#and the result is a really fantastic little collection

[hydrophobicmenace]

The interesting thing about QSMP is that it is a perfect example of how people spontaneously mimic the structures of human societies when they are thrown into a situation together, and the best part is that the resulting dynamics were totally unforeseen by Quackity himself.

We knew that the point of creating pairs and assigning each of them a little creature to protect was to incentivize people to break the language barrier and bridge the cultural gap—that’s the whole reason this server existed. And it worked wonderfully. What I’m sure the admins didn’t account for, however, is that because these creatures were played by real people, they developed personalities of their own and before they knew it, what was supposed to be a temporary event turned into the very core of the server.

It's hard to explain to people the sheer impact that the eggs left on all of us without sounding like we’re completely insane. Our brains are really bad at making the difference between real and fictional relationships (if there even is such a thing), so when you spend weeks taking care of a little egg that follows you around and eats the food you make and calls you its parent, you don’t just go about your day pretending that it’s all a game.

(Except Roier. This guy has exceptional mental fortitude.)

We are social animals. We look out for each other. When someone lets an egg die, it feels like a failure on ourselves and the people who put their faith in us. Look at Slime, he literally exiled himself for it. So they start weaving a net to stop their fall, a web of connections between the islanders that can withstand outside pressure. It takes a village, they say. The islanders came together to protect something dear to their hearts, and from their efforts bloomed a tight-knit community that never would have seen the light of day in different circumstances.

Accidents still happen, of course. But at least you’re not alone to face them. I often think about how every single person on the server at the time was immediately willing to accompany Jaiden and Roier on an 8k blocks journey to the place of Bobby’s death, not because Cucurucho told them to, but because they didn’t want the pair to face this hardship on their own. They didn’t need to know them well to volunteer—hell, the francophones had literally crash-landed the day before and Kamel probably thought that Bobby was some kind of pet still. They just did, because that’s what people do for each other. They’ll stand outside of the room where two grieving parents are saying goodbye to their child and discuss plans for a funeral because they understand that it’s the last thing you want to think about when you’re mourning, and someone has to do the unpleasant work.

Grief is a really silly and complicated thing that is difficult to simulate. I don’t think anyone would willingly put themselves in the state of anguish that some of the players were in during that time. Like Bad said, it was a genuinely traumatizing experience, yet you just had to live through it to understand why he didn’t regret any of it. These eggs were their babies—imagine someone gives you a little creature and asks you to sing them lullabies and bring them on adventures until it becomes something you look forward to every day, only to take them away from you on a whim—how fucked up is that?

But even in those moments of tragedies, there is some light to be found. Even as the Brazilians are sat around Maximus in a sullen silence while he plays the harmonica, the francophones are busy collecting bricks a couple feet away and discussing their plans for Pomme—literally ensuring the future of the island in real time. And they did a fantastic job of it. I’ve never seen people fight so hard for the life of a Minecraft egg; French viewers were literally threatening to organize a revolution on the bird app in case things didn’t go their way. You don’t typically do that for a two-week old cubito.

When you think about it, prying this server from their cold dead hands was really the only way to end this.

[onlyonetifosi]

Clapping, clapping, i see ya' falling

got the gifs from @matlillard (love the recompilation)

author note1: sorry for taking longer than I expected, been busy

author note2: sorry for the possible bad german, Im spanish, i used google translate

author note2: i hope you like it

"Mick, Schätzchen, have you ever thought about joining TikTok?" Yn asked with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

"TikTok? Really?" Mick raised an eyebrow, not entirely convinced.

Yn chuckled, "Warum nicht? (Why not?) It's a fantastic way to connect with fans. Let's create an account together!"

After some convincing, Mick reluctantly agreed. Yn set up his account, and soon they were ready to post the first TikTok. Little did they know, it would become an internet sensation.

His first TikTok featured the two of them attempting the viral clapping challenge. The idea was simple—clap their hands while crossing one leg, all while navigating different locations on race weekends. However, the process wasn't as smooth as it seemed.

In the first clip, Mick and Yn found themselves in a hotel corridor. As they started clapping and crossing legs, Mick tripped over his own feet, and they burst into laughter. The genuine moment of joy captured the hearts of fans, and the comments flooded in.

"Okay, Micky, let's try this again. Clap, laugh, leg cross!" Yn said giggling

"This is harder than it looks!" Mick responded laughing on the corridor floor

"Komm schon, Mick! (Come on, Mick!)" Yn encourages him as they are running late because of his discordination.

"Ich versuche es, Liebling. (I'm trying, darling)" Mick defends himself.

As they attempted multiple takes, they stumbled, bumped into each other, and laughed uncontrollably. The outtakes became just as popular as the original video.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

In Melbourne, as they stood in their hotel corridor, Mick began the routine with a confident clap. Yn, however, struggled to keep her balance and ended up colliding with a housekeeping cart, sending cleaning supplies scattering.

"Verdammt (damn)!" she laughed, helping Mick collect the fallen items.

The duo's next stop was Imola, where Mick's Australian Shepherd, Angie, joined in on the fun. With her wagging tail, she managed to mimic the leg cross move, leaving the couple in stitches.

"Angie wants to join the TikTok too!" Yn giggled.

"Angie, du bist so süß (Angie, you're so cute)," Yn cooed, ruffling the dog's fur.

Mick petted Angie, "You're stealing the show, Frau"

Throughout the season, Mick and Yn continued the clapping challenge, showcasing different locations, from the paddock to picturesque cities around the world. Each video brought its own set of challenges and hilarious moments.

Encouraged by the positive response of the bloopers she uploaded on instagram, Yn had an ambitious idea – to get Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff involved. She pleaded with him in his office.

"Toto, please, it's just a quick video! The fans would love to see the boss having some fun."

Toto sighed, "Fine, but just this once. What do I have to do?"

Yn grinned, "Just clap your hands and cross one leg while walking. It's easy!"

Toto chuckled, "Ah, the things I do for social media”

The resulting video showcased Toto's serious demeanor breaking into a smile as he awkwardly attempted the trend. Fans went wild, and Toto's unexpected charm won over the internet.

"You owe me for this, Mick!" Toto playfully threatened him.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Their TikTok journey continued, featuring special guests like Sebastian Vettel and his wife Hanna. In one video, the four attempted the clap-and-cross routine together, struggling to coordinate their moves, well mostly Seb and Mick.

" Mama, Papa, come join us for a TikTok! It'll be legendary!"

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "Really, Yn? TikTok?" but she knew he was joking from the playful grin on his face, adn he agreed.

The genuine laughter that followed made it even more endearing. Mick hugged his friend, saying, "Who knew Seb Vettel could be a TikTok sensation?"

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

At the Silverstone GP, Esteban Ocon, Mick's bestie, couldn't resist joining the trend. The two friends shared a hilarious moment when Mick accidentally stepped on Esteban's foot, resulting in a fit of laughter that echoed through the paddock.

"C'est vraiment drôle!" (This is really funny) Esteban laughed, clapping along.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Taking advantage that Mick's sister, Gina, was with them during a race weekend, Yn decided to involve her as she is very fond of the older Schumacher sibling.

"Come on, Gina! We're going to create a masterpiece!" Yn encouraged Gina 

Gina, always up for some fun, joined them in a hotel lobby. Yn and Gina having planned a prank on Mick were ready.

"Bereit, ihr beiden? (Ready, you two?)"

"Ja, let's go!" Yn said mischievously to her.

As Mick started clapping and crossing his leg, Yn and Gina coordinated their push, causing Mick to stumble dramatically.

"Autsch! Ihr seid gemein! (Ouch! You're mean!)" Mick told them faking a hurt expression.

The three burst into laughter, Mick, with a mock hurt expression, turned to Yn for comfort. Seizing the opportunity, he pulled her into a sweet kiss, knowing it would irk his sister.

"I never thought making these videos could be so entertaining. Danke, Liebling" Said Mick kissing his girlfriend as Gina fake gagged behind them.

Gina groaned, "Ugh, you two are insufferable."

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yn convinced Mick to approach other drivers for collaborations. In the paddock at Hungary, they found themselves persuading Lewis Hamilton to join the clapping craze.

"Come on, Lewis! It'll be a blast!" Yn exclaimed.

Lewis, with a grin, agreed, and soon the trio filmed a TikTok that transcended team rivalries and showcased the camaraderie among the drivers.

In Hungary, they even managed to convince Max Verstappen to take part in the viral trend, breaking the mold of fierce competition. The resulting video, featuring Mick, Yn and Max, became an instant hit, uniting fans from different corners of the racing world.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Mick and Yn continued their TikTok journey, their infectious laughter and genuine moments brought joy to fans worldwide. They uploaded the video and promised to repeat it next season as they had so much fun during the making of it.

They uploaded the video, and soon, the comments flooded in, praising not only the couple's chemistry but also Mick's newfound style

She turned to Mick, who was sitting beside her on the bed in their hotel room, scrolling through his own phone. "Mick, isn't this amazing? Our TikTok is blowing up! "

Mick chuckled, his eyes lighting up with excitement. "Ja (Yes), it's pretty cool. I didn't expect it to become so popular" And they started reading some of the comments.

One said "Is it just me, or did Mick's fashion game level up this year?" some others said "Mick's style transformation is giving me life. Thank you, Yn!"

Another fan said: "The 'girlfriend effect' is real. Yn, spill your fashion secrets!"

Mick looked from her phone to her girlfriend, who layed across their bed, raising an eyebrow "The 'girlfriend effect,' huh?"

Yn, smiled grinning, proud of herself "Guilty as charged. But admit it, you look great!"

Mick, looked at her grinning "Looks like I owe it all to you, liebling"

taglist: @love4lando@gcldtom@im-mi @hiireadstuff @celesteblack08@reblog-princess@sunf1ower16@janeholt3@athena-artemis-dorian-gray

[fantastic-nonsense]

hi i love your blog!! especially your wonder woman rec list has been *amazing* and your batman comics guide with the little character spotlights is the best one ive found so far. thanks to your filtering of good/bad comics for all these characters i continued reading comics (after reading battle for the cowl as my first ever dc comic, which was. interresting. to say the least lol). but I have a little question - i couldnt find if you've answered it before already, sorry - which is: how do you read your comics mainly? bc as a college student, i dont have heaps of spare money around, and as an european, i dont have access to that dc online comics thing so if i read digital i have to pirate them. but i understand that comics kind of live-or-die by monthly sales and interrest in a run. and things like the current cass solo and absolute wonder woman seem really interresting and i want those to continue, so i try not to pirate them and wait for the trade releases, but its all very expensive when you start to read a lot of comics. and you have read a tonne of comics, which made me curious - do you buy physical copies, or just use the dc digital thing, or piracy, for your main reading? how do you keep this hobby, like, econnomiccally responsible? because i understand you can just pirate everything, but its not like im *too* broke to buy anything, ever. just wanted to hear your thoughts on how you personally do this, if you wish to share.

(ignore the word vomit, being precise in english is not a talent of mine :D)

Aww, thank you so much! I'm so happy to have helped you and I'm glad you're still here (especially after starting off with BftC)!

I'm going to be real with you for a minute before I actually answer your question: because you are a college student who does not live in the US, the realistic answer for you is to download Ublock Origin (something you should download anyway), open readcomiconline.li, enjoy reading comics, and if you find a comic you like and think is worth shelling out money for, find a way to purchase it legally.

I have an entire spiel on comic book piracy that I will not expound upon at length here but generally boils down to "piracy is rampant in the comics industry because it's the obvious and inevitable result of making legally reading comics expensive, difficult, platform-dependent, and inherently exclusionary while de-prioritizing collected editions, digital sales, and international readers. If any comic company decided to be a competent publisher for even one year, piracy rates would plummet."

If you're still concerned about the ethics of pirating comics after that, allow me to let you in on the worst-kept secret in history: professional comic creatives do it too:

Now, to actually seriously answer your question about how I read comics and keep my hobby financially sustainable: I've been reading and collecting comics for nearly 17 years. The ways in which I have read and collected comics have shifted several times over the years. I purchase some comics (mostly physically), I read some comics through my local library system, and I pirate others. I am fortunate enough to live near a good local comic shop, though this was not always the case, so I get a lot of my new comics there right now.

I have a lot more disposable income now than I did when I was in high school and college, but I'm also a fairly frugal person by nature. When I do buy comics, I almost never buy them new or at full price. I bought around 90-95% of the comics I own either used or on sale. I've used many avenues and methods to buy comics: Amazon and Ebay, the back issue bins and clearance sections at comic shops, the huge used media store near my parents' home that has a fantastic comics section, and sites like instocktrades that sell trades at a discount to name a few.

The exceptions are trades I know have fairly limited printings (and so will end up being more expensive in the long run if I don't buy them new and now) and single issues for runs I specifically subscribed to in order to finanically support. I usually limit myself to putting 3-4 runs maximum on my pull list at any given time; I simply don't have the funds, space, or desire to buy single issues at a higher rate than that. I'm a trades girlie at heart and that's where I will stay. I have zero guilt over not shelling out additional money to companies who clearly do not actually want it (otherwise they would make buying their products easier and would properly support their creatives).

I do own quite a few digital comics, which I mostly bought when Comixology was an independent site and used to run regular sales. Unfortunately Comixology has since been fully folded into the normal Amazon storefront and the Kindle Reader functionality for comics is incredibly subpar compared to the old Comixology app, so I basically no longer buy digital comics. However, I amassed quite a solid digital collection prior to the merger in 2022 (I have pretty much every Black Panther comic ever published up until 2020 because Comixology did a weeklong "get every BP comic for free" sale in the wake of Chadwick Boseman's death, for example).

This is what 16 years of physically collecting comics looks like for me:

As you can see, most of the comics I own are trades/hardbacks. I find that purchasing trades is cheaper, easier, a much more pleasant reading experience, saves space, and as a bonus is much prettier from a display perspective. The two white shortboxes on top of the shelf are where I store all of my single issues. After buying a new single issue, I "bag and board" it for preservation purposes and then put it in the box, arranged alphabetically by title, like so:

the tl;dr on my reading habits is that while I mostly pirate, especially for newer issues, I also use services like DC Infinite or my local library (both physically and digitally via services like Hoopla) to legally read older comics otherwise and then primarily buy in trade (usually used/on sale, rarely new) as I find them.

The floppies I own are mostly a) books from my pull list, b) very specific story arcs or runs that I love enough to work on collecting individually, c) comics I like that have never been collected, so the only way to own them legally is through hunting down and purchasing individual issues, d) issues with pretty covers that caught my eye, and e) a few random other issues here and there.

I also use RCO to reference comics that I've read when discussing comics online and writing metas, regardless of whether I legally own the comic or not. I'm not going to pull out my legally bought, physical copies of Cass's Batgirl run, scan them, and then upload the pictures every time I want to write meta. I'm going to go to RCO and grab a screenshot from the relevant issues.

While I wish it didn't work this way, reading superhero comics is a niche hobby that currently assumes you have lots of free time and lots of disposable income. Ultimately it is impractical and realistically financially impossible to legally purchase every comic you want to read and discuss with other people. Reading comics via other means (whether legally or through piracy) is actually foundationally necessary to ensure the industry continues, not just because of the traditional lack of access but also the sheer impossibility of buying individual comics at the scale necessary to understand and discuss the stories these companies publish. Not to mention the difficulty of discussing comics online if you are a physical reader/buyer.

Yes, the industry is severely outdated and still prioritizes monthly sales of physical single issues despite that not actually being a good indicator of a book's eventual financial success. Yes, ideally everyone would be able to legally purchase comics. But in reality, no one does so. I can probably count on my hands the number of comic readers I know who have never pirated anything. I don't begrudge anyone, especially people who live outside of the US and usually only have access to a very limited selection of stories, deciding to pirate comics. Please do so. You don't owe the Big Two shit. I only ever ask that if you ARE in a financial position to support the comics and creators you love by legally purchasing comics that you try to do so. Go and be free.

[idkfitememate]

"Freedom, if demanded of you by an archon, is really no freedom at all."

~ Venti ♡

♡ Boar Creator:

A Boar? In This Economy?

Pt.2 Pt.3

Description: After falling into the world of Teyvat, Reader finds that instead of being a person, they’re a Boar! And the Creator, no less. However with they survive?

Venti Encounter

Description: Venti gets shocked when he finds two Dvalins.

Diona Encounter

Description: Diona finds a friend in a certain boar by hunting for plants to poision drunks. Oh and Klee’s there too.

Fooling Venti

Description: Venti finds an enemy is a certain cat-wielding boar.

Visiting a Friend

Pt.2

Description: Friends come in all shapes and sizes across all of Teyvat.

Destroying Diluc with Diona

Pt.2

Description: Boar and Diona absolutely fuck up Diluc’s livelihood because screw capitalism and screw drunk people.

Roommates

Description: Here we see how our wondrous heroes found their way in the Teyvat to cause chaos- I mean help people.

The True Creator?

Description: If the “True Creator” could see their “fantastic” creations running the world of Teyvat.

Fish Blasting with Friends

Description: Klee and Razor have a grand old time with Boar and their amazing fish blasting abilities.

Barbara Encounter

Description: Boar beats a pervert up for Barbara and expects pats for payment.

Frozen Vineyards

Description: Fucking up Diluc’s business model AGAIN with Diona, now on ice.

Killing Venti (with Cats!!)

Description: Fuck Venti. For no reason in particular. Drown him in cats. Give in the temptation.

Dvalin Rides with Klee & Diona

Description: Fun in the skies with a catgirl and tiny terrorist.

Mika Encounter (with Klee!!)

Description: Mika finally takes a nap with Klee and a boar.

Kaeya Encounter

Description: Kaeya finally meets the legendary boar, though, not in the extreme way he expected. Instead, in a very tired and sleepy way.

Naps with Venti

Description: Venti finally finds peace with the boar under a tree. For now, anyway.

Joining the Choir

Description: Venti learns betrayal from the boar as they join the choir and shit all over Barbatos’s good name.

Gifts for the Children

Description: The adults of Mondstadt corner the boar who may have… gifted (?) the children some questionable gifts.

No Weapons for Boar

Description: Boar is not allowed to have weapons. That’s final.

Fear the Librarian

Description: Lisa is the only thing in all of Teyvat that the boar fears.

Bombing Liyue

Description: Klee and boar bomb Liyue because Mika cried.

No Cooking Boar

Description: Boar hunting is illegal now. No if’s, and’s or but’s.

Albedo & Sucrose Encounter

Description: Albedo is creepy and Sucrose is baby, boar saves Sucrose for this reason and flips of Albedo for the same.

Venti vs. Boar..?

Description: Venti and Boar finally have a small moment of understanding.

Spa Day!

Description: Diluc comes home to find a very depressing surprise, but gains a little respect for a certain someone by the end.

Sibling… Rivalry..?

Description: A simple short collection of Venti and Boar getting on each other’s nerves.

☆ Otter Creator

The Otter Chronicles

Pt.2 Pt.3

Description: Reader isekai’s as a Leisurely Otter and has the time of their life being pampered. As they navigate their new, rich lifestyle, trials and tribulations show themselves and force the Otter to fight for the future and friends… with a bit of tea of course.

Otter and Neuvillette

Description: Otter and Neuvillette hang out and do different things all around Fontaine.

Otter and Furina

Description: Otter and Furina have fun all across the Nation.

Aether Encounter

Description: Aether asks about the Otter who was sitting right next to the Sovereign and Archon of Fontaine, getting mixed results.

Visiting a Friend

Description: Friends come in all shapes and sizes across all of Teyvat.

Roomates

Description: Here we see how our wondrous heroes found their way in the Teyvat to cause chaos- I mean help people.

Happy Birthday Neuvillette!

Description: Otter surprises Neuvillette with water-ful gift from all across Teyvat.

The True Creator?

Description: If the “True Creator” could see their “fantastic” creations running the world of Teyvat.

Nighttime Shenanigans

Description: Following the Primordial Sea escapade, Furina and Neuvillette find out something interesting about Otter.

The Curtains Close

Description: Furina finds herself breaking down following the events of the curse and her freedom, Otter sees this and rushes to help.

Alone Time

Description: Otter finally gets some time to themself.

Shells for the Family

Description: Otter runs around giving shells to the aristocrats of Fontaine.

Otter Opera

Description: Otter organizes an opera in their likeness!.. Oh, and the others are there too I guess.

Spending Time with the Melusine

Description: Otter invites the Melusine to hang out in their personal room, unknowing that they’re being watched.

A Letter From Far Off Shores

Description: A gift in the form a a fic from an anon/mutual.

♡ Tiger Creator

Kaveh & Alhaitham Encounter

Description: Kaveh is tired, a tiger is right there… so soft looking… like a bed… Alhaitham however, is about to rip his hair out from his roomates stupidity.

Tighnari Encounter

Description: Tighnari is ALSO about to rip his hair out over a certain blond’s absolute stupidity.

Roomates

Description: Here we see how our wondrous heroes found their way in the Teyvat to cause chaos- I mean help people.

Nahida & Aether Encounter

Description: More people sleep on the tiger’s haunches, and Nahida has a realization.

The True Creator?

Description: If the “True Creator” could see their “fantastic” creations running the world of Teyvat.

Visiting a Friend Pt.2

Description: Friends come in all shapes and sizes across all of Teyvat.

Sitting on a Throne

Description: Silly drabble of Tiger dunking on the false creator.

☆ Fox Creator

Raiden Shogun Encounter

Description: A Vision taking ceremony is stopped at tiny fox finding itself curled up asleep on a certain God of Eternity’s foot.

Roomates

Description: Here we see how our wondrous heroes found their way in the Teyvat to cause chaos- I mean help people.

Yae Miko Encounter

Description: Yae Miko finds the fox that embarrassed her God, and decides the best course of action would be to take the tiny being to the God. A mistake.

The True Creator?

Description: If the “True Creator” could see their “fantastic” creations running the world of Teyvat.

Miss. Hina?!

Description: Itto was being an idiot again and mistakes a passing by Gorou as a certain sensual writer, much to our fox’s chagrin.

♡ Primo Geovishap Creator

Zhongli & Xiao Encounter

Description: A large Primo Geovishap follows Zhongli and Xiao after a mission, acting like a large dog. Both have mixed feelings on the matter.

Roomates

Description: Here we see how our wondrous heroes found their way in the Teyvat to cause chaos- I mean help people.

The True Creator?

Description: If the “True Creator” could see their “fantastic” creations running the world of Teyvat.

☆ Golden Weasel Thief Creator

Liyue Encounter

Description: Liyue pays their favorite little thief, unknowing of where that money goes.

Mountain Shaper Encounter

Description: Weasel finds out that his favorite old man might have some ties to the Adepti.

♡ Finch Creator

Qiqi, Baizhu & Yanfei Encounter

Description: Being a finch is pretty nice, large food portions and… a dead child, sick doctor and talking snake..?

☆ Deer Creator

Tighnari & Collei Encounter

Description: Tighnari and Collei come across the most peculiar deer, surrounded by tigers.

Cy-NOOO!!!

Description: Cyno meets the deer, Tighnari dies due to pun related illness.

Slowly Healing

Description: Deer and Collei take the morning slow, allowing for Collei to rest and deer to help as best they can.

Found Family

Description: Deer finds family in Liyue.

Moonlit Desert Travels

Description: A gift in the form a a fic from an anon/mutual.

♡ Lucklight Creator

Abyssal Encounter

Description: After getting stuck, our group of heroes gets help from a tiny glowing friend, for a price anyway.

☆ Dragon Creator

Liyue’s New Dragon

Description: Liyue finds out that Rex Lapis isn’t the only Dragon in the Nation, and that this Dragon may have ties to less than nice people.

Fontaine’s New Dragon

Description: Furina adds a new member to her troupe, shocking everyone, especially a certain Dragon

♡ Large Tusked Polaral Creator

Zarpolyarny Palace Encounter

Description: The Rooster thinks the funniest prank would be to allow a predator to all to wander around with no restraint. A mistake.

☆ Snake Creator

Zhongli Encounter

Description: Zhongli finds a new friend in a reptile who was just passing by, a long and very large snake.

♡ Horse Creator

Mondstadt Encounter

Description: Mondstadt grapples with the fact that horses exist and therefore their cavalry (at least the captain) now have a horse.

My House Now

Description: Horse breaks into Kaeya’s home and makes themselves nice and comfortable.

☆ Red Panda Creator

Inazuma Encounter

Description: Their a terror all across Inazuma, scaring all who cross their path and leaving them bruised and scarred. This being of torture and despair? A adorable little red panda.

Crime Looks Good In Red

Description: A day a lazing for Red Panda and gang is interrupted time and time again by various characters.

♡ Sumpter Beast Creator

Dori Encounter

Description: Dori introduces her new pal to all in her palace. One douche bag takes it to far and the trader doesn’t take it to lightly.

☆ Raccoon Creator

Where in the World is Raccoon?

Description: Figuring out where the fuck a raccoon would make a home in Teyvat.

THEY STOLE WHAT???

Description: A raccoon did what all of Fontaine would’ve assumed naturally was impossible. But they made it possible.

A Gift From a Friend

Description: A gift in the form a a fic from an anon/mutual.

Why so Frightened, Little One?

Description: After being caught up in a certain situation, Wriothesley and Sigewinne find that Raccoon isn’t as put together as they made themselves out to be.

♡ Melusine Creator

Fontaine Encounter

Description: A new Melusine has made their way into Fontaine and attached themselves to a certain Dragon Sovereign, the aristocracy of Fontaine doesn’t know how to feel about it.

☆ Deep Sea Crab Creator

Freminette Encounter

Description: Freminette takes a quick dive beneath the seas of Fontaine to get away for a while, but while down there makes a shocking discovery.

Take a Trip to Crab Mountain

Description: After a small accident, Freminette finds himself momentarily trapped with you beneath the waves - you however find a quick solution to this problem.

♡ Golden Wolflord Creator

Sayu Encounter

Description: Sayu has a new friend, all of Watasumi island don’t know how to feel about it.

☆ Griffin Creator

Aether & Paimon Encounter

Description: Aether and Paimon find out that a griffin has been following them for the longest time. Not cool man.

♡ Hawk Creator

Mondstadt Encounter

Description: A Hawk finds themself counteracting all the shit a boar is doing to a poor, helpless Mondstadt. Besides Venti.

☆ Seelie Creator

Bennett & Razor Encounter

Description: Bennett finds a (slightly homicidal) seelie who perfectly counteracts his bad luck! And Razor gets meat out of the friendship, so he’s all set.

♡ Hydra Creator

Liyue Encounter

Description: A Hydra shows up out of nowhere. Hijinks ensue.

☆ Polar Bear Creator

Harbingers Encounter

Description: A polar bear finds themself at a members funeral. Instead of mourning, they spend time with their best friend, but for some reason everyone looks scared?

♡ Deep Sea Jellyfish Creator

Wriothesley & Sigewinne Encounter

Description: Wriothesley and Sigewinne have a small meaningless argument, interrupted by a large shadow covering the building.

☆ Crystalfly Creator

Nahida Encounter

Description: Nahida finds the oddest little Crystalfy who seems to know more than they let on.

♡ Squirrel Creator

Mona Encounter

Description: Mona falls asleep, and uh oh, a pine cone falls into her hat! Unfortunately for her, a little Squirrel really likes pine cones.

☆ Canine Bushin Creator

Inazuma Encounter

Description: Aether and Gorou find themselves faced with a brand new enemy.

♡ Snowy Leopard Creator

Harbingers Encounter

Description: Pantalone finds himself an investment worth taking every risk for.

[theresattrpgforthat]

THEME: Bittersweet Futures

Today’s recommendation is all about games that bring us into speculative futures, from the highly plausible to the completely fantastical. You’ll find giant bugs, machine animals, and eco punk anti-fascists in this collection of games.

Autostede, by Kettle and Clock.

You are a Drover. Your mechanical companion, your “Autostede,” is all that keeps you safe against the deadly plants and roving wild stedes in the wilderness between towns. And you keep them running. Together, you can take on the world, which is good because the world is a dangerous place and its your job to keep the small, separated towns safe and connected.

Autostede is a tabletop roleplaying game Illuminated by LUMEN in which you play as Drovers, the few who choose to modify their Autostedes into weapons capable of surviving the harsh wilderness between towns. 

Actions taken with the ‘stede interact with their wishes, turning every roll into an ongoing conversation with your companion, where you come together to find the best solution to a problem. 

Autostede feels very much inspired by Horizon Zero Dawn, with a bit of a western twist. Character creation involves two parts. First is Drover Creation, which is attached to your mask, an air filtration device that also grants special skills and points towards one of the three main stats as a strength for you. The second part is your Stede, a character sheet with a 4-section hex grid, with each hex representing attribute bonuses, passive abilities, and modules that can serve as weapons, power generators, extra limbs, and so on.

While the game is based in LUMEN, there’s definitely pieces of it that feel unique, such as your mechanical steeds, and the way skills are used in the game. Each character has access skills that are generally useful, but also can do things that feel a little unhelpful, such as “bewilder” or “consider”. These are Recovery skills; most skills are Spent when you use them and can’t be used right away again after you’ve used them, but Recovery skills can be used to refresh your options, in a sense. These balances of skills feels like a great way to introduce pauses into what might otherwise feel like a hectic game, encouraging your characters to demonstrate weaknesses or narrative moments that are more about the character than what the character is doing.

If you love building custom mechs but still want a lightweight set of rules, I definitely recommend Autostede.

Paratype, by megasomamars.

"The world ended long ago. It doesn’t matter how; pollution, nuclear fallout or some cataclysmic event, no one really knows. What they do know is that it didn’t take long for the bugs to show up. Giant insects terrorize what remains of humanity, leaving survivors scrounging for what little resources they can get.

For most, life in the wasteland has become fast, dangerous and insectile. Thanks to science, some individuals have even found a way to splice their DNA with that of these mutant invertebrates to develop strange new adaptations of their own. These hybrids are humanity's newest area and last hope. Now all that’s left is to survive."

Paratype is an interesting little hybrid of a game. The basic rules involve rolling to hit a difficulty level, with rules for both advantage and disadvantage. However, the game also includes a special roll called the Risk roll, which involves rolling 2d20 and taking the result that is the farthest from 10. This is great for situations where you want either a fantastic success or a deadly failure.

Characters have four general stats, with sub-stats that represent specialties, which reminds me of World of Darkness or Genesys games. The inventory system takes inspiration from Mausritter, consisting of hexagonal shapes that can be filled with different size items. If you buy a backpack, your inventory expands!

Finally, the Health of your character is measured in both Hit Points and Stress points. You lose hit points, and gain Stress points. Running out of HP = death, while hitting max SP leads to your character going “feral”, which makes your character virtually unplayable. I think the explanation in the lore for this is a DNA splice that has changed your character to make them better survivors. I also feel like it carries echoes of Trauma in Blades in the Dark, or Corruption in Urban Shadows, except that in Paratype, SP can be healed a little easier.

Light Eaters, by blindink.

An interstellar encounter brought a Light to the earth, corrupting reality and leaving humanity in ash. The last city stands against the inevitable, remnants of the pre-existing mortal Authority desperately clutching for power. Degenerates stalk the wasteland with insatiable hunger, encircling the dying carcass of order. You are the misfits, the should-not-bes, the first and last signs of apocalypse. Born from the end, you are Light Eaters. In your wake, nothing will ever be the same. 

Light Eaters is a campaign-style role-playing game for three or more players, telling the story of the last city hurtling towards an inevitable end. Players take the role of Light Eaters, near immortal post-human beings watching helplessly as humanity as we know it comes to an end, fighting back against the Authority and the effects of their own Degeneration. They decide for themselves what matters, and what they take with them into this new world.

Light Eaters uses 6-diced dice as resources, which you can place on slots in 4 different move categories in order to set yourself up for action scenes. You can only assign 4’s, 5’s and 6’s: 2’s and 3’s can be re-rolled, while 1’s inflict conditions or allow something called Chaos to rise. Your characters can work as a team, sharing dice and distributing Conditions evenly, and you can also oppose one-another, attempting to disrupt each-other’s rolls by spending personal resources.

The general game play appears to consist of an over-arching problem, with various levels framed as scenes. Each scene will include an obstacle, often in the form of opposing NPCs. These NPCs carry Facets that can be damaged through the actions of the PCs, and each Facet consists of descriptive words that represent powers and personalities that will affect the NPC’s choices. Over time, Chaos will build, triggering new events every time you reach a new level. When Chaos reaches level 4, the game is over; narrate what happens based on the events that have happened so far.

This game looks like a great option for players who want stakes that raise higher and higher, and plenty of ways to interpret their special powers; You can get a taste of this game by checking out an ashcan scenario, called Light Eaters: Thunderfuck, a scenario with pre-generated characters and a problem that each character is motivated to solve.

Bug World, by alfie meyer.

Maybe the apocalypse could have been averted, but it wasn’t, and here we are, in a brand new world. this isn’t your cold, nuclear winter, sparse and dead kind of post-apocalypse. the end sent the world on a new course, brimming with life - just not quite as much human life as before. ok, barely any. in the super oxygen-rich atmosphere of the earth today, insect life has thrived. it only took a few decades for bugs to reach incredible sizes, and now, about a century-and-a-half after the disaster, gargantuan insects are a normal sight.

from a ladybug the size of a dog, to millipedes that might as well be trains, to horned beetles with skeletons big enough to use as shelter. bugs are huge and they are everywhere. the remaining humans have domesticated some, trained others, made wary peace with some intelligent groups, and carved themselves out sections of the world to live.

Bug World is a Powered by the Apocalypse game in that mechanically, it carries a lot of the hallmarks: playbooks, stats that add modifiers to moves, and graded success. It’s also literally a post-apocalypse: the world is broken and dangerous, and the players are scavenging to survive and learning about the past in the process. However, I think in comparison to Apocalypse World, the moves and goals of the characters are less integrated; in Apocalypse World, a character is motivated by lack of resources to intimidate, insinuate, and barter with the other inhabitants of their settlement for more. In Bug World, you are instead motivated to work together to go searching for the things you need to survive.

The Distant Shore, by The Ignis Court.

Transhumanity's empire has been sundered. The Machine Minds they had relied too heavily upon have left them, and Earth too has disappeared. The Settlements across the Sol System have been left scattered and isolated in the black. As megacorp, fascists, and Psionic Tyrants begin movement to take advantage, an entity known as the Distant Shore has manifest from Ceres, and its caustic light has begun tugging at the psyche of every thinking being. 

Lucky then that the Machine Minds saw fit to offer you a parting gift: an Ancile, fragment of the Machine Minds. Their nature symbiotic with your own names you Psion, and one capable of great and terrible power. 

This is the Distant Shore. 

The Distant Shore is a very interesting example of how your characters’ backgrounds and the lore of the game are built into the process of character creation. For example, you must choose a character background that will place you on the outside of the system of power, and each character must also contain an Ancile that gives them incredible power while also makes them dangerous.

The system itself uses d20’s, with a 10 as a threshold for success. However, how well you succeed is determined by your character’s skills - if you are Untrained in a skill, a success is still partial, and if you are Trained in a skill that aligns with your background, you cannot fail. Your training also determines critical points of your backstory. For example; if you are Trained in Engage, name a fight you didn’t win and what it cost you. I love that these kinds of tie-ins ensure that the players will learn what they need to know about the setting without overloading them with information.

The designer also has an adventure document for this game called No More Tourists, if you need a place to start.

Why We Fight, by Stop, Drop & Roll Games Studio. Why We Fight is a solarpunk narrative TTRPG where you play a crew of eco-punks fighting fascism to build a brighter, greener future.

Your Crew will journey through the remains of a post-civil war country to save lives, reclaim nature, create a community of compassion, and beat back the oppressive forces that threaten the chance for a new start.

But most of all, it’s about learning about each other, and the things that inspire us. It’ll take close co-operation and a diverse set of skills, but together, we can make change!

Why We Fight can be played solo and GM-less, with the elements that would normally be GM-ed attached to randomizers to help the group construct missions together if that is what you so desire. The game is focused on a post-apocalypse that highlights many concerns about the consequences of an increase in fascist-leaning governance, which means it isn’t necessarily escapist, but it might give your table the space to talk about elements of the future that cause them anxiety. It might also give you a chance to demonstrate agency in situations where you normally don’t.

Character specialties are distributed among mental, physical and social categories, and feel pretty standard when it comes to a list of character skills. The group works together to construct a mission, using dice to determine elements such as opportunities, locations, and various situations that may cause complications. Play happens over the passing of a day, with different modifiers attached to specialties according to the time of day. I think this might be interesting way to add complexity that encourages strategy when it comes to plotting out your next moves.

Finally, travel between conflicts and other scenes serves to flesh out the world and add depth to your character’s experiences, using roll tables to describe how small changes in the world give your characters reasons to hope.

For Further Reading...

Post Apocalyptic Community Recommendation Post

Nuclear Radiation Recommendation Post

Fallout Recommendation Post

[doloresdisparue]

A while ago (and I’m talking a while ago) you posted a quote from Nabokov in an interview where he refers to Delores as “his poor girl” (“his” being Nabokov’s). It has stayed with me since I’ve seen it, and I was wondering if you had the link or screenshot to the post? I’ve tried to find it with no luck! :^(

Not to worry, I have most of Nabokovs banger quotes and their sources memorized. I believe you are referring to this quote from an interview with Herbert Gold where he was rebuking Golds statement that Humbert was touching:

"I would put it differently: Humbert Humbert is a vain and cruel wretch who manages to appear “touching.” That epithet, in its true, tear-iridized sense, can only apply to my poor little girl."

The source is here (Paris Review)

There are a few more similar instances in "Think Write, Speak" which is a collection of letters and interviews with Nabokov (these are all separate occasions through the years):

Lolita came out in English in August this year, published by Putnam. It’s my favorite book. The story of a poor, charming girl…

Most critics have failed to stress the pathetic side,” said Mrs. Nabokov. “It’s really a tragic story. Here, in the hands of this maniac is this poor girl—.” “And a very ordinary girl—” Nabokov put in….

One of my favourites for the viscerally horrible and fantastical imagery:

[S]he’s also a very touching character. Toward the end of the book, the reader and the author pity her, this poor child who has been sacrificed on the altar of motels.

This bit from the quote I have pinned:

Lolita isn’t a perverse young girl. She’s a poor child who has been debauched [... n]ot only has the perversity of this poor child been grotesquely exaggerated, but her physical appearance, her age, everything has been transformed...

And one that some people on this website should take to heart:

Q: How, then, do you explain the “Lolita cult”? How do you explain all these girls who move, act, dress, and talk like Lolita?

VN: I wouldn’t know. Perhaps it is a result of the way the popular press has distorted my poor Lo. It has come up with something that has absolutely nothing to do with the book or Lolita the character. Lolita is the story of a sad little girl in a very sad world. The “Lolita cult” is something completely different.

Hope this helped!

[uniquexusposts]

Her || Charles

Main characters: Charles Leclerc x OC Genre: fanfiction, fluff  Story type: novel  Part: 13/45 Word count: 1456 Co writer: @mistrose23

Story summary: Matilde Jørgensen, the new Scuderia Ferrari team principal, faced the nerve-wracking challenge of reviving the team's fortunes and aiming for a championship. Leading a historic team as a 'newbie' and separating her work and personal opinions posed a significant challenge. The big question: is she capable to do so?

Previous chapter

Chapter 11. Home

"Nothing beats the Monaco Grand Prix," Charles said while collecting his stuff. His family and friends were sitting in the living room. "It means I can sleep in my own bed, and leave the house as late as possible... The dream."

Arthur, his little brother, smirked. "Yeah, but it's also known as: the cursed home race."

"Arthur," multiple people groaned.

"I wish he was lying," Charles chuckled. "But hopefully, we can break the curse. Everything is looking fantastic, we have been working really hard and we might have a chance."

It was silent in the living room; everyone admired his comment.

"What?" Charles looked around, not liking the silence.

"You sound so optimistic," his mother said. "So I assume everything is going well at Ferrari now?"

Since the beginning of this season, since the moment Matilde got introduced as team principal, Charles had doubts about Matilde. She was young, barely had any experience and seemed like she had no idea what she was doing or how she had to lead a team. But over the weeks, Matilde adapted quickly and showed that she had potential. Charles had shared his opinion on her, so his family and friends knew about his vision.

"Yes, everything is going fine now," he replied. "After Miami, she openly talked about the incident with the entire team, and she listened to everyone who had to say something. I think she's the first team principal I ever had who is really part of the team, instead of the leader of the team." Charles showed a smile when he realised how much the team had grown over the weeks. "She even hired an external coach and things have changed, suddenly everyone is communicating with each other."

Charles' family and friends listened as he spoke about the changes happening within Ferrari under Matilde's leadership. His family and friends began to see her in a new light. She was clearly actively working to create a more collaborative and open environment within the team.

"An external coach?" Pascale asked. "What does it do?"

Arthur couldn't help, but laugh. He imitated his mother, it lightened the mood. "'What does it do?'"

Charles shared a smile as a reaction to Arthur. "He is some sort of a psychologist, he helps to get new insights within the team, like our weaknesses and strengths, observes how things are going, improves the weaknesses by giving advice," Charles explained.

Lorenzo nodded impressively. "I'm a fan. This should have happened way sooner." He, too, was beginning to see the positive impact of Matilde's leadership. He was hopeful that these improvements would lead to better results on the track.

"Maybe the curse will finally be broken this year," Joris, Charles' best friend, chimed in after hearing the optimism Charles had. And he also saw how things turned around under Matilde's watch.

Charles chuckled, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "That's the plan. With how things are going, I honestly think we have a chance of winning races, maybe even the championship."

The group made their way to the track. It was only a ten-minute walk, but due to the fans, the family and friends decided to take the car. Charles, Joris and Andrea decided to take the bike. Charles loved this race, and he wanted to take the opportunity to interact with his fans. As they rode through the streets of Monte Carlo, the excitement in the air was present.

The streets were lined with enthusiastic people, all hoping to catch a glimpse of their favourite driver. Charles smiled as he waved to the fans. He stepped off his bike to sign autographs and took some photos with fans. The support of the Monegasque crowd meant the world to him, and he cherished these moments.

Charles, Joris and Andrea arrived at the paddock. They were welcomed by the press. The family and friends of Charles were already waiting on the inside of the gates. They met up with Charles and they made their way to the Ferrari hospitality. It was the first time his family was about to meet Matilde. Approaching the hospitality area, they spotted Matilde seated outside, eating one of the two tangerines and reviewing documents. She looked up, her gaze meeting Charles' and his entourage. A warm smile came on her face.

"This is Matilde," Charles said to his family.

Matilde set aside the papers, and she gave them her full attention. "Hey," she said, standing up. "It's a pleasure to meet you," she said and shook everyone's hand. She knew Joris and Andrea already, but only by name.

Charles' family and friends, particularly his mother Pascale, expressed their delight at finally meeting Matilde in person. "We've heard a lot about you," Pascale mentioned with a warm smile.

A conversation began between the team principal and Charles' family. In the meantime, Carlos had arrived at the hospitality as well. He noticed how Matilde was chatting with Charles' family, so he decided to greet her by only padding her on the shoulder when he passed her. Matilde looked at him and gave him a nod. Then Arthur mentioned he had to go, he had to go to his team to prepare for qualifying. His family and friends wished him good luck, just like Matilde. It became clear to Charles' family that she was not just the team principal, but also just a human and an approachable team member.

"Is this your first time in Monte Carlo?" Lorenzo, Charles' older brother, curiously asked.

Matilde nodded. "It is, actually."

Charles raised his eyebrows and tilted his head. "Really? I had no idea."

She nodded again. "I had a 50% travel contract at Red Bull. I've been to almost every circuit at least once, but I have never been to Monte Carlo, so this is an exciting one."

"Wow," he perplexedly mumbled. "If I had known, I would have given you a tour... only if you wanted to, of course."

Matilde blushed a little bit, and Charles' cheeks also turned a bit reddish.

"We still can do it!" Arthur excitedly shared. "After this weekend, when there's time."

"Sounds like a plan," Pascale agreed. "Just let Charles know, and we will plan something."

She showed a promising smile and looked at her watch. "If you will excuse me, I have to attend a briefing. Please, make yourself comfortable here and have fun this weekend," she mentioned, collecting her documents, the tangerine and the peel of one of the eaten tangerines. She walked away, leaving everyone behind.

"What a lovely woman," Pascale mentioned. "She's doing her best, and it shows. You should cherish this within the team." She padded Charles' shoulder and kissed his cheek. "Perhaps invite her for lunch on Monday and then go out for a tour. It's tradition. And that way I can meet her properly. I want to know who your boss is."

"I will let you know about it."

"Let me know on time so I can do some groceries."

Charles looked at the Ferrari's hospitality, following Matilde with his eyes. She was talking to her assistant, smiling and listening carefully. 

A frown captured Arthur's face; tradition? His eyes met Lorenzo's, who shared the same look. 

Only Lorenzo dared to say something about it. "Tradition?" 

"Yes, from now on," Pascale grinned and winked, looking at Charles for his reaction. However, Charles wasn't listening. And perhaps it was better for now. 

* * *

The free practice sessions on Friday turned out to be a perfect day for Ferrari. The iconic streets of Monte Carlo presented a unique challenge for the drivers, with narrow twists and turns, demanding precision and finesse.

Charles, with his deep familiarity with the circuit, set the pace during the first practice session. His laps were nothing short of masterful, as he expertly manoeuvred his Ferrari through the narrow streets. He delicately pushed the boundaries, skirting with the barriers but never crossing the line into mistakes. His lap times remained consistently impressive, putting him at the top of the leaderboard.

But Charles wasn't the only notable driver that day. Carlos also demonstrated his skill and adaptability. Just like Charles, he pushed and delivered consistent lap times. His feedback to the team was invaluable, helping them fine-tune the car's setup to suit the tight layout.

Inside the garage, the engineers and mechanics worked hard, making adjustments based on the drivers' input. The people back at the factory in Maranello, followed every movement and worked along with the people on the track. Matilde watched with a sense of satisfaction as both the drivers performed flawlessly.

The faultless performance didn't go unnoticed by the other teams, the media or the fans. The team had clearly done their homework, providing Charles and Carlos a car that responded impeccably to their commands.

Nothing could go wrong... right? 

Next chapter

Taglist: @itsjustkhaos @crashingwavesofeuphoria @maryvibess @chocolatefartstrawberry

[ynsryr]

As I decorate the Christmas tree in my parents house once again for the thirtieth year I've decided to rate all of the surviving Christmas ornaments I made as a child that we still use. For your viewing pleasure the Adelaide Christmas collection

First on the list is of course, foil angel. Or ghost. Not really sure. The simplicity of the design and eye catching materials are a wonderful experience but the creativity is somewhat lacking.

Charm: ✓✓

Craftsmanships: ✓

Next we have Ball Santa. I really enjoy the cotton ball beard merging directly into his hair creating a wild mane of white fluff. A rugged Santa who seems more at home in the woods than in an armchair by the fire. The charming eyes and hat showcase the fantastic design though the big red nose feels out of place. Points taken off for being the ornament my mother protests the least.

Charm: ✓✓

Craftsmanship: ✓✓✓

"Festive" Beaver, an easy source of laughs even today. My naive younger self deciding to secure the poor ornament's hanger from its neck birthed a joke that's stayed strong for decades. However the pipe cleaner aesthetic unfortunately suffers and the candy cane is simply too large.

Charm: ✓✓✓✓

Craftsmanship: ✓✓

"decorated" sand dollar. Not much to say here. The oldest of the ornaments I made as a child unfortunately has little to offer in fun or interest. I only hang it to annoy my mother. But I still put it on the back of the tree.

Charm:

Craftsmanship:

"Beaver Ball" you may notice a continuing theme here most of these ornaments were made in Scouts Canada's youngest age group, Beavers. This ball is simple but the caroling book is cute and I like the miniature eyes.

Charm: ✓

Craftsmanship: ✓

Non-denominational Christmas Wizard. The result of a school project to make a ceramic angel and an obsession with bad fantasy novels, non-denominational Christmas Wizard has enchanted the whole family and is a seasonal highlight. The Simpsons yellow skin and pink trim and flames on the back of the robes are a talking point.

Charm: ✓✓✓✓

Craftsmanship: ✓✓✓

The Hot Glue Snowman is the star of the show. Pulled from the Christmas box with aplomb and greeted with cheers, this charming fellow never fails to bring the festive spirit. Made entirely of hot glue pooled onto parchment paper with foam and felt accoutrements. This is a marvel of low cost ingenuity even if he's slightly mishapen

Charm: ✓✓✓✓✓

Craftsmanship: ✓✓

[inexplicifics]

Hi the fashion designer in training again, you posted my og ask and it got me thinking about it again (as if i ever stop) and I was thinking about how different monsters would be categorized and how that might change the fashion sense of things too. For example, theres humanoids, animal adjacent, insect adjacent (broadly), and plant adjacent.

Humanoids, to me, would be creatures/monsters that have little to no animal, insect, or plant otherness, such as trolls, drowners, bruxa, even sirens (even though they overlap into animal). Witchers obviously have magical uses from their kills but from a fashion/mundane perspective a lot of what these creatures provide would be equivalent to that of what a human might. Now, there is a lot of real world history that is sensitive and triggering about the use of human remains, especially in recent times of widespread slavery that has a lot of themes of cannibalism, farming practices, and lack of humanity even after death, such as leather tanning for clothes, the use of human remains in parchment (as parchment is made from animal remains and not wood or plants, that’s what differentiates it from paper), and more. This is why anything that leans more human than monster (such as a bruxa, vampire, succubus, etc) I don’t think I’ll touch with a ten foot pole unless it is to deal with their unique remains. Creatures that lean more monster such as trolls get thrown through the wringer though.

Trolls specifically have really thick skin, which in a tanning process would take… forever to turn into leather but the results would be potentially amazing. Thick strong leather would last for centuries if treated right, I have no doubt in my mind that troll leather would make fantastic saddles, boots, furniture — awful clothes but the other implications mean a lot to me because it might just make excellent armor.

Sirens, as the middleman between humanoids and animal adjacent, would be excellent to discuss scales. There is a company that currently helps with fish scale waste and uses them to make clothes that are naturally soft and have added benefits of being moisture managing (helps with retaining moisture in skin in dry environments) and also is naturally anti-odor! This is incredibly cool for the fashion world and I could see it being a real thing for the witcher world… if they had the time to do it, as I fear modern technology would need to be replaced with magic and I’m not sure mages, researcher included, would be interested in going out of their way to collect siren scales to create fabric (unless they could imbue it with magic? 🤔 A potential concept to long lasting charmed clothes) So very interesting but not as plausible in a fantasy world.

But! Reptilian scales are highly sought after in fashion designs and are not as wasteful as fish scales. The Witcher basilisk is reptilian in nature, which would make for excellent clothes, anything in fashion you can think of in scales you can bet it exists. Scales are widely loved and used even today, so basilisk skin? Oh yeah, it’s up there for fashion. Even says so in various wikis 😉.

Animal adjacent clothing will look a lot like what we have for animals now, adjusted as needed. Basilisks are large so their hides would be easy to convert to many items, whereas snake skin is small and you would need several to make a significant piece of cloth. This would make it far more valuable. Not to mention the claws, claws which are used in various forms. From clasps on just about everything, to jewelry, to decor, to piercings, I know a basilisk claw would be on a noble’s cloak or belt, I just know it.

This translates to, as mentioned before, wargs and other furred animals. The larger, the better, the more you can take, the better, the more *dangerous* to prove your worth, the better. A bear claw is nothing compared to a warg fang, and so on and so forth. I haven’t even gotten started on the length of griffin feathers and what that would do for fashion. No one understands what length in natural materials means to me except for other people who’s special interests are fashion, fantasy worlds, and survival skills. I cannot explain *length of feathers* in gowns. In cloaks. In *jewelry.* But that’s a post for a little old me who isn’t up at 1am on a school night.

Enjoy my midnight ramblings, I realize that this got out of hand and is uh… not really well connected in terms of thoughts but I hope it made sense to people who aren’t deep in the trenches like me lmao

Please imagine me sitting here with my chin on my hands, staring at you with hearts in my eyes as I listen to your interesting and informative midnight ramblings.

[christian-oc-tournament]

Please vote based on the picture AND the description!

Doc [Myth @kazeharuhime]

Otherwise known as the infamous Eustin Rickard, Doc once worked under the king of Bronzenore as a medical researcher. However, one day his research led him towards something closer to alchemy. He began journeying to remote locations and collecting mythical ingredients. Water from a mysterious spring, leaves from an ancient tree in a deep wood, fruit from a tree on a high mountain, and more. At last he found just the right ratio of them all and concocted the Myth serum, capable of transforming a human and giving them any variety of fantastical abilities, for a cost. His first subject was his assistant, who, while she didn't change her appearance much, gained the power of plant manipulation. The cost, however, was that she aged each time she used this ability. The serum had unpredictable results, both in gain and cost, varying from person to person. In trying to fix these negative side effects, Doc then created an even more potent serum, one that produced flashier results--giving people more animal-like appearances, sometimes that of mythical animals, accompanied with strange or heightened abilities. A frog boy, a panther youth, a phoenix woman, a faerie girl, centaurs and mermen. Though some costs went away, or became slower, they still remained. Degradation of mental capabilities, loss of sanity, negative physical side effects of ability use. Again Doc tried to fix this and the results became even more impossible: a girl made of water and a woman made of glass. In the midst of all this, the Doctor absconded with his research and subjects into the woods. Many of his subjects were young children when they came to him. There in the woods, he formed many of them into loyal subjects while their mental and physical capabilities remained. Others, especially those that came after the Doctor had established his little group in a cave in the woods, were harder to convince and took the form of prisoners. And there he is to this day, still luring unsuspecting travelers into the woods with his subjects and using his serums on them to create more what came to be called the Myths.

Domitius Lockhorn [Moonshiners (D&D campaign) @provider-of-guardians]

Born and raised to be a shepherd in the tiny village of Mapleshire, Domitius always wanted to explore the far reaches of the world, beyond his small, safe hamlet. After losing one of his legs to a vicious wolf attack and his best friend/love, Elysia, was banished from the village, the faun who was once jovial and lighthearted became bitter and depressed. Even so, he set out from the village as often as he could to search the surrounding woods and towns for Elysia, hoping to bring her home. It wasn't until he was chosen by a god to become a champion and save the world from an eternal winter that his journey really began.

[unicornjoking1111]

Success story from Neville Goddard's book (The Law and the promise) (chapter: there is no fiction)

*this is not my work but a copy paste from Neville's book*

Spoiler alert!!! *this story is really amazing! its about a 19 year old dancing teacher who didn't believe in imagination but took up the challenge to owning a studio (Arthur Murray dance studio franchise) to making it much bigger and meeting Arthur Murray himself*

As my story begins at the age of nineteen I was a mildly successful dancing teacher and continued in this static state for almost five years. At the end of this time I met a young lady who talked me into attending your lectures. My thought, upon hearing you say ‘Imagining creates reality’, was that the entire idea was ridiculous. However, I decided to accept your challenge and disprove your thesis. I bought your book ‘Out of This World’ and read it many times. Still unconvinced, I set myself a rather ambitious goal. My present position was as an instructor with the Arthur Murray Dance Studio and my goal was to own a franchise and be boss of an Arthur Murray studio myself! “This seemed the most unlikely thing in the world as franchises were extremely difficult to secure, but on top of this fact, I was completely without the necessary funds to begin such an operation. Nevertheless. I assumed the feeling of my wish fulfilled as night after night, in my imagination, I went to sleep managing my own studio. Three weeks later a friend called me from Reno, Nevada. He had the Murray Studio there and said it was too much for him to cope with alone. He offered me a partnership and I was delighted; so delighted, in fact, that I hastened to Reno on borrowed money and promptly forgot all about you and your story of Imagination!

“My partner and I worked hard and were very successful, but after a year I was still not satisfied, I wanted more. I began thinking of ways and means to get another studio. All my efforts failed. One night as I retired, I was restless and decided to read. As I looked through my collection of books I noticed your slender volume, ‘Out of This World’. I thought of the ‘silly nonsense’ I had gone through one year ago before getting my own studio. GETTING MY OWN STUDIO! The words in my mind electrified me! I reread the book that night and later, in my imagination, I heard my superior praise the good job we had done in Reno and suggest we acquire a second studio as he had a second location ready for us if we desired to expand. I re-enacted this imaginal scene nightly without fail. Three weeks from the first night of my imaginal drama, it materialized — almost word for word. My partner accepted the new studio in Bakersfield and I had the Reno Studio alone. Now I was convinced of the truth of your teaching and never again will I forget. “Now I wanted to share this wonderful knowledge — of imaginal power with my staff. I tried to tell them of the marvels they could accomplish, but I was unable to reach many although one fantastic incident resulted from my efforts to tell this story. A young teacher told me he believed my story but said it would have probably happened anyway in time. He insisted the entire theory was nonsense but stated that if I could tell him something of an incredible nature that would actually happen and which he could witness — then he would believe. I accepted his challenge and conceived a truly fantastic test. “The Reno Studio is the most insignificant in the entire Murray system because of the small population count in the city itself. There are over three hundred Murray Studios in the country with much larger populations, therefore providing greater possibilities to draw from. So, my test was this. I told the teacher that within the next three months, at the time of a national dance convention, the little Reno Studio would be the foremost topic of conversation at that convention. He calmly stated this was quite impossible. “That night when I retired, I felt myself standing before a tremendous audience. I was speaking on ‘Creative Imagining’ and felt the nervousness of being before such a vast audience; but I also felt the wonderful sensation of audience acceptance. I heard the roar of applause and as I left the stage, I saw Mr. Murray, himself come forward and shake my hand. I re-enacted this entire drama night after night. It began to take on the ‘tones of reality’ and I knew I had done it again! “My imaginal drama materialized down to the last detail. “My little Reno Studio was the ‘talk’ of the convention and I did appear on that stage just as I had done in my imagination. But even after this unbelievable but actual happening, the young teacher who threw me the challenge remained unconvinced. He said it had all happened too naturally! And he was sure it would have happened anyway!

“I did not mind his attitude because his challenge had given me another opportunity to prove, at least to myself, that Imagining does Create Reality. From that time on, I continued with my ambition to own the ‘largest Arthur Murray Dance Studio in the world’! Night after night, in my imagination, I heard myself accepting a studio franchise for a great city. Within three weeks Mr. Murray called me and offered a studio in a city of one and a half million people! It is now my goal to make my studio the greatest and biggest in the entire system. And, of course, ‘I know it will be done — through my Imagination’!” …E.O.L., Jr.

[madelynhimegami]

To my knowledge, you like Puyo Puyo! But what do you enjoy most about it?

Honestly, it might be easier to explain my intoduction to the series. Ideally we'll get there in the end either way. You ever seen one of those "What I Played/What I Expected/What I Got" memes? My story is pretty much like one of those.

I don't remember when I started learning bits and pieces about it, or when Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine went from being itself to a Puyo game in a trenchcoat in my mind. But by mid 2017 I knew the aforementioned (I called the CPZ boss in Sonic Mania a Puyo boss on twitter when I played it), recognized Carbuncle, recognized Draco Centauros (thanks to a friend who is still a big fan of her), and had heard that there was some sort of story to it, but didn't know a lot of details.

Then in September of 2017, a friend of mine mentioned that he had been playing Puyo Puyo Tetris lately as his go-to "pick up and play" sort of game. I looked it up in the eshop, saw it was cheap, and thought a pick-up-and-play game was what I needed and bought it. Not that I knew shit about playing Puyo well, but I at least had some basic competency at Tetris to balance things out.

And hey, at least the story mode would be a good way to learn! So I dove in to the story and started playing.

I was expecting the story to be inconseqential to my enjoyment of the game. Something either generic or corny, with characters that ranged from "tolerable" to "painful anime cliche."

The thing that knocked me on my ass almost immediately was that the writing was actually funny, made better with the English cast's fantastic delivery.

Those are all from just the story's first chapter! The first one is from the prologue! The other two are from the third scene (couting dialogue before and after a round of gameplay together as one scene)! And it kept going!

For the record, even though I was picky with what to include, and stitching lines from the same scenes together, I still had almost fifty (50) funny moments I wanted to drop out of context, in a game with a rough total of two hours of story material collected to write this post. And then I had to narrow it down further just so I wouldn't hit the image limit too quickly.

Was it a little corny and awkward at points? Sure. Several voice actors had to grow into their roles. Plus, the impression I always had from the script-- an impression that's only gotten stronger the more I learn about this series and then come back to this game-- is that someone on the development team was not expecting this to be all that successful overseas. And not for no reason, since Puyo Puyo's tried to get its foot in the door in the west several times by this point. But the end result of this lack of faith was a localization team that tried very hard to make this game stand on its own merits with as little understanding of the games that had come before as possible. Which, honestly I think they did a pretty dang good job of! Especially since it didn't shy away from the hard-hitting stuff when it came. Which I'm going to intentionally leave even further out of context so as to not give away all of it.

There was also this line here, which was what first clued me in that the writing's quality wasn't an accident, that the writer is actually thinking all this stuff through:

Fun fact, the only people you will see in your dreams are people you have seen while you're awake. The parts of the brain responsible for dreams can't make up new faces, or throw together composites of preeviously-known ones. Hence, this question, which does in fact get answered in the next scene, in a way that made me go, "Ohhh, that's really smart, actually!"

But yeah. That was just this one game. It took me a few more years before I tried other games that had been translated, fan or otherwise, but the more I've played and the more I learn about these characters and their worlds, the more engrossed I get. It's a hyperfixation now. It seems like there's always something new I'm learning about it, but it's not overwhelming, it just feels like I'm knowing a good friend better and better. The modern artstyle is deceptively simple and very endearing, and so many of the characters are interesting and fun. And the current writer is just so galaxy-brained, I'm not even kidding.

The characters in the Puyo Puyo series are all morons. They're all crazy. But at the end of the day, they care about each other, no matter how little they want to admit it. And they all have their own theming to the magic they use. It's a lot of fun. From your standard-fair RPG spells, to cosmic forces, to math terms,

I can't recommend this series enough, no matter what your skill level with puzzle games is! There's something in it for everyone.

Unless you're looking for genuinely evil characters, I guess. Like, there are characters that are intimidating or sinister or threatening, but almost none of them are actually evil. Fraid the closest to that this series has is a(n as-of-now) gender-ambiguous Elon Musk with better hair in the Japan-excusive gacha game.

Further reading from the author (that isn't already on their tumblr):

[1]

[2]

[3]

[borninwinter81]

Collage box collection

After discovering that I had a reasonably big stash of interesting flyers, greetings cards, guidebooks and other bits of ephemera, and seeing this tutorial, I was really inspired to use it all for something.

This was helped by the fact that recently I've found a lot of really nice wooden boxes in charity shops for very cheap - all the ones pictured here were £2. Either I've been extremely lucky, or these things turn up very often and I just haven't been looking for them.

I've posted about some of these previously (here and here), but they were only half done and these pictures are better! Plus there is one new one.

First was this wooden chocolate box. Before...

And after!

You can tell this is my first one as I oversatured the paper with Mod Podge, leading to it bubbling and creasing, but for a first attempt I don't think it's bad at all.

All the pictures I used were taken from an exhibition guide for an event I went to called "Exploring the Gothic" which contained a lot of beautiful pictures. The floral parts were from a pad of scrapbooking paper, which I also used to make the individual compartments (they are origami boxes, see a tutorial for how to make them here) and I then filled them with pieces from my collection of beads, charms, and broken jewellery.

I also had a guide to a William Blake exhibition I'd been to, and since there was an entire plate from "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell" I had to make it into a miniature wall plaque.

I did this one at the same time as the first, and again you can kind of see that I oversatured the paper which caused it to tear slightly, however thankfully it wasn't in an area where there was any writing.

(BTW, if anyone is interested in the meaning of this section, Blake is describing his creative process, albeit in a fantastical way. This blog post gives a good analysis)

The next one was a beautiful little cabinet with a broken handle.

And here is what I did with it. I kept the collaging to a minimum, only on the inside, though I might add something to the outside in the future. The replacement "handles" are a pair of my earrings!

I used some more of the gothic exhibition guide and scrapbook paper, and also a flyer for a ballet version of Dracula. I need to find some more interesting things to fill it as it currently only contains my resin crow's skull and a miniature book of Tennyson poems. Also my Cthulhu candle gets to sit on top and be worshipped by the skeleton on the right door.

I did much better with the collaging process on this one. I was a lot more patient, used less Mod Podge for each layer and allowed them to dry fully in between, resulting in no tears, bubbles or creasing.

The final and most recent is this plain box. I noticed it originally came from somewhere called "Palmyra Hardware" which instantly made me think of the Palmyra Wolves (I'm a fan of MrBallen and saw him tell the story on his YouTube channel) which gives a pleasantly creepy angle to this one before I even did anything to it!

After collaging

The central image on the outside is another William Blake painting, an illustration to Dante's Inferno, which includes the famous quote "Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter Here". The writing saying "The way, the truth, the life" came from a religious leaflet that a friend of mine was forcibly given, and which he ripped to shreds, but I saved this part because for some reason I liked it.

Inside we've got a very famous Blake painting called "The Ancient of Days", the praying skeleton again as this image was reproduced several times in that guidebook, and a block printed demon from a handmade birthday card that a friend gave me several years ago. I'm very pleased to have finally been able to use him for something!

I've enjoyed making all of these immensely and no doubt I will do more in the future as I collect more papers and find more nice boxes 😊

[jandjsalmon]

Fic Reading Challenge Stats

Happy New Year, friends! I come bearing my last post of reading stats and fic recs for 2024. I hope you’re able to take some time and enjoy some of the stories that kept me company this year. 🖤

I always slide in with December numbers before I hit the pie charts for the year… I read 743,608 words and 208 chapters in December. I completed the @fanfic-reading-challenge Tasks on December 1st so I spent the month mostly rereading old favourites. We also had a very busy holiday season (my middle son got engaged!) so there was generally just less reading done. Ah well. New year, new goals.

Annual Stats

In 2024, I read (or reread) nearly 17.1 million words (800 stories). This number is WAY down from last year (by nearly 4 million words!) and while I didn't read as many different authors, I did branch out into 132 fandoms (as opposed to 114 in 2023) and I read 170 various ships (a slight uptick from the 162 unique ships in 2023).

The 2025 @fanfic-reading-challenge is out now (I posted about it a few days ago) - so I hope some of you will sign up and join the fun. It's going to be very challenging this year, but there is no correct way to do it and you can read a little or a lot. It’s just a twist to something you’re all doing anyway. And the discord is very busy and fun as well.

And of course, thank you to everyone who gave me suggestions for stories and pairings and fandoms and who shared their favourite stories with me. I could not have gotten through this year without you and I’m SO grateful for you. 🥰

Looking at this year's pie chart, I knew I'd read a ton of Wednesday/Xavier fics. In fact, every single one of the 43 fics I re-read more than once this year were Wenvier and my #1 reread fic was What's Not to Like? by @babygotbooks - which was a comfort fic for me this year and you should read it! Anyway, I expected the Wenvier results - but I was more surprised at the 160 random pairings that I read. The fic challenge really got me reading pairings and fandoms I maybe wouldn't have been interested in otherwise. A few I will never read again - but there was more than a small handful of pairings that I tried out for the challenge and then enjoyed enough to seek out more fic. Folie à Deux by @cypresssunns is an example of this. I never would have thought about Marta/Ransom at all, but now I have a little collection of fics I quite enjoyed this year (you should also read Knives Out, A Novel by Dodge Wetsfield (aka, Ransom Drysdale) by fodforever if you like Knives Out and if you also like fun).

Here's a fun fact - I read The Dragon Cub by alperez - and it had the second most number of words for a single pairing all year and it was a single fic (1.9 million words of Jon/Margaery). It was fantastic, but it took me almost the complete month of January last year. Super well done.

I also randomly got very into Fallout (April) and Twisters (August) this year. Both wildly different but both seriously enjoyable. You should read the The Ghoul and the Vaultie series by @klouwolf and Something by @wonderfulcastrophe or even Or You Could Just Stay by HopeAlchemist if you're interested in either of these - which you should be because they're extra fun and awesome.

One thing I like to look at is the Author stat each year. I have several faves who pop up a lot but the nature of this fic challenge is to find new fandoms/authors/pairings. This year, 82% of the authors I read, wrote ten or fewer stories but that other 18% was full of only 6 authors who wrote many more than that so I wanted to single them out. Four of them are Wenvier authors (which is a fun fact)! Extra love to @babygotbooks @drollicpixiefanfic @clairenovaking @pollydoodles (and Agmo and the_retro_witch - neither of whom have tumblr). Thank you for sharing your talent with me this year! 😘

Anyway - this is probably enough recs for now but if you every are looking for something interesting to read, hmu. 😘

Thanks for being here, friends.

Have a wonderful 2025!

[theresattrpgforthat]

This is slightly off-theme for you, but: *not* horror fantasy *adventures* by small companies, for systems with combat? (Compatibility doesn't really matter; creatures can be tweaked from existing and/or created.) Finding games has become easier than adventures, and most adventures I find are on the horror side of things (The Isle, etc.). Thanks/apologies for going off theme!

Theme: Non-Horror Fantasy Combat Adventures.

Hello there! I have less familiarity with adventures, but I follow some folks on Itch who compile some very useful collections. I noticed that in many cases these collections included dungeon crawls or system agnostic settings, so I hope you find these to be useful!

Mount Zorgoth, by Highland Paranormal Society.

Zorgoth, the Cyclops godling rules from the highest peak. His star magic keeps the world below shrouded in darkness! Can the spell be broken?

This is a one-page mountain-climbing adventure with a goofy look to it and a light-hearted tone. There is no named system for which this adventure appears to be designed for, and as a result there aren’t any stats for the monsters that show up - such as the Slug Shepard and his 2d4 spider goats. But for a one-page rpg there’s certainly a lot you can glean based off of the different locations you can go to. I think this might be a fun game to try with Brave Zenith, as tone-wise both games feel a little bit goofy.

Welcome to Candy Mountain, by cog5games.

Created centuries ago with dark magics informed by gluttony, cast by a wizard who has since lost interest, Candy Mountain stands as a blemish of sweetness protruding from an otherwise bland countryside. The inhabitants of the mountain, who were also affected by the strange enchantment, went about their daily lives. Until…

Side with the Candy Crone and summon a gargantuan Lemon Titan to crush the Sugar Queen. Or! Bow to the Sugar Queen and stop the Candy Crone from exacting her revenge. Or! Forget all that and seek out a source of pure sugar crystals for Doctor Xaraqus and complete the lens of the temporal telescope.

There are honestly a lot of Troika supplements that you would probably find interesting to flip through in your search for non-horror adventures. Troika is a science-fantasy multiversal ttrpg, so there doesn’t have to be a lot of cohesion in terms of setting details. This also means that while not every Troika supplement may work for you, there’s bound to be something out there that does! If you want to check out more troika adventures, you could also look at the Troika! Pamphlet Adventure Jam that this game was submitted to.

Flowers Beneath The Mountain, by BPB Games.

A Casual Stroll Through a Wondrous Locale. Time to Hit the Road!

Flowers Beneath the Mountain is a licensed adventure for Ryuutama. Designed as an evocative introductory adventure for new players who want to explore a region that has more magic and whimsy than the standard setting, Flowers Beneath the Mountain is a simple adventure that provides useful information to help veteran or first time Ryuujin to fill out sheets on their own.

I know Ryuutama has a reputation for being a bit on the cozier side, so I expect this adventure to be fantastic and cute, even if there are monsters for you to fight. The game also comes with tokens for you to use on a Virtual Tabletop of your choice, if you are looking for that to add to your game!

Almanac of Lost Places, by Fantastic Jean.

A mountain coveted by rival kingdoms. A city where information is not a synonym of truth. The ruins of a civilisation far from being abandoned. A valley bending reality to protect itself from exploitation.

This is a loose outline of a number of places with conflicts waiting to be expanded upon. The Almanac holds story seeds: how you describe people and places, and how your players decide to respond will determine what conflicts they find themselves in, which allies they make, and what powers they will bear witness to. There's potential for horror, but I don't think this setting is beholden to it. I’m also wondering if perhaps combining this with something like the Big List of RPG Plots would give you enough to get a story in motion.

Overdue! by seedling.

In this system-agnostic game in a fantasy world, the players are all agents of the Library, sworn to carry out its will.  In this one-shot they can become entangled in book-themed royal intrigue, outwit a dragon who has taken control of all scientific journals, save the kingdom, and, most importantly, retrieve an overdue library book.

This is a system-agnostic dungeon-like adventure that looks to be less focused on combat, but I have a feeling that if you wanted to involve some combat, you could likely change some of the encounters within the game without necessarily having to change the core premise of the adventure.

[raptorfae53]

Ever After High Reimagined: Ashlynn Ella Redesign/Character Bio.

Ashlynn Ella

Trans Girl (She/Her)

Daughter of Cinderella (Canadian)

Industrious and driven, always repairing or cleaning things and with an intrinsic need to feel useful, Ashlynn is an unorthodox princess compared to her friends, happiest whiling away at projects on her sewing machine or helping her family's servants with chores. This toeing-the-line of destiny as the next Cinderella extends to her love life, being madly in love with Hunter Huntsmann as opposed to any kind of prince, a fact both must keep tight-lipped in order to not be found out and separated, between that and the future destiny-based implosion of her family into a “proper” Cinderella tale, what is she to do?

Likes: Being with hunter, repairing things, helping people out, shoes and sexy lumberjack memorabilia

Dislikes: letting people down,not being busy, leaving tasks or projects unfinished, fast fashion and princessology class.

Spellbinding Style: Practical yet pretty. Ashlynn prefers dungarees and pinafores,often personally embroidered with beautiful,intricate threadwork to more traditional princess fare. For what it's worth, ashlynns shoe collection consists of a wide variety of footwear for any occasion.

Companion creature: Sandella the Firebird. A family of Firebirds have nested on the roof of the Ella's castle for generations now, but as much as she loves animals ashlynn can't help but look at the birds,including the one considered “hers”, as a living symbol of the cyclical nature of her destiny,harbingers of fortune,rebirth, and doom…

Hexworthy vex: Cute shoes that aren't in her size. Like many transfemme girls ashlynn has big feet so the cute shoes that may handily fit Apple or Briar won't fit on her, and while being a princess she can readily afford custom shoes, Ashlynn instead prefers to make or modify her own,both for personal use and for others who might want them.

“Oh Curses” moment: Overexerting herself. Ashlynn is a caring person and a physically hard worker, always trying to be on top of schoolwork and chores alike, the problem comes when folks take advantage of her helpful nature or ashlynn takes on too big a workload, working deep into the night on little sleep as to make a deadline and not let her client down to her own detriment.

Storied Secret: Ashlynn loves hunter with all her heart, but by grimm his haircut is awful. Of course she's never told him it sucks and never intends to, it'd break his heart…

Deepest wish: To simply be with Hunter, openly and unafraid to love the boy she loves in public, even to the point of eschewing her destined prince, and her destiny as a result…

Five Fantastical Facts:

Ashlynn lives with her mother,who has been suffering with an illness that leaves her bedbound most days, her mothers majordomo and her two daughters, the stepmother and stepsisters of her story. Whilst an unconventional cast for a Cinderella, considering that Ashlynns father died when she was a toddler there wasn't really any other option, the “big” stories like hers are pretty strict in regards to gender roles…

Ashlynns relationship with said sisters is…rockier than she would like. Whilst it's true that they are unfairly looked down on by most for not being “true” stepsisters on top of their villainous destiny, the girls tend to take out all their frustration through acting petulant towards ashlynn or feeding their shopping addiction for the latest outrageous fashions and accessories. Ashlynn understands their frustration but does wish sometimes they were a bit less avaricious, though her protests are usually taken as jealous busybodying in turn.

Ashlynn has legendarily poor time blindness despite her best (usually poor) efforts,often being late for events because she just has to get this last thing done before she goes Briar! Only for the hours to go by quick amongst a myriad of said “last things” and Ashlynn to decide its too late to be going to any balls or parties, much to her more party-inclined friend's usual understanding irritation.

Generations of magic buildup have developed into an…irritating curse for poor ashlynn, wherein if she's late to anything on the hour her outfit deteriorates into a scruffier,raggedy look, between interrupting lessons and destroying the patterns ashlynn sewed onto her outfits it really gets to her, leaving her with more work to do on said outfits in the aftermath…

Despite her best efforts and intent, Ashlynn is an absolutely awful cook,as in “can burn water” bad.

Week 3's Royal entry to this series is Ashlynn, the Industrious, helpful future Cinderella and the secret lover of Hunter Huntsman. I hope you like this weeks profile pair and I hope you'll be around next week for the following two...

Further information and thoughts down below:

I've made mention that both of the previous rebels, Apple and Briar deep down are terrified, unfortunately Ashlynn is no different, I'd even beget she's even worse.

Ashlynn isn't just terrified for her own fate but the fate of everyone in her house, her biomother, destined to die before Ashlynn even reaches adulthood, her stepmother and sisters, who will humiliate and eventually mutilate themselves and even the servants in her home, all dismissed for her solitary help, all for a prince she probably won't even prefer over Hunter.

Ashlynn has a very big heart and a selfless work ethic, and that love extends even to the people who her destiny insists aren't important, her empathy and worry for all being why she's unwilling to throw in with the Rebels like her boyfriend despite agreeing deep down with much of their ethos.

(This is partly the reason why she hasn't much courage to stand up to Apple's plans despite being the most ostensibly sensible of the core royals and most likely to appeal otherwise, she's terrified of the possible consequences that come with defiance...)

She doesn't want to get any of them hurt, in absence or by consequence... (again, Ashlynns family doesn't really trust grimm, a running theme as we'll see...)