Wake up babe, new Philip K Dick story just dropped

okay i read up on this guy and this is legitimately sad for him. First of all, they neglected to mention that the hologram was of Hatsune Miku.

long story short this guy hit a depressive episode, and found Miku in the middle of that. He became a super fan of her, buying merch and listening to the songs and all that, and became genuinely infatuated. Miku was a good cope for his mental health, and when Gatebox - sort of a holographic alexa with different characters - ran a special Miku collaboration, he picked it up for his place. Every day for years on end this man would wake up, talk to her, say goodbye on his way to work, and be welcomed home at the end of the day. One day he proposes, and of course the gatebox is programmed to say yes all embarassed and giddy. he's fully aware it's a programmed response, but hey, she said yes - and he holds a wedding. there's a company that'll give marriage liscences to fictional characters, so it's as legit as one can get. since he couldn't bring the hologram with him, he brought the miku plushie he sleeps with every night.

this might seem weird and cringe to some people, but this shit legitimately changed his life. He's massively improved from his depression, become more social, gotten a job again,and generally re-integrated into society because miku was there to support him through his rough patch. so yeah, when gatebox stopped supporting the miku hologram, that was very unfortunate. he HAS stated that he's okay - he still loves her, and he knows it's just a matter of time before some other hologram of VR thing reconnects them. For now, he'll be eating with his wife mute and unable to talk to him.

right in the motherfucking feels

Just a joke based on the implication made about the dark urge's hobbies and this scene in brooklyn99.

'Revenge is bad' to YOU. i love when a character destroys everyone who wronged them. i love when they get to bite and maim and tear and rip and scratch and kill. Sorry ur catholic about it but i'm different

Is that a swarm of locust in your pants or are your dick and balls just heralding the end of days

the fact that he’s just flirting initially because it’s what he knows and is used to after centuries of doing it and he just fucking wants you to like him because liking him guarantees his protection/survival. so he’s trying so hard to be charming and it’s obvious that’s what he’s doing. ohhhhhhhhhhhh it’s so

Gods. Astarion's various responses to after seeing the spawn cells in the dungeon.

I'm sobbing.

You get the lines about Sebastian, about Astarion realizing it's not seven spawn but seven thousand innocent people. Everyone who ever trusted him enough to let his guard down. Innocents, idiots, and the unlucky.

He could save them.

He claims he doesn't see the point. He thought they were dead. They may as well be. He tried to convince you they will be ravenous, uncontrollable. Killing them is safer. Better they serve a purpose.

The dialogue choices I'm talking about right now is this:

Tav: this isn't you, Astarion. Not really. (You're not heartless no matter what you want to believe of yourself. You're scared of what could have happened to you. These people are you if Cazador hated you a little less.)

Astarion: It should be. I don't want to be like them... they're pathetic, horrible... (he could have been one of them if Cazador hadn't made him what he is. Hadn't made him go lure them in. If so many things hadn't happened. He could be as heartless as Cazador. He could sacrifice them and feel nothing if he wanted. If he tried. But he has been with you for too long. He feels pity for these poor souls.)

Tav: Show them the kindness you never saw. No one deserves this fate. (I believe in you, dear. I know you can be kind. I know you want to be. I know you're scared of Cazador. I know you're scared of so much. But I'm here. And I am not going anywhere.)

Astarion: Don't hate me. I just did what I had to do. I swear I did what I had to do. (But now I have a choice. Gods I can choose and I'm so scared of being in danger. I don't want to die. I don't want to die )

He isn't just pleading with you, he's pleading with himself. He's trying to convince himself killing them is the right thing. He knows how it looks. He can tell you time and time again that he didn't want this, that he didn't want to lure them here. But he can choose now. And he isn't sure what he wants. Not when it's seven thousand innocent people.

A few weeks ago. However long it's been since he first felt the sun on his skin, he would have killed all of them without a second thought. He wouldn't have felt a damn thing other than relief and joy and utter satisfaction at finally FINALLY being free. But he's not alone. He's got a friend for the first time. He has someone who has been so unbelievably patient with him. He's a wreck of who he once was and he's so scared.

He has a choice now. And he doesn't know what he wants.

My adaptation of the God of Arepo short story, which was originally up at ShortBox Comics Fair for charity. You can get a copy of the DRM-free ebook here for free - and I'd encourage you to donate to Mighty Writers or The Ministry of Stories in exchange.

Again it's an honour to be drawing one of my favourite short stories ever. Thank you so much for the original authors for creating this story; and for everyone who bought a copy and donated to the above non-profits.

i think people should be a little more annoying about their interests actually. talk about those characters a little more talk about those headcanons. hell even outside of media consumption be annoying about your hobbies. i want to hear about your crochet project or your embroidery project or the book you're most interested in right now or if you've seen any beautiful birds lately. the internet is made to share what you love so i think people should do it more

*transports guinea pigs from point A to point B with my mind*

Marzipan asks that you not interrupt her nap with your telepathic powers again thank you

marzipan i am so fcking sorry ill never forgivve myself for doing this to you im so so fcking sorry

I am so so obsessed with Gale's romance because God it's so clear he worships your Tav through it and it's absolutely horrifying.

His love through so much of the game is in *spite* of himself. Is in abject hatred of himself. He is holding guilt and shame and self loathing so bad he'd rather unmake himself into something that the Tav never loved in the name of some notion of "deserving" because Gale is *so* broken by Mystra even still that he thinks he must earn Tav's love. That he must make himself *worthy* of all that Tav has to offer.

Do you know how horrifying that is? To realise the person you love would destroy themselves for you, in some desperate attempt to please you, and with it take away everything you loved about them and they ask you to be happy with it?

Gale lays at Tav's feet a love that is built on worship, on looking at the Tav as divine. And it's not until the VERY end and you being really patient and stubborn does he begin to see Tav as a person. And that's horrific. He loves you so much he'd destroy himself.

He has placed you in the same spot as Mystra, but you are no all powerful Goddess, you do not spin magic along with a wave of your hand and seeking to mould him. You are a person. A person who is flawed and human (in the personhood sense of the word). A person who he does not have to prove himself for. Unmake himself for. At that point, he doesn't love Tav, he loves the idea he's made of Tav. And this idea, it's been built at his own expense. He's hurting, he blames himself, so even in the love that requires no proving oneself, no supplication, no means to *earn* it he takes it upon himself to make himself "deserving" and maybe he'll finally be content with himself if he just gets enough power, makes himself better, makes himself someone who is not him.

Because he hates himself.

And that is so heartbreaking to watch, because it's so very clear he has had zero time to heal. You are in love with a deeply suicidal depressed man, who would rather watch himself burn than accept your love for him as it is. Whole and human, with no notion of "deserving". The foundations of the love he has for Tav are so so unhealthy. And I love it. I love him. I want him to get better. It's so sad we don't get to see more Gale Dekarios in the game. He's so interesting in comparison to "Gale of Waterdeep" and I'm glad he has a chance to go back to it.

hyperfixations are so crazy because you never know whether this next thing you like is going to be a short-term interest or if it's going to change your entire life forever

The vote is out... is this still only a temporary fluke or has this silly little vampire changed me forever?

I'd say it's not looking good...

awesome

clutch Monday save.

rotating Amanita Szarr aka Lady Incognita in my brain and one thing that's making me feel insane is like.... Cazador turned her against her will, yeah? you would assume that means he turned her into a vampire spawn but to me it seems like it's somewhat implied that that is not the case? she says "I am a vampire, and damned" and in a different note she is referred to as "the vampire know only as Lady Incognita", not spawn, vampire, as far as I know she's never referred to as a spawn, only as a vampire. obviously that's not really much on its own (even Astarion is referred to as a vampire at times rather than specifying vampire spawn) but something that sticks out to me is we also see no evidence (that I know of) of Cazador being able to compel her like he does with his spawn. like.... presumably if she was a spawn he could have simply compelled her to kill someone but instead he breaks her down by forcing her into a position where she had no choice but to drink human blood and then starving her to the point where she was mad with hunger before sending up a bound captive who she kills. not to mention the fact that he explicitly forbids his spawn from drinking humanoid blood however he very deliberately forces Amanita to do just that, he breaks her down until she does.

all this seems to imply that he turned her into a true vampire. which is... interesting. because the true natural enemy of a vampire is another vampire, yeah? and on top of that, turning Amanita against her will would certainly give her more than enough reason to hate him, to want him dead. if he turned her into a true vampire he would have created a true vampire who actively wants him dead, and he keeps her within his mansion. why? especially considering how much of a power-hungry control freak Cazador is, why would he do that? and if Amanita is a spawn, why didn't he just compel her to kill someone? why does he deliberately force her to drink humanoid blood, something he explicitly forbids his spawn to do?

i miss gougar. we should bring back gougar

The Night Comes Down like Heaven

Available as a print:

https://www.inprnt.com/gallery/taylordenobrega/the-night/