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exhausted-archivist · 2 years ago

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Deep Road and Dwarf Facts From Buried Pasts Adventure - Dragon Age Tabletop RPG

Bullet point list of the interesting bits I found, I've added the excerpts below the cut.

The Deep Roads and Thaigs are 2-4 miles (3.21 - 6.43 km) below sea level. Making them deeper in areas like those beneath mountains.

Mining galleries tunnel upwards into mountains while thaigs tunnel downward towards the mantle.

The environment of the Deep Roads can shift from shockingly cold to blistering hot depending on the area.

Thaigs are heated in old thaigs by lava but in newer (now abandoned) thaigs it was common to use steam.

If traveling the Deep Roads, carrying a light and heat source is required. Without a heat source you could die from the cold.

There is complete pitch darkness outside of the glow of lyrium or lights created by people.

Dwarves make oil lamp using nug and bronto fat.

The shadows are so long when a light source exists that it makes it hard to spot what might be lurking in the dark.

Sounds louder than a whisper will echo further than they would above ground in a space/passage.

Dwarves love wood instruments and design their spaces to allow for sounds to echo in thaigs, giving them an ever present hum poets have compared to the song of the Stone.

Dwarven stone-sense fades the longer you are on the surface.

Magic and lyrium resistance in the dwarves comes from the constant exposure of lyrium. When on the surface for too long that resistance will fade away completely.

Dwarves are masters in close quarter combat, favoring morning stars, crossbows, and shields.

Note: There are weird wordage/typos in the text itself that I didn't alter because I couldn't tell which way to go with so I've left it as is.

Deep in the Dark (page 3)

"...For those who have spent their entire life being able to see the horizon, the cramped, confusing conditions underground can be difficult to adjust to. The human and elven sense of direction is easy to lose underground, sound travels further as it echoes off the walls, the environment can be shockingly cold in one space and blistering hot in the next, and the cramped conditions impede the styles of fighting surface-dwellers will be used to..."

Light and Shadow (page 3)

"Above ground is never completely dark, even on a clouded moonless night. Underground, in uninhabited areas of the Deep Roads, the only light in the pitch darkness is that which the heroes bring with them and the glow of lyrium veins. The slightest obstruction creates a long shadow such that even with light characters are unlikely to be able to see everything within the reach of their light source. As characters move through the environment, everyone of those shadows will move in keeping, further hindering characters watching for creatures in the dark..."

Sound and Silence (page 3 & 4)

"Although the solid rock stops sound from traveling to completely sealed areas, anything louder than a whisper will echo much further than it would above ground along the passageways and chambers of the Deep Roads. The effect is especially pronounced on the roads themselves, as dwarves built their underground passageways long and straight with vaulted ceilings to greatly enhance the distance at which sound can be heard. The constant echoing combined with the dwarven love of deep wind instruments and song gives inhabited thaigs a background hum of sound that dwarven poets have compared to the Stone. Orzammar itself is never silent, and the impact of moving into the stillness of abandoned Roads beyond the city's control is greatly upsetting to dwarves who have lived with the comforting sense of community the background noise provides..." "..Any parties with dwarves in them may find the dwarves natural stone sense a help or frustration. Dearves who spend most of their life underground will find the sense still sharp and comforting. By feeling the stone, navigation is easier. However, the sense fades the longer dwarves remain on the surface and when the darkest parts of the Deep Roads it can be a vague distraction as the sense is dulled and irritating, though not completely without use.

Heat and Fuel (page 4)

"The majority of the Deep Roads and thaigs are built about two to four miles beneath sea level, although in the Frostbacks that means they're actually much deeper beneath the surface. Dwarven mining galleries normally stretch up rather than down, tunneling up into the mountain regions of Ferelden and Orlais from beneath, while the thaigs themselves burrow downward toward pockets of lava that have moved up from the mantle. Most older thaigs (including Orzammar) have open regions of molten rock near their center that are used for heat, while more modern thaigs (ironically those more likely to be abandoned thanks to the darkspawn pushing the dwarven empire back on itself) used steam heating. Inhabited regions between thaigs are heated and lit by oilk lamps using the fat from nugs and brontos. Away from lava or artificial heating, the Deep Roads are bitterly cold. The lack of weather is a mercy, but travelers that go too ling without a source of heat will begin to feel the effects. As their lanterns are likely the source of their heat as well as light, travelers must take extra care with the amount of fuel they have; the dwarven empire once maintained frequent waystations along the Roads for resupply, but running out of lamp oil in the modern Deep Roads can be a death sentence..."

Fighting at Close Quarters (page 4)

"The dwarves of Orzammar equip their rank-and-file soldiers with shields, maces, and crossbows, perfect for the cramped conditions they are expected to fight in. Skirmishing is a thing of the surface battlefield, except in the largest caverns. The dwarves train their warriors to block passageways with shieldwalls and corral disorganized opposition into killing grounds. Height is the main restriction. The dwarves built the main tunnels of the Deep Roads with lofty ceiling clearance, and thaigs are usually organized facing into large caverns to give a sense of space, but private houses and other areas not intended for heavy traffic can be uncomfortably cramped to a human. The lack of space can get in the way of swinging the large weapons humans may be used to..."

Dwarven Magic Resistance (page 16)

"...The dwarven resistance to magic is the result of prolonged low-level exposure to lyrium in the Deep Roads and is also the reason Orzammar dwarves can handle lyrium in relative safety in amounts that would drive a human mad."

#dragon age #dragon age ttrpg #da ttrpg #da ttrpg: buried pasts #lore: deep roads #lore: dwarves #lore: ttrpg #deep roads #dwarves

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mywifeleftme · 2 years ago

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190: White Noise // An Electric Storm

An Electric Storm White Noise 1969, Island

I’ve read a decent amount on how White Noise’s An Electric Storm was made over the course of a year of painstakingly splicing tape by hand in a London flat, but not why they decided to make their pioneering electronic music opus so ooky-spooky. I guess when you coop up folks whose day job is making Dalek noises, you’re going to get something a bit deranged. The opening side’s psych pop is jaunty enough, though there’s often something vacant-eyed in its whimsy, like a carnival in a Stephen King story: your ear is drawn to the incongruous details that hint at some darker working behind the cutesiness. It prepares you well for the flip, where across its 11-minute runtime “The Visitation” opens multiple echo chambers full of sobs, previews the next decade of horror film title themes, and digs pits of gurgling electronic unease that spored whole genres of dark ambient music still evolving to this day. The album ends on a literal (well, fake literal) Satanic ritual in the form of “Black Mass: An Electric Storm in Hell,” which turns jazz drummer Paul Lytton into the Jacob’s Ladder poster. Leader David Vorhaus likes to wryly shake his head recalling how the A&R people at Island Records didn’t “get it” when he turned in the LP, but even as someone who does “get it” I uh get why they didn’t!

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An Electric Storm is chiefly discussed for the means of its production, and that’s fair: despite digital advances in recording technology that make the most advanced techniques found here (phasing, flanging, looping) virtually effortless, it is uncanny hearing them deployed so extensively on music of this vintage. It’s the equivalent of watching a film from the ‘60s and seeing effects that look like The Terminator. The music rarely goes more than a few bars before melting into some other shape (a melodic phrase begun on one instrument is spliced so it resolves on another; the music drops out entirely, replaced by a collage of ratcheting noises, electronic bloops and choking cries somewhere between anguish and laughter). By turning over a third of “My Game of Loving” to cringey orgasm sounds, they even initiate the nascent electronic pop genre into the elite fraternity of styles that are a little too eager to prove they fuck.

The lyrics won’t win any prizes, but I do take issue with how dismissive some writers have been of these songs as songs. An Electric Storm is steeped in the psychedelic tropes of the day, but it doesn’t sound like the work of avid fans of like the Electric Prunes or whatever. One senses that Vorhaus and BBC Radiophonic Workshop regulars Delia Derbyshire and Hodgson have a general but disinterested notion of what the kids are into, and they feed it back to us through the filter of their own predilections. Derbyshire’s two co-writes in particular are anything but generic. The rippling transformations of “Love Without Sound” are as wondrous and eerie as a Winsor McCay Little Nemo strip, but it’s the opiated vocal by the otherwise unknown John Whitman and the strolling melody that ebbs in and out of the collage that give it a dreamy logic. “Firebird” has a Beach Boys-y bounce and gorgeously arranged harmonies to go with an array of synth tones so solid and colourful I want to play with them like toy blocks.

Though it didn’t set the charts ablaze, An Electric Storm developed a reputation as a tripper classic, and I was pretty psyched to find a copy in not too battered condition for a reasonable price at a shop this summer. I’m glad to have it on the shelf, and with the exception of the 45 seconds that makes my neighbours think I’m listening to weird and bad porn, I always enjoy the adventure when I get it on the table.

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190/365

#white noise #david vorhaus #delia derbyshire #bbc radiophonic workshop #dr who #bbc #'60s music #psychedelic pop #tape music #early electronic #electronic music #analog synth #horror music #halloweek

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wainswright · 3 months ago

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I think that post has an interesting point, if slightly misrepresenting the satanic panic and 90s campaigns against video games (still a factor of a lot of publishing arguments today) as distant one off cultural flashpoints. I'd say there's a larger pattern throughout history and a lot of interesting similarities to these kinds of justifications for targeting specific artists or types of media in many different countries. Rewinding to a different argument, it's true there are incidents involving false impressions or acting on false information gained from fiction books, but I genuinely think the following:

What people know about the real world overrules what they read in a fiction book, even if the fictional portrayal is biased against the relevant facts. Fiction will affect what people think of real life topics when they already don't know enough about the subject to believe otherwise, and as such the reader will give the fiction more factual credit than it deserves. (I believe this applies much more to a portrayal of a false inner experience over false factual one just for the reasons 1) there's truth to a book containing the author's worldview (even if in irl rather prone to wildly varying consistently unreliable interpretation and not a good basis of accusation) and 2) its simpler to confirm an irl material fact.)

Consider the hypothetical scenario where someone 1) adamantly cites fiction as basis for a real life piece of misinfo/worldview 2) that may have ended in something like an increased predilection for 'violence.'

Biased views in a fiction book could reinforce biased views in real life, though this would occur more commonly with a motivated reader looking for their message in any narrative (and rejecting any slightly differing interpretation or media without checking which is i think a different thing like not understanding or caring about nuances of motivated reasoning, (plus other potential contributing factors; cf high control groups and radicalization (haven't really talked abt it yet) or cultural pressure or even just diversity of personality alone). If we're talking about what could influence a specific reaction to conflict besides community norms, it could be: if someone's only reference for resolving conflict is violence they're more liable to naively default to it, but this could get more complicated than the original claim.

Comparing the motivated reader to the completely ignorant reader who was naively misinformed and subsequently trapped in an echo chamber of misleading fiction (and became misinformed AND more violent as a result), the biggest danger to a naive reader falling into some weird impression about the world would be not fiction but people telling them biased views in real life. So being naively misinformed and being trapped in an echo chamber of misleading fiction purporting to be nonfiction.

Biggest chance for a naive reader being misinformed/influenced by vibes of fiction and acting on it would be small factual details and misconceptions about lives and procedures the reader didn't know about-- but when speaking in terms of propoganda or life changing beliefs this requires such a volume of information and decision making that's much more likely, as in, significantly more likely to come from a problem essentially unrelated to fiction- such as the real people they are spending time with.

I'd say fiction of any sort warrants analysis and discussion of the bias and themes and culture and mindset it came from and is in, with the caveat unless something really weird is going on (real life huge even government level collaborative disinformation campaign) fiction should be taken as a result much more than a cause of misinfo or bias in real life and can be addressed accordingly. If a commentator wanted to address this as a point of discussion about real life influence, it'd be more effective to follow up an analysis with irl information about the subject to make outstanding moral statements.

9/11 caused some motivated political propaganda that affected the content of fps games, but I do think it's worth commenting how relentless releases of the same battlefield in very popular and mass distributed aaa games could have led to an outsized impression of righteous armed glory flavored to a distinct region for this time period.

But I think it was more complicated issue than video game portrayal of violence affecting something like 'how someone thinks about violence.' If anything it likely more affected people's perception of the events of what caused the conflict. (This might become a discussion of the larger culture of what types of games were being published and set up for success or failure.)

#but its like #the only way to affect that is to tell people irl this perception of the conflict is not an accurate accounting #points a) maybe video games are a different discussion from fiction book #b) in the sole fact i think video games are much more likely to attract ideological communities more than fiction because of the interactio #video games require and invite. snap conversation based off playing the game and being interested in it's specific mechanics #but just spitballing #i think even that implies its more likely it doesn't actually have to do with game itself except maybe timing #but became expressed thru the furor surrounding it #anyway being indecent and offensive is a definite factor to consider but lets talk abt it

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fadebolt · 1 year ago

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This…. feels quite a lot more questionable than the ROOF03 polls, if I can be completely honest. That one was 3 near identical copies of 1 specific room. And while these are all technically iterator puppet chambers, they're all still very different from each other, in some shape or form. They all have different purposes, functions, and heck, even layouts, so I really wouldn't have complained if they all would have stayed (even if they might have made a ton of polls rather predictable).

Regardless, the decision was made, and so we shall go with it.

So, for the bottom two, I'm just gonna pick the easy answers, and put in Looks to the Moon, very closely beneath Five Pebbles. It definitely feels a bit cheap to pick the original iterations of their chambers as the worst ones, but unlike the other options, they really have nothing interesting going for them, outside of maybe the puppets having differently colored glow effects, and the things they do during important story events (but those really have nothing to do with room design, so I'm mostly disregarding them here). FP goes a little higher, since he has two entrance/exit pipes, making him easier to find, while allowing for more route flexibility. And he also has the neat Pearl ring for Artificer, which… is a weird and random change, but I suppose it does fit well story-wise, when you think about it, and look at the dialogue.

Next up is The Rot, and there's two simple reasons for that: One is that little lower pipe on the western section. Yeah, that one with the Proto-DLL next to it. It's just… such an evil move from the devs, especially since it hits players after they've likely been tormented by these jerks for hours. And to top it off, FP even makes fun of you, as if it was a 'noob death' or something (which is funny, yeah, but like…. come on xd). And then there's also the exit pipe that leads towards the Wall, which is basically unreachable without the Rarefaction Cell. That usually isn't a big deal, but you're gonna have quite a fun ride if you hop into this region later, without a passage in store. The design is still very unique, and I like the base concept, so it still goes higher that the original AIs. But it's undoubtedly the lowest amongst the non-standard puppet chambers.

Now, things are getting a bit tricky, since the next 4 are ones I don't really have any complaints about. I suppose I'll put in Frigid Coast, mainly cus it feels like too little has changed since Rivulet's campaign, and the pipe towards the Echo is no longer hidden, which is certainly a good choice for the gameplay experience, but not really for the immersion. (Maybe one could headcanon that Ruffles, and its iterator are responsible for that change? I suppose it would make sense, since the Scavengers are also likely able to conceal room entrances themselves)

Then I go with Silent Construct, mainly cus I missed FP himself on my first visit, due to the layout not really leading the player towards the puppet to the same effectiveness that Shoreline's room does (…and me being a dummy, ofc). It's still absolutely a great design, though. Especially with the ways that it incorporates the version from The Rot, and how all the Pearls are being blown around by the wind. (It's a neat detail how they remained here, too, unlike with the Pearls of the lovely group senior. Makes sense, when you consider the differing circumstances of their respective collapses)

The second best was a hard choice, but I'll be going with Rubicon, which means that I'm putting Shoreline as the number 1 best! This is not really the fault of the Rubicon room, as it's still an excellent concept, with a great execution, and some freaky, but incredible background visuals.

But the Shoreline one is just a classic, and for a good reason. It's the first time most of us get to see an iterator, and the reveal/encounter is just so well crafted and thought out, especially when you factor in all the neat little details. (I especially love that cute animation of the puppet, where it's sitting in a 'sleep' mode, until it notices you, and then quickly snaps awake, in a manner that feels like she's very surprised. It feels very fitting) Though this is the AI room that I (and most likely every other RW player) have visited the most, and is also the one that plays Moondown, so there's likely a bit of bias there. But even if I put every possible bias aside, I still think area still holds up incredibly well, and has very little (if any) flaws. It's just that good.

Pick Your Favorite Rain World Room, Day 252 R3

This is not single elimination! Every room with at least 10.0% vote will move on to the next round.

There is a hidden slugcat in one of the rooms (they can be in any color). If u can see it comment or reblog with where they are and if u are first, u get a cookie!

Credit for game screenshots goes to: Rain World Interactive Map, Rain World Wiki and me

Congratulations for day 251 winner!

#rain world room ranking #rain world opinions

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losthomunculus · 4 years ago

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Online Safety Relevant to the Current State of the Internet

On twitter I made a tweet about how online safety lessons in school can be very out of touch but that the advice of people who are familiar with the current internet shouldn't be disregarded. So here's my informal collection of online safety tips

Sources: unrestricted internet access since elementary school (not recommended), being a formerly involuntarily home bound person for several years that amassed way too much online experience

This could possibly hold upsetting reminders to people who had bad experiences online including mentions of grooming and emotional manipulation so please proceed with caution!

Information Sharing

Make an online pseudonym for public profiles and websites.

Don’t feel like you have to list everything about you for the world to see.

Sometimes it’s not a question of “can this information be used to locate and identify me irl?”, but simply “do I want this information publicly available and linked to my online persona?”

Unlike offline, being online leaves a constant trail of who you were accessible at all times. People are constantly growing and changing. Try to limit the information you share so you can ditch that trail and start over if need be.

Sharing information with people you make friends with and trust is a judgement call on your part, but always be on the safe side and be protective of your information.

Start as cautious as possible with online safety. Any risks or judgement calls can come later when you are 1. aware of the risks, 2. ready to address them if they occur, and 3. have gathered plenty of information instead of doing something blindly and hoping for the best.

Do not share your triggers publicly, they can very easily be used against you. Instead use websites with a large amount of filtering options to curate your online experience. If you are going to share them, only do it privately with people you trust.

Importance of Boundaries

It doesn’t matter how mature you are, don’t enter age limited spaces you don’t qualify for. It’s disrespectful to the boundaries of the people who made that space. Boundaries like this exist for the comfort of both sides involved.

Just because you can “handle it” doesn’t mean it’s good for you. Desensitization is not something to brag about.

Venting or making r18 posts as a minor on a public account is VERY dangerous. Intense emotional vulnerability is something manipulators will look for as a way to get to you. The same with sexual jokes to develop your comfort talking about those topics casually and eventually escalating the situation. If you are going to talk about such things please keep that in private conversations with people you trust in your age group.

Note the difference between public and private online space. Tweeting something on a public account is not the same as having a conversation in the cafeteria with your friends.

If an adult tries talking to you about r18, run the other way. Doesn’t matter how cool you are, it says something weird about THEM if they’re willing to talk to a minor about that stuff.

If someone( like 3+ years, honestly depends on how old you are) older than you wouldn't be comfortable saying what they're saying to you in front of other people (like a teacher or guardian), that's suspicious as hell. Run in the other direction.

The younger you are, the more age gaps matter. There's a bigger difference in development between a 13 year old and a 17 year old than there is between a 20 year old and a 24 year old. It helps to try to contextualize it with real people instead of numbers. Instead of thinking "oh just 4 years? that's not that weird" consider "oh. that would be like a freshman (13/14) dating a senior (17/18). yikes."

Be just as wary of people your own age talking about things that make you uncomfortable. Just like irl, sometimes you’ll meet people your age that are hurtful.

Friends complain to each other and talk about their issues, that alone is fine. But when people are doing it without permission, draw a line. When people are making it feel like you’re responsible for maintaining their mental health, you need to draw a line. When it starts to effect your mental health, PLEASE DRAW A LINE! I know it feels like your responsibility sometimes, but it’s not. You cannot be there for others if you’re not taking care of yourself first and foremost.

Don’t be afraid to block people. Even for petty reasons. It’s good to block people. Don’t force yourself to see stuff you don’t want to see.

Being Constantly Online

The 24 hour news cycle is not a good thing to follow 24/7. Taking social responsibility is a good thing, but your brain is NOT built to worry about every issue in the world at once. One strategy I use for staying sane is I try to only check the news once a day, and if something needs more attention to set aside an amount of time I’m going to focus on it before I need to take time to step back.

Touch grass. Not literally, unless you can in which case I highly suggest it, sometimes it’s just good to lay in a field. What I mean is you need to dedicate a good portion of your time to being offline (sleep does not count). What your offline time looks like is going to differ depending on your level of ability, but even if you are house bound it’s important to build some hobbies that don’t rely on the internet. Talking to people offline is also a good goal if possible, even just to your housemates.

Social etiquette greatly differs online and offline and sometimes the reminder that were all just Some People gets lost behind the numbers and the fabricated personas. Keep in mind the difference in how information is shared without forgetting that the fact we are all people remains the same.

Be generous with your etiquette. You will avoid a lot of stress if you conduct yourself with the same politeness you would have in an offline interaction. Master the art of "minding your own business" for your own sake.

Arguments and Competition

As soon as you can, you need to internalize the fact that leaving an argument is not losing.

It is inevitable you will be exposed to many people who disagree with you. Some people only want to argue to rile you up. Sometimes that’s not their intention, but it’s what they’re doing. You do not have to remain in conversation with people, especially if they’re not interested in actually coming to an understanding. Even if they are interested, sometimes they just suck!! Leave!! You can leave!!

On that note, sometimes you are going to get valid criticism and it’s going to hurt. That is part of learning. If someone says you messed up and did something hurtful, take a second to step back from your defensiveness and consider: intent ≠ effect. Apologize, repair what you can, and move forward with the ability to do better in the future. You’re going to mess up every once in awhile, it’s inevitable.

To summarize the past two points: don't waste your time on unnecessary hostility but don't close yourself into an echo chamber either. Debates should be about learning.

Sometimes people are not going to like you. This happens offline too but people tend to be a lot more blunt online. Sometimes people dislike you for no reason or for really petty reasons. That’s not your problem, move on.

Don’t actively seek out people you don’t like or who don’t like you to argue with. Whether or not your side is the “right side” doesn’t matter, it’s going to cause you so much unnecessary stress. Feel free to keep posting your opinions on your own profile but don’t seek out unnecessary conflict.

This is a different type of competition than previously mentioned, but be aware of the danger of comparing yourself to other people. Especially if you’re a creative or student, DO NOT GET SWEPT UP IN THE GRIND CULTURE. It’s more subtle in some places than others, but anytime you see the notion that you should be working yourself to the bone be VERY critical. Also be critical of any online cultures (such as gaming and art communities) that brag about unhealthy habits or act like it’s ~part of the culture~ (ex: all nighters, not taking breaks, getting hurt. Any activity that neglects health to work toward a goal).

Not just grind culture, any community of subculture that shares anti recovery sentiments is a huge red flag. Even if they're joking, it's not worth the risk of internalizing those statements.

Everyone’s social media presence is to some degree doctored because it’s a purposefully selected collection of what they allow you to see. It’s fine to like the persona you see being displayed, but never forget that it is not reflective of the entire person. Everyone online is JUST SOME PERSON. Do not forget that and start holding yourself to a standard you can’t even see every side of.

By posting online you are opening yourself to criticism. Whether or not it’s justified can vary, but either way it’s going to happen. Mute stuff, go private, disable comments, etc if you need to.

Misc Tidbits

these are technically just general info that is also good for offline but I have seen things that make me think people online need the extra reminder.

Learn what cults are, how they recruit, and what they do to their members. I'm not kidding. This is particularly relevant at the moment because of current societal unrest and widespread loneliness. No one is immune to cult propaganda, and not every cult is based on pre established religion or family. Many exist ONLINE and are able to manipulate people without ever meeting face to face. (learn more: Loneliness as a Pandemic: The Dangers of Online Cult

Familiarize yourself with the concept of pseudoscience. Please familiarize yourself with the concept of pseudoscience and then learn how to identify pseudoscience. (learn more: Karl Popper, Science, & Pseudoscience: Crash Course Philosophy #8)

Q. How do I know if a source is reliable?

Final Thoughts

It's important people of ALL ages learn these lessons, because the internet is constantly changing and we are all vulnerable when in the presence of other people.

Be cautious and stay safe

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clockworkspider · 2 years ago

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One of the problems with the vibe-based discourse of modern day social media is that we can no longer distinguish between complaint, criticism, and censorship.

Complaint: "X sucks. I hate X. I never wanna see another one"

Criticism: "Here's all the reasons X is bad"

Censorship: "X should not exist, we must collectively shut down any mentions of X"

When people complain about a thing, or criticize its flaws, it's not necessarily an attack on you for enjoying it, or an attempt to censor its existence. I hate this trope, here's all the reason I hate it, it's fine if you like it, that's not my problem.

But the echo-chamber effect of social media means that if enough people echoes a complaint or criticism, it can effectively become censorship. This goes especially hard for tight-knit communities like fandoms or queer indie publishing.

On one hand, this means that when I do make a long rant post complaining about a thing, people will use it for censorship. I've had people agree with me along the lines of "OP is correct and this is why X shouldn't exist and anyone who likes it is braindead." Which is frustrating because I didn't say that and didn't mean that. Even when I hate a thing I can acknowledge its value and importance to others.

On the other hand, it means complaints that has absolutely 0 valid criticism is just as effective in censorship, if not more, as there's nothing to argue against. "X is creepy and gross, that's weird". And the "good take/bad take" culture will take its course and carry it around, making certain topics feel bad/gross/forbidden in an ambient way.

All this culminates to people being very reactionary and defensive, and automatically assuming all complaints and criticisms as attacks, and preemptively censoring any negativity/criticism. This isn't healthy for an online space either. (And there's a good bit of that on the proship vs. anti discourse, as well as "are people allowed to express negative opinions on fanwork".)

I think what it comes down to is that we just have to acknowledge boundaries of shared space. People should be allowed to complain and express negative opinions without facing censorship, but we should also be wary of amplifying opinions in ways which becomes censorship.

#discourse #fandom discourse #social media

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sundarika · 4 years ago

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headcanon in two parts, sorry. Ask does not miss it. 1.1 Oh, you know the insecticons from the tfp? Can I have a headcanon where a S/O person is on friendly terms with insecticons?

[TF PRIME] S/O Is Friends With The Insecticons

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* [S/O] meets them by accident quite a bit before the events of the Energon Eaters. Arachnid is still “leader” of the Insecticons by technicality as the only available ‘Queen’ for the hive-mind, however she never really patrols the area or takes care of the hive as she should, rather choosing to wander as a free mind, disobeying orders from everybody.

* You had stumbled upon the hive while taking a short walk along the side of the Jasper highway, leading out of town and to an old coal mine you liked to inhabit on your days off work. A home-away-from-home of sorts, it brought you peace of mind to have a quiet place.

* At least you thought it was a quiet, desolate area until you broke through a thinning in the rock floor of the entry shaft and ended up crashing an Insecticon tea-party.

*It was a rather awkward fall, and it had injured your hip joint on the way down, leaving you temporarily paralyzed in throbbing pains and nerve damage.

* The giant bug-like robots and their shiny, metal wingspans immediately armed themselves and aimed at the shifting dust and rockfall, growling and chittering in a language of some sort, unknown to you.

* “Is it one of those ugly-faced Decepticons ploys again?”

* “It’s too small and squishy, much sooner to be a predacons’ chew toy than any weapon.”

* You looked super confused, absolutely stupefied, completely duped, utterly incomprehensible, awkwardly awed, amazingly idiotic, a-

* Their manner of speech and vocal patterns was practically lost on you. You could pick up remnants of a language similar to broken [language], but really nothing else. In an attempt to make contact with the metallic giants to gain help, you enabled your parroting capabilities.

* Humans have the stunning ability to mimic sounds and specific noise frequencies, at levels other earthen animals, especially mammals, cannot. Using this ability, you managed to copycat the grinding and chattering noises coming from the vocal mass of bug-bots.

* [S/O]: “¿Krrt-grrut vvurrr chechch?”

* Hardshell: “¿Buzzzz vert-tet-brrrz, Erreech?”

* [S/O]: “¿Erreech?”

* Hardshell: “¡VRREE BUZZZ-EECH CLICKLICKIK!”

* The contact went well, unbeknownst to you, and the successful communication meant that you might actually have a chance at escape, or finding a hospital!

* Congrats! You are now [Tiny Bug Child]! You have no idea what they were speaking about, unaware that they were contemplating how to execute you, but you successfully managed to evade death by being cute and cuddly! People say curiosity killed the cat, but it evidently saves the naive human-who-fell-into-an-insect-cult-meeting!

* Hardshell, the Insecticon you nearly landed on top of, begins to lift you out of the rubble, and place you down upon a makeshift stone table, partially destroyed by the collapse. The others—including Wingflap, Bombshell, Shrapnel, Blockhead, and Kickback—gather closely around you, cooing and chirping in their weird language again.

* This was, evidently, how you became the new Queen of the hive, though you didn’t know it, and managed to befriend your way through the entire enclosed community and worm into the spark of every Insecticon, though they were very few in number.

* You made easy friends with Bombshell, and remained close with him up until his untimely death by Bulkheads hammer fist. He would often lay atop the Jasper cliffside with you, and make out shapes in the clouds, constellations in the stars—regaling to you tales of the Old Cybertron, when his own kind weren’t so despised, and were respected as viable assets and allies amongst those with forms like and unlike their own—until the Autobot Elitists ensured they were seen as ugly and malformed, made to hide away in the shadows and step away from society for ‘the greater good’.

* It’s how you came to hate the Autobots—and Decepticons—for all they had done, to their planet and yours, and to your friends as well.

* Your mimicry slowly turned into actual speech patterns and recognition. Repetitive sound signals were a key portion of Archaic Insecticon speech, which made it easy to recognize simple words or phrases, each indicated by a set of whirs, clicks, or beeps.

* Now that you could actively communicate with most of the hive, it was far easier to make friends with even the hardiest of bots.

* Hardshell, of course, was tough to crack. At your constant insistance, he spoke with you once or twice, and made sure to acknowledge your presence when in the room, as well as save you a seat at the underground pub every other weekend. It wasn’t actually a pub per-say, rather a dugout chamber with smooth walls and some stone slabs insert for seating, where the cons enjoyed engex they could sneak off the Nemesis from time-to-time.

* After awhile, he warms up to you, welcoming you back to the hive every day after work, standing alongside his multiple siblings, and pushing others aside to get to hold you first.

* Meanwhile this all happens, they still don’t know what a human is. Their simple understanding of earth comes only from what they’ve seen on the highway from the cliffside, or from video footage of the Autobot pests on the Nemesis. Due to their bulky size and noisiness, they’re banned from most human-inhabited areas.

* Don’t doubt that some of them have attempted to follow their [S/O] home. They have. And some of them won’t stop trying. It’s been more than one awkward encounter between you and some teens to get them to realize they could get you in trouble.

* You all eat [dessert] together sometimes, made with energon supplements for ‘The Boys™️’, with some good ol’ 25-something-kg of sugar mixed in.

* The boys were worried when you didn’t show up for a week due to hospitalization via severe food poisoning medical coma.

* When Arachnid finally returned to Earth, and her fight against Arcee had proceeded about as well as expected, she located the hive and proceeded to force them to engage in business with Megatron. She believed that by implementing her own soldiers amongst the ranks, she’d be better equipped to backstab Megatron when the time came.

* She was undoubtably surprised when Hardshell and some others adamantly refused to take part in her plans at first, until she enforced their compliance through the hive-mind.

*When she learned of your existence, and the very gauge of your importance to her former hive, she came at you with full force.

*The Insecticons were fully unprepared to deal with a fight between their small [S/O] and an extremely angry ex-Queen. In refute, they returned you to the surface without so much as a goodbye, and begged you to escape before Arachnid scented you out.

* It was soon after these events that you learned of Breakdown’s death, Bulkhead’s coma, and Bombshell’s demise due to the combined effects of a substance called Tox-En and injuries sustained during his battle with Bulkhead. It broke you inside to learn there was nothing you could have done to help, but you refused to disobey their pleas to stay away for awhile.

* At the hive, Arachnid rules supreme. Being able to control the hive-mind was a feat a human was incapable of achieving, only Cybertronians able to easily access the imbedded chain of command.

* Hardshell mourned the loss of a true friend—a small, squishy human—but a friend nonetheless.

* Wingflap and Kickback went through a collection of memories you’d left behind with them. Pictures and small objects gifted over the years, a small treasure trove of important parts of their lives, now without you in them.

* Shrapnel stims a lot more now, and has nervous tics that he believes are the result of the loss of his dear friend. He knows you aren’t dead, least not yet, but he knows that you’ll likely never come back.

* Blockhead, as dumb as everybody thinks he is, is actually very emotionally intelligent. He has a way with words he barely understands, and [S/O] acted as a big support for someone like him. Without them now, he can no longer function like normal, and now has nobody left to talk to.

* Arachnid could care less. She absolutely despises [S/O], and would smite them for all she cares. You matter little to her, and only worry her for the loyalty and capacity of her troops.

* It isn’t until the Energon Eaters appear that everything turns completely south.

* [S/O] finally builds up enough courage to march themselves back down to the mine, and demand to meet Arachnid face-to-faceplate.

* The desert is hot, Nevada is hotter, and the trek down the highway seems endless and tedious. You pass by 5 interstate signs on your way to the hive, and count the steps it takes to reach the entrance, parched by the time you make it there.

* In all your sweaty glory, you, [S/O], make your way down the carved pathway into the mineshaft, dark and cramped—just as you left it.

* But everything is exactly as it was left, not an item out of place. The entire hive was empty, including of those you cared about. Their rooms are full of memories, and their energon cubes still lie in a corner, collecting dust and grime.

* The search seems profitable, yet it leaves you with nothing, and the emptiness of the hive echoes around you, and in all the chambers, through the cavern walls of every room.

* You know they’re gone, that they have left without you, and without so much as a simple passing note.

* Perhaps someday you’d find them, hiding away in another Jasper mine, but you never would.

* In their haze of a hive mind, they barely even remember the face of the human they left behind. A long line across the moon—stretching on for miles—and a vampire on a false throne, draining the lifeblood from their veins, and the image of [S/O] from their minds.

———————————————————————

✨ Hope you enjoyed ✨

#writing #transformers x reader #transformers imagine #transformers headcanon #tfp insecticons #transformers #transformers prime #tfp decepticons #x reader #tfp #insecticons #platonic reader

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nyarmand · 3 years ago

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I know somewhat of what you think of armstrongs ideals, but what are your thoughts on JDs end speech? (If this takes a while to answer I understand msjad)

i mean it ranges from kind of reasonable to completely fucking insane

it actually starts insane, talking about having evolved over the last 200 years like it wasn't an ai conceptualized within the last fifty years. and acting like it's tied to the very existence of america rather than, again, an ai system that can easily be destroyed. the ai has what i'd almost call a god complex. very self-inflated ego, which is not what you'd expect from an ai

but i assume you were asking about the general ideals. a lot of it is hard to take in because it's so bizarre but i'll try to give my thoughts on what i can

the way it talks about how humans pass on information and culture in a similar way to genetics is actually really interesting. it's not something i ever thought of from that perspective, but it's not wrong. whether by human choice or random chance, only specific things have been passed on, the rest lost to time. but now, with things like the internet, it's that much easier for information to be kept preserved. it's no longer as important to focus on what should be passed on and what shouldn't be, because so much more can be kept (though even that is somewhat fragile, as anyone who's ever been the victim of ransomware can tell you). this allows for the preservation of small things like friends joking around or the random thoughts of all sorts of people, but it also makes it much easier to perpetuate truly dangerous lines of thought, which the ai points out. it's not wrong that a lot of harmful information is being preserved without any real hindrance, and it's not wrong that the misinformation and echo chambers ('convenient truths' as it says, 'everyone withdraws into their own small gated community') created as a result of how incredibly easy it is to share such information these days are causing horrific effects on society. also, it makes points about weird juxtapositions of morality ('billions spent on new weapons in order to humanely murder other humans.' 'be nice to other people--' 'but beat out the competition.' telling people they're special and they can succeed if they believe in themselves when in reality it's just not that simple at all.)

so honestly it points out a lot of real problems--but its way of fixing that is censorship. um, i mean, 'creating context'. which is to say, choosing what is important and what should be discarded. worse than that, though, is the idea of taking what's decided to be important and then deciding how everyone should interpret--essentially using an ai to control human thought. in fact, that's outright stated, when raiden asks 'you want to control human thought? human behavior?' and the ai simply responds with 'of course. anything can be quantified nowadays.' they used raiden as a test subject to see if it was possible. that is their solution to all problems--simply take away free will. make humanity into machines being told what to think without any opposing ideas, and as such, doing exactly what the ai wants. it's pretty consistent with a surprising amount of metal gear antagonists, especially in raiden's character arc--they point out genuine issues, but their ideas on how to fix them are horrifying and packed full of human rights violations.

tl;dr you made some good points but man are you bad at problem solving

#ask #anon

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klarityva · 3 months ago

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Entering the gym after becoming champion, the bright, lively atmosphere is gone, and in its place lies a dimly lit chamber with but two doors, and the gym leader, staring into your eyes. As you approach, she runs off into one of the doors. Following her through, you fall into the same basement as before, now darker, its stone floor littered with chains and blades. The leader stands before you, silently. Speaking to her, you receive no words. But a "...". Then she sends out a single malamar. You win with ease, as she runs off. Following her, you find yourself back at the entrance of the room, but now, nobody stands before you. You pass through the same door as before. Once more you fall into the basement, all alone. You retrace your steps back to the entrance room, and pass through the other door. Once more, two doors. She runs through one, and they begin to shuffle around, floating around the room, as ear piercing laughter echoes through the room. You track down the one she didn't go through. Into the basement once more, as you see the young girl stare silently at you. Battle. Thievul. As you defeat her she runs off once again, and you chase her to find yourself back at the entrance. You go back again. Once through the empty door, and then through hers. And you come face to face with the girl. Silence. A blank stare that sees the depths of your soul. The bags under her eyes are large. She grasps a dusk ball, trembling. "..."

Hydreigon. All alone.

Frustration. Full power. What's happened here while you were gone? As you land a finishing blow on the dragon, you hear a soft clapping from above. Among the thin ceiling tiles, one has been shifted, as the gym leader hangs upside down from the ceiling, laughing uproariously, in thunderous applause. "Gotcha! You thought something happened, didn't you?" As she leaps down, and heals your Pokémon.

"How's being champion treating you?"

"Glad to see you're doing well"

"But that's not why you're here, is it?"

The false leader breaks its illusion, revealing itself to be Zoroark. The leader returns it to its pokeball, and heals up her team.

"Come on! Let's fight!"

You attack it with a dark type move. That's the only type super effective against hisuian Zoroark, after all.

*It's not very effective*

The illusion fades, revealing a normal Zoroark.

"You fell for it again! Ahahahaha!"

Zoroark uses U-turn, healing from its shell bell and switching into greninja.

Shadow Sneak. Substitute. Double team. Water shuriken. King's rock. Fuck you.

Hisuian Zoroark. You realise. Everytime she sends in a hisuian Zoroark, it's a coin toss if it's real or fake. You can't reliably land super effective attacks. You resort to neutral moves. U turn.

Gyarados. Surely it's a mega, otherwise she wouldn't bring it out. She's a dark leader after all. The Sneasler and Zoroark were gimmicks. But you can't trust her. Aim for the water type. Electric. Nay. Gyarados terastalises into a ground type, and you've been gotten once more. Earthquake. Fuck you. It's got an earth plate, guess she was gambling on this working out. You pull out a flying type, only to be obliterated by a stone edge. Oh god. You've finally killed it. Dammit the zoroark again. Coin toss. Uturn.

Spiritomb. Not like you'd bring a fairy type to a dark gym. Fuck you did? Dammit. Well it's not going down without a fight. Trick room bitch. Time to make a weird attempt at sweeping. I'm kinda outta gimmicks. Hisuian Zoroark. U turn into another hisuian Zoroark. U turn into another hisuian Zoroark. You kill one. They can still keep u turning into each other. Why the hell does she have 3 zoroarks? You win anyway.

"Hehe, you've really gotten stronger!"

*You've won 8820₱!*

"That was really fun!"

"Yknow, I've been thinking..."

"About life... About what I want..."

"I don't want to be a gym leader"

"I don't want to live in the public eye"

"With so many people watching..."

"It's scary..."

"The expectations are too heavy..."

"I just wanna live a quiet life. With Zoroark."

"I wanna be a normal girl..."

"..."

"Thanks."

"This was nice, for my last battle"

"Time for my last trick..."

She walks through a false door, and the gym is empty once more. Going through the door, you fall into the basement, and see a dusk ball on the ground. You interact with it.

*You obtained Zoroark!*(Hisui, shiny)

Decided to make a self-insert Pokémon gym

Puzzle: use HM Rock Smash to break down doors; some doors are illusions (there's hints to it) and if you try to hit those, you fall through into the basement and fight a trainer to go back up

Trainers: each trainer opens with a fighting type, then switches into a dark/fighting (pangoro/scrafty), then into a dark that looks like fighting (incineroar/bisharp/grimmsnarl)

Leader: He's in a jumpsuit, stretching and preparing for battle. Open with a Sneasler(♂️) to bait out a psychic attack. When attacked with a psychic move, the leader's expression shifts to trying to contain excitement. Then, the second time, camera zooms in on her face, now fully ecstatic and a little insane "YOU REALLY FELL FOR IT! YOU FELL FOR MY ILLUSION, FOOL!" as he tears off the jumpsuit to reveal [dark type gym leader outfit that's undeniably fem], and her zoroark-esque ponytail that was hidden under the jumpsuit. When returning to battle, the zoroark's(♀️) illusion is broken. If hit with a super effective attack, the same scene plays, but the facial expression is enraged, and the dialogue changes to "H-HOW DID YOU SEE THROUGH MY ILLUSION!!??" After the cutscene, you see her lock tf in. After the zoroark, comes an absol with substitute. Then a protean greninja comes in with shadow sneak into night slash, and I pray that it can actually bait out a fighting attack cuz it'd be funny. Then ofc closing with her Sneasler but it's low-key ass. After losing, she collapses to the ground, commenting, "You've seen the truth of my form... How weak I truly am..." Followed by the usual spiel of

"You fought well. Here, the illusion badge. You deserve it."

"Oh, and a gift for good luck."

*You received TM Switcheroo!*

"If you don't make it to the championship, maybe you can take my place, huh?"

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himboarcher · 4 years ago

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reasons i've seen folks say that grad critics hate grad:

they hate travis (in fairness, i’ve def seen some comments of people shitting on trav for the sake of shitting on trav, but it’s not super common and typically gets downvoted into oblivion on reddit.)

it's not balance / travis isn't griffin (???????)

they hate neurodivergent people (again, in fairness, i have seen a handful of comments that could come across this way! but most of the time when travis being ADHD or his NPD is brought up, it's by defenders saying that criticizing travis is ableist because he's neurodivergent or, in one particular comment, infantilizing him bc of it and literally comparing grad to putting a kid's artwork on the fridge. there were some comments early on that pointed to him being a narcissist as the reason for things people disliked about grad, but everyone seems to have realized that that's a shitty train of thought and left it behind.)

they're just toxic haters (again, there are a small handful of people like this because this is the internet, but the genuine criticism greatly outweighs their bullshit. i 100% think that the people, which is mostly just one dude who is also insufferable on reddit, who have been responding rudely to positive tweets under the episode announcements lately are out of line and need to stop. there's been an influx of that lately, presumably because people are frustrated that after over a year of grad going on, there's been no improvement to most of the major issues. that's still no excuse to be a dick to folks, though.)

vs some of the actual reasons i don't like grad:

the racism / racist tropes, and the way that they’ve straight up ignored this criticism and will likely never acknowledge it. pretty wild considering a core tenet of their brand is their willingness to acknowledge when they’ve messed up and do their best to course correct.

clumsy attempts at inclusion that are shallow and often end up being fairly offensive ("...ask me about my wheelchair," anyone?)

on a related note: i don't think that travis had bad intentions, but as an nonbinary person, it feels othering to me that travis only has enby characters give others their pronouns unprompted. i'm thinking specifically of kai here. having listened to their introduction, i don't think it's as bad or awkward as some people have said, but i can't remember travis ever having another NPC tell the PCs their pronouns, especially not a cis character. it's not a huge deal, but it's something that rubbed me the wrong way. admittedly, i don't think it would bother me so much if travis hadn't dropped the ball so much with performative inclusion in the past.

okay i'm putting the rest under a read more because even without getting into all of the problems i have with it, this got Long.

little to no player agency. player choices are ultimately meaningless and have little to no effect on the world. even when he seems to go along with a plan they come up with, it always ends with them having to go back to travis' pre-written script (see: subpoenaing the xorn, but not really because they had to go with travis' original plan of "send the xorn home through the rift".) the players repeatedly get told things about what they think or feel or what they've been doing to an unnecessary degree. fitzroy is the only one who really gets space to play and decide things for himself, and that's only because travis has decided he's the main character.

the NPCs are all too nice and willing to give the PCs anything they ask for and more, unless the PCs are trying to follow their own plan and then the NPCs are completely useless. but honestly, aside from gray, all of the NPCs are just.... nice. travis refuses to even let his antagonists be mean or cruel or even more than just slightly rude, because that'd be a bummer and we don't want that! the "twist" of gordy the lich king actually being polite and chill is not a twist at all because everyone is like that in this world. the NPCs are also wildly overpowered, but then suddenly absolutely useless when the PCs actually want their help.

too many cliffhangers that are dropped immediately at the beginning of the next episode. i feel bad for travis because so many of these cliffhangers actually set up good momentum and seemed like things were gonna get interesting, but almost every single time he just dropped them at the beginning of the next episode. like when althea showed up to interview the boys and the next episode started with travis being like "actually you went to sleep, she said she'll be back tomorrow!"

that time travis specifically said in his exposition dump that the thundermen left their horses behind because they thought the centaurs might be offended by them riding horses, only to later on rag on them for being surprised that the centaurs had horses they could ride.....

also the centaur arc in general, but i already listed racism above, so.

the way that the toxic positivity and parasocial tendencies in the mcelroy fandoms have made a large portion of the fandom take ANY criticism as a personal attack on travis and/or on themselves for enjoying something others consider bad, either morally or just quality-wise. it’s okay to admit that something you like has problematic elements or just isn’t as good as it once was. you can and should engage critically with the media you consume.

related to above: the way travis has handled genuine criticism, which is to throw public tantrums on his twitter or make weird passive aggressive tweets & ultimately ignore all the genuine criticism and advice he's been offered by claiming it's all subjective, even after he specifically asked for it and set up an email for folks to send in genuine, objective advice for him (after he threw a tantrum on twitter and replied to someone's criticism publicly, which resulted in his followers dogpiling on that person bc how dare they insult their internet best friend). while i was writing this last night, he actually announced that he’s taking a break from Twitter and acknowledged that he’s been using it as an echo chamber where he can easily get validation from folks, and honestly i’m happy for him that he’s recognized this problem and is stepping away for a while! i hope he’ll genuinely use this time to reflect on how he’s been behaving and find a more healthy way to use social media. i’m leaving this point in because i think his Twitter being such a positive echo chamber was encouraging him to do stuff like this, and him somewhat acknowledging his behavior doesn’t mean it can no longer be discussed.

rainer. extremely cool concept in theory and i was very into it until that awkward "does anyone want to ask about my wheelchair?" moment. also when travis had her use her mobility aid to RAM INTO A DOOR instead of just fucking knocking???? also all the times travis has tried to force a romantic relationship between her and fitzroy, despite fitzroy displaying no interest in her in that way. also, just to clarify: as an ace person, i don’t think this is aphobic! (and it’s kind of a stretch to call it that imo, especially since griffin never explicitly said that fitzroy's aromantic!) i just think it’s weird and awkward and a little uncomfortable for me personally, mostly because it reminds me of the times i’ve been in similar situations.

less of a problem than a lot of the other stuff and more just bad writing, but the forced emotional moments. in general, nothing in grad feels earned (why are the boys heading a war? when they have multiple actual heroes with combat experience on their side and a supposedly powerful secret organization? and the thundermen are like 21 years old max and have only had like ~10 fights in the entire campaign?) but there've been a couple times where travis has tried to force unearned emotional moments, presumably because he knows people enjoyed those with the last campaigns. but the difference is that in balance, the big emotional moments happened because they were earned. in grad, it's just travis throwing a baby pegasus at us for a few minutes and then the next time she shows up, it's supposed to be a tearful goodbye.

there are absolutely no stakes. remember when the thundermen got told that if they left, gray would kill 10 students? and then they left and came back and it turns out that what gray actually meant was, "i'll tie ten students who are mostly nameless NPCs to a tree and throw some dogs at them that you can easily stop in time, then throw a tantrum because how dare you but i'll leave before you can really do anything to hurt me lol" travis did have fitzroy's magic get taken away, but like. it didn't really do anything? also all he had to get it back was be coerced into using drugs by an authority figure and trip in the woods?

we're told that the school is weird and the hero system is corrupt, but the world of nua is still presented as more of a liberal utopia than anything? althea getting fired because of a corrupt villain is the only time we've somewhat seen corruption, but even then, she was still allowed to get (what seems to me, anyway, but admittedly i don't know for sure bc nothing about the HOG makes much sense) a fairly important job from the very people who stripped her of her hero license or whatever the fuck heroes need?

travis doesn't actually seem to understand how capitalism or bureaucracy works and just chalks up everything to "red tape." also more on the rest of the boys than him specifically, but the "let's destroy capitalism!" thing turning into just pushing some filing cabinets over................... okay.

and one last piece of extremely subjective criticism: it's just kind of.... boring. i think a lot of people, myself included, would be willing to overlook 90% of the problems with graduation if it didn't feel like such a slog to get through.

also people saying that we can't or shouldn't criticize graduation because it's "free" is absolutely absurd for several reasons. first, something being free does not make it above criticism. second, there ARE people who directly financially support the show with monthly donations. three, there's a difference between something being free and something being not for profit. podcasting is their full time job. they make their living off of money made from TAZ and MBMBAM (and probably their other shows to a lesser extent). this not a fun home game that they are graciously recording and sharing with us. it is a product they are producing that they make money off of, both from ads in the episodes and merch & books based off of these podcasts. they have marketed themselves as professionals, and both griffin and travis have been on panels where they are marketed as professional DMs and appear alongside other professional DMs (which makes it incredibly frustrating when people say that travis is just a newbie DM and we can't criticize him because of that. if he's a newbie, then he should not be taking part of panels as a professional DM where he speaks as an expert). TAZ is free in the same way that an episode of NCIS is free. i may not pay for it directly, but the creators are paid to create it and profit off of me consuming this product. so saying we should be grateful for any mcelnoise that the benevolent good boys share with us and that we're not allowed to criticize it "because it's free" is absolutely wild.

#negativity cw #i guess #anyway this is not meant to say that you cannot enjoy grad.#but i'm tired of folks on this website acting like there aren't genuine problems with it #and saying that people just dislike it bc they hate travis etc etc #taz graduation #i genuinely don't expect anyone to read this bc it's so long #but here ya go.#long post

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graviton-lance · 3 years ago

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ppl repeating the sentiment of disdain for overuse of cgi without actually understanding or explaining WHY it's bad (hint: if u think it's bc it's "lazy" or inherently bad bc it's digital, you're wrong) has created this weird echo chamber of the same repeated marvel-centric talking points without any discussion about ways cgi can be used creatively alongside practical effects, what is wrong on a technical level with the specific vfx in question, and how the industry could fix the overall issue of overuse (another hint: the answer is unions for vfx artists bc their work is largely undervalued by both the industry and the audiences- yes that means you too!- and is therefore much cheaper to implement)

#txt

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fandom-collective-writers · 5 years ago

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Want (Wolf!Lucifer x Reader)

Fandom: Obey Me!

Pairing: Lucifer x Reader

Prompt: werewolf, full moon, heat scenario

Warning: Smut!!! - oral sex (female receiving), breeding, internal cumshot, biting, knotting

Intended Audience: Female Audience

Word Count: 4,322

Requested by: anonymous

Written by: @lordsister/@lordsisterxotome (Click here to support me on ko-fi!<3)

Disclaimer: I do not own Obey Me or any of its characters. I do, however, own the plot of this fanfic. Please do not repost this on any other website.

Other notes: So I meant to get this out a long time ago and then I had a burnout from university work and couldn’t keep my eyes open long enough to write a full sentence, so here we go! Never written something like this before, but hoping it’s good!

You wouldn’t be able to outrun him for much longer, that was a fact.

Everything had started out so innocently, a simple mix-up on Luke’s part leading to yet another in a series of weird but amusing events at the House of Lamentation. Why the syrup turned the brothers into animals of all things, you didn’t know, but you didn’t think much of it when you found out it would pass eventually. Better to just enjoy the fact that your boyfriend had a pair of cute, fluffy wolf ears sticking out of his head, right?

Things had started to take a much heavier turn, however, when the moon rose, full and yellow and drawing out a hidden side effect of the syrup.

It was like everyone had just...disappeared. One moment you were joking around with them just like you normally did, laughing at the way Mammon kept teasing Levi over his giraffe horns, and the next moment they were all out the door and gone, claiming they had other things to do. Even Lucifer had somehow left without her notice, probably headed to his room to quietly work on his student council stuff.

You’d tried relaxing in your room, but something about it was still off to you, having spent enough time around the brothers to know when weird was particularly weird. After wandering aimlessly around the halls for a while and receiving no answer when you knocked on the brothers’ locked doors, you’d made your way to the kitchen to ponder over a late night cup of tea.

What happened there was what led you to your current situation, crawling through one of the tunnels beneath the House of Lamentation.

You had just been starting to unwind, accepting that whatever the demons you lived with were dealing with was probably something they could handle themselves, when Levi had burst in, out of breath and panicked. Rising to your feet, you had just enough time to squeak out his name before he grabbed your wrist and dragged you out of the kitchen.

“Levi, what - what’s happening? What’s wrong?” you managed, stumbling as he dragged you down the hall.

“Lucifer’s gone into heat,” he answered, just as the sound of something smashing to pieces echoed from the second floor.

You heard the voices of the other brothers shouting, animal snarls, and growls, but you couldn’t dwell on it as Levi picked you up and hoisted you over his shoulder before launching into a full-on run. Over the uncomfortable feeling of Levi’s shoulder digging into your ribcage, you heard an outraged howl, and the first curls of fear began to form deep in your belly.

“I’ll rip your head off if you touch her!”

The sounds of the struggle disappeared as Levi threw open a door and descended a long, dark flight of stairs into the bowels of the House. Honestly, everything was happening so quickly you were having a hard time keeping up with it all.

“W-Where are we going?” The jolting made it hard to talk, and your fingers clutched at his sweater, desperate for a hold on the rapidly spiraling situation.

“There’s a tunnel, it leads to the woods,” he answered shortly, nearly missing a step and sending you both tumbling the rest of the way down in the dark. “You need to be through before Lucifer fights the others off.”

The end of the staircase emerged into a circular chamber, a black hole, barely large enough for one person to walk through standing, gaping at the other side of the room. You didn’t want to go through it, especially in the dark, but it seemed Levi wasn’t giving you an option.

He’d barely placed you on your feet before he was shoving you into that cold, black mouth, giving you a last, “Go!” before he was turning back towards the stairs.

Reaching out, you clutched at the back of his sweater before he could go any farther. “I-I don’t...I still don’t understand, Levi. He’s in heat?”

The third born frowned, running a hand through his frazzled purple hair. You hadn’t noticed before, but he was bleeding from his lip and a dark bruise was forming beneath his left eye. “It’s an effect of being turned into a wolf is my guess. A werewolf heat kinda thing?”

“So...what does that mean for me exactly?” You were getting frustrated now, confused and in need of answers before you fled through a tunnel in a basement in the middle of the night. “Why do I have to escape like this?”

Levi’s cheeks flushed bright red and he looked away, stuttering, “I-It means he wants to...y’know...do what animals do in heat...to you.”

“Oh.”

“Oh?”

That explained a part of it maybe, but you’d been through worse with Lucifer, would probably be through worse still with him. “I still don’t understand why I have to leave like this. Isn’t there any way I could help him?”

“He isn’t listening to anyone right now.” Through the dark, you could see Levi was starting to fidget, balling and unballing his fists and taking nervous glances back at the stairs. “I don’t even think Diavolo could talk any sense into him right now. He’s completely lost control and if he were to get his hands on you like this...it’s better you go.” A hard thud sounded from somewhere far above. “Now.”

Shoving you into the tunnel entrance once more, he rushed to say, “Listen, once you’re out, go to Purgatory Hall or Diavolo. Either one should be able to keep you safe while the rest of the syrup wears off.”

“But-”

“Go!”

And with that he was gone, flying back up the stairs to help his brothers with their heat-crazed sibling. You stayed there for a moment, hovering in the entrance and looking back and forth, but finally you decided to follow Levi’s instructions. If the brothers were fighting so hard to keep Lucifer from getting to you, then he truly must be in bad shape, mindless with the need to mate, and you knew that if you were ever to get hurt again, it would destroy him.

Moving as quickly as you could in the dark, you kept one hand on the damp stone of the tunnel wall, using it for stability and to make sure the passage didn’t split away into side tunnels or something. It felt like forever passed since you began walking, and panic started to rise in your throat, your heart thumping in your chest at the thought that you were lost down here in the dark. The walls started to press in, and you could barely breathe the moist air. All that kept you from turning back or sinking into a ball was the mantra you took to repeating under your breath, to just keep putting one foot in front of the other, don’t think about what was behind or ahead, but just about what was beneath your feet right now - which were still bare, by the way. You were only dressed in a sweatshirt and comfy sweatpants, ready for an evening of relaxing in bed rather than running down a dark tunnel away from your lust-crazed lover.

An uncomfortable heat prickled at the corners of your eyes as you continued down the tunnel, your hope of finding the exit dwindling with each heavy step. You should have reached it by now, right? Levi wouldn’t have sent you down here where you could get lost so easily.

Just as you were about to stop, you saw it - a shaft of light marking your freedom far ahead. Your relief was cut short, however, as a ghostly howl echoed from the tunnel behind you and your heart froze in your chest. You could barely breathe as you took off, sprinting towards that point of light.

Had Lucifer really made it past all of his brothers? It seemed impossible, but you didn’t know what overpowered state he was in right now. All that mattered was that he was following you, and you didn’t think it would take him long to catch up.

Another howl echoed behind you, closer, and you ran faster, legs burning. Slipping on the wet stone, you tumbled into the fresh air. You didn’t have time to enjoy being out of the dark and damp, barely managing to get your feet under you again before you were off again, this time headed in what you hoped was the direction of Purgatory Hall.

Your feet skidded on the frozen ground and dead leaves, bare tree branches arching over your head like fingers, caging you in. You wondered how long it would take to get to Purgatory Hall, if you could make it before Lucifer caught up, but a pained howl of your name behind you, clear in the night air, nearly made your legs give out beneath you. If it had only taken him that little time to get through the tunnel, there was no way you were going to make it to Purgatory Hall before he caught up. The best hope you had was probably finding a place to hide and hoping he didn’t find you.

Chancing a look back, you caught sight of him through the trees in the distance, thundering after you, his red eyes visibly glowing even from this far away. A squeak left your mouth on a gasp, and you darted to the side, hiding behind the trunk of the largest tree you could find.

You weren’t going to make it to Purgatory Hall, not at the speed he was chasing you, you couldn’t call on the other brothers, knowing he’d already gotten through them, and so your best option was to try to hide and wait this out, even though you knew he could probably smell you, probably hear your heart beating. Covering your mouth with both hands, you curled into a ball at the base of the tree, trying to calm your breathing as you listened for the sound of his footsteps.

Heart pounding against your ribcage, you heard him approach, racing closer and closer, inhumanly fast, and you hoped he would just run by, too lost in a lustful haze to realize your scent veered away from the course he was following. Unfortunately, such was not to be the case because he stopped abruptly, sending up a small shower of dirt and dead leaves. You could hear him panting and your heart ached as he whimpered and walked in a slow circle, trying to determine which way you had gone. Never had you heard anything so mournful in your entire life, most unexpectedly from the Avatar of Pride.

“(Y/n)!!” he whined gently, softly, but his voice still echoed off the trees, half-coaxing, half-ordering you to come out. You didn’t move, despite the strange heat pooling in the pit of your belly and your instincts screaming at you to go to him, to comfort your needing lover. Levi and the others had done so much to protect you, to warn you. Was it really okay to give in so quickly?

“(Y/n)!!!” Lucifer howled your name this time, his voice desperate and you bit your palm, trying to keep quiet as you jumped at the noise. Curling up tighter, you still refused to reveal yourself.

Then everything suddenly got quiet, really quiet. You couldn’t hear him panting, didn’t even hear him walk away, but there was no indication that he was still there either. Minutes passed and you stayed like that until you started to shiver and you couldn’t take it any longer. Slowly, you peered out from behind the tree, careful to be as quiet as possible. There was no sign of him, not a bit of movement as you scanned the clearing and the trees beyond. Nothing.

Sitting back against the tree trunk, you sighed, but movement out of the corner of your eye nearly made your heart stop. Your eyes met glowing red, your lycanthrope lover unnervingly still where he stood not three feet away from you on the other side of the tree. You stayed like that, staring at each other, until the need to breathe became too prominent and you took a shaky inhale.

“Luci,” you breathed his name, trying to keep him calm and gentle. His eyes glowed, but his usual composure and poise was gone, lost in the hazy depths of his heat. You didn’t even know if he was aware of what was going on right now.

A slow, joyful smile spread across his lips at the sound of his name on your lips and then he dove forward, tackling you as he wrapped himself around you. “Mate,” he purred into the side of your neck, kissing tenderly at the skin as he breathed in your scent, “I found you.”

Your arms hesitated around him, unsure, before returning his embrace. This was different than what you had expected. Based on what Levi had told you, you’d thought he would have had you naked by now. “L-Lucifer?” you stuttered, trying and failing not to lean into the protective warmth his overheated body offered. “Do you know what’s happening right now?”

Removing his face from your neck, he blinked slowly at you.

“Do you know what’s happened to you?” you tried again.

“There was Luke…” he breathed, returning his face to your neck and closing his eyes. His tail thumped wildly behind him, betraying his excitement and pleasure at having completed his game of chase. “And the syrup that turned us into animals…”

You nodded eagerly. “Do you remember what happened next?”

“Mmm, I suddenly felt so hot,” he groaned, his grip on you tightening. “It’s so so hot, (y/n). It’s unbearable and yet it feels so good.”

“But Luci, I - ah!” You squealed as he nipped at the sensitive skin just below your ear.

“I need you so bad,” he husked against the shell and you shivered as a hot tongue licked over it. “It hurts…!” The world spun as he rolled you over, finding yourself pinned on your back and the solid weight of your boyfriend pressing you down into the leaves and grass as he wedged himself between your legs. You could feel every inch of him now, holding you so close, like he was trying to meld your bodies into one. A hard rock of his hips against your clothed core made you cry out, a sudden rush of heat flaring within you and making you arch into him. He growled into your neck at the pressure against his erection as you bucked beneath him, mouthing at the skin and teasing it with his fangs.

“L-Lucifer, wait!” He groaned, displeased, but stopped, his wolf ears flipping back to lay flat against his head. “I...I don’t know about this. Levi-” He snarled at the other man’s name on your lips, making you freeze until he rubbed his cheek against your neck, appeased. “The others,” you tried again, careful not to mention any names that might set him off, “warned me that you might lose control in this state...that you might hurt me.”

He jerked back, wide red eyes staring at you like you’d just slapped him across the face. “Hurt my mate…” his voice dwindled, his ears drooping and his tail ceasing it’s insistent wag. You almost felt bad for saying it now, but you needed to draw a line, for both of your sakes.

His hand reached up and cradled her face with surprising tenderness, careful of his elongated, red claws. “I will never hurt you,” he said, his eyes clear of their lustful haze for a moment as he spoke. He uttered the words like a spell, a prayer if he was still an angel, an oath that made the tightness in your chest finally loosen. “Please,” he murmured, his low voice reverberating through your bones, “Let me have you. True, it might wear off soon, but I want...I want…!”

Tongue darting out to lick your lips, you reached up to run your fingers through the dark waves of his hair, feeling the soft velvet of his ears. A low rumble started deep in his chest, his eyes narrowing and hazing until he had fallen back into the lustful state he’d been in moments ago. You were more aware of the bulge pressed between your legs now, of the dampening in your own panties.

Leaning up, you felt his grip around you tighten as you whispered in his ear, “I’m all yours, Lucifer.” A roll of your hips up into his drew a long, desperate growl out of him. “Do with me as you will.”

There was a split second of utter stillness, not a move or sound, and then cool air met your skin as your clothes were torn away by sharp claws. You gasped, clinging to your boyfriend as he nipped and sucked ravenously at the side of your neck. He barely left you time to process, his lips moved so fast, the sting of a lovebite arriving long after his mouth had already traveled to the other side of your neck.

“My pretty, little mate,” he growled, licking at your collarbones, “all ready for me to fuck.” You shivered, mewling his name as his hands grasped your breasts, your bra already sliced away for his ease. “So perfect,” he sighed, drawing whines from you with each rough squeeze. A cry echoed against the trees as a hot mouth encased your nipple, sucking and rolling the hardened bud between sharp teeth. Your hands tried to find a hold in his hair, but were forced above your head with a hand around your wrists, leaving you to writhe and buck helplessly beneath his touch.

His moans warmed your skin as he let go of your breast with a noisy pop. “You taste so good,” he purred, a lust drunk smile curling at the corners of his lips. “I can’t get enough.” Trailing down your body, he paused at your stomach, making you shiver as he kissed affectionately at the soft flesh. The slow, meaningful caress of his hand against the spot just below your navel felt at odds with his hurried ministrations thus far, but was pleasant all the same, drawing a sigh from your lips as you relaxed into him.

Lucifer hummed approvingly, murmuring something you couldn’t hear against the flesh, but didn’t linger, continuing on to his real target before you could ask him what he’d said.

The cool air made you shiver as he spread your legs, hulking figure kneeling between them. His tail thumped against the ground behind him and his ears pricked in interest as he stared down at your wet core, a growl making you freeze when you tried to close your legs from his burning gaze. “Try and hide from me,” he rumbled, red eyes pinning you in place, “See what happens.”

He held your gaze as he lowered his face to your dripping pussy, making you forget how to breathe for a second as hot breath fanned against your clit. You moaned when his tongue licked a stripe up your slit, sucking the swollen bundle of nerves into his mouth.

“So wet already,” he groaned, tone laced with sin, and then, without warning, he seemed to lose whatever control he’d regained, his mouth descending on your core with an urgency and force that would have made you flinch away but for his hands on your hips, holding you immobilized and spread for his enjoyment. Lips, teeth, and tongue were merciless as he feasted on your arousal, sending hot pleasure coursing through you as you writhed and moaned in his grip. Your head spun as his tongue dove inside of you, your fingers clawing at his shoulders as you cried his name.

You sobbed, tears of pleasure blurring your vision as the fingers of one strong hand pawed over your thigh and hip bone, the tips of sharp claws grazing your clit and making your back arch as your walls fluttered around his plunging tongue.

You were so close, the edge of that sweet wave of pleasure teasing your body, and the next second it was ripped away, his mouth and fingers gone, and you cried out in agonized loss, scrambling for him as desperate tears finally fell. Your hands fisted in dead leaves and cold dirt instead of reaching Lucifer’s warmth, finding yourself on your knees with your front pressed into the ground. A thigh moved between your own, parting you to your lover’s liking as he loomed behind you.

“Lucifer,” you called softly, whimpering. His pheromones were definitely affecting you if they weren’t already. You felt so painfully empty without his cock stretching you, thick and hot and merciless. The thought alone was enough to make your walls clench pathetically around nothing, wiggling your ass against his still-clothed crotch.

“I know, my love,” he chuckled, reveling in the need radiating from you. You could feel him smirking savagely against your neck. “By the time I’m done, everyone will know what I’ve done to you, how I’ve claimed you.”

His warmth disappeared for a moment, the sound of tearing cloth indicating that his clothes had met the same fate as your own, and then bare skin met your own, too-hot against your oversensitive skin. A shiver wracked through you as his cock, swollen and pulsing, slapped against your dripping core, coating him in your juices as he slid through your folds. You didn’t have time to look back or think about whether you could take him like this, screaming as he thrust into you, hard and fast. He didn’t give you a moment to adjust before he started pounding. Lucifer was well-endowed as it was, but he felt even larger than usual, stretching you nearly to the point of it being too much. The position forced you to be aware of every inch plowing in and out of you, allowing him to hit against your cervix from the first thrust. The overwhelming, pain-tinged pleasure immediately rocketed you into your climax, leaving you spasming helplessly around him as you cried his name.

“Fuck!” he snarled behind you, hips stuttering as your walls clenched down on him. His claws dug into the soft flesh of your hips as he grunted, shoving harder into your tight, oversensitive core. You could feel your release dripping down your inner thighs, the lewd sound of Lucifer’s soaked cock thrusting in and out of you echoing off the trees, too loud even with the sound of his panting in your ear.

Blunt nails dug into the dirt as his mouth latched onto the patch of skin where your neck met your shoulder, drawing blood as he marked the spot. His hips moved animalistically, hammering into you without rhythm as he held you in place, his balls slapping against your clit. He answered your whimper with a deep purr as he wrapped an arm around your waist to pull you closer against him. His length barely left your velvet walls before finding home deep within the welcoming warmth of your core once more and it was driving you crazy, leaving you to writhe and moan as throbbing veins rubbed your g-spot with each hump.

Through the haze of lust clouding your mind, you could feel something swelling at the base of his cock, stretching your entrance every time he seated himself within you. “L-Luci,” you gasped, “What - What are you - hahh!” You screamed as he shoved in deep, the knot forming at the base of his cock stretching your entrance before leaving again, still not quite large enough to plug him inside of you.

“Going to breed you,” he snarled against your ear through clenched teeth, “Going to fill you with my children and get you nice and pregnant so they all know who you belong to.” Lucifer grunted in frustration, feral as his hand pressed into your lower back and made you arch even more. You screamed as the angle stretched you open for him and his monstrous cock, engorged with the need to fuck his babies into you.

“Tell me you want it,” he coaxed, his hands grabbing at any part of you he could use to pull you back harder onto him. “Tell me you want my cum, you want me to get you pregnant for everyone to see.”

“Yes!” you pleaded, glancing back at him. Every inch of him rippled with virility, with the need to pump you full of his seed. You needed it now, needed to give him exactly what he wanted. “Yes, Lucifer, please! Please, please, please give it to me!”

The sound that echoed from deep within his chest as he successfully pushed his knot inside of you was half howl, half roar, locking your bodies together as he reached his climax. The hot explosion of cum against your cervix threw you into a second orgasm, mewling and crying your lover’s name as he filled you to the brim.

He continued to hump against you for a few moments more, milking himself within your walls, before he slumped on top of you, panting against your shoulder. “(Y/n),” he murmured hoarsely, “Are you alright?”

“Y-Yeah.” He shifted slightly, and you shivered at the tug of his knot within you, still swollen.

“I’m sorry. I can’t move for a little while,” he sighed, and you could hear in his tone that there was more to his apology, a plea for forgiveness for everything that had happened tonight.

You giggled softly, reaching a hand back to run it through his dark hair. The wolf ears were still there and they fluttered against your fingers. “I don’t regret this,” you murmured softly, meeting his wide gaze as you turned your head. A soft smile spread across your face as you kissed his cheek. “Not a single thing.”

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