Pinned dependencies are a good thing, right up until they’re the reason you can’t upgrade a vulnerable package. The Python package open-webui pins brotli at 1.2.0, preserving the remote code execution vulnerability in that Google library. It also pins pillow at 12.3.0, preventing upgrades to versions safe from both the brotli bug and the Ghostscript remote code execution hack.

Wild Last Boss 2, episode 5

Our Little Angel needs a confidence boost, and it just so happens that there’s a hunting tournament nearby, fortunately of the get-er-done-in-one-episode variety, and she’s more than qualified to participate. In fact, she dominates, backed up by Our Unfortunate Hero, who’s looking for Lufas but finds the stirrings of young love. I’d say “puppy love”, but they’re in a country filled with doggie girls, catgirls, and other animal hybrids, so that might confuse the issue.

Furthering the string of coincidences, the country was founded by one of Our Old Frenemies, and one of Our Missing Minions seems to be in the area, too. Next week.

Verdict: perfectly satisfactory.

Vortex Farce, episode 4

Our Short-Pants Shota Hero is stuck on a desert island with His Future Wife and The Other Overprotective Haremettes (I include his sister as a haremette because they’re half-alien, and surely such an advanced species would have more sensible taboos). The thoroughly contrived loss of all their stuff was not the least plausible part of the episode; that dubious honor belongs to Bodacious Bouncy Glasses Gal randomly being a strict vegetarian, something that somehow didn’t come up when they all spent the night at Best Mom’s place.

Anyway, their cunning plan is to use Shota as bait for a CGI VillainBot so they can capture it and let Veggie Gal dissect its brain for clues. Based on no evidence whatsoever, they all conclude that the brain is in the head, and it would have been nice if that had been subverted. Naturally, Sister Gal queers the deal to protect her precious ShotaBro, leading to an ass-kicking and a crotch shot. In the end, Our Smoking Hot Villainess shows up and finally speaks, to us but not the heroes, revealing that like all the best antagonists, she thinks she’s doing the right thing.

Verdict: I am disappointed that the complete loss of luggage on a tropical island did not result in a reduction in the amount of clothing worn. Maybe next week.

Isekai Kinky Porn Game Cheat Harem, episode 5

Adding to the scenery, we have Easygoing Shortstack Teacher, with enough titty to supply half a dozen standard-issue haremettes. Then there’s Itty-Bitty-Titty Tsuntail, who’s good with knives and equipped with striped panties, which the entire school gets a good look at. In the background are catgirls, doggie girls, bunny girls, and just plain girl-girls, most of them possessing less heroic busts than the heroines, but still enhancing the backgrounds. Most of the episode is walk-and-talk, though, as school begins and exposition is dished out, so they’re a welcome distraction.

Verdict: still more animation budget than expected, and this wasn’t even a combat-heavy episode.

(Big Sister is no match for Shortstack Teacher…)

MP Repo Fairy MP, episode 4

Just noticed that the ribbon on Our Possibly-Evil MP Fairy MP’s chest actually spells out M.P.

We get some flashbacks to Our Lending Hero’s days of innocence, in which a haze of optimism and hormones blind him to what a cold-blooded calculating bitch Our Busty Childhood-Friend Wicked Witch has always been. We also get to see more of how OP he is already, just with his first few purchased skills, as he rips through a dungeon. And MP’s just getting started on powering him up.

At the end, we rejoin Abandoned Samurai Gal, in time for him to discover that she’s been treated like dirt by her party, too, and locked up with a monster to give them time to flee. Next week, it’s team-up time!

Verdict: Our Wicked Gals are reduced to giving titty rubs to recruit mana sources into their party, and while the goods are first rate, word’s already gotten around about their curse, so all they get out of it is further reducing their rep among other adventurers. I approve, both of the visuals and their relative lack of impact on the main story.

(titty-rub elf is loosely related)

Sword World, American Express Gold Card Edition

The long-promised English-translated release of the Japanese Sword World role-playing game (the basis for Record of Lodoss War and Louie The Rune Soldier) is up on Backerkit, and it is, to say the least, pricy. Most of the backing levels exceed $300, some by quite a bit. The just-a-player bundle is $150, and the relatively-complete PDF-only edition is $175.

On the other hand, three days into the campaign they’d raised $2.6 million dollars out of a required $20,000, so you can’t argue with success.

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