#Redux!Remote

[bfdiredux]

Who built the likes of Announcer, TV, Roboty, Robot Flower, Remote, etc.? (y'know, the mechanical minds)

Remote, TV, and Announcer have the most obvious answer to me-- they're just. Objects who happen to be mechanical. They're in the same vein as, say, Blcoky or Taco.

Remote being TV's younger siblings,, because TVs have remotes and stuff. Could make way for a funny gag where Remote, like, turns the volume down on TV.

Robot Flower? SOMEONE took Flower and made a robot version of her and I do not know why. She's not the same as Flower either, so?? Maybe the creator's plan fails? I'm stumped.

ROBOTY. While brainstorming I had a WONDERFUL IDEA.

Roboty has a portal to Four's eye in his body compartment. For ? Some reason.

In the Redux, all Algebraliens have domains-- little pocket dimensions they have total control over. They can project or manifest themselves into their own domains. Two made doors for Algebraliens staying at the Equation Playground so they could enter one another's domains.

Four has a power level where they can just transport anybody into their domain. This is how he's able to bring contestants to the EXIT. Four and X like to hang out.

Four makes Roboty as a sort of extension on his domain-- another doorway to it for X. Four doesn't know how to do it like Two did and makes a living being that he drags around.

Yeah!! Four brings Roboty to Earth with them and X for BFB and lets Roboty join the competition.

[caviarsonoro]

James Murray /Francis M. Gri: Ma ( Remote Redux 2019).

"Ma" es una pieza que parece surgir de un lugar donde el sonido no reclama atención, sino que aguarda con una quietud cargada de intención. Su título, tomado del concepto japonés que alude al espacio entre las cosas, encierra toda una filosofía: lo que no se dice, lo que permanece en suspenso, también comunica. James Murray y Francis M. Gri construyen ese intervalo con una minuciosidad exquisita, entrelazando texturas ambientales, drones que respiran con lentitud y resonancias que se diluyen lentamente, como si nunca terminaran de desaparecer. La música no avanza: levita. Y en esa suspensión, el tiempo parece plegarse sobre sí mismo.

Desde el punto de vista técnico, Ma se apoya en una arquitectura sónica de extrema pureza. Nada sobra. Las capas electrónicas no se imponen unas sobre otras; se insinúan, se deslizan, como una corriente subterránea de emociones apenas pronunciadas. Los drones graves actúan como una base afectiva silenciosa, mientras que las frecuencias altas, delicadas y difusas, crean una atmósfera más emocional que auditiva. No hay melodía en sentido clásico, pero sí una estructura expresiva de altísima precisión. Cada sonido está colocado con la delicadeza de un gesto ritual. Aquí lo esencial no es lo que suena, sino cómo resuena dentro del oyente y cuánta intimidad le permite habitar.

Ma no cuenta una historia, crea un espacio. Es música que rehúye la tensión narrativa y se refugia en la presencia pura. Nos invita a una escucha sin objetivos, una entrega emocional que no se exige, sino que simplemente ocurre. Es la banda sonora del instante en que todo se aquieta, no por vacío, sino por plenitud. En un mundo donde cada sonido parece competir por ser recordado, esta obra conmueve precisamente porque no lo intenta. Su poder reside en la verdad silenciosa que la habita. Ma es, en última instancia, una lección de humildad sonora: el minimalismo como lenguaje del alma.

[emberglowfox]

lie back and suffer now, we've both earned our reward.

textless + closeups under the cut

[the-apocrypha]

Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling || 33k || T || Chapter 11 / 14

Alternate Universe - Human, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha Hob Gadling, Omega Dream of the Endless, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Christmas Fluff. Hurt/Comfort, Getting Together, Homophobia, Protective Hob Gadling

There are not many reasons for a male Omega to wash up in the remote Highlands, alone and starved and broke and shit-scared of Alphas. There are even fewer reasons that don’t take Hob’s yet-kindled protective instincts and set them ablaze.

Hob has been procrastinating Inventory Day: Redux for nearly a week, now. There was the Christmas market, and then Rose had hosted a Secret Santa, and all the late hours besides that Hob has spent curled up in bed, texting with Dream when he should be asleep. But last night, finally, he had looked at the date on the calendar, and contemplated his requisition deadlines, and then let out an enormous sigh of defeat and set his alarm for three o’clock. 

He’d gotten a respectable seven hours of sleep, at least. And it isn’t quite so bitterly cold as usual, when he steps out to cross the car park. And for at least a few short minutes, he’ll get to see Dream, before he’s forced to disappear back into the kitchen. 

Maybe, Hob thinks, he’ll even get another glimpse of Dream at the piano. 

Chapter 11

Read From Chapter 1

[mylordshesacactus]

The Barrissoka Fusion You Never Knew You Wanted

So in celebration of FINALLY rounding out the originally-planned slate of barrissoka Disney AU/fusion challenge fics, I thought I'd put together a masterlist for those of you who are new, returning, or just never got around to them when they were first posted!

By sheer good luck, there are an even split of AU types--three fusions (ie, Star Wars characters adapted to a non-GFFA setting), and three alternate timelines (where the core setting is the same, but events developed differently--in this case, in a way analogous to the core plot of the movie the challenge was based on.).

Fusions

Through The Darkness And The Shadows

Setting: Fantasy-Medieval AU: Beauty and the Beast

Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young princess lived in a shining castle…

It'll Sound Like A Promise

Setting: Fantasy-Medieval (Scotland Redux) AU: Brave

A clan leader’s heir had to strive for perfection. That was why Ahsoka was currently hiding in a tree.

Look To The Sky With Hope

Setting: Pirates/Fantasy Age of Sail AU: Pirates of the Caribbean (62k, 5 chapters)

Anakin Skywalker. Every sailor knows that name. Captain of the ghost ship Twilight, ferryman of the dead. Some say he preys on merchantmen, out of vengeance for the loss of his ship and crew; others that he and the charred black phantom are an honest sailor's friend, a protector in the dark and the mist. According to Ahsoka, the truth is both and neither. But the Twilight is...well, it's not real. Barriss Offee may be new to this whole pirate thing, but she knows that. It's a legend, a story, a sailor's superstition; like mermaids and Fridays and the Kraken. The ship of the dead and its captain, they're just a myth. Aren't they?

Alternate Universes

Going My Way?

AU: Aristocats Podfic: By Writers_Block, available here.

Shipwrecked and stranded on a remote agricultural planet, Barriss Offee doesn't dare reveal her identity as a Jedi for fear of drawing unwanted attention that might endanger the younglings in her care. Enter the charming, compassionate young spacer Ashla, who drops everything to take the group under her protection and asks nothing in return, as Barriss grows more and more unhappy with the necessity of lying to a young woman who's been nothing but honest with them. Meanwhile, Ahsoka Tano and her master are on an undercover mission. She really wishes she could tell the scared young mother she's taken in that she's a Jedi, but, well. The mission has to come first.

Back To The Wind

AU: Cars. (I cannot emphasize enough that this is an AU and not a fusion. They are not cars. They are people. For the love of god. It's just a plot adaptation. Please stop asking me if they're supposed to be cars.)

A hyperdrive malfunction strands Ahsoka in a nearly-abandoned trading settlement in the Outer Rim. That's not the problem. While she works off her community service sentence, she ends up in the unofficial custody of a weirdly hostile Mirialan who won't stop giving her these long, searching looks and talking about the failures of the Jedi Order like she knows something Ahsoka doesn't. That's not the problem either. The problem is...Ahsoka's starting to wonder if she really wants to go back.

When These Moments Have Passed

AU: The Fox and the Hound

Jedi Master Plo Koon was sent to Shili to retrieve a Force-sensitive youngling...and arrived just a few hours too late. Years later, a Jedi padawan and an indentured bounty hunter find themselves in the same spaceport. They shouldn't be friends, not really, but...they're more alike than they are different, straining under the weight of roles they can't escape. That bond is stronger than the galaxy's expectations. Until it isn't.

Bonus

While these are NOT part of the very specific "I can turn any classic Disney movie into a barrissoka AU, fucking try me" original challenge that spawned all this, they're some very nice AUs and if you're into AUs in general, you'll probably appreciate:

Iced Offee, Caramel Twist

AU: Coffeeshop AU

(What? Someone had to write it.)

Mirror, Mirror

AU: Sith AU

(Series/Duology)

[pianokantzart]

The Super Mario Bros. Redux (Pt. 8)

What would happen if, in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, after Mario and Luigi are separated, Mario was the one who ended up in the clutches of Luigi’s eventual arch nemesis, while Luigi teamed up with some of his own close allies to go rescue him?

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 ________

Following the map on his Dual Scream and going deeper into the mountain, Luigi stops when he encounters a giant metal facade shaped like E. Gadd's face, whose mouth forms a shut door that blocks his path.

"H_ld on," the static-muffled voice of E. Gadd assures over the DS, "I'll g_t th_ do_rs open."

Sure enough, the metal mouth opens up, but as Luigi walks down a long, dim hallway, he grows nervous about the worsening signal between him and the professor, and he begins slapping the side of his device to try and fix it.

"Easy th__re son_y. Just k__p f_llowing the map. The s_gn_al sho_ld clear up right ab_out.... now" E. Gadd's crackling voice assures. On cue, the professor's voice and picture becomes crystal clear as Luigi emerges from the illuminated tunnels into a large laboratory.

"Normally, signals can't travel that far underground," the professor explains. "Luckily, I built a frequency booster into my lab. If I hadn't, all communication and teleportation in and out of Thwomp Mountain would be impossible."

"Teleportation?" Luigi asks while prodding at the large satellite dish in the corner– what he assumes to be the frequency booster.

E. Gadd chuckles. "See that large green monitor on the east end of my lab?" Luigi's attention shifts enormous glowing green tv screen on the opposite end of the room. He approaches it as the professor continues: "That's the Pixelator, Kiddo! And that's exactly what we're gong to use to get you into King Boo's mansion.

"How do I use it?" Luigi asks, looking around in awe of all the technology around him. E. Gadd replies: "Just stand in front of the monitor. I'll use my Dual Scream's remote access to set its destination. Give me one second."

While Luigi is waiting for Professor E. Gadd to activate the Pixelator, he notices the atmosphere in the room begin to change; the lights dim, and the air grows cold to the point that Luigi can see his breath.

"Professor, I'm not one to tell you how to use your own technology, but I think you accidentally turned off the lights... or the thermostat?" The professor responds to this comment with a long moment of thoughtful, anxious silence.

"Luigi, did anyone follow you into my lab?" E. Gadd eventually asks. This question intensifies Luigi's growing fear. He pulls out the Poltergust flashlight and looks around the darkened lab while saying that he didn't see anyone following him, to which E. Gadd shakes his head. "Just because you didn't see anyone, doesn't mean you weren't followed!"

Suddenly, glowing etherial bars block off the doors and the exits. Three greenies, a hider, and a slammer materialize and start wreaking havoc, frightening Luigi to the point that he runs off to take cover behind a lab desk.

Pulling out his Dual Scream, Luigi tries to ask E. Gadd what to do, as he has never seen these types of ghosts before, but to his dismay the professor's voice and image have been replaced with an alert that reads "signal lost."

Luigi peeks out from his hiding place, and sees the greenies are egging on the slammer as he tears large chunks out of the frequency booster.

Luigi, yelling for the ghosts to stop, leaps into action with Poltergust in hand. A fight breaks out, and while Luigi gets knocked around at first as he struggles to figure out his attackers, he eventually makes effective use of the strobulb and gets the upper hand.

Soon, the atmosphere of the room returns to normal and the bars disappear from the doors, but this brings little relief to Luigi. With the frequency booster broken he has no ability to contact E. Gadd., and E. Gadd has no control of his lab. Even the large metal door out of the lab refuses to budge, leaving Luigi trapped in the heart of the mountain.

Luigi sits down amidst the wreckage, struggling to hold it together. Bruised and exhausted, he takes off his hat to wipe the sweat from his brow, when who should appear but Polterpup who... seeing the hat up for grabs... snatches it away and runs off.

Luigi impatiently chases the dog around the lab until he trips over an overturned cabinet full of journals and schematics, scattering papers everywhere.

After finally retrieving his hat, Luigi begins to pick up some of the scattered documents, when he stumbles upon a file for the frequency booster, filled with blueprints and schematics.

Luigi thumbs through the file curiously. He looks at his useless Dual Scream, then at a box of tools in the corner. He takes a deep breath, and gathers up the broken pieces of the machine to see what he can do to repair the damage.

A montage ensues of him slowly and carefully fixing the frequency booster. With polterpup overlooking his progress in mindless, playful curiosity, Luigi manages to get the machine running after after a few tries.

Opening his Dual Scream back up, Luigi is pleased to see the "signal lost" alert has disappeared, but as he tries to call the professor he is surprised when Princess Daisy answers the DS in his stead.

"Hey! The Green Wonder lives!!!" the princess laughs, "What happened, man!? E. Gadd said he lost contact!" "Ghosts." Luigi said with a meek shrug, "they damaged the machine that lets signals leave the mountain, but I got it fixed."

"Brains and brawn? You're just the whole package, aren't ya!" Luigi smiles shyly at the complement, but before he can thank her he is interrupted by a heavy thud and the sound of commotion on Daisy's end of the line.

"Are you okay?" Luigi asks. "Oh yeah! We just entered Evershade Valley airspace and there's this stupid purple mist that makes it impossible to see." Daisy explains, "Luckily, The Professor has pinpointed the main locations of The Darkmoon fragments, so that should make navigation a little easier. Oh! Speak of the devil-"

E. Gadd suddenly arrives, and interrupts by pulling the Dual Scream from Daisy's hands. Luigi overhears a brief scuffle between the princess and the professor, but E. Gadd eventually wins out on the argument that Daisy needs to focus on the controls before she drives the entire ship into the side of Snowcap Mountains.

"Luigi!" E. Gadd says once he has hold of the Dual Scream. "You had me worried!" "Sorry. I–" "It's okay Sonny, what matters is I've regained a signal connection with my mountain lab! I assume you made quick work of those ghosts?" "Y-Yeah! I–" Luigi tries to explain, but the professor impatiently waves him off. "Well, we've lost too much time as it is. Get back to the Pixelator so I can get you out of there!"

Luigi goes to the Pixelator, and though he remains mesmerized by the machinery he grows a little nervous upon reconsidering the idea of being teleported. "You' sure this is safe?" he asks.

"Well, none of the mice I tested it on had any complaints!" E. Gadd. says, "however, you might want to hold as still as possible, just in case." Before Luigi can reply, the machine activates. With a terrified yelp Luigi flies apart into pixels and is sent hurtling through the vortex of a shining green TV screen.

[delplays]

Animals, Pets & Livestock

[CP] Brown Tabby Cat

[CP] Elle's Cuter Barn Animals

Characters

[CP] Ran's Prettier Witch

[CP] Seasonal Cute Characters

Clothing

[FS] 12 Winter Suits

[FS] Asta Cute Rainy Season Outfit

[FS] b0rszcz's Gothic Witch Outfits Pack

[FS] b0rszcz's Mossy Witchy Outfits

[FS] b0rszcz's Two Witchy Looks

[FS] b0rszcz's Witchy Flower Dance Dresses

[FS] b0rszcz's Witchy Teal Dress

[FS] Coats and Jackets Pack

[FS] Cozy Mittens

[FS] Cozy Scarves

[FS] Dawn's Florist Gown

[FS] Floating Candles

[FS] Grace's Farm Clothing Collection - Dyeable

[FS] Luny's Cozy Simple Shawl

[FS] Luny's Farm Dress

[FS] Moashy's Cute Shoes

[FS] My Friend Junimo - TheSamePlant

[FS] Pumpkin Witch

[FS] Rainmoon's Elf Ear

[FS] RoseDryad's Fairy Wings and Accessories

[FS] Season of the Witch

[FS] Seasonal Hats

[FS] Simple Farmer Dresses

[FS] Witch Hats

[FS] WS78 Flower Dance Pack

[FS] Yomi's Retro Colored Dress

Elegant Vampire Dress

Rural Outfitters

Cheats

Let's Move It

Crafting

[CP] Recycling Crafts

Remote Fridge Storage

Crops

Simple Crop Label

Fishing

Skip Fishing Minigame

Furniture

[AT] b0rszcz's Witchy Decor

[CP] Grace's Purple Furniture

[CP] Witchy-Gothic Interior

Gameplay Mechanics

[FTM] Better Quarry Redux

Dismantle Craftables

Happy Birthday + English Content Pack

No Fence Decay - Redux

Tree Organizer

Ultimate Fertilizer

WAIT - Refined Multiplayer Time Pause

Items

[IS] Improved Shops

Maps

(CR) Kisaa's Cozy Rustic Cellar

(CP) Kisaa's Cozy Rustic Greenhouse

Misc.

Improved Shops Core

Modding Tools

Alternative Textures

Calcifer

Content Patcher

Dynamic Game Assets

Expanded Preconditions Utility

Farm Type Manager

Fashion Sense

Generic Mod Config Menu

Space Core

Stardust Core

User Interface

Birthday Today

NPC Map Locations

Honorable Mention

Stardew Valley Mods by HimeTarts - I am using almost every mod here, by HimeTarts permission I edited one of the hair models in their Sweetheart Hairstyles mod for my own personal use.

[gravitasdeficits]

Big Signalis spoiler post because I finished it and have feelings

Again, really glad I had read things like A Memory Called Empire and Ancillary Justice before playing this. What an incredible game. Mildly disappointed that the endings are status dependent and not choice driven (I missed out on the ending I would have chosen by finishing 4 minutes of play time ahead of the timer RIP). These status gates are MILES better than the Cyberpunk "YOLO Solo, Matrix 1 redux" ending being gated behind three lines of dialogue that have no indications as to their significance and 0 logic behind not thinking to do it yourself without Johnny mentioning the option?

Anyway: Signalis. There are a lot of things that cut short relationships, things that can tear relationships apart, and things that can make relationships seem less real, but you have the memories of what you loved. I think that's the main bit?

I have only glanced at a single fan theory to try and square a particular circle (ending Ariane is a transformed Alina which I agree with) so if the community has a consensus I've not seen it.

On the Promise ending: I think Original Ariane is far, far away on some distant rock persisting through her bioresonance amidst the song of stars and whatever cosmic entity or entities or force that is. Ariane-who-was-Alina is being rewritten, as bioresonance can shape reality from afar, and killing her as promised grants Ariane death through the resonance.

Is that what actually happened? That's just my theory, there's a ton of wiggle room in basically everything because reality, time, and personality/volition/souls are malleable in this game.

I think this is the basic chronology?

Ancient Civilization (possibly related to Grand Empress) unearths something terrible on Leng beneath the Red Eye of the gas giant, learns from it, deeply regrets this, and tries to seal it all away

Empire develops

Empire develops Replikas with bioresonance

Nation develops as revolution against, coincidentally near Leng and the Red Eye of the planet

Nation develops stronger bioresonant super soldiers and "things learn to walk that ought to crawl". Lots of references to using a power they don't understand. But nothing cosmically terrible is happening yet, "just" authoritarian revolution terrible.

Nation conquers Leng, its people have a long, long history of trying to ward away supposedly imagined evil from the Red Eye. They are aware or semi-aware of cosmic horror, via The King In Yellow text.

Ariane lives with her mother and develops her own individuality in the remote radio station

Ariane's aunt uses the power of the state to remove her from her mother's care and bring her to Rotfront

Ariane finds her doppelganger in Alina, mentions this to her mother

Ariane is discovered to be bioresonant, but this discovery is either not left in her file (for the military to see) or she subconsciously uses her bioresonance to shape a reality that has her accepted into the Penrose program (side note: the Penrose program may also be a "send the troublesome people who want to be individuals away on a mission that may or may not succeed but permanently removes the person" program)

Ariane and Elster meet and being the mission on the ship (year 1)

Ariane and Elster fall in love (year 2 ish?)

Ariane and Elster live an incredible life, in contrast to what they would have had in fear of re-education torture or decommissioning respectively, for 5-7 years. 5-7 years of loving, compassion, and support.

They do not find a planet, and the ship begins to fall apart, this would have normally been the endpoint of their love, but Ariane is bioresonant and she is now out among the Song of Stars, dreaming

Elster places her in the cryochamber and unfortunately dies of radiation/cancer before fulfilling the promise of killing Ariane so that she isn't alone and possibly suffering

Penrose crashes on a distant, icy place (or alternatively is subsumed entirely by the Song of Stars) and Ariane becomes The Dreamer

A bioresonant created Elster awakens on the crashed ship memory, leaves, and finds the Gate/threshold on the planet it is on. This Elster (possibly realizing what's happened) gives up when reaching Ariane's room, losing herself but not able to fully disintegrate like the Gestalt's do later.

Something (possibly Ariane? Her mother, longing for her daughter, trying to hear her through the radio? Maybe the created Elster interacting with the planet, gate, and memory of a room?) links Leng to where the Penrose is/has crashed. Or it links via Ariane's bioresonance and longing. Or some other thing.

The workers in the mine discover the Nowhere, Falke investigates

I think Falke kills something within the Nowhere and, as the adapted Nuclear Waste Repository warning states, a path opens within, the gate and threshold (I don't think there was a lore entry to directly support this)

Falke goes into the gate and Ariane's bioresonance tries to overwrite Falke with Elster, this is not entirely successful.

Falke returns, the downfall of S23 begins, each time loop iteration causes further corruption to reality as "the Dreamer turns and the flesh of the dream turns and is smoothed out around it" (or however that lore piece went), Alina begins to become Ariane

The Dream eventually reaches an LSTR unit (tragically, it appears to have had a friendship or more intimate relationship with the Ara that repairs your flashlight, but that relationship isn't Elster and is overwritten, and that Ara is sad afterwards ;_;).

Many many many cycles happen, filling the elevator with LSTR bodies as Elster slowly overwrites that mind

Elster begins to move through the main game, Alina is fully overwritten by Ariane, who comes to the representation of the Penrose on the Path, and enters the cryo pod, and Elster brings the Dreaming cycle to an end by killing Ariane via Ariane-who-is-Alina in resonance, fulfilling the promise.

And then I cried a bit, because goddamn the look of anguish on Elster in the promise ending. Fuuuuuuuck.

All these relationship are incredible for being a few lines of lore text and environmental objects.

STAR Hunter and STRCH Seven. They were paired together for stability but had a genuine connection (and maybe an intimate one, based on the "incident involving a certain STAR" note? Which also means that this was accepted by the staff and they made allowances and modifications to support it and aaaaaargh my heart). The pinup poster Hunter signs for Seven. Seven holding onto Hunter's bullseye markers (I think there were four items there with the poster? Plus Seven's stun prod and shield make 6, so maybe Seven was a nickname the Eule's give with Hunter being another, forbidden seventh thing she has in her life?). Seven outshooting some of the other STARs.

Falke and the Eules. The Eule's try to save the last Kolibri I think, by locking her in the library and then hiding the key in the Owl box, kept safe under Falke's arms. Hearing the Swan Lake bit almost got me crying there with the implications of affection they must have had for each other, Falke, and the Kolibris.

Kolibri's and Falke, knowing that something had gone wrong but being both unable to stop it and extra screwed (I think Ariena shaped their fate worse than general inadvertently, remember the little "Caul-ibri" cauliflower head sketch in the middle Penrose memory? I think she must not have like Kolibris due to their super-Gestapo powers and so the Kolibris had a more tortured existence as the Song of Stars overtook them and the flesh folded over itself in each cycle of the Dreaming)

The Eule's giving people nicknames, and dancing, and loving music

KLBR and KNCR at Rotfront. I think that Kolibri was the Imperial "spy" or perhaps just a lone Kolibri who was disillusioned with the Nation and was letting things slide, which is why the people of the block were friendlier to her (the book store owners letting her in, knowing that it was her safe space while alone from other Kolibris). The KNCR unit I think knew, and cared for her, and tried to tell her to turn someone else in. But the Kolibri ran into the Bioresonant Ariane and decided to book it instead. This is also an indication that maybe the Empire isn't, like, terrible? Or just differently terrible to the Nation (which seems fuck awful).

Adler having the right intentions (though, uh, generally being bad by being a tool of the Nation's cruelty) but not having enough puzzle pieces to do anything right, becoming a tragic figure who just wants his Giant Woman commander back that he adores, and eventually just wanting to halt the destruction of the whole planet (even though this is the final loop but he couldn't know that).

Itou and her sister. I'm not entirely sure what happened, I think the time loop business must not have spread evenly as Itou's family has her photo in a frame with what I assume is a signifier of death (a black ribbon across the bottom corner). So she is a resonance creation like all the other gestalts who gave up earlier than her, as the flesh turns on itself as the dreamer turns on herself. She survives the tortures of S-23, escapes the madness of that facility, makes it all the way to Rotfront, and then is beaten by the realization that everyone has died, and possibly died many many times already.

The Aras all trying to find a place to hide and find comfort in tunnels and maintenance accesses

I think the Mynah boss is particularly tragic? She is, from the lore bits, the most stable of Repliaks, motherly, protective. So she sees you and decides to let go (the same animation as Itou when she lets go), but the armor is corrupted and snaps shut, keeping her "intact", where she will occasionally be able to continue escaping that fate until you kill her (I wonder if you can also let her finish the task herself by dodging around a lot but that seems cruel).

So many systems to erase individuality! The Nation's treatment of Gestalts, Replikas, the process of making and "stabilizing" Replikas. Ariane overwriting individuality through the Dreaming. The fears of the people of Leng, who seem to harbor some partial awareness of the Song of Stars. And the Song of Stars, that sea of commingling where individuality is lost, which the Kolibris uniquely dreaded, knowing what was coming.

And the ways to escape, like the Penrose. Thinking at first that this was better than anything, than it actually being better than anything via love, and then ending too soon and a yearning for more despite the initial reaction on leaving of, "anything if it's not the Nation, even death and being alone". The small relationships and individuals who developed in small ways the Nation wouldn't obliterate at S23 (which doesn't obviate the horrific things perpetrated there). The Gestalt who managed to thrive where they could (with their banned books at distant radio installations, for example).

Just an incredible game. 10/10. And all of the above just one of however many possible reads on the whole thing.

[madameriasims4]

Helloooo, I've recently discovered your blog and downloads. My favourites are the items from Basic Reduxe. I just had one question (its not a WCIF, but similar). In the Velvet Valentine set, the centre sim has a hair I've fallen in love with. Who is it by? I don't mind doing more searching (and I have done a lot), or finding it myself, but I am struggling to find anything remotely similar to investigate the creators. I've even tried reverse google searching with your image too!

Hi! That super cute hair is the Adéla Hair by @isjao!

Edit: Sorry, you asked who made the hair, not a wcif! I guess my brain cell is on its lunch break lol! I'm just going to leave this as a wcif post just in case it helps anyone else though!

[eviltiddyprodnz]

so I ended up starting Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon recently because I saw a pretty cute edit on Instagram and thought why not.

y’all I wanted to be a part of the fun SO BAD but either I’ve lost my ITV tolerance and need to build it again or I’m just failing to connect with the show…

I’m on Season 3 (for some reason Hotstar divides the same show into the like 9 seasons 💀) and it feels like we haven’t moved at all. we’re moving at the pace of a tortoise and the thing is I’m aware of the spoilers so I keep waiting for something to happen, something to start and nothing does. In fact, I’ve realised that there’s still a very VERY long way to go before things get remotely cute 😭

I’m at the part where Shyam is beginning his psycho era and has paralysed Khushi’s bauji. Arnav is nicer to Khushi but like most shows I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop. It’s kind of the only thing that has me going but since I know it’s going to turn soon I’m kinda losing interest which is CRAZY because guys I actually sat through the entirety of Ishqbaaz and the Redux. I skipped the Niti Taylor era because I simply didn’t have it in me to watch more of that show 🙏 but you gotta realise the mess I sat through.

So everytime I want to drop IPKKND I keep telling myself you finished Ishqbaaz, you can sit through this but I guess I’m just finding it difficult. Ishqbaaz was low-key on TV steroids because SO MUCH was happening on that show all the time.

I was kinda tuned into every character for a long time. I don’t want IPKKND to match Ishqbaaz’ freak but apart from Arnav and Khushi I low-key dgaf about anyone 😭👎 Lavanya and the goat (a literal goat Lakshmi) are the other characters I don’t tend to skip over.

I feel like maybe I’ll slow down or take a break for now (I say this as I still want to watch the show because I want to see them fall in love! 😭) but I keep losing patience.

I think what I find super tiring is sitting through anything that isn’t the lead couple and I guess that’s where this show differs from the other ones I’ve watched. Ishqbaaz had 3 brothers as main characters and their parents and they were insane 😭 like truly doing anything !!! So while the female lead was forced to sit through the literal GARBAGE treatment the male lead gave her, you had other things going on.

I don’t really care for other characters for now and also know they’re going to turn on Khushi soon so it keeps pissing me off 😭

Khushi is the only person I root for. My sister is a klutz (god help her feet) and she’s definitely crazy to constantly come back to this house but she’s so loveable. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt that way towards a character in ITV. for all the Ishqbaaz yapping that I did, Khushi reminds of Gauri. Like I get the same I’ll protect you from these losers energy when I see Khushi that I used to get with Gauri.

I also think they both have a great knack for comedy. IPKKND is getting slightly into the phase where Arnav and Khushi’s interactions are less yelling and throwing daggers at each other and more just awkwardly vibing and Khushi’s SOOOO FUN 😭😭😭

but the plot is soooo slow. y’all I think it’s 2 FULL more seasons of Lavanya and ASR and Shyam for some bizarre reason not getting caught. Like…. someone help me through this.

and I know all of their asses are going to turn on Khushi and bully my sweet sister once ASR does that classic blackmail wedding. She’s already been through so much. WHYYYY 😭💔👎

I’ve just realised this is a rant with no point because I might still go and watch that show. I guess I just wanted to vent because apart from the main leads everyone just frustrates me. 💀

Also Shyam getting to exist for SUCH a long time on the show is crazy….

someone save my Khushi because I’ll take time getting there 😭😭😭

for now l’ll take a breather lmao. ITV truly is a test of patience 😤

[bfdiredux]

flesh out pie pleas i need more content

some hcs as an offering - pie has eaten whole peppers raw and is undefeated in spice contests - she actually likes hanging out with book outside of the competition, and wishes they could hang out more - if she had a deal made between her and one, it'd probably be something like 'returning everything to the way it was' (like having all of her friends back or something along the lines)

PIE PIE PIE PIE!!!!!! I swear she doesn't get enough love. Canon!Pie is so chill il love her!!!

Pie vs Pi isn't canon but I can draw inspiration from that to hammer down her Pre-BFDI life!

Faithful, mellow, and relaxed. She's got a "whatever happens happens" mindset. She's not the best at advice but she is a good listening ear.

Pie has that "whatever" mindset with foods too. She'll try most anything you put in front of her. Whole raw peppers? Sure, she'll have it and then some.

Her favorite food is tacos with an excessive amount of lemon juice.

Lower-middle working class individual. She has bills to pay and is working a 9 to 5. She likes to feel AWAKE before going to work so you can trust she's in bed by 11 and up by 7-- she'll take a cup of coffee and a jog after getting up and stretching.

I like the idea of her and Book being pals! Perhaps they were highschool friends who stayed in contact. When Book applied and got into BFDIA, Pie cheered her on.

She was surprised when a third season was announced(IDFB isn't an in-universe season), including a return of all S1 veterans, S2 contestants, and applications being open.

Applying for BFB was a for fun choice. She wasn't expecting to get in but when she saw the ad for it but she tried anyways!!

A shady bus picked her up and brought her to the playing field. I think starting BFB with her getting up and going would be a fun change.

This bus has other new contestants, some introduced in BFDIA as spectators promised to be let into another season and others who applied through the same as Pie did.

She knew the cast would be big, but...

SIXTY-FOUR PEOPLE!! Announcer must have big plans for this season---

She has a WTF moment when a blue and yellow figure comes crashing into Earth with a robot and something in their hand. Upon landing, the impact destroys the recovery center. They blow on their palm and Black Hole appears.

Black Hole stammers but collects himself and Pie checks up on him!

The blue and yellow creatures are BFB's hosts. Announcer had nothing to do with this and Pie realized that upon seeing how... destructive... their entrance is.

Side character material but I will compensate. There's a large cast in BFB and TPOT. She could use a shorr episode like Cake. That would be cool!

Still figuring out how I want to handle death in the Redux. There's not really consequences to killing? But murder is also frowned on. It's controversial.

She meets Remote!! Remote's very happy to be there and wants to get to know Pie. They stick together as the first two of Death PACT.

Black Hole kinda. Trails after them before asking to join. Pie respects him as a leader-- in BFB, he is the glue of Death PACT.

Bottle is one of the more expressive team members. Pie likes that she knows how to make everyone smile when they're feeling down.

Pen's hardworking and handy. He comes up with good ideas and bounces them off of the team every time.

Pillow... Pie isn't a huge fan. She's running around getting into trouble and takes a lot of focus away from Death PACT's duties. She's on the team about preventing death yet she's trying to cause it. Just because???

Tree is reasonable and works in tandem with Black Hole as the team's leaders. He's stern but it comes from good intentions.

I found this AMV by Lecrogea on YT. It's so fucking good I,, got inspired by it and was left feeling so many emotions . Liy and Pie FTW

They also have a Tumblr!

Most contestants look at Liy and see someone who's irritable and cranky. But we all have our bad days, yeah? Pie and Liy are great friends by BFB 4.

I mean . Look at them

When Liy is eliminated, she's furious. She gives her speech and Pie walks up to her, ready to offer comfort, and Liy pulls away. Liy then turns her switch over to the dark orange side, takes a deep breath, and switches it back.

She seems like she's about to say something else when Four sucks her up. Wow.

Pie is just befuddled. Wow.

Pie is down to move to TPOT when Two offers everyone a spot. Four's hurt a lot of people and Pie would like to not be apart of that.

Death PACT Again forms. Pie isn't around long enough to get to know the newer members too well. Opinions are formed though !

Pen, Pillow, and Bottle switch teams. Pie is sad to see them go(...save for Pillow. Less of a concern now.)

Pie gets to know Lightning the least. He doesn't think before he acts but he's got passion.

Marker is an optimistic goofball. Pie is glad to still have one on the team with Bottle leaving.

FANNY! Spiteful as she is, Pie managed to get to know her better. Pie is a good listener, after all!! Maybe Fanny just needs to blow off some steam. They're chill.

Pie is eliminated in TPOT 2. It's whatever, honest!! She'll be fine, she doesn't make a big deal of it.

Two is nice enough to actually let her get some last words out. Pie gives her team some encouragement, then she's sent away.

[ncisfranchise-source]

For a leading man in a massive series, Mark Harmon got to play Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs as a bit of a man of mystery on the “NCIS” franchise mothership series, at least up to the point that it had to exhaust whatever it was that put that haunted look in his baby blues. As portrayed by the actor over 22 seasons, Gibbs never did stop being the strong, taciturn type, but at the close of that tenure it didn’t feel like could possibly be much backstory left to mine, given the myriad flashbacks to the trauma that led the lawman to a seemingly permanent state of loner-dom. So when a prequel series for Gibbs was announced early this year, a series fan might’ve wondered: Is there any aspect of his pining for his dead wife and daughter that’s been left remotely unplummed?

But, as it turns out, “NCIS: Origins” does have a raison d’etre that doesn’t depend entirely on quickie corpse-of-the-week cases or on Shannon-and-Kelly redux. (Although, rest assured, there’s plenty of both of those.) Watching the first few episodes, you start to wonder whether the show’s existence isn’t just about milking Jethro for more tortured looks. It’s about rectifying a mistake the original series made, or at least a creative decision that was considered an error by much of the fan base: the killing-off of a beloved supporting character, Mike Franks, as a shocking plot point in Season 8. Once the series’ producers presumably realized that might’ve been a misstep, it was too late to bring him back — though God knows they tried, as character actor Muse Watson got to come back again and again as network television’s favorite recurring ghost (or, sure, imaginary conscience). With “Origins,” the franchise not only gets to resurrect Franks, but give Gibbs the chance to be part of a buddy drama. The new show looks like it will be more of a two-hander than first imagined… or at least, with any luck, it will be.

But as fans well know going into the Oct. 13 premiere, none of the cast members from the still-ongoing original series are returning to play their 1991 selves. (Sorry, de-aging fans… at least you have that upcoming Tom Hanks movie to look forward to.) Gibbs is played by — no, not Harmon’s son, Sean Harmon, who portrayed his dad’s character in multiple “NCIS” flashback episodes, and is executive-producing here — but by Austin Stowell, a relative unknown to most viewers. Stowell bears a resemblance to the senior (or junior) Harmon that is, shall we say, inexact. Kyle Schmid, who steps in for Watson as a 1991 Mike Franks, is closer to the guy we remember on screen, minus two or three decades of accumulated crustiness. Will you buy these two as younger, more livewire versions of the dynamic duo that never quite got its full due in the 2000s and 2010s? It remains to be seen how many episodes it might take for the fandom’s collective brain to do a complete reset, but you can guess that “NCIS: Origins” will get a long runway to try to accomplish that.

When we first re-meet Gibbs at the beginning of the two-parter premiere, “Enter Sandman,” his wife and daughter have already been killed, which is quite a relief — no one really needed a full dramatization of that buildup. He’s messed up enough by that still-recent tragedy that he’s failed a psych evaluation, we’re repeatedly told, yet Franks either has undue faith in his sniper-turned-investigator skills or just sees giving him the NCIS gig as a form of rehab. (Make that NIS, actually … the logos on the caps and jackets in the new series stay true to how the Naval Investigative Service didn’t pick up its “C” until 1992. It also jokily alludes to how, prior to “NCIS” going to series in 2003, few civilians had any idea what the hell either acronym meant.) They’re all working out of Camp Pendleton in California under the direction of Special Agent Cliff Walker (Patrick Fischler, always to be remembered by some of us as the guy who gets literally scared to death behind a diner in “Mulholland Drive”). For once in a primary “NCIS” series, neither Walker nor anybody else in charge is portrayed initially as an ambiguous, possibly adversarial figure — at least not yet; Walker just seems a little nervous and preoccupied.

No nerves for Mike Franks, though — a cocky, mustachioed figure of indeterminate Southern origin who wears his machismo and political incorrectness on his suspenders. The Franks of “NCIS: Origins” might be the least tortured of any special agent in franchise history, or at least since early-DiNozzio days. It will surely be easy to overplay the character’s inconsideration for polite norms, but viewers may get a kick out of the scene in an early episode where a suspect is seen being interrogated on video about his belief in the fearsome Mothman legend — and the show’s editors keep cutting to Franks leading his colleagues in uproarious, derisive laughter. Meanwhile, female team members have a locker room discussion over whether or not Franks is a misogynist who deliberately passes them over for promotions. He might be, but the character is so lovable that, if so, he’s probably in line for some enlightenment before the season is up. As played by Schmid, this Franks looks and sounds a little like a ruder and cruder Ted Lasso. It’s an enjoyable fine line to watch him play, in this early going.

Watching Stowell land in the role of Gibbs presents a bigger hurdle. Even his entrance music asks fans to reconsider the hero they thought they knew: He drives onto the Camp Pendleton base cranking up the Pearl Jam. Is that just to establish some period flavor, or is it really meant to blow our minds that Gibbs was once an Eddie Vedder kinda guy? (Franks, for his part, is introduced with some circa-1991 Hank Jr., rather on the nose.) Stowell seems like a hunkier, taller, more chiseled Gibbs than the one we met deeper into middle age, and indeed, the women in the office meet his first arrival at their headquarters with quick but unmistakably lustful double-takes. If anything, Stowell resembles a Brian Dietzen with a bigger neck more than he does Harmon — and he occasionally acts like him, too, having to play the guy whose mouth is sometimes agape as he is educated into the ways of gruesome corpses and crime-solving. Stowell isn’t that much taller than Harmon in real life, but he seems to tower over every other cast member here, a beefy athlete thrust into the role of preternaturally intuitive agent. He’s so un-Harmon-like in most ways, in fact, that it almost makes “Origins” feel more like a reboot than a prequel.

But of course the idea is that Gibbs was a different guy in 1991. Even with the trauma freshly under his belt, he’s still a naif in the woods, as well as a seasoned sniper. So maybe we’ll get more used to him, or the producers’ idea of him, over time. There are moments when you can feel Stowell leaning out of his naturally booming voice and more into Harmon’s quieter rasp — which is important, since Harmon does provide narration for the series, mostly at the beginning and end of episodes, offering thoughts on a life spent largely solitarily. (The original actor also shows up very briefly at the beginning of the pilot, presumably in the present day, chopping wood.) It’s hard to know which way the series might take the character — whether it’ll establish how he developed the essential loneliness Harmon played, or as more of a beloved partner to Franks, or a bit of having it both ways.

The first four episodes that were made available for review for critics concentrate plotwise on the franchise’s usual procedural cases, the elaborate details of which are forgotten as quickly as they’re farmed out, while fans accept these as the delivery system for the character stuff they love. Epidode 4 deals with the protection of a young daughter of a soldier overseas, something that inevitably brings up Gibbs’ guilt issues for having been on duty when his family met its end. The real inevitably is that — before long, probably in this first season — the show will recount how Gibbs went to Mexico to covertly kill the man responsible for his wife and daughter’s deaths, an incident long ago established in “NCIS” lore as having happened around 1991. In fact, Gibbs’ father, Jackson Gibbs (a gentle Ralph Waite in the original series, an angrier Robert Taylor in this one), shows up just in order to warn his son not to go to Mexico and do that. He may as well tell him not to build an indoor boat.

Gibbs has a potential love interest in this new show, Lala Dominguez (Mariel Molino), whom Franks in one unfortunate exchange accuses of being “in heat.” The portent of Harmon’s narration suggests that she may be in trouble for hitching her wagon to Gibbs’ — as does the fact that her character never made it to “NCIS” proper. Molino is an appealing actor, so maybe Stowell will get some of the love scenes that Harmon always seemed a little wary of doing himself, before she becomes something else for Gibbs to feel guilty about. It’ll be nice if they don’t kill her off — if the lead character gets to experience some anguish just because he moved on sexually too soon, not because he got somebody murdered again.

But it’s clear who Gibbs’ real love interest in “Origins” will be: Mike Franks. It couldn’t happen to a nicer couple of ringers.

[kob131]

@melonisopod

I'm pulling you over here so we don't fight on other people's posts-

Knight Of Balance: Redux on Tumblr: But tumblr told me men were 100% down with feminism :((

Where in this post does it even remotely indicate 'I THINK WOMEN SHOULDN'T HAVE RIGHT!!1!'?

No really, the last two reblogs-

looking favourably on andrew tate is a massive L tho but i dont really expect anything but retardation from humanity at this point

Both are utterly terrible options, maybe we should just treat each other as equals regardless of chromosomes or fiiddly bits or whatever.

-Are both directly MOCKING Andrew Tate, the flagship guy for that idea.

Did you think people reblogged those statements thinking Andrew Tate was the tits or something? Cuz I reblogged it because I fucking hate both of them.

You took one look at 'Hey, maybe we shouldn't be fucking sexist' and went 'SO YOU'RE SAYING WE SHOULD BE SEXIST?!?!'

Great job, dumbass.

P.S. I also find you mocking me about gacha waifus fucking hilarious because-

I don't play gacha games. I follow FGO cuz I'm a fucking Fate fan and that's the big source of Fate content.

YOU probably played more FGO than me, you fucking dumbass.

[probablyasocialecologist]

While there is a putative difference between Jeremy Hunt and Rachel Reeves, with the latter saying she would borrow to spend on capital investment, Labour’s commitment to reducing the national debt as a percentage of GDP over a parliament (like the Tories) means any difference is negligible. By extension, this means there is no real difference between the two main parties on the role of the state. Forget Bidenism redux, the strategy for whatever remains of British social democracy is to hope growth will magically return and that distributional conflicts will evaporate. Under conditions of low to no growth (which has now been normal in British politics for 15 years), we essentially have a one-party state which supports austerity and certainly doesn’t believe in Keynesianism. Any points of difference now consist in how Labour and the Tories would spend the proceeds of growth.   Emblematic here is Labour’s green prosperity fund. Initially, the party had committed to spending £28bn a year, every year, as part of a massive program of green investment. Now, however, the aim is to instead “ramp up” spending so it hits £28bn in the final year of Labour’s first term.  Remember that for Labour, just like the Tories, national debt needs to fall as a percentage of GDP after five years. In other words, resources available to the fund will have to come almost entirely from economic growth. And the basis of such growth that will fund a government programme which is, comparatively speaking, arguably bigger than Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act? Reforms to planning regulations. Does anyone seriously think that some new Barrett Estates on the green belt, however welcome, will generate £28bn in extra tax receipts by 2029? Even the most plucky Foxtons estate agent would struggle to sell that. Already the bare minimum for Starmer as a remotely progressive PM look implausible – forget about a programme of social home construction or interventions to reduce child poverty, let alone massive state-led investment in green energy.

[inkandpaintsnowleopard]

Ooo, so 🎶Skid and Skiddad then?

As you may know, I associate Skid with music like South and generally think of South as his theme song alongside Scary Swings, and now whenever I hear music that sounds even remotely like South I just think of Skid. It’s also been a sort of subheadcanon of mine for a bit that Skid is the slightly more spooky month obsessed one, but for some reason Pump is better at spooky music (Spookeez the song). And of course I’ve stated before that Skid also sings Eerie and Pump does the music, and Pump sings Shiver and Skid does the music.

So then one day I was listening to B-Side Redux Shiver and I just thought something like “lol evil Skid” because my brain has to generate alternate storylines for everything, and then as I was thinking about that I realized;

B Side Shiver is a scarier, darker, more powerful version of the original. It’s mysterious, it tricks you, it’s the spooky week Big Bad. Also people like to think of Monster adopting the boys anyway.

If I associate the original Shiver with Skid, it only seemed right to me that I associate the boss fight Shiver with his dad.

His dad has two music themes to me: sort of tribal sounding music (cult in general) and whatever Skid inherited. The first thing I got from the first song I heard and thought could be a Skiddad song (Come Along by Cosmo Sheldrake, last verse in particular. I mean COME ON DUDE-) and now I just think of him and the cult whenever I hear music like that.

Oh damn that was a lot-

Meh two characters twice the info

[abwwia]

Suzanne Jackson (b. 1944, St. Louis) first moved westward with her parents to San Francisco, after which the family continued north to Yukon Territory. She came of age in the remote natural environment of pre-statehood Alaska, later returning to the Bay Area to study painting and theater at San Francisco State University, and dance at the Pacific Ballet. She settled in Echo Park in 1967, where she worked as an artist and teacher. Via Artist's website

Image courtesy of Peter Frank Edwards/Redux