#Y'know. Pros and cons for both.

[timbrrwolfe]

I really did swear to never have a Macbook again even before I stopped using my previous Macbook. And yet here I am, about to come into possession of a Macbook again.

In fairness to past!me, the main source of consternation for me was that I had to replace the /hundred dollar/ charging cable several times (and would've had to replace it more except I just wrapped it in several feet of electric tape the last time and used it like that for ages) because it would like crumble and disintegrate. And it was only much more recently that I was talking about that and someone mentioned it sounded like there was some issue of improper voltage something or other. Which would make sense given that that Macbook had plenty of issues after I accidentally dumped a mug of hot chocolate on it.

Also I accidentally dumped a mug of hot chocolate on it. And it did die for a while. But then a few months later I did randomly decide to plug it in and it slowly came back to life after that. A clumsy, shambling half-life, but life nonetheless.

And even after that it lasted me something like a decade. Before I finally retired it for good because I got a better laptop to replace it. Well, maybe not "better" so much as "snappier." Which was, in fairness, a low bar to clear by that point considering the Macbook was stuttering trying to play 720p30 videos on youtube.

So yeah hopefully I can avoid spilling a whole sugary drink on this one this time and it can be a smoother decade of use. Especially since I've got a Steam Deck to handle most of my gaming endeavors. So the Macbook can be more of a daily driver, productivity focused device. With some media consumption and whatnot. Which is kind of a lot of horsepower for that kind of thing but I wanted build quality and battery life and Apple devices tend to do well in those arenas. Plus what I actually got was the M2 Macbook Air, and with no fans that means it's not super cut out to do really intensive work anyway, especially for a prolonged period. So it's just as well.

Hopefully it'll be useful for getting back into writing and seeing where that takes me.

[piss-stained-jorts]

2007-2017: I want to die

2017-2024: I'm okay with being alive, but I don't mind if I do die. that's okay

as of like 10 or 15 minutes ago, I'm calling it official: ...wait...wait wait wait wait I want to live and keep living and I prefer it to dying

[octopiys]

Hi dear! I’m not sure if you still take quotes but I have one if you do.

“Maybe it’s an illegal Immigrate spider”

Incorrect Quotes as CoD characters

It's been a while ain't it

-

Soap: imagine Ghost just went up to Colonel König, y'know, cus they've never interacted before, and just says "I'm sexually attracted to you, and want to wear your skin"

Soap: how-

Soap: how do you think he'd respond?

Price:

The rest of the goddamn world:

Gaz: what the fuck goes on inside your head

-

Rodolfo: the bank man wasn't doing his job today, and now I'm behind in paperwork

Valeria: I have a solution

Rodolfo: please don't kill him

Valeria: I no longer have a solution

-

Soap: you know how in despicable me, Gru steals the moon?

Gaz, dreading the answer: yeah?

Soap, staring dead at Ghost: I'm gonna steal his straightness

Gaz:

Gaz: why

-

Price: oh look over there

Price: yep there it goes

Price: my final fuck to give

Price:

Price: farewell, fuck

-

Roach: how do you keep ending up in these situations?

Gaz, standing on a chair: because I don't like them, okay?

Roach: buddy you're it's roommate now

Gaz: nuh uh, spiders don't have roommates

Roach: where do you think it came from?

Gaz: I don't know

Gaz: maybe it's an illegal immigrant spider, trying to hide here for safety

Roach: and you want me to-?

Gaz: squish it. No safety here.

-

Soap: none of yall were dancing as hard as me, Alejandro, Rodolfo, and.... and König

-

Shepherd: and what do we say when life disappoints us?

Roach: called it!

Shepherd, shooting him: no.

Roach:

Roach: ...called it..-

-

Ghost: We need more help. Maybe I should call my friends.

Price: ... Your what?

Ghost: My friends.

Soap: is he saying “friends”?

Gaz: I think he's being sarcastic.

Alejandro: No, no, no, this is delirium, he's cracked from being awake all night. Hey, Ghost! All of your friends are in this room.

-

Alejandro: let's play rock paper scissors. You go first.

Graves: rock

Alejandro: paper

-

Ghost: Do you even know what an amulet is?

Alejandro: Of course I do! I eat amulets sometimes. I like the ones with cheese and onions!

Ghost: Alejandro, those are omelettes.

Alejandro: Oh. Then I’ve got nothing.

-

Rodolfo: I'm gonna kill you

Graves: get in line!

-

Ghost: Pros and cons of dating me.

Ghost: Pros. You'll be the cute one.

Ghost: Cons. Holy shit, where do I begin-

-

Alejandro: Goodnight to the love of my life, Rodolfo, and fuck the rest of y'all.

-

Soap: Being gay is a constant battle between "I wish to sit on a window bench with my lover, our legs tangling as we listen to the birds" and "Hey, let's go throw rocks at fascists" and I think that's very sexy of us.

Horangi: If the window's open and you time it right, you can do both.

-

Graves: Oh no! I’m doomed!

Laswell: Seriously? All you have to do is not insult Soap at his own memorial service.

Graves: Exactly! It’s impossible!

[queenlua]

what podcasts have you listened to?

good question because I'M IN THE MARKET FOR PODCAST RECS. please. i hate almost everything on this list

S Tier (i listen to new episodes the second they drop)

Know Your Enemy. look Matt and Sam just have such an exceedingly good vibe. when they talk about something i actually know they never feel like they're doing an unfair or one-sided treatment of it. they're both massive intellectual history nerds. and they do that without, y'know, sacrificing Principles and Taking A Stand in the name of pseudointellectual fairness. occasionally they bring on a guest that pisses me off but that's fine. good things for this podcast forever

A Tier (i'm excited when i have new episodes to listen to)

Normal Gossip. quality varies a decent amount season-to-season but at its heart, it's some bitches Talking Shit about some people you'll never meet in an entertaining way. entirely my jam. hell yeah

The Recipe with Kenji and Deb. good vibes, i learn a couple things about food usually, i am really dumb about cooking so it's not hard for me to learn new things but i sure do learn

The Bonhoeffer Podcast. my current listen. egregiously niche subject. clearly run in a no-frills low-production-value by some random academic. and it rules. tell me the niche internecine theological conflict random dudes with shitty internet connections I Need To Know

Drive to Work with Mark Rosewater. he gets repetitive if you listen to too many episodes at once. but. the head designer of Magic: the Gathering is just as compelling in podcast form as he is in his writing. love that shit

B Tier (i'll go to these reasonably-frequently)

Odd Lots. episodes are rarely standouts but rarely uninteresting either. vibe between the hosts is good

Designer Notes. pros: did a 3hr interview with Cole Wehrle who i do have a brain-crush on. cons: most guests aren't Cole Wehrle

The Kongversation. look it's just some guys nostalgia'ing hard over ye olde Rare/Nintendo games but they're oddly fun/compelling about it

BS-Free Witchcraft Podcast. i have an affection for tetchy neopagans who are somewhat grounded about it and this dude's pretty solid on that front

C Tier (fine, if i must. OR, yes i listen but i feel guilty about it)

If Books Could Kill. ok so the problem with Michael Hobbes is that he's not particularly intellectually honest. the problem with Peter Shamshiri is that he's definitely not intellectually honest and also a dick about it. unfortunately they are both very ENTERTAINING.

i feel a little less guilty listening to them in this format because like. dunking on The Secret is just having a good time, it's a sporking, everyone already knows the book sucks.

it's still unvirtuous that i listen to this one but sometimes i need to listen to familiar stupid dunks as i fall asleep yaknow

And Also With You. episcopalianism 101; i have a Pet Research Project atm & while these ppl aren't as deeply NERD as i desire they make up for it with vibes & pleasantness

D Tier (if i'm desperate. and on a road trip. i'll listen. i guess)

Ezra Klein: my husband absolutely bodied me the other day when i listened to Joe Rogan for the first time, for Civic Education Reasons™, and before i could begin to describe the experience he was like "let me guess, it's like Ezra Klein but for center-right gym bros." and fuck me if that's not egregiously accurate. they share a certain combo of "weirdly credulous" + "have a few specific Weird Anxieties they're fixated on." in Klein's case that anxiety is focused on factory farming & in Rogan's case it's focused on like weird AI conspiracies. in both cases they are aggressively vanilla and mid but sometimes Klein gets an okayish guest. Klein's REALLY had a lot of anxiety lately tho so i've found him harder to take, cannot be part of your secondhand anxiety bro

Time To Say Good Bye! rank punditry but i kinda like Jay Caspian Kang's vibe

Limited Resources. listened way more when i was drafting MtG competitively. but episodes are LONG and that's absolutely an asset when e.g. you're on a long drive to Whistler & you and your husband already nearly came to blows over What To Listen To & you remember Oh Shit Right We're Both Going To A Prerelease Next Weekend

You Have Permission. podcast by a chill sort-of-intellectually-marshmallow-esque liberal christian guy. there are a LOT of episodes which is useful if you're trying to set time on fire. some of his guests are FASCINATING; some less so. averages out to "fine"? random episodes are Not Good but if you skim in advance you'll get e.g. a really cool Quaker guy, some hypernerd theologian, etc

Podcasts That Are So Good But Sadly I Have Already Listened To Every Episode And They Aren't Making More

Every Day's Great! nerds replay Persona 4 and yap about it

The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill. watch an evangelical megachurch implode

Stuff I've Guiltily Carried Around With A Vague Intention Of Actually Listening For A While Now

No Proscenium. all the LARP news that's fit to print. haven't taken a dive yet tho

The Blood Zone. i really like liz ryerson's other work but only listened to the ocremix episode of this one so far oops

The Age of Napoleon & History of Africa. i was enjoying Napoleon for a while but my old car didn't have bluetooth and the podcast was just too QUIET to hear even at the loudest volume. history of africa i was enjoying but got distracted and now i'm like oh fuck i don't remember where i was guess i'll die

Security. Cryptography. Whatever. i should be listening to this for professional reasons

.....

i'm aware there's weightier/better podcasts out there, but i'm mostly listening to podcasts while driving or doing chores, so i need podcasts to hit this weird sweet spot of "intellectually serious enough i don't turn the thing off" but also "well-produced / attention-grabbing enough that it's entertaining even if i can only devote half my brain to it (because, y'know, driving/cleaning)." so most podcast recs don't work on me. and for some reason a lot of popular podcasts (planet money, most NPR ones, etc) are like nails-on-chalkboard for me. maybe i just need to get into audiobooks or something lol but yeah that's what i'm relying on for now

[anonmousegosqueak]

From the little married thingy you wrote I wanted to expand:

Where are they going to live?

Soapghost goes in Scotland obviously, but since neither of them has a decent idea of how normal civilian life works they decide on a small cottage in a small town, few people to meet, even less to show your face to, during winter they hunt as a hobby and make some extra money by selling the animals and in the summer they manage a camping event for all the kids under 16 so even if the parents can't come due to work and other stuff the kids can spend two weeks in the woods

RoachGaz probably stays in England, mainly because the US has more cons than pros as a living, but they obviously go visit Mrs Sanderson often, especially for Christmas and Easter. Roach and Gaz would defnitely stay in a small city since they need the feeling but not the big city (TM) itself

NikPrice surprisingly don't stay in England all year round. They have two homes, one in Russia, near Nik's family, where they just live as "friends that visit each other so often they basically live in the same house at this point", where they stay during the summer since the sun doesn't burn them until they are dehydrated prunes, and one in Englad, where they stay during winter since it's less worse than Russia

KateSara obviously US, but they clearly have a separate vacation home (gift from Laswell for their 20th anniversary)

THIS.

May I add-

Ghoap go into helping kids from bad families? I'm talking about a door that's always open, just knock it your hungry or ask if you need something. They have a spare room to help kids who run away and a bunch of warm clothes in all different sizes for those who can't afford/parents won't get them anything for winter.

GazRoach turn their apartment deck-thing (I can't remember the name, someone help) into a garden and they totally feed the strays. They also both help if something breaks and the shitty landlord won't fix it. (And y'know, if y'all want you could totally imagine living in the apartment and falling for them and make it GazRoach x y/n, I won't complain ⁠ㆁ⁠ω⁠ㆁ)

NikPrice are friendly to old ladies, that's all I'm saying. They're the "handsome men who show up sometimes and say ma'am and help me bring in groceries."

KateSara gave a boathouse for extended vacations. It's not their 24/7 home, they actually rent it out when not using it, but they both enjoy a nice trip to somewhere warm on the boat house. That- and Goose (their dog) likes swimming.

[sobasluuurp]

OFA quirks listed from least to most Fucked We Are (TM) if Shigi steals them (note: I came up with this pretty quicky, there might be factors I didn't think of):

Smokescreen: Deku doesn't seem to be using it much right now. Though it might become more necessary as Shigaraki destroys literally everywhere that Deku could possibly hide.

Fa Jin: Yes, the extra boost is useful. But Deku can make similar attacks with the base OFA physical strength powers, so it's not the worst loss.

Gearshift: There are some major pros and cons to loosing this power. On one hand, maybe if Shigi steals it Deku can avoid the blowback and not, y'know, become unable to function once it catches up with him. And Shigaraki can keep up with it now anyway, so it's not as big of an asset as it used to be. On the other hand, then Shigaraki would have Gearshift, which would be Really Fucking Bad for a couple reasons. One, Deku might not be able to keep up with Shigi the way Shigi learned to. Two, because of Shigi's regeneration, he might be able to use Gearshift without feeling the consequences in any significant way, which would tip the odds wayyyy in his favor.

Blackwhip: Without Blackwhip, Deku can't restrain or make physical contact with Shigaraki unless he actually touches him, which would be The Worst for reasons I don't have to explain. It can also keep him and others from touching the ground, aka getting instakilled by decay. Even if he's not planning on using it presently, it's way to useful as both an offensive and defensive measure to risk loosing it.

Float: In a fight against Mr. Crumbles The Earth To Ash, Deku NEEDS to be able to stay safely in the air. Blackwhip and base OFA can help, but both of those options are much more limited than float, and he'd have to dedicate more of his focus and energy to staying afloat without it. That would mean being less alert to Shigaraki's movements and having less assets and reflexes ready to defend himself when he needs to.

...and then there's Danger Sense, which has been stated multiple times to be the only reason why he was able to keep up with adversaries like Nagant and Shigaraki, and which I would say is the worst quirk he could possibly loose, but that's already fucking happened.

[artist-issues]

*peeks in* hiiii, I know I've sent you like 10 asks or something crazy in like twenty minutes but I have one more whoops

what do you think about The Chosen? I know I have very strong grievances against it (y'know, the fact that they are adding things to the Bible is really sus), but also recognize that unbelievers are watching it (especially with their families) and learning about Jesus and Christianity when they would not be otherwise. I still think that the cons outweigh the pros though.

what do you think of it?

Full disclosure. I have only seen maybe the first three or four episodes of the Chosen. I also attended church with and have met and had conversations with Dallas Jenkins. I supported it.

And I hate The Chosen.

If all of reality is a story that God is telling—the timeline is His, we, the characters, are His, the Main Point/Theme is His—and it is—then that means, that when telling His Story, God chose how to tell it.

When a storyteller creates their world and their characters, they know everything about that story and those characters. But they chose not to tell everything. They choose to cut out some details that are irrelevant to how they want their audience to get to know their characters, for the purpose of perfectly communicating their Main Point. Deleting scenes and hand-picking which details get screentime is part of storytelling.

So God saw and ordered the moments where Jesus was probably laughing with His disciples, or playing with children, and God/Jesus chose the tone of voice that He preached in. Those moments, those things, happened.

But He didn’t choose to tell us about all of them.

He, the Original Storyteller, the Perfect storyteller, told the most important story of all time. And He told it perfectly. And He chose to omit some scenes that actually happened and some details about what Jesus and the disciples were like, walking around together.

And those choices were right. They were the best way to tell the story.

But then Dallas Jenkins comes along and says, “No, God, you cut some of the best scenes. People need to see how like us Jesus was. Yeah, I know You told them how much He was like us—but I think they need to see more. You won’t let me see the deleted scenes? That’s okay, I’ll make them up. And then I’ll re-tell Your story—it wasn’t relatable enough the first time when You told it.”

The more someone thinks Dallas Jenkins was trying to reach people by presuming to tell Jesus’ life story better than God Himself has, the worse the implications are. He thinks he can tell the most important story of all time better than God did?

No wonder he makes so many freakin mistakes. No wonder the Jesus-character in Jenkins’ show goes “maybe”—He uses the word “MAYBE?!”—when He, who is supposed to be TRUTH ITSELF, is PREACHING.

That doesn’t make sense, Jenkins. And not only does it not make sense, but you just contradicted the literal Bible, which mentions over and over the authority and exact words Jesus preached with. And you know what else you did? You got the most important living thing in all of existence, the most important man who ever walked this earth, completely wrong. And that’s what you’re “reaching people” with.

It’s awful. So then when the little interviews where he’s partnering up with cults and people of different faiths that believe vastly unbiblical things about the real Jesus to make this show, or when members of the cast are all “sin is awesome,” or when Dallas Jenkins says something outrageously disrespectful to people who are mad at him for mischaracterizing their God on social media…this is my surprised face.

Because I saw what he was doing and it didn’t sit right with me three episodes in. The most important question any human being can genuinely answer in their lifetime is “Who is Jesus?” The most important story you can ever be exposed to is Jesus’ story.

And The Chosen gets both those things so horrifyingly wrong—but the whole time it’s dressed up like this earnest, God-honoring attempt at evangelism and love. When really it’s a cash-grab, a heartstrings-tangler, and a vanity project for Dallas Jenkins.

Thanks for asking.

[the-wayside]

What I truly loved about the kiss upon reflection is that it isn't tied to one particular thing other than how Dee feels.

I don't think he went there to kiss Yak; make up sure, but the kiss itself is borne out of Yak being Yak. Sweet, open and beautifully honest. He cries because he fumbled his dream and his brother is angry at him and he feels safe because Dee is there to hear him. He isn't after anything or selling anything, he cries because Dee is his person regardless of their status.

For Dee, to feel like the person he cares about trusts him and shares that with him, I'd want to kiss them too. Their relationship exists based on friendship but also unspoken fragility and vulnerability from both of them. Dee kisses him because he can't imagine not kissing this crying soft boy he knows in that one millisecond without a doubt he loves. Because Dee realises, his surety isn't about Yak, but himself. It isn't always a list of pros and cons but a feeling that overcomes everything else. Something entirely from him.

Like. I just really loved that he stopped overthinking and let himself be in love with Yak. Y'know.

[muddypeeps]

I've come back from the dead to talk about Stephanie Brown for a second here because I really like her character. Now I can't guarantee this accurate to like... anything, so yell at me if it isn't!!

Anyways actually rambling time. To me Steph has very loud personality. The most common example of this is that Steph's anger is loud, she doesn't hide that I feel. However that also means her happiness is loud, anger and happiness are very connected to each other. As anger is usually formed from the absence of something, say for Steph a lack of good father, while happiness is formed from the gaining or having something, say Steph gaining a close bond with Cass letting Steph feel like she can rely emotionally on someone in a way she couldn't with other people (as Steph could very much be emotionally vulnerable with Crystal, but it was also complicated, I'll go more into it in a bit). Now this is where some people leave her character traits at, which can sometimes be fine, but I also feel like it leaves a lot that people can use Steph's character for. Because Steph's compassion and sadness are also very loud.

Steph's compassion is very much influenced by her moral compass. As seen from the fact that Steph became a nurse for a good bit because a man and a tiger died from a cop shooting them and she couldn't save them. Now this does also lead to a lot of guilty. Having compassion is great, but it also has its cons like everything else, it's just to Steph especially the pros outweigh the cons. Her compassion is loud in such a way that if you get helped but Steph I feel like you could genuinely just tell from that Steph is a good person, a hero even. It's not overwhelming though it's just assuring. This is also where you can really see Steph shine through. Steph is different from say Jason is this regard when it comes to this type of compassion. Because Jason isn't tied to guilt in the same way that Steph is. Jason can take a life because he can be assured that it was the right decision because other people were being hurt and now they won't be. With Steph however she thinks of it in a different way i feel. Steph wouldn't be able to reassure herself that killing someone would fully be the right decision unless pushed to absolute extremes here because yes killing them would stop people from being hurt by that person, but who's say that people will not also be hurt from the death of that person even more so. Death isn't a one way deal after all, killing a criminal can bring safety... but it can also get rid of stability. I feel like Steph with Cluemaster as her dad could understand that, though Jason would also understand it but their moral compasses are different in that regard but I am not here to talk about Jason that much.

Now onto Steph's sadness being loud. Sadness and anger are like twins, they are both caused by the same thing but they are different reactions to it. Steph is the type to have sadness underneath her anger and vice versa. It's honestly something that I love to see in characters and I wish that people would write Steph more in this way.

You might be wondering though that based on what I said earlier how can Steph have troubles with being emotionally vulnerable if she has a loud personality? Well you see that is because Steph isn't always verbally loud, I mean she certainly is sometimes, but not always. However Steph's behaviors have always been pretty loud, it's just harder for people to pick up on that sort of thing. That's why Crystal couldn't always understand Steph when she was emotionally vulnerable and Steph with all that honestly overwhelming compassion didn't want to give her mother more work or things to worry about. This is why Steph and Cass's relationship works so well. Because Steph both a) can talk enough for both of them and still understand Cass because Steph shockingly (/s) has a good bit of empathy and can read people pretty well, b) Cass is y'know very good at reading body language which Steph always speaks very loud with in a metaphorical sense and that is absolutely something Cass can pick up. They understand the parts of each other that other people might not be able to understand. As much as Crystal is a pretty good mother and she really does try, it doesn't mean that Steph reallys know how to be emotionally vulnerable in a way that her mom will be fully able to understand. It's just relationships (especially with parents) are complicated like that. Anyways that's all I really have to say. Once again feel free to decide to disagree with me or like make your own take!!

[dragonmarquise]

Everyone keeps talking Abt all the crews and stuff, but like, I never see any content for futurism! Sure there wasn't a lot of stuff for them since they were like, a really small part of the plot, but it would still be awesome to see content for them!!!! So I come bearing a question, do you have hcs for futurism?

Ooo, I have a few for FUTURISM! Not as extensive as my stuff for Devil Theory and DOT EXE, but still. :>

(I know some people kinda debate writing it as FUTURISM vs. Futurism, I'm gonna personally keep all caps but I also understand most people probably don't care either way lol)

Also feel free to send in asks about the other crews/characters too! I might not have a lot for each character though. I also have a general list of LGBT+ headcanons for all the BRC characters, if that interests you! Granted, it's probably not as extensive as some other people's lists.

Anyways, gonna put this under a Read More, it won't get nearly as long as the other two headcanon sets, but it'll be long enough that I'll feel bad about posting this without one. ^^;

I like giving all the crew members themed names, and for FUTURISM I went with computer-related terms! Some of them more obscure than others. So for the members (besides DJ Cyber of course):

Jazz (Related to the Chorus/Jazz version of JavaOS)

Quantum (i.e. quantum computing)

Veronica (an old search engine)

Nyx (The name of a prototype Amiga chipset, though also Greek personification of the night!)

I have a personal idea that after the events of the game, one member from each of the major crews end up joining BRC, basically representing the unlockable characters in the post game. In this case, Nyx is the one who joins BRC (and in my mind she's the default Spring palette in the game), so let's start with her!

Bi, currently dating one of the Eclipse ladies (inspired by this very good fan art btw :D )

All of the FUTURISM gals have amazing skills both with computers and as writers. Nyx ends up being one of two Designated IT Person for BRC, the other being Cueball.

Her and Cueball get into little prank wars, mostly instigated by Cueball for the hell of it. Her opinion of him ranges from genuine respect for his own computer skills to Chump Lord Supreme. Depends on her mood (and how much Cueball has recently pissed her off before asking her about it, lol)

As for the rest of BRC: "Well, they're still kinda chumps, but I guess they're my chumps now, y'know?"

Not afraid to be snarky, even to authority figures (DJ Cyber included)

Now for Jazz (Summer palette):

Is actually a guy who crossdresses! Does drag shows on the weekends too. :D

She is personally not very picky about pronouns, but most people default to referring to Jazz with she/her while in her writer outfit or as her drag persona (she goes by Jazz for both anyways), and he/him when he's not dressed up. But again, not very picky either way.

"I'm just saying, when the cops try to chase me down, they're gonna be looking for a blonde woman, not a guy with dark hair and stubble. Literally, one time I ran around a corner and managed to take off my wig and mask, then just covered up my top with a hoodie I had. Same pants and shoes, but they didn't even notice!"

Truthfully the crossdressing thing was genuinely just for fun, not to mention pretty comfortable while going around doing writer stuff. It wasn't until a while later that she realized it would make for a great disguise as a writer. :P

Nyx and Jazz are basically Besties and will be more than happy to smacktalk about their respective crews behind everyone's backs, lol

Now Quantum (Winter palette):

Runs an underground (kinda literally) server farm for local web hosting, chat sites, and forums. Anyone remember forums? Man, the good ol' days...

Has a hand in a lot of open source freeware projects. Hates companies like Adobe, Apple, Google, and Microsoft with a passion. Big Linux nerd btw, she will talk you ear off about the pros and cons of different distros if you let her.

Actually on that note, if you're not talking to her while she's out and about as a writer, or otherwise talking to her about computer stuff, she's fairly introverted! Especially if you try to talk to her in person instead of via text/chat/email/etc, she's basically more talkative online.

Also very good at sneaking around. Though not really as like spying or anything like that, she just prefers to not get in people's way or annoy them. Unfortunately she has scared DJ Cyber more than once by sneaking up on him by accident, lol

Wears contacts as a writer, but otherwise wears glasses normally. Has been considering getting prescription heavy-duty goggles for her writer activities, so that she doesn't have to bother with the contacts anymore.

And finally Veronica (Autumn palette):

She is genuinely a jerk. Nyx can be snarky sometimes, but not in an overly mean way. Veronica will be more than happy to be nasty to someone if she thinks they deserve it, even if they really don't.

Always looks down on pretty much any other writer outside of FUTURISM. She's still convinced Felix cheated to get his reputation, especially the whole "did it with no boostpack" thing.

Most people would probably consider her a stereotypical Karen ngl :u

So yeah, she's basically That One Teammate Nobody Likes. Veronica is only still in the crew because her skills are second only to DJ Cyber himself. Hell, he really doesn't like her attitude, but can't find a replacement for her in terms of skills. (He's begged Vinyl to formally join FUTURISM in the past, but she always declined, preferring to keep being a freelance writer. And now that she's part of BRC, she's definitely not an option for replacing Veronica, lmao)

She had a crush on Faux, but these days refuses to admit it was ever a thing.

That's about all I got I think! Hope you enjoy these. :>

Small bonus, specific track from the game that I associate with FUTURISM the most: Funk Express!

[onejellyfishplease]

Good morning, Jelly!

So, regarding the question I mentioned last night; As you are well aware of by now, my Tabletop Turtles AU (or TTAU, for short) esentially combines RotTMNT with D&D mechanics and tropes.

And if you are going to tell a classic D&D story, you need to have your adventuring party face off against a dragon, right? The question is, which iconic RotTMNT villain should I turn into a dragon? I've got two options I've torn between, both with their own pros and cons (I apologize in advance for the slight info-dump)

1) The Shredder Aesthetically, this is the easiest option. I mean, the Shredder is halfway towards being a dragon already. Just slap some wings and a tail on that sucker and boom, you have a dragon. And let's be honest, a Shredder dragon would look cool as fuck. And the lore wouldn't be too difficult to flesh out either. But there is one problem with this idea, and that is that the Shredder isn't the 'final boss' of RotTMNT. Which means I'd need to come up with a climactic threat to come after this dope ass dragon. And how am I supposed to top a creature that is so iconic to Dungeons and Dragons that it's literally in the name?

2) The Krang Making the Krang dragons would help them fit in with the fantasy setting, where aliens might feel a bit out of place. Though, while having the Krang be dragons will solidify them as a world-ending threat that blends iconic creatures from both the show and D&D, it would open a whole can of worms in regards of questions to answer. How would I design them so that they look recognizable while still retaining that classic D&D feel? If they aren't aliens, what would exactly would the technodrome be? How would they krang-ify people? What's the deal with those mech-armor things? would they still use them? These are just a few of the questions that would need answering.

In short, the Shredder would be the simpler option in terms of design and lore but would give me an extremely high bar to clear when I introduce the Krang. I could just… not use the Krang at all, but they feel like too much of an important part of RotTMNT canon to just ignore, y'know? On the other hand, the Krang would fit better thematically, but come with a plethora of design challenges and lore questions to answer.

I know this is a bit of complex lore problem, and you might not be able to provide a miracle answer that will solve all my problems, but hearing your two cents on this will be very helpful. After all, you have much more experience creating AUs (you seem pretty much incapable of not constantly making new AUs), and this is the first real AU I've created since I was a child.

First of all, I love the name youve chosen!! very cool.

And oof i get the struggle between thematic and aesthetic choices! it can be really hard!

I have a few suggestions that might help?

(just saying that i dont know much about dnd lore besides looking through a few of the books and osmosis from being around my brother)

Okay, Idea one: Kraang as Beholders? they kinda look similar i guess?

Idea two: (this ones a bit more fleshed out)

In a lot if tmnt iterations, the kraang use technology to become physically stronger (ie the mech suits) but since this is dnd, perhaps they should have a more magical solution. perhaps, they lean more into the possession role. perhaps here they act more like parasites? perhaps theyre taking over the minds of dragons and other dnd monsters- using them to their own will? (taking inspiration from rabies here). then u could get some kraangified dragons.

maybe the defeat of shredder can cause the release of the kraang?

this way you could still do the dragon idea for both of them.

the technodrome could be an amalgamation of possessed monster that have become so twisted that they have moulded together? (depends on how dark u wanna go here)

id say you could turn them both into dragons and get away with it if u make their designs, nature and goals different enough.

have the shredder be originally a dragon, but then merged himself with so much magical and cursed armour that he no longer looks like one

(or -another thought- make him a man who wanted the power of a dragon, and so through both magic and armour twisted himself into something vaguly dragon like)

making them related to one another (not just genetically but also thematically) might work aswell?

maybe the shredder created the kraang? maybe in his goal to make a synthetic biological dragon (why he would want that idk, something powerful that shares his ideals) and it went wrong?

woah that was a lot of rambling. i realise that i mostly did both the shredder and the kraang as dragons instead of anything else. my bad.

i hope this helps!! i know i threw a lot of rambling at you just now!

[fontenotlegacy]

Sims 4 Fontenot Legacy - Matilda’s Date Night

As has become relatively normal in Matilda's routine, Dandre and her meet up at the local pub to hang out. It's a date, but not a date, y'know? At least, that’s how Matilda sees it. Casual.

Matilda: Thanks for letting us borrow those chairs for the party.

Dandre: They were collecting dust in the basement anyway. Might wanna air out those beanbag chairs though. Who knows what they’ve seen last.

Matilda: I’m sure they’ll incur some new stains at the party.

Dandre laughs.

Dandre: So how were classes today?

Matilda: Easy-peasy, as usual. Already nearly done with my final presentation. The beauty of being both beauty and brains.

Dandre: I think I can agree with that.

Matilda notices the glint in his eyes, but chooses to ignore it.

Matilda: Your classes going well?

Dandre: As good as they can. Junior year's no joke. Nice to be able to let off some steam like this.

Matilda: Exactly what I was thinking. You know, just getting away from everything else, and just… be in the moment.

Dandre: Yeah. I like being in the moment with you.

Matilda ignores that comment too.

Matilda: I mean, college’s the first time I feel like I’ve been able to breathe.

Dandre: Rough home life?

Matilda: Not “rough”, but… let’s just say there was always someone around. Not enough to go around in one way or another.

Dandre: You don’t talk about your family much.

Matilda: I mean, it’s nothing that interesting. I lived with my mom, have an older brother from my dad, and a million little brothers from my mom. Dad died when I was a teen, blah blah blah, insert sob story here. There. Now you know.

Dandre: You’re the only girl?

Matilda: Well, Anya and I aren’t blood-related, but I consider her my sister too. Oh, Anya's my brother Robin's older sister. They have the same mom. And Robin's married now, so I consider his wife my sister.

Dandre: Big family.

Matilda: Has its pros and cons.

Dandre: I envy it.

Matilda: Don’t.

Dandre: What’s so bad about envying a sim with family?

Matilda: Because it’s not always what it’s cracked up to be. It’s messy and complicated and… just, be thankful that all you really have to look out for is yourself.

Dandre: I think I’d quite like it. Being part of a family, building my own… what’s not to like?

Matilda: We’ll it’s not something I want. You know, building a family and all. I just want to live my life for myself. Maybe appreciate the ones already here. That sounds like the perfect life to me.

Dandre: So you really don’t imagine settling down one day? Creating a family?

Matilda: I don’t know, should I? Look, this is supposed to be fun. We’re supposed to just be letting off steam. Let’s stop with all the heavy talk, okay?

Dandre: …Yeah. Okay. Wanna head upstairs?

Matilda: Sure.

So the two relocate upstairs to continue the date with a more chill vibe. They choose to do this via a classic game of beer pong. Something to loosen both of them up.

Dandre: Watch this. Eyes closed!

Matilda: Cocky already on the first throw?

Dandre: Just watch the skill!

True to his statement, the ball falls into the first cup with a plop.

Dandre: Hah! And that’s how it’s done.

Matilda: You had magical luck. No way it’s going to be replicated.

Dandre: Just drink up, loser!

Matilda laughs and downs the first drink.

Matilda has her turn, but she fails miserably. Dandre takes his second turn, and like the first one, he sinks it easily into one of her cups.

Dandre: Yes! Eat it! Or, I guess drink it in this case!

Matilda: Ugh, am I going to have to hear you gloat the entire game?

Dandre: Only if you can’t catch up, which, at this rate, might be the case. Now drink!

The game continues. Matilda attempts another throw and fails. Again.

Matilda: Ugh! Why isn't it working?

Dandre: Maybe you'll get it next time. My turn!

Aaaaaaannnnddd he sinks it. AGAIN. Matilda is starting to think the game is rigged (and so am I). Another drink down the hatch. Good thing Matilda's got a high tolerance.

Matilda: I didn't expect to get pummeled this bad. Admit it, you added super strong magnets to the bottom of these cups.

Dandre: Don't need cheap ways to win when I can do it with pure skill.

Matilda rolls her eyes.

Matilda: You're annoying when you're this confident.

Dandre: And yet, it's the quality of you I might like the most. Come on, your throw.

Matilda throws again, but it results in the same outcome as the previous two. No go.

Matilda: Well, just put me out of my misery then. Your throw.

Dandre grabs his ball. He lines up the throw. Deep breath. Focus. For the win. He throws...

And it sinks. Game over.

Dandre: That's all folks!

Matilda: Man... you're seriously good at this! I admit defeat. Beer pong's not my thing.

Dandre: Hey, I could always teach you a thing or two.

Matilda: Nah. I'll let you have this one. If I manage to beat you, I'd probably be too powerful.

Dandre: Fair enough. Come on, let's sit a moment.

The two retire to the couch to enjoy the fireplace and each other.

Dandre: No hard feelings, right? Not gonna put me in the doghouse?

Matilda: I should, but I'll be merciful. Your gloating was next level though.

Dandre: Hey, not often that I'm able to one-up you.

Matilda: The only time you'll be able to do that.

Dandre: Maybe so. What can I say? I have a thing for sims that challenge me to be better.

Matilda: And I do that for you?

Dandre: Among other things...

Matilda: Hmm. Smooth-talker.

Dandre: Just trying to butter you up after that embarrassing defeat.

Matilda: Shut up.

The two can hear the music playing downstairs. Dandre's eyes get a glimmer in them.

Dandre: Let's take this party back downstairs, hm?

Dandre drags Matilda back downstairs, sweeps her into his arms, and they dance in the middle of the pub together.

Dandre: This has been really nice. Perfect middle-of-the-week date.

Matilda: Definitely a needed excursion.

Dandre: I enjoy our dates. I feel like I learn a little bit more about you each time. You're a tough nut to crack.

Matilda: I prefer to keep my cards close to my chest. Easier that way.

Dandre: You could let me take a peek from time to time, though. I'll help you win the game.

Matilda: If the game isn't beer pong. Then you'll annihilate me for sport.

Dandre: Only because I want to show off the one skill I have.

Matilda: You've got other skills. I'm sure of it.

Dandre: Is that your way of giving me a compliment?

Matilda: Don't let it go to your big head.

Dandre: Hey, gotta take them when they come.

The two dance in comfortable silence for a beat. Matilda can tell by the look in Dandre's eyes that something bubbling under the surface. Something she's been trying to avoid this whole time. True connection.

Dandre: Matilda--

Matilda: Listen, Dre, this has been really fun. You're a good guy. And one day you'll make a lucky sim very happy.

Dandre: Just some lucky sim?

Matilda: You agreed to what this is. Let's not make things complicated. I enjoy spending time with you. I enjoy the woohoo. I'm not looking for anything more right now.

Dandre: This your way of friend-zoning me?

Matilda: Friends-with-benefits-zoning you maybe. That is, if after this conversation you still want the benefit part.

Dandre pauses. He notices the way Matilda avoids his gaze. The way she seems to be disassociating from the situation. There's a distance. He knows there's more to it, but he also knows she's not privy to telling him. He makes his decision.

Dandre: Hey, as long as you're not tired of seeing me, I'm happy sticking around. Whatever capacity you allow.

Matilda: You sure? I don't want any lingering feelings messing things up.

Dandre: I'll check my feelings at the door. Cherish what I have with you. Which, right now, is this moment. Letting off steam.

Matilda: I'm glad we're in agreement then. Thanks, Dre.

Dandre: Hey, don't mention it.

[zarekthelordofthefries]

I'm thinking (as I often do) about the manner in which to potentially build a D&D-style elfgame-type campaign setting for fantasy adventure games that is also built on a foundation of realism and verisimilitude. Specifically, because I'm me, I'm thinking about speculative evolution. It's hardly an elfgame setting without, y'know, elves, but also other fantastic creatures like dragons and mimics and What If A Spider Was Large.

At the moment I'm particularly focused on the interrelation between real-world creatures and fantastical creatures. It's one thing to speculatively-evolve a biosphere that produces unicorns, it's another for that biosphere to ALSO include horses. In trying to be realistic, how do you have animals with real-life established evolutionary histories, including humans, existing alongside mythic beafts?

I think there's several ways one could handle it, but I feel like the ones that are most conducive to elfgaming environment are just two:

1: Earth Evolution But A Little To The Left. This world isn't Earth, but it has an extremely similar biohistory with some added weirdness. Recognizable real-world clades evolve alongside dragons and giants and sea monsters, which all have their own place in the cladogram. If you're feeling pulpy, maybe some non-avian dinosaurs didn't go extinct. Humans evolved like they did on Earth but have various relatives that are still alive, i.e. elves and dwarves and orcs and such, taking the place of Neanderthals or Homo floriensis but minus the whole going-extinct thing. Maybe also some other clades evolved bipedalism and intelligence, so that you can have your lizardfolk and catfolk and elephantfolk.

2: We're The Alien Invasion. Earth-life is foreign to the fantastical world. Our Earth exists in this setting and humans come from it, along with a bunch of other animals that you Need to have in fantasy stories like horses and bears and lupines, but the main setting is a world of elves and dragons and displacer beasts. Elves, orcs, dwarves, et al are similar to humans only because of convergent evolution, not because they're taxonomically related. Imported bears compete with owlbears for their ecological niches.

There are other paths you can take (maybe the setting is basically Earth but magic turns humans and animals into mythical creatures, like in Shadowrun), but those two feel like the ones that could best facilitate a setting that fits into games like D&D and Pathfinder, in my opinion. Most existing campaign settings fall into Type 1 already I think, at least implicitly or whenever they care to touch on evolution.

I'm not sure which I prefer. They're both valid, but they have their own pros and cons. Type 1 allows you to play with more extinct animals than Type 2, and I'm always a sucker for when a wizard game has a dinosaur in it. Type 2 gives you much more room to play in the speculative evolution space, since you don't have to worry about messing up the balance of an existing biosphere. Type 1 allows for half-human hybrids with less need for justification. Type 2 requires you to be more creative about what "counts" as an elf or dwarf if they have to be aliens. Type 2 makes it a bit easier to justify the existence of six-limbed vertebrates like dragons, pegasi, or centaurs.

I don't have a conclusion or anything to this, I just think it's interesting to think about.

[antiradqueer]

Trigger warning for mentions of fetishization, pro-c for non-con stuff,paras, and like very little of cult tactics, nothing with much detail I believe. Sorry if i tagged these wrongly, I'm not really good at putting trigger warnings.

Lol, im in the rq community but its like really confusing, i dont agree with some terms that fetishize people and invalidate others but some parts are i agree with too so its weird.

Im not sure if i should leave and even if i do where do i exactly go i dont really know, also some of these terms really help me to explain and express my non-human identity better, and stuff like that. (i only have id with transbody terms that go like 'wanting to have more eyes' or 'wanting to be taller' due to non-humanity, im not sure if that is wrong. Because these terms really would be okay and very nice in my eyes if they werent soo,, interwined with pro-c for non-con paras and actual fucked up shit.)

Also the community is meant to be anti-harasment, which is what i am, knowing that harassment on the internet wont really work in anyway. Though the community is extreme (this goes for antis too, both sides are very extreme which sometimes wants me to just stay in the middle of it.) And people in the rq tend to ignore the pro-harassment rq's by saying stuff like 'oh theyre not actually rq' and that on itself sounds like very problematical to me. Maybe not just me, i have no idea.

I also thought of id as transabled due to my heavy signs of BIID, (though i am not diagnosed so it might be something else, so i wont self diagnose for now since it might be a placebo effect due to my legs not functioning well in the first place) but the things it implied was just,, not something i would like to be associated with. So idk if that makes me unvalid or anything of that.

Im so fucking confused and i dont really like the fact i am so confused and kind of not fitting for both sides and being neutral seems,, y'know,, ignorant to me because both sides have their extremes and problems, so god i have no idea.

Also i did notice rq community using ways that are like,, weird, and i have experienced cult tactics and when i noticed it literally didnt go away so yeah. And that certainly something I don't want to be associated with and harms me too.

Its weird, i have no idea, wa.

Also i quite literally dont care whos origin is what, i used to be heavily endogenic but after a while i was like,, 'dude i cant change these people nor should i can encourage possible harmful things to them and the plural community' and decided to be neutral especially because i have a traumagenic system of 750+ with some alters still heavily anti-endo and some pro-endo. Which again makes me feel like i will not be welcomed elsewhere.

I have talked to a few anti-rqs about my experience but idk

Also i have multiple paraphilic disorders and Paraphilias without disorders, so im not sure if i will be affected in the other communities since of my paraphilic disorders.

So sorry this is like very long, i apologize if i made y'all uncomfortable,, it was not what i intended.

first of all, I will just repeat what I tell every radqueer that comes into our inbox: think about if you really want to be part of and support a movement that inherently supports pro-c paraphiles of all kinds, is racist, ableist and whatnot. you simply can't on one hand call yourself radqueer and on the other hand pick and choose the parts of the community you like. if you use that label, you are supporting the WHOLE community, end of the story. of course there are disgusting people in every community, but it's different with radqueers - for example, there are quite a lot if pro-c zoophiles who are also therians and claim to be part of the therian community. BUT the therian label in itself is strictly against that and will never ever accept those people. the radqueer label however is inherently supportive of and welcoming to pro-c zoos, pedos and necros. and that's the difference. that's why you are still supporting those people even if you only use the term radqueer. please realize there are alternative terms you can use for the same experiences, which are not associated with radqueers and/or are coined by folk who are openly anti radqueer and anti transid.

aside from that, being neutral or unaligned is 100% a path you can choose! always put your own comfort and safety first and if the discourse stresses you out too much, you can always just back off.

I don't have too much to add honestly, to me it seems like you are THIS close to truly realizing how horrible the radqueer community actually is - I mean, you even noticed the cult tactics. but it is on you to take the final step and get out and I promise you, if you do, you will be welcomed by us antis and other communities!

[I won't comment on the endo system part, since we don't do syscourse topics here]

[queenlua]

okay let's make tibarn/naesala happen

let's enumerate every possible way to make them work. for funsies. because i am normal and have normal 3am hobbies:

option 1: reyson and leanne both die tragically somehow; tibarn and naesala have weird sex about it

pros: ngl this is my Default Option for like 80% of my ships for a reason. it's just fundamentally neat when ppl are sad about their dead former lover and think about them constantly even whilst they are flinging themselves into the arms of a new one. if you can get TWO people doing that simultaneously? with each other?? hell yes

cons: honestly...,,, both of these boys seem enormously terrible at providing anything remotely resembling comfort. like, i feel like they try to have weird angsting-over-reyson-and-leanne sex, but then they just have normal-ish, boring, wham-bam-thank-you-m'am, vaguely-unsatisfying sex, so then you're not even getting Demented Catharsis out of it, and then WHAT IS THE POINT. like have you ever known a dude who takes up jogging to try and get over his ex? and then he quits after a couple weeks when he remembers Wait Cardio Is Boring As Fuck? it's like that. i think they try it for a bit and it's blah and all purely physical and then they're done. i'm just not quite seeing it here!

option 2: naesala's the weird skrunky sometimes-third-wheel sometimes-third-partner to reyson/tibarn

pros: i think this meshes best with all their personalities as presented in canon. tibarn & reyson keep letting naesala off easy because, y'know, he's more useful to keep around and guilt-trippable, but also because he's pretty fun to drag into bed sometimes, right

cons: this is avoiding the tricky bit, right? i specifically said naesala/tibarn because i want to figure out how to emulsify these oil-n-water bitches together. if you let reyson be the glue between them, you're taking the easymode way out!

option 3: do you think love can bloom even on a battlefield

(aka, naesala and tibarn both murder the hell out of some senator who dicked both of them over, and they look into each other's eyes and realize that despite all their differences they do both find Murderous Justice very hot, deep down. and maybe also each other? like it's hot that this guy also Gets It right)

pros: ok, come to think of it, you could make this one really funny. like, suppose Reyson's been kidnapped or something, right, and Tibarn's like I Will Do Anything (Even Ally With Naesala) To Get Him Back

and so Tibarn fights Through Hell And High Water to rescue his twinky boyfriend

and they SUCCEED, and Reyson's super-unconscious but safe, and in that moment he looks into Naesala's eyes and... they get supremely frisky, and it feels incredible and right in the moment but boy that's gonna be awkward the second Reyson actually wakes up lmao

cons: dissolves the second reyson wakes up, alas. like the Weirdness hangs around after, that's still fun, but.

option 4: naesala has a little bit too much fun being the powerful one for a change

i'm pretty sure naesala would Literally Die rather than ask tibarn for help, ever. but tibarn? tibarn might in fact get desperate enough to call on naesala for help. you could probably spin some toxic yaoi out from there, right. tibarn very much trying to hold onto a sense of self and telling himself he's just doing this for instrumental reasons, but also having his sense of self lowkey fucked up by having to play second fiddle to naesala. naesala very much enjoying stringing this guy along. that kind of deal

pros: wasn't thorki big for a while or something. i feel like we get thorki vibes out of this. can i steal some MCU ppl away to spur on a Second Great Awakening Of Tellius...

cons: this would require me to have a good Theory Of Mind for Tibarn in particular, which i do not, alas!

anyway god i should get some sleep. further options welcome

[keykidpilipili]

Okay but, y'know what I think would be interesting?

If an RPG where you spend the entire game helping these townspeople, only for them to turn on you at the drop of a hat near the end of the game, gave the player the option of whether or not to go back to protecting the town once their name is cleared.

Just, full-on "Okay, you don't want my protection? Have it your way" and leaving them to their fate.

If only because I'm curious how many players would choose to give the townspeople another chance, and how many would just let the town die.

Yeah it is an interesting concept as someone who was stuck for months in the fugitive section of PMD1. (Articuno beating 10+ times your 8-year-old butt convinces one to overlevel on every following playthrough). I don't play the kind of RPGs that offer that much level of decision making(Kotor 1 and 2 probably have that kind of multichoice options).

When done well it can really showcase the layman who is only tangentially involved with the plot make bad choices with whatever info they can get. Especially from who they assume to be trusted authority figures who the narrative gives them little/no reason to distrust prior to that. (And in the current era of misinformation isn't that hyper relevant) For a PMD1 example I rag on Alakazam and the townspeople for trusting Gengar's word but he's barely bending the words of the local storyteller and a sanctioned wise guy. Plus the plot has been hammering about the ever increasing natural disasters that the rescue teams struggle to keep up with. Some insomniac kidnaps a kid because he assumes his family is responsible for the earthquakes keeping him awake. Freaking legendaries attack you because your walking in lined up with significant climate change. I think even without Gengar saying that the human turned into a pokemon deserves to disappear since they left their partner to die, that the townspeople would have gone for murder. If word had gotten out that the player was a human along with Xatu confirming the link between natural disasters and the transformation combined with Ninestales legend already spreading in town, they would have turned against the player.

In a narrative with that idea, I would really love to have an exploration of BOTH choices with their own pros and cons. Without even necessarily killing off the rejected townspeople. Heck a scenario where forgiving too fast by having the protag shove their resentment under the rug locking out some quests. Let's explore how conflict avoidance can strain relationships from unadressed issues. For once have let conflict simmer so every can air their dirty laundry instead of waiting till there's unidentifiable stains on everything.

With all of that said I fully understand why this doesn't happen in most games from a thematic or logistic standpoint(budget).