ice King wrote about looking for love, Simon has already had it.

And lost it. His mind isn’t focused on the rosiness of finding new love, it’s grieving the one he already thought was the one.

Wasn't he supposed to be good with kids?

Despite his new life experiences, all his peers seem to want from him is to make more of what they’re familiar with.

A story made from wants and wishes that he doesn’t even have anymore.

A story that was literally made by someone else at a different time. It’s a fiction he cannot connect to anymore, art that he’s embarrassed by. Yet also jealous of. Because at one point, the body Simon used to be in understood what exactly was missing from his life and could express that easily.

Seeing it again is like experiencing a retrospection of a cringey loser you don’t want to imagine having ever been. It’s not you anymore, and you don’t want to be reminded of that.

Because despite him having a new creative passion, no one seems to care about that. All they want is Fionna and Cake. And what is more lonely than other people misunderstanding what you’re trying to express?

If I failed to make it clear somehow, my theory is that: Simon’s relationship with Fionna and Cake is a metaphor for creators growing out of their art. And this new Fionna and Cake world is still comfort art born out of Simon’s current desires and perceptions.

The snippet subtitles this “child holding a phone”. I guess I’m wrong. Essay over.

Episode 1 and 2 both have direct parallels with each other. They’re both about a protagonist who are feeling displaced from their world, living a phase of losing a significant other, leaving a thankless job, wearing a mask of stability in front of the people they care for, seeking a guru at the heart of the forest, and concluding that they no longer belong in their current world.

But more importantly, Fionna and Cake (the characters, the world, and the show) are no longer for an all-ages crowd. Fionna and Cake now feature young adults, curses, gore, alcohol, partial nudity, financial issues, morning routines, mid-life crisis, and overt suicidal ideation. These are the feelings that Simon relates to and possibly desires to express through art. Thus, his story and our new miniseries have warped that way.

Am I overthinking this? No. How dare you assume that.

Is equating the unconscious writings of his dementia-ridden self to Simon as his younger self seem a bit odd? ….Kinda. Again, it’s not the how but the why that matters in this case. I'm NOT crazy, I have proof that there is some acknowledgment of this directly in the show.

Rewatch the bar scene and apply this reading of the episode to what Simon says there:

“Your old stuff, Fionna and Cake, honest to glob my man, is an inspiration to me.”

“My old stuff, I don’t really want to talk about my old stuff…”

“Why not? You should be proud! You wrote an entire extended universe in a fugue state if you think about it.”

"Simon cringes"

If you have ever shared art with a group of people in the past, you’ve had this conversation.

Not likely, not possibly, no perhapses. You HAVE.

And Fionna and Cake being an epilogue to a massive award-winning, near-decade-spanning, cultural sensation 5 years after it ended, might result in its creators feeling very retrospective about what audiences want from them now.

And how difficult it’s going to be to tell new experiences and tones from what’s come before. Also, come on. “Extended Universe?” That doesn’t sound like Fionna and Cake. That sounds a lot like something else.

Again, seems bad with this kid.

One of the more profound shots in the main trailer for the show features the inconspicuously Finn-like kid crouching at her Fionna and Cake book in Simon’s trash. I believe this character is going to have a major role in two ways. Convincing Simon to be proud of what he’s accomplished and/or embracing that Simon wants to move away from his original work in order to create something new, or perhaps more likely, reinvent Fionna and Cake into what Simon relates to now.

We’ll just have to see what Simon thinks of his new Fionna next week.

PS. Talking as a fan now, WHAT IS UP WITH THE 1000+ TREEHOUSE IN THE INTRO?!!! ARE WE REVISITING THIS TIMELINE AGAIN?

SOMEONE TELL ME NOW!!!

#television #adventure time #fionna and cake #simon petrikov #fionna campbell #animation #speculation #theories #fan theory #character analysis #discussion #adventure time spoilers #fionna and cake spoilers

558 notes · View notes

raginglesbian2006 · 2 months

Note

I was wondering if I could request Alastor and a hunter reader and the reader hunted deer when they were alive so meeting a deer demon would be interesting! Only if you want! Congrats on your followers- Remember to drink water and eat a snack!

Can I be ✨ anon?

of course! and thank you so much for the congratulations! Please remember to take care of yourself as well!

Time for some deer puns! >:)

Oh, Deer!

A/N: look at my baby girl :)

Your first meeting with the famed radio demon had been... interesting, to say the least.

You had stumbled upon a swamp-like area while on your daily strolls through hell. Being a hunter when you were alive naturally kicked in your curiosity and you made the decision to wander through the place. Perhaps, you had hoped, you'd get some fresh kill.

As you made your way around the tall trees- their canopies hanging over your head- your ears picked up a sound.

"Radio static? Why is there a radio around here?" you wondered.

Your curiosity grew even further. You took another step.

And another.

And another-

Wait.

Your eyes widened slightly.

"Is that...a deer...demon?"

From where you stood, you could see the demon, happily munching on raw venison. He was seated quite elegantly at a lovely little table. He took small bites with the help of his fork, the static growing with each satisfying bite.

You moved back slightly, your mind telling you to walk away when suddenly, you heard a crunch.

A lone dry twig lay smashed against the sole of your shoe.

There was an eerie silence following this. You looked back at where the demon was...but you found no one, save for the lifeless deer who lay sprawled on the table, guts out for everyone to see.

Without a warning, something grabbed you by the neck and shoved you against a tree. You let out a startled scream.

Your eyes found the demon-his form looking so much more...terrifying than what you'd seen before. His eyes were wide and his pupils resembled that of radio dials. His mouth was stretched in a frightening grin as blood poured through his sharp teeth. His antlers grew larger by the second. Tentacles arose from around him menacingly as one held you against the tree.

Sure you could die right now but all you could think of at the moment was that he looked...majestic.

"₩Ⱨ₳₮ ł₴ ₳ ₱₳₮ⱧɆ₮ł₵ ₴ł₦₦ɆⱤ Ⱡł₭Ɇ ɎØɄ ĐØł₦₲ ł₦ ₥Ɏ ₣ØⱤɆ₴₮?" His voice came out distorted. You winced as the static grew louder than ever.

"I-I s-swear, I was just passing through!" you wheezed out.

You felt the pressure around your neck increase. Tears started pooling around your eyes.

"₳₦Đ ⱧØ₩ ĐØ ł ₭₦Ø₩ ɎØɄ ₳ⱤɆ ₮Ø ฿Ɇ ₮ⱤɄ₴₮ɆĐ?"

Your free hands scrambled to reach your pocket. You pulled out your hunting license- something you had died with back when you were alive, showing it to him.

"I-I'm a hunter! I stumbled upon this f-forest and I-I wanted to s-see if I'd get some f-fresh kill!" you managed to voice out, despite your breath being restricted.

You fell to the ground suddenly, as the static around you returned to its normal range. You started breathing in short gasps, your body adjusting to the release of force from around your neck.

"Well, why did you not say so?" the demon said, jovially, "I am always delighted to meet another hunter like myself!"

You felt yourself be pulled up, your arms clutched around his claws. You managed to find your balance and stood on your shaking limbs.

The demon then grabbed your hand and shook it, fervently, "My name is Alastor. It's a pleasure meeting you,dear! Quite the pleasure!"

His eyes caught onto the reprehensive look on your face as he continued, "I do apologize for my behavior. It's just that when you're a powerful overlord like myself," he gloated, "It becomes hard differentiating friend from foe. One can never be too careful!"

You nodded hesitantly, "I do not mean to pose any harm to you, Alastor. As I said, I truly did not know this," you gestured to your surroundings, "belonged to you."

Alastor hummed in reply and then patted the top of your head, "Do not worry, my dear. We are in hell after all. Errors are a common thing."

He then looked at you with a curious eye, "You said you were a hunter. Oh, do tell me more."

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

And that was how you become acquainted with the radio demon himself. As mentioned previously, you were a hunter back when you were alive but what you loved hunting the most, was deer. In fact, it was the deer-hunting shenanigans that led to you dying in the first place.

Alastor and you bonded over your shared love for venison, albeit you liked it a bit more...cooked. On one of his many meetings with you, he showcased his wide array of guns, perfectly polished and ready to be used. Safe to say, you were starstruck.

You never questioned his deer-like features. You assumed it had something to do with his death so you never pestered him about it. You valued your afterlife a whole lot more.

(Although you did want to touch his ears so badly. They looked so incredibly fluffy.)

You remember you managed to take a glimpse of his little tail when he took off his overcoat. He found you ogling at his rear which prompted him to threaten you to keep your lips sealed. You did, of course.

And my god, did the two of you love deer puns... (Brace yourselves, folks)

"What did the deer say after he finished eating?"

You looked at Alastor, eyeing him from above your cup of coffee, "What?"

"That was deer-licious!"

You choked on your drink, as you laughed.

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

"Hey Al!" you called out to him.

Alastor turned to you, his head turning 360 without his body turning the same way, "Yes, dear?"

"What’s a buck’s least favorite sandwich bread?"

Alastor hummed, "No-eye-deer!"

You burst out laughing, "No! Let me finish my pun!" You took a deep breath to sound out your answer.

"Sour doe!"

A boisterous laugh from the radio demon ensued.

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

If you were told years ago that you would befriend a fearsome cannibalistic overlord, you would have laughed at their face.

Welp, how the turn tables.

A/N: Well this turned out a bit different from what I'd planned but I do hope you enjoy it! Also, I do apologize for not answering this request for so long T-T. I procrastinate a lot.

Also, I must say I truly resisted getting Alastor to say, "Get out of mah swamp!" XD

#hazbin hotel #alastor #alastor x reader #hazbin hotel alastor #hazbin alastor #request

187 notes · View notes

yawntutsyip · 1 year

Text

Avatar The Way Of Water x Deaf!Human Reader:

italics = sign

warnings: she/her pronouns, some cussing, bad writing 😔

an: idk if I hate it or somewhat like it. We shall see what happens… if people actually like this then I’ll make chapter two, if not then let’s just say this was a oneshot Lmao

Silence | Chapter One

Silence, if you had to describe your world to someone in one word, that’s what you would tell them because that's all it ever was. Sure you had some hearing growing up in your younger years. It was mostly muffled though like you were underwater but you did your best to make out as much as you could, but each day it had gotten worse, and the next thing you know, by the time you turned nine your hearing completely vanished.

When people say you should cherish things, don't take things for granted, and be grateful for what you have, you really should. Of course being a child that saying went over your head as you didn’t think much of it but now you wish you had listened to the wise words as you find yourself longing to hear your mother's voice, or the littlest things like the clicks of equipment from the lab or the buzzing from the fluorescent lights, one last time. Now, being sixteen years old, you could hardly remember what they sound like as it turned into a distant memory, all a blur.

Growing up your mother taught you sign language so it was easier to communicate than having to read someone’s lips. It was difficult at first as you had to learn to differentiate whether the person was speaking English or the Na’vi language but you managed.

Your mother was great friends with Neytiri and Jake despite Neytiris hatred for humans. Neytiri had a soft spot for you and your mother. You grew up along the side of the Sully kids and Spider, , you always had one of them along your side, as you weren’t allowed outside the lab alone due to Pandora's dangerous nature, they were all very overprotective of you, sometimes it got annoying but you understood why.

It was always surprisingly Lo’ak. He always took you on his adventures through the forest, exploring and finding new hang-out places. Sometimes Lo’ak could be forgetful as there were times where, when he had taken you out with him and he calls your name to get your attention, but when he receives no response it clicks back into him as he says ‘oh yeah, she can’t hear me at all duh’

When you turn around to look at him you find him hunched over with his hands on his knees as he laughs at his dumbness. You cock your head to the side as if questioning ‘what are you laughing at?’ and roll your eyes as he signs to you that he forgot you were deaf for a second. It concerned you sometimes that you were relying on this boy for protection.

Right now you, Spider, and the Sully siblings minus Neteyam were all in the forest following Lo’ak to wherever he was going hand in hand with Tuk. You and Tuk stop for a second and crouch down touching the plant that had caught your eyes, you smile as the leaves stick to your hands, You look at Tuk and could see a smile on her face as well as she playing with it but soon pulls away standing up tugging you along.

A frown finds its way on your lips as you look back at the plant while getting dragged away. You wanted to look at it for longer. You soon all come to a stop as Lo’ak turns around saying something you couldn't quite make out, You look at Kiri and she quickly signs to you what was said.

Looking back at Tuk you see her sticking her tongue out at Lo’ak while pouting, You giggle at her childish antics before you all continue back to where you were going. Finally reaching the spot the boys and Tuk go and climb up to wherever it was as you stayed behind with Kiri, Both of you laying in the grass next to each other. These are the times you wished you could have your hearing back, you closed your eyes and tried your best to imagine what kind of sounds could have been heard although there wasn't much to imagine as you hardly went outside of the lab so you didn't know what sounds there were in the beginning. The breeze from the air and the light shining down on you paired with the quietness eased your mind as you found yourself drifting off.

A little later you found yourself and Kiri getting woken up by a spider by his light shaking.

‘Have go back’ Spider signed to you the best he could with the little knowledge of sign he had, you still understood what he was saying as you nod your head and stand up following them out, leaving to go back.

Coming to a halt once again, Lo’ak jumps off the large branch you were all walking on and crouches down to the dirt where laid a footprint. ‘Is it an avatar’s?’ You sign to Lo’ak while crouching down next to him to get a closer look.

“Maybe…” he said out loud while signing at the same time. You turned your head to look at Kiri with your brows frowning with worry written on your face, Kiri could only smile at you while signing ‘It will be okay’ as she pats your shoulder.

You watch as Lo’ak and Spider continue to move forward and you all follow. Lo’ak quickly turns his head back and looks at you while bringing a finger to his lips, blush creeps up on your face in embarrassment as you bring a fist to your chest and move it in circular motions ‘Sorry!’

Crouching down hiding in the grass you all stalk forward, looking up ahead you could see the old shack and what seemed to be Avatar’s walking around with guns. ‘Are they from the lab?’

You ask Lo’ak who was crouched behind you. ‘I don’t think so’ he shakes his head, eyes still ahead.

“I better call this in,” Lo’ak says while walking back grabbing your arm to follow.

“No bro! We're gonna get in trouble!” Spider says in a hushed voice following you guys. You guys all move behind some trees as Lo’ak reaches to his neck about to press the button, You watch as he hesitates for a second. He did not want to get in trouble for the second time with his dad but he knew that he had to, this was important. You give him a reassuring nod with a hand on his arm as if saying it's okay.

“I got eyes on some guys. They look like avatars..but they’re in full camo and carrying ARs. There are six of them. Over.” You move your attention back to the avatar’s ahead as you watch them go through the old shack and look around as if they were trying to find something, but what was it?

“We're at the old shack.”

“Who’s we?”

“Me, Spider, Kiri…Tuk…and (Y/N)” Lo’ak hesitates to bring up the fact that he had you and Tuk with him in such a dangerous position.

“Son, You listen to me very carefully. Pull back right now. Do not make a sound. Especially (Y/N). Get the hell out of there. Move. Copy?”

“Yes sir.”

A tap on your shoulder pulls your vision away as Lo’ak grabs your arm again picking you up in his arms and catching you off guard. You look up ‘What are you doing?’ he ignored you as he was too focused on getting out of there. He was not gonna take his chances of you accidentally stepping on a stick and blowing everyone's cover.

Not even a second later an Avatar pops out from the bushes and grabs a hold of Tuk. Lo’ak quickly sets you down pushing you behind him as he pulls out his bow and points it at the many Avatar that appeared out of nowhere.

What is going on? You ask yourself as you swing your head back and forth looking in all directions to see that you all were surrounded. Although to everyone else there was loud screaming at each other and Tuk screaming, to you there was nothing. You could only watch as their lips moved, you tried your best to make out what they were saying but they weren’t pronouncing the words properly so you couldn’t tell.

One by one you all got grabbed by one of them, You tried backing up away only to feel someone harshly grab your arms pinning them behind you, you scream at the unknown hands as you struggled in fear. Lo’ak and Kiri were shouting at you to stop struggling hoping somehow you would hear them but of course, you don’t. You soon find yourself knocked down with a swift kick to your knees and pinned down to the ground on your stomach, freezing up as you feel a cold metal being pushed against the back of your head.

“Don’t hurt her!” Spider and Lo’ak shout out.

You felt useless as all you could see was the dirt ground beneath you, not knowing what was going on with your friends. Were they okay? Hell were they even alive? All you know is they could have been shot already and you wouldn't have a clue.

Quaritch signals to the man holding you to pull you up, you frantically look around checking to make sure everyone is okay before looking back at the man who stood in front of you.

“Two humans with the Na’vi? What's your guy's name?”

You saw his lips moving but couldn’t make out what he was saying so you turned to Spider.

“Hey!, Sweetheart, I asked for your name!” He shouted at you again, grabbing your face in his hands, and bringing it forward. The grab from his hand hurt as it grew tighter when you tried pulling away. You gave him a glare and spat on his face, watching as he furiously wiped it off with the back of his hand.

“She can’t hear you, dumbass! She’s deaf! She doesn’t know what you are saying!” Spider shouts at the man gaining his attention. Quaritch gives you one last look before shoving your face away and moving to Spider. You watch with a glare as they talk for a moment before you all get dragged to follow wherever they are walking before once again being pushed down, now with hands cuffed together.

It had gotten dark as the eclipse happened, feeling droplets of water fall on your skin as it began to rain. You were so lost while all this was happening, not knowing what was going on, who these people were, What they were gonna do with you and your friends. You were scared.

You wished you had just stayed back at the labs, where your mother was, probably worrying about where you were right now. Were you even gonna make it back to her? You watch as everyone's ears perk up meaning they heard something. You look at Lo’ak who was beside you. He looked down at his hands signaling you to follow and watch as he signed one word

‘Mom’

Looking back up you nod your head before looking away hoping no one saw what he signed.

Your back was turned from everyone else, you stood still not moving as you could feel the gun against your back so you were unaware of all the commotion that was happening, but you could feel the person behind you leave. You still stood there not trying to take chances.

The feeling of someone grabbing your hand startles you as you turn your head and realize that it was just Tuk, Eyes widening as you watch guns being fired, and a yellow gas releasing everywhere. “We have to go! Come on!” Tuk says to you, this time you were able to tell what she said and follow behind her as she ran, Lo’ak tailing right behind you.

You all kept running, your breathing became heavy as you weren't used to this much moving as you usually just stayed in the lab or at the most, walked around the forest, You kept looking back checking if anyone was following, not paying attention to what was in front of you, running into someone's chest.

You let out a scream, scared of it being one of the Avatars from earlier that had caught you but your face was pulled up to meet a familiar face in front of you telling you to calm down while placing a hand over your mouth to silence your screams but removes it as you quiet down realizing it was just Neteyam.

Your tense shoulders drop as you bury your face in his torso letting out breaths of relief. Oh, thank Eywa you are safe now.

#atwow #avatar the way of water #atwow x reader #atwow imagine #avatar x reader #lo’ak x reader #aonung x reader #ao’nung x reader #☆ — ao’nung ˖˚⊹#☆ — lo’ak ˖˚⊹

1K notes · View notes

maraudersmyloves · 2 months

Note

https://www.tumblr.com/maraudersmyloves/743741615396569088/best-friendjames-who-loves-you-so-much-he-cant

this but add in a sprinkle (actually a lot) of angst and holy shit its perfect

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆｡ﾟ. ───

Pairing: Bestfriend!James Potter x reader

Warnings: Angst, requited unrequited feelings, me trying to write metaphors, not proofread

Word count: 838

Disclaimer 1: Everything on this Blog is fiction!!!

"in love?". :☆｡ﾟ. ───

James has always known he loves you. Since the first time he laid his eyes on you, you've had a place in his heart. Moving in and getting comfortable in his ribcage. Sometimes he could swear you were trying to move out by the way his heart hurts whenever you give him a kiss on the cheek or make eye contact with him over the heads of the other students. But his greedy heart always pulled you back in holding you close and making sure you were comfortable. It's always been that way.

So, just like his heart, James makes sure to hold you close and give you all the affection in the world, making sure you'd never leave. He'll kiss and hug and cuddle you to make sure you know how loved you are.

He has never been really good at differentiating what kind of love he felt. His love dragged him along like he was surfing a never-ending wave without slowing down so he'd be able to tell whether it was salt or freshwater that was pulling him. That's why he was obsessing over Lily, it turns out he just found her incredibly cool and really wanted to be her friend.

Most people he's loved have helped him tell how he felt. Telling him how they felt.

The only problem, whenever you did, it felt wrong. Like you were lying without even noticing every time you told him he was your best friend. But he trusted you. So, if you said you were friends, you were friends. easy. simple. Except he can't help but differentiate you from the rest of his friends, but he's known you the longest so maybe it's that. No one else knows him quite like you. Sirius comes closest, but he's still light-years away.

If he's being honest he doesn't want to put too much thought into it, not wanting to get to a conclusion he (or worse, you) wouldn't like. He loves you, that's what counts. Right?

After years of being friends the mindset finally completely made sense to him, you're his best friend. Nothing more, nothing less. So, when people started asking him whether you two were dating he just wrote them off as never having loved someone as deeply as he loves you. He loves you like the ocean loves the shoreline, in the still, in the rage-filled waves and hurricanes, from afar and so close he can feel you. Whenever he's away for just a second, although it feels like an eternity to him, he comes back stronger, loving you harder and hugging you closer.

That's how it is. So, when other people don't understand why he hugs you from behind, burries his head in crook of your neck, squeezes your thighs, carries you around, and sleeps cuddled next to you it's because they don't love like he does.

Little does he know every touch pains you. You've confessed your love so much when you were sure he was sleeping you could swear he'd hear it in his dreams one day. You understood that while he loved you, he wasn't in love with you. You told yourself to accept it and move on, to just take a step back and realize how it's destroying you. But every time you're close to being able to leave he hugs you closer. It's as if he knows.

So, you stay.

You stay and watch him take out other girls. First a Blonde Ravenclaw, then a ginger Hufflepuff, two dates with a brunette Gryffindor, another Blonde Ravenclaw, and most recently a Slytherin girl with long, black hair. You know that he's a teenage boy and is going to want to say yes to some of his hundreds of offers to date. But, still, it hurts. He was too dear to be yours after all. He'd never fall in love with you. He told you himself

You remember meeting up so James could teach you how to skate but you ended up sitting around eating chips and talking about everything and nothing instead.

James started repeatedly hitting your shoulder trying to tell you what he was thinking with a mouthful of chips. He just ended up looking like an idiot. When he finally calmed down and swallowed he couldn't help but laugh, "D'you remember when everyone used to play 36 Questions, saying you would fall in love if you did it." You gasped, of course, you remembered. You were so close to asking him to play with you but you forgot for some reason. It really was a bit stupid, you can't make a person fall in love. You'd know, you tried.

"Yes, oh my god. What was that?" you asked while laughing.

"Right?? Like, i'm not gonna fall in love with you just because you ask me who i'd want to have dinner with."

He was laughing.

He was laughing so you laughed along. It's not like he said it directly but at his pointed look in your direction, you could tell what he meant. He was smiling. "Right?"

"Right."

235 notes · View notes

gacha-incels · 3 months

Text

regarding character design in gacha games- if you haven’t played many, I will show examples from some popular ones here. This is for reference regarding confusion as to why incels often play these games. This isn’t to cover everything in these games either, there are games with much more absurd designs and I’m not even going to get into the “sexy little girl” designs a lot of them have. In the future I plan to research more and intend to make a concise post regarding the incel relationship with these games. These character designs and tropes exist across societies and are enforced through many types of media - it’s not just gacha games alone perpetuating them. I think they are however hypervisual in this specific genre mostly due to the huge amounts of money being spent by players in “purchasing” them. again this is just for reference, if you already are familiar with female character gacha design feel free to skip this. I’ll put it under a cut.

gacha games are infamous for typically having extremely sexualized female characters who will usually flatter the assumed male player. Again there are some that designers and writers will dress more chaste or have them give the player shit, but by “winning” these characters they are now “yours” anyway, they are not real women and therefore can’t walk away. I believe a big part of this appeal is due to incel men wanting to control a woman designed for an audience of people like him. The hypersexualization serves both to flatter his idea of a woman’s true place (his consumption) and to create a very rigid and obvious differentiation between men and women during a time when women are fighting tooth and nail for their dignity and equal rights.

Nostalgia and rigid character design dichotomy can be seen in the extremely popular gacha game Fate/Grand Order, I believe a good piece of its success can be attributed to this. There are thousands of Japanese gacha games that take already popular anime franchises and create a money pit gacha with them, it’s been happening for over a decade now. These games usually make bank taking already popular characters and giving them hypersexualized alts and costumes. FGO is an interesting phenomenon to me because it seems like for a lot of fans, the Fate franchise’s cultural touchstone is now this actual gacha game. The game adds popular existing Fate characters of course, so you can see how different the gacha character designs are from the VN/animes:

When you can only watch them/read their stories, the characters are dressed like the above examples. When they are added to the game and you can buy and own them, they look like the bottom examples.

The (rare) depiction of darker skinned female characters in these gacha games is pretty uniform across the board- they are somehow, consistently, sexualized even more than the other female characters, they are often exoticized and sometimes have a “wild” or rebellious looking aspect incorporated. I would consider this something the intended audience expects to see, regardless of the truth, and the gacha game reflects this back to their customers, therefore enshrining this damaging stereotype to its audience. These examples don’t account for everything of course.

As to not offend the delicate male viewer, these games also typically design furry/animal characters by having the female retain the most human-like features (like a small and delicate face) while the male is allowed to actually look like the animal. When a female character has armor that conceals her sex, there is of course a version of her you can “upgrade” where she takes off her armor to reveal a very delicate girl in revealing clothing.

Typically, the consumer will see powerful, sturdy looking male designs that attempt to not alienate the straight male viewer first before adding “sexy” elements. In contrast, female characters are almost always very thin (often with exaggerated tits and ass) and her pose is chosen to show off her body first, before her power. This is an Arknights dual banner that displays this design philosophy well:

some of the biggest incel shitfits come from male designs they see as being sexualized and objectified as the typical female design. these are 3 characters Korean incels have lost their minds over:

In their world, the rigid sex dichotomy is breaking down and the hierarchal system of gender where men are on top is being threatened. they don’t feel powerful seeing lithe and skimpily dressed men, and they aren’t the hentai “femboy” fetish these guys seem ok with either. incels see these games as their playground. when designs like these are included, they see it as their job to rectify this. Lyney’s costume and demeanor is too “sexy” and “gay” for Korean incels, they mass dislike his character trailer and write hateful comments across SNS. Sinclair is shirtless and wearing a collar - Korean incels are furious he’s wearing less than the female summer character and see the collar as meaning he’s a “slave” for the female customer. This snowballs into them targeting a female artist on staff, Vellmori, and getting her fired even though it was a male artist who illustrated the cards. I’ve posted Korean incels comments on the Honkai Star Rail character- similar to Lyney, they are angry he looks “slutty” and/or “gay” since he has a boob window and detached sleeves. This is too similar to how the female characters are made “sexy” and it means women have prominent roles creating for these games, something incels of course hate. Regarding the role women should have in creating these games, a Korean incel wrote (after seeing photos that include many female staff members at Mihoyo) that they should just be there working at the cafe to serve coffee to male employees and look pretty for them.

In regards to how some of these games are marketed, we can again look to the article written by a Korean woman who was a victim of feminist ideological verification.

character designs for NIKKE and Destiny Child:

what the gameplay for NIKKE looks like:

#limbus company #arknights #genshin impact #honkai star rail #fgo #fate grand order #nikke #nikke goddess of victory #destiny child

166 notes · View notes

bedos-blossom · 2 years

Text

Genshin Boys + Kink Scenarios

Pairings: Kaeya, Zhongli, Ayato, and Itto x afab!reader (all separately)

Genre: Smut

Warnings: slight exhibitionism, creampie, you call Ayato Sir, a lil bit of cum play, a lil bit of cum eating, Ayato calls reader a greedy slut

A/N: I wanted to pair a Genshin boy with either a sex toy or a kink and make some drabbles to help warm my brain back up to writing. I hope y’all enjoy the filth! I am planning a part two with other Genshin boys which I’ll link here when it’s posted :)

Kaeya + Fucking Machine:

“You’re doing so well, baby.”

His words are sweet, but you don’t have to look at him to know he’s smirking down at you. However, you don’t have the brainpower to come up with any witty one-liner thanks to the fucking machine currently pistoning in and out of you at a maddening speed. You do lift your head and attempt to glare at him, limbs pulling at the restraints that keep you in place, but it was hard to glare when your eyes wanted nothing more than to roll back.

Currently, you are bent over a sex bench, comfortably resting on the plush cushioning that keeps your knees, torso, and arms from aching despite them all being bound to said cushions with straps. Admittedly, when he first showed you the machine you were unsure of it, but Kaeya’s excitement made you agree to try it out that night. Promising it would be an experience you’d love, and he was right. You did love it, but there was a downside you didn’t account for.

While the machine did the job, it couldn’t scratch all those itches for you. It couldn’t reach around and rub your clit. It couldn’t change its angle to focus on your sweet spot. It couldn’t spank your ass until your skin was radiating warmth. It couldn’t grip your hips and pull you back into its thrust.

It couldn’t be Kaeya.

Kaeya knew this full and well, which is why he was looking down at you with that shit-eating grin. He could tell from the look in your eyes just how badly you wanted him.

“K-Kaeya, come on.” You plead, watching his hand as he teasingly rubs over his cock through his pants.

“Come on?” He echoes, tilting his head as his eye glints mischievously, “Come on, what?”

Your reply is lost in the whimper that involuntarily slips from your lips as you watch Kaeya start undoing his belt. You look up at him– eyes pathetically needy and Kaeya knows he can’t deny you for much longer when you’re giving him those eyes.

“Alright, alright. You were good and let me have my fun. I’ll reward you.”

Zhongli + Vibrating Panties:

A brisk walk through Liyue wasn’t unusual for the ex archon. He enjoyed all the sights of Liyue regardless of how many times he’s seen them. He especially loved seeing them while having you at his side. You were frequent visitors of a lot of street vendors and restaurants, meaning your walks could last a while depending on what you or your boyfriend wanted to do. The length was never a bother for you– unless Zhongli decides to use it as a means to punish you or tease you.

Today was the latter which means he has a bit more mercy but the bullet vibrator currently snug against your clit doesn’t differentiate between punishment and teasing. It just did a mind-numbingly good job at making all your nerves flare to life.

“Darling?”

Zhongli’s voice breaks you from your thoughts as you glance over.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“You’re quiet, is something wrong?”

To anyone else it would look like a lover concerned for their dearest, but you narrow your eyes at him. It was hard to be chatty when at any moment Zhongli could turn that little torture device on-

There it goes.

Your breath catches in your throat as your grip on his arm tightens. You bite the inside of your cheek, hoping your face didn’t give away that something was up. Zhongli continues to smile at you warmly as if his free hand isn’t in his pocket fidgeting with a remote that is connected to the panties you’re wearing.

“Just fine.” You manage to reply with a somewhat steady voice.

“Are you sure? We could end our walk prematurely.” He offers, stopping in the middle of the street.

Again his words were sweet but his actions spoke louder – his fingers once again turning up the intensity. Your thighs tremble slightly as you grit your teeth. It takes everything in you not to moan out loud as you open your mouth to reply again.

“Nope. Fine.”

Zhongli leans down and kisses your forehead, you can feel the small smirk as his lips meet your skin.

“Very well.”

Itto + Spreader Bar:

Who knows how long has passed since Itto folded you into this mating press. Your mind has long since gone blank – the rhythmic pounding of Itto’s cock inside of you is the only thing your mind can register. You were sweaty and sticky, three orgasms have been squeezed out of you and yet Itto was still as enthusiastic as when you began. Oni stamina was no joke.

“I-Itto-” You gasp out, toes curling as your legs involuntarily pull against the restraint that your ankles and wrists were locked into.

It was hard to form thoughts when you couldn’t grip anything to ground yourself. You’ve resorted to digging your nails into your palms but it did nothing to help you collect yourself.

“Hm?” Itto grunts, his eyes still fixated on where your bodies connect.

There’s something addicting about how your pussy stretches to accommodate his large size. Mortals were small to Itto and therefore delicate things– but you were able to take all of him to the hilt. It took some prep and patience, but by the end of the night he was always able to plunge into you with less restraint than he was used to.

“F-Feels good.” You slur as your unfocused gaze moves to your lover’s face.

His eyes flicker up to your face, taking in the sight of you completely fucked out. Tear streaks on your cheeks, eyes clouded, tongue lolled out of your open mouth, face completely flushed.

It made him want to completely let go– letting his mind shut down and his hips take control, fucking you with enough force to break the bed frame and make your pretty little screams ring throughout all of Inazuma.

But he knew better than that.

Instead, he rests his forehead on the back of the hand that's holding your spreader bar and looks down at you with adoring eyes. As amazing as he knows he is, he’s thankful someone as incredible as you stumbled into his life.

“I fuckin’ love you.” He pants, pausing his assault on your lower half for a moment to give you a breather.

He swears his heart swells when you give him a dopey smile and try to reach for him despite still being restrained. You don’t need to think to reply to that– at this point in the relationship, it’s an instinct that transcends the need for thought or coherency.

“Love you too.”

Ayato + Spanking:

“Sweetheart, remind me of the rule you broke.” Ayato says as he looks down at you.

You were sitting on your heels in front of him, your head hanging low. Without looking up from your hands you can still feel his piercing glare. You were bad. You knew you were being bad but it was a quickie! He wasn’t supposed to know it happened!

“I played with Thoma while you weren’t around.”

It was one of the few rules Ayato gave you and yet, you still broke it. You were just so horny and Thoma was there in his tight black shirt, dusting off the dresser, and next thing you knew you had convinced him to fuck you on it. It was just a little something to get you by until Ayato could get home tonight. Little did you know Ayato managed to finish the day’s tasks early and make it home before dark. To say he was shocked to walk in to Thoma flooding your pussy with his cum was an understatement.

He was quick to order the housekeeper out of the room, promising to deal with him later. Thoma, thankful to escape Ayato’s punishment for the time being, ran out of the room. You, however, were not so lucky. Ayato didn’t even give you the chance to put your panties back on. You could still feel some of Thoma’s cum dripping out of you and onto the floor.

“You did.” Ayato nods, “For that, you will be punished. Over my knee.”

“I’m sorry.”

Your voice is quiet and full of shame as you walked over and assumed the position he asked of you.

“I know you are. You’ll say as much after each spank and count them, understood?”

Ayato slips off his gloves and tosses them aside before slowly rubbing over your ass. He chuckles at how stiff you were - you were trying to prepare yourself for the first hit. It didn’t matter, in the end you knew it was going to make you jolt forward.

Thwack!

You flinch, biting down on your lip as the sting spreads.

“One. I’m sorry, Sir.”

Ayato takes his time spanking you, alternating between cheeks and taking time to rub over your heated skin every 3 or 4 spanks. By 10 you were hiccuping with your eyes watering. Your ass felt like it was on fire and he had to place a hand on your back to keep you still. Despite the pain from the punishment, you couldn’t help but feel a bit aroused as well. You foolishly hope Ayato wouldn’t be able to notice it.

Your hopes are dashed when you feel Ayato uses a hand to spread you– showcasing the mess Thoma left behind just minutes ago. He tuts as he shakes his head and runs his fingers through your folds, coating his fingers in the mess of cum.

“Look at that. You’re enjoying this, aren’t you, you greedy slut?”

You open your mouth to apologize yet again but only a soft squeal leaves you as Ayato plunges two fingers into you. To your slight horror, he curls them and scoops out some of the cum left inside of you. Your cheeks flood with heat as you cover your face with a hand.

It couldn’t get any worse than this.

Yet it does when you hear the unmistakable sound of Ayato sucking his fingers clean. You look over your shoulder just in time to see Ayato pull his cleaned fingers out of his mouth and lick his lips. He hums in satisfaction before speaking again.

“You’re lucky a treat was left behind for me, or else this punishment would’ve kept going. On the bed.” He pats the space next to him, “On all fours, it’s only fair I add to the mess then have Thoma eat it out of you, isn’t it?”

#kaeya x reader #ayato x reader #itto x reader #zhongli x reader #genshin impact x reader #kamisato ayato x reader #genshin impact smut #genshin impact headcanons #itto smut #zhongli smut #ayato smut #kaeya smut

4K notes · View notes

drconstellation · 4 months

Text

First-Order Archangels

Part 1: Maybe You'll Spot An Archangel

GABRIEL: I told you you could ask. However, I am the only First-Order archangel in the room, or, you know, the Universe, so I'm not gonna answer so much. But you feel free to knock yourself out with all the asking.

While I was writing my meta series The Passion Of Jimbriel it became fairly obvious to me there was something more going on between Crowley and Gabriel in S2 than just the numerous pointers to Crowley's pre-fall angel status. They are acting as both parallels and foils to each other, and in places you can swap their characters and get the same story at a different time – and that just opens up a whole new window of context and insight into things. For pre-reading, see this meta from @vidavalor that nicely lists some obvious parallels. It doesn’t mention everything though, so I’m going to discuss parts in more detail.

A foil is a character who contrasts with the protagonist, to highlight or differentiate certain qualities between the characters. Crowley and Gabriel do this because they have come from essentially the same place, and share some story elements, but they still end up in different places.

There is a lengthy original discussion about Crowley's pre-fall angel status here, for pre-reading. It points out the obvious and some not so obvious points that ops have noticed in S2 telling us about Crowley's pre-fall status. Rather than just go through them all again, I'd like to look at some other scenes in S2 that also tell us something about both the similarities and the differences between these two high-powered entities as I go along. In addition, I’ve done a series of posts looking at Gabriel as a shoulder angel (links at the end of post,) because quite often he’s on the demonic left-hand side – which makes sense when you realize he’s a Crowley parallel.

Take the arrival of Gabriel to Whickber St and the bookshop. I’ve already mentioned this parallel story line a couple of times now, but lets look at it again in more detail. It mirrors the opening of S1E1 where the serpent climbs the wall of the Garden of Eden, morphs into a demon and starts to converse with the angel standing on the wall.

Back in the present day, we have a Gabriel, who also tends to present on the sinister-side, walking up to the gate of the present day Garden (the bookshop), which is still guarded by the same angel as it was 6000 years ago, and basically tells Aziraphale he has “fallen.”

How to we know this? It is a reference to the Fall of Man, when Adam and Eve ate the apple the serpent offered them, they suddenly became aware of their nakedness, and hid from God. Gabriel has already upset the love-apple tomato cart on his way to the door of the bookshop, its a sign of the chaos to come.

The fallen angel is not sure of his name, so he prompts with a question…

And asks for shelter under the (reluctant) angel’s wing..

But there is one thing he does know, the one thing that drew him to Aziraphale in the first place:

AZIRAPHALE: Then why did you come to my shop? GABRIEL: I don't know. I just thought I should. You know what it's like when you- when you don't know anything at all, and yet you're totally certain that everything would be better if you were just near one particular person?

Later, Aziraphale realizes that he must give Gabriel a new name to hide him – because fallen angels take on a new name, don’t they? Just like Crowley did.

Then we get a confession:

Which is what Crowley loves about Aziraphale as well - that bit of unpredictability, because you know how humour kind of works? It throws the unexpected at you.

Early on in S2 we find out they are both in trouble: first His Royal Smugness, then Our Hero himself. Our view is turned upside down, with the angel made the bad guy and the demon the good guy who needs to win. But both of them are being hunted by Shax.

Then we get one of the early clues pointing to Crowley's high status as an angel:

SHAX: A miracle of enormous power happened last night. The kind of miracle only the mightiest of Archangels could've performed. CROWLEY: Mm? SHAX: Somewhere very close to your friend's bookshop. Are you telling me you don't know what caused it? CROWLEY: How'd you know I didn't do it?

Shax stalks and threatens both of them, sometimes at the same time:

Another parallel Gabriel and Crowley shared in S2 were associating their identity - no, lets rephrase that - "essence" was one description I've seen - with boxes.

Gabriel arrives with a box that strategically covers his front, and quickly tosses it aside once Aziraphale opens the door to the bookshop. It lies forgotten until Gabriel mentions it a while later. Inside it is the fly from Beelzebub - an object from Hell - so it really needs to be 'invited' across the threshold of the bookshop by Aziraphale to be able to enter. The box initially appears to be empty, Once inside, the fly is free to roam. It has a message written on one side of it.

The same goes for the matchbox. Message included.

ah, wot? you say. Yep.

The matchbox represents Crowley, probably in more ways than one, but I'll just go through the stuff relevant to this meta here.

I notice I'm not the only op to connect the line from the Book of Job on the side of the matchbox with Crowley. The line is from Verse 41, which talks about Leviathan. Among the various shapes it is described to take is a great sea serpent. This deserves its own meta for further discussion, which I plan to do after this one, because yes, Crowley is Leviathan in disguise, but there is much more to it than that. But for now, just know that the matchbox is Crowley.

Once you know this, it makes sense that Muriel finds it - a discarded cardboard box by the front door to Heaven - and deals with a material object that shouldn't by rights exist in Heaven. Then a certain demon finds Muriel lurking outside during the siege on the bookshop at the end of S2E5, and talks them into letting the certain demon be escorted up into Heaven where he doesn't belong, where he's free to roam around - only he needs a guide because he's not sure where to go. Ah Muriel, you poke the Serpent, he's going to poke you back. Good thing he likes you, and it just was a gentle nudge.

Two empty boxes, two cases of memory-loss. That is what S2 seems to suggest to us at first glance.

Gabriel's seems to be the most straight forward in hindsight - find the fly and restore Gabriel to his original "Gabriel-ness." But its more complicated than that. When pushed to remember, his lilac eyes return and another voice can be heard speaking through him of the past. This happens twice, with the second one being part-prophecy. What is really triggering these episodes of channeling? Is it God or someone else speaking through him? We really aren't sure at this point in time.

Then there are questions around Crowley's memory. Did he have his memory wiped when he fell? Was it wiped repeatedly? Was it not wiped at all, and he just pretends he doesn't remember? Neil has even said he is an unreliable narrator about his own Fall, so who are we to trust at this point? Crowley does seem to understand in the end some of the problems Gabriel is having with his absent memories and that brings them to a temporary truce.

Both Aziraphale and Michael inspect their respective "empty" boxes, and neither notices anything obviously amiss. Gabriel's box just seems empty to Aziraphale, he takes no notice of the fly container in there, and archangel Michael tentatively inspects the matchbox brought to them by Muriel but nothing seems out of place there either.

Crowley's change in costume in Heaven during his little infiltration caper with Muriel is also another clue to his past status as an archangel. He has a silvery-gray suit, similar in style to Saraqael's to reinforce the link with them, but at the same time he is also mocking the other archangels and their elite status. We've assumed for a while now that the appearance of the tactical turtleneck signals that Crowley is up to something sneaky or spy related, but I'm starting to think it also relates to a bit of a power play (and Crowley certainly laid the power on for Mr Brown in the pub!) Looking back at S1, Gabriel's not adverse to wearing one either when he needs to be at his worst (or best. Your choice.)

The way one dresses is a way of expressing and reinforcing authority, and its something both Gabriel and Crowley do without much thought. They have been used to being in a position of power and/or independent authority for much of their existence, and I would say that even if Crowley is a few steps down now from where he started, and he's more cautious around those higher ranking than him than he used to be, he still retains that knowledge of what its like to be at the top.

Crowley's usual near all-black costume is a form of power dressing in itself. Whether is was in the past, when black was an expensive color to buy and maintain in clothing, or in the present day, we are still respectful of those in a stylish cut of black.

Gabriel's impeccable tailoring as Supreme Archangel also commands respect. So it's no wonder that one of Gabriel's first requests on regaining his memories was to ask for new clothes! He wasn't just being the vain archangel we believe him to be (although, I think there is still some of that) you also need to consider the elements of the reference characters that went into his shop assistant character: Granville, the belittled shop assistant nephew from the sitcom Open All Hours, who got stuck with all the shop duties from his uncle and felt like life was passing him by, and the silly Monty Python gumbies, that complained of hurting brains - lovable and much loved characters, but not ones you'd really want to be forever. We all want to be loved, but we want to be respected as well.

For all his fierce posturing around Gabriel, there is a brief moment in S2E3 where Crowley backs down and treats Gabriel as an equal - and that is reflected in a change of dress as well. His outside jacket off and sleeve-garters on, Crowley sports a look we haven't seen since S1 when he was home alone in his Mayfair flat. He patiently explains gravity to a curious Gabriel and then describes his "Operation Lovebirds" plan to his puzzled companion. He admits he hasn't "done weather in ages." It's just a quiet, charming moment, watching two ex-archangels get along together.

You're smiling, aren't you?

This meta continues in Part 2: Foils of War, where the differences between Gabriel and Crowley get explored in more detail, and how Aziraphale and Beelzebub act as mirrors to each other a few times as well.

This meta is part of a series on Gabriel: Gabriel as a Shoulder Angel: S1 Study S2 Study Part 1: Ep.1 The Arrival and Ep. 2 The Clue S2 Study Part 2: Ep.3 I Know Where I'm Going and Ep. 5 The Ball S2 Study Part 3: Ep.6 Every Day

First-Order Archangels Part 2: Foils of War

First-Order Archangels Part 3: Seeing Eye to Eye

#good omens #good omens 2 #good omens meta #crowley #gabriel #the only first-order archangel in the room #or you know the universe #aziraphale #garden of eden #fallen angel #his royal smugness #how will our hero cope #maybe you'll spot an archangel #book of job #vavoom

174 notes · View notes

aria-ashryver · 24 days

Text

SAAM2024 - SA Awareness Month

TW: SA, discussions around rape and sexual violence

Listen, I’m going to talk about something it isn’t easy or fun to talk about. I’m going to try and get a point across, and hopefully have it amount to something legible, because I am already feeling my body physically reacting with symptoms of stress.

I want to talk about sexual assault.

Did you know that April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month? And has been, for the last 23 years? Because I sure didn’t! Which is wild, considering I am a survivor of six separate incidents of sexual assault, two of which were penetrative rape.

I looked up the SAAM2024 hashtag and found crickets. Because who the hell wants to talk about sexual violence and rape on a random Thursday, right?

The thing is, we need to be having these conversations.

Of course, the onus isn’t on survivors to start the conversation — who would ask someone who is horrifically traumatised to open those scars again and talk about their trauma? I couldn’t even say the word “rape” for years.

[note: I have chosen not to censor the word rape here as a part of my own recovery process. Its just a word. I refuse to let it incite terror. Its just a word. ]

So who, then? If we could all talk about sex and sexual assault —if these were topics of conversation that weren’t so taboo to discuss— we could begin to take steps to make things safer for ourselves and for others.

So here I am, talking.

I feel it is important to destigmatise sex as this hush hush topic; it’s important to be able to discuss safe sex, consent, to differentiate what is just “bad sex” from what is assault. People are often quick to brush off encounters that give them the ick as just “bad sex”.

I was no different.

At sixteen, I didn’t have the terminology to describe what happened to me as rape. In a culture that glamorises illicit affairs and drunken hook-ups at parties, I didn’t have the comprehension to realise that what happened to me was not some sexy, drunken, desirable thing.

[trigger warning for more context around the first of my rapes]

I had been at a party, celebrating the wrap of my high school’s theatre production. I had been drinking underage and was extremely drunk*.

(*which in no way excuses what happened to me — it is important to take steps to dismantle rape culture and victim-blaming.)

There was a classmate I had been on a few dates with, and though we had been handsy during makeout sessions a few times, we had never discussed having sex. He offered to pick me up from the party, to give me a place to stay for the night. He had not been in attendance at the party, and was completely sober. By the time he drove us both home, I was already intermittently blacking out.

I have only a few memories of that night. One, crystal clear even to this day — a concerned classmate, grabbing my arm as I was heading out of the venue. The look of alarm on his face as he asked if I had a safe means of transport home. I lied to him. I have no idea why. I told him my mother was waiting in the vehicle that had just pulled up, and he let me go.

The next memory that I have is of his bedroom ceiling. A vague, blurred outline of his unclothed body over mine, as he was raping me.

Yes, we had been at that tentative, early stage of a potential relationship. Yes, I had taken him up on the offer to go to sleep at his house.

But, in the state I was in, there is no possible way I could have consented to sex.

I knew something was wrong, afterwards. I knew I spent the next night curled in a ball, sobbing in the shower for a reason. I knew there was a reason I froze up when a friend side-eyed me at school the following Monday, and said “you had sex with him, didn’t you?”. What I didn’t understand was that the reason was because I had been raped.

Because I didn’t have the vocabulary to describe my experience as such.

Because people don’t like to talk about sexual assault.

But we need to talk about sexual assault.

Conversations about sex can and should be removed from the concept of arousal. You can and should talk about sex without it being labelled as horny, or flirty, or suggestive — because it is just another topic to learn about.

Sex is an intricately nuanced thing that can mean so many different things to so many different people. There are elements of shame and embarrassment around sexual encounters sometimes; young and naive as I was, I was ready to take my crawling feelings of shame, self-blame, disgust, and put them down to “it was just bad sex”.

It wasn’t until long after the horror of my second, more violent rape, that I was able to pinpoint some of the trauma responses as being the same as that first time. There were patterns there, feelings that, had I been in a position of knowing more about safe sex and consent, I would have recognised sooner for what they were.

Its all well and good to go “hey! Don’t rape people!” and pat yourself on the back for your activism.

But the thing is, that kind of does sweet fuck all to actually help people who are at risk of experiencing sexual violence. What we really need is to take actionable steps toward improving people’s sexual safety and practises around consent and safe sex.

So what does that look like?

We talk about sex and consent without stigma.

We believe survivors and do not victim-blame

We practice respecting other people’s bodily autonomy in everyday scenarios, before it ever reaches a sexual context — if someone doesn’t want to hug you, respect their autonomy! If someone tells you to stop tickling them, even though they are laughing, hey, guess what? Respect their autonomy!

We remember what consent looks like, and take steps to inform others — consent is always clear, continuous, coercion-free, and conscious.

We make it second nature to take basic steps toward safety — never leave a drink unattended at a party! Stick to a buddy system to ensure people get home safe! Not because you suspect something will happen, it's just a default behaviour!

Be that classmate that tries to stop a drunk person walking out into the night alone.

The more we do these kinds of things, the less mystical and nebulous this whole “safe sex and healthy consent” thing becomes, and the safer we all are for it.

I’m gonna cut myself off here for my own wellbeing, as this has been extremely taxing, but let me provide a few links that I think are relevant. I hope this might be in some way helpful, and encourages others to continue the conversation offline. (or online, even -- reblogs are totally fine, and please feel free to add other stories or links if you have resources to share)

Be safe, and to any SA survivors who happen to be reading this, please know that you will always be yours, and what happened to you was not your fault. 💖

What is Consent (VeryWellMind)

History of Sexual Assault Awareness Month (NSVRC)

Sexual Violence Prevention: Beginning the Dialogue (NSVRC)

How to Support a Survivor (CRCC)

Finding Help If You’ve Been Sexually Abused (Crisis Text Line)

#tw sa #cw sa #cw sa mention #tw r*pe #SAAM #SAAM2024

73 notes · View notes

shkika · 8 months

Note

do you think slugcats actually wawa? It is a fairly popular fanon sure but I have been wondering for the last few days. We know slugcats must have some decent hearing - some of the map markers are explicitly the slugcat using its hearing to differentiate between other living creatures in other rooms and so on (although the actual passages they apparently just commit to the memory). Probably not as good as black lizard hearing but pretty good. However this part of gameplay as proof of canon worldbuilding might be taken with a grain of salt

that may suggest that audial communication between slugcats may actually be pretty hard to hear for humans - similar to how we cannot hear most of audible signals of various rodents. The problem is, well, it is a gameplay concession for the most part and tbh the way gameplay is integrated with worldbuiding - the devs made an attempt but the realization is imho wonky at best and misleading at worst.

back to wawas, we can try to draw a comparison between domestic cats and slugcats wherein meow is something mostly relegated to 'babytalk' and a specific type of call which some cats, especially those who grew up with humans, adopt for cat to human communication (with cats who grew up without much human interaction sometimes never taking up a habit of meowing even if they end up living with humans later on and actively engaging with them positively). In this case a wawa is a specific signal that is either used for example in danger (owing to how we hear a wawa like sound in one of the danger alert osts) or during communication with the young.

this assumes we take danger osts as actually symbolically reflective of something.

Howerver! While just like the map it seems to be largely a gameplay concession, most of slugcat out of cutscene (aka the gourmand ending slides) communication is reliant on body language. Pointing, jumping, things like that. Even with the pups we mostly interact via those things. Which... either suggests a dimension of pup interaction we do not see because of the gameplay limitations or we should take it as wawa not being a slugcat 'babytalk'.

Which leaves wawas with a very dubious space as a potential 'can be fit into canon' or not.

Oh I'm SO sorry, but I don't think slugcats wawa at all,,

I just think Rivulet ONLY can scream.

Slightly longer ramble under cut!

I think lore and gameplay are mostly done pretty well! For example the cycle mechanic is something you can only really theorize on if you look at both gameplay and lore. You get to experience the pain of cycles all on your own!

As for wawas.. as you have mentioned, they mostly use body language and art. Picture from Gourmand campaign ↓

Spearmaster draws too, and uses sign language to communicate with Suns. And I hear you. "Spearmaster is domesticated, they don't count" and you're right!

BUT

The fact they can learn such complicated sign language would imply they have the capacity for it in their brain to learn and memorize a language so complicated in the first place. Unless that was modified as well.

But it is more intuitive for slugcats to understand gestures than speech, which is why they need the mark of communication as they otherwise just hear incomprehensible garble. Their brains weren't made for many complicated noises. Yet when they DO have the mark they are capable of understanding extremely complicated sentences and such.

The wawas in threat themes are just the track not actual noise your slugcat makes. A lot of tracks have quite the bizarre sounds in them.

I think slugcats draw, point and jump to communicate. They're rodents that sign!

My only self-indulgent funny headcanon is.. as forementioned, that Rivulet can scream. There is no proof or basis for this. It's just incredibly creepy and funny to me.

This is why that creature wanders alone. Cursed being.

#ask #anonymous #rainworld #rain world #rw rivulet #AS ALWAYS #THIS IS ALL #my headcanons #im not forcing this on anyone!! have fun #i think wawas are cute #i just think demonic riv around mostly silent companions of its kind is hilarious #moons cat is an evil demon that will kill without hesitation #long post #kiki rambles

154 notes · View notes

divinemackerel · 4 months

Text

Hey y’all, I’m making a quick post about sootbur/sootcest/bursonas just because I wanted to talk about it as a fandom, because people have a tendency to misjudge what it is and that often leads to hate and it can get really nasty.

First off, it is a character-centric* fandom. It mostly follows consistent characters put on by ccWilbur (though occasionally we do latch onto one off bits). These characters have no resemblance to their creator besides occasionally looks, but it is really popular in the fandom to alter their heights and looks and to further differentiate them and for fun.

They are NOT ccWilbur unless specifically stated, and that distinction is important. To say they are him is like saying ccTommy and cTommy are the same person, or Ranboo in Genloss is the same person as ccRanboo.

They are characters put on by an actor, ccWilbur is not a murderer, a misogynist, or a zombie. (We hope.)

*There are people who include ccWilbur in their sootbur, of course, but I personally haven’t run into them in the tumblr sootbur fandom as it is bursona focused in ships. I think it would be unfair to paint this side of the fandom as rpf writers.

Second off, fandom is for the fans, acting like otherwise is a bit silly.

There is a need in the MCYT fandom (especially the DSMP side) to make sure everything is approved of by content creators, is “ok” with their boundaries. Sootbur is just for us though, how Wilbur feels about it really doesn’t matter as he will never really know about it unless you go and tell him.

Yes, he knows about the bursona side of the fandom and has interacted with it on twitter, but sootbur is, once again, for fans! It exists only in extremely small pockets in fan communities. Content creators do not and should not be heavily involved with these communities imo. This is common place in nearly every fandom.

Sootbur isn’t hurting anyone, it is just a silly set of ships. There’s no need to treat it like its somehow so much worse than DSMP ships like eretbur or fundbomb. Those ships also exist without “permission”.

Sure, maybe to you it inexplicably yucks your yums, but rather than jumping to the ship being the problem and harassing folks I implore you to consider why. Because the answer “just because its weird,” isn’t a good justification.

This fandom is a community space, and on tumblr, is almost entirely sfw. It is not hurting anyone and is just a group of people being passionate about a specific creator’s/actor’s characters.

Thank you for reading. If you just don’t like the fandom regardless, please just leave us alone.

#long post #sootbur #sootcest #bursonas #I might add onto this if i have more to say but rn i dont #important #mighr make a link to this in my pinnwd lol

105 notes · View notes

kindaasrikal · 2 months

Text

“This, is a soul stone.”

“A…soul stone?”

“Yes. Once a soul leaves its physical form they create a soul stone to keep their…ghost-like form intact. This soul stone is surrounded by the actual projection of ourselves, similar to how a heart is encased inside the body. It cannot be taken out easily. In fact, the only ones who can remove anyones soul stone from their physical projection is the First spinjitzu master, Sensei Wu, Sensei Garmadon, and the consciousnesses of the two realms of the dead. Other then them, not even the person whose soul stone it is can remove it from it’s home, and its no easy task for the ones who can either.”

“…If all of that is true, then how are we both looking at your soul stone?”

“….Unfortunately, my soul stone had faced extreme abuse years ago, leaving it fractured and….weak.”

“Is that why it has pieces floating around it? It looks almost like a planet, surrounded by its moons…”

“An interesting comparison.”

“Ahm…that’s besides the point. Why are you showing me this? If its so delicate that it can almost never be removed from its home, then why would it help us in our mission?”

“…the merge, has shown to create unique consequences over the years. One of such, being the slow return of the Preeminent.”

“What.”

“I can’t explain in too much depth to what had happened, we don’t nearly have that much time and I need to use it sparingly.”

“What are you talking about?!-”

“A soul stone is indeed delicate, Lloyd. So delicate, so precious, that the very existence of a soul relies on it.”

“The..what?..”

“If my soul stone gets into the wrong hands, if it faces too much harm, I will no longer be able to keep it connected and in ‘one piece’ as I have so far. I will be erased from existence, and so will all the knowledge I have so painstakingly collected.”

“…Where are you planning to go, Morro?”

“…A place I should’ve visited years ago.”

——————

Will there be a fanfic of this? Probably not, since i can’t stick to finishing stories.

Anyways, take Morro from an AU i created in my head, theres no other content of it other then half completed stories in my notes/word documents and this post.

If anyone rlly wants me to, i can go more into depth of this AU and give it a name. But for now, all you need to know is that its mainly canon compliant, just with a few changes to the story of Morro and then the actual canon divergence starts during the merge. Some things before that will also be changed to fit ideas i have and things i like, such as the issue with Lloyds age.

Oh, alsooo! Morro in this drawing is still a ghost, but in this AU to differentiate departed ghosts from cursed, cursed ghosts look like how they did in the show and Morro’s og design, but departed ghosts tend to look more like how they did when they were alive (with some differences and yknow, being see- through)

So Morro in this looks like how his Departed ghost form would in this AU

I also realised that the gi itself looks a lot like Cole’s because of the black and orange. Pretend the orange is grey/green/yellow, pls and thank you.

AND MY FAVOURITE LITTLE DETAIL. Look at Morro’s gi and how its folded, see what i did there??

I had fun drawing this with another newly acquired art style, this is also one of my first few times drawing Morro and being happy with it. Turns out i am very picky when drawing characters i like over literally anything else.

#morro ninjago #lego ninjago #morro wu #lego emo #green #ninjago morro #lloyd ninjago #ninjago fanart #green ninja #ninjago au

59 notes · View notes

alwaysquestioneverything · 5 months

Text

Questions about fanfiction that I need everyone else's opinion on, apparently (part 1)

An epithet is a descriptive term/phrase accompanying or used in place of a person/place/thing's name or pronouns, e.g. the blonde or the older man.

Note: In the poll above, I'm not referring to any of these types of epithets or other uses of the word:

An descriptor accompanying a name, e.g. Howard the Duck

Where surnames do not exist/are not being used, using adjectives to differentiate between people with the same name, e.g. Peter the Celestial-Human hybrid vs. Peter the spiderling.

A descriptor that is a title or alter-ego, e.g. The Mad Titan or The Hulk.

Using an epithet to refer to a character before the POV character knows their name, e.g. if Sam Wilson were to refer to Steve Rogers as The Annoying Guy Who's Running Impossibly Fast and/or Mister Speedy before he realizes who Steve is.

Situations where the word is used in its alternative meaning, to describe an abusive, derogatory, or defamatory word or phrase.

I'm asking only about the types of epithets that are often found in fanfics, and in slash fics in particular, to refer to a character instead of using their name or pronouns.

For example: "The first time Bucky began this phase, Steve didn’t know what to do, how to help the other man. Bucky’s therapist gave Steve a list of things he could do to help the blue-eyed man to ground himself in reality, but the one and only time the blond tried..."

Or: "The supersoldier stopped mid-word and stared at Bucky. The older man did some quick thinking then said..."

(because I didn't want to use any other published fics as an example, the above two examples are taken from two of my own published fics, and names or pronouns were replaced with epithets) (if you're not a Marvel or MCU fan, my apologies for using all MCU characters for the examples)

I personally don't like epithets for multiple reasons.

If you specifically do or don't like epithets, I'd love to hear why!

Please reblog for greater reach and more opinions!

Part 2

#fanfiction #fanfics #ao3 fanfic #ao3 fanfics #ao3 fanfiction #fanfic readers #poll #polls #tumblr polls #my polls #alwaysquestioneverything questioning something #reblog for a larger sample size

75 notes · View notes

raining-anonymously · 2 months

Text

okay deltarune fandom! i haven’t posted to or gone through these tags in a while, but in light of recent events (me deciding to replay the games just in time for the newsletter), i have some things to share concerning our friends The Weather.

ID in alt text, and aforementioned “things to share” under the cut.

this message tells us some interesting information about the Weather. for those who don’t know, i believe the Weather were first introduced during the spamton sweepstakes under the link https://deltarune.com/weather/. the page functions similarly to lancer’s. despite having no information on these new characters—other than that they’ll probably appear in the next couple chapters, are called “The Weather,” and always stick together—the deltarune fandom immediately latched onto them, because that’s what we do.

and now, after the newsletter? we have names. do we know which name goes to which sprite….? not really. but there’s something interesting about what those names are.

when i first looked at the names Lanino and Elnina, one of my first thoughts was that they sounded gendered. in english and in romance languages, names ending in -o are often thought to be masculine, whereas names ending in -a are interpreted as feminine. not a common name convention in undertale and deltarune, where most names end in constants or “-ee” sounds, and obviously not an absolute rule — for example, chara is not feminine-presenting, but its name still ends in -a. still, many english-speakers, as well as speakers of romance languages and any other similar languages i’m not thinking of, will see “lanino” and “elnina” and assume masculinity and femininity respectively.

at this point, i was still thinking of romance languages because i’m autistic about words, and noticed that the endings of the names are very similar to the spanish words for boy and girl: niño and niña. then i noticed the beginnings of the names, “la” and “el,” are the spanish words for “the.” funny thing, though? “la” is feminine and “él” is masculine.

so… they’re mixing and matching gendered terms!!!? bigender weather real!!!!!! post over!!!!

…except it’s NOT over. put linguistics aside—it’s time for some environmental science.

this graphic (which has an ID in alt text) is a lot of information, so i’m going to break it down: the earth experiences something called El Niño–Southern Oscillation, or ENSO. it’s a climate phenomenon that consists of two main phases: El Niño and La Niña. each one of these phases is a global event that can last years, and leads to changes in wind patterns, sea surface temperatures, and extreme weather events. it affects everything—how dry the land is in certain places, how many fish can be found in the ocean, etc.

to differentiate between the two, most simply: el niño is the warm phase, and la niña is the cooling phase.

why does this matter, you ask? because el niño and la niña climate events are largely inverse and opposites. that’s a simplification, but it does lend us some potential insight into the weather’s devoted and apparently monogamous relationship dynamic. or it would, if they hadn’t mixed up their names… but hey, that’s food for thought too!! could it be that the weather is so devoted to each other that they blended together? maybe that’s why their color palettes are the same—they balance each other out!

either way, i’m quite excited to do battle with them in the next year or so. they’re going to have such fun bullet patterns, i just know it… i hope they heal each other with photorealistic milk. or something weather-related, idk.

anyway. BIGENDER WEATHER REAL!!! post over!

61 notes · View notes