#with false leads and whatnot

[ghostdrinkssoup]

my honest opinion about caitvi is that the pacing is too rushed to make me super invested. there isn’t enough time between them investigating zaun and vi reuniting with jinx in S1 to really establish their individual goals, backgrounds and dynamic. what makes them similar despite coming from vastly different worlds? how can they improve themselves by being together? why do they need each other? they deserved a slow-burn

to be fair, pacing is an issue across the board with the show. it’s too ambitious and has too large a scope for the amount of time they had

[max1461]

Here is an observation of common attitudes I see in tech-adjacent spaces (mostly online).

The thing about programming/tech is, at its base, it's historically and culturally contingent. There are of course many fundamental (physical and mathematical) limitations on what a computer can and cannot do, how fast it can do things, and so on. But at least as much of the modern tech landscape is the product of choices made by people about how these machines will work, choices that very much could have been made differently. And modern computing technology is a huge tower of these choices, each resting on and grappling with the ones below it. If you're, say, a web developer writing a web app, the sheer height of this tower of contingent human decisions that your work rests on is almost incomprehensible. And by and large, programmers know this.

I am not dispensing some secret wisdom that I think tech workers don't have. On the contrary, I think the vast contingency of it all is blindingly obvious to anyone who has tried to make a computer do anything. But tech is also, well, technical, and do you know what else is technical? Science. I think this has lead to a sort of cultural false affinity, where tech is perceived, both from within and without, as more similar to science than it is to the humanities. Certainly, there are certain kinds of intellectual labor that tech shares with the sciences. But there are also, as described above, certain kinds of intellectual labor that tech shares to a much greater degree with the humanities, namely (in the broadest terms): grappling with other people's choices.

From without, I think this misplaced affinity leads people to believe that technology is less contingent than it actually is. But I think this belief would be completely untenable from within; it just cannot contend with reality. I've never met a tech worker or enthusiast who seems to think this way. Rather, I feel there is a persistent perception among tech-inclined people that science is more contingent than it actually is. I don't think this misperception rises to the level of a belief, rather I think it is more of an intuition. I think tech people have very much trained themselves (rightly, in their native context) to look at complex systems and go "how could this be reworked, improved, done differently?" I think this impulse is very sensible in computing but very out of place in, say, biology. And I suppose my conjecture (this whole post is purely conjectural, based on a gut sense that might not be worth anything) is that this is one of the main reasons for the popularity of transhumanism in, you know, the Bay. And whatnot.

I'm not saying transhumanism is actually, physically impossible. Of course it's not! The technology will, I strongly suspect, exist some day. But if you're living in 2024, I think the engineering mindset is more-or-less unambiguously the wrong one to bring to biology, at least macrobiology. This post is not about the limits of what is physically possible, it's about the attitudes that I sometimes see tech people bring to other endeavors that I think sometimes lead them to fall on their face. If you come to biology thinking about it as this contingent thing that you must grapple with, as you grapple with a novel or a codebase or anything else made by humans, I think it will make you like biology less and understand it less well.

When I was younger and a lot more naive, as a young teenager who knew a little bit about programming and nothing about linguistics, I wanted to create a "logical language" that could replace natural languages (with all their irregularities and perceived inefficiencies) for the purpose of human communication. This is part of how I initially got into conlanging. Now, with an actual linguistics background, I view this as... again, perhaps not per se impossible, but extremely unlikely to work or even to be desirable to attempt in any foreseeable future, for a whole host of rather fundamental reasons. I don't feel that this desire can survive very well upon confrontation with what we actually know (and crucially also, what we don't know) about human language.

I mean, if you want to try, you can try. I won't stop you.

Anyway, I feel that holding onto this sort of mindset too intensely does not really permit engagement with nature and the sciences. It's the same way I think a lot of per se humanities people fudge engagement with the sciences, where they insist on mounting some kind of social critique even when it is not appropriate (to be clear, I think critique of scientific practices/institutions are sometimes appropriate, but I think people whose professional training gives them an instinct to critique often take it too far).

So like, I guess that's my thesis. Coding is a humanity in disguise, and I wish that people who are used to dealing with human-made things would adopt a more native scientific or naturalist mindset when dealing with science and nature.

[yuseirra]

So what was that whole idea about Kamiki's true nature?

Since I tend to like children quite a bit, there’s one point(out of many)in this manga that really bothers me. Around volume 14, there have been several mentions of Kamiki’s “true nature” and whatnot. For instance, in Aqua’s script, it’s mentioned that Ai broke up with him after realizing his true nature, and so on(it wasn't the case in reality).

But when I think about how the authors wrote this character, it doesn’t seem like he had an inherently bad nature. As the creators of the story and characters, they would know this better than anyone else. If anything, given his circumstances, he seems like someone with a remarkably good temperament. That’s why I couldn’t stop thinking about it when the manga was still ongoing—what exactly led to him being associated with such accusations? I was curious, it’s confusing. He was kind. And it doesn’t seem like he fits into the “kind people turning scary when they snap” category either, because even in those cases, there’s usually a limit to how far the outburst goes. It’s just really strange. How could someone like him lash out at Ai? He couldn’t even get angry in the first place. He missed the moments when he should’ve gotten angry, and even when he had reasons to, he didn’t. They built his character like that, I've been paying attention to how they did and I wouldn't be confused if things were different!

When I look at it, it doesn’t seem like the authors were trying to write him as fundamentally “evil.” If anything, they seemed to be portraying him as “empty,” and they might have been trying to explore that theme.

It’s true that the emptiness and lack of affection experienced by people who weren’t sufficiently loved during the early stages of their lives can be deeply painful and significantly influence their hearts. But if the story is saying that this emptiness and pain were the cause of him turning into a monster or leading to his downfall, then I find it incredibly disrespectful to people who endure such suffering. I don't think that was what the authors were going for, either. In my opinion, those factors alone don’t seem like sufficient reasons for someone with his personality and pain to commit such extreme acts. He wasn’t just an ordinarily “nice” person even; he seemed extraordinarily gentle by nature, at least from what I can tell.

If something external had happened to push him over the edge, then maybe it would make sense. That’s why I think he only changed after Ai’s death.

But in the story, aside from Ai, it feels like no one treats him as a human being. Was he really that terrible? From when? Why is he treated this way?

If this is meant to convey some kind of message, maybe I could understand it.

For instance: “Both deities of the entertainment industry were warped in their own ways because they weren’t treated as human—one was revered as a god, and the other was treated as a monster.” If that’s the point, I might get it. But was that really conveyed properly?

What frustrates me immensely is that Kamiki was consistently abused from at least the age of 10 or 11, throughout his adolescence, and yet none of the adults around him did anything to help—they just left him to suffer. Then, near the end, they react so half-heartedly towards him when he goes to meet some of them, while acting all meaningful and apologetic, as if they’re atoning for their sins toward Ai. But what about him? It seems like no one—not a single person—ever did anything for him except for Ai, no wonder he's so desperate about her, huh?

And really, what did he even actually do? How far did his crimes go? When he says at the end, “I didn’t do anything,” (they actually had him say that) I think that’s half true and half false. From my perspective, it seems like he awakened after Ai’s death and started using his divine powers, determined he would bring her back. If he were a deity, it would make sense for him to be able to guide people’s futures, twist their fates, and decide whether they live or die. That's something he's actually capable of doing, if he's that specific god of light who governs over the industry!! If he committed sins, he should face the consequences. But—

If the story had depicted this situation in a clearer sense, like what is actually going about him in the first place, then they could’ve drawn out discussions about how to respond to this character in a more engaging way.

However, this work portrays the character as inherently problematic, yet when you break it down, it leaves you scratching your head. Everything is ambiguous. So, was he always problematic to begin with, or what? The story also includes parts where the protagonists like Akane or Aqua outright suggest that he’s an issue. Is it just because they need to kill him?

If the story were portraying him as if he had that kind of disposition from the beginning, I wouldn’t have anything to say… I can make that out!! I studied psychology for goodness sake!! As I’ve kept mentioned before, however, this character’s transformation is closer to complete corruption or a total reversal of temperament. People don’t change this drastically on a normal level. It’s just too strange. If this were explored more thoroughly, it might be more convincing. No matter how much I think about it, the only explanation for why this character was written this way seems to be this, that he is really some god, and I think it’s likely correct.

I mean, he was abused since he was a child, but not a single adult at the time properly addressed it. And I don’t even think that alone would have turned him into a criminal. That’s not what caused it— he was holding up for so long, and then, after Ai died, the only person who treated him well was gone. From what I figure, that's like what's the only thing enough to break him THAT BAD. I think he ended up living a miserable existence just to try and do something for her, to dedicate himself to her.

But none of this is clear, and the story just keeps pushing the narrative that “he’s the problem,” “he’s a monster,” and “killing him will solve everything.” Somewhere along the way, this approach starts to feel unnecessarily cruel and upsetting. Am I reading this wrong? But that’s how it seems to be written.

Is it really okay to handle this sort of subject this way? It’s too harsh, both internally and externally. It feels like the character has never been properly addressed or explored.

Sure, he’s an adult now, he needs to take responsibilities. But he was just a kid when he suffered. So young at that. Is it really appropriate to discuss things like a teenager’s “true nature” or whatever? Sometimes you do see kids with genuinely dangerous and cruel tendencies, but he used to be the exact opposite of such a case. He did not display any aggression. Why frame things this way? The way this story handles this is just mean. For someone who endured abuse and kept smiling to get through it, that’s an extraordinary level of strength and character. For his case, it isn’t about “true nature”—it’s a product of his environment. And yet they don’t explore that? They should. The way the narrative directs readers is deeply unsettling. What were the adults even doing? That’s the real issue! That’s where the problem lies! Not addressing that and just concluding with his death feels so infuriating. What is this story even trying to do?!

And to add to that, while we talk about him at 10 or 11 years old, I don’t think he ever received proper love even before that.

That’s why it’s so astonishing that when he met Ai, she said she wanted to live with him forever. It shows how much she genuinely liked him! Despite everything he had been through, he still managed to be that lovable to her. Both of them were so genuine toward each other. For that to happen, she must have been truly happy around him—she must have felt cared for. It's really hard for someone like that to endorse those kinds of feelings towards someone, she really loved that guy and he probably really deserved it at that point.

Looking at this character, even considering what he’s been through, his outward demeanor is still incredibly kind. It’s so rare for someone to stay that way despite everything.

The idea of this guy having a “noble soul” or “pure spirit”, "nobility" might connect to the Sarutahiko reference (since that god is described that way), but beyond that, this character’s natural disposition seems to have been one of the kindest in the entire story. He’s just been twisted by his experiences. I can believe he really was like that. Even Ai had a dark personality, yet he somehow endured without letting that show at least outwardly—even when he was just a kid, even younger than her!

He was genuinely a good person. For someone like that to end up this way? It’s because he lost Ai and couldn’t handle it. He had given all his affection to her. Maybe if there had been someone else in his life to help him, things could’ve been different, but no one besides Ai treated him well. The way the character was written really does suggest that’s the case.

The problem isn’t so much the framework or the plot but the way it’s executed. It’s so lacking in consideration. This kind of material is too heavy to leave in the realm of mystery-solving. Even so, if they wanted to depict his personality or actions as the problem, they should’ve written his personality differently and laid the groundwork with different foreshadowing.

They wanted to add mystery elements while still portraying him as kind, so there’s this constant mismatch. The result is that his character remains unclear. And they can’t fully commit to making him a villain because the character is tied to mythology—he’s clearly based on a god from myth, and that god was incredibly benevolent. Oh my gosh..why do this to a god known for being a loving husband?

Also—again—talking about the “true nature” of a 14–15-year-old? Sure, it’s not entirely out of the question, but isn’t still that going too far? No one talks about Airi’s true nature, so why his? What even is his “true nature”? Blaming a kid for this? For feeling hollow from having been neglected and unloved? Seriously… when adults start telling a child they’re “hopelessly empty” or whatever, I’m just sitting here clutching my head in frustration. He was just a middle schooler! What are you doing? And the adult doing the gaslighting? They’re not even a proper human being! Sure, adults like that exist in real life, but still!

The problem is that the story doesn’t dismiss it as nonsense—it actually builds that trait into his character. It doesn’t outright contradict it. I guess it’s not entirely wrong of them to point it out, but still… it’s so frustrating. These elements function as part of the plot and keep things intriguing, but it feels careless. The story doesn’t address the core issue, the problem of the adults having hurt a kid, and that makes it harmful. Anyway… Kamiki’s life was just awful. He could’ve turned out so much better. That’s what’s heartbreaking about him. And it’s not even entirely clear whether he didn’t turn out okay. His responsibility on this all is so ambiguous. What if he really didn't want to hurt anyone like he's said, but things turned out that way anyway—what are we supposed to do with that?

Well, considering what he thought about Ruby, I guess that’s not entirely the case(omg) but I think the whole "feeling Ai" might have actually had some sort of base from his standpoint. What if he knew doing that would work for certain but held back but didn’t kill her because she was his and Ai's child (he says that she's theirs) then felt “I should’ve tried something when I had the chance” in his dying breaths huh? Wouldn’t that be tragic? Messed up but I think that's what could have been what's going on! I could see that being possible. But still, what kind of nerve does he have… ugh… the audacity… How could he do that to his own daughter lol. At this point I think that's the writer's fault, not the character because it's so ridiculous. What even is this manga? I’m at a loss for words.

Honestly, I wish they hadn’t used such heavy themes. The manga can be entertaining but it’s too emotionally taxing. The author handles these serious topics in such a strange way, and it’s exhausting. I'd go as far to say it feels a bit irresponsible at times.

[yaut-jaknowit]

False Freedom

Pairing: We'ar-ow (Female Yautja) x GN!Reader

Word Count: 3659

Summary: You're let to roam around the ship at your free will. Not like you could escape easily. Only to run into trouble.

Author Note: Any errors, let me know!

P.S. Happy Thanksgiving! As a gift to you guys, I'm gonna post two things today. Stay tuned!

Masterlist

Ao3

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18

The plain metal door slid behind you and clicked with a lock. Most of the tightness in your chest that made it hard to breath washed away. It freed you to relax and slump against the forementioned door. You still couldn’t believe that We’ar-ow had allowed you to leave her quarters… by yourself. She had said it would be good for you or something like that. Go explore, be curious.

Yeah, you’ll surely be curious as you map out an escape route from her room and towards the ships. That was your plan A for escape. It might take time to figure out how to operate one of them. Thankfully, the tablet should help you that. Give you the basics on learning on how to fly an alien spaceship. You sighed heavily through your nose and pushed off of the door.

Without We’ar-ow marching in front of you, leading you to wherever she wanted, this new found freedom was nice. The unfortunate new mark carved into the top of your back would further ensure a single Yautja wouldn’t dare hurt you. Nervously, you glanced down at the tablet and silently reminded yourself. If trouble was to rise, We’ar-ow could be called with a single button. Nothing bad should happen though… right?

You rapidly shook your held before standing tall, shoulder squared and chin level. Who cares? If you didn’t start now, you’ll be stuck here for longer. An extra day, an extra hour, minute, it did not matter. Extra time you didn’t want to be for. Then, you finally started a path towards the elevator door.

One of the things We’ar-ow has given you is a code. A code to enter most places on the ship. Most, but not all. You hadn’t encouraged yourself to ask if that meant the bay for the ships.

In all honesty, We’ar-ow expects you to try and escape, as close to impossible that is. Nothing is impossible though. Aliens were thought to not exist at all but look where you were currently, in space, so far from home, from earth.

The number pad clicked at every touch before chiming a high-pitch beep. The elevator doors finally opened at your command. You entered it swiftly and pressed the needed button to go the floor destined. Afterwards, you mess about on the table to pull up the map system that showed the entire layout of the ship.

Once it came to stop and opened to reveal a mostly empty hall, you stepped out and gaze both ways. Only a few bodies filled the area, none that paid attention to you. Thankfully. From there you used the map to start an unsteady path to your right.

The mothership was exactly the same on either side. What differentiated between them was the placements of the sparring rooms and the cafeterias by the looks of it. There were probably smaller, less noticeable changes that didn’t matter. You did your best to remember where the emergency escape pods were for one of the halls that connected with this one. The pods were on the outer edge of the ship.

As for one of the hangars, those were closer to the belly of the ship. There seemed to be a huge cargo bay down there as well for supplies and whatnot. Just the extra stuff needed to survive in case of an emergency or such. These aliens surely know what they’re doing when it comes to this kind of thing. Space, beautiful but extremely dangerous.

Through the lowly trickle of people, you stayed off to the side, out of their way, and head bowed to follow the map. Thankfully, no one gave you trouble, either warded off by We’ar-ow’s scent on you or the sight at of her mark scaring your skin. Whatever it was, worked. They stayed away as you went on your marry way down this hall and onto the next.

The hairs at the base of your neck rose sharply. Every instinct that controlled your body reverted to a prey mindset as you paused mid-step. Only a few feet into this new hallway. The sounds of your heartbeat thundered in your ears as the only thing you could do was freeze. Freeze like a deer in headlights, watching their doom approach them.

Unlike that, you didn’t know what was following you. Who or what was watching you so closely, so deadly. It caused your skin to crawl and prickle.

Every instinct screamed at you to move or even press the button. To know that there was hope that someone on this alien ship was willing to protect you. Even if it was someone you would happily slash her throat and promptly run for your life.

Your bottom lip found its way to be worried on between dull teeth. Then, your hovering foot came down to complete a hesitant step. Despite your ancient instincts trying to drive you away from this place, you ignored it and kept going. If you turned tail to run away from whoever this was, you could only be seen more of the coward the Yautjas saw your kind as. You pushed through and continued this pathing down the infinite hallway.

All you wanted to do was map out the area for an escape.

From the weight of the unknown stare, you knew it wasn’t We’ar-ow. There couldn’t be a possible way for her to reach this level moments after you and get to that hall before you. Plus, that heat… Your skin crawled, knowing whoever it was wanted you dead.

Dwainet came to mind but it’s not only him that felt threatened by your presence. Other Yautjas have shown and expressed their dislike for you since you’ve arrived so long ago. You don’t think Dwainet would show himself near you after the beat down with We’ar-ow either. Not when she played with him like a skilled warrior and a child sparring. It was all a game to her.

.

Off to the side, you stopped to study the map a little more closely. A few shoot offs of other halls connected to this main hallway. A few shops lined this side, vendors selling various things from weapons to jewelry of sorts.

As the human you were, curiosity gripped your heart and tugged on it. Timidly in the near empty hall, you approached the lonely vendor that had a few weapons and armor in his section. Despite wishing he wouldn’t take notice of your form, his eyes darted as you grew closer. You cursed mentally and turned to leave. Death wasn’t on your list of plans today.

The male Yautja chirped, the translator staying silent behind your ear. With his head, he motioned for you to come back towards him. Instead, you stayed put, unsure if fleeing was an option, if he would give chase to hunt you down.

“Come hereth. I see the interest in your alien eyes, ooman,” he commanded, voice high, airy. Well shit. You held the tablet to your chest while your eyes scanned the objects set up on the tables. “You’re the Monarch’s pet, aren’t you?” Your knuckles turned a shade of white but you nodded.

This new Yautja placed a hand on the table and leaned over the weapons. The inside of your cheek started to bleed from how hard you were biting it to distract yourself, some. His warm breath fanned over your face, spilt tongue darting out to taste the air. “Pick something,” he stated and stood straight once more.

It took some willpower not to let shock morph over your features. Was this a trick of sorts to lie and say you stole something? No one would believe you, a pet, would have currency to buy things. You turned your head to look at him from the corner of your eye with suspicion.

He chuckled and put his hands on his hips, thumbs slipping into the waistband of his pants. “Ah, you are smarter than the average ooman. I give credit where it is due.” His alien smirk fell though as he peered straight at you. “Seriously though, pick something. Anything of the sort.”

His words are what caught your attention and the way he spoke carefully. This Yautja was offering for you to pick something but hadn’t said you could have it. Play this smart, don’t cause trouble.

On the table between the two of you, your eyes swiftly darted from item to item before landing on a small dagger. The smallest of them all and closest to fit more comfortably in your own hand.

Carefully, you pointed out the dagger. “That one.” You didn’t touch it or anything on the table, not playing into his hands. You hoped.

A grin spread across his face, upper mandibles both flaring. An action you could almost was a challenge or threat of sorts. Yet, you stayed where you stood without moving, a white-knuckle grip still held onto the tablet in your hands.

He once more rested a palm against the table and leaned in closer then before. “Ahhh, you are harder to trick than the average ooman. Glad to see it.” Then, strangely enough, he held out his hand towards you, a human gesture. “I am called Wourk. You may take the weapon as a prize. I give you the blade, free of charge.”

Once more, you looked at the newly named Wourk closely. His hand still hovered in the air, you decided to play it safe and not take it. “Why?” you questioned in all honesty. It would a loss to him. Why give up product for nothing in return? You did not trust this Yautja, not one bit.

Wourk snorted and leaned away from you. “Some secrets are meant to stay hidden. Take the blade. It is yours to weld,” he answered. You narrowed your eyes on him once more before finally forcefully uncurling one of your hands. Your knuckles painfully ached at how hard you had been squeezing the tablet, creaking from the movement.

Your eyes darted between your limb and himself, to ensure he wasn’t going to double cross you. The lukewarm metal touched against your fingertips. Wourk hadn’t moved and just watched with amusement.

Swiftly, you snatched back your hand with the dagger. Now further from him, you respectfully bowed your head. “Thank you,” you said politely before inspecting the craftmanship of it. With the limited knowledge, the metal reflected light off of it. “It’s beautiful.” The Yautja hummed, an upper mandible jerking upwards.

This entire time, he was just entertaining himself during the slow periods. You gazed back up at him with just a hint of a smile. Oh, you poor ooman.

“Run along, ooman.” Wourk leaned back on another tablet behind him and used a hand in a shooing motion. Your face turned sour but you did stalk away without giving him another word. Despite rarely being around other Yautjas besides Dwainet and now We’ar-ow, there was no kindness in their biology. Just straight to the point.

When you reentered the barely filled hallway, a shiver ran its course through your body. Goosebumps raised the hairs along your arms. Watchful, observant eyes pinned you down where you stood. You did your best to shake it off and slip the blade into your pocket, hoping it wouldn’t cut the fabric or yourself somehow.

With the tablet once more leading you through the halls, you meander your way. Just a helpless ooman, figuring their way on a ship alien to you.

A ooman that’s so weak, pathetic, just one flex of his muscles could snap their fragile neck. A ooman he stalked, watched, carefully in the halls of the mothership. The ooman could not sense him in any way, that he knew of. He was safe, using his cloak to keep from their sight. One day, he’ll extinguish the damned creature’s heart. Like the way it deserved to be as the weak link.

His prowess aided him as he stalked after it. Every step calculated to ensure there wasn’t a chance he could be seen. He watched as a vendor gave you a small, useless blade and sent you on your way. If he were to attack, like that could do anything damaging to him. No, he’ll have your head pulled from your body before the thought to use it could cross your mind.

There was nothing and no one that could stop him. A Yautja on the hunt with his prey before him… only he had to play this smart. He couldn’t have the murder coming back to him. The Monarch would deprive him of life he guessed from the way she defended it. A game this Yautja was willing to play. The hunt, always, always fun.

Taking turns to more populated areas of the ship, you fast-walked without drawing attention to yourself away from here. Anywhere safer than those eyes. The eyes that had yet to leave no matter what you did. No matter what turn, where you headed, they stalked your every move.

In all honestly, you had hit every section on this level just to escape. But it followed. Your heart pounded violently in your ears at each twist and turn. Without realizing it, you had begun running and now heading towards the elevator. The area wasn’t heavily populated, probably desolate at this point but you needed to get to the safety of We’ar-ow’s room. At least, hopefully, no one could reach you there. That you knew off, possibly.

Your hand slammed against the number pad to open the door in frantic feeling. Whatever was chasing kept pace, easily and calmly. The device screeched at the incorrect code, snapping you for a moment out of your thoughts. The code was shakily inputted. After the three time, it finally took it and opened up.

All it took was three seconds to react, get in, and smash a fist against the button to close. Your back was to the furthest wall as you waited for the doors to seal shut. The only thing you could do was watch and pray it doesn’t get in here before they shut.

Either it was toying with you or wasn’t as quick as you believed it to be, the doors were able to close fully. The tightness in your chest fell away as you  took a shaky step forward and pressed the needed button to We’ar-ow’s room.

With the eyes off of you, relief briefly flooded your system and allowed a moment to think and truly breathe. Air filled your lung completely for the first time within the hour. You settled against the wall next to the buttons for a moment. Long enough for the elevator to stop on the desired floor and open up to reveal the short, blank walkway to her door.

Hesitancy kept you stuck in the elevator as you just stared at the door. From one monster to another…

Something small, minute, in the belly of your stomach didn’t sit well with that thought. We’ar-ow hasn’t been outright cruel or abusive… besides the branding marring your skin. Everything else, it was all gifts or kind gestures. The tablet, the cushion, the clothing. Yeah, everything someone would do for their pet, but she hasn’t been cruel to you.

The doors in front of you started to close. In a panic, you rushed forward and slipped through before they shut. So close to the entrance of the lion’s den. You swallowed thickly, unsure how much more stress in one day you could handle.

Behind you, the elevator made a thud noise, terrifying you out of your mind. In an instant, you sprinted forward, abandoning the tablet on the ground. Your shoulder roughly met the door as you tried to run it over but it held steady. Frantic and terrified, you banged on the door, voice caught in your throat.

You fell forward but caught yourself barely for a massive hand to push you further into the room. Everything was a blur until your mind could finally catch up to see the scene before you.

We’ar-ow, in all of her mighty, snarling glory, stood defensively before you. Her long, lethal claws glinting in her quarter’s light as her fingers flexed, ready to tear into flesh and bone. A threatening, dangerous snarl ripped through her throat, daring, challenging anyone to take step forward. Nothing, no one did.

Her door closed, sealing the two of you safely in her place. From the overwhelming, mind breaking terror running through your veins, you fell to your knees and wrapped your arms around yourself. That didn’t help an ounce to calm yourself down.

Your breaths were ragged, tearing at your throat. Hot tears poured down your face as you stayed kneeled on the ground and stared blankly. In your mind, you were far too caught in the whirlwind to notice anything in the real world. Had you just escaped death from whatever stalked you? A broken whine came from your dry throat.

Something warm, rough engulfed your jaw and forced your head to tilt up. A few second passed. Your eyes finally focused on We’ar-ow kneeling down, completely on her knees and checking over you. Clicks sounded from her mandibles and throat but the buzzing in your head drowned out the translator. You had no clue what was being spoken, nor did you care. The droning noise consumed everything. Nothing made sense right now.

One second you were on the floor. The next, you were being carried swiftly somewhere. We’ar-ow set you down on a cool ledge in what looked to be the bathroom. All you did was make the smallest noise of confusion while staring blankly at the light floors of the bathroom.

Freezing water splashed against your face, tearing you from your thoughts. You gasped harshly and squirmed to get off of the counter, but strong, sturdy arms held you in place. They were pinned on either side of you and kept you trapped.

“Look at me.”

Harsh words were snapped with trickles of what could believed as worry. Your head jerked up, eyes darting to find orange blazing orbs staring into your soul. There was something about that just almost soothed your soul instantly. Instead, you just stopped moving.

“Good, good pet,” she cooed and raised a hand to pet the top your head only to grab the strands. Her hand pulled slightly back to expose the column of your throat to her. “What happened?” Her voice was still softer, even gentler than before as she questioned you.

At the moment, all you could do was give a pathetic, broken cry that barely passed the lump in your throat. We’ar-ow leaned in closer to rest her close mandibles against where your neck and shoulder meet. At first, you tensed up and relaxed, her hand the only thing keeping you sitting up. “Who hurt you?” she tried again, staying soft and inviting. “Tell me who hurt you, my pet.”

A purr began to rumble deep in her chest. It was a sound you hadn’t heard before from the pink Yautja. Dwainet… he’s done it before, so many times before for you. This was different, somehow, someway.

You cleared your throat the best to get rid of the majority of the lump to speak. “I-I-“ your voice cracked, dry from all the running. “Don’t kn-ow.” We’ar-ow continued her purring as she pulled back enough to fill a hand with water. She brought it up to your lips. Too desperate to wash away the scratches in your throat, you gulped it down. The Yautja did this two more times for you.

“What happened?” Now, We’ar-ow was look straight into your eyes, no longer purring. Nervous from the eye contact, your gaze darts around the bathroom. She wasn’t going to let that go. Instead, she grasped your chin once more and forced you to look at me. In her eyes, she wanted to know the truth of how you ended up as a terrified, trembling mess at her door.

Both of your hands played mindlessly with the helm of the shirt she gave you. Then, you explained from the moment you stepped out into the hall and all the way back to her room. The entire time, she didn’t let her or your eyes leave as much as that made you anxious.

Once the last word left your lips, We’ar-ow stood in silence. The cog wheels in her head spun.

Out of nowhere, We’ar-ow scooped you from the counter and held you bridal style. The strength of her body easily taking you from the bathroom to… her bed? The low, half above ground mattress of sorts was neatly put together with furs and blankets. Four pillows lined the head of the bed. The Yautja knelt down to pull at the covers before slipping you underneath them.

The terror and complete puzzlement that controlled your body at that moment held you in place. What was she doing?! We’ar-ow pulled the covers over you, up to your chest and stood back up. “Stay. I will investigate,” she said before turning to take her leave.

Deep down, from the pits of your mind, you wanted nothing more to reach out and stop her. The words ‘wait’ on your tongue. But she was out the door before you could gather the courage to do so.

Her bedroom door closed and made a clicking noise. A lock? But… why? Why did she not take you to your room? Why her room? You gulped and ran a hand through the strands of your messed up hair. All of that running and freaking out did nothing for your hair.

A shaky breath filled the air as you look over the room. Back on her wall of trophies, those human skulls stared at you with their empty eye sockets. One day, will she turn you into that?

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18

[hyog-blog]

Under the Microscope

This is such a neatly made little historical drama, based on an actual case from the Ming dynasty, that you could absolutely binge-watch it in a day or two (just 14 eps). What starts as a simple math problem, a discrepancy in numbers between the actual field measurements and what is written in the registry reports, later blooms into a huge case of corruption on different levels of the government system in 8 different counties along with tax evasion, murders, false witnesses, and whatnot.

Chinese bureaucratic system of that period seems like a real nightmare, even more so, when someone is trying to investigate a case (and, in many ways, things really haven't changed that much in modern times). The story revolves around Shuai Jia Mo, a math genius who lacks social skills and is probably mildly autistic. His parents die in a fire under mysterious circumstances. All he's left with are a few memories and the number 3530, which turns out to be the exact number of taxes his whole county is paying out of thin air. No one knows where the tax came from and why people have to pay it, so he starts the investigation with the help of his friend. Naturally, all the powers involved try to silence them as soon as possible.

I really had no idea a show about ancient Chinese taxes could be so captivating - mostly thanks to a well-written plot and superb acting, as well as interesting, shrewd, and excessively scheming characters. I guess this is a story more about human nature, that's why it's so relatable today, and the quest for justice, because for each bad and greedy person out there in the world, there is one with a pure heart and soul who wants to do good. And sometimes, that person could actually win (well, at least in a cdrama :)

We see quite a few charismatic faces here. Wang Yang (Teng Zijing in JOL) seems to be very compatible with Zhang Ruoyun. Here he starts as an antagonist, Cheng Renqing, a lawyer who defends anyone who pays him more (in this case, the bad guys). For a good half of the show, he's just an increasingly annoying lil' shit with a broad smile and a sharp tongue, but then things change, we get to know his story, and he turns to our boy's side eventually. Wu Gang (Chen PingPing from Joy of Life) is a welcome treat no matter what role he takes. He's so good at playing skin-crawling bad guys, it's just remarkable. I also fell in love with Feng Biyu, a feisty lady-owner of a meat shop, who can beat the hell out of quite a few bullies who go after her little bro and the ML.

Needless to say, Zhang Ruoyun's performance was top-notch. I can't imagine how hard it is to depict such a character - but I totally believed him! Both his math genius side and the slightly autistic side. It actually leads to some pretty funny scenes because of how straightforward he is, not understanding the intricacies of human behavior (and the lies and the games between people).

I was not-really-surprised to hear Liu Yuning's voice at the ending OST of the series (the guy is literally everywhere:) but ah, he's just such a good singer and the song really got me hooked from the first notes. I also want to say that style-wise the show is quite beautifully made, too. It's a true-to-life historical depiction of the Ming period, but the shots, the light, the colors - everything was just very pretty!

The show is a kind of detective case story about tax evasion, but the characters make it very alive and entertaining to watch. There's some drama sprinkled with a bit of comedy, some math, 0,1% romance, but everything comes together so nicely that you really don't have any complaints in the end. The show is exactly what it promises to be, not overlapping with other genres. I, personally, was in the mood for it and it's definitely a 10/10 for me.

P.S. also, there's a cat)))

[desolationarchivist]

okay but is it just me who gets HUGE twin peaks vibes from the mandela catalogue??

i have no idea if there is legitimately direct inspiration from twin peaks but: (!!!!!!!spoilers for both)

- doppelgängers and tulpas

- heavy artistic use of nostalgia, postmodern americana, christian/buddhist lore and the uncanny valley. also both have this gritty, almost film noir-ish vibe. and both have colour schemes and visuals as narratively important

- entities as manifestation of the concept of evil, led by a supreme evil being: in tmc the alternates are depicted through biblical lens, tied to the image of satan (who in this story is gabriel, aka a false angel); in twin peaks, a lot of the creatures, doppelgängers and whatnot are tied to the entity of BOB, which is described as being the personification of “the evil that men do”. also the black lodge, where the entities in twin peaks come from, is described as being the domain of evil and dark power

- entities having otherworldly origin: the alternates from tmc are implied to come from another dimension, which really makes me think of the black lodge again

- use of psychological warfare by entities to lead victims to their demise, which leads me to my next point: i’m reaaaally drawing parallels between mark heathcliff & laura palmer - good christian teenagers (well, at least initially), being driven insane by their tormentors and the process of it all being documented by diaries and film footage; in tmc the way to surviving an alternate attack is to be willing to hear whatever horrific things it’s saying to you, which mark wasn’t so he died. this makes me think of laura’s secret diary that details her emotional abuse at the hands of BOB: one of the things that made her become more and more vulnerable and unstable until him killing her is the fact he was constantly bombarding her with awful images and thoughts and she was pushing them away, convinced it would make them stop or chase him away (but it backlashed). what is more, both mark and laura attempt to use religion as a shield against these attacks, to no avail (“and the angels wouldn’t help you”/“who have i been praying to all this time?”)

- taking place in 80s/90s, with a continuity in the early-ish 21st century. also, in tmc the divide between the 90s and the 2000s eras of the narrative are defined by the shift from analog to digital media, which reminds me how twin peaks:the return(2017, shot digitally), is deliberately given a cleaner, more modern look than the original run(it was between the years of like 89-90, I think? and filmed on film strip, aka analog). and like, the “older” era of both these shows is steeped in retro nostalgia

- alienation between people as a result of tragedy, paranoia (either between characters or on the watchers' part): in tmc, this is likely something the characters experience, given that anyone they love could turn out to just be an alternate doppelgänger or have M.A.D. . in twin peaks, the fact anyone could turn out to be laura’s killer + anyone could turn out to not be themselves but possessed by BOB (like leland palmer was);

- both shows are set in rural small towns that have a facade of homeliness and peace but underneath it, awful things are happening (both supernatural and otherwise)

- ominous, cryptic lines (strange and unique enough to be quotable by fans) ("i feel like i know her but sometimes my arms bend back"/"i am the one true savior. i must reverse the delusion. joseph is next.", that kind of thing...)

- the entities of twin peaks look, move and speak in…pretty uncanny ways lol, which again makes me think of the alternates in tmc. especially with the nonstop cryptic ominous riddles

- the us government getting involved, classified files, secret operations etc

- tragic dynamics with parents/parent figures

- tmc has some cop show elements like twin peaks, and one of the main characters being an investigator

- a lot of teen characters, also both shows having an entity that often targets kids (BOB & 6)

- mirror fuckeries

tbh i have no idea if alex kister has even watched twin peaks (though he likely has or at least heard of it because i know he’s a fan of the shining, which is a cult classic vintage horror movie, much akin to twin peaks) but even if he hasn’t, i feel like it has still indirectly affected his work, as twin peaks has a massive cultural legacy and has been pivotal in establishing the small town mystery genre and modern horror as a whole, and i think whether intentional or not, analog horror as a whole owes a great deal to david lynch (not even just twin peaks but also inland empire, lost highway, eraserhead…)

(please yap with me about this in comments and tags, i am so hyperfixated lately)

[akascow]

HII KAT!! 😋 It’s been a while since I’ve bothered you, but I’m back >:) (slightly.)

I saw your post about getting your nasal piercing and I felt that on a personal level with my septum. I got it pierced in February on my birthday and similar to what you said, I was all on Reddit, tiktok, and YouTube looking up stuff to make sure I was ready and I kept seeing people say that theirs kept getting infected within the first few months but mine was completely fine once I stopped spinning the ring around and messing with it😭. It’s completely healed now so I wanna change the jewelry but 1. I can’t find places that are affordable OR carry my ring gauge (14g). If you know of any of places plz help a girl out 😔

Anywaysss, I hope you had a good 2024 and have a good 2025!!! 🫶🏽💕

-Mimi🌸

oh my god im so sorry i never responded to this HFBJSJA i did the thing where i saw the notif n then responded in my head AHFJSJA

WELCOME BACK (slightly) happy EARLYYYY early birthday (when in february is it 👀 if ur comfortable answering ofc)

with my nostril i was in hyperbrowsing mode bc it was my first nose piercing and i havent had a piercing since my ears at Claires when i was 8 yrs old HAHA so i forgot what it felt like but it was super chill i was more scared of not knowing i think

when i got my septum (literally the day after u sent this ask HAHA) i didnt even do research bc i saw lasttime that the average nostril hurt worse than septum and i was like oh cool nostril didnt even hurt im all good (i was not all good HAHA) but like other than the initial sting and the like 3 days of soreness it wasnt bad at all HFJSJ

i will say it was painfully unexpected to learn yesterday that i get a migraine when its below freezing outside and my septum is sending coldpain signals straight to my brain 🧎🏻‍♀️

both of my piercings are 16G which is hard enough to find but i cant imagine the difficulty of finding 14Gs 😭😭

in terms of jewelry i really just browse etsy to find cute/unique jewerly but most of the stuff on there is 22-18G and lowkey difficult to find one thats NOT stainless steel, plus ive had some trouble with false metal descriptions that lead to infections a couple of times which is booty but wtvr😔😔 idrk where else to look so i’ll brave the unpredictability of etsy lmaooo

idk what the average jewelry should cost but most of the like *surgical grade titanium* ones i look at are like 10-20$ depending on complexity and whatnot,,

n e way that was my nose rant HAHA I HOPE YOU HAVE A GOOD 2025 AS WELL THANK U FOR BOTHERING ME EVERY NOW AND THEN 🥹🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻

[lockpickingliar]

Ouma Kokichi (Cookie) on The Hospital

Nine days ago, I was finally discharged from the hospital. Graduated to in-home palliative care, since my DOA symptoms have slowly reduced enough that I could sit up on my own at times, stomach light solid foods, breathe without assistance for the most part.

I was so scared at first. That's a lie. I didn't really think it was something that would ever happen, though. In the beginning, I had no intention of recovering and enjoying my afterlife. I brought this death on myself. I fully intended to atone for everything I had done. For all the people that died on my watch, for the three people—or I guess, two people—that I directly led to their deaths. The people that I killed, either by negligence or direct involvement.

Do you think I'm lying?

But then there I was, settled into an apartment with Ran-chan. Everyone worked so hard to help me to get there. I still have so many medicines to take, little machines and whatnot on hand in case my lungs start acting up, a wheelchair just to go from one room to another. Still, I was out. DICE threw me the biggest party they could, too. A whole shebang with fireworks and everything, partly to celebrate the end of summer, and partly to celebrate this milestone in my recovery.

It feels like a lie, now.

I'm back at square one. Back in that damn hospital room. None of my organs are cooperating, my head is so hazy it's hard to even write this post, and all I can think about is how I failed.

They're dead because of me.

Because I couldn't lead them well enough.

Maybe that discharge was a false hope. Who am I kidding? I don't deserve this. Freedom. A happy afterlife. Not after everything that happened. Everything I did. Everyone I hurt.

I want to die under that press once for every person who died on my watch.

But I'm lying again.

I might deserve it, though.

I wonder if Saihara-chan thinks I deserve it.

This all started because I found out more about him, and what happened after I got here.

Turns out in my universe, my plan actually worked. Crazy, right? I guess the one little detail of me keeping my clothes instead of flushing them like in canon made a major difference. Or maybe Momota-chan did a better job of pulling his weight.

That's probably it.

I'm just glad he pulled it off and broke the system. Ended the killing game. Didn't have to be executed. He still died from his illness, but I can at least rest easy that his death doesn't fall on my laundry list of responsibility.

That's a lie.

If I'd done a better job leading, we might've gotten out sooner, and he might've been able to get to a doctor and live.

I don't feel responsible for anyone's deaths. I did what I had to do to survive...

But that left me alone.

And to Saihara, I always would be.

He meant that. He meant every word. I don't hate him for it, though. I hate him. I could never hate him for being right. I hate him. How could he have thought any other way? I hate him.

Even after I died, nothing changed about how he viewed me. It makes sense, since my plan worked, he never had to go into my room. It's not like he even could, since my room key was with me when I died. If he cared enough, I figured he'd have to find a way in himself. To prove how much he cared. I refused to just give him the answers so easily, after all the work I put in.

He never saw any of that work, though, so it doesn't matter.

They want to bring him here. They want to make him understand. I'm not sure if there's anything for him to understand. I want to talk to him. To make sure Team Danganronpa is gone for good, and if not, to make sure it's burnt to cinders. That's a lie. I want him to move on with his life. I don't want him to be haunted by the past.

I should really stop lying so much. I don't even know where I was going with this.

I wanted my post about my discharge to be happy, y'know. To talk about how grateful I was to everyone in DICE for helping me see hope again. I never meant for this to happen. I wanted to keep getting better for them. Maybe this was bound to happen, though.

This hospital room is just where I'm meant to be for eternity, suffering to make up for everyone I failed.

[beesmygod]

BLOODBORNE LORE Q+A PART 1: SETTING

*BLOCK "long post/" or "bloodborne" to banish these from your dash!!

my friend shawn has finished his run of bloodborne recently which i was SOOOO excited for and throughout the process he indulged whatever is wrong with me by asking me lore questions. he has now finished his quest and i can answer all his remaining questions in this post, which is also peppered with his commentary on his experience (good, funny). as always i write these posts to try to be entertaining to ppl familiar with bloodborne and ppl who are fandom rubberneckers. i understand you. i long to cater to you as one of you. come with me on this bloodborne adventure...[holds out a hand covered in some kind of weird grey shit]

he has many good questions and i have too many words so this must be broken up into so, so many posts. even then these are going to be so long and make me look totally insane. dont like it? keep scrolling bitch im reloading my flintlock pistol. your ass is grass in 1-3 minutes.

ALL OF THIS IS MY PERSONAL INTERPRETATION AND NOT!!! FACT!!!! I ENCOURAGE YOU TO COME UP WITH YOUR OWN READING OF THE TEXT BASED ON YOUR OWN EVIDENCE AND WHATNOT

---

THE HUNTER ASKS:

[sooooo smartly] i dont know.

the moon in bloodborne is one of the weirdest seemingly deliberate inconsistencies throughout the game. it has a bunch of bizarre qualities including the fact that it's a physical object that gets loaded in and its not part of a skybox that just gets switched during cutscenes. despite the inherent terror of the blood moon taking up so much space in our collective brains, it only appears in yharnam, the cathedral ward and yahar'gul. ive seen a lot of theories about why cainhurst or byrgenwerth have regular moons, but i think the more likely answer is that the blood moon is only affecting yharnam. these are also the only places where the tentacled amygdalas or, as they're known internally, "false gods" can be found.

these things

THE HUNTER ASKS:

eileen knows too! she knows about dreaming ("No more dreams for me. This is my last chance.") AND the doll. ("You still have dreams? Tell the little doll I said hello"). both were kicked out of the dream because they no longer hunt beasts, thus breaking their contracts. djura protects them and eileen hunts hunters.

at the start of the game you "sign a contract" with the blood minister and get a yummy yharnam blood infusion that gives you access to the dream. presumably, all hunters do or did this to join the hunt and the doll's dialog ("Over time, countless hunters have visited this dream.") reveals that the hunter's dream was once host to many hunters. they likely all dreamed before going mad.

THE HUNTER ASKS:

yeah check this out: if you line your brain with eyes, you have insight. get it. eh? ehhhh??

the witch of hemwick is PROBABLY not wearing eyeballs...fresh ones at least. pebbles are calcified eyes that have hardened due to whatever force causes blood to calcify in bloodborne world (leading to blood shards, blood gems, etc). VERY RARELY will they drop an actual eye, which the item description reveals was taken "quickly" before death or immediately after.

eyes are used exclusively to access the hintertomb chalice, which is of interest to the church because it appears to be where they get their church slaves from (more on this later). BUT the women of hemwick do more than eyeballs. they create bone marrow ash by burning corpses and. hmm. well.

you're right. there's no beasts here. there's no beasts where there's incense in the game, like the parts of the labyrinth that the church has explored (evidenced by the architecture and censures that resemble those in the cathedral ward) or entrances to upper cathedral ward/forbidden woods. a few characters mention that they're running out of it or that it's masking scents. its the reason why the suspicious beggar has to stand outside oedon chapel lol. he cant deal with the stinky anti-wolf smoke

you know where else there's no beasts? yahar'gul. and the only incense is found in the cells where they keep their meat for experiments. but there is an unexplained burning corpse or two in the middle of town.

if you break incense pots, they're full of bones. O_O oh shit i just noticed something lol: eileen's mask says "The beak contains incense to mask scents of blood and beast." YUCK!

the witches are not really educated and do not seem to partake in blood ministration as they are missing any bestial traits. it seems like they are "for hire" and work for both byrgenwerth and the healing church supplying parts from the graves they "maintain".

THE HUNTER ASKS:

it seems like they did once at some point in history and had to give up due to a combination of no more room to bury people and something going wrong with the corpses of yharnamites (more later!).

we know a little bit about yharnam funeral customs by way of eileen's crowfeather set which states that yharnam's treatment of burying the dead is considered a taboo and shameful act by outside cultures which leave their dead to "sky burials", a type of funeral ritual where the corpse is left for birds (like the fat ass crows in this game) to pick clean. those birds are eating so good lately.

perhaps the reason why underground burial is considered distasteful is due to the fact that the great ones were once buried underground by the pthumerians. the graves in the forbidden woods (including the forbidden grave) are, according to the art book, tombstones for great ones.

here are some ways we know yharnamites deal with corpses:

cremate them for profit

bury them

exhuming them for profit

just leave 'em there

lock them in caskets and run before they come back

experiment on them

chuck them in a hole and forget about 'em

fake iosefka does the last one. someone (her?) exhumed a grave near her clinic that was absolutely packed with corpses and they dug deep enough to find an entrance to the hintertomb. the player must enter the hintertomb through a chalice ritual, but this locations is either THE or one of the ways that the hintertomb was discovered.

the hintertomb is described as an auxiliary wing of the pthumerian labyrinth filled with "unceremonious" tombs. hemwick witches can be found here, likely looking for some fresh product to move. its where various people and organizations dump their trash. you can find piles of dead pigs, fake iosefka's failed experiments, some church giants left to die (presumably, they did not originate from there as they are already belled), and some other crap.

how do we know this is the entrance to the hintertomb? first, there's the amount of tomb mold blooming here. it explicitly grows only in the old labyrinth

second, they both share an environmental hazard unique only to them (and the nightmare frontier, whatever. IN THE REAL WORLD): POISON SWAMPS as a consequence of the decaying great one corpses.

i forgot the question. i think my point was that there are now so many bodies they're running out of things to do with them and its starting to be a problem. they are both taking things out of the labyrinth and throwing things in. yharnamites have a general disrespect for cultures and customs and it's really biting them in the ass

oh wait i remember. i was tying this back into the part about where the church gets their slaves from. all the church attendants and giants are pthumerians. the primary difference between them and their labyrinth counterparts are the lack of open slack jaw. and the fact the church pthumerians drop blue elixir.

Dubious liquid medicine used in strange experiments conducted by high ministers of the Healing Church. A type of anesthetic that numbs the brain.

---

the next part will also be...MORE ABOUT THE SETTING. until next time (later today)

[coffeecatty]

Really wanted to share my DnD character, because I love them. This is Pip'let The Thri-Kreen. They're for a Spell Jammer campaign, and they've already eaten one (1) elf alive. It's ok, he was a slave trader trying to sell the party. Some Character Info if anyone's curious:

Their full name is Tik-Tiak-Pip-La'kt, mostly a bunch of ticking and popping sounds. (Goes by They/She :>)

They're still young and are about 4'9. But weighs about 219 pounds. (Adult thri-kreen can reach 10 feet and 600 pounds lol)

I gave them fluffy moth features. Because I can.

As a thri-kreen their carapace has chameleon properties, so they can shift their colors around however they like. This extends to their fuzz. Their fuzz also sticks like glitter and cat hair, it's never gone. They use it to mark 'allies'.

They're a Wildfire druid, which... They're not thrilled about.

They lost their hand to a beast attack, which instead of scaring them led to them being fascinated with wildlife and animals and studying them, which allowed them to help their pack avoid dangerous situations.

They know how to write, albeit only in Druid Script. They have to get a scribe to transcribe the writing for others.

They like books, and used to have a fairly large collections of miniature journals.

No one will let them pilot the ship for some reason. Backstory Stuff:

Their Original Pack was different than normal thri-kreen packs. Had many leaders that performed various leading roles, like Navigation, Trading, Hunting, etc. The Navigation Leader, called "Starseer" by the humanoids the pack interacted with, was a sort of de-facto leader of the whole pack - implied to be the founder of their Super Pack and who might have a history among the stars...

The Original Pack often escorted caravans or guarded settlements in exchange for goods and whatnot. This is how Pip'Let got their "name", as well as their journals and false hand - which was a direct gift after giving the locals some transcribed pages about local monsters.

The Original Pack also didn't have any wildfire druids, most of the younger members were mentored by the Leaders, who had different specializations. Pip'Let was originally slated to become a Star Circle Druid, aka a navigation expert like Starseer. (So basically Starseer was their dad)

The Original Pack would seek out Thri-Kreen nests and take in the newly hatched young Thri-Kreens, though sometimes later on members would break away into a new, smaller pack to go their own way. No conflict or tension, they would be allowed to go if they felt it was needed.

Their Original Pack was butchered and burned. Very few remained and scattered.

They're hunting down the ship they saw that day, in retaliation and to try and reclaim a lost magical item that belonged to Starseer. Some fun Thri-Kreen quirks:

Zero concept of what friends of family are. There is Pack and there is None-Pack.

Thri-Kreen can't speak. They speak telepathically, which means they can speak to anyone.

Had a long, in character discussion about what a pet is, and Pip'Let's take away was "A thing you can eat later or is useful."

I made their style of speaking very halting and put together almost like a command line structure. They say "whhhhy" and "mmmmmmm" a lot.

Always collect free food when available. They may or may not have an elf ribcage in their backpack for emergencies.

Has giant hidden mandibles (which I should draw sometime).

What the fuck is sleep. I have literally made an entire history for the backstory of this character and I love them. They would not hesitate to crush my head very if there was a need for it. They befriended a beholder by drawing them. I love them an unspeakable amount.

[womenaremypriority]

Recently, I saw a YouTube clip where an Irish women who happened to be a stand up comedian who currently lives in the US was talking about how the dating scene for her was hard because American women were freaky, and were always asking to be choked and whatnot. And I just. Is that not?? Scary?? To anyone else?? Because obviously she’s exaggerating and knows that’s an oversimplification, but like, obviously there’s truth to that to her, and I am torn between not really blaming her and just blaming the world but also how can you do that to other women? How can you say that? And it’s hypocritical I guess because it’s not like every other nationality has stereotypes that there women are that way or another way that leads to them being assaulted and harassed and objectified, and I know American men and plenty of American women have taken part in that, but I am not supposed to feel insane hearing that women that share a trait with me enjoy violence? This shit is scary and is separatism fuel because some men legitimately believe we all want this and nothing can convince them otherwise. And also obligatory fuck you to the person who commented that it was really a stereotype from porn, but decided it was a great time to mention how porn harms men. You just fucking watched a video that described women wanting physical pain, accurately deduced that was false, but decided that men were the primary victims here? Oh my god, how am I not supposed to go insane.

[brambleghastblast]

i think a depressing truth of the internet ill always hate is that negativity is what leads to success

negativity, in forms of content creation, leads to comments of people arguing or saying "but i like that thing". comments lead to the algorithms of social media boosting said piece of comic. algorithm favoring your stuff leads to more views. views get you money

often times, i think most youtubers and tiktokers and people on twitter and whatnot actually force themselves to be negative out of necessity. because its the quickest and easiest way to get a post out there. and its really become a norm in social media thats made the internet suffocatingly bad lately

like.. take pokemon for example, youtubers and tiktokers and twitter users such talking about pokemon will complain to no end about graphics, taking the worst possible screenshots they can get or setting up elaborate glitches so they can take a picture, put it next to another game with the prettiest picture they can get, and then go "WOW CAN U BELIEVE GAMEFREAK MAKES STUFF LIKE THIS" which then starts arguments and spreads like a wildfire because people are pointing out "wow you really took the worst picture you could huh" but then random people desperate to argue go "UHHH GAMEFREAKS NOT GONNA MARRY U DUDE LOL" blah blah blah

or take some specific youtubers for instance, like videogamedunkey is a critic who usually lies about video games he dislikes, makes up stuff or complains about really little stuff, or tries to get glitches to happen to pretend the whole games like that. a reallyyy scummy youtuber but thats literally what he has to do to make money and that sucks! or like... alpharad whos kind of just an obnoxious jerk all the time and thats how he gets his attention because being a jerk gets you comments and comments get you views etc etc

the youtube channel gamexplain got exposed for not paying employees and fell off HARD.. but they made a full recovery and comeback. they used to post informative nintendo and other games news, but lately theyve just been posting negative memes or complaining about really little things or posting negative news with a clickbait title. like.. nintendos doing some reconstruction at their headquarters. so gamexplain posts this

its... just reconstruction. but the big letters, the sad mario, it looks Worrying and causes clicks and comments. its literally just reconstruction. but oh wow with a thumbnail like this they can fearmonger and milk it

it stinks too because generally positive youtubers are... Rare. most positive youtubers fall really hard and barely get any views compared to the big bad youtubers out there, cause theres not a ton to comment on without negativity. and thats so.. sad. (bumping a youtuber i love a lot here; nekolacey is a really great and positive pokemon youtuber and i love her videos!!! but her videos dont really get a lot of views compared to other channels which i find so sad. shes awesome!!)

i think the only generally positive gaming youtuber i know of who actually had a big following was chuggaaconroy, and he was making videos on youtube for MANY MANYYY years to even just get 1 million subscribers.

and then he got cancelled because of... uh... a chatlog from 2009. and... uh...... some out of context discord messages from some youtuber whos been known to falsely accuse autistic people to get allegations on them. and.... apparently some randos named antdude and missfushigaming made up allegations to get some clout but they got proved false... uhh... and also chuggaaconroy went to therapy, apologized a ton, asked everyone to please not harass the accusers, and has been deeply working for years to work on himself because he did have a geniune falling out with masaeanela over him not following set boundaries.

but.... yeahhhh its. uh. when you point out "wow did anything bad happen beyond a falling out with masaeanela" you're kind of just quickly hushed by a bunch of random people and to accept it and quit. they can't afford for that positivity to change the way things are, they need negativity to thrive.

its.. the internet trying its hardest to push down one positive creator who made it so they can hype up a dozen negative ones.

i think the internet has always awarded negativity but it was never really bad. like.. many youtubers back in the day would make top 10s, listing something like "zelda bosses" or "gen 4 pokemon". these were great because they got to gush about something they like, BUT they'd get comments and arguments because of things like "well i would've put ths boss over that boss" or "why isnt crobat on this list!". it worked great because they got clout from comments, but they weren't being actively negative

or, talking about an internet show i LOVE, death battle! this is a fun show where they take two fictional characters and make them fight! and they research to see who wins and have really great animation!

it thrived because not only is it super good, but it causes arguments. most viewers dont care about the real reasoning and numbers, they just want their prefered character to win. so if there preference loses, even if its right, they will get mad and argue, causing comments which cause views which causes success.

unfortunately, the positive ways to get comments just... hardly last. its sad but in the modern internet, being mad and angry is literally how you succeed. its near impossible to make it online if you arent angry or doing stuff to upset people.

it sucks. so much.

and it sucks even more because people trying to make a living on the internet Have to be negative. thats how they make a living. they literally have to complain to make money and survive and it sucks!! so much!!!!!!!!!

i think overall success on the internet always depended on causing arguments and negativity, but its really become suffocating in recent time. everyone tries so hard to be mad they've geniunely become mad. positivity is rare and out of style, negativity is what everyone wants. its.... so....... miserable honestly

[coal15]

So I'm FINALLY on the last edit of Ch.11 of All Roads Lead Back. I hope to have it up before tomorrow evening. Below is an excerpt. To read the first 10 chapters, click HERE

*******

It took The Almighty a full twenty seconds to suss out what happened, which was full seven seconds longer than anything had ever remained a mystery beneath her (supposedly) all knowing, all-seeing eye. She had been tricked. Hoodwinked, fooled, bamboozled. Such an embarrassing fumble. 

This is what I get for believing I had a true friend, she thought. The Almighty initially created the Metatron to function as her spoken voice, to deliver prophecies and whatnot, but at some point she began to engage him in real conversation. Casual chit-chat. After a while those chit-chats began to revolve around a certain theme. Namely, the emotional strain of being a deity.

How ceaseless the workload. Giving millions of orders, assigning millions of tasks, as well as doling out millions of rewards and punishments each day was something she could handle with ease. But as life in her beloved Universe evolved to greater and greater complexity she often found herself taking on many quadrillions of decisions at once.

The first time Metatron brought up the issue unprompted it was not phrased as an actual suggestion. Just an off the cuff remark. “You deserve a rest.” From there the traitor took his time, choosing God’s most exhausted moments to touch on the subject. Eventually ‘you deserve’ became ‘you are owed’ which slowly transformed into "actually Your Grace, if you'd like to pop outside the Universe for a quick snooze, the Higher Angels and I would be happy to hold down the fort for a bit.”

Did he plan it all along? She wondered. Or merely seize an opportunity when it arose? 

Right before unzipping a teensy portion of her creation and stepping through, she’d thanked the duplicitous weasel for his thoughtfulness. The formless vastness of her being slipped outside, and the instant Metatron zipped up behind her, it happened. A terrifying blindness. Silence. She could hear no prayers, no laughter, no heartbreak, agony, joy, new births or deaths. Nor could she sense any action in the Universe she’d just left. Only a trace of her false friend’s smugness lingered, dissipating as he retreated away from her place of exile.

Her screaming rage lasted about a century, but once it started to quiet she felt a hint, a vague prickle of connection to two distinct creatures within her Universe. A dark, cranky creature, and a sweet, optimistic one. Aziraphale and the demon Crowley, of course. Especially when they teamed up she could sense them quite strongly. 

But why them? Why ONLY them?

Solving this fresh, frustrating mystery took her far longer than twenty seconds and involved pondering the entirety of creation. When she did finally get it cracked a flood of hope lifted her spirits. Salvation was possible. Salvation would come someday. Yes, even in her blind and powerless state a new faith blossomed within her, and she clung to it with a calm patience. 

For about three hundred years. Then she got bored.

******to read from CH.1 go HERE

[kitfoxart]

More bad (or in some cases pretty good) Xmas movie reviews here! I’ve tried some odd ones.

EDITED TO INCLUDE:

Christmas on Mistletoe Farm: This was EFFING CUTE. Super British. Quirky kids in hand knitted stuff and big Wellies. Baby barn animals everywhere. Comedic English overacting. As charming as a mouse in a teapot. I would watch it every year twice. The colors alone are scrumptious. 9/10

* Christmas Inheritance - As stereotypical as Christmas romance movies get. Small town, lonely innkeeper, main character returns to town to find the magic of Christmas by helping with some pageant or festival or whatnot. Bland but mainly pleasant but stop making characters do that slow head shake while sincerely singing thing, it’s weird . 4/10

A Christmas Movie Christmas - A fun swing at typical Christmas movies. Christmas magic transports two sisters into a Christmas movie of their own where they wake up every day with their hair and makeup already done and cookies already baked. Parts of it are funny, but it led me to the disturbing revelation that all B actors wear false teeth. 6/10

Christmas Chronicles 2: I was excited for this. Hot Santa, Belsneckel, Yule Cat. Nope. Bad. Please don’t bother, you’ll soil the first movie. 1/10

Dash & Lily : in spite of being about New York, this short series is really good and sweet. It’s a scavenger hunt of literature and romance and the art of loving your own weirdness against the backdrop of Christmas. It’s charming and colorful. Definitely not perfect, it is a high school aged series based on YA romance and that can sometimes lead to “youthful” acting, but it is good and I appreciated it and the music was superb. 9/10

Noelle - dang, I really liked this. It seems a discredit to say it’s like a gender bent Elf, but that is the broadest definition. Very warm and loving. 10/10

Scrooge: A Christmas Carol - this is the animated Netflix version. I have mixed feelings. I thought they took the art in some really interesting places. I thought the music was pretty terrible. I thought they did the lower budget animation thing where some characters look amazing and some look poorly thought out. I thought Scrooge was weirdly hot. 6/10

Mickey and Friends: Duck The Halls - Newer style of Mickey Mouse animation that is part Ren and Stimpy and part midcentury modern, which is awesome. Donald Duck stays in the snowy north for the winter and literally falls apart from the cold, lots of body horror. Hilarious. 10/10

Jingle All The Way - I know, it is weird that as a 90s kid, I had never seen this. I was promised a bad movie and I’m slightly disappointed that I loved the hell out of it. From Arnold expecting us to believe that he works in mattress sales and saying “you’re my numbah one custahmahh” with a cheesy grin to a brawl of underground gang Santas to Phil Hartman having the balls to hit on Arnold’s wife and moaning obscenely over the phone about how good her cookies are while Arnold yells “PUT DAT COOKIE DOWN”, it’s all amazing. But really the best part is the unexpectedly complex buildup of a real hero/villain relationship - the connection, the offer of friendship that gets rejected, the ensuing battle that becomes an insane bid for revenge, culminating in a real costumed fight that ends - in the true spirit of Christmas - with the police hauling away a grown man in a latex bodysuit clutching a toy he has ruthlessly stolen from a child that would grow up to become Darth Vader. 15/10

[scxttershot]

In a mood. And by that I mean multiple people have said verbatim this week that they no longer wish to hear about me and that I stop talking to them entirely, which is completely fair.

I keep going back to Floyd's "we are both lone wolves" [paraphrased] comment to Rick Flagg Jr. in the 1987 Suicide Squad arc The Flight of the Firebird* and how it is so blatantly false for both characters. I'd post a picture of the actual panel, but it is literally dark outside where I am and the lamp I have is shorting out. I'll obviously update this post when I remember, as I have a paper due later. Anyways, not to get off topic. Flagg feels as though he is useless when he's not leading a group, when he doesn't have something tangible to fight for even if that immediately tangible thing is Bronze Tiger and a bunch of idiots. Without the squad, or even just without Waller, he seems listless. Deadshot is subconsciously drawn towards human companionship whether he wants to admit it or not; even when coerced into teams, he bonds with people fast. Although, I don't know how great his definition of friendship is given that in the last roughly 40 years of his history he's kept trying to kill his teammates. And I'm not exactly saying that Deadshot is touchy-feely or whatnot, but I think by this point it's clear enough that he doesn't actually like being by himself.

*issues #5-7

[mvrkieboo]

So I think I'm not defining sex work loosely enough bc I saw the previous TW and I was like "OH NO SHE DIDN'T" but false alarm.

Tbh I thought at first since it's loanshark biz (I still haven't watched the show) it might have something to do with extortion/coercion rather than smth not related to the main aspect of the business (it's wishful thinking ik what could she do as a minor). But ik how unrealistic that would be. Then I found out it was dancing and I was like ok not the worst case scenario, still fucked up since it involved a minor.

Also I want to discuss the TW. I feel like what she did then shouldn't fall under the category of sex work bc it gives the assumption it's done voluntarily. And since she was a minor I think it's more of child prostitution. Without the minor element it's human trafficking for the involuntary dancing and the forced labour also falls under this category. I just don't think sex work applies anywhere in the story. It might give the wrong assumption of the story.

Also I want to be violently mad at the fact that they would turn on her, but imma be chill for now and see where things go. Yoonsu I'm thinking of hundreds of violent ways to return the favour so I better not catch u.

i made a loanshark like yoonsu based on the actual villain in the original bloodhounds kdrama tbh—he is a loanshark, but the reason why he's such a successful one is because he expands his revenue income and business. casinos, clubs and whatnot—you name it, he has it.

yoonsu as a character however just emphasises on how nasty and exploitative men like him would act like when once he comes across a victim from the most vulnerable demographic of all—an underage girl. especially with how underage girls (mostly teens) are viewed by the global society—a barely ripe forbidden fruit desired by all.

and for the TWs...yeah, thanks for discussing/calling me out on that. TBH i only put sex work because i couldn't really think of another TW that would be more fitting but YES! THANK YOU, IT'S ACTUALLY CHILD PROSTITUTION. I LOVE YOU MUCH FOR THIS, MY BRAIN FOG HAS BEEN BLOCKING MY VOCAB AND TERMS LIKE A BITCH RN 🩷

and im so sorry for disappointing you guys but yoonsu coming back will eventually lead to them turning on y/n. it'll probably make you scream and tear your hair out, but the reward is going to be sooooooo good istg