#frog progress bar

[xx-obliviousfantasy-xx]

THIS IS PERFECT!!!

[sucka99]

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: Pac-Man

Debut: a box

We all know Pac-Man in the game. You know Pac-Man in the game. I do not need to explain what he looks like to you, and I am so confident in your knowledge that I simply will not. You know that guy.

Now let's instead look at and talk about Hiro Kimura's interpretation of him as depicted on the Atari 400/800 box art! Let's make this our default vision of the character!

This is Pac-Man. Pac-Man is a striking yellow humanoid with a massive, spherical head, no nose, and a set of rodent-like upper incisors. He's wearing a tank top with his in-game design on it, sneakers with high socks, and, best of all, jorts!

This design DOES register enough as a Pac-Man to me, but aside from how goofy he already is, I can't help but think of him as a Stanley S. SquarePants-style cousin to the original Pac-Man. It's almost uncanny how similar the duos are!

Now, an issue I have with many Ms. Pac-Man designs is that, unlike her husband, she is often given a tiny mouth, not a mouth befitting a woman who eats for a living. How is this Pac-fella's mouth? A bit small, but not as small as the bites he's taking out of those floating plastic discs! I guess it's as much as he can get with that narrow set of teeth.

But geez, reaching for another when he's barely made any progress in the first? I hope he doesn't choke! Since this is a still image, I will give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he is able to chew through these discs like a woodchipper, and we just happen to see the frozen moment where only the first bite was taken. He can turn these macroplastics into microplastics like nobody's business!

And I guess he's in some kind of castle labyrinth, and the ghosts are trying to eat him, specifically. They think he looks Yummy, and I will have to take their word for it. I would not eat this guy, OR his plastic discs! However, there is a reason I am glossing over these ghosts. They're nothing in comparison to... the others.

Yowza in the howza! My word, and then my entire sentence! The ghosts on the unused Atari 2600 cover art (also by Hiro Kimura) are certainly the most viscerally frightening things any Pac has ever had to contend with. It's quite impressive, really! I can see why this art would be replaced, since it is frankly not an accurate representation of the game itself, but dang am I happy just to look at it. The Pacmeister here is very similar to the previous one, but this time, clad in perfect, stainless chrome, for some reason! I'd want to eat this version even less than the previous one.

What I WOULD like to eat, though, are those rectangular prisms he's munching. To me, those are delectable baked lemon bars. I'm also realizing that there's a frog hopping away from the chaos in the bottom right! Strange... perhaps a cheeky Frogger reference? Like, get outta here, Frogger, Pac-Man is better, and it's illegal to like multiple things at once? Well I like BOTH of these wacky box arts! If Capcom can use Bad Box Art Mega Man in a game, perhaps I can hope for Pac-Stanley to return in an amazing digital fashion...?

[anim-ttrpgs]

I heard y'all got elf kissing rules

Well, we’ve got elves in the form of the Fairy Monster Trait, and technically we have the tiniest little mechanic for determining if a curse placed by a fairy or witch can break a curse. That’s a pretty rare occurrence though. For kissing rules that are more likely to come up, a Comfort Skill check or Seduce Skill check could also involve a little kiss.

And I’m gonna use this as a jumping off point to talk about how Skill checks work in Eureka, something i know that @vixensdungeon will appreciate, hahaha.

There’s some exceptions, such as sometimes with Skills in the Knowledge category, but for the most part, if a character is going to do something in Eureka, they just do it, and it that thing they’re trying to do is something that would be difficult to accomplish, that’s when the most relevant Skill is rolled. The habit of doing it the other way around is one of those things from the D&D5e Oral Tradition that you have to unlearn to play Eureka right.

It still isn’t an absolute rule, though, and this is addressed in the rulebook too. Sometimes when we play Eureka, we play it a bit more by ear. For instance, one of my characters, Yvette Preux, has almost all really bad negatives in her Skills for the Interpersonal category. If I know that a Charm, Comfort, Manipulate, etc. roll is probably coming up, sometimes I’ll go ahead and roll the dice first, then determine how out-of-pocket what she says is based on how badly the dice roll went. Other times, she’ll just start talking and Interpersonal Skill checks just come as they come.

So anyway if a kiss is just a kiss, there’s probably no roll, but if a kiss is intended to cheer up a character and restore some of their Composure, then there would be a Comfort Skill check along with it. If a kiss is intended to get the recipient to come home with the character or otherwise leverage sexual attraction, then there would be a Seduce Skill check. (This reminds me of a time in a Eureka adventure where Yvette and Benedetta were trying to get this meathead guy, who was also a high-ranking member of an organization they were investigating, to take them home from a bar so they could search his house. A Seduce roll wasn’t necessary because everyone around the table agreed that there’s no world in which this guy would pass up two beautiful women trying to go home with him, no matter how weak their game. We rolled the dice anyway just because it was funny and of course they both would have failed if it had actually counted.)

If a kiss is meant to wake someone from an eternal slumber or turn a frog back into a human, that’s not a regular Skill check it’s just a 1D6 roll with modifiers added based on a few factors.

Ironically, Yvette would probably have the best possible chance to break a curse this way because she’s a woman of actual historical noble birth, and she has a lot of love in her cold, unbeating heart.

Elegantly designed and thoroughly playtested, Eureka represents the culmination of three years of near-daily work from our team, as well as a lot of our own money. If you’re just now reading this and learning about Eureka for the first time, you missed the crowdfunding window unfortunately, but you can still check out the public beta on itch.io to learn more about what Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy actually is, as that is where we have all the fancy art assets, the animated trailer, links to video reviews by podcasts and youtubers, etc.!

You can also follow updates on our Kickstarter page where we post regular updates on the status of our progress finishing the game and getting it ready for final release.

Beta Copies through the Patreon

If you want more, you can download regularly updated playable beta versions of Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy earlier, plus extra content such as adventure modules by subscribing to our Patreon at the $5 tier or higher. Subscribing to our patreon also grants you access to our patreon discord server where you can talk to us directly and offer valuable feedback on our progress and projects.

The A.N.I.M. TTRPG Book Club

If you would like to meet the A.N.I.M. team and even have a chance to play Eureka with us, you can join the A.N.I.M. TTRPG Book Club discord server. It’s also just a great place to talk and discuss TTRPGs, so there is no schedule obligation, but the main purpose of it is to nominate, vote on, then read, discuss, and play different indie TTRPGs. We put playgroups together based on scheduling compatibility, so it’s all extremely flexible. This is a free discord server, separate from our patreon exclusive one. https://discord.gg/7jdP8FBPes

Other Stuff

We also have a ko-fi and merchandise if you just wanna give us more money for any reason.

We hope to see you there, and that you will help our dreams come true and launch our careers as indie TTRPG developers with a bang by getting us to our base goal and blowing those stretch goals out of the water, and fight back against WotC's monopoly on the entire hobby. Wish us luck.

[aimportantdragoncollector]

A commentor asked me if modern werewolves stuff people into the same creepy boxes that the Vanguard uses to transport prisoners in “The Frog Soaks in Boiling Water.” This inspired some thoughts.

The Bureau of Human Affairs has infiltrated human society better in the modern era, so often humans simply hand over infected. But there are bound to be some cases where the human government doesn’t cooperate, or the werewolves bit someone they shouldn’t have so they make that person disappear. They disguise their boxes as generic supply shipments. However the most fun story ideas would occur when werewolves might lose their boxes:

Example #1: Someone steals these boxes believing they have valuables inside. It come as a nasty shock to open them up to reveal people instead. From there, I have three possibilities:

A) The thieves decide “We signed up to steal money from a wealthy government, not human traffic people” and they let everyone inside go.

B) The thieves assume that these people must be somehow important to the werewolves and hold them for ransom. They might also look for blackmail money, since the werewolves presumably don’t want anyone to know about their creepy boxes. At first all the prisoners are asleep. Some asshole tries to molest a prisoner and gets mauled. Now the thieves are terrified to open any of the other boxes, and there’s one agitated person who just had a traumatic werewolf transformation hiding in their building.

C) Another variant off B where the local human government gets involved hunting the thieves. The Bureau tells them to leave it alone. But the theft occurred on the human lands, so a foreign government doesn’t have the authority to tell them not to investigate. Human federal agents track down the thieves and discover the prisoners. They started on a mission to recover stolen goods and stumbled on a massive conspiracy. They have no idea what’s going on or who they can trust. But they realize the werewolves want to silence anyone who has uncovered their secret. Either way the thieves are going to deal with the people in the boxes slowly turning into werewolves and a VERY angry Bureau of Human Affairs.

Example #2: The werewolves lose some boxes in transit due to either a plane crash or a shipwreck. They were very careful about the safety of the boxes (attaching floaties so they float in water or drones so they can fly.) The prisoners survived and washed up on a mostly deserted island. Perhaps there’s one reclusive person living there. At first the resident is sympathetic and helps hide the infected people from the Bureau. Everyone is friendly. One human is now stuck on an island with a dozen people turning into new werewolves. As the infection progresses, this is going to become like exactly one steak sitting on a plate at a salad bar. Everyone wants a bite of the steak.

Version 2B: The werewolves were transporting strays instead of infected people. This poses a different challenge: a bunch of strays stuck on an island are very close to forming a new pack. The strays themselves do not want this and are trying to stand as far apart as possible. Alternatively, they may not understand what is happening.

Version 2C: A mixture of strays and infected people would be an interesting dynamic. The strays are all developing the “must protect people in the process of turning” instinct that makes it a lot harder to control the inner wolf. For additional fun, I’ll throw in several human families vacationing on this island.

Example #3: The werewolves packaged their prisoner boxes as medical supplies. One of the boxes accidentally got sent to a hospital. Whoopsie! (The mix-up was caused by the reincarnation of the same guy who accidentally created the second pack in the medieval era via STD. Everyone in the pack rues the day that guy got bitten). The werewolves tell a bullshit story about how they were transporting someone dangerously insane, who started biting randomly. The prisoner claims to have been abducted. The hospital doesn’t know who to believe, especially when the scared prisoner around a lot of injured people starts developing some urges…

[mahimahi713]

I was discussing this with @djbunnie recently. But I was thinking about what I’d do if I were to do a redo of DP. But really this is mostly how I’d make Sam better.

Before I get further, I want to make a disclaimer: this idea would include Danny and Sam being endgame. They would be together in the end. However before that would happen, Danny and Valerie would actually have a relationship. They would be an established couple but they’d ultimately have an amicable break up. But they would have been together for 2 years I’m thinking?

This redo would also include bits and pieces of some of my earlier DP posts.

That said, let’s get into it.

So we would just ignore the entire third season and Phantom Planet. Let’s just get that out of the way.

The series would have go through several years of their lives.

Sam and Tucker would be a lot more fleshed out and go through character development. We would see more about the significant characters personalities and likes and dislikes.

First, Sam. Given how political Punk is, I’d make Sam more Punk than goth, tbh. Sam being political just makes sense. She still would be filthy rich, beyond anyone’s imaginations rich. But she uses that wealth and reputation to help marginalized groups and speak in injustices. She would also acknowledge her own wealth and privilege. I’d explore more about how she is athletic and her writing and her love of anime and manga, and her art.

Yes she would start out as looking down or just really disliking girly things. And this does stem from her mother putting her down for not being her picture perfect daughter. However she’d also have Grandma Ida to humble her. Sam wouldn’t hate girly girls themselves. Just that society will promote that image as being the way girls should be. But she’d look down things so much that it’s actually problematic. But she’d outgrow it .

And like my earlier posts about cringe Sam liking mediocre guys and saying dumb edgy things like “you laugh because I’m different, I laugh because you’re all the same”

But she also would be the one to put her foot down and say “no, Danny, you’re not going to risk and you’re going to be an astronaut” and along with Tucker and Jazz’s help, she’d help him study, make study guide and flash cards.

Another thing I’d explore is her feeling guilty over Danny being Phantom. This is guilt that eats at her but she refuses to discuss it because she knows Danny would tell her not to worry about it.

And in a way, Sam is doing this because she feels she deserves to wallow in that guilt. Almost like she’s punishing herself.

Sam was just done such a great injustice.

Tucker. Tucker would also go through significant development and we would also see more of his personality and likes and dislikes. I’d describe his character development to be much like Sokkas from A:TLA.

Tucker is a whiz when it comes to tech and computer related subjects.

Sorry I don’t have much more to say about him.

Sam and Tucker both take on bigger roles in helping to fight the ghosts. Much bigger.

For episodes like the Lunch meat episode, Sam would have just advocated for better vegetarian options and a salad bar. And when the school asks where they can get the funds to do so, she’d just be “I’m glad you asked”

She’d still think meat is murder and that they should use robotic or virtual frogs for dissections but again, she’s a work in progress.

When Danny and Val are dating, she’s obviously heartbroken. She asks Ida for advice. Ida tells her while she gets her pain, that she shouldn’t be one of those girl best friends who is mean to their best friend’s girlfriend or violates boundaries. Especially since she has feelings for him. That if she cares for Danny, then she would want him to be happy even if that means standing aside. And so, she does. She’s kind and friendly and respectful to Valerie. In fact she even gives Valerie some gift ideas that would be so meaningful for Danny. In the beginning, Sam even tells Valerie that she knows that Val knows about her crush. But she swears that she will never make a move or disrespect her or her relationship with Danny. And that if ever Val needs her to back off, she will. As long as it’s respectful.

This actually winds up being a bonding moment for Sam and Tucker because he helps her cope with her heartbreak. This relationship between them is platonic. They come to see each other as siblings. And that includes acting like siblings and being shits to each other and pissing each other off.

Oh and of course, the series would be more mature. They would act like teens and they would also engage in more mature behavior as their grow older.

There would also be more hilarity with trying to hide Danny’s secret (I’ve made a post about this).

And there would be darker moments as well.

We would also explore more of the Ghostzone itself. The lore, the science. What are ghosts. Where did non human ghosts come from. Who and what is clockwork and were did he come from. More on the ghosts’ backstories. Their lives when they were still alive. Just all that

Sam is the one who is the nurse of the group. Even for Valerie, once her and Danny begin to date. Sam can get all the medical supplies they need. She is also gentle and can do great stitches and has a steady hand and isn’t squeamish. She’s patching up everyone .

Oh and Sam and Valerie would become best friends. Even though at a point, Val would be Danny’s Ex and Sam his gf he winds up marrying. They would be best friends.

Look. DxS is my OTP and they’ll be endgame. But I think I’d want them to have more of a Ron and Kim vibe. With subtle hinting of the feelings they have.

Let’s explore DxV. Well, I think it would come to a point that Danny just realizes he needs to confess to her. He tells her the truth and while she needs to take a step back for a moment, she is able to think it through and she comes to Danny. They talk things out and decide to hang out to just clear things and get rid of those tensions. And they decide to date. They date I’m thinking atleast sophomore and junior years. They go through significant firsts together. Like serious relationship, that first time and so on. But ultimately they end things amicably because they outgrew each other and differing goals and all that. They remain friendly and respectful of each other

Sam herself goes on a few dates here and there but I really picture Sam as someone who is demisexual. She only becomes attracted to a person after she gets to know them. She actually winds up having a significant relationship with a guy who is actually on the football team but he kinda always just was there, when it came to the popular kids. He was just there because he too played football but he didn’t really interact with them and never was a bully. He and Sam start to date after they work on a project together. They date from junior year and into Senior year but break up amicably. They don’t want to do the long distance thing and have different goals and desires for the long term

Danny and Sam after high school begin to hang out more than before. Or more like they used to. Now Danny is living that college life and doing the typical hook ups. Sam isn’t because she’s not into it. And she is at a point where she knew Danny is gonna be hooking up and she’s indifferent. But they’re having out more and more and it’s nice and oh. Hey. Hello feelings for each other my old friend.

If you ever watched scrubs, the way Jake and Elliott get (back) together in later seasons, that’s basically what happens with them.

[crimsonthornedpsyche]

Hi all, I got an ask on my other blog but it's more suited to this one so will answer here this is a very long post so be warned haha -

Backstory -

My grandmother came from Ireland, she was called Ellen and she had a lot of experiences such as visions in dreams coming true, she had heightened claires, knowing when things would happen such as accidents in the family, people being in hospital, mediumship (seeing her loved one by her bed) etc.

I have had abilities from being a child, (I think everyone has these abilities they are just more in tune with specific people) mainly being - I would affect lights/electronics whenever my emotions would get heightened angry/sad lights would flicker rapidly or blow, electronics would freeze or go crazy - This still happens to this day.

I also would get what I called a 'death smell' before a pet would pass away on my hands it would be extremely pungent and it didn't matter if I washed my hands or not the smell would linger for days and then a few days or a few weeks later a pet would pass away, this happened a dozen times - we had sooo many guinea pigs growing up! Then this progressed to before family members passed away, my grandad and my grandma on seperate occasions whilst I lived very far away at the time.

The last time this happened I got it before I moved house two years ago, on my right hand, It was so pungent It was making me want to be sick, it had never been so strong so I honestly thought my mother passed as she has heart failure. Few minutes later I went outside with my dog holding the lead with my right hand ha, and a lady came at us with an electric bike she ran over my dog (she's fine) and the lady came flying off her handle bars. I've also had other experiences of things like a fire burning a hotel near our hotel on holiday this is when I was super small, and looking up to a blackened out window and in the window there was a figure stood, they were bright white. I've had quite a few I think medium experiences.

I won't write all on here as it would be too long. My mother thought I was practically the devil ha, I was brought up as a jehovas witness and she would get me to pray to have these abilities taken away, it made me feel like a freak but I now think that my abilities are super cool.

Anyways growing up I always could read people, usually within a few minutes of knowing them I could tell if they (were not a good person or they were a good person type of thing) + knowing things about people. For instance a past boyfriend within the first date even though he showed no signs of aggression was charming and lovely, I knew instinctively that he had anger management problems, to which I asked him and he confirmed that he had been in cbt for anger.

Skip forward and one day whilst resting my eyes I had a vision of train tracks beneath my feet moving rapidly (this is the first vision I ever had) and then I had a vision of a woman and a man arguing next to a body of water. The woman's head turned away and so I quickly drew these down on paper, a few weeks later I showed my sister, she confirmed this was her and her fiance, they were stood next to a body of water a few days previously having one of the biggest arguments they've ever had. From then forwards I've continued to have visions -

Visions + Claire development -

My visions come in all sorts of ways usually as symbolism but other times like I'm stood there watching things unfold infront of me. The visions move and I have to be in a relaxed state to have them, I usually have the most visions when I'm in a darkish room and I've got my frequency music playing and I'm doing something with my hands like holding a crystal, shuffling cards etc. I kind of follow through my visions, you know that art thing where inside of a drawing of an eye is a universe then you click through the universe and then there is a frog and the frog leads to a building (not sure what you call that art but it's on it ipad haha) anyways that's kinda how sometimes I go through my visions. I sometimes get words pop into my head, sometimes I get them directly flash up in my mind.

Vision wise I've done so many vision reads now and a few have stood out to me that have shocked me to my core. One vision I had was me having to tell someone to not pickup smoking again as I got the distinct smell of tobacco smoke with their reading and not being able to breathe properly (didn't know they used to smoke and still smoked from time to time) another one was someone I saw suicidal images and a lot of very disturbing images pop through and they opened up to me and explained that they were suicidal and that's why I had seen bottles of pills in my vision, I've seen a crumpled yellow daffodil flower in a vision which is the Marie curie flower and their stepfather had just seen a Marie curie nurse. I've had allsorts of incredjnle reads come through.

I also do tarot reads with my visions I'm still learning tarot, when I'm shuffling sometimes the cards push upwards with force, tend to stick to my hands sometimes as I'm shuffling. Usually the relevant ones pop out, sometimes I feel things when connecting to specific cards, sadness, joy, heat from the cards etc.

Anyways the more I've been practising visions for people in my own life relevant I've seen many things such as the person I was having a vision of pacing rapidly around their room, seen them get out of bed etc. The more I practise the more different claires seem to pop up etc and the more I seem to be more attuned to them, I've seen loved ones connected to other people in my visions etc.

I never believed in things like spirit guides but I truly believe they are real from trying to connect with them. One day whilst trying to connect when I first delved into all this properly and asked for signs they were present, I got a chill run through me, not a I'm cold chill but like energy passing through me it was so cold and such a surreal experience. The same day cards were flying across the room whilst doing tarot and at 3am the same night my sons old potty ontop of my wardrobe upstairs (I was downstairs) started flushing over and over and over again. I've also seen what look like two massive balls of energy on my living room ceiling whilst connecting with them. So I'm pretty certain in myself that they are real, even though I had never believed in spirit guides my entire life.

I also have have silly things recently like for instance I keep having dreams of coming on my period and then when I wake up I go to the bathroom and it's just started or a few hours later that day because I never know when I'm due on as I have pcos so can skip months. I also had a dream about soulmates like three years ago and I got distinctly the name akshan come through (I've never heard this name in my life) and never revived names in dreams so wrote it down - I looked it up and this is what it means -  The name is connected to the symbolic significance of the eye in Hinduism, representing vision and spiritual insight, including the concept of a "third eye" which I thought was pretty awesome I got this dream before I got my first vision.

So this page really is for practise, I don't feel confident enough to sell any service until I'm absolutely amazing and feel at a point I can offer services paid but until then they will be free.

I think everyone has these abilities 100% I think some people are more naturally attuned to them kind of like singers right? Some people are naturally amazing but other singers have to have singing lessons for years you know? I think I'm probably more attuned because of my grandmother's side, but wow I have so much to learn and develop it's unreal.

Funnily enough my own son he's six, seems to be very connected with his abilities we are very in sync always saying the same stuff, singing the same songs at the same time, I will be thinking of a song in my head and he will start singing it, this is what happens with me and other people too, he also sees imagary, and can know what's on the other side of cards when they are flipped over like me, he also when he was super small sat up on the sofa and said his cousins name, and something very disturbing about her passing. This was when he could barely talk and it was very creepy and surreal. His father at the time told their parents and they now keep a very close eye on her around water. But I don't want to push anything onto him, if he wants to delve into his abilities when he's older then I will fully support that :)

[katarh-mest]

finished Apothecary Diaries light novel 9

Bah, now I have to wait until January 18th for the 10th one to come out in English, but that was some good binge reading.

Spoilery thoughts under the cut. No holds barred. Stay out if you mind. Mostly just trying to untangle stuff that's been rattling around my head as I've inhaled a novel a day for the last week.

JinMao

Maomao quickly got adopted by the aro-ace community (for good reason) but as the series goes on, I think she's probably more of a graysexual / sex neutral. She's not sex repulsed. She was simply raised to view sex as a transactional thing, not a romantic thing, and never saw how it could apply to her. (She lacks certain assets.) She also saw women around her using men and being used in turn, selling their talents and bodies, and decided she wanted no part of that aspect of being a courtesan, because she could see the damage it could do to both parties of the transaction. Her own mother died of an STD. Men in the pleasure district waste all their money chasing fantasies that are not real.

That said, she was trained as a courtesan and knows exactly what women need to do to please men, to the point where she was the one running the darn sex ed class for the rear palace.

I don't think she'll ever change her views on sex as a transaction, but Lahan planted the idea in her head that she'll probably want to have at least one kid for the experience, and there's only one way to do that. So there's her incentive. It's funny because she objectively knows Jinshi is attractive (and has a decent frog, ahem) but that isn't the same as being attracted to him. He makes her flustered sometimes and there's a massive level of denial that comes from her perceived status difference, but as the story progresses, we've learned that status difference isn't nearly as steep as she thinks it is. And you can come to care for someone, even love them in a non romantic way, without being sexually attracted to them. This seems to be about where she is as of volume nine. She doesn't reciprocate his feelings, and she really doesn't understand why he picked her, but there's an affection and some level of resignation that his infatuation hasn't cooled yet, and may not ever. (She hoped it would.)

Then there's Jinshi. I pinned him as the classic nonbinary bisexual stereotype at first too, but he's more of a pure monogamist demisexual type, if anything. (Or as someone put it, he's "Maomaosexual.") Which is a disaster to have as a position such as "imperial male" whose only real job is to try to father as many children as humanly possibly.

I realize now that pretending to be a eunoch in the rear palace was his way of avoiding getting forced into his own political marriages he wasn't interested in. Taking the "eunoch medicine" (was it some sort of proto-spirolectone? was it just a libido blocker? who knows? pretty sure it stopped erections and maybe suppressed facial hair growth to some extent) wasn't a big deal for him because he, too, wasn't particularly interested in sex. Not with the randos who only wanted him for his pretty face. Probably the Emperor being a lusty bear and the horror stories about his grandfather had him also decide he wanted none of that either.

Until he fell in love with Maomao, and then he wanted to have her no matter what it was going to cost him, no matter how long it took. (And no matter how long it took him to convince her to come around to the idea - which he still hasn't done, although it seems she's finally starting to get resigned to it.)

Too bad for him, Maomao being the La princess means that's going to be a messy political marriage too. (And it's what he was trying to avoid! Who could have known that the cute little apothecary that was working as a laundry girl was the missing daughter of General Lakan?) The whole nation is apparently already aware she's been proposed for the position of the Imperial Brother's consort - and her getting dragged on the trip west with Lakan and Jinshi in this current arc is all but declaring her the front runner and daring the other factions to do something about it. I keep thinking back to the hairpins - she has Jinshi's, Gyokuyou's, and even Lihua's hairpins still. At the right place and time, those three could make a powerful statement about how many allies she has in the court.

Other Character Thoughts

The real nonbinary beauty Ah-Duo, who had a hysterectomy alongside Jinshi's birth. (I had one of those myself a few years ago. Its been swell. 10/10 highly recommend if you don't want kids.) In a modern setting you'd probably be able to keep your ovaries, but she likely lost those as well during the traumatic birth, so she went through menopause at the age of 16. That's, uh, not great from a health standpoint, but hey, she's alive, and thanks to the intentional baby swap, her son's alive. She is the mom friend everyone deserves. I'm so happy that after she "retired" that she got her own estate and became the local zookeeper for People Who The Government Had To Pretend Died For Reasons But Didn't Deserve It.

(On that note: We now know for sure that Ah-Duo knows Jinshi is her son. She proposed the swap! Anshi knows; she agreed to the swap and loves her grandson much more than she did her second real son. Suiren knows. The Emperor knows but can't say anything. Luomen knows but won't say anything. Maomao figured it out but also won't say anything. I suspect the women in the Ma family probably figured it out as well - Taimao, Maamao, and Chuo, all independently, and all tacitly keeping the secret. Gaoshun may suspect but like Maomao, knows not to think too hard about it. Gyokyuou does not know; she thinks of Jinshi as a brother-in-law, not a stepson. Probably a good thing, considering they are close in age. I think she knew that the local eunoch running the rear palace was the missing Imperial Brother, and that's how their relationship has always been. And I don't think Jinshi knows he's Ah-Duo's son. It's going to break him if he ever finds out. Being "the spare" his whole life has been bad enough. He definitely never wanted to be first in line.)

There's the bisexual Big Sister Pairen, who could have quit being a courtesan long ago if she wanted to, but she likes sex work and has a libido the exact opposite of Maomaos. Maybe some day her prince Lihaku will be able to afford to buy her out. (Hopefully Maomao gives him tips on how he needs to ride into town. On a white horse. With a parade and stuff.) Having a true sex positive character in the same series as an aro-ace spectrum character to act as a foil is a great contrast. (The fact that Pairen is also implied to be a succubus sucking out men's energy to stay youthful is also funny as heck.)

Then we've got the one off characters, like the Shrine Maiden. They never call her this by name, but today we'd flat out call her trans. Not that she had a choice... she was castrated at birth. I'm happy her tale didn't completely end in tragedy and she's now got a place on Ah-Duo's Government Secret Farm. Same with Suirei - sure, she directly or indirectly caused the deaths of a lot of people as part of a conspiracy to kill Jinshi, but she was ordered to do it by her stepmother. So she didn't have much of a choice.

Same with Lishu. Her life has been one of misery but maybe she'll finally get a chance at a happy ending in a future volume. Hated by her dad. Married to a pedophile (that her father thought might be her real father - fucking EW) .... who promptly died. Sent to the nunnery. Sent right back as a bride to his son, still as a 9 year old. Even more ew. (The emperor absolutely treated her like a daughter the whole time, thank god.) Multiple assassination attempts. Bullied by her own maids. Treated like shit. Threatened to get swapped to the Imperial Prince as a consort. Falsely accused of infidelity because stress stopped her period. Humiliated. Ended up locked in a tower. Drugged. Almost driven to suicide. Saved, but sent right back to the nunnery since clearly she wasn't fit to be a consort.

That poor girl.

But she's still got a chance at happiness, if Basen gets to claim her as his reward. Crossing my fingers for them.

Going Forward

I can't wait til volume 10. Is Lakan getting dragged over there because the Empress's brother is trying to snag Maomao (the only La family princess) as a consort for one of his family members, even as he tries to force a marriage between Jinshi and his own daughter? (Or worse, make her become a middle ranked consort to the emperor as a snub to Gyokuyou?) Or is it genuinely because there's war brewing and the general is needed to help make plans?

[shyspider]

Hey it’s Jackie (jack o lantern) the koi’s mom/owner, I’m back it’s been awhile around finals week or work project weeks sometimes I’ll delete my blog to erase distractions or if i need to take a mental break idk if I’ve explained this before to you anyway I’m back for a little bit.

I hope you’re doing okay! 😄 also if you need a mental health break take your time no pressure. also sorry for the long ask and all the pictures but I wanted to share my rescue frogs progress pictures because seeing someone’s health get better makes me feel better 😅 but there is Congo she was super skinny you could see her little hip bones when I first got her and now not only is she a healthy weight but is a beggar who likes to follow me around and stare at me. (Right now her and Ubangi the other frog are frog jail in a fish breeder box because they’d hide all the time and miss meals when I first got them so this made sure I could ensure they ate.)

Everyone look at these fish! And the frog! AHHH 💕💕💕💕

Look at them, staring from behind the bars of frog jail...

And I'm okay. I'm going to finish up these two fics and go on hiatus. I just need to take some time, enjoy summer, work with my hands, and just chill for a while. Then get back to writing regularly. It's been a while since I had a break since posting. But I really do appreciate the fish and frog pictures. I can't tell you how badly I want a pond, but I'd only be feeding the wildlife my poor fishies. Also, yeah, you told me that you'd delete your blog and then come back. It's your way to help you focus. So, there was this app that I used - its for PC and mobile - called StayFocusd. I used it a couple of times when I had to really buckle down and keep to a deadline. It can either completely block the website, or limit your time on it like a schedule. I just thought I'd throw that out there - but if your way is working for you, keep at it.

[doctordisaster]

I was off tumblr for a good few years, and somehow I’ve returned to see the set of notable creators I follow on here having EXACTLY the same tense conversation with their fans that they were before I left. On the one side, it goes “no please do not send me your fan theories about how my in-progress work should go in the future.” On the other side it’s “but like I really really wanna.”

Typically the creators present a legalistic argument: if I hear your idea, it’s opening me and my collaborators to legal liability, plain and simple. This is true, and it ought to be offensive to nobody. Unfortunately, these weird fans then start trying to armchair IP rules lawyer their way into getting to do it anyway because they really really wanna, and the conversation just loops. It has apparently been stuck in this loop forever.

Occasionally one of the creators will get especially candid and reply “hey friend I have so many ideas already! That’s literally my job, you’ll find, so I’m good! :) You should go make something out of your idea instead of expecting me to do it for you! :) :) :) ” And the fan goes “but I really really wanna get you to do it for me” and, as before, the conversation loops.

I’m going to say the part the creators can’t say, for fear of running afoul of a shitty internet mob. Well-meaning, probably very sweet fan? Your idea sucks. I am not some high profile creative, but I constantly have clients or friends or just randos I met at a bar go “oh hey you know that thing you studied for years to learn to do and have been doing at your job every day and have been honing your skill and speed at for literal decades at this point? I’ve never done any of that but I think for your next project you should do THIS.”

And let me tell you: ‘THIS’ always sucks. It is invariably the stupidest, worst, most ineffective, dumb-shit approach to doing what I do that I’ve ever heard. It’s almost always the sort of thing you could never even attempt in a professional context and hope to stay productive, and on the rare occasions when it’s logistically feasible, it is on a conceptual level guaranteed to produce some of the worst work of your career. It is ‘graphic design is my passion’ without doing the work of pasting in the little frog.

I have been on tumblr a long time, and I have read the sort of fan concepts people like to share here. I am NOT a professional storyteller, but even I can tell that They. Are. Terrible. It’s always ‘what if no one ever did anything ethically troubling’ or ‘what if everything magically worked out perfectly for my pet favorite character’ or ‘what if your entire narrative universe bent itself into a pretzel to justify my personal idea of what is Right and Moral and Makes A Worthy Story and then everyone in the real world clapped.’

If you have a genuinely good idea, put in the effort to make a genuinely good work. If you aren’t willing to do the latter, I have some pretty serious doubts about the former.

[solemn-health]

13 March 2025

Hey again! Time for the daily check in!!!

Today I did really well! I ate a little over 1200 calories today. I had a nutrition bar for breakfast, a slice of blueberry bread for lunch and egg salad and oranges for dinner!

I drank a lot of water today. I had a glass of milk and some apple juice too.

As for exercise, I went around the block once today. I woke up at 6:30am and took a shower then went back to sleep for a while.

I did some laundry too!

My step count for today (as of 11:28pm) is 5,182!!

It doesn’t sound like much but it’s huge progress for me!!!

Also: I’m 12 pounds away from my first mile marking goal weight!!! I’ve lost 21 pounds since the start of my journey. I’m at 257 now!!! 🥰🥰🥰

As for loomigurumi, I did a tiny bit of the frog today, but it was mostly a rest day all around.

I had a great day!

How was your day? 💚💚

[chickensoupleg]

I was paid a hearty 5 whole chocolate bars from @a-redharlequin for this. :)

--

Everyone in Hawkins knew Steve Harrington ran a Pokemon daycare out of his home. It was no surprise to anyone that the house was turned into a place where Pokemon of all sizes and shapes were sprawled throughout the home and into the backyard. Nobody has seen hair nor hide of the elder Harrington’s ever since the sole Harrington boy had turned 13. All that was left was the boy himself and three of his own Pokemon.

It’s been years since then, and Steve was doing pretty damn well for himself. The Harrington’s were still the talk of the town, but more on the youngest. Praises on how well the Pokemon in his care always came back healthy. Teachers from the high school surprised that Steve was still able to keep up with whatever schoolwork he was given, even if he wasn’t the greatest student to grace their halls. Girls chittering about how handsome Steve had gotten in the years and how he’d make a great partner in the future.

Steve has heard it all. He was flattered, always has, but it was just the natural progression of his life.

There was a knock on the door, Steve shooing away a Skitty that had settled on his lap with a whispered apology to answer it.

“Oh, hey Tommy,” Steve says.

Tommy smiles back, shoving a Pokeball towards Steve. He was one of Steve’s long time friends. Still is. “Hey Stevie. Do you mind watching over Corviknight today? Thanks dude you’re the best!”

… Even if he was a little rough and terrible at waiting for Steve to agree before starting something. Tommy is quick to walk away, waving at Steve all the while and disappearing into his car and driving away.

Steve sighs, turning around.

He sees a mass of pink above him, Steve lifting up his head to the source.

Tinkaton’s all stare down at him, smiling.

Steve hides the Pokeball behind his back. “Stay. Stay…”

One of the pink mons smiles wider, lifting her hammer up. She makes an eager yet curious noise.

“Tink! Down, girl! Don’t make me put you in your Pokeball!” Steve points a finger at her, his other hand moving to land on his hip.

Tinkaton lowers her hammer with a loud thud. Steve’s glad he reinforced his floors, lest one of his problem children cause structural damage wherever they went.

Steve waits until she lets go of her favourite little tool before walking away, Corviknight’s Pokeball in hand.

Really, he should have said no to Tommy. Steve’s been raising Tinkaton’s long enough to know that in the wild they have a favourite past time.

That pastime being flinging rocks at the very bird that was nestled safe in Steve’s palm at this very moment.

He heads outside to his backyard, shutting the door behind him. Steve heads down towards the pool, greeting his Froakie as he swims up from the depths. Kneeling down he pets the frog, Froakie croaking and splashing Steve playfully.

“Not now Froakie, gotta see what’s up with this Corviknight first okay?”

Froakie croaks again, deflating. He puffs up again, sending a jet of water into Steve’s face. Steve sputters, blocking the spray with his hand. “Froakie!”

Froakie puffs out his chest, Steve ruffling the bubbles at Froakie’s back. “Okay you win. But give me a second will you? It won’t be long.”

The bubble frog sinks back down into the depths of his pool, placated for now. Steve shakes his head in amusement, then holds the Pokeball in front of him.

He spares a glance behind him to make sure none of his Tinkaton’s were watching from the glass before pressing the button. A beam of light shoots out of the ball. Before long, a Corviknight stood there in front of him, blinking in mild confusion.

“Hey buddy. You must be Tommy’s Corviknight,” Steve greets with a smile. The bird Pokemon caws at him. Steve reaches a hand out, waiting for the Corviknight’s reaction. When it doesn’t move away he pets it on the beak. “I don’t remember Tommy having a Corviknight.”

Corviknight caws again, as much as an answer Steve was going to get. Steve walks around the Pokemon, but as far as he can tell it was healthy as ever. That was good. Sometimes he got Pokemon a little worse for wear and Steve had to spend time just healing the poor Pokemon first before anything else. Other times it was quite rowdy.

Thankfully the Corviknight was behaving for him instead of trying to fly away. Tommy’s Beedrill thought it was hilarious to try to fly out of reach from him and make Steve send one of his Pokemon to keep him nearby.

There was a sharp thud, both Steve and Corviknight looking at the direction of the house.

Steve curses under his breath when he sees his gang of pink hammer-wielding menaces staring at them through the window.

Corviknight screams, flapping at the sight of the horde of Tinkaton’s.

“Corviknight wait-”

It was no use, Corviknight flying away despite the Tinkaton’s being behind a glass barrier.

“Froakie! Make sure it doesn’t leave!” Steve shouts. The frog Pokemon pops up out from the pool, landing on the ground. Steve points up, Froakie saluting him and training his eyes to the sky, watching the Corviknight that was now circling the area, close to escaping. He had its ball, Steve could just call it back with the press of a button, but Steve preferred keeping Pokemon out of it whenever he could. What was the point of a daycare if they didn’t see the day?

Steve turns his attention to his Tinkaton’s, who were all raising their hammers at his glass door.

Oh, he was so glad they weren’t smart enough to open the door.

“Girls! Stay back! Don’t you even dare-”

One of them smashes his door and all six Tinkaton’s race outside, Steve snapping his fingers. “No! Stop it. Stop it! Leave the bird alone. My door…”

They do not listen to him, their target locked on. Corviknight flies farther away, the Tinkaton’s following it from below.

Steve knows he can’t grab them, they were crafty little things. Besides, their hammers were heavy and Steve was no heavy lifter. Their Pokeballs were also upstairs so Steve couldn’t do that either.

He quickly gets another idea, going towards the house and whistling. “Hey! Tinkaton! Who wants a Pokepuff!”

All six of them turn their head towards him as one. One of them cheers, rushing towards him, his hungriest soldier.

The rest are quick to follow.

Steve swipes his forehead, looking at his Froakie. “Froakie! Get Corviknight down for me, will you? I gotta make sure the girls don’t destroy my kitchen.”

Froakie salutes him again, hopping away.

Steve turns and goes to follow his rambunctious Pokemon, the Tinkaton’s all lined up, eyes twinkling for their treat.

Thankfully they were so bribable. Steve grabs a bag of their favourite puffs, opening it and handing them each a Pokepuff. One of them hugs him in thanks, Steve smiling and patting her head.

“Yeah, whatever. Now behave, all of you. Corviknight is a guest in this house and I am not having you all throw rocks at it. I raised you all better than this. Promise?”

The Tinkaton’s all giggle, looking amongst each other.

“Girls.”

One of them nods, Steve patting them all on the head. “Good. Now if you’ll excuse me I have a metal bird I need to coax back.”

[opinated-user]

If Lily were remotely interested in actually combating fandom racism she'd focus on other characters in TOH and not just the white one she hates. If you're complaining about a white guy all the time, that's not progressive, because you're still discussing a white character and making him the center of attention instead of celebrating the stories of POC in the cast.

The only time Lily ever made a video that was start-to-finish praise of any POC was when it was Kuvira, a dictator who ran reeducation camps, created a weapon of mass destruction and threatened to murder everyone who disagreed with her. That was years ago.

It took her ten years to write one black main character.

Until her video on The Princess and the Frog this year, she had never talked about a piece of media focused on black people, even though she claims to be left-leaning. Being willing to watch things centered on black people is such a low bar even most conservatives clear it by accident.

In her infamous writing tips thread, she said that you should only have one cishet white character and a really good writer will have only one cis, one het, and one white character. (This rule is ridiculous for large casts, but I will acknowledge for the core main cast it's a perfectly applicable idea.) She has never written anything that doesn't have a majority white cast. Regularly her writing writes out existing POC rather than center them.

She claims to be Native not even based on blood quantum, a practice the Cherokee people and many others do not believe in, but based upon having thick black hair. She isn't recognized by the tribe. She does not educate anyone on anything pertaining to indigenous issues and didn't even mention Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women until she talked about how if she was murdered she'd be one of them. She has never written a Native character or talked about Native characters in media.

When movies that have a majority black cast come out, she disses on them.

When anything is made by Asians, she will dismiss it, not acknowledge that different Asian cultures exist, and center whiteness (such as only ever talking about Raya and the Last Dragon in terms of Lindsay Ellis, a white woman (who she then straightwashes on top of centering)).

When a POC such as Luz is anything other than cheerful and joyous, they are, to her, totally devoid of worth and ridiculous.

If Hunter were black Lily would focus on Amity instead, because she always, always devalues POC and redirects her attention onto a white person. When she made a black OC, it was in order to beat up some white people, romance a white person, and adopt white kids. She cannot, under any circumstances, create anything that focuses entirely on POC with the sole exception of focusing on a light-skinned WOC dictator whose war crimes and crimes against humanity she not only excused but viewed as cool.

She does not fight fandom racism.

She partakes in and upholds it.

Even if her fans can convince themselves all the people she's abused are liars, even if they're not aware of her past, I genuinely do not know how anyone can look at her work and not see how blatantly racist this woman is. Her only black characters are all tied to slavery, with white characters being the victims of slavery and black people benefiting. I grew up in a racist family and I am doing a lot of work to deprogram myself. It's not easy and I have a lot I haven't learned. But even I, even as a preteen writing stories, never wrote something that messed up, because it simply never would have crossed my mind to reverse victim and offender in the context of slavery.

Watching Stitch is her "I have a black content creator I watch/friend" moment the way many people in fandom/the real world use that as their get-out-racism-accusations-free card, but it's insufficient.

If she doesn't want to be seen as racist she needs to stop being so blatantly racist. It's not hard.

but it's hard for her, because that means admitting that she needs to do work on herself to get ride of all the biases she has and she alreay barely puts any work on her channel.

[nigrit]

Anon [Louis de Champcenetz?], The War of the Districts, or the Flight of Marat, Heroi-comical poem in three cantos (Paris: n.p., July? 1790)

Part 3 (of 5)

Second Canto:

When the croak of the frogs

And the screeching of owls

Had warned the patrols to

Monitor passers-by;

And numerous clocks have

Already struck midnight,

An Allobroges Goddess [1]

Emerged from her dark lair.

Her seat is City hall;

It's there, in an armchair

That she gazes lovingly

At this civilian cohort

From whose pride all Paris suffers.

FAUCHET, this sinister abbé, (1) [2]

Is the lover & minister

Of this Divinity,

Whose eye is completely dulled.

This is where FAUCHET reflects:

And it is she who inspires him,

When he makes those eloquent speeches,

Which, dismaying our monarchy

In Paris, and the Provinces,

Progress so rapidly.

This famous Goddess

Is quite rotund with fat:

She walks heavily,

Laughs & cries at any time,

Without any direct cause.

She used to live in Greece

At a time when its bourgeois

Were performing heroic feats everywhere.

But it was in BOEOTIA* [3]

That she had spent her life:

Since then, having in many places,

Made herself a homeland,

It was Paris she chose.

On a chariot made of donkey skin.

Supported by twenty goslings,

In the air that we breathe,

She glides, she soars.

She walks without pretense,

And her sceptre is a poppy.

At her feet are the works,

And audacious prattle

Of factious writers

Whose foolish pride renders so vain.

The Goddess protects them all,

And her chariot is crammed

With the works of CÉRUTTI. (2)

She enjoys the MANEGE; [4]

The comte de MIRABEAU

Is a true beacon for her.

A thousand college know-it-alls,

Modern-day jackasses, [5]

Like the TARGETS, the PÉTIONS, (3)

The DUPORTS & the DUPONS, [6]

And all their varied retinue,

Like so many antique CICEROS;

For whom the eloquent Goddess,

With all her skill,

Dictated the motions.

But I have to say

Who is this Deity

That has held me back for so long?

She is the sister of STUPIDITY,

And her name is IMBECILITY.

This Queen of bystanders,

Having learned the work

Of the district of OBSERVANCE;* [7]

Enters without a torch,

And slips silently into

The house of the famous MIRABEAU. (4)

She noticed this large man

Who lay in deep slumber.

In his hands a portrait lay,

Where a bookseller's wife, (5)

A loathsome housekeeper,

Was faithfully portrayed.[8]

Under his heavy head,

Nestling beneath the pillow,

COWARDICE could be seen,

His dear Divinity.

Terrified by the slightest sound:

One only has to stare at her

To make her ill at ease.

She is cunning & cautious;

She fears getting involved

In the slightest danger.

Her gait is unsteady.

Her sad & shy voice

Is quite insinuating.

Frog & hare both at once,

Its features are repulsive.

Like a bat,

She has two wings under her arms;

It’s to flee from her enemies

And those who stir up trouble.

She got to know MIRABEAU

When he was in his cradle.

She’s his faithful companion,

He is her strongest support;

And since he is worthy of her,

She is very worthy of him.

But on his broad chest,

In the guise of a nightmare

A haggard monster slept supine,

Whose dreadful & sullen face,

Sends shivers down the spine.

It constantly sharpens a dart,

And in its barbaric joy

Seeks his prey everywhere.

Its claw is sharp & hard;

Its eyes are bloodshot;

An ever burning hunger

Consumes & torments it.

This dreaded monster,

Its name is CRUELTY.

Its usual refuge,

Is the Châtelet’s black lair,

And with a menacing blade,

It strikes the innocent there.* [9]

While speaking in his ear,

STUPIDITY wakes her up.

‘Cousin! How can you sleep?

Soon the hour will come,

Where my darling LA FAYETTE,

Awakened by the trumpet,

Must ride on his horse,

To make a capital blow.

They wish to take the great MARAT,

To lock him away behind bars;

His District wants to defend him

And prepare its cannon [artillery].

The warriors of OBSERVANCE

Have made more than one alliance;

The SAINT-SEVERIN District

Must lend it a hand.

They have other assistance too,

And the Faubourg SAINT-MARCEAU

Is going to use its Flag.

In this terrible affair

Cousin! what should we do?’

Smiling CRUELTY

Said to her: ‘We will have blood’.

Its eye sparkles with joy,

And his fearsome pupil

Lighting up like a torch,

Covers MIRABEAU in light.

Without waking him up,

It warns him in a dream,

About the fight in question;

Here is what the response was,

From this truly great man.

‘The Districts are my friends

And it is through them that I reign;

Above all, I must fear

To make them my enemies.

Such stupid revenge

For this poor La Fayette

Has wonderful charms;

I will not follow in his footsteps.

But I do like fights,

When I’m not running away from them’.

COWARDICE applauds

Such a prudent speech,

Gets up from where she’s sitting;

Admires this great genius,

And says to CRUELTY

Who is not his enemy:

‘Proceed another way.

BARNAVE is full of zeal,

The LAMETHS are not lacking;

D'AIGUILLON (6) the prattler,

And so many other good Soldiers,

Will join you in the battle’.

To these words without rejoinder,

CRUELTY slips out mute,

And STUPIDITY follows suit.

BARNAVE, with his gaunt face,

Was the first to be visited.

By the loathsome couple.

BARNAVE, bloodthirsty heart.

First became the pupil

Of the Philosophe MOUNIER:

He was his tutelary Deity,

Humbly, he sought his protection,

Then he wanted to slit his throat.

He’s the serpent from the fable

Who spewed his dark venom,

Against the charitable man

Who nurtured him in his bosom.

In his odious retreat

The agitated BARNAVE,

Dozed off in guilty fear:

It is the wages of crime.

When dreadful CRUELTY,

Persuades him in a low voice,

Whispering into his chest,

That he must join the fight

In this business of MARAT.

‘Backed up by the rabble,

Show yourself in battle’,

‘Have no fear’, says she;

‘This pike that you see,

I used it to slaughter

The brave ROYAL GUARDS in Versailles:

Now I give it just to you’.

The furious Goddess,

Having said that, continues her round.

She goes to D'AIGUILLON

And brings him a festive decoration.

To his brave comrades in arms

She runs with the same stride:

Conqueror of the ANNONCIADES

You were not forgotten! (7)

She flies into the Church

Where this generous warrior,

Father GOD Cordelier, [10]

The leader of this enterprise,

And Hero of the neighbourhood,

Was snoring like a debt collector. [11]

The Goddess electrifies him

And GOD shall be the first

To do his job well.

Once her round was done

She went to LA FAYETTE;

There she found GOUVION,

DUMAS, his dear companion,

And the military horde

That marches under their banner.

Around a large ham

They drank Burgundy.

STUPIDITY was at the table,

CRUELTY was there too;

It is in this pleasant orgy,

That the night was spent.

Still, the radiance of the stars

Was fading by the daylight;

The night was lowering its sails;

It was time to think of the fight.

Notes to the Second Canto:

(1) Abbé FAUCHE, from the Investigations Committee; a kind of national inquisition. It was he who shouted in the Place de Grève: ‘It was the aristocrats who hanged Jesus Christ’; sublime word which got several aristocrats hanged. This is the humanity of this abbot, who always has a fierce fever, and whose patriotism is nothing more than madness & fury.

(2) CÉRUTTI, Italian ex-Jesuit, irascible and fussy writer. He understands nothing about politics, but he has a policy; it is to always place himself on the strongest side, to abandon one's friends when they are oppressed, & to sow, for money, blame and praise. Mr NECKER complains about him a lot.

(3) ALL DEMAGOGUES, or rather DEMOCRATS, because they let themselves be led by abbé SIEYES & MIRABEAU, who push them to the vice where their heart inclines, and dares them to clear the path with crime.

(4) MIRABEAU, the shame of humanity & the scourge of France. His brother, a loyal knight, is his opposite; one cannot praise him more worthily by adding that he has more intelligence than MIRABEAU, who perhaps has more talent.

(5) Mrs LE JAY, mistress of the previous.

(6) THE DUC OF AIGUILLON, as everyone knows, got mixed up with the fishwives in women's clothing, on the night of October 5 to 6: He wanted to take revenge for the reform that had been made regarding his light cavalry; such is his patriotism.

7) CHARLES LAMETH, raised at the Queen’s expense, who rescued him from poverty and appointed him a colonel.[12] He diligently devotes himself each day, to this verse by CORNEILLE, who says that in public uprisings, ‘The most ungrateful hearts are the most generous’. It was he who made the successful expedition to the Annonciades convent, ‘From where he returned without losing a single man’.[13] His brother ALEXANDER has just as much merit as him.

[1] The Allobroges were an ancient Celtic tribe that lived in the area around present-day Geneva. One of their main goddesses was the Amazon warrior-queen Scathach (‘the shadowy one’) who trained Celtic warriors in the arts of war. This may also be a reference to the Catiline conspiracy when Cicero discovered a plan to bring in the Allobroges to support Catiline’s plot against the Senate.

[2] Abbé Fauchet was one of the founders of the Cercle Social, a radical political and publishing group.

[3] “The Boeotians were the Champenois (from Champagne) of Greece”.

[4] The Salle du Manège was the former royal riding school situated at the north end of the Tuileries Gardens, where the National Assembly installed itself in Paris, before moving to the Salle des Machines in the Tuileries.

[5] Aliboron (perhaps from the name of the Arab scholar Al-Biruni) was the name of the jackass in La Fontaine’s fable, ‘The Thieves and the Donkey’ (I.13), and earlier, that of a devil during the Middle Ages. Thereafter it passed into French as a generic name for a simpleton.

[6] Adrien Duport (xx-xx) was a deputy in the first National Assembly. He formed a group known as the ‘triumvirate’ with Antoine Barnave (xxx-xxx) and Alexandre de Lameth (xxx-xxx). ‘Dupon’ is probably the deputy and economist, Pierre-Samuel du Pont de Nemours (xxx-xxx).

[7] “That is to say, the Cordeliers. Rue de l’Observance adjoins the church”.

[8] Mirabeau was rumoured to be having an affair with his publisher’s wife, Madam Lejay.

[9] “Allusion to the Marquis de Favras”. See introduction for overview of Favras-Besenval affair.

[10] Danton, the district’s former president and de facto leader.

[11] The word here, ‘Maltotier’ denotes an agent of the (hated) tax collectors known as ‘fermiers-généraux’.

[12] Following publication of the Red Book in April 1790, which detailed all royal expenditure, Lameth’s exposure led him to borrow and quickly repay his 60,000 franc ‘debt’ to the Treasury in January 1791. The money had been used to pay for the education of him and his brothers at the royal military academy.

[13] This recalls an incident relating to the Besenval affair, when Lameth, as member of the Comité de recherches, tracked down the Keeper of the Seals (Barentin) in the Annonciades Convent, where he was supposed to have sought refuge with the abbess. When it became known that Lameth had personally conducted the search, the royalist journalists dubbed him, “the victor of Annonciades”, and someone (possibly Charles-François, marquis de Bonnay) anonymously published a mock-heroic poem on this exploit, La Prise des Annonciades (1789).

[miloscat]

[Review] Wario Land 4 (GBA)

A disappointing misstep... am I the only one who thinks this??

Despite coming so soon after Wario Land 3 (the fourth Wario Land game), Wario Land 4 (the fifth Wario Land game) makes a lot of changes. It tries to synthesise new ideas with the old and ends up feeling like a bit of a mess. It has a good reputation but honestly I don’t get it!

The first thing you notice is the visual refresh. We’re on the cusp of Warioware completely revolutionising Wario’s characterisation and setting, and WL4 gets a bit of a ripple from that. Wario is flexing and posing, driving a muscle car… read the manual though and it leans harder than ever into his hilariously gross habits and self-aggrandising mannerisms. Unlike a lot of other things in the game, this combination works well.

In a premise most reminiscent of Virtual Boy Wario Land, Wario is on the hunt for treasure and goes to explore an ancient ruin only to stumble on a series of wacky out-of-place environments contained within and a big weirdo out of nowhere as would-be antagonist. The use of magic portals does a little something for plausibility, I guess. Did Wario really need a princess to rescue though? Was that necessary? Shokora at least has a presence in the story thanks to her transformation into a mysterious cat who pops up in cutscenes / Mr. Game & Watch-style silhouette person who acts as shopkeeper.

The levels feel initially like throwbacks to pre-3 style, with a critical path and side rooms, where it isn’t always clear which is which. But you do need to thoroughly explore because getting all four chests in each level is mandatory to unlock the zone bosses, plus there’s a key to find to advance to the next level. Having to redo entire levels if you miss any of these is a real drag. There's also optional mini-puzzle challenges sectioned off in their own rooms, removed from the flow and aesthetic of the rest of the level. But things change when you find the frog switch: a giant timer appears, and you have to backtrack to where you came in. Sometimes things change in the level, or you find a new path to return via, but often those progress items are hidden in this time-pressured sequence as well.

Far from being an exciting combination of ideas, I think these concepts of structure and design are at odds, pulling in different directions. Similarly, the non-damaging conditions from WL2 and 3 return here, but in a position of reduced prominence, and they've reinstated a health meter mechanic on top. (The GBA's shoulder buttons also prompted a return of the run button from VBWL, but it feels underused.) Removing the timer and health system was a breath of fresh air in WL2... now they're back, and for what!?

The boss battles are another miss for me. They're also timed, and you have to do them quick to get maximum treasure, which is otherwise kind of a non-factor. Collecting coins in levels lets you play one of three minigames (none of which are very fun) to earn tokens. You can spend these in a shop before the boss door, for a variety of effects that simply remove health from the boss. This Breath of the Wild-style "reward" of making the fights shorter by just subtracting from their health bar is such an odd choice to me. The fights themselves are fine at best, but the bosses are visually overdesigned in a purposeful, grotesque way; I suppose it's meant to be amusingly absurd but I just found them ugly eyesores.

Playing the Wario Land games one by one, I've enjoyed seeing them refine the concept and bring in fresh ideas. WL4 on the other hand feels like it's trying to force ideas in and fumbling in the process, with a result that doesn't quite come together. Even though the play control is tighter and snappier, the game is less than the sum of its parts, less pure than previous Wario Lands. The music is really strange too, trying for some kind of esoteric wackiness but maybe trying too hard... The series has never looked better, but this might be a sign that it's losing its direction. Meanwhile Nintendo R&D1 themselves are soon to be restructured, splintering into oversight roles and smaller teams, and I think the "Wario platformer" series suffers as a consequence, while Warioware's star rises. We'll see in the next few reviews I suppose...

[all-the-things-2020]

Deeds Not Less Valiant - Chapter 3

Pairing: Din Djarin x OFC (Tala Pavan)

Rating : PG

Summary: A small celebration takes a turn for the worse.

Word count: 2100+

Tala’s life fell into a new routine. Every Taungsday, she ran all her errands and completed as many chores as possible, so she had Benduday open for Din and Grogu. Even Neeli looked forward to their weekly visit; she began sitting alertly near the door about ten minutes before their arrival. Din was very punctual, and on the rare occasions he was late, he apologized profusely.

Grogu was a delight. He played with Neeli, listened to stories and told Tala about his week. She gathered scraps of information about both of them. They knew other Mandalorians, some of whom removed their helmets in front of others, and some who didn’t. There was a man in Mandalorian armor who kept a pet rancor; a woman who fixed ships and had lots of droids; people who rode banthas and communicated through hand signs and strange vocalizations. He also fondly remembered a place with blue ponds and lots of children and frogs to chase, and an Ugnaught with several tame blurrgs. 

Din was much more reticent. Tala quickly learned that he was not much of a conversationalist. She gave up asking him how his week had been (“Good” was the most common reply, although once there had been a sight followed by the single word “Long”) and simply told him about Grogu’s visit and what he’d told her. Din was eager for any insight into his son’s mind.

“He seems pretty articulate for a youngling,” he told her once, after she’d relayed a memory of a training session with targets and a paintball gun. 

“Mentally, he is,” she agreed. “About like a four or five year old human. I just don’t think his vocal tract has caught up yet. It’s possible everyone in his species is telepathic and they just don’t need to develop spoken language as early as others. He’s getting better, but I sense he’s frustrated when he can’t make the sounds he wants to.”

Din nodded, and so did Grogu. “Ya,” he said. 

Once or twice, Tala broached the subject of lunch again, but Din gently refused. “I have food at home,” he’d said one day, which had prompted Grogu to chime in :Yucky food. Ration bars.:

“Grogu says you eat ration bars a lot,” she said carefully. “Wouldn’t you like a freshly prepared meal for a change?”

Din shrugged. “Food is food,” he said. “I like things that are quick to eat, so I don’t have to leave him by himself very long.” He paused, his posture stiffening. “I … have to be alone when I remove my helmet to eat.”

Tala nodded. “I understand. But if you ever want something a little more elaborate …”

:Tasty: Grogu added, which almost made her laugh. “I could always take Grogu outside while you eat. We could sit underneath the window.”

:I want to do that! Dad! Let’s do that!:

Din shook his head slowly. “I appreciate the offer, but we wouldn’t want to impose on you any more than we already do.” Grogu’s ears drooped and Din laid a gloved hand on his head. “Besides, we always do some training after my meeting with Greef. Younglings need routine and structure. And this youngling needs lots of training if he wants to progress from a paint gun to a real blaster.”

That perked up Grogu’s ears. :A blaster! Pew! Pew! Pew!: 

“Weapons really are part of your religion, aren’t they?” Tala asked.

“This is the Way,” Din said, picking up Grogu. “We’ll see you next week.”

****************************************************

Din silently cursed himself for being so awkward. Why was it so hard to talk to Tala? Small talk had never been his strong point, but it seemed like the only thing they could talk about with ease was Grogu. The kid was fascinating, but he was sure Tala would enjoy talking about other things. She was curious about his culture, but he didn’t know how to explain The Way to someone who wasn’t a Mandalorian. What seemed logical and right to him might sound strange to an outsider. Even Mandalorians like Bo-Katan and Axe had a hard time with some of the beliefs he and the Armorer and the others in their covert held.

Greef had made a few comments about Din’s new “lady friend,” which he had gently rebuffed. In truth, she was more Grogu’s friend than his. And definitely just a friend. Greef’s offers of wine and fancy candies to woo her were entirely out of place. 

“What do you think, kid?”

Grogu made a questioning sound. “You think I should spend more time with Tala?”

“Ya!” Grogu babbled something else, accompanied by animated hand motions. 

“Maybe … maybe next time I’ll buy something for lunch in the market after my meeting with Greef. The two of you can eat and we’ll talk. Then I can have the leftovers when I get home.” There was a stall that sold grilled meat and vegetables on a stick, and another that sold freshly baked flatbreads. Both things were quickly and easily eaten, and could be eaten cold or reheated in the nanowave. 

Grogu nodded emphatically, his ears high and eyes animated. Din was very good at reading the child’s body language. “And maybe we can find something around the cabin to make a toy for the tooka. You like playing with it, don’t you?”

“Nee,” Grogu said solemnly. “Nee-lee.”

Din stopped in his tracks. “You … you said the tooka’s name. Neeli.”

“Nee-lee,” Grogu repeated with a nod. 

“Can you say Din?”

“Da!”

“Tala?”

“Ta-wa.”

“Greef?”

“Geef.”

Din felt a tightness in his throat. “That’s great, kid. You’re getting better every day.”

“Ya,” Grogu said. “Ta-wa. Da.” He pressed his tiny hand together. 

“Tala and I are helping you?”

“Ya.”

Din nodded. “Then we should celebrate. Next week, a little party.” He bit at his lower lip. He had the menu figured out, and Grogu’s vocal progress as a reason. Now he just had to come up with something to talk about that wasn’t Grogu or guns. 

*******************************************

“Don’t eat lunch,” Din said when he dropped Grogu off the next Benduday. “Grogu will tell you all about it, but we’re having a little celebration after my meeting. I’ll bring food.”

He was gone before Tala could even say a word. She looked at Grogu, who was pulling a small object out of his pocket. :For Neeli!: It was a rubber ball, scuffed and battered but still bright blue. The tooka pricked her ears and locked her eyes on the ball.

“Thank you,” Tala said. “She‘ll love it.”  

Grogu tossed the ball and Neeli pounced after it. Grogu giggled. :Funny.: He tilted his head and looked coyly at Tala. :Dad has a surprise. I can say things a little bit. He’s bringing lunch.:

“You can say things?”

Neeli brought the ball back to Grogu and dropped it at his feet. He picked it up and tossed it again. “Nee-lee,” he said. “Ha!”

“What else can you say?”

“Da. Ta-wa. Geef. Ya. Na. Eee.”

“Eee?”

:Eat: he clarified. :Very important word.:

Tala nodded solemnly. “A very important word, indeed.”

*****************************

When Din arrived, Neeli shot up to her basket. Although she was always eager to see Grogu, she was still wary of Din. “He won’t hurt you,” Tala told the tooka.

:Dad likes animals: Grogu agreed.

“I brought food,” Din announced needlessly. The aroma of grilled meat and vegetables filled the room, causing Grogu to bounce around in glee.

:Lunch! I haven’t eated in forever.:

:Eaten: Tala gently corrected. Grogu’s ears drooped at the tips but he quickly forgot about it when Din placed a bag of freshly baked flatbreads on the table. 

“You and Grogu go ahead and eat,” Din said. “I’ll take my share home and eat it later.”

“Are you sure? I can take him outside …”

Din shook his head. “The cat.”

Tala was puzzled. “Neeli?”

Din sat straighter. “My oath is to not let my face be seen by any living thing. Neeli is a living thing.”

:Droids don’t count: Grogu said, while surreptitiously reaching for some bread.

“Grogu just said ‘droids don’t count’ but how is that different from a tooka cat? Droids are sentient.” 

Din sighed. “A technicality,” he said. “And I didn’t think you knew about that, kid.”

Grogu shrugged, his mouth full of bread. :I hear things:

Tala stifled a laugh. “He said he hears things,” she said mildly, putting a plate and napkin in front of the child. 

“I forget that he’s over fifty years old,” Din said. “His brain is more developed than his body.”

Tala nodded as she helped herself to a skewer and bread. Din carefully slid meat and vegetables onto Grogu’s plate and used a very wicked looking knife to cut everything up into manageable pieces. “But he needs to work on impulse control,” she said as Grogu reached for a piece of meat and nearly got his fingertips sliced off. “Wait until he’s done, kiddo. That knife looks serious.”

“Pffft,” said Grogu, cramming a slice of onion into his mouth.

“He’s used to weapons,” Din said. “He knows how to be safe around them. That’s one of the first things an apprentice learns.”

Tala doubted the wisdom of letting a youngling like Grogu have access to weapons, but she wasn’t about to say anything. This was Din’s religion, and Grogu’s as well, and she had no place criticizing his decisions. 

As they ate, Neeli began sniffing the air and soon jumped down from her perch and started to creep closer. Din casually slid a piece of meat off one of the skewers, sliced it up and dropped a piece onto the floor near his boot. Neeli startled for a moment, then slowly moved forward to snatch up the meat. She retreated a few steps and gobbled it down. She was less reluctant about the next piece, and by the fourth one, she was taking the meat from Din’s gloved hand.

“Grogu was right. You do like animals,” Tala said. 

“I understand them,” Din said simply. Neeli chirped, demanding another piece of meat, and Din obliged. 

“She’ll be in your lap purring in no time,” Tala said. “Have you thought about getting a pet for Grogu?”

:Yes! Tell him a pet is good.:

Din shook his head. “I don’t have time for a pet. Too much travel.” Grogu’s ears drooped a little. “But maybe someday, if things settle down more.” The ears went back up. 

Grogu and Neeli continued to eat as Din cut up meat for them. He was so good with them, patient but firm, insisting they take turns, which did not go down as well with Neeli as it did with Grogu. Still, Tala was amazed at how well the tooka obeyed him, quickly learning that hissing or trying to steal from Grogu earned what Tala would have called a “Look” if only Din’s face hadn’t been concealed behind his helmet.

I wonder what he looks like under there, she thought idly. And Grogu, always obliging, showed her.

Dark hair, a strong nose, neatly trimmed mustache and a hint of beard, and deep brown eyes so full of sorrow … she couldn’t help herself. She gasped at the force of the pain and sadness that overwhelmed her. 

“What is it?” Din was immediately on the alert. Grogu’s ears drooped and the food in his hand was forgotten, dropped to the floor where Neeli pounced on it.

“I’m sorry,” she stammered. “I didn’t mean to. I didn’t know he heard me.”

“What. Is. It?” Din’s voice was firm but kind. He was already reaching for his blaster, his helmet swiveling around as he went into high alert. 

Grogu hopped onto the table and ran to her. :Sorry. Don’t be sad.:

She scooped him up and steadied herself, blinking back tears. The emotion had been so powerful, so real. “I … I was just wondering what you looked like, under the helmet, and I didn’t realize my shields were down. Grogu heard me and … I’m so, so sorry, but he showed me your face. You just — you looked so sad, so heartbroken — maybe it was Grogu’s emotions overlying the image but I felt it.”

Din froze. Neeli cautiously backed away, her prize dangling from her teeth. Grogu’s ears went flat and he grabbed hold of Tala’s thumb, squeezing it tightly. After a long moment, Din stood. “Come on, kid, we have to go.” 

Grogu whimpered, but went to him. Din tucked the child carefully into his carry bag, then strode toward the door. “I’ll — we’ll see you later,” he said curtly as left. And then Tala and Neeli were alone.