#funny only how two of the adults are called similar to family

[lavendersartistry]

To keep everyone on their toes for the rework of Matron in the Playhouse:

Theodore couldn't age like the other critters. This is mainly because he's stuck in a traumatic position (abuse and experimentation) and can't seem to try and make of what is the present.

If Theodore did accept his fate and accept the present by the game timeline of Player's arrival, he would be 27.

Basically denial. Added with the Prototype giving empty promises to Theodore on freedom.

And Theodore is technically the only time a soul is ever used in the AU. He needs to be able to possess a mini critter somehow.

Now, regarding after this and the redemption arc (UTC obviously):

Theodore is going to be adopted by Eve, DogDay, Bobby, and Bolt. As much as DogDay and Bolt have a grudge on what Theo has done, they realize it is just a kid dealing with trauma and recently got fooled by the one thing they saw as a hero (or a parental figure).

Everyone else is a bit on edge but later ease into his presence. The more sentient mini critters see Theo as a big brother, which brings out Theo's smugness.

Theodore 'parrots' a lot from the older critters, mainly from Eve. They bond a lot like a mother and son (Theo is guilty of calling Eve "Mum"), Theo thinking that she is the coolest person ever. He fights a lot with DogDay and doesn't think much of Bolt and Bobby.

Nicknames Theo gives to the critters:

Eve - Mum

DogDay - Doggy

Bolt - Stormy Mister

Bobby - Miss

Bubba - Teacher

Crafty - Uni

Hoppy - Hops

Kickin - Kickie

Picky - Apple

Dee - Deedee

Panda - Rarity

Silly - Els

Wally - Webby

Ginger - Kaykay

Zuri - Zuzu

Lovely - Auntie

Danny - Uncle

Clara - Rara

Betty - Twin 1

Barbie - Twin 2

Molly - Moll

Flora - Blue

Ladie - Dia

Anty - An

So the redemption arc is mainly giving Theodore the ability to feel like a human boy again.

[majorproblems77]

Sacred realm update! so I'm back!

Hi all!

Hope your doing well! :D

Only a few days late, Exam season man, what can you do?

This update shows link and Time Escaping. And time having... a Time....

Alright, now for the important stuff! Sacred realm belongs to @zelda-the-sacred-realm, and all art from the comics belongs to the comic artist. I've got their permission to do these! I love the comic so much its so good and so well done!

The link to the update can be found here! You should go reblog it, it's great, give it some love, please? :D

Let's do this, grab your popcorn and your water. Let's go! :D

Cinnamon roll Link strikes again, Clearly, the big purple guy just wants a hug!

oh no...

Panic!

Time's little superhero slide here.

Also, it must be said he's doing all this while carrying an adult. (Or close enough.) I know he's a spirit and all but that's VERY impressive!

You know when you're reading and you can hear the atmosphere, you can hear the moment that a breath is held. And time stands still.

This. The moment in a movie when everything stops before the action picks up in another way.

The talent it takes to get it from still images. I just am in awe.

Pure fear from Link.

Props to Time here for remaining calm while he's got the cinnamon roll here just scared out of his mind.

Time... Being reassuring?

Wow.

This is important I think for these two's relationship. The need to protect someone only comes to people who dont really hate someone. Before this, I'm pretty sure Link doesn't think Time cares too much about him.

Why would he right? Time's been nothing but cold to him.

(More on this later)

Link getting cocooned in Time's cloak is just, everything to me. It's such a caring more from him. (Even if it is a you can't die thing)

Ouch, that's gotta hurt

Oh man, this man is like... low-key gripping onto him.

Excuse me while I cry a little?

Twilightttttt ;-;

DIRECT FAMILY CONNECTION

EXCUSE ME WHILE I CRY MORE? ;-;-;-;

TIME? OH YOU POOR MAN

This reaction gives me father-son vibes but with time and Link, it's giving me life because oh my god these two.

Link is a cinnamon roll and must be protected.

PFFFFFFTTTT

Rip

This made me laugh I won't lie. Damit Time I was rooting for some Dad Time in this world.

Says the 'Small cinnamon roll with scared of everything issues.'

I love him but ohhhh man Time is gonna kill you

SEE

RUN LINK

RUN

Link, poor guy. Man needs help okay.

This map is interesting, I reckon is a list of the first three heroes we meet.

That top one is Skyloft. With Hylia and the floating island. - For Sky. who we met first.

The middle one has someone holding The double helix sword... That's the fierce deity on the middle level. We know Time has a connection to the Fierce deity mask. And in turn the deity himself. So this middle level is Time.

And that lower one.

If im right, This is the Twilight realm, and we will find ourselves there soon. The people look similar to the 'Link' we see on the land level to an extent while still holding a semblance of individuality.

Its almost, inverted? Like the twilight people were. Rather than looking different different.

I'm excited to see where this goes.

Also

Hi it's later

So I'm a sucker for visual storytelling in backgrounds and I think this might be more than an exploration into the depths beneath the ice.

Starting with this.

I think this, is Time being vulnerable.

The break from a cold icy exterior to something a little more personal.

Funny how when Time begins to see more personal stuff, he has more visions of the past.

The trigger has him almost scared, just look at him.

Why would Time be scared, if he didn't care?

Time appears to carry a lot of guilt around Twilight.

And when Link calls him out on it, he returns to that icy exterior, not allowing himself the opportunity to be vulnerable again.

And I wonder if that has to be explored before he can take his place within the medallion. Trials by fire, as they are so suitably called, can be for the spirits as much as Link.

Just a thought tho.

That's all from me! Hope you have a great day! :D

[tamtam-go92]

The Stories of Riverblossom View and Pleasanthills

This post on @katatty's Strangeswap AU reminded me on a stupid idea I once had after reading that Riverblossom Hills might be a spoof on Pleasantview, but of course I didn't have the time/guts/interest/thrive to actually realize it as a 'hood (though I still might!). I basically gives every (except for two) Pleasantview an Riverblossom Hill character as counterpart and is really funny and interesting for me to thing about:

The Broke family <--> the Ottomas family:

Samantha was left to raise two boys alone following her husband's suspicious pool ladder accident. With David acting out, can Samantha teach young Tommy to make the right choices in life?

Large families have a lot of love to share, but also require a lot of work - especially with more children on the way! Will grandma's help be enough to keep this family strong? -> Basically everyone is swapped, so Peter is dead, Samantha is pregnant with his third baby, Flo Broke lives with her son Skip and his family, Brandi is pregnant with twins. Sharla becomes a Broke and gets to be a blend of Skip and Brandi.

The Caliente family <--> the Wan household:

Was it just coincidence that those girlfriends arrived in the eve of Stella's disappearance? And is their interest in Morty physical... or fiscal?

Dina and Nina moved to town when their uncle, Tango, offered them his old home - which they just finished remodeling. Will they find excitement in this quiet town after the dust has cleares? Will Nina and Daniel make a life together? -> I think it was the Wan households description on the wiki that make me first think about this AU. Though I can't find the comment about the Wans being a spoof of the Calientes anymore. Very little is interesting about this swap, Nina is Patricia, Dina is Cleo and vice versa

The Dreamer family <--> the Martin family:

Andrew is pursuing his dream of being a professional gamer, while his son Jacob hits the books. And Andrew may have found his muse, but will his creativity be enough to win Sandra's affection? -> So basically this one is a bit creepy since it makes Jacob's canon (now adult) girlfriend his dad's love interest. xD And Jules O'Mackey is back to being Jacob's girlfriend - yay!

The Goth family <--> the Roth family:

Sandra is ready to start a family of her own, but can she tame the town Casanova? And can Morty bounce back after the disappearance of his wife Stella?

Having recently moved to Pleasanthills has had a wondeful effect on the Goths! Cassandra and Alexander are doing great in school, Mortimer found a great job, but Bella seems a bit restless... -> This might be the most obvious and gifts us with the amazing couple Cassandra Goth x Dirk Dreamer! Isn't it lovely??? Sandra would be about to marry Leod McGreggor and well that's the only interesting switch imo.

The Lothario family <--> the McGreggor family:

Who is Leod McGreggor? Is his engagement to Sandra Roth genuine? And what about the rumor that her mother, Stella, was last seen scaling the deck of his condo?

Don Lothario has a farm... and an orchard. Will he be so focused on gardening that he forgets to cultivate friendships? -> This is such a fun pair imo! The dishonesty in the McGreggor/Roth engagement would probably be more about his sexuality in this case though... And Don as a farmer in a kilt? A+!

The Pleasant family <--> the O'Mackey family

On the surface, Gabe and Alexandra O'Mackey seem to have the perfect life, but is their love a flimsy facade? And can Angela and Jules make the right choices when it comes to love?

After being caught cheating, it took Daniel some time to start dating again. Is his relationship with Nina meant to last? Will Nina and Lillith be able to work out their problems and realize how similar they really are?

Mary-Sue succumbed to the call of pottery and left her family to pursue her dream. Will living the Artist life be enough to keep her afloat? -> I was about to let Daniel live alone but then I remembered that Gabe and Jason Greenman are siblings, and Daniel and Jennifer Burb are siblings so this aligns nicely so Lilith gets to live with her dad. Angela now is an O'Mackey and looks like Jules and she gets to date David Ottomas, yay! Jules is with Jacob, as the universe intended and Lilith once was Dirk's girlfriend. =( I don't like DanielxNina much but it's the logical result. And Mary-Sue as bisexual potter living in a hut is just top-notch!

The Burb family <--> the Greenman family

Rose, Jason and young Daisy have decided to trade the fast-paced city life for some fresh air, and hope to make a nice home in Riverblossom View.

Jennifer gave up her name for the love of her green-skinned god. Despite the love that they share, will they be able to raise a happy, healthy child? Can John adjust to living in a town instead of the great outdoors? -> The biggest changes would be that Daisy now is Jason and Rose's biological child and thus a mixture of them both and of course her and Rose aren't plant-sims anymore. So John and Lucy are plant-sims and Lucy is John's plant-baby.

The Oldie family <--> the Ramaswami family

The Ramaswamis are simply one of the nicest families around. Their years together through good and bad have made them into the wonderful parents, and grandparents, they are today.

Herb and Coral are ready to settle down and start their life together! Will they settle in the beautiful town of Pleasanthills or find a new place to make their happy home? -> This would be so fun because it would make (elder) Sanjay and Priya Alexandra O'Mackey's adoptive parents! I know we have Alexandra's parents in her family tree, but this would be so cool, wouldn't it? And seeing a young Herb and Coral start the family they always wanted together? *chef's kiss*

The Caliente-Goth-Dreamer household:

Can Tango and Frieda cope with the loss of their close friend and face their own imminent mortality or will they find a way to cheat death? Will Darren and Dirk fina a way to fulfill their dreams in the great game of life? -> I love this the most as is gives the opportunity to explore sims that usually are already decreased. Of course that means we don't have Catherine and Betty. But isn't it just too perfect that Nina and Dina have an uncle (just like Cleo Shikibu is Catherine's niece) and Morty has unmarried aunt (just like Mortimer)? Those are a little too many coincidences, aren't they? So I see where the Riverblossom Hills is a Pleasantview spoof comes from!

Aesthetic-wise I would imagine it to be like that: Every Sim gets the age of their counterpart (I mean of course) and also their outfit. But otherwise they keep their looks (except it's stated otherwise) like hair-do, face, skin-color, makeup etc. The maps are switched, but everyone lived in their counterpart's house, so for ex. Samantha, David and Tommy Ottomas live in the Broke trailer but the trailer is on the Riverblossom Hills map (if this makes sense xD). I really wanna do this but I know that I don't have the time or the patience or the skills to do this as it would mean massive editing of relationships and memories etc. But if somebody feels inspired, feel free to create! Just please share the end result with me <3

Wow, this is long xD Which 'hood would you swap like this? Maybe Veronaville and Strangetown would work together (with everyone being related with each other). Belladonna has so many sims it would probably require two hoods to do the deed so both Desiderata Valley and Bluewater Village?

[crplpunkklavier]

I'm rereading Exorcism (now that its finished! yahoo) and I love Kitty Poes sm shes such an interesting characterrr would you wanna tell me about your process for developing her? ig I couldve DMed you but I myself love a chance to rant publicly so here you go lmao. I am unfortunately only on chapter 14 (though I got further than that last time) so if you wanna be spoilery just give me a warning and I'll read it later >:3c

kitty my best friend kitty

i think i can go over this without any spoilers past chapter 14! you have already seen her big arc and i am sooo happy people liked her <333

so! i've never mentioned this to anyone before, but kitty is a bit of a riff off of one of my oldest OCs. when i was about 18, i was big into katekyo hitman reborn, mostly because i was even bigger into organized crime as a general topic. catalena foggia was the youngest of four, and after a rival family took out her parents and all three of her older brothers (you know, the sort of backstory you give people as a teenager) she very grimly stepped up to the throne.

now whenever i need a female character with a "hello, i Run This Place" air about her, my mind goes to catalena, who of course was called cat by all her friends.

and i knew that i wanted a character like that as klavier's manager. generally, whenever i get to make OCs for my aa fics, i try to make most of them women if they aren't already implied to be men by canon like the rest of the gavinners, since aa refuses to have adult female characters that don't die. the gavinners started out as a bunch of teenage guys, the music industry is tough as nails, LA is horrible..... nobody but cat could've done it, man.

the whole dutch connection sort of happened on the fly. i knew i didn't want to call her catalena foggia, even if nobody but, like, the two irl friends i still have who knew me at 18 lol, knew of that oc. it was still important to me to differentiate, because this wasn't cat, this was a new oc who was very similar to and inspired by her. i remembered that kitty is a valid first name, so i went for that, because i like to think i'm funny. :^)

once you reach the end of exorcism, you'll find a little gdoc with bonus content i left in the end notes there, which among other things contains explanations for all the pun names i've used in the fic. including kitty's, but i'll reiterate here: the reason i stuck with a cat theme was that klavier gavin, in my mind, is absolutely a golden retriever, so i wanted to give him a manager/babysitter who is a cat. a big cat. kitty is short in stature, but i mention her lion's mane of hair often enough in the text, so, u know.

that's also part of what i wanted her to be. yeah, she had to be tough simply for the industry and for the fact that she was managing teenagers for a while, but i also knew that i wanted to give klavier friends, and people in his life who really care about him, and will stick with him through all this. kitty is lawfully loyal: if she doesn't agree with something, she has no trouble walking out, but once she actually takes to someone like she took to klavier, she will be fiercely protective. i never mentioned her age, but i imagined her in exorcism to be somewhere in her mid to late 40s. she's seasoned, she's experienced, she's capable - she's what klavier deserves!!! that's what i wanted. kristoph and daryan are so painfully incompetent, when it comes down to it. klavier needs people in his life who know what they're doing.

so, i wanted a big little lion lady for my dog boy. i sort of just clicked through my various dictionaries for a while looking up different cat terms in different languages to see if any of them sounded enough like a last name, and that's how i landed on poes. only after that did i decide to make the dutch conundrum A Thing.

thank you for asking about her <33333 enjoy the rest of the fic, feel free to keep me posted about ur reading experience too :3c

[quibbs126]

Hey! I like your art and I wanted to ask you if you can do a cream unicorn and dark choco fankid?

Well I’m glad you like it, and here’s Violet Sugar Cookie

So to be perfectly honest…I didn’t actually have a food in mind when I designed her. The thing that I based her on was the Solid Violet Sugar Crystal ingredient from Ovenbreak, since it was a liked gift for Dark Choco, and it was about dreams, and I know Cream Unicorn Cookie has some association with dreams, so I just named her Violet Sugar. I’m not sure about the name, since it isn’t really similar to Dark Choco or Cream Unicorn, but I can’t really think of anything else. There’s not that many purple desserts that aren’t just like, blueberry flavored or something similar, and I wanted her name to start with Violet. If anyone has something better, feel free to suggest

Solid Violet Sugar Crystal:

Her colors were also inspired by Cream Unicorn’s Nebula Butterfly costume in Ovenbreak, but I think her design was mostly Dark Choco, with a few Cream Unicorn elements. I based her sword off of Dark Choco’s Young Prince sword, because of the whole dream/memory thing, and it sort of being like a reminder of his past. The gem in her sword is probably a Solid Violet Sugar Crystal. Oh and another thing, her hair is supposed to be in a braid, you just can’t really see it. But overall, I think I like her design quite a bit

So on to Violet Sugar, so basically my thought process with her was “warrior + dreams = dream warrior?” And so yeah, basically she’s a guardian of dreams that fights against nightmares (I assume in my head that nightmares are like actual creatures she fights in the dream world). She primarily focuses on the dreams/nightmares of younger Cookies, as she feels they deserve to have happy dreams, though she does occasionally go into adults’ dreams. I think she like, physically shows up in their dreams to fight off the nightmares. I’m not sure how she gets to the world of dreams, whether it’s just through sleeping or she like, just physically goes there, like she disappears from the waking world and goes into the sleeping one.

I have kind of a funny idea for the second one, where it’s just like, there’s some family drama going on and she’s just like “nope not doing this, I’mma go fight nightmares” and just disappears like that peace fade meme before anyone can stop her

Anyways, so she’s been going to the world of dreams ever since she was young, and even back then, she wanted to help people stop having nightmares. So that she’d seem a better “guardian of dreams” and look more imposing and cool, she created a persona for herself that she calls the Violet Knight, depicted in the sketch. To be honest, that sketch was just a rough draft, I have no idea how to draw a Cookie in full body armor. I just drew that to show it is full body armor. Anyways so that’s what the Violet Knight looks sort of like, and what they’ve always looked like, since this is the dream world and she can look however she wants. In current day she uses the persona when she doesn’t want her identity to be known

Considering we now know Dark Cacao to have a lot of nightmares, perhaps at some point she and her grandfather have met, though only under the disguise of the Violet Knight

But yeah I think that’s about it for her. I realize I don’t really have anything concerning her and her parents. I think I mostly just took ideas from the two and made them into a Cookie. But oh well. Hope you like her regardless!

[dearestsilhouette]

vent rant

mAN why do i feel guilty

I had a really good day today, got shit done, yet I feel guilty over saying “please don’t call me best friend”. Just 6 simple words are making me feel guilty for, what, sticking up for myself? Saying I’m uncomfortable with being called that by someone I don’t really like??

Oh, yeah, and I hate two people whose names are similar to mine!! One’s a fucking homophobe AND transphobe, the other one I wouldn’t be surprised if they were. And they’re both Christians. Nothing bad about being Christian, but they’re the “get Jesus and repent” kind. Man, I don’t know if I have religious trauma or what but I actually despise religious talk. Makes me wanna cry. I was in elementary when I was first shamed for believing in no god. ELEMENTARY. I was younger. Less mature. Less understanding of the world. And yet a fucking adult shamed me for believing in what I wanted. A full grown adult.

And now I’m put into a school full of Christians. And I’m the probably only atheist here. There may be one more but I’m not sure. But I feel like the only one. Luckily, I know someone who respects people who are gay and is Christian and doesn’t pressure it onto me 24/7. Because I hate people like that. I hate the person sitting next to me in TSA because they believe that gayness and being trans is wrong.

I hate the people sitting at the table next to me in ela because they’re so stupid and so immature. I hate my classmates in gateway because they’re so stupid to the point where they don’t know what basic reproduction is. They’re so fucking stupid. I hate them so much. I hate them. I hate my health class because people don’t ever listen or do anything except one person, and the people to the right of where I sit, except for one person because she’s actually smart, just don’t care. They don’t care about others. I hate the person who sits a bit ahead of me in health because they think my anger is funny. I hate everyone and anyone who thinks my anger is genuinely amusing. I hate it when people say “I understand you” and yet they don’t.

I hate everyone who says that. I hate anyone who says basic, negative human emotions are funny. How would you feel??? How would you feel if you were angry and people were laughing at you? How would you feel if people were pressuring something on you that you don’t believe in? How would you feel, hm? How would you feel if you were so emotional to the point where you isolate yourself for hours on end without other people’s voices and touch while you have a breakdown? How would you feel? And be honest, people! How would you feel?

People don’t understand. They don’t understand my brain. How I function. Funny how the only person who’s super super close to me (aka my mom) doesn’t understand my feelings. And yet people who I don’t interact as much with, such as one of my friends who’s present online but also an irl friend, understands me more than anything. Funny how my online friends get me more than my parents. My mom doesn’t understand anything. She says she’s the same way and yet she’s not. She’s compared sitting and standing once, saying they’re the same thing. /srs

I think my mom’s dense because they are, in fact, nkt the same thing. And I hate when she says “would you do this in class?”, because, NO. I WOULD NOT. But I’m doing it here, because it’s a non-public space, and no one can see me but myself, my brother and you. And I hate my dad, too. I don’t like him. I love my parents, but I don’t like my dad too much. I hate him more than I love him. He doesn’t believe someone can go by they/them pronouns, and as someone who prefers it when people refer to me with they/them online and partially irl, it makes me want to sob. He makes me feel like I’m pressured to shave. He doesn’t let me have headphones or my tablet at the table because he wants to “have a family dinner / lunch”. I wish you weren’t my dad sometimes. Because I don’t like you.

I feel like I’m too emotional. I cry too easily. I get angry too easily. And it doesn’t make it easier that I pressure myself. I pressure myself to get stuff done sometimes. I hate this. I hate my brain. Why must I do this to myself. And the only way I can relieve this hatred and sadness is either keeping it to myself or talking to people online about it.

I hate this. And I’m starting to hate me.

[kateeorg]

National Treasure Edge of History - Positives (And Some Minor Gripes) Up to 1x06

Okay, so here's the thing.

I've really been liking this show so far. I think a lot of the jokes are funny and the main mystery is fascinating, and I love that we are tackling more of the Americas (although... that does in a way subvert the title "National Treasure"... but I'll let it slide).

Also, I mean, we got Riley back. Do you see me complaining about more Riley?

But...

At this point, I think the series should have been shorter.

Now maybe this is just me being an adult who saw the first National Treasure as a kid, but I think this style of family-friendly mystery action adventure works better in the short-form than the long-form, at least when adult characters are in the lead.

In the short form of a 2+ hour movie, it's easy to get swept up in the adventure and the mystery, with just enough character development to want to root for the good guys and against the bad guys. You're maybe one step ahead of the characters, but only just. It's easier to overlook how overly simple some of the clues are for the adult characters to figure out, because this is made for viewers of all ages.

But in the long form of the series, I'm finding it harder to overlook some of these flaws.

Like, how could Agent Ross not look into the male nurse first thing after she realized Sadusky may have been murdered?! I called that early on. And the love triangle really feels unnecessary at this point, though I'm happy to be proven wrong later on. Oren and Tasha encouraging Ethan and Jess to do the dance in a place where they weren't supposed to be drawing attention to themselves?! Why??? And how could Jess go from having learned her lesson about jumping to conclusions... to almost immediately jumping to conclusions again. About the same guy. When she was the one who was running late because she was dancing?

It's all manufactured to increase the tension across a longer run. But it means the audience (or at least I myself, as an audience member) is quite a few more steps ahead of the characters in terms of tropey plots, which can get frustrating to watch.

The saving grace here is them fleshing out the villains and using a mystery that doesn't draw on commonly-known history for most American audiences (Because "Valley Forge" as a passcode in the super secure National Archive in the first film is, in retrospect, a bit on the nose). And that wouldn't have happened if this was just a movie.

I also do like the vibe that our main group, save Liam, all have a shared history. Ben and Riley were great, but they only got to know each other through the job, they didn't grow up together. That vibe gives us some nice moments and chemistry between characters, which with the performances fleshes out these broadly-drawn characters. And I like that we're exploring what it means to be an American from other perspectives than in the original series - Ben is an idealist and we love that for him, but people like Jess and Tasha have different experiences, and that colors how they approach the treasure hunt.

I'm also exicted to see Jess and Agent Ross to meet again, once everything is on the table. There are some fascinating parallels between the two: young, intelligent women with something to prove. Agent Ross is what Jess likely would have been if her background wasn't in the way: An FBI agent. But Ross is still a fresh recruit with her own struggles to overcome. Ross didn't take Jess seriously when they first met, only to follow Jess's tracks and uncover what happened to Sadusky. And considering how much Sadusky looked out for Ben in the films, it'd be nice to see Ross take that role for Jess, maybe pull some strings to get Jess a citizenship.

It doesn't feel like a carbon-copy of the films, and I like that. There's enough of a similar vibe that they are clearly related, but still feel like their own things. I just wish they'd tone down on some of the "hip modern" dialogue and the character drama a bit, drop certain plot bombs a bit sooner so the audience isn't too far ahead of the characters.

Thoughts?

[powerpolyculeshowdown]

OOO ok, been scrolling through some asks and i am so ready to spout some more bs bc i love orv with my whole heart and i haven’t even finished the novel.

to the anon that described yoohankim as: “ They are all supremely flawed people who started at each other’s throats and misunderstand each other consistently and repeatedly but work past it anyway with a kind of reckless devotion one can only have after seeing people at their worst and realizing you love them anyway,” holy shit, thank you, you are so real, you’ve put them and my own thoughts into words i would have never thought of on my own, i think this is just what makes yoohankim so attractive to me in the first place. extremely flawed people with reckless devotion, seeing someone at their worst and deciding you still love them,,,,, what if they were actually love wins but like literally,,,,,, bc it’s their love that allows them to persevere,,,

ALSO !!! to add and explain the idea of expanding the polycule. orv’s strong point is rlly their characters and the relationships between them, which is how you get stuff like the whole group being one huge platonic happy family and the other extreme side with all of the adults in the group are in a huge polycule. their relationships r flexible in a way that they can be platonic or romantic and it wouldn’t be much of a stretch either way.

anyways i had this whole section spouting some bs abt jhw (holy shit french keyboard let me write jhw challenge) and hsy but then i realized i didn’t want to talk too much abt characters that aren’t involved in the tournament and you won’t be able to recognize. but just note that jhw and hsy has a nice dynamic bc they are like similar but different to me in a way idk how to explain. they are opposing but they are on the same side. also also, ysa and kdj being metamours (IS THAG THE WORD I CANT REMEMBER) bc i thought abt that while writing and went “they would be such chill metamours”

ik all of this is slightly off topic of yhk but i just wanted to add my two cents. anyways i noticed yhk is up against scc and i am literally sweating. i am passionate and ready to defend and advocate for yhk but i can tell thisll be a TOUGH battle. but besides that, regardless of what comes out of it, i need to say how much i respect the scc fans on the this again. they’ve really persevered through it all and came out friends with like two other groups it’s amazing honestly -Toon

metamours is correct! a friend of mine jokingly called it partner in law once and i thought it was funny so theres that also? if u wanna laugh w me

i like that scc fans have been like "oh no yoohankim is a strong opponent this might be it...." but this time its an orv fan sayin "oh gosh we're against scc" its funny that both fandoms underestimate their own power (imo) and i feel better about the match up, i think it will be a closer match than ppl expect!! but we have to wait and see

[lady-lazagna]

What does Team Birrung think of the Vermillion Trio? Most importantly, I need their opinion on Megaladon Nemesimpson (or Megan as she is usually called ig)

You have a hot girl trio. I have a hot girl trio. Whaddya say we uhhhh *I am hit by a 2002 Toyota Tacoma*

There’s obviously some strong similarities between each of these girlies, so I’m gonna go through the matches:

Ashanti and Li Hua- Absolute slam dunk of a pair oh my god. Oldest Sister Syndrome, hefty responsibility of leading their teams, being seen as too strict when they’re just trying to protect those they care about, and the HEIGHT. I think, if either was willing to really step outside of their comfort zones and face what it’s like to really be known by someone, they’d make a darn swell pair. They could do each other's hair and makeup and cry together when it's all too much :D AND THE FASHION!!! They would absolutely slay together the world would not handle it. Maybe since Li Hua's a bit older than Ash, she could give her a bit of life advice about managing stress and just general Pained Adult Woman stuff.

Madina and Fifionne- The problem children. They like to cause problems on purpose because ..? They have issues? Who's to say. Granted, their problems stem from different places, with Fifi's coming from the crushing pressure of dedicating your life to a god, and Madi's coming from being the middle child. Either way, they can go around town committing crimes and antagonising people together. So long as Fifi doesn't go too hard antagonising the wrong people (i.e. anyone Madina cares about) they'll get along just swimmingly. But if she does... let's just say these two have the capability to either become really great friends or the absolute worst of enemies. Insulting people is only fun if you both don't like that person, so it could go horribly wrong real quick. It all depends on who their other friends are.

Kylie and Felicity- Doggirl and catgirl solidarity. The others have a lot of problems, but! We do not care <3 These two are just living their happy little lives to the fullest because drama is for losers and cuteness is forever. Not sure how close they would get, since Felicity is an adult and Kylie is an annoying fifteen year old. They could be like,,, tumblr moots. Send silly little memes to each other. Exchange dog and cat pics.

Maybe it's more likely that Madina and Felicity would get along as morally dubious chill dudes who live regular-ass lives outside of Beyblade, and Fifionne and Kylie would get along and annoying spiteful ladies who need animals following them around every second of the day. Who knows.

And Megalodon… god, no one knows what to think of that Beast (average teenage girl). Never really occurs to anyone that the bad guys have like... extended families (or any families, really). So seeing someone introduce themselves as Pluto's cousin is gonna cross a few wires. So long as she doesn't try any funny business they're not gonna bother her much.

[wagner-fell]

Headcanons (are they headcanons if they’re true? idk) about Beatrix, Benedict, Breaker, and Ewan because I love my little chaotic family:

1. Breaker pretends to be Beatrix’s driver while she attends Kingrose School because he can’t pretend to be her father, it might kill him if he did (he’s angsty and doesn’t like to admit he sees her as a daughter)

2. Unlike Breaker, Ewan actually lets Benedict call him “dad”, though it’s rare for him to do so. He’s also a PI in the magical world so he can keep track of all the things others would overlook (i.e. Kells)

3. People do actually confuse Ewan, Breaker, and the twins for a family because the twins bear a resemblance to Breaker and they both have mannerisms that reflect both of their godfathers

4. Ewan has nicknames for Beatrix and Benedict. Benedict is “Little Lion” (because the Solberg family sigil is a black lion and a white lion) and Beatrix is “Lucky/Unlucky Kitten” (because she loves black cats and sees them as lucky instead of unlucky), but calls them both “cub”/“lion cub” and “little cub”

5. Breaker is multilingual and helped to instill Benedict’s love of languages, particularly Latin

6. Ewan was the one to originally teach Beatrix how to defend herself using throwing knives, giving her the advice to always keep one on her at all times, something that she has done ever since

7. Beatrix is a talented soccer player, something Ewan and Kells played together during their time at school and taught Beatrix to play in her childhood (though she didn’t play on a team until she was 12)

8. Ewan still views Beatrix as a little girl but views Benedict as an adult. This is a result of watching Benedict grow up more than Beatrix

9. Both Ewan and Breaker feel guilty about something when it comes to each other. Breaker feels guilty for introducing Ewan to Kells in the first place because he wouldn’t be in this position if they had never met. Ewan feels guilty for letting Kells abuse Breaker for as long as he did, he witnessed what was happening but never said a word in fear of both parties’ reactions

10. Breaker and Ewan originally became friends because they were both bullied at Kingrose for their blood status. Breaker because he’s half Water Witch and half Nixie (a water based faerie) was the most powerful water element students and was bullied for having an “extra helper”, i.e. having two parents with similar powers. Ewan was bullied for being half Witcher (witch-shapeshifter hybrids that are looked down for being less powerful because they are believed to only be able to shapeshift) on his mother’s side while his father is a human . They bonded over this and Breaker eventually introduced him to Kells

11. Breaker doesn’t let Beatrix get too close to him, always keeping her at arms length because he’s afraid that he’ll let her in and she’ll become what he fears she will. He knows she’s a powerful girl and he’s afraid that she’ll become mad with it, just like Kells did

12. Ewan fully accepts that Breaker would probably kill him if they reunited and his plan wasn’t to fight back because he knows he isn’t a match for Breaker in this instance, he may be physically bigger but he relies on his size rather than fighting technique, whereas Breaker is the opposite. He also is unable to hurt Breaker physically due to a vow he made to himself years ago, where he wouldn’t Breaker in the ways Kells did (though he did break that vow when he left)

13. As long as the twins are apart, Breaker and Ewan can’t be together. Their loyalty to their godchildren trumps any feelings that they may have towards each other now and forever. It’s a hard truth but they accepted it a long time ago

Why did I read this first thing in the morning I knew it was gonna be angsty yet I still read it first thing when I woke up 😭😭

But seriously I really enjoy reading that bc I’m so invested in this WIP it’s not even funny

[johannwolfgangvongoethe]

Further Umineko Posting

episode 1, part 2

battler is in the unique position of having been a Normal Guy™ ages 12 to 18, which explains a lot of his weirder comments on wealth (i didnt choose to be born rich.... my family owns a yacht.... pensive emoji) after all, he just got there. add to that, jessica (future heir) and george (oldest of his generation) bear the brunt of expectations while he is Just above a 9yo in the hierarchy. it makes sense the story focusses on his view, he is somewhat of an outsider and its easy to explain dynamics through his eyes.

saying the natural beauty of the island and its large wild bird population should give way for a golf course was a terrible take, still.

i said before that he is a very believable 18yo. so far the writing did well to capture that weird sort of liminal period between Playing Adult and internalizing the adult play behaviours so that they manifest in Being An Adult. hope this makes sense.

another conflict has been reoccuring; the servants call themselves furniture. there has been little direct interaction between ushiromiya family members and servants so far so its hard to tell whether this mindset is employed but them or the the older servants themselves. POSSIBLY related to that, shannons winged emblem is on her thigh. no idea whether this is a funny design choice or, more dubiously, marks her in her role for life. interestingly, gohda and kumasawa seem to be the only servant characters without this emblem. their names also dont follow the same convention as kanons and shannons. possibly because they existed elsewhere before they were hired to work here, while shannon and kanon ....??!?!? grew up in this enviroment and had to accept their names from it. maybe this is what "being furniture" means, their status is quite belonging-like. genji seems to have been with kinzo forever, so he fits that category too. would be funny if they ended up being some sort of enchanted candleholders, all beauty and the beast like.

i finally saw every family member, i believe. krauss and jessicas hair colour is suspicious but oh well. kinzos mental state has been tanking dramatically. he seemed stressed out in the intro but sociable at least. now he just appears as a drunken choleric. genjis is in the weird role of enabling his selfdestruction. how much of this is him spiralling over some business he has with beatrice and how much of it is ???? dementia? i up in the air. krauss believes it to be later. it struck me when he said his father is already dead, only a phantom remains.

unhinged out there thing to say but kinzo reminds me so much of my own grandfather, though he had no beatrice..... there was always Someone bestowing evil unto him in his very potent paranoia, though. a few years ago i would not have been able to read umineko, i think. but my grandfather has been dead for a while and my family is poor and we didnt all get murdered on an island. so thats great!!! they are very similar though, lol.

also weird that i read two visual novels in a row and both of them closely describe how absinthe is prepared and looks. unlikely but not impossible. ANOTHER UNEXPECTED PERSONAL THING: funny how i Just learned about the hour of the ox from enstars of all places lmao. are both topics a staple in vn or am i just running into them by chance. whats happening.

according to kinzo, beatrices curse (everything she gave kinzo must be returned upon his death? or something?) manifests in the fact that all of his heird are incapable. i somehow think it will manifest in beatrice swallowing the family whole as if they never existed. women be eating.

i fully expect kinzo to die soon and for hell to break lose afterwards. currently the conference has the uncomfortable yet normal vibes of a family meetup but with his inheritance at stake it could get very ugly very soon. its funny genji hasnt come up in related conversations at all. it is not unlikely for him to inherit a lot as a lifelong butler and the only person kinzo tolerates around him.

oh so thats where all that comes from. huh.

"lol" rudolf said, and "git gud"

and i thought it was the witch who was supposed to murder

all siblings seem to be very business savy, safe for rosa perhaps, who openly admits that she still feels like a child. even before that battlers inner monologue informed us that being in adult in the ushiromiya family has little to do with age and all to do with success. indeed, krauss gets accused of embezzlement because there is no other way to explain the source of his funds. the siblings goals in all this seem quite clear for now. krauss needs his father financially to avoid debt and failure. eva sees herself as the most capable of the four, with an intelligent husband, son, and successful enterprise in the background. rudolf wants a piece of the cake. rosa is not yet as financially stable as she would like to be. and natsuhi is caught in the crossfire, with tons of responsibilities but little power, as she is not related by blood. her chronic headaches are probably psychosomatic and/or stress related. her own family, while not clearly explained (yet?) seems to be very unfortunate and this much nobler cutthroat enviroment is destroying her.

the girls are, once again, fighting

natsuhis struggle has much to do with gender. she is related by marriage, left another family, will never be seen as an equal in her new one, and has the expectation of producing a child. it is also mentioned she organizes the private household and family meetings, so she got stuck playing along with her conservative patriarchal wife role. this contrasts eva, who by all means is shown as empowered and ambitious (her husband took her name, she does multiple martial arts). by design those two are to be pit against each other, when they would have had no further beef otherwise.

the core issue seems to be whose child is to continue the main ushiromiya bloodline. their real problem does not lie with each other but with traditional values and expectations towards women. unfortunately being a narrative foil doesnt always mean you get to have gay sex or else we wouldnt be here.

[fighting-these-demons]

Bucch*g*ri liveblog ep1

Alright let's start Bucchigiri!

I'll Tag it .... " Magic Carpet Slide " for now. I may change it later.

Alright let's jump in!

I would LOVE to have gyoza for breakfast! 😢

My instincts are to call MC Yusuke-lite but from the 1 review I watched the only thing that stuck in my mind is that he's not much like Yusuke despite looking so similar. So I'll just call him MC until I have his name.

Oooooooooo haunted shrine! Better run boys! Also are they skipping class after drinking all night? And sleeping in the shrine? I wonder if these two will be important? They're certainly silly! 😂

I like the OP! I like how Kazuma-lite's trio have matching hair and eye colors! Depending on how things go I may root for them as an ot3. 💖

Blonde is certainly giving off sweet sunshine with a dark side vibes and Blue is giving irritated and short fuse tsun! Very Kurahi-esque!

Idk how I feel about the main female character's design. It's a bit much for me but I may love her idk. She's certainly precious.

If character design is anything to go by then I'll be rooting for Dark Blue Buzzcut. He's got The Vibes

The teacher/Principal/Business man has a Cat Ear Butler Friend?????????

Ok that's what I'm Invested In! 💖💖💖💖 I hope Neko-mimi Butler Guy is an adult chasing after Business/Teacher/Principal guy!

It could be funny if he's like a younger sibling trying to ruin his career via family shame though. 😂

Big Blue Man with intense beard is looking like my biggest crush actually but poor MC is terrified of him.

Oof MC needs an adult! 😨😱

AAAAAAAAA NOOOOOOO!!!!!! NOT KAZUMA-LITE SLEEPING OUTSIDE ON A FLOOR SOMEWHERE NOOOOOO!!!! 😭😭😭💔💔💔

SAVE HIM MC!!!!!

Oh dang he looks completely different when his hair isn't curled and gelled. I like his curled and gelled hair better though I think.

I didn't see the two from earlier in the OP so I guess they're not in the show much.

Are they really having some Brick House 3rd year fight Kazuma-lite who is apparently a 1st year???

Kazuma-Lite is on the Minato Kai team.

This school looks like its crumbling apart? There's holes in the roof and windows? (Also there's a dome and spire roof?) Why are they allowing classes in a building that can't withstand weather?

There's a big ttity redhead in a tank top (that's gotta be against dress code) and wearing the boys uniform (based), a big guy with a purple perm, and a guy wearing a keffiyah AND a cross around his neck? Confusing.

I'm just guessing that no one in this series gives a single damn about dress code.

Kazuma-Lite is named Matakara.

Lmao MC is NOT impressed by this fighting BS. Damn why does the school look so dilapidated? That's a ton of graffiti.

The business man must be a teacher or principal.

There's garbage and toys in the high school hallway???

Clearly this man isn't paid enough and he seems like a wreck. Love him. (Hope he doesn't turn out to be a creep)

Oh hey it's just like Wind Breaker! 😂����

Those two guys in the center seem like they've been held back for 9 years!!! 🤣🤣🤣

Oh dude that one guy with the cool undercut and ponytail though! 💖💖💖

Sjsjsjsjsjsbs

LMAO hes the prettiest boy in class good for him! 😂

I saw 2 girls!

MC is Arajin

3 girls! (Yeah uniforms seem optional or the dress code just isn't enforced)

4 girls! There's the main female character.

Dang I can tell the other girls will be non-existant. 😭

Love that in his mind He would be taking Her name lmao. Wonder why?

Blondies skirt is cute!

Matakara's shirt has a built in tramp stamp in the shape of a heart God Bless! 🤣

Oof. The other team has SS initials and their logo looks like the Nazi SS lightningbolt. 😬😞 well. That's shitty.

That unintentionally turns this guy into a skinhead.

This must be in the south of Japan to grow palm trees like that.

Aw good for Arajin! He got a girl on the first day!

DUDE YOUR EXPENSIVE MUSICAL INSTRUMENT!!!!!

You're leaving it in a room full of guys that would absolutely sell it?????

Hiei-lite tripped him and wears orange shoes. Good choice fir his teal hair.

What is at the end of blondies pigtails? It can't be his hair because it can't be locced at the end like that and flowing at the top so it's sort of like pom poms?

I can't believe that worked! 😂

Run Arajin run!

Sjeisjsj ahahahahahahahahaha lost his glasses and ran into Matakara to boot. 😂

Oh wow what a look! Work boots with thay kilt/skirt/what have you is such A Look! Love it! 💖

They're bith shocked that he knows him! CHILDHOOD FRIENDS!!!!! AAAAAAAAA

Well. Its over. That's The Ship!

Aaaaaaaaa they were PRECIOUS!!!!!!! 💖💖💖

Wait a second. His hair is NATURALLY curly. So why was it straight like that during the OP?

Does he have a Secret Twin that perms his hair straight?

Poor Arajin is in Shock from the reversed height difference. 😂😂😂😂

Blondie us now curious and Teal Terror is looking upset and insecure. Matakara is SO EXCITED!!!! Aaaaaaw! 💖 He's been hoping to see him again for years!

He introduces him as his childhood friend aw! 💖💖

Ehsidnsjsjshsisb Blondie is shocked and bewildered and curious and passive aggressive and Teal Terror is full jealous/bitter! Love it! 💖 I may root for the ot3 anyway because I bet they're cute and have middle school history!

Aw! I can't tell if he's just insecure that Matakara is so much bigger and more masculine than him now or if they parted ways on bad terms. That definitely hurt and disappointed Matakara though! :(

Hmmm he moved away for a while and considers the town bad luck. Surely if he moved away and then moved back other people should recognize him too right?

He didn't look too much when he got to the gate. It also didn't take long to get to the gate. What happened to her? I hope she's ok.

Oh no! He didn't go back for his bass/cello?????? Damn that thing is long gone. His mom is so cute! I love her!

Lmao that looks like the kind of drama I'd watch too if it existed! 😂 what corruption leads to this nun breaking her vow of celibacy? Find out next week!

I hope that wasn't him calling his mom an old hag. 😕

This nazi hideout looks so dumb. They stole playground teeter totter spring rides and put them on the roof with Buggy The Clown and a stolen McDonald's playplace slide.

Lmao it actually has either Hazi or Nazi on it are you kidding????

Counter faith man stands out front to confuse people entering

They stole a jungle gym and broke the floor with it and the word gym is spray painted on the wall.

What an interesting voice for this guy. I'd have chosen differently but. Well. He is the head of the nazi group so like. I'm not invested.

Oh he got confused and put the Butterfly on his Left Shoulder instead of his Right. Kagamine Instructions Unclear.

Oh man Skinhead was about to be saved by the power of love and a crush on Matakara before he took that boot to the face. Hopefully he'll get another chance!

SHWIENEBDUDHEBSISSUSHBSJSJS

I love this fictional sacrilegious drama! They ought to make it it's own anime!

Damn that must have been hard on both of them.

Theory that will likely be debunked:

Arajin has this guilt about not standing up for his friend and likely stopped talking to him because avoiding him was the only way to avoid his own cowardice. Meanwhile I bet Matakara feels like he lost his best friend because he was too weak that day and trained for years to be string enough to protect himself so that Arajin doesn't leave him behind out of embarrassment again. Since he's convinced that Arajin is awesome.

IT WAS ARAJIN THAT SAID THAT TO HIS MOM! HOW DARE!!!!

The background shots are getting funnier because today 7 background guys decided to get the same haircut.

Absolutely no one is paying attention to this poor frail man! 😭😭😭😭💔💔💔 Poor Teach!

Oh no! She's missing! What happened to her yesterday????

Teal Terror is BIG MAD that Matakara thinks so highly of this new guy and that the new guy blew Matakara off.

Oh thank goodness she was just skipping class.

She's gonna absolutely shake him down for cash. Go girl go!!!! Take him for all he's worth! (That or because she lives here and she's used to the guys here she must think he's gay and a twink on sight alone lmao)

Mahoro is her name!

lmao Matakara what timing! Teal Terror is so jealous lol.

Aw Blondie wants to do the right thing and Teal Terror said "Nah, Fuck 'im!"

They really made him go to an arcade? How do they even still have an arcade?

He's so fucking fake! 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Oh No it's Creep from the OP's underlings. 😨

TEAL TERROR LIVES UP TO HIS TITLE DAMN!!! Just left him out to dry like that on purpose because he's so bitter! 😂

Aw dang the teacher isn't dating the greeter. 😭 Jasmine must be cute.

Oh hey what are the chances that that's where Matakara has been sleeping?

A flintlock? Oh damn a kid with a gun. OH SHIT

I wonder how they saw it? They wouldn't have been scandalized by him ending up on the ground so I wonder if it looked like he really shot himself?

The dumbest horniest teenage wish possible.

Is this gonna be a western interpretation "Be Careful What You Wish For" sort of thing where his wish is twisted into something he didn't expect? Or will his mind be read and will he end up with the girl?

Don't they have extremely strict public decency laws? How has he not been caught by a cop yet?

Why is Blondie fully naked in front of a window???????

Damn Teal Terror came by specifically to talk shit and try to take Arajin down a few pegs. 😂 Damn dude is down bad!

He didn't know just how much Matakara apparently idolizes Arajin.

All that effort and fun wasted. o7 Better luck next time my guy.

While Arajin's looking up info on if he's going crazy he doesn't question why this genie looks so similar to Matakara physique-wise? Not even for a second?

Oh his hobby is stamps. Neat.

FLEECE HIM GIRL!!! TAKE HIM FOR ALL HES WORTH! WALK OUT WITH THE BAG!!!

Oh man he didn't think to practice ignoring him and not responding before the date??? 😂 maybe he thought he'd be gone before then.

Why did they choose ice cream when statistically that would be a terrible idea? Shouldn't he know by 16 that he doesn't tolerate dairy?

Damn girl just leave. This amount of secondhand embarrassment isn't worth it.

Shsusjsjsusjsh she says the meanest shit in the sweetest voice. Love it.

Also I like that they have her in accurate Lolita worn in an Otome style with a more casual petticoat and less accessories. Although I think her look could have used wrist cuffs.

Ahahahahahahahahahahagagaga

Dude on the first date?????????? He's insane.

Wow they're really leaning into that SS lightning bolt huh?

😬😞

Oh are he and her working together or enemies that try to fleece the same targets? That was some look.

Why are they after Arajin? What could he possibly have done? He's some frail transfer student

WHSUSBSJSJANS

Well. That's certainly a reason to fight him. It also makes me look at her shenanigans less favorably for sure.

Oh damn Teal Terror really fucked up his chances with Matakara! Matakara is massively pissed and disappointed. He's off to save the day!

Go Matakara go!!!!! 💖💖💖👍

He Jingles and he Jangles as he kicks the shit out of people. All those chains. -20 to stealth

😱🤢

AW HELL!!!!!!!!!!!

REALLY?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

NAH Y'ALL I HATE IT HERE!!!!!!

😫😭

Look. I stand for people's right to ship whatever they want for fictional ships.

That being said Incest will make me sick every single time. 🤮

Man I wanted to like her too! This sucks!

Anyway

35th victim? What is wrong with the both of them????

Also he's clearly some kinda queer because before he knew Arajin was on a date with his little sister he was Making Tongue at him like......😐

Aw dude dont say it. 😣

He's gotta scream it every time in order to fight doesn't he? Aw man. I gotta get used to this quick. 😩

Man I LOVE the way they animated Head Honcho Nazi flying off though that was sick.

The ED.....

The cast likes her???? When she wants to fuck her brother???? They're into that?????

There were 3 whole other girls? Are the rest of them all lesbians exclusively?

What is going on????? What'd she do? Drink Love Potion #9????

The ED would be really cute without context. With context I kinda hate it right now.

I do like how its animated though. And the song is cute.

This is gonna be one of those 3 episodes to give it a shot type deals.

[xtruss]

Why Is It So Common To See Just One Shoe, Not Two, On the Side Of The Road? Shoes Don't Always Mate For Life.

— By Mike Rampton | Apr 16, 2024 | MentalFloss.Com

What happened?/Gaiamoments/E+ Via Getty Images

Birdwatchers keep note of the birds they spot and train enthusiasts keep track of the various types of trains they see. But nobody ever seems to write down when they see an old shoe lying on the side of the road.

We’ve all seen it, though—perhaps hundreds of times: one shoe, on its own, somewhere a lone shoe has no business being.

It seems to make no sense. Of all the mistakes to make while accidentally preoccupied with other things, accidentally kicking one shoe off while strolling down the street and failing to notice it seems absurd. There are over 200,000 nerve endings in the average adult foot, so you would 100 percent realize if you’d absent-mindedly flung off a loafer.

Sadly, as with so many things, the truth about this errant footwear is pretty mundane: sometimes people just lose a shoe.

As a Reddit thread from several years ago details, there are more ways of losing a shoe than you might think—especially once a vehicle is involved. Based on the hundreds of responses from Redditors who have lost a shoe, one of the most commons reasons seems to be that people frequently use the roof of the car as a temporary resting place ... then get forgetful.

Say, for example, you’re changing out of a pair of muddy sneakers after a run, and rest your shoes briefly on the roof of the car before making some space where they won't get the car dirty. It’s apparently very easy to forget all about them and accidentally drive none the wiser. Yes, you’ve technically lost a pair of shoes, but it’s unlikely that someone is going to find them both in the same place; the more likely scenario is that each one of the two shoes will end up in different spots, allowing at least two people to experience the so-called “one-shoe phenomenon.”

Shoes can be ejected from moving vehicles, of course. According to Lifehacker: “People also tend to throw their shoes for some reason, especially kids.” Several parents shared similar stories about kids regularly throwing things out an open car window, shoes included. In some cases, Redditors shared tales of one car passenger throwing a shoe at another passenger out of frustration, and it accidentally finding its way out the window.

Anyone who has ever taken a National Lampoon’s Vacation-style trip where a family and all their belongings are crammed into the back of a car for nine or 10 hours at once will be familiar with the phenomenon of opening a door at a gas station and having a pile of your belongings tumble out—shoes possibly included. Similarly, a loose piece of footwear being carted around in a garbage truck could find its way overboard.

But motorized vehicles aren’t always part of the equation when it comes to a dropped shoe. A sleeping child being pushed in a stroller can easily, albeit accidentally, jettison a shoe without realizing it, as can the recipient of a piggyback or the inhabitant of a bike seat. Someone walking down the street with a pair of shoes in their not-fully-closed backpack or bag could also lose one without noticing.

However, there is another pretty logical reason why you only ever see individual shoes in the road, and not pairs. Depending on how many people see them, a pair of shoes might very likely be picked up by a passerby—to wear, sell, or even donate. A single shoe, however, is useless to most people. So there it stays, for people to pass and say to themselves, “Isn’t it funny how you only see single shoes by the road?”

[skamortuus]

“OKAY BUT DO YOU HAVE A HOT TAKE ON AI??

“I do!!!!  But I wanna start with the story of Sommy The Cyberhacker.  I wrote about this obscure bit of early internet history for BETTER THAN IRL, a collection of essays about the early days of the internet, which I also recommend and not just because I'm in it!  Here's the start of it:

In 1996, feeling they were out of options, a family in the small town of Emeryville, Ontario, Canada, went to the media. They revealed that for months they'd been terrorized by a computer hacker who called himself "Sommy". He'd turn their TV and lights on and off. He'd eavesdrop on their private conversations and interrupt their phone calls first to burp at them, then to harass and taunt them in a disguised voice. The family - Dwayne and Debbie Tamai and their teenaged son, Billy - said they couldn't figure out what they'd done to earn Sommy's ire. All they knew was that the police were powerless to stop him, because unlike all the other criminals they'd encountered before, Sommy was committing his crimes over the internet. Sommy was committing a cyber crime. It was a brief and unique era that seems impossible now: one in which more people had heard of computers and the internet than had actually used them. Adults without home or office computers - which is to say, most of them - got their impressions of what the internet was like and what it was capable of from movies and actual cartoons. They said things like "cyberspace" and "websurfing" and "information superhighway" without a trace of irony. Hackers were seen as trickster gods: wild but intelligent, capricious but untouchable – anger them at your peril. A friend's father spoke often about hackers who'd "trick you into downloading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica, and then make your computer display it all at once, causing your monitor to catch on fire". He believed this story no matter what his son told him. He'd said he'd heard it on the news. My friends and I - teenagers - knew this "Sommy" story was complete baloney. We knew that computers and the internet weren't and aren't magic, because we spent all our free time on them. We knew that you couldn't take over someone's phone line or light switches just by "hacking" them really hard, no matter how talented you were. (That little trick would have to wait a decade or two until we'd all invested in insecure internet-connected "smart devices".) A few days later the police had a break in the case when they finally discovered that "Sommy" was the family's teenage son, Billy, because of course he was. Billy hadn't hacked anything - he just flipped three-way light switches from the other room to mess with his parents, and picked up the extra handset on their landline to tell them off in a funny voice whenever he was mad at them. We knew this was obviously the case the second the story broke, because the hacker story was impossible. The only thing we didn't understand was how the media, and the police, and Bell Canada - who'd actually rewired the house several times trying to find how the hacker was getting in! - could've been so stupid. In retrospect, of course, the answer was obvious: the media and police and even the telco companies weren't stupid, they simply were just not as extremely online as we were. They didn't know what they were talking about. But they'd get there. We'd all get there eventually.

I feel like we're in a similar moment now with AI: so many people don't understand how the technology actually works, but have seen what they think are similar things in movies, and so approach it from that perspective.  After all, these companies wouldn't call what they have "AI" if it wasn't actually artificially intelligent, right??  I read a long twitter thread yesterday from someone who was shocked that when he asked ChatGPT for a research report on something, it gave him something that seemed credible, but all the references didn't exist!  And then when he asked about that, he got more references that also didn't exist!  Surely someone is looking into this??  It's not intelligent at all - it's just making shit up! Of course, this is entirely expected behaviour with large language models (LLMs), because they're not fact-telling machines, they're machines designed to give you likely words after initial words. There's randomness built into them at their core, which is why asking the same question twice gets you different results. But if you're used to AIs from fiction and not the statistical language models we've built, you don't see that.  You especially don't see it when since people trying to market these LLMs are hyping them up as much as possible. Instead you see it saying "yes" when you ask it if it's alive and feel like that has to mean something.

Anyway, I feel like we're in a similar moment here to where we were with "cyber hackers" and Sommy back in the mid 90s.  A lot of people are encountering something new that seems close to something they've seen in fiction before, so they're treating it as if they would that fictional thing instead of what it actually is.  It's frustrating to see so many articles approaching it so uncritically (I trained a language model on my dead girlfriend's words and it was like she was alive there in the machine!  Except I had to ignore all the non-sequiturs and random inscrutable things she said, of course!) - especially because how language models like GPT3 actually work is really interesting without clouding it with "hath we become gods??" discourse. But it won't last, because the general public will learn about what LLMs can actually do and what they can't, and there will come a day when we don't have to have the "ChatGPT is not alive nor is it intelligent" / "Aha, but whomst among us can say what intelligence truly is, and if YOU are really alive??" back and forth constantly.   And also people will probably learn not to use it for things like sending a condolence email after a mass shooting. Probably?  That seems like a safe prediction, right?  You'd only do that if you thought LLMs are an oracle who can provide you with the mathematically perfect words to say in a difficult situation.   You wouldn't do it if you knew it was just guessing at what words fit together with a soupçon of randomness thrown in to make it interesting. The truth is that writing is hard, writing well is even harder.  What we have now is not a tool that can't do the hard thing well, but it can do it quickly. And what happens when anyone can mass-produce credible-looking but unreliable text?  Well, you get inundated with a lot of credible-looking but unreliable text.  When I was running Project Wonderful (my ad network that didn't try to make the internet worse, rip) we insisted that every site we took on as a publisher had to be posting original things, as just a baseline level for quality.  It was easy to check: you'd just grab some text and search for it to find if it were plagiarized.  People would try to get around that by, for example, machine translating it to French and back to English, so all the words would be different.  But that had a tell too - it was clearly machine-generated and read unnaturally - so we could check for that too.  But now that it's easy to fill up a blog with posts about anything, as long as you don't look too closely, I expect fighting spam - at least in that context - is about to become much harder.  One scifi magazine just closed submission entirely after their chart of "how many people we had to ban for plagiarism or using an AI" looked like this:

I think there's definite uses for LLMs, and they're an incredible accomplishment in computational linguistics, but I just want to live in a world where we can discuss what they actually are, and not what we're imagining they might be.  Sommy wasn't real and for a while in 1996 me and my friends all felt crazy as the media and police in Ottawa were all behaving like he was.  I feel the same way now. In conclusion, the end.”

(Ryan North)

[chickenpeep77kirbyau]

An alternate Kirby

Kirby as he appears in my au. (The paper taped onto the sheet is my solution to not having to redo the whole thing every time I want to change something) He is not round, just because. He is a little chubby though.

While canon Kirby seems to be eternally a child, this one is an adult now.

I call their homeworld Popopo, after Kirby's original name, and they are known as Popopons. The world's atmosphere and gravity are just right to allow them to be able to do that floaty thing. Popopo is a moon orbiting a gas giant. It has less water than earth does, but it is more evenly spread. Its average temperature is colder than (our) earth. I gave them an amphibious design, making their feet and hands more froglike. Kirby's feet look like they would be more useful underwater anyways. When not in use for swimming or a slight boost in air they scrunch up their toes a bit so they can walk easier. They are semi-aquatic. When they suck in air it goes into their lungs and air sacks(similar to a bird's respiratory system) then it might go into a stretchy cavity beneath the skin to puff up. Two siphons(like octopus have) in the back and two in the front connect to the cavity and can expel the air or water out for jet propulsion. Aside from Mass Attack, Kirby has seemingly been able to breathe underwater, so they are able to breathe through their thinner inner layer of skin underneath the cavity, by pulling water in and out through the siphons. The cavity layer contains a good bit of mucus to keep it moist and protected from germs. The popopons are somewhat squishy, due to the extra skin layers and a light layer of blubber(depending on climate). They can make a noise similar to purring; less like a cat's and more like a chicken's. A good portion of their diet is 'sky plankton' and other small airborne critters that they vacuum from the dense air. They also do something similar underwater, but only using their mouths, like they way we see some underwater predators on Earth do. They also eat fruits and other plant matter. Their children hatch from eggs laid in special nursery pools. (Haha they look so funny inflated bobbing around like little beach balls.) In the early days in small settlements the young children were raised together in a central community pool, as it was beneficial to have as many eyes watching them as possible to protect them from predators. In the later more advanced society in bigger cities this communal child care was less needed since predators were better protected against. In the games, Kirby and friends are able to share food by kissing. I've interpreted that to mean that this is normal for his species to do this, and feed their babies the same way that penguins do. The family takes turns guarding the babies and hunting for food to give them. Their civilization was in the early spaceflight stage, and had ships that can travel to the edge of their solar system.

Abilities work differently in my universe. There aren't any exactly. Popopo's magic levels are relatively high, allowing widespread use of magic. They can do many forms of magic, but individuals usually tend to gravitate towards one area of magic, determined mainly by genetics. The most common ones correspond to simpler, elemental based abilities: fire, water, stone, tornado (I'd rather call it wind), ice, esp, and spark. The more basal, average members of his species has colorations of mottled purples, mauves, browns and greys, but since they began civilization other colors like pink are appearing more. Unfortunately, many of the Popopons were wiped out by one of Nightmare's monsters a few hundred years ago.

Now I will tell you the story of how Kirby got where he was at the beginning of the anime. Kirby was a seemingly normal child at first, but his destiny was super important. (I'm undecided whether he was born into a fire or stone ability lineage.) He was kidnapped, by himself from the future. You may know this character as Galacta Knight. In the far off future, he becomes very powerful, as he was chosen long before he was born, by magical forces, to become a great hero. Also because he's an incarnation of a higher being. Basically there is an entity from the magic universe living in his mind layer. This allows him to open micro rifts to get more magic. Given his different shape in my au, abilities are copied differently. Things can be absorbed into him. Or he can just touch and focus on a thing to copy a skill. He seems strangely more amorphous than the typical popopon. (you put your hand into his squishy mass and it just keeps going!) He is able use a vast variety of abilities his people could only dream of mastering so many. But it will not be till a long time later that he discovers all that he is capable of. Anyways, Kirby is placed in stasis. He awakes from stasis at the beginning of the anime, and the rest is history. (Though my universe's Dedede isn't that mean. However he was upset that Kirby arrived on his birthday and made him jealous.)

If you are wondering, I have determined that Meta Knight's main magic ability is wind, by looking at his moveset. No, his wings are not due to his ability or his cape, but why he has wings goes along with a story which I will tell at another time.

[sepublic]

LUZ AND LILITH ARE UNAPOLOGETIC NERDS THIS EPISODE-

I’ve talked at LENGTH before over how similarly these two actually are, how they’re utter dorks and whatnot, while Eda is unimpressed but secretly endeared! Maybe Luz lowkey reminded Eda of Lilith, hence the attachment!

BUT NOW WE GET TO SEE IT! We get to see Luz indulge with a mentor who is ALSO a nerd who’s trying, just like her! A fellow dweebus! Auntie Lilith interaction was already so blessed but getting to see these two BOND over their shared nerdiness, Luz unironically calling Lilith cool, Lilith so happy to have this kid look up to her! To be admired as a role model, after trying and failing in the coven with Amity and her other nameless students!

Lilith is getting that SWEET SWEET validation, and in a more healthy way as a role model and not like. As an adult desperately working for a kid’s affection by being her student. And I just love the GROWTH and development, the solidarity! And sorry Eda, not only do you have to deal with Luz and Lilith realizing how alike they are, after wanting them to get along and no doubt realizing the similarities implicitly... But YOU’RE a dweebus too and ya better embrace it! Lily might’ve enjoyed the search for time pools more but it was all YOUR idea!

I’m sorry I just... I love Eda but Luz also deserves multiple adults and mentors in her life who can suit different needs and wants. And that’s just so pure and cathartic to see, I’m crying. And it’s funny how on their own they were two sides to Eda, people she had to deal with but also loved, but together they’re more than the sum of their parts in tormenting Eda! Now she wants Lilith away from Luz for a DIFFERENT reason, she can’t handle them together after being so used to others not being able to handle her! They’re bad bitches, all of ‘em.

Not to mention Luz and Lilith embracing each other familially, Lilith punching Philip for Luz, and Luz being so impressed! This episode DELIVERED on my aching desire for Luz and Lilith content where they interact and realize just how alike they are! Luz gets a mentor that’s a dork who’s insecure about her interests but loves them, just like her;

And then encourages Lilith to indulge in them without trying to prove herself to others by focusing on what others might find more interesting, just to get approval and justification for her own hyperfixation! It’s for you, be unapologetic, you can hear the kiddy and unbridled joy in Lily’s voice as she’s practically squeeing, it’s been so long since she could indulge in this fun and be herself, guilt-free! They’re teaching and encouraging each other like Eda and Luz this is EVERYTHING...!

THIS IS EVERYTHING I WANTED AND MORE