#stealing knowledge

[eirikrjs]

MY GRAND RETURN: Phase ONE

I need more time to think out my whole return plan (it's surprisingly complicated), so, in the meanwhile, @ me on Bluesky and I'll try to respond as well as I can. Let's give this a week and see how it goes.

Tumblr inbox will remain closed by necessity; I'll explain later.

[reality-detective]

I Agree Completely 💯

It was those damn phones the entire time! 🤔

[wandixx]

Seriously chaotic fashion misadventures

I realized I posted a teaser and never really followed up on it, so here is some more of that

“Hey, Dami?”

Boy hadn’t looked up from the kittens he was bottle feeding but let out a hum indicating he listened.

“I'm thinking about trying out a more girlish style. Do you think it would suit me?”

Well, Damian had no idea but if Dani wished to give it a chance, then, well, the only proper reaction was to offer his aid.

*-*-*

“Father, I require access to your rouge gallery.”

Bruce almost choked on his breakfast when his youngest made this announcement.

Rouge gallery, as his children playfully called it, was vast collection of lipsticks, which he collected to uphold his Brucie persona. Famous playboy with head constantly in the clouds couldn’t not show up with discreet signs of scandal from time to time. And it couldn’t always be the same shade. Or scent when he choose more subtle approach and used one of his more feminine perfumes.

In all honesty, he enjoyed this.

But that’s not the point, point was that Damian wanted to use it and Bruce needed to know what disaster would fall upon him if he agreed.

“Mind telling me why, chum?”

Dick, who visited Manor for a weekend, barely stifled his laughter while Tim stared at his empty coffee mug like it personally betrayed him. Cass just wore her usual knowing and mischievous smile.

Damian shifted in his chair, hands clenching on butter knife. He was nervous and suddenly Bruce dreaded the answer he was about to hear.

“I don’t see how me sharing this information would change anything. It won’t be used to cause harm to anyone but it’s necessary in the extracurricular project I just started.”

“Dami, what project?” Dick asked, voice oozing with genuine curiosity and excitement. He was almost bouncing.

“I don’t want to disclose it.”

“Is this a hero or civilian type of deal?”

Damian didn’t look any of them in the eyes, both hands clenching on his seat as he kept shifting. Bruce narrowed his eyes. Was his youngest… flustered?

“Civilian”

“Alright, great” Dick swung back with single clap, almost tripping his chair over “I think B won’t have anything against you using his rouge gallery, will he?” Man knew his oldest son well enough to recognize his ‘don’t you dare to disagree’ tone. He was confused but there wasn’t any harm so he nodded with affirmative hum.

“Thank you, Father”

Boy practically inhaled rest of his food and rushed outside. Despite all his training and all his efforts, they clearly saw his excitement. Tim pinched himself and returned to staring at his mug.

“Cass, have you seen what I’ve seen or am I overreacting?” Dick asked, barely restraining his enthusiasm. Girl nodded eagerly, shoving more crumbs into her mouth. Young man cheered, throwing his hands up.

“What have I missed?” Tim mumbled, frowning a little.

“BABY BAT HAS A CRUSH!”

Cass nodded again with wide smile.

Oh.

Oh no.

Who were they? What did he know about them? Was Protocol 3r0s started? Did someone run a background check already? What could they do if they somehow hurt Damian? Was this person a risk to their identities? Oh gods, oh no.

He probably will have to do The Talk™.

He always dreaded having The Talk, with any of his kids. He felt The Talk with Damian would be even worse. Understandably so.

“Also sleep in at least three da-”

“Fuck off, dick.”

“Was this insult or-”

His children remained obvious to how much work it meant, cheering and sassing each other like they often did.

*-*-*

Damian did not know how it was possible but he lowered his guard enough to get caught.

"What are you doing?" Brown choked out after they stared at each other for a long moment.

"It does not concern you–"

"You're rummaging through my wardrobe, not many things concern me more and also, that's frickin creepy don't do it to anyone outside of the family"

She did have a point however he was not convinced it would be the correct approach if he shared his plan. Father's wards (even unofficial like Brown) tended to make assumptions and overreact based on these conjectures. Dani wasn't easy to scare off but he didn't want to check if his family would manage. They often did things thought to be impossible.

He tried to get away but the blonde stood fiercely in a door, leaving the window as the only way out. He wasn't this desperate. Yet.

Girl looked more and more angry at his silence. He had to give her some answers.

Now that he actually considered it, she could be a useful asset. She was far better versed in women's fashion and if he phrased it correctly, he wouldn't even need to bribe her. Question was, how should he phrase it?

"I have an acquaintance- I have a friend," he corrected himself "from the animal shelter I volunteer at. She mentioned wanting to try out more 'girlish style' and asked for my opinion. I wanted to see if you had any clothes that would fit her. She is smaller than me so I thought that whatever I take, it wouldn't be missed." 

Brown grinned with an unsettling gleam in her eyes. He suddenly regretted opening his mouth if not coming to this room in the first place. 

"Say no more, I have a plan Demon Child"

[artgletic]

case study of the self-identified god

[errorkey]

so guess who's never getting over what jack says here!

it's a line that's devastating on it's own. it's heartbreaking, because jack feels so terribly betrayed by joke all over again, even though all joke was trying to do is save him.

but it's not just that. it's worse, because that's what the whole show's been about this entire time.

in english, the title we've been given is "Jack & Joker: U Steal My Heart!" which is the most darling, lighthearted little play on words ever.

but the thai title? it's "Jack & Joker: ทำไมต้องเป็นเธอทุกที," which (according to MyDramaList) translates to "Jack & Joker: Why Does it Always Have to Be You?"

and isn't that exactly what jack's asking now? of everything that had to happen, of everyone that is to blame, why does have to be joke that is at fault again?

from the beginning, this entire show was meant to be about how it's almost inevitable that these two will hurt each other in some way or another. their lives have been entwined since that first moment 5 years ago, and regardless of whose fault it is, both of them are bound to be hurt because of just how much they want to save each other. ultimately, jack and joke are – quite literally – doomed by the narrative that they're in.

and all they can do is find a way to break this cycle that viciously dictates their lives – both in the world they're in and in the grand scheme of the show itself.

[mispelled]

Some silly things I drew for stickers !!

[talthetallest]

yeah dude why is he talking to his staff and that light???? someone get professor grandpa his meds!!!!!!

[sneppu]

Severus Snape is an expert in The Dark Arts in the muggle world too, yknow. He holds all The Dark Forbidden Muggle techniques in the palm of his hands. Even now he is out there, at this very moment, commandeering fruit from your local supermarket through dubious non-magical means.

Criminal Sneep is out there and he IS undermining your laws as we speak.

the man was born and raised in a dumpster fire neighborhood. if u dont think he had to learn (and get real good at) petty crime to survive as a kid/teen u got another thing coming.

everyone goes on and on about Slytherin ambition but isnt it also about self preservation?

[wardingshout]

what if my found family was some girl who's totally not imprisoned in a tower, her totally alive bodyguard father figure and some demon who was totally not kidnapped to fix her dreams of burning to death every night what then huh

[chaoticke-rambles]

It’s all fun and games to speculate on what Edwin writes in his notebook all the time, but if he’s been writing notes in there both during his time in hell and in the decades since, then there has to be so much arcane knowledge recorded within in those pages.  He may not be inventing new spells (as far as we know---he 100% could be and we just weren’t shown that), but he’s been recording magical encounters, mapping hell, presumably making notes about anything that could help their future cases… That’s a wealth of knowledge right there, and I bet it’s super valuable.  Not that Edwin would ever willingly get rid of it, but how much do you think all that would be worth, in the magical community?  How dangerous would it be if somone else got ahold of it?

[bobcat-pie]

[eirikrjs]

I imagine this question has probably been asked before, but what are some tips you have for doing research on the topics you usually talk about? I'm always amazed reading your posts and I always wonder how I could have put together that information myself

In general, much of the way I write/research is based on my background. I graduated college with an English degree, one of the Word Processing variety moreso than Literature (but the sole mythology course was the most important one I ever took). I was not a great student but I did learn to infer and write confidently and assertively, which I think goes a long way in making me seem authoritative, even though I would be the first to admit I am not an expert on any mythological topic; at best, I would be an expert on SMT and Kaneko designs, which is far less prestigious (but honest).

As for learning how to research better, as Dan McClellan says, "Think critically, Google competently" Critical thinking is essential to learn, it will help you distinguish between good and bad sources. Think of Barbara Walker and the old adage "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." Here's one of my favorite extraordinary claims from the Woman's Encyclopedia:

Read this and think about what it's saying: Ganesha is somehow both Yahweh and the Behemoth, both of whom are rather opposites in the Hebrew Bible. The "evidence" for this nonsense is a single citation from Joseph Campbell's Oriental Mythology, which, if you look it up, says nothing of the sort Walker is claiming; Campbell himself is problematic enough on his own, anyway--even though I like him as a writer---so you also need a sense of the influences behind the information you read, which takes time and experience to learn. I mean, I myself am 42 years old now, but I was 32 when I wrote SMT Identity Crisis, which is when this blog really took off in terms of popularity. I don't think I would have had the perspective needed to write it as a 22-year-old.

As for Googling, you'll get better results if you utilize searching tricks like putting search queries in quotes for more specific results. For example, when I want to find an old post of mine, I will usually type [eirikrjs tumblr "topic"] and I can usually find it. I also almost always search in Japanese for whatever SMT topic I'm discussing--I am far from fluent in Japanese, but I know Katakana (which I suggest you learn if you don't already) and how to use an online kanji dictionary like Jisho. You mostly have to know the number of strokes per kanji, then you can look up one you don't know by its radicals.

I also encourage you have a broad range of interests; you need a multifaceted mentality and open mind to prevent myopia and introduce yourself to new perspectives you wouldn't have encountered consuming only video games. Like, so many Kaneko cribs were only discovered by experiencing things way outside the confines of video games. That said, video games dovetail with so many different topics and genres; my love of 70s music I owe to discovering the influences of Nobuo Uematsu. Final Fantasy soundtracks are more than just a collection of melodies, they're also Deep Purple, Emerson Lake and Palmer, and Kraftwerk. Dig into what you already like and find what inspired it!

My very last pointer is to understand that everything has a limit. No matter the topic, there's only so far it can go and so much you can say about it. Take JJCAT--it's a pretty expansive topic, but I limited myself to researching and writing about what the Atlus staff members had to say about it and how it was applied in the games themselves. Find your thesis and focus on supporting it, it will make you a more successful writer.

[reality-detective]

The bigger picture to disconnect our souls.

We all know it’s true and they’ve been messing with our genetics for a long time trying to gain the mortality like we have 🤔

[samble-movedd]

homura being like one degree away from having a full scale psychotic episode in wraith arc (aka she was canonically starting to think madoka was some sort of dream or hallucination she had, and also was willingly letting an Eldritch Horror Entity stay in her home bc it looked like madoka to her) isn't talked about enough in the pmmm fandom. forget rebellion, homura was Very Unwell loooong before then.

[razzek]

One thing that's starting to really get to me with the James Somerton stuff is a real strong undercurrent of disdain toward his fans. And yeah, I was one of them. A good scam artist isn't as easy to spot as y'all seem to think. You forget that you have all the information right now. Two days ago most of you had never heard of him and it would have kept going. Anyone can fall for a scam, nobody is immune. I would love to have had whatever resources you guys think we all should magically know about so I could have kept my sad $5 a month I really needed but thought was going to something worthwhile. Some of us can only devote so much energy into things and when you have no idea whatsoever that something is amiss of course you're not going to go digging for sources, why would you when everything is fine as far as you know? I really wish I could have seen the dissenting opinions on him but for many, many reasons that aren't just that the dissenting voices weren't widely circulating at the time all I had was the thought every now and again that "huh that doesn't seem right" and then go on with my day. And I think that happened to a lot of us. So yeah. Say what you gotta say about Somerton, he has more than earned it with the damage he's caused, but maybe don't shit so hard on his former fans because that is going to be you someday with something, it happens to everyone sooner or later.

[retroillustrates]

A time traveller: steps on a butterfly. The timeline: