#like in the name of making it accessible they just made it ugly which is honestly not the message i personally want to send

[regenderate]

today's controversial take is that i honestly hate the disability pride flag. every time i see it i get mad

[operator-report]

In middle school, I read a short story for English class called Flowers for Algernon. Maybe you’ve read it, too. In the story, a disabled man named Charlie is given a medicine that cures his disability. Over the course of the story, he comes to realize that his “cure” is temporary and that he will “regress” into being disabled again. The story makes it clear that this is a tragedy. As a disabled teenager when I first read it, the story affected me deeply.

I’d like to talk about David and Noelle. 

Content warnings for discussion of suicide, self-harm, ableism and eating disorders below the cut. Spoilers for Worm through arc 27. 

When I was first reading arc 18, one of the things that stuck out to me is how much time the story spends on Eidolon. For me, it was the first time I paid much attention to him - prior to that, Eidolon was just an extremely powerful background character to me. But in arc 18, we learn that (1) Eidolon is losing his powers and (2) he believes that fighting Echidna will allow him to tap into some sort of reservoir to bring them back.

We find this out, of course, through Tattletale exposing him, which is always an extremely embarrassing event for Tattletale’s target. It makes it extremely clear that what Eidolon is doing is pathetic. He is going to kill a teenage girl so he can feel something. 

Which would be messed up enough, right? We don’t need to make this even worse, right? Wrong. Because Wildblow has spent the last several thousand words building up the Case 53s as X-Men style metaphors for oppressed groups, and one of the forms of oppression that Wildblow generally writes well is ableism. I think you can consider most, if not all of the Case 53s as disabled in some way. I think the link is extremely clear with Noelle.

Noelle doesn’t get her powers from traditional Cauldron human experimentation - at least, not directly. Instead, she and Krouse are facing what is, to them, a no-win scenario. They’re quarantined with limited access to medical care. Breaching this quarantine would permanently render them criminals. If Noelle survives her surgery, which is a pretty big if, she’ll become disabled, in a way that both Krouse and Noelle agree is ugly and undesirable. She won’t be able to do “boyfriend-girlfriend stuff” because she won’t be “any good to look at, after.” 

Krouse and Noelle are terrified of death, yes, but they’re also terrified of disability. They are desperate for control over Noelle’s body, control that, as of that moment, only the state has. (Remember the quarantine?) Krouse pressures Noelle into drinking the vial. Noelle is cured. 

Noelle’s cure does not last. In attempting to assert control, her body becomes uncontrollable. Her body is her trauma and her eating disorder made literal. She still needs care.

Worm would be bad if this is why her life sucks. But Worm does something better, instead. Noelle goes through hell, not just due to the sheer difficulty of having her power, but because of the way her teammates and Coil treat her. They talk about Noelle like she’s already dead. They’re ashamed of bringing her the food she needs. When Krouse “includes” Noelle in a discussion in arc 12, it’s mostly perfunctory. They do not believe Noelle is human any longer. They lock her away.

Noelle doesn’t want to be put in a cage. Noelle doesn’t want to be dehumanized. In interlude 18, when we get insight into Noelle’s thoughts, we learn that what Noelle is angry about is the fact that Krouse locked her in a concrete bunker and placated her. When she tells people not to look at her, there’s a coda to that sentence that she doesn’t get to verbalize: don’t look at me like that. 

This is the person who Eidolon is going to kill. 

Via the Simurgh, this is a person Eidolon has unknowingly created.

A few thousand words of Worm go by. It’s Gold Morning. Eidolon is fighting Scion. Now, at the end of the book, we finally get substantial insight into David, the man behind the mask. 

David takes a Cauldron vial to cure his disability. David sees this as the only way out, after an unsuccessful application to join the military, and then, an unsuccessful suicide attempt. David is bearing an immense amount of shame and internalized ableism. David is worried that father’s friends are watching him. (Don’t look at me.) David cleaves the world into two kinds of people: those who can have jobs, who are liked and respected because they are useful; and people like him, who are useless.

It’s a terrible way to think. Without that worldview, how could a person not take the vial? David wants to be used, because David wants to be useful. He never gets the independence he craves – not when he’s in that level of debt to Cauldron – but he gets to be useful, and that’s one of the best things you can be.

Like Noelle’s, like Charlie’s in Flowers, David’s cure doesn’t work. His abilities are wearing off. He is essentially told, when Doctor Mother administers his booster shots, that his medicine is too expensive. 

Cauldron creates Noelle. David, as Cauldron’s soldier, has a role to play in her creation. David knows exactly what he is doing to Noelle. It happened to him. Worm fandom talks a lot about David being a father. He’s a father in more ways than one. (David’s father is always watching him.) (Don’t look at me.)

Cauldron never cures David’s ableism. In his world, you can be useful, or you can die. David asks Noelle if she wants to win. Noelle tells him no. You can have a job, or you can kill yourself. When David tries to kill Noelle to help himself, isn’t that a mercy?

Of course it isn’t. It goes without saying that all of this is extremely fucked up. When it comes to disability, “cure” is a complicated concept. I’m not going to get into all the ways it can be treated; this post is already a thousand words long. But I do think that Worm, through Noelle and David and the concept of the Cauldron vial, provides an extremely vivid picture of the problems with cure. 

Under ableist logic, when you have a disability, a cure is something you’re expected to want. Without it, the story goes, you can’t be useful. You can’t do boyfriend-girlfriend stuff. The expectation is social, like the act of staring. Your desire for it should drive how you organize your life – it is control, like a quarantine. David is crushed by that expectation. He throws his lot in with Cauldron, the cure-makers. The expectation is passed along to Noelle, and even though David can recognize that inheritance, he cannot imagine any other way to respond to it other than attempted murder.

At the beginning of this post, I mentioned that Flowers for Algernon is a tragedy. The reason that story has stuck with me so long is that I keep going back and forth as to why. Is it a tragedy because Charlie goes back to being disabled? There’s a good chance that’s what the author intended. I don’t know. It would be a pretty shitty story if that were the case. Is it a tragedy because people only treat Charlie well when he’s “cured,” and when that stops, he’ll go back to abuse? Seems plausible. I don’t think there’s one right answer. Regardless, when you’re disabled, there’s an immense pressure to seek out a cure, and a cognizable loss when it is withheld. The fact that Worm captures that social pressure and social loss so well is extremely compelling for me, and I’m going to be thinking about these characters for a long time.

[mostly-natm]

I just woke up from a horrible nightmare of this account being hacked. Some notable highlights:

- They were definitely a real person/artist. They also liked Star Trek, but only made content of their Star Trek Muppet OCs.

- They changed my blog colors from green to bright red. They also changed my tagline to something longer, without capitalization (I can’t remember what) and replaced my icon and header.

- At first, they didn’t make their own posts but just edited all of mine to replace the content with their own. They also had commissions, so they just edited my pinned post. They changed many of my posts to link to YouTube videos of their main Star Trek Muppet OC, where they had actually created the thing and filmed it professionally. Can’t say they weren’t talented or dedicated.

- They had their OWN blog and “brand” and everything. Their name was Ugly. Their videos started with something like “Ugly Creations!”

- I didn’t lose access to this account, but was terrified that anything I posted would be immediately deleted by them anyway. They DMed me from their OWN blog to tell me how much they hated me and to “leave Data alone 😂”.

- Once they’d edited most of my posts to replace my content with their own, they also started making text posts. Everyone seemed to interact with them like they had no idea they weren’t me, which drove a stake through my heart. Simultaneously, they must have known people knew something was up, because they posted a text post pretending to be the actual me, gaining my account back, saying we had “worked it out! 🥰”

- Of course I looked for recourse for all of this, but the only solution Tumblr had was to make a new blog all together. I debated what I should change my URL to since they still had my old one. Mostly-Natm2 or Mostly-Natm 2.0 were the top contenders. I also had a stressful time trying to remember my blog description word for word.

- I’ve used emojis here to convey their tone, but actually they typed more like this: “leave Data alone —=+ [ | %.. ! = )” Again, though, they were definitely a real person.

[robo-writing]

hi, can I request headcanons for boys from ff16 when they are jealous of their lovers? I really like your headcanons so much, thanks for it!!❤️

This took me so long to do, I don’t have access to a computer rn so I had to type this on my phone, super weird experience. Anyway, hope you enjoy and I hope mobile doesn’t screw up the formatting! 🙏

Clive Rosfield

He tries to keep it inside but he’s not subtle at all. He’s in a foul mood, doesn’t respond like he normally would and gives you one word answers. He never takes his anger out on you, but watching strangers hit on you just makes him upset. (He’s NOT jealous, he’s just protective.) Trusts you but not other men.

You’re an attractive woman, he tells you as such every day, but to see men flock to you is a different story.

“What’s your name? I haven’t seen a pretty lass like you around here.”

You’re far too kind for your own good, entertaining their questions while Clive stands aside and brews in his annoyance. An ugly feeling rises through him as he watches the scene unfold, and his legs carry him without warning when one of them asks you if you have a man waiting for you at home.

Before you can answer Clive stands behind you, chest puffed out. “Yes, she does.”

The mans face contorts from laid-back to frightful, taking his leave at the sight of the much larger man at your side. You can’t help but laugh when you turn to meet his gaze, his eyes softening at the sight of you.

“Someone’s jealous.” You tease, smiling as you do. He doesn’t answer right away, leaning over you and placing his hands at your sides.

A smirk graces his features as he speaks.

“Jealous? You must be mistaken.” He rumbles. “That would imply he had a chance to begin with.”

Joshua Rosfield

He gets pouty, makes it known that he doesn’t approve but you make sure to calm him down, hold him close and reassure him that you’re not leaving his side, not now and not ever.

Perhaps a bit insecure, he can’t help but get upset at the latest man to try and vie for your affection. You shoo him away, but the amount of times you’ve had to do so makes him worried. What if one day you don’t send them away?

You walk over and see Joshua deep in thought, following his eyes they’re trained on the young man who was just talking to you.

You know him far better than anyone else, so when your eyes follow his line of sight it’s no surprise to you what your boyfriend is thinking.

You take his hand in your own as reassurance. “Joshua, you know you don’t have to worry, right?”

Your voice drags him from his thoughts. “I know love.”

His words and his body convey a different message, still staring off at the fleeting visage of the young man.

Sighing, with a shake of your head you open your arms, inviting him in for a gentle hug that he gladly takes. It’s as if the stress leaves his body the moment you hold him tight.

“I’m not going anywhere baby, that’s a promise.”

Cidolfus Telamon

Rarely gets jealous, but on the off chance he does it’s very obvious, and he doesn’t try to hide it either.

You and your fellow bearers are celebrating a job well done at Martha’s Keep, with Cid close by you, sharing in the merriment. When his glass runs empty he leaves you to go ask for a refill, in which time a young man takes his place next to you.

You two chat about nothing really, idle conversation, but you do talk for a while, which was enough for Cid to bring himself close to you as you spoke.

“Darling, you didn’t tell me you made a new friend while I was gone.” He says in a deep voice before turning his attention towards the young man.

A hand at your hips pulls you closer into his warm body, suddenly very aware that you are in public and Cid is currently pressing himself against your back.

The two men make idle chatter, none of which you register, too focused on the small circles he draws against your skin, and the low rumble of his voice beside your ear.

Deep in conversation, he pulls up a seat, and then pulls you into his lap in a smooth motion. You squeal in shock, and the young man seems more and more uncomfortable with each passing moment. After a while he excuses himself, leaving as Cid waves him away.

“Gone so soon? Such a shame, he was nice to talk to.” He says to you, not apologetic in the slightest.

You roll your eyes and lean your head on his shoulder with a sigh. “I never took you for the jealous type.”

He presses a kiss to your cheek in response. “You bring out the worst in me darling. Take it as a compliment.”

Barnabas Tharmr

Lord help anyone who even so much as looks at you, much less tries to talk to you. He is very possessive, and if you’re in a relationship with him know that he will protect you from anyone and anything.

You’ve enjoyed the ball so far, indulging in the tasteful wines and elegant music. Your husband is not with you, but he is close by. Even though he is not one for celebration, he enjoys the sight of you happy.

Your mood is then soured by an older man, flushed and slightly swaying. It’s clear that he’s had far too much to drink.

There’s a crooked smile on his face as he makes his way to you, introducing himself as Lord…something or other. You don’t bother to pay attention as he rambles, most of it unrecognizable under his liquor-borne accent. You try to tell him kindly that you have a husband, that he wouldn’t like you talking to him, but he’s far too deep in his glass to pay your warnings any mind.

Barnabas catches a glimpse from the corner of his eye, ever watchful of his most prized possession, and the sight irritates him. But a drunk fool is little cause for concern, so he does nothing.

It’s only when the man gets bold enough to place a hand on your shoulder do you see, or rather feel Barnabas’s reaction, almost as if the room has grown several degrees colder. He slowly steps towards you, a welcome sight to your sore eyes. Immediately the other man backs away, looks between the two of you and slowly pieces together why the king is suddenly doting on you.

He apologizes, bows his head and runs away with his tail between his legs. Barnabas only smiles at his retreating figure, and makes no move to follow.

The moment he leaves the air is somewhat calm again, but you know your husband far better than to assume he would forgive and forget.

You kiss his cheek tenderly before speaking. “He was drunk. I’m fine.”

There's a rumble of appreciation from the warden of darkness before he replies. “He dared touch you.”

His hand moves over your shoulder, the same spot where the nobleman's hand formerly laid and his eyes darken. “Dared to lay his hands on my queen, my wife.”

His tone becomes more and more sinister the longer he speaks about the man, eerily calm. “What kind of husband would I be to let him walk away freely?”

“I am fine.” you reiterate. A hand at his chest and the anger leaves his face in an instant. “You will not hurt him. Are we clear?”

As much as you loved his possessive nature, you’d rather not make a scene tonight.

A sigh, his eyes fall to you as he relents. “Only because you asked nicely.”

Gav

Almost confrontational in a way, if he sees you getting flirted with he doesn’t hesitate to pull you close and tell the guy to fuck off. He’s very proud that you’re in a relationship with him, and isn’t afraid to show that in the slightest. He’s also a bit of a drama queen.

You’re in the markets buying some supplies for the hideaway when a salesman whistles for your attention. You resist the urge to roll your eyes at his behavior before turning around, the man gesturing to his wares.

“All exclusive, very rare herbs and essentials darling.” He says, and the nickname makes your stomach turn. Only one man is allowed to call you that.

Ignoring him, you notice that he actually has a few items you need, albeit a bit overpriced. When you ask, he gives you a smirk and leans closer, and you instinctively lean farther back.

“For a pretty lady such as yourself, I’d be willing to give you a discount,” he drawls, taking the time to look you up and down.

Your eye twitches. You get ready to leave but a familiar head of blonde quickly moves between you and the salesman.

“Piss off!” Gav yells, giving him a nasty look as he pulls you away. “She’s not interested, yeah? Go find some other poor sod to harass.”

They throw various insults between each other, each one worse than the one before. You have to sit back and admire the display, Gav sure can be creative when it comes to cursing. At one point he called the salesman a “morbol-breathed wanker” and you nearly lost it.

Eventually you manage to pull him away before the guards are called, and only when you two are far enough away does he show his concern.

“He didn’t try anything did he?” He asks in a thick accent. “ ‘m sorry lovie, I was gone for a second—”

A smile spreads across your face, kissing him into silence. He reciprocates instantly, still holding onto your waist when you pull away.

“Don’t be sorry for defending me, okay? But I think maybe we should get going now before the guards come looking.”

He nods in agreement, holding your hand as the two of you make your way to the docks. “I’d fight him for you, y’know that?”

“Of course darling, I know,” you laugh, his own mixing with yours. “But let’s try not to get arrested, okay?”

[preeningpisces]

Non-curse AU! Choso is a big ol' nerd

A/N: As a big ol' nerd myself I feel passionately about this, so I have way too many thoughts repost bc it wasn't showing in the tag for some reason

Below the cut because I'm a yapper!

♠ Definitely the type to meet his S/O through discord because I think non-curse Choso is much shyer than regular Choso

❥ He wouldn’t be an admin. He’d be the quiet type that’s always there reacting to posts but rarely talks. Has the sickest emotes tho

❥ Prefers smaller discord communities, mostly video game servers

❥ I think he'd like the vaporwave aesthetic and all the RBG setups. Keeps his computer area neat and tidy

❥ Choso fucking loves video games. He'll buy those $300 special edition pre-orders and get the cool figures

❥ HUGE Soulsborne fan. His favorite is Bloodborne (on the nose but I couldn't resist). Also really loves Monster Hunter. Cares a lot about the monster's details, like their eating habits. I think his fave would either be Odogaron, Nargacuga or Zinogre.

❥ Picks the edgiest weapons lmfao. Definitely a longsword user in Monster Hunter. Went blood build in Elden Ring

❥ *Sigh* he does consult reddit for his builds and is a min-maxer. I'm afraid Choso is a reddit user but in a 'I need a thorough understanding of this' kind of way

❥ Function over fashion: he dgaf if that helmet is as ugly as sin, it gives him +2 endurance and he's gonna wear it

❥ Lets you create his character & name them & everything.

❥ If you can't be present for the character creation portion, he'll make his character you! Definitely made you his dream guardian in Baldur's Gate 3 (which in the early access was called the Dream Lover, which is even cuter)

❥ Not pretentious at all about what is/isn't gaming, and plays all sorts of genres

❥ LOVES NINTENDO GAMES. Mario has a special place in his heart. DEFINITELY mains Shy Guy in Mario Kart

❥ Will literally cry and die if you play video games with him. You don't have to be good because he'll happily teach you. Just watching him play and asking about the details will make his day

❥ Definitely would do those cute Animal Crossing museum dates. Loves the relaxing, chill music so much. Despite his min-maxer approach to other games, he's absolutely not a time traveler in Animal Crossing. He's of the mindset that it ruins one of the core features of the game

❥ Stardew Valley? Stardew Valley. Honestly, I can't decide who he romanced first. My heart is telling me Leah, but chat pls advise

❥ Speaking of chat, you just know he's a fan of let's players. Always watching a YouTuber or Twitch Streamer. He's a Markiplier fan. You know it, just accept it

❥ Tbh that's a cute thought: Choso being a fan of the reader that's a small twitch streamer. Should that be a thing?

❥ Really good at singleplayer games. AWFUL at pvp

❥ He'll play something like Fortnite or Overwatch for Yuji, but needs to be hard carried because he only plays when someone asks him to. He can't stand how toxic those communities are, and doesn't want to socialize with strangers just to play a game

❥ He gets HEATED SO EASILY when people are toxic, especially if it's directed at Yuji or someone else he cares about. Definitely the type to step in and check other ppl when they're being toxic. Like those clips where it's a woman in a lobby and the dudes all start being sexist. Choso will not let that shit fly!

❥ Teabag him if you want to see him lose his shit

❥ On the note of Overwatch: the only character he can and will play is Mercy, and he just pockets Yuuji the whole time. Yuji has to beg him to heal/boost their teammates

[maypop-the-dragon]

PSA: Free Software

Reading this may really save your time, privacy, and money! Reblog or share to spread awareness!

Folks often use software that’s expensive and sometimes even inferior because they don’t know there are alternatives. So to those unfamiliar: basically, free and open-source (FOSS) or "libre" software is free to use and anyone can access the original code to make their own version or work on fixing problems.

That does not mean anyone can randomly add a virus and give it to everyone—any respectable libre project has checks in place to make sure changes to the official version are good! Libre software is typically developed by communities who really care about the quality of the software as a goal in itself.

There are libre alternatives to many well-known programs that do everything an average user needs (find out more under the cut!) for free with no DRM, license keys, or subscriptions.

Using libre software when possible is an easy way to fight against and free yourself from corporate greed while actually being more convenient in many cases! If you need an app to do something, perhaps try searching online for things like:

foss [whatever it is]

libre [whatever it is]

open source [whatever it is]

Feel free to recommend more libre software in the tags, replies, comments, or whatever you freaks like to do!

Some Libre Software I Personally Enjoy…

LibreOffice

LibreOffice is an office suite, much like Microsoft Office. It includes equivalents for apps like Word, Excel, and Powerpoint, which can view and edit files created for those apps.

I can't say I've used it much myself yet. I do not personally like using office software except when I have to for school.

OpenShot

OpenShot Video Editor is, as the name suggests, a video editing program. It has industry-standard features like splicing, layering, transitions, and greenscreen.

I've only made one video with it so far, but I'm already very happy with it. I had already paid for a video editor (Cyberlink PowerDirector Pro), but I needed to reinstall it and I didn't remember how. Out of desperation, I searched up "FOSS video editor" and I'm so glad I did. There's no launcher, there's no promotion of other apps and asset packs—it's just a video editor with a normal installer.

GIMP

GNU Image Manipulation Program is an image editor, much like Photoshop. Originally created for Linux but also available for Windows and MacOS, it provides plenty of functionality for editing images. It is a bit unintuitive to learn at first, though.

I've used it to create and modify images for years, including logos, really bad traceover art, and Minecraft textures. It doesn't have certain advanced tech like AI paint-in, but it has served my purposes well and it might just work for yours!

(Be sure to go to Windows > Dockable Dialogs > Colors. I have no idea why that's not enabled by default.)

Audacity

Audacity is an audio editing program. It can record, load, splice, and layer audio files and apply effects to them.

Audacity is another program I've used for a long time. It is not designed to compose music, but it is great for podcasts, simple edits, and loading legacy MS Paint to hear cool noises.

7-Zip

7-Zip is a file manager and archive tool. It supports many archive types including ZIP, RAR, TAR, and its own format, 7Z. It can view and modify the contents of archives, encrypt and decrypt archives, and all that good stuff.

Personally, I use 7-Zip to look inside JAR files for Minecraft reasons. I must admit that its UI is ugly.

Firefox

Firefox is an internet browser, much like Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, or Safari. While browsers are free, many of them include tracking or other anti-consumer practices. For example, Google plans to release an update to Chromium (the base that most browsers are built from these days) that makes ad blockers less effective by removing the APIs they currently rely on.

Aside from fighting monopolies, benefits include: support for animated themes (the one in the picture is Purple Night Theme), good ad blockers forever, an (albeit hidden) compact UI option (available on about:config), and a cute fox icon.

uBlock Origin

As far as I know, uBlock Origin is one of the best ad blockers there is.

I was on a sketchy website with my brother, and he was using Opera GX's ad blocker. Much of the time when he clicked on anything, it would take us to a random sponsored page. I suggested that he try uBlock Origin, and with uBlock Origin, that didn't happen anymore.

Linux

Linux is a kernel, but the term is often used to refer to operating systems (much like Windows or MacOS) built on it. There are many different Linux-based operating systems (or "distros") to choose from, but apps made for Linux usually work on most popular distros. You can also use many normally Windows-only apps on Linux through compatibility layers like WINE.

I don't have all four of these, so the images are from Wikipedia. I tried to show a variety of Linux distros made for different kinds of users.

If you want to replace your operating system, I recommend being very careful because you can end up breaking things. Many computer manufacturers don't care about supporting Linux, meaning that things may not work (Nvidia graphic cards notoriously have issues on Linux, for example).

Personally, I tried installing Pop!_OS on a laptop, and the sound output mysteriously doesn't work. I may try switching to Arch Linux, since it is extremely customizable and I might be able to experiment until I find a configuration where the audio works.

Many Linux distros offer "Live USB" functionality, which works as both a demo and an installer. You should thoroughly test your distro on a Live USB session before you actually install it to be absolutely sure that everything works. Even if it seems fine, you should probably look into dual-booting with your existing operating system, just in case you need it for some reason.

Happy computering!

[shotgunbunny]

Lloyd is the type of man to buy you a slut necklace to wear to meet your family.

༻𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭༺

he would bestie! he'd make you wear some questionable things! which is why I introduce sugardaddy! Lloyd Au!

(warnings!! implied smut!!sugardaddy stuff!lloyd being soft for reader!prude parents!!)

You had been with Lloyd for 9 months. And by technicality, you mean you signed a contract with the man and moved immediately into his house where you became his little bunny. While he was unhinged and dangerous to you, he was soft and loving. He may be violent with sex but he always made up for it with gifts.

You met him in a sleezy bar. While drowning your sorrows in the cheapest spirits the bar had to offer. You had been fired from your job. And now you had no way of making money and you were about to be kicked out of your place. While your were having a shot, a man dressed in an ugly but expensive polo shirt sat down next to you. You looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"What's with the fierce look bunny?" You scoffed at this jerk. He was attractive even the hair on his upper lip was attractive, he had a dark look about him. Almost insane but in the glow of the bars dim lights he was just another asshole trying to hit on you. "You. What do you want? And don't call me bunny." He chuckled. "Well bunny, your boss is my friend. I'm surprised you don't recognise me."

You turned and stared at him with furrowed brows and it dawned on you. He was Lloyd Hansen he was practically the only reason that your workplace still existed. He came into your work one day and you offered him a lollipop while he waited. And you ended up striking up a conversation until he was called away.

"What do you want Lloyd? I've had a shit day." He smirked, you remembered him, he said your name and you gave him your full attention. "Listen bunny, I know you've had a hard day being fired and shit. But I want to offer something better." You ears perked up, "I'm listening." He smirk somehow got wider, planning something devious yet you were past caring. "Be my sugar baby, be my little bunny. I've had my eye on you ever since you gave me that lollipop." You thought about it, usually online they became a sexdoll but they got what they wanted, and when the sugar daddy got bored, they left with pockets full. There was nothing to loose so you agreed.

Lloyd was nothing what you'd expected, you thought he'd fuck you and ignore you to do business. Yet instead he treated you like a wife. After fucking you he'd take care of you, he'd bring you in for business, sitting pretty on his lap. A smug smile on your face when you saw your boss. Lloyd was mysterious yet, you didn't care. He loved you more than himself. Which is why you offered for him to meet your parents, and he eagerly agreed.

The morning dawned and you nudged Lloyd awake who was holding you tight against his strong body. You both got up and ate, and headed upstairs to get ready to see your parents. You went your walk in wardrobe when you heard tutting. You sound around and Lloyd walked and settled his large hands on your hips and pulled you towards him. He looked down at you, a smile tugged on his lips. He leaned down and pressed a peck on your lips.

"Ah-ah bunny. I get to dress you whenever I want. It's in the contract remember. And I'm dressing you today." You looked up at him and pouted, "But Lloyd we're seeing my parents today." He pressed his lips to yours again and pulled away. "I know baby. But my word is law you know this." You sighed and watched him pull out a short black dress that had long sleeves and puffed out at the wrist.

He then pulled out a pair of black heels, making sure the heels wasn't too big. You raised and eyebrow at him, "No underwear?" He chuckled digging through boxes of jewelry, "Not a chance bunny, I need easy access." You rolled your eyes at his horny ways. You should have known, he was definitely going to try and succeed at fucking you at your parents house.

"Ah hah!" He pulled out a box which held a necklace, he presented it to you and you gasped. It was a silver chain that glistened with diamonds but the issue was the 4 letter that were bedazzled. 'Slut.' Lloyd wanted you to wear that in front of your parents. You knew it was pointless to argue with him. You sighed and got changed as well as Lloyd. You watched him zip up his beige pants and put on a black stripped turtle neck top.

He looked amazing you won't deny it, but sometimes his need to flaunt his money through clothing would cloud his style and he'd end up with the ugliest shirts. "Can you help me put the chain on daddy?" You fluttered your eyelashes at him and he smiled softly, "Ofcourse baby bunny. Anything for you." You stood in front of him and swiped you hair out of the back of your neck. He clipped the necklace together and turned you. "Beautiful."

He leaned down a kissed you sloppily, getting your lipgloss all over you face and his. He pulled away and squeezed you ass in his hands. You looked up at him and pressed a kiss to his cheek and went to wipe away your gloss and the gloss on his lips.

When you got there you parents opened the door and Lloyd politely spoke to them, he was half in business mode and half trying to give a good impression. You sat across from them and began conversing with your mother. You watched as her eyes went down to your neck and her eyes widened and shot back up to look at you.

You kept talking trying to ignore your mother's reaction. You watched as she whispered something into your fathers ear and you grabbed Lloyds hand nervous. He squeezed back and gave you a soft smile. You heard a gasp from you dad and looked down at your meal.

"Well this was a good meal." You dad quickly said obviously uncomfortable. "I've barely even finished it." Lloyd said baffled at your fathers behaviour. "Ah sorry it's just we have another thing to do very soon. We have to cut this short." Your mother quickly interjected. Lloyd knew something was wrong.

"Ah ofcourse, we should do this another day then. I need the toilet, bunny can you show me where it is." Before your parents could interject you got up and showed him where it was. He pushed you into the toilet and locked it. He saw the tears in your eyes and how you had shed some. He wiped them away and kissed your forehead. "I'm so sorry bunny, I'm so sorry." You sniffled "is not your fault." He took your face into his hands and pecked your lips, a smirk taking over his face.

"How about we teach these prudes a lesson?" You looked at him questioningly. "Get on the counter bunny." You got on the counter next to the sink, you felt Lloyds hand sliding up your thighs. You spread your legs and closed your eyes as you watched him get on his knees, "Gonna show you how good you were bunny."

10 minutes later you left the toilet together, he held you close aware that your legs were currently jelly after the tongue lashing he gave you. You went down the stairs and opened the front door ready to leave when Lloyd left your side. He entered the room where your mother and father were. He smirked cocky making sure you heard every word.

"It was an honour to meet you, and thank you for making the most delicious meal I've ever had. Truly a pleasure." He turned on his heel and left staring at your wide eyes. "C'mon bunny let's go home. I'm sure your hungry for dessert." And with that you left your parents house no longer caring about their opinion but happy in Lloyds arms and his possessive ways. "Just so you know daddy, I love the necklace."

[donnerpartyofone]

Without saying that AI imagery is categorically good or evil, art or not art, I think one of the worst consequences of its existence is how it has automatically added this Argument section to many online images where lots of people urgently make their smug assertions about whether something is fake or not, often in the absence of any clear way to tell what the truth is. And like if this gets heated enough it can make you (or me, anyway) not want anything to do with the image even if it's otherwise fun and interesting. Suddenly the whole point of its existence is this loaded thing about authenticity and fraudulence without anyone even saying exactly what those things mean to them, and this just creates a really bad smell.

It's like a mutated version of trying to watch a movie near a person who won't stop congratulating themselves for knowing that something is a special effect, and won't stop complaining that the fictional actions of the fictional characters are unrealistic, and won't stop trying to guess a twist ending instead of just experiencing the story. They just want everyone to know that they have outfoxed the movie, they have the superior intellect because the movie cannot trick them into having feelings or believing it is an unedited documentary about real life. But the AI arguments are even more onerous because movies are usually not trying to trick you into believing in a certain reality, where AI *sometimes but not always* is trying to do that. And I really do not blame anyone for worrying about getting tricked, but I do hate that we've come to this point where you can just paint every single thing you ever see with this "fake" brush, because that tends to encourage people to just check out and not give a shit. If everything is potentially fake then what's the point of caring about anything. We've gone from reasonable arguments like "the internet is full of misinformation so take X with a grain of salt" and "everything carries the editorial biases of its creators, nothing is objective" all the way over to like, oh well, everything you ever see is so likely to be a scam that the only correct response to any stimulus is to pound your chest about how cynical and unmoved you are.

Personally one of my main problems with AI art is not ethical, it's just that most of the common, accessible stuff is ugly. I really don't like the look of almost anything that comes out of Midjourney and the other immediately available programs that I'm forgetting the names of, and for me that can only be overcome by a really great and/or hilarious concept, which things are rare. I'm not interested in drawing moral conclusions about that production and I don't find it compelling to listen to people who are dogmatically for or against it. My only concern about the legitimacy or whatever of AI art is the ease with which some programs can make something that is a very close imitation of something from organic reality--and it's not just because of the potential for fraud, which is certainly worrisome, but it can also take the emotional power out of art experiences. I've seen a decent amount of truly weird, exciting AI images *that are obvious AI images* and that doesn't bother me at all. To me that's a right-tool right-job situation and that's fine. I'm more bothered by the stuff that is a very close reflection of analog creations from real life. There's someone on here who has basically invented a made-up "old master" type-painter and they post these images that are sort of acceptably familiar to something you might see in a museum--fauns chasing nymphs, ladies standing in cottage gardens, politician portraits, etc--and I'm not saying they don't have the right to do that, but I'm not sure what the point is. Like, really great real-life versions of those things already exist and I'm not sure why it's compellingly important to prove that computer software can closely imitate what's already out there. Another thing that I find sort of vexing for the same reason is the blog that posts AI images of fake tokusatsu productions. Both of the blogs I mentioned say what they are in their headers, I'm not accusing anyone of anything, but what happens to me when I see a reblog from that AI tokusatu blog is: I think "Oh cool, what show/movie is this from? What's the narrative? Was it popular or is it about to be rescued from obscurity? Who made it? Where can I see more of the filmmakers' work? It's awesome that something this unusual was constructed in real life, somebody drew this up and got it funded and then people built the suits and crafted those cool miniatures and painted the lovely matte paintings, and there was an audience for it, people used to actually accept and even crave really wild stuff like this instead of all the cookie cutter fan service-type crap flooding the market now, and...oh no, this isn't from a show or a movie. It doesn't tell me anything about a certain time period or culture or artist or type of production or the heroic things people do to realize their dreams or anything, it's just, like, somebody's modern, general idea about that stuff. Oh well, it's pretty, but now I have zero questions about it and I don't really care. I'm going back to watching actual tokusatsu movies because there are already tons of great ones from real life and I don't need anyone to simulate them for me, I can already experience the wonder and admiration they inspire for real." It just matters to me how a piece of art was made and when and where and by who, and I don't think that's crazy or backwards of me. There's more to art than just the question of whether something is a pretty picture or not, and moreover I think that if "pretty picture" is the only thing that really concerns you then that is actually OK, but you should just admit that and comfortably recuse yourself from any debates around what art is or is not.

[theconstitutionisgayculture]

It is really weird how some people have a bee in their bonnet over Soulsborn games, Elden Ring included. I remember when the latter came out, you have actual devs from Ubisoft (maybe devs in name only then) bitching about the UI because it wasn't the standardized slop you got in the recent AC games, Destiny, even the new GoW.

When Demon's Souls first came out I played the shit out of it despite it being harder than any other game I'd played at the time. And it was *fun* because of having to persevere until you finally beat the bullshit King with the bullshit hitboxes at the end. Yeah, there's going to be tedium and some grinding if you want souls or materials but that's the work you put into the game, because getting that extra few levels and learning enemy movesets and even getting the right gear for your build is part of the enjoyment.

It's like how you have Squenix wanting to change up the "guys in a line" turn based JRPG - because you've had assholes who don't like that genre being vocal about it. Squenix are currently digging their own grave with not great releases recently because they're trying to cater to people who wouldn't be enjoying their games anyway.

I'm personally not a fan of overly difficult games, which is why I always say that Elden Ring is the perfect soulsborn. It's not easy, especially when you go after side bosses. But just the simple fact of making it open world and letting players tackle the game from whatever direction they want, instead of the usual mostly linear route soulsborn games make you go through, is a perfect example of making a game more accessible without sacrificing what makes the game appealing in the first place. Elden Ring is probably one of my favorite games ever, and I can't understate enough how much I hate dying in video games. I'm a easy mode guy. I save scum all the time when that's a possibility. But Elden Ring was so well made and so fun to play and gave me so many options to make things easier on myself that I stuck with it and had a blast. Fuck, I even had fun grinding for hours in one area.

But Elden Ring did all that without compromising what it is.

And if it didn't, I would have put it down and moved on. I wouldn't have demanded an easy mode or ugly yellow paint everywhere. Which is something tourists and hobby gentrifiers can't do. And it sucks when devs try to appeal to people who are perpetually mad about everything, instead of trying to appeal to their core userbase, and then expanding from there.

[atopvisenyashill]

What is Corlys loyal to, during the Dance? What are his ambitions, as you see them?

Corlys wants

To keep his family safe

Access to power

To prove he’s as good as a Targaryen

His family name on the Iron Throne

A dragon rider in his family

Very similar in many ways to most of the other adults during this time, especially Otto Hightower. I think in many ways, he’s kind of an echo of Tywin here - he’s trying to prove that the Velaryons are worth just as much, that they’re just as Valyrian, just as special, just as ~chosen by the narrative~ as the Targaryens are. To him, proving that means he has to have a Targaryen wife, dragon riding children & grandchildren, and in a perfect world, his own family on that ugly spiky chair.

[not quite a sidebar but - while I do think Aegon makes all the right choices in his initial conquest of the seven kingdoms, I think the Velaryons resented not being made a powerful, Paramount house in their own right. Installing them as overlords for the Riverlands or the Reach would be a bad idea the same way that both conquests leaving a Tyrell in Sunspear to help take over is a stupid, malicious idea that probably made both wars worse bc it pissed Dorne off. AND YET. they’re a valyrian house! one of the last lines of valyria left!! but all they have is driftmark!!!! i do think this sticks in their collective craw a bit but it seems to especially bother Corlys!]

I say “family” and not “blood” because Corlys is clearly willing to stretch the definition of “family” if it means he gets continued access to power. It’s why he is extremely forgiving in the Laenor/Rhaenyra marriage - I do think he realizes to an extent that he put them both in a weird situation and is willing to look past it a) because looking past it gives him access to power b) because Rhaenyra didn’t do it to sleight him, as shown by her friendship with Laena & the betrothals of their children and c) he grows to genuinely love and care for Jace & Lucerys, and probably Joff as well. There is that theory that it was Corlys who killed Harwin & Lyonel and I think it has its merits! Despite his affection for the boys, I do think he takes insult at the way Harwin & Rhaenyra so publicly carry on - he himself has a long(ish) standing love affair that he keeps hushed up and I imagine he felt Rhaenyra should be more discreet, and was insulted when Joff was born because like, you already have an heir and spare stop cuckolding my son jfc. Do I think he actually killed Harwin? Eh, up in the air about it tbh (seems more Viserys’ style if I’m being honest) but I can absolutely see the justifications he’s making here that Jace & Luke are necessary sacrifices of his pride but Joffrey is a step too far.

Now, while I put “keep his family safe” first because I DO think it comes first, notice I used “safe” and not “happy.” He doesn’t give a shit if they don’t like his decisions but Corlys does actually keep an eye on all his kids to make sure they are not being harmed. He doesn’t just wash his hands of Laena when the sealord he betroths her to turns out to be a dud, he actively puts off the marriage, and allows Daemon to get involved. He turns against Rhaenyra when Addam and Alyn are put at risk, then turns against Aegon II, even making the extremely risky move to kill the king, in an attempt to protect Baela.

I shittalk him a LOT for completely usurping his own daughter/granddaughter as well as counseling Rhaenyra away from a more proto-feminist stance, but I have to commend him here the way I do the Tyrells. Aegon II has gone mad with grief over Sunfyre, he’s probably in a lot of pain, high off his ass, we get that convo about him taking the black so he’s also running out of steam, which makes him erratic and dangerous, and he turns all of those built up feelings on Baela (if there isn’t snot and tears and spit dripping down both their faces when he takes her to the block in the show i’m suing!!!). Corlys attempts to calm Aegon but when it reaches a certain point, he doesn’t dick around trying to rationalize with an irrational person when it comes to the safety of his granddaughter - he just fucking offs the problem. Power and the Throne mean little and less if his entire family is dead and he knows this. It doesn’t mean he’s not willing to gamble, not willing to force his kids into shitty situations, not willing to usurp his own fucking granddaughter because a son is worth more, but in the end, Corlys really does love his family. It’s why he rages when Rhaenys dies. It’s why he’s devastated when Jacaerys dies. Corlys is very much A Man Of Westeros but in conversation with others like Tywin, Ned, Doran, Jon Arryn, Robert, etc., Corlys is willing to admit when he’s in over his head, grab his family, and get the fuck out of dodge. We are scraping the bottom of the barrel here on what a good father means, but well, that’s Westeros!

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Salomé Sibonex

Published: Jan 29, 2024

I’ve been seeking a reprieve from the ugly sides of our world lately and I found it in Hogwarts Wizarding School of Magic.

Even though Harry Potter’s world isn’t utopian, the whimsy of magic and the drama of a battle between good and evil helped wash away the ugly banality of the real world’s problems. There was one problem I couldn’t find a reprieve from, though. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry encounters a problem I’m all too familiar with and that lives at the core of many societal issues. At this point in the series, Harry’s known for his infamous past as a child who survived a direct attack from the embodiment of evil, Voldemort, and his battles against evil and chaos conquering Hogwarts. And yet, even Harry Potter in a world of elves and flying brooms can’t escape the ever-present human problem of conformity.

Watching Harry Potter struggle to overcome other people’s desire for conformity and disdain for anyone who threatens it made me realize: many people cheering this fictional protagonist on would fight against him in real life.

Despite having proven his loyalty, courage, and inclination to fight against evil, Harry Potter’s warning that Voldemort has returned is met with annoyance and disbelief from everyone but his close friends and the embodiment of wisdom, Dumbledore. This problem introduces a crucial element of what causes a lot of today’s destructive conformity: motivated reasoning. Similar to confirmation bias, motivated reasoning happens when someone is motivated to either agree or disagree with new information based on their current beliefs, thus letting that motivation shape their response more than whether the information is true.

You often hear people lament how, despite having access to all the information in the world, it seems like people are getting dumber. A big part of why access to information alone doesn’t reduce ignorance is because of motivated reasoning. People today are inclined to fight against information that challenges their worldview, often because it’s just easier than updating it.

It would be easier for his peers and the authorities if Harry Potter was wrong about danger on the horizon, so they decide to believe he’s wrong, regardless of whether he’s wrong. They deride and dismiss him with accusations I’ve faced myself when sharing inconvenient truths; his classmates scoff “he just wants to be famous!”, which our culture has shortened to “grifter!” Harry Potter—the infamous beacon of hope and repeated warrior for good over evil—is accused of grifting by his own classmates simply because it’d be easier if that were true. Unfortunately for them, it’s not. 

J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series is a masterpiece for many reasons, but one reason is that her characters and the stories they live out are so real despite happening in such a surreal world. Watching the scene where Harry Potter tries to warn people about a problem he’s proven himself trustworthy and competent to assess—only to be shouted down by people who want the easy route today at the risk of hardship tomorrow—felt uncomfortably real.

I criticized the manipulative pressure activists used to make people pledge allegiance to BLM without researching the organization (which turned out to be corrupt) or the movement itself (which turned out to be a guise for spreading destructive ideas in the name of “anti-racism”). When I speak about that today, I’m praised. But then the Israel attack on October 7th happened and suddenly the same message against letting social pressure rush you to pledge allegiance to positions you don’t understand now got me derided for not “using my platform” properly. The pattern repeats.

You can be the same person with the same message, but other people will respond to you differently based on where the winds of culture have blown them this week.

Unprincipled people are constantly shifting their targets because their worldviews aren’t tethered to anything deeper than seeking social approval and avoiding cognitive dissonance. They will wish death on you for not posting a flag emoji while claiming to hold the moral high ground.

Unprincipled people believe their frantic rushing from Current Thing to Current Thing is proof of their moral character, but it’s actually proof of how unreliable the opinions of anyone but your close friends and personal Dumbledores can be. Just look at J.K. Rowling’s experience. 

While the fact that people with Harry Potter tattoos were the quickest to turn on the creator of their favorite story simply because her opinions didn’t sway with the ever-changing winds of culture (she maintains the once-uncontested reality that trans-women are trans-women and biological women are biological women), that’s only one example of a conformist culture that hates heroes. Harry Potter himself is the perfect litmus test for whether we have a culture that praises heroes or villains.

Forget about Harry’s magic abilities. What truly makes Harry Potter a magical character isn’t his ability to wield magic, which most of the magic world can do—it’s his character that makes him stand apart from all others. If Harry Potter were a real, non-magical person in our society today, his unusually strong character would make him a pariah. Unlike most of the magical world’s people, Harry Potter is pursuing a goal far bigger than himself; this makes him the target of both disgruntled plebs and power-hungry tyrants. People who don’t have a strong and honorable mission in life hate seeing people who do—it either reminds them they’re wasting their lives or threatens their ability to fulfill their evil mission. A lot of arm-chair internet activists and government officials would hate Harry Potter. 

It’s not just that Harry has a unique destiny that makes his character compelling—it’s the fact that he has the courage and determination to pursue that destiny and develop the necessary skills to do so that makes his character admirable. Every person—especially in an individualistic culture that valorizes people who make their own way in life—wants to feel like they have a unique life path that leads to greatness. Luckily for those living in a free society, they do. Unlike in centrally-planned economies like Cuba and China, where your destiny is mostly determined by what your government allows, people in free countries can determine the course of their lives.

The government doesn’t dictate what you can study, what businesses you can open, how many kids you can have, or how much money you’re allowed to make. We’re free to imagine a future for ourselves and set out to develop the skills needed to achieve it. Of course, that doesn’t mean everyone will.

Businesses fail, personal tragedies happen, and obstacles appear. The people who give up on their journey or never get going but believe they could’ve done otherwise harbor regrets, and those regrets easily turn to resentment. These are the bitter people who see the hope and success of others as a stinging reminder of their failures. People who’ve given up or never tried to forge the future they wanted would hate some as determined and ambitious as Harry Potter.

Despite being an orphan, a victim of neglect by his step-family, stalked by a violent gang of death-eaters working for Voldemort, and a childhood victim of assault, Harry Potter doesn’t wear the label of victim.

In a culture like ours that sees victimhood as a hierarchy that dictates your treatment, an individual who refuses to identify as a victim is inherently subversive.

Instead of demanding special treatment because of his hardships, Harry Potter strives not just to overcome them, but uses his hardships as fuel to make him stronger than he would be without them. One might argue it would’ve been better if Harry Potter’s parents were never killed by Voldemort and thus he would’ve never been fated to fight him—and if your idea of a good life is ease and subsistence, that would be true—but your life would make a terrible story. Harry Potter’s victimization by Voldemort’s evil is what imbued him with the ability to become a hero. With darkness comes light, but in a culture that doesn’t believe in light, many people linger in the dark and resent anyone who reminds them their darkness is a choice.

Harry Potter is the archetypical hero. He pursues a mission that starts with his personal journey of understanding himself and helping those close to him, which leads him to help the world. He goes above and beyond what others do to become worthy of the future he wants. He never identifies with the many ways he’s been victimized, but instead transmutes his hardships into victories. And for all these heroic qualities, Harry Potter would be maligned by our culture as privileged, “alt-right,” and much like his creator has experienced, his efforts to do good would be met with hostility and accusations of grifting from people who care more about the ease of clinging to their worldview than discovering the truth. 

Entire countries end up on the wrong side of history when they stop cheering for heroes.

[littlest-bugz]

Hope it's okay to send this for the ask game! We've really enjoyed reading all your answers :)

🥀 + 📻

No worries! You can def send them in (and Im glad u enjoyed reading our answers :D I just figured everything was abysmally buried)

🥀 - do you keep track of your alter count? how do you do so?

So!! We use 3 different things for managing alter info, and then one separately. 📓 is our archivist and he is!! Bonkers /j.

First he uses simply plural for the custom field feature, and the layout of the app. He has a shit ton of custom fields put in for anything you can reasonably think of for an alter. Then, he uses Pluralkit because we have a system discord. Theres a template he made that we r going to upload soon. THEN in the system discord has an even longer version of the template he made (that cant be used in pk bc of the length). On top of it all, we have a notion journal with all the same shit + personal journals. Why did he do that to himself? /j lh/ No, but those are the three ways we manage to keep track of alters. Not all of them are uploaded, and furthermore, not all of them are uploaded in all of the places. We try to keep our simply plural for the bulk of it.

Other apps we use as a system that dont keep track of alters, but we find helpful regardless:

- Mindly: A mind mapping app that is pretty user friendly/easy to use. Not a super high learning curve imo, but it can be confusing upon initial use. If u are any flavor of polyfragmented, it may be harder to keep track with the free feature. We have 3 separate mind maps for the 3 separated areas in our system.

- Calm Harm: We have a horrible self harm addiction 😃 this app tho? It helped a ton in our beginning days of stopping. We don’t SH as much anymore bc of coping™️ but its still helpful for alters who cant control the urge as well as the others.

- UpWord: Its a notes app that can be locked via a passcode. It also has a built in reminders feature. We use it for keeping track of body info, extra info, routines, and general alter stuff. Its become pretty obsolete for us because of the onslaught of programs 📓 uses, but it keeps track of stuff for us still. It has a $4 upgrade to change the colors, remove ads, and more. Id say only purchase it if you end up liking it and using it more than other apps. It’s worth it imo, but if ur broke like me and $4 is a lot, hold off until you use it.

- Selftalking: one of those back and forth, self chat apps. I find it easier to use than Antar (which i still don’t know how to use to this day), but you’ll probably have to make the convos as needed, as opposed to making them all and having alters search their name,,, but it does have a search function if needed. We found the search function helpful. It is, undoubtedly, super ugly from an app design standpoint, and its not entirely user friendly. The ads are incredibly annoying as well, but its a much worth it $1 purchase imo.

📻 - do you experience amnesia?

Yes, but most of it is drug related these days I think (as 🎸, the addiction holder). We’ve been working on functional multiplicity for a while so (day to day) memory sharing is getting easier, but we have a lot of what our therapist calls “cold switches” where theres usually hesitance or stubbornness or any negative emotion that leads to the switch being more disorienting and heightened amnesia. Its like,, idk hard to explain?? Most of the time theres about 9-10 of us front at any given point. Its actually really annoying to have so many of us front and then our amnesia STILL sucks. Like imagine you switch w/ the dude next to you in front and there being complete amnesia between the two until prev dude briefs him on whats been happening.

The way our front works, whoever fronts the frontest (lol) usually has less access to the innerworld, usually forgets what they were doing on the innerworld, they also usually forget what we were doing in a time range of,,, 30min - 3/4 hours, and thats if they are cofront. We’ve had alters who when cocon can remember all this shit but when they front they forget a bulk of it. It’s weird, but we’re working on it.

BUT YEAH! Feel free to send in more or ask non ask game questions!

[dailyanarchistposts]

Postscript

In response to this piece, Wolfi Landstreicher raised some important questions about this stance. Wolfi states that while he “thinks that it is a wonderful thing for a small group of people to get to know an area and learn to live on and with it,” he “thinks it is a mistake to conceive of this in terms of any sort of bounded region. Rather it is important to understand that relationships within the natural world perpetually flow and intertwine into each other making any real placement of boundaries impossible, except through the use of institutional force.” Wolfi also offered an articulate criticism of bio-regionalism. He wrote: . . . bioregionalism takes a conception, a human mental construction, developed to try to understand certain types of environmental relationships, and treats it as a thing-an actual bounded area of land. This is an unfortunate tendency that human beings seem to have with all the conceptions we have developed for understanding complex relationships (society, culture, gender, race, ethnicity, nation, etc.). When this tendency toward reification institutionalizes, the boundaries we imagined are made real by force and agreement-cops, armies, walls, treaties, pacts, etc. If I understand bio-regionalism, it is a name given to the reality that the relationship between all living and natural factors in a given area tend to create a specific environment amenable to specific living beings. Thus far there is no problem. But there are no real boundaries between these areas, but rather, gradations from one into the other. This is true even of rivers, mountains and oceans. Thus in healthy natural environments there are constant interchanges between these areas which keeps them in a state of constant, but usually gradual, change. Therefore, bio-regions as such, do not actually exist, they are simply constructs we use for developing certain understandings. Talking of basing how one lives on assuming that a specific mental construct is a concrete reality is dangerous. Particularly when it assumes that the earth is something that is naturally divided into clearly definable sections, it can be the source of a great deal of ugliness including territorialism, quasi-patriotism and property (even if it is conceived as property of the “community”). In response, I would argue that a home is a bounded area, be it a physical shelter or a valley. Furthermore, a group of people can claim a natural area as their home without it implying political boundaries or property. Just as you wouldn’t walk into someone’s pantry and help yourself without asking, the same would apply to an occupied habitat. To remain free and autonomous, people must defend and protect their home, not let themselves be bullied into leaving it (or giving up their food storehouse). The boundaries of any habitat are partially determined by the life forms that create it, including human ones. Habitats are the result of activity on the part of their inhabitants, not ready-made areas that a group of people simply move onto and occupy. People become attached to their territories and want to protect them because they help create them; they are the result of their collective imaginations, desires and labor, of spending generations in one place and becoming embedded there. Sure the boundaries in some places might be ambiguous, but traditions like having first access to the salmon or berries can solve these questions and strains between close neighbors in a shared region. Wolfi’s assessment of bio-regionalism is essentially correct, I believe. For the reasons he shared, bio-regionalism does not reflect my destination, rather the expressions “habitat” is closer to what i am proposing. These are places created by us and which create us, not specific boundaries one would recognize on an environmental map.

[clonehub]

Rewatching tbb wish me luck.

S1E1

First thing I've noticed is that the way tbb fights is really inefficent. It looks cool until you realize they're taking out droids one by one and techs droid poppers are only good for one use each. A normal droid popper would take out maybe like 6 droids at once if they're close enough. Tech used three and got three but we saw the whole sequence of it ig bc it's mean to be cool?

And again like I'm confused bc how much of this is their own skill and how much is access to weapons that regular clones don't have.

Like why does tech insist on getting as close as possible to stick these grenades and droid poppers on droids when the more efficient thing is to throw it from a distance?

"if you're done hiding down there" shut UPPPP oh my god

You know how like. Ppl say the Travis books are mean spirited and the jkr books are mean spirited. This feels mean. Like these are clones who were about to be overrun, who needed help, who relied on you to save them and you're immediately berating them for what?? Needing reinforcements? Waiting for YOU to do YOUR job?

No bc like just how like in s7 tbb gets away with breaking chain of command they do it here too. The captains right to berate them for insubordination like huh.

Caleb's voice has me in tears 😭

Geez the way they converse is so annoying. Wrecker is so annoying. I don't like characters that yell a lot sorry.

Kinda crazy that it took tbb that long to run back.

"talk to the reg captain" he has a name

Again the way they say regs just sounds like a slur.

Also like I feel like episode one is just the beginning of everyone else being rewritten in order to prop up tbb like kanans fans were PISSED his entire story about O66 was rewritten to give something to them.

Ah yes the first instance of Wrecker and tech being the dumb/genius trope.

Now that I think about it it actually feels kinda disrespectful to have like. The goofier/funnier moments of like the food fight and all that in an episode where a genocides just been committed???

And like wrecker isn't funny they don't actually know how to write funny. When that one critic said their personalities had been turned up to an almost caricaturish degree they were right.

And tech here asking that one clone what division he's from and naturally being brushed aside and then using that as evidence that they're still the same. Like huh. You see kaminos lockdown you see the Jedi have all been executed you see ppl got shit to do and you step directly in front of someone to ask them a stupid question like that 😭 like what was even the point of that scene they just screen wiped immediately after 😭

Good lord they're so ugly.

"they manipulated preexisting aberrations in our DNA--" ok so like. An aberration implies something bad. Defect implies something bad. But it's clear these aberrations were good differences taken to their extremes. Because in what world is looking at someone's DNA and seeing there actually a genius (barring that this isn't how this works) like actually a defect. "Oh this guy's strong and this one seems to have stronger senses" that's. They started out good and then were taken further??? Like??? And it was done on purpose too, not like the the Batch were unplanned, the Kaminoans specifically made them this way which is a luxury and privilege like no other clones can have.

Which is what annoys me so much about tbb being bullied by regs for being ~different~ bc that's such a shallow read on what differences exatly would make the regs hate tbb so much. Like no kdy gets bullied for being smart or strong they get bullied for being annoying as hell and being arrogant and derisive to ppl they think are "beneath" them. So the bad batch were bullied for their appearance then and the privilege they have over other clones in clone society. So like. These white boys that were made to be better than everyone else and get rewarded for it all the time look down on the """regs""" why am I meant to side w tbb lbr. Like it looks like hyped up white kids getting bullied by jealous brown kids. Huh. Bffr.

This is so bad. IM ONLY 18 MINUTES IN WHAT--

"you're more machine than man percentage wise" die

[ick25]

Rockman EXE Movie Review. Part 1

Oh yeah! The people have spoken! The Megaman Battle Network Legacy collection is finally here! So to celebrate it I’m “Reviewing” the Rockman.EXE movie, The program of Light and Darkness.

A few things before starting. First, the “movie” is less than 50 minutes long, so it’s more of a very long episode with better animation than usual. Second, the movie takes place during the Stream saga, a season of the anime that never aired in America because the plot was “too dark” for a kid’s show, like Axess wasn’t violent and dark enough already. It’s even worse for people in Latinoamerica because Axess never aired there either, so enjoying this movie would’ve been impossible for me if I hadn’t watched the episodes online.

For those who haven’t watched the Stream saga, this is what you need to know:

1. The movie takes place somewhere after episode 17 but before episode 31 of Stream, I say episode 17 because Raika, the Hypocrite, now uses Cross fusion, just like everybody else.

2. The plot is based on Battle Network 5, minus the whole teams thing.

3. The whole story of Rockman.EXE Stream is not relevant, except for episode 2 because that is when Forte came back to steal Rockman’s Ultimate program, but after he fails to get it, he was defeated by an extraterrestrial Navi named Slur who throws him into the depths of the Undernet, where the movie begins.

Forte is shown floating in the cyberspace of the Undernet where he is woken up by strange light and a familiar evil laugh.

Those who played BN5 know what that thing is.

We cut to England, which is probably called Kingland, where a giant beam of light suddenly appears and disintegrates everything in it’s path.

Leaving behind a very ugly but also familiar face.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Japan, our heroes are in a Net Battle tournament taking place in a very weird building with roller coasters coming in and out of it.

Seems very dangerous to be honest.

Of course, as Netto plugs in Rockman, we get the theme song Be somewhere, with the karaoke, timing, and Spanish translations provided by yours truly.

Don’t believe me?

Yep, I was the head of this project, sure, I didn’t get paid and other people helped made this possible, but I’m still proud of this. Too bad not many people have access to this.

During the intro song we see Rockman fighting Gridman’s aka Footman’s first appearance in the anime, before becoming some random Navi in Beast. And in case you were wondering, no, Meijin is not Footman’s operator, it is actually this guy.

The guy who just gives hints in BN3 white version.

I think he is Mr. Famous’s aide, but I don’t remember.

Anyway, Netto wins, his friends, with new changes of cloths, congratulate him, and Meiru appears out of nowhere to hug him like she was already his girlfriend or something.

I personally don’t like this art style, it makes Dekao look even uglier and Meiru looks like she has less hair than usual.

Now, a surprise for those who haven’t  seen Stream, Dingo and Tomahawkman are now part of the cast! And Dingo for some reason has blue eyes in this shot.

I honestly don’t know why.

After Dingo wins his battle, we see more of the weird and unsafe building where they are with the indoor rollercoaster and all. Apparently this is Akihara’s 100th theme park.

We get a small appearance from Shuko and Higure-san who are riding the roller coaster, but its more of a segway to the next scene because Higure somehow spots Mariko-sensei while screaming. Like, how? Mariko-sensei was wearing a helmet until Netto and friends arrived. Turns out, she is cosplaying as her favorite Sci-fi character in a convention that also takes place in the weird building.

But she only appears for Netto and friends to mention that she has a lot of hobbies, and to have this very weird cut to the next scene that made me think it was an editing mistake.

Seriously, she didn’t even finish her line.

We immediately jump to a not so traumatizing scene of a group of men getting vaporized by the same light beams we saw in Kingland.

NOT TRAUMATIZING AT ALL! 

Turns out this was in Ameroupe as we join Meijin and Yuichiro watching footage of the damage.

Yuichiro seems to know something and after seeing a satellite image, his suspicions are confirmed.

The Internet service that is NOT all about you.

The light beams left what looks like giant algorithms, this is enough for Yuichiro to say some vague words, first “Spectrum”, and then “The Wily Program is active”.

HELLO? Why did we cut to a Duel Master scene?!

Oh, right, turns out the people who worked on this movie also worked on the Duel Master movie which was still a thing back then. That is why they made a little animation at the beginning of the movie were we see Crossfused Netto and Shobu working together to fight their respective opponents. They also put like 3 second cameos in both movies to let us know that both the Net Battle and the DM tournament are happening in the same weird building. 

For this movie, it’s a clip of Shobu summoning a monster or something, and for the DM movie we get an actual shot of Netto and friends cheering for Shobu in the audience.

It’s not even the same art style, or background! At least Meiru still has her hair intact.

In that movie they actually say Shobu’s name, in this one they just play the clip and then cut to Netto and friends reacting to something. Personally, I never cared for DM, I watched one episode and that’s it, I always saw it as a Yugioh bootleg.

The cameo is interrupted by Yuichiro who calls Netto to tell him that he must get to the Trident Tower ASAP, with no details whatsoever. Netto says bye to his friends and wishes them luck for their upcoming battle

Apparently some time passed after Netto leaves for the tower, because in the very next scene we cut to Yuichiro typing really fast in a computer (still not giving Meijin details as they watch the light beams appearing in Choina), and then asking if Netto is already at the tower.

LOL, he is stuck in traffic.

Although it is nice to see taxi drivers still have jobs in this future. At least the paying method is accurate.

Netto decides to skate all the way to the tower. I like this scene, its been a while since we’ve seen Rockman giving Netto directions from inside the PET and Netto showing off his sweet skating moves.

Will Netto  make it to the tower in time? Will Yuichiro finally tell us what’s going on? And will Meiru’s hair ever grow back? Stay tuned for part 2.

[mono-red-menace]

decided to call the magic points in my system Breath.

a big part of the design behind my ttrpg is giving mechanics in the system logical, flavourful names.

so like, for the "active defences" which are saving-throw equivalents, you have Focus, Evade, Withstand, and Parry. the names for them are Verbs because each of them requires you to actively attempt to withstand or overcome something.

for passive defences, Armour, Ward, Barrier, the names are nouns. same with resources like Stamina and Breath. they're nouns.

i want to make a obvious distinctions between things you have to Actively attempt to use by making them verbs, partially to cut down on unnecessary or inelegant words and phrases. "make a constitution saving throw" is ugly and long, "roll to Withstand" is punchy and elegant.

and aside from that, i want to minimize using "gaming" terms to keep flavour. "Magic/Mana Points," "Spell Slots," "Hit Points," etc. are all fine, but their use of game terms like "Points" and "Slots" just kinda pull a bit out of the world and are a little Too silly sounding imo.

i chose Breath for magic because i wanted a word that sounded like. ephemeral to represent the in-universe concept of magical reserves. within the setting, there are two main types of magic. "Liquid" magic, which is magic that is in motion, and "Solid" magic, which is magic that is stagnant. Solid magic is inanimate and harder to access, as it makes up the bonds that hold objects together, and to make the magic in the object liquid is also to destroy that object. Living things are made up of both Liquid and Solid magic, the liquid magic flows through the body freely, and can be used with no issue, as it's not bound to anything and easily replaced, but the solid magic can only be extracted via the destruction of the body (aka blood magic). Because of this concept, i wanted a word that represents the idea of a flowing resource within one's body that can be expelled and restored easily. the easiest connection would be some sort of term for a liquid, such as "Font," "Fountain," "Well," or "Wellspring," but those words refer more to the container or body of liquid in totality than the liquid itself, and words like "Flow," or "Flux" don't feel all that fitting. so i decided on "Breath." there's not so much of a connection to liquid, but i don't necessarily think that's a bad thing.