man it sure does suck liking the MG trope and not being able to enjoy it very well

because either you get exposed to lewd content or you end up with some generic fantasy aesthetic. there is really no way to find monster girls that are both clean AND not having the same art style as DND.

Otacon: You mean I'd only get in your way... (Feeling bitter about his helplessness)

Snake: Wrong. Only you can save those hostages. Got it?

Gripping Otacon by the shoulders, Snake reassures him. Smiling, Otacon nods his head.

thinking about the certificates signed by ocelot and kaz you get for doing certain amounts of actions and how ocelot just writes ‘ocelot’

It really is so personally tragic to me that every clip of Mean Girls in DC looks like this

EVERYONE GO WATCH PIXLRIFFS EMPIRES SEASON 2 FINALE HOLY FUCK

my thoughts about ocelot and ghosts ...

OK these are just my own ideas about ocie seeing ghosts and i guess it's basically an alternate universe thing since there's no ummm evidence in canon but like yeah. basically i've written a few fics where he sees ghosts and it's become a part of “my” ocelot's character i guess but i've never sat down and laid out the specifics or the uh rules of his ghostly goings on so im gonna attempt to summarise it all here. warning that none of this really uhhh makes sense exactly but also ghosts aren't real so i feel like i can literally make up anything right. wait who was that floating guy holding up a sign just now

Anyway.

- his ability to see ghosts is of course inherited from his father, but it's not as strong as the sorrow's, and he doesn't have the ability to read minds or sense people's thoughts like i imagine the sorrow can to an extent.

- it's also limited in that he can only see ghosts when it rains. um. now this bit makes me want to ahem and hurriedly go on to the next point because the exact reasoning of Why he only sees ghosts when it rains is not super scientific or clear its just that i like the idea of it. but basically rain = ghosts. and of course the sorrow = rain but like. hm. i could sort of say that like, in this universe, rain in general has uhhh supernatural ummm. properties? it's like a link between the two worlds. when the skies open so does the door to the ghost world i don't fucking know. and so that's whyyy u kno in mgs3 outside the warehouse where there's like a crack of thunder and it starts raining and the boss is like... sorrow? is that you? i think there because of the uhhh rain she can sort of sense his presence more even though she can't actually see him.

- and like you can imagine the sorrow as being able to control the weather and cause it to rain or not rain and i think that is fine and real but i just want to make it clear that when ocie sees ghosts it's not because of the sorrow like Making him see ghosts it's something that sort of just happens to ocie regardless. like from birth he saw ghosts.

- i know these are like joke missions almost but i always think about the fact that in peace walker you get several missions featuring ghosts. (and of course the top 10 video game lines of all time spoken by kazuhira miller i.e. so..do ghosts have legs or what?) because it cements to me the idea that ghosts are a sort of normal part of the metal gear universe. so they're there and some people can see them some can't it's just like one of those things you know no big deal. so ocie isn't exactly a unique special boy for seeing ghosts there are other people who can although it's a minority but yeah.

ok so. Ocie's Ghostly Quirks

- he can see ghosts; they appear in varying forms. sometimes just hands or even just voices. sometimes full figures like the sorrow. people that he knew well/cared about/is related to appear very vividly, like the sorrow, but he can talk to all ghosts, and they to him.

- cliched perhaps but the rain/ghosts being there makes him feel cold like in a woooOoOooo ghostly coldness way. no matter the real temperature he will feel so so freezing until the rain stops. he’ll be shivering + his skin will feel physically cold. > i don’t think this is The reason he wears gloves but wearing them is helpful in disguising his ghostly coldness bc ofc if someone touched his bare hands they’d be like wtf why are u weirdly cold etc but the gloves at least disguise that a little although the gloves would probably still feel chilly. when it rains he’s a soggy shivering freezing shaking little beast essentially.

- ....in one fic i wrote that he could also uhhh make this ghost rain happen. like rain but its not real and it's spooky and sparkly. and he and john had a real yaoi moment and john saw the ghost rain too and it even turned into ghostly white flower petals and it was really sad and squee. to be honest i am a little embarrassed about that little scenario now because it seems a little too soft and squee idk BUT. i think the general idea of ocie having weird little secret supernatural powers of varying descriptions still stands, although like i said before his Powers aren't as strong as his father's.

Ocie's Ghostly Karma/The Phantom Pains

- fact: ocie has killed a lot of people. fact: this is not without consequence. sometimes he feels these uhhh ghostly pains (phantom pains.) that are caused by his ghostly victims and their anger and sorrow and vengefulness at being killed. for example if he shot someone in the stomach and they died and they became a ghost, when it rains he might all of a sudden feel a pain in his own stomach like a gunshot impact for a second. so whatever the manner of death he inflicted, he will feel it himself. it does him no actual physical harm, and is usually only momentary, but you can imagine if he ever killed someone via physical harm in the process of torture then he'd certainly be getting a ghostly taste of his own nasty medicine.

And this could either be a Thing that just Happens; a law of the ghost universe, a thing that happens to everyone who can see ghosts. OR it could be unique to ocie - in that it's a Thing inflicted on him by the Sorrow. This is ocie's version of the river john walks through, except it happens throughout his whole life. maybe the Sorrow sees his nasty streak in mgs3 when he's just killing people and teeheeing about it and decides to go WHOOSH and just like that ocie is cursed with the phantom pains. (So that he will always know the sorrow of those whose lives he has ended.)

but either way, whether it was inflicted by the sorrow or just a (super) natural thing that occurs to those who have the ghost quirks, it's an idea that i like because it adds another layer to the pain he is willing to go through for the sake of big boss.

like the more people he kills in order to help big boss, the more (ghostly) pain he will feel. and yet he carries on anyway. nasty silly boy. > sidenote: - the quastion of where he grew up i.e. was it in russia or the states is of course debatable but if he grew up in the us.................he might have seen cowboy ghosts. like real proper old timey cowboys maybe. and that was partly what started his cowboys obsession. i mean he probably wasn’t living anywhere near texas or wherever cowboys were. but maybe ghosts don’t always stay where they died. idk. it was just a little thought. moving on. the joy and the sorrow - i think the sorrow appears to ocelot frequently throughout his life but i’m not really decided on whether the boss is a) a ghost at all and b) is ever seen by ocie. it’s my own universe but i literally don’t really know what the logistics of ghosts are like does everyone become one or are some people at peace and don’t become ghosts. but that begs the question why isn’t the sorrow at peace... which is a whole other quastion for another time really........and is the boss really at peace or would she be a restless spirit.................etc................too many quastions. but it’s interesting to think about. -- well anyway. this has been a very long ramble about ocie’s ghostly goings on. oh btw he can see animal ghosts too. ghosts horsies and ghost cats exist and he’s seen them. he told me so himself. bye bye

hrghghh im thinking about my death stranding/mgs crossover again... the things i could do with the premise of death stranding without the weird colonialist implications....

listened to tumblr user garak’s revolver ocelot playlist again another great mental health choice by ME!!!!!!!!

Mostly Plants Part II - pots/planters in terra cotta and ten cluedo colors

bg philodendron, fig tree, floor fern, and blue hosta - shasta_CEP_bg_plantferns goes in your Documents\...\zCEP-EXTRA folder and lets the hanging fern share textures with the floor fern - default files include @witheredlilies' edited fig tree pot and my edited philodendron pot

bg value curtain in gingham

mg tech topiary - @hafiseazale's updated CEP extras for the More Tragic Than Thou topiary are included, please see Hafi's link for how/where to install them - I like the original so there's no default replacement, just a file with merged recolors

Thanks and credit to Hafi, Amaryll, and EA

ts2 download default files with merged completer colors

ts2 download recolors (unmerged)

my NEW final verdict on monster girls

in the past, i’ve made lots of posts about the MG trope, including this one. so here’s another one.

Part 01: the problem with MG’s.

MG’s should be centered around creative design- namely, character design and worldbuilding. but too many people use this as an outlet for sexualizing. this isn’t even a problem with the trope itself- a lot of people on the internet tend to sexualize women. a lot.

Part 02: MG’s CAN be good!

that being said, there is nothing wrong with the monster girl trope itself. it can be used for GOOD, and really deserves redemption!

something to note: it is never wrong to design an attractive female character. however, if you choose to deliberately tailor your characters for sexual gratification as much as possible(IE, big boobies & cleavage, juicy butt, levels of thicc that point more towards sexual gratification than regular attractiveness), then that’s not good. but if you just make a cute girl with attractive properties who isn’t blatant thot material, that’s all right. be sure to make MG’s responsibly.

Part 03: how DO we save the trope?

the thing is, we can’t save the trope through normal means. a lot of people in the MG fandom tend to go down these sexually passionate avenues, so it seems that the default for the trope is that of the sexually iffy variant(googling MG’s on google images can easily prove this), when it doesn’t have to be.

so how we DO save it is by being good examples, and make a secondary empire reflecting this positive role model-ness. we can make good MG works that aren’t borderline pr0n, and help educate others on how MG’s should be utilized. we can’t truly transform the already-existing trope into something radically different than what it currently is, but we can at least split the trope into two parts- one already-existing BAD side, and another new, GOOD side.

Part 04: conclusion

monster girls are an untapped sea of creative potential. i say this not because they are an untapped resource in general(plenty of people are tapping into the thot factor), but because the true creative potential that can come from the application of character design and worldbuilding is something that needs to be utilized.

i am currently working on a “monster girl field guide” that’s a guide to all the standard MG’s associated with the trope. YES, i am very aware of the MG encyclopedia, but i have seen some entries from it(particularly the slime girl’s, which discusses their diet. do not research), and i am hella disappointed. my MG field guide, however, will brief you in on every MG you need to learn about, while providing interesting lore i’ve come up with. in short, it should be a good example on how to use MG’s creatively, as well as a good introduction to MG’s that’s not as sexually flawed.

i still need help- an artist for MG portraits would be appreciated, as would an expert on various MG tropes, so i can provide relatively accurate details in my book. but i am getting progress done on the book! i am just having trouble coming up with cool ideas for certain MG’s.

will people find this post? probably not. will the few that find it care about it? probably not. does it deserve to be made? HELLA JEFF YES.

Part 05 (nights at freddys): uhhhh....

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEFBARFBYOEAYOBFDSAYBFDOYBE

Compilation / Transcript of all three Lawrence documents in Saw: The Video Game

1. Partial Medical File Name: [Blacked Out] Patient ID #: 825-361-3127 Date: April 14th, 1998

Consultation

Doctor’s Notes - Upon initial assessment, [Blacked Out] presents as a well-spoken man with a firm grasp on reality. Patient 34 years old. Married for 2 years. Wife 4 months pregnant.

Denies necessity of psychological treatment, but has kept appointment at the request of his wife, who insisted on visitation due to a concern over growing isolationistic [sic] tendencies.

Patient displays high degree of verbal acuity and is very observant. Initial tests suggest a high IQ, with an extraordinary ability to recall facts. [Blacked Out] expressed pride at his intelligence and knowledge. Exhibits need to point out the weaknesses in others. Insists the behavioral changes are that of his wife who “no longer understands” him.

Patient is polite and cordial, but non-compliant. Seems to take pleasure in obfuscating answers and attempting to trick questioner. Patient’s demeanor is calm and controlled. Shows disconnect with the emotions of other individuals and general lack of empathy towards humanity. Verbally expresses affection for his expectant wife and child, but does not outwardly display so when discussing them.

After initial consultation [Blacked Out] does not feel a need for future visitations. Have scheduled a follow-up appointment with the option to cancel with 24 hours notice, just in case he changes his mind.

Patient displays tendencies towards depression and Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

2. Partial Medical File Patient ID #: 825-361-3127

Doctor’s Notes [Blacked Out] continues to show up to appointments despite questioning need for psychiatric treatment. States that he “knows more about medicine and the mind” than any of the staff. Mocks staff credentials and is often uncommunicative during therapy. Claims traditional psychiatric medicine fails patients by not offering them “real choices.”

Patient displays familiarity with psychological/psychiatric language. Patient states that he is well aware of own childhood history and its potential psychological ramifications. Describes authoritarian, punitive father and absent, passive mother. Insists that his superior intelligence and self-control make childhood history of physical, mental and verbal abuse unimportant.

Patient denies history of his own violent and impulsive behavior, citing memory lapses. Our conversations reveal the [sic] [Blacked Out] often manipulates others for his own amusement. Patient shows no remorse at negative effects his behavior has on other people. Views others as objects/pawns.

Based on [Blacked Out]’s behavior and history, I recommend inpatient treatment. Patient refuses to consider this option.

Raise Haldol to 5 mg/twice daily. Raise chlorpromazine to 50 mg nightly.

3. Partial Medical File Name: [Blacked Out] Patient ID #: 825-361-3127

Injury Report Single fracture of the arm, left ulna.

Treatment Prescribed Bone set, cast application recommended for 5 weeks.

Notes [Blacked Out] claims injury is result of accidental fall. Subdermal hematoma at site of fracture, implying fracture was impact-related, but [Blacked Out] had additional bruising on the knuckles of both hands. When asked about metacarpal bruising, [Blacked Out] denied bruising and became violent, interrogating me about my bedside manner. Doctors make the worst patients.

sparkle on it’s wednesday don’t forget to be yourself

MG-A Stormwind is so cooked, man. Dude's out here trying to tell everyone about one of the most well known abusers towards women in the scene, with years of documented proof, and everyone's responses are a mix of 'now isn't the time' and 'stop disrupting my RP'. Y'all are the reason abusers thrive in this community, because you'd rather stick your heads in the sand than work to better your community by making victims feel safe to talk about their experiences. Disgusting behavior from you all.

.

Do you sometimes think that you're too harsh on FDR?

No, not particularly. I think the things I criticize him for are fairly self-evident.

No one denies that the internment of Japanese-Americans was a travesty, but I am annoyed at the historical minimization of FDR's role in the entire affair. He's the one who authorized it, and more importantly, he authorized it while having credible intelligence reporting that there was no threat. In historical discussions, FDR is frequently never even mentioned, almost as if paranoia and racism just spontaneously willed EO9066 into existence, as opposed to a document which he knowingly signed.

Similarly, I don't think it's contestable that FDR favored Soviet interests over American ones in his approach to Soviet policy. He took repeated efforts to stop counter-intelligence against the Soviet Union; when the Soviets were discovered to be conducting espionage against the US, his response was to inform the Soviets via back-channels rather than arrest or PNG the offenders, to maintain the relationship and avoid political blowback (since his initial recognition of the Soviet Union was contingent on ceasing espionage activity against the US). While presidents and politicians are given great leeway in interpreting what is in American public interest and frequently conflate personal political interest with the American public interest, Obama declassifying intelligence to shore up his re-election in 2012 comes to mind, I don't think there's any way to interpret his overly-accommodating attitude toward the Soviets as anything other than counter to American interest. This can't even be explained as wartime necessity, because FDR had been doing this even before 1941.

Even something as simple as the Air Mail scandal has broader ramifications. You can say that FDR was misled by George Dern who claimed that the Army Air Service pilots could fly the airmail routes, but he threw MG Foulouis under the bus in order to preserve Dern's and his own political reputation and then gave the airmail contracts to Errett Cord, his campaign contributor. That's fairly standard corruption, but the Hoover administration's awarding of the airmail contracts to campaign contributors was the reason he rescinded the contracts in the first place! The idea that "it's okay when I do it," has been a very pernicious problem when it comes to anti-corruption efforts, and the idea that the politicians will cover up the death of servicemen to save their own careers just rankles me for personal reasons.

You can like him for any number of reasons, I just feel that the historical record largely ignores FDR's blunders in favor of a purely hagiographic approach.

Thanks for the question, Anon.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

You ever think about how Big Boss brought on Miller to be the admin of MSF and Miller looked at this traumatized soldier talking about making a world where soldiers fight for their own causes and not major global powers and his first thought was "money" and how that must hace impacted Big Boss' decisions with the phantom plan to move on once he had to go full in on Outer Heaven?

OH BOY DO I!!!! yeah....yeah......i think the whole question of why big boss was ready to "betray" kaz + all the rest of it is very tasty and what u say here is definitely a factor like..........

kaz' story is so !! because like, yes he is the walking human tragedy who dies alone without dignity etcetera. but he’s not exactly an innocent victim of big boss....you maybe can’t say he brings everything upon himself entirely, but i certainly think that during peace walker he does himself absolutely no favours when it comes to being someone that big boss would want to trust/bother to keep in his plans/not be a dick to later on.

the fact that kaz lies to big boss regarding zadornov/paz etc (even though it was for the sake of expanding msf, the fact that he went behind bb’s back just doesn’t look good) and the fact that money seems to be his main motivation, his whole soldier-come-coked up business shark vibe - all of this shows big boss that he’s a) not fully trustworthy or loyal and b) kind of shallow, or perhaps not fully dedicated to bb’s noble cause of War All The Time for the right reasons.

and also, during peace walker bb is starting to change anyway; he’s becoming darker, less trusting, more ego-driven, whatever. the les enfants terrible project - zero’s betrayal of him - 2 years earlier has already made him more jaded; and after the ai incident, where he decides that the boss had also “betrayed” him and casts off her will completely, he’s well on his way to becoming the nastier figure that he is by the late 80s/90s.

so, when kaz confesses the truth to bb at the end of peace walker - and then goes on his spiel about war becoming a business -  you can see why big boss might take that as a further case of “betrayal”; and later on, after msf falls, be more inclined to leave kaz out of things.

however!! having said that, this isn’t to say that big boss ever hated kaz, or never cared for him, or didn’t think of him as a good partner. we know bb has respect for kaz, (i think he describes him as a true warrior at some point or words to that effect?), we know they worked well together, we know they liked each other to whatever degree you want to imagine, and of course we needn’t go into the beach date or sauna incidence...

but i guess, the problem is that however much bb liked kaz, it was never going to be enough in some ways, because there was always that hierarchical element.

after their conversation where kaz fesses up, the way big boss seems unconvinced or unenthused by kaz’ “i’m with you boss! we’ll see how it turns out ~ together ~ !” , and the way that the final shot is of bb walking off alone to the helicopter, leaving kaz behind so to speak - it all just gives you such a feeling of Doom because you know that,well, big boss is big boss, and while they may have appeared to be a good team together (and may have tenderly fucked under a box once or twice) kaz was always going to be stuck in the role of a subordinate, another cog in the machine of big boss’s Big War Plans, and ultimately left by the wayside.

so yeah........i guess it’s a combination of kaz’ slightly frivolous, money-driven approach to msf, and how he shows himself to be capable of lying, going behind bb’s back, and the fact that big boss was maybe always this sort of self-absorbed (”not interested in other people’s lives”) guy anyway, who became wrapped up in his own goals and was prepared to go to any lengths, even if it meant abandoning a former partner.

anyhow, i guess i could say some more stuff on this that’s not directly related to the question but this has got kinda long LOL so i will waffle no longer, ty for dropping in!! :-) (sorry this took me so long to get to LOL...kept u waiting huh etc etc.)

hello!! i am so interested in all of the insects you keep!! they are all so lovely and fascinating thank you for sharing them! i am very interested in your centipede feeding on carrion! you mentioned previously that they are venomous, how many venomous insects do you have, if u mind sharing, as well would any of them have an effect if they happened to strike you/people in general? thank you!

I don’t have any venomous insects.

I have a lot of venomous myriapods, and four venomous arachnids. I haven’t been stung/bitten by any of them, except once by a small baby Scolopendra hainanum. it was only painful for a day or so, but a very strange bone-aching sensation from an animal barely two centimeters long.

my house centipedes are essentially harmless and lack the strength or size to piece human skin, and their venom is probably very mild. the scolopendrid centipedes I have vary from “bee sting” to “utterly excruciating” but effects seem to vary depending on individual. they’re not likely to kill though, centipede venom is painful but usually does not have lasting effects.

I don’t know much about the tarantulas/mygalomorphs I have since neither is prone to biting but I would imagine neither is much more painful than a bee sting.

my scorpions are probably the most seriously venomous animals I keep. a sting from Graciela would be very painful but probably not life-threatening if I’m not allergic. Scorpion Files says “C. gracilis from Cuba have a reported LD 50 value of 2.7 mg/kg, which is quite potent” but also mentions that the North American populations are less venomous than they are in their native range, though they don’t cite a source. the effects of the venom are poorly known for this species, but unlike other species in its genus I don’t think there are any documented fatalities.

I don’t really think about how my creatures are venomous on a daily basis though, at least towards me. it is easy to not get stung/bitten and the animals do not want to sting or bite anything except they prey they eat.