#all i need to do is find some people to do co-op with and we could recreate this scene

[worldsetfree]

Diamond is Unbreakable × Reader: Weekends Spent in a Beautiful Duwang

(+ bonus character sprinkled in just for you!)

At last, the weekend! You have survived another horrible week and once more been set free from the confines of societal expectations. You've been feeling a bit too stressed out lately, what with the serial killer and all... But what better way to relax than with some quality time with your beloved?

(I hope y'all enjoy these small slices of life! Feedback is welcome. These broader headcanons are really helping me ease into where I want to go.)

Higashikata Josuke

Great! He has to do some chores first or his mom will kill him, but he's been craving some TLC time with you.

He's kind of a homebody, so expect a day spent playing video games (cute couch co-op is exactly the kind of aesthetic he lives for), watching TV, and having snacks.

Loves physical contact. Will wrap his arms around you, soft kisses on your skin. Wishes you could stay the night and cuddle.

Super shy at school the next week. His friends will tease him about it.

Nijimura Okuyasu

"Oh, let me see if Josuke is free!" "No, no, no, babe. Let's take time for you and I."

When he finally gets the idea, his first suggestion is of course: going to Tonio's. It's up to you if you want to experience *that* with him, but either way a dinner date sounds like a great idea.

Okuyasu wants to be a gentleman this evening. Does his best, in his own way. Dresses up for you. "Oh, you look really hot tonight!" Holds open the door open for you. He'll get the cheque, he's rich now! (Excuse me, what?)

Is going to call Josuke and tell him all about it when he gets home. "Oi Josuke, I think I'm in love!" Josuke lives for it.

Kishibe Rohan

No. He's busy. Wait, you're serious? Oh shit, he feels kinda bad now.

You convince him to go on a cute picnic date in the park under the guise of people-watching for more inspiration.

Rohan's mind is more captivated by experiences than images. He finds himself noticing how the other couples act and decides to do some research. Holding your hand makes his heart flutter like a dove's wings. Kissing you is mental anethestic and fireworks all at once.

The manuscript he sends to his editor that week is notably more optimistic than usual. Pink Dark Boy won't be singing from the rooftops, but at least Rohan understands what's inspired the stupid cliché now. And he wants more and more exposure to this feeling.

Kujo Jotaro

He's tired and stressed out. Please take him away from this town, he actually really needs it. You both do, really. Responds to your request with an indifferent grunt. He's in.

Usually, he'd take you to the beach, but he's hit a snag with his thesis and if he sees those starfish right now he might just pull his hair out. And we wouldn't want anything to happen to his handsome locks.

Surprisingly spontaneous when he wants to be. "Let's go to Tokyo, I want you to meet someone."

The drive is peaceful and quiet. He's a great listener, but still not the best communicator. For example: he won't tell you until you get there that your lunch date will involve meeting his mom for the first time.

Bonus:

Tonio Trussardi

This sweet man takes a day off from his restaurant and invites you to his home. Greets you with flowers and wine.

Very excited to show you his garden. Look at his tomatoes!! Humble but oh so proud of the fruits of his labour.

Thinks the most romantic thing you two can do together is cook. But it's his day off? He doesn't mind! He loves his craft! Wants to hold your hands and teach you how to properly julienne a pepper.

Lives for that reaction when you take that first bite. Might use Pearl Jam to make it that much better for you. Domesticity makes him want a life with you.

[tearsofthekingdomcountup]

25 Days until Tears of the Kingdom Release. Is it really? Haha the smaller the number gets the more I doubt reality. I've just been waiting for this game for so long that even with all the marketing and the trailer analysis it's hard to believe its actually happening.

Spoilers under the cut for the last batch of screenshot trailer analysis.

So this tear has the recall chicken symbol on it. I checked. Zelda also has the Master Sword with her. Either she's fixing the sword and that's something only she can do or Zelda is in the past so the sword isn't broken yet and she is leaving something there for Link.

Ganondorf, mummy version I'm assuming, spewing red malice stuff but much brighter red this time. I wonder if Malice is just Ganondorf's version of fuse. Link gets green glue and Ganondorf red. After this there is a shot where the red stuff hits the sky and starts summoning monsters. The trailer transitions it to make it look continuous but once we get into the game we'll most likely find that it's separate cut scenes or different parts of the same cut scene but not continuous. Honestly, I think this might be where Link and the Master Sword get attacked but I'm still not giving up on the possibility that the malice emerges from the Master Sword outwards as Fi looses control on Demise.

I'm pretty sure I mentioned the lack of lynels in the other analysis I did. Welp here they are with their massive antlers (oof on the damage those things will probably cause) and the sword looking thing sticking out of one of their heads. I wonder what fusing Lynel horns to shields, swords, or arrows will do. I think I'll fight some just for that.

What else do I have to say? It's the main man, Ganondorf. I can't wait to kick his ass again.

Never seen this enemy in any of the Zelda games I've played. However, I will look forward to this boss fight/mini boss fight and whatever skill or item we need to defeat it. Maybe ascend or some ice weapon? I heard that ascend works on certain enemies and I'm very curious about which ones. It'd be interesting if this enemy tries to swallow Link and Link just ascends through the roof of its mouth.

This is Hylia or some version of Zelda from the past (yeah I'm aware that Hylia is technically a version of Zelda but whatever.) I think she's very pretty, super amazing, and very strong considering she laser beams a bunch of Molduga with no sweat.

RIJU!!! Look at my girl double wielding swords (Can we do it too as Link? Nintendo?? I wanna duel wield.) Riju appears to have grown into her own and mastered her lightning powers without needing the Helm. I'm so proud of her and I can't wait to fight along side her.

I can't tell you how cool it is to see that Link will be working and fighting alongside other citizens of Hyrule. The resistance in Twilight Princess walked so that TOTK NPCS can run. At least that's my hope. Also neat looking sword Link.

Now this part of the trailer nearly gave me a heart attack. I was like no freaking way will the new champions literally fight besides Link and not just in a cut scene. How sick is this? Of course, I heard some people say co-op but I don't think that's what's happening. You see the blue glowy stuff on Sidon? Yeah it was on Tulin too. I think the new champions might be like summons, automated companions. I think Nintendo took the wolf link amiibo and the Yunobu follow quest and beefed it up. I'm very excited about it.

So Riju doesn't have a tear that we can see and they haven't shown Yunobu but Tulin and Sidon have different tears. I'm very curious about what these things do. I'm also amused that Sidon got blue and Tulin green considering the colors of Mipha's Grace and Revali's Gale. I'm not sure about the symbols on them since I don't think they correspond to any of the abilities icons unlike recall. Anyway, it's just another thing that can't be answered until the game is out.

Giant fire gleeok or three headed evil dragon or whatever it's called, it's a sick looking boss that I can't wait to fight. Also the weapon that Link is using looks so other worldly. It's got the shape of a wing and its probably ice related. I wonder what enemy Link got it from but it does remind me of Naydra so maybe it's a dragon part? Nintendo really popped off with the Fuse ability.

So Ganondorf is most likely what this mural figure represent but look at the Hylian (i think it's a hylian, could be a Zonai) beneath him. I think the figure with its hand raised represents either Link or the person who owned the ancient hand and sealed Ganondorf.

It's a bit hard to see but see these four warriors? I think they might represent the four champions since these guys are the only warrior figures in the middle of the horde of monsters. The warriors that aren't yet in the midst of monsters must represent the other NPCs, the citizens of Hyrule that are also fighting back. I think the mural is neat and I wonder where we might see it in the game.

Lastly, Zelda holding the Master Sword and saying "You must find me Link." The first time I watched the trailer I went "Zelda?? If Link has to find you then where the heck are you??" And that's where time travel to the past is looking like a more and more likely theory. The only other theory I have involves realms/alternate worlds since A Link Between worlds exists and so do the Twilight and Silent Realms. But again, I think we'll just have to wait and see what the game has in store.

Thank you for coming to the end of this analysis with me. I'm ecstatic to have my questions answered on May 12, 2023.

Edit: It has been brought to my attention that Riju does in fact have a visible tear and I even posted a picture where it is visible. Guess my brain was so focused on how badass she looked while duel wielding swords that I missed it. Welp that's three for three tears so I'm expecting Yunobu to have one.

[max1461]

I think there are three large classes of socialist concern, which are not reducible to each other and which require different types of solutions. I would describe them as follows:

Distributional concerns — Markets tend towards inequality, and thus even in times of abundance fail to allocate resources to people who need them.

Concerns over autonomy — Private control of resources, especially when it is highly concentrated, comes at the cost of the autonomy of those who don't control the resources. As a significant special case of this, private control of the means of production deprives workers of autonomy over their own work, which constitutes most of their waking lives. Concentration of property in the hands of the few leaves most people with no choice but to sell their labor, turning them into workers deprived of autonomy in the above sense.

Humanistic concerns — Markets optimize for specific outcomes and, furthermore, the desirable properties of market economies are predicated on the existence of firms which optimize for profit. In both cases these optimization procedures are premature; they do not factor in the full human condition and thus come at the cost of many things which people find desirable.

In my view, a successful socialist program must at least attempt to address all three of these concerns. Often when debating other socialists, I feel that they err by focusing on some of these concerns to the exclusion of the others.

I have listed these concerns in order of how difficult I believe them to be to solve. Concern (1) can, in fact, be solved relatively easily even within a liberal economic system, by implementing massive redistributive taxes that equalize wealth. I want to stress that this proposal is still radical by the standards of any nation on earth today, but a solution is easy to imagine. And all these problems are interrelated; solving (1), for instance, would go a long way towards remedying (2).

Concern (2) can also, I think, be solved or at least greatly mitigated under a market framework, though not a classical liberal one. Replacing private firms wholesale with worker co-ops would go along way towards addressing (2), and in combination with the above solution for (1) provides I think the easiest to conceptualize vision of what a workable socialist (socialist enough) economy might look like.

Concern (3) is by far the hardest to address—it is in essence just the alignment problem as applied to economic systems. Suffice it to say, the problem remains open.

A common theme I see in debates between certain (usually more liberal-leaning) practically-minded socialists and certain (usually more radical) utopian-minded socialists is that the practical socialist will propose some solution that aims to address (1) and (2), and the more utopian-minded socialist will respond with vague and often not particularly coherent accusations of insufficient radicalism. The practical socialist will often then reply by dismissing the utopian's criticisms as nothing but hot air, as unserious radical posturing. But I think this represents an unfortunate misunderstanding. That utopian is often pointing at something real, even if it is articulated in a way that offends more pragmatic sensibilities. Concern (3) touches on every part of human life, I think it's fair to say, and though the habit of incoherently blaming everything that goes wrong on capitalism is not that useful, it doesn't point at nothing.

The alignment problem is not solved in the general case, but there are things we can change about a system to try and make it more aligned with specific, known goals. So the job of a good socialist (or really, anyone interested in any kind of political reform) should then be to listen to the ways in which people are dissatisfied with their lives, even when articulated poorly, and try to accrue an understanding of the most recurrent and significant ways in which the present system fails to satisfy people. Then you can look for specific tweaks that will more readily accommodate the things people in fact seem to want. But crucially, this task in empirical—you cannot come upon the most desirable tweaks rationally. It's also empirical in a way that is difficult to approach with any kind of scientific rigor. You have to listen to people, and try to understand them on their own terms. You have to try to understand where people are coming from even if they phrase things in a way that you very much dislike, a way that irritates you or makes you feel threatened.

As I've said before, "listen to marginalized voices" is oft-misused, but not actually incorrect as a description of the practical obligations of anyone who wants to consider themself a leftist.

[luandti]

you guys, I am completely overwhelmed by your kind words and enthusiasm for my crack fic :D also i am sorry about all the (spelling) errors I made in part 1. I typed that at 6am before work

So, here is part 2 (you can find part 1 here)

Sgt. Grey: apparently Smitty put a Bradford name tag on Chens uniform today.

Sgt. Grey: When confronted he told me he was an ordained minister

Aaron: what?

Wesley: he knows that he can’t marry people without their consent, right?

Inmate 6782 joined using this group’s invite link

Inmate 6782: Hey guys, so nice to see you all hard at work! this inappropriate meddling in your co-workers relationship will make it safer out there for all of us. thank you

Sgt. Grey: who is this?

Nolan: Oscar? is that you?

Genny: who is oscar?

Sgt. Grey: Mr. Hutchinson! Are you serious? calling the prison right now!!

Inmate 6782: Ugh Sergeant, don’t be such a kill joy (pun intended) :D

Inmate 6782: Let me in on all the fun! Oscar loves love

Nyla: how did you get in here?

Inmate 6782: I am friends with Smitty on facebook

Sgt. Grey: of course you are

Angela Lopez removed Inmate 6782

Patrice Evers: Dear all, but why is Mr. Hutchinson in prison? Is there hope for him? Yours sincerely, Patrice

Wesley: MOTHER I swear to god!!

Inmate 6782 joined using this group’s invite link

Inmate 6782: Guys, wait. I can help!

Angela Lopez: how?

Nolan: @Angela Lopez you can’t be serious

Inmate 6782: I am a psychopath, right? I could help you using more drastic measures. first suggestion: i kidnap Ofc. Chen and we see what happens?

Celina: I think my psychic warned me about this situation

Bailey: Yeah, I think we should go with the other plan and pretend to set Lucy up with somebody from my work

Angela Lopez removed Inmate 6782

Nyla: anyways.... are there any news about that fake date? @Bailey

Bailey: not yet. this is harder than I thought!

Bailey: apparently even half the fire department knows about Tim and Lucy

Bailey: yesterday, when I asked Sam if he would go on a fake date with lucy, he said to me (and I quote)

Bailey: “do I look like I have a death wish? you know Sgt. Bradford is armed, right?”

Nolan: this is crazy

Celina: they have such a powerful bond. i am not suprised so many people notice.

Aaron: I made a list of all the “secret” looks they gave each other yesterday...

Angela Lopez: everytime Tim calls her chen instead of lucy i die a little inside!

Celina: btw: I know “erotic fanfiction” is banned but I wrote some cute domestic fanfiction last night when I couldn’t sleep... anyone interested?

Wesley: do you guys ever think that maybe we should leave them alone? and that maybe this whole group chat is morally wrong?

Nyla: did you ask yourself that when you asked elijah for help? that it might be “morally wrong”?

Patrice Evers: Dear Son, what is Nyla talking about? Love, your mother

Wesley: Regretting A LOT of decisions right about now1!

Wesley left the group

Angela added Wesley to the group

Angela Lopez: @Wesley stop beeing such a drama queen babe

Nyla: @Angela Lopez you should divorce him tbh

Tamara: guys, focus! we need a new plan

Nyla: we could try the undercover thing again

Nyla: worked the first time?

Nolan: @Sgt. Grey

Sgt. Grey: Just to be clear: you want me, your boss, to send two of my police officers into a fake uc op?

Nyla: pretty much! would be great if it happend sometime within the next 10 days

Tamara: is that when you placed your bet?

Nyla: @Tamara no comment

Genny: we should call it “operation lovebirds” and it is just my idiot brother and lucy wearing fancy clothes and going on dates <3

Nolan: @Genny we don’t really name our operations but the rest sounds actually good

[farolero-posting]

no but, like, Prototype is SO interesting when you think a little harder about him and I just want you to see my vision for a sec because im feeling normal. hiding this under a cut though.

I think the main line i wanna say is that yes we can easily see why Silver or The World Machine see themselves as flawed machines but I don't think that notion is too out of reach for him yknow? Like. He was built to "greet the messiah of the old world", which ended up not happening as it was supposed to. Worst part of it is that considering the lore Cedric provides, Proto was the one to figure out this quest for a savior was pointless. It's like predicting that his very existence is futile, and then just having to live with that?? Somehow?? Not only this, but the implied cultural shift that this event caused had to be considerable. People left their research, they changed their outlook in life, this action ended up changing the trajectory that people had. Hell, maybe some people took their own lives. I mean, that note in the Barrens had to be inspired by something.

Could you Fucking Imagine realizing that your actions had THIS effect? That you effectively have caused harm by sharing this knowledge, but this was either out of your scope, or it was something you were programmed to do from the start? That this is all out of your choice? What the fuck even. "OP it's not that deep" I know but it could be. Hello. I mean listen. if the Author hadn't known everything was going to end in the next few years, do you think he would've tried to create TWM?

And then, I guess. the simulation is created and as problems arise, the Author's children are tasked with a backup plan that could help them be tamed. There is no guarantee that whoever ends up with the simulation will attempt it, but they need to believe it's possible. And they all wait, and make sacrifices. Prototype not only hides in a corner that's harder to access but we find him without part of his memories, in such a way that he can't even introduce himself properly. The data is close to him, and yet body and mind and identity are kind of divisible. And there's no guarantee that his wait will amount to anything. Maybe he wouldn't even realize that, in that state though, I don't fucking know. Is it better to not know? Either way this sounds like quite the sacrifice to make, and I want that to sink in.

And sure, then the savior does show up, except the circumstances are different. This world is possible to save, this world is simpler, it's also just a simulation, and all of this is stuff he knows and has accepted. He doesn't even fulfill his purpose as he should because there's another robot taking that spot. And what he ends up doing, can be once again summarized as delivering information about things that he NEEDED to share for a greater good, and that causing a negative reaction of a magnitude that accelerates the corruption of the world, and his one chance to actually guide the savior ends up leaving them more confused, upset and doubtful that they can do anything. He tries to predict what could happen next, or at least, states he does and he is always too late. Too late to tell them of the corruption, too late to tell them that the mines will collapse, too late to react to make sure Silver and himself make it out alive. And yeah this event does make Solstice a far riskier route than intended. Did the Author and co. consider this possibility? Likely, did they THINK it would actually go that way? Probably fucking not.

It's fine, in the end. Robots can be repaired, and things did turn out okay, but the cost was still big, and no replacement can really make the consequences disappear. But time goes on, anyways. What else could you expect? What else can you do? Can you say you failed if it was out of your control? If it was never meant to be anyways? What did you make of the chance you did get?

And, in other topics, from where DO you draw your worth? What defines you? Where is "you"?

idk.

[stem-sister-scuffle]

STEM SISTER SCUFFLE: ROUND 1 MASHUP 16

Kal'tsit (Arknights) vs Entrapta Princess of Dryl (Netflix She-Ra and the Princesses of Power)

Kal'tsit is a Medic and Pharmacist!

Entrapta Princess of Dryl is a Roboticist, Programmer and First Ones' Tech Historian/Archaeologist!

Why you should vote for each contestant:

Kal'tsit:

"Kal'tsit is the Officer-in-Charge for Rhodes Island's Medical Department and she uses her expertise to heal other operators in battle while being apart of the battle herself. Kal'tsit seems to be one of the closest characters to the player character "Doctor", being familiar with their past while Doctor has no clue due to amnesia. Apparently she has been around for quite a long time and, old lady jokes aside, due to all the experience she has she seems to be one hell of an op operator (though I have been unable to play Arknights myself so I am relying on the information of multiple different people who do play). Also she is my wife I love her <3"

"first of all, she is a cat woman (she is very old)... her companion is a green dragon crystalline monster whom she has a symbiotic relationship with... they understand each other and kal'tsit also commands them in battle she oversees the medical branch of rhodes island which is a research & pharmaceutical company trying to find the cure to the fatal rock disease that plagues this world and kills you slowly :( despite living in such a harsh world, she never stops fighting for and helping the people... even tho people want to kill her, she remains kind she mentors all sorts of people and trains them to be future doctors and in the game itself she is classified as a medic! hiiiiii demi its me lapis teehee i hope u have fun hosting this too!!!!"

"My beautiful catgirl ex-wife. She has definitely been alive for millennia, is a passionate ally to the downtrodden (you know, to atone for her previous history of war crimes), and founded a pharmaceutical company that largely does charity work for sufferers of the setting-specific incurable magic rock cancer. She's psychically bonded with the xenomorph-esque monster that lives in her spine. She wants to kill me. <3 For added context to the above, when I say "me" and "my" above, I refer to the player character of Arknights, the otherwise-unnamed "Doctor." While it is unlikely that Kal'tsit and the Doctor were ever literally married, the particular nature of their closeness, implied history, and current co-parenting has lead to "the ex-wife" to be a near-universally accepted fandom nickname for Kal'tsit. In a game full of hyper-competent characters with mysterious pasts, Kal'tsit is both the most competent and the most mysterious, and is genuinely a major factor in my fondness for Arknights itself."

"(cracks fingers) here we go-- dr. kal'tsit is a wise and kindhearted individual who travels and helps as many people as she can in need. when you first encounter her in the game, she comes off as cold and harsh, cutting straight to the point. however, that's only because the player character probably did something really awful (unknown atm). in events where we were able to explore her backstory and see how people reacted to her, we find out that she will save as many lives as she could through tactical negotiation, but she is ready to fight as needed if people fail to consider her warnings. as a doctor with an incurable rock disease (incuritis 2 JDHEJDJFKE), she understands the pain of that illness and administers help to people who get infected, no matter who they are, even if theyre some rando in the village woods. she also created a type of poison that would help in a quiet assassination, something that wouldn't be immediately detected by other forensic scientists until it was too late. i know i said that she tried to save as many people as possible, but this situation was a bit different. i would expand on it but i might be rambling a bit too much, but basically shes got a complex set of decisions and loves humanity a bit too much and also has the skills to back it up.she rocks both a maid outfit and a suit in canon"

Entrapta Princess of Dryl:

"She builds robots!!! She's curious and inquisitive!! She loves her robots!! She has the coolest hair and also I want to be her bestie. She's an absolute love"

"autism :)"

"Builds robots and computers for fun and companionship. Can take apart and understand almost any tech she is presented with. Autism lever set to max and I love her. Mandatory boob window in all her outfits and I've never related harder to a character."

"autistic icon, amazing inventor and app round excellent character"

"she has prehensile hair it’s literally the best thing i’ve ever seen in my life, it’s never once acknowledged by any of the characters as abnormal or explained in any way i’m literally obsessed with it. also autism queen"

"PIGTAILS!!!! autism"

"Entrapta is very bubbly and positive. She never lets anything like losing her friends or going to the bad side or getting put on a death-sentence island stop her from scientific pursuits! She actually drives a lot of the conflict in the story, as she explains the technological backstory of the world, and helps both sides be better at fighting. She loves data, doing experiments, and the scientific method. She's also in love with space. She is an autistic queen <3"

"phenomenal canon autism representation without being weird & shitty. also she’s so strange & wonderful & relatable in so so many ways. my computer is named Darla bc that’s what she named the AI for the spaceship in s5"

"She is THE science queen because she loves science so much and her love of it is INFECTIOUS. I don’t know anything about science but Entrapta makes it seem like the coolest thing in the universe. I love her"

"She ourple. I luv her"

"She's so passionate about her work. Takes through notes! Figured out how to hack her home planet!!! She's autistic as hell and I like her overalls."

"You won’t get autism like this anywhere else bestie"

"amoral mad scientist who flips between the good guys and bad guys, loves building so many inventions, ends up converting the head bad guy (for most of the series) to good through the power of love"

"She has outfitted her entire castle to be a maze, and installed electronic locks on some. Her staff seems to be mostly robots she has built herself. In good part reverse engineering or adapting ancient tech found on the planet. She's incredible at what she does and personally fixes, invents and builds a wide range of stuff from space ships to portals to a prosthetic exoskeleton to trackers to war machines. She can do it all. Autism win! Girlie has been criticised for being treated childlike or being unable to understand those around her to a ridiculous degree, but I'm honestly just glad she's not a Sheldon Cooper. Her favorite bots have personalities and therefore implied AI (but not the shitty kind), which means she's pretty fucking good at software too. She likes tiny foods."

"So very autistic about technology. Initially believes robots are way better than people, eventually makes human friends but also very much still has robot friends (I love Emily so much). Gets so excited about finding new First One's tech. Also her happy spinning around in a space suit in that one season 5 episode heals my heart every time I watch it"

"She's the planet's leading expert on ancient tech (sci-fi/fantasy universe) and develops most of the tech in the show and is very autistic about it. i love her"

"She is fun and funky. Chaotic neutral. Definitely some autism coding going on, which is very charming. She has a pet robot? It is cute"

"Bc she is ENTRAPTA!! No srsly she is such a well-written character. At times kinda morally grey but always lovable and great and she is truly amazing at what she does!! I'm pretty sure she's already been submitted but I wanted to make sure :)"

[is-the-owl-video-cute]

Okay, first sorry for presuming you didn't work with children - the way you talked about them at first was really oversimplificated, easy to misunderstand.

About "using Third Wolrd countries as props", sometimes they pop in the middle of an argument out of the blue and with no nuance at all. Like "don't eat quinoa, eat meat!" - we export meat and the contidions of workers in slaughterhouses are AWFUL too. We plant too much things to export (both for animal feeding and people), and for the exchange farmers don't plant local crops anymore, prices rise, and stuff. Not to mention mineration. Almost everything produced here, specially most brute products, come from exploitaition. I don't think individual buyers interfere much, maybe organized though.

Or the parrot thing. Shelters here are full too, to the point of workers saying "please find a new home for this lost bird yourself." (Happened to a co-worker that found a lost, absolutely healthy, and clearly imprinted parrot).

And to be honesty the discourse of "undomable parrots" "the WILD!" sounds also fetishing to me. You see? It is still a open question. You say what you want about husbandry, but how *we* feel is still open. What Europeans did to parrots is fact, what we make from it? It's *our* turn to discuss and decide.

These are just random ideas. Idk how you will receive them.

Also, I'm amused by the idea that some comments threw "imagine until they know about unicorns or dragons" or "they are adad". I'm totally for imagination, and if I made understand I'm against it I'm sorry. I'm not *against* whatever dino toys, I just *wish* we had more variety than JP bootlegs, including pleasant and accurate critters.

What I will say to you is that my response to parrots is very US-centric because that is where I live and have experience and knowledge about the exotic pet trade on a first hand level and because that is what OP specified they were speaking on in the first place.

I am not speaking for your country because I have not lived there and you haven’t disclosed which country you reside in meaning I can’t give any assumption to what the situation is there.

The state of parrots in the pet trade in the US is that anyone can buy as many parrots of whatever species they want as long as they pay a lot of money to the seller. The seller very rarely does any kind of background check to ensure the buyer even knows what they’re doing or what the bird eats, they take money and they give bird. There is often no way to verify that the parrots were bred for health and good temperament, or even that they weren’t bred to parents or siblings. There is often very little transparency about what methods they were imprinted with, there are several types of imprinting and some result in a nightmare bird and others result in a very calm bird.

Because you can profit off of selling large quantities of parrots with unique patterns or colors, there are a lot of people breeding them in unethical ways to do so cheaply while selling at the highest possible price. This, much like the human labor and land exploitations you’re referring to, are just the end result of capitalism. Rich white countries like things cheap and convenient so they imperialize and leech off of countries they intentionally sabotage financially so they have to stay in line.

Because of the mindset Americans have towards convenience and instant gratification, they go to a store, see a parrot, buy a tiny cage, and bring the parrot home with a bell toy, dowel perch, and just whatever bag of generic “parrot food” they happened to grab on the way out. Then the parrot is loud or bites or never talks so they cover it with a sheet, release it into their backyard, or force it onto an already overcrowded rescue.

Every type of parrot has unique needs, but they at the very least should be able to fly, have others of their species to interact with, and bonding activities that don’t frustrate or upset the bird. So many parrots in the pet trade here have never actually felt the sunlight aside from through a window. So many parrot cages are designed in ways that lead to damaged feathers. So many parrot cages have no room for the bird to stretch their wings or even have a private place to hide.

My stance on parrots is at the bare minimum people should have to go through a similar process falconers have to go through before getting their first raptor. Falconers here must build an enclosure that meets guidelines approved by the state department of wildlife, they must pass an exam regarding the natural history, husbandry, equipment, and training of the animal. They must study under a master falconer for two years before becoming fully independent in the sport. If we held people to this standard and required it before they could buy a parrot, I would have far less complaints I’m sure. But that isn’t the case. Every parrot I’ve worked with was a rescue, and every one of their stories was heartbreaking. Yes, true, people will neglect any given animal because people can be cruel, but the vast majority of parrot owners are still keeping them in terrible caging, still keeping them all by themselves, and it’s still greatly encouraged to breed more and more which just gets parrots killed or dumped at a rescue.

[decolonize-the-left]

Hi, I'm also a police (and prison) abolitionist, but there is a question I have that I am unsure what the solution is if we're doing police abolition. So, I am Jewish, and I attend synagogue services regularly. Our synagogue has armed security, a panic button to call the police, etc. I am not a huge fan of this, not just as an abolitionist, but also as someone who's very aware that the police don't give a shit about Jews. However, synagogue shootings, bomb threats, actual bombs, etc happen fairly regularly. As a police abolitionist, what do you think a possible solution is to de-police synagogues but also still keep Jews safe? Thank you!

The same way we protect Drag Storytime from transphobes. The community shows up for you. The community is there for security and protection.

I was briefly a member of an organization that did Exactly that as a matter of fact, we were a co-op who went around listening to the radio and showing up to police calls, monitoring arrests, patrolling houseless communities, and standing on front lines since police often chose to protect MAGA/Blue Lives ppl instead.

Also, they worked with the community and gathered support from trainers who in turn offered us defense and offense classes. We never went into a dangerous situation without training for it first, despite just being people off the street. So that could be an idea as well if anyone involved has knowledge on security (or bombs) they're willing to share.

What happened was these Black anarchists showed up to a community meeting that PSL (party for socialism & liberation) was hosting and stated their cause. Then they said whoever wants to join them is welcome. So I did.

So it can also be that easy to find people ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

All that to say yes I have ideas & yes this is possible.

Since this would need to be done on a regular basis at a static place though, there should be a bit more organizing involved than what we did.

First things first, you gotta do some research specifically on security (since it's basically cops but Not) and then find people willing to carry that out. I'm sure there are plenty around, probably people who've been in security before it's just a matter of asking in the right places.

Then it's a matter of organizing your needs, making plans, and action. You'll need to lay out when you'll need them, if you want them armed, patrolling outside, guarding doors, go over escape routes, etc. I'm sure you know if you have a panic button. And if they need anything in return, especially to do the work better then help how you can.

I'd also suggest rotating these people out on a semi to regular basis so they don't get stuck in their roles and have it go to their head like cops do.

There are a lot of ways to de-police and each community's needs for how to do that will be different. Talk to who shows up for you and figure out what it'll look like for your community as a team.

And if you're just looking for an example of what that might like then the first ones that come to mind are the Black Panthers and AIM. Unhappy with police violence, they both organized alternatives to protect themselves and their communities. Not synagogues per se, but you could use some of the same ideas and tactics, I'm sure.

[cursedcola]

Prompt: Who would they main in Genshin Impact? (as of 3.0)

A/N: For those of you who don’t know, I have played genshin for quite a long time. Therefore I am qualified to do this and am not taking criticism. My reasoning for these choices is up to your own interpretation. Enjoy my dears <3

Heartslabyul

Riddle Rosehearts = Yanfei

You really shocked by this one? Miss rule book?

Hates domestic disputes, if you know then you know

Ninguang was a close second but he likes burning his enemies to a crisp

Trey Clover = Yae Miko

The plight of cleaning up other people’s messes is one he knows

Her hair looks like candy floss

Wishes he could steal some of her girlboss for himself

Cater Diamond = Albedo

Hear me out

He really is a sucker for the intuitive character with an aura of beauty

Albedo’s origin story > any other

It’s people like Albedo irl that actually frighten Cater the most. Yet he appreciate’s Albedo’s uncanny ability to call people out on their bullshit with no reservations

Ace Trappola = Diluc

Diluc is the closest we have to your stereotypical “superhero,” which Ace always gravitates towards

Appreciates his tomato-red hair and is invested in the brotherly drama with Kaeya

Deuce Spade = Jean

She is responsible, she kicks ass, and is a great leader

Deuce drinks his respect women juice and thinks the actual grandmaster needs an ass whopping for leaving her alone so long

Like bro, all that bs with StormTerror and you still don’t drop by? What kind of irresponsible prick-

Savanaclaw

Leona Kingscholar = Kaeya/Klee

Says he mains Kaeya

Actually mains Klee

Finds her antics amusing and she reminds him of cheka

Ruggie Bucci = Yelan

She knows her shit. Badass. The scene in the one event where she was like “if you know my secrets, i’ll have to kill you,” gave him chills - if yk yk

Ruggie is a masochist and therefore fell for the “step on me” tactic mihoyo did with her advertising

Jack Howl = Xinyan

Likes her can-do attitude and how she doesn’t let other people her tear her down

Make fun of her english VA and he will take it personally

Octavinelle

Azul Ashengrotto = Ganyu

For those of you who know her backstory, he sympathizes

Thinks she is absolutely adorable

Tried to make himself a Zhongli main for the clout and failed

Jade Leech = Tighnari

Mushroom dance, mushroom dance

Has to be special and play the first 5 star dendro

Floyd Leech = Hu Tao

Are we really shocked with this one?

No, seriously. You saw her character quest, right?

As if Floyd would pass on that, you’re nuts

Scarabia

Kalim Al’ Asim = Yoimiya

As if Kalim would not go straight for this literal ball of sunshine?

He loves her idle animation where she twirls around with a sparkler

If he isn’t playing her in co-op then he is a healer because he just wants to help. Has a godly Bennett that Jamil built for him

Jamil Viper = Eula

VEngAnce wILL bE mInE

For real, he loves her lore

And that she dances. Teach him your ways icey momma

Pomefiore

Vil Shoenheit = Sangonomiya Kokomi

She is beauty, she is grace, and she is Vil’s

Prefers to play healer in co-op because he doesn’t have to worry about fighting. Just admires the water jellies ~

Thought he was a cut above all the rest because everyone skipped her premier banner, so he was one if the few who had her (until the re-run that is)

Rook Hunt = Tartaglia

Okay, hear me out on this one

Rook enjoys the dynamic gameplay of swapping between bow/sword and factoring in the timing for your E

Tartag’s lore? If you know then you know. Rook is on the edge of his seat with this shit

C’mon guys. That bloodthirsty thrill of the hunt? Tartag’s addiction to battle? Match made in heaven

Epel Felmeir = Arataki Itto

Another one that I don’t really need to explain?

Itto is himbo beefcake. Epel idolizes himbo beefcakes?

Doesn’t mind that Itto is a niche character because that adds to his charm. Epel is determined to declare superiority with his all-geo team and maximum damage output

Deadass someone make this dude touch some grass because he’s been artifact hunting in Slumbering Court for so long-

Ignihyde

Idia Shroud = Kaedehara Kazuha + Amber

Man only plays meta. Decimates every spiral.

Lowkey agrees that he would get an anemo vision if he was a character bc yk seems trauma is a commonality

Builds a godly Amber just to show off when domain hopping. That’s right. His Amber just did more damage than your shitly built c6 Hu Tao

Also likes Hu Tao. He knows what it’s like to be ostracized for just being yourself

Ortho Shroud = Fischl

Often plays support for his brother and she’s pretty universal

He loves her imagination. Whenever she’s idle and starts doing poses it makes him giggle

Is extremely invested in the immernachtreich lore

Wishes he had a companion like Oz or a Seelie

Don’t worry. Idia builds him one for his birthday

Diasmonia

Malleus Draconia = Zhongli

The actual Zhongli main

Because Malleus is very bad at the game and so defense build is OP

Lilia Vanrouge = Venti and Klee

A drunk god and a child who blows shit up?

Yeah

Waiting for Scaramouche

Silver = Kamisato Ayato

Lazy player. Enjoys being able to hold down his E and do auto attacks (that do tons of damage)

Likes the chivalrous type as well, but does enjoy Ayato’s macabre and mischievous moments

Ayato’s magic boba sleeve won him over

Sebeck Zigvolt = Zhongli/Barbara

Fool only pulls for the same characters as Malleus. Just copies.

Sucks at playing too. Ends up just using the free characters you get early on because that’s what he’s used to

No fun smh

Side Characters

Dire Crowley the cheapskate = Mona

Wizard lady does not have a penny to her name

Jk she does, but just blows it all on books

Likes that

Relates to her past regarding divination. No one understands how hard it is being headmaster and just how generous he is to his beloved students

Grimm the feral cat = Raiden Shogun

Think’s he is hot shit just because he can carry

Nevermind that he’s using one of the most broken supports that Yuu built on his behalf

You know, because he can’t do artifacts on his own

Unrelated but he never does his dailies . Shame him

Mista “got friends on the other side” = Xiao

Fucking fear him

Man has enough money to supply mihoyo on his own. He has c6 Xiao and r5 Jade Spear. He doesn’t even play and only flexes it

Xiao actually speaks a lot about this one’s personality. No, I will not elaborate

Puppy = Traveler

He picked the game up for 5min before deleting and is making you do extra homework for wasting his time

Mickey Mouse = Aloy

Useless to the plot and a cash grab - just like him

Yuu = Qiqi

Shit luck on 50/50 just like in their daily life

Too busy fixing everyone else’s account to play on their own

Can’t game when carrying the weight of multiple overblot trauma on their shoulders

[devsgames]

how hard was it to set up stuff regarding economical/legal side of things for gamedev? (regirestering a company, register trademark, recieve income from steam, pay taxes, etc) i know that its country specific but i would want to hear your side of things

You're right in that it's incredibly specific to your location! I'll go over what I've had to do thus far for specifically living in Ontario, Canada; A lot of how I've gained the following insight has been from thorough Googling, looking on government resources and asking people.

Setting Up A Business

Here in Ontario we have generous small business laws, anyone making money from their own business is by default considered a "Sole Proprietorship". Normally businesses need to charge tax based on every Good or Service sold, however Sole Proprietorships don't need to do this until they reach $30k yearly profits in Ontario.

Currently I'm making maybe 5k a year from my games so I'm safe, and thus technically don't even need to register a business. The tradeoff however is that I'm legally and financially responsible for my own business, so if something happens financially or legally it's my own personal risk and not the business's.

There's a few business types here with different meanings (Partnership, LLC, Co-op, etc). Technically I should register one at some point but since it's just me and I'm broke it won't do much. To register a business in Canada isn't hard (I think it's basically just a 30 minute phone call where they give you a 'business number' for registeration and tax use and say "congrats you're a business now!). You have to come up with a unique business name which I've consistently floundered back and forth on and have never stuck to anything which is why "Dev's Games" is the best "brand" I have at the moment. Good thing I'm not registered yet!

Registering a Trademark

This also depends on your location, and I have never done this. I'm sure in many cases there is reason to if I really cared about exclusively using titles or names of things, but I honestly don't.

I also genuinely don't thinm not having a trademark as a problem! Trademarks strike me as useful for a company trying to build a big business around a name that is aleeady popular and ripe for idea theft (E.g Photoshop, Google, Adobe) and stopping others from using it. Right now, I'm so small that this doesn't matter, and I'd honestly consider someone drawing inspiration from me an honor as opposed to something I'd want to contain. Maybe if one of my titles got like SUPER viral down the road I'd seriously look into it; apparently it's a lot of paperwork and something you'd have to find a lawyer for.

Getting Payments

This is, you guessed it, just paperwork that depends on your operating location!

Established storefronts like Steam have a process for registering your account with them and when I started out this was the part of the process I was the most anxious for, but it's actually super easy (which is why there's so much shovelware on there). Steam as a baseline takes 30% of all your sales on the platform (an absolutely insane amount for what the platform does). You'll fill out some paperwork and based on your operating location to determine how much money Steam automatically sets aside for taxes (VST).

As a Canadian they take 0% because Canada-America has tax exemption treaties which make receiving payments from American companies like this tax-free.

Outside of that there's not much, you give them your bank account number and they send payments one month after month end (e.g. end of December they'll pay you for November's sales). Everything is in USD so be prepared for things to be a bit wonky in that respect, and note it costs $100 USD to add a game to Steam. Setting up store pages for your games is its own kind of busywork I won't get into here, but publishing to Steam on the whole is much more work than something like Itch.io.

All in all I like Steam's process for registering and they make it pretty easy to get onto the platform since it's in their interest to potentially make fat money off of your work for doing very little :)

Managing Income

I struggle with anxiety around finances so this part is long.

I set up my own bank account explicitly for earning/spending on my games - prior to getting laid off I only used it for that, but recently I've been having to pay rent from it now too sometimes.

Get a platform that allows you to track and categorize your expenses and income over time. I've been using Wave to balance my income and expenses, as I find it's pretty simple for my needs and lets me mark what different payments are to avoid losing secret money to things I forget about. It connects directly to your bank account, so it will be the most accurate form of income tracking.

Eventually you will buy things and forget what you bought, or receive money for something you're not sure why, or lose/receive money months after you should have. Steam and Itchio have ways of viewing your payouts and reports, but it's hard jumping through 2-3 websites trying to track down a magic number - viewing this all in one place is invaluable to your sanity and making sure you don't go broke. Having this will be a godsend to you during tax time.

Always have additional "rainy day" money set aside - when I started I put about $100 aside from each paycheque at my full time job into my business. Keep an eye on your income flow and know how much you can anticipate to spend on your work. Know how your business money relates to your personal finances and be ready to take money out of your business for emergencies, and vice versa for business emergencies. Money put aside to pay contractors is money you cannot and should not touch.

Contractors based in the US will often ask you pay them through a certain site, many of which aren't available outside the US. Don't be afraid to ask if they use something like Paypal instead. Keep extra money aside for them so you can tip. Make sure you're aware of how they expect to be paid, at what interval, and how much, and keep that money aside. And expense tracker is also helpful here.

Keep in mind most businesses operate on USD, and be mindful of how your local currency converts over. CDN is usually ~60-70% of USD, so I often have to pay more for things like subscriptions or labour then they're listed. When a contractor tells you their rates always be sure you know what currency they're talking about - sometimes I've expected to pay USD when I've had to pay AUS.

Also do not quit your dayjob. Make money through a stable employment and fund your games as a fun side hobby. Easier said than done, but there is an almost 0% chance you will be able to afford surviving off of making indie games as a full living and be afford to keep a roof over your head. I've shipped 4 games on Steam now and I only make about $100-$300 USD from sales there depending on the month. Minimum wage in Ontario is ~$25k a year, I am currently making like $5k from sales on Steam alone. Working at McDonalds would pay better.

Taxes

Taxes are very regional, so results will vary.

Usually businesses have to set aside sales taxes on goods sold. Since I'm a Sole Proprietorship in Ontario making less than 30k I don't have to. Taxes for me basically consists of saying "I made this much" to the government (good expense tracking REALLY helps here).

One thing to note is that at least here the government has NO IDEA how video games fit into business. Until recently there was no "Game Development" business type, and much of the tax reporting interface is obsessed with physical goods; it'll ask how much your "inventory" is worth, how many "goods" you have sold (games are technically "goods" even though they're not a physical thing). Basically be prepared for your tax system to be used to dealing with physical retailers and farmers, and not with digital-only software developers.

---

I'm sure there's more I can cover but my hands hurt. A lot of this is researching your local laws and/or talking to devs local to your area. It's not hard to do any of this necessarily, it's just a lot of paperwork (which is nevertheless super helpful to put together). Once you learn how it all works everything is way less scary though! :)

[onewhoturns]

A-Z Challenge GAME 5

Starting D today, so here we have: E games!

This one is... hm. To be honest, with the first-person games I'm a *little* concerned that I might feel nauseous if I try to muscle through a couple of these in a short time frame >< The only one I'm sure won't make me sick is Erica, but I've played a demo of Eternal Threads and it was mostly okay, not sure what to expect from Escape Academy, but just might not be a one- or two-session knockout, if it makes me feel ill -.-'

I also would need to find people able to play a session with me for that game, cause some of those achievements are multiplayer, but not many

As always, more info on the games under the cut.

Do me a solid this round cause y'all have ignored all the other fmv games and all the horror/thriller stuff from last round and I want to play one

1. Erica (2021)

"Prepare to immerse yourself in an interactive live-action thriller, merging the world of film and game like never before. Erica is a young lady plagued with nightmares of her father's murder. With the traumatic events of her childhood dragged back into the light via grisly new clues, it's up to you to unearth the shocking truth. Explore the enigma of Delphi House where every choice you make influences how the game develops, with multiple endings awaiting you at the finale of the gripping branching narrative." Steam tags: choose your own adventure, fmv, interactive fiction, female protagonist, point & click, choices matter, puzzle, story rich, action

2. Escape Academy (2022)

"Welcome to Escape Academy. Train to become the ultimate Escapist. Solve Puzzles. Hack Servers. Meet the Faculty. Brew the perfect cup of tea. Escape Rooms in single player or co-op with a friend - local or online!" Steam tags: escape room, puzzle, multiplayer, online co-op, visual novel, adventure, casual, mystery, story rich

3. Eternal Threads (2022)

"Eternal Threads is a single-player, first-person story-driven puzzle game of time manipulation, choice and consequence. As an operative tasked with fixing corruption in the timestream, you have been sent to the North of England in May 2015, where six people died in a house fire. Prohibited from simply stopping the fire, you must instead manipulate the choices made by the housemates in the week leading up to it so that they all survive the event." Steam tags: choices matter, story rich, multiple endings, time manipulation, investigation, emotional, adventure, atmospheric

[msviolacea]

enshrouded is the obsession for february

So, @garafthel and I have been absolutely addicted to Enshrouded the past week. Enshrouded is in early access, just released a week and a half ago on Steam. The Steam description calls it "survival, crafting, and action RPG" - think Valheim meets Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom, in a lot of ways. If you like crafting, gathering, building, exploring, with a smattering of occasionally challenging combat, then I very highly recommend giving this game a shot.

Survival games are not always my thing, mostly because I hate being on a perpetual timer - I want to be able to play the intended gameplay loop, whatever that may be, without having to constantly worry about whether I'm going to starve or freeze or whatever. I don't mind grinding for resources - it can be soothing, in fact, in the right game - but once you tell me I have to return to base every six minutes or else I'll be eaten by the shadows or whatever, I'm out. So the fact that Enshrouded only has a small bit of that is a huge plus for me. The vast majority of the land you can explore is perfectly normal; then there's the titular "Shroud," which is basically toxic fog, and you can only venture into it for a certain amount of time before you'll die. Going into the Shroud is necessary - most bosses and a lot of needed materials are there - but you can choose when you want to go in and how to tackle it.

The core conceit of the game - the plot, such as it is - is very Breath of the Wild. You wake up as one of the few survivors of a fantasy apocalypse long past, and now you have to make your way through this overgrown, ruined world, finding other survivors, making your home, and figuring out how to combat the deadly Shroud that still lingers. And ... that's pretty much the entirety of the plot. There's not a lot of story here. There's lore built into documents and artifacts you find along the way, that tell some of the story of what happened before the Shroud took everything, but don't expect anything narrative.

Since I know most people have probably just skipped over this because tl;dr, let's go with some bullet points to break things up, shall we?

You can play solo or co-op with up to 16 people. Either playstyle is totally viable, but co-op can definitely make the grind more entertaining.

You can build houses from scratch or choose to renovate/fix up old ruined farms and estates. The building system is very intuitive; it can be fiddly, and since the game is early access, there are some bumps along the way, but ultimately it's the easiest building system I've come across.

The vast majority of your time in this game will be spent gathering resources - to build, to fulfil quests, to make buff food, et cetera. Like I said, I actually enjoy gathering in video games, and this is a very satisfying gameplay loop for me.

The character creation is ... sparse. And all body types look kind of like hobbits. But there's a decent variety of skin tones, which is something.

The combat is pretty intuitive, I say as someone who is a mediocre action combat gamer. There's the usual array of options - sword and shield, two hand, bows, magic - but you can do everything if you want. And after just a few chaotic wipes, I started to get it enough that I'm able to solo the low-level bosses with just a little bit of effort. (Haven't gotten up to higher levels yet!) If you've played the last two Zelda games, chances are good you'll get this with no problem.

The whole world is hand-crafted - no procedural generation here - and it is HUGE. The developers say that only a portion of the map is currently available, that it will be even bigger when they get to full release, but even as it is it's bigger than most other games I've played.

Anyway. If any of the above sounds like your jam, I highly recommend picking this up, even in early access. I'm ridiculously impressed with what the devs have put together so far, and it's going to satisfy my urge to craft and gather for a good long while. I'm gonna have to take a short break for a few days for D&D and so I don't get hopelessly spoiled for Star Rail 2.0, but I'll be dreaming of renovating our cool farm the whole while.

[agent-troi]

20 fanfic questions

thanks for the tag @randomfoggytiger!

1. How many works do you have on Ao3?

95.

2. What’s your total Ao3 words count?

368,619

3. What fandoms do you write for?

The X-Files, Star Trek: TNG, Star Trek: Picard, the Star Trek novel-verse, and I just posted a fic for The West Wing

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Platonic Procreation, Eden, The MSR Files, Mother Knows Best, and Though the Heavens Fall (also I need to mention my current WIP Security Questions bc it's only three kudos away from a tie with fifth place!)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Most of the time! I usually respond to friends/ people I know well, or if someone pointed out something specific in my fic they liked. And I responded to every comment made on my West Wing fic so far bc I want the fandom to notice me😅

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

lol I don’t write many fics with angsty endings (I do like writing angst sometimes but I need things to end happily😅) but I guess this would be Baby Blue, If I Could Only Break the Sky, or When We Were Whole (not sure which one would be the most angsty)

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

so many! lol but I wanna single out Coda bc it was my attempt at wrapping up the mytharc and giving Mulder and Scully a happy ending with William (and giving Samantha’s storyline some actual closure lmao) and I think I did a decent job of it🤗

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I did get a hateful comment on a fic not long ago (ironically, it was and still is my most popular fic by almost every metric so someone was clearly jelly lmao) and I’ve had a couple of comments in the past on different fics that weren’t quite hateful but more like critiquing/nitpicking character or writing choices.

9. Do you write smut?

no absolutely not never ugh

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I don’t think I’ve ever written one! But I have ideas for TXF/Star Trek and TXF/SVU crossovers that I might write someday if I ever find the time/energy/inspiration😅

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don’t think so but I hope not!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No idea!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes! The gang and I have co-written quite a few fics, which can all be found in this collection🤗

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

MSR of course!! But I will always have a soft spot for Riker/Troi and joshdonna is beginning to take up more and more space in my brain lmao

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I have a Riker/Troi amnesia fic that has been sitting in my notes for three years, every chapter either written, partly written, or outlined, but I just can’t make myself sit down and sort it out😫 also I used to start publishing fics before I was certain where I was going with them, and For War Alone is a relic of that (and it has also been sitting there since 2020 lol)

16. What are your writing strengths?

I have been told I’m really good at dialogue, and I choose to take people at their word😅

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I’m addicted to adverbs, also I just love reusing the same words and phrases over and over- one time in a first draft I used the word ‘actually’ four times in a single paragraph!

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I love reading that! I feel like it makes the setting and characters and everything seem more realistic, but for writing it I pretty much need to rely on google translate or multilingual moots lol

19. First fandom you wrote for?

I wrote a LotR fic a long time ago! But the first fic in my modern day stretch of fic writing was for the Star Trek novel-verse: Psi-Ops

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

Oh gosh this is so hard but I’m gonna say Where A Million Stars Catch Fire bc I put in a lot of time and effort carefully constructing it as a tribute to Mulder’s birthday this year, and I’m really proud of how it ultimately turned out🥰

Tagging @tofuttim @katy-kt-katie @incidental-ao3 @cutemothman @mollybecameanengineer and whoever else who wants to do it!

[a-queer-crip-writes]

Nine Fingers

It still amazes him that he goes entire days without thinking of the war.

The farm is busy, though. Every day and every season, and part of the point of a co-op is that the burden and the joy of planning falls on everyone as well as the legwork.

And so, slowly, all the moments where memories used to rise up into like mist from damp earth have begun to fill with thoughts like We really need to cut back the cranberries this year; they’re getting leggy and I don’t want to start having think about stilts to pick the top ones; We’ve got so much sileage this spring, I wonder if the Selvars over the valley would swap a couple of their black-eared kids for some of it? or even just Oooh, a couple more days and those little pea pods will be just perfect to eat from the vine.

And he has a few regular partners now, not all of them from the old platoon; Annalise over from Selvars and David, two years in the co-op now, to go along with Reev and Alma and Zou. He doesn’t even think Annalise served; she is five or six years younger than him. A lifetime, in its way.

But what it means is that his nights and mornings are more and more frequently filled with chatter about the chickens or the nut trees, the teams on the local ball league or the serial they are all listening to on the radio along with warmth and kisses and pleasure. And even on the mornings where he wakes up alone the farmhouse is full of gentle noise, people to feed, and a gaggle of hungry fowl trumpeting their displeasure from their safe coop.

It does not mean he never wakes screaming in the night with his ears full of screams and bangs and choking breaths and his nose full of the stench of blood and ordure. Or that he is never woken by the screams of any of the others. Reev still has choking night terrors that leave them frozen and hard to wake, and Zou still attacks him in his sleep, occasionally; leaving bruises and welts and scratches that horrify him when he wakes. But they are all growing rarer over time. Weeks of peace and forgetfulness.

It is his turn to look after Emzy today. He used to dread that, when she was very small and a great deal of it involved walking her between Alma and Ru for feeds; terrified that any moment he looked away from her she would do herself a terminal injury. Now, when she is a chubby and robust 20-month-old, the danger of that is materially far greater; he occasionally wonders how humanity survived this long when a critical developmental stage seems to involve finding every possible new and exciting way to potentially kill oneself while giggling loudly all the while. But now he has somehow worked himself to loving his days with her, even if he is frequently more tired afterwards than after the hardest days of fieldwork.

One of her favourite games is luckily less potentially lethal. Pat-a-cake, David called it when he taught it to her, and by extension to all of them. She is beginning to babble the little rhyme that goes along with it; a wordless chuckle of sound that is like the unleavened dough of words.

It seems to have awoken her to the fact that she *has* hands. She likes to sit with her little fat legs stretched out in front of her, his long scarred ones spread out to make room for her and tiny chubby starfish hands spread out palm to palm with his. After rounds and rounds of Pat-a-cake finally loses its appeal, he has started counting fingers with her. One, waggling his thumb against hers. Two. Three.

Eventually, of course, they get to Nine and he has no finger there to waggle against hers, point at her with, or end up as a chew-toy for her budding gums. Just the stump, not even reaching the first joint. It had been longer, once, before the surgeon neatened it up for him, but he was grateful for their work - he had much better use of that hand now. Every time they get to Nine, and she still looks at her tiny soft finger rising alone above his stump with wonder. Until he distracts her by gently bumping his forehead against hers or blowing in her ear to make her giggle, and they go on to Ten.

One day she will likely have the words to ask about that. Why she has ten fingers and he has only nine. Why Ilma has a prosthetic leg that they still keep having to try to adjust to ease her stump, and Reev’s eye sometimes gets interference from their little harvest drone signals. Why all her parents carry scars, and how they met, and how she came to be.

He hopes by then that he - that they - might have better answers for her.

[ghostiex0]

yooo i found your blog awhile ago and everything is just *chef's kiss* would it be alright if i request some headcannons for Doc, Blitz, Thermite, Jager, and Caveira about what they would do if their S/O was kidnapped by the White Masks/a terrorist organization? how do you think they would react to the news?

Thank you hun <3 I’m excited someone requested a female op, I love rainbows’ girls, I also really enjoyed writing this whole ask!

TW: kidnapping, terrorists and light mentions of torture.

Doc

- Always stressed and always working, now he won’t even leave any of the working stations. If he’s forced to he just brings all the work with him. Gustave is constantly looking over the folder they’ve put together for your rescue.

- He knows the information they have isn’t enough yet, but he also knows that the love of his life is in the hands of some disgusting and cruel people.

- Truly, he doesn’t want to think about the horrible things you could be going through yet it’s all that his mind seems to wander too.

- Sure, Gustave has always been the type to get short with people, but now there’s no warnings for when that happens. He sounds so spiteful and hurt to everyone who interacts with him.

- Harry starts to get worried if Doc being on the mission is even a good thing and pulls him aside to talk about it a few times.

- Gustave needs this though. And states his case that he’s the most experienced medical personal they have here. You’ll need medical care when they get you.

- “What if we can’t get them Gustave?”

- His stomach caves in on itself at that one sentence.

- “I won’t accept that failure.”

‿‿‿‿

Blitz

- A sunshine that absolutely loves you and makes sure everyone knows. And trust me, everyone knows about you two.

- So when receiving news and confirmation that you were kidnap and currently being held hostage, no one wanted to be the one to tell him.

- When Elias did find out, he was crushed. It was like his world stoppped. He couldn’t process it for at least the first five minutes. He just kept looking at them, nervous laughter and eyes pleading, praying for them to all the sudden say “just kidding!”

- But they never did. “I’m sorry”, is all they said before leaving him alone.

- Apart if him is in such shock he just lays for a while. He wishes he could just lay forever but it doesn’t take too long for it to click that you’re kidnapped. He has to get up and go on the mission. The longer he lays the more danger you’re in.

‿‿‿‿

Thermite

- Jordan’s lost almost everyone close to him. His mother, his sister, comrades… He sometimes feels like Rainbow is all the has left.

- When you arrived though, he had something else to live for. He had someone to call when he had a break or when his co workers talked about their families, he could brag about you.

- The news just absolutely kills him. He wants to lay down and wake up with you in the morning, telling him how silly he was and that it was all a bad dream.

- Already, he has troubles bringing down his stress levels. Yumiko has had to step in a bit and help her friend. Especially once he receives this news. Yumiko is doing what she can to help Jordan get through this.

- At night he sits over the planners and case file and maps and notes- all of it, his eyes never close for longer than 30 minutes. He’s very well liked among his peers, so everyone’s at least a little concerned about the Texan.

- “Jordan, you want to be able to get them home don’t you? Then take care of yourself so when we go in, you’re in top shape. They’d want you too.”

‿‿‿‿

Jäger

- Oh my dear Marius. His childhood was lonely and he’s always been at least a bit too out of everyone’s box it feels like.

- Then you came along and he’s never cared for anyone the way he does you. Now he’s wondering if that’s a bad thing. With a job like his maybe he’s not meant to be with someone.

- He was informed of your kidnapping while watching the latest documentary about biomedical engineering. He remembers pausing it on 1:15:17. After that nothing felt real.

- Marius immediately jumped up to get to work to find you. Anything and everything he was doing it.

- He tried to keep a level head through it. But his cracks showed through to the others. His normal abrasive optimism of “It’s our job, of course we can do this.” Doesn’t feel as natural as it used too.

- He wants to be straight in the action of your rescue. He wants to be able to hold you again, soothe your wounds and make sure you’re okay.

- Marius isn’t an aggressive person and the GSG9 has trained him to hurt the least amount of people possible during his missions. Seeing any of the horrible people who were involved with taking you away though, it fills him with an unusual amount of anger.

- His goal will still remain the same throughout everything. He won’t let any of these bubbling emotions tear him away from that. He needs you home.

‿‿‿‿

Caveria

- Taina always been afraid of letting people in. She’s seen all the messed up things people can do. But she loved you and you loved her. She was honestly happy with something so soft. And the world took that away once again.

- She’s shattered by this but she only shows it around others with her anger. They can’t know how she’s cried when she found out.

- But her close comrades notice, even if she doesn’t want them too.

- She’s known to be more of a hostile person. Blame it on the years of learning the art of how to properly (and legally) torture someone. Or maybe even the crippling poverty she watched her family suffer from.

- Harry can understand Tainas frustration. But letting her on the mission could leave some major problems on Rainbows hands. Knowing that Ash is one of the only operators that Taina can get along with, he asks her to deliver the news.

- “ Taina. We’re removing you from the mission. At least the frontlines. You can still help with background work. But that’s all… I’m sorry.”

‿‿‿‿

[ocean-in-my-rebel-soul]

So I'm doing something incredibly risky that will hopefully give me more concrete skills in business management and digital marketing/media (and barista-ing) (I'm the business manager, since I have the most experience in this role), but it won't really pay. I'm co-forming a worker's co-op with some queer folks in my local community to save a queer owned, queer friendly coffee shop in a small town about ten miles away. I'll be getting compensated in equity in the business instead of a salary, which is scary. It means I need to find enough work to be afloat while working at the shop. I haven't heard back from any of my job applications, so I'm putting myself out on freelance sites like Fiverr for editing/writing, etc. Hopefully, that can give me a reasonable income while I run this shop.

Honestly, it's a little terrifying. We haven't announced the restructuring publicly yet, as we're getting our contracts and tax concerns addressed first, but soon it'll be set up and official. I'm hoping that the announcement will be well met. Save for the current owner, the rest of us live a county away, even if the distance is less than ten miles. I worry that the bigots in town (of which there are many) will make even more of a ruckus about that. Some people are refusing to visit the shop because they "don't wanna get AIDS". First of all, the most recent major uptick in documented cases is from Texas. Secondly, you can't get it via saliva. Thirdly, while I do have an uncle who died tragically young of AIDS, his younger brother has been managing and living with it since the 90s. He has a full and fulfilling life. Even if you did somehow contact it (may all the gods forbid it), you can get help and manage it.

Anyway. There's a boycott going on, apparently, by a few conservative jackasses who wouldn't have bought from the shop anyway. So that's fun.

This is...well, one of my dreams, or close enough to it. I've always wanted to run a café or tavern or something, somewhere people can come to get food and drinks and spend time. Maybe a little inn. This place is small and awkwardly shaped, but I think between the four of us, we can make something work.

Just, you know. Pray for us or something.