#i mean this is online class it could very well be a joke

[jojolimons]

there's no way some guy in my class doesn't know about the communist symbol

[jessadamsdraws]

Chapter one: Changes 

This au is the Wild Kratts Guardianship au by @littlecrittereli

The idea is that their is a bigger age gap between Martin and Chris (About 9 or so years apart) and Martin as legal Guardianship after Chris at a young age after they parent passed away (Think Lilo and Nani) I hope you like the first Chapter

Chris remembers that day well, he couldn’t forget if he tried. He remembers the teacher writing on the board talking about fractions. He remembers how bored he was because he knew this all and could do this in his sleep if he wanted. He remembers the teacher’s phone suddenly ringing causing everyone around him to jumping in surprise. But the part he remembers the most is the expression on his teachers face when she turned to Chris in terror like someone had died…

And it turned out someone did die.

The rest is just moments of him and his older brother coming back from Uni early (he was supposed to be back that summer break to hang out) them crying and holding each other. The fighting and shouting matches between Martin and their other relatives over him. The sudden change of moving to a super small one bedroom apartment with his brother. The meals going from warm and comforting to salty and small. 

But the worst change was Martin and himself. He could remember when his brother would read to him the animal picture books and would show him how a pather would leap into the air to catch its prey. It was so much fun being the wild cat’s hunting down its prey and how he would tackle his bro in their little make believe game. 

Now Martin would come home exhausted only to head over to the only expensive thing they owned, the laptop and work on his online studies. Chris now walked to and from school all on his own, coming to an empty apartment instead of the big house that felt like home then here, sitting on the floor and starting his homework on the tiny coffee table next to the second hand couch they owned. When he finished doing the little chorus he had and eating his dinner (if Martin remembered to make it). 

Then there was Lauren. At first Chris didn’t know who she was but he did know she was always coming to the apartment and she asked a lot of the same questions over and over again. She was sickly sweet around him but very short with Martin. Maybe they were dating? He had seen shows where the girlfriends were always mad at their boyfriends for some reason he couldn’t understand. But when he overheard some of his classmates talking about a CSP and what that meant with a quick bit of research, he finally knew who Lauren really was.

And that now he really didn’t like Lauren.

This life became the new normal for Chris. When he reached the ripe old age of 12 was when the fights happened. Chris couldn’t understand why he was so angry. I mean he could but more specifically he didn’t know why he was mad at Martin. It was like the littlest corny joke that came out of the older blonde's mouth was like it was directed at him like it was his fault or something.

By the time he became 14 was when his life changed again when Martin got an email from someone with an opportunity that would change both of their lives forever.

===============================================

Aviva looked at the message over and over. Yes? Yes. Yes!! She did it! She got the grant for their research. She couldn’t believe it she couldn’t wait to tell Martin… oh, wait Martin. She felt her excitement turn cold in an instant.

Martin wouldn’t be able to go because of his younger brother. No, she couldn’t do this without him. It was their research, it was their project. If it wasn’t for him she wouldn’t have gotten the idea for doing this in the first place. 

It was her first day at uni. She was confident that she would excel in the classes. That wasn’t her problem, it was the fact that she didn’t think she would make any friends. After what happened in space camp she didn’t she ever would again. Zach had shattered her faith in people after the utter betrayal of stealing her technology for himself. Now he owned his own company selling the bots that she originally made. Though their ai was a little off before she could fit their code to learn how to interpret turn of phrase instead of taking them literally which made her happy a little. but , still she was at rock bottom again and needed a new angle and new hook to start inventing something that could help … someone, something? 

She hated this so much. She knew better than to put her eggs in one basket but she did anyway and look where it got her. In a classroom of over nine hundred students learning things she learned years ago. 

“Psst? Hey,”

She heard a voice coming from behind her. Turning to see a guy in a blue sweatshirt looking at her.

“Yes, can I help you?” She asked deadpan.

“I know this is gonna sound really cliche but I forgot my pen and was wondering…” Before he even finished his sentence she had produced a pen out of almost thin air handing it to him. 

“Oh my gosh you’re a lifesaver. Thank you.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever.” She exasperated turning back around.

“I’m Martin” and a hand stretched out from the left of her face caused her to wip back around.

“huh? Aviva.” She said unsure of how to interact in this situation. She now gave the guy a better look at him. He was all smiles and started talking about something she wasn’t really paying attention. It was a bad habit she was trying to break. What she did catch was he wanted to be a Zoologist to travel around the world with his little brother when he grows a bit (if he wanted to cause he was only 8 right now). He talked about all the creatures that he liked (Mostly aquatic variety) It reminded her of a golden retriever which made her smile a bit, but then the next thing he said was what started this whole new road she would take not just by herself as she’d thought but with her new friends, no her new family.

“Imagine if you could have the abilities of these awesome creatures.”

Yeah…

What if?

[waffledforbreakfast]

Nagi - Catchup!! - [BLLK X READER SCENARIOS]

Staring: Nagi x f!reader

[ BLLK Scenario Masterlist ]

TW: heavy ooc, bad grammar, bad spelling, bad formatting, cringe, scuff, etc.

>First Encounters 

Nagi is playing online games 24/7, but never really made friends there. It’s not like he had much of a reason too, most players he’d only play with once in his life. Until a while ago. This user, [user] was in every 3 games he played, every time he played Mario Party, they were there. Even across other games! Tetris, honkai, pjsk, etc!

It was probably mainly because he was playing Local everytime- but Nagi was very interested in this user

He was world hopping in Genshin once, and just happened to join [user]’s world

Nagi immediately recognized the gamertag, and sent a message, 

[Ch0k1] “Are you [user]? I keep seeing you in all my games”

[user] “OH IT’S YOU” “CH0K1 right? Yea ur everywhere LOL”

[CH0k1] “Mhm, didn’t think i’d find someone who plays so many of the games i do

You guys kept the convo going as he played with you, asking him about random things, game recommendations, manga he likes, literally anything

This was the first friend Nagi made on his own, he was actually pretty excited to talk to someone

Eventually you had to go, so you logged off as Nagi played a bit more. But it didn’t feel the same without you, so he hopped off soon after.

It was funny, you two would hop on around the same time everyday, play for a while together, and maybe switch games once in a while.

After some time, he asked for your discord, since you two played so often together anyway. He hadn’t heard your voice at all, and he wanted to at least know you before he could admit to crushing tolerating you

He got your username and added you quickly. You both sent the wumpus wave emoji and friended each other

“Wait, one mutual friend?” Nagi looked at the tab and clicked it, was there someone you both knew??

Mutual Friends - 1 -> Reo 💸💸

Nagi took a stared at it for a moment in confusion before messaging Reo, 

You Reo, do yk @[user]?

$$ Reo $$ Yea she’s in our math class??  Doesn’t she sit right beside you?

Nagi was shocked, there was no way… RIGHT??? He trusted Reo though, and maybe he could meet you

You Ur friends w/her right? Can i meet her?

$$ Reo $$ I mean but you don’t have to ask me lol She’s pretty chill Wait how do you know her-?? (seen) NAGI??? (seen)

>Second Encounters

Reo did in fact mange to hook you two up, but he was curious about what was going on between you two, so he invited the both of you to his place on a random weekend.

You got there and he welcomed you in, you’ve gone over a few times so you were pretty comfortable. 

“You said you wanted me to meet your friend right?” you asked him “tbh i didn’t know you had friends besides Nagi…” you took a sip of some champagne

“Wowww [Y/N], thanks.” he scoffed, pouring you another glass “Actually, it is him I want you to meet, but there’s something special.” 

You looked up at him, confused “Huh? Special?? Also- he sits beside me in math- i don’t understand why you well the need to throw a whole get together” 

“Eh, just get lonely, that’s all. Anyway, he’s running late again…”

You guys made some small talk as you waited, and luckily, he wasn’t too late

“Hey Reo, sorry I’m late..” he walked through the doors with a lazy wave

Then his eyes met yours, and he stopped “Oh, hey [Y/N]...” Nagi gave a small nod.

“Oh uh- yea! Hey Nagi!” you gave an awkward wave back, “I wasn’t aware you knew my name…” you joked, he was usually asleep in class anyway

He stayed silent and nodded again, still standing

Reo didn’t say anything for a few seconds before interrupting “He learnt it this week, and memorized it.” 

Nagi glared at Reo, 

“That wasn’t in the plan >:(“

“Yea but the plan was u make a move and u ain’t doing sh1t >:P”

Nagi sighed “So- you’re [user], right?”

That caught you offguard, he called you by your online username, “Yea that’s me… Do I know you???”

He hesitated for a second, “... So… I’m Ch0K1…”

It took you a few seconds, but you audibly gasped when you got it

Reo was just there, shaking his head :’3

>Birthday Gifts from him

Nagi really wouldn’t know much about gift giving, so he’d ask Reo. But Reo doesn’t know much about it their, and just told him to give you a fat stack of money

Nagi thought that was kinda boring (+ he couldn’t afford it), so he just wandered the mall, buying whatever he thought you’d like

He ended up with 2 bags of your favourite Sanrio character in plush form. He may’ve overdone it….

“Reo… can you come pick me up? I don’t think I can carry all these…”

“... Nagi- how much did you buy???”

Reo went to go pick him up nonetheless, and he was understandably shocked by how much Nagi had.

“Don’t you think this is a bit overkill…? Just how many plushies do you have???”

Nagi just shrugged, “Dunno. Will they fit in the back?”

“... I’m gonna call another car over-”

With the help of Reo, Nagi got all the gifts over to your house, and into your living room

He didn’t bother setting up any decorations, he just threw all the plushies on the floor, and flopped on them, waiting for you to come home

Reo silently laughed, before getting on his way, just as you got back

“Supriseeee…” Nagi said, doing little motions with his hand with no particular energy 

He pulled you into the pile and clung on to you, “Happy birthday btw :x” 

>Roomate

Super duper lazy, leaves socks around the house all the time

Can’t cook either, will ask you to do it for him

It’s almost like he’s relying on you to live, “Can you make dinner please? Hey can you pick something up for me at the nintendo store? You’re going to the cafe right? Can you get me some lemon tea? Do you have the charger?” etc.

But as you two get closer, it turns into “Can I watch you make dinner? Wanna come with me to buy a game? Let’s go to the cafe today”, and he’ll send you photos of anything he sees outside if it reminds him of you

Nagi :x 

Kinda looks like u

He doesn’t contribute much as a roomie, but he does pay his bills on time (he just tells u where the money is and tells u to get it)

He also has a plushie collection, he didn’t mean to start one, but he did somehow :x 

Will get jealous is you say hi to choki and not him (for those who don’t know, Choki is his pet cactus)

>Kiss an their cheek

He was shocketh, the kiss came out of nowhere

“I-.... :x

He was blushing, he was totally blushing

It took him a few minutes to decide what to say, “I didn’t quite get that, do it again.”

>Watching his game

Nagi was slacking during warmups, looking around to entertain himself

He saw a blur and squinted, “Is that…?”

You waved to him, and he waved back, smiling a bit

“Cmon Nagii, let’s go!” Reo pulled him towards the field

Nagi waited a second before averting his attention, “Hey Reo, give me all the balls, okay? I’ll score them all”

“Sure thing, Nagi!”

Nagi nodded, before turning back to the crowd to look for you again

“... Is this all for [Y/N]-??” Reo asked

“...”

After the game (they won ofc ;) Nagi was absolutely exhausted he’s never tried so hard in a game, he hoped you at least thought he looked cool, or it would’ve been such a waste

He could hardly keep himself up right when he found you after packing up, Nagi slumped on top of you, almost making you fall back

“We won.” he told you,

“Yes, I saw.” You couldn’t help but laugh a bit at his current

“I’m so cool right?”

“Yes, you looked very cool, good job Nagi.” you ruffled his hair, giving him light praise 

“Mmm” he buried his face in the crook of your neck, content with your compliments, “Let’s order some take-out tonight, i think the new Haikyuu movie’s out too, we can watch that.”

Despite having just won a game, Nagi was looking forward to lazing at home with you

>Tell them ur busy

(Nagi POV)

You are u busy rn?

[Y/N] NAGIIIIII Yea sorry i am ;w; Hangin w/a friend rn

You Is it a guy

[Y/N] … noooooo? (read)

He frowned at the screen for like 30 seconds, before rolling on his bed and just: “ :’x “

Would look back at the message every minute, just incase he read it wrong

Nagi still texted you every 30min, even though you told him you’re busy

Would ask so many question about who you were hanging with, “Are they better than me?” “Do you like them more than me?” “Can they carry you in genshin?” 

Wouldn’t stop bothering you, and demanded that you hop on w/him after

I’m sure you wouldn’t leave him hanging, would you?

>First date

Nagi invited you over to his house, was it because he was too lazy to go out? Partially- but he was also really lonely at home(in episode nagi he lives alone 😭).

He cleaned up the house(shoved everything into a closet) and bought some new games for you guys to try out :D Bought some popcorn, jello, and every snack that he knew you liked, even ones he think you would enjoy.

So it may seem that he didn’t put in much effort, but in reality, he was going out every second day to buy things.

Would it be easier if he just made a list? Yea. But that didn’t cross his mind til the 3th trip…

He didn’t mean to over prepare either, but he found himself setting up hours before you were supposed to come over. This resulted in him sitting around doing nothing for a while.

When you finally arrived, Nagi greeted you and helped you inside,

“Hey [Y/N], you’re here”

“Mhm, thanks for having me over, Nagi!”

He nodded as he put your bags down for you, angling his his face away from you so you wouldn’t see the light blush on his face

It just hit Nagi that you were the first girl in his house, or even remotely near him.

He sat down on his bed, and patted the space beside him, inviting you to sit down.

You were pretty close to him, not touching but still. Mentally he was fine, he didn’t feel stressed at all, but his heart was going 20x faster, and he genuinely couldn’t figure out why.

He grabbed you a controller, pulled out the snacks, and threw a blanket over the two of you, “What do you wanna play?” he asked, “I’ve got basically everything”

We’re gonna try a little interactive part here, select one! [Animal Crossing] [Mario Kart] [Genshin(2player)]

Animal Crossing

He showed you his little island, and it was a mess, but he had (somehow) successfully paid off all his debt to Tom Nook

“Yea, I used to play daily… Do you have an acc? Let me friend you”

He let you re-organize his island, showed you the museum, etc.

He made a mental note to get back into the game for you, but he’d never admit that

Mario Kart

Pick One(don’t look, AND ACTUALLY CHOSE ONE)! 

[Option Red] [Option Blue]

Option Red You play really well! Nagi was actually getting really into it, trying to beat you, and failing(much to his silent surprise) It was the first time he really concentrated on a game, and you and him were fighting for first, being well ahead of the other players. You won, and Nagi gave you a little “good job…” he was starting up the next game before giving himself a little smile, oh how lucky he was to find someone with the same hobbies

Option Blue Nagi was intentionally throwing, he chased behind you, staying in second place, and throwing bananas at anyone who came close. Did he lose his streak? Maybe, but seeing you smile(even if you knew what he was doing) was well worth it, even he smiled at the sight. If you knew, then you’d poke fun at him, and have a good laugh :3 “Lol thanks for the carry, Nagi” “...wdym? :x” 

Genshin(or HSR)(for the plot, this’ll be 2 player) Nagi would let you explore, or do your quests and trail behind you, killing any mobs, collecting loot, etc. Even though he wasn’t doing as much as he usually does, he was having much more fun. And he was totally looking more at you than the game. He’d catch himself staring, sigh to himself and go back to the game, just to go back to staring in a matter of time. Helps you finish all your quests, clears your Domains for you, will carry you through the game with no complaint.

He wouldn’t realise it, but playing with you made him really happy, like really really happy. 

“Hey, let’s order some take-out, what do you want?” He lazily leaned on you, pulling out his phone. 

You were still eating some of the snacks he provided, but leaned on his head to see his phone, “Hmm, ngl, think i could go for some [________]” 

“Yea, sounds good.” Nagi’s face flushed slightly at the contact, but he brushed it off

While waiting for the food, you two just lazed around with a show on in the background, talking about whatever came to mind.

Once the food came, you stood up to go get it, and Nagi immediately followed behind you, sticking close.

He watched you open up the box, and ate some himself, approving of your taste in food. 

You were about to take a bite, but then Nagi ate it off the fork instead, staring at you with a “ :x “ like he didn’t just fanum tax you(i’m so skibidi)

The rest of the day was chill, Nagi stayed close to you and turns out, he actually has amazing humor! Does that consist of “ur mom” jokes? Maybe - but don’t act like you don’t pull those either >:)

When it was time for you to leave, Nagi offered to walk you home, which was not in his original plan, but he insisted on it anyway. 

Please give him a hug before you go, he’ll be very happy, and may or may not stay up thinking about it :3 

>Sending Love Letters

Nagi highly doubted that anyone would like him, if anything, he was pretty sure most the girls hated him and were jealous that he got to be around Reo

Reo himself didn’t really care much for them, they came and went, not many stayed for long once they realized he wouldn’t give out money that easily

The only other constant friend Reo had was you. You and Reo used to hand out pretty often, until Nagi came along

Nagi was worried that you hated him, because anytime he entered the room, you’d leave quickly with a red face. Which was very unfortunate for him, since he had started to like you more and more.

For once he understood true jealousy, “why does she like Reo? Why doesn’t she like me? It’s so unfair….”

He refused to come to terms with the fact that he liked you though, thinking that you liked Reo.

Sometimes he’d just follow you around school without you noticing, listening to your voice, the things you said, the way you walked, talked, he was so jealous for every guy you talked to

He was tempted to just walk up to you and pin you down so you couldn’t run, but he figured that would just make you hate him more, and he didn’t want that.

So for now, he would just sit in the shadows, while you and Reo chatted like old pals

That’s why he was slightly shocked, but didn’t care much when he got a Love Letter

He was tempted to just ignore it, since there was no shot you were the sender. But he read it anyway, maybe out of desperation, maybe he was just bored.

“To Nagi Seshiro, I really want to get this off my chest, so I can have an actual reason to run away from you, but I really really like you. I’ve had a crush on you for the longest time, and everytime you were around I felt so embarrassed to I ran 😭 but yea, i just wanted to get this out so i could hide in peace ;w;   “

Nagi genuinely couldn’t believe it, he had to re-read the letter, it was the first time he smiled in like weeks 

In fact, he went to sleep with it under his pillow. He went to sleep SMILING

Oh the things you do to him

He totally forgot to text Reo about the first day, but he did mentioned it the next

Nagi finally felt comfortable to confess as well, but he didn’t want to scare you, so he too would make a letter

>Receiving Love Letters

If it were anyone else, he would’ve just ripped a corner of his notebook out, but for you, he ripped out a full page (It’s the thoughts that matters ;w;)

He wondered if he should use a sparkly gel pen, but decided against it in order to not look like a fool to you.

Nagi tried his best to make his handwriting somewhat legible, you could tell he was pressing hard on each letter

“Hey [Y/N], i rlly like u ♡ will u go out w/me? - Nagi :x “

He actually had a lot of thoughts running through his head, but it was too much a hassle to write it all out. He’ll tell you one day, surely 

A/N: Nagi Catchup! Wasn't sure if i should've integrated his parts into the others, but decided against it and stuck w/my wattpad lines!

[thetravelingtyper]

On The Same Page pt4 (Simon 'Ghost' Riley x Reader Bookshop! AU)

Taking the day to go to the beach you meet someone new...

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 5, Masterlist!

Warning! James is a dick, use of language

“Oh, Flo, where did you go?

Where did you go? Where did you go?”

The song was expected at this point as you ran along the beach. You huffed begrudging, humming along. The song reminded you of America.

The fights kept coming in the few months before you left.

It happened one day, after a day of talking with Sam about trying to start your next book. You had returned home to an upset James. He had met you at the door with a dark look, something storming in his mind that immediately had you asking. Despite your questioning, he remained silent, pacing back and forth before heading to the bedroom and slamming the door shut. 

“You're falling about

You took a left off Last Laugh Lane

Just sounding it out

But you're not coming back again

You're falling about

You took a left off Last Laugh Lane

You were just sounding it out

But you're not coming back again”

You just stood stunned in the hallway before turning with a frown to make dinner.

A few minutes later James sauntered out, a mean smirk on his face,

“You’re fucking him aren't you?”

The question came out of nowhere and you dropped the spoon, 

At first, you thought he was joking and you cracked a smile.

“Yea, me and an aroace man!”

His eyes sharpened,

“I am not joking you little bitch,”

At the term you froze, anger tightening your muscles as you turned off the stove.

“You will not speak to me that way.”

James huffed and then chuckled, he approached you, running a hand down your hair and the back of your head, then resting on your neck. The next gleam in his eyes frightened you and you pushed at his chest but against his height, you had no power. He gripped the back of your neck and pulled you closer, his mouth brushing close to your ear.

“I will say anything I want.”

And with a final warning, he stepped back fingers slightly digging into your hair before he released. 

“You’ll do well to remember that.”

“You used to get it in your fishnets

Now you only get it in your nightdress

Discarded all the naughty nights for niceness

Landed in a very common crisis

Everything's in order in a black hole

Everything was pretty as the past though

That Bloody Mary's lacking in Tabasco

Remember when you used to be a rascal?”

The song finally finished out and you slowed then paused in your running. A sudden weight on your shoulders and in your chest you sank into the sand, not caring about the mess. How could years go to waste? You put your head on your knees. What had you lost?

A love, yes but a vibrant career in one of the best publishing firms in the US. But what of your family, your friends? You disappeared within a week, leaving the only world you knew behind. Despite the state of America, you missed it. You had grown up in your childhood home, worn walls and height lines scribbled into the door frames. You made your first stories in those rooms. 

You close your eyes. After a messy relationship in your late teens and early 20s, you left your hometown. Leaving to a liberal arts college on the East Coast you pursued your masters in creative writing. One faithful day in your first year of your masters you met Sam. He was in an engineering program online but was taking a few classes in the college. You had heard his distress over an essay in the campus cafe. And, as a new 23-year-old master's student eager to make friends on campus. You had approached him, explained your position and he nearly grabbed you and threw his essay at you. What followed was the closest friend you had ever found and 6 years of friendship followed. At 25 you graduated with Sam following and entered the publishing business. A few months in you met James and the rest, 

Well, the rest is history.  

You stare out into the clear skyed ocean. Sighing, you turn your music back on and just stretch out your legs. Turning the music down you zone out. It was a couple of days after getting Simon’s number, Thursday to be exact, and you had driven out to the coast hoping to get some inspiration. But nothing came up. 

You watch the ocean. Now that was something you missed, the sealife along the East Coast. You remember always loving the sea, during the evening taking the boats out to spot blue whales and others. 

You soon became lost in thought and as time passed, the sun grew high towards noon. As your thoughts traced the bottom of the sea a shadow overtook your form and you blinked. A body, you notice, a man standing over you, he was speaking. You pull an earbud out to be met with waves and a deep voice pulls your eyes to a handsome face, and a fishing hat?

“You alright down there?”

You look at him unsure, the combination of casual clothes and a camo fishing hat humors you, and you work to pull yourself up. He offers a hand, and with a good spirit, you take it. He pulls you up effortlessly, muscle flexing in the bright sunlight.

“I’m sorry I was lost in thought.”

He gives you an honest smile that doesn't fully reach his eyes making you wonder.

“Quite alright I understand the feeling. Seems to be a lot.” 

It’s a strong statement that takes you aback for a moment as the man stares out into the endless blue. You take a moment to observe, something in your writer's mind buzzing. The man is a bit older than you, he carried himself well, shoulders back in proper form but there was a weight there. He wasn’t as tall as Simon but nearly there. His blue eyes meet yours again and there is a depth you try to understand. You brush some sand off your legs to break the weight of his gaze. 

You return to his face with a small, shared smile, wondering what he had been through. Holding out a hand you introduce yourself standing a little straighter. Seeing this he nods and grabs your hand.

“Johnathan Price” 

His hands are rough, worn after years of work as the name sparks a flame of recognition. Price sees it in your eyes. 

“Captain John Price?”

He chuckles and releases your hand but you see the change in his form, subtle but tense. 

“Was, retired now. Now how did a lady like you know that?”

You expect the question, and you grin pointing to the hat.

“Johnny goes on and on about you.”

Price relaxes instantly, his smile now reaching his eyes and he chuckles again. 

“Soap, a good man. I haven't checked in on the lad in a while. How do you know him?”

You continue to explain your bookstore and meeting Johnny. As you speak Price relaxes and he mentions to a bench a little across the way, towards the end of the beach. Taking a seat you finish up.

“Sounds like John alright. He not giving you any trouble is he?”

You grin,

“Not at all, I've gotten quite used to him dropping by. He and Simon stop in a lot.”

That catches Price’s ear,

“Simon? Now that is interesting. How is he?”

You find his interest understandable, and you answer the best you can. 

“He pulled quite a stunt to help me, but I've enjoyed him so far.”

“He certainly has a presence, no worries though at heart he is a good man. He left an impact I assume?” 

He says it with a familiar grin, one that tells a history, there is also curiosity there. He raises a brow in expectation which makes you giggle. He looked like a dad, the image of Soap and Simon running around coming to mind for a moment before Price catches the look and raises another brow. 

There is respect for the man in Price's tone and you question how long he’d know the quiet man. 

“A while, a long while. He served as my lieutenant for years. He and Johnny are close. Been through a lot.” 

“I like that about Johnny, he has a lot of stories.” You lean back on the bench to stare up at the sky. Gathering clouds hint at a coming rain blowing in from the sea. You deal in stories but you can’t seem to catch a break, your eyes return to Price to see him observing you with keen eyes.

“Something troubling you?” he asks it honestly and you sigh, feeling the light shine upon you to share. 

“Yea. I am an author without ideas currently.”

Price hums, 

“I see, that's quite the predicament indeed. What’s causing it?”

You sigh again and the weight of the past few months falls upon your shoulders.

Price sees the change in you instantly and you just crack and break down the situation for him. It starts with your masters, to meeting Sam and James, the company, and your first books. You had started with children’s books following your interest in childhood literacy. As you explain the premise of the books, a fond smile lights up your face. 

Of three books, your second was your favorite: It followed the story of a fox kit lost amongst wolves. He was smaller than the rest of the other cubs but soon grew to love his own identity. The Fox’s Den pulled its name from this book. You had based the story on the forest around your childhood home and roaming through the woods while your parents were always too busy to keep you entertained.

With the success of your first books, your manager had insisted on middle-grade fiction and you wholeheartedly agreed. But your old boss at the publisher had dropped the expectation of a young adult or new adult book and you had started brainstorming, but that was when your world came crashing, well, tearing down. You explain this to him. 

“Everything was torn out from underneath you, there was nothing you could do. Your heart was, and I believe, still is in your writing, but everything that has happened has tainted your worldview,”

He pauses to regard the ocean for a moment, the winds blowing in cause choppy waves. 

“Often when things turn against us, or we have our backs against the wall is when we find it from within ourselves to overcome. Be it from within, or I believe in your case, around you. Perhaps you are just looking in the wrong place. Your past consuming you and tarnishing how you are experiencing the present.”

Price seems to be talking from within himself and it makes you wonder. You look out into the gathering storm. The waves cut like sapphire and the distant rumble of thunder. The close wildness of the ocean engulfs you in the moment. You take in the smell of the sea and exhale. Price was right, you had come here for a new life anyway, and you meant to make the best of it. 

Price watches you for a moment,

“I just feel like I am missing something in all of this. Why did it happen?”

Price sets a friendly hand on your shoulder,

“You may never know, but don’t let it consume you, instead revisit your old passions. Take what you remember of home and try to find something here to spark your interest. Besides James sounds like a right nasty bloke.”

Hearing someone older say it makes you feel a lot better. While your friends of course had been on your side it seemed like the entire company had turned against you. All except your manager who had followed you to Sam’s family company. While the boss held no power over you anymore your manager agreed with the sentiment of increasing your output to an older audience. She felt it would be good to expand into that market. 

“You're right.” 

Price’s advice comes at a good time, and he was right. Maybe you were looking too often into the past. Your phone buzzes, and you look and find a message from Simon. You smile, he was asking to take you up on the offer of tea. Price notices and smiles himself. 

“Well, you better get in before the rain hits, dear.”

You put your phone away and nod to the man.

“Thanks, John.” 

He stands up and nods.

“Until next time then.” This is all he offers before returning to his original route. Despite there not being an exchange of numbers you couldn't help but feel you would meet the man again. 

You sit for a moment longer, lingering on the feeling of being understood and the wildness of the sea. But as the wind picks up you receive a text from Sam. He calls a moment later.

“Where are you?”

“At the beach Mom, what's wrong?”

“I’ve got some interesting news. Besides the news says there's a storm brewing and I think you should head home. Your boyfriend is looking for you, he’s been in twice already.”

At that you are at a loss for words, a slight blush coming over your face,

“Come home buttercup before he haunts the place-” there's a pause on the other line, “and Soap says hi.”

You laugh at that, getting up and starting the run back to the car.

“Alright, I’m on my way, see you in a bit Sam, I'll be in a little late.”

“Drive safe. Bye”

With that you hang up and run, feelings of excitement building.

Taglist: @ghostlythots, @tapioca-milktea1978, @cmbghost

End chapter 4

[skythealmighty]

This is Melvin Sneedly. He's the kid with the fluffed up hair and the bowtie; remember that now!

So. Um. I'd like to offer my own AU to the table! It's called Pranksterswap, and how it works is Melvin swaps role with both George and Harold. At once! They don't swap personality, though, that stays the same. (ALSO, THIS AU FOLLOWS A MISHMASH OF THE BOOK AND SHOW, NOT THE MOVIE.)

Let's start by analyzing our main G&H, shall we?

WARNING: LONG POST. SORRY.

George Beard and Harold Hutchins

They still write comics as Tree House Comix! In fact, they even have matching button pins- courtesy of Harold's mom, who I like to imagine is a bit of a craftswoman. There's one key difference though- they started comics in first grade, not kindergarten.

George is still our loveable dumb humored writer, he's just a little less rough and tumble than before and a bit more cautious (Harold played a big influence on that). He wears pants now! And a backpack all the time for his notebooks.

Harold played a lot more influence in the early days, leading them both to be a lot less jump-into-danger-at-first-sight. Sometime after they start making comics, he gets the idea of art school from his mom (who went to art school), so they both plan out to go to art school so they can make comics forever.

They're... mostly model students. They both have ADHD, but only George is medicated, so Harold tends to unknowingly space out. (George has the Hyperactive type, Harold has the Inattentive type.) Really, the only rules they break are "doodling in class" and "selling comics on the playground", so they don't see the principal often.

This doesn't mean they don't get prank ideas; they do, but when they get them they usually hand them off to...

Melvin Sneedly

Melvin is... still Melvin, mostly, with a different progresssion. Especially in kindergarten, he very much felt unchallenged and bored, but without G&H causing mass mayhem, he didn't turn to tattling- instead he turned to online classes, and then to studying his classmates like a lab experiment.

Potty humor and childish jokes eventually became what he tried to figure out, mostly by nature of him growing up with more "sophisticated" humor. Though he didn't end up completely getting it, he did end up appreciating some of the wordplay and figuring out the "formula" so he could join in.

Though he still didn't quite "get" it, seeing other kids laugh at his jokes was a point of pride and made him happy. Thus begins his more juvenile sense of humor.

By the time George and Harold started selling their comics, he was studying other possible ways to make his fellow students laugh, and also keeping tabs on what his classmates did for fun. Naturally, he bought a pretty early copy, just about when he found out about "pranks", and well, things were pretty much set in motion.

Using the first Tree House Comix as a guide, he did his first prank on his first grade teacher, and burst out laughing at her reaction, something finally clicking for his sense of humor.

The rest is history, really, though a lot of his pranks quickly became much more complicated after that, mostly to test his inventions and intellect. A lot of them were inspired by Tree House Comix, of which he was now an avid reader- which, of course, eventually ended up in...

Captain Underpants!

Melvin makes an off-hand joke while trying to get out of weekend detention (he has the Invention Convention that weekend, where he can proudly share off his prank inventions! Come on!), and it accidentally turns Krupp into the Captain, which as we all know makes things so much more complicated.

Unlike G&H, Melvin does realize the weight of what he's done pretty well, and is frankly kind of horrified about it. As a result, he treats Captain a lot more genuinely than canon G&H do, and ends up in the fray alongside him more often than not using technology to make up for his lack of superpowers.

The books/show end up leaning far more towards edutainment just by nature of the main characters- Captain is kind of clueless, and Melvin likes sharing knowledge. As a result, Captain here is a bit more knowledgeable, though he does tend to retain all-over-the-place fun facts more than other things.

Melvin also has generally no qualms about Krupp finding out, but he's also spent so long anxiously agonizing over the scenarios of what would happen so he's still dreading it. Captain seems mostly oblivious to this.

So... yeah that's... about it! Sort of. There's a lot more that I haven't touched on, but this post is LONG as is. Colored versions of the drawings might come eventually! ...Eventually.

Oh yeah and feel free to send me asks if you have any questions!

[nitewrighter]

I was curious as to how you became a children’s librarian. I was interested in becoming one myself. I wasn’t sure if you went through the local school system or through the city.

I went through the city. I work in a public library. I started as a library assistant working in circulation, where I would work both in the circulation room and on the front desk, then I got my master's degree in library science with San Jose State University during the pandemic. SJSU has a pretty great library science program--it was completely online and asynchronous, so I'd be working about 15 hours a week on 3 classes adapted to my schedule (although many of these classes would have group projects where I would have to coordinate zoom meetings with other students, so if you're in like... a non-west coast time zone you're going to want to plan accordingly). My collection development class was kiiind of a joke but for the most part all the professors were very experienced and professional about their work and helping their students. Really I wanted to specialize in Teen Librarianship but the first ~actual librarian~ position I could move into at my current work was at the children's desk because there was an opening, so I took it. But also you should know that I'm on call and working two part time jobs, and that's how it is for a lot of librarians and libraries these days. It's not insta-full time as soon as you get a masters. It takes forever to make it to full-time. And like... good fucking luck trying to get benefits. I mean I know people don't go into librarianship because they want to make that ~cash money~ but also a lot of people go into librarianship because they have very lofty and romantic notions of librarianship and ~ooh this is where I'm meant to beeee because I enjoy this space~ and I'm just going to say maintaining a space for public use is very different from being the person experiencing that space. It takes a combination of passion, adaptability, and a certain amount of mental fortitude. There are so many old people who have not touched a computer since Bill Gates was building them out of his garage and it's your fault, librarian, that they don't know shit about fuck with technology. They want to give you their social security number and make you operate the scary light up box for them but you legally cannot fucking do the thing they are asking you to do and also jesus fuck my guy you are going to get scammed so fucking bad if this is your attitude toward this shit.

...sorry, those were war flashbacks from working the tech desk.

Children's librarianship. Okay. Well. I love being a children's librarian. I love helping kids gradually work through more and more challenging books, or finding titles related to their interests. I love the little flash of validation you see in kids eyes when they start talking about what they're currently interested in and you're actively engaging with them because, hey, this is going to help me help other kid patrons, but also yes, the "Who Would Win" and "I Survived" series are very cool. I love coming up with little fun things for storytime, andI love that kids love my puppets!

But also--remember that bit I said about how existing/experiencing a public space is different from actually maintaining that space? That goes quadruple as hard for children's librarianship because if your library is a ~wonderful safe space~ where your patrons feel ~safe~ then all of the parents will turn their brains off, never clean up after their kids, and sometimes just... fucking not even bother looking up from their phone or break out of their catatonic state on the couch as their toddler toddles towards the fucking stairs. AND I GET IT. PARENTING AS-IS IS INSANE AND UNSUSTAINABLE UNDER CAPITALISM. YOU ARE COMPLETELY BURNT OUT AND YOU FEEL SAFE AT THE LIBRARY AND I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE ELSE YOU'RE GOING TO GET MENTAL REPRIEVE FOR 20 MINUTES. BUT THOSE ARE FUCKING STAIRS THAT ARE GOING TO CONCUSS THE SHIT OUT OF POOR LITTLE BREIGHDYNNE, MA'AM, AND I'M HELPING OTHER PATRONS (WHICH IS MY JOB) AND YOU ARE THE PERSON WHOSE ACTUAL JOB IS MANHANDLING THAT CHILD TO SAFETY.

Also for fuck's sake, parents, I get you're nervous about putting books back in the wrong spot but that's what the reshelving shelves are for. Would you think it's acceptable to leave books all over the floor in your own house? No? Then don't do that in a space you're sharing with other people! We're in a community, people!!

Also a child will poop themselves in your children's section (I'm not talking 'baby's diaper is full' poop, I'm talking an emotionally fragile transitional kindergartener 'i got distracted and forgot to listen to my body and now I'm having a meltdown' poop) and their parent is going to carry them off at arm's length to the bathroom and you're gonna have to do a quick check to make sure their poop... fucking stayed in their pants. And there won't be any poop on the floor but it's still gonna be at the back of your mind for your whole shift because the smell wafted through the whole children's section during the parent's daring bathroom run. Just... emotionally prepare yourself for poop. You're going to see more of it than you think you're going to see in a library--whether working children's or adults.

Whoops. Wasn't done with the war flashbacks, apparently.

Look. I do love librarianship. And I do love the library I work at and the community I serve. There is a real sense of... vitalness in the work you do as a librarian, but because you're working in this public utility, you also become sharply aware of the myriad ways our society has failed our people and just how vulnerable everyone actually is, and you frequently find yourself in this kind of funky semi-improv position between like... your actual responsibilities and skills as a librarian and meeting your community's needs and also empowering them to meet their own needs!

(Very very depressing sidenote but my boss actually advised me to not go into school librarianship because a lot of schools are moving away from trying to maintain their own libraries in favor of like, more scaled down media center sort of things. Don't know how across the board that is, but also school librarianship is also a more specialized branch of librarianship within the library science career.)

[rintoshiii-blog]

Are you still up for a request? :0 I wonder if you could write about Isagi with a neurodivergent reader (definitely not because I am one myself /j) 👉👈 And don't forget to stay hydrated 💜✨

Yes I'm still up for requests! I'm glad you decided to request especially about our lovable baby boy Isagi! Make sure you stay hydrated as well!

Isagi Yoichi💙

When he first meets reader he starts to notice little things about how they carry themselves or how they struggle to have a normal conversation with others...Isagi is very considerate about how she/he feels and makes sure to always help them the best he can...When he finds out that you're neurodivergent Isagi won't know what that means at first but as soon as he gets home he's online looking it up on the internet about your condition and how he could help you in any way he can.... Expect Isagi to bombard you with questions about your condition....Knowing that having a conversation with you would be quite difficult he would always try to say his sentences in the most simple form he can....You don't understand what a certain teacher has taught you? Don't worry, he'll carefully explain it to you....You don't understand the joke he just told you? Don't worry he'll softly explain it to you and why it's so funny.....Isagi does tend to worry when he sees that you frequently lose concentration or focus especially with your schoolwork...So Isagi makes it a routine right after school to take to his house so that both of you can complete your homework together and whenever you start to lose concentration he'll lightly tap you on the shoulder and slightly shake your shoulder to gain your attention again.....Isagi is known by all the teachers that teach him for having one of the best grades in the school......He'll somehow manage to convince the class teacher to make you both sit next to eachother during classes.....Once that happens Isagi will spend the rest of the day helping you work and concentrate on your schoolwork making sure that you've completed everything that has to be done for the day..... He'll also find out as time passes that you also have an intense interest for doing the things that you love like cooking, baking, writing, soccer and playing chess, you name it and he'll be right next to you helping you organise things or join you in whatever activities you're doing at the moment.....Isagi also tries to help you communicate with others around you other than him and he knows it would be quite difficult for you especially with your condition so he'll be right be you helping you speak or give you a notepad with a nice pen to write down what you want to say or your thoughts....Let's just say that Isagi is your number one supporter! As soon as he notices progress with your communication or focus he'll happily treat you to something nice like an ice cream sundae or sweets or something more than that like going out to a nice restaurant or to the aquarium even if it's a small change he can't help but to shower you with praises and affection with cheek kisses, forehead kisses, neck kisses, cuddles, back hugs and side hugs and many more! Don't fret he doesn't only give love and affection when this happens he always do it every with a sprinkle of words of affirmation!

[frostbite-the-bat]

no but genuinely. i love shadow filbo dearly. he means a lot to me.

he marks a time for me where i began embracing what i like just... for the sake of it!

he embodies the things that inspired me to draw online in the first place. hell, sparklecat characters with bangs have made me stop cutting my hair. i haven't cut my hair properly since. just because i wanted the same bangs, not knowing how hair works. now i have what is best described as messy fluttershy hair. to many people just how long my hair is, is what defines me when they see me and my hair is in a way special to me.

and again - he was what inspired me to draw. in class i'd be drawing my own sparklecats at the age of like 8, with bangs and wings and little companions that sit on clouds that rain hearts. (and bolts and skulls when ANGRY!)

i put rainbows on everything. i thought nyan cat was the embodiment of everything good in the world. i listened to nightcore versions of songs only. i say, as i am listening to nightcore, right now.

because of all these old classic animation memes and sparklefurs and silly scene and emo song flash animations i'd find... i'd pick up ms paint and draw. i imagined just how i'd animate, finding even the simplest methods absolutely mesmerising. there is something to be said about me being this young with internet access - because it very much so had it's negative effects. not me watching fetish videos at the age of 8 just because it had pokemon in it. yea that did not have any lasting effects.

but despite all this shit - it raised me! and even just a few years later... like.. 2015 when i began posting online on deviantart for the first time, not being just a lurker... learning how The Computer works better - not only drawing on paper anymore and gaining more and more interest towards digital art... i was already nostalgic towards these earlier days. but still living IN it, y'know?

just having fun, doing my own thing! isn't that what art is all about?

well. then the cringe culture nation attacked. severe bullying at school. and in general, just shame - which i am still fighting in certain aspects. but it's a bit more complicated than just "shame". (more so fear of Things.)

i'd look back at things with either genuine "cringe" or a distaste. how DARE these people have fun? because deep down, i was simply jealous.

if i was going to reference anything old like this, like classic animation memes, it was framed as "JOKE" "NOT SERIOUS" because i feared i would be harassed, made fun of, or people would thing THAT is the best of my artistic abilities. but... it's not like that.

and now, more and more people are embracing this. and it makes me so happy. and shadow filbo helped me fight off these fears a lot and just let me love what i love and be myself.

maybe it's not an ""aesthetic"" that completely defines me, maybe it IS a tik tok trend to do nowadays - but i don't care. without any of this i wouldn't be here. those were my first inspirations. silly colorful cats animated to crunchy mp3s of songs using movie maker and 3 (three!) frames drawn in ms paint. it had so much charm. it had so much genuinity. and i could feel it even back then.

without it i might've not been here as i am now. there are so many things that go into this, of course. but i simply would not be the exact way i am. and i dunno. that's something to think about.

thank you so much, shadow filbo. one "mistake" with you i've had was thinking i should be a good creator of something and respond to every fan and fanart, which only stressed me out. i have... opinions! about being recognized in various places and, as some dub, a "NICHE INTERNET MICROCELEBRITY" (nothing against you fox </3).... yeah! not a fan.

another mistake was dubbing him as a "joke" always. and... he is! he is humorous! i am a jokey person! i like crunchy shitposts! i like being the reason people laugh! i will go to certain levels to even ridicule myself just for the bit, and i don't mind it. i'm hyper(active) and i am just a jokey person, that's that. but... him being called a joke was honestly just a shield from people taking him too seriously.

if people were to mock me for being nostalgic for nightcore, and rainbows, and edgy amvs, sparkledogs, scene culture and clothes, rave songs... all this!

but... no! people loved it! people loved it so much, it moved THEM to create art!

me, referencing things that made ME inspired to draw all those years ago - then inspired OTHERS to draw other things. to embrace themselves. to have fun. to connect.

it means so much to me. it's a bit odd to comprehend, too.

but it means the world to me. sorry if i am ever annoying about shadow filbo, and is often the first thing i bring up when bugsnax is brought up - but he is the highlight of my experience with bugsnax.

thank you so much, shadow filbo. and me and my wretched little claws, of course. for making them. and those that inspired me. those old friends i lost along the way, too. and those, that inspired those that inspired me. and so forth.

thank you.

[poke-rating-agency]

baseball slides in. could i request orthworm.

Of course you can!

#968 Orthworm

The Earthworm Pokémon (wow, thanks for that), a Steel Type from the Paldea region! Fun fact: Orthworms name in german is "Schlurm" and that is objectively the better name.

Serious Ratings!

Stats: 7/10 It's of course suffering a bit from the "no evolution" curse so it's BST is not the best, but thanks to power creep it's a bit above average in its weight class. It's got ok HP and great Def, of course like many steel types, and accordingly its SpD is horrible. It's clearly a physical attacker, and it can take a hit or two to make the slow speed work as long as you play it right. You can definitely use it in game.

Availability: 8/10 As it's from the most recent generation, i can only judge its availability there. It is a little bit out of the way and doesn't appear all too often in my experience, but it's not hard to find one.

Lore: 7/10 there is not much lore to Orthworm, but the little bit that is there is pretty cool. It's one of the Titan Pokémon, and as one of the more "not too exciting" pokémon of the region, it does its job wonderfully and shows how a single stage pokémon can be, well, exciting. I liked battling it. In addition, i think its signature ability is great. I don't get why its steel type though.

Fun: 6/10 I didn't use it in my own playthrough, but again, i had fun with it as a Titan Pokémon. I imagine it can be interesting to use and i have seen some people online use it in their competitive teams so it gets a "slightly above mediocre" 6 from me

Design: 9/10 It is definitely among my favourites in gen 9. It looks silly and happy, the little arms that kinda don't make sense for an orthworm don't take away because it just makes it more silly, the german name is PEAK. You don't need to make a complicated design to make a good one. The shiny colour is weird, i don't like that one. Regular is better in this case.

Serious Score: 37/50

Silly Ratings!

Politeness: 8/10 It is very nice, it would definitely shake your hands upon meeting, and it would wait in line with you at the bank so you're not bored out of your mind. Points deduction for the one that tried to eat me for searching a plant.

Friend Shape: 9/10 Definitely friend shape. It's a noodle, it can wrap around you to keep your warm and snuggly, it's nice and big, but i assume the steel type makes it quite hard on the outside so not a perfect score here.

Jokes: 4/10 I think it tries but its jokes are just... not that great. I'm sorry Schlurm, your jokes just aren't that funny. You have other qualities.

Deliciousness: 3/10 Yeah... no. It's probably kinda muddy and earthy from eating all that earth, it's really tough to eat bc of that steel type and these blue hands don't quite look all that appetizing. You could eat for a week from it though, it's pretty big.

Lust for Murder: 5/10 I initially thought it's politeness would also mean it's pretty tame, but again. It tried to eat me bc i was looking for plants. Have you heard of deescalation Mx Orthworm? You could have just told me to leave. I also think you could convince some of them to rob a bank with you.

Silly Score: 29/50

Can it make a Lasagna? In short: yes. However, i doubt it'd be particularly good. Orthworm is able to utilize utensils with its many hands, but that empty head can not follow instructions. Maybe it's a bit scared of the oven bc of the heat, but i think you'd be able to encourage it. I would also not ask for any additional herbs and spices. Last time went kinda to the shits.

Total Score: 66/100 and a bad/bland lasagna. Schlurm/Orthworm is a funny little guy and deserves a spot in my top 100 Pokémon.

[thebloodykarte]

How the Cogs of Toontown Online Are An Anti Capitalist Metaphor

autism be upon ye

foreword: this was written as a "fuck it, we ball, pick whatever topic you so desire" research paper for a creative writing class, with a pre-determined format to follow. as a result, my writing style may seem off here. hope you enjoy.

READ ON MY WEBSITE HERE

What I Knew and What I Want to Know

While I was both too young and didn’t have the money to fully play the game while it was still under a subscription service, Toontown Online has always been one of my more intense interests, mostly due to the charity that is several private servers that keep the game running, sticking to the original, or branching out into a modernized experience, but for now, sticking to the original game. Toontown Online was a kids’ aimed MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) started by Disney in 2003 and shutting down a decade later, with a pretty lively presence in the genre during this time. The plot was basically that you played as, well, a cartoon anthropomorphic animal, and kept the world cheery and fun against the ongoing invasion of “Cogs”, which are these businessmen robots, heavy emphasis on businessmen, with all the boredom and drab that comes with such. You fight against them using stereotyped cartoon gags, because, well, Cogs can’t take a joke. Rinse and repeat this basic basis with variations of the fighting format all throughout the game as you progress, as well as other stuff to do (grinding gets boring, and Toontown Online was notorious for grinding), and you have what remained successful until it was pushed off to the side for Club Penguin.

I’ve always been much more interested in the Cogs than the toons when it came to this game. Their origins, which elaborated on with a simple flash animation within older installers for the game, are mostly unexplained. And, of course, the unified designs of just average, uncanny office workers with little variation except for head design and suit color dependent on department, are a specific, stylized sort of cool. There’s also probably something to say about my own personal experiences with work and neurodivergency and the want to be one, but that’s not the point.

The point now will turn political – despite the game being aimed at kids who could afford ten dollars a month to play, there are some specifics parts that addle to my now an adult brain, that make it think of the further lore implications, and what it means in the greater scheme of things. What do the Cogs represent? What does the war between the Toons and them mean? Of course, it’s also very easy to compare such a thing to the workforce in our own daily lives, and how big corporations play a role, reaching in, making evil decisions, and yet, giving us no choice but to consume their product. And what would I use any of this information for, to look into the implications of Cogs as a symbolism for real-life capitalism and its evils? Probably just rewording this entire paper into an essay to be posted on my website, but also, for my own fan-writings for the game, because, well, making fan content is fun.

My Search Process

The main treasure chest of information when it comes to Toontown Online nowadays is the Toontown Preservation Project, a website hosting game design documents, concept art, and much more, donated from the developers of Toontown Online while it was still active, such as Bruce Woodside. There’s also, of course, the many still-standing videos and posts on old forums about Toontown Online, as well as the gameplay that remains in private servers (mostly relevant to Toontown Rewritten, which is actually the group that runs the Toontown Preservation Project as well). The documentation is vast, encompassing things never implemented into the game, removed early or in beta testing, but for almost all of the conception, there is no use of the word Cogs to describe the Cogs. Instead, they are called Suits, and no discussion into the robotics parts, either.

However, these are not decisions that made it into the final game, and thus, could mean nothing at all in the long run. What was in the game, however, was Unites, a reward for completing a certain boss that replenished either your gags or your Laff (the toon equivilent of health), which were considered the most useful of boss rewards for obvious reasons. When a Unite was used, your Toon also shouts “Toons of the World,” and then a slightly varied prose based on the type of Unite. In addition, if you went a little bit out of your way, you could get a Speedchat (pre-picked) phrase of just “Toons of the world, Unite!”.

While if you had any clue of the book or the man behind it, you probably could’ve seen this coming, but there is something to be said of Toontown Online’s central themes and including a rip from “Workers of the world, unite” (Marx), which is straight from The Communist Manifesto. While it has never been confirmed, nor probably ever will, if the recycling from such a fundamental source of socialist theory was on purpose or merely a coincidence, it sure does work for my point here.

In addition, take into account the setting of the game, and how Toontown’s economy seems to hinge upon a plethora of small businesses, there is the obvious comparison one could make to themes of anti-monopolization. Toontown is defending itself against what the fate of plenty of smaller towns has become, which is depending on one or two companies to carry the entire area in terms of business, and while the Toon’s shops all serve all sorts of purposes (but being boiled down in gameplay to just throwing quests at you), the Cogs only have one overbearing one, so at least there’s one major reason to keep them out of sticking their stick into the ground.

What I Have Learned

What I can gather from all of this is actually pretty interesting into the accidental symbolism the Cogs have become over the years, as, in my own eyes, the unavoidable evils of a society that hinges on capitalism and the selfishness of product become more obvious. They are a stereotype, sure, but also a stripped-down truth to the place of most workers in the eyes of company – in the truest form of the word – just another cog in the machine. The robotism of Cogs can also be taken as a symbol of automation, as more of the bottom-line, repetitive work becomes shelved out by machinery and AI to replace humans, at the cost of jobs for those who do not have a specialization in anything at all, or who’s specialization has become the menial labor needed for these, such as factory work.

There’s little variation compared to the colorful forms of toonery you play as, having to fit into these molds, and perhaps, business stereotypes as the Cog types are most often named after. There is no deviation. You serve a purpose, serve it well, and that’s all there is to it. That’s your life purpose. Have fun doing that until you die.

I’m also not the only one who’s attempted to co-relate their own life to the satire situation of Cogs. During the research part, I was stumbling over some less than reliable sources of social media, and plenty of older Toontown Online players had ended up in office positions themselves, and mentioned how, in a way, they had become what they once fought against. Sometimes, this was more obviously aligned with the office positions shown in-game, with one user stating “When I was having an early 20s life crisis when the song Suit and Jacket by Judah and the Lion came out and I have a vivid memory of standing in the shower hating working at a bank and being pushed to ‘sell’ checking accounts and that’s when I had the sleeper memory of toontown cogs awaken in me” (goddessbotanic). In the system of modern life, where one has to almost kill themselves, emotionally or otherwise, just to be able to keep up with the frivalities of modern life, to keep a roof on their head, the best you can do is try and keep your tooniness alive, though only at the side.

What This Means to Me, and How I’ll Use It

I’ve always cared about little silly niche topics to try and explore like this. Though there is probably no true intention to any of the evidence brought upon the table except for really in-line coincidences, it all seems to add up to a more mature way of seeing a game I’ve cared about since my first years using a computer. I’m all too big on nostalgia – most of my best memories of technology were with the early 2010s net, which encompasses the later years of Toontown Online, as well as the earlier years of some of my other favorite games, as well as an era of content that wasn’t as dopamine-trapping and headache-causing as the modern internet feeds. Something like this is a bright, fresh light, and makes it all too easy to keep caring about Toontown Online.

Fortunately, I am not trying to embrace a grave. The spirit of Toontown Online still lives on in the form of private servers that keep the game running and available to play, and, in both spite of what made Toontown Online shut down in the first place and to avoid copyright troubles, entirely for free. The two most popular are Toontown Rewritten, which keeps to the base game for the most part for nostalgia reasons, and Toontown Corporate Clash, which adds new content and quality of life changes to change Toontown and modernize it into an all-new, exciting experience. I’ve invested a lot more hours than I would like to admit on a few renditions of these servers, but time having fun is not time wasted, despite what the Cogs think.

Works Cited

Marx, Karl, 1818-1883. The Communist Manifesto. London ; Chicago, Ill. :Pluto Press, 1996.

“r/Toontown - Ever Realise We Grew up to Be the Cogs?” Reddit, Dec. 2022, https://www.reddit.com/r/Toontown/comments/zmwjtm/ever_realise_we_grew_up_to_be_the_cogs/.

Luthin, Stefanie. “The Unique Anti-Capitalist Journey of Toontown Online.” VGA Gallery, VGA Gallery, 24 Mar. 2022, https://vgagallery.org/vga-zine/toontown-anti-capitalism.

Woodside, Bruce. “Toontown Preservation Project.” Finalized Suit Turnaround -- Toontown Preservation Project, Toontown Rewritten, 28 Aug. 2022, https://toontown.online/Finalized- Suit-Turnaround-4393ef3db89341638e8a55242b79ee0a

Toontown Preservation Project, Toontown Rewritten, https://toontown.online/

[medleymisty]

I have a question and maybe I should make it into a poll?

How old are you, and how gendered do you think games are?

I am in my early 40s, and in my childhood gaming wasn't gendered. In the late 80s/early 90s we all gathered around the Nintendo at daycare and we watched each other play Kid Icarus and Contra and we made jokes, and my childhood best friend was also a girl and we both had Nintendos at home and we'd play Mortal Kombat during sleepovers, and I spent a lot of time playing Dragon Warrior in middle school. In high school we all played Doom on the computers in keyboarding class.

I never thought of games as only for a specific group of people, but younger people online are always talking about it being very gendered. I know the Sims community is majority female, but I also know there's the meme about how the Sims isn't "real gaming" and "go play the Sims" is used as a gendered insult in other gaming communities.

I wonder if it has something to do with the move to online gaming? But in my WoW raiding days our guilds were always mixed gender with a number of married couples and the great majority of the time no one got weird about gender. Once I got promoted to officer and I could see officer chat from before I got promoted and the guys were talking about how I was smart.

So....yeah. Seems like a poll-worthy question. But polls might mean escaping containment and drawing attention, and I don't want that. Had enough internet hate/drama for one life already.

Honestly I also wonder if it has something to do with class as well as age, because I grew up in a working class culture and from what I read of middle class people online, they're way more into gender than the people I grew up with were.

Anyway, yeah, what's your experience with video games and gender if you want to share?

[limeade-l3sbian]

I actually really appreciate you for that ratings posts.

The “humbling”‘aspect is enraging because it’s men allocating and ranking us as inferior, their opinions are never solicited, it’s just arrogance how they refuse to see us as equals.

I had a man online do that to my art once. Said it would look good in a coffee shop. Really triggered me.

I’m humble but I’m also honest that while I’m not good at everything, I’m very good at drawing. It’s a skill I’ve practiced and got into from an early age and over the years got good at. I’ve gotten 2 different ribbons for some of my ceramics pieces at an art fair. I’m proud of my art work and my sister loved a piece so much she asked for it as a Christmas gift. Someone else asked if I could draw his cat for him. So I’ve done a few “commissions” (I’m not a professional, it repulsed me how I was just trying to have a positive interaction and it was twisted as me seeking approval and how rude it was. Covertly suggesting it wasn’t good enough when I didn’t ask. Also artists don’t rate each others art. Even my art teacher said art is art. I do pencil sketches. My teacher when I took classes really liked them I mean I did well and was already self taught. My mother ‘s side of the family jokes that I got their “art gene my mom would joke that the art gene skipped her, because her brother and sister are really good, my uncle did fine art that looks like you can touch it, and my cousin is good too. )

Also an artist would never say that they don’t rate people’s art work because you can’t really “rate” art. It triggered me because I always worry about being good enough. And I haven’t drawn in a while due to oppressive circumstances like not even having privacy and personal space and being constantly in survival. Don’t sleep well, so I get anxious “what if I can’t draw again?”

Men are evil. Like why do they feel the need to “humble “ us? That pisses me off when they act like a judge of my value that makes me feel like this 🔪🔪

How do I not let past comments ruin my enthusiasm?

After my mom died, after I sought help, after I discolored sexual abuse, and was blamed… (and I only stopped for the sake of other women,) I acted out my traumas with men online and woukd engegr in behaviors while under the influence, cause I figured I was ruined anyway, I felt suicidal and wanted ti dissociated. Only stopped because I care about how my choices can harm other women. ) but it’s ironic because I feel like I ruined myself by engaging and interacting with men.

I grew up in a bubble I truly didn’t fathom how cruel they are.

I want to feel passionate and “narcissistic” about how good I am at art again.

Is it a jealously thing? Why do they do it ?

I wish I never engaged, I feel ruined like it will always be in my head, thar rating/ like sense of not feeling good enough existed before that comment but I don’t want it to crush my joy, it triggered me and I ruminjatr over the fear of others not liking my art; I’ve always used it to connect with other. I feel like being traumatized by men has made it so I struggle to connect/lost the connection I miss that I use to have to myself.

Do a lot of men lack talent? Is that the thing?

I could get over being given a 1/10 or told I’m ugly because my own father use to neg me while everyone else called me pretty, I know whh men neg. But it feels soul crushing to go after something personal like that.

You cannot be ruined, and you carry the same diligence and discipline that every artist carries.

I weirdly had a lot of artist friends growing up (weird because I didn't seek them out. We would just be friends and it would come out that they're really good artists lol), and I never told them that they were "lucky" they were so good. I told them "you've got a lot of patience" and when I got older, my go-to was always, "Damn, the discipline on you is insane."

Writing and visual art are similar but different. I write, but like you said, I haven't really been doing it the way I used to. There is a lot of love and self reflection and patience that goes into getting something the way you want it. Not the way people will enjoy it, but the way you want it.

You are afraid you will never be "able" to draw again. I have fears that I will never be "able" to write again. Our circumstances are undoubtedly different in terms of what has forced us to push aside our passions, but that anxiety and fear of never being able to return is the same. And I think, for me, the answer is: we might not.

We might not get back to the way we used to draw/write. What comes after these current and past tribulations in your life will change because of the circumstances that have forced you to go into survival mode (I am deeply sorry about your mom). You won't see the world the way you did after this. There will be small things in this life that you are now aware of. New fears. New dreams. New perspectives. New attitudes. You'll have changed, so it's not so insane that your art will change with you.

For me, writing used to be an escapism. Less realistic and more the way I wished things were. But I realized a few years ago that I feel more connected to my writing when I incorporate problems that I have or that I see around me. But it's still hard for me on a technical level to return to form.

The comments will hurt. Even the strongest people admit that despite the walls and thick skin they build, there is always a crack that someone manages to slip through. That, from a man or woman, is an unfortunate part of life. People will try and give you grief about something they know nothing about. My father is probably the worst writer I have ever met LMAO but he tried to be rude about my writing as a child. As a child. He was trying to break me down before I could even stay home on my own.

It's not about repelling the comments at all times. I guess in a sense, it's like being your confidence's immune system. Absorb these comments, see what you can take from it. If there's nothing there, then you will feel the effects, but it'll flush out eventually like the shit it is. And if there is something to it, then hold onto that and flush out the rest.

Returning to that passion might be a longer road than the first time around. But you have that rare and impressive discipline of artists that makes people annoyed. That ability to burn for progress. That you even ache to return to form is like noticing the faint light in your soul's window, proving that something is still flickering in there.

When you find it again, because you will, it will look different. The lines may be softer or more jagged. You might favor this color over that one now. All these little things will be so different! But when you find it again, because you will, you'll look back at the old way you used to do things and think, "That's so funny. I used to be obsessed with doing it that way."

And there won't be anything wrong with the old passion, you'll just have a new one. <3

[loregoddess]

3, 11, 13 and 14 for the Fire Emblem ask game?

3. What titles have you played? So far I've only been able to play the newest titles, Awakening, Fates, Echoes, Three Houses (and it's Warriors spinoff), and Engage, although I've technically played the DS Shadow Dragon remake via an emulator bc my DS copy got sold but I just uh, got bored and have never finished it. Also playing FE on a computer emulator's a...really weird experience and I prefer using a console, so I've had a hard time getting into the older games (although I did read the entire script for Path of Radiance and part of Radiant Dawn, and one of these days I'll watch playthroughs of both games if IntSys doesn't remake them or port them to a system I actually have).

11. A character that deserved better? Oh where to start. I feel like a lot of the Fates cast suffered in the characterization department bc there were so many characters and the writing team got stretched way thin, and so there's a lot of playable characters that get ignored by both IntSys and the fandom who I think are a delight if people would just look past their joke trait for five seconds, but for unplayable characters I think Lilith could have benefited from more attention bc she's very cool but there's so much going on in Fates that she's kinda...sidelined too. (Also I have a Lot of thoughts about Ikona as a character despite her being very dead, never getting a design, and barely having any story significance, but that's probably more a me thing).

For Echoes definitely Faye (rip) bc damn if the writers and fans didn't do her dirty. Like Fates, we'd be here all day if I listed every grievance I had about every 3H character, but my guy Cyril deserves the world and not the treatment he got from the writers (mostly for the spinoff) and especially not from fans. For Engage, which I am fairly happy with overall, well...Marni, you would have loved Alear's giant friend-family-group if only the writers loved you as much as I (and a few other fans) do.

13. What do you like most about Fire Emblem? Oooh, there's a lot, I mean I keep coming back to the series for a reason, right? I really enjoy the overall gameplay but especially some of the weird mechanics that make it so I can do wild things every playthrough despite usually sticking to similar strategies overall. Narratively I love, love, love the characters and especially the supports, there's always such a wide variety. It's also really neat to see the art style change every few games bc it means there's never really one "look" to FE (even if I'm way biased bc Hidari has been my favorite lead illustrator so far; I really do enjoy seeing all the different art styles, it's so fun). Also the music is always excellent, and I've actually quite enjoyed the full voice acting the past few games

14. Something you really don't like about this series? The fandom. I mean, okay, yes there's lots of things I could complain about for the games themselves (I'm not fond of the loli dragons as a visual design trope, I think a lot of the fantasy racism is handled in poor taste, I'm not a huge fan of the split-routes as a gameplay or story mechanic, the gender-locked classes are so stupid to me, etc. etc.), but like? Honestly more so over the past few years than when I first got into FE, the fandom's been a really exhausting experience bc any problematic tropes that get used in the narrative are nothing compared to the actual issues I've come across in the fandom (i.e. some fans are racist--and specifically antisemetic--towards other fans over these fictional characters, and honestly I think real live people getting harassed over some fiction media is way scarier than the issues of race being handled poorly by the writers).

Like, yes I still haunt the FE tag bc I have half the fandom here blocked, but it's exhausting to have to keep updating my blocklist after so many years. Anytime I talk to someone in-person about FE I always add the "but listen the online fandom sucks, so maybe avoid it". Like, sure the fandom's not as toxic as what I've heard about some other games, but damn.

Not to say the fandom's all bad--I never would have found your blog if not for FE, and there are so many fans who are chill and fun, and I love seeing all the fanart and headcanons and theories and other fun things, and I do enjoy reading a good critical analysis when I can find one too as well as just general analyses like when people look at the Buddhist themes in the games or the recurring narrative themes (brings me back to reading research papers in college if they're written a certain way), and I still love making my own art stuff for FE and coming up with my own silly headcanons and theories and analyses. Because despite everything my experiences with the negative side of the fandom have somehow, miraculously, not withered my deep love of the characters and series overall. So like, there is a lot of good here too, and I try not to focus so much on the negative aspects of things I enjoy bc it doesn't do anything for me. But sometimes I am Very Tired, y'know?

[iknewiwouldregretthis]

i have not yet gotten a therapist like my doctor told me to do in february but i have a lot on my mind which means it’s time to make a long post so i can put those thoughts somewhere else

i like my job. it isn’t very fulfilling but i like the people i work with and i like that they let me work from home once a week so i can schedule all my appointments on that day and i like that as a company they want to support their employees and all that. but. it’s a very weird place and there’s also a lot of bad things. like the fact that i’ve had almost no work for six months and every time i ask for more work or suggest things i can do, there’s some reason it won’t work. “we’re not ready to pass that to you” or “that won’t be compatible with our new systems” or “the time it would take to build that system isn’t worth the small amount it would get used” and that’s fine! all of those are valid reasons for me not to do something! but every month i have like 35 total hours that i do work! and the rest of the time i’m just sitting there and i know it’s nice to have a salaried job where i get paid to do nothing but it’s miserable. i mentioned to my dad that i was thinking of getting a second job like some sort of low maintenance online data entry so i could do it on the down time of my first job and he was like “you should work on professional development instead. take classes. maybe see if you can get an MBA online. train skills that you’ll use in your next job. you don’t want to have one job forever, right?” which i hadn’t thought about. i’ve never had career goals and when i got this job all i was looking for was something officey that was pretty consistent. and i’ve been here almost 3 years which is the longest i’ve ever had a job (not including the three years i was an RA in college but that didn’t include summers so)

thinking about leaving is weird, but also being at the job has gotten weird and not just because i sit in my cube all day and do nothing. my best friend at work was having issues for months because she got a new supervisor who kept trying to micromanage her and thought she wasn’t doing work because my friend wasn’t doing the work in a visible way like the supervisor thought she should. my friend asked for a sabbatical or short term leave so she could take some time and get her shit together a bit and instead they fired her, citing that she was already on probation (which was a whole other bullshit thing. they wouldn’t let her transfer departments and wouldn’t tell her why but scheduled a meeting with HR that got pushed back 5 times over 2 months and when they eventually had the meeting they told her she was on probation because she was doing the work the same as she always had which worked for the old supervisor but not the new one. she got in trouble when i stopped by her desk to chat with her so we started doing weekly walks and all she could ever talk about was how she had another meeting with her supervisor where she asked for clear guidance and direction and got none). it’s been really weird at work without her and now one of my other best work friends is retiring. i still like my department except one, but i feel like all the people i like at work are slowly leaving. and if it’s just a job where i don’t like anyone and i don’t do anything then there’s no point in staying right? but also things might look up.

it’s still better than looking for a job but i’m not sure how long that’ll hold.

the other problem is that i’m bad at looking for jobs because i don’t have good quantifiable skills. i’m good at working with people and solving problems and doing a bunch of other things that don’t show up well on a resume. my friends make jokes about not knowing how i got this job but to be honest i’m not really sure how it happened either. they saw some sort of potential and i’m grateful for it because i sure do love acquiring money to live. and also a lot of the people. theoretically i could keep in touch with them but they all live in the next city or two over from me. and i have no idea how that’d go. when i lived with my sister i never did anything or went anywhere because i was always exhausted. maybe once i move into my new house i’ll have the energy to have friends at a slight distance. i hope so.

i also feel like maybe this isn’t really real problems. maybe i’ve been living in “get out of a bad situation” mode in my home life that once i finally got out of the bad situation, my brain didn’t know what to do and started looking for a new bad situation to worry about getting out of. maybe i’m overthinking it all because i’ve been living with my dad for almost seven weeks with another week and a half to go. even though it’s better than living with my sister by several orders of magnitude it’s still tiring being a long term guest in someone else’s house. i’m so ready to go home and move and finally live somewhere where comfort and contentment are on the table and readily available and then look at my life from there and see how i’m doing. and also then get a therapist because i will finally be able to look up therapists in the privacy of my own home with no one around (an inexplicable sticking point for my brain)

i can’t stop thinking about the “when it’s all okay i’m going to make a cherry pie post” because 1 cherry pie is my favorite and 2 it will all be okay when i move to the new house and it’ll be a little while before i can make a cherry pie from scratch but absolutely day 1 i am going to the grocery store to get a frozen one to cook so when i’m unpacking in my brand new house and putting my furniture together and may or may not have internet yet i will make the house smell like cherry pie and then i am going to eat it for dinner and probably breakfast the next day.

11 days.

[mythicaldemigoddess-of-deltarune]

My Thoughts If It Turns Out Lucifer Is A Terrible Dad To Charlie...

[Note: Don’t Have To Read This, It Is Optional...also besides talking about Lucifer and Charlie Morningstar, it also talks about some other stuff as well...

Also Don’t Reblog Without Permission.]  

if it turns out that Lucifer Morningstar is a terrible dad to Charlie, and even belittles her dreams of helping those who can be redeemed, and he goes so far as heartless name calling....

he would kind of make me glad that my own Dad wasn’t really around, well him, and my Soul-Dad to where half of my very being is fragmented from...

I mean it could still be possible I’m a fusion of different fragments coming together as one....though, it’s okay not everyone believes that...

is it weird I would want to either flip Charlie’s Dad the double bird...?

or punch him in the groin for his insensitive foolishness if it turns out he is being mean to Charlie...? don’t know if that would be canon, but what if it does turn out that way...?

and I just cracked/pop my knuckles...if it were possible I would slap him...

even if it is just thoughts, but still...

Charlie wants to help people, and while I do believe that not every one of the sinner demons can be redeemed, and would possibly go to the Double-Hell,

which might actually be a place, well in the ficto-universe...

so Angel mentioning it as a joke, might not really be a joke at all.

I mean I do have a theory that Hollow-Earth might actually be a Afterlife,

and the planet we call “Earth” might actually be named after it.

and for all we know the first ever generation Earth Angels, who might of been Hollow-Earth Angels, might of been Angels of the Hollow-Earth.

even if Greg Universe is something in the Gray, at least he does care about his son....but he still shouldn’t of made sure that Steven’s Human Half & Gem Half got the proper care, he never put Steven in school or gave him a home tutor when he became rich, and he could of had Steven take online classes...

oh and let’s not forget, that even I can agree with Connie’s Mom in not being pleased with how Greg had never once taken Steven to the doctor...

and Steven is right about Greg, that he is just as bad as Steven’s Mom.

but even if we can like the good parts of Greg and Rose, it still doesn’t excuse them for the terrible things they done, plus it is still possible Greg wasn’t seeing the full picture....when it came to his parents.

in theory, I still believe that one of Greg’s parents or both, may have suffered from very sensitivity to their hearing, I forgot what it is called, but I know it has something to do with very loud noise causing pain and displeasure, and the reason why he wasn’t allowed to have any music, might have to do with him ignoring one of the rules that his parents made, that being not to have the music up to a very high volume.

he has also been, possibly ungrateful to his parents, and while they might of been unfair at times, some of their reasons might of been understandable.

such as the curfews and chaperons, it might of been for his own safety, it could be possible that back during Greg’s younger days, their neighborhood would at times become dangerous and it only become less so some years later...

their having him take up wrestling, was likely for self-defense, so he would be better protected in case he stayed out way late and had a run in to any danger.

while Greg believes he is fully the victim and his parents were just being unfair and controlling, I don’t believe he was seeing the full picture.

and what can make his parents unfair, is that they never properly explain to Greg why they gave him certain foods and rules....

so in other words, both Greg & His Parents are at fault.

even King Asgore & Former Queen Toriel (but becomes Queen again in The Queen Toriel Ending Timeline.) have made mistakes as parents, when they don’t properly watch their two children and make sure no harm comes to them.

and Toriel shouldn’t fully blame Asgore for what happen to the human children.

because if it is true that she let them go outside to the ruins...

then she is still partly responsible, not just the monsters who caught and even took the souls of those humans....

what can make Toriel from Deltarune a Bad Mother, is that she might be ignoring the fact that her own adoptive child, Kris...might be having depression.

it might be possible that no one in the Hometown that Kris is living in, can even tell that they are depressed, or if some do, they probably choose to ignore it.

it might not help that some are bragging about how great Kris’s brother is, this might also make them feel they can never be as great or wonderful as him.

it might also come from their divorced parents as well, but it might be possible that it isn’t as bad with Asgore, but might be so with Toriel, who could make her own child feel worse when she says “why can’t you be more like Asriel, Kris..?”

not sure if she would ever say that in the canon of the game.

being told to be like your sibling all the time, and it seeming like the other sibling is getting some form of favoritism, might not help the confidence of the one that is being compared to their sibling.

it could be possible that Kris started to close themselves off before the Player came along, because they were always being either bullied, or mocked behind their back or told by their own Mom that they should be more like Asriel.

also when the new chapters of Deltarune do come out, I think I will be happy to just watch walkthroughs of the chapters, and just be happy with the two chapters so far that I can play, and maybe wait until all the chapters are in a game card in a Nintendo Switch Game Case....but until that happens, I can just enjoy other fans play the future chapters...                                       

and I wouldn’t be surprised that Charlie will reach a breaking point because of her Dad....there might be a line he shouldn’t cross when it comes to what she is trying to do.

and like the old saying goes....

Hell Has No Fury Like A Woman’s Scorn...

so he should be careful not to cross a very dangerous line, lest he feels his own daughter’s unbridled true wrath unleash upon him....

I think my pendulum might be pulling a prank on me again,

I decided to try to ask Archeia Amethystia (also known as Holy Amethyst.)

if I’m a descendant of Lucifer’s Twin Flame, and I was suspecting a “No”

but instead of giving a “No”, it ended up giving a “Yes”.....

I mean I couldn’t help but have the those thoughts pop into my head, I guess after wondering about if her name is Archeia Lucille, but then the idea that “Lucille” might be her nickname, and her full name might be Lucillea.

maybe I should break out the food salt again, because for all I know, it could be a prank....while I can believe that my pendulum can give truthful answers, other times it can pull pranks.....like each time it gave me a “Yes” about the Aliens from Mass Effect being Real In Real Life, that only gets my hopes up...

 even if that were true, about the whole Descendant Of Archeia Lucillea...

so what, does that make Charlie Morningstar my Ficto-Family...? lol

well “Ficto-Family” can go in different ways, like ficto-adoption and the type where there is a ficto-character that is based on a real person who is either your ancestor or a distant cousin...

and well Dracula is based on a real person, who turns out to be my distant half-cousin, we have the same paternal ancestor but the said paternal ancestor had two different wives, and he is a descendant of one wife, while I and my family are the descendants of the other....

so I could basically view Mavis, her son Dennis from Hotel Transylvania and even Draculaura from Monster High as Ficto-Cousins, because they are family to the different ficto-counterparts of the real life dracula who inspired the ficto-vampire Dracula.

even the Dracula from that new Renfield Movie....

is it weird to want to tell that version of Dracula these words, that is very known by Grif who tells the same thing to his sister, Kai....

“Don’t Embarrass The Family!”

at least Drac, Mavis’s Dad, has a good heart....

hopefully I can see that Renfield Movie sometime.                           

I do wonder if Lucifer did cross a line that might make Charlie really REALLY super unhappy, would she end up flipping him off or giving him a groin punch....that would be awesome if that happen. XD

but only if it turns out he is a bad dad, and not the type of “bad dad” meaning a cool dad who gives that whole “bad boy vibe”....

it is possible that both Charlie’s parents are terrible parents, even if Lilith might turn out to be in the gray, meaning she can be a terrible mother at times but other times she can be very loving and supportive and she might not know she can be neglectful at times, but if she does find out, she might try to do better for her daughter’s sake...

anyway maybe I can talk more about this another time, and hopefully we can get a view on how Lucifer will act in front of Charlie, to see if some theories are true or not, if he is a good dad or a bad dad....

and no matter the Lucifer in the real or the ficto-universe that has different counterparts of him...

I am still going to view that song “We Are Never Getting Back Together”

by Taylor Swift, making Lucifer and Archeia Lucillea....

my pendulum could still be pranking me about his twin flame though...

I can try to see about using food salt later or whenever to stop it from pulling that kind of prank....anyway I think in the next post I can talk about some video game theories, maybe FNAF or Undertale/Deltarune.                                  

[pandemic-posts2023]

Zoom-Bombing To The Top

"Get off your phone and go outside." With the modern generation, many parents seemed to consistently reiterate this to their tech-addicted kids. However, that all changed around March 2020. With the unprecedented spread of the pandemic, parents had to practically beg their kids to stay indoors for months on end as a means to stop the spread.

This is where zoom comes into play. As the message of "physical distancing" not social distancing was relayed, a way for many individuals to stay connected and get through this once in a century situation together was on this video-conferencing platform. However, the profits generated from zoom came as jobs had to quickly pivot to an online setting to continue some level of production. The firm saw a rise of 370% within the last three months of 2020, absolutely unprecedented growth fueled by the pandemic.

To provide some context, Zoom Video Communications was founded in 2011 by Eric Yuan, a former Cisco executive. The company's goal was to create a video conferencing platform that was easy to use and accessible to everyone. In the early days, Zoom faced competition from established players like Skype and Google Hangouts. However, the company's focus on user experience, reliability, and security helped it gain traction among businesses and individuals alike. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 further accelerated Zoom's growth, as remote work and virtual meetings became the norm. As of 2021, Zoom is one of the most widely used video conferencing platforms in the world, with over 300 million daily meeting participants.

But how did zoom become so popular and exhibit signs of a monopoly? Well, the reasons are rather simple. As mentioned before, zoom was the platform everyone could turn to during the pandemic from the smallest kids looking for fun to grandmas enjoying knitting classes there was a place for everyone. It was as simple as joining through the link leading to an array of possibiities. Customizable backgrounds, screen-sharing and so on. One thing that helped me personally was the recording of specific sessions that I could re-watch so that I could continue playing on my x-box :). Jokes aside, zoom saw this reliance as a way to maximize profits. While the free version still has neat features, payment of simple licenses could allow up to 300 members to join a call for a large amount of time. This was very convenient for companies having large team gatherings, college seminars with a lot of students, or online parties where your neighbor is telling you to keep it down at 3 am. Zoom could charge different prices to different groups since they had the power to do so. Essentially, the uniqueness of zoom during the pandemic allowed them to maximize profits through price discrimination, all of which are characteristics of monopolies in monopolistic markets.

With research finding that employees actually show more productivity in an online setting as opposed to in person ones, the future of zoom is here to stay especially as the company transitions towards Zoom business for a more corporate lense. But let's be honest, we all want to get up at 9 am and show up to meeting from the comfort of our bed (I know I do for sure). Regardless, zoom showed that when there is a need for a product much like Google and Facebook, a company can take advantage and take the market by storm. Rise in Demand Due to Covid (Figure 1). Rise in Supply Due to Technical Improvements and Mass Production from Covid demand (Figure 2)

https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/economics/monopolistic-markets/