#i thought very hard about information technology and there's still time. i just have such a passion for gender/queer studies

[non-un-topo]

Applying for my Master's in gender studies kind of feels like shooting myself in the foot, but then again, it's not a useless discipline if it's being systematically censored and erased.

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

papa, me want more yandere jjk zombie apocalypse!!!

no pressure tho lol love your writing

Me when someone calls me Papa:

But seriously thank you Hope you enjoy! 🖤🖤🖤🖤

Zombie Apocalypse: Yandere Jujutsu Kaisen (3)

1  • 2

When you awaken it’s Nobara and Megumi who retrieve you for another tour

This time taking the time to let you partake in the activities with some of the residents

But it’s all to pass the time before Suguru comes to retrieve you

“Hey (Y/n) we have a few more tests to run and after that, I’ll let you go have fun with Satoru.”

Despite your reluctance to deal with the boisterous man you follow Suguru back to the lab where you first met him in

Chatting about anything you could 

“So I finally wanted to inform you about why you can’t go to the other neighborhood and why you have that wristband.”

“Finally! Even if I can’t be with them I want to see them still–”

“...(Y/n)...I’m so sorry.”

Setting you on the patient table Suguru informs you that your blood is the key to immunity against the zombie disease

Using some advanced technology to find you and put the wristband on you to label you among your group of friends

But that wasn’t all 

Holding you close he confides in you that in separate interviews your friend group had proven to be willing to go to extremes to get their hands on the cure

Said extremes were violent and alarming

all suggesting they’d abduct you and make you a living blood bag for them

It was actually not that far-fetched to you

You knew your friends were loosening their morals

You had to 

Especially after the betrayal from one of your members

It was likely that they may have come off that way

But you wonder if that would’ve applied to you as well

You really had no way of knowing

“(Y/n) I understand that this is difficult to take in…just know that me and Satoru are here for you. We’re going to protect you, no matter what.”

He was holding your chin as he looked into your eyes with promise

Letting him hold you in a hug

Suguru has a hard time holding in a smile that twitches widely on his face

After this Suguru takes the day off joining you to experience the different activities 

Satoru joined you both shortly thereafter

“Yay! My two favorite people are baking so adorably! It’d be a shame if someone came and tickled one of them relentlessly.”

“Sorry (Y/n).”

“Wait what—Ahhhh! Hahahaha!”

They’re pretty persistent when it comes to chasing away the thoughts of your friends possibly being as dangerous to you as they were to the zombies you’d been running from 

Enough for you to miss them when you once again say goodbye to Nobara and Megumi after they lead you to your room 

But before you can completely settle on your bed to sullenly stare at the ceiling the door to your room clicks open

“Heyyo you ready for me to show you what movies we’ve got? Of course, you are! C’mon, sweetcheeks!”

“Hope we didn’t wake you but we figured we’d hate to leave you alone.”

“Uh, thanks, you guys.”

“It’s no problem, the mind on its own is a scary place.”

“Yeah…”

“That’s why we’ll never let you go there! Now are you ready for the ultimate movie night? You’re not going to get a wink of sleep!”

That being said by the time the sun rose you were already resting on the couple your head in Satoru’s lap while Suguru held the rest of your body up

Completely oblivious to the second time the lock to your door opened up 

“You two look cozy!”

“Do not yell someone is clearly asleep.”

“So? I have the key to this door so it’s practically mine too.”

“The urge to decimate you always returns with a vengeance.”

“Ouch so cruel~!”

Suguru groaned and rolled his eyes at the both of them checking if you stirred at all

 while Satoru smiled at the blonde one of the duo only to receive an annoyed push of his glasses

“Nanamin you came back earlier than I expected.”

“Yes, my…partner took a very impulsive approach this time around.”

Suguru figured he’d chime in too, “Mahito did you bring any of them back alive?”

Mahito made a face putting a peace sign up as he posed mocking the anime signage now left as relics of the world before

“What do you think?”

“I don’t necessarily care, it’d just make things easier for them.”

“It is unbecoming of you to lie Doctor Geto.”

“Yeah, I could tell you were just itching to get your hands on those pigs!”

Suguru chuckled reaching to brush his hand against your cheek

“Maybe I was hoping to…enjoy a roast. It’s unfair if you’re the only one to enjoy the results of our labor.”

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hi Raven!

I’ve read your recent writings for the Fellow blog event (the one where Fellow meets Jamil and the one where Fellow is informed of who exactly was in the NRC Playful Land group) and that’s got me curious.

I know this is mostly speculation, but who do you imagine Fellow’s ex-employer to be such that he would be so casual about the identities of his marks? People like Jack, Ace, and Trey are ordinary and come from ordinary families. I would understand for the likes of Vil and if you stretch it, Cater, who while rich and/or influential (or are the children of such people) can still be considered ‘regular’ rich kids. My point is that sadly I feel it wouldn’t be hard for their kidnapping to be labelled as a tragic disappearance and swept under the rug.

But then concerning others such as Kalim, Leona, the Tweels, Ortho, and such, it would spell much trouble for the kidnappers? As Jamil put it to Fellow, them disappearing isn’t a matter that can simply be hand waved away. I have no doubt that Fellow’s ex-employers aren’t small time crooks and actually have power, but surely that power has its limits in the face of what they would have to deal with. They wouldn’t be incurring the wrath of one force, it would be many. Many forces, I might add, with the power and resources to track them down even through unofficial means. As a side note, Book 6 showed us how Idia was willing to destroy the world for Ortho.

Then again, it could just be Fellow’s hubris getting the better of him such that he has vastly overestimated the capabilities of his ex-employers? He seems to me like someone on the lower rungs (sorry Fellow) of the Playful Land criminal endeavor and wouldn’t be privy to the details or who exactly is involved. I dunno, maybe I’m thinking too much into this. But it would be nice to hear your thoughts on the matter!

[Referencing this post and this post!]

Yes, Fellow is very small fish to fry compared to his employers. We learn in his Playful Dress vignettes that Fellow only took up the Playful Land gig because he happened to find a job posting for it that pays well. It's not likely that he has a lot of say in what goes on if they were looking to hire just about anyone willing to do the dirty work, despite claiming to be the park manager.

While he doesn't seem to know the exact details of who the more influential boys of the group are, he at least knows about their affiliation with THE prestigious Night Raven College (which is partly why he targets them in the first place). However, Fellow does still demonstrate complete assurance that they can get away with their entire operation. I think this is the result of two factors. One is, as you may have suggested, Fellow not knowing much about the inner workings of the organization (and thus having no knowledge of its limits). The other is far scarier (and seems to be more likely to me due to the evidence we have on hand), which hints at a criminal underbelly in Twisted Wonderland that holds even more money and influence than even the Asim family has. The latter is implied, as Fellow brags quite often about his benefactors and even discusses the construction of the park as being the result of many powerful mages. Cater also mentions early in the event that Playful Land has been trending on socials lately, but this also implies that NONE of the people that went missing after going to the park made headlines or drew suspicion to Playful Land. This means that not only do the people behind the park have money, but somehow also the far-reaching power to control literally every bit of information on the web about them. Let's not forget too that they SOMEHOW have the technological capabilities to jam and limit Ortho's capabilities, even though this guy was made by a genius inventor.

Now look, I'm not saying that frightening organizations like this don't exist in real life. To deny that is to be ignorant. What I am saying is that for game like Twst (where several of the main characters are from very crazy wealthy families), it's asking us to do a LOT of suspension of disbelief in order to sell the story. This is just the beginning of my list of gripes with the logic of Playful Land. If you want to read more of my thoughts on the subject, you can check out this post!

[yanderes-galore]

I have a request. A scenario where romantic yandere Master Chief becomes self aware and realizes he's in an video game. Though now he desperately wants to be with the reader.

Sure! This fic has two parts so this part will be a bit of a set up to the actual yandere behavior of Chief in part 2 (Hopefully).

I tried to make it make sense yet I still struggle with Self-Aware characters, lol 😅

Bigger Picture - Part 1

Yandere! Self-Aware! Master Chief Scenario

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Self-Aware game character, This is mostly set up, Slight obsession at first sight, Dubious relationship, Slight possessive themes implied, Possible OOC Master Chief.

The Master Chief has always been the best of the best of the best. People assumed he became who he is through hard effort and training. John was just naturally great.

But humanity's greatest hero had gotten help.

Was it Cortana who helped him through it all? Perhaps Blue Team? Maybe even the Arbiter, Thel?

While they have helped his journey, that was not the only help he got.

Master Chief, John, had gotten outside help. Help beyond his comprehension. This help was not Forerunner in nature, they were human.

They were you.

The Master Chief had been guided by you through his journey. He had fought through the Covenant, The Flood, and the Prometheans all with you. You were a presence who was meant to be Chief's other half.

You were also how John had realized his life was a lot smaller than he thought.

You see, like an AI, John's life is fabricated. All of these missions, all these lives he sought to protect, it all felt real. To him, it felt very real and important.

Then when he defeated the Didact and Cortana warped him to a new plane, Chief saw something. Before he saw Cortana again, he was a screen. He saw you, a device in hand.

Originally these images confused John. Who was it that he saw? Why did he feel... comfort.

When asking Cortana or any other part of the UNSC about it, they assumed he had brain damage. His scans showed he was fine, however. No one else knew about the figure he saw.

It would take a long time before Chief understood. To him it felt like forever, it was probably nothing to you. It was then he knew the truth...

He's fake. It's all fake. His life is only able to exist because of one presence, yours.

You were the only thing that made him relevant. Not only did you guide him, you controlled him. It took Cortana saving him after the Didact for him to understand.

This information cursed his mind.

John was no more a construct than Cortana, was he? He feels like he wasn't supposed to know this. He wasn't supposed to know about you.

Now John wanted to know more. For now he'd focus on his missions, yet he was always looking for a way to see you again. He wasn't sure what exactly made him want to free himself of your control, but it was a new goal.

John began to find himself fascinated by Forerunner technology much more than before. He wonders if this way he can find a way to you. The thought of learning the truth about you is what now drove him.

While you were simply playing your favorite game, you had no idea of what was going on. You had no idea that John was sentient. You had no clue what went on when the game was off

You were completely oblivious to John's desperate scour for the truth of his existence.

In fact you would have no idea what was going on until it's too late.

John began to fall for the idea of meeting you. Romantic attraction didn't occur in his mind, in fact it wouldn't until much later. All he knew was he needed to find a way to meet you. Even if it went against the mission.

The closest John got to seeing you was small glimpses. Occasionally he'd "hallucinate" and see you again in front of a screen. He began to grow attached to your guiding presence, yearning to learn more.

He didn't know your name, why he was seeing you, and why he needed to know this all now. Was there a reason? Did YOU choose for him to know?

Was he meant to see any of this?

John's search for information began to degrade his mind. He wasn't meant to know any of this. It wasn't in his code.

But as he continued, soon he became more than an avatar for some code in a game. Soon, he became more and more real as he grew more sentient. It builds up and up... until...

He finds a way.

By what appears to be by accident, Chief stumbles through a wall.

It was unintentional, it even scares the unshakable Master Chief for a moment. He... was in an entirely new place. One that look very green and... binary.

It was like looking inside of an AI. The scenery unnerved John as he explored. Was this also something he was meant to discover?

Then he finds it.

Amidst the darkness surrounded by green lights, he sees a screen. A screen that shows the person he's been looking for. He feels... relieved.

It's you.

That controller-like device of yours sits down on on a desk. Meanwhile you're looking through a bookcase. John doesn't realize he's drifted closer, reaching his hand out.

You looked so peaceful. A human who's not surrounded by intergalactic war. It's a feeling he's not very used to.

He stretches his arm out to the screen towards you. You've been tormenting his mind for so long. Now... he can finally know the truth.

When he sees you... his mind thinks of one thing.

You're his guardian... his guide... you're his.

He presses against the screen, visor not looking away from you... and he falls through.

[perplexingluciddreams]

Using the internet and technology with high needs autism

I have been trying to put this into words for a while, but due to the exact thing I am making the post about, it has been very difficult.

First of all, a short (ish - I am not the best at concise) background of me and technology: Used to play games on dad's phone, and later watch YouTube videos on family tablet (with parent restrictions). However, ability to navigate devices was very limited, and if something went wrong I just panic and give to an adult.

We used computers a bit in school for work and educational games. Every time we went to the "computer area" I would cry because I knew I wouldn't be able to find the webpage on my own, or sign in to something, or type in a word document. At these times in school, usually another pupil would just sigh loudly and then come and do the computer thing for me over my shoulder.

I had an MP3 player that I got for I think my 8 or 9th birthday. The only thing I knew how to do, was play music and google search. But I still didn't really understand what a "link" was, or how to find important information. We were supposed to learn online research skills in school, but nobody ever explained the most simple stuff to me, so I lack the basic knowledge.

I got my first phone at age 10. This was when I also first get Instagram, my first social media (parents set up for me). I was in a group chat for my school year, but the only time I put a message there is when mum asked me to ask a question, about a non-uniform day for example. Nobody interacted with me in there, and apart from the messages I don't know how to navigate the app. I posted a few pictures a few times, but only when someone else recommended, and I didn't interact online.

I have poor language comprehension, slow processing and take longer to learn new skills. My computer skills and especially typing skills are majorly behind my peers. I have slowly learned some skills allowing me to be even on Tumblr in the first place, but I still need a lot of support and it makes me very anxious. Part of my difficultly on social media, is the social interacting part. Mostly due to low interest.

But my biggest challenge is poor comprehension. I get very anxious and upset when I come onto Tumblr and all the posts I try to read don't make sense to me. Especially when the post is about a topic I care about - if I read it and I can't know what people mean, then I will just be very upset for the rest of the day.

Second biggest challenge, not being able to express opinions on important topics. Often, I can't even understand something. Then, I can't form an opinion because it's too complex. Or, I have an opinion, but I don't understand if someone agree or disagree with me from what they write.

I work so hard to gain skills and learn enough to even be here, and then all I can find about people like me is other people arguing about our existence. Want to express my frustration at this. To even write this post I had support from mum, and it takes all my mental energy.

It is true that I have low interest in socialising - direct impact of autism. So social media maybe not best place in the world for me, by default. But I still want to understand and be included. Not be treated like place to just ask "am I counting as high support needs". I don't understand even my own needs enough to answer this for myself - I definitely can't answer for anyone else.

A lot of my challenges, come direct from autism. That's just a fact. Wish it was easier, very often. But also wish it was easier online - I can't be part of outside community, only online.

I post here to express thoughts and feelings, that is also just what this post is doing. I did less big big edit on my words this time, wanted words to be closest to how I think it (don't think in words so not possible to show abstract thoughts direct, but closest to first translation).

[apostleofthreedimensions]

Timeline

A timeline of every time a Spacelander has visited Flatland! Starting with...

Flatland's Year 0!

My friend @frau-line had the idea of a messiah and an apostle that fell in love and lived in Spaceland together. I also saw an idea for a god myth that included a picture of a sphere with a line orbiting around it and thought that that was a banger design for a god(s). Though I cant for the life of me find it now... its a small fandom I'll see it eventually.

With that out of the way, heres these two nameless but lovely ladies. I think at this point Flatland would be in like, caveman times or something, but the line is a fast learner and quickly absorbed all information that the sphere gave her.

As for Spacelands society, theyre far ahead of Flatland, but still not nearly as technologically advanced as they are in the film. Maybe like aztec times...?

Theyve just found Flatland and know exactly nothing about it. They sent the sphere to go check it out, and when she came back a month later they had a Flatlander with them.

They study the line and Flatland and they find out... something... that makes it so they set a concrete rule to only ever visit once every thousand years to impart knowledge upon the primitive Flatlanders.

I have no idea why they decide to do this every 1000 years. Perhaps the line dies shortly after her ascension to Spaceland (due to gravitational forces) and the sphere is heartbroken and bitter and shes like "Flatland is extremely fragile we must only interact with it rarely or we will FUCK UP and KILL things"

Year 1000

frau-line fuels this scenario and the next as well. Her ideas are some of the most interesting and compelling I've seen so its hard not to steal :P

The messiah of the Year 1000 wasnt exactly thrilled to do this job, but the first official visit was something highly anticipated and that he was specifically taught to do, so he studied hard and practiced well. He thought it easy and simple until, well...

Unfortunately, the year 1000 apostle must have been at least a little unhinged before enlightenment, so this messiahs mission went wildly off the rails. As soon as he finished his geometry homework, he started a massive country-wide riot, and martyred himself before anyone could ask what he was rioting for.

As for his shape I think he was either a hexagon or an octagon i cant remember im so sorry frau line 😖😖😖

Any fucking ways the messiah is like

And he has some like. Idk not trauma, but he is a little fucked up by it and thinks he should have taken it more seriously or whatever. Who cares though

Year 2000

Saturnius and Areia. Thanking frau-line every day for creating these guys, their plot is so captivating and I have a huge soft spot for Ariea specifically.

Saturnius is a noble sphere prince that takes his job deathly seriously, and Areia is a low class line determined to spread the gospel no matter the cost. The cost ends up being a holy war that is far more destructive than the year 1000 apostle could have even imagined...

Nothing I could say about them could live up to Suovetaurilia, so please give it a read!

Year 3000

You know who these guys are.

Year 4000

Finally, my home grown boys!

Xerxes is very lacking in the self confidence department and is trying to be the best most effective messiah to date to prove himself. His hopes are shattered when he happens to pick Claude, an average pentagon working an average 9-5 job, who doesn't give a singular shit about the third dimension at all. Xerxes doesn't give up easily, and secretly interacts with Claude even after the millennial visit in order to convince Claude to become an apostle. Unfortunately, it turns out Claude is just as stubborn.

...And thats all I have! This is all just my personal headcanon, so I'd really love to hear what you all think the timeline looks like!!

[thebeastofblackmoor]

honest CW Drew Crew endings

Nancy: After multiple seasons spent wondering if her Hudson lineage made her a bad person, her fears are confirmed! Her soul was that of one of the original Hudsons who was the ultimate oppressor and sacrificed children to create monsters that would erase crimes from memory to defend perpetrators. Explicitly out of guilt, Nancy takes to the road alone to erase these beasts from the face of the world. She's in a distance relationship with Ace, though, so that's all we care about.

Ace: Despite being a genius computer hacker, Ace decides to get into medical examination. (Also alone and far away!) I guess the problem with getting a job in the field he was truly gifted at wasn't that he was having a hard time motivating himself or that he didn't have a good group to support him, but that he was not working with corpses! Despite having claimed in the past that he's never had a group of friends like the Drew Crew and showing no interest in the medical field before last season, he leaves them all to pursue medical examination. Except Nancy, who he's doing long distance with I guess.

Bess: After having been kicked out of no fewer than three households in her life and spending her entire childhood friendless and family-less, Bess's first actual home is burned down by an angry mob and her friends all leave town. She is explicitly devastated by this, but don't worry, this sudden and complete massively triggering abandonment is played for laughs! And she has a girlfriend, so rest assured she couldn't be happier.

George: After having been forced to work her entire life to support her sisters, George selects a notoriously difficult, stressful, and cutthroat career path. I guess she's passionate about it, although like Ace, she's never shown interest in being a lawyer for more than a season. We are informed that her mother just... got better offscreen and that her sisters are grown now! (After one in-universe year.) Rather than finally being able to settle down in her home and be cared for alongside her sisters, she also leaves Horseshoe Bay to hit the grindset far far away from her friends and family. But she's not alone! She has the most boring and random man in existence with whom she has 0 chemistry and we've almost never seen her interact with. Seriously, this is a good thing for her, trust us!!

Nick: Nick's ending is the only one that makes even a little sense, since he has had a long-established interest in tinkering and technology and had an established rapport with Tom Swift. However, the career that he got with Swift Industries is only brought up in the very last scene, presumably because the writers had to pull something out of their asses to justify him leaving Horseshoe Bay, too. He also has an eleventh-hour significant other to run off with.

Seriously, I get that the ending of everyone going their separate ways is supposed to feel "realistic" and like everyone is prioritizing their own happiness, but I am baffled by the fact that anyone in the writer's room thought these were good endings. Everyone's paths came out of nowhere and were way too sudden to feel realistic. The writers love to gripe that they weren't given the time to do the ending they really wanted to pull off, but if that's the case, then they should have adapted the ending accordingly! If they didn't have time to set up all these individual career paths, they should have worked with what they had set up. If they didn't have time to get us to love new romantic interests, just scrap that altogether; not everyone needs to be neatly paired off with someone. If they weren't able to show all the magical Horseshoe Bay adventures they wanted to, they should have left the group intact so that the audience could imagine more and the group would still feel whole rather than randomly and swiftly disbanded, especially since they only did one year of in-universe time, and that leads me to believe the Drew Crew will not keep in close contact. It's not like they're long-term friends.

The focus on everyone having a relationship and a career that trumps their friendship and established happiness in Horseshoe Bay just feels icky to me. Like the writers thought that having a high-powered career and an SO--no matter how irrelevant both are to the established character--is the only way to have happy ending and are the only things that matter.

[ilikereadingactually]

Gliff

Gliff by Ali Smith

this book really fits the mood of my 2025 so far: creepingly dystopian, but maintaining some hope, some avenues of joy and resistance. also, there's a horse, and i was once a Horse Girl, so that had deep appeal.

i loved Gliff top to bottom, but i want to call out the pacing first of all because it worked especially well for me. the way the story and the world unfolds, through the perception of a sheltered kid—and periodically, their future self—really captured the sensation i have right now, of continually learning new and increasingly worse information about how my country and others are actually being run, and where they're going. the innocence of Bri and their sister Rose, and how untouched they are by the literal and figurative brainwashing of technology, creates an opportunity to slowly explore more and more dystopian ideas and experiences that are already happening to other people around them. it's like watching a mystery unfold, and then getting smacked by understanding when Bri's future self interjects; i went on a roller coaster of fear for Bri and Rose, delight at their small and spirited acts of defiance, and the dread/hope mix that comes from knowing where a character ends up.

all of the side characters are exciting as well, real and specific in their personhoods, including the titular horse Gliff. that realism, all the weird idiosyncrasies of actual people, contrasts so effectively with the mundane horror of the world around them and with the very large messages the story is engaging with about knowledge, and community, and liberation, and kindness. about how easy it is to become a part of a terrible machine, and also that there's still hope to break out of it and create disruption on your way. that last part is a hard concept sometimes—that even a person who has been molded to do awful things, for whom cruelty has become normal, can reach a tipping point or find a way out, and what they do next is as important to consider as what they did before. it's a theme that's coming up for me across my media consumption, and it's one i am really trying to integrate into my thinking about the real world.

that was a little bit of a ramble, but this book has me thinking big thoughts! overall i really, really enjoyed it, and i'll be thinking about it for a long time.

the deets

how i read it: an egalley from NetGalley, unsurprisingly!

try this if you: love a horse as a metaphor, still have the stomach to read great dystopian fiction even though we're living in one, or if you watched Tomes & Talismans during library class in school and are still haunted by it

some lines i really liked:

She always missed out the g in conglomerate. I said she did this because she didn't know how to say it, she said it was because she was taking some of a conlomerate's power away from it by mis-saying it.

---

How do you get your education then? he said. We choose to be educated by things bigger than something so small it can be worn on a human wrist, I said. What other way is there? he said. I gestured with both my arms to everything around us. I don't get it, he said. You know, I said. Being here. In person. He looked thoughtful, then superior. I suppose it's not everybody that can afford an educator, he said. Then he told us some of the things his educator could do other than just educate. Heart rate, bloods, steps, nutritional breakdown of what you're eating, internet everything, camera, phone. Transform voice to text. Instantaneous translation but only forty languages (next model up more expensive does one hundred and thirty). Stream anything streamable. Tell the time.

---

What do we need passports for? she said. So we can travel to other countries and prove we're us, I said. Yeah but a passport doesn't prove we're us, she said. We prove a passport's it. We just are us. We're us right now and we don't have any passports to prove we're us. Not having a passport doesn't mean we, what, disappear.

---

A tyrant runs a country. He does this via a lot of other people doing this tyrant's work for him. They do it partly because they think he'll kill them or their families of they don't, and partly because it makes them feel powerful too. One of the things you're not allowed to say in this country is that the tyrant is a tyrant. Anyway the tyrant wakes up one morning to find there's this person out there who is going round telling the populace the tyrant's a tyrant and encouraging them to say so out loud to each other. So the tyrant has the person followed, then attacked, then beaten up and stripped of all their money. Then he has the person arrested, put in prison and occasionally tortured, and starved, and kept alone in the cold. But the person doesn't seem broken by any of it.

pub date: YESTERDAY (2/4/25)! go forth and get it! i really want to own a copy!

[unfortunate--moth]

Master Detectives: Milgram AU (part 1???)

So I made a post about this earlier but here I am putting my two interests together in a blender.

for milgram fans that don't know what rain code is, brief explanation: Rain Code is a mystery solving video game where you play as an amnesiac detective who has made a contract with a death god to solve mysteries. He's part of the World Detective Organization and many others that are part of it become Master Detectives by having these powers called Fortes that are very useful for mystery solving.

With that out of the way, I shall now begin rambling.

So obviously Es is the protagonist and Jackalope is our fucked up little death god. Es doesn't know why they're a detective and sure as hell doesn't know why the fuck they made a contract with an annoying little rabbit thing. So they also don't know their forte- if they even have one. but they meet the other master detectives and begrudgingly have to work with them even though they seriously don't want to.

Yuno | Forte: Glamour With her ability, anyone who looks at her will see their ideal partner. Romantic, platonic, or otherwise. She can only use it for a short period of time, but she uses it to draw information out of suspects. She doesn't take her job too seriously, and she rarely ever takes on jobs that could be dangerous. She excels with interrogation and information gathering, but when it comes to investigating, she isn't the best at it. Still, she's very observant.

Fuuta | Forte: Technology Manipulation He can manipulate technology. To be specific, he can take control over other devices, transfer data from one device to another, see things a person has deleted or hidden, and things of that nature. It comes with limitations, of course. There's a range limit to his ability, not being able to take control of other devices outside of it. A bit of a loose cannon as a detective. While is ability is useful, he tends to jump to conclusions and usually has to pair up with someone so he doesn't convict the wrong person. He is smart, and has solved many cases before, but he tends to work by his own rules rather than the WDO's.

Shidou | Forte: Instant Examination With his forte, Shidou is able to see the state of any living or dead body. He'll be able to see the state any body is in, what injuries there could be, if anything is in their system, and so on. He can't use it on bodies that are already decomposed. With his ability, he's most useful in murder cases. As a doctor, he's also helpful if anyone has been injured. However, his ability doesn't include healing. He can see everything, but he would have to fix things in the traditional way. So even with this ability, he's still managed to lose some people.

Amane | Forte: Divination With her ability, she can gain insight on the future of things. However, her forte is a bit fickle, and she can't control what she'll see. Sometimes it's incredibly useful, but other times it may show her completely unrelated things. Using it too much at once has negative consequences, often leading to her fainting or hallucinating. She didn't join of her own volition. Rather, she was scouted for it. She doesn't really have a interest in mysteries or solving them, but she's come to see them more as a test rather than anything else.

Thats it for now. As you can see, I only wrote down 4 characters mainly because I'm having a very hard time coming up with abilities for everyone else. It's a bit harder than I thought to come up with mystery solving abilities. but yeah anyways!! i may make another post about this if I come up with more, or I might just ramble about other ideas I may have in the future. if you have any ideas you'd like to share I'd love to hear :]

[fallloverfic]

Theory about Fyodor Dostoevsky's age

Spoilers for Bungo Stray Dogs chapter 113:

Maybe someone else has said this, and I admit my comprehension of the BSD plot and characters is a bit fuzzy. Apologies for the repetition and confusion. But well... here goes.

Sigma believes the memory of Fyodor in Bram's castle is at some point in the past, but there's actually no clear evidence it's in the distant past (relatively speaking, I'll get to it).

Things we know about Bram:

He is extremely clueless about modern tech up to seemingly the invention of radio (tech he's heard about, but not experienced). Anything past that, he has no clue. That would be the late 1800s/early 1900s. (Dracula came out in 1897, I imagine that's maybe a reference?)

He was cut into bits and stabbed with the Holy Sword Soluz Levni by Fukuchi around 8 years prior to the story present. This was maybe the second time this happened to him, but if it was the second time, he got his body back after the first time, and had it for when he fought (and lost) to Fukuchi, just like he got it back after the sword was removed the second time in the present.

So we can probably conclude: Bram had his whole body for a period of time up until around 8 years ago.

Considering what we see of Bram's territory and his mind control abilities, I would not at all be surprised if he somehow forced his people/area to be sort of... out of time, I guess? Kind of like the Amish. They're technologically and intellectually way behind, and maybe even informationally cut off (by choice, maybe, at least on Bram's part) - they might have no clue about politics outside their realm, and potentially kill or convert anyone who gets close. Up until Fyodor sneaks in, likely in disguise, to investigate a powerful ability user, possibly to enact that plan with Fukuchi.

This is not the first time Fyodor has been caught and held hostage by an enemy he got away from, in canon. He's smart, I don't think it would be hard to get fake old clothes, fake an identity, and pretend to be of the same time period mind as Bram and his people.

Sort of unrelated: I thought it was odd that we were seeing this side-by-side with Fukuchi's explanation of his plans with Fyodor. Yes, I wanna know what happens with Sigma, too, and what he saw in Fyodor's mind, but it's kind of random for a juxtaposition. Unless you assume... either Fyodor knew about Bram ahead of time, or suspected and we see him exploring, and/or was possibly already coming up with this plan for/with Fukuchi, and this was him getting more information/acting on the plan or something in preparation for Fukuchi. The latter of which means Fukuchi would have had to be alive while he was there.

If the event Sigma sees took place while Fyodor was plotting with Fukuchi, then it took place within the last 45 years, minimum (Fukuchi is 45, so a lot more recently than 45 years cause I don't think they were concocting this plan when Fukuchi was an infant).

Maybe Fyodor discovered Bram and his abilities way before he met Fukuchi, and just had the card to play when Fukuchi needed ideas. There's no reason, really, to assume the events (1 - Fyodor sneaking in to Bram's place, and 2 - Fyodor telling Fukuchi the plan) had to be chronologically near to each other, either. Could have been years - many years - apart. But I think the juxtaposition is quite fascinating. Anyway, it's not precisely decisive for the timeframe, just more subtly indicative of "maybe this was very recent, not ages ago and indicative that Fyodor Dostoevsky was around for the dinosaur times".

The central point I'm getting at, though, is: there's no reason to assume Fyodor did his sneaking into Bram's place much more than maybe a decade or so prior to the present. Perhaps around or right before he concocted this plan for Fukuchi. It's not the first time Fyodor's been drawn in by interesting ability users in canon. Immortal/long-lived Fyodor is obviously still possible, headcanon away. But it's not necessarily true. Like, having a lot of memories to browse due to living for a very long time could be why Sigma is still asleep. There's lots of reasons long-lived Fyodor could be true. But just saying.

[thoughts-with-hailey]

My Life in Prythian - Chapter Seventeen

Dresses

Summary: Dress shopping with Feyfey

I stared at the chocolate croissant on my dainty china plate, the steaming cup of peppermint tea next to it and the familiar sounds of Madame Murser’s tea room a low buzz in my ears. After the catastrophe of the night before I had little appetite, even for the magic that was a chocolate croissant. 

Waking up in Azriel’s arms, his front pressed to my back with his leg thrown over my hip and his arms wrapped do possessively tight around me I could barely move, had been a strange way to start the day. We had both been incredibly silent as we had both realized it was well past training time and no one had come to get us. Neither one of us seemed able to break the tentative truce that had somehow come from the crying jag and though there were a lot fo words left unspoken that needed to be discussed, it seemed we were both on the same page that things could wait. 

Feyre had shown up not long after we had disentangled ourselves from each others arms and yet refused to leave the bed, both staring up at the ceiling until her knock had interrupted us. She waltzed in all bright eyed and bushy tailed ready to start the day with our dress shopping and Azriel had reluctantly left us, but not before placing the softest kiss on my cheek and telling me we would talk later. 

Over an hour later I could still feel that kiss on my skin, along with the ache in my neck that reminded me he had bitten me too. Thankfully Feyre had stayed mostly quiet, seeming to sense my mood, and had suggested tea prior to our dress shopping. Though my appetite was non-existent I still said yes, needing some time before I could really put my heart into finding a dress for the ball. 

“Do you want to talk about it, Hails?” Feyre asked gently from across the table. I glanced up to see her compassionate silver blue gaze on me, her face honest and open and just waiting for me to confide in her. “Is this about the job offer, or about Azriel?”

“Both,” I sighed. 

She nodded knowingly. “I thought it might be overwhelming for you, and if I could have waited longer to inform you I would have. Dresses take time, however, and I didn’t want you to feel out of place at the ball in something that didn’t fit or rushed to find something that fit so you picked something you hated, otherwise I would’ve waited to ask you. Just know that Rhys and I would be honored if you took the position, and if you didn’t there would be no hard feelings at all. You would still be welcome to stay in the House of Wind, do your training with the Valkyrie, whatever you want.”

“I don’t understand why you are all being so nice to me.”

She frowned at that. “Why wouldn’t we be? You’ve been nothing but kind to us since you got here, showing us this wondrous technology you have, getting the house of make more of them, playing with Nyx, hanging out with me and Nesta, making Azriel actually have emotions. Ever since you got here you’ve made out lives better. Of course we are going to be nice to you.”

My lips twitched at the Azriel comment. “He really isn’t good about showing emotions, is he?”

“Not unless it comes to you,” she smirked from behind her tea cup. “When are you going to tell me about what’s going on there? You’ve been very close lipped.”

That was true. I was a relatively open book for Feyre as I had described my life in the human world all the way from my childhood with my mother to my most recent dating adventures before I’d ended up in Prythian (spoilers, there wasn’t much to tell in recent years), but when it came to Azriel I had always steered the subject away from there. My silence on the subject was partly because what was going on was fake and also because I truly had no idea what was going on. 

“It’s…confusing,” I offered. “I think that both of us enjoy each others company while also driving each other insane, so we aren’t entirely sure where we stand most days.”

“I understand that completely,” Feyre smiled wistfully, her eyes filling with memories as her voice turned soft. “Things with Rhys and I were so strained at first, then confusing. It took a while for us to figure it out, too.”

“Right, but Rhys is your mate,” I sighed. 

“Right,” she blinked, her eyes cast down towards her tea then. “Well. Things are different with your situation of course, either way I’m rooting for the two of you. You seem to make him feel something and that’s more than I can say anyone else has done. As far as if he’s good enough for you, I’m not sure yet. I want Azriel to be happy of course, but you come first.”

“You just met me,” I laughed, some of the tension I was feeling easing a bit with her assurances. 

“Girls stick together,” was all she said. 

With that I looked down at my croissant, finally finding the motivation to eat it. 

At least Feyre was on my side. 

Dress shopping is not for me. 

Once upon a time I was one of those girls who hated to wear dresses because I wanted to play with the boys, get muddy and run around wild. I’m still that girl, of course. No one is going to stop me from playing in the mud or splashing in puddles when I have a mind to. Somewhere along the way I developed a love for dresses and silk nightgowns and nicer things. I liked putting on a flowy dress in the summer and skirts with tights in the fall, I liked feeling cute and feminine and beautiful. What I did not like was the actual act of finding a dress because it meant that some lady was poking and prodding every inch of me, tugging my hair this way and that as she tried to ‘figure out my lines’, whatever the fuck that means. 

Standing on one of those circle things in the middle of the seamstresses shop with little more than my panties on as the female bustled to and frow carrying an array of lace and tule while Feyre grinned from the sidelines was not my idea of a fun time. 

“Not this color, it will look horrible with her hair,” the lady murmured, tossing aside a gown. “Oh, she’s a difficult one. Hair the color of fire but skin tone and undertones that put her as a summer? I suppose jewel tones will work well enough to contrast with her hair and not wash her out. The fit, however, is the issue. Curvy enough to fill out a dress, but her waist is too boxy. Legs for days and yet barely any torso to work with.”

I pressed my lips together as she continued her assessment of me out loud, trying my best not to sass her. It had already been going on for what felt like hours and we were nowhere closer to finding a dress, apparently. 

“How long is this going to take?” I asked Feyre quietly. 

“Nesta says she’s usually here for hours,” Feyre shrugged. 

I closed my eyes against the agony tearing through me at the idea of being there longer than five more minutes. “I’m not sure how much longer I’m going to last. Can’t I pick the color at the very least? I’ve been dressing myself for long enough to know which colors I look good in.”

The seamstress, Leotta, swiveled on her heel mid stride to eye me. “You arrived to my shop in all black. You get no say in this.”

“I look good in black!” I protested, thinking about my closet back home that was almost entirely monochromatic. 

“Good, not great. I will find a color that will properly suit you and you will wear it; end of discussion.”

I let her walk a few steps away before I mumbled, “Emerald is obviously the answer here with my hair.”

I saw her pointed ears twitch but she said nothing, continuing on her way to look through yet another rack of dresses. The next four she pulled out for me to try on were all emerald, though. 

When I was in yet another deep sapphire gown, one that I think looked great with both my hair and skin, the door to the shop opened. A familiar voice greeted the person at the front before I spotted Elain’s face in the mirror, her smile wide and her eyes knowing. 

“I heard that you two were here,” she greeted, taking a seat beside Feyre and leaning her head on her sisters’ shoulder. “Something was urging me to stop by so I could see how my own dress was coming along, and once I knew you were here I couldn’t help myself.”

Elain and I had not spoken since that day in the library where she basically threatened me, so seeing here there when I was already miserable had me fighting back a scowl. “Hello Elain,” I greeted as nicely as I could. 

“Hailey,” she nodded, her eyes scanning down my nearly naked body in a way that had me squirming with uncomfort. “I take it that Leotta has yet to find the dress?”

“We’ve been here for ages,” Feyre informed, sipping her wine. “It’s been pretty entertaining. I’m not sure who is going to snap first, Leotta or Hailey.”

Elain only smiled indulgently and shoved to her feet to go see the seamstress, who apparently loved Elain. The two of them bowed their heads together like old friends. After a few moments of discussion Leotta beamed at her conspirator, then rushed off towards the back of the rows and rows of dresses with excitement in her steps. 

“What did you do?” I asked Elain.

She looked over with an empty gaze and shrugged. “I told her what dress I saw you in, and she went to go find it.”

Feyre let out a laugh as her sister sat down next to her once more. Leotta rushed back in not a second later with a garment bag draped over her arms and a smile on her previously frustrated face. “Here we are, here we are! She’s right this is going to look stunning on you. Let me help you into it.”

I stood still as she dressed me, already having learned that protesting to the act would result in her tsking, and once everything was laced together she turned me to the mirror with a flourish. 

“It’s a bit out of fashion in the Night Court,” she murmured, tugging at the hem to drape it perfectly around my legs. “In the Autumn Court, however, they adhere to more traditional fashion and I think this will be one of the most stunning gowns there.”

I couldn’t speak. 

Starring back at me in the full length mirror was someone fit to be attending a renaissance fair. The dress itself was made of such rich, deep golden yellow velvet that drew out of the golden tones in my red hair and amplified the ruby ones. It complimented the slight color that tinged my skin, making my complexion look rosy and healthy. Long, billowing sleeves flared out from my elbows and a tight bodice gave my normally straight dimensionless waist a nice cinch. With a full skirt and ribbons adorning the neckline and hems I looked fit to sit on a throne. 

“Fuck.”

“I told you that was the one,” Elain said smugly from behind me.

“It doesn’t even need to be altered,” Leotta clapped her hands together with glee. “It’s a perfect fit!”

“It will be as long as she doesn’t continue eating so many croissants,” Elain murmured. 

Feyre, seeming to interpret that I was already at the end of my rope when it came to tolerance, quickly stood. “You look wonderful, Hailey! That color really does look perfect on you. Since we have a dress how about we head back to the house now? I’m missing my baby.”

Of course the mention of Nyx calmed me, and Elain seemed to understand she needed to shut her stupid mouth, so Leotta helped me out of the dress and packaged it up for me in a hurry before sending us on our way. 

[tobiasdrake]

Speedballs are online. Let's go set the sky on fire.

After a minor pit stop because it's STORY TIME.

Oh wow, I hated that even more than being yeeted. Give me a moment, I need to find the most valuable-looking thing I could possibly throw up on.

Nuh nuh nuh don't talk like that's a secondary objective. I promised you a murder with extreme prejudice.

I promise you, the next time Aephorul glances at this place he'll be like, "What the hell is dangling from Sky Base?" and it will the Catalyst with a power cord wrapped around whatever passes for their neck.

Because that's what friends do for each other.

But first, it's Story Time. Teaks has a new fable to tell us about Estrid!

Wait, mind magic or wind magic? I thought the Triumvirate said wind magic but I might have misheard them. I do that sometimes. It's hard to pay attention when other people are talking.

I don't... think I saw them using any mind magic, though. Unless that weird bird squawk thing the Illuminator was doing was mind magic. Then again, we might still have the Fuck Out Of My Brain Elixirs in our system. Resh'an never said if the effects wear off.

Alright, so I think B'st is a Songster, then. Resh'an mentioned them using Songster magic, but I hadn't made the connection that Songsters are a race. Which is functionally different from an Ovate.

Confirmed that the ancient peoples of this timeline are a different group from the ancient peoples of our timeline, though the similarities are nonetheless evident: Giant statue, transit ball.

*gasp* B'st's bestie! I'm already not liking where this is going.

Yeah, I had my understanding of this totally backwards. I thought they built Estrid long ago, and then Aephorul just repurposed the statue as a fake god for the birdfolk to worship. Because B'st implied that the Songsters' era was long before Aephorul and Resh'an were ever a thing.

But no. Aephorul violently commissioned Estrid's creation as part of the arrangement to purchase the Great Eagle for Resh'an.

So I guess Resh'an and Aephorul were already immortal alchemists palling around, not yet in conflict, when the Songster civilization was a thing. That does make some sense, since they'd need to still be around for Aephorul to use them for soul experiments and stuff.

So. I don't know what B'st was on about, then, with all that "What, did you think YOU were the oldest one here LOL" stuff. I need to just stop trying to make sense of things without you, Teaks.

Glad to see the gift of prophecy was alive and well in this timeline too. Guessing he didn't like what he saw, though. I feel that. I'm pretty sure prophecies only give you information that you'll understand once it's too late to do anything with it.

Except Garl. Garl always got the best prophecies.

Did he look far enough to see us, though? It's very important to me that he knew we would one day arrive in his world.

He was B'st's bestie, and he died trapped in that one stasis tank in Aephorul's workshop. I need to know that he had this one light to hang onto, that he knew how strong and brilliant and beautiful I am.

YES JACKPOT HE KNEW

Okay, I feel better about his terrible, tragic fate. I think B'st might be giving me stink-eye, though.

Okay, so maybe prophecies aren't all bad. When B'st said the battery could be used to restart the speedball network, I took it to be the last surviving bit of the old speedball power network or whatever.

But no, T'kor built the battery into Estrid as a secret long-term machination to be used only once, for this exact purpose. That makes sense.

HOLD UP WHAT

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA WHAT

I thought that was, like... Some kind of advanced precursor technology that Estrid was holding. BUT IT WAS JUST A HUGE ROCK

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

WHY WOULDN'T HE, IT'S JUST A HUGE ROCK

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

T'KOR WAS A MAD FUCKING GENIUS HAHAHAHAHA WOW

And he knew how brightly I shine and did all this for me. <3 I'm really sad he's dead now. I would have loved to meet him.

That's so sad. I'm genuinely touched by how much ingenuity and planning he put into all of this. I... I think I actually have a little nugget of grief for him after hearing all of that. I hope he felt good about what he'd done in his final moments.

...I hope....

*shouting over edge* THANKS BESTIE! YOU'RE REALLY SMART AND CREATIVE AND PROBABLY HANDSOME, AND I HOPE YOU KNOW THAT WE'RE ALL BETTER OFF 'CAUSE YOU WERE THERE! I'M GONNA DO SO MUCH VIOLENCE TO THE PEOPLE WHO DID THIS TO YOU!!! *kiss blow*

There. If he's seeing the future right now then he probably saw that. At least, I hope he saw that instead of me vomiting on the speedball winch.

Have a good life with the time you have, whenever you are, T'kor.

[the-zapped-part-timer]

Penn Zerothon Day 11

It's a Colorful Life🌈

My Ramblings: So it's not a big deal that Penn is chatting on the MUHU in front of passersby? Hm, ok. I guess we haven't been told that this is a no-no, I just that it was. I mean, such technology would be crazy to see. Anyways, BROCK AND VONNIE! KISS CAM! Hey Old Man Middleburg, what are you- oh, you wanna watch them make out? Ok...

Poor Penn, he just wanted to make the world a litter better and ends up almost killing Phyllis, who would've known it would be flowers, her weakness (and allergy). Wish someone informed Penn that, but did he really never question the "in case of flowers" button (which is just bombs)? Maybe he could've forgotten? Sashi and Boone know what's up. Three months to recover from that? Damn, Phyllis, you poor thing. I'm surprised she didn't lash out.

So colorism? Right? Is that what's happening in the Yellow Submarine world? Also getting flashbacks to the PSI King's Sensorium, which was also inspired by Yellow Submarine. Both wreck my eyes but I'd rather attend the "Feast of the Senses" than be here. But literally that's what's happening here, colorism or shadism. Throw some "The Sneetches" in there too.

I'm surprised there's no really wacky critters in this world. Just foxes, like Belvedere. Rabbits too, but we don't see them.

Rippen stating his distaste for rhymes is reasonable but, I'm sorry my guy, that's their way of life. He tried to voice them and I love his animation for when he did, his little hand movements.

COLORFUL WILHELM!

Veet much like the touch of the Hue's slowly losing their colors each time a rock is taken. Especially when Penn blushes and you see the color fade from his cheeks, very good.

This really is one of Rippen's better days, huh? Heroes are failing miserably, Larry's off with his fox, and he's been able to keep out of the bickering and obstacles of the two groups. I would have died of laughter or sheer second-hand embarrassment for the Trio as the Hues footballed the last rock into my wacky rocky knocker thing. Or I would go on a hot date with a volcano, good pun. Like he said, he can adapt to well worlds, especially wackier ones. He does have more experience, which helps too.

Rippen is so right to ditch the Drabs, he's tired of your color war. Even Sashi agrees with the idea of ditching, nothing states that they needed help from Hues, just save the rocks. But Penn has a lesson to make here! Penn solves colorism! While Boone still thinks the Hues are better.

How long has Rippen had those full-time villain business cards for? Must be sad just to see those wasting away in your apartment. Also, what does being a full-time villain entail? I don't know if they ever properly explained that. I keep thinking if he wins he gets to rule the world he won in, which maybe also that? But it is more than that, just don't know what.

That is the most Maurice LaMarche that Maurice LaMarche can get in his out of nowhere narration. Like I know he voices a lot of characters in the show, but it hits me everytime when he speaks here and his role in the next episode. Why are the rock eggs now just hatching? Do they do that everytime the need to spread color or something?

Now the ending, at first I thought Rippen was smiling because Larry is crying, we learn later on that he finds crying funny. But no! He's very caring and soft towards Larry! Yes, he did seem uncomfortable with the hug, he still assured him that everything will be alright. Such a randomly wholesome moment!

~The Characters~

Penn Zero: He wanted to make the world a little better, but that might be hard back at home, but hey! He did it here, and everyone is better for it.

Boone Wiseman: Boone, you colorist!

Sashi Kobayashi: Hated every second of being there but behaved very well. I would've committed arson.

Rippen: Almost a win, so close! But the power of newly found friendship beat him. Ok, but seriously, I can't stop thinking about the ending! It would have been so easy for him to blow up at Larry, especially after that failure, but he doesn't! He can be such a soft fellow!

Larry: He's gone for most of the mission to go and ride Belvedere, the bestest boy around! Until he bites Larry. Hopefully he learned his lesson that foxes aren't easy to care for. Foxes arr very different from elephants after all!

Dimension(s): It's bright, colorful and wacky... I would hate it there so much. My eyes would burn and I would murder a hue. Me and Sashi will go on a spree if we're here any longer!

Forms: No thanks to any of these. Rippen is the only one I sort of like, he a giant compared to everyone else and a has funny name, Grayson Drabswatch. Actually, Boone's is good to. He pulls of beards well, just like his dad.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Larry Manor🐘

My Ramblings: RACE TIME! Me and Penn are part of the scooter squad, who needs bikes? Also why did Sashi need a back-up wrench to sabotage Penn's back-up scoot? I get the joke, it's funny, but still. Either way she could have just used that grappling hook of hers and swing through the town, Spider-Man style.

But Penn has got a trick up his sleeve, big brain time! Why not just stealthy sneak into Rippen's car and hitch a ride? I bet he's done this numerous times before, he's way to confident in that. Larry does have a ride, but it's just so much easier to hitch a ride with Rippen on the way to their other jobs. Don't forget what the Pilot took from us! Poor Rippen must feel insane randomly hearing Penn's voice, don't do that to the poor old man!

Oh, Sashi tries to swing spider style but the mere idea of a flying shark catches her attention and she hits a pole. Same. My dad used to just say: "Look a distraction!" That always git me as a kid.

Boone's right, it's not about winning, it's about stealing form your opponent's backpack! I would do that. Pickled chubfish? I get why he would eat that, fish makes you smarter according to him... but would that even taste good? Doesn't matter, Phyllis ate the cupcake with the wrapper on, go queen.

MY GOD RIPPEN! The Trio wasn't the only ones racing but wow. They're in the same car and Rippen just hits another (empty) car from the sheer adrenaline like he's racing someone far behind him, slides over his hood, and he freaking tries to slam the Larry's door while he's opening it! Poor Larry has to put up with his ass.

I adore the concept for the episode. No power, no mission! So what will they do for the day? Go to Larry's place of course! Well, everyone doesn't want to at first, I mean, it's kind of weird to be invited by your principal to his place. But we get the sad realization that no one has come to his place, not even for any if his probably awesome parties. Rippen, Boone and Sashi don't give a fuck. I'm surprised that Boone doesn't wanna go. But Penn has a heart and why not? What are your going to do? Literally anything else? Nah.

Now we get to learn that Larry is loaded as hell by winning 32 lotteries. How? By buying the winning tickets, silly. It's that simple.

LITTLE PIECE OF LARRY GIFT SHOP, WE GOT:

Larry T-Shirts

Larry Snowglobes

Larry Mugs

Larry Decorative Plates

Larry Ballons

Larry Lights

Larry Boxing Jester Toy

Larry Toys or Dummys

Copys of A Principal to Live By (his book)

And possibly Larry Keychains? I don't know what those are

And later on we also see a:

Larry Oversized Novelty Hand

Larry Oversized Hat

Larry Back Scratcher (or I guess in this case a butt scratcher)

There's a sale, everything was $10 but now is $6... that's kind of sad.

TONY! THE CUTEST OF BOYS! MY TEACUP ELEPHANT BABY! Also this implies that either Rippen hasn't been here before or that Tony is new addition to Larry's family. Which is just those two.

"I'd rather drown in a pool of balsamic vinegar." That's such a good line, Rippen, and a great eyebrow cock.

Oh, to have a butler who also has a butler. Actually I just want a house. Also, hello Maurice LaMarche- I mean, Fredricks and hello Maria Bamford- I mean, Madame President- I mean Matthews.

Does Larry take the rollercoaster every morning? No wonder he's so wide awake. Also it's called the 32 Express... because he won 32 times.

Phil and Phyllis? Give me that chessboard! I want it so bad! Ah yes, the three means of communication, Penn's MUHU, Sashi's Specs, and Boone's phone... which he left at home. That's funny. Also hey look! He's got a Lazlo Matavaqua poster in his room! So, zapping is on, but no heroes or villains, what to do? Phil and Phyllis will just do it themselves.

The dining room is big and empty, just like the table that has 15 chairs but only 5 are filled. So sad.

We get to hear a bona fide Rippen joke! He got a good one so don't die laughing!

Rippen: What do you call a chef with bananas in his ears? Anything you want. He can't hear you!

Crickets. The joke isn't that funny but his delivery and roaring laughter from his own joke is priceless. Still, Larry didn't even laugh. I liked you joke, buddy. I wish I had that self-confidence when I told a joke.

Anyways, MASTER TONY IS MISSING! Rippen reaction, yes, the elephant. It's so unnecessary to have them say that, but it's funny!

"Why would I want $25 worth of Larry merch?" Why not, Rippen?

Thes dorks, I love them:

Penn: Is little Rippy afraid of a little competishi?

Rippen: Au contraire. Rippy welcomes competishi.

Wow Penn, don't even jump on the idea of helping Larry find Tony? Only when it's a competition and bragging rights? I like Boone and Sashi don't even try, they don't want to be here. Until they see the gaming room.

Why does he have a snake and bat room? So does Old Man Middleburg basically live here? Why is he here? Hmm, quite the mystery.

Remember when Rippen kind of comforted Larry in the last episode? Yeah, he's run dry of softness and niceties by this point.

How did Fredericks figure out that Matthews was behind it? I don't know, but all fingers point to her. A cliche as the butler did it. Rippen looks like such a creeper in those bushes.

Rippen found Tony, he won! That gift certificate that he doesn't want is as good as his! Why would Matthews do such a thing? Again, how did Fredericks know where Tony is? And why does he have Tony's adorable little beanie!? Ah ha! The other butler did it! But why? Because of the pain of being constantly be outdone by someone.

Deus Ex Pickled Chubfish. Was Penn just keeping that in his pocket the whole time? Fredericks probably thought he smelled like pickled death.

Sashi! Why are you tieing up Matthews!? Tony is safe- where did he go!?  Not the snake room that also has bats! Rippen killed a snake with the sheer force of his ass.

It's really depressing to see Rippen almost on the brink of tears about almost losing a competition to a child that doesn't really get him anything, just bragging rights (and a $25 he doesn't want). He's so desperate to have any one-up over Penn and to be proud of finally winning anything. How is he still doing his job? I know what that's like, to do a thankless job. I just recently quit. He wasn't crying, he sounded like he was going to, probably was gonna save that for home.

But oh no! Penn somehow alerted to bats he threw a rock at and attacked him, Tony is in Rippen's grasp now! Rippen is such a big kid sometimes.

So how did Phil and Phyllis' mission go? Phyllis rocketed Phill to a sun, no biggie.

Imagine if you will, seeing your nemesis/art teacher gleefully parading around his novelty items, boasting his win (that you gave him) like a spoiled kid and then he scratches his ass with a back scratcher right in front of you. How would you feel?

It enjoyed how they tied the butlers, and Penn and Rippen all together. Symmetry, my dear. Symmetry. I wanna see more of these two butlers relationship and to see Matthews carry Fredericks more, while singing to him.

Looks like Larry gonna have to change the name of the 32 Express to 33 Express! I like to think that after this stressful time of losing your teacup elephant temporarily, he decides to buy a ticket to blow off steam.

~The Characters~

Penn Zero: Just been listening his heart over and over recently, huh. That's sweet to see. He can be easily jerkass (he can be sometimes), but he's just a cool and kind kid, even to his enemies.

Boone Wiseman: Gamer time.

Sashi Kobayashi: Gamer time.

Rippen: The most pathetic and desperate man know to the multiverse.

Larry: He's got a giant manor, a zoo, a gift shop with his face on everything, a rollcoaster, two butlers, a gaming room, a snake and bat room, a greenhouse and the cutest elephant in the world! What doesn't he have!? More friends...

[pitbullwithawig]

As a member of Gen Z I have something I would like to say, which is a lot more serious I feel like than a lot of the things I reblog or post or whatever. But it's something that I feel like needs to be talked about, which is the mockery of Gen Alpha for rudeness and ignoring social rules and politeness and all that. And so I am going to attempt to explain my thoughts in a way that other people can understand which can be hard for me if the thought has already formed in my head and isn't spontaneous as I type. So bear with me.

So like many people I am on Instagram and Twitter and all that and I see a lot of videos and posts and everything about the "brattiness" of Gen Alpha kids and how they're rude and unsocialised. And lots of these people, calling these twelve year old children out for these issues, have placed their finger exactly on the real problem, though I don't think they really have processed that. If they did they wouldn't be making fun of it.

The reality is that these children who at this point are now twelve years old and beginning to interact with the world in a meaningful way, are the first generation of kids who were fully raised with high speed and stronger technology. These are the iPad kids in the wild. Like, even me and my younger brother who are on the lower end of Gen Z were born at a time when the Internet was in its MySpace and maybe early years of Facebook era. Nobody was giving these things to children just because they were still always considered new. New and constantly changing. But now we have the kids who were born in the twenty teens, when technology was a fact of life and yes a handy way to distract small kids. What's more, nobody was aware of the harm screen's like IPad and phone screens can do to a brain in its very important early stages of development.

So here are these kids now, entering the world. And their entire life they've had a archive of information and other people and things to do literally at their fingertips. Since birth even! And these technologies have interfered with their brain development right smack dab in the crucial years where kids learn about language and social interactions and how the bloody world works. But they learned it looking through or around the skewed filter of a phone screen. So here was the first stage of messed up brain development where they learned that the world works the way it does on chatrooms and in movies and tv shows, where people speak to eachother the way they do online, where their brain is always stimulated by something new just a few taps away. I mean, they learned this skewed version of the world as toddlers! This, for lack of a better description, human code has been embedded at the very base of their brain and everything else that comes after is just building off of that.

Then a few years later comes the pandemic. The big bad pandemic that ruined lives and fucked everyone over, especially the people who were still developing. And suddenly the order of the world has changed and their brains are developing around that strange new order. And this causes them to miss milestones in their brain development.

They're not in a classroom anymore. They can't connect with friends. They can't physically connect with people outside their bubble, in any way. No roughhousing on the playground, no visiting parks to swing around in. Their class is squares on a screen, and if they want to say something without other people hearing there's always the mute button. My point is that already limited social interaction (something essential in reaching many milestones in neural development and learning how to interact with the world) has just dropped to almost zero. Now EVERYTHING is filtered through a screen. Right smack dab in the most developmentally important years of these kids lives.

Even people my age have missed milestones! People in Grade 9 and 10 were far too grabby and overactive because we missed the developmental period where we learned how much touching is too much touching, characterized by people wrestling eachother and poking eachother excessively. AKA middle school boys. Yes, that is an essential part of development. And we missed that because of the pandemic.

So these kids' already fucked up neural pathways get wired in all the wrong ways. And we're surprised when they do not have the capacity to behave as a functioning human beings!?

Yes they are being rude. Yes they are being gross and unnecessarily mean. No I am not excusing them (or their parents) for that. But these poor human beings have the wrong base code! Their brains were built wrong, in the wrong way and the wrong order and to the wrong extents! Maybe, instead of making fun of and putting these literal children down for something they can't help (aka their literal brain development), maybe we should be putting effort into explaining why this is happening and Finding A Way To Fix It. AT THE SOURCE! Inform new parents about neural development and natural milestones. Explain why screen's are not good for literal babies. Educate, educate, educate.

And maybe we can save the disaster that is becoming the human race.

[darkx-the-dragon-kn1ght]

Chapter 12- Part 3

Oh!! Claus!! That old guy was right, Claus really is showering us with presents!

UM?? HEY, THAT’S PRETTY GOOD. THANK YOU.

Well, that worked out shockingly well! Now what do the other ladies have to say?

Hmm- odd that we still don’t have a Coin Case…then again, I don’t exactly remember how we get the Coin Case in mainline games. Like, I thought you get it once you go into the Game Corner for the first time, but maybe not? Maybe there’s more to it than that? And that means there’s more to it here, too?

Alright, well, we can’t get any of these prizes right now anyways, but no harm in simply seeing what-

GAH-!? SLUGMA!? AND SNOVER!? JUST RIGHT THERE, FOR THE BUYING!? RIGHT BEFORE THE GRASS GYM!?

Okay, forget EVERYTHING I said before, we are going on our gambling arc! I need those two Pokémon!! Where’s the Coin Case!?

Those are…fine TMs, but it’s not the Coin Case! WHERE’S THE COIN CASE!?

Oh, you’ve got to be…lemme guess, we don’t get the Coin Case until after we beat Florinia, right? Because giving the player access to a Fire-type and an Ice/Grass-type would make things a bit too easy in a Grass-type Gym, huh? Like how we couldn’t get an actual Ground-type for Julia’s Gym (unless you chose Mudkip as your starter, I guess)?

Alright, fine, game! We’ve got plenty of other Pokémon in the PC we can work with, we don’t…need a Fire-type…

So, with Onyx Arcade a bust, let’s get to work figuring out a team to take on Florinia. The thing about Florinia and Grass-types though is…unlike Julia and her Electric-types, it’s really hard for me to get a read on what she could have besides the monotype. 

First of all, while Grass-types might have a lot of weaknesses, there are also many ways to counter those weaknesses, especially taking dual types into account. Unlike with Electric-types, where you can at least have the overall “Ground weakness” as like a safety net more often than not (and in the cases of Ground immunity, you can more easily guess the circumstances where that would apply), there is WAY more to think about with Grass-types. 

A perfect example of what I mean is what I believe to be Florinia’s ace: Cradily. As a Rock/Grass type, it still retains several of the typical Grass weaknesses- namely Ice and Bug- with a few new weaknesses in the form of Fighting and Steel. However, being part Rock-type, trying to use Ice or Bug Pokémon against it is extremely dangerous, we don’t have access to Steel-types right now, which just kinda leaves Fighting as the truly safest option. Not to mention Cradily could have Ancient Power, and if it gets that omni-boost…oh boy, we’ll be in danger. And that’s just ONE Pokémon she could have!

Second of all, Florinia herself makes it really difficult to gauge what kind of Pokémon she might have as well. 

Like- look at Julia. What can be said about her? She’s an Electric-type specialist, she’s a cheerleader, and she REALLY likes explosions. With that information, the player can easily guess she’ll have a Voltorb and/or an Electrode (indeed, she has both) due to her pyromania, Plusle and/or Minun (again, she has both) to connect to her being a cheerleader, and Pom-Pom Oricorio to both also connect to cheerleading and because it’s the logical counter to any attempts to do Ground things (being a Flying-type). There, right out of the gate, the player can deduce at least half (in reality, 5/6) of her team before even challenging her, just by her character traits.

For Florinia- well, it’s not that she isn’t a distinct character, she very much is. She’s the head instructor at a prestigious Trainers’ school, described as robotic, she’s highly intelligent, and she’s also good with technology. How does that translate into a Grass-type team? We know for a fact that she’ll have a Cradily- what else…? 

An instructor for a Trainers’ school…Fighting-type, maybe? So, most realistically…Breloom? Perhaps a Psychic-type to reflect Florinia’s intelligence and to counter Poison-types…Exeggutor? Maybe she might also have Mow Rotom because…technology and hacking, and an Electric-type would be kinda cheeky? Being an intellectual, Florinia might be more apt to use more setup-themed strategies, like…entrance hazards. Ferroseed/Ferrothorn with Spikes might be good for that, in addition to resisting most of Grass’s typical weaknesses. And maybe she could also have Roselia/Roserade with Toxic Spikes (or just Toxic) for this same principle, and as a reference to her relation to Fern. Alternatively, I recall one NPC bringing up Vileplume and Bellossom- could that have been foreshadowing to Florinia’s team having one of those as well?

All in all- lots of words, very little concrete thoughts. It’s a bit…daunting, but I may be better off just trying to cover the general weaknesses of Grass-types as much as I can and going from there. 

Thus, after digging around the PC, my current team is:

Glare and Prong to cover Poison- and Bug-types, Claus to cover the Ice niche, our soon-to-be-renamed Noibat to cover Flying and have a whopping quad resistance to Grass, and Brawler specifically to help deal with Cradily. I don’t like the idea of having just one Pokémon to deal with just one opponent, but a Fighting-type seems like the best bet against the possibilities that Cradily can bring to the table.

Now, of course, some level-grinding is required, but before we embark to Grand Hall, there are a few other things I want to take care of. First of all, something that was brought to my attention by a reader- remember way back when, when I was really confused about what the Data Chip was for? Well, if we go into the PC, we go down and see an option that I kinda brushed off before…

The “Add Password” option. Why did I ignore this option until now? I dunno- maybe I’m just so focused on going into the big Pokémon PC that I don’t really pay attention to the other options. Anyways, by selecting this option, we get taken here-

And this is what the Data Chips are for- they’re what you use to input passwords! And this is how you put those passwords in if you didn’t do it with Ame at the start of the game! Which theoretically means I could use that “litemode” thing, but that’s NOT what I’m aiming for here! No- the one that I was made aware of was this one:

And this password does exactly what you think it does: it makes it so, as long as you have the proper TMX and Badge, you can use the TMXs in the field without needing to have a Pokémon learn the move! The very thing I ranted about before!

FAREWELL, WANNABE HMS! But did it actually work? Well, we need to head to Grand Hall anyways, so let’s test it out on a Headbutt tree.

IT WORKS! 

And now, there’s one more little thing we need to do- change the Noibat’s name at the Name Rater! Just need to…remember where the Name Rater’s house is. I know it’s in Peridot Ward, but like- where is it, again?

Is it up this way? Is it over this way? Do I go up and around the-

…Why is Shelly hanging out with a fire-haired guy? Ah, whatever, I don’t have time to ask questions right now-

There it is, finally! Let’s go in and finish up this little personal quest-

Well joke’s on you Mr. Rater, that’s not an option in this game so here we are!!

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[pillowfriends]

TSR new reader thoughts: chapter 21-26

Chapter 21: Into the Heart

Moiraine POV finally!! I love this POV because it does absolutely nothing to make her a more sympathetic or likeable character. featuring such bangers as "Egwene is getting harder to manipulate, this is really inconvenient" and "When Lan is with me it's annoying because he thinks I need protection, but when he's not with me it's annoying because he should be doing his job and protecting me" and "what the fuck Rand I'm so fucking angry what the FUCK - *outwardly just has the blankest most neutral expression*" truly she is the character of all time.

anyway. Rand is politicking and still doesn't think a woman could ever be a legitimate threat to anything. ok

Chapter 22: Out of the Stone

Aiel culture information, cool. Rand and Egwene reminiscing about the Two Rivers, cute and tragic. Moiraine is so funny in this chapter being upset that Rand is keeping secrets. girl have you met yourself?? also Lan taking Rand's side over Moiraine's - god this woman can't catch a break.

introduction of the fat man angreal I've heard so much about!

Chapter 23: Beyond the Stone

Moiraine was soooo angry at Rand for taking the risk with the stone. also Lan wtf withholding Aiel information from Moiraine. "You have never asked me about them" terrible excuse you've been together for twenty years and it's extremely relevant to the quest you're on RIGHT NOW. this doesn't feel like a Lan move tbh but maybe I just have my rose-colored MoLan glasses on. it really does seem like Lan is distancing himself from Moiraine which I'm upset about.

Aviendha can channel! we're meeting so many channelers from different areas and it's very cool. I think her denial of what the Wise Ones want her life path to be, and eventually caving in, parallels very nicely with our ta'veren protagonists.

Moiraine goes into a tent, drinks some wine, keeps talking over Egwene to get random information about the Aiel, goes on a rant about the Old Tongue that no one really cares about, and then runs out naked to go through a mystery ter'angreal. what an icon.

Chapter 24: Rhuidean

I really don't have a lot to say about this chapter, like, Mat being Mat, some more ter'angreal fuckshit, human skin leather on the creepy guy, okay moving on.

(actually though, WHAT is going on with these redstone doorways, insane. sometimes it's hard to tell with the ter'angreal what magic weirdness will be handwaved away and what will be explored/explained later. either way, though, it's fun to read.)

Chapter 25: The Road to the Spear AND Chapter 26: The Dedicated

holy shit. this is why I read epic fantasy. I'm combining these chapters because they're basically one long chapter of Rand going back through Aiel history. I don't even know what to say except that it was extremely cool, I loved how it traced the history back through one family line, and I was absolutely overwhelmed (in a good way) by the insane amount of lore. it was very smoothly done though. standout moments for me are learning the reason behind the Aiel veiling their faces before they kill, and also WHAT THE FUCK WE GOT THE AGE OF LEGENDS??? on page??? with like, male channelers and futuristic technology and ?????? I'm never recovering.

but yeah, TLDR that was an insane sequence that made me so, so excited for future lore reveals. I'm in it now baby, I'm not just invested in the characters but I'm also so invested in the world Robert Jordan built. there's so much history, so many cultures, and I want to learn about all of it.

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