#RAT rant

[kingratmilk]

You know what's interested me most about Zenless Zone Zero? Thirens

As of rn, there are (soon to be) 6 playable thiren characters:

Nekomiya Mana (Cat)

Ben Bigger (Bear)

Von Lycaon (Wolf)

Ellen Joe (Shark)

Seth Lowell (Cat)

Jane Doe (Rat)

From looking through the story, trust events, character profiles, in game news articles, and Inter-Knot, we can find out the following about thirens:

- Some thirens can't have coffee because it causes heart issues

- Thirens that are fully covered with fur are called "beast thirens"

- They have sensitive hearing (most notably seen with Nekomata)

- Their tails are pretty sensitive

- They usually only let people they trust touch their tails (most notably seen with Ellen and Lycaon)

- Their fur is affected by their diet (tail fur included)

- Animals are naturally attracted to them (as seen with Lycaon and Seth, possibly others too but idk)

- They naturally have a higher ether aptitude than humans

- There are specific shampoos and massages for thirens

- Soap can cause their fur to knot

- Their ears/tails may move/twitch depending on how they feel

- They share multiple other traits with their normal animal counterparts, such as agility, dexterity, and more

- Thirens can shed

- Thirens can have allergies to their own fur when they shed

- Some thirens enjoy neck/head scratches

- There may be a law specific to protecting thirens, though I'm not 100% on this

And that's not all, as there is actually quite a bit of obvious discrimination against thirens such as:

- Sterotypes are casually said to the faces of thirens

- Some people view them as "dangerous creatures"

- Some accommodations aren't available to thirens (most notably the issue with movie theatre seats when it comes to bear thirens)

- Being harassed on the street by people who want to touch their tails (or even in Lycaon's case, a child wanting to ride on his back)

- Thirens in movies often don't get played by actual thirens, and instead by humans or bangboo

- In these movies, they're often times shown as dangerous

- Maybe I'm looking too into this one, but I find it weird that a large majority of bear thirens work at Belobog Industries

There are just so many things you can find out about thirens in this game and it makes me wanna ask so many questions. How do they exist? Why are only some thirens fully furred? What's with all the casual discrimination against them? Why are there so many different species of thiren? Why does someone like Nekomata have 2 tails instead of the standard 1? I genuinely hope the game goes more into the factors of thirens and especially the discrimination of them as I'm curious just what the full extent of it is

If there's anything else I missed about thirens plz let me know! These guys interest me so much so I'm trying to gather as many facts about them as possible

[obsessed-sketches]

(Vengeance Saga Spoilers Ahead- Proceed With Caution)

Posiedon: After everything you've done... how will you sleep at night? Odysseus: Next to my wife.

was honestly the coldest line in the entire musical. I've experienced many MANY emotions while listening to EPIC but after hearing that final line... HOLY SHIT How can one line make me feel like ice was pouring down my spine while bringing tears to my eyes and simultaneously a smile to my face?

While the Wisdom Saga felt colorful and like the embodiment of love in a hundred different forms, the Vengeance Saga felt raw, exposed, angry, and desperate, like a wound that has festered for too long. They contrast each other so beautifully it's so admirable.

Jorge and his team are miracle workers honestly OMG

[bigmfrat]

Dude, there truly is something special about this website man I've been getting recommended a blog of someone from the old squid server for literal MONTHS and despite seeing their icon every single day I log in here, I really felt like they would have had me blocked. Decided to check a bit ago because it has been sitting in the back of my mind for a while and yea, I am indeed blocked. Why tf is tumblr recommending me someone who has me blocked like, hello?? Tumblr being a drama-filled cesspit truly is like, 70% artificially cultivated by the website itself and 30% unhinged userbase. And why do I still see art from people that I have blocked? What even is the point of the block feature if I'm still able to see people's posts? I am haunted by thirst trap pants boy. Good God what a wretched hell site. It's like they want people to start shit. Anyways, to the poor bastards who have me blocked, I'm so damn sorry if Tumblr is still shoving my rank-ass blog in your face and I mean that genuinely.

[doctor-fancy-pants]

Totally Scientific and Not At All Anecdotal Review of Rapid Antigen Test UX by type

So we were PCR tested twice during quarantine, and then we were given a bag of saliva test RATs. Took one of those before getting on the bus down to the wharf, then one every three days until 26th November. I messed up my first one and so had to grab one from ship supply, which was “oral fluid.”

This means that I am now in a position to compare the experiences of different RATs.

OLD SCHOOL Ye olde swab! Scrape the back of the throat! Then scrape the brain via the nose! Mix with buffer, apply to test cassette. Don’t fucken wuss out on the scraping either — SARS-CoV-2 infections present initially as lower respiratory tract, which we can’t swab. So there’s less of it lurking about in the upper respiratory tract. Also please swab your throat. YES EVEN IF THAT’S NOT IN THE DIRECTIONS.

SALIVA TEST Stick the hideous absorbent lollipop in your mouth until the indicator turns blue, which means it has enough saliva, then apply to test cassette.

ORAL FLUID Hock up a loogie into the buffer. Apply to test cassette.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCES

Now, I previously hated swabbing my nose. Then I started swabbing my throat, which I hate even more, so I don't hate swabbing my nose so much. Basically, I stimulate a pretty solid coughing reflex on the throat and I always, always sneeze after swabbing my nose, but it's now pretty inoffensive to me.

I've been aware of the saliva and oral tests for a while, and thought that something less intrusive would be good for people with hyper-sensitive gag reflexes, and also little kids, who really don't like sitting still long enough for someone to swab their tiny wee nostrils.

So I was optimistic about the saliva test.

My optimism was misplaced. The instructions say that it should take about 2-3 minutes for the sponge inserted into your mouth to absorb sufficient saliva. The indicator is supposed to turn blue.

My medication causes dry mouth.

3 minutes? HA. FUCKING. HA.

TRY 20 FUCKING MINUTES.

That thing felt like it was sucking out my goddamn motherfucking soul. And I had to move it around and swizzle it and press down and I had to do all this before leaving my cabin before shift. My very life essence was drained into this obnoxious fucker.

(I actually had significant shoulder pain due to continuously trying to move it around while lying down. My joints are weird. This is not going to be an issue for most people.)

We had a messaging platform on the ship's intranet, which I used to declare that if anyone had swab tests and wanted to swap it for the spit lollipop, I was down for that. I now considered swabs to be the best possible option.

Nobody took me up on it. Everyone struggled to get enough spit.

On the last day, I had that "oral fluid" test, which involves hocking up a loogie and spitting into the funnel. This was less of a trial, to be honest, but given my dry mouth issues, it was still a pain in the arse to muster up the necessary quantities of saliva. Not as bad as the fucking saliva sponge.

I cannot imagine that sponge thing works well with little kids, not unless they are producing copious quantities of spit and snot and--

[pauses abruptly]

--okay, yes, I now recall that little kids are absolutely capable of just leaking from every available orifice (hopefully not the ears), so maybe they would have an easier time of it.

Anyways, TL;DR: the saliva sponge is vile. The oral fluid is okay.

I still prefer the old school swab.

[soppingwetrat]

the Jonny Sims experience

[deathanal]

i always hate the way new yorkers talk about rats like they're the problem. If the rats have covid it's because we gave it to them, if they're in the trash it's because we create so much and manage it poorly; they're not hoarding weath and raising your rent. Stop trying to distract from the real issues and scapegoating these cute little creatures.

I get that I wouldn't want to live with 9 million disease carrying, piss and shit covered animals but that's why I don't go to NYC, but when I do the 3 million rats are very cute and enjoyable

[thistlehalo]

saw someone on twitter say the bad kids are shitty people for killing the rat grinders and im. appalled. that is such a horrendously bad take 😭

while yeah, the bad kids have a rivalry with the rat grinders, that’s not the primary reason for their fight. rather, their personal grudges with the rat grinders just happen to bleed into their dialogue.

the primary reason for them killing the rat grinders is because? they have to? the world is quite literally ending. the rat grinders are actively contributing to said apocalypse. the bad kids don’t have TIME to empathize with the rat grinders because ninth level spells are being hurled at them 😭😭

all that aside, them killing the rat grinders is quite literally how the combat was always going to go. it is not at all viable for them to ignore the rat grinders, especially when they’re all level 20? and have insanely high level spells? + the fact that the bad kids didn’t even get the chance to long rest before the battle.

i don’t know about y’all but i LOVED this episode, but some of the takes i’ve seen on twitter are soo bad good lord

[ironinkpen]

hands down one of the best pieces of subtle world building this season is the name High Five Heroes and the way it doesn't mean anything. the Bad Kids and the Maidens' names actually say something about their respective groups and what they've done/been through. meanwhile High Five Heroes is clearly a name that was handpicked by Kipperlilly long before she stepped foot in aguefort on the first day or actually met any of her party members. it's a pre-approved inside joke specifically designed in a lab to be as bland and palatable and inoffensive as possible—a middle manager's attempt at manufacturing camaraderie. the most generic, perfectly marketable name she could come up with for her Perfect, Optimal Adventuring Party.

[prismartist]

imagine this. you're watching a production of hamlet. it's really good. during the climactic fight claudius appears to fully kill hamlet for some reason. after a few seconds you realize that the actor for hamlet is straight up dead. you find out two of the cast members gave a real poisoned dagger to claudius' actor and during interrogation they insinuate they did want to kill hamlet's actor. you exile those actors from the city. they're probably going to die out there. not the guy who actually killed the actor, he's not under scrutiny at all. after all that they bring on an understudy to replace the dead actor and finish the play to a standing ovation. sounds crazy right? well something similar happened to my friend rats smp 2

[raguonmynieceandnephew]

"It's so unfair to the Rat Grinders that they are killed instantly and the Bad Kids get to roll death saves." SHUT UUUUUUUUUUUUP

THIS IS LONG, AND HONESTLY FOR MYSELF, SO YEAH READ IF YOU WANT

I swear to god, this discourse is going to fucking be the end of me. Idk what kind of mind boggling spell Brennan Lee Mulligan wove into the fabric of the universe that spread through the data center of Dropout in order to absolutely hijack y'all's brains when it comes to Cocklord Assgape and her ragtag of character foils but whatever it was has made you Rat Grinder stans INSUFFERABLE in this site.

The levels of treating fictional characters as if they were real people have reached a level I honestly have never anticipated, to the point of y'all actually being mad AT THE CAST for "mistreating" them and ACTUALLY QUESTION BRENNAN'S CAPACITY TO DM. Do you not get how fucking insane that is?

We can't make fun of Copperkettle, one of the most pathetic, petty and incompetent villains in D20 history anymore (even though she is masterfully written and developed to generate this reaction from us) anymore because it's bullying apparently. I saw an account flip the fuck out because someone compared her rivalry with Kristen to Drake and Kendrick's beef. KIPPERLILY IS NOT A REAL GIRL. SHE IS A MAKE BELIEVE CHARACTER IN AN IMPROV SHOW SPAWNED FROM THE BRAIN OF A 36 YEAR OLD MAN

And then what truly pissed me off the MOST about this whole hell is the fact that, being chronically online avid consumers of this goddamn show, I would think you would have but a grasp of the main cast of characters' characterization.

Why the uproar about Riz saying they should chop Oisin's head off? The same Riz who tortured that pixie from Freshman year by shooting off their finger one by one? The same Riz who murked a disarmed and unconscious Coach Daybreak without battin an eye? The same Riz who ATE THE CORPSE OF KALVAXUS?

And the whole Fabian vs Ivy debacle MY GOD, THE GIRL WAS RACIST TO HIS GIRLFRIEND AND USED HER LAST BREATH TO CALL MAZEY "OBJECTIVELY UGLY". And the funniest thing is that is not even the most unhinged shit he has ever said.

And finally, Death Save Gate: THE RAT GRINDERS ARE NOT PLAYER CHARACTERS. THEY ARE NPCS! THE RULES FOR EACH WORK DIFFERENTLY, ESPECIALLY THEM BEING BOSS ENCOUNTERS. Imagine having to still hit Ivy or Oisin 2 more times to kill them when there is 14 foot tall Porter throwing legendary actions left and right, with Jace, and other 3 spell casters + Mary Ann and KLCK up and running. It's called balancing the fucking game. Also, game masters are entitled to break, mold and make up any rules they want if they find necessary in order to service themselves and their players. IF YOU PLAY WITH ALL THESE RULES AS THEY COME, GOOD FOR YOU AND YOUR TABLE. THIS IS NOT YOUR TABLE.

Not only is Brennan DMing for his CLOSEST FRIENDS EVER, he is also shooting and producing an ENTIRE TV SHOW. So yeah, i think he knows wtf he is doing.

"But the Ratgrinders had no real development": True. But it wasn't for lack of trying from the players. Everytime they tried to know more, the dice didn't let them, so they decided to focus on the mystery. It simply do be like that sometimes.

"But they are just kids!": And so were Penelope, Dayne, Ragh, Zayn, the Bloodrush Players, Aelwyn and Biz. Why wasn't it a problem then? Because most of them were evil to some extent and were about to bring the fucking apocalypse to the world? Yeah, sounds familiar right? And the ones who were manipulated or had any sort of redemption worked their way into earning it, right? Yeah.

In conclusion, I fucking love the Rat Grinders, I truly do, and not unlike 90% of this website, i'm still holding on to hope that they have any sort of development and redemption in the last episode, because I agree, they ARE children and they WERE manipulated by Porter and Jace, but like, can we also agree that they are fucking assholes and had it fucking coming? Also, the BKs are children too y'know. SO STOP BEING FUCKING ANNOYING.

[dykesevika]

fortiche studios please make her a canon dyke please and thank u

Men DNI

[kingratmilk]

Ok so I've been thinking about a Zenless Zone Zero OC

As of rn, his name is Sol. I wanna change it but haven't quite thought of a new name yet.

He's a beast bird thiren (probably specifically a raven?) He's a solo rockstar who plays electric guitar (he does sing as well, but he puts more focus on the guitar). Despite him normally playing rock, he has a soft spot for pretty much any music genre! He recently moved to Sixth Street and even more recently began working with Elfy in her store.

He's an ex hollow raider that used a knife as his main weapon, who stopped after one day getting stuck in a hollow for too long and almost getting corrupted. He was rescued before he could completely succumb to corruption, but unfortunately, ether crystals already began to appear on his arm, and to prevent them from spreading, his left arm had to be amputated. His hollow raiding buddies each helped chip in in order to get a good prosthetic that could also still be used within hollows. He was able to get one that could spread out metal feathers that although appear flimzy and lightweight, actually make a strong shield that can block most common ethereals.

After getting used to his new arm, he held his guitar on his back and knife in his holster as he attempted to go back with his hollow raiding buddies back into a hollow, but found himself being frozen at the entrance in fear. His buddies understood, and while they no longer explore hollows together, he's still in touch with each of them to this day.

Being a bird thiren, he has a few unique features. His beak can sometimes get in the way of eating, and while he does have teeth, they aren't very strong and often times have difficulty with harder foods. His feet are talons, which while they do make gripping onto things easy, they also making running difficult. He also has incredible eyesight, greater than not only humans, but most other thirens as well.

If he was a playable character, he'd be an ether defense character who uses his knife and possibly guitar as weapons, along with his prosthetic for shielding.

This is all just sort of basic idea stuff, I have so much more ideas for this guy + may change some of this stuff. I plan to EVENTUALLY make a fic with him but we'll have to see how that goes (if I do make it, I'll post it on my ao3 account) Anywaysss let me know what y'all think!

[disappointingcabbage]

HAPPY EXTENDED SOUNDS OF BRUTAL PIPE MURDER DAY I SEE THE REMINDER ON MY PHONE AND THE TIME HAS COME TO DO ANYTHING BUT PAY RESPECTS TO THE MAN WHO HAD SO MANY FUCKED UP IF TRUE BOOKS

[m0ther-of-p3arl]

FOR THOSE NOT ON THE POWCREATIONS PATREON

apo and owen have said the rats in paris trailer should be out sometime in the next week. they hinted we should spread this online sooo :3 for my rats girlies!!! TRAILER SOON :D

[mrghostrat]

I love the idea of vampire!Aziraphale. I imagine him still being a bastard about it too. All other vampires wear black but it washes him out so he doesn’t. He prefers to drink blood out of a teacup because straight from the neck is unseemly. Etc.

YOU GET IT... angel aziraphale is basically a vampire already, keeping his old clothes and books he's gotten attached to over the years, and hiding away for weeks at a time while he indulges new music with the shades drawn

my aziraphale is very gothic romantic about it: he doesn't kill anyone, that would be cruel and unnecessary (and he doesn't want the........ blood on his hands). he's a "creep in your window and feed off you while you sleep" kind of vampire, and moves on after a few days when his target starts to weaken too much. at worst, they'll think they have a bad flu.

he definitely robbed a blood bank once, and keeps his store in emptied out bottles of Châteauneuf-du-Pape 😂

(crowley can't be hypnotised)

[soppingwetrat]

brainrot Alice eddition