#this is all ive got for con but that is actually quite a lot as you can see

[aguineapigcouldntdothis]

I do not find it reasonable that the term "ashkenormativity" is frequently used to mean "asheknazi jews, aka the white european ones, are racist, colorist, and even antisemitic against other jews". not only is that an improper definition with loads of information, it fails to recognize that the people who are most likely to perpetuate ashkenormativity are goyim.

for the purpose of this post, I will be going with the definition that ashkenormativity is the belief that ashkenazi people are the default jews, which leads to them getting more respect, opportunities, recognition, etc. goyim, especially in the western world, have likely only been exposed to ashkenazi jews, meaning that they are likely to view them as the blueprint. they are simply drawing conclusions from the available information, which in my eyes is not a huge issue. the true problem arises when they learn about other types of jews and immediately decide that we are "improper". because we don't fit their idea of what a jew looks like, acts like, etc., we are either bad jews or not jewish at all.

it is not the fault of ashkenazim that goyim think this way, and it is not their responsibility to fix it. it is also not their fault that most jews in the western world are ashkenazim. it is absolutely the responsibility of goyim to learn that there are many types of jew and we are still one people.

ashkenazim are less likely to spread ashkenormativity than goyim because they are exposed to other jews more often. they may have different norms than a sephardi, mizrahi, etc. jew would, but they're usually able to recognize that we are all jews with a shared culture. and by usually I mean I can count on 1 hand the number of times an ashki jew genuinely thought they were better than us. 2 hands if we're counting repeated offenses from the same person. I believe that has nothing to do with their heritage and everything to do with them being an asshole. point is, learning by observing other jews is an effective tool to combat prejudices. the more examples you see of a non-ashki jew, the more likely you are to correct yourself when you promote ashkenormativity.

i feel like a fun exercise would be to compare 2 separate interactions ive had with a goy and a ashkenazi jew. both contain examples of ashkenormativity. neither is significantly worse than the other so they are close enough to compare.

interaction with goy:

context is we were talking about jewish traditions and it got to the topic of food. I actually cooked a ton this year i didnt know what I was in for.

me: I won't cook that much this year, but usually id eat a lot of unleavened cakes and rice for passover

goy: i thought you guys ate matzah

me: I mean yeah but we eat other stuff too. im sephardi so I get more options which is fun (this was said as a joke, not judging anyone)

goy: oh so you're not really jewish then?

me: no im still jewish, Im just not ashkenazi and we have some cultural differences

goy: but like you're not jewish religiously, right??

me: I mean im not orthodox but yeah im still a religious jew. i just practice based on my culture its not hard to get

goy: wouldn't it be easier to just do what everyone else does though

me: yeah I just like doing this more it's fun for me

goy: yeah whatever I dont get this im done

interaction with ashki jew:

context is i was at shabbat dinner chilling on a couch and talking to a friend i made

ashki jew: so you know that shul down by (location)

me: the what?

ashki jew: ...the shul??

me: I've never heard that word in my life what is that

ashki jew: its just the synagogue. you've never heard that word before?

me: no i was so confused ive always just called it synagogue. sometimes the old people would call it kal never shul though

ashki jew: ok just like tell me if I confuse you with my yiddish again

I feel as if the differences between these interactions is quite clear. so, I wont go into heavy detail analyzing them. the basic idea is that during the conversation with the goy, I kept explaining myself and they refused to listen. they believed that ashki jews were better than me and that they themselves were also better than me. I was essentially told that I do not know anything about judaism because in their eyes I am not truly a jew. during the conversation with the ashkenazi jew, they explained themselves immediately because we are equals. they know we are both jews and we're more similar than we are different. it surprised them that I didn't know what shul meant, yet they did not use that as an excuse to tear me down.

I truly think people do ashkenazim a disservice by assuming that they are power hungry jews (*cough* antisemitic stereotype *cough*) who will stop at nothing to be better than the sad little sephardim and mizrahim. in reality, most of them, like my lovely friend, are more than willing to learn and share with other jews. the people who are truly hurting us are the goyische antisemites.

this is gonna sound hypocritical because I just made a long ass post about an intracommunity issue, however, can we please just focus the majority of our energy on the actual antisemites who are truly hurting us instead of other jews? this is an important topic that we need to discuss it's just not the most important thing us jews have going on. other jews are my friends and I refuse to be separated from them for the approval of goyim, and I know they will show me that same kindness.

note: I am just not feeling like myself today forgive any weird writing mistakes ill fix them later or maybe not

[terra-drone]

My gripes with Rift Apart

Consider this a review of Rift Apart (PC ver). After playing this game twice on Renegade Legend, I have... opinions. Being a fan of the franchise since Going Command/Locked & Loaded, I admittedly have some strong biases for both the PS2 saga and the Future Trilogy for various reasons. But before I go lambasting this entry into the franchise, a TLDR summary;

Pros:

The game is pretty and well executed on a technical level (for the most part).

The platforming and movement is refined and a step up from previous titles.

Cons:

Quite literally almost everything else.

Also has a propensity for crashing (both freezing and blue screen of death).

Movement & Platforming

One of the core aspects of RaC that I am happy RA got right. The movement is buttery smooth and chain daisying from one platform to the next using wall runs, dashes and rift pulls is excellently designed. The addition of the dash function adds an extra dodge ability that was absent in previous entries although granted we can still use the age-old side jumping while aiming/shooting.

I do wish however that the hoverboots were more integrated into the platforming since most of the time you only ever need it for super long leaps or the timed step puzzles. Something like the jump pads from ACIT would be nice to see paired with the new wall run and dash mechanic. You hardly need to use it outside of Savali and Torren IV and the last part of the Nef Mech fight.

What I wished they truncated however was the glide mechanic the hoverboots had. Given that the hoverboots could both glide and make you go fast, it makes this better than whatever Clank could possibly offer. @erablisme has done a wonderful breakdown on this matter (see here), but essentially having the hoverboots be an upgrade of both the charge boots and fulfilling Clank’s contribution to Ratchet’s mobility (gliding) renders Clank, from a gameplay standpoint, moot. It renders Clank into nothing more than a glorified backpack/exposition device, which beats the entire purpose of the franchise’s own title.

Gameplay

Weapons

The arsenal, while fun to use, is too bloated. A lot of the guns overlap in functionality:

Shotguns: Enforcer, Pixelizer, Void Repulser

Seeker/Turret weapons: Agents of Doom, Bombardier, Mr Fungi

Crowd Control: Topiary Sprinkler, Cold Snap

Grenades: Shatterbomb, Bouncer

Rapid fire: Burst Pistol, Blackhole Storm

Lock-on weapons: Drillhound, Richochet, Buzzsaw, Lightning Rod

Heavy hitter: RYNO, Negatron Collider, Warmonger

Do we really need multiple weapons that do the same thing just with different particle effects?

The level up mechanic, while a staple of RaC games, is frankly outdated by this point and actively hinders the game. If anything, it punishes players for sticking to guns they enjoy once they hit max level. It makes the motivator for using weapons not be its function but rather to chase that arbitrary level cap. Plus, there’s no telling what the level up actually did for a weapon aside from damage buffs.

It’s not like they couldn’t do away with this feature, Deadlocked made the guns increase so many levels it frankly deemphasises them in favour of choosing the best weapon for any given scenario, ItN decreased the max level to 3 (6 on challenge) in favour of more meaningful weapon upgrades, and ACiT had the Constructo weapons and mods (which Deadlocked also had called Omega Mods) that incentivises experimentation on what combos worked best while allowing you to spice things up post max level. Why not tie weapon upgrades to collectibles? They already had the Raritanium collection, sprinkling effect mods for weapons throughout the locations shouldn’t be too difficult. They already did this for the armour system, so why not do it for the weapons too? Heck, why not make all the weapons customisable like the Constructo weapons? It would solve the bloated arsenal problem.

Enemy Design

The enemy design in this game just isn’t great. While it makes sense considering you’re fighting an army so it’s obvious they’re gonna have standardised units, you would think they would spice up their combat stratagem when they know they couldn’t beat our protagonists by throwing the same old shtick over and over. Instead, we keep having to fight the same miniboss Juggernaut over and over and over again. Sometimes there’s two of them! Make it three during the Juice fight!

It’s not a problem with just the Nefarious troopers, it’s an issue across multiple factions too. Across all three factions (Space Pirates, Goons & Nef’s army), they all follow the same formula; 

the one with the gun: Pirate Corsair, Goon, Nef Lasertrooper

the one that does melee: Space Pirate & Shield Pirate, Goon Rusher & Undead Goon, Nef Slugger

the tiny short range/melee swarmer: Cutlassies, Robomutt, Nef Trooper

the vehicle one: Goon Dropship, Nef Dropship

the flying one: Zoom Goon, Nef Sniperbot & Blitztrooper & Sniperbot

the heavy flying one: Vroom Goon, Nef Peacekeeper

the rinse repeat miniboss: Pirate Marauder, Nef Juggernaut

While stylistically different, they don’t differ much from how they shoot/do damage at you. It would have been great if they did some things different from one another. Some really simple fixes;

While I think giving shields to pirates makes little sense, it is some variety at least. Expand on that. Maybe make the Goon Rusher actually rush towards you faster than the others, or make the Nefarious Slugger can do 360 attacks or have more range since it’s a) a robot, and b) basically has the Scorpion Flail for arms. 

Make the Vroom Goons try to ram you instead of just having to avoid the taser things it shoots cuz that’s the exact same thing that the Nefarious Sniperbot does since all you need to do to avoid both attacks is sidestepping it.

Make the Pirate Corsair shoot high damage while the standard Goon does horizontal strafing rapid fire compared to the Nef Trooper’s vertical one

Make the Zoom Goons dodge your attacks, maybe give it a ground pound that opens it up to attack so it's at least somewhat different from the Nef Peacekeeper other than being a slightly squishier variant.

For a game so pretty it is bizarre they couldn’t put more effort into gameplay itself. The repeating minibosses get stale very quickly since once you’ve figured out a tactic that worked, it is rinse and repeat across the whole game.

Two Protagonists, Same Shtick

The gameplay doesn’t differentiate itself between Ratchet and Rivet. They play the exact same way, with the exact same arsenal, and the exact same progression. What is the point of having separate playable protagonists if they’re just gonna end up the same? You could replace Rivet with Ratchet and vice versa for 90% of the game and nothing would change. It would be something if they had separate weapons or separate movement gimmicks that make them distinct, but we didn’t get that for some reason.

Character Issues

The character writing is just abysmal, even when compared to the Future trilogy. While the Future trilogy (and by extension A4O, FFA and ItN) had plenty, and I mean plenty, of plotholes from a worldbuilding standpoint, the character writing was solid and fairly consistent. I cannot say the same for RA. Some examples;

Ratchet(?) & Clank(?)

I can hardly recognise Ratchet as the same character we had over the PS2 and PS3 instalments. He feels more like the 2016 reboot version just haphazardly retconned as the ItN version that RA was supposedly a continuation of. Being afraid of being a washed-up hero was Qwark’s thing, not Ratchet’s. Why would he even care? The man was downright tired of being a hero come ItN. And why is he even worried about meeting the Lombaxes? He saved Polaris multiple times and beat Tachyon, y’know, the reason why they left in the first place? The reason he gave up searching for the Lombaxes was because he had more going on with Talwyn and was assured the Lombaxes would do just fine without him. Why the sudden change of reason? What, is acknowledging Talwyn one too many female characters for Insomniac?

And why would Clank, despite knowing Ratchet not wanting to pursue the Lombaxes, go out of his way to make a whole ass parade about the Dimensionator? If he was just trying to cheer Ratchet up from his fear of being a washed-up hero (which, again, made no sense for his character) he would have just done the parade and given him the Dimensionator in private. The entire premise of Rift Apart hinges on the fact that Clank decides to give Ratchet what can be considered as a WMD since the Lombaxes used the Dimensionator to get rid of the Cragmites in an open public setting. Had he not done this, had he not told Qwark he wanted to surprise Ratchet, Nefarious probably wouldn’t have found out about the new Dimensionator, and the entire game wouldn’t have happened.

Another gripe I have with how Clank was handled was that his Zoni heritage was conveniently forgotten about. They could have tied the Zoni more deeply into the mysticism of the RaC universe and be the reason why he was able to fix the dimensional anomalies, but instead it was tied to Gary and... the Lombaxes. Huh.

Rivet, or as I like to call her, “Furbait”

There is so much missed potential with Rivet. Where to start? Instead of a grizzled, closed-off survivor of a robot dystopia, we just get miss middle-of-the-road, clearly made for pandering, furbait. Design wise, she would have been perfectly serviceable had this NOT been a robot dystopia. The only physical giveaway to show that she was a survivor/rebel fighter was her arm. It is the only thing that shows she’s a rebel fighter survivor. Her suit is well made, her eyelashes are on fleek, her hair is silky smooth, her tail is all fluffy and clean. Nothing about her says she was a survivor. No scars, no dirt, nothing other than the obvious robot arm. It is lazy. Lazy and stupid.

Her personality doesn’t make sense for the universe she supposedly inhabits either. Heck, no one in this franchise fits well in this robot dystopia, tbh. She distrusts robots due to past experience, yet  is chummy with both Clank and Kit (and by some extension, the Zurkons & Pierre) relatively quickly. For someone who should have gone through a lot of adversity, she hardly acts like it. She’s confident, has a lot of friends, and whatever negative aspect she does have (which is just distrust instead of the obvious robot racist she should have been) that would have given her an opportunity to grow as a character is watered down and conveniently forgotten, so she hardly grows as a character, if any.

Ultimately, Rivet boils down to being “What if Ratchet, but a girl?”. There’s work put into trying to make her her own thing, but there’s also the narrative yanking her by the collar to be Ratchet’s other self. She’s the last Lombax in her dimension, she also wonders where the Lombaxes went, and she’s trying to be a hero. At that point, how is she any different than Ratchet? They don’t even differ much personality wise for a version of Ratchet who never met her Clank, so to speak. One would think she would be the spunky RaC1 Ratchet since it was meeting Clank that got Ratchet to grow as a person. Instead she’s just your lovely neighbourhood Rivet, friend to all except robots except the ones she meets I guess. What is the point of having two main characters if they are just gonna end up the same?

Kit

While arguably the better other of the new duo, she has issues as well in the writing department. She had the most growth out of our titular cast, however how she got there is ramshackled at best. 

In comparison to Clank, he was a defective warbot, which made sense why he was small. Kit on the other hand was tailor made by the supposedly competent Emperor Nefarious, so why does she have a cutesy mode? Why does she even have a character crisis from hurting Rivet, for that matter? Stopping rebels was what she was designed to do, and she suddenly gained a conscience from doing her job? If Kit is so effective at what she did, why did Emp Nef stop at making just one of her? Shouldn’t there be multiple Kit models roaming about? She could mow down hordes of newer Nefarious Troopers and Juggernauts, so why didn’t Emp Nef expand on that?

These inconsistencies make Kit as a character start falling apart as soon as you give it more scrutiny than a surface level glance. The writers could have easily solved these issues by just alluding that she might have been an outdated model, or was damaged and abandoned on Savali where Gary and the monks fixed her up and gave her a new purpose — protecting the Archives. Instead of an exterminator, she became a guardian. They could have taught her how to be more “human” as it were, too,  which would tie up nicely to why she regrets her actions in her previous line of work. Instead, they went with the “Oh no, what have I done, I did my job and injured a trespasser, now I’m gonna be a recluse on Savali” route.

She doesn’t gel well with Rivet either because the only one actively having something to overcome was Kit. Had Rivet been written better (having to overcome her prejudices, letting go of her past trauma, solving her trust issues) it could work with Kit growing out of her self doubt and regrets, but it just isn’t there. Plus, there weren't enough scenes of them together to build towards that conflict resolution that would make their friendship more believable. She has more of a relationship with Ratchet than Rivet.

“EmPeRoR” Nefarious

He is boring. Simple as. There is no driving motivation to him other than “conquer everything”. We could have gotten an Ultron (which would make a perfectly sensible callback to the Biobliterator shtick our Nef pulled from UYA) but we just end up with a sassy English bastard with the personality of wet bread. There was no fun interplay between him and our Neffy, anything to make both their personalities shine as they work together or grind against each other, it just sucks.

The Plot(holes)

Imma just list it down.

How does a helmet clearly designed to fit a Lombax head is supposedly “one size fits all”?

How did the fish kid Rivet saved in the intro made it around Nef City in the first place if this was supposedly a robot dystopia that eradicated all squishies? What, was he just having a stroll, taking some fresh dystopian air? Could have made it that this was a fellow rebel she was tasked to save cuz he had some intel that he swiped and Rivet decided to use herself as bait to draw attention away from him so he could get the intel out of there, but no.

On that matter, why do planets like Savali and Torren IV still have organic inhabitants?

What was Skidd trying to achieve by hacking the propaganda blimp? This served no purpose at all narratively since it didn't even turn any robots against the Neffies.

Why was Skidd even in Nef City, for that matter? What was his original mission that he was going undercover for? Busting Rivet out of prison? Couldn’t be, since he made no mention of it.

Why did none of Emp Nef's cronies question our Nef just popping in despite looking clearly different? He’s a whole head shorter and the wrong colour. What, do they not have colour vision?

How did Emp Nef know about the existence of the dimensional map? He barely knew about the Dimensionator so how does that make sense?

If Ratchet already has hoverboots, why couldn’t he dash/sprint with it until he gets to Savali?

Where and when did Rivet get a rift tether?

Where and when did Rivet get a pair of hoverboots?

Wasn’t the Space Pirates/Decadroids designed by Tachyon? Why do they exist in this dimension? Why aren’t they allied with Emp Nef since they too are robots? None of this is explained.

Where did the Lombaxes of Rivet’s dimension disappear to? Did they have a Tachyon-like threat in this dimension too? Did Emp Nef wipe them out? Don’t know, and the game doesn’t bother explaining it cuz Rivet is supposed to be girl Ratchet and nothing beyond that.

Why would Emperor Nefarious announce for the whole galaxy to see where he was going during the finale? Did he lose that much intelligence in the short timeframe we’ve known him? This is the guy who conquered the galaxy?

Why would he leave a portal for our protagonists to conveniently follow him through? 

Where did that telekinetic abilities of him suddenly disappear to?

Where was this dimension’s Lawrence counterpart? That stupid little secretary is so dumb as to not recognise her own boss she couldn’t possibly be the Lawrence replacement.

Environmental Storytelling & Worldbuilding

Environmental storytelling & worldbuilding has never really been Insomniac’s strong suit. RA is pretty and all, but aside from Blizar Prime, none of the other locales did anything different from Ratchet’s dimension. If this was supposed to be a galaxy where Emp Nef has conquered it all, you would think that there’d be more neon, more cyberpunk, more Emp Nef aesthetic, more robots flying about. Instead, we just got the same thing we had from Ratchet’s dimension, just in prettier graphics. It is set dressing with no story to tell. It's a puddle pretending it was an ocean. While I appreciate seeing the graphical glow up the locations got, it’s a missed opportunity to actually show the impact Emp Nef had. 

Take Nefarious City for example;

How was Ratchet able to move around Nef City without raising alarms? This negates the entire point of Rivet needing a robot disguise in the first place.

Why does a static statue in the middle of a city have a terminal that activates a platform that leads to Emp Nef's office in the first place?

On that note, why is an EMPEROR working from an office? Where’s the throne? The grand palace and palisades? The royal guards? If he’s an authoritarian that likes to take control, where’s the giant screen with a hundred monitors that watch every inch of Nef City?

Why does Emp Nef have a tiny four seater shuttle? If he needed to commute planet-side, wouldn’t he have something more posh? More grand? A Rolls Royce of shuttles instead of what can be considered a slightly pricier but still shitty Tesla model? They could have made Ratchet or Rivet have to steal a fighter jet and that would make infinitely more sense than what we got.

The same can be said with the inhabitants of this universe. They only exist to serve as plot devices or to point the protagonists to the next goal rather than actual people. There is no culture, no differing beliefs, nothing to tell you about what they are about or what they do. If all they exist to do is to be exposition devices/mission pointers, what was the point of even making distinct characters? Then again, the Future trilogy suffered the same problem with environmental characters being practically stand-in cardboards so points for consistency, I guess.

Verdict

Essentially, Rift Apart is a creatively bankrupt, designed-by-committee tech demo for Sony Playstation. What used to be a franchise that does satirical commentary on capitalism that later tried to delve into narrative/character driven sci-fi story, has ended up being the most capitalistic-designed entry imaginable. Which is unfortunate because I want to like this game. God, do I want to like it.

Did I enjoy playing it? When it works and doesn't crash on me, sure.

Do I like it enough as an entry to the franchise though? No, no I don't. The gameplay hardly expanded on the RaC formula, and the narrative just killed it for me.

But of course, that's just me. If you enjoyed RA, more power to ya. If you told me to play it again, I'll probably do it. It's just not for me for the long run.

[neoarchipelago]

tw for rape and sorta mentions of suicide (just basically saying kys in context ) for those very sensitive or triggered by these!!

but like i went through all the posts i could find and they never said anything bad about non con or dubcon she said rape fics were bad- and the point of her being a “hypocrite” for writing dubcon confuses me as why would someone who didnt support that stuff write it? it doesn’t make sense to me. i understand not liking her point on the kys bit but you guys got really hung up on it and completely missed the point of it about literal rape being romanticized and used as a fetish, not noncon and the likes used as a coping mechanism. it breaks my heart to see especially from people i supported and enjoyed a lot and got me into this community supporting rape. ive dealt with lots of sexual assults and have been raped myself a few times starting from a young age and let me tell you, its horrible. me and my boyfriend do get quite rough at times and do indulge in things like noncon- something that is used to cope and can help- and it is so much different than actually being raped. if you like it rough and dirty trust me girl i completely get it but actually being raped is the most demeaning, violating, and live devastating things that can happen- not to mention the other physical side affects of it. not trying to spread hate, maybe i should be for supporting it, but im more just sad? like seeing a community im so into and my biggest comfort character ( who also has dealt with rape) supporting and defending it all just feels like a betrayal and so debilitating. so many of my safe spaces have been ruined in a physical and metaphysical sense and it just reminds me of the sa when i was a teenager and other boys on my team (i was raped and abused by multiple wrestlers as i was the only girl in the sport in a very large state wide tournament hosted by my school) joking about it and making it not serious not taking me serious and sexualizing the whole situation and thinking i was lucky for a chick. just sickening and heartbreaking to see and the worst throwback thursday ever.

Hi love. First of all, I'm truly sorry of what happened to you. No one should ever have to go through that and you are truly amazingly strong.

Thank you for sharing your point through respect and calm.

I'd like to throw you back to this essay that explains my point of view here. Of course, it's understandable if you don't accept it. I'm not here to convince anyone on this. This is sharing a point of view.

Here, hoping that you fully understand.

This will however be the last time I'll debate on this subject, further comment or anons will simply get a copy paste.

THIS CONTAINS SA , SH AND SEXUAL CONTENT, BE CAREFUL

I- dub-con, non-con and CNC kink in fiction.

A- the place of these themes in fiction and how it separated from reality.

I think the line has to be drawn. A line people seem to forget too easily. Obviously, rape is a horrible thing. This fact has never been refuted in any fics or novels or books. No writer will ever tell you, ‘rape is awesome and soooo romantic’.

Fiction is absolutely fiction. We are aware of it. There's a big difference. This obviously something readers choose to read being aware of fiction. Being aware that the real thing is horrible. Warnings and tags are always there to avoid readers unaware of it.

B- the differences with other themes

One thing I've been asked is what kind of difference writing rape is from writing dub-con or even pedophilia?

On dub-con, the line is blurred. Softer, protagonist may be in a path where the sexual action is wanted but blocked by the mind or pushed to it by the other protagonist, forcing their own need to give in. It is still seen as rape as consent is not fully given. There's not much difference from non-con. Writers usually use this tag to avoid any triggers to people.

For pedophilia, let's see this in a more details. I think we can all agree that all these themes, dub-con, CNC, non con, always involve adults. Whatever it is the kink, or in stories, it’s adults. Adults who are aware of what sex is and what this kink it. Children should never be near any of those themes. It's not about kinks anymore, children don't have kinks.

II- the reality of voicing your opinion on internet

A- SA victims and SH victims, sexual shame

Now there's something we need to talk about. Writing theses themes are used by many as a coming mechanism. SA victims may often use these writings to help the aftermath of these events in their own life.

In the kink itself it's something that obviously causes a lot of shame towards people who are not part of it. But many things need to be said. It's a need for a control of a situation that is dangerous and traumatizing. It's a sign of truth with your partner. Fiction is a way to live that fantasy in full safety as they are clearly aware of the truth of that situation in real life.

Now the thing that has started this whole conversation was the ‘don’t forget to tell rape kink writers to off themselves’.

It is not a small detail. Not at all!

This is where fiction is separated from reality. You are telling a real person to commit a real act that could lead to fatal consequences.

Obviously I think we’re all aware that many people on this website suffer from depression, self harm tendencies and bullying. I do too. Your words matter. Trust me. We’ve seen it with Inquisitor’s death while a live TikTok.

Many other tiktokers who had helped not only spread rumors but bully the creator only realized their mistake once he killed himself.

This is a no turn back situation.

Do you think you have the guts to wake up in the morning, knowing someone killed themselves because they wrote something you were against? That you are the reason they died? Their families are grieving?

You can find an article on the CNC kink here:

-https://www.choosingtherapy.com/consensual-non-consent/

B- respect even through anger

We have established one thing. The internet is a wild, free universe. Anyone can say or write or post whatever they want.

You are free to voice out your opinion, anger amongst these binary and servers. But one thing that is not ok is the way you say it.

A point doesn't need to be full of hate or threats to be said. Especially when serious consequences could be blown by it.

Everyone has their opinion, things they don't like. You are free to avoid tags, not read, block people. Protect yourself first. But attacking isn't protecting yourself. You’re simply causing another kind of harm.

People need to own up to their words and actions.

If you tell someone to kill themselves, it's horrible. It's an actual crime. A full crime.

-

[raw-law]

rahhhhhhhgghhgg ive been less active since the servers creation bc now i just talk to you directly more often. but, i still like to send asks because its fun. its like mail, i send a little message, you guyz read it. then i get a notification with a reply like a day or so later and its so thrilling to me. i love mail so much. i love buying thingz online and then getting a little treat in the mail. it makes me lowkey ecstatic! i actually just bought an mcr shirt because they released merch for the 20th anniversary of their sophomore album, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. i'll forget i ordered it and then in a few weeks, a little treat for moi!!!! j'adore les petits cadeaux pour moi!!!!

what is your opinion on the shift from sending letters to just calling or texting people instead? do you think instant forms of communication are a betterment for society or do they ruin the fun?

-🦌

Light:

Good to see you again, Deer Anon!

And I'm glad you like sending asks; I like reading them as well, even though sometimes I mightn't have time to answer. It's good you got a little treat for yourself, you deserve it.

Anyways, to answer your question.

I think instant forms of communication is wonderful. Without it, after all, we wouldn't have the chance to be running this blog, and I wouldn't be able to meet Ryuzaki. It's also convenient when people want to get in touch with us, and without it, we wouldn't be so developed and safe.

However, it is rather regretful that not a lot of people write letters any longer because of this. Letters are a sincere, heartfelt form of communication, and in my opinion, so much more worth treasuring than messages on a phone screen. Through a handwritten, decorated letter, you can find out so much more about the letter's writer, and I find that a very beautiful thing. I still write letters to my ex-teachers, though not as often as I used to when I was a kid and not yet with a phone. And that's a little sad.

Honestly, both have their pros and cons. But my view is that, at the same time when texting friends and calling family, we could write a simple letter to them, asking about their day, and maybe draw little doodles on it. I'm sure that'll make their day, and maybe also the days after that. :]

Thanks for the question, Deer Anon. I loved answering this one.

L:

ahh... i had a feeling that might happen with the addition of a discord server.. eh, what can you do. the server's fun anyways.

but i am glad you enjoy the asks so much. i'm also glad there's people who still have an appreciation for mail in general. i too quite enjoy the simple act of getting a box i've forgotten about and tearing it open, though it is a little ironic considering i'm not really fond of physical gifts, unless they're practical or edible. i just like the unboxing bit. i hope you have fun opening up that mcr shirt of yours. it certainly sounds special. rock on, you hopelessly reactive romantic.

as for my opinion on instant communication... it's all rather conflicting..

i appreciate the advancement of technology. it's played a large part in improving our daily lives, and like light has said, it's given me the opportunity to meet him, along with other people close to me and the askers on this blog.

... but it all feels a bit much to me, at times.

people having the capability to simply.. question me whenever they please feels too weirdly personal.. i know it's irrational, but i just don't like it. i don't like that pressure. nor do i like the way the formatting of words has changed because of it. it's just not something for me. i'm only really alright with it when it comes to people i consider special, but even then i feel like i'd enjoy it more if we communicated through things like letters or even emails. have you seen Simon VS. The Homo Sapiens Agenda? it's a favorite of mine. sometimes i catch myself yearning to be somebody's blue. it really is irrational..

thank you for the ask, it was a pleasure to ponder. always fun to see the tidbits you share. :)

[winderlylandchime]

Hello!! I love how we are all hoping that Jordan brings back the podcast, i need those two besties back so badly. I feel like they have so much stuff they could talk about especially now with the strikes, it’d be fun to hear their take on it. I am honestly not ready for him to find out how the filming and the aftermath of the show was on Gale and Randy. I know he’s gonna lose his shit to find out how some people were towards them (especially since his idea of Gale in his head is obviously different and in his mind Gale and Randy are bffs like how he is with his friends.) but also i think he will be shocked to find out they both kind of stepped back from the show and had certain issues with it. He did storm in my room randomly today and went ‘IS THAT WHY THERE WAS LESS SEX STUFF?!’ Which btw it was 10 am when he did that, I barely knew i was awake. Basically he was up almost all night thinking about the finale and the podcast (he is once again that conspiracy meme) and he realized in later seasons there’s less sex scenes and now he is distraught that maybe it’s because Randy was uncomfortable. He was having an entire crisis over it. While I don’t know what all i will show him/what he’ll see on his own (i wanna show him bts content and like obviously anything else i can find) but i will be keeping con videos/posts FAR away from him because some of those are the worst things ive ever seen in my life, no offense to anyone. I will say, If you or anyone has any ideas what else I should show him, let me know because he has been losing his mind begging me to let him listen to more of the podcast.

As for our mom, i swear that woman is actually pretty chaotic herself but unlike my brother she hides it better. Both of our parents are insane but for some reason only he doesn’t even make an effort to hide it. She did get a long email sent to her by my brother because she was ignoring his calls and he wanted to talk about s4 finale. It was titled ‘IMPORTANT! NOTHING TO DO WITH THE SHOW’ and then it was almost a short novel about the show.. He wanted to hear her thoughts since he is still undecided about Justin not saying yes to moving in. And he wrote a little bit about the podcast and he also asked her if she thinks Randy would like him if they met (clearly he is feeling a certain way about this) which caused a different crisis, a much bigger one: would Gale like him if they met. That crisis lasted almost 2 hours btw. Anyway as a reply to the email she just forwarded it to our dad who forwarded it back to me to tell me to ‘change the wifi password.’ And then I immediately got a call from my mom about the podcast asking me if it’s about the show and how he already has enough weird hobbies and why can’t I get him into something normal like a pottery group or painting group or something with normal people around. And then I heard in the background our uncle who went ‘after all the stories about him talking to DOCTORS, you want to unleash him on a person who is not medically trained?’ So he is now being encouraged to stay home and watch tv. Also: he is currently talking to his best friend about the finale, while writing down mind maps and lists of what he thinks season 5 will be. He’s having a bit of issues with it because the LA offer apparently fucked quite a lot of things up for him so his original list no longer makes sense. He is also talking to him at the same time (he’s jumping from topic to topic) about Gale and how shocked he was that Randy didn’t enjoy the qaf fame. I don’t know how this became my life. More importantly I would just like to say: i cannot wait for your new fic! I mean your last fic got us here so I can’t wait to see what happens next. But also bearded Brian>>

The podcast talking about the strikes would be amazing! I was hoping we would get a Barbie movie episode but alas. I really want to hear the besties talk about Greta Gerwig.

I have never seen the con clips and I’m grateful. I have too much secondhand embarrassment to sit through that boundary-crossing behavior and invasive questions.

I LOVE that your parents were like ��change the wifi password” and uncle was like “unleash him into the world?” and they responded “jk never mind.”

I personally think Gale and Randy are still friends but we would never know with the one proof of life per year Gale gives us and Randy being tightlipped about his time on the show.

Wait until your brother realizes that one of Randy’s partner’s is named Justin (or is that the kid? either way there’s a Justin!)

I am dreading his reaction to S5 but we all watched it so he must as well…

And, yes, bearded Brian >>>

BUT I saw your request at the top - folks let’s start to pull together a post-S5 education for all necessary BTS for Brother Anon to fully understand QAF! In box me or comment on this post.

[figula]

had a weird wig sale day yesterday. i did make £400 so i truly cant complain but i felt like the ugliest wig was the most beloved + i was very confused bc my favourite ones got literally zero love... ill post the wigs at the end of the post + you can all tell me which wig is the ugliest one. and i'll tell you if you're right

i emailed a UK doll convention too to see if they have any vendor spacecs bc i think a cash injection a few times a year would be really good (altho i have never done cons before so fuck knows how this is gonna go). ben offered to come along + help out as well and he's actually done that for ana too so i'll allow it

benno fucked me like a champ this weekend - he's so good! im so lucky!!!! in related news though the huge pink vibrator (long term followers may remember when i bought it + did not check the specs beforehand) i think may be broken lol hmm (it only vibrates if you hold it at specific angles... lol)... hmmm

site is late paying me again. fucking !!!!!!!

i am feeling quite worried about work (see point no.1) but im in contact with a nice alpaca woman who is willing to sell me her champion alpaca fleece for £240 for 4kg. (reminder that i bought 3kg for £70 last week) honestly i probably will buy it even tho that's a lot of fucking money - £60 per kilo is more than ive ever spoent on alpaca - the prev most expensive was 50 - bc it's 15/16 inches lon which is a very very rare length, and i can charge more accordingly. the profit margin is still staggering to be honest so i shouldn't really fuss too much

honestly i wouldnt be so worried about money if we weren't getting married in 3 months bc we still have a shit ton to pay for. HOWEVER my parents have been consistent about saying they will pay for whatever is asked, so i think possibly my worrying is unnecessary, but ana is suspicious that they're gonna pull out of this offer @ the last minute. i actually dont think this is likely (ben doesnt either) bc they've always actually been hugely financially generous (if emotionally devastating) like they paid for everything (rent/food/literally everything) when i was in uni, never asked me for rent when i moved back home, my dad pretended not to notice me buying groceries on his debit card for years - like i really dont think ana is right on this one. but until i actually have the money in my hands i will be nervous. they have a fair reason for not sending me money also - my granddad's will money hasn't cleared yet + they're just waiting for that these are the wigs anyway

the only colourway anyone gave a shit about was the red/black omg i was so shaken bc i think it's hideous + really unsubtle and i only made it bc i thought it would be popular. which to be fair it was but i think it's vile. that blonde ombre is basically perfect, a really really pretty blend with no colour where it shouldnt be, and NO ONE CARED!!! ETA: shortly a fter publishing this post someone did enquire about the blonde one. thank you that's better

[godsoopsiewoopsie]

I was talking with my mum about this earlier but owning a cactus as a notorious plant killer™️ is fucking great. Idk how I got so lucky with such a resilient cactus haha. I’ve repotted it since I’ve had it thus, I lost the tag that said what TYPE of cactus it is.

Anyways, here’s some pros and cons I’ve found from owning a cactus for a year:

Pros:

I have 4 cats. My cats have a tendency to go after my mums plants and just chew on them (dw, we go out of our way to make sure the plants we have aren’t super deadly to the cats) BUT because it’s a cactus, and it’s got a billion spikes all over it, the cats leave it alone. Every now and then I’ll find one of my cats like rubbing her face on it because she likes the scratches; but I try not to let her do this because I’m worried she could get hurt

This is a thing i do a lot, is forgetting to water my plants. This obviously isn’t an issue with my cactus. I think typically you’re ‘supposed’ to water it once every 2 weeks; but in all honesty, I forgot to water it for like 3 months at one point; and the cactus was completely fine. The spines turned a little brown but other than that, it’s completely fine.

I live in quite a chaotic house hold, and there was this one time for like a few weeks, the cactus was just on the table for a little bit. My family has this weird thing where the kitchen table is just extra counter space apparently. So the kitchen table is usually covered with a bunch of random bull shit, which isn’t really an issue because we usually all eat in the living room anyways. ANYWAYS, the cactus was stuck on the table and at one point it was kind of just laying on its side for a little bit. Y’know what this bastard starts doing??? Growing side ways‼️My cactus was stuck horizontally for like a week and this bitch was like “oh well, ‘up’ is a social construct i guess” and started trying to grow sideways. (i’ve repotted him since then and he’s doing well aside from being a bit wonky)

I never realized just how resilient cacti were until I got one. They’re very neat. I understand that they’re desert plants and that alone is quite a harsh environment, but I still think it’s cool.

Anyhow, onto the cons:

A million spines.

It’s hard to move it around sometimes without it getting stuck to my clothes or stabbing my skin.

^Ive found a good way around this though is that I wear these really long fake nails, a majority of the time, these nails are longer than the spikes on the cactus are. If im moving the cactus I’ll have one hand on the bottom of the pot and my fingernails hold the top of it steady. Very convenient👌🏻. The only reason this is listed as a ‘con’ is because I know a majority of people dont wear nails like I do.

The only cons I can really think of off the top of my head have to do with the spines on the cactus. This thing is CONSTANTLY getting stuck to my clothes or even hooked INTO my skin. They’re very small hooks though, so they don’t go that deep, but it still hurts a bit.

Anyways, that concludes my cactus yapping session. If you’re a notorious plants killer™️ I do recommend getting a cactus. They’re very cool and very neat.

Here’s my cactus is anyone’s wondering teehee

There’s a spot on the top of him that looks like someone took a bite of him, he’s fine, he has not been chomped. That’s actually from when he was sitting on his side for like a week or so and started growing weird. The dimple on the top of the cactus is supposed to be the ‘top’

anyways buh byeee

[munimunni]

may dump wahoo::

wow looking back at these pics made me realize that quite a lot of stuff actually happened during may. The first week was finals and boy was that hell. i got sick right at the tail end of it and it fucked over my schedule coz i couldnt get anything done. i had to mega cram my english essays and pulled an all noghter for it. it was due on a saturday and i luckily made it. and then i proceeded to haul my ass to me best friend's house coz i missed her so much and i really wanted to see her and we were both free on that day. it was like a reward hehe. so yeah i basically hung out qith my best friend running almost 36 hours of no sleep. so worth it. Other than the hangout, my main motivators at the start of the month were black butler and eurovision. watching black butler made me feel nostalgic and had me giggling and jumping and i felt alive and like myself again. unfortunately, eurovision was a shitshow. i got my classmates into it but the timing was awful. we would wake up at 3 am just to watch the event live and man was i so disappointed come semis 2. i didnt even bother watching the finals. the disqualification of joost had me hella depressed for like the next two weeks. luckily we had a 2 week summer break during that time so my friend and i were able to stay up for it (id end up sleeping until 2pm). i also played roblox almost every night with my classmates. we mogged at dress to impress. and then i went to my first small scale anime convention with a few of my classmates. it was so fun and i was so hype and aaaaaaa it was amazing seeing soany cool cosplays. we saw people dressed up as the onceler, sans, and even papa emeritus iv. my fav cosplay there was mayuri from bleach. omg i also bought rukias sword for a pretty cheap price. cop fr. currently working on my cosplay of her for the cons and events this october. so excited!! besides that, i also bought a couple of stickers and keychains for my friends hehe. and then some book club stuff. was pretty fun and i loved hearing everyones input. learned some new perspectives. i also got back into watching animes and movies and reading manhwas and regular novels. i feel like myself again (in a sense that im distracting myself again but hey at least im not drowning in my depression). these things are somewhat keeping me sane and alive. i feel fine. i feel good and happy (at least on most days).

[ourfag]

*cracks knuckles* well,

ed’s obviously something of a legend as a crewrunner, capable enough at sleight of hand and cultivates a very deliberate image of his capacity as a hitter even though it’s not his favorite role—ive got a post from maybe last month somewhere noodling around with his relationship to the grift (i imagine him having an issue with acting similar to sophie’s, but in the opposite direction: he can’t do it unless he feels like there’s an element of fundamental truth-telling involved about himself, so his ability to play roles designed for the mark to feel negatively towards becomes diminished as he unlearns his self-hatred)

he’s a pro with the technical side of b&e but struggles with justifying his right to be there if he gets caught out. this also develops with time as he becomes increasingly confident in his right to be, more generally.

stede doesn’t know how to do a character that isn’t over-the-top. he’s a very good grifter if over-the-top is what the con needs, but his utility more commonly lies in his insights on how a rich mark will operate, the bureaucracy, the social conventions, white collar culture etc etc. harry wilson stuff.

he doesn’t have the physical tactical prowess to be a career hitter, but he also doesn’t go down very easy. surprisingly good at sleight of hand, especially after instruction from ed, but not particularly stealthy. would get stuck in a vent shaft. NOT A GOOD HACKER.

lucius has a lot of thief-adjacent skills but altogether dislikes solo field work. he’d especially like to be as far away as possible from jobs where a hitter is even necessary. his strategy for escaping difficult situations is to simply not find himself in them in the first place but, on the occasion he does, he actually thinks pretty well on his feet. he just hates having to do it.

pete is a plant. pete is the guy who wins the streetside shell game lucius is running to show onlookers it’s totally possible and they all totally have a shot at the money. i think both he and lucius could excel at the kind of online credibility generation and trend manipulation that breanna and hardison do, or at least the creative aspect. i don’t think pete is good with computers. i think lucius is good with computers but doesn’t draw attention to it, because being underestimated has put him at certain advantages before, but also because staring at a screen all the time gives him migraines.

ive previously considered using computer programming as a modern-day analogue to the literacy gap among crew members, and im still keeping that in my back pocket, but im starting to reconsider its use here, bc i think frenchie would be so so great with digital scams. quite frankly i dont know enough about computers to elaborate on the rest of it but he strikes me as the kind of person who knows exactly how many brackets he has open at any given time. phishing he’s definitely outstanding at, and more generally he’s very good at knowing how to communicate with a variety of different marks in ways that reliably come across as credible, relatable, authoritative, whatever the situation demands.

one of the rarer skills he has is the ease with which he adapts to whatever team is on hand—he’s very good at working out what a given crew member’s greatest strengths are and coordinating things so they can take as much advantage of those strengths as possible.

he can shimmy through a vent like it’s nothing, but he’s not as stealthy as jim. good at forging signatures, better at forging documents. don’t ask him to pickpocket unless you’ve got a second person whose job is specifically to distract the mark while he does it.

i remember seeing a clip of samba schutte discussing the backstory he’s created for roach, and one of the elements that stuck with me and i think could apply well here is roach going out of his way to learn skills that make him extremely valuable to a crew as a means of self-preservation. this might not mean honing in on particularly indispensable roles as it does in canon, since in leverage you tend to get every given crew member being specialized in something important, but i think when roach catches himself being significantly outmatched in a skill by anyone else, he makes developing his proficiency in that area a priority. so he’s got all kinds of stuff under his belt, safecracking, lifting, cybersecurity, etc, he knows how to lead a mark around, and he throws a pretty decent punch. unarmed combat is a weak point of his, but he’s a lot like parker in that he’s very good at navigating his way from point A to point B regardless of structural or human obstacles as quickly as possible, especially with a taser. tbh i’d really like to see an early-seasons parker interact with him.

jim is similarly difficult to divert, and they do make a good hitter, but they’re a little awkward on the grift. they and olu are a very very effective team because they complement each other’s weak points. olu’s fantastic on the grift, especially when he’s got a good handle on as many contingencies as possible. he’s also great with picking locks and cracking safes, being more inclined to the careful patience they require than jim, for whom patience is a professional skill they must grudgingly maintain. if jim is confronted with a safe and olu’s not with them, they’re gonna grab it and run.

sorry i just realized how fucking long this is getting these are maybe 10% of my thoughts about this none of it really answers your question and i didnt even cover everybody. FUCK

doodle while i watch leverage

[thedarkmistress16]

Do you have any app or mobile game to suggest? QwQ I wanna try playing something new

OOF there's so many mobile games I'm listing so prepare yourself

BATTLE CATS is the shit. Tough levels at points but there is a semblance of progress to be had. They added a lot of events and extra shit so it might be overwhelming for new people. i have no idea tho I barely started playing it again.

I'm a lover of the solitare genres (klondike and spider) but ugh the ads. I really only like them for the virtual customization of the themes that desktop comps dont provide enough of and having something offline to play on the go. ive been getting better at the four suit spider games, tho- i can feel my brain learning. 😁

Bingo games are fun! I don't have any one in particular I like the best, tho. Been a while since I played them.

Tinker Island 1 has great progression and you have the opportunity to collect the paid currency constantly, building up your gem vault. I like the garden minigame more than the actual gameplay XD.

I like Marvel Puzzle Quest for the match-3 gameplay with the marvel aesthetic. I'd recc. to play this one casually because progression is nonexistent with AND without $.

On the topic of match games, Bejeweled is a classic. 😊 I loved the butterfly rescue one back in the day and poker version was fun too- the tension is just MWAH.

Grand Summoners is for some reason spending a lot of money in ads because I'm seeing it everywhere despite having it on the exact device I'm seeing the ads on??? I'm not saying it's a problem it's just odd, lol. Micromanaging gear and teams will implode your brain but there is some strategy to it, even if you try to auto everything. They have crossover events all the time, on top of progression being kinda slow but still possible, and I'm quite happy with unexpectedly pulling a Hatsune Miku and evolving her. 😊

I would recc. trying out Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Links out for a test run to see if the grind is up your alley. Very generous with rarity tickets the last time I played it.

For another simple game, billiards are fun too, and easier to play digitally than in real life, lol. You will be playing against other humans all the time, tho.

Injustice 1 or 2 and Marvel Contest of Champions have their own pros and cons, but both are finger-input fighting/brawl games with IPs so it depends on asthetic and progression i guess? If I had to choose tho, I would say Injustice is more organized in its content than Champions if that makes any sense?

Best Fiends is a cute and neat lil' bubble draw and pop game that has some progression to it, but it's been a while since I played it. Surprising for me that I even like this one since the mascots are cartoony insects.

Color Puzzle is a gradient-building/color-matching puzzle game. I played it during my art class and it made me more aware of how colors react next to each other though it can hurt your eyes.

Visual novel story/chapter games are ones you need to curate yourself to figure out which one you'll want to sit through. Chapters has sexual/explicit stories but a beefy reward system compared to Choices from what I remember, plus community engagement/contests. This likely could have changed now- I haven't checked. Other apps have (slightly) animated characters/establishing shots and some are more customizable in the protagonist and reputation systems (romance or otherwise). They all blended together in my mind like a big soup of colors, but i will tell you that the paid currency choices are never worth it.

(Pixel) Color-by-number games are fun pastimes until they hurt your eyes and drain your device battery.

South Park Phone Destroyer was fun for a bit. Until it wasn't.

Dream Girlfriend is the best Ambition gacha/character simulation game they have, prove me wrong.

side note: have you ever played a mobile game that got deleted? one that was solely a play-to-win that was also fun in general and you were close to maxing out your characters? yeah, it's worse than the pain you feel when you discover your fave fic has been deleted from the internet😢

[kidmachinate]

Diablo IV Early Access Beta Impressions

To start, I will state that Diablo IV seems to be in a good position to hook me again for some time. Maybe not the same time as Diablo II back in the day, but enough to warrant me playing the game with several people who are interested, while making different characters throughout and experimenting with builds.

The Hype:

Diablo IV for me is visually pleasing, which is already a better start than I can say took place with Diablo III. This is much closer for the first two games than III and I’m all for it. The trailers I think undersold how good the game actually looks when playing for this type of game. Environments are well detailed and are a joy to look at. Old school spells and abilities have fresh coats of paint and look visually pleasing. Having spent time mostly with the Sorcerer(ess), I can say while Fire, Cold, and Lightning all look good, Fire is both visually impressive and seems really good in game. Hybrid builds also seem more viable or even encouraged in this. Sticking to just one element perhaps is not the way like seen in Diablo II to be best effective. Perhaps this makes more sense since Diablo III went more towards spell rotations as opposed to spam the one main spell for max damage you mostly see in Diablo II.

While there is only so much more to go off of currently for story, with the way D3 went story wise, I’m okay with things being mostly new story wise for D4. It’s dark and I’m all for it. Lilith seems genuinely terrifying in-game and looks fantastic. The inevitable conflict between her and Inarius, I’m quite excited to learn about how it all plays out and more of how Sanctuary currently is vs the state it was in for D3. While story might not be a main thing for some in this, I’m genuinely curious again for this one.

The skill tree is not as complex as Path of Exile. I’m fine with this. I’m not looking for something that complicated. There’s enough depth to encourage experimentation without having to look up essays about it. It seems easier to manage and I do hope they keep respecing easy to do and/or done cheaply at any given time. Diablo IV controls the same way you’ve known for years. Same tired and true point and click and choose your skills accordingly that you want to use as you get them. Mounts will change this but were not accessible for the beta.

Changes to spells over time are neat. Fire got lots of love here. Fireball, to name an example, costs more mana, but has area of effect damage now as well as damage over time. This makes the raw damage fire spells do feel really good. Kudos to the team for making Hydra viable but one can debate it may be a bit too good currently. Cold has great crowd control options. Lightning is fun to use to see chain lightning pass through mobs for high damage while playing it safe if you combine this with a glass cannon ability, making you even more squishy in favor of more damage. Poking around Rogue seems pretty neat as well and Barbarians got the shaft. Shame for them. Hopefully more levels fix this. The thing with the skills however, is we haven’t seen the Paragon levels board yet. For now, I like it.

Crossplay is fantastic and smooth as hell. I got an invite from a friend on the Xbox and I was able to link up with them instantly. A few disconnects in our session however. I’ve said for a while something of interest that also has crossplay will likely get a good chunk of my time. We shall see how this plays out.

The locations in-game have been fun to explore and given how much time I put in over the weekend, it was important things stayed fresh enough to not bore me. I’m looking forward to doing it again next week. While this is the case, we can start going into my other points. However, to sum up this sections the pros do outweigh the cons.

The Concerns:

I do worry about server capacity. Why? Because it is Activision-Blizzard and they tend to not do well with this throughout many key releases in the past. While the beta issues were mostly non-existent for me after day one (long queue times and disconnects) they are still there and others did experience it. This may just be damn near impossible once it gets closer to the retail release…but one can hope, right?

While I had fun exploring dungeons and such, I do fear replay values may be an issue. Many of the dungeons that weren’t related to the plot are pretty much, get required items or key, unlock center door, fight boss at the end. Boss will have multiple stages in which you get health position recharges. Repeat for any other non-required dungeon. Elden Ring had this issue as well but with loot and skills and such to chase, it because a bit less monotonous. We shall see if this is the same throughout each given main area of the game or not.

Everyone should be concerned about the endgame. It is where Diablo will live or fail. It’s hard to comment on this as we obviously have no way to test it now, but it would be awesome to know about plans for seasonal content, expansions, and for the now, that sweet loot to chase and some varied world bosses. It is safe to assume we will get these along with the world events, but those also feel like you’ve done them all after participating in a few. There’s also statues to collect that give boosts to stats. Here’s hoping you don’t have to run around on a collectathon every season.

The Problems:

Trading is still the way it works in Diablo III. Complex for no reason because they don’t want to implement a proper system to combat cheaters. To my knowledge, Path of Exile does this and their game is free. We need a better trading solution.

Trust is the huge concern/elephant in the room. Activision-Blizzard isn’t going to show its hand early and we only have early access to go off of and leading up to it. Outside of a four day advantage if you get higher versions of the game and a supposed only cosmetic battle pass, not much to go off of. They are doing this so they clearly don’t care as least about this slight advantage so why not just let people keep their gear from the beta. It is far from endgame stuff and you won’t be keeping any of it anyway. So…just let us hold onto it? I’m on the hook for extra money, so I acknowledge I’m part of the problem I’m talking about, but if all I have to worry about are outfits and cost to get a battle pass or not, this would be perfectly fine. We however have Diablo: Immortal fresh on our minds and some of the worst use of games as a service tactics to date. For mounts in particular, I fear overpriced mounts like say Final Fantasy XIV.

Conclusion:

While I have complaints and it even seems like I had to stretch a bit to make them, they are legitimate concerns I have regardless of the fun I had with the beta based on previous news and actions from ActiBlizz. Fun is important and I can overlook some stuff if it doesn’t have any pay to win nonsense injected out of nowhere. The only “advantage” I want to hear of are the ones who are playing the game early, ideally not launching seasons right away, which will mostly negate what advantage even matters to most people who are going to continue to play.

[symphorine]

ok ive thought about this more actually

nancy mastermind still. she's got that competent vibe but also she's the most driven, leading them on a crusade against the rich and powerful, taking charge. in this au theyd be older and the others would be more settled in themselves and able to challenge her when needed, but she'd still have that kind of presence. she tried to be a journalist and she was very good at it, but misogyny got in the way. her best friend barb died two years ago in a fire, and it sent her in a downward spiral, and she's trying to get justice for barb that she can't get because nobody will listen to her. her brother mike is much younger - id say the older teens are around 30, the younger kids around 20. she's got a lot of grief and a lot of anger weighing on her, and the team feels like the first time she can make a real difference, and it's a good thing, but she's fleeing forward and it's gonna catch up to her. she's got an iron grip on herself to avoid getting to rock bottom, which means she's unable to give up control.

steve hitter still also. obvious canon reasons, but also im rewatching leverage and when in the first david job quinn says to eliot "why wont you go /down/" i was like ooooh thatd be a fun one with steve. he kinda quit crime about a year before after a job that left him in bad shape, and has been working as a cook since. he's the fifth recruit, the one nancy finds after the team gets double crossed. he and nancy did date in high school, then broke up bc he was still an ass. when they reunite in the au he's grown and tried to be better, but he's spent the last 12 years or smth deep in the least savory parts of the crime world, so he's jaded and not particularly nice. also i feel like he can grift, just turn on the charm, although it can be hit and miss

robin grifter. im approaching this with: very autistic robin. she's had to learn, consciously, how to read people, how to react, what keeps a conversation going, how and which buttons to press. she's very awkward and genuine when she doesnt put on a persona, but that's not something the team sees for a while because she always puts on a persona, because its not safe otherwise. again, like the others, she's spent many years having to be self reliant, and she doesnt trust easily. she knows many languages and she's got a good ear (and tongue) for accents, and she does enjoy the game of the grift, to an extent, and even more bc she cons rich assholes who don't matter to her. also she knows lots about art! paintings, statues, music, writing, newer digital art, she's interested in it all. she does it kinda for the money, but also for the challenge, and the pieces she steals ends up sold as much as she keeps or donates them.

jonathan thief. in a pretty different way from parker i think, not like, doing acrobatics over lasers as much, but he's good at seeing, waiting, evaluating. he hasnt pulled off that many jobs, but theyve all been clean and well done, and he's known in the crime circles but he's never been caught. he started when his little brother will got sick, and the hospital and doctor bills piled up, and he did it once, just the once, then will got sick again, then his mom's house flooded, then will broke his leg, then... he really sees it as just a job, mostly. joyce doesnt know that he does it; she's never asked, and he's conflicted about that. he and nancy get along rly well because he fully adheres to her objectives, and her drive and fire help him not be as apathetic to things beyond just his family. yeah he's very depressed for a long time here. he doesnt start as the moral compass, but he becomes it very fast and easily, to the point he supersedes nancy in thay particular role.

eddie hacker. i feel he'd have started a little like hardison, turning to computers to erase wayne's medical debt or something, then was baffled by how easy it was, and get sucked in from there. wayne kiiind of knows, but no matter how much eddie tries to convince him to move somewhere nicer, or let him pay all his bills, wayne refuses. so theyve got this situation where eddie makes sure wayne's payments are topped up if needed, but no more, and he spends extravagant amounts on gifts instead, and needles wayne about getting a job thats less hard on him. id imagine he went through smth similar to the witch hunt, only he managed to bolt real fast. in the au he'd bond with dustin bc of a shared love of tech, which tbh is the main draw for me cause i love the kids. he's used to running though, always a foot out the door, because he cant die on wayne and he doesnt trust anyone to have his back.

the kids would know each other through college i guess; ive had thoughts but no concrete plans for them. im a little sad to have decided barb dies, but thats what kickstarts nancy's change in canon and i sort of like that kind of narrative - the person you loved so much, who haunts you still, and you haunt them a little too.

also argyle as the owner of the food joint slash bar slash arcade just under their offices (its not big, he's just crammed a lot in a small space and somehow it's working) who's very good natured about the weird dealing that happen in his establishment sometimes. he totally knows what kind of stuff they do but cheerfully does not acknowledge it at all

no maggie figure and no sterling figure bc i cant rly think of anybody who would fill the role tbh

stranger things leverage au... mastermind nancy hitter steve hacker robin grifter eddie thief chrissy, jonathan as maggie, argyle manager of the pizza place they have their headquarters above, becoming their getaway driver eventually. nancy embarks on a revenge crusade after barb's death (or maybe just coma? if chrissy can live so can barb)

[ghostbergara]

Blue and maybe midnight for one ask game, 🔥 for the other

Have a nice day/good night!

aw thank you, right back at ya!

for 🔥 i think it actually changed quite a lot! so this might be long because im not good at making..words..short? (i dont speak english sdbjk)

I realized I was queer around when i was 12-13, i had always felt.. off? Different? I think in the same way i've heard a lot of other queer people describe. I also grew up in a very small conservative town and we moved when i was 12 so now thinking about it, that change in environment probably allowed me to figure myself out a little bit more. Now 12 might seem young to some people, but i honestly probably should have known sooner i was trans, actually i think i knew, i just didn't have the language. Before i knew my mom had talked a lot about how much will power can accomplice and i thought if i just wanted it hard enough i would wake up a boy (which obviously didn't work so i woke up disappointed every morning). I went as far as to pray??? to god??? i am NOT religious and i never was (which actually got a me in trouble in school a few times but thats another story) asking them to make me a boy (which unsurprisingly also didn't work). I think if i remember correctly i found out about trans-ness mainly from Sam Collins (who is a trans youtuber) which then led me in a spiral of googling and watching everything i could about being trans and how to know if you're trans. I even made a Pros and Cons list of reasons i was and wasn't trans??? (I cant find it anymore but the cons list only had one thing and i cant even remember what it was) Then after some time i sent a video by sam collins where he talks about being trans with his mom, to my dad! He was very supportive until he wasn't and thats also another story. He then told my mom for me and they ended up both being very unsupportive for a very long time.

ANYWAY im getting off track from the question. I didn't have much energy to focus on anything other than staying alive for a very very long time and in turn didnt have the energy to even think much about my identity (i was out as trans and so on). Now in recent years first of all my mom has become very supportive and im doing worlds better and ive finally gotten through the system and gotten hormones and later this year i have my first top surgery consultation. I've figured out my sexuality (or i though i had, i dont know, i like men and maybe more??? Im either gay or bi). Experienced tons of trans and homophobia and most importantly really feel like i've entered the community.

HERES WHERE I ACTUALLY ANSWER THE QUESTION

Now i think i feel more 'free'? Being queer definently makes me feel like i can really be who i want to be, like i'm not defined by stereotypes and stupid cis-straight 'rules' that i dont understand. I'm grateful for the experiences it's brought me, both positive and negative, because it's made me more empathetic and im better dressed for helping and talking with other queer and in some ways even just generally marginalized people. I'm also very aware of the impact i can have as a queer person, both on other queer people and on straight people. I tend to like to wear at least one thing that will mark me as queer in at least other queer peoples eyes because that for them often means safe and not alone. I know from first hand experience how scary it can be to be queer out in the world and if i can bring even the slightest relief to people i will. I certainly feel more at ease when theres other queer people around. When it comes to impact on straight people it's the way i know i can make them understand more and sometimes take the burden off a newly-out queer person by answering some of the questions they have instead of them asking that newly-out person. Of course i have also gotten the "I thought trans people were freaks until i met you, but you're just like normal" which while it sucks at least they hopefully in the future will be more open.

I feel like im more in a way. I have an impact on the world and a possibility to help others like me in a way that is so meaningful and i cherish that.

what colors am i?

LGBTQ+/Queer Themed Asks

[thebookreader12345]

Right the Wrongs

Pairing: Natalie Manning x Best Friend! reader

Summary: Y/N and Natalie have been best friends for years, so when Natalie is in an accident with Will, and something seems off with Phillip, Y/N does everything in her power to fix the present

Requested: Yes, by anonymous

Warnings: slight swearing, mentions of a car accident, blood, and injuries

Word Count: 1,355 Words

Note: Takes place during Chicago Med Season 5 Episode 1, Never Going Back to Normal

"Hey, Y/N," my best friend Natalie greeted me. "Can we talk for a moment?"

"Uh, can it wait? I'm working a double shift tonight so I want to get all of this stuff done. And I'm kind of busy at the moment," I say and hold up a chart. I turned towards Natalie to get her response, but when I saw her face, my heart dropped. "You know what? This can wait. What's up?"

"I might be having a mid life crisis," Natalie told me. "And I'm not really sure what to do."

"All right, well, on a scale of 1-5, how major is the crisis?" I question.

"I think I'm still in love with Will," Natalie confessed.

"Um, Doris, could you go ahead and get the patient in Treatment 1 started on prednisone?" I ask. Doris nodded, and I quickly thanked her before leading Natalie to the empty doctors' lounge. "Okay, you're gonna have to start from the beginning. What do you mean you think you're still in love with Will?"

Natalie shrugged. "I don't know. Don't get me wrong, Phillip is nice and all, but I just recently discovered that Will didn't want to go back into Witness Protection because of me. And yeah, the two of us have had sort of a rocky past, but the time I spent with him... I can't imagine being with anyone else."

"Okay, this is definitely a level 5 crisis," I declare. "What are you gonna do?"

"What do you think I should do?" Natalie countered. I took a seat on the couch and pat the spot next to me, and Natalie sat down. For a second, I didn't say a word because, well, I didn't really know what to say. Finally though, I spoke up.

"Lets make a pros and cons list," I suggest. "So Phillip, for the pros, he's really sweet and handsome, and he cares a lot for his sick daughter. Cons, his wife did just die, and maybe his feelings for you aren't actually real. You did try to help save his dying wife, and you've been working tirelessly to save his daughter, so this could be a case of transference."

Natalie nodded. "Okay. Now what about Will?"

"Well, the obvious pro is that he's really dedicated, especially with his patients. And he's an overall amazing guy. Plus, he's good-looking and has really nice hair," I add, to which Natalie laughed. "Then there are the cons. He's reckless and stubborn and doesn't always tell the truth."

Natalie sighed and leaned back against the couch, rubbing a hand over her face. "So what are you trying to say? You think I should stay with Phillip?"

"Quite the opposite, actually," I admit. "Sure, Phillip's a great guy, but you and Will have a deep history. And everyone in this ED, hell, the whole hospital, knows how much you care for each other. I say you go for Will. But at the end of the day, it's your decision."

"No, I uh, I think you're right. I need to go find Will," Natalie spoke and stood up. "Have you seem him?"

"Well, shift's just ending, and considering his jacket isn't in his locker and neither are his other things, he's heading to his car," I state.

"Well then, I better hurry to catch up with him. Thank you, Y/N," Natalie murmured and hugged me before exiting the lounge.

................................................

"Oh my god! What the hell happened?" I quiz as Will carried Natalie into the ED. Half of Will's face was covered in blood, and Natalie looked like she had a nasty head wound which was leaking a lot of blood.

"Natalie was thrown from the vehicle," Will explained and placed Natalie down onto a bed.

"Crockett!" I shout to get the doctor's attention. "I need some help in here!"

"I'm here," Crockett breathed out and slipped on some gloves. "What have we got?"

"Blunt head trauma and loss of consciousness," Will disclosed.

"I'm putting a collar on her," I announce.

Crockett nodded. "Start an IV and get her on the monitors and a nasal airway."

"Don't forget a chest X-ray," I add as the two of us worked together.

"Elsa, take Will here to Trauma 2," Crockett instructed.

"No. I'm staying with Natalie," Will argued.

"You're a mess, Will, come on," Crockett requested.

"I'm staying!" Will insisted.

"Will, you need to get looked at, and standing there is not going to help Natalie. I will find you when we have an update," I tell him. Will hesitated, but nodded and allowed Elsa to bring him into the next room.

A Few Hours Later...

I was standing at the nurses' station in the ICU doing some charts, but it was getting hard to keep my eyes open. Usually I could get through a double shift with almost no problem, but today, between Natalie's injury and the huge caseload I had, I was tired out. However, an argument from one of the patient rooms woke me up a bit. I rushed towards where the shouting came from and realized that it was coming from Natalie's room, where Will and Phillip were quarrelling. Crockett appeared behind me, but he allowed me to take the lead.

"Hey! You two can't be here. Natalie needs her rest, and we're only allowing family to visit right now. So both of you need to leave," I declare.

"Natalie and I are engaged," Phillip claimed. "So that would make me her family."

"What? Natalie never mentioned you proposing," I retort.

Phillip nodded towards Natalie's unconscious body. "See for yourself." I glanced over at Natalie's hand, and there, sitting on her finger, was an engagement ring.

"Crockett, could you take Will outside?" I ask.

"Sure thing," Crockett replied and led Will out of the room. As they left, I turned to Phillip and crossed my arms over my chest.

"What?" Phillip questioned.

"I didn't see that ring on her finger when she came into the ED, and I definitely would've noticed it. And if it was there, we would have removed it," I share.

Phillip scoffed. "Is this really any of your business?"

"As her doctor and her best friend, yeah, it is," I answer and glance at Phillip one more time before leaving the room. A few hours later, Natalie was finally awake, and as soon as Phillip was nowhere to be found, I entered her room.

"Hey, Nat," I greet her. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," Natalie responded. "But uh, Dr. Marcel, he told me Phillip and I were engaged. I don't-I can't remember him proposing."

"Because I don't think he did," I exclaim. "Natalie, before your accident, you told me that you wanted to be with Will. Do you remember that?"

Natalie thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Yeah. I remember that. You have to help me, Y/n. I need to talk to Will, but if Phillip sees..."

"Don't worry. I've got you," I assure her. "Phillip just went to the cafeteria to eat lunch, so he should be gone for at least 15 minutes. I'll get Will in here so that you guys can talk."

"Thank you," Natalie mumbled. I gave her a small smile and left the room, paging Will to my location. A minute or two later, Will appeared by the nurses' station.

"Hey. I got your page. What's up?" Will quizzed.

"Natalie is awake," I tell him. "But before you go in there, there's something you need to know. Right before the accident, Natalie and I were talking, and she told me that she wanted to get back together with you. Phillip lied about the engagement. He put that ring on her finger when she was unconscious. So just go in there and make everything right. Natalie is my best friend, and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't do everything in my power to make her happy."

"All right. Thank you, Y/n," Will spoke. "For everything."

I smiled. "No problem. Now, go in there and get Natalie back. It's about time the two of you got back together."

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

Tag List:

@prettypyschoinpink @securityfriendly-jay @scarletsoldierrr @lorenakaspersen @virtualreader @carnationworld​ @caitsymichelle13​ @king-crockett @winterberryfox @anotherfan07​ @i-like-sparkly-things​

[toxicbubblegum212]

Maze runner ~ Girl from the Maze ~

There Reactions 

Minho: Well. Honestly form the first minute i saw her i wanted her to be a runner. You can tell that she’s fast, agile, smart and determined. Y/N in that way is very admirable for a girl. Drastically different to Teresa. 

Newt: Y/N is definitely no Greenie, she looks like she has been here just as long as Alby. I could have sworn that they know each other or have at least seen each other before. I still have a lot of questions and i’m not sure if we can entirely trust her yet. Regardless of how beautiful she is, though it is very tempting. 

Thomas: She is shucking amazing, yeah she’s kinda scary in some ways but she tells me these stories about all these places she has been too, the people she’s meet and i just can’t help but adore the way her eyes light up. Her voice is so smooth and those badass skills....i think im falling in love. 

Alby: Ahhh yes Y/N we both came up to the glade at the same time, after Nick died Y/N lost it. She ran into the maze and i never saw her again until now. Sure i’m happy to see her but times have changed, we have rules and i don’t want her to testify against me again. 

Gally: Y/N is the first Greenie that i didn’t actually consider a Greenie. She’s already proven herself smarter than most shuck heads here, thought i believe there is something between her and Alby. Don’t blame him girls quite dangerous. 

Frypan: She honestly scares me. Ok hear me out her intelligence is off the charts, she’s been in the maze for who knows long and is so shucking dangerous even without a weapon. Ive seen her with my own eyes training...

Your time in the glade 

- You were considered very useful during your time in the glade though you missed other folk you had traveled around to. People refer to you as a lifer, you have three main goals. Help the innocent, sick and injured. Assist others in finding a way out of the maze and preserve the cultural history of the glader’s. 

- Due to being a lifer you remember many things from stories, building techniques, medicine and to the in’s and outs of the maze. 

- You came to the Glad looking for Thomas (lol the golden boy) and to find other supporter who wish to find a way out. Or recruit someone to follow your path of being a lifer. 

- Many of the Glader’s enjoyed hearing all your many stories especially chuck. He would ask you about something new every chance he got. 

- You also gave hope to the Glader’s, life became a lot easier and more enjoyable. Many of the glader’s have a deep respect for you and they treat you well. 

- Newt and Alby consider you to be highly valuable so they don’t like the thought of letting you back in to the maze. You refuse to be kept in the Glade, yes you loved it there but there are others out there that miss you and need your assistance. 

Pro’s 

- You can socialise with actual people instead of talking to plants and the maze walls. 

- You get to create more memories

- You got to see Alby again though your not entirely sure if he is pleased. 

- You know your one step closer to finding a way out of the maze.

- Your finally able to actually rest in the safety of a home and eat real good food. 

Con’s 

- The Glader’s wanna keep you in the Glade and out of the maze. 

- They treat you like a rare jewel, they want to keep you close and never let go. 

- You don’t know what Alby has planned for you 

- The boys come a bit to close sometimes

- The Glade reminds you of your original home 

- The Glade also reminds you of your past

- You might never be let out of the Glade again. 

[ofcowardiceandkings]

I think you mentioned listening to podcasts? Do you have any favorites to reccommend? I've run out of content :(

that i do !

im not entirely sure what kind of podcast you'd be interested in but i'll throw out a few of the goodies in my huge library of stuff , i'll miss out a few of the HUGE podcasts that have been all over tumblr though

a LOT of it is true crime or human interest stuff , or history because im nerd ,, and a few of these dont have nearly enough attention so [shrug] i'll try to keep this short i guess lol this isnt EVERYTHING ive got in my library or listened series' by any measure

i AM gonna pop a shout to both Stuff You Missed in History Class and Stuff You Should Know from iHeartRadio because their HUGE archives have kept me from losing my mind many times over , and they cover a wide range of both important and wacky topics

BomBARDed (ongoing) this is the only fiction podcast i have happening right now really but its DAMN GOOD ONE .... it's an actual-play D&D 5E podcast in the DMs own musically-inspired world, focussed on a group of multiclass bards going to music school !! and all players (+DM) are members of the Texas band Lindby !! and they actually use and play music in the show with one original song an episode !! Kyle's worldbuilding and storycraft are truly incredible, and (Nick) Goodrich, (also Nick) Spurrier, and Ali's characters are in depth and interesting as well as an absolute powerhouse :') i actually made a piece for its first fanzine, Bardic Dreaming, which published earlier this year and is free to view now, all the players and the community are super wholesome its just very good overall 💙

History & Humans;

Fall of Civilisations (ongoing) legit one of my favourite podcast finds, im so glad my youtube autoplayed one of these ... it took me like 2 hours to realise it was 1) not the same as what was playing before and 2) had been on for 2 hours and wasnt near finished lmao. anyway, this is a series by historical fiction writer Paul Cooper, and is honest to all thats good one of the best documentary series ive encountered in years - and ive consumed a LOT of documentaries. it covered the downfall of various civilisations through history, and the episodes run from an hour to FOUR hours depending on the topic. its so chill to listen to and just get done, but over the pandemic all of the episodes have been given full movie-quality video versions too on youtube if youre more of a visual person.

Casting Lots: A Survival Cannibalism Podcast (on series break) yeah that says that lol ... its a SUPER niche topic but its very interesting and treated very well despite being kind of comical at times, the hosts are just naturally funny lol ... it delves around from the history of cannibalism in whole regions to specific incidents as recently as the 1970s, and of course the first episode is about the Donner Party, and it covers things ive never heard of despite being kind of important ?? anyway Alix and Carmella are good eggs

Sawbones (ongoing) i probably dont need to mention much here other than say that Justin and Sydnee saved me from being SO BORED sooo often, the history of medicine is wacky as hell and its what most of my history GCSE was on so [shrugs]

Cautionary Tales (on series break) this was a wild-card find lol ... it's by Tim Harford "the undercover economist" who writes for the Financial Times, and its topics kind of weave modern topics and science with how to learn from historical errors ... its a bit weird but well worth a go, also each series has a few celebrity guest voice actors which is pretty awesome

Ephemeral (ongoing) this is a very strange but thought provoking series about sounds and other things just barely saved. topics include the last castrato, the hello girls, hand-stamped records, the spread of kīkā kila music, and acoustic fossils of wild places.

Neat! The Boozecast (ongoing) history and bartending whats not to like lol ... hosted by Teylor Smirl and now their dad Tommy, they're just digging around in how important booze is to human culture

True Crime (white collar and weirdness);

Swindled (ongoing) this is an amazing show full stop. A Concerned Citizen details some of the most impactful and unruly things to happen in white collar and corporate crime. very factually accurate but given the sheer bullshit of the topics the deadpan snarking is [chefs kiss] absolutely warranted ..

American Scandal (on series break) this one is a series within a series type, and spends a few episodes at a time poking holes in some of America's biggest scandals, from a dramatised but fact-based point of view. such as what the hell was going on with Enron, how big tobacco was forced to own up to covering its own ass, how Iran-Contra happened, etc. it also now has a sister show called British Scandal, which does the same thing for British cases but with a slightly different format.

Missing in Alaska (finished) this was a fascinating series, a deep dive into what happened to two US government officials who disappeared on a small chartered flight in Alaska in 1972. it goes some really strange places, but it actually turned up a lot of previously unknown information through the audience. John Walczak's new series in a new feed is Missing on 9/11 which looks into what happened to Dr Sneha Philip.

Pretend (ongoing) Host Javier Leiva holds interviews with anyone living a lie, or who have been touched by them. con artists, snake oil salesmen, former cult members, catfishing victims, anyone and everyone.

Power: The Maxwells (finished) hosted by journalist Tara Palmeri, the story of media tycoon Robert Maxwell from nothing to empire to mysterious death and the scandals uncovered after he was gone.

Lets Talk About Sects (ongoing) Sarah Steele covering cults from around the world, in particular those in Australia - where she is from. She often has former members on the show to share their stories, and share knowledge of how they left. each story has the relevant content warnings at the start of each episode.

Brainwashed (finished) investigation of the CIA's covert mind control experiments, centred on the experiments performed at a hospital in Montreal, and its cultural impact.

Dr Death (2 series finished) two series investigating huge cases of fraud and medical malpractice, and how they were brought to a stop. series 1 covers Dr Duntsch and his horribly butchered neurosurgery, series 2 covers Dr Fata and his fraudulent cancer clinic

The Immaculate Deception (finished) untangling the weird and disturbing fertility fraud of Dr Jan Karbaat, who fathered children himself through his fertility clinic, and the impact of his deception. later episodes also touch on other similar cases.

True Crime (Violent/General);

The Casual Criminalist (ongoing) Simon Whistler of-the-many-youtube-channels cold reads a script about the case of the day, with some of his daft commentary thrown in.

Southern Fried True Crime (ongoing) Crimes from the American South hosted by Erica Kelley, she puts all the facts out there but refreshingly for true crime she doesnt hesitate to tell you if she thinks someone is human garbage lol

They Walk Among Us (ongoing) probably one of the most popular UK crime podcasts, very measured and well put together, not weird or annoying about it either.

All Crime No Cattle (ongoing, feed slowed down for now) specifically about crimes from Texas, hosted by Erin and Shay, they're very sensitive hosts and a lot of the cases they cover shed light on why the Texas criminal system is how it is or show an impact at a national level

Canadian True Crime (ongoing) Canadian crime from an Aussie who's lived there for a decade, Kristi is again a sensitive and measured host covering some important topics

True Crime (Violent/Deep Dive);

Hitman (finished) journalist Jasmyn Morris digs around in the sticky tangle around a book published by fringe publisher Paladin Press, and its apparent use as a blueprint in the killing of a mother, her friend and her 8 year old boy for financial gain.

Camp Hell: Anneewakee (ongoing) this series is exploring how a wilderness camp "correctional facility" was endorsed by the Georgia care and juvenile reform system, despite widespread abuses and shady practices the whole time. warning for csa and child cruelty throughout.

True Crime Bullshit (on series break) this one is a huge huge rabbithole but a very interesting one where the host Josh Hallmark has spent years digging into the life and potential crimes of Israel Keyes. Keyes is often mentioned as a serial killer with no pattern, but in picking it apart thats not quite true, and has sparked some re-evaluations of missing persons cases and stumbling upon information the FBI has redacted organically. there's also a series in the middle looking into the crimes of Kelly Cochran

Forgotten: Women of Juárez (finished) this series looks into the huge numbers of missing women of Ciudad Juárez, the strange circumstances surrounding them, and the potential cover-ups and corruptions on both sides of the border, trying to give a voice to all of the forgotten women and girls and their families without answers. the series itself is finished, but a spanish language edition is being released every week now.

aaaaaand i'll call it there before i list everything lol, i hope you find something to plug your boredom hole with !!