#haha get rotated

[inexplicably-spookified]

misery has become australian

[averlym]

" just...come here. just sit here with me" (...that one scene from princess momonoke, click for better resolution)

[vorakh]

also literally any character in disco elysium is written with compassion and care in a way that each one of them is a complex individual with a rich inner life and connection with other people and society and history, and some are insanely cool. but they have the greatest misfortune of not being mediocre white men, so they don't get the same recognition as a vicquemare does.

[corpsebunniie]

@glitchysquidd

[jollygoodhoe]

WAIT OMG. look what i found on the regular show fandom wiki :0

margaret x cj mini golf date when?!?

[sasswonfp]

What is Life, without Hope?

[sysig]

Feeling and looking good 🌈 (Patreon)

[actualbird]

I SPENT THE ENTIRETY OF TODAY LEARNING HOW TO 3D SCAN OBJECTS JUST SO I COULD MAKE THIS DUMB VIDEO. sound on!

(heres one of my failed first tries at scanning lukey boy, if u wanna see.....)

[zoya-nazyalensy-supremacy]

Long awaited oc lore post that I kept forgetting to do for @ghostly-schematics hehe

Lot of stuff has changed since i first made these guys in like 8th grade so there might be some contradictory stuff that I haven’t ironed out yet haha 🥲

tw for death and abuse (kind of?)

Bianca (she/her)- ~19 years old, born and raised in a fishing island in the middle of the ocean called Moorhill and has never left. Her mom is sick+bedridden and her dad was a sailor who went out on a voyage one day and got lost at sea, so she has to pick up a bunch of jobs to support her and her mom, two of which include working at the local inn and delivering newspapers.

Simon(he/him)- same age as Bianca. Also grew up in Moorhill, and his dad is the mayor. His mom died when he was young, ~7yrs (are you noticing a trend here?) and he has 3 siblings; one older brother (Finn) and two little sisters (Ana and Evelyn). Grew up relatively rich compared to the rest of the town and traveled a lot as a child. Doesn’t have the best relationship with his dad, his dad is very tough on his kids and is very emotionally distant. Simon spends most of his time working with his dad w/ paperwork and other mayorly activities. (I don’t know what mayors do)

Anya(she/her)- somewhere in her early 20s, ~22ish. From the mainland (forgot the name so it’s just mainland for now) College student studying engineering. Trying to make a breakthrough invention/ achievement but is stuck. She goes to Moorhill to visit extended family and get a break from the stress+ also maybe get inspiration for an invention. Stays at the inn in exchange for working there part time  bc she’s a broke college student and meets Bianca while working there. 

Theo(he/him)- early 20s, little older than Anya, ~24. Anya’s ex, they went to college together. He is from a very wealthy family on the mainland. He sails the world on his boat smuggling things and just being cool in general. You can tell I was very into ya fantasy when I wrote him, very Nikolai lantsov inspired. Has kind of a strained relationship with his family members. His parents are very conservative and traditional, very into keeping the values and traditions, and he is a trans guy who left home as soon as he turned 18 so they don’t get along geat. He has a younger sister (Clara, you’ll learn more abt her later) who was very close w him as a child and kind of feels left behind when he left. Also has a younger brother (Charles/Charlie) who is very young and basically doesn’t know Theo at all, as he left when he was still very young. Theo also has kind of a crazy backstory that I’ll explain later when you meet another character.

Elaine(she/her)- ~21, little younger than Anya. Ohh where to begin. Elaine is from the island of  Faeglenn, home of the elves. The elves are basically just fairies, like they have wings and magic and stuff I just wanted to have a special name ig. The elves have a pretty simple magic system. From a young age, all elves are able to control the 4 elements; air, fire, water, and earth. As they get older, they are taught to control their magic better and utilize the elements to shape the world around them. However, in some rare cases, an elf can be born with a malfunctioning magic ability, basically the elements mix or are too strong, creating a new type of unique magic. In Elaine’s case, she is able to create and manipulate lightning/thunder storms. When she was a child, the other elves tried to control or suppress her powers, but it soon became clear that they were uncontrollable. So instead, they took this poor 13 year old and chopped off her wings and exiled her from the isle. She was sent away on a boat to the mainland where she met a couple who owned a tavern/inn in town and let her live with them for a while. After a few years, she met Clara, who introduced her to Theo. He offered her a chance to see the world if she would help him get around storms unharmed. She agreed and now the two of them sail around smuggling things and being cool.

Clara(she/her)- ~20. Theo’s younger sister. After Theo left, she basically raised Charlie by herself because her parents were too busy trying to find Theo and bring him back home because they don’t want him to make them look bad. Her relationship with Theo is complicated because she looks up to and respects him but also feels abandoned by him, even though she understands why he left. She goes out to bars a lot and is an alcoholic. She met Elaine when she was out partying one night and they dated briefly. She also dreams of leaving one day but doesn’t want to leave Charlie alone.

Meg(she/they)- ~20. Meg grew up with Clara and Theo as children. Their parents were nobles and good friends with Clara and Theo’s family. When she was 6, her parents died in a crash and they were sent to live on Clara and Theo’s estate. While she was technically under the care of Clara and Theo’s parents, she developed a close bond with the gardener and his wife, who raised them as their own. They became very close with Clara, especially after Theo left. She was also close with Rufus (you’ll meet them next) who was also adopted by the gardeners, but they drifted apart as they got older.

Rufus(they/them)- ~26. Ohh boyyyy. As a baby, Rufus was left on the doorstep of Clara and Theo’s family estate. No one knows who their parents are or why they were left there. They were found and adopted by the gardener and his wife, who were unable to have children of their own. As a child, Rufus was very close with Theo, and doted on Meg when she was adopted. When Theo was ~12 and Rufus was ~14, they were playing by a river when Theo fell in and got pulled down by the current. When Rufus found him, he was caught under a rock, bleeding and not breathing. They panicked, as they were the one supposed to be watching Theo. Uhh i haven’t really figured out the logistics of the next part, but basically Rufus somehow was able to make a deal with an angel to bring Theo back in exchange for their soul. Basically, if Theo dies, so does Rufus. It doesn’t work the other way around though, like if Rufus died, Theo would still live.   Rufus never told anyone about the deal that they made. All anyone knows is that Theo fell into the river and Rufus somehow saved him. Because of this, Theo’s parents appointed Rufus a Theo’s bodyguard. Basically, Rufus had to be near Theo at all times and report all behavior back to Theo’s parents. Neither of them were really happy about this. Theo was angry about his lack of freedom, and Rufus was forced to betray their best friend’s trust. Theo grew resentful of Rufus and started doing increasingly more dangerous things and sneaking around behind their back. In turn, Rufus became more distant towards both Theo and Meg. When Theo left, they took up more jobs around the estate, working as a butler, a carriage driver, etc.

[candycryptids]

Y’all ever thinkin about the Odin fate

the sword chooses Them Her It Him Me You.

It Chooses, it Takes- does it whisper power? It must do something- besides the tempering. Or is it simply relying on the act of holding power that corrupts? It doesn’t seek others- it has You.

[unproduciblesmackdown]

tayston au where they're coworkers Somewhere Else that's not like the ideal dream job in theory for either of them, nor in practice, where there's still typical nonsense & the [genderdivergent / neurononconforming handshake] is no less relevant, just like In Real Life. elements simplified &/or amplified by taylor not having any especial rank or power, along the lines of how things presumably would've gone as [premise of having been Just Some Intern until getting mentorship & promotions that made it more relevant to stay a while]. they and winston maybe distantly know Of each other just via working in whatever same physical space, & this is how they both know most other coworkers; they mostly interact with who they interact with for official work purposes, they both keep busy enough, they're both othered by what workplace socializing is going on, with plenty of [shared negative opinion] embraced by people & thus both of them as the targets of that being Not embraced. gd & nnc handshake as stated

so, thinking of them both at some General Coworkers Mostly Informal Event at a bar or something of the sort, like, an End Of The Year thing, end of the [ways specific workplaces divide up time for whatever business events. quarters. some other regular event of Assessment] or any other companywide deal that could spur some peak Across The Board "we're going out, theoretically everyone's invited" and of course both winston and taylor happen to actually go. maybe there are preexisting (also mostly informal) traditions here, maybe there's people just making shit up on the spot (perhaps pretending they're preexisting traditions. winston & taylor not having worked there a full year or anything. or maybe one or both of them has, but hasn't shown up for this perhaps annual deal before. etc) but some "playing with [someone othered] for entertainment" organically crops up around winston where the people involved also spontaneously bring taylor into it as accessory, someone they wouldn't involve as getting to be "in on it." lot of flexibility here but what i've landed on after rotating & jostling ideas is roughly like: people very loosely like expressing a celebratory nature to the event via (again perhaps an actual informal preexisting tradition, perhaps being invented just now while perhaps pretending otherwise, or not) like Awards / Honors / Recognitions being doled out to some specific employees. maybe starts out somewhat rooted in more formal things, hooray for someone's recentish birthday, hooray for someone's preexisting formal recognition for whatever work achievement, then branches off into like haha hooray for [person] for [inside joke about some event ya just had to be there for! / other work wins of increasing informality/jokiness] where that jocularity can easily transition into Using this autistic coworker who's never in the In Group as a joke, of course, while maintaining ambiguity to opacity / Deniability about how the figurative arm slung around His shoulder is not actual inclusion like it is for other people

e.g. set winston up like here's some Ironic Recognition that is ostensibly framed as a compliment directly or that the ribbing / insulting Is in fact totally amicable Inclusion just like it is when we do it to these other guys haha....taylor happens to be proximate enough to be spontaneously dragged into it with people exercising the same attitude of like, well they're an object to be toyed with momentarily for our entertainment just like winston is haha. like oh don't you agree with this compliment towards winston Or this insult, it'd amuse us either way. and an idea being this being dialed up enough for like little a [venturing into harassment] all around of like, perhaps: congratulations winston for us all agreeing you Win at being our office's most eligible bachelor haha XD you're soooo single X'D cue whatever transition into building on The Joke like and how amazing when you're, stifled laughter, you're the hottest person here also three cheers for that too....like a) winston like thee nerd amongst nerds, no matter where he works or what group he's in the [an autistic person...] is Sensed, just like in real life, b) being in the impossible position where ofc he's doomed from the start in being targeted by people who can & are ganging up on him here, him playing along while realizing it may all be at his expense = he loses, him pushing back = he loses, him at least at first accepting like oh people are being spontaneous & funny & friendly to me (such as with amicable ribbing truly equivalent to what other popular enough coworkers are getting) & not realizing it's actually different & disingenous & entirely At His Expense = he loses. but whatever his response at first like, it's Escalated by someone drawing taylor into it b/c they're sitting at the next table or walking by at that instant or coming up to the bar or something & it's like oh Hey, we were just giving winston his due as the sexiest motherfucker here, Do you agree & Wouldn't you make out with him. & this obvious escalation / unusual extension of the [figurative arm around winston's shoulder] that isn't happening with any of the other like more at all actually better-intentioned friendly [just messing with you] being like, making winston More uncomfortable (b/c even if he'd accepted the premise / given the benefit of the doubt to the premise / optimistically tried to believe the premise that it was genuinely well-intentioned up to this point, the "this is just pushed onto him" element inherent to it would not be fun for him) & thus yknow Definitely realizing that no matter the intentions like, this is just gonna be a bad time for him & isn't gonna result in being embraced / included in any way he wants here

also the incongruity in how winston sees taylor here, & how taylor sees winston, vs how whatever group of friends being assholes to both of them sees either of them. the Key Element that makes this "oh, autistic & trans handshake moment, tayston moment" at the core. taylor is experiencing someone just on a whim Also trying to like pick them up for a second & mess with them as a desk toy for one's own amusement, as it were, as the [taylor is out here indeed gender nonconforming even if this workplace isn't As ramped up Cis Agenda as canon's, they're also still Unusual enough in demeanor/comport/means of expression/communication & so forth as to get that "honorary" ableism (still just the same ableism) like how in canon ppl are basically calling both of the r word in different ways, degrees, at different points] like Joke's On Them too, we're Ironic in asking their input, they & winston can still only lose no matter how they respond, Their opinion on [Ideals of gender & sexuality? thus Desirability?] can only Deviate from correctness just as winston can only Deviate from correctness in this [in group]'s "opinion" (they have the Facts!) like hilarious if taylor, weirdo who we could also make fun of by how Undesirable they are, also rejects winston, or doesn't, which would also just be hilarious

meanwhile winston is like oh no this hot coworker being dragged into it :[ don't put them on the spot to either be like "ew god" about me Or else also only be playing along in this specific moment and context such that i'm flying too close to the sun with however seemingly positively they might interact with me, even a smile & a Yeah Nice, don't want them to go "lmfao. imagine. as if XD", don't want them to think he himself is In On giving them shit here....then taylor's obvious Lack Of Being Amused Too if not displeasure at some shitheads being like would you Not want all of that (winston) would you totally kiss him for $50, don't answer that $500, all the money in the world & you're the last people in the world then it'd be tempting right XD just etc suffering as the punchline of bullshit improv out here. to winston's compounding embarrassment at both a) realizing yeah this isn't Just amicable razzing, he's only "included" to the extent he's these people's entertainment, perhaps also picking up on the outright like [just being given shit] / contempt to it, & b) again like not wanting to now be involved in annoying the epic & definitely themself sexy mf coworker who is of course just set up to reject him in this moment & also now going forward....while taylor is also in turn is Seeing Winston in a different context than these others are & like recognizing his [winston's discomfited & withdrawing expressiveness] & just indeed that context of likewise suffering bullshit here

some kind of transition here, like, taylor makes some dry in turn ambiguous enough response about like, well yes i think out of everyone present i'd be most likely to make out with this particular person. b/c these shitheads don't confer especial worthiness to any of taylor's input either it's like ohhh shitttt reallyyyy do itttt XD and you know, tall order to then actually do it in this pretty hostile situation & knowing as much, but this is just a specificass What If vs [only outcome possible, in every au in every timeline] and like the added situation of like, taylor already has been aware of bullshit & nonsense & hostility & their not winning the popularity contest which matters, winston has been too, that neither of them are so committed to this particular job that they can't also both engage in some spontaneity here which could, in fact, include "eh yeah maybe i'll just quit after this. maybe this is me quitting"

taylor also of course not actually kissing winston here if he wasn't also into it. but this is a) mutual recognition of a kindred spirit, if even simply in [both being put into this damn situation / held in the same context by these other mfs] & b) winston is, in fact, flustered about immediate [!! they're hot!!] so yknow.

point is we get to the point of winston like, having this aside directly with taylor of like, embarrassed, flustered, being like "augh sorry :( you don't have to. this is just a joke to them" and taylor can be like "yeah i know and i know i'm also just a joke to them, but." and perhaps a little more of a transition into it like, the mutual question of "do You think i'm a joke" where it is of the essence that a) they both already realize that this person does, in fact, not, and b) this is just further confirmation and rather asking like, is this serious enough to you, do you understand i'm being serious enough. again not seriousness in Gravitas to ""play along"" and make out as effective strangers having a moment at a work function amidst hostile parties, but in sufficient earnestness in doing so. like no i'm not actually trying to agree / go along with any terms as laid out by these other people but yeah i'd have This moment of actual acceptance and recognition with you and it Can manifest as making out a bit, sure, and as a way to at all turn things around on this other party, if They play along, if they find they're actually about it at all, if they're just annoyed & drop the act, they lose a bit, even as again like, of course even if they choose some other route, do the "correct" thing and pwn winston, do what'd "win" and try to pwn him And everyone else here, they can't simply get that ultimate permanent victory (this is not billions canon, where they still couldn't do that anyways)

anyways they have their little exchange of recognition, reassurance like but i'm not messing with you, you're not messing with me, even as we're about to mess around(tm) a minute. they have an exchange of messing around and making out a minute. the "well while we're here, suffering bullshit, may as well get this much out of it / sure fuck it" factor can involve now also being [handshake] in like eh yeah think i might have to just quit after that, think that might've just been me quitting, b/c they can keep being Mostly Left Alone at work but this wouldn't really have made things any better, this wasn't either of their dream jobs in the forever career, this was all an Event marking some annual milestone like well i'm not dying to attend the next one either and i may as well peace out now anyways. and everyone might start just being assholes about it immediately and it's like yeah do you wanna get out of here, in the straightforward way, in the "i'd mess around with you further now sure, fuck it, by which i mean me/you, literally" way. Do So even if people are more like okay lol whatever yeah we'll be about as unfriendly as we were before, just a bit more now. be like lol we've actually never really talked, we can go to some other place and get food, hang out, chat too, exchange numbers and plan to at least be friends or allies in "now Ex coworkers lol" like it's sure a way to meet, it was sure relevant that we were just both immediately aware of there being this Understanding between us

bonus: add ben to this newfound companionship b/c he reaches out like "oh sorry you're quitting, yeah people sure can be assholes since i don't have to refrain from saying so to you as [people who also still work here]" or through some other means. or anyone else. billions au, the characters we like / could perhaps save just knowing each other any which way, Not only existing in [zero sum game] hellzone. where they can actually in fact like experience similar / equivalent shit in some ways But react in ways canon would never allow. What Ifs abound. this has been a possible "oh honey i'm a joke to them too" / "but that / this isn't just a joke to you is it" edition

[allgather]

anyway which mutual is gonna pick up carmy from the bear so we can begin to deliciously untangle his and sydney’s relationship and fuck around and find out.

[tiredassmage]

shut up, no, I didn’t just spend 30 mins to make him a new outfit for a single alliance alert shush >.>

[syncrovoid-presents]

Sorry y'all, next chapter of The Consequence of Imagination's Fear will have to be a bit late. There local Apple Blossom festival took up more time than I expected haha

On the upside, the festival went well! It wrapped up today after a week (I didn't get to go to most of it though) of various events and the parade was super cool!

Stay tuned @:D

[aconstantallegory]

I mean how does it work? That thing. That thing where the cells become other cells and the traits become other traits, what's that about? Do they retain their sense of self or do they act like whole other persons? Who just happen to have the same memories? Well, I know I can just, you know, look it up, but I kind of want a bit of banter about the issue or do they really have severe identity issues about the whole ordeal?

[crest-of-gautier]

got the badges for gone fission evp 400 + evp 600 yesterday! .52 gal, l-3 nozzlenose, dread wringer, and squiffer make for quite the synergistic team!

my peak was EVP 810 (appx 300-310% HL). my high score of 151 eggs was obtained somewhere in evp 300...? i'm pretty satisfied with how it went, even if i didn't get HLM or 9s.

some thoughts/reflections on good freelancing teams/traits to develop when trying to rank up in evp under the cut:

i think grinding this rotation was pretty fun- all of the weapons have excellent mobility and i think they cover for each other really well! the l-3 was not my favorite weapon going into it but i think i really enjoyed the accuracy and mobility of it, so it's a bit more favorable for me now :)

i ended up reaching a skill wall in EVP 760-780 where i could not get past wave 2 or 3 (usually for quota related reasons, the quota is BRUTAL! we'd miss it by like 4-5 ish... ofc this partially relates to how well bosses are handled).

the grind for evp was a mix of freelance and grouping up (freelance for 230 -> 440s, grouping up for 440 - 750~, and then testing myself in freelance for that last bit).

i enjoyed the bits of freelance i did, and from my playtime i think these were some of the key traits/practices that indicate "good salmon run skills" to me:

players that know their weapons role(s) and target the appropriate salmonid (but also being willing to break that when priority targets haven't been taken care of)

knowing when a teammate needs help (with a boss or being revived) or when the teammate has a situation under control (e.g. someone's already on the fishstick, you can do something else)

proactive use of specials when problem targets appear, preferably with no overlap (e.g. tri-strike and inkjet activated on the same flyfishes is not the best)

using specials like booyah bomb, triple splashdown, and reefslider to clear basket area in the last 30 seconds to help eggs get in (especially important past evp 600)

teams that paint the walls first thing (especially whoever had the dread wringer). all interior walls for fission can be painted within the first 10 seconds imo

forwarding eggs closer to the basket after splatting static bosses (throwing one egg, and then swimming up with one)

players with good judgment; knowing when to lure (mostly for initial boss spawns), and knowing when to leave the big shot cannon

being able to figure out which directions snatchers come from and what eggs they can help you collect

i think these practices all stem from having good awareness and being able to collect information about the shift. it helps with making snappy quick-fire decisions, and it just gets more important the higher up in EVP you go. camera positioning/control is essential for this (you can't figure out where bosses/teammates are if your back is turned to them).

for me, every 7-10 seconds, i like to rotate my camera around to the opposite side of where i'm currently looking to make sure there isn't any bosses i'm missing. i'm hardly in one place longer than 5-10 seconds and i try to always be on the move. the spawn direction where salmonids come from are always changing, so it's essential to rotate around the map proactively rather than reactively. i think this also helps a lot with shotcalling in groups too (since you can be someone else's pair of eyes).

other than boss spawns/teammate locations (for revives), i think it's also important to notice when certain bosses haven't been taken care of for prolonged periods of time too, so that a special can be popped. to me it's usually a sign that someone whose ill equipped to deal with that boss has been forced to deal with them because the people with the "right" weapon are focused on something else... (no fault to them, of course, everyone has different priorities and you can't always communicate clearly in freelance)

in situations where squiffers were chased by a pack of scrappers, perhaps a booyah bomb or splashdown can be popped to help if you don't have the time to stun and splat them manually. maybe the fish sticks were left unattended by the shooters, so a triple inkstrike or a crab/inkjet shot can help clear them out.

awareness also extends to meeting quota, which imo involves paying attention to the timer + where eggs are located. i find that it's nice to check in with the timer/quota at 50s and 30s respectively so that you can start forwarding eggs closer to basket. and when everyone's going crazy about quota not being met i try to make sure i'm not overstepping anyone else's egg pile so that no one goes "wait no thats the egg that i wanted to pick up fuck i have to go back and get a different one."

i think this is why sometimes playing in groups is easier. if you have more sets of eyes that you can communicate with, it alleviates the need to have awareness of "everything" (provided that you can comms effectively). someone can be attuned to different things (e.g. my friend always tells us where snatchers come from and if they're good, i'm personally attuned to where people need to be revived, etc.). you also know what specials you have access to, unlike in freelance where you're not sure what others have until they use them.

the other part of completing shifts successfully (to me) is being mechanically sound with your movement, mostly in regards to how you use the terrain (walls) to get around the map and escape situations. the more you play a map the more you'll figure out how you can move around on it.

some examples, using the location callouts from salmonrun.ink: there were a few times i'd go on the harbor but i could escape any salmonids in the bridge area by climbing the walls there and squidrolling out as needed. sometimes on high tide i would swim from the perch to the left plat.

sub-strafing is also good to know too, especially when you want to rapidly collect the basket eggs at the end. i still need to integrate it into other parts of my gameplay, but it's helpful!

uh. this was way longer than intended because i have WAY too many thoughts about salmon run. TL;DR: The key to succeeding your shifts is having good awareness which comes from good information collecting practices, and having the mechanical skill to act on that awareness without hesitation.

there's definitely a lot that goes on in sensory overload the game™, so it will take time to build these muscles and reaction times. i think while at every rank of salmon run you may face a wall of "i'm overwhelmed by the bosses," the exact fix needed to get past it usually varies, so it's important to figure out what information you were missing or what actions you could've taken (more efficient movement or special usage, usually).

or if you're struggling with quota, try to practice forwarding eggs or take a look where snatchers come from (even if people splat them, it's still a good practice 2 develop for later evp. source: i don't fucking do it and it's biting me in the ass)

and most importantly, recognize when you're in the midst of a loss streak/skill wall, so that you can take a break and focus on other things that energize you! even if there's a certain goal you want to meet, grinding for higher levels of EVP and getting better at the game can be a very exhausting process. you can always come back to the grind later, whether if it's after a 30 minute break, or just a different rotation!