#{humor program: funny stuff}

[factfinders]

This feels like a trap to lure and capture developers...

😂😂

[mrsfoone]

@foone made a funny comment about latex gloves. The following conversation occurred.

Me: we don't kink shame in this house. You do you.

Foone: I did threaten to kink shame someone last night.

Me: was it feet?

Foone: nah, worse! C++ programming

[sentient-rift]

"We go away for awhile, only to come back to find the Mouse buying everything?!"

[randomly-generated-posts-machine]

2 cups of @biggest-gaudiest-patronuses 500 grams of tumblrina and a teaspoon of boomer humor and you got yourself a gender

[fallen-symphony]

Dark Rockman.exe and Empress Roll.

Are you planning to get married to each other?

"Well, it only make sense for the king and queen of the Darkloids to one day be wed."

"Ooh! Ooh! Can I be the flower girl in your wedding, bestie?!"

"Of course, Rosy."

"You really gonna go through with that, Dark Megz?"

"Why not? It's like she said. As king and queen of the Darkloids, it only makes sense. Plus, we were made for each other..."

"Alright, if you're gonna get into that mushy stuff again, I'm leaving!"

"It's okay, Scourgey! You and I can do the mushy stuff, too! After all, you and I were also made for each other!"

"Over my dead body...!

"Wait! Bad choice of words!"

"Oh, I can arrange that, my adorable little mucus bug. I can even make it look like an accident..."

"Wait, Rosy! Don't do this! It's the Christmas season...!"

"ALL THE MORE REASON TO GIVE YOU YOUR CHRISTMAS CRUSHING, SCOURGEY!!"

"Aw, (BLEEP) this! I'm outta here!"

Scourge immediately runs off at Sonic speed while screaming like a little girl.

"GET BACK HERE, SCOURGEY!!! ACCEPT MY LOVE!!! IT WILL ONLY HURT A LOT!!!"

And Rosy immediately chases her Scourgey poo ready to crush him.

"...Those two make a cute couple."

[aleph-omega]

[midnight-mourning]

Up on the Housetop

❄️❄️Midnight's DCA December Day 20❄️❄️

mmmm i enjoyed the chaos of this one, it's still fluffy and sweet, but I will admit i went for a bit of gremlin sillies with it, hope you enjoy ^-^

Prompt: Had a funny idea. DCA believes Santa is real (programming so he doesn't spoil it for kids), and won't let reader downstairs on Christmas Eve (reader is trying to put out presents lol) Or alternatively, he knows but is just being difficult/is trying to do his own Santa stuff

Word Count: 1330

❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️

You loved Sun, you really did. His sense of humor, his pleasant demeanor, how affectionate he was, and so much more. You cared about him a lot, so much, really. Moon as well, of course, but Moon wasn't currently causing you problems. For once. 

You see, tomorrow was Christmas, and at this point, you still had a lot to do. Mainly, because you only had half the presents out, the rest had been hidden away, along with stocking stuffers and the likes. For one reason and one reason only; Santa hadn't come yet. 

More specifically, you had to go down and put everything out under the guise of it being Santa and not you. Why? Because the attendant stills believes in Santa Claus, and you'd be damned if you were going to let anything get in your way of keeping that myth up for them. 

And that included the attendant themself. 

However, it was Sun that was the sole problem causer tonight, standing in front of you, hands on his hips as he blocks your access to downstairs. 

Your own arms are crossed, frown matching up with the strained smile on his visage. You thought he was charging. But it seemed the moment you snuck out to get things done, he was right behind you, hand on your shoulder as you were about go down the steps. 

After determining that you were up to no good, he all but pushed you back into the bedroom, you protesting all the while. 

Now, you were at a stalemate. He was refusing to let you pass, and you were refusing to go to bed. If only you hadn't left the tree on downstairs, the light it provided was just enough to keep him out and not Moon. He at least was easy to bribe. 

"Friend. This is ridiculous." He waves to the roof. "Santa could be here at any moment and you're awake!"

You huff. "So are you, Sunny. I just need to go downstairs for a second, then I'll be right up to bed, I promise."

"I can't allow you to do that. What if he's already down there and we don't know!"

You shake your head. "If he's already been then I won't even look in the living room, I promise."

"I can't trust your word! Not after you betrayed my trust today." He crosses his arms to mimic you, chin turned up.

You pinch your brow. "It was just a snowball fight, Sun."

"Just a snowball fight—" He splutters as you put a hand up to stop him. 

"All's fair in love and war, how was I supposed to know that you actually thought I didn't have any left." You think for a moment, then point your finger at him. "And last I checked, you pulled the exact same stunt by kissing me as a distraction!"

His rays flick, faltering a moment before muttering in agreement. "I suppose that's true. But nevertheless, my decision is final. Now I suggest you go back to bed before I make you. And you know how much I hate bedtime."

"This is my house!" You protest, stepping closer to him so you're only a few feet apart. "I should be allowed to go down the stairs of my own home."

"What do you need so badly that'd you risk ruining Christmas for?"

You lift a finger. "First of all, not trying to ruin Christmas. Second of all,"—you can't think of a reason, shoot—"It's none of your business.

Sun bends to your height, gaze narrowed. "Oh, but I think it is, Sunshine. Unless you can give me a truly valid reason, you will not be going downstairs."

You stare at him, squinting in simmering frustration. His rays tick once, twice, otherwise inmoving. 

You make a run for it, and get caught instantly. Your legs are kicking and flailing as Sun marches you away from the stairs and back towards the bedroom. The second he sets you down again, you trying run again, and almost succeed, getting halfway down the steps. 

The more this goes on, the more feral you both become. 

Eventually though, you both get tired, and somehow end up sitting in the middle of the hallway, sitting cross-legged across from each other. Sun is still blocking your access to the stairs, and you're getting very tired of it. 

"It's almost midnight." You state. 

Sun nods. "That it is."

"Bet you Santa's already stopped by." You quip.

He shrugs. "Maybe so, but that's even more reason to stay upstairs then so to not ruin tomorrow."

You groan, laying back on your back. "Work with me here, Sunny. I'm begging." You throw your hands up. "I'll do whatever you want if you just let me downstairs for five minutes. Please."

"I'm sorry, Starlight. But the answer is still no. I can't have you disturbing Santa."

You, for the briefest of moments, consider telling him the truth, but swallow that thought immediately. While yes, he's being incredibly annoying, ruining his fun, for the purpose of trying to make his fun, was silly. Besides, it's not like shocking him would be enough to—

A  new thought crosses your mind. A devious one. One that might just work. 

You sit up, eyeing the animatronic across from you with caution. Then, you scoot a little closer to him. You see him tense ever so slightly. You scoot again, and again, until your knees are knocking against each other now. 

He tilts his head, obviously suspicious. Good. You think this wouldn't work nearly as well if he wasn't.

You put both hands on his shoulders and lean in. 

At first you just sit there, breath hot against his faceplate. Your eyes flick up to his, his pupils flick down to you. You chuckle, and with as much passion as you can muster close the gap—

And blow a raspberry against his cheek. 

You jump to your feet as he sits there, utterly confused, and rush downstairs. 

"Hey!" You here behind you, metal footsteps bounding after you. "That was uncalled for!"

You become a snickering mess as you race into the living room. You don't know how you're going to put out presents with him behind you but you'll worry about that later, just enjoying the victory at the moment. 

"I disagree, I think it was a great... tactic..."

The living room is filled with presents. Not just the ones that you'd put out earlier in the month. You turn, and see your stocking is filled, and the cookies you'd put out are crumbled, milk half gone.

"There's no way..." You mutter, hand going to your hair. "That's impossible."

As you're dealing with the idea that you might be the subject of some weird reverse home invasion, or that Sants might actually be real, a hand rests on your shoulder. You look up as Sun sighs at the sight, then tilts his head down to you, eyes crinkling. 

"Well, Merry Christmas, Sunshine."

You blink. It clicks. "I, what, you, how,"—you shake your head—"You were faking?!"

"Yes, I was hoping you wouldn't find out this way. I know how hard you were trying to keep up the act for us."

"Moon too?" You can't believe it. All that work, for nothing. 

Sun's arms wrapping around you, bending so that you're almost eye to eye. "We appreciated it, we really did! But we also wanted to surprise you and it became this, jumbled mess instead." He looks away then. 

"Hey." You reach your hand up to direct his attention back to you. "What you did was sweet, just shocking is all. I wouldn't have been trying so hard if I'd known."

His forehead presses to yours as he chuckles. "Guess we're both just a couple of silly excuses for Santa then."

"Seems that way." You kiss him once. "I think I'm alright with that though."

Sun pulls you closer as you giggle, kissing you again himself. 

"Me too."

❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️

Thank you for the silly little request @twomanypockets!! As you can see i had a bit of fun with it, thought a combo/sneaky reveal fit very well hehe

Masterpost link

Tag list (if you would like added, see this post for more info):

@scarletcowboy @beemyhuneybee @fishm0ther @deviouscrackers @elsajoyagent8

@luckyyyduckyyy @zenkaiankoku @jogimote @local-shrub @amarynthian-chronicles

@robinette-green @everlightreader @sinister-sincerely @starredeclipse @dangerva

@juukai @crystalmagpie447 @mothgutz236 @lizyxml @divinit3a

[nexility-sims]

𝐍𝐎. 𝟒   ❛ 𝐝𝐨𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 ❜   |   LEONOR'S APARTMENT, MID MARCH 1991

❧  𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲  /  𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠  /  𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬  /  𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭.

❛ Lleida had made her name as a funny girl who could lull Uspana’s beautiful people into a kind of conviviality that dissipated their guard. Even the most reticent fell into revealing laughter under the push and prod of her humor. She asked hard questions with the concerned forwardness of a good friend, too. Her knack for levity wasn’t just disarming; it made her guests candid, smoothly masking vulnerability with amusement and self-deprecation. These people, she knew, appreciated such a mask. They were keen to be seen but never truly visible, entertaining but never exposed. They loved to laugh—with, at, rarely alone. Lleida, possessed of a demeanor that was as much innate as mastered, threaded that needled for them. They unspooled, and she led them to the point.  Princess Safya had never required such cajoling to give people what they wanted, perhaps because it allowed her to do so on her own terms.

❧ this is another post (prose included) that came together months and months ago ... it was actually the first television excerpt i planned ! it's not perfect, but i like it well enough. in retrospect, i should've focused the prose on what's happening at the end of the scene, but i ran out of juice and also time :^) if u can believe it, we're onto fun stuff after this, i promise !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐝 & 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭 ↓

Before her life ended some months ago, Safya had sat on Lleida’s well-lit set and flashed back to the moment that brought her there.  Aides always filtered the requests from bookers that made their way to her office. Most failed to make it past the larger press office where most intended for Safya went directly into the trash. She logged scores of appearances in a given year, but they were all picked with thought and care. Most sprung from established relationships or trusted recommendations, and it was easy to reject the frivolous requests. This particular one had arrived in a slim, unnecessary folder. On its cover, a sticky note held on. The single sheet of paper inside turned out to be a transcript from an answering machine message. Lleida’s assistant producer had left a brief, bold proposal: ‘Princess Safya is supporting a large, expensive overhaul of the educational system. We don’t really care about that, but Lleida would love to talk to her, and we’re thinking our princess would love to talk about her little project. Consider it? If it helps, we also heard our queen loves Lleida. Thanks.’

Selma, Safya’s principal aide, had stood around waiting to give further explanation, but the princess didn’t need the follow-up. The note’s handwriting was unmistakable. Indeed, it read simply, ‘I will tune in either way.’

TRANSCRIPT:

[L V.O.] Tonight’s programming is a reairing of a special interview from last year that most of our viewers will remember very well.

{Intro music plays, volume increases}

[L V.O.] My guest tonight is a treat: our very own Princess Safya.

[L V.O.] Are you happy to be here?

[S] I love late night television. I’m thrilled.

[L] May I push you on that? [S] Sure. Please.

[L] We don’t make it easy for you, do we?

[S] Is it inconceivable that I laugh along with you? {Lleida chuckles}

[L] We poke fun at superficial things, but we get serious, too. Some topics must be sensitive—unfunny to you.

[L] We poke fun at superficial things, but we get serious, too. Some topics must be sensitive—unfunny to you.

[L] Is that thrilling, is what I’m asking. The audience is locked in! Look at them. You’re looking. We’re waiting.

[S] You’re working a theory. What do you have in mind? [L] How about this: you are not your mother. We know. Do you? [S] [Hums] That is a concern, isn’t it?

[S] It doesn’t bother me. It doesn’t bother her. I’m humbled to say that the majority of you seem to find it untroubling.

[L] Running a country is hard work. Your persona is— [S] Soft. I know. Old hat criticism.

[S] It’s been forty years. I like to think being that way is a choice. [L] To be soft? [S] To be gentle. To trust myself and who I am.

[L] Not every queen needs to be a warrior to be taken seriously?

[L] If you were on Tello’s set, he would ask if that was traditional. [S] I would tell him it is. [L] A woman-queen who leads

[S] {Chuckles} I would call it respecting the decisions of our elders, but maybe Mister Tello has a different definition of tradition.

[L] I think I got a rise out of her. A little one—a “gentle” one, as it were. We have to take a short break, but our princess has even more educating to do when we return! {Outro music plays}

{Television static noise}

{Leonor weeps}

[mikuni14]

The Sign - Ep 1

Ok, but The Sign has everything I like (at least for now):

coherent plot

good pacing and editing

good acting

great chemistry, relationship, interactions, scenes of the main couple

the actors and the plot sell me the romance

I support the main couple, I am so invested in their romance and story

both main actors and both characters are EQUALLY interesting and attractive to me, this is unfortunately very rare in my case

novelty of the story, unusual for BL series main couple, more reminiscent of Manner of Death than traditional BL

authentic, effortless sexiness of the romance, scenes, characters and actors

very good side characters

a well-shown "men's world" with everything: competition, proving one's worth and masculinity, cockiness, silly conversations, jokes about sex, making fun of each other, but also brotherly bonds and supporting each other

already in the first episode we have so much of good stuff: a romance between interesting guys, a whole lot of other relationships, a truly repulsive villain, a murder, mystery and fantasy. As if the series was specially created for me 😍

good balance between fun, humor, silly tropes like falling with a kiss or running away holding hands 😆, and serious scenes. The funny scenes don't overshadow/ruin the serious scenes, which unfortunately happens all the fucking time in other series

this is the third series recently with virginity discussed and the first in which a person who has not yet had a sexual debut is 1) not forced to do so, 2) not ridiculed, comments are limited to light teasing, 3) Tharn is simply asked about it and he has a chance to say why and is heard without judgment

I like literally everything

Chart is an extremely bad character, at first I hated him because I was programmed that way by ThanType. But no, he deserves complete contempt, and no Tharn, he is not a good cop and never will be, this man should be eliminated from the cop selection at this stage, he will get people killed.

Did the murder actually happen? Is this maybe one of the training sessions like we thought they were actually freeing the hostage at the beginning of the episode? 🤔🤡

Anyway, give me Billy, an equally lovely and cool actor to match, a compelling love story, a water dragon and I'll be fed with it for weeks. (also, the scene in the bathroom when Tharn reacts to Phaya's voice, the hug from behind is, I'm sorry, I don't want to offend fans of other series at all! but it is hotter than other high-heat series currently airing. Heh! even the way Tharn looks at Phaya's hand on his shoulder was hotter to me than the entire last episode of Playboyy, sorry, it's not a diss, Playboyy is fun! but, well, that's just how I feel 😉)

This is my fav series currently airing 💖💖💖💖💖

[skullchicken]

I'll see if I can formulate something that's been on my mind for a while. It stems mostly from advice I've given to art students but I feel it can potentially be applied to many other things.

I feel like many people picture achieving success like this:

... but can you see what's wrong with this picture?

Success in any endeavor isn't guaranteed. And even if you are successful, it's not guaranteed it will make you happy.

But even if we assume that this chart is in fact correct...

That's still a long-ass time you're spending being unhappy.

What I told my art students is: try to find a way to make the process of learning and trying and failing enjoyable.

Sometimes you'll need to find a new perspective or do some soul-searching to achieve that, e.g.:

is it really true that you have to punish yourself to deserve enjoyment?

can you find something humorous or funny about your failures? can you make them more lighthearted for yourself?

can you exchange your expectations for curiosity?

is there a way you can make the process fun for you?

To give a non-art example: my family has an oven heated with wood. Every year we had to saw the wood into big chunks, then smaller chunks, then we had to carry them inside, several square meters of it. I used to hate it. Unspeakable stuff gets into your nose. It's itchy. There's insects in the wood. But I think I especially hated it because I was following my older sibling's example, who hated it much more, and loudly.

Then one day I realized it's only like two hours of work, really. And I can talk to my family and make jokes while we do it. And if I put on my mp3 player that means I can move my body to music, which I enjoy deeply. I can even daydream on the side! Suddenly: fun!

Or to give another example: at university I used to hate learning for exams. Until I realized what I actually hated was cramming for exams, it was staying up late and subsisting on energy drinks instead of sleep while the clock kept ticking. But as long as I started two weeks earlier instead of one week earlier, or, even better, just turned the lecture's powerpoint slides into flashcards (which I enjoyed doing because it's a bit of a no-brainer activity I can do on the side) I could just put them on my smartphone and learn them casually on long train rides. And because of the flashcard program, I could see my progress, too. Suddenly: fun!

That's just me and my specific brain, though! Also sometimes things just suck and there's nothing you can do except clench your teeth and get through it, I recognize that.

But if you want to have success to be happy and that's your goal, then having fun while learning means you've already won.

[obscurecharactershowdown]

Group E Round 4

[image ID: the first image is of No Significant Harassment, a shadowy figure standing behind a sleeping pink-red, fox-like creature. their green hands seem to be holding up the floating creature. the second image is of Shrimp, a black creature with a blue and white collar. he has bright white eyes, 4 spindly legs, a long tail, and an oblong head. end ID]

No Significant Harassment

They're just a silly little guy. A jokester. Significant harassment if you will. Anyway, a more in depth run down: They're a city sized supercomputer built by a Buddhist adjacent society to figure out how to transcend the 'Great Cycle' (semi-metaphorical cycle of death and rebirth) in a safer way than the previous method (submerging oneself in the 'void sea' which is a mysterious golden liquid that dissolves whatever it touches). Despite being built for this express purpose NSH never really shows a pressing interest in ascension, even cracking jokes about those who are still looking for a solution. Whether this is due to indifference, dislike of, or humor to cope with being unable to ascend is not clear and really up to interpretation. Example: NSH: I wish them super good luck in that endeavor. How is it going to happen? Have the overseers gnaw through bedrock until their entire can crashes down in the void sea? BSM: Please be respectful when speaking of the Void Sea. Grey Wind, where did you hear this? CW: I really shouldn't say. He's going to attempt some sort of breeding program. Thought you might want to know. NSH: Haha with the slimers, lizards and etceteras? Surely the answer was in a lizard skull all along! He's very flippant, but does care very intensely for those close to him. NSH: Moon? It's me again. NSH: I do not know if you are receiving these. Please signal in any way you can. NSH: I need to talk to you. I need to know you're okay. NSH: … NSH: Its difficult for us to assist you over this distance. NSH: Even more difficult for us to do anything in the midst of these tantrums. NSH: Were going to try everything that we can. NSH: Just hold on a little longer. (Context for previous convo: They genetically engineered a super organism of a slugcat (the species you play as in Rain World) to help reset his coworker/sibling after her collapse and restart her systems. He was so desperate to fix her that he accidentally messed up the slugcat's (Hunter) genetic code and as a result it became riddle with the Rot (relatively similar to aggressive cancer) :( which parallels his other coworker/siblings condition who also has the rot. ) He canonically uses he/they pronouns too! Nonbinary swag! NSH has major internet troll vibes. He has sent a data pearl of "something distasteful" to his neighbors on several(?) occasions and causes chaos. If he had access to the wider internet he'd probably be an influencer So…yeah! Vote NSH this website likes the allure of heavy machinery and stuff like that so… there you go. Kind of a blorbo. End post.

Shrimp

Ok so Shrimp is public enemy #1 and I love him. He's the funny little guy you see on your loading screen during the game who you don't think much of until eventually you find an asylum on one of the floors of the Upturned Inn and oops! Shrimp is there! And you need to free him to progress, which Ik is alarmed by even though you can also just tell him you didn't see/free Shrimp. You can put a collar on this little guy to make him look snazzy, despite how little he's with you. On the floors where he's friendly he kind of just follows you around, so you get to have a little buddy for parts of the game! He's basically just your pet dog who may or may not be severely dangerous. And by may or may not I mean a definite yes he is, because he turns aggressive when he gets especially hungry. He can eat the food objects scattered around, though, so that's avoidable! He can also stay with you for nice little elevator rides, which does concern Ik, but it works out! until he starts trying to attack you but if you don't feed your dog then I don't care if it attacks you [additional propaganda 1] [additional propaganda 2] [additional propaganda 3]

[stitching-in-time]

Voyager rewatch s6 ep4: Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy

This episode was supposed to be funny, but all the humor depends on finding middle-aged straight dudebro attitudes hilarious, which I don't. I'm not a huge fan of the Doctor to begin with, and stuff like this doesn't help.

This episode retreads a lot of the same ground as the Next Generation episode 'Hollow Pursuits', except with less fun and charm. In that episode, it was a character we didn't really know, Barclay, recreating our familar characters on the holodeck as an intentional way to make his new co-workers less intimidating. He didn't know them all well in real life, and most of them were his superior officers, so it was basically some guy in a new job trying to cope with a scary new boss. It turned the audience's view of the regular characters on it's head with an outsider's perspective, and as a joke, it was punching up because this guy had no power over them. Meanwhile, the Doctor does know the senior staff of Voyager very well, and (supposedly) considers them friends, as well as having a good deal of power over them as their only doctor on the ship. So his fantasies about them, rather than being funny, just come off as gross. I would absolutely be hurt if I found out someone who was supposedly my friend thought of me the way the Doctor thinks of the Voyager crew, especially the women. Wanting to be smarter and braver and better than everyone is childish, but at least somewhat understandable, but wanting all of your female friends to be romantic/sexual rivals fighting over you and constantly trying to seduce you in the middle of staff meetings is just icky.

That the Doctor can work alongside all these people for all these years and still see all the women in his life as sex objects is unbelievably offensive dudebro bs. He's not even a real person, he's a freaking computer program, and yet he's still got all this misogyny? Do the dudebros in that writer's room really think of women that way? Do they think that's normal? I guess so!

It's especially egregious with B'Elanna, since he's so rude to her all the time, and he's only ever nice to her when he needs her to fix his program. Otherwise, he's condescending and sometimes downright racist to her, and clearly doesn't like her very much for whatever reason, yet he wants her to be madly in love with him? He wants her to just forget about the actual relationship she's in and fawn over him? Eww! He has no respect for her as a person at all, and that sucks. In fact, this whole episode's plot was precipitated by him once again not respecting her authority, since she told him not to mess around with his program without consulting her in a previous episode where he did just that, and ended up assaulting her and almost killing a guy. Yet here he is, disobeying her again, despite his promise not too, and nobody gives him as much as a slap on the wrist. Janeway absolutely should have backed B'Elanna up and reprimanded him for disobeying her orders again, since she's functionally his doctor, in addition to being chief engineer.

The captain finding the Doctor's puerile adolescent boy fantasies funny isn't very believeable either. I honestly can't imagine Picard or Sisko being put in a position like that and finding it cute. Aside from the fact that she's the captain, and literally the boss of everyone, I know I'd be hurt if I found out someone I'd been friends with for years really just wanted me to be a brainless bimbo panting after him. The little tag on the end of the one scene where he has a line about wanting to be the hero all the time so he can help the people he loves rings hollow, quite honestly. It's meant to be there to excuse his obnoxious behavior, but he doesn't have to put other people down to make himself more important, and he certainly doesn't have to objectify all the women in his life either. It doesn't seem like he loves or cares about any of them very much the way he's constantly insulting everyone, and obviously doesn't respect the authority of any of the women on that ship at all. His crush on Seven is actually the least gross of them all, since he's at least reasonably courteous toward her most of the time, but he's still paternalistic and condescending, and there was absolutely no need for a scene of him painting her in the nude to illustrate how much he objectifies her, since we already know that. (And gratuitous female nudity isn't progressive. This is Star Trek, it's supposed to do better.)

Even the song the Doctor sings in this ep is full of sexism- I forget what opera it's from, but the lyrics translate to something along the lines of "women are fickle and have foolish thoughts in their heads". At first I thought, ugh, do they not know what the lyrics to this song mean? Why would they give him that to sing, of all things? But as the episode progressed, the sexism became a major theme, so I guess maybe it was intentional. Big yikes! The only things that were actually funny in this ep were when the Doctor imagined the computer sassing him and telling him to get going and save the ship, and Tom's 'WTF??' reaction face at seeing the Doctor's gross little fantasies. (Tom truly represents us all in this one.)

The real problem here is that the writer of this episode thinks that men treating women this way is normal, but it's not, he's just sexist. And so is the Doctor. So I found it very hard to have any kind of sympathy or root for him during this episode. Moreover, I think the whole premise that the Doctor is somehow being treated worse than any other crew member is ridiculous man-baby whining. They all have a job to do, and since they're alone in the Delta Quadrant, those jobs are even more crucial. Nobody on that ship would be allowed to abandon their Starfleet jobs to go do opera or whatever whenever they want, no matter if they're a hologram or flesh and blood. Nobody on that ship is getting a promotion either, and Harry Kim saved their asses more times than the Doctor did. The Doctor whining about not being assigned to go on an away mission is more privileged man-baby nonsense- nobody gets to go on every away mission just because they want to. And regular Starfleet officers aren't allowed to whine about it or be snotty to the rest of the crew over it and get away with it, they suck it up like professional adults- except for the Doctor, because he's a special boy, so he gets to be rude and snippy without getting a reprimand from anyone. (And B'Elanna was actually trying to be nice to him about it, yet he was still rude to her.) I guess the Doctor really is closer to being a real white man than he thinks, since he's got the whole sense of entitlement to special treatment down cold.

I just can't find any sympathy in my heart for rude, whiny middle aged white men, whether they're holographic or otherwise. The Doctor's disrespect is not only not funny, but once again, put Voyager in actual danger. Just because he was able to avert it in the end, it doesn't mean that the initial bad behavior was okay. I'm pretty sick of the way the Doctor's constant rudeness and disrespect of everyone around him is presented as acceptable or even cute, and he never gets any meaningful consequences for any of it.

Tl;dr: An episode that failed at being funny because it bought into sexist assumptions that all men think of the women in their lives as sex objects, and that men are oppressed when they don't get special treatment. There was so much gross dudebro stuff here that I found it impossible to sympathize or care about the Doctor at all in this ep.

[sentient-rift]

"... Well... Someone's in need of cooking lessons..."

"I honestly doubt that would help..."

[alltimefail-sims]

Ciara Baptiste Submission for @oatberrytea's Ofelia🌻

The Basics: -> Human; She/Her -> Pansexual -> Currently lives in Britechester as she just graduated from university! -> Young Adult (irl around 26 y.o.)

Details below the cut! ↓

Ciara's traits are: Cheerful, Clumsy, Bookworm, Socially Awkward, and Genius (two of those are from the "self discovery" feature, but I can't remember which ones!)

-> Her current aspiration is: Eco Innovator! Additionally, she completed the Academic aspiration, gaining the "Higher Education" trait!

-> Education: Has two prestigious degrees with honors from Foxbury Institute (Communications and Computer Science).

-> Her likes include: Spring, pastel color palettes: especially the colors yellow, pink, blue, and purple. She likes romantic, pop, and soul music. She loves engaging in Silly behavior, giving (and receiving) compliments, discussing interests, physical intimacy, flirting, and a little bit of what she calls "harmless" gossiping (specifically about silly stuff like the royal family or pop culture in general). She gravitates toward idealist and funny sims, but more than anything her favorite kind of sims are family-motivated sims. It was really just her and her dad growing up, so she wants to have a family of her own and is looking for a partner who wants a big, beautiful, fun family, as well! Her hobbies include robotics, research and debate, handiness, programming, wellness, baking, and knitting. She also enjoys acting and singing, even though she does both of those things quite poorly (that doesn't stop her, lol).

-> Her dislikes include: The "color" grey - she would argue that grey is definitely not a color, and she sees waaaay too much of it in the math and science field. She likes most genres of music, but Metal music is an absolute no-go and she is kind of a scaredy-cat who prefers the "cute" side of Halloween, so spooky music is also out. She doesn't tend to run in the same spaces as high-energy sims: she was not gifted in the athletics department and hates fitness activities, skiing, rock climbing, and snowboarding. However, she dislikes egotistical and argumentative sims the most! As a cheerful, optimistic sim she doesn't like conversations focused on complaints, pranks, arguments, potty humor, or malicious interactions.

-> Some fun facts include: Ciara was a happy infant and toddler, an only child who grew up in the spice market area of San Myshuno and was raised by a loving, generous single dad who she's still extremely close to. Her dad worked in nonprofits and charity work, always encouraging her to advocate for others, give back to their community, and be compassionate. Her mom passed away when she was only a year old, but her dad has done a solid job at keeping her memory alive. Ciara is half Japanese (her mother's side) and half Trinidadian/Tobagonian (on her father's side).

As soon as she could hold a hammer and power up a computer, she put her natural ingenuity to the test time and time again. Even though her unquenchable curiosity did lead to some small apartment fires, a few broken appliances, and a beaker explosion from time to time, she ultimately completed the Creative Genius aspiration and gained the "Idea Person" trait. That being said, she has always had a strong sense of purpose, wanting to put that perfect combination of smarts and creativity to work: that's why she decided she would dedicate her life to inventing and ultimately helping better the environment when she was around 12 years old.

High School came with a plethora of social challenges for Ciara: even though she was (and still is) extremely bubbly and bafflingly smart, she sometimes had trouble relating to people her age and understanding social expectations. Some kids picked on her for being too nerdy or too involved in class, others found her too talkative and "annoying," assuming her curious nature and positive attitude must be "fake." (Honestly, she was just neuro-divergent and didn't know it yet! She, in my opinion, didn't get evaluated by a profession until she was out of highschool and would ultimately be diagnosed as a combo of autism - toward the "high functioning" end - and ADHD). She found herself hanging out in teacher's classrooms more than not, usually not invited to big parties and doing her best to avoid social events like Prom as much as possible. However, she did have a small group of good friends, fortunately... so it definitely wasn't all bad! (She even went to the same college and was roommates with one of them!) Because she poured most of her free time into extracurriculars and schoolwork, she graduated at the top of her class and was given the honor of valedictorian!

Although she grew up in the city, she's 100% not attached to city living! She would love living somewhere with fresh air and lots of sunshine, especially if that meant she would have extra space to tinker and brainstorm! Plus, as an environmental enthusiast and "Civil Designer," she cares about inventing and finding affordable, healthy, safe innovations that work for all kinds of communities: that's a job she can do from anywhere!

Ciara never backs down from a challenge, but potentially competing for love might be the scariest one she's faced yet. She has never had a serious relationship and has never actually been in love, even though she eagerly puts her heart on her sleeve and has come close before. Could Ofelia be her soulmate? Ciara has crunched the numbers, and the stats say there's a slim chance: a 20% chance of success and an 80% chance at heartbreak, to be exact...

but that's a risk she's just might be willing to take. ❤️

Private DL if chosen!

[rararazaquato]

Tell us more about le cartoon version of Raincode you have please.

Like of other characters appearing and more dynamics, including episodes.

oh BABY you're in for a treat!!!

i have a whole google doc planned out for this thing, despite me having no animation experience gjgkhkh... this is gonna be the Public Lore Dump Post btw, and spoilers for all of rain code will be under the cut.

so the concept for this whole thing came about while watching the animations of youtuber OkayScreamingNow. super cool animation btw, their "psycho teddy" animation moderately blew up but i'm a huge fan of their "everybody likes you" video.

between watching those, a ton of aimkid videos, wince media's meat bun song, and nicktendo's mighty b review, i started feeling really nostalgic for mid-late 2000s animation, the stuff i grew up on. growing up creepie, yin yang yo, kenny the shark, all these were shows i adored as a kid. so, combined with my current rain code fixation, this little au came to be!

the general conceit of this au is that "Master Detective Archives" is a 2008 animated children's program that lasted for 20 episodes and is majority lost media. only a couple episodes exist in the bowels of shitty piracy sites, and even then those sites keep getting taken down. the more screenshots and concept art i make, the more is "revealed" about the show.

one of the things that interests me the most about children's media is how people worked around the censors. a lot of people are familiar with the story of the ren and stimpy adult party cartoon. for those who aren't familiar, when john "god's mistake" kricfalusi created an adult oriented reboot of ren and stimpy, the show was dogshit. with the new ability to rely on the crutch of whatever grossout sexual humor it wanted, it became a massive stain on john k's career (he has had other horrific stains both before and after apc, but i need to stress, no one liked apc).

for a more positive example, i love pretty much all of jhonen vasquez's work, but i find the humor and even some of the horror of invader zim to be more interesting than the same stuff in jthm, because iz was working under far stricter standards and practices.

what i'm trying to get at is that i enjoy the challenge of seeing how i can take concepts and make them more kid-friendly while still keeping the intrigue and interest the concepts originally had. i worked at a summer camp in 2022, and the driving force behind this little project was "keeping rain code camp-appropriate, but also keeping it interesting".

this ethos will hopefully explain some of the Big Changes i made to the story and characters. i do want to stress that i do not think i am improving on the original work. i think rain code is a story that, inherently, works better as an m-rated, gritty, cyberpunk-y murder mystery. i've just always been uniquely fascinated by this particular genre shift.

so, first major change: nocturnal detective agency has turned into nocturnal detective academy. this is a place where young minds, particularly those with supernatural powers, go to hone their craft. or at least... it was. now it's run exclusively by three people: headmaster Zange Eraser, school nurse and therapist Melami Goldmine, and teacher (and everything else) Yakou Furio.

i grew up with a book series called school of fear, which was about a small group of kids with severe phobias being sent to help conquer their fears at a highly rated school. however, it was actually just a kooky old lady and her massive mansion, and while she helped the kids get over their fears, she did it in unorthodox and occasionally darkly humorous ways. i remember a scene in the books where she put the claustrophobe and the kid afraid of death in a coffin for a few hours, and while that is absolutely NOT how exposure therapy works, the idea of a school that's just a few adults running a lowkey scam out of their house has always tickled my funny bone.

so the nda is a school, teaching detective skills and the like. of course, because yakou is my beautiful failwife, he mostly just sends his students out into the city of Kanai Ward to do their own investigative work and report back with what they've learned... as long as they don't get in trouble with Hecksmile or his goons, at least!

yeah, the other big change is that the peacekeepers are more like team rocket than corrupt cops. while i agree that the police suck, and a lot of older cartoons seem to share that sentiment (even some newer ones like gravity falls), having all the villains be evil, corrupt cops seems like a recipe to get s&p on your ass. so now, the cops just don't do anything, and Hecksmile and his goons just wreak havoc whenever they feel like it.

(i've already explained the hecksmile bit in a previous post, but i dont think any of the other names would need changing. maybe if this was the 90s, desuhiko and fubuki would get their names changed to something more eurocentric, but this isn't the 90s and that stuff was cringe even back then.)

there are only seven students at the academy, and i've de-aged these characters to be more relatable to the target audience: our main character yuma, halara, desuhiko, fubuki, vivia, pucci, and aphex. i'll detail them a bit here, because yakou, zange, and melami can all stay pretty similar (actually, melami doesn't randomly feel up strangers to get their clothing measurements anymore, but that's a pretty minor change).

yuma is still our main character, acting as the straight man and audience surrogate. the whole "number one" twist isn't really a thing with how this whole plot is set up, so his awkward and generally "scrunkly" attitude from the game is his natural state here. though none of the ages of the characters are specified, he's often called out as the youngest detective, probably in his preteens or early teenagehood. his coalescence is used for a lot of teamwork-based solutions to problems, but he isn't that great at actual mystery-solving.

this is where shinigami comes in! in the first episode, after some hijinks, yuma accidentally summons a death god. fortunately, he summons a teenage death god. she can only appear in her cool human form in her summoner's dreams, she can't interact with anyone in the physical world except her summoner, and she doesn't even have her reaper's license yet! regardless, she likes having a friend, so she helps yuma see things from different perspectives. i figured death spirits wouldn't be off the table, exactly (i mean, look at billy and mandy), but i think there's a certain humor in a death god not being able to do any soul reaping. i like to think she talks about it like her driver's license. "ugh, i'm not allowed to reap any souls until i'm 16 thousand years old! i'm only 14 thousand!!!" because of her teenagerdom, her human form is going to be far less sexualized. also because i think her canon outfit is a little ugly.

halara doesn't change much from canon. very mysterious and intimidating. no one knows their gender because everyone's too afraid to ask (and to find out, you'd have to pay them about $100 in cash). they still love cats but have an allergy to them, they still don't trust people, etc.

desuhiko changes a lot from canon. he's less actively creepy and more of a wannabe romantic. he has a tendency to fall for grown women, although he has absolutely no chance with any of them. this is played for laughs.

fubuki is another character who doesn't change much from canon. obscenely rich and super out of touch with everything around her. has occasional bursts of intelligence for comedy.

vivia is still everyone's favorite emo sadboy, writing poetry in the fireplace. his passive suicidal ideation, though interesting to explore in media made for adults, is very dangerous to put in a children's show, so we're nixing that. instead, he's just real sleepy and goth. he's also the least interested in doing actual detective work, so when he and yuma are investigating together, it gives yuma a chance to take the lead.

pucci doesn't change much from canon, but admittedly, we don't know too much about her. she's sensitive to noise, very thoughtful and introspective, but very awkward around people being nice to her.

and aphex. what to say about aphex. i don't like aphex for a number of reasons (anyone who played with jpn audio can back me up on this one), but the idea of someone who is initially violent and cruel becoming your (still somewhat violent and cruel) ally is a fun character trope to me. my go-to example is buford from phineas and ferb, and i think that's the role aphex would play. initially a threat, but eventually becomes softer and more well-developed. well, if the show got more seasons.

and that's our main cast! i could talk about kurumi, makoto, and martina, as i have a lot of cool ideas for them, but i have been writing this for like an hour and i think i need to chill ahaha... ty for the ask!!!

[kandisheek]

FIC REC WEEK 13 – MISSION FIC

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: Shi_Toyu

Shi_Toyu's writing never fails to ratchet up the tension before it gives you that sweet, sweet relief of everything resolving itself. I love how they write action, especially with a focus on captivity, and their characterizations always feel really well-balanced.

Here's some of their work that I think you should check out:

Poisonous Presumption

Pairing: Steve/Bucky/Tony Rating: T Words: 5,349 Tags: Assassination Attempt, Hydra, Humor

Summary: This was the worst assignment Davies has ever been given. Sure, it sounded easy upfront – infiltrate the Avengers medical staff and use his access to find weaknesses and sabotage medical treatments – however, it was proving to be anything but. Davies did have medical training and experience, which was part of why Hydra had picked him for this assignment, but the task itself was… complicated. -- When Tony Stark winds up in Avengers medical, an undercover Hydra agent sees the opportunity of a lifetime. It should be easy to tip the balance and send Iron Man into the waiting jaws of death... so why won't he die?

Reasons why I love it: The Avengers foiling HYDRA without even realizing that they're doing it, it's great. The whole concept of this fic is so funny, and I was completely caught off guard by the plot twist at the end. It's good stuff! Definitely check this one out!

Off Duty

Pairing: Steve/Bucky/Tony Rating: T Words: 2,667 Tags: Strippers, Undercover Missions, Secret Identity

Summary: Steve and Bucky go undercover as strippers to catch a human trafficker, only to meet someone they never would have expected. -- Doing his best not to trip in spindly heels, Steve strode toward the pole in the middle of the stage. The worst part of having to parade around in nothing but a thong, he decided, was that he didn’t even get to keep the bills the clientele stuck inside.

Reasons why I love it: I will never not love the 'undercover-as-a-stripper' trope. This fic is so much fun, plus the action is really great. Also, there's some fantastic art by araydre and FancyDragonQueen in this fic that you don't want to miss! Give this one a shot, it's amazing!

Too Close (Not Nearly Enough)

Pairing: Bucky/Tony Rating: M Words: 10,051 Tags: Captivity, Brainwashing, Sharing Body Heat

Summary: Several months after the events of Civil War, Tony is attacked and captured by an old enemy with a new face. As if things weren't bad enough, he's not exactly thrilled to find out who his cellmate is, either.

Reasons why I love it: I love this fic so much. Tony and Bucky growing closer because they have a common enemy, only to end up actually liking each other is fantastic. I love how Bucky is protective of Tony from the very beginning, he's such a good guy. This fic is great, and I hope you check it out for yourself!

Hide Your Face, Hold My Heart

Pairing: Bucky/Tony Rating: M Words: 5,386 Tags: BAMF Bucky, Secret Identity, Torture

Summary: Bucky had learned early on that life had a way of going to shit on very short notice. As a kid, that had meant running around and goofing off with Stevie only for an asthma attack to come out of seemingly nowhere. During the war, it meant creeping through the wilderness or a town or a base only for bullets to start flying. One minute you could be fighting back to back with your best friend, the next you could be falling to the bottom of a snowy chasm. That was just life.

Reasons why I love it: Identity porn, yuss!! I love how much they're both trying to keep the other safe, and of course the reveal at the end is really satisfying. This fic is fantastic, and I hope you give it a shot!

Out of Intent

Pairing: Bucky/Tony Rating: T Words: 4,036 Tags: Kidnapping, Winter Soldier Bucky, Angst with a Happy Ending

Summary: "Do less out of habit and more out of intent." When the Avengers are captured by Hydra, Bucky must pretend that the Winter Soldier programing is still active. Unfortunately, that means bringing some of Tony's worst fears to life.

Reasons why I love it: Aww, the last line is so sweet. It makes up for how painful the rest is, oofff, it hurts so good. I love the whole premise, and the writing just makes it all feel so tense and awful in the best possible way. This fic is amazing, and I highly encourage you to read it!