#just like in the picture that was going to be in the in-game encyclopedia (posted by galaxy)

[lulu2992]

have you ever gone over why Xander is wearing the marshall's vest in the cover photo? sorry if you've already talked about it

I sort of have in this post and it turns out the guy wearing the Marshal’s vest is... the Marshal, or rather an early version of him.

It seems to me his appearance was initially based on his voice actor, Doug Hutchison, but it’s true he barely looks like Cameron Burke and more like Xander in those old images!

[luvtonique]

I realized something this morning.

This is probably gonna be a long post. (Edit, yep)

I'm a pretty fairly public figure on the internet, and I very regularly interact with a huge amount of people. From YouTube Comments to Discord to Tumblr Asks/Comments to Newgrounds Reviews to MMO Chat to Mic-Chat on Games to Twitch Chat to Stream Chat, blah blah blah.

I've, for years now, over a decade (hell over two decades) talked to probably thousands of people, and have been able to get a gauge on a pretty safe to say "average" of collective human intelligence on the internet.

I've come to realize that not everybody has that kind of experience talking to people online as I do. I've talked to literally thousands, probably near ten thousand, people online in my life.

This is a staggeringly high number and puts me in an outlier position among the rest of you, who likely have only interacted with a double digit number of people online in your life.

Now that you have that information in mind, here's what I realized this morning.

I realized that the reason I don't listen to people, ESPECIALLY when it comes to politics, is because I have learned through talking to all these people that fucking nobody knows what they're fucking goddamn talking about.

I study a lot of things in my spare time, and history is a huge one that I study. I very regularly read and listen to multiple sources talking about historic events, and I make sure to look at as many sources as possible, sometimes including reading encyclopedias in my own home that we've owned for like 40 years.

I cross-reference all of these things and paint a picture of the most likely truths through various means.

Why's that important? Because sometimes a 14 year old on Twitter, literally nearly less than a third my age, will occasionally come along telling me that I'm wrong. Not about history necessarily, but about some opinion that I have based on my own experience and my own knowledge that I've researched myself.

I usually ask them where they got their information, and I'm met with boldfaced idiocy. Completely braindead shit like "180,000 people said it on Twitter," or they link me a Tumblr post with 100k notes, or they say "It's common knowledge," (which is the biggest red flag of them all because not only does it prove they have no evidence to back up what they're saying, but as this post will go on to explain, "common knowledge" is quite literally the worst source of information on anything. People commonly think the earth is flat and that Scientology is real. People commonly think that walking under a ladder or breaking a mirror gives you bad luck. People commonly think that naturally blue food exists.)

In my life I have met thousands of people, and THOUSANDS of them are fucking idiots who very very smugly state completely incorrect knowledge. Earlier today someone tried to tell me that the creators of Beat Saber never sold the company to Facebook, and I showed them proof and they went silent for 3 hours and then went "Yeah so what, Facebook is still a good company" and I wanted to beat my head against the desk.

The internet is full of people who are fascinatingly ignorant. I'm not calling myself "better" or "smarter" than anyone here, I'm just saying that I have learned better than most people that people on the internet are not, and never fucking will be, a good source of information. I don't care if they're your best fucking friend, the coin-toss of them knowing what they're talking about or actually having the facts is so heavily weighted against them, it's seriously like a 98% chance they have no fucking clue what they're talking about.

I urge everyone to take a moment and realize that the internet is, in fact, a good place to find information and do research, but PEOPLE ON THE INTERNET, especially MEDIA AND SOCIAL MEDIA, are NOT SMART PEOPLE AND ARE NOT GOOD SOURCES FOR YOUR INFORMATION.

These are angry, smug, annoying little idiots who are likely 14 years old with a 1st grade reading comprehension who aspires to be a TikTok content creator as a career, and under no fucking circumstance should you ever, ever, EVER listen to any social, financial, religious, gendered, medical or political advice they give.

The world has gotten vastly out of control with how much people think "A lot of people agree with me" is a good enough reason to solidify your opinions. "A lot of people agree" is the biggest red flag ever, because people on the fucking internet are complete fucking idiots, I'm sorry, but I'm someone with far more experience talking to people on the internet than literally any of you reading this. I talk to people on the internet as a career and have been doing this for longer than most of you reading this have been alive.

So what's the point of this? What's the take-away?

The take-away is that I'm saddened by how many people will attack each other vehemently, cut off friends and family members, label people as toxic or problematic, jump to conclusions, etc. based on complete and utter misinformation spouted to them by people who have never once in their entire life actually looked up what the fuck they're talking about. They treat random strangers on Twitter as "experts" because that person is well articulated or put together a YouTube video with really good editing that's softly spoken by a British accent guy and has scary music whenever some "evil" person is on the screen.

The take-away is that people, like yourself (don't you dare try to deny it) will just believe whatever they read on social media, or whatever their Discord friend-group is talking about, because they are living in a complete falsehood that people on the internet know better than they do.

You are not incapable of doing your own research. You are not incapable of finding the truth. You are not stupid. Just do your own research, look into things yourself, cross-reference, use the scientific method, go to a library, read books, for fuck sake please adopt the basic social skill of "If someone says it on the internet it is most likely not true and I should look into it myself."

Because the current state of people is monstrous.

Y'all get so fucking mad about things that are just plain not true, and you revolve your entire life around things you were told by complete idiots and/or children on Twitter and other social media websites.

Stop.

Look at yourself, look at how angry you get about things, and consider that there may be a possibility that anger stems from a complete lack of any foundation or truth in your own beliefs.

Consider the almost 100% guaranteed possibility that you have been blatantly lied to by people who have no fucking idea what they're talking about, and that you are violently upholding standards that are incorrect because you have placed trust in the word of untrustworthy people.

Look up confirmation bias, read about it.

Look up manipulation tactics, read about it.

Look up "Plato's Republic" and read about it.

Absolutely, under no circumstances, should you ever, EVER, form your social or religious or political or financial or gendered or sexual etc. opinions based on SHIT YOU READ ON SOCIAL MEDIA.

And while we're here, don't listen to the news either. They're just a bunch of parrots saying what needs to be said to get you all fighting with each other so that the government can fuck things up while you're distracted. Do your own research, check multiple sources, don't consider social media or regular media to be a 'source,' get every bit of information from every angle, and for fuck sake, stop attacking people for disagreeing with you when you, yourself, only believe what you believe because your friend group believes it and you know that if you disagree with your friend group they'll all attack you so you'd rather be on their side, which only further proves my point that y'all need to fucking chill.

"Democracy will never work. If 3 medical experts tell you that you must eat a ginger root to cure your ailments, but 100,000 idiots with no medical experience tell you otherwise, you're more likely to believe the 100,000 idiots. They are louder, there are more of them, and you will gamble on the hope that among those 100,000 idiots, there must be more than 3 medical experts. The voice of the ignorant will always drown out the voice of the educated."

-Plato's Republic, 375BCE (Paraphrased)

"I can't believe Jay just called us all idiots and expects us to listen to him"

-Someone in the comments of this (It's gonna happen)

PS: If you looked up "Naturally Blue Food," and found out it does in fact not exist, good for you for doing your own research!

[aquatark]

Okay! So! I'm breaking out the correct capitalization because this news is so insane! The Japanese website for Endless Ocean Luminous received a major update last night, and I want to walk through the biggest new info from it with you! This is gonna be really long, so please bare with me, there's just so much to cover...

Here's the link for people who want to check this themselves: https://www.nintendo.com/jp/switch/a7lka/index.html

The Veiled Sea is random, but not in the way you think

It has been officially confirmed that the Veiled Sea's terrain and creatures will change with each dive, and creatures will likely spawn in accordance to the nearby terrain. But don't panic!

After filling in 80% of an area's map, you will be given a map ID, which you can use to access that exact same map, either by yourself or with friend, whenever you like! Think of them like Minecraft world seeds. An example ID (which can likely be used upon release) is given in the photo above, accompanied by what looks like a photo of the one and only...! Maybe you can reliably encounter her on that map ID?

2. Salvages are back, baybee!!

In what looks to be a system similar to EO1 and the Everblue games, salvages of all sorts can be found under small glints on the ocean floor! The P earned from salvages immediately goes into your current amount once you've picked it up. According to the photo above, salvaging is "essential to unravelling the ocean's mysteries", and another photo states that you may even find traces of "ancient civilizations"...

3. A diving rank system has been revealed, along with fishy friends

As you discover new creatures and treasures, you will unlock all sorts of things, and your dive rank will increase! Higher dive ranks have access to more suit colors (which side note omg i'm loving the options), as well as larger creatures following you, and more creatures following at the same time! What does that mean? Well... you know EO1's friendship system, where if you're friendly enough to a fish, it'll follow you around? This seems to be returning, but reworked! The creatures that follow you depends on your dive rank: at a low rank, only small fish will follow you, but as your rank increases, you can have dolphins and even huge whales tag along with you!

4. Behold a whole new range of underwater environments

I already showed pictures of them in my previous post, so I won't here to save photo space, but to list a few, underwater magma flows, shipwrecks in the abyss, polar areas, freshwater caves, and active hydrothermal vent fields have all been shown off here!

5. Different missions will be available each dive

Not much elaboration is needed here, but each dive, you will be given special missions (such as seeking out a location or creature). We don't yet know what reward these will give us, but it's gotta be good, right?

6. A new method of identifying creatures

Creatures you have yet to identify will glow, and pressing the L button while near these creatures will unlock their information. Multiple creatures' info can be acquired this way at the same time, making for easy scanning of big groups! This info will then be available in the marine encyclopedia, which can be accessed at any time.

The encyclopedia will also record the creature's behavior, habits, and the largest/smallest sizes of it you have found.

7. Creature variants have been introduced

Though the site did not elaborate on this, it did showcase a picture of a creature labelled "variant".

This one is especially interesting, because though the scientific name here is accurate, the Japanese text below it reads... "Coco Maharaja", which is this EO2 legendary's Japanese name! Will we be able to encounter the exact legendary specimens from EO2 again in the Veiled Sea, or are these simply colored variants named after them? Either way, the creature variant system is going to be awesome, I can tell!

8. Photography is back, and better than ever!

Photos will be sent to the Nintendo Switch's album when taken. What purpose they will serve in the greater game has yet to be seen, but you can take photos with yourself in them!

9. Multiplayer and singleplayer options

I know some people were worried about multiplayer being the only mode, but this is not the case! Players can dive either solo, or with a group over the internet with the "Dive Together" option. When diving together, up to 10 random players can play... or, when diving with friends, up to 30 people can!

Additional multiplayer reveals include the ability to use tons of emotes to communicate, adding emojis to creatures or treasures you find which can be seen on the map for others to check out (the Cacao Maharaja photo showcases a bunch of these emojis), being able to teleport to any player in your current dive, and more!

10. A new mythical creature...?

The array of photos shown of new creature models is absolutely astounding... but one in particular that caught my eye is the set of new prehistoric creatures!

One of these things is not like the others though... what could "Raja Emas" be...? Can prehistoric creatures be mythical too?

This update has made me more hyped than ever for this game! I'd be curious to hear your thoughts too~ :>

[leidensygdom]

well @voidsteeth has given me the power to ramble a bit more. PLEASE ignore the cat in that picture, for some goddamn reason it's the only way tumblr let me post this goddamn picture. it's a nice kitty, mind you

Up above, some really loose logo/main pic ideas for it! Excuse my terrible handwriting. Let me do it bullet-point format since it helps my adhd pin down stuff

So, it's gonna be a RPG. I wanna figure some fun gimmick and I surprisingly have a bunch of that well fleshed out! (Part of it revolving the elemental system, concerning Flesh/Memory/Mind/Matter/Soul). I'm not a huge fan of the repetitive encounter "smash everything in front of you" format. I'm going to be using RPG Maker MZ. My partner has a lot of experience with that, which should help a lot!

Inspired by a bit of a mix of classic JRPGs and more recent indie RPGs, specially Rpg Maker stuff. I've been raised watching my dad play the old Final Fantasy games (which I love dearly, specially IX, X and VII), but I've ended up loving the more recent indie scene myself (OFF, Oneshot, Undertale/Deltarune, Everhood)

(I'm gonna be playing more RPG Maker games to help with inspiration and knowing how much I can bend the system- Please feel free to recommend me some!)

Set in a sort of high fantasy setting, and it takes a bunch of stuff from the one I run my current DnD campaign in. I think it will feel familiar to DnD/PF players, but I'm going all in with my own worldbuilding! I wanna set myself apart from these.

I want to have a sort of in-game illustrated encyclopedia because I really dig that. I liked the way OFF used images here and there to add to the lore. I just love the idea of being able to collect pages and learn more on the way. I've sketched the ones for the elements already!

Themes will spin around friendship and human connection, eldritch horror flavoured stuff, and some temporal shenanigans too. It will also tackle on the importance of understanding the past- The story will put some focus on how people are too busy pillaging a ruined city to understand what actually destroyed it in the first place. Which, well, it's the kinda thing to have consequences.

I'm planning to work on this on my free time, and once it has a nice shape (and perhaps a playable demo), I may consider having a Kickstarter to complete it. I'm fairly confident I can handle (with enough time) most of the parts of it. I just need to get a bit familiar with pixel art (for the maps). I used to do that ages ago! I'm also familiar enough with programming and have done small web-games in the past.

The one thing I am absolutely not qualified enough for is music. I wanna try honing my skills but- Oh boy. (on that note, if you know of small musicians that are open for commissions, do let me know! Just as a very preliminary view)

also you can bet this is gonna be really LGBTQ+ themed. I wanna also take the chance to maybe sprinkle in some of my heritage's stuff, I've wanted to do that for ages!

I'm of course always open for specific questions about this. I'm really excited to work on it and help my mental health on the way. I'll do my best to share some concept art, mock ups and such as I get it more fleshed out! I have some enemies pinned down and I think people will really enjoy these designs : )

[rouge-fauna]

Hi! I wanted to ask, do you have any tips in doing research for a essay? like how to identify truthful sources or detect strange sites? I always saw how well researched your essays are and i wondered if you have any tip on this. Hope you have a good day

In general I like to go straight to the source. For dsmp research, if possible I watch the actual stream and watch a good bit around it to get the context of the situation. As for non-dsmp research, I follow similar rules to how I was taught to do research in school. Firstly, keep in mind that .gov .org .edu (with .gov probably being the most preferable and .org being the more questionable) will typically be better sources than .com, anyone can own a .com so just something to keep kn mind. Secondly, if possible try and go to the most official information you can whether that’s the National Health Organization, the CDC or Department of something. Government sources, or international or national organization websites are the probably the best sources. Everyone one else is gonna typically reference them, so might as well go straight to the source if able. Thirdly, (if it’s not about politics so you aren’t dealing with bias in that sense), then articles from like Forbes, New York Times, The Guardian, Washington Post, Economic Times can be good sources as they are written from actual reporters and often site their sources in their article so you can see for yourself. Britannica Encyclopedia can be a good source to consider as well as more academic websites like Science Direct which has a collection of scientific essays and documents if that applies. In general, I’d also recommend reading multiple sources if possible. You can do a little fact checking on your own this way to see what people are saying. Is it consistent is it or not, can you compile all the info to form a reasonable picture. Even looking at Quora or Reddit questions and answers can be interesting to get first hand and personal experience with things, which you can then compare with the other information.

Depending on the subject and seriousness of needing to be super factually correct, you can always ask ChatGPT or Gemini to see what they say. They are compiling all the information on the internet which can be helpful, which you can then always fact check yourself and even ask for its sources. I mean AI is flawed and has certainly given me false info before but it can be helpful, so just use it wisely. Over all, read multiple things, probably ignore the sponsored websites at the top who paid to be there, don’t be afraid to click to the next Google page, and if you need scholarly sources, going to Google scholarly can be helpful. Also, change your wording, searching things is like a game if you don’t find what you need, try to reword and search again to see what you get. Maybe do that multiple times. It’s not a perfect science by any means and can be very frustrating and sometimes you don’t find what you’re looking for, but these are just the strategies I keep in mind. I swear googling things didn’t used to be so hard but now I feel like the first page is all sponsored and it’s hard to find what you need.

As far as strange sites go, I know there are websites that actually check for you whether they are a scam, sometimes you can kinda just tell by adds or whether you browser gives you an alert, hopefully you have some vpn or online security on your device. I typically don’t make accounts, subscribe to anything or give information to websites so if they are asking for that then even if they were reliable, I ain’t doing it. If it seems more like an website with articles vs some blog or whatever, like Psychology Today, while not my favorite source I might give it a read to see what they say.

Hopefully that is some helpful tips. As an aside, legal things I have found to be one of the most annoying things to research as it’s so freaking hard to find consistent information and like more legit information. Also, as word of advice if you are researching torture methods and things of that nature, be advised that the real world is a dark place and I have learned things I really wish I hadn’t. Sometimes fantasy should stay fantasy and it’s best not knowing about the facts… anyways good luck :)

[im-suchanicegirl]

Okay, Dan Encyclopedia, I need a complete rundown of his history pls 😍

Ohhhh that’s a tall order!

Thank your for trusting me with your Daniel Knowledge ™

(I also assume it’s about Danskimo and not DanK)

I think I’ll do general facts it will be easier. Also it’s all stuff I’ve read or seen but i don’t always remember the source:

- he learned to play the sax in school and DanK would go see him play

- speaking of, they’ve known each other since 2006!

- he produces music outside of EC, including Nico’s ex band, Samurai Pizza Cat and Kalle Koschinsky

- he also had a very shortlived, one time project that made the round on Tumblr a few days ago, risen from shadow. It’s a ‘black metal’ looking band with members of EC (him and nico), we butter the bread with butter, Axel one and drummer Raja Meissner. They wanted to bring awareness to type 2 diabetes.

- which personally i find kinda funny because he’s known for having a sweet tooth (the video of the cake alley in Walmart was hilarious)

- he might be more reserved than the others but he’s not scared of speaking up, like in the interview where he told Sushi ‘just because we are in a band doesn’t mean we are family’

- his dad is the band’s biggest fan per the rest of the band, and his ig is only pictures of Dan / the band / repping the merch

- I saw Some people say he is vegetarian and straight edge but there’s recent videos / vlogs where he drinks a beer and eats McDonalds so either he’s not anymore / has never been 🤷🏽‍♀️

- he’s a gamer, if his knuckle tattoos weren’t clear enough (GAME OVER and pac mans on the smallest ones)

- Speaking of tattoo, one of the tattoo inside his hand is an origami cat (which is such a cute idea i might have to steal once my cat dies in a million year)

- He’s really into mountain bike. Like, really. A lot.

- he’s an Aries. Enough said.

- he’s really reserved, i mean, he literally deleted the shirtless picture he had posted when they were in LA… or he’s not used to have people focused on him rather than nico / kevin.

I CANT think of more facts right now but I’ll add if there is the need for it 😄

[desultory-novice]

Since Samus exists in the Kirby games, do you suppose the New World Humans eventually joined the Galactic Federation?

I choose to ignore that footnote in the Kirby encyclopedia that says Samus was just a non-canon cameo character. I think that Samus and Kirby existing in the same universe would be totally neat - regardless of how confusing that makes things!

That said, this post made me go running to the Metroid wiki because I am definitely NOT as up to date on my Metroid lore as I should be. (I played and loved Dread, as everyone should, but I maybe skipped a bunch of the 3D ones due to various reasons. I know... I haven't played the Prime Trilogy. I plan to fix my mistake with the remake.)

Which mostly led to me discovering this picture and deciding that these all look very much like potential Kirby characters to me.

Well, the chibi Chozo (at least, I think that's a Chozo. Although I don't feel like they've ever been tied in with the Federation before?) looks a little out of place.

If humanity was indeed space-worthy and capable of colonizing different planets before encountering Elfilis, (as Shiver Star and the Forgotten Land potentially imply) it could be a good explanation for what happened to any humans who weren't involved in whatever...strange...exodus thing happened in FL!

[snowboyclarkov]

My Ideal Verse

This is a picture including every single series - whether that be movie, anime, game, YouTube series, DeviantArt artist or other - into my ideal crossover universe. At this point I would make these additions:

Inazuma Eleven GO

Made In Abyss

Katawa Shoujo

Azur Lane

My Hero Academia

Kiss Him, Not Me!

Chainsaw Man

Komi Can't Communicate

Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid

Heaven's Lost Property

Saitama Chainsaw Girl

That one series with Blindy and Blondy by Popopoka (logo not available)

As of 18th June 2023, these additions were made:

The Lego Movie

Fireman Sam

Keijo!!!!!!!!

Bottom Gear

As of 12th July 2023, these additions were made:

Library of Ruina

Injustice

Street Fighter

S.C.P. Foundation

Pumpkin Night

Mabinogi

As of 29th August 2023, these additions were made:

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Henkei Shoujo

As of 31st October 2023, these additions were made:

Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger

Avataro Sentai DonBrothers

Ressha Sentai ToQger

Uchu Sentai Kyumager

Mashin Sentai Kiramager

As of 26th November 2023, these additions were made:

Doctor Who

All of my OCs would also feature in this verse. So would Shem-Ha from Symphogear, Dooku from Star Wars, Castoria from Darling Duality, Chantel DuBois from Madagascar and that series where someone teaches English to rural primary-school-level Japanese kids. Limbus Company would not be in the verse. DonBrothers and King-Ohger are the only two Super Sentai sub-verses in my ideal verse.

--------------------------------------------------

There would also be the series where these pieces come from.

I call this one above and posts directly related to it the St. Marley's Asylum series.

My Own Universe by Clarkov on DeviantArt - The original post that the template at the top of the pictures was made for.

My main OC-verse is one where all of these series exist in the same universe. Even Monster Girl Encyclopedia. Slavaria Cossack is a friend/weird harem group and is utterly shameless about it, with the same sort of chemistry that Clarkson/Hammond/May have. The 9-13 became members at various points after Sahaidachny's 'you're allowed to be you' arc. All of them are 15 in present day. 9-13 are based on existing characters in the same sense in which JJBA Stands are based on existing songs.

Slavaria Cossack (birth place) - current MGE mamono species (original)*:

Clarkov Sahaidachny (Vynohradiv) - Soldier Beetle (human)

Natalya Horbach (Kharkiv) - Shirohebi (human)

Yevhen Slobodyan (Berezne) - Wonderworm (human)

Stanislava Artemenko (Lebedyn) - Myconid (human)

Valentyna Morozova (Mykolaiv) - Tritonia (human)

Myroslav Kozak (Yevpatoriya) - Black Harpy (human)

Reichiru Inazuma (Fukuoka) - Oomukade (human)

Lyubomyr Dobrovolskyj (Pereiaslav) - Akaname (human)

Esmeralda Petersburg (Moscow) - Dhampir

Tess Dileva (Hoddesdon) - Sahuagin (human)

Kirumi Silkenstar (Ashikaga) - Mantis (human)

Karaina Caulton (Harlow) - Lich (human)

Suki Ryushima (Fukuoka) - Yuki-Onna

*Can alternate between mamono and human forms just like in Rosario + Vampire.

Note: 5 of my OCs in chronological order of meeting C.J.S. after his 'being able to be himself' revelation over the course of a few months - the stoic bodyguard-in-training Esmeralda Petersburg, the disciplinarian Tess Dileva, the poetic Kirumi Silkenstar, the spunky wannabe witch Karaina Caulton & the highly introverted loner Suki Ryushima - are derived from and inspired by existing OCs found on (y/n) x yandere quizzes on Quotev that I took a liking to thanks to the story/characters/detail/etc., like how much of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is inspired by Western songs. This includes their personalities. I took 5 such quizzes honestly answering the questions posed based on my personality and that of Clarkov J. Sahaidachny, my first and main OC, which are very similar in most ways but very different in some areas. These 5 were the results. As for the dere sides, they start out full on and become more mentally sound as time goes on. That part is inspired by the development of Mizore Shirayuki in Rosario + Vampire. It's how I have to do almost everything in life. Start out with a base, then slowly build it into my own thing. It's a bit annoying, but I make do with what I have. I'll leave a link to the quizzes below.

The quizzes:

https://www.quotev.com/quiz/14308763/and-they-were-roommates-yanderes-x-reader

https://www.quotev.com/quiz/9340557/Bloodstained-Roses-Girl-Yanderes-X-Male-Reader-Part-0 | https://www.quotev.com/quiz/9459484/Bloodstained-Roses-Girl-Yanderes-x-Male-Reader-Part-1 | https://www.quotev.com/quiz/9916834/Bloodstained-Roses-Female-Yanderes-x-Male-Reader-Part-2 | https://www.quotev.com/quiz/9941208/Bloodstained-Roses-Female-Yanderes-x-Male-Reader-Part-3 | https://www.quotev.com/quiz/9982278/Bloodstained-Roses-Female-Yanderes-x-Male-Reader-Part-4 | https://www.quotev.com/quiz/10307250/Bloodstained-Roses-Tess-x-Male-Reader-Part-5 | https://www.quotev.com/quiz/11771247/Bloodstained-Roses-Tess-x-Male-Reader-Part-6

https://www.quotev.com/quiz/10443555/How-Far-Will-You-Go-Yandere-RP-Part-1

https://www.quotev.com/quiz/11634020/Tendrils-Of-Enchantment-Supernatural-Girl-Yanderes-x-Reader-Part-1 | https://www.quotev.com/quiz/11809703/Tendrils-Of-Enchantment-Supernatural-Girl-Yanderes-x-Reader-Part-2 | https://www.quotev.com/quiz/11897977/Tendrils-Of-Enchantment-Supernatural-Girl-Yanderes-x-Reader-Part-3-FINAL

https://www.quotev.com/quiz/12939352/Which-Yandere-Is-For-You-Part-1 | https://www.quotev.com/quiz/12940932/Which-Yandere-Is-For-You-Part-2

[cosmica-galaxy]

I was thinking back on that one post where I talked extendedly about a young player finding themselves in Nevada. And although they wouldn't want to bring attention to themselves and this concept would probably fit another character better I still thought it was neat.

So you know how there's hotkeys in games to help the player make instant commands, and the player in this scenario can't make a command without saying a certain phrase out loud where everyone can hear. What if, knowing that, they made their own hotkey that's an overseer of their surroundings, reacting accordingly to any danger that might rear its ugly head when the player isn't aware or paying attention. Creating a brand new key stone, albeit much smaller than the halo. Like this picture that I was inspired by https://www.tumblr.com/fluffymintz/720867072506314752/sixpenceee-16th-century-ring-that-unfolds-into. Each ring corresponds to a command ready to go if there is a potential threat, like “god_mode”, “stop_time” or “teleport”. Anything that could help the player and simultaneously not be a detriment to the grunts surrounding them. Because if the ring were to respond to the players growing anxiety instead of the people around them and one of the commands was “kill_all” then that would only cause more problems, and anxiety.

Though if the player were to make it into a halo then I can imagine the multiple rings shifting and moving when it's in use, like an end crystal.

The way the player knows that one of the commands has been activated is through changes only they can feel or see. For god mode i headcanons that when it's activated not only do they lose the ability to feel pain and become invincible but they lose the sense of touch, smell and taste. While freezing time is more visually apparent when it's on, their vision turns slightly darker and grainy but not by much, another indicator that time has stopped is, well, the non moving people, cars etc. And teleporting is very obvious, it activates when the player falls from a great height.

Another piece of equipment that I thought would be interesting for the player to have is something akin to an encyclopedia. Except instead of it already having every known knowledge written down the player has to actively seek out the object of interest and scan it, like that one device in thaumcraft, the thaumometer. Id imagen that it can be folded into a smaller more portable form, perhaps it could be disguised as an armband. Much like the thaumometer it has gems (or whatever you want them to be) decorating its edges, they serve a purpose. If the player were to just point the thing at something or someone without one of the colorful rocks pointing upwards they would get basic information about the object. For example, height, age or if it was an item, date of its creation and how much durability is left. But if one of the things were pointing upwards then they would get more specific information about one topic. Haven't really thought about all of them but here's a few.

Red: Reveals how many this person has killed or injured, how many times they have potentially died or still carry injuries that haven't healed. With objects it's more about how dangerous they are, how strong you need to be to carry them etc.

Green: Shows a person's family tree and relations with others. Though objects aren't made the same way grunts are, they still were made or were shaped overtime, so instead of a family tree there's a timeline from its creation to now.

Blue: Reveals the person's self and what they believe in, their personality, goals, what they fight for or don't, their core elements. While for objects this shows why they were made, with what intent and purpose.

Yellow: I'm still debating about this one but I think it would be neat if it showed how a thing could hurt the player or affect them positively, or what this person's intentions are with the player.

There are two left which I can't for the life of me figure out the use of, so if you have any ideas then go right ahead, if not then thanks for reading this anyhow.

I actually really LOVE this idea! I get Magiturge vibes from this pile of informatione` and I am HERE for it! Let the Player be a mage or magical! As for them having a bestiary, I think it would be awesome and amazing! I like to visualize that the book is primarily made of blank pages, but it has sections that need to be filled in. Once the entity is encountered, the pages of the book slowly begin to fill up. There would be sections of the book dedicated to information about the entities and what catagory they fit under. Like grunt, undead, mutant, MAG, employers, or "unknown entities". The more they fight them, the better and more detailed the book entries becomes. I'm also imagining them having magical-like items that inspire their powers and behaves like multiple conduits for their code-manipulating abilities. You can also broaden this idea with summons and magical trinkets that are associated with the Player's world. Like the zodiacs or star maps of our reality. Imagine that. Player that's a fucking beast of a mage. Amazing!

[moremorrae]

Shadowmoon Legacy Part 6: The Letter

Gonna be trying out some different stuff in the writing portions of this one.

It's been a couple weeks now and Charlotte has gotten comfortable with her new life in Forgotten Hollow. One morning a mysterious package was left in her mailbox.

Greetings, It has come to our attention that the residency at Windowshild Townhome is once again home to a resident of Forgotten Hollow. As this is the case we will resume delivery of our best curated items suitable to life in our community. We hope you enjoy the complimentary gift we've provided and wish you and yours a very long and prosperous life. Sincerely, The Grand Coven of Forgotten Hollow

The package that came with the letter was just as confusing. In it were two simple... bags of juice?

Looking them over Charlotte was hesitant to try them. Unlabeled except for a purple staff on one and a stylized frog on the other. Not quite sure what to do with them she sends a message to Jeremy over Social Bunny.

Charlotte: hey, I got a strange package today Jeremy: Oh? Anything interesting? Charlotte: sends a picture of packs Charlotte: any idea what they are? Jeremy: Odd... I don't think I've seen anything like that. Would love to look them over though. Charlotte: meet at magnolia? Jeremy: Sure, meet you there.

Meeting up at the part Charlotte shows Jeremy the letter she got and the odd juice packs that were in the mail.

"Grand Coven of Forgotten Hollow?" asks Jeremy.

Shrugging her shoulders. "I haven't heard of them, maybe it's Forgotten Hollow's NAP group?" She turns over one of the packs. "Either way, sending juice packs in the mail?"

Looking over the other one Jeremy laughs. "It wouldn't be the weirdest NAP put into place, I heard in Evergreen Harbor they voted to wear bags on their heads all the time."

"Fair enough. So... think you could figure out what this is?"

He pockets one of the packs while standing up. "Easy, I've got a friend at FutureSim that can check it out. It's probably just some out-of-season Spooky Day prank. What with how Forgotten Hollow looks I wouldn't be surprised."

"Maybe, though writing a whole letter to go with it is a bit more effort than the usual prank day trick."

The two spend a bit more time chatting in the park before going their separate ways for now, each with one of the odd packs to take home. On the way Charlotte considered just opening it, turning it over and over as she walked up the steps to her home. Not coming up with any clear decision she stashed it in the corner of her fridge and went about her other business.

Sometime in the early evening, she heard a knock on the door. She went to see who was at the door only to find no one there. Confused she looked around only to kick a new package off the steps.

She was confused at the second odd package to end up at her door. This time an old-looking book with a note attached to it.

We heard you were looking for something like this, hope it helps whatever you're up to. ~ L. & C. Vatore

Charlotte brought the book inside and began to look it over. It quickly became clear that this was exactly what she was looking for...

Encyclopedia Vampirica Volume 1

This is a much longer post than the ones before, I wanted to try out having more dialogue and whatnot to better characterize everyone. What can I say, it's hard for me to write any kind of story without dialogue lol.

Had a good time mixing in some of my own made-up lore with the various lore and tidbits already in the game. I could make this a super grounded story but I like having the silly sims touches be cannon in the story (looking at you, We Wear Bags NAP).

[lulu2992]

Uncovering the unreleased Far Cry 5 in-game Encyclopedia

The almost complete but unused in-game encyclopedia, reconstructed thanks to the oasisstrings file.

Please note that it’s still cut content, so some information might not be relevant anymore.

You can read the oasisstrings file here. Pictures from this encyclopedia were also extracted and posted by @xbaebsae here.

Part 2: Locations - Holland Valley

Gardenview Packing Facility

The last facility added to the Hadlers' apple empire. They shipped their apples throughout Hope County and beyond. When the cult went red state, the Hadlers stopped their legal threats and resorted to violence.

Silver Lake Trailer Park

A community of people just trying to do their best.

Gardenview Orchards

A part of Doug and Debbie Hadler’s apple empire. After their ciderworks facility, they expanded to a second, larger orchard: Gardenview Orchards. Then they opened the Gardenview Packing Facility.

Rae-Rae's Pumpkin Farm

Fiery matriarch Rae-Rae Bouthillier cares about two things: Prize-winning pumpkins and her dog Boomer.

Gardenview Ciderworks

The first major facility owned by Doug and Debbie Hadler. Ten years ago, they had a dream: an empire made of apples. They nearly achieved it too, until the cult forcibly took over everything they had worked for.

Bridge of Tears

It was called the Mišihrew Bridge when the railroad was still active. It’s now a rickety old train bridge and John Seed's ideal location to send a warning message to all sinners.

Frobisher's Cave

In 1970, a cougar, named "Frobisher" by the locals, killed the star pitcher of a rival baseball team. The Hope County Silver Foxes won that year and changed their name to the Cougars in Frobisher's honor.

Howard Cabin

Home of Niesha Howard, an extreme rock climber from Canada who moved to Montana to be a prepper.

Copperhead Rail Yard

Copperhead Rail was created in the late 1800s by Emmet Reaves. It was shut down in the early 70s and a lot got left behind. It became a place for kids to get drunk or bums to find shelter, then the cult bought it.

Lincoln Lookout Tower

It’s the last working fire tower in the county. A man who worked here promised to help the Strickland family fight off the cult if ever their farm was under attack.

Sergey’s Place

A hobo historian calls this place home. Nobody's seen him in a while though.

Boyd Residence

Will Boyd lives here, or at least he did. No one in the valley talks about him. And for good reason.

Strickland Farm

Property owned by the Strickland family of farmers. No friends to Eden’s Gate.

U.S. Auto

A scrap yard containing trashed cars, broken farm equipment, and even a few busted planes. Eden's Gate uses the garage to build and maintain their convoys.

Doverspike Compound

Les Doverspike was a militia nut and he built himself a bunker. Nobody in the prepper community liked him. Despite that, he was anti-cult and pro-Resistance.

Harris Residence

Mike and Deb Harris were preppers with a cunning plan to keep themselves fed after the end of the world.

Reservoir Construction Yard

Deep North Water wanted to build a new reservoir for the Holland Valley. The company ran out of funding and was chased away by Eden’s Gate.

Dodd’s Dumps

Colin Dodd used to run garbage disposal for the whole Holland Valley, and his business lot shows it. The cult intimidated him into leaving but has yet to sort through all he left behind.

Davenport Farm

The remains of a run-down farm. Local farmers let their cows graze here. Can't let good land go to waste.

Hilgard Electric Power Station

The Holland Valley's power supply is reliant on this transformer station which is controlled by Eden's Gate.

Golden Valley Gas

Once the kind of gas station that gave out free bubble gum to kids, Golden Valley is now a strategic point of gasoline and auto maintenance for the Project at Eden's Gate.

Green-Busch Fertilizer Co.

Facing a decline in business, the Green-Busch family said “yes” and sold the place to John Seed on the condition that locals could keep their jobs and work alongside Eden's Gate.

St. Isidore School

Once a religious boarding school, it was forced to close its doors by Eden's Gate.

Dodd Residence

Home of Colin Dodd, hoarder and DIY enthusiast. He never throws anything out. His granddaughter Nadine's been known to lurk here.

Roberts Cabin

Home of Joe Roberts, a hunter. He's gone missing. He loved hunting deer above all else.

Hope County Clinic

Dr. Kim Patterson provides medical services to Hope County's farmers and low-income residents, many of whom would never receive care in such a remote area.

Holland Valley Station

In the days that it was up and running, Copperhead Rail used to stop here. Eden’s Gate uses this station to catch people who try to escape the region.

Grain Elevator

As the farmlands started to collapse, the grain elevator was the first casualty. Too expensive to maintain.

Henbane River Rail Bridge

Copperhead Rail was created in the 1880s during a mining boom, and shut down in the early 70s after the industry collapsed.

Flatiron Stockyards

Bobby Budell established the stock yards in 1946, and has proudly provided farm and ranch auction services since. The economic and community base employed over 25 people at its height.

Fillmore Residence

Home of Doug Fillmore. Not much is known about him.

Dupree Residence

Home of Tommy Dupree, an idiot who used to work at Green-Busch Fertilizer Co. He got fired by Eden's Gate because he was as dumb as the crap he bagged.

Catamount Mines

Fall’s End owes its existence to the gold Orville Fall discovered here in 1865. The mine brought a generation of prosperity to the region until a suspicious accident entombed 100 men within it, forcing its closure in 1912.

Sunrise Farm

Sunrise Farm was going under, so owners Mike and Chandra Dunagan reluctantly sold it to Eden's Gate. Big mistake.

Deep North Irrigation Reservoir

Originally designed to irrigate farms, the reservoir became a liability when the cult began putting Bliss in the water supply. The Resistance sealed it up to buy themselves time.

Red’s Farm Supply

The Redler family has run this place for 4 generations, and earned a reputation for honest business. Wendell did his best to keep it out of cult hands.

Purpletop Telecom Tower

In the 1950s, Purpletop Telecom built this tower, blessing people with the wonders of AM radio. As time and technology marched forward, they were also given the American splendor of a local TV station.

Woodson Pig Farm

This place has been in the Woodson family since 1943. Current owners Andrew and Frances Woodson used their wealth to try to stand up to John Seed and fight him in court. They lost, and joined the Resistance.

Sawyer Residence

Don Sawyer came from out of town to join the Project at Eden's Gate. He restores canoes, but isn't very good at it. Visitors have sworn they've heard him swearing in Russian over those boats.

Hyde Barn

Kenny Hyde's a poor man in Holland Valley, but that doesn't stop him from loving deep fried balls. He's the proud keeper of Fall’s End Testy Festy decorations, stashing them at his barn until they're needed.

Kupka Ranch

Zip Kupka's the only one who really knows what's going on in the Holland Valley.

John’s Gate

A missile silo long decommissioned and abandoned. The locals used to call it "Area 68." Eden's Gate bought it in secret and turned it into a bunker that is in John Seed's safekeeping until the Collapse.

Security Gate

Formerly the entrance to the missile silo, it's now the gateway to John Seed's bunker. Everything taken in the Reaping passes through this checkpoint.

Steele Farm

The Steele family managed to get their kids out of Hope County, but stayed behind to try and defend their home from Eden's Gate.

Lamb of God Church

A Lutheran church. Its elderly priest was overshadowed by Pastor Jerome’s charismatic sermons. John once asked the priest to say “yes.” Not a chance. Then, the priest was gone. He had taken a “long vacation.”

Lamb of God Sacristy

The Project at Eden's Gate has turned the Lamb of God Church's sacristy into a holding place for everything they need to baptize people at the water's edge.

Armstrong Residence

The Project at Eden's Gate targeted the Armstrong family early, burning their home to the ground when Grace Armstrong refused to devote her sharpshooting skills to the Father's cause.

Bradbury Tractor Shed

A shed for tractors.

Hope County Jail Bus

Prisoners hijacked this bus but were run off the road. The wreck was left to rot in the woods. When Eden's Gate brought prohibition to Hope County, some enterprising moonshiners set up shop behind the cult’s back.

Parker Laboratories

Home and workshop of Dr. Laurence Parker, and the origin of many mysterious noise complaints.

Seed Ranch

The power of yes gave John Seed this dream ranch overlooking the Holland Valley. it has commanding views, a private air strip, and secluded soundproofed rooms for his most invigorating religious pursuits.

Bradbury Farm

The home of the Bradbury family, hay farmers for generations. The strange pattern of dead hay in the field does not impact the quality of the final product. That's the Bradbury guarantee.

Bradbury Hay Field

Bradbury Farm's hay is baled and stored here before being sold to clients looking to feed their livestock with quality hay.

Laurel Residence

Laurel family honey was a local market favorite until their bee colony collapsed and jeopardized the business. It also spooked the Laurels who sunk money into a bunker and became preppers overnight.

Eden’s Gate Greenhouse

Bliss plants are found throughout the Henbane River, but they're also found here. John Seed takes the flowers he receives by boat from the east and plants them in his greenhouse.

Seed Boat Launch

Once a favorite spot for summer frolickers, this boat launch is used by John Seed for receiving shipments of Bliss and other supplies from elsewhere in Hope County.

Rye & Sons Aviation

This plot of land was first settled in 1920 by Willard Rye. He started a crop dusting business. His sons inherited both and it now belongs to the current generation of Ryes: Nick & Kim.

Kellett Cattle Co.

The Kellett family supplied beef for 3 generations. These proud Republicans thought they recognized the American spirit in Eden’s Gate, but when John Seed asked them to serve the Project, they said “no.”

Fall’s End

After prospector Orville Fall struck gold, his small mining camp quickly grew. Decades later, his rival, rail baron Emmett Reaves, shot him dead in the streets, giving the town its official name.

Old Silo

Welcome to the middle of it.

Kay-Nine Kennels

The owner, Kay Wheeler, loved her dogs more than life itself. She bred and trained hunting and guard dogs. When Eden’s Gate showed up, the local demand for guard dogs tripled. John Seed noticed and took action.

Sunrise Threshing

A silo and shed complex attached to Sunrise Farm. Rumor has it that Mike Dunagan's stashed a lot of cool shit around here somewhere.

Redler Residence

Home of Wendell Redler, local businessman and Vietnam veteran.

Adams Ranch

Jules Adams lost her husband in an "accident" after saying no to John Seed. Her family's struggled to keep the cattle ranch out of cult hands ever since.

Miller Residence

Despite financial hardship, the Miller family refused the cult’s invitations, prepping for doomsday all on their own. When the reaping came, Jerry Miller was out working.

Wellington Residence

The Wellington family mine is an urban legend, supposedly stuffed with gold, explosives, or both depending who you ask. Generations of Wellingtons (possibly inbred) have tried and failed to strike it rich here.

[beehunni62]

The Advisors Alliance Mini Encyclopedia Translation - Post 15: Revolt of the Seven States

The Advisors Alliance 大军师司马懿之军师联盟 is a 2017 two-part Chinese TV series depicting the life of Sima Yi, a government official and military strategist who lived during the late Eastern Han Dynasty 东汉 (25 CE - 220 CE) and the Three Kingdoms Period 三国時代 (220 CE - 280 CE). [Wikipedia of the show’s first season]

The second part is titled Growling Tiger Roaring Dragon 虎啸龙吟 and keeps following Sima Yi’s life as he matures and becomes wiser [Link to the show’s second season’s MyDramaList page].

The Weibo account [Link] of the show made a series of posts in the style of small encyclopedias explaining different historical and cultural facts that where included in the series. The user @moononmyfloor compiled the 50 posts and asked me to translate them. This will be an ongoing series where I will do just that. Although I tried to stay as close as possible to the original text, I had to take some liberties in some posts to get the meaning across better. On the side, I have included extra information from personal research that explains certain things better.

The posts are not in order of the episodes but I will provide the episode and season number to avoid confusion. If there are any mistakes in translation, do let me know in the comments or privately message me and I will do my best to fix them.

If it is difficult to read the letters, tap or click on the image to expand it. Without more preamble, here you go.

Extra information

Below is a handy map to picture the conflict better:

Map showcasing the states involved in the Revolt of the Seven States (154 BCE) created by Wikipedia user Seasonsinthesun. Posted July 8, 2017. I added the black arrows and names of the historical figures involved for readers’ convenience [image source].

Let me clarify something. 王 is “king” in Chinese. However, that title only applies to a ruler in ancient China before it became an empire and the title “emperor” 皇帝 was created. Thus, when we are talking about pre-imperial China, in English, the title 王 is translated as “king”. Once China unified and became an empire, to appease regional lords of states, the emperors allowed them to keep the title of “王” while the emperors took the title of 皇帝. However, in English, we, for the most part, do not translate the rulers of states after China unified as “kings”. Instead, we translate them as “princes”. It’s important to note that the phrase “大王” Great King (His Majesty) was used by emperors in ancient China despite containing 王. The further back we go, the blurrier it gets between 皇帝 and 王 and, sometimes, some 皇帝 preferred to go by 王 instead.

When Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty, ascended to the imperial throne, he took the title of 皇帝 and gave his allies land (states) that would operate as their own (mostly) independent kingdoms and granted them the title of “王” (Prince). Nevertheless, he had them all killed and replaced by his own kin, the Liu clan. That’s why, in the post above, you see so many princes with the names “Liu”. This was a terrible miscalculation because, in consolidating more power for his family, Liu Bang (Emperor Gaozu of Han) created a fractured empire with kingdoms that were independent and even minted their own coins (created their own currency). This independence made these states unwilling to follow the orders and laws of the central government (the imperial court).

By the reign of emperor Jing of Han, the personal relationship between him and several vassal princes was gravely strained thanks, in no small part, to Jing (then crown prince Qi) killing the vassal Prince of Wu, Liu Pi’s heir apparent, Liu Xian. Crown prince Qi and Liu Xian, while drunk, disagreed over the rules of the board game they were playing called Liubo 六博, a chess-like game tied to divination. Seeing as how Liu Xian, who was from a lower rank as the son of a vassal prince, dared to staunchly disagree with the crown prince, Qi, in what could only be described as a fit of drunken derangement, grabbed the hefty wood board, scattering the pieces to the ground, and proceeded to violently bludgeon Liu Xian in the head, eventually killing him. That act, along with the Vassal Domain Reduction Policy, triggered Liu Pi to start a revolt against centralized power. Below is what a Liubo set looks like:

Lacquered Liubo chess set excavated from Han Tomb No.3 (believed to have been of the son of the Marquis of Dai), Mawangdui, Changsha city, Hunan. Early Western Han (206 BCE – 25 CE), 12th year of Emperor Han Wendi (168 BCE). This Liubo set was around the time period of Crown Prince Qi and is likely to resemble the actual set he used to kill Liu Pi’s son, Liu Xian. This set is currently at the Hunan Provicial Museum.

A close up of a pair of Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220 CE) ceramic tomb figurines of two gentlemen playing Liubo. Earthenware figures displayed at the Met Museum [image source].

Note: The two Liu Xian mentioned here aren’t the same. They are both called Liu Xian and both names are written as 刘贤 (Trad. 劉賢) but one is the Prince of Zichuan and the other is the son of Liu Pi.

Note: Another name that repeats is Liu Wu. There are two different Liu Wu. The first is Liu Wu 刘戊 (Trad. 劉戊) Prince of Chu, ally to Liu Pi, and the other is 刘武 (Trad. 劉武), Prince of Liang, ally to Emperor Jing.

The “good judgement” on the part of Zhou Yafu in the text refers to him purposely disobeying Emperor Jing’s orders to save Prince of Liang, Liu Wu. Instead, Zhou, opted to cut off the supply lines of the states Chu and Wu creating a decisive defeat for those two states and a victory for the emperor and Zhao.

Catalogue (Find the rest of the posts)

[doggirlswag]

social media hcs for dol’s love interests :D

alex

doesn’t have time for that. farm work is hard work!

while they do have a laptop, they don’t really use it outside of business. sometimes they’ll play peggle.

if they’re not on a call, they might play a youtube video in the background. something light, funny, and undemanding to take the pressure off

i think alex likes old people memes. the shit your grandparents post on facebook would make them chuckle

keeps up with family through calls, but they’ll log into their facebook from like... 2012 to set up reunions. their profile picture hasn’t changed since they made it.

avery

linkedin. maybe facebook. if they have a twitter they’re verified but have only made like one or two posts.

unless it’s for networking, it’s kind of a waste of time, and they value their time very highly

does occasionally use reddit though. has definitely given financial advice and capped their post off with “this is not financial advice” as though that means fucking anything

actually now that i think about it they definitely have an instagram just to show off. if somebody shows up to a meeting with a new watch they post a picture with a nicer model the next day.

eden

haha.

if they had electricity, wi-fi, and a phone, maybe they would listen to podcasts?

if they really need to know something and they don’t have a book on it, they’ll go to the library. even then they’d flip through like every encyclopedia before asking a librarian how to get on the computers.

kylar

4chumblr lovechild that 2013 dreamed of.

has about 10 burner emails at any given time

an active member on a bunch of niche forums. like ‘the one guy who photoshopped his dick green on a futurama forum’ level niche.

they used to be a VERY active roleplayer. i think they have a bunch of warrior cats ocs.

has a very strong opinion on reddit. whether it’s positive or negative is up to you :)

kylar misses the early internet and they refuse to install windows 10.

they’ve made themself & the pc in every game possible. their sims folder is massive and their screenshot folder is even bigger.

they are on so many blocklists.

robin

uses instagram like people did in 2012. heavy editing, food + animal pictures, a few too many hashtags.

has a twitch regardless of confidence level. would start streaming with encouragement from the pc, probably.

they wouldn’t get that popular, but they’d like a smaller community more anyways.

the first time they got fan art they were a blubbering mess. everything someone’s drawn for them has been printed out and taped to their walls.

sydney

syd has pinterest and a studyblr.

their blog updates inconsistently but is INCREDIBLY organized.

i think they’ve made like five of those masterposts that everybody saved but never ever used.

post-corruption sydney is a menace. still painstakingly organized but a bit less active on their main accounts. they’ve moved to twitter.

might have accidentally cyberbullied kylar. they made a callout post about it but sydney couldn’t see it because kylar immediately blocked them.

whitney

everybody who follows whitney either has post notifications on or has them muted.

on one hand it’s really funny to see the dumb shit they get up to. on the other hand there is so much dumb shit.

uses a lot of emojis and hashtags ‘‘ironically’’. definitely the most up-to-date on what’s based and cringe, anyways.

they don’t use tumblr (not since the porn ban), but if they did they would have sent hate to everyone else on this list.

the great hawk and black wolf don’t have opposable thumbs.

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: F Boy (again)

Debut: Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins

It feels so strange to look back on my very first post for this blog! It’s so... dry! Where’s the passion? Back then I really had no idea what I was doing and was just kind of imitating Mod Chikako hoping nobody would notice... but thanks to all the love this blog has received, I think I can write with a lot more confidence now! Not to get all sappy on the first paragraph, but I really appreciate everyone who reads this blog with all of my heart. And that includes You!

But if I’d known I’d spend several years using the moniker “Mod F Boy”, I probably would’ve put more thought into the name I picked, huh? I’m not even sure I’m a boy anymore! I just thought the name was funny and that was that! But given how indecisive I can be, maybe it’s a good thing it was so spontaneous... Like it or not though, I am more attached to the concept of “F Boy” then I was three and a half years ago, so it’s only fair I give F Boy the post he deserves and write a whole lot more about him! 

Believe it or not, F Boy is a fire enemy! A single flame with dot eyes, the classic design they’ve been using since Fire! I’ve expressed love for them in the past, but this little dude is a little different... it isn’t found in a lava or castle stage like you might expect, but the spoooky scaaary stages, AKA Pumpkin Zone! Why’s that?

Enter the hitodama! Literally using the characters for “human soul”, these ghostly wisps of fire from Japanese folklore are probably something you’re familiar with even if you don’t know it! The Litwick Pokémon line, the flames on Jibanyan’s tail, the little flames around the boy from the toilet anime, or even the Embers from Paper Mario... that’s really just a couple of specific examples off the top of my head, but they are in basically anything associated with Japanese ghosts! 

Though... all this time I’ve always called them hitodama, but I should probably specify they aren’t the only kind of ghostly fireballs! Onibi (demon fire) are often described similarly, and I’m not totally sure what the difference is! I suppose they would be more demonic hence the name, and probably less of a good idea to get close to. Also, if they're made by fox demons, they’re kitsunebi (fox fire)! Isn’t that neat! But there are no foxes to be found here, so F Boy definitely isn’t that (Unless it stands for Fox Boy...?).

However, you might be more familiar with the concept of will-o’-the-wisps, a similiar kind of legend from Europe- in fact, a whole number of cultures around the world have stories of ghostly lights and flames! There’s two explanations for this, either that it is a misunderstanding caused by some chemical reaction (boring, lame) or that hitodama are real and really exist for real (fun, exciting)! I encourage everyone to go outside with a net and catch as many as they can. 

Even though hitodama can be red or orange in some traditional accounts, they’re mostly described as blue and most modern media sticks with that! Which makes it quite weird that F Boy... isn’t! He is a rather fetching orange of course, and without the added context of spooky old Pumpkin Land you wouldn’t be mistaken for thinking he is a lava enemy that just got lost or something! 

Now, moving on to a completely different topic, something else that is great about F Boy is his little cheeks. Have you seen them? Here is the picture one more time in case you forgot after all that. He doesn’t have one in the sprite, so isn’t it quite weird to give a fireball enemy such distinct little cheeks? I want to squeeze them, even if they are probably intangible. 

And finally, we come to the part we’ve all been waiting for- the name! You were thinking it, I was thinking it, it’s probably the only reason I chose to write about him in the first place! Because F Boy is a funny name for an enemy! I think it’s just quite silly to describe a fireball as a “boy” in the first place, as a term of endearment. It is just a boy! A little guy! He’s not hurting anyone! 

But then they add to that name- one letter. That one letter, F. It changes everything. All of a sudden, there’s a question floating in the air- what, pray tell, does the F in F Boy stand for? 

If you’ve been following our blog for a while, you might remember we added an addendum to the original F Boy post, saying the mystery had finally been solved- the English version of the Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia lists his name as Fireball Boy, which is a pretty definitive answer right?

But since then, it’s been more or less exposed that this translation took a bunch of unsourced and conjectural names from the Mario Wiki, leading to something of a controversy and a Mario Wiki page that is essentially just roasting the whole thing! If even the Wiki doesn’t accept this book as an official source, I wonder if there’s any merit to the name Fireball Boy at all! Either way it’s odd how this is the ONLY name they changed... do they know something we don’t? I dunno! 

My next evidence to present to the court is something that isn’t really related to F Boy at all! Rather, in Super Paper Mario, the Lava Bubble enemy has a tattle that reads the following:

It's a Lava Bubble. This fiery magma boy loves the heat... Max HP is 1 and Attack is 4. Obviously, it's quite immune to fire... It pops out from below when people approach, so take care when jumping over lava...

Fiery magma boy! The chances of this bit of text being intended as a reference are very very slim, but what if, you see? What if? It’s still a fun coincidence, but what if though??

But of course, my favourite possibility is that it isn’t a word related to fire at all and is actually something completely different! I looked up a list of adjectives beginning with F and I’d like to highlight ones I want F Boy to have. Fabulous! Friendly! Faithful. Fantastic. Fascinating! French? Fresh! Fun, and Funky! Faultless. Fetching. Feminist! Festive. Formidable. All these and more describe the complex soul that is F Boy. 

After all is said and done, that is F Boy! Who would’ve thought that a little monochrome fireball enemy from a Game Boy game could have kicked off so many months of writing for this blog? I said in the first paragraph that I would not get too sappy, but now we are in the last one I can be as sappy as I dang well please! This blog has brought me such incredible joy and friendship that you can’t even imagine, and my only hope is that I can convey these feelings to even one person who reads these silly posts. If you are reading this? I hope you have a wonderful day! I hope you have a wonderful life! I hope you never forget to be passionate about the things that really don’t matter at all, because no one else can decide for you what is worth caring about! Mwah! A kiss goodbye. I’m not sure how to end this post. 

[thesecondbatgirl]

Final Fantasy XIV: A Fandom Primer

I was going to do a really long post complete with pictures in the style of the old livejournal crack_van fandom primers, but you know what, fuck it, I am bad at that, so have a giant wall of text instead.

Except for this meme:

So have you tried the critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV, which once again has a free trial that includes the first expansion and unlimited playtime? No? Well, I’m about to tell you why you should try it. (Minor spoilers through the most recent expansion)

One: The characters

Look, if I tried to list every single character this would be way too long, so instead I will just say that there is a character type for everyone. Do you like found family? Have so much found family it is ridiculous. Do you like gay dads adopting a teenage girl? Check. One of the best redemption arcs since Prince Zuko where the dude is basically “I am well aware that the things I did are unforgivable, nobody should forgive me, but I will dedicate the rest of my life to being a better person?” Also a thing. Smug teenage asshole learning that maybe he doesn’t actually know everything in the world and becoming a better person. Woobie cat boys who need a hug? That one villain who just wants to fight you because his life is boring and the only thrill he gets is in searching for the ultimate fight? Handsome knights who bring you hot chocolate when you’re sad and then (spoiler) die tragically in your arms? 

Two: The worldbuilding

Endwalker (the most recent expansion) brought the main story over a decade in the making to its inclusion, and the worldbuilding was just… amazing. I am (once again) replaying the game, because little details from the base game pay off in a big way later on. And you know, all three starting cities are run by women, so you have your choice of hot pirate woman who can totally step on me (... we totally get a female villain who does step on people later), immortal(ish) child (kinda) leader of the forest nation, and a very young sultana who leads the desert city and also eventually gets an arc where she’s basically like “fuck capitalism” and I love her. Not to mention all the places you go to in later expansions, which include the fucking moon (which is haunted). And there is so much lore that they’re literally going to have to put out a third encyclopedia to keep it all straight. Oh and all the pixies are canonically non-binary, they are great.

Three: The tropes

Look, name it and it has shown up in ffxiv. Bodyswap. Time travel. Alternate realities. You can literally bartend at one point so your coffee shop AUs can exist if you want.The tv tropes page is ridiculously long for a reason because I swear everything that could possibly exist does.

Four: the themes

FFXIV is really, when it comes down to it, based on one thing. The arc words of the story are “for those we have lost and those we can yet save.” The last expansion especially has been a rebuke of nihilism and an embrace of hopepunk. There is a textual acknowledgement that yes, life is incredibly hard and filled with pain, but life itself is worth living and that we together can fight for a better future, instead of giving into despair. Oh, and also fuck imperialism, let’s go destroy the colonizers, but let’s also get into why these sorts of things happen, and how do people move on after. 

Five: The gameplay

You can be every single class without having to be a new character. That is 19 combat classes (20 if you count the limited job), 3 gathering classes, and 8 crafters. Plus, they are about to make it so that you can basically do this single player if the idea of playing with others scares you. But the community is overall fairly friendly! There is still the tank/healer/dps (damage dealer) breakdown and I am not the person to talk to about healing, but even if you want to only choose one class and play that you can! Or you can keep trying things until you find something you like, there’s a class that will probably appeal to you.

Six: The music

Is a bop. The end. There’s a reason I have played literally 7500 hours of this game since 2015. Highly recommended, you should join.

Also if you like the Jedi, I swear it's one of the best portrayals of Jedi philosophy I’ve ever seen and why I’ve spent a lot of time yelling that the woman who wrote the last two expansions should write Star Wars.

(Oh, and if you RP, there is a VERY active RP scene.)

Download the free trial here: https://freetrial.finalfantasyxiv.com/na/ and you can find me on Crystal Data Center. (Although data center travel is coming soon!) And seriously, if you have questions about the game message me, I’ll answer, and make up a FAQ post if necessary. I love this game so much, and it has gotten so many of my friends through the pandemic.

[painted-crow]

Bird? Bird. Bird Bird.

Hey there. I've been going in circles about my sorting since I discovered the SHC system and would appreciate your help in figuring it out. Although I'm convinced I'm at least some sort of Badger and Bird combo, possibly with some Lion in there somewhere, I'll let you decide based on the word vomit below. 😆

Nonny, I have no idea how Tumblr is going to format an ask this long when I post it, so in the interest of letting people actually read the words you've put effort into (and making sure my reply is also trackable), I'm copypasting this so it'll behave more like a submission. Yours is a recent ask I think, so hopefully you see it! I'll briefly post the original once this is up, so you get the ping.

As a kid, my family called me a walking encyclopedia. I spent a lot of my time burying my head in books and magazines in an effort to understand the world around me rather than engaging with people. National Geographic, atlases, and the Magic Treehouse series were particular favorites of mine, but sometimes I would sprinkle in some fantasy novels here and there when I felt like reading something more creative and fun.

Nice, this is a whole lot of Birdsec up front. Wonder why you need me to confirm this for you.

Along with a genuine curiosity about history and science, I felt a sense of security in gathering knowledge and would let it guide my decisions (What a fucking nerd, am I rIGHT?)

Shoosh, you are perfectly cool.

Also, I would constantly correct everyone and anyone if I felt they didn't understand something or were completely uninformed, even if butting into that conversation was rude (then again, it could also be that I was too young to understand that there was a time and place for speaking).

Probably. Can I take a guess here that you were an asynchronous development (aka "gifted") kid? Maybe even twice exceptional ("gifted" and also neurodivergent)? I don't have that info obviously, I'm just guessing.

@wisteria-lodge just came out with a great post about "gifted" kids (and why that term is garbage).

A lot of twice exceptional kids get "missed" with diagnosis (hi!) and don't know there's a name and a reason for the struggles they have to deal with, especially social struggles. I can't diagnose you, of course, but that might be something to read up on if you haven't already.

(Good places to start are @adultingautistic and @adhd-alien on tumblr, or the YouTube channel HowToADHD. Be very wary of any source that's targeted almost completely towards parents of autistic or ADHDer kids, or anything that feels infantilizing in general. ND folks are just different, not broken or oversensitive or immature. If a source doesn't seem to know that, you know they have at least one huge piece of bad info. Their other stuff probably isn't better.)

Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled program.

It felt wrong to let them have an incomplete picture.

Ooh, an Idealist primary. Probably Bird. Could still be Lion?

I was very outspoken about what I thought was right and wrong, and why, which was usually some fun fact I had read in a book or heard through someone else.

Yeah, no, that's Bird.

Even when I would play basketball, I would play better if I understood the theoretical and technicalities of the game and how to work within the rules. I had to understand the why before I could even begin to execute. In a realm where physicality was seemingly more important, I still managed to find a playing and learning style that allowed me to stay in my head.

You are a loud Birdsec, and I suspect the reason you're piling up all this evidence for me is that you also have more unwarranted insecurity about it than the Shaq-A-Roni (not sponsored) has cheap greasy salami.

TLDR; I was an arrogant shit as a kid, lmao.

Bullshit.

I mean, maybe you acted that way. But I don't think you're seeing the whole picture.

Some kids have the bad luck to grow up interacting with adults like this...

Adult: you are Smart, and therefore worthy of Positive Attention.

Kid: ok I will work very hard at being Smart, because I value your opinion and want Positive Attention.

(later)

Kid: can I have the Positive Attention? I am very Smart. look at this Smart thing I did

Adult: bad! arrogant! only We may bestow the label of Smart, and declare worthiness of Attention, when it is convenient to Us!

Kid: but I did the same thing...

Adult: yes but now it's annoying. you should know this, you're Smart.

Of course, there is some reasoning to adults' wanting kids to learn social norms about modesty. But generally they don't explain this well, and the kids who continue to act "arrogant" are at least a little bit attention starved.

Kids wanting attention isn't a bad thing. It's a totally normal and natural need. It's not selfish of them to want feedback and praise; that's just a human thing, and kids need it for development. Kids who get called arrogant are mostly just following the rules adults have set for their interactions.

You can call an adult arrogant, but an adult has the ability to choose not to interact that way. They can opt out of the entire premise that intelligence is what makes them worthy, and they have a lot more freedom to set boundaries. Kids' choices are much more constrained, and they don't always realize they have a choice when they do, because their freedom and autonomy is always growing and it takes time to figure out how to use that. (Also because they don't always have the freedom and safety they should.)

So if you grew up in an environment like this, even if that interaction above was... more subtle, you shouldn't blame yourself for the coping mechanism you picked up--even if it feels bad or shameful to look back on, or you want to act differently now. Feeling shame is also normal, it's just not very productive. Once more I'll point at the works of Brené Brown--you can probably find her books in the library.

Since you're a Birdsec, I wonder if you ever had a "Trying To Impress You" Actor Bird mask. I definitely did, and it became so automatic that it took me ages to realize that it was there and I could take it off. Then I discovered how much energy that thing had been taking to maintain. Yikes.

This garbage isn't limited to one Sorting, btw. The school system and societal expectations fling it at all of us.

Being self-deprecating, and calling yourself nerdy, arrogant, or other labels like that can stem the accusations of arrogance, but it's not the healthiest way to talk to or about yourself. You don't need to put yourself down. You don't need to impress anyone. You're worthy whether you impress people or not.

Be kind to your child-self, is what I'm saying. It's hard, but remember they're a kid, and they're still part of you. Have compassion for them.

During my high school years, I developed social anxiety which also led to depression. Through a lot of therapy and some friends that I would use as a sounding board, it became apparent that the main trigger for my anxiety was concern with doing the right thing in dealing with people (as well as the usual fear of judgment and suffocating feeling of being around large crowds).

Yeah, primary anxiety. Not fun. Also, maybe,,, RSD? Again, not here to diagnose you with anything, just something to read up on.

My thinking was very big picture, too much at times, and I was so worried about considering every single variable and possibility that analysis paralysis became a common frustration for me.

Do I have some sort of bias that's affecting how I treat this person? Why does this work for me but not for this other person? Am I being ignorant by choosing this? Am I really getting to the bottom of this issue or did I make a wrong turn somewhere and now have completely lost sight of it?

Textbook Exploded Bird. Hugs, that's tough.

It looked a lot like caring about what other people thought of me, but really I was concerned with how my thinking and opinions could be negatively affecting those around me.

I wonder who this voice is, cutting you down. The implication that you're obsessed with your own image, how people see you, is a common thread between this and the "arrogance" thing you're worried about. Does that accusation really come from you? Or was it something someone else told you?

You're not just self-conscious. Someone has taught you to be self-conscious about being self-conscious. And look, maybe they meant well or whatever, but this isn't helping you.

(Also, this anxious self-examination? It's a stressed-out Birdpri habit. Your Sorting is the easiest part of this ask to answer.)

Hurting someone else was the result of a flaw in my system. The way that I treated people was a direct reflection of who I was and my goodness as a person; if I made a wrong decision and hurt somebody, then I was a monster.

You and the Bird from my last ask. (Unless you're the same person, lol.) Go read that post here.

And, being somewhat young at the time, I made wrong decisions constantly.

Well, yeah. Everyone does.

I would constantly ask friends, "Should I have done X instead?" in order to gain perspective on every single tiny detail of a social situation. It got so bad that I was extremely burnt out by the middle of my sophomore year and struggled with basic social interactions. I was paralyzed. (Is this what Burning is like? Not totally sure. Maybe just Undecided?)

It's more Explodey, but could be charred too. Again, see that linked post.

Over the years, I had to learn how to not constantly analyze myself and my motivations because it was heavily affecting my quality of life. I have since gotten better, but still do fall into the trap of over-psychoanalyzing myself from time to time, much to my friends' dismay.

Hey, recovery! We love to see it ❤

Even if it's not perfect, this is still really important for you. You're working to move past the struggles you've had to deal with. Congrats! ✨

One pattern that I have noticed over the course of my life is that people trust me more quickly than they trust other people, hence the mediator reputation. I think there is a part of that that was related to my social status and the fact that I wouldn't have anyone to tell, nonetheless being able to help others helped me develop a lot of confidence and decent interpersonal/communication skills.

Did you pick up a Badgersec model/performance/Actor Bird mask as your default social mode? It's possible, and if so, same :p

I have had people who have told me about their mental illnesses, childhood trauma, secret hate for their s/o or family member, etc within a week of knowing them. (For a while it got to the point of me being a bit of an enabler of toxic behaviors, which I've corrected since then) Most of them are lucky that I'm nice enough to keep their secrets, lol.

I get this too--outside the blog, I mean, and completely unprompted. It's kind of strange when it just... happens to you!

That's an experience connected with Badger secondaries and Badgersec models.

I did have one incident recently that involved one person in my friend group crossing of boundaries so blatantly and harmfully and constant gaslighting that I confided in a few friends about how I'd been mistreated and what this person had told me about themselves as reasons that I thought they were a terrible person, and within a few days that person was out of the group.

I didn't need to lie, I didn't need to exaggerate the truth, and I didn't even need to do much else other than tell these few friends about the red flags, and they still took my side. It felt horrible at the time, and still does as I retell it, and I constantly ask myself how I let this person lie to and confuse me for so long without realizing it.

Well done, asking for support when you needed it! Aside from protecting yourself (a worthy and important cause), you protected your friends from this person potentially doing the same thing to them.

Also, you have good friends. And probably a Badgersec model.

Don't blame yourself for not defending yourself earlier, either. It takes time and experience to learn how to set boundaries and figure out when someone is acting in bad faith.

In the least rude way possible, I have to ask: do you have access to therapy? You need some self-compassion, you're way too hard on yourself. That's not a judgment on you; a lot of the advice I'm offering, I gathered from personal experience.

(Hopefully I'm not just projecting. I have to make a lot of guesses in these posts.)

I'm sorry for the lengthy ask, but hopefully there was some helpful information somewhere within that whole shpeel.

I think you already knew you were a double Bird, underneath all the self-doubt. You just needed someone to tell you that you're a good enough double Bird.

It's okay. You are. You belong, I promise.

- Paint