#1. I got so many and this was the only dupe and

[glacialmaples-pkmn]

quick question for bandori people. is it better to use dupe 4*'s for skill leveling or burn for Michelle stickers?

also is it worth it to buy previous event 3*'s? either the cards that I really like for the art and/or to fill out my RAS and Morfonica teams? I'm still using 1*'s for both of them.

[clairedaring]

watching ep 1 of my stand in, my impression was that the series emphasized quite a lot on joe's bottom virginity...

gif of the wonderful @supanuts

... yet they forgot to include my two most favorite little tidbits regarding this is (1) joe explaining why he's always been top his entire life and (2) joe forewarning ming before they fuck that if his sex skills is mid, he better tell him first. so here are the two excerpts from chapter 10 and chapter 11 respectively.

1. joe explaining why he's been top all his life (this happens during their meal at the restaurant together)

Yan Ming Xiu looked at him. Zhou Xiang’s attraction and desire for him is so obvious that it can’t even be concealed. Actually, there is no reason to conceal it. Between men, it’s better to be direct. Each takes what one needs. Zhou Xiang leaned close to him and softly asked, “So, have you really forgotten me?” Yan Ming Xiu gripped his chin and gently touched his lips, “Maybe I’ve only just remembered you.” Zhou Xiang burst out in laughter, “It’s quite timely.” He bit YanMingXiu’s lips, gently tugging it, “But I’ve been thinking of you every day.” Yan Ming Xiu asked softly, “Think of me? Thinking of me topping you?” “Actually, of me topping you but if you’re not willing, I can only suffer this time.” “You’ve really never been a 0?” Zhou Xiang jokingly responded, “Nope. I wanted to be (a zero) when I was young, but people wouldn’t even look at me because they thought I looked too mature. When I got older, it was even more unlikely. There are more 0’s than 1’s in the circle…so many fresh meats waiting for me; you think I’d go looking for people to top me?” Yan Ming Xiu gently reached his hand into Zhou Xiang’s clothes and pinched his slender waist, then says coarsely, “So then, if you’re going to do it with me, it’ll be your first time (being a zero)?” Zhou Xiang laughed, “Exactly. Don’t you have to be responsible?” “Haven’t topped you yet, what’s there to be responsible for?”

2. joe forewarning ming before having sex

Zhou Xiang smiled at him, “Let’s agree on something first. I still have to work the day after tomorrow. If your skills are not up to par, you better say so ahead of time, don’t dupe me.” He’s heard of people having to go to the hospital from their first time (being a 0). He just wants to have sex. That’s all. He didn’t want to be embarrassed. Although his words sound quite conservative, Zhou Xiang’s eyes have already nakedly swept at Yan Ming Xiu’s abs. His muscles are too beautiful and his skin so exquisite that it’s reflective. Yan Ming Xiu looks very thin when he’s wearing clothes but that’s probably because he’s so tall. Zhou Xiang didn’t expect that once Yan Ming Xiu remove his clothes, his body would be so firm, paired with his long legs and his face, click-click (clicking his tongue sound), his mood right now is just like a straight male having sex with an exceptional beauty.

so yea these are my two favorite bits that didn't really make the cut even though they were definitely hinting at it already. the other is probably joe was invited to a threesome (to which he declined) before getting the call from ming for that meal.

but in general, i think the series is really fast paced as opposed to the novel and i can see them being able to go through most major plot points of the novel. incredibly excited for ep 2 as everyone could probably tell from my spamming of my stand-in gifs these past two days.

[andavs]

Beers of 9-1-1

Updating my post on the beers of 911 to include the rest of s6 and all of s7! A few more got added because either the show added more, some got used a couple more times, or I just finally managed to figure out the names that have been haunting me.

All of these beers are fictional prop brands, and many have been used in other movies and shows. They come from prop vendors, not the 911 prop department itself.

The show uses a lot of brands of beer! Different brands will peak and get used a lot in one or two seasons, and then they tend to get relegated to background extras, or occasionally a non-main character will drink one. It adds variety and a little realism, so not everyone is always drinking the same beer.

There's been many more beyond these, but they've either been used once, they're only in the background, or I can't read the labels—yet.

Alexander’s Famous Ale This beer was mostly used in season two. Chimney was drinking it in Chimney Begins and then Athena and Hen each had one while discussing the bank heist in Oceans 911—the only time they’ve had beer during their chats. Since then, it’s become a background beer that extras drink, but Ramon was drinking one during Eddie’s homecoming party, and Red was drinking one when he and Buck first met. There was a can of it on a table at the bachelor party in There Goes the Groom.

American Colonial A new beer with season seven that so far has only appeared in There Goes the Groom.

Blind Fox Ale This was the most used beer before Genuine took its place in season six, but as of 7.10 they're tied. It was used the most through seasons two and three. Buck has had it the most (six times), but Chimney, Hen, Eddie, Tommy, and Michael all drank it too. It hung out in the background a bit, and then came back when Eddie and Buck drank it at the bachelor party in There Goes the Groom.

Brenner’s Black Cat Brew This is a mostly background/set dressing beer. Buck, Chimney, and Maddie each had one while talking about the call center takeover in The Taking of Dispatch 911, but otherwise it mostly shows up in the background or in fridges (usually Buck’s).

Cerveza Extra This is a Corona Extra dupe that was mostly used in the third season. Chimney was drinking one in the party for Buck in Kids Today, and he drank several at the bar during Seize the Day. Buck was drinking one when Eddie dropped off Chris in The Searchers, he had one at Eddie’s party in Seize the Day, and then he served one to Connor in Peru in Buck Begins. There were also a couple around Eddie’s house in Seize the Day.

Curson Light This is a Coors Lite dupe that’s only popped up a few times. Buck and Eddie each have one in Fallout, when Buck’s apologizing for not being there during the lawsuit. Eddie has another one in Fools while he’s talking to Buck about Chris, while Buck has a Grand Ale. It was also used for extras in the bar scene in Seize the Day.

Genuine Genuine first popped up in Hen Begins; Hen drinks one while she’s out with Athena for the first time. After that, it didn’t show up again until Hen and Chimney’s reunion in Fear-a-Phobia, but in season 6, it became the most used beer of the whole show.

Eddie and Buck drink it the most (Let the Games Begin, Recovery, Mixed Feelings) but so do a lot of other characters and extras. The guy who blew up his neighbor in Crash & Learn was drinking one, Buck gave one to Connor in Recovery, and Chimney and Maddie had a bunch in their fridge in Lost & Found. A number of the extras around the poker game were drinking it, and they were sprinkled around the hotel room in There Goes the Groom.

Grand Ale Grand Ale was pretty much only used in the third season. Chimney drank it while he and Maddie discussed having kids in Kids Today and during the poker game with Josh in Fools. Buck also had one in Fools while he and Eddie were talking about Chris and the skateboard. Michael had one with dinner in Athena Begins. It got used in the background a couple times, and Rita/Jeanine was carrying one at the beginning of What’s Your Grievance? in season four, but as far as I can tell, it hasn’t come back.

Heisler Gold Ale Heisler didn’t appear in the show until There Goes the Groom at the bachelor party, and so far it hasn’t been used since.

This is such a well known prop beer that it has a cult following. You can get it on shirts. It’s been used in How I Met Your Mother and New Girl and probably hundreds of other shows and movies.

Isla Tropical This is mostly a background beer for set dressing, but Lucy was drinking one in Love is in the Air when Buck and Natalia ran into her at the bar. It showed up a few times in What’s Your Fantasy?, scattered around the college house where Darius lives.

Meichtry Lite & Draft We have yet to see anyone actually drinking these beers, but they are used for set dressing, specifically in Buck and Chimney’s fridges (Recovery, Starting Over), and at the frat house call in Animal Instincts. It’s also a pretty common prop beer that’s been in a lot of shows. (Note the Brenner’s Black Cat in Buck’s fridge on the left behind the ginger beer!)

Mendoza Lager This beer showed up mid-season five in Outside Looking In. Buck was drinking one at the bar, and he had another in Starting Over on his balcony with Maddie. Hen drank a couple on her first date with Karen in Tomorrow. It was also on the counter behind Ramon in Hero Complex.

Penn Pavel’s This beer has only been used twice. In Kid’s Today, Buck had a couple open on the counter when Eddie came to get him out of bed, and then Eddie was drinking one at Buck’s loft during Treasure Hunt.

Rio Negro So far, Eddie’s the only main character who drinks Rio Negro. He and Lena each had one at the junkyard fight in Rage, he had a couple at the bar in Seize the Day, and he had a couple at his parents’ house in Hero Complex. As far as I can tell, this is the only beer that’s this character-specific.

This beer comes up regularly with background extras, usually in bar scenes, and extras were drinking it during the party at Eddie’s house in Seize the Day. In Step Nine, Herman was holding one in the photo on his dashboard.

Samuel Jacksons This is a fairly new one and a Samuel Adams dupe. It first popped up in Boston, while Chimney and Eli were talking in Eli’s basement and there were a couple scattered around in the bagpipe rescue scene, and then it came back in season 7. Buck opened one before Tommy kissed him in Buck, Bothered, and Bewildered, and then he and Eddie were both drinking one when Buck came out to him in You Don't Know Me.

Tux’s Red Ribbon This beer is a Pabst Blue Ribbon dupe and has only been in two episodes. Chimney had one at the party he was hosting at the end of A Whole New You, and then it was the only beer anyone drank in In Another Life. Buck and Chimney each had one, and Buck, Daniel, and Phillip all had one together on Buck’s couch—which is notable as something being off because Phillip is usually drinking scotch. I don’t believe it’s ever been used as a background beer.

[see-arcane]

I figured I should interrupt everyone's dash for some notes on current real life things.

This is a hefty one, so I'm tucking everything below:

A little good news. As of this writing, I’ve sold 74 copies of The Vampyres, in eBook and paperback! That’s 74 more than I thought I would ever sell! Thank you to everyone who picked up a copy or asked your library to grab some. Especially when I know I haven’t been the most stellar self-marketer. I can’t remember the last time I opened the septic tank formerly known as Twitter, so it’s all been down to this little corner here and a skinny appearance in Goodreads. Which means I owe any attention this short and sinister tale has received to you all and plain old word-of-mouth.

That said, thank you x100000 to you and any new readers yet to take a look. (And doubly so for those of you who go out of their way to leave comments and reviews around for me to reread ad infinitum.)

For those not in the know, all the info on The Vampyres can be found here, and all my author odds and ends can be found on my website here.

On a less heartening note…

As I’d already expected, the market for career writers is…rough. Copywriting—and writing in general—is technically a big open field (full of caveat descriptions about having to work with/teach AI programs to eventually swallow your job)! Tons of open positions! Most of which either pay you in pocket change while you’re working full time or expect you to singlehandedly run the entire marketing of a business for slightly more pocket change. Everything else is bloated with contract and/or freelance work*.

*Read: Gig economy schlock trying to pass for an actual job position with payment being a coin toss. I’ve also seen one too many listings on the job boards that are volunteer positions. Plenty of exposure to rake in though, right? Ha. Ha ha.

I’ve still been applying like clockwork, same as the rest of my fellow creators trying to get by in a field that seems to actively punish trying to be a professional in said field, and still no bites further than an interview. I have years of experience and a degree, but everyone’s chasing the same crumbs, so. Yeah. I’ve got to start padding things out.

Reminder that I do have a (barely peddled) Ko-Fi. It’s there for art commissions and chucking a few spare bucks at. Which is an increasingly big ask these days, I know. You can’t scroll two posts down without hitting someone else’s Ko-Fi, Patreon, GoFundMe, Kickstarter, et cetera. We’re drowning in arting starvists here. And although I have been asked before whether I would consider going full Freelance Storywriter on top of selling art, I’m still a little hesitant on it. I do occasionally send out story submissions and have even gotten published a few times, but I get nauseous thinking about:

1) Putting up a paywall on the scribbles that assail me like a baseball bat wielded by an unmerciful Muse. 2) Putting up a ‘Stories for Sale!’ sign only to wind up disappointing prospective buyers because I didn’t do their blorbos justice even after researching X background for the piece. 3) Getting duped into being a nonconsenting ghostwriter and discovering someone else has published my work under their own name.

So, still a bit iffy on that. I’ll chew on it. But what else is left?

Before you click the button!

Stop!

NOT YET!

Before you click, please know that I am being serious about this as something to potentially make 1) something of good quality and 2) earn more money than it loses. Looking around at the merch-making/selling options, there are fees involved with making an account just about anywhere in the online store game, give or take the price tweaking needed for shipping and manufacturing blah blah blah.

With that in mind, please do not automatically hit ‘yes’ because you want to be nice. I appreciate it, but this isn’t the same thing as the Ko-Fi where there’s no real loss in just leaving it up and drawing something once every few months. This will take new designs, another subscription to pay for, more logistics to untangle for quality and pricing and all the rest of the mess. Only hit ‘yes’ if you, personally, genuinely, would like to purchase some nefarious See Arcane wares beyond a book or a digital drawing.

[wolfofcelestia]

I really hope this doesn’t bother you, but can you give some tips on choosing protocores and upgrading them? (If you don’t want to answer please don’t feel like you have to, some people get pissed when others ask about protocores for some reason). I’m a Zayne main who joined around late June so my knowledge on protocores are pretty weak; I just put random ones and hope they work. But since I’m advancing more on this game, I want to get serious about the combat. I know how to get them, but I never know which attribute to focus on with the protocores and I struggle to upgrade them and what to upgrade them with so I’m a complete noob at this.

??? I’m sorry if someone got mad at you for asking. This really isn’t a question to get mad about?? It’s totally fine, anon

I’m writing this as a Zayne main who isn’t a whale, so most of my limited 5* cards are not ranked up (with dupes) at all, and most of my stamina comes from free sources. But with the cores I focus on, I’ve gotten to stage 120 on open orbit, stage 140 on Zayne’s orbit, and I get around 25-32 stars in the senior hunter contest (depending on if they have a blue/red stage)

Other people have their own strategies but this is mine, so feel free to experiment with what works for you

First, I want to share a tip about farming for cores because this was implemented fairly recently and it really makes upgrading cores easier

When you're mass farm cores, you'll get a list and from here, you can mark them as trash for upgrade fodder (red circle) or you can lock them so you won't accidentally trash the good ones (blue circle)

When you mark them as trash, they will show up at the top of your list when you go to upgrade your cores, so this is really handy

As for which stat you should prioritize, this varies from person to person. But from my experiences with other games, I prioritize stable attack strength over crit, which can be unpredictable. Even when you build a crit team, it scales from your attack strength, so you'll still need a solid attack to build off of

Each core has a main stat that gets stronger with every upgrade level and four sub stats, one of which randomly upgrades every 3 levels

Since you're fighting against the clock, you'll want to only pay attention to what gives you more offensive power. That means, if I see a core that has a main stat of HP or Defense, it goes into the trash immediately. You don't want to waste your resources on these since you'll get HP and DEF as sub stats on cores that aren't completely offensive anyway

That being said, two types of cores have fixed main stats. The diamonds will always have an HP main stat and the spiky ball will always have an ATK main stat. You can't do anything about these, but you can still look for the offensive stats that you want

My priority list is as follows:

Attack + Attack Bonus

Crit Rate + Crit DMG

DMG Boost to Weakened

Situational offensive stats that change depending on your companion/enemy, like Expedited Energy and Oath Recovery, etc

Ideally, I'd want both ATK and ATK Bonus on the same core. The same could be said with Crit Rate and Crit DMG

While building up my base ATK, look for ATK on main and both ATK and ATK Bonus in their sub stats. If it also has a Crit stat, that's an extra bonus. It's a further bonus if it has DMG Boost to Weakened

Once I have a good base ATK, I look for cores that have either Crit Rate and Crit DMG as their main stats. Depending on how many Crit sub stats you already have, you might not need very many Crit cores

Example:

Right now, I'm running 2 Crit Rate cores and 1 Crit DMG core for my Zayne 140 team. The rest of the cores I'm using have ATK main stats (except for the diamond cores). I'm ALMOST able to kill the boss and the reason why I can't kill it is because my critical hits aren't occurring often enough To fix this, I'm planning on replacing one of my ATK cores with a Crit Rate core, so that I'm running 3 Crit Rate cores on this team So right now, all my stamina goes into farming for a core with a Crit Rate main stat, but I also want to make sure it has ATK stats so my base ATK won't take too much of a hit.

Once you know what your priorities are and what kind of stats you need, you need to figure out which ones to use as fodder

I'm not gonna lie, this is the worst part of cores unless you really like numbers

My method is basically just pick your best ones, equip them to your team, and go through all your cores one by one. It's easier when you go by category and colour (on this page below) so you can test how your stats change when you equip them

Once you've identified your strongest cores, make a mental note of its stats. So when you farm for more cores, you will know if the new ones are better or worse than the ones you already have, and you can mark them as trash or lock them to keep them

I like to save the ones that already have 3/4 of its sub stats so you can already see its potential. But if a core has a sub stat of like ATK 100 and still hasn't gotten all its sub stats, I'd upgrade it a few levels to see how it turns out. If it gets trash stats like HP and DEF, it immediately goes in the trash. If it gets better stats like ATK Bonus and Crit, then I got lucky and found a good core

These are examples of cores that I would give a chance to and upgrade them to level 6 or 9, depending on how much I want to gamble with these. If by level 9, they still have pretty crappy stats, I just trash them

These however, I would trash. The green core has an HP main stat and only has one offensive stat so I don't want to waste resources on that one

The red one has a fairly good ATK stat and would be good if you don't have anything better. But I know that I have red diamond cores with better ATK stats and better offensive stats, so this one doesn't cut it for the stage I'm at right now

Other than that, be sure to save your strongest ATK cores for your ATK cards so you can take advantage of its bonuses

That's all about cores I can think of off the top of my head. I'm sure other people have different priorities, but this is the basis of my strategy

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask!

[wormbraind]

based on @glassknee's post and @notevenalittle1294's addition, i present to you: the sims endbringer mod, pho style (but not really, this is a fictional sims forum)

♦ Topic: [Self-promo] Endbringer Mod In: Boards ► Modding FKNSHJ (Original Poster) Posted On Apr 20th 2012: Hi all. 🙂 I’m excited to share this mod I’ve been working on. It involves randomized Endbringer attacks. By default they’re fairly more common than they are in real life, happening maybe once every ten in-game years, but if you look at read_me.txt in the downloads I’ve enclosed information on how to alter the probability and how to trigger specific Endbringers as well as how to make them easier or harder to defeat. Besides that I also included CC and a few Easter eggs that won't affect your gameplay.

(Showing page 1 of 2)

►termina2 (2011 Sim Comp Finalist) Replied On Apr 20th 2012: whoa, so cool :D i dont play with my sims much so ill try activating some endbringer attacks and see how it goes. im pretty bad at coding tho... ^_^

►tritebuilds (2011 Build Comp Semi-Finalist) Replied On Apr 20th 2012: Hey what the fuck? Endbringers aren't a joke. You've clearly never seen the aftermath of an attack, this is making a mockery out of the trauma of Endbringer victims such as myself. Who even comes up with this stuff???

►hshater Replied On Apr 20th 2012: im getting my popcorn lmfao

►termina2 (2011 Sim Comp Finalist) Replied On Apr 20th 2012: trite let's keep this civil, please, don't swear...

►oldlostsea Replied On Apr 20th 2012: Wait, isn't this the guy who posted those *suggestive* images of Leviathan?

►hshater Replied On Apr 20th 2012: +oldlostland what?? on here?? where?? not in a weird way like i don't want to see them but proof?

►oldlostsea Replied On Apr 20th 2012: +hshater Ok weirdo. It was on some PHO dupe (it has better information but worse moderation) and I only remember because it was weird + the random letter username stuck with me. I'll DM you the link once I find it.

►hshater Replied On Apr 20th 2012: +oldlostsea yeah yeah take your time. FJSKJ you've got anything to say for yourself?

►oldlostsea Replied On Apr 20th 2012: +hshater I found his account on the site and I downloaded the mod. Definitely the same person. The art style resemblance is uncanny. Sending you the link RN.

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(Showing page 2 of 2)

►spaceg1rl (Suspended) Replied On Apr 20th 2012: why does the mod's art look like that? yeah he definitely wants to fuck them screenshot(64).png

►hole (Moderator) (2011 Simp Comp Winner) Replied On Apr 20th 2012: @spaceg1rl This is your fifth infraction this year. Suspended for two months.

►hshater Replied On Apr 20th 2012: +oldlostsea sorry i was walking my dog. and yeah that looks exactly the same as what spacegirl (rip) posted +hole i mean this as kindly as possible pleasedontgivemeawarning but with that username what grounds do you have to stand on

►hole (Moderator) (2011 Simp Comp Winner) Replied On Apr 20th 2012: @hshater It's a reference to Hole, the band, of which I made many Sims. You can see them in my Round 2 submission to last year's Sim Comp

►hshater Replied On Apr 20th 2012: yeah i'm sorry to break it to you but your tag says simp comp. congrats though!

►termina2 (2011 Sim Comp Finalist) Replied On Apr 20th 2012: i really love the atmosphere and the art and the cc... really surprised this was made by one person! good job!

►tritebuilds (2011 Build Comp Semi-Finalist) Replied On Apr 20th 2012: +termina2 You are literally contributing to the normalization of Endbringer attacks.

►termina2 (2011 Sim Comp Finalist) Replied On Apr 20th 2012: ?? im going to log off for a bit to work on a school project. really dont like how toxic you all are getting :( it's just a mod

►tritebuilds (2011 Build Comp Semi-Finalist) Replied On Apr 20th 2012: @cookiecrumbles @tenovertwosmallstones PLEASE remove this. It's extremely offensive and potentially f*tish content.

►cookiecrumbles (Moderator) Replied On Apr 20th 2012: I'm disabling replies while we discuss this. Please avoid harassing each other anywhere else in the meantime.

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[sunshine-overload]

[BSTS] Taiga Summer 2024 4* Card Story

HES SO CUTE AGHH JUST LOOK AT HIM ‼️‼️

(note: Kei organised for W to stay and perform at a fancy resort, team K will arrive at a later date)

chapter 1 -saki’s resort room-

taiga: Sup, um, I have a little favour I’d like to ask of you. Could you pull this gacha for me? A new card that I want just came out. Ah, but please don’t say “you came all the way to this resort just to play games?” I’ve already been told that enough by other people throughout my life.

saki: Fufu, understood. I can pull for you.

taiga: Thanks. So, this is the gacha page, could you press this button for me?

saki: This button? Alright… There!

taiga: …Aghh! We didn’t get it…! No, I can’t get discouraged, the battle has only just begun…! Please press the button one more time, Saki-san!

saki: O-ok…!

taiga: Ooooughh, a rainbow screen, that means we’ve already got an SSR! Will it be the rate up card!?

…No~!! It’s just a dupe…!! Gachas can tell how you’re feeling! So pull convinced that you’ll get the card this time!

saki: I-I see, so that’s how it works…? This time I’ll get it for sure!

-taiga steps closer-

taiga: Oh! Ouuuh! Oougghh~!? Hell yeah! You actually got it! This is the card that I wanted!!

saki: Yay! We did it!

-taiga steps closer again-

taiga: No seriously, getting it in only 30 pulls is amazing! You really are the goddess of— (blushes) Ah… S-sorry, I was standing a bit too close to you, wasn’t I?

saki: N-no, it’s fine.

taiga: This must be like… That thing they call ‘resort magic’. Even though I haven’t actually done anything that’s resort-y since arriving here.

saki: Since you don’t get to visit a resort everyday, is there anything you’d like to do while we’re here?

taiga: Something I’d like to do… Well, if I had to choose something, then, could we hang out?

saki: Of course! If that’s what you’d like.

taiga: …Ok. Oh but, it’s already dark out, it’s too late to go for a walk on the beach.

saki: Hmm, we could do something resort-y here in my room then.

taiga: …Ah, how about we order room service and drink out on the terrace table?

saki: Uwah, that sounds lovely!

-taiga calls room service-

taiga: Room service said they’d be here shortly. We just need to wait for a bit.

saki: Thanks for making the order for me, Taiga-san.

taiga: …Were you looking at the ocean? You’re not cold out here are you?

saki: Oh no, I’m fine. The breeze is just the right temperature, it’s nice and cool.

taiga: …They really are.

saki: Hm?

taiga: I thought this when you were pulling the gacha on my phone too, but your hands really are quite small.

saki: Are they…?

taiga: Here, hold your hand out flat next to mine. See? Look how much bigger mine is in comparison… Yours are so small and cu— Oh… The room service must be here.

-

chapter 2 -saki’s resort room-

taiga: Damn… Room service brought us one seriously glamorous spread, didn’t they? As to be expected of a fancy resort I suppose… Having a drink whilst looking out to the sea like this is surprisingly nice.

saki: Fufu, I know right? It’s really relaxing.

taiga: Relaxing… Yeah, when the mood is like this I feel like I could rest my shoulder on yours for a little while… Or something like that.

saki: Hm? Did you say something? I couldn’t hear you over the crashing waves, sorry.

taiga: (blushes) Oh! I just said that there’s so many stars in the sky, that’s all! Isn’t that one over there shining super bright?

saki: You’re right, I wonder what kind of star it is.

taiga: I have no idea, but it must be one of those ones they call a first magnitude star… Ah, look below it on the water, that thing that’s moving, I think it’s a ship? I wonder if the people on it are looking over here at the brightly lit resort as well.

saki: I think so… I’m sure it must be a beautiful view.

taiga: Yeah, it feels like I’m dreaming.

saki: I know right? I never imagined I’d get to stay at a place as fancy as this.

taiga: No, not that part. I meant that getting to spend the night alone together with you like this feels like a dream.

-cg

taiga: Have you not picked up on it yet? Having you pull that gacha for me was just an excuse. What I really wanted was to be able to spend the night with you. Just the two of us.

saki: Um, Taiga-san, have you had too much to drink…?

taiga: Maybe.

saki: You definitely have, you’re drunk. Here, let me get you a glass of water—

taiga: No. Don’t leave my side.

-taiga stops her-

saki: ….!?

taiga: Heh, you’re blushing.

saki: W-well yeah, because of you…

taiga: …Sorry. But you look really cute. Come closer, Saki-san.

-taiga hugs her close against him-

taiga: —You’re so soft.

saki: N-no I’m not…

taiga: Yep, you are. Ah, your hair smells nice too… Is that the resort’s shampoo? I used the same one… Let’s stay cuddled together like this for little longer, Saki-san.

—end

[thekatebridgerton]

So you guys know the trope where the hero turned into a villain because he wanted to resurrect his dead wife?. I just love the idea of the villain actually succeeding because then he'd have a lot to explain to said wife. And it got me thinking about this but in a Bridgerton context

So here's my fantasy Villain Au,:

Because I think the #1 male lead who would burn the world to bring back his dead wife would be Anthony, in a fantasy setting this guy was a Viscount with magic in his bloodline whose beloved Kate, died in a tragic carriage accident, before he could apologize for ignoring her during their first month of marriage. So yes, he 100% turns to the powers of darkness and goes full evil conqueror path to necromancy to bring his Kate back. Which is the start of his fantasy villain arc.

His brothers also start out as heroes, but Anthony, in true fantasy villain fashion goes after their most beloved ladies and kills them so Benedict and Colin 'can see things his way' and have a bigger incentive to help him achieve dominion over the darkest of magics and revive the dead. Colin was the easiest really, his idiot brother thought he could stop Anthony with some magic spell book and some foreign wizardy learned in his travels but all it took to drive Colin over the edge was dangling little Penelope Featherington Infront of him and cruely letting death take her away before Colin could confess his love to his dear Lady Whistledown. All Anthony had to do was give Penelope push and his would be sister in law misscast a deadly spell from her own spell book. And Colin was convinced that Anthony's way into the dark arts of bringing back the dead was the way to go.

Sophie was perhaps the easiest person in the world to dupe. A maid with a heart of gold, so easily convinced to help Anthony find his beloved Kate.. in the underworld. That she never understood why Benedict seemed to be going on so many quests trying to stop his brother. Really Anthony quite liked Sophie, she would rather die than accept Benedict's offer to be his mistress and adding to that the fact that his seemingly worst enemy happened to be his elder brother, tragically misunderstood for trying to use magic to revive his true love. (Give or take a few subjugated kingdoms and a lot of war over some sacred magical artifacts he absolutely needed) Made Sophie very keen on volunteering for a little trip into the underworld. And Benedict very keen on bringing her back.

Hyacinth and Gregory were children easily led by their only father figure, and their wise mother only needed a nice tower where she could remain imprisoned. because really Anthony never worried about his sisters, the death of John guatanteed that Francesca would be on his side from the start. Daphne loved her children too much to oppose him and Eloise who was the only one strong enough to stop him, was persuaded to join him with in the same blow that took out Colin (Penelope, dear Penelope, what a nice friend for his Kate to have in Anthony's new world order).

The fun begins when the villain succeeds and Viscountess Kate Bridgerton is resurrected, along with fellow friends Penelope and Sophie. Only to find the world in darkness and her once kind and responsible husband as it's new evil dictator.

Because Kate is still very surprised at the fact that Anthony conquered all the magic nations and plunged the world into the new dark age of magic, apparently all because loved her. Last time she saw him, he was running away from his feelings and leaving her alone in the marital bedchamber without so much as an explanation. But sure, her heroic, family first, by the letter husband loves her enough to plunge the world into a dark age, sounds fake but okay.

Then there's poor Penelope and Sophie who never even got to see a love declaration from Colin and Benedict. As far as Penelope was concerned Colin joining the evil brother he was trying to defeat just because she died didn't make much sense. Let alone becoming one of Anthony's main force of terror. Someone has got to explain, how exactly kissing Colin once and not accepting his horny marriage proposal in a carriage before she died...led to this

Sophie, well she's just mad that she was pulled from the fantasy world version of heaven. (Valhalla? Elysium?) All because Benedict couldn't accept that she didn't want to be his mistress, and would rather leave the whole Buisness of the masquerade behind. She was happy in the place where good souls go. How was she supposed to know her death made Benedict into the worst version of himself? He went from charming masquerade ball gentleman, to kinda rude hero, to... A bit Unhinged and obsessed with her, dark magic supporter. Sophie really has no idea how trusting the bad guy once and helping him get his wife, could have gone so terribly wrong for her.

This au has been in my mind for a while for the potential drama and hilarity. I don't think about high fantasy Bridgerton scenarios often. But when I do, you know they're fun. Tagging @sea-owl and @bellascarousel because I need your thoughts on this

[xxscarletxrosexx]

SpyxFamily x Ultrizon: Banquet Series -- Acrylic Stands (Part 1)

The limited edition Ultrizon collab was my first full-set purchase of the Spy x Family acrylic stands and acrylic keychains. I recall that I had paid 20 acrylic stands, 20 acrylic keychains, and 2 washi tape. The only thing I did not purchase were the buttons simply because I don't collect buttons. Also, the price quickly became expensive because of TWO international shipping (China > Thailand > US). The proxy seller I had purchased from ordered on my behalf.

If you'd like to try finding them yourself, I've provided some info below:

Title: Spy x Family x Ultrizon - Banquet Series Series/Model: Banquet Series Release Date: April 29, 2024 - May 7, 2024 (?) Company: Ultrizon Origin: China Price: $11.50 Shop: Chibishiba Shop

My understanding is that all collab merch should be treated as limited edition merch. However, what made the Ultrizon collab rare is that these acrylic stands must be pre-ordered at the time of the event, which took place between April 29, 2024 - May 7, 2024 (or maybe May 7 was the second round of orders? I can't remember). To my knowledge, two of my moots and I were the only ones who ordered them in our discord group at the time. To increase our chances of getting a full set, each of us purchased a few more acrylic stands. That way, if any of us got duplicates, we'd be able to provide what the other was missing. I, on the other hand, was paranoid as fuck that I was not taking any chances, so I bought 2 full sets (18 acrylic stands) and 2 more just to round up.

Hear me out: the seller didn't mention that there was an option for purchasing a complete set. I was only asked how many acrylic stands I wanted to buy (so obviously, I did the same with the acrylic keychains). And because this was also my first time purchasing a gacha (random) product, I was under the impression that it was really gonna come down to luck; so that added more fuel to my anxiety. that there was a possibility that I'll end up with multiple dupes rather than getting a complete set or two.

Fortunately, all three of us got the complete set. I also ended up getting 2 complete sets and 2 extra dupes of different characters. We were all so happy about this. This had to be the most stressful proxy purchase I've ever had so far.

Reflecting on this experience, I realize my decisions were actually quite wholesome despite being such a financially stupid decision--I admit that I did lose a lot of money for it (because I forgot to factor in shipping fees when selling it off to them at the time), but it made me feel happy that I had unawaringly provided a second chance for our moots to get them and deepened our bond and rapport. That being said, unfortunately, I had quickly sold out in a matter of days.

Loid Forger (Ver. 1)

Loid Forger (Ver. 2) -- Mercari

Yor Forger (Ver. 1) -- Mercari

Yor Forger (Ver. 2)

TwiYor

Anya Forger and Bond Forger (Ver. 1)

Anya Forger and Bond Forger (Ver. 2)

Yuri Briar -- Mercari

Damian Desmond -- Mercari

Franky Franklin

My favorite chaotic clown energies (also Loid but not pictured with them):

As of today, the Ultrizon acrylic stands are incredibly difficult to find. A moot of mine reported that she could not find them on Amiami or Buyee. One did pop up on j.mercari some time ago, but the price speaks for itself:

I went to look for the above image via Google image, but the link to the site is gone. Therefore, it can be concluded that these acrylic stands have been taken down due to being purchased.

Fortunately, there is a seller I know who is selling her dupes. I have provided links to her Mercari shop for those who are interested in getting them. Personally, I would not put these stands off simply because they are rare finds for collecting--and unfortunately, I am aware that once this post goes live and circulates on social media, it'll become a first come, first serve basis. Second, the price is the best deal. It's ideally the price the seller had paid after adding sales tax and the double shipping fees. But in the US market, I can tell you that this acrylic stand is probably worth $25 - $30 (without tax included). Scalpers will most likely take advantage of this and blow it up to $100+ because of their rarity as evidenced by the screenshot above.

In conclusion, I hope this post has been informative about the Ultrizon collab experience (at least from my pov, lol). Look out for part 2 with the acrylic keychains. I'll update this post once I've finished it and linked it here. You can also find it on the master post.

Best of luck to fellow SxF acrylic stand collectors! I hope you can get your hands on this rare limited edition merch! ^^

Edit:

Loid just sold! (It definitely wasn't my influence.. okay, yes it was. My moot saw it and I remembered she loves Loid, and now she took him xD)

---

XxScarletxRosexX's watermarked photos are protected by Pixsy. Please kindly credit the owner, XxScarletxRosexX, for these photos AND provide the source (this post's link) when sharing the image.

[shiplessoceans]

It's a Friday night at 11:54pm so naturally I have begun to obsessively dissect the "I Was Wrong" dance from Good Omens.

I think I was so distracted by how funny and cute it was that I didn't realise how much of a LORE DROP this little apology ritual is for Aziraphale and Crowley.

First of all, Crowley is under the belief that Aziraphale doesn't dance. He tells him as much when Aziraphale asks him to dance at the Jane Austen inspired ball.

Aziraphale: Well perhaps you could tell me, while we dance?

Crowley: You don't dance...

And it makes sense that he believes this because as the narration of God explains in Season 1:

How many Angels can dance on the head of a pin? ...Firstly, angels don't dance. It's one of the distinguishing characteristics that marks an angel. So...none. At least, nearly none. Aziraphale had learned a dance called The Gavotte in a discreet gentleman's club in Portland Place in the late 1880's. After a while he had become fairly good at it and was quite put out when some decades later, The Gavotte went out of style for good. So, providing the dance was a Gavotte, the answer was a straightforward 'one'.

Crowley thinks angels don't dance and Aziraphale is an angel.

And yet!

He has made Aziraphale do a little apology dance on at least 3 other occassions we know of. And he thinks this is the only kind of dance Aziraphale ever does or has ever done.

Aziraphale: I did the 'I was wrong' dance in 1650, 1793, 1941...

The dates here cannot be an accident. Because we have seen flashbacks that take place on two of those dates:

1793 - Paris and the reign of Terror. Crowley saved Aziraphale after he got himself locked up in the Bastille while trying to find some crepes.

1941 - The Blitz and the Nazi spies turned Zombies. Crowley saved Aziraphale from being killed and embarassed and later from being discorporated by a magic trick and a miracle blocker.

We don't know why Aziraphale had to do the apology dance in 1793, but it might have been him admitting he was wrong to go to France during a revolution. We also don't know why he had to do it again in 1941 but it could be many things. Maybe getting duped by Nazi spies or thinking he could pull off the bullet catch.

In both situations, Aziraphale got himself in a dangerous situation and Crowley had to save him.

The only dance we have no context for is the first one that took place chronologically in 1650.

And I think its possible we might get to see it in Season 3.

I would even speculate it could be shown as a reminder that the dance exists or to foreshadow Aziraphale having to do one in the future.

If we follow the same pattern, Aziraphale will once again get himself into a bad situation that Crowley has to save him from.

Heaven, the second coming...yeah that seems like a big bad situation.

I can just imagine after it's all over, they're safe but things between them are tense and Aziraphale approaches Crowley to beg him for forgiveness.

Crowley is a blank. Then he lets out a breath and, sounding defeated, says:

"I... Angel I can't. I can't possibly forgive you..."

Aziraphale looks crushed. He knows he deserves it. But it hurts because he still hoped after all this time that the demon might still feel...

"...without the little dance."

[myrmica]

[#was this base they built just never used after this] great news there is at least literally Once more 😆,29/11 "A New Empire" v=7HIQ6Lg9r1I summary: mostly just mapicc wrangling villagers at the other snowy mountain base "I'm still gonna be evil but people can live in my country if they'd like" ... Mapicc did. make a shrine. of Zam's 2 dropped items like they were talking about. "to our fallen comrade" chat asks if he was *banned*, which, legit! why are you phrasing it like this!

anon ask continued:

"guys I miss Prince Zam this is usually what Zam would be doing and I would just be like making jokes but now I have to actually contribute" 😂 // 33:28-34:15 the problems with playing on 20 hearts (✨i love counter-intuitive ~dynamics) // 47:40-48:16 "I miss Zam. [...] I don't think he does [miss us back]" // 1:02:28-38 Mapicc, having decided to go to spawn to see Zam "I'm not afraid of Zam. I'm afraid of the encounter ... Not afraid of Zam. Not in the slightest." ok (Zam is not visible at spawn. Dirt blocks that haven't grown grass yet are at spawn.) (goes to End, disapproves of the Space Adventure set dressing (netherrack and cobblestone)) // 1:13:27 mapicc being The Evil One is good marketing for his videos (@ brain see you should take the unconvincingness as deliberate) [the genuine belief that zam was being honest about his motives there deteriorated over time] this is why i gave in to Clipblog Urge instead of trying for only summarising to be more space-efficient, see 1:15:05->16:41, which hits: -- I wish we didn't do this [Zamfight] -- If he had restocked he would have been fine. I really don't think it was impossible for him to win, he had duped items—so much more than us. [chat: isn't restocking banned?] The guy was duping, like I don't expect him to - follow the rules -- I don't think we needed to fight. I think it was Ro's fault, I think Ro left him out way too much—that entire time he was being so dumb he was like yeah dude it's a Duality Duo I was supposed to convince Mapicc and that's my fault. Like, Zam is a part of the team too bro, you're being dumb. like... hm. sure, "Zam felt ~left out of Team Awesome" was part of it—though boy Mapicc sure was saying literally yesterday that Spoke made Zam feel left out, which I am reading as a) when talking to Other Lifestealers and not Team or chat he's not going to badmouth Roshambo but Spoke doesn't expect/need that; b) whatever name he puts in that slot - never Mapicc —but, man, is that his understanding of Zam's attitude to ~the rules? (when i listened i thought it absolutely was and now staring at the bare words i'm not sure. lol.) because. if you thought zam's entire or supermajority problem was not being valued/listened to/part of decisions, and not very much the exploits themselves... well. you might think that [not listening to zam about] the duping hurt zam, and also that he might have got rid of them the same way that roshambo 'got rid of them'. ...or you might have eclipse federation problems. ✨narrative coherence. (sorry for the ask spam, trying to send it all in one broke... so many times. 😅)

(no problem! i've consolidated them all for convenience anyway, as you can see :D)

WHAT AN INTERESTING ONE. i think mapicc makes a lot of sense here in relation to his later actions, and it's notable because this happens explicitly before the idea to get back at zam the way he ultimately will has fully occurred to him: “Spoke knows where Zam’s base is. I could pay him a visit. You know how eerie that would be? What if i did that.”

and in the meantime, before he does decide to pay that visit, he's poking around at other story ideas so to speak. like, "what if i built all this stuff and recruited a bunch of people?" which obviously goes nowhere. but it's crazy that, okay, zam betrays team awesome leaving just mapicc and ro, two players. supposedly (in zam's mind at least) doing this fixes an imbalance in the way things were before, where he was left out, where it was always Mapicc and Ro before it was him. but mapicc opens his very second stream after that betrayal with: "Team awesome is no longer a strictly two player team. Out here is going to be the biggest community of lifesteal members ever."

(side note, you're right: mapicc standing in front of a sign that reads "to our fallen comrade," answering the question "is zam banned???" with "WHAT? NO. WHERE DID YOU GET THAT FROM?" is killing me.)

like, everything in these two mapicc streams before the shoe drops point to a different kind of narrative than the one we wind up with, but hints are still there. it's sort of a perfect storm; showing up at zam's base would be interesting, and mapicc plays into being the evil one because it's entertaining and memorable, and then zam reacts Like That, which is definitely entertaining and memorable. it all builds on itself. you have mapicc alone out here bemoaning the fact that zam isn't there to do the things he's used to zam doing in his life, honoring him by hanging those items up, privately blaming ro for his not being there anymore, realizing that he knows how to get zam's base coords...

the thing about him blaming ro in private but not to other people's faces is a really good point; take the scene much later where he convinces zam to settle their conflict on mapicc-terms for example, he's rhetorically treating him and ro as a unit because that's what will get the result he wants. so he goes from buying into zam's argument about the duped items being wrong when it's useful to get ro to do what he wants, and then drops it again when he's alone with chat. i think it's like, regardless of what he does or doesn't understand about zam's driving values here, it's more beneficial to mapicc to assume that zam still has duped items/doesn't actually care; it places him in a more versatile position, it can justify his actions when he needs them justified ("he had a chance, more than you guys think." and here it seems relevant that being alone with chat is different from really being alone with himself, which then raises the question of whether a 'character' on ls can exist in the same way without the camera? i think the camera is part of the process through which the character happens in some cases. schrodinger's mapicc. that's besides the point.)

it's really funny the degree to which zam will constantly say he's wrong for things he doesn't actually think he's wrong for in s4, while mapicc will never admit he's wrong for anything even if privately he knows he might be.

[rigaudon]

This was just gonna be another comparison but then I pulled out my binder and ended up with an illustrated essay.

So while the new cards are PRETTIER, at the same time, the quality on the new cards can't compare to the old ones. Ceruledge is super shiny, but the cardstock is VISIBLY thinner than Gengar's (and the fancy pants full art foils are even thinner), and the ink is so much DENSER on the old cards. The difference in ink saturation is most obvious when you compare the cardbacks

The old card is on the right in the first picture. Basic bitch 1999 nonfoil Dragonair feels 20× nicer to hold than 2023 glitterbomb hyperfoil. 💀💀💀

Anyway, thanks for coming to my TED talk, but while I have you here... let me give you a glimpse into the mind of me as a child. You might be wondering why the edges of all my old cards are so fucked up, it's because 1: they've been crammed in here for 24 years (holy shit, I'm old).

Which shouldn't be a big deal except for 2: As a Real Pokemon Trainer, my binder is in pokedex order and every variant I have of the same pokemon lives IN THE SAME SLEEVE TOGETHER (top card dictated by how shiny and/or how much 10-year-old-me liked the art), none of that side by side entire sheet of 9 squirtles bullshit. I stacked the squirtles.

(Yes, you are correct in the assumption that this means I was, 3: constantly taking them out of the sleeves and keeping 10+ cards in the same card holder, especially if I had a lot of cards of the pokemon on both sides of the page. I had to replace the sheets in the whole binder at least 2-3 times because I'd stick so many cards in them that the sides would rip and drop $500 in cardboard all over the pavement). I mostly fixed that when I stopped keeping dupes of the same art in there too.

But Raie, you say. Surely, this doesn't include foils and rare cards, right? Great question! Glad you asked!!

Say hello to single-sleeve Vileplume family!

Will I continue this tradition as an adult that should know better? Yes, absolutely.

What number am i on? 4? A few of them most definitely went through the washing machine at some point. Idk when i got a new one, but I got my original Pidgeot from a friend who'd left it in the pocket of her jeans and 80% of the card was fuzzy.

(Please don't ask why this mangled common Pikachu is the one I decided to display on top. Adult me doesn't know. Maybe mangled, stained, washing machine Pikachu was my first Pikachu and thus had sentimental value over literally any of the 30 other copies I had of that same Pikachu.) Now that I think about it I probably just put the FIRST copy i got in the binder for emotional attachment reasons, idk.

Speaking of sentimental value: I keep my ticket stub from the first pokemon movie between my Mews.

And i was going to end on that note until I saw this INSANE THING LOOK AT THIS. THIS. FISH. THIS FLAT, COMMON, BASIC FISH POKEMON IS OBJECTIVELY BETTER THAN FUCKING CHARIZARD.

Something something 20 year old card game something something power creep

I CAN ONLY INCLUDE TEN PICTURES ON THE APP SO GIVE ME A MINUTE BUT I HAVE TO PREFACE THIS NEXT REVELATION WITH: MEWTWO HAS 60 HP

[quartergremlin]

avatar live action first impressions:

i like the sets!

i dont really like the cgi bemdimg, but it's not egregiously bad either. I don't like the pacing of the starting fight, and the earthvemdimg is missing that good ome-two pumch, but it's something that if it hadn't already been pointed out to me, I probably wouldn't have noticed.

i also like the idea of small-scale resistance of the earth kingdom (besides jet, jet was framed as an outlier). I appreciate that out of everyone who lost their homes and their families and their livelihoods, there were more options in the earth kingdom than 1: moving somewhere else and hope it doesn't happen again or 2: ve rich and stick your head in the same. oh this is im the past nevermind-

that is some pretty impressive costuming! however. that fake beard. jesus.

i do like the "avatar stairs" that seems like. the shittiest place to spend eternity. Hope you didn't ignore leg day when you were alive. Are they allowed to sit down?

i dont know if I like the fact that aang is the only one flying around or not. probably a sound decision. that many fake flying people in the background.... yeah this is for the better.

i also like how the war is framed in the past outside of aang's perspective. As a kid, it would have seemed like,, the war just happened one day. "The fire nation attacked".

HES TWELVE!!! HES SO TIMY!!!! 😭

aamg just. taking some time instead of intentionally running away is. a choice. that will have some repercussions for his character. but I trust we all understand that without me writing a dissertation about it.

that guy: im a monk, but... 💨💨💥

that said I was prepared for monk gyatso to suck all of the air out of the room in a desperate final stand, but whatever. it's fine. that was fan speculation anyway. makes sense they didn't think that hard about it and just did a regular fight.

zuko keeping tiny avatar statues! i do love and understand that.

so if I'm getting this right:

aang never ran away. so any guilt related to him doing so ever. is just. fake! yes that guilt would still be there, but without like. an actual purposeful action that aang took, the answer is always going to be that he "didn't mean to". He was going to be the avatar (he was going back), but he got caught up in the storm. It was an accident. Where is the arc?

sokka has no misogyny arc, so he's p much right about everything ever. Still doesn't care about bending, but he's being reasonable about the responsibility that they have to their home. He's going to keep doing that for the entire series herding these kids like cats. is the plan to just. have him respect Katara's bending and that's it? Where is the arc?

Katara. since sokka is like. a reasonable guy and not just telling katara to go do some "women's work" what little anger she has is less justified. it feels like she's been de-fanged in response. my least favorite thing in a female character. Sokka shouts her down and she's just. fine with that. upset about it, yeah. but where's the anger, the passion? she was trying to get the boat and duped it up. The problem here is her lack of experience. not lack of control. Where is the arc?

Takeaway: i'll give it a three. I've watched worse things. But the misunderstanding of characters pisses me off and im not sure if I want to stick around to see if they get it together. if I stop, it will probably be because I got bored. Mismanaged pacing is the real killer if it's not ugly as sin.

[hypnolordx]

Well it finally happened, one of those little jerks finally made it to Rainn's head, so they've won then...right? Eh, not quite... I sorta set Rainn and the "Goth vs. Aliens" series up with a few rules as I went along: 1. Rainn should never actually fall victim to mind control/the aliens, 2. The aliens will always fail one way or another, if they ever succeed, the series is over, 3. I'd continue making "Goth vs. Aliens" until I felt like the joke had run its course, and 4. If Rainn should ever actually be duped/caught by the aliens, the series is over. Well, after a couple years and fifteen different entries, I've decided it was time to bring this series to a close. After all, there's only so many times you can tell the same joke before it starts getting stale. Best to go out on a high note! As for the ending itself, I thought that up a while ago. I kinda knew deep down it had to be the aliens finally sticking one of their own onto her...only for it to mutate and eat the other parasites instead. Ultimately, it was a simple trick that finally got Rainn...only for the aliens to still lose! Now the question is, since Rainn being "magic" is left ambiguous, did the alien mutate because Rainn really is supernatural, or were her thoughts just so dark that the lil' guy couldn't handle it and mutated to compensate? Eh, that's up to you to decide! Happy Halloween, and as always, enjoy!

[ac-liveblogs]

Hello! I recall you comparing genshin quite often to fgo (in how badly genshin does everything in comparison lmao) so now I'm kinda curious - how does fgo balance the gacha banners with the story? I've always kinda imagined that if it were me in charge of genshin, I'd plan the banners like...a year in advance, so I could match relevant characters with relevant stories...is it something like that? (my experience w these kinda games is very limited haha)

Hey! Genshin and FGO are interesting bc they're both... m, player-friendly in very different ways? (thinking about genshin's shops where the currency comes from rolling/paid costumes vs FGO where the only things that cost money are the banners/free costumes)

Banners are an interesting question, though.

FGO is like you say - new character banners and reruns are synced up to story chapters and events where those characters are relevant. Unlike Genshin, which has a max of 4 banners at once (2 limited, 1 weapon, 1 standard), FGO has 2 permanent banners (1 standard, 1 that takes free in-game currency exclusively) and will then just have as few or as many banners as it feels are necessary for the current event.

So, while Genshin probably didn't put Scara in this year's summer event bc he'll show up in the Dragonspine event we'll probably get soon - I wouldn't be surprised if it'd been FGO, they just reran him both times, though there would probably also be new characters debuting on both or either Summer and Dragonspine alongside him (so it wouldn't be a loss if not many rolled, ha).

During events, there may be 1 or 2 limited banners with brand new characters that will last for the entire event, though the second will start a few days after the first. They'll also rerun characters that were either a) relevant to the event or b) relevant to that kind of event - e.g., during Halloween, you'll also get reruns of past Halloween banners, even if those characters don't show up in a major capacity... but those rerun banners are far shorter and might last a few days, or even just 24 hours.

During events like New Years, Valentines, Anniversaries or milestones, there are a lot of "1 day limited banner reruns" that you won't get notified about until the start of the event, or just before. You'll generally know when Servants are likely to drop if they're associated with seasonal events, or the rare event that shows up every year like GudaGuda, but beyond that..... shrug! If the character isn't relevant and isn't showing up for Anni, then... their future is mysterious and nebulous, no matter how popular they are!

(RIP to Arjuna Alter fans, he didn't get a rerun for......... a long time. a long, long time. such a good unit. so popular. no rerun for... ages...)

In this way, Genshin is far more stable and predictable than FGO - you can generally guess when a character is likely to reappear, and you've got longer to try and scrounge up currency to get them. It is less 'spontaneous' though, and I guess a bit less fun, and you get stuck with the same banners for ages without much change. So, Genshin is kinder in this way. (Genshin's pity is also far more generous, though I've oddly always had more luck in FGO even when they didn't have a pity system at all)

On the flipside, FGO doesn't have "weapons banners". FGO's 'weapons', closer to HSR's light cones, are just generically part of all banners. Additionally, FGO's character performance doesn't massively change when you get copies - to the point that most of the time it really isn't worth it at all, so you're less incentivised to roll for dupes. It's easier to get 'weapons'/craft essences for free in FGO, so... just roll the character once and you're good, I guess?

It's kind of a mixed bag, and for predatory gambling systems that want your money, both have their own unique ups and downs LMAO. I'd take FGO's writing any day, however.

[gynandromorph]

Hi, more Jessie questions (apologies if you got these before, I didn't scroll down to the initial post);

In the sushi comic Emily says Jessie could just go with 'that sushi' and get the sushi she wants, and I'm gonna assume that's true. But does that mean the power is relative, or is it based around Jessie? Let's say Jessie goes to a hardware store, and forgets what specific type of screws she needed to get. If she were to go 'those screws' will the power know what she is referring to, or will the power default to what it thinks she wants? If Jessie plum forgot about the screws and then remembered them in the parking lot, could she go 'get those screws' and have them appear in her bag, or would she have to go back into the hardware store for the power to understand the command? Or would Jessie have the clearance of mind to go 'make me remember what screws to get' and avoid this entire hypothetical?

And;

What happens if someone prays to Jessie? Abrahamic* prayer is really weird, because nobody tells you that a prayer is not a wish. From my own experience (Anglican, non-conformist and high church) people love talking about the impossible power of the thing above you, but not in a way that helps you think about communication with it. I've gotten a lot more out of prayer since following the Gods, because the Gods are, imo, humanities stewards, but both of us are controlled by the fates. Even if the prayer is honoured, fate can invalidate the reason for the prayer, and neither me nor the Gods can do anything about it. But the God is a sustainer, the reason why humanity is, so people treat it like a wish giver. If life goes well for you, than the God answered your wishes, and you pass that along as what prayer is. If the God does not answer your wishes, you did not pray hard enough. Accepting that the old god is not 1:1 the God, I assume prayer works in a similar way to our world. So how does this effect Jessie? Can she hear prayers? If she can, can she turn off the prayers or respond to them? Obviously Jessie is a bastard dirt creature, I love her for it, so can she just chose to fuck with someone by responding to their prayers 'wrong'?

And;

I love how you draw pogs so much. The sushi comic really made me think about it because holy shit, Jessie pog, but it's just something you're really good at drawing! There's a dupe picture from a while back of dupe and I think gray (?) Pogging at each other, and that dupe pog has become my default pog when I think of a pog. Just true Platonic ideal of a pog

Thrilling questions going on here. If I knew more about demonstratives, this would likely be easier to explain, but, if the audience gets it, the power "gets" it - for the most part. In the screw example, if Jessie had mentioned getting screws at the store, retrieving "those screws" after forgetting them would work, because the audience would understand what screws she is talking about. If she tried to refer to "those screws" to remember the screws, or learn what screws she needed, this wouldn't work, because she's trying to reference knowledge she and the story don't have. Similarly, she could invoke retrieving "those screws" for as long as it would register to a competent member of the audience. She could even get the right screws by looking at what she needs the screws for and then invoking "those screws." Another example is "that guy" -- Jessie usually specifies what "guy" she is referring to with a small identifying descriptor, because it won't work in a crowd. She could be referring to many guys. However, with only one other guy around, she could just say "that guy." On top of that, "a guy" can work. "A jogger" can work if there is only one person jogging in the vicinity, etc.

Second question: Jewish prayer actually does structure itself in a way that is like making a request to a king -- it would be rude to walk in and ask for a favor first, so it is sandwiched in between prayers that are only praise. I don't know about other forms of worship, but it is sometimes accounted for in a faith. I never like seeing Judaism lumped in with more general terms if it isn't accurate, so I have to nitpick. It's great that you brought up fate. Fate is

an important concept

in Idletry

which it goes great lengths to explore indirectly.

It is one of the core thematic concepts of the story, and consequently, I need to dance around it to avoid some of the biggest spoilers in Idletry. The way fate is described here, I would simply consider it another God which controls all else except, perhaps, itself. The story takes it a different direction, where I'd say that fate is uncontrollable, but also entirely controlled by the individual. As far as we know, Jessie isn't subject to inevitabilities such as fate. Tangents aside, the "prayers delivered through Twiddler arguments" bit is actual canon, so Jessie needs to be bored enough to check her Twiddler feed to even notice prayers. She listens to them directly at first, and quickly decides that is very overwhelming AND boring -- the Twiddler decree is not only for entertainment, but to force prayer to be easily turned on and off (for Jessie). She can also respond to them directly (on Twiddler, usually). She can and absolutely has fucked with people just because she didn't like what they prayed for, how they conveyed what they want, or I even have a joke where she responds to someone's prayer saying she won't help them because they don't have pronouns in bio. The snowglobe guy specifically argued with Jessie on Twiddler because she wouldn't acknowledge a particular prayer. The religious organization that springs up to worship her initially spends most of its time reviewing and refining the prayer formats of its congregants; it entices more people to join because wishes they post on Twiddler tend to be granted (or at least taken well). Am considering having them more involved in the handling of prayer later on, but there may simply not be enough time in the plot in between their introduction and Jessie going bitchcakes.

this pog takes up 50% of my language processing.