#the-nerd-beast

[iamthekaijuking]

I don't know if you saw in the comments but I do have some input on Tobi's diet because I caught him eating a Vespoid when fatigued not long ago.

Wait really?!

I mean logically Tobi would be easily capable of that. It’s fast enough to catch vespoids and kill them before getting stung and it’s within the size range of prey for it. Not to mention insects are incredibly nutritious (they have more protein than beef and omega-3s than fish… it’s not fair that they’re too small for something like a beetle stake to exist!)

But I’m just surprised that it can do that in game. Honestly I’ll have to keep an eye out whenever I’m playing world and I’d love to see any evidence.

[allykatsart]

I would wonder what Emily would think of Heaven trying to make sure someone deserving of Hell like Lyle Lipton gets into Heaven while there are redeemable mortal souls in Hell.

I got this theory that Heaven is essentially trying to manipulate the system that way the smartest and most talented get into Heaven in order to further advance itself, regardless of what they were like in life.

If that were happening (Which I don't think it is) then Emily, of course, would be pissed. Because if genuinely awful people can get into heaven just because they're rich, then what's the fucking point of making others suffer? What makes Angel Dust not worthy of redemption?

Again, tho, I don't think it is happening, from what I can see. It seems that Sera was telling the truth, Heaven really doesn't have control over who goes to heaven and who goes to hell. Yet there does seem to be some criteria for being 'good' enough for heaven. Otherwise, why would Sir Pentious' sacrifice have redeemed his soul?

There is, however, the issue of Christianity. Which sounds weird as fuck but like... To our knowledge there's no such thing as God in heaven, but the characters say things like "Oh My God" or "God Damnit", meaning earth likely has something like Christianity? And while the pilot of Helluva Boss isn't technically cannon anymore, "Christ on a stick, I guess there is a God!" Is rather suspicious.

Idk, there's a lot going on there and I don't have time to make a full theory about it XD

[screwpinecaprice]

Nasal congestion is a form of inflammation, which is an autoimmune response. That means it is Steven's healing factor working against him.

OOOH that's fun!

Something that limits someone's capabilities is always interesting. Even more fun when it's, like, paradoxical.

[digitexts]

Which evil digimon do you think would be the most agreeable to get along with?

I feel like Etemon would be easy to reign in so long as you appeal to his ego.

[blaithnne]

How about Johanna in G1 please?

A Thing

[erazonpo3]

I have a theory that Z-A is gonna be different than most think.

Legends Arceus is set in the past

Scarlet deals with the past paradox Pokemon

Violet deals with future paradox Pokemon

The trailer for Legends Z-A looks all futuristic, not at all past stylized like the Legends Arceus title. They are also being more tight-lipped on revealed information such as starters or even what the region looks like this time around.

I think it may be possible that Z-A is a future/alternate present take on the Kalos region, connecting the themes of past and future between both Legends games and Scarlet and Violet.

I do think the game being set in the future is a possibility, though I think the trailer could be somewhat figurative; it isn't actually gameplay footage, and the reason we don't have much information is because the game still has likely over a year's worth of development still to go (hoping they take their time).

I remember because I was and still am in the PLA trenches but we didn't know a whole lot about PLA's story until its actual release (or a week early, if you were happy to look at leaks) and even in the case of SV we didn't even know what those starters looked like until the very last minute. Which means I expect it'll be a while before we start getting any substantial information tbh.

I'm personally interested in the idea that PLZA will be based on Haussman's renovation of Paris through the mid-late 1800s, because I think that works with the original game's themes of classism and aesthetics, potentially strengthening the XY games in retrospect– while I don't expect them to be overly damning of the gentrification in general, the parallels there between Lysandre's goal in making a "beautiful world" and the goal of "urban redevelopment" are enough to resonate alone, I feel.

And while I do think going to the future is still on the table because the trailer's aesthetics were definitely leaning that way, I'm a little wary of it myself mostly just because it feels high risk high reward in whether it's going to provide a greater, expanded story for the gen 6 characters or if it's just going to do something I hate. A "yeah I can still play in my corner of the sandbox, but that's a lot less appealing when somebody else has taken a shit in the sandbox" kind of thing

[secretly-of-course]

@ Bria

LOLLLLLLL

[image ID: a gif of Garnet from Steven Universe wagging her finger and singing, “But I think you’re just mad ‘cause you’re single.”]

[cakeofrage]

🎵 I found your art bloooooog~ 🎵

:3c

[cantarelaria]

head disciple shen yuan and his two little shidis who for some reason keep sneaking into the beast tamer peak ⛰️🐉

[fairsweetlonging]

shen yuan being animal obsessed to the point he starts trying to take everything remotely friendly home with him so one day returns with the xianxia equivalent of a scraggly possom that hisses at everyone it sees and that is definitely poisonous while still insisting its a little baby that needs a home

airplane never really expanded on the common creature worldbuilding in pidw like pigeons and cats and rabbits and raccoons, so shen yuan started filling in the blanks himself and oh boy did he fill it wrong. he pets a fox-like creature the size of a cow with horns and hooves like it's a horse not knowing that would be like trying to pet a grizzly bear. he coos over the owl-cats that live under overhangs and in dusty attics and really really wants one until liu qingge has to drag him away because they're some of the most awful aggressive pests you can have that swoop down on people and claw their faces open when they're mildly displeased.

one time he walked onto his peak with a six-legged spotted weasel in his sleeve bc it's so cute he just couldn't leave it!! not knowing said weasel is known as one of the most vicious predators because they tear through the calf muscles to cripple prey ten times their size and then eat them alive

however, because shen yuan has the disney princess subclass with a +7 proficiency in animal handling, it never goes wrong. he pets the fox-stag without an issue and it even allows him to climb onto its back. the owl-cats love him and happily play with his robes and fetch things for him. the six legged weasel lazes around the bamboo house all day and loves to be pet. the scaggly possom hisses at and hates everyone except shen yuan.

every other animal had to leave, except the possom. that is a fight they did not win. yue qingyuan only has so much strength and those teary eyes are lethal

[astriiformes]

Still working on getting everything set up how I like it on Palamedes (the new laptop) and was reminded of my favorite browser extensions everyone should know about -- Unpaywall and Library Extension

Unpaywall automatically searches a database of open-access sources to let you know if an academic article you're looking at is available anywhere for free. (And yes, I know there are other ways of getting your hands on them if there aren't open-access options, but it's an easy, convenient first step in the search!)

Library Extension is kind of similar, except it's an extension that tells you if your local library (or its Hoopla catalogue, or various online sources like Open Library) has a book available in a little box that shows up if you're looking at titles on Amazon, Goodreads, or their less evil counterparts -- Bookshop and Storygraph, respectively. It even has a button that automatically takes you to the page to request it as a hold from the library instead, which I know is amazing for my "I'll look that up later [does not look that up later]" ADHD brain.

I cannot recommend these extensions enough, and the ease and convenience of both of them have definitely helped me read more academics articles and books than I would have otherwise. Definitely check them out if you're not already using them!

[iamthekaijuking]

In the latest beta I've fought Gypceros and I absolutely love him, he is so damn obnoxious but not in a frustrating way like say Khezu.

I was intrigued by the stretchy tail in particular, is there any real world logic behind how Gypceros is able to extend it's tail like that? If I had to hypothesize the tail only has vertebrae at the base like a typical pygostyle tail but has excess muscle tissue for a "psuedo tail" that is capable of contracting and extending.

Gypceros is obnoxious but endearing yeah

As for the tail it’s probably a similar situation to what I think could be going on with Nargacuga and the cave wyverns. Basically stretchy ligaments and muscles saturated with elastin with nerves like those in the throat of baleen whales. Basically the nerve cord in the tail is as long as the tail in its fully stretched out state, but it’s all spooled and scrunched up along the length of the tail. When the tail stretches it unspools, but it can also snap back into its scrunched up state.

[pretend-i-don-t-exist]

hm more heavenly demon!sy thoughts,,, i am invested

the system had an error bc sj's body and soul are still very much together bc he hasn't even experienced a single qi deviation yet, so it tries to find a good substitute to throw sy's soul in

when it can't find any, it decides to make a body that sy is most familiar with (it should be a human, but the system was impressed by sy's very passionate rants about lbh's heavenly demon abilities) so boom. heavenly demon sy

he wakes up in the endless abyss. the system has to hibernate bc the body has taken too much of its power so: here is sy, with an almost invincible body, alone in the endless abyss. oh, and he doesn't know about his heritage. all he knows is that he's in the abyss of pidw

ofc sy immediately geeks out over the demonic beasts and all the plants!!! look he could never visualize what a wyrm-mule looks like or how a porcupine-quail could possibly work, and now he gets to see them! irl!!

well not irl exactly, but if this isn't a very weird dream and he's really transmigrated into some background npc, then it's all well and good. his knowledge of the endless abyss should be enough to keep him safe

he does get very weird urges tho like wdym he's suddenly not squeamish with blood?? why is tearing off his arm now a good strategy to get out of the jaw of a black moon python rhinoceros??? sure his body weirdly could regenerate (tested and proven when he keeps tripping over roots that just keep popping up in his way somehow) but he should be a bit more against that, right?

he also gets the urge to bare his teeth when aggressive beasts crowd around him. his teeth are suspiciously pointy when he feels them, and somehow, the beasts are... intimidated? just like that? when he snarls at them. things also bend to his will for some reason? he was irritated with a swamp (he does not want to wade through that), and then the next time he looks back at it, it's gone???

the demons he came across are very polite, too. completely unlike his expectations. sy thinks he's lucky to meet civilized demons with human-like mannerisms, and does not notice that they're batshit terrified of this one heavenly demon conspiciously leaking out so much demonic qi that it's a miracle he hasn't passed out (which is even more scary bc that is a heck ton of qi)

then because sy is sy, he wifebeams the terrified demons. he talks so animatedly with them, asking questions about their customs without judgment! his smile is so pretty and charming! even in his dirty clothing and unkempt hair, he still looks like a beauty!

then sy takes a bath when he arrives at the demons' village and takes offer to wash up, notices his reflection, and promptly freaks out

is he tlj??? no, tlj does not look like this in pidw's official art, but demons can shapeshift, right? has he messed up the plot??? what date is it even?? is lbh even born yet?? is he lbh's grandfather?????

the demons are rightfully frightened but also worried when sy accidentally destroys a wall of the bath in his haste to get out and get some answers. luckily, this is the demon realm, or his tendency to wear only inner robes will be heavily scrutinized!

sy then plans to get into the human realm (he knows of a few ways) to change the plot! he can't possibly leave lbh to suffer like in pidw if he has the ability to change it...

except lbh is not even born yet.

he does meet tlj, and woooo the demon is so chill and has an entire library full of the worst novels sy has ever read in his entire life (still better than pidw). tlj seems like a sweetheart, how could he possibly wage a war against the human realm that led to his imprisonment? smth is fishy here!

(behind him, tlj kills an entire horde of demons for daring to plan to capture sy. sy is now his little brother. sy does not have the choice of refusing)

and so they travel to the human realm together. tlj immediately fucks off to the nearest bookstore, and sy would have loved to follow him except he has Seen the Plot. then he's suddenly trying to pass off as a wandering cultivator that forgot most of the human customs (very suspicious) bc he's spent most of the time researching plants and animals (ok, his infodumps make that believable) in front of cang qiong cultivators

and then cang qiong offers him to become a teacher in the beast taming peak bc why not (they heard of rumors of a kind wandering cultivator with incredibly accurate portrayals and info about demonic beasts, and also sy is acting Very Sus so they kinda want to keep an eye on him)

(tlj is laughing at him so hard he dislocates a shoulder)

look i just want sy to have the time of his life exploring the endless abyss without the system or the plot breathing down his neck and then i want to throw him into the most stressful situations of his life (coexisting with the disciple versions of the peak lords, and also not getting himself killed for being a heavenly demon, and also tlj's steadily increasing panic on how to court a cold human cultivator who could bodyslam him and throw him over her shoulder and walk off to the sunset)

[koobiie]

cyborgs!!!!!!!!!

bonus bb and chopper -

[lesoldatmort]

Vincent Week went fine.

[blaithnne]

Someone forgot the lesson of vanilla extract: never underestimate the power of memes and what will be the funniest choice.

See that’s why I’m a tad worried about the results of the poll - idk how many people voted for the pooka as a joke 😭😭