#Summer Training in Android

[androidtraininginnoida]

[allwaswell16]

A fic rec of One Direction fics that are hidden gems - amazing fics that have been a bit overlooked and as of the time I made this rec have less than 200 kudos - as requested in an ask that Tumblr has whisked into the abyss. If you enjoy the fics, please leave kudos and comments for the writers! You can find my other recs here. Happy reading!

- Louis/Harry -

💎 Into the Weeds by kair0sclerosis / @night-is-a-feeling

(M, 87k, small town au) With the help of the captivating bartender, Louis, who he can’t seem to stop daydreaming about, and his enchanting group of friends; Harry remembers what it is to be alive. This is a story about small-town secrets, found family, queer identities, and the battle between fight and flight.

💎 don't be afraid to love (and love again) by localopa / @voulezloux

(E, 83k, angst) the one where louis is trans and afraid, harry is cis and brave, and being 100% yourself is easier said than done.

💎 When the Lights Go Out by thelarenttrap / @antidotetogo

(E, 79k, F1 au) In its near eighty years of existence, Formula 1 has never had an out gay driver. In 2017, Harry Styles signs a contract with Scuderia AlphaTauri alongside his childhood friend and competitor, Louis Tomlinson. The next decade of their careers is some of the most tumultuous press--on and off the track--Formula 1 has ever seen.

💎 Your A-Team, Your Endgame by @silverkiiwii

(E, 70k, reality show au) a Next In Fashion au where Louis and Harry are partnered in the competition but they do not get along when they have to if they want to win. Full of fashion, banter, misunderstanding and a whole lot of making each other blush.

💎  Suddenly Last Summer by @disgruntledkittenface

(E, 44k, mystery) Suddenly he has someone who listens to him and cares about what he thinks. Someone who really sees him. But their happily ever after is forever marred by an incident at a party during Labor Day weekend, and Louis is left with a choice to make.

💎 Train Tracks and Porcelain by @jaerie

(E, 41k, historical circus au) Shadows were forming into people and things and, there in the middle of it, Louis watched the humongous head of an elephant emerge from a box car right in front of his eyes. Or a Water For Elephants inspired AU

💎 Mind of Stone by amomentoflove / @daggerandrose

(M, 41k, mythology au) He needs to find a way back home, and then figure out what the fuck happened at the bar tonight.

💎 time to buy and time to lose by 5sexualhomos / @hogwartzlou

(T, 25k, time travel) Over the years, Harry’s father has played many pranks on him, but this is a whole new level. Where did he even come up with this idea? An AU based on the movie About Time.

💎 From Christiania with love by @sweariwouldnt

(NR, 18k, friends to enemies to lovers) It's Louis' first field training day as a future police officer. It doesn't quite go to his plan. Or, maybe, it goes exactly to some bigger plan.

💎 Camboy on Lockdown (series) by @reminiscingintherain

(E, 12k, camboy Louis) While Louis was working on the final draft of his thesis for his Master's, the world went into lockdown around him without him realising. Now he's trapped in student accommodation, and needs a way to earn some money...

💎 it's time to find your wings again by we_are_the_same / @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed

(T, 12k, prison guard Louis) His fascination for supernatural creatures had turned into something most closely resembling loathing over the years, due to the many stories of their evildoing, and although he still doesn’t believe in hanging them for their crimes, he does believe in keeping the town safe.

💎 Heart of a Lion (With Metal in His Teeth) by graceling_in_a_suit

(M, 8k, sci fi) Harry is an Android. Louis is his target: a revolutionary leader trying to free his people.

💎 Grow as We Go by @larryatendoftheday

(T, 7k, breakup) a fic about growing up and choosing each other.

💎 But he talks like a gentleman by fondlelarry / @fondofstyles

(NR, 7k, humor) “I had a few too many drinks, ate a bad kebab, rang a bunch of doorbells till someone let me in, vomited in his toilet, stole his orange juice and crashed on his sofa. He woke me up with breakfast though, so I’d say it’s alright.”

💎  What we parted ways with by louisismycat / @liminalkittyfics

(M, 6k, exes) Alpha Harry is surprised to see omega Louis at his matchmaker’s cocktail party for millionaires. Years ago when they were together, Louis loathed schmoozefests with rich people.

💎 Pretty and Preposterous by @brightlyharry

(NR, 5k, neighbors) Harry donates a copy of Pride and Prejudice to his little free library. He never expects what comes next.

💎 old macdonald had a farm by vintagehistories / @adoredontour

(NR, 5k, animal direction) Louis is a hedgehog, Harry is a fish, Niall is a parrot, Liam is a golden retriever, and Zayn is Zayn. It’s a crazy twenty-four hours.

💎 Dirty Diana by yeah_alright / @uhoh-but-yeah-alright

(E, 3k, kink) In the month leading up to his 30th birthday, Harry writes to his confidante Diana every day, sharing his fantasies about Louis.

💎 Pussy Juice by @homosociallyyours

(M, 3k, girl direction) While she manages to dodge the bar's "special" drink, the Pussy Juice shot, she can't avoid the feelings that come up when her former teacher (and teen crush), Louis joins her and her friends for the night.

💎 the blue never-ending sky by @justanothershadeofblue

(T, 3k, epistolary) “Arizona?” Louis asked, and Harry made an affirmative noise from his position on top of his twin bed. “Wouldn’t know, would I?”

💎 Harry, That Kills People by LadyLondonderry / @londonfoginacup

(T, 2k, organized crime/crack) If there’s one thing that Harry hates, it’s getting his clothes dirty. If there’s one other thing that Harry hates, it’s murder.

💎 As Luck Would Have It by @justalittlelouislove

(T, 2k, humor) We've all experienced the trials and tribulations of technology. Louis is sabotaged by a bit of unhelpful autocorrect, but maybe luck is on his side after all.

💎 If I Can't Have You by Janie_17

(T, 2k, fwb) After Harry turns him down, going out for Karaoke is the last thing Louis wants to do, but his friends are persuasive. When Harry shows up with Nick Grimshaw in tow, his evening goes from bad to worse. But will his choice of song manage to turn things around?

💎 Needle by @nouies

(NR, 666 words, fantasy) “You didn’t deserve this,” he muttered between hiccups. “She didn’t have the right.”

💎 Insomnis by @kingsofeverything

(NR, 500 words, science fiction) Harry’s been having trouble sleeping. Louis makes everything better.

- Rare Pairs -

💎 Eight Days by LadyAJ_13 / @ladyaj-13

(T, 22k, Liam/Louis) Louis and Liam got hitched in Vegas, completely forgot about it for more than a decade, and it comes back to bite them. Sort of.

💎 You Are A Song by @lululawrence

(NR, 3k, Louis/Nick Grimshaw) To Louis, Nick felt like poetry in motion. He was a bit of chaos surrounding Louis’ otherwise monotonous days, and Louis was quickly becoming addicted.

💎 get my kicks like you by YesIsAWorld / @louandhazaf

(E, 3k, OT5) “Wait,” Liam had said. “You all jerked it at Niall’s?”

💎 Ink on Your Fingers, Ink on My Skin by Layne Faire / @laynefaire

(E, 1k, Zayn/Liam) Liam gets tattoos for the thrill of it.

[twipsai]

doodle dump 2: the misc one! featuring splatoon, dragon ball, and some ocs :D

SPLATOON ZONE

1 - grandfest shiver!!!

2 - my Agent 8 and New Agent 3 ocs :D

3 - Gorge doodle trying to emulate the splatoon style

4 - splatband ocs being silly (Hadal and Lag)

5 - my player character doodle

6 - summer nights outfit with Hadal

8 - summer nights Shiver,,, theyre not even my fav idol i just love drawing them ig

9 - PAUL!!!! i drew these right after his new design was shown :D

DRAGON BALL ZONE

10, 11 - GOKU DRAWING PRACTICE YAYYYY drew him as some sonic official art

12 - Goten and kid Trunks! im watching buu saga rn and i really liked their interactions,, bffs!

13 - Gohan and future Trunks cuz i got a little too obsessed with dragon ball whoops

14 - kid trunks reminds me of a cockatoo

15 - traditional doodles from class cuz honestly dragon ball has been infecting my brain its a problem. help

16 - perfect cell

android - 17

18, 19 - this was literally the entire cell saga. it would cut from Trunks going through hell to Goku and Gohan having so much fun training in the hyperbolic time chamber

OC ZONE

20, 21 - Ellie and Mae in a sketchy style i was trying

22, 23 - biamg profile shots except for Will cuz i hate that guy

24 - an oc i havent shown off here, Terabyte!

25 - a miserable Will i drew cuz i dont like him

[dicklessthewonderclown]

What was the moment that made you fully go “Oh fuck Generative AI is dangerous”

Because everyone has their moment when they realize there is no place at all for Generative AI if we want a good future

so there were a couple different things. i think it was summer of 2023, there was a whole thing about chat gpt being able write a stony omegaverse fic, and i remember going “oh- so they probably stole fanfic, i don’t fuck with that shit.” and it wasn’t really something that came up for a while, but like at family events and shit when inevitably i get asked about tech stuff bc i’m the oldest nephew/grandkid/cousin, i’d be like “yeah no they’re probably stealing shit and also fuck you i write my own shit thank you very much”

at some point last year when character ai started to get a lot more popular (or maybe i was just seeing more stuff about it), i just got the vibe that this was going to go downhill very fast

there was also the thing with open ai using scarlett johansson’s voice, and at that point i started to be a lot more concerned about the ethical issues surrounding ai

but then last semester i took a 7ish week seminar on gaston bachelard’s the poetics of space (written in i think the 50s, a difficult but super enjoyable read), and in the introduction he wad talking about poetic images and humanity and stuff, and then i started thinking about generative ai more. and i ended up writing my final paper for the class on art as something fundamentally human, and the experience of experiencing art as both something unique to the individual and also as something shared by virtue of the human condition. and one of the reasons i picked this topic was so i could be like “yeah no keep generative ai the fuck out of art, it’s stripping the humanity out of something inherently human,” and now here we are

also towards the end of the class was when suchir balaji, the guy who blew the whistle on open ai’s copyright infringement “killed himself” a couple days later (you know, like whistleblowers are wont to do /s), and at that point i was like “yeah no this is significantly more unethical than most people are talking about”

and while there are absolutely so many environmental issues with generative ai, my dislike and distrust of it has always come from the place of a writer, of someone who’s been in creative spaces for the vast majority of my life, as a humanities (specifically liberal arts/philosophy) major, as someone who has been a massive reader their entire life, and as someone who has a lot of Feelings about art and storytelling as something inherent to the human condition, a representation of human emption and creativity, and ultimately our desire to be understood in our humanity

i’ve also always loved sci fi, shit like i, robot and do androids dream of electric sheep? (the book that blade runner was based on). i have so other sci fi books about ai on my tbr, but if anyone has any recommendations, please (!!) send them my way (next up is i have no mouth but i must scream). i also recently got a bunch of books about ai, and like its relation to humanity as well as ethics shit, which i’m also very excited about (shout out thrift books!!). i just finished unmasking ai by dr joy buolamwini, which is about her work and research in ai development, specifically what she calls the ‘coded gaze,’ which is the racist and sexist algorithmic biases in facial recognition technology, and some ethical issues that come up with training. i can’t recommend it enough. another good rec about ai is bury your gays by chuck tingle, which is another fucking masterpiece

my god do i love yapping. and i’ll do it at the slightest provocation (this is a threat)

[satoshi-mochida]

AIR coming to Steam in English on March 5 - Gematsu

Key will release acclaimed romance visual novel AIR for PC via Steam on March 5 worldwide for 3,200 yen, the company announced. It will support English, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese subtitle options with Japanese voice-overs.

AIR first launched for PC on September 8, 2000 in Japan, and has since been ported to Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, feature phones, PSP, iOS, Android, PS Vita, and Switch. While unofficial translation patches have been released by fans, the Steam version marks the first-ever official English release.

Here is an overview of the game, via its Steam page:

About

AIR is the work from the visual novel studio, Key, known for titles such as CLANNAD, Little Busters, Summer Pockets, and more. It received great acclaim and was even adapted into an anime series.

The story evolves depending on the choices you make, providing a variety of different endings to the visual novel’s story for you to discover.

Also includes AIR‘s side story novel, “First Sky Chapter” in visual novel format!

Featuring retouched high-definition visuals and CG coloring!

This version not only offers the best high-definition quality to date, but the game’s CG coloring has also been adjusted to better complement LED display colors. Enjoy the experience with beautiful graphics!

Although the Windows version of AIR has never had voice support before, the Steam version adds full voice support with an amazing cast of actors!

The text can be set to Japanese, English, or Simplified Chinese (audio only available in Japanese). This includes in-game text, options, and the digital manual. Language settings can be changed at any time.

Touch gestures can also be used if you’re playing on a tablet PC or a Steam Deck.

Story

Summer had come to that town. A young man is performing with a puppet in front of a seaside bus stop. Only two children are watching his show. However, they soon lose interest and run off. The young man is a traveler. He has two companions on his travels. A decrepit doll that moves without strings and a powerful oath made a long time ago. Just when he began to feel despair, a young girl comes to talk to him. She has a friendly, innocent smile. Following this meeting with her, the young man begins to live in that town. Spending gentle days enveloped in the scenes of summer. Encounters with girls in the sunlight. Summer stretches on endlessly. Beneath the vast blue sky. Beneath the air in which she awaits.

Characters: Dream

Yukito Kunisaki (voiced by Hikaru Midorikawa) – A young man traveling in search of the meaning behind the words spoken to him by his late mother. He earns money by performing with a doll that mysteriously moves without strings. The story begins when his travels bring him to a countryside bus stop by the sea.

Misuzu Kamio (voiced by Tomoko Kawakami) – A young girl who attends a school by the sea. She lives together with her mother, Haruko, but takes care of the household chores since Haruko is busy with work. She’s a bit of an airhead, but is an honest and gentle girl.

Kano Kirishima (voiced by Asami Okamoto) – The second daughter of the Kirishima Clinic, which has served the community for many years. Her parents have passed away, and she now lives with her sister Hijiri, who took over as the clinic’s doctor. She’s good friends with Potato, a mysterious creature (a dog?) who is always with her.

Minagi Tohno (voiced by Ryoka Yuzuki) – A tall, beautiful girl. Her quiet, soft way of doing things. at her own pace often gives those around her the impression that she’s mysterious and unfathomable. She often spends time with her younger friend, Michiru, at the unmanned station on an abandoned train line.

Haruko Kamio (voiced by Aya Hisakawa) – Misuzu’s mother, who lives a life of indulgence. Her lifestyle doesn’t seem to align at all with that of Misuzu, who is still a student, so they rarely spend time with each other. Her greatest joy in life right now is drinking sake.

Hijiri Kirishima (voiced by Yumi Touma) – Kano’s older sister, who is the doctor at Kirishima Clinic. She hasn’t been working long, but her skills as a doctor are not bad. She is very overprotective of her sister, often going to extremes over how much she cares for her.

Michiru (voiced by Yukari Tamura) – An energetic young girl always playing at the station together with Minagi, who she loves with all her heart. She accuses Yukito of being a kidnapper when they first meet, and from there they have many battles each time they see each other.

Characters: Summer

Kannabi-no-Mikoto (voiced by Chinami Nishimura) – A “winged one” who is said to be a servant of the gods. Although she is of high status, she is basically a prisoner of those who use her power for their own benefit.

Uraha (voiced by Kikuko Inoue) – Kanna’s lady-in-waiting, who adores her. She’s soft-spoken, but also a little unpredictable.

Ryuya (voiced by Nobutoshi Canna) – A warrior assigned to guard the shrine where Kanna is kept. He can be a little arrogant, but he’s a serious person and is unmatched with the sword.

Watch a trailer below.

Steam Trailer

English

Japanese

Simplified Chinese

[coming-lieutenant]

Hello!

Got another idea about younger detective and how Hank can't believe she likes him, so he thinks she spends time with them for Connor, until she's fed up with all of this and kisses him. Maybe in front of DPD 👀.

Thanks Queen/King/any other royality you might identifies with 💖😌

Get a Fucking Clue

A/N: Sorry for the delay 😭 my life literally imploded over the last week and a half and I finally got the ship back on course. I hope you enjoy it!! I’m so sorry it took me so long!

~

Cool, refreshing air envelopes your body, a comforting contrast to the summer heat outside as you walk step into the Detroit Police Precinct. Today marks the beginning of a new journey for you as a criminal investigator. Over are the days of sitting on the side of the road, in alleys, waiting for someone to break into a building, mug some unsuspecting passerby, or any of the other unsavory activities that occur under the moonlight of this restless city. Now, you get to work among some of DPD’s finest on the scenes of the crimes, solving crimes with much higher stakes.

You take a breath, trying to keep yourself cool and collected as you walk into the Bull Pen. You’ve been in here before, but typically you didn’t spend much time here. You walk through, looking at the desks, looking for the lieutenant and his partner you’ve been assigned to train under. You see a man, or android, rather, as you can tell by the bright blue LED on his temple, sitting at a desk. You recall being told the partner in question was an android detective sent by Cyberlife, and though you don’t see anyone sitting with him, you approach anyway.

“Hello. You must be Connor,” you say, greeting the android as you walk up to the desk. He looks up from his computer at you. “Hello,” he says, giving you a warm smile, “I am in fact. Can I help you with something?” You look at the empty desk across from him. “Have you seen Lieutenant Anderson this morning?” You ask, puzzled by his absence. Connor smiles again. “It would be surprising if I had. I’ll call him and let him know you’re here.” He picks up his phone, calling Lieutenant Anderson. He looks mildly surprised as his call is answered. “Lieutenant? Our trainee is here. She wishes to meet you.” He’s quiet for a moment, seemingly listening to the response. “Alright. I’ll let her know.” Connor hangs up the phone, looking to you, “He wanted me to inform you he’ll be here in fifteen minutes. He said you may sit at his desk until he arrives if you want.” You smile, nodding. “I think I will.”

You sit at his desk, taking in the various items he has scattered around. He’s got a little plant, which makes you smile, and a picture of a saint bernard dog. He’s also got stickers all over his computer screen, almost completely covering the screen itself. You scan your eyes over the snarky and sarcastic stickers, referencing his disdain for his ex-wife, happy people, and complaints.

Just as you finish reading them, you catch the motion of someone approaching out of the corner of your eye. You look up to see a particularly tall man, taller than Connor, with shaggy, silver hair and a brown leather jacket approaching. You smile, standing up. “You must be Lieutenant Anderson,” you greet, holding your hand out for him to shake. He stands in front of you, an apathetic yet curious look on his face as he shakes your hand. The contact nearly sends a shiver down your spine, heat blossoming in your hand and running all the way up your arm, settling in your cheeks. “Unfortunately.” He responds, looking down at you. “Are you the new kid Fowler wants me to train?” Your smile falters a little bit, taken aback, but you’re not one to back down at the first sign of trouble. You stand up a little straighter, smiling at him confidently. “I actually have several years of patrol under my belt.” This makes him chuckle. “I consider ‘several’ five or more years. How many you got?” He retorts. You cross your arms, still smiling. “Four. But regardless, I’m not fresh meat, Lieutenant, and I’m sure someone as experienced as yourself will have no problem training me up in no time,” you quip. This finally gets you a smirk from the detective. He sits down in his chair, “I’ll see what I can do.”

-

Your training under Hank went like that for months. Sarcastic comments from Hank, witty replies thrown right back in his face from you, Connor being an unfortunate bystander, day in and day out. As the days went by, you found yourself growing… Particularly fond of Hank. It was nearing the end of your training, meaning working so closely alongside Hank and Connor was about to come to and end, and you would be assigned to cases on your own and eventually be issued your own partner. As exhilarating as it was, finally having the world in your hands, it was bittersweet. You found yourself waking up in the morning eager to go to work, and though you were in some degree of denial about it, deep down you knew you weren’t eager to work. You were eager to see Hank.

Hank was grumpy, cynical, and spiteful, yes. Absolutely he was. Concurrently, though, you knew that, much like Connor, he had grown a soft spot for you. In fact, much to Connor’s chagrin, he seemed to have more of a soft spot for you than he did for even his android partner. Of the three of you, you were the most likely to make mistakes. To get things wrong. Regardless, he always met your self criticisms with defensiveness. Defense of you. He never let you feel like you weren’t a good enough detective, or like you would never be able to make it on your own. And, though you would never let him know it, the banter between the two of you, when it happened, never failed to light a fire deep inside you. It was exhilarating to go back and forth with him, and you basked in the attention of it.

Nearing the end of your training with Hank, only weeks out from it, you found yourself standing outside of Chicken Feed with Hank. Connor sat in the car, as usual, seemingly wanting to give the two of you space as he slowly caught onto your feelings for Hank. You smile at Hank. “Only a couple more weeks of this, huh?” you quip. Hank chuckles. “Yep. You’re lucky, you only have to deal with two more weeks of this ugly mug. Connor over there has to put up with it until further notice,” he responds, motioning to Connor in the car with the sandwich in his hands. “You’re going to miss him, aren’t ya?” he says, laughing. A look of confusion spreads across your face, and you look at him with furrowed brows. “Miss who?” Hank gives you a knowing look. “Connor.” He says, as though it’s the most obvious statement in the world. You are thoroughly perplexed by this. “Oh, uh… Yeah? I guess so.” You’re not sure what the point of the question is, but you finish your lunch anyway, not much of a word from either of you as you finish eating.

Back at the station, Hank’s words repeat like a broken record in your head. You sit with him, once again in Connor’s absence, as the two of you quietly work on filing through cases. Suddenly, Hank speaks. “You know, I think you should tell him how you feel.” You sit up, crossing your arms and leaning back in your chair. “Hank, what in god’s name are you talking about?” you demand, looking incredulously at him. He looks back up at him. “Connor. You should tell him how you feel. I mean, even when there’s no case, you’re always hanging around. You always seem to laugh when you’re with him, and you blush all the time. I think before your training is done, you should tell him how you feel.” You stand up, running your hand through your hair and sighing, pacing slightly away from your chair as you are struck with disbelief, not knowing how to respond. You’ve never in all your years seen someone be so dense. He starts to talk again. “Listen, I didn’t mean to stress you out, I just think-“ Suddenly, you know exactly what you should do. You spin on your heel, cutting him off as he speaks by grabbing him by the collar and slamming your lips onto his. Hank’s hands are suspended in mid-air where they had been while he spoke, and they slowly move to your arms, gently touching you as he begins to kiss back. After a moment, you pull away, smiling. “Still think it’s Connor I’ve taken an interest in?” Hank stares at you, a smile slowly creeping onto his lips as seemingly the whole bull pen stares at the two of you in disbelief. Hank chuckles, speechless. And you smirk, returning to your chair, satisfied with yourself as you return to your work. Finally, the man has gotten a fucking clue.

[twopoppies]

Brooklyn_Babylon fics as T-Shirts

Hike Up Your Skirt (And Show Your World To Me) E, 18K

Louis has a very hands on approach to training his new secretary. How else can he make sure Harry realizes his full potential?

Literally Making Love (E, 30K)

Holding up one of the android's eyes to the workshop’s windows, he smiled as the light picked up the gold flecks in the pale green of his irises. Louis had always paid attention to even the tiniest details.

—

All Louis intended to do was rescue someone in need from loneliness. He had no idea it would be himself.

An Invincible Summer (E, 45K)

Never content to stay in one place for long, a few months down south researching for his novel seemed like an idyllic, slow-paced summer to Louis. He wasn't ready for the blistering heat, the backbreaking work of watermelon picking, or how stifling the attitudes in rural Georgia would feel. And he definitely hadn’t anticipated falling in love with the farmer’s son.

The summer of 1946 would turn out to be everything worth writing about.

gathered on wings (E, 33K)

What Harry Styles wanted was to be taken seriously as an artist.

What he needed was a new sugar daddy to pave the way.

Louis Tomlinson is an artist who isn’t what Harry is looking for.

Somehow he still manages to turn Harry's world upside down.

Whoever, However (E, 9K)

Louis could feel his heart rate pick up as he positioned the camera and Harry slowly stood up. They both knew what came next—it had been clearly outlined in the advert Harry answered. The studio Louis worked for was filming a new series of camboy videos. Louis’ job was to make it look like amateur porn—sweaty, sensual, dirty—but well lit and edited. He was an artist, thank you very much.

—

Or: Louis has a much better day at work than he’d expected.

Thank you @awesomefringey and @lovingstheantidote for indulging my nonsense and looking for t-shirts. 😂 Clearly, I’m procrastinating writing my new fic.

[hardworkandguts]

Weekly Catch-up #1

So, let's see how this works. It's the start of a new season and I have put maybe too many shows on the list to check if they're interesting or not. I'll be experimenting with the format to see how can I make this work. Pretty sure next time I won't be so wordy because I can skip explaining the premise. Or even writing at all, there's weeks where there isn't much to say and once again, I'm not going to do recaps.

(next week)

What was on?

Kowloon Generic Romance

(ep 1,2) One of the shows that caught my eye early on, a (checks title) romance anime set in the Kowloon Walled City that was never demolished between two co-workers at a real estate company. Reiko Kujirai loves new experiences, while Hajime Kudou prefers things as they are. One day she finds herself falling for him, and later finds a photo of them... in celebration of their engagement. It looks quite good, and for so much talk about nostalgia, it does have a certain retro touch to it, almost like a 90s OVA that was lost to time. Judging from the initial two episodes, between the visuals, the intriguing world and the plot mysteries, it's the frontrunner for best show of this spring.

Witch Watch

(ep1, 2) Maybe it's becayse how much I like Kiki's Delivery Service (and maybe I should do a post on it), but the concept of "new witch graduated and must now deal with the outside world" kind of draws me in, that's how I ended up watching Flying Witch, a show I still think of occasionally. Witch Watch however is very much a romcom about Nico Wakatsuki, a witch who ended her training in the witches holy land and is now back in regular society, and picked her childhood friend Morihito Otogi as her familiar, as he's from a long line of Oni. It's looking great if you want something quite silly, her general clumsiness and not knowing the details of spells doing a lot for it. Best joke, the spell to make things lighter she later discovers when used on people turns them into airheads. Then later, they discover things get heavier to compensate, and I'm not going to spoil the joke the episode ends on. Second episode has them going to school, and Morihito's attempt at keeping her identity under wraps doesn't get past her introduction in the first day. I think this is going to be fun, even more knowing it will stay with us until Fall.

Your Forma

(ep1, 2) Right, who's been playing too much Deus Ex before doing their designs for in-brain HUDs? Am I complaining? No, I kinda want to play that game. From the first two episodes, it starts as a murder mystery where Harold, the android partner of Echika Hieda, an investigator capable of diving into said brain implants and also doesn't like robots, is found to be a suspect as he's one of the three models that look like the suspect. It's a bit hard to tell where it's going by now beyond the resolution leading to some tension between the leads, but it's also a bit of a tired scenario by now: brain implants, androids breaking Asimov's laws (no sorry, the Laws of Respect), and I'm sure we're getting into if they have rights in no time. While it has good ideas visually, I've found character design and backgrounds a bit uninspiring, and the story... Yeah, I feel I've been here before. It's distributed by Remow, so check if it's available in your area on YouTube.

Summer Pockets

(ep1) Had this as a "maybe" because the story of a boy who uses his Summer break to help sort his departed grandmother travel memorabilia at her place in a small rural island and clear his head after some swimming related incident and meets four different girls reminds me of a trend many years ago of shows that were technically very pretty, very slow paced and mostly focused on the low drama of the mundane and human emotion, where the main character and the rest of the cast help each other out with their own problems and limitations, as the gentle music plays over the cicadas, maybe with some supernatural element, and then finished on some sort of bittersweet nothing of an ending because the important was the growth along the way or something like that, and... I'm not sure if I'm in for that ride. First episode really didn't do much to quiet that feeling, and since Spring 2025 seems loaded, I'm giving it three episodes to do it. At least it has two things going for it - it looks pretty and unlike Tasokare Hotel I can at least go to the Play Store and see the game it is based on.

Gundam Paper Jam In Tray

(ep 1) So, this comes just days after (finally) watching both Gundam 0079 and Zeta Gundam, and decided to watch it based on my fresh knowledge of maybe 5% of the whole franchise. It's set on a different timeline from the original show where Char Aznable steals the Gundam and leads Zeon to victory, then disappears. It's hard to say that much about it, as the first episode was a bit messy and tried to push too many ideas at once without really giving enough attention to any, but it looks pretty good and should be at least mildly entertaining should it work out a pace at which to tell a story.

Uchuujin MuuMuu

(ep 1) the description - a socially anxious college freshman has to share her apartment with a space cat who's trying to rediscover technology lost to his people - was enough to get a "yeah, maybe" out of me, and while I didn't expect the edutainment parts of it, it may elevate how bizarre everything is. So, the race MuuMuu belongs to blew up their own planet in the middle of a war, but not before killing all scientists and smart cats, so by exclusion, MuuMuu is an idiot, and is now disassembling home appliances trying to figure out how they work, and let's be honest, if cats could do that, I'm sure they would. Unfortunately for him, while Sakurako can search things on her phone, she can't exactly explain how they work, either, which also serves as a comment on how very little we know of things we use every day. I think I'll stick to it, it has the potential to get really weird.

Apothecary Diaries

(ep 2.14) So, after making everyone think about "frogs", it was time for the fan service episode, which opened the way for a new mystery in the imperial palace Maomao has the opportunity to solve. It's not a particularly difficult one for her, but still provided another insight on how Jinshi protects the order in the rear palace, so it was dealt in half an episode. For the second half, it keeps moving towards the finale as Jinshi and Gaoshun discuss when to bring her inside his other (possibly even bigger IYKWIM) secret that she kind of figured out already, but tries not to think about too much.

Food For The Soul

The first show I added to this season "must check" list, it's another cute girls doing cute things, based on the greatest Japanese tradition of showing food, in the same week I watched Wakakozake, so what could go wrong. Well, it *could* be boring, but within the first minutes there's a character trying to pass a bribe to a university clerk to let her start a club with less than 4 members. Gremlin. Yes. At the end we know the main purpose Shinon had to create the club was to have a place to hang out, shattering the dreams Mako had of cooking and going to restaurants together. If it turns out to be group Wakakozake, it's a winner.

Mono Weekend Animation

Right, from one club to another, now the stories of two girls who joined the photo club in their first year of high school, and now are running it. Or, trying to, as Satsuki misses her senpai who graduated and is now in fetal position under the table and An mostly followed her into the club for reasons. Then they meet a mangaka who was burned out after finishing her last work and forgot to send them a camera, and needs inspiration for a new work, and finds the adventures of the two girls just the thing. This is both another cute girls doing cute things anime, with a hint of hobby anime, as you can guess, photography and video. Sure, why not (extends the spring posting window to three weeks).

'Tis Time For "Torture", Princess

(#266) Ah, one of the things this series does best, introducing new characters and making a mockery of expectations immediately, this time the Hell Lord's older brother, who obviously looks as menacing, but is also as considerate as him. Do I want to see this animated in the second season? Yes.

In other news:

Makeine was confirmed for a second season. Kind of surprised but happy with it.

The movie version of Rose of Versailles gets an April 30th release date and English dub, on Netflix (via).

City The Animation by Arawi Keiichi gets a trailer, should be one of my favourites for the Summer season, already hinting it will have some of the "didn't need to go this hard" animation of Nichijou.

Also getting a new trailer, the new Ghost In The Shell adaptation by Science SARU scheduled for next year. It's apparently not following the tone set by the 1995 movie adaptation, but closer to the occasionally goofier source material, which will certainly be a big point of contention for those who see the Oshii version as the standard Major.

Questions?

Anonymous didn't ask, but sent re: Guild Receptionist:

Its funny because the Guild Receptionist anime completely botched the novel because the novel actually has really good pacing and the anime basically deleted half the novel cast off just so they could give Jade more screen time. The first volume goes into depth about why there are bosses and the ancients, also they cut off so many key elements that it feels weird and empty

Ooooh, that really explains a lot why it feels off and a bit all over the place. Really a missed opportunity on what's a cool concept but at least now I know it's an adaptation problem.

[burninglights]

Apropos of forest and national parks rangers (the dedicated Shit Has Gone Sideways Handlers) having their jobs axed, and as a former hiker, I think that if you’re outdoorsy, you ought to be aware of the following resources:

- Where There Is No Doctor by David Werner & Carol Thurman, regarded by the WHO as the reference text for remote medicine (Internet Archive PDF link)

- Stop the Bleed training, available in the US & UK, which provides training on how to stop haemorrhage in an emergency situation outside of a clinical environment (website link to local training)

- Manual CPR instruction via Revivr, the dedicated British Heart Foundation manual CPR training programme (website link)

- what3words, which generates three unique words that allow emergency response & public safety bodies to locate users (available on android & Apple app stores)

WHILST NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR PROFESSIONAL HELP IN A TIMELY MANNER, I’d really recommend that folks familiarise themselves with these resources, particularly emergent wound care & how to use what3words, as in an emergency situation, all preparedness is helpful.

In addition to all of this, I really recommend that folks have a first aid kit in their backpacks/vehicles.

You do not need the Batcave in your rucksack or your car boot, but it never hurts to be prepared. You can find stocked first aid kits in most pharmacies and retailers.

Failing that, here is how I stock my personal ‘on the go’ first aid kit for my backpack:

- 1 x card of paracetamol/acetaminophen tablets

- 1 x card of aspirin tablets (substitute for ibuprofen if you’re on blood thinners, have a clotting disorder or have other contraindications for aspirin use)

- 5 x alcohol antiseptic wipes

- 1 x tube of antiseptic cream

- 1 x tube of antihistamine cream (bug bite cream)

- 2 x pairs nitrile gloves

- 30 x plasters assorted size

- 3 x large sterile wound dressings

- 2 x hydrocolloid plasters

- 1 x sterile gauze bandage

- 1 x micropore tape

You may also want to include;

- 3 x large non-adhesive wound dressings

- 1 x roll of comprehensive bandage (self adhesive; useful for fixing wound dressings in place or for stabilising sprains)

- 1 x tube arnica bruise cream

Emergency medications (asthma inhaler/EpiPen/glucagon gel for hypoglycaemia etc) should also be either on your person or in your kits.

Ensure that you’re wearing proper clothing.

In the summer, you need protective sunhats and sunglasses, as well as SPF; you should also ensure that you’re carrying more water than you think you need, as you’ll be dehydrating faster due to a combination of heat loss and exertion. Loose, covering clothing made natural fibres like cotton etc., will shield you from the sun and wick sweat.

If you’re in tick country, sleeves and long trousers that are tucked into socks are non-negotiables. Lyme disease sucks absolute ass and can take months to recover from, as does tick borne encephalitis, tularemia and anaplasmosis. Long hair should be tied up and covered with a hat; after your hike, inspect your clothing and yourself thoroughly for ticks.

Footwear is more important than you’d think. Hiking in your Converse is a sure fire way to twist your ankle to fuck, and if you’re a solo hiker, that’s a good way to get in deep shit very quickly. Hiking trainers or boots are ideal, though any well fitting, waterproof trainer with a good tread and a decent grip will also suffice providing you’re not going through harsh terrain.

Finally, marked trails and campgrounds are there for a reason. Going off trail, especially in terrain you’re unfamiliar with, is a spectacular way to get swallowed up by a ravine or unmarked cave system, get lost and die of exposure, or get eaten.

Human exceptionalism is a real phenomenon, and a detrimental one. For all intents and purposes, when in nature, you’re a ham hock with delusions of grandeur. Bears will kill you just as dead as they would a deer. Same goes for wolves, coyotes, exposure, thirst, caves and flash flooding.

Speaking of wild animals; do not approach them. If you’re close enough to pet them, you are close enough to get bitten/gored/trampled/clawed/otherwise killed in a grotesque manner. Make an effort to learn about any wildlife you may encounter before your trip, and what to do if you encounter them.

Enjoy the natural environment, learn about it, and have fun in it, as loving it and learning about it is the best way to get invested in it’s protection and preservation, but do so in a way that means you’re alive to advocate for it when your adventure is done.

[shuilongyinleo]

Shui Long Yin VR Metaverse: Technologies and Digital Assets, and the melon about it being released in Summer 2025

What is the metaverse?

The Shui Long Yin metaverse is a parallel world closely resembling the real world, built through the use of digital modelling and technologies such as VR and AR, and designed to exist permanently.

This virtual realm integrates cutting-edge advancements, including blockchain, augmented reality, 5G, big data, artificial intelligence, and 3D engines.

When you acquire a ticket to this world, you gain a digital asset, allowing you to become an immersive citizen within the Shui Long Yin Metaverse.

Every item within Shui Long Yin can be experienced through Augmented Reality using VR devices, providing a seamless blend of the physical and digital realms. These digital assets are permanent, and in some cases, overseas users may trade or transfer their tickets to enter the Shui Long Yin world.

What is VR and AR?

Virtual Reality (VR) is a technology that enables users to interact within a computer-simulated environment.

Augmented Reality (AR), on the other hand, combines elements of VR by merging the real world with computer-generated simulations. A well-known example of AR is the popular game Pokémon Go, where virtual objects are integrated into real-world surroundings.

Tang LiCi's universe

The Shui Long Yin film crew has digitally modeled the core art assets, 50 000 square meters.

What technologies does China Mobile & Migu bring to the table?

China Mobile served as the lead organizer for the 2023 World VR Industry Conference. Its subsidiary, Migu, has also been dedicated to advancing projects in this area.

Shui Long Yin is their first priority this summer 2025.

5G+AI: VR world in Metaverse

AIGC AR 3D: Using AI technology in graphics computer, with the best trained AI system in China.

Video ringtones as a globally pioneering service introduced by China Mobile.

Shui Long Yin from Screen to Metaverse to Real Life: Epic Battles and Intricate Plotlines

The United States and China are world pioneers in the development of TV drama integration VR Metaverse. Notably, Shui Long Yin is the sixth TV drama map worldwide to be merged into the Metaverse.

How can we enjoy these technologies?

-- First we need 5G -- According to a report by the Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA), by June 2022:

》There are 70 countries around the world had active 5G networks, you can fully experience all the technology featured in Shui Long Yin.

Example: South Korea, China, and the United States have been at the forefront. Follow after are Japan, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Australia, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Viet Nam...

》No worries—even in countries without 5G, you can still watch the drama and enjoy AIGC and 3D technology through the streaming platforms Migu Video and Mango.

•Mango available on IOS and Android, Harmony OS

•Migu (Mobile HD) soon availabe on IOS and Android, Harmony OS

-- Second, we need VR devices --

In country where VR is already commonplace, such as the United States, owning a VR device is considered entirely normal. Users can select devices that best suit their preferred forms of home entertainment.

European countries have also become fairly familiar with VR technology.

However, it is still relatively new to many parts of Asia. When choosing a VR device, it’s important to select one that is most compatible with your intended activities, whether that’s gaming, watching movies, or working.

It's no surprise to us that the drama Shui Long Yin will be released in the summer 2025, but it will also be coinciding with offline tourism to Long Yin Town in Chengdu, online VR Metaverse travel, and 3D experiences on the new streaming platforms Migu and Mango. Stay tuned!

Tv drama: SHUI LONG YIN Shui Long Yin & Leo All music and image are copyrighted and belong to the respective owners, included the official film crew SHUILONGYIN.

[nine-one-wanton]

make me write

Thank you for tagging me @typicalopposite 💜

*deep breath*

For each emoji you send, I will write and post 3-ish lines of the corresponding WIP(s).

Note: @rdng1230 👟 is a gift for you. So depending on who you are as a human bean, you may or may not want to click on those wip spoilers. (I would want to wait if it was my gift; but if you want to celebrate early - you are welcome to do so. If I get any of those, I’ll put them under a cut, just in case 🎁)

🌟- Shining Star: bucktommy. Buck meets Tommy when he works at his local small town firehouse during his summers home from college. They lose touch after Buck graduates; but a decade later when Buck finds himself back in town, will the sparks still be there? Spoiler alert: Yes.

👟- Born to Run. saltommy. Sal helps Tommy train for a marathon to help Tommy win back his ex (not buck, this isn’t about that). Spoiler alert: they may lose sight of that mission.

🌞- Texas Sun. carlos/eddie. Six months after Eddie moves to El Paso, he makes another move. To Austin. He joins the 126 and makes some interesting connections.

🏷️: If you wanna!

@30somethingautisticteacher @bangpop91 @cliophilyra @do-androids-dream-ao3acc

@girlwonder-writes @herrmannhalsteadproduction @judymarch15 @lavenderleahy

@racerchix21 @rdng1230 @sunnywithachanceofbi @weewookinard

[anemcia]

@regulus-regent liked for a starter!

Snow fell heavily in Kodaiho Lands, blanketing everything in a frozen, relentless white. Cell despised this season. So accustomed to the summer heat, the bitter cold seeped into his bones, making him feel lethargic and weak. While his natural ability to survive the vacuum of space was well embedded in the fabric of his DNA, the frost of winter was a different beast, evidently. His insectoid genetics seemed particularly affected, and the training sessions with Honeydew had slowed to a crawl.

The bio android paced restlessly inside the farmhouse, a faint growl escaping his lips. His body, normally a powerhouse of energy and strength, felt sluggish. He needed to get out, to escape this confining home, and sort out this unforgivable weakness that has crept upon him.

"Stay here," he muttered to the farmer, his student. "I need to be alone."

She watched him with a mix of concern and curiosity.

"Be careful," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. She knew better than to try and stop him, but she couldn’t hide the worry in her eyes. Even for him, this behavior was abnormal.

Ignoring her, Cell stepped out into the biting winds that rushed past his wings. The snow crunched under his feet as he walked further than he should have, further than the boundaries that kept him hidden. The outside pressure continued to rise, but he pressed on, defiantly ignoring the fatigue that sapped his energy. Walking had not seemed to improve this irritable sensation, and to save what strength he could, decided to take flight instead.

As he soared through the frosted sky, the negative effects of winter began to take a vicious, abrupt toll. His vision blurred, and he blacked out, crashing into the plush snow with a heavy thud. He now lay there, unconscious, slowly covered in a thick blanket of white.

Time passed, and for how long is not presently clear.

[outofconcheol]

key:

a = angst, f = fluff, s = smut, c = crack

© outofconcheol 2023 [do not AI train/copy/repost/translate]

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : bang chan

|◁ II ▷| stay tuned!

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : lee know

Collision (LMH x F!reader) - |f,a,s| - college au, football player!Minho, 14.0k

|◁ II ▷| The school year was a chance to start fresh - make new memories, meet new people, and most of all to leave the past behind. But Lee Minho is determined to make sure you never forget the one summer night you'd spent with him - no matter how hard he has to work for it.

friends forever? (LMH x F!reader) - |f,s| - established relationship, 1.9k

|◁ II ▷| Minho has the difficult task of wooing someone very important to you.

Exit West (LMH x F!reader) - |a,f,s| - post apocalyptic!au, 6.3k

|◁ II ▷| Even when the world is plunged into its darkest hour, you find the faintest light in Minho.

The Sun Also Rises (LMH x F!reader) - |a,f,s| - strangers to lovers, travel au, 8.0k

|◁ II ▷| Sometimes, one night is all it takes to change everything. and that's where Minho meets you.

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : changbin

resonance (SCB x F!Reader) |a,s| - arranged marriage, e2l (a little bit), sort of cyberpunk au, 12.0k

|◁ II ▷| Perfection - an idea that’s been drilled into you from birth. As the sole heir to the empire known as Miroh Labs, you’ve watched technology and tradition collide. However, your family’s latest venture is one that puts your own fate in limbo – ambitiously arranging a marriage to an android of their creation, known as C.H.A.N.G.B.I.N. Grappling with the idea of marrying a machine, you come to realize Changbin is more than a set of intricate codes – the profound depths of his abilities are capable of changing the fabric of society, and you, forever.

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : hyunjin

|◁ II ▷| stay tuned!

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : han

Sign Here For... (HJS x F!Reader) |f,s,c| - one night stand au, strangers to lovers, 4.0k

|◁ II ▷| Feeling frustrated and reeling from your recent breakup, you put in a special order on your favorite delivery app. However, with the goods, comes Jisung, who’s a lot more than you’d ever bargained for.

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : felix

|◁ II ▷| stay tuned!

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : seungmin

not yet (KSM x GN!Reader) |a,f| - friends (idiots) to lovers, 2.8k

|◁ II ▷| "Not yet" was a phrase that came to define Seungmin's life for the longest time. Until you came along, and changed everything.

Tune In For Love (KSM x GN!Reader) |f, a| - (idiots) to lovers, 2.8k

|◁ II ▷| When you and Seungmin come up with a crazy new idea for your radio show, a week of chaos and unspoken feelings unfolds. As you learn more about relationships, will the two of you tune in for love? Or decide to shut it down completely?

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : i.n.

|◁ II ▷| stay tuned!

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : multi-member

|◁ II ▷| stay tuned!

[isolaradiale]

As midnight struck on this warm summer's eve the sound of static rang out across the city. It was distracting, piercing, and so incessantly loud that it would have stirred almost anyone from their slumber. A hiss that sounded from each and every television for roughly thirty seconds, the sound and distorted display eventually cut out before each screen began to play something unusual.

It was a commercial for a multimedia project of some sort. A game? A television series? A collectable merch line? It was all of these things at once but the commercial was rather old-fashioned. Like something from the 90s.

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? PICK UP SPIRAMONSTERS TODAY!

The advertisement ended with this seemingly standard line and yet as it came to an end and regular programming returned, the quiet city came to life with surprise. At the side of every character that had been brought into the city from another world was a strange creature, one that embodied traits from the person they had appeared beside.

Their very own Spiramonster!

--------------------

"Ofiuco... When you said you wanted to run a "social experiment" you never indicated you'd be creating this much data." One Star remarked to the android that sat before a wall of computer monitors that reflected their light off of her artificial eyes. Ofiuco did not reply immediately and instead continued to type, fingers moving at an inhuman pace as she finalized the programming.

When she finally finished she spun several times in her chair with a blank expression on her face. She was an eccentric young lady. "I just wanted to see how they reacted. This is a classic concept, isn't it? After all, they deserve to have fun once in a while too."

---------------------

After a very confusing night caring for some very cryptic critters, at 7am the next morning some context was finally provided to the city by the way of another television broadcast featuring Ofiuco in a lab coat. "Welcome to the world of... Oh... I should avoid copying too much, shouldn't I? Um. As you all may have noticed you've each received a Spiramonsters. They are very much real. At least as real as you are."

"You'll be taking care of them for a short time. Raise them. Train them. Befriend them. Love them. But also you should partake in our Spiramonster Cup, known otherwise as The Challenger's Road. It would provide us with some very valuable data." She raised her hand and a map of the island appeared with various locations marked with star symbols. "There are challenges for your Spiramonsters to accomplish at these points. Complete one of the eight and we'll reward you. I pinky promise."

Was she not going to elaborate on that?

GENERAL OVERVIEW

Welcome to our twenty-fifth event, THE CHALLENGER'S PATH!

It's probably very obvious what inspired this event, but it was naturally drawn from the very popular monster collecting genre.

This event is the first of two new events that will be run over the summer. The second will run in August and will be connected in terms of story but will be a different kind of event entirely!

The event ends at 11:59:59PM EST on July 21st.

After the event ends any Spiramonsters created will lose their physical forms, however you will be able to preserve them in Spiragotchi devices you receive for completing a challenge (see: The Challenger's Road).

There are plans to make the monsters you create more permanent fixtures in the group, however this won't happen until the conclusion of the August event!

SPIRAMONSTER GUIDE

So what is a Spiramonster? It's a monster designed after the character that acts as their companion, possessing traits of the character that it has this close relationship with.

These means that a Spiramonster could share physical, personality, or ability traits with your character and we encourage you to design them with these things in mind, though you don't need to if you want to design something completely original!

Each Spiramonster can have up to five attacks that you can base on your muse's own abilities / personality / etc. For example: if your character was an idol you could make up music related abilities, or if your character has like super strength you could give them a strength related move.

Simply for comparison's sake, a Spiramonster cannot be stronger than your average Pokemon. It also cannot be any larger than a horse. You can model them after animals, machines, objects, whatever you'd like so long as you don't just make them little people.

On that note whether or not they can communicate in the human tongue is up to you!

Otherwise feel free to be as creative as you would like! You can describe them with words or if you feel up to it you can demonstrate how they look with other talents!

Feel free to name them whatever you'd like (so long as it's appropriate)!

You can give a copy of your own Spiramonster to a friend via an app that will appear on your character's phone. Whether you want to give it for free, after beating you in a battle, or for money or a favour is up to you though! You can only have a party of five Spiramonsters however!

You do not need to create a Spiramonster for event participation. However you must write with someone who has one and we do encourage it, because they will be relevant in the August event in some capacity.

THE CHALLENGER'S ROAD

Ofiuco mentioned the Spiramonster Cup, otherwise known as The Challenger's Road. So what is this?

A map has been included on everyone's phones that marks challenge locations on the island map. Go there to be given a challenge by one of the Stars or other bodies involved in the city project in the form of a projection.

The challenges will range in goals from battles, to obstacle courses, to treasure hunts; there's a great variety! You can find a list of these challenges here.

Complete one of these challenges either in five-hundred words (per participant) across one or multiple threads or in five-hundred word drabble to unlock 500 Stars and a Spiragotchi device that will allow you to take care of your Spiramonster in pocket form when the event ends!

You do not need to complete a challenge to get rank-up participation! Any post partaking in the event will do!

As always if you have any questions about the event do not hesitate to ask! We'll get back to you as soon as you can!

[greatwyrmgold]

Cluster Trigger: Family Edition

There aren't enough fucked-up families in the Parahumans multiverse; I'll make another.

Our family members:

May, the mother. Currently single and overworked.

Soren, the big brother. Autistic, to a serious degree.

Danielle, the little sister. Also autistic, but less so, and also undiagnosed.

The patriarch of the family is out of the picture, and has been since Soren was in kindergarten and Dani in diapers. Stress from work and children built up to the point that he assaulted May, who promptly filed divorce papers.

Since May went to divorce court in a cast, the court decided that the children wouldn't be safe with their father. May was worried about whether she'd be able to take care of both kids on her own, but decided it would be worse to split the siblings apart.

The trigger event happened a decade later, the summer before Soren entered high school.

May's Day

May has had a pretty stressful decade, trying to balance Soren's needs, Dani's needs, her own needs, and so on...and there just isn't enough time in the day.

May would love to be a full-time mom, but child support payments only go so far, so she needs to go to work. There are chores to do and errands to run; Soren and Dani are old enough to handle some of those, but not many, not without supervision, which still takes time. She needs to calm the kids down when something goes wrong. She needs to make sure as few things as possible will go wrong, which is tough, because the kids' needs are often in tension. (They're both picky eaters, for one thing, but they pick different foods.) She needs to check on her dad every week, because no one else will. She needs to find enough "me time" to avoid going insane.

And of course, she needs to stop the kids from killing each other. That one is a joke...or it's supposed to be.

It's a busy afternoon, and May's in a hurry. Today, Dani starts that beach summer camp she's been looking forward to. That means May only needs to worry about Soren for a week and a half; unfortunately, she needs to go to work right after, and she can not afford to miss a shift right now.

And then disaster strikes. Not half an hour before May needs to take Dani to the camp, Soren knocks over a glass. He knows they're in a hurry, so he quickly moves to throw away the shards of glass, and cuts his hand open. He's on the ground, clutching his hand to his chest and rocking back and forth, shouting "It's fine" over and over but there's so much blood.

May knows she needs to take Soren to the ER, and tries to guess how that'll impact her schedule. Her boss had better be fine with getting to work late to take her son to the hospital, but the summer camp...May quickly puts some towels on Soren's bloody hand and warns Dani that she might have to miss the first day of camp.

And apparently, that snaps something in her. Dani grabs one of Soren's model trains and starts hitting her brother in the head.

There's more of Soren's blood.

May's powers

This stress has been building a long time, with the trigger event being an unusually extreme coincidence of domestic issues that she'd experienced for years. Tinker. Looking at the TINKERS 2.0 doc, I think a Liberty/Controller methodology fits pretty well.

I bounced around a few ideas for her power around the same cluster of ideas, but I think "cloned cyborgs" works best. Basically, May makes android bodies that resemble herself and adds some cloned nervous/endocrine tissue to control them. She can incorporate her own memories, skills, etc into these cyber-clones; if she's willing to invest and risk it, she can even give them her powers.

Theoretically, having several copies of yourself would resolve May's issues. In practice, she needs to maintain the cyber-clones' robot parts, keep tabs on their psychology to make sure they're not depressed or overworked or going all Golem of Prague on her metaphorical wells; at best, it's two steps forward for one step back. At worst, the opposite.

The big perk is that, now that she and her kids have powers, she can collapse several duties into one. If she starts a superhero team with her family, she can take care of them and go to work at the same time! Just like those people in Brockton Bay did! It worked out for them, right?

May names the cyber-clones after months—June, July, etc.

Secondary Powers

May can sprout a semi-tangible tentacle from each elbow, which gives her telekinesis—though at a much smaller scale than Dani's. More in the "tool to broken android" range, and they only reach a few feet. They can also deflect (slow, physical) attacks.

Her arms and chest also have enhanced bones and muscles, hard and dense as metal. These let her punch harder, and are also unusually sensitive.

Danielle's Day

It was a crummy morning.

Mom sent her and Soren to the store to buy some groceries, which was fine, but on the way back a bunch of emergency vehicles drove by and sent Soren into one of his meltdown things. Dani hated the noise, hated how she had to deal with Soren and the groceries he dropped instead of getting away. And when they got back, Mom was annoyed that the bananas got squished. Dani knew Mom wasn't exactly mad at Dani for something Soren did, but it still felt that way.

And there were other things. A really bad episode of her favorite cartoon. Another meltdown at lunch, because Mom switched Soren and Dani's sandwiches on accident. A thousand tiny stresses that she just bottled up, because unlike some people, she had self-control.

Then Soren cut his stupid hand, and Mom said that she'd have to miss marine camp because of him, and...it turns out her self-control isn't so good after all. She's not even sure why she's doing it.

She's just so wound-up that she broke.

Dani's Powers

Realizing she doesn't have as good of self-control as she assumed is part of the trigger, but that's not the core of it. I could argue that she wants to go to camp to escape, or that it's caused by an adverse social environment, but that doesn't feel quite right either. The Sense Thinker trigger sounds sort of relevant, but also like it exaggerates the "regression" while missing on all the stuff feeding into it.

So, messy Breaker. But what kind of breaker?

I think Dani's trigger boils down to control. Both the aforementioned self-control, and her inability to control her broader life. She's still in elementary school, but on top of that, there's her brother, who keeps throwing wrenches into things that she thought she could count on. Including marine camp.

Her Breaker form unravels her limbs into a bunch of semi-tangible jellyfish-like tentacles, trailing a dozen feet or more behind. (She can fly in this form, just not particularly high or quickly.) The Changer nod is letting her partially slip into her Breaker form; if she wants, she can just turn one arm into tentacles at a time, for instance.

The tentacles conduct her related clairvoyant and telekinetic powers. She can move things her tentacles touch (if it's lighter than a bus but bigger than a dog). The telekinesis doesn't affect living things (duh), and it can't move things quickly, so it's mostly useful for rearranging vehicles or furniture or whatever. The tentacles also sense things in their general area; think sonar, but with spatial waves instead of sonic waves. And they can go through most walls.

That sense is a bit of a problem. Whether due to shard ignorance or shard malice, her tentacle sense does not vibe with her brain. Dani finds the tentacle sense viscerally unpleasant. The longer she stays in the form, the less bearable it is, the more her mood impacts her telekinetic control, the longer it takes to "cool down".

Secondary Powers

Dani's full Breaker form comes with an armored carapace, a word which here means "back". (So, think of her Breaker form as a jellyfish/turtle/human hybrid.)

Dani can't make cyber-clones, but she can make little boxes of cloned Danielle tissue which can create their own tentacles. They don't have carapaces, but they can be designed to grow metallic bits, like hooks to grab stuff with or plates to block stuff with or blades to hurt stuff with.

Soren's Day

Soren feels like a burden to his family. He feels guilty for all the problems he causes. He feels shame for not being able to fix those problems, or even properly express his apologies. He feels like a failure of a big brother; he knows they're supposed to take care of little sisters, but Dani keeps having to take care of him.

But the feelings which are most immediately relevant are "Ow, my head" and "Ow, my hand".

Soren's Powers

So, like, Brute, obviously.

As per the BRUTE document, focused physical damage means a Muscle brute—"raw mass and offensive tools". But that's also associated with struggle, and Soren is not struggling, really. The Dynamic brute's despair is a more fitting emotion, or maybe Repression's emotional helplessness.

So raw physical offense, but indirect or "skill-based" defense. But pretty much physical, since the harm was all physical. Hm.

How about a partial transformation, which bulks out his arms and the front of his torso with metallic armor? (Or maybe his one arm, part of his torso, and his head, if we want to get armorfacey.) This gives him the strength you'd expect of a Brute, and in this form his waist can rotate 360 degrees, letting him spin his armored parts in whatever direction he needs to block or deflect attacks. But obviously, if he's attacked from multiple directions at once (or doesn't notice an attack), he's as fragile as anyone.

Giving this guilty kid in a power that lets him bleed to help his family more is probably twisting the knife enough.

Secondary Powers

Soren can grow three sensory tentacles from his back. This is separate from his Brute transformation, which is good since he has the same claristensory issues as Dani does.

Soren can't clone anything, but he can make basic androids with telekinetic whips.

The Cluster

"Cluster Game": Mother, May I? Not a great match to the children's game, but...how could I not?

May, as the parent of the cluster, has outsize influence on her children. Their powers ebb and flow with her attention. When she praises one child and ignores the other, the former's powers get stronger and the latter weaker. This is a pool shared between all three; if May ignored her children, her powers would get much stronger.

May doesn't realize just how much power she has over her kids. Soren and Dani have a sense of what's going on, but can't quite explain or express it.

Team Dynamics

Like I said, May turns the family cluster into a superhero team. They work with the local PRT, of course, but she keeps the team separate. She's heard a lot of Wards horror stories, and wants to keep her kids safe herself.

(This might be a good time to mention that absolutely none of May's professional skills or job experience are related to any aspect of running a superhero team.)

Surprisingly, the actual cape stuff isn't that much of a problem. First off, they live in a small town—a bit bigger than Stafford, but it's no Brockton Bay. Second, between Dani's Shaker power, Soren's armor, and the tinkertech, it's pretty easy for May to keep her family safe. No, the problem is the media.

May decided not to go full New Wave and reveal their identities, but she still has her team/family give interviews. Which is stressful for both of the kids, but especially Dani. May warns journalists that her son is autistic, so they know A. she'll get mad if they ask him too many questions and B. he probably won't give many good answers anyway. But this just means that whenever they want to ask a question to one of the kids, they ask Dani. And that's a lot of stress to put on any ten-year-old, on top of hero stress and (in the fall) school stress...

[satoshi-mochida]

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective remaster coming to iOS, Android on March 28

From Gematsu

Capcom will release the remastered version of mystery adventure game Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective for iOS and Android on March 28, the company announced.

While Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective was previously released for iOS, Capcom will delist it on March 25 in order to release the 2023 remastered version for both iOS and Android.

Here is an overview of the game, via Capcom:

About

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is resurrected for a 2023 re-release! Snap back into the spirit world with Sissel, an unsuspecting ghost who is mysteriously stranded in the afterlife on Earth. Decipher puzzles, crack clues, and channel supernatural abilities in this labyrinth of an adventure to find the truth behind Sissel’s death. Launching in summer 2023, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective will be remastered with a jam-packed collection of brand new features including high-definition visuals, newly arranged and recorded music, exclusive images, and more!

Key Features

A Revived Story Mode with a Crisp Comeback – Originally released in 2010, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is now remastered in higher resolution with crisper and less pixelated visuals adapted for 1080 / 60 frames per second graphic quality.

Adapted for Detectives on Different Devices – Available on PlayStation 4, Switch, Xbox One, and PC via Steam, Sissel’s chilling adventure is optimized for players to be able to play comfortably on both controller and / or touch screens (applicable only for platforms with built-in touch screen functionality).

Three Newly Added Languages – Korean, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese have now been added to make a total of nine available languages, including English, French, Italian, German, Spanish and Japanese.

New Challenges and Fresh Trophies – Players can train their brains with Ghost Puzzles available in different modes including 3×3, 4×4, and 5×5! By completing different levels of the game, players can also win new trophies!

Improved Menu and System Features – Enjoy the gameplay to your liking! Players can change settings to fit different preferences such as Easy-to-use Sounds, Language, and Auto-Advance Settings.

Reimagined Music Tracks and Unique Illustrations – Yasumasa Kitagawa, the music composer for The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, has remastered a one-to-one soundtrack for the entire game! Additionally, a never-before-seen collection of Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective illustrations can be unlocked in the Extras menu.

Watch a new trailer below.

Ios and Android Announce Trailer