#I'm not a tech snob

[spaceyfuckinstar]

Honest to God, I hate apple with every single ounce of my being. They have the worst, most useless operating systems and aren't worth the fucking price you have to pay. I fucking HATEEEEE iphones and ipads and macbooks. And before ANYONE says it's because I don't know how to operate them, I do, and that's why I know they are stupid fucking pieces of shit

[phantomrose96]

Hey not to go all "tumblr is a professional networking site" on you, but how did you get to work for Microsoft??? I'm a recent grad and I'm being eviscerated out here trying to apply for industry jobs & your liveblogging about your job sounds so much less evil than Data Entry IT Job #43461

This place is basically LinkedIn to me.

I'm gonna start by saying I am so so very sorry you're a recent grad in the year 2024... Tech job market is complete ass right now and it is not just you. I started fulltime in 2018, and for 2018-2022 it was completely normal to see a yearly outflow of people hopping to new jobs and a yearly inflow of new hires. Then sometime around late-spring/early-summer of 2022 Wallstreet sneezed the word "recession" and every tech company simultaneously shit themselves.

Tons of layoffs happened, meaning you're competing not just with new grads but with thousands of experienced workers who got shafted by their company. My org squeaked by with a small amount of layoffs (3 people among ~100), but it also means we have not hired anyone new since mid-2022. And where I used to see maybe 4-8 people yearly leave in order to hop to a new job, I think I've seen 1 person do that in the whole last year and a half.

All this to say it's rough and I can't just say "send applications and believe in yourself :)".

I have done interviews though. (I'm not involved in resume screening though, just the interviews of candidates who made it past the screening phase.) So I have at least some relevant advice, as well as second-hand knowledge from other people I know who've had to hop jobs or get hired recently.

If you have friends already in industry who you feel comfortable asking, reach out to them. Most companies have a recommendation process where a current employee fills out a little form that says "yeah I'd recommend such-and-such for this job." These do seem to carry weight, since it's coming from a trusted internal person and isn't just one of the hundreds of cold-call applications they've received.

A lot of tech companies--whether for truly well-intentioned reasons or to just check a checkbox--are on the lookout for increasing employee diversity. If you happen to have anything like, for example, "member of my college Latino society", it's worth including on your resume among your technical skills and technical projects.

I would add "you're probably gonna have to send a lot of applications" as a bullet point but I'm sure you're already doing that. But here it is as a bullet point anyway.

(This is kind of a guess, since it's part of the resume screening) but if you can dedicate some time to getting at least passingly familiar with popular tech/stacks for the positions you're looking into, try doing that in your free time so you can list it on your resume. Even better if you make a project you can point to. Like if you're aiming for webdev, get familiar with React and probably NodeJS. On top of being comfortable in one of the all-purpose languages like C(++) or Java or Python.

If you get to the interview phase - a company that is good to work for WILL care that you're someone who's good to work with. A tech-genius who's a coworker-hating egotistical snob is a nuisance at best and a liability at worst for companies with even a half-decent culture. When I do interviews, "Is this someone who's a good culture fit?" is as important as the technical skills. You'll want to show you'll be a perfectly pleasant, helpful, collaborative coworker. If the company DOESN'T care about that... bullet dodged.

For the technical questions, I care more about the thought process than I do the right answer, especially for entry-level. If you show a capacity for asking good, insightful clarifying questions, an ability to break down the problem, explain your thought process, and backtrack&alter your approach upon realizing something won't work, that's all more important than just being able to spit out a memorized leetcode answer. (I kinda hate leetcode for this reason, and therefore I only ask homebrewed questions, because I don't want the technical portion to hinge at all on whether someone managed to memorize the first 47 pages of leetcode problems). For a new hire, the most important impression you can give me is that you have a technical grasp and that you're capable of learning. Because a new hire isn't going to be an expert in anything, but they're someone who's capable of learning the ropes.

That's everything I have off the top of my head. Good luck anon. I'm very sorry you were born during a specific range of years that made you a new grad in 2024 and I hope it gets better.

[jsluvtzu]

Hiaaaaaa, I love your first Sana fic, she asked me if you can make a sub!gip!mina and dom!reader fic.

Thank you for your time!

the party isn’t over

sub!g!p mina x dom!reader

summary: she’ll do whatever it takes to get what she wants

cw: smut, edging, thigh fucking, degradation, jealousy, men dni

wc: 1.3k

a/n: thank you for the request, anon! i’m glad you enjoyed it :) this was sorta rushed so i do apologize 😭

it was a busy night for you as you were responsible for getting the shareholders to agree to your boss's new business branding contract. the party was filled with six-figure company owners, investers, and tech developers. any rich person you can think of was there that night. 

the music was loud, and the warm, ambient lighting made your company building look more inviting than it did during work hours. you made your rounds around the room talking to each person, charismatically hypnotizing them into eventually signing the contract. of course your girlfriend, mina, was clinging to your arm the whole time. you had a glass of champagne in your right hand, sipping it every once in a while, with mina to your left side, desperate for a taste of your attention.

you had been so busy trying to make your boss happy, you paid no mind to the fact that you were wearing the perfume mina loved on you, and the tight, figure-fitting dress that mina loved, oh, and how could you forget about the black lace panties mina knew you were wearing when she saw you bend over to lace your heels earlier? 

everything about you was driving mina absolutely crazy that night, she couldn't help but feel the bulge under her skirt grow just from a simple look at you. just hearing you talk business and using big finance words that she knew nothing about was so attractive to her. she wanted nothing more than for you to just fuck her right there while you whisper in her ear with that same sultry voice of yours.

mina was growing restless by the minute. the uncomfortable throbbing between her legs growing increasingly unbearable the more she stayed by you. but of course, you were too wrapped up in your money making mindset to notice your girlfriend's neediness. 

"y/n.. i don't feel good, let's just go home please." mina whined in your ear and hugged your arm tighter. "i can't leave yet mina, i still have to talk to a couple more people. can you hang on for another hour?" you were slightly concerned about her, but even more exhausted from putting on a fake persona with those stuck up assholes. mina shook her head and gave you a small pout while she grabbed your hand and moved it down to her crotch, letting you feel exactly where she wasn't feeling good. "need you..", that was the moment you realized what you were doing to your poor needy girlfriend. you were the reason she was feeling so uncomfortable. "mina, i'm working. i'll make it up to you when we get home yeah?" you moved your hand out of her grip, kissing her on her forehead and leaving to go talk to yet another rich snob. 

mina watched as you walked away nonchalantly, basically seething with anger and sexual frustration. she smiled to herself when she thought of the perfect plan to get your guaranteed attention. she confidently walked over to a random girl in the corner across from where you were standing, making sure she was in your line of sight. 

you saw mina in your peripheral and shot quick glances at her while also maintaining eye contact with the ceo in front of you. you saw how she laughed loudly at that girl's jokes, grazing her arm with light touches. mina was way closer than she needed to be to her, and then it clicked. she was trying to make you jealous. you scoffed as you took a sip of your drink, staring daggers at mina blatantly eye fucking that girl in front of you. eventually you had enough of her antics, excusing yourself from the conversation and speed walking over to your girlfriend, grabbing her arm with force. "so sorry to bother your extremely interesting conversation, but can i just steal my girifriend away for a bit?" you asked with the biggest, fakest smile on your face, not really giving the girl a chance to answer. 

your grip on mina's arm was enough to cut off circulation, making her slightly whimper. you dragged mina all the way to an empty office a few doors down from the lounge, shoving her through the door and slamming it closed with her against it. "you're such a needy fucking slut that you couldn't even let me do my job for five minutes without having to take care of you first huh?" your breathing was heavy and you enunciated your words with a squeeze to mina's throat. mina whined at your degrading words, feeling like she could burst at any moment. 

you ran your hand over her groin, rubbing gently and observing how her eyes struggled to stay open. "y/n- please. need you to fuck me." you hummed at her pleas for your touch, enjoying how desperate she was for you. "you're gonna make me fuck you right here? in this very public office? i bet you're too fucking horny right now to even care if we got caught right baby?"

sliding your hand under mina's skirt, you pulled her cock out of her pink panties, moving your hand down her length and back up to the tip, teasing it with your thumb. "fuck y/n, f-feels good" she bit back her moans and dropped her head down. you spread her precum around her whole cock, feeling it twitch in your hands. "aw, is my poor baby gonna cum just like this? so needy and dumb." mina ground herself by gripping the hand you had on her hip, unable to contain the loud moan she let out. "you can't be too loud love, you don't wanna be seen like this do you? getting handfucked in public. how humiliating." you shushed her with a deep, hungry kiss, moving down her jaw to her neck, holding back the urge to mark her up just yet.

"should i mark you right where everyone can see? hmm? let everybody here see how much of a pathetic slut you are?" you whispered right in mina's ear and felt her knees get weak against you. she whined and shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut when she felt your pumps getting faster. mina gripped your exposed shoulders and dug her nails into them. she was practically only focused on cumming at this point, grinding herself on your hand, relying on your strength to hold her upright. "please, please, y/n, gonna cum, fuck- please" her frantic begs were like music to your ears, but they only encouraged you to give her the opposite of what she wanted. just when you felt her getting close, you stopped your movements and laughed at her confused moans.

"be patient, love. you wanted my attention so i'm giving you all of it now." you kissed her cheek and waited for her to calm down from her denied orgasm. after you decided it was long enough, you adjusted your dress up to expose your thighs and pressed them tightly together, grabbing mina's cock and sliding it between them. chants of your name immediately fell from mina's lips as you watched as her head fall back onto the door behind her. you slowly grinded yourself back and forth on her length, relishing in the intimate skin to skin contact. you could tell mina was close again, already sensitive from her previous stimulation, so you moved your hips faster, gripping mina's throat again, squeezing lightly. "i bet that bitch you were feeling on earlier can't fuck you like this." 

soon after you said that, you felt mina cling onto your hips, clawing at your flesh as she finished and moved you along her cock herself to ride out her high. her moans were stuttered and she could barely form a single word other than your name. you kissed her and laughed at how she was unable to kiss you back. "let's go home." you said smiling, carefully tucking mina's cock back into her panties for her. you slid your dress back down and kissed her one more time on the lips before grabbing her hand and opening the door. you both took the back way out of the building, sneaking into your car. the contract wasn't even that important anyways.

[banana-sims]

The Bennett Legacy - update post!   

Hi! This is where I'm going to update stats for my legacy :) I'll also periodically update the family tree as seen above!

I'm currently on generation three, playing with Romeo as my heir (he's like 25 years old right now). It took me forever to decide who to choose but I've realized I love his little family so much that I can't resist.

I'm going to do a bunch of posts about everyone and everything that's happened to catch you up, plus you'll get a much better look at them :)

EXPLORE:

Aspirations

Friend of the Animals, Bodybuilder, Extreme Sports Enthusiast, Painter Extraordinaire (G3), Musical Genius, Bestselling Author, Master Actor, Master Maker, Lady of the Knits (G1), Successful Lineage (G2), Big Happy Family (G2), Super Parent (G2), Master Chef, Master Mixologist, Fabulously Wealthy, Mansion Baron, Renaissance Sim, Nerd Brain, Computer Whiz, Archaeology Scholar, Academic (G2), Serial Romantic, Soulmate (G3), City Native, Beach Life, Mt. Komorebi Sightseer, Freelance Botanist, The Curator, Angling Ace, Outdoor Enthusiast, Jungle Explorer, Eco Innovator (G1), Country Caretaker, Joke Star, Party Animal, Friend of the World (G2), World-Famous Celebrity, Inner Peace, Self-Care Specialist, Zen Guru

Artistic Prodigy (G3), Rambunctious Scamp, Social Butterfly, Whiz Kid, Mind and Body, Playtime Captain, Creative Genius

Drama Llama, Goal Oriented, Live Fast, Admired Icon

Careers

actor, astronaut, athlete, business, civil designer (G1), conservationist, critic, culinary, detective, doctor, education (G2), engineer, entertainer (G1), freelance writer, freelance programmer, freelance artist, freelance fashion photographer, gardener, law, painter, politician (G2), scientist, social media, secret agent, style influencer, tech guru, writer, salaryperson, interior decorator, any part time job

own/run a vet clinic, own/run a retail store, own/run a restaurant

Degrees

Art History, Biology, Communications, Computer Science, Culinary Arts (G3), Drama, Economics, Fine Art (G2), History, Language and Literature, Physics, Psychology (G2), any distinguished degree (G2)

Worlds

Brindleton Bay (G1), Britechester (G2), Copperdale, Del Sol Valley, Evergreen Harbour (G2), Henford-on-Bagley, Mt. Komorebi, Newcrest, Oasis Springs, San Myshuno, Sulani, Tartosa, Willow Creek (G2), Windenburg

Traits

ambitious, cheerful (G1), childish, clumsy, creative (G3), genius, gloomy, goofball, high maintenance, hot-headed, romantic, self-assured (G1), squeamish, unflirty, art lover, bookworm (G2), dance machine, foodie (G3), geek, loves outdoors (G1), maker, music lover (G1), recycle disciple, active, adventurous (G1), child of the islands, child of the ocean, freegan, glutton, green fiend, lazy, materialistic, neat (G2), overachiever, perfectionist, slob, vegetarian (G2), animal enthusiast, bro, cat lover (G3), dog lover, family-oriented (G2), good (G2), hates children, insider, jealous, loner, loyal (G3), noncommittal, outgoing, party animal, proper, self-absorbed, snob, socially awkward

toddler angelic trait (G3), toddler charmer trait, toddler clingy trait (G2), toddler fussy trait, toddler independent trait, toddler inquisitive trait (G3), toddler silly trait (G4), toddler wild trait (G3)

infant cautious trait (G4), infant sensitive trait, infant calm trait, infant intense trait, infant wiggly trait, infant sunny trait

good manners trait (G2), bad manners trait, responsible trait (G2), irresponsible trait, mediator trait (G2), argumentative trait, compassionate trait (G3), insensitive trait, emotional control trait (G3), uncontrolled emotions trait

Skills

charisma (G2), comedy, cooking (G1), fishing, fitness (G2), gardening, gourmet cooking (G1), guitar, handiness (G1), logic (G1), mischief, mixology, painting (G3), piano (G1), photography (G2), programming, rocket science, video gaming, violin, writing, herbalism, baking (G3), wellness, DJ mixing, singing, dancing (G2), bowling, parenting (G2), veterinarian, pet training, archaeology, selvadoradian culture, flower arranging, acting, media production, robotics, research & debate (G2), fabrication, juice fizzing, knitting (G1), rock climbing, skiing, snowboarding, cross-stitch, entrepreneur

Household

male heir (G2), single mom/dad heir, blended family (kids from both previous partners), queer heir (G2), have 1 kid in the generation, have 2 kids in the generation (G1), have 3 kids in the generation, have 4 kids in the generation (G2), have 5 kids in the generation, have twins (G1), have triplets, adopt a child (G2), one night stand pregnancy, broken engagement, marry a childhood friend, marry a coworker, marry someone who was once your enemy/rival, marry someone famous, never get married, have a cat (G1), have a dog (G1), have kittens/puppies

Extra things/collections

live in a tiny home, live off-the-grid for a season, live in an apartment (G2), live in a 3-storey home (G2), live on a farm, sell craftables on plopsy (G1), make/sell candles, have bees/sell honey, craft/sell fizzy juice, reach 5-star reputation for odd jobs

have a child do scouts, have a child do drama club, compete in E-Sports, compete in soccer, join cheer team, join chess team, join computer team, join football team

omiscan treasures and omiscan artifacts collections, city posters collection, snow globes collection, feathers collection, seashells collection, postcards collection, elements collection, mysims trophies collection

GENERATIONS:

______________________________________________________________

GEN 1 FOUNDER - Willa Bennett - Adventurous, Loves Outdoors, Self-Assured / Eco Innovator + Lady of the Knits

SPOUSE - Damon Napier - Music Lover, Self-Assured, Cheerful / Friend of the Animals

Living in: Brindleton Bay

CHILD #1 - Lyra Bennett - Creative, Foodie, Goofball / Musical Genius

CHILD #2 - Dawson Bennett - Cheerful, Neat, Bookworm / Academic

____________________________________________________________________________

GEN 2 HEIR - Dawson Bennett - Cheerful, Neat, Bookworm / Academic

SPOUSE - Jack Sanders - Good, Family-Oriented, Vegetarian / Friend of the World

Living in: Britechester, Evergreen Harbour, Willow Creek

CHILD #1 - Nora Bennett - Bookworm, Unflirty, Hot-Headed / Renaissance Sim

CHILD #2 - Romeo Bennett - Neat, Loyal, Foodie / Soulmate

CHILD #3 - Bea Bennett - Animal Enthusiast, Cheerful, Dance Machine / Friend of the World

CHILD #4 - Sage Bennett - Goofball, Genius / Musical Genius

____________________________________________________________________________

GEN 3 HEIR - Romeo Bennett - Neat, Loyal, Foodie / Soulmate

SPOUSE - Makenzie Thompson - Creative, Vegetarian, Cat Lover / Painter Extraordinaire

Living in: Willow Creek

CHILD #1 - Felix Bennett - ?? / ??

____________________________________________________________________________

If you want to play like this yourself, the template and info is all here!

[lost-technology]

I really don't like it when I browse a fandom-space, tags on tumblr or wherever and I see people dumping on any of the Trigun media. You know, the whole "My favorite part of the franchise is better, so this other part of the franchise sucks." (It's been like that for years, actually... I remember digging in my heels on my love for the '98 anime back in the day when I ran into some manga!only! snobs - despite absolutely loving the manga). We all have our favorite things, I just get a bit annoyed when people think expressing their affection has to come with a side of snide at something else adjacent to it. For instance, I recently re-watched Badlands Rumble after several years and found out - "Hey, I actually like this / still like this!" (I think people see BR as the black sheep of the franchise because Vash does his "fake perv / stupid annoyance act" a little too over the top in it and because its plot is simple and doesn't have any bearing on the rest of the narrative. (Which was actually the point of the movie - something non-lore heavy to bring in random new fans). And I see some people new to the fandom because of Stampede who don't like the '98 anime so well. It seems like everyone loves the manga, though, so there's at least that. (As well they SHOULD, the manga is awesome). Anyway, the Trigun franchise has core unifying themes and characters, but much like "the film of the book" or "the reboot of the old show" or "pick a Legend of Zelda game out of order in the canonically fucked up chronology" they're all fairly different. And people might just hardcore prefer one in particular over all others. And that's fine. My thoughts as an inveterate fan: I feel like Trigun Stampede is just so *different* from the 1998 anime that people brand new to the fandom coming in because of it might not actually vibe with the old anime. It draws more from the manga - has more of the serious and dark manga-vibe (and Orange's modern tech really allows those frenzied gun-battles that Nightow liked to draw that some of us COULDN'T EVEN FOLLOW without reading about 10 times to shine). But... the manga is black and white and also very long and also really goes off the rails in places. I feel like the different versions of the story take different tolerances: 1998 anime - Tolerance of a lot of goofy. I've been rewatching parts of it recently for fanart purposes and have been "Wow, sometimes I forget how FUNNY this show is!" You also have to have a tolerance for the goofy turning into the serious as the story goes on. Manga / Maximum - Tolerance for mood whiplashes (light to dark, often more dramatic than the first anime). Tolerance for (black and white) blood and a lot of it. Tolerance for the Western wending its way into deep science fiction lore / genre shift. Tolerance for "sometimes you aren't going to understand these 10-12 pages of straight action scene, just re-read it, honey." Stampede - Tolerance for sadness and brooding. It starts with some goofy, but quickly turns to the Holy Shit Quotient that the manga took a little time to introduce and poor babygirl Vash has such an obvious depression in this that he hurts to look at. Stampede = Trigun: The Emo Version. (I absolutely love, it, though - I'm allowed to rib it). So, you know, I can see if a given person has a particular attachment / came in with one version that they might not quite "get" the others. To love them all is a gift.

[1baddie11]

Inside out Legacy challenge

Today I present a 9 generation legacy challenge that is base on the inside out movies. Remember tag me or place the hashtag #Insideoutlegacychallenge so I can see your progression.

Gen 1: Joy Name : Joy

Traits: Cheerful, Good, Loyal

Aspiration: Leader of the pack

Career: Entertainer career (Branch Comedian)

I've always been a happy person since I was a child. I in Joy make people happy.

Rules:

-Master Entertainer career (Branch Comedian)

-Complete Leader of the pack aspiration

-Reach level 10 in the Comedian skill

-Reach level 5 in cooking skill

- Have at least two children

_Get married at adult

Gen 2: Sadness Name: Sade

Traits: Socially Awkward, Gloomy, Clumsy

Aspiration: Nerd brain

Career: Painter

I've been a sad person but I'm close my mom.

Rules:

-Master Painter career

-Complete Nerd Brain

-Reach level 10 paint

-Reach level 5 in parenting

-Do not get married

-Have only one child

Gen 3: Anger Name: Wuthering

Traits: Hot- headed, mean, self assured

Aspiration: Super Parent

Career: Detective

His mom was so depressed and he got so frustrated about his name since that day he was angry at his name.

Rules:

-Master Detective career

-Complete Super Parent

-Reach level 10 charisma

-Reach level 5 writing

-Get married as an elder

-At least three children

Gen 4: Fear Name: Hindee

Traits: Squeamish, Geek, Neat or Perfectionist

Aspiration: Successful Lineage

Career: Writer

His dad was so angry that the got scared of everything.

Rules:

-Master Writer career

-Complete Successful Lineage

-Reach level 10 writing

-Get married to a sim that has hot-headed Trait

-Have at least five children

Gen 5: Disgust Name: Liza

Traits: Materialistic, Jealous, Non-committal

Aspiration: Fabulously Wealthy

Career: Stylist Influencer

Her dad was scared that to just wanted to throw up.

Rules:

-Master Stylist Influencer Career

-Complete Fabulously Wealthy aspiration

-At least 3 children

-Have at least two boyfriends

-Get married best friend

Gen 6: Anxiety Name: Maya

Traits: Ambitious, Erratic, Active

Aspiration: Bodybuilder

Career: Secret Agent

At school she have a lot of activities for school and homework she became stressed.

Rules:

-Master Secret Agent career

-Complete Bodybuilder aspiration

-Have five enemy

-Do not get married

-Have only one child

Gen 7: Envy Name: Eris

Traits: Good, Materialistic, Loyal

Aspiration: Big Happy Family

Career: Freelancer

She envies a lot of famous people.

Rules:

-Master Freelancer career

-Complete Big Happy Family aspiration

-At least 4 children

-Get married at a young adult

-Go to the festival at least once

Gen 8: Ennui Name: Ennui

Traits: Lazy, Snob, Loner

Aspiration: Computer Whiz

Career: Tech Guru

She got so bored with his mother's life style.

-Master Tech Guru career

-Complete Computer Whiz aspiration

-Have only one child

-Have a big house

-Do not get married

Gen 9: Embarrassment. Name: Adamar

Traits: Socially Awkward, Foodie, Nice

Aspiration: Master Chef

Career: Culinary

He is Embarrassed about his body.

-Master Culinary career (Branch Cooking)

-Complete Master Chef

-Get married

-Have No children

[tinywitchgoblin]

Didn't know you were doing ship requests, so I'll give it a whirl! Ship me til your heart's joy! 💖

I'm an INFJ personality type and my zodiac sign is Cancer (fun fact, the ruling planet for Cancer is the moon). I love baking, reading, writing, and recently I've been wanting to get an acoustic guitar. I love acoustic, folk music, I love forests and rain, knitting, tea, overall coziness. I'll take a quiet night at home over a wild night partying any time.

I hope this is enough, though let me know if you'd like more description :D can't wait to see who you ship me with!

MOON HELLO ILY

I ship you with...

Echo!

Growing up, Echo never had a chance to relax or be comfortable. From being a cadet to a soldier to a prisoner to a soldier/fighter again, he was always on the move; always on survival mode- that is, until he met you. You called to a side of him that he didn't know he had- one that desires comfort and love. He's not really sure how to address it at first, but he eventually realizes that he loves you. He decides the best way to resolve it would be to talk to you directly, and when he found out that you reciprocated his feelings, he asked you out right then and there.

Echo loves taking quiet nights at home with you. He was never really a party animal like some of his brothers, so he really enjoys spending quality time with you- quality time is, after all, his love language. He likes when you show him new types of music, but is a little confused at first ("Taylor Swift? Is she a good runner or something?" lol). He's very supportive, and when you tell him about wanting to learn acoustic guitar, he encourages you to get one and start learning! He also likes when you knit. You even knit him a hat to keep his head and ears warm, and when you gave it to him, he just melted. It was one of the first gifts he'd ever been given, and it (and you) mean so much to him.

Something Echo grew to enjoy during his time with the bad batch was tea. Tech especially was a bit of a tea snob, so when he found out that you enjoy tea, too, he started drinking it again. Sometimes, when you and he go out shopping at the local farmer's market, he'll look for new and interesting teas to try with you. You've definitely got a collection going on, and he only adds to it (not that you mind).

Even though he absolutely loves being with you and spending time with you, that doesn't stop his drive to fight against the Empire. He still does missions with Rex and the others, but if he's not actively on a mission, he spends what time he can with you. It's difficult for you to say goodbye to him each time he leaves, knowing that it may be the last time you ever see him. However, you know he's doing the right thing, and you support him in whatever ways you can, and that means more to him than he knows how to express.

(tiny side note, I've been playing acoustic guitar since I was seven, and it's so much fun!! and so satisfying!! I highly recommend learning to play if you're on the fence about it)

-

Thanks for reading! If you want a ship request like this one, put it in my ask box (but it may take a while for me to get to it), and don't forget to reblog <3

[arodrwho]

dw liveblog

oh theyre just going for susan rightaway huh

oh i like this kid

i do wish there was less emphasis on rubys bio mum but i'm okay with it bc at least she never calls carla anything her but her mum

i saw somebody say they werent expecting THAT villain to come back but they didnt say which villain so i'm like ????? whomst. ive heard the master and the rani and folks from the eu as theories all season long so i'm assuming not them? so.. whomst

eyyyyyy go carla!

ohhhh mrs flood! hey whats up. who are you, also

oh that's fucking rude. i hate you actually

"he waits no more" so thatll be the one who waits, then. ist the eu guy after all?

"well, not quite, not yet" oh my god the theory was RIGHT? holy shit. love that

so what are we thinking, chameleon arch?

>:(((( let carla in! --yeah!!

god i love when the dr's a time tech snob

oh good. carla should be here for this. no don't take carla away, i want here to be there

god ruby is an infant. 2004 is so recent

tides and hollows... i love that

oh thats dramatic

i'm still mad that carlas sidelined. i get that this about ruby and not her mum, but like. it is also about her mum

oh, i love ruby's mum. she did get to be a big part of it

carrionite? carrionite pose?

no make him go back this seems like a really bad idea. no dont go by the tardis

but now wheres the guy

okay well why did she literally vanish but the rest of the vision is still there. thats weird. did she actually vanish in that first episode and not just walk out of sight?

i said he shouldnt have moved!!!!

how do you know its name? why'd you say The Beast in caps? hello??? someone talk to carla?????

the Beast like. from that one episode? with rose?

the fuck?

yeah the one who waits okay sure. but can we go back to what carla said???

holy shit. whys he stone

yeah man why'd you let him walk around? that doesnt make any sense!! just decide this guy is expendable???? like. u do that sometimes. but not usually to ur allies

whats grizzling. like i can pick it up from context but

he's not having a temper tantrum or a sulk mel, don't be rude

ooooooh that's interesting. i thought he was asking abt dreams bc chameleon arch. i mean i guess it could still be a weird chameleon arch thing but im not sure why she wouldve spent time as an ambulance yknow

that was an extremely rude way to talk to ur mum. how about an i'm sorry, but i can't? jeez.

?????? i think shes allowed to question, kate. but sure

harbinger....

sutekh.... i don't remember you? if tis an old enemy returned, i dont think i watched or read or listened to whatever he was in. assuming a classic or eu thing of some kind

[syrupspinner]

i just beat the messenger

there's a joke about shooting the messenger in there somewhere

so this is one of those games with a very specific thought process. let's add a unique and enticing gimmick, but make it a surprise reveal! I always thought this was a bit silly. like, if you're a fan of horror, then you have no reason to play doki doki literature club, because it's just a normal dating sim. but if you do know it's a horror game, then you just had half the game ruined for you, because so much of the presentation and writing and atmosphere and... EVERYTHING is done with the intention that you're going in blind. it's a weird conundrum between trying to market the thing that makes your game stand out and trying to maintain a cool subversive reveal.

the messenger has that in two parts. the first reveal is the time travel gimmick. you start off in an 8bit ninja gaiden-like platformer, and eventually upgrade into a 16bit ninja gaiden-like platformer, complete with world swapping puzzles. yeah, I love world swapping puzzles! link between worlds was my shit back on 3ds

the second part is that the game has a minor genre shift, going from a straightforward platformer to... a nonlinear platformer. I know that all the advertising says a metroidvania, and you can call me a genre snob for this, but I'm not sure if it really counts. sure there's some overlap, like the hub area, but like... you unlock all your cool new movement abilities during the platforming bit, so once the "metroidvania" part starts you don't unlock any new abilities, which is kinda stupid to say out loud. that's like saying you're playing as a roguelike without random generation, I think we lost the plot here.

don't get me wrong, just because it's not a metroidvania doesn't mean it's not fun. act 1 (the platformer) is already a fantastic retro platformer, reasonable difficulty that's juuuuust tough enough to keep you engaged without making you feel like you're being asked for too much, great controls and a good kit that gels with the level design really well, it's good shit. I don't play a lot of retro platformers, so I dunno if saying it's one of the best I've played holds much weight, but damn

act 2 (the not-metroidvania) is also fun! like I said, slut for world swaps. I'm VERY lucky that I was saving up my currency (gems?) so I could get all the map upgrades at once, I would have a very unfun time fumbling for all the collectables without the sparkles. there's also the prerequisite of backtracking through earlier areas, but I think the hub teleporters being in unique spots and the time travel make it more fun that it would've been

WAIT. RED ALERT. so as a peak behind the curtain, I usually write these as I play. maybe not the most professional form, but it helps me collect my feeling in the moment so I don't forget shit. I played like an hour and a half of act two, getting those green coin things and even got a few music notes, the one from the colosusses which was just a world swap puzzle and the yellow one that was just a platforming challenge. also, the fact that I could traverse what I thought was the whole world with my normal moveset made me complacent. but uh. I just got the Lightfoot tabi and I can now walk on water. so never fucking mind I guess! this is a certified metroidvania

ironically, I think the game is at its best with the linear design. when the game opens up, there are a lot of points that feel... easy to lose. there isn't that feeling of exploring for cool new movement tech, feeling your character get objectively more skilled and having that reflected in the map. there are spots like that, like the seashell and the candle. but just as much is like, talking to someone and then being like "don't worry I'll do the thing" and then they do the thing and you get a macguffin, which is much less satisfying in my opinion. like, there's the big where you have to go to an out-of-the-way spot to talk to a monk, and she just opens a path for you in another location. it's fine to have a progression system that isn't based on movement, but the genre shift makes it feel less... impactful. it feels like the game is caught between being a tradplat and a metroidvania, and suffers from trying to fit into both molds at once

so all in all, it's not a perfect 10/10, but it's still a great game that is absolutely worth your time. personally, I'd love to check out a full retro platformer from this team without the mid-game shift, something in the vein of Primal Light

also, there's this whole wrap-around thing when act 2 begins, where Manfred takes you so far east you wrap around west. then it's revealed that you're part of a time cycle thing, but... is Manfred part of it too, or is it like a different dragon every time? and if there's been a bunch of messangers before me, how come my village is still standing? and if the implication is that Manfred flew us around the literal whole world, like... why? why not just... oh fuck it it's not that important

[fabdante]

Been trying to think about the Differences between preboot and reboot Vergil, but got kinda stuck, so I'm floating that question over to you- if you want.

One difference I noticed is that preboot Vergil is more... old fashioned? (And like, I guess the same could be said for preboot Dante and reboot Dante, but anyway. Setting that aside for now.)

Like, preboot Vergil likes poetry and books and is a snob about not using guns (probably just because Dante DOES use guns, and Vergil always has to outdo his little brother), but also preboot Vergil doesn't seem like the type to care about computers the way reboot Vergil does. And part of it is just because each character came out at different times irl, but also like. Preboot continuity, Mundus lost and the Human World was largely safe from Mundus' influence. Or at least, safer than the reboot's Human World, anyway.

The main reason reboot Vergil learned so much about computers (and secret societies, and running them) is because they're tools Mundus uses to keep humanity under control. Preboot Vergil never had to deal with that, so he never had the motivation to learn that.

Preboot Vergil and reboot Vergil both talk differently, too. Again, I think part of it is that the games came out and were developed in different times, but also preboot DMC universe just feels kinda... weirdly archaic? In terms of like, fashion and architecture and technology and such. And there's a little bit of that in Limbo City, too, but not nearly as much as in the preboot DMC. (I feel like you can see this more in the first DMC anime, but old school fashion really is prevalent in the preboot DMC universe.)

Preboot Vergil talks like he could fit into an older time period than reboot Vergil, is what I mean. Idk, I just thought it was interesting.

I spent a long time thinking about this one because I was just having a hard time articulating myself sdfghjkl the Vergil's being two very different people is something I feel strongly on but I was definitely struggling to put it into words.

This one got long so, more beneath the cut!

But I think its fair to call the preboot universe kinda archaic and old fashioned. It's hard to pinpoint when they're even meant to be set because technology is such a vague concept in them. Like, they have it. In 5 we see flat screens even. But also everyone's using landlines. That sort of thing. It's not exactly something on Capcoms forefront and I think that's fine, its not necessary to what's going on. The reboot, however, is decidedly contemporary to the time it was released and thoroughly embraces that. Reboot Vergil is a biproduct of this as the designated Alex Garland tech guy (after seeing a few Garland projects with their tech guys I feel like I can firmly say at least one thing he consulted on as his time as writing consultant on the reboot and this is one of them asdfghjk I think Vergil was his idea, he loves a weird tech guy. Vergil fits right in with the Alex Garland weird tech guys.)

However I think they key differences between the Vergil's are a lot more personal. They behave very differently, their motivations are very different, psychologically they're fairly different to.

Preboot Vergil is a fairly blunt, straight forward person. He's very upfront with what he's doing and why most of the time. He doesn't really seem to care much to lie or manipulate anyone about it (though he's surely capable of it if we look at characters like V, his literal human side does like to lie and manipulate if it's going to make things easier for him and get him to his goals though how much of this is a result of his comparative fragility is up for the asking). I think this is largely because he doesn't seem to care much about other people most of the time so like why bother lying and manipulating them, he doesn't usually need them for anything.

His goals are singularly are to further himself. He doesn't want to rule, he doesn't want to make things better or worse for anyone, he just wants power, Why he wants that power is largely a response to the fact he's lacked it most of his life. It's a trauma response. He lacked the power to save his mother, he lacked the power to help his brother, he lacked the power to help himself, but his father always had it and his father was always able to protect others and more importantly himself. So naturally Vergil thinks he needs to accumulate as much as possible to be safe. Power is everything to preboot Vergil because it's not something he's had and we see him continue to struggle for power through the games (such as Nelo Angelo being a complete loss of control for him or 3 Vergil choosing to go into hell because it might get him closer to that power he craves, and closer to understanding his father who's power he idolizes). In 5 to we see him raze a whole city, robbing it of so much life to fuel himself, because he just wants that power. Like, to him, power is everything because he never had it so all of his goals are really just on gaining that and little else.

Preboot also I feel lacks a lot of social graces. He's very much used to being alone. I won't comment on if he likes it or not but he's very evidently not a people person. He's also a very old fashioned person. His interests are old fashioned, this mentality of might is right is very old fashioned, he often feels like he's from some bygone era he can't return to. Like, I'm not going to say he hates people or anything but he also seems largely disinterested in most of them unless they're put right in front of him. They're also very often stepping stones to his goals (he's very willing to rip off Nero's arm, after all, if it means he gets what he wants) and he never really seems to be sympathetic for that. He's very introverted and even the bits we hear about his childhood he tends to prefer to be quiet and alone.

I'm not sure even how much he cares about what Dante thinks about him, he just wants Dante to agree with him because he wants to be right. There's a respect he has for Dante and I do think there's similar mother issues between both preboot and reboot Vergil (mommy liked Dante better blah blah) but there is a respect and a care there because they are brothers and all that.

There's also preboot Vergil's relationship with humanity which is largely...negative to him. He doesn't really seem to care about humanity much as a concept, it's just a thing he has to get rid of and has been a bane on him this whole time. Only really in 5 do we see him sorta accept that he can't part from it but what he does with that going foreward remains to be seen.

Reboot Vergil, however, is a very different person.

I want to preface this with part of what makes reboot Vergil so interesting is this nebulous nature of him. We don't have a lot of concrete answers on his thoughts and feelings because he isn't the perspective the games set in most of the time and we're supposed to be guessing on his true thoughts and feelings. I'd argue this is another key difference. Preboot Vergil is very clear cut, reboot Vergil is not. So this is just my read on reboot Vergil, it's going to differ from other peoples read on him. But given it's my analysis, I'm going to talk about my viewpoint so here it goes.

Reboot Vergil's charismatic and personable for starters. It's hard to imagine him not fitting into a crowd and commanding it, he seems like the sort who can very easily work a room. Manipulation is his bread and butter. He seems to like people and like humanity, despite feeling superior to it. I compare him to a chess player a lot but he's a chess player. Everything is very planned and paced out many steps ahead and he likes the challenge of it. But I think this charisma is a very big divide between them and a very big aspect of reboot Vergil's character. He's a pretty rich boy who knows he's a pretty rich boy to.

I also believe in my heart of hearts from 11 years of over thinking this game that he genuinely meant well. I know this is a point of contention asdfghjk perhaps I've been won over by the charismatic pretty rich boy, perhaps this is what he wants me to think. But based on the game and even more importantly Vergil's Downfall, reboot Vergil seems to genuinely think that what he did in the game was what had to be done. And if he had to lie to Kat and Dante, if people had to die for it, it was all because there were no better options (that and he's petty). He genuinely believes that humanity needs a protector, that someone worse will take over from Mundus if he and/or Dante don't, that he's the best option for this role, that sacrifices had to be made to get here and he was big enough to make them. If he's right or not, whole separate subject. But what's important is in his mind he is doing a service to humanity and that service is his destiny.

Which goes on to say that if he thinks humanity is so worth protecting despite their weakness, despite comparing them to children, despite him thinking he's superior to them, he must then care about humanity. I think this because I mean Downfall tells us this. Kat represents his humanity in that game and he spends the first half of the game kind of a wreck about her. The only thing he regrets is how he treated her, he spends the first half of the game trying to save her, he tries to justify himself to a not Kat Kat only for her to tell him he's full of bullshit like. If Kat represents his humanity then it goes to say despite his fumbles in the main game, he at least used to care about humanity a great deal. And I think it's fair to assume that about him. Some people might argue otherwise but unlike preboot Vergil and Dante who always knew they were half demon, reboot Vergil spent most of his life thinking he was human. He's spent his life surrounded by humans, caring about those humans, being raised by those humans. He can feel superior to them and also have genuine affection for them, which I think is the case up until he kills hollow Kat in Downfall.

Where preboot Vergil's motivations are deeply rooted in his traumas, reboot Vergil's I think are largely rooted in this belief of destiny and that he thinks he has to be doing what he's doing. That it's for the best for mankind and that he's the one who has to do it. But I think that childhood trauma for preboot Vergil is also a big difference for reboot Vergil who's character is also very defined by his privilege.

Reboot Vergil's unique across both halves of the franchise. He was adopted into wealth and all the opportunities that come with it. The fandom strongly differs on how that childhood was. Most people in the fandom tend to imagine a sort of bad childhood for him, as a sort of neglected rich kid or abused in other ways within his wealthy family. I don't. But there's really no evidence one way or another, all we really know is Vergil's adopted into wealth and gets into hacking and computer stuff as he's growing up as an outlet for his growing feeling that he doesn't belong here. And it's fair to say rich kids aren't like...immune to childhood trauma, the trauma of his time in the foster care certainly is something that impacts him to a degree. But I think it's also fair to say that he's afforded a lot of opportunities a lot of the cast are not, particularly preboot Vergil who goes from a bookish kid to falling into hell to being brainwashed by a guy for who knows how long and also being assumed dead like...twice along the way. Reboot Vergil was given the tools to succeed and create his own independent wealth and found a secret organization like.

Which all goes to say reboot Vergil's less focused on power I think because he has it already. He's got social power from his social graces, he has power from his wealth and success, he has man power with the Order. Now, that doesn't mean he can't want more. On the contrary, I've argued many a time that I think if put into the position of demon king he'd be a great example of absolute power corrupts absolutely. He's going to want more. Vergil wants to be a little god king and if he's going to be a god king he might as well be the best god king.

But where as preboot Vergil wants power because he lacked it, reboot Vergil's never lacked it. What reboot Vergil's never had is people telling him no which is why I think he reacts so badly to it at the end of the game. Which also ties back to I don't think preboot Vergil wants to be in charge of anything as much as he wants power to protect himself. I think reboot wants power because he wants control. He thinks he on some level deserves it because he thinks he's right because, again, no ones ever told him he's wrong. I compare him in some of my essays (I think these two) as a divine thing raised as close to divinity as a human can be, which ties into this I think.

Back tracking a little to social graces between them, they're both weirdos let me be clear. But they're different types of weirdos asdfghjk. Like preboot's a little shut in who likes his poetry and being alone and giving people scary looks so they leave him alone and fighting his brother for fun. Reboots a little weirdo because he's a germaphobe who is literally immune to every germ on the planet, probably constantly pulls all-nighters fueled on nothing but coffee programming shit, and is just a big nerd under all that pretty rich boy charisma.

However it's very clear to see how good reboot Vergil is with people. And he seems to like them. It's hard to imagine preboot Vergil having a relationship like reboot Vergil has with Kat. Like it's hard to imagine him seeing someone in distress and not only helping them save themselves, but then sticking around to help in their recovery, giving them a place in the world, becoming that persons most trusted confidant, and so on and so forth. Which, again, could just go into the 'reboot Vergil's manipulative bucket' (as I often say about Kat and Vergil, it's about what can you reconcile about this relationship). I tend to personally characterize reboot Vergil as more extroverted also where as preboot is certainly very introverted.

As for the relationship with Dante, I talk about that a bit here . But where as I think there's a begrudging respect and brotherly affection between the preboot twins, the reboot twins struggle with that more. Vergil still wants to be right, but he also doesn't really know his brother. He had an idea of his brother and its not what he got. Which I think he's probably sad about I mean he worked hard to find Dante and he was excited to build that relationship and then Dante's here, is not what he expected, and doesn't even seem to trust him all that much like...it's a weird time.

They both have mommy issues though. Both Vergil's have that. Different mommy issues though I mean preboot thinks Eva abandoned him because she cared more about Dante despite the fact she died trying to find him (not that he knows that for most of his life). And reboot Vergil thinks Eva liked Dante more which he finds deeply unfair (and there may or may not be evidence backing him up because how reboot Eva talks about Vergil tends to be Odd ).

Long story short: Reboot Vergil's a very charismatic rich boy who's gotten everything he's wanted in his life and is now struggling with the fact for once he is not. Preboot Vergil's a weird non social guy who wants to feel safe even if it means he takes everyone else out with him. Also preboot Vergil would need reboot Vergil as tech support if he ever got a cell phone that man would not even know how to turn the damn thing on.

[happi-tree]

🍫💝👻 for.. herman(??)

Hiiiiiii, Lemon Drop!!! Hope you're doing well 💛💛💛 Thanks for the ask!

Herman T. Unworthy my beloved <3 I'm exploding him for his crimes 🥰🥰🥰

🍫 A headcanon about food

This man DEFINITELY has some form of caffeine addiction. Personally, I peg him as a matcha sort of guy (he would be a fucking gayass tea snob. I know this in my heart), but when tech week rolls around, he becomes a whole different beast. We're talking as many blonde shots as the Starbucks employees will legally allow in his venti almond milk iced caramel latte. That kid is not sleeping for days <3

💝 A headcanon about their love language

Hmmm. Hermie's giving love language most definitely seems like it would be words of affirmation - dropping one liners is, like, his entire thing. HOWEVER, I think it's actually quality time! He's a very, very busy guy - between theater practices and chasing after his date to the school dance and also pulling off the longest, most dramatic con in podcast history, I can imagine that he doesn't have a lot of time to himself! So if he carves out a bit of space for someone - to just be around them and nothing else - well, that means he cares about them a whole lot.

His receiving love language, however, is words of affirmation to me, perhaps with a side of physical touch! I think a lot of his character so far points to him desperately wanting to seek praise, some sort of confirmation and reassurance that he's an okay guy. As Anthony (the DM) has alluded to, he's clearly compensating for something! He just wants to be noticed soooo bad, I think - not some extra cast to the wayside, but someone worthy (heh) of connection and perhaps even affection. I also think I can make a case for physical touch here, since I feel like it might be grounding to him, especially with all of the. Dissociation business ("this is who I am" okay, boy currently operating under at least 2 levels of fake names, keep telling yourself that). Also I just think it would be sweet <3

👻 A headcanon about what scares them

Easy peasy. Being ignored, truly a theater kid's worst nightmare </3 Ksbfhasfahgfhis ok jokes aside I think that this guy is more than a little bit afraid of himself because like. Imagine you grew up subtly morphing your features to fit whatever role you needed to play and then all of a sudden you find out that most people can't do that??? You have no idea what you're Supposed to look like??? Who ARE you. You don't know. You don't know. You don't know. You look in the mirror, and you wonder how much of your face is your own. What mannerisms are truly yours? What identity do you have left, when you're stripped down to your core? Did you even have one in the first place? You just don't know. And that's horrifying.

[wordsmithwhumpsandfluff]

Hi!!. I just read your last, like, three fics and can I just say that Oliver is such a sweetheart🥺!!!!!!

Anyway, this isn't a fic request really. I was just wondering if you could maybe write backstories for your characters? I'm lowkey curious to know what some of your OCs lives were like tbh👀.

I’m glad you like Oliver!! It seems like he and Isaac are my 2 most liked OCs. Anyway, ask and you shall receive!

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Isaac: He has a younger sister and a much older brother, both of whom he loves. They all lived with their grandma because their parents went missing while on a business trip, and no one knows where they went. Isaac’s sister was 2, he was 12, and his brother was already 16. Their grandma was possibly the coolest woman alive, and she loved and spoiled them. Isaac had struggled with the loss of his parents, but his brother suffered worse than him, and Isaac tried his best to comfort him. That’s how Isaac realized he enjoyed helping people feel better, and that’s why he wants to be a therapist.

Oliver: His childhood wasn’t that bad. His parents loved him and supported him when he came out, and he did struggle with people being homophobic towards him from time to time but his friends (*ahem* Isaac *cough cough*) were always there to stick up for him. But Oliver was also an overachiever, and would often spend hours obsessing over and worrying about school. But other than that, his life growing up was pretty great.

Jordan: Her and her brother came from a rich family that owned and partnered with a handful of successful tech companies in both America and Japan. Because their parents were both from Japan, they visited family there often but mainly lived in the states. Jordan loved her fancy lifestyle, and because she wore fancy clothes and owned expensive things, people judged her and called her a snob, but when she met Birdie and Spirit she finally had people who saw the real her. (Jordan and Keiko don’t really have bad backstories.)

Keiko: (I repeat: basically no trauma.) Even though he’s Jordan’s brother, he didn’t have the same rich tastes that she had. He wanted a simpler life, which is why instead of accepting an allowance or asking for money, he worked jobs and applied for a lot of scholarships in order to get to college and get his own apartment. His parents offered to get nice apartments for him and Jordan, but when though Jordan accepted hers, Keiko instead stuck to buying his own.

Spirit: She wasn’t always the “heavy-metal-badass” she is now. When she was a little girl, she was basically a girly tomboy whose dad would take her fishing, play her music on the guitar, and take care of her since her mom was always working. But he was also a marine and had to go to war for a few months. He died in war on Spirit’s sixth birthday, and Spirit’s mom didn’t even stop working or come home to take care of her. There was no extended family to take care of Spirit, but her mom was home for a couple of days every week (or even every other week) and was well off financially, so CPS never really got involved. Spirit would sometimes go hungry and got her own job at a young age to buy stuff like food and clothes for herself since her mom never bothered to. Spirit’s childhood made her the independent, short-tempered badass that she is.

Birdie: Her backstory is another one of the less bad ones. Her parents are married and sweet, and she is an only child (but Spirit is like a sister to her). But she was bullied a lot growing up and often called crazy. She was obsessed with nature and was basically a hippie since she could walk. And her ADHD was so bad that she had meltdowns and bad ticks often, and as a result had scabs on her hands from picking at her skin. She takes medication, and Spirit sometimes keeps some of Birdie’s pills in her own bag because she knows Birdie forgets to take it from time to time.

Amberlynn: Right after Amber’s birth, her mom became a drunk and drug addict. And she was once so intoxicated once that she tried to kill little baby Amberlynn, and Amberlynn has a faded scar on her stomach from that attempt. After that, Amberlynn’s bio-dad (Finnegan) got full custody of her and left. When Anberlynn was about 2 years old, Finnegan met Jackson and the two of them got married when Amberlynn was 4. Amberlynn never knew her mom until the woman tried to show back up when Amberlynn was 13, and when Amberlynn yelled at her to leave, the woman slapped her and started to beat her while screaming. Jackson was there though and managed to get the woman locked out of the house. She was arrested after that, and the experience traumatized Amberlynn a bit. Her dads were there to help her through it though.

Eliana: She lived in Virginia and came from a very religious and political family. On the outside, she was a nice and beautiful girl who everyone assumed had a great life. But her family was hard on her—especially her three sisters who were jealous of her looks and called her a slut—and her life went to hell after one of her sisters found out she had a crush on a girl and was lesbian. People at her Christian school began to call her disgusting, and her family abused her verbally and physically. She had a brother who tried to intervene when he could, but he was the oldest and the first to move out to get away from his crazy family. But after two years when he had a job and even his own apartment, he convinced his parents to let Eliana move in with him. They disowned her and did just that. Afterwards, Eliana’s life improved and art became her therapy. After a while though of living with her brother and finishing up her high school years, her parents apologized and tried to get back in contact, saying they don’t accept her sexuality but she is family and they love her no matter what. She and her brother didn’t fully believe it, but she still visited her family on holidays and vacations while giving them the cold shoulder, knowing she could never forgive them completely. (Boy, that’s a long one😭).

Aiden: His dad was a cop and nis mom was a nurse. His life was nice until his dad was shot by a criminal and paralyzed from the waist and down. He’d always wanted to be a cop like his dad, and was even more determined after his dad’s accident. He was a well-liked, straight-A student with plenty of friends, and he’s also an insanely caring soul. Basically, his parents raised him right👍!!

Atticus: His backstory is really the best and calmest of them all. He was raised in the countryside. He wasn’t the stereotypical cowboy with a funny hat and a southern accent, but he knew how to milk a cow. He was a bright kid in school, and was basically just a giant hunk of joy. The people around him were accepting to the fact he was bi and he never struggled to fit in. He loved helping people and making them smile. He did lots of school programs like gardening club, student government, fundraisers, pen-pal club, and more. (The pen-pal thing is important to remember btw.)

Felix: He was raised in Britain his whole life, but his dad was American and he was born in America so he had dual citizenship. His mom was basically his best friend, and his dad thought this was weird since he thought that his son would be into things like sports instead of shopping. He wasn’t happy when his son came out as gay, but he didn’t put his son down either. Rather, he just never commented on it. Felix wanted to become a fashion designer like his mom, and when he told his dad the man basically sighed and said, “Okay, yeah. Sure. I’ll buy you a sewing machine if it’ll make you happy. I love ya, kid, but please just keep your grades up and for the love of God, please don’t start watching James Charles.” (BTW, Felix doesn’t watch James Charles. It’s just not his thing). When Felix was in high school, he joined a pen-pal program and was paired with a guy name Atticus from the US. They were pen-pals for the rest of high school and had even planned to go to the same college in the US so that their close friendship could continue in real life. They started dating after their first month of college.

[zorilleerrant]

I think Cass would come off as completely normal to allistics, but autism beam anyone who's looking for it, because she can read and remember "normal" body language, and perfectly mimic it - but people who also do that would notice it. So she'd have a fun thing where everyone thinks she's the exact same as them. (I bet she just mirrors a lot anyway.)

Steph's definitely had to do the "regular person nothing to see here" well before she became a vigilante, so I think she'd continue doing that, except maybe lean into being "silly" or "weird" because she doesn't have that much to prove. Dick, being a performer and knowing he'd be scrutinized at all times since he was little, is always going to be performing, so he's convincing if a little charismatic. I disagree on Jason, though - I think he's in a similar boat to both of them, having to be really careful in childhood how he portrayed himself. The difference is, I think the image he's trying to maintain didn't age with him when he went on his world tour, so he seems quite a bit younger to the average person, maybe to the point where they worry about him.

Babs leans into the geeky thing and does okay, Bruce leans into the slutty thing and does okay, Duke leans into the music snob thing and does okay. Damian thinks he's got one of these - he thinks he comes off like an eccentric painter - but he very much doesn't have a standard of what that looks like, since all of his touchpoints are his family (unhinged on both sides), TV and movies (inaccurate), and what Alfred tells him average people act like (outdated, and also from parenting guides). Tim thinks that since everyone is weird he won't come off more weird (wrong).

Luke is the one I think would just be himself without the vigilante parts and come off like how people expect a pro athlete slash tech nerd genius inventor to be, given that that's. Not a real thing.

Kate I think gives up on it and just goes straight to 'yes, I'm Batwoman' and throws people off by being too much like how they think a Bat would act.

i actually think that after she's had time to catch up on some social development Cass is probably one of the better bats at passing for normal. she and Dick and maybe Steph have the best sense of performing "just some guy". Bruce, Babs, and Duke all overstep the mark and successfully pass as "not normal but not in a batman way more a this dude weird as fuck way" whereas Tim, Damian, and Jason are all under the mistaken impression that they can just be a version of themselves that is not a vigilante and come off as genuinely unhinged

[kaoarika]

Dang.

Do I want to really have a long conversation to the people in charge of several design oversights on Windows 11's UI/UX. Like. For reals.

Too tired of this "user friendly" mentality that is extremely too friendly (or perhaps only thought for those that use smartphones and/or tablets) and hide the usual things behind more hiding options and/or worse.

I dunno how casual have gone through all these things with W11, and me, that I have had big issues in the past with my computers, I have been quite wary about it as a whole. I did disabled a few things that were recommended (like blocking Copilot, and sighing on relief it looks my laptop is not able to go through Recall?), and I have been turning off options that I feel are unnecessary (and real dumb) for my experience... but even so.

I hate that, for much long I used Windows 7 (and including my honeymoon time with Windows XP all the way through 2004 to 2010), my few years using Windows 8 (with that godawful Start menu screen)... and the early version I had of Windows 10 (that also had blocked the updates...), and the more I get used to Windows 11, I like some things... but also hate others... especially the very small that I feel I shouldn't worry much...? but MAN, do they bother me :)

Like, just earlier I had this one thing about the icon of a odt (the LibreOffice extension for their equivalent of Word) not appearing as such in the start menu, BUT a very generic icon of programs that cannot be identified... and the more I tried to save on it, I didn't changed shit :)))... so, I moved the contents of it, I renamed the file and VOILA, like new... JFC. But then, I ask myself... why do the start menu even HAS this option of "recommending me files I just saved or opened, regardless"? And so, and so.

Part of me wishes that I shouldn't be complaining like this, you know? Like... I have been a Windows PC user for a great majority of my life, my first computer had Windows 95 and had to go through hell with W2000, because it had an adware issue at some point in 2001~. I tried to use Macs because College, and part of the jobs I did, had them, but I never seem to find myself into them (and ppl of my own major being VERY snobs about them was certainly what ended up bittering my opinion about Apple in general... not to mention my previous experience with my iPod and iTunes which was annoying to say the least :), it would be interesting? to have a macbook, or smth... but MAN... I'm not so ready to move myself and my things there, I FEEL). And so, I even wish I had the patience and be much more tech savvy to say "yes, let's test Linux to avoid stuff like... this"

Of course, I always go back to "you are only looking for the minimal things because you had issues with all your PC/laptops since 2011" and, yeah. I feel so unconfident about my computers, ever since. And the last one time I SWEAR I was happy on "hey, I bought this preowned and it works wonders (although I had to be like 3 hours waiting for it to have all the updates because it was resetted to factory, I think?)" and then it blocked me off because it had an issue with its battery/charging plug???. And almost a year later, I had a disk error.

I had the decision of not testing this new laptop back in May? June? up until... two month ago, and, even so? afaik, it is working all well. And, compared to the other ones, this is the one "new" computer I have had since 2011. But, the worrywart brainworms get through me. And looking for things that I am cautiously pessimistic? about, that are too unknown to me (precisely because MS decided to hide EVERY single useful thing over more Settings options and making Control Panel? quite redundant at this point), brings me to read about other several issues that other ppl are going through, regardless if they mod their computers or what, within W11, which, obvs, it all sucks.

I feel like I have been knocking wood wishing that my laptop isn't going to break or else, because... man. At that point I will know I'm so cursed.

*Insert here my worriness about using my drawing program of choice and CSP, and still not feeling brave in connecting the Wacom Intuos I have :'D, I feel I need to ask to more savvy people about this, more artist inclined, that do not have too much bias about Wacom and perhaps are also always battling about stuff within Windows 11 :(*

[castlebyersafterdark]

'Why do I like mostly upbeat pop and catchy rock songs and rap music with a good beat while other people solely dig slowed down, raw songwritery music?? Why does low-fi downtempo style music give me anxiety if I listen to to much while that type of music is soothing to a lot of people?'

jumping into this music convo cos i too am fascinated by this! if i look back at my phases, it's like i was literal different people in my taste and style as i grew. as a tween i had indie grunge coming from my sister's loudspeaker, and r'n'b pop radio hits from my friend group. both were a bit scary (the intense guitars and vocals, and then the overt sexuality of 2000s r'n'b being a lot for my 12 yr old brain). i didnt know where to fit. i loved show music since i was a kid, but had no friends who did.

by the time i was at college, i found that my aversion to dance and radio hit music came about because i couldnt stand the people i knew who liked it, and it ended up representing them, their shallowness and lack of intelligence; either they were unkind to me or were the kind of people who didnt search back catalogues or try to find something individual they liked, but just followed the crowd and lazily listened to top radio stations. i was a snob! so i leaned into songwriter and folk and rock, feeling safe there where i could appreciate artists who i knew weren't just in it for a bit of fame or money.

i think music subcultures have often been about belonging though. i get this vibe with finn a lot, because he has spoken about getting into certain music through a scared fascination with it after hearing metal and rock for the first time as a kid. and clearly as a teen he felt cool being alt and indie, whereas someone like noah perhaps thought that mainstream music was cool instead. its definitely identity-based. it seems finn has mellowed a bit now, he seems more open minded, and i remember that also happening to me at age 19-20-21. i realised i was allowed to enjoy pop, cheese, even EDM and dance without it affecting my identity! but its so funny how the music becomes so much more than the music.

i do still have low key anxiety when i hear certain EDM music, mainly because i associate it with annoying college house parties when i'm trying to sleep and all i can hear is the bass 🙄🙄 . i guess i would like the music if i was dancing to it, but when i'm trying to sleep? its SO not it lmao. vinny maybe you've had a subconscious bad experience with downtempo lo-fi music in this way? or it could be about actual frequency and brain chemistry and neurons. sound waves do physically move through the body and low frequency can actually make people nauseous. my dad once worked in a lab where the techs played like 4Hz wobs from a hidden subwoofer when colleagues they didnt like came in, cos it made them feel sick and they had to leave lmao! and the killer was that they couldnt tell why they felt ill, cos it wasnt on the audible spectrum of sound haha

s4 of the show also taps into this idea of music being so personal and mysterious and i love that they did that. at first i also found joe keery's music too off-kilter and awkward, but the more i listen, the more i like the offbeat-ness of certain songs and the way there are some random pop hook/ upbeat dancey theatrical moments tucked amongst the indie. for example, the Djo song Change, from minute 2:16 onwards? Such an actual dancey bop i was so surprised and couldnt stop listening to it haha

This all so interesting!! Thank you for sharing all this! I definitely think childhood is formative in a big way, even if tastes overall change. It informs, positive and negative. I had influence from my sister, absolutely. Definitely think my pop/dance love comes from her. She was into that and I spent most of my time with her, so that did become a common interest. Everything about her influences me a lot 😊 My brothers were into country and while I can appreciate more of that now, back then everything about them was just 🙄 (still is haha) so young me suffered when country stations were favored in my house. So there's an aversion right there, like you said. Associating music with a time in your life is formative.

Lately I guess I've been embracing more older music as I'm branching out? I have several good friends who really dig the retro thing, as well as 💙 being super into old folk rock which I'm learning to appreciate. I really love what I love and yet, it does get repetitive, listening to the same music I've been into forever, while having this reluctance to the very ultra 'of the moment' modern music. I wish I could pin point the lowfi style distaste more, and I don't think it's because of any specific friend or other association. It just... doesn't make me feel good or engaged or interested. It's almost like a chore to listen to too much of it. The occasional song will grip me and I'll love it, but these are outliers. I don't know. It's weird. I remember specifically that since I'm such an anxious mess at times, and college was my PEAK disaster era - all the 'chill study vibes' playlists my friends would suggest to me just made it worse while they thrived with them hahaha. Absolutely not me. I've mellowed out, but I'm definitely... I don't even know. Chill in attitude. High strung soul. The science behind it that you mentioned is super interesting though.

Season four's exploration of music and what that means to a person was incredible, I loved that they went there. I really wonder how they'll continue with that for season five, especially since the radio station seems like a major player. I don't think that people are going to get 'vecna'd' like we're now familiar with from s4 but I predict visions and mental torment, and I'm thinking the radio station can be manipulated to do something with that issue. Very cool possibilities and I'd love to learn more about each character's favorite songs and music since we dove into that for Max, as well as with Eddie's guitar playing being used as a literal weapon kinda at one point. And how Will's singing to himself in season 1 is making a big comeback. Music is so common in our lives but so very personal. Very excited!!!

[miserynevermore]

Feeling the need to rant about some stuff and send my thoughts out into the void.

Moved out a few months ago and my phone and internet company called trying to upsell me a cable TV package. I told them no I don't need anything else, I'm all good.

The sales person proceeds to ask me about TV and how I might need more internet and how I might need a home phone or a security system.

I tell them no, I have everything I need thank you. Then they ask if I like sports, I say no. They ask if I watch new shows, I say no. They're confused. They don't believe me. (I'm autistic and watch the same shows on repeat for months or years at a time, so I just purchase copies of my favourite things and save money. Plus I'm a snob when it comes to quality and most shows and movies are shit so 🤷🏽‍♀️)

Then they ask if I need a home phone. I say no. They ask more trying to prompt me to buy a phone. (babe I haven't used a home phone in 10 years, when I say I don't need it, I don't)

They try to sell me a security system. I say I don't need one. I live in a building with camera security and an on site security guard. Also I've already installed additional locks on all the windows and have a camera doorbell and additional locks on my door. My building is even gated. I'm all good. (I'm South African, its literally ingrained in me, my brown parents — and aunts and uncles and cousins — would never let a single girl move anywhere that wasn't fully secure)

Then they ask if I need more internet. I don't, they push and I politely say no. (I work in tech, I know exactly how much I need and use, also autism so I have a need to keep track of that)

The employee, clearly thinking I sat through this entire call and lied rather than just saying no thank you I'm hanging up now, says to me "well that's your choice" and I said ok and politely wished them a good day.

I used to work in customer service, so I know it sucks, but ...dude....really??

What in the capitalist hellscape I live in do you mean?? I mean, God forbid I actually pay attention to what and how much I use so I can, I dunno?? save money?? reduce waste?? not agree to paying for things I don't need so I can *GASP* send money to my struggling family back home!?!?!?!

It's mind boggling to me how knowing oneself and one's needs is strange to people. I grew up poor. Like my parents had $100 in their bank account when we moved here poor.

Poor like my mom worked two part time jobs and didn't take maternity leave when my sibling was born, and my dad worked a full time day job and part time second job poor.

Poor like everything I ever got was a hand me down from my cousins or bought from a thrift shop and then when I grew out of it my sister got it poor.

Poor like got my first part time job at 13 and was finally able to buy things I wanted and knowing how little we had, I kept track of what I use and how much.

Nowadays when it's so hard to buy basic necessities, how is it weird and "my choice" ???

How disconnected are these big companies that they think people can afford anything anymore??