#Wild should not be allowed to know what a meme is

[mcflymemes]

THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT - THE ANTHOLOGY BY TAYLOR SWIFT PROMPT LIST *  assorted lyrics from the album, some lines slightly adapted for meme purposes but feel free to adjust as necessary

even if it's handcuffed, i'm leaving here with you.

trust me. i can handle a dangerous man.

i love you. it's ruining my life.

does it feel all right to not know me?

i am who i am 'cause you trained me.

quick. tell me something awful.

i loved you the way that you were.

we were just kids, babe.

i can fix him.

you and i go from one kiss to getting married.

you said i'm the love of your life.

way up there, i actually love it.

i just don't understand how you don't miss me.

do you hate me?

did you think i had it in me?

what if i told you i'm back?

i still miss the smoke.

i'm not trying to exaggerate, but i think i might die if it happened.

you look like stevie nicks.

it's hell on earth to be heavenly.

i still can't believe it.

this happens once every few lifetimes.

didn't you hear? they called it all off.

it's happening again.

my friends say it isn't right to be scared.

i might just die.

fuck you if i can't have us.

tell me about the first time you saw me.

are you gonna marry, kiss, or kill me?

no one's ever had me... not like you.

stay away from her.

there wouldn't be this if there hadn't been you.

i don't think you've changed much.

that's where i was when i lost it all.

life was always easier on you than it was on me.

i hoped you'd return.

do you believe me now?

what if your eyes looked up and met mine one more time?

what are the chances you'd be downtown?

is it something i did?

oh, we must stop meeting like this.

they say what doesn't kill you makes you aware.

i'm not a donor, but i'd give you my heart if you needed it.

looking backwards might be the only way to move forwards.

the story isn't mine anymore.

what a charming saturday!

none of it is changing.

wild winds are death to the candle.

one bad seed kills the garden.

i'm bitter, but i swear i'm fine.

this place made me feel worthless.

i didn't want to come down.

everything had been above board.

blood's thick, but nothing like a payroll.

you can mark my words that i said it first.

the professor said to write what you know.

all of this to say, i hope you're okay.

your words are still just ringing in my head.

i built a legacy which you can't undo.

who do i have to speak to to change the prophecy?

the effects were temporary.

no, i'm not coming to my senses.

babe, you gotta fake it 'til you make it.

you know you're good when you can even do it with a broken heart.

i guess a lesser woman would've lost hope.

thought of calling you, but you won't pick up.

you're a professional.

long may you reign.

you're an animal. you are bloodthirsty.

now i seem to be scared to go outside.

i don't believe in good luck.

i hate it here.

if i'd been there, i'd hate it.

only the gentle survived.

i'm lonely, but i'm good.

you have no room in your dreams for regrets.

i thought it was just goodbye for now.

are you still a mind reader?

let it once be me.

i haven't decided yet.

i still dream of him.

i'm so afraid i sealed my fate.

it was always the same searing pain.

i can't forgive the way you made me feel.

it wasn't a fair fight or a clean kill.

she used to say she wished that you were dead.

tell me all your secrets.

they tried to warn you about me.

you're in terrible danger.

i'm the life you chose.

yes, i'm haunted, but i'm feeling just fine.

no one asks any questions here.

tell me i'm despicable. say it's unforgivable.

i'm running back home to you.

you should see your faces.

you knew the price going in.

was any of it true?

who the fuck was that guy?

i don't ever want you back.

did you sleep with a gun underneath our bed?

you don't get to tell me you feel bad.

you wouldn't last an hour in the asylum where they raised me.

am i allowed to cry?

there's no such thing as bad thoughts. only your actions talk.

they're going to crucify me anyway.

i know i'm just repeating myself.

that's the closest i've come to my heart exploding.

[eezordalf-the-ardent]

We should also consider if the inhabitants of the mega-sites consciously managed their ecosystem to avoid large-scale deforestation... Archaeological studies of their economy suggest a pattern of small-scale gardening, often taking place within the bounds of the settlement, combined with the keeping of livestock, cultivation of orchards, and a wide spectrum of hunting and foraging activities. The diversity is actually remarkable, as is its sustainability. As well as wheat, barley, and pulses, the citizens' plant diet included apples, pears, cherries, sloes, acorns, hazelnuts and apricots. Mega-site dwellers were hunters of red deer, roe deer, and wild boar as well as farmers and foresters. It was 'play farming' on a grand scale: an urban populous supporting itself through small-scale cultivation and herding, combined with an extraordinary array of wild foods. This way of life was by no means 'simple'. As well as managing orchards, gardens, livestock and woodlands, the inhabitants of these cities imported salt in bulk from springs in the eastern Carpathians and the Black Sea littoral. Flint extraction by the ton took place in the Dniestr valley, furnishing material for tools. A household potting industry flourished, its products considered among the finest ceramics of the prehistoric world; and regular supplies of copper flowed in from the Balkans. There is no firm consensus from archaeologists about what sort of social arrangements all this required, but most would agree the logistical challenges were daunting. A surplus was definitely produced, and with it ample potential for some to seize control of the stocks and supplies, to lord it over others or battle for the spoils; but over the eight centuries we find little evidence for warfare or the rise of social elites.

a description of talianki (located in modern day ukraine), a neolithic site from 5,700 years ago (inhabited from roughly 4100 to 3300 bc) from the dawn of everything by davids: graeber and wengrow

once again this book is fantastic - and one of its main theses is that "the agricultural revolution" and some of the conclusions we draw from it are, largely, not true.

the development of farming in human societies is a much much longer and more "playful" process than popular narratives would have us believe. 'agricultural revolution' suggests an on/off switch almost. and the way it's usually taught sees agriculture being "invented" and then spreading like wildfire to take over the globe - only then allowing for true cities and the "necessary evils" they entail. this simply isn't true. an urban, farming society is not automatically doomed to bureaucracy, inequality, and exploitation.

all across the world the archaeological evidence points to the domestication of plants taking literal thousands of years longer than it "ought to." and then, even when the domestication of a wild plant was complete there isn't an immediate rise of huge fields and class stratification (as the popular narrative goes). again - in the magnitude of multiple thousands of years. we have generations upon generations of humans with farming know-how who don't immediately begin a march of politics and inequality precipitated by farming.

agriculture isn't humanity's curse no matter what the memes and capitalists say. we are not doomed to our current ways - we can imagine, we can build, we can create new ways of being. the past is the present is the past. and fuck you capitalism and doomed "human nature" debates. and read the dawn of everything <3

[z-and-the-space-child]

my head is all currently midnight burger podcast so here's everything i like about this wonderful piece of media:

it's pretty fun and very funny!! i smile like an idiot on public transport and on my way to class at least once a day listening to this.

the characters are so. idk how to describe them but theyre so full of life and you can tell that they are loved greatly by the creator(s)

the WRITING. i could seriously pluck a quote from damn near every episode to carry me through the day. i don't need affirmations i need gloria to talk me through my problems.

i was doing a lil analysis of the themes in this show and i came up with "the best thing you can ever do is the best thing you can do right now" and it is FUEL, babey.

The el triste monologue. also just gloria being a POC and being proud of herself and her culture. there's a lot of cultural mish-mash in podcasts, so this is very refreshing.

It's very, very sweet and heartfelt. kind of like wolf 359 if they communicated more instead of dodging their issues until they came to a peak (love them for it.)

the PHYSICS of it all. i'm a physics/astrophysics major because i think space and looking at the stars is my lifeblood so i won't shut up about it. i don't want ava and leif (certainly ava) to shut up about it ever. HOW much reasearch did they have to do to get this kinda grasp on it. im in awe, i'm LEARNING actual things from them. i could go on. the gravity waves, the stellar nuclear fusion, the time dilation of it all. and all without using over-flowery language!!! i can actually follow a good chunk of the time. are we sure ava didn't take one of those science communication seminars. maybe 5 phds does it. when she and leif talk i vibrate like an electron in a lazer. wonderful.

star sequencing??? stellar nucleosequencing??? right up my alley. thats my kinda stuff. the romanticization of space, i've seen. the romanticization of physics, however, is not something i haven't seen in such a beautiful modern fashion. (Ie, not oppenheimer or even richard feyman)

and it's not too science-y to the point that they think they can't have fun. yes they discuss the implications of gravity waves and wax poetic about space and pulsars. (it beats for you, berts) but they have FUN! they meet their parents because they can. they get a plant drunk. there's an atmosphere(?????) around the diner that allows them to fly around and mind-numbing speeds and look at the curvature of spacetime and also sit on the roof. (I imagine the entire place is the temperature of a summer night.) they have a whole wild west planet. leif builds things inexplicably. how? where does he get the materials??? shhhhh don't question it just let him have the gravity wave detector. nobody actually knows what engineers do, not even engineers. let him be. also time crystals??????

ALSO ava being a woman in stem and being so blunt yet covert about it. she's been dealing with it for so long. why are all (recognized) physicists a)white b) men c) both. it's such a sucky thing to work into because of the outward appearance. ava is a proud mad scientist which i aspire to so much. i am keeping her in my little arsenal of people to think about when i don't want to study. (picture the do it for her meme but it's pics of ava) I don't think i aptly put how much i love her. i'm not all the way finished yet but i've heard she was forced to marry someone? i think it would be a thing for sure if she cheated on him. so many physicists cheated on their spouses (wives ): ) and i think ava should also do it. as a treat. if that's what she'd like.

when people have done bad, bad things but show/are capable of redemption upon reflecting on their past/current shortcomings is just something that gets me so much directly in the heart. the hiddenness of people. the tragedy. we contain MULTITUDES and this show demonstrates that so well. how they support each other! they are everchanging and that's good for them. Leif the engineer the ex criminal the diner cook.

leif exploding a man in cold blood. if i could draw i'd draw that. maybe i will anyways.

food as a form of affection/way to bond. grief. doing your best. making amends. using the time you have. death is inevitable but that's okay.

And if time and tide roil you too harshly, or diurnal courses leave you with no safe havens, just remember we’re out there, somewhere, lookin’ for ya’

they open at six

[hananoami]

[ Directional Orbit ] Light - Stage 120 Clear VOD

On Sunday, 05/19, I've finally crossed the finish line and cleared Xavier's Directional Orbit: Light - Stage 120! He’s the first love interest to clear all of the Deepspace Trials currently available with my MC. My goodness, what a wild and crazy adventure this has been. I wouldn’t have been able to do this without Lumiere for all the reasons I will explain in detail below, but for now I'll just briefly go over what you should expect from this particular stage. Stage 120 is the final stage available for Xavier's Directional Orbit: Light. It has a red hue around its planet so you know that it will require two teams, as every x0 stage has done previously. Team 01's Protofield Stellactrum is 6-Amber memories and Team 02's Protofield Stellactrum is 6-Emerland memories. As a reminder, there is no right or wrong way to play the game. My game play will vary from yours, but I still wanted to share my experiences with hopes it'll help you on your own trials. Depending on your play style and what memories/protocores you have available you can choose to either match the stellactrum in order to have a perfect match or you can go off color and try to brute force it. For this stage I opted to have a mix of both. More details under read more.

I guess you can say I took notes from my own playbook to figure out how I wanted to approach this stage, haha. I used the same strategy I used in my clear post for Rafayel's Directional Orbit: Fire - Stage 110. Rather than have a perfect match I opted to brute force the stage while still having some matched stellactrum for the attribute bonus. I swapped the solar memories for each team and kept most, if not all, the lunar memories to have some attribute bonus by matching some stellactrum.

I also opted to use Xavier's Lumiere Companion for both teams for his insane support skill < Lunar Vortex >. This unique ability allows him to draw enemies to the center of the moonlight, dealing DoT damage while reducing their ATK by 30% and speed by 50% for 5 seconds. Combined with using Hunter Wand it is soooo good for crowd control, especially in the first half of this stage. Yeah, it took me two usages of < resonance skill > to break the four wanderers' protocore shields in order to bring them into a weakened state, but having Lumiere group them up for me to drop my own AoE damage really helped take them down.

For the second half of the fight I had all of Lumiere's pair bonuses available since his MN solar pair was equipped for this team. It was fun playing this build using MC's Moonchaser guns. Ranged is my preferred weapon of choice since my skills using melee weapons (ie. Sword, Claymore) aren't the best no matter what game I play. Since I went off colors, only using 3 matching emerald stellactrum for 15% attribute bonus, it took me a while to break the final boss' protocore shields to bring it to a weakened state. The fight is only 2 minutes long and each resonance skill has a 15 sec cooldown. I could only shatter one shield any time I used my < resonance skill >. This is why it is so crucial for you to press your abilities off CD!!

I wasn't able to bring it down to a weakened state for the second time before the timer ran out because I didn't use any Oath Recovery boost beta protocores. Instead I wanted to take advantage of Lumiere's kit and zoom by equipping 2 +9 Expedited Energy Boost at 16.8% so I could spam my < active skill > more for the memes lol...

Fortunately for me I was able to bring its HP down just enough for my Ardent Oath to do a good portion of damage towards the end. It was a very close fight with me clearing the stage with 4 seconds left on the timer, but we did it! My amazing starlight carried me all the way across the finish line without breaking a sweat, hehe.

ADDITIONAL SCREENSHOTS

Companion: Xavier's Lumiere Weapon: Hunter Wand Attribute Bonus For each matched stellactrum, increases DMG Boost 5.0% (currently increased: 20.0%) and DMG Reduction 5.0% (currently increased 20.0%). ♡ Affinity Bonus: 95 (Xavier’s Protective Skill) When you take a fatal blow, Xavier teleports to you, blocks a hit, and counter attacks. Enemies will be knocked back. [ HP 3800 || DEF 95 || ATK 190 ] Pair Bonus [LT] - Starting Effect: Increases team DMG by 8%, and reduces team DMG taken by 8%. When fighting together with Lightseeker, your Active Skill DMG is increased by 25%.

5☆ Lightseeking Obsession (emerald/solar) Lv 80/awakened rank 3 using +12 SSR protocores

5☆ Lightseeking Shadowrend (emerald/solar) Lv 80/awakened using +9 and +12 SSR protocores

5☆ Tender Night (amber/lunar) Lv70 rank 1 using +12 SSR protocores

5☆ Heartstrings Symphony (amber/lunar) Lv70 rank using +9 and +12 SSR protocores

5☆ Faint Sensation (amber/lunar) Lv60 using +9 SSR protocores

5☆ Fragment Of Time (emerald/lunar) Lv60 using +9 SSR protocores

Companion: Xavier's Lumiere Weapon: Moonchaser Attribute Bonus For each matched stellactrum, increases DMG Boost 5.0% (currently increased: 15.0%) and DMG Reduction 5.0% (currently increased 15.0%). ♡ Affinity Bonus: 95 (Xavier’s Protective Skill) When you take a fatal blow, Xavier teleports to you, blocks a hit, and counter attacks. Enemies will be knocked back. [ HP 3800 || DEF 95 || ATK 190 ] Pair Bonus [MN] - Starting Effect: increases team DMG by 8%, and reduces team DMG taken by 8%. The Enemy [Moonstruck] is extended by 3 seconds. - Duo Rank 1: boosts Ardent Oath charge by 20%. [Moonlight] will attach 1 stack of [Phasing Moon] to the enemy, increasing DMG dealt by 25%. - Duo Rank 2: increases Energy Charge cap by 1. When [Moonlight] is activated, the cooldown time of your Active and Resonance Skill is reduced by 0.5 seconds, and a small amount of energy charge is restored. - Duo Rank 3: increases team DMG by 8%. When your Active Skill or Charged Attack hits a target with [Moonstruck], [Moonlight] will be activated, boosting CRIT DMG by 30%.

5☆ Midnight Whispers (amber/solar) Lv 80/awakened rank 3 using +9 SSR protocores

5☆ Midnight Rainfall (amber/solar) Lv 80/awakened rank 3 using +9 SSR protocores

5☆ Romantic Afternoon (emerald/lunar) Lv70 rank 1 using +9 and +12 SSR protocores

5☆ Fluffy Trap (emerald/lunar) Lv70 rank using +9 SSR protocores

5☆ Unique Aftertaste (ruby/lunar) Lv70 rank 3 using +12 SSR protocores

4☆ A Captured Moment (emerald/lunar) Lv70 rank 3 using +9 SSR protocores

[ragingstillness]

Finally caught up on the bungo stray dogs manga today. Here are my thoughts in no particular order.

Massive spoiler warning through ch 114.5!

Gotta say, I don’t think any of us guessed “functional immortality” for Fyodor’s ability. It does explain why he’s completely crazed and has such little respect for human life. The face peeling is gross but a little funny in how wacky and wild it is. Genuine questions: does Fyodor then gain that person’s body shape? Has he ever been killed by a woman before? Or a child? Does he get to steal Bram’s height now? What happens if he turns into an old person and dies of old age? What happens if he kills himself? When was he born and when did this ability manifest? Does he gain the new person’s ability as well as his own? Also, I have to give Asagiri credit for taking the most literal interpretation of Crime and Punishment ever. The Crime is murder of Fyodor and the Punishment is he becomes you. He takes your space in society. Delightfully literal.

Gogol’s sadness over Dostoyevsky felt really real my poor clown. However, with the reveal of Dostoyevsky’s ability, they are now the perfect couple. Gogol can kill Fyodor, achieving his goal of killing him, then Fyodor can become him, achieving Gogol’s goal of losing himself and Fyodor’s goal of having one less person constantly trying to kill him. Poetic cinema.

Gonna be laughing forever at Mori gluing the fake vampire teeth into Chuuya’s mouth and Chuuya’s inability to get them out. This is especially funny because this genuinely happened to me with my mom one Halloween and while we did get them out I was picking glue out of my teeth for a week.

I hope Bram isn’t gone forever because his relationship with Aya is beyond cute.

Is Aya’s dad that grumpy police detective? It looked like that in her vision.

I’m still not super satisfied with Fukuchi having good intentions. He’s been far too sadistic and blatantly evil for me to change my mind on him now. Little Fukuchi I can defend but I’m not changing my opinion on adult Fukuchi.

Fukuzawa stays the smartest man, taking the sword to the heart then pulling it away with him. Very “can I keep this” when someone gets stabbed meme of him. Also using it still as a blade? Inspired. All hail silver fox dad.

Ranpo is clearly still injured but doesn’t seem as injured as Asagiri teased us with. Aku still appears to be a vampire, we’ll see how that turns out.

Damn, Fukuchi will not die. This man has been bleeding from the neck and heart for several minutes at least and still is talking.

Considering the last ability singularity nearly destroyed all of Yokohama and the world, not looking forward to the results of a three-part singularity.

Fukuchi’s blade allowing him control over a small period of time I could accept but the gift of prophecy? Specific prophecy too? Kind of came out of left field, I don’t like that without knowing more about the sword’s creator.

Let’s be real, One Order should just be destroyed, it’s hella dangerous in anyone’s hands.

I don’t think we got told in advance that Bram’s sword combined person with ability. Maybe I just don’t remember but I don’t think so.

Fyodor’s goals continue to be murky as hell.

Convenient, that Fyodor’s ability also comes with a bit of teleportation, as he got from mid-Europe to Japan right quick.

I still need to know more about the war and I despair of ever receiving that info.

Love that all this is going down between Fyodor, Fukuchi, and Fukuzawa (too many fs) and Atsushi is just there like oh right I have a main character oops. I really hope vampirism wipes Akutagawa’s memories so he just jumps into this situation completely discombobulated, it’d be so funny.

When will sassy grandpa (Mori) return from war?

Hey Natsume what’s up, think maybe this is a good time to intervene?

Where the hell is Kouyou?

[cornerattic]

Anais' Attic- Balatro.

Have you ever wanted to play Poker, but it's actually Yu-Gi-Oh, but it's Slay the Spire? Well that's what you'll get out of Balatro, the latest Deck-builder Roguelike to hit the market.

I'm a fan of roguelikes/lites, both Clo and I have been for a long time. Risk of Rain 2, Rogue Legacy 1 & 2, Hades, even Enter the Gungeon to a certain extent- and of course, Slay the Spire. Hell, even in Honkai Star Rail we ended up only playing through more of the game so we could unlock more Simulated Universe content.

There's just something about the addiction of “Just one more run, just one more run, cmon, can't end on a loss, just one more” that scratches the lizard brain’s itchy rash like freshly manicured nails, and Balatro definitely hits that urge. It's the prestigious winner of two of our personal rewards, one of which is that in an effort to not have to stop playing, we decided to purchase it on both Ps5 and switch. Sure it's only 15$, but that should tell you all you need to know about how good it really is.

But in case you'd like a full breakdown, here you go.

As stated Balatro is, in essence, another deck-builder roguelike. You win battles, earn money, and proceed to use said money to acquire new cards so you can win more battles to earn more money and so on. Same loop, new software. But one of Balatro's unique things is that it uses your standard 52-card deck as its base to build from. It's more complicated than that by the end of the average run, but that is where it starts. If you've seen a 52-card deck, you've seen every card in the starting deck. Where it gets wild is the different jokers you can use to build into getting all sorts of wild combinations, like turning all your cards into the same suit, or giving you a 4x multiplier for playing a four of a kind.

Because that's Balatro's other shtick- it's a poker game on top of everything else. You know all the memes you can find joking about Chess 2? Well this is Poker 2. If you know how to tell a three of a kind from a straight flush, you're a bit ahead of the curve, but you'll find your advantage means little when you need 300,000 points to beat the end boss of an ante, and you're barely making 30k with your hands. You're in Balatro's casino now, and you're gonna play by its rules.. But hey, at least it'll tell you the rules. That's more than you'd get in vegas.

Balatro is, however, all gameplay. Not so much as a scrap of an excuse plot. If you imagine a scale with “Roguelike storytelling” on it, then Balatro is far on the other end, about as far away from Hades as it gets. If that turns you off, no big deal, I don't judge. But I will tell you you're missing out.

Balatro has exploded in popularity, and it's been mostly to its benefit. I say mostly because while the game did manage to sell over 500k copies in two weeks, it didn't manage to escape without an 18+ Pegi rating, and an outright ban in South Korea as of the time of this writing. Banned and outrageously rated for the same reason there's no more game corner in the Pokémon games- it's too much like gambling, even when games that are essentially gambling and encourage gambling are not only allowed, they're shoved in your face.

If you're just looking for a thumbs up or down, let me answer that with a cautionary tale. Clover and I were told to give this one a try by a friend, and it proceeded to consume just over 30 hours of our sadly limited time on this earth over the span of a week. Given we work a dayjob, but have the ability to play for an hour at lunch, that's essentially nothing but Balatro in every spare moment. Which is why Balatro is the recipient of our other personal reward, being awarded the honor of getting deleted just so that we could get any work done.

After all, if the house always wins, then the only winning move is not to play at all. - 🌙

[the-official-matchmaking-office]

So I don't know if this is a question you could help with but I didn't know who else to ask. Basically, there's this girl that I really like. She's in my grade and I'm really good friends with her. She's lesbian which is freaking awesome because well, I'm a girl. We've said 'I love you' a couple times but I'm pretty sure she means it to be entirely platonic. I don't tho. Like I really mean it when I say it. She's also said she's not interested in dating anyone right now so I don't think she even sees me as a possible crush. But...she's amazing. And kind and smart and funny. She's super observant and notices the tiny details in everything. She's in some of the same fandoms that I'm in so we get to talk about that often. We send each other pins and memes from our fandom and just random stuff to make the other laugh. I know she'll always have my back no matter what and she knows I'll always have hers. The thing is, even if she liked me back (and that's a big if) and was ok with us dating, my family is super homophobic and would never allow it. It just doesn't seem fair to her. I really want to tell her before the end of the school year tho. I know that there's no way that I'd be able to wait till after summer break. So I need help. How do I tell a super amazing, absolutely out of my league, girl that I like her? I need help really badly.

*rolls up sleeves* well i can say you have come to the entirely wrong person but i will try to help so firstly start like doing small things that people in couples tend to do for eachother but could be interpreted as platonic now i have no examples because i'm aroace and i don't give a shit about romance okay so next you're going to see what her reactions are to these little things and if she's fine with them you're going to start doing bigger gestures i.e giving her flowers or something and holding hands like stuff like that so someone who doesn't know you would assume that you two are dating but if she's comfortable with it than you should tell her that you really like her and if you're like me and have anxiety than you can find a secure place away from your family and write out each thing and her reaction and if she says that she likes you back than you can start dating but be careful if you're in public or at your house also if her parents aren't homophobic than you can tell them but say that your parents aren't accepting. oh yeah and if all goes well and she says yes send me another ask saying how it went

boom

also for your bit of information on the matchmaking office the boss we had before Councillor Alina became the boss was the ex-councillor Fitan Pyren and no one checked so legally until Alina became the boss Fitan was our boss which was fucking wild

oh yeah also while Fitan didn't technically pay me he would occasionally throw a luster or two at me and ask me to go get better coffee than the stuff we have at the office and let me keep the change

[thelordofgifs]

Are there any of the Silmarillion Ask Meme questions which you haven’t gotten yet? If so that one—or another random headcanon, please!

(Silmarillion ask game!)

Why not both? I was hoping to get 💀 at some point, so:

You have a "Get out of jail 'Doomed by the Narrative' free" card. Who do you give it to?

Not ONLY do I have a good answer for this, I would like to posit that mine is actually the Only Correct Answer and everyone should choose it. Fingon! As I claimed here Fingon is the literal embodiment of hope in the Silmarillion, and his death, in the terrible tragic turning point, marks the death of hope in the First Age. He is as doomed by the narrative (as opposed to being doomed by his own bad choices like the Fëanorians or even like Turgon and Thingol to some extent, or by an evil god like Túrin) as it’s possible to be. In fact I would like to further posit that you simply cannot call your canon-divergence fic a fix-it if it takes place after Fingon’s death, or if you kill him anyway.

(the fairest stars sidenote as always: when I ramble about not knowing whether tfs is a fix-it or not, what I actually mean is not knowing whether or not Fingon survives it.)

Anyway! Save Fingon and you keep the Noldor united, have their High King visible instead of tucked away in a hidden city somewhere. Save Fingon and Maedhros doesn’t allow the Second Kinslaying or orchestrate the Third. Save Fingon and maybe Gondolin doesn’t fall! Because Morgoth had a huge price on Fingon’s head and so might have focused more energies on him instead of on Turgon. He matters so much ok.

Tell us one of your favorite Silm headcanons. Can be one that's out in the wild or a personal one!

Idril was one of the last children born in Aman before the Darkening. As such she’d only been given her father-name Itarillë before the Flight of the Noldor, and Elenwë hadn’t given her a mother-name yet. Turgon brought it up to her, once, on the Ice, and Elenwë thought about it for a moment and then named Idril Helciel, ice-daughter – for the Ice, she claimed, was doing as much to raise Idril as her parents were. She was dead not long after.

Turgon did not like this mother-name much; it was a reminder of how deeply he had failed his little family. Sometimes he called his daughter Elenwiel instead, but Helciel became a rather commonly-used name among Fingolfin’s host: she was a talisman, this little golden-haired princess of theirs, who rode polar bears like they were horses and seemed to feel the cold so much less than they did. She was everyone’s daughter, the daughter of the Ice, proof that there was life and hope in this frozen wasteland yet.

She lost her foot to frostbite at some point and after that was never without five willing pairs of hands to carry her, if her father ever wearied of the duty (which he didn’t, she was all he had left); and when they reached Beleriand one of the first things they did was fashion her a wooden prosthetic foot, but that wasn’t very stable on the muddy ground. Which felt like a metaphor to Idril, now elf!fourteen-ish and beginning to feel the pressure of being a symbol of hope to thousands of people.

(How do you tell people you miss the Ice when they’re all so glad to be away from it? How do you confess that it felt like home sometimes when it killed your mother? How do you admit that you’re too warm, all the time, and when they try to pile furs over you while you’re sleeping as a sign of appreciation it only makes you feel like you’re suffocating?)

Itarillë was fine. Elenwiel hurt sometimes. Helciel was wrong, but also right, in complicated ways that she didn’t want to have to think about every time someone addressed her.

It was around this time – a couple of years after they’d arrived at Mithrim, once her uncle Fingon had pulled off his miraculous rescue and effected a reconciliation of the divided host – that she met her cousin Celebrimbor for the first time.

These lonely motherless children ok!! They were best friends on sight!!! You cannot overestimate how important they are to me! They were a symbol of healing and reunification! (Also funny because Turgon and Curufin were both disgusted about this. But Aredhel and Celegorm supported it.)

Anyway Celebrimbor has also been having this whole arc which we’ll get into if I ever write my post-Thangorodrim fic involving how Maedhros’ return has thrown the entire family into chaos – and Maedhros remembers the little boy he was and not the near-adult he is now which is upsetting to everyone involved – and Curufin being Curufin doesn’t want his son near Maedhros while Maedhros is still so unstable – and Tyelpë tries to make Maedhros a prosthetic hand but it doesn’t work out for Reasons – AND he takes everything he’s learned and eventually makes Idril a nice prosthetic foot out of mithril. And when the time comes for her to choose a Sindarin name, “Idril” is easy and obvious, but “Celebrindal” is meaningful too. It’s nice to feel like you match with someone.

Celebrimbor never calls her anything else.

[thegeminisage]

tng update time. last night we watched "datalore" together and this morning i caught "angel one" on my own

datalore: not terrible!! i felt really bad for data the entire time of course. kind of delighted to find out he is amnesiac-adjacent in this episode, at least as far as not knowing where he comes from or why. i've gotten used to thinking of him as friend-shaped but lore reminded me of just how creepy he actually does look because he was making the creepy faces

the planet and lab were cool though it was hilarious that one of the pieces was just an ass with the crotch faced away from us to protect data's modesty lol

i liked the bit about data having an off switch.it is ironically such a human vulnerability. we have those too! it's called head trauma.

ik what i said about picard not being a dick anymore but i noticed he IS still a dick sometimes and it's mostly to either wesley (valid) or data (may he DIE). i was glad data told him not to call lore "it" and that he APOLOGIZED. he should apologize to data more often

lore is literally just a data who is better at masking btw. like thats all it is. he thinks using contractions makes him allistic and he's like ha ha look at me i'm better than you meanwhile he has to use a little laser to remove his own facial tick and his special interest is murdering humans and good for him

one thing i HATED about this ep was once again wesley made a valid point and everyone told him to fuck off. meanwhile whenever hes fucking around they let him do whatever he wants. this is making me CRRRAZY. all this stuff about you would have listened to me if i was an adult!! i'll kill the little brat myself

however the episode was immediately rescued by the appearance of this meme:

which sent me immediately into screaming hysterics because i was NOT expecting to see it in its original format here. i quite literally had to pause the episode and explain this meme to catherine with tears running down my face

angel one: not as bad as the skip/watch lists led me to believe (i didnt have to play it on 2x speed for example) but still pretty fucking terrible. oh what if WOMEN were in charge wouldnt that be WEIRD AND SCARY? meanwhile the women are wearing what pretends to be "no makeup" in 1987 and theyre super fucking hot

i thought that blonde chick was rthe one from tos's backdoor pilot and even looked it up but no she just moves her face the same way

riker's slut outfit really was something. he was such a good sport about it that i thought it was kind of mean of deanna and tasha to laugh at him but considering how women are treated on this show they deserve to actually. tasha especially.

absolutely bonkers that he tried to turn the head woman down and she slept with him anyway. close encounters of the space babes riker version??? quite literally the man said i'm not an object to be seduced and then he got seduced. wild

anyway, the morals of this were all over the place. they cant remove these people bc theyre not bound by the prime directive but they literally are interfering with this planet's system of laws etc...also the fact that like everyone is arguing for gender equality when the genders are reversed is all well and good when they live in a utopian society where genders are equal but we live and star trek was made in the real world where the genders are NOT equal so it just comes out sounding like but what about the meeeeen?? i mean. what about them?? sorry.

i. HATED. the b-plot of this episode. everyone's like oh no i wonder how this virus spreads! and then they allow worf to stay on the bridge while he does those dad sneezes. maybe this episode should have been before the other to explain data's sudden hyperfixation on learning to sneeze lol. like ik all infectious disease media hits different post pandemic but jesus christ we had more sense than that even BEFORE the pandemic

tonight we do 11001001, and then i'm doing the next FOUR on my own...rough.

[pokemedia-text-dump]

teko's uhhhhhh guide to hammer-swinging idiots i think

so i saw a certain @ConcernedRowlet's guide to pokemon care on chatter and i was immediately like "hey this is super good and all but you know what it needs? more memes and affectionate badmouthing of the pokemon in question" so allow me to enlighten you about how to care for these little hammer shitling goblins through the lens of my personal experiences and a shitload of sleep deprivation in the form of a rotumblr post

[ahem] "fuckin' tinkatink line! how do they work?"

[Image ID: A half-conscious Tinkaton sprawled out on its hammer, covered in grime and food debris. Its tongue is hanging out of its mouth slightly.] yes they truly are the pinnacle of grace, aren't they

these guys are all-female fairy/steel types and they're uhhhh so like you know those inventors in a lot of TV shows the ones who somehow come up with just the thing to save the day and can casually flaunt the rules of science because it's cool for the audience to watch like uhhh professor farnsworth or something ...yeah imagine that, but they're perpetually disheveled and constantly acting like they just did a line of cocaine and pounded back a six-pack of monster immediately after

let's start with tinkatink tiny babey the little rattle thing they hoist around that's supposed to be a hammer due to them not being very strong in this form it's less a "hammer" and more like "heavy-ass monster hunter greatsword" to them their technique with it is less "hit the enemy" and more of a "use the sheer weight and heft of the thing to swing yourself around in the hopes you manage to concuss something" sort of thing it's important to get them accustomed to using it quickly so they're less likely to hurt themselves trying to flail around, especially in battles

they're fiercely protective of their little scrap clump, and for good reason you know how i said they're not very strong well ferrovores (metal eaters like aggron or steelix) often eat their hammer  it's like a little iron-flavored sucker this is bad news for the tinkatink, because having the physical strength of a wet spaghetti noodle doesn't do much for self defense

this is not a wild pokemon exclusive thing, either if you have any ferrovorous pokemon in your squad be sure to establish early on that this thing is friend, not food it's important for the tinkatink too they're perfectionists when it comes to the hammer and will take it pretty hard if it gets eaten what you should do if this happens is assure them it's not their fault, and give them little pieces of scrap metal to help them along

now onto tinkatuff! bigger! stronger! dumber? these guys are sort of like the vigoroth of the line well uh if vigoroth didn't evolve into a fat lazy fuck, at any rate in this form, your buddy gets more of the hyperactive temperament the line is known for

they're also very stupid there i said it i'm sorry but they are dumb as all distortion like, they're not dumb in the sense that there's nothing going on up there like a slowbro or volcarona but they're morons in the same way as a frat boy with ADHD on top of having a ridiculous amount of ideas rattling around in their skulls (most of them poorly thought-out) they think they know everything when they really, really don't and since they have the impulse control of a two year old things can go...badly

[Video ID: A Tinkatuff, gleefully carrying a large fragment of a Copperajah tusk and cackling, while getting chased across the screen by a herd of Cufant. Leading them is a very angry-looking Copperajah with most of its left tusk missing. The trainer holding the Rotom Phone can be heard facepalming, then proceeding to mutter "I told you this was a bad idea, you pink idiot..." He then sends out a Ceruledge and starts running forward in an attempt to protect the Tinkatuff.]

in this form it's imperative for you to put a lot of effort into cleaning them this is because they get...filthy like really filthy here's a fun little experiment: attach a poke doll or other such plush toy to a pokemon's leash and let it drag through the dirt as it runs then briefly dunk it in whatever you're cooking for dinner  congratulations you're now in the ballpark of how dirty they get

in the wild they basically live in huge burrows of scrap metal and food waste they make in their forges they have little to no standards for cleanliness because of this told you they were like frat boys they eventually begrudgingly pick the bare minimum off of their trashpile-mates when their fur becomes super duper matted and stuff it's up to you to keep them from getting to this point by gently scrubbing, cleaning and thoroughly combing their fur on the regular fortunately they don't like, hate baths and stuff: they just really can't be assed to clean themselves in the slightest

ooh right right right the hammer almost forgot about that not long after evolving these guys will seek out any metal they can get their mitts on to beef up their hammer ...the "beefing up" usually consists of just taping on a few pieces of bent metal and lengthening the pole, but still, A for effort

but when i say any metal i mean any metal they can and will get it off of a large appliance, your plumbing, even a steel-type corpse if you leave them to their own devices they can literally smell metal so don't think your plumbing is safe either so as soon as they evolve it's best to get them more materials fortunately many stores in paldea (and a few other places) sell different types of sheet metal for the express purpose of sating their appetite and if not just going to your local hardware place is usually enough to tide them over or if you're really cheap you could just rummage for stuff in local scrapyards take her with you when you do this your partner has a good eye for what they're after, she'll know which kind of metal is right for her the hammer gets juiced up more and more as they get stronger so you're gonna have to provide them with more metal when it finally reaches a certain size and grandiose-ness you can often expect them to evolve not long after

on top of that, being the ADHD-ass little nutjobs that they are, they test their hammer by smashing it against whatever catches their eye they get much physically stronger here, so their swings have a bit of heft to them now unless you want a lot of ventilation in your home take measures to control this immediately fill a punching bag with rocks, let them go nuts with it, and put it back up again whenever they start beefing up their hammer some more this teaches them not to hit random stuff

and finally tinkaton! tinkaton are crafty very crafty they're still not smart by any means but they are crafty so crafty, in fact, that they often use other pokemon as tools

[Video ID: A Tinkaton, holding a Charcadet upside down above a hunk of metal that it's working on. The Charcadet's fire plume is shining brightly as the Tinkaton uses it to weld a handle to its creation like a blowtorch.]

there are close to no limits on what they can find uses for, so if one of your team members finds themselves getting used as a power drill or smth, don't be surprised: this even applies to their battle strategies

they get a lot stronger in this phase and i mean a lot you think some of the stuff fighting types like machamp and conkeldurr can handle are impressive try hurling around a 200lb+ blunt object like it's a long twig and still being able to lift more if they wanted to they could probably swing you around as a hammer too! ....not sure how well that would go, since you'd probably splatter as soon as they hit you against something, but they still could!

their hammer is very large and elaborate now it's almost a miracle that it's still built around the same rattle thing it had as a tinkatink! they don't need beds or blankets or anything because, get this, they just plant the hammer into the ground and pass out i always wonder how their back isn't torn to fucking pieces when they wake up from sleeping on a giant lump of metal if they trust you enough, they'll eventually start lightly bopping you on the head with it as a sign of affection!

in the wild, they live in large clans with other members of their line called "forges" these forges are equal part giant trash and scrap burrows and huge testing grounds for whatever crazy thing they decide to band together and build they also make prosthetics for wounded pokemon out of steel-type carcasses in exchange for scrap metal and berries!

forges typically give roving trainers a wide berth because they know pissing off humans is a bad idea very rarely a stray tinkatuff will ignore this because, again, they're foolhardy dumbasses if they go after you just hit it with a few status moves and it'll typically turn tail and get a stern talking to from the forge's elders or you could just use whirlwind or smth the different forges in paldea are proficient at utilizing different pokemon, and even form sort of partnerships with them for example the asado desert forge teams up with varoom and revavroom to use them as steeds [Image ID: A Tinkaton with a red scrap cloth headband riding a Revavroom, leading a pack of Tinkatuff and Tinkatink riding several Varoom.]

as you'd guess from this they're very social creatures it's important to let them bond with the rest of your team better in this form, as they serve as surrogates for their pack if you want you can also visit your local forge to let your tinkaton screw around with the forge members a bit for funsies

a common misconception is that tinkaton hunt down corviknight by tossing rocks (or sometimes other pokemon, such as falinks troopers) at them in the air with their hammer hence why squawkabilly is used as the flying taxi coach in paldea this is actually a lie and they get hard walled by corviknight (and then they get salty over not being able to do anything useful in the battle) they do it because to them it's funny as shit it's like their equivalent to miltank tipping they don't really do it to other people's corviknight because it's not as funny: they don't get as surprised because they're far closer to the ground

they're also super driven to build stuff what is "stuff?" nobody knows! not even them! sometimes they just get a flash of inspiration and start scribbling out plans for some sort of grandiose scrap metal behemoth and you just have to roll with it if you have a bit of engineering/mechanical know-how, you can feel free to join in the fun!

....unfortunately that's where the burglary sprees start

now i know what you're thinking you little smarty-nipple

"wehhhh but maybe yours is just a bad temperament or you're not raising it right or-"

N O .

i have worked with several of these rattata bastards and i can say with complete certainty that they're all a bunch of kleptomaniacal shitheads seriously if you took one of those Rabbid things from Rayman and gave them a hammer well uh you wouldn't exactly have a tinkaton but you'd be pretty arcdamn close

if they need metal and you don't give it to them they will steal things computer parts refrigerator doors stove hatches engine blocks it does not matter what it is or what it's made of if it ain't nailed down and it's made of metal they're taking that shit this is why it's really, really important to teach them to ask for your aid if they're in the mood to build something

they also need to hunt wild steel-types not often, mind you, kinda like pyroar prides but it's still sometimes tinkaton are hardwired to kill for their materials giving them sheet metal and stuff helps with the urge to build but not the urge to "disassemble" steel types you'll need to get the proper licenses to hunt pokemon and only go after any steel-types that are in season to do this what they're after is metal pokemon with only small bits of metal on their body, or those which have the metal-y bits on the inside, like lucario or togedemaru, are typically off the menu they also need you to help, and possibly your other pokemon remember what i said about them being pack hunters to them, you're the pack's leader, so they look to your guidance for hunting

unfortunately this, along with the stealing part, is why a lot of trainers end up abandoning/releasing them in this phase some people can't bring themselves to be complicit in outright hunting down pokemon, only capturing them, which is understandable being denied part of the enrichment it needs, the tinkaton begins lashing out in other areas to try and vent some of the stress it's built up with no other suitable outlets this can lead to your opponents or even other people getting seriously hurt if you're looking to raise one of these guys, please, look for a suitable alternative unless you're willing to really, really commit that said, give 'em what they need and rein them in here and there and you'll have a loyal (if slightly violent) partner who can come up with some truly amazing things like this [Image ID: A Tinkaton decked out in an imposing suit of armor made from assorted scrap metal and Steel-type hide, posing triumphantly atop its hammer, which is planted into the ground. The armor has a Corviknight's head plating as a helmet, and a segment of a Forretress' shell hanging from the back like a cape.]

finally, a few anecdotes from my own specimen of these dum-dum yokel gremlins

cotton likes eating her food on her hammer as well as sleeping on it, yet she doesn't like it getting cleaned ...she doesn't seem to make the correlation between a dirty hammer and more baths ...nor does she seem to care

she likes listening to "Sweet Release of DEATH - Sugary Spire" before battles because it gets her even more hyper than usual this helps because i like to use her as a support lead/damage dealer hybrid, because, as befitting their crafty nature, they learn a lot of support-oriented moves

anyway yeah that's all i got later nerds

[rinatic]

AESPA: as best friends

Tw: none.

Karina

- the independent best friend.

- you're definitely the one who initiated this friendship first because she's quite shy.

- if you like to talk a lot, it's good because karina is more of a listener :)

- this also means she'll keep your secrets.

- is honestly the one you should go to when you need advice.

- she cares a lot about you and sees you as a family member.

- hanging out with her is the best because she's very chill and hates drama.

- she's very empathetic and understands how you feel.

- never lets you date freely because she's overprotective and doesn't want you to get hurt :(

- buys you your favourite food.

- usually matches your mood and the stuff you do, you wanna hang out in your place and be all lazy, okay. You want to drink coffee because you feel sleepy, will drink coffee too even if she doesn't feel like it.

- needs you to go shopping with her. You're more of her personal stylist.

- anyways a very chill and out going friend.

Giselle

- the wild best friend.

- probably buys slutty outfits with you.

- definitely loves mini skirts and thinks you look bomb in them even if you don't like it/like the way you look.

- you'll feel like you're hanging out with paris Hilton lol.

- encourages you to do crazy and risky stuff.

- the amount of gossiping tho.

- you two will basically never shut up lol.

- you guys rarely argue because she can easily convince you to do stuff out of your comfort zone, anc you two understand each other well.

- your number one hypeman.

- definitely loves judging people with you.

- the type of of friend you feel like a bad bitch with <3

Winter

- winter is weird.

- and will definitely turn you into a weirdo as well (if you already aren't).

- she doesn't talk a lot and is secretive. However, she's only open with you :)

- she'll always be there for you.

- she's also overprotective like karina but add a bit of jealousy and sassiness too.

- she'll be like "wtf? Does that loser think they can be y/n's friend? Lmao i won't allow this"

- the side eye and looks lol.

- anyways, is the type to fight a bitch with you.

- will throw hands if needed.

- defends you even if you're in the wrong.

- if you lie to your parents, she'll also take your side and lie with you even though she doesn't know what it's about.

- the best friend you can be yourself with because she'll never judge you.

- she's definitely an awesome bestie :)

Ningning

- the "don't give a fuck" best friend.

- ningning doesn't care about what the hell is going on in the world when she's with you.

- you guys are in your own world.

- you two are the type to laugh loudly while strangers are glaring at you.

- you both have a whole folder full of memes.

- ning is definitely the type to take pretty pics of you.

- but also takes ugly ones too to use as a meme lol.

- you guys share your closets, you may forget an item with her and see her wearing it with no problem, you probably won't get it back lol.

- you also like to dress in an extra way, like wearing a glamorous mini tight dress in the morning for no reason lol.

- definitely flirts with you and people question if you're dating lol.

- probably pretended to be your partner before so those people who annoy you will leave you alone.

- you guys are joking 24/7 and 80% of it is dirty jokes.

- tests your partner, the type to be all sweet with you and your partner but as soon as you leave, she's like "don't even try, in the end, she'll choose me."

- definitely the best friend you need :)

[rockheadcd]

@pridepoisoned said: #: shaky hands (roark post-galactic encounters perhaps???) / a drabble meme that is SOMEWHERE around. continuation ( post-mortem? hee hoo ) of this absolute banger. ft. @electrivolt + galactic verse.

The events witnessed play over in startling clarity—his poor, overworked brain reeling and attempting to process anything but the wretch-worthy stench of that Skuntank. Roark can't even begin to think about how that will even be aired out of the gym, much less out of the office. It's pungency is unlike anything he's ever experienced before, carcasses included.

His face is buried in the mask left behind, such a gracious gift from Galactic's most notorious commander, wheezing filtered air as the only consolation. Moving out of here sounded like an absolutely wonderful plan—really, he'd love to move outside—but every inhale brings a sore, jagged point of pain.

Ugh, whatever was behind that kick of hers was fueled much more than the steel toe itself.

He has yet to open his eyes, partially the irritation of such fumes, partially from the disorientation from being shoved against one of the many metal and wood objects all over his office, partially from the pain—Arceus, just about everything was suggesting he was better off just passing out right then and there if he'd ever allow himself.

( i have a crap ton to clean up.. i can't let people know..... )

The slump in his torso shifts a wayward fallen decoration.

What an idiot, he didn't even think to send out a 'mon in the time Jupiter had even revealed herself, quickly ambushed with the disorientation that both Golbat and Bronzong are effective at. He was so easily corralled back in here it was shameful. Roark heaves a sigh, struggling to get a grip—confusion was a hell of a debuff, eh? He really should have known better. Eterna was a hop, skip and a jump away from Oreburgh. Their headquarters for Arceus' sake! Was he really so complacent after that fateful night nearly being deprived of air in the deepness of the mines?

Perhaps so.

Roark tries to open his eyes, carefully, to accustom to the stinging as Skuntank's fumes slowly, agonizingly, sink and permeate into every porous surface in his office. His glasses are nothing but a blurry set of halves and cracked lenses, a further demoralization from the Commander herself. She sent a message, and the one remaining coherent thought that's managed to stick around was that he was going to everything in his power to make sure Volkner doesn't know about this part of their... "conversation".

With a pained heave, Roark finally straps the gas mask around his head, picking up the remains of his glasses to toss them away, effectively useless to him now. Delaying urgent care had to be self-inflicted punishment, and yet it's not all different from a wild encounter with a resurrected fossil to prevent injury to the scientists and further injury to their 'mons ( really, he's just trying to cope and process it all ). Around the office he goes, picking up the fallen documents, office supplies, and haphazardly tossed chairs. The habitual slip into old habits comes to rescue him once again, lost in his thoughts at such quiet hours of the night—how to talk to Volkner about this was at the forefront, leaving him with a bitter worry. The gym leader stumbles a little, trying to crack open as many doors as possible to let the chill of Oreburgh flow throughout the gym, a hand bracing his weight and gliding along the half-lit halls throughout. No other damage, thankfully, but the notion that this would only be the beginning if Roark didn't do something... If there was anything he would not underestimate, it would be her definition of escalation—and there would be no way for him to prepare, nor fight back, like this. The point was to show she was not about to give him ( or volkner, even ) respect or fairness. She didn't play by any rules but her own. Unpredictable, and brutal.

This was, after all, an organization that did not have a clean record.

( and yet he would never, ever know how dirty galactic's hands truly were )

Damnit. He has to see Volkner soon, but it can't be tonight. Not when he's hurting like this, not while the gym smells like it's a toxic waste dump, and certainly not when he has a pounding headache rising up as his survival mode eases up on the numbness. He could probably text him, given Volkner's sleep schedule was arguably worse than his own.

His city's safety is ultimately his highest priority—part of it included ensuring not a single person had a reason to worry about the movements of Galactic's grunts, much less the appearance of their highest ranking staff. The earthquake and Volkner's sudden appearance were concerning enough, where the days following left Roark with enough sympathy that he wanted to practically run from it in the quest for some kind of normalcy again, buried right back in the mines to occupy his days with safety inspections to ensure the tunnels weren't compromised, and if they were, the safest workaround to each quadrant.

..It's cold, his body finally acknowledges. Roark can finally settle the gas mask around his neck by the time he steps outside, the surrounding dirt barely has signs of coercion, much to his dismay. Leaning against the outside wall, just outside the entrance, the mass of stone pressing uncomfortably against his back, he takes another shaking, painful breath, looking at his hands finally.

They're trembling, but not shivering.

He's shaken up and he's still dancing around the fact he did get the shit scared out of him—this could have been much, much worse.

It would have been, if Volkner wasn't involved, wouldn't it?

"...ugh."

An alternative option he can make due with in order to deal with the stench that slowly wafts out of the gym requires him to borrow some 'mons that were currently snoozing at home. A glance at his phone reveals to him the entire counter took barely any time at all—another kick into the curb, so to speak. Most of the time spent here was wallowing in delirium. Now he feels sick to his stomach, and when Roark instinctively inhales, he gasps into a groan of pain, painfully reminding himself of what must have been a broken rib or two.

Just what did they introduce to this peaceful corner of Sinnoh, now...? He didn't know—well, he thought he knew, but he did not know the sheer scope of what Galactic could be capable of.

Realistically, he should be making his way to urgent care, not his home, but... well. He wasn't about to arrive smelling like this, no matter how easily he could explain it was just an unfortunate encounter in the Underground—with the common knowledge of his adventures taking place around this time, it'd just be a funny story in the end. But.. no, he can't lie like that. Home first. Get Leafeon. Get Politoed. Sweet Scent. Give Leafeon a healthy cleanse. Rinse and repeat. It'd be faster to hitch a ride on Ramses at this moment, but.. the idea of jostling around with injuries sounds absolutely horrendous, and Roark is beginning to value the time where all he can hear is the rustle of trees and the coos of the night birds. It's not enough to distract him from his current train of thought, however.

Insolence, huh.. He's awfully surprised she didn't attempt to finish the job, considering the grunts were thwarted that night. Granted, that would cause one hell of a commotion should Roark of all people go down under mysterious circumstances. ...She must have had to reasons to play this out, be it to prolong the suffering or not. Either way, she knew more than he did when it came to Volkner's activities..

( he needs someone to talk to in order to make this long trek home bearable, didn't he? )

He takes a more careful, deep breath, shaking as much as his fingertips are, eventually reaching for his phone again.

[ > Volkner ] hey. are you up still? [ > Volkner ] there's been a lot of galactic activity by sunyshore hasn't there? [ > Volkner ] not trying to be accusing or anything i just got a warning is all

There's no way he could really send anything lightly, was there? Dropping Jupiter's name alone could elicit anything, but.. maybe in the meantime, he could see if she had simply been bluffing ( oh, he's really hoping she was bluffing, but no one bluffs like that ). ..Home feels so far away.

[veterveter]

Flamingo and penguin, for your ask meme

wip game of birds!

Hi hi hi darlin', thank you for dropping by!! Always a pleasure, of course.

🦩dealer's choice (choose any quote at all! or the summary / ao3 tags thing! whatever! wild card!)

At random, here's a piece from a little project I mentioned to you last week. Still not sure if I'm committing to writing it, but I enjoyed the vibe, anyway. Just a moment, and not 60k of slow burn quick burn, you know? It's refreshing! My heart craves that kind of inconsequentiality right now, I suppose. The next time I ask you if a thing needs chapters-- just say no.

"You know what they say, señor," he drawled, and it was possible he'd already had too much wine. Martín tended to be in an off mood for most of Andrés's weddings, at times nearly manic in the joy he portrayed. Andrés wasn't sure he liked it, anymore. "That there are but two socially acceptable reasons to decline an offer to dance. One is if your prospective partner is too drunk–"  "Which does not apply, here. If one of us–"  "The other," Martín interrupted him, slowly, lifting his glass and very much proving Andrés's point. He was dragging his words out a little, enjoying this moment of having the groom all for himself. "If you have reason to believe they cannot dance."  "I'm wounded, Martín. You've attended enough of my weddings to have seen it for yourself - I very much can."  "I've seen waltzes," Martín allowed, "As well as foxtrot. What I haven't seen is a competent tango. You stand to harm my reputation, if it turns out that you're shit at it." Andrés held out his hand, because he knew what he could do.  And he also knew - Martín was going to say yes.

🐧 a funny quote (silly! laughs! jokes! puns!)

It's a shame that most of my funniest moments are also so spoilery. They build on stuff. Have this one, though - it's from the last chapter of curtains, of course:

"I'll bet you any amount of money," Andrés continued, "That you never washed the mattress."  "I– shut up."  He'd burned the thing. It had seemed like less effort. "I knew it. I'd tell you to pay up, but it doesn't really matter," Andrés grinned, victorious, "Shared finances."  Martín should have known, that when Andrés had said we should just go back to sharing a bank account, it was so much easier, I don't care who bought the sundried tomatoes, agreeing to it was a bad idea. 

[rgr-pop]

okay remember when i said i was posting about the prop 3 (abortion constitutional amendment) win in our slack and i got scolded? let me recap because i cannot possibly emphasize enough that i was in good behavior there (compared to on here where i was tbf wilding). (recall this was shortly after the 'crying bolsonaro stans' meme.) what i said: "[thank yous to participants] [Comrade] and I had the profound spiritual luck to find ourselves watching the watch party of the [pro life org]. As [iconic organizer in the org] always says, 'the ruling class should be shaking in their boots.' We got to watch white fascist heterosexual couples pray and console each other as they realized that they were losing the world. Truly shaking. It was the coolest thing that has maybe ever happened to me."

This guy sent me 8 responses telling me I was gloating, unhealthy, and causing human misery in the world. A second catholic supported him and said some stuff about how we don't know the journey our opponents are on etc. etc. I told them this position doesn't belong in the organization and that they should take some time to self-reflect on what their cultural biases are bringing into the organization (I also called him a misogynist)--I asked them not to respond to me anymore on the topic of catholicism and abortion, after which I received an additional five responses.

Point being, right after this he posted a lengthy letter about how he has to leave the organization because it's toxic and full of "anger." *A letter*! Like, this guy has been around for a really long time but he had been to like 3 meetings before he decided that there were too many women allowed to speak here.

Anyway the point of this update is: he did in fact come to the next meeting anyway. This is the second time in the organization that a man has had a public meltdown during a conversation where they were accused of sexist behavior, immediately formally announced that they were quitting in response, and then came right back to meetings without mentioning it. It's such a dire self own (I cannot tell you how serious I am about this: I would kill myself before I would allow myself to be that owned) but it's also like, WHY? someone tell me why they came back. THEY'RE SO LONELY

[kazylgon]

Some not-so-nice ask meme prompts for youuu: Break for Rin / Mask for Talyn / Wound for Scraps / Pain for Zedd

this one's got a trigger warning for mentions of very messy and desperate methods of potential suicide

Break: What would cause your OC to break down completely? What do they look like when that happens? Has anyone ever seen them at their lowest?

Being taken home. Her mother raised her for no purpose other than being a magical battery, and said she loved her while abusing her to increase Rin's desire for power, so that mother would have more when she took it all for herself.

If Rin ever found herself in a cell in her mother's tower, or found herself in the hands of someone who wanted to take her there, it would be messy. She would be frantic, she would cry and scream and curse the world and everything in it, she would bite and claw even at solid stone if necessary, she would bargain, she would promise any deed in exchange for her freedom, she would tear her own limbs off to get away.

Rin's single most important goal in life is survival.

But she'd immolate herself before she let her mother get her hands on her again. If she couldn't use her magic she'd open an artery or five with a claw. And if she couldn't do that then she'd beat her head against the stone until her skull cracked, or bite her tongue off and drown herself in her own blood.

Thankfully that situation hasn't come to pass so no one's had to see the lengths she would go to to avoid it but it definitely happens in her nightmares time to time.

Mask: Does your OC wear a mask, literally or figuratively? What goes on beneath it? Is there anyone in their life who gets to see who they are under the mask?

Figuratively Talyn is nothing but mask. Her entire character is about the dichotomy between the mask and the self, and the harm of getting the two confused. The entirety of her outward facing self is what she thinks the world expects her to be and oh boy, those expectations that she's constructed for herself are incredibly unreasonable.

The Talyn mask is strong, stoic to a fault, self sacrificing to a fault, humble, chaste, and has no earthly wants or desires. Beneath the mask is a literal ravening beast of anger and emotion and desire that wants to yell and cry and scream and rip and tear and take instead of giving, and take and taKE AND TAKE!! All the normal desires a person should have, but have been so repressed for so long that they've become feral. Talyn doesn't even conceptualise them as part of herself anymore, but rather a curse that takes over. She has entirely become the mask, with the self furiously bouncing around the hollow shell of her being, desperate to be released.

Everyone who spends enough time around her will see under the mask eventually. Sometimes the mask slips and she'll physically and mentally undergo some kind of monstrous change, but everyone assumes that's just the "curse" she mentioned.

The only person who genuinely sees the Talyn underneath the mask (that is, a healthy combination of Id and Ego, not one or the other gone wild) is Rin. Because Rin is a creature of desire and anger and yelling and screaming and taking what she wants, and Talyn admires that confidence...even if she's a little sketchy on the morality surrounding the expression of that confidence. So sometimes Rin (unintentionally) draws the ravening beast by allowing Talyn to (also largely unknowingly and unintentionally) feel like she's allowed to let the ravening beast out a little every now and then.

Wound: How does your OC handle being wounded? Are their wounds mostly physical? Mental? Emotional? What's the worst wound your OC has ever experienced?

Scraps approaches injuries with the same cold, calculating, logical intellect they approach everything else. It doesn't matter how severe the injury, or how intense the pain, as long as they're not dead Scraps knows they're smart enough to fix things.

They haven't really received a whole lot of injuries, because they're smart enough to avoid fights unless they have a clear path to victory...unless you count the emotional/mental wounds sustained during the period of enslavement to the necromancer which almost resulted in their death. Scraps doesn't. Scraps' mind and emotions are both superior to yours AND functioning perfectly, according to Scraps.

The worst physical injuries they've sustained was during their first (unplanned) test of their draconic bio-mechanical power armour against a real, actual dragon. The armour was completely destroyed, the dragon got away with non-life threatening injuries, and Scraps ended up with burns, lacerations, and numerous broken bones. Scraps considered the test a resounding success though. Despite only being an unfinished prototype, the armour allowed them to go toe-to-toe with a full grown dragon for almost a minute before failure! The physical injuries caused construction of the revised amour to be delayed but the data gained more than made up for that.

Pain: What's the worst pain your OC has ever felt? Do they have a high pain tolerance?

No one knows it (not even him) but Zedd's a cyborg, artificial internals covered with normal looking skin and hair. He doesn't feel pain. At all. He's aware of any injury he might sustain, even minor ones, but pain? Nah.

Stab a knife through that man's hand and he'll definitely feel it, might even fight back and stab you in return if you're being a dick about it, but it won't actually hurt him.

So his pain tolerance is technically infinite, but the worst emotional pain he's ever experienced...I haven't got a completely clear idea of how this whole scenario goes down, but another Zedd cyborg who is much meaner hurts someone he cares about, and then that person doesn't trust him. He definitely felt that pain.

[puckish-rogue]

𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐔𝐍

NAME : Andre! (aka Ya big boi Andre aka Andre 4000 aka the Monster of Miami aka Rico Suave)

PRONOUNS : He / Him

PREFERENCE OF COMMUNICATION : Discord! Tumblr IM's are way too small for me to read at times due to my eyesight (bad enough to the point I'm not legally allowed to drive). Also Tumblr asks just wind up being way too slow.

MOST ACTIVE MUSE : The Boss as he is my only active Muse.

EXPERIENCE / HOW MANY YEARS : I've been doing Tumblr RP since I believe 2011, and that was a very loose and kinda wild form of it. I would kind of just wander around from places, whether it was brief stints in groups or indie, before finally playing SR2 and establishing Bossu's blog. From there I'd just pick up on a lot of advice and work on my writing till we come to today!

BEST EXPERIENCE : There are plenty of experiences that I'm absolutely fond of. And while this may sound like a cop out, I truly am happy to have made so many long-lasting friendships on the site that have been going strong for years now.

RP PET PEEVE : I could list so much shit that annoys the hell out me, especially regarding my eyesight since I know some motherfuckers really love turning up the saturation on their graphics. But I think my overall biggest pet peeve is one that I know a lot of people share, and that's when someone decides to act the fuck up over nothing and take what should always be considered a hobby way too seriously. Last thing anyone needs to deal with are freaks who are desperately trying to make up for their time in high school by acting like a shithead to others.

PLOTS OR MEMES : Plots are a definite preference for me. But I always want to stress the fact that when I say this, it's always very very light unless there's a clear need to get much more fully detailed. I guess that also comes from me messing around in what I'd consider an abandoned universe since the series has been rebooted. So I have plenty of ideas of where things could have gone, and I'd like to make sure any of my RP partners who want to involve their Muse with that world know what they're getting into. But memes are still good if I can sorta improvise on an idea! My only real issue is that sometimes I do worry about coming up with something that goes against a person's Muse or whatever. So I'd hate to step on any toes.

LONG OR SHORT REPLIES : Both are fine! Definitely depends on the thread and where things going. I'll just always make sure to mention that I hate unnecessary padding. So if a reply of mine might come up a little short, I'll always let my partner know.

ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSES : Oh sure, absolutely. I'm running my own little gang down here in the mean streets of sunny Miami. My body count is through the roof, and I definitely want to expand my empire outwards. This is totally 100% real and serious, please believe me for I have no reason to ever lie to you. I'm a trustworthy person.

TAGGED BY: Stole it from Miss @bitterseadrop cause I'm a thief TAGGING: Your mom