#i first played pla like two years ago

[dragonkeeper19600]

Verrrry tempted to write a reunion Submas fic.

[goldensunset]

i said i was gonna replay pla next but i forgot i need to take the german placement exam in order to see if i need to take a language class for credit or not hhhhhfghgghhhg i’ve been putting this off for a year and a half i don’t wannaaaaa i haven’t studied german in three years. rip. anyway the reason that’s relevant to video games is that i love replaying games with the language set to german. i get a new experience out of an old game whose dialogue i already have memorized and might otherwise get tired of AND i get to brush up on my german skills. can’t do this with a game i’ve only played once before tho. has to have been at least a few times. i’ve done it with botw i’ve done it with okami soooo that puts me at… twewy?

[neondiamond]

🐚 Recently Read Fics - August 2023 🐚

These are all the amazing fics I read over the past month (from shortest to longest). Don’t forget to leave kudos and comments to show the authors your appreciation if you read any of these! 🤍

🐚 Ice, Ice, Baby by @beelou (1k,

Figure skater Harry takes Louis out on the ice for the first time

🐚 You don’t have to say, “I love you,” to say I love you by @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed (1k, T)

Louis can’t find his damn sweater.

And it’s not like he doesn’t have other sweaters, he does. In fact, he might have somewhat of a sweater problem, because he fears an avalanche of hoodies every time he opens his wardrobe. They’re comfy and warm and he likes tucking his hands inside the sleeves.

He could grab any other sweater but he wants this sweater. It’s his favourite sweater and it’s a little bit faded and worn out, but that makes it extra cosy. And after getting rained on on the way home from uni, he feels like he deserves a bit of comfort. His plan had been to shower, put on his favourite sweater, make himself some tea, and curl up on the couch with the cat, since Zayn won’t be home til late.

🐚 spoon time by @wecantalktomorrow (2k, NR)

There was nothing going on between them outside of the normal bro-pal-laddy-dude things every other set of best friends did. All sets of best friends did things like this. You know, hanging out every day, staying up late, and chatting until the wee hours which usually ended up as a sleepover and bed-sharing. There is nothing going on between them.

That is what Harry was going to keep telling himself and everyone around them, anyway because it is the truth, after all.

🐚 a ton of things we have yet to do by @red-pandaaa (3k, T)

Louis falls during a polo game, Harry is concerned, and in the end they’re both okay

🐚 Meet In A Minute At The Rendezvous by @loveislarryislove (3k, E)

Harry and Louis' sons are on rival high school football teams. And whenever they play each other, Harry and Louis sneak off to hook up in the restrooms after halftime. They've never been caught yet -- and if they were, it's anyone's guess whether people would be more scandalized by what they're doing or who they're doing it with.

When their sons are injured on the field, Niall comes to find them.

🐚 the “Falling” series by @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed (4k, T)

“Is this yours or mine?” Harry holds up a CD, and Louis swallows back something bitter, something that he can feel jittering all the way down to his fingertips.

“Ours,” he says quietly. Don’t you remember, he wants to ask. “Gems gave it to us, for that roadtrip.” He’s quiet for a moment. “I guess it’s yours then, considering she’s your sister.”

Harry looks like he wants to say something but thinks better of it, and just nods, putting the CD in a box that’s filled with all kinds of knick knacks from their bedroom.

Or, no. Louis supposes it is his bedroom now. Or will be, after today.

🐚 The President and His Captain by @tommokat (5k, T)

Childhood best friends turn boyfriends Harry and Louis have kept their relationship quiet for almost a year now, so when Harry's basketball coach enforces a no dating rule for the season, they should have no problem sticking to that rule. Right?

🐚 Let The Ocean Worry About Being Blue by @greenblueish (5k, E)

In a society where young adults go through the so-called Colour Test which determines their affiliation to a Colour - Blue, Yellow, Red or Green - and thus where they'll live, work and socialise for the rest of their lives, Harry is finally about to take the Test. Born and raised in Yellow, he met his boyfriend when he was still a teenager - against the government's recommendation. Louis, however, changed from Yellow to Blue two years ago. The problem: Harry needs to receive a Blue Test result as well, because a relationship between two people who live in different Colours is forbidden.

🐚 If That’s All It Was by @galacticlarry (6k, M)

Harry and Louis are in a long term relationship and are planning to get married. When they end up having to go long distance for a year, things start getting progressively harder to deal with and they ultimately put an end to their relationship.

What happens when they meet again after a few months and all of their unresolved feelings bubble up?

🐚 The Heart’s Home by @homosociallyyours (10k, T)

Louis is alone in the world, working long hours at a restaurant job that barely pays his bills, when he's roped into helping his bosses with a scheme. All he has to do is guard the special catch they've brought in, the one that they expect will bring them unbelievable wealth. But there's a problem: the creature they've caught is definitely half human, with the heart and soul of a human and the voice of an angel. Louis knows immediately that he can't let this mer-squid, Harry, become a wealthy person's dinner. As they spend more time together, growing ever closer, Louis realizes that he's got to find a way to get Harry back to his home-- the sea --even if the thought of losing him hurts and doing it means risking everything.

🐚 Not Safe For Work by @greenblueish (23k, E)

the one where the boys work at Niall's fashion start-up 28 Programme Designs, and omega Louis has a lot of not safe for work thoughts about his colleague Harry, but little does he know that the alpha can read minds.

🐚 Catching a Partner by @berzerkshires (25k, M)

This documentary follows the story of two people who fell in love in the last place you'd expect. Louis is a detective at the Boston Police Department investigating a trail of recent murders. Harry is the latest victim who survived an attempted murder and is sent to live at a safe house with Detective Tomlinson as the killer is still at large.

This is their story.

🐚 We Don’t Need No Piece of Paper (From the City Clerk) by @2tiedships2 (26k, M)

Harry sat on his bed and stared at the pile of luggage by the door. This was really happening. He was being shipped off to America to get married.

In a matter of months, he would be bonded to an alpha his father had chosen for him. Someone that Harry knew nothing about. Not even his name.

🐚 Wind beneath my wings by @lunarheslwt (93k, E)

As an omega carer that works at a rescue and rehabilitation centre for feral alphas and omegas, Louis has experienced all sides of ferality. So Harry- a cold, near mute, non-receptive alpha- was a challenging case for everyone at Phoenix Rehab Centre. Louis wasn’t expecting to feel drawn towards an aloof Harry, or to form a slow bond with him. He certainly was not expecting for his entire life to change in unforeseen ways.

[itty-bitty-sunshine]

Not sure what to name that sub au, but some silly stuff some friends and i came up with while talking on discord instead of sleeping:

it would be nice if in this scenario the dca got glimpses of all the other times they've meet the immortal since they are less stuck to organic limitations of brain now in the body of a robot

These two souls have been countless things through the years. So may I humbly offer you the image of a bird Sun taking a nap on Perkeo's hair while under the light of the actual sun

Imagine your best friends repeatedly self sacrificing for you even though you could withstand anything over the span of eons. Now imagine them doing that knowing you could withstand it because would've done the same for them before

Sun and Moon actually know about the reincarnation thing. Or at least their souls do. Maybe they view themselves as protectors of the Immortal in a way, standing by their side through lifetimes and keeping them safe. Maybe they are not born knowing but it just clicks the second they lay their eyes on them, like an innate need to protect or just be by their side

Sun and Moon just casually found the perfect vessel this time, in form of an animatronic but y'know, can't be picky, so they decide to share it anyway. They must be soooooo proud of themselves for being smart boys and finding such a good body that will last long (bonus points I think it would be hilarious if they first meet because of the Immortal and they both agreed afterwards like "yep. That's what we doing now")

Imagine like the daycare attendants looking down at them with a lovesick expression (at least internally since yk, metal faceplate)/pla. Perkeo laughs as they look up to them, asking if there's something in their face.

The attendant just chuckles and tells them they got such a pretty smile. In their shared mind, they get to glance to a million other times they saw that same smile, that laugh

They adore it, and the fact this time they can last with you means the world to them. They don't need to leave you again.

Is Perkeo able to realize it's the same two souls? Maybe. They probably joke about it because it's happened too much to be just coincidence, but they have no proof until the dca, so we relying on vibes here

None of my aus are romantic. Not the Immortal, and not this version. However the unspoken loyalty and bond to eachother without labeling it gets to me everytime

How sad it would when soul mix with code if things follow the normal route of events, if they still get to get the virus. They've sworn to protect yet they are the reason they hurt. For centuries neither of them has ever made them bleed by their own hands yet the very same vessel that gives them longevity it's the curse that leaves them to watch without control as they do the opposite of the very thing they live for

Also. Nicknames changing between aus: name and sky related nicknames for the Immortal au, because of the whole celestial theme going on, they are the Sun the Moon and the Stars and yada yada

While on this variant au it would be nicknames picked from little habits of centuries, like Birdie because they liked to sing with the birds or would be the one singing early in the morning, or Little Owl because of that nasty little habit of staying up late doing stuff

Also "Mo(u)rning dove" as a nickname. They sing quite beautifully, the spelling is a play on words (both day themed, and dark). They actually represent peace, love, devotion, death and rebirth across many different cultures

Also Sun and Moon being an actual nickname given to the two centuries ago because of the cheerful/calm behavior, as well as how as sure as the Sun and the Moon will rise in the sky, the two of them will also be there with them eventually again. I think that's still applicable even if the immortal doesn't know it's them because the vibes are enough

Big shout to something Su said, "A fate designed by them" (@them not being soulmates but making eachothers soulmate by choosing to stick together anyway). Been thinking abt it nonstop

[alpaca-clouds]

For those of us who've not touched bg3 but are a fan of sexy vampires...Could you give a quick rundown on Astarion? Or is his lore too extensive?

Sure enough.

I will put this under a cut, though, for those who do not want to be spoiled. (Now I? I totally spoiled myself for the part of the plot I have not reached because with work my plaing has gotten slow.)

So, Astarion is one of your main companions in the game. The very, very short of the game set up (in terms non-DnD-players can understand): You got kidnapped by tentacle monsters who put a tadpole into your brain that is gonna turn you into a tentacle monster as well. Through circumstances you escape the tentacle monsters though before you can be turned and now try to get the tadpole out of your brain before you can grow said tentacles.

Now, your main companions all have the same issue. So does Astarion. You meet him soon after escaping the tentacle monsters. He appears to be an elf, some of your companions note he is a bit pale, but at least my very stupid bard was like: "He looks perfectly fine to me."

But of course you are gonna find him nibbling on your neck sooner or later. And from there on you find out a bit about him.

Now, this sad, sad vampire has been stabbed 200 years ago on the streets of Baldur's Gate, upon which he was found by a vampire. Cazador. Cazador was like: "You can die or you can allow me to turn you into a vampire." And Astarion wanted to live. So he allowed himself to be turned.

But Cazador only turned him into a vampire spawn. (Explanation: In DnD it is a weird mix. Vampires can turn you by just biting you, but until you drink their blood you are only vampire spawn, giving your vampire sire a lot of control over you.)

Cazador is the most horrible, shittiest asshole to ever have walked under this sky. He proceeded to take this poor vampire man who was now under his control and tortured him, raped him, prostituted him, abused him, and at times even used mind control to make Astarion torture himself. According to Astarion Cazador liked his screams so much.

Boy, I am looking forward to killing Cazador. (Or rather letting Astarion do the deed.)

Now, Astarion's character quest mostly involves the fact that Cazador carved something into his back. You will find out, that it is basically a spell that is meant to sacrifice Astarion and his vampire spawn siblings in a ritual so that Cazador can through that gain powers no other vampire has ever had before.

And boy, Astarion is so sad and traumatized and I just wanna hug him and tell him everything is gonna be alright, okay?

The game really managed to gut punch me, before I got spoiled.

See, if you do the romances, it is very dependend on the character how quick you get to a sexy time scene. In the case of Astarion the romance quest starts with him offering you sex. So me, horny as I am, was like: "Yay, let's fuck the sexy vampire." Only to then later learn of his tragic backstory and figure out that the reason he offers you sex that early is, that he never had anyone look out for him before and had thought it was conditional on him offering sex. And I was like: "Oh. Oh baby. Oh baby. I am sorry. Q-Q"

But he is really well written.

Not to spoil too much here, but for the first two acts he is like a very abrasive asshole. Because he is in full survival mode and he does not understand what is going on and all that. And all he ever knew was cruelty and violence. So he thinks that it is the only way to act. But if you are playing a good, heroic character he is slowly gonna come around to you. And he slowly is gonna start to believe that indeed you are being good because you are good and not because you have some greater goal. And then in Act 3 the sweetest thing happens, when you are nice and he suddenly... is also acting nice. It is just so sweet.

But yeah, I wanna hug him and hold him and kiss him and make everything alright. And I will probably spend a good while writing healing fics for him.

[coramatus]

I actually love this au idea so much. Emmet coming with a Pokemon and people freaking out is cool, but tbh I wanna more see him come with no Pokemon or one that he hides and just, desperately try to act normal lol. And the implications of Pokemon being a fictional franchise now- I wonder if he gets a copy of White/Black. But once he discovers it I firmly believe he plays Pokemon Showdown religiously- He's disappointed how limited it is compared to actual battling, but it scratches the itch

The way I have it set up atm, when Emmet lands in our universe, he almost immediately gets mugged. Emmet tries to sic Eelektross on the mugger, but the guy runs away screaming in terror about monsters.

This is Emmet’s first clue that something is up with this place. Because instead of tossing out his own Pokémon to battle, the mugger boggled at Eelektross like he’d never seen anything like it before. While Eelektross celebrates being so scary, Emmet withdraws him, vowing to keep his Pokémon in their balls for now. His caution is proved right when he steps into a busy street: there are ZERO Pokémon to be found. Just humans, humans, and more humans with some weird four-legged furry things here and there and a whole ton of signs he can’t read.

This is when Emmet realizes he might be in trouble…

And he would definitely play some of the lower key Pokémon games when he gets more settled. Maybe the mainline games too if he’s feeling up to it, though Black and White would probably give him pause. Thankfully, he already knows Ingo is in old Sinnoh two-hundred-ish years ago so PLA wouldn’t make him go bonkers.

[iraprince]

hey ira do u have any tips for drawing sylvari bc i started playing guild wars a while ago and i am stumped (haha get it because they r pla--) on how to approach drawing the plant ppl features and such.

yeah, for sure!!! they are pretty intimidating to draw at first, but once you get past that first learning curve they're not so bad :) these are a few years old, but i have two posts of tips i can share — one about understanding some of the underlying ways sylvari faces are generally structured/"decorated," and one about how tracing over screencaps is a really helpful study tool for quickly simplifying + understanding complex in-game designs and how to stylize them.

also, those posts are more focused in on the face/hair, but for the body sometimes i find it can be helpful to go look at my characters' bodies in the makeover kit window — with armor toggled off, obviously, but also with lighting toggled off bc their glow very helpfully outlines some of the anatomical lines that i like emphasizing. very frequently when drawing sylvari i'll just leave in some of the construction lines/muscle forms that would normally get erased in cleanup, but i also like extending some of those lines in a flowy/stylized way that is less anatomically accurate but more leafy/plant-y — this is heavily informed by how their bodies, especially on the arms and legs, are stylized in-game! (you probably already know this but in case it's helpful: you can access the makeover kit preview panel in any major city by going to a black lion aesthetician! they are placed in the same area as bl trading post npcs and appear on the map as a little mirror/scissors icon.)

i hope this helps, even tho the posts are a little old — if you have any more specific questions abt sylvari stuff that stumps you (hehe.) please feel free to ask, i'd be happy to try to doodle/write out more tips!

[neverwritewhatyouknow]

I’ve been wanting to make this post for a while now, but I decided to make it my last RWRB related post. It’s clear the production will never give a statement about why they changed Nora’s character from Jewish to not, and there’s other shows and movies and productions I need to focus on. But before I switch gears, this needs to be said.

I was wrong about something and I need to just make it very clear how sorry I am to Rachel Hilson for involving her in the discourse around the movie to the degree that I did.

When I first started this blog the day the cast was revealed (over a year ago), I had no more information than anyone else. The only thing I knew about Nora that she was a Jewish character (along with everything else obvi) (book) and that Rachel was rumored to be Jewish (TikTok). In my quest to point out the antisemitism in Hollywood (a very true thing), I allowed logical thinking to guide me down an incorrect path.

That path was thinking that since Nora was Jewish in the book that of course she had to be in the movie too. It wasn’t an insane assumption, since the two options were A: A non-Jewish actress playing a Jewish role, or B: totally erasing Nora’s ethnicity. For some reason, the second option felt impossible for the longest time because to me Nora being Jewish was a part of who she was and for a good chunk of time I didn’t consider that they could separate it, plus the first happens literally sooooo much (especially on Amazon) that I was certain it was happening again.

But I was wrong. Nora’s canon Jewishness was erased very early on in the adaption and Rachel was at fault for none of it. She did an amazing job (like I knew she would), but I need to apologize for what I’ve posted. In my attempt to call out Hollywood for once again casting a non-Jewish actress for a Jewish role, as they do all the time, Rachel got caught in the cross fire and that’s not fair to her. It’s the fault of the movie’s creative team, not her. I always knew that, but I’m human, I make mistakes, and I own up to them when I do. I let the emotional impact of seeing Jewish roles played by non-Jewish actors again and again influence my posting here, and while nothing I said was incorrect regarding Hollywood’s constant erasure of Jews and even the erasure of Nora’s own Jewishness, I was wrong to loop Rachel into that the way I did. I wanted to settle the rumors that she was Jewish, and I did that, but I wish I had known that Nora was just not going to be Jewish period from the start. I should’ve focused more on option B for this movie and not A, but how was I to know when it all started? Regardless, I’m going to be going through my account this weekend and deleting anything that’s directly tied to Rachel, but it’ll take a few days.

So, to Rachel: I doubt you have tumblr, you’re an extremely busy actress and this place is a time wasting hellhole, but I know you or your team knows this account exists. If you see this or hear about this, I want you to know that I really am sorry. You don’t have to forgive me, but you deserve an apology. To anyone connected to Rachel who also feels as though they were caught up in this too, I also apologize to any and all of you.

I don’t use Instagram anymore, but I know Rachel does. If anyone DMs her this apology post, this is the disclaimer that the sender didn’t write this. She’s owed an apology and I just hope she sees it somehow.

Was my calling out of RWRB’s Jew-erasure wrong? No. Was the way I did it wrong? Yeah. I focused on the wrong things based off prior knowledge and assumptions. Truly my only regret is involving Rachel, I wish I hadn’t done that. At the time it all made sense, but even then I should’ve had the restraint and waited until I knew more. So anyway, I’m sorry about that. Hopefully Rachel will someday, somehow, someway hear about my apology and understand that I was upset about the circumstances in this movie and how often it always happens, and that she just honestly was in the wrong place at the wrong time. And for that, I’m immensely sorry.

This is my last RWRB post. Unless something crazy happens. So keep following me if you wanna hear more about antisemitism and Jew-erasure in Hollywood, but I think I’ve exhausted all the things I can say. Thanks to anyone who’s supported me calling out the movie about their erasure, what they did wasn’t okay, but I’m ready to move on unless they say anything else about it.

[bumblebeeappletree]

Jerry meets a botanist who is transforming his suburban backyard into a living laboratory.

Professionals in the horticulture arena often turn their hands to projects that challenge on a large scale, like vertical gardens, green facades, and roof garden technologies. Botanist and plant pioneer, Erik van Zuilekom, works on some of these high-profile projects and says, “My role is to bridge the gap between botany, horticulture and ecology. I design living architecture systems... My job is to find plants and ecologies that will work well in the urban sphere.” Examples of Erik’s work adorn Brisbane’s city streets, drawing on species from niche ecologies that need more research into how they can be utilised. “I have to conduct a lot of that research myself.”

Two years ago, Erik transplanted his career and family from cool temperate Melbourne to subtropical Brisbane and has continued his research. He is experimenting growing new plants for his innovative work in his own backyard. "One of the pioneer canopy species we're working with is a very rapid growing Brazilian fern tree,” says Erik who planted it by seed just two years ago. The tree has “remarkable growth, it's got the largest compound leaf of any tree. The idea is for it to quickly ascend, produce shade for the trees below but also to be a host for our Aroids,” says Erik. Philodendron warszewiczii is a deciduous, tree-like Aroid and Erik is experimenting with one in full blistering sun and one in shade. “The first thing is I'm exercising reading a plant,” says Erik, “In this case we've got a great example of a plant with leaves that are heavily fenestrated... That tells you that it most likely is trying to conserve moisture, so it possibly comes from a very dry environment.” While the trunks of each plant thicken as they climb and attach to their supports, the impact of the dramatically different environments is evident. “The exposures are talking to the plant’s genetics and stimulating it to conserve a bit of moisture in case there’s a dry period,” says Erik, “But because it's in the shade, it doesn't feel too stressed. It doesn't have to go too far with being succulent, so in this case it's putting out a lot of vertical growth but retaining quite a thin trunk.” In the full sun and higher winds, exposures are higher, and Erik says, “You can see from the base, all the way up, it's grown and thickened dramatically becoming very succulent. When it goes deciduous through a dry winter where it comes from, it can survive those periods of stress.” This experiment reminds us as gardeners that ‘standardised care’ doesn’t always apply.

Erik has long-term goals to establish an edible rainforest and says, “We've modelling it on how a rainforest naturally evolves, so we've got pioneer species, frontline species that will grow really rapidly and produce protective open canopy that allows a lot of light through. Then a secondary canopy of slower growing, emerging species that are our fruiting species.” This will not only feed the family but also extend the botanical collection for research. There are three shade houses for Erik’s experimental collections, which he introduces by saying, “they're not pretty collections, they are hardcore research.” One has controlled humidity, one has ambient conditions, and the third, Erik says, “is my too hard basket, where work and life get in the way.” Erik deliberately stresses these plants to push them to their outer perimeters and tolerances to observe how they respond and find ways to translate this into living architecture projects. But it's not all work and no play. Eric still finds time to tend the family vegie patch and says the move from Melbourne to Brisbane was "quite a gear shift... We got to discover new foods, new herbs and spices, tropical and Asian foods that we really enjoy.” Erik practices what he preaches and leads by example, and with this garden just two years young, it’s a testament to his ability to read the climate and read the plants.

[elijahhendley]

7月22號 Day 11: Our last day

So today will be our last day in Taipei. We will be leaving tomorrow during a National air defense drill! So during the year Taiwan does an air defense drill which is similar to a tornado drill, just for the country. Everyone must be inside for 30 minutes during the day and all cars have to stop on the road. No one is allowed to e out and you get fined if you are. But, if you are on the highway you can keep driving, so hopefully we are on the highway when it happens so we don’t waste any time.

Anywho, today started at 9:30 and our first stop was to the Chengchi University. Yeh Laoshi and chief Redstone both went to school here but at different times. We got to check out the dorms where most foreign students would stay if they went here. The dorms were pretty nice. Definitely nicer than most UF dorms. The room was reminiscent of Wang Peng’s dorm. So Wang Peng is a character in our Chinese language book and there are videos we watch with specific dialogue. In some of these videos he is in a dorm room and his room looked like the ones we saw today lol. Downstairs they even have a room where you can borrow a Nintendo Switch to play games with your friends and also sing karaoke.

Then after the dorms we went to the library which was HUGE! It was built only 5 years ago in 2019. It was an eight floor library with so much seating and a lot of space. They had private rooms you could rent out and also they had a creative space where students can do imprints or 3D printing on a small and large scale. They had PLA printers, resin printers, and 1 giant 3D printer for bigger projects. They also had a cafe downstairs which had a good variety of drinks although I did not get anything.

After, we had our break for lunch. I went to a dumpling place with some of the others because Austin suggested it and it was sooooooo good. I had a mini pork wonton noodle soup with some addition potstickers on the side and it was all very good. Then as we were waiting in the heat for the bus, Yeh Laoshi kindly bought us all icecream from McDonald’s. It was really good, thank you Yeh Laoshi! Then we got back on the bus, which was the small bus, and headed to the location we have all been waiting for… the… Taipei Zoo!!! The zoo was good. We got to see leopards, elephants, camels, capybaras, hyenas, and so many monkeys. We saw PANDAS and this other animal I forgot the name of that was mostly donkey and some zebra. But it was very hot at the zoo and after walking for 2 hours we took the shuttle train back to the front of the zoo and met everyone else.

Then our final stop was the YaoYue tea house. It was located on the side of a steep mountain. We had a mini tea ceremony done by one of the workers, Peter, and Yeh Laoshi. It is awesome how intricate the tea making process is and all the little things the culture considered when making tea. Watching them make tea made me excited for the tea ceremony we have at the end of the trip. Also the tea was good and light. Not too strong at all and very refreshing. The type of tea we had was Jasmine tea which is very fragrant. After the tea Austin Jack and I rushed to get some Cantonese fried rice with Josh(Yeh Laoshi’s nephew) because it was closing soon. It was really good and also, it was Josh’s birthday today, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSH!

Academic reflection

So today I wanted to reflect on tea. Reading about all of the potential benefits of tea, I wanted to share that here. Tea is consumed by two-thirds of the world's population. It is very popular across the globe but not as popular in America as compared to other places. Because of this I have never done research on tea. I only have heard that it is good for you, but have not read any studies on it. So here is what I learned.

There are basically 3 bases of tea; Green tea, Oolong tea, and black tea. The difference between the three is the time fermented. Green teas is non-fermented, Oolong teas semi-fermented, and Black tea fermented.

Tea overall has a lot of positive effects. It contains many polyphenols, which are known to be a preventative agent. Specifically, the catechin epigallocatechin-3-gallate(EGCG) is the credited to the anticarcinogenic effect of grean tea(cancer preventative). Many anticarcinogenic effects where only attributed to green tea but now more research has come out for black tea having similar benefits. Different types of cancer tea can help prevent are skin, prostate, lung and breast cancer.

Green tea also helps reduce reactive oxygen species(ROS) and promote fat metabolism to help reduce athlerosclerotic plaque in the blood vessles. This all promotes good cardiovascular health and decrease myocardial infarctions.

Green tea also lowers the risk of diabetes and artheritis in women and could potentially have neurological effects that prevent parkinon's disease.

After learning all of this, I felt so healthy drinking the tea and had so many cups of it. Not only was it good Jasmine tea, but knowing that they used green tea as the base for jasmine tea, I might start drinking more tea when I get back to the US.

Maybe drink some tea

Until next time, 再見！

[elvesandlanterns]

Ghost Helpline part 9

Konstelacio walked to the Egyptian palace. Much like how Johnnys bike rode on nonexistent roads Konstelacio walked on invisible ground, she believed the Zone would not let her fall and so it didn’t.

—- —- —-

Tim drove past his old home what use to be Drake Manor. He somehow doubted his family had noticed he sold it. He doubted they had noticed the moving trucks and contractors. He told himself it would be because they were busy. It felt like a hallow excuse.

Once Bruce figured it out he would want answers. Tim had them planned, Masters dubious escapades in criminal activity had been on the decline. As well as Masters sudden disappearance a few years ago, required their attention just in case.

Inwardly Tim had had a single conversation with the man, spotted a gaggle of teens who looked happy and sold it to the man on the spot.

When Tim thought over the conversation later, he would call the emotion that came over him jealousy and decide to ignore it.

—- —- —-

“Your highness, it appears Princess Violet will be sealing an audience.”

“Send her in immediately! “ Tucker shouted excitingly, Violet was such a sweet girl, he adored her visits. She usual came with the pretense of picking up her more technically inclined brother but Chad wasn’t here as of late. Which only meant one of three things.

She was coming here to hide.

She was coming in for a check up. (Doubtful.)

Or she was coming here to ask for help.

“Prepare some light snacks, our comfiest seat and coloring pages.” Tucker hoped she was okay, he would never admit it but if he didn’t know any better he would have assumed Violet was Danny’s clone too. In personality at least. Where Dani had gotten Danny’s loud passion, Violet had gotten Danny’s self loathing. Where Dani had his fearless determination Violet had his self sacrificing down to an alarming degree. Dani had her fathers laugh, Violet had his best friends fear of abandonment.

Yeah, Tucker would never admit it but Danny and his ex-arch enemies kid had a lot in common. He sighed oh well. It was fine, if anything it made him and Sam love her all the more. Their niece, their little constellation.

—- —- —-

Billy breathed a sigh of relief. It was good to be back home.

“Captain Marvel, Dr Fate we need to talk. We have a situation.”

Billy sighed he thought to soon.

Zeus: lolz!

Hercules: L L L

Mercury: Run fuck this noise

Billy shushed them, he just wanted to go home. The faster they got threw this the better.

Batman explained.

Solomon: He’s on to us! Kill him!!!

Billy: No we are not killing Batman

Atlas: he’s a threat to our your family Billy, I hate to agree with the old man

Solomon: Hey!

Atlas: but perhaps it’s time to move on

“Captain Marvel are you paying attention. This is serious.”

“Of course of course. But uh what exactly do you want me to do here?”

“I need information.”

“I don’t -“

“Marvel you are a terrible liar, also.” The man dressed as bat shrugged in the direction of superman. Right Superman, a living lie detector.

Billy: well fuck

Mercury: RUN

Solomon: oh is that it? Well then Billy just don’t ‘lie’

Billy could hear the smirk in man’s voice. Well two could play at this game. But first to get Dr.Fate off the field.

“I’m leaving.”

Well never mind then Fate was doing it for him.

Maybe he isn’t so bad after all.

“Dr Fate we need-“

“All is as it should be. Before I am a leaguer I am a Lord of Order. You would all do better to not interfere with which you do not understand.”

Yeah you tell them!

“Especially not with those as vile as demons.”

Billy took it back the bastard could suffer.

In that moment Fate left and two pairs of eyes landed on Billy himself. Goddamn it.

“So … what exactly do you want to know. I’ll do my best but I make no promises to answer everything.”

“THATS -“

“That is enough boys.” Wonder Woman walked in, “We are her to ask for help not interrogate our fellow leaguers. Now then Batman what evidence do you have to think both the girl and Captain Marvel know one another in the first place.”

“ Coordinates“

“What?”

“Coordinates from the demons location line up with the new coordinates you’ve sporadically been taking for the past year or so.”

“Batman that hardly proves-“

“Yes I know her.” Billy wasn’t getting around this, and maybe he could use it to paint Konstelacio in a better light. After all they had to understand, they were his heroes they had to understand that his sister wouldn’t hurt them. Not unless provoked.

—- —- —-

Clark could see Bruce sag in relief, the quest for answers over. But Clark didn’t think it be that easy, Captain Marvel may be immature but his loyalty was relentless. Something in the way he held himself could only leave Clark to believe that Konstelacio had earned that loyalty. Clark looked at Bruce again and sighed instead of voicing his opinion after all it’s not as if he was the detective, no he was just a journalist. Clark eye rolled internally.

“How?”

“She is… my sister in arms.”

Both him and Diana froze.

// … even by demon standards I assume you’re rather young …..//

Clarks hands clenched and unclenched, “What?” He must have heard wrong? Right, right even demons must care about their young.

“She is my sister in arms. She is a good person.”

“A good person, she’s a demon.”

Captain glowered actually glowered at Batman, Clark thought as he twitched to put himself between the two.

“And so is Superman and he’s an alien, so so what? Or is it different because he happens to look like you?”

[beatthegame]

Just beat Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade. The original FF7 was first released on the Playstation One back in 1997. Considered by many one of the best video games of all time. FF7 was the gold standard for role playing games for a long time. It was remade again just a couple of years ago in 2020 on the PS4. During a time of perpetual remakes, Final Fantasy 7 Remake seemed to live up to the hype and made a great gaming experience even better. Remake Intergrade is the PS5 follow up that appeared shortly after the PS4 release. Not a sequel. More like the "Super Street Fighter 2: Champion Edition EX Plus Alpha Turbo HD" of the Final Fantasy world. A loaded statement for sure. But is Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade a good game? Let's break it down like this...

In a nutshell: Young steampunk Super Saiyan Goku with a big ass sword becomes an eco-terrorist for hire to blow up electric power plants with this crazy dude with a minigun for a hand and a karate hooker, who just happens to be Goku's childhood sweetheart. Don't worry parents; this is an evil corporation, so blowing up their power plants is ok. You hack & slash & punch & shoot your way through hundreds of robots and monsters trying to stop this evil corporation with your dirtbag friends and a cute flower girl. Seems like a simple premise. That is until Goth Albino Axl Rose starts whispering riddles into Goku's ears. Getting all up in your business. You would THINK that was cool, but you find out that Axl is trying to destroy the world. Which is the opposite of cool. At that point you're fighting to save the Earth. Again. But seriously, this game is a lot more layered than how I'm trying to summarize. It's a nutshell full of awesome.

The Good: The original Final Fantasy 7 was pretty amazing. So you're already starting off with a good premise. But the developers took that premise and rebuilt it from scratch with modern developer tools. The end result is pretty fantastic from every aspect. The graphics are simply gorgeous. The assets are so insanely detailed, I would often stop progressing and just look around. The details in the environment. The non-descript chatter from the NPC's made the city of Midgar seem alive. And the characters! The Final Fantasy 7 cast has become almost iconic through the years. Popping up in several other games, movies, comics, etc. We were somewhat familiar with these characters. But the remake really brought them to life. Shout out to the voice acting cast, by the way. Just about everyone played true to their characters' personalities. The quirky banter between  certain characters were amusing at times. Which leads to the actual gameplay. Final Fantasy was always about quick turn-based battles and item management with pretty graphics. The remake takes it a step further with more pro-active arcade brawler style battles. All while preserving the quick item management aspect of the original games. It often feels like a juggling act at times. You have to attack, block or parry and dodge enemy attacks like any other 3-D action game. But you also have to manage two other teammates on top of the action. You can add quick commands from their arsenal or let the AI automate while you focus on kicking ass. It's definitely more proactive than the original game. Even the music is fantastic! The original soundtrack was already legendary. How on Earth could they possibly top it? Well, this modern day production crew took something great and added a layer of delicious frosting on top. Taking classic melodies from the original game and giving them full instrumental productions spanning several genres: pop, jazz, EDM, metal, hip-hop, reggae remixes. Amongst others. I had the damn chocobo song in my head ALL DAY. The Happy Turtle jingle is burned in my mind forever. Which is a testament to the greatness of this game's soundtrack. Controls were smooth, responsive and simple. The games menus and materia system might have a bit of a learning curve for unfamiliar players. Definitely not a typical beat em up. But you have tons of options! The UI is simple and provides easy instructions to guide players through. There are so many other good details about this game. I can seriously keep going. But let's flip the script and break out the table salt...

The Bad: If you're getting into this without any prior knowledge of the Final Fantasy experience? You might find yourself a bit confused. There is a LOT going on, with plenty of gaping plotholes from beginning to end. Which I now realize were placed intentionally to throw off fans of the original timeline. They are trying something new and different, which is GREAT! But from a tourist perspective? It's all super-fucking-weird! LOL! I can see the average Fortnite kid getting bored with this game really quick. Not a lot of gamers are patient enough to sit through all the cut scenes (which ARE skippable by the way). There were plenty of cringe inducing scenes that gave me douche chills. Speed Demon Roche and The Honeybee Inn were annoying, amonst others but I respect the developers trying new things and adding more substance to the Midgar experience. And speaking of adding to the experience... I don't like how they added to the game by subtracting 3/4ths of the original narrative out of the presentation. Back in 1997. Final Fantasy 7 came with 4 discs. Different parts of the saga split up, mostly because you can only contain a finite amount of game data on a single disc. Despite the 4 discs, you got the WHOLE STORY. The remake only covers the first quarter of the timeline. Like getting served a whole deep dish pie at first. Now you're only getting a slice? Which raises a LOT of questions I'm not willing to remember in-between the countless games we'll be playing before the next disc comes out. It kills the flow of the narrative. But from a business standpoint, you can see exactly why it would be more profitable to stretch the games out. And add as many spin-offs and DLC's as possible before you shell out another $80 bucks for the next disc. Unfortunately for me, I'm that hardcore Final Fantasy fanboy that will begrudgingly burn another $80 bucks for each stupid disc and download they crank out. Like a true Final Fantasy cuck. God help us if the introduce micro-transactions.

I also don't like how linear this game is. For a role playing game, especially with the freedom of other sandbox RPGs, this game seems pretty shallow. You really can't do much outside of what your character is tasked to do. Pretty weak compared to what's offered on so many other games. But you know what they say, "compare & despair". If it weren't for the iconic characters, the game would seem pretty weak when you're not invested in the lore behind these people. But fortunately, there are millions of fans who went all in on this franchise. The next installment is supposed to offer more freedom? Which seems ideal. But is it the same kind of freedom like you get in Skyrim or Red Dead Redemption? Very unlikely.

Overall: These son's of biscuits at Squeenix took a legendary game. Made it better. And added a Intergrade cherry on top, with more bells and whistles on the side. When you start getting caught up in the mini-games more than the actual story (hello Fort Condor!) you start to get a good video game Inception going on. The best games will make you want to play them again after beating it. But I'm already looking forward to unlock more features on Hard mode. It's Final Fantasy at its peak form.

S-Class

[waywardstation]

Glad you feel similar about Scarlet and Violet as me. It’s fun so far. I’m not that far in and a nasty cold knocked me out that I couldn’t even continue. My so far opinion is that Miraidon(and I’m sure Koraidon as well) is sooo adorable, the different paths all have a lot of fun and interesting things going on and the overall experience is enjoyable! (Glitches aren’t a big deal for me, I used to play Skyrim a lot a few years ago and that game can be a real glitchy mess, SV runs perfectly compared to that mess)

But as much fun as I have, there is no character that speaks to me or became a favorite so far. They’re not bad at all but I have seen too little of them to really grow to appreciate them.

So I’m still all in with PLA and Submas and I’m really relieved to hear that you keep up with PLA stuff for now. Of course you do you and I respect that and your decision but it’s always a bit sad to see people moving on from something and leaving art comics and fics unfinished behind… Everyone can do what they want but it’s still a little sad…

Anyway glad you stick around for now 💖

Looking forward to reading the new fic and the Christmas stuff later on! Still don’t overdo it and take care!

In regards to this ask

I’m so sorry to hear you’re sick Anon (and I hope you get better soon!) but glad to see you feel the same way I do!!

Yes I love Miraidon! I love the new method of split paths, and I love the concept of Gym tests! (Not so much the execution in this game, but that’s ok!) even the glitches are fun; I’ve seen a lot of people compare it to Skyrim, and as someone who’s played it myself, I can see why. Still love it! But the characters have not grown on me like PLA’s have.

And yes! For now, I’m still sticking with PLA and Submas, and I mean to for a long time ^^ I still have a lot planned for these two subjects in terms of content, and I’m still just as in love with them as I was when I first started this blog ^^ not going anywhere!

And yes! It’s always such a sad thing to see comics and fics go unfinished; I hope it brings relief to say I do not plan to do that with my work, because I don’t want to add to that - though it does help greatly that I haven’t lost motivation yet either! HFBE is still having progress made, as is IWLYB - they’re slow right now due to university, and struggling mental/physical health, but it’s still going!! I am determined not to leave it unfinished, and still find so much joy in writing them ^^

Thank you so much for the well wishes anon!!! I very much appreciate it!! Glad you’re looking forward to more, it’s always such a motivational booster to hear that ^^

[doberbutts]

Your taste in videogames goes off so hard, I think it every time you mention what games you like, I also love how nuanced you are about the games you play, a lot of people either think a game has zero issues if they love it or if it happens to not be for them they have to pretend like no one should, I really respect your ability to go 'I like this but it has flaws' and 'I dislike this because it's not for me but I see why others would like it', also I fucking love assassin's creed and pokemon so I'm biased

Ha! Thank you! Mostly I like jrpgs but I'll throw mostly a little bit of everything in there.

Just for you, anon, my list of switch games I've played this year according to my switch are:

Pokemon Violet

Harvestella

Okami (replaying- played a long time ago on the WiiU)

Ni No Kuni Wrath of the White Witch (replaying- attempted on ps3 and couldn't get into it)

Trials of Mana (abandoned, really hate some character choices they made, really the older I get the more harshly I judge lolis and pedobait)

Neo: The World Ends With You

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity

Rune Factory 5 (abandoned, tried very hard to like it and didn't)

Pokemon Legends Arceus

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond (abandoned nearly instantly for PLA whoops)

Cadence of Hyrule (replayed because I remembered how fun it was the first time around)

Collection of Mana (abandoned, not remembering why)

Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town (abandoned due to pretty much the same problems as RF5)

Hob

Animal Crossing: New Horizons (mostly abandoned until I remember to go back to my island again whoops)

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (replayed because it was fun the first time around on WiiU)

Immortals Fenyx Rising (abandoned, fun premise boring execution, may return to it later)

Enter the Gungeon (replayed, struggled with it on keyboard on Steam, vastly preferred on switch)

Transistor (replayed, same as Gungeon it's not fun to play on a keyboard and way better with a controller)

As for the rest! I try to consider everything that way. I don't always succeed but I do try. And because there are various things that don't chase me away from a title if everything else is strong.

For instance I think the first Witcher is a bad game that definitely deserved its $1 cost I bought it at on Steam. Between bugs and crashes and bad voice acting and really awful UI choices it's a miracle honestly that I stuck around long enough to play the next two. But... at the same time... I stuck around because I liked the characters, the world-building, the story, the concept enough that I was willing to forgive these things moving forward. And I'm glad I did, because I do like the Witcher series as a whole whether games, books, or now the Netflix show. But I think the first two games were, um, not good, and it takes a lot for me to consider returning to them to replay them. Though supposedly they're remaking them to be more like Wild Hunt which, god I hope so, because Wild Hunt fixed almost everything I had a problem with in the initial two.

[astrolotte]

Here's a random story along the same vein:

When I was, say, 10, I happened to stumbling across Project Pokemon on Roblox, which was a fan made recreation of the first Pokemon games, but with the chance to encounter any modern Pokemon in the grass.

This was technically my first Pokemon game, and I was.. very inexperienced. I knew the basics, but not anything smart.

During what was only my first hour or two of playing, someone asked to battle me (specifically) over the in-game chat, and I assume they were just looking for someone new to bully/fight lmao.

As they got ready, someone else reached out to me, someone called Hyena. They offered to trade me a slightly more powerful Pokemon than my level 7 Rattatas and starter Chimchar for the battle, and I accepted.

The battle didn't go through. I think I was too new to battle at that point, I don't think I had completed any gym badges lmao. After we figured out it wasn't going to work, I offered to trade the Pokemon back to Hyena, but they... declined.

Now, it wasn't a very powerful Pokemon. In fact, it was only a Buizel. I highly doubt Hyena cared too much about it, and that's why they let it go so easily. But that little kindness really stuck out to me, even all these years later, and it's the clearest memory I have of that Roblox game. It may have been a small kindness, but it was big to me.

About a month ago, soon after Pokemon SV came out, I was playing Violet and decided to revisit the first areas of the game. And I just so happened to stumble across a shiny Houndour- it wasn't my first shiny (ily Sparkles the Gastly from PLA), and it wasn't my first in Violet, either (ily Sage the Skiddo from Violet), but ended up as my third shiny.. ever.

I don't like Houndour that much. It's fine, it's a cool Pokemon, I just.. like others more. And I tend to lean towards cute Pokemon. And it was only level 3 but... it was a shiny. And shinies are rare, they're important. It's considered impressive to have one.

But I thought back to Hyena's kindness, a stranger in a Roblox game that's now been shut down. They may have only given me a Buizel, but I always treasure that memory. I've kept it with me all these years...

I already had a shiny, and considering the fact that Skiddo is one of my favorite Pokemon, I was more happy with it than my shiny Houndour. So.. I elected to trade Houndour away.

I believe I got a level 5 Lechonk in response, which is vastly different in importance to a shiny, but I didn't mind. I hope whoever got it liked their shiny Houndour.

People I met for a few moments that live in my head forever.

[richardsphere]

Leverage Redemption Log: The One Mans Trash Job

Episode starts with a man and woman fishing trash out of a river, the news called back saying that while the story did fine they dont want to cover it anymore. Cuts to two men in a car, blowing up the two peoples shrimping-boat. --- Hammond runs a trash-shipping business. (i mean that btw, i think he's literally shipping trash, there is no way that one or two containers falling of a regular shipping vessel creates this widely varied and intensely damaged floating mass). Which means the follow-up is: Why is he doing that? Its not to save money. Thats not worth blowing up a boat for. Now I remember stories about how, for various reasons, some of the first things organised crime syndicates try to get their hands on when settling into a city is its waste disposal network. (easy way to get rid of a couple of bodies or a bunch of evidence, and because your company is paid by local government, you can openly associate with crooked councilmen and have them bribe you by just increasing your budget while looking legal and above-board to casual observers) Basically: I think he's with the mob in some capacity. He's got a boat, im gonna say smuggler (he dumps the trash to make space for whatever he's smuggling) --- Back at the theatre: Im right about my first assumption (hes a waste transporter, focussed on plastic.) He's a ghost on the internet though, no facebook no nothing.

So accordint to Breanna he's taking trash, shipping it to asia, dumping half along the way, then spending money to bribe local government to dump it. At that point, why isnt he just saving the money and dumping it all at sea? Why waste the money on gas and bribes. So im 90% certain that he does make the full trip, and its what he takes back that is making him the most money (smuggler, probably drugs)

He has a storage facility that is suspiciously over-insured. (you dont insure drugs, he might be smuggling art instead)

Sophie concludes along similar lines as I do. --- Back at the docks, Parker and Elliot are on evidence-gathering. There's an auction happening, and yes those are antique art-objects he's smuggling back to the US.

Breanna is disapointed that they're going after this low-level trashdumper instead of the companies that are killing the planet. Im going to be clear here: if sophie's talks about how all we can do is little babysteps is meant to foreshadow a "regular civilians should use less plastic" thing, im gonna get pissed.

--- Complication: He has forged Provenance documentation.

Sophie just recognised an item (mahjong tiles) . And i dont mean in the "she can tell when its a Kadinski" sense, but in the "I remember these, i have a personal history with this object" sense.

Hammond's personal authenticator --- Sophie and Authenticator begin code-speaking. They have a past, there is tension but he's not gonna bust her just yet. (Name is Arthur Wilde) "you were in mesopotamia 2 years ago"= He's heard of Sophie doing something in Iran/Iraq "spent my time digging out a burmese temple"=I was trying to escape prison (tone of voice=I blame sophie) after that i lose the track but in summary: Sophie's fucked this guy over at some point. "its not what it looks like, well except for conning your boss that is exactly what it looks like." Ah yeah, he was in prison because of her. Sophie is gonna try to talk him round to their side.

Sophie takes out the earpiece. --- What do you mean "steal a printer", Sure its a special filament rather then regular PLA but its just a 3d printer. If you're telling me Hardison and Breanna dont already have a functional 3d printer im gonna be angry. But apparently we stole the printer off-screen and are already at the auction with the fake ivory tiles.

Arthur is in. (giving him the big score is Sophie's attempt at redemption for getting him thrown in prison)

Harry plays the buyer, Gives the perfect excuse for a long-distance boat-trip on which such an object may just take a dip in the sea. --- Tracking the tiles, signal broke off. Sophie is gonna have to confess her past sins.

Oh we're digging into the Duchess of Hanover lore here. This is definitly setting up a plot-arc for the season... Wait there was a duke, she fell in love with the mark... is there a kid? No way that there isnt a complication where she has a kid right? (it would let her foil both Nate's relation with Sam and Harry's relationship with Becky) --- Time for the con: Get him to lead you to the tiles. (you stole from a terrorist my dude)

I like the professionalism on our mark, mid stand-off, turnign to "Athena" about wether she's willing to occupy his imminent vacancy.

Elliot and the Mark are talking business (blackmail, "pay me or i call my boss" type of deal). McSweeten gets re-mentioned. (he's still doing nice for himself)

Mark has decided that he's gonna use the stolen tiles to pay off Harry to get the terrorist he represents to kill Elliot for him. The tiles are in motion, (and im thinking that Parker followed him to them so we know where the vault is)

--- Mark returns to his home to find the official spokesman for Terrorism Incorporated sitting in his chair.

Harry has the tiles (both the fake and the real.) which means that from now on, if we ever see the "real" tiles again, assume those are fake as well. (if we can 3d print the missing tiles, no reason not to print some fakes of the real ones for a switch)

Harry has turned on Sophie (or at least thats what the mark thinks. He's still with her, this is a staged death-scene) --- Ah, get him to think he just compromised an international terrorist. Yeah this guy is gonna rat himself right into witness protection.

Elliot mentioned McSweetens name specificly to get him to go to the higherup (can we expect an OG Actor Cameo?)

Harry takes a dive to sell the Chechen as being a small fish compared to someone. And if the Chechen is a small-fry, that means our Mark would be plankton.

We havent seen Parker in a while, also that gun was in the guys office while Harry was there waiting for him. Those are blanks --- Ah right, Harry had access to his laptop for like, an entire FBI Agent Elliot-scene. Theres a lot more you can do there then just swap some bullets.

"dont even try to call for help" before stealing his phone from an ocean away... Style. --- Scene cuts to our heroes fishing trash out of the river. New boat, money for a cleaning operation. Unfortunately no cameo from McSweeten. Arthur doesnt believe Sophie's improved herself, and leaves with a foreshadowing "i know im not the only one you betrayed back then" to say, Yup we're getting a season-long arc about the Duchess Con.