Ben Reed
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benreedd.bsky.social
Ben Reed
@benreedd.bsky.social
92 followers 520 following 2.5K posts
Retro fighting game player constantly distracted by RPGs and old anime. Very occasionally I put pixels on top of each other and export to .png.
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benreedd.bsky.social
Another test to see if it's something borked with .png uploads: here's a hastily chosen .jpg from my increasingly voluminous Umamusume fanart/meme folder(2.19 GB and growing)
Test .jpg image to see if it's only PNG uploads that are screwing up for me. It's the Myth of Consensual Sex meme repurposed for our beloved Centurial Overlord, T.M. Opera O: "THE MYTH OF "CONSENSUAL" OPERA" T.M. Opera O (looking self-satisfied): "I CONSENT" Meisho Doto (embracing Opera O): "I CONSENT" Admire Vega (looking completely done with this shit): "I DON'T!" "ISN'T THERE SOMBODY(sic) YOU FORGOT TO ASK?"
November 13, 2025 at 8:24 PM
benreedd.bsky.social
Test
Old screenshot from the summer event of Winning Ticket, Maruzensky, and Special Week at a (populated, public) beach The screenshot from the previous post of Bono on the Deserted Island saving her third hapless Trainer-san of the week
November 13, 2025 at 8:15 PM
benreedd.bsky.social
Bono, are you the one rescuing these trainers every time Gold Ship kidnaps them to Deserted Island? Did you rescue McQueen from that tiger?

No wonder she was so composed during the wedding dress event. She's done this before. The tigers probably run from her on sight.
Hishi Akebono on an otherwise deserted island with the viewer (a trainer who got lost on said island). She is entirely too well-dressed for this isolated, mosquito-ridden place, strongly implying that she comes and goes regularly without much fuss. She clasps her hands happily and informs me: "I contacted the return ferry by radio just now, so don't worry. We'll both be back home in no time. ☆"
November 13, 2025 at 8:12 PM
benreedd.bsky.social
Oh my God, they made it possible for Cap to eat EVEN MORE in the latest patch. Special Week's really gonna have to step her game up.
Screenshot of three event choices for Oguri Cap in Umamusume. Two of them are familiar from older versions of the event, but now they've added a 3rd choice in a recent update. The context: just exactly how ham (or pork, or rice, or whatever else the cafeteria has stocked today) is Oguri going to go in an eating contest? This is a standard kind of event for all Umamusume trainees where you can roll the dice (usually in your favor) on a huge Energy regain at the risk of a nasty debuff (Slow Metabolism; temporarily prevents gaining Speed from training). But this is Oguri Cap, so naturally, she has MULTIPLE such events. And now the game allows you to triple down. The projected payout from the in-game event helper, for context. Choice 1: "Give it all you've got!" : Energy +30, Power +10, Skill Pts +10 OR Energy +30, Speed -5(!), Power +5, Skill Pts +10, "Become Slow Metabolism" (this is the old choice with about a 10% chance of getting the debuff route) Choice 2: "Don't overdo it" : Energy +10, Power +5, Skill Pts +5 (0% failure chance, but you generally want to gamble on the gluttony options unless you're completely capped on Energy; the rewards far outweigh the risk) Choice 3: "Wipe that plate clean!" : Energy +200 (a full refill), Power +20, Skill Pts +20 OR Energy +200, Speed -20(!), Power +20, Skill Pts +20, "Become Slow Metabolism" (this is the new choice and I have no idea what the failure rate is. I gambled on it and won, but I'm worried that I won a 50/50 coin flip on -20 Speed and a debuff, lol)
November 13, 2025 at 1:15 PM
benreedd.bsky.social
("Godzilla Comes Ashore" intensifies)
Gacha cutscene for the just-released Hishi Akebono in Umamusume. The smiling Akebono has these key features: bushy brown twintails, a vaguely baker-themed race dress, and is, in this sequence, approximately 150 feet tall. She stomps across the racecourse like Godzilla in front of many (jubilant? horrified? both?) onlookers who are just 2D blue silhouettes with white borders. In her hand is a bag of delicious fresh-baked donuts, no doubt prepared by Bono herself. Closeup of the giant Bono, who leans down to offer the viewer, and the featureless crowd, a donut roughly the size of a small Toyota. The sprinkles alone must be the size of hot dogs. ...I miss you, donuts. I miss you so much.
November 11, 2025 at 11:29 PM
benreedd.bsky.social
Oof. But only 9 characters for new memo notes on legacies. With that few to play with in English I'm legit probably better off just keying them to entries in my (very unorganized) .txt files in which I make notes for various CMs.
You can now add memo notes to Legacy Umamusume! But the prompt has this unfortunate message: "*Test must be within 9 characters". In Japanese, this is fine! Kanji does a lot of heavy lifting! In English? Oof. The word "parent" alone is 6/9 characters. The string "3*" is 2/9. "3* Dirt" is 7/9 characters counting the space. You REALLY need a combo of memo and icon to disambiguate if you have a toolbox as packed as mine.
November 11, 2025 at 2:03 PM
benreedd.bsky.social
FINALLY! New favorite icons in Umamusume Global! No more trying to disambiguate 7 different 8* Gold Ships with the same damn carrot!
Screenshot of new favorite icons usable for Legacy Umamusume. In addition to the "carrot" or "no carrot" (second from top left and top left respectively), we now have the following options: Top row: Rice bowl, boba tea Second row: Chocolate cake (?), strawberry cake, diamond, spade Third row: Heart, club, pink shoe, green shoe Bottom row: Yellow shoe, blue shoe, red shoe, pink handshake (friendship point icon) Only 12 icons in total, but MUCH more useful for categorizing different types of parents/aces when you sort.
November 11, 2025 at 12:34 PM
benreedd.bsky.social
Also rolled out is the Conversation Gallery, where you can now re-watch the random conversations students have in the lobby without having to spam refresh if you're looking for one. These give Archive XP, so be extra sure to eavesdrop for those extra carats!
Tazuna Hayakawa on the archive screen. It's the same as usual, she's gesturing helpfully to the buttons that have trapped her in the corner of the Director's office. Except now there's a new button blocking her escape -- the Conversation Gallery, in the lower right corner. The expanded Conversation Gallery, with a bunch of portrait thumbnails for trainee umas and an X / Y count for all the conversations you've unlocked. (I haven't unlocked any for Gold Ship, surprisingly, but that's probably because she's been front and center on my lobby screen so long. I'll give her a lunch break so that she can go torment McQueen and/or Jordan for a bit.) An example conversation from the gallery: Mayano Top Gun and Marvelous Sunday at a small round table in the lobby, pumping their fists in joy as they prepare to hold a discussion of dimension-shattering import. (Note: conversations in the gallery are only associated with trainee Umamusume, so this convo is filed under Mayano rather than Marv in the gallery.) The Two: "Maya and Marvey's Marvelous School Revolution! ★"
November 11, 2025 at 12:16 PM
benreedd.bsky.social
New Umamusume Global patch has (at least initially) been rolled out. Balance changes are still being evaluated, but in the meantime, here's my new Trainer Card.
My Umamusume Trainer card, introduced with the latest patch. Now instead of your ho-hum profile you can decorate it with a picture of your choice (including a photo taken in the new in-game Photo Mode IIRD). Naturally, I have decorated mine with the card art of the Gold Ship Speed card from the Uma Quest event. Eternal glory to Umaou Golshi-sama! On the back of the card, you can advertise your stud horse--er, Star Umamusume's sparks, just like if you expanded them in the old profile. You can see my Mejiro McQueen loaner here, with 3* Speed, 6* Stamina, and an embarassingly unfocused mix of pink sparks. I'll try to see if I end up with a better one after my Virgo parents are made.
November 11, 2025 at 11:57 AM
benreedd.bsky.social
I am currently using this Double Date deck, with swaps here and there, to make Team Trials horses and re-learn how to pilot various umas. This is the first time I've managed to get both Riko and Tazuna to dating threshhold before Junior Year is up and it's VERY funny. Nearly non-stop training!
Screenshotted deck from a King Halo run in pursuit of a new, more First-Rate(TM) Team Trials ace. At the bottom you can see my deck, a 2 Speed / 1 Power / 1 Wit / 2 Friend monstrosity composed of the following: SSR Tazuna Hayakawa (Friend) (0LB) SSR Daiwa Scarlet (Power) (4LB) SSR Biko Pegasus (Speed) (0LB) SR Matikanefukukitaru (Wit) (4LB) SSR Riko Kashimoro (Friend) (2LB) SSR Kitasan Black (Speed) (4LB; borrowed)
November 9, 2025 at 5:46 PM
benreedd.bsky.social
Finally got my 2nd Platinum title in Champions Meeting. Virgo, I'm sure, will be MUCH harder. Eternal glory to the Great Gold One and her friends, Eat Big Weird Horse and The Normal One
My team of Gold Ship, Oguri Cap, and Nice Nature has won the day against the two opposing finals teams of Oguri Cap, Grass Wonder, and Agnes Tachyon in 2nd, and a mirror match with Golshi, Nature, and Cap in 3rd. Screenshot of my spoils from winning the finals, including the shiny Platinum title, 2000 carats, 5 pink support tickets, 5 pink trainee tickets, a bunch of monies (always helpful), and a bunch of support points (I have too many; I have too few good cards to dump them into). The pink tickets, of course, yielded pretty mediocre results. Best of the cards was an SR King Halo (which I did actually need) and no new umas came home from the trainee gacha. But I am satisfied with these results.
November 9, 2025 at 12:29 AM
benreedd.bsky.social
VICTORY AT LAST

EAT IT, RIKO
The champion of La Resistance, and hero of the people, Gold Ship, has overthrown the tyranny of Riko Kashimoto by virtue of winning the Unity Cup. To humiliate the beaten Little Cocon and Bitter Glasse, they've joined Golshi and pals on stage for their Winning Live. Front and center is MVP Golshi, flanked by Matikanefukukitaru, Sakura Chiyono O, Agnes Digital, and Seeking the Pearl. Cocon and Glasse are in the back with three nameless horse girls.
November 8, 2025 at 12:49 PM
benreedd.bsky.social
With victory comes new team recruits, and an expanded skillset:

Guerilla idol concerts
Burdensome expectations to surpass an unsupportive mother
Rabies (girls, have you all had your shots?)
Three new team members have joined my Unity Cup roster: Smart Falcon King Halo Shinko Windy
November 7, 2025 at 1:26 AM
benreedd.bsky.social
Poor Falco's all on her own. Is this cause I put Flash in my deck?
My choice of first-round opponents in the first Unity Cup race. I can choose from: Rank 25 (E): Dazzling Smile: consisting of Tamamo Cross and Oguri Cap Rank 27 (F): Team Take-It-Easy: consisting of Daitaku Helios and Mejiro Palmer (wahey!) Rank 37 (G) Soft-Boiled Eggs: consisting of...just Smart Falcon?
November 7, 2025 at 1:21 AM
benreedd.bsky.social
Look at Sweepy doing her jumping jacks. She really did dump INT, but at least she put enough points in STR to pass her Athletics checks. Going for a Rune Soldier Louie build, maybe? (Kids, ask your parents.)
It's fall just 2 1/2 months (or 5 turns) before the first Unity Cup race against Riko's team. The squad is training hard-ish in the yard in the picturesque fall scenery. Taiki Shuttle and Sweep Tosho (wearing her witch hat, of course) are doing jumping jacks, and El Condor Pasa is mostly obscured in the background as she stretches. Gold Ship, the flagship of the team, is front and center doing what she does best -- slacking the hell off.
November 7, 2025 at 1:11 AM
benreedd.bsky.social
Damn, even Tazuna's had enough. We need to take down Riko ASAP. I'll get started on training Urara on anti-helicopter tactics.
Tazuna Hayakawa: "This stays between us and is strictly off the record, but... please win this, Trainer." Tazuna Hayakawa: "I agree that some oversight is necessary for the students. It would be irresponsible if they incurred injuries or illness due to lack of supervision..." Tazuna Hayakawa: "But I cannot in good conscience approve of Ms. Kashimoto's overly restrictive and repressive methods." Screenshot of Tazuna in the training room, looking displeased as she comments on Riko's methods. Tazuna Hayakawa: "But I cannot in good conscience approve of Ms. Kashimoto's overly restrictive and repressive methods."
November 7, 2025 at 1:05 AM
benreedd.bsky.social
"Unparalleled lung capacity", Riko? You've clearly never trained Bakushin, King Halo, and especially not Winning Ticket. I can tell because you're not wearing ear protection.
Riko Kashimoto appears with one of the racers she's chosen to put Taiki's rebellion in its place, Little Cocon: a blue-eyed Umamusume with a blonde bob cut and a quiet expression. She is described thusly by the game: "Also among their number is Little Cocon, a cynical Umamusume whose lung capacity is truly unparallelled."
November 7, 2025 at 12:59 AM
benreedd.bsky.social
Taiki Shuttle, the face of La Resistance. Go get her, Taiki! I'll just be back here cowering behind the Director's desk. I do NOT like making eye contact with Ms. Kashimoto.
Taiki Shuttle and Riko Kashimoto in the Director's office. Taiki Shuttle is making her impassioned protest to a thoroughly unimpressed Riko. Taiki Shuttle: "We the students are against Operation Oversight!"
November 7, 2025 at 12:46 AM
benreedd.bsky.social
This is completely unsustainable. If you cut Oguri Cap's calories, she's gonna eat her roommate. And the worst part is, she'll STILL be hungry. Tamamo Cross is not a large source of protein.
Rice Shower: "Hm... It says, "Under Operation Oversight, all students are required to record the nutritional content of everything they eat each day."" Rice Shower: "If a student consumes too much or too little..." Rice Shower: "All their meals of the following day will be replaced with 'penalty drinks', a beverage that is incredibly bitter but nutritionally dense..."
November 7, 2025 at 12:40 AM
benreedd.bsky.social
At last, the reassuring sight of someone trustworthy and fully accredited (citation needed).
The mysterious masked acupuncturist Sasami Anshinzawa, with her white lab coat, bright red dress, and shoujo-villainess-grade opera mask, has once again infiltrated the Tracen infirmary and poked my horse with something approximating expertise. Gold Ship is now more charming and will make friends more easily. She shoots a celebratory selfie with Ms. Anshinzawa while blasting her signature double-peace gesture. For once, if Riko caught me doing this, she'd actually be justified to fire me on the spot (assuming she didn't just have me shot in the courtyard).
November 7, 2025 at 12:29 AM
benreedd.bsky.social
Ah, y-yes. You were, uh, watching me. How, uh, *gulp* how comforting, Madam Interim Director-for-Life.
Riko Kashimoto has materialized at the track after training, still staring into my soul and finding it wanting. "I watched your training session. Your team seems to be putting in a reasonable amount of work."
November 7, 2025 at 12:21 AM
benreedd.bsky.social
Somehow I don't think overexerting herself from Too Much Team Spirit will be a problem for Golshi. A more likely injury is burns from oil splashing back on her when she tries a little too hard to put some stank on her latest batch of yakisoba.
Taiki Shuttle: "It's not like we'll lose our minds if we get put into teams! Having teammates to support us will--" Riko Kashimoto: "A thought experiment, then. Let's say a particular team engages in an excessive amount of supplementary training." Riko Kashimoto: "They have no ill intentions and only want to work hard as a team in order to claim victory." Riko Kashimoto: "However, one of them pushes herself too hard and injures herself to the point of being unable to run." Taiki Shuttle: "...!" Riko Kashimoto: "Had she been on her own, she might have realized her limits, but because she got carried away by loyalty to her team, she overworked herself."
November 7, 2025 at 12:16 AM
benreedd.bsky.social
Riko, you monster. I'll take you down or die trying. Assuming Golshi doesn't kill me first.
Haru Urara and Rice Shower try to process the sudden authoritarian bent the interim Tracen administration has taken. "Try" is the operative word for Urara. Haru Urara: "Ummm... What's she saying, Rice?" Rice Shower: "Well... I guess we won't be able to snack on ice cream at night anymore? I think?" Haru Urara looks shocked. Haru Urara: "Whaaat?! Why?!"
November 7, 2025 at 12:08 AM
benreedd.bsky.social
...Holy smoke, that escalated quickly.
Riko Kashimoto addresses the assembled Tracen students and makes this perfectly normal proclamation: "I will begin by overseeing your training schedules and meals, and eventually move on to managing every aspect of your private lives."
November 7, 2025 at 12:03 AM
benreedd.bsky.social
"That's not a threat. That's a PROMISE."
Tazuna beams at the viewer while Riko continues to glare. "NEW TRAINING PARTNER!" "Riko Kashimoto will now appear in training."
November 7, 2025 at 12:00 AM