#You're free to come into my askbox and just talk about your oc if you don't have any other questions!!

[gazspookiebear]

I'm slowly running out of things to ask again! I've been asking so much about Anchor it seems that there aren't very many questions left!

Do they have any pets?

Will they recover from their trauma or will it consume them?

Those are genuinely the last two questions from that ask game :o Are there any things about Anchor that I haven't asked yet that you would like to share? Some fun facts? Some lore you've come up with but haven't gotten the chance to talk about yet?

Dw about coming up with questions! ...I was gonna say smt else but I forgot lmao

They don't have any pets. They did take care of a stray cat when they were a kid (as mentioned in a previous ask), so I guess that counts as an old pet? They'd love to have a couple of cats one day. Maybe a snake. (They'd also like a dog or a couple guinea pigs... really just any animal to keep them company)

They'll recover from their trauma eventually, but they won't truly start healing until it boils over and breaks. Right now they're basically slapping bandaids on a deep wound.

A random fact that I haven't really expanded on is that they're good with hair! They're a very quick braider and can do some really neat designs. They don't take as much care of their hair as they should, but once every month or so they'll take a day to give it the attention it deserves.

[onepiece-oc-archives]

Welcome to...

I'm Evie (she/they) and I'm so glad you found your way here!

If you're looking for resources to help create your OC, whether they are for the live action or the anime/manga, you've come to the right place.

For those on mobile, here is your masterpost!

Since the release of the Netflix adaptation this summer, I've seen a lot of new people enter the fandom, and with them, a lot of new OCs. Since the live action only offers a pretty limited view on the world of One Piece with its 1000+ chapters and diving into the wiki also means diving into huge amounts of spoilers, I decided to create this blog. Here you can get all the info you might want or need, 100% spoiler-free! I'll make sure to give examples in every post I make, usually using live actions characters or my own OCs (Cora for the live action and Inari and Luna for the anime) only - that way everything stays spoiler-free.

So much for the live action people, but what about the manga/anime fans? Not everyone is caught up, so maybe the spoiler argument also applies to you. Or maybe you are caught up and you just want a second opinion on whether something could work the way you imagined or you're still confused about when and how water actually affects devil fruit users (it's complicated). I might also be missing one really important topic you think all newer fans should know. Either way, you've come to the right place.

This blog is gonna have posts about topics I came up with, but it's also gonna heavily rely on what questions you might have or what you think newer fans should know, if you're a manga fan. So, my askbox is always open. I also would really like to connect with people and talking to someone can be a great way to develop a character, so you can also always send a DM. In short: Send those messages!

Last but not least, a quick disclaimer. None of the tips I give you on here are truly mandatory. Within fandom spaces, it's Shroedinger's canon, especially with OCs. The posts on here are supposed to help you get an understanding of how the One Piece world works and how to make your character fit into it as if they were canon. How far you take that is completely up to you.

With that being said, hope you enjoy your stay and I'd love to talk to you!

[consumeroflemoans]

Hello, it's me, one of the anons that put Vilidia scenarios into your askbox, I'm here once again, I came up with a Vilidia AU today while thinking about my own OC lore as one does

This does go back a bit because we are once again involving merfolk

So to get to the gist of it Idia is the keeper of a lightly cursed lighthouse out on the sea in a somewhat ambigious time period, the backstory I came up with for that one is that he and his brother who had spent their entire lifes in a small coastal town, gazing over the ocean together, dreaming and talking about the magical creatures and beings they had been told of in fables and read about in stories, imagening what it would be like to see the sunlight gleam off a mermaids shimmering scales, heroically resist a sirens song to stir your boat to safety or witness a sea monster winding its big body around underneath the waves

So they went out at night and untied one of the boats and tried to sail away into unexplored waters to discover things they've only fantasized of, but two children are as they find out suprisingly not enough to properly man a boat and they veer off course fast, it didn't matter if Idia had spent hours each night studying the constellations so he could navigate the two or if Ortho dedicated his free time to practicing all kinds of boating knots, they were both children and simply weren't strong enough to actually man a whole real boat on their own so they just kept drifting further out until the horizon was out of sight and all they could see anywhere was water

The next few weeks are painful as food dwindles, it keeps on raining and both their deck and they themselves get progressively more soaked, the clouds seem to swallow the sky up and they can't even tell anymore in which direction the tide is carrying them or even how long it's really been as it seems that everyday the fog gets thicker and all seems to be coated in an everpresent darkness, they brought more books than they did supplies and the absolute absence of anyone but the two is starting to gnaw at them

Eventually they get to meet one of the very myths they originally set out for, for the first time in who knows how long their boat bumps into something solid or rather something solid bumps into their boat, the water isn't clear enough to see much of anything, but when they look down eventually something breaks the surface and they see the scales of a sea monster, bigger than their entire boat, barnacles over its body and coral branches stuck in its finsIts not even the monster that really gets them, it tries, rams its head against the deck and the side of the ship and manages to damage the wood, though they're screaming and trying desperately to dodge the incoming battering they see a light in the distance, grab the steering wheel and use all their little child strength to take course, they get a fair bit closer, but eventually the monster lands good hit and the ship and it all goes sideways, they fall overboard

Idia wakes up coughing up water with someone repeatedly pushing down on his chest, when he comes to there's a stranger standing over him in a lightkeeper uniform and when he sits up the monster is slithering back down to the depths and Ortho is floating on top of the water

The lighthouse is situated in the middle of a piece of ocean where it's perpetually night and the water is haunted by creatures so thoroughly disturbing they should never ever be allowed to invade any other seas, it's pourpose is to both be a deterrent for sailors everywhere and for the keeper to keep track of everything

The position can't be kept by one person forever, but who can you pass it onto really when you're stuck in one place all alone with no one, fortunately for everyone who isn't you this place does something to the people that stay in it too long, borderline Immortality, merging with the things around you all that, you are allowed to "quit" once you have a suitable succesor and by suitable I mean anyone who's there and alive, just take the first guy you can get kinda deal

So Idia is sitting there with the a stranger who doesn't look entirely human, gets a manual thrown at him because if the keepers had anything it was time to kill, might as well do that and spare themselves the explanation, and a uniform much too big for him before he watches them walk into the ocean until they entirely dissapear

So now he's stuck in a lighthouse, he bothered to fish some of the books out of the water and dry them, some of the previous keepers left diaries and other stuff there, he's got a few of those ship in a bottle building kits which is kinda fun

And to boot the ghosts of those who did actually die there do get to stay trapped too so he's not all alone, he's got a bunch of ghosts of which most like to try clawing their way back to the mortal realm while screaming to be let out and also Orthos ghost is there too

Idia gets older, eventually the uniform starts to fit and it seems to him he looks progressively weirder each time he happens to walk past a mirrorFor all that it is supposed to be the most dangerous place in the entire sea, it's kind of calm honestly

And then someone crashes on the little island, finally Vil arrives in the story

A merman who got just a little lost to say the least

He's still an actor, just underwater and if I could have a little fun and continue the with something more appropriate to the very vague time period than movies and also tie into the whole singing thing often associated with merfolk I'd like to put him into opera

He just got out of rehearsal and god was it bad, the orchestra kept fucking up and his co-actors didn't even bother memorizing their parts and he didn't even manage to secure the role he wanted

It's one of his very favourite operas, one near and dear to his hard with almost every line memorized and it needs to be a perfect performance, but it can't be if everyone else keeps fucking it up! He might as well just do it all on his own, let him sing every role in the play, it can only get better from whatever downright insulting performance these idiots are pulling out of their asses

Undecided, but I think it could be intresting to do a mirror thing in which said opera is the tale of the lighthouse keeper in comparison to Idias myths of merfolk, even if the story is presumably highly altered, but a tale of a man who trapped the beasts of the sea and dutifully guards them to bring safety to all residents of the deep blue, engaged in a constant battle with the true leviathans of the ocean in a seemingly sisyphean attempt to beat them and be free

Truly it is incredible how he sticks to a position he derives no joy from for the good of others, never moving from his post or despairing and Vil cannot help but admire the tenacity of never stopping his fight, never giving up on the possibility of success, that he might one day be able to do what he wants if he keeps doing what he must until he succeeds, no he's not projecting, he's just right

He goes on a swim to clear his thoughts and gets caught in a stream he's pulled towards a dark part of the ocean with seemingly no ground in sight

He tried his best to fend off whatever beast tried to get to him, trying to hit them away with the fins on his tail, but the only escape he found was at the light house and now he's beachedIs Idia mildly pissed that the first person who ever survived entering during his time in as the keeper is not someone he can push into the job? Maybe

Yes, it's a bad and mean and how it happened to him still haunts him sometimes, there's a nagging guilt when the thought of quitting crosses his mind, but it's been like eight years and he feels like he's done his time and really he just wants to be over with this, is that so wrong?

But also, oh god... It's a merman, it's one of the very things he wanted to see with Ortho way back then, whose little ghost is so excited by the way, one of the myths he's been reading on repeat for years, honestly probably his favourite one

Pages upon pages describing the colorful scales of merfolk, their beautiful voices and how their hair would flow along with their movements as they swam

He had though the books grew stale after a while, but looking at Vil before him he almost feels like he could write a new one all by himself just from looking at him, an entire series, maybe a whole library

But Vil gets put into some kind of big water container, maybe in a bathtub of olden times, the classic

Things happen now, Idia gets his first face to face talk in almost a decade to the pretty, pretty merman and he sooooo nails it (lie)Vil is ever so slightly horrified at Idias somewhat neglient treatment of the position and slowly also comes to realize that having to suffer through duty isn't really something to be strived for

Normally you cannot leave the lighthouse zone once you came in and Idia may have given up trying to get out through any other way than walking into the waves, but Vil hasn't and won't, Idia is just a tad bitter that he wants to leave him alone again, maybe drags his feet on the whole escape a little, but he's been here for so long and he knows how much it sucks and he just... He can't do that to Vil, he just can't

I'm honestly very tempted to say, Vil gets out and they never see each other again and they're both so sad and melancholic and the stories in which they found comfort and inspiration take on a whole new level of meaning, a yearning and a fondness and a memory and a way to pay respect, Idia draws Vil into the pictures of his book, Vil changes the costuming of the keeper to resemble Idia and makes just ever so slight changes to the script, no one knows why he wants them to have an odd passion for little boat puzzles

And at this point I don't really have an idea, but I'll keep talking anyway because I'm not sure if full tragedy is the thing and I want to give some semblance of an alternative conclusion

There's a few attempts and a lot of planning, but Idia manages to distract and fend off some of the monsters so Vil gets to swim out, guided by the lighthouse, what they came up with were a few smaller mechanical paddle boats, from Idia, that have a liquid scent attached to them, from Vil, to simulate people in the water because it's the best I can think of right now, but if Idia thinks that's where things end oooooh, he's sorely mistaken

Though another struggle might be actually convincing Idia that he should leave at all because yeah, he doesn't like it, but what else does he have? I mean, Ortho's there too kinda and he can't just leave him and even if he could he's been gone for so long, he doesn't know where he came from anymore and he missed so much that he doesn't feel he can make up for, but doesn't mean he can't have a future and all that, Vil is going to try his absolute hardest to get him out

Also maybe, there's a little radio in the lighthouse that was constant static because it never had any kind of connection, hard to get when you're where Idia is, but with a lot of fiddling around and an actual knowledge of its existence an outside connection is established and coincidentally Vil starts broadcasting his singing after he comes back from his brief stint of being missing

Well then, goodbye

ANON.

ANON WHEN I GET YOU ANON.

AUGH THIS JUST REMINDS ME OF THE MYTH OF CALYPSO.

Where as punishment she’s trapped on the island of Ogygia with no way to really escape. And also being cursed to fall in love with anyone that washed up on her shores. Raaaah tying Greek mythology into any story with Idia my beloved.

This whole AU is honestly fascinating I want to read a 500k word fic on it this very second.

ALSO OMG VIL GETTING OUT WITH IDIA’S ASSISTANCE AND THEN JUST NEVER SEEING HIM AGAIN IS SO ODYSSEUS AND CALYPSO CODED

Someone stop me I swear

Pull me away

Aaaaaaaaaa

Also I am so fascinated by the underwater world you’re building here too. Like??? The sea monsters?? Having creatures of the depths the even the merfolk fear?? Also Vil still having an amazing singing voice and performing underwater is so iconic of him. He should have his tail draped in black pearls methinks.

ANYWAY

Them being apprehensive of each other only to eventually have to get to know one another because they’re the only real company they have. Vil can hardly stay in the dangerous waters outside, so he has to rely on his lighthouse keeper.

Also mgmmfmd my mind is going so many places but the thought that they both had idealized versions of each other in their mind. Their ideals are shattered, but they realize that they can relate to each other and even get along. They crack jokes and talk, making a short of light in this dreary place.

OMG

Idia letting Vil go and wanting him leave because he doesn’t want the new light in his life to be consumed by the darkness like he was long ago. He’s been the caretaker of this lighthouse for years. He’s faced grief and regret since he was a young child. But Vil isn’t like that. He’s a star, even underwater. He shines brightly in his performances and lights up a room with his song.

I like to think that Vil sometimes performs for Idia because he knows the lighthouse keeper truly appreciates it. Also his performances aren’t bogged down by worse performers around him.

And then Idia send him away, even though Vil doesn’t really want to leave him. He helps Vil escape so he can continue shining in the watery depths. He lets go of his only source of happiness because he feels like he doesn’t deserve it anymore. He can’t be selfish. Not when it comes to Vil.

AAAAA MY THOUGHTS ARE SUCH A MESS BUT I AM DYING

[segment--uta]

So info thing hsls

Tis a roleplay blog for a segment, specifically Uta. Or also like one of Dottore's segments. Around probably mid 20s or so ?? I don't really have a specific timeframe in mind so there's that but yeah. Kinda think young(/ish) and can kind of be chaos often? That's the best way I can describe it I think—

・❥ That established, they use they/he. Alternative, doesn't care which is specifically used, so long as it's those. Or it. They also vibe with it so that can work

・❥ They are very much with the Fatui. Apart from that, he isn't really affiliated with really any other group. Does not seek it out. Feels no need to. Could probably get him to join something though tbh, but Fatui will always be the main group

・❥ OCs or Canon characters, either or. They might have some relation to some canons though already in mind, so keep that in mind probably? The other segments and Dottore/Prime himself for example. If it comes across a certain way (ie rivalry/dislike, cough cough Diluc n others who do not like the Fatui particularly) that's probably the reason! Might not be on purpose rip

・❥ Uta is demiromantic demi-graysexual. Please keep that in mind if you are trying to be romantic rp wise. It will take a while and intimate type activities are not priority. Unless it's a pre-decided relationship, which in that case you get to deal with Uta being lovey-ish. Kind of

・❥ Specific 'build' would likely be the Eta build.

~Specific tags time~

✧ behind the scenes —— the OOC. For announcements and really everything that isn't roleplay. Like this lol

✧ uta is nearby . . —— Starter sort of. Can be used to start RPs/interactions and stuff ! And just generally there. Locations will probably be specific in the message so tis just that (or if you want a specific location, specify n will go with that)

✧ uta answers questions . . —— The askbox! If it's an IC ask, say for RP n all, this'll be used. Otherwise its the ooc one for asks :3

⧎ Interactive chats . . —— Like the IC ask, but for general purposes in roleplay instead. Ie when someone is responded to / rbed and is during RP

Askbox rules.

✧ Keep in mind that there is a person behind this screen. If you want to hate or dislike this / genshin, that's more than alright, but please don't bring this in my inbox. Block and move on. If you really have a problem please just message me instead. Hate will be deleted. IC dislike and hate is one thing and is fine, it's more alright considering different relations + characters, but if you are genuinely trying to be rude, don't. It will just get deleted.

✧ No straight up NSFW and such things. Suggestive might be fine depending on the character and the relation. If you're actually looking for that, you'd probably want to be on good terms with Uta. Otherwise it will probably not be received well. It really depends for suggestive stuff. Joking wise it might be fine + OOC.

✧ Please be patient. Depending on how many asks, esp if there's many rps going on, it may take a while to get to yours. I promise I'm not ignoring you. I might not have seen it either if Tumblr decides to eat it.

✧ Roleplay in asks is fine. All I ask is that you specify who you are/who character is (unless you want to be an anon instead n stuff) and sign off so I can note that properly n keep track of who it is + relation to Uta.

Other things to note

🂱 Responses will probablyyyy be lengthy or detailed. Might also last a while rip—

-->> "" used for talking, actions and such (ie expressions) will just be words/wrote. Thoughts will probably be smaller text. Like that

🂱 Uta is the same segment as @uta-official . Same segment that's used there :3

🂱 As for specific user or character tags, dunno yet actually! Might be like ' ✧ ⊹⊱[User/Chara]⊰⊹ interactions ' ? I think it'll be that. Anons will be specific anon n probably that also!

I think that's about it,,,askbox is open, feel free to interact if wanted.

Dunno what else to put but hemlo there ppl :3

[venomous-ragno]

Writing advice...

... About military things from a soldier

Pt. 2 / ?: Women and relationships in the military

You wanna write a story with a militaristic setting, like CoD or R6S? You wanna create a female OC, self insert or character, but you don't know where to start, if women are even allowed in the military?

Well, lucky for you or not I know what that feels like and I've also got the combat / real life experience to help ya out!

Feel free to hop in my askbox or dm's and ask questions. I'll gladly elaborate and do my best to answer in full and plenty.

Disclaimer: My experiences and knowledge are mostly based on the German military, the Bundeswehr. They may differ from those of other countries.

Happy writing y'all! :)

Are women allowed in the military?

The answer seems obvious: Yes. Most militaries around the world do allow women to enlist. Some, however, do not allow women to join the special forces, such as the SAS, for example.

Certain branches report a higher number of female soldiers than others. The US army air force and sanitation in the German military are two examples I can think of.

Some countries do allow women to enlist but forbid them from partaking in "action", such as North Korea, Sweden, Norway, Bolivia and some more.

What about misogyny by male soldiers?

In my six years of active duty I've learnt that sexism rarely occurs, but when it does, it's straight forward and nasty. Most men don't care about your gender. They treat you like you're one of them, and oftentimes even forget about the fact that you're a woman. The few times I was talked down to for my gender was blatant and hateful though; but even then, some of these opinions didn't come from within the military, but from civilians. (Cue the old granpa who saw me travelling back home in uniform and just had to tell me that women belong in the kitchen, how in the good old days women were still women yadda yadda. Yeah, I had the same look about on my face like you now.)

Appearance is important!

As is in any military. I can't speak for them though, but in my experience, light and natural make up is allowed. Nail polish and lipstick are a hard no though, albeit the latter may be allowed for special occassions. If there's one thing my comrades have taught me it's that most men in the military got no clue about make up, so you'll probs get away with more than you'd think.

The exact rules however depend on your unit and what you do. Back when I was in sanitation I'd be working a pretty standard 9 to 5. Worked in the medbay and treated patients, kept the medical archive in order, pretty normal stuff. My superior allowed us to wear small ear studs. When I got deployed to another base I was almost lynched for wearing them. Really depends on the ones in charge.

As for hairstyles: Most units are fine with anything as long as your hair is up and out of your face. Now, we didn't have to use gel to keep stray hairs at bay. It wasn't that strict. Just don't use any flashy hair accessories and hair ties that match your hair colour. Oh, and your hair must be a) one colour and b) a naturally occuring one. The length doesn't matter as long as you're not Rapunzel. If your hairstyle is anything other than a pixie cut, you will have to wear a hair net under your combat helmet.

Do men and women stay in seperate dorms?

Seperate rooms? Yeah. Seperate dorms? Nope.

Sometimes you'd have couples who shared a dorm room. It's a whole process that your superior has to give his ok to, but I honestly wouldn't recommend it. Dorm rooms aren't exactly big. You need privacy? Well, that's too bad.

If you're lucky enough you get to have a room for yourself. Depending on what branch / base you're in, the rooms will be more or less furnished. Back when I worked at the ministry of foreign affairs, my room was pretty luxurious for milutary standards: TV, fridge, sofa, bed, desk w chair, a closet and a bathroom next door. That's definitely not the standard though. We usually had to buy and bring our own stuff, like blankets, fridge, decorations, whatever you'd need to make that cold room somewhat comfy. (Wifi is also not a given. Gotta get your own connection running.)

Flings, relationships, cheating spouses... How common is it really?

They do happen, though not as often as you'd think.

It's more common to hear rumors about who has smth going with who and these rumors can get BAD. As in reputation and career ruining bad. At that point there's gonna be an order from higher up to stop talking about these rumors and punishment can be quite strict. (Speaking of rumors...Hate to say it, but the more women a unit had, the worse talking behind others backs was.)

One thing that I always found particularly disgusting were relationships between higher ups and recruits. Yes, they happen. No, they're not allowed. These things are like open secrets. If found out and proven to exist, the superiors will be held accountable by military law. Outside of basic training it may be frowned upon if a superior were to enter any kind of relation with someone of lower rank, thought not outright punishable.

As for cheating... Well, I haven't enountered any cheating myself, nor heard of it (yet). Not saying that it doesn't happen, but at least over here in Germany it's rare. It's highly frowned upon and will open you up to rumors and... Not so nice treatment by comrades. Cheating on a spouse is punishable by military law. A soldier found guilty may be demoted in rank, suffer financial losses or even get dishonourably discharged.

[seelestia]

HI HI NEW WRITING MOOTS <3 <3

o gosh heizou would have immediately found me out lol oh i see you!! helloooo <3

aaaa thank you ;w; hehe i’m a lil proud of the voicelines thingy! i just posted the full thing today and i might want to do it for the other series too maybe in the future! the code itself is nothing too complicated actually, just basic HTML / CSS / JS!! given time and the knowledge anyone can do it haha hnggg i’m glad the lore was interesting i was nervous it would be too cliche or boring lol

he’s a very fine gentleman ok give him the appreciation he deserves /j aww that does sound adorable!! and slkdjfsljdf pls you’re making me blush 🙈 yup yup!! i am just here to have fun and i shall remember to do what makes me happy <3

will albedo succeeds in wooing you?? or will susbedo realize that he has fallen in love with you??? or will you decide to ditch the two ‘bedos and look for a more suitable partner like zhongli??? we may never know….

👀 wdym lia come on now i merely chose that intermission from my collections of intermissions… zhongli being picked is just a coincidence… and i definitely haven’t been spending time at all with mr. zhongli, no no….

…. ok look i mean now that i’m off anon and you’re free to explore my account, you probably know about my… ahem… affection…. towards a certain refined, gorgeous, voice-like-velvet-eyes-of-molten-lava-drop-dead-gorgeous man…. sooo…. i’m just gonna to simp openly in your askbox now hope you don’t mind 🤭 /lh

wdym when YOUR brain is just as big, if not bigger than mine??? look at all your ✨amazing✨work!!! so beautifully written, exquisite storytelling and description 💯💯💯 i love your work sm too <3 <3 <3 hehe hope you enjoy binging the masterlist!!

you're right, it doesn’t ;w; i love xiao’s playstyle so much, it’s just so high-paced and gets me super engaged, so yeah definitely recommend to pull him next if you can!! and omgggg 15 pity kazuha…. i lost 50/50 to qiqi at 77 pity and kazuha only came home at 66…. at least xiao was kind and came home at 43 pity last time (altho i lost 50/50 to jean first slkdjflksjdflkjsdf). i wanted klee too but… kazuha ran me dry… super glad i stubbornly persisted tho, his synergy with xiao is really good!!

funny you ask that cause i’m saving up for hubby’s next banner :D but also…. same!! al haitham looks interesting ;)) and i heard from my friend that dori will have an ‘adorable’ kind of gameplay (kinda like klee), so she’s on my radar too!

hello, rin !! >:) ah yes, heizou and his dearest sidekick named, "intuition". 🔍 hehe, me and my emo albedo theme says hi too~

yeah, let's leave the 2bedo's in dragonspine and go search for that one fine man in liyue harbor FJDWKKDK ignore the teleport waypoints, the journey by foot will be worth it <3 (/j)

AS YOU SHOULD???? IT'S SO COOL I'M FLABBERGASTED??? the live version makes me float to cloud nine, aaaa. the way zhongli talks about his spouse so reminiscently and lovingly + the graphics >>>. oh my goodness, they help sm with the immersion !! you've outdone yourself, rin !! even if it's a simple thing in your eyes, i still think you did an amazing job ;D

[ talks about unreleased sumeru characters under the cut !! ]

if i ever create a genshin oc and want to make a cool edit for them, i'll definitely ask you for help! (/hj) rin best editor in my eyes <3

rin, it's either you've specifically typed his name when you're searching for that intermission or you've already used that gif before, hmm. 👀 either way, you seem quite smitten with him and by all means, do as you please. walk side by side through the streets of liyue, share a few stories and knowledge, have a meal and some drinks, be merry with him! ꒰˘꒳˘๑꒱

THE DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS, HELP. yes, i can feel your affections from a mile away and who am i to go against your wishes? >:) you'd do this for me if i word-vomit about heizou or that one fancy commissioner too 🤝 (/lh)

you're the best at coming up with ideas while i excel better in elaborating them a teeny tiny bit, so i'd say i am naught if i don't have my partner in crime to release plot bunnies with me !! and ofc, i will! your works are a jar of expensive candied petals to me like they are so simple yet so eloquent fjwkkdksk love em <3

mhm, xiao's playstyle really said "you better focus here." because i remembered being taken aback because his e skill is SO QUICK and as a kazuha main back then, the lack of having to hold the e skill shocks me. (/j)

your struggles to get kazuha... he saw you with zhongli and left the chat. (/j) i'm glad he has come home for you tho! zuha is super fun to play + the less cooldown bonus with double anemo on your team !! and about qiqi... hmm, let her be the unofficial adoptive daughter of zhongli and his spouse 👀 fun fact: qiqi is the only standard chara i don't have! my c1 mona is staring at me menacingly as we speak.

your hubby's shield is on another level, i think i might try my luck with him??? if i win the 50/50, that'd be cool but if i lose, then it means guaranteed al-haitham >:) OOO, DORI !! i saw her gameplay's leaks and she's so cute??? a little merchant on a squishy creature swinging a claymore <3 once upon a time when my klee used to have lost prayers as her weapon before i gave it to heizou jfkekdksk she says hi with her dodoco tales!

[mercurygray]

I am a bit confused by what you mean with shipping game? Can you post a sample?

I sure can, Nonnie!

A shipping game is another kind of askbox game that...I'm probably too old to be playing, let's be honest - blog readers send a short description of themselves and ask what character from a particular universe the blogger could see them with.

I did a LOT of them with @kenobireadsausten when we were both still writing for TURN. They are, however, a TON of work; I have to read the asker's description, have a good think about what they've said and how they've presented themself, and then actually rework what they've said into a little period typical backstory. (I'm basically turning the asker into an OC.)

I like them for the same reason I think people like sending asks for them - it's a chance to be seen and ...validated, in a small way. However (in my experience) the people who send asks for these sorts of games ...aren't always the best at saying thank you after. So it's a ton of work for very little praise.

If I were to do this, I think I'd have to cap them at, say, 10. Otherwise I might be here all year!

There's a sample of one I did for one of my writing servers below the cut.

Now that there's a war on, London is practically the crossroads of the world. Free French soldiers, Polish pilots, Norwegian commandos, Australians and Canadians with their funnily accented English. The whole world's fighting Hitler, and they all come through London to do it, and the giant Red Cross club in Piccadilly circus serves them all. It's the least you can do, volunteering as a hostess while you finish your nursing studies. As soon as that's done, you're joining up - but until then, you'll smile and serve donuts and write letters and dance with every Tomas, Jean-Luc, and Kristof who comes through the doors of the IRC canteen.

Soldiers are an unusually jolly group - they'll joke about anything and everything, especially after they've had a beer or two. And of course, everyone thinks the same old jokes are the funniest they've ever heard, even if you've gotten them a few too many times before. But you're a hostess - you're everyone's friend, everyone's sweetheart, everyone's sister. On busy nights in between dances and cups of coffee you doodle on cocktail napkins - soldiers, sailors, airmen, the technical diagrams from your medical textbooks, "Still Life with Half-finished Beer and Hat." Anything that strikes your fancy, really. Then, break's over, and back to the dancing and the donuts and the coffee and the jokes.

There are simple rules - one dance a man, and no playing favorites. After five, you can take a break. You're just finishing dance number five when this American hustles over to where you're sitting like a man on a mission.

"I'm sorry - it's my break."

"Oh, no, that's not - I just wanted to say I think you really captured my best side here," he said, holding up one of your napkin doodles. Oh, this is embarrassing. It's the same man. "No, really, I mean it! It's great! I almost knocked over another fella's coffee to get it before it got stained. Was thinking of sending it home to my ma."

A guy who thinks about writing his mother - it's kind of cute, really. And, when it comes down to it, so is he - which is probably why you were sketching him in the first place.

He ends up monopolizing the rest of your break, talking about art school, and jobs you had before the war, and your nursing studies. Fastest fifteen minutes of your life, and suddenly the dance floor is beckoning again. But you don't want to leave. "I don't think I got your name."

"Well, it's Edward," he offers, looking a little sheepish. "But my friends call me Babe."

[sarenhale]

Honestly, relating to your WoW/FFXIV post, I wonder if the 'great community, by the way' thing only has become what it has because the influx of WoW players? I hope it stops because acting like everyone in XIV is a perfect saint is only going to upset people even more if someone is even slightly less positive in game. I don't know I hope the whole WoW vs FFXIV stuff dies down, even Yoshi-P had to basically say 'shut up, WoW is what we want XIV to be, and we'll never even touch the heights WotLK had.' I just think if Blizzard hadn't been ousted as a bunch of sexual abusers it wouldn't be this extreme, like trashing WoW is kind of 'slacktivism' in a way. Sorry this is so long you're just the only person I've followed that did the WoW -> XIV jump and you haven't really done the extreme 180 everyone else has, and I think you have good opinions on things. Also I hope you have a good day :)

Thanks for the kind words! I'm flattered to hear that you like my opinions and attitude. I do try my best to not be grating over things like games.

I will put a 'read more' because I do get into a bit in detail for this ask.

I personally do get a bit tired of the costant ffxiv and wow comparison and debate too. That's why I sometimes make fun of it in a light way, and make jokes or memes about it, but also keep to myself when debates come out and people start complaining or piling up discourse over discourse. I'm just glad to enjoy my game and see people enjoying it too, that's enough for me. I honestly don't have the patience or age to withstand game discourse anymore lmao.

I completely understand why people would want to switch games because of the recent Blizz horrifying actions, the fact that the game apparently hasn't been fun or well curated in a long time, or just for funsies and switching things up. I'm absolutely not complaining about the switch in games, if anything, I'm glad people are giving other games a chance. But I am a bit tired about the costant comparison, discourse, and millions of videos essays where people try to defend wow (as if you needed to defend a game you like... you can enjoy that game, period, and not create wars over it), or people making huge ffxiv against wow essays. Like I said some months ago, I studied the whole 'wow effect' for my thesis years ago for my Uni degree and I don't plan to go back at studying the phenomenon cause I just don't care about it anymore, to be honest.

I think sometimes people are just way too over protective of things they care about, like games, and when change occurs they react with panic and overprotection over something they can't control - people migrating over games, new influx of players, etc - instead of seeing the whole thing as something of a natural process all games and popular media are subject to. Like, imagine how bad things would be for every game or media if stuff NEVER changed. Especially for MMOS, that's a death sentence. And you don't want that for your favourite game. Even WOW suffering player loss might be a good thing in the end, it might force the companies to rethink their approach to games and community, since a lot of problems laid in there.

I played my fair share of WOW during my Uni years. I played for around 3 years or something, on and off with friends irl and online, and enjoyed my experience. Overall, I still have very good memories of fun and friendship in WOW, and it's a game I still like aesthetically a lot, along with its story and fantasy races. Hell, sometimes I think about how much I miss my WOW ocs, and drawing WOW related stuff.

But I don't think my relationship to WOW was as intense as some people's - I did transition from WOW to FFXIV, but I spent something like 2 years when I stopped playing WOW (I started in mists of pandaria, stopped around the beginning of battle for azeroth times) playing almost no videogames. So it wasn't like I switched from a game to the other immediately, I think mine was more of a timed and organic switch, I didn't start playing FFXIV until quarantine hit and I had nothing to do (and was feeling really bad and needed a distraction from the imminent doom), and I also got my new desktop computer knowing I could start playing a new game comfortably, and not on a toaster-like computer like I was doing during the WOW days. (computer shutting down due to overheating mid-raid, it was fun)

So maybe the fact that I didn't do the 180 turnaround switch like some other WOW players is what makes the difference in attitude and thinking. When I started playing FFXIV, I didn't have WOW fresh in my mind so I could do costant comparisons between the two games, or my affection towards WOW kinda like... influencing my taste, or opinion of the new game in any way.

WOW was a good memory but nothing more. I never forged a huge relationship with the game anyway, so it's probably what's different between me and other players that maybe (understandably) have more history with it. I engaged with it, liked it for a game I could spend some free time on, and then moved on when I got bored with it. That's kinda it. I understand that some people who have been playing for way more years than me might have a more affectionate memory or relationship with WOW, and that might be something that influences their reasoning sometimes. But it's also a bit of a common thing withing some communities like WOW- something that people could definitely abandon and move on, change attitude. Time and game change. There's no point in getting stuck in the past with the old WOW glory days, and that kind of sentiment- we're not getting back in time, and change should always be something to be embraced, especially in games and MMOS. Changing views, games and opinions is the base of not getting stuck in the same state of mind and I highly encourage people to do it.

As for the ‘critiquing WOW has become super extreme and almost like it’s a rule’... I mean... yeah? That’s the effect that often times ‘problematic’ things have on large crowds of people online. It’s to be expected, but it doesn’t come from nothing- a lot of bad things piled up in the game, the company, the community and their attitude- and it just so happened some things tipped the waters over and everything came out in a costant flow during the past year or so. But it doesn’t come from nothing- it’s just a result of people being genuinely critic of the game they engaged with, which is something good to do. 

So yeah, I appreciate the ask! I like hearing from people that follow other games too and may have experiences similar to mine, and I'm also grateful that you've been following me from so many years since I was playing WOW, to now.

That said... I would like to keep asks like these to a minimum. I enjoyed this ask because it gave me a point of inspiration to think about my journey from games, and the chance of talking about something I care about (and I would like to think I know something about too, degree and experience and all...), but I don't plan to respond to more comments or asks that might move towards a more 'discoursy' tone of this same "ffxiv and wow" topic. I do enjoy asks like these but you can't count on everyone making a good and civil argument when asking questions, so I do have to keep a firm hand on asks and topics sometimes, or people get rowdy and think my tumblr blog is the new reddit. It has already happened with some people coming to my askbox to complain about shit I genuinely couldn't care less about. That will just get your question deleted, go to reddit if you want to complain or fuel the flames. I'm just here to vibe.