#OG CC case

[astra-galaxie]

If Argo ever became a victim and the team had to solve his death, how would his case roughly play out? What would be the events that happen between chapters, and what would the AI be?

Nolan already has one in the works lol

Personally thinking of him being killed in a alleyway by a thug or someone, or maybe even die at Lawson’s own hands and the team had to figure out whether it really was Lawson, or someone else

If I had a nickel for every time I was asked how I would kill Argo off, I'd have two nickels - which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice!

I'm sorry I took so long to respond to this ask. I was waiting until I posted a specific chapter ("If You Love Somebody, Let Them Go") in my story before answering it. I needed it to reveal a significant change I’m making to Argo’s story, which plays a part in this answer.

Now that I’ve done that and thought out how to write this hypothetical case let’s see one way I could potentially kill Argo! I’m going to lay it out similar to how I plot out my OG cases in my notebook. (Yes, I have a notebook for OG cases, and yes, it's OCD-level organized to the point that it’s colour-coded by season.)

Info for this case before getting into it:

This murder substitutes the final case. Someone once asked me in an OG case I made for S3 (“Murder From The Past”) if I would kill off Argo in the final case instead of Charlie (I hadn’t even introduced Argo yet, and people already wanted to know if I would kill him or not!). So you’ll see that some things from Last Stand For Justice will be reused for this OG case

Argo and Diego have gotten back together (Argo and Jason broke up during Coyote Gorge) and have been romantically involved since the start of Crimson Banks

For the sake of parts of this case, we'll say that the Squad was already aware that Argo and Diego aren't human (Not sure if they’ll find out in my story or not yet)

The transition between this and the case before it is similar to canon, but instead of Charlie returning to the airship, it’s Argo, and Isaac goes with him

Since Maddie just gave birth and her husband isn't missing, instead of her going to the airship, it’s Arthur with Katherine (who escaped with the Squad during “Best Laid Plans”) tagging along since she knows how to avoid the Justice Corps thanks to the Resistance. That’s how they end up as the investigators

Case Outline

Title: Sinking Justice (Alternative to Last Stand For Justice)

Season: 4

Between cases: N/A - final case

District: Capitol Peak

Partners: Arthur Wright & Katherine Woolf

Summary

Victim: Argo Acquafredda

Murder Weapon: Handgun

(Shot in the heart; heart removed post-mortem)

Killer: Diego del Lobo (Justin Lawson)

Suspects

Diego del Lobo (Profile pieces: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

Constable Ramirez (Profile pieces: 1, 3, 5)

Isaac Bontemps (Profile pieces: 1, 2, 3, 5)

Jason Nicchi (Profile pieces: 1, 2, 4)

Maddie O’Malley (Profile pieces: 1, 2, 3, 4)

Quasi-Suspects

Dora Umbright

Lady Highmore

Evie Holloway

Killer’s Profile

The killer eats ration biscuits (Argo’s body)

The killer knows The Caesar Cipher (message delivered by Caspian)

The killer uses moisturizer (Caspian)

The killer has torn clothes (bullet)

The killer has brown eyes (Argo’s necklace)

Crime Scenes/Clues

Airship Navigation room

Victim’s body

Talk to Isaac (no clue needed)

Police notebook (Constable Ramirez)

Squad Airship

Baby bag (Maddie)

Caspian’s letterholder

Capitol Peak Harbour

Flying Squad badge (Diego)

Newspaper article (Isaac)

Caspian

Airship Gangway

Argo’s crutches (Constable Ramirez)

Toolbox (Jason)

Harbour Dock

Engagement ring (Diego)

Fiocco Nascita (Maddie)

Gun (Jason)

Airship wheel

Argo’s necklace

Ship’s wheel

Disclaimer: The order of steps varies; this is just a rough outline of what would happen in each chapter

Steps - Chapter 1

Investigate Airship Navigation room:

Victim’s body (autopsy - Dick)

Police notebook (faded name on the cover; decipher name; Constable Ramirez. New suspect: Constable Ramirez)

Talk to Isaac about the murder (admits he and Argo got separated on the way to the airship, and when he arrived, Argo was already dead)

Talk to Ramirez about being on the crime scene (reveals the Justice Corps tasked him to guard the airship after the Squad escaped but had stepped away for a snack break during the time of the murder, and he never saw Argo enter the airship)

****New Crime scene: Squad Airship (Prerequisite: talk to Ramirez)

Investigate Squad Airship:

Bag (Search; baby supplies; note addressed to Maddie. New suspect: Maddie O’Malley)

Caspian’s letter carrier (Unlock; Coded message; analyze - Evie)

Talk to Maddie about the baby bag (discover she asked for Argo to grab the bag of baby items she had to leave behind on the airship when they fled. Maddie is shocked to find out Argo is dead, and Charlie comforts)

Get results: Autpsoy and coded message

Autopsy revealed: killer eats ration biscuits; left crumbs on Argo’s body

Code message revealed: killer knows The Caesar Cipher; coded message was from Argo to his killer asking him to meet him at the airship

****Chapter transition: Charlie interrupts Arthur and Katherine, who were summarizing the case, to announce he’d just received a telegram from a Resistance member informing them that Argo had been spotted at the harbour before his death

Steps - Chapter 2

Investigate Capitol Peak Harbour:

Flying Squad badge (faded engraving; dust; badge number; Arthur IDs it as Diego’s badge number (there are less than ten members; I doubt that many badges have been issued that Arthur doesn't know which belongs to who). New suspect: Diego del Lobo)

Torn newspaper article (Repair; old article about Isaac’s brother’s death. Talk to Isaac again)

Damaged Caspian; substance on wings (Swab wings; unknown transparent substance; analyze - Viola)

Inform Diego of Argo’s death (Reveals he visited the airship after hearing the Squad had been captured; assumes he must have dropped his badge on the way there as he carries it to remind himself there is still hope true justice will be restored. After being told Argo is dead, Diego becomes distraught and is unconsolable hearing his lover is dead)

Talk to Isaac about the newspaper article (Same as canon; it reveals the truth behind his brother’s death and how Argo found the article, causing the old memories to resurface)

Get results: Unknown substance

Reveals the killer uses moisturizer as it was the unknown substance on Caspian’s wing, but it was not the type Argo used, so it had to have been left by the killer. Viola speculates the killer must have attacked Caspian during the murder and brought the bird to the harbour to dispose of him in the water

Investigate airship gangway:

Argo’s crutches with crumbs on them (Collect with vacuum; unknown crumbs; analyze - Viola)

Toolbox (Search; ID band; compare; Jason’s ID code. New Suspect: Jason Nicchi)

Talk to Jason about his toolbox being on the crime scene (Learn that Mayor Lawson tasked him with checking the airship for traps the Squad could have set. Knew nothing about the murder and was shocked Argo was dead)

Get results: Crumbs

Crumbs belonged to trail mix. Katherine recalls that was the snack Constable Ramirez had mentioned eating

Ask Constable Ramirez about why he handled Argo’s crutches (Confesses he went aboard the airship after the murder and found Argo’s body, dropping trail mix on the crutches after seeing the dead detective. Panicked and ran out of the airship, taking the crutches since his trail mix was on them and hiding them outside to avoid becoming a suspect)

****Chapter transition: Same as in canon; Lady Highmore tells everyone to hide because Judge Umbright is coming, so Arthur and Katherine leave the mansion to search the harbour again

Steps - Chapter 3

Investigate Capitol Peak Harbour Docks:

Locked ring box (Decode lock: open; engagement ring with engraving “Mi Corazón Es Tuyo - Tu Lobo”. Talk to Diego again)

Torn fabric (Repair; Fiocco Nascita with George Dupont’s name and birth info. Talk to Maddie again)

Trash can (Search; Gun; analyze - Rose)

Question Diego about the engagement ring for Argo (Reveals he was going to ask Argo to marry them (even if it was just a symbolic marriage) after the fall of the Justice Corps)

Ask Maddie about George’s Fiocco Nascita (Tells them that Argo made the Fiocco Nascita for George and that she regrets asking Argo to find her baby bag, thinking she caused him to spend unnecessary time on the airship, which allowed his killer to get him)

Get results: Handgun

Discover the gun is the murder weapon. Rose also discovers that these guns are used by the Justice Corps and are manufactured by Jason. Talk to Jason again)

Confront Jason about building the murder weapon (Is shocked to find out he made the gun that killed Argo but promises he did nothing more than build the guns on Mayor Lawson’s orders. He doesn't know who the gun was issued to)

Investigate Airship wheel:

Argo’s necklace with substance on shell (Collect; transparent substance; analyze - Viola)

Broken ship’s wheel (Repair; restored ship’s wheel; analyze - Charlie)

Get results: Substance and ship’s wheel

Transparent substance: Killer’s tears: reveals the killer has brown eyes

Ship’s wheel: Fibres caught in the wheel: reveals the killer has torn clothes as the fibres did not match Argo’s clothes

Arrest Killer: Diego del Lobo (Or is he???)

Diego confesses that Argo has asked to meet him at the airship as they had been secretly communicating about how to take down Justin. No one was around when they arrived, so they were going to grab what they needed and then flee to join the rest of the Squad at Lady Highmore’s mansion

But Justin appeared and caught them sharing a kiss in the navigation room. Furious, Justin demands to know why Diego (still wearing his Eddie Lebold disguise) was kissing a wanted man

Diego’s real identity is discovered, and Justin draws his gun, planning to take Diego and Argo in himself. The couple pleads for Justin to put the gun away and promise to go with him willingly, but Justin keeps ranting about “perfecting justice” and “ridding the world of corruption” while brandishing the gun

During the argument, Justin shoots at Diego, but Argo steps in front of his boyfriend and takes the bullet meant for Diego. The two stumble backwards into the airship’s wheel, breaking it and collapsing to the floor

Diego is distraught as he holds Argo while he’s dying, and Justin, shocked by what he’d done, leaves without trying to take Diego in

Argo dies in Diego’s arms and asks his boyfriend to take his heart (The Heart of The Ocean; long story short, magical rock that serves as Argo’s heart) so it won’t fall into the wrong hands before he passes

Diego does as requested and takes Argo’s heart; somehow, Argo’s body sustains a physical form. Diego assumes it might have something to do with the fact that the stone is cracked because of the bullet, and thus, the magic is on the fritz

Diego hid the heart in a safe location to retrieve it after Justin was taken down. But Arthur and Katherine caught Diego before he could find evidence to prove Justin killed Argo since Diego didn’t think they would just take his word for it

Thankfully, they believed him, and while they still kept Diego locked in a bedroom, the Squad now focuses their efforts on taking down Justin and getting justice for Argo

****Chapter transition: After Diego’s “arrest,” Maddie appears to reveal George has been taken by Judge Umbright like in canon (but happens late in this case), and now they have to save the baby and take down Justin

Steps - Chapter 4/Additional Investigation

****Following the introduction of the AI, we need to talk to Rose about George’s kidnapping and Diego about defeating Justin

****Maddie and Charlie stand in as partners for the George plotline

****Isaac and Arthur partner for the Justin plotline

Rescuing George Dupont plotline:

Talk to Rose and find out about her plan to save George

Investigate the Navigation room

Baby box (Unlock; baby rattle; analyze - Rose)

Get results: Weaponized rattle

Rescue George Dupont from Judge Umbright using the weaponized rattle

Defeating Justin Lawson plotline:

Ask Diego about his and Argo's plan to take down Lawson (Charlie still made the tracking device but was less involved in the “True Justice” plan since Argo takes his place in this case)

Investigate Squad Airship

Broken pieces (Repair; tracking device; analyze - Charlie)

Get results: Tracking Device

Canon results about how we need to wait until Justin stops moving to catch him

Timeskip happens - Charlie reports that Justin has stopped at the Capitol Peak harbour

Investigate Capitol Peak Harbour

Tracking device

The battle between Justin and the Squad happens like in canon, but he confesses to killing Argo. However, he no longer feels guilty since Argo was “against justice” and disobeyed Justin

Justin shoots Isaac, but the bulletproof vest saves him, and while Justin is distracted, Arthur shoots the mayor in the heart, killing him

Since they are at the harbour and Justin is standing close to the edge of the dock, he falls into the water, but by the time Arthur and Isaac reach the dock’s edge, his body is carried away by the waves and is never recovered. It was lost at sea forever, never to have a proper final resting place

(It was the ocean’s revenge for Justin killing her heart. His soul can never truly be at peace)

Everyone regroups following Justin’s death. Diego is released now that Argo’s true killer is gone, and he’s officially cleared of the murder despite taking Argo’s heart (since the Squad knows Argo isn’t human, they understand why Diego did it and therefore, he isn’t charged for any crime)

The plot continues as usual, with Lady Highmore becoming the new mayor, followed by Argo's funeral. His body was cremated, and his ashes were scattered at sea at the cove behind his house

Diego recovered the Heart of The Ocean from where he hid it but didn’t return it to the sea, hoping he could find a way to fix the cracks and bring Argo back

Another time skip happens, and the Squad meets in the airship, where everyone reminisces about Argo. Charlie says he has something that might help with their grief that he brought to work but left in his automobile. Maddie goes with him to collect it

After investigating the gangway, they find the film reel Charlie had brought, and after recovering the label to make sure it's the right one, the Squad gathers in Charlie’s lab to watch the film

The film shows the message Argo recorded in case anything happened to him while trying to take down Justin. He talks about how thankful he is to have met the Squad and the friends he has made since coming to Concordia. He tells his family and friends he loves them, along with other personalized heartfelt messages for his family and teammates. The film concludes with a message for Diego where Argo tells him how much he loves him and wishes they could have spent eternity together and hopes one day they will meet again, either in this life or the next

After the film ends, Arthur tells the team that the Squad will be going on an extended vacation. However, Diego announces that he will not be returning to the Squad and plans to leave Concordia to find a way to restore the Heart of The Ocean. The team tells him he is welcome to return and they will always be there for him if he needs help

Phew! That was a workout! Admittedly, my real OG case outlines aren’t this detailed, but this still gives you an insight into how I plot out my OG cases and keep track of everything!

While this isn’t an entirely new original case, I wanted to try my hand at using the idea of Argo taking Charlie’s place as the final victim. Which version do you think is more tragic? Canon or this one?

Either way, I’ll get the tissues!

Thank you for the ask, st4r-th0ughts! This was a fun challenge, and I loved creating a case in which one of my MCs was the victim! (Now that’s a dark thing to be happy about…)

[morrigan-sims]

The other post was getting long, and this is a different sword, so here you go:

I actually fucking finished a mesh edit!!!!! Well, at least the meshing part. This thing has parts from three different sword meshes. Tomorrow it's on to texturing hell. I've never textured anything before in my LIFE, and I just know it's going to be miserable, lmao.

Especially since I assume I'm going to have to make a new uv map and I don't know shit about that. But I at the very least need a texture for renders, and this sword is low-poly enough that I could probably make it an in-game accessory too.

[jesncin]

Hi.

I recently reread your post on the racebending in CC. And while you didn't talk about Harley in that post you mentioned her case was complicated. I was just wondering why is it complicated?

If you'd rather save that answer for your analysis I completely get it, I'm just a bit curious.

Hello there! Thank you for reading my Caped Crusader mega essay on racebending, haha! I've been meaning to get to the Harley one, I'm just reading some of her comics to be more informed. I don't mind sharing my opinion so far here though since I'm sure people are curious:

While it's conceptually cool that CC gave us an Asian!Harley, it ultimately contributes to the continued erasure of Harley's Jewish identity, but this time through "diversity paint". When it comes to Harley, her entire personhood and characterization comes from Jewish culture. Not only is she full cloth inspired by her og voice actress, Arleen Sorkin (a Jewish woman), but Arleen injected Jewish and Yiddish expressions along with a played up Brooklyn accent when playing Harley, and Harley's character is based on a Jewish stock character (loud wannabe matchmaker).

I'm simplifying for brevity and will go into more detail in the essay but my takeaway here is that unlike, say, Superman who is an allegorically Jewish character- Harley is textually and canonically Jewish. If she wasn't, the character as we know her just wouldn't exist. It's not a detail for Harley to mention Hanukkah every now and then, Harley just is Jewish culture and identity.

At the end of the day, what did CC do with Asian Harley really. I'm all for changes, if you have a story to tell, but. If CC's Harley was white would it really change the story? Harley went from being this white Jewish woman informed by her culture to being an Asian woman informed by no culture. It's why I can't celebrate it as representation, it's erasing another culture all the while giving nothing to Asian representation. We could always have both an Asian and Jewish woman, but this really was the erasure of both. That's why it's complicated, from afar it looks like a Diversity Win! But up close it's erasure via respectability.

[zephyrlion45]

ok,, so, its been a week? maybe? and i've already redone their designs. (very little in some cases but still!)

big explanation of the whys of designs and what changed below :3

ok so right to left

Zedaph is still just a yellow sheep hybrid, he has dyed the ends of his wool/hair pink.

I changed his wool, hair, and general sheepy-ness, I actually Really looked at a lot of different rams to figure out the face, hooves, legs, and horns. also, his tail is long because it isn't docked.

Impulse! wow ok, so, very big changes here.

He is a Shulker hybrid! this is because of a lot of reasons, so, number 1: read somewhere that cc!Impulse might be becoming ambivalent towards his character being a demon/imp. I could be totally wrong, but I'm covering all my bases here just in case. If I am completely and utterly wrong, then I will have learned from this. But also, I still think I came up with a pretty cool design.

Number 2!

(cant find og poster so im not gonna put their art in) SOMEONE had funnily noticed that when cc!impulse is embarrassed/scared he hides his face with his hands, so they drew something really cool with all the zits crew as arizonian wildlife, with Impulse as an armadillo. That had helped further the shulker hybrid idea, especially with mob shulkers actually hiding between attack phases. (if you know who, please tell me, ill edit this and say so)

"Well, if thats the case, why not just make him an armadillo hybrid, they Are in the game now."

Very true! However, (reason number 3), I made him a shulker hybrid because I wanted all the ZITS to be from different deminsions. In Impulse's case, he would be from The End. (Zed from the Overworld, Tango from the Nether, and Skizz from the Aether)

this is also inspired by!!! @/pixiemage

Tango is still a blaze hybrid, the most I changed was his outfit (the vest and reflectors of the shirt) but I also changed his face and blaze rod coloring to be more like the mob. I also fixed his core flame on the top of his head so the colors are the right way round. (I seem to always make that mistake with fire)

Skizzleman is an angel, specifically a Throne (in training), the things I changed about his design the most were: i got rid of the bandages around his human-y eyes and subsequently the bow at the back, his outfit is closer to his minecraft skin, except the socks, they're impnskizz socks. Blue background with scattered yellow "i" and little angel wings out of them.

ok I think thats it, after all this (prolly on another day) I'll have a bigger explanation about the details of these hybrids/mobs, I'm just making a big compendium of practically every mob in minecraft, so it'll take a while but I'll get these specific ones out there, at some point.

[misc-obeyme]

omg okay this was originally going to be an ask about what you think the ring of wisdom may look like because i wanted to try and hunt something down that was similar to buy (mc has both the ring of light and ring of wisdom by season three I think, and i own the ring of light irl)

BUT THEN i went on the wiki and found out it's made of brass and iron, and also learned that u treasure created the ring of light look since it never appeared in canon (i can dream of them making the other half but unlikely as Solomon is a side character, sad)

AND THEN i was reminded that Michael gave the ring of wisdom to solomon so he could control demons more easily and not have the giant strain. But why give it to him? Why this specific sorcerer? Why aid in that?

So now I'm in a rabbit hole of wondering WHEN solomon got the ring. And if it was after the brothers fell, did Michael do it on purpose? Was he aiming for solomon to become powerful enough to even control the seven of the brothers? AND HOW DID HE FIND SOLOMON AT ALL? I have so many questions now

- ✨ anon

Hmm well if I remember correctly, Solomon gives MC a ring when they become a full fledged sorcerer, but I didn't think it was the Ring of Wisdom that he gave them? Perhaps I misinterpreted that part??

(Side note, I'm almost glad they aren't like to make Solomon's Ring of Wisdom just because OH THE TEMPTATION.)

Anyway, the question is how the heck did Solomon end up with that ring in the first place??

Oh, friend. You have unlocked a CC Solomon Theory because I've thought about this a lot.

I'm going to put it under a read more because of OG and Nightbringer spoilers!

We know almost nothing about the Ring of Wisdom. I can't remember if it's been mentioned in Nightbringer at all. And there may be more instances of it in OG that I'm not remembering. But here are two of the relevant parts:

This is from Lesson 2-2 of OG. He says he used it to create pacts with the 72 demons. Now, it's obvious that Asmo is one of those 72 demons, which means Solomon wouldn't be able to make a pact with him until after Lucifer & co fell. However, I don't think that means that Solomon didn't start making all his pacts before they fell.

This is from Lesson 29-5 in OG. And he says that Michael gave him the ring at a point in his life when he was lost, etc.

What does that mean? Is that before or after Solomon met Barbatos?

Now, there is also a part in Nightbringer where Solomon says that he met a friend back when he was locked up in the basement. He says that his new friend's family came to get them, but that they would come back from time to time and talk to him. He promise the friend he would be a good sorcerer so he could protect humanity.

What if that was Michael?

If it was, maybe Michael gave him the Ring of Wisdom around this time. Maybe Michael did it because he wanted to help Solomon protect humanity.

But this is also the story Solomon couldn't tell MC entirely. He stops part way and says he doesn't have the courage. Which means something else happened then, too. Probably something bad.

So I dunno, this is just a theory. But it could explain why Michael gave Solomon the ring to begin with. If it happened before the brothers fell, his motivation could have purely been to help Solomon protect humanity.

Of course, it's possible that wasn't Michael at all and was actually someone else. In which case we would be back to square one with the question of why Michael gave Solomon the ring.

It would be rather sinister if Michael gave it to Solomon after the brothers fell for the sole purpose of Solomon being able to control them.

It makes sense that Michael would need a human for this because he can't make pacts with the demons himself. But maybe Solomon didn't want to do what Michael wanted him to do and therefore decided to do his own thing instead. He only has a pact with one of the brothers, so he's not exactly going through with that idea.

If Michael is Nightbringer, this could explain why Solomon said that Nightbringer made him who he is. At the same time, it's pretty clear from Solomon's conversation with Nightbringer that he disagrees with Nightbringer and is kinda defiant.

But if Michael is Nightbringer and he's always wanted to control the brothers, that could explain why Nightbringer wanted MC to make pacts with all of them. Perhaps by creating pacts with the brothers in the past, MC has strengthened their pacts with the brothers in the future, too. That could make it easier for MC to control them, especially to control them all at once.

Which is kinda the point of the Ring of Wisdom. As you said, it's meant to allow someone to control multiple demons without it being as draining on the body.

Unfortunately, I still feel like I don't have enough evidence for any of these theories to say for sure that I think they're right. I kinda always thought Solomon's friend was Michael because to me that seems like the scenario that makes the most sense and fits with the Ring of Wisdom situation.

But in the end, I'm hoping they will reveal more about this part of the backstory. Even if I'm totally wrong, I would still very much like to know why Michael gave Solomon the Ring of Wisdom. Because that feels like a really big deal and so far all they've done is just kinda mention it briefly.

ANYWAY well you see I spend too much time thinking about this stuff. But I also have many questions! Here's hoping we get the answers soon!

[antisocialbunnysims]

the funny moment when ur doing super specific searches on etsy to find vintage candy tins you can use to recolor ATS' candy tin..and then you recognize the exact candy tin that is used in the og recolor lol (i filter by different random countries so i can find uncommon results, this only showed up when i searched for etsy uploads from denmark lol. this is prob a common candy tin in europe but i haven't ever seen it in the states!).

and bonus that on flickr i found almost the exact same ad i have hanging in my kitchen that i bought at a vintage paper fair! i've moved into the most cursed phase of CC addiction. You don't browse or save it anymore, instead you just browse websites full of images you compulsively save in case you MIGHT recolor something with them. my digital hoarding is out of control lmao ;_; i really want to try to recolor some cute kitchen clutter soon as i have free time tho!

[cryptiam]

TSR has now disabled reblogs/comments on their post response to firing 60+ featured cc creators.

Since I reblogged their response early on, I wanted to give this update for everyone in case you missed it.

It's not surprising of course, just funny they didn't know how to do that before posting it.

*This will prob be my last post about it though unless there's another notable development needing to boost.

In case you missed it:

TSR's response tried to manipulate the truth of how they fired ~60+ long-time cc creators abruptly. It's a bad response and people called them out for it. Creators included.

(*linking to my reblog of it in case they delete/edit the og post in the future)

All that to say:

Please don't go after the people working at TSR or any cc creators still partnered with them. That's not the point of all this, and odds are they aren't even the ones responsible for these business decisions anyways.

This is to set the record straight due to the deceptive response and them locking comments out of damage control.

Decide whether you'll personally use TSR or not, but leave it at that.

[tactical-mode]

Episode 010

(Remember to turn on CC for the dialogue!)

This episode is full of departures from the OG, although nothing so drastic as 7R. In many cases, dialogue has been tweaked to suit the blocking. It’s my opinion that these tweaks - mostly from Remake - suit the characters and the flow, but you can be the judge.

[Chapter 04] Scene 37-40: Morning in the Slums

Tifa joins the party while Barret’s Theme pleases the ear. This is actually the original midi track from the 1997 game but put through some modern samplings. Later in the episode, you’ll hear the orchestration by modder Neo Faizan, which can be used in your Remake playthrough, I heartily recommend it!

OG fans may notice that I’ve changed this scene somewhat. In the old game, the dialogue introduces a materia tutorial. Since this is in movie-style, that's nixed. I thought about planning some overlay text to show our loadout, like so:

(I gave Tifa an advanced purple materia here because she’ll be roundhouse kicking giant robots soon and I don’t want her to break her leg.) The overlay idea was scrapped.

Scene 41

This small scene on the train platform uses dialogue mostly from Remake, although in places I have swapped the new lines out for things that are covered in side-dialogue in the OG (such as SOLDIER being deployed).

In my initial concept for the series I wanted all scenes like this to go in the Extended Cut playlist only, as separate “deleted” scenes. So, why the change? Primarily because the music leads from one scene to the next, and without a clear break, I didn’t want to jank the flow.

[Chapter 05] Scene 01-03

Enjoy the music mod by Neo Faizan and the Train NPCs mod by FantasyRaiderr. These scenes are spliced in with scenes from Chapter 2. If you watch all the episodes in one sitting, you can see that I’ve filmed the same moment twice and used it in Episode 7 and now 10. Whoops!

There’s also a materia in the background of the emptied train car. It emits glowing particles that were chewing the scenery, so to film the scene I opened the engine .ini and removed all particle effects. Much less distracting!

In OG, Tifa is the one who breaks up the fight, prompting Cloud to very cooly say his line. In 7R, Tifa ain’t here and Cloud has a moribund expression to match a changed bit of dialogue (a more judgemental “You know you’re better than that.”).

Scene 04

Ah finally, a music track from Remake! Hurry! Is the name of the tune, and has several versions in Remake - this one brings the ticking clock noise, running synth, and morse-code-esque percussion  that most closely matches Uematsu’s score. 

The race against time from the OG sadly doesn’t happen in 7R, so we jump from the train straight away. There’s also no goodbye sequence with Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie. The only indication they’re even on the mission is a single shot of them imported from Chapter 2.

Remake’s replacement for these scenes (killer drones that attack everyone on the train) was also cut, this time by me. It may explain why the party seems to be ready to fight something off screen, and why the passengers seem less afraid of Barret that they are of Tifa (hint: they’re actually afraid of the killer drones behind her).

One final change: in OG, Barret jumps from the train last, boasting that a leader always stays until the end. I lament the change here, but I couldn’t edit my way out of him jumping first. Ah well, at least we get a nice little romantic moment here. My multi-shipper heart soars.

Scenes 05-15

Several combats are cut here. The music track is Lurking in the Darkness from EC. Also, if you play through 7R, this scene is likely cluttered with crates and pylons, as a combat full of exploding interactables happens just before it. To reset the crates so they aren’t bouncing around the scene, I had to save in the quick moment between the fight and the cutscene, then reset the game so that the interactibles appeared back in their default position. Clever girl, eh?

Barret going off about Plans B to D as well as the railway map is an invention of 7R. I liked it, so I kept it, clipping where I could to keep it brisk. It allows the song to play out, shows us some tasteful character interactions, and serves as a tidy plot button for the end of the episode. It is thus saved from becoming a deleted scene, purism be damned!

One last note here - in trying to force Barret and Tifa to run up to the map at the right time, I spent a lot of time freezing the engine, causing any the actors in motion to float far away. This forced them to backtrack towards their marker while I set up a shot. A shot I really liked of Barret reflected the OG's image of the train tunnel and I really wanted to use it, but I found it confusing as a viewer in terms of getting a sense of place.

Final Thoughts

This episode brings the series’ run-time up to about an hour. That’s on par with the original game. Comparatively, Remake’s version of the train escape happens around the 8-hour mark. Just some fun stats for you. I am hoping that this is one of the episodes in which I play the loosest with OG's script but there are some real hurdles up ahead. In the meanwhile, I get to kick back and enjoy some dungeon and combat for the next few releases.

[encyclopika]

Animal Crossing Fish - Explained #241

Brought to you by a marine biologist with some snakey shark...

CLICK HERE FOR THE AC FISH EXPLAINED MASTERPOST!

Fish are fascinating. Although, yes, I'm very biased, I'm also saying it because the two largest groups of them - the bony fish (Osteichthyes) and the cartilagenous fish (Chonrichthyes) - come in some wild shapes and sizes. And some of these shapes, like that of today's fish, the Frilled Shark, are still just weird as hell.

I'm actually really surprised that ACPC added this shark in, but they did! It was a special catch for the Deep Sea Shark Goals back in July 2023. The art is also so spot on given just how weird this guy is! Look at the teeth in perfect rows! The fins are all the way towards the back of the body! The gills are even frilled (that's where the name comes from!) to the point you can see the red gill tissue inside! It's really great. Although there are two species of Frilled Shark now, and they look very much the same, I'm going to say this is definitely the OG Frilled Shark - Chlamydoselachus anguineus - that everyone knows and loves. (The other species, the Southern African frilled shark (Chlamydoselachus africana) was only described in 2009, so I just doubt it's the one featured here.)

It's hard to find good pictures of a healthy frilled shark since, if you're seeing them at the surface in broad daylight for a good picture, odds are, that guy is on his way out, unfortunately. These are relatively deep-sea sharks that live their lives like a lot of twilight zone animals do - hopping on the Great Diel Migration, where they hang out at depth during the day, but go up to the surface at night to feed.

If there is any shark that is called a "living fossil" it's this one. With the snake-like body and six gills and pretty much a lack of a rostrum, this isn't the first image you would conjure when someone says "shark". And just from my experience talking to people about sharks since I was really small, I've noticed that when people think "shark" they are more than likely imagining the sharks of Galeomorphii, or the Galean Sharks, which include the Great White, the Whale, the Hammerheads, and just your typical shark friends.

The Frilled does not belong here.

By © Citron, CC BY-SA 3.0, (Do you see what I was saying about the teeth being in perfect rows???)

There is a whole other SuperOrder of sharks called the Squalomorphii, or Squalean Sharks. The Squaleans are typically told apart from the Galeans by lacking traits, such as an anal fin (which isn't the case in the frilled shark, so we'll move on), no nictitating membrane over the eyes, and differences in skull morphology. These guys are diverse, weird...and sometimes disrespected. A lot of them are called "dogfish" and where I'm from, dogfish aren't even considered "real sharks". I can't complain too much since I never count dogfish as "seeing sharks" when I'm out at sea. Many of them are small. But this group also includes famous sharks, like the Greenland shark, saw sharks, angel sharks, and the very primitive-looking Cow Sharks, for which the Frilled, we think!, belongs.

Cow Sharks, the Hexanchiformes, are a bunch of weirdos with six or seven gill slits, where other sharks (and most rays!) all have five gill slits. They're typically deep water sharks that can only rarely be studied. One of them, the broadnose sevengill, though, is a resident to San Francisco Bay, California, so it's not necessary to be deep sea when you're a weird, primitive shark. Even so, the Frilled Shark is a weirdo among weirdos, and it's been placed in many other groups of extinct sharks since its discovery. However, genetic analysis done in 2016 puts it in with the Hexanchiformes, but still apart in its very own Family - Chlamydoselachidae. That's what happens when you're a shark that looks and swims like an eel, has trident teeth, and has a weird head with weird jaws. Did I mention these things grow to be 6 feet (2m) long?

And there you have it. Fascinating stuff, no?

[xestuck]

the sim3stuck post

+ some more stuff added 15/mar/24 ! this wont be reccs for specific features for canon characters, but items that can apply to hs trolls in general (also including xeno headcanons)

before anything else. heres a link to the og simstuck cc, basically the canon trolls' horns and the canon trolls and kids shirts, in case u somehow dont have them already :-3

cas items should all be recolourable unless otherwise stated. some links direct to the creators page, but some r direct downloads. this is cos a lot of older sims 3 cc pages have broken or link to now-defunct adfly links + ND SKINS: Indogene Skin by niobe cremisi Fantasy Insect Skin by niobe cremisi Scaly Alien Skins by sim-it-up Expanded Colour Ramps by FairsteadSims Alien Colour Ramps by Scones Wood Doll Grey Skin by niobe cremisi Steampunk Robot Skin by niobe cremisi Mermaid Skin by niobe cremisi Animal Skin by Juba Metal, Matte and Plastic skins by CmarNYC

MAKEUP: Set of scars by i-like-teh-sims Bleeding face makeup by TheBleedingWoodland CAStable Mouths by Chibikinesis Freckle Blusher by Stefan0412 Recolourable Freckles & Blush by sims3land Tears of Pain Eye Makeup by GorePrincess Third Eye by moonskin93 + Avatar Alien Markings p1 by traelia + Avatar Alien Markings p2 by traelia + Dragon Scales Blush by Simmerstore -- CONTACTS Goat Eyes by Moonskin93 (iirc its unrecolourable) OhMyEyes by escand (has colourable sclera too) Solid Colour eyes, Robo eyes, Lizard eyes by Esmeralda (some are unrecolourable) Fantasy Eyes by Arisuka Fantasy Eyes 2 by Arisuka EphemeraMS93 Eyes by brntwaffles (includes default, non-def with recolourable sclera, and odd-eye contact accs) + Dragon Eyes by niobe cremisi

ACCESSORIES: --HORNS Devil Kazumi horns by TheBleedingWoodland Horns + Demon Tail by CloudwalkerNZ Classic Demon Horns by Lavoieri Devil Horns by yenwenz Sundown Horns by LeahLillith Crave Horns by LeahLillith Hathor Horns Headband by LeahLillith Some horns and "ribs" that might work for "grubscars" by VenusPrincess FF12 Demon Horns by MurfeeLee FF12 Gilgamesh Horns by MurfeeLee Small Oni Horns by Mitarasi

--TEETH AND NAILS Vampire Fangs by TheBleedingWoodland Wolf Claws for all by Callia-Evergreen/Camkitty Orc Teeth by VenusPrincess --EARS, FINS, WINGS Fin Ears, Pierced Fin Ears, and Goblin Ears by VenusPrincess Feathered Wings and some tiaras/necklaces by VenusPrincess Fairyish Wings and Ear+body fins by VenusPrincess Feathered Wings by TheNinthWave Mermaid Fins by DSims (these r the ones used in the old simstuck blog, the dropbox links still work) --ETC ACC 2 Different Colour Eyes (Natural and Solid Colour) by Esmeralda (yes these arent in makeup, sims 3 eye contacts in makeup are always mirrored so these have to be "glasses") Metal Prosthetic Arms by Arisuka Egyptian YuGiOh Choker by SallyCompaq122 Antennas by VenusPrincess Spine + Tail Accs by VenusPrincess Cat Tails by Tehmango Paw Pads by Callia-Evergreen/Camkitty Lizard Tails by Callia-Evergreen/Camkitty Lizard feet by Callia-Evergreen/Camkitty (included with the downloadable sims) Pointy Anime Shades submitted to simstuck by eiram87 Triangle Shades by GrahammerTek Welding Goggles by GrahammerTek Misc Goggles by sionelle + Medusa Snake Accs by SilFantasy

GENERAL RECS: - nraas MasterController is needed to put multiple accessories in the same location and to add more face/body sliders to your game but it has a shitton of other useful features too. - OneEuroMutt various facial and body sliders, i have the alien/ body/ amputee sliders but the rest might also be of interest. (remember to get MasterController first) - aWT Eyelid and Pupil Sliders, yes there is functional sliders for sims pupils. note the mesh needed for the sliders to work will remove the EA eye shine on sims (and glow eyes on supernatural sims) - sims3genderswap is a collection of GNC/transgender/gender neutral clothing, makeup, and hair - also some dreamer shirts/dress submitted to simstuck by zootycoon for the sims playing sburb - links to some sims 3 cc reupload piles. some of the stuff here was picked frm these, but mostly its general sims 3 cc that lost their original download links. one | two

i do have more cc that should work for simstuck shit but i have merged a lot of my .packages or cant find the source download. i havent included any skins for this reason but i can try finding fantasy skins or human skns that have grayscale tones at some other point. i dont have a simsfileshare code but if i somehow get one then i might upload packages of stuff that i cant find online anymore

also if theres any other canon homestuck cc for sims 3 pls send it to me....... i think theres stuff like mitunas outfit somewhere out there but my searches for sims 3 homestuck cc get drowned out by the sims 4 stuff...... rip

[monasims-gallery]

Goldspire NPC's Pt. 1 - The Rusted Roses

Just in case you missed it, I am now keeping my Steampunk CC Resources over here!

I didn't mean to make all the quest givers in the player hub femmes but, here we are.

CC Links and credits under the cut

Harlob "Harpy" Iron-Tusk: Skintone, Ears, Nose Preset, Eyes, Tusks, Prosthetics*, Piercings, Earrings**, Top*, Belt Bag*, Pants, Boots(Mesh)

Clarabeth ... Silverdust: Body Preset, Hair Color, Face Markings 1* 2, Body Markings, Nose Blush 1 2, Eyes, Eye Preset, Nose Preset, Ears, Goggles, Necklace, Gloves, Top & Bottom, Belt, Socks, Boots

Dr. Delilah Clearwater: Mask, Necklace**, Bodysuit, Dress, Bracelets***, Garters, Boots**

Binx: Body Preset, Skintone, Brows, Freckles, Nose Markings 1 2, Body Markings, Finger Stain, Eyes, Ears, Nose Preset, Eye Preset, Mouth Preset, Jaw Preset, Blush*, Hair Acc, Necklace, Top, Puff Sleeves, Belt*, Pants, Socks, Shoe Acc, Boots

*TSR

**Simsfinds

***Not sure where the og link for this is, I looked high and low

Many thanks to: @blahberry-pancake, @pralinesims, @clumsyalienn, @shandir, @dansimsfantasy, @madlensims, @iliketodissectsims, @aleniksimmer, @lamatisse, @ssspringroll, @thepeachyfaerie, @strangestorytellersims, @tricoufamily, @quiddity-jones, @kittrixsims, @fluffyfrogg, @myfawnwysimblr, @berryqueercc, @eachuisge-cc, @taty86, @mossylane, @obscurus-sims, @oydis, @pinkpatchy, @stamsim, @oranos, @serenity-cc, @bokchoijo, @yuyulie, @mmsims, @dream-girl, @evilquinzel, @simgirlz, @cosmiccs4, @gummyheaven, @chere-indolente, @nv-games, @alifya, @sammi-xox, @moony-bonbon

[infiniteetcetera]

The only things we learned from SJM’s recent interview snippet being:

1. Next book is longgggg

2. Next book is super far from done…

Makes me wonder if there actually is something super surprising coming, like something she herself didn’t even necessarily plan? (especially since we know CC3 got major rewrites after it was nearly done) I do think there could be some elements of the expected story that could fall into this (I think the most obvious route is a book with Elain/Azriel/Luciens POVs and those are three characters we have the most to learn from) but everything about the ACOTAR characters in CC3 make me wonder if she won’t go in an unexpected route

The most obvious thing to point out is Nesta being so prominent which makes sense on thematic levels to some degree but also we have to remember SJM is in control of what she’s writing and if she wanted to…that could have been Feyre with Bryce the whole book??? Or Elain or Gwyn or Mor or whoever with just a few minor plot point shifts. The Azriel of it all seems to check out but the emphasis on Nesta is so curious to me because I’d argue it doesn’t even make entire logic sense (like Rhys was throwing a fit at her for how she handled Bryce as if he didn’t send her in their with presumably almost zero training) and she’s been set up for something different in more ways then one now…

Which brings me to another point, maybe it’s just my Anti-Nessian instincts talking but like…what was the need to continue to make them so gross still??? I had kind of accepted by the end of ACOSF “yeah this pair kind of sucks but it is what it is they’re getting a happily ever after now” but that’s just so clearly NOT THE CASE. The whole Rhys issue is still super prominent, but the narrative is actually finally starting to acknowledge that like, maybe this isn’t okay??? Before in the text you read the awful things Cassian says and does and the narrative is just Nesta’s POV being like “yeah but im terrible and worthless and he’s great so I deserve this” and readers just have to stomach it but Ember stepping in feels like a shift in acknowledgment that this treatment isn’t fair and the part that always gets me is THAT STUPID SEXIST JOKE THE GUYS LAUGH AT BUT NESTA AND EMBER DONT. that’s such an intense and powerful moment, especially when these are two abuse survivors tolerating it and it’s literally like three lines that didn’t need to be there if they weren’t important???

This all adds up to me for the next book as meaning:

a) something really bad is going to happen to Nesta and the plot focus will be in some degree on helping her (maybe using the star sword, which would likely involve her sisters/Azriel)

b) Nesta’s POV still being a thing….

I know the second option would maybe feel wrong in a book that is probably meant to focus on her sister but there aren’t really rules about these things. SJM made a passing comment once about the new spinoffs being “one couple” focused and “each sister/her lover” focused but she really doesn’t have to stick to that. Even the OG ACOTAR trilogy was not that at all. We got maybe like three chapters in total of Rhy’s POV??? Even the text itself was first person which has been a major shift (side note people always ignore in their evil Rhys theories, we’ve only ever gotten Feyre and him in first person, we knowww this man). I think it would not be super crazy if next book is very multi-POV. It would still probably be focused on one person mostly (I am thinking Elain or Azriel and I think there are a lot of valid reasons to support that no matter who they wind up with) but having POVs from at least Nesta and maybe some other characters (dream ones here are Eris, the Valkyries, Vassa/Jurian, and a return to Mor’s POV) could make a lot of sense and be done in a way that still “focuses” on one character mostly. The most obvious examples to me are CC (those are Bryce’s book, but there are so many other POVs) and TOD (undeniably Chaol’s book, but there are other POVs).

I don’t know I think all the clues we’ve gotten so far suggest something bigger and less expected for ACOTAR 6 then just a “Elain’s version of ACOSF” sort of deal. If it were just that simple I feel like by now SJM could just…say that? Like call me crazy but I don’t think announcing it’s Elains book would be new information at all if it’s that simple?? it doesn’t tell us who she’s gonna wind up with and it’s perfectly in line with what people expect. Now I know there’s a whole slew of people who believe in a “just an Azriel” or Azriel/Gwyn book next but I just don’t see that for a lot of reasons (I mean I could be wrong and all the theorizing was for nothing but I don’t think I am). This really is not a point against Azriel/Gwyn either but I don’t see the logic in addressing their story before Elain/Azriel and Elain/Lucien. Chronologically it just doesn’t make sense to me and I actually think having them together first would detract a lot from an Elucien story (it’d just feel gross to me if Az finds his mate and then all of the sudden elains like ‘fine Lucien let’s figure this out🙄’ like if she’s going to choose Lucien let her choose Lucien please).

Im always curious to know other people’s thoughts, especially since we continuously have so little to go off of🙃 I do think there are even broader economic/practical elements it’s easier to ignore when your in a fandom space like…does any of this matter since it happened in CC3??? Do the bonus chapters even matter??? Would SJM be right in expecting people to have read them to “get” the next book. I think we all have very different impulses about this and actually think next book could be a rude awakening about it (like is there a world where nothing about the necklace/Elriel kiss/Gwynriel/Rhys is ever acknowledged??? it seems crazy to think about given fan discourse and theories but if SJM turned around and said “those bonus chapters are silly deleted scenes like” how could the people argue???) but I think it’s more likely there’s an acknowledgment most people have read all these series and she’s sort of priming them to do so with all these references. I just don’t know how much self contained ACOTAR related plot next book will have and how much of it will address these broader issues with the multi verse (like again Azriel can hear the star sword and it affects truth teller??? he lives in the same house with Nesta and that sword and can presumably use both, how could it not be acknowledged???) but I am curious to find out and honestly not even sure what I prefer

[riacte]

I find the whole discourse interesting bc double and limited life were also entirely based about a gimmick, but because it was a season-wide one it still enabled the ccs to control their narratives. But in Secret and Wild Life, the gimmicks control the players. It's like when in a story the characters just go from point A to point B bc the plot requires them to, not bc of their own choices.

However, I was also wondering why I personally prefer so much Wild to Secret Life, although I am sure this is more of a personal take. I think it's bc Wild is just funnier,and also Secret some several fundamental problems apart from simply depending on gimmicks: 1 some of the tasks were not that interesting and could get frustrating bc the ccs spent the whole episode concentrated in those 2 red names had nothing interesting to do (like not to be biased or anything, but martyn's pov which is usually one of the best in every season felt generally bland and uneventful in secret life) and 3 and most frustrating imo: the 30 hearts, no regen gimmick was BAD. Like I haven't really seen that many people talk about it but it meant cool traps and attacks usually didn't have that much effect, it made the red lives even less unthreatening and by the 5th or 6th episode it was so obvious who would be the final 4. Also, I feel it very telling how in that season there barely was any tension or conflict between any faction

Wild life, in comparison, at least gives some space for tension between players and groups to develop and people make actual relevant choices, and I am having fun. So for me it's better compared to Secret Life, but I also feel it's more of a personal take and that, in any case, since Lim Life the series don't feel like life series at all. 3rd and Last Life were the OG greats, Double and Lim were worthy sequels, and ever since then it feels like MCU projects, generally alright but not that memorable either

Sorry for the rant, as always lol

"3rd and Last Life were the OG greats, Double and Lim were worthy sequels, and ever since then it feels like MCU projects, generally alright but not that memorable either" Ohh this might be a controversial take but it's one I agree with 🤡 LimLife is interesting to me because I liked it, it was good, the deaths got a little repetitive at the end, but there was a shift in the meta and it felt like a good shift. LimLife was gritty and careless, almost irreverent because everyone had so many lives, and it had a winner that suited the style. The time mechanic was really gripping to me, I remember people having seconds counting down to their next colour life and going crazy for a kill.

But I don't think we can really go back and it's not anyone's fault, it's just how it is naturally. WL is fun in the sense you get to see them react to the various gimmicks, like giving bugs in an enclosure some enrichment, but it was very PvE instead of PvP. There's still player agency and fun bits, but.... yeah.

[pommunist]

Honestly, I've been very scared to keep posting about the situation, since I don't want people who follow me to think I'm ''too negative'' or judge me when I'm not remaining as positive as before, or to bring negative posts to dashes of people that I know are very stressed about this. And I appreciated before how you are a safe place for neg thoughts, so I'm here to vent a little bit if that's okay.

My experience since the reveal can be described as a rollercoaster that only has been going down.

I was incredibly stressed when Lèa revealed everything, but remained hopeful that things could change for the better. I had trust.

At first, the next few days after that, I thought the leaks of the changes made were odd since they looked like they lacked context, and the lack of context could lead to fandom outrage, which I was worried about at the time. Why was I worried? Well, I still had trust right things were in progress to be done. Looking back into that, while we got the context later on and it reassured me then, not jumping into immediate conclusions and waiting for more points of views was more my way of protecting my mind from spiraling further into distress, all while knowing full well that Lèa has only acted with the best intentions and none of this was in bad faith.

Then we get hit with this: Admin after admin are leaving, and it gets to the point that Lumi and Shade leave, because the communication never existed in that workplace and priorities were proved to be incredibly out of place. My trust was B R O K E N. And like I promised an anon back then, I finally allowed disappointment to sink in.

And why was my trust broken? Fun fact: When it matters to me, I have good memory, and I remember Q's statements. The words and the actions are not matching.

- He said that he was going to collect testimonies and investigate. Ah yes, the investigation tactic of not contacting anyone in the workplace and actually gathering their testimonies, I heard it's a good source of information to make important changing decisions /srcsm.

- He said the CCs were being updated about the changes. Then we see CCs saying they actually don't know shit going on bts except for a couple of general announcements.

And there may be other stuff that does not match, but those two are the most relevant to me right now.

Like, genuinely I didn't even care about whatever the fuck Q said after Lumi and Shade's statements, and any other post that tries to reassure the fanbase just feels like very hopeful thinking, that I used to have, but I DON'T anymore. It feels like false promises and looking for things that make sense, when, really, that shouldn't be our job. At this point I need tangible proof of improvement, not just words because these fucking words have proved to not be enough for me to believe whatever the fuck Q says it's being done.

I can't even trust fully that the merch money will actually go to payment for the remaining admins and compensation for the ones who left. That would be the best case scenario, but can I even TRUST this scenario to occur? Right now, no, I don't think so, I have not been given proof to trust this. And seeing any merch with Pomme, Dapper or Ramon in the Qsmp Awards just felt extremely wrong and I hated it.

When you are a Huevito, this has been wild: First, Artea leaves, and then, Shade reveals to us that Ramon's OG admin was fired around the time Artea took the role, while this entire time most of the Huevitos thought the OG admin was back around the last days of february. It feels worse when you can connect the dots about what happened with Ramon's OG admin, when we know that he was extremely busy with school last time we saw him, and we consider Lèa saying how management would fire you if you were not active enough...

Must clarify, all the love to BOTH Ramon's OG admin and Artea, they both killed it with the role, they are both wonderful people and I wish the best to them and the new Ramon admin that was with us at the beginning of march aswell. Also all the love to them. Must be hard to play a character that was played and developed by two different people before, and the effort is deeply appreciated.

I also feared to say the above since I was scared to spread misinformation somehow. But honestly, I'm trusting Shade's words, you know, the one who's best friend irl with Ramon's OG admin should know full well what they are talking about and the status of employment of said best friend.

And when you have been a ghostie for months since basically the beginning: This shit SUCKS and people are SO EXTREMELY VALID for being upset and grieving.

I think no company should ghost their employees even when they are ACTIVELY TRYING TO REACH OUT. Fucking paranoia of leaks ain't cutting it for me as an excuse for this mistreatment and I don't blame Lumi and Shade at all for taking the decision that was healthier for themselves after that. Just a ''we can't say much right now due to legal reasons, but we are still slowly working on it'', LITERALLY JUST THAT HAD TO BE SAID, WDYM NOT EVEN THAT.

The french community have every right to be angry after this. The CCs stated they were leaving if Lumi left, and that's an entire language going away from the server. Yeah, no shit they are upset.

And I want to just grab Bad by the shoulders and say YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PLAY ON THE SERVER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO, YOU ARE CLEARLY DISTRESSED, DO WHAT'S BEST FOR YOUR MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL BEING, WE UNDERSTAND.

Of course I want this to turn out for the best, like everyone. I believe the basis of this project was a wonderful idea, and I'm grateful for the positive things it had brought. But this shit is not being resolved the right way, as we could see. And with Q seemingly no understanding the underlying issue, then why would I remain as hopeful as before.

Another fun fact: When you break my trust, it's really fucking hard to gain it back or for that to happen in the first place, so.

I have stated that my hyperfixation to Qsmp has died out, since I decided to keep my distance in order to collect my thoughts, reflect, breathe and do what's best for myself. Nowadays I only would watch two specific CCs play, but if at some point they decide to leave, which I would not blame them if it reached that point, then that would be it for me. I would be done with it. I don't blame the people who also feel this way or the ones who think it is already over.

If I'm only staying here it's purely for love for this community. In the anniversary, I could not bring myself to say happy birthday to the Qsmp, I said happy birthday to Qsmpblr instead. I love the people I have met and interacted with here dearly. Even if our opinions don't match, because hope and trust have left me, the love is still there, you know?

That would be everything I wanted to get out of my chest, sorry for the big text and angry rambling. I would prefer to stay anonymous for this one. Take care, Pommunist.

Hey anon ! I don’t really know what to say in response to all this, just that I agree with most of what you just said here.

The feeling of being afraid that you’re being too negative too often ahah big same here ! I didn’t think my blog would turn into what it is when i made it, and I felt many time like I was bothering people with my frequent posts on the situation (I also know I’m not the best at tagging stuff I promise I try my best though !).

We have to remember that we aren’t being negative for fun or drama, we are just talking about a situation that is negative so of course this isn’t going to be fun and rainbows. And personally I’d rather do that than « faire l’autruche » as we say in french (Translation would be : to do the ostrich aka to put your head in the ground so you can ignore your problems), as it is too serious of an issue .

Also using your post to express my admiration and gratitude to Ramon’s OG admin and Artea because they both did an amazing job playing him and shaping him into the character we love so much (Our beautiful baby boy).

And yes, the community is great ! Even if you don’t feel like watching the server or at least less than before, we should still interact with the wonderful people thanks to it ! Also, keep sharing fanarts, fanfics, anything ! the artists are blessing us with wonderful art and stories they still deserve our support ! I understand people who do but we don’t have to stop talking about something we love altogether if we don’t want to, the things that made us like it are still here, at the end of the day we can keep that love at least.

My thoughts are so disjointed here anon I’m sorry but lots of love to you ! As someone who was hyper fixated on it too, the fall from grace was particularly painful, can relate 😣

I’ll reiterate that I don’t mind anons at all, you don’t have to justify yourself ! It just makes a bit sad the number of people who told me they didn’t feel like they could express their thoughts publicly.

Take care too ! ♥️

[misc-obeyme]

Hey CC, did you catch up to lesson 48? I'm low-key surprised we're getting new Simeon lore !? So he's like slowly turning into a Demon?!

SPOILERS for lesson 48! I assume most people have read it by now but you know just in case.

I know I haven't been writing my lesson recap posts, I'll get back to them eventually...

But I did read lesson 48.

We might even be due for the next one soon? I don't know I haven't been keeping track of how quickly they release. And I kinda fell into a black hole for several days, so now it feels like it's been forever since 48 happened lol.

Anyway, I'm not too surprised we're finally getting an update on the Simeon situation. I mean they really left us hanging with the end of OG season 4. But I guess he's becoming a demon now?

I don't really think he's gonna stay a demon. They'd have to make all new sprites if that happened. I think more likely MC will resolve it somehow, like they always do.

I'm hoping he'll get to be an angel again. But I suppose they could also just have him return to human status? I guess we'll find out??

[randomfoggytiger]

X Files: Fate or Free Will -- I would LOVE to hear your thoughts on that, I have been thinking about that a lot lately myself. One of the most interesting things.

I believe the show as written by Chris Carter is about fate-- Mulder and Scully, the inevitability of their quest, the battle that is ever greater and greater, bigger and bigger. The mytharc established that in Paper Clip, and carried it up through Essence and Existence (which: love S8, hate how the mytharc developed/fell apart) and beyond.

And I believe the show as discussed in MOTW episodes is about freewill: Mulder and Scully choose each other (despite being fated to be together, platonically or romantically), they choose the quest, they choose between right and wrong in their day-to-day actions, cases, lives, etc.

The longer the OG mytharc ran, the more disconnect I found between these two messages. On the one hand, CC continued talking fate through either CSM or Mulder's mouth; on the other, Mulder rejects fate in Monday while CSM still spouts it whenever he shows up. Fate became a tool not to help the heroes-- the villains can't win ala Jeremiah Smith's soliloquy in Talitha Cumi-- but as a suppression of choice and hope (started in Biogenesis, retuned in Requiem, vanquished in Season 8, resurfaced to destroy everything in Season 9, etc.)

Essence particularly focuses in on Chris's vision, with Mulder spouting that the aliens fear Scully's baby "proves the existence of God." Stupidity of that statement aside, Chris then-- in a way-- tries to end the season on a note that bridges both viewpoints: William wasn't what the aliens expected but "that doesn't make him any less of a miracle, does it?" Then S9 destroys the middle ground with William's adoption to buffalo country and Mulder and Scully running from the law on their dark, tortured, fated quest.

I think the greatest example of this philosophy is the Biogenesis-The Sixth Extinction arc: really, what was the purpose of that arc? To give Mulder godlike powers, to force Scully to face a Truth greater than her beliefs, and to push them back together with knowledge about "the bigger picture", stronger than ever, on their fated mission together. However, David Duchovny salvaged it: he focused in on Mulder's choices: the ones Mulder suppresses in his vision, the one that his conscience (Scully) pushes him towards, the one he makes at the end by supporting Scully's fragile faith and by putting aside the "bigger" implications to focus on them.

I posit the show is built on a fate the characters continually break: Mulder and Scully were fated to fight the forces that be, but they choose each other over "the truth" or "the answer to everything"-- in fact, they become each other's answer to everything. Chris Carter script believes in fate and bad things happening to good people; but he eagerly gives space for his writers to give Samantha a choice to become starlight, Scully a choice to save and accept her daughter's death, a choice for Mulder to live another life in another world but choose his own, etc.

When there isn't freewill, CC's characters become lost in allegory and metaphor; and when there isn't fate, Mulder and Scully's choices lose the searing potency that draws audiences into their decisions and actions decades later.

Overall, it's a balancing game, I think.