#I love doing research for stuff like this :)

[queervegancryptid]

Seriously, academics and the like are flawed like the rest of us, so use critical thinking skills even when you're talking to an "expert" (obligatory disclaimer half because this is the internet and half because I majored in philosophy and am wont to quarrel about what exactly counts as an "expert" because my brain is wrong)

BUT

I promise that, in general, they will be very happy to talk about their work. Academics in particular, a lot of them I've known, don't get to pursue exactly what they want all the time. So when you engage with them on topics they actually have a background in, they sometimes forget how to act and infodump with the enthusiasm of your autistic friend who lights up talking about their special interests. All the ivory tower pretentious bullshit you sometimes have to cake onto yourself in that world, it can just crumble to dust with the force of their excitement about actually getting to talk about things that interest them rather than having to publish for publishing's sake or having to teach a course because someone in the department has to and it's their turn. (Seriously, I don't know if this is common knowledge, but that's actually how some departments run things: I taught the intro course last year, so it's so-and-so's turn next. See, for example, the dude who taught my intro to astronomy course. Lecture was a snoozefest. The planetarium and outdoor work? He was a different man. The final grades for the class had like a 40 point curve. It was kind of a mess. But it was cool when he actually wanted to be there.)

I used to say that was my favorite part of academia, but then I realized it's the main thing about that world that drew me in: I wanted a place where I would be expected and encouraged to explore in ways I wasn't allowed (or wasn't able, not having the resources and living in a small town) to do when I was a kid. It didn't work out the way I wanted it to, but that's a story for another post.

It's why I love libraries. There's a "bookmine" near me (I don't want to doxx myself naming it but DM me if you want and I'll elaborate) that I would fucking adore to roam for days and days. Or just nights. You know, sneak in and hide in this massive building full of books, wait for them to close and go home for the evening, and just go to town exploring various subjects. Also my partner would be there so we could gab to each other about our discoveries. I feel like a lot of people, academic types especially but not exclusively, can relate to this yearning to explore and share.

Don't feel like the only people worth talking to are folks with advanced degrees or prestigious titles, though. Academics can be easy to find relative to other kinds of experts, but good information can come from anybody. Not just somebody with an email address ending in edu. At the same time, beware of influencers and whatnot, obviously. Good information can come from anywhere, and the same is true of bad information. Someone saying things with a lot of confidence isn't necessarily telling you the truth and doesn't necessarily know what they're talking about.

Anyway. Send the email. I promise you're not bothering them by asking about the thing they literally got at least one advanced degree learning about on purpose (in the case of academics, but like I said, this can apply more broadly than that; read the room and shoot your shot, or whatever the kids are saying nowadays). I have a lot more to say about this and may even make a post to help people find experts in a given field of study and how to use responsible critical thinking skills and research methods more generally, especially if anybody expresses an interest in any of that. But I've babbled enough on somebody else's post lol I apologize and also it will happen again

Signed - your local autistic philosopher weirdo who just really really likes information and libraries and finding and exploring cool stuff and can't shut up about it sometimes

[fuckyeahisawthat]

So OBVIOUSLY Jayce is as smart as Viktor; I don't think Viktor would give him the time of day if he wasn't. But I think he does have a bit of the Elle Woods "What, like it's hard?" about his weird freak genius brain in that he doesn't realized quite how much of an outlier he is.

Like it seems from Jayce and Viktor's chalkboards and also the scenes of Ekko, AU Powder and Heimerdinger building the Z drive that there is actual rune math involved, in that runes have mathematical properties and you can do equations with them. And I think it's highly unlikely anyone in Piltover formally teaches this branch of mathematics because no one believes magic can be accessed in this way, and also it's not like Jayce is gonna be requesting an elective to learn the stuff needed for his illegal science project. So I'm guessing Jayce was teaching himself an entirely new branch of mathematics probably out of some weird old books imported through slightly irregular means, on top of all his regular coursework/research. Hell, he was probably inventing/discovering new rune math in the process of creating Hextech; by the time the Hexgates are open he could probably write the textbook on it.

With Viktor, I actually think the element he would think was no big deal is his engineering skill. Zaun is absolutely full of crazy tinkerers building shit out of nothing and jerry-rigging solutions to problems and keeping things working with spit, rubber bands and ingenuity. They have advanced prosthetics and body mods (I am sure Viktor's back brace is an Undercity creation; no one in Piltover knows how to make that stuff because no one needs it); they have "potions" that heal serious wounds quickly; even the Firelights' hoverboards are a technology we don't see in Piltover. Jinx and Ekko both figure out how to make usable Hextech artifacts with way fewer resources than anyone in Piltover has; Ekko and AU Powder invent fucking time travel when they have a bit of time to mess around with things.

And when it comes to book learning I'm guessing Viktor had no one to compare himself with as a child, so he's teaching himself calculus at age ten out of a book he stole out of some rich Piltie kid's backpack and thinking this is probably how everyone learns topside. He probably ran circles around his fellow Academy students when it came to formal classwork but he barely pays attention to that because it's not discovery; it's just demonstrating that you know the material and he already knows that he knows it. He spends one evening reading Jayce's notebook and is able to understand enough to know the science is solid and contribute to advancing it. (And how much do I love the idea that he fell for Jayce's brain, as seen through his research notes, before any other part of him.) Viktor builds what's essentially a magical AI (the Hexcore) which no one even knew could be done and is still frustrated that he's not figuring out how it works fast enough.

Tl;dr these guys match each other's freak on a brain level instantly and like no one else around them and that would already be some soulmate-level shit no matter what else you think is going on.

[avelera]

I’m curious how you think Jayce and Viktor’s romantic/sexual relationship most likely unfolded within the context of the two Arcane seasons. Do you think it would have looked something like the trajectory from Distinguished Innovators or were they just pining for each other but entirely oblivious of the other person's feelings until the very end (especially with what you said at some point about the possibility of Mel being Jayce’s first)

Hmm, so there's fanfic and canon to consider here. I think with fanfic, it can be anything the author desires.

Technically, I think the most canon-accurate romantic read of what's happening on the page is that Jayce and Viktor have feelings for each other but neither is totally aware of their feelings until Jayce has his moment staring into the fire in 2.07 when he "chooses" Viktor. Then Jayce basically confesses during their big final scene and we get a lot of hints that Viktor has felt the same way or been silently and hopelessly pining for him and now they're finally together.

But that never quite works for me because it requires a little too much "carrying the idiot ball" like... these guys spent the entire time skip between 1.03-1.04 in close quarters at all hours of the day creating Hextech together. That's before Jayce becomes the "Man of Progress" or any of that stuff and was just a regular and possibly crazy researcher who almost got banished, so it can't always be a status difference. And Jayce is so affectionate, and he falls for Mel so quickly, I really truly struggle to imagine that with no barriers to a relationship (Runeterra canonically does not have homophobia) they wouldn't have gotten together sooner if something else wasn't in the way.

So, personally, I think that they've tried to or come very close to a relationship in the past, but something prevented them from going all the way and now it's that near-miss is still there in their physicality with one another, and both might still long for it, but one of them is holding it back from happening while the other just thinks it's hopeless and I honestly think after S2 it's Viktor holding back because of his declining health, while Jayce is the one thinking he hasn't got a shot so he might as well, tragically, look elsewhere.

And I'll go into a bit more detail on why I believe that for a romantic read of these two:

(Obviously you can just go the boring old "cuz they're not romantic" but I think that's dull and reductive and presumably not why anyone is the Jayvik tag)

I also don't totally buy the idea that they hadn't figured it out yet? These are two young men in their 20s, who basically instantly connect with one another, share everything, and are openly physically affectionate with each other from the first. In my fic Distinguished Innovators there's a certain amount of shyness and the fact they're just busy to deal with but they're still young men, it's why the fic postulates a physical relationship between them that isn't exclusive or official and thus doesn't change their status as "partners".

But in fics of mine like Parley I first floated another possibility that with time I find more convincing argument: Viktor knows he doesn't have long to live, so he's resolved to keep a certain distance from Jayce and not interfere with any sort of love life he might have (even if it destroys him with jealousy) because he doesn't want Jayce to be totally destroyed by his death, which given how openly affectionate Jayce is, seems inevitable.

This one works for me increasingly because it means the characters don't need to carry the idiot ball. Viktor can have his own strong reasons for not wanting to involve Jayce in that kind of relationship and Jayce can read that Viktor doesn't want to be involved with him in that way, and maybe they even got close and he was pushed back, and he's just respecting that now because he's just happy to have his soulmate in his life in any way he can have him (which I truly sincerely believe is a canonically supported read of Jayce no matter how romantic you see their relationship).

Then the tricky thing about a disease like that is... how much time does he actually have? If it's months, he should focus on leaving a legacy, which Viktor does. If it's years, in theory, they could work on a cure for him, but what if that doesn't work? Then you run into the tragedy of the longer he lives, the more he comes to regret not being with Jayce anyway. Then there's the question of a Hextech cure. I can see Viktor resolving to himself that if he's ever cured, then he'll confess to Jayce. Which feels all but impossible at the end of S1 when Sky dies, but then in 2.08, in the Council chamber scene, it really feels like Viktor finally feels like he's allowed to openly pursue Jayce because he's "perfect" now, and that to me is a linchpin of the idea that Viktor was holding himself back from pursuing Jayce openly because of his health.

Oh and I still think it's possible that Mel is Jayce's first as a result, or very near his first if him and Viktor maybe fooled around a bit or if Jayce had other relationships before that. But there is something very innocent in the way Jayce approaches sleeping with Mel that to me feels very much like he's had only a couple partners or fewer at the very least, if he hasn't been outright "saving himself for marriage" levels of hoping Viktor will notice him someday, which is my Jayvik romantic read of that moment he pauses before returning Mel's kiss, he's thinking, "Do I realistically have a shot with Viktor?" and concluding sadly that, no, he doesn't so he might as well stop denying himself a possible relationship over it anymore.

[anim-ttrpgs]

Eureka is an absolute masterpiece of a ttrpg with so much thought and care put into it. I really can't say enough good things about it. I do want to know if you have made/plan to make any other ttrpgs? I would love to see more genres besides supernatural urban mystery from you because of how quality your work is (but it's completely understandable if you have no plans to do other things).

Thank you! It’s taken us years to refine Eureka’s rules to this level of polish, and I do think it shows! A warning to all other aspiring TTRPG designers, though, don’t make your first project something this big! Keep it short! Not “one page rules” type of short, but don’t be like us and make your first real project a full-on trad TTRPG with this many different moving parts.

If you have aspirations to make something as crunchy and fleshed-out as Eureka, maybe try to execute the concept in a more simpler “OSR” style, and then after you’ve gotten more experience under your belt, maybe made some money and/or gotten a team together, then maybe try that concept again with more crunch. Call it “Advanced [Your Earlier Game Title]”

As for the future of A.N.I.M., we are planning to continually release adventure modules for Eureka, and probably also add-ons like extra Traits, Monster Traits, etc. I would love to include some playable monsters from cultures outside “the west” too, but I wouldn’t want to half-ass them, I’d want to give them as much research, attention detail and themes, etc. that I’ve given to all the other monsters. That’s just a lot harder when the best sources aren’t always in English.

Speaking of shorter games, I already wrote a little tiny game on the side called Edge Hedge Arena.

This is a game where you google “[Your Name] the Hedgehog”, choose one of the many Sonic OCs that are likely to come up, then give them stats and battle them against those of other players using the rules provided.

Since I basically have no more rules to write for Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy and I’m mostly just waiting for other members of the team to finish working on their parts, I’ve partially moved on to working on A.N.I.M.’s next big game, too!

We’ve learned our lesson, it’s not going to be anywhere near the page count or crunch level of Eureka, even though you know I love crunchy games. Well, actually, it’s probably only slightly less crunchy than Eureka, but it’s about much more specific scenarios, so it’ll still overall have less mechanics. The scope is much smaller.

This is a dark comedy/satire game that kind of takes the Forgotten Realms “evil sexy matriarchal bdsm slavery society ruled by warriors who fight in lingerie” dark elf concept and asks the question of “What kind of society and circumstances would actually produce this?” (Though it doesn’t actually take place in Forgotten Realms or any other D&D setting)

And then makes the comparison to 20th and 21st century American capitalism. “No, these aren’t slaves, they aren’t chained up and are allowed to leave any time they want. But they only get food so long as they keep working, and if they disobey then can get beaten.” It started out as a joke, but we are probably going to add "media literacy" to the list of requirements alongside dice and stuff hahaha, like, the ability to understand that the world of this game is not supposed to represent the author's idea of a perfect society. We might add that to Eureka too.

Silk&Dagger is about class, gender roles, different ways that forced labor can manifest in a society, and most importantly surviving all of those things.

Going forward to understand what I’m saying you have to know that in this setting, “Drow” is a title, referring to the ruling warrior caste. Most Drow are dark elves, but not all dark elves are Drow. This society is structured a bit like ancient Sparta, with a very small ruling caste of warriors, and a very large servant caste. Social mobility between these castes is possible, but rather than getting into it in detail and making this post super long, let’s just say that many servants consider themselves temporarily embarrassed Drow.

A typical “party” in Silk&Dagger is will consist of one Drow PC and any number of servant PCs working for her. There are regular chores that need to be done around the palace, which provide challenges, but scenarios will also throw major issues into the mix.

A Drow’s Reputation is everything, if the Drow PC’s Reputation stat reaches 0, that is the failure state for the entire party, because it basically means no more food. (Even the servants, for lore reasons that I also won’t get into)

So a typical scenario will be like “Somebody very important is coming to visit, but the lower floor of the palace is starting to flood for an unknown reason.” We’re going to have multi-part tables where you can randomly generate these, but we will also have more in-depth adventure modules for it in the future.

We ran a playtest the other day basically based on this scenario. The intended comedy of the game really came out as we kept switching perspectives, with the Drow upstairs having to constantly come up with new ways to impress her guests and explain away that splashing sound while the servant worked down below trying to find and plug the leak.

So, the PCs will have to deal with all that while also making sure that all the chores get done, and the kicker is, they can’t easily communicate with each other. The massive gulf between the two castes is the real enemy here, along with the behavioral expectations placed on each.

They could’ve gotten a head start on dealing with the flooding if the servant had had permission to speak earlier and could’ve told the Drow that the lower floor is flooding, but

There’s a big list of behaviors that a servant has to fulfill when interacting with a Drow, which are basically designed to be impossible to follow and just get them in trouble, and a Drow who doesn’t strictly enforce this etiquette risks losing Reputation for it.

On the other side, Drow also have to constantly embody a list of six features, which basically means acting as evil as possible, their Reputation depends on it.

One other unique feature of Silk&Dagger is that it is a two-GM game. One GM does most of the normal GM stuff, while the other GM represents the ever-present societal expectations weighing on all the characters, subtracting Reputation points and important things every time the PCs do something that makes them look bad in the eyes of this society.

There may come times where PCs will just have to take the hit to get things done, or find clever ways to make it look like they’re upholding the status quo while secretly treating each other like equals when nobody’s looking.

You can expect, like, an alpha or beta version of this game to come to the patreon in probably January or February, and maybe even itchio if it is far along enough by then. It was actually supposed to be out on the patreon in December, but some personal issues and illnesses really held it up. I am really going to try and make it less than 200 pages.

I'll end the post with one of my favorite little bits from the setting/lore. One of the reasons that Drow dress like that is because it helps them identify each other by thermal vision in the pitch black tunnels. Unique patterns of covered and uncovered skin serve as a sort of personal heraldry.

Elegantly designed and thoroughly playtested, Eureka represents the culmination of three years of near-daily work from our team, as well as a lot of our own money. If you’re just now reading this and learning about Eureka for the first time, you missed the crowdfunding window unfortunately, but you can still check out the public beta on itch.io to learn more about what Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy actually is, as that is where we have all the fancy art assets, the animated trailer, links to video reviews by podcasts and youtubers, etc.!

You can also follow updates on our Kickstarter page where we post regular updates on the status of our progress finishing the game and getting it ready for final release.

Beta Copies through the Patreon

If you want more, you can download regularly updated playable beta versions of Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy earlier, plus extra content such as adventure modules by subscribing to our Patreon at the $5 tier or higher. Subscribing to our patreon also grants you access to our patreon discord server where you can talk to us directly and offer valuable feedback on our progress and projects.

The A.N.I.M. TTRPG Book Club

If you would like to meet the A.N.I.M. team and even have a chance to play Eureka with us, you can join the A.N.I.M. TTRPG Book Club discord server. It’s also just a great place to talk and discuss TTRPGs, so there is no schedule obligation, but the main purpose of it is to nominate, vote on, then read, discuss, and play different indie TTRPGs. We put playgroups together based on scheduling compatibility, so it’s all extremely flexible. This is a free discord server, separate from our patreon exclusive one. https://discord.gg/7jdP8FBPes

Other Stuff

We also have a ko-fi and merchandise if you just wanna give us more money for any reason.

We hope to see you there, and that you will help our dreams come true and launch our careers as indie TTRPG developers with a bang by getting us to our base goal and blowing those stretch goals out of the water, and fight back against WotC's monopoly on the entire hobby. Wish us luck.

[crushedsweets]

What do the creeps do on a “normal” day?

work and hang out, mostly!

since work is like half of someones life, ill mostly use this to describe their jobs and hobbies/stuff they do in their freetime. ill organize it by groups !

PROXIES (kate, toby, tim, brian)

Kate and Toby work on a farm cuz they need to get paid under the table for everything. Tim is a trucker, Brian is in carpentry

Toby spends a lot of of his free time just messing around. normal day looks like waking up, immediately trying to check who wants to hang out with him, then trying to do something fun, whether it be working out or bothering his friends or fixing stuff up or learning a new skill

kate just kinda follows toby around or spends her time walking around, putting up pages, sleeping, watching DVDs toby buys. normal day looks like waking up, being sluggish for hours at a time, eating, going for a run, watching movies, and whatever toby forces her to do

tim and brian work a LOT so a normal day to them is work, check on toby/kate, go to their shared apartment, eat, watch a movie, sleep, repeat. almost monotonous, but they prefer the stable routine over the unpredictability their life used to be under slendy

INFECTED (clocky, jeff, nina, liu, jane)

first arc, clocky is a waitress/bartender. days looked like sleeping in the barn, going to work, coming to the proxy cabin till toby irritates her, going to the barn, making art, listening to music, whatever. she eventually gets a tattoo apprenticeship and rents her very own studio apartment! still dedicates her days to work, friends, art, and taking it easy

jeff's days r kinda sad. he spends a lot of time just lounging around, fast food, music, movies, wasting time. he goes to a lot of underground shows where he can wear masks or get away with ppl thinking his face is SFX, but he cant really hang out in public half the time. lives in the barn. a medical mask goes a long way for him!

nina hops between a ton of jobs at first (waitress, hot topic, spencers, was even a receptionist at a hotel, just random stuff in general) before she ends up going to cosmetology school and falls in love with it, now does nails/hair fulltime. her days look like calling her friends, going out everyday(brunch, nightlife, shopping, etc), decorating her apartment, lots of fashion stuff, etc etc.

liu works a pretty basic office job just to get by. it was the first job he could get after wasting all his spendings in a downwards spiral to find jeff in alabama, but its quiet, simple, and the people are nice to him. he mostly does that and very simple stuff...puzzles, gardening, reading, films. very grandpa of him

jane starts as a private investigator, so her days look like being swarmed with work, going undercover, hours of research and stress. no time for hobbies, just work and taking care of her wife mary. eventually, she decides its too much for her (after liu hires her to investigate nina) and mary encourages a new career path - SO she becomes a college professor for law/criminal justice/something along those lines! days look like volunteering, teaching, organizing, walks in the park with mary and sally, gardening, just a much softer, cozier life

ZALGOIDS (jack, lazari, ann, lulu, dina)

jack 'works' as a human remains disposer on the dark web, so his income is Plentiful and he doesnt have to spend a dime on food, since he just eats the corpses he's disposing of. his days look like listening to audiobooks/documentaries, cooking for people he loves, learning as much as he can, tending to the proxies(as 'rent' to stay in slendys forest), teaching lazari as much as he can, spending time with his friends, gardening

lazari lives with jack! he almost homeschools her, so she spends a lot of time learning, drawing, dressing up, watching cartoons, gardening. i think itd be cute if she befriended ben cuz theyre abt the same age, but theyre like...so different. maybe this is how she starts spending her free time idk LOL

ann and lulu are VERY zombie-like. they literally just sit in the hospital/lake are all day long, roaming and talking and dozing in and out of reality. when the proxies come to check on them, theyll chat, but its nothing else. it's not really 'boring' for them, cuz theyre so trapped in timeloops and stuff, so yk

dina is just tearing apart the forest and trying to survive. she cant leave it because the slender pages keep zalgoids trapped in the forest, but she refuses to work with the proxies - so she's constantly on the run, constantly killing and eating animals, constantly in fights when shes trying to take down the pages, etc. eventually she'll settle down, but thats for later

PARANORMAL (ben, sally)

ben is chronically online im sorry. genuinely spends every waking moment online, but like...literally inside the computer. he loves the internet, loves online cultures, loves all you can learn about it, loves drama and causing problems. his days look like the internet, video games, and hanging out with jeff (and maybe toby or jack)

sally lives with jane. her days are pretty simple, just wandering around janes house, the neighborhood, whatever. watching cartoons, coloring, talking to mary (janes stay at home wife), whatever.

[tumbleweedsthesecond]

CLONE HIGH CLOTHING SWAP!!(I'm gonna lore drop abt them but more importantly Anna )

Yayy lore time. So Anna is the clone of Anastasia Romanovna but she says she's the clone of Anastasia Romanov. This is because the other Anastasia Romanov is more well known and I like to include historical references in stuff. From what I know her body was never officially found, she was considered a mystery she was important because of that. Many people think she lived and escaped instead of being killed. Some people also pretended to be her or tried to for money from the aunt as is shown in the Disney movie. specifically Anna Anderson I think which is why I nicknamed her Anna. (If anyone needs to correct me on some of this stuff Ik its been a while since I've done research on the topic I've been researching other stuff.)

When Anna was cloned her foster father believed she was that Anastasia, so up until she was like 11 or so she believed she was Anastasia Romanov, she felt important. She watched the movie and loved the idea of being a princess, of being the one everyone was waiting for. Until one day scudworth told her she was wrong and got the names mixed up. So Anna saw Ivan and cried her eyes out. She didn't want to be the clone of some guys wife. She wants to be more important than that and not live in his shadow. She thinks she's important and seeing her dad disappointed about that really hurt her. So she decided that she was going to just cope. She'd forget everything scudworth said and live that lie. And it felt great for her, she brags about it alot. Though she's gone so far into coping she does almost believe it. because of that she's obsessed with popularity and living up to the real Anastasia Romanov. She wants to be famous, she studies hard and everything. She's even a cheerleader. Because of the coping thing it does make her view other people just as extensions of their clone parents. She thinks everyone thinks the way she does cause she's preppy. Also on why she expects people to be extensions of the clone parents is also due to some self loathing because of who she really is. That doesn't make her any less annoying though but I forgive her❤

Orginally Anna and Ivan were a ship because she couldn't fight her genes or whatever that's been erased actually I decided it'd be more interesting of she was a lesbian. ivan and her are still rivals. She doesn't know she's a lesbian yet tho cause comphet she's also Topher stepsister!! Basically they hate hate each other at first for obvious reasons and Topher even blackmails Anna. Then he does reveal who he's a clone of and she full on ignores him and calls him disgusting for like a week. But eventually they talk and they become a little closer? Anna starts understanding people aren't just their clone parents and she still like trying I guess? Topher also learns to not blackmail her so yay They have some solidarity, a little. They still don't like each other but its more in a sibling way.

Okay now Fyodor. Gonna guess no-one(but like one person) knows who Fyodor Basmanov is. I learned about him through some movies, basically Ivan the terrible had this alleged male lover. He was in the Oprichnina, like a secret police Ivan had made, and he rose in ranks fast. He was known as the favorite of the Tsar many people thought they were a thing(probably). There was rumors he'd wear skirts and dance for Ivan and stuff. Whether or not that's true in the Ivan the terrible movies he's in they actually do address it. In the 1940s two part one he sings this song abt killing people in a dress and a mask that is supposed to resemble Anastasia Romanovna in the beginning of the film. Which is actually why I made them do a clothing swap in the post. In the 1991 version he is sooo pretty and I can't understand everything in the film because no subtitles but I was able to get some context to what was happening. The story from what I know goes Fyodors the favorite and he uses that alot over other people, he sits next to the Tsar during meals and stuff, poisons people for him etc, then he tries to trick this other guy to get rid of him with witchcraft but word got back to Ivan and now they think Fyodor committed treason. So hes like no not me!!come on Ivan listen to me I'll tell everyone about us or something like that I don't know I could only understand some and he's dragged away. Real Fyodor apparently did get accused of treason by Ivan and he was ordered to kill his father. Some say then Fyodor was executed others say he was just sent away I don't know what really happened. Shrugs. Anyway

I made a clone of him just because I can ❤yay❤ he's Ivans ex friend they don't hang out anymore because Ivan thinks he's better than him. Fyodors just a chronically online guy that uses discord too much(gamer). He wears skirts too not for Ivan just cause I like gnc characters. Yay❤. Also Ivan and him weren't a thing though Fyodor probably does have a crush on him for a bit, the most Ivan does for him is buy him discord nitro. Which he doesnt do anymore. Fyodor does still sometimes try be friends with the bleacher creatures mainly cause sometimes he feels like he's nothing without Ivan so. Yeah. He's unsuccessful tho he's annoying af. He's cringe. He thinks it's funny tho

Anyway just realized I made three clones of Ivan the terrible lovers and I don't ship any of them with him(Maria's the third ill post about her another day. Her and Anna get together tho) this guy had like eight wives. I should really just clone all of them and make them a polycule(minus Ivan ofc) this is why I shouldn't study historical figures

[devipeak]

Some Uncle Albert Crocker headcanons (and my design sheet) ✨️✨️✨️🧞‍♂️

[Tried to come up with a hairstyle for him, but ended up just giving him a messier version of Denzel's hair. Also made his eyes the same color Dolores has (but without heterochromia, it's only her personal feature in my hc). And idk why I see him wearing a red shirt, just his vibe. Might later look up fashion of different decades to make outfits like in "The secret origin of Denzel Crocker" time periods.]

I view him and Dolores Day as twins (though all Crockers look alike, you can never tell) or at least siblings who are identical in personality. They are both, in contrast to Denzel, cheerful, friendly and easygoing. Also, while Dolores Day is pretty affectionate and loving towards his son, she has some vague understanding of his personal space and boundaries. This man doesn't. His love for his nephew can't be contained or controlled, so every meeting with him ends up by Denzel being hugged and squeezed. That's one of the reasons why Denzel isn't very excited about his uncle, as shown in "Genie Meanie Minie Mo". This thing happened gradually, though, as he was actually liked his uncle's presence when he was a child.

So, uncle Albert lives in Canada, yet during Denzel's childhood he was living in Dimmesdale in order to help his sister (she was, after all, left alone with her child). So he was kind of the man figure in the house, helping her with the stuff she couldn't do (especially technical things, that could be where Denzel takes his inventor abilities). And he also was like a father figure to Denzel, a relative who was always around. He'd also tell him different stories about genies. Dolores wouldn't really mind his obsession as he experiences it differently, and having a genie-obsessed brother helped her cope easier with her son's craziness in the future.

I view Denzel and Albert as sort of opposites. They both have an obsession with magical creatures. But while Denzel is too insane about fairies, wastes his whole life and energy on proving their existence and is miserable, Albert is just a chill guy who oh so happens to believe in genies. I don't think he minded a lot when he was put in the mental institution. And I don't think Dolores is shocked by this either. They just exchange presents like a sweet family.

So, like I said, young Denzel really liked spending time with his uncle. But as he was growing up and gained his interest that distracted him from anything else, he would try to avoid Albert (because it is a relatable thing for teens and youth to leave adult company to adults at the dinner table and also because HUGS), perhaps he would lock in his room doing some researching and only come out to say hello or goodbye.

[starlightshadowsworld]

I am cautiously optimistic but that Superman trailer tho…

The way it flips from Superman beaten up in I’m guessing the arctic to dorky Clark Kent at the Daily planet.

So good.

Krypto! Take me home my heart ahhhh!

This might be the first time I’ve seen Lex actually bald. I dunno why it’s called Luthorcorp but loving this.

The way the people don’t like Superman and are actively throwing stuff at him and booing is really interesting.

Like we’re seeing a Superman the world doesn’t universally adore nor trust yet which is fascinating. Also not a government Boy Scout, hoping.

The kid with the flag! The lil makeshift flag calling for Superman ahhhhh!!!

So much Lois and Clark good for them man.

And yeah there’s a bunch of other folk, I saw a green lantern ring and I think Hawkgirl? I don’t really recognise anyone else but that’s exciting.

Also that superman logo looks different dunno if it’s a reference or a style choice, either way gonna have to do my research.

Fire breathing monster is fire breathing monster, no notes there.

I’m so hype but cautiously.

I don’t wanna get my hopes up but it looks good. In my non professional opinion it looks good.

Oh don’t fuck this up.

Pleaseee don’t fuck this up!

[shizunitis]

MENG MO X YUE QINGYUAN??? I'm intrigued

i had to go into my notes from months ago for this, because i'm SO sleepy i'm not sure i can rework it properly right now, but i love this ship a Normal Amount. so, with some editing:

IMAGINE (and do not think too much about the details, airplane’s world is ours to do with as we please):

yue qingyuan: sect leader whose favourite (not that he has favourites) shidi went off into the big wide world and married (without inviting him. he found out months after the fact.) his demon emperor student after almost starting a war with the demon realm by way of thinking too much, and he's kind of stressed about all of it.

which isn’t great. mu-shidi has recommended “peace and quiet”. yue qingyuan doesn’t laugh in people’s faces, but he came incrementally close to doing so that day.

though he’s keeping up with the demands of the sect, as he always has, people keep saying he “has the energy of an empty nester wraith” (qi qingqi, always a pleasure and a delight) and is “bringing the vibes, like, way down",” (wei qingwqi, with shang-shidi’s influence, he correctly guesses ) which is, perhaps, reason to believe the “peace and quiet” plan of action isn’t going great.

his most basic issue at the moment is his sleep. he can’t rest , and when he does sleep, it’s only an hour of quality sleep per week. which, in spite of being a powerful cultivator, is not a good way of living. he meditates and deals. whatever.

then shen qingqiu (who was so embarrassed about the sect’s reactions to his shotgun wedding (offended and/or amused, mostly) that he put off his return by an extra fourty three days, not that yue qingyuan is counting) finally visits. he brings as many souvenirs as he deems sufficient bribery, which yue qingyuan is not too proud to monopolise. he's the sect leader for a reason.

they somehow end up talking about luo bignhe’s proficiency with the demonic dream arts, and how wonderful it’s been to have him watching over shen qingqiu’s dreamscape every now and then. shen qingqiu recommends it, with a not-so-subtle pointed look at his undereye bags, and yue qingyuan resolves to look into it, see if there’s any merit in the idea. he dismisses it when it doesn’t seem to be possible without involving demonic practices, but it was worth a try.

the days pass, the not-so-newlyweds go about their days, and yue qingyuan notices luo binghe looking like he’s planning something. he’s got that “vibe” about him. it’s the shifty eyes.

since yue qingyuan is seemingly the only one in the sect who respects shen qingqiu’s choice in partner, he decides to do some… not meddling. it’s more of a show of respect! a token of… being someone’s brother-in-law!

he regrets it immediately.

he quickly realise sluo binghe is looking to actually get the sect to accept him as shen qingqiu’s husband and not just the limpet they have to suffer to see their sect sibling, which now makes it an Official Sect Problem.

yue qingyuan cannot let him try with liu qingge first, mu qingfang is still annoyed about the kidnappings, and qi qingqi will get shen qingqiu sarcastic again, which is delightful but not exactly conducive to a Peaceful and Quiet Time. so, he goes ahead and makes small talk.

it is as painful as he imagined. how is an actual emperor this bad at casual chitchat?

this and that is said, and in a last ditch attempt at salvaging the situation, yue qingyuan brings up the dream stuff. he says he’s been trying to research more dream arts techniques, and luo binghe’s eyes do a thing, and the next thing yue qingyuan knows, it’s the evening and a dream demon is stuck in his head with clear instructions not to let yue qingyuan feel an ounce of stress while sleeping.

he immediately feels a lot of stress.

the reaction of yue qingyuan’s sleeping mind at having a demon infiltrator sniffing around is enough to startle him. meng mo, who yoe quingyuan has never met before, takes a look at the place and says, “well it’s not worse than that brat’s, at least,” which is worrisome.

since they’re both stuck like this, and meng mo (who shen qingqiu has apparently been calling “senior”, which yue qingyuan decides to do as well, on principle) doesn’t seem hyped about the situation either, yue qingyuan decides… well.

what’s the worst that can happen?

so he spends his nights half-confiding to an ancient demon who controls nightmares and loves conjuring up weird things he saw in people’s dreams, and half-listening to him complain about the luo-shen couple and binghe’s insufferable thoughts and dreams. he learns more than he probably should. definitely more than he wanted to.

honestly, it’s kind of nice. so nice, that he makes a mistake: he gets complacent.

the mix of everything that’s been happening in the last few months finally catches up to yue qingyuan. it results in having some less-peaceful dreams.

meng mo being there proves to be a surprisingly good thing. though they’ve built up a rapport over however many weeks it’s been, yue qingyuan did not expect meng mo to help him with guarding nightmares, regardless of what luo binghe had said. it’s not like yue qingyuan was inclined to snitch on the old man.

meng mo isn’t kind about helping him, but he is so unphased by the myrriad of horrible memories stuck behind yue qingyuan’s pleasant and placid gaze that yue qingyuan finally makes some progress in his cultivation after years of stagnation.

of course, this is put into perspective when, for some odd and airplane-esque reason, yue qingyuan has a sex dream. this, more than anything, intrigues meng mo, who is above all a proud filthy old man. meng mo has criticism for yue qingyuan’s ideas of sex and a fun time, so pitying his lacklustre imagination, he provides him with more gratifying dreams that night.

meng mo is an old man, but he is undeniably handsome. he’s got that severe, masterful air about him, a sarcastic and prideful bearing, and a penchant for vulgarity, and… ah.

yue qingyuan is not going to think about that too much, actually.

meng mo is obviously aware that yue qingyuan is an attractive man, since he has refereed to his pecs as “a treasure wasted on someone who doesn’t know how to use them properly”. yue qingyuan is given many nicknames, like “pretty boy” or some such.

over the whatever next amount of time, they end up actually getting together by grace of meng mo’s schemes and manipulations (he just like. conjures vaguely sexual stuff with increasing frequency, until yue qingyuan finally takes the bait and lets it happen), which yue qingyuan is so confused about. not that he likes it, but that it’s actually helping with the “peace and quiet” treatment plan.

he does not tell mu qingfang. mu qingfang somehow, for some reason, knows. yue qingyuan will not that about that too much, either.

//

so that's where the note ended. if i remember correctly i immediately fell asleep, and i think that last line is meant as a meng mo/yue qingyuan/mu qingfang throuple kind of thing but i can’t be certain. i’m sorry. 😔 i just feel like these three, but especially yqy & meng mo would mix together in such Weird ways.

also i firmly believe yue qingyuan should get what binghe didn’t: an old man to fuck. and actual conversations about his trauma.

[himbos-hotline]

Just a thing (not mad) but it's not called multiple personalities anymore since its not a personality disorder. Its dissociative identity disorder, a dissotive early childhood trauma disorder. It hasn't been called multiple personalities since the 80s (I believe it might be earlier, I can't remeber and I'll look it up when I get home)

What happens is that it's the brain protecting itself from trauma by creating (splitting) an entire different person to cope and fix and go through the trauma/aftermath so the child doesn't have too. (Again this is a brief easy and very watered down explanation because I'm on my phone)

Each "face" of toni is an alter, someone the brain has split after and due to trauma. And even things that people don't think is traumatic can be for someone else, it's all depending on the person. Looking more into it, I can kinda gather and define what alter each "face is"

Outcasts toni: the core or the host. Depending on what term people prefer to use. That bright sassy loud and argumentive one whose the toni we've seen through her wrestling career. The one who goes through the trauma of loosing her friends and being emotionally harmed by Mariah. As someone whose been in an emotionally abusive relationship, that shit fucks you up.

Timeless toni storm: an introject or a fictive or a factive depending again on what terms and stuff. Basically an alter split from real life sources, like how we split a lot of wrestlers, toni split an alter whose above all that, protective and smug and timeless, untouchable by the pain she went through, so deeply I love with a woman she doesn't remeber hurt her and then a woman who cradles her so softly. Flirty and sexual there's something never ending about toni. Until she comes crashing down and she wanders off, to do sidequests in the woods.

Now toni: she's nieve and innocent and excited. Untouched by allll that angst. She's there for rock and roll and happiness.

She'll have periods, flashes off the other alters because they can enter front and again for easy understanding, take over the body and since it's a covert disorder, you learn very quickly how to pretend- hence how you see toni having flashes of being timeless but they stop, it's repression and pretending. They're all gonna act differently to one another since they ARE different. Some systems see themselves as different parts, others like how we see ourselves us were different people were just stuck here in the same body.

If you wanna write toni using this theory, please look and research onto dissociative disorders and hoe dissociation fucking sucks ass. You can have rapid switches where there's nobody settled in front, which is mostly what we see when toni is wrestling. Or its just dissocitating.

None of this is angry, just providing more information.

Good god this theory is brilliant!

“THREE FACES OF TONI STORM”

We all know that Timeless Toni Storm’s character was inspired by two classic movies, All About Eve and Sunset Boulevard. Now, @AewDefender thinks Part 2 of her story could be inspired by The Three Faces of Eve (1957)!

The Three Faces of Eve tells the story of a young woman, Eve White, who discovers she has multiple personalities after seeking help from her doctor, Dr. Luther. He finds that Eve has two additional personalities, each very different from her own.

Through therapy, they uncover that her condition stems from a traumatic event in her childhood. The goal becomes helping Eve merge her three personalities into one stable identity.

NOW FOR THE SIMILARITIES:

- Toni Storm has 3 personalities: Rockstar, Outcast, Timeless

- Toni too has someone named Luther in her life who can help her through problems

- Toni's disorder also stems from traumatic experiences = losing her friends and her AEW Championship

[apricatt-art]

princess tutu posting <3

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

hope you feel better soon!

I am riddled with ailments, but I stay silly!

[qwakque]

BEEN OBSESSED W/ @deezneezz OUTFIT DESIGNS FOR A WHILE AND I FINALLY GOT TO DRAWING SOME OF THEM!!!

also a lowk jamiazul lover theyre so overthinking and funny

[devout-khajiit]

What is your goal for your craft right now? I want to spend more time researching and studying mostly. There's lots I don't know, and I want to expand my practice to include More Things. Which requires research and study.

Would you consider magic or practicing witchcraft "fun"? Why or why not? Yes and no. Some aspects I view as simple necessity, like protection and warding, and spells I do for my sake or others sake. I don't get that much "fun" per se out of it, though I enjoy doing it so maybe you could consider that fun. But some stuff absolutely is fun. I love doing my little cartomancy things. That's fun.

Do you think it Should be fun? Why or why not? I think it should be, lately though I've not been doing much fun stuff. I think it should be fun because you have to enjoy your craft, and for me, I seek fun.

How can you incorporate more fun into your craft? Just doing things for myself or because why not. I'm in a place where I view magic as just a necessity right now and I perform it out of a need. I should probably try and do more casual stuff just for the hell of it. When it comes to my main goal... I'm not sure. It's research. I don't particularly enjoy it, hence why it's gotten left behind in favor of "do as I wish with little rhyme or reason". Maybe I can make it fun by simply using what I learn for myself.

Would you consider doing so? Why or why not? I think so. I desperately need more fun in my craft, I think, because otherwise I get bored and I don't wanna do it anymore, and I really, really want witchcraft in my life.

Witchy Questions! - Fun

Here are a few questions to get your witchy brain juice flowing! Feel free to answer in the comments or in a reblog or use these questions in your personal witchy journal <:

This week’s topic is Fun!

😋 What is your goal for your craft right now?

😋 Would you consider magic or practicing witchcraft “fun”? Why or why not?

😋 Do you think it should be fun? Why or why not?

😋 How can you incorporate more fun into your craft?

😋 Would you consider doing so? Why or why not?

[cosmicvaca]

As a Kakyoin fan and artist, I'm doing my part in giving him a part 4 design 🫡 (OG ask) Throwing my headcanons at you and hitting you square in the face

Ramble under the cut

Noriaki is a successful gallery artist living with his "roommate" on Florida's Gulf Coast (I think the Tampa Bay area, specifically Bradenton, FL). They have a small bungalow near the water, Perfect for them, their office/studios, Jotaro's fish tanks, and Jolyne when she comes from her mother's during the holidays or for summer break. Jotaro is definitely a boat guy they have theirs parked on the side of the house and take it for a spin over at least once a month (or once a week when Jolyne is with them over the summer)

He still does missions for the SWF with Jotaro, but his day job is his art. He works in an abstract/contemporary style and his pieces are large and textural. Jotaro doesn't really get it but still supports his partner, Jolyne loves them though.

Also, he and Jotaro have matching wedding rings: platinum bands with emerald Inserts.

[not-the-coffee-machine4]

Me: *tries to see what the Queen fans on TikTok have to say*

*Jim hate*

*”facts” that may or not be actually true*

*”Freddie Mercury was bisexual-“*

*Using Barbara Valentin as evidence*

*thinking things that happened in the movie actually happened irl*

*general misinformation about everyone and everything*

Me: aaaaand back to Tumblr I go

(open tags at your own risk, there’s a whole essay in there)