#I HATE MODERN OPERATING SYSTEMS I HATE MODERN OPERATING SYSTEMS

[a-very-tired-jew]

I saw a post earlier that had quote from former KGB Head Yuri Andropov that was of interest.

The quote is "We had only to keep repeating our themes - that the U.S. and Israel were 'fascist, imperial-Zionist countries' bankrolled by rich Jews." Now, we know that much of the antisemitic rhetoric of the modern era has its roots in the former Soviet Union and has continued to be propagated by its successor. But this quote caught my attention and I wanted to find where it's from. Lo and behold I found that it is from an article written by Lt. General Ion Mihai Pacepa who was a former KGB intelligence officer that defected during the Cold War.

This article from 2006 by Pacepa is about how the Soviets created and instigated modern terrorism by exploiting the systemic antisemitism present in the Middle East and thereby pointing its operatives at Israel and the USA. This other article, written in 2012, builds on Pacepa's article with material stolen from archives by Pavel Stroilov as recounted by Claire Berlinski (note: Stroilov is apparently a pro-life type and a bit "out there" but that should not discredit the documents he stole and revealed to the public, nor the information they contain).

Pacepa refers to Sakharovsky as the "Father of International Terrorism",

Huh, interesting to see that Sakharovsky claims to have invented the airplane hijack as a means of terrorism.

This is the important part.

Read it again.

Then one more time. The Soviets intended to cause a Nazi-like hatred of Jews.

Pacepa then details how the "humanitarian efforts" of the USSR at the time had an alternative purpose to spread antisemitic hate and conspiracy. Doctors, engineers, professors, and other personnel that were sent to the Middle East in joint ventures were to spread the conspiracy that the USA was a "haughty Jewish fiefdom" that would "subordinate the entire Islamic world".

At no point is it not understood that Zionist equals Jew. The words are used interchangeably and are inextricably linked to one another.

Pacepa then details how by the mid 70s they had started printing and distributing Arabic versions of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and a falsified paper that alleged Israel and the USA were intending to "convert" the Islamic world into a Jewish colony.

In the Berlinski article it is stated that two documents appear for the first time in English in Stroilov's work detailing how the Soviets worked with and supported the PFLP.

Now, we all know the antisemitic Tankies are going to come across this writing and do everything they can to discredit defectors and persons who provide a counter narrative to the one they push. It's a time honored tradition at this point for them to try and defend the USSR and its actions and say anything bad that they did is actually Western propaganda and didn't actually occur, and if it did occur it's actually the victim's fault and not theirs.

Except it's a well established fact, at least amongst the Jewish community, that the "anti-Zionism, not antisemitism" deflection is of Soviet origin and was used to ethnically cleanse Jews. It's a well established fact that the Soviets used its Jewish members and had them turn on their own communities, and then imprisoned, tortured, killed or exiled those same people they used.

And here we have a former high ranking officer in the KGB who defected and details how antisemitism was weaponized and spread throughout the Middle East to foment violent terrorism. Which is why we see some of the biggest antisemitic anti-Zionist blogs on here spout rhetoric that is a mix of Islamist and Soviet talking points. Over the course of decades they have become inextricably linked.

So if you see any so called "anti-Zionist" blog on here calling Zionists "Nazis" then just know they are repeating Soviet era propaganda that was used to purposefully undermine peace processes, stoke Islamist antisemitic rhetoric, and cause violence against Jews.

[thydungeongal]

https://www.tumblr.com/thydungeongal/769949043465093120/i-often-see-this-when-people-air-out-their

What do “dramatic, personal stakes” look like in tabletop gaming? What games center them in their mechanics and how?

Alright, so there are lots and lots of games out there that do this in very different ways, so this is going to be a very long and meandering answer.

Starting with the most "trad" example, Pendragon, the game of playing knights in Arthurian Britain that freely mixes history and myth, is for the most part a very traditional adventure game, but it also introduced the idea of Passions and Personality Traits to give mechanical heft to characterization. These are effectively measured on the same 1 to 20 scale as regular skills and attributes in the game, meaning that they can be "tested" just like skills, but they also have the potential for putting the player character into trouble. A character with the "Hates Saxons" Passion will have their hate actually manifest in play, whereas a character who is high in Lustful and low in Chaste will find themselves entangled in lots of romantic drama. Character personality will thus actually have concrete game mechanical effects. The Passions system has since been ported into more recent editions of RuneQuest and its descendants, including Mythras.

Fate is a more modern indie RPG that is less concerned with measuring out Exact Statistics and more about modeling narrative convention. Fate characters are, more so than their skills, basically defined by their Aspects, which are effectively narrative tags that define How a character should behave in a story and What sort of stuff should be happening to them. Aspects can be invoked (using Fate points, the game's main meta currency that the whole game operates on) for bonuses on actions that relate to that tag, but they can also be compelled to put the character into trouble in a way that makes sense for their Aspect, thus granting the player a Fate point if they accept the compel. Aspects are pretty much at the core of Fate and they are utilized for much more than just characterization: new temporary aspects can be created on the fly to represent things in the environment, aspects can be used to represent things in the world and the wider narrative, injuries and consequences of losing conflicts are effectively temporary aspects, and so on. This way the game is largely one where the meta resource management game ties heavily into things that matter in the fiction.

Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy (by @anim-ttrpgs) is another very trad RPG and a game that is very much a "going on an adventure" game (but the adventure is a mystery that needs to be investigated), but the game adds a bit of extra mechanical heft to characterization of make it clear that the game is about regular people investigating mysteries: the Trait system is one of the most important mechanical dials for character customization and Traits are effectively packaged options with both benefits and drawbacks, and those mechanical effects also inform characterization very heavily; Truths are unique to each investigator and are something I would compare to Fate's Aspects but much more precise and personal and less meta, giving investigators minor bonuses on actions in a scene when they are acting according to their Truth; and finally, Tiers of Fear, which are also very personal to each investigator, define how an investigator reacts to various fear stimuli that exist in the world and thus also heavily intersect with the game's Composure mechanic. All of these mechanics interact with an investigative game with a very clear intended gameplay experience to further influence characterization and add personal stakes into the narrative.

Getting back to the more avant garde, Chuubo's Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine is a game that I still struggle to wrap my head around because it's a game for smart people, but as far as I have understood: the gameplay largely revolves around player characters choosing personal goals called Arcs which are further divided into Quests; each Quest is defined as a number of experience points that must be accrued towards the quest for it to be completed, as well as specific actions that characters can do to gain bonus experience on those quests, and then you basically just. Let your characters loose on quests. The important thing is that while quests can be shared among a group (for a more traditional "Group of Heroes Going on an Adventure" narrative, which Chuubo's does also support) they are also personal (so each character will have their own personal quests they will be working towards) and asynchronous (a character may pick up multiple quests over their arc and not complete them in the same order as they started them, as some will be shorter diversions on the path towards victory). Again, this is a very broad-strokes, top-down view of how the game works, because it is a very heady game that I have yet to wrap my head around. If any Chuubo's fans notice any egregious omissions or mistakes here, please let me know.

Finally I'll finish with something a bit broader, the World of Darkness "series" of games, while not having anything quite as in-depth as personality mechanics, do all have various mechanical frameworks for tying characterization into gameplay: the Classic World of Darkness games had their Archetypes, effectively defining a broad personality archetype that the character needs to act according to in order to regain Willpower; the Chronicles of Darkness games have Vices and Virtues, with characters having one of each, once again defining how they regain Willpower; and I'm sure the newer Paradox White Wolf titles also have something to that effect as well. Basically, little carrots dangled in front of player characters to encourage characterization and acting according to a specific archetype. It's neat!

[schroedingerscryptid]

good evening mothers and fuckers of the jury today i bring: Amphoreus Is A Neural Network 

my credentials: i’m a first year CS student in 2025.

if y’all’ve been on hsrtwt in the past few days and watching leak after leak come out, then you probably know what i’m yapping about. if not, check this, this, this, and this out.

if you’d rather wait for 3.4 to come out, this is your chance to scroll. rest of y’all are with me lets go gamers

to summarise the 3.4 leaks, lygus and cyrene are apparently running tests on phainon to make the perfect lord ravager, and phainon’s been through 33550336 loops (girl help him wtf) by now. in each loop, he has to watch everyone die over and over again, and phainon, obvi, cannot remember anything. each loop, he’s a complete blank slate, ready to be traumatised over and over again. lygus keeps track of each loop, and keeps refining the data he puts in at the start of each timeloop to remove the ‘imperfections’ from the previous loop that were corrupting his experiments. 

ok anyways this is not about this shit we’re here to talk about why amphoreus is a neural network.

all of us here hate ai so i’m pretty sure you know the basic strokes of how it works, but if you don’t, then here’s a simple explanation: a neural network works based on input data. there’s many methods to training a machine, but the most generalised ones are the supervised vs the unsupervised models. how they work is what’s on the lid: supervised models mean that the input data is clearly labeled, and unsupervised models mean the input data is not labeled, which forces the ML algorithm to identify data on its own. based on what we know, i’m inclined to think that lygus is probably using a supervised model each time by removing outlier data and/or noise. 

wonderful, let’s talk about mydei now. y’all’ve probably seen a bunch of theories and leaks, but mydei’s highly likely to be a glitch in the system, or even worse, might be a virus that someone’s trying to use to break everyone out of this loop. between all of the theories i’ve seen, the one that connects mydei to the amphoreus loop is the theory that he’s a type of fileless malware. 

Tweet ref: https://x.com/tts_maruadelei/status/1932082549217751271

much like the other chrysos heirs, mydei doesn’t actually exist, but let me say: ain’t it interesting how mydei, the demigod of strife, who should have risen to be a titan that governed disputes, is the one who caused glitches in lygus’ system during the forgotten years?

let’s go back to the theory for a second: fileless attacks, simplified, operate based off of memory alone, which makes it much, much harder to detect compared to normal malware and viruses in a computer system. these fileless attacks can manifest in multiple ways, and one of those ways is a Distributed Denial of Service attack, aka, the infamous DDoS attack. DDoS attacks are among the most common cyberattacks of the modern century, and involve ‘botting’, where multiple bots attack one system to overwhelm the system with a high volume of requests.

the idea of ‘overwhelming’ a system can come in the form of exhausting resources like bandwidth, the Central Processing Unit (CPU) and, most importantly, the Random Access Memory (RAM). you know, the RAM being where most fileless malware operates out of. i’m sure you see where i’m going with this. 

for more psychic damage, there’s a type of attack called a ‘buffer overrun’ or ‘buffer overflow’. wikipedia defines data buffers as regions of memory that store data temporarily while it’s being moved from one place to another. a ‘buffer overflow’ is a type of DDoS (SIGHS) attack in which data in the buffer exceeds the storage capacity and flows into the following memory location, and corrupts the data in the secondary memory locations, and are the most common DDoS attack styles. sound familiar? 

bringing allllll of this back to amphoreus, i wouldn’t be too surprised if mydei’s older versions gained sentience, and started botting lygus’ AI/neural network and caused a DDoS attack, which caused his saves to be completely wiped due to a buffer overflow. thank u for listening can 3.4 hurry Up.

[curioscurio]

Why we have to start being nicer to eachother:

I know it sucks and is hard, but I think we really do need to start treating techbros and incels and our fellow humans with a bit more compassion, empathy, and understanding before we jump to bad faith interpretation. Especially when seeing a bad take online used as bait for arguments. We have to give other people the opportunity and knowledge to think for themselves, and make the choice to become a better person on their own.

"Hold on! Why should I be nice to people like that? THEY'RE the ones who are being bigoted to US!"

Well, I'll try and answer that question below! I ended up writing a lot, so check out the "read more" if you're curious. At the end of the day, I'm not an expert or a professional on human behavior, so keep that in mind. This is just something I've been thinking about based on my own past experiences.

Conspiracy theorists, the far right, gun enthusiasts, and even MAGA's all operate on the belief that modern society hates them for who they are. They think the entire world is against them.

And, looking at the kind of hate rhetoric and harmful ideologies they talk about; the cruel acts of casual and extremist violence that stem from that community, it easy to see why the world has turned its back on them. Right?

It makes you wonder: "Why are they like this?"

The easy way out is to simply hold on to the belief that they are behaving this way because they are bad people. Bad people do bad things, after all.

But when the world turns its back on a group of people, those people turn their backs on the world. They will naturally gravitate towards whichever group of accepting humans they come across first. Whoever validates their feelings and makes them feel accepted and safe instead of rejected and fearful.

The far right preys on young men who don't know know any better because they are never treated any better. They have influencers, exactly like Donald Trump, that make you feel safe. They also are lying to these people and using their fear of rejection to control them.

It's very similar to how the Church will help you out and feed you if you're homelss... as long as you join the church and donate 10% of your earnings to "God." (The churchs bank account. )

That is to say, people don't usually pop out of the womb with these prejudices and fears programed into their heads. It's something that has to be taught to them by somebody else. Their parents, the church, their school, their friends, youtubers, etc.

"So, what do we do? How do we save future and current generations from being sucked into this hateful spiral of far right bigotry?"

"How do we help our conservative parents, who we know love us but are absolutely convinced that they need guns to keep their families safe? How do we help our Trump Train family members who used to be loving, compassionate, people?"

Well, you're not gonna like the answer. We have to start being nicer to everyone. We have to be nicer to incels, dude bros, techbros, Karen's, and yes, even your average Republican voters. We have to show them compassion and empathy when they're expressing their fears, without immediately attacking them for it. We have got to prove to them that there's a place for them to come back to.

Their fears are being taken advantage of by a system that benefits from pitting the general population against each other. If we're too busy fighting eachother, we can never join forces and fight the system.

And so it turns into a self-sustaining system of fear and reactive lashing out. They start believing that everybody is against them, except the few people who understand. Until the only safe place left for them is the Q Anon message boards. Quite literally an orobourous of hate.

"But Curio! They literally want us dead! These people are violent and irredeemable!"

Many of them are. So many of these people are groomed into believing that the only way they can keep themselves safe is by killing anything they think has caused them harm. It's an intentional system maintained by those in power to control those who are not.

Some of them, however, are just normal people who got in with the wrong crowd or are too young to know better. Some people were never given the chance to be better.

"So, what SHOULD we do? Be nice to our oppressors? Let them get away with hate crimes and bigotry?"

No. But we DO need to stop thinking of "them" as this massive malevolent demographic who have no souls and are inherently evil. The majority of these people were lied to and manipulated and groomed into these beliefs.

We have to try harder to stop ourselves before we start calling them names and attack them, regardless of if they deserve it or not. We have to engage with them on good faith. Learn about WHY they believe conspiracy theories and why it stems from fear.

"Why? What will this help?"

Because you're quite literally showing them that there's another option available for them to take. You're showing them that, if they do change their minds and want to change their behavior, that you are a safe person to approach with these thoughts. You have the power to create a space for them where they're allowed to think for themselves without punishing them for it.

Once you create that connection, it's like you're showing them another road in life they can explore. They now can see a new future for themselves. A future where their kids start talking to them again. A future where they're not terrified of being humiliated for being soft. A future where they feel listened to.

And that's all. You just have to give them that chance. It's not your job to change their mind, or to tell them that they're wrong for thinking thoughts. In fact, trying to do just that will usually encourage them to double down.

But what you CAN do is build an environment where they have the OPPORTUNITY to change their mind. You can be kind, empathetic, and educational. Be patient and listen and have a respectful conversation with them.

It is especially important for people with privilege to step up and be those kinds of diplomats. People who are able and willing to look past the surface bigotry to address the scared humans underneath. People who can do this without endangering themselves or their community. This may be other cis straight white people who can get away with bringing these topics up gently, without triggering reflexive defensiveness. Who then have the patience to gently educate them and steer them towards a better path.

"But Curio, I can't do this. I've been hurt too many times by these people, and doing this would cause me significant mental distress."

Then don't. You're not obligated to be the better person for every situation and circumstance. Nuance must be taken into account. You don't have to be nice to every troll or ragebait Twitter post. I certainly don't want you to put yourself in a situation that causes you emotional, physical, or mental harm. Hell, you don't even have to give them the time of day. It's your own responsibility to make the judgment call regarding your health.

But people simply won't change if there's no room for them to change. And some people have the power to make that room for them little by little.

"I've tried everything. I've begged, cried, been nice, and shown them that we won't reject them. They won't change their minds no matter what."

And that's also ok! It can happen. When you give people the opportunity to make choices for themselves, there will always be people who still choose to believe the system they were groomed on. They can do that because thats free will, baby. There will still be people who will not change their minds and who will actively choose to become more radicalized.

And it's sad to see. But you also have to respect that sometimes people aren't ready to change at the same time that you're ready to help them change.

But you should try to do it for all the young men and children who are being taught by their parents that White Genocide is real. You should do it for the parents who love their kid so much, but are so terrified when they say they're transgender because they don't know what to do. Because they know the world will not treat them fairly or are afraid of ruining everything.

You should do it for your 10 year old nephew who watches Andrew Tate because their mother doesn't give a damn enough to check what kind of YouTube videos their kid is watching. You should do it for the depressed and hurting teenager who thinks they have no option left but to buy a gun and shoot up their school, because no ones listening to them. You should do it for the tradwife who's alone and hurting after her conservative husband cheated on her and left her with nothing; because she thought she would be the exception.

"...How do you know this will work? What if you're wrong, and nothing changes?"

I don't! I'm just a random person on the internet. I dont know who might read this. It's just my opinion.

But at least, at the end of the day, you tried your best to be a good person to another human being, and I don't think that's such very a bad thing. For me, I'm going to try because I don't want to lose my father to that kind of environment. I want to be able to have a normal conversation with him again.

There's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it's worth fighting for.

[thistlecatfics]

1, 5, 7 (or replace any with 20) for lucius

curious if you have any ideas to flesh him out as more than a generic evil patriarch dude

I'm afraid I often write him as generic evil dude (either as someone who has sexually assaulted Andromeda or as someone who is in private equity in a modern AU who Bellatrix considers to be an idiot haha). But I do like a more complex version too!

what i most like about them

The man commits to an aesthetic and I've got to respect him for that.

5. a headcanon i have

There's a strain in (recent) fandom where all the young DEs were like... physically abused by their parents in joining, which I find pretty absurd. I actually love the opposite headcaon. While a few men of his generation (Rosier, Avery, Lestrange, Nott, Mulciber) joined him and perhaps encouraged their children/family to join him too, I think Voldemort specifically was against the established pureblood order and hated them. He believed in blood purity, but he hated them and wanted to remake wizarding Britain.

And what better way to spite all those snobbish families he hated -- the Blacks, the Malfoys -- than to recruit their children? Physically and permanently stain them as his own?

I think Lucius thought joining the Death Eaters as a young person was this badass thing - so dramatic, so cool, so full of good aesthetics (those masks!) He thought he was really fighting for the good cause unlike all those fuddy duddy older generations of purebloods like Abraxas who operated in legal system (and outside of the legal system but only barely). He felt like he was rebelling against his dad by joining.

His father thought he was an idiot. Especially since he put himself in harms way before he even had an heir??? Risking the Malfoy line in some terrorist cult???

7. my unpopular opinion on them

under no circumstances is this man physically abusing draco! I can see him being a terrible parent in many, many ways, but he is not physically abusing Draco. Even if he wanted to, Narcissa would murder him before he even raised his wand.

marauders asks

[heavenlymorals]

How a Modern Perspective Skews Historical Characters: A Mini Rant on the Hatred of Female Characters in RDR2

This isn't that organized cuz it's more a rant than a retrospective but fuck it it's my blog, I do what I want-

There are so many people who have actual hatred, not criticisms, for Abigail, Molly, Grimshaw, Mary, and other female characters in the Red Dead universe.

And honestly? I find it very interesting. Sure, men will probably always find a reason to hate a female character, but what I find interesting is how many women also hate these wonderfully crafted characters.

It could be so many reasons as to why this may be the case but honestly? I think it's because people forget that they CANNOT analyze this game authentically through the modern lens of morals and behaviors. This game takes place in 1899 America. Let me say it again. This game takes place in 1899 America.

One more time, just for good measure- this game takes place in FUCKING 1899 America. Women had to be dependent on men because otherwise? They'll either be in poverty, exploited, killed, or all three. There was also the honor system. When had to be the moral high ground for their family so them messing up has consequences on their fathers, mothers, siblings, cousins, and anyone connected to their family name.

Abigail getting pissy at John for getting in trouble all the time? If course it'd feel annoying if you're looking at it through the modern perspective but when you don't, it's a woman telling her man to act like a man and be careful because if he doesn't, she and her son will be destitute and destroyed.

Mary not getting with Arthur but using him? What's the likely hood that the law would bother to help Mary when the two people she needs help with are her father and brother- two grown men who can make their own choices that she literally can do nothing about because as a woman, it wasn't her place to dictate what they do. Arthur was her only option. "Girl, what her family thinks doesn't matter, she still should've gotten with him" girl no, because it's much harder and difficult than that- it's like tearing away an entire identity that you depend on to fucking survive.

"but what about Sadie? She was also living during this time period and she isn't drowned by societal expectations-"

Seriously. Do some research, read a book, expand your knowledge of gender roles and what that entails for people because it explains so many things about these characters in such a human way. They aren't "bitches", they are women of their time and people have to understand that.

No. Sadie isn't a part of this discussion because though she is a fun character and an amazing character, she is a mishmash of historical women who did masculine things to survive at one point but then went back to traditional roles, even if they did occasionally go back to to those old activities for sport sometimes, like Anne Oakley or Calamity Jane. Sadie's entire character is basically "but what if they didn't and committed to the nontraditional lifestyle". There are many inconsistencies that Rockstar did regarding the time period that they established earlier to accommodate Sadie's character better. Sadie is a great character but she doesn't belong in this discussion.

Edit: Ok, since this was a rant, as mentioned previously, I was a bit too rushed with the Sadie aspect of this post and ignored some crucial details. I'm not gonna change the post besides just this though. @hillbillyhipster84 made some great points that Sadie was a reference to Appalachian women and real outlaw women who did run and were accomplices in men's crimes, that I was too ignorant to mention prior beforehand because I didn't do much research. I still don't believe that People should use Sadie to bash the other women though, because those women mentioned above were not the status quo and thus were more trivialized because of it.

So many cultures still operate like this too so if anything, you're just learning something new about another culture.

But I swear, anytime someone talks shit about these characters, y'all got me looking like this-

[psiroller]

My Boy (We Don't See Each Other Much)

a third fic request from unkat has reached me for some gamer au shenanigans. cool, i thought, nice low stakes goofin off fun time au. lets put some military industrial complex in there

cw: institutionalized homophobia, vague references to USAmerican military operations in the 2000's, gamer lingo

The raid was a resounding success by their guild's lax standards. Chilchuck managed to pull a rare light armor piece he'd been looking for, finally catching him up to the modern game; he was surprised by how much damage the standard grinding mobs were doing to him now, even if his defense was always going to be lower than the tanks and fighters he partied with. Laios landed the biggest critical hit he'd ever seen; the broadsword Chilchuck nabbed for him off the Auction House was working well for him. He was clearly still riding the high, humming the victory fanfare under his breath as he took inventory and milled about with Senshi, comparing the ingredients they’d collected, trading amongst themselves. It was late, though, close to Senshi’s prep hours. Marcille was fighting against the cozy lethargy that followed a glass of wine and swiftly losing. Falin had already logged out to take a shower and head to bed, stopping by Laios’ door for a hug goodnight.

Laios went right back to the desktop after he shut the door. He pulled his headset back on and heard the familiar sound of Chilchuck’s raspy inhale and then a long, satisfied exhale.

“Chilchuck!” Laios said, too eagerly. “You’re still up?”

“No, I’m fast asleep,” Chilchuck drawled. Laios snorted and threw a rock at Chilchuck’s head. It passed through harmlessly; neither of them wanted the hassle of dedicated PVP. Maybe Laios wasn’t as keen on roleplaying as Marcille and Falin were, but the roleplaying server had been a lot kinder to him than the standard ones he usually played on.

“You were right about the sword,” Laios tittered. “I really have to start doing the math instead of just looking at bigger numbers—uh, focusing on how sharp the blade is, I mean.”

Chilchuck coughed through a laugh, leaning away from the mic so that it didn’t blow Laios’ eardrums out. “I think some of the guides are a little out of date,” Chilchuck said, relaxed enough to drop character. Marcille was still nearby, though the AFK symbol appeared under her name; the elf she played nodded off, ears drooping.  “Critical chance used to be calculated with this really convoluted system that also included timers, so there were only so many crits you could get in the span of a few minutes,” he went on. “They updated it recently so that you roll for a critical every hit.”

“Oh, thank God,” Laios said. “On a timer? How long did raids use to take?”

“Oh, upwards of four hours.” Chilchuck said casually. Laios sputtered. “I know, I know. I guess people had more free time back then… though with how people run multiple raids a night now, I guess it’s down to how committed you are.”

“So critical hit percentage is the thing I should focus on, then.”

“For your build, yeah.”

“Why does everyone recommend focusing on damage per second?”

“It’s a recent change, I think it got pushed out just before you signed up. They’ve tweaked it a lot, so people tend to get confused on how it works now, as it gets buffed and nerfed. Attack and attack speed used to be connected to the same value, so there are other ways you can focus on dealing damage instead of just right clicking the dragon and watching one of twelve timers tick down.” Chilchuck smiled and took another drag. “I think they’re trying to freshen things up a little. I like the changes.”

“Really? Everyone in the forums talks about how much they hate it.”

“If they’re old enough to be using the forums, they’re old enough to hate their favorite thing changing,” Chilchuck laughed.

“But not you,” said Laios. There was a warmth there that Chilchuck didn’t see a reason for.

“Eh.” Chilchuck’s ears burned under his headset. “Maybe a little bit. They don’t make shooters like they used to.” There was a pause. “Oh, right, you don’t like those.”

“Just the super hoo-rah military ones,” Laios breathed. “I can do Team Fortress 2. That one’s pretty fun.”

“Oh! I play that with—a friend, sometimes,” Chilchuck stammered. “Do you… I’m still kind of wired. I got a day off tomorrow. Do you—”

“Yeah!” His mic clipped. “Yeah. Sounds good.”

“Wait, you don’t have a test tomorrow or anything, do you?”

“… No.”

“I don’t like that hesitation.”

Laios huffed and puffed and logged out of Dungeon Divers with little warning, but usernames were exchanged and soon Laios’ avatar (a dragon, what else) popped up in Chilchuck’s scant friend list, nestled between Dan and May.

“I didn’t think you’d be cool enough to play TF2,” Laios teased.

“Cool people play TF2? I thought it was all screaming toddlers.”

“There are a few of those, yeah,” Laios admitted.

“I played the original game. It was a lot different. I don’t really keep up with it these days, but…”

“No worries,” Laios chirped. “I’ll take care of you.”

Chilchuck felt something zip down his spine. “I’m not that bad.”

They played three matches with the usual late night crowd, and it was a miracle if Chilchuck could stay alive for longer than a minute or two, let alone get a kill. Laios, on the other hand, clawed up every scoreboard and sat at the top. He started with Sniper; Chilchuck followed him while waiting for his respawn timer to run out, flicking between first and third person views. He watched as opponents’ heads would pop like grapes the moment they touched Laios’ reticle, faster than Chilchuck’s eyes could tell his brain to move his fingers.

“Okay, maybe I’m pretty bad,” Chilchuck admitted. “Compared to you.”

Laios missed a shot and sputtered. “I’m concentrating…!” A Spy knifed him, and Chilchuck could hear Laios whack his mouse against the table in frustration. Chilchuck laughed.

“Relax, that’s your first one this round,” he teased. “Your reflexes are crazy. Maybe I’m getting too old for twitchy games like this.”

“The mechanics have changed a lot and all the tryhards are on,” Laios conceded, breathing out the annoyance. “I’ll switch to Heavy. Wanna be my Medic? I can keep more of an eye on you.”

Chilchuck sniffed at his demotion to pocket healer, but then at least he’d be getting assist kills. “Alright, fine.”

Many assist kills were had, and all was well. It was fun to watch Laios’ brain work, bobbing and weaving and jumping around. He played like May did, hyperfocused on the movement mechanics; Chuck’s wrists weren’t any good for that anymore, so he usually hung back to support anyway.

“So why TF2 and not Call of Duty?” Chilchuck asked between matches, lighting another cigarette in search of the now-elusive nicotine buzz. “Seems like you’re really good. You could probably go pro if you wanted.”

Chuck heard a rustling against the mic. Sounded like Laios fiddling with the thing, maybe rubbing his face. He heard a scratch of stubble.

“Eh. I just—don’t like the military aesthetic very much, or something,” Laios mumbled. “I, uh. I served, and it’s a little…”

Chilchuck coughed. “You served? As in, served in the army?”

“Yeah.” There was a chuckle from the other line. “What? Is it that surprising?”

“Well, you just never…” Chuck scratched at the nape of his neck. “You never said anything that made me think… I don’t know what I thought. You didn’t seem like the type.”

“That’s because I’m not,” Laios snorted. “I was a good shot, but not a good soldier, if that makes any sense?”

Chuck wet his dry lips and leaned back in his chair. He didn’t lock into the next game, and the queue dumped them out. Laios didn’t reset it.

“So you objected? Conscientious objection? Is that what it’s called?”

“That’s what it’s called, but uh… it takes a while to get that done if you enlisted voluntarily. You have to plead your case for it. I thought about it, but I didn’t get the chance.”

Chilchuck swallowed dryly, then tapped some ash out into the ceramic tray Patty made for him many Father’s Days ago. “So you were kicked out?”

“Discharged, yeah,” Laios sighed. His chair creaked as he leaned back, too. “Other than honorable.”

Chuck winced. “What did you do?”

There was that rustling again. “I, um. If you don’t ask, I don’t have to tell you.”

“Oh, uh. Sorry, I”—Chilchuck’s eyes went wide—"ohhh.”

“Yeah.”

“Seriously? They booted you over a thing like that?”

Laios laughed weakly. “It’s in the regulations.”

“Still? When there’s, like, five wars going on?”

“Yep. I got a little pamphlet about it and everything. It’s rarer these days, and most people now get let off with an honorable, but…” Laios sighed. “My case was a whole thing. I didn’t fit in great with the rest of my platoon to begin with, and I maybe… I maybe misread some signals. You get bored out there, you know. Lonely. Got a little too close to my bunky…” Laios cleared his throat. “He let me down easy, but I guess he said something to somebody. I don’t think he’d go straight to the brass, he told me he wouldn’t, but someone must have overheard and that counts as credible evidence, so…”

Laios popped his lips with a click of his tongue. Chilchuck was frozen, ashes falling from the end of his cigarette into the crevices of his already dirty keyboard. The cigarette had almost burned down to the filter; money burning up in unsmoked nicotine. “I was probably going to leave anyway,” Laios said, to fill the silence. “I didn’t like being out there. If anything it kept me from being stupid and going AWOL. But if you talk to the VA—or my dad, heh—I  might as well have.”

Laios wheezed. Chilchuck blinked some smoke out of his eyes and stubbed out his cigarette.

“Hang on, you were on active duty and they’re hassling you at the VA over healthcare?”

“Oh yeah. Anything less than a general discharge is going to get you some hassle. I’m still on general health insurance, lowest tier. I’m not on TRICARE.”

Chilchuck pinched the pressure point between his eyebrows. “There’s gotta be a way to appeal that.”

“There might be. But I’ve spent about 40 hours of my life on the phone with them since I got back, and I’m not keen on spending anymore.” Laios made a blech sort of noise, disgusted, a little childish. “I hate phone calls. Besides, they gave me some money for college, so it wasn’t a complete wash.”

“Small miracles,” Chilchuck mumbled.

“Yup,” Laios breathed. He drummed his fingers on his desk, loud enough to reach the mic. Then there were a couple rhythmic bongo slaps against the table, nervous. “Ready for another game?”

Chuck looked at his watch. It was 4:32 AM.

“Sure. Night’s still young,” he said, for lack of anything comforting to say. “Play Heavy again.”

“Okay,” Laios said, and there was a smile in his voice. So that was something.

[giveamadeuschohisownmovie]

Pitch for the Earth Avatar tv show (after Korra):

TITLE -

“Avatar: The Ballad of Inoue” (alt title would be “Avatar: The Tragedy of Inoue”)

STATE OF THE WORLD AFTER KORRA -

For this write-up, Korra lived to be around 120. So the setting is not just several decades after the end of TLOK, it’s also the Avatar world’s version of our modern day. Modern technology is now prevalent, such as computers/the Internet, firearms, commercial airlines, and television.

Regarding the international community, the world is currently in a Cold War scenario in which the nations are on the verge of another 100 Years War. The reason for this is that despite the rise of democracy in the Earth Kingdom, the system was corrupted by bad actors. The Earth Kingdom is now a false democracy; elections are shams since the ruling party - the One Earth party - remains in power while their opposition are all controlled.

The Northern Water Tribe and Southern Water Tribe were taken over by ultranationalists and have formed a confederation for the sole purpose of expanding their influence. The Water Confederation have also formed an alliance with the Earth Kingdom, stemming from their ancestral hatred of the Fire Nation. Despite this, they merely tolerate each other as both nations want to expand their own interests.

Meanwhile, the newly formed Air Federation (no longer Nomads) has grown wary of the Water-Earth alliance. Since they’re the newest nation, the Water Confederation and the Earth Kingdom have been subtly trying to turn the Air Federation into their vassal/puppet state. Basically, those nations are not respecting the Air Federation’s sovereignty. Because of this, the Air Federation have formed their own alliance with the Fire Nation. The Fire Nation have proven themselves to be trustworthy allies to the Air Federation since (1) they genuinely want to atone for causing the Airbender genocide and (2) they recognize the threat that the Earth-Water alliance poses to their own interests.

So the Cold War scenario is the Fire-Air alliance against the Earth-Water alliance. This scenario lasts throughout the entire show. Also, unlike Aang and Korra’s shows, it’s not clear which alliance is the one we should be rooting for. This is because one of the core themes of the show (which I’ll get into later) is that the Avatar is now considered a relic of the past. How are you supposed to maintain the balance of the world when you can’t tell who is in the right? Also, how can you operate in a world that doesn’t want you around anymore?

ANYTHING ELSE ABOUT THE STATE OF THE WORLD?

The world has gone through an Enlightenment period due to the rise of democracy. Now that more power is being shifted to the people rather than monarchs, public opinion of the Avatar has become extremely negative. This is because people have started to view the Avatar as someone whose authority supersedes the leaders of each nation - basically, a super fascist. For example, if one nation does something that the Avatar doesn’t like (such as Sozin setting up colonies in the Earth Kingdom), then the Avatar can go in and unilaterally take them down (which Roku sorta did).

This anti-Avatar sentiment started during the final years of Korra’s life, which is one of the things that Inoue talks about with Korra whenever her spirit shows up. But it’s not just Korra who is hated, even the past Avatars have lost their reverence to the people. Personally, I was imagining a scene where Avatar Inoue is walking down a street and sees a statue of Aang that’s been heavily defaced, with one of the graffiti being, “JUSTICE FOR OZAI / I STAND WITH OZAI”.

So a huge issue that Inoue has to deal with is that he’s living in a world that no longer wants him around. This ends up affecting his world view as he starts to wonder if the world is even worth saving anymore.

HOW ABOUT INOUE HIMSELF?

In contrast to Aang and Korra, I pictured Inoue to be a darker, angrier, more bitter, anti-heroic Avatar. But it’s not just because of the international politics and the anti-Avatar sentiment. For his backstory, I imagined something like this.

We start off with 16-year-old Inoue finishing up his training. With him is his own Team Avatar - Yuu (the comic relief), Ayumi (the love interest), and Sai (the loudmouth). Inoue, Yuu, Ayumi, and Sai head off into the world, excited to start their journey…

…flashforward 20 years later. 36-year-old Inoue is in a cemetery. We then see he’s paying his respects to Yuu, Ayumi, and Sai, who died shortly after the flashback sequence. No longer the bright-eyed rookie Avatar, Inoue is now bitter and angry, although it’s not clear why his team died (that’ll be answered in later seasons). Inoue has also been living off the grid since his team’s demise and he hasn’t been acting as the Avatar for those 20 years.

While in Republic City, Avatar Inoue is contacted by a woman named Marin. Marin is revealed to be an ex-Dai Li agent who has gone rogue after learning about an Earth Kingdom plot to assassinate the current leader of the Air Federation. Marin asks Inoue to intervene, which he refuses, saying that he’s retired from being the Avatar. Sometime later, Marin is hunted down by her former teammates from the Dai Li, their goal being to eliminate her. Despite Inoue’s refusal to get involved, his good nature shines through and he ends up saving Marin. Because of this, he’s now gotten involved in the Dai Li conspiracy. This plot ends up being the focus of season 1. The rest of the show focuses on the aftermath of Inoue being forced out of his self-imposed retirement.

So in comparison to the other shows:

* Aang’s show was about a naive kid who ran away from his responsibilities and his journey was to accept his role as the Avatar

* Korra’s show was about a hothead who had to learn how to appreciate the responsibilities of being the Avatar

* Inoue’s show is about a depressed, angry man who must rise from his lowest point (grief and depression over his team’s deaths / living in a world that despises his very existence) in order to embrace his role as the Avatar

HYPOTHETICAL CAST (not meant to be the complete list)

1) Avatar Inoue, the protagonist

2) Marin, the deuteragonist and the only other member of Inoue’s new team Avatar (so Inoue has the smallest Team Avatar when compared to Aang and Korra)

3) Yuu, Ayumi, and Sai, members of Inoue’s former team Avatar. They’re all deceased in the present day and the story behind their deaths is one of the main arcs of the show. If I had to pick a reason, they were killed by Air Federation assassins who were actually targeting Inoue because they feared an Earth Avatar would be too loyal to the Earth Kingdom. This would be a season 2 reveal.

4) President Jin-seok: The corrupt president of the Earth Kingdom, leader of the One Earth political party, and the main antagonist of season 1 (it’s his plot to assassinate the Air Federation leader).

5) Ruisa: The leader of the Dai Li and Marin’s mentor. She’s the secondary antagonist of season 1 since she’s the one who spearheads the hunt for Inoue and Marin.

6) Jiang: A social media icon who is the face of the anti-Avatar movement.

7) Prime Minister Noriko: The leader of the Air Federation. It’s revealed later on she’s Jinora and Kai’s great-granddaughter.

8) Masaru: Marin’s father, who works as an engineer in Republic City

9) Chief Mato and Chief Tarlo: The leaders of the Northern and Southern Water Tribes, respectively. They are also the co-leaders of the Water Confederation.

10) Fire Lord Zuko II: The leader of the Fire Nation. (And yes, I did imagine Dante Basco playing this character).

[mystieris]

Urban Gods Worship System

(I'm terrible at posting information about this project xD; )

So in the world of Urban Gods, it's basically the world of the myths, they just have cars and Instagram (btw, I'm open to suggestions on how to make "Instagram" a Greek mythology pun xD), and I wanted to come up with a replacement for animal sacrifices since that's no longer really a thing in our modern day society. While it is common to use altar worship, item and food offerings and prayers of a lot of modern worshippers in our world, since this is a world where gods are also active members of society, there's another, far more popular method - patronizing establishments owned by the gods themselves.

Several major gods own restaurants, hotels, chain stores and other establishments, while more minor gods, as well as nymphs, satyrs, and other benign creatures, will often be employed there. The following is a master list of establishments I have plotted out so far, and who owns and works for them...

Hades - Inferis - A subterranian casino resort in Athens; Charon, the Furies and the Keres will cycle working the different security posts, Thanatos works as waitstaff in the bar/restaurant areas, Hypnos works the front desk on the hotel side, Hecate appears to work some sort of upper management position, and Minthe works as the casino host at the beginning of the story, eventually being replaced by Persephone. Hermes frequently works as a bartender, and all other positions are often filled by unnamed nymphs, gorgons, and other Underworld creatures.

Zeus - Vronti - A luxury hotel chain, with the flagship location in Athens, overlooking the Temple of Olympian Zeus. Thetis works as the concierge, Hermes will work odd jobs throughout the whole building, Hephaestus leads the maintenance crew, and Hera appears to have some sort of job there, but it's somewhat unclear exactly what as through most of the story she and Zeus are hovering between their good terms and their bad terms xD

Poseidon - Atlantis - A small chain of beach tiki bars with "hidden" drug den areas. I haven't quite worked out where the flagship location is, but most of the time the location seen is the one in Athens. And yes... Athena hates that he has a location in Athens, which Poseidon denies being because of his grudge. Claims, "Well, my brothers have their flagship locations here, mortals would ask questions if I didn't, too...!" Pretty much all positions are filled by different sea nymphs and creatures and aren't individually identified yet.

Demeter and Dionysus - A farm/vineyard in Sicily with a shop attached. Basically it's an enormous farm property that different parts are run by Demeter or Dionysus, Persephone basically runs the shop, Plutus offers financial consulting, Triptolemus cares for the animals on site, and various nymphs and satyrs assist in other areas. Additionally, Dionysus also works as the drink master for all three of the kings' establishments.

Athena - A university in Athens. Not much else is developed about it so far as the only scene written involving it is a brief shot of a classroom and just exposits how the gods are "technically not related" according to my world, but Athena is the dean as well as teaching classes.

Hephaestus - Has no direct stores or anything, but is basically the diving force behind mortals developing computers and robotics.

Ares - Basically runs the this world's equivalent to the UFC, which, because it's run by Ares is a mite more violent than in our world. He also has a gym he operates in Sparta that Phobos and Deimos can often be seen working as personal trainers ar.

Aphrodite - A chain of adult toy stores that are franchised to Eros and the rest of her and Ares' kids, while she'll also offer love advice for a fee at the flagship location in Sparta (somewhere within walking distance to Ares' gym).

Apollo - Works as a pop idol, beyond that I don't really have much developed.

Artemis - Like Apollo, not very developed yet, but the idea that she runs a popular hunting blog.

Hestia - Owns a spa resort known for its luxurious food and services.

More will be edited in as I develop more/remember things as I was sick from stress at the original time of posting this. Follow me for more updates on this project and incorrect quotes! :)

[marshmelman]

I saw what you posted about DNI's and DNI culture as a whole and honestly I really agree! I think there's little need to add a specific function for DNI lists, but the way I personally use them is sorta to let people know my stance on public discourse if that makes sense?

Like you said things like "DNI Transphobes" is redundant and puts a huge target on your back, or "DNI Meanies" like, what does that even mean? Its horribly vague, I never understand it, people have different meanings of what they consider "Mean" or "Rude"

But there's certain discourse that's still fairly split (shipping ethics, system discourse, etc.) and DNI's make it easier for me to let people know what my stance is on that rather than suddenly finding out later and being upset

Like if I put "DNI Endo Systems" people who identify with that or agree will know to leave me alone and that there's a possibility I might post stuff upsetting to them. Of course this also still sorta puts a target on your back but I think with stuff like that people mainly avoid each other and live their lives

I dunno! I just like how you talked about DNI culture and wanted to throw my thoughts in, which of course can be ignored or tossed aside, you simply intrigued me

i realised my reply was kinda long so check under the cut for me to elaborate on DNIs and why i hate em

someone could simply define their stance by inclusion (i'm pro xyz) rather than attempting to define it by exclusion (i'm anti abc). that's one of my most explicit gripes about it: the only function it has that can't be done more effectively in another way is to virtue signal.

if someone wants to make sure people don't see things that will trigger them on a post, then they can put a trigger/content warning on the post instead of making a public statement that they are against the existence of the person that might be triggered.

and in my opinion i think that just calling out what kind of things a person dislikes and kind of expecting the internet to reconfigure itself around their preference (i.e., when people expect others to check through the blogs of everyone they like, reblog, or otherwise interact with a post of to make sure that they're following all of everyone's rules correctly) is an unsustainable way to operate in the internet or in life in general. it goes back to curating one's own experience, yknow? if someone doesn't like certain things or if they're anti certain things, the onus is not on those things to avoid them, it's on them to manage their exposure to those things.

of course, i get that it's way harder to do that on modern day internet because everything got centralized to 2 or 3 social media sites that everyone uses, and especially on a site like this where people write their own tags and a person literally can't block every single phrase and euphemism someone might use to tag something (like agere vs cglre vs cgl vs a/g/e/r/e vs littlespace vs little space vs ....). i completely understand how people got exhausted by the whackamole and took the simpler route of "thing that i don't like, stay away from me." dnis don't exist on a site like reddit because the communities still have some way to define and separate themselves. don't like woodworking? just don't join the woodworking sub and mute it. it's very friendly to user curation. tumblr and twitter are not.

part of my agenda in addressing the existence of dni's in the community with chuchuu is to go more in the way of reddit and just be friendly to user curation instead of shoving everything in everyone's face with a million unmanageable obscure tags for them to have to keep track of. i'm going in strong with group functionality, blocking functionality, filtering on phrases, maybe even official content warnings a person can put on a post like on ao3.

i don't just hate dnis and want everyone to stop using them and suffer. i think they're an actual failing on the part of the social media websites themselves that their own users feel a need to do this because of the limited options. i want to make them functionally obsolete by creating a good website that's user friendly so that we don't need them anymore.

[girlactionfigure]

🟨HOSTAGES AND BODIES TO BE RELEASED, ATTORNEY GENERAL REBUKED - Real time from Israel  

⚠��COLD WEATHER PREDICTIONS - weather models disagree, but all agree the main cold wave current predicted to start SUNDAY, rain from tonight, possible snow and ice in elevated areas from Saturday night.  But predictions are changing, more accurate info as the winter storm system comes closer.

🎗️6 HOSTAGES TO BE RELEASED ON SHABBAT - names have been provided.  The PMO’s office says this is due to Trump and Netanyahu, and advances the release of all phase 1 hostages.  These are the last phase 1 hostages alive, in theory 19 phase 2 hostages are alive.

.. Phase 2 public chatter: Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem: Netanyahu's conditions regarding the disarmament of Hamas and the expulsion of senior Hamas officials cannot be accepted - we demonstrated great flexibility at all stages of the agreement, and any future arrangement in Gaza will be based on national consensus.

▪️IRANIAN LEADER SAYS - “The method chosen by the resistance to free the prisoners held by the Zionists is proving itself to the world.”

▪️GUSH KATIF - Former minister Limor Livnat told Ch. 7: "I am tormented by my support for the (Gush Katif - Gaza) expulsion. Sharon deceived us. I am repenting for the sin that I supported.”

▪️ATTORNEY GENERAL REBUKED - Confrontation in the cabinet: During yesterday's cabinet discussion, Attorney General Gali Bahar Meyara demanded that the ministers consult her regarding the legality of Trump's Gaza deportation plan. Justice Minister Gideon Sa'ar attacked her in response: "Trump did not consult with legal advisors before coming up with the plan."  Sa’ar added: "Honorable advisor, you are not political echelon, we are the political echelon and we make the decisions. We will decide what and you tell us how."

.. Communications Minister Dr. Shlomo Kari: “Do you understand? The "advisor" now wants to put a damper on the deportation plan for Gaza residents who are terrorists and hate Israel. Unimaginable.  The political echelon was elected to lead, not to take orders from officials. It's time to return governance to the government - and send those who don't understand this home with dignity.”

🔹EGYPT - ANALYSIS - Egyptian President Sisi is in a trap: he has not met with President Trump, unlike the Jordanian dictator and the Israeli prime minister. He is isolated with a broken and dependent country.  If Sisi starts a war against Israel, modern Egypt will fall apart.  If Sisi meekly accepts the Trump plan, Islamist Egypt will fall apart. If Sisi does nothing, Egypt's advantage with the Suez Canal will unravel following the announcement of the India to Italy via Israel cargo route.

Israel is in a tricky situation as actions taken in Gaza are impacting Egypt, and Egypt is now threatening due to actions in Gaza.

🔹GAZA RECONSTRUCTION AID - Egyptian TV channel reporter reports that "equipment for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip" has begun entering the Gaza Strip through the Rafah Crossing.  This remains unconfirmed and there were several previous reports of this that were false.  However it is also possible this is the ‘price’ for the return of hostage bodies and 6 hostages on Shabbat.

.. Political source confirms: Israel will allow caravans and construction vehicles into Gaza - subject to the release of hostages.

♦️GAZA - During the day (Tuesday), the IDF fired shots to repel a number of suspects who approached forces operating in various areas in the Gaza Strip and posed a threat to them.

In the southern Gaza Strip, IDF fighters earlier today identified a suspect moving near them and fired at him to drive him away. When the suspect continued to advance towards the force and posed an immediate threat, additional shots were fired at him to eliminate the threat.

In addition, an Air Force aircraft fired to repel a suspicious vehicle that was moving north from the center of the Strip on a route that is not approved for vehicle traffic, without passing through the inspection route.

[steddiemicrofic]

Steddie Microfic January 1st-7th Masterlist

Man, you guys really love hole. I don't think we're surprised at all about it.

What I am surprised by is how many of you accomplished Wynn's goal of keeping it G rated.

I'm gonna give everyone a challenge for week 2: Bonus points (not literally, we aren't keeping a point system) if you can keep it G rated and include the trope enemies to lovers OR childhood friends to lovers. -Mickala 💖

Another Hole In Your Head by @bifuriouswaterbender | Rated G | no cw

I love you by @medusapelagia | Rated G | no cw

Legend Has It by @griefabyss69 | Rated E | no cw

swindled for the hole by @steddieas-shegoes | Rated M | cw: sexual innuendo, implied sexual content | tags: modern au, established relationship, date night

Marks and Paintings by @aidaronan | Rated E | no cw | tags: smut, pwp, comeplay, fingering

Hole in Me by @thisapplepielife | Rated E | cw: 18+ only, light dom/sub dynamics, unprotected sex | tags: established relationship, foreplay, smutty teasing, top eddie munson, bottom steve harrington

Untitled by @estrellami-1 | Rated G | no cw

holes on the house by @cranberrymoons | Rated M | cw: innuendo

more than these bones by @momotonescreaming | Rated T | cw: implied main character death/undeath | tags: zombie au, first meeting

Bullshit by @shares-a-vest | Rated T | cw: angst without a happy ending, break-up, hurt/no comfort

donut thief by @sourw0lfs | Rated G | no cw

Untitled by @sharpbutsoft | Rated G | no cw

The romantic implications of quoting Pride and Prejudice by @hbyrde36 | Rated E | no cw | tags: established relationship, love confessions, porn with feelings

Wanna Help Me Dig A Hole? by @runninriot | Rated G | no cw

Need by @wormdebut | Rated E | cw: anal fingering, d/s dynamics | tags: hot boys whimpering

Unapologetically Steve Harrington by @novacorpsrecruit | Rated G | cw: needle

Slay me dead by @katyawriteswhump | Rated E | cw: foreplay, sex, mention of sex toys | tags: rising rockstar eddie, wannabe popstar steve, angst and fluff, shameless pet names

Fixation by @messessentialist | Rated T | no cw

hole in the wall by @steddieas-shegoes | Rated T | cw: steve's dad is an asshole, implied abusive behavior | tags: realizing feelings, bisexual steve, extremely subtle love confession, mention of canon events, angst with a happy ending

Numb by @oh-stars | Rated G | no cw

It's a Date by @bifuriouswaterbender | Rated T | no cw

Half of Me by @lihhelsing | Rated G | no cw | tags: hurt/comfort

fill the holes by @steddieas-shegoes | Rated E | cw: dom/sub dynamic, mild degradation | tags: dom eddie munson, sub steve harrington, anal sex, finger sucking, brat steve harrington, unprotected sex, dirty talk

what you cannot hold (wanting) by @steviesummer | Rated G | cw: angst, unrequited love (maybe)

Only Fools Rush In by @katdeerly | Rated M | cw: recreational drug use

ask me (I won't say no how could I?) by @doublecherrypiediscosuperfly | Rated M | cw: implied sexual content/language | tags: modern au

i'm way too good at goodbyes by @sunflowerharrington | Rated E | cw: main character death

untitled by @wearing-tearing | Rated G | no cw

my little hatefuck by @starryeyedjanai | Rated E | cw: hate sex, petnames (derogatory)

My Cabin in The Woods by @slavicviking | Rated G | no cw | tags: pre-season 4 AU

smooth operator by @thefreakandthehair | Rated M | no cw

Desperate by @stevesjockstrap | Rated E | cw: masturbation interruptus, pet names, sex toy, anal fingering, a little manipulation

pull my threads by @onirislanding | Rated T | cw: innuendo

lotus-blossom by @hitlikehammers | Rated E | cw: rimming, light/implied felching, dirty talk

get what i want by @onirislanding | Rated T | no cw

Be my escape by @just-my-latest-hyperfixation | Rated M | no cw | tags: fantasy au, magic au, guard steve, thief eddie, imprisonment, claustrophobia, eddie munson whump, referenced sex

we found wonderland by @sourw0lfs | Rated G | no cw

[lesbianneopolitan]

Hey, any other Neo AUs you've drawn or been meaning to draw but fleshed out in your head? Like you have vampy Neo, and Hazbin Neo now, and the P3 Reload Neo you drew. Any other neato Neo'd you got cooking?

I don't even think I would count with P3 Neo because it was just one drawing, like, I would say I didn't flesh that out at all in my head aside of getting some basic questions about her arcana choice, it was more of a 'I like the style! I'll try to draw a Neo in it' for the small challenge than anything xD

Nevertheless, I may as well make a list of the Neos I've drawn in the style of other series, that were done for fun, rather than to flesh an AU

When it comes to the fleshed out AUs inside my head we have:

THE VAMPIRE AU

It was the first, I know a lot of people know of its existence, but I had to mention it anyway because I'll forever be fond of it. Like, vampires are one of my main hyperfixations, so I almost always gotta have a vampire AU if the character in question isn't one already.

Even if the main timeline is up to happen in a modern setting, I've actually written some of Neo's past in RP format to develop her life with her parents, when she was still a recently sired vampire and stuff.

CYBERPUNK 2077 AU

I think the doodles speak very well by themselves, but the main idea with this was that Neo was an ex-Corpo that used to work for Salem (Grimm Corp.), which treated to experiment on Cyberpsychos in order to turn them into mechanical aberrations (like the Hound, but more Cyberpunk).

I was partially inspired by the run I played in my own Cyberpunk 2077 game lol

Nevermore AU

My bestie and I watched the Wednesday show and ended brainstorming an AU for the academy that the protag stays at. I actually wrote a bit of Neo in the setting as well with my bestie, for the fun of it.

POKEMON AU

I actually learnt a few things while doing this one and brainstorming ideas, because I had no idea they use Ditto in the mangas to shapeshift people, as in, Ditto can cover a person and use the shifting powers so the person has a disguise like, WHAT?

Anyway, a Pokemon AU of my Neo. Mimikyu was her starter as a kid when still known as Trivia. The Espeon actually helps with transmitting Neo's thoughts if she needs to communicate real bad, Ditto is for her own shapeshifting...

She also has a Vanilluxe and a Zoroark (her biggest ace in the sleeve) for proper battle and help with her crimes due to illusions. Vanillite and Ditto are the ones swapped for them in that case.

ROCK AU

THE FUCKING ROCK AU HAS ONE OF MY FAVE NEO DESIGNS! Like I love her, I loved designing this one. It was fun. I should draw her more, honestly.

In this one, Neo ACTUALLY had a voice at first, she was actually a vocalist and keyboard player before an accident that left her vocal cords fucked up- had to go through an operation, but she never recovered her voice.

She's a musician that actually uses old records of her voice to develop a system that will replicate her voice for new songs, think like, Vocaloid, sort of.

She eventually meets Cinder and joins her band as a guitarist to honor Roman.

...eventually also falls out with her and ends with Ruby's band, initially to spite Cinder for kicking her out.

MAFIA AU

Bruh, I even went ahead and designed all the members of the Ever After Mafia in this one. Neo wasn't initially part of them and had her own thing -Roman's Mafia- which she inherited after Roman died.

Cinder is like a double agent in this one and eventually betrays Neo and leaves her to die (following Salem's orders), but Neo survives and ends in the Ever After, desperate to have revenge against Salem's Mafia for what they did.

The Curious Cat is the big boss initially, but he was a motherfucking manipulator that took advantage of the other members when they were in their lowest, even Neo.

So Neo eventually has enough and kills him, becoming the boss instead, even if she honestly hates the responsibility. It's when Neo becomes the Mad Hatter for the group.

EXORCIST AU

The recent one- I'm sure people don't need that much info of this one because it's pretty recent.

Other AUs: Rusted Knight but it's Neo suffering the time trap ; Werecat AU ; Serial Killer AU ; Jennifer's Body AU

And now for other crossovers:

Among Us, TCOAAL, Hellborn Neo (Succubi + Demon Cat mix)(HH, Helluva Boss), Homestuck, Helltaker, Adventure Time, Sinner Neo (HH), Persona 3, Disney Cat

[hayeshellcat]

On Becoming a Lady Person, Pt. 2

It has been so hard for me to write. I am caught up on all kinds of barriers, including the most nefarious of all: the idea that what I write needs to be of monumental importance. 

I am electing to discard this belief. I am choosing to share myself. 

My name is Hayes and I am in rehab for the third time this year. I am a proud transgender woman, I think I love myself, and I am often unaware of my emotions. I have done some mental health work this year, and I believe that I have so many qualities that are lovely. I have experienced moments of gender euphoria. But as a general rule, my default setting is freeze. Without a healthy connection to how I feel about things, I often “shoot from the hip” trying to guess how I should feel about my situation, though in reality I am only aware of feeling numb and alone.

So many people tell me that I am brave because I am transitioning. I really hate that. I tell them that I hate that I have to be brave, and that I most often do not feel brave at all. I am just… choosing to experience myself, foreign and incomplete as my authentic self-concept is, just four and a half months into my transition. When I am frozen in my default dysphoric mind-state, I cannot see how that is possibly brave or commendable. I am an organism fighting to stay alive. It is mere biology and selfish instinct. My nascent ego has no emotional investment in this process.  

On the other hand, my intellect understands that any being in bloom is absolute, awe-inspiring beauty to behold. Context determines bravery, and the experience of a transgender human being in the United States in the year 2024 is objectively difficult and dangerous. Subjectively, it is so terrifying that I am constantly fighting my limbic system for baseline functionality.

One major problem I am running into is that the analytical mind at work here still feels to me so male. So often, I feel dead and cold and… masculine. 

I have done the work of grieving my dead self, to an extent, but I cannot shake the dysphoric undertones of my working, rational mind. It makes sense. I spent a long time unable to confront my trauma history, operating as a cisgender male with a dark, shameful secret. I was drawn to male thinkers, in part because of the misogyny of the modern era and the dearth of compelling female voices in Western art, literature, and psychology. Moreover, I think that I had a vested interest in really giving this “being a man” thing a shot, and followed well-worn paths of White male minds.

To illustrate my point, here is an off-the-cuff list of my recent intellectual role models: David Foster Wallace, Carl Jung, Carl Rogers, Alan Watts, Ram Dass. 

Yeah. Fuck. 

As I move forward with my transition, it is vitally important that I explore my essential beliefs and thought structures. I need to understand and heal from my trauma, or I will continue to use substances to cope with this very scary path I am on. If I use monumentally obstructive chemicals like methamphetamine, I will put my medical transition at risk (not to mention my actual human life).

So, please - I invite you to come along with me on this next part of my journey. I do not care if this is monumentally important. I hope that it reads well enough, but I plan to post very rough drafts of my journaling and commentary on it. I do not know why, but it seems important to do this publicly. Even if only one or two of you out there read this, that will be enough.

I am fighting, after all, to be seen. The organism must be observed. The ego will follow.

[deletedaccd]

politics

disclamer: i am not american. this does not affect me, at least for now. this perhaps may decrease my following but my friends are in danger, and im drinking a beer, i dont give a shit at the moment

"Project 2025 is a strategic initiative aimed at transforming the US Army into a more lethal, agile, and adaptable fighting force by the year 2025. This ambitious plan encompasses a wide range of modernization efforts across all aspects of the Army, from its personnel and training to its equipment and technology. A key element of Project 2025 is the development and integration of advanced technology, such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and autonomous systems. These technologies are intended to enhance the Army's ability to collect and analyze information, conduct operations in complex environments, and engage adversaries effectively. The project also emphasizes the importance of network modernization and cyber security, recognizing the growing role of cyber warfare and the need for resilient and secure communication systems. In addition to technological advancements, Project 2025 prioritizes the development of human capital by focusing on training, education, and recruitment. The goal is to cultivate a workforce that is skilled, adaptable, and capable of operating effectively in a rapidly changing world. By combining these technological and human elements, Project 2025 aspires to create an Army that is prepared to meet the challenges of future conflicts and maintain its position as the premier military force in the world. " - Unknown name

I am not american. I will not say my views, whether republican, liberal, democrat or whatever views and titles there are

But i will simply say what i have heard and what i have read

Project 2025, a nefarious agenda cloaked in a veil of progress, looms over society, threatening to erode fundamental freedoms and plunge us into a dystopian nightmare. At its core is a sinister plot to restrict access to reproductive healthcare, stripping women of their control over their own bodies. Abortion, a fundamental human right, is deemed a heinous crime, with draconian punishments meted out to those who dare to seek or provide it. I do not doubt they will be going after birth control as well, which is also a human right.

Furthermore, Project 2025 viciously targets the LGBTQ+ community, attempting to erase their very existence. Marriage equality is revoked, and same-sex couples are denied the right to love, raise families, or live their lives openly. Hateful rhetoric spews from the highest offices, fostering an atmosphere of fear and persecution.

Education is also under attack, with curricula twisted to promote a narrow, intolerant worldview. Critical thinking and open discussion are stifled, replaced with indoctrination and propaganda. Young minds are poisoned with messages of hate and exclusion, shaping a generation destined for ignorance and intolerance.

The arts, once a bastion of free expression, are now subject to censorship. Artists who dare to challenge the status quo are silenced, their works banned or destroyed. Culture is homogenized and controlled, leaving no room for diversity or dissent.

Trump's tax cuts, primarily benefiting wealthy individuals and corporations, have been criticized for increasing the national debt and widening income inequality. Trump's administration has rolled back environmental regulations, including those addressing climate change and pollution control, drawing criticism from scientists and environmentalists.

Trump's immigration policies, such as the border wall and family separations, have been condemned as inhumane and ineffective, exacerbating tensions at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Trump's attempts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, were unsuccessful. However, his administration's actions, such as weakening the mandate and Medicaid expansion, have led to concerns about reduced healthcare access.

Trump's rhetoric and policies have been criticized for fueling racial tensions and promoting gender discrimination. The travel ban targeting majority-Muslim countries and the separation of families at the border have drawn accusations of racism and xenophobia.

Trump's presidency and the Republican Party's support of his policies have contributed to deep political polarization in the United States. His divisive rhetoric and inflammatory tweets have exacerbated existing divisions and made it harder to find common ground. Trump's attacks on the media, the judiciary, and law enforcement have raised concerns about the erosion of democratic institutions. His refusal to concede defeat in the 2020 election and his supporters' storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, have further undermined public trust in the electoral process.

This is what i have heard

I have women friends, gay friends, trans friends that live in america

I suggest not voting for trump, but lets be honest, thats been said a dozen timew, doesnt make it any less hwlpful of advice

your all off your heads (or perhaps faces) if ye think project 2025 is good

[kagcyu]

Introduction

Hello! I've been writing and posting One Piece fanfiction for several years now on multiple platforms. Most of my works are OC x canon. In the near future I would like to experiment more with outsider POV works on the side. I will be using this blog to collate fandom-related interests as well as to post about my writing projects.

Generally, my interests in One Piece revolve around the the Heart Pirates and the Donquixote Family. I am also working on a lot of independent worldbuilding in Wano for my main fic, loosely drawing inspo from feudal Japanese history -- expanding upon the power system of Ryūō & exploring some of the past politics, fleshing out the rivalries between the five daimyō clans before Kaidō's rise to power.

Outside of OP, I love historical films, folk and classical music, & 19th-20th century fiction, among many other things which you may see reflected in this feed. ^v^

See beneath the cut for the list of current works - as always, please heed the warnings in the tags. If you have any questions about my fics or posts here, feel free to reach out with an ask!

Main projects

血迷い　/　Chimayoi — Law x OC | wc 225k, ongoing. An exploration into Law's journey to the Shichibukai, featuring yōkai hunters, assassination plots, and government cover-ups. Eventual NSFW. Tags - #fic: cmy for general posts. #cmy meta for commentary and supplemental notes.

Paradise, 1523. While on the hunt for a hundred hearts, Trafalgar Law and his crew face an unforeseen hurdle. Their targets are going missing one by one, with several turning up killed and mysteriously decapitated. Law's search for answers eventually brings him face to face with Murasaki Arisa, an operative of a Wano-based yōkai hunting organization...

Miseria — Doflamingo x OC | Rosinante & OC | wc 9.5k, ongoing. A loose retelling of Cormac McCarthy's Outer Dark (1968) featuring the Donquixote brothers. Tags - #fic: miseria for general posts. #miseria meta for commentary and supplemental notes.

North Blue, 1504. The Donquixote Family embarks on a campaign as inexplicable as it is barbarous, terrorizing several rural island communities with a series of grisly public slayings. While investigating these killings, an undercover Marine stumbles across a strange young woman looking for her missing child – a woman with a story that doesn't add up and an unspoken connection to the Heavenly Demon.

Longform side projects

Family Practice — Law x OC | wc 16k, ongoing. A modern hospital AU featuring a bunch of (mostly) inept doctors who hate each other and have fist fights in the parking garage on a regular basis. Features OCs from Chimayoi, but can be read as a standalone. Tags - #fic: fp for general posts. #fp meta for commentary and supplemental notes.

A neurotic clinical trial coordinator is tasked with coaching a delinquent surgeon on his bedside manner. It goes about as well as one might expect.

Oneshots / miscellaneous

Child of God — Doflamingo & Rosinante oneshot.

Humanlike — Doflamingo-centric vignette.

Immortalis — Doflamingo-centric vignette; outsider POV.

Skeleton Key — Law x OC oneshot collection. (nsfw)