#Bonus points if the post gets only a few hundred likes

[shmorp-mcdurgen]

I love the online phenomena of artists making the most beautiful art piece you've ever seen, something that could easily have become something that would have been put in a museum if it had been painted hundreds of years earlier, being posted online with a caption like "Yeah this is Bleebo from my favorite TV series 'Bleebo' <3"

[watchersleuth]

I didn't think I'd use this blog to make a post like this, but I'm seeing more and more comments and posts criticizing Watcher for their recent decision to layoff their production staff, and I want to try to explain some things. I also have experience working in film and television production so I hope that's helpful in this case.

For background, on March 17, 2025 people discovered via LinkedIn that Katie LeBlanc had ended her employment with Watcher. This, of course, caused some alarm.

I'm not in the habit of sharing things posted in the Wiscord, but Shane did let everyone know an important detail that I think is getting overlooked

I want to point out the part where he said that they were taking some "full-time positions and converting them to freelance"

Note: Almost every US television show that you watch from a major network runs on a freelance model

Yes, that one that you're thinking of right now. Also that one. Most exceptions to this would be a show like a news program or talk show that runs year-round and doesn't only film for a few months out of the year. When a crew member is freelance and one job ends, they use their networking connections to find another job. That's the way it's been done for over a hundred years in Hollywood.

This isn't ideal for everyone, for many reasons. And of course it would be preferable to live in a society where we valued creative work and people could get steady employment and benefits from being in this, or any artistic, field.

That's why Watcher hired folks on full-time as soon as they could. Remember in the 2022 Making Watcher when Steven talked about how they doubled their staff from 10 to 21 and how they were reinvesting into their own company? That was by design to try to give as many creative folks a shot at a regular full-time gig and I'm so proud of them for that!

Knowing this, I would bet that Watcher didn't WANT to convert anyone to freelance positions. People need to stop talking about the layoffs like this is something they wanted to do. They told us last year that they were launching the streamer to stay afloat, because YouTube isn't as beneficial as it used to be for creators.

Not to sound parasocial, but if you think that any of the Watcher Founders wanted to layoff the staff that they've worked with for years - people that have been with them since Worth It and Unsolved - then you don't know them at all.

Even if you think that they laid off everyone just for fun, consider that now when Watcher wants to film a new season of say Puppet History they will need to ask their previous staff if their schedule aligns with their filming time so they can be hired on to work the shoot. If not, they will have to advertise or go word of mouth, to find crew. That's more time and resources spent to staff a shoot than pulling from their regular crew.

TLDR; There's no controversy behind this news. This is normal for many media companies and is what Watcher had to do to remain in business.

It's not ideal, and I wish the streamer would have been so successful that they could've went the other direction like they planned all along - to bring on new hosts and make the diverse shows they've wanted to since 2019.

If you want to help Watcher:

-Subscribe to Watcher TV if you can. They've been running constant promo deals for the past year so if you do get an annual subscription make sure you use the discount code. The banner is always on top of the site.

-Subscribe to their main and podcast channels on YouTube

-Watch the videos as they get uploaded to YouTube, even if you're already a Watcher TV subscriber. Try to watch within the first day or two of uploading to push it up the algorithm. Make sure you "like" it and leave a positive/friendly/funny comment too! YT is looking for engagement and watch time, so the likes and comments help. And so does watching the video all the way through. (Bonus: Watcher has been using audience comments from videos on their social posts and it's fun to see what they choose!)

-If you're short on time or don't want to rewatch a video you already saw on the streamer you can always put it on a separate tab on your browser and mute it. Let the new videos or your favorite playlist stream in the background while you surf the web!

-Share their videos with friends, family, co-workers, etc. The more people that watch them the better! The Watcher channel is one of the more diverse that I've seen on YouTube so there's something for everyone.

-Make posts about what you enjoy about their shows and you'll find more friends that way.

Thanks for everyone who read this far. Comments are open if anyone wants to ask general production questions and I'll try to answer. Probably can't speak for Watcher specifically but maybe I'll know the answer from a Making Watcher video I can point you to.

And if you read all of this and still feel like you want to choose chaos (ie. harassing Watcher via their social media posts with accusations about the economy that they can't control) then I would urge you to direct that energy at your elected officials no matter what country you're in, find a fandom you enjoy engaging with instead, and maybe go touch some grass.

[gffa]

Over the last week, I decided to go ahead with bookmarking all the fics I've recommended over the years on AO3 since I abide by tumblr poll results always (and man pour one out for all the fic that never made it to AO3 or has since been deleted, sooooo many gems lost to time!) and it was a bit more than the ~3,000 I was expecting:

Hopefully, this will be easier than browsing the hundreds of recs posts I've made, since you can filter for any of the author's tags now! These are mostly focused on Star Wars and DC fandom, but I did my time in the anime mines and occasional tours through some TV fandoms or movies. You can dig into everything unfiltered and start your own filtering, or the bigger fandoms you'll find:

MAJOR FANDOMS: Each of these should have 100+ at minimum and, in the case of Star Wars, literally almost half of them are in that fandom. Look, Star Wars fandom might be a trash fire in a lot of ways, but it is ON FIRE with some good fic. (Older bookmarks not guaranteed to match my current sentiments, especially re: the Jedi, but they did catch my fancy at that point in time!)

STAR WARS: - All Star Wars -OR- All Star Wars minus the Obi-Wan/Anakin ship - OR- Nothing BUT Obi-Wan/Anakin

BATMAN/DC: - DC can sometimes be tricky, but you can do a Batman* search and get most of them (though, sometimes Nightwing* or Young Justice* or Superman* will catch some of the others). Honestly, though, you might want to just do a search for what character or dynamic you like and have fun from there, because otherwise you're getting a face full of my Dick Grayson Is The Center Of The Universe And I'm Making That Everyone Else's Problem agenda. ;)

MARVEL/MCU: - Marvel* will probably get most of the various properties, though you may want to filter for Defenders* or Guardians of the Galaxy* if you're interested -OR- Marvel* without the Thor/Loki - These focus a lot on the Thor* fandom if you want to witness the results of like 8 years of constant voracious reading in that fandom (Minus the ship), because, seriously, I read a LOT of Odinson family fic. - Bonus, just do a search for Maximoff* to find some really good X-Men: First Class-verse because, listen, I have been ALL ABOUT the Maximoff twins since long before the movies or MCU brought them over and I will DIE ON THE HILL of "Marvel, make Magneto their bio-dad again or I'm never reading another comic of yours ever".

TOLKIEN/LORD OF THE RINGS/SILMARILLION/HOBBIT: - Tolkien* -OR- Hobbit* -OR- Lord of the Rings* searches will turn up most of my Elf-hunting, I primarily focus on the Sindar Elves, but look I can't resist my problematic Feanorian faves or that I will die on the hill that Fingolfin is the best ever. (You have NO IDEA how sad I am that so much fic on Stories of Arda or FFNET is not easily bookmarked on AO3, sob. I externally bookmarked a few of the bigger ones, but sooo many shorter faves are missing from my recs tag.)

CLAMP: - X/Tokyo Babylon legitimately bums me out because it's not a huge fandom and yet so much of what was written was pre-AO3 and lost when CLAMPesque went down or was never brought over from Livejournal, yet this fandom (well, the Seishirou/Subaru pairing) still burns brightly in my heart.

MINOR FANDOMS: Ones that probably only have under 100 bookmarks (often around the 20-30 bookmarks range), but will at least give you a place to start! ANIME/MANGA: Bleach | Cardcaptor Sakura | Dragonball | Finder no Hyouteki/Viewfinder | Katekyou Hitman Reborn! | Kuroko no Basuke | One Piece | Sailor Moon | Madoka Magica | Naruto | Princess Tutu | Trigun | Weiss Kreuz | Yuri!!! on Ice

BOOKS: Chrestomanci | Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint

DRAMAS: Nirvana in Fire | The Untamed -OR- Modao Zu Shi

TV SHOWS/MOVIES: Community | Game of Thrones -OR- ASOIAF | Good Omens | Hannibal | Highlander | The Old Guard | Our Flag Means Death | Stranger Things

VIDEO GAMES: Dragon Age: Inquisition | Final Fantasy 8 | Genshin Impact | Okami

BANDS: Arashi

All right, whew, that was actually a fun project, despite how much work it was to hunt down a lot of older faves to see if they were on AO3, hopefully you'll find this useful!

[jasmineandcedar]

"His head went quiet." | Peace and quiet in the mind of a shadowsinger

[Second Solstice] “It's beautiful," she [Elain] whispered, lifting it from the box. The golden faelight shone through the little glass facets, setting the charm glowing with hues of red and pink and white. Azriel let his shadows whisk away the box as she said softly, "Put it on me?" His head went quiet. But he took the necklace, opening the clasp as she exposed her back, sweeping her hair up in one hand to bare her long, creamy neck [Azriel's BC).

When I read that Azriel’s head went quiet in the bonus chapter, I often think of it in a wider and perhaps more symbolic sense. As in, Elain gives him peace and quiet. He relaxes with her in the garden, sunning his wings. His shadows vanish in her presence (here’s a post I wrote dissecting my perception of the meaning of this). His soft and gentle side comes out around her (meaning he has no need to be stone-faced and guarded, as he usually is). However, I also believe the peace and quiet she gave him in that precise moment is also very specific and contextual.

What had been plaguing his mind leading up to their moment during Solstice night?

[Second Solstice] Sleep, they [his shadows] seemed to whisper in his ear. Sleep. I wish I could, he answered silently. But sleep so rarely found him these days. Too many razor-sharp thoughts sliced him any time he grew still long enough for them to strike. Too many wants and needs left his skin overheated and pulling taut across his bones. So he slept only when his body gave out, and even then only for a few hours (Azriel’s BC).

“Razor-sharp thoughts” and “wants and needs”. These words give meaning to Azriel's actions in ACOSF. All throughout ACOSF, we see Azriel distressed and clearly not OK, because of his feelings for Elain. Even to the point that Cassian (who, let’s be honest, is not the most observant) notices.

[Azriel telling Cassian Nesta and Cassian are wanted at the river house] “You and Nesta are wanted down there.” “Because of the shit with Elain?” Azriel stilled. “What happened to Elain?” Cassian waved a hand. “A fight with Nesta. Don’t bring it up,” he warned when Azriel’s eyes darkened. Cassian blew out a breath. “I take that as a no regarding the meeting topic, then.” “It’s about what I discovered. Rhys said he requires you both there.” “It’s bad, then.” Cassian surveyed the shadows gathered around Az. “You all right?” His brother nodded. “Fine.” But shadows still swarmed him. Cassian knew it was a lie, but didn’t push it. Az would speak when he was ready, and Cassian would have better success convincing a mountain to move than getting Az to open up. (ACOSF)

[Cassian asking Azriel if he wants kids] Cassian looked over at Az. “You think you’ll ever be ready for one?” Ever be ready to confess to Mor what’s in your heart? “I don’t know,” Azriel said. “Do you want a child?” “It doesn’t matter what I want.” Distant words—ones that prevented Cassian from prying further. He was still happy to be Mor’s buffer with Azriel, but there’d been a change lately. In both of them. Mor no longer sat beside Cassian, draped herself over him, and Azriel … those longing glances toward her had become few and far between. As if he’d given up. After five hundred years, he’d somehow given up. Cassian couldn’t think why. (ACOSF)

[Azriel, Cassian, and Nesta training] Nesta’s stare seared him from across the ring. Cassian might have flexed his stomach muscles as he approached the chalk-lined circle. Az shook his head and muttered, “Pathetic, Cass.” Cassian winked, nodding to his brother’s equally muscled stomach. “Where have you been exercising these days?” “Here,” Azriel said. “At night.” After he returned from spying on their enemies. “Can’t sleep?” Cassian took up a fighting stance. A shadow curled around Azriel’s neck, the only one brave enough to face the sunlight. “Something like that,” he said, and settled into his own stance across from Cassian. Cassian let it drop, knowing Az would have told him already if he’d wanted to share what had been hounding him enough to exercise at night, rather than in the morning with them (ACOSF).

Clearly, Azriel’s head has been nothing but quiet all throughout ACOSF. But during Solstice night, with Elain, it went quiet. What happened before his head went quiet? It's reasonable to assume that what preceded his head going quiet is what caused it. So, what was that?

[Second Solstice] “It's beautiful," she whispered, lifting it from the box. The golden faelight shone through the little glass facets, setting the charm glowing with hues of red and pink and white. Azriel let his shadows whisk away the box as she said softly, "Put it on me?" His head went quiet. But he took the necklace, opening the clasp as she exposed her back, sweeping her hair up in one hand to bare her long, creamy neck (Azriel's BC).

“Put it on me?” Elain asked, and Azriel’s head went quiet. Why? What is it to put a necklace on someone? It is to act.

Up until the necklace, Azriel knew Elain was aware of his feelings for her, and why he hesitates to act on them.

[Second Solstice] He [Azriel] left the rest unspoken. Because her mate was here, sleeping a level up. Because her mate had been in the family room and Azriel had needed to stay by the door the whole time because he couldn't stand the sight of it, the scent of their mating bond, and needed to have the option of leaving if it became too much. Elain's large brown eyes flickered, well aware of all that. Just as he knew she was well aware of why Azriel so rarely came to family dinners these days. (Azriel’s BC)

So, Azriel knows they have feelings for each other that they both are aware of. They have shared glances and brushing of fingers.

[Second Solstice] It had never gone this far. They'd exchanged looks, the occasional brush of their fingers, but never this. Never blatant, unrestricted touching (Azriel’s BC).

What is missing, for those feelings to be more than mutual feelings, is action. What Azriel doesn't know (I think) is if Elain would be ready to act on those feelings, beyond the occasional brush of their fingers and a lingering glance here and there. I am doubtful he had expected Elain to be willing to act on it that Solstice night, and I am convinced he had never felt entitled to it. Why do I think this? Because he never planned for a future with her in it beside him.

[When Rhys confronts Azriel during Solstice night] "So you'll what?" Rhys's voice was pure ice. "Seduce her away from him?” Azriel said nothing. He hadn't gotten that far with his planning, certainly not beyond the fantasies he pleasured himself to (Azriel's BC).

Why had he not allowed himself to plan beyond his fantasies? Because he didn’t feel entitled to a future with her. Why do I say that? Think about what planning is. It is imagining a future you want and how to get there. If he didn’t expect Elain to be ready to act on their mutual feelings, it makes sense he had no hope of a future with her, because he is not entitled to a future with her that she doesn’t consent to.

Think of what kind of person Azriel is. And then think of the circumstances required for him to imagine a future he wants with Elain, and to imagine how to get there (= planning). Azriel is a guy who is seemingly intent on consent and not pushing himself on, especially, women. Look at how he acts with the priestesses in ACOSF. And with Elain, he extends a hand, an arm and so on (an offer). But not only that. He extends a hand, an arm, after having asked her (offer and permission).

[Azriel has just flown Elain to the town house] Azriel smiled faintly. “Would you like me to show you the garden?” She seemed so small before him, so fragile compared to the scales of his fighting leathers, the breadth of his shoulders. The wings peeking over them. But Elain did not balk from him, did not shy away as she nodded—just once. Azriel, graceful as any courtier, offered her an arm. I couldn’t tell if she was looking at his blue Siphon or at his scarred skin beneath as she breathed, “Beautiful.” (ACOWAR)

[Feyre offering to take Elain to the garden] I dragged a hand over my face before going to Elain and touching her too-bony shoulder. “Can I set you up in the garden? The herbs you planted are coming in nicely.” “I can help her,” said Azriel, stepping to the table as Elain silently rose. No shadows at his ear, no darkness ringing his fingers as he extended a hand. Nesta monitored him like a hawk, but kept silent as Elain took his hand, and out they went. (ACOWAR)

So, when Elain said, “put it on me?” I think it meant to Azriel that Elain showed him she was willing to act on their mutual feeling. It is an explicit expression of consent for him to act (offer and permission). Then, he “nearly groans with relief and need” when she allows him to put the necklace on her, urges him to touch her, and gives him her consent to kiss her (offer and permission). What is he relieved about? That she is willing to act. She confirms not only that she feels the same, but that she is even braver than him and ready to act. Even with her mate upstairs.

If Elain is willing to act, there is a possibility of a future. It opens the door towards a future with her that he could imagine, and if he can imagine a future with her, he can imagine how they’d get there. That is what it means to plan. Something he couldn't have allowed himself to do before "put it on me?" and all that followed in that interaction (with Elain leading it).

Look at what happens after he learns Elain is willing to act. He is questioning the Cauldron itself openly for the first time, with Rhys. I see it as the first seeds towards a bigger plan.

[Rhys confronts Azriel during Solstice night] Azriel stiffened. Let his cold rage rise to the surface, the rage he only ever let Rhysand see, because he knew his brother could match it. "What if the Cauldron was wrong?" Rhysand blinked. "What of Mor, Az?" Azriel ignored the question. "The Cauldron chose three sisters. Tell me how it's possible that my two brothers are with two of those sisters, yet the third was given to another." He had never before dared speak the words aloud (Azriel’s BC).

Consider Azriel’s nature. He is not impulsive. He works in the background. Waiting for the right moment to act is not only a cornerstone of his job, but of his personality, as evident in his assertion that spying suits him precisely because of that. He is not careful and prudent because he is Spymaster, he is Spymaster because he is careful and prudent.

[Training with Nesta and Cassian] “Right,” Cassian panted through gritted teeth as he blocked Az’s kick and bounced a step back, circling again. “Whoever lands the next blow wins.” “That’s ridiculous,” Az panted back. “We go until one of us eats dirt.” Az had a vicious competitive streak. It wasn’t boastful and arrogant, the way Cassian knew he himself was prone to be, or possessive and terrifying like Amren’s. No, it was quiet and cruel and utterly lethal. Cassian had lost track of how many games they’d played over the centuries, with one of them certain of a win, only for Az to reveal some master strategy. Or how many games had been reduced to only Rhys and Az left standing, battling it out over cards or chess until the middle of the night, when Cassian and Mor had given up and started drinking (ACOSF).

[Cassian and Azriel on the lookout] “Four fucking days,” Cassian hissed from where he and Azriel monitored the castle. “We’ve been sitting on our asses for four fucking days.” Azriel sharpened Truth-Teller. The black blade absorbed the dim sunlight trickling through the forest canopy above. “It seems you’ve forgotten how much of spying is waiting for the right moment. People don’t engage in their evil deeds when it’s convenient to you.” Cassian rolled his eyes. “I stopped spying because it bored me to death. I don’t know how you put up with this all the time." “It suits me.” Azriel didn’t halt his sharpening, though shadows gathered around his feet (ACOSF).

When Azriel says “this was a mistake” about the almost-kiss, and “tonight had proved he 'd been right to do so” (Azriel's BC) about staying away from Elain, it is obviously not an expression of rejection. He didn't suddenly change his mind about Elain. He is questioning his impulsivity and recklessness. Because, as much as I, for entirely self-interested reasons, wish Rhys didn’t interrupt them, making out downstairs during Solstice (and whatever that might have led to) was quite reckless and impulsive. Clearly, none of them had planned to do that.

Azriel achieves his goals not through impulsivity and brute force, but through careful consideration and strategizing. I think that, since Elain said “put it on me?”, he has perhaps been cooking up some "master strategy" to make them happen (I, too, don't think it was a coincidence he was present to find out the Cauldron had, in fact, been tampered with, in HOFAS). He got her explicit consent, and a minute later he is questioning his religion in front of his High Lord. I think there might be some miscommunication initially in Elain’s book, given how Elain probably doesn’t know Rhys is the reason Azriel decided not to follow through with the kiss. And I think Azriel definitely will struggle with his feelings of not being worthy.

But then, I think we’ll be privy to some master strategizing on their part, challenging not only Rhys but fate itself.

[annievrse]

[college] basketball!eren

—ᡣ𐭩 headcanons a/n: guys i’m back in the waiting room (& it’s fkn hot today)……… let’s write some headcanons!!

a few points i've made in my bf!eren headcanons:

in basketball games against certain colleges, bf!eren gets so fired up and aggressive and lippy. he talks so much shit on the court (he's known for it), and isn't afraid to take shit either (which pisses off the other team, and the whole cycle starts again). but, it's a bonus for you when he gets off the court because he's looking extra hot..... and he knows it...... asshole

you wear bf!eren's spare jersey to his basketball games

bf!eren with a chain under his basketball jersey, his hair tied back and a thin headband, tape on his dodgy shoulder......... oh lordy

bf!eren's post-game meal is 3 big macs and 2 mcchickens AND a kids nugget meal (he wants to give you the toy that comes with it because he’s cute) but don’t forget dessert!! he sips his *diet* coke as a palate cleanser and then inhales an apple pie

bf!eren gets a job coaching a kids' basketball team, and that is a canon event

now i will elaborate....

basketball!eren wears nba jerseys in everyday life with sweat shorts & dunks/vans/birkenstocks (with socks) he is an effortlessly stylish college athlete ok he can pull off anything

basketball!eren has a piece of sports tape around his wrist with your name written in marker <3 (points to it whenever he scores if you aren’t there (e.g. games on the other side of the country), otherwise his finger is on you in the crowd)

whenever his favourite team is playing (call him basic, call him a bandwagon, but my man is in love with steph curry, so you know he supports golden state) & he can’t watch at home on the tv, basketball!eren sits and watches it on his phone (warning: he will speak to the phone like the team can hear him so keep an eye on him in public, especially at the library because he will yell)

basketball!eren got mvp in sophomore year (jean was like 2 points behind him) and he holds it over jean’s head because he is cheeky and a dick

basketball!eren wears a suit to and from his games (specifically a navy one with a white shirt, no tie, and its just so rahhhhhh) with his headphones on and a large cup of black coffee

now, i don't want to expose basketball!eren here, but in his headphones, only on game days, he plays taylor swift & rihanna

basketball!eren texts you nonstop when he's on the bus/plane to games (because connie is his seatmate (he loves him to death) but connie knocks the fuck out on these trips so eren gets very bored)

basketball!eren wears his hair in 2 styles when he plays: completely tied back with a thin headband or fully out with a thin headband (frothing over here sorry don't look at me: heavy emphasis on the 2nd style though)

basketball!eren has like a couple hundred thousand followers on instagram because he's a college basketball player and he's good and hot as fuck

basketball!eren posts photo dumps once a fortnight as a wrap-up for that time period because his life is so crazy hectic that he always has content for a new dump (i wish he was real guys)

basketball!eren loves loves showing you off (private but not secret on social media) & buying you gifts (instagram stories of your wrist with the new bracelet he gifted you for your birthday)

basketball!eren gets drafted in his senior year of college :') (chooses to graduate first and then go to the nba - he wasn't studying biomedical science for nothing!!! (not that he needs it anymore.......))

basketball!eren gets rookie of the year in his first season (crying)

[tinkrtailrsldrspy]

Gravity Falls Fanfic Ideas That I Will Not Finish But Encourage You To = Deranged!Ford Part 1

(if you want, please steal these ideas, no credit needed - just send me a link once it's done cause I wanna read!)

(I will be replying to this post with the other parts (there's like... two others?) so stay tuned!)

Bill knew this place by heart at this point. He could walk around with his eye closed and never get lost. Spin him a hundred times and he’d still know the way to individual therapy, group therapy, arts and crafts therapy, animal therapy, the Solitary Wellness Void, the cafeteria, and his cell. Those were, after all, the only places he was allowed. The only places he had access to.

His cell was his favorite place. After a few millennia, he’d realized that he could make it more bearable if he just covered the walls in paper and colored them. Sure, everything was shaped like triangles, and sure some of his blood had gotten on… all of it… but it still took care of the fucking neutral whiteness of it all!

His second favorite place was animal therapy. Manny the Jabberwocky had taken a liking to him in the last few hundred years, and Bill very much enjoyed the company of the dumb creature. Especially since it kept some of the more… dangerous beings there away from him. Manny had quickly learned how to tell if Bill carried any new injuries, and who they had come from. He’d raked Htrx across the face with his claws after he’d broken Bill’s leg a few months back.

The staff had almost taken away Manny after that, but Bill’s meltdown had successfully persuaded ol’ Ax to step in and allow Bill’s only friend to stay. So, now Bill could look forward to getting to hang with Manny every third day after lunch.

The Solitary Wellness Void was his third favorite - it had once been his least favorite, but after coming to terms with what he’d done to his dimension, it was the only place he got to talk to his parents. Sure, they were hallucinations, but it was still nice. They didn’t say mean things anymore too, so, ya know, bonus! His dad did sometimes start repeating things, but Bill just assumed that was due to his own glitching nature.

Individual therapy was fourth, mostly because it had actually been helpful, but he still fucking hated talking about his feelings. He did, of course - he’d realized resistance was useless in this never-ending hellhole - but that didn’t mean he had to like it. He was on his… what, 147,903rd therapist? This one had actually lasted nearly three hundred million years, too, which was a record! Usually they quit after Bill’s first meltdown at one his horrific memories, but Orb of Healing Light #65-5RXT was a tough cookie! Probably because the thing was one of the few Orbs who had been formed from the soul of a living being. Not only that, but #65-5RXT had the unique claim of being the only human ever selected to work at the Theraprism - personally selected the Axolotl, too.

Arts and Crafts therapy had once been his favorite, but ever since they’d confiscated his journal, it had quickly fallen from grace. It was… fine. Not good, not bad, not really anything special. He was only allowed a handful of crayons these days and a few sheets of paper. He’d made weapons or started a riot with the rest. Thankfully, he usually got to keep the crayon colors he didn’t yet have so he could add to his cell, so that was… nice…

His least favorite was group therapy. Thankfully, #65-5RXT had stopped that nonsense a few months into being Bill’s therapist. Told his higher-ups that all group therapy was doing for Bill was making him hate his fellow patients more. Bill would never share his story with a group, no matter how much the higher-ups wanted him to - and they needed to accept that. Ax had miraculously agreed with #65-5RXT, so, hey, lucky Bill!

The cafeteria didn’t get a rank. It was the only neutral zone in the entire Theraprism, where everyone gathered to eat lunch and dinner. Breakfast was always served to them in their cells, the workers having come to the conclusion long before Bill had arrived that it was probably best to keep cranky interdimensional super criminals away from each other in the morning. Now that was something Bill could agree with.

So, yeah, Bill knew these walls by heart.

Which meant it had come as a surprise to him when there was suddenly a door between the cafeteria and the animal therapy ward. There… had never been a door there before. He hesitated before stepping towards it, hand outstretched towards the doorknob. Before he could touch it, however, the door sprang open with a loud ‘bang’ and two hands had reached out of the dark and grabbed him. Before Bill could make a single sound, he was dragged into the void, the door slamming shut behind him.

[beezabub]

A small amount of Ninjago rambling about something I realised! Sorry it's so disorganized..

Tl;dr Zane and PIXAL's whereabouts during the season 3-4 timeskip are a mystery, but I think it has something to do with the Mechanic

Bonus theory (which also has notes below the main rambles): The Nindroids are all Pixane children technically

Main theory thing:

The gap between seasons 3 and 4 is a large one.

Jay had a TV show that ran for over 70 episodes and had a Christmas special

We're looking at a minimum of 2 years here for him to A get the show and B film the episodes, realistically bringing this closer to 3 years

We are shown something which we assume to be Zane rebuilding himself in the S3 ending

So why didn't he tell anyone he was alive? And where were him and PIXAL during this three year gap?

How did 2 nindroids with 1 person's fighting experience between them manage to slip completely under the radar for so long? Where did they go?

The Mechanic was arrested at some point before the ninja were and showed a particular interest in (and familiarity with) Zane

This could be explained just by Zane being a Robot and thus naturally interesting to him, but there are a few other factors to consider

The mechanic was already in Cryptarium before we ever meet him so he's kinda a mystery, asides from one little detail

He drives a Chen's noodle truck

He also shows more interest in taking apart Zane than PIXAL, as shown when he doesn't kidnap her while she's incapacitated in Ninjago Confidential...

Perhaps because he has already done so? He already knows how she works so she is of little interest to him

Zane wakes up on Chen's island with no memory, and PIXAL has already been dismantled, but oddly not destroyed entirely... Almost as if she's still being studied

I like the idea that Zane used his own blueprints and so gave himself a memory switch (bad idea) that someone used on him pre-season 4.

For angst reasons this could be PIXAL trying to spare him in the only way she is able - by protecting his memories.

If this is the case? He remembers everything. All 3 years of hiding out together, of being in love, of everything she means to him, being removed entirely from his memory.

And if this was done by PIXAL, then she must feel so sad being the only one to remember, potentially feeling like she can't tell him what he's missing

It's worth noting that their motives are really unclear, as they have money (billionaire Borg) and no need for revenge (it's only season 3 and the Overlord is gone, so there aren't really that many people left) which leaves... Love.

It still doesn't entirely make sense though, because what reasons would Zane and PIXAL have to go completely no contact, not leaving so much as a whisper in the streets of their whereabouts for so long, leaving behind grieving friends and family who assume they are dead.

Mini-theory:

PIXAL scans Zane and later uses his blueprints to create the Nindroids

She swaps out some of the parts (~50%) so the product is half Zane's design and half her creation

She then makes these things. A lot of them.

I doubt she counted them. Just kept going until they literally ran out of materials (remember Mindroid?)

So technically they had hundreds of children together after literally 1 conversation lmao

Bonus points for is Zane and PIXAL realise this suddenly post season 8 (when it is established she has her own body back) that they literally have So Many Children

Anyway Cryptor isn't Zane's evil twin, he's Zane's Kylo Ren (I don't know shit about Star Wars. Assume this means Evil Son)

[rabbiteclair]

I'm super interested in the paranormal/cryptid post- where did you find the stuff about Japanese and US paranormal encounters? Finding a pattern in encounters like these is something I've always been curious about.

(repeating all the disclaimers from this post, which means that among other things, this isn't gonna give you many historical accounts, and it's very focused on the kind of people who wanna throw their accounts out onto the internet.)

The Japanese Side

The big one I might as well get out of the way up front: Kowabana. The site's got some stories, others exist in podcast form, but the books themselves are up to 12 volumes of translated stuff from 2chan's occult board, the vast majority of which is in the format of first-person accounts of supernatural encounters. If you know any Japanese internet horror stuff, this is where 3/4 of it came from--Hasshaku-sama, kunekune, Kisaragi Station, etc.

(If you aren't solely focused on the 'first-person account' thing, Tara Devlin's parallel Toshiden and Bankai series cover most of the rest.)

Other people have translated this stuff over the years, with wildly varying levels of quality. Saya in Underworld and Okaruto are some of the ones I've found useful in the past.

If you can read Japanese, there are quite a few sites that collect and curate this stuff, and then other sites that aggregate those sites. As an added bonus, a given story might exist in multiple different forms between these sites, and then half of the sites don't exist anymore because this stuff goes back twenty years. I've spent a decent amount of time browsing these, but couldn't give you a good list of solid ones. There is in fact a pretty decent starting list on Tara Devlin's old Tumblr.

There are some Japanese Youtube channels that document a lot of this stuff too, but tbh the only times I've watched them is when I'm about nine google searches deep looking for something, so I don't have a good list.

The American Side

I started making a list here, but it honestly wasn't much of a list. A lot of the English ones that I've encountered have come from some combination of 'wandering on the internet,' 'being on /x/ back when it was new,' and 'the story was included in some other piece of media.' (Like, Oh No Ross And Carrie is probably the single place where I've heard the most accounts of UFO stuff, but I'd be a weird person if I cited that as a good source for them.) Unlike the Japanese side of things, I've never had much reason to approach them in a systematic manner.

Considering that my big source for this on the Japanese side is 2chan's occult board, you'd think that 4chan's /x/ would go here, right? But nah. I mean, there are first person accounts on there, but they're nowhere near as prevalent. There are several places trying to archive /x/ stuff though, so it's out there for anyone who wants to dig through it like a trash gopher.

But, if you want your 'hundreds, if not thousands, of first-person supernatural accounts in one place' counterpart to Kowabana, the best resource on the English-speaking side that I know of is Monsters Among Us. Yeah, it's audio, but that's life. It also has really thorough show notes, which serves as a pretty good starting point for finding other resources. I'm pretty sure there's a whole ecosystem of this stuff on Youtube.

(Really though, if anybody knows of any big text repositories of English, first-person accounts of this stuff, curated to weed out the complete trash, I'd be interested in that myself.)

[dendrofiles]

requesting 💯, 🖊️, & 😊 for the ask meme! :)

hiiii!!! yippee!!! once again sorry for taking forever to answer these it has been a Long Fucking Day

💯 HUNDRED POINTS SYMBOL — share three random facts about your oc that others may not know.

niko- his favorite musician is sanah, and his favorite song of hers is szary świat. his first name, nikolaj, is not actually polish, but slovenian, and this is because his maternal grandmother was slovenian. she was the only good part of niko's childhood pre-orphanage. niko is very awful at video games (which he learned through spending tons of time with robin) but he's surprisingly incredible at tetris

callie- this is already known kind of, but callie is 5 foot nothing and is therefore short. when she's next to sydney or whitney the height difference is comical. her natural hair color is black but she died it crimson to be more dramatic. callie has a secret love for poetry, and her favorite poet is alda merini because she was her mom's favorite. but callie feels a bit guilty because she can only read the english translations

augustine- hinted at this in a recent percy post, but augustine is quite good at playing the piano. he speaks quite a few languages due to Angel Powers- so his brain has just kind of been injected with knowledge of ancient greek, latin, aramaic, and hebrew. augustine st. ambrose is his full name, he chose his last name as well so now his name has TWO saints in it. also, bonus fact because i'm in an augie mood, i guess- augustine's true form has approximately nine eyes and six wings. when he's not in true form the only remnant of this are his eyes, which are a deep, sparkly cobalt and have been accused of glowing in the dark

percy- he cannot eat dairy or gluten or else he feels really sick. his favorite song is i don't love you by mcr, but he also likes vocaloid, and he occasionally listens to sabrina carpenter, but you didn’t hear that from him. his first reaction upon seeing eden’s cabin for the first time was pretty much “bitch you live like this???” percy doesn’t mind housework and doing housewifey things, but he will always grumble while he’s doing it. like he’ll embroider pillows and mutter something at eden about how he can’t believe eden still has these boring ass pillows

🖊️ BALLPOINT PEN — does your oc have any tattoos? do they want any (more) tattoos?

callie- so none of my pcs really have tattoos except for callie who has a womb tattoo. she didn't even get it from the mirror on the blood moon. she went to the tattoo parlor and PAID for this shit. such a freak

niko- i mean older niko has a farm brand??? if that counts??

clem- BONUS!!! he has a little tattoo on his upper arm of a snake curled into a heart. hmm wonder what that could possibly mean

😊 SMILING FACE WITH SMILING EYES — what are your oc's career/general life desires? what do they want to get the most out of life?

niko- man. niko just wants a moment free from the torment. he is TIRED. he just wants a quiet life where nobody but the people he loves know him. he wants the farm to stay profitable forever, and he also wants remy to fucking die but he'll never say that out loud. he also wants wren to never leave him

callie- she wants to go to college so she can keep her studies going. she wants to be able to quit working at the brothel. she wants to make sydney and whitney throuple up so then they can spend forever together and all take care of each other. she wants an easy solution to the Kylar Problem

augustine- he wants to overthrow the children of auriga. that’s the goal that has been decided for him. in his heart, though, augustine just wants to spend the rest of his life with sydney, study ancient languages, and grow in his faith.

percy- man i dont even know. he just wants a fucking break from it all. can he get a fucking break from it all. (he likes his life and doesn't want anything to change, but he hopes that he can take up some kind of creative pursuit/occupation in the future so he doesn't get bored. also wants to help augie kill avery)

[anti-dazai-blog]

Second Anniversary Special

As many of the long-time followers of this blog know, I originally started out on the classic literature side of tumblr, which is what lead to my venturing into bsd. As an homage to my roots as a classic lit enthusiast, I’ll be going through all the works that I’ve read written by bsd authors:

The Spider’s Thread by Akutagawa

This short story is brought up in a lot of animes, which is unfortunately the most likely way western bsd fans. I could make an entire separate post of commentary on how the American school system doesn’t cover most foreign literature (outside of English [as in from England] and French works), and that is an absolute travesty. However, that’s not what we’re covering right now. 

Anyway. The Spider’s Thread is a very short story—like two pages at most. You can go read it now. For all the other entries I plan on rating the novels out of 5, but this one’s truly too short to rate. If you wanna read it you can find a hundred pdfs online. The same probably goes for most works of classic literature, so. Go wild enjoy the wonderful world of free online pdfs.

The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe

I was probably assigned other works by Poe, but this one is most likely his most famous short story. I was assigned it in middle school/high school/ and at least twice in college. Again, very short short story—you can read it in a few minutes tops. 

5/5 for the sole reason of it aligning with my personal sense of humor. I get that it’s not supposed to be funny, but unreliable narrators are and will always be hilarious to me. I love a guy insisting that he’s not crazy while he’s off murdering a guy. Cask of Amontillado-core protagonist. Funny because E.A. Poe also wrote Cask of Amantillado. I’m out here starting to suspect that E.A. Poe just really loved writing his unnamed unreliable narrator protagonists.

Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

I’ve never read Tom Sawyer, but in 11th grade my class read Huckleberry Finn. 3/5 because I don’t like the way it was taught in class, but I did enjoy analyzing it more than some other books we did. 

Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky

Currently reading it so I can’t give much feedback, but so far I’d like this guy (Raskolnikov not Dostoyevsky) to meet Meursault from The Stranger. If anyone’s made this crossover, please send it to me. And if not and you wanna go make it yourself—please I’ll love you forever.

Dracula by Bram Stoker 

I mean we’ve all done Dracula Daily. Or at least I’ll assume you’ve heard of it. 5/5, Mina’s best girl, Quincey’s best boy, I have very basic opinions but I’m standing by them.

--Bonus

The Stranger by Camus

Meursault the prison is clearly named after Meursault, the fictional character who famously goes to prison, right. We’re all on the same page about this, right? 

Anyway if you’ve never heard of or read the stranger, [spoilers] it’s about this guy who kills a guy for no reason (“it was just so hot outside, idk what happened but now there’s a dead guy, this is a good enough criminal defense right? You’re not gonna send me to jail for just this one little mistake---oh you’re giving me the death penalty? Ah. I see.”) Solid 4/5—points deducted for being a little slow by some parts (although I can’t vouch for how it is in the original French, this was only my impression from the English translation I read)

—————

After making this list, it’s clear that I haven’t read too many books my bsd authors, so next years my anniversary special will be more about the classic literature I have read. I do plan to keep posting until then. So please enjoy another year of the anti-dazai blog!!

[theuniversitychallengereview]

Dopamining

Yesterday I listened to a podcast about dopamine and the other 'feel-good' brain hormones oxytocin, seratonin and endorphins. It feels kind of like cheating to include endorphins as a single thing when there are actually a bunch of different endorphins, but it means you get to use the cool acronym DOSE so I can't begrudge the neuroscientists too much for it. Or should it be the neuropsychologists? The brain people.

We all know that we are on our phones far too much, and yet we continue to be on our phones far too much.

The little dopmaine hit you get from reading a tweet or scrolling TikTok or watching a hundred Instagram reels is a lot easier to get than the satisfaction you get from reading a book or practicing guitar, and it staves off the boredom that arises if you just sit there with, god forbid, nothing to do but think.

But you are never satisfied when you stop watching the Instagram reels, or when you finish a session of playing 5-minute blitz chess matches while waiting for the bus. You always want more. If you've played five matches you want to play five more. If you've watched thirty reels you want to watch thirty more.

This feeling then carries over into the moments when we are not on our phones too, because we have crashed our supply of dopamine meaning that it is harder to achieve the non-phone-based things we want to do, like cooking dinner or building a spreadsheet. So we go back on our phone and order something from Deliveroo then play a few more games of chess while we're waiting for the food to arrive.

We started the day with the intention of planning a holiday and assembling a bookshelf, but after we woke up and spent twenty minutes on YouTube shorts there was no motivation left for anything else.

Why, then, am I telling you this when I have posted this article on Twitter with the intention of hijacking your attention for the brief fix of a University Challenge review?

Because I am part of the problem too.

I am trying to steal your dopamine for my own selfish social media ambitions, to steal your motivation and get you hooked on these reviews just like Facebook is. The only difference is that I haven't used your data to become a billionaire.

So if you've come to me from Twitter then get off here now - leave your phone and your headphones behind and go find the nearest tree. Stare at it, touch it if you like, then come back and tell me how you feel.

Ah, I forgot one step - subscribe to the blog so that you don't need to rely on Twitter's increasingly spiteful algorithm to find me. Instead I will arrive fully formed in your email inbox and you can read me at your leisure.

Sign up for The University Challenge Review

Next week we can deal with oxytocin, but for now, let's get on with the episode.

Darwin College, Cambridge vs Birkbeck.

This is Darwin's third appearance on the Challenge, losing a tight semi-final to St Edmund Hall on their debut in 2019. Birkbeck won the trophy in 2003, but didn't appear again until 2020, and they have made two quarter-finals since then

Here's your first starter for ten

Darwin captain Whitaker takes the opening points with Where Angels Fear To Tread, setting the tone for the rest of the match. His team is made up of three women, and the Birkbeck team also has two women, meaning that the men are numerically outnumbered, which is quite a rare occurrence.

The picture starter also goes to Whitaker. That's three for him - it's going to get more difficult to keep trackas the show goes on.

Van Onzenoort bounces back for Birkbeck with elasticity, and they mixed up their answers on glass-making processes, giving super-cooling twice rather than tempering and annealing. A second for Van Onzenoort wins Birkbeck a bonus set on Sicilian foods, including one on cakes which Skidmore isn't much help on because he's 'not that into cakes'.

Hamilton gives Whitaker his fourth starter of the night, and Max Factor (who was apparently a real person, after whom the makeup brand is named) continues his streak.

Evans takes the music starter with Frank Sinatra, but they can't maintain the momentum and Whitaker returns with David Hume.

Van Onzenoort keeps Birkbeck in it with Bayes, and Evans grabs the second picture starter to close the gap even further. When Moorthy takes her first points with All Quiet on the Western Front they are only 25-points behind.

Whitakeover

But it is at this stage that Whitaker takes complete control of the match for Darwin, with four starters back to back on a wide variety of subjects (Venus, Albanian refugees in Italy, Salisbury Cathedral and the 800s).

Have you been counting? I might have missed one out so I'll just tell you - he finished with eleven (11!) starters, which is the highest of the series so far.

He was also the only person on his team to get a starter, which might be a record of some sort. Look out for him in the next round!

Darwin 205 - 110 Birkbeck

I hadn't realised quite how impressive Whitaker was until I saw all of his plaudits on social media, but eleven starters is a stonking performance, and Birkbeck couldn't keep up with him at all.

In fact, his points from starters alone would have tied Birkbeck's total.

See you next week (by which time you'll all have subscribed so you don't have to crash your dopamine supplies on Twitter) for Durham vs Oriel, a rematch of the 2000 Grand Final.

[tillman]

ok sure! I wouldn't mind seeing the chibis you've got so far that are in low resolution/blurry! :D I agree that it's such a shame these things ARE lost media at this point unless you invest hundreds of dollars buying all merch of them on ebay or something

alright so heres ABOUT what ive got. heres the image from the fight stick promo stuff that has a majority of the smaller quality ones. the issue is i have sources from so many desperate areas of the web its a bit hard to compile them all but heres my best attempt

this is where i first saw there was a full set of these things and got kinda obsessed. heres where to buy the few that are still in stock btw.

from there they did a lot of charms and pins with these designs, so its kinda easy to find them with this style of background out there. a few ive only seen in decent quality from this kind of thing. not like. amazing but a way better look at a few of em than the buttons.

from this website i managed to extract these images of a couple of them. which are really cute but so funny. the sol and ky are similarly cropped so i wont bother posting them. just silly to include. this site also has some other cool merch its neat to poke through. (particularly it has some images of the halloween merch which is SO cute)

joel also found this image and i have no clue where. but some decent looks at a few of em too.

anyways from THERE we finally get to the ones i ripped from the old website- heres about the best quality ive gotten out of any of these chibis besides teh 3 i have in full quality. (though theres a surprise i have) no i have no clue why the johnny is higher quality.

anyways . the only charms with saved pages were millia venom and axl. AND APPARENTLY JACKO? I JUST FOUND OUT . so bonus: heres jack-os full quality transparent chibi!

also on there are raven ky and leo but the only save of them were sold out so theyre cropped oddly, i have the images but . shrugs.

anyways if you ever want a certain characters xrd chibi, theres a good chance i know a pic of merch with the chibi on it for you to get a better look :-) YAY

and well i wish buying them on ebay was even an option. these for some reason barely EVER go up for sale from what i see. ive seen a few but only ever in the 80+ dollar range including shipping... cruel... they are so cute...

[a-pale-azure-moon]

Random TotK Thoughts #2

I've gotten a bit further, having completed one regional phenomenon, found a few more dragon's tears, and done some sidequests and exploring. I am having so much fun!!!

Specific things under the cut just to be safe.

-Something I forgot to mention in the first post, but how awesome is it that your horses carry over? I love that the devs included this little bonus. I spent so much time catching horses in BotW just for fun, so it's extra nice having all of my favorite ponies around for another tour of Hyrule.

-Where did Zelda find that gold horse though? How does a gold horse even exist in the first place? It even looks metallic with the way light refracts off of its coat. Bizarre. xD

-Penn's "Soar Long!" is the best/worst catchphrase ever.

-The journey up to the Wind Temple was great. Just climbing higher and higher, using the islands as "stairs" to reach the eye of the storm. I can't say I was very impressed with the dungeon itself though; it's an improvement over the Divine Beasts in terms of design, as it feels like it has its own identity rather than just repeating the same aesthetic as the shrines, but the puzzles and layout were very basic and once again, the goal was to activate five things. It's still a downgrade from a more traditional Zelda dungeon.

-I did like having to fuse a giant icicle to a broken handle though. That was a neat idea. And the Colgera boss fight was good and very fun, if a bit easy. I'd rate the whole sequence as like, a B overall, i.e. good but still has room for improvement.

-Tulin is cute as heck and his skill is useful. His headshots are even more useful (except when the enemy falls off an edge and I lose the drops, which has happened a lot). I've still found myself missing Revali's Gale a little though. :/

-I killed my first Frox in the depths on my mission to get Autobuild. It was almost completely dark since I hadn't found the next Lightroot, so it took me a minute to notice the ore deposits on its back. I kept shooting its eye and wondering why it was barely doing any damage, lol.

-Imagine my surprise when I ran into a Yiga down there, and then when Kogha showed up. I like how this is a "logical" way for him to have survived his confrontation with Link back in BotW. And that he's still an idiot who's easy to beat.

-Did Link just give Zelda his house in Hateno? (Also, I appreciate that the photo from the Champion's Ballad is still on the wall. Another nice little continuity touch.) Interesting though that the table is set for two but there's only one bed....

-After I visited Robbie at the lab and got the shrine sensor (finally), whom did I see casually flying by but Naydra! And man....I'm so psyched that you can actually land on the dragons now. I hitched a ride on her for quite awhile, and it helped me reach a couple of towers and scout for some other points of interest. And I harvested a few of her parts too, of course.

-I was surprised to discover that she goes into the depths (I assume Farosh and Dinraal do as well). I almost fell off when she started diving and then I realized we were entering a chasm. Neat!

-Also, I love how her body undulates as she flies, and she makes this soft purring/growling sound too. It's the little details like this that make the game world feel so real and immersive.

-Knowing now that Mineru tinkered with the Purah Pad in the distant past, I'm getting a headache trying to figure out if Sheikah technology derived from Zonai technology, or if it's actually the other way around because of time travel shenanigans.

-Also, you can't tell me that Zelda, the massive history nerd, didn't take at least one selfie with her great-great-great-great (etc) grandparents and many, many pictures of ancient architecture and technology while she was in the past. Somewhere on the Purah Pad is a hidden file filled with hundreds of photos that she took. Change my mind!

-I have a mighty need to know how Rauru and Sonia met and what their courtship was like. This two second interaction in Memory #2 begs for elaboration.

(She hit him with a closed fist! The look he gives her just sends me, and then he rubs the spot afterwards like it bruised.)

-I like how Sonia's reaction to Zelda is basically, "I'm taking her home with me and adopting her."

-I'll confess to my idiocy that I didn't immediately notice that Rauru has three eyes; I thought its lid and lashes were part of his facial markings (tattoos?) until I looked more closely. Does he keep it closed by choice or does it only open as a reflex in certain situations? I'm guessing the latter since Mineru's third eye is closed as well.

-It's funny to me that he literally has hair down to his heels and his sister's hair is cropped so short it's almost unnoticeable under her ears and visor. xD

-Also, bless the animators for actually using Rauru's magnificent ears to show some of his emotions. The way they twitched in Memory #3 made me grin so much.

-I think I've figured out what the major plot twist of this game's going to be. It can't be a coincidence that Mineru mentioned a forbidden power of draconification and that there was a dragon that flew right next to the Great Sky Island to allow Link to descend to Hyrule, can it? Hmm...

[sleep-is-for-the-weak-im-weak]

I FUCKING FINALLY FOUND THE POST

So I wanted to talk about I little headcannon(s) I have for these head panels

So

They look like a variation of Optimus' finals, so let's call them his audial panels

They are EXTREMELY sensitive + very delicate (think the most sensitive type of audials)

They are extremely rare (imagine 1 in a few hundred million and considering that the Cybertronian race is probably only in the millions its RARE rare)

Because of shitty high caste propaganda it is thought that only high caste bots and the occasional mid caste one can have them

Anyone that has them displays them as a point of pride

If someone tried to lie and say that the were forged with them but instead were just a mod for attention they are shunned

The audial panels are considered a gift from Primus to his favorite creations (if the The Temple of Primus finds someone with those panels they are immediately 'persuaded' into becoming priests with the permission of The Council of course)

That was a nice rant now onto the next one

Anything under the line is about an AU I have

It's the later part of the war and both sides are exhausted and low on rations, ammo and medical supplies

That's where the Quintessons come into play

Knowing how bad both sides have it they decide to attack

Of course both the Descepticons and the Autobots won't go without a fight and finally decide on a truce to save their own afts

After they push back the Quintessons they begin negotiations with them.

But something surprising happens

The squids insist that before any negotiations begin one of the two faction leaders have to be exiled (they hint that they want it to be Megatron)

The Descepticons (and surprisingly the Autobots) refuse vehemently, but Megatron has a plan and it includes Optimus.

He proposes that he disguise himself and act as an Autobot.

He made few chanes:

new paint job

got rid of his cannon, exchanging it for a big ass shield

changed the color of his optics to blue

got a voice box changing chip (yk how in most continuities he has a rough voice? He basically gets rid of that roughness and changes the voice register a bit)

most importantly he gets rid of the helmet

And whabam he looks like an entirely different mech

A little while before Megatron is to be exiled, a new Autobot shows up under the name of (not the final name but I like it that way) Galvatron

When it is time for 'Megatron' (someone acting like him) to go into the ship that will take him away he goes on a tirade in which the stand in curses at the Autobots and yells "DAMN YOU PRIME. DAMN YOU AND YOU CONJUX GALVATRON" (sidenote the standin thought that that was Megatron's cover story)

Everyone is rightfully shocked and so are the supposed conjuxed couple.

And so they have to act like that for the rest of the ruse. (Bonus points if they used to be lover or even better actually conjuxed before the war for maximum angst)

Surprisingly everyone buys the story because of how much Megatron looks like an actual aristocrat. (The audial panels and the way he acts)

Everything else in the future is up for debate.

If someone sees this AU feel free to add onto what I have already written down

Megatron’s secret head panels appreciation post

[oppossumposse]

Ozma, Covenborn

Getting back on schedule, got a hellish flare up of bronchitis so was unable to type for a bit there, but right as rain once more. Here's a look at the most unique ancestry of my setting, the Covenborn, inspired by the stereotypical green witch as well as thinking about the nature of hags in modern fantasy. This is definitely the favorite of my friends when playing in this setting, two of them pretty much only being covenborn during campaigns.

Working on formatting these posts a bit too, an interesting exercise for me. Typically the way I do notes and such for my campaigns are a bit scattered, and they tend to start very specific and build up into the overall lore. So what I'm going to do for these posts is kind of do the same, going to post specific listings for each ancestry, then each important faction and bit by bit place the pieces of the world down. Hopefully entertaining, and at the very least maybe somebody can steal a few ideas from the piles of my rambling notes.

Covenborn

She stood in the doorway of my office, the soft light of my desk lamp draped across her green skin, sharp face, sharper teeth and deep black silk romper that did its damnedest to try and eat up that meager illumination. Everything about her was pointed and predatory, like a knife ready to plunge itself into my chest.

“Shouldn’t have been snooping around the factory, honey.” She crooned, voice dripping with sweet sweet venom, and hand cradled with a smoky flame. Gods she was going to try and kill me, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited, this case finally got good.

Born Again: Originally orphans, human usually but a few elves as well, the Covenborn are given a strange elixir by the Three Sisters which elicits a peculiar change. Skin becomes a striking shade of green, a light yellowish to a deep emerald, hair darkens, nail and teeth sharpen just a touch. A distinct look for sure. Covenborn become incredibly healthy as well, finding it easy to keep an athletic build, and after reaching maturity their aging appears to stop at least in the last hundred or so years of their existence. In addition the process grants them innate magical potential, as befitting a witch.

Besides the physical and magical changes the Covenborn experience another very important change, they gain a loyal family! The clan intensely protects each other and their Mothers’ business, making them one of the most powerful communities in Ozma. Mess with one you mess with them all, stick your nose into the factory where it don’t belong and well that’s messing with the clan.

The Three Sisters: A secretive and ancient trio of witches, the Three Sisters came to Ozma’s founders and offered a simple deal; “Our alchemy to ye, and to us the unwanted, for our own family.” Ever since the Industrial District has been home to both the Bubba Yaga trailer park and Wicked Alchemy Co. From which comes essential magical concoctions like healing salves, Potion-Sodas and Energy-Elixirs.

Unseemly Business: The Three Sisters have inspired reverent loyalty among their children, which comes in handy when people begin snooping around the factory. The people of Ozma are by and large a bit afraid of the Covenborn, though the alchemical items are the lifeblood of the peoples’ busy days odd things happen in and around the factory, missing people, strange beasts and countless disasters can be traced back to the vats of Wicked Alchemy Co.

*Aversions*: Covenborn become Vulnerable while being directly exposed to either fresh running water or silver, typically requiring directly contact for this to take effect, but in high enough quantities possibly even being in the presence of. In addition they gain the Can’t Swim hindrance.

*Bad Reputation*: Covenborn are at least a little bit feared by a huge chunk of Ozma, few have not heard the reputation of this feisty clan of witches. They gain a +1 bonus to Intimidation checks with Ozma natives, but suffer a -1 penalty to Persuasion, few trust the kindness of a witch.

*Witchblood*: Covenborn begin play with the Arcane Background (Gifted), the power they choose with this typically representing some deep emotional truth to themselves. Their blood is also quite literally magical, granting them immunity to Diseases and Poisons.

[the-river-delta]

Tangibility, Modules, and Minimalism; or how Mausritter makes me excited about TTRPG loot

When it comes to tabletop RPGs, I've never been particularly motivated by the prospect of Loot™ (a term I know might have some baggage, but that's not the discourse I'm trying to tackle here with this post) - gold and other valuables worth a bunch of cash, magic items like enchanted swords or spellbooks, and other such rewards.

Whether that's because I was more interested in the character roleplay, exploring the world, or telling a particular kind of story, the bits and pieces picked up along the way have never really been the thing on my mind when I sit down and join the voice chat for the session, whether as a player embarking on an adventure, or the GM who's had to prep it - whenever I get a new Pathfinder 2e rulebook or adventure from a friend (at this point basically not for playing anymore), I completely glaze over the obligatory 4-6 pages dedicated to new items included therein (for a few reasons that later parts of this post will contrast this with), and a lot of the Powered by the Apocalypse or Forged in the Dark games that I pay most of my TTRPG attention to these days don't feature this style of reward almost at all.

However, the figuratively and literally little roleplaying game Mausritter (which reimagines old-school fantasy adventuring through the lens of tiny mice in a big dangerous world, in the style of Mouse Guard or The Secret of NIMH) has been doing a few things that have had me coming around on the concept somewhat, and I wanna talk about them in this probably long and rambly post today.

So, what does Mausritter do that other games in its fantasy-adventure-dungeoncrawling extended family don't, for me at least?

For one, I think it has to do with its minimalism - the rulebook is less than 50 pages, split roughly between player and GM sections - and within this, maybe 6 are dedicated to items the player mice can start with, purchase, or find in the world - the game calls out its 15 magic spells as a selling point, and there's 10 magic swords listed in the treasure part of the GM chapter, and most of these have at most one or two one-line rules associated with them.

And yet, through the paradoxical power of "less is more", this is a much more exciting starting setup than the dozens of pages of stuff your PF2 blorbo can go shopping for in that game, to speak nothing of the hundreds of pages of things they can acquire on their journey from level 1 to 20. When there are this few things to pick from (and when modules sprinkle in new ones, more on this later), and when you can only carry a small handful of them (MR's Resident Evil Tetris inventory limits you to 10 slots across your body and backpack, which can also be taken up by gnarly conditions like exhaustion and curses), each one feels proportionally more meaningful - meanwhile a bunch of new items in a PF2 book just isn't making a dent in the game's already extant catalog, and are diluted across the game's 1-20 level range (and just simply don't feel very exciting when they amount to "a little bit of combat action compression, a boring but useful skill bonus, or a modest utility spell on a lengthy cooldown, all of which will likely become obsolete and need replacement in a few levels' time".

The thing is, a Pathfinder character can also advance in myriad other parallel ways (their stats, their skill proficiencies, their class and archetype feats, their spells, their companions and familiars, and so on), and given the game's pretty conservative game balance, each of those is only a small element of the power progression puzzle - there are scarce few elements in the game that are singularly 'build-defining', and the game generally wants you to think about them in aggregate and over levels-long periods of time, and that just isn't a mindset (or perhaps, attention span) that I have.

Meanwhile in Mausritter, items are basically the main (though technically not the only) means of handing out rewards, so they better feel exciting and significant to get! And beyond the fact that their minimal writeups are a lot more liberating and feel very no-strings-attached (like the sword that makes you invisible while you stand perfectly still, or the sword that lets you disguise yourself as any mouse-sized creature), the fact they are all presented as these cute little cards that you physically plop down and shuffle around your character sheet (with a doodly illustration, name, and usage to be filled and cleared) adds an extra layer of tangibility that legitimately makes me wish I could play tabletops in an offline fashion (but alas I have no players nearby nor the money to afford physical books and accessories).

...Which is further enhanced when you consider that this tiny core set of stuff in that zine-sized rulebook (15 spells, 11 creatures, etc.) leaves a wide open space for modules to expand on in bite-sized chunks, mostly done by Mausritter's vibrant third-party community (the game's author Isaac Williams has only published two official modules, and of those one of them was in collaboration with a bunch of 3pp writers), and the fact they almost always likewise include their additions in that same "here's a sheet of item cards to print out and pop out at the table" continues that sense of tangible rewards - but now with the added bonus of the different adventures' themes and visual styles making veteran mice's sheets a real collage and record of where they've been and what they've accomplished (assuming they've lived and held onto the stuff, anyway).

(Not to mention the organic emergent fun of bringing items from one module to solve problems in another in ways the authors of neither could have foreseen, I reckon.)

Also the fact that the majority of Mausritter modules consist of these pamphlet-sized sites that can each be finished in a few sessions each rather than sprawling multi-month affairs means that it's actually feasible to chain them together and see this stuff I'm talking about unfold in a timely manner - especially since Mausritter's world is so freeform and the relative lack of level scaling means that you aren't too likely to buy something that your players are either over- or under-level for.

I've only managed to run and play a tiny bit of Mausritter (tried to run a duet game for one of my girlfriends, and played with her in a cut-short game set in the Estate module that a friend GMed for us), but these and some other realizations make me want to do it again, sometime next year.