#a lot of things I just might someday elaborate on

[cuppajj]

Beast Ancients AU FAQ

I’ve seen a lot of asks in my inbox that are identical to each other, so I decided to put em all in one post and then some. This’ll be updated the more I develop the AU and the more info we get.

As a disclaimer, I am very new to CRK (as of December 2023) and I haven’t gotten to all the game or story modes yet (notably odyssey), so things are definitely bound to change + be elaborated on more! Anyway without further ado:

General

What are the Beast Ancients’ themes?

Vanilla is Penance, Lily is Sovereignty, Dragonberry is Pride, Cacao is Solitude, and Cheese is Conquest. I tried to keep them within the realm of their original meanings

Essentially my philosophy is: Penance is the acknowledgment (truth) that sins such as deceit exist in the world and must be cleansed. Sovereignty is an extreme form of freedom where one can have all the agency they wish, but can be just as silent about their presence/power as well. Pride is a byproduct of passion or sloth, boiling down to the adamancy of the subject. Solitude is a choice made with both resolution and apathy in various degrees, and lastly Conquest promises an abundant future at the cost of untold destruction.

If the ancients are bad, are the beasts good?

No, the old Beasts are still a threat. With a total of ten beasts to worry about, the situation on Earthbread is very dire. However, there is still hope left, and hope can go a long way.

Is there a new set of ancient heroes with soul jams?

No, and there likely won’t be. The Neo Beasts and first Beasts still have their respective soul jam halves, and both want each other’s.

Where’s Gingerbrave and his party?

Likely the Crème Republic, which becomes a refuge for many cookies after the rise of the neo beasts. They’re at the front of the resistance movement, working with Clotted Cream Cookie to plan how the beasts will be taken down.

What do the Neo Beasts think of their past selves?

Generally they see themselves as improved or improving. The only one who doesn’t feel that way is Frigid Cacao, who doesn’t reflect on himself that often.

Did they all corrupt at the same time?

Still working on that part. The timeline for beast ancients is a WIP, but for now, it’s likely that while they didn’t corrupt at once, they corrupted pretty close to one another. Cheese was likely first, followed by Lily. Vanilla was among the last to fall and evidently had it the worst.

Do the Neo Beasts still have kingdoms? How is life like there?

Answered here

What are the cookies of darkness doing?

As of writing (5/31/24) we don’t have a lot of info on the cookies of darkness in beast yeast, but at the very least I can say Dark Enchantress cookie may or may not know about Midnight Lily’s plan to destroy her.

How would legendaries react?

I admittedly don’t know everything about the legendaries to say yet, but they’re all alarmed to some degree. I can flesh them out the more I learn about them

Individual Neo Beast questions under cut!

Saint Vanilla Cookie

How do his powers work?

Answered here

Does he know he’s killing cookies?

Nope, he doesn’t see it as that and it would pain him to. He sees purification as a form of transition or ascension in itself, to put it simply; he might even envy those he turns to stardust, knowing his own tainted soul will be so much harder to liberate.

Why is he constantly crying?

He’s just like that. He’s just that big of an empath.

Has his relationship with Lily changed?

Saint Vanilla still cares very much about Lily, and may even be more open about his feelings towards her; but he admits the only reason why she’s still alive is because she convinced him to leave her for last. Lily very well knows that Vanilla, in his mind, wants to purify her more than anyone else. Vanilla often pities her choice to stew in her tainted soul, but he respects her decision… at least the alternative is that they’ll someday be the only two cookies on Earthbread.

What happened to Black Raisin?

As the very first to witness his rise, she inadvertently became his very first martyr.

Where’s Custard Cookie III?

With his relatives in the Crème Republic, alongside the rest of Gingerbrave’s party. The kid has a hard time wrapping his head around what happened to Pure Vanilla, and it may be a blessing that he’s been largely focused on worrying about the well being of his uncle, Clotted Cream Cookie. As the head of the resistance, he’s been working tirelessly… is this what a king goes through too?

Shadow Milk’s opinion on Saint?

To put it simply, he starts out thinking that a confused Vanilla will be easy to manipulate, but he soon finds out that Saint Vanilla is way smarter and more aware than made out to be. He knows Shadow Milk is with him, and he wants to purge him from his soul; but that is a process that may be harder than anything else. So in the meantime, Shadow Milk can watch as he continues on his path of Penance towards ascension, fighting back the resistance he creates before it can truly harm him. Essentially, Saint Vanilla isn’t trapped with Shadow Milk, Shadow Milk is trapped with Saint Vanilla.

Dragonberry Cookie

Is the skull on her head real?

Yes! It comes from a nondescript monster.

If Pitaya is imprisoned, where is Snapdragon?

With Tarte Tatin and/or Royal Margarine. Dragon City likely got taken over by Dragonberry’s kingdom, but they noped out of there as it happened. The two of them might’ve been the first few to recognize Hollyberry’s spiral into corruption and where it was headed

How is her family doing?

Alright for the most part, but they can feel Dragonberry’s influence in every aspect of their life now. While Royal and Jungleberry are technically still the king and queen, it’s only a figurehead role as Dragonberry is the true ruler. She still cares about her family very much, but she’s controlling and good at keeping them under her thumb. Dragonberry’s granddaughter Princess Cookie is the only one who objects this new way of life, and runs away from the palace.

How would the other dragons react?

The other dragons aren’t canon to CRK so they’re not canon to the au by extension, but just for this question, they’d be different levels of alarmed or concerned save for maybe Longan. I could see Ananas wanting a word with Dragonberry in particular esp since they’re both prideful cookies

Frigid Cacao Cookie

Does he ever go outside?

Very rarely, but it’s usually to observe the licorice sea or meet with the few denizens he has left.

Where is Dark Choco?

Still working on this part (waiting for Apathy pt 2 to come out so I have a better idea), but he’s likely alone by himself. He heard wind of his father’s corruption though and took it less well than he thought he would. Perhaps he’ll run into someone who feels the same?

Is his permafrost truly permanent or can the frozen citizens be thawed?

Technically yes, the permafrost can be thawed, but it’s a meticulous process since Cacao’s ice isn’t normal ice. It’s a cure that Crunchy Chip is looking for to save Caramel Arrow.

How does the licorice sea work for him and how did he come to tame it?

I can’t say how yet outside of the fact that it was a definitely cool and heroic thing for Dark Cacao to do, on the scale of taming the Black and White dragons. The sea, arguably a sentient monster in itself, and all of the creatures within it came to follow Cacao and Cacao only. Now it almost acts like an extension of himself: the beast can make the sea do whatever he wants, like acting as his shield, arms, or barrier, and the licorice horrors will vehemently defend him. There are tons of monsters roaming his frozen kingdom now.

Mystic Flour’s opinion on Cacao?

Working on it, but to some degree she knows Cacao is much stronger than he looks. She might see his apparent apathy for his frozen kingdom with fondness though.

Celestial Cheese Cookie

Is the Golden City still running or did she leave it to die?

It may still be running but in a scaled-down beta form. Cheese learned to accept the fact that what she’d built was entirely fake, but she didn’t move on from regaining what was lost. Her virtual Golden City serves as a blueprint for the kingdom she wants on Earthbread, and then some; with nothing in the barren desert to grow her kingdom, her brightened eyes turn elsewhere towards civilizations that could be brought into the fold. Such is the beginning of the Beast of Conquest’s terror.

She does sometimes visit her golden city, only sometimes. It doesn’t look the same; it’s not a paradise for her to escape to, but it is a promise of what she will have someday. This time, it will be no mirage, and there will be no one to threaten its destruction ever again.

Midnight Lily Cookie

What is her opinion on dark enchantress cookie?

DE is the source of insecurity for Lily, who regards herself as the weakest among all the beasts. Because she’s half of a complete whole, who was already half of another whole, she is passionate about reuniting her souls. While she is focused on expanding the influence of the faerie kingdom, her true goal is to track down Dark Enchantress Cookie and destroy her; but she knows she will need more help than just herself, and has considered asking for help from other vengeful allies.

Does she still guard the silver tree?

Yes, she still fiercely honors Elder Faerie’s wishes.

Have her relationships with the other neo beasts changed?

Ish, most notably her and Celestial Cheese are a little more on speaking terms; but they’re connecting through their potential partnership as Lily hopes she can help her take down Dark Enchantress. In return, she might help her expand her kingdom and take down Burning Spice.

If more FAQs come up, I will make a part two. Thank you for your interest!

[blue-mood-blue]

I’ve grown to appreciate the aus where Shen Yuan enters the story as “Shen Yuan” - same name, probably similar face, generally able to interact with PIDW as himself and change the story through his added presence. I like the sense of “if only you’d been here, things might have been better the first time around” of it all.

And I was thinking, it’s a funny coincidence in that scenario that someone named Shen Yuan gets put into… another Shen Yuan. What are the chances? What a weird twist of fate that Airplane would pick out the name that his most dedicated critic could slip into seamlessly.

What about a version where it’s not coincidence at all?

Airplane goes to school with a kid named Shen Yuan. He’s prickly and hard to approach and a little intense, but Airplane is persistent. In fairness, Airplane is relentless - and maybe it’s a good thing that they end up being friends, because they’re a little too much for anyone else to handle. They balance each other out. They’re the “weird kids” in class and they’re okay with that, because even when they don’t have any words for it, they know they’re not like their classmates, not really. That’s okay; they don’t want to be.

Recesses and breaks are consumed with the elaborate stories that Airplane wants to tell, and all the holes Shen Yuan pokes into them. It’s not mean-spirited, though, even though Shen Yuan isn’t the kind to temper his words. It’s passionate. He cares about those stories the way Airplane cares about them, and it can’t be mistaken for anything else when they lean together conspiratorially across the lunchroom table. They’ve both got notebooks filled with details and characters and monsters. Shen Yuan’s practically got a whole bestiary sketched out in wobbly childhood attempts at art, entries fervently scrawled beside them. Airplane prattles out plots nonstop, always with the promise of shining eyes and being asked “what happens next?”

They come up with a whole world together. Airplane’s going to write about it someday. Shen Yuan is going to read every word.

Shen Yuan misses school. Shen Yuan starts missing school a lot.

Airplane goes to the hospital room instead. He doesn’t think to worry, because Shen Yuan is okay - that’s what he says. He looks okay, and he’s a kid, and it doesn’t feel real that anything bad should happen to a kid. He doesn’t think to worry. He doesn’t think to say goodbye.

It’s one of the older Shen brothers who catches him on the way up to the room one day, in the hallway just outside - snaps at him to go the fuck home, and when Airplane hesitates, pushes him into the elevator and tells him not to come back. “Tells” is a generous way to describe the way the words come out - a growl, a hiss, the sound an animal would make when a hand got too close to a wound.

(It’s not fair to name a villain after him, even if the name never really comes up in the story. He wasn’t trying to be mean. He’d lost a brother minutes before, and he was getting his brother’s friend out of the way so he didn’t have to… see. It isn’t fair, but then, none of it is fair.)

Death feels very real after that.

The notebooks get shoved into a closet, and it’s not until Airplane’s moving out and one falls on him from a high shelf that he thinks about it again. He’s written things, lots of things, but nothing as ambitious as this - nothing as important. It could be good, he considers. He’d promised. Shen Yuan wanted to read it.

The problem was that no one else does, not for a long time, not until Airplane has whittled himself and his art into a corner and into such an unfamiliar shape that he has to wonder how it’s still his own face he sees in the mirror. He has to eat. He has to pay rent. Shen Yuan would yell at him, but Shen Yuan isn’t there to yell at him, and who cares. Who cares if it could have been better? The people who actually are here love it, and it’s paying his bills, and sometimes stories don’t go the way they’re supposed to and the world is fucking unfair. It doesn’t matter.

(It does. But he shoves that thought away along with styrofoam cups and soda bottles to the bottom of a garbage bag.)

Authors are not gods and their power is limited, but Airplane exercises just a sliver of what he’s been granted and gifts an inconsequential sort of immortality. He thinks about making him a rogue cultivator, maybe the kind that goes around documenting beasts and compiling his findings. He thinks about making him someone too powerful for death to touch, or too important to threaten, but when Airplane looks at the world he crafted and everything that’s become of it, it feels like the kindest thing he can do for Shen Yuan is a childhood where he’s loved, and a death that’s peaceful. What does it say about that world, that he’d kill off his best friend too early again instead of making him live there?

(The best writing he ever does is the only, shining moment of humanity that his scum villain ever displays: a lament about death that comes too early, about a brother gone too soon. The commenters praise him. The commenters flatter over how real the emotions feel. The commenters don’t get any response from Airplane on that chapter.)

Death is incredibly real when it comes for him too early, too, still hovering over his keyboard with the story technically finished and incredibly incomplete. Airplane could tell himself that’s because the written version can never be the version in the writer’s head, always shifting and with every possibility still on the table, but he knows better than that. The System knows better than that, with its condescending message about “improving” his writing and “closing plot holes” and “achieving his original vision”...

…and he’s a child again. He’s a child in his own story, he’s Shang Qinghua now without the benefit yet of a peak or cultivation or anything, and maybe he’s a little bitter, and a little scared, and…

And Shen Yuan - with longer hair, with robes, with a couple of older kids watching him from across the street, but undeniably the prickly little boy who used to sit down imperiously across from him and tell him everything that was wrong with the chuck of writing that had been handed to him last period, but with that smile that said he was only invested because he knew it could be better and they were going to make it better - marches up to him with a fire in his eyes and a frown that warns of a coming tirade.

“You told it wrong,” is the first thing he says.

Shang Qinghua wants to ask how him how he’s here, how this is possible, or maybe laugh because, yeah - yeah, Shen Yuan has no goddamn idea how wrong he got absolutely everything.

(Shang Qinghua wants to say “I missed you” and “why did you leave so soon” but he’s here now. He’s right here.)

“I know,” he says instead. “I’m sorry. It all kind of… spiraled out of control.”

Shen Yuan frowns, but then it dissipates the way it always does, and his eyes shine with ideas the way they always used to. “That’s okay,” he relents, grabbing for his hand. “We’ll fix it. We’ll make it what it was supposed to be.”

[imperialkatwala]

“… Magic can do a lot of things that you might not expect,” Legend says quietly, picking his knitting up again. “Like affect your dreams.”

“Is it affecting yours?”

Legend shrugs. Knit a stitch, purl a stitch. “Sort of. I… well, I got pulled into some dream magic when I was younger, and… I guess it really changed the way I think about dreams.”

Sky hums softly. “Tell me about it? I’d be happy to listen, if you want to share.”

Legend takes a breath, setting his knitting down in his lap, and echoes the words of something that might have been a god. “Verily, it be in the nature of dreams to end. When thou dost awaken, only the memory of this dream land will exist in the waking world. Someday, thou may recall this island; that memory must be the real dream world.”

Sky is quiet at his side.

“… I miss her,” Legend says, very softly, and doesn’t elaborate. He doesn’t think he can, right now.

Sky still doesn’t speak. He just holds out his hand, palm up.

Legend takes it and blinks away tears.

(Read the rest on AO3! :D)

[nerdyfan1]

Ok thinking about this again and I feel like this is considered sacrilege to say on tumblr specifically for some reason but, I’ll never not hate how much ppl try to make the argument Pentious needed to be super serious and evil. It always misses the point of his character to me. It’s really was never about Pentious being evil. It’s why it’s gotten out of the way so quickly in the beginning of Radio Killed the Video Star. You know with Alastor right here:

This is literally the first thing we get with Pentious and I think it set up quite well. Him being evil and then turning soft wasn’t what you were supposed to take away from his character, it’s his arc of learning to value himself and open up to others. Alastor whole thing is he likes to mess with other characters’ insecurities. That’s what he’s doing in this clip. Messing with Pentious’ biggest insecure, his fear of being forgotten. Just another face in the crowd that never meant anything despite his intelligence.

Pentious while doing evil things it’s not inherently evil. It’s a front he put on. Like Angel Dust he is putting on a mask to hide who he really is. Remove the corny villain persona and the war machines and this is who he really is.

A vulnerable man who’s finally allowed the space to wear his heart on his sleeve and let his emotions show. He never deep down wanted to be the villain, he was only that way cus of the environment he’s in made it where that was what he had to be. It’s eat or be eaten. He had to survive and fight to even try to get on top.

Unpopular opinion I don’t think we needed much to set this arc up. The Alastor stuff is fine enough in getting this point across. That even gave us a cute joke as pay off too. It gives you all you need.

Now in a perfect world I would have loved an episode of Pentious before the hotel to specifically explore his seemingly parasocial and toxic dynamic with the vees. Specifically Vox. As they are criminally little on it rn. However that’s me being more curious. I acknowledge it’s not technically needed. Maybe they’ll someday find a way to elaborate on it but, it’s fine I don’t mind I think they still said it all with that one part we did get.

Tho yeah Pentious as is? I think he’s far more interesting now than he’s ever been. Hell I’d argue he was always kind of implied to be this emotional and sensitive. Seen a lot of ppl say it’s a problem he’s so goofy but, news flash so was his villain persona.

Like the 3rd pic especially. You can see it right? He’s still trying to get attention, it’s silly but, also a sign that he just wants to be acknowledged. Remembered. Even if he’s kind of cringe about it.

I think he’s far more interesting this way and I hate this idea that “if a character is sillier or goofy means they by default are less interesting”. Heck his silliness and habit to blend into the background is neat cus it makes the reveal at the season finale way better. Pentious just being this silly man who fought for others cus they gave him the love he needed? That’s beautiful.

Also this criticism of him being too goofy is insane to me given the show itself. Like with how the tone of season 1 is I do ask how on earth making him more overly serious would make a lick of sense. Sure we are getting statements by crew we might get a more serious season 2 (which um I’m conflicted on) yet that’s season 2. The first season is more light hearted by nature. Besides episode 4 tho yeah that is understandable given the subject matter that episode is tackling I definitely would expect the show to be more serious tackling it and this show did as such so well.

By just adding angst onto a character who genuinely didn’t need as such it would mess up the tone and potentially even pacing cus that need more set up. Which is a bad idea given this season’s pacing is already on thin ice.

So yeah if he wants to babygirl the hell out and be himself then I say let him. I doubt this will change anyone’s mind I just get sad every time I see this here. Probably a me thing but, I’ll never subscribe to this idea his character was ruined. I wish ppl in this fandom would acknowledge that the softer characters are interesting too. See ppl be really dismissive of Charlie like this as well. Pentious is like Vaggie in a way. Two ppl who seem to have done something horrible yet actively try to be better ppl. Characters don’t need to fit an evil or nice box all the time. The point of hazbin is its main character are different shades of grey you know? Pentious is not an expectation and writing him like a typical redeemed villain wouldn’t work as well at least to me.

Edit:

In conclusion this is Sir Pentious:

[taylortruther]

i'm the john/jake anon and i didn't elaborate it in my ask but i meant in a way that this fandoms imo places way more emphasis on jake situation than john (partly because taylor explores her relationship more with jake than john) when in reality imo she wouldn't have dated or started her ''pattern'' of dating older men if it weren't for things that happened in relationship with john. this opinion is based on how much more haunting/scathing wcs is. like compared to all too well 10m version, you can see her starting "what if" shit from that relationship onwards.

hmm i don't agree. the pattern of dating older men as a young woman is already encouraged by society at large, in many ways. it's possible jake would've still happened if john never existed.

i think a lot of the pain and anger in wcs is partly because taylor was in a period of introspection and retrospection, and she was also the age john was when he pursued her. she was at a point in her life where she could clearly say how wrong, confusing, and painful it was - not just his actions, but the way he denied it/didn't take accountability for her it, and her own guilty at pursuing it as well.

i think the fandom puts a lot of emphasis on jake, beyond just how much she's written about it, is because she obviously really loved him. i mean, at some point she considered him her twin flame or soulmate. he told her they might have kids someday. she couldn't shake him off of her, he really, really did a number on her.

[atoriv-art]

asks :)

guess who let them pile up for months (meeeeeeee)

tysm!!! i share a similar view wrt his hair :) i think it's a very fun way to interpret it given he's one of (/the?) only characters to ever go through a change like that! especially given his snake transformations i think it's completely plausible that he found himself mirroring the guy too much and wanted to distance himself from that lol

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thank youuuu it's one of my favorite things to draw honestly :) especially with the uchihas where their eyes are such an integral part of their character design hehe

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:D the positive reception to them honestly makes me really happy given they're a relatively obscure pairing hahahaha thank you!

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thank you so muuuch 🥺 my biggest goal with my art is capturing like, emotional snapshots of the little guys i like and i'm glad it comes through!! :]

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[ post linked ]

it's a fair question! i might elaborate more someday but atm the basic premise is that it's likely it'd be like a pragmatic deal between them? sasuke needs a source of strength and obito is both very powerful and a sharingan user, and obito has reason to look out for sasuke because of itachi hovering over his shoulder + if he trains sasuke correctly he can have a powerful ally on his side... which is i think?? the reason why obito let sasuke hang out with him for so long in canon but it went nowhere looooool

i find orochimaru's integration and then sudden exit from the plot to be a little bit messy so i like to think of ways of streamlining the process and just having sasuke be with the "main" naruto antagonists from an earlier date :0c with the rest of the kids still being with him as i am very fond of both karin and suigetsu ahahaha

i also find the idea of sasuke being in closer proximity to itachi during the timeskip (while still distant ofc) to be fun, like him being akatsuki-adjacent while itachi is also there brings fun scenarios to think about! + the fact itachi really doesn't like obito, so there's an added layer of 👀 as he hates that obito is the one training him but he can't really do anything abt it without showing his hand lol

and, the rest of the akatsuki interacting with a bunch of kids on a "friendly" level is a funny concept lmao

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grouping these together since i assume it was the same person ^^

kks headcanons: hmm i'm actually not sure! i think a lot about kakashi but im blanking on specific headcanons i have :P

top 5s: without much thought to ordering them i'd sayyy

characters: obito, kakashi, itachi, sasuke, and gaara or neji depending on my mood

pairings: sasuneji, sasugaa, kakaobi, itadei and kisaobi or sasusui

what got you into naruto: mostly being really curious about kakashi 😅 he seemed like the type of character i really would like so we watched a few episodes "for fun" just to meet him and then. you know.

thoughts on kakagai: i love kakagai i think it's super cute :)

do you like sasuke x naruto: people keep asking me this KSDJSKJD i'm ambivalent about the pairing, i can see why people like it but it's not for me

would you ever draw naruto (the character): possibly! just no real guarantee since i tend to focus on a small group of characters is all

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🥺 thank you so much!!! sorry about the 25 minutes hahahaha

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thank you so much!! if it helps any i struggle a lot with traditional art hahaha :P

i haven't ever drawn the rest of team 7 atm, no! if i ever do i'll definitely post it as it seems a lot of people are curious about them hahahah

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😭 tysm!!!!

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:D! i'm a firm believer that sasuke is one of the most sun-adjacent characters i've ever seen but alas he is cursed to be misunderstood because he's an emo boy 😔

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:] i'm glad!!! he's very fun to draw hehehe

[ask-agent-rapzutin-vodello]

Hey raz since it's Halloween what's the scariest thing you've seen in someone's mind.

[Raz] Obviously, a lot of things are classified and I've come across so many variations that they all kinda blend together, but nonetheless every bit scary. The mindscapes of people can be a terrifying reflection of their own troubles.

Take someone who is haunted by the deeds of their past and, poof: their mindscape is a haunted mansion with spectral Censors and Eldritch Nightmares.

How about something mundane? You have someone who feels like they're being slowly crushed by the the unfathomable weight of their responsibilities? You take a Psi-trip into their mind and suddenly you're stuck inside a sinking submarine and you have to escape in time, solving elaborate conundrums before the ever-increasing pressure of the ocean makes you implode. ...it's puzzling - heh - how often the Psychonauts come across puzzles while venturing in someone's mind.

I once interrogated a claustrophobic suspect and when I went into their mind, I got stuck in a tiny box. Couldn't even get my smelling salts. Those were a scary 20 minutes ...and just when I had this itch as well.

This one might be more disturbing than scary, but nevertheless unsettling. We once had to go deep inside a suspect's mind and this guy ...well, let's call him the very peak of narcissism. This guy was litterally full of himself. Every Censor, every Nightmare, Enabler, Doubt, Regret, Bad Idea, all of them ...had the suspect's face.

Even worse: we came across a room with, ugh, 'adoring female fans' and those, too, had not only the suspect's face ...but their voice as well. Jeez, that was a sight I'll hopefully someday forget.

[birdsandbatsofgotham]

Working on the next installment of my Pantheon AU:

He stood upon the edge of a rooftop, a single point of perfect darkness, gazing out impassively across his city. And Gotham was, truly, his city at this point. Whispers of the Bat flowed through the backstreets and alleyways, making the criminals clutch at their weapons and more innocent souls breathe just a tad easier.

There were shrines popping up, too. Alfred had helped him create a small temple in the cavern beneath the Manor, something to anchor his power in Gotham, but shrines- Tucked away in corners, hidden in the shadowed nooks, each one served to spread his influence, catching and multiplying every bit of belief offered up to his name. To his symbol.

The outline of it still hummed against his chest. Simple curves and narrow points, nothing elaborate. Nothing flashy. But so far, it proved to be his best choice, out of all the new things pulled into his sphere of influence. People had begun to carve it into bricks, to spray paint it onto concrete and asphalt - each one a testament, not only to his growing influence, but to the good he was doing.

Someday, the overhanging layer of fear might just dissipate enough he could request the Patron of Hope make a proper visit to the city.

Caught up in the pride over his work, it took the god a moment longer than usual to notice the increasing glow around him. At first he tensed, alarmed that the Day had come to try and convince him of returning to the divine plane.

But the light didn’t brighten to obnoxious levels; it remained a soft, silvery color, rather than the overwhelming yellow of the sun. And that put a different sort of alarm into him. 

“So I hear you’ve been getting around a lot lately,” a voice purred.

“Moon,” he rumbled, turning to face her. Rather than the elegant gowns or silver armor of days past, she approached him wearing a black bodysuit, equipment belt slung low around her hips, intense gaze hidden by a pair of goggles. “Selina,” he amended.

She hummed, looking his guise up and down. “And what should I be calling you these days, my Lord Night?”

Before, he wouldn’t have reacted to the mocking title beyond a stern grunt. Now, he grimaced at it, and turned back towards the roof’s edge. “Bat. Or Bruce.”

After a beat, her footsteps resumed their approach, muted like a feline padding across snow, or perhaps thick carpet. “How about Tiger?”

He twitched, eyeing her sidelong as she stepped right up alongside him. “No.”

“You sure? I’ve been saving that one for you. Could use Pussycat instead, I suppose-”

“Selina,” he huffed.

“Cat,” she corrected, angling just enough to smile up at him. For once, it appeared genuine, instead of mocking. “If you’re the Bat, then I’m the Cat.”

“...alright,” he managed to say, more than a little taken aback. “What are you doing here, Cat?”

“Wonder’s looking for you. Apparently the Day has gone missing, and she wants your help to find him.”

And just like that, he could feel his walls pressing back in. “Then she can ask the Oracle. I’m busy.”

“Pretty sure she would, except Little Miss See-It-All is missing too.”

That- sounded alarming.

---

Bruce ended up bringing her as far as the rear gardens of the Manor.

Selina couldn’t come down into the caves with him - just as his empowered form required the cover of darkness to travel anywhere in the mortal realm, so too did Selina need to remain in places where her moonlight reached. They could, of course, fold down into purely mortal shells to escape the impediment, but-

But.

Being Bruce Wayne... he didn’t quite want to share that part of himself. Not yet. And for all that the Moon knew him best of anyone besides, perhaps, the Day- he didn’t think she wanted to really expose so much of herself to him either.

There were many eons of harsh words and curt dismissals to overcome first.

Still. She liked Alfred, when the man came out for an introduction. And he seemed a touch charmed in return, with the easy, teasing manner Selina liked to speak in, especially each time Bruce huffed an exasperated breath.

By the time Dawn began to paint the eastern sky, their garden possessed a new little bower, with silver flowers blessed by moonlight. “If you ever need a touch of divine help besides his,” Selina said, smirking in Bruce’s direction, “Pluck one of these off the vine, and I’ll come as soon as I can.”

“You are extremely generous, Miss Selina - perhaps, though, I might be able to do something else if there’s a cup of tea in need of sharing, rather than an emergency?”

The Goddess of the Moon laughed, already starting to fade back to the divine realm. “Just one petal, then, for social calls.”

Once she was gone, Bruce let his shadows fall away as well, returning to the much smaller and more visibly petulant form of an eight year old boy. “A cup of tea?”

“Well, if you won’t indulge in such rituals with me, Master Bruce...”

“Hmph.”

[sineala]

☔, you have so many plot ideas that I'd love to know what didn't make the cut

Lishan! Hiiiiii!

I feel like this one is hard to answer, not because I don't have things I'm not writing but because a lot of what is on my "write this someday maybe" list is stuff I'm not entirely ruling out not writing. Wow, that had way too many negatives in it.

Anyway. So there's stuff on my ideas list that I just haven't gotten to yet because I am trying to knock some current WIPs off my WIP list and I've promised myself I am not starting a story I know will be novel-length until I've finished something else. (Unfortunately, I accidentally a novel for two of my current WIPs. Whoops.)

So that section of the WIP list has a lot of stuff that's, like, fully outlined -- not quite down to the scene-by-scene level but in enough detail that I could start writing. This would be, like, "the story where Steve time-travels from the future to meet ToS-era Tony before the Avengers exist and they fall in love -- I mean, Steve was already in love -- and then Steve has to leave before the Avengers form, and a couple months later Tony is very surprised to learn that Captain America is alive and also he's been banging Captain America from the future." I could start writing that right now. It would absolutely be a novel.

There's stuff that I'd like to write that's pretty well fleshed out as a premise but not currently writable, because of things like I haven't yet figured out exactly how the POV works. This is, like, "the BDSM AU where the serum was supposed to make Steve a dom and it did not and he decides he can just lie about it and never tell anyone he is a sub, because then they will kick him out of the army, and then he has entirely different problems when he gets to the future because wow does he like Tony." Also a story I would describe as "Secret Empire canon-divergent AU with wall-to-wall non-con" but I also haven't figured out how the POV works or how any of the comfort in the h/c works but I know how to break Steve and Tony very, very badly. I just can't put them back together yet. Also those would both be novel-length.

And then there's stuff on my ideas list that I just come up with randomly that I think might be fun, because I am apparently just very fond of generating elaborate sex farce plots on the fly, and there's nothing wrong with them but there's also no immediately compelling reason why I should write them right now. Like "the one where Steve extremely earnestly asks Tony if Tony would like him to send nudes and Tony's not sure if Steve's trolling him and somehow Steve and Tony end up in a situation in which Steve sends Tony artistic and photogenic dick pics every day and Tony can't figure out if Steve means for Tony to jerk off to them or just admire them for their artistic merit because they're actually very well-composed and elegant and Steve doesn't say. Tony feels like he can't just ask Steve this because he thinks this is the kind of thing he's probably already supposed to know about their relationship, you know, whether they're in any way involved with each other. So in the meantime he's just going to die of lust and also frustration." I might write it! I might not! It's fun to ponder, anyway.

So, yeah, those are some things I'm not writing.

[sagesilentfire]

I FINISHED A SKETCHBOOK! Every page is drawn upon. It only took me... eight years. Wow. I only started working on it in earnest about six months ago, though, so... yeah. 

TO CELEBRATE: I want to take one of these sketches and develop it into a full rendered digital painting. I will make a fun little quiz and we'll narrow it down to one drawing. Quiz and logistics coming later, but will be posted here.

A lot of this is me figuring out designs for characters I haven't even written about yet, so look out for that. I'll elaborate one every sketch if you're interested, so keep reading if you want to know who's who. The sketches are generally in reverse chronological order from top to bottom.

1. Alice, a new character in Star and Marcie and the Forces of Evil, my latest project. She's fighting. She's a fighter. She's a love interest, but I hope I make her interesting on her own.

2. Cinder, wearing a shirt Kowari and Kultarr got for her. He will never take it off.

3. Various faces for Iako, a character in my next project that I'm 90% sure on the design for. She lives in a world of kitsunes who accidentally got addicted to gaining their nine tails through murder. Also magic powers are cursed. Iako wants to make magic better, so she goes on a trip to a mysterious island that holds the key to ending the curses... and their lives. Also it's based on the original premise of Lightlark. Hehe. Prologue can be found here. It's part 2.

4. lorge Sílthéy and small derg. 

5. Practicing SilkWings and playing around with dragon faces, plus their defining attributes.

6. ANCIENT Sílthéy expression practice. This is years before the eye redesign, but you can still get the essence of her character and how she's born out of my religious trauma.

7. ANCIENT Sílthéy expression practice cont.

8. SilkWing practice with face shapes.

9. Alice fullbody. My second drawing of her, getting her design down.

10. a. Evelyn, the protag of a story I'd like to tell someday. I can't say much more than that, except that it's a tragedy of epic proportions. b. Human Sílthéy

11. Alice and Shinjai. Shinjai is a main character in SAMATFOE, and she and Alice have an almost-thing going. 

12. Iako and a still unnamed... side character? They're studying the book Iako gets in the prologue.

13. This is [NAME REDACTED]. They're from a universe inspired by Star Wars, but if it was animated and also deeply weird. [NAME REDACTED] is [TOP SECRET INFORMATION]

14. First drawing of Alice. Figuring out her cheekmarks, and what I wanted to keep in her show design (she's based on a one-off background character).

15. More Iako drawings. Left out her hair in a, can't remember if it was intentional or not.

16. A dragon from a Wings of Fire inspired sci-fi world.

17. RPG species. They're aliens who are eusocial, and females are split into four "genders"/roles in society. This gender is soldier, distinguished by their massive claws and size. Their job is everything that requires strength.

18. An early Tethalaos, and also an entirely plausible form for them to take.

19. Above mentioned RPG species. This gender is gatherer, distinguished by their small body and delicate hands. 

20. Another dragon from above mentioned Wings of Fire inspired sci-fi.

21, 23-26. More sketches of [NAME REDACTED]. As you might guess, I quite like them. I just think they're neat, and I wanted to get their design down solidly.

22. Wasp friend :D

27. Shinjai's new crown, as seen in the latest chapter of SAMATFOE.

28. Funny Christmas Carol-inspired AU of SAMATFOE that I drew after being bludgeoned over the head with Christmas music for hours in a holiday sale I was working at.

29. Sílthéy being big mad.

30. RainWing. Not sure who this is.

31. Toffee's Mewberty wings.

32. More Evelyn.

33. LunarWings, but in my sci-fi world.

34. Yet another species in my sci-fi world.

35. Star and Marcie from SAMATFOE

36. Espina, a character from an urban-fantasy boarding school story about being bonded to animals people often find disgusting and repulsive. Espina controls wasps.

37. All the they/them nonbinary characters in SAMATFOE at the time of this drawing. From left to right: Nova, Toffee, Necahua, Dr. Edevane, Mayhem and Miette Maizley, Higgs, and of course, Tethalaos. Drawn at a nonbinary people meetup.

38. Sílthéy again

39. The oldest drawing in the book, Darkstalker from before we even knew what he looked like. An old doodle, but it proves how dedicated I was to Darkstalker being a good guy back in the day.

40. A design for an old idea I had of a hollow mountain filled with outcasts from society. Might revisit it, there's enough there to make at least a novella.

41. Toffee fashion sketches.

42. An old drawing of Sílthéy in her Wings of Fire dragon form, a hybrid named Liminal (nicknamed Lin). I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, honestly.

43. Sílthéy even BIGGER mad

44. More from the hollow mountain. The outcasts are protected by these guys, and in exchange they're cleaned and fed.

[tavyliasin]

9 People You Want to Know Better Tag

Tagged by @ankhegs-in-my-salad <3 I'll pop everything below the cut in case I get long and rambly because I know myself far too well to trust any answers will stay short~

Three ships:

Abdirak x He Who Was, my beloved Agenda, the pair so perfect they never leave my mind or my heart. I have read every work with the tag and will continue to devour any more that arise~

Raphael x Haarlep, the two fiends who also share no screen time but I'm utterly obsessed with their dynamics~ I will be getting back to longfics once I've recovered from life some more.

Gortash x Durge, there's just so much tasty lore in here and so many wonderful Durge OCs~

First ship: I am a basic bitch and BG3 fandom began for me with Astarion x f!Tav~ I still love the pair, I truly do, and their story will be finished someday in ATG but the rare pairs hold my soul hostage more often~

Last Song: Beautiful Crime by Tamer https://open.spotify.com/track/4NZKQIAbpUPd0jn0CzvRpS?si=0251195fca38430d

Last Movie: Ahh I don't remember... But I will be seeing the new Deadpool film later this week (and will bite anyone who decides to spoil a single detail about it, I've managed to avoid every single promo and trailer so I can go in knowing nothing which is how I enjoy films~) Currently Reading: Just finished a wonderful fic that I'm going to very highly recommend - https://archiveofourown.org/works/55999948 Mind the tags but it really is wonderful~

Currently Watching: Not a lot, I often lack the patience and focus to watch anything at all. But the Tav & Jav streams of BG3 have been quite a delight on Twitch, one of the few things I will force my mind to be still and enjoy for a few hours. They're finishing their first playthrough hopefully in the next one, which is both exciting and a little sad to see it end~

Currently Eating: Ah, thanks for the reminder! I have a small snack size banana loaf right beside me~ and I have a 0% alcohol cider, Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime to be precise, which is refreshing on a warm night such as this~

Currently Craving: Honestly? Creative drive and peace of mind. Struggling a little at present, but as with all dark clouds it will pass in time, it will just be unpleasant until it does. I miss writing like the world will end if words don't hit the page, but when a break is needed a break must be taken~

Favourite colour: Traditional goth answer, but my wardrobe backs me up that Black is top tier~

Favourite flavour: Hmmm this is tough. For savoury, I'm very partial to cheese, and with sweet I like chocolate, vanilla, and cinnamon to a close to equal degree~

Current obsession: BG3, with a sprinkling of Hades/Hades2

Last thing I googled: Gortash. Single word, and I shall not be elaborating further at this time~

Favourite season: Autumn, for the most part~ Still warm, but a slight biting chill in the wind that makes it perfect for hot drinks and comforting foods~

Skill I’d like to learn: I'd quite like to master any one of the skills I already have. I'm quite a jack of all trades, master of none, so perhaps something such as mastering one of the several instruments I can play a little of might be good?

Best Advice: "You can't edit a blank page." As a writer this has been a solid piece of advice - your first draft doesn't have to be perfect, it simply has to exist, because you can edit something messy into something wonderful but if there are no words there's nothing to polish. Sometimes you just have to write a whole mess and worry about it making sense later~

No pressure tags for @miradelletarot @morb-untamed @eldathsgrove @dmagedgoods @ineadhyn @hydropyro @theemptyislost @thecampjuicebox @taskignored

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Photograph by Niclelback

“Photograph” is perhaps one of the most criminally underrated and critically misunderstood songs of all time because people take it at face value due to the memes. However, if you read between the lines you’ll see the truth clear as day: The song is a bittersweet tale of gay romance.

The very first verse wastes no time in elaborating on the tragedy:

Look at this photograph

Every time I do, it makes me laugh

How did our eyes get so red?

And what the hell is on Joey's head?

Their eyes are red from weeping at the state of Joey, our narrator’s former lover; the line about something being on his head is a reference to the progression of whatever disease was claiming his young life.

Now, you might think this makes the first two lines seem rather callous and insensitive. Why would he be laughing at this tragedy? Well, the rest of the song explains it: He’s laughing because he’s chosen to prioritize remembering the good moments while saying farewell to the tragic memories, making the conscious decision to immortalize Joey’s tragically short life in a positive way and saying farewell to these records that bring back negative memories, as evidenced by the powerful, sweeping chorus:

Every memory of looking out the back door

I had the photo album spread out on my bedroom floor

It's hard to say it, time to say it

Goodbye, goodbye

Every memory of walking out the front door

I found the photo of the friend that I was looking for

It's hard to say it, time to say it

Goodbye, goodbye

The rest of the first part of the song really helps flesh out the story with reminiscences of our narrator’s childhood home (likely where his romance with Joey initially blossomed), as well as a criminal record and a failure to graduate:

And this is where I went to school

Most of the time had better things to do

Criminal record says I broke in twice

I must have done it half a dozen times

I wonder if it's too late

Should I go back and try to graduate?

Life's better now than it was back then

If I was them, I wouldn't let me in

These lines can be read in two ways. The first is this can be seen as our narrator detailing his spiral into criminality in the wake of discovering Joey is not long for this world; the second is that it can be read as engaging in reckless bucket list hedonism to make Joey’s last days special. I think the former is closer to the truth due to the song’s themes of saying farewell to negative memories, something supported by the line indicating his life is better now.

The second part of the song comes off as a lot more positive, though still bittersweet as it deals with memories our narrator seems to cherish a little more:

Remember the old arcade

Blew every dollar that we ever made

The cops hated us hangin' out

They say, "Somebody went and burned it down"

We used to listen to the radio

And sing along with every song we know

We said, "Someday we'd find out how it feels

To sing to more than just the steering wheel"

The last line is arguably the most hard-hitting in the whole song, as our narrator did in fact achieve that dream… while Joey, tragically, did not. While he is far more wistful about these reminiscences than the initial ones, he still finds the need to say farewell to this as the survivor’s guilt weighs heavily on his soul.

Then we have the lines indicating that, in the wake of Joey’s death or perhaps merely because of societal norms of the time, he forced himself into heterosexuality:

Kim's the first girl I kissed

I was so nervous that I nearly missed

She's had a couple of kids since then

I haven't seen her since God knows when

At the very least, despite the negative connotations this memory brings, he doesn’t seem quite so bitter about this, which foreshadows the big finish of the song (or indicates he’s actually bi, it’s ambiguous)

And then comes the big twist of the song:

I miss that town, I miss the faces

You can't erase, you can't replace it

I miss it now, I can't believe it

So hard to stay, too hard to leave it

The narrator ultimately acknowledges that, as painful as some of the memories might be, they are still important, defining moments of his life that shouldn’t be carelessly tossed aside. When it comes to the past, you need to take the good with the bad, and not run from the past. There is gurt there, but ultimately the good times outweigh the bad and that Joey’s memory is truly tied to the photographs for better or worse.

And this brings us to the last lines before the final chorus, a reaffirmation that no matter what his love for Joey is eternal, cementing the bittersweet nature of the song:

If I could relive those days

I know the one thing that would never change

This song is so criminally misunderstood, likely due to the easily memeable nature of the music video and Chad Kroeger’s voice and style not the thing that really springs to mind when you think of queer angst. It’s a shame, because this is essentially the audio equivalent of Brokeback Mountain, a queer story of love, loss, and cherished memories that was ahead of its time.

Ultimately, this is the worst Def Leppard cover I’ve ever heard. I give it a 3.5/5.

[hustlecandy]

And now the final part! Thanks for the nice comments on the last two posts, it rly means a lot!! ^ ^

Day (technically 19 but) 21: Berry

(I know I accidentally skipped this one in the last post I am sorry. Anyway this is the result of me watching too many JimmyHere YLYL streams while drawing)

Day 22: Fungal

"Ah... Our favorite. Fate has smiled upon us."

"The textures work so well together!"

"...A bit too savoury. We shoulda put honey in it!"

(Imma be honest. I didn't get this line on my first playthrough, so when I did on my second I about broke down crying. Fate has smiled upon them,,, ;v;)

Day 23: Flight

"We can fly as high as our hearts wish to! Soar to UNSEEN HEIGHTS!"

(The fact that Kabbu is terrified of heights but loves bounceshrooms is very underrated imo. I think he wants to overcome his fear someday and maybe learn how to fly on his own...)

Day 24: Plant Enchanter

(What did you guys name your Chompys? I named mine Amarylis, intentionally spelt wrong due to character limits. I just think it's a pretty word :>)

Day 25: Lost

"Everyone left on the rescue ferry...but I chose to stay. There's such a soothing beat… How could I leave this place behind? I've gotta find where it comes from...I've...gotta..."

(You ever wonder what happened to the bug who left that note on the Peacock Spider's island? I mean, they're obviously dead, but...I still wonder.)

Day 26: Alternate Universe

(You ever make an AU based on a single line of dialogue & some concept art that gets stuck in your brain and refuses to leave? Yeah, that's what this AU is. The placeholder title is 'The Upcoming Storm', and is an answer to two questions: What if the Roaches followed through with their plans for a Thunder cordyceps? And what if one of Leif's ancestors decided to look into their disappearance?

So this is Cerice, their ridiculously energetic lesbian daughter [who they don't know is their daughter yet; she doesn't remember that they're her parent either] and host of the Thunder cordyceps! Don't worry, Grandpa and Muze still exist - Grandpa's her son. However, Team Snakemouth is split into two teams - Team Snake and Team Mothden - but they still work together. I might make a separate post abt it if anyone wants me to ^^)

Day 27: Song

(Who's a better character for this prompt than the composer's self-insert, lol)

Day 28: Medal

(I am a very firm believer in Poisoned Leif supremacy. Sorry Poisoned Vi and Kabbu, smashing bosses over the head with glaciers is just so viscerally satisfying)

[I didn't have any ideas for Boss Rush, sorry]

Day 30: Bee

"You know...I was about her age when I came to my first festival. Everything was so much cooler than the boring Bee Kingdom! It really made me want to see the world!"

(I really wish they elaborated more on Vi deciding to become an explorer after her first festival! It's a very cute motivation & had a lotta story potential ;^;)

Day 31: Everlasting

"The Usurper, Grasping For Power..."

(Hoaxe is a fun final boss but god DAMN did he kick my ass a hundred times over. It's a good thing I decided to max my rank and stock up on Queen's Dinners, Berry Smoothies & Miracle Shakes the 5th time around)

[borderline-off-fangame]

it's the anniversary... of the game's development. idek why I'm making these at this point, I suppose because it gives me some kind of purpose or motivation to continue on despite the shit that's been happening in my life. The massive burnouts, the lack of motivation, my dayjob eating up my time to the point that I'm unable to sit down and work on the game.. the depression.. but I keep persevering..

Last year I released a remade demo of the game, where I rehashed the entirety of the game, from the gameplay to the story, the entire thing was changed.. And there were lots of struggles and hurdles I needed to surpass just to release a (somewhat) perfectly functioning demo, completely bug-free.. That's an achievement if I do say so myself... I did take a break from the game afterwards and ended up making Escape Button, a.. quite short and silly little experimental game where I tried to emulate a 'point-n-click' setting.. It's possible, you just gotta be a little creative. *pensive* For the most part it worked, and from there, I applied what I learned in Esc and slapped it into burdel borble, you will see what I mean in a few.. enough sob stories about my crippling depression and burnout, you came here for the good shit, but if I end up wallowing in my own self-pity, that's on me. I'm a tired creature, that is all I am..

I unfortunately did not receive any questions, so I may as well make up some questions you might wanted to ask me.

WHY IS IT TAKING YOU SO LONG?!

To put it bluntly, I'm a one man developer.. People might misinterpret what I mean by that, so let me elaborate. Other than music and the assets I receive from volunteers who want to see my game come to fruition, I am left to do everything else that isn't in the music department or general assets. Which means coding, mapping, setting up events, story and dialogue, constant beta-testing, yadda yadda. Other factors play in this, and it has to do with my day-job. Since I started my day-job back in February, all my focus shifted onto my work, so I have been unable to sit down and work on the game..

I know people want to see my game get finished someday, but idk when exactly that someday will be.. Might not be tomorrow or next year.. My fg does not have a deadline and it's better that way, so I don't end up stressing myself out.. When it comes out, I hope to make it into a grandiose deal or some shit like that..

For the most part, I'm mostly re-working on dialogue and certain events in game to make it pop a little bit more and make it look more.. mine you know.. like I made it with my own 2 hands..

WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE?

Finish the game ofc, and then begin working on new projects.. I do have something in mind, might be another experimental one, who knows.. And ofc, finally kickstart my twocrown tutorial channel, where I post rpgmaker related tutorials.. I'll keep that short haha.

WHAT DO YOU HAVE SO FAR? WHAT WILL WE SEE IN THE FUTURE/FINAL VERSION?

Lots of things actually! Let's start with the most basic..

Animated facesets. It came to me in a dream lol So I wanted to try out a thing where the characters are able to speak. As in you see the faceset's lips move. This one took time to implement because I kept running into issues.. Then the bird brain awoke and was like: remember that large sprite tutorial for 2003? Make it for the facesets! And so I did!!

Aleyes shop gets a bit of an overhaul! learning from Esc, I made a panorama for his little shop, where he will sell you goods. This is a point-n-click segment.. don't worry, there will be more, in the form of minigames and puzzles! they are fun to make!!

First person battle. Think Earthbound. Just think Earthbound!! This one comes with it's pros and cons unfortunately.

The major Pro here is that it will not be necessary to constantly change the battle sprites, all i have to do is just change the faceset and I'm moving on with my life.. the con? well, when their HP reaches 0, they are dead, but they're unable to show.. I'm trying to figure out a way to overcome this, but I am drawing blanks.. i do see potential in the window c variant (the first person view), I haven't seen much people use this type (WITHIN the fangames!! not outside, within!!!)

and that's about it I suppose.. I don't have much else to show cuz everything else is spoiler territory and I don't want to spoil!

So yea, happy anniversary, and.. let's hope I finish this game someday..

[astrofae]

Currugated ask game: 🤕🌶️🚀🪞🔎🎳💺🛋️🧱🧰

🤕-Which boss is the hardest?

The Swansong is the bane of my existence. I've got over 700 hours in the game and I've... never actually beaten it. To be fair that's largely because I never really bothered doing mech stuff until recently (my achievement hunter brain craves Parasprite and Cosmic Intruder figurines) but hell, even the dungeon is hard. I can usually just blaze through all the dungeons, but even with endgame gear I die fairly often in the Dantalion!

🌶️-What do you think is your most unpopular Starbound opinion?

I don't care for Frackin Universe and similar overhaul mods. I just genuinely enjoy the vanilla experience! (Well, I call it Vanilla+ since I've got a ton of little QOL/bugfix/cosmetic mods. One of them literally just makes Snuggets glow)

I dabbled in Frackin once with friends, and it didn't interest me enough to start my own playthrough. It's certainly not a bad mod, just not my thing. I might do a heavily modded playthrough with Frackin and the whole nine yards someday, but I don't have any actual plans to do so.

🚀-Which ship design is the best?

They've all got their charm, but I quite like the Hylotl and Apex ships! I haven't actually gotten a fully upgraded ship with either of them, but I do like the futuristic designs. The Hylotl one is probably my favorite out of the two, though. The patchwork look of the Floran ship is also excellent.

🪞-Which starbound oc made you discover something about yourself, or inspired you to try something new?

I've been taking art seriously (as a hobby) for over six years now, but I never really bothered to draw people until I got invested in my Starbound OCs! I was a Wings of Fire kid so I started out drawing dragons(and I still do, just different dragons lol), but I've even gotten into gesture drawing lately just to draw my SB characters better.

🔎-What's a small, easy-to-miss detail that you just love?

I honestly really like the bug catching! It was absolutely a pain to get all of them for the achievement, but they make lovely lil decorations. The wild bugs add excellent ambience when wandering around on planets, too.

Also, all the little lore snippets from scanning stuff and talking to NPCs are excellent.

🎳-Funnest toy?

I must admit I never really bothered to do much with the toys! I kind of forget they exist most of the time. If I ever stumble across them I do have fun chucking them around my ship for a minute before they get banished into a miscellaneous storage box somewhere. I should do more with them

💺-What is your favorite furniture set? What is your favorite standalone furniture item? Do they go together?

I'm quite fond of the Astro set! One of my favorite things about SB is the sci-fi setting, and I love all the cool space props available. I like to mix and match them for individual builds, but Astro is my favorite whole set just because it's orange lol

My favorite individual piece has got to be the Symbiote in a Jar. I like to put them in my ship as a friend. Just look at him. Little guy

🛋️-Top 3 furniture mods?

I don't actually use any! At least not any elaborate ones; I have a few for little things like gravity field generators, ceiling-mounted sprinklers, and craftable plants and coral. Also more colors of string lights and neon lights, because shiny glowy things are a necessity.

Letheia Expanded does look very cool, though! I love mods that build on the existing lore like that.

🧱-Favorite block(s)?

The good old Ornate Wood and Classic Baseboards are some of my go-to blocks for regular house builds. Heavy Pipes, too! They make great extra details.

I also love a bunch of the super niche blocks. There's not exactly a lot of regular building uses for a block of eyeballs, but if you ever need some weird stuff for a science lab or whatnot then there's that!

🧰-What huge, super ambitious mod would you make if you had the time/energy/skills?

CHARACTER CREATION OVERHAUL. I utterly despise the little arrows for selecting everything. It's already a pain in vanilla, but when you start adding in things like Colorbound and new hairstyles it is absolute agony. I've never even tried modding and I've heard that the current BS system is hardcoded in, but I long for reasonable character creation. NPCspawner's creation menu is excellent (it uses lists of colors/hairs to pick from rather than the wretched arrows) and I wish vanilla had something similar.

[igotsnothing]

sims get to know me tag!

I was tagged by @aurorangen, who has one of the sweetest Postcard Legacy Challenges going on. I'm always struck by how pretty her game looks, how vibrant her screenies are--and Robbie's little angry face wins the internet. Thanks for the tag, friend!❤️

1. What’s your favourite sims death? Dying of laughter. I did not expect it at all and when it happened I was struck by the irony. One moment of hilarity=tragedy. This damn game!

2. Alpha CC or Maxis Match? I like Maxis mix. If I love the cc, it doesn't matter.

3. Do you cheat when your sims gain weight? Nah. If the sim is active and enjoys exercise, it might happen naturally.

4. Do you use move objects? I don't think I could play without it.

5. Favorite mod? MCCC, WonderfulWhims, Pose Player + teleporter, Stand Still in CAS so I don't lose my mind with the occults hissing and spellcasting and howling.

6. First expansion/game/stuff pack you got? This will surprise NO ONE: VAMPIIIIIRES!

7. Do you pronounce “live mode” like aLIVE or LIVing? Like aLIVE because in my head it's like, "We are going LIVE!"

8. Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made? Oh, that's a tough one. I don't think I have a fave. I love Lou Howell, Morgyn + Caleb, Hester and Frederick, my starcrossed lovers, even poor little neglected Finn...But recently I've been having a lot of fun with Lawrence and Julian.

9. Have you made a simself? No. That would freak me out a little. I'm weirdly and irrationally superstitious (I know, I know...).

10. What sim traits do you give yourself? Bookworm, creative... goofball

11. Which is your favorite EA hair color? It depends on the sim and the hairstyle, but I do like dark brown.

12. Favorite EA hair? Again, it depends on the sim. I do find the loose side braid very flattering on most sims, though.

13. Favorite life stage? YA because more gameplay options become available and you feel like you have time to start things properly.

14. Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay? It depends on my mood, but I do like coming up with scenarios complete with sims and elaborate locations. I guess I'm in it for the storytelling?

15. Are you a CC creator? I made two band t-shirts in simlish. I'd like to make more but I got lazy haven't had time lately.

16. Do you have any simblr friends/a sim squad? I have this fear of bothering other people that is quite ridonkulous because this is social media and it's all about community. So far, everyone has been so nice, though! And there are several simblrs who have been especially kind, supportive, and fun/interesting to interact with!

17. What’s your favorite game? In the Sims franchise? Sims 4. (Otherwise, my other obsessions are Geralt of Rivia and Corvo Attano...and kicking Solas' arse someday)

18. Do you have any sims merch? Nope

19. Do you have a YouTube for sims? No

20. How has your “sim style” changed throughout your years of playing? Until earlier this year, I played The Sims off and on. I always found decorating relaxing. But then I tried out Pose Player, which led to wanting to share my screenshots, which led to creating a simblr, and then discovering Reshade, and Blender, and editing in PhotoShop...It's been so much fun learning about all these things...All because I wanted to try something different in my gameplay!

21. What’s your Origin ID? It's not worth checking out.

22. Who’s your favorite CC creator? OOOF! Have you met my Mods folder? It's organized chaos. I love ALL the creators because they make this game so much more beautiful and fun! I'd have to say that the creators I have the MOST cc from are Felixandre and Natalia Auditore (like, Natalia is my shepherd and I shall not want...)

23. How long have you had a simblr? I started this simblr at the end of March. It's fairly new-ish.

24. How do you edit your pictures? Sometimes just Reshade, sometimes a little Photoshop action, sometimes a bit of both.

25. What expansion/game/stuff pack is your favorite so far? Other than the obvious, I really like Paranormal and Cottage Living.

26. What expansion/game/stuff pack do you want next? I don't know, but I'm on board with the people who said they'd rather see improvements and fixes to what already exists. I mean, watching my sims walk past the kitchen sink to wash dishes in the bathroom is painful.

Who is gonna get tagged? Here are some folks I haven't seen as much on my dash (Tumblr algorithm wreaking havoc) and have been missing: @smok3inm1rrors, @silentsundown, @mlady-mimsy, @agena87, @magicofsimplestories, @m0n0lithical and anyone else who might be up for this❤️