#yes I've been on this app for over 6 years no I still don't fully understand the tagging system </3

[irlmichaelmell]

What are things you think people should avoid believing in?

Hi there!! Just saw this sorry and I also wanted to say i love your work however I don't believe I have enough research under my belt to confidently answer this one. I still consider myself too young to consider myself anything but a beginner witch even though I've been researching (or as much as I can as a closet witch) for over 5 years now. I've been in the Otherkin community for around six years and still consider myself as a newcomer in the community. I'd like to point you to others that have a lot more knowledge under their belts such as @/strangesigils and @/aestherians (as I'm not sure if this is meant in a general, witch, or Otherkin sense). I don't have the power or knowledge to say what people should and shouldn't believe in, especially spiritually.

However I will say the one solid answer I have to this is physical shifting (also called p-shifting). It's a dangerous rabbit hole anyone can fall into, especially young people. I'd fallen into this rabbit hole back in 5th grade temporarily, as much as it pains me to admit. I was lucky to only be part of the wishful and fake "spells" and misinformation, others aren't so lucky and accidentally get involved in cults. I've heard stories for years about these and I know the p-shifting community is a big pipeline that they use. Does this mean we can never physically change ANYTHING about ourselves? Absolutely not, it's as Strange said, we are constantly growing and our bodies are ever changing. Growing horns, fangs, or wings is unattainable as much as my trans and otherkin heart detests but simply things like going for a more androgynous, feminine, or masculine look can be attained over time. there's a very fine line that you have to be aware of. If anyone ever says they can physically shift, they are lying.

I will also say, people MUST avoid falling into a cynical nihilistic "nothing in life matters, there is no good" trap. Now, nihilism can be good, I admit, it's helped me get over some of my fears and anxiety and until I was able to not rely on it, however it can very easily become the thing weighing you down most. You need to find the reason for why this all matters, you need to figure out why you are here. I know it might get annoying but I'll say the same thing as everyone else: even a youtube series or a show is a good enough reason to live. They were mine, they can easily be yours. I've had far too many people coming to me severely depressed and suicidal, either relying on nothing to keep them here or relying on people to keep them here. Both are going to be your worst enemy. People are temporary, they come and go in our lives all the time. We can't rely on someone to always be there and we cant rely on our friends to be therapists for us. People can help, sure, but your friends aren't trained professionals.

The last thing I'll say is that people need to stop blindly believing everything they read or see online. I am VERY guilty of this and am incredibly gullible, but it's going to do some real damage if we don't rely on fact-checking these things. For everyday things it might not be fun or great to do this but when it comes to witchcraft especially we HAVE to take matters into our own hands. We HAVE to research what we are being told, which is a large reason i still consider myself a baby witch. I've not read NEAR the amount that I have wanted to and I have held off on doing many things due to this fear. My biggest worry is stepping into someone's territory that I don't belong in or that I don't fully understand. Especially considering the Goddess I've been pulled to is Aine, a Celtic goddess and Queen of the Sidh and have had the urge to work them occasionally. I have heard so many horror stories of naïve people being hurt or things happening that I myself am not prepared for. The reason I haven't attempted Astral travel aside from the few times when I was even more a beginner than I am now is because I feel unprepared, even though I'd done some hefty research beforehand. I haven't done spell work yet because I feel unprepared. Will I know how to properly deal with it if it backfires? What if I have to deal with a curse, hex, or malicious entity? I've been scared to reach out to Aine for fear that something will go wrong, I've been scared of possibly encurring a God or Goddesses wrath, I know I wouldn't be prepared to deal with that. Does this fear hold me back? I feel that it probably is. Is it keeping me safe? Absolutely.

NEVER do something without the proper amount of research beforehand.

#michael.txt #witchcraft #otherkin #<- sorting purposes I don't want to put this in a bunch of main tags if asks show up #yes I've been on this app for over 6 years no I still don't fully understand the tagging system </3 #it's nonfunctional enough as is

[the-random-phan]

15, 29,and or 30 for the writer ask game that may have been covered over by the dannopocalypse

Thank-you!!

15: What is the fanfic you've written that you're most proud of?

Honestly the one I'm most proud of is also one that I don't like anymore.

It was a long fic I haven't cross-posted to Ao3. It's called Explosion, and basically the gist of it is that Danny's parents experiment with portals again and when it blows up, they become halfas.

I loved the idea (still do) but I just can't stand to look at it. It's full of plot holes and awkward moments and I just kinda forced myself to keep writing it, 1k a week, for a while. It was so freeing when I changed the summary to say it was abandoned. It'd become a burden, and I got no more enjoyment out of it.

But despite all that, I'm still proud of my younger self. I actually kept to self-made deadlines (most of the time) and though it was miserable to write, I'm proud of the word count I managed to achieve :)

Edit: I fully intend to change the bit at the end to 'discontinued' I just still haven't gotten to it lmao

29: What part of the writing process do you enjoy the most?

Probably either dialogue or setting descriptions, depending on what I feel like doing.

I wouldn't be surprised if at some point I've used 300 words just to describe a single bedroom (which is maybe perhaps a bit of a problem. Maybe).

Sometimes dialogue will just flow so well, and I find myself laughing at the jokes I come up with and smiling as I create subtext and allusions, helping my characters along in their arcs.

But other times it's like pulling teeth, wringing out my brain just to come up with a single pun.

30: Do you write down all your ideas? What makes you decide to write one versus the other?

Ah, yes.

BEHOLD:

My "Stories & Ideas" list

I blurred it on purpose.

Every line you see in an individual idea. When opened they could be a single line, or they could be 2k words that will never again see the light of day. The red ones are highlighted, something I started working on for real at some point, but either forgot to update as being finished or never completed. (Or still have every intention of completing)

Every time a snippet or quote or concept pops into my head I put it down on this here wishlist.

Before I switched phones a few years ago I tried to keep the behemoth in order, but upon switching phones the app glitched. Now nothing stays in order, everything had randomized itself. New notes must go to the bottom, and if you try to put them anywhere else the change won't stick next time you open the app.

This 'wishlist' is so ancient that the app has been removed from the store, and in its place is an updated paid version. I downloaded it 6 years ago, though this list was created in 2018.

So whenever I'm bored and uninspired, I gaze upon this monstrosity until a concept catches my eye. There are certainly enough of them.

#thank-you!!!!!!!! #<3 #just talks #ask game

[shyrose57]

Brothers anon back with a worked out timeline! And Misstressoffandoms sorry im responding so late! I completely missed your reply. Thats what I ended up doing but im hoping to eventually be able to completely copy those eailer asks and put them on my notes app.

When this gets a major update I'll resend if you want me too.

CURRENT AGES! (When they left Subbin)

Ran-19

Ranbob-26 (Previously 28 but decided to change it a bit, decided I didn't like the 9 year age difference between the brothers)

Watson-33 (Previously 35 but decided to change it a bit)

Jackie-16

Grievous-22

Benjamin-30

Cletus-24

Charles-25 (Previously 27 but decided to change it)

Isaac-29

CURRENT TIME LINE! (THIS IS NOT INDEPTH AND IS INSTEAD INTENDED TO GIVE A BRIEF SUMMARY OF EVERYTHING, DETAILS MAY BE CHANGED DEPENDING ON WHATS ADDED)

-Dream gets control of Ranbob and uses him to basically commit genocide in Mizu, Ran barely escapes. 

-After living alone for 6 years Ran arrives in Subbin, takes part in the Pit tournament, and gains a family. At the same time the fishermen find and rescue Ranbob, bringing him to their home.

-2 years past with Ranbob recovering and having a haunting, and Ran fighting while spending time with his own haunting. 

-Isaac manages to convince his group to go to Subbin even though Ranbob is a bit nervous, the fishermen join The Pit for the promise of money and fun. Ranbob gets pinned against Ran (doesnt know its Ran) and sees the King of The Hill is on with Ran at the top. Ranbob climbs up to see Ran there, he is shocked and approaches him with weapon dropped and shaking, Ran kicks him off the edge. Ranbob slams his head into the ground and dislocates his shoulder, rises up to see the King of The Hill dropping. Ranbob tries to talk to Ran only for Ran to run to him and slam him into the ground, yelling at and threatening him. He carries him over to the edge of the arena and at this point Porkius calls off the fight and the fishermen and Gladiators enter the arena to seperate them. Ran cursing out Ranbob as he gets dragged away. Ranbob gets treated in the medical wing as Ran storms about and the two groups talk and match everything up.

-Weeks past with incredible tension in the air. They decide that taking a trip may help and after getting approval from Porkius, manage to convince Ranbob and trick Ran to come along.

-After agurements and tense moments while in a carriage, they get out and walk to their next destination. A flower biome. Where they manage to relax and have fun for a few days before moving on.

-Next Watson leads them to a nearby waterfall he found with a tunnel behind it, the brothers get water splashed on them by Isaac and Jackie being idiots, and from dripping water in the cave, leaving Ran with burns to his neck and hands, while Ranbob has burns to his cheeks and also to his neck. The burns fade quickly with help of burn cream Watson brought with. 

-After they pass the tunnel they see a shattered Savanna, and decide to travel through it. Tension ramps up when both Grievous and Cletus almost fall off halfway up a mountain, and when Rans scowling and growling end up sending Ranbob so far away from him he almost walks off the edge. 

-Watson says the Savanna is to dangerous and leads them to a nearby roofed forest, where they have their first run in with Raq and learn that Ran is still being hunted. 

-After 3 morw run-ins with Raq they move to another forest, this time Oak, and stumble upon a village, where they stop for supplies. This is also where they learn of Kelalen, but the librarian they learned it from dismisses them as lunatics and to avoid them. Upon pressing for more info they find out it was like Mizu, to which Ranbob shows interest and excitement.

-They move on to a Tagia biome where everyone attempts to tame a wolf and fails, expect Charles, Watson, and Ran. Charles gets 4 dogs from this and is very happy.

-While running to shelter in a cave from a thunderstorm, the brothers lag behind the rest, and start to badly agure. At the end Ran shouts something that makes Ranbob stop, stare at him with teary eyes, and run away. Ran almost goes after him but doesnt and instead goes to tell the others. While Ranbob finds another smaller cave to hide it, and after some harsh words, everyone goes searching for him. Leaving Ran alone and leaving him with his guilt ridden, horrible feeling, and merciless mind

-They get Ranbob to come back to find Ran gone, at first almost no one wants to go after him. Saying how it's all his fault. But eventually they agree to look for him after the storm has passed. Its a full day until the storm passes and the gladiators have become very worried for Ran. 

-When they finally look for him, it takes them hours to find him. And they only find him when there's a sudden shout through the woods, leading them to Raq mid-attack on Ran, taking advantage of his distraction of being lost in his own mind. Sadly their a bit late and aren't able to save Ran from a blindness potion. But are able to chase Raq away. Ran suffers due to the potion, and everyone is distressed.

-3 days pass until they manage to collect themselves up enough to move, after Ranbob said that he believes the town of Kelalen is nearby, he believes traveling there is worth the risk.

-It takes a week to travel to Kelalen and at first they get turned away, before Lucia recognizes some features of Ranbob and feels bad turning them away when Ran is blind. So they get brought in and Ran gets cured. 

-They stay in Kelalen for 4 weeks (minimum, may be more later on, im actually thinking along the lines of months) where they learn more about everything and Foolish who is particularly interesting. And after a while and long conversations they say goodbye and continue on to their next biome, a snow biome.

-While in the snow biome they meet a particular old enderman who used to live with members of the SMP. He reveals his name as Edward and upon meeting Ran and Ranbob he makes the connection with them to Ranboo. And starts to happily tell stories and teach lessons. But when Ran leaves to go to bed, Edward reveals that Ran does love Ranbob, but is struggling with his own nightmares that make it hard for him to show it to Ranbob. Who hesitates believing him, but eventually does. From here on Ranbob looks at and thinks of Ran in a different view. 

-After the snow biome theres no real destination next on their list, so they decide to just explore. 

-3 months past before something interesting happens. Whenever they come across a village Jackie has formed a habit of asking them about Foolish, as he took a interest in him. And he eventually gets a village that goes "Yes Foolish is that way." And he excitedly drags everyone else with him to meet Foolish. 

-They get to Foolish's home and start exploring. Jackie is alone when Foolish confronts him and Jackie brings him to the others. Foolish isn't exactly nice at first but warms up upon seeing the brothers again, as he's reminded of Ranboo. Hes informed about Dream and he is horrified to learn that and offers his help, they decline beliving themselves already free of Dream. Just before the group leaves Foolish gives them access to his armoury, saying how he feels like they'll need it. Before Ran can leave Foolish gives him a special totem of undying, saying he truly means he'll help, and that he feels they may face Dream again. Foolish tells Ran to break it when they need help and he'll be summoned to them. Ran leaves disturbed.

-2 years have passed with the group and brothers getting closer, along with occasional attacks from Raq and other hunters. They head back to Subbin. Their goal of getting the brothers closer achieved. Their still not as close as they used to be, but their close enough they can joke around, be left in the same room together alone without someone being stabbed, and even hug. Though Ran still hasnt fully forgiven Ranbob yet, but he's trying his best. Their on their way back to Subbin when nightmares between the two start ramping up, and Ranbobs episodes where he tries to run back to Dream are also on the rise. Everyone is starting to suspect something is happening but isn't sure what and so try to move on. When next Raq attack he brings back up again, this time instead of focusing on Ran, they focus on Ranbob. When Raq is defeated and finally caught, they ask why, and Raq reveals that theres a person who put a high bounty on Ranbob. Raq dies from Ran and Cletus.

-Ranbob fears its Dream, the others comfort him saying Dream can't escape Mizu. Their wrong.

-They finally get to Subbin and things are normal for a while, until Porkius reveals that Ranbob probably shouldn't be alone for a while. When asked why he reveals that the bounty on Ranbob has been put back up in Subbin, although he's going as fast as he can to nullify it. Benjamin, Charles, and Watson go to the local bar where bounties are put. And sure enough there's one for Ranbob there.

-When they get back Ran reveals what Foolish told him about facing Dream. They realizie Dream somehow got out and is hunting Ranbob down. Ranbob is terrified but they manage to comfort him. And they come to the conclusion they need to fight Dream. They spend months preparing and training for it. 

-(This is the end bit and has yet to be fully figured out. So it'll be added in at a later time.)

Notes: During the whole time traveling, unless specified, Ran and Ranbob are far away from each other. Ran tending to be in the very front of the group with Ranbob in the very back. And whenever Ranbob got close to a gladiator Ran would growl at him to back off. 

If you have any questions feel free to ask! (And if I missed anything please tell me so I can add it)

And I wanna check, am I still ok to send these?- to like talk about my au or no?- I'm afraid I've overstayed my welcome honestly and if I did I dont want to annoy you and will stop! And if you still don't mind, is there anything you want me to change? In general?

This’ll be helpful for the future! Also, Charles has four dogs, that’s adorable. 

Of course you’re okay to send ‘em, I love reading these things! 

I will never be annoyed about getting to see someone’s cool ideas and see how they choose to build on them. That sort of thing is awesome, and I love seeing it, your AU most certainly a favorite in that like. Send as many as you’d like, and I’ll be all the happier for it.

#Brothers AU #dream smp #dream smp au #tales from the smp

[cwtwheely]

Pokémon Let's Go Review

Well... this has been a contentious Pokémon game, hasn't it?

While fans were excited that Pokémon was going to be released on the Switch (even if some were disappointed that there would be no more main series games on the 3DS), knowing that the first would include Go elements put some off entirely. Which is understandable; it took about two years for the app to fully form, and its "gameplay" is rudimentary.

But I like Go regardless, and I was looking forward to Let's Go, especially after learning that it was a remake of Yellow (which desperately needed a remake, as the original is incredibly dated).

As for this? I love it. I've been playing it as much as I can since it was released, and I've been having so much fun.

First off, let's talk about the Go aspect. Yes, you no longer battle most of the Pokémon you encounter, but they make sure you have enough of an incentive to catch them other than filling the Pokédex. And it all comes down to catch combos.

Catch combos are earned by catching one species of Pokémon over and over again (you can encounter another Pokémon, run from it and not break the combo). The higher the combo, the more candy and berries you earn.

Candy, which can also be earned by transferring Pokémon to the professor, replace the God awful medical based boosters from the other games which were so expensive and scarce to find in the wild. There are 6 different candy you can earn:

Health - raises HP

Mighty - raises Attack

Tough - raises Defence

Smart - raises Special Attack

Courage - raises Special Defence

Quick - raises Speed

These candy come in normal size (can be used on any Pokémon), large (only work on Pokémon above level 30) and extra large (only work on Pokémon above level 60). There are also Pokémon-specific candy (like Go) which raise every stat of that Pokémon and its evolutionary line (eg: Charmander candy works on Charizard), and the rare candy retains its main series effect of raising the level of a Pokémon.

With these, it's never been easier to unleash the true potential of your Pokémon. It's gotten me into competitive battling a lot more than I thought. And if any system needs to bleed into the main series, it's the candy system.

That said, if it does become a mainstay, it needs a tweak. While I'm not too fussed about grinding for the candy, using them can be incredibly tedious and unnecessarily time consuming. It takes, at most, 10 minutes to fully raise a Pokémon, and that's if you have enough candy to get it that far.

In Go these days, if you have more than one rare candy, and you want to give them all to one Pokémon, you can do so in seconds. It would be nice if that was possible with the Let's Go candy system too, especially with the Pokémon specific candy.

Catch combos offer more benefits than just candy. The further along a chain you get, the more likely you are to find one with the best base stats. You can check these with the Judge feature, which is given to you once you catch 30 different species and talk to an aide on the eastern building out of Fuschia City (heading to Lavender Town). It's another feature that makes it so much easier to invest in getting the best out of your favourite Pokémon (and another feature that needs to be kept).

And, yes, chain combos make things easier to find shiny Pokémon. With a combo over 30, odds are slashed from 1 in just over 4,000 to one in 341. And these odds are made better if you set a lure off and (once you've registered every Pokémon in the Pokédex) the shiny charm.

Also, the higher the combo, the more experience your Pokémon get. While that's great, as is the even distribution of EXP for every Pokémon in your team, it's not ideal. Say you've built a team that you're not entirely happy with. You find a Pokémon you want to include, but realise it's at a much lower level. The only way to build that Pokémon up is to remove all of your current team and grind it up, which is the only major flaw with the catching mechanic. Fortunately, this could only be an issue with any future Let's Go games (if they make more of them).

Yes, some will say "just send it out first in trainer battles!"

You need your stronger Pokémon to support that weaker one, so all the EXP your weak Pokémon gets, your stronger one gets, too (actually, the higher level one gets more, I think). Y

Your team still shares EXP from trainer battles, so you have the same problem.

There aren't as many Trainers as there are wild Pokémon.

Whether they stick with Go catching mechanics, revert to normal, allow players to battle, beat then catch Pokémon (like they do with Snorlax, the Electrode in the Power Plant or the Legendaries) or allow players to choose the best option for them, chain combos should be kept, especially if they're wanting to double down on the competitive scene and allowing everyone a chance to get involved in it.

The catching itself is... alright. While I do like using the Poké Ball Plus, the gyroscope technology in handheld mode is also really good. That said, in a game made to be as accessible as possible, disabled people are abandoned by them.

As someone who is disabled, I'm incredibly fortunate to have little issue using them... for now. One wrong move, however, and I could probably never play the game again. Granted, that's a worst case scenario, but with my condition, that is also a possibility. For a full report on this, I'll refer you to this Kotaku article:

Seriously Nintendo, stop forcing us to accept motion controls! They utterly destroyed Star Fox Zero and they are restrictive as all hell for a series that's meant to be universal! Make them an option if you must, but for God's sake, motion controls should never be the only way to play on a home console!

With all of that out of the way, the story is... well, pretty much the same as the original Yellow version. There are some tweaks; your rival is friendlier than Blue was, Lorelei helps you with Team Rocket on route 10, you see the Cubone try and interact with its dead mother (the most heartbreaking scene in media since Up), you see Blue take over the Viridian City Gym after you beat Giovanni (explaining why you faced him in Gold, Silver and Crystal).

But on the whole, it's simple yet effective. Frankly, it's a better story than Black and White because it doesn't reek of hypocrisy (they're using Pokémon to try and push a message to not abuse animals) and never takes itself too seriously. Besides which, the twist of Giovanni being the Viridian Gym Leader as a means to boost his operation is so unexpected and well handled that it's never been matched.

But on the whole, you beat the Gyms, catch the Pokémon and be the best. It's a formula that works.

Where the game truly shines, however, is the graphics. By the end of the game, I was thinking "why hasn't Pokémon been on a home console before now?" Sure, they wanted people to come together, which was more likely with handheld consoles. But frankly? It held the visual storytelling back so much. And this game is proof of that.

I've mentioned the Cubone moment before, but that whole subplot is the best, most heartbreaking storytelling the franchise has ever had to offer. But the only time that actually worked, and was properly felt, was in this game.

The Gyms also got an upgrade. Most of them were slight updates, but two (Saffron and Cinnabar) have similar mechanics, but a much different feel. Cinnabar especially is so over the top with its quiz theme is just brilliant. I loved it. Saffron's, however, was just breathtakingly beautiful. It was also TARDIS-like in that it's much bigger on the inside. But it's another example of why the Switch makes the game look so much better.

That said, there were a couple of times where I experienced significant frame rate drops in handheld mode (I can't say if it's the same in docked mode as I don't play it that way). It mainly happens at the start of Viridian Forest when there are a lot of Pokémon on screen (be careful when setting a lure off there). I didn't experience any major bugs or glitches other than that, though.

And yes, your Pokémon can (finally) follow you around again. Some (Arcanine, Persian) you can ride on to traverse the world faster. And you can fly over the overworld on a Charizard or Dragonite once you beat the Elite Four (it's tougher to enter buildings though, so you have to spend a couple of seconds trying to land).

Hopefully this means that this feature will be a mainstay. Not only is it fun to interact with your buddy, but they also help you find hidden items in flowers or rocks.

The only Pokémon you can fully interact with is your starter: Pikachu or Eevee. It's similar to Pokémon Amie from X, Y, Sun and Moon, and... well, it's so charming. I often went in just to see her reactions and I wasn't disappointed. She danced, she got excited, she even gave me presents. It's just adorable! Hopefully this stays as well, only for every Pokémon that follows you around.

The menus are fine as well. But in handheld mode, it is rather cumbersome to use the buttons to navigate through them. The touchscreen can be used to interact with your partner Pokémon, so why it couldn't be used to navigate the menus I don't know. Maybe this is one of the aspects they intentionally stripped back? Either way, all us handheld players to use the touchscreen more for the next game please, Game Freak.

Also, the move selection boxes in battle seem... a tad small. It would be nice if they, and the font in them, were made a bit bigger in future games for those with poor eyesight. It's not like they're working with a small 3DS screen any more.

Overall though, I love this game. Yes, it is a stripped back game compared to Sun and Moon (no abilities, less moves). Yes, it has levelling issues. Yes, it has accessibility issues. But the things the game adds make them a fantastic entry point to the series, and competitive battling as a whole.

Plus, it was nice to experience Yellow with a fresh coat of paint. The hardware really helped to enhance the story (again, the Cubone subplot is heartbreaking), the return of travelling partners was great, seeing the Pokémon in the wild made the world feel more alive than it's ever felt.

I'm really looking forward to what they do with the franchise for generation 8. But to tide people over, this was a great instalment. I'd honestly go as far as to say it's one of my favourite Pokémon games ever, just behind HeartGold, SoulSilver, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.

Is Let's Go perfect? Absolutely not. But I've had more fun with this than I have with a Pokémon game since ORAS. It just puts you in the world and explore everything it has to offer. And for a Pokémon game, that's all I really want. It's a lot more fun than sitting through nearly an hour of cutscenes to actually do anything, only to do it again in "follow up" games that could easily have been sold as DLC rather than another full price release.

#pokemon #gaymer #gay gamer #gay nerd #nerd #gay geek #geek #gamer #video games #nintendo #pikachu #game freak #gaming #nintendo switch #pokemon lets go