#also within this particular timeframe

[karkatmybeloved]

It’s his fucking expression that has Vox’s full attention, a masterpiece of honest distress. “After all these years, and I’m finally the one to make the Radio Demon crack his smile. Holy shit. How proud of myself should I be right now?”

Alastor’s eyes are full of anguish. His fingers wrap weakly around Vox's wrists, giving a few ineffectual tugs, and he lets out a small, dismayed mmf sound that makes Vox bark a laugh.

“You’re a riot act, Al, seriously. Hey, come on, no need to look so sad. I just said I’d take care of you, didn’t I?”

Art for @spoondrifts incredible fic i want your violence, your silent sedation, featuring attic wife Alastor who, after 7 years, can no longer keep up the smile. This story and this scene have lived rent free in my head for the better part of a week and I’m glad to finally have the image out on paper. Might come back and color/detail render it later, but for now I think it captures the helplessness I was going for. Cheers.

[anhonestdaysworkcomic]

i've done so much research on medieval farming and all it's gotten me is more questions

[threeacttragedy]

Entry 2 – The One About the Likes

As you will soon figure out, I will be bouncing around from topic to topic. It will all be Lukola-related, of course, but the information and speculation I discuss may not be in any particular order. However, I will add in dates of reference to help organize your thoughts.

In my first post, I mentioned our three fan-types. Because this is only my second entry, I will touch on them again.

The Sincerely Ignorant are those that follow blindly. We all know a Sincerely Ignorant. If you’re the type of person who spirals uncontrollably at the hint of bad news, I’m sorry to tell you this, you’re likely a Sincerely Ignorant. But, don’t run! I want to help calm you the fuck down.

The Conscientiously Stupid are the people who push a narrative without considering other evidence being provided to them. We’re all Conscientiously Stupid from time to time, but this category – at least in my blog – is typically reserved for the Jakholes, the A-Holes, the Anti-Lukes, and now apparently the Anti-Nics. That’s not to say Lukolas are not also Conscientiously Stupid. We are human after all.

The Fact Finders are those that collect information and share it. They may speculate on it, but they do not manipulate it. We simply argue our case and provide the evidence in support of our arguments.

Now jumping into what I wanted to discuss today –

The likes.

The motherfucking likes on Instagram.

My disclaimer today: I am only discussing the likes between Nicola and Luke in this post; however, I will use a third party to put things into perspective. This is intentional. The “adjacent” (I hate that word, by the way) likes are a separate post all on their own – but I’ll summarize it for you because, on the surface (speculation aside), it’s quite black and white. Jake likes Nicola’s posts; Nicola likes Jake’s posts; Antonia likes Luke’s posts; Luke likes Antonia’s posts. Let the meltdowns begin.

Done?

Okay. Back to the likes between Nicola and Luke…

It’s the same old song and dance.

Every.

Single.

Time.

Nicola post to her grid.

Jake likes it within a small timeframe.

Luke – maybe he likes it, maybe he doesn’t.

The Conscientiously Stupid attack and the Sincerely Ignorant spiral. And the Fact Finders take a deep breath and prepare themselves to walk the Sincerely Ignorant back on board the USS Lukola. I’m mean, it’s exhausting for everyone.

Do Luke’s likes really matter? No, in most instances, they don’t.

Do Jake’s likes really matter? Same as above! No, in most instances, they don’t.

Let’s take Nicola’s BFF JVN for example. He usually likes Nicola’s posts, right? In fact, some days, he’s just as fast as Jake. And, what about Dylan Brady? Talk about a friend who puts an instant-like on Nicola’s posts! And, another thing – both JVN and Dylan have been known to repost Nicola’s stuff to their own stories. However, no one cares about that or considers any of these “side characters” because they’re not Luke or Jake. I get it. But, let’s consider a few things.

First, JVN has liked most of Nicola’s posts except for the “NY Rats” one [which I will not speculate about right now]. But, let’s use the “NY Rats” post as a reference point. Nicola posted that October 17. Did you know that JVN has posted 14 times on his own grid since then? And, did you know that Nicola has only liked two of those 14? Holy shit, they must despise each other, right? Or, is it more likely that (a) Nicola is busy or (b) so close to JVN she doesn’t feel the need to like every single one of his posts? Now, I want you to answer this question with all honesty: Based on this information, do you have any concerns about Nicola’s relationship with JVN? If you answered yes, why?

Now let’s consider this next part, which is in the same vein as the above. Did you know that Nicola has liked most of Luke’s grid posts? Did you know that out of the last 14 posts made by Nicola to her grid, Luke has only liked eight? That’s barely over half (but, hey, better than Nicola’s average with JVN!). If you go back even further, you’ll find this is Luke’s modus operandi. He doesn’t like every goddamn post Nicola throws up.  Even throughout the World Tour, he wasn’t liking all of Nicola’s posts. Did this bother you then? Is it possible Luke is (a) not that into social media, (b) busy, or (c) so close to Nicola he doesn’t feel the need to like every single one of her posts? Let me ask you the same question I asked above: Based on this information, do you have any concerns about Luke’s relationship with Nicola? If you answered yes, why?

Okay, I’m going to assume some people are bothered by this Luke-Like bit so let’s keep discussing it for a moment.

Did you know that since January 1, 2024, Nicola has made nine IG grid posts that relate to a political viewpoint? Did you know that Luke has only liked one of those nine posts? In fact, I was quite shocked that Luke liked Nicola’s October 15 post of her Time100 speech (if you haven’t watched her speech, it’s on her IG grid). In my opinion, Luke liking this post is far more significant than Luke liking, say, her third grid post about her Time cover. He’s seemingly agreeing with her political stance.

This was a change in modus operandi. A small change, indeed, but interesting.

[childofthewolvess]

My experience with spiritual psychosis as a practicing pagan and how to recognize the signs of a psychotic episode in contemporary witchcraft practices.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: mentions of S/H, schizophrenic behaviors, psychosis, religious manipulation.

Buckle up, because this is going to be one hell of a ride.

A DEFINITION OF SPIRITUAL PSYCHOSIS - "Religious-spiritual crises include distress associated with the weakening or loss of faith, turbulent conversions, and affective states associated with negative spirituality. The differential diagnosis in regard to psychosis is often challenging... Although the crisis and psychosis groups scored similarly on perplexity, self-disorder, depression, and anxiety, the disturbance of social contact and cognition was observed only in psychosis" (Kállai & Kéri, 2020: Religious-spiritual crisis or psychosis? The impact of basic symptoms in the differentiation of prepsychotic states).

To summarize the above definition, Kállai & Kéri (2020) differentiated spiritual crisis with spiritual psychosis through one particular symptom: social withdrawal and disturbance of cognitive functions. If you Google the word "spiritual psychosis", you'll get a wealth of articles and websites cautioning on symptoms that aren't entirely accurate to spiritual psychosis. It is important to consider that spirituality, especially witchcraft and paganism, have been demonized since Christianization and it is integral to recognize that these beliefs still exist today. This heavily impacts spiritual psychosis and its diagnosis, especially within pagan communities, as there are still individuals who want to convince others that if they are a pagan, they must be ""clinically insane"" (I say this, as someone federally disabled from clinical OCD, PTSD, and ASD). It is super important to realize that a lot of people will point the fingers at pagans very quickly to say "HEY! That person is insane because they are talking to a god!" when the same person goes back home to pray every night to God and ask them for forgiveness. This isn't meant as an attack on Christians, but rather to point out the hypocrisy that can occur when this topic arises in religious spaces.

I say this, as a medicated, healthy, and healing individual who practices deity worship, work, tarot, astrology, and spirit work! Not all paganism is "spiritual psychosis", but there are definitely facets and wings of spirituality/neopaganism (in particular) that can lead right down the path of the red pill and psychosis to the right-wing ideology (looking at you, Grimm).

To begin my story: my spiritual psychosis took place pre-COVID, around 2017-2018 timeframe.

I also want to note that this is my experience; this experience does not define everyone who has experienced spiritual psychosis, nor meant as a diagnostic tool. I am simply here to share my story and hopefully spread awareness in the pagan community to help others recognize the signs of potential psychosis and ultimately make our community safer, more inviting, and more healthy.

I also want to make this ABUNDANTLY CLEAR: you do not have to have preexisting mental/emotional disabilities to experience spiritual psychosis.

Anyone can experience spiritual psychosis, and that's what makes it so incredibly dangerous! The above belief is what ultimately led to my downfall and unfortunate experience with psychosis, almost causing to my own death. I am not an individual with any preexisting mood disorders; I do not experience mania symptoms or psychotic symptoms, and never have, outside of this experience. When I was going through spiritual psychosis, I told myself that "this must be real, because I don't have BPD or mania or schizophrenia!" In my head, I was "happy and healthy", and I continuously told myself that because I was happy, it couldn't have been psychosis. It's also important to mention that I was 15-16 years old when I experienced this, so I was already within a vulnerable population to religious manipulation due to being in a rough mental state and exploring who I was as a teenager.

Please do not try to diagnose me in the comments. I am monitored and medicated by a physician, psychiatrist, and therapist, and have been evaluated again and again for mood disorders since this experience. I have consistently, multiple times, failed the diagnostic measures for disorders consisting of psychotic episodes, mania, or bipolar-type disabilities. Trying to diagnose someone actively experiencing spiritual psychosis and slapping a label on them will only make the problem worse, I PROMISE. Same goes for individuals in recovery from psychosis.

On a similar note, if a loved one is going through spiritual psychosis, and needs help, simply telling them that it's "not real" or that they're in psychosis will probably not work; it didn't work on me, at least. What I needed was medical intervention, and this problem marinated in my head for over a year because of negligence and ignorance to the severity of my state. Telling someone with spiritual psychosis that they have spiritual psychosis WILL NOT WORK, I promise. Reach out to their doctor, a hotline, or a professional in a medical field if you suspect a friend or loved one is in a psychotic episode. Please, for me—don't try to play the savior, because they might think they are the savior.

That being said, I also will say that OCD can share a lot of similarities with BPD, and I've talked to a ton of fellow OCD-ers that have had spiritual psychosis experiences.

I will also mention that certain chemicals or medications can influence the onset of spiritual psychosis! At this time, I was struggling through a lot of menstrual issues, and was placed on a oral birth control (progesterone) that was notorious for causing delusion, with users of the hormone reporting that "they literally felt like they were going insane". I snapped out of my spiritual psychosis the second I went off the medication. This is not to blame pharmaceuticals or scream out to the void that medicine is bad (I am happily medicated and monitored by a doctor, psychiatrist, and therapist now!) but to emphasize that outside influences can, and will, encourage the onset of spiritual psychosis.

Here is a list of some of the events, symptoms (unique to me), and beliefs I held during my spiritual psychosis. I've bolded critical drivers of my episode.

I was a "Christian witch" at this time, and believed that I was a lightworker sent by God among a group of 20 or so individuals to "heal" others

I was socially withdrawn, without any true friends. I had one online friend at the time, who was also going through spiritual psychosis with me, making this problem much worse.

I was constantly compulsion-checking (OCD) for signs such as angel numbers, words, messages, to the point where I could not concentrate because of the desparate need for reassurance

I was obsessed with the concept of talking to and doing spellwork on real people in the astral to "heal them", and it gave me a sense that I was not alone; this was not consensual to these people, who I did know in real life, and I was convinced that was okay, because...

I believed in twin flame ideology, which I have consistently not only seen mentioned from other survivors of spiritual psychosis, but often encourages toxic relationships, abuse, and stalking.

I thought I was an earth angel who had a past life as an angel. This included delusions so severe that I thought I could "feel my wings" and that I "wasn't meant to be on earth" (this can slip so quickly into su*cidal ideation, and it did for me)

I created my own world in my head that I would meditate to enter, essentially, where I had an entire family of spirits taking care of me, including my "future kids" (I had internalized homophobia)

I could not sleep, function, and barely could eat. This is a defining, tell-tale sign of any form of psychosis: I was so obsessed with meditating and entering the astral realm, that I was completely dissociated from the real world. In a sense, I was not existing in the physical world, at all.

I could hear and see "spirits" who would tell me uncomfortable things. They would appear as voices in my head that I didn't want there, but believed I had to let be there if I wanted to continue on my path as a healer.

I had gone from a state of depression so badly that I was unable to function, to "happy and healthy" in my psychotic mania during this. If you find yourself quickly turning from a down to an up, be aware.

I thought I was pregnant with a spirit unconsensually. This one I will say with certainty (and love): guys, please, if you think you have a spirit child and you are the equivalent to the modern-day Virgin Mary, please walk yourself into the nearest ER.

I was obsessed with conservative, right-wing beliefs to the point where it was the only media I consumed. This was also in-part because I grew up on military bases, but most definitely worsened during my psychosis.

I believed I was more important than others to God, my life had more value.

I could go on, but I think these bullets sum up my experience pretty well.

How I recovered and realized my spiritual psychosis episode, and what that looked like.

This is where it can get extremely dangerous! I was lucky enough to have my driving factor as a medication, but that was not the sole influence.

I kid you not: I woke up one morning after switching meds, realized that it was literally all in my head, and entered the worst depressive episode I've ever had in my life, to this day. I was unable to sleep from paranoia, struggled eating, would refuse to talk to my parents, and was terrified of anything to even remotely do with religion. It got to the point where I was, quite literally, on my death bed. The only thing that saved me was going into therapy and establishing connections, getting diagnosed with OCD, and ultimately, aging and maturing.

The story of my recovery is a much, much longer road with unrelated events, so I won't go into that. But I will emphasize that this event almost caused me my life on a few occasions, and led to a multi-year journey to reexplore spirituality, morality, and religion. It took me years upon years to recover, and I believe that I did the right thing: if you ever have spiritual psychosis, take a step back for awhile and evaluate first what caused the psychosis, what your symptoms were, and identify your coping strategies and networks to avoid the situation reoccurring in the future.

Spiritual psychosis is dangerous, it's scary, and it's not talked enough in pagan communities. I think my end-all advice for this post would be just that above: be aware, be educated, and be monitored by a medical team. If you are ever hearing things you don't want to hear, thinking your gods are upset at you (they're not, I promise), experiencing mania or depressive symptoms, please please please speak to a medical professional or something you love and trust.

Today, I am an eclectic Hellenic/Norse pagan with spirit guides and gods who I have boundaries with. My healthy spiritual practice looks like being grounded in my body, in nature, my friends around me, my family, and most importantly, maintaining good mental health. It includes working a job I love, telling stories of nature to others (I'm a tour guide/naturalist), and writing. I go to therapy weekly, I'm medicated, and I actively take steps to heal and recognize how my psychosis impacted both my spirituality, religion, and path. Recovery is possible. You are never alone.

I'm more than happy to open conversation about this topic and answer any questions! Please also feel free to correct me on anything I said.

I'm hoping this helps someone who needs to hear it, spreads awareness, and most importantly, promotes healthy religious practice. I'd like to thank my deities (Loki and Aphrodite) for encouraging me to make this post and speak up about my experience <3 It's always wonderful to have a spiritual team that is truly on my side.

Blessed be, my friends! Stay happy and healthy!

[thriplerex]

How many hermits (and friends) does it take to change a lightbulb?

You’ve just moved in to Hermit Hills (or Hermitopia, or New Hermitville, or wherever you may be) and need a favor from one (or more) of your new neighbors to change a certain burn-out lightbulb. The lightbulb is a small, 60-watt incandescent lightbulb that fits into an E26 base, whereas the socket in question is a ceiling 8 feet (2.43 meters) off the floor. There is a small 2 ft (0.61m) step stool available. 

Who do you pick?

Bdubs goes into the room. After about a minute, you hear a bit of muttering.

He comes out and heads toward the supply closet, returning with a 6-foot stepladder. 

Cubfan enters the room holding a toolbox, but it takes him much longer to do the job than you expected.

After about an hour, he emerges.

You find that he has changed not only the assigned lightbulb but also all eight lightbulbs in the room to high-efficiency LED bulbs and installed a dimmer switch.

Docm walks in, followed by a small rover-like robot.

It's holding a telescopic lightbulb changer pole, doing the job for him in minutes.

You wonder how much time he must have spent on it to not have to do this work.

Etho changes the lightbulb, but it starts to flicker soon after he’s left.

Upon closer inspection, you discover that he has replaced the lightbulb with a smart bulb that he set to appear to flicker randomly.

False changes the lightbulb for a more energy-efficient 9-watt LED bulb. It’s exactly the same size but noticeably brighter.

You have to admit it’s somehow an aesthetic improvement despite not quite matching the other bulbs in the room.

Gem comes to change the lightbulb. She beckons you into the room with her.

You witness her staring intently at the lightbulb, which suddenly flickers back on after a few seconds of suspense.

Both of you shrug at each other.

When you ask Scar, he says he can't stand to change lightbulbs either, for they're the most annoying things in the world, right next to wet socks.

It takes you a moment to catch what he means. You're embarrassed that you asked to begin with.

Grian says he can’t make it, having had to “sort his socks by color.” You leave for a lunch break.

Mysteriously, when you return, you find a trail of slime leading into the room, up the wall, and across the ceiling directly to the light socket. The lightbulb has been changed, although the replacement has a bit of slimy residue.

Hypno goes into the room, closes the door, and emerges not even a minute later.

Impressively, you realize he has somehow changed the lightbulb in that short timeframe and put away the stepstool.

Impulse enters the room, and leaves a while thereafter.

After he’s left, you notice that not only has the lightbulb been changed, but the supply box of assorted lightbulbs has been neatly organized and labeled into different containers that weren’t there before.

Iskall changes the lightbulb.

When you go to inspect his handiwork, you notice that the new lightbulb is ever so slightly larger than the other ones, although it’s not apparent that it’s brighter.

iJevin changes the lightbulb to a light blue-tinted 9W LED bulb.

You can’t explain why, but it seems to tie the room together and decide to do the same to the other seven bulbs.

Joe Hills changes the lightbulb.

After Joe has installed it, you discover that this particular lightbulb inexplicably now only turns off when the light switch is “on” and vice versa. The problem persists even after a professional electrician has had a look at it.

Both you and Joe are at a loss for words.

Keralis changes the lightbulb, replacing it with a high-lumen 35-watt LED bulb.

You have to admit that the room has never been brighter. 

Mumbo attempts to change the lightbulb.

The first one he installs, an LED bulb, just plain doesn’t work out of the box. The second one works for a brief moment, and then fizzles out within 30 seconds. The third one, an incandescent bulb, spontaneously explodes on the table while his back is turned. Oh my, this has gone horribly wrong.

He shakes the first lightbulb in abject frustration before screwing it into the socket in desperation.

Miraculously, it works.

Pearl goes into the room with a suspicious bulge under her hoodie.

She leaves shortly after, snickering to herself. Curiously, you inspect the scene.

It’s been changed, all right… There's a sopping wet pickle stuck into the socket, and an upside-down pickle jar on a nearby table.

You wonder why you even bothered to call her.

Rendog goes in to change the lightbulb.

Unfortunately, he quickly realizes you’ve run out of LED and incandescent replacements. No matter, there's a fluorescent bulb that fits.

“It ain’t purty, but it works…”

Skizz waltzes in. Not long after, you hear a crash.

You open the door to check on him and find him on his butt next to a collapsed stepstool, having tripped on it. He’s dropped the bulb he was holding, but it thankfully isn’t broken.

As he leaves, you realize he’s left his phone on the table (specifically, on a Google search that says “how to change a lightbulb without injuring yourself”) and run after him to return it.

Joel comes in, bragging about how you called the right guy for the job and that “nobody’s better at changing lightbulbs than me, totally.”

Three minutes later, you hear him mildly cursing out the stepstool, which is refusing to cooperate with him. He eventually gets the bulb changed, though not without some fussing over which replacement bulb to pick and insulting the other options.

Stress arrives to do the job.

Soon, it becomes apparent she’s taking a little while, so you go on lunch break.

When you return, you find a magenta sticky note on the door that reads “ty love, it’s gorgeous now!”

You discover that she’s switched out all the lightbulbs for 9W pink-tinted LED bulbs.

Tango enters the room and, after a brief look around, leaves for the supply closet.

He returns, carrying a ladder, and enters the room again.

You hear him making funny noises as his brain processes the fact that a ladder and a stepstool are already in the room.

Beef arrives to do the job.

After he leaves, you notice he hasn’t changed the assigned lightbulb at all. A perfectly fine lightbulb in a room across the house, though, has been changed.

You wonder why you even bothered to mark the room.

Wels changes the lightbulb and leaves in a bit of a haste.

After his departure, you see that all the containers that Impulse organized are now also labeled and stacked up in an orderly manner. The old lightbulb has been set to the side.

xB arrives to change the lightbulb, leaving shortly thereafter.

You find that he has installed a plug adapter into the light socket, into which is plugged a table lamp that wasn’t there before. Said lamp is on a nearby table, the almost-too-short cord dangling loosely in midair.

You wonder how he got the lamp in without you noticing.

Xisuma changes the lightbulb without much tomfoolery.

After he leaves, you find an unopened packet of tea bags on a nearby table, an empty, unused teacup and saucer, and a thank-you note. 

Cleo comes to change the lightbulb.

You enter the room to inspect their work, and then notice that they have also completed the floral arrangement on the table that you were going to set up.

It has exceptional attention to detail.

Zedaph changes the lightbulb.

At first, you think it’s malfunctioning because it keeps turning on and off seemingly randomly without anyone touching the switch.

However, it becomes apparent that the new lightbulb he installed has a motion sensor built into it that turns it on when it detects movement.

You conclude that as amusing as it is, it’s not very practical.

Martyn comes in to change the lightbulb.

As he’s explaining to you what he’s going to do in great detail, including joking about threatening the lightbulb verbally, both of you notice it flickering back to life.

Regardless, he changes the light bulb, as he “was going to do it anyway.”

Lizzie comes in to change the lightbulb.

She accidentally drops the first replacement on the floor, breaking it.

The second one somehow ends up being lost through an open window when she trips and sends it flying.

The stepstool nearly collapses on the third try, but she gets it done - just in time for Joel to arrive just as she’s finished to see if she needs help.

BigB doesn’t show. Instead, this guy calling himself ���Terry” shows up.

You’re reluctant to let him in, but Lizzie vouches for him.

After he’s changed the lightbulb and left, you notice a pile of cookie crumbs on the carpet underneath the light.

Jimmy comes to change the lightbulb.

He’s interrupted by Grian, who finally decides to show up only to heckle him at the window.

Frustrated, Jimmy closes the window and draws the blinds - then realizes he’s misplaced the replacement bulb thanks to the distraction. Guess who snatched it?

“GRIANN!!”

Scott comes to change the lightbulb. He’s in the room for a very long time.

At the end of the day, you give the door a knock. “Come in!” 

He unpacked all the moving boxes and decorated the entire room of his own accord. It’s quite cozy, you admit. 

FIN

[felinefractious]

How can you tell which breeds are rare compared to others?

This list is a useful starting point.

Some registries will also list the number of a particular breed registered with them within a certain timeframe. If you go to the breed page on LOOF’s website they list the number of kittens born within the last 365 days.

Ragdoll compared to Turkish Angora compared to German Rex

An individual also compiled data from several major registries, given this is from 2022 the information is a little dates but isn’t likely to have changed drastically.

Paw Peds can also be used, as the site will list the number of a particular breed group in their database.

Maine Coon compared to Ural Rex.

[meeblo]

favorite..AND least fav arknights operators?

Favorites gameplay-wise are probably Muelsyse and Jessica the Liberated. Their kits are both very dynamic and fun to use, with a focus on smart positioning I find to be quite engaging, with optimizing the adjacent tiles for Muelsyse's ranged clone to split to or adjacent tiles to use Jessica's shield to allow her to change direction with.

Story-wise, there's too many to really narrow it down, so I'll pick some favorites by storyline. Amiya deserves a mention from the main story, she's a very interesting take on a paragon protagonist with distinct moments of fallibility and an allowance in the narrative for her to be wrong and then change as a result. Kal'tsit and Doctor are both fascinating as well, which is why it's such a shame that Kal'tsit is so maligned for talking too much in the story (she really doesn't) and Doctor is often just boiled down to a self insert (they really aren't). Ch'en wins "most improved" in the main story, I disliked her on her first introduction but really came around as the main story progressed with learning her backstory and scenes such as the end of episode 6/beginning of episode 7 (Dossoles Holiday Ch'en is still lame though). Mudrock is a very interesting figure, especially with how she fits with Big Bob as having chosen to leave Reunion behind and the differing lives they chose to lead afterwards; I'd love if we could get a flashback eventually of Mudrock speaking with Patriot before she left reunion, it would be a fascinating conversation for sure. From the Rhine Lab storyline, Muelsyse and Saria are my two favorites, with Silence earning an honorable mention as well; Muelsyse I wrote an analysis post up about a while ago (pre lone trail but it still mostly holds up). It's hard to boil down why I like Mumu and Saria most of the Rhine Lab storyline in a few sentences, can't think of how to make it succinct. Kroos and Saga are the standouts of the Sui storyline, with Who is Real in particular being the most interesting Sui event in my opinion with the subject matter it covers about morality as related to perception and the nature of value within art. Kroos is possibly my favorite alter in the game with how her files and story in events gives you enough to read between the lines about what changed her to bring her to who she became and what elements of the younger Kroos remain. Goldenglow is a standout lead for one of the best vignette events, it's very interesting structurally with how it nonlinearly shifts PoVs and timeframes by vignette. Texas, Penance, and Lappland all are phenomenal in Il Siracusano, which is in contention for being my favorite event story; it's hard to sum up exactly why other than that Il Siracusano is simply just that good. Jessica in Come Catastrophes or Wakes of Vultures is phenomenal; it's the best event they've released recently (though I was too busy to ready Zwillingsturme so I can't judge there). Exusiai deserves a mention as well; she was my first six star, but she also has a lot of interesting story connections buried beneath the surface despite never truly headlining an event story.

As for least favorites, I don't really have much I outright dislike. I suppose Ch'en alter, if only because it means Ch'en will likely never get a (narratively) good alter now and thus will never be the focus of a story again because that slot was already taken up with a waste of a summer alter. I wish we could have had a main story Ch'en alter instead. In general I hate whenever a limited operator is meta on principle, because the limited operator system is inherently predatory and hostile to people especially those who haven't been playing since year 1, though if I must pick one I'd say Skadi the Corrupting Heart annoys me most because the roles she fills are highly effective and simply cannot be approximated by any other operators. Thank god for the 5th anniversary free character finally alleviating that.

[7grandmel]

Rip of the week: 11/11/2024

Radical Halation

Season 2 Featured on: Rips of Christmas Past Also on: Now That's What I Call Quality!

Ripped by wheel able, wolfman1405, David Morales Boroff

Birthday Special!

Anniversaries, anniversaries...how they come, how they go. This week in particular is a pretty special anniversary, not just for the release of hit game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, but for the release of ME: My birthday!

It's surreal how vividly I still remember when I wrote Your Silent Reality for my last birthday, covering a SiIvaGunner rip that's sat with me long since I first heard it due to the emotional ties I have to the material it utilizes. I began this entire blog as a way to give me writing practice, and I'd like to think I've grown a fair bit as a writer in the time since; but nevertheless, even a year and a half since the blog's begun, my emotional attachment to Season 2 of SiIvaGunner remains as firm as ever. The channel's output has grown to be more impressive than ever before, and last year's Season 7 in particular has had me in a chokehold with rips like Beautiful Dreamer (late but- happy birthday Minindo!) and The Paragoomba and the Wiggler...and yet, I will always keep coming back to the rips of that second season, to the rips that defined my ride-or-die fixation to the channel, and to the season that more than any other gave me feelings for things I didn't even know I was capable of caring so deeply about. Indeed, in direct contrast to last year's birthday rip, Radical Halation was the kind of gift I never knew I needed, yet one I will never stop treasuring.

Way back when I covered the rip Eterna's Cocoon, I wrote about how special it is to me to know that rippers on the team will continue to champion the works which have long since faded from public consciousness. Sure, SiIvaGunner leverages then-current events for comedy a fair number of times; a previous post on the blog's covered one such example in Lagplane, and one of the channel's most revered events back on Your Best Nightmario only came about as a result of a viral meme from that same timeframe. Yet just as often - if not moreso - the channel operates within its own bubble of time, with no care in the world for relevance or target audiences, a team making rips in huge part just for their own enjoyment. Take, for instance, the 1999 SquareSoft JRPG Chrono Cross; a game that, six years before its remaster in 2022, still existed as nary but a memory to many. Nevertheless, it was a memory treasured by two rippers in particular, a duo who had already impressed me time and time again throughout the channel's first two years. Be it Sog-Gee Ambiance, voiceless, Kass' Theme, or their previous collaborative work on 28 Saves Later, wheel able's stellar touch for arrangement and wolfman1405's unbelievable talents as a jazz performer are both some of the absolute highlights across the channel's early run. When the time came for one of the most important anniversaries relevant to the SiIvaGunner channel, the two took the opportunity to also honor a forgotten classic they both cherished – and in doing so, Radical Halation ironically became one of the first times I ever engaged with Chrono Cross. With the game's anniversary also just two days away, and the rip lying so close to my heart, I see no better time than to reciprocate that passion all these years later.

The sheer quality of Radical Halation should be made evident just a few seconds into listening; this is, as Wolfman1405 in particular specializes in, a ground-up cover and performance of the original Radical Dreamers ~ Unstolen Jewel theme from Chrono Cross. The original theme already had a shockingly acoustic sound to it for its era, really plucking at the emotions just a few chords in; that emotional rawness in the track may well have been the core reason why it was chosen to celebrate this anniversary in particular. Indeed, the anniversary I alluded to beforehand as being one of the channel's most crucial is that of the very song the rip title alludes to, the song that sits at the very emotional core of SiIvaGunner's entire being: Snow Halation from Love Live. I wrote back on Waluigi Pinball (Beta Mix) that the Grand Dad meme is like the beating heart of SiIvaGunner's creative spirit, being the core that created the entire channel; by that same logic, I feel as if Snow Halation is like SiIvaGunner's *emotional* core, its "soul" for lack of a better term. Grand Dad may be the spark that sets new rippers into action even all these years later, but Snow Halation was the first thing that people got EMOTIONALLY attached to on SiIvaGunner – it was the core behind its first story arc of SiIvaGunner: Rebooted, it continues to effectively serve as the "protagonist" to the Christmas Comeback Crisis storyline – and its use throughout the channel continues to feel like a reminder of that same attachment, the one that the channel has to all of us. It's an openly sappy, almost overbearing song, yet one that represents so much about the love of remixing and rearranging that SiIvaGunner continues to focus on all these years later.

You take that emotionally-charged melody, put it in the hands of two stellar arrangers, and inject it into an arrangement of an emotional melody the soundscape of which said aforementioned rippers already appear to hold a close attachment to, and the end result is exactly what Radical Halation shows us. Throughout 2016, throughout the entirety of Season 1 of SiIvaGunner, we as the audience had gone on such an emotional rollercoaster regarding out attachment to the channel, its creatives, and its memes, with Snow Halation at the very center of it all; with the channel returned just in time for the holidays, it also happened to return just in time for Snow Halation's anniversary on December 22nd, ever so coincidentally aligned with the time upon which we were all wholly, earnestly in love with everything the song had come to represent. Many months before Season 3 and beyond would begin feeding irony into the discussion of appreciation for these melodies, right as the Christmas Comeback Crisis was just kicking into gear, and just long enough after the channel's return had occurred to make us truly accept that it was back, Radical Halation's release window struck gold in a way only truly comparable to the rips of the Season 1 finale a la Do for LOVE and THANK YOU FOR RIPPING.

I'm of course not aiming to frame Radical Halation as just being "the right thing at the right time"; beyond that emotional attachment, the simple fact of the matter still remains that its a hauntingly beautiful arrangement, even close to 8 years later. Radical Dreamers ~ Unstolen Jewel's beauty sinks in just from the acoustic guitar lead-in, and is only emphasized by the time the rip's true "twist" sets in, of its lead melody being that of a Snow Halation arrangement played on violin. The two halves form an incredible, inseperable whole; not confined by the restrictions of a mashup, the hand-made nature of this arrangement means that both the guitar and violin segments are free to fill in for one another, to emphasize the sounds of Radical Dreamers ~ Unstolen Jewel or the melody of Snow Halation to different degrees on a moment-to-moment basis. I particularly love the section after the Snow Halation melody first plays - at around 0:47, the violin seamlessly leaves the Snow Halation melody and instead takes cues from the source track, yet never stops feeling as if its all from the same arrangement, even upon returning to Snow Halation at 01:10. The rip throughout has the same feeling as the best and most carefully-constructed mashups of today a la Eazystep or Maroonbound whilst in reality being a completely new arrangement and performance.

The visuals of the rip are of course just the cherry on top of it all. Viewers are made immediately aware that the rip is going to be something special not just through its audio, but from the cold-open visuals of pitch blackness fading into a view of the ocean from underneath the surface, the logo fading in just as the melody's played its first few notes. These visuals only change once Snow Halation is first quoted in the audio, changing from the undersea depths to the view of a beachside in winter, a quite literal mash-up of Chrono Cross' dreamy seasides and the snow-covered comfort of Snow Halation. None of this visual detail is particularly "necessary", it's not here to further a punchline; rather, in the spirit of rips like i love(d) you, the visuals serve to punctuate the emotional core of the rip. Visuals in any rip are a surprise, an often-time momentous occasion, and Radical Halation combines that knowledge with its purpose of celebrating Snow Halation's first-ever anniversary celebration on the SiIvaGunner channel to create a rip that, even with no ties to Chrono Cross at the time of watching, I just KNEW would be special back in 2016 just three seconds in.

All these years later, and a rip as special, profound and heartfelt as Radical Halation still manages to feel...forgotten about, in many ways, sitting at less than 25K views as of writing. In that sense, Chrono Cross may have been a more apt game to use for this tribute than its rippers initially thought; all these years later, despite its clear emotional core, the passion that went into it and the release of its remaster, the game remains a jewel swept away by the tides of the industry. We're soon nearing nine whole years of the SiIvaGunner channel's run, and with every day I run this blog I'm made all the more aware of how many gems just like Radical Halation continue to slip by the cracks, how much joy and love the channel's team crams into so much of its output despite never having any sort of guarantee that its audience will reciprocate that love.

But, even all those years ago, Radical Halation did reach me. And even so many years before the idea of this blog was even a consideration, before I was knee-deep in thought about the channel's existence and the people involved in its upkeep...I knew that I wanted to thank its creators. I knew that it was a rip that could only have been made out of outpouring love; love for a game years old, love for a channel that was still standing shakily, love for a leitmotif and its impact on an audience...and most of all, the love of creating and performing music outright.

I held onto those thoughts, kept them stashed away in the back of my mind – yet I feel as if subconsciously, they were part of why wolfman1405's arrangement and performance of Sunday Morning, three years later, hit me as hard as it did. The song was different, the subject was different, the context was different, the "joke" was no longer there; and yet it was as if Wolfman1405's creative, emotional spirit, that I'd felt so prominently years past, had never left. Put simply, beyond its inherent qualities that I'll forever applaud wheel able and wolfman1405 for, I feel...indebted to Radical Halation: it may well just be one rip, but its one of the most core pieces I can think of for why my love for the channel continues to this very day.

[bantarleton]

It's both funny and sad seeing online (and in this case anonymous) "journalists" scrambling to get a hold on who "redcoats" are in the wake of a recent inflated faux outrage about a café in Edinburgh. This article in particular is a wild one.

"The uniform was used by British soldiers from the 16th to 19th century in several conquests on behalf of the the British military around the world."

No, unless we're counting some niche Scottish and English retinues in the 16th c. it was used from the 1640s by the English and the 1660s by the Scottish (almost half a century before the Act of Union). Nor did the uniform stop being worn in the 19th century, it only ceased being battlefield dress - it's still ceremonially worn today (by Scottish regiments as well).

"For those unaware (take note, Edinburgh Castle), from 1725 onwards, garrisons manned by government soldiers or "redcoats" sprung up all over the Scottish Highlands, most notably at Fort William and Inverness."

I love the condescending tone of this part, with the anon author totally schooling Historical Environment Scotland for their lack of history knowledge. But no, garrisons didn't suddenly start appearing from 1725 onwards. Prior to 1745 Scotland was not an "occupied" country. The redcoats being talked about were mostly Scottish regiments holding the Scottish garrisons they'd occupied for decades (the basic problem with the premise of this article is people think "redcoat" = "English." Ironically for at least half of the historical timeframe the English were a minority of "redcoats").

"Redcoats took an aggressive hand to Scots across the country who did not support the king and attempted to cling to their national identity."

Which king? The exiled Stuart king? The "Hanoverian" king? This "national identity" stuff is also fabricated hokum, again, there was no effort at repression in Scotland by "redcoats" prior to the 1745 uprising, just the usual service performed by the 18th c. military. Scotland had one of the lowest ratios of soldiers-to-population in Europe during the period! These soldiers were almost all Scottish themselves. The author is just writing what they vaguely think is the case as fact.

"The government army, clad in red, massacred Scots at the Battle of Culloden Moor, marking not only the defeat of the Jacobite movement, but the destruction of clan and Gaelic Highland life. From 1745, Highlanders were forbidden to carry weapons – including the famous broadsword. The playing of the bagpipes was banned. Tartan and highland dress was outlawed."

The clan structure was dying a death before Culloden and the battle didn't mark its final "destruction" (people seem to also think the redcoats were responsible for the Clearances, so at this stage anything's fair game). The bans on the things mentioned as outlawed were barely enforced and largely repealed within a few decades.

"And clansmen who dared to defy? Fines, imprisonment, exile, and death at the hands of... you guessed it, the redcoats. However, as one user wrote, "history is complex", highlighting that Scots wearing redcoats were on the side of the British army on the moor."

They finally managed to mention that "redcoats" aren't just the English. In fact most of the "fines, imprisonment, exile and death" being meted out was by fellow Scots against the Jacobites, who didn't have the support of the majority of the country. And this wasn't just a lowlanders vs highlanders thing, highlanders were behind repressing *other* highlanders, as has been the case throughout history.

The best part of all this is the café has been operating under that name for 32 years without comment, but they've only just noticed so now it's become a thing.

tl;dr

[claypigeonpottery]

sooooo

kiln date on the 17th! pottery should be out by the 19th and ready to ship by next week after I take pictures, glue magnets and clean everything.

y’know, if things survive.

I’m getting into that usual terrified excitement that surrounds kiln time. yay. 🙃

hopefully I’ll have enough space in the kiln but if not I’ll do my best to get everything with dibs finished

if you have dibs on something

I would love it if you’d dm me your full shipping address and email, so I can calculate shipping cost once everything is packed, and send out paypal invoices.

if I can get those before I start the whirlwind of packing pottery, I would really appreciate that, it’ll save me time and effort during The Packing.

if you’re particular about sharing that info here on tumblr, you can email it to me at theclaypigeonpottery@gmail.com -but please include your username and/or the piece you have dibs on so I know who belongs to what

thanks!

also, I’m going to reiterate my dibs policy here

you have no obligation to buy the piece

I have no obligation to re-create the piece if it doesn’t survive the kiln

I will send you pictures of the piece before anyone else

you have up to a week to decide if you want it or not. if you don’t respond within that timeframe, I will send you a message to let you know I’m moving on/posting it to Etsy.

I will hold a piece longer if you communicate that with me, but I need an end date. I can’t hold things indefinitely

and here’s my cat, because she wants attention

grabby paws

[doshmanziari]

Hey, everyone.

In 2022, I wrote and illustrated a short comic book which I published and sold copies of at that year’s MICE. Entitled Adyton, it was a brief exploration of what I'd very loosely call the close encounter phenomenon, with an emphasis on the abduction aspect. Since then, I’ve wanted to expand on the book; but, as is usual for me, I have to ruminate on something for a long while until embarking on the project feels right. This recently happened, and I’ve decided to entitle what I intend to be my first complete and long-form graphic novel Can You See Behind the Moon? I’m not going to say where the title comes from, and will leave it to those who are more familiar with some of the paranormal literature to recognize its origin.

Over the years, I’ve made sputtering attempts at other graphic novels, but the lack of a clear narrative direction for one doomed it to oblivion (Underbrickers), while the creative momentum of the other seemed bound to a very particular timeframe (Grim Synergy). Differently, I see this project as encompassing ideas which, to varying degrees, are present within my mind every day, or every other day, and I do think it can be sustained by that persistence. If I were forced to speak in very general and perhaps reductive terms about Can You See Behind the Moon?, it is my attempt to explore possibilities implied by close encounters in a way which emphasizes a deep and occulted relationship humanity appears to have with itself, the cosmos, and what one might term the evolutionary impulse.

The first four pages you see here (not counting the cover) are recreations of Adyton’s first six pages. As should be apparent, the narrative is not linear. Like Adyton, the plot sometimes progresses according to visual resonances which can also be interpreted as conceptual resonances. For instance, the as-yet-unnamed young man’s finger-gun gesture becomes the transitional point for a reference to the so-called Kelly-Hopkinsville encounter, wherein guns figured prominently, and unusually.

To be clear, this work has been done very quickly, in the interest of submitting it to relevant publishers as proof-of-concept material, and so that I’m able to maintain a pace of a couple of pages every two or three days (while also producing “fine art” for gallery shows, to say nothing of various other side projects). But I also like the roughness of the drawings, and the color of the newsprint paper… so, the making of these has also carried with it pleasure and occasional surprise at the results. Since I’ve decided to work within a limited palette, I’m relying heavily upon the linework.

For Christmas last year, my partner — somewhat regretfully — got me a comic book about UFOs published the same year by Dark Horse. I write “somewhat regretfully” because she didn’t really like the look of it; and when I received it I had to agree: the art is so simplistic, mundane, and ugly that I don’t think I’ll ever do more than skim some of the pages (the author also seems to have only done the bare minimum of research regarding Betty and Barney Hill’s case). But I’ve used the book as a point of motivation: surely, if something that bland could get green-lit by a fairly well-known comics publisher, then my work stands a chance.

Another one of my particularities is that I tend to get through projects more quickly when I don’t assign their completion an arbitrary date, and also when I don’t make myself beholden to publicizing all of the progress. I don’t intend on making a Kickstarter or anything for this — unless it becomes necessary — so I’m not sure when I’ll be prepared to share more. But, the time will come.

Anyway — even if there’s not much here yet, thanks for looking!

[a-certain-romance]

Fallin’ for ya

Characters/Ships: Tattoo artist!Ei x gn!reader

Synopsis: Of all the customers who walk through your door, the cute tattoo artist from across the street is your favorite. Or in other words flower shop x tattoo parlor AU (Note: Because this is more of a modern AU, Ei is mortal)

Warnings: Light angst (happy ending)

Despite the fact that Ei is mortal, she finds the concept of eternity quite beautiful. It lead her to an interest in tattoos; the idea of choosing something meaningful to be a permanent part of your body resonates with her on a deeper level. There is a forever peace in a world that’s constantly moving, changing. The very store across from hers has already rid itself of the “For Sale” sign. Gone was an old, outdated convenience store that Ei would occasionally but snacks. The space was now called “Fresh Florals”.

Flowers, how fleeting she thought. Their beauty is bittersweet, radiant for only so long before they inevitably crumble. Sure, the romanticization is nice, but holds no importance over Ei. That is until she gets a particular request from a client.

Tulips��rose heads…Calla Lillies? The appointment gets made a week later with the promise of going over the details within that timeframe. Sensing her change in mood her coworker, Kujo Sara, questions her on what’s wrong.

“Just booking another appointment is all”. Her lack of interest in florals has finally come to bite her in the ass. Honestly, she’s surprised she hasn’t gotten a request like this sooner. Yet all this time has left her without the proper preparation. Her eyes land on the bright blue sign from across the street and an idea sparks.

Your day had been very average for the most part. You haven’t been offered any big orders lately and the foot traffic nowadays is mostly for young and elderly couples looking for something to surprise their significant other. Suffice to say today has been extremely boring. That is until the bell to the door jingles and in comes a beautiful, purple haired woman. Your eyes meet and she gracefully strides up to the front desk.

As she gets closer, you begin to notice her more clearly. Her eyes are a light violet, similar to her hair and she also has a small mole under her eye. Cute.

“Do you have any tulips? Roses and Calla Lilies? I need these in the upmost importance”. You mentally sigh, of course someone as gorgeous as her is taken.

Ei raises an eyebrow, “If you must know, I intend to study them for the sake of a client. I on the other hand, ahem, have no one of interest”. You don’t miss the way her cheeks tint a light shade of pink.

At least it’s not as bright as your own as you realize what you thought in your head was said out loud. “Right, um, let me get those for you”. You wrap her desires flowers in a lavender colored ribbon, “Here you go Mrs…”

“Please, call me Ei”.

“Here are your flowers Ei”, you pass the very small bouquet to her and after paying, she goes on her way. You on the other hand bury your head into your hands and groan.

“They’re dead”. You look up from the book you’ve been reading, not even noticing her entrance. Ei is holding the flowers she picked from the other day but they’re much more lifeless than before. It’s only been two days since you’ve last seen her. “I’m not quite sure what happened to them. This was the state they were in when I awoke this morning.”.

You examine the flowers closer, “Did you put them in water when you got home?”

“No, they’re dead are they not? Isn’t water supposed to sustain living creatures?”. You shake your head and examine further, “How much sunlight did you give them?”

“I left them on a windowsill”. You turn the flowers over in you hands, “Theres a chance they can be saved but in the meantime, I have most of the flowers you are searching for on display. You can come by anytime if you’d like”. And so was the start of it all.

Ei stops by daily during the afternoon determined to get the tattoo just right. The details will be up to the client but Ei insists that she should study the basic forms first. Yet even when the date for the appointment had already passed, she still finds herself coming back to your shop everyday. Most of the time you’ll find yourselves sharing your interests, hobbies, and other things you hold dear. Other times you’ll sit in silence, the both of you occupied with your own thing. The weeks that have flown by bring more realizations to Ei. She has spent so many years alone in silence, but learns that it isn’t so bad when she has someone to share it with.

On your days off you’ll surprise Ei with fun outings to commemorate the work you’ve both accomplished. Most of the time it involves having a picnic underneath pink cherry blossoms, your head on her lap and Ei taking full advantage of the sweets you packed. On one of these days your eyes flutter shut and Ei is debating on what to do with your sleeping form. She tucks some hair away from you eyes and admires you sleeping face. Her hand drops. Her heart beats faster.

Ei still has issues from her past. The death of her twin sister Makoto still haunts her years after her passing. Her isolation has kept her from so many things, and now she fears it’s keeping her from you. In the small moments, when you and Ei are working quietly or fighting over the last piece of dango, Ei fears.

It hits her on any other average day. When she comes by unsolicited yet you’re already waiting for her arrival with a bag of snacks to eat and stories to tell. She remembers the you that she first met, and realizes how much time has passed since that moment. How close your relationship has gotten and now she’s suddenly a child wailing for her sister to return to her. She carries on like she would normally do but you can sense something is off. The afternoon is cut short by Ei muttering something about an emergency appointment and leaves you be.

Isolation has always been her coping mechanism. When Makoto died she would spend months shut in her home replaying the memories of what once was. A day passes without contact. Then two. A third. By the fourth day Ei misses you. She misses the deep conversations and your rants about flower symbolism which she’ll never understand but will always listen to. She misses the way your eyes look in the sunlight and how you smile at her without reason. You were only across the street, so why did it feel so far away? Ei decided right then and there she can’t self sabotage what you two have created. You aren’t Makoto, you are still here with her and she wants that to last for as long as possible.

Ei sends Kujo Sara off and decides to close up early. She’s never really been the romantic type so she’ll need more time to figure out how to make up her absence to you. Her movements are on autopilot as she’s locking up before she feels a light tap on her shoulder.

From behind your back, you pull out a large bouquet of handmade purple flowers. Ei only recognizes a few: tulips and asters and, baby’s bottom? Or was it “baby’s breath”? “I’m not sure what I did to upset you, but I’d like to offer this as an apology for whatever it may have been.” you say.

No, no there was nothing you did wrong. “You shouldn’t be the one apologizing when I am at fault,” Ei holds your hands lightly, “There are sorrows from my past I have yet to overcome. Sorrows that, when the time is right, I would gladly share with you. But…I realize now the damage that can be done when I give the past so much power over oneself.”

She lifts your chin to better meet her eyes, “I want to be better, not just for you but for myself. There’s so much I’ve missed because I wanted things to stay the same but that all ends now. It’ll take time but, through it all, will you allow me to love you?”

The answer “Yes” gets lost between your lips as you pull her close.

[commsroom]

heres an essay prompt: how do you think hera engages with the passage of time? especially milestones e.g. "in case you've forgotten, i am four" or "happy birthday officer eiffel" . speculation is more than welcome; youre not restricted to canon.

okay!! good question!! there are tons of factors there, so i'm going to try to just... touch on some of them. first, obviously: she's only ever been in goddard labs + space, so she has no real first-hand concept of day/night cycles, seasons, etc. in the way those mark time on earth. their "year" orbiting wolf 359 is only about two and a half months, but obviously they keep track by earth's calendar + they use military time, so... even in smaller ways, she's used to these methods of timekeeping.

there's also the consideration of time as distance ("somewhere, 13.7 light years to the left...") and overlapping time, how she experiences any given length of time simultaneously many times from multiple perspectives, etc. as part of how she might perceive it.

re: milestones in particular, of course the big thing is still going to be... what the writers said, how hera cares about holidays because the people in her life invite her to care about them. she cares about eiffel's birthday because it matters to eiffel, and she cares about him. she feels left out from thanksgiving because she can't participate the way the others can. etc. and i think she might have some complicated feelings about her own birthday, or maybe even want to consider a different day her "birthday." since, unlike most people, she can remember the earliest days of her life, and that's not a pleasant association.

which ties into the next part, "in case you've forgotten, i am four" is one of those lines that frustrates me so much in how i feel people misinterpret it. like, yes, it's important to realize she only has four years of life experience. it's equally important to realize those are four years she has lived as an adult woman with an adult perspective and responsibilities. it can't be dismissed as just "she's an AI" because so much of what hera experiences directly, intentionally parallels the effects of real life trauma. it is extremely common, as a sheltered adult who has recently escaped trauma, especially with the additional limitations of being disabled, or neurodivergent, or trans (all things i think hera either directly, canonically experiences, or can be drawn in close parallel to), to feel that you've only been alive for a few years, that you've been thrust into adult life without the necessary formative experiences to make sense of it. that your peers all have some shared experience or understanding that you missed out on. i hate so much to see her infantilized for that; i don't think a lot of people fully realize how real or how painful that can be.

... which is a bit of a tangent off the point re: time, but i think it's relevant. since she has... both a very limited life experience, but also so much overlap within that timeframe, there's a sense of urgency about it. i think hera has always felt that she's running against the clock to live some type of life, anything at all. she thought she was going to be left alone up there and had a few years at most. and while a lot of sci-fi presents AIs as long-lived... in the context of wolf 359, where they're a product constantly under development, where the timespan between rhea's series and hera's was only a few years... i think the average AI in that universe probably has a much shorter expected lifespan than the average human. and since hera is very much in uncharted territory re: living an autonomous life... maybe that's getting into a different topic, but i do think time is something she thinks about a lot.

[the-final-sif]

yeah agree with your opinion all the way also it is really weird how it came out days after Dream said they are friends. Like this is just the perfect opportunity to “show” that Dream is “delusional” about the friendships and make fans sceptic about who else could be a “backstabber”

Oh 100%, the timing is not accidental. Also, you'll note that all the screenshots except the Paris one are marked as "Today" implying that for some reason over a 24 hour span, Karl was talking about one of Dream's singing tiktoks, quitting banter, Tales of the SMP somehow being Dream's fault because of the face reveal??? Despite the fact that Dream wasn't even really involved in Tales aside from playing XD? And then also doing damage control for things mods were going leaked that day, like, earlier that day? All supposedly in one day? Like he just woke up and decide he wanted to talk shit and this was the most damning stuff the person could get out of it? And then within that timeframe, he decided not to remove that mod and not to do anything to deal with the issue?

The alternative would be that this person was taking screenshots the moment that Karl said something they thought they could use to smear him, and compiled whatever they had to make this smear, which honestly isn't even a great smear? I don't trust that person to be honest even if the screenshots are real. They're filtering everything through a very particular perspective, and they aren't actually trying to do anyone any good. They're trying to smear someone for whatever reason.

Also, again, even pretending for a moment that the screenshots are real, context is completely omitted, both temporally and even just a broader context of the conversation. There's no way to read tone, there's no way to tell how private the convo is meant to be, etc.

Like, again, if someone took discord screenshots of things I've said out of context, they could make me look like a terrible person. They could make it look like I hate close friends or any number of things. It's very easy to do when you cherry pick things out of context that were meant to be said in private to people you trust. And again, that is making the huge assumption that these screenshots are real, and not just faked which is still entirely possible.

[lieutenantselnia]

Davy Jones' Origin

Some time ago I’ve started to wonder if Davy Jones possibly spoke Scottish Gaelic besides English, or if it could even be his actual first language. Although he is never shown speaking it or having a particular connection to his homeland besides speaking with a Scottish accent, I think it would make sense, given Scotland’s history before and during the 18th century. Therefore, I thought this could be an interesting topic to examine. Mind you that I’m not a historian, and not an expert on those topics, I merely love exploring and extending the backstory of one of my favourite characters.

Spoiler: I don’t even get to discuss the initial topic itself in this text, this serves more as a setup where I try to sort my countless thoughts that I have about Davy. I plan to talk about it in another text some time in the future though.

Before looking at the language topic, I think it makes sense to look at Davy’s general background. His origins and his life before he fell in love with Calypso are largely unknown. It can only be estimated for how long he has roamed the seas ever since, but I think it is safe to assume that it has been multiple decades at least, though more likely centuries already.

The official wiki states that he and Calypso met and fell in love at an unknown date – and under unknown circumstances – between 1600 and 1660. It is not known for how long their relationship lasted before Calypso made him captain of the Flying Dutchman and put him in charge of ferrying souls to the afterlife. It could have been mere weeks, but also months or even years. In case of the latter, they probably saw each other on a semi-regular basis, as Davy would visit her during his voyages. All in all, it leaves a lot of room for interpretation (and fanfictions).

However, it is known that as Davy felt betrayed by Calypso when she didn’t show up to meet him, after he had fulfilled his duty loyally for ten years, he convinced the newly formed Brethren Court to bind her in human form. For some reason, the German PotC wiki states that the First Brethren Court convened presumably around 1640. Although there are no sources cited to back up this claim, there is no explicit contradiction to be found either. Assuming it is true – after all, it would be within the given timeframe – , Davy would have taken up his duty around the year 1630. By the time the movies take place, he would therefore have captained the Dutchman for around 100 years.

In a few instances of the official wiki, Davy is described as a “young sailor” when he meets Calypso. In other instances, no indication on his age is given. “Young” could supposedly mean he was in his 20s or 30s, which would therefore set his birth date around 1600.

On the other hand, he already looks significantly older when Calypso reveals his human form (the actor Bill Nighy was in his late 50s at the time the movies were produced). Of course he could simply have aged, however – though this is just my personal opinion – I like to think that he was already on the more mature side when he became cursed – possibly somewhere between the age of 40 and 60 – and that the curse either stops or at least alters the natural aging process of any person affected.

There is barely any specific canon information on this, but as shown in the movies, both Davy and the rest of the crew have maintained excellent physical strength and agility (in fact, it’s even enhanced compared to regular humans). This makes me assume that the curse either just stops their aging process and they stay at the same level of physical fitness that they had when they first fell under the curse, or that their transformation into sea creatures somehow slows down or alters the process, for example by balancing out their age-related physical decay by adopting more and more features from animals or other marine life.

Assuming he was already a middle-aged man, possibly around age 50, Davy would have been born in the late 1500s. On a personal note, I could also imagine that the story as a whole took place even earlier, and that Davy could have been born anytime during the 1500s or even the late 1400s. As the whole story around Davy Jones and Calypso is held very vaguely and even treated as a legend, there aren’t many concrete contradictions. However, as the First Brethren Court and Calypso’s capture are said to herald the start of the Golden Age of Piracy – which historically took place roughly between 1650 and 1730 – , it makes sense for those events to take place at a later date to connect everything (somewhat) logically.

To conclude this little examination and sum up the numbers: Davy Jones was presumably born in the second half of the 16th century. He and Calypso met before or around the year 1630, and around another ten years later, after their mutual betrayal and Davy abandoning his duty as a result, the curse started to take effect. Up until the events of Dead Man’s Chest, he has already captained the Flying Dutchman for almost a century, and reached an age of about 150 years – although due to the curse, this number doesn’t have a particular meaning in relation to his health or physical condition.

Of course, in the end this all is just my interpretation based on the rather sparse information that the official canon gives us. But it was certainly fun to finally bring some of my countless thoughts about Davy onto paper (trust me, there are a lot of those whirring around in my mind, but it’s not always easy to get hold of them). I haven’t even touched on the topic I actually wanted to talk about – that being Davy Jones’ relation to the Gaelic language and his homeland Scotland, but I really hope to do so in another essay.

Sources: https://pirates.fandom.com/wiki/Timeline_of_Pirates_of_the_Caribbean_series https://fluch-der-karibik.fandom.com/wiki/Zeitlinie_Fluch_der_Karibik

[beaumontmanor]

Progress Update #1 - Character Sprites!

Hello everyone, I’m here to give you the first update on the development of The Mystery of Beaumont Manor! Over the past two weeks, I've made significant strides in several areas. I've been working diligently on drafting sprites for each character, which has been both challenging and rewarding. Simultaneously, I've been fleshing out the storyline, adding depth and intricacy to the plot. To keep everything organized, I've set up a dedicated Google Drive folder for the project, which has greatly improved my workflow. I'm pleased to introduce you to some of the key characters that will feature in the story. The main character is Lyra, a curious and clever individual who finds herself at the center of our mystery. Supporting characters include Dominic, a stoic bull butler; Sylvie, a charming moth maid; Barry, a diligent beetle groundskeeper; and Mavis, a secretive blue anole researcher. Each character brings their own unique perspective and backstory to the narrative. Looking ahead to the next two weeks, my focus will be on developing expressions for each of the characters. This process is crucial for bringing their personalities to life and conveying emotions effectively throughout the story. I'll also be revisiting and revising certain aspects of the storyline to ensure coherence and engagement. My goal is to complete all the character expressions within this timeframe, which will allow me to transition to working on backgrounds and in-game items in the near future. The development process has not been without its challenges. Barry's design, in particular, proved to be quite difficult. Creating an anthropomorphic insect character while maintaining believability and appeal required numerous iterations. Additionally, I've encountered some ongoing difficulties with anatomical accuracy across various character designs. However, these challenges have provided valuable learning experiences and opportunities for improvement. In terms of my project timeline, I acknowledge that there is still a substantial amount of work ahead. Nevertheless, I'm pleased with the current pace of progress. If I can maintain this level of productivity, I believe I will remain on schedule for my projected completion date.