#you cannot sell them; only one is active at a time; but if you're going to be checked before entering somewhere hey!

[regallibellbright]

Both my brother and father are frequent GMs for the ttrpgers in our social circle. They also each play in the other’s game.

This leads to fun situations like a week or two ago when my brother brought up giant undersea scorpions being a thing that exists in casual conversation.

Dad: That’s coming up in a game.

Bro: (His girlfriend, who plays in Bro’s) already forbade them.

Mom: *laughing* I love that you both went straight there. You and she just knew he’d do that.

Me: Who do you think he learned from? And who plays in his games and therefore KNOWS exactly what he’d do?

Bro is, I believe, the one who suggested to Dad back when we were still kids the phrase “carnivorous crickets,” before realizing he was giving the GM ideas. Horrifying arthropods are in fact part of his GMing style.

So anyway, Dad’s the GM tonight, Bro’s visiting his girlfriend, so I just heard the alarm go off and Dad go “time to go kill some adventurers.”

I told him to have fun.

[river-taxbird]

Have YOU got an old Windows PC Microsoft has told you can't run Windows 11? It's time to give it a new life!

How to install Windows 11 on unsupported PC Hardware using Rufus. You can also disable some other Windows 11 bullshit like data harvesting and needing a Microsoft account.

It has been in the news a lot lately that Windows 11 isn't allowed to be installed on PCs without certain requirements, including the TPM 2.0, a chip that was only included in PCs made in 2018 or later. This means that once Windows 10 stops receiving security updates, those PCs will not be able to (officially) run a safe, updated version of Windows anymore. This has led to an estimated 240 million PCs bound for the landfill. Thanks Microsoft! I get you don't want to be seen as the insecure one, but creating this much waste can't be the solution.

(I know nerds, Linux is a thing. I love you but we are not having that conversation. If you want to use Linux on an old PC you are already doing it and you don't need to tell me about it. People need Windows for all sorts of reasons that Linux won't cut.)

So lately I have been helping some under privileged teens get set up with PCs. Their school was giving away their old lab computers, and these kids would usually have no chance to afford even a basic computer. They had their hard drives pulled so I have been setting them up with SSDs, but the question was, what to do about the operating system? So I looked into it and I found out there IS actually a way to bypass Microsoft's system requirement and put Windows 11 on PCs as old as 2010.

You will need: Rufus: An open source ISO burning tool.

A Windows 11 ISO: Available from Microsoft.

A USB Flash Drive, at least 16GB.

A working PC to make the ISO, and a PC from 2018 or older you want to install Windows 11 on.

Here is the guide I used, but I will put it in my own words as well.

Download your Windows 11 ISO, and plug in your USB drive. It will be erased, so don't have anything valuable on it. Run Rufus, select your USB drive in the Device window, and select your Windows 11 ISO with the Select button. (There is supposed to be a feature in Rufus to download your ISO but I couldn't get it to work.?

Choose standard windows installation, and follow the screenshot for your settings. Once you are done that, press Start, and then the magic happens. Another window pops up allowing you to remove the system requirements, the need for a microsoft account, and turn off data collecting. Just click the options you want, and press ok to write your iso to a drive.

From there you just need to use the USB drive to install windows. I won't go into details here, but here are some resources if you don't know how to do it.

Boot your PC from a USB Drive

Install Windows 11 from USB Drive

If you had a licensed copy of Windows 10, Windows 11 will already be licensed. If you don't, then perhaps you can use some kind of... Activation Scripts for Microsoft software, that will allow you to activate them. Of course I cannot link such tools here. So there you go, now you can save a PC made from before 2018 from the landfill, and maybe give it to a deserving teen in the process. The more we can extend the lives of technology and keep it out of the trash, the better.

Additional note: This removes the requirement for having 4GB Minimum of RAM, but I think that requirement should honestly be higher. Windows 11 will be unusable slow on any system with below 8GB of RAM. 8GB is the minimum I think you should have before trying this but it still really not enough for modern use outside of light web and office work. I wouldn't recommend trying this on anything with 4GB or less. I am honestly shocked they are still selling brand new Windows 11 PCs with 4GB of ram. If you're not sure how much RAM you have, you can find out in the performance tab of Task Manager in Windows, if you click the More Details icon on the bottom right. If you don't have enough, RAM for old systems is super cheap and widely available so it would definitely be worth upgrading if you have a ram starved machine you'd like to give a new life.

[lazyyogi]

Essentially everyone is walking around with some form of trauma lodged within them.

These traumas, these wounds, are our triggers, sore spots, cringy insecurities, or deepset fears.

The majority of us have found ways to cope. Ways to compensate for, avoid, or otherwise circumvent our hidden wounds. That way we remain functional despite our hidden damage.

But coping is not thriving, nor is it healing. It is just easier than doing the self-work.

To seek out and heal your traumas is a deeply uncomfortable and unpleasant experience. It can be so uncomfortable and so scary that sometimes we prefer to keep our traumas over healing from them. And we learn to justify this by assimilating those traumas into our identity. This only makes things more difficult, because any suggestion of healing that trauma becomes an affront to your very sense of self.

Needless to say, although the result is powerfully liberating and an immense relief, the process of healing can be a rough time.

Which is why I notice that the people who tend to actually heal their own traumas are the ones who at some point had been rendered non-functional by them. They had no choice but to find a way to heal.

Once you've healed from an internalized trauma, you're more likely to do so again for other traumas. You understand through your own direct experience that the temporary suffering of the healing process is worthwhile to endure over the cyclical suffering of the unhealed wound.

My challenge to you is this: Become aware of the ways in which you cope. Discern what internalized trauma is causing you to rely on coping. And then observe the ways in which your coping mechanisms are selling you short. Observe the things--the freedoms--you give up in order to continue coping.

Eventually through repeated observation and contemplation, you may become intolerant of just coping. You may develop the urge for freedom.

Healing from a deep trauma will only ever happen in its own time. Sometimes we have so much going on that it needs to be addressed at a later point, from a position of greater strength and groundedness. But that doesn't mean we cannot start preparing ourselves for that moment now. Today.

Otherwise, we will live the rest of our lives resigned to a tolerable form of suffering because we refuse to tolerate the temporary discomfort of healing.

And we will also be inflicting our suffering on others, because at some point people will invariably activate our triggers--whether intentionally or accidentally.

A book I always recommend is The Places That Scare You by Pema Chodron. It is a pragmatic and insightful text that guides the reader through the practice and process of looking within at all the things inside us that make us feel squeamish and uncomfortable. This will gift you with an incredible power.

May all beings be free. May all beings be healed.

LY

[achaotichuman]

Acotar Rant

Nesta is not mean to Feyre unprovoked. There is always some outside factor, or direct provoking that pushed her to her limits.

Nesta is not being mean to Feyre because that's just who she is. She is mad at the situation she is forced into, and often times sick of the IC's bullshit and they're constant need to harass her.

Feyre refused to respect Nesta's space after she had been through a highly traumatic experience and, along with the IC, villainized her for not getting over her trauma in a year and going to live with her along with her mate who hates her guts and has from the very start.

Feyre wanted Rhysand to mind-rape Nesta and Elain to make them allow the IC to turn their home into their meeting place, and the only reason it never happened was that Feyre 'didn't want to suggest it' but it doesn't change the fact that was a genuine thing she considered.

Feyre allows and even believes it is fully acceptable for Rhysand to continually disrespect and undermine Nesta. Feyre thinks it's acceptable for Cassian to constantly harass Nesta.

Feyre gave away Nesta and Elain to Ianthe which allowed for them to be kidnapped, assaulted and turned Fae. Nesta is allowed to resent her for that.

Feyre doesn't get the high ground in this situation. Back in the cottage Feyre was putting in the hard work, she kept them alive and fed, she was the one making money for them, no one denies that ever.

Nesta also braved the Faery world and tried to rescue Feyre from Prythian in book one and was only stopped by the The Wall. Nesta fought for humans in the War and saved Cassian's ass multiple times.

Feyre can be hurt, but she does not have the authority to try and convince Nesta to live with her and her mate (who I will repeat HATES HER) and then act annoyed when Nesta notices she didn't paint her in her family portrait, whilst she included their neglectful father who did nothing for them for years either. Especially when their father let Tamlin take her with no pushback and even said for Feyre to not to come back.

Nesta only snaps when she is pushed to her limits which Feyre does intentionally multiple times throughout the books. In that start of book one they are constantly snapping at each other.

Feyre and the IC push and prod at Nesta and then get upset when she snaps at them. Thats what happened all throughout the series.

Rhysand stans like to act as though Nesta was a big bad bully picking on Feyre, when in reality, the IC went from actively ignoring and occasionally harassing her, to locking her up with a man she has explicitly stated she does not like or trust.

But yeah sure, Feyre is the victim.

"Oh but Nesta spent their money" Yeah yeah yeah Rhysand's poor blood money that he has a whole hoard of. How terrible. Can you tell I don't give two shits?

Velaris has slums, or places like slums (which even with that wording does not make it ANY better) along with pleasure halls where women have to resort to selling their body. Neither Rhysand nor Feyre get to say shit about Nesta spending their money when their so called best city in their massive lands has families in poverty.

Not even mentioning the Illyrian women and children they ignore and actively exploit. Along with the Hewn City women that they also ignore and torment.

Feyre is not some poor baby being forced to put on a smile because Nesta is being oh so mean to her. She actively contributes to hurting and provoking her.

Stop acting as though Feyre cannot make mistakes, do bad things, or make horrible decisions. You're making her into a 2-dimensional character with no complexity.

[thebardisabird]

this is the first request ive ever made, but how would the boys react to a classic Bimbo reader? with classic blonde hair, pink clothes, expensive bags and nails, stuff like that😭 this may be a bit strange so dont answer if you dont wanna, i was just curious. thank you so much lmao 😭

We know her, we love her, she’s that girl!

So Osomatsu immediately goes gaga for you. I’m talking heart eyes, drooling, unable to think coherent thoughts kind of enamored. From your pretty long eyelashes, to your super short mini skirt to pink boot heels - he can’t seems to pick a spot where he wants to look! Every single inch of you sings sex appeal and he’s listening very intently. He knows he definitely cannot afford you tho - so he might pull off the same stunt he did for Chibimi and just about sell his soul to get a date with you. (Honestly when I think of all the characteristics you describe matched with Oso I think of @girlymatsu ‘s oc Erina-chan who is super cute and fun, please check them out, you can tell they put a lot of love in their art and you'll absolutely love their oc)

Karamatsu sees your fashion sense and instantly wants to be the Ken to your Barbie. You have this it girl factor that draws him in and with the sway of your hips and the wink of your pink, glittery shadowed eye, he’s completely under your spell. If you so choose to give him the time of day, he pays you compliment after compliment, and will take you out on a date to get coffee or a nice meal depending on what you’d like. If we’re talking about a classic bimbo trope where you’re a little on the less well-read side, then he might find it cute that you don’t really know how to pronounce some of the words of the meals or coffee drinks and he’ll try to use the opportunity to teach you some fancy words. You actually find his poses and flowery speech kinda funny, because he sounds like a poem out loud.

Choromatsu has no idea how you're even talking to him right now. He's seen you plenty of times and never ever imagined you would even say two words to him other than like... "Excuse me" if he was standing in your way. You are so far removed from all the things that encompass his life. Yet when you tell him that his favorite has super cute outfits and that you were thinking about becoming one yourself because you love the idea of all the glitz and glamour it brings, he short-circuits. You're already so gorgeous, to think of you being in cutesy outfits and dancing around? And he's allowed to talk to you? Associate with you??? The man is ready to die happy. But not as happy as when you dress up in his favorite idol's outfit - only it looks ten times better on you because your bigger chest and ass. While you don't exactly understand his love for anime, manga, and other more nerdy things, you humor him because he's just so cute when his little froggy face lights up the way it does!

Ichimatsu is intimidated entirely by you and will actively go out of his way to avoid you. You are like a beacon of light far too bright and undeserving for him to ever even get close to. Luckily for him, you notice one day that he's looking into the window of a cat cafe and you finally tap him on his shoulder and ask about whether he likes cats or not. It takes about everything he has not to throw up on the spot, but he is seriously questioning his life and whether or not some god above is about to smite him. You try to explain to him that you actually really love kitties as you point to your kitten paw choker and show him your baby pink matching kitten paw nails. At some point he realizes that you're not fucking with him and he slides out of fight or flight mode and into general nervousness. It takes a while before you can actually get him to speak (you're literally such a bombshell against his disheveled-ness, he feels very grateful that he's conscious enough to give you short answers instead of fainting like his body wants him to), but you eventually give him your number. When you part ways, then he slumps to the ground, but with the tiniest of smiles on his face.

Jyushimatsu actually makes you nervous. It's very clear that you're super attractive and bubbly, but there is a genuine sweetness to him that makes him stick out from all the other meatheads who try to normally get your attention. The yellow clad matsu isn't very subtle about staring at you and your appearance, but you honestly don't mind it when he says things like "Your hair reminds me of the sun!" or "You look like a pretty pink cloud today, haha!" The guy is just so adorable it makes you giggle. And when he smiles right back (even bigger than his usual grin), it makes you blush a bit. You end up leaving lipgloss on his cheeks all the time because you just find him so cute.

Todomatsu can't get enough of you once he gets to know you! You two feed off of each other's cutesy personalities. And since pink is both of your signature colors, you guys end up matching outfits a lot. Though the price to pay with you two being so matchy-matchy is that everyone else literally cannot stand being around you two lol. But that's fine to either of you because you both just chalk it up to them being rude and jealous and you pay it no mind...it's either that dynamic orrrrr you end up hating each others guts because only one of you can be the cutest in Akatsuka. Though that scenario ends up in an enemies to lovers situation because even though Todomatsu says he can't stand you - he definitely admits to himself (and only to himself at first) that you are positively gorgeous and the only person worthy of being at his level of pretty in pink.

[hussyknee]

Guys, Z-library is back up, but it desperately needs our help.

Z-Library is one of the largest online libraries in the world. We aim to make literature accessible to everyone. Today, Z-Library contains over 12,140,413 books and 84,837,000 articles Z-Library has many servers all over the world. Our stored data now totals more than 220 TB! Every month, millions of people use Z-Library for their purposes — and that means we are on the right track. But it will be difficult to achieve our goals without your help.

As you may know, almost all public domains of the library were blocked in November 2022 by order of the US Secret Service. The inner infrastructure of the project suffered some substantial damage too. Today, we are still under unprecedented pressure. At the moment, Z-Library is going through the hardest times in all the 14 years of its existence. The library might work with interruptions, and we ask you to be patient. Be sure – we are doing everything possible to provide free access to knowledge for millions of people across the globe, and we expect you to help us with that and to support us.

But despite all the difficulties, the library continues to function and develop. We have recently introduced several important features: the new recommendations section, comments to booklists, the new web-site menu, personal domains and Telegram Bot, and more.

Your active support gives strength to our Team and inspires to work. Each donated dollar is not only money for us, but it is also the confidence that you really need our project!

On 15 March 2023, as in March and September of each year, we launched additional fundraising to project maintenance and development. We will be extremely thankful for every dollar that will be donated. Furthermore, UNLIMITED downloads (for 1 month) are available for ALL contributors who will donate during the fundraising period. The fundraising will run until 1 April 2023

Millions of people use Z-Library every month for their purposes — this shows us that we are on the correct track. But it will be difficult to achieve our goals without your help.

Please consider making a donation.

I know there's a lot of discourse around book piracy right now, but you know who absolutely cannot afford to buy your books in dollars, afford the shipping fees, or don't have access/ travelling distance to the kind of fully stocked libraries you have in the West? The Global South. Our factories make your Kindles, your phones, your textbooks, and then we can't afford to buy them from your corps that sell them at around 300% grate price, and half the books are not even available for our region. Our universities don't get your funding or recognition, and when we do sell our personal possessions to get the money and work our asses off to get admittance to Western universities, y'all use us as grunts, exploit us and pass our work off as your own. Worse still, you buy out our local publishing houses and shut them down.

You cannot imagine the extent of global apartheid and colonial economic order that capitalism runs on. Amazon cheats you out of royalties? We can't even afford to buy your books. A dollar can buy someone a full dinner here. These sites – Z-lib, Internet Archive, Libgen, Open Library, Sci-Hub, PDF Drive, LibriVox – they are essential to granting the global majority our human right to knowledge, education and access. Z-Lib is by far the best one of them all.

You will first need to sign up to Z-Lib and access it through the private domain link they send you. It's a simple process, and every little bit counts. You're a leftist that believes in equal access for all? Then literally, put your money where your mouth is.

[utilitycaster]

fascinating how some people are acting like Liliana’s one of the vulnerable teenagers the RV has recruited and not a powerful, presumably level 20 general who’s committed horrific atrocities in the name of predathos. it’s like saying alex jones is a victim of qanon instead one of the primary peddlers of it. I get having sympathy, especially for for the troubled young mother 25+ years ago, but genuinely. what is going on here?

Hey anon,

Something I've noticed in fandom, not exclusive to this campaign, though perhaps heightened, is that a lot of people really struggle with the concept that victimhood does not absolve you of wrongdoing. It provides context; but it doesn't take away what happened to others as the result of one's actions, even those actions were taken under extenuating circumstances.

Caleb Widogast is perhaps one of the most stellar examples of this in Critical Role. There were many extenuating circumstances. He was an abused and manipulated teenager. His parents are dead by his hand. These are both true statements. Part of what makes Caleb so compelling is that he is, on an intellectual level, well aware that he was pushed into this in many ways both psychological and magical, and that he was a child. He also acknowledges - truthfully - that it was still him putting the pieces together of "my parents are traitors, and so I should do as I'm told here." The story is about him finding a way to move forward and live his life, but the victims - his parents - cannot forgive him, and the campaign indeed ends with a very clear message that what is done cannot be undone.

But not everyone liked Caleb's story. Some felt he should have been less forgiving of others and killed the entire Cerberus Assembly for letting it happen. Some felt he was unforgivable even by himself for his actions. And some disagreed with him - including in-world - and argued he bore no responsibility, and, notably, Caleb consistently pushed back.

I don't think Liliana is quite at the level of Alex Jones (who is, in my opinion, pretty much wholly unsympathetic; I've read through some articles regarding the Sandy Hook defamation trials and this guy just wants to sell supplements and will do anything to do so). But yes, she is comparable to someone actively pushing dangerous conspiracy theories and bringing others in. That is, again, the thing about cults. Even if you're not at the top, if you're recruiting others, or, in the case of cults that do harm to those other than just members - which the Vanguard undeniably does - participating in harmful external actions, then you are perpetrating violence. You are also a victim. These can coexist, but victimhood does not negate the harm done. Liliana is sympathetic. She is also actively making the lives of many people worse.

Now, some of the problem is that there are people who think releasing Predathos is not, in fact, bad, and so to them Liliana is not complicit in a sufficient level of harm. I'm not really interested in wasting my time on them; that line of thinking is pretty fundamentally at an impasse with mine and as discussed previously I find it rests entirely on incoherent and presumptive arguments linked only by broken metaphors and rank hypocrisy. But moving on, I think some of the other people arguing in defense of Liliana not just as a sympathetic character (which, again, she is) but as someone blameless and deserving of endless patience are perhaps struggling to separate "it is not helpful to endlessly flagellate yourself over past wrongdoings if you have truly made a turn for the better" with "some people will not forgive you, ever, because you have undeniably harmed them, and you are not owed anything from them." You have to live with yourself; of course you should grant yourself patience. Those hurt by you do not need to do so. If someone is brainwashed by a cult and they kill someone, the relatives of the murder victim might forever hold this against the murderer despite the brainwashing, and I, personally, do not believe this is wrong of them. I don't believe it's "inspirational" to forgive someone who hurt you sufficiently badly except in the sense that it would be put in the "inspirational" section of an airport bookstore that really means "extremely Evangelical Protestant in outlook." I don't think you should hurt them back once they've stopped doing harm, but you might never want to speak to them or interact with them again and I think you are valid in that choice. I certainly believe that any forgiveness can only come after a sustained pattern of change.

In short: I think people want a very Good or Evil narrative about Liliana when the answer is "she's a victim and she's also victimizing others, and it's valid for those harmed by her or by those she works with closely to say "I am deeply sorry you fell into Ludinus's clutches but the devastation you are leaving in your wake isn't something I can ignore or, at this point, forgive." As Ashton says, the fact that Liliana is deep in a cult doesn't negate the fact that there's a very real chance that same cult will kill her daughter - indeed, they came within a hair's breadth of doing so - and that that hasn't stopped her.

[whumpsday]

some facts about the world of my kane & jim mermay special bc i can't stop thinking about this world

^ kane and his pilot fish at the aquarium

vampires:

in this world, the entire idea of a vampire is an aquatic creature. there are no land vampires, and if someone were to conceptualize one for fiction, they'd have to say it like that. land vampires...

vampires are more biological and less magical than the ones in the main series, but still a little magical.

vampires both eat meat (fish/seals/etc) and drink blood. they can drink most kinds of blood, but human blood is the most delicious, which is why kane went after jim.

vampires can live either solitarily or in groups/pods. if a pod gets too big to be sustainable, the smallest members will generally be kicked out.

vampires are usually around 10-15 feet, about the same as a great white shark. kane is on the smaller side at around 9 feet.

i know groups of sharks are called shivers, but groups of vampires are called pods because i like it :)

they have lots of spiky teeth!!! not just two fangs!

some vampires have their own languages. some have spoken language (mildly common), some have sign language (more common), some have both (uncommon), and some have neither or only a few signs/words (most common). it varies from pod to pod. they are extremely good language-learners, like human children, and can easily learn another pod's language if they find a mate they don't share one with. if a vampire pod does not use language and finds themselves in a situation where they need one, they will invent one as needed.

scientific name for the genus is Vampyroselakhos, took inspiration from the vampire squid. idk about species name

two of them. 😏

weaknesses:

vampires can die easier than k&j vamps but less easy than real fish. they can starve to death, though it takes a lot for that to happen, several months without food. they will heal most injuries (with scarring), but they can't regrow whole limbs and will die if things get super gory.

most vampires are highly allergic to wood, which can kill them if it gets in their bloodstream.

residing in deeper waters, vampires are very easily sunburned, but like a normal human sunburn. they also can't see well in daylight.

vampires can breathe air for short periods of time, but will start to asphyxiate if out of the water for more than about an hour. if left without breathable water for about 6 hours, they will die.

they are saltwater fish and cannot tolerate freshwater. being left in freshwater will make their cells start to rupture (this is true of irl saltwater fish). they can survive this for small periods of time but not sustainably.

vampire/human relations:

vampires are known to be sapient beings, but also vicious predators who will actively take humans from beaches and boats and usually kill them--far more dangerous than actual sharks! despite the sapience, they are legally considered animals, not people, in the vast majority of the world.

vampires have some protections. they're protected from abuse/inhumane treatment under animal abuse laws, and it's illegal to keep a vampire in captivity without proper clearance, due to both the safety risk they pose and the wellbeing of the vampire. what the fishers did to kane was super illegal!

clearance to keep a vampire captive usually involves the vampire consenting to it, unless the vampire is an orphaned baby.

hunting vampires is illegal, though most people who encounter them did not go looking on purpose.

due to the safety risk they pose, it is legal to kill wild vampires on sight as long as long as you don't go purposely hunting for them. like polar bears, if you see a wild vampire approaching, you're pretty much already dead unless you have a gun. unlike polar bears, vampires are not an endangered or threatened species.

it is illegal to sell vampires, dead or alive, including vampire body parts or teeth. it is, however, legal to eat them if you kill one yourself under legal circumstances, and they taste quite good. (though it's vampires eating humans more often than the other way around.) there is a black market for vampires, generally dead.

kane:

kane was kicked out of his pod for being too small :(

kane's pod did not use much language. he learned his first from jim, the fishers, and the aquarium staff. his pod did have spoken names.

his time in the fishers' tiny, cramped tank left him with physical issues that prevented him from swimming normally for months. he needed physical therapy surgeries for broken bones, and general medical care. this was extremely terrifying for him, but everyone did their best to help keep him feeling calm and safe. and pain meds work on vampires in this AU which is nice for him :)

when kane was first brought to the aquarium, he was kept in a smaller (but still very much healthy-sized) tank in the medical area. honestly probably one of the largest tanks they have in the medical area. after his more urgent injuries were healed, he was offered the option of staying there where it's private, or being moved into a VERY large tank in the public viewing area. he chose the latter, having extreme claustrophobia.

he was extremely scared of all the aquarium staff at first and needed to be gently coaxed whenever they needed to do medical checkups. however, kane was won over easily with food and pain medication.

after kane is healed and completes physical therapy, the vet tells him he's free to go back to the ocean. he declines, opting to stay at the aquarium.

they end up getting him a Therapist therapist, for his mental health, as well. kane doesn't really "get it".

as kane's time at the aquarium goes on, he becomes more comfortable around humans. he's an incredibly popular attraction, and he starts to relish in the positive attention from aquarium guests. he does spins in the water and takes pride in the amazed looks he gets for something so simple as being himself. he gets REALLY into it.

he does a lil educational program with bellamy where people can ask them questions about vampires (kane has the lived experience, bellamy has the more scientific/biological answers)

kane's tank at the aquarium doesn't have much in the way of other living animals at first, given kane could (and would) eat them. however, he has a lot of nice plants. after he's built up some trust with the staff and done some work on his food insecurity, they add some pilot fish in with him. kane considers them his beloved pets.

human characters:

jim was rescued by cave-divers who discovered him while kane was away. he was near-dead from infection.

bellamy's family owns some terrible exploitative unethical seaworld-type mega-aquarium. bellamy defiantly left for an ethically-run/normal smaller aquarium

bellamy's coworkers tease him about having a crush on a fish (in a lighthearted friendly way)

not sure yet what i want liz's deal to be in this au

i get all my knowledge of how aquariums function from 1. finding dory and 2. aquatope on white sand, so don't be mad at me if i got stuff wrong <3 blame the media

[respectthepetty]

Hello hello! I finally caught up on DFF a few days ago and have been reading a bunch of meta ever since, but there are some things I can’t follow. Maybe you can help me?

First off, we keep talking about there being a Final Girl, but why is everyone so sure that there will be one? I could see more people surviving or the story going in a different direction entirely. Where does this conviction come from?

Then, I’m on board with the idea of hallucinations, but one thing that always bothers me is the question of how you could make sure that they all hallucinate the very same thing? I don’t know how hallucination-inducing drugs work, but that seems kind of weird to me.

Also, who is Tan and who is Perth again? This is such a dumb question, but I’m terrible with names and faces, and I know most of the characters now, but I keep mixing up these two.

Thank you so much for your time!

Anon, let me answer your last question first:

This is Mio who plays Tan in the series. Tan is part of the friend group but came along after Non disappeared.

This is Perth but it is unknown who he is playing in the series. He was only in the background of this scene in the dark jacket with the grey shirt.

As for the other questions, unfortunately, I cannot help you because unlike the rest of these perfectly normal people watching Dead Friend Forever, I'm crazy.

And because I'm crazy, I do NOT care about "reasoning" when it comes to my wack-a-doodle-doo theories. Therefore, White will be the Final Gay simply because I want him to be, and because none of these other motherf*ckers deserve to live.

Yeah, Fluke hasn't actively done anything, but he knew all of this was happening and turned a blind eye, so if Por is dead, why not just kill all of them? Well, expect for the actual killers, Tan and Phi, and the Final Gay White.

Por's death could have just been an accident, and everyone else will get out of this alive, but . . . I don't want it. I want Fluke to shoot Top, Tee to wrestle the gun away from Fluke only for it to go off and kill Fluke, White to kill Tee and run off scared, Tan to "die" because of an asthma attack (but he won't be dead), which will leave Jin and Phi as the only survivors, only for Jin to be stabbed by Phi right before White shows up with help.

Do you feel the crazy? Do you see what I was saying about myself? You cannot ask me logical questions because I am not using deductive skills. I'm operating off of vibes and vibes alone, which is why I felt Phi was sus in episode one. It's also why I don't like Jin. It's a vibe.

Which brings me to your drugs question - The vibes are off!

I think that Non is still alive and running around scaring them all, so not everything is because of the drugs, but if the energy isn't right, if the mood isn't chill, if the vibe isn't good, the drugs are going to hit different. The figurative trip will be bad. So if the literal trip involves the boys talking about Non and seeing videos of Non while they run through the woods for their lives, whatever drugs are in their system aren't going to be happy in a body with that amount of stress, and their brain will focus on Non and the masked killer. In fact, a common side effect of most party drugs is paranoia.

Hell, even some known prescriptions for depression and anxiety can cause these side effects.

Then again, I just do drugs. I don't know the actual science behind them, but I do know if the vibes ain't right, you're not gonna have a good night.

And these boys seem to be having a really shitty night.

But also, the boys haven't all seen the same thing. Fluke saw Por's eyes bleeding and attacking him. White saw a rash on his skin. Jin saw Mr. Keng. Top saw the masked killer trying to axe him (I think part of this was real) and thought he saw a masked killer in the road, so he scared Tee going on about it. Top also might be having a reaction to it which is why he was seizing.

PSA: Test your drugs, kids. Even Amazon, which I think is the devil, sells drug testing kits.

In case you have no idea what this image is about, the joint in her hand is laced with cocaine and was probably one of the reasons her ass was going through endless time loops, so don't do coke. Or things laced with it. Unless you wanna go into other dimensions and DIE every single time. Okay? M'kay!

So to wrap up my special brand of crazy:

White will be the Final Gay because like the Backstreet Boys, "I want it that way."

Everyone deserves to die because Phi is a cop's kid, and if the cops are good for anything, it's covering up the truth, so let this work in our favor for once.

Drugs be drugging, and sometimes people will think of the boy they tried to kill when under the influence, but it's a toss up. Who can predict what a person will see? So, like, don't betray people and you won't hallucinate being stalked by your own guilt *cough* Judas *cough*

Oh, and always test your drugs.

I hope this helped you, but it probably didn't. Either way, I'll see you in the tags in a few hours after Non finally loses his shit.

Slay, Non, slay!

[aptericia]

Octopath II gameplay tips!

I'd been thinking about this for a while, but since I have mutuals who are playing 8path2, here's a list of advice and things the game doesn't explain!

Incorrect/vague skill descriptions:

The Warrior skill "Enervating Slash": The description is flat-out wrong. This will remove all positive status effects from the USER, rather than the targeted enemy!

"Increased intensity spells" courtesy of the Scholar job: So wtf does this even mean? It gives you a counter that causes the next x number of AREA TARGET SPELLS to be "intensified". For instance, the Cleric's "Heal Wounds" skill can be intensified, but NOT the Apothecary's "Healing Touch" skill. For elemental-based spells, such as Fireball, this causes it to trigger twice (or three times if using Alephan's Wisdom).

Throné's EX skill "Disguise": When used on an ally, Throné takes on their job(s) and learned skills. Sadly, because she doesn't also take on their equipment stats (to my knowledge; I haven't actually verified this), it means she's usually not optimized for their fighting style.

Partitio's EX skill "Share SP": This also has a flat-out wrong description. He gives a percentage of his SP to EACH party member, not just one. For instance, without boosting, he will lose 25% of his max SP and every other party member will gain whatever that amount is. And yes, they'll get it even if it puts them above their normal max SP! Partito rocks!

The Apothecary job’s “Preventative Measures” support skill: Rather than nullifying status ailments for the first 3 turns of battle (as the description says), it nullifies the first three status effects to target the user. So if the user isn’t hit with a status effect until turn 4, it will still be nullified, but if they’re hit with 4 status effects within the first three turns, the 4th will still take effect.

Battle interface:

"Status ailments" include Poison (take damage each turn), Sleep (unable to act until hit), Unconsciousness (unable to act, period), Blindness (greatly reduced accuracy), Terror (unable to boost), Silence (unable to use skills) and Confusion (target a random ally until hit).

"Positive status effects" and "negative status effects" include buffs/penalties to stats, as well effects like temporary HP regen, Sidestep/Vengeful Blade charges, etc. Note that the Cleric skill "Sacred Shield" does NOT appear next to the character's name, and therefore does not count as a "positive status effect"

The order of enemy weaknesses is something you'll see mentioned in any guide/trivia about the game, and it's incredibly helpful. Weaknesses are always listed in the same order: Sword, Polearm, Dagger, Axe, Bow, Staff, Fire, Ice, Thunder, Wind, Light, and Dark (SPD ABS FIT WLD). So for instance, if I determine that an enemy is weak to daggers and the dagger icon is in the first square, I know that enemy CANNOT be weak to swords or polearms, because those would be listed first.

Traveler talents:

Don't forget that Osvald's Study Foe talent reveals more weaknesses each time he encounters the same enemy!

Remember to have Partitio in your party in order to take advantage of his Business Partners talent! For instance, if Parti's follower gives a discount when buying things, this applies not only to NPCs he Purchases from but also shops if he happens to be in the party. Similarly, you may want to pick up a follower that earns more from sales before you sell off a bunch of junk. And if his follower gives a refund at the inn, you can refill your whole party's meters for free as long as you keep Partitio in your party.

Dancer skills that will activate Agnea's Dance Session talent include: Lion Dance (Dance Session targets the ally), Peacock Strut (Dance Session targets the ally), Dagger Dance (Dance Session targets Agnea), and Bewildering Grace (Dance Session targets a random party member). Ruinous Kick, Stimulate, and Sweeping Gale will NOT trigger a Dance Session.

If you want to go into a dungeon you're just under-leveled for, try taking both Throné and Temenos and clearing it at night. Blessing of Darkness and Moonlight Judgement together can give a huge advantage, especially once you're higher-level.

Miscellaneous:

Caits and Octopuffs have absurdly high evasion and elemental defense, but give you massive rewards if defeated. They will often flee the battlefield if ANY enemy has taken damage by the time their turn comes around. Usually the best way to defeat them is to hammer them will all your strongest magic, as spells can't miss and have a minimum damage of 1. Use of Stimulate, Leghold Trap, and the A Step Ahead support skill can come in handy to push their turns back. As @limayde mentioned, Medium and Large Soulstones can also defeat most of them instantly!

Healing (via skills) is based on the caster’s elemental defense. Therefore, it’s a good idea to give your healers equipment with high Elem. Def!

[blindmagdalena]

Center Stage in a Gilded Cage sounds super interesting!! can we get any hints on what it’s about??

yes absolutely! I was filling yandere prompts and REALLY fell down the rabbit hole with this one, but it ended up being pretty different than I expected. the basic premise is that Homelander starts observing a perfectly ordinary citizen go about their daily routine (the reader) and gradually becomes fixated on their potential to remedy the emptiness he experiences in his own home life. they're domestically capable, nurturing, kind, and seem to him a perfect fit. on top of that, he considers their life exceptionally drab and lonely. mundane. he cannot fathom that they're in any way content when they have so little (in his opinion) in terms of material and social fulfillment.

so, he makes the elective decision to kidnap rescue them from their mundane life and bring them into his world. shockingly to him, they're not impressed! they are in fact quite angry, but he has built this up so much in his mind, he refuses to let them leave until they see reason. what ultimately comes of this is a hostage situation wherein Homelander is desperately trying to reconcile how this person can possibly be so miserable when he's offering them the world on a gold platter. it forces him to reevaluate his own perception of freedom, happiness, and fulfillment, and what that might actually mean. he also needs to come to terms with the fact that no matter how prettily it's presented, a cage is still a cage, and for all his power and self-defined freedom, he's also in one. here's a snippit!

Over time, he begins to recognize regulars. People moving back and forth, day in and day out, no different than ants moving grains back and forth. He has to laugh. It's no wonder god abandoned man. Man is fucking boring.

Even the god they made for themselves thinks so.

To ease the monotony, he concocts little stories for the ones he recognizes. He imagines the kinds of lives they live outside of the commutes and routines he observes. He names one of them Peter, and every day he invents a new reason Peter is yet again running late for his train. Because he's always late, Peter never stops for the woman selling street meat on the corner across from the station.

Homelander imagines that the meat she peddles is people, and that she's got her eye on that speedy little rabbit, Peter.

And then one day, he notices you.

Just like all the other busy little bees, you go about your routine each and every day. Sometimes you're in a rush, other times you enjoy your stroll. Regardless, you always find time to stop and give money to the same homeless man occupying one of the few alleyways protected by an awning. Sometimes you linger to chat, other times you can only stop long enough to drop something into his hands.

It isn't always money. Oftentimes you have food for him packed neatly into a little take-out box. Despite the packaging, it looks homemade. You always have a warm smile for him, even when you’re obviously frazzled.

To the rest of the world, this man may as well be fucking invisible, but here you are handing him a box of home cooked food like he's someone who matters. Homelander is the world's greatest hero, and yet some bum on the street is being fed with more love and attention to detail than he ever has.

It's a goddamn joke.

More and more, it becomes apparent to Homelander that you’re pathetically lonely. After a few days of observing you amongst the others, he starts trailing you more actively, forgetting all about Peter and his eventual butcher. You live alone, working and cooking for only yourself and your homeless pal. He watches from a distance while you toil away, cooking more food than you’ll eat in a week for someone you see for a fraction of each of your weekdays.

It couldn’t be more obvious that you’re desperate for someone to take care of.

[arctic-shard]

This is not related to Alagadda or SCP but I'd like to know your opinions on AI arts as someone who also draws. For me, since I view AI as something that cannot create things on its own and can only copy and photoshop other existing artworks to make new ones, everyone who uses it and claims AI arts as their own is also an art thief. Sorry for my English, it's not my first language.

Settle in, this is a long one. I use 'you' a lot but it's a general you, not addressing the anon asker specifically.

AI art generators are tools, and tools are morally neutral. It's how they're used that's good or bad. Think of the knives in your kitchen - they're useful, they make cooking easier, but you could also hurt people with them. I think AI art generators have the potential to be used for good.

Corporations and otherwise people with money who could pay artists but don't wanna are the ones using AI for evil. Instead of paying skilled workers, they're replacing them with a computer program. And unlike regular automation, AI art generators are stealing the labour of human artists - their 'training' is just an image search and then mushing those components together. It's devaluing artists and stealing their work at the same time.

I'm including people who sell AI art and claim it's their own work under the 'corporation' umbrella, because it's the same thing on a smaller scale - someone who wants a mass-produced product to sell, profiting off someone else's unpaid labour.

However, I'm talking to tumblr users who are just messing around, not corporations.

AI art generators are fun. It's fun to type in words and have the generator turn that into a picture. AI art generators can turn out some very pretty pieces. The problem is that it's then tempting, if you're not confident in your own skills, to use AI art instead of developing your own. We all want praise and validation for our work and if you're looking at your art and thinking 'not good enough,' you might be tempted to have a generator do it and claim it as your own. Short term, you get that validation if nobody catches you cheating. Long term, you never develop the skill you wish you had and someone's going to catch you out eventually.

Tumblr is a blogging/social media site. The draw of these sites is connections. Like, I could draw a picture of Odious chucking me across the room. I could draw a picture of @proth-blog 's Odious chucking me across a room. I could mess with an AI prompt until it gave me a big bald dude in yellow chucking a figure that looked enough like me across the room and it could be in a gorgeous painterly style I could never in a million years replicate. But if I'm dropping a 'Could Odious chuck me across the room pls :3' in proth-blog's askbox, it's not just because I like proth-blog's art, it's also a, 'Hi, you seem cool, please play with me.'

The asks in my askbox are often basically art prompts. You could type 'SCP-035 in a fancy dress, pencil drawing' or whatever into an AI art generator and get that. You could get twenty of them in a minute. But that's not why you came to my askbox. You want to collaborate with me. You want the Authentic Arctic_Shard Experience.

And that's what I want from you guys. I want authenticity, whether you're actively working to increase your skill at art or are happy with where you are. AI art generators are only going to give you the average of what it can find on an image search, not the uniqueness of your own style.

Now, I am not an expert at spotting AI art, it can slip under my radar. I know I've drawn my share of terrible hands. And my follower list seems to skew young and I don't know where you're all from or how well you speak English - I prefer to default to assuming good-faith intentions and I don't want to tell some kid that they're a bad person for using something they think is a fun novelty tool and don't understand that it's a problem, or for saying 'I drew this' if they don't know the words for 'I used an AI generator prompt.'

As the Supportive Internet Adult I seem to have fallen into the role of: The only way you can get your art to where you want it to be is to practice at it. You're gonna suck for a while but we all did. I want to see what you can do.

[captainofthetidesbreath]

I went to look something up on Wookieepedia and saw that the main page was reskinned for The Bad Batch Season 2 in that familiar, sanitized way that Fandom's Community Activations team likes. It reminded me of when Fandom tried to do this (on Amazon's behalf, not CritRole's) to the Critical Role Wiki at Fandom last January.

The mockup that Community Activations presented to us—without warning the Fandom wiki community that it was in the works—is still actually live. (It was put together by a Fandom staff member under the handle CzechOut, hence the titling. Archive here if it suddenly vanishes.) You can compare it to the current live front page of Wookieepedia. The front page for Wookieepedia was also reskinned in a near-identical layout for Andor and Kenobi; if you're not familiar with how their main page is usually laid out, you can see it here.

If you know me, you know that I've had years of grievance with adminship at the Critical Role Wiki (disclosure: I am the admin of a forked, independent wiki at this time), but I did and continue to truly commend the admins for aggressively pushing back alongside us against Fandom and refusing to allow them to reskin the wiki and determine what was of greatest priority to feature just because Amazon asked for it done. It was a difficult and fiery argument with Community Activations in which our editing community was condescended to, suggested to be ungrateful, repeatedly falsely told that we cannot reject this from going through (we did in the end).

This is all just to say: visited a Fandom wiki to check some lore and seeing this reminded me of an incident that is one of my worst personal experiences with Fandom as a platform that only sees its editing communities as space to sell to mega-corporations.

And, if you're a Critter, and you're wondering why the Fandom Critical Role Wiki continues (as of January 18, at least) to look the way it does without the usual and familiar Fandom Upcoming Release reskin despite the release of The Legend of Vox Machina Season 2 this week? If there continues to be no reskin, it is because they're handed down from on high to editors, who are expected to fawn and feel flattered, and last year, the editors and adminship staunchly refused to let Amazon via Fandom's Community Activations team tell us how to style our own wiki.

It's really hard not to see one of these reskins and think about how Fandom's Community Activations tried (and failed) to bully the Critical Role Wiki into it.

[foxpunk]

like, on one hand i get it. i logically understand the motives behind why tumblr is making the decisions they are making. i just do not think that their motives MUST line up with these specific decisions.

in the end, tumblr needs more revenue. full stop. that is not up for debate. if they do not get it somehow, then tumblr is going to shut down because they simply cannot keep things running, and it will happen much MUCH sooner than most of y'all are at all prepared for. hell, it's already something they've been delaying well past when other sites would have been scrapped (well...aside from twitter but that is a recent and extreme example).

so i get why they need more activity, i get why they need more users, i get why they need to have a shop and micro-transactions. i truly do.

but tumblr is not going to be gaining any new users if it becomes a copy-cat for something that already exists. the amount of new and active and dedicated users they will get is minimal when those users can simply be active on another app/site that does the same thing (and likely already does it better). why seek out tumblr when every other app already has an algorithmic main feed? why seek out tumblr when every other app has live video? why seek out tumblr when every other site has a minimally customizable default profile?

what makes tumblr what it is? the surface answer is it's the communities and the fandoms and the memes, but what is it about tumblr that allowed these to develop the way they did? it certainly wasn't an algorithm, or live stream, or online shop.

if you want people to get hooked on tumblr, show them what they can do HERE that they CAN'T simply do on another app. yeah sure all the new features (live, for you, etc.) are fun for new users who are used to twitter and instagram and the like, and the option to use them can make those new users feel less out of their depth. but if that's all you're promoting they aren't gonna stick around, cause they can get that literally anywhere else. if you're gonna try n sell tumblr as a product then you need to realize the key to selling a product amongst competition is making it so that people need that product and what it offers Specifically.

one thing i never see talked about for this is hashtags not just as a promotional tool but as an organizational one. you can search through specific blog and see everything in a specific tag On That Blog. thats HUGE. it's SO useful. regardless of how it can mess up at times, literally NO other modern social media site lets you do that! livejournal and wordpress are the only things that come close, and livejournal is old as shit and largely inactive, while wordpress has a VERY different target audience.

pair that together with how reblogs work and you have an AMAZING thing going here and you're just letting it Sit There with no spotlight on it.

another thing: ASKS. GOD. WHY ARE Y'ALL NOT PROMOTING ASKS. HELLO. they're such a fun and unique way to interact on this site. the messenger is great but every social media has DMs these days. asks are something truly different and, again, they're just sitting there with NO spotlight on them.

another recent feature that i actually really really love is reblog controls. they are separate from having to turn your entire account private to get people to not look at/spread a post. they're perfect for people who don't want to bother password protecting their entire damn blog but still don't want a certain post spreading. talk about that! i'm sure it'd draw some people away from twitter, since you have to adjust privacy settings for your entire profile if you wanna manage who can and can't interact with a tweet.

and if you're worried about people being confused by reblogs and replies and the like. it is literally as simple as having a little slide show with cute graphics explaining what those are when people are signing up. hell, make multiple cute little slideshows. explain reblogs vs replies, explain tags and the specific way they work on tumblr, explain the different sections on the dash. don't make it little pop text bubbles on the dashboard, people hate pop ups. 9/10 they are not gonna look at them or accidentally click out of them and then they're gone and your user is lost. just have it be a page people are directed to before they hit the dashboard. it is THAT simple. let people be able to revisit that page easily. boom. one and done. you had that annoying ass wind up denture icon popping up for all of us, why not put a little icon in the corner for new accounts to revisit the "tutorial" if they forgot something? it literally is that easy it is SO easy. holy shit.

if you're so worried about users being confused by anything different from other social media, it's your job to EXPLAIN THOSE DIFFERENCES. NOT squash them out, are you fucking kidding me hellooo!! sure okay make things a lil more streamlined and definitely improve WCAG, but don't just fucking toss out features that aren't ACTUALLY complicated or inaccessible!! GODDD

it is not actually that complicated to explain a few new concepts to new users. learn how to frame things in a fun way upon sign-up instead of obfuscating any and all information behind 10 different staff/support/wip/changes/etc blogs and the least helpful help desk in existence.

also, i know they already clarified they aren't gonna be doing this, but if they push non-optional algorithm onto the Main Feed i'm gonna blow this whole place up (for legal reasons i must clarify this is a Joke). like. just find me on mastodon at that point.

edit: to clarify what i've already said. i think having algorithmic options (OPTIONAL options) for new users is Fine in the end. like, it's a fair compromise (mentioned that in some tags earlier but realized i didn't say that on this post specifically). i have issues with how it's opt-OUT rather than opt-IN, but in the end it's not really going to affect much (so long as chrono feeds are an option, and are not taken from users who already have them set as chrono). and honestly neither will all the smaller (general UI) changes they are going to be experimenting with. the site and it's core features will largely function the same way.

i'm mostly frustrated with tumblr making all these changes to conform rather than to stand out from the pack.

the one thing i AM worried about is that they hinted at messing with reblogs and replies more though. don't touch them lol. like i said, just actually explain shit to your new users and you'll be FINE lord almighty

[dddragoni-drabbles]

Carol trembled as she walked through the farmer's market, the shadow of the demon looming behind her negating any attempts to distract herself from the current situation. At least it seemed that Zurthenon had been right when it had told her that no one else would be able to see it- no one was screaming in terror, and the few odd looks she was getting were likely due to her own demeanor.

"Where is he?" Zurthenon snarled, small licks of flame spilling out from within the jaws of the goat's skull that served as its head.

"I think... just around this corner." Carol hoped she was remembering this right. Zurthenon was already angry enough, the last thing she wanted was for it to direct it at her. "You're... what are you going to do to him?"

"That remains to be seen."

Reaching the corner of the building, Carol steeled herself, then peeked around, at the same time hoping and dreading that the salesman would be there- and the hope won out. He looked just the same as the last time she'd been here, long silver hair framing a youthful face, a twisting scar beneath his left eye, and a strange, colorful assortment of mismatched clothes. He appeared to be sorting his goods, as mp customers were browsing his stall at the moment.

Zurthenon's eyes and mouth ignited at the sight of him. "GILBERT!" It charged forwards, rushing past Carol in a flash of flame and heat, and leapt at the salesman with claws and fangs bared- only to stop a few feet short, as if restrained.

Gilbert turned to face it, completely nonplussed at the ten-foot mpuntain of seething rage. "Well, hello to you too, Zurthy!" He spoke in a casual, singsongy tone, tinged with an edge of pointedness. "Whatever brings you here this lovely eve?"

"You know exactly why, you smug bastard. End this. Now!"

Gilbert laughed, shaking his head. "Oh, come now, why in the world would I do that? You're much more fun like this."

Zurthenon howled in rage and stomped the ground, the muscles in its arms trembling. Gilbert looked past it and smiled brightly at Carol, frozen on the other side of the street. "Oh, Zurthy, where are your manners? You didn't tell me you were bringing a guest! What's your name, darling."

Carol swallowed the lump in her throat and approached the table, giving the raging demon as wide a berth as she could. "Hi, um, I'm... Carol." Despite Gilbert's friendly demeanor, something about him terrified her, perhaps even more than Zurthenon. It was his eyes- there was joy in them, but it was a cruel joy, one to be hoarded, not shared. "Um... what's, happening?"

"Oh, I think our mutual friend here can explain it better than I can." He sat back into a chair that Carol could have sworn hadn't been there a moment ago. "Go on then, tell her!"

Zurthenon growled, then turned to face her. "This petulant wretch is Gilbert Taloran, a sniveling coward who cheated his way to-"

Gilbert waggled a finger. "Ah ah ah, what did we say about honesty?"

The demon snarled, smoke rising from its nostril. "A... cunning sorceror who outsmarted me and managed to worm his way into a deal with.. very generous terms. I cannot harm him, directly or indirectly, no matter how much he deserves it." Gilbert chortled merrily. "And now, he apparently thinks it's funny to inscribe my sigils of summoning and binding- which are incredibly rare and powerful magics- onto rugs and sell them at the fucking Farmer's Market."

Gilbert stood, clapping his hands together. "Yes, exactly! And because you, my darling, are the lucky one to activate it first, dear Zurthy here is now bound to you as well! It can't hurt you and has to do everything you say!"

Carol took a step back, rasing her hands and shaking her head. "What? No, no, I don't want this! Can't you just... send it back to where it came from?"

"Oh, I absolutely could." He leaned forward and tapped Carol on the nose. "But I'm not going to. Where's the fun in that?" He smightly brightly, standing and turning away from them. "Well, Zurthy, it's been lovely catching up, but I'm afraid I have another appointment. I'm sure you two will be the best of friends. Ta ta!" Gilbert waved a hand, and in a puff of smoke, he vanished, along with his stall and goods.

[stardustedknuckles]

I just cannot believe that an entire application with experience could be rejected or not considered because a stupid "are you a corporate drone willing to sell out at the first opportunity (but also if you answer perfectly you're rejected lol good luck)" quiz asked me five separate times if I would disagree with my boss if I knew they were wrong and on one of them I thought "well I assume they'd want to be prevented from making a stupid decision that could drive away a customer so maybe." There's ZERO nuance afforded. And it kept asking shit about "people who work quickly make too many mistakes" and "I prefer slow paced activities" bitch I'm asking to be a goddamn dog trainer. I'm also not "looking to move up in the company as soon as possible" because again, I am a dog trainer. They are entirely separate from regular staff and often report to the store manager only. There is nowhere to go and I like it that way.

It's 67 degrees outside and I'm going for a dang walk.