#not that many actually. and you probably can

[what-even-is-thiss]

You know we don’t actually have an accurate count of how many bilingual people there are in the US because our census asks people “do you speak a language other than English at home?” and not what some other countries might ask which is “can you comfortably have a conversation in a language other than your native language” or something similar.

When people say “20% of Americans are multilingual” they mean that 20% of Americans speak a language at home other than English.

This doesn’t account for people that speak English at home but also speak another language. I personally know multiple people who speak Spanish or another language even though they speak English at home. I know someone who speaks six languages conversationally and she’s not getting counted by these statistics because she speaks English at home.

We don’t actually know accurately how multilingual the US is. Like imagine if they just asked Dutch people if they speak a language other than Dutch at home. The Netherlands has a multilingualism rate of something like 95% but that number would probably go down substantially if you just asked if they speak Dutch at home or not.

[talesofdecorum]

Even though I've assumed Rio has always been the other parent for Nicky, I couldn't help but feel super emotional at Jac's confirmation and here is my two cents as to why...

Studio heads don't take risks and will often do what is tried and true and that meant playing it safe, and not offending anyone by never really confirming or denying certain relationships or their backgrounds. It isn't the same but I remember the days of swanqueen and supercorp

So I think Jac and Kathryn has talked in depth about her character's relationship with Rio and Nicky and both of them approached the story line with the assumption that Rio is the father

HOWEVER, Jac has to toe this very delicate line of appeasing the studio execs by not outright saying it because there will be too many questions and notes that it'll never fly, so she doesn't say it. actually shes adds in the script for Agatha to say Nicky is 'made from scratch', so you can possibly assume Agatha is the only parent. Throughout the show, they've insinuated as much as they can without outright stating that they're a family. Get as much past the studio and hopefully the audience can read between the lines.

But NOW? with the massive success of the show and knowing that studio execs probably won't have much to say since confirming it won't affect future storylines (assuming Nicky is really dead), Jac says it and confirms it. out loud.

It was all intentional. Casting a kid that looks like Aubrey, having Agatha give birth near a river (rio), having Nicky say "my 'mother' needs me home", showing how unphased Nicky was upon seeing Rio, Rio asking Nicky to kiss Agatha twice before leaving and Rio being offended with Agatha walking the road with another woman's kid. It was all intentional

It's so unexpected and I assume why Kathryn looked so emotional. Because they've had to quietly navigate this tricky line of telling the story they want to tell but also pacifying the people above. Jac did it!Not only are these two characters queer but she's also saying that they love each other so much they have a kid together. The how isn't important, it just is.

And that is such a power move

[cas-couture]

cas couture.

cas couture is an upcoming community-based sim magazine focused on fashion. what sets cas couture apart is that we will not allow permanently paywalled cc to be featured in the magazine and aim to highlight the numerous, talented cc creators in the community :)

we are looking for simblrs who would like their stories/cc/creations/sims/pretty-much-anything ADVERTISED (for free, this is not a cash grab) in the APRIL 2025 ISSUE!

as cas couture is community driven, we need YOUR participation!

( more info under the cut !!! )

we want to put the spotlight back on this community and appreciate active simblrs. we want to encourage blog interaction and actually make the community ~feel like a community!

what will advertising look like?

sponsoring might look different across different spreads, it might be an ad for a movie/ tv series (i.e., this would advertise a sim story), an ad for a product/ designer (i.e., this would advertise a CC creator) and so on.

we're pretty much open to advertising anything! :) if you have any ideas for how you would like your creation advertised, let us know!

what are the requirements to sponsor?

you must be 18+ to apply

this is for fun!!!! pls remember that :) and also pls don’t be zionists or trumpies or homophobes or racist or anything else awful because :( and that’ll be another reason why we can’t have nice things :(

submit this sponsorship form (set aside 10 mins to fill this out, if your sponsorship is accepted, have some pictures/content ready that you would like us to use!)

reblog this post so i know ur for real about wanting to advertise!!

you would reblog and boost and interact with the April issue when it releases on April 11 :) (this would run on an honor system because I'm not a weirdo, but........ like if not enough people do it, it probably won't be worth the effort of making all the ads if no one's going to read the first issue/ interact with it? the point of cas couture IS blog interaction!!!!)

deadline to submit a sponsorship form is April 1. if you are making your own advertisement, it is April 10.

faq

i'm an editor for the magazine already, can I apply to sponsor?

yes, you totally can! we would just request you still fill out the form and once we confirm your sponsorship, we would just ask you to make your own advertisement, as it would probably be the quickest method :)

can I make my own advertisement as a sponsor?

yes, you totally can! once you're accepted as a sponsor, we will send you more information on the canvas size and other regulations <3

how many advertisements are you accepting?

there is no set number, it's more like... how many advertisements we can crank out in time for April 11 :) if you are willing to create your own advertisement and submit it by April 10th, the chances are 99.999% that we would accept :)

why is reblogging this post a requirement in order to apply for sponsorship?

because it'll show that you're truly willing to ruin your impeccable feed with simblr community content! if you're not willing to do it now, you probably won't want to later :( cas couture can only fuel itself on my hopes and dreams for so long until it burns out :( the aim is for blog interaction, making (age-appropriate) friends and having a good time!!!!

thank you for supporting cas couture! you're helping fund the nepo babies'-- i mean, interns'-- matcha addictions-- i mean, education!

asking da community for some support <3

as this is totally a community project, i'm going to tag some community members who really helped the last post reach the masses (I'm sorry, I'm annoying for tagging!!!) and current editors (I'm going off the top of my head, I'm sorry if I miss anyone!!!) on the team for the April issue!!!! if you don't like to be tagged, I'm sorry!!!!! <3333

@householdbinary @jokiyo @simafrassx @olivetelfie @my-kwy @southernfriedsims-blog @ratwoman161 @harvestsims @mmonetsims @kdplayssss @liyahssims @fairytailtow @crazy-hazy-sims @aliengirl @strangegrapefruit @thebramblewood @thefoxburyinstitute @missatan

psst, we're still accepting editors for the April issue!!! learn more about the roles available here!

[liminalmemories21]

911 - Ficlet

"You know what I'm really tired of," he says when Tommy answers the door, pushing past him into the house he's only ever been to a handful of times, but whose address he still has saved in his GPS as Tommy (home).

"Please, come in.  Make yourself at home," Tommy says sourly.  "Evan, what are you doing here?"

He makes a beeline for Tommy's fridge, and god he always has such pretentious fucking taste in beer.  Good, but pretentious.  And he's such a prissy bitch when you call him out on it.  He'd loved that about him.  Loves that.

He grabs one at random, hunting for the bottle opener in the drawer next to the sink.  "Maddie thinks I need to learn how to be alone again."  Takes a swallow.  Tommy just stands there in the doorway, staring at him, not moving.  "She's wrong.  Couldn't manage to graduate from college, but I've got a fucking PhD in how to be alone."  Takes another swig, and then pauses to look at the label, but this is actually really good.  "What I need to learn is how to get someone to want to stay.

He looks at Tommy, who's still frozen in the doorway.

"She agrees with you, by the way.  Also thinks I'm in love with Eddie."  Takes another drink and then goes to root through Tommy's pantry for the doritos he knows are there somewhere, because Tommy won't admit it, but he loves them.

Makes a low triumphant noise when he finds them.  Takes a handful and holds the bag out ot Tommy, "You want some?"  Tommy shakes his head mutely.

He shrugs, "Your loss."  Crunches his way though a few.  "You're both wrong, you know.  Even if it would be really fucking convenient for the narrative."  Tommy starts to say something, and he cuts him off.  "Am I sad that my best friend is gone?  Yes.  Am I not dealing well living in his house?  Also yes.  Fucking sue me."  Crunches a few more chips and chases it with a swallow of beer.  "Eddie's house was one of the first places I found where I was always welcome.  He trusted me to take care of the most important thing in the world to him.  I think I get to be upset that he moved back to Texas.  I get why he went.  I don't even disagree with it.  I wish my parents had loved me half that much.  I still get to be upset about it."  Points the beer bottle at Tommy.  "Okay?"

Tommy holds up his hands.  "Okay."

He nods.  Takes the last swallow of beer in the bottle.  "What was I saying?"

Tommy shakes his head.  "I have no idea.  Evan, why are you here?"

He frowns.  "Oh, I came to apologize."

Tommy's eyebrows go up.  "This was an apology?"

He waves a hand.  Contemplates whether he wants another beer.  "No.  I wanted to apologize for what I said, about not having feelings for everyone I slept with.  That wasn't about you, but I realized that probably wasn't obvious."

"No," Tommy says, and finally crosses the kitchen to get a beer of his own.  "It wasn't."

He takes the second beer when Tommy holds it out to him.  He can uber home if he has to.  "I was mad," he offers.

"Got that, thanks."

He snorts without really meaning too.  "I missed this."  Tommy's eyebrows go up.  "The way you're bitchy and mean."  Sits down at the table opposite Tommy.  "I missed you.  I don't know if I'm still in love with you, but I know I'm not over you, no matter how many things I bake."

"Bake?"  Tommy echoes.

"I baked every time I wanted to call you, or thought about you.  I could have opened a bakery with what I made."  Rubs his hand down his jeans.  "With what I'm still making."  Risks a look at Tommy from under his lashes.

"Okay," Tommy says slowly.  "So, if the comment about not having feelings for everyone you sleep with wasn't aimed at me, who was it aimed at?"

He grimaces.  "Everyone?  No, really.  Everyone keeps telling me to get back on the horse, or there are other fish in the sea - and seriously, what's with all the animal metaphors.  It's creepy."  Takes a breath.  "So I did.  I tried that.  Downloaded grindr and hinge, went to a bar.  Hooked up with a girl.  Hooked up with a guy.  Didn't like it."  Rubs his hand on his pants again.  Takes a nervous swallow of beer.  "The thing is, I want it to be true.  I want to have feelings for the people - person - I'm sleeping with.  But the only person I want that with is you.  And you keep leaving."

"Evan."

He closes his eyes at the sound of Tommy saying his name.  "That's not fair?"

"No," Tommy admits.  "It's fair.  I run before I can get my heart broken.  That's my MO.  Doesn't," he lets out a shaky laugh.  "Doesn't seem to be working well when it comes to you."

He puts his hand on the table, palm up.  "Were you serious about Saturday?"

Tommy stares at his hand.  "Yes?"

"Pick me up at 7?  Not," he adds hastily, "Micelli's.  That place has bad karma."

Tommy lets out a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob.  He can relate.  "Not Micelli's," he promises.  Then, "I'm not over you either."

He nods.  "Good.  Maybe we can both learn how to not be alone."

"I was always good at math," Tommy says, and finally finally takes his hand.

[wonderjanga]

Billy is homeless and needs food. The justice league headquarters just so happens to be full of food. So he starts taking some of it home. It’s fine, there is plenty to go around so no one notices. Unfortunately for him, one day red hood is up in the space station and as an ex homeless kid himself, definitely recognizes the food gathering behavior. He is now very concerned for this seemingly healthy adult man.

Not to mention this seemingly healthy adult man is his second favorite hero.

Marvel: *slipping oranges into his pocket dimension*

Red Hood: “Hey, Cap—”

Marvel: *startles and drops his next orange*

The silence was a little loud at that.

Marvel: *clears throat and looks over to him* “Yes, Robin #2–”

Red Hood: “Red Hood.”

Marvel: “Yes, Red Hood?”

Red Hood: *clears throat* “Well, I uh… I don’t really know how I planned to proposition you. Uh… Cap, you know you have a lot of friends, yes?”

Marvel: “Uh…” *looks around cause he doesn’t know where this is going* “Yes?”

Red Hood: “Great. So if you were, I’m not saying you are, in trouble, you’d probably go to them, right?”

Marvel: “Yes…?”

Red Hood: “Do I count as one of those friends?”

Marvel: “Of course!”

Red Hood: “So, hypothetically, if you had a problem you couldn’t fix, you could come to me, right?”

Marvel: “Yes? I’m sorry, is there something I’m not picking up from all these questions?”

Red Hood: “No! No, it’s just… if you ever, I don’t know, happen to find yourself on the streets—”

Marvel: “What?”

Red Hood: “—and you need a couch to crash on, you could hypothetically find yourself on mine.”

Billy was confused for so many different reasons because what do you mean Red Hood might’ve found out about his homelessness?? How??? Also, his heart is a little warmed at that because Robin #2 was such a happy little, nice little kid. Glad to see that little guy is still in there somewhere. (Bro only got that “need a couch to crash on?” treatment cause he was a favorite)

Marvel: “I… Thank you?”

Red Hood: “No prob.”

That’s how when it got particularly cold in Fawcett, Jason was greeted to some twelve year old, 100 pound soaking wet little boy saying he was Captain Marvel. Said little boy got to crash at his place before supposedly dipping back to Fawcett. Jason says supposedly because to be honest he had no clue if Billy was actually Cap or just some homeless kid that somehow found his safe house. He never got confirmation.

Bonus:

Their first interaction (as Billy and Jason).

Billy: *knocks on door*

Jason: *opens it and looks around, rubbing his eyes cause it’s two in the morning and does not see him cause Billy is tiny*

Billy: “Hi :D!” *waving, covered in a bunch of snow*

Jason: “Oh my God??” *pulls him inside so they can get the snow off Billy so he doesn’t get hypothermia*

[aetherspoon]

I have some extra stuff about this, as this is a good explanation but needs some tweaks on the details. Especially for laptop information; in 2025 most people buy laptops, and most of their post is only applicable to desktops than laptops. So I've added more below, trying to stick with the analogies they had. This is super long. I'm sorry.

Storage

Hard Drives/Solid States

One thing the previous poster missed is why you might want the slower one vs. the faster one. Namely, they're a LOT cheaper for the storage they can hold, and in desktops they have a much higher capacity. Most computer users don't need that type of capacity anymore, so if you specifically don't know you need it you probably don't.

Most hard drives are also physically larger than most SSDs - you can't fit a normal hard drive inside of a laptop, for instance. The ones that can fit inside can only work with older laptops (and aren't very good; they haven't made new ones in years but there is a glut of stock around).

With these you need to worry about RPM, which is how fast its parts move. Higher number the better.

Also, higher number = louder, typically. SSDs are silent.

Solid States and Nvme

Those are both solid state drives - one is SATA and the other is NVMe. Most times in 2025, you'll just see "solid state" storage and it means the latter, especially in laptops. There is also a third type, called eMMC - you'll find this in very cheap laptops (and phones/tablets, coincidentally) and never in desktops. These are very slow, often slower than hard drives even.

---

Memory

As for RAM size, 8GB is usually the minimum bit 16GB is decent for most people.

In the year 2025, I would not buy a computer with 8 GB of RAM (or less) unless if you really need to scrimp and save. Your computer would still work, but it is the equivalent of having a messy desk when opening a web browser requires a freaking drafting table to fit all of the books on it. You can still make it work (by making trips back and forth to grab more books - slowing you down), but for a new computer I wouldn't bother.

Also, many laptops (and some desktops - mostly Macs) have what is called "soldered on RAM" - instead of being labeled "DDR4" or "DDR5", you should see something like "LPDDR4x" or "LPDDR5x". This gives you faster memory, but they can't be upgraded; they are literally stuck on the motherboard.

---

CPUs

Speed is the primary part of the CPU. Usually measured in GHz (billions of things per second). Larger the better.

That last part is not actually true, with a lot of data in here either old or desktop-only, making it a bit misleading. Not the previous poster's fault, this stuff is hella obnoxious and intentionally confusing (and has been for over twenty years now). :(

GHz can really only be compared with other processors of the same brand, type, and generation with the same number of cores. It is effectively worthless as a comparison point unless if you're just comparing options between models of computers (or models of the same generation of CPU if you're building a desktop). It gets especially confusing on laptops, because you have both a base and boost clock and do different things (desktops have this as well, but you're usually not going to have a confusing mix).

Cores. How many different "people" are at the table lower bound is often 4 but can be 6 or 8.

And this one is even worse now. Cores aren't necessarily equal to each other - so an Intel CPU might have ten cores, but only two of them have any power behind them and are outperformed by an AMD CPU with six cores. To use the analogy, you might have ten people in the room but six are teenagers and two of them are literal children - you're probably not doing as much as the room over with six adults.

Somewhere you can probably find some arcane string like "2P+6E+2LP-E" somewhere; that means two P-cores, six E-cores, and two LP-E-cores. What matters for an Intel CPU are the P cores, which will the adults in the room. E-cores are more energy efficient but can't really do all that much performance-wise. LP-E cores are even more energy efficient and can do even less. The E and LP-E cores are technically not even the same generation as the P cores, just for even more added insanity.

AMD has a similar-but-less-annoying comparison with their c-cores, but those just don't have as high speed. They're at least the same generation.

---

CPU Naming Conventions

Yes, this gets its own section because ZOMG this is the worst. I hate marketing so damned much. this is a heck of a lot more complicated than the previous poster mentioned, mostly due to laptops.

Intel is usually i🟥-🟨🟨🟧🟧🟧.

Not anymore, actually. The latest generation is this:

Core (sometimes "Ultra") 🟥 🟨🟧🟧 (often with a letter or three after).

Also, the letters after don't mean a huge amount in the Desktop world (unless if you're looking at miniPCs), but matter a huge amount in the laptop world.

If you see a "U" after, that's an "U"ltrabook CPU. Think low energy consumption but also lower performance. Some CPUs have "UL" as well, just to make my job hell.

If you see a "P" after, that's a "P"erformance CPU. In the most recent generation, this is now "H" for "H"igh Performance. This is your middle-of-the-road CPU.

If you see an "H" after, that's a "H"igh Performance CPU. More energy consumption than P, also more performance. In the newest generation, this is now "HX", because an X is cooler or something?

AMD — specifically Ryzen — has a similar naming scheme. Ryzen 🟥 🟨🟧🟧🟧.

Also not anymore, but only for laptops because AMD is allergic to consistency. I would expect their next generation of desktop CPUs to change conventions as well, because they ran out of numbers.

Their naming convention has changed TWICE since the previous poster's posted convention, and both are in use simultaneously:

Ryzen 🟥 🟦🟧🟨🟧 (potentially with a letter or two after). Yes, they shoved the actual processing generation in the middle of the mess. The blue square is the current year of CPU release minus 2016. So you can find a 7735HS and a 7640HS and, even though the first number is larger, the second CPU is actually newer (and likely more powerful). This is up to last year.

The new version:

Ryzen (words here) (potentially letters here) 🟥 🟨🟧🟧

Basically, the same as what Intel went with. The words there are all marketing and/or AI bull, feel free to ignore that.

Also, like Intel, those random letters matter more for laptops.

If you see a "U" after, that's an "U"ltra low power CPU. Think low energy consumption but also lower performance. Fun fact, Ultrabook is a copyright of Intel, so AMD can't use it.

If you see an "H" or an "HS" after, that's a "H"igh Performance. This is your middle-of-the-road CPU. I honestly have no idea what the "S" stands for, but they're used for lower power consumption. In the latest naming convention, this just doesn't have any letters here. Thanks, AMD.

If you see an "HX" after, that's a "H"igh e"X"treme performance CPU. Yeah, they also use the "X" for cool. Again, higher performance but higher power draw.

---

More CPUs!

There is also another type of CPU now - ARM-based ones. You'll primarily find these in phones, tablets, Macs, and some specific Windows laptops. Two major brands for computers - Apple and Qualcomm.

At the moment, just... avoid Qualcomm in a laptop. They're more of an experiment at the moment, and explaining them would make this post twice as long.

For Apple, they have a pretty easy naming convention:

Apple M🟨 Word

Yellow square is generation (at the moment of posting, M1-M4) and there is often a word after that generation - "Max", "Pro", or "Ultra". Unlike everyone else, they use this simple convention for both laptops and desktops (and some iPads). For once, good job marketing.

---

GPUs

AMD's flagship is Radeon. Numbering scheme is 🟨🟧00. Same as above for GeForce.

Yet-again, AMD likes changing naming conventions. Numbering scheme is now 🟨0🟧0 like nVidia, starting with the most recent graphics card as of this reply.

---

Power and Laptops

One thing to note on GPUs (and CPUs) on laptops though - it is utter hell to compare them, where two laptops with the identical CPU and GPU might perform wildly different. This is because of power limits.

Basically, laptops (and other small form factor desktops like miniPCs) can be smol beans. You can only put so much power into said bean before it cooks itself from heat, so you have power limitations where certain components can only draw so much power. Laptops will literally bake themselves to death otherwise; if you are old enough to remember the X360's red ring of death, that's exactly this problem.

So, laptop manufacturers will configure a CPU and GPU to only produce so much heat before slowing down... and they like to not bother advertising how much power that is. So your Yummy Biscuts 12345 14" laptop probably performs worse than your Yummy Biscuts 12345 16" laptop, as larger = generally better for cooling. The 16" one probably eats more power though.

VRAM. Video RAM. Like normal RAM but for the GPU. Basically the desks that all the toddlers share. Not as important. Some GPUs with lower RAM work better than those with higher RAM. Check reviews first.

Let me give a better analogy here, as this can be super important for a gaming PC.

Video RAM is a lot like system RAM, only instead of a desk I'm going to say it is a sheet of paper for an artist. If you specialize in smaller bits of art, you don't really need a big sheet of paper... but if you want to draw big things, you definitely need a bigger sheet of paper.

Video RAM is really where games throw their lovely textures and pictures for displaying on that giant sheet of paper we call a monitor. The higher the resolution you run your game at (usually the same as your monitor), the more video RAM you need.

If you're looking at playing a really high end game at 4k resolution, you probably need a lot of video RAM; more than 8 GB potentially, which rules out a lot of GPUs.

If you're running at 1080p instead, you don't need as much video RAM. Unused video RAM doesn't really do anything for you, so going with a faster GPU with less video RAM is probably fine.

Most graphics cards have 6 or 8 GB of RAM from nVidia and 8 to 16 GB of RAM from AMD.

Power Supply Unit (PSU) just supplies enough power.

Something not mentioned is the efficiency of the power supply. If you're buying computer parts, you'll likely see some rating slapped on the side that says "80+" and some type of metal next to it. This is the efficiency rating. The higher the efficiency, the less power is wasted when powering your computer... sorta. It gets a bit in the weeds here, but generally it goes Null (no 80+ rating at all, almost always a fire hazard now) < "White" (80+ but no metal mentioned - usually older) < Bronze < Silver < Gold < Platinum < Titanium.

Power supplies are vital for building your own desktop, and pretty much ignored by everyone else. If you are building your own, just search for a PSU Tier List online, go for something rated at least a B-, and you'll be fine.

why is shopping for computer shit so difficult like what the hell is 40 cunt thread chip 3000 processor with 32 florps of borps and a z12 yummy biscuits graphics drive 400102XXDRZ like ok um will it run my programmes

[nitewrighter]

Snow White and the Fae Co-Op

Part One: I Didn't Vote For You

Okay so like--

I get why people thought we were all dwarves. Or made us all dwarves. Something between that. Collaborative storytelling what have you. It makes things significantly simpler, and it's a much punchier title than "Snow White and the Troll, the Redcap, the Púca, and four gnomes." (Of course I get top billing--I was her favorite.) And, okay, yeah, none of us came up past Snow's ribcage. Understandable.

But still it's like one of those things you don't want to start correcting people on it because you know you're going to spend the rest of your life correcting and concordantly explaining shit to people. But now it's like, you're pissed when we are dwarves, you're pissed when we're not dwarves, seriously! Pick a lane!

But okay, it seems everyone's pissed about this right now, so let's get pedantic.

We aren't sexy fairies.

Okay I didn't start that out right.

I guess it's easiest to explain this as... think of the ocean. So like, there are the scary sexy fairies who have the whole Succession/Bridgerton/White Lotus Fae Court thing going and they turn you into a deer and hunt you for sport, that's the Deep End. Then you have humans. Humans, in this metaphor, are land.

Me and my guys? We're tide pools.

A lot of stories are all like "Ougggh the magic is dying from this world ouggghhh the old ruined kingdoms" but in my opinion I think that's overall a case of Immortals Being Very Weird About Change In General. Like the tide, magic in this world rises and falls, and in the course of that you end up with this kind of hardy subgroup of fae who can survive in both High-Fae and High-Human environments. We're kind of our own ecosystem, but we're also kind of intermediaries between the Deep End Fae Court and the humans. We actually tend to broker a lot of more like, working class deals between the magical world and the human world. Maybe we get compared to the mob a lot. Whatever.

I'm getting into the weeds. This story isn't about me and the guys. This is about our girl, Snow. And trust me, I'm old as balls so before you get all 'Oh, one girl and seven guys? wHAt waS gOinG oN tHeRE?" (And you're absolutely disgusting for that, by the way). You need to understand that, on a species level, Snow was basically like keeping a very beautiful (albeit kind of bossy) sentient duck in the house. We loved our beautiful sentient duck and were impressed by the many talents of the beautiful sentient duck. No one desired the beautiful sentient duck on a romantic or physical level because, one, romantic and sexual desire for our subgroup of fae is very tedious, nuanced, and species-specific, and two, she was a duck. I mean she wasn't a duck, she was a human, but for us that's basically like being a sentient duck. All of those shitty "One girl seven guys" jokes I can definitely say are a result of human projection. Like again, you need to understand that my guys and me have basically gone through Magic Carcinization.

Again, I'm getting into the weeds.

All you need to know about Snow is that she broke into our house, she scares the shit out of us, and we would kill for her.

Okay you should probably know more than that.

Okay, so remember like 12 seconds ago when I said me and my guys are more of the working-class brokers between humans and Fae? And remember that Deep End I mentioned earlier? So like, the Deep End does deal with humans, but that tilts heavily into the 'Royalty and Miracles' side of things. Swords in stones. Swords in lakes. A fish that gives you all of the cosmic secrets of the universe when you eat it. That kind of stuff. That's kind of where Snow came from. She's a Fae weapon forged in a human womb. Hence why she scared the shit out of us.

How do I start this properly?

Once upon a time there were three human kingdoms. An icy kingdom in the north, a temperate kingdom in the west, and a, let's be real, damp kingdom in the east. Icy Kingdom had a queen, a beautiful queen, and the Deep End of the Fae love beautiful things. Beautiful Queen wanted more, and she made a deal with the Deep End of the Fae. She gave them her heart, and they give her a mirror that gives her sight beyond sight, and she used that to conquer Damp Kingdom in the East. They fought, but she could predict every one of their strategies with her mirror, all she needed to do was ask the mirror what this general is doing, or that Lord is doing, and bing-bang-boom, she took Damp Kingdom in a matter of months. And for good measure she took their baby boy prince, a pretty but frankly useless boy who, as the years went on and he grew, she largely kept for cup-bearing and harp-playing and decoration and also threatening to cut the head off of if Damp Kingdom ever stepped out of line. Because Damp Kingdom loved their pretty pretty baby boy prince as the last remnant of their royal bloodline, they were now thoroughly cowed.

So now the Queen turned her eyes to the Temperate Kingdom.

And this is when the Deep End Fae were like, "Hey okay you've conquered a neighboring kingdom, which we don't super-care-about for nebulous Fae Reasons, but for equally nebulous Fae Reasons, we don't want you to conquer Temperate Kingdom."

And the Queen was like, "Whatever."

And the Deep End Fae were like "Okay, then here's the part where we use that previous thing you gave us against you." And they tried to use her heart against her, but basically the Queen used the Mirror to circumvent the heart magic through a whole bunch of... jury-rigged alchemy shit? I don't know. This stuff was already way out of my pay grade. But what I do know is, the Deep End Fae realized they couldn't use the Evil Queen's previous deal as a failsafe against her, so they needed a new approach to stop her.

Temperate Kingdom was ruled by a kind king and queen. They also didn't want to be conquered, but things weren't looking good. Their capital city was under siege. The Kind Queen was pregnant and ready to pop--scratch that, currently popping. The king was mortally wounded while defending said Capital City. They dragged the mortally wounded king back to the bailey and he's all delirious ranting about his wife and the not-yet baby.

And then a figure in a mossy cloak appeared. They loomed over the mortally wounded king and they said very gently "Your blood will outlast you. Do you permit our assistance in this? Do you permit the cost?"

And the king was dying and he only understood like 40% of what was going on right now. He knew what was talking to him right now wasn't human. He knew you don't refuse a gift from the Fae. And he knew he was kind of safely in the 'fucked-up miracle' territory of Fae gifts though he didn't really understand the full extent of what that meant (and that's fair--no one does). He kind of assumed it would just be his own life as the cost of whatever the hell was happening here. So he's bleeding out and he nods. "If it will preserve the Kingdom," he says, "If it will save our child."

So we cut to the queen. The royal birthing is... okay it's going rough. Giving birth under siege will do that to you. In ideal circumstances you would have this hardcore butch midwife stick most of her forearm up the birth canal to reposition the baby and both the mother and child would live but... you didn't have that here. Instead, once more, the figure in the mossy cloak loomed over the Queen as she screamed through agonizing contraction after contraction. They touched two fingers to the queen's forehead and they gave her a flood of visions. Snow. Fire. Blood. Blackened earth. A little sapling growing from the body of a great and noble felled tree. And she looked to the figure in the mossy cloak. And she saw their face was kind.

The kind queen died in childbirth as the Evil Queen's forces overtook the capital city. The king was dead before he knew what deal he had made. The Evil Queen and her troops marched into the grand hall, only to see a figure in a mossy cloak seated on a little stool next to a wooden bassinet. The Evil Queen made that anime villain snort-scoff sound.

"So kind of you to offer your blessing in my victory," she said.

"This is not a blessing we offer," said the figure in a mossy cloak, "You have abused the gift given in our previous trade. The trust between us is breached. We now give you back that which you gave us. All you have won for yourself will rot. And as with all rot, new and rightful life will spring from it."

And the Evil Queen almost laughed at this at first, again, like "Whatever," but then after a few seconds she begins to do the math. In exchange for a mirror that gave her sight beyond sight, she gave the fae her heart, and then she jury-rigged a whole bunch of magical alchemical bullshit to protect herself from basically being shackled to the fae's will through her heart, because hey, if you can, that's what you do.

But what happens if your heart is no longer your heart?

What happens if the Fae bind your heart to someone else?

What happens if your heart is now wrapped in different royal blood from the kingdom the Fae told you specifically you're not supposed to conquer?

And that was Snow.

The most beautiful, weirdest, most uncanny-ass baby you've ever seen. AND she had that weird undercooked look all human babies have. A semi-formed little beast. Can you imagine looking at an infant and knowing it's going to burn down everything you've ever built? Can you imagine knowing that trying to smother this threat in its crib will burn everything down, too?

But you think, "It's okay. I can manage this. Plants can be molded in to bonsai and topiary. I can shape this to suit my needs, too. It just takes care. It just takes maintenance."

And that's when Evil Queen declares, "As a symbol of healing between our kingdoms, I will raise this child as my own." And she gives a sharp glance to the figure in the mossy cloak, and they give an assenting motion with their... probably head? Probably.

And she awkwardly takes up the baby in the crook of her arm. Wow awesome, she already has an amazing propaganda tool. There's no way this is going to backfire on her in like... 17 or 18 years.

Except you know it will. Because this is the "Fucked up miracles" side of shit we're talking about. And the Evil Queen is not on the side of miracles.

Fucking hell, that's all a mouthful, and Snow hasn't even met us yet! Look, I'm gonna take a smoke break and I'll get back to you in a minute, okay?

[arcanistsanctum]

‎‎​‌‏‏. Reverse:1999 Resource Guide

These are links to some of the archives, lorecrafters and guidemakers that I follow and regard highly for their expertise, dedication, and contributions to the community. Making this list is also for my convenience.

If you know other sources, please share them! I will edit the post and add them here. Maybe one day I will also contribute to transcripts on a separate blog. We don't have enough of such precious records for a heavily lore and story-based game! Feel free to share your lorecrafting website/blog/channel too!

Archives

Websites/Blogsites

Huiji (CN) - CN Fanwiki, written in CN, with consistent updates. Really goated. Gamekee (CN) - Another CN Fanwiki, also written in CN. Some pages may not be updated. Arcanist Sanctum (Global) - That's us! R1999 Logs (Global) - Has some main, event and anecdote story transcripts. Reverse: 1999 Wiki (Global) - EN Fanwiki. They may be behind on working through some profiles, records and transcripts.

Repositories

Myssal's Assets Repository (CN) - In-game assets. It has everything. Myssal just that goated. reverse 1999 png (CN) - PNGs/cutouts telegram. Russian language but you can use character tags by clicking on pinned message. They accept requests, but you probably will have to ask them in Russian. Their cutouts can be accessed and downloaded by going through post comments. Posts with arrows.

Documents

Abyss_Idiot's links (Global) - Transcripts, archives and general lore. Actually lots of records done by several Discord members. May not be updated. As of making this list, I haven't seen anything from 2.0 onwards.

Youtube

八咫烏_Merui (CN & Global) - Event and main story playthroughs without commentary Reverse: 1999 Timekeeper (Global) - They have everything recorded. And I mean everything. Reverse 1999 Archive (Global) - On hiatus (?), they pretty much covered event and main stories up to Notes on Shuori.

Lorecrafting & Story Analysis

Youtube

Apeironite - Pretty chill format. Interesting in-depth analyses. As of now, I don't know any other YT content creator who tackles on game lore as much as he has. FructoseTolerant - While there have yet many Reverse:1999 character analysis content in her channel, once she does post one, it's really good. I recommend watching and listening to her thoughts!

Guidemakers

Websites/Blogsites

Prydwen (CN & Global) - Tierlists, psychube recs and character guides Gnomon (Global) - I am in-love with this website tbh. Has all character information, including sprites! Effect descriptions, material sources and descriptions, resonance build (up to R15), psychube recs, team recs, and very easy to follow guide on how to play each character + rotations! Also has information on series of dusks artefacts and mechanics, reveries in the rain guides, and tips for mane's bulletin! GAAAAAHHH!

Documents

Discord Community Tierlist (CN) - Tierlists, calculators, builds. Likely where most of the global theorycrafting started. bluforest's Scuffed Page for Recommended Resonance Layouts (CN) - Also has resonance codes! Spiritzhl's Unit Build Guide (CN) - Psychubes, resonance, portrays, reveries and euphoria info, critter rehabilitation guide. Arcalive Reverse 1999 (outdated) - Written in KR. Resonance and psychube recommendations, calculators.

Youtube

Jakazin (CN & Global) - Comprehensive character guides Devibul (CN) - Puzzle guides, character showcases Destroth (Global) - Comprehensive character guides, showcases

Useful Tools

Kornblume (CN & Global) - Character planning and summoning history Closure++ (CN) - Planning and calculations, and written in CN. Here's MaTeIriA's guide to using it if you can't understand CN like me. It does have a built-in EN language option but it doesn't work for me. I don't know if it works for you. Depending on your device, you may also have to zoom out to see the entire page. Timekeeper (Global) - Summon tracking

[anotheroceanid]

All of Perse Athenide's domains are such important things. Loyalty, victory, olive oil, demigods, and heroes - protector of desperate mothers and orphans, patron of IVF and probably adoption. Every government has some depiction of her in their halls, because what is a government without loyalty?

Whole pediatric hospitals are named for her, orphanages and schools have images of her somewhere. Depictions of ideal mothers tend towards dark hair and bright eyes.

Countless stories have a kind, sweet woman with dark hair showing up to guide children onto the right path or to sooth nervous young mothers and brides, or young adults about to make a great promise.

When Zeus makes Perse mortal, the gods are angry, but not worried. They'll all keep an eye on her and help her, sure! Her punishment will end, and she'll come home! The mortals have forgotten most of them, but Perse Athenide will always be adored and remembered.

Her death is impossible to understand. Hades and Persephone cannot find her soul, and even when they bargain with the other pantheons to find her, no one can.

Perse Athenide is the most beloved and remembered of all the gods. And somehow, she is just gone.

She’s the goddess of overachievement. Together, she and Apollo were enemies of unemployment.

“Who’s the god of (thing)” Apollo, Hermes or Perse, likely.

But my girl did her job so well, that Zeus got pissed at her. “What do you mean I cannot kill my brother’s kids?”

Like, it’s actually sad that, because the Greek gods aren’t worshipped anymore, the mortals act as if nothing happened. They love her just as they always did, as a symbol of so many important things… but to her family, she is gone.

[starxanemone]

꩜ⴰ ࣪˖ BLLK LOVE LANGUAGE HEADCANONS

itoshi sae & nagi seishirou

⸻ in which i'll be rating their love language on a scale of 1-10 based on my understanding of their personality + include the type of person they'd be compatible with.

⸻ [ part ii. isagi yoichi & itoshi rin ] [ part iii. bachira meguru & noel noa ]

ITOSHI SAE

ACTS OF SERVICE: 8/10. His love language is definitely acts of service. The best way he can show that he cares for you is by helping you out with practical things that you actually have trouble with. Too many groceries in your hands? He'll carry them. Need help grabbing an object from the other side of the room when you're busy with something? He's walking over and handing it to you. I feel like he'd do all those willingly so long as you don't make them feel like demands.

WORDS OF AFFIRMATION: 3/10. Not too big on words of affirmation (I mean, come on. Look at his relationship with his brother). He wouldn't be the best person to receive emotional comfort from and he might even accidentally hurt you with his words, but he's the best person to approach if you want an actual, objective perspective that can aid you in forming a solution or a decision to your predicaments. He just has the emotional intelligence of a rock.

PHYSICAL TOUCH: 2/10. Not into physical touch either. I feel like the most he'd give you is a head pat especially if he comes to grow fond of you. It's tough to break down the cold exterior of his because he's probably pretty a little cold on the inside as well. You'd have to be the one to initiate and let him warm up to the idea of physical touch.

QUALITY TIME: 6/10. If he really likes you, he wouldn't mind spending time with you, although only up to a certain extent. He looks like the type of person to have incredibly low social battery and he'd probably want personal space after hanging out for the entire day. The best way to prolong quality time with him is either (1) you watch him train or train with him or (2) you hang out together doing quiet and calm things together like purchasing groceries, or going with him to pay bills, or getting his passport renewed.

GIFT GIVING: 8/10. He's not too big on super affectionate stuff, but giving gifts is a good way to show that you care without being overly affectionate. He's probably into gifting you practical things like monthly calendars, vitamins, or anti-radiation glasses if you're in front of a screen a lot. Hell, he'd probably even buy you shoelaces if he notices that yours were starting to look wonky.

COMPATIBLE WITH: someone who's emotionally intelligent and is able to read between the lines. He's closed off and almost incapable of telling other people how he feels, so he'd best be suited for someone who doesn't get hurt too easily and someone who can see him for who he is by understanding his behavior. Personality-wise, I think he'd suit an ambivert. Someone who is capable of being outgoing to push him slightly out of his comfort zone and let him experience "life," but also someone who likes to energize by doing indoor stuff.

NAGI SEISHIROU

ACTS OF SERVICE: 2/10. Guys... this guy has zero energy for anything other than soccer or games. I doubt that he would actively go out of his way to help anyone out with anything considering how he's very preoccupied with himself and his very limited number of interests. In order to get him to help you, you'd be the one to urge him and actually tell him whether you need help with something. Still, I think he'd do the most minimal things like holding the corner of a table if you were grabbing something that fell off the floor.

WORDS OF AFFIRMATION: 6/10. He'd probably be the type of person to reassure you unintentionally. You could be worrying about something in the future and might rant to him about it, but his response would a confused head tilt and saying something like "doesn't seem like that'll happen though... just do x and y like you always do" which you could either perceive as (a) he's trivializing your problems or (b) he has complete faith in you and your abilities. Also, if he grows fond of you, he's not afraid to call you out on actions that might hurt yourself.

Exhibit A: Chigiri almost injuring himself in the Episode Nagi manga in their match against karasu's team. I think it was sweet how concerned he sounded when he thought that Chigiri might break his leg.

PHYSICAL TOUCH: 6/10. I don't think he minds too much and he probably won't recoil if you initiate because he doesn't want to go through the trouble of doing anything at all. He probably doesn't want to argue over something as minimal as hugging and he might even find some forms of physical touch to be comfortable. It depends on what it is and how much work he actually has to put into it, but he likely won't even bother to move away unless you're attempting to hold his hands while he's playing or something.

QUALITY TIME: 6/10. He's an introvert and he seems like the type to want to recharge from hanging out with someone. He might go into hiding like hanging out in the school's rooftop or some obscure place, but if you're able to spot him, he probably won't move away. I think that this guy's space should be respected, but at the same time you'd have to pull him out from time to time so that he doesn't isolate himself too much.

GIFT GIVING: 0/10. Sorry, but this guy is extremely preoccupied with himself. He likely doesn't receive gifts from people and so he also likely doesn't give them either. The most you could consider a gift is if you play games and he sends you coins, equipment, or whatever you need if you're on the same team. Outside of games, though? The idea of giving someone a gift probably doesn't even cross his mind.

COMPATIBLE WITH: someone who is more dominant and assertive. You won't be able to get anything out of this guy unless you tell him that you want something. He's suitable for someone who's able to set boundaries and is able to pull him out of his unhealthy habits such as not eating properly, isolating himself frequently, etc. but also still be able to give him space as he needs. You'd also need to be patient because of his zero energy and nonchalance.

who do y'all want me to do next? : ]

[ohcoffeedragon]

The cultural impact of KAJ on Swedish-Finnish relations

I wanted to highlight some positive things that I've observed around the KAJ-phenomenon (Swedish Eurovision entry 2025), while also clarifying a few things about the cultural context to those who aren't from the region - but my small overview got out of hand, so here is an essay-length cultural analysis (sorry about that and hats off to anyone who reads to the end!)

You can read the rest under the cut or on Reddit where there is also lots of interesting stuff in the comment section.

I'm interested in this topic because I'm part of the Swedish speaking minority in Finland, but also because I've lived in the Finnish speaking parts of Finland (Jyväskylä) and in Sweden (Malmö), so I've had a front-line seat to people from all of these communities making assumptions about each other and misunderstanding each other. 

Here are the three geopolitical aspects of the KAJ-phenomenon that I find particularly noteworthy and heartwarming:

1) Sweden is celebrating Finnish culture and it's changing the narrative in both countries 

The fact that a Finnish band is topping charts in Sweden with a song about an aspect of Finnish culture is a bigger deal than you might think, because Finnish culture has not traditionally been held in high esteem in Sweden.

There are some ancient reasons for this, related to the fact that Finland was under Swedish rule from the 13th century all the way up to 1809 with the power dynamics that this implies, but I think the most important reason is probably the wealth gap during much of the 20th century.

In the 1950-70s many Finns emigrated to Sweden for work. They were mostly known to be reliable hard workers, but new immigrants are never highly regarded and on top of that this was the same generation that was on the front lines during the war, with lots of trauma that nobody knew how to treat or diagnose at the time, leading to self-medication with alcohol, emotional detachment, violence and social problems. Being Finnish became associated with a number of negative stereotypes in Sweden (alcoholism, violence, social exclusion, poverty), to the point where children in many Sweden-Finnish families were bullied for being Finnish and people were encouraged to distance themselves from their Finnish heritage.

This is why the hype in Sweden around Bara Bada Bastu - a silly feelgood song about unconditionally loving a part of Finnish culture - is getting so much attention in Finland. Finnish people aren't used to Sweden being this enthusiastic about anything related to their country. Some people in Finland still expect Swedes to look down on them for being Finnish. "The happiest country in the world" should of course have sorted out their self-esteem issues by now (most people have), but sometimes these things can be slow to evolve. 

Finnish culture has actually been getting a lot of positive attention in Sweden for some time now. The love for KAJ is part of a cultural shift that has been going on for years. Some notable music examples are Käärijä doing well on Swedish charts, Swedish artist Markus Krunegård releasing an album in Finnish in 2023 (Nokia & Ericsson) and Swedish artist Miriam Bryant releasing several singles in Finnish in 2024 (Mustelmilla, Otan kii), as well as wildly popular Hooja throwing in some Finnish words in their Swedish lyrics. 

The fact that Melodifestivalen producer Karin Gunnarsson invited KAJ to the competition in the first place probably wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for this phenomenon already being a thing.

2) Finland is showing Sweden some love in return

There is a saying in Finland that goes "it doesn't matter who wins as long as Sweden loses" and yet here we are: Finnish people are singing along to a song in Swedish and many are actively rooting for Sweden to win Eurovision.

The fact that a song in Swedish is topping charts in Finland is very unusual. 

Finland is a bilingual country, with Finnish and Swedish both being official languages, so you might expect the music scene and the general population to be bilingual as well, but they are not. The percentages are 95% Finnish speakers and 5% Swedish speakers, meaning public life is basically 100% Finnish speaking. Swedish speakers have their own schools and radio channels and so on, but if they want to talk with the rest of the country they need to do so in Finnish.  

The same thing is true for the music scene. If you choose to sing in Swedish you have a potential audience of less than 300 000, if you switch to Finnish you have a potential audience of 5,5 million. There are several Fennoswedish artists who are very successful in Finland at the moment, the big names being Mirella and Averagekidluke, but they all sing in Finnish. You would have to be a specific kind of lovable goofball to choose your local Swedish dialect instead.

The Swedish language is also viewed negatively by many in Finland. This is an unfortunate consequence of mandatory Swedish lessons in schools, often nicknamed "pakkoruotsi" ("involuntary Swedish" or "forced Swedish"). The idea to teach everyone the basics of both national languages doesn't sound particularly far-fetched, but many people, especially in the East and North where there are no native Swedish speakers, dislike this requirement to the point where it might do more harm than good.

As for Sweden, the country is seen as a close and reliable friend, but the friendship is somewhat more complicated than it might seem on the surface. The Finnish banter with Sweden is friendly 99,9% of the time but the remaining 0,1% can be surprisingly dark, because it's rooted in feelings of humiliation and injustice that go quite deep.

This is why it made sense for KAJ to do Melfest instead of UMK, beyond the fact that Melfest reached out to them. Gaining a Swedish audience when singing in Swedish is a realistic goal. Gaining a Finnish-speaking audience when singing in Swedish is... not realistic - or so everyone assumed.

In other words: seeing Swedish people sing "yksi, kaksi, kolme, sauna!" in Finnish is surprising, but seeing Finnish-speakers go "bara bada bastu, bastu!" in Swedish is just as unexpected and somehow even more heartwarming, for me as a Fennoswede at least.

As far as I know it's the first time in history a Fennoswedish artist gets nationwide recognition with a song in Swedish. There is more warmth towards Sweden in Finland right now and more curiosity about the Swedish speaking minority than I think I've ever seen.

3) People are suddenly learning about the Swedish speaking minority in Finland 

KAJ getting all this attention is making a real difference in fighting ignorance (mostly in Sweden) and prejudice (mostly in Finland) about the Swedish speaking minority.

Some Swedish people still don't know we exist, which can be a little disheartening to Swedish speaking Finns who follow media in both countries and know everything about Sweden. Fennoswedes trade anecdotes about how Swedish people compliment them on their "really good Swedish" when they speak their native language or how well-meaning Swedes switch to English because they can't tell the difference between a dialect and a foreign accent. The most extreme anecdotes are about Swedish people saying "I had no idea Finnish was so easy to understand" when you talk to them in Swedish.  

In Finland people know we exist, but sometimes mistake us for a small and homogenous group of upper-class snobs - which is fine really, compared to what almost any other minority anywhere has to put up with, but it's also quite far from the truth, so getting some nuance added to the mix wouldn't hurt. Most Fennoswedes are just ordinary people and do not have mansions and old money (unfortunately for us!). Those old money families do exist, but they are not that many. 

The Fennoswedes you see in Finnish media tend to live in the Helsinki area and be perfectly bilingual, which isn't the case for all of us. KAJ is such a refreshing addition to the media landscape because they aren't part of this group: they are from the countryside, their Finnish is a little wonky, and you couldn't possibly accuse them of being upper class snobs.  

And finally, if you read this to the end: Thank you, I spent way too much time on this, so I really appreciate it! Here is your well-earned diploma on Finnish-Swedish relations: 📜👩🏼‍🎓

[serioussideblog]

Some other good examples of which words to use in which situations:

- When talking about a specific body part, talk about that body part. If it helps, you can think of it in a similar way to how we think of other body parts that frequently need to be changed or removed, or that are frequently something someone naturally doesn’t have for one reason or another. Adenoids, for example, are frequently removed, and usually shrink away over time, but I still have one of mine at this time. My one adenoid will probably shrink away, and if it doesn’t, I could get it removed if it causes me problems, but for now, it’s just chilling in my throat, so I have to take care of it. You can use the same logic with breasts, uteruses, prostates, vulvas, vaginas, penises, testes, etc.

- When talking about hormone production, estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone are the things you’re probably talking about (as it relates to this discussion). Everyone actually has both estrogen and testosterone in them, just at different levels.

- When talking about sex assigned at birth, use the AGAB language. But remember, this isn’t the end-all-be-all! The human experience is a very vast thing, and honestly, it’s kinda fascinating just how many variations exist for every category.

- And of course, for gender identity, use the word that person does.

- Sometimes you may need to talk about more than one of these things at once. Just put the concepts together correctly! For example, if you were AFAB, and produced more estrogen than testosterone, but you have a prostate, and you identify as agender, you would be an agender person, an intersex person, estrogen-dominant, AFAB, and you would have to get prostate screening and stuff to make sure it’s okay in there.

really not sure when it happened or why but personally I'm pissed that the queer community at large seems to have given up ground on the "people with penises/vulvas/testes/ovaries" language to sex & gender essentialists in exchange for the much less precise, much more demeaning "AGAB" language.

is it because you're scared of the word vulva? of acknowledging out loud that some people have penises? of recognising that many many people, including but certainly not limited to trans people, have mixed sex characteristics that cannot be accurately summarised by "afab/amab" as shorthand for "female/male"?

"in [GENITAL RELATED] situation AFABs will need to do X and AMABs will need to do Y" there are "afabs" with penises and "amabs" with vulvas. Saying this shit makes you look so unserious & honestly transphobic (given the ongoing erasure of post-op trans people within broader community). Intersex people and GRS have both existed for long enough (fucking forever and, decades, respectively) that we should well past making this basic fucking mistake.

quit referring to people by a vague & often violent event that happened at their birth as though it defines ANYTHING about how they & their body currently operate, and start using precise language so you at least look like you know what you're fucking talking about.

[spicycinnabun]

can i ask for werewolf au 🐺🐺🐺 please in "make me write"

“Don’t go down there.”

Tommy’s voice didn’t startle Buck—perks of the super wolfy hearing—but he did take his hand off the doorknob with a guilty smile.

“Sorry,” he said. “Just curious.”

He was feeling well enough now to get up and move around, and though he hated leaving Tommy’s bed, his wolf had been tugging restlessly on the leash, urging him to explore more of the den.

Tommy chuckled. “Yeah, I’m gathering that. Kinda surprised you’re a werewolf and not a werecat.”

“I’m not nearly graceful enough to be a werecat. You, uh, hiding some dead bodies or something?” Buck joked. He glanced at the door again. 

Knowing he wasn’t allowed to go into the basement now made it so much more tempting. Like looking at a big red button that said do not touch! 

“No. It’s just a mess. I’m renovating.”

That was a perfectly normal, acceptable answer, yet Buck couldn’t help but feel like it wasn’t the truth.

“Hmm, don't know if I believe you,” he said playfully. “Maybe you're actually a mad scientist, and your secret lab is down there?” He tugged on the drawstring of his borrowed sweats. “Or maybe you’re hiding a crazy sex dungeon.” 

“You caught me,” Tommy responded, dry as sand. “It’s my sex dungeon. So unless you want to get tied up and spanked, you’ll stay out.”

Oh.

Oh, boy. 

Those were some interesting images going through his head. 

“Um,” Buck said eloquently, blood rushing to his cheeks.

Tommy took pity on him. “I’m kidding, Evan.” 

Buck laughed. It sounded weird. Where was his sanity? It certainly wasn’t in the room anymore.

And he still wanted to open that door. But, like a good boy, he didn’t push. Instead, he hastily altered course. “You’re a pilot, right? At the harbor station? I saw your pictures on the mantelpiece.” 

The connection had excited Buck. And maybe he had drooled a little seeing the Alpha standing next to a chopper, wearing a flight suit and sporting a big grin. He looked so happy. Right in his element. Just like Buck felt at his job.

Tommy’s smile grew, crinkles appearing. It transformed his face, just like in the photos. Buck’s heart literally pitter-pattered. (God, he needed to get a grip.) “Yeah. I was with a different station before I transferred to air ops. Best decision I’ve ever made.”

“Nice.” Buck stopped himself from adding how cool he thought it was. He had repeated that word far too many times since he’d met Tommy. “Must be fun to fly. Which station were you at before?”

“The one-eighteen.”

Buck’s eyes widened. “No way! That’s my station! I—I’m a firefighter, too.”

That meant Buck wasn’t the first werewolf to work there. He wondered if Bobby knew about Tommy’s lycanthropy, and that was why he’d taken Buck’s so stoically. It was such a crazy coincidence. If their timelines had synced up, they could’ve worked together.

“Yeah?” Tommy folded his arms, appraising him. “That makes a lot of sense. You seem like the type.”

Buck’s chest puffed up with pride, his blush reigniting. Was it his physique? His demeanor? Did Tommy think he looked like a hero? “Thanks!” He quickly changed the subject, not wanting to linger on himself. “So, you know Hen and Chim?”

Tommy nodded. “I did. They’re great people.”

Buck was about to ask another question when he noticed Tommy subtly glancing at his watch. He stepped backward. “Sorry. I-I’m talking your ear off again.”

Tommy’s eyebrows raised. “You apologize too much, Evan. You’re fine. I do have to go pick up a package in a few minutes, though. Want to come for a ride?”

Those words triggered the same internal reaction as wanna go for a walk? Buck grinned. Some fresh air would probably feel awesome and stop him from making a bigger fool of himself. “Okay! Uh, do—do you mind if I shift?” 

His wolf loved truck rides, which Eddie never failed to tease him about. He could easily be mistaken for a dog if he kept himself somewhat hidden. 

Tommy looked amused. “I don’t mind. I’ll have to re-wrap your dressing, though.” 

Have Tommy’s hands on him again? Buck had no problem with that at all.

“I’ll be right back.” He dashed for the bathroom, pleased when he only limped a little bit.

“Hey, take it slow!” Tommy called after him. 

Sheepishly, Buck followed the Alpha’s command.

⏾

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[firestorm09890]

figured out something I’ve been idly spinning on for a long time while assigning pokemon to the sinners, of all things

It’s about Meursault

I believe his Canto will be about dehumanization. Again. Even though we’ve already seen it multiple times and will probably see it even more. But hey, Limbus Company is a game about the experience of living in this bitch of a world despite it all and dehumanization is a struggle that comes in many forms.

It might be obvious that his canto would do that, considering the murder, but I actually think the discussion of how his victim, whoever it may have been (since The City seems to be over our version of racism and colonialism in favor of… other shit + Classism EX), was not treated as an equal class of citizen as Meursault (this is actually false. more on that next paragraph), will be secondary to Meursault’s own dehumanization.

In his source, he, a settler in French Algiers, kills an unnamed Arab. It is clear that any other white settler would have gotten away with it with a slap on the wrist- the court expected his trial to go quickly and for the main event of the day to be a different trial- but Meursault in particular is not afforded that privilege because the court believes him to be inhuman for- you guessed it- not crying at his mother's funeral. And also being an atheist and going out with his girlfriend the day after that funeral and asking for a cigarette when he wasn't supposed to and only a tiny bit the part where he shot the corpse 4 times, the point is it's over the stupid stuff not the stuff that matters

“[The prosecutor] said that he had peered into [my soul] and that he had found nothing, gentlemen of the jury. He said the truth was that I didn’t have a soul and that nothing human, not one of the moral principles that govern men’s hearts, was within my reach.”

In other words, this is a narrative about how quickly someone who you might think is part of the in-group can be cast out. He’s The Stranger, if you will.

N Corp is the Wing that values the concept of "humanity" perhaps the most in the entire City and I'm certain he has history with that view working to his detriment.

What's actually more important than what's happening within the story is "the cold, uncaring gaze of the anonymous masses"- the real world, that is- not that it's not all happening in-universe too.

I'm pretty sure jokes explicitly calling Meursault a robot have fallen to the wayside (though I don't exactly look for them so I'm not sure) in favor of the joke that Meursault can do literally anything if he is ordered to. He can become S Tier. He can manifest EGO. He could, I don't know, defeat Goku if Dante told him to. And so the tone changes, but... the sentiment doesn't. He's superhuman now, not subhuman, but he's still not a normal human.

The same goes for how the other sinners treat him. He's a wonderful source of information, almost like an encyclopedia. He can run fast with perfect breathing and he's strong and he can give massages. He is the perfect man- something I have seen said on a few of my Meursault posts. The easy solution to any physical problem.

Even his quirk of not being a good judge of when he should be taking action or telling people about things doesn't really matter anymore, since it has an easy "fix"- just telling him exactly what you want to be done. Goodness knows he's capable of it.

Even Vergilius seems to add to this view of him- Meursault gets one of the very few positive special voicelines from him in the announcer booth.

And the only announcer line of his to individual sinners that can't be read in a backhanded way.

He is less than human, or he is more than human. How does Meursault himself feel about any of this? Does he care? His input is valued more than before, which is great, but he still really just expresses observations and recites objective facts, not opinions and personal values.

...They don't actually like his personal values very much. Of the three occasions I can think of where he talks about what he thinks, Heathcliff in particular reacts negatively and loudly to all of them- the first is seen above, from Canto III; the third is in Canto VI, when Meursault had to go "hey I'm not finished talking yet", and though Heathcliff was Going Through It I think he also had it in his mind that he and Meursault do not tend to agree on courses of action; and the second is this one from Canto IV

(Heathcliff's words after Dante says they're going to help)

Keep an eye on this Meursault reaction. When Canto X comes out next year I'm sure we'll find out what those ellipses mean.

I believe that in his canto, the incredible, flawless image of him that the sinners have all built up in their minds will be torn down and they'll all have to contend with that. Heavy speculation, but maybe they'll even turn on him for a little bit, unable to cope with the shock that he's done something so terrible.

You know, how parasocial relationships and cancel culture works in real life.

As much as I like the idea of him having some connection to distortion (Carmen as the sun from the book is just too good), I think if he's anything but 100% human it cheapens his story. He's the perfect specimen by N Corp standards, and he's still not good enough, by metrics he could never hope to understand.

That is how I think The Stranger will be adapted.

[gordonengineswifenirmal]

This could be applied to soooo much. People act like kids don’t have free will n the content attracts them n ruins their ohhh so innocent souls.

I remember kids being more innocent up until like 7 or 8. Around the time curiousity starts to cause them to explore their world more. I remember mum n dad not wanting me to watch beavis n butthead. So, what did u do? Purposely tried to watch beavis n butthead. Usually succeeded. This is an age when the curiosity, causes them to start pushing boundaries. Responsible parents can respond in a way that encourages honesty and safety. However, this process is natural, and shielding a child from every single trigger can actual harm them. The key is setting healthy boundaries.

My mum taught me about the birds and bees. She was very honest about how painful it could be. She was honest in saying she wanted to have a daughter, but it’s often the pain closest to death. Knowing how much I hate pain, I was like nope. She didn’t glorify it, n was quite ok with me not having children. She allowed me to explore that decision without pressure. She was faaarrrr from perfect, but she granted me that.

Kids are impressionable. The more it’s glorified, they’ll be more curious about it. And to be honest, peer pressure plays an important role. A child’s peers will judge them, and force them into the ‘jumping off the bridge mentality’.

If anything, kids often feel they have more of a voice online. People listen to them more than they do in real life. They r probably used to being dismissed more. Unfortunately, this also allows them to be exposed to more peers, often other impressionable people - or those who will manipulate them for their own desires.

This is why you see so many people blindly agree to things, especially when compelled by peer pressure. This should be the real concern. The problem is that curbing peer pressure is an immense challenge.

Kids on their own may or may not feel a certain way about media. They might like it, or they might not. However, when peers influence them - when peers pressure them, especially by bullying, gaslighting (in this case, it’s often about trying to make them feel bad, or unworthy for what they believe. They are less influenced by the media itself, and more about others reactions to it.

If a kid likes an outfit or article of clothing, and their peers don’t, they are more likely to give in, because they don’t want their peers to think badly of them or chastise them. This carries on into adulthood. This is a major issue with society, and why people are so obsessed with getting Botox, plastic surgery, etc. and not accepting themselves as they are. Unfortunately, capitalism also banks on this as well.

With that being said, peers - and society - punish those who rebel, who don’t conform. Who are strong enough to break out on their own.

Unfortunately, paedophiles factor in as opportunists. They simply take advantage of vulnerabilities. That’s what makes it so terrifying these days - kids are listening to what people tell them, or what they disorderly consume through the news, along with peer pressure. This causes them to defend ACTUAL paedophiles, and victimise, bully - innocent people.

They become lackeys for the real villains not so much because of the media, but because of the peer pressure involved with it. The popular opinion and the gullibility, the easily impressionable mind betrays them.

Good morning! I’m salty.

I think we, as a general community, need to start taking this little moment more seriously.

This, right here? This is asking for consent. It’s a legal necessity, yes, but it is also you, the reader, actively consenting to see adult content; and in doing so, saying that you are of an age to see it, and that you’re emotionally capable of handling it.

You find the content you find behind this warning disgusting, horrifying, upsetting, triggering? You consented. You said you could handle it, and you were able to back out at any time. You take responsibility for yourself when you click through this, and so long as the creator used warnings and tags correctly, you bear full responsibility for its impact on you.

“Children are going to lie about their age” is probably true, but that’s the problem of them and the people who are responsible for them, not the people that they lie to.

If you’re not prepared to see adult content, created by and for adults, don’t fucking click through this. And if you do, for all that’s holy, don’t blame anyone else for it.

[sweeneydino]

Hi!! Love all the stuff you have on this blog!! I was wondering about your wrong parent AU, how would this change how the boys grow up, like with more of a motherly presence than their rat dad (though maybe she is just as a “sensei” as splinter…who knows XD) or is this like a time travel situation? AAA sorry im excited about this awesome AU!!!

Anywho, sorry for my ramblings I don’t write asks very often and there is no pressure to answer! Thanks so much for all the cool things you do! Lol I love seeing your stuff on my dash :D

It'd be a lot different! I guess I can list a few I thought of,,,

So, Rat!Mom.

She’s still a bit paranoid (how can you not be with the Shredder actively trying to find out what happened to you, where you are, and if you're actually dead), but shes more focused on trying to give her kids as normal of a life as she can and definitely not hiding all her stress underneath endless piles of work.

Mikey plays alot of games and is more adept at cooking, Raph's painting more often and always trying to help his mom with cleaning(yes, hes a mama's boy), Donnie is creating and creating and always wanting to go bigger, and Leo and Karai(yes, Karai :]) play fight alot(so many wars...) when they aren’t watching Space Heroes 24/7 or trying to explore outside the home.

Then, maybe during one of her dumpster dives, she finds some convenient "Chris Bradford" training tapes that they start to gain an interest in ninjutsu. She's not too pleased with it, but since they enjoy it, she tries to be more open to it(she conflicted)

They do go out and about earlier than Canon(with a curfew), meet April earlier too(her and her dad are a little different), and Karai and April become BFFS. (Unless...)

The kids still call her sensei or variations of mom, which ones? Probably all depending on what they did.

Now, fighting bad guys? She did not raise them for that /hj

In reality, when she sees her kids scratched up from fights topside, they are usually pretty quick to inform her what happened(except for two). They get carefully patched up, and scolded before being told to rest for a while(grounded). Which is definitely not so she can keep an eye on them.

And she is certainly not stressed whatsoever👍

Also…

“She was as beautiful as she was kind, and as kind as she was intelligent”

- Splinter

…probably meaning emotional intelligence, or somethin but i think itd be fun if she was just…. Fred.

As in Traps galore, I mean imagine it-

You're Chris Bradford, greatest actor (and martial artist ig) of all time, and your chasing what you presume to be your bosses stubborn former lover,(who you kind of hate ngl) and then you think you have her cornered, just for the ground to cave in beneath you cause whoops, she boobytrapped the whole place.

She can still be emotionally intelligent too, but the traps are staying.

Other than the traps, I do think Rat! Shen will have some other types of self-defense training during the time she was in hiding. Girl is not risking shit.

When it comes to VS. Shredder bits, she'd definitely use everything she can to her advantage, especially her rat abilities. Climbing, gnawing, scratching, hissing; just get the fuck away from her and her kids.

There’s no planned ships atm (other than Shen x Yoshi, but that's the point- hes ded anyway)

Lastly, Im thinking of probably at least three separate versions or “alternate timelines” for the WP au, or two divergents of the wp au canon lol. One where the original turts find Shen and her turts pre-adventure, one post-adventure and/or during the shredder kidnap arc(i will not elaborate) and the least timefuckery timeline where Rat mom and her babies gotta march on without future “assistance” 🤷 im sure they’ll be fine(they willllll)

Thank you all for being interested in this ^ ^ "

I actually don't have much planned for this since it was just another random idea(you can probably tell hdgdhdg), but I'm always happy to see everyone's ideas! It helps a lot with my scattered-brain--

And one FINAL, final thing

Im not sorry.