#i have a bit of a technical clue on how to make a website. i speak html and css. hell even javascript

[silverserpent]

what the FUCK do i name my personal website

[the-nosy-neighbor]

What is up with the grammar on awayfrompryingeyes.net? (Specifically 4/12/2025)

On the secret website, the grammar is strange, especially when compared to the main site.  It is leading me to think that there is something going on with W, almost like W is 2 people or their mental health is suffering. 

On the main website, spelling and grammar is mostly error free (not counting random capitals, which I think is a style thing with Clown.  Someone probably needs to gather them to look for clues).  On AFPE, there are missing words, incorrect punctuation, and some examples of what could be considered the wrong word.  These items (from April 12, 2025) are listed below:

Error:  missing comma.  “The other website is safe too.”

Error:  use of nor without neither.  This is a common rule, but one I wouldn’t expect a lot of people to know or adhere to.

Error:  missing comma, missing words.  “This will be the first of many entries both my findings and my head.”  There are some holes there toward the end, and a missing comma after “entries.”  If I had to correct it in the simplest way, I would use:  "This will be the first of many entries recording both my findings and my thoughts.”  Or “mental state,” depending on W’s meaning.

Error:  missing comma.  “It will help me keep track of days so I don’t disappear into my work too.”  This could be a characteristic of the author, with multiple examples of a missing comma + “too”

Error:  wrong word used.  “Swathe” didn’t really jump out at me until I was looking at the grammar, but the word is not quite right.  I took it to mean a large thing, and that’s close to the right meaning, but the technical definition is related to the scything of grass, specifically to the area cleared by cutting grass in this way or the motion of cutting grass with a scythe.  Eventually, it is used to indicate area without the scythe connection, but it is always used to describe land.  There is also a meaning that is related to binding the body or using a belt.  Neither definition works for the use here, which was to indicate a large number of boxes left on their doorstep.  Given how technical this is, it could be a use of a word that someone thinks they know the definition to, but it is off a bit.  I include this specifically because of the use of the scythe in the meaning.  There are lots of connotations to a scythe.

Maybe not an error, but notable.  W uses “pungent” when describing the boxes:  “When I opened my front door to see them, the smell was pungent.”  Pungent means pointed, sharp, irritating or intense, but not necessarily bad.  It seems odd that the way this is described, as if they only realized this after the fact, but felt it was noticeable enough to think about later and include. 

Error:  repeated word.  "I think I was too overwhelmed to really acknowledge any of that that when I saw them."

Error:  strange wording, wrong tense.  “I’ve considered things like myself being watch.”  The obvious error is watch needing to be “watched.”  But “considered things like myself” is phrased in a way that most people wouldn’t phrase it.  “I’ve wondered if I’m being watched” or “I find myself thinking that I am being watched.” 

Error:  strange wording.  The sentence:  “Then I have thoughts akin to the possibility that someone could break into my home and take everything away from me” feels off, and I think it is the “akin to.”  People would use “like” most often.  “Akin to the possibility” is even stranger, as most people would say “I have thoughts that someone might break into my home” using the equivalent to “like” isn’t even necessary. (also, they use "akin to" very quickly after this)

Error:  wrong word.  “I was chosen to do this work, but the idea if it being torn away makes my chest tighten.”  Should be “of” not “if”

We don't see this kind of error anywhere else in the website. The main website has very solid grammar/spelling, and AFPE has consistent good grammar otherwise. They also use "our" and "my" in different places on both websites, which doesn't give us a clear picture of how many people are involved. Based on our recent clues, it feels very much like W is alone in this (other than the period of collaboration with the QA). But we see things like the statement that they wish they could have access to a bottle of Joy on the main page, despite the fact that we have them gloating on the secret page that they have one. So does that mean we have more than one person, a person that is divided in some way, or are feeling smug or sneaky about having the soda?

We also had the news item posted for the Homewarming update with some interesting use of me/they:

"I apologize about the date on the most recent news post. I assumed it was still December. I’m not sure how this could have happened. The individual who posted this must not have been paying proper attention. Please pay it no mind, have a wonderful day! Happy spring! Almost as good as Homewarming! Please remember to wave!"

In this excerpt, we have the writer admitting to losing time, making it solidly W, but blaming an individual for not paying attention. This could be W not accepting responsibility, or keeping up the facade that there is more than 1 person on the team, or it could be that W is not posting these things directly, which means the comment about the soda could be true, for the two separate people involved. Also, the sign off is wrong this time. Generally, it is "don't forget to wave up high." Is this a symptom of panic? Could it be miscommunication between the two?

There is also some information in this journal entry about W's excitement about the massive amount of information that was just dropped off, and a very possessive attitude about it. Could it be possible that W is receiving the information and passing it on to another team member as they see fit? This would explain the discrepancy between the two sites and some of the strangeness in the Playfellow Exhibit partnership refusing any attempts at conserving the items. W refuses to cede control of the items.

I could be overthinking here. It is still very possible that W is attempting to keep up the appearance of a team of people working on the project. I can imagine that it makes more sense for them to limit the number of people involved and maintain a sense of legitimacy with a team, rather than a lone person drinking 50 year old soda in their garage. They may also be doing this to keep up appearances with their benefactor, as we know the secondary page is to include information that they are afraid would scare off their contact with the Welcome Home information. We should consider the possibility of a second person, and a potential conflict between the two.

[3gremlins]

i started another rook and i really didn't intend to make them so "i want that twink obliterated" but uh my hand slipped XD

this is björn ingellvar* (they/he, but sadly the game doesn't let you use mixed pronouns so i just use they/them in game) which just means bear and i realize they're not terribly bear like in appearance, but i think i'll rp it in personality more (ill be honest i liked the sound of it mostly and it had a meaning i can work with). Ingellvar was hard to pair with (i did consider making them a grey warden but i didn't vibe with thorne just yet and the mournwatch aspirational armor is kinda neat) Anyway they're a mourn watch warrior and so far a little more diplomatic/charismatic than my crow rogue rook. I had sort of thought to either romance bellara or emmerich this time round, but now i'm considering neve (trying to make myself make different choices! still an elf but eh). it's weird b/c when i started my other rook i didn't like any of the voices other than erika ishii's for them and this time i gravitated to one of the masc ones instead. so funny how characters shape themselves a bit, it's like oh this came together this way and now this voice is the one that is right. *various DA reddit threads suggested that nevarra is partially prussian inspired which does track with emmerich being an old german name. I spent several hours pouring through old german names which do also have a lot of cross pollination with various scandinavian names on several name etymology websites. Technically the german variant would be bjoern but whatever.

early thoughts on warrior: it feels a lot more underpowered than rogue from the outset. The weapon type swapping is a lot more awkward- rogue just uses r2 on controller to swap between knives and bow which feels really natural and fluid (and how a lot of other modern rpgs work, so you expect it). The war/mage use the d-pad to swap and it's just not as good of a feel (tho it is an interesting choice? the warrior swaps between sword & board and two handed, and mage swaps between staff and knife w/orb). i was def a bit like oh am i screwed, do i not get a ranged attack? but you sort of do (i think it would have been fine if war had arrows but i can see why they wanted to make it different) I like the idea of the captain america shield throw, but having to charge it up feels kind of bad (esp coming from the rogue where you just shoot your bow until you run out of arrows). Would have been better to have the shield throw just do something like that. (started towards the mourn watch tree and the shield throw is feeling better but wish it was better out of the gate you know?)

blocking is also a lot more important to the war kit and i'm bad at it (didn't really need to do it on rogue, just dodge quickly a lot) so we'll see if i can even stick to this. i don't want to block things except with my head, game. warrior also doesn't feel especially tanky per se, idk. doing this one on adventurer mode again but might turn it down (tbh rogue felt so op at the end there, i prob could have turned up the difficulty and been okay. maybe another future rogue rook if i'm ever feeling like a challenge ). i'm intrigued by the specializations (esp reaper i think) and i do think it'll get more fun as i unlock more skillz, but out of the gate a little clunky (i also started a mage rook and they also feel a bit weak compared to rogue. might like war more than mage for once??).

>>>> 2nd pt endgame knowledge spoilers behind cut!!! do not click if you haven't finished the game at least once! <<<<

playing this a second time and knowing everything you can actually spot the Varric CLUES early. There's a point where you're talking to solas in that first fade convo and he actually cuts himself off from saying that varric is dead, like you get the TINIEST hint of the "de" before solas elongates it into it a "is good at his own half truths".

also in conversations with harding her palpable sadness hits harder and her dialogue makes a lot more sense. When neve comes into the recovery room to talk to you the first time (i think it's whoever was injured?), she doesn't even look at varric and talks over him a teeny bit too. It's really subtle, they did a good job of laying clues you wouldn't catch unless you knew (at least for me, idk maybe yall were onto them sooner lol)

[bookishtheaterlover7]

PSST: here’s some insight for you.

I work in marketing for a non-entertainment industry.

My job is content creation which means:

I write copy for social media, webinars, marketing emails, campaigns, videos, website content, and more. A huge part of my job is making sure what we say aligns with PR and legal approval.

This means, sometimes what we DON’T say means more than what we do.

It can be a bit of a thankless job because when we write something on social media or on behalf of our CEO, we have to say a lot but can’t lie but also stretch the truth just enough to sound exciting but not get us sued. And yes, we often ghostwrite on behalf of higher ups but their names are the ones quoted. Even if they do give us a soundbite, with permission we can sometimes edit it and rewrite. So even actual quotes aren’t always 100%.

Basically….wordplay.

“My wife is from PT.” - truth, but non specific. Doesn’t say a name but basically alludes to what everyone is thinking based on process of elimination.

“I had kinda two ceremonies, one on the east coast, one in PT.” - truth, but non specific. The tabloids ran with conflicting stories like ceremony 1 was held in two different areas, in one state on the east coast. But he doesn’t say specifically which one which means he’s not lying but he’s only not specifying. Plausible deniability.

“I find silence in my husband.” - no names, no confirmation but also sort of confirming.

“My dog” - same as above.

CE’s GQ article where he mentions a non descriptive girlfriend - then a line is inserted by the journalist “he got married to Xyz” not quoted by him.

Same thing with RDJ’s spread and his wife saying “CE’s wedding” - and the magazine inserts the wedding to xyz.

None of these are direct quotes from the people themselves. It’s just implied.

Scarlett in an interview says she “attended a wedding” in sept - again, non descriptive.

All of these context clues are pretty commonly done in content strategy. It’s basically to say stuff to say it for promotion reasons but also making sure we cover our asses. We didn’t SAY he said it, we just added it as an afterthought and if for some reason it’s questioned well at least we didn’t quote him on it.

For example: my company has an office outside of a major city. But we can’t say “our San Francisco office” because it’s technically not SF. It’s in the Bay Area, so we can say Bay Area/Northern California office - but not get too specific. This way we’re not LYING but we’re also kinda keeping it “vague.” Cover our asses 101.

I can’t tell you how many times I have to say things like “nearly a decade of experience” - but in reality it was 8 years and five months. When I say it like this, it makes it sound like MORE rather than less.

“Over a year” - makes it sound like wow it’s been over a year but we’re not telling you just how long because we just want you to focus on the OVER part.

Marriage = stability. If you ignore the person and the pairing, it just looks like oh wow he finally got married! Good for him. Now his Wikipedia won’t show he’s just single forever because God forbid somebody turns 42 and still isn’t married. 🙄

The next time you see anything related to these two, or if you want to chance reading old articles about them - check for those little nuances in the tabloid articles. I bet a bunch of them are purposely contradicting and use “anonymous sources” as the quote to magnify the situation and hype it up to be more intense than it actually is.

Because if an anonymous source says “CE is so in love and happier than ever” - gushes a close friend of the actor, it’s not tech libel or lying because the quote is coming from a mysterious source, not CE. But the intention is inferred. You are to assume he told them this. But if someone were to directly call that out, he could simply say I don’t know who I said that to and the anonymous source won’t have or need to be confirmed. Because if it is a lie at least nobody quoted him as saying it. Nobody will be asking for a retraction.

Lastly. In marketing I often have to hype up things and use flowery language. Everything always has to be “a huge success and totally a blast” - even if the pictures we get at the events show three people standing in a booth looking bored. LOL.

“The private couple looked so in love and were all smiles!” - meanwhile the accompanying photo was two people walking in silence, one doing an Arthur fist and basically grimacing. Nobody looking at each other.

The power of wordplay, y’all. And yes, we hype everything up for a reason. And the reality is often very far from what’s being presented. It’s just business though.

(Hope you find this helpful!)

And if anyone wants to fact check my knowledge, please feel free. I have nothing to hide.

Thank you, Marketing An🫶n!

This whole thing is definitely confusing, but it's nice to know that, a. It's all business, and b. How the business works.

This is all helpful, and really quite interesting 😊 so, once again thank you, and I hope you don't mind if I and a few others will call in to ask the next time something drops 😅

[enbysiriusblack]

20 questions for fic writers

thank you for the tag @imagineacoolusername <3

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

18

2. what's your total ao3 word count?

109,886

3. what fandoms do you write for?

marauders (+ dc but i haven't posted any)

4. what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

i just wanted a muffin

wrecking ball

a summer in wales

we are the dead

fistclenching, heartaching

5. do you respond to comments? why or why not?

i try to but if i can't think of anything to say then i just don't

6. what is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

that I've actually already written the ending for, would definitely be midnight rain. but the planned ending i have for the devil wears an angel's face is probably angstier

7. what is a fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

definitely i just wanted a muffin, its literally pure fluff throughout 😭

8. do you get hate on fics?

only once or twice, i just ignore/delete it though

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind?

nope

10. do you write crossovers? what's the craziest one you've written?

no, i don't really like crossovers. i do like aus, like characters in one fandom put into the situation of a different media (that's not really a crossover tho, is it?)

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

not to my knowledge

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

nope

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

yeah. once with a mutual who is now deactivated, about the marauders going on a camping trip to snowdonia. and then with @lesbianmckinnonn we have the sinners and the saints (marauders during war years)

14. what's your all time favourite ship?

dorlene <33

15. what's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

i'm really aiming to finish all my wips, but i know i probably won't. im gonna say one I've never even posted, the cafe/bookshop au (i got bored of it and haven't written any of it in over a year sooo)

16. what are your writing strengths?

i actually have no clue. apparently i'm good at dialogue cause i can make it sound like vastly different people speaking? so that? and the storyline ideas themselves

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

probably the fact it takes me forever to write just a couple of words. i am super slow. also i always forget to describe things/people

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

i'm absolute shit at learning languages, like the only language i can actually speak/understand even slightly is bsl. a lot of my characters do speak other languages though, so i like to sometimes have them speak in them i either ask mutuals that i know speak it, or have to put the sentence into like 20 different translation websites to make sure its right

19. first fandom you wrote for?

technically once upon a time when i was 9/10 (it was like half a notebook about regina becoming the evil queen again and lily joining her to get revenge against emma). but i never posted it, so the first posted one would be for harry potter

20. favourite fic you've written?

very hard to choose. i really like my cannibal!dorlene fic but i haven't actually published any of it. so choosing one i've actually written quite a bit for, I'm gonna say either fistclenching, heartaching or the devil wears an angel's face

tagging: @blitheringmcgonagall @lesbianmckinnonn @drownedlove @iheartmoons @ace-catboy-ryuuzaki

[hospitalterrorizer]

diary498

2/7-8/25

friday - saturday

tomorrow or like technically today but after i sleep,

will be fun! today was slow, which was needed after last night. it's late now so i think this one will be short, i found a new website i've never heard of via an account on here, it's this:

it's kind of insane how it looks so mid 2010s, that font my gosh, but it's charming for that, it's giving old iphone graphic design, but the function of the website is really special, a big repository of wildlife photos people uploaded over the years, lots of variety, and there's a thing that lets you go through geotagged images on a big google map thing and see animals/plants in different places on earth, there were these minke whale bones from greenland, that i really found exciting to see:

such pretty and strange bones, i feel bad for it too. this really reminds me of when i was a kid, one of my main things i would do is just look for pictures of animals and weird creatures and things, and try to learn about them, especially sea life because i wanted to be a marine biologist. there's a lot here, there's even stuff about weird fungal growths and things, protozoa, stuff i'd never even think about or have any clue about existing.

like this, it's so strange. i also saw the words 'subglobose' and 'obovoid' on its page. it's called badhamia utricularis.

today i did cook a little bit, or i cooked twice, first was noodles for my gf, and then i had to make sure chicken wouldn't go off so i just cooked the chicken, and then put it over spinach and that was my dinner, and there's more for tomorrow or the next day. we've been going out so much recently, or i've been so all over the place with sleep, and misaligned w/ my gf, and now we're going out so much, that it's been hard to be on top of that. it does feel a little bad.

speaking of my gf she had a funny dream, about us in a mall and we saw the gender neutral bathrooms being closed off, and they said to us 'we don't use those anymore' because of trump. it is nice of her to worry about where i can pee, in her sleep, even. it feels good, to me, how love is expressed in a lot of very quotidian ways, over long periods of time, or in very intimate kinds of worries we have for each other. i know it must be obvious but it means a lot and only increases in meaning over the years because of repetition of certain things, resurfacing of worries, etc. it's a nice feeling, is all. i have never been the gushy type, so maybe this is the closest i can get to that. when people are gushy, it's hard for me to know what to do or say. it seems so personal and it leaves me wordless, it would feel rude to say anything about something so meaningful. but i'm also very strange socially and maybe mostly wrong.

another interesting thing today, my friend got especially good news, he is going to come to america to get a degree in writing, in chicago. and he got an award of some money, for merit. he said this was like his birthday, so i had to vc him, so we did. he told another friend and she said she'd take him to a chain breakfast place in chicago, and i looked at the food and sent it to him and said, wow now you're going to see american food for real, what everyone eats out here, it's going to be so insane, the biscuits and gravy were frightening looking, food that is like a bunch of white stuff with chunks in it all gloopy over some kind of mass does typically wig me out, also. and he was like, this is one of my worries. he said he wants to go to california pizza kitchen, because it seems insane, and it kind of is. i've only been once and i didn't even eat pizza. i mean i ate nothing there, i sort of want to know what it would be like to eat there, in an abject sort of way. anyhow, i realized, looking at the yelp, the place never seems to advertise itself on there with any kind of image of pizza, it was like, dessert, some freaky mass in a bowl, and then pasta. one dish i saw was, i don't know, it was literally (factually (actually (truthfully (i went and looked back for it))) called kung pao spaghetti chicken, which is a menu item that seems like a hate crime.

i did work on music also, but only a couple things, i'm sort of like, out of my head a little bit right now, i think, i'm like, what should i do, i don't know. that makes me do nothing. i feel like i want to go to some songs and write some parts out more or something, and then figure out a couple more for the thing i'm doing and then get a tracklist ready. but then i also really wanna make new stuff and things... but i can't!!! or i shouldn't. but i got one to sound a little better, did some extra riffs and fills in it and that makes me feel really good, i got another guitar sound to be a little more physical feeling i hope. i'm gonna check in later with that, and then i also figured out something that has been bothering me that has been hard to explain, but basically, i'd double my guitars, pan them hard left and right, and they'd be the same but there'd be like one issue, where one side would be louder for some reason, i realized, this seems to be because of phase issues that i just need to phase flip one side to fix. but i had no idea... i ended up searching around and figuring it out, though. it's funny how simple some stuff is. it's also funny that sometimes i think something i simple, but really it only works on one thing and then other things it's a little bit harder to work out. it's fun to chase your own tail sometimes, that's how this all feels at times.

this song came into my head, chasing your tail, like a dog, you know.

i also looked into what i was told last night, by the person from that band, dj 54kura, about emocat records and i found where i can submit stuff, so that is super super exciting. so hopefully the next thing will be okay enough to make it on there.

i need to read this new short story published by ergot... i'll try to do that tomorrow. i need to get back on reading shorts more regularly. try to have thoughts on them too.

but now it is late, i want to not be in need of caffeine tomorrow, so i will sleep now,

so,

byebye!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[nixariel]

So I'm not on discord but what I do have are screencaps, educated guesses, and a list of portfolio websites for some of CS2019's background artists.

As a bit of forewarning, I've tried on-and-off to see if there were any visual clues to how exactly the various faculty classrooms work in relation to the building's outside, and the short answer is 'not really'. When it comes to the group faculty room, the best estimate I've been able to make for its location is that it's at the back of the main building on approximately the third floor, mostly based on this shot of Mechie in the doorway of the faculty room with the bottom curve of the school's atrium circle-window visible behind her (see arrow).

Technically that angle for the circle-window should probably line up better with the second floor

but there actually looks to be four floors total

and to have the faculty room on the third floor with a double-high ceiling seemed to be the best compromise between the above view behind Mechie and the fact that it also seems to include the top part of another (presumably the back of the school) circle window.

I did check to see whether the faculty room could somehow be in the topmost section of the atrium circle-window (because it technically wasn't visible in that second screencap), but the most complete image I could capture still did not seem to have anything consistent with setting an entire room up there.

Further confusing the issue are those rectangular side windows with the triangular mullions that apparently extend from the dais all the way to flanking the main door

because that is night sky visible through them in at least two different episodes (S1E01, S01E08, and then a different angle of the faculty room as per S2E06 to compare to the 1st screencap, which was from the same episode), so it's probably not a goof. And while that view could be reasonable behind the faculty seats, and even around the sides to a certain point, I really don't know how that's supposed to work for the windows nearest the doors because this

is the corridor leading up to them. Please note its width, and also the absence of windows of any kind on either side of that door. (Also also the change in doorframe shape, although maybe that's just For The Aesthetic?)

Also x 3, this is the side view of the academy

and once again, I am not seeing any windows even remotely matching those of the faculty room. Personally, I've been going with Bellum having created some kind of pocket dimension because it makes about as much sense as anything else. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Otherwise, I would suspect that the classrooms/student-access areas are mostly on the second and first floor because both of these scenes

seem to take place on either side of the atrium at about a second-floor level given the shape of the railing both to their left plus above them (left screencap) as well as the crossbars on the windows to Black Sheep's left (right screencap). The third (+/- fourth) floor could then be a faculty-only area (possibly their living quarters), though that would be mostly based on the assumption of a boarding school style set-up rather than any true visual clues.

Last but not least, this is an incomplete list of links to various background artist portfolios that might be helpful:

Johel Rivera Heejin Park Elaine Lee Eastwood Wong Eosong Lee Silvia Liu

This was a bit of a rush job so I'll probably be doing a little polishing as time/internet access allows, but hopefully what's here so far will help!

P.S. I saw someone in the comments wondering about where Black Sheep's pre-Academy room was? Judging from her view of the school's front

she was in the same building as the regular dormitories (possibly the single story section closer to the beach?)

though why she felt the need to make such a production of moving from what was essentially one wing of the building to another, that I cannot say. ;D

anyone wanna help me theorize and map out the inside of vile academy??

cause i have only this pic of the outside and the circled area is where i think the faculty viewing room is

suffice to say i'm not looking forward to mapping out the area by myself XD

[frodo-with-glasses]

'Avuncular' seems like a very Lord of the Rings-y word!

BOY does it! For those who don't know, Merriam-Webster defines avuncular as:

"suggestive of an uncle, especially in kindliness or geniality"

"of or relating to an uncle"

In layman's terms: uncle-related or uncle-ish. There's a lot of that going on in this book, and a lot to talk about!

Of course the epitomical example in LotR is Frodo and Bilbo. Now, pedants (like myself) will point out that they aren't technically uncle and nephew, but cousins; Frodo is Bilbo's first and second cousin, once removed on both sides. If I recall correctly—correct me if I'm wrong—Frodo never actually calls Bilbo his uncle in the books, nor does anybody else. It seems to be something the movies made up to fit their relationship into a neat little box and avoid unnecessary confusion in the audience. But given that Bilbo falls into the category of "too old to be a peer, not close enough to be a father, floating in-between in a vaguely mentorlike (but not particularly responsible) state", I'd say he definitely counts for the "uncle-ish" definition of avuncular.

The next uncle that comes to mind is 100% literal: Theoden! Fun fact, avuncular comes from the Latin word avunculus, which specifically means "maternal uncle" (as opposed to the paternal equivalent: patruus, according to one website). So, since Eowyn and Eomer are the children of his youngest sister, Theodwyn, Theoden actually fits the ancient definition as well! Appendix A tells us that Theoden "loved his sister dearly"—which I interpret to mean that he played favorites among his siblings and she was it—and that he took Eowyn and Eomer as his own after their parents died in quick succession while they were young. So, once again, he is both their uncle and kinda their dad.

The next uncle that comes to mind is Iorlas. To my knowledge, he is only mentioned ONCE in the book, but because I am obsessed with Beregond and Bergil and their family (and just have a general affinity for overthinking minor characters anyway), you BET I remembered him. Based on context clues, we can assume a few things about Iorlas: a) he is likely a maternal uncle as well, since everyone on the paternal side has a name that starts with "B" (Baranor, Beregond, Bergil); b) he might live in Lossnarch, which Bergil mentions as the place his grandfather lives; and c) he has a good relationship with his nephew. Bergil mentions him immediately upon hearing how old Pippin is, which to me says that Iorlas is a pretty constant fixture in Bergil's life, and is an adult that Bergil really likes. My personal headcannon is that Bergil idolizes Uncle Iorlas and thinks he hung the moon; only because he thinks Dad hung the sun.

And FINALLY, to round out this discussion of uncles in LotR, I will end with a mention of the uncle that I wish got to happen: Frodo, for Sam's kids. You can't tell me there wouldn't have been a lovely bit of poetic symmetry to Frodo getting to raise and mentor the little Gamgees in the exact same way Bilbo had done for him. I can't really see Frodo ever getting married and having children himself—like Bilbo, he seems to be an eternal bachelor, and I'm pretty sure if he wanted to get married he would have done it by now—but there's no doubt in my mind that he would have loved and nurtured and spoiled the heck out of all thirteen of Sam's little munchkins if he ever got the chance. Which is why the Magnolia AU exists. Because thinking about Frodo telling stories to an enthralled audience of little Gamgees (a few individuals of which are vying with each other for the coveted story-listening spot on his lap) just makes my heart feel whole.

WORD ASK GAME!

[curry-and-casteliacones]

More Scarlet and Violet Stuff???

Ok so whos ready for another heccing long pokemon post (well technically the first one on this blog)

Because we all know graphic design is my passion and i'm worthless at judging game mechanics beyond "wow thats a game mechanic" I will be primarily focusing on designs

Also obligatory spoilers for the newest trailer and the website

Also also it's under a read more cuz i have no clue how to shut up and it's a smidge long.

So. Uh. Um. Starting off... not strong I would say. This thing:

Uh. Ok first off I need to address the elephant in the room. It's Mcdonalds colored. That bright red and yellow combination has been forever ruined for me. However, the shape f it overall is somewhat cute. I like its legs and ears. Its hands look like lil mittens and I do really like the fire hair and mask/helmet face covering. It's design reminds of of Marshadow for whatever reason. And that height, finally something shorter than even me! Anyway, I don't particularly care for how bulky the shoulder pauldrons are but that is most likely just personal preference as I like cuter or more elegant pokemon overall. Over all, it just kinda looks like A dude with armor on who was graffitied by a Grafaiai who was lovin it.

I am interested by the fire/psychic typing. That doesn't feel very common to me, have that many before? Ok I looked it up and Victini, Darmanitan zen mode, and Delphox all share that typing. I already knew about Delphox, I had no clue Victini was psychic, and i wouldn't have thought to think of zen mode Darmanitan as its own pokemon. I don't think Armarouge really looks like a psychic type to me. To be honest it looks more like a fire/fighting.

And that brings me to its name as well. Its clearly a mix of armor(which it wears) and rouge(a red color)

As for the ability I actually recognize very few of them so i'm going to have to look up what flash fire even is. Ok so bulbapedia had this to say about it "Flash Fire makes the Pokémon immune to fire-type moves and will activate when hit by one. When activated, the power of the Pokémon's Fire-type moves is increased by 50%. While subsequent hits by Fire-type moves will not provide further increases in power, the Pokémon remains immune to the moves." So theres that I guess.

Anyway final thoughts looking at it again, it's face area is actually such a nice design I like it a lot.

So its armor belonged to a warrior... and the strength it draws from it is psychic in nature? Was the warrior psychic? Is there some reason for this or is it just because? Idk... It still isn't making a strong case as to why it shouldn't join the pits of all the other fire/fighting types.

And it's got a move that is really powerful but comes at a drawback. Idk, i don't play competitively in any way shape or form so I have no clue if this is anything remotely interesting. It isn't something that sounds like I personally would pick up on a playthrough.

Personally on this one i had a strong gut reaction of "OH GOD NO" when i first saw its 3d model in the trailer, but now that i've seen its 2d art and looked at it a bit more i'd put it at only slightly below average but i could learn to love it. I would rate it at a 4/10 :/

Anyway, that thing has a counterpart.

And this one is so much cooler looking. As if Miraidon wasn't so much cooler already, this thing also being Violet exclusive all but confirms that will be the version I get. But then again, i really like cool colors and dislike warm ones so this doesn't seem like a very hard choice. The only issue is the Scarlet professor is SO SO SO SO much cooler. Like lesbian looking queen or the basic dude. It's no competition. Like Turo has such a boring design like literally every other professor was more interesting than him. But i'm sure i'll eventually learn to like him, after all he's already grown on me since he was first introduced.

But look at this thing. It's so cool looking. It's like if they took one of the already coolest pokemon(Chandelure) and just gave it stabby weapons. Its color scheme is gorgeous, I much prefer its proportions, and the swords on its arms look SO cool. I really don't have any complaints, it looks so sleek and elegant. Oh wait so much for being taller though, this thing is my height.

As for its name, i think its a combination of edge(like the edge of a blade) and cerulean(a shade of blue). So its naming scheme is very similar to its counterpart.

Ok, so it sounds so much cooler than the other one and no am in no way biases at all because i like this ones design more (yes i am, don't listen to me)

Anyway, ghost type that eats living things life force or absorbs it in some way will never stop being a favorite of mine. Ghost is one of my absolute favorite types along with bug and fairy. Also it seems to draw from the haunted armor horror trope which is fun. But that may have been none of its inspiration and i'm just wrong lol.

Anyway i love messed up and evil pokemon we love a lil shifty backstabber. Who needs a fair fight when you have a knife in the enemies back? I just find it way more interesting concept wise than Armarouge.

Also, its special move thing sounds like something i would actually use. I love life draining moves when i play pokemon games so this sounds perfect for me.

(Also this is mostly unrelated but look at that lil sneasal in the screenshot. It is so tiny and cute)

Basically in conclusion i would give this one a solid 8.5 or 9 out of 10. When i first saw it in the trailer i thought it was futuristic and robot looking and i was pretty excited but turns out my horrible eyesight had failed me and it was actually even cooler because its a ghost. A ghost on fire with swords for hands. How much cooler does it get?

(also last last note i swear but this things 3d model i actually like just as much as if not more than its 2d art which i cannot say the same for a lot of these)

Now. The thing that most immediately caught my attention. C R A B

This thing. It's. It's a crab alright. I did kinda think it was a paldean krabby evolution or something at first, i apologize mister crab. Oh wait no- no not like the Spongebob character- its just- its a crab and i like calling animals mister or miss- uh oh well i guess i'm not really sure if this crab is actually a boy or a girl? So um I apologize Mx. crab?

Anyway. It's a crab. It's not very special. It did take me looking at the screenshots of it on the website to understand that it was supposed to mimic the surrounding area with its color and bush like.... fur???? Um, crabs don't usually have fur but i'm not sure what else to call it.

Over all i don't really have anything to say. It is a crab. It's not phenomenal and its not bad either. I just thing he is a funny lil guy.

I do really like it's name. It's just fun to say.

OK BUT THE ONLY THING I REMEMBER ABOUT IT FROM THE TRAIER IS HOW CREEPY ITS EYES ARE. They're so... unnerving. I don't like them. *shivers* hhhgggh. Weird looking. But also strangely cute. I can't really explain it. I do think the fact that it hangs upside down but isn't evolved to do that for very long is pretty funny. But it also reminds me of one Mortasheen monster i can't remember the name of. It was something that lay in wait on like ceilings or walls or something for prey to pass by? Overall this is not something i would want to run into in real life. I feel my life of loving crab legs will soon wreak karmic justice on me.

As for its ability, it's a new one never seen in the games before. I feel like there is something similar to this though? Maybe i am misremembering.

Anyway, over all this thing is a fun mix between creepy and adorable which i would out at a solid 5/10, or otherwise completely average.

I'd also like to talk about this guy:

I will be honest. My first reaction was fear. Look at him. But I am starting to appreciate his design more. I do appreciate a grass type trainer who isn't all flowers or bright greens. Don't get me wrong, those are also very fun designs. But the more sickly and thorny looking design of this one is a breath of fresh air and very interesting.

I also love how he somehow manages to tip toe the line between extremely competent and sickly victorian era noble. And he is somehow pulling it off.

Over all i don't have much to say but this is a solid 7/10 or maybe even an 8/10. I like him a lot.

And the website has this to say about him:

"Brassius is the Gym Leader of Artazon, a town that’s alive with flowers and art. He specializes in using Grass-type Pokémon and is known as the Verdant Virtuoso."

So we are getting a town full of flowers and art? Sign me right up! i also respect his title as i myself am quite the fan of alliteration. However his name is uh... its ok i guess? It isn't anything too interesting to me personally.

However I have to say, his sudowudo that actually becomes a grass type? Best think gamefreak has ever come up with. I love it. Whoever thought of that needs a pay raise because it is so funny to me.

We also have this person:

Which um... ma'am o///o .... hello? Do you have a licensee to look that cool?

This is Geeta, the chairwoman of the pokemon league. And WOW does she look amazing. Look at how unique that hair is! And the vibrant eyes! The absolute banger of an outfit! I love literally anyone in a suit but women def just hit different. Ok, ok, ok, pull yourself together or people are going to think you're allo at this point. Geez. But anyway. I have always love fancy outfits from a character design standpoint. And the lil compass symbol on her gloves? Its so cute! Is that a design that is a symbol for something elsewhere in these games or is it just her personal symbol?

Anyway, this is what the official website has to say about her:

"Geeta is the chairwoman of the Pokémon League, which operates Paldea’s Pokémon Gyms. Among the region’s Champions, she reigns supreme as the most skilled Trainer of all."

Which i think its interesting that she is both chairwoman and a very powerful trainer. I hope we get to fight her!

Also, I hadn't even considered the fact that she could be potentially evil because unless a character is introduced as evil or has the sketchy-est vibes on the planet i will not pick it up. But even after seeing some people toss that idea around i don't really think thats's going to happen. I don't see how it would make for a good narrative. And i personally just don't like the idea at all. Her pose and design don't really seem to be that way either. She has wide eyes, a kind smile, and the one hand on her chest and one hand other side seems to be close to a bow to me. Combined with her fancy outfit she seems very kind and well suited for her job. Whereas chairman Rose, who many are comparing her to, had a more cocky pose and narrowed eyes and what is best described as a smirk. Her pose seems almost subservient or more likely respectful in a way, like how i compared t to a bow. They give off totally different vibes.

In conclusion i would give her a 9/10. Great character design.

Now. This thing.

I genuinely don't know how to feel about this. It feels like this design just SCREAMS wasted potential. This is a character i think i could redesign and make better if i wanted. Ok, for starters the hair and face aren't bad, i actually really like her makeup look. Even the choker works. The tattoos(?)/gloves(?) are also really cool. But. The actual clothes themselves. Let's talk about the most obvious offender. Those boots. I'm all for crazy fashion statements. But those may be a little outside my comfort zone. They look comical and disproportionate. If just the size of them was affected it could be so much better.And the clothes. I just, i don't know what to say. It's so much wasted potential. This had the ability to look really cool and instead its barely mediocre at best. I like the ideas of the black skin tight one piece with the white layer over it. But the shape of the white is NOT working for me. The belt is ok tho.

The website has this to say:

"Mela is the boss of Team Star’s Fire crew, the Schedar Squad. As the team’s best all-rounder, Mela fixes any and every problem thrown her way, though her methods are heavy-handed. She leaves a forceful and gruff impression, but her steadfast devotion to completing anything she puts her mind to has earned her the trust of her teammates."

Specifying the "Fire Crew" makes me think there will be a separate division with a more purple color scheme. I have no proof of that tho i don't think.

In conclusion, a 3/10. Not only is the design bad, but it has enough potential shining through to make me actively miss what i could have had.

Anyway. I guess this is the end for now. I may come back and review more designs that i missed in my original post and this one.

If you bothered to read this far... um. Uh idk what to say. Um.... Thank you? I really do just like to ramble.

Post about Team Star is in the works!

[couldyouspeakmyname]

Heyo! Love your work!

Do you think you could write the main casts’ reaction to the reader coming out as a trans man? Like Legoshi, bill, louis, some shishigumi bois and maybe some side characters like gosha, yafya and gouhin?

Thanks <3

This...is a big ask. Excuse me while I roll up my sleeves!

-Maeve

Legoshi

He's actually pretty underinformed about this. He is fully supportive, but he's never met anyone (that he knows of) like this. He's going to do his research though, so he can be as supportive as possible!

Probably one of the few times he speaks up is if someone gets your pronouns/chosen name wrong. "Actually, they go by y/n"

If you need someone to go shopping with, Legoshi doesn't mind going with you. His fashion sense is lacking, but he tries his best

He'll learn to help you with injections if you need him to

Louis

Doesn’t change the way he treats you. You’re still the same to him no matter what

He doesn’t often use pronouns when he talks anyway, so it’s nto hard for him to switch over

“Give me that! You’re doing it wrong” Probably insists on doing any injections himself. 

Buys you comfortable and safe binders, until your surgery. He may even pay for it, if you two are close. 

Bill

Has NO CLUE what you mean

Since you two are friends he’s going to try to be supportive...but he’s going to screw up more than once. He’s just really uninformed, and it’s very likely you’re the first trans!person he’s ever met (that he knows of)

He actually turns to Dom for help, and he ends up having to read/watch a lot of stuff before understanding

If you wanna use the guys locker room, you can. Bill wont tolerate anyone giving you a hard time. it’s very likely that the rest of the Drama Club kind of pulls you in. They’re going to be a big support. 

Juno

Is a bit confused at first. She’s never met someone trans before, and isn’t sure she understands

It takes a while for her to kind of understand it, but once she does, she’s supportive

Asks a lot of questions that may get a little invasive, so it’s not a bad idea to give her some good websites so she can google her own answers

Haru

It takes her all of five seconds to understand and come to terms with it

She may even be that friend that knew before you did

Doesn’t miss a beat and uses your new pronouns/name without any issue

If you ever feel uncomfortable, you’ll always have someone to lean on with Haru around. She’ll be there for you, even when you feel like no one else is

Probably does research so she can be more familiar with technical terms and such

Gosha

Doesn’t question you for a second. Despite his age, he’s very accepting

May slip up on your pronouns but OH BOY does he apologize 

Helps buy you stuff if you’re self conscious 

He does a lot of research and uses his social connection to find you a reputable doctor

You know Gosha will throw hands if someone gives you a hard time

Yafya

Doesn’t get it, but honestly? He’s so deep in the closet he doesn’t even know where the door is

While he doesn’t understand, if you two are close, he’s going to put his own feelings aside and make sure you’re safe with whatever you’re doing. Doctors, binders will be found and paid for. 

Yafya slips up on your pronouns, but excuses himself and corrects himself quickly.

Probably does a lot of research later one and becomes more accepting with time. Helping you may actually help him come to terms with himself

Gouhin

Immediately gives you any resources you may need. 

If you need hormone injections he shows you how to do them properly. If you’re afraid to do them yourself, he does them (complains, but doesn’t mind that much)

He will recommend a psychologist, not because you’re trans, but because you may someone to talk to about how transiting is affecting you. Sometimes, it’s just nice to have someone to vent to that’s a neutral party.

Takes zero seconds to call you by your new pronouns or name 

Lets you use his old clothing until you’re comfortable getting your own. Also gives you recommendations on shops that are safe and judgement free

A new name? Fine. Two seconds and he has it down. 

Mother hens you about taking your meds and making sure your doses are within reasonable limits. Probably becomes a thorn in your doctors side. 

Ibuki

A little confused, but doesn’t question it

He’s actually really excited for you to be more you. He likes you, so more of who you really are is just better?

Will help you with your injections if you’re nervous. He’ll also go to the doctor’s with you. 

Probably buys you your first tailored suit. 

Ibuki can be intimidating, so no one hassles you. 

Free

Trans friend Trans friend

Free is THRILLED! He immediately asks if you want a tattoo to celebrate your transition (he’s already got a few ideas)

Free gives you tips and tricks that he’s learned from his transition, and if /when you get top surgery, he will baby you. It’ll be one of the few times you’ll see him serious.

Probably has his doctor on speed dial, and helps you meet him and make an appointment

Will FIGHT ANYONE who gives you a hard time. I mean it. He can and will throw hands. 

Dolph

You may have to explain it to Dolph. 

“You’re going to change genders? Alright, what do you want me to do?”

He is very supportive, and helps you with anything you need (though he doesn’t understand a LOT of the terminology, he does his best)

Probably gets you a really nice watch as a gift. 

Will be your shoulder to lean on if you need someone after a bad day (he will secretly beat the shit out of any transphobes you may deal with)

Helps with injections if you need him, and will help pay if you need him to

Invites you to every boys night out

Agata

Immediately supportive

Agata uses your pronouns and new name (if you have one) immediately 

Body dysphoria? Agata is there by your side to support you. He’s got beer and games

Helps you find binders that suit you, and are safe and comfortable

If you need someone to help do a legal name change, Agata is THERE

Dope

If you think for even one second that Dope wont be doing research the moment you walk away, you are WRONG

Dope is going to use his resources to help you in whatever way he can

Probably finds you the best doctor for your care, and finds safe shops, food places, and other places for you to go

Always available on the phone if you need someone to talk to (even if it is 3 am)

Sabu

“I know.”

Sabu is that friend that knew before you did. That, or he knew before you told him. Honestly? The moment you talked to him, he knew. It’s a feline thing

Has resources put together for you in a notebook, and just hands it to you

He’s very supportive, but not very vocal. Texts you to take your meds/do you injections 

Corrects anyone who misgenders you immediately. If they try to throw a fit? Try him. He’s not afraid to put someone in their place

Hino

“Oh...do you want to go shopping?”

Your his excuse you do a shopping spree. He finds clothing that suits you and fits your body. if it doesn’t? He knows a good tailor. 

He doesn’t know a lot about doctors, but he asks the others for help and soon you have the whole gang supporting you. 

Hino uses your pronouns, and new name if you have one

You can just talk for hours about everything and he just listens 

Miguel

This isn’t getting you out of working out. It WILL mean he changes your work outs to something that can help emphasize any muscles you’d like

Makes your food according to any nutritional recommendations you get

Probably is the one who goes to the doctor with you, and who helps with any injections or encouragements

Very good at complimenting you and building your confidence

Uses your pronouns without issue

Finds gyms that are safe for you to go into the correct locker room for you, or if you want to work out at home BOOM! New weight set. 

Jinma

Doesn’t hesitate to use your pronouns and name

Looks up doctors and resources, types them up, and give you a binder with color coordinated references depending on what you’d be looking for

Takes meticulous notes on everything, and when you go to the doctor? He writes down the exchange. 

Jinma helps you in whatever way he can. You have no better resource that your doctors and Jinma

[iokheaira]

As a pro translator to and from Finnish (a fairly small, non-Indo-European language) who occasionally deals with AI, or machine translation, let me expand a bit: first, some things aren't worth the cost of money and time of being translated by a human person, even a rank n00b, so before they didn't get translated at all.

Second, the "new jobs" are often proofreading machine translation, commonly called post-editing. This ranges from genuinely helping translators deal with masses of text and making reasonable money, to causing a giant headache for shit pay.

IMO translation really shows the strengths and failure points of large language models (LLM) commonly known as "AI"; to wit, they're really, really good at predicting the most likely outcome based on known data, with occasional randomness that sometimes produces a genuinely great solution, and they're absolute crap at maintaining a consistent terminology and cohesion within a text, they can't know specialised terminology if it hasn't been scraped, and they just cannot deal with cross-references to other documents (because they often treat them as text strings, so instead of copying the translated name of an EU Directive or its common abbreviated name, available online in all of the languages of the Member States, the machine makes up a new translation which may or may not lead the reader to the correct document...)

The worst part is when the machine is good enough to sound confident but keeps generating errors in meaning or references or consistency, because then you need to read things through more carefully than when proofreading the work of a competent human, so that in the absolute worst case you spend as much time checking as you would've spent on translating from scratch - for half the pay. In the absolute best case? You can do a quick read-through, make a few corrections and you're done.

Note that specially-built translation engines can be made to work with glossaries and specific references, but 1. those only make sense for things that already generate massive amounts of text, like the EU, and 2. they're harder to retrofit to generic translators like DeepL at least without specialised translation software, which is another beast entirely.

Also... the gig economy has been present in the translation industry since at least the 2000s, or from what I've heard, maybe 1990s; most of it is outsourcing. You either learn to be a business or don't make a living wage. Entry level has always been full of random people who get a decent grade in high school or study literature in university and think: how hard can it be? And then end up reinventing the wheel. (I did an MA in translation studies and have found it useful, though I already started working after the BA like many others.)

Uhhhh... where was I?

Right! Go ahead and use Google Translate or DeepL to understand what a foreign website etc. is talking about, or turn on the automatically generated and machine translated subtitles on YouTube. No human would be paid to translate those anyway, so why not use the service? Just keep in mind that they are based on probability calculations, and nobody has checked that the text makes sense and uses accurate specialist terminology, or tried their best to make it understandable to you (because ultimately, the translator's job is communication).

Eta: though the impact of AI on the next generation of translation students will be interesting. Any teacher worth their salt will hammer the need for a sanity check through their skulls, but will the political climate mean that funding for translation studies will dry up because "we have AI for that"? And what about the random people who enter the field with zero clue because it sounds easy, if they've grown up blindly trusting that ChatGPT doesn't lie? Now that will be interesting.

Eta2: important to note, I'm a technical translator, not a translator of literature, and also opinions on machine translation vary wildly in the field! Personally I think some texts are more suitable for machine translation than others, and it's not always the ones you'd expect that are a problem. Well, anyone would probably excpect poems being an issue - and translating those is more co-creation than anything anyway.

Alt text is so incredibly useful when it comes to speakers of other languages. I follow a bunch of fiber artists from different parts of the world, Ukrainian fashion designers and Chinese antique garment collectors and Iranian university professors of textile art history. There are discussions happening in different languages, and resources like books and scholarship, simply not available in the English or French I know.

And a lot of them never even use the Latin alphabet a lot of the time! So sometimes I can photograph a book page or screencap an Instagram story and get my phone's OCR to give me text to paste into Google Translate, and I can sometimes use a Cyrillic keyboard to type out what I'm seeing, but but as soon as something is antiquated or handwritten or viewed at an angle, my goose is cooked. I can't even get the original phrase to try to translate at all.

Unless there's alt text. Because alt text gives me exactly the data I need in the exact right format to take to a dictionary and get the gist of what's going on.

It makes me reconsider how my own content is accessible or inaccessible not just to blind or visually-impaired people, but people who aren't perfectly fluent in English. Because I and a lot of my friends are native English speakers who usually only speak 1-2 languages total, I'm prey to assuming that everyone in my intended audience is like us. That of course everybody can easily process English text, whether it's printed or written in cursive or using some antique calligraphic hand. And of course, that's not true. Now when I look at my analytics for my business's rare medieval name, I occasionally see translation site traffic where people in Farsi or Ukrainian or Chinese have translated me in return.

The curb-cut effect is a wonderful thing, I think. The primary reason I've used alt text is a good one, and it also turns out that it's really useful for a lot of other people too.

[safertokiss]

Concentrated Interests

A/N: Hola my friends! This fic was my entry for the Secret Fic Swap I participated in with a couple of close friends on here and it was written and dedicated to @nerdgirljen​. It was so much fun to write and thank you guys so much for all the support and love!

Pairing: SPENCER x READER

Category: Fluff and SMUT

Word Count: 3.3k

ENJOY:)

~~~

MASTERLIST

~~~

Spencer had never really understood the concept of soulmates or love at first sight.

In his mind, it defied pretty much every scientific law about human interaction out there and was simply a coping mechanism for those who were romantically unlucky. At least that was what he had thought until a certain tech analyst walked through the BAU’s doors and into his life. 

He was frozen. Totally and utterly enamored by the woman his eyes were currently attached to. He watched her stumble into the bullpen, a large box situated in her arms, seemingly impairing the entirety of her vision and coordination, evident by the way she kept bumping into things in her path. It wasn’t until she hit a particular desk corner and spilled the contents of the box, her belongings scattering across the floor, that Spencer broke out of his stupor and took action. 

“Woah there, let me help you with that!”, he exclaimed, immediately rushing to her side and starting to collect some of the fallen items to put back into the box.

“Oh, thank you so much. Gah, this is so embarrassing. I promise you I’m not always this uncoordinated and clumsy”, she explained with a nervous chuckle. After everything was picked up and they both had stood up from their crouched positions, she hurriedly straightened out her skirt before outstretching her hand. “Hi, I’m Y/n.” She immediately noticed the slight panic that crossed his features at her gesture and was momentarily confused.

“I-uh-I kind of don’t, um, do the whole hand shaking thing. Yeah, uh, the number of pathogens spread through a handshake is staggering. It’s actually safer to...oh god I’m sorry you didn’t ask for a full-out science lesson. It’s, um, really nice to meet you, I’m Reid. Doctor. Spencer”, he sputtered out nervously.

Chuckling softly, Y/n retracted her hand, opting to instead lightly nudge his shoulder. “Well Reid Doctor Spencer, it’s nice to meet you too”, a teasing smile adorning her face as she spoke. Spencer quickly felt a warm blush spread across his features at the absurdity of his introduction.

“S-sorry about that. What I meant to say is that my name is-”

“Pretty boy!”

Both of their heads swiveled towards the sound, searching for the source, before landing on a man across the room.

“Hotch needs us in the briefing room. Stop flirting with the new girl and get your ass in here!” They watched him walk away chuckling before turning back to each other.

“Pretty boy huh? Well I guess it’s fitting, I mean you do have really nice cheekbones and dimples. And your eyes are kind of beautiful. Not that I ummmm-not that I think you’re beautiful or anything, it’s just uhhh...um...I’m gonna stop talking now.” Spencer could feel the blush returning to his features, watching the same happen to her, from the frenzied rambling that had just poured from her lips, but he found it endearing on her and quite honestly, really adorable. 

“I-uh I gotta go, you know, um deal with that, but it was very nice meeting you”, he sputtered out, sending a small wave in her direction. She shyly giggled at his nervousness which was surely reflected on her end as well. “See ya around Reid Doctor Spencer.”

“Spencer. It’s um-it’s Spencer.”

“Spencer”, she repeated back softly, nodding him off with a gentle smile on her face.

~~~

Spencer Reid was in love. The longer she was around him the more he realized he was completely and utterly in love with her, all of her. She was perfect in his eyes, intelligent, funny, a bit nerdy and just so adorable. The problem was just that he had absolutely no idea how to tell her how he felt. He had never really been the type to express his feelings to someone, especially to a girl as beautiful as Y/n. 

The female species wasn’t exactly his strong suit and he was very aware of that fact, painfully aware. However, he stayed hopeful that someday soon he’d muster up the courage to express his affinity for her. Realizing that today was definitely not that day, Spencer tried to push his conflict to the back of his brain so he could try to get some work done. Not before noticing that Y/n was slightly late, though.

Less than a minute after he noticed her absence, she came bursting into the bullpen with the largest grin adorning her features, an obvious pep in her step. Spencer watched as she skipped over to the rest of the team who were gathered around Emily’s desk, close enough where he could pretty much hear the majority of the words exchanged and profile their reactions.

He heard JJ ask what was making her so chipper this morning, and he chuckled softly to himself as he heard her immediately start rambling about whatever had her so elated. 

“Oh my god guys, you’ll never believe it! So a couple of weeks ago a good friend of mine asked me to help her with her website, because well...tech geek and all, so I got to mess around with all the software and went crazy! I was able to fiddle with the source code a bit and authorize a super high CRO and SEO to get her website out there. Not to mention all the growth hacking I was able to curate! Cool right?”

Y/n stopped to take a breath and noticed that the entirety of the team was staring at her with vacant expressions on their faces. She looked on with widened eyes as she asked, “What?”

“CRO?”, JJ questioned. Morgan awkwardly chuckled out a similar questioning tone, “SEO?” Of course that left Emily to bring up the rear. “Did I hear growth hacking in there?”

Her face scrunched up in confusion at all the questions that had just been hurled her way so suddenly. “Huh?”

“Baby girl we have absolutely no idea what any of the things you just mentioned are or what they do”, Morgan explained with a sympathetic smile on his face, as the other members nodded in agreement.

Spencer watched as Y/n’s face quickly morphed into one of utter disappointment at the knowledge that her colleagues had no clue what she was going on about. She had seemed so excited when she entered the bullpen earlier so he assumed she was probably very much looking forward to getting to talk all about it with her friends.

“Oh...that’s ok. Sorry for bothering you guys, sometimes I just get a little too excited and tend to ramble. I’ll um-I’ll talk to you guys later.” Y/n flashed them a small smile before making her way over to her desk, situated across the room near Spencer. 

“Hey Spence”, she shyly waved as she passed, a deflated look on her face. Trying to lift her spirits at least a little, he returned her gesture with a huge grin and wave, happy to see her smile brighten a bit at his enthusiasm. 

Once she was seated and facing away from him, he immediately found himself feeling overwhelmingly upset over her predicament. He hated seeing her look so defeated and down, she didn’t deserve to ever feel like that. She was simply too angelic for those kinds of feelings to permeate her mind. 

Spencer wished more than anything that he knew what she was talking about so she could go to him. He’d let her ramble to him for hours on end if it meant he could listen to her melodic voice and see her beautiful face up close. 

All of sudden Spencer slapped his hand against his head and groaned, “Of course you dipshit”, before pulling up a couple tabs on his computer.

For the next few hours his work was forgotten as he studied and learned pretty much everything there was to know about technical analysis and the programming that Y/n seemed so ecstatic about, anxious to give her, at last, a companion to discuss her passion with. 

~~~

“See you later Reid!”

Spencer’s head snapped up as he heard the people around him saying their goodbyes and goodnights, realizing that he had been distracted by his screen the entire day and that it was already time to go home. He watched as his friends walked out together, all laughing about something that Morgan had said, before noticing movement in the corner of his eye. 

As he turned his head he noticed that the only person who was still there in the bullpen with him was Y/n, and she was staring at the posse that had just exited the room, a longing look plastered across her features that broke his heart. Taking a deep breath and deciding it was now or never, he rose up from his seated position and made his way over to her, hoping that he had learned enough to lighten her mood.

“Hey there!”, he exclaimed when he had found himself right behind her. As soon as the words started escaping his lips, she jumped in her seat, her hand flying to her heart.

“Jesus Christ Spence! You scared the complete shit out of me!”

Chuckling softly at her overreactive response, he moved to sit on her desk, facing her heavily breathing sitting figure. “Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I just saw you that you were still here and was wondering why you hadn’t left with everyone else?” She quickly looked down and blushed at his questioning, embarrassed of her answer.

“Oh I-um they just looked like they were having a lot of fun and I didn’t really want to interrupt so I thought I’d stay back for a little bit to-uh finish up some stuff.” Once she finished her unconvincing explanation, Spencer leaned back a bit and studied her. While this was something he found himself doing often, always getting distracted by her spectacular figure, he focused on her body language more than anything, noticing the dark circles underneath her eyes.

“Y/n, you look absolutely exhausted. Have you even been sleeping lately?”, he asked, genuine concern laced within his words.

“Y-yeah I haven’t really. I’ve kind of been pretty preoccupied in the last few days helping out a friend. It’s really fun, but it’s also very time consuming”, she stuttered out, a small smile gracing her lips.

“Oh right! I had heard you mention that earlier today! That must be awesome getting to basically build your own website!”

“I swear I feel like a kid in a candy store doing that kind of stuff. I just find it so relaxing and exciting at the same time!”

“I totally get it. I was really impressed with how well you were able to manipulate the site’s conversion rate optimization-did you know that a site’s CRO and SEO are considered as two of the most essential tools required to run a thriving website or online business. It’s actually astounding how much the results differ between competition depending on their efficiency.”

All Y/n could do, while Spencer rambled on and on about her most passionate subjects, was sit there in complete awe. The sound of the tech-geeky words that spilled from his beautiful lips was simply orgasmic. Never had she met someone who seemed as enthused as her when it came to all her technical endeavors, and she didn’t know exactly how to react. Her biggest crush on the entire planet was sitting in front of her spouting off facts like they were going out of style.

However, amidst all the wonder that circulated through her being, confusion washed over her.

“Wait hold up! What’s going on Spence?”

“Uhhh, what do you mean?”, he questioned shyly, a blush coating his face.

Narrowing her eyes at him she expanded her questioning. “I’ve known you for months now and I can guarantee I have never once heard you mention anything even remotely technical. In fact I’ve heard you explain time and time again how confused you are by the complexities of the simplest of technology. Spill, pretty boy”, she demanded, maintaining eye contact with him.

Figuring out that he had been caught, he shyly lowered his head as the blush on his face deepened, embarrassment coursing through his veins. “I-I noticed how excited you were this morning when you came parading into the office, the wide grin that adorned your face, the skip in your step. And I heard you ramble on and on about your friend’s website and you just seemed so damn happy and then they basically just shut you down right away because they didn’t understand and I-uh I hated seeing you like that and wanted you to have someone to talk to. So I spent all day today researching and learning so you could have someone to talk to, so you wouldn’t feel alone. I-I’m sorry if that’s creepy or if it’s too-”

Spencer was suddenly cut off mid-sentence as lips smashed against his own, effectively shutting him up. His eyes immediately widened at the bold action, before he melted into the kiss, desperately responding to her fervent advances with an equal passion. 

Y/n moaned into his mouth as his tongue probed at her wet lips, begging for entry. The feeling of their tongues entangling was euphoric and they both wanted, needed more. Spencer gently grabbed her and, turning so they were both facing it, lifted her onto the desk and stood between her legs. As the kiss deepened, their hands began to tear at each other’s clothing, Y/n hastily undoing his tie and dress shirt as he all but ripped off her blouse, groaning at the sight. 

“God Y/n you’re so fucking beautiful.” He watched her eyes roll back into her head at his words as she wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him even closer. “Please Spence, I need you. I need you so much baby.” His eyes sparkled at her desperate plea, mirroring her need wholeheartedly.

Backing away slightly he unzipped her skirt and dragged it down her legs along with her panties, quickly reaching up to also unclasp her bra. “You’ve got me baby, you’ve got me.”

She surged forward and reconnected their lips, her hands weaving their way into his hair and tugging hard. The groan that escaped his throat lit her body on fire and further ignited her need for the man in front of her. His hands, that had been cupping her face, drifted downward stooping to briefly toy with her breasts before reaching his intended destination.

She moaned loud and deep as his hands cupped her sex, gently rubbing his fingers against her. He could feel her buck her hips slightly, searching for more. Receiving the message loud and clear, he inserted his pointer finger into her, reveling in the throaty groans that poured from her lips. As he added more digits into her and gently rubbed her clit, their lips moved rapidly against each other.

Y/n needed more, letting her hands lower to the obvious bulge that was straining against his slacks, palming him incessantly. Moaning hoarsely, he pulled away and quickly undid his pants, desperate for some sort of relief. As he stepped out of his slacks and boxers, he watched her eyes widen as they took in the sight in front of her.

“Woah.” He nervously chuckled at her response.

“Uh t-thanks?”

Giggling at his uncertainty she reached out and dragged him in once again, feeling his swollen tip bump against her, both of them moaning at the euphoric feeling. Realizing how fast things had moved, he pulled back slightly to search her eyes. “Are you sure baby?”

Falling even more in love with him, her smile widened as she nodded. “I am so very sure Spence. I-I love you.” She watched the grin that spread across his face at her confession.

“God Y/n, I love you so fucking much.” As soon as the words left his mouth, he lined himself up at her entrance and swiftly thrusted into her dripping heat. The overwhelming feeling caused both of them to let out matching groans of pleasure, Y/n latching onto Spencer and wrapping her arms around his shoulders to get a grip. Once he was sure she was ok, he started slowly thrusting in and out of her, soon setting a steady pace.

“Oh Spencer! You feel so perfect inside of me! So, so good!”, you exclaimed, cries of pleasure leaving your mouth.

“Baby you’re so warm and tight around me, I love you so much!” 

“I love you t-too!”

He gradually increased his already brutal thrusts, Y/n feeling herself fastly approaching the brink of ecstasy at the hands of the resident genius. Leaning back on her elbows, Spencer used the opportunity to pound even harder into her wanting body, his own release just around the corner. 

“Are you going to cum for me pretty girl?” She couldn’t control herself after hearing his dirty words, unaware that he was capable of such a thing, feeling her eyes roll back once again. She nodded fervently, about to crash over the edge. All rational thought was out the window once his fingers found her throbbing clit, rubbing incessantly, catapulting her into her climax, her pussy clenching around his rigid cock as she came.

“Oh my god Spencer!”

Her reactions were simply too much for him, groaning and moaning uncontrollably, finding his thrusts sputtering out of control as his cock twitched deep inside of her, quickly reaching his highly anticipated orgasm. She felt his seed fill her up completely as he panted out her name over and over again, both of them coming down from their highs, breathing deeply.

“Wow. Fucking wow,” she blissfully sung, a wide grin coating her lips.

“Y/n, baby, that was insane. You’re insane.”

He helped her off the desk so they could redress and finally leave the office, noticing how late it had gotten. They couldn’t help themselves from sending each other giddy smiles as they put on their clothes and eventually made their way down to their respective cars. 

Neither one of them seemed ready to leave each other just yet, some unspoken feeling crackling in the air between them. Taking the initiative, Y/n leaned forward, gently connecting their lips in a kiss that held the same passion from earlier, but was much more relaxed and romantic. Pulling back after a few moments, Y/n’s eyes sparkled up at Spencer’s as she spoke.

“Spence, what you did earlier...no one’s ever done something like that for me. You have no idea how much it means to me that you would go out of your way just to make me feel comfortable and happy.”

“Y/n, I promise you I wanted to wholeheartedly. Nothing matters more to me than your happiness. I just-I just love you so damn much. I think I have since you walked in and dropped all your shit on the floor”, he said chuckling. 

“Heyyyy, that was one time jerk”, she defended, a matching chuckle evident in her voice. “But I know what you mean. I think I’ve loved you since you introduced yourself as Reid Doctor Spencer, that memory will forever be embedded in my mind.” She couldn’t stop the light giggle that fell from her lips at the thought of their first meeting.

Meeting her eyes, suddenly a bit shy, he gently cupped her face, “What if, from now on, I introduced myself as your boyfriend?”, he asked cautiously, anxiously waiting to see how she reacted to his proposition. Instead of answering right away she jumped forward, throwing her arms around his neck and connecting their lips once more.

“I would love nothing more, my gorgeously intelligent boyfriend.”

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[green-blue-heller]

Ok, so i get shipping cockles, but it seems like people are actually forcing (??) the ship. Like people act like they have have definite proof that something is going on between Jensen and Misha and I can see their chemistry, but insisting it's real just seems like a bad idea. I've seen other people play into ships like this and it ends up ruining the relationship. It would be cute if there's something going on between them as a poly person myself, but just seeing so many people act like it's a definite is just ruining it :/

IMO it’s absolutely real. But others may disagree. Everyone can have their opinion.

Though I don’t really see people “forcing” it. We make observations and then deduce the most probable cause and effect. In this case it’s that Misha and Jensen have been together for 11 years now (except one short breakup).

If you mean forcing as in trying to force it upon the actors, most of us know to keep it to tumblr and not other social media. And to definitely not talk about cockles to cockles or cockles-adjacent.

Misha can make jokes about how we all sit around and look for clues and go “I knew it” but we don’t take those to Misha or Jensen or the wives or anyone else and ask or discuss it.

Now, Misha does have tumblr. He’s talked about it. His mother has tumblr. In fact, his mother is responsible for the cockles mansion thing for GISH. And Misha has “accidentally” tweeted the link to the cockles love story (which he never deleted, might I add...).

If either of those accounts troll around and dig up what fans are saying, that’s on them lol. This is fandom space and fandom shit should stay here.

But Jensen was uncomfortable with shipping due to Wincest. So he didn’t understand shipping and Destiel at first. And he was a little problematic and harsh about it.

But he mellowed out even though he really didn’t want to talk about it.

If the man wasn’t comfortable with a fictional ship, I couldn’t see him perpetuating and playing into a RPS. One that included things like insinuating they had sex, grinding on each other or straddling.

Including insinuating him and Misha were having sex in the extended gag reel footage. Because that’s exactly what the “you’d know” was about, when Misha asked him if he farted.

And especially not a ten year anniversary photo out of thin air - a ten year anniversary that meant those ten years was more significant than the first year they’d known each other.

And Jensen is an actor. A damn good actor. But the way him and Misha are together, that man has NO poker face. They touch without even thinking about it. And linger. More than once as they went for a hug or something, you can tell by the way their body moved they went for a kiss at first.

The one time Ruthie even shakes her head and wags her finger at them as they realize and pull away.

Jensen literally looks at Misha as though the sun and the stars revolve around him. And Misha does the same, though usually has a better poker face. But Jensen’s unicorn laugh, at things that are just NOT funny... is funny. Because Misha just has to exist and Jensen thinks it’s the best and funniest thing.

I mean, last year was the 10 year anniversary post. And literally a year later, we all wait for an anniversary post or acknowledgment from either of them, and Family Business Beer Co updates their website to introduce Eyes Like the Sky. Later that day, Misha posted about knives that were like works of art and cost a lot of money for knives. And upon looking it up, steel is the traditional gift for an eleven year anniversary lol.

Then... Jensen just won an award. In his IG post of thanks, his only personal thanks were: Mish. Dee. They were also the only ones he didn’t use their name, but rather their nickname. Yes, he mentioned Jared in the video, but he was talking about the nominees and Jared was also nominated. So it almost would have been awkward if he hadn’t.

Sure, it’s still technically circumstantial, but as someone who studied criminal justice, forensics, and psychology... it’s obvious what it adds up to.

And Jib10 was all but a coming out party lol.

But yeah... I guess until one of them says something more definitive than showing up together 45 min late at a con, one being told he’d be a mortar because he can take a good pounding, the other saying “I love you” to the one who got teased about the pounding, and then let him straddle him for really no reason, and then taking a chest-to-chest selfie that had no room for Jesus between them...

Do I hope they eventually just confirm?

Yes.

Why?

Because I love them and want them to be happy. I don’t want them to feel like they have to or should hide a part of themselves, especially something that makes them happy. I wish they honestly knew how many people would be happy and support them if they made a statement that they were in a poly relationship.

We already know Misha is poly and I’m 99% sure I’ve seen an article where Dee made statements in support of poly relationships.

But, if it was for the show, it’s over, and they wouldn’t need to be spamming each other’s accounts with likes. Jensen wouldn’t have to include Misha first in personal thanks section.

So... if they’re not, it’s time to just say they’re not.

But for anyone on the fence or unsure what this is, there is a master post that’s actually 4 posts, that I’ll add in later when I find it again. People can make up their own mind.

Wow. This went on a bit longer than I intended. But after this long ass post, I hope this has given you at least a glimmer of insight and hope that it won’t ruin anything with them. And I don’t think fans are the problem.

[nyerus]

🌸 Updates and FAQs for Watching the TGCF Donghua! 🌸

✴️First, check out my detailed guide HERE if you want to know how to subscribe to YouTube or Bilibili!

Please read through these if you have any questions first before sending in an ask, as it's probably answered here (or the previous guide)!!! If you don't see it here, or still have confusions afterwards, then feel free to send in an ask or DM me!

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✨Important Notes/Updates✨

Bilibili is allowing non-members to watch for free! No region locks, and you don’t even need to make an account. Free watchers will be one week behind paid members. But this is a legal and free way to support the donghua if you’re unable to pay! (This actually means that you’ll be able to see the episodes faster and for free on Bilibili than you would on YouTube, because YouTube has a two week delay instead of just one week.)

Funimation is broadcasting TGCF in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. These are some of the regions which are blocked by YouTube, so this is an available alternative for those who don’t want to go through Bilibili. They have also stated they will launch in Mexico and Brazil this winter.

ALL broadcasts are in Chinese with hard-coded/embedded English and Chinese subs. (I.e., they come with the broadcast itself, on top of the image. Nothing to toggle on/off, they are automatically there.) They are the exact same across all the platforms.

Please support official releases so that we can get more seasons, and high quality! This is still niche content, believe it or not!

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✨Frequntly Asked Questions✨

🔹GENERAL FAQs:🔹

1.) "Where is the best place to watch?"

I still reccomend Bilibili's native website/app over all other streaming platforms. This is due to some key points:

Bilibili's website/app gets the episode the very second they drop. There is no delay whatsoever. YouTube and Funimation have been delayed the last two weeks. It's unknown if this is just a hiccup or what, but if watching new episodes ASAP is important to you, going through Bilibili ensures you will not have to worry about any uncertainty.

Price breakdowns: Bilibili's website/app 3-month membership is $10-11 USD. Their YouTube channel's "MBBM Lv2" membership varies by region, but in many places is similar or just a tad more. In the US, the MBBM Lv2 membership and Funimation membership is the same price ($5.99 per month, or $17.97 for 3 months). So you can actually save some cash by going through Bilibili directly.

In the end, this is largely up to personal choice and comfort. Some people may find it difficult to navigate Bilibili's website even with guides and google translate's auto-translate feature. In this case, YouTube or Funimation are fine alternatives. If you also have an existing Funimation sub or plan to use it to watch other shows, then that's perfectly valid too. Similar with the MBBM lv2 sub on YouTube, especially if you want to use it to see other shows (e.g. Legend of Exorcism which is only English-subbed on YouTube).

2.) "Where do I watch for free?"

On Bilibili's website, you can watch episodes for free! You will be one episode behind paid members, but it's a legal way to support the donghua. You don't even need to create an account!

3.) "What episode will be airing when/where?"

Check out the table below for the differences in airing times. Time is 11AM China Time.*

NOTE: Funimation is technically supposed to be the same as Bilibili members/YouTube MBBM Lv2, but the last few episodes have been delayed so I have no clue.... *Additionally, YouTube's episodes have been delayed by a little bit, but they've aired the same day.

4.) "How can I support the donghua?"

Free, on YouTube: Subscribe to Bilibili's YouTube Channel, give likes to TGCF videos/clips, and leave nice comments!

Free, on Bilibili: Everyone can follow the official TGCF account and page, plus leave likes on videos. All this following stuff requires you to have passed the Bilibili quiz to unlock levels: If you are lv2+, you can leave comments and give coins to offical TGCF videos. (Log in daily to get 1 coin/day if you're lv1+!) If you are lv4+, leave a good 5-star review!

Paid: Buy subscriptions to watch the donghua! Also, merchhhhh~

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🔸YOUTUBE-RELATED FAQs🔸

1.) "What's the difference between Bilibili's YouTube Channel's MBBM Lv1 and Lv2 memberships?"

MBBM Lv2 allows you to watch the episodes on the same day as Bilibili's website broadcast.

MBBM Lv1 has new episodes delayed by one week, meaning you will be one episode behind the others. There actually is zero point in subscribing to MBBM Lv1 (unless you want to watch other subbed donghua) because you can watch the same content on Bilibili for absolutely free, since Bilibili is allowing non-members to watch TGCF one episode behind paid members.

You can also watch two episodes behind on YouTube.

2.) "If I have YouTube Premium/Red, do I still need a membership on Bilibili's YouTube page?"

Yes. YouTube premium is completely separate from the channel-specific memberships.

3.) "Are episodes simulcast on YouTube?"

While originally stated as being simulcast, there actually seems to be a bit of a delay on YouTube as of now. It's unclear if this will change with future episodes.

4.) "Do I need a VPN?"

If you are from one of the restricted countries, then yes, you'll need to use a VPN. You can still pay for the subscription as normal, and then use a VPN to watch the donghua. It will not affect payment.

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🔹BILIBILI-RELATED FAQs:🔹

1.) "Do I need to take that 100-question quiz to sign up for Bilibili or the membership?!"

No, it's totally optional! You do not need it to either watch the free episodes or to buy a membership. It's only if you want to comment and stuff. It might make you think you gotta do it, or enter a code, but it's actually not needed. Check out THIS post for more info!!! (However, you may still want to do it in order to level up and eventually leave a nice review for the donghua!)

2.) "I'm only able to watch 6min on Bilibili's website when I watch from my phone. Do I need the app?"

You do not need the app. Switch your browser to Desktop Mode in order to watch the video in full.

Be sure to download a browser like Google Chrome, Firefox, etc that supports this mode if your native browser doesn't allow for it.

3.) "Can I get the app on iPhone/iOS?"

This depends on if you are in a country where the app is not region locked in the app store. If you're able to download it that way, great! If not, try using a VPN and setting your region to mainland China. It may work. APKs are not useable on iPhones, so unless you know how to sideload apps onto your device, you may be stuck with the app store only.

Do note that you might be unable to pay for a Bilibili membership through the app, depending on version, but you can always simply pay through the website and then use the app as normal. It will apply account-wide on all devices.

4.) "Why are there two versions of the app?"

One seems to be the international version, which is more basic and lets you pay via GooglePay/ApplePay. The other one seems to be made for mainland China, and allows you to even buy merchandise through it (Chinese address/bank acc required). Mostly, both have to be downloaded via APK on Android. But some iOS users have reported different versions of the app being available for them through the app store (namely the int'l ver, and some have said they can use a VPN to get the mainland one).

5.) "Is there any benefit to having the app over just using the website?"

Not really, no. With the app you can buy very cute hualian themed skins for your profile, though (if you have the mainland version of the app). Plus you can save videos for offline viewing.

6.) "Do I need to enter my area code for Bilibili when signing up/in?"

NO, you do not enter your area code in the phone number field. Select your country from the drop-down list and it will automatically consider your area code. (E.g. if you're in America, select 美国 and enter in your number like 5557779999.)

7.) "I didn't get to set a password when signing up, so how do I log into my Bilibili account after being logged out?"

Use the same phone number you did to sign up. Instead of a password, you'll enter in a one-time key that is sent to your phone via text message. (NOTE: some people have reported not receiving these messages, which may vary by phone carrier!)

As mentioned above, don't include your area code when filling out your number.

Also, if you are signed in on the app on your phone, you can scan the QR code on the log-in page through the app.

8.) "How do I turn off the barrage comments filling up the video I'm watching?"

Select the little button that reads "弹" under the video:

(Website vs App)

9.) Is the Bilibili subscription auto-renewing?

No, the 1-month (¥25), 3-month (¥68), 1-year (¥168) subscriptions will not automatically renew. They are a one-time payment only!

Notice that the renewing payments all say "连续" in front of them, which means "continuing" or "successive" types of subscriptions. They are also cheaper than the one-time payment. (E.g. the renewing 3-month sub is ¥45 instead of ¥68.) Moreover, the renewing types are not even available to purchase with PayPal, afaik. You need Alipay or WeChat Pay, etc.

10.) "Can I use the app/membership to read the manhua too?"

Unfortunately, not quite! Your Bilibili account is universal, but you'll need to download the manhua app seperately and topping up M-coins to pay for the manhua. (One-time purchases, either by volume or by chapter as per your choice.)

11.) "What resolutions are available?"

You can watch up to 480p as a free member. Paid members can watch at 1080p and high-bit-rate 1080p. It's possible to chromecast it to TV, too. (I haven't tried it, but others have!)

12.) "Can I watch across multiple devices?"

Yes, you can!

13.) "Do I need a VPN?"

No, Bilibili is not region-locked. However, some particular countries may have Chinese apps blocked.... :(

14.) "I want to leave a comment/review. How do I level up on Bilibili?"

Log in daily, watch at least one video per day, give coins (attained by logging in) to your fave videos, etc! It will definitely take a while haha.

15.) "Will I be able to watch other donghua like MDZS or SVSSS with my membership on Bilibili?"

No, those two donghuas are produced by TenCent, not Bilibili. You will need either a TenCent/WeTV account, or you can watch them on their YouTube channel (free).

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🔸FUNIMATION-RELATED FAQs🔸

1.) "Is Funimation's broadcast a simulcast?"

It is supposed to be, according to their initial announcements. They seem to be having some technical difficulties, but those may be resolved soon. I suggest keeping an eye on their twitter for updates if you are interested in watching through them!

2.) "Do I have to pay extra on my Funimation sub to watch TGCF?"

No, afaik, the regular $5.99 sub covers TGCF too.

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I hope this helps out people further, so we can all have an easy time watching the donghua! And please do support it legally! 🙏

If you still need help, feel free to send in an ask!

[sprinklecipher]

I’ve still got an interesting mystery on my hands: is this one of the models of the Barbie typewriter that actually features cipher functionality (when not broken, anyway)? I decided to look into it!

My typewriter is a variant of the E-115, and, according to the Crypto Museum, some versions of the E-115 have the encoding/decoding functions but not all of them do. For example, YouTuber Sarah from Just My Typewriter has an E-115 that doesn’t feature the cipher modes, although notably this typewriter features completely different stickers/paint detailing than hers does, which makes me think that mine is likely a different E-115 variant than hers.

Sarah’s (Just My Typewriter) E-115 typewriter’s detail pattern (screencap from The Singing Banana’s video, link), vs the details on my typewriter:

I couldn’t find any information about Barbie typewriters with this specific paint/sticker pattern anywhere online, so it’s unclear whether this could be a cipher-capable variant model. Ideally, I would test the typewriter directly to find out, but since that isn’t an option here, I’ve got to be a bit more creative to come to a solid conclusion. Fortunately, there are a few clues to go off of.

1. Troubleshooting Guide

First, in addition to the original box, my typewriter came with a one-page troubleshooting guide from Mehano. One of the sections on it is about what to do if the wrong character is printed when you press a key. If the typewriter had the encryption feature built into it, you would expect that the guide would tell you how to deactivate that function (SHIFT + LOCK + $). Instead, however, the guide just suggests checking the power supply, turning the typewriter off and on, or checking if the daisywheel might be bent. This makes me suspect that this typewriter didn’t have the cipher functionality.

2. Roller Text

One notable thing about my typewriter is that the paper roller (apparently, the proper term is “platen”?) is covered in text, a large majority of which seems to be random nonsense. It looks like the result of a child pressing random keys, but, in the absence of much else to go on, it’s worth checking to see if there’s any indication that the “random” strings of characters might have resulted from a cipher mode being turned on.

I wrote a Python program a while back to encode/decode text into all of the different Barbie typewriter ciphers, so I ran all of the text on the paper wheel through that. None of them yielded any new words when “decoded”, so it definitely seems they were simply the result of a bunch of key smashes (i.e., no evidence of ciphers here).

3. Computer Chip

Lastly, I can look at the chip inside of the typewriter.

Here’s an example of an E-115 chip for a model that DOES feature the cipher functionality (pic via Crypto Museum):

And here’s the chip from Sarah at Just My Typewriter’s e-115, which does NOT feature the cipher functions:

And then here’s my typewriter’s chip:

I’m not going to pretend to know the finer technical details about circuit boards, but I can read, so it stands out to me that the text in the bottom-right corner differs across the three models. The cipher-capable model on the Crypto Museum website says “rev. A”, Sarah’s NON-cipher-capable model says “rev. B”, and my mystery model says “ELATEC”. I’m not sure why mine doesn’t feature the “rev” part, but I suspect it might be a “late” C variant of the typewriter, which would mean it was likely released after both of the other two models mentioned.* If that’s true, it’s very unlikely that it would feature the cipher functionality, as why would they reimplement a non-advertised feature after previously taking it out?

Conclusion

So, all in all, the evidence suggests this specific variant of the E-115 likely doesn’t feature the cipher modes (although I really wish I could test that directly!).

*Post-script: After writing this post, I noticed that Sarah’s typewriter features an earlier version of the Barbie logo than does mine (1991 - 1999 for hers vs. 1999 - 2004 for mine), suggesting that mine was indeed a later model.  Source: https://looka.com/blog/barbie-logo/

I got a Barbie Typewriter!

After a couple years of searching, I finally managed to get my hands on a Barbie toy electric typewriter! 

For the unfamiliar, a neat aspect of Barbie typewriters is that some models have built-in cipher encoding and decoding modes, which, due to some quirks in how the typewriters were developed and marketed, were not advertised as features, so the cipher functionality was basically secret!

These days, the old school Barbie typewriters are relatively rare and usually pretty expensive, although the one I got was actually fairly cheap, due to being in somewhat rough condition. It unfortunately had quite a bit of battery corrosion, so it was untested and sold to be a “display piece”:

It even came with the original box (although it is certainly a little worse for wear lol)

The battery compartment was absolutely filled with corrosion residue, and traces of it had spread across the whole typewriter—it was everywhere!

I’m no expert in electronics, but I know that the presence of battery corrosion doesn’t necessarily mean that a gadget is broken beyond all repair, so I decided to try to see if a thorough cleaning could possibly get it working again.

So, I cleaned up the battery compartment with vinegar, took the whole back of the case off and wiped out the inside of it (which was coated in a thin layer of corrosion dust), and finally popped in some new C batteries. Then came the moment of truth, flipping the power switch!

And…nothing. Darn. 😔

Ah, well, it’s still a very cool display piece, and I’m happy to have it!

[thiscastielhasflown]

eileen leahy’s bithday

on this episode today of my never ending hunt to connect astrology with supernatural, i randomly thought one moment to check to see if they gave eileen an official birthday date -- which in normal supernatural fashion they didn’t. so OF COURSE i decided to take on the task of trying to figure out a birthday that would work for her using context clues given from the show. keep in mind, this is not me saying that this has to be her “official” birthday -- you can totally make your own assumptions on what zodiac sign you think she is, i’m just doing this to enthuse myself and share with others.

i used two different supernatural database sites (supernatural wiki // superwiki) to find the common information regarding the year she was born (1985) and the location she was born (county cork, ireland -- i had to put the exact location in the website i was using so i just put in cork so if that was a wrong decision please let me know!). and just as a control time, if i don’t know the exact time of someone’s birthday i always put in midnight to find out the ascendant/rising sign.

birthday 1: january 27th, 1985 -- aquarius sun // aries moon // libra rising

i love a good coincidence -- which i feel like always happens whenever i work on any of these posts, i got this date because of the episode [11x11 into the mystic] was the first episode she ever appeared in (many people use the date of cas’ first episode to account for his virgo “birthday” -- using the same logic). what i find very interesting about this is the similarities eileen would share with dean’s own chart (his birthday being january 24th -- giving him an aquarius sun, sagittarius moon and libra ascendant/rising) giving them two of the sign placements. this seriously makes me laugh, sam having to put up living with three* aquriuses in such close vicinity and the fact that this would add to eileen’s really sweet friendship connection with dean. 

*: cas is an aquarius, technically. 

birthday 2: september 12, 1985 -- virgo sun // leo moon // cancer rising

this be a little bit more of an obscure date but i think it would be an interesting connection within supernatural lore. i came across the fact that i COMPLETELY FORGOT, her grandfather “edward durban II, was inducted into the men of letters on september 12, 1939, making eileen a legacy” -- thinking about her being a woman of letters and how she was basically the perfect person for sam to fall in love with (with a deeper connection). the thought of both sam and dean dating/being in a relationship with two strong virgo-leaning people makes TOO MUCH sense too. 

any of these you think works more for you -- aquarius or virgo? please let me know!