#this is like mad scientist 101

[skippersthecat]

Kuusuke turning around in a spinning chair, petting his robot cat and saying, "I've been expecting you."

[puppiesareperfect]

It’s possible I’m biased as someone who’s working towards an education degree, but I genuinely think Doof’s redemption arc would’ve hit better post-series if they stuck with him being a science teacher. For one I genuinely enjoyed Doof101, it was nice to get a different setting for once. And Perry being his weird little teacher’s assistant who makes sure he doesn’t blow up the place was fun. But also like, one of Doofenshmirtz’s big character traits is being a dad. He is literally good with kids, albeit in a dorky sort of way. But a dorky personality is pretty much expected for science teachers. I could definitely see him getting a reputation as the teacher that’s “a little out there but really fun to have. also gives advice about things like college if you ask—he has some bit about going to evil school but other than that solid advice”

[phoenixblaze1412]

HCs for reader and Dottore who have a child pls? - 🐓

Having a child of his own was a topic that Dottore rarely talks about. He already has his segments of different timelines and ages, why would he need a child when he can create a child segment of himself?

During Pregnancy

Dottore didn't expect for you to waltz into his lab, hug him from behind and suddenly announce that you're pregnant with him going to be a father soon. Even the segments stopped working on their tasks as they stared at you in shock.

You were shocked to see the doctor faint and fell to the floor, the vials he was holding shattered when he dropped it. You were panicking the whole day while the segments reassured you that Dottore will be fine.

The news of your pregnancy eventually reached the ears of the other harbingers. Most of them congratulated you while some, Pantalone mostly, just teased Dottore at how a mad scientist like him could be able to create an infant properly instead of creating it in a lab.

Regrator even gifted him with books like 'Parenting 101', 'How to care for an infant', 'How to be a good father and husband'. Dottore was definitely pissed about it.

The whole pregnancy progress actually went smoothly. With your husband as a doctor and scientist himself, he immediately has a medicine for any pain or cramps that you are feeling.

The only thing Dottore couldn't handle well was your cravings and mood swings.

Sure he experiments on a lot of things, humans and machines for example. But he doesn't experiment on meals. He and his segments could only watch in shock as you eat a Jueyun Chili popsicle. You literally just froze the damn ingredient and stuck a popsicle stick on it.

"Are you sure you're supposed to be eating something spicy while pregnant? I don't think that's good for the baby, love."

"If you don't shut the fuck up, I will stick this up your ass."

He immediately turned and walked away when he saw you bite a large chunk of the food, proving you weren't bluffing. He decided to just let you be, you would come to him later and ask for affection anyways.

Whenever Dottore is busy and can't be by your side, Pantalone is there to be your company at the time. Pantalone would literally spoil you, if you ask him anything you want, he only need to snap his fingers and you immediately get the thing you asked. Dottore didn't liked it though.

"Come now, doctor. She told me you weren't letting her have what she wants most of the time."

"That's because I'm doing it for both her and the baby's health. Besides, she is my wife, Regrator. Go fuck someone and make them pregnant then you'll come to experience what I'm going through."

During Labor

When your time for labor came, Dottore was the one to personally help you deliver the baby. He doesn't trust any other doctors or midwifes. Besides, his segments are also there to assist him.

What he didn't expect though is for you to crack Delta's fingers from gripping too hard. Strangled Gamma when he encouraged and told you how easy it is to just push the baby, when it's not. Even punched Alpha to the gut when he tried to calm you down. Omega and Theta had to hold you down by grabbing each of your arm so you wouldn't hurt anymore segment.

What surprised him even more was when you yelled out curses and threats towards him.

"Just one more push, darling."

"I'm already pushing you fucking cocksucker! If you weren't such a whining bitch, I wouldn't be in much pain! I'll fucking chop your fucking dick off and feed it to the rishboland tigers!"

Dottore could only stand in shock as he held the baby in his hands. He knows he's supposed to be happy since he's holding his child in his arms but your threat made him froze in fear and possibly traumatized.

Epsilon and Sigma gently took the crying infant in his grasp before cutting off the umbilical cord and went to clean the blood off.

In the end, both you and Dottore were tired from the whole event but you two happily held your newborn baby.

Aftermath

Your child was loved by not just the segments, but the entire fatui harbingers as well. Pierro and Pulcinella becoming the grandfathers while the rest of the members are either the aunts or the uncles.

Dottore actually did read the books Pantalone gave him and surprisingly, he's doing great.

Whenever you or Dottore are busy, Dottore would let a segment or two babysit your child. He doesn't trust his fellow harbingers when it comes to taking care of his kid.

One time he let Arlecchino babysit, he came back to see both her and Columbina dressing up your child like it was a doll. It was cute, from what the damselette said, but he prefer his child wearing the same color palette as his.

He is not going to let 'Uncle Childe' babysit. He could already tell that the ginger war freak would try to teach your infant how to hold a weapon at a young age.

You had to convince your husband to not be too overprotective of your child and let the others at least spend a bit of time with 'mini Dottore', Sandrone was the one who gave the nickname.

Your baby's first word was 'Lonnie'. Both you and Dottore had to chase Pantalone around the palace for him being your child's first words instead of Mama or Dada. Luckily their second word was Dada, you were a bit disappointed it wasn't you.

Your child has Dottore's soft, blue, curly hair meanwhile their eye color was the same shade as yours. The only problem was they had the same sharp teeth as your husband. You had to endure all the biting from both your child and husband.

Dottore would be the one who teach your child how to read and learn. He lets you teach them how to write, his own handwriting is barely understandable and he doesn't even have the patience for it.

You have a family picture of you three and another with all the segments placed on your bedside drawer.

There was another time where you and Dottore let the segments take care of your child while you both go out to the city and enjoy dinner together.

You both came back to see your child asleep in Omega's arms while the other segments were trying to wipe away the colorful doodles your child drew on their faces.

Since Dottore is the last one to go to bed due to him wanting to finish his work for the day, he would expect to see you and your child on the bed asleep already.

He would lay down beside you, your child in the comfort of your arms as you both dozed off to sleep. Dottore could only smile and place a kiss on both of your foreheads before wrapping his arms around your figure and pulling you and your child close to him.

[browa123]

TAZMA 101

I think I finally have a solid grip on what I want her backstory to be, so here we go! One infodump and a bunch of doodles coming right up! For context, this AU takes place 5 years after the main canon.

So, yeah! This is Tazma, my Halfa!Maddie AU staring an electric core halfa who can make her own weapons tailored to being used with her powers. I've had her design on the backburner since 2019, but I've been revamping it throughout the year and I'm pretty happy with how it looks now!

Because every Halfa has to have a horror movie trope, Tazma is a mad scientist, torn up lab coat, science goggles and crazy experiments included.

____________________________________

Tazma's Powers:

Basic set for any ghost included: Anti-Gravity, Intangibility and Invisibility Tazma is a Halfa, and her main core element is electricity. This gives her powers similar to Technus; when she gains control over her ghost powers, on top of the main three, she will be able to overshadow any technological device and gain control over it. This also includes: Amplifying the effect and efficiency of any technological device depending on function, turning any scrap parts into other devices cobbled together from spare parts, turning various pieces of technology into weapons / mechs and splitting her consciousness across multiple devices. Tazma can also use electrokenisis and control bolts of lightning and static charges. She mainly uses these powers to upgrade and power up her own weapons arsenal, and has begun developing a personalized set of ghost hunting weaponry that caters to being used in tandem with her powers. Because of this, she rarely ever shoots beams of energy from her hands, prefering to channel and magnify it through her weapons.

Obsession / Purpose:

Like Plasmius' desire to be loved, and Phantom's need to protect, Tazma also has an obsession she has to follow. Tazma is in constant pursuit of knowledge. She has an innate desire to know and learn everything she can in order to satiate the drive in her core. She'll spend her time reading books she's never read before or thesis statements on topics she was never interested prior to quell it, though she also will gain knowledge through experimentation as well. She's not afraid to experiment on herself either, in order to learn more about her condition as a halfa. She hasn't found a cure to being a halfa, and her need to attain knowledge only further proves how permanent her condition is. Her constant messing with her halfa state leaves her dizzy and disoriented some nights, but that doesn't stop her from being just as efficent in combat as any other halfa when she's at full strength.

Appearance Descriptor:

Tazma is more like Phantom in appearance with them both being the same "type" of ghost. Her jumpsuit is a mainly red color, with white gloves, boots, neck and weapons belt. Where she differs from Phantom is the torn, black labcoat she's wearing that covers her arms and back. Her hair is now blue, and she wears her signature goggles, either on her forehead or covering her glowing yellow eyes.

[crees-a]

Nexus design idea: Think of Clawed_Beauty 101's style combined with feminine mad scientist.

I like how we all just wanna make him emo lmao

[jasper-pagan-witch]

I am 22 pages into Nothing But A Pack Of Cards and so far I'm enjoying the writing style. It's flowy, and absurd (complimentary), and it really emphasizes that this is one person's experiences with a system built from the ground up.

It reads less like a 101 baby's first guide to magic and more like the research notes of a less-than-hinged mad wizard scientist, which is honestly my favorite kind of book. (I say, as a less-than-hinged mad wizard scientist with research notes myself.)

[that-ari-blogger]

Entrapta and The Spectrum Of Morality

When I began to rewatch System Failure, the sixth episode of She Ra, I was planning on centring my analysis around Bow and the kitchen staff and their self actualisation in comparison to all the powers that were failing. But as I continued, a much more interesting (in my opinion) aspect made itself obvious.

This is an episode that dissects morality at every possible opportunity. Through its characters, through its conflict, even through its dialogue. This theme is more concentrated here than any episode so far. And that includes The Sword and Razz.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD

She Ra is a series with a defined moral spectrum. It has an objectively evil character in Horde Prime and an objectively good character in Mara. Everyone else falls on a spectrum that is highly personal to each audience member, with characters like Scorpia and Perfuma falling closer to Mara and characters like Light Hope and Shadow Weaver falling closer to Horde Prime. Argue amongst yourselves as to where your favorite character fits on this scale.

I have taken care to avoid placing Adora and Catra on this spectrum because their places fluctuate by the minute and that is contingent on the situation, the places of each other (geographically and on this scale) and on She Ra, who fits in a different place to Adora for most of the series. These two are a mess that embody this theme whole heartedly so much that they will need a separate post to even begin to discuss it.

You will notice that this spectrum does not take into account alignment within the war (for the most part), and that is because that doesn't really have any effect. One of the evillest characters, in my opinion, is Shadow Weaver, and she switches alignments on a dime.

Anyway, in the exact centre of this spectrum is Princess Entrapta. A character with exactly zero care about good and evil, and who instead focuses on beauty and science. Crucially, her alignment revolves around creation vs destruction. Even later on in the series, in the famous Beast Island incident. Her "this is wrong" moment is triggered by the promise of science being used to destroy something beautiful. She is working on a different axis to everyone else. She isn't morally grey at all; her system of values just doesn't fit with everyone else's. In effect, she perceives the world differently, and that which the other characters fit into can't accommodate her until it actively tries to understand her.

In Entrapta's introduction, the camera doesn't know whether to treat her as a hero or a villain. In this scene, she is literally shown as a villain, shrouded in darkness, late reveal, people talking about her in hushed voices. That is villain cinematography 101. She even bites off more than she can chew, and summons an even bigger bad guy, filling the mad/evil scientist role to a tea.

But then the story sympathises with her. She is the victim, the eccentric, the lovable maniac.

The cinematography is trying extremely hard to confuse you, and muddle your perception of this character based entirely on how others perceive her. Once again, her grey morality is based entirely on how she is viewed in relation to other characters, not taken on her own terms.

Also interestingly, the series goes out of its way to conflate good with nature and evil with technology, and Entrapta is the unrivalled Master of Technology in this series, so she should be evil with that theming, right?

But there is more to the moral exploration here as well. Most notably, what is actually going on with the first ones' tech in this episode? Because that is weird, right? It corrupts. It takes tech and turns it "evil". This is first ones' tech we are talking about. The first ones who are idolised in this series for how much good they do (up to this point at least) Forgive me for being old fashioned, but I'm not sure unconditionally good things directly cause evil.

Look at what it does to She Ra, she just comes into contact with it and she goes ballistic, and Adora gets... I think she gets intoxicated? This episode doesn't explicitly state anything about the first ones, but it does do a lot of implying.

One last detail that I want to point out is coding. This is a term in literature where certain traits are put into a piece of media to imply meaning without stating it. This stops being coding once it stops being subtext and becomes explicit. For example, Billy Elliot in the film of the same name is coded as bisexual or gay depending on the viewer, whereas Vi and Caitlyn in Arcane are explicitly in a lesbian relationship. Coding is arguable, explicit stating is not. Do you see the distinction?

With that said, Entrapta isn't coded as neurodivergent, she is explicitly neurodivergent. This is important to the discussion because that factor is what has been conflated, in universe and out of it, with her moral greyness. Her hyper fixation with her technology and science leads her to prioritise that above all else and so she is fine with switching sides, this is the opinion that I have heard and that I would like to examine.

What this analysis fails to take into account is the rest of Entrapta's character, and the characters around her.

Shadow Weaver, Double Trouble, Adora, Scorpia, and Catra all switch sides at various points in the series, and their neurodivergence is arguable at most.

Also, as previously mentioned, Entrapta does have an incredibly strong sense of morality, it just spins on a different axis to everyone else's. That doesn't make her less moral, it makes her different, and that is why Entrapta's character was written like that. She is misunderstood because she thinks in a slightly different way, and this doesn't fit into the conventional thinking. Yes, she is morally nuanced, because literally everyone in this series is morally nuanced, with exactly two exceptions, but Entrapta is not morally grey.

Different is not evil, different is just different, and what this series explores with Entrapta, is this: You need to be open to different understandings, otherwise an extremely reductive view on things like good and bad can leave people out. Simplicity is comforting, yes, but its not effective. Entrapta, through the simple act of existing in the story, forces everyone experiencing it, to adopt a nuanced view of morality, and the world itself.

Previous - Next

[poisoned-sugar11]

The possible medical use of somnus perennis, an essay by Dr. Azalea Florist

Content warning: medical malpractice, poisoning, drugging, mentions of addiction, and religious themes (not Christianity specifically though)

Somnus perennis, colloquially known as the dreamflower, is the most effective known sleeping aid. Low doses of powdered dreamflower can be used to ensure a patient has no chance of waking up during the time of a procedure. There are no substantial side effects besides putting the patient to sleep. The dreamflower is completely nonaddictive. The alleged side effects of visions are not an issue considering their similarities to the existing nightmares of patients. With the current availability of powdered dreamflower, it's only logical to start using them medically.

There are numerous accounts of how traumatizing of an experience it is to be left awake during surgery. All major anesthetics have at least a small percentage of these cases. It is absolutely impossible for a dose of powdered dreamflower to leave a patient awake. In 101 Deadliest Poisons and How to Use Them, Ayaka Sakai writes, "after my numerous successful jobs, I can guarantee that it's impossible to wake up a victim under the influence of somnus perennis until the dose has fully worn off." Dr. Emily Wheeler of the Association of Illegal and Unethical Science has conducted further experiments that prove this to be the case. Regardless of the morality of these sources, they do show how useful powdered dreamflower can be.

The mortality rate of the direct effects of powdered dreamflower is 0%. Despite its notoriety, powdered dreamflower is completely non-lethal. There are only two noted effects of ingesting somnus perennis: deep sleep, and a strange effect on the patient's dreams. A patient being put into a deep sleep is the ideal state for conducting major surgeries. The only known risk is a patient being unconscious longer than anticipated. However, this risk can be avoided entirely if one isn't careless.

Somnus perennis is a completely nonaddictive substance. Existing anesthetics, such as slumber leaves, and daisy roots, have dedicated rehabilitation facilities related to them. On the other hand, there are no reported symptoms of any addictive disorders in patients that have ingested somnus perennis. The Black Market, a famous hot spot for mad scientists, notably markets it as a poison as opposed to a recreational drug. In How to Crime, Sylvia H. Hunter states, "it is vital to avoid breathing in any drugs you use to aid you. Slumber leaves can leave you hooked for life, and dreamflowers will leave you plagued by visions for a day or maybe even longer." There are no accounts of anyone voluntarily ingesting somnus perennis.

Those against the use of any sort of somnus perennis in medical settings often argue that the side effects are too grave. This is an overreaction. There was a survey conducted on the population of Akane Island. A staggering 86% of residents recorded that they had nightmares most nights, with 65% of those nightmares being related to the divine. The prevalence of alleged somnus perennis symptoms among a completely unaffected population is very telling. The alleged vividness of dreamflower visions are likely the only actual effect.

Many substances currently used as anesthesia are unfortunately difficult to make and harvest. It's incredibly easy to create the conditions for dreamflowers to grow. There are already many monitored dreamflower fields across the multiverse. With the existing research institutes focused on somnus perennis being owned by the same organizations that provide medical care, it would be incredibly easy to access them for medical use. Alongside the proper channels, the Black Market is home to many vendors carrying powdered dreamflower. While some might consider this to be a poor resource for those unaffiliated with the Association of Illegal and Unethical Science, it still shows how easy somnus perennis is to keep and harvest with the proper equipment.

In conclusion, powdered dreamflower is the ideal anesthesia. This is clear due to it's reliability to keep patients asleep, its nontoxic properties, it being nonaddictive, the lack of substantial side effects, and it's availability.

[bloodsweatandpotato]

Whump ASMR videos because I’m cringe and have insomnia

Key (theme): ⚔️wartime, 🔮fantasy, 🐂cowboy/western, 🌊pirate/sailor, 🛸sci-fi, 🧟zombie/apocayptic, ✨other, 🕶spy/secret agent, 🚥cyberpunk

Key (wounds): 😵‍💫dazed/dizzy, 🤕head wound, 🥴altered consciousness, 🤒fever, 🩸blood loss, 🔪stab wound, 🔫gunshot wound, 🧠amnesia, 👀altered vision, 🦴blunt trauma, 🦠sickness

Key (actions):💉anesthetic, 🩹bandages, 💊medicine, 🪡stitches, 🧺wound washing, 🥃 alcohol as anesthetic, ✂️surgery, 🤤drugged, 👄 hypnotism, 🧪poisoned , 👁wake up

Key (speaker): 🍄 masc speaker, 🌱fem speaker

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOXOPjfS19E On a spaceship, found wounded and unconscious after a distress signal was sent out. Superficial head injury, mild neck injury, in shock, unable to speak. Vitals taken, bandaging, shot of anesthetic, pupils checked, sound of spaceship in background. 🛸😵‍💫🤕🦴🥴💉🩹🌱

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbfbHgfRL3o&list=PLn7u5acSPTWBFsG_1cR3TRLAbdK88Bmti&index=122 Waking up after being unconscious from head injury, taken care of by best friend in post apocalyptic world. Dazed/disoriented, total amnesia, fading in and out of consciousness, talking about life story. Sweetness and worry. Amazing camera effects that blur and sway according to your level of consciousness. 🧟😵‍💫🦴🤕🧠🥴👀🧺👁🍄

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hLP9wSty2o&t=101s Sequel to ⬆️. Talking, soothing, regaining spotty memories. less whump and more just relaxed h/c. 🧟🤕🧠🍄

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMk5iFpreE0&list=PLn7u5acSPTWBFsG_1cR3TRLAbdK88Bmti&index=46 Taken care of by medic after being bitten by a zombie. Given cure, diseased flesh cut away, pupil response and heart rate checked, eyes fluttery. Cure doesn’t work at first and the listener starts to show signs of slipping. 🧟😵‍💫🥴👀🩸💉💊🩹👁✂️🧺🍄

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98vDgwQtQLk Stumbles into house injured and looking for medical supplies and found by helpful stranger. Held at gunpoint (until realizing listener means no harm), gash on side, blood loss, stitched up. Strangers to friends to… more? 🧟🔪🩸🪡🩹🌱

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6tsI78KVAY Being operated on after being shot in the neck in shootout. Anesthetic (well, time period accurate), surgery while awake, bullet removal, cleaned and stitched up. 🐂🩸🔫😵‍💫🥃🧺💊🩹🪡✂️🍄

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S05drJHvqFs&t=169s Being operated on after found shot in the shoulder by railroad tracks after train robbery. Disoriented and slipping in and out of consciousness, anesthetic (time period accurate), surgery while awake, bullet removal, cleaned and stitched up. 🐂🩸🔫😵‍💫🥴👀🩹🧺🪡👁✂️🥃🍄

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xy5DC9illbY&list=PL9G1xkhTgaUByXjCatUpoBT-ioIFayQBT&index=2 Tended to by soldier after being caught in grenade explosion. Dazed and disoriented, hearing damaged and mild concussion, given morphine, friendly talk and chat while being patched up best he can, shared chocolate and overall very friendly. ⚔️😵‍💫🤕🦴🩹🧺💉🍄

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Dwyhqb5OV0&t=2402s Experimented on by mad scientist/doctor. Heavily drugged, with the effects being tested. Visual and auditory disturbances (including seeing rainbow colored multiples of the scientist). Torture video ig. ✨😵‍💫🥴👀💉🤤🌱

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsWDCHijJII&list=PL_GoLu4945hMfdjaS7Yoowo5nhM066d7J&index=5 Experimented on by mad scientist/doctor. Heavily drugged and sedated to the point of hallucinating/seeing multiples. Gassed and arm removed, with listener being completely helpless and euphoric throughout. Lots of talk about how the listener must “feel like they’re flying” and “your head is so up up up in the clouds you can’t even say a thing”. ✨😵‍💫🥴👀💉🤤✂️🩹🪡🌱

Privated. Wayback machine link: https://web.archive.org/web/20220310172328/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jsoSJ9g6Ic Saved by friend/medic (friends to lovers hehe) after being trapped in rubble. Superhero listener, banter and comfort eeeeee. Maybe halfway through listener almost passes out from blood loss and friend gets really worried. Repeatedly begged to stay awake. Called “boss” o-o. Dies and then is magically brought back at the end (spoiler alert: your friend/love has hidden superpowers that emerged from his grief owo) So many whumperflies first time I watched.🔮😵‍💫🥴🦴🩸🔪🧺🪡🍄

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6gLUFIxz0Y Found and tended to by acquaintance and his dog after you were in an accident/fight. Dazed and slipping in and out of consciousness, bad concussion, demonstrates why alcohol and concussions don’t mix lol. 🐂😵‍💫🥴🤕🦴👀🥃🪡✂️👁🩹🍄

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMoqwEifB9A&list=PLn7u5acSPTWBFsG_1cR3TRLAbdK88Bmti&index=108 Hero listener taken care of and talked to by Villain. Worry and chatting. Blurs the lines of morality. Enemies to friends to… more? Called “my dear hero” and “little hero” o-o.🔮🤕😵‍💫���🩹🌱

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=De5ZTGdzQJk Captured by enemy officer. Interrogation and negotiation including physical and psychological torture. Cut with saltpeter packed into the wounds, as well as being choked to the point of unconsciousness In the end the situation is reversed and the listener takes the officer hostage while other patriots storm the camp. ⚔️🔪🩸👀🍄

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nVjQDE8eo0 Drugged and coerced into illegal organ ‘donation’. Drugged listener is completely out of it and doesn’t really understand what’s going on as they ‘consent’ to the surgery. Lots of talk about how you “shouldn’t worry” and how “fuzzy” the listener must feel, as well as nice counting backwards for anesthesia (with the listener fighting it). ✨😵‍💫🥴🤤💉✂️🌱

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SH7aelZFk7M Goes to interrogate elf prisoner, and oh how the turntables. The elf uses a combination of magic and hypnotism to compel the viewer to release the shackles and order the elf to be released. Soothing voice, dropping in and out of consciousness, ordered around. 🔮😵‍💫🥴👄🍄

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSPjlZcDtvE&list=PLM9r0ZYucPouScRuCAB4irBh_NSRzkkDY&index=5 Rescued by Gabriel (part of the occult mystery series) and in the backseat of a car. Major blood loss, drifting in and out of consciousness, worried/frantic Gabe, told repeatedly to stay awake. Called “Angel” o-o (that is the name of the character the listener is but still…). ✨😵‍💫🥴🩸🔪👀🩹🍄

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqRsy5s0fFg Taken care of after being knocked out and concussed by a grenade. Very out of it with some amnesia and a bad concussion. Slipping in and out of consciousness and not knowing where you are. Talked to and evaluated (with the listener initially not doing well, leaving speaker worried), head wound cleaned and re-bandaged, given morphine. ⚔️😵‍💫🥴🤕🦴🧠👀🩹👁🧺💉🍄

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ddf76NWBU7M Evaluated and taken care of after being knocked out/ cut open by shrapnel in an explosion. Very out of it and slipping in and out of consciousness, with speaker doing his best to keep the listener awake. Concussed listener, blood loss, wrapped in blankets because it’s cold. Worry and talking, with listener’s consciousness checked multiple times (apparently he isn’t comfortable with listener sleeping, especially with it being so cold). ⚔️😵‍💫🥴🤕🧠🩸🔪🦴👀👁💉🩹🧺🍄

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbM2eKZRNNs&t=56s General talk and patched up/taken care of by friend while recovering from having arm amputated (due to zombie bite). Worry and rambling, shell shocked friend still horrified at having to amputate, fever, forehead gently wiped with wet rag, bandages changed. 🧟🤒🔪🧺🩹🍄

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGBP0in3xdE Mission goes wrong (the listener and Quinn are spies) and listener gets shot. Quinn does her best to keep the listener awake but it’s a close call. Worry, panic, love confessions, passing out and waking up in medical. 🕶😵‍💫🥴🩸🔫🌱

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zie8c2PZOY&list=PLn7u5acSPTWBFsG_1cR3TRLAbdK88Bmti&index=83 On a beach after ship was shot down. Concussed and completely out of it. Patched up, (gently) interrogated about code. Slight amnesia. ✨😵‍💫🥴🤕🧠🦴👁🩹🍄

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqTPQNYFyMA&t=223s Taken care of and worried over after being found passed out on floor by bodyguard. Feverish and dazed/lightheaded, with bodyguard and listener trying to figure out what happened (spoiler alert: the pizza was poisoned/drugged). Worried phone calls to try and figure out what happened, eventually decided listener needs to get to the clinic. Called “boss” o-o.✨😵‍💫🥴🤒🧪🤤🍄

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Yhbz_NRNh0&list=PLn7u5acSPTWBFsG_1cR3TRLAbdK88Bmti&index=76 Pirate captain listener tempted by siren, saved by first mate. Male siren, female first mate. Worry and banter. 🌊😵‍💫🥴👄🌱🍄

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lo9gTO97Xko&t=921s Patched up by stranger after being found unconscious in abandoned police station. Police officer listener is only survivor of zombie attack. Bitten by zombie, wound cleaned, calms down panicked civilian stranger. Trying to make sense of initial zombie outbreak. 🧟😵‍💫🥴🦠🩸👁🩹🧺🍄

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hblOIQV-oM Found injured in a scrapyard by friend after deal went bad. Taken back to friend’s place and fixed up. Basic medical exam, gunshot wounds stitched, put in/taken out of cryro. 🚥😵‍💫🔫🩸💉🩹🪡🍄

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZc0Ie2OYv4 Vampire hunter listener is tricked by a vampire and hypnotised/mind controlled. Fed on, under vampire’s control, weak from blood loss. 🔮🥴🩸🔪👄🍄

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eehezlPgsfw&t=566shttps:// Listener is a spy undercover on the enemy side of a war. After things go south and listener ends up injured and captured, fellow soldier/spy goes on a rescue mission. No serious injury, but nice worry/vibes. Dehydrated, bruised, talking and friendly conversation. 🕶🦴🩹🧺👁🍄

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXl_v6gDbaQ Secret agent listener rescued after being captured and tortured/interrogated. Stab wounds, head injury, altered consciousness, and double vision, as well as heavily implied drugging. Wounds stitched up, repeatedly worried over and told to pull (your)self together so listener and rescuer can shoot a path out. 🕶😵‍💫🥴🤕👀🩸🔪🤤🪡🍄

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whIZIxNkt6c Ripperdoc friend fusses over/patches up listener after listener stumbles into their place. Temporary amnesia (and the friend being worried about it), altered consciousness, talking and comfort, put under anesthesia by friend and apparently was unconscious for five days. Medically innacurate but whumpy. 🚥🥴😵‍💫🧠💉✂️👁🍄

General channels to check out:

Jim ASMR: Totally check this out. His channel is really… interesting. Very niche things, dark and gritty atmosphere, amazing cosplays. Whumpy stuff a lot of times. Also please support queer creators. My man (gender neutral) is legit a shapeshifter with how well they embody characters.

Tinglesmith ASMR: Interesting channel again. Dark and gritty atmosphere. A lot of times whumpy.

Quill ASMR: Check this out. Not as “unique” as far as ASMR channels go, but still very nice!

The Cozy Hospital ASMR: Super unique! Extremely accurate medical/hospital roleplays (a lot of the time with minimal talking) and real(istic) props.

[thesmpisonfire]

You've infected me with tazercraft brain brainrot. I am going crazy over these silly little guys- I am violently American and I know approx 10 words in PT [working on it tho, shoutout to portuguese pod 101 on yt lol] but they're just so <3<3<<3 thank you for talking about them it helps me understand em better

THEY'RE SO SILLYYYYY they're silly theyre master criminals theyre mad scientists they're one gay as fuck Pretending-To-Be-Weak shy slut and one bi aroace Very Angry And Ready To Explode Shit creeper-slime guy and they're ready to destroy everything if they feel like it

[skaruresonic]

It was probably mentioned already, but I find hard to reconcile Eggman taking Maria's death personally with him stomping his foot in the Egg Memo because his relatives cared more about the dead ill girl than him.

Much like with Frontiers and his "dear daughter", I can't subscribe to the notion that he only makes it all about himself because you can obviously hear his voice as he speaks and he sounds genuinely somber, not flippant as he would sound if he really was only pissy that a relative of his was targeted. But even assuming that he was... it's still caring about her, even as a symbol? If the narrative is still "Eggman was jealous of a dead girl" (and I'm using "was" and not "is" generously), the short could have mentioned it as a gag, or better yet... make him simply not comment at all about his feelings. It's not relevant. Who is he trying to impress, the audience? Is Eggman trying to appear more sympathetic to us?

Funny how he doesn't even mention, let alone elaborate on his thoughts on Gerald's execution, hm? Even though Gerald going insane after Maria's death is kiiiiiind of important for Shadow? Guess not many people feel bad for the old man :P

Yeah, I've watched the Shadow 101 video three times now and unfortunately I cannot read anything but sadness in his voice when he speaks of Maria and how he still "takes that personally." Frankly, he sounds angrier that Shadow defied him.

---

or better yet... make him simply not comment at all about his feelings.

Just like he did in SA2, ShTH, and Battle. :v

You would think that if Eggman really was speaking from a place of tribalism over the good Robotnik name, he'd rant at least a little about the injustice of Gerald's death, seeing how he created the ultimate life form and GUN repaid his contributions to society with hot lead.

Unlike Maria, on whom Eggman says exactly jack and shit in SA2 except to mention her name as the password to Gerald's computer, the Professor actually does figure into his personal thoughts, if only in an atavistic way.

I don't even know what it is about Maria that he cares about enough to take her death personally. He didn't know her. She wasn't a scientist like Gerald, nor a potentially powerful ally like Shadow, nor even a """useful""" tool in his schemes like Sage. Eggman might as well say he took the Commander's ARK-related trauma personally.

...Unless he's implying that the same brand of obsession that made his relatives speak glowingly of her even after her death also got to him as well, and he's just too tsundere to notice? Or that Sage has made him reconsider Maria in a new light? Or something? Is he just getting soft in his old age?

---

It's not relevant. Who is he trying to impress, the audience? Is Eggman trying to appear more sympathetic to us?

I was thinking about it last night when I realized this is the same flavor as Tails' "I've been wildly inconsistent." Like, instead of making sense as something the character would say or think given the circumstances, it's something the character is being forced to say.

Eggman has no reason to think about Maria, except that he has to mention her as a matter of due course because this is a video recounting Shadow's history. And of course, because he mentioned Maria in Frontiers, gotta allude to that sweet sweet Character Development(tm) to prove our games aren't inconsistent like everyone's always saying. Eggman wangsted about her in Frontiers and he's continuing the trend here. omfg so deep, much continuity, many character development, wow.

Never mind how it made little sense for Eggman to mention Maria in Frontiers, either, except to draw spurious parallels to Sage. "I never knew her" then why do you care? Why do you keep bringing it up? Why don't you mention how your "mad genius" grandfather got riddled with bullet holes?

---

The footage begins to become incongruent with the narration starting at 2:01. People who haven't played the games may glean an inaccurate idea of what happened in them. "Black Doom wanted a champion" - Black Doom says he wants all SEVEN Chaos Emeralds to begin the "prosperity ritual" like SEVEN hundred times in the game (in all caps because that's how it's written out every time lol) and he has no more use for Shadow after summoning the Black Comet into the Earth's atmosphere.

If he wanted a champion, he would not have paralyzed Shadow alongside the others and tried feeding him to his grubs.

Gerald promised Black Doom the seven Chaos Emeralds in exchange for help on finishing Project Shadow. He didn't exactly promise Shadow himself.

Black Doom simply assumed Shadow would side with him because he knew about his past. It doesn't actually matter how Shadow obtains the Emeralds, since BD simply yoinks them in the Last Story.

I also noticed how Eggman complains that Shadow "crushed his armies" instead of helping him conquer the world, meanwhile the footage shows Prison Island blowing up. Someone who has not played SA2 may mistakenly assume Prison Island is actually an Eggman base.

[thealmightyemprex]

Well,we have more movies after this but actually we have already reached a sort of end here,as this block wraps up the big 3 monsters (Dracula,Frankenstein and Wolf Man ) and we end the 40's here

21.House of Frankenstein(1944)

So this is the big crossover movie,all three big monsters are together at last:Dracula ,Wolf Man and Frankensteins Monster....And they never fucking interact .Draculas dies halfway through ,and Wolfman dies right before the monster wakes up......So bit of a disappointment and the movies structure is a mess .Boris Karloff is back,this time as a mad scientist ,and he gives a good performance but it is kind of hilarious how much he screws over the monsters simply cause he is taking too much time to get his experiments done and he is kind of an asshole .Theres an interesting enough love triangle between J Carol Naish as the hunchbacked assistant in love with a Romani woman (Clearly trying to evoke Hunchback of Notre Dame ),who is in love with Larry Talbot ,Talbots story is nice and tragic ,with Lon Channey Jr being great as always as Talbot .As for the other two monsters they have good actors ,John Carridine fits a more book accurate Dracula ,and Glenn Strange with his huge build and craggy face is an imposing monster,but they are barely in the movie sadly .Will say I like the meta symbolism of the ending of the monster carrying Karoff only for the two to sink in quicksand together ,united forever .I dunno its a very flawed movie but its got its moments

22.The Mummys Curse (1944)

...Zzzzzzzz-*gasp*.....Oh yeah,....This was meh ....Just a bog standard Mummy movie......Yeah while I have fondness for the other monsters and am sad to see them go.....I am more then happy I am almost done with the Mummy movies ,at least the next ones a comedy

23.House of Dracula (1945)

The last of the war time Monster movies,and honestly the last serious film of the main line Monster films ,till Creature of the Black Lagoon in the 50's ....And its not good.It has the same problems as House of Frankenstein but more so :The monster dont really interact ,stories a mess ,but added to that ......The title character and main villain dies half way through ,to make room for a diffrent villain,Frankensteins Monster might as well not be there and its just a bit of a whimper.Will say Carridine is a good Dracula ,I just wish he had a good movie to go with his Drac ,I really liked the Nurse character Nina ,and I was really happy to see Larry Talbot get a happy ending for once

24.She Wolf of London(1946)

.....Why is this in this DVD set ? Cause ummm.....Its not a monster movie ,its more like Gaslight or like something from Val Lewton like the Leopard Man .....Except it isnt good .As much as I love June Lockhart she just isnt well directed here ,and I kind of knew really early on who the villain was .Will say there is a saving grace to the movie :Sara Haden as Aunt Martha is REALLY excellent .I think my overall takeaway isdissappointment,this is not a lady werewolf movie nor a particularly good thriller ,but Haden keeps me from hating it .Also Horace from 101 Dalmations plays a cop,that was fun

25.Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

So the monsters are brought back after a hiatus for one last ride to meet Universals other big money makers at the time,the comedy team of Bud Abbot and Lous Costello.....And my feelings are complicated ,not on the film,the film is great,but on its legacy.First off the idea of the crossover was brillaint ,as humor is fairly common in the Monster films and the main conciet is REALLY funny,cause Costello is REALLY funny when he is scared ,and who better to scare him then Dracula and the Frankenstein Monster .I also like that within the film the monsters are played seriously ,with the humor coming from the childlike fear of Lou and Buds grumpyness with Lou for thinking monsters are running around .The Monsters are great ,Lon Chaney Jr as Larry Talbot being are token heroic monster ,and being a good foil to Bud and Lou ,Glenn Strange actually gets stuff to do as the Monster (And even a few lines ) with a wonderful chase scene near the end being a highlight ,and Bela Lugosi returns to his most iconic role as Dracula and is a great charming yet conniving villain .The gags are funny ,with some great one liners and some amazing comedic set pieces .I also think it is both a great horror film for kids and is a go to film for me to throw on around Halloween .So yeah I love the movie and part of me feels it is a fun last hurrah for the monsters ......But seeing it in this marathon context it also felt bitter sweet ,they quit being taken seriously and were solidified as figures of fun.....but fun is not bad ,its just a diffrent way of viewing them .Overall I love this movie and it is one of my faves of the lot

Rankings so far

25.The Mummys Tomb

24.Werewolf of London

23.Invisble Agent

22.She Wolf of London

21.Mummys Hand

20.Mummys Curse

19.Son of Dracula

18.House of Dracula

17.Invisible Woman

16.Ghost of Frankenstein

15.House of Frankenstein

14.Mummy

13:Mummys Ghost

12.The Invisible Mans Revenge

11.Dracula's Daughter

10.Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman

9.Dracula

8.Invisible Man Returns

7.Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein

6.Invisble Man

5..Son of Frankenstein

4.Phantom of the Opera

3.Wolf Man

2.Frankenstein

1.Bride of Frankenstein

To be....Concluded

@ariel-seagull-wings @the-blue-fairie @countesspetofi @themousefromfantasyland @piterelizabethdevries @theancientvaleofsoulmaking @princesssarisa @amalthea9 @barbossas-wench

[sidetable-drawer]

Okay but 101 Dalmatians: The Series is so crazy that it ends up being one of the funniest Disney shows. Here are some actual episodes of the series:

Roger, Anita, and the main puppies come across a cursed village run by an ancestor of Cruella De Vil’s that only appears every 100 years and everyone inside the town is hypnotized to be mindlessly happy, with the exception of any De Vil. Or chicken.

Lucky and Cruella get transported inside a computer game.

Rolly becomes addicted to chewing shoes and it’s played out like a drug addiction.

Spot, a chicken, is magically turned into a dog for an episode.

There’s a three-parter where Roger and Anita find out they’re not legally married because the minister was a con artist and decide to get married for real while on their second honeymoon. The three-parter also involves Cruella in a “sexy girl on the beach” costume (with inflatable...assets) and Anita getting taken in by an alien-worshipping cult where the leader dresses like Doug Funnie.

Cruella wants an award Anita is getting so she gets plastic surgery to make herself look exactly like Anita and the whole sequence plays out like a horror movie.

Lucky thinks he murdered another character (he didn’t).

Cruella gets her “good side” separated from her from a machine invented by her mad scientist cousin and becomes its’ own entity (and the whole “good Cruella” plot was used again in 102 Dalmatians a few years later). Pumbaa also shows up.

Cruella has a niece around seven-or-eight years old who’s a tech whiz and might be even more evil than Cruella. Of course Descendants forgot her.

They had to tone Cruella down because it was a Saturday morning cartoon in the late 90s so now she’s just a corporate criminal instead of trying to skin the puppies. Some of her plans including trying to put the fire department out of business so she can install fire hydrants that require payment for usage (and all the money goes to her) and trying to tear down an elderly couple’s mom-and-pop grocery store just so she can build a private car wash on the property. She also seriously considers the idea of buying up all the Earth’s atmosphere to charge people for breathing. In the process, she ends up becoming even more evil somehow.

The show goes completely meta and has the characters talking about how the show was made in-universe during a cast party.

Spot is told that the main pups are actually aliens by a chicken who actually is an alien.

Roger and Anita throw a party to celebrate having the dogs for 101 days and Cruella crashes the party dressed like a clown.

[ohmeadows]

Really I was kinda "oh I fucking knew it" when I watched Ruan Men's trailer. This is my summary about her so please bear with me. As someone who built the simulated universe specially to get to know why an aeon appeared and their demise, it will be weird if she doesn't have the desire to ascend to aeonhood.

And if this is other series, Ruan Mei would've been a cartoon villain who cackles when she narrated her story. But no, Ruan Mei is soft spoken, polite, she enjoys her cakes, opera, and handicraft. She's not as dismissive as Herta nor she's a non human like Screwllum. She's as human as everybody else but her passion, her desire to analyze life, birthing life, to create life that ends up becoming an aeon? Now that's a mad scientist 101 but without the cartoonish trope that other series would've written her as. Really looking forward to meet her and see what's all this ascend to aeonhood is about. I'm also planning on pulling her so she can be a support for Jingliu cuz that's just fits 🤭

yes yes yes i agree, beautiful summary!!! really the signs have been there from the start if you were paying attention in simulated universe, and now we are getting the best pieces together.

she's not falling into tired old tropes which makes her so intriguing, she's walking such a tightrope balance of elegance and grace while being genuinely unnerving, she's taking on a characterization style i've mostly only seen male characters allowed to have. she's just. expressing a hollow feeling for anything that isn't the deepest question, casually dropping that she knows how to cultivate a planet which on a sense of power level puts her so high. if we stop and think about that, that is wild. and i love it! i love that she's cold and distant, that nothing brings the colors to her experience but the pursuit of research that others might find distateful, terrifying or hubris in nature.

same as you i can't wait to meet her in-game and see what else she is hiding. they've revealed her in bits and pieces, slowly pulling back the curtain in very intentional ways to mirror her character: first we saw only cool elegance, then a sly smile, and then... this.

also yes ruan mei is literally going to be a perfect unit to use with jingliu due to the resistance penetration and dmg boosts 😌 now to figure out a name for their team comp

[kryptonbabe]

DC's Mutants or How Perry White Won his 3rd Pulitzer

From Superman #265 (1973) by Elliot S! Maggin & Curt Swan

A normal day in Metropolis, and as we can see in the panel above that is Perry White deciding to stalk two unassuming citizens. Their crime? Wearing gloves. But first! Did you know Perry White won a Pulitzer prize? Well, actually he won three, two of them related to Superboy (the first one due to this interview young Clark gave him revealing he was an alien and the second one when Superboy revealed to Perry he was living in Metropolis... yeah, it's that easy). I'm only mentioning it because this is a story about how Perry White won his third Pulizer, and it all begins with the intrepid journalist pursuing a glove wearing couple.

During this time Morgan Edge owned the Daily Planet - I believe that happened in issue #233 of Superman - and he was not happy with Perry and his old ways, a traditional reporter, 20 years away from his last Pulitzer. In a way Perry shares Edge's frustration, he feels behind and powerless in this new position as Morgan undermines his editor role. I feel for Perry and that's why I'm ok with him following and questioning random people in the streets.

Suddenly the guy Perry approaches shoots him with an energy bolt from his fingers. Proving Perry's suspicions were right all along, the man still got it. This is just like his times covering the Korean War all over again.

Clark sees the energy bolt and realizes that is a job for Superman, while Perry feels like it is a job for a middle-aged journalist. They follow the couple to a heliport and there Clark, already as Superman, gets knocked out by their energy bolts, Perry then hides himself in the helicopter, tagging along with the gloved people.

When he wakes up Clark heads back to the Daily Planet and there he has to deal with the real menace to society: Steve Lombard's sex drive. He deals with it in a very silver age-y way and I approve of his methods. Glurgg indeed, Steve.

Meanwhile Perry gets off the helicopter, knocks out a guy, take his clothes, hides the body, applies some makeshift make up to his face and infiltrates the Air Force base he sees himself in. The feel of it is like watching a spy thriller, Perry getting cooler and cooler by the minute, he's proving something to Morgan Edge, proving something to himself. My favorite parts of the issue are the spy Perry White.

Enter Calixto, a government employee and mad scientist, who 20 years before planted a mutagenic substance in a atomic bomb testing (yeah, while Perry was winning a Pulitzer Calixto was violating human rights, the choices you make in life).

Calixto must have been a pretty smart guy because his mutagenic substance not only made the kids to be born mutants with specific energy powers and two opposite thumbs, but they were also weak to hypnosis. The amount of testing it must have take to achieve these results. I also like Maggin's logic here, if the evolution of the human opposite thumb made so many technical advances for our species possible, imagine having two thumbs, the possibilities could be endless.

Calixto's origins are weird, but his goals and methods of conquering are mad scientist villain 101, gather an army of mutants, mentally control them, take over an army base and plan a announcement to blackmail the world into submission. And he would have gotten away with it too if it weren't for Superman and meddling journalist Perry White.

Superman finds their base and does an anime girl spin trick he learned from Flash to fight their energy blasts. While at it he thinks "No force in the universe is completely irresistible!", and it is a hard hitting thought, especially coming from Clark whose powers are already seen as unstoppable. Coming from him this sentence goes to show how he doesn't believe completely in his own invulnerability, since no force in the universe is irresistible, himself included. Even the biggest challenges are not impossible to overcome... Am I reading too much into this? Probably, but it's cool anyways.

Proving this point... Superman goes straight to a wall of energy and passes out (for the second time in this issue, spending too much time with Hal Jordan maybe?).

To what undercover Perry reacts to with a surprisingly nonchalant "Hmmm..." that made me chuckle a little, Perry is adorable. His mind is cooking however, never doubt.

It's Superman's pal Perry White acting all spy-like again, this time he releases Superman from Calixto's jail, gives him the clothes of a guy he knocked out and suggests Clark to wear a pair of glasses as well.

So we have Clark as Superman disguised as a third person wearing glasses, it's a Russian doll scheme of secret identities. Perry almost figures out Superman wearing glasses looks uncannily like his colleague Clark, and he would probably win five Pulitzers at once for discovering that.

"Go sit on a pomegranate Calixto!" I don't think Calixto ever recovered from that comeback.

In a nearby desert Superman builds a giant tuning fork that disrupts Calixto's power over his mutants, their trance is over and they leave, now Calixto is alone and hysterical, absorbing a ton of energy to fight Supes. Then, in a very Superman fashion, when realizing Calixto's energy intake was exceeding his body limitations, Clark got in his way trying to save the man, to no avail though. The energy ray was too potent and the whole building blew up, leaving only Clark alive, crawling from a giant crater. Dramatic!

I think is cool how the mutants decided they would simply leave Earth after Calixto's death, they must've been up to date to their X-men reading, because I can't see things going well for people with two opposite thumbs here on Earth really.

Perry's reports his investigative work, his exclusive on Calixto's rise and downfall. I know Superman is close to the Planet crew and he helped to solve the whole Calixto crisis, but how many times is he called to comment on national developments like this? I'd gladly listen to his inputs so I'm not complaining, but I do wonder.

"But these mutants are the lucky ones... they at least had the choice to make!" do I feel a tinge of bitterness here Kal-el? Are you unhappy with our services? I mean, I know we're not the best but we're no Apokolips or I don't know... Warworld - I know we're bad, but are we worse then Warworld? Tell me Clark.

Overall, Curt Swan's art really fits the story, it's not over the top, the action is clean and the character's expressions elegant. Maggin's writing is charming, infusing the characters with a sense of purpose, especially Clark and obviously Perry. Calixto is more on the generic side, his mutants were interesting though, not exactly bad people, just manipulated, why did they chose to leave Earth? How are they now? In which planet are they? I have questions. Perry White is the main attraction of the issue for sure, he feels even more heroic than Superman, which is nice to see if you already like Super family characters and thinks investigative journalism is so cool (I do). I heard there's an Action Comics also written by Maggin in which Perry gains super powers... That's probably what I'm reading next. Thank you for reading this!

[until-the-brahmin-come-home]

In a previous draft, I went more into how I understand the point of Fallout is maybe don't put the world on the brink of destruction or at least be wary of those who'd take advantage of it, so who fired first isn't the point... Except it kinda is if it was in fact Vault-Tec. Fallout 3 has a bunch of stuff that indicates it wasn't the States. I could buy maybe it was the Zetans if only because that'd be funny, but I don't see a lot of supporting story-telling for that. Yeah, there's a hot war in Alaska with the Chinese, but it's not an atomic one and had managed to stay so despite a large scale land invasion. MAD was still in place. In War Games, theres a scene at the end where WHOPR is simulating every possible atomic exchange. One of the more interesting ones is, 20 years before they would have their own operational atomic arsenals, Pakistan and India launch first and the rest of the world launches before the bombs even land. (It's on screen for under two seconds but you can see it.) You're correct, the point has always been it doesn't matter who fires first, because everyone fires next... except for the one organization that has an entire industry dedicated to successfully ducking out of mutually assured destruction. I always took the implications here to be Vault-Tec is doing science, but it's mad-science. It's not about publishing or prestige, it's about curiosity absent morality. It's Stanislaus Braun in his playground forever. It's Vault 101 canonically the control vault for all other vaults. It's whatever hella sus shit the Overseer has going on virtually every time.

(previous ask)

i mean, yeah, okay, fair enough.

(although of course there's not a lot of supportive storytelling for any one faction being responsible - that was the point, the vagueness of it all, and with the show saying vault-tec fired first, well, of course that now has more points in its favor)

although vault-tec doesn't seem to actually be that good at "ducking out of mutually assured destruction". again, how many vaults weren't completed/filled despite supposedly knowing the deadline? why'd Barb let her kid be outside, far away from home on the day the bombs dropped?

and it's the show that really hammers home the 'vault-tec is a company doing this for capitalism reasons'. the whole proposal for experiments feels more like the bait they're using to entice other corporations into funding them. you are right in that "for the sake of mad science" is pretty much the only consistent concept vault-tec has going on in the broader canon (note: in fallout 1, vault experiments weren't a thing! that idea was introduced in 2). but also mad science is so very unsustainable. so, so many of the experiments end with absolutely everyone dead - including the people in charge! and there's really no guarantee that the experiment can last longer than a generation - what, are you going to indoctrinate the scientist's children into the experiment, forever? all it takes is one person going rogue to throw the whole thing.

it's just. idk. it's a personal gripe for me. i am, like, an actual biologist with four years of college under my belt (and i was in a science program for four years before that) so maybe i'm a little more sensitive to how nonsensical the whole thing is. our mileage is obviously varying wrt this topic. i like mad science but it's gotta have charm, and so much of vault-tec is utterly charmless to me.

final point: from a storytelling perspective, i just get a lot more pathos from "humanity set itself on a path of destruction and was unable to get off that path until it was too late". having vault tec explicitly be the cause flattens that idea into "one corporation burned the world for their own vague goals". like with the fall of the ncr, i could've been okay with this decision. there are maybe some statements to be made there! but i just don't feel like the show really stuck the landing.

also wait how'd vault-tec get a bomb-