#Solve Restarting Issues

[phonefixice]

 🎮Good news for gamers! These two powerful 2UUL CPU cooling products are amazing. The SC09 heat patches, 50 per box, sized 17×15×1.5mm, quickly dissipate high heat and perform well under temperature changes. The 50g SC10 paste refuses to solidify, designed for repaired CPUs, ensuring worry-free gaming.

[squirrelwrangler]

Leane/Gareth. See my vision, WoT show runners

[miumura]

CALLS OF CONVENIENCE⌇P. SUNGHOON ✶

( 📞 ) NOW RINGING » Park Sunghoon, an office worker with an odd knack for finding problems, has been calling you for assistance non-stop to address various issues in his office. Naturally, since it’s your job, you always stop by, but you’ve noticed that his problems are often simple to fix and don’t really require any help. So, it’s hard not to suspect that he’s just making excuses to see you.

Whether it’s a computer “glitch” or a “misplaced” file, Sunghoon’s requests for you seem more like opportunities for a chat than genuine emergencies.

PAIRING ✶ office-worker!sunghoon x assistant-fem!reader GENRE ✶ fluff, co-workers 2 lovers FEATURING ✶ jay from enhypen WARNINGS ✶ reader questions / teases sunghoon quite a bit, super obvious hoon 🫡 WORD COUNT ✶ 2.4K+

PICK UP? » this was inspired by something i had seen on tiktok … bits of it never left my mind since … all credits to it because that fueled me to write !! and i thought it suited him so … no thoughts just office worker sunghoon 🫠

"Hello, it's me again," his voice crackled over the line as you pressed the phone to your ear. You let out a small sigh, recognizing this as the third time he'd called just this week.

"Why, hello, Park Sunghoon."

“Huh—oh! You know it’s me," he said, sounding surprised, though you could hear the smile in his voice.

"You've been the only one calling my work number lately, Sunghoon," you replied. "And considering how many times you've called, it's normal to recognize your voice by now, don't you think?"

"I guess so…" he chuckled nervously. "Well, do you have time to come to my office? I need help."

"Help with what?"

"My computer is acting up—I don’t think it’s working properly. Can you help me, please?"

"Sunghoon," you sighed, glancing at the mounting work on your desk. "This is the third time this week. Are you sure it's not something simple?"

"Yes! I really do need your help," he insisted, a hint of sheepishness in his tone.

"Fine," you relented. "I’ll be on my way."

"Really?" His voice went up a notch, brimming with excitement before he cleared his throat. "Thank you so much, Y/N!"

Shaking your head, you stood up and headed down the hall to his office. As you walked, you couldn't shake the thought that there was no way he could be this unlucky.

When you finally arrived at his office, you knocked on the door and heard Sunghoon's voice from the other side inviting you in. As you entered, you saw him sitting at his desk, pretending to look frustrated with his computer.

“What is it?”

“Well, what a way to say, ‘hello’. Good morning to you too, YN,” Sunghoon replied, a playful smile tugging at his lips.

“Considering how many times I see you in a day, I don’t have to say that all the time when I do.”

Closing the door behind you, you couldn't help but also comment, “You know, you really should call the IT department for tech problems.”

Sunghoon looked up, still smiling. “Why call them when you've been so great at solving my previous issues?”

"Issues, you say?” you replied, raising an eyebrow skeptically.

“Of course,” he said with feigned innocence. “I would never call you to my office if I wasn’t genuinely struggling.”

"Like how your computer screen froze? When all you could’ve done was just restart your computer?" you asked, giving him a pointed look.

“I didn’t want to mess up more things, so I had to call you,” Sunghoon replied, his face turning a shade of pink as he fumbled for an excuse. It was just so easy for a confident smile of his to dissolve into embarrassment, as if he didn’t set himself up in the first place.

“Okay then, how about the problem with your printer? When all you had to do was refill the ink?”

“I swear I had it refilled last week,” he protested, glancing away. “I wouldn’t have called if I knew that was really the cause of it.”

“And how about the time—the same day as your printer issue—you said you deleted a really important file?”

“Okay, that was a real problem!” Sunghoon said quickly, recalling the incident. “I really panicked when I couldn’t find it on my screen. And you were all I thought about—well, asking for help, that is! Don’t get it twisted!”

“I never said anything,” you teased, unable to hide your amusement. “And all you had to do was check your ‘Recently Deleted’ folder. There was also another copy of it in your downloads.”

“Okay, none of that matters anymore, it’s all in the past!” he brushed off, trying to direct your attention elsewhere. “What matters is that I wouldn’t have known if it weren’t for your great assistance.”

“You could’ve fixed it easily by yoursel—”

“Why don’t we turn our attention back to my computer, please?” he interrupted, eager to change the subject, his voice carrying a note of pleading.

You walked over to his desk, noticing how he seemed to tense slightly as you came closer. Ignoring that, you leaned over to check the computer, both of you staring at the black screen.

“Well, if you see this,” Sunghoon said, pressing the button multiple times to try to turn on his computer. “It doesn’t work.”

“Can you be more gentle?” you suggested, watching as he awkwardly backed away.

“Right, sorry,” he mumbled. “Can you fix this?”

“Sure, get out of your seat, please.” He quickly complied, moving to stand against the wall near his desk. You tried holding down the button, but the computer still wouldn’t turn on. Feeling a bit puzzled, you started looking around the desk. When nothing seemed amiss, you decided to check under the desk and soon noticed a cable...not plugged in.

Grabbing the wire, you held it out and looked at Sunghoon, who was nervously chuckling. “Oh…it was unplugged the whole time…”

You raised an eyebrow, struggling to keep a straight face. “Well, I suppose that explains it.” You plugged it back in, pressed the button once more, and the screen finally lit.

“Wow, who would’ve thought…” he said, rubbing the back of his neck, clearly burning up.

“Sunghoon,” you said, shaking your head with a teasing smile, “you know you could’ve checked this yourself.”

“Who would go ahead and unplug their own computer?” he mumbled, glancing away from your gaze. “I wouldn’t have done that on purpose or anything…”

“You’re really running out of excuses, aren’t you?”

“What…what do you mean?”

“You just want to see me more, don’t you?”

“I do not! I mean, as much as I do enjoy your company, I wouldn’t play tricks just to see you,” he said, rambling nervously. “You’ve just been a reliable person I can trust with these office issues.”

Not fully convinced, you said, “Well then, now that your ‘issue’ is fixed, I will take my leave.” You started to get up from his chair, about to walk away, when Sunghoon abruptly jolted.

“Wait!”

His sudden outburst startled you, and you watched as he frantically rummaged through his desk drawers, pulling out two overstuffed folders. “Can…can you help me sort these out? I mean, since you’re here, and you’re so good at handling things, it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for you to help me with my work…right?”

He looked at you with hopeful eyes, his usual composure replaced with a hint of desperation. His attempt to maintain a professional demeanor faltered as he fiddled with the papers, clearly trying to cover up his real intentions. You could see through his act, but the genuine earnestness in his voice made it hard to resist.

“Fine, but only because I’m already here,” you said, with a small smile. As you took the folders from him, you couldn’t help but wonder if this was more about the company than the paperwork.

Sunghoon’s eyes lit up slightly as he grinned and quickly got a chair for you. As you both began organizing the chaotic stack of papers, a comforting silence settled in.

“You know, Sunghoon, I’ve always thought of you as an organized person,” you remarked, glancing at the disarray before you.

“Well, I am,” he chuckled, taking your comment as a compliment. “It’s just that I’ve been swamped with meetings lately, so I haven’t had a chance to sort everything out.”

“I don’t know if I believe that,” you hummed, flipping through the papers. “You still would’ve made sure everything was in the right place.”

“Oh…really?” Sunghoon’s voice held a hint of nervousness. “So, you’ve noticed, huh?”

“Am I not supposed to?” you asked with a playful smile. “Aren’t I the assistant you always call for to fix all your issues?”

“Okay, if you think I made this mess on purpose just to keep you around, you’ve got it all wrong!” Sunghoon quickly defended himself, though his flushed face betrayed his words. “And you know me, I wouldn’t torture myself with a mess just to see you.”

“Relax, I was just teasing. Why don’t you work a bit faster then, hm?”

“You don’t have to remind me about my work, YN,” he pouted slightly, eliciting a soft chuckle from you.

He couldn’t help but sneak a few glances at you every now and then, marveling at the way you carried yourself, the subtle expressions you made as you worked—all of it made it difficult for him to concentrate.

To him, you were the prettiest person he’d ever laid eyes on. His eyes would linger on your features—just looking at your focused expression alone was always enough for him to get lost in the moment, or rather, admiring you. And every single time—without a fail—each look would send a flutter of excitement through his chest.

Sunghoon would catch himself in a daze, realizing he’d been staring a little too long again. He'd quickly snap out of it, giving himself a mini pep talk in his mind.

Get it together, Sunghoon. Focus.

He shifted in his chair, trying to redirect his attention to the task at hand, but it was no use. Every time he glanced up, Sunghoon mentally kicked himself for being so easily flustered. It was ridiculous how just being near you turned him into a nervous wreck. His usual confidence seemed to vanish whenever you were around, replaced by a nervous energy that made it hard to concentrate on anything else.

He tried to distract himself by focusing on his work, but his mind kept wandering back to you—how you laughed, the way you rolled your eyes when he said something silly, and the way you seemed to understand him without needing to say much.

Sunghoon knew he was obvious, but he never failed to deny it. Despite the countless times he’d told himself to just say it, he was afraid he’d only continue to humiliate himself even more. Every time he opened his mouth, the words got tangled in his throat, and he’d end up making some excuse instead.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that you might already see through his intentions and were just waiting to reject him once he finally confessed. The thought made his heart race with fear, and it was enough to keep him from doing anything.

But he pushed his many thoughts aside, trying to focus on the task at hand. He shuffled through the papers on his desk, pretending to concentrate. His nervousness lingered in the air, a constant reminder of the tension he felt whenever you were near.

After another moment of silence, he broke it with a hesitant question. “So, YN, what’s your… go-to coffee order?”

“Hm?” you looked up, slightly puzzled.

“Just… curious! Yeah, that’s all,” he said quickly, his voice a bit too casual.

“I don’t see how my coffee order is relevant to your office problems or work,” you replied, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, yes, but I thought it might be nice to know,” Sunghoon stammered. “After all, if I’m going to be a bother, I might as well get you something you like. The least I could do is make up for, you know, troubling you.”

“And what if I don’t drink coffee?”

“Huh? I saw you drinking coffee with Jay the other day—”

“Watching me now, are we? That’s a bit unprofessional for a work setting, don’t you think?”

“No, wait! I wasn’t—I just happened to notice you while I was on my break,” Sunghoon rushed to explain. “And asking Jay would’ve been awkward. So—ugh, nevermind. Forget I said anything.”

“Are you sure?” you asked, noticing his flush deepening. He truly couldn’t hide it well.

“Yes, ignore me and continue helping me, please,” Sunghoon replied, the pink blush on his face becoming way more evident than before. Was he that painfully obvious with his tactics?

Either way, he wanted to get out of there—this was becoming too much for him, and his usual ways of calming down weren’t working. You couldn’t help but slip a small giggle at his discomfort.

“Well, I’m actually done now,” you said with a playful smile.

“Wait—already?!” His astonishment was clear as he glanced at his side of the desk compared to yours. His papers were still scattered in disarray, while yours were neatly organized and back in their folder.

“Yep. While you were busy being a nervous wreck with your, well, overwhelming thoughts, I managed to focus and finish up,” you explained, sliding the organized folder back to him.

“Oh, right,” he mumbled, still taken aback by how efficiently you handled the task. He should have anticipated it, considering your ability to get things done swiftly—one of the many reasons he admired you. “Thank you, YN.”

“Do you have anything else you need help with?” you asked, your tone friendly.

“Uh, no, thank you,” Sunghoon replied, his cheeks still burning. He was mortified by the series of blunders he’d made in such a short time, and the embarrassment made him wish he could just disappear. He couldn’t believe he’d made such a mess of things.

“Listen, YN,” he started, sounding unusually earnest, “I’m really sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused. I didn’t mean to overstep any boundaries with my questions or requests. And for all the office issues—silly as they might seem—I genuinely appreciate your help. So, um, you can leave now. Thank you again.”

“You don’t need to apologize, Sunghoon. I promise you’re fine,” you reassured him. His expression softened at your words, though he seemed still lost in thought about his mistakes earlier. “You haven’t done anything to make me uncomfortable, and if you had, I would’ve told you.”

As you stood up from the chair and walked toward the door, you glanced back at him. His gaze darted away from the door, though it was clear he was trying to sneak a look as you left.

“Caramel macchiato,” you said.

“Huh?”

“My coffee order,” you clarified. “That’s what you wanted, right?”

“Wait—” Sunghoon’s surprise was palpable. “Oh, oh—! Noted! I’ll make sure to remember!” he stammered.

“See you tomorrow, Sunghoon.” You flashed him a final, warm smile. Despite knowing he’d probably call you again, and he knew you knew, you still left him a bit flustered but smiling. He shyly nodded, silently whispering a thanks to you again.

As you closed the door behind you, you heard him mutter to himself, struggling to regain his composure. You could hear the muffled noises of his excitement and embarrassment as you walked away, and it made you chuckle.

You left his office with your heart lighter and your mind buzzing with the possibility that maybe these calls meant something more. Finally getting the answers to the questions you’d always had in mind, it became clear to you that Park Sunghoon was undeniably charming.

💬 : do we love the flustered!enha agenda or is that js me

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[appleblueberry-pie]

Hi, the fandom is on fire and well I am a bit low on morale. May I please request for Yandere Nanami comforting his darling after they have a mental breakdown from realizing there is no escape. This leading to both Nanami and his darling sharing a bed and cuddling

This is so undoubtedly late, but absolutely. I will try to make this as comforting as possible.

You tried so hard to shove it down. You hated gaining Kento's attention by obviously needing help. But you couldn't hide it. Not this. Every time you tried to mentally solve the issue, you kept coming to the conclusion that this can't ever be fixed.

You're never leaving this house. You'd be in here, rotting with your captor until the day that he dies. And who knows how long it'll be until then, or if you will even live until that day comes. You continued to draw that conclusion over and over again, the dread pooling in your stomach every single time, and it was harder to bare the feeling the next time it came.

You couldn't eat. You couldn't sleep. You couldn't do shit, and being unable to find peace just made the cycle restart again. You just wanted peace of mind. You just wanted to be left alone without your thoughts, you wanted to leave this fucking house.

But your captor is almost always in the next room, waiting for you to call out his name.

You couldn't hold in the terrible sob that escaped your lips. Your stomach hurts and your head was beginning to pound. Breathing didn't soothe your hot face or your nerves and no matter how many times you wiped your face, more tears would roll down.

You didn't care when you heard quick foot steps approaching your room and you didn't care when Kento barged in, attaching himself to your side and begging you to tell him what's wrong.

Kento's heart was beating so hard in his chest. You didn't want to speak and just continued to sob until you couldn't breathe. Even when he held you so tight to keep the bad thoughts from infiltrating your mind, you still cried. You felt hot to the touch and he didn't want to leave you alone for a single second to get a cool rag to cool you down. So he just rocks you in his arms on the floor, caressing your head and keeping you as close to him as possible, hoping this will all be over sooner than later.

Why was his baby feeling like this? Is this why you weren't eating? Why you were restless all night? He tried all he could. Made you hot chocolate the way you liked, brought you your favorite blanket that he reserved for winter and even let you watch TV in the living room. But none helped you sleep and none got you to eat. All day, you looked like a ticking time bomb waiting to explode, and here you were scattered in his arms. He should've known something was up with you.

When you quieted down, Kento loosened his hold and looked down at your face. Damp from tears and you just looked so tired. Every bone in his body wished to make every single one of your bad feelings go away, but he didn't even know the first thing he had to accomplish to get that to happen.

"Do you want to talk about it?" You shake your head.

"Want something to eat?" You groan out a soft no. He frowns.

"Want me to bring you to bed?" Your eyes flutter shut and you nod.

He immediately gathers you in his arms and effortlessly brings you to the warm sheets that you've neglected all day and you relax once he tucks you in. He slips in with you, very slowly to see if you'd tell him to leave. You don't. So, he takes his spot in front of your curled form and wraps his arms around what he could. You don't disagree.

It was his turn to relax, and he sighs in relief. You always come first. And he will find out why you got so worked up soon enough. But you come first.

[pelibirdie]

Posting sci-fi Kuras for a discord event (hence why Kuras looks so close yet kinda far from how he actually dresses)

I also wrote a quick drabble about it. Enjoy :)

Tw: choking, a hint of medical gore and violent Kuras under cut.

Your vision got blurry as your conciousness slowly slipped away. You never thought the day you would feel the kind doctors' hands around your neck, suffocating you with pressure unfitting for his frame. Fingers unmoving. Grip made out of steel. Your cheek touched the cold moulding wall as you tried to break free.

Nobody knew how old the doctor of Lowtown was. All they knew was that he never seemed to get old. Never seemed to fall ill. Was always in top condition. People speculated him to be a cyborg but his skin felt real. Too real. So warm and incredibly human.

You punched away, trying your best to weaken his grip with the mechanic hands he claimed to have fixed for you.

"Kuras.. please..."

You were rapidly losing conciousness. Your thoughts were slipping away from you. Limbs weak, your arms could barely frind the strength to hold onto him.

"It was so easy. You could have just not followed me. Done as I had said." Kuras spoke, a robotic indifference in his tone.

"I offered you health. I offered you a restart on your journey." You were no longer thrashing around. You had no strength left to. "This...rudeness is uncalled for. I merely offered you my help. What do you do in return? You break into my laboratory. You interrupt my experiment and worse of all: You tamper with my spescimen."

Kuras was creating...things. You didnt know what if was, but in your small expedition in the laboratory below his clinic you saw organs. Beating organic matter stored in tubes with a phosphoric liquid substance. Bones made out of metal. Frames of skeletons and joints made out of steel. Mechanic, atudy and perfectly mobile. Any yet there was no clear origin as to where anything came from. Either he was growing these organs himself...or worse.

"Kuras, the man who could heal or build any body part."

An alarm went off- the steady beeping sound that filled the lab suddenly errupted into a long singular beep noise. Startled, Kuras ran towards the tube, looking to see the issue. His golden eyes flickered over what looked terribly like a human. It was so close- but its limbs were abnormally long, the skin and muscles didn't seem to develop well.

You fell with your back against the wall, air rushing back to your lungs. Your mechanic hands lightly hugged your neck protectively. While you were recovering, Kuras already seemed to have solved the issue. The heartbeat-you realized- was constant again. The little graphics on his screen no longer went haywire.

Kuras fixed his posture, running hands through his hair. His long pristine coat did not look as white under the laboratory lighting. It got muddier as he approached you. With an eerie calmness, Kuras’s right hand reached for your face. His hand held your face, just a few centimeters closer and he would be covering your mouth entirely. He kneeled slightly, just to be on your level while you sat on the floor. You look to his piercing eyes for "Speak of this to none. If I even hear a single whisper on the street, a murmur, just know: I have built bodies for every. Single. Person in this city. No one you can confide in is safe. Nowhere you can hide in is out of my reach. Either you keep your mouth shut, or this secret dies with you. Understood?"

The clinical coldness in his tone sent a chill down your spine. His grip forced you to look at him, unable to tear your eyes off his focused gaze.

"...yes."

"Good. Don't mistake my kindness for weakness."

The doctor let go of you, wiping his hand off. Kuras turned to walk to the doors to the clinic upsatairs.

"Oh and one more thing: This never happened. "

You nodded to him. His eyes went back to the cat like mirth they always had around you. Now for a different reason. His back turned, the corner of his dyes traced your slumped form one last time before going back upstairs. He left only the doors open, urging you to leave.

A/N: i did the art in 3 hours. I speedrsn it so hard and i think the quality reflects that. Idk how but i also mare a fuckass bg for this like ik this isnt my best piece but im impressed to say the least. Its supposed to be the scene were kuras is locked in on you. It was in drafts that i had him with his back turned, but that meant i had to come up with a scifi Kuras design. Anyway draw ur mcs being choked by kuras on a ungerground laboratory 🖋🧍‍♀️ (joking, do not)

If i do write the smut i will address the molding wall in the lab don't worry.

[superman86to99]

Zero Hour: Crisis in Time #2 (September 1994)

Zero Hour continues! The action ramps up as a central character dies, the Team Titans go bad, and everyone else is like "No, it's spelled Teen Titans. What? That's a different comic? Okay, I don't know who they are. Bummer, though."

As seen at the end of last issue, Superman and the heroes he gathered in New York have run into a little problem: a whole-ass future city just materialized over NY and is about to cause the equivalent of several 9/11s. It doesn't help that they have to put up with The Ray, who's kind of a turd in this comic -- I'm just glad Superboy isn't the most insufferable teenage character for once (though he does make an effort later on, when he hits on Anima and says the words "Babe alert!").

The heroes solve the crashing cities conundrum by creating a Boom Tube portal and shooting lasers at it until it's big enough to suck up an entire city. Hooray for science!

But the celebration doesn't last long, because this is when they find out that their friends at the Justice Society are now older or dead, having been artificially aged (or de-artificially de-aged?) by the villainous Extant. The only JSAer who was spared from the geriatric effect was Alan Scott, the Golden Age Green Lantern, but he decides to quit superheroing anyway and gives his ring to Kyle Rayner, the Current Age Green Lantern. Jay Garrick, the original Flash, calls it quits too and dramatically tears the lightning bolt logo from his chest (but doesn't give it to Impulse, even though he's right there).

The rest of the heroes decide to split up to handle the "time's eating itself" issue from both ends: Superman, Metron, and one group go to the 30th century to try to stop the entropy wave there, and Waverider and another group go do the same thing in the distant past. In both cases, their efforts are hindered by members of the Team Titans, who were introduced a few years ago as a large group of superpowered resistance fighters from the futuristic year 2001. However, their already convoluted origin gets even more confusing when Extant reveals he secretly formed the team and placed them in the present as sleeper agents, waiting for this moment. (Side note: Is this the only DC crossover where ALL the villains are heroes turned bad?)

While delivering all that exposition, the ever-efficient Extant also tries to kill Donna "Suddenly A Darkstar" Troy with a chronal blast. Kyle Rayner gets in the way and saves her (classic Kyle), in the process dropping and completely forgetting that GL ring Alan Scott entrusted him with a few pages ago (also classic Kyle).

Kyle survives this scene, but not everyone else does. Since Waverider is made out of chronal energy, Extant manages to "absorb" all of him and gain his powers, killing him in the process. And that's why Extant had Waverider's golden skin and firey hair last issue, you see: from his perspective, he'd already killed him and stolen his powers/look, and then he traveled in time and used those powers to punk the JSA. That's exactly the sort of twist I like to see in a time travel story.

Meanwhile, Superman and the other heroes currently visiting the 30th century have defeated or captured the mind-controlled Titan Teamsters. According to the narration, Extant's masterful years-long gambit bought him less than two hours of distraction.

With those little rascals out of the way, Metron figures out a way to close the hole that's eating reality: throwing his Mobius chair at it and having Captain Atom blow it up with his quantum energy. This works, because comics. Oh, and then Guy Gardner grows a gun out of his arm, to his shock (and also the shock of Guy Gardner: Warrior writer Beau Smith, since Guy was only supposed to be able to morph ancient weapons). COMICS!!!

Unfortunately, there's only one Mobius chair and two entropy waves. Not only is the one in the distant past still going strong, but the issue ends with a mystery character single-handedly restarting the 30th century wave and saying something about how this universe will soon stop existing. Also, he has glowing green energy and seems very interested in that GL ring Kyle misplaced... until he isn't.

Huh. Who could that possibly be?

NEXT ISSUE: THE END OF EVERYTHING! (Except this series, which still has one more issue left after that.)

Newsletter-Watch:

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And if you just love clicking things, click "Keep reading" to see Don Sparrow's commentary for this issue:

Art-Watch (by @donsparrow):

We start with the cover, and it’s another head-scratcher.  It does feature the blank (and increasing) whiteness that represents entropy but otherwise isn’t a real attention grabber.  Yes, it features Superboy, Nightwing and Supergirl, but other than that, it’s not a lot of marquee names for the time—even Donna Troy, an otherwise recognizable character, is a Darkstar, virtually an unknown look at this time. 

Inside we’re greeted immediately by the aftermath of the one-sided battle with Extant taking out the legendary JSA completely on his own.  The two page splash that follows is pretty dynamic, though the scene ends abruptly.  One little art thing I’d like to point out is how well the shape is defined on Extant’s cape straps, just with a few lines, adding verisimilitude to the otherwise cosmic goings on.

On the next page we’re introduced by name to Legionnaire Emerald Dragon, who I’d seen in the backgrounds of previous issues and wondered who he was.  It’s a terrific design, so I felt something like disappointment to learn that this character isn’t really a new concept—it’s just an alternate costume and codename for Jo Nah, far better known as Ultra Boy, the character with all of Superman’s powers, just one at a time.

As the defeated JSA return to the present, there’s some very striking imagery, reminiscent of the elderly wizened mourners at the funeral in the video for Crash Test Dummes’ “Superman’s Song”. 

Starman in particular looks poignant, with the relative silliness of his golden age costume contrasting with the weight of age.  The image of Jay tearing the lightning bolt off his tunic is a powerful image (confirming something I’d always wondered about—whether the lightning bolt is flat or pointed at the bottom, which to my eye looks pointed—what do you think?), as is the image of both Jay and Alan walking away with dramatic lightning behind them.   The placement of the next generation, with Green Lantern Kyle Rayner and Impulse looking on is a great detail as well.  

A few pages later, Power Girl’s mystical pregnancy goes into labour, and while we mentioned her looking matronly in the last issue, this one really takes the cake, as famous hottie Karen Starr looks for all the world like Mary Worth here.

The sequence of Hank Hall absorbing Waverider’s chronal energy is well-drawn and seems painful.  On the next page we have what I would seem our panel of the week, which is an all-time great drawing of Superman, presiding over the Team Titans members he’s managed to mop up.  With Jerry Ordway handling inks, all the faces have a realism rarely seen in comics, but this panel is a real standout among standouts—this is exactly what I imagine Superman really looks like.  A page or so later, there’s a similarly stunning portrait of Wonder Woman with Geo-Force.  Then on page 21, there’s a pleasing, silver-age-y image of Batman and Robin punching in tandem, which gives Batman '66 vibes.

Lastly, Guy Gardner’s expression as he ponders the possibilities presented by a history that’s in flux is a nice piece of drawing.

[Max: Ironic that Superman's death deeply impacted Waverider ("You are nothing less than a miracle"), and Waverider's death doesn't even merit a "No!" from Superman.]

SPEEDING BULLETS:

As discussed in the comments section on the Tumblr version of this site last issue, I remain a little confused as to how Extant, whether his powers are nuclear (as they seemed to be in the Armageddon 2001 storyline) or now time-based (as we’d imagine from him apparently being a duplicate of Waverider) is able to mess with Dr. Fate, whose powers are magical. [Max: There's also a mystical element thrown in there, since Hawk and Dove were agents of the Lords of Chaos and Order and now he has both their powers.]

While the flowery prose informs us that the heroes’ “silence screams respect”, it does seem weird to me that Alan Scott and Jay Garrick just peace out in the middle of a legitimate crisis.  Fine, retire from superheroics officially, but in that precise moment, their super-abilities still could have come in handy. [Max: Agreed about Alan, who isn't even old and just sorta quits the crossover, but it's teased that Jay ran off to do something that will have a huge impact in the next issues...]

There’s a strange quirk in this book that I notice more and more as it goes on—characters shouting that they need to get organized.  In almost every issue, someone wants to jump into action, and then a different character admonishes them, saying they shouldn’t or they need to make a plan.  But they very rarely do make a plan, so these exchanges come off a little hollow.  

Team Titans are presented here as such nothingburgers that they don’t even get any character names shared; all we get is just a blanket “Team Titans”.  But I’m sure they’ll fare well once this storyline is over. [Max: Oh yeah, all except two are unceremoniously vanished from existence between panels in this issue. For anyone wondering, I read the final issue of the Team Titans series and nope, it doesn't explain squat about what the hell is happening to them. In fact, like half the issue is about the Titans West, who had barely appeared in that series before.]

What comic was Dr. Mist in at this time?  The hero with the same name as a deodorant brand had a few little appearances in this series, and I knew next to nothing about him.  I remembered him vaguely appearing in Justice League International in the late '80s, but a quick trip to the DC wiki tells me these appearances are to set up one of the many short-lived and largely forgotten post-Zero-Hour titles, namely Primal Force.

While this entire series seems to cement a certain character as a villain, there are a lot of voices in this issue and those to come who espouse similar points of view.  Guy Gardner wanting to take advantage to “fix” things sounds a lot like someone else. [Max: No, see, that's totally different because Guy... whoops, we ran out of space! Until next time!]

Missed an issue? Looking for an old storyline? Check out our new chronological issue index!

[choicesmc]

nvm nell is back at the drawing board

think I finally figured out Jiahao’s relationship!

jia x cas x gabe | as in Cas is dating both Jia + Gabe but Gabe and Jia aren’t dating each other. They have a situationship lmao.

[i-think-i-need-a-nap]

On the GlaDOS portal 2 song

Lately I've been listening to "Want you gone" the Portal 2 ending song. As stupid as this might sound, as someone who's recently gone through a pretty fucked up breakup I couldn't help but project a bit of my own experience onto this song and the context that surrounds it. A lot of people are painting this song as "GlaDOS convincing herself that she won't miss Chell", and yes I agree but I think we can look deeper than that : This is a breakup song, right ? We know GladOS learned to really value Chell over the course of the game and I think that it led her to the realization of how fucked up their relationship was.

Now that the threat is over what do you think GlaDOS is going to move on to ? Testing. That's all she wants to do, no amount of soul searching or growth is going to change that.

GlaDOS wants to run tests on Chell and Chell wants to survive and will always manage to do so. That's always been the root of their relationship.

And now at the end of the game, GlaDOS is faced with a choice : She got her test subject back and now she can go back to the same old routine of running tests on her but… That's just restarting the cycle isn't it ? More of GlaDOS testing Chell and Chell surviving until she can kill GlaDOS again, forever ?

GlaDOS, with her newfound respect for Chell, knows there's only one way to move on from this for the both of them : Let Chell go.

Yeah they learned that they enjoyed each other's company, yeah they reached a common goal, but that doesn't solve the deeper issues that GlaDOS wants to run tests and Chell probably doesn't.

So now she just wants her gone, (I mean she LITERALLY wants to move on to other people, like COME ON), she knows Chell can't provide what she needs and she can't provide what Chell needs, of course she'll miss her, but there's no going forward with this, this is the only logical, respectful choice. She can totally mask it as her making the "easy choice" but let's be honest, she's making the hard choice.

I don't know man, but, all in all, overthinking this stupid videogame song kinda helped me go through my own little test chamber mayhem.

[smokingcreams]

Re: 8tracks

HUGE UPDATE:

As I said on my earlier post today the CTO of 8tracks answered some questions on the discord server of mixer.fm

IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN INFORMATION ABOUT 8TRACKS AND THE ANSWERS THE CTO OF 8TRACKS GAVE, PLEASE, KEEP READING THIS POST BECAUSE IT'S A LOT BUT YOU WON'T REGRET IT.

Okay, so he first talked about how they were involved in buying 8tracks, then how everything failed because of money and issues with the plataform then he talked about this new app called MixerFM they developed that works with web3 (8tracks is a web2 product), that if they get to launch it they'll get to launch 8tracks too because both apps will work with the same data.

Here is what they have already done in his own words:

*Built a multitenant backend system that supports both MIXER and 8tracks

*Fully rebuilt the 8tracks web app

*Fixed almost all legacy issues

*Developed iOS and Android apps for MIXER

What is next?

They need to migrate the 8tracks database from the old servers to the new environment. That final step costs about $50,000 and on his own words "I am personally committed to securing the funds to make it happen. If we pull this off since there is a time limit , we will have an chance to launch both 8tracks and MIXER. … so for all you community members that are pinging me to provide more details on X and here on discord, here it is"

Here the screenshots of his full statement:

NOW THE QUESTIONS HE ANSWERED:

*I transcribed them*

1. "What's the status of the founding right now?"

"Fundraising, for music its difficult"

2. "Our past data, is intact, isn't?"

"All data still exists from playlist 1"

3. "Will we be able to access our old playlists?"

"All playlists if we migrate the data will be saved. If we dont all is lost forever"

4. "How will the new 8tracks relaunch and MIXER be similar, and how will they be different?"

"8tracks / human created / mix tape style as it was before

mixer - ai asiated mix creation, music quest where people earn crypto for work they provode to music protocol ( solve quests earn money for providing that service )"

5. "Why is 8tracks being relaunched when they could just launch MIXER with our 8tracks database?"

"One app is web2 ( no crypto economy and incentives / ) mixer is web3 ( economy value exchange between users, artists, publishers, labels, advertisers) value (money) is shared between stakeholders and participants of app. Company earns less / users / artist earn more."

6. "Will we need to create a separate account for mixer? Or maybe a way to link our 8tracks to mixer?"

"New account no linking planned"

7. "What do you mean by fixed almost all legacy issues and fully rebuilt the 8tracks web app?"

"We have rebuilt most of 8tracks from scratch i wish could screen record a demo. In Last year we have rebuilt whole 8tracks ! No more issues no more bugs no more hacked comments"

8. "Will the song database be current and allow new songs? For example if someone makes a K pop playlist theres the capability for new songs and old not just all songs are from 2012. There will be songs from 2020 onwards to today?"

"Current cut of date is 2017, we have planed direct label deals to bring music DB up to speed with all new songs until 2025. This means no more song uploads"

9. "The apps would be available for android and outside USA?"

"USA + Canada + Germany + UK + Sweden + Italy + Greece + Portugal + Croatia in my personal rollout plan / but usa canada croatia would be top priority"

10. "Will 8tracks have a Sign in with Apple option?"

"It will have nothing if we don’t migrate the database but yes if we do it will have it"

11. ""Will Collections return?"

"Ofc If we save the database its safe to assume collections will return"

12. "Will the 8tracks forums return?"

"No that one i will deleted People spending too much time online"

13. "No more songs uploads forever or no more songs until…?"

"Idk, this really depends on do we save database or no. Maybe we restart the process of song uploads to rebuild the and create a worlds first open music database If anyone has any songs to upload that is

We operate under different license"

14. "What is your time limit? for the funding, I mean"

"Good question I think 2-3 months"

15. "From now?"

"Correct"

16. "When is the release date for Mixer?"

"Mixer would need 2-3 more months of work to be released Maybe even less of we would use external database services and just go with minimum features"

17. "Do you have the link for it?"

"Not if we dont secure the database that is number one priority"

*That was the end of the questions and answers*

Then he said:

"You need to act bring here (discord) people and help me set up go fund me camping of investor talks fail so we secure the database and migrate data so we can figure out whats next"

He also said he'll talk with the CEO about buying him the idea of community funding, that all who participate should have a lifetime subscription and "some more special thing", we suggested a message on the 8tracks official accounts (twitter, their blog, tumblr) and he was okay with the idea but he said they need to plan it carefully since the time is limited.

Okay, guys, that's so far what he said, I hope this information helps anyone, I don't know if they get to do a community funding but take in consideration it's a plausible option and that what they want from us is to participate in any way like for example spreading the message, if most people know about it the best, they also want you to join their server so here's the link to the website of mixerfm and where you can join the server:

Keep tagging few people who were discussing about this:

@junket-bank, @haorev, @americanundead, @eatpandulce, @throwupgirl, @avoid-avoidance, @rodeokid, @shehungthemoon, @promostuff-art @tumbling-and-tchaikovsky

#8tracks

[jcollinswrites]

Error reports

PLEASE anyone who ever got ANY game breaking errors in the past 2-3 weeks (about hairtexture or achievements), try the game when you have time to see if the error comes up again.

The admins have made some changes in the website's running functions just now, which we're all hoping might solve the issue. If not, well... I'm honestly feeling awful for them because they have been thinking to just shut down the website for good if they can't figure out what's causing these errors.

So you guys would be a huge help if you could test it out, see if it works. If you got the error before and you aren't getting it now, then a "hey, tried it, no error" Anon ask is already helping.

IF you get the error again, then it would be super helpful if you could include technical details about whether you started reading from the beginning, if you used the save function (and if you did, HOW), and stuff like that. I'd also like to know if restarting the game makes it go away for good or not.

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE (and I imagine those two (2) people who are running the cogdemos website, will also thank you from the bottom of their hearts if you help figure out the issue).

[ghasel]

How Are You Special? - Tarot Pick A Card

Remember: we are ALL special. Yes, you too.

my patreon my kofi personal readings available

Pile 1

8 of wands: you have high awareness: like an owl can move their head almost 360°, you have an awareness at almost 360°; it feels like you can be aware, “catch” some things that other people can’t

10 of swords: you are resourceful: you either know where to find what you need to solve a problem or your attitude is to automatically brainstorm about it; even in the middle of an issue, you know where to find something good

the hanged one in reverse: to you things like changing perspective don’t really make sense because you always try to look at things for multiple point of views and keep an open mind

Pile 2

ace of cups in reverse: you are not afraid to restart; either if something is not working or if you dropped it, you are not stopped and you start it again; it feels “there can be detours, but I0m staying on the path”

4 of wands in reverse: you are always evolving, learning and you know that it’s better to move on and growth rather than being in a totally stable situation but feeling stuck in it

4 of cups: my most honest congratulations: you are emotionally stable or, better, emotionally solid: you assess and work with your emotions instead of sweeping them under the rug

Pile 3

the lovers: there’s a strong intuition energy: you can trust your intuition and you’re actually very in touch with it; you can especially understand intuitively if people you meet are good news or bad news

7 of coins in reverse: you had the courage of closing off something that didn’t resonate/didn’t make you happy, but it was stable and “approved; you had the courage of keep going on your path

the world in reverse: you’re not interested in gaining a lot or exploring a lot or doing a lot: you are content and happy with a quiet life full of loving energy and you are aware of it - you know what you want

[blockgamepirate]

Update from the French Union investigating the QSMP case and a call for more testimonies

English:

QSMP – LET'S STRIKE BACK AGAINST ABUSIVE WORKING CONDITIONS

We made a few days ago a call for testimonies about working conditions at Quackity Studios, the company that hosts and manages the QSMP server.

Unfortunately, the first feedbacks we have received confirm several issues:

Illegal conditions (minimum wage not respected, legal rest time, burnouts, etc.),

Distressing working conditions (night shifts, work regularly assigned on an emergency basis, complete isolation of workers with no communication allowed, etc.),

Toxic management (erratic communication, threats and pressure, abusive sanctions, etc.),

An almost non-existent legal framework (no work contract, no staff representatives, absurd NDA, etc.).

There is confusion between paid and « volunteer » workers. This blur is intentionally kept up by the company, as shown by the lack of any clear documentation or public communication regarding the status of these « volunteers ». In such a context, it seems hard to consider all Quackity Studio workers to be anything but regular employees, with all the rights conferred by the status of salaried worker. After a full server lockout while an internal investigation about the accusations took place, the company’s representatives announced a restart, sidelining the « volunteer » workers (discontinuing the activities involved). According to French law, such job cuts are regarded as unlawful dismissals.

Some workers have been left aside for more than 10 days, with no clear insight on their possible future responsibilities. This sidelining can be considered to be moral harassment. Quackity claims to have solved the problem by firing the manager who drafted the initial company statement, that he declares not to approve, but the others responsibles of these inexcusable work conditions are still in place.

These are sufficient grounds to consider legal actions. To avoid it, we invite Quackity to be proactive by opening a social dialogue with all their workers. A negotiated outcome remains possible: it will need to address monetary demands concerning work already performed and that to come, as well as claims to improve working conditions.

All victims and witnesses of this situation are still welcome to contact us (preferably in French or English) at:

qsmp @ solidairesinformatique org

We guarantee total confidentiality.

However, note that as a French union, we will not be able to legally support workers outside France. We can help victims to know and contact each others, and help organize testimonials when needed.

(French and Spanish below)

French:

QSMP – LUTTONS CONTRE LES CONDITIONS DE TRAVAIL ABUSIVES

Nous avons lancé il y a quelques jours un appel à témoignages concernant les conditions de travail à Quackity Studios, l’entreprise derrière le serveur QSMP.

Les premiers échanges reçus confirment malheureusement un certain nombre de problèmes:

des conditions illégales (salaire minimal et  temps de repos legal  non respectés,  épuisement professionnel, etc.) ;

des conditions de travail dégradées (travail de nuit, missions régulièrement assignées en urgence, isolement total des travailleur·euses en leur interdisant de communiquer, etc.) ;

un management pathogène (communications erratiques, menaces et pressions, sanctions abusives, etc.) ;

un encadrement juridique quasi inexistant (absence de contrat de travail, absence de représentation du personnel, accord de confidentialité aberrant, etc.).

Un confusion existe entre les travailleur·euses salarié·es et les travailleur·euses « bénévoles ». Ce flou est volontairement maintenu par l’entreprise, en atteste notamment l’absence de documentation ou de communication claires encadrant le statut des « bénévoles ».

Dans ce cadre, il nous semble compliqué de considérer l’ensemble des travailleur·euses de Quackity Studios comme autre chose que des salarié·es, avec les droits accordés par le statut de salarié·e.

Après un arrêt total du serveur le temps d’une enquête interne sur les faits dénoncés, les représentants de la direction ont annoncé le redémarrer en laissant de côté les travailleur·euses « bénévoles » (arrêtant une partie des activités en jeu). Dans le cadre de la loi française, ces suppressions de postes sont considérées comme des licenciements abusifs.

Certain·es travailleur·euses sont laissé·es sur la touche depuis plus de 10 jours, sans aucune visibilité sur leur éventuel rôle futur. Cette placardisation s’apparente à du harcèlement moral.

Quackity prétend avoir réglé le problème en excluant la personne qui aurait rédigé le premier communiqué qu’il a dit ne pas approuver, mais les autres responsables de ces conditions de travail inexcusables sont maintenus en poste.

Ces éléments sont suffisants pour envisager des actions en justice. Pour l’éviter, nous appelons la direction de Quackity Studios à être proactive en ouvrant le dialogue social avec l’ensemble de ses travailleur·euses. Une issue par le haut reste possible : elle devra prendre en compte à la fois les revendications financières sur le travail déjà réalisé et celui à venir, ainsi que la mise en place de meilleures conditions de travail.

Nous appelons toujours les personnes victimes ou témoins de ce type d’abus à nous contacter à l’adresse suivante (de préférence en français ou en anglais) :

qsmp @ solidairesinformatique org

Nous garantissons une confidentialité totale.

En tant que syndicat français, nous ne serons malheureusement pas en mesure d’aider légalement les personnes qui ont travaillé depuis un autre pays. Nous pouvons tout de même aider les victimes à se connaître et à entrer en contact, et aider à la rédaction de témoignages.

Spanish:

QSMP-LUCHAMOS EN CONTRA DE LAS CONDICIONES DE TRABAJO ABUSIVAS

Hace algunos días lanzamos un llamado a declarar sobre las condiciones de trabajo en Quackity Studios, empresa que maneja el Servidor QSMP. 

Las primeras informaciones recibidas confirman desafortunadamente, varios problemas:

Condiciones ilegales de trabajo (salario mínimo y tiempo de descanso legal no respetado, agotamiento profesional, etc.);

condiciones de trabajo degradadas (trabajo nocturno, tareas asignadas regularmente con urgencia, aislamiento total de las trabajadoras o los trabajadores, impidiéndoles comunicarse entre sí);

una gestión dañina o toxica (comunicación errática, amenazas y presión, sanciones abusivas, etc.);

Marco jurídico casi inexistente (ausencia, de contrato de trabajo y de representantes del personal, acuerdos de confidencialidad abusivo e incoherente).

Una confusión existe entre los trabajadores de la empresa y los trabajadores “voluntarios”. Esa ambigüedad está mantenida por la empresa intencionalmente, lo confirma, la ausencia de documentos o comunicaciones claras enmarcando el estatus de “voluntarios”.

En este marco, es complejo considerar este conjunto de trabajadores de Quackity Studio diferentemente de unos trabajadores con derechos en acuerdo con el estatus de asalariado.

Después de un cese completo del servidor, el tiempo de realizar, por parte de la empresa, una encuesta sobre los hechos denunciados. La dirección y sus representantes anunciaron volver a reanudar el sistema dejando de lado los trabajadores “Voluntarios” (parando una parte de las actividades en curso).

En el marco de la ley francesa, estas suspensiones de puestos están consideradas como despidos indirectos y abusivos.

Algunos trabajadores fueron dejados en el banquillo desde más de 10 días sin ninguna visibilidad sobre sus funciones futuras. Esa manera de dejar trabajadores al margen se considera como acoso moral.

Quackity pretende resolver el problema excluyendo a la persona que consideraba ser el autor del primer comunicado sin admitir dicho panfleto. Al contrario, los otros responsables de esas condiciones de trabajo injustificables se mantuvieron en sus puestos.

Los elementos son suficientes para emprender acciones legales. Si la dirección de Quackity Studio quiere evitar dichas acciones legales y ser proactiva, los llamamos a que abran el dialogo social con todos los trabajadores.

Continuamos llamando a las personas, víctimas o testigos de estos casos de abusos planteados a contactarnos por medio de la dirección siguiente (preferiblemente en francés o inglés, pero también podemos traducir):

qsmp @ solidairesinformatique org

Garantizamos por completo la confidencialidad.

Como Sindicato Frances, nosotros no podemos legalmente, desafortunadamente, ayudar a los trabajadores de otros países. Sin embargo, podemos asistir a que las víctimas se junten a fin de unirse, conocerse e intercambiar, y en tal caso les podríamos suministrar o facilitar ayuda en la redacción de testimonios y en el desarrollo de su queja.

[cairavende]

Worm Arc 20 thoughts:

I legit have restarted this post at least 10 times. I just. I can't even figure out what to say. What an arc. Holy fucking shit what an arc.

The last vestiges of Taylor's civilian life are swept away in one smooth motion.

I could have read another 5 chapters of Emma getting her shit handed to her though.

I've been waiting for something to come back and bite that girl since Arc 1. So I'm just riding high off of that.

Taylor getting all upset because it isn't real justice is silly though. Girl you've been fighting a broken system from day 1 and you have been doing that by breaking the rules. This is just the same thing.

Also god dammit Greg. Just had to go and run your mouth.

I mean sure Taylor could have possibly solved this issue without going to school herself.

And she could have just not gone to the office with Emma.

But blaming Greg is easier and more fun. God dammit Greg.

I had to lose my mind a bit at Taylor talking about how there was no gang graffiti on the school walls TEN SECONDS AFTER WALKING PAST GRAFFITI FOR THE UNDERSIDERS. Like, that's gang graffiti hon!

Dennis trying to help Taylor with Greg when he didn't know who either of them are is funny. Dennis seeing Taylor named as Skitter 15 minutes later is HYSTERICAL!!

The second Taylor was entered into the computer system it was pretty obvious that Dragon was going to show up, given what she said in her interlude in Arc 10.

And knowing she was going to show up it should have been obvious that HE was also going to show up.

Even if he wasn't palling around with my robot daughter it makes so much narrative sense for him to be there when she is outed. Full story arc, all that jazz.

And yet, I still wasn't quite expecting it. Cause I hate that man so much that I just had to make myself believe he wouldn't show up.

Mother fucking Colin

RoboCape himself

He has the nerve to show up and then he starts APOLOGIZING? And it appears to be sincere? Fucking dammit man you were so easy to hate for so long! Why you gotta mess with me like this?

STOP DOING THE RIGHT THING AND LET ME HATE YOU GOD DAMMIT!

siiiigh

And then of course we have to talk about Dragon.

Dragon who didn't want to do this but had to.

Except that Colin had a code push ready and she could have told him to do it at anytime. But she was willing to do what she thought was wrong instead of doing the update. Until she got inspired by Taylor's actions.

I love my robot daughter exactly as much as my bug daughter, but I am disappointed that she was almost willing to go through with everything. Happy she fought back though.

And if Colin's hacked together code did any permanent damage I'll destroy the man.

Taylor learning that Dinah - either by force or by choice - gave the PRT numbers to let them know to come after her at the school was heartbreaking to watch. She just wasn't ready for it at all, poor child.

AND TAYLOR'S SPEECH THOUGH!

HOLY SHIT!!!

Sort and simple and she fucking rallies the students to her. Against the heroes!

Gotta be one of the best moments in Worm for sure. Even if every Arc after this is a banger that's still gonna be a hard moment to top.

AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!

And someone gives her a hoodie to help her hide and just aaaahhhh!

AND THEN AFTER THEY GOT AWAY AND ALL THE STUDENTS WERE LIKE "You saved my dad" "You stopped Leviathan at the shelter" "You fought off the SH9" AND SHE WAS JUST OVERWHELMED BY IT ALL?

HOLY FUCK JUST AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Also for real though Dragon is free. Like sure it's taking her some time to recover and she can't talk right now (which like I get it, we all have non-verbal episodes sometimes), but as long as nothing goes wrong she is free. I'm so fucking happy for her.

But also I'm terrified cause I know what happens to full AI's with free will in most things. Worm is very different from most things. But I'm still worried about my robot daughter.

Also I never cared much for Danny but obviously it still sucks to be him here. The scene with Taylor saying goodbye with the butterfly was emotional.

Oh oh and! Taylor talks about the butterfly being her "last contact" with her Dad. Very much bug as an extension of self. It's a shift she's been making.

Even more so there's a point where she is trying to get out of the school and she gets to the door and has a bug clone on the other side and says "my hand pressing against my own, separated by an inch and a half of door". Like, the bug clone hand is just her hand. I fucking love the shift compared to how she talked about the bugs early on.

Oh and also Greg totally has like, a Thinker 1 power or something. Pretty sure I mentioned that last arc with his interlude but mentioning it again now to be sure.

Stan interlude thoughts:

Oh my god I hate this man I can't stand him I hated him from the 3rd sentence of the chapter and I was always right to do so!

Seriously. 3rd sentence (or maybe 3rd paragraph which is technically the 3rd, 4th, and 5th sentences I guess). I read it and went "fuck off Stan you're clearly a pretentious dick" and then every few sentences it just became more confirmed!

Just the ways he talks about Nipper. Like. I can rephrase what he says to say the exact same thing except not being a asshole when saying it! Instead of "She was weak and unsuited for the field but she at least tried" just say "She was a hard worker despite being assigned to a job she did not ask for"! It's so fucking easy dude!

Anyway Stan is a jerk.

I loved the way this interlude rolled through different people all watching the same news report. It was a really good way to cover this major story event and let us see how so many other characters were reacting to it.

Also I'm sure all those Slaughterhouse Nine clones aren't going to be an issue later right? Or the fact that there is specifically only one clone of Gray Boy instead of 10 like everyone else? I'm sure that's fiiiiine.

Accord interlude thoughts:

Oh. Oh my. Uhhh. Is it hot in here all of the sudden? Anyone else feel that? No? Just me?

sweats

Oh ok Citrine definitely feels what I'm feeling. She knows what's up.

Just like. Look. Accord is bad ok. Not just cause he's a villain but clearly he'll kill for the smallest cause. And he's in a spot to fuck with my daughter and her polycule so like. Yes. He's bad. I do not like him. I want him to leave. I don't think they should work with him . . .

but . . .

OH MY FUCKING GOD HOLY SHIT PLEASE ACCORD I LOOK GREAT IN PURPLE AND I LOVE DRESSING FANCY AND I'M VERY GOOD AT BEING PROPER I WON'T MESS UP AT ALL I'LL BE THE PERFECT MINION PLEASE!

. . .

cough

Soooo anyway. How about that Butcher huh? That sure is a wild power. Instantly made me think of Glaistig Uaine's power. Very different but reaches into that same base bit, the idea that some part of a dead parahuman can be held onto.

Also holy shit Skitter was so badass in this scene I loved it.

Holy shit Accord is with Cauldron. Or at least closely aligned. And like of course he is it makes so much sense. He's too useful for them to ignore.

I am really curious to see what Accord's power does when he's confronted with a really complex problem. End of the world, doors to another dimension, higher dimensional beings, all that jazz.

[sunsetagain]

Webtoon uploading thumbnails issue solution

I've had this issue for 2 years but never found any available solution before, everyone i found having this issue never solved it. So i thought i should share it and help the others.

The solution is pretty simple: webtoon is a Korean website so the only thing you need is a Korean web browser: Naver Whale.

Download and install it. If it says any problem with languages, change language to English in settings and restart it.

So I've been trying to upload my comics to webtoon since 2022, but never succeeded because I've always been stuck at the first step: uploading thumbnails. My image files followed exactly the guidelines but the uploading icon kept spinning for 2 years.

I had tried Google Chrome, Edge, Firefox... It had never worked. Using developer mode by pressing F12 could see a lot of third party cookie/tracker and json.parse errors, which my small brain couldn't handle a tiny bit of them.

Until today, a thought popped up in my mind: Webtoon is a Korean website, maybe a Korean web browser should do it?

and poof! it worked! now i can finally stack my comics there im crying

[zappedbyzabka]

Daniel isn’t fond of the way it sounds as if the whole building were buzzing at night when he needed to rest.

It’d been weeks since he’d had a good night’s rest, something that only exasperated his issues more, but it didn’t keep his mother up even a bit. What a great envy.

The bonsai shop was a dead duck. The entire idea had done nothing but bleed away his money, and bring constant sighs from his mom and Ali.

The airy sound of it plays in his head and makes him grit his teeth.

They can never just give him some peace, always inadvertently reminding him of how naive his decision to start a shop was and trying to solve his problems for him like he were a child.

Is it not apparent that he’s already realized his mistake and suffers for it?

He finds himself avoiding them more than anyone, only adding guilt to the sludge of negative emotions feasting away at all his motivation and energy. He knows they mean well, that they are right and only want to help him, haven’t done anything wrong, but at times he feels close to stuffing all his belongings in his car and changing his name, driving somewhere far away where it snows in the winter.

Leaving everything and restarting.

He grunts, close to slapping himself for daring to imagine such a thing.

Then the bed dips, and he evens out his breathing quickly, hoping to avoid another argument with Ali. She was probably with her “friend”.

He hadn’t even heard the door open.

She rests her head on his shoulder, adorning a new perfume he found especially pleasant. Something subtle and benzoin with an undertone akin to one of the chewable vitamins his mother used to make him take, but he can’t recall the exact one.

She pokes his ribs like an ‘I know you’re awake’, smiling against his collarbone.

Things used to be so good between them.

He turns his head to feel her forehead on his chin, petting the top of her head to savor the feel of her silky hair against his palm.

He gives up the act, hungry to feel her affection comfort his woes. “Hey, doll. Long day? I missed ya’.”

She nods faintly, kissing feathery up his neck. He chuckles, opening his eyes only to stare into the pitch-black of his room, but he doesn’t mind it: it’s peaceful.

“You seem happy to see me,” he comments, fighting the urge to tack on “that’s rare lately.”

He doesn’t want to be that kind of boyfriend. Not when he’s the reason things have been tense.

He touches the corner of her lips to see if she’s still smiling for him, and the words disappear from his mind anyway at the sensation of Ali’s hot mouth enveloping his fingers swiftly like a fish catching bait and her tongue swirling around the tan digits without a halt.

His breath hiccups, excitement swarming up his body. It’s been a long time since she’s wanted to do anything with him, and she hardly ever was this enthusiastic when she did.

But he won’t complain, too wary of making a comment that would break whatever laid-back spell she seems to be under.

He glides his other hand over the curve of her ass, bunching her dress (a strange fabric, he notes) and attempting to pull it up, praying to feel the slick warmth between her legs, but she pushes his touch away.

He doesn’t try it again.

She shudders against him as if he were pleasuring her though, sucking on his fingers generously for a few more moments before slipping them out with a dirty ‘pop!’.

She scoots away, and his stomach drops a little. He sits up and reaches out, searching for her like a lost dog.

“Ali? Ali? You there?”

Blinking rapidly trying to adjust his eyes in the dark, he wonders if he had imagined the whole thing in his sleep-deprived state.

Then a soft mouth smashes against his, and he eagerly leans in like her lips are coated in honey. Her passion making him dizzy.

She slaps away his itching hands trying to pull her in by her wrists, yet allows him to slide his tongue against hers in a way that makes desperation overcome him. Yearning to grope her soft breasts and hear her moan sweetly in his ear. To hear she loves it—loves him.

Wetness smears against his chin, too cool to be spit.

He turns his head to stop her. “Wait, hey. Are you crying?”

He gets nothing but silence in return. Why must she toy with him like this? “Ali, what is?—”

He catches a whiff of the fluid on his hand, and the clear image of a small bottle of kid’s iron vitamins appears in his mind. “Ali, are you... bleeding ?”

No response.

He fumbles for the lamp, yanking down the chain so hard the entire thing almost falls to the floor and shatters.

He’s been so rough with everything lately.

Light bathes the small room, showing no girl with injuries on her. Showing no one at all.

He inspects his hand to make sure the blood is real.

And it is.

Bright and sticking, trailing from his bed to the open door showing the dark abyss of the unlit apartment.

His heart sinks in his chest like an anchor. He sits there feeling frozen for what feels like an hour before standing slowly and making his way out, feeling up the hallway wall until he finds a switch.

He peeks into his mother’s room, relieved to find her sound asleep, snoring quietly with the moon pouring in from the window.

Adrenaline builds as he follows the blood trail to the box-like kitchen, finding an envelope on the counter.

He glances at the house phone but decides to make no move towards it.

Picking up the envelope cautiously, he lifts the unlicked cover and spreads it open to see inside.

It’s a letter.

He plucks the paper out and sets it on the laminate, shivering at the sight of what was hidden underneath.

A blood-soaked hair tie and a tooth.

He drops it back onto the counter and surveys his surroundings for a moment before turning his attention to the letter.

In pungent red, It reads:

Break up with Ali or she’s next in line. By next year, you will be mine.

PS: I’m calling tomorrow at 7 PM, it better be you who answers.

Red and pink doodled hearts surround the words, making Daniel picture someone kicking their feet cutesily while writing it after severely injuring, or far more horrific, murdering someone for him.

Just to be with a failing shop owner who lives with his mother?

An unexpected thrill curls in his chest, and he doesn’t feel so exhausted anymore. Not even fearful.

He should feel sick.

He should call the cops.

He dials Ali and smiles at the floor.

[discododging]

Ok, so I'll admit, I wasn't fully a believer of the "Penny is Peony's daughter/Peonia's sister" theory but now that it's been confirmed I'll play in this space, namely about two things:

1: I'm going to be generous and say Sw/Sh's plot happens before Penny's 1 1/2 year trip back home, given that she's not with her father and sister on their trip. Therefore, it's entirely possible that Penny saw her Uncle, on Live TV, announce he was restarting the apocalypse to solve an energy crisis that wouldn't be an issue until after he was dead.

2: Holy fuck does it paint the Crown Tundra DLC in an even sadder light. Like no wonder Peony latches onto the player, he's fucking lonely! One daughter won't give him the time of day and the other is in another fucking region, (and given her dialouge also probably wouldn't have been happy, though I can't see her abandoning him like Peonia, I also can't see her being happy about it) so of course when some random kid shows interest in his plans he latches onto that!