#SF is just. very fascinating to me !!

[eievuimultimuse]

continuing my verse crossover hypotheticals: i think.....stockfly & kaijuverse would make an interesting pair & would get along <3

#MUN'S ART. #BAXTER STOCKMAN. / VISAGE. #SUPERFLY. / VISAGE. #BAXTER STOCKMAN. / VERSE 003. STOCKMAN FLY. #SUPERFLY. / VERSE 004. BALAENOPTERA MUSCA. #( everybody clap i finally drew MM baxter for the first time & he came out fantastic YIPPEE /silly /lh #anyway smth abt a vers. of baxter who's like a part time mutant but doesnt have his own SF pairing up w/ the most mutated vers. of #SF is just. very fascinating to me !! #i think kaiju would be a lil ummm Confused by the existence of him (or any baxter rlly; multiverse doesnt pair well w/ brain fog rip) but #idk! he'd like him #& also stockfly's the most knowledgable abt anti-mutagen since he uses it on the reg so who knows; he might!! try to find ways to #help the poor guy out & try to get him back to normal; IF NOT....at least get him in a more manageable state #yea idk fun idea 2 me <3 #also lord help me; getting tht angle for kaiju to look right was a PAIN; i see why they make SDF look the way he does in MM lol #wound up using the slug from IHNMAIMS as a ref tbfh KJGHF ) #body horror // #ask to tag //

[supemaeve]

This is not directed at anyone specifically but I always find it interesting how if one of my gifsets features HL or SB people will make any kind of comment about liking the characters or just general comments about them with no issue, which is fine.

But then I will make one that features Stormfront, like the last one I posted, and people always feel the need to preface with "I absolutely hate this character but...", "This character is despicable and awful but..." when talking about her, even if they're gonna say something general about what's happening on the gifs or about the story.

And this doesn't happen only on my gifsets, obviously. I've seen it in lots of places but it happens a lot and I think it's funny how it only happens with her. It's like you have to justify yourself first in order to make a comment about something you find interesting about the character or even just a general comment or opinion about her . But that doesn't happen with the others...

I don't know, I've just noticed that you can like those two guys or WB or anyone else in the show who's done terrible things all you want and say so with no issue, but if you're going to even allude to finding SF interesting you have to put a disclaimer...

#and I've seen the more common reason they give for that is that hl and SB don't even come close to be as awful as sf #and i... dont agree #they all have done awful stuff and they're all big pieces of shit and they're all villains #but why can you love two of them as characters despite being awful but not the other one? #idk i just really find her character fascinating and wish we couldve seen her more #and that doesn't instantly make me a nazi supporter #like liking hl or sb as characters doesn't mean you support their disgusting actions #anyway I post mostly about Maeve and they don't even share scenes so is not like i will be giffing more scenes with her #but i feel like saying you like sf can be taken very negatively... #personal post #sorry for the rambling #maybe there is a bigger reason for it that i don't know

[satirates]

I decided to watch Ninjago from the beginning again since it's being a while. Some of these episodes I haven't watched since 2012, but most of them I haven't watched since 2019 when I had my big Ninjago phase. Here's my thought on each season's from what I remember (I'm curious to see how it will change): Season 1: Good season with good characters. The final was PHENOMENAL and I watched it, like, 20 times. Baby me absolutely loved Zane and Hated Lloyd for some reason (I think it's because he was a brat) 9/10 Season 2 : I was not a big fan of the first couple of episodes or the city setting, but I again loved the final. It was so awesome! Still hated Lloyd for no reason, even has a teenager. 7/10

Season 3 (Rebooted): I strongly disliked that season, but for an excellent reason. I waited so long for season 3 that I couldn't wait any longer to watch it when it's release... in English... A language I didn't speak at the time. So my entire season 3 experience was trying and failing to understand the plot of a very confusing scenario that ended in my favourite character dying. I must tell that I wasn't a fan at the time, lol. 2/10

Season 4( ToE): I did wait for the French dub to watch season 4 and 5 so at least I could understand what's happening. I really liked season 4. Discovering new elemental masters was really fun, and they really nailed the tournament aspect of it all. 8/10

Season 5 (Possession): I didn't like this season when I watched it in 2015, but I loved it when I rewatched it in 2019. I think it's because I don't like scary things, so the ghost theming was too spooky for me when I was a baby. Strangely enough, this is the season that made me like Lloyd. I just needed him to be menacing, apparently. 9/10

Season 6 (Skybound): First season I watched in 2019 after giving up on Ninjago mid-possession in 2015. I knew at the time it was a very controversial season, but I LOVED it. It was my favourite so far. Not only did this season had very high stake, the Djin was also a very interesting villain. 10/10

Season 7 (HoT) : I'm not going to lie, I barely remember anything about the Hands of times other than it being focus on Kai and Nya and their parents. I don't remember disliking it, but it was clearly not my favourite. I don't remember/10

Season 8 (SoG): I'm going to say the same things for every season of this trilogy: I loved it! I liked the new design a lot, the animation looked amazing, and the scenario was the best we ever had. This was so cool. 10/10

Season 9 (Hunted): Same has the precedent season, but even better! Definitely the best season from what I could remember. I still own so many Lego sets from this era of Ninjago haha. 12/10

Season 10 (MotO) : I don't dislike this season, but it felt too short. I was really disappointed to see how the stake rise in the last episode without the emotions really landing that well. A miss in my opinion. But that final with the tornado of creation ? Fire! 6/10

Season 11 ( SFS) : I have weird feelings about this one. I do like what they did with the 11 minutes format in some cases (especially in the more humorous episodes), but it also felt like it prevent the episodes from reaching their true potential (haha). Everything has to start and end way too fast. I did like the Fire and Ice theming and both Asphera and the forgotten realm. If entertaining, this season was a bit underwhelming. 7/10

Season 12 (Prime Empire): Same critiques for the 11min format with this season (and onward). But I did like this one way more! The video game theme was really well-made and discovering the universe was really the selling point of season 12 for me. My biggest problem with it was that they just copied the scenario of Skybound which wasn't really original. 8/10

Season 13 ( MotM) : A Cole season! Yeah! This is the last season I remember really liking . The setting and scenario were fascinating, but a bit too simple for my taste. I think I was just happy to see my boy get a season to himself after 10 years . 7/10

Season 14 (The Island) : I don't really remember anything about this one. It was okay, I guess? It was just a really weird release. 5/10

Season 15 (Seabound: I officially dropped Ninjago after the first 10 episodes of Seabound or so. Not necessary because they were boring, but I wasn't invested in Ninjago anymore. I know Nya became the ocean since I was spoiled, but I need to watch this season to make my own decisions about it. 6/10

Season 16 (Crystallize): Haven't watched it, but oh boy did I heard bad things about it. This is on my list of new content to consume for a while now, so I need to watch it sooner than later. One day I will know/10

So yeah, wish me good luck! I hope I don't end up disliking things I loved as a baby, that would suck.

#ninjago #Time to watch ninjago! #again #boy it's been a while #But I need to do something waiting for DR season 2 or I will explode

[dead-lights]

the zhu-vatore family: lily's in-game dialogue

I'm having a lot of fun dressing up premades in historical costumes & making relatives for them. I'm not really paying much attention to any sort of in-game canon/time period, but I did draw from Lily's dialogue from Werewolves to guide me when I created the extended Zhu-Vatore family. Lily has a lot to say about her cousins and most people haven’t seen it all, so I extracted all of her lines using S4Studio. You can download all of the strings from Werewolves on SFS (this includes every other character's dialogue + book descriptions etc)

tl;dr Caleb/Lilith and Lily are first cousins through their mothers. They were close as children until they all transformed. They are all at least as old as Lily looks, and are quite possibly much older. Just not as old as Kristopher Volkov.

lily's dialogue:

"When I was a child, I was very close with my cousins, Caleb and Lilith Vatore. Our mothers were sisters, and we spent most of our childhoods together. Lilith always had a dark side, but Caleb was a gentle soul."

"I remember when my cousin, Lilith, first told me she'd met a fascinating man named Vlad. After that, she started spending a lot of time "training" with him. I thought she meant they were workout buddies. It wasn't until later that I found out she'd been lured to the dark arts." [sidenote - i think it's hilarious that lilith is such a god damn jock that lily's mind immediately went to "workout buddy"]

"We were young when my cousins Caleb and Lilith were turned into vampires. Lilith was turned by Vlad, and Caleb by Miss Hell. Vlad came for me as well, but I hid in the underground tunnels—which is how my own transformation, of a different nature, came about. I stayed there, half feral, and I tried to make it work with my cousins when they visited. After I discovered Moonwood Mill and my pack, I learned that they'd officially moved to Forgotten Hollow. It's upsetting."

"After I was turned into a Werewolf, things with my cousins, Lilith and Caleb, were never the same again. I'd already felt they were changing under Vlad's influence too quickly, but after my own transformation, there was something natural that pushed us apart. More than anything, I want to rekindle the relationship we had as children."

"I was older by the time I met Kristopher and learned to control my powers. That's why I'm elderly and he isn't, despite him being my senior. I struggled to determine if I should pursue immortality or not. After thinking about it, the answer was clear. I have unfinished business with my cousins. Perhaps once that's settled, I can rest."

"Not all Werewolves feel this way, but I don't enjoy the Full Moon. I spent too much of my life out of control. When the full moon rises, it reminds me of those times. Truthfully, I'd be cured if I could, but I'm not sure that I'd ever see Caleb or Lilith again if I did. I'm too old without my abilities to keep me alive."

#ts4 #sims 4 #sims 4 werewolves #lily zhu #caleb vatore #lilith vatore #sims 4 vampires #vatore #moonwood mill

[disparition]

Why do you pick parts of California you do for In.A.Walled.City?

How do you come up with concepts like a mile wide highway nation that exists in the legacy of a Amazon delivery driver turned communist general?

There's so much imagination to extrapolate what these places should look like, does it just come from looking around and earnestly thinking about what comes next for the places we live in?

Thanks!

Yes, I spend a lot of time thinking about the future of the places I travel to. I've always been into speculative fiction of various kinds as well as more grounded theorizing about the future shapes of human societies, and when I started touring regularly I began thinking a lot about this in a more physical and direct sense.

I noticed for example that a lot of strip malls and outdoor shopping centers throughout the US - especially on the west coast - have a physical structure that can be easily converted into a small fortified community. Many of them even have decorative watchtowers and borrow the aesthetics of medieval and early modern fortifications, even if these are very superficial. This comes up in several places in the story and is part of the origin of the name, but the first one I thought about (briefly referenced in episodes 5 and 8, and it will come up again much later) was the Tejan outlet mall just north of the grapevine pass, which would be a strategically crucial area for a number of reasons.

One idea for the series came from reading a firsthand account of Napoleon's Russian campaign, written by his aide de camp Philippe Henri de Segur. It was a fascinating and very personal portrait of a huge humanmade disaster. So the first sketch I wrote, which will not appear in the series until episode 17 (Mia Marisol and the Last Governor of California) is a similarly personal account written by an aide to one of the most famous generals of the period. She was a UPS driver by the way, not Amazon. Marisol is not the same kind of figure as Napoleon and her career takes a different turn, but she is a similarly divisive and transformative figure of her time.

Another idea, for the setting, came in the form of trying to reconcile the history and present of Judaism and various Jewish communities, to address our cycle of being both victims and perpetrators of violence and oppression and nationalism. This is the core of episode 2, as well as the final section of episode 6, and is the reason that the story is set in the Hebrew year 6000 (or, the 23rd century according to the Gregorian calendar). It is a theme that will be interwoven throughout the work, and is the other part of the meaning of the name.

The first actual story I wrote in this world was what became episode 8. The first line of the episode, "first it was Borders, then it was Barnes&Noble, then it was nothing", came to me in the middle of the night and I had to get up and start writing, and The Historian was the eventual result. That episode is largely based on my own experiences in the world of publishing (I worked for Barnes&Noble.com managing their online community and customer reviews, then later for a book publishing house that was part of the Disney/ABC conglomerate) as well as my own predictions about future intersections of literature, fandom, and religion. Episode 4, The Marketer, is also part of that particular thread.

Starting in late 2020, due to a number of family crises, I had to drive between LA and SF every week or two. It was during these drives that I came up with the idea of a road as a nation in and of itself and a culture of constant travellers who maintain and regulate that road. The story of that nation is arguably the most "gimmicky" episode since it's about the future of interstate 5, it's episode 5, and musically speaking it's in 5/4. It was also the most fun to work on.

As you might guess, each episode takes a very long time to make. But I am still working on the next one. Thank you very much for listening!

[welcome-to-oslov]

Yay loving the reccs! I have a completely random and honestly not very good book to mention, but still: Arslan.

The entire book is meandering and reads as unfinished, let alone hard to keep track throughout. But, the character Hunt, like Tilrey, is hard to forget. It's the 70s in small town midwest, some random foreign warlord invades America & somehow takes over & sets up HQ in Hunt's town. To demonstrate his power, he goes to the school to pick from the local teens & takes two to rape on stage in front of the whole town: one girl & one boy. He discards the girl but likes Hunt so much, he immediately takes him captive. Hunt doesn't go off to Redda - they all stay in town - but he's completely torn from his entire world anyway, locked in a room at home with Arslan. One thing the book gets really right is how when he finally gets to go out, run into an old friend, see his father, he's met with rejection and shame. He hates Arslan and wants nothing more than to escape, but everyone looks at him at thinks he's to blame. It becomes a complicated relationship, one of his only ones, because what Arslan's done alienates him from everyone else.

Tbh I skipped I ton of the book because the main plot's overwrought & not worth it, but reading the first part for the Hunt story and then Hunt's own section lingers.

Whoa, how have I not heard of this before!? Just going by your description and the Goodreads page, this is the sort of bizarre book I’m fascinated with—and it’s from the 1970s! I’m going to look on Thrift Books for an old copy.

Your description reminds me a little of Samuel Delaney’s Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand, which IIRC also has a really strong portrayal of the long-term effects of abuse on someone’s psyche, but I don’t remember much else except that it was weird vintage SF.

[magic-hcs]

Can I have some cuddling HCs for the HT bros, Coal and Red? owo

But of course you can, anon! Let’s see what kind of cuddle bugs these boys are!

Red: UF Sans

Bear: HT Sans

Bean: HT Papyrus

Coal: SF Papyrus

If you liked what you read, please consider dropping a comment.

Let’s cast some magic and see what we’ll get!✨✨

✨✨

Bear: Perfect cuddle bear I tell you, he’s big bulky and chubby, amazing cuddle material. He purrs a lot when happy cuz he has a hard time filtering his actions and stuff because of the crack in the skull. Bear loves it when you just lay on him, he sees it a sign of trust and that touches his souls deeply. He wants to cradle you to his chest, curling his claws gently into your hair. It won’t be long before Bear learns to either braid or brush through it. To Bear hair is fascinating, and touching yours relaxes him greatly.

Cuddle time with Bear always ends up as also feeding mate session. Bear got a lot of healthy delicious snack bars in his hoodie pockets - one never knows when one might end up peckish - and whenever you’ve been cuddling for a while, he’ll just randomly reach into said hoodie pockets. He’ll grab a bar and softly tearing the wrapper open before poking it against your lips. “…eat, angel…” He’ll murmur.

He means well! He just wants to see you fed and full, and safe in his arms. It really calms him to see you eat.

(Bonus; if he got a very anxious stressful day, ask him to sit down and just start eating stuff in front of him, it’ll calm him down so fast. Purring and churring/chuffing, it isn’t long until he asks to feed you. It’s just so soothing for him to to see his mate provided for and fed after a hell of famine. It tells his mind and soul that both he and the ones he loves are safe and cared for)

✨✨

Bean: He likes to cuddle while standing, especially when your doing something.

Bean will come up behind you and would lean over you, letting his arms gently circle around your waist or hips, and place his chin on the top of your head. Pressing himself close to you. He’ll sigh contently as he draws circles on clothed skin with his distal phalanges.

Bean feels so content like this, closing his eyesockets he hums a random tune as he presses skelekisses against your head, temple, ear, neck and shoulders. It’s not spicy kisses, just very loving nuzzles. He’ll sway from side to side with you in his arms. This is the place he wants to be the most. It’s his precious moment which he treasures dearly.

Bonus: Will deadass walk over to you in the morning or when he was stressed and hug you like this stating softly “Excuse Me For A Moment Dewdrop, I’m In Need Of Charging.”

✨✨

Coal: 👏🏻video 👏🏻gaming 👏🏻cuddles 👏🏻while 👏🏻under 👏🏻pillow 👏🏻fort 👏🏻

Or if you don’t like to video game.

👏🏻Cuddles 👏🏻while 👏🏻he’s 👏🏻sketching 👏🏻under 👏🏻pillow 👏🏻fort👏🏻

It’s a must for him, he needs soft loving charging hours so bad he’ll die without them! Its true! Don’t look at him like that! Don’t make him pull out the puppy dog eyes because he will if he must.

When you accept he’s happily rushing around the house, with a bunch of blankets and pillows in his arms he’s hauling from every room. He even gets the special velvet cushion from Razzle’s room. (don’t tell Razzle that shush) This poor boy can’t see where’s walking and he’ll accidentally bump into a wall before moving back into it but this time going through it.

Coal is a master at building pillow/blanket forts, he puts so much love and energy in it. Cuddle time is important and special and it needs to be treated like the most special amazing thing in the world because to him it is.

He’s looking at you from his space at the pillow fort like a happy puppy, patting at the space next to him. What are you still standing there for? Go join the precious boy dammit!

You’ll be in a puppy pile in no time, snuggling together and coal is so content he got a slight golden blush on his bone cheeks. He looks like a satisfied cat.

At some point you’ll be laying on top of him and he got one hand tangled in your hair while using his other hand to play video games or sketch. This boy will sneakily steal innocent skelekisses every now and again.

And you swear it, you believe you can hear him chuff every now and again with every nuzzle.

✨✨

Red: He wants you against his side as he drapes an arm over your shoulder, he’ll have an extra big grin when you lay your head against his shoulder. Oh yeah, it doesn’t matter what he still has to do or go to, he ain’t moving until you decide to.

Red’s nesting instincts tell him to cover you up in blankets, and press pillows against your sides so your comfortable. He will nuzzle against your hair or cheeks, unable to keep his hands off of you for even a second. It doesn’t have to naughty touches, this boy can be a sweetheart too, without being a horndog about it.

His phalanges just got the itch to rub circles and trace patterns and follow little imperfections in your body. (to him those aren’t imperfections, they are what makes you you and he’ll love them either way dammit! You can’t stop him)

He’ll be marveling at you laying against him, wonder and love filling his entire soul because oh lord this beautiful, wonderful, dazzling being saw something in his ass and decided to choose him among so many possible better picks. You chose him, you decided he was worth it, you decided to lay next and against this monster who got so much dust on his hands. You gave him a chance. Oh, the feelings that overwhelm him as he looks at you. When he looks at you and you look back at him and actually see him. It ties him down to floor right in front of you, it leaves him feeling vurnable and bare.

A feeling he normally avoids like a mortal avoids the cold hands of death. But with you…with you he relishes in these feelings. Red feels safe, and loved, and desired. And oh, he wouldn’t mind to be tied down and bound by and for you. He’s yours truly and fully. And he’s doing everything in his power to be and feel like the man you deserve to have and see in front of you.

✨✨

✨✨

Thank you for participating in this spell, I hope it was to your satisfaction!

#magical prompts #undertale #undertale hc #undertale x reader #sans x reader #papyrus x reader #sans #papyrus #underfell #red #underfell sans x reader #underfell sans #horrortale #horrortale sans #horrortale papyrus #bear #bean #horrortale papyrus x reader #horrortale sans x reader #swapfell #swapfell papyrus #swapfell papyrus x reader #coal #uf sans #ht sans #ht papyrus #sf papyrus

[thelibraryiscool]

Mid-Year Book Freak Out 2022

I was tagged by the wonderful @dauen, thanks!

1. Best book you’ve read so far this year I'll do a few. Coreggidora by Gayl Jones was beautifully written and very tough, Way Station by Clifford Simak was delightful and hopeful in that particular midcentury SF way, and Daria Serenko's Girls and Institutions [Девочки и институции] made me cry on the bus.

2. Best sequel you’ve read so far this year Like Amy, I haven't read too many sequels, but I loved the last installments to Connie Willis's Oxford Time Travel Series: Blackout and All Clear. I read over 1000 pages in under a week.

3. New release you haven’t read yet Rebecca Makkai's I Have Some Questions for You. I'm in a long line for it on Libby...

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year I don't really keep track of new releases? But if you know of a book you're excited for, let me know!

5. Biggest disappointment The Court Dancer by Kyung-Sook Shin. I'd heard great things about the author and the translator and I'd expected it to be right up my alley, but it just fell really flat for me.

6. Biggest surprise Probably Into the Planet by Jill Heinerth. A memoir about cave-diving isn't the sort of thing I usually read, but perhaps that's why I enjoyed it so much -- her life is so different from mine, and it was endlessly fascinating to discover underwater caves with her and her crazy fellow divers.

7. Favourite new author (debut or new to you) New-to-me, to name a few: Penelope Fitzgerald, Gu Byeong-Mo, Elisa Shua Dusapin. I'd like to read more from each of them.

8. Newest fictional crush/newest favourite character For a fictional crush, almost certainly the elderly actor Sir Godfrey in Blackout/All-Clear. For a favorite character.. I really found the whole family in The Five by Vladimir Jabotinsky very interesting. And I enjoyed the titular demon and angel in When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb.

9. Book that made you cry I already mentioned Girls and Institutions. I think Shadow Lines by Amitav Ghosh might have as well.

10. Book that made you happy Christopher Isherwood's The Memorial. Not because it's a happy book, really, but because he can always be relied upon to be good. It's like visiting an old friend, reading a novel of his I haven't read.

11. Favourite Adaptation Well I've just discovered that my beloved Silo Saga by Hugh Howey has finally gotten an adaptation, and I've only seen 2 episodes so far but (though I have some qualms) I'm overall liking it quite a bit! Y'all should read first though.

12. Prettiest Cover This one's pretty good:

13. A book you need to read before the end of the year: There's a lot. I guess top priority (not counting what I'm already reading) would be Cartes postales by Chantal Spitz, At the Edge of the Woods by Masatsugu Ono, All Our Yesterdays by Natalia Ginzburg, Greek Lessons by Han Kang, and How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone by Saša Stanišić.

I'm going to tag @queenofattolia, @colorwheels14, @nonbinaryjomarch, @oldshrewsburyian, @sleepanon, @teacademic, and anyone else who feels like it!

*For a lot of these questions I could have also said Дiм для Дома [A House for Dom] by Victoria Amelina, but I accidentally took a break from it so I haven't finished it yet -- though so far it may end up being my favorite book this year. It's warm, and poignant, and feels very true. Victoria Amelina was killed earlier this summer.

#tag thing #books

[pigeontheoneandonly]

For the Director's Cut game, tell me about Eternal. Anything. Just talk to me about Eternal, because I love it and I want to hear anything you have to say!

omg, this fic 😂

So, I love science fiction. Like I really, deeply love SF as a genre. And I learned to love it dragging myself through a lot of books that lacked plot or character or really any appealing qualities aside from really fucking cool ideas.

Eternal was written somewhat in this vein. Mass Effect is fantastic space opera. But it's sometimes lacking in that "oh wow" or "superweird" classic sci-fi vibe. One of the only pieces of that we get is the thorian.

Also worth noting is a few years before I wrote this fic, I'd finally been talked into reading A Fire Upon the Deep, which is definitely in that "so very strange and cool but omg plot what plot" category. Contemporary sci-fi is afraid to go the places this book went. Like a central premise is that the speed of light varies throughout the galaxy and authors are currently too afraid of looking scientifically illiterate to do that kind of world-building, which is a shame. But notably the book had two significant characters that were plant aliens so that got me thinking about how that would actually work.

There's also the fact that I am fascinated by reaper cycles. There's a strong case to be made that canon indicates reapers have been doing this shit for upwards of a billion years. What did other cycles look like? How did they fight back?

So all this plus a drunken tumblr conversation led to Eternal. I wanted really alien aliens in Mass Effect and the thorian seemed like a good place to start.

I wrote it at work. That probably also contributed to its structure since I had to do it in smaller bursts.

What would a creature the reapers wouldn't recognize as sentient think about the reapers? What would it take to make that creature a mortal enemy? As someone who feels a huge connection to forests, what if a forest could feel that back? Also aren't aspen colonies really fucking weird and great?

I don't know. It all consolidated together and became this fic. :P

#ask me anything #thorian origin story

[taylorrepdetective]

You know what’s cool? Stinkhorn fungi.

Hear me out.

One day while I was in college, my bio class was assigned a walk in the Arboretum in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. This is a garden that specializes in more rare and unusual plants from all over the world (but they need to be able to survive in SF’s climate, so if you want to see a banana tree, you gotta head over to the conservatory of flowers.)

As I walked through the garden, taking perfunctory notes on various bushes and trees, I saw something very weird over to the side. It looked like this:

It was HUGE. About the size of a volleyball. I was intrigued and fascinated. What was this alien thing? What was a creature from Star Trek doing in Golden Gate Park? Was this invasion of the body snatchers? And boy did it STINK. Really nasty. I couldn’t get over it.

I found a docent and he said “oh that’s our Stinkhorn.” Excuse me sir, why are you so casual about this? So he explained to me about stinkhorns. Basically:

I have never forgotten this thing. Not just its alien looks but how it survives and thrives in a way most people find disgusting. Except silly little nerds like me who love them anyway.

Oh and speaking of this sort of thing, a couple of years ago I had the great great honor of getting to see a blooming corpse flower. Wow did that stink. So gorgeous.

(I don’t know these people but my smile was just as wide in my corpse flower selfie.)

Nature is amazing.

#this post is about Taylor swift

[vex-bittys]

Bitty matchup please? I’m 12 (mentally) and live with parents. I have ADHD and Asperger’s. I’m not triggered by most loud noises, and I love to sing. I have been in quite a few musicals, and I don’t plan on stopping soon! My love language is touch but I can’t sit still. I stim almost constantly and I’m never not moving unless I’m hyper focused. My interests are video games, DND, and music. Despite being active, I have low stamina, and I can’t run without being out of breath. I’m pretty lazy.

My recommendations for you are:

Papython (UT!Papython): Papythons have their fair share of energy, and they love physical affection. Papythons exude a natural positive aura which is always pleasant to have around, and they enjoy helping their adopters. If you’re feeling low energy, he can help you accomplish whatever you’re trying to do. Papythons would love the concept of musicals: breaking into song during your daily life.

King (UF!Papyrus): Kings aren’t as touch oriented as Papythons, but they are natural protectors and caretakers. If you need to stim, they’ll probably carry some stimming items around for you just in case you need one. Kings would be fascinated by the concept of musicals, and might even want you to pick a theme song for them. DnD is a favorite game amongst Kings, who want to be heroes.

Chain (SF!Papyrus): Chains form a unique SOULbond with their adopter that helps them sense your emotional state. Chains are very laidback and love cuddles and lazy activities where they can just flop down near (or on) their adopters. Chains have excellent hand-eyelight coordination, so they tend to be good at video games. If stimming relaxes you, a Chain will likely also be relaxed by your stimming.

*Please let me know if you’d like an adopter scenario.

#vexy answers #anon ask #lamia bitty matchup #lamia bittybones #papython bitty #king bitty #chain bitty

[sychik]

Ennead: Seth

yes, ancient Egypt. because I'm consistent.

oof, this is a huge one. below is a list of everything that's included and corresponding screenshots without editing. download links are in the very bottom.

headdress (4200 poly), usekh collar (~4k poly), arm bracelets (850 poly) and ankle bracelets (500 poly), schenti (basically skirt, but I like fancy words | 1k poly). bicep+wrist bracelets come together. ankle bracelets are in the socks category. collar and bracelets come in a matching set of colors. the schenti has two basic swatches, black and white, and a couple of less fancy ones.

I loooved making the headdress. it is under the hat category and it CAN'T be used with the hair from this set, it isn't meant to. it does NOT hide the hair, though, so it can be used with some hairstyles.

hair, eye makeup and earrings (372 poly). here are the thumbnails for earrings and makeup because the picture above isn't too clear:

eye makeup is under eyeliner category, so you can use other eyeshadows with it if it's not smoky enough. somehow it looks smoother and better on a female frame even though I made it for a male frame initially :c

hair from different angles:

the hair is ~14k poly. oops, I did it again. it's not the prettiest, but it should behave decently in game. as much as I love thin necks on male sims, I couldn't fix the hair distorting a little with the neck slider - without it also affecting other things. so use it at your own discretion.

last but not least, khopesh sword (600 poly) :D something completely new for me. I'm also genuinely fascinated by the shape of these swords. works just like any other decorative weapon, you can use it with poses - for example, with wonderful poses of @natalia-auditore, whose Viego poses I used to make these previews. the swatches are close to the ones of bracelets and collar, but probably not exactly the same.

download from sfs folder

or direct links:

hair | headdress | earrings | makeup | collar | arm bracelets | ankle bracelets | schenti (skirt) | khopesh sword

I'd also like to link the amazing ancient Egyptian save file (download link is in the video description). people like this make my life meaningful :D

this is a lot to keep track of so PLEASE pm me if there are any problems! thank you for downloading <3

also, poor Seth.

#ts4cc #s4cc #sims 4 male hair #sims 4 male clothes #sims 4 accessories #sims 4 ancient egypt

[jonfarreporter]

The Barbra Streisand Autobiography is an Omnibus, no doubt!

I was taken aback by how many chapters there are in Barbra Streisand’s autobiography; 59, wow!

Yet I have to say that her story and commentary is fascinating, especially for devoted fans.

One thing that surprised me the most was how much Streisand has accomplished as not only as a “superstar” artist but as a human being. Listening to her directly (I enjoy audio books the most) really does help the audience understand her better.

She is most authoritative when speaking about her life and experience in the theater and the arts. Her voice now mellowed with age does carry a certain assurance that truly speaks honestly and factually.

I liked just about everything she said about the arts, especially her work with acting and the entire “collaboration” of putting a production together from start to finish.

One thing I didn’t know about Streisand was that she got into singing because she wanted to act on stage and in movies. Obviously her tremendous voice served her well.

I was disappointed that she said little of her time in San Francisco. Especially when she performed in North Beach at The Hungry i.

Yet, I was very moved by the fact that she really did “pay her dues,” so to speak in attaining to the level of stardom she has achieved.

When she described what it was like to be on stage or in an acting class, I felt as if she is talking about the interior life of art itself. Acting and art students should listen and take to heart some of this book, seriously it’s important! This woman immediately recognized the distinction of a red that Rembrandt used in his paintings (a “Rembrandt red,”) as she calls it. And this was in her early days when she didn’t even attend an art history class.

Some aspects of her personal life are already known. But when you hear it directly from her there’s a resonance that’s deep, even if it seems familiar and cliche.

Like most celebrity books that speaks about the “behind-the-scenes” of movies and shows, it was interesting to hear about the details.

I was sad to hear that Streisand had a very difficult time with the move “Hello Dolly.” Actor, Walter Mathau treated her very badly and she knew instantly that she was too young (at age 27, then) to play the part of Dolly Levi, a middle aged widow, matchmaker, extraordinaire.

As a native SF Bay Area kid I was sad that San Franciscan Carol Channing was not chosen to portray Dolly in the movie. Even Streisand mentioned this. What was the director Gene Kelly thinking? Dolly was Channing’s signature role!

Channing proved she had the ability from her work on the hit film “Thoroughly Modern Milly.” Yet Streisand fulfilled her contract and remained professional.

What also struck me about Streisand is her ability to understand and articulate something intrinsically innate and deeply within herself or something. Like for example, her understanding of lighting and how to present material to an audience. What to wear, how to move around, etc.

Her taste is impeccable and she understands the creative process. That’s very clear in her work “Yentl.”

Speaking of “Yentl” Streisand took a lot of risks with that movie as well as another movie of hers called “Up The Sandbox.”

I was sad to learn that the author of ‘Yentl’ Issac Bashevis Singer didn’t like the movie and thought Streisand didn’t do it well.

Some time ago when I was speaking with a Rabbi’s son, (who now sells Kinish snacks) he mentioned that “Yentl, the movie is all about Barbra.” “It’s not anything about real Judaism,” he told me.

I imagine that type of criticism must have hurt Streisand very much. Especially since she clearly put a lot into that movie.

Let me clarify, I am not Jewish! But I thought the movie “Yentl” did a lot to shine a wonderful spotlight on Judaism and a bit of its history.

Isaac Bashevis Singer should have been pleased that someone like Streisand was willing to go the distance with his literary work. Ok, so it didn’t follow his vision exactly. But it did entertain and inspire, bringing a bit of the complexity of Judaism to the masses.

Also, Streisand helped make Singer’s work more approachable. Please note, I’m not an expert. But Singer writes about Jewish life similarly to that of author and playwright Sholem Aleichem. It was Aleichem’s work that inspired the hit musical “Fidler on The Roof.”

It seems to me, that Streisand tapped into that so that audiences could identify with the characters and life of those people. With all due respect, it seems to me that Singer was a bit of a recluse and preferred a sequestered life.

Streisand is not sequestered at all and it shows in all of her works.

Which, leads me into another dimension. Streisand of course is Jewish, especially as she portrayed comedian, Fanny Brice. Yet, Streisand transcends Judaism.

As I said before, there’s something innate within her that is universal and outstandingly unique.

She’s often imitated, parodied and sometimes made fun of. Yet it’s very clear to me, Streisand is a rare talent of a person that will not be duplicated. We probably won’t see anything truly like her again. God didn’t just “break the mold” as the old saying goes, he/(she) put an exclusive patent on it and it’s in heaven under his/her very special and exclusive contract.

#barbra streisand #autobiography #yentl #up the sandbox #hello dolly

[magicalgirlagency]

This isn't an indie game, but I must know your opinions on it, since you've been mentioning for quite a while: Opinions on Mortal Kombat?

I love it. For some unexplainable reason. Like, it's horrendously gross, stupidly violent and nightmarishingly frightening... and yet, it is this big thing that accompanied me for years that's up there with Sonic the Hedgehog, for example.

This could be because my mom has played the original trilogy back in the days and watched the movie back in the days, and it quickly became one of those everlasting obsessions that still follow me to this very day. My first MK ever was MK2 (Mega Drive port), and my favorite kombatant is Kung Lao (the razor hat idea is so stupid and yet he makes it work, I love it).

Or maybe because it's one of the very few Isekai that I know where the other world the human characters travel to isn't eurocentric in its inspiration, and even though I cannot play 1vs1 fighting games for the life of me, I consume it by osmosis because the Realms fascinate me like the worldbuilding/lore nerd that I am.

Or maybe because of its peculiar background story, and how it was and was intentionally created to be a worthy rival of Capcom's Street Fighter and how stupid it was of Capcom of trying to copy MK's success via live action movie (because SF was already perfectly sustainable on its own).

Or maybe how the controversies and scandals surrounding the Fatalities have helped in the conception of rating systems like ESRB and Pegi, and how politicians were trying to shut it down only for Streisand Effect to do its thing and make the franchise's popularity quickly skyrocket.

Or maybe it's how upon its commercial success, many have tried to grab a slice of the pie and replicate its techniques (from the computerized animations to the flashy finishing moves), but have failed to survive the test of time (except for Killer Instinct and Primal Rage), just showing how unique and this franchise is in gaming history.

There's just SO many stuff that fascinate me about this franchise, it's just absolutely bonkers. I don't know, it's just so confusing to me, but I love this game a lot.

[kuwdora]

Top 5 Most Underrated SF shows/movies you think everyone should watch and why

Top five most underrated SF shows/movies you think everyone should watch, and why :) --from destina

Okay a million years ago (more like 2 and a half months) destina asked me about my top 5 most underrated SF shows/movies I think everyone should watch. I have three shows and two films that I’ve really enjoyed over the last few years and I'll try to break down why I'm loving them.

This gets kind of long so I'll put it under a cut. The shows/films include: Moonhaven (AMC), Avenue 5 (HBO), Humans (AMC/BBC), Life (2017) and Prospect (2018).

Moonhaven is a new AMC show (1 season, 6 episodes) that is rather high concept on the sociological side of the scifi spectrum. They’ve built a utopia on the moon, guided by an AI that has spent a century learning from the human colony there in order to learn how to build better technology and solve the environmental/social ills on earth. This colony of humans have been cut off from the Earth and they’re about to send their first batch of humans and tech back to the planet when there’s a Murder that happens.

The main character is Bella Sway who is a cargo pilot/smuggler and who is also a war vet of sorts who gets accused of committing a crime while she’s on the moon and there’s a lot of mystery/intrigue to unravel.

Now this is very very serious and interesting set-up but what the trailers for this show did not highlight is how strange and wacky the character dynamics are. Because you’ve had a socially isolated human colony (Mooners) now interacting with a bunch of Earthers and— it’s hilarious and strange and eerie. Most of the time the Earther characters are baffled as fuck by the mooners who sound like they’re in a group therapy session that’s performing on stage. The mooners have high emotional IQs and love art and culture and are so touchy feely that the contrast with the hardened Earthers is amazing.

The show also is filmed in Ireland so you get to see some new filming locations that you don’t ordinarily catch in genre shows. AND of course has Dominic Monaghan who looks like he’s having the time of his life.

Emma McDonald plays Bella Sway and she brings such an incredible amount of nuance and depth to her character that 6 episodes just haven’t been enough for me and I’m really excited to see more. I try not to get my hopes up with new scifi shows these days because it’s too easy to get my heart broken but I have REALLY enjoyed this show. It’s doing a lot of interesting thematic exploration about nature vs nurture and the role of technology in people’s lives and how different groups of people see the purpose of technology differently.

It has SO MUCH WORLDBUILDING - including polyamory and partner dynamics within a family, fascinating birth/death rituals that have evolved on the moon, and some rather questionable ways mooners have altered child-rearing responsibilities to circumvent tribalism and prevent violence in their society.

What the trailer and reviews for this show mostly fail to capture is also just how fucking funny and strange the cultural differences are between the Mooners/Earthers. The Mooners LOVE to dance out their feelings.

There’s a conspiracy plotline that I’m not sure how it’s going to shake out but I’m really gnashing my teeth happily on these characters, the worldbuilding, and the technology.

Avenue 5 is an HBO scifi/comedy (2 seasons, somewhat cancelled but maybe not cancelled according to some sources, seems to be a bit of a Schrödinger Cancellation) I am not sure I really recommend for most people because it is hilarious in that dark satire kind of way that not everyone wants to stomach (for good reasons). It’s by the same fellow who wrote/produced Veep so the humor is dark. I described Ave 5 as looking at our current dystopia through an un-funhouse mirror and laughing in horror.

The premise of the show is a space cruise gets thrown off course and it’s going to take years to get back to earth and the ship is full of tourists and incompetent people running the ship. It also features Ethan Phillips playing an obnoxious Martian astronaut character in a GIANT NOD to the hilarity of Star Trek Voyager.

The biggest (and most delightful) surprise of the show is Hugh Laurie’s character is queer and poly (he had two partners back on Earth). The show veers into shenanigans throuple territory (that I 100% need to write some fic for because the show is reasonably cancelled and I need MORE).

This show has some of the most hilarious and obscene dialogue that I’ve heard in years. I love it and have watched every episode several times because humanity is terrible and I kind of like laughing at their pain and awfulness rather than the real world. It’s extremely self-aware and has Lenora Crichlow (of Being Human UK!!!!) and Hugh Laurie being ABSOLUTE TOP OF THEIR FUCKING GAME.

Humans (UK) is the AMC/BBC take on the Swedish show with the same name. On the surface this is a “we’ve created robots to do all of our work for us” premise (they’re called Synths here) and features a Colin Morgan as a scruffy fellow on-the-run with his fellow Synths that he was raised with as a child because his dad programmed the Synths with intelligence. This also has GEMMA CHAN!!!!!! As one of the main leads and she is EXQUISITE as Mia.

I watched and loved the original Swedish version but the British version did a fantastic job of building the family dynamics. It follows the Hawkins family who purchases a new Synth (Mia) and Mia has had her memory temporarily wiped to be in hiding so she doesn’t know who she is yet. The mystery in the beginning season is great but in the later seasons it really builds out the Hawkins mother/daughter relationship as well as letting Laura use her legal background to explore what kind of autonomy and protection she could advocate for Mia and her Synth family.

Mattie is a teenager who has an interest in programming and she’s adrift like many others her age who are facing a future with little job prospects and just getting yanked around by the world- and I just loved her arc in the show so much, especially as she gets involved with helping Mia and her family.

Colin Morgan is really great, too but I really fell in love with Gemma Chan’s depiction of Mia who slowly learns who she is and then is trying to find and keep her family safe while also protecting the Hawkins who are trying to help her.

I found this to be a very solid show — and one that I wish I had vidded already — with great character arcs and was very mindful in the way it was exploring these age-old questions about personhood and outsourcing work to machines and how you treat these machines.

Life (2017) is a horror/thriller film inside a sci-fi setting. Scientists on the International Space station find a new life form that they picked up from Mars to study and Things Go Bad. Pretty great cast- Rebecca Ferguson, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ariyon Bakare along with — for some reason — Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan Reynolds.

The life-and-death tension and anxiety of being trapped with something scary in the vacuum of space is spectacular. Really enjoyable film.

Prospect (2018) is hands down one of my favorite indie scifi films. Low-budget, INCREDIBLE ACTING, masterful storytelling. The stakes are emotionally and physically high for our characters and had me on the edge of my seat the whole time.

The premise is a girl and her dad (Jay Duplass) go to a remote alien moon to try to mine some minerals to make it rich and start a new life. They get a contract that goes tits up in a bad way and end up face to face with the locals and scoundrels. INCLUDING PEDRO PASCAL. Pedro Pascal and Sophie Thatcher are the fucking stars of this and absolutely captivating. And yes this is part of the Pedro Pascal Multiverse Dad Canon so put it on your list to watch if you need more Dad Pascal.

This movie is INTENSE and raw and absolutely 10000% highest recommendation from me. The writing, the characters- the acting. The set/wardrobe design. A+++++

Everything about this movie is so detailed and internally consistent in a way that makes me wriggle with so much fucking joy.

I even trawled through YouTube to try and find out more about it and fell in love with a behind the scenes featurette. They filmed dust motes in a basement and transposed the dust over the outdoor scenes of the alien planet rather than doing CGI for it. And the work they spent designing the space suits is so great, too.

#i will make a special follow up post to scream about For All Mankind cause that deserves its own post or additional note omg #meme #december posting meme #my posts #textpost #kuwdora recs #kuwdora watches #sci-fi tv and films

[spyglassrealms]

What is the most underrated object in the solar system in you opinion? Similarly; what’s overrated?

Hoo, that's a really tough question for me to answer!

My default answer would probably be Deimos, just bc of its potential usefulness (thanks Atomic Rockets for teaching me about that!) but tbqh... I think Triton is really underrated! The Neptunian satellite system is fascinating to me, and Triton in particular (although I maintain that it should have been named Salacia). It's literally a captured dwarf planet, and one of the densest KBO-adjacents out there. It has rainbow ice sheets and nitrogen geysers and it orbits retrograde, how can you not be fascinated by it? Its geological/cosmic history is so interesting, particularly its effects on the rest of Neptune's satellites. Proteus is visible proof that the capture of Triton destroyed the original moons of Neptune, and it's quite possible there were several objects similar in size to the Uranian or Saturnian moons beforehand that we'll never get to know. Idk, the ice giants and their satellites in general deserve more love, and Triton in particular definitely merits further study via probe.

Honestly, I think Mars is kinda overrated? Don't get me wrong: I love Mars, it's very interesting and will undoubtedly be our next great leap (not to mention it has plenty of potential as SF fodder). But I think there's a bit TOO much public focus on Mars, and not enough on the other interesting bodies of the system (like the ice giants!)

#tysm for the ask! #I really had to think about this one for a bit #spy has thoughts #spy answers asks #space #science #space science #planetary science