#just. I'm happy that I did find a solution for it c:

[bellflower-goat]

:]

[marzipanandminutiae]

Marzi's Old House Supply Kit: A Non-Exhaustive List

So you've moved into an old house! Congratulations! No, no, look at me. Look in my eyes. Congratulations. You don't need smart lighting. You don't need paltry things like "showers that don't make ungodly noises if you set the water outside a very specific temperature range" or "logical staircases." Because those people who say They Built Them Sturdier Back Then is survivorship bias are wrong, lead paint is only a problem if you eat it, and your new home is basically a tank

also it might have stained glass. so basically you win

(no but seriously the Survivorship Bias argument is just like. tell me you don't live in a city with large quantities of remaining working-class 110-year-old buildings without telling me. I do. they're sturdier. end of.)

but you might need some things to make it a bit more comfortable. here's what I've found, over eight years of living in houses built 1920 or earlier

Power strips. Depending on the age of your house, it may or may not have had electricity originally. And even if it did, whoever lived there almost certainly had fewer things to plug in than the average denizen of the 2020s. There also may have been gorgeous wall sconces that some asshole heartlessly ripped out at some point, forcing you to use the hideous hateful Overhead LightTM or plug in a bunch of lamps. Either way, you're going to need to turn that single outlet in the room into several more. Hence, power strips.

(hey, I never said this list was free of my design biases. deal)

A Good Fan. You may live in a place where retrofitting with air conditioning was commonplace in the last several decades. I do not. So a good pedestal fan can make the difference between comfort and just not sleeping at all from late June to mid-September. Weirdly, I did once look at a place that was from the 1850s and had been retrofitted with central A/C, which is vanishingly rare in even urban Massachusetts. But I digress.

A stud-finder. "Marzi, you spent years of your life explaining to tourists that picture rails existed because trying to hammer nails directly into horsehair plaster and then putting weight on them did Bad Things." Yes I did. "What did you attempt to do the second week of living in your first house with horsehair plaster?" ...shut up. I used the Poltergeist Method to find solid wood- I don't know if it's actually studs or the lath or what; I'm not a builder -to hang my Lady and the Unicorn tapestry from, namely knocking on the wall until it doesn't sound hollow. You might want to go a bit quieter and more advanced. Or, if you have a picture rail, embrace the "long visible hanging wires" look. It is in fact there for a reason!

Window screens. You are actually required by Massachusetts state law to provide these to your tenants. Doesn't mean my last landlady did. And if you own your place, live in another state, or have a similarly laissez-faire building owner, you might end up needing to Bring Your Own Insect-Blocking Shield. Just make sure you've got them, one way or the other. Because see above re: fan vs. air conditioning in old houses.

WD-40. When's the last time those hinges were oiled? Potentially before television. And they WILL squeak. UPDATE I HAVE BEEN INFORMED THAT WD-40 IS NOT A GOOD LONGTERM SOLUTION. Find "actual oil." Not sure what the more specific name is. Good to know!

That's just what I've found needful so far, but I'm happy to update the list as required!

And you'd better believe, if I owned my own place, this would include "the name of a preservation contractor to undo all the unnecessary ~*MoDeRnIzInG*~ aesthetic bullshit the past owners did since the End of Mainstream Western House Beauty AKA 1920 (That Brief Rococo Revival In the 1930s Can Maybe Sit With Us)"

[foxy-eva]

Milestone Masterlist

I want to thank everyone who participated in my second Milestone Writing Challenge! I had so much fun reading all those stories and I'm more than happy to share them with everyone else.

Fics marked with * contain smut, so minors DNI!

Spencer Reid x Reader

The Mother Wound by @imagining-in-the-margins

Prompt: Nobody said healing would be easy but they had no idea it would be this hard

Summary: Spencer and Reader bond over having emotionally absent mothers

The image of them as children making it through the dark is very touching. It's a beautifully written, bittersweet story with the ability to bring hope to those who need it.

Crazy Ex by @c-m-stuff

Prompt: Person A needs to find B before it’s too late

Summary: You and Spencer are together. When you found strange pictures of the two of you, you knew, this wasn't good

This story depicts the emotions of Spencer's girlfriend really well. I also love the team dynamics, everyone is trying to do their best despite being terrified of losing Spencer.

Rumoured Nights * by @fortheloveofwonderland

Prompt: Someone has to unexpectedly share a hotel room with their favorite coworker - who apparently really likes to cuddle

Summary: A case in a small town in Alaska forces you and your favourite coworker into sharing a room and a bed. And according to Morgan, Spencer likes to cuddle.

This fic has everything I want for a prompt like this - mutual pining, a bit of awkwardness, everyone knowing except for them and then finally them acting on their desires. I also love the team dynamics you added to the story!

Emily Prentiss x Reader

Dar+ling by @leahseclipse

What a cute story! I really like how comfortable they are with each other. Even though Emily usually is more hesitant to show her feelings, she clearly feels safe around Reader here

Prompt: Person A finally confesses their feelings for B, who has wanted to do just the same for weeks

Summary: Emily finally gets the courage to confess their feelings to the reader, who has just wanted to do it too for a while

Emily Prentiss x Jennifer Jareau

The Way You Felt by @andiebeaword

What a wonderful story! I really like the way you describe their relationship without trying to sugarcoat it. I have a similar view on Jemily - they just weren't meant to have a happy end.

Prompt: Even though their love seemed to never be enough, Person A and B can't let go of each other

Summary: While on a flight to help Spencer, exes J.J. and Emily ultimately come to terms with their buried feelings

Emily Prentiss x Aaron Hotchner

Dance With Me by @pandorasdreamings

I really appreciate it when Emily's complex backstory is mentioned in fics. She is such an interesting person to explore further, especially in the context of her relationships with other characters.

Prompt: Person A thinks they are not worth being taken care of. Person B proves the opposite

Summary: Emily is trying to move on and be happy, but her past keeps creeping up on her. Maybe the solution to her sadness has been in front of her the whole time

Aaron Hotchner x Reader

4 AM by @hotchs-bitch

I absolutely love the softness and delicacy of this story. We rarely see Aaron's vulnerable side and you did a perfect job showing us just that in such a sweet way.

Prompt: Person A didn't know where else to go in a time of need, so they ring B's doorbell

Summary: When Aaron's marriage crumbles and he finds himself alone, there's only one person he wants to turn to

Aaron Hotchner x Haley Hotchner

Question of Timing * by @codename-mom

I always thought Hotch and Haley's relationship is very interesting but I never really considered what it would be like from her perspective. It's nice to get some variety!

Prompt: The couple decides to expand their family

Summary: Aaron finally agreed to make Haley a mother and she realised that the d-day is now. The issue is: how to convinced a husband afraid AF to be a father to do the last step? 

Aaron Hotchner x Derek Morgan

Drown in my Dreams by @masterwords

I was genuinely moved by your story and your writing style. The way you show how vulnerable both men are in a difficult situation like that is very touching.

Prompt: Person A has never shown any weakness until they can’t hold back their tears anymore. Person B is there to wipe them away

Summary: After dealing with Mr. Scratch, Derek just wants to put Hotch on his bike and get the hell out of town. So he does

Aaron Hotchner & Penelope Garcia

Nocturnal Wandering by @codename-mom

I like the way you described the dynamics between Hotch and Garcia. I always thought that their friendship was really special (and very underrated).

Prompt: Person A has never shown any weakness until they can’t hold back their tears anymore. Person B is there to wipe them away

Summary: Garcia was about to leave the sixth floor of Quantico, late at night, when she discovered that someone else was still there. Someone who was not into a good mood and clearly need some help. 

Please make sure to like and reblog these fics to show all those lovely writers some love!

[nenynrawrites]

Cared for

Summary: With Remy catching a cold, Steve makes it his mission to make his girlfriend feel better:>

Wordcount:

Warnings: None, just the fluffiest fluff feat. a little panicked Steve:3

A/N: @fantastical-euphoria Remy, I hope you like this!!!!

,,Remy? Remy, love, it's time to wake up! You've already missed half of your day!"

,,Nooo...I don't want to wake up..."

,,What's wrong? Tell me, love, please..."

Just the night before, everything was going great; Though Remy did feel a little bit under the weather, she didn't feel anything major. And then came the morning: Aches in all the crevices of her body, double the headaches and as much as her body was hot, she was freezing. And Steve registered that the second he waited for her to answer this question.

,,I'm c-c-c-cold...And tired..."

,,Oh fuck- Wait a second, I'll be right back."

Steve panicked. Sure, he had taken care of her before, but it seemed as if this cold was tougher than the others. So what does Remy do when he's sick? A...

,,Bath! But where's the solution?"

Whilst the water filled the bathtub, Steve was quick to find the ,,cold solution", as he called it, measured a little bit more, putting the solution into the water, testing that it's warm but not too hot, and when he deemed everything right, he went to go get his love. But shh, quietly!

,,Darling? I made a bath for you."

,,A bath?"

,,Yeah! With that solution that helps with colds, you know? Can you get up? If not, I'll carry you, if that's alright."

It was the biggest boost to Remy feeling better: Getting carried like a princess whilst already being cared for and Steve was so gentle with it, too.

,,You really wouldn't mind carrying me?"

,,No, of course not! You're sick, love. All this is the least I can do for you."

If it would've been possible, Remy could've been considered a light bulb, because how strongly she beamed was like a little light. Like a little fairy light.

,,There you go..."

,,Join me?"

,,Uuh...If princess insists, I guess?"

Steve wasn't sure if he should. He wasn't sick, but anything for his girlfriend, right?

~-~

,,Hey, Phil, what do you cook when you're sick?"

,,Some soups, why? Did you get sick?"

,,No, but Remy is, and...I feel like I forgot everything she always did for me when I was sick."

,,You're just worried, that's all. Got some pen and paper? Then I can tell you about some things that could help."

,,Got some...Shoot!"

,,Alright..."

~-~

The rest of the day was filled with another warm bath, soups, comedy on TV and lots and lots of kisses from Steve, who was the least to care about that Remy was protesting about him catching a cold, too. But everything to see his love happy.

,,Remy?"

,,Hm?

,,How are you feeling?"

,,Better."

,,Yeah? Did the tea help? I hope it did, 'cause that one was spicy."

,,It did, thank you very much."

Steve leaned closer, hovering over her lips, before placing a kiss on her forehead.

,,You know...I think I can wait for that...But tell me when you feel better, okay? Can't got without kisses for that long...I think I would die from it."

And against his own and better judgement, he did succumb to his own wish, holding his love's body close and kissing her until the wee morning hours.

[fandombead]

Misconception About Patton (SvS)

I think I've seen a lot of takeaways from this episode be that Patton pushed for what he wanted regardless of how the others felt. However, I believe this is ignoring first that he's a facet of c!Thomas and represents his core values and thus what Thomas ultimately believed was right as well, even if he wasn't happy about it.

Interesting quotes that I think get forgotten or removed from context about how SVS went down:

I find it interesting that people claim Patton manipulated the others, namely Roman. I dispute this because of the intent required for something to be manipulation vs misguiding someone and the word is thrown around carelessly. Janus, however, was the one to actually "manipulate" Roman to his advantage in the situation, and while you can justify it, I am simply pointing out that people do not get on his case as harshly for this thing they claim Patton did.

Patton is the product of c!Thomas's inner learned morality + his feelings, which makes the host as guilty as any of them for that representation of trying to break out of a learned mindset, which Patton is. He's changing as c!Thomas learns, and making mistakes such as not listening to the other parts of Thomas that may suggest he is not a perfect, "good" person by their original standards. Categorizing yourself as a "good" or "bad" person based on some scoring system is not something you want to do: people DO good and bad (and neutral) things, they aren't good or bad themselves.

Labeling yourself as "good" may just help you justify everything you do even when it's objectively bad because "well I'm a good person so this is good too". And labeling yourself (or others labeling you) as "bad" might just make you feel stuck and like you can never be anything more, and so you just become it with all your decisions. These are not the human experience. Nuance aside, everything is relative and you'll be picking apart every aspect of yourself trying to figure out "which you are".

Thomas is essentially trying to convince part of himself that it'd be okay to go against his morals for a beneficial reason. There was no right answer (going to the wedding or not) that would make everyone happy; Patton was doing what they asked and giving Thomas the moral answer based on c!Thomas's sincere priorities (like his friendships and being trustworthy).

(Pat's the emotional center AND the moral center of Thomas, which conflict more often than not, and are part of the reason this guy really struggled with separating the two while making his case-- he's unfortunately the holder of both.)

Where Patton was wrong was putting others first 100% of the time. Now, to be fair to Patton, he did agree that there are times when you should put yourself first, but they were circumstantial and in service to helping others more. This isn't healthy and is on the extreme end close to self harmful because you're prioritizing others even when you don't have the means to give, which can lead to burnout and neglect of yourself. The "opposite" end of this is only caring about your own means and using others as a means to an end. Both of these can lead to ruining your social and emotional connections to others.

And again, these are manifestations of the inner turmoil c!Thomas is having. These are his beliefs (read as "moral code") vs his wants battling it out and no matter what he settled on given the options, he'd have been unhappy. (note though: Roman did bring up simply asking Lee and Mary Lee about this directly and sometimes open communication is the best solution-- a lot of the time, actually)

At the end of the day in this part, Patton was defending c!Thomas ' character and relationships (which are important to them) while Janus wanted c!Thomas to not feel obligated to put his own goals behind the wants of others, especially with minimum benefit in both regards (Thomas's presence at the wedding was less impactful for them than the callback would have potentially been for Thomas, and it was a high Opportunity Cost).

Patton is essentially a representation of a religious upbringing sticking certain ideals in your core beliefs that even once you separate yourself from it, still for better or worse guide a lot about you. He's changing and evolving from that, and I do get why a character like this puts a bad taste in people's mouths and they associate him with that. That's entirely valid and I get it. This isn't about that-- I'm not over here arguing he did nothing wrong or that you can't hate him for whatever reason you want, that's not what I'm saying nor what I care about here-- I'm just clearing up what I've seen in canon versus how a majority neurodivergent fandom with certain life experiences might have warped the view of him in hindsight. This is not a malicious jerk trying to get his way and at the other extreme, he's not an innocent bean who wasn't ever in the wrong.

There ARE other examples of him pushing points associated with his roles and having to change throughout the series to this point. He just is the one looked at the hardest out of the sides (who all do this at some point in the series) because he's supposed to have all the answers when morality is one of the most difficult things you have to figure out in life. He didn't claim to have all the answers, but c!Thomas needs them from him to be the best person he can, and that will ultimately conflict and be more complicated than the black-and-white morality kids get taught and then have to alter as they grow up and see a complex world.

We all have to deal with that and it's uncomfortable to confront it. It manifesting in one character separate from yourself is easier than consolidating that that's a part of everyone, and one that isn't fun to examine all the time. I just really like how the show brings philosophies I studied into the next episode, but do think that a chunk of the audience did misunderstand / block out what Patton was actually saying/trying to do...I'm gonna rewatch the Redux episode and also keep an eye out for what people might be talking about when they specifically talk about his actions being problematic there, but I definitely believe the intent of this character (and how Thomas has presented him) does not get to the conclusion of him being willfully any more pushy or mistaken than the others at one point or another.

[eventinelysplayground]

Astronomy Lesson

Happy Birthday @fang-and-feather! I wrote this for you as a birthday present so I hope you enjoy! I have not finished Isaac's route as an FYI but he's the one I had the idea for. I hope that you have a wonderful day! Isaac finds out Mitsuki's birthday is soon and wants her first birthday with him to be special but he has no idea what to get for her. WC approx 1215.

Isaac was in his room pacing and twirling a lock of his hair. Things had started out fine that morning but before breakfast was over everything had been thrown off kilter.

***Flashback***

“ You seem a bit distracted Ma Cherie , is something the matter?”

“Oh not really. I was just thinking about my birthday and…”

“Your birthday!?”

Several of the residents spoke at once, some nearly spilling coffee or choking on their food. Mitsukis eyes darted between them all before she hesitantly spoke again.

“Yes, my birthday is on Wednesday. I guess we never talked about it before now.”

“Well we must do something special for the occasion, though three days isn't really a lot of time.”

“I don't need anything special done Sebastian really! I was just thinking about it, that's all. I'm happy enough just to get to spend the day with all of you.”

***Flashback ends***

Isaac had stopped listening at that point his mind was too occupied with a dozen thoughts at once. Like how had he never thought to ask Mitsuki when her birthday was, would she be upset she couldn't be with her family and friends? Were they all going to have a party, what was he going to get her!?Issac had spent the day completely distracted, even during his lectures he found it hard to keep focus. That's how he found himself now pacing his room well after midnight still trying to think.

“Newt!”

“Ahhh!”

Arthur's sudden appearance in Isaac's room caught him completely off guard and he stared wide eyed for a moment.

“When? Why are you in my room?”

“I did knock Newt but you didn't answer so I let myself in. Still can't figure out what to do for Mitsuki's birthday, you know I'm always willing to help you out Newt.”

“You, be helpful?”

“That hurts Newt.”

“Isaac-kun doesn't mean it. He's just worried about finding the perfect gift for Toshiko-san”

Isaac practically jumped a foot in the air before he spun around to see Dazai climbing in his window.

“What are you doing! I mean how even.. can't you use the door like everyone else?”

“I want to help you as well.”

“Come on, sit down and tell us what you've come up with so far and we can help narrow it down.”

Isaac was led over to his sofa and forced to sit down by Arthur who sat beside him while Dazai sat on the edge of Isaac's bed. Isaac looked between the two for a minute wondering if they could actually be trusted but finally he relented.

“Nothing.”

“What?”

“That's what I've come up with.”

Isaac covered his face with his hands and Arthur and Dazai exchanged a mirthful glance.

“Well Jewelry is always a good option, most birds love a nice bauble.”

“Or you could go to a restaurant, there's one that has a nice sweet wine so it's easy to enjoy a lot of it.”

“And there's always a good tumble in the sheets, most ladies enjoy that. Pair it with the jewelry and liquor and…”

“Out!”

“But Newt we were just getting started.”

“I'll figure it out on my own.”

Isaac practically shoved Arthur and Dazai out of his room shutting the door on them and their annoying laughter.The next day Isaac was no closer to finding a solution to his problem. After his classes for the day he stayed behind to think in peace, the last thing he wanted was more of Arthur or Dazai's ‘advice’. Though he had to admit that on the surface their ideas weren't entirely bad. Isaac was busy turning over their suggestions and other ideas in his head when he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Head in the clouds again today?”

“Sir!”

Isaac looked up at Le Recteur who was smiling down at him.

“You're distracted, what's on your mind?”

“Oh umm…”

“Come now you can tell me, I have a good few decades on you, perhaps I can help.”

Isaac let out a sigh and then knit his fingers together.

“Well you see… someone's birthday is tomorrow. I've been trying to come up with an idea for a gift but nothing seems good enough. It's the first time we're celebrating together so it has to be special.”

“I see, that's a very serious problem indeed.”

Isaac was too busy fiddling with his hands to notice Le Recteurs warm smile.

“Ahhh young love, you two remind me of mon amour and myself at that age. I don't think you need to worry so much about the actual gift, it's clear your mademoiselle is head over heels for you.”

“You..you really think so?”

“Absolument! Just spend time with her and be yourself, I'm sure that will be exactly what she wants.”

Isaac's face relaxed for the first time in days as he looked up at Le Recteur.

“Thank you for the advice sir. I think I know what to do now.”

Le Recteur patted Isaac on the back then left him to it.

Mitsukis birthday party went off without a hitch. Even with the limited amount of time Sebastian had managed to pull off a wonderful cake and many dishes from her home. The other residents had also gotten her various presents all of which she seemed at and thanked them for. When it was Isaac's turn he handed her a bouquet, telling her it was just something for now until she could get her actual present later which garnered no end of teasing from Arthur and Dazai making both of them blush.

The party was well over when Isaac knocked on Mitsukis bedroom door. She opened it and he shyly offered her his hand asking for her to come with him. Mitsuki smiled as she took his hand and together they made their way outside to the garden. There Isaac had set up his telescope along with a blanket and picnic basket.

“I I wasn't sure what to get you. You've mentioned wanting to learn more about astronomy lately so..so I thought maybe we could look at the stars together and have a picnic.”

Isaac nervously twirled a lock of hair between his fingers waiting for Mitsuki to answer. She turned to him with the most beautiful smile on her face and threw herself into his arms almost knocking him to the ground.

“Oh Isaac it's perfect, thank you!”

“Really?”

“Really, I love spending time with you! What stars can we see tonight?”

“Over there is the constellation Auriga…”

Isaac launched into a small explanation about all the different constellations that were only visible at this time of year and adjusted the telescope so Mitsuki could see each one clearly. They must have spent at least an hour gazing at the stars before they finally sat down on the blanket to have their picnic. Isaac glanced at his pocket watch and noticed it was getting close to midnight. He reached out and gently cupped Mitsuki's cheek with his hand.

“There is one more gift I'd like to give you, if that's okay?”

“Of course it is!”

Isaac knew he wasn't very good at expressing himself but he leaned forward and kissed Mitsuki with all the love and passion he felt for her, hoping she could feel it tonight.

“Happy Birthday Mitsuki.”

[parab0mb]

So, now that I finished the game (again) and the DLC chapters, I'm going to ramble about Crosscode C:

This game is really bizarre in the sense that, to be completely 100% honest, there isn't any particular part of the game that I think is all that mind-blowing. But all the individual elements (heh) of the game come together so well that the resulting product ends up being so much stronger and memorable than the sum of its parts.

Like, most indie games have one or several notable flaws or shortcomings (and understandably so) but this game is such an airtight experience that I can't help thinking about it and just being like "the how HECK is this game so GOOD?!"

...I am of course just getting started, I've got a wall of text of things I liked and thought were just "meh" under the 'keep reading' if you're interested (you've been warned (also spoilers obviously)):

The combat is definitely one of the strongest elements of the game and probably one of my personal favorites; its brutally difficult and sometimes feels like bullshit (and maybe there is one or two instances where it actually is just bullshit) but once you get the hang of it is really is flashy and satisfying and makes you feel badass to pull off. Plus its got the whole easy to learn, hard to master thing going on (like most of it is just charging SP and pressing the space bar, but knowing what moves to use and when def play into things).

I dunno how much of a hot take this is, but I really liked the puzzles in this game! I won't deny that they can sometimes drag on and interrupt the pacing of a temple, but personally I didn't mind. And just like the combat they're so well constructed that, while you'll spend minutes staring blankly reminded that you're a simple-minded creature and that the human mind wasn't made for this and you should be foraging for mushrooms in the woods and risking death over your next meal, they rarely feel impossible to solve without having to resort to a playthrough and are really satisfying to finally figure out (not to brag but there was exactly one puzzle in the game where I had to look up the solution and another where I did solve it on my own but then looked it up cause I thought I cheesed it by mistake). At first I wasn't a huge fan of how fast/precise you have to be for some puzzles on top of just finding out the solution in the first place, but after a while you kinda get used to it (and there is an option to slow things down which is really nice of the devs to include).

The story is... pretty alright. Yeah. I honestly don't have much to say about it. Bit of a slow pace, does the job, and has it's share of twists and emotional moments, but the narrative itself doesn't really do anything mind-blowing either so... you know. I definitely think it's the characters themselves that are memorable and prop up an otherwise average story. I mean every single one of them is just the hugest goober and even characters who initially seem forgettable or one-dimensional end up subverting your expectations and being super endearing/compelling/layered. Oh yeah, and Lea is a character that can only say like 10 words and SHE DESERVES THE WORLD I WOULD KILL FOR H-

Also, since the DLC is brand new to me I do wanna say that the ending was the tiniest bit underwhelming. Like you break into Vermillion Wasteland, fight a (surprisingly easy) boss, and that's... just it. Like 20 minutes top. I dunno, it feels like... something was missing. Still thoroughly enjoyed the entire thing and it is nice for the cast to get their happy ending (not quite as emotionally impactful as the base game's end imo, but still great and I'm glad they gave us more time with these dorks).

The platforming and navigating the overworld is tedious, which sucks a bit since that makes up a good chunk of the game. Idk man, having to scale different elevations of platforms is made frustrating by the fixed camera and the fact that the different "levels" of platforms aren't distinct from each other at all, so its easy to get duped by the perspective and jump to something you can't actually reach (yes you can use projectiles to check but it still isn't fun). Even without everything blending into each other visually, trying to find which obscure paths from four rooms ago will bring you to a chest just isn't all that enjoyable (some of the later maps like Sapphire Ridge were okay though, if only cause they started to have actually interesting puzzles to do). Basically they're just... there, between the actually fun stuff.

The trading system and farming for resources is confusing and kind of a chore. That's all I got.

Guess I'll touch on the art/music since I don't have too much to say about them. To be perfectly honest I'm not actually super crazy about the artstyle (blasphemy!), but I won't deny that the sprite-work and overall aesthetic are still super-well done, even if they aren't my personal taste (tl;dr I'm neutral on it). The soundtrack isn't something I'd put on my phone and listen to in the car, but like the art it's still well-made and perfectly suits the mood of/drives the emotional impact of the game, and there are still a handful of standout bangers (Lea's theme will live rent-free in my brain of course).

One last thing I'll say (that I mentioned before) is that as fun as this game is, it feels like a commitment to get through at times. Even when I first played it and had more free time, sometimes this game just felt "imposing" to pick back up after a break. Idk its hard to describe, but at least for me it was hard to play any other games alongside this (especially with my limited free time) which kinda sucked a bit.

To wrap things up, if I had to give the game an arbitrary number rating, I have to give Crosscode a 0/10 because its an indie game that doesn't have a fishing game (smh honestly how could they make such an obvious mistake 😔).

[chronotsr]

Pre-G1 Modules, part 6: Reflections

This isn't a full on post or anything, it really is just random thoughts. This blog has basically 3 goals, in no particular order:

Show off some weird interesting ideas from older modules. This is why the bullet-point sections exist.

Look at all the obscure modules no one's ever heard and don't get discussed so they can enjoy more awareness. This is why it's module to module and not lists of cool things I've found.

Look at how modules grew as an art-form. Their design, layout, styling, writing, et c. This is why it's in release order.

So I'm going to ramble about all 3 in turn.

1. Coolest ideas

So somehow the coolest idea I ran into in this roundup was keep on the borderlands ~in the desert~. The mental image is just stuck in my brain and if you're one of my fantasy age players, you've probably inhaled some spoilers accidentally now. It's gonna show up eventually.

I was also really fond of the really lateral use of animated objects in Tegel Manor, particularly the battlefield painting that spits arrows as the events on-canvas play out. It's very fun and very goofy and I regret the yearly Samhain one-shot being so far away. I will find an excuse to use that random magic statue table eventually.

Third place goes to the pet sea monster of the invincible overlord. It's just really stuck in my brain

2. Coolest Module You Haven't Heard Of

Oh that's easy. Tegel Manor. 100% Tegel Manor. That was easily the most fun I had writing this column so far, even as the pagecount sprawled and sprawled. I think the haunted house is the single best starting location for a new player, it's part of why I'm so ride or die for Ghosts of Saltmarsh (and I do specifically mean the 5e iteration, they did an excellent job realizing Saltmarsh as a location. It's a crying shame people hate because they expect pirates and get, not pirates).

Happily, I don't think the move is actually to just, buy modern Tegel Manor. In fact, a spiritual successor to Tegel Manor would be just what the doctor ordered.

3. The Growth of Module Design

I am telling on myself hard but my favorite part of watching this go on is to see the art of keying slowly evolve and standardize around the familiar model of today. We are far away from the, I know I will get crucified for this, frankly better keying of 5e. Or even the significantly improved keying of 4e. We are in crusty-ass 1970s keying, where if it was typed, it was professional. Honestly Temple of the Frog's keying is a shockingly good first attempt. The keying solution that Vampire Queen went for is, kind of novel in its own way. I kind of wish that this table-style keying had stuck around as a sort of summary page for quick reference, it's…honestly kind of convenient, especially for particularly hack and slashy campaigns.

Watching JG recover from their tailspin of excessive loot was really fascinating. I do keep in mind that weight was a big thing about loot recovery in early DND but what exactly was to stop a party from just going back in and looting the place over and over again, anyway? Sure the monsters could move around, the loot could move, but they still know the layout. I really feel like you have to simply not provide that much treasure, and I get the sense JG worked that out too.

Finally, I am just kind of happy to see the focus on creating dungeons, as in combat rectangles is already starting to be threatened as the status quo. Arneson obviously understood why this was bad, and you can see some designers working it out too. Holmes also had a very good grasp of pacing and dungeon layout that it would take others (including Gygax) a while to catch up to.

So anyway, see you at G1!

[getitfrenchship]

Hello, friends! Hope you're all doing well. In fact, I'd like to know what you're all up to so I can reconnect with friends again. What things are you watching/playing/doing now? Any new things in life you'd like to discuss?

Below the cut I'll say what I've been up to!

Just got back from my local con today and while I did spend a lot on game collecting + VA stuff, I'm glad I went. Thankfully I got paid Friday (though that means I'll have to wait to get paid again in 2 weeks) and my financial situation isn't dire. It's kinda like when you go to Disneyland and get caught up in the spectacle of things. Oh yeah, an IRL friend from high school helped me with a lot of the VA stuff since she had a VIP pass & could skip long lines. (On that note FUCK F//UNKO SCALPERS FOR HOGGING LINES AND MAKING ME WAIT 2 HOURS FOR ONE VA AAAAAAAAAA)

Thankfully, no insurance adjuster lady to drive me up the wall this past month at work. A few eh client encounters but overall it's been way more pleasant than it was a few months ago. ...Might still need to figure out vacation time just so I can take a longer break (and maybe find a government job if I'm able to find something so I have guaranteed holidays).

That being said, S//aimon's series is starting to see a spike of discourse and one of the servers I'm in keeps talking about it. It's making me feel bad as a result. Thankfully, none of the people in it are starting the discourse, but they tend to go "getaloadofthisguy" a lot. Along with usual self ship discourse that I see on my dash (that again thankfully neither friends nor I directly participate in), it kinda just drains me.

Seasonal anime I'm watching are Detergent (hopefully one of Shitsui's big scenes will happen next week; they took a break this week), Und//ead Mur//der Far//ce, Hel//ck (though I'm admittedly not really paying attention to this one), Happy Marriage, J J K season 2 (i am not ready for this arc AAAAAAAAA), and Z//om 100. When there isn't a seasonal anime for me to watch at work, there's Sai//ki K (I think watching Bla//ck Lag//oon kinda helped make me more bitter at work, but I'm feeling better now that I'm watching Sai//ki). Oh, I might check out OPLA since I hear it's an actual good adaptation. Aaaand F//ionna and C//ake too! God, I went "kindred spriits" with Simon's episode

Currently I'm playing Se//a of St//ars and I really like how it looks & plays so far! (Of course, I loved Chr//ono Trig//ger, so the gameplay feels right at home). I wooould continue Gh//ost Tri//ck, but I'm at a stealth section and like I expected, I'm looking up a lot of the puzzle solutions online instead of figuring it out for myself. Curse you, time limits!!! (And for Bom//b R//ush, I feel like I need to play with music, but I keep forgetting to bring my wired headphones. Bluetooth is for my phone mainly due to personal preference). I also watched the endings for OT2 and AUGH I LOVE THIS GAME SO MUCH!!!

Oh, a new manga I found called "Inv//isible Man & his soon to be bride" is cute so far.

someday i will find balam merch. somedaaaay

I might do a separate post showing my current ideas for S/I's/OCs, but hhhh I'm hesitant. Right now I just know for a P3 OC he takes inspiration from "The Stranger"

boy howdy i sure hope bluesky finally makes my account or i can get an invite because i really want tweetor to die. ...though i'd miss posting switch screenshots directly

[strawberry-metal]

Happy birthday NekoLover3000 ! Here's a pic of your ocs in Koikatsu's chara studio!

I couldn't do MMD because it'd take too long and be way too much work, so I made them in Koikatsu instead. This is my first ever Koikatsu Chara Studio art! I had alot of difficulties with this. DX

So first off, I couldn't figure out how to pose their hair and skirt, then I couldn't take a screenshot because the screenshot key is the same key I use to increase my volume. I couldn't find any tutotials to show how to turn those hot keys off, that or the ones I did find didn't work, and I couldn't get the menus and balls to go away. I asked a friend to take a screenshot for me but it didn't work in her chara studio either. In the end I finally managed to figure out how to hide the posing balls and the menus and just took a screenshot the steam way and edited it from that. There was another problem I couldn't fix though. Shirley and Cassidy have C cups and muscle in Koikatsu. But in the chara studio, it make them A cups and took away their muscle. I tried searching for a solution, but all I found was "why change what is already perfect"? Lmao. I mean, I do personally agree that small booba is the best, but that doesn't help me here. XD

So I guess you could consider this a pic before they had a growth spurt and their muscles came in. I'm sorry it's not perfect Neko, I really did try my best. ;w; I hope you enjoy it regardless and have a wonderful birthday!

Character cards by me, edited in gimp and photoscape

[bfpnola]

Children's Rights Advocates volunteer anon here :)

I'm 13, actually! It's a relief to hear about your policies, thank you so much for the reply. I'm really interested in applying and I think I could make good contributions, but there's some pretty serious complications with parent permission stuff (they are very conservative and controlling, and would never approve). I could volunteer without their knowledge, but I don't know if that's problematic, legally speaking. Is that a dealbreaker?

you’re back! welcome! :) i’m glad you have faith in your abilities, that makes me happy to hear! /gen

legally speaking, it would be a bit troublesome and we don’t currently have the paperwork just yet to even cover minor consent forms as a newly registered 501(c)(3) [we’ve been around for ~7 years as a grassroots organization but only 1 as a registered nonprofit] though those and similar forms we’re actually working on right now, funnily enough. i will say we do have several volunteers who are in your same position, albeit a bit older and who simply just did not ask, so take that with a grain of salt 👀 [eyes emoji]

it definitely frustrates me that legal issues like that can stand in the way though because it prevents those who need it most from fully participating in the work they wish to, especially since children are viewed as property of their families and thus the state!

from a legal standpoint, i will say play it safe and maybe just join our Discord sever for starters to interact as a supporter and in the future, maybe we can work something out officially! i’m hoping to find more concrete solutions to this in the future! (sometimes what expands our political education though doesn’t align with what’s legal considering who gets to decide what does and doesn’t count as legal, so uh… also take that with a grain of salt. i will not be stating officially what my opinion is on this post for those same legal reasons so i will leave it at that lmao)

if you decide to join in whatever way you decide, don’t be afraid to remind me that you were the person who sent in the ask!

[isthe-protag-cluelesstho]

PLEASE READ THIS!!!

1) Cant Play Chess wrote a gem of a story and Rainbow Mushroom did a truly excellent translation, I just want to say that first before I start my ramble. Apparently, it was translated on whim but I'm really glad they did cause I ADORE this novel.

2) DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I LOVE A SCHEME? like half the reason I got into TCF and SCIR was because of all the Shenanigans happening!!!

XIE YANG CAN SCHEME!!! He is SO GOOD at it!!! He's already a pretty interesting protagonist (I do love a canon fodder who has to save the villain) BUT LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN

A) Xie Yang comes from an apocalypse type world and at first, his only goal is to live well. All of his initial scheming/planning is solely for his own survival. But then, the growth??? Of both Xie Yang and Qiu Xing is so??? Kind??? And gentle??? And BELIEVABLE???

They are both incredibly suspicious men who refuse to trust ANYONE but themselves, but they both truly grow to care for each other??? And it's like fucking heartbreakingly tender. Can't Play Chess did a FANTASTIC job showing not telling!!! Like each little scene does such a wonderful job showing all the changes the two of them both consciously and unconsciously make QwQ

One tiny spoiler: eventually, Qiu Xing starts using an emote of petting a sheep's head when he's talking to Xie Yang and I DIE EVERY SINGLE TIME

B) the System in the novel is deadass one of the best pieces of foreshadowing I've seen in my LIFE OH MY GOD. I literally will not tell you anything cause it's so freaking cool to read. Like, too many of these transmigration novels get bogged down in like og!plot missions or Fighting The System, but this story does a wonderful job of both recognizing its genre while remembering to fully commit to the actual narrative that's happening. Ugh, I love it so much

C) HOLY GOD I CANNOT EMPHASIZE ENOUGH HOW GOOD AND INTERESTING AND FUN THE SCHEMES ARE!!!!!!!!!! it's literally like so much soap opera WITH characters who are genuine! Their misunderstandings are real! And when they happen they are solved in a way that IS NARRATIVELY COHESIVE!!! AAAAAAAAAAAH!!!

D) I just want to absolutely recommend this novel, if you enjoy an engaging story with actual growth and a truly profound core theme, PLEASE give My Husband Is Suffering From A Terminal Illness a read, it's 100% translated by Rainbow Mushroom and well worth your time!

E) side note/not reeeeally a spoiler, but just, listen, I'm chronically ill and it's so hard for me to find stories about illness/disability where it's actually a role in the story and not just flavor. This story has that. It has a really well written depiction of what it's like to live when you are deeply ill, it has real impact on the story and the Happy Ending Cure is not some magical solution that fixes everything perfectly. It's a solution that every member of the story works hard to achieve. I was really comforted actually by the care Can't Play Chess took when writing about illness. They have 100% secured themselves a spot on my Favorite Novels list, simply by the care that so clearly comes through.

Anyway, PLEASE READ AND LMK WHAT YALL THINK

[aecholapis]

For the OC asks, 1, 4, 26 and 28 :D

Yay :D this will be a bit of a lengthy one

1. Your first OC ever?

Her name is Kaycee "KC" Cool and she is a multiverse traveler from a Star Wars/Star Trek parody universe. She can also turn into a robot because that was The Shit™ back in kindergarten :D

She started out as a Lazy Town OC, Stephanie's cousin (?) who liked to visit her and hang out in the park with the gang, but the possibilities for story ideas were limited which is why I pulled her out of there and made a new world for her.

Born into a prestigious family in 2792, Kaycee inherited her parents' affinity for solving problems and despite being the child of two of the galaxies' most renowned politicians, she decided to work for a postal service that delivers mail and parcels to the bright side of the universe and the dark side of the universe. (The bright side has more suns than the dark side and their governments are at odds.)

When she was young, her parents murdered the general commander of the dark side, a gloomy warrior who had two sons but only knew about the existence of one of them (and did the "I am your father" thing, just for laughs). In the future, this son leads a political party in favor of environmental protection and advocates for a peace treaty between the sides. His other (secret) son would later take over the dark side and become friends? frenemies? with Kaycee and travel through the multiverse with her in his spare time.

Other friends - or, well, people she interacts with a lot - are her colleagues at the postal service and they band together for risky missions and go on adventures through space to deliver the mail safely through dangerous regions.

Kaycee's parents were assassinated when she was younger and she swore to honor them by learning how to defend herself and others in need of protection and that's why she joined the Intergalactic Postal Service. By journeying through space, she meets many influential people and uses her family name to make new allies.

But let's get back to the multiverse travel thingy.

Her parents are in possession of a machine that lets them travel anywhere anytime they want and she has inherited it. Although they have died in their time, their temporal duplicates are alive in the present day, or rather their past, in the year 20XX. They have a house in the suburbs and work boring office jobs, but they are happy because they know they will never be able to return home.

The multiverse travel thingy can hop through time, space and more specifically, dimensions, but with a little twist. For each century that is added or subtracted, the traveler ages or de-ages a year. For each crossing into a new world, a book, a movie, a show, etc. they lose Something. It can be physical or mental, like a memory or a facial feature. And sometimes, they gain Something too. It's... complicated.

But yeah, she is the kind of non-self-insert self-insert character I used to love to put into stories and let her interact with other characters without altering the plot.

She was just there for the adventure.

4. A character you rarely talk about?

95% of them, lmao

You guys have your favorites, alright, so I'm picking three random supporting characters for this question, Fardive, Strayshot and Sir Lockhart.

-

Fardive is one of the oldest co-workers of Cryoslope and a specialist for underwater mining. Her experience is invaluable, her skills much appreciated, for she will always try to find a solution for every problem that arises in the hostile environment of the mining colony Ergevaud.

Equipment is key for navigating the murky, alkaline sea. Like every worker there, her alt mode is a submarine with drilling arms. A wide variety of main beams and biolights, more so than the average Cybertronian, adorn their frames - hers is no exception. High visibility in dark and dense spaces is a must for underground based alt modes and thus they all have pretty but useful lights on their frames. Kind of like numerous deep sea creatures.

I just wanted an excuse to play around with different biolight designs and uhhhhh... I haven't touched any Subterraquarian designs yet. Haha ha hahaha.

They set out to the depths at the start of every shift and dive until they reach the excavation site, a tunnel system located in and under the bay their outpost is at. Energon fields are scattered in underwater caverns and they have to split up in groups of four to eight individuals to not get in the way of each other.

Known to be a loner, it is rare for fellow miners to approach her while she is working, unless they have a problem. Less experienced mecha may need assistance, but not her. She knows what she's doing and appreciates whatever little scraps of freedom they are willing to grant her. If she is in a mood to socialize, they will gladly accept her into their close knit units for a chat. And she is not adverse to hanging out with them after a long shift, trading stories and singing shanties over a burning pile of unusable, raw Ergevaudian Energon.

Cryoslope's mentor was a friend of hers and after an accident that cost him his life, she looks out for him and he looks up to her. They're not strictly teacher and protégé, but friends. They hang out with each other the most and she tries her best to pass her wisdom to him.

When the previous owner of the mining site died was murdered, a new shareholder stepped up to take their place. Fardive immediately noticed that there must be something dodgy about the replacement and she was proven right. Their new boss was greedy, a shady businessmech and a bad manager. She kept a tight leash on the miners and after a while it became apparent that the perceived uptick in productivity was being carefully erased by her and the new management team she brought from Cybertron.

Fardive had seen this happen before, a long time ago, when miners had protested against. It had ended in a massacre on both sides. She doesn't want to see history repeat itself and so she rallies the units one by one to alert them to the situation. Most already suspect an uprising is brewing in secret, but she asks them to keep their helms down for as long as they can and wait for a good opportunity. Energon will be shed when the time comes, it just doesn't have to be theirs.

It takes for a revolution to break out on Cybertron to change the status quo on Ergevaud. When word reaches them that the Primacy is vacant and that the protests which are causing an upheaval in the Council and the Senate are quickly getting out of hand, the divers join in. Fardive advises against rash actions, but her words fall on deaf ears as her co-workers use the shaky political situation for their gain.

Enforcers are better prepared to handle unruly civilians but the miners have deadly equipment and physical superiority on their side. Singular skirmishes degenerate into a full scale fight. Fardive protects Cryo with her life, exchanging it for his safety, and she dies. Her last thoughts are of uncertainty, hoping that her friend has made it out alive and that he will live on to honor the memory of everyone who fell that day. No happy end for her :-(

-

Strayshot has been an enforcer for all his life and he can't believe they keep pairing him up with fresh out of the factory youngsters who end up as scrap metal the moment they start to question their superiors. And all of them go by the name "Prowl of Praxus". Unoriginal, but all the good names are taken and unfortunately, this is a popular designation for their line of work.

However! One day, he meets his newest partner, yet another Prowl - he stopped counting them after the ninth Prowl was "decommissioned" for speaking up against a supervisor - there were fifteen in total. The newbie is alright, his personality complies with the office standards and he's clever. A bright mind, a brilliant strategist, good at assessing the situation - but too damn curious for his own good. He is starting to question orders from higher ups and they can't allow that now, can they?

It's a pity the kid will meet his end like the rest of the lot, Strayshot thinks. He sees a lot of potential in his calculating gaze. Prowl shows far more empathy towards others than he is allowed to. It will cost him his life if he doesn't learn to hide it well. Or if he doesn't get rid of it in the first place.

An old mech like Strayshot knows he should be cautious of what he says and does in the presence of pretty much every mechanism. Praxus is watching - as are their supervisors. The walls have eyes and ears, he knows. He heard his captain mention constant surveillance a long time ago. Strayshot doesn't know what Cordon meant by this, but he didn't want to find out.

His captain was oddly knowledgeable too, despite his periodic memory loss, and it fed straight into Cordon's reputation as a fearsome mech you wouldn't want to make an enemy of. In truth, Cordon knows what Praxus the titan is willing to show him when they link up, but (like the entire population of their city state) Strayshot doesn't know that Cordon is a cityspeaker.

The only thing he is sure of is that they are under constant scrutiny from above. Prowls are notorious for their affinity to retain childlike curiosity in an environment where such behavior is unwanted. Strayshot may feel indifferent towards his partners, but this one is special. Prowl's files are not accessible at first, his specifications are far too advanced for a run-of-the-mill construct and even forged mecha are less high-tech than he is.

Yes, there is something special about this one and frankly, Strayshot doesn't want to find out what. He values his life, thank you very much.

Prowl's inexperience gives him lots of chances to criticize his behavior and Strayshot makes use of every single one of them. He doesn't care what happens to his partner but argues with himself that he only does it to protect the other mech and his own status. But this Prowl, the sixteenth in his line, is persistent.

This Prowl is a good actor when his conversation partner is clueless. Strayshot is not. He sees through his mask as easily as he can read his body language and he knows something is up. Prowl starts disappearing from his job more often and returns when he thinks no one is looking. But his partner is looking, and the walls and Praxus too, and when his superiors notice suspicious activity going on in their team, Strayshot bites the bullet.

He accepts blame for uncovered messages sent on a private line. One of their officers is corresponding with the Autobots, a most treacherous act. These messages speak of a movement, political unrest and a war waiting just behind the proverbial threshold. In the next mission, Strayshot is killed off during a chase sequence and the perpetrator is never apprehended for this murder.

In his place comes Barricade who is even more impressionable and genuine than Prowl (exactly like Strayshot had been in his early days...) and the two make a wonderful team.

-

Sir Lockhart is a fourth-party Brave, haha.

After the events in episode 11, Excellent Co. had to deal with their failures and was forced by officials to create a sort of transparency regarding their work. The team that was directly responsible for the submarine incident and that had also been cooperating with Fahrzeug's foundation before it bought Excellent Co. was in possession of the blueprints for the Fahrzeugronne. They wanted to create the perfect A.I. by using less ethical methods.

Victim O'Rand's work on the Chieftains had been a testing phase, an experiment so to say, but Neuva Fahrzeug wanted better results. He sent scientists to retrieve Kagerou's sunken Super A.I. chip from the depths of the ocean. With the data back in their possession, they copied it onto a cloud and used it in two different projects. The Chieftain project was looking quite promising. The robots were reacting as expected to the torture they put them through in order for them to develop an evil heart.

Three months have passed. The Chieftains were sent out by Victim to defeat J-Decker, but they did not succeed. Their attachment to each other was seen as a weakness, it made them appear too sympathetic in Fahrzeug's eyes. So he made sure the other project went smoothly.

It was not the one they had hoped would succeed - as the two prototypes were too fragile for combat - nevertheless, they downloaded their minds and brought them online. Since they already had some of Kagero’s and in turn Deckerd’s code, they were half-aware of what was happening around them.

Sir Lockhart was the first to come online, Point Rue followed shortly after. The engineers were instructed to not repeat their previous mistake. These robots must be educated through torture, nurtured by hatred and their hatred shall be pointed at everyone who stands in their way.

Sir Lockhart was fully lucid by the time the mechanics tried to attack him with tasers and restrain him. He had the chance to assess the situation correctly and flee. Point Rue was not so lucky. Fearing he might try the same stunt, they didn’t give him a chance and he was left behind while the other Brave disappeared off the radar.

Sir Lockhart found his way to safety, somewhere nice and quiet where Excellent Co. hopefully wouldn’t come search for him, but he had no idea who they were, why he had been there, where he was now and who he was. Luckily, the next day he found the Scotland Yard Brave Police and they took him into witness protection.

Regina was delighted to inspect him and force him through every possible maintenance check. She longed to find out who had made him and how, but it soon became clear that he had no idea who he was and the only hint to his origins were the memories of a dark laboratory and the fact that he was found on the outskirts of London. They traced his escape to an old factory complex - now barren as if nothing had been there in a long while - with no traces left of his creators.

He decides to help them with investigative work, aiding them in any way he can, and he finds that he enjoys it. The other Braves treat him well, the Lady accepts him, and life is bearable for a while. Still, he can’t find any clues as to who the researchers working on him had been.

Fast forward three months (in the present), one former employee shows up at their doorstep after episode 48, offering information in exchange for protection. He then tells them about the secret projects of Excellent Co. and even recognizes Sir Lockhart, but he can’t tell them where their current base is. They have certainly moved to a new one, they do that regulartly, but he has a hunch that it could be one of their many factories in Japan.

Upon the mention of Point Rue, Sir Lockhart is horrified to learn that he had unknowingly abandoned and doomed another Brave, one that must have been suffering for three months at the hands of the scientists' scruples, probably already moulded into a heartless killing machine by courtesy of Neuva.

They figure it would be a good idea if the Japanese Brave Police joined them and so Regina calls them for a video conference. They explain the case and Deckerd’s team proposes they send Sir Lockhart over, while the Scotland Yard Braves continue their work in Britain.

It takes a couple more weeks until they stumble upon the information they are looking for. Sir Lockhart finds Point Rue and frees him from his shackles, helping him escape from his prison and see the light of day for the first time. The other Brave latches onto his saviors, eagerly listening to what they have to say and doing what he’s told, seemingly unfazed by the evidence of torture on his frame and the fact that he has been kept alone in a confined space for over three months. His mindset seems to be intact on the first glance. Something is wrong.

When they finally arrive at the headquarters, exactly an hour after their departure, Point Rue is asked for details. Details about his creators, about his time in captivity, but he can’t remember anything. He asks them who they are.

That is when they learn that his long-term memory is faulty. It can’t store more than roughly an hour of information - everything else past that one-hour mark is overwritten - while his RAM is ahead of its time, perfect for complicated detective work. That is also the explanation for why he seems unbothered by what has been done to him, because he has forgotten about it already and is therefore spared from reliving the trauma.

When Todo and Regina perform a system check, they discover that his code was altered, something that neither of them had ever seen before, complex and without any pattern evident. The only option would be to install a new memory drive, but that meant that he’d need a new Super A.I. as well, because for some reason the engineers decided to link these two parts together. If one fails, the other does too.

However, Todo and the other Braves are against this idea and want to help him by deciphering his code and trying to salvage his personality first, before uploading it onto a new chip.

Point Rue tries his best to be useful, hour after hour, constantly forgetting himself but his base coding urges him to help others in solving cases. He sees the pain in the others' eyes every time he asks for their names and he is overcome by guilt when he sits in front of the PC, a new case file open, and doesn’t know how to fill in the blank form because he can’t recall the important information anymore. It destroys him internally, knowing that the needed data has been there mere seconds ago. But now it’s gone and nobody can do anything to bring it back.

Sir Lockhart is there to help his brother get through the day. He is his guide and his unwavering companion and there is nothing that can separate these two after all they've been through. They deserve a happy ending :-D

26. Have you ever had to change your OC’s design or something else about them against your will?

Yeah!!! Many times even and with different OCs too.

Helios is the most obvious choice. He used to go by the name Goldarm and he was the captain of a neutral ship that landed on Cybertron after the events of TFP. The neutrals were unimportant side-characters in this story that I never finished (65+ pages of writing, all for nothing).

Anyway, then I watched lron Leaguer and changed his name to Goldgrip but I wasn't happy about it because his arms were still gold and the new designation sounded awful. The story was scrapped for a couple of months, until some time between watching Goldran and Dagwon, I had an idea for a Yuusha story featuring my precious boy as the main character. Thus, Helios was born.

Another thing that changed about him was his personality. It used to be almost the opposite to his current one, but it was not... bad. I still like how I used to write him, he did questionable things for the right reasons and he was a kind but good captain. Kind of like Firecry if I'm being honest. The spirit of Goldgrip lives on in him.

28. Your most dangerous OC?

In terms of destructive power, it has to be one of the starformers. Either Artecust or Fidelitas, because the third one, Suryasekhar (name not final) is the least volatile of them. Not that starformers are volatile by nature. Quite on the contrary! They have no natural predators or competition due to their size.

... maybe Unicron or Starscream if they're feeling extra destructive that day, but other than them, no one wants to take on a sun-sized, radiant mechanism.

[imsupposedtobearesponsibleteen]

I was put in a less than ideal situation and I'm mad about it

Hello, before I start telling you this story, quick tw; themes of suicide, self harm, bipolar disorder, and mental health services.

For the record, I have bipolar type 2, and I live with 3 girls. I'm a trans guy (this is relevant later, as is the next piece of information). For the past 5 weeks, my housemates have all been a little bit off. Couldn't put my finger one what, or why. this was, but they were. For the past 3 of those 5 weeks, the three of them have barely spoken to me, and the most I've managed to get out of them is "the next time you're in the living room, open the windows."

So, on Thursdays morning, i woke up to banging on my bedroom door and 2 men yelling. I check my phone, its 2am and I have 5 missed calls from a withheld number. At this point, I'm scared and confused, but know that if i don't answer my bedroom door, whoever is yelling is gonna come in my room (I have a funny thing about people in my room). I open my bedroom door to find 2 paramedics stood there. No hi, hello, no "we're here because of A, B, C," what I'm met with is "we know you have bipolar, are you taking your meds?"

At which point im like, what the hell? like what is this? whats going on? start from the beginning, what?

One of them then asks me if I know why they're there, and I'm like, well no, obviously, it's 2am and you've just woken me up whats happening?

The same guy then proceeds to tell me that the ambulance service have had a phone call from someone saying I was planning on taking my own life and that I was actively and "seriously" self harming (they were his words not mine, I don't believe that the way someone self harms or depth someone goes is a relevant factor in severity, but elitism in struggling i guess is where this guy was coming from?).

At which point i have to stand there and tell him I am fine, none of this is true and all of what he's been told is unfounded, baseless and a bit of a shock on top of the one I've already had.

The issue is, these paramedics are now doing a welfare check. They can't have me say "I'm fine" and then just leave at this point. So I'm put in the back of the ambulance and we sit there outside my house, and he does my obs. He starts to complain about how high my blood pressure and heart rate are, at which point I remind him of the situation that is currently happening to me and not him. I then have to speak to the crisis team and I get given a crisis appointment at 10:30 am.

I get on the bus at like, 8:15, but while I'm waiting, I send a message to the group chat for my house saying, "can someone please explain what the hell happened at 2am because I'm really confused and rattled."

I then have to explain the entire situation to them, who say that I shouldn't have been put through any of that. The only good thing that came out of me going there was figuring out that my GP had actually given me the wrong information about how to take 1 of my meds, so I'm happy about that so I can take it properly.

On my way back home, I get a reply. "We were concerned about your safety so rang 111 (non emergency general advice medical line in the UK) who told us to ring 999 (the UK solution to 911) so we did."

Bearing in mind that these people have bearly acknowledged my existence for the past month. Hardly. So I ask, "well, none of you have said you were concerned or anything really so like whats the deal? why didn't you ask?" They all see my message. Nobody responds. So I ask again, "none of you have expressed concern or worry, nobody gave me a heads up about the fact you'd rung 999 and Im very shaken and this entire thing could have been avoided if someone had asked, and none of you did, whats the deal?"

Turns out the three of my housemates and the rest of the wider friendship group have been talking about my mental health behind my back. One of them that I live with has admitted to going to university mental health advisors and other people about me and my mental health without talking to me first.

The exact quote "I didn’t decide to ring an ambulance out of the blue to traumatise you, I had been gathering professional advice for weeks on what to do, I met with a mental health advisor who told me to ring 111 asap and the rest was me following professional advice, I was doing what I was told was the correct procedure." In an earlier text she'd said, "I really hope you take on an active role in your own recovery and engage with the support from the uni."

A few things about these 2 statements; number one, I am receiving professional help from a psychiatrist and other professionals outside of the university, hence my bipolar diagnosis and stuff. There has been an assumption made that I'm not receiving help and I don't agree with it, and I can't quite tell if this comes from a place of "you're bipolar, why would you engage?" or if this comes from a place of "I haven't heard you talk about support in our 1 brief conversation about your bipolar so I'm assuming you dont have any." Either way, this comes off as passive aggressive, and shocking someone in a traumatic situation does not push them towards help, it can push them away from it.

Secondly, "I didn't do it to traumatize you." I'm telling you, you traumatized me. Intent isn't impact. The correct response to me telling you that's what you did is communication and acceptance, not deflection.

Thirdly. Lets not lose track that in all of this, i got the shock of my life on thursday morning, but my mental health has been a topic of discussion behind my back and without my consultation or consent for weeks. Nobody bothered to to tell me what was going on for weeks. I feel violated and like I can't trust anyone anymore.

The last thing is, there is no "professional advice on what to do" in this situation. I'll tell you why, the only person that can give me proper mental health support and advice in my situation is my psychiatrist and my GP where appropriate. The "professional advice on what to do" is based one a one sided opinion from a person that did not bother to ask me first and is sneaking around behind my back. If the mental health professionals who are genuinely involved in my care thought there was some sort of issue, trust me, that would have been acted upon if it hasn't already been.

I brought up the fact that I'm a trans guy at the beginning of this, and you are probably wondering what that has to do with anything is this scenario. The reason is, i go by my name with the people I live with and with a number of the charities I do work with, but I haven't got round to changing it legally. That affected the conversation I had with the paramedics because I then had to go through the entire process of telling them about that. Was not a conversation I wanted to have at 2am on a Thursday morning in that situation. I appreciate my housemates calling me my name, but they know my deadname, in that scenario I'd have rather them just have used that to save me the trauma. On top of that, my housemates don't know my student ID number, so if the person that referred me to mental health in the university (which I am going to decline if I get the email because I don't need their support given what I have already) I doubt they'll get in touch because I'm not sure they'll be able to find me because my name on the register is my legal name.

[formally-illogical]

When you get this respond with five things that make you happy!!! Then send to the last ten people you got notifications from (anon) :)

Oooo lovely, I certainly will. It being part of a chain doesn't remove authenticity to me, thank you very much anonymous friend.

1. Reconnecting with old friends

I never stop loving my friends, and something about bringing them back into my life feels so right.

This has happened a couple times lately, and it feels like a beacon of hope in an otherwise fairly pessimistic personal outlook.

2. Formal logic

This may be obvious given my username, but I'm a fan of formal logic. I have developed a taste for second-order logic, which is subject to godels incompleteness theorem, meaning it's either incomplete(there are things true but not provable) or inconsistent(not actually a valid form of logic). I am not adept at the more modern proofs, but it is a plaything that honestly has more control over me than I have over it. I've been in the process of writing a proof assistant based on emulating formal logic and using pathfinding to make shortest possible proofs for a billion years with fairly good success so far.

3. Programming

I've been programming since I was like 12, started out on Lua because of computercraft, then use love2d for a while, then kept playing with languages till the combo of C and python stuck with me. I love C, but I try not to be too pushy about abandoning oop anymore

4. Time alone

I don't get this very much right now because of private circumstances but when I do it is just golden. Just as it's easy to forget how much of our psyche relies on being near others, than it is to forger how much of it relies on being away from others, it can drive you mad. I am mad. I have been driven. No further elaboration will be given, I love you.

5. Argument(affectionate)

In my group of friends we have a particular kind of argument, it's not really an argument in the sense of a "fight". We get animated from time to time, but we all know that our feelings about each other are 100% unchanged. It's a conversation with the end goal of removing ignorance from both parties by excising any faults each party finds in the others belief, and hopefully this description highlights how both(all) people involved are on the same team: the truth-seekers. There is also a synthetic element.. Perhaps it's right to say that destruction is the common part but construction is the essential part.

I love those kinds of arguments. I love talking philosophy with people. Those who say it's useless are very wrong.

Bonus: Time travel

It's been a fixation of mine forever. I could talk about my "solution" to a certain kind of paradox but it'd make this already pretty boring post worse.

Essentially, most of my fantasies involve time travel, and if a fiction I'm watching uses it extensively I'll like it a lot more than if it did not have time travel.

[snow-lavender]

Hello everyone. Me again. I wonder what on earth I could be adding to this post.

That's right, I am once again here to gush about about my minecraft beloveds in hope it will convince you to vote for them.

WHY YOU SHOULD VOTE FOR SEASIDE PT 3: WE GETTING EMOTIONAL THIS TIME

Last round I focused more on the humour, but now I want to actually dig into the emotional impact of these characters. Despite being very funny characters that are often cracking jokes at their lowest moments, Chaos and Ocie have a deep effect on each other and on the viewer (if the viewer is me, at least)

Neither of these people are human. Instead, they have recently been thrust into a new existence as something human shaped but not quite. They deal with this in ways that perfectly mirror each other.

Ocie is the ocean given human form, and she hates this. At the start of her story, she would give anything to go back to an inanimate mass of water, unable to feel. She would give up the ability to feel happiness to avoid the grief that has plagued her since gaining personhood.

However, as time progresses, its attitude shifts. It makes more and more connections, and eventually questions if she would actually go back, given the chance.

Chaos, by contrast, is totally chill with her strangeness at first. Teeth too pointy? Oh well! Don't have a shadow today? It'll come back eventually.

However, when they learn the true breadth of their inhumanity, if throws them into crisis. Suddenly, they don't feel fit to preform their duties, partake in community, or continue their relationship with Ocie. While Ocie comes to term with her situation over time, Chaos tries desperately to cling to any shred of normality and deny her abnormality. They remain narrative foils throughout their development.

Despite their differences, these characters have a huge focus on their togetherness. When arguing over kingship threatens to tear their friendship apart, the solution they come to is ruling together.

When Ocie learns the location of one of her other partners from the gods, her first instinct is to drop anything and find him, leaving Chaos behind. This leads to the following conversation:

O: "It's been years! I've been looking for years!"

C: "And you can wait another five minutes. Ocie you're always running off. We're supposed to be kings together. Let us do something together, okay?"

O: "We're- Kings of what, Chaos? What are we kings of, really?"

C: "A whole city!"

O: "Seaside's empty. The only person that lives there is Galahad. I'm trying- I'm always running off? I'm running off to try and find our people. I'm running off- Do you know how nice it would be if our coronation happened and your whole family was there? And all my other partners were there, and Casus and Vorago? Do your know how nice that would be?"

C: "It's been a very long time since I've seen anyone from my home, Ocie. I've looked, and I'm content. If they want to find me, they will. We can wait another five minutes. ...Also you're in a ballgown. Let's not go running off into the woods in a ballgown."

Chaos appealing to it by pointing to their own relationship is enough to convince Ocie to stay, however briefly. Later on, when Chaos is having that aforementioned crisis, the roles are reversed:

O: "Did you lose your flower crown?"

C: "No...so, because I'm dead, I don't feel entirely fit to rule at this point in time? So I took it off."

O: "You cannot just leave me alone. Dude, come on. No, no, don't make me king. Don't make me the singular king."

C: "You wanted to be king! Now you're king! Congratulations, you won the election, I vote for you."

O: "Nooo, I don't want to do this alone! You can't make me do this alone, come on, no."

C: "No. Nope, no."

O: "Chaos."

C: "No, don't give me that look."

O: "Also, you've been dead this whole time and you ruled just fine!"

C: "Ehhh..."

O: "Hmm?"

C: "...Fine, I'll go get my crown."

A conflict that was once capable of tearing them apart is now unthinkable to engage in, because these two have become so important to each other. Even in smaller moments, they are constantly emphasizing how they are present for each other, how they will remember each other. Their togetherness is a central theme for both characters.

And so, when that togetherness does get ripped apart, it is fucking devastating. But that's a topic for another round of propaganda.

Mothman and Bigfoot (Real Life) vs Ocie and Ceci Chaos (Fable SMP)

Negative comments about either qpr in the notes will be blocked. This includes saying that either party is not a qpr. We are here to have fun. It does not matter whether a qpr is "canonically" platonic, romantic, or otherwise. I do not want to hear about why you think a relationship isn't a qpr.

Mothman and Bigfoot propaganda: gay cryptids in queerplatonic love (im just gonna put this here -🦊)

Ocie and Ceci propaganda: Canon QPR! They got in an argument about who should be in charge of their town, had an election about it, tied, and then decided to be co-kings and QPR about it. Neither of them are supposed to exist, and they are quirky and weird together to cope. They are so chill with murder too, the vibes were impeccable :) (i miss them so dearly) More Ocie and Ceci propaganda