#this thing's in gen 9 too. i don't know why

[gold-iridescent]

Always check.

A few things you could look for or do:

0 (Always do this): Take a breather, try to calm your emotions. Fake news want you to feel a certain way so you believe them!

Now.

1. Do they cite their sources?

2. Search up something that was claimed to be true by the source and check with other sources (be wary if there is no other sources.)

3. Search up WHAT ORGANIZATION(S) FINANCE THE NEWS OUTLET. Be especially wary if it's by a Political party or a company in close cooperation with a Political Party

4. Check the URL (if it seems to be an 'edu' domain, but is followed by a ".co" or "Io", it likely is a fake site.)

5. Be wary if the info is protrayed as SENSATIONAL or seems TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE.

6. If your resource has an ABOUT US section, read it. Modt reputable websites WILL have an about us and a way to contact them.

7. Check the Authors credentials. Why are *they* an authority on the matter? Do they currently work in that field? Check their LinkedIn, if available. Google the authors name.

8. Does the article only present one side of a debate? Then it is biased. That is not necessarily bad but make sure to get all sides of the arguments to make a well-based opinion

9. BE AWARE of CONFIRMATION BIAS. People tend to seek and interpert info and evidence in the way that confirms their belief or expectations. Try to be neutral. Don't fall into this trap

THIS IS NOT ALL so well explained, but i tried my best /gen

I have linked resources and such below. Will be updating this post. making edits if i see mistakes, etc. PLEASE MESSAGE ME of more tips and resources and such that might be helpful! I would appreciate it /gen

BE AWARE SOME SOURCES ARE BY THE GOVERNMENT (.gov). we do not know how much the government will control/change the acurracy of them, so PLEASE double check)

ALWAYS CHECK WITH SEVERAL RESOURCES, NOT JUST ONE, TO FACT CHECK

https://www.factcheck.org/about/our-mission/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/fact-checker/

https://www.allsides.com/media-bias

https://www.courtreference.com/

https://factcheck.afp.com/

https://www.reuters.com/fact-check/

SOME GUIDES AND INFOS ABOUT / TO FACT CHECKING

https://www.wnyc.org/story/breaking-news-consumers-handbook-pdf/

https://andrew-philips.medium.com/a-beginners-guide-to-fact-checking-a98309fe875b

https://projects.research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/en/horizon-magazine/five-fact-checking-tips-disinformation-experts

-Ares

just as a general reminder

learn how to fact-check for yourself, cause soon enough, most online sources won't be reliable

[front-facing-pokemon]

[genevievefangirl]

Master Post - Gen's Top 100 DBDA Fics!

It is finally here! My personal top 100 DBDA fics!

My friends in the DBDA Haunt Discord server know that I am an avid fic reader. I read multiple hours every day and have read a very large chunk of all the DBDA fics out there (that are tagged Payneland). I constantly recommend fics in our fanfic channel and thought, "Well, why don't I make a huge rec list in recognition of how wonderful the fic writers of this fandom are?" And thus the idea for this list was born!

I have been working on this since the cancellation announcement almost 2 months ago. It has taken me that long to go back through my over 350+ DBDA bookmarks and select only the best of the best to be featured here.

Thank you to every fic writer in this fandom! You are all amazing and I love your work! Your creations are what keep the fandom alive and healthy!

Some caveats before we begin:

These fics are in alphabetical order by title.

I have a Payneland bias. All of these are Payneland fics. Maybe I will make a list sometime that has more ship variety, but for now, that is what is on the list.

I also have a very strong hurt/comfort & angst bias, so there will be a lot of that on here as well! But there are a few fluffy fics too!

There is no smut on this list. Sorry, smut just isn't my thing. There is exactly one fic rated E on here.

Not all tags are listed! I have selected the ones that I feel are the most important and in some cases added some that I felt were missing. But please read the full tag list on the fic itself!

I will be releasing 10 fics a day for 10 days, to make the posts more readable and to have some fun!

And now... THE LIST!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Part 11 - WIPs

(and yes I will link a google sheets version once all the parts are out)

[jasperandhenryslovechild]

dude i gen can't stop thinking about how shit everything went for ray throughout henry danger / danger force because JESUS CHRIST IS THAT MAN A WRECK. i love it so much it makes him such a good character but GOD....

like. he's always been a narcissistic, irresponsible, self absorbed man child and he has blatantly ADMITTED IT by the end of hd. but at first? at first it wasn't as bad. like we see in episodes like the indestructible henry 2 parter that ray did have some sense of that this was too dangerous for henry (ie: "youre just a kid! what right do I have to take you around with me and put you in all kinds of dangerous situations?"). we see him be genuinely concerned for his safety and well-being but, at the same time, episodes like tears of a jolly beetle (where ray sends henry to fight crime alone for days after being hired less than like what, 2 weeks ago? maybe a month??) show his negligence and lack of awareness about how this could be affecting henry

as henry grows older and matures more, so do the class of crimes he has to get through— as would be expected, but at the same time, that fact is putting more stress on him and therefore he can't really pursue an education because of being constantly at the man cave right? and ray doesn't see it at all. he doesn't notice a decrease in school stories from henry, etc, because he himself never had to worry about school. he didn't even go and he turned out fine, why wouldn't henry? and as henry grows and matures, ray feels less responsible to take the upper hand and protect the kid because he can protect himself— his responsibility for him dwindles and he finds himself "putting henry through all kinds of dangerous (and irresponsible/lwk stupid) situations" anyway (ex s4 ep 2 henry's birthday, when ray mentions he took like a week off to go ride every rollercoaster in texas but did not let henry take his birthday off, or s5 ep 33 rumblr when ray falls into a sort of depressive episode over not having any new criminals to fight and letting henry & team danger take on the responsibility of pulling him out of it). almost constantly throughout both shows, the kids take care of him rather him take care of them.

and sure, it's genuinely all because of his upbringing. like s1 ep 17, caved in, shows us how neglected ray was as a child. he had a lack of knowledge in things kids did because he never got to be a kid himself due to his forced crime fighting career. he's too into his head to realize that's genuinely the exact same thing he's doing to henry— at a young, fundamental age in his life, he too is pulling a kid out of basic education and fun teen stuff to get him to instead fight crime for him. because of this, he loses the chance at a life beyond it. what seperates him and ray in a way that i don't think ray would ever truly grasp is that, unlike him, henry actually cares about what he's lost. he knows its weight and wants it back. ray never has. ray has never seen a reason to change the way he is because he refuses to pick up any answer dropped in front of him.

when henry ends up quitting (and everyone goes with him) ray loses a support system. he's too fucking fragile to have adult friends beyond schwoz for whatever reason, so the one place he had for people to actually care about him or listen to him was team danger. and now, that duty's passed onto danger force because they're the ones who are gonna have to stick with him now.

and then, at the end of danger force, ray hits his midlife crisis a bit early, marries his ex sidekicks wife that he met like 9 episodes ago, buys a boat, retires, and never comes back. like. WHAT?? without even giving df any proper warning before like what, the 2nd to last episode? are they even trained to handle all this on their own? will they be fine? and like, did you think about anybody outside of yourself before making this choice.

NO!

no, because that's the entire point of him as a character— he is aware, but he is still in denial. he still refuses to change because everything has worked out just fine for him thus far. he's never had a normal life— he's never owned his own house, he's never had a normal job, he's never had anything outside of what his father and the government have molded up for him so he believes that is all he is and can be. retiring is a realization that he can finally sever those ropes and become something like normal, but not quite. retiring is ray manchester's form of closure from all the things his capitan man alter ego have kept him from in the past.

ray, inherently, is not a good or bad character. he does good things, but he is irresponsible with how he goes about it. he cares about people, but above that cares about himself. i think that makes for SUCH a GOOD FUCKING CHARACTER. he is supposed to be this hero character archetype— loving, kind, strong— and while he is all those things, he's also got fundamental flaws that he cannot see or change that set him apart from that. he wrecked the lives of his sidekicks because he didn't have a concept of what should and shouldn't take priority when it came down to training them. when he had to take responsibility for how they turned out because of it, either they fled or he did. he always ran or found a way out of having to think about the affects of his actions— and that's probably most likely kept him up at night.

like jesus christ his character evolution is less of an evolution and more of a devolution/j

but that's what i LOVE about him. ray is not normal and never will be! #! #!

thank you for coming to that unexpectedly long rant i only expected to write like 2 paragraphs and then i just kept going

[theteasnake]

I'm once again talking about Danny Johnson because fucking brain rot.

But also character analysis because that's how I show love to my favorite (comfort) characters. 🩵

I swear I'm not trying to flood the Danny tag.

I've seen a lot of characterization of Danny, ranging from abusive and manipulative to a man whore who's a perv.

And I'd like to throw in: just a very tired dude who happens to be mentally unwell.

The only thing keeping this guy from offing himself is his hobbies, which just so happens to be creating stories and murdering. Like, if things went differently and he didn't turn to murder, he'd probably just end up a horror writer (good ending).

Other than stories/killing, he has adrenaline, but those almost always end in a crash. And at some point, he's gotta settle down for bed.

He's never made any meaningful connections to anyone outside of his dad, and even then, it seemed very... unpleasant and complicated. Even he can't tell if he has positive or negative feelings for his dad.

Even if he interacts with other people, he's still isolated because they don't know the real him. He's people-pleasing to the max because his livelihood and survival depends on how likable he is, because why would such a nice and young man commit all these murders all over the country? The same can be said about him and his dad, he had to be what his dad wanted him to be. It's not said if his dad was physically abusive, but military dads who came back from war tend to have a track record of being unkind to their sons.

I don't think he's ever felt a moment of relaxation or peace. He constantly has to watch others and keep a distance, and even when he's alone at home, all he does is sit and stare over his work. He has no sense of identity outside of his murders and stories.

I also saw that the developers called him narcissistic, mainly as an insult, and I don't know much about NPD (I've seen others say he has symptoms and most likely has it), so I can't comment on that. But I don't think the insult is even justified, he's not using others for his own needs, he keeps others at arms length because as soon as someone gets too close, he's done for. He also doesn't seem to be too showy with his work outside of his Ghostface persona, it's even said that he's only written some of the articles on GF (meaning his job in Roseville).

I doubt he's even been in a genuine romantic relationship. He's probably entertained the idea just to keep face or to blend in more because it would be weird for a young guy to not be looking for a girl to settle down with.

Not to mention the exhaustion from getting up early, working a 9-5, then staying up late to stalk/kill, then having to constantly play a character and following a script almost 24/7, while being on alert nearly his whole life. Then then suddenly being thrown into a slower pace environment where he doesn't have to worry about dying or being caught or having to pretend.

I could only imagine the whiplash he had.

Not to mention being labeled the Entity's (basically the god of this realm) golden child and favorite. I wouldn't be surprised if that title also adds stress/pressure.

Sure, he probably enjoyed it for the first hundred or so trials. But eventually everything starts being the same, and it's always the same people each time, and he's only allowed to do so many things in the trials, it eventually gets boring.

He went from taking his time to learn his prey, planning out an extravagant kill to rushing everything and doing things on a whim or following the same script over and over again (check gens, expose people, chase them, hook them, rinse, and repeat).

And we don't know how trials actually work in universe, we don't know if they canonically get breaks or even if the killers get breaks, or if they actually have places to stay in in-between trials, or if they're just overworked with trials back to back to back. We don't know if he is even given a chance to explore things and himself in the realm because he sure as hell never got one in his world.

Tattoos and piercings? Couldn't get them, those are identifiers and he'd stick out, plus it would leave a trail (idk in the 90s, but I had to give up ID to get my tattoo, and certain piercings need ID as well). He would constantly have to change his hairstyle and hair color, along with using makeup to make himself look different (that scar on his forehead is an identifier). He'd be forced to wear clothes that would match his current character's taste, never his own because that would be too consistent. He'd have to change up his way of talking (adding accents, switching up his vocabulary to match the locals, maybe even changing how his voice sounds). Constantly talking about topics he barely knows about because people around him enjoy it, pretending to be in the know to stay in the crowd. The only thing that he knows he enjoys is horror, but even then it doesn't scare him anymore and he only longs for the days when it did (and also probably rock considering his terror radius has some rock elements)

Who is he really? Who knows because he sure as hell doesn't. Maybe even that goofy side is just another facade to make others like him more.

I know a lot of his personality is hidden and not shown because it's supposed to be "it could be anyone" type of thing, but also, that could just play into the fact that he's technically a "nobody". Forever changing and blending in. I doubt even his Ghostface persona is the real him, it's probably just another character in his stories.

[celinamarniss]

Year in Review

In 2024 I posted 4 fics at 53,035 words.

Previous years:

2023: 4 fics at 58,153 words

2022: 4 fics at 45,096 words.

2021: 3 fics posted, 55,788 words.

2020: 7 or 10 fics posted, 125,738 words.

2019: 7 fics posted, 72,149 words.

2018: 7 fics posted, 87,752 words

2016: 9 fics posted, 51,643 words

2017: 9 fics posted, 115,336 words

2016: 9 fics posted, 51,653 words

In total, 52 fics posted to Ao3.

Thrones, Dominions

31,420 words, explicit, Thrawn/Mara/Luke

I finally wrapped up the Triumvirate verse with a big flashy finale (and bound it, too). I started Triumvirate in 2019, which means I've spent six years on this series, and that blows my mind a little. (a lot).

Will there be more Triumvirate stories? I genuinely hope that other writers will take up the torch and write more fic for all fans of the series. I’m not sure if I’ll write any more myself. It could happen. But for now, I’m happy to let this series rest.

An Oral History of the Ewok Bikers of Endor

4,115, gen, an Uncommon Hazards fic

I pitched three story ideas to the From A Legends Point of View fic collection, and this is the concept they accepted. It takes an idea from the Uncommon Hazards series, that post-Endor, Ewoks have immigrated to Coruscant and started an illegal swoop racing industry.

As I began to write it, I realized that the fic challenge required 5k and this story wasn't much more than a 3k concept. I stretched it out to 4. I'm not sure that this story was exactly what the mods had in mind, but it was fun finding ways to bring in characters and reference different types of media.

A Smuggler’s Guide to Joining the Rebellion

14,355 words so far, gen, the sequel to The Things You Find on Tatooine.

I wanted to get this fic through all of ANH by the end of the year, but my brain didn't cooperate and I ran out of time. But Smuggler's Guide has been a fun distraction to carry through into 2025.

The Coruscant Job

3,145, gen, Fenig Nabon/Ghitsa Dogder

Who? you may ask. Why, the super obscure con artist team that appeared in three short stories in the 90s. AKA the Fenig Nabon/Ghitsa Dogder fic literally no one asked for, because no one even knows who these characters ARE. This was another idea I pitched to the FALPOV challenge, and while it wasn't selected, I wanted to write it anyway. It turns out that was a good decision, because what I wrote wouldn't have followed all of the FALPOV rules. (My idea moves their timeline forward and retcons the story “Credit for Your Thoughts.”) 

GOALS FOR 2025

Finish A Smuggler’s Guide to Joining the Rebellion (teen, Luke/Mara) The ongoing project. Progress: five chapters posted, uhhhh lots of scraps and and partial drafts in a doc.

Lando Calrissian and the Jewel of Andara (gen, Lando/Karrde, Luke/Mara) The Lando and Mara heist romcom I’ve been promising forever. Will 2025 finally be this fic's year??? at this point, I don't even know. Progress: three chapters drafted, but in need of heavy revision.

Experiments (teen? Luke/Mara) I honestly started to think this fic was dead dead, but this year I dusted off the old files and finished drafting the first two chapters. What happens next? I'm not really sure. I feel like this period/setting (Mara on Coruscant post TTT, pre Yavin) has already been well-worn by other fics recently and I don't know if there will be any interest in it. If I keep going, I'll have to come up with a outline and figure out what I want to do with the fic. Progress: two chapters drafted, but they may need to be merged into one chapter.

Other fics on the backburner:

Courtship remix

Daughter of the Rain and Snow (dead???)

More daemon fic! (I always want to write more daemon fic)

[asexxxualauthor]

So, Monster Hunter Wilds is on the horizon, and with it the 6th generation of the Monster Hunter franchise. And, as a fan of the Monster Hunter series since MHTri, here’s my list of the monsters introduced in the 3rd generation that deserve a return. These are in no particular order other than alphabetical.

1. The Final Bosses

Combining these all together since they all fill the same niche (and so I can fit all the monsters on this list), I’m just gonna go ahead and say a flat “no” for them. Final bosses basically never show back up again, and even if they did, these three will not. Ceadeus is a strictly underwater Elder Dragon, and Amatsu is strictly native to Yukumo. Dire Miralis could potentially work out, but he’s still semi-aquatic. Anyway, 0/10

2. Agnaktor

On the exact opposite end of the list is this lovely son of a bitch. Not only is Agnaktor not aquatic, it’s the exact opposite—it’s a lava-swimming wyvern, which is a whole subclass of frequently-used monsters. We already have Lavisioth as an option, and Agnaktor’s immature form—Uroktar—were available in MHRise, so why not? 10/10, should come back again

3. Duramboros

Duramboros is the first monster on this list that isn’t in total dire need of a return—it was available back in MHGenerations, and isn’t extremely unique or memorable. It wouldn’t be hard to add to the game—in fact, the ecology of Wilds’ regions do seem like they’d fit him well, but he wouldn’t exactly need it. 3/10

4. Gigginox

Oh, Gigginox—the Khezu’s more creepy, yet less disturbing little brother. Therein is a large part of the problem with Gigginox, in that its design is too similar to Khezu's—if a game is going to have one, it most likely won't have the other. However, despite having similar designs, their fights are completely different—so, bringing Gigginox back for the Forbidden Lands seems like the perfect opportunity to me. 8/10, bring the freakshow back!

5. Gobul

Gobul is an unfortunate victim of gimmickry. He's definitely a fun enemy—the encounter with him is memorable, he's extremely frustrating and fun, and being able to fish him up with a frog on a stick is so unique and interesting! And I could certainly see ways that reintroducing him for a Swamp region in Wilds could be done well—the problem is that so much of his design is tied to his flooded home, and having to navigate murky waters, that I don't think he's likely to come back. I'll put him at a solid 4/10, though, being hopeful.

6. Great Jaggi

Whenever a small predator monster is included in a game, and the game chooses not to include their mature form or pack leader, I die a little bit inside. Getting into Rise's desert region, seeing the Jaggi running around, and slowly realizing there was no Great Jaggi to beat up on broke my heart. Do I think there's any chance my boy will be showing up in Wilds, though? Not a chance in hell, there's nothing unique about him—unlike his cousins G.Baggi and G.Wroggi—that makes him worth bringing home again. 2/10

7. Jhen Mohran

I, personally, never got the chance to go far enough in one of the games to tackle one of the massive siege monsters—the closes I ever got was Zorah Magdaros, and from what I've seen from the community, that was a bit of a shit-show of a siege. Still, we are shown sailing on desert sands in the trailer for Wilds, and we already know the MH4 crew is tied up in this somehow, so maybe siege is back on the menu, boys! 5/10

8. Lagiacrus

Oh, Lagiacrus—yet another wonderful monster that was handicapped by gameplay gimmickry. Lagi is one of the most beloved monsters in the series—an odd thing to say, since he just barely made it into the gen after his. Without a sea to duel him in, he's locked to just his on-land combat, which is far less interesting to deal with. If we could get underwater combat back, I could see a world where he comes home, but that's not this one. 3/10

9. Nibelsnarf

Honestly, this is one of the monsters I can most see coming back with Wilds. Like Jhen, Nibelsnarf is a desert-dweller that loves digging through the sand—and there's plenty of sand to go around in Wilds first area! Not only that, but Nibelsnarf is perhaps the most bizarre monster to come out of the 3rd gen, and if there's one thing we've seen from the MHWilds roster so far, it's that they're a bunch of ugly, nasty motherfuckers—so he'll fit right in! 9/10

And of course, saving the best for last...

10. Qurupeco

Why, on gods green earth, has this bastard not left 3rd gen yet? He has such a colorful, unique design! His antics and mannerisms are so goofy and fun! The fact that he can parrot the calls of other monsters in the area and bring them barrelling down on you with the force of a hurricane itself is crazy, and makes for such a terrifying conflict—I genuinely do not understand why he isn't in more games—in all of the games—he deserves it!

10/10—11/10—15!! This bastard deserves to make Hunters' lives hell in the Forbidden Lands, I swear to god!

[mbm-artist]

Hi there hello, I'm sure you're wondering either

A) Why tf I just reblogged a bunch of stuff in the span of like 30 seconds

B) What's going on in general

C) What's the point of this post you're reading

D) All of the above

Well dear viewer, I'm gonna give you a TL;DR and then under the cut give a more in-depth explanation, I'll even cut it up into different sections to make viewing easier :)

⚠️ Trigger Warnings ⚠️

Randy (duh), a LOT of swearing (duh), suicide mentions, pedophilia/attempted grooming/etc mentions, queerphobia (transphobia, homophobia, etc), misogyny, mentions of sexual things, slurs, harassment, general 16+ content mentions

Disclaimer

Randy is a 14 year old minor (allegedly) as of the time this post was made, please DO NOT INTERACT with him, just block him and report him as many times as you want. This post's purpose is to spread awareness and maybe hopefully get him banned from Tumblr. Please do not go after, attack, or interact with him or his (supposed) "girlfriend" (he has her tagged at the bottom of his pinned post). I suggest you block (NOT REPORT) his "girlfriend" too, you can never be too careful.

As of the time this post was made Randy's father and school have been contacted, and we are waiting on an update.

Please offer all the victims of Randy unconditional love and support, they deserve that and so much more for all the bullshit this kid put them through, don't you dare even TRY to victim blame them. I will flame you if you attack them at all in any way shape or form, no excuses, ifs, ands, or buts.

I am also a minor in high school (not giving my age for my own safety), so take that how you will. My pronouns are they/them/he/him if you don't know already :D

One more thing before we get into it (if it wasn't obvious already),

GET THE FUCK OFF OF MY PAGE AND BLOCK ME IF YOU'RE QUEERPHOBIC (transphobic, homophobic, etc) OR AGREE WITH RANDY IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM. DO NOT FUCKING INTERACT WITH ME EVER AGAIN.

Thank you, you may now proceed.

Links

The Google Doc (Alllllll the info about this guy in one place, most reliable source of info) | Randy's "gf's" tag, #proud randy supporter (Second-most reliable source of info, this has a LOT of updates on him in real time) | Randy tag, #randysworld-multi-fandom-fan/randysworld2009 (Second-most reliable source of info, all posts related to him will [hopefully] be here) | Randy's Interactions With Me (proof of him interacting with me) | Google Photos Album (just all of the screenies of proof in one place, I'm gonna tryyyyy to keep this updated as much as I can but no promises)

My response to the 1st ask he sent me | My response to the 2nd ask he sent me (pretty much the same as the first one)

The Short Explanation

So basically this whole fiasco is about @randysworld-multi-fandom-fan or otherwise known as randysworld2009

His crime(s)?

1. Hypocrisy

2. Queerphobia (transphobia, homophobia, the works)

3. Misogyny

4. Perversion (being a pervert)

5. Suicide baiting

6. Pedophilia accusations (all of which are false, and carelessly thrown around)

7. Attempted grooming(?) of fellow minors

8. Slurs (need I say more?)

9. Harassment (in case that wasn't obvious already)

Among other things

He's been interacting with accounts in the following fandoms (as of the time this post was posted):

The Amazing Digital Circus (TADC)

Hellaverse (Hazbin Hotel & Helluva Boss, or HV/HH/HB)

Murder Drones (MD)

SMG4 (Super Mario Glitchy 4)

Yo Gabba Gabba (YGG)

TL;DR this guy is a 5yo Gen Alpha brainrotted kid stuck in a 14yo kid's body, and he's been harassing multiple (mainly TADC) accounts on Tumblr for a bit now, and just being a nuisance and damaging people's mental health.

That's the simple explanation, if you're still not convinced you need to block this guy (and his [supposed] girlfriend) and report him until your hands hurt and/or would like to know more thennnnn

The full explanation + evidence is under the cut ✨

The Long Explanation

Okay so I'm gonna be quoting the Google Doc a LOT here, you'll be able to tell which parts are quoted and which parts are me.

"Randy or randysworld2009 is a Tumblr user that appeared around TADC blogs in the beginning of 2024. Since then, he has built a history of harassing said blogs, mostly roleplay/askblog accounts and artists, forcing roleplay and specially spouting misogyny towards women mods and fem leaning characters, transphobic and homophobic towards queer people. At one point he started getting his information messed up, saying that he was super straight and then later on a “half-bisexual”, also often times approaching people with romantic/sexual intent and then getting angry when those same people state that they are not interested or are above legal age, which he supposedly is not. It is believed that Randy is 14 years old, but at this point, we can’t be certain of what information is true or false. For all we know, his blog could be just a troll."

So yeah, this guy is bad news. That was a direct (formal) quote from one of the victims.

If formal isn't your style, here's a more casual one

"Randy first appeared around the beginning of 2024. He began harassing tadc ask blogs then that led to harassing their mods. Eventually others got involved and Randy basically snapped. He got EVEN MORE batshit and started spouting misogyny, transphobia, and dilution. He's chronically online and believes everything is a roleplay. He's obsessed with getting a girlfriend and has sexually harassed many. he is the horniest bastard you could fucking meet omg"

Another direct quote from another victim, this one he treated the WORST.

(Some) Screenshots

There are more screenshots in the Google Doc and the Google Photos Album I made, but these will be a few tidbits of evidence that will hopefully convince you by now if you're not already. (With some additional commentary/explanation from yours truly underneath each screenie✨) Additionally, all the images will have links to their sources. (Please let me know if they don't work, I'll update this with usable links if that's the case)

Exhibit A - The Bastard Himself

(Mb for light mode jumpscare here, even more reason for your eyes to bleed when looking at this immature fuck's profile)

Just his profile (as of the time this post was posted) so you know exactly who to block and report as many times as possible Exhibit B - His Interactions With Me

This is some evidence of him interacting with me, there's more in the Google Photos Album I made of proof he interacted with me

(Mb for light mode jumpscare again, it's the only way I could show the post and the comments in the same screenie)

His comments on my pinned post, if you saw this or this you know I demanded that he delete his comments on here (while flaming the fuck out of him), so here's a screenie of what they were before he (hopefully) deletes them

The first ask he sent me, my response being the awesome giant rant where I DEMOLISHED him (I'm way too proud of it if you couldn't tell)

All his interactions with me from when he initially found me

The rest of his interactions he's ever had with me

Like the first ask he sent, I answered with the same thing, ANNIHILATING this fucker (still way too proud of it)

Exhibit C - Direct Victim Testimonies (to yours truly) These are asks that I sent to the main 3 victims I had gathered evidence from before gaining access to the Google Doc, they're my main sources so far (send all the love and support to them please [especially Sunny's system they've all been hurt the most from what I can see], they're very sweet outside of all this and more than deserve it)

Dia answered first, their answer helped me gain access to the Google Doc and get a HUGE chunk of the evidence I'll be showing here

Second half of Dia's answer, a summary of the wholeeee situation straight from a direct victim

Sunny was the second to answer my ask, this is what I mean when I say clearly Sunny needs the most love and support out of all the victims (as far as ik) cus like how can you not man- also this is how I found out they contacted Randy's father and school, very big piece of lore (and you'll see why they have soon don't worry)

Lilith was the last to respond to my ask, this being how I found out that it was them specifically that contacted Randy's dad & school (which I commend them for, it was a very good move so bravo to them man genuinely)

Exhibit D - Evidence

And now the moment you've all been waiting for, if this doesn't convince you then shit idk what will-

This post was my first exposure to what Randy is ACTUALLY like and wowee what a doozy man, it started me down the rabbit hole that lead me to making this post rn (make sure you look at the notes [both comments and the reblogs] too those also have even more info aside from everybody FLAMING the fuck out of this kid lolol) Also GO OFF ON HIM GLITCH GET HIS ASS WOOOOO

(Sorry for the light mode jumpscare yet again, evidence is evidence)

1. Misgendering. What the fuck. (Dia's pronouns are they/them) 2. EW. Need I say more??? 3. This post is how I found my main 3 sources up until Dia answered my ask 4. You'll start to see that this post and the following posts show that he's SPECIFICALLY targeting fem-adjacent blogs (including blogs that are run by enbies that he assumes identify as femme and promptly misgenders) and generally being a misogynistic and transphobic BITCH

This post is an example of Randy A) Accusing a fellow minor of pedophilia (very carelessly and incorrectly might I add) B) Not even getting their age right? Hello??? C) This kid clearly does NOT know what the difference between slang and genuine predatory behavior is which shows how fucking SHELTERED this kid must be oh my GOD D) Another example of him misgendering and being misogynistic/transphobic

This post is more proof of him being misogynistic and sexually harassing people, and might I add a HORNY ASS PERVERT Rabid is actually someone I followed way before all this dude, I'm guessing that's how Randy found me unfortunately

After this screenie Dia answered my ask, so all the screenies beyond this point are straight from the Google Doc (some had links to their original posts, some didn't for the sake of anonymity which is completely understandable)

This post backs up what I said regarding the other screenie where Randy assumed Lilith was like 20, istg this kid does NOT know what fact checking is holy fuck This was a certified screenie I got from the Google Doc might I add

This post, another one provided by the Google Doc, is an example of him A) Harassing TADC ask blogs (and it leading to harassing the mods) B) Sexually harassing people and being misogynistic in general He just doesn't know when to quit huh

(Sorry again for the light mode jumpscare this is the last one I promise)

This one didn't have a post linked to it so I only found it cus of the Google Doc (so yay ig you don't have to click the links to the OG posts for more info anymore beyond this point), the mod spitting FACTS

Once again lovingly provided by the Google Doc, wowee this kid sure loves slurs

Conclusion

I know this might not get to many people, but I'm hoping it at least has some sort of positive impact, because I want to try my best to warn as many people as possible and keep him from having any more influence than he already has.

To the victims involved in this: PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEE PLS PLS PLS LMK IF I NEED TO CHANGE ANYTHING I TRIED MY ABSOLUTE BEST TO BE AS ACCURATE AND RESPECTFUL TO YOU GUYS AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE I'D REALLY APPRECIATE FEEDBACK IF I GOT/DID SOMETHING WRONG

Thank you for reading my ramblies on this important news, have a cookie for getting this far and you're an LGBTQIA+ ally 🍪 (plus an additional scoop of ice cream if you're queer 🍦)

And Happy Pride Month, TRANS PRIDE BABYYY

Plus some Anti-Randy spray for the road (lovingly provided by Sunny and Lilith) ✨

(in case of any confusion, the colors kind of mean different things but not really, it's not that important- but red is for trigger warning stuffs/disclaimers and general important things, green is for section titles, blue is for links, and that's about it really-- and yes I did make a subtle RGB joke. Sue me, I wanna be at least a little funny to make light of all this grim dark stuffs. All those super super serious call-out posts can be kind of depressing so I want to find the happy middle ground between serious and lighthearted, it gets the message across and it still feels important without being too much of a downer yanno? Anyway do tell me your thoughts in the comments after dropping a reblog, I would appreciate feedback on what you think of my writing style here :3) (Oh, and if you're wondering what purple means? It's a secret 🥰)

[yinyuedijun]

Okay woah bare with me cuz this might be one of the longest comment / message I've ever sent abt a story EVER so a lot of ramblings & incoherent thought!!

Onto the Sae POV short snippet you posted. I feel so heartbroken over them /gen like he went away for years! He pushed both his siblings away for their own good. He "threw them away" and moved on (in my eyes and probably in theirs too) but let's face it. Out of the 3 of them, Sae is the one stuck (Reader is stuck in a cycle too but in the snippet and both ver it did seem she eventually moved on in her own way although not healed) cuz he went away for what? What did it even accomplish? He's estranged from his siblings and he couldn't even save either of them from the wrong thing.

And it makes me feel for him bcuz he couldn't even save himself. He still have the same feelings for Reader even after all those yrs and he's seeing Rin & Reader's relationship and what he could have had. Don't get me wrong. I love Sae so much and he did the right thing in both ver of DP he's just so dependable and responsible and it makes me feel sad that he's in that situation. The way he also said that he wished he have wounded / acted on those feelings for Reader yrs ago like dude 😭 I don't think he even tried to move on or maybe he did try but couldn't (prob bcuz of guilt and other stuff). I wished they get the help they need.

Gen I feel so bad for them like I had scroll thru my phone for HOURS just to arrange my thoughts. Like DP is really that thought provoking / stimulating (in a good way)

Anyways! ONTO Funayure!! I think I'll divide my thoughts based on the ages / timeline shown in the fic otherwise it would be so I comprehensive

(When Reader was 12 / Sae walking up from a nightmare) Omg so it's the old Sae snippet I mentioned in my 3rd anon message! Gosh I can't believe it's here!! OH GOD OH GOD SO HE DID ACTED ON THOSE FEELINGS BUT WHEN IDK?? Gosh Sae's helplessness and Reader's innocence 😭😭😭 the adults failed them istg tbh I think I already said my piece abt this snippet in last message?? Omg idk what else to say apart from my heart is breaking 💔

Also is there a reason why even though he viewed it as him unable to save Reader (from what's happening), he's the one in the "swept in the tide"? Cuz in my eyes it ties to my sentiment that he couldn't even save himself (so how could he save Reader) and "tide" could be the feelings they're both already feeling and/or the situation or perhaps both?? 😭

You mentioned in your explanation that Sae feels guilty bcuz he thought that he somehow manipulated and abused Reader and I just want to hug my bb Sae and tell him that he didnt! He was just a kid too!

(When Sae was 9) Itoshi bros introduction with Reader!! (1) their mother wow I think she's a strong woman bcuz not a lot of ppl will welcome their husbands/spouses child from another woman into their home. (2) i find it cute that Sae noticed every little detail before and during the introduction and Rin is so cute too! (3) I fucking hate their Dad like sir that is your child/ren?!??! How could you be so unfeeling - giving Sae that responsibility at such a young age??!?! And letting your wife do that introductions of your (affair) kid ?? Like you failed both as a husband and father!! How could he also let Reader experience those things and idk give her some parental love and some help??! He's my confront person I tell you!! (4) little Saes thoughts! He's really a big brother 😭 and how terrible it is that even though the abuse never happened again, Reader still couldn't be completed healed and therefore repeated the cycle :(

(2 months after the intro - first time Sae and Reader slept on the same bed) aww so cute so cute! itoshi bros supremacy! yeah, I do think that Sae is a kind kid he's just blunt and Rin knowing that his older brother is kind on his own way?? Ughh I love them both!!!

Sae being gentle with Reader is so cute cuz you can tell that he's trying to be a diff older brother for her (cuz Rin and Reader is just so different so the approach must be diff). Also, them trying to bond over soccer? So cute!

I find the narrative of the Itoshi bros trying to befriend / involve Reader so cute and sweet but their childhood interactions just makes the present / future (?) more heartbreaking. They were so innocent! They were just kids! 😭😭😭

Rin being over the moon over the winner popsicle stick just cuz it was given by Reader and making it his lucky charm?? ADORBS!

Sae humouring Rin by watching the ghibli movie even when they watched it already / a couple of times?? Gosh he's such an older brother!! Not understanding the working of your younger siblings but still humouring them HQHAHA

The quilt moment is so heartwarming but every time I remember the present it makes me think if they were doomed right from this moment or maybe it was from the start :( at this point I'll just prob put a sad emoji every time cuz their story just breaks my heart :((

It's nice to see the Itoshi bros efforts working. Like Reader's finally comfortable enough to interact with them and even share her past (albeit this one to Sae only)

Not for the first time, I hate the adults in this story! They all failed my precious children! They're all so varying degrees of neglectful and abusive and they don't deserve my babies at all!! Like wdym you're just gonna ignore the needs of the kid you adopted who clearly needs help?? Wdym you just let another kid take care of their needs?? Like who does that? Don't even get me started on Reader's prev family like Reader's mom??? The audacity! (Also the reader being scared of her/their mom just makes me cry :( And wdym the mom k-worded herself?? And itoshi dad didn't even get his kid help after all that? Fuck him!) The stepbrother / stepdad?? They're now on my list of confront ppl! How dare they do that to a kid??? I could just punch them!!

(Also I just had to sneak in here how adorable it is that Sae helped Rin get over his initial fear of ghosts. My bbs! Also Sae humouring Rin again by confiding in him! Ughh they're so cute!!)

ANYWAYS, God how fucked up of that OG older brother?? Reader trusted him!! And then he went and traumatised her for life!!

"He doesn't know when all the right things started bleeding wrong" Sae, I'll hold your hand and say this. Your intentions are/were good. You didn't mean any harm :( Ig there's a truth in what they said abt the road to hell being paved with good intentions :(( (TBH a part of me doesn't believe in that saying but I can see the point) and once again THE FAULT LIES IN THE ADULTS WHO IGNORED THE SITUATION AND DIDNT GET THE KIDS HELP!!

(Haunting - End of the excerpt) gosh it's so wrong that they almost seemed like they're flirting (Reader flirting with Sae whichever) babies that's not normal!!

(Not sae being jealous ?? pls 😭 gosh they need help)

I get where Sae is coming from though. He's humouring her and I think he's so used at letting her get away with these that he doesn't have it in him to deny (in any context) or rebuke her or "throw her away".

To conclude, I get why you got pyshic damage over this cuz I feel like this is gonna haunt me too (as it DP hasn't). You wrote this so nicely that I was hooked like Sae feeling those feelings and knowing that it's wrong?? But at the same time he's a kid?? They all are. Like I wish someone would just get them therapy or smth!! Thank you for sharing this og ver and I hope you have a great week ahead!!

P.S if smths not making any sense with my comment disclaimer that it's bcuz I'm super @_@ rn like my heads been annoying me why I'm constantly having headaches is beyond me but that's life hahah

- Rhian (it's me again hiii!!)

HI RHIAN!!!! omg I'm so glad you enjoyed the snippet & funayuurei!! I really have to thank you for being so encouraging about desire path, I think I would have just let that fic die if you hadn't been so kind about reaching out!!!

thank you SO much for all your commentary, I really loved reading it! I'll reply to some of the major points below with some insights :3c

(tw child abuse, incest, suicide)

IM SO GLAD YOU MADE THAT OBSERVATION ABOUT SAE BEING STUCK!! it is really sad because out of the three of them, he is the one who is "alone" because he tried to do the responsible thing as the eldest brother. it is true also - the reader never really heals, but she does move with rin in desire path and imagines a kind of future for herself. this is not the case in funayuurei though rip

YES I did see your commentary about the snippet, thank you for sending it in! I'll expand on when it happened (e.g. when they slept together) in another ask that someone sent 🫡

I LOVE YOUR QUESTION ABOUT THE TIDE... the answer is two-fold. the sea more or less represents the devastation and cycle of tragedy that reader's mother has brought into her life. sae tries to save her from it metaphorically but ultimately fails, even though the reader views him as a dependable brother figure who makes her feel safe. he's "swept away in it" because he gets caught up in her situation and doesn't know how to deal with the pain, ultimately failing her.

interestingly, in that scene where she almost drowned as a 12y/o - sae's pov makes it look like he jumped in and saved her, and she erroneously thinks that he's the one who saved her. but in reality, it was rin who pulled her out of the water. accordingly, it's rin who is most reliable for her in the end.

full disclosure, I am a young sibling myself so I'm glad you appreciated how I wrote the dynamics AHGLSJSLSJAJ. sae humoring rin's weird habits is defs something I have experienced 💀

ok I LOVED reading your reaction to their parents also. it really does feel so unfair and horrible from the kids' povs, because it absolutely is. if you are interested however, here is some info on their motivations:

the dad objectively sucks and was a neglectful shit father to the reader. this is because, though, he feels incredibly guilty every time he sees her and is convinced he can't be a good father to her. from his pov he was weak enough to have an affair with her mother, and it was the way he hurt her that led to her ending up with a horrible man after him (the reader's stepdad), and ultimately her mom kills herself and he also sees that as his fault. he is uncomfortable with the reader's existence because she is a reminder for all those failings, and he doesn't know how to fix her. so that's why he completely ignores her 😭

on a related note, reader's biological mom was basically severely mentally ill and stuck in her own cycle of toxic/abusive relationships, which the reader was unfortunately born into. she married a horrible man who abused her and her daughter, and in turn she began to take it out on her daughter. she didn't know how to get out of the situation; after her husband was arrested and her stepson was discovered abusing her daughter, she came to her senses enough to try to do right by her. she begged the reader's biological dad to take her in, and he agreed. however, he ultimately couldn't help the reader's mom (he is already married with two sons) - so after dropping off her daughter at the itoshi household, she drowned herself in sagami bay. and now her daughter, after growing up, is similarly stuck in a pattern of abuse 😔

the stepdad never got fleshed out admittedly and is just a plainly bad character without depth HEFLSJSKS. but I think the stepdad was really the root cause of most of the abuse that the reader experienced. he sexually abused his son (the stepbrother), who internalised this behaviour and wanted to act these things out with the reader. in desire path, there is actually a scene where the reader and rin visit choshi (her hometown where she grew up with her first family), and they run into her stepbrother at a convenience store. he's so ashamed of himself that he can't make eye contact with the reader, and even pretends not to know her when she tries to call out to him. it's extremely sad (and vile), and when rin sees this, he finally starts to get an inkling of the kind of things that might have happened to her growing up.

ANYWAY sorry for yapping so much 😭😭😭 thank you SO MUCH again for reading and sending such thoughtful commentary! I appreciate it ♥️♥️♥️

[randomobsessionsofa30something]

My top 15 kpop songs of 2024

My countdowns of the year are overdue. So here's my first list with my favorite kpop songs of the year.

H.M. ROSÉ- APT. This earworm- because that's what it is- would easily make my top 3 of the year but apart from the intro the song it's in english so I do consider it a pop song but I just had to mention it.

15. TAEYEON-Letter to myself. The thing I love the most about Taeyeon's ballads is that she always picks interesting melodies to sing. And this one is no different. So no matter how many times she sings about heartbreak I keep loving it.

14. BOYNEXTDOOR-OUR. This song is so fresh and fun. This group has really become one of my favorites of the fifth gen and this song was my favorite this year even if Earth, Wind and Fire is also great, and the actual title of their mini album.

13. DOYOUNG-Little Light. When I heard NCT's Doyoung was releasing his solo album I was convinced he would release a ballad album and I was wrong. He went the pop rock route and I really enjoyed his whole album but I kept listening the title that in korean translates to firefly. It's a bright fun song to listen to.

12. New Jeans-How sweet. I have to confess I'm not a fan of New Jeans overall look but I love the songs they come up with and this one in special was as the title says a sweet song to listen to.

11. RIIZE-Impossible. RIIZE is such a fun group. I've enjoyed all the songs they've released and this one was really stuck in my head the first half of the year. It's about feeling everything that is impossible it's somehow possible when you're with that special somebody.

10. BABY MONSTER-SHEESH. Another song that stayed in my head for ours on end. It definitely has that YG feel and a great hook. I haven't really paid as much attention to them but this song makes me feel I'm really missing out.

9. NCT Dream-Unknown. I think this is kind of like their cheerleader song. It's about going after your dreams. Definitely feating for my favorite NCT subunit.

8. SEVENTEEN-MAESTRO. To be honest, I don't know why I either love or hate Seventeen songs. This one I absolutely love it. The choreo is everything and the beat is bright.

7. Taemin-Horizon. So, fun fact: my most listened kpop artist of the year was Taemin. This year he released his first album after singning with BPM and it really meant the confirmation that it wasn't SM that drove his career... it's all him. Sexy in the air was good but it was this song that really got me. It's Taemin so you know the choreo had to be crazy and on top of that he got some of the best dancers in the industry and yet his star quality shines through.

6. Baekhyun-Pinneaple Slice. Baekhyun was another artist that showed that he could deliver without the SM machinary behind him. This fun, sexy song is catchy. The MV has a vampire theme that is fresh. The vocals are EXO quality, of course.

5. Chanyeol-Hasta la vista. My favorite song from EXO Chanyeol's first album. I mean finally. Why is this the first one? Anyway... This song might be just a bside from his album but it was one of my most listened songs of the year. It has the band aspects Chanyeol has always loved, the vocals are so sweet even if the lyrics are heartbreaking.

4. AESPA-Supernova. Another earworm. When they released Supernova I was like "nope, next" and I actually like Amargeddon too but it's been seven months since it was released and still sometimes I wake up and the first thing out of my mouth is "Su-su-su-su-supernova".

3. GD ft Taeyang and Daesung-HOME SWEET HOME. Power was such a great comeback for GD but when Home Sweet Home was released to the world it was just legendary. It just screams BIGBANG. Exactly what I've been hoping for the last few years and to this day it sits on top of the korean charts.

2. ZICO ft. JENNIE- Spot. Zico has been kind of dragging his feet when it comes to releasing albums because he has been so focused on producing but him releasing this song was like him saying I can top the charts if and when I want to. The lyrics are about having a night out. It has a cool beat, Zico's signature rap, a great hook and Jennie's fun vocals.

1. Lee Young Ji ft Do Kyungsoo-Small girl. This song is mostly in english but I think D.O.'s parts in korean qualifies it as kpop. The lyrics really hit me hard the first time I watched the MV because it took me back to me being fourteen and feeling so much bigger than all of my friends. It really talks about self esteem but it's also a cute duo with Kyungsoo's beautiful vocals. It also happens to be my most listened kpop song of the year.

[tsarisfanfiction]

Beneath the Stars

Fandom: Trials of Apollo Rating: Gen Genre: Family/Angst Characters: Will, Nico Apollo kids slept with the sun, except for when they didn't. Overnight pre-quest outings don't help. TOApril day 9 - The Hour Past Midnight. I am tired and Will is tired so if this is incoherent, that'll be why.

Will was tired but he couldn’t sleep.  Usually, he slept just fine as long as the sun was down (when the sun was up was another matter entirely), but a pre-quest, well, quest, rather enforced the need for him to stay awake.

Then again, Will suspected that this would’ve been one of those rare, irritating nights where he couldn’t sleep even without external stimuli keeping him awake.  Going out lizard-hunting with Nico to try and gather bribes for the cavern-runners drove home exactly what they were going to be doing in the morning, but at least it came with the added side effect of knowing that they were also doing everything they could to mitigate the risks.

And there were a lot of risks.

The moon was out, no clouds thick or plentiful enough to hide its light, and Will let his head tip back to stare up at it.  He’d seen a lot of the moon over the past six months, since Apollo’s stint as a mortal had begun, and there were some things that just weren’t coincidences.  Will didn’t know how much influence Artemis had over her brother’s fate, but it was comforting, in a strange, disquieting, way, to recognise that with his dad… incapacitated, for lack of a better word, his aunt (not that he often thought of Artemis as such, wasn’t sure if she viewed herself as such) was still there.

Sure, Artemis would never drop by in his dreams, or even acknowledge his existence, but any hint of normality in a world that was currently anything but normal was one that Will would clutch at with both hands and never let go.

If only getting Apollo back where he belonged was that easy.  Right now, it felt more like Will was helping to accelerate his father’s permanent demise, because going to the trogs still felt like a terrible, terrible, idea, yet here he was.

Will was trying hard not to think about how if they weren’t all eaten by the trogs, there was still Nero to contend with, and after him, Python.

Even the name of the last one had him shivering.

His head knocked against the trunk of the tree he was leaning against, torn between being awake and passing out where he stood.  He could take a nap, if he wanted to.  Nico had never expected him to do more than keep him company for this, Will knew, especially as it was long past sunset and the lizard traps showed no sign of succeeding in their purpose just yet.

He should take a nap.  They were due to head out at dawn – provided they caught a stupid lizard in time – and then the quest would begin in earnest and Will’s opportunities for sleep would drop considerably.  He wasn’t Nico, who could go entirely too long without sleep – not for any logical reasons like being a son of Hades, but because he’d messed his sleep schedule up so badly that his body just rolled with it, even though it shouldn’t.  If Will didn’t get some sleep now he was going to crash mid-quest.

The problem was, Will wasn’t going to sleep.  He could feel it in the tenseness of his body and the faintest strains of a headache at the base of his skull.  He was too stressed to sleep, too on edge for his mind to slip away.

Next to him, also leaning against the tree, Nico was fully alert despite the late hour.  They were nearing midsummer, and even Nico had shed his outer layers until he was just in a t-shirt and jeans.  His bare forearm pressed against Will’s, cool but not worryingly so, and Will’s hand was close enough to his wrist to feel the rhythm of his boyfriend’s pulse steady and even beneath the skin.

It was soothing, and Will knew Nico was doing it on purpose, using his vitakinesis against him to keep him relaxed.  It was hardly the first time, and wouldn’t be the last, either.  Nico had used the exact same trick to get him to sleep after a late night in the infirmary, and with his sword out, he was clearly prepared to stand guard while Will slept.

If only Will could actually sleep.

Above him, beyond the moon chariot, the stars shone clearly.  Will could name all the constellations despite rarely being awake late enough to see them, because they were all named for Greek mythology – all came from Greek mythology.

The newest acquisition, the Huntress, was nowhere to be seen, because she was a winter constellation, and that meant Orion was also missing, because he was part of the winter sky, too.

Will’s eyes found Lyra, the lyre of Orpheus.  It wasn’t the biggest constellation in the sky, but it was one of the most Apollo-like in the sky (Will adamantly ignored Serpens; Python was slithering around in his mind unwelcomely without further incentive), and Will would take any connection to his dad at all.  Any hint that he would survive and regain his godhood.

Right now, his father would be laying in the cot in the middle of cabin seven, a bed meant for guests when Apollo belonged in the cabin more than any of the rest of them.  Will hoped he was asleep, but he didn’t think the laws of the universe that dictated that children of Apollo didn’t stay awake easily at night applied to the god himself, even if the god happened to be mortal and vulnerable.

Still, Apollo needed the rest, so Will could hope.  He could suffer a sleepless night and its consequences if it meant his father was well-rested and had the best possible chances of survival.

He sent a private, silent prayer to the moon above him.  Maybe Artemis could help that happen – at least then, Will’s sleepless night would feel like it had a purpose.  He would gladly never sleep again if it helped to keep Apollo alert and alive.

[shandit]

My Current Guesses on Legends: Z-A Starters

So with Pokemon Legends: Z-A being announced, since we now know from PLA that Pokemon will gain a special final evolution based on their new environment. I wanted to toss my hat into the ring of predictions for which 3 previous starters we're gonna get.

First off let me say which ones I'm sure we're not gonna get and why.

Gen 6 Starters

As with PLA, Gen 6's Starters will not be part of the starters in PLZA. More than likely, they will be caught in the wild just like the Gen 4 Starters were in PLA.

Gen 1 Starters

I think it's very safe to say the Gen 1 Starters are not going to be picked. But, let me explain my proper reasoning.

With the reintroduction of Mega Evolution, and the likely fact PLZA will have our Protag & Crew be the ones to discover Mega Evolution, it's very likely the Starters we get will gain Mega Forms. This said, It's very unlikely GameFreak will use Pokemon with existing Mega Forms, even if said mons get a regional form. Because of this, I can safely say Squirtle, Charmander, and Bulbasaur are not going to be on the roster, and same goes for...

Gen 3 Starters

Same thing here, with the fact these guys already have Mega Forms, I find it highly unlikely GF is going to give them both a new regional evo + a new Mega.

PLA Starters

This one's kind of a given. Pokemon isn't going to reuse any of the starters from PLA cause that would just be odd to keep giving starters other regional forms (That said I am sad at the loss of Mega Typhlosion :[ )

Gen 9 Starters

The simple answer to this is just, the Paldea trio are just, too new. While I don't think that entirely rules them out. I do think it makes them less likely to be chosen for the next mainline game.

Now with the obvious removals talked about, let's go down the line of who's left and talk about why or why not they're likely to be chosen.

Chikorita

I didn't originally have anything to say about Chikorita, since I felt their odds were snuffed out by the other grass types here, however upon doing some more research, specifically on Meganium, I learned the daylily (the flower theorized to be what Meganium's flower is based on) was actually brought to Europe around the late 1750's-early 1800's. And with France's Urbanization having occured around the mid 1800's (Which is the time period people are guessing PLZA will take place in) There actually is a good chance for Chikorita to be chosen as their plant actually fits with the location and time period! However I cannot think of what type changes would make sense for this, so I do have to dock some points for that.

Overall chances - 6/10

Totodile

Totodile sadly doesn't seem like a great fit for PLZA. It is essentially just what it is, a Crocodile. And, a quick google search will show you, that besides the barren ice land of Antarctica, Europe is the only continent to not natively have any form of Crocodile or Alligator. GameFreak would have to get very creative here with something of French history or folklore to make Feraligator work for this.

Overall Chances - 1/10

Turtwig

Now Turtwig is an interesting one. Not only is there the fact the extinct turtle species Torterra is based was discovered in North-West Europe (Though mostly Germany & Switzerland) but Torterra as a Pokemon has a lot of potential when it comes to regional forms, thanks in part to the tree on it's back. France's national tree is the Yew, specifically the European or Common Yew, it's an evergreen tree that sprouts red berries (these berries are also very poisonous, meaning we could get a change of typing here to Grass Poison). I could see a Kalosian Torterra having an Ancient Yew tree on their back sporting a great harvest of berries. But, potential put aside, I don't see Turtwig being here simply cause there's another Gen 4 starter that fits the bill of this game much, much more than them.

Overall Chances - 4/10

Chimchar

Chimchar is one I just can't vouch for out of the few fire types we have here. Their Sun Wukong relevance is way to impactful on who the mon is, and Sun Wukong, while being from a story of "Journey to the West" only went to India, and never actually went to the actual west of the world. I also once again have to toss them to the side because of the face there is one more Gen 4 Starter that only makes sense to be in this game, and it's not them.

Overall Chances - 1/10

Piplup

THIS, THIS RIGHT HERE IS A GUARANTEED PICK.

Piplup is absolutely going to be the Water Starter of PLZA, you cannot change my mind about this, and for those of you not in the know, I have one name that will explain why.

NAPOLEON BONAPARTE

Empoleon, as obvious as their name is, is in fact based on the Ex-emperor of France, General Napoleon Bonaparte. And, if we go back to the prediction of PLZA taking place in the mid 1800's... Guess what historical events seemed to also take place in the mid 1800's. Oh you know, just THE NAPOLEONIC WARS!

Piplup is my only and 100% has to be there guess, it would be a crime if they were not the chosen starter for this game. I legit would actually be angry if GameFreak missed this opportunity. As for potential typings... Water-Dark "could" make sense since Dark Type is just Evil type in Japan, and Napoleon is an evil dude in history. But I think Water-Fighting is much more likely, with Empleon probably going to take on much less of an Emperor Penguin look, and more of General Bonaparte, give him the Hat GameFreak, it would look funny.

Overall Chances - 10/10

Snivy

Snivy is also pretty much a guaranteed pick, and this is just from the simple fact of Serperior. Who is (supposedly) based on King Louis XVI of France & other European aristocrats, and that the fleur-de-lis, aka the French insignia used by many Noble families is visible in their design... Honestly, along with Piplup I would be flat out shocked if Snivy was not the grass starter for PLZA, like I would be baffled at how much of a lost chance that would be. As for potential regional typing, I could see it being Grass Ghost to represent the death of the French Monarchy... But that's it for my brain lmao

Overall Chances - 10/10

Tepig

Tepig is an odd one. On one hand, Snivy being basically guaranteed makes me obviously think another Gen 5 pick isn't going to make it into this group, but on the other hand...

Nah, I got nothing. Tepig is based way too much Chinese Culture and the tale of Zhang Fei to really fit into French culture. Just like Chimchar's inspiration from Journey to The West, it would feel wrong to change Tepig for the exact same reasons.

Overall Chances - 1/10

Litten

This one was more of a wildcard pick here for me, simply cause none of the fire types left had any real connections to France like Water and Grass had, I just found the idea of a regional form for Incineroar to be interesting. Though I had no idea how they would change a professional wrestler into something more fitting for early 1800's France... THAT IS UNTIL I DID SOME RESEARCH BABY!

So French Wrestling is actually really interesting, while it started in the 1830's, their style of wrestling, titled Graeco-Roman, was invented by a soldier FROM THE NAPOLEONIC WARS! Not only that, but it's even named "Classic Wrestling" meaning there actually is a good chance for Incineroar to be based on this style of wrestling for their Regional form! What better thing for the Wrestler Starter to use what is to many people the first style of wrestling that was used in the First ever Olympics! As for typing, Fire Normal could make some sense... I just really don't want it to be Fire Fighting, I think a lot of people would be disappointed if it somehow got the infamous Fire Starter typing.

Overall Chances - 9/10

Popplio

What can I even say about Popplio? I mean I guess maybe the fact Sirens originate from Europen folklore? But even then it's mostly Greek origins for that. There's nothing really tying Popplio in to fit the bill here, they're outclassed by a certain penguin of french origins.

Overall Chances - 2/10

Grookey

I think the Galar Starters are going to be the hardest to even justify, really the only thing any of them have going for them is the fact they come from Galar, which is based on Great Britain, a country that was France's rival in the war to own the world.

However none of that has anything to do with Grookey, the drummer monkey really doesn't have anything to offer! Rillaboom could maybe play a different instrument, but I don't think going from a pair of drum sticks to a bugle is probably gonna work out well. Perhaps though I'm just not putting my mind into it well enough.

Overall Chances - 3/10

Scorbunny

Again, I've got nothing. Realistically I guess you could make a pun here and have Cinderace being a French foot soldier. Though French hares are a common animal, and rabbits in of themselves are abundant all across Europe. I'm just personally wondering what exactly they could do with the fella that makes them properly unique enough to earn that spot, and right now I just don't see it.

Overall Chances - 4/10

Sobble

Last but not least, We have Sobble. Now surprisingly, I could actually see them being used, Intellion is based on James Bond and 007, and being a spy, well French spies obviously existed, there's also the fact a spy can also be an assassin if need be. Water Poison Intellion that shoot poisoned bolts of water from fingertips, yeah that could work.

Issue here though you have to put Sobble up against the other water types here, and well... Piplup.

Overall Chances - 3/10

And that's it! So TL:DR for anyone not reading here are the rankings most likely to least likely by types

Grass :

1 Snivy

2 Chikorita

3 Turtwig

4 Grookey

Water

1 Piplup

2 Sobble

3 Popplio

4 Totodile

& Fire

1 Litten

2 Scorbunny

3 Tepig & Chimchar

Meaning the most likely Starters for PLZA are going to be

Snivy, Litten, and Piplup.

[mastersoftheair]

ok, so my own final (and very, very fresh) thoughts, bc i wanted to wait until i'd watched everything to make a sweeping opinion of the whole series, and it's quite opinionated. and long. probably too long. i write essays for fun (everyone point and laugh):

my personal (and very, very fresh) ranking of the hbo war shows (not including gen kill bc that's a different war, sorry) goes- band of brothers > masters of the air > the pacific (it's the same for my title score rankings. that hasn't changed yet)

my main points of contention with MotA are 1) the nine episodes, 2) the length of the episodes, and 3) certain editing choices. nine episodes, compared to the classic ten, isn't Nearly enough time to showcase all that they wanna showcase (especially when the episodes are as short as they are, once you get past the recap and "next on" parts). and they wanna showcase A Lot! there so much going on! i'd ask them to pace themselves, but they literally Can't!

i mean, the editing choices are a Whole Thing! practically gives me whiplash sometimes lol. i feel like the weaker episodes still have parts that are Really good, but like. Individually. they don't work together as a stronger whole, which is to the episode's detriment. rather than jumping around (as the show often did), they could've benefited a lot from focusing on the One Story instead of squeezing three more stories into there (i say that, but i think the 4-5-6 episode run (all with multiple stories per episode) did this very well while Still being very good episodes, so it's not like it Can't be done, it just didn't work for 7, 8 and (partly) 9). granted, i suspect a chunk of the weird editing can be blamed on, well, there being only nine (and not all that long) episodes and no one wanting to cough up enough money for a tenth. ugh! i'm blaming both hbo And appletv for this (and covid19 ig). it's just One More Episode, how much could it cost?? and on the subject of episodes, why no episode titles? you used to love episode titles! i could've brainstormed episode titles for them For Free!!

when it comes to the characters, the rankings remain the same: BoB > MotA > TP. it's not totally fair tho, since BoB followed the exact same (and large-ish) group of guys from beginning to end, so you're Gonna know who they all are and get attached. this wasn't the case (for me!) when watching TP, since, unlike BoB, they jump around from group to group. i never felt like i got to know them all that well, outside of the main characters. i think MotA almost hits that sweet spot, especially knowing they had those two main things going against it: large cast And jumping from group to group. there's a case to be made for bias here (i Was the blog blogging about everything MotA for like. years.), but i still think they found a good enough balance of fleshing out the main characters while Also helping the audience get to know about a bunch of minor characters, of which there are a shitton (and their personalities, motivations, backgrounds, quirks).

there's also the representation of women. actual angel renée lemaire is and will always be a cut above the rest (bastogne is just That Good, argue with the wall). she's written so well that it almost makes me forget about how a bunch of women are portrayed in carentan. i have...issues with how women are portrayed in TP (even tho i love lena), so there's that. MotA falls in the middle (again) bc there's Way more women on-screen, but the writing can be questionable. balanced (as all things should be?) captain l'sandra wing-westgate is a character of all time, but episode 7 birthed the craziest discourse known to man (the hbo war fandom), but it wasn't all that unwarranted. manon and michou were sooo cool, but we didn't see nearly enough of them (another victim of the 'editing too many stories into one episode' problem. why not a whole resistance episode? or at least as the only b-plot?). paulina was interesting, but fulfilled one of those 'attractive foreign woman gives sage advice during/after sex' tropes (there's probably a tvtropes page for that idk). so many red cross girls, but none of the in-depth payoff :/ epic highs (multiple women!!) + epic lows (writing women??) = pretty tolerable. not great, not terrible. it was aight. i trust the fandom to build on this tho.

narrative is the big one tho. it's the whole "doing so much with so little" thing they've got going on (i'm ignoring their big budget here lol, could've been bigger). rather than having one main story with many connecting side stories (like BoB), it does the TP thing where there's many semi-connecting side stories set in the same general area. it helps that there's crosby's narration (i enjoy narration, sue me!), and he helps everything connect, sorta. but there's still other side stories that have Nothing to do with him (sandra's side gigs (revealing what she did takes away the mystery of what she Might be doing), the tuskegee airmen, quinn and bailey's eurotrip). would it have helped if there were two narrators (say, someone like rosie)? idk. gonna sit with that one. if there's a through-line, it's not super obvious like in the other two shows. which is insanely funny to me bc i literally like TP less, but that show's got an Extremely tight through-line all the way down. i can't lie and say it doesn't!

back to budget- i've seen people criticize this show for being called "masters of the air" when there's not much of "the air". ig that's fair, but there's the money issue, again. also, it'd get very repetitive if they were always in "the air". there was enough confusion about identifying who was who with the masks on, so imagine if that was Every Episode. out of All the issues the show has, this is the least issue-y. again, that's just my opinion, and it could change.

another budget thing (i think??)- idk enough about costuming and hair for period pieces so i can't comment on that with my 0 background in it, all i Can say is that i knoooooow people were clowning on marjorie cleven's hair in episode 1 (and i could see why, no such thing as 1940s beach waves). but from what i could understand- that actress' addition was a last-minute thing (bc i had No idea who the hell she was and i already found someone cast for marjorie all the way back in 2021). maybe there's something to say about the quality of rush jobs, but i really do think it was the most last-minute thing bc it came out of Nowhere, and timeline-wise, it looks like that bit was done long after everything else had been filmed. outside looking in, it seems something probably went wrong/didn't work out with who or what they already had and there wasn't enough wiggle room (time and money) to fix it. this isn't me being an apologist (lol), but i feel like a theorist at a big board bc nothing adds up! and i wanna know what happened! i'm just speculating! speculating on this blog is All i did for like Years lmaooo.

this is more of a side thing, but some of the lines in MotA feel really on-the-nose, almost corny. and that was Gonna be a knock against it, but there's some equally Extremely on-the-nose lines in both BoB and TP (Especially in BoB), so if i give MotA shit for it, i'd have to give all three shows shit for it lol. none of them are free of cheese.

another silly aside- no peaches, no main gingers, no main eugenes! we can't have 'em all, but c'mon!

there Is some good tho lol. one thing that MotA really has going for it, that i think the other shows have less of, is- and GOD it feels so weird to call this "world-building" when it's actual goddamn history, but- it's got world-building. maybe that isn't the best word for it. but i like how much Bigger ww2 feels in this show. BoB is one stop, then the next stop, then the next stop, which is, admittedly, good from a narrative-perspective (easy to follow), but not as good when you want a scale of how devastating the war is (in fairness, it was filmed in 2000). even TP feels pretty "enclosed" in a way. there's island-hopping, yeah, but all the damn islands look the same (not including australia lol). it's a theatre of the war we otherwise don't really get to see, but there still isn't all that much to see. it's water and sand and rock and dirt. which is the point, but Whatever! would've been cool if we saw sledge and co. in china, but moving on. MotA's able to really show the scale of it, both in the air and on the ground (that scene in germany during episode 6 was both harrowing and fantastic, also the inclusion of the actual children forced to fight nearer to the war's end in the finale). idk i just liked how it was able to zoom in and zoom out (and in and out again) in a way that the other shows weren't.

another thing it's got that the other shows don't is Really driving home how young everyone is (not "child soldier" young, but damn young). the cast is full of baby faces (rip babyface). a lot of ww2 shows/movies don't bother casting to reflect this, but i think overlooking that takes away from the overall impact. you browse through some old newspaper articles or photos of soldiers during ww2 enough and you're gonna Regularly get hit with the face of someone who looks like they could've sat in the desk next to you during a high school lit class. a lot of those b&w grinning faces look like kids bc they pretty much were (more so if they lied about their age). you don't really get that in BoB or TP (it's Crazy when the real life pics of the soldiers portrayed in those shows look younger than the actors).

i'm mixed about the tuskegee airmen. what we have, i love (thank you, dee rees). unfortunately, my biggest irk is that it leaves me wanting more of them, which i won't ever get. speaking as a black person (not speaking for All black people, just how i personally feel about it), having them included feels like a catch-22. if they weren't included in any capacity (all while knowing there were whole tuskegee airmen in stalag iii with the white main characters), there'd be a problem. however, including them (all while having these time constraints and not enough focus on them) leads to the feeling of having them "tokenized" (which i can see). there's no world where there'd be 50/50 split (even a 70/30 split) bc, at that point, just give them a show of their own. but there'd still be a general annoyance that big budget ww2 shows are only ever white. on the other hand, hanks and spielberg and orloff and miller and all the directors (except dee rees) are white, and how good of a story about black people are you really gonna get from the perspective of nonblack people? that in mind, i personally don't feel put-off by having the three tuskegee airmen in the posters/trailers/promos, bc i just Know there'd be a whole nother problem if they weren't included in them at all despite being in the show for however long (it'd be even worse if they made their pictures smaller). like i don't work in advertising, but i don't know if a "sweet spot" even exists for something like this. people would be pissed off no matter what imo (i'm also speaking with a bias here bc i had to browse through sooooo many comments written by white guys whining and crying and pissing and shitting themselves once they learned that the tuskegee airmen were gonna be in the show in Any capacity, so i'm just cool knowing they're in shambles rn (and josiah cross- he played richard macon- always goes Wild seeing his face in the promos, and his joy is pretty contagious).

i give it somewhere like a 7.5-8/10. 3.75 stars out of 5. not perfect, subject to change, gotta marinate, but i'm overall happy with it! MotA's best episodes are better than many other individual hbo war episodes. should i be grading it using the overall sum of its parts, not just the different parts? idk, i'm not being paid to grade lol.

[dappersusberries]

The most fuckable Pokemon of each generation

I am a monster fucker, I fuck monsters, this is just a personal opinion, and I am mad horny

Gen 1 - Hypno: I think hypnosis is really hot, and Hypno really just excites me. Something about the way it looks at things, how it seems to be almost watching you no matter what, and its fluffy neck coat...really, what more do you want from a Pokemon?

Gen 2 - Meganium: Surprisingly this gen is like, has the least amount of Pokemon I'd get down and dirty with. There is probably only like 3 I'd say. Meganium though feels right. Since it's a starter you can really grow a bond with it, plus it looks gentle enough to take care of you while in heat, but also definitely gonna make your asshole (or pussy) into a gaping mess...

Gen 3 - Illumise: Now you might be asking...why not Gardevoir? or if you are more of a traditional monsterfucker, why not Milotic? simple, Illumise just has this almost smug energy. Like, it looks like its saying "nuh uh you cannot fuck me hehe" and the thrill of making it submit to you would be really, really hot imo. Usually I'd be more willing to be submissive for Pokemons, but Illumise...she makes me go crazy. Though I suppose if I wanna be dommed, maybe Seviper? I wouldn't mind if it bit me just a little :3

Gen 4 - Mismagius: This was honestly really hard, but I chose the dapper ghost lady. She definitely would take you out to a fancy dinner, take you back to her place, give you a night you'll never forget, and will leave you with her number.

Gen 5 - Scolipede: I mean just look at it. You would too, don't lie.

Gen 6 - Goodra: Yeah I wanna fuck my favorite, bite me.

Gen 7 - Tsareena: Another favorite, but honestly I'd make do with a good 99% of the Alola dex. Ton of baddies there ngl.

Gen 8 - Dracozolt: LOOK AT THOSE THIGHS! Who wouldn't plap that???

Gen 9 - Iron Valiant: Yeah yeah, I know, it's like Gardevoir, which is a very overrated Pokemon to fuck, but like, its a hot robot. Give me some credit, alright?

Anyways, uh yeah, probably gonna go to hell for posting this but whatever.

[seirei-bh]

My opinion about ep 8 - Jason and Amanda's routes

Hi! I'm sorry for my absence for the last month! I'm going to be really busy with college this year, I forgot to write my review of ep 7 and I'm a bit late with ep 8, but I'm still here! Haha

I finally played ep 8! I don't have the VIP now, so I had to wait and I was a bit scared seeing other people's controversial opinions about this ep. My conclusion after playing it is that this episode was… weird. Not as awkward and horrible as I thought it would be, reading other reviews, but as others said I also had the feeling that this ep has a script that would have been more believable in a HSL-type story, since the behavior of the characters seems more like that of a group of teenagers, than adults who work in the same company. It has some similar vibes to HSL in eps 9 and 12 (I loved those eps), when Candy wanted to see Lys' tattoo it was funny and plausible, even innocent since she just wanted to see him shirtless, and not his private parts, plus it led us to find out a secret of Nathaniel's that would later lead us to an important point in his backstory, so it was justified at least as far as "plot excuse" goes, but in a situation with co-workers… it doesn't fit me, and even less if it's in a filler ep. I don't know if it's because they thought about this ep when New Gen was still in the process of being a new HSL, or they just thought that this theme would fit in this environment as well. But it doesn't work for me.

Anyway, I'm happier than ever that my main and secondary routes are Jason and Amanda, since in Jason's route I had the chance to warn Roy and in Amanda's I was able to take her side and against the plan to spy on Roy, warn him too, which in both situations was for me and my OCs (according to their personalities) something much more comfortable. That's why the ep wasn't creepy to me, since it wasn't a "let's catch our coworker naked and without consent" but a "let's have fun watching Roy surprise and get revenge on them."

Amanda received complaints in the fandom for being immature in some previous eps like 3, but in this ep she has been the most mature of all and I love her for it, and the moments with her were wonderful! If this ep was fun and comfortable for me it was largely thanks to her. And I truly felt that things were happening here that made the relationship between Amanda and my Candy advance. I really liked both the conversation they had about how she shouldn't care what other people think about her and how she was grateful that Candy took her side, as well as the date to the spa, both enjoying massages, canapés and scented candles. QUEENS <3

About Jason, I'm tired of us always being in a vulnerable position with him instead of the confident and equal enemies-to-lovers that I would like, however, I was glad that at least he showed respect and consent towards my character, THANK YOU, and I like that he wasn't involved at all in the rest of the plot of this ep, and I liked the special scene of my oc imagining a kiss with him caught me by surprise and was very funny! However, I needed something more, ep 7 had a very emotional scene between them and I really hoped to see something more in this ep that developed their relationship, and I didn't see it. But I have hopes that it will improve. Btw: I can't help but laugh thinking that if my character wasn't there, Jason might have accidentally found Roy naked, wtf XDDD

The scene where I was in the locker with Elenda and Brune pressed up against me… BV when am I going to be able to kiss my girls?? I felt it was a least another good enough situation to get an illustration with them, like the scene of holdings hands with both in ep 6. I miss to get illus with friends like in the previous games ToT

Also, Roy was great during this ep. I'm aware that Devon and Elenda are friends of his since childhood and so they knew that Roy would take that joke in good stead, but still, Devon is supposed to be the boss of our company, he should be more mature and set a limit for the others.

However, I've a painful confession to make, (and please don't judge me, I know Thomas has a lot of fans and I don't mean to offend them), Thomas is supposed to be my third route, but I've decided that I'm not going to do this ep with him, at least not for a while. His behavior in this ep towards Roy has bothered me too much. Roy is his coworker and he's always been nice to him, he doesn't deserve to be embarrassed and have his privacy exposed like this, they're supposed to be friends! Not enemies like Jason with them! Also, I've been finding in these last few episodes that the answers that raise the lovometer with Thomas don't fit with me or my oc at all, and I'm not willing to keep lying just to raise the lovometer. I don't know what I'll do in the future, maybe I'll go back to the Thomas route if he wins my heart again in the next eps, or maybe not, and in that case I'll do the Roy route on that account instead.

Overall, thanks to Amanda and Roy, the episode in my Jason-Amanda routes was very funny, fortunately, and I'm also aware that New Gen is fiction and you shouldn't take it the wrong way, yes, I don't, but honestly, if BV wanted to make an episode with an excuse to show Roy naked and/or Candy having a moment like that with her crushes, I think they could have done it better in another way. The only scene I see justified and believable enough is Amanda's, since they're in a spa and they're women. And I'm not talking about realism, I'm talking about verisimilitude within fiction. I don't know, maybe they all went to a nude beach for some event instead of the pool? And then Candy took a bath like that as a challenge or because a wave made her lose her bikini? Or that Candy wins a free couple spa session ticket and invites her crush! Or that Candy catches Roy naked by mistake simply because she's curious to see him during his common training and she didn't know he bathed naked afterwards? Or that the whole "Roy goes naked in the pool" thing was just a false rumor made up by his fangirls and that when Roy arrived he laughed and said that it was all a lie or that he had spread the rumor to play a joke on them in revenge for something they had done to him before. Or better: wait for more episodes, when we were already in a relationship with our route, and then a nude scene with our route would arise in a more natural way? Like you and your partner wanting to swim together in the private pool at Candy's house, for example, or shower together. At least those scenarios wouldn't let Thomas, Devon and the others act like a bad friend to Roy.

Lastly, something positive: all the images were wonderful! The faces and bodies of all the characters are very beautiful, the luminosity and colors are also very well done, and I liked that there was some variety in some routes and not all of them were in the pool. Also, I was really glad to guess that the promotional image of Candy with the towel belonged to Jason!

[dipplinduo]

What’s your favourite Pokémon of every Generation? (EXCLUDING Ribombee and Dipplin.)

Glad this is for every generation 'cause I love a lot of pokemon and it's hard playing favorites. xD

Confession time: I actually don't really have favorability for Dipplin as a pokemon. xD My naming choices for my username / Sweet & Sour Dipplins was more so designed with the intention of referencing and popularizing dipplinshipping ("dippin" -> dipplinshipping + "duo" -> Kieran & Juliana).

But! Challenge accepted, anon. Lemme whip out my pokedex. Note that I'm going more so for overall vibe favorability as opposed to gameplay usage:

Generation 1:

Welcome to Basic Bitch Land™, where I'm your mayor. xD I have a lot of general favorites for Gen 1, but Pikachu was always destined to be a fave of mine whether or not it was gonna be the mascot, ngl lol. I was very obsessed with Yellow as a child (and still very much am), so I wouldn't have been able to ignore this precious lil friend. A lot of the franchise has not helped. xD Generation 2:

This one is HARDDDD because like Gen 1 I have a lot of favorites and Ampharos is also right there (seeing a theme lol?), but Togetic has my heart. I fell in love with it more when I used one in Gen 8, and I actually like it a little more than Togekiss. xD It has such a cute and satisfying wing flapping animation/sound!! And I love its lore.

Generation 3:

Flygon is the GOAT, man. Cool dragon. Great typing & 6th pokemon whenever I'm building teams. Stellar moveset. Rad design that isn't overly complex. Need I say more? Generation 4:

I. LOVE. DRIFTFLOON LOL. Don't even get me started on the Saturday Valley Windworks nonsense kid me was like "what the fuck why do I gotta wait to get the happy balloon pokemon". No it totally doesn't have a ton of weaknesses shhhhh its FINE ITS A CUTE BALLOON THAT DEFINETELY DOESN'T HAVE CREEPY LORE ALSO DID YOU KNOW ITS SHINY IS YELLOW?? THE ONE TIME I LIKE SHINIES. xDD

Generation 5:

This answer surprised me! I've never used this line on my team before, but the concept of Sawsbuck (and subsequently, Deerling) just make me so happy. I feel really connected to the Earth whenever I see this pokemon, and their real life counterparts brings me a lot of peace as one of my favorite animals. Generation 6:

I also really love Floette conceputally, but Slyveon drove me crazyyyyyy when it first was announced. My irl friends describe me as either giving Sylveon or Leafon energy as a person (lol), and I certaintly see it. I love how strong this thing is too and it brings me so much joy to use it whenever I can.

Generation 7:

After Sweet & Sour Dipplins/running this blog, my undeniable favorite is Ribombee without question. But before that, it was Bewear! There were some other favorites I had for this gen too, but oh my god. This thing SMACKS people. And its SO CUTE. xD I loved using it on my team in gen 8.

Generation 8:

My love for my Applins in Sweet & Sour Dipplins aside xD, Hattrem was an automatic fave for this gen. Incredible design, super cute, whimsical and magical vibes with some interesting lore - LOVE IT. Lowkey would've loved to have this be the final evo with fairy typing because this mid evolution is where this line peaked, change my mind.

Generation 9:

The chaos behind this pokemon is too fucking funny. I harassed so many people with memes about this pokemon when Scarlet/Violet first came out. xDD For a split second it was my #1 fave because of how much it spoke to the pettiness in my soul. I will always love super cute pokemon that go "KILL". xDDD There you have it! :)