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gamebunny-advance · 2 years

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@lightdrawshere said: "Question, if someone were exactly 16 where would that put them? Are they allowed to interact or no?"

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TL;DR: No, do not interact with me if you're not an adult.

If it's to ask a question, or it's a concern about something, like this, then I don't mind. I also don't mind if they want to send in art requests when I have those open. When I say "don't interact" I basically mean, "don't treat me like a friend or a peer."

The only reason I make a distinction between 16-17 year olds from other minors, is because at that point I think y'all should be able to gauge your own boundaries and decide what kind of content y'all are comfortable with, but y'all still shouldn't be talking with random adults on the internet like they're your friends. You might be *more* mature, but y'all are still in a very exploitable/impressionable age range.

Like I get it, it's not like I discovered adult content at exactly age 18 either. I know that you don't just turn 18 and immediately become more mature and capable of processing complex emotions. You literally grow into adulthood, and that sometimes means wanting to engage with content beyond your age range. And in a safe environment, I think y'all should be allowed to do that, so I don't mind if that age range interacts with my content.

I know some of y'all are still figuring yourselves out, and if my silly doodles about sad robots or me occasionally talking about how I like big bazongas helps you through that, then so be it. But I get kinda personal on this blog sometimes, and I don't think minors should really be exposed to my personal thoughts and feelings, let alone comment on them.

I really don't think minors of any age should be interacting with adults at all. Minors should exercise a level of caution and understand the concept of "stranger danger". The fact that I can even find enough information to block people for being minors is a bad sign that some of y'all are too comfortable putting personal information out there.

I recognize that I am an adult in a space shared with minors, so it is my responsibility to draw the line of acceptable behavior, but this is also a personal space where I just wanna be myself, and myself is an adult with adult thoughts and feelings. So, please do your part and respect my boundaries by not interacting with me if you're underage. Please and thank you.

#thanks for the question #i did want to elaborate on my feelings about this #are they still teaching cyber safety in school?#they taught that to us as early as I think 1st or 2nd grade #for the longest time i always used fake names when i signed up for anything #anyways this is really only a problem for me because i make content for fandoms with minors as a big chunk of the fanbase #so i know that my content will likewise attract minors #and i know that they mostly just wanna see cute pics of their favorite characters #i don't want to take that away from them if it makes them happy #but this just isn't a safe place for minors so i don't want y'all here #minors should not be on a blog #where every other post is about a robot that gets abused and commits suicide #that's just not gonna be healthy for your development #since i don't write enough about the healing process ya know?#(and wasn't healthy for me so i cut that out)#(but my point still stands that i talk about subjects like that frequently #so i don't want minors to be bombarded with those kinds of posts on the regular #and in general i don't want minors to talk to me at all unless it's about something important)#and even then go to a professional or a trusted adult #not some rando that writes about how the flat guy and a toy robot from 1985 would totally mack on each other if given the opportunity

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mostlysignssomeportents · 9 months

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Paying consumer debts is basically optional in the United States

The vast majority of America's debt collection targets $500-2,000 credit card debts. It is a filthy business, operated by lawless firms who hire unskilled workers drawn from the same economic background as their targets, who routinely and grotesquely flout the law, but only when it comes to the people with the least ability to pay.

America has fairly robust laws to protect debtors from sleazy debt-collection practices, notably the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which has been on the books since 1978. The FDCPA puts strict limits on the conduct of debt collectors, and offers real remedies to debtors when they are abused.

But for FDPCA provisions to be honored, they must be understood. The people who collect these debts are almost entirely untrained. The people they collected the debts from are likewise in the dark. The only specialized expertise debt-collection firms concern themselves with are a series of gotcha tricks and semi-automated legal shenanigans that let them take money they don't deserve from people who can't afford to pay it.

There's no better person to explain this dynamic than Patrick McKenzie, a finance and technology expert whose Bits About Money newsletter is absolutely essential reading. No one breaks down the internal operations of the finance sector like McKenzie. His latest edition, "Credit card debt collection," is a fantastic read:

https://www.bitsaboutmoney.com/archive/the-waste-stream-of-consumer-finance/

McKenzie describes how a debt collector who mistook him for a different PJ McKenzie and tried to shake him down for a couple hundred bucks, and how this launched him into a life as a volunteer advocate for debtors who were less equipped to defend themselves from collectors than he was.

McKenzie's conclusion is that "paying consumer debts is basically optional in the United States." If you stand on your rights (which requires that you know your rights), then you will quickly discover that debt collectors don't have – and can't get – the documentation needed to collect on whatever debts they think you owe (even if you really owe them).

The credit card companies are fully aware of this, and bank (literally) on the fact that "the vast majority of consumers, including those with the socioeconomic wherewithal to walk away from their debts, feel themselves morally bound and pay as agreed."

If you find yourself on the business end of a debt collector's harassment campaign, you can generally make it end simply by "carefully sending a series of letters invoking [your] rights under the FDCPA." The debt collector who receives these letters will have bought your debt at five cents on the dollar, and will simply write it off.

By contrast, the mere act of paying anything marks you out as substantially more likely to pay than nearly everyone else on their hit-list. Paying anything doesn't trigger forbearance, it invites a flood of harassing calls and letters, because you've demonstrated that you can be coerced into paying.

But while learning FDCPA rules isn't overly difficult, it's also beyond the wherewithal of the most distressed debtors (and people falsely accused of being debtors). McKenzie recounts that many of the people he helped were living under chaotic circumstances that put seemingly simple things "like writing letters and counting to 30 days" beyond their needs.

This means that the people best able to defend themselves against illegal shakedowns are less likely to be targeted. Instead, debt collectors husband their resources so they can use them "to do abusive and frequently illegal shakedowns of the people the legislation was meant to benefit."

Here's how this debt market works. If you become delinquent in meeting your credit card payments ("delinquent" has a flexible meaning that varies with each issuer), then your debt will be sold to a collector. It is packaged in part of a large spreadsheet – a CSV file – and likely sold to one of 10 large firms that control 75% of the industry.

The "mom and pops" who have the other quarter of the industry might also get your debt, but it's more likely that they'll buy it as a kind of tailings from one of the big guys, who package up the debts they couldn't collect on and sell them at even deeper discounts.

The people who make the calls are often barely better off than the people they're calling. They're minimally trained and required to work at a breakneck pace. Employee turnover is 75-100% annually: imagine the worst call center job in the world, and then make it worse, and make "success" into a moral injury, and you've got the debt-collector rank-and-file.

To improve the yield on this awful process, debt collection companies start by purging these spreadsheets of likely duds: dead people, people with very low credit-scores, and people who appear on a list of debtors who know their rights and are likely to stand on them (that's right, merely insisting on your rights can ensure that the entire debt-collection industry leaves you alone, forever).

The FDPCA gives you rights: for example, you have the right to verify the debt and see the contract you signed when you took it on. The debt collector who calls you almost certainly does not have that contract and can't get it. Your original lender might, but they stopped caring about your debt the minute they sold it to a debt-collector. Their own IT systems are baling-wire-and-spit Rube Goldberg machines that glue together the wheezing computers of all the companies they've bought over the last 25 years. Retrieving your paperwork is a nontrivial task, and the lender doesn't have any reason to perform it.

Debt collectors are bottom feeders. They are buying delinquent debts at 5 cents on the dollar and hoping to recover 8 percent of them; at 7 percent, they're losing money. They aren't "large, nationally scaled, hypercompetent operators" – they're shoestring operations that can only be viable if they hire unskilled workers and fail to train them.

They are subject to automatic damages for illegal behavior, but they still break the law all the time. As McKenzie writes, a debt collector will "commit three federal torts in a few minutes of talking to a debtor then follow up with a confirmation of the same in writing." A statement like "if you don’t pay me I will sue you and then Immigration will take notice of that and yank your green card" makes the requisite three violations: a false threat of legal action, a false statement of affiliation with a federal agency, and "a false alleged consequence for debt nonpayment not provided for in law."

If you know this, you can likely end the process right there. If you don't, buckle in. The one area that debt collectors invest heavily in is the automation that allows them to engage in high-intensity harassment. They use "predictive dialers" to make multiple calls at once, only connecting the collector to the calls that pick up. They will call you repeatedly. They'll call your family, something they're legally prohibited from doing except to get your contact info, but they'll do it anyway, betting that you'll scrape up $250 to keep them from harassing your mother.

These dialing systems are far better organized than any of the company's record keeping about what you owe. A company may sell your debt on and fail to keep track of it, with the effect that multiple collectors will call you about the same debt, and even paying off one of them will not stop the other.

Talking to these people is a bad idea, because the one area where collectors get sophisticated training is in emptying your bank account. If you consent to a "payment plan," they will use your account and routing info to start whacking your bank account, and your bank will let them do it, because the one part of your conversation they reliably record is this payment plan rigamarole. Sending a check won't help – they'll use the account info on the front of your check to undertake "demand debits" from your account, and backstop it with that recorded call.

Any agreement on your part to get on a payment plan transforms the old, low-value debt you incurred with your credit card into a brand new, high value debt that you owe to the bill collector. There's a good chance they'll sell this debt to another collector and take the lump sum – and then the new collector will commence a fresh round of harassment.

McKenzie says you should never talk to a debt collector. Make them put everything in writing. They are almost certain to lie to you and violate your rights, and a written record will help you prove it later. What's more, debt collection agencies just don't have the capacity or competence to engage in written correspondence. Tell them to put it in writing and there's a good chance they'll just give up and move on, hunting softer targets.

One other thing debt collectors due is robo-sue their targets, bulk-filing boilerplate suits against debtors, real and imaginary. If you don't show up for court (which is what usually happens), they'll get a default judgment, and with it, the legal right to raid your bank account and your paycheck. That, in turn, is an asset that, once again, the debt collector can sell to an even scummier bottom-feeder, pocketing a lump sum.

McKenzie doesn't know what will fix this. But Michael Hudson, a renowned scholar of the debt practices of antiquity, has some ideas. Hudson has written eloquently and persuasively about the longstanding practice of jubilee, in which all debts were periodically wiped clean (say, whenever a new king took the throne, or once per generation):

https://pluralistic.net/2020/03/24/grandparents-optional-party/#jubilee

Hudson's core maxim is that "debt's that can't be paid won't be paid." The productive economy will have need for credit to secure the inputs to their processes. Farmers need to borrow every year for labor, seed and fertilizer. If all goes according to plan, the producer pays off the lender after the production is done and the goods are sold.

But even the most competent producer will eventually find themselves unable to pay. The best-prepared farmer can't save every harvest from blight, hailstorms or fire. When the producer can't pay the creditor, they go a little deeper into debt. That debt accumulates, getting worse with interest and with each bad beat.

Run this process long enough and the entire productive economy will be captive to lenders, who will be able to direct production for follies and fripperies. Farmers stop producing the food the people need so they can devote their land to ornamental flowers for creditors' tables. Left to themselves, credit markets produce hereditary castes of lenders and debtors, with lenders exercising ever-more power over debtors.

This is socially destabilizing; you can feel it in McKenzie's eloquent, barely controlled rage at the hopeless structural knot that produces the abusive and predatory debt industry. Hudson's claim is that the rulers of antiquity knew this – and that we forgot it. Jubilee was key to producing long term political stability. Take away Jubilee and civilizations collapse:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/07/08/jubilant/#construire-des-passerelles

Debts that can't be paid won't be paid. Debt collectors know this. It's irrefutable. The point of debt markets isn't to ensure that debts are discharged – it's to ensure that every penny the hereditary debtor class has is transferred to the creditor class, at the hands of their fellow debtors.

In her 2021 Paris Review article "America's Dead Souls," Molly McGhee gives a haunting, wrenching account of the debts her parents incurred and the harassment they endured:

https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2021/05/17/americas-dead-souls/

After I published on it, many readers wrote in disbelief, insisting that the debt collection practices McGhee described were illegal:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/05/19/zombie-debt/#damnation

And they are illegal. But debt collection is a trade founded on lawlessness, and its core competence is to identify and target people who can't invoke the law in their own defense.

Going to Defcon this weekend? I’m giving a keynote, “An Audacious Plan to Halt the Internet’s Enshittification and Throw it Into Reverse,” today (Aug 12) at 12:30pm, followed by a book signing at the No Starch Press booth at 2:30pm!

https://info.defcon.org/event/?id=50826

I’m kickstarting the audiobook for “The Internet Con: How To Seize the Means of Computation,” a Big Tech disassembly manual to disenshittify the web and bring back the old, good internet. It’s a DRM-free book, which means Audible won’t carry it, so this crowdfunder is essential. Back now to get the audio, Verso hardcover and ebook:

http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org

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/2023/08/12/do-not-pay/#fair-debt-collection-practices-act

#pluralistic #jubilee #debts that cant be paid wont be paid #Patrick McKenzie #patio11 #bits about money #debt #debt collection #do not pay #bottom feeders #Fair Debt Collection Practices Act #fdcpa #finance #armbreakers

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needle-noggins · 11 months

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(CW for SA, suicidal ideation) Here we go. My favorite and simultaneously least favorite panel of Vash and Knives.

I've seen a few interpretations of this scene and before we dive into the one that really struck me, let's start with the more... chill one. We're finally introduced to the third gun of Trigun, Vash's angel arm. And the way we're introduced to it involves Knives forcing him to pull the trigger. Of course, since no one knows anything about Knives, the people of Noman's Land blame Vash for Fifth Moon, and Vash likewise blames himself (this is kinda a spoiler but if you've been paying attention, it's just par for the course). However, he's not the one who pulled the trigger, Knives is. It brings up an interesting moral question of blame - do we blame the gun (and Vash, who is being used/objectified as a weapon here), or the person who wanted it to happen? Guns don't kill people, genocidal twins do!

Now for the awful interpretation, the one that makes me cry and wish Vash was real so I could hug him and pay for his therapy. And really highlights how awful Knives is and how far he'd go for his brother in his own, fucked-up way. I touched on this in a previous post about Legato and the Murder Cafe, and the whole time I was thinking about Fifth Moon but didn't want to say anything for the sake of spoilers.

So. Pay attention to the way Vash and Knives are standing. Knives, when he first grabbed Vash's head, was standing in front of him. He moves behind him to better control him and yeah, he's still controlling him via hand on head, and now he's got his other hand gripping Vash's chest, where feathers/wings are manifesting. Knives is assaulting him. If you wanna get crazy with it and say that the angel arm is kinda phallic, you could say... yeah. This is rape. I heard that specific interpretation once and while I accepted it I also don't know if that would be generally accepted or if I'd be called out for it, so I'm trying to tread lightly here.

It also doesn't escape me that of course the angel arm has feminine features like the plants - the plants that, again, humans are exploiting for their ability to create. There's a lot of feminist commentary to be made here but many people have said it better than me. Specifically I'm thinking of this one post I saw about gender fuckery and Tristamp Vash. Anyway.

Also, the atomic bomb/black hole/sun/whatever that is in the middle... It's just so powerful. It's terrifying. The eldritch body horror here is a punch to the gut. What the fuck, Trigun? I thought this was a funky space western!!!

Oh, and here's more commentary on the following few panels:

Vashussy shot, Knives is still right behind him. Yeah, I wasn't kidding about how bad this pose is for them. Knives, you sick fuck.

Vash shoots himself in the leg (a key difference from '98 trigun, lol), because of course he does, but it doesn't free him from the arm.

The arm's getting darker/the light inside is getting lighter! Stampede did an awesome job with their interpretation of the angel arm and I don't think I would have understood it without that. Also, on my first read I didn't notice that Vash is literally levitating, which is cool, but also terrifying because ?? he's not in control of that either??

Finally. A super painful, minimalist, double-page spread. Nightow loves 'em. Vash thinks he's dying (maybe?) and he wishes he had never existed. It's not suicidal ideation per se, but he wishes he didn't exist at all because he's already caused enough suffering. This is a low for him, because he believes so strongly in the concept of the Blank Ticket. (Come on, soupy brain bitch boy, get it together!) He's a monster, it's just how he was born, and he's not in control. Very specifically too, he says "we", and then changes it to "I"... he doesn't blame Knives at all, and that's very him. I want to shake him! Stop playing the martyr, Vash!

#trimax #trigunbookclub #cw assault #cw sa #ive never tagged content warnings before please help if i didnt do it well enough #cw sui ideation #vash the stampede #millions knives #also if you say ONE WORD about plancest i will kill you with my mind because you have sorely misunderstood the point here #posting this makes me so nervous ngl #dont hate me

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anthurak · 4 months

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Something I was always a little concerned about in the lead-up to Hazbin Hotel was that Charlie was going to be a bit too passive of a character, ie; leaning only into the ‘kind, optimistic Disney-Princess-in-Hell who just wants to help everyone’ vibe and not really have much else going on as a character. Which in turn would make her feel kind of bland next to the big, over-the-top or dramatic personalities like Angel Dust and Alastor.

But thankfully, that is not what happened and there’s actually a lot that I like about what the writers are doing with Charlie, particularly in the potential future development and reveals they seem to be setting up.

First off, I like how Charlie generally comes off more like an over-the-top caricature of that ‘Disney-Princess-in-Hell’ vibe, ie; SUPER energized, enthusiastic, affectionate and emotional, often to overbearing degrees that get on everyone’s nerves. It’s generally funny, or at least amusing, and lets Charlie stand out alongside the other big personalities in the cast. Funny enough, she’s actually a lot like Blitzo in this regard, minus the seesawing into extreme abrasiveness.

And more importantly, we’ve already gotten major hints all but confirming that this over-the-top personality is largely a façade, and that Charlie actually has some very clear issues and baggage that she’s working VERY hard to keep buried beneath the surface. Again, much like Blitzo.

Like how in the trust-fall exercise in episode three, despite asking everyone to reveal something personal, Charlie actually bullshits just as hard as Angel Dust and Sir Pentious with her whole ‘I love you all!’ bit. Sure, it’s not like she was lying or being insincere, but it’s clear that was NOT something truly personal for Charlie. And in episode 4 we have Husk straight-up calls out Charlie as ‘wanting to solve everyone’s problems but her own’.

Then of course we have the brief glimpses we’ve seen of Charlie getting angry. Both the times we’ve seen Charlie dealing with some truly despicable and horrendous characters, we’ve seen that rather than lacking the ability to get angry, Charlie is often working to hold herself back. In both her encounters with Adam and Valentino we see points where Charlie is clearly NOT intimidated or afraid of them at all and seems fully prepared to throw down, only being stopped by reigning herself in or by someone else (in this case Angel) stopping her.

Again, it all paints Charlie’s big, bubbly, hyperactive exuberance as something of a front, a way for her to bury a lot of thoughts, feelings and general baggage she doesn’t want to face. Just like what the show has already explored with Angel and Husk.

It actually raises some interesting questions as to what’s REALLY driving Charlie in running the hotel and trying to help Sinners. For one, Husk has already pegged Charlie as ‘wanting to solve everyone’s problems but her own’. And going back to thematic crossover with Helluva Boss, I can’t help but see some potential parallels between Charlie creating the Hazbin Hotel, and Blitzo creating Immediate Murder Professionals.

I think it’s pretty clear at this point that half the reason for creating I.M.P. was as a coping mechanism for Blitzo, or rather the assassination business in general. Something that we’ve gotten hints to as early as the second episode in Blitzo’s back and forth with the Robo-Fizz (“Does anyone love you, Blitzo?”/“No. But I’m really good with guns now!”). With the other half of the reason Blitzo created I.M.P. clearly seems to be to create a surrogate family, as seen with how much he tries to insert himself in the M&M’s lives. Possibly even a specific attempt to replace the family he unwittingly destroyed fifteen years ago.

So I really have to wonder if we’re going to find out that Charlie creating the hotel and her goal of redeeming sinners is in part likewise a coping mechanism and escape for her own baggage.

It’s actually really interesting how episode two first introduced the idea of people opening up with Sir Pentious, then episode four dived further into the concept of the walls and fake personas people put up to hide from their pain and trauma with Angel Dust and Husk. With those two opening up and starting to let their walls down to each other, and by extension we the audience, I think it makes Charlie’s own façade all the more noticeable. It’ll be pretty interesting if Charlie actually winds up being the toughest nut to crack when it comes to opening up about their real issues and baggage. Yet another interesting trait she shares with Blitzo.

All in all, I’m really liking what the show has been doing with Charlie as a protagonist. And I’m REALLY interested to see where the story is going to take her.

Particularly what’s going to happen when she reaches a breaking point…

#hazbin hotel #helluva boss #hazbin analysis #hazbin theory #charlie morningstar #helluva blitzo #character parallels #character analysis #charlie has a LOT more going on than she's showing #blitzo hitting his breaking point had him crying himself to sleep into a pillow #what if charlie hitting HER breaking point has her raining LITERAL ARMAGEDDON down on some poor bastards?

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beenbaanbuun · 2 months

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romance tropes i associate w/ ateez:

this is not proofread or formatted because i was supposed to start getting ready to leave my apartment half an hour ago and now i’m rushing lmaooo. i’ll proofread and format it when i get back from the knocked loose gig 🫶

seonghwa -bridesmaid and bestman

it’s your sisters wedding and everything is going great, except for the fact that you haven’t spoken to a single person for the past 45 minutes

you can’t help but feel a little lonely as you sit in the corner and bulldoze your way through the bottle of wine you’ve been left alone with

and then you feel a soft tap on your shoulder, and the familiar sound of a chair being dragged against the wooden floor rings through the room

you spin around just in time to see the groom’s best friend sitting down beside you, empty wine glass in hand

“nice ceremony, wasn’t it?” he says as he grabs the wine bottle and begins to pour himself a generous helping

you hum in response as you tilt your own glass towards him - he takes the hint and fills it for you

“my sister looks so pretty,” you say, and the man in front of you nods along

“not as pretty as the maid of honour, though,” he responds, “i couldn’t quite believe it when i spotted her all alone in the corner with no one taking care of her.”

you giggle in response to his obvious flirting - two can play at that game

“so you decided to come and snatch me up for yourself, did you?”

he nods with a straight face, but you can see the teasing glint in his eye

“of course,” he responds, “i’m not leaving your side until i’ve either got a dance from you, or i have your number in my phone.”

he smiles wide at you, and you can’t help but smile back

“well you’re handsome enough for me to consider giving you both,” he chuckles at your words, “but the question is which one do you want first?”

he offers you his hand

“i think i’ll take the dance.”

hongjoong - blind date

it seems your mum has finally grown fed up of you showing up to every family event empty handed

which is precisely how you end up standing outside one of the most notoriously expensive restaurants in your neighbourhood

it’s where your blind date suggested, and despite your incessant denial, your mother had accepted on your behalf

you walk inside, a sour look on your face as the host steps forward to ask for your reservation

“i think his name was hongjoong?” you sigh, “he told me to meet him here at 8 for a blind date…”

the woman’s eyes go wide and she smiles at you, the words ‘lucky bitch’ falling from her tongue before she can even stop them

“hardly,” you respond as she guides you through the fancy place, “i don’t even want to be here…”

your voice trails off as she slows down and stops at a table with a man already seated on one of the chairs

you thank the woman as you sit down; she sends you a quick wink in return before darting off to no doubt gossip with the other staff members

and then you turn your attention to the man before you to see he’s already looking at you with wide eyes

“you’re my date?” he asks, to which you nod in response, “shit! when my friend set this up i wasn’t expecting someone so pretty.”

your face heats up at his compliment

“oh, uh, thank you,” you stutter out, “likewise, i guess. my mum organised it on my behalf; i thought it would be some stiff-necked guy that thinks too highly of himself.”

“you’re happy with me, then?” he smiles

“very happy…”

yunho - brothers best friend

“i don’t care that he’s here, i’m just asking why?” you whisper to your mum as you watch yunho and your brother mess around in the pool

it’s spring break, and whilst you certainly don’t mind the addition of the tall dancer, you hadn’t been allowed to bring a friend of your own

“it was last minute honey,” you mum replies, “his parents are half-way through a divorce and i wanted to help take his mind off of it!”

you suppose that’s as good of a reason as any, but that still feel cheated

suddenly you hear a yell from the water, and a whole load of splashing; you turn your attention to the pool to see yunho swimming to your brother who has a hand covering his nose

“nosebleed?” your mum called over to the boys; they nod, “i know where the first aid kit is. come on!”

your brother climbs out of the pool and follows your mum inside, leaving the pool area in an awkward silence

“you know you’re never going to get a tan sitting in the shake like that,” yunho breaks it with a laugh, “you should move to this subbed over here.”

you quirk your brow at him as you see him point to the one right by the pool

“you mean the one that gives you access to stare at me?”

he shrugs, “i’m just looking out for you, kiddo.”

you scoff at the nickname; he’s always called you that despite the age gap being almost non-existent

“don’t call me that when you’re flirting with me, yun.”

“why?” he says with a smirk, “would you rather i called you baby?”

yeosang - soulmates

it had been a slow morning in the cafe, which isn’t necessarily unusual, but it had given you a lot of time to think about your soulmate mark which is burning where it sits on your wrist

KYS, it reads, which you would find funny if it was scrawled on someone else’s wrist

the subreddit you’d spent most of your morning surreptitiously scrolling through says it means you’ll meet your soulmate soon

you’ll believe that when you see it…

“‘scuse me?” a voice rips you out of your mindless doomscrolling and you quickly put a smile on your face and look up at the man at the counter

your sure your smile looks more like a grimace with how bad the mark has started burning on your wrist

“welcome,” you stutter out, “what can i get for you?”

he studies the menu which gives you the perfect opportunity to study the pretty man in front of you

you can’t help but notice his hand gripping at his opposite wrist in the exact same place your own soul mark it hurting

“an americano,” he eventually stutters out, “iced and medium, please.”

you nod, grabbing a cup and a marker pen, “can i take a name?”

“yeosang,” he replies and your soul mark burns even more, “but you can just write KYS if it’s easier.”

you pause for a second; was the subreddit right?

“KYS?” you mutter to yourself, “this sounds crazy, but can i show you something?”

he shrugs and you take it as an ‘okay’, so you tug up your sleeve to reveal the three letters on your arm

san - strangers-to-lovers

the gym, also known as your own personal hell; it’s funny that you’ve somehow ended up there in a saturday morning

you’re not even sure how in all honesty, and as you stare into the vast space filled with nothing but men and metal, you feel a little intimidated

still, it’s too late to turn back now so you take a few unsure steps into the room, halting at a piece of equipment that looks more like a torture device

“how the-” you mutter to yourself, but get cut off when a tall man walks up beside you

“are you using this thing?” he asks, and you turn your attention to him, “it’s just its next in my routine, but i don’t mind waiting if you’re already using it.”

you shake your head as you stare at him, feeling a little more than slightly intimidated

he’s tall, buff and hot, not to mention that he clearly knows what he’s doing in the gym

“you can go,” you stutter, “i, uh, i’m not too sure how to use it myself; i’m new to all this.”

his face light up at your confession, the stoic expression melting into something sweeter, more excited

“you’re serious?” he beams at you, “that’s so cool! i’m proud of you for starting your gym journey.”

you shrug, not really knowing how to reply; the man seems to have no issue carrying on the conversation for you, though

“my names san,” he sticks out a hand which you take out of politeness, “if you want you can take my number; i’m here most days so if you ever want someone to work out with…”

you think it over for a few seconds before deciding ‘what the hell?’ the man is attractive and seems genuinely enthusiastic to get to know you

might as well get something positive out of this whole gym thing, right?

mingi - fake boyfriend

you’d always spend winter break alone, which was never a pleasant thing when spending the season with your family

this year, however, you decided things would be different

it turns out a friend of a friend wasn’t actually going home for the holidays

and with the promise of free food he was actually pretty easy to convince to be your pretend boyfriend for the season

you spent days upon days creating some sort of believable story to tell your family, as well as learning everything there is to know about eachother

the plan was seamless, and on your first evening in your family home, the two of you had done a spectacular job at convincing your entire family

but there was just one little detail the two of you hadn’t foreseen, and now as you stand in your room it finally sinks in

“i can sleep on the floor,” you suggest, “you take the bed; you’re the guest, afterall.”

mingi shakes his head

“i might be a guest, but i’m still a gentleman,” he refuses, and you can’t help but laugh

“i’ve learned enough about you to know that you are anything but a gentleman, mingi.”

“well you’re hardly a perfect little princess yourself,” he can’t help but chuckle in response

you hum in agreement, but soon fall back into silence as you try and work out some sort of solution to the one-bed problem

“we could just share?” you suggest after a second or two

he cocks his brow at you

“you’d be okay with that?” you just shrug in response before crawling into your bed and patting the mattress next to you

“come on in before i change my mind.”

wooyoung - rivals-to-lovers

you stare at the F at the top of your page, a flurry of emotions rushing through you

you’d never gotten anything below a C before and now all of a sudden you’ve failed?

sure you’d taken a little bit of a backseat when you were studying for this exam, but you were almost certain you knew enough of the material to at least get a B

yet you’d failed

you feel a presence walk up behind you and you sigh; you’d recognise the sound of those cocky little footsteps anywhere

“i’m not in the mood, wooyoung,” you grumble, hoping it would deter your rival for just a little while

“why not?” he teases as he walks up beside you, “are you really that sure i’ve beaten you?”

you don’t reply, but by the way he gasps, you can tell he’s already caught sight of your failure; you sigh, waiting for what’s about to come

“you… failed?” his voice is soft, not an ounce of teasing in his tone, “dude, that’s- i- are you alright?”

perhaps it’s the lack of cruelness in his voice, you’re not sure, but you feel the need to be vulnerable with him

“not really,” you shake your head, “i don’t know what happened.”

an awkward hand finds its way to your shoulder, fingers lightly tapping a pattern against your back

“i can help you if you want?” he suggests, “like, i don’t know, tutor you or something?”

you finally look at him, purely to check whether or not he’s joking

his face is serious though, and that kind of stumps you

“why would you do that for me?” he just shrugs

“i like our little rivalry,” if you look closely you can see a dusting of pink over his cheeks, “i think it’s cute when you get all angry at me for beating you, or when you’re all smug when you do better… we can’t have that if you’re getting F’s.”

jongho - friends-to-lovers

you walk out of your exam with a frown on your face; saying that it went bad would be an understatement

all you want to do is crawl up into a ball and forget about life for a while, but then you spot him

“jongho,” you yell, pulling his attention away from his phone

with a grin he slides it into his back pocket, opening his arms for you to give him a running hug

you take the opportunity, slamming into his chest at full force; he wastes no time in folding his arms around you

“how’d it go?” he asks as he begins to sway your conjoined bodies from side to side

“oh, it went horribly,” you admit, “i’m going to go home and eat an obscene amount of ice cream to make me feel better.”

he nods at your suggestion

“you could,” he agrees, “or we could go to that one cafe and pretend to get engaged so we get free desert?”

you can’t help but look up at him with furrowed brows

“engaged?” you cant lie that the idea makes your heart flutter, “what happened to the birthday meta?”

it’s a valid question; the two of you normally go to a cafe and tell the staff it’s your birthday so you can share the desert

engagement is a new one, but you’re willing to hear him out

“well,” he begins, face falling into full seriousness, “if you think about it, we only get one desert when we use the birthday meta; my hypothesis is that we get two deserts if we claim we’re engaged.”

you consider his reply for a few seconds

“fair argument,” you hum, “counterpoint; do you not think they’ll give us just the one desert for ‘romantic’ purposes? you know, feed each other with a spoon, type shit.”

jongho just shrugs

“i’m fine with that if you are.”

#ateez x reader #ateez fanfic #ateez fluff #ateez scenarios #ateez fic #ateez reactions

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elysiansparadise · 6 months

Text

Full of surprises, you never finish getting to know them but as time goes by, your affection for them grows. Lighthearted outside, profound personality on the inside.

Gemini Rising: Fascinating Mind & Heart

Charming smile, well accompanied by an inquisitive, agile and curious mind, complement a personality endowed with depth and many layers that protect someone who fears feeling lost and directionless, someone who puts a lot of pressure on themselves and who often overanalyzes the things they happen around you. They have a strong need to understand what is really happening around them, to not miss anything and to achieve that stability that they have not felt throughout their lives. Your mind is a temple full of knowledge, interesting things to say and share, but most importantly, it keeps great abilities, intelligence and enchanting qualities.

Security is something crucial for them, both emotional and economic, and they are willing to give everything of themselves so as not to lose it once they achieve it. This behavior and way of seeing things is attributed to them by Cancer in the 2nd house. They tend to be very protective people with what they consider important in their lives, some of these natives can become attached to their material goods for the simple fact that it has taken them time to obtain them, despite this, they are generous people when it comes to those. To those who love. Being a house ruled by the Moon when it is in Cancer, these people can experience economic ups and downs in their lives. Likewise, this house, beyond talking about our material goods, talks about our self-esteem, which is stressed throughout their life. They are people who take great care of their money, but may have a tendency to spend it on one whim or another. Many of them may make purchases when they are emotionally down as a way to find comfort. They have the need for constancy on an emotional level, keeping promises, demonstrating through actions that the native is important and providing them with reaffirmation and reliability, in return, these natives give exactly the same to the other person.

The presence of Leo in the 3rd house makes these natives have great intellectual ability. Being a house ruled by the Sun, it makes them capable of standing out and shining for their surprising intellect. Accompanied by the ease of learning new skills and highlighting their hobbies, this native has great charisma and an ability to move, entertain and communicate exactly what is going through their minds. Academically they may have been very successful, stood out for their performance or even been seen as charming and fun by their peers, this however also makes them prone to attracting some envy. They passionately share what crosses their mind and are able to spread passion and interest through their speech. Many of these natives are great communicators and have great abilities to understand all kinds of ideas, no matter how complex they may be. They are determined to continue obtaining knowledge in areas that arouse their interest, in which they are certainly very selective. They are people who hold tightly to their opinions and can become very good at convincing people that they are right. Many of them can enjoy debating and communicating ideas contrary to those that are established. They speak from the heart, they hate speeches that are too technical, boring or not very dynamic, they will always seek to add fun, a touch of comedy or at least interesting to a conversation. They stand out for their creativity and wittiness, traits that make them very loved by others.

These people are lighthearted and very accepting of those things that seem different or unknown to them, but there is a quality about themselves that only those who are very close to them know, their tendency towards perfectionism and that desire to want to have things under control, shown par excellence with Virgo in the 4th house. These natives like to have things under control, especially their emotional world and themselves. They tend to show these traits especially with themselves, in some cases they may want to take care of some things themselves in order for things to be done well and in their own way, especially if Saturn is in this house or if the ruler is making a hard aspect with Saturn [conjunction, square, opposition, quincunx]. They dislike uncertainty and what is not certain, as it makes them anxious and uncomfortable to a certain extent. They are very analytical people even with their emotions, they like to know why they feel what they feel and they can spend a lot of time in their inner world trying to figure out who they really are. They are very private people when it comes to their family life and emotional vulnerability. It is very likely that they have experienced some emotionally complex moment that has made them partially or temporarily distance themselves from some family members.

A unique charm, a personality so interesting and sublime that it envelops you with a simple glance. Their voice, their ethereal beauty, their charisma and their enchanting skills make those with Libra in the 5th house the target of all those looking for a romantic lover who adds excitement to their lives. They are thoughtful, loving people who give their best in their love relationships, they have a desire to love deeply and be loved in that way, with perseverance, meaningful details and feel that deep connection that awakens that spark of inspiration in them. Love with them feels like heaven itself, a perfect mix of passion and affection, friendship and love. They can have many artistic gifts, especially those related to design and aesthetics, their beauty makes them stand out and they have a unique quality that makes them easily loved by the public. Being ruled by Venus, makes these natives like and attracted to the interesting, the fun and, why not, the risk and intensity of this fire house [naturally ruled by Leo]. They can greatly enjoy movies, cinema and music, in general have a great appreciation of art. In the case that they decide to have children, they will treat them gently and teach them kindness and good values, at the same time they will do activities that they enjoy with them and they will be very caring and loving. They can have very sociable, kind and graceful children.

One of the reasons why this particular rising is attributed its sharp and impressive analytical capabilities is because of Scorpio in the 6th house, this overlay makes them extremely observant, reaching the point that nothing slips and nothing easy to lie or hide things about them. They have research skills, an outstanding intellect and an excellent eye for detail. Many of them can work in the economics sector due to their analysis skills, others can opt for the health field, whether as doctors, psychologists, veterinarians or in another area that involves healing, and finally they can obtain the field of the industry for the quality of transformation. Most of these natives, being very independent and disliking feeling controlled in any way, may choose to work on their own and many of them [especially if Saturn is there or aspecting the 6th house ruler] may prefer or achieve leadership roles in their works. Their work environment is usually tense, they may have co-workers who envy their promotions or abilities, or who have lots of disagreements with them. In terms of health, the native enjoys vitality and good health, it is necessary that they learn to manage their thoughts because they have a tendency to deal with anxiety, intrusive thoughts or intense fears/phobias. Likewise, they may have hormonal problems. These people reject monotony and feel the need to feel mentally stimulated, so they may seem busy most of the time by the various interests they have or how busy their mind can be.

When these natives commit to someone to have a serious relationship, they are adventure personified, this is shown with Sagittarius in the 7th house. There is something so radiant and touching about them and it is that they are like a ray of light for their partners, they are the ones who, after the torrid storms that life can give them, return that hope, give them that support and are there by their side ready to continue accompanying them. They give their partner many joys and unforgettable moments, new experiences and a partner who loves them for who they are. These natives are looking for a partner who will give them those experiences and sensations that they thought they would never have on those dark nights, someone who excites them, is the reason for their mischievous smiles and who is that partner who teaches and guides them when they are most nervous or insecure. they can feel. Someone who contributes positively to their lives, who gives as much as they know they can give and who addresses them with transparency and honesty. They look for certainty from their partner, someone who does not hesitate to say and feel that the native is the one, someone who makes obvious the interest they feel towards them and constantly reaffirms it but in the process makes things interesting and intriguing. Future spouse is likely to be older in experience or age but very young at heart, someone with wisdom and a lot of experiences to tell the native, in some cases they are usually from a different continent, country or state and are usually like a teacher for the native. Something incredible about these natives is that they tend to have a positive influence on others, who perceive them to be more passionate, happy, and optimistic than they perceive themselves to be. They always leave an important lesson wherever they go and their warmth and good nature remains with others.

When we see Capricorn in the 8th house, the native who fears the idea of being perceived as uninteresting, predictable and superficial, they fear other people imposing rules or expectations on them and, in some cases they may fear feeling that they are like one of their parents, or an older member of their family. May have difficulty feeling intimate with someone, because this house is ruled by Saturn after all which adds obstacles when it comes to becoming intimate on a deep level with someone. They look for stability and trust as well as the feeling of having reliability from the other person. They love being with people with whom they share points of view and ways of seeing life, since many of them find it very difficult to be with someone who has very different ideals from their own in terms of relationships. In sex, they can enjoy being with partners who are older than them, with more experience or who simply teach them new things, they have an intense drive and can be more passionate than they first appear. Something that goes hand in hand with the feeling of desire that they may have towards someone is admiration. If the other person does not inspire them, does not seek to improve themselves and has no ambition, it can be a huge turn off for them. Physical contact for them is something crucial in a relationship, they will love to touch and turn on their partner in this way, but they can like it even if there is no sex involved, hugs, massages or holding hands can even be something that makes them feel safe or happy with their partner. There is a mix between the desire to dominate or be dominated by your partner in bed but also to protect and be protected by them. As time goes by, the native connects more with their sexual energy and their sex appeal increases as they grow.

With Aquarius in the 9th house the native has an insatiable thirst for new knowledge, it is never usually enough for them to learn new things or skills and they seek to delve deeply into a topic. They may have a tendency to get fixated on a specific topic quickly but become disinterested once they feel they have already explored everything. They are curious about the idea of visiting distant places and it is likely that they will do several of them throughout their lives. Being ruled by Uranus, surprising and unexpected things can happen to them on trips, and this also indicates many plane trips. In terms of career, they may opt for a career that no one in their family has studied, or that they don't like, or simply something that seems very complex in the eyes of others. The decision to take a gap year is likely, and if Uranus is making tense aspects to Saturn, they will likely decide not to study at university. Even so, the native will possess great wisdom and a very unique way of seeing the world. They may have many friends who live far from them or, to be more specific, in other countries, but despite the distance they feel a genuine and close touch to them.

Pisces in the 10th house makes them people who can give different impressions, and each one is very different from the other. Many people tend to project themselves onto natives more frequently than they would like, in the same way, people tend to idealize them constantly. It is very likely that parents will place many expectations on the native, especially if the ruler is making a tense aspect with the Moon or Saturn. This overlay usually gives the native a wide variety of interests, so the decision of what career to study can be a big and difficult decision that they face when they are young. What they know for sure is that they need a job in which They can learn a lot and use their talents and creative abilities. These people may work in the art field or in places where they can help other people. With this position of Pisces, the natives usually give an ethereal impression, they charm the public and strangers easily, their beauty can be something that makes them stand out among the crowd, also due to the nature of this sign, this person can contribute a lot to others through your work, you can impact the lives of others in a favorable way, you can help and inspire many with ease.

There is something admirable about the independence of these people, the confidence with which they project themselves and how they seem to be very well on their own, what makes them even more inspiring is the quality they can offer in their friendships, all of this a product of Aries in the 11th house. These people focus a lot on their friendships, on being there for them and making them have a good time after a difficult day. Although they do not seem very emotional with them, their support is unconditional and they fervently support those they call friends. Speaking of this area, they tend to be people who attract some drama in their groups of friends, which makes them opt for small groups. In personal terms, this house also governs economic income, so Aries here indicates a person who seeks to generate money, an enterprising soul to whom the doors of money are not closed and can work a lot or in one or more things to have your desired income. They like to be financially independent and take pride in achieving things on their own. They will fight to achieve their goals and to make come true what they aspired to at some point in their life.

Life has been a complex journey, hasn't it? One where you have been tested an enormous number of times, how much you can tolerate, how much you can change, how many changes you can adapt to. It seems that life has a fast pace, and that leads you to adapt to the flow of it. When will it be my turn? Can someone or something adapt to me? Taurus in the 12th house makes you want a minute of peace, but at the same time it brings with it the fear of being left behind, of stagnating but also of not finding tranquility. You want to be able to take a breath, to enjoy the feeling of having a safe place, and experience stability for the first time. You don't allow yourself to stop, be still and you put a lot of pressure on yourself, but deep down you would like to feel that you are not being rushed, that there is no rush to make a decision, that there is no rush to grow, that there is no need to run if you have doubts. You may be carrying a feeling of little stability from a very young age, the idea of creating your own stability or being the only person in whom you can find reliability. Doubts or feeling unconfident overwhelm you, but it has never been enough to stop you, you have the will and the desire to move forward, even if you would silently like someone to be by your side to guide and guide you when the paths become very dark. Unconsciously you evoke this feeling of companionship and stability, many people really feel that you are a beyond trustworthy person, someone with whom life seems like an entertaining and interesting journey. You evoke a feeling of peace and you can see that throughout your life many people will trust you and feel secure with your presence. With this overlay, you can have very intense variations in self-esteem, some of these natives may be afraid of not knowing what is going to happen and losing control of themselves and their life. They dream of being able to have everything they ever wanted to have [material and emotional] even if at some point they thought they would never have it or experience it.

#astrology #gemini rising #gemini ascendant #gemini in the 1st house #gemini asc #gemini #natal chart #birth chart #ascendant

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copperbadge · 1 year

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Hi Sam! Because I just saw the post on ao3 and donations, and a different post about ao3s updated statement regarding chatgpt/ai generated fiction, and you generally have a good read on things like this - what's your opinion on it, and how its meant to be interpreted?

(I want to good faith believe, and its a complicated/ongoing topic, but wanted to hear your thoughts)

I don't know which post about the update you mean, Anon, but I assume the update referenced is the one the OTW posted on 5/13 about AI scraping and ChatGPT. I do have some thoughts but I want to go through the post a little because I don't think I'm actually needed to interpret this one -- I think with some critical thought anyone can, but a lot of people don't get critical thinking training in school, so I want to do a little demo of it.

Pre-emptively, this is a list of things I'm not an expert on: copyright law, data scraping, AI, website design, and the legality of certain forms of freedom of expression. But honestly for this you don't need to be.

First and foremost, we really have no reason to disbelieve OTW when they speak on this subject. While there's debate and discussion about AO3 and certainly it's imperfect in a number of directions, they are pretty transparent, generally speaking. I don't believe there is a reason to approach AO3 with an assumption of disingenuity in a general sense. However, the organization is run by humans, who are imperfect and can sometimes be deceitful, so it's good to always approach public statements with a critical eye.

So the post is talking about two separate but related issues: preventing AIs from scraping AO3, and policy on AI-generated works being posted. What we are looking for, from both, is a combination of things: we want what they're saying to make sense both in the world, and within the statement -- no contradictions, nothing that seems illogical, nothing that seems like baseless assumption or generalization. We want simple prose, and we want a look at the reasoning behind the actions they're taking.

When talking about AI scraping, they start with what they've done to counteract scraping, speaking in relatively simple terms but with enough specificity that if you wanted you could look up anything you didn't understand. They list what they've done to prevent scraping, and they also discuss the issues with the kinds of measures that would need to be implemented to fully prevent it. They mention specific examples that people were concerned about, and they talk about what they'll be doing going forward.

In terms of the text, this all makes sense to me -- here's what we've done, here's the problem with doing more, here's what we plan to do next. Internally, no matter what the topic is, this section is logical, there are no contradictions and no particular evasions. Critically it passes muster. Additionally, with the knowledge I do have of website design and data management, I can tell that they're doing all they reasonably can. From a standpoint of ignorance, the statement makes internal sense; from a standpoint of knowledge, they're doing what I would do in their place.

When talking about AI-generated works, likewise, they're pretty open about their process and reasoning. They say look, this isn't against TOS as it stands, and here's a reminder of why, followed by a mission statement. The bolded text of that statement is very clear, and correlates with what I said in an earlier post: their policy is maximum inclusivity of fanworks. This statement is consistent with policy AO3 has held for years, which is well-known to the community.

They go on to discuss how AI-generated work could violate spam policies, but those spam policies apply to everyone everywhere, and they remind us that we can always have the Policy & Abuse team examine a work we're skeptical of. (Inside baseball, I know some people who have beef with Policy & Abuse for being unresponsive, particularly in certain cases where harassment is involved. However, within this document, they are saying both "here's why we do this" and "if you have a problem, here's the first step.")

Again, after saying what's happening and what's being done about it, they move on to say that these are only current policies, and may change depending on future developments, and that those changes will be made available for public discussion. This is once more internally logical, and with the benefit of outside knowledge, perfectly rational.

Because I agree with them -- when I saw there was an "updated" statement from OTW on AI-generated prose I was frankly alarmed because I think banning AI-generated prose from AO3 causes way more problems than it solves. It's pretty restrained of them not to bring up the issue in more detail, but it's not difficult for those of us familiar with the community to project outwards as to why banning AI prose might be a bad thing.

So, think about what happens if an AI prose ban goes into effect and you read a fic you think was AI generated. How can you tell? Have you read some of the human-generated prose on AO3? Some of it's not great. So really in that case, what you're banning is someone saying they AI-generated the fic, which means AI-generated fic would still show up, it just couldn't be tagged as such. It's like Prohibition -- they banned alcohol and people still drank. They poisoned the alcohol and people drank the poisoned alcohol (check out paragraph five for specifics). If you ban something off the archive it'll still show up there, it just won't be tagged, so instead of a bag labeled "dead dove, do not eat" you just step on a land mine in your kitchen. AI prose is not content in the way that say incest or underage sex is; I'm against banning those as well, but at least with those you can pretty clearly say "yes this is" or "no this isn't" based on objective criteria. You can't do that with "was this made by a human or a machine" when it comes to prose.

Which leads to the second issue: if a text is reported as AI-generated and the author says "No, I wrote that," how do you prove otherwise? If you report an author for uploading AI-generated prose, all that will happen is either they just say "No, I wrote that" or someone on AO3's abuse team unilaterally decides that yes, this is AI prose, and punts someone off the website who might just be kind of a crap writer, which is not a sin or a crime. Either way it's a waste of time. So introducing a ban on AI prose is really just introducing either a useless show-law that will still cause AI prose to be posted there, just without proper tagging, or a tool to harass people with. Harassment is already an issue on the archive.

And we can reason all this out for ourselves simply by asking "What is the good-faith reason for not banning AI prose?" Assuming good faith isn't just for blindly trusting, after all; it's also for reasoning out other peoples' motivations for things.

And frankly fandom gets a little weird about assuming bad faith when it comes to anyone who has the least bit of power within the community. It's something I've encountered personally, as someone with some clout in fandom who is occasionally assumed to have weirdly malevolent intent. I'm not malicious. I'm just an awkward dumbass. But this is just something fandom does, so it's also good to check oneself and go, "Hey, is this person being genuinely malevolent or am I just assuming wickedness because it's easier to be mad at a villain than to explore the complexities of these acts?"

It's why I deliberately didn't speculate about the person who uploaded an AI fanfic and didn't respond to others doing so in comments. That person is right there. You don't have to assume any intent at all, you can just ask them. And it's so much more educational to do so!

So yeah, actually real props to whoever wrote that post by the OTW -- it's internally logical, reasonably transparent, simply written, and avoids a lot of prose pitfalls that I would absolutely fall into (did fall into, in this very post). I think within this area, they are doing what they can to prevent scraping and making the correct decisions, for now, regarding AI content on the archive.

#ao3 #otw #ai prose #censorship #archive

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panda-writes-kpop · 6 months

Text

Tzuyu - Everything, Everything (Requested!)

A/N: Gonna be honest - this might be one of my favorite requests I've ever done. It's so cute, and Tzuyu is adorable in this, plus we love a happy little family. 💜

TW: Reader and Tzuyu have a kid together, airplanes, reader and Tzuyu's mom do not get along, a little angst with a happy ending :)

Summary: A trip to Taiwan gives Tzuyu and your daughter a chance to see their homeland and a close relative, but you're less than excited to see someone you don't see eye-to-eye with.

♡ Masterlist ♡

“Do you have everything packed?”

“Yeah, I grabbed this!” Your daughter proudly shows you her stuffed deer plushie, and you smile as you zip up her luggage. “I wanna see Grandma.”

I’m glad that one of us wants to.

To you, it wasn’t a secret that Tzuyu’s mother wasn’t a fan of you dating her daughter. You didn’t know if it had to do with the fact that you were a foreigner, or that she just wasn’t a fan of you in general, but her cold glares and pointed words weren’t missed by you at all.

You, however, knew how much this trip would mean to Tzuyu. Her mother had made a few trips over to Korea since the two of you had gotten together and, later in your relationship, adopted your daughter, but Tzuyu wanted her daughter to see the home land that her mother was raised in.

That fact did not calm your nerves about seeing Tzuyu’s mother in Taiwan, but if it would make Tzuyu and your daughter happy, you’d do it.

I’d do anything for either of them, in all honesty.

A gentle hand on the small of your back causes you to snap out of your thoughts.

“Are you ready, love?” Tzuyu asks your daughter, who excitedly nods. “We should be heading out soon. The plane leaves in a few hours.”

Your daughter grabs her suitcase before clambering out of the room. You and Tzuyu laugh before she directs her attention to you.

“Are you packed and ready to leave?”

As ready as I’ll ever be.

“Of course, darling.” You grab her free hand and press a kiss to it. “Let’s head to the airport.”

You awkwardly stand back as Tzuyu hugs her mother before gesturing to her daughter. Your daughter hugs her grandmother’s knees before she is scooped up into the latter’s arms.

Why do I feel like a stranger in my own family?

You wrap your arms around your side as you force yourself to smile as Tzuyu’s mother looks towards you.

It’s just a weekend with her. You can last through a weekend.

Her eyes narrow, and your shoulders sink as you take a step towards her.

“It’s great to see you again.” You say, in an effort to offer an olive branch, but she doesn’t budge.

“Likewise.” Her response is curt towards you before she turns towards her granddaughter.

The two of them start talking, and you sigh before dejectedly walking towards them. Tzuyu’s hand grabs yours, and when you meet her eyes, the concern radiates off of her.

Are you alright? , she mouths to you.

I’ll survive, you mouth back, it’s just a weekend, after all.

She frowns, but you turn away before you can catch the concern in her eyes changing into disappointment.

“How has her Chinese lessons been going?” Tzuyu’s mom asks, and you remain silent as Tzuyu, who sits next to you in the cab, speaks up.

“They’ve been going very well.” Tzuyu gestures to your daughter, who says a broken sentence in Mandarin to her grandma.

“Ah, you’re doing well, sweetheart! If only you weren’t forced to learn three languages…” Tzuyu’s mom glares at you, and you bow your head in shame.

You look over to Tzuyu for help, and her eyes widen as she tries to backtrack.

“We think it’s important for her to learn the language of both of her parents, along with the country that she’s raised in.” Tzuyu pointedly says, and you nod in agreement. “Besides, they’ve been learning Chinese to speak with you, and I’ve been learning English to communicate with their parents. I think it’s a matter of give-and-take, don’t you?”

You show the same amount of surprise as Tzuyu’s mother does, but you begin to smile before grabbing her hand. She always stood up for you when you needed her most. She offers you a gentle smile before her mother speaks.

“Right…” Tzuyu’s mother grumbles, and the rest of the cab ride to Tzuyu’s childhood home is peacefully quiet.

Another day and night of tension pass before Tzuyu pulls you aside and says something.

“Hey, what’s going on between you and my mother?”

“Huh?” You tilt your head at her. “What do you mean?”

“Please don’t be like that with me, darling.” She places a gentle hand on your shoulder, and you bite your lip as you try to hold back the emotions that are threatening to break through. “I want to know what’s up. I worry about you.”

“It’s not anything major, I-”

“Your daughter knows.” Tzuyu interjects, and you pause as you feel a wave of shame pass you.

“She does?” You flinch at the weakness in your voice, but it’s how you truly feel.

“She does. She asked me why you and grandma don’t like each other.”

You place a hand on your forehead before looking at Tzuyu.

“What did you tell her?”

“I told her that sometimes adults don’t see eye-to-eye, especially when it comes to their concern over a loved one.”

“Tzuyu, did you talk to your mother?” You ask with concern, and she nods, which causes you to panic. “It’s true, isn’t it? She really doesn’t like me at all.”

You only curl up into yourself when Tzuyu nods her head. She sits next to you, on the bed, before removing her hand from your shoulder. You place your head on her shoulder as she wraps a loose arm around you.

“I’m sorry for ruining the trip.”

“You didn’t ruin the trip.” She tries to reassure you, but it doesn’t help. “At least, you didn’t mean to ruin the trip. I should’ve-”

“Don’t bring this back on yourself, Tzuyu.” You gently scold her, but she sighs in response.

“How can I not? How can I not blame myself for being ignorant that my lover and mother didn’t get along until it was made blatantly obvious?”

“How do we fix this, baby?” You softly ask with the remaining strength that’s in your body.

“I already did. Don’t worry about it.” Her free hand combs through your hair, and you yawn as you snuggle against her body.

“Y’know, you might act nonchalant and unbothered, but you really cannot help to be involve yourself with other people, huh?”

With sleepy eyes, you look up at Tzuyu one more time before you’re lulled to sleep.

“I suppose you’re right. You always see the best in people, don’t you?”

You smile at your daughter as she excitedly bounces around the room.

“Do we have to leave?!?! I wanna stay with Grandma for longer.”

You wrap your arms around Tzuyu, who blushes slightly before brushing a piece of hair out of her face.

“We will come back soon, I promise.” Tzuyu says before laughing at you trying to eat a piece of her hair. “You are a dork, darling.”

“But I’m your dork.” You joke before Tzuyu laughs again.

“I suppose so.”

“You suppose?” You jokingly say with anger as your daughter laughs at your antics.

Someone clears their throat, and the three of you direct your attention towards the doorway where Tzuyu’s mother stands.

“You three are welcome back anytime.” She emphasizes before her granddaughter runs over and hugs her.

“Three?” You mutter breathlessly as Tzuyu squeezes your arm.

"Three."

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amica-aenigmata-naboo · 2 months

Text

Devotion

Astarion x Y/N - drabble - 1.2K WC

Masterlist

Warnings: agression, insults, general rudeness, crying, soft boy Astarion

--------------------------

Tensions were high in camp generally, being beaten down on the daily fighting such powerful beings was enough to irritate everyone. For the most part you were just trying to avoid everyone, give them peace. You sought out your lover, Astarion, for comfort yet were greeted with annoyance and dismissal. It hurt your feelings and you were open with him about that. That is where the fight started but gods did it evolve. Every little annoyance with each other came spewing out until it turned into this giant ugly monster that enveloped you both.

“Just leave me alone!” Astarion yelled at you but stayed in his spot.

“Excuse me? You’re in my tent.” you said, crossing your arms.

“I have had enough of your attitude.” Astarion said in a low voice.

“Likewise my dear.” you shot back at him.

He stalked towards you, his eyes were sharp and you could see the anger in his face. “What was that?” he growled.

“I said I’ve had enough of you. You want to be alone? Fine. Be alone but go do it somewhere else.” you shoved past him.

He gripped your arm tightly pulling you harshly back to where you were standing before. You winced, his grip hurting you. You tried to yank your arm away but all that did was make him grip you harder.

He walked you backwards until your back hit the pole holding your whole tent up. You winced at that as well, the wood scraping against you roughly.

“I would speak more softly to me.” Astarion gritted.

“You’re hurting me.” you said while trying to pull his hand off your arm.

He squeezed your arm tighter, you let out a yelp. This cleared his mind right up; he let go of you but you remained where you were. He reached up to inspect your arm. You flinched away, shielding your face.

Astarion took a step back from you, his face contorted with a look of utter sorrow. “I wouldn’t hurt you…” he murmured.

“You did hurt me.” you said as you shrugged your cloak off, looking down at your arm. A red mark already forming into a hand shaped bruise laid where he grasped you.

His eyes widened at the mark, he looked down at his hands. His eyes met yours and as he moved towards you he saw your face flash with fear as you moved away from him. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out.

“Get out.” you said, tears brimming in your eyes.

“Darling I…”

“Get out! Touch me again and I’ll cut your fucking hand off.” your tears fell but they weren’t from sadness or fear, they were from rage.

He flinched at your harshness, having never seen you like this before. He wanted to stay, to make it right somehow. But he couldn’t and that's what hurt the most. He left. His mind went elsewhere as he sank down into his own bed. It felt cold. He hadn’t been without you in months, everything felt dark and lonesome.

----------------------------

He didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t think. He had never had to apologize for hurting somebody, if anything he was rewarded in the past for it. But he never wanted to hurt you, and now that he had, all he felt was confused. He truly didn’t mean to. Having just fed, he didn’t realize his strength. He consistently forgot how strong he was now that he was feeding on thinking creatures. He cursed himself, he wanted to cut out his heart. He decided he would do what you asked, he would get out.

He sat on the hillside watching the sun go down and the moon rise. He had his bag packed, just a few things, including a ring you had given him less than a week ago. A ring of devotion. He held it between his fingers, a single tear slipped down his cheek. Gods how he wished this all turned out differently. How he wishes he could have been better for you. Perhaps Cazador was right, he was nothing, and he would always be nothing.

------------------------------

You were still angry, he hadn’t left his tent in days and the first thing he did was go sit on a hill? You glared at him as you watched from the mouth of your tent. You looked down at your arm, the bruise was fading, just yellow and splotchy now. You knew he didn’t mean to hurt you, he would never. But that didn’t change the fact that he did. You didn’t fear him, you just wanted an apology and for this stupid fight to be over. You went to bed, tossing and turning all night, unable to slip away.

You rolled over to the sound of footsteps. Keeping your eyes closed but just barely cracked, pretending to sleep, you saw Astarion looking at you from the front of your tent. His face was so sad, so forlorn. He watched you for a moment longer before leaving. You listened to his steps, but they didn’t lead back to his tent. They got further and further until you couldn’t hear him anymore. Something in your gut told you to follow him, so you did. You saw his tracks lead out of camp.

“And just where do you think you’re going?” you said as you caught up to him about a mile from camp.

He looked shocked to see you when he turned around. “To wash.” he lied quickly.

You raised your eyebrow as you walked up to him, “Really? A mile away from camp? With a backpack? If I didn’t know any better I’d think you were leaving for good.” you put your hands on your hips, awaiting his answer.

“I… am.” he said, his shoulders slumping and his eyes looking downwards.

“Oh? And why is that?” you asked.

“I am a danger. I don’t want to hurt you again.” he said, tugging his backpack closer to him.

“This will hurt me more than you could ever imagine.” you said, holding his cheek. You weren’t angry anymore, irritated was a better way to describe it.

His shaking hand rested over the top of yours, he sighed, “I don’t know how to fix what I’ve done.”

“An apology would be a good start.” you mumbled with a small smile.

“I am sorry, truly. I forget myself, my strength. My temper is so… easily rattled. I just… I’m so sorry Y/N.” he said with a shaky voice.

You kissed him softly, “I accept your apology. Now I need you to make me a promise.”

“Anything.” he said quickly.

“Promise me we'll talk things through. That we’ll be rational, patient. And that you won't just pick up and leave after every small fight.” you pleaded with him.

“Yes! Yes, of course… Is your arm alright?” he asked, his eyes glancing towards it.

“Good,” you leaned up to kiss him again. “It’s fine, I can hardly even see it now.” you said as you showed him your arm.

“Do you still trust me…? Love me?” he asked, he wanted to hold you close so bad but he restrained himself.

“Of course. I’m not afraid of you Star, I was just angry. Of course I love you and trust you.” you pulled him to you in a crushing hug.

He cautiously wrapped his arms around you, he looked down to the ring on his finger. Devotion, he thought. He was devoted to you above all else.

----------------------------

Naboo's Note:

Hello!!! This was based off a request and I loved writing this. As a reminder to all - REQUESTS ARE OPEN!!! I have another fic idea so be on the look out for that in the next few days. Thanks for everything! XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX!!!!!!

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youkissedareaderinthedark · 4 months

Text

Expectations

Synopsis: To keep it short, the grid’s reaction of you dating Jude

young female mercedes driver reader x 2024 F1 grid

A/N: technically, this is a part 2 to “don’t expect the expected” and while you could probably read this as a stand-alone, it’s recommended to read pt1 🫶

. so

. the drivers on the grid kind of had an idea you were dating jude before the rest of the world did

. you were suddenly spending most of your free time in madrid

. you expressed a lot more interest in la liga than they would’ve expected

. they saw your recent instagram posts

. and after your first few posts about seeing real madrid games, it wasn’t hard to narrow it down to who you might be dating

. also, watching jude walk through the paddock with you and sit in the mercedes garage was all they needed as confirmation

. carlos is the most excited about your relationship

. he’s been a real madrid fan for forever

. he thinks jude’s a really good addition to the team

. and carlos just likes the guy in general

. he’s the first driver on the grid to welcome and befriend jude

. he helps set an example of how the other drivers should treat him

. because the grid isn’t used to having a boyfriend around instead of a wag

. they didn’t really know how to act

. as your teammate and one of your closest friends on the grid, george goes kind of “big brother” on him

. he acts friendly and everything, but he makes sure jude is treating you right

. “are you okay?” “yeah, why?” “oh, well I just saw jude storm out of your driver’s room, I wanted to make sure everything was okay between you two”

. “y/n, you said jude met your family over winter break, how’d it go?” “everyone liked him! they said he was very nice and they thought he was good for me” “good, i’m think he’s good for you too. not that you need my permission or anything I just-“ “I get it george, thank you”

. lando forms an almost sibling-like bond with jude

. because even though lando’s 4 years older than him, they’re at the same level matutrity wise

. this could include teaming up with him to make fun of you

. “stealing” jude away and wondering off in the paddock

. and accompanying you to real madrid games when he’s in spain

. the two of them become goods friends in a short period of time and even though they’re pretty chaotic together, you’re happy they’re getting along

. charles befriends jude surprisingly quickly

. at first, he gets to know your boyfriend because of how much he’s with carlos

. but eventually their own friendship forms

. it mostly consisting of jude teasing charles about his unimpressive football skills

. and charles’ jokes about jude being a terrible driver

. you know they have plans to teach each other their professions at some point

. and you can’t wait to watch and laugh at them

. you expected nothing less of daniel to get along with jude faster than everybody else

. jude told you multiple times how excited he was to meet danny

. and likewise for daniel

. they get along super well, they have similar senses of humor and clicked very quickly

. danny also has too much fun teasing you two all the time

. “oh look, the lovebirds are here”

. “jude, your girl just got a podium, how are you gonna spoil her?”

. “y/n come get your boyfriend he’s been so depressed without you”

. anyway

. the point is

. unless the guy gives them something to be upset about

. everyone likes jude

something short and sweet for now. i have so many ideas that i cannot wait to write and i’m so excited for you all to see them

#reader insert #formula 1 #driver reader #f1 grid x reader #platonic f1 grid #f1 imagine #formula 1 driver imagines #f1 2023 grid x y/n #f1 2024 grid x y/n #would it be 2023 or 2024 I haven’t decided yet #female driver reader #jude bellingham x reader #jude bellingham x you #jude bellingham imagine #jude bellingham #headcannons

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monsterbachelors · 2 months

Text

The Three Don'ts of Sabertooth Brewing

[contains semi-public sex + fem!reader]

SUMMARY: You visit Yanu at work on a slow night. One thing leads to another and just when things get exciting, something both unpleasant and unexpected forces you to take a rain check on back-alley romps.

WORDCOUNT: ~ 2k

A smile brightens your face when you see the Sabertooth Brewing sign from across the street. The venue doesn’t look like an appropriate place for a young lady without nefarious motives but at the same time, the entirety of the Copper Valley district doesn’t appear so. Nonetheless, you couldn’t think of a safer place to be. Whatever turf wars the former copper miners lead, they all agreed to omit Yanu and his business. It reached the point where some locals called the bar “the embassy” as it’s the only neutral ground in the neighbourhood.

The rough-looking miners curtly nod at you as you walk past them. A cloud of smoke and soot surrounds the two men. They always stand near the entrance of the locale but never go inside. Smoking one cigarette after another, their job must be to ensure that Yanu stays largely unbothered by the conflicts of Copper Valley. So far, they’ve been excellent at doing their duties.

You giggle quietly as you read the sign hanging on the front door:

Don’t: - fight - spill drinks - ask Q’rill to make a mojito

A bell chimes when you push the door open. Low, yellow lights make the interior look cosy. Conversations held by the patrons sitting in booths and around small tables are drowned out by a trio playing a familiar swing tune. The smell of cigarette smoke fills your lungs and sticks to your clothes. Two waiters weave between tables and clients, faux joy plastered to their faces. One of them notices you - she gives you a quick wave and nods towards the long bar counter.

Although he is surrounded by bottles filled with colourful drinks, it’s impossible to overlook Yanu. Maybe it’s a general rule or perhaps it’s just your fatal affliction. He’s wearing a shirt, a vest and a pair of tailored pants - exactly what one would expect a bartender to wear. Seemingly lost in thought, he’s just wiping some glasses but still, there is something unspeakably captivating about him. An aura that paints him as extraordinary and not just the way he is.

Yanu must notice you approaching out of the corner of his eye. When his gaze meets yours, his expression immediately changes. The deep, pink scar across his blind right eye gives the rakshasa a certain edge but even that isn’t enough to hide the pure adoration painted all over his face. His blue iris stares at you lovingly until a shadow of mischief dances across Yanu’s features.

“My, my, I don’t recall having an appointment with a princess,” he speaks with pretend surprise.

“Princesses don’t make appointments,” you answer casually. Sitting on the high bar stool, you’re still significantly shorter than the rakshasa behind the counter. “They just show up when they want to.”

He chuckles in a low voice. “Gods bless them for that.”

Yanu leans on his forearms on the counter and hangs his head to let you kiss his cheek. Round, furry ears adorned with silver jewellery flutter as they brush against your hair. It tickles when his whiskers touch your face.

Feeling his breath against your skin, you don’t have to speak loudly. “I hope I’m not interrupting you.”

“You,” he points an accusatory finger at you, “interrupt my every coherent thought but I’ve learnt to enjoy that.”

Suddenly, your face gets hot. “I’m being serious, Yanu,” you say through flustered giggles. Even after all this time, it’s beyond easy for him to make you giddy.

“Likewise.” He winks at you before standing up straight. “So how can I spoil a princess’s palate?”

“Hm… I feel like elderberry.”

“Drunk all the time, feeling fine on elderberry wine*,” he sings while looking around for ingredients. The idea for a cocktail comes to him in an instant as befits a true connoisseur.

Yanu appears to be in a trance as he pours and mixes lemonade, vodka, St-Germain and some thyme. Every action is quick and decisive but never careless. Similarly, you are in a sort of trance, too - watching his white shirt and elegant black vest strain around the muscles of his arms. One day the seams of the garments might just let go but say, would it really be so bad?

The rakshasa pours elderflower syrup into the shaker. With a swift flick of his wrist, the shaker with your cocktail-to-be flips in the air. The metal cup makes a full circle only to be caught again by his hand, its content poured into a square drinking glass.

He looks at you in anticipation. Satisfaction is written all over his face. “Pretty nice, right?”

But you’re in a bantering mood tonight. Not letting him see how in awe you truly are, you only raise your eyebrows. “You have huge arms. It would be more impressive if you dropped that.”

Yanu sighs dramatically. He shakes his head and crosses his arms across his chest. If it wasn’t for the glimmer of amusement in his good eye, you’d think he’s genuinely upset. “And here I thought that a lowlife like me could impress a princess.”

“Well…” you ponder for a moment, “there are a few things you could do with your hands that would be impressive.”

Something changes about his demeanour. The amusement stayed but now it is joined by some darkness that leaves an aftertaste of chocolates with brandy - warming and rejuvenatingly bittersweet.

“Really?” he asks in a low voice. His blue eye is watching you intensely, almost looking through you. “Pray tell, what do you have in mind?”

Perhaps there’s some perversion to it but you enjoy leaving his question unanswered for a while. Slowly, you sip on the drink, silently enjoying the perfectly balanced flavours. Not too sweet, not too sour. A true testimony of how well Yanu knows you. That passionate gaze of his never once leaves you, catching even the smallest of movements. A predator or a lover? - how similar these two can be.

“A princess shouldn’t be saying such things out loud,” you finally say.

Yanu leans on his arms against the bar counter. With each exhale, his warm breath gently brushes against your face. There’s some intensity hidden under his casual demeanour as though if you were to play your cards right, he might just cause scandalous immodesty in full view of the clients.

“Will she share them away from prying ears?” More than a question, it’s a suggestion. One that you have neither the will nor the want to reject.

Feigning innocence, you shrug your shoulders. “Perhaps.”

The rakshasa only chuckles. He stands up straight and calls out to someone:

“Hey, Q’rill! Watch the bar for me for a bit, eh?”

The drow, equally well-dressed as Yanu, doesn’t even look your way. Still cutting a lemon into pieces, he answers in a heavy accent, “Got you, boss.”

Not waiting for a sign or a word of encouragement, you get off the stool and walk towards the closer end of the counter. Ever the gentleman, Yanu lifts the wooden part, letting you go behind the bar. But that’s not where the two of you are headed - you follow him through the back of the brewery, only to leave through the staff door.

The alley is dark and narrow. Something rattles in the skip filled with trash, probably a rat or two. In the distance, far away from where you’re standing, cars drive by every now and again. Muffled swing music played by the trio inside the bar sounds like an ambience of a faraway world.

Yanu pushes you against the wall. He’s towering over you - if he so wished, he could effortlessly throw you over his shoulder and carry off. The bricks are cold against your back but soon you find them refreshing when compared to the warmth beaming from the rakshasa. His rough tongue slowly licks the side of your neck. It’s strange, tickling and absolutely delightful.

One of his hands lifts your leg, resting your knee against his hips. Lustful greediness has him grabbing and groping whatever part of your thigh and ass.

Just when a pleased sigh leaves your lips, Yanu stops licking your neck and nuzzles it instead.

“So how can I impress my princess?” he purrs into your ear.

He’s not waiting for an answer - not really. Not when you feel his clothed erection grinding against your groin. You can almost feel your arousal dripping down your legs.

Yanu’s other hand slides into your underwear. His fingers, thick and furry, sensually rub your clit in circles. Breath hitches in your throat. “Would this impress her?” he asks.

“Maybe,” you manage to say between whimpers.

The rakshasa only hums in response. It’s hard to say whether your answer satisfies him.

A loud moan escapes your lips as Yanu easily slips his fingers inside your pussy. The stretch is already more than enough for you. Slow strokes have him reaching deliciously deep inside you.

“You look so pretty like this, princess.”

Looking for support, your hands grab his shoulders. It feels as though your abdomen is suddenly set on fire, your coherent thoughts swimming away and turning into static, if not disappearing completely. There is only Yanu, his quiet groans against your neck and his thick fingers hitting that perfect spot.

“Faster, please,” you squeal.

With utmost pleasure, he obliges immediately. It feels so good you could scream but not a sound leaves your agape mouth. If you weren’t so lost in your pleasure, maybe you’d notice your legs quivering. Your grip on his shoulders only tightens, earning a chuckle from him.

“My princess is going to come?” Yanu coos.

No answer comes from you, only another pathetic moan. Desperate to orgasm, you begin rubbing your clit. It’s “allowed” in these extraordinary circumstances. No doubt Yanu’s “I live to please you” attitude will come back behind closed doors and between the white sheets of your bed.

Your vagina is clenching around his relentlessly thrusting fingers, your whole body begins shaking. A cry gets stuck in your throat. The wave of pleasure, the climax he so eagerly gives you, washes over you more like a tsunami than a wave. It drowns out your thoughts, your breathing, your strength. Fortunately, Yanu has a tight grip around your leg, keeping you standing straight. He’s still sliding in and out of you, letting you ride out your orgasm.

Finally, he slips his fingers out of you. You’re about to say something, thank him or praise him, when a loud crash resounds from inside the bar. Someone’s yelling but the voice is too muffled for either of you to understand what’s the matter.

Yanu and you exchange a look of both confusion and worry. Then, as though lovers know something akin to telepathy, the two of you chuckle.

“Mojito,” you say simultaneously.

When your laughter, contrary to the row next door, dies down, you let out a sigh. “Guess we’ll have to postpone our little escapade.”

Yanu brings his fingers to his mouth and licks them clean. He’s a cheeky man, staring right into your eyes while doing something so indecent. “I’m fine with that,” comes the answer.

But you can play that game, too.

Low groan rumbles inside his chest when your hand teasingly rubs his prominent bulge. He clenches his fists, doing his utmost best to keep himself collected. You could so easily make him fail at that…

“Are you, though?” you ask with faux innocence.

Although you’ve just had a great orgasm, you can feel your pussy throbbing again. As your mind wanders for a second or two, pondering possibilities, your mouth starts watering.

Yanu firmly grabs the wrist of your hand caressing his crotch. Keeping you in place, he grinds against your palm. Through clenched teeth, he growls into your ear.

“I’m a big boy,” the rakshasa purrs. “I can wait a few hours.”

“I know you’re big, boy,” you retort in an equally sultry voice. “I’ll see you home.”

In a loving gesture, he nuzzles against your neck one last time. “Don’t stray.”

After that, he watches you walk away. Only when you disappear behind the corner does he go back inside the bar. As much as he likes Q’rill, he’d much rather go back home with you.

_____

*Lyrics from "Elderberry wine" by Elton John. A bit of an anachronism, yes, but a damn good song.

If you see any books, plays, movies, paintings or songs mentioned, it's most probably something very close to my heart :)

I'm also a complete greenhorn in writing smut, so bear with me as I learn on the go.

#monster romance #monster boyfriend #monster smut #teratophillia #monster fucker #monster bachelors of dawncrest #monster x human #monster x female #monster x reader #monster x you #rakshasa x reader #rakshasa smut #rakshasa x you #rakshasa x human #monsterkink #monster kink #monster fucking #terato

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niqhtlord01 · 4 months

Text

Humans are weird: Evolutionary Adaptability

( Please come see me on my new patreon and support me for early access to stories and personal story requests :D https://www.patreon.com/NiqhtLord Every bit helps) When Kel had petitioned the human worlds of Jora, New Foundland, Davin VI, and Tesla’s Retreat he had thought he knew what to expect.

Though humans were still relatively young in the grand scale of galactic empires they had the most interesting, if not confounding, habit of setting up shop on any world they could find. Be it a dust ball with no atmosphere and three hundred degree sunrises, or a water world filled with ravenous creatures; humanity had shown their grit and made these worlds into new colonies and homes regardless of the danger.

Acting as a representative of his people Kel had reached out to each of those four worlds to establish trade routes. The possible wealth from each, let alone all four together, would be enough to sustain his world’s economic boon for several dozen generations.

He had been delighted when the transmissions came in one by one and each of the human worlds had agreed to meet on Kel’s homeworld to discuss the arrangements.

The first signs that things were running off the tracks was when the Jora delegation had arrived.

Kel had done his research after gathering many texts and documents regarding the human homeworld and thought himself prepared to handle the humans as they exited the landing ships. To say he was surprised when instead of tall slender bipedals massive mechanical suits ducked between the loading doors and on to the landing field would be an understatement.

These constructs were easily nine feet in height and four feet wide standing on two pairs of sharp metal legs that gave them a more insect appearance. Their hands were likewise far more different as they only had three metal talons that clicked and clacked as the machines approached him and Kel saw his reflection in the polished steel bodywork.

As if that was not enough the bodywork suddenly split open and Kel saw a fluid sack inside of the machine holding a frail looking human with numerous wires and tubes sticking out of them.

The human inside nodded to Kel in greeting and their mechanical suit mimicked the motion as well; to which Kel returned after an embarrassing moment’s hesitation.

Before Kel could inquire about the state of the Joraran’s they spoke through a robotic speaker built into their suits. It was then Kel learned that because the gravity of Jora was nearly ten times lighter compared to their natural homeworld the humans had needed to construct mechanical suits to move and live across the any other planet’s surface. If they had attempted to exit the suits and walk normally the gravity of Kel’s world would crush them like tin cans. Thinking to himself Kel imagined that was why the humans inside the machines looked so frail in comparison to their Terran born brethren.

---------- After the Joraran’s came the New Foundlanders some thirty minutes later.

This time the humans did not need to lower themselves to exit the shuttle craft. In fact, they barely came up half way inside the doorframe forcing Kel to tilt his head down and look upon them.

In contrast to the Joraran’s, the New Foundlanders were short and muscular built; coming up to Kel’s waist in height. They wore normal looking clothes standard to human fashion but the fabrics appeared strange as they New Foundlanders approached. It was as if the fabric was remaining static and unmoving despite the motions their wearers made.

Kel extended his hand in human custom to shake in glorious welcome, but to his shock the humans looked amongst themselves and shook their heads.

When Kel inquired if he had offended them somehow they stated that he had done nothing of the sort, and that their reluctance to shake his hand was more for his own safety.

Something of confusion must have cross his face as the lead New Foundlander motioned for one of Kel’s aides to toss him a pen. With a nod from Kel the aide handed a pen to the leader who promptly snapped it in two with the smallest of motions.

Kel learned that in opposite of Jora, New Foundland had gravity ten times heavier than that of earth forcing the humans who lived there to develop squat like bodies of raw muscle. On a lighter gravity world like Kel’s the mere flick of one of their fingers was enough to violently amputate the arm of anyone.

Kel thanked them for the warning and hurriedly sent the new information on to his waiting staff to ensure no one died from a handshake later that day. ---------------------

Next to arrive were the Davinites.

Kel was thankful that when the shuttle doors opened the Davinites were much like the human material he had researched prior to their meeting. They stood between 5 and 6 feet in height, were slender in body shape, and did not walk with mechanical suits or seemed overly careful what they touched.

The strangeness only began to reveal itself when Kel looked closer and saw that underneath the formal clothing the Davinites were wearing a full body bodysuit made from a strange black material. This covered every inch of what would have been exposed skin with even their eyes shielded behind large black goggles.

They shook Kel’s hand in human custom but then insisted that they leave the landing pad as soon as possible. When he asked why they were in such a hurry it was revealed to Kel that Davin VI was orbiting a red dwarf star that provided little light compared to most worlds. The day and night cycles of their world were a constant shroud of soft light, barely enough to see your hand in front of your face let alone the stars themselves.

As a result the Davinite skin had become increasingly pale in the absence of sunlight and their eyes had adapted to the lower light levels to see. Standing out in the open in natural daylight, even with the reflectors on their face, must have been like standing on the surface of the sun.

With great haste he ushered them inside and had his aides blot out the windows and greatly reduce light levels of their rooms for the duration of their stay. -------------------- The final delegation was by far the most unusual of the group in Kel’s eyes.

Unlike the previous delegations, the Teslins arrived in their own spacecraft specially designed on their homeworld. It was a massive freighter like construct easily five to six times larger than any shuttle that had arrived prior.

When the doors opened Kel was greeted by five Teslins all wearing environmental suits he had previously seen in dated records for human space travel.

They slowly walked towards Kel and shook his hand. Their leader was rather friendly and welcoming in their own right and matched him custom for custom as was befitting a delegate.

Kel had tried to resist asking about the suits they wore but thankfully they must have encountered this problem before and demonstrated the need for their suits.

With a nod from their leader one of the Teslins removed the gauntlet from their suit and exposed their hand to the open air. Nothing happened at first until Kel heard a rustle from behind him.

One of his aides was fiddling with their data pad; swatting it with their hands while they rolled it front and back. They caught Kel looking at him and said that it had suddenly died on him and that he was not sure why. The batteries had listed fully charged just a moment ago and now the device refused to power on.

Kel turned back to the Teslins and saw the previous member return their gauntlet to their suit with a loud click followed by the chime of the data pad powering up again.

The Teslin leader explained that the surface of Tesla’s Retreat was plague with frequent and violent electrical storms. The very air you breathed had a sub layer of constant energy in it regardless of where you were on the planet.

Their bodies had adapted to the electrical currents and were able to absorb and pass on energy in the surrounding area through their own bodies; much like a power relay passing on power from a power station to a waiting city.

The grandeur of their ship was a necessity as it contained multiple power units. In the event of a suit breach the Teslin’s could drain the power from a ship midflight and send everyone plummeting to their deaths; but with their design the backup generators would kick in and ensure a somewhat smooth landing.

Realizing the danger the Teslin’s presented while standing in a busy spaceport Kel ushered them inside while he tried to find transportation for them that would not kill them. -------------------------

Each of the delegations were so vastly different from what Kel had been informed of human genes and species type, and yet each of them still claimed to be just as human as the next of their kin, regardless of the vastly different features they wore.

It was a notion that Kel made scrupulous notes for future dealings with the humans, to which the delegation core all but awarded him a medal from the mounting confusion his notes would resolve in later negotiations.

#humans are insane #humans are space oddities #humans are weird #humans are space orcs #scifi #story #writing #original writing #niqhtlord01

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creature-wizard · 4 months

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how is she (Lilith) closed when she exists in Swedish folklore with a different name (Her name is Lucia but it developed into the Saint Lucia tradition to be exact but in northern Swedish folklore she has a darker past where she was adams first wife and her story is very similar to Jewish Lilith).

Edit to add: It's extremely likely that this story about Lucia being the first wife of Adam is more of a modern Internet tale than an old Swedish folktale. I can find no reputable sources to back it up, and people who have familiarity with Saint Lucia/Lussi have informed me that they've heard nothing of this kind, either. That said, my point that similarity between figures does not justify appropriation still stands.

The uniqueness of figures has nothing to do with whether they're open or closed. Your argument is like saying, "well how can this storm god from an African traditional religion be closed when Thor exists?"

The ATR god is closed because the people who whom that tradition belongs said so. If you want to worship a storm god, Thor is right there. Likewise, you are free to work with this folkloric version of Saint Lucy.

Lilith isn't closed because she's supposedly unique. That never had anything to do with it. In fact, "oh but this open figure and that closed figure are basically the same though, that means I'm entitled to the one you're claiming is closed" is the rhetoric of spiritual colonialism, used to justify the misrepresentation and commodification of spiritual figures from marginalized groups, to that group's detriment.

Now, not every Jew agrees that Lilith is closed, because Jews aren't a monolith. But I have seen no shortage of Jews arguing for Lilith as a closed figure, and I find their arguments pretty damn compelling

So, Christians have spent centuries digging into Jewish traditions to find something they could weaponize against Jews; EG, getting into Kabbalah to try and find places they could project Jesus so they could try and convince Jews to convert to Christianity. Something very similar is absolutely happening with the gentile Lilith worshipers. There's a strong tendency toward antisemitic conspiracy theory among them; EG, believing that patriarchy was a Jewish conspiracy that was later expressed through Christianity.

These people often claim that Lilith was this ancient mother goddess who was demonized by the Jews. They try to claim that these old mentions of lilitu are somehow evidence. In reality, ancient cultures in the Near East worshiped a number of mother goddesses (EG, Ninhursag), and none of whom were Lilith.

Many deities did get demonized at some point (EG, Astarte became Ashtoreth, and Baal became Bael), but this had nothing to do with a patriarchal conspiracy; rather it was a generalized demonization of rival gods. And Lilith was not among them, because Lilith was never a goddess.

In fact, I have yet to see a single gentile Lilith worshiper who isn't deep into conspiracy theories and doesn't quote pseudohistory of some kind. Not a single one. So yeah, I will continue taking the side of the Jews who say that Lilith should be closed, because I've seen the bullshit gentiles are pulling with her.

#answered #lilith #antisemitism #cultural appropriation #conspirituality #conspiracy theories #conspiracism #pseudohistory

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dailyadventureprompts · 2 months

Text

Monster Hunt: An Evil Without An End

Lady Talmere was a monster long before she rose from her grave, having taken to the recreational murder of commoners the way that others of her social class took to falconry or painting. Killing was a hobby for her, a privilege of her aristocratic birth that she could indulge while others were forced to work for a living. She chose her victims purely for the fact that it was easy to make them disappear: her country estates were far from prying eyes, her demanding nature excused the high turnover rate in her staff. She employed those with nowhere else to go, to hardworn by life to ask questions, and when complications did occur it was so easy to wriggle out of them by charming or greasing the palms of the local magistrates .

It was a true injustice that Lady Talmere died happy and of old age, moreso that her wretched spirit was not claimed by some devil and dragged to hell, instead rising some decades later as a mohrg. While most of her old self has rotten away, Talmere still possesses her love of killing and scene of digression, prefering targets that will go unnoticed. To make matters worse Talmere is now prone to reanimating her victims with the parasitic worm that makes up part of her undead corpus, simultaneously creating a new minion while getting rid of the evidence.

Adventure Hooks:

In recent weeks rumours are beginning to spread about the "Tattergaunt", a thing that wanders the night preying on lone travellers and isolated homesteads. The authorities are skeptical and have yet to post a bounty, suspecting beasts or even slavers given the lack of remains left behind. It's only when the party stumble into some of those remains on the side of the road, reanimated, worm bloated, and dragging another corpse that the picture becomes clear.

Talmere is having her zombie minions clean up after her, stashing away the undead that are about to slip out of her control in the hopes that no one will find them. Her choice of using isolated locations for these zombie stockpiles makes for a great random dungeon encounter.

The party may find themselves tasked with investigating a haunting at Talmere manor, inadvertently begun when the spirits of the lady's victims sensed that she'd risen. Unable to communicate through any means other than terrifying vision or violent poltergeist activity, the spirits long to be put to rest, and don't care how much they have to terrify or imperil the manor's mortal occupants in order to get that message across.

Challenges & Complications:

The old groundskeepeper served Lady Talmere in the final years of her life. Though he was only a boy he assisted the previous groundskeeper in all his tasks, which meant he also helped dispose of quite a number of bodies in the first few years of his employment. Riven by guilt and fear of punishment, he'll point the party in the right direction while keeping mostly to himself. However, Interrogating the old man or secretly leafing through his journals might provide the party a vital clue.

Though they want the haunting dealt with, Lady Talmere's descendants are just as prideful as any noble family and won't stand for their ancestor's honour to be besmirched no matter how true the accusations are. The party could make powerful enemies should they go blabbing about the old woman's crimes to the commons, or worse yet the local temple.

Likewise resistant to the investigation is the demon that's been lurking in the Talmere family estate for generations. It didn't corrupt the lady or drive her to violence, merely fed off the injustice of her kills and used it's power to ensure she was a little less likely to be caught. Every body burned to ash in the estate's furnace was a sacrifice on it's altar, and it seemed only reasonable to return the favour by seeding her body with the spark of unlife as she lay on her deathbed. If the party investigate well enough to disturb the demon they will soon find Lady Talmere's corpse knocking on the door of her own home with a small army of undead at her back, ready to massacre anyone inside, including her decendants, just for the thrill of it.

As her life (and subsequent unlife) suggests, Lady Talmere has a knack for escaping punishment. Any time she is slain, her mind transfers to another of her worm-animated undead, beginning a process of transforming it into a mohrg. As such she always keeps a few of her undead in reserve, scattered about the countryside or mixed in with those stockpiled zombies that've slipped her control. Once she's "settled in" to a new body she can start making more zombies provided she finds someone to kill, meaning unless the party stikes her hard and fast (ideally getting rid of her stockpiles before fighting her) she'll always be one murderspree away from cheating death again.

As she exists as an emboyment of moral and cosmic injustice, it seems only right that a weapon of true justice would be Lady Talmere's end. If they haven't already gone searching for divine aid, Midway through their troubles the party is approached by a temple scholar dedicated to the goddess Erathis, who has received a vision compelling him to help the party and lead them to a weapon wielded by a saint of the lawbearer herself. This might be as easy as swearing an oath on the saint's tomb, or as dangerous as tracking down where the stolen relic was hidden by the goddess's enemies.

(thanks @thirdtofifth for the monster stats)

Artsource

#undead #monster hunt #mid level #haunting #manor #dnd #dungeons and dragons #d&d #ttprg #pathfinder #horror

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