#Winterdown

[balkanballad]

my managers telling each other to go to me and ask whether I want to jump in for another shift is a bit funny, but also, am I really that intimidating now lol

[lesboylycan]

https://www.tumblr.com/wolfboy-butch/745437590649520128/anyways-someone-should-feed-our-npd-and-ask-us

B in the tags is interesting because some other system clocked us as having a more anarchist system structure (<- we had not thought about this before!!!) and it feels like a lot of other systems who have more stratified systems are some form of Asshole, something we have figured out You Are Not so please tell us about that! We are begging you. We wish to understand others further whilst we're feeling good.

C in the tags is interesting because that feels so far beyond us it makes no sense and we literally just NEED to know more. If you're sapient and share our brain in our system you're a headmate and part if the system. We believe we have talked to one other system with a situation like Tag Option C but it wouldn't hurt to have the information.

~ Kirbopher (would it be better to use "Kirb" here so people know I'm a fictive/fucktive/not-the-guy-Im-sorry?????)

Hi thank you for sending! Now, warning, you have unlocked a Major rant, so readers beware, click the read more at your own discretion.

So basically, when we first became partitionary, we ended up in Madeline's (aka Aaron; he/him as Madeline and she/her as Aaron, not in a plural way but in a bigender anarchy way) house. We could not see outside of the windows of this house, it was basically just blank void to us, and us four ([original headmate with the IRL name we use, later forged with several others into Summer], Madeline, Cale, and Em) lived there.

Fast forward a month. A few new folks have joined in (Roman, Grimble, Shark), aaaaand they don't exactly want to live with us in the same house. Especially not Shark, since he was a semi-feral fish man who uh, needed water to live. Suddenly, we can see the beginnings of a town surrounding a lake.

Things grow from there. What we can see grows, the town grows, and there comes to be another fish man, Caspien, who makes the best god damn iced peach tea you've ever tried. He's mostly notable because the lake is later named after him, along with Another Thing that'll become clear later. Eventually, we begin to see the forest at the edge of our little town that we've built. Everything's cool. (Unfortunately, we don't have the map from this time--we know it existed at one point! But we can't find the file, nor can we find any remnants of it in the Discord servers we were in at the time that we might be able to use)

Then, uh-oh, April of 2021. System collapse. Down from 60 all the way to 15--including Summer, who becomes the new host. As if to put salt in the wound, what we can see expands, and we can now see the coast of the Wirshir'dauwn Sea, along with the edges of what we would later find out are two major mountain ranges.

Note: we aren't creating our headspace. We did not realize, at the time, that most systems created their headspace and didn't simply passively discover it in the same way they may discover old headmates.

Things regrow. Come late May, and the boundaries of what we can see stretch with the arrival of several new headmates at once: the Plainsmen. Unlike the small, incremental changes of before, this change is huge--we can now see double what we used to, it's all to the east, and it's all grassy plains and desert. This is what our map looks like at the time:

(Note: orange dots are settlements, don't recall grey dots are doors to the front room which was essentially a different realm we could enter via those doors, black lines are train lines, and the Winterdown Ocean is called that for a reason. You'll see.)

Now, here's the thing: the only people in the entire system who can go into the plains (as in, beyond the Barrier Mountains)... are the Plainsmen. Even as more headmates form. Our only way to communicate with them is through going to the front room, which is split into two, with a hallway between. We can't even go to their side of the front room without feeling dizzy and foggy. And this isn't a one-sided thing at all, they can't come to our side either!

Thankfully, we get to talk to them frequently, since the front room was the only way we could front at the time, we were in high school, and one of them--Gilan--was a god at badminton and so wanted to front constantly since that was the only thing we'd play in PE at the time.

Then comes along Carmen (zhe/zhem/zheir/zheirs). Who sorta... breaks everything. At first, we kind of just meme on zhem (from fantasy mid-1800s era England, scared of cars, etc), but then... zhe try crossing over to the Plainsmen's side of the front room, against everyone else's advice.

And zhe're completely fine. No ill effects. Zhe start talking to Gilan, they hit things off (and they both hit things off with another person, Jade, who was from our ex-partner system but now lives over here thanks to system hopping stuff), and eventually, zhe get dared to go out into the actual Plains. And Carmen, the bastard, agrees.

And not only are zhe fine, but zhe can still front. Outside of the front room.

And then we can find out zhe can teleport. What in the hell. Who are you. What the fuck.

Well, zhe decide to see if zhe can do something about the "no fronting unless in front room" thing, and zhe eventually end up developing crystals a la the crystals in Dimension20's Fantasy High. They're basically phones, but... rock. Which everyone now has. Carmen settles down by Overdeep Lake because zhe generally dislike people except for zheir partners. Things start to settle in, things get a bit more normal again...

Whoops! New headspace expansion, and not just that, we learn that we're not the only ones here, and uh. We're. Actually gateway. And the reason why our headspace was "passively expanding" instead of us building it was because the whole world already existed. And there were people there. There just weren't people in the area that we'd been settling, aside from in the towns in the Plains--but we'd just figured those were NPCs since we rarely interacted with them! Not full people! And we'd never heard anyone talking about this before, so what the hell is going on? The map now looks like this.

(Note: the mountains along the edge of the sea aren't actually mountains mountains, just cliffside. We weren't great at making maps at the time.)

So as it would turn out. "Winterdown" was a mistranslation/mishearing of Wirshir'dauwn. And Kingdom Omaude exists. And both of these places have their own cultures, languages, accents, etc. And apparently, Caspien was originally from Wirshir'dauwn, had heard of human (or, mostly human) settlement around the lake, and decided to check it out and just... never went back? Alright man, miss you, thanks for the iced peach tea, wish you'd taught someone how to make it properly before you disappeared in the system collapse but whatever, we're cool.

Okay. Okay! This is fine! Everything is fine. Carmen goes up to meet Queen Scethius (he/him) to explain things, and then they hit it off. Carmen had already adopted some kids, and this is where the joke that Carmen (who adopts every sad wet rat zhe see--zheir eldest's words, not mine) has more partners than kids starts to take off. Queen Scethius even sets aside a whole coat for zhem, how romantic.

And then we learn that this isn't it. We just haven't explored yet--because now that we've properly learned about Omaude and Wirshir'dauwn, it's not that the world around us is locked, it's just that we... need to explore more of it.

Blah blah blah, stuff happens, a revolt occurs against the monarchy in Kingdom Girun--Omaude's oldest enemy, historically--and now the folks running the place are generally cool. Carmen had already set up the Rangers in the Forebarrier, which isn't formally a country but still has a seat at the metaphorical table in the world stage now since... people actually live there now? And the Rangers basically just make sure everyone's doing okay, help distribute resources, mediate conflict, stuff like that. Carmen was voted to be the commandant, which basically just means zhe do the most paperwork and talk to the most people, and zheir best friend/subject of many inside jokes, Cordon, is zheir second. We learn about more and more nations and their cultures, and eventually, the map looks like this.

"Where's Wirshir'dauwn?" you ask. Here's the thing: Wirshir'dauwn was a kingdom. Which we hadn't known before. The ocean itself is called Daerk'shyen, and many more people live there! The Great Divide is basically a massive set of mountain ranges and canyons that are largely considered impassable, except for a few things.

Also note: "Tetutlen" is a typo, it's actually Tetlunen. Didn't notice that until just now. Whoops. Also, City Toelit was a former state of Girun, but split off somewhere to the tune of a few hundred years ago due to the corrupt monarchy? But now that things have switched up and stuff is much more democratic, there's debate on whether or not they want to rejoin Girun. Note: Girun and City Toelit are both mostly occupied by elves, who live hundreds of years already.

And, aside from the Shakening n' Quakening [SNQ] (which split up the world into a bunch of floating islands--no clue why or how it happened, not even the Gods know, some suspect it might have been discourse between the Ancients, which are basically the gods of the Gods; we get around both by the magic Saltrock Express (still exists! Still around!) and via sky ships, with there being an official Sky Rider League in the Forebarrier, which is mostly made up of Rangers and heavily tied to them but aren't actually part of the Rangers), that's... basically what our map looks like now. The world is called... several different things depending on the nation, of course, but we in the Forebarrier and Plains call it Yhine, and the continent--since the SnQ--is called [the] Archidivum.

What we suspect happened is that the brain basically latched onto a particular realm, and that realm became an anchor for the colony. As we grew and as our needs shifted and changed, the amount that was "unlocked" for us--as the brain latched more and more onto the world--grew and changed with us, until eventually, it got to the point where we were no longer the only ones we could talk to/no longer the only ones we knew of who had major influence over the world we were in and now part of.

As for why certain folks don't consider themselves part of the collective even if they front, it's mostly cases like General Fenityr (he/him, ze/zim/zyr/zyrs), who is the head of the military in Omaude. He's been around for somewhere to the tune of 650 years, has been a political figure in Omaude for around 400 of them, basically raised Queen Scethius, yadda yadda.

In recent times, though, he's gotten more familiar with the Colony, and even got married to Ramses (one of Carmen's kids, also a former member of that same ex-partner system in the same way Jade (who, along with Gilan, married Carmen) is--they both moved over here (with permission) to be with the people they married, and to hopefully avoid getting accidentally erased, since our collective--post April 2021--was a lot more stable than the ex's and was/is a lot less prone to collapses, resets, etc). Ze's close with Carmen's family (especially since Carmen is also married to Scethius. "Carmen has more partners than kids" blah blah) and would front pretty frequently to talk to Ramses back before Ramses moved over here. So what gives on the whole "not being part of the collective" thing?

Well, one of the biggest reasons ze doesn't consider zyrself as part of the colony is because ze's basically guaranteed to outlive it, and ze's still beholden to the whims of the world ze lives in and not the whims of the brain in which the Colony occupies. Not to mention, ze lived for centuries longer than the Colony had even existed, and grew up entrenched in the cultures of Girun (having originally lived there for around about 160, 170 years) and Omaude (where he eventually settled permanently). While he can front, and he is friends with folks in the Colony, he doesn't consider himself as part of it because he, first and foremost, is attached to and part of and from Girun, Omaude, the Archidivum, and Yhine as a whole in a way that we, the Seal Colony, just... aren't. Just because we're anchored here doesn't mean we're natives of the place the same way they are (with few exceptions, mostly very young kids who arrived in the Colony at the age of 3 or younger who've never known different.)

(Or folks like Carmen. Or, really, just Carmen. Remember how I said zhe can teleport? Zhe also have a bunch of other abilities that zhe flat out should not be able to have and should not have been able to have since the beginning. Also, zhe're friends with at least one of the Gods of Yhine and has generally gained the Gods' favor. So zhe're just. Yeah.)

[thedoomsvs]

Dooms Versus! Nefarious!

Welcome to Dooms Versus! The show where I, The Dooms your humble host, and my husband @sonyshock​ take you on a journey through some hidden gems and some popular games.Today we take on Nefarious, a game where YOU play as the Supervillain! Enjoy!

All original art belongs to @sonyshock! All other Nefarious Art belongs to Star Blade Studios and Gashi-Gashi. Mario and Bowser belong to Nintendo. Villainous and all related properties belong to Cartoon Network and Alan Ituriel.

[mezzopurrloin]

Day 18: Winterdown (Nefarious)

Nefarious is a classic tale of good vs. evil. Good guys are here to save the day, and bad guys capture princesses who need rescuing. Except there's one twist... you're the bad guy. Let's be frank, being the villain is way more fun than being the hero anyway. A rookie supervillain named Crow is on his way to conquer the world, and plans to abduct all the princesses of the many kingdoms to fuel his royalty-powered death ray.

One of these kingdoms is the icy land of Winterdown, which has kind of a Russian aesthetic. It's the home of the dwarves and the warrior princess Ariella. As soon as you arrive you're treated to the Winterdown National Anthem. The lyrics sound like gibberish, but they're actually the princess's full name: Alisa Aglaya Anushka Ariella Alena Angelina Avdota Alexandra.

As he approaches the royal palace, Crow is met by a few guards. Some have cannons, others have throwing axes, but none of them is all that big a threat on their own. Getting inside isn't much of a problem.

Once there, Crow encounters rival villain Dr. Mechano. This is awkward... After a short midboss battle, he flees, and Crow is free to capture the princess. Well, except...

In Soviet Winterdown, princess captures you! Ariella decided to ride Crow through these ice caves, and there's not a whole lot he can do about it. While Ariella is on his back, Crow runs forward automatically, and you can attack stuff with her throwing axes. It's kinda frantic.

Once she gets bored of dragging you around, you're sent to the boss battle. Boss fights in this game are kind of an inverse from the usual tradition. Crow controls the giant robot seen here, and has to use its fists to stomp on the hero Guryon the Righteous. He's most vulnerable when he throws his weapon to attack you, though you do have to dodge out of the way first.

After defeating him, Ariella decides that being kidnapped is more interesting than hanging around her kingdom, so she goes along with Crow. It's debatable whether or not that counts as a victory for him, but at the very least it's one step closer to taking over the world.

[splinter-sister]

Here to blow up walls and kick some ass.

[crows-evil-blog]

Winterdown’s Decoy (Pt.3)

These are drabbles meant for the event going on. @heroesxdemonsand @sixfingersixtails are apart of this group, along with an unnamed Minion that I will write about. There will be 2-3 parts. Rise, action, and fall. I hope you enjoy it.

Part 3: The Ending

The tide of war changed on a dime multiple times. The dwarves knew who they were fighting. And Crow’s Empire knew the score now. There was no cloak and dagger on this fight. Only the strong can survive.

Luckily, Crow’s army held many characters that are special. Sixer, Desco, and a few other high commanding minions. Most of the Dwarf kingdom had either bird launchers, axe boomerangers, or singing yaks (Who mainly just ran away and set off like sirens).

But the actions on that day lead to a notification over to Sixer. The princess was captured, set out and escape.

Looking to the sky, the rescue ships started to come out of the wood work and downward. The minions were ecstatic at the end of the mission, keeping themselves safe as form began to fall apart as a mad rush/ protection of the ships ensued.

Those quickly got there got on machine guns and mowed down in front of the dwarves to stop their advancements, while the straggling minions who didn’t get hit were rushing the rear.

One surprising thing was the lack of people helping the wounded in the escape. Some did, but mainly people left the bodys groaning on the ground. It was because there was a countdown, and it was being fed to the leaders of the mission. They knew what the time to leave was, and that was on their parts.

But as the count down ended, and the ships started to leave, all firing stopped as a simple stare down came across the feild. Crow’s army seemed like it lost in the war, but as the dwarves learn soon, Crow’s army won. The villain took the princess while the city was in destruction.

[sixfingersixtails]

Tactical Retreat

Sixer was having some trouble with the dwarves, but he was quick enough on his feet that their attacks never managed to hit him straight-on, if at all. Homes and crops and whatever else inanimate that ended up in his path burst into flames, causing the dwarves to scatter in search of their fire brigade. But every time they almost reached him, Sixer had dashed off to the next location to cause more damage.

He was about to call for one of the minions under him for a quick recharge when he got the call from Crow.

Immediately, he accessed the channel with the other minions. “Fall back, now! We’ve got what we came for!”

The minions responded with various affirmatives -- Desco’s comment about transforming was noted with a frown -- and Sixer turned and started to run to the rendezvous point, avoiding dwarves as much as he could. He shouted encouragement for the minions to move it as he past by them -- until one caught his attention.

A minion had taken an axe to the leg and was limping forward as quickly as possible. It was clear he wasn’t going to make it.

Or, he wouldn’t have, if Sixer hadn’t slowed for a second.

Sixer moved in front of the minion, catching him by surprise and pulling him onto Sixer’s back. “Hang on, and whatever you do, don’t let go.”

He didn’t wait for the minion to give a verbal response before he leapt forward -

-- and four fox paws hit the snowy ground.

The giant, six-tailed fox took off at a dead run, the minion on his back hanging on for dear life as Sixer reached the rest of the minions with their covering fire. He bolted in and reached the ships before skidding to a halt just inside the open doors.

A couple minions looked surprised when they saw Sixer and the injured minion. “Where did that come from? Are we getting another animal or--”

Sixer huffed as the minion fell off, and he shifted back to human form, cutting the minion off. “Don’t stand there gawking, we’re not out of harm’s way just yet.”

The minions exchanged looks, then scattered. 

[dinosaurchurch]

There’s times where I know even if I’m feeling down there’ll be a up because “once you hit rock bottom the only place to go is up” right? That’s a quote from Atlantis: The Lost Empire, probably one of my favourite Disney movies of all time. It’s funny, I don’t tell people a lot of the times I have this odd heavy nostalgic streak. It’s why I take pictures of the places I’ve been like the one here. This was taken October 10th 2019 on probably one of the nicest days we had during the fall. I was out on a hike at Deadman’s Bay Path with one of my good pals, packed lunch (homemade sushi) and went for the day. It’s small moments like this that really make me appreciate the little slice of life I have even if sometimes it doesn’t seem that great. Simple isn’t always a bad thing. Looking at this photo and the slew of other ones are just friendly reminders that I will be able to enjoy times like these again soon. I told myself I’ll start off on the right foot in the morning, it’s the best thing I can do when I’m feeling down. Don’t worry about what you’ve put behind you, it’s what’s ahead that you should be looking towards. Guess I’m just tired lately, like I love that people have faith in me but sometimes I wish I didn’t have any care for anything. Sometimes it’s okay to be carefree. Sometimes it’s okay to go spend the entire day unwinding on some of the trails, there’s something liberating about being balls deep in nature and feeling the warmth of the sun on your skin. It’s weird being an extrovert that also happens to have introverted tendencies. I love people but there’s times I just want to be by myself without worrying about what I should/shouldn’t be doing. This summer I want to go swimming in that watering hole on the right side of the photo, I want to feel the sand between my toes and not give a fuck. Bless. #refresh #eastcoasttrail #newfoundland #fall2019 #hiking #nature #outdoors #deadmansbaypath #nofilter #innerthoughts #restart #goodbyewinter #hellospring #winterdowns #seasonschange #nostalgia #memories https://www.instagram.com/p/B9DKPG0Hvx-/?igshid=5h38dj678p8c

[rosetowers]

so i recently developed a mild obsession with a game called Nefarious and just had a cute/sad headcanon.

Prince Malachite has the Winterdown National Anthem on his phone and before the events of the game, usually in the middle of the night or when he knows he won’t be interrupted, he put headphones on and listened to it, mouthing Princess Ariella’s name to himself, wishing the war between their people could end and he could at least talk to her. 

[nefarious-imagines]

Heroes proposing to s/o? And mabye....wedding headcanon for them too? Sorry just last ask was so cute!

Sure thing! (Also disclaimer, the specific cultural events that I use in this list are NOT canon, I'm just a sappy bitch)

Mack: He had to hype himself up to propose to you, this man is really struggling beforehand. He had the ring ready and everything but he just. Had no clue when the right time would be or what to say. Finally, the moment arrived. Y'all were in full view of the annual Macro City firework show, and that's when he proposed to you!

The wedding day finally came and he was just as nervous, he looked his absolute best and everything was pretty well planned. He probably cried when you both said your vows.

Dash: Look at this overly confident motherfucker right here. He was so nonchalant about it, he knew exactly what he was gonna say and when to say it! He proposed at the Insektian Fall Harvest Festival, and definitely made a fool of himself. Whether he missaid a word, or just tripped when getting on one knee, it was hilarious.

Wedding rolls around, he is TOTALLY not nervous. (yes he is) He paced around while getting ready, hoping he doesn't trip and fall like he did at the festival. Surprise! He didn't fall! You exchanged vows, the after party was rockin', it was great!

Guryon: Honestly, he doesn't want to make a big deal out of it and put you on the spot in public. So he'd propose on Christmas when you're both exchanging gifts. He put the ring in a box with a sweet note to you on the wrapping paper and patiently waited for you to open it.

The wedding would be a pure white winter wedding. (Because it's always winter in winterdown) Nothing really went wrong. It was a good day all around!

Kaptain Man: It's manly to cry while proposing, shut up. He proposed to you under the same cherry blossom tree he confessed his love to you a few years ago. This man made and read out a whole poem to you before getting on one knee, I'm telling you guys, gals, and nonbinary pals he's a keeper.

The wedding was Sukochi Traditional mixed with your culture, you both picked out everything and came to compromises if you didn't agree on something. This guy just started crying when you started walking down the aisle, it's manly to cry when your s/o looks radiant at your wedding, shut UP

[lalbuginfo]

Fur Collar Hooded Leather Jacket PU Leather Coat Visit: https://www.lalbug.com/product/fur-collar-hooded-leather-jacket-pu-leather-coat/?feed_id=50645&_unique_id=5c125ef00a153 KW #Christmas #NewYear #FurcollarJacket #HoodedLeatherJacket #leathercoat #LeatherJacket #PULeatherCoat #WinterDown #WomenJacket

[splinter-sister]

Winterdown’s Recon (Pt.2)

@crows-evil-blog

They brought a lot of C4. That poor unnamed minion carried most of it there for them. Give that guy a raise!

Rachael helped set up the explosives and doesn’t stop when the call came in. She wavers when Crow starts to speak up into the intercom and stops to watch him under the mask. Change of plans? No problem. Wouldn’t be the first time she had to do some improvisation on the job.

“Will do boss. Permission to take the grunt with me?” She points a thumb to the anonymous minion with them. She could use the extra arms to carry explosives. But not just that. She was starting to feel a little weird. Was it jitters? No it felt physical. Something was off. She tries to tuck the anxiety away and get back to her job.

They split their ways.

[crows-evil-blog]

Winterdown’s Recon (Pt.3)

These are drabbles meant for the event going on. @splinter-sister and @anothercracker are apart of this group, along with an unnamed Minion that I will write about. There will be 2-3 parts. Rise, action, and fall. I hope you enjoy it. 

Part 3: Retrieval and Escape

With all of the events going on that happened, everything is on the fly. The entire Recon team was split up doing their own part to deal with a way in and out for a good escape and capture. Crow’s goal specifically was grabbing the princess. Simple enough. After a silent nod of a ‘go team’, they all bursted apart as Crow ran inwards, where as Racheal and Tina ran outward to do their gig. Time to get to work.

“Ariella! We have come for you! Give up simply to end this attack! We know what happens if you don’t!” Crow yells, exploding into the main chamber, as the dwarf steps forward.

“... Broomstick. You had almost caused an international incident. The peace we had was almost broken. I hope you have the best excuse you can muster, or I’m taking your other arm, and finding the original as trophies.” Ariella spoke with a strong, angry, and cold Scottish accent.

“I’m the villain. I cause destruction, pain, sorrow, and horrible events. Seeing my adversaries weaker and at their own throats only makes my attacks stronger. So my role is fit well, and I intend to see it through.” Crow says, having a stance, readying his hand.

“... You were always a schemer. If we didn’t end this war, I would might have given you that kingdom area as a price to help me solve the issue. But Mayapple and Malachite led me to peace. The war was over. I-”

“!!!!!”

Ariella fell down, after receiving an electrical shock. She was conscious still, but barely. Crow scoops her up and starts running.

“You want peace? I’ll give you the greatest peace there is with kingdoms. Under my rule. Under my control.” Crow says to her, as he books it.

Racheal’s and Tina’s work really showed as he ran back. Nearly no run ins and no problems, all with the escape route in sight and the escape vehicle appearing before them. Crow jumps on first, followed by R and T.

Ariella looks at the other two as they are all taken into the air:

“You are all going down.”

But Crow succeeded today, and his actions are known.

[sixfingersixtails]

As the mission for Winterdown got closer and closer, Sixer had been putting in a lot of work to make his group of minions a lot more deadly and destructive. The improved weapons, the new order to the chemical devision...it was very clear there was some mad genius intelligence at work.

Although, today, a different sort of muttering could be heard from his quarters. A conversation, in fact.

“Thank you for getting this to me on such short notice, Star.”

“It wasn’t a problem, Grunkle Sixer. Just...be careful, okay?” Whoever Star was, they sounded like a pre-teen girl. “And get out if things start looking too bad.”

“I’ll be all right, I promise. Things are a little different here, so I doubt that Crow will lean in the same direction Cipher did.”

“...okay, but if he does, I’m crashing his ship.”

@crows-evil-blog